Stranded87 • Comments

• Pocket Stables review

• Stranded87 23/04/2013

  I don't find Google's storefront any harder to navigate than Apple's, it's possibly even a little easier (and I own both Apple and Android devices so I do have experience of both). But both could use some work. Reply +3

• Face-Off: Netflix vs. Lovefilm

• Stranded87 06/04/2013

  I love Netflix (though international content is a must). I used to have Lovefilm as well but the content just can't compete and for some reason it rarely seemed to work well on consoles or iPad- it was fine on my PC but as soon as I used it on anything else it would constantly be pausing to buffer making things almost un-watchable. It happened on multiple devices and in two different houses with different broadband speeds and providers. Reply 0

• Film critic and video games' best frenemy Roger Ebert has passed

• Stranded87 04/04/2013

  I never really even got the love of his film reviews. He certainly had a way with words but I often found them surprisingly spoilerific, particularly in cases where he either didn't like the film or missed the point of it and so either didn't care or didn't realise that he was spoiling them. Still, he obviously had an impact on a lot of people and it's very sad that he's passed away. Reply 0

• BioShock Infinite ending explained

• Stranded87 04/04/2013

  @SClaw There's no doubt that games are some way from matching the quality of great novels, but Bioshock Infinite has a far better story than most films- or for that matter most Doctor Who episodes. It's also the best game story that I've ever come across. It is better in practice than in the reading, though sadly by reading spoilers you probably have diminished any enjoyment that you would have gotten from the game. Reply +11

• Zombies Ate My Neighbors retrospective

• Stranded87 31/03/2013

  One of my favourite Snes games. I went back to it a few years ago and as noted it's still just as fun now. Reply +6

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown coming to iOS, dated for Mac

• Stranded87 24/03/2013

  It's a shame that Android isn't getting more games but it's not likely to change any time soon. As a result of that I bought an iPad 4 pretty much solely for games and I don't regret it one bit. Android is still my mobile OS of choice for just about everything else though, what with Apple stuff being locked down, un-customisable things with a dated OS and an annoying reliance on iTunes.
  
  Edit: Oh and mobile gaming is proper gaming and has been for a long time- you just have to choose to play the proper games rather than shit like Angry Birds that gets all the attention. Reply -1

• Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey Kickstarter ends in resounding success

• Stranded87 11/03/2013

  @DaemonSpawn You pledged $350 and haven't even played the first game? That's crazy. It's the best of the two and the second game also works a whole lot better in terms of story if you've played the first.
  
  If you're a big enough fan to pledge that amount of cash I really urge you to go back and play The Longest Journey. Reply +2

• Year Walk review

• Stranded87 21/02/2013

  @Alex_V Yes but it's still a lower install base than Android, which seems to be increasingly dominating the market and yet doesn't tend to get game reviews. But, as others have said, iOS has more games and most games that are on both hit iOS first, so it makes sense. Reply +2

• Wii U sold around 55K during January in the US

• Stranded87 15/02/2013

  @dickothe1st It was alright, good enough for me to buy one anyway, but as with most Nintendo consoles it didn't have that many games and most of the best ones were made by Nintendo. Plus having those tiny discs meant it couldn't double as a DVD player or anything.
  
  I actually liked the N64 a lot, as that at least was powerful for the time and had Rare making top flight games for it as well as Nintendo, but the games were overpriced- and again there weren't many of them.
  
  I do think the original DS is a great little handheld though. Reply +5

• Stranded87 15/02/2013

  Not even slightly surprising. Nintendo really dropped the ball with the Wii U. Personally I'm not even a fan of the original Wii but at least there they went after a sector of the market (everyone except gamers) and got it, with the Wii U I really don't know what they're hoping for. Under-powered for core gamers, doesn't do enough to stand out to casual gamers and over-priced for either. Add to that crap all games and 'proper' next gen consoles just around the corner and they're looking at a real up-hill struggle.
  
  I like Nintendo's games, but I'm not convinced they've made a truly great home console since the Snes. Reply +8

• "Real gamer" Duncan Jones to helm 2015 Warcraft movie

• Stranded87 31/01/2013

  Well he's definitely a good director, but it'll still need a good script. Reply +10

• Nintendo announces new Yoshi, Fire Emblem games for Wii U

• Stranded87 23/01/2013

  @wario Well, yes. High end, late gen graphics but it doesn't look any better than some up-coming PS3 and 360 games. Arguably it doesn't look any better than some that are out. If that's next gen, I'm not impressed.
  
  Still looks like an awesome game though, a few more exclusives like that and I may well get a Wii U. Reply 0

• Alice dev American McGee backtracks on EA marketing slur

• Stranded87 23/01/2013

  He was right the first time. The trailers do mislead you about the game (and frankly also make the game look a lot better than it is imo). It's a morally dubious tactic but it's also nothing new, film trailers have been doing this for years, anyone who actually got 'tricked' mostly has themselves to blame as you should never buy something based solely on a trailer. Reply +4

• Writer's Guild of America nominates 007 Legends, neglects The Walking Dead

• Stranded87 18/01/2013

  Utterly ridiculous. The Walking Dead is far and away the best written game this year. Reply +10

• Angry grandfather walks out of HMV with three games after staff refuse to accept gift voucher

• Stranded87 16/01/2013

  @darkmorgado I acknowledged that it's the law and that I wouldn't do it for that reason. But you're right, I don't agree with the law and laws aren't the same as morals (though I suppose that gets more complicated when it comes to breaking a law e.g whether it's wrong to break a law when the law itself is immoral). Reply +7

• Stranded87 16/01/2013

  @mr_bez The moral principle is you get what you're owed. Especially when HMV had the nerve to sell vouchers right up to christmas (and beyond possibly?), it's not like we're talking about vouchers that have been sitting in a drawer for months. An eye for an eye might not be the best way to live, but if someone essentially steals from me I'm going to want my money back.
  
  That said this has been on the cards for HMV for ages so he really shouldn't have bought the vouchers before he knew the situation, and I assume if he bought them on credit card he'd be able to claim a refund, so he also should have done that, so I don't have that much sympathy. Reply +16

• Stranded87 16/01/2013

  @JonnyPx While they might have the law on their side HMV have essentially stolen his money by not accepting the gift certificates and he plans to post them the 6.80, so while I'd never do it for legal reasons I don't really think he's morally done anything wrong. Reply +59

• Alpha Protocol retrospective

• Stranded87 06/01/2013

  Absolutely loved this game. Probably the most under-rated of the generation. It's an awkward one though as part of it is light years ahead of anything else out there while other parts are clunky at best. I feel like it was reviewed rather harshly, particularly given how much most people who got past Saudi Arabia seemed to love it, but it's definitely a hard to score game.
  
  In any case it's one of the best game experiences I've had this generation. Reply +8

• Levine: BioShock Infinite ending "like nothing you've experienced in a video game before"

• Stranded87 18/12/2012

  Sounds a bit like Molyneux hyperbole, but I'm more inclined to believe it coming from Levine. Reply +10

• Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition review

• Stranded87 03/12/2012

  @George-Roper I think it's an 8 because it's Baldur's Gate and that in and of itself is still a brilliant game in any form. The review quite rightly focused on the changes the Enhanced Edition brings...many of which are perhaps a little negative, or at least need patching. But ultimately it's still Baldur's Gate. Reply +7

• Barkley 2 scores a slam dunk on Kickstarter in less than a day

• Stranded87 29/11/2012

  Only played a few minutes of the first game and probably wont play this. But props to them for mentioning Dark Sun as an inspiration, no-one ever mentions Dark Sun in relation to anything yet they really were two of the best pre-Black Isle/Bioware RPG's and were kind of a similar style to their stuff. Reply +2

• Square Enix: another mistake like Final Fantasy 14 could destroy the company

• Stranded87 28/11/2012

  I don't understand why developers still even make MMO's. Huge costs and development times and since WoW how many have even been successful? Maybe 3 that I can think of.
  
  I don't even really care though in this case. I never loved Final Fantasy and in recent years it seems to have gone downhill even in fans eyes. I wont be playing this and even if it's somehow good I don't imagine it'll be successful. Reply +1

• Wadjet Eye's latest sci-fi yarn Primordia gets a playable demo

• Stranded87 28/11/2012

  Do want. Wadjet Eye may not be the developers but they seem to have an eye for quality, so I still suspect it will be good, it certainly looks it.
  
  Gemini Rue was superb, Resonance was good, need to get round to Blackwell one day but they're certainly well reviewed. Reply +1

• Higher than expected Dishonored sales mean Bethesda has a new franchise

• Stranded87 28/11/2012

  Good to hear. I was left ever so slightly underwhelmed by Dishonored, but I loved the idea and setting and I'm sure a sequel could refine it a bit and deliver the game that I had hoped the original would be.
  
  Nice to see a new IP doing well anyway, particularly one that's not just bang bang shoot.
  
  I'd still rather see a sequel to Arx Fatalis though and do hope Arkane don't get stuck churning out endless Dishonored sequels. Reply +2

• The Walking Dead review

• Stranded87 22/11/2012

  Surprised by the rather back-handed compliments towards the story in this article. Sure, it's genre fiction and nothing outstanding when considered alongside every other work of fiction in the world. But it's one of the better stories to have ever graced a game (and has at least one of the better characters too). But more than that it's actually better imo than the walking dead tv show. And I think that would continue to be the case if it was as passive as the tv show. It's also imo better than most zombie fiction in general.
  
  I can't comment on how it compares to the original comics, as I haven't read them, but the game doesn't need to rely on the crutch of generally weak video game story telling, it stands up on its own. Reply +38