WestofHouse

I've been tempted, mainly because of the free BC games, but I haven't pulled the trigger. I finished the first on on the 360 ages ago and rather enjoyed it, but I don't know if I liked it enough to play the sequels. For fans of the series that is an excellent deal, though,.

That was my problem with it. The fact that I didn't have hours at a time to complete a specific raid meant I could never hit max level, and everything else I did was a waste of time because xp wasn't helping me. Now that they are allowing characters to reach max level with XP only it is much more appealing.

The difference between Destiny and other FPS games I've played is that in Destiny you have to grind to level up, whereas in other games you simply play. I know it takes time either way, but I much prefer leveling in other FPS games because you don't have to play certain levels or complete specific raids or have a group of friends in order to level up. You just play what you want and you gain XP. Fortunately for Destiny it looks like it is moving toward that model with the new expansion.

You had me up until "grind", then my eye twitched. I was "this" close to pre-ordering the game yesterday and then had second thoughts. I pre-ordered the original game and I still feel a touch of betrayal. I made it to level 20 and then traded it in because I had no interest in the grind for light required to continue leveling up. If I bought it again I'm not sure what I would do with it. If they haven't improved the story at all I don't think I'd be interested in slogging through it again, but if I used the magic level 25 button I don't think I'd be able or interested in devoting hours at a time to the raids and quests necessary to level up from there. I don't know. We'll see. I might just hold off until November for Star Wars Battlefront and then look for a sale on the new Destiny edition later.

I'm not sure, but I haven't paid for a single thing. All of the updates I've seen so far have been automatic and free. There may be things out there I haven't seen yet.

Voice chat is only good when you have a full group of friends to play with. Otherwise its usually obnoxious at best and offensive at worst. I played a game of Battlefield 4 the other day during which someone had their mic open and there was a child screaming in the background for the entire match.

That looks like a ringing endorsement. I might have to revisit the game. At its base I thought it was a brilliant shooter with great mechanics. The coming changes seem like they might actually make it a good overall game. I'd love to join you but I'd be on the Xbox One version.

I didn't expect this thread to be this old. I was just reading the rundown of changes coming with the new expansion and some of them look interesting, including adding the ability to level up with XP (What a concept!). CLICKY for article. Are any of you still playing Destiny? Have they implemented any sort of matchmaking to raids or missions? It remains the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in video games, but the new expansion looks like it could actually make it a full game. The Kotaku writer summed it up best: "Destiny, a yearlong beta for a video game that will be released this September, is getting some major overhauls that we should probably talk about."

Interesting. EA just made the game available in their EA Access vault, so I may end up revisiting it.

I haven't tried it yet, mainly because I don't want the hassle of re-syncing my controller, and also because I don't have a great need for it. I'm sure I'll try it someday, though. It's a great feature.

My daughter is hooked on Splatoon and now and then I'll have a go at it. It is great fun. First unique FPS I've seen in ages. The variety of weapons and powers is good, the levels are well designed, and controls are rock solid.

If you go cheap, whatever you do don't try a cheap splitter that claims to do auto-switching. I had one that would switch sources when I didn't want it to. The baffling part was it would switch to a source that wasn't turned on, so in the middle of a show my screen would go black and I'd have to unplug HDMI cables to get it to reset. I ended up getting a simple 2-port splitter with a manual switch for about $15. Works like a charm.

That is why I maintain that the XBO works best with Kinect and as a total media machine, not just a video game console. When I was shopping for one I wasn't sure if I wanted Kinect or not, but now I'm glad I got it. Buying a cheap Xbox Music pass on Ebay was well worth it, too, but obviously it won't be if you're not into music.

That patch is apparently going to make it so crafting and alchemy materials don't count toward your carrying weight, so that should help the encumbrance issue. It's also supposed to add a separate tab for books and mark the ones you've read, which will be very helpful.

Any of you get a chance to play it over the weekend? I gave it a shot since it was free and there was a pre-load bonus. I'd never played the game before. The play and mechanics were very smooth, but it is definitely a pay-to-win game. No matter how much skill you have, the guy who paid for all the upgrades to his tank is going to blow you off the map. I suffered so many one-shot kills.

There's a patch (1.7) on the way that fixes some inventory issues. Is that what you're talking about? I haven't seen a release date yet.

Based on the lack of activity in this thread it appears I'm the only AAer playing this game at the moment. I haven't been able to put a lot of time into it but I cleared all the quests in the first area and have made it to level 4. Leveling in this game is very slow, and if you take on quests that are above your level you're going to have a hard time. That's why so far the side quests have been basically mandatory to get me to the level of the main story quests. Inventory management has been a pain in the arse. To get the best value for selling swords and armor you have to go to a blacksmith and armorer respectively, and so far I've yet to find either one in the second area, so I keep having to travel back to the first area to unload loot before becoming encumbered.

I believe so, not counting the power discs sold in those little packs. But those are more like mini-games such as glorified tower defense.

Basically, yes. It's like Disney Minecraft. You can also go to the Community section and download playsets that other users have built. The playsets you can buy are like small video games in themselves, but unfortunately there aren't that many, and you can't use just any figure you want when you play them. My daughter and I have the Avengers and Spider-man playsets and we've had great fun with them, but they get old after a couple of play-throughs.

Most of what I was going to say has been covered. 1) Look at the exclusive games each console has and go with the one that has your favorites. 2) Consider which console your friends have so you can play online with them. I'll add another vote for the XBox. To me the PS4 seems like a brilliant gaming machine, but the XBO is a brilliant home entertainment machine. When you pair it with Kinect it just feels like the future. When I walk in my HT room and say "Xbox, on," and my Xbox, TV, and AV receiver come to life that is pretty darn awesome. And my XBO is the primary element in my HT system now; I use it for games, Blu-rays, CDs, streaming audio, and streaming video. With the Win 10 improvements coming to the UI that were announced at E3 the experience is only going to get better. Plus we now have backward compatability for 360 games, and there is EA Access (the best value in gaming right now).

Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved is $20 at both Amazon and TRU.

EA Access is free this week for all Gold members as part of an E3 promotion.

EA just tweeted that Dragon Age is coming to Access.

Best Buy's deal of the day today (6/19) is Forza 5 for $25. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/misc/deal-of-the-day/pcmcat248000050016.c?id=pcmcat248000050016

I sat down and sank my teeth into this game last night. In my first go I played just long enough to get through the tutorial and win the first gwent match in the tavern. One of the first tips I saw for this game was that you should do as many side quests as possible at the beginning to gain a level or two before embarking on the main story, so last night I did just that. In the process I stumbled upon a bandit camp and got my butt handed to me. I really stink at combat. My geezer reflexes are no longer capable of handling three different attacks along with dodging and parrying. One thing I've learned is that this game does not hold your hand at all. If you haven't played 1 or 2 you're left to figure almost everything out on your own. For example, I found a monster nest that requires a bomb to destroy it, but I have no idea how to obtain one. Other early observations and questions: I received a pop-up at one point telling me I can now equip potions in my quick-launch spots (Up and Down on d-pad), but I couldn't figure out how. Weapons degrade and need repaired. I had no idea. As with DAI, travelling on horseback is nice but you can't harvest herbs so it seems better to travel on foot. You have to convert coins you loot to a standard currency somewhere? The game is simply gorgeous. The menu system is not. I find it very clunky and not intuitive in the least. I found a helpful video with some good starting advice: https://youtu.be/UixVp-cicMw