Games for 2009... And BEYOND!

[vanarbulax]

Soo.. Mass Effect 3, Portal 2, Elder Scrolls V, new IP... lol j/k no new IP for you.

That being said, those are all sequels I desperately want.

[Cooper42]

It's like Legos.

Legos but with zombie pigmen who attack you while you're building stuff?

In Minecraft you can explore, build and/or fight. It's essentially the ultimate sandbox, meaning the game won't entertain you, you'll entertain yourself with the game.

In other words, it's a game where you can make your own fun If you don't know how to do that you won't like Minecraft, if you do then the game gives you the tools.

I'm quite alright with making my own fun - it's the other stuff that gets me. Like the above-mentioned zombie pigmen, other "mobs" and other features which are essentially arbitrary restrictions to my creativity. The "ultimate sandbox" doesn't need these things - these things are for people who can't make their own fun and need a little nudging in the right direction.

It confuses me, is all.

Because without those arbitrary restrictions, we'd have Second Life... Or the Hammer Editor, or the UDK...

The scope for creativity in Second Life far outstretches Minecraft, yet it has no where near the number of players, nor the noise around it.

There's a reason people love pixel art and chiptune music. Sometimes, often even, it's just nostalgia. For others, there is something about creativity when confined within arbitrary restrictions (i.e: the graphical and audio capabilities of the Gameboy) that makes it more impressive. Same goes for Minecraft.

The arbitrary restrictions (which includes the world being made of 1 metre blocks) adds an aspect to the creativity other virtual-world creators do not have.

[shinygerbil]

I'm fine with those sorts of restrictions. It's the unnecessary effort to try and turn it into a game, with hit points and enemies and useless inventory items, that I dislike.

[Xocrates]

I'm fine with those sorts of restrictions. It's the unnecessary effort to try and turn it into a game, with hit points and enemies and useless inventory items, that I dislike.

Except that there are people who like the game because of those restrictions or don't see them as restriction at all. There are plenty of people that enjoy minecraft as a survival game as opposed to a construction sandbox. And those who don't can simply turn that aspect off.

The game is popular because it's versatile. It not supporting only the aspect you want (but it does support it) is not a failing of the game.

[RabidZombie]

I personally like Minecraft as a survival game more than a sandbox for my creativity. I want it to be more of a rouge-like than a box of lego.

If you want to play Minecraft as a sandbox with no restrictions, I would recommend checking out creative.

[microchip08]

http://www.humblebundle.com/

The YouTube video looks quite good. I came across it via a recommendation from C418. I think it's interesting that Windows users only pay ~£3, whereas Linux users pay double that.

I'm planning to buy once PayPal sorts itself out again. Not sure how much I should pay for it, and splitting between EFF and the devs is going to be hard.

EDIT: Thinking about it, this has probably been posted before; but this is a new pack with different games on it. There's a week until it expires, and, if I read it correctly, you get Steam keys thrown in too. Oh, and Notch tweeted about it as well.

[Feud]

Is Metro 2033 any good? IT looks like fun, and it tis' on sale...

[vanarbulax]

Okay I official conclude that 2011 is the most promising year for gaming yet. That's not to say everything on here is going to come out, it may turn into delay central. But dayum, regardless.

My "to watch" list currently stand thus, and the year hasn't even begun.

AAA titles:
LittleBigPlanet 2 -January 18
Portal 2 -February 9
Deus Ex 3 – March 8
Shogun 2 – March 15
Brink – April 12
Uncharted 3 -November 1
Elder Scrolls V -November 11
Mass Effect 3 – Holiday season
Project Dark -2011
The Last Guardian – Q4 2011


Indie games:
Stacking -2011
Journey - 2011
Rock of Ages - Spring 2011
Cargo – Q1 2011
The Witness - 2011
From Dust - 2011
Subversion – 2011 (?)


Things other people are interested in and I should check out/ have interesting components:
The Witcher 2 - May 17 2011
L. A. Noire - Q1/Q2 2011
Catherine - 2011 (?) (JP Feb 17th release)
Arkham City - Q3 2011
Ninokuni PS3 - 2011 (JP 2011 release)
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron - 2011 (?) (JP spring 2011 release)

[Xocrates]

Portal 2 -February 9

Psst...! Portal 2 was delayed to April 18

[Jordy...]

Let me add a few:

Indie

- Monaco
- Skull of the Shogun


AAA

- Diablo 3 (most likely)

[xyzyxx]

Portal 2 -February 9

Psst...! Portal 2 was delayed to April 18

WHY ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT THAT

[Cooper42]

Skyrim Effect
[youtube]li5aDU9280c&hl[/youtube]

[Xocrates]

It appears the Steam Christmas sale is abut to start. Plenty of stuff on discount already.

EDIT: From what I've seen so far (site is crawling right now) I would recommend The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom for 0.39€ and Super Meat Boy for 3.50€ (Given that the game came out slightly over 2 weeks ago, I feel a bit cheated )

[Feud]

Good news: I got Bad Company 2, and I'm having tons of fun with it.

Bad news: It goes on 66% off sale two days after I bought it.

Moderating news: I price I originally bought it for is the current sale price for Europeans.

[Xocrates]

In somewhat related news, I notice the Oddboxx (i.e. all the Oddworld games) are going to be released on Steam today as well.

EDIT:

Moderating news: I price I originally bought it for is the current sale price for Europeans.

I also just found out that the UK price is around 4€ cheaper