Guaranteed buy!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: TheBossI really don't get DLC hate. It's how developers are able to keep games going for so long. Most games have DLC now and the GOTY edition is cheap.

Agreed.
DLC, if done right, can keep a game alive for years and add fresh experiences and content. I see the point when too much of a good thing can become bad (I am looking at you, Paradox!), but a well compiled DLC pack every now and then is something I actually welcome. Same goes for microtransactions. Per se, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. They become a problem if purchasing in-game items is necessary to even reasonably play the game and/or if the game intentionally ships with crippled content that elbows people into purchasing stuff that really should have been a part of the base game. It's again a question of execution. I guess with a lot of ill will you can turn any legit business model into a cash grab. It's up to us as customers to weed out studios applying evil business methods and bankrupt them by not buying their products. *shrug*

I also have a question, since we're at it - can this game played in 3rd person view or is it 1st person only? I am not interested in the latter, so... :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Good to see another heavyweight title coming to Linux. The more, the merrier.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Mountain ManBut I can guarantee you that the politically correct hooligans would find some reason or other to be offended by it, even if that reason didn't make a lick of sense (which most political correctness doesn't).

For someone who claims not to care about the issue you're remarkably emotional about it. In all quite honesty - in my experience, if someone takes shots at "political correctness hooligans", it's almost 100% of the time coming from a member of the majority group who is actually -happy- with the status quo. I remember when some female gamers pointed out the (factual truth) that females are both underrepresented in games and subject to harassment in online games, the people who stood up and took shots at them in similar ways you just did were pretty much all...guys, obviously happy with how things are.

You claim not to care about whether every single character in a game is representing a race other than your own. At the same time it's obvious that members of minority groups take issue about them not being represented. So if change would make them happier while not making you any unhappier (that's what you claim!), it's actually the most logical course of action to implement that choice, no? So isn't taking shots at a group for wishing for something you allegedly have no stake in just a case of applied hypocrisy? Just curious.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Mountain Man

Quoting: Pozzuoli

Quoting: Mountain ManWho really cares if all the sprites in the game have tan colored faces?

People that aren't white?

But why? What does it matter? Other than to someone who is intellectually crippled by political correctness.

Well, I am white, but as a female player I can tell you that the complete negligence of female characters in any role other than damsel in distress throughout the history of gaming did and still does irritate me. I can only assume that coloured people feel the same when playing games exclusively populated by whites. This is less about political correctness (although that's of course a factor as well) and more about relatability. If I have to play a game where females just don't exist, I can't get immersed in that game. Or if I have to play a guy character in pretty much every single game featuring premade characters. It does trigger a "the gaming industry doesn't care about me" feeling in me, to the degree that as long as we're not getting a bit more represented, I more or less refuse to buy games with a premade male character, no matter how good they are.

To be honest, it can't be THAT much asked for to a bit racial (or gender) diversity to your games. It doesn't cost much to paint a few sprites back and a few yellow, but it gives people a feeling that they are actually welcome as customers. I wish race and gender wouldn't be needed to be discussed. Tbh, game devs should really just roll dice and assign a character's race and gender randomly whenever they make one. Because it really shouldn't matter what race or gender you are. But as long as 99% of all characters used in their products automatically default to "white male", I am afraid that the issue won't die.

In that dev's defence - his name sounds Eastern European, but diversity and representation is largely a North American hot topic. I don't think he meant any ill will by making his game white-only. Eastern Europe is so predominately white that it probably just didn't occur to him to add a black guy and an Asian girl to the game. But yes, in all honesty, I feel that if you are going to sell a game globally, some awareness about the issue can't hurt, even if it's not a topic in your home region. I actually liked the interviewer asking the question and wish it would get asked again if needed. *shrug*

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I played this game in Windows (it was one of the last ones I made an exception for not having Linux support to date) and loved it. I used to play a lot of adventures in the (g)olden days of games like Indiana Jones and Police Quest. But the genre mostly lost me when it largely moved to achieve difficulty by designing obscure and counterintuitive puzzles that don't make you open a door by looking for a key, but doing stuff like using a branch and duct tape to create a fishing rod, using that to fish a salmon which you place in front of the door to attract a grizzly bear to charge in and break through the door. When adventures started to become basically unplayable without walkthroughs or methodically testing every possible irrational combination of steps, I moved on, because I don't want to tackle puzzles defying logic and reason.

And then came Life is Strange, which is nothing like that. It's a almost classic approach to adventures, where you can figure out the puzzles by applying logic and common sense and just doing what you would do in the character's place. On top of that, the story is compelling, the characters believable and relatable and the art is fantastic. And on top of the top, it even features a strong female lead character, which is (sadly) still something unsual in the video game industry, even in 2016.

It is probably the best adventure game in many years.

And normally I would stop writing here, but unfortunately this awesome game also features one (actually two) of the worst endings I have ever seen in a game. There is a "good" and a "bad" ending for the sheer sake of giving players a choice, but the "bad" ending is so completely out of character for the main character that you know that she would never, ever have chosen it. The "good" ending, on the other side, is not only a completely uninspired, "have-seen-this-10,000-times- in-time-travel-plots-before" cliche way to end the story, but also leaves every single choice you ever made in the game basically irrelevant in a way that you wonder why you even played the game. And the worst thing is that it's completely predictable and obvious from at least the 3rd chapter on that this and nothing else will be the outcome.

The game is still awesome, and I still absolutely recommend it, but it really didn't deserve the horrible, unsatisfying ending(s) they gave it.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: chris200x9I hope it has workshop support, the game looks great but it really would be a shame to limit it to World War two. I'd like to see mods where you could like deploy mechs on new fantasy maps.

Agree. The game is an automatic buy for me, like most Paradox titles, but I have to admit I am growing a -bit- jaded of the standard WW2 theme. I have kicked Hitler's ass countless times in various strategy games, so there is that. And while kicking Hitler's ass is obviously a satisfying thing to do, I also wouldn't mind seeing some mods using the awesome HOI engine for a near-total conversion. HOI Middle Earth, or HOI World War III maybe? :D

I am still totally looking forward to that game!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Stupendous Man

Quoting: Kimyrielle... I just wish they would voice over -all- their dialogue in their next game, including the player character(s).

Please no! If the player character had a voice I wouldn't be able to decide his/her personality myself. Then they might as well remove the choices and just provide one or two pre-made characters.
It's an RPG, I decide the 'role' of the player character.

I dunno. I have been a roleplayer for a bit over 30 years, and while I keep hearing the "voice overs kill my immersion" argument I lot (apparently people were bashing Bethesda for giving the PC a voice, too), I cannot say that I can remotely agree with it. But for the sake of compromise, I am fine with them adding a toggle for it, so people disliking it can disable it. Choice is good! :D

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: BeamboomWhat's wrong with 3rd person perspective - heck even first person perspective? Come on Paradox and Obsidian, surely you guys got enough resources and skill to make it into more than the standard isometric view.

Apple vs Orange?

Isometric view isn't inferior to 3D, it's a different art style. One that I personally love, despite the characters tend to be sprite sized (which is its biggest shortcoming). But try to paint such beautiful world renderings in 3D.
Personally I am the camp that hates first person view. With a passion. I go like you go for isometric view and wonder if they were just too cheap to add a character model and creator . :D

About Paradox: I see the point about them releasing too many tiny DLCs with big price tags, but they have been one of the first major publishers to jump on the Linux train and their games are always of great quality (at least I cannot think of a single truly bad game of theirs). That puts them waaaay into good territory for me. Actually, Paradox games are almost always an automatic buy for me and I consider Cities Skylines one of the best five games available for Linux.

About Obsidian: With Bioware's ongoing EA-inflicted decline, I'd say their RPG writing is now industry leading. I just wish they would voice over -all- their dialogue in their next game, including the player character(s).

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Prison Architect. I picked it up during Early Access but never played it much. It's really good fun.

View this comment - View article - View full comments