CAGcast #349: Our Favorites of 2013

CheapyD

CheapyD

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Dragon's Crown, GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, Last of Us Multiplayer, Hotline Miami (2013 on Vita/Ps3), Star Wars Pinball

I thought this year was one of the best years....

I have a Vizio LED too! lol. Cheap tvs ftw. Bought it years ago incredibly cheap when tvs were a little more expensive. Surprised you went with Vizio with all the deals on Samsungs etc lately. But I can't fault you because I'm perfectly happy with mine. No real urge to upgrade. Buying a new tv would also lock me into sticking with consoles for gen 8 in terms of value as opposed to using the money for a new pc monitor.

Biggest Surprises:

Hotline Miami. Music sooo good. Addictive gameplay with snappy reloads so learning from your mistakes is enjoyable. Cool story. Lots of weapons/masks.

Dragon's Crown. Incredibly deep and meaningful skill choices for a brawler beat em up. Really unique bosses and boss mechanics. Excellent drop in/drop out coop (now crossplatform with vita and ps3 matchmaking). 

GTA V Singleplayer. Easily my new favorite game of all time.

I've completely skipped all the games that got into the habit of doing Season passes at $30 after $60 launch. Borderlands 2, Batman Origins, Battlefield 4 etc. There are certain franchises you should know by now to wait for the game of the year version on the following black friday for $30-40 with ALL of the content. That said, when they spend 5 years making it, I'll buy the $150 version no problem.

In general, I'm not buying any EA games anymore. It always just ends up with a headache. I did cave and pick up Dead Space 3 for $10 (haven't played it yet) since it was so cheap and I felt like playing something in space. No desire to play Battlefield 4 unless it has dinosaurs in the next DLC (maybe by then it will be in a finished state?)

Free to play games that work : DOTA2 ! This game alone is making me want to build a cheap pc, but best to wait and see what steambox brings. Really I'm not spending any more than $5-$10 tops until the economy improves for people who aren't CEOs or own stock.

Haven't even decided if i'm going to renew the 20% off games for $30 bucks by Feb 2014 with BB. If I haven't signed up for that by Feb i'm almost certainly going to be skipping gen 8 on consoles. That shit pays for itself within 3 release date games not even including all the clearance games it applies to. From there I either build a cheap pc or find a new hobby that doesn't involve spending money. In the meantime it will be a a rush to finish all of the PS plus games to find which ones I want to buy with the nearly $50 of free PSN credit i've accumulated for when my sub runs out. The Cave was surprisingly good recently. Most of the others have been pretty crap though.

 
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I think Wombat meant to say he wants you to lick his taint, as in a chode from my understanding is a penis that is fatter than it is long. I could be incorrect, I'm no shipwreck.

 
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I played TR's multiplayer long enough to get all the easy to get Achievements.  It was decent, but I wish they had spent the time and money on designing some actual puzzles for the single player game.  It's a real shame that they totally abandoned that part of the franchises's heritage.

 
If Wombat wants to play a game where you do something and unlock NES games, I recommend getting out your Gamecube and play Animal Crossing. It has a lot of unlockable NES games.

Also here is what J.J. Abrams thought of Shipwreck's biggest disappointment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVXCjDFVBss

 
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They should really call them campaign packs or character packs. From my perspective I think of 3 different concepts when someone says "season." The 4 seasons of the year: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. A television season which can span anytime frame really now that cable shows start at random times during the year; but it usually has a defined starting episode and ending episode if not in narrative then at least in number, Usually lasts between 13 and and 22 episodes. The 3rd is a sports season, which has pre-season, the season, and then the post-season with playoff games.

In all of those concepts, the season has a defined start point and a defined end point and everything between those two points is considered a part of the season. This is why the "season" pass is a deceptive name to use for what has now just morphed into a pre-order for a DLC bundle pack. Calling it a "Value Pass"  would be more accurate, you are purchasing a selection of DLC for cheaper than it would be if you bought them individually. The Value pass could even give some other kind of PS+esque perk, a straight % off the purchase of any future released DLC not included in initial Value Pass bundle.

Side Effects was somewhat interesting until the swerve near the end, it reminds me of High Tension in that way. High Tension was a great movie for the first 90% of the film until the ending retroactively ruins the fabric of the entire movie with its preposterousness.

 
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The first Borderlands did not have a season pass. And I don't think there hasn't been a game with a season pass that hasn't had DLC on the side that wasn't included with the pass.

 
Trenchalicious said:
I think Wombat meant to say he wants you to lick his taint, as in a chode from my understanding is a penis that is fatter than it is long. I could be incorrect, I'm no shipwreck.
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Nope that's completely right, I came to say the exact same thing.

 
"You'e the best around" was played at the end of the show... thus keeping in CAG tradition, we must all watch this video.  (which was the first thing that popped into my head while the song was playing. 

  http://youtu.be/6-MlKJPz7_I 

 
Great show, as always.

Thoughts/observations/bitches/moans

- "Season Pass", "DLC bundle", "Super Pack"...it doesn't matter what they call it.  I've spent enough money over this generation to know it is barely worth it.  ESPECIALLY if 90% of the content is skins.

I get that DLC helps games not be 80 or 100 bucks.  And I'm willing to pay for good content.  Tracks, skins and maps are rarely that.

- Shame on Neversoft for taking advantage of Wombat's DC OCD.  Shame.

- Wombat, shame on you too since everyone knew they were going to nickel and dime us for every.  single.  skin.

- I disagree that the past year has been lackluster for games.  I think the bar has been raised higher by so many good games that it takes something really exceptional to shine.  And next gen shininess is making everyone forget the good stuff that has come out.

- Microsoft's pay for everything policies implemented with the XB1 are hand's down Worst Trend.  Nothing else even comes close.

 
Season passes:

My problem with season passes is the "season pass triple whammy".

The season pass triple whammy is this:

1. You don't know what you are going to get. You're being asked to pay based upon a description of what will come. Rarely is this description very descriptive. Usually it's something like a vague indication of some skins, some multiplayer content and one big piece of pre-planned DLC that was planned so far in advance it might as well be (and may be) on the disc. Beyond that, who knows?

Even if it specifies you get everything in a time period (a "season") you still don't know what will come out in that period.

2. They intentionally throw together a "grab bag" of stuff. Some single-player, some multi-player, some skins. By doing this they virtually guarantee that few people really want everything in the season pass. Let's face it, there's only room on the schedule for a few big multiplayer experiences in a year, and a lot of games which you might like to play single-player you just won't play multi-player at all (Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creeds).

Those two combine to produce an effect where you feel like you would need a decent discount to give you a reason to buy the season pass instead of just waiting to see what comes out and only buying the parts you want. And then the 3rd part of the triple whammy comes in:

3. They typically give a small discount, only 15-25%. The total price of the season pass is usually a large fraction of the price of just buying all the content separately.

So am I going to buy a $20 season pass semi-blind when the content is $12 of more missions I do want, $6 of more skins I don't want and $6 of multiplayer maps/missions I don't want? And I can't even be sure it won't be less content than that because that's just the promise, not the reality?

Hell no I'm not.

I'll just buy the $12 mission on its own after the reviews come out if it sounds worth it.

These companies really need to get wise. I hope Wombat's mission to reform DLC gains as much traction as his other campaigns about asswipe Live players treating him like shit (when he was player of the week) and the gory ads on the 360 home screen.

I also wish I had written this all last week, I just didn't get around to it.

 
Apparently, Borderlands 2 GOTY won't contain all of the content, so we can't do the waiting game anymore and still expect to get all of the content for the game.

thrifty1 said:
I've completely skipped all the games that got into the habit of doing Season passes at $30 after $60 launch. Borderlands 2, Batman Origins, Battlefield 4 etc. There are certain franchises you should know by now to wait for the game of the year version on the following black friday for $30-40 with ALL of the content. That said, when they spend 5 years making it, I'll buy the $150 version no problem.
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Good show but I am dissapointed that you guys did this show in December like everyone else. I like it better when you do it in januarary.
 
The problem with not having mirco transactions in these games are that it is either that or having $70 or more. We all know the cost of making AAA games are rising so of course it makes "sense" because otherwise we will have $70 or more games at launch. I'm still not sure how I feel about these mirco transactions in full retail games, but if the games are cheaper and the mirco transactions in the game are not stopping me from enjoying the game, then isn't that better?

 
Great Show CagCast and Happy Holidays!

It seems to me that publishers probably want/need to raise the price of games from $60 to $70 but I am pretty sure the internet would melt. They are moving to alternate ways to make money as I think they need to make more money.  Game developer costs are rising and there are more people out there that wait for free games on PS+, steam sales or for these games to be 1/2 retail price on Amazon.

We were paying $60 8+ years ago...this rise in alternative revenue collection is inevitable.

I mean I have been waiting for Metro LL to be under $9.99.   :whistle2:

 
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I cannot imagine what you guys want from games if 2013 was a down year. Might be time to find a new hobby, because this year had everything.

 
Ugh, Cheapy. That's the second time you've given a spoiler about Bioshock Infinite. (Well to be fair, I don't exactly remember if it was you the last time, but it was definitely on the CAGcast.) Not everyone has played it, and it's a huge title... come on...

I bought Tomb Raider during this past Steam Summer Sale and I have yet to play it. Does that make be a bad gamer?

Also about the AC running up walls thing - it's even worse in AC3 (and I assume 4) than it was in the past. In the games before AC3, you had to hold RT and A to begin climbing walls. In AC3, they made it so all you have to do is hold RT to begin climbing. And RT is also how you run. So running up walls you can't climb is a lot more common than it was in the earlier games.

 
(Short notes, as I don't want to spoil the 2013 picks)

CAG #349

5:45 Show Feedback
5:45 - Incomplete Season Pass
12:00 - Console sales figures are stupid
12:15 - Watch This: Side Effects
13:15 New Releases
13:15 - Minecraft PS3
14:15 - Walking Dead Season 2 Ep 1
15:45 - Pinball FX Dr Strange table (only PS)
17:45 - NES Remix
22:30 - BitTrip Runner 2, Terraria (Vita)
23:00 - Mark Ecko's Getting Up (pc)
23:45 - Ryse dlc
24:45 - Forza dlc
28:45 Top * of 2013
(Top 5 picks are scattered throughout)
35:00 Biggest Suprise
47:30 Biggest Disappointment
1:24:00 Best Trend
1:28:00 Random news stuff; Zelda Dynasty Warriors, Penny Arcade Diversity Cage
 
Jasper Kazai said:
Ugh, Cheapy. That's the second time you've given a spoiler about Bioshock Infinite. (Well to be fair, I don't exactly remember if it was you the last time, but it was definitely on the CAGcast.) Not everyone has played it, and it's a huge title... come on...
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The game came out months ago, spoiler embargo ended once summer came around so it's time you get to it.

I loved The Last of Us but I haven't been able to stop playing Battlefield 4 on my PS4, 64 players is awesome and sold my copy of CoD after only a week.

 
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Cheapy are you really going to wait for a next gen version of gtav to play the campaign. What if they don't make one and you miss out on one of the greatest video games ever made.
 
The argument against the "Season Pass" has always seem kind of lame to me.  The solution to the problem is simple just wait until you know exactly what is in the pass before you buy it.  If it means waiting six months before you buy the pass then just wait. 

I disagree with you guys on micro-transactions on retail games.  I generally do not care about them.  They are not a requirement, and give you an opportunity to skip some grinding.  BTW, grinding in a game has been apart of gaming for decades.  I just do not see what is so wrong with offering people a chance to skip the grind if you want to.  Mass Effect 3 had the same thing and nothing forced me to buy them.  I could get the same content for just playing the game. 

2014 was a down year for gaming for me.  There was not a lot of games I wanted to buy. 

 
actripxl said:
The game came out months ago, spoiler embargo ended once summer came around so it's time you get to it.
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Oh yeah, my bad. I forgot that was in the International Statute of Spoilers. There is no set time frame for spoilers. I usually don't get to games until a year+ after they're released. It honestly should just be common courtesy to never spoil anything, at least not without a small warning. But I guess that's just my opinion.

 
I don't think improved manufacturing techniques are the biggest reason that yields have increased for new consoles vs the old consoles.  If a product is difficult to manufacture or if the parts and sub-assemblies aren't being delivered in the quantities needed, then product will come out in a slow trickle regardless of who is building the final product.  Both consoles were designed to be close in structure to a PC, so it is likely that the designers were able to use more of the shelf components (especially in the case of the PS4 vs the PS3).  In the end I think the increased yield is more of a triumph for the designers and commodities teams than just giving all the credit to China.

 
I completely agree with Wombat on Injustice. I bought it primarily for the DC content/Batman Quotient, as fighting games usually don't do a whole lot for me. But similar to Forza 5, everything surrounding the main game left a bad taste in my mouth- multiple pre-order bonuses, several fairly expensive skin packs, Scorpion in the season pass, making some skins like the Arrow (TV show) skin really difficult/confusing to get... And then of course, a complete edition is released, leaving people who bought the game little chance to reasonably get all this DLC without re-buying the game.

I realize it's just a bunch of little things, and as Shipwreck said, there's still a lot of game there to enjoy, but it really sours me on the entire game at the end of the day. I have to imagine that a few people who bought both the game and season pass at release were probably disappointed as well. And next time NetherRealm releases a game I'm interested in, I'll likely wait a few months for the probable Complete/GOTY edition to be announced.

Good show guys, and happy holidays.

 
Jasper Kazai said:
Oh yeah, my bad. I forgot that was in the International Statute of Spoilers. There is no set time frame for spoilers. I usually don't get to games until a year+ after they're released. It honestly should just be common courtesy to never spoil anything, at least not without a small warning. But I guess that's just my opinion.
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I never like when people say a spoiler about something without any warning even if I know what happens already. If you haven't seen the sixth sense it's already been ruined for you and that is a shame.

 
Hey Guys,

I have an opinion on "season passes". I agree that the term is misleading and at this point what the consumer expects to receive and what the developer/publisher expects to include is different. Here's my solution:

I don't think the developer should have to include "cosmetic" dlc in the pass. By cosmetic I mean any dlc that doesn't add major gameplay content to the game (just skins, extra vehicles, clothing, etc.). I enjoy this stuff just as much as anyone else but it isn't necessary and allows the developer to make a little extra cash. What I do have a problem with is if the developer doesn't include all "gameplay" content released. This is what I believe the intended purpose of a season pass was for. If enough people invested in the season pass it would ensure that additional content would be released. That being said they should have sales or bundles for "cosmetic" DLC

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Jasper Kazai said:
Oh yeah, my bad. I forgot that was in the International Statute of Spoilers. There is no set time frame for spoilers. I usually don't get to games until a year+ after they're released. It honestly should just be common courtesy to never spoil anything, at least not without a small warning. But I guess that's just my opinion.
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While I get where you are coming from, no one wants to listen to a show where every game/movie/tv show is tap danced around because of "spoilers"*. People want to hear these moments discussed in detail.

CAGcast is pretty good about not spoiling anything for the first few months, that's good enough for the majority.

* quoted because to me there is a difference between a real spoiler (i.e. "I am your father"), and just random moments in games. Bioshock Infinite's twist of [redacted] had nothing on the level of the first game when you find out [redacted].

 
Just to echo what everyone else said, the problem with Season Passes is simply the term "Season Pass".  To the general public, "Season Pass" means that "I get everything."  You don't buy a season pass to Disney Land and then expect to be told, "You can ride everything except Space Mountain, Dumbo and the Teacups".

Change the terminology and the conflict and confusion disappears.

 
Thomas96 said:
"You'e the best around" was played at the end of the show... thus keeping in CAG tradition, we must all watch this video. (which was the first thing that popped into my head while the song was playing.

http://youtu.be/6-MlKJPz7_I
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While we're on the topic of old Cheapy D videos, does anyone remember that video that was edited to make it sound like Cheapy D and Wombat were a gay couple? I think it was fan-made for some contest entry.

Anyway, I can't seem to find it and thought maybe someone else would know what I'm talking about.

 
For all of the complaints about games that do Season Passes wrong, you guys should also give props to those that do it right like Telltale's episodic series and Pinball Arcade, the latter of which is going to be starting its third season of tables soon.

Minecraft is only on PS3 right now because they focused on the version for that other console that has a much larger install base than the remaining platforms that are coming next year. They're not that big of a team to be able to release the PS3, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One versions at the same time, so it'll take some time for the rest to be released.

I'm surprised that you guys could barely find five games that you sort of enjoyed this year. Cheapy shouldn't worry about whether the games on his list would be good recommendations to other people or not. If you enjoyed NHL 14 that much, it deserves a spot on the list.

NBA 2K14 is absolutely infested with the free-to-play-style currency BS in the same way as NBA 2K13. You earn this VC currency from playing any mode that is the main way that you pay for everything in the game, but that also means that you have one pool of VC for every mode. You could easily spend all of it in one mode and then have much less to work with in another mode to encourage paying for it or grinding for it. I've played NBA 2K11, 13, and 14 and the career mode upgrades have been much slower in 2K13 and 2K14 since it has to ping their servers to alter the amount of VC on my account. Then again, my major issue with NBA 2K14 on PS4/Xbox One is the forced story in the career mode that puts scripted moments in there that turned me off faster than the currency ever could.

 
spid said:
The argument against the "Season Pass" has always seem kind of lame to me. The solution to the problem is simple just wait until you know exactly what is in the pass before you buy it. If it means waiting six months before you buy the pass then just wait.

I disagree with you guys on micro-transactions on retail games. I generally do not care about them. They are not a requirement, and give you an opportunity to skip some grinding. BTW, grinding in a game has been apart of gaming for decades. I just do not see what is so wrong with offering people a chance to skip the grind if you want to. Mass Effect 3 had the same thing and nothing forced me to buy them. I could get the same content for just playing the game.
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The problem is when developers/publishers/whoever take a game without excessive grinding and introduce excessive grinding just to try to get people to pay to skip it.

 
Is anyone else pissed that MS didn't go with their original plan for DRM? I was really disappointed when they announced they were going to change it. I only have 3 games for my Xbox One but every time I have to change the disc I am reminded of how nice it would have been to not have to do that. I know selling games would have been different but I think the trade-off was worth it, especially for CAGs, who rarely pay full price for games and when they do it's because they really want to play the game and the price is worth it. Most games nowadays have sales, GCs or other promos on or around launch anyways. Maybe this would also force companies to price their games differently or come up with new incentives to buy a game at full price. We all know that only a small percentage of games should be priced at $60.   

 
eliter1 said:
Is anyone else pissed that MS didn't go with their original plan for DRM? I was really disappointed when they announced they were going to change it. I only have 3 games for my Xbox One but every time I have to change the disc I am reminded of how nice it would have been to not have to do that. I know selling games would have been different but I think the trade-off was worth it, especially for CAGs, who rarely pay full price for games and when they do it's because they really want to play the game and the price is worth it. Most games nowadays have sales, GCs or other promos on or around launch anyways. Maybe this would also force companies to price their games differently or come up with new incentives to buy a game at full price. We all know that only a small percentage of games should be priced at $60.
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I kind of liked the idea of "Steam-esque" sales and sharing games with a family/friends group. But I think their vision didn't appeal to the lowest common denominator of gamers. The biggest thing for me though was the difficulty with reselling games, which is a huge factor for a lot of people here.

 
The season pass thing is terrible.  If customers would just quit buying them in mass the vendors would quit offering them. 

 
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