207: The Glory of the Last Stand

[The Random One]

Not the last stand, really, but for me, enjoying the ride is way more important than winning. I'd rather lose with style than win with ease any day.

It reminds me of a poster on the TimeSplitters 2 message board, asking for tips to complete the game on 'hard'... TS2 is maddeningly hard on hard mode, when compared to other games of its generation. Its normal mode would be equivalent to hard in most games, and the hard mode was definitively oldschool. (It took me a month to finish a certain level. Nowadays, I have much less time to play, and usually finish four games back-to-back in the same time.)

I can't stand the Last Stand. No hope of winning is really depressing. If I can't win, then what's the point? Sure, there's the challenge of trying a game on hard, but if you can't beat it, you'll never get the whole experince of the game.

Also, there's something to be said for being the unstopable superhuman on the easier difficulties. Just to unwind, and not haveing to think or be frustrated.

That goes to show that people want different things when gaming. Me, I play to experience everything the game has, so I'll usually play on a lower difficulty so I can be done with it more quickly. Only if I really like the game I switch it up.

 

[Irandrura]

I recall my most memorable game of StarCraft was a last stand.

It was actually a UMS game; the map was Babylon 5: Shadow Wars. I was the Earth Alliance, but unfortunately the Shadow and Centauri players dropped out early, leaving me, on my own, facing the Rebels, Minbari, Narn, and LNAW. All at once.

And then... I did this. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCgx-QpkLpE&feature=related]

I lost, yes, but it was a magnificent defeat. I think it's the best I've ever played in an RTS; I used every ounce of skill at my disposal, knowing I had nothing to lose, and dealt the other players some fairly heavy blows. More than once they sent in forces to finish me off once and for all, and I pulled out a last-ditch defence and destroyed their entire fleets. It turned what might have been a boring, unbalanced scenario, into something awesome. I wasn't fighting to win. I was fighting to earn the respect of the other players. And I won.

 

[Fugue]

I don't know how others feel about this, but nothing aggravates me more than watching someone play in an overly cautious manner. I don't vocalise it, but when we're passing the controller around, I don't want to watch someone become embroiled in a 5 minute long skirmish against a handful of opponents, all popping in and out of cover whittling them down. I know it's how some people like to play... But where's the fighting spirit?

I am comfortable admitting that often I will die in excess of 2 dozen times in a set piece against a measly 8 or so opponents. But damnit, when I win, I've nailed 2 with an excellently placed grenade, blasted another 2 with a shotgun from close range, dumped the shottie for one of their assault rifles and emptied most of the clip into a single guy, clipped another in the head and then finished the last one with a melee attack. And it was all over in about 20 seconds.

And when I die, it's not frustrating. I KNOW I'm being silly. Cutting through enemy lines to kill the guy with the grenade launcher, just so I can pick it up and use it right then and there on a few single enemies, rather than carefully taking everyone out and having that grenade launcher going into the next battle. But damn it all if that ain't the way to play.

It's not just the Last Stand. It's the challenge, and rising to it. If it's a cakewalk, it'll never get the blood flowing.

 

[Grayl]

The Half-life 1 mod Natural Selection had lots and lots of last stands. People who played NS will know what I mean; your secret assault on their second hive failed, and a lone rambo reports a third hive going up. You only have 3 RTs left, and the commander tells you that two of them are under attack. You know what's coming; lame up the base and prepare for assault.

The best part about NS was when you managed to come back from the mental onslaught of fully upgraded aliens, and make a Heavy Armour dash into one of their hives and grab a small base there. If you ultimately win, it's a victory well earned, and I always left the game after those games with the biggest sense of accomplishment I've ever felt in ANY game.

And it was a free mod, too! Can't wait for NS2!

 

[JayDig]

Last stands are epic and all but I don't really care much for the 'surival' type of game modes that seem to be popular. L4D survival, GoW horde and CoD:WaW zombies all bore me.
I like co-op a lot but I need a sense of progress or purpose to be entertained, and a stopwatch or killcount doesn't do it for me.

 

[henrius]

Fuckin a

 

[HellbentCrusade]

I liked Helm's deep. That was an awesome last stand, even though they won. Last stands are always better when the heroes die. Examples: Scarface and 300. Amazing movies that had great endings because they weren't happy go lucky. Can't forget saving private ryan too.

 

[duchaked]

I liked Helm's deep. That was an awesome last stand, even though they won. Last stands are always better when the heroes die. Examples: Scarface and 300. Amazing movies that had great endings because they weren't happy go lucky. Can't forget saving private ryan too.

I totally agree.

As for gaming, it really depends on my mood. If I'm playing to relax then it's just frustrating...but when I'm thinking clearly and just wanting to have some fun (generally when playing with friends, no co-op changes my gaming style/mood a lot) it can be thrilling win or lose xD

 

[PodX140]

Now, all I can respond to this is "Serious Sam".

Final Level, Of any stage, will pit you against-no lie- Thousands of enemies. And every time it comes down to that last shot, that last health pack, and you start to question whether you actually can make it. And if you win or lose, you have the time of your life.

I can't describe this more than in the last level, of the xbox version of serious sam, it gives you a massive, maybe one kilometer squared area and a small fort in the middle. And then, as soon as you admire the beautiful cathedral in front of you, and the amazing suns rays shining in the sky, it starts. It is amazingly subtle, starting with small waves from one side, and the sky darkens ever so slightly. Then another side of weak enemies appears, and those rays dissapear.

All of a sudden, the sky tuns black, lightning flashes, and behold. Enemies pouring from all sides, of all sizes and difficulties. And you always think "well... Shit. I'm boned." But then, when you are at the wall, enemies swarming and you cant move, surviving only on the super health respawn, the enemies let up. You get relived, and the sky shows those amazing rays. you seem to kill the last enemy. You start moving towards the newly opened doors that must lead to the final boss. Then, when you almost get through they shut. And it all starts over again, with even more difficulty.

I have to say, this was THE defining game and moment of my childhood, and of my entire gaming life. of any game that has come out, I can guarantee that Serious Sam is better, and when it comes to last stands, it wrote the book on them.

*On a side note, this game is even better with 4 player co-op. The last level goes from epic one man stand to biblical survivor madness, as the game does compensate for more players with more enemies.

 

[ad5x5]

tut tut - how can you even mention Last Stands and Great Britain in the same sentence without reference to Rourke's Drift?

I, sir, am disappointed.

-A

 

[Beery]

The charge of the light brigade was not a 'last stand'. It was a charge, and some of the participants survived. The most famous British 'lost cause' last stand was (arguably) at Isandhlwana, which took place at the same time as the defence of Rorke's Drift.

I do agree with the article though - 'lost cause' type last stands are a lot of fun. I love playing Left 4 Dead with a team that is not quite up to the level we've decided to attempt, or Rome: Total War when my general is surrounded by a much larger force and defeat is inevitable. It's just so much fun to make the enemy's victory costly.

 

[OurGloriousLeader]

shite hahaha

 

[The Dark Canuck]

Sorry, but the UK ruled the largest empire in Human history? What are you smoking? Ottoman Empire or Alexander the "Great" possesed a greater empire than the UK.

2/3 of the world belonged for 500 years to the Ottoman Empire. This was alone enough to stop reading the article. Good day to you sir

Um, sorry Straying Bullet, but no. From Wikipedia:
By Area
Size of Ottoman Empire (1595): 19.9 million square km. (#5 overall)
Size of Alexander's Empire (323 BC): 5.2 million square km (#24 overall)
Size of British Empire (1923): 33.7 million square km. (#1 overall)
None of those are 2/3 of the world, either. Furthermore, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica are 43.6% of the total land mass on Earth, and the Ottomans never held any part of any of those.
The only way I can make sense of your 2/3 figure is "2/3 of the known world." The "known world" became a heck of a lot bigger by the time of the British Empire.

(Sources:
Empires by Size: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires
Continents: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent#Area_and_population
)

 

[nonroker]

tldr: He sucks at starcraft 2.

 

[nonroker]

tldr: He sucks at starcraft 2.