Amazon PCDD - Important Update New Community Manager Incoming!

[Amazon DVG Deals]

Hey CAGS,

I’ve got some news I’m both excited and sad to share with you at the same time. I’ll be leaving the Digital Video Games team in Mid-March to join the marketing team for Amazon.com’s Loyalty and Rewards program, Amazon Coins. My boss and I have talked extensively about how to maintain and continue our presence here and across the other communities we’ve created in the past couple of years. To that end I’d like to introduce you to Josh, who take over monitoring, updating, and responding to this thread. Josh will be ramping up over the next couple of weeks, he  will be posting shortly to introduce himself.

Now that the “what’s going on” part of the message is out of the way I want to tell you all how much I love CAG and the posters here. This was the first community I joined when I started this job (anyone still remember that first thread?) and all of you have had a huge hand in shaping how we think about and execute Community Development and Management here at Amazon, which has in turn shaped my career these last two and a half years.

I started to write out a section calling out the regular posters and realized the list would be both overly long and incomplete at the same time. Instead I’d like to thank you all again, you all have my deep and sincere gratitude. I’ll still be around and my gaming accounts aren’t going anywhere so feel free to hit me up anytime you want to chat. I’ll probably still hang out in the thread too .

Thanks again everyone, let me or Josh know if you have any questions!

The Indie Store has launched!
Amazon.com is launching a storefront dedicated to supporting and promoting PC/Mac/Web-based Indie Games. Our Digital Video Games team is a small group of passionate gamers and we’re all really excited to help Indie developers reach more customers quickly by providing a quick and simple process for bringing their games to market. Additionally we’ll be supporting the Indie Store with a ton of promotions, both at and after launch. Many of these promotions are designed to give the developer the opportunity to maximize their revenue. For example, Amazon is forfeiting all royalties from bundle sales and passing them along directly to the developer, we’ve also created an “Indie Spotlight” program to help customers learn more about the games and developers they love. We view the Indie developers as some of the most creative in the industry and we want to help them continue to create new and innovative experience for customers.

Why we are doing this:

• Allow customers to discover an entirely new category of games on Amazon.com
• Help developers reach new customers quickly. Our onboarding process is straightforward and we want to sell every Indie game available
• We want to leverage our strengths to support and help the developers who are driving forward innovation and creativity in the games industry

General Information

Hi CAGs,
I'll be posting deals we're running on Digital Games (PC/Mac, Free to Play, Sony/Microsoft Points/Subs).

I'm also here to answer questions you might have, get you closer to the developers by hosting Q&As, setting up podcasts, live streaming gameplay etc. If I don't respond to a question you have in thread please send me a PM. These ping my email address and make it more likely that I will see your question and respond more quickly.

Cheers,
Tony


FYI. EA Games sold by Amazon will not activate on Steam.
F.A.Q.S.:

1. Does the game I'm buying from Amazon Activate on Steam/Origin/Uplay? What DRM does the game use?

There are two places to identify DRM on a digital video game detail page:

At the top of the page, below the title:

In the "Product Description" section:

2. Note on Electronic Arts Games - For the most part, EA games sold on Amazon do not activate on Steam. Most activate on Origin.

3. Note on DRM with limited activations:

Our Policy



4. Sometimes I'll do giveaways.

5. I work with developers and publishers to get fun (or at least what I think is fun) content to share with you all. Here are some examples:

a. Check out the Pax Gameplay videos here: Xcom: Enemy Unknown I played Xcom with Jake, the Creative Director for the game, a few months before the game came out Also, on this page, check out the Q&A, also a community driven event.

b. Check out the interview on this page: Borderlands 2 we did this interview at E3 with Randy Pitchford this year.

c. We've partnered with the ++GoodGames Podcast to feature many of the games we carry. They talk to the developers about the game development process, how the games are conceptualized and managed, all kinds of fun stuff. I'm working on putting together full link list and will update when I have it.

What else do we sell?

Xbox Live Points and Subscriptions:

1600 Microsoft Live Points
4000 Microsoft Live Points
12 Month XBOX Live Subscription
3 Month XBOX Live Subscription]
12 Month + 1 XBOX Live Subscription

PSN+ Subscriptions and PSN Points:

$20 PSN Points
$50 PSN Points
12 Month PSN+ Subscription
3 Month PSN+ Subscription

We also have a Free-2-Play store supported by our GameConnect technology. Gameconnect allows you to link your Amazon.com account with free-2-play and MMO accounts so that you can buy things like in game currency, premium game time/subscriptions, in game items, etc. on Amazon.com using your Amazon.com payment options and have this content delivered directly into your game.

5. Price Matching notes: Generally we do not match international retailers (GMG, Gamersgate, etc) or physical retailers (Best Buy, Newegg.com, etc.)
To check out the Free-2-Play games we offer you can visit our storefront here: Free-2-Play Store

 

[MinDRIoT]

any news on GFWL removal on GTA or any Rockstar games that used GFWL?

Will my GTAIV game be unplayable if GFWL shut down a few months down the road?

I think Rockstar are working on removing it, Whether multi-player will be affected or not is still unknown.

 

[agentghost]

I think Rockstar are working on removing it, Whether multi-player will be affected or not is still unknown.

they said they will remove it or is this just rumor?

 

[Needles-Kane]

For those that have played the  old GTAs (3, VC, SA) in the recent future; how are the controls on a direct input controller?  I have the hardcopy version of the games and the right stick was 90 degrees off which made the sniping impossible for me.  I used a PS2 to USB controller converter maybe that was the problem (I think it happened in Sands of Time too).  Maybe they needed a mod or patch, I assume the Steam versions would have it.

Thanks

 

[asheskitty]

I haven't played GTA III since it's release but I preferred IV by miles. The handling of the cars is 1000 times better, plus you can also fly helicopters and drive boats. The visuals are of course also much better.

>.> 2002 called. It wants to tell you that Vice City had pilot-able boats and choppers.

 

[Sepioth]

Is your name Sephiroth spelled badly?

Hehe .. I get that a lot but no it is not. Just a councidence really ..

It stands for Sept.10th.

 

[MinDRIoT]

they said they will remove it or is this just rumor?

Just rumour, heresay, grapevine talk unfortunately. Even if it's not removed the only thing that would be affected IS the multi-player.

For those that have played the old GTAs (3, VC, SA) in the recent future; how are the controls on a direct input controller? I have the hardcopy version of the games and the right stick was 90 degrees off which made the sniping impossible for me. I used a PS2 to USB controller converter maybe that was the problem (I think it happened in Sands of Time too). Maybe they needed a mod or patch, I assume the Steam versions would have it.

Thanks

I don't know why you'd want to use anything other than a mouse and keyboard. k

 

[Thermopyle]

I started playing Ducktales. It's surprisingly hardcore. They weren't joking around with their platformers back in the good old days, were they?

 

[MinDRIoT]

>.> 2002 called. It wants to tell you that Vice City had pilot-able boats and choppers.

I know, I said GTA III. SO nerr. =P

 

[lostnumberwar]

Can someone give me advice on whether I should buy the GTA games or not? I don't usually play sims so I'm not sure.

I can tell you that if you're looking for anything like a "sim" you might be looking in the wrong place.

 

[lostnumberwar]

>.> 2002 called. It wants to tell you that Vice City had pilot-able boats and choppers.

Also San Andreas has fighter jets, a jetpack, and a world that dwarfs GTA 4's by such a huge margin that it's rediculous that it actually predates GTA 4.

 

[pasports31]

I can tell you that if you're looking for anything like a "sim" you might be looking in the wrong place.

GTA is an aburdist crime sim. It's a realistic portrayal of jacking helicopters, shooting pedestrians, etc. idiut

Also San Andreas has fighter jets, a jetpack, and a world that dwarfs GTA 4's by such a huge margin that it's rediculous that it actually predates GTA 4.

Lotta games are like that...see the elder scrolls series. Morrowind is enormous compared to Oblivion/Skyrim...and it's nothing compared to the games that came before it. A lot of games trade off size for detail, it seems

 

[asheskitty]

For those that have played the old GTAs (3, VC, SA) in the recent future; how are the controls on a direct input controller? I have the hardcopy version of the games and the right stick was 90 degrees off which made the sniping impossible for me. I used a PS2 to USB controller converter maybe that was the problem (I think it happened in Sands of Time too). Maybe they needed a mod or patch, I assume the Steam versions would have it.

Thanks

They play just fine with a proper DirectInput controller. So do the rest of the DirectInput games (e.g. DMC3).

DirectInput is superior to Xinput (which is limited to only the axes/buttons on the 360 controller) and still live on strong today in advanced input devices like racing wheels.

I started playing Ducktales. It's surprisingly hardcore. They weren't joking around with their platformers back in the good old days, were they?

It's one of the more approachable NES-hard games.

I know, I said GTA III. SO nerr. =P

You implied nothing between GTAIII and GTAIV had them. See below.

I loved GTA IV. If you want to live a virtual criminal life and drive stolen vehicles at break-neck speeds around a crowded city then you'll love it.

I haven't played GTA III since it's release but I preferred IV by miles. The handling of the cars is 1000 times better, plus you can also fly helicopters and drive boats. The visuals are of course also much better.

 

[lostnumberwar]

GTA is an aburdist crime sim. It's a realistic portrayal of jacking helicopters, shooting pedestrians, etc. idiut

Yep totally realistic. In real life I also have been shot in the face 30 times and blown up in a truck filled with tnt only to wake up in front of a hospital feeling good as new.

 

[MinDRIoT]

You implied nothing between GTAIII and GTAIV had them. See below.

I didn't imply anything. I was speaking from my own experience. I've only played GTA III and GTA IV and was comparing the two.

 

[lostnumberwar]

Lotta games are like that...see the elder scrolls series. Morrowind is enormous compared to Oblivion/Skyrim...and it's nothing compared to the games that came before it. A lot of games trade off size for detail, it seems

Sure they sacrifice size, difficulty, gameplay mechanics, functionality, complexity, fun and originality, all for the sake of "detail".

 

[agentghost]

is there any mod that make the GTA trilogy game more asthetically pleasing? They didn't age very well :/

 

[pasports31]

Yep totally realistic. In real life I also have been shot in the face 30 times and blown up in a truck filled with tnt only to wake up in front of a hospital feeling good as new.

pasports31, on 20 Jan 2014 - 10:03 PM, said:

GTA is an aburdist crime sim. It's a realistic portrayal of jacking helicopters, shooting pedestrians, etc. idiut
ftfm

 

[lostnumberwar]

pasports31, on 20 Jan 2014 - 10:03 PM, said:


GTA is an aburdist crime sim. It's a realistic portrayal of jacking helicopters, shooting pedestrians, etc. idiut
ftfm

Oh! Now it makes total sense. I thought at first you were Superman and suddenly started using your powers to sell cocaine and run guns to Mexican cartels.

 

[pasports31]

Sure they sacrifice size, difficulty, gameplay mechanics, functionality, complexity, fun and originality, all for the sake of "detail".

wellll, a lot of that's subjective. I think, although skyrim may not be for fundamentally original or complex than skyrim, skyrim is way more addicting.

Anyway, i do think the reason maps get smaller is the increased detail/graphics. I dunno tho

Oh! Now it makes total sense. I thought at first you were Superman and suddenly started using your powers to sell cocaine and run guns to Mexican cartels.

Well I am. I just forget that not everybody else is, so even though GTAIV is a realistic sim for me, it's not so for anybody else

 

[MysterD]

>.> 2002 called. It wants to tell you that Vice City had pilot-able boats and choppers.

And motor-bikes!

 

[lostnumberwar]

wellll, a lot of that's subjective. I think, although skyrim may not be for fundamentally original or complex than skyrim, skyrim is way more addicting.

Anyway, i do think the reason maps get smaller is the increased detail/graphics. I dunno tho

I was speaking in general not to that specific series.

 

[pasports31]

I was speaking in general not to that specific series.

wutevar lyk u kno wut yur even trying 2 say

 

[Preedatore]

Can someone give me advice on whether I should buy the GTA games or not? I don't usually play sims so I'm not sure.

I say pass and play Sleeping Dogs for the better story, better driving, better combat and less pretentiousness.

 

[Sepioth]

I started playing Ducktales. It's surprisingly hardcore. They weren't joking around with their platformers back in the good old days, were they?

Back in the good old days they didn't have to worry about graphics and soundtracks. They made games HARD .. and challenging. And there was no holding your hand.

Some of my favorite gaming days came from that 8-bit NES Syatem. Games like Contra, Super Mario, Castlevania, Mega Man, Battletoads, Zelda, Ghost n Goblins, Punch-Out, River City Ransom, Startropics, Goonies, Dragon Warrior and the list pretty much just goes on and on ..

Now games look pretty, sound pretty and hold your hand. Everything is linear .. objectives glow or have tracking arrows. In Zelda you had to actually FIND secret rooms .. and it was not until the latest issue of Nintendo Power did you realize you may have missed something.

Ducktales is an awesome recreation of the original. It's very rare for a remake to actually keep to the original and not try to "improve" on something. Ducktales proves that todays games are dumbed down by the fact they added the option to make the "pogo" attack "easier" ...

 

[agentghost]

I say pass and play Sleeping Dogs for the better story, better driving, better combat and less pretentiousness.

..but..but.. Sleeping Dogs is not on sale :/

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

I say pass and play Sleeping Dogs for the better story, better driving, better combat and less pretentiousness.

As much as I love all the GTA games, I will say Sleeping Dogs felt like what the series should have become. I haven't played V enough to compare.

That said, I think there's value to be had in III, VC, and SA. They each have their unique environment and the missions can keep you focused if free play sim is not your thing. SA to me was especially great and introduced a lot of the elements that made SD so great. There's also elements in SA that SD doesn't even have.

 

[pasports31]

Some of my favorite gaming days came from that 8-bit NES Syatem. Games like Contra, Super Mario, Castlevania, Mega Man, Battletoads, Zelda, Ghost n Goblins, Punch-Out, River City Ransom, Startropics, Goonies, Dragon Warrior and the list pretty much just goes on and on ..

Now games look pretty, sound pretty and hold your hand. Everything is linear .. objectives glow or have tracking arrows. In Zelda you had to actually FIND secret rooms .. and it was not until the latest issue of Nintendo Power did you realize you may have missed something.

Omg...I downloaded the first Zelda last year and played through about half, then my Wii pooped out. But that was difficult. But to me there's a difference between "hard" and "where the do i go, there aren't any hints at ALL" finding secret rooms wasn't really finding so much as it was "bomb every square inch of wall because there aren't any tips on how to do this"

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

Omg...I downloaded the first Zelda last year and played through about half, then my Wii pooped out. But that was difficult. But to me there's a difference between "hard" and "where the do i go, there aren't any hints at ALL" finding secret rooms wasn't really finding so much as it was "bomb every square inch of wall because there aren't any tips on how to do this"

I spent hours pressing the space bar against walls in the original Wolf 3D (and similar games) to find secrets. It's part of the fun!

 

[Master Miguel]

I spent hours pressing the space bar against walls in the original Wolf 3D (and similar games) to find secrets. It's part of the fun!

Haha Wolfenstein 3D was exactly what I thought of when I read "bomb every square inch of wall". If you aren't running diagonally and smashing spacebar you're doing it wrong.

 

[spacejunk]

Omg...I downloaded the first Zelda last year and played through about half, then my Wii pooped out. But that was difficult. But to me there's a difference between "hard" and "where the do i go, there aren't any hints at ALL" finding secret rooms wasn't really finding so much as it was "bomb every square inch of wall because there aren't any tips on how to do this"

Wow... I remember playing Zelda on NES and calling Nintendo for hints on how to get past certain parts. I think I learned the employees' names and remember them only giving little hints out so you still had to figure it out. They were great folks.

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

GTA3, VC, & SA all predate the 360. They all have controller support via DirectInput controllers: Logitech RumblePad 2 / F310/510/710 as well as the DS3 w/BetterDS3.

I'm fairly certain none of those options will allow you to remap the D-pad in San Andreas.

 

[Sepioth]

Wow... I remember playing Zelda on NES and calling Nintendo for hints on how to get past certain parts. I think I learned the employees' names and remember them only giving little hints out so you still had to figure it out. They were great folks.

http://kotaku.com/5980638/nintendo-power-line-employees-werent-gods-heres-how-they-knew-their-stuff

 

[asheskitty]

I say pass and play Sleeping Dogs for the better story, better driving, better combat and less pretentiousness.

I like GTA... I'm especially fond of VC and SA, but I agree Sleeping Dogs is an excellent successor.

Omg...I downloaded the first Zelda last year and played through about half, then my Wii pooped out. But that was difficult. But to me there's a difference between "hard" and "where the do i go, there aren't any hints at ALL" finding secret rooms wasn't really finding so much as it was "bomb every square inch of wall because there aren't any tips on how to do this"

NES stuff was obvious compared to CRPGs... my personal bugbear is DeathLord (1987)... now *that* had hidden secrets.. lot of invisible passages (throw yourself against the walls), hidden doors (use search skill against walls), and teleportation squares that sent you... elsewhere.

It was really off playing the New Ducktales and *knowing* where to hit for the gems even though it looks visually so different.

 

[asheskitty]

I'm fairly certain none of those options will allow you to remap the D-pad in San Andreas.

BetterDS3 should... it lets you remap everything. Also Logitech Profiler lets you remap/keyboard map as well. ...so how do I put this nicely... you're completely the opposite of correct.

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

BetterDS3 should... it lets you remap everything. Also Logitech Profiler lets you remap/keyboard map as well. ...so how do I put this nicely... you're completely the opposite of correct.

Well they had to mod the game because you can't remap the d-pad, like in Xpadder you could map buttons or keys to the dpad but the game would still apply character movement at the same time. It's a whole thing... If in Xpadder you map the Dpad Up to whatever you wanted, in the game you would press Dpad up and it would do what you mapped, but also walk your guy forward.

But I didn't try it with a directinput controller.

Oh yea and there was another issue that the SAAC mod fixed was that in the in-game settings you couldn't map certain keys to do two different functions in different situations like in the PS2 version. I was just doing some research and there may be an improved solution now called Ginput but I haven't really checked it out.

 

[Detruire]

I wrote a long post about my thoughts on Need For Speed Most Wanted (2012), but this stupid editor ate it.

The gist was that I like the gameplay, but that it's buggy as **** and keeps freezing on me. The game will randomly (I haven't noticed any pattern) freeze for a couple of seconds, then the sound and control will resume - but the video is still frozen. Because of this, I haven't yet been able to play for more than an hour at a time.

I've spent hours trying to find a solution, but so far I've only come across a few other reports of the same symptoms - and none have any applicable suggestions (one says updating their nvidia drivers helped - I'm running an AMD card already with the latest drivers - and the rest were never fixed.) The generic NFS:MW solutions (compatibility mode, setting Origin to offline mode, disabling Origin in-game) didn't seem to help.

 

[gilby]

I would say the same, but I at least got the complete pack out of it. I had no max paynes...6 or 7 bucks for all three was good for me

Yeah, I actually got the pack, too. But I already had 2 on Steam and a box with 1 is sitting on the shelf next to me.

Tony, nice job on the Rockstar games. The prices are great.

That said, I'm on the fence. I've never been a big fan of GTA. I've held out on LA Noire and MP3 this long as well because they just don't hold much appeal to me. At these prices, I would probably buy just to add to the backlog...if it wasn't for the shitty port jobs and extra DRM. Rockstar is shooting themselves in the foot here, as far as I'm concerned. At this point, the only way I'll pick them up is if no other deals come up before the 31st.

I played LA Noire last year and really liked it. It wasn't at all 1940s GTA in LA. It was a nicely done adventure game with some driving and action elements.

I loved GTA IV. If you want to live a virtual criminal life and drive stolen vehicles at break-neck speeds around a crowded city then you'll love it.

I haven't played GTA III since it's release but I preferred IV by miles. The handling of the cars is 1000 times better, plus you can also fly helicopters and drive boats. The visuals are of course also much better.

GTA III was the proof of concept that the series not only could move to 3D and work, and work far better than either of the 2D games did. While its features and gameplay were improved on by the games that came later, it was an incredible leap forward when it came out.

 

[asheskitty]

I wrote a long post about my thoughts on Need For Speed Most Wanted (2012), but this stupid editor ate it.

The gist was that I like the gameplay, but that it's buggy as **** and keeps freezing on me. The game will randomly (I haven't noticed any pattern) freeze for a couple of seconds, then the sound and control will resume - but the video is still frozen.

I've spent hours trying to find a solution, but so far I've only come across a few other reports of the same symptoms - and none have any applicable suggestions (one says updating their nvidia drivers helped - I'm running an AMD card already with the latest drivers - and the rest were never fixed.) The generic NFS:MW solutions (compatibility mode, setting Origin to offline mode, disabling Origin in-game) didn't seem to help.

Bummer. I only encountered the flaky-DLC issue and and had a few crashes (not many, all at decent times). Just a thought is it location-based (like some of the rough-framerate areas)?

 

[sunasun]

If you listened to what an obviously very important nobody was saying is that you shouldn't be wasting money on things that you don't need to survive.

Yeah, I'm curious as to why the hate... did somebody buy 10,000 copies of Pizza Dude?

I thought it had been... the complete version wasn't priced at what I've been waiting for... I still have AC1 to complete in the mean time.

ummmm, no. why would you ask?

unrelated note

Have 9,997 copies of Pizza Dude

Want 40 cents paypal each.

I do wonder, does anyone actually ever read what he says?

I fear that I myself have neither the strength nor the perseverance required to comprehend such a cryptic language.

Achievement Unlocked!

Gibberish Translated

Crap that's been on sale numerous times that no one asked for....YES!

Post that's been posted numerous times that no one asked for .... YES!

fixed your avatar for you

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:23607]

wellll, a lot of that's subjective. I think, although skyrim may not be for fundamentally original or complex than skyrim, skyrim is way more addicting.

another account hacked by tebowdragon

 

[pasports31]

another account hacked by tebowdragon

More horrors inflicted by the tebow-monster

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

Hurrrgh just spent a half hour researching San Andreas fixes and giving myself headaches I don't need... I'll just wait for them to port the new mobile HD edition to PC.

 

[INMATEofARKHAM]

Yeah, I'd like to see a LA Noire Complete offered too. But I'll probably buy LAN/MP3 pack and pick up the various DLC's later.

Just an FYI...

In my opinion, if you get the complete version that's cool. Its pretty much how the game is to be played... If you get the vanilla version either buy the DLC before you start playing or don't do it at all. Ever... As playing the DLC after doing the full game is a bit suspect/frustrating. Its so obvious its suppose to be in the game and was pulled for size issues or monetary reasons.

This made the season pass, and playing them long after finishing the game, a disappointment for me.

The DLC cases, for the most part, are good... I actually think the best case from the Murder Desk is one of the DLC cases but nothing can undo already having already finished the game.

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

Those damn LA Noire interrogations were infuriating at times. I would note a flaw in this guy's story, so I point it out as a lie, but the game would score me as having failed cause it wanted me to point out a different lie he'd told.  And then some of the stuff they expect you to pick as the "right" answer just didn't follow any logic. For a game built around these interrogations, it was a huge problem for me. I liked the game well enough other than that, but to me it was a pretty huge flaw.

To be putting yourself in this character's shoes as a detective, thinking long and hard over every detail of the case, giving it my all, finally being certain you found the flaw in this guy's story and then the game says you're wrong... They could have handled it way better.

 

[taylort3]

Those damn LA Noire interrogations were infuriating at times. I would note a flaw in this guy's story, so I point it out as a lie, but the game would score me as having failed cause it wanted me to point out a different lie he'd told. And then some of the stuff they expect you to pick as the "right" answer just didn't follow any logic.

Yeah, this is what killed it for me pretty early on when I played on console. The game is impossible to play to perfection without a guide, and not because it's "challenging". The choices just don't make sense the majority of the time, and then the story gets screwed with every "mistake" you make.

The only way to play it is with a guide, and that just isn't fun.

Aw, who am I kidding, I'll still buy it for steam when it shows up on the EC list.

 

[INMATEofARKHAM]

Naked Snake Eyes, on 21 Jan 2014 - 12:11 AM, said:
To be putting yourself in this character's shoes as a detective, thinking long and hard over every detail of the case, giving it my all, finally being certain you found the flaw in this guy's story and then the game says you're wrong... They could have handled it way better.
Early on in Murder Desk cases there was a line of detective work I wanted to do... I couldn't, it wasn't an option, and it was very, very, important and I could only throw my hands up in frustration later on in the game.

But I likely read too much Michael Connelly*...

Its an awesome tech demo, an interesting game concept, but not a great game... It would be expensive to do but I think another developer could come back to the concept with lesson learned and truly make an amazing game... but I doubt the cost would ever allow this to happen. I'm sure this analogy is going to get an angry mob after me but I liken it to Tolkien. An amazing job of laying the ground work but other fantasy writers have done it much better as the genre evolved/matured/grew.

* Not really possible... MC is the best!

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

But I likely read too much Michael Connelly*...

* Not really possible... MC is the best!

Which books, I downloaded some of them but never read any. I saw Lincoln Lawyer, that was a good movie.

 

[INMATEofARKHAM]

Which books, I downloaded some of them but never read any. I saw Lincoln Lawyer, that was a good movie.

I've read every book minus one now... He has one novel that has no ties to any of his recurring characters.

The Lincoln Lawyer novels are all really good... and are a good starting point considering his other big recurring character, Harry Bosch, has about 18 books now. The Harry Bosch books are just excellent too. Like most things I recommend reading them in order.

Harry Bosch

Spoiler

The Black Echo (1992)

The Black Ice (1993)

The Concrete Blonde (1994)

The Last Coyote (1995)

Trunk Music (1997)

Angels Flight (1999)

A Darkness More Than Night (2001) Note: Read "Blood Work" first

City of Bones (2002)

Lost Light (2003)

The Narrows (2004) Note: Read "The Poet" first

The Closers (2005)

Echo Park (2006)

The Overlook (2007)

9 Dragons (2009)

The Drop (2011)

The Black Box (2012)

Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller)

Spoiler

The Lincoln Lawyer (2005)

The Brass Verdict (2008)

The Reversal (2010)

The Fifth Witness (2011)

The Gods of Guilt (2014)

The one thing about reading the Haller novels first is that Bosch is in a few of them, as are a few other characters from another novel (The Poet) but its not major stuff... Honestly, Haller is such an amazing character I could over look skipping the Bosch novels.

I did included the years on both list so if you want to you can read them as they are release... :lol:

 

[Glomerate]

Those damn LA Noire interrogations were infuriating at times. I would note a flaw in this guy's story, so I point it out as a lie, but the game would score me as having failed cause it wanted me to point out a different lie he'd told. And then some of the stuff they expect you to pick as the "right" answer just didn't follow any logic. For a game built around these interrogations, it was a huge problem for me. I liked the game well enough other than that, but to me it was a pretty huge flaw.

To be putting yourself in this character's shoes as a detective, thinking long and hard over every detail of the case, giving it my all, finally being certain you found the flaw in this guy's story and then the game says you're wrong... They could have handled it way better.

Yup, I totally agree. I heard a lot of great things about the game and those interrogations were fun for the first couple because they weren't as complex but then it just got ridiculous. I used a guide to zoom past them toward the end just because I liked the setting and wanted to do more crime scene inspections.

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

Do you intend to play them?

r u 4 real?
y u not play these?

I loved GTA IV. If you want to live a virtual criminal life and drive stolen vehicles at break-neck speeds around a crowded city then you'll love it.

I haven't played GTA III since it's release but I preferred IV by miles. The handling of the cars is 1000 times better, plus you can also fly helicopters and drive boats. The visuals are of course also much better.

I can tell you that if you're looking for anything like a "sim" you might be looking in the wrong place.

OK, you guys have confirmed my suspicions that I should just stick to the real thing and not settle for these half-arsed simulations Rockstar keeps pumping out.

I say pass and play Sleeping Dogs for the better story, better driving, better combat and less pretentiousness.

I've actually already played SD, and absolutely loved it. Very likely my favorite openworld game of last gen.

..but..but.. Sleeping Dogs is not on sale :/

http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/us/en/pc/games/action/sleeping-dogs-digital-edition/

You're probably better off putting that cash toward your pre-order for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy - $30 (25% off).

I am badly in need of a 3DS

 

[smurfinaus]

So it looks like mostly EA, handful of Rockstar & 2K, and handful of others til the end?