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[s0]

How is the New 3DS? I fooled around with the nub-stick for a while in a store, but I wonder how it feels over longer term. The buttons also feel a lot more comfortable. If they come out with a New 3DS only game that I want, I might wind up picking it up because it seems like it'd be a nice upgrade.

i have a New XL because i hated a lot of things about the original 3ds (including screen size) and i never play on the go anyway. i like it a lot. the buttons feel better (dpad especially) and the screens are big, bright and crisp. it also just feels nicer to hold in your hands. the plastic on the original 3ds always felt "cheap" to me. the analog nub is ok for what it does in the games ive used it in (adjusting the camera). it shouldnt be thought of as a full fledged second stick. i thought it was odd at first but i got used to it. would have preferred a 2nd circlepad but whatevs.

its not as big of an upgrade as original DS vs DS lite but im happy with it and it "fixed" all my gripes w/ the original design.

btw is the dog in your avatar a spitz?

[Tanner]

apparently the earliest runs of new xls have ips screens while later ones have cheaper, shittier tn screens. zero way of knowing. kind of crappy

[SirNiko]

btw is the dog in your avatar a spitz?

It is an American Eskimo, which I think is a kind of spitz.

The bigger sized screen is actually a turn-off - I like being able to fit my 3DS in my pocket. I think the one I saw in the store display was an XL. Maybe the regular one is about the size of the old 3DS.

I think I have one of the first gen 3DSs and the paint is flaking in a couple of places, especially the D-Pad. On the other hand, it still works just fine so maybe I should just stop being fussy and save my money for a PS4 to play Persona 5.

[gimymblert]

im playing xenoblade 3ds. amazing handheld port aside from some ugly textures. they actually managed to fit the entire huge game onto a 3ds cart and also preserve the draw distance.

also the sequel seems to be getting some negative reception in japan for its online features but it sounds good to me. would probably buy if i had a wii u.

They cheated and beef up the 3DS  it does not work on old 3DS, I'm pretty sure that's counting as dodging the issue.

[s0]

apparently the earliest runs of new xls have ips screens while later ones have cheaper, shittier tn screens. zero way of knowing. kind of crappy

oh ya i noticed this. mine (bought on launch day) has a great screen and ive wondered what people were on about when they claimed the new xl screen sucked. guess that clears that up haha.

Maybe the regular one is about the size of the old 3DS.

a bit larger. what kind of pockets do you have that a normal 3ds can fit into though?

They cheated and beef up the 3DS  it does not work on old 3DS, I'm pretty sure that's counting as dodging the issue.

so? it's a really good handheld port is all im saying.

[ThemsAllTook]

I've been watching some people play 7 Days to Die, and as cliche as openworldzombiesurvivalcraft is, it's actually a pretty interesting game. Playing it myself hasn't gone quite as well, though... There are a lot of positive feedback loops in the game that completely and utterly screw you over if you mess up at all. Every death decreases your wellness stat, which lowers your overall health and stamina max. You drop your backpack on the ground and respawn somewhere else with nothing in your inventory, which of course makes you want to run back and get your stuff, resulting in more death and less wellness.

That would all be fine if getting caught outside at night wasn't an instant death sentence. If you can't find and secure shelter in the first (very short) day, there's absolutely no recovery. Delete world and character and try again, unless you want to repeatedly die all night and end up with no wellness the next morning.

So, in the first day you're racing to find some kind of defensible building somewhere on the map, because there's no way in hell you can gather the resources to build your own in that amount of time. Towns where buildings can be found are of course zombie congregation areas, so you'll have to fight your way in to claim a home for yourself. Fighting makes noise, which attracts more zombies. Buildings are usually (always?) barricaded, and breaking down the door takes a lot of time and makes noise.

You really don't want to get into a fight, because taking even one hit in combat usually stun locks you until you're dead. If you're lucky enough not to get stunned, you'll probably at least get infected...which is more recoverable, but still problematic. You can sneak around to avoid being noticed, but zombies are everywhere - once you get too close and one notices you, you can't sneak away faster than they move, so you have to run, which of course attracts more attention. While running, you'd better hope you don't encounter a zombie dog (read: you usually will), because there's no outrunning one of those. You have to kill it or die (read: usually die).

So, suppose the stars align and you managed to secure shelter before the first nightfall without dying or attracting the attention of a dog. Great! Get ready to sit in a dark corner and hope no zombies smell you, or just randomly decide to start beating down the walls around you, which they do for no reason sometimes. If you barricade yourself in fully, you'll have to smash your way out in the morning, which takes a lot of time and precious tool resources - but if you don't block the door, you run the risk of a zombie wandering right in and eating your face.

Despite all this, there's something compelling enough about the game to make me want to keep playing. The intense pressure to perform perfectly or die makes it more satisfying when I actually succeed at any basic thing in the game. The ambience is designed to stress you out in just the right way, and it does a good job of it. I just wish it were balanced a little bit differently to not be quite so punishing when you do mess up.

[Nillo]

I had the fortune to play two different board games this weekend, Clash of Cultures and Battlestar Galactica.

Clash of Cultures is a civlike game similar to Eclipse (which I also love) where you expand and fight other players but in the end the winner is decided by score. However you can end the game early by knocking out another player (game ends immediately if a player has no cities). I like this system because it gives a "fight to the death" feeling without the downtime of actually being eliminated.

The best part of CoC however is easily the streamlined rules framework and how the tech tree gradually introduces more concepts as the game continues. It's surprisingly easy to teach because of this. You just show them how to play without techs and they can then read their tech board at their own pace and digest how each tech is going to alter their playstyle. I'm super impressed by how much information they were able to fit on the player boards. I rarely had to look things up in the actual rulebook because you can figure out a lot of things just by checking your player board.

Battlestar Galactica is a semi-coop game with betrayers (Cylons) where you try to make it to Earth while fighting off raiders, food shortages and the machinations of the Cylons. This game is filled with skill checks and when you do a check everyone can (secretly) contribute. The catch is that if someone adds the wrong card to a check it DECREASES your skill strength. So if there is a betrayer on the ship they can ruin everything. It's extremely important to root out who the betrayer is and send them to the Brig before they deal a critical blow to the ship or the rest of the crew. I really enjoy the skill check system because it keeps everyone invested in the game even if it isn't their turn, which again reduces downtime. It's an intense experience and you're going to be pointing fingers at a lot of people while playing it.

Long story short I loved both of the games and I would certainly recommend them. Although I probably won't purchase Battlestar myself because I have trouble reaching that high number of players (it's best with a group of 5-6).

[Nillo]

One thing I forgot to add is that it's really easy to count points at the end of Clash of Cultures compared to Eclipse. Each point is directly related to a tangible component (city-pieces, tech cubes, event/objective/wonder cards) so when it's time to tally it up you can just put everything in a big "you" pile and count it. Everyone can count their own points, no need to mess with pen and paper. I can't wait to try it again.

[s0]

Clash of Cultures compared to Eclipse

which game would you say is better? ive been eyeing eclipse for a long time but theres always other stuff.

[Nillo]

Clash of Cultures compared to Eclipse

which game would you say is better? ive been eyeing eclipse for a long time but theres always other stuff.

I think they are both absolutely great games but there are some key differences to keep in mind. One is that Clash of Cultures is less "swingy" than Eclipse. There is not much variance in the tile draws. When you explore with a Settler you can be sure you're going to find a decent spot to found a settlement. On the other hand, when you draw a tile in Eclipse you can get something that is totally worthless to you (for example a tile with 2 ancients during the first round) or something that is really damn good (2 unprotected planets). My group dislikes the luck of the tile draw in Eclipse and prefers having more control over their civilization.

Another big difference is the lack of racial bonuses. At the beginning of CoC everyone has the same resources and units available to them. It's up to each player to decide how to develop their civ based on how the game progresses from there. This means at the beginning it can feel a bit "samey" and not as thematic as Eclipse. On the other hand, you have more freedom to choose your own strategy in Clash of Cultures because you are not guided towards any actions in particular. Later on, players will be very different from each other. So basically you will "create your own race" by selecting technology in CoC.

Overall I think Clash of Cultures is somewhat better. I like that everyone starts the same because it means I can set up the game before people arrive at the table. They can just sit down in one of the chairs and we'll start playing. With Eclipse I need to wait until people have selected their race before I can start setting it up, and it's usually a real pain to fit Eclipse on the table because of how the outer sectors of the galaxy sprawl out in all directions.

[s0]

cool, will pick up CoC when i finally do get around to buying one of these games

[InfiniteStateMachine]

Just spent about 400$ at retro game stores in Japan. On the way to Hiroshima to get my partners childhood famicom. It's going to be something of a retro summer I think

[Türbo Bröther]

I haven't played these games in a long time but I can still sleepwalk my way through Day Of the Tentacle, Sam & Max Hit the Road and all three paths in Fate Of Atlantis. I still even remember most of the dialogue in all three. That's pretty sad.

[s0]

still playing cities skylines. so nice to build a huge sprawling city and then use the first person camera mod to take a bus ride through it. it's the simple pleasures in life.

the fact that the devs are super generous releasing free content updates (such as the europe tileset that just came out) is great too.

[FK in the Coffee]

Playing Fez again. Not the same as experiencing it for the first time, of course, but it's still an incredible world to get lost in. There's still plenty of wonder to it, and exploring is an incredibly relaxing, almost therapeutic experience. Fish might have only released on game in his short career, but what a game it was.

[quan]

I've been playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. It's a nice way to wind down after a long day.

I think I'll also replay MGS3 again soon, trying to get a Foxhound rank.

[darkhog]

Lately I play Kerbal Space Program. They seem to made better controls since last time I played it.

[s0]

i was looking for a quick co-op boardgame (because none of the co-op games i own take under an hour), so i picked up samurai spirit. this is from the same designer as ghost stories and has a similar "defend a village from an onslaught of baddies" premise. it appears to be very luck-based at first due to its blackjack-like card drawing mechanics but once you realize that the game is really about exploiting the synergies between the samurai's special abilities it becomes a surprisingly good luck management game that is consistently winnable (even if hard). recommended if you want a good co-op game to play between sessions of longer gams.

[ThemsAllTook]

7 Days to Die became a lot more enjoyable once I got over the initial learning curve. As it turned out, most of my early survival problems were due to trying to go to the city right away. Claiming a house in one of the small towns went much better, and I'm now in day 15 and thriving. The game still has its issues, but overall I think it's a pretty good time. If you ignore the aesthetic, it feels a lot like Minecraft crossed with Don't Starve.

[SirNiko]

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage reminds me a little bit of the Mario Galaxy games. I like how they gave each of the worlds its own little story and unique characters and monsters. The Aquaria Towers is especially gorgeous, once you finish flooding the level and can access the exterior.

The Skill Points are a bit weird. You aren't told what they are, and completing half of them (8 of 16) unlocks a little epilogue that gives closure on some characters, or just tells jokes about them. If you don't pay attention, you won't even notice they're there when you finish the game.

It was cute, but simple. Plowing the through the levels and collecting 100% of the items didn't take very long.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker has such absolutely lovely graphics and the variety of the levels is top-notch. It's a shame it seems to be going by very quickly.

On a whim I tried an indie game called "Hot Date" where you do speed dating with pink pugs (or maybe the same pug over and over?). You navigate a conversation tree and ask questions and get various responses.

The animation is cute as the pug blinks and glances sidelong but it's not very deep. The questions you ask don't influence the rest of the conversation; you just keep going back to the root of the dialogue tree to select a new option until the date ends.

You get to ask some amusing questions, though.