Volitions Advocate on 19/10/2008 at 17:39
I have to admit.. AoM freaked the hell out of me when I first played it. And they didn't even have the DC out back then. And I didn't play it for over a year, then the DC came out and I installed that which only improved the experienced. BUT... I suppose this may just be a problem with me... but I didn't find it as scary the farther along I went. Its like I got desensitized or something and toward the end its just.. more of the same scares. Kind of like Doom 3 that way. Not that I thought Doom 3 was frightening but I did jump out of my pants at one point at a scare I totally did not expect. And AOM did that to me a couple times. But It just started to turn into Cheap thrills for me. Like a Hollywood Slasher movie or something. The monsters always did the same thing and didn't evolve at all.
This isn't so much a criticism of the game as it is wishful thinking.. i suppose. AoM was amazing (once you finally get out of the friggen hospital) but I'd really like a scary game to KEEP scaring me. like FEAR XP did. the further you went along the more screwed up crap you had to deal with. the enemies all started to change. And thats whats frightening. because all the experience you've gained in the earlier part of the game isn't worth as much now because you're up against a totally different terror and you have to evolve with it to stay alive.
I feel like i'm running around in Tangents here but theres my completely disjointed and derailing train of thought.
On another note. I didn't actually get any of the good endings in AoM, i just got the one bad one. which I actually guessed at the whole game. Would anybody help me out with all the password numbers. I wrote down all that I came across in the game but I guess I didn't get enough of them and I've never expereinced that whole side of the game.
june gloom on 19/10/2008 at 21:04
Quote Posted by Dan Knott
It's just i'm still not overly keen on steam. What happens in years time when/if it doesn't exist anymore? How will you be able to play those games?
I seriously doubt Valve would just shut down Steam without providing some sort of offline solution, but if you want to be a paranoid crank then that's your perogative. I for one trust Valve a lot more than I trust EA.
Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate
stuff
While I agree with you on the evolution of terror, I notice that the different locations they run you through just get more and more frightening- and they're often scary in reality as well. First you have the hospital- and who likes being in hospitals? But towards the end you're in the woods where there is almost no lighting whatsoever. That is actually terrifying to me because I've been lost in the woods at night before when I was a kid and I was scared shitless.
As to the endings, I think which ending you get is actually dependant on which path you wander down first (there's two paths after the subway, there's the original path plus a new one), NOT which path you take all the way to the end.
inselaffe on 19/10/2008 at 21:38
Quote Posted by dethtoll
I seriously doubt Valve would just shut down Steam without providing some sort of offline solution, but if you want to be a paranoid crank then that's your perogative.
Nah, I did think that, and i am starting to come round to the idea. I'm just a bit understandably concerned about heavy DRM like steam. While steam is milder than these "3 activation only" type things, it is still of the same type of thing really.
I guess i need to be educated on it more.
It also doesn't help that valve seemed to be held in almost religious regard around here, and just be pc gamers in general. Especially the raving that goes on about half life 2 I just can't quite see it.
june gloom on 19/10/2008 at 22:23
Actually believe it or not Valve is only held in religious regard by about 5 or 6 fanboys (myself included)- everyone else is either "meh" or hate Valve outright.
Steam is probably the best content platform I've seen. It's come a long way from its tumultous first years- and in fact, I credit HL2 for Steam becoming what it is. When thousands bought HL2 (and Counterstrike Source) Valve were forced to work overtime in making Steam into something more useful. Steam isn't just copy protection, it's a massive network, a highly effective anti-cheat system, and the only content delivery system I trust- all rolled into one.
I hated Steam when I first got HL2 but stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. Valve are one of the few companies who've shown themselves to actually care about their customers- I seriously doubt they're going to kill everyone's games when/if they shut down Steam.
Yakoob on 20/10/2008 at 00:28
Everything dethtoll said (holy shit I am agreeing with him!)
The_Raven on 20/10/2008 at 03:36
Quote Posted by dethtoll
Valve are one of the few companies who've shown themselves to actually care about their customers- I seriously doubt they're going to kill everyone's games when/if they shut down Steam.
Even if that is the case, it isn't really their call. I'm sure before Valve released anything, they would have to get the consent of the publisher beforehand, and I just can't see them going to all that trouble when all their assets are being sold off.
june gloom on 20/10/2008 at 04:03
Ah, but Valve is the publisher, at least as far as their own games are concerned. Nearly everything else can be had in box form without requiring Steam. I realize that doesn't address the issue of people who bought, say, Bloodlines over Steam, but honestly, who can really say what will happen or not happen? You? I don't think so.
