Jenny's funeral. Did nobody text you?

Dude, that's not funny.

Picked up Post Mortem

HK, if you don't have them already nab the Still Life pack.  You can get both games for less than 4 bucks this week (don’t buy them separately, grab the bundle deal) and they are sequels to Post Mortem.

I’ve been playing the hell out of Far Cry 3 whenever I have the chance.  It improved a lot of things over Far Cry 2 and so far I'm digging it.  Gripes do however include how annoying it is to use the bow for the rare animal hunts, (all my gear is maxed out with the exception of a couple of the rare animal skins I haven’t found yet) and how f#|<ing easy it is to get overwhelmed by animals out in the wild.  I've taken to carrying an entirely silent loadout with the exception of a shotgun so I can dispatch random wild animals without drawing the attention of every gun toting motherf#|<er within three miles but I've still managed to more than once take out one critter and then get jumped from behind by one or two more.  I do like the realism that you can often find predators hunting herd animals though. 

Things like that do fill the game with awesome moments though.  I've been focusing on clearing outposts without being detected which usually means I carefully scout around one to tag all the enemies before I start sniping them or whatever.  So I’m scouting a base that is surrounded by buffalo and I've been crawling around the big dumb animals the whole time.  As I'm finishing my circle of the outpost and getting ready to start sniping mofo's I hear a distinctly NON buffalo growl and turn to see a tiger is moving towards me, so far it's not making any sudden movements or even readying to pounce but it’s definitely tracking me so I start backing away from it and swap from my sniper rifle to my shotgun, then cursed and swapped to my silenced machine pistol because I want to drop the tiger without alerting the outpost.   Just as the tiger starts to crouch for his pounce and just as I’m pulling the trigger I hear an enemy guard start screaming “over there” and he starts shooting.  My first thought is “damn it, I backed up into his line of his sight and now this whole thing is going down the shitter” but nope, he’s throwing rounds at the tiger and the tiger immediately forgets about me and charges into the outpost, roaring and growling.  I got to watch him tear my enemies to pieces, got credit for taking the outpost undetected without lifting a finger, and when it was over I capped the badly wounded tiger with a burst from my silenced machine pistol and skinned him.  Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.  I’m apparently getting to the point where I can’t unlock anymore skills without playing story missions so I guess I should start that soon.  As soon as I finish unlocking weapons and upgrading my gear…

Far Cry 3 was on sale this weekend so I bought it.  I've only spent a few hours playing it and I still have mixed feelings though I really have done almost nothing with the story.  Mainly just exploring and hunting for upgrading my gear.  The biggest positive over FC2 is no more scouring the landscape for diamonds. 

THE POWER OF TLO COMPELS YOU!!!!

It's alive... IT'S ALIVE!!



Yea, it's been damn near a year but this is a thread I miss. 

I present to you....

Shotgun Shuffle.  It's funny, competently drawn and has one of the best forum moderators on the web.  Check it out.

Come for the Forrest Gump/Star Wars mashup, stay for the dirty hippie/odd couple roommate love triangle.  I don't often endorse other webcomics but I've been enjoying this one.

Today Outlaw brings you... Real Moments of Awkwardness!

So the other night I took my bike in to the shop to drop it off for a few days because on top of the standard de-winterizing it also needs the battery replaced (because it's not holding a charge like it should) and various other random things that must be dealt with because it's been almost a year with only occasional use due to a number of factors. (Like the pinched nerve I had in my foot.)  Really the only point of mentioning this part is to establish that after I dropped the bike off I'm still wearing my bike leathers which (as my significant other likes to point out) make me "look scary."  So the bike is in the shop, we (my lovely S.O and I) have dinner at a Chinese buffet and on a whim I decide to stop in at a liquor store that is only a couple doors down from the buffet because there's a Scotch I've been wanting to try for a while now that's hard to find.  Yay, they had it!  And for even cheaper than the internet led me to believe I'd have to pay for it.  Double yay! 

So I'm leaving the liqour store and walking back to the car where my S.O. is waiting for me (clutching my stereotypical bottle in a brown bag) when a car pulls into a nearby parking space, blasting one of the handful of Skrillex songs that I like and can instantly recognize.  Since I'm in a good mood, I yell out some words of encouragement I can no longer remember but along the lines of nice tune or something else similarly generic.  I guess I don't know who I was really expecting to be driving the car but out comes two kids who look like they are in junior high at the oldest and their mother who is looking at me with obvious concern over why a hairy biker with a bottle of booze is yelling at her and her children.  PROTIP:  Smiling and waving does NOT make this situation less awkward.

This has been… Real Moments of Awkwardness with Outlaw.

I think the correct was agreement.  Don't be harshing on teapot. ;p

It was a stealth/retro reboot.  One day the comic was a certain way... the next day it wasn't.  Early pages had been "improved" and replaced.  It was also timed along with a site overhaul which helped mask it that much more.  Really only those who were here before that point probably even noticed.  And I'm not saying this to be mean/snarky or anything like that.  It's really a testament to how Jenny transitioned from "fun in my spare time project" to "career."  I think a lot of lesser creators would have just chucked TZH wholesale to the curb and started over instead of the nigh seamless "reboot" which was obviously a lot of effort.

And yea, nearly seven years.  Salud!

[Recently Completed:]

 Recently Completed: Tomb Raider (2013 reboot including pre order DLC “Tomb of the lost adventurer”)
System: PC

Time Spent: 20ish (100% completion of single player campaign, no multiplayer)

The Story: You are Lara Croft before she was Lara Croft!  Lara is a crewmember on a ship called the Endurance which is being chartered by a reality TV/pop culture archeologist who’s career is one step away from complete failure.  To add to the drama Lara’s best friend (who’s family is apparently quite wealthy) is tagging along because her family is helping finance the expedition.  The captain of the ship somehow knew Lara’s father before he vanished and everyone has some reason to hate someone else in the group.   Good times.  Then the boat crashes on an island that is more than just a collection of shipwrecks, and oh yea, it’s Lara’s fault the boat went there.  Lara spends a LOT of time early on being totally freaked out and wracked with guilt but eventually becomes the badass heroine that everyone has come to expect.

The Good:
+ The graphics are amazing.  The TressFX hair (PC only) is a little gitchy in how it throws shadows and I had a few instances where inexplicably the hair would vanish entirely for a fraction of a second but it really is the next step forward in hair rendering.  (For those of you who worry about things of that nature.)  Hair aside the rest of the game looks really good and is no slouch in draw distance or detail.  Some of the scenery truly looks so good that I would catch myself just admiring the view instead of playing the game.  The game ran silky smooth on my machine (even in windowed mode) and never once crashed or froze up.  There have been a few recent patches that have supposedly corrected a few of the TressFX issues and improved performance on non AMD vid cards but already having an AMD vid card I didn’t see much difference.
+ Controls are tight and responsive.  Despite playing on a computer I played (as I do with all non FPS games) with a wireless 360 controller and had no issues.  Of special note here is the cover system which is by far the best I’ve ever played with.   No more “context sensitive” button for cover where you mash the button but aren’t lined up close enough so it either does nothing or even worse, locks you onto the wrong piece of cover so you “take cover” completely in the open.  This cover system is “context sensitive” in that if enemies are near and you approach cover you crouch and take cover.  If no enemies are around you don’t crouch.  No button pressing to exit cover either, just move away.  It may not sound like a big deal when it’s printed words but in action it’s so smooth and intuitive it is truly wonderful. 

+ Level design/game flow is well paced.  One of the games I would probably compare Tomb Raider to most closely is Batman: Arkham Asylum.   The progression is more or less linear with a handful of central hub areas with occasional gadget unlocks to aid your exploration feel very Arkham Asylum, even more so when you use Lara’s “adventure sense” or whatever they call it to highlight interactive objects and later collectibles.  I’ve also heard a lot of comparisons to Uncharted but I never got the same vibe from Tomb Raider as I did from Uncharted.  Probably because Nathan Drakes voice actor has so perfectly nailed the “I’m frightened out of my mind but look, it’s still funny as hell so laugh” tone.  Tomb Raiders “gritty” atmosphere sort of robs it of the larger than life everything is a slick action movie setpiece feel that Uncharted has.  Also instead of laughing at Nathan as he dies doing something you just knew was going to end badly I cringe when Lara dies because the death animations are gruesome enough and the camera lingers long enough to be uncomfortably close to snuff film in tone.  This from a guy who gleefully completed the original Manhunt on the Xbox.    But I’m getting off track…  The gadget use is well implemented and the backtracking to get to that area you passed up earlier because you didn’t have the right gadget isn’t too strenuous due to a convenient fast travel mechanic that links many  of the campsites you come across.  And one more word on the gadgets before I leave this topic… the first gadget you get is a torch, as such MOST of the early puzzles (and even  a lot of the later ones) involve setting SOMETHING on fire.  So I often found myself giggling like Beavis and muttering “try setting it on fire” while trying to solve puzzles.  Who knew Lara Croft and Beavis were really a match made in heaven?  Those two pyros…

+  Weapon balance is sort of a hit or miss but it’s not really BAD.  Honestly I used the bow for nearly the entire game, only busting out the assault rifle or shotgun for a handful of rough patches and most of the final assault to save Lara’s friend.  One of the things I did like (and took me a while to figure out) is you can use whatever weapon you want whenever you want because the enemies will drop ammo for whatever weapon they were killed with regardless of what weapon they are carrying.  It might not be the most logical thing ever but it was a decent game mechanic that helps you keep the weapon you favor instead of turning combat into an ammo management exercise.

+ The story and character progression.   I liked how the story unfolded, it was occasionally predictable in the dumb action movie tropes sort of way but I’ve seen far worse and while not every character is fully rounded and realized I at least hated the villains and felt bad when the “good guys” died.  Especially the cranky Scotsman but fuck, he went out well.  The only way his death would have been better is if he had managed to score a shot of some nicely peated single malt just before he bit it.  But I digress.  Lara’s progression from confused and overwhelmed newb to hardened killer was probably a little quicker than it had to be (and you do kill a ridiculous amount of people before the game is over) but significant turning points are scattered throughout.  I can remember causing an explosion and watching a man slowly burn to death while being held in place by a chunk of concrete.  I figured I’d put him out of his misery (well not really, I figured I’d cap the bastard and collect some salvage) and Lara’s ice cold “go to hell” after I shot him in the head caused me to do a full on Keanu “WHOA.”  Even later she screams obscenities and death threats at her enemies and I was like, “damn girl, you go.”  By the end of the game it’s obvious she makes everyone around her uncomfortable and her vaguely disquieting sociopathic/dissociative persona that has been a point of criticism in earlier games (later games?) makes a little more sense.   

+  Voice acting.  Lara’s voice in this game is excellent, she believably portrays all the aspects of Lara that they throw out there and everyone else carries their role well.  I used to routinely mock games for poor voice acting (Jill sandwich anyone?) but this game didn’t have any of those moments.  Those who weren’t talented were competent enough not to fuck it up for everyone else.

+  The puzzles.  To be honest this could either go in the good or the bad.  The first tomb you stumble across is the DLC tomb (assuming you have it) and it is an uber easy introductory tomb (though there is a late game gadget required to fully loot it which is sort of nice, there’s a generous store of ammo and salvage to help you prep for the end game assault.) and difficulty progression for the tombs ramps up at a pretty forgiving curve.  Old school Tomb Raider fans may hate the new tombs for being TOO easy and I can seriously see that argument because the old Tomb Raider games, especially the first one/anniversary were about exploration and puzzle solving above all else.  But even if you consider these puzzles dumbed down they meshed well with the more action orientated game play and it was nice not be stuck in the same room for literally hours while I figured out I was trying to rotate widgets in the wrong order or something.
The Bad:
-  Logix.  The weapon/gadget upgrades system makes ZERO logical sense.  I can see using scrap metal to reinforce the POS pointy stick you start out with that is generously called an axe.  I balked shortly thereafter when I was expected to believe that Lara used bits of rubbish and animal parts to magna port the barrel of her pistol.  It gets more outlandish from there.  For a game that was making many other attempts at realism the upgrade/salvage system is jarringly out of place.  The one good thing I can say for it is that you can “hunt out” an area which keeps you from grinding salvage by hunting in the same area for the entire game.   (Which I would totally end up doing because I’m a mechanic exploiter like that.)  Related to logix but not specific to the upgrades is the plot point where Lara goes to retrieve some tools.  Much drama is put on this scene and I’ll keep it spoiler free but knowing what tools were asked for and seeing what Lara actually came back with I wanted to head desk.  In fact I’m pretty sure I did.

-  Collectables.  This game has collectibles out the wazoo.  Collectibles have become the game lengthener du jour these days, the one good thing I can say about them is that they’re a step above using endless and annoying backtracking to make a game “last longer”.  Each area will have one or more  specific collectibles (mushrooms, totems, flags, Buddha statues, etc. etc.) and you’ll run across GPS caches (little canisters who’s purpose isn’t really explained unless you collect them all) and of course since it’s a Tomb Raider game which is purportedly about archeology, relics.  The relics I kind of liked because they felt the least out of place.   The rest I could have done without.  But I collected them anyway for the salvage/xp rewards.  Story exposition ala System Shock/Bioshock/Doom3 can also be uncovered by finding journals but most of these are so blatantly placed I hesitate to put them in the collectible category.

+ QTEs.  I am not a fan of quick time events.  This game has a LOT of quick time events.  I will say that for the most part they are implemented as well as QTE’s can be.  But some of them really feel like button mashing for the sake of button mashing.  The god of war-esque counters and stuff you can unlock are less onerous than some of the lengthy “you’ll be watching this cutscene again until you get the button mashing right” QTE’s and I have to mention the absolute rage inducing QTE near the end of the game.  The second to last boss battle is a long fight that you HAVE to finish with a  QTE.  If you fail the QTE you go back into the fight again until you wear the boss down enough to prompt the finishing QTE again ad nauseum until you get it right.  I don’t know if it was specific to the PC version, an issue with my particular video card or whatever, but the finishing QTE which required multiple button presses would trail off the edge of the screen so I couldn’t see what all the buttons were or fully see the timing circles.  I tried played windowed instead of full screen, switching resolutions, everything I could think of but the glitch/feature persisted.  I had to resort to googling the winning button combo and fucking around with the timing until I finally got it.  I was such a seething ball of rage by that point that there was no joy in actually finishing the game moments later.  And the “final” boss encounter of the game was wholly QTE’s.  I hate that.  Even though it was one of the most “Tomb Raider” moments in the entire game.
 
Better Than: The Tomb Raider franchise has frankly been marred by more bad games than it has had stand out titles.  The original generation really only had the first two games before the developers ran the games into the ground  by constantly creating levels that didn’t work with the camera the game engine supported.  The next gen was dead on arrival with Angel of Darkness which still stands as a horror story/cautionary tale of bad game design and game breaking glitches.  The current gen reboot with Anniversary edition and Legend were a breath of fresh air and Underworld wasn’t horrible.  This game is different enough that it’s difficult to compare to the rest of the franchise but I would rank this right up there with Anniversary and Legend in terms of quality, playability and fun.

Worse Than: Sadly the Tomb Raiding crown hasn’t belonged to Lara since Uncharted came out and Uncharted 2 is still the king.  But Uncharted 3 had enough flaws (especially Naughty Dogs antics around the DLC and multiplayer) that indicate Drake and Company might only be a bright but brief shooting star.  Lara is a survivor above all else and if the next entry in the series ramps up the quality yet again she’ll have that crown back eventually.  Here’s hoping.

Overall: A:  An excellent game, while it may not appeal as much to old school purists of the franchise it stands tall in the top tier of games released so far this year.

I need to get back to playing adventure games.  I tried to regain interest in playing Darksiders by playing it drunk, forgetting that twitch gaming does not work drunk.  Adventure gaming is the best drunk gaming.  It rarely involves anything like quick reflexes and it helps keeps your mind sharp.  

Seriously though, I REALLY want to finish Darksiders but the gadget driven boss battles are getting old.  War is becoming less like a walking embodiment of the apocalypse and more like a Batman wannabe.  The way the game has been going the last few times I've tried playing it is I reach a boss/mini-boss battle then say "fuck it" and quit.  After playing with the portal gun (I can only assume if this came out right after half life 2 it would have been a gravity gun) for a bit I found a mini boss who I obviously need to use the portal gun somehow to beat.  I said "fuck it" and quit.  Maybe I'll feel like facing him tonight or tomorrow.

EDIT:  Totally unrelated to Darksiders I tossed up a review of this years Tomb Raider reboot in the review thread.  http://www.thezombiehunters.com/forum/index.php?topic=350.msg121789#msg121789

Gee, that must be nice...

Not really.  Sunday was the only day in the last two weeks it didn't rain.  And more rain every day this week... blah...

Just an observation Stan but most people who have to go out of their way to point out how much they don't care usually care quite a bit about maintaining their I don't care image.  In other words you're trying to hard.  Ease up before this escalates to you buying whole page spread in the NY Times or something.

AP:  Yesterday I finally got my bike out of mothballs for this season.  After barely riding at all last year because I had a pinched nerve in my foot, and after an unusually long winter season here in the midwest the chance to FINALLY ride it again was awesome.  Finished up the day with a barbecue/bonfire and cigar.  Spring is now officially here.

Darksiders is dragging.  I normally like longer games but the way this one flows makes it seem super long in a bad way.

Flashback: Quest for Identity on SNES. Pretty cool for its time, but it's really easy to pick out some really bad game design. I just beat it tonight, and Christ, even on easy the last few levels were very stressful.

That used to be one of my favorite games back in the day.  There was also a ridiculously hard sequel on the PC I couldn't finish.  It was an early 3rd person 3D game as I recall.

Just had a super vivid dream about ghost hunting in a sewer system.  It started out pretty basic, trying to capture some EVP, and just kept worse and worse.  Getting lost, seeing and hearing things, this steadily increasing sense of dread.  It took us two days to finally get back out again and when I woke up I was completely disoriented because the dream seriously felt like it was two days long including taking powernaps in shifts which included their own nightmares.  Wtf?