AphoticCosmos • Comments

  • Halo 4 concept art video

  • AphoticCosmos 30/08/2011

    OK, I was only vaguely interested in Halo 4 before this but . . . it looks like they're actually trying something different! The music was awesome (Halo + Mass Effect, anyone?) and the scenery was stunning.

    Let's see what 343 can do. Nothing wrong with continuing a franchise as long as it remains awesome.     Reply +3

  • The Best Deus Ex Augmentations

  • AphoticCosmos 29/08/2011

    @RawNinjaKid

    I don't know what game you're playing, but it's not DE:HR.

    The action is great - it's the first game in a long time to give more than the illusion of choice; you're rewarded however you play the game and it encourages you to experiment.

    The story is second to none. As a transhumanist I found it to be a fascinating exploration of what it means to be human and whether augmentation really would be beneficial for humanity. I can't stop watching the end videos on YouTube - they are beautiful.

    And as something of a connoisseur of game soundtracks, Michael Mann's work here is astounding and ranks up there with Halo and Mass Effect.

    Anyway, my favourite augs had to be ICARUS, for being able to get out of some sticky situations, and the robot/turret domination augs for providing many lulz. There was a great moment on Panchaea when an assault robot I had turned to friendly mowed down a few dozen crazy civilians. >:D     Reply +6

  • Retrospective: Deus Ex: Invisible War

  • AphoticCosmos 28/08/2011

    I actually came to Deus Ex through IW and it will always have a place in my heart. Yeah, it's not the best game ever made, it certainly can't live up to DE3 or DE, but some people talk of it as if it's the Antichrist. Reply +1

  • Valve's Gabe Newell

  • AphoticCosmos 25/08/2011

    That really is a Gaben. Reply +3

  • Acti vs. EA: the trash talk continues

  • AphoticCosmos 20/08/2011

    Cryotek: "This is childish and pathetic. This industry is at an apex, wanting to be taken more seriously as an art form, and this is how 2 of the biggest companies in the industry are acting.... Makes me embarrassed and ashamed. This is why the mainstream media look at gaming as being for idiots."

    Really? You've never heard of one-upmanship outside of gaming? There's plenty of often very vocal rivalries in literary, film and TV circles, between both personalities and organisations, and the people who gravitate towards one side or another. Jeremy Clarkson vs. Piers Morgan? BBC vs. Sky? It's not that big a deal - you can buy into the whole fanboy thing if you want, and many do, and so this is why they do that, but more and more gamers don't bother with it. I don't think it has any bearing on the industry as a whole.     Reply -2

  • Battlefield 3 PC main menu is Battlelog

  • AphoticCosmos 19/08/2011

    The first time I opened the Alpha and it took me to a webpage I was like "WTF DICE I HATE U FFS".

    And then I calmed down and played it, and it actually works perfectly well. You change options in-game on the fly. The Battlelog is pretty cool.     Reply +1

  • MS: Xbox 360 250GB will be matte only

  • AphoticCosmos 15/08/2011

    Thank fuck for that. Glossy black plastic is the devil's work. I had my new 360 for about two weeks before it got banged up something awful in the car on the way to uni for the new year. "It doesn't look so bad", I remember thinking. That was before I shone a light over it to make sure it was OK . . . OH GOD MY EYES. Total scratch saturation. I've never had this problem with matte finish 360s.

    Thank you MS. Thank you. Please never ever use glossy plastic again. That is all.     Reply +1

  • Dragon Age 2 response surprised BioWare

  • AphoticCosmos 03/08/2011

    The only thing grievously wrong with DA2 to me was the repetition of quest areas. So there's one cave and one warehouse in the whole of Kirkwall? That was totally unacceptable, even in Mass Effect there was some variation in the unexplored planets. I expected better of BioWare. I didn't mind anything else they changed - the city was cool, there were lots of great references to the DA lore and the story was relatively interesting although I expect better from the people who gave us Mass Effect, KotOR etc. Reply +1

  • Star Wars: The Old Republic gameplay

  • AphoticCosmos 29/07/2011

    Oh. Another TOR video comments thread packed with cynicism. Shocking. Reply -3

  • BF3 dev responds to fan frame-rate fury

  • AphoticCosmos 27/07/2011

    Without wanting to give anything away, from the time I've spent in Alpha BF3 is very slow paced compared to MW2. Not that it's a bad thing. Instead of rushing in to a hallway, akimbo shotguns from the 1870s blazing like a stupid maniac, unless you want to die you go prone/crouch/find cover and pray, then edge out of cover a bit to pop off a few shots, then run like hell to the next bit of cover. 30fps, 60fps . . . it really won't matter, it's a different type of game from MW entirely. It feels good, because it feels like Battlefield. The King is back, baby. Reply +16

  • Game of the Week: Team Fortress 2

  • AphoticCosmos 15/07/2011

    You know it's a slow week when the game of the week is from 4 years ago.

    But that said I redownloaded TF2 a few days ago after reading the re-review . . . I'm pleasantly surprised. It seems a lot more addictive than it was before, which is saying something.     Reply +2

  • PSN hack "a great learning experience"

  • AphoticCosmos 14/07/2011

    You have to be fucking kidding me. Reply +11

  • Microsoft: "We lost our way" with Halo

  • AphoticCosmos 13/07/2011

    I must be one of the group of three people and a small dog named Boris who actually liked Halo 2's Arbiter sections. I thought it was a brilliant insight into the Covenant. Whilst I'm not going to lie that I would like to see what happens to the Chief in Halo 4, surely a game around the Arbiter would have been better? They did have a massive war left to fight against the Brutes on their own at the end of Halo 3, after all, and the elites are everybody's favourite squidfaces. Reply +3

  • Limbo confirmed for PSN, Steam

  • AphoticCosmos 30/06/2011

    Fantastic news for other gamers, because Limbo is amazing! It had me spellbound at many moments. Worth every penny.

    I just hope that we get Journey in return . . .

    Exclusivity is such bull sometimes :(     Reply +3

  • Dyack plans to finish Too Human trilogy

  • AphoticCosmos 03/05/2011

    Something about pigs and lipstick? Polishing turds? Reply -3

  • You can buy SWTOR gold/credits now

  • AphoticCosmos 14/04/2011

    Sometimes I weep inside for humanity. Reply +45

  • Activision: You've got us all wrong

  • AphoticCosmos 14/04/2011

    @Timotei - no, now because they produce decent games and listen to consumer feedback they get more sympathy. Reply +1

  • BioWare: Mass Effect MMO "makes sense"

  • AphoticCosmos 11/04/2011

    How about you continue to make non-MMO Mass Effect games, and we get on with our lives? Reply +12

  • Treyarch hiring for new Call of Duty

  • AphoticCosmos 29/03/2011

    @Olemak

    Yeah, but unlike the awesome BF2142 any attempt to make a near-future CoD will, IMHO, fail pathetically.

    BF2142 had titans, nothing can top that.     Reply +2

  • CCP details EVE usability improvements

  • AphoticCosmos 25/03/2011

    Oh FFS stop tempting me EVE! I was quit when I walked in here Torvi, but I'm not sure if I'm twice as quit now . . . Reply 0

  • iPad 2 UK price revealed

  • AphoticCosmos 23/03/2011

    If I had £500+ to burn on a tablet, I'd get one that runs Android. It's painful to see people buying iPads. Reply -7

  • Prey 2 teaser won't help a fear of flying

  • AphoticCosmos 16/03/2011

    Trailer - meh.

    Prey 2 - woop!

    I was beginning to fear that it had gotten stuck in dev hell, having heard literally nothing about it for, what, 3 years? So I'm glad that it's happening.

    I would be surprised if they ditched Tommy's storyline, though.     Reply +1

  • EA: WOW is like "doing a shopping list"

  • AphoticCosmos 15/03/2011

    What's this resurgence in slagging off the competition? Who gives a frak what other games are doing as long as the one that you're making is good?

    Cut this crap out.     Reply +30

  • Jaffe attacks "games as art" contenders

  • AphoticCosmos 14/03/2011

    Why give this c-nut a mouthpiece? Reply 0

  • Teacher attacks late night gaming

  • AphoticCosmos 10/03/2011

    I think the message here is that children and teenagers need a lot of sleep, which is quite obvious since there's a lot of biological and physiological changes that need to be consolidated through sleep. I don't think I ever stayed up beyond 12/1 to game at school, so I've got to question just how crap your parents have to be to let you stay up until 4.

    But gaming is not the only culprit, nor, I suspect, is it the worst. TV? The internet? House parties? It's going to differ on an individual basis and kids who are clearly suffering from sleep deprivation need help.     Reply +1