Stolen Pixels #241: The Gaming Afterlife

[kozmo]

Brilliant

 

[ZodiacBraves]

also, would you rather not have any choice? I'm fine with picking an option out of three to six, but with bioware, people complain if their games aren't plated with diamond studded platinum casing. Why do we hold them to a much higher standard than everyone else?

First off, I love Bioware games and I am not coming here to bash them.

I loved ME, but my biggest problem with the ME dialogue was the moral choice system. In my first play through there were times that I felt a choice I made shouldn't given me renegade or paragon points. I think this point is well illustrated by Shamus' response in this forum.

-snip-
Great comic all around Shamus! (I myself would have gone with "only a little" to the ball-punching question, though.)

Renegade!

I am not complaining about Mass Effect overall. It is one of my favorite games, and is definitely one of my favorite stories.

 

[MarsProbe]

here, I diffuse all of your arguments.

Spoiler

If you choose to let the queen live, you DO inform the council and let them deal with it, unless you somehow missed that cutscene that happens almost immediately after, you work for cerberus because it was a splinter group that tested the thresher maws, a splinter group that was destroyed in ME 1, This one is your personal opinion, just make up your own reason, and lastly, what undeniable proof? They believe Sovereign to be a geth warship, seeing people turn into something similar in appearance to geth doesn't help your case, and a geth vouching for you makes you look bad.

And my rebuttle.

Spoiler

Both options for letting the queen live involve you releasing her into the wild. You can't just leave her in the cage, then contact the council. You have to release her, or kill her. There are options between "release a potentially dangerous alien into the wild" and "kill potentially dangerous alien, causing genocide of an entire race". You contact the council after you release/exterminate it. I'd have chosen to leave it in its cage, then contact the council. A perfectly logical option that you do not have for some reason.

Even if it was a splinter group, why couldn't I at least talk about it with the Illusive Man. This is the reason my Shepard is what he is, the reason he makes the choices he makes, the single most defining moment of his life. There should at least me an option to talk about the event which turned Shepard into either an asshole or an unwavering hero.

And about the Reaper proof, you find reaper artifacts on many other worlds, Sovereign was far more advanced then anything the Geth have, and the Geth even state he's a Reaper. And that brings up another point. You'd think they would want to question or interview the Geth, and here you are with a prime candidate for that, and all they do is just pass it off with one sentence? The fuck is with that? I guess they're cool with having a Geth, and the Geth attacked the Citidel remember, just walking around with you.

also, would you rather not have any choice? I'm fine with picking an option out of three to six, but with bioware, people complain if their games aren't plated with diamond studded platinum casing. Why do we hold them to a much higher standard than everyone else?

All we want are more choices other then pure black/white choices. And choices that aren't the same choice but phrased differently, thats just the illusion of choice.

Spoiler tag - possibly - inserted correctly. Anyway, as for the whole Cerberus/thresher maw thing:

Spoiler

I think the fact may have been that the Illusive Man may well have not known about the activities of the splinter group. Given that Cerberus is made up of a lot of groups that operate more or less on their own, it may not have been uncommon for certain actions to go unnoticed by those further up the Cerberus heirarchy. Plus, when you take the trip to Pragia for Jack's loyalty mission, it's clear that even there, the Illusive Man is being kept in the dark at what was going on at that facility. You know, now that I think about, maybe the Illusive Man ought to keep better tabs on what goes on in his shadowy organisation

Anyway, neat comic, though as a personal matter of preference, I'd prefer it if Pixar branched out and did the cutscenes. Square Enix can remain in purgatory. Also, this may be nitpicking, if Bioware are working on the dialogue, then wouldn't that also encompass the dialogue for the cutscenes? In that way everyone would win. In heaven, you wouldn't get whiny girlyboys (and girls) wailing about their brutal, unfair life and in hell...well, actually, maybe we just let Capcom do the cutscene dialogue there anyway...

Edit: got my own spoiler tags wrong. Such irony.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

I think Blizzard makes better cinematics Anyhow, very good comic

 

[CosmicCommander]

Obsidian write good stories? News to me.

Then again KotOR II pretty much raped my childhood, so I'm obviously biased. I thought Fallout 3's story was far better than New Vegas's; but New Vegas had the more content and game-play improvements.

And am I the only one who thinks all of the characters Obsidian makes are confusing, uninteresting, or unlike-able?

God, I think I need to get round to punching Chris Avellone in his face.

 

[Irridium]

Spoiler

I think the fact may have been that the Illusive Man may well have not known about the activities of the splinter group. Given that Cerberus is made up of a lot of groups that operate more or less on their own, it may not have been uncommon for certain actions to go unnoticed by those further up the Cerberus heirarchy. Plus, when you take the trip to Pragia for Jack's loyalty mission, it's clear that even there, the Illusive Man is being kept in the dark at what was going on at that facility. You know, now that I think about, maybe the Illusive Man ought to keep better tabs on what goes on in his shadowy organisation

Spoiler

But that contradicts what EDI says. She states that the Illusive Man doesn't have much groups active at one time, because he likes to be personally involved with each one's work. He basically gets involved because he doesn't want them going rougle, or splintering off, or whathaveyou.

 

[Irridium]

Obsidian write good stories? News to me.

Then again KotOR II pretty much raped my childhood, so I'm obviously biased. I thought Fallout 3's story was far better than New Vegas's; but New Vegas had the more content and game-play improvements.

And am I the only one who thinks all of the characters Obsidian makes are confusing, uninteresting, or unlike-able?

God, I think I need to get round to punching Chris Avellone in his face.

And I disagree. They're stories have all been great. With the exception of certain games endings...

KOTOR 2 had a great first and middle sections, bringing much more "greyness" to the series. And I also liked the characters, which were just different from the characters we're used to seeing all the time. I suppose it could push some people away though.

Alpha Protocol is one of the few games where your decisions actually influence the overall story. And the story itself is rather good.

New Vegas I can't really comment on yet, since I haven't played it. But I hated Fallout 3's story. I had to do the main quest in small sections, because if I did a good amount at once I would end up just quitting over the stupidity of it.

 

[CosmicCommander]

KOTOR 2 had a great first and middle sections, bringing much more "greyness" to the series. And I also liked the characters, which were just different from the characters we're used to seeing all the time. I suppose it could push some people away though.

The thing about KotOR II is this; it's Star Wars. Star Wars, the franchise that's all about black and whites, good and evil. Since it's inception, it's been about conflict between light and dark. KotOR II just through that concept into the bin. Kreia, supposadly the best character in the game (to many, anyway) was annoying, confusing, and unlike-able; I found her character boiled down to "RARGH... I AM A CYNICAL OLD HAG WHO HATES ALL WHO DISAGREE WITH MY CODE OF CONDUCT!". All the other characters I found unlike-able or confusing.

I even have the restoration mod installed, and managed to get a coherent ending- and I still dislike it. Maybe if it didn't mess with what Revan did after the war... And just cut all ties with KotOR, and called itself another name... I wouldn't be so angry at it.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Alpha Protocol is one of the few games where your decisions actually influence the overall story. And the story itself is rather good.

I never really played Alpha Protocol, so I won't comment on it.

I hated Fallout 3's story. I had to do the main quest in small sections, because if I did a good amount at once I would end up just quitting over the stupidity of it.

I thought it made perfect sense. It was very serious, intelligent, and well-planned.

Again, subjectivity comes into play... I suppose.

 

[capt.fodder]

I've never commented on this comic before (even though I read it every week), but man, freakin' hilarious.

 

[Makeshift Koala]

AHAHAHA Oh my god. The Capcom hell is absolutely brilliant.

 

[Wildcard5]

This is one of the best comics I have come across in some time.

 

[Irridium]

KOTOR 2 had a great first and middle sections, bringing much more "greyness" to the series. And I also liked the characters, which were just different from the characters we're used to seeing all the time. I suppose it could push some people away though.

The thing about KotOR II is this; it's Star Wars. Star Wars, the franchise that's all about black and whites, good and evil. Since it's inception, it's been about conflict between light and dark. KotOR II just through that concept into the bin. Kreia, supposadly the best character in the game (to many, anyway) was annoying, confusing, and unlike-able; I found her character boiled down to "RARGH... I AM A CYNICAL OLD HAG WHO HATES ALL WHO DISAGREE WITH MY CODE OF CONDUCT!". All the other characters I found unlike-able or confusing.

I even have the restoration mod installed, and managed to get a coherent ending- and I still dislike it. Maybe if it didn't mess with what Revan did after the war... And just cut all ties with KotOR, and called itself another name... I wouldn't be so angry at it.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Alpha Protocol is one of the few games where your decisions actually influence the overall story. And the story itself is rather good.

I never really played Alpha Protocol, so I won't comment on it.

I hated Fallout 3's story. I had to do the main quest in small sections, because if I did a good amount at once I would end up just quitting over the stupidity of it.

I thought it made perfect sense. It was very serious, intelligent, and well-planned.

Again, subjectivity comes into play... I suppose.

KOTOR 2 was a different take on the whole Star Wars story. I for one liked it, as it was different, but I guess it can put people off.

And Kreia was a great character. She didn't care what path you chose, so long as you committed to it. She was there to make you second-guess yourself, to make you really think about what you chose. Thats what I took away from it anyway.

And here's my problem with Fallout 3's plot:

Spoiler

Your father wants to destroy the one piece of technology that could turn the wasteland into a paradise. All in the name of bringing fresh water to the few-hundred people who are still alive. Its just stupid, especially considering they were making progress with the same thing in Rivet City, which your father could have really helped if he didn't pull all the scientists away to work on a project that was abandoned many years ago. A project that was plagued with problems. And this is to say nothing of the water purifier in Megaton, which after a bit of fixing up could have easily served as a great fresh water source.

But if you enjoyed it, good on you. I didn't. I felt it tried to take itself too seriously, and flopped. The Fallout games were never about being very serious, they're steeped in dark humor, and Fallout 3 tried to get away from it, and I felt it suffered because of that. What I did enjoy were the environmental set-pieces. The places that tell a story through the surrounding area. I remember walking along in DC, coming across one of those preservation shelters and outside was a skeleton which looked to be trying to enter it, and inside was a mannequin, some alcohol, and some lingerie. Those were really well done.

And I just want to stress, I liked Fallout 3. It was a good game, it just wasn't a good Fallout game.

 

[CosmicCommander]

KOTOR 2 was a different take on the whole Star Wars story. I for one liked it, as it was different, but I guess it can put people off.

Yeah, it's all relative to the player, in the end.

And here's my problem with Fallout 3's plot....

Plot holes really grind some people's gears, others they don't.

 

[Irridium]

KOTOR 2 was a different take on the whole Star Wars story. I for one liked it, as it was different, but I guess it can put people off.

Yeah, it's all relative to the player, in the end.

And here's my problem with Fallout 3's plot....

Plot holes really grind some people's gears, others they don't.

True enough.

For me, I tend to give games that don't try to take themselves seriously a bit of a pass. They're just trying to be fun, so no big deal if the story isn't all that good.

But if a game tries to sell itself on how great its story is, thats when I look through everything with a damn magnifying glass.

Ah well, to each his own I guess.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The belly-laugh this comic caused was well-earned. Well-played, Mr. Young. Well-played indeed.

Also, which option is the Paragon choice?

The bottom one, of course. Renegade Shepherd welcomes punches to his junk.

THEY FUEL HIS RAGE.

 

[Vetinarii]

Being an Italian, and having travelled my share of Europe, I can assure you Shamus that all the stereotypes are true

..Even the french lovers?

Er... Actually, that's the only one I haven't confirmed yet
But british cuisine is indeed quite bad, and it's definitely true that us Italians are tossers.

You don't like Meat Pies? Cornish Pasties? Haggis? Scotch Egg? Fish and Chips? Yorkshire pudding? Sunday Roast? Eel Pie? Steak and Kidney Pie? Really bad Curry?

Oh yeah I see what you mean.

And especially the french lovers...

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

But you forget: in heaven, Bungie makes music and community interaction.

 

[TheJwalkR]

Very clever comic, great job.

 

[Sucal]

You forgot that in hell, they are Marketed by Peter Molyneux