GamesWithChris

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E3 is upon us and I wrote a bunch of words

We stare at the chasm of doubt and fear that is E3 Eve. Already, Microsoft has laid out its plans to prevent you from using games you purchased. And tomorrow, at 11:30am Central, they will beg you to buy their console. 

Or better put, they'll try to bribe  you with games you must play. Maybe it will work on me- but I bet it won't on you. I bet, for the most part, you don't give a shit any more. 

I can understand. I spend more time on my iPad and computer than on any console. My Xbox has a singular purpose as a media/Netflix/Amazon player, and my PS3 sits quietly in my computer room occasionally spitting out a movie while I play a game on my computer or work from home. These consoles are lost to me, and I honestly don't know if I have it in me to go spend $500 on a new one. Definitely not two. 

And honestly, for a little bit more I could build a hell of a computer that would run nearly everything better than any of these consoles. 

So what is Microsoft actually selling? Some neat Kinect tricks where you can issue commands to your television, and integration with live broadcasts. And those exclusives. 

I'm not sure I can make a case for actually wanting any of those things. I think if Siri has taught me anything it's that voice commands, even when they actually work, are of limited use. Live TV- the only thing I watch live is football. Perhaps there's some utility there, but if I have my iPad in front of me, I can't think what this will actually do to help me. 

So we're left with the exclusives. I was trying to think of the last exclusive game that I really got excited for. I think it was Journey on the PS3. And that was tough to summon- there really aren't many. But right now- right damn now- I can name  you 15 games on the PC that are incredibly exciting and only there. Look up Swapper and Gunpoint. Play Antichamber. These games will never hit the Xbox One. 

So why the fuck would I buy one? 

I guess I'll see tomorrow. Right now, the answer is no way.

This is overly long already but I'll say that Sony has a different, but equally tough sell- why would I buy it instead of just playing on my computer? I don't care about any of the exclusives I've seen on it, and I have no faith in Sony as a software company. 

I don't mean to sound too down, I legitimately hope to be thrilled by something tomorrow. 

I think I'm going to podcast again. I started playing Dota 2 and feel the need to ramble about it to nobody. Look for that in 2015. 

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Well. I just bought another year of gameswithchris.com. I guess maybe I'll do some more? Wouldn't want to throw that $9 in the bin...

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I'm not buying XCOM or Dishonored

I'm not buying the two new hot releases this week- XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Dishonored. Yet. The reasons are actually mundane- I have a friend who will devour XCOM next week and deliver it unto me. And I fully expect that despite the high marks, Dishonored will be had for a song come Christmas. 

I know I'm part of the problem- and I know that I should support original game development and encourage these two (by all accounts) original and excellent games. But see, there's a problem- I can't finance the game industry. I have bills to pay, food to eat, an annoyingly sick cat to take care of. And I'm not alone. I think there's a lot of people like me out there. I listen to far too many game podcasts each week during my commute- in fact I think I can say without a doubt that I listen to people talk about games more than actually play them.  I'm beginning to think I care more ABOUT the games than the actual games themselves. I'm in a weird place. 

That said, I am really looking forward to XCOM and Dishonored (despite its Deus Exness) exudes coolness. Everything runs on whale oil in Dishonored. That's really all I need to say. 

So poor ol' Chris. Let's all shed a tear for his thriftyness. And let me know how those games go. 

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Self reported deaths and words instead of voice

I actually had a moment of OH MY GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT GAMES. And I think perhaps I am going to work something out where you may hear me and Wife again. But for now, let's talk with text and words and the printed page of the screen you are looking at if for some reason  you decided to click on this. 

Let's talk about FTL. Holy fuck. FTL is one of the best games in years. Because it scratches that Syndicate/Dune 2 itch. It reminds me of bleary nights in college when all my friends were trying to get laid and I was drinking Natty Light whilst explaining to a disinterested party that the 486-40DX was the sensible choice and that my roommate's DX25 was VASTLY inferior. 

Those games were all about risk management- and moving little blips around a screen to maximize your performance. And I loved them so. They seemed so vast, so limitless. There's really been few times since that I've felt that. GTA 3. Civilization. Sim City. The walls around these games are hard to see, even though they are there. 

FTL doesn't compete with that wonder- but it does distill all the things I loved into a $10 game available on Steam. And it was a Kickstarter! I feel such shame at not being there from the beginning. I DIDN'T KNOW. I'm sorry.

I also bought Borderlands 2. But do you see the game that has my heart? Not the one I thought. The one I bought waiting on Borderlands 2 to come out. That's the one I can't stop thinking about. 

I downloaded a game maker and made a game. It's absolutely terrible and basic. But I did enjoy the process and think I may try that again. This post should be an indication to you that I'm feeling restless. I've been playing less and reading more. I've been thinking about big picture-y things. None of that lends itself to Borderlands 2, which demands you trod through similar areas and click on things until they die and you see green arrows that give you better ways to click on things. I'm not enjoying the grind. I feel like I'm wasting my time. 

But the funny thing is that you can level that at FTL. in FTL you start over from scratch every time. It seems like the height of futility- and believe me I've seen the end boss that is the grand maestro of futility (on Easy, nonetheless). But it's a game I am marveling at- thinking about how it was made and how tough it must have been for TWO PEOPLE to make the decisions that they made. Borderlands 2 is safe and beautiful and more Borderlands.

That's not bad. It's really not. It's just not inspiring. 

Next week? XCOM. You'll be hearing from me. 

Chris. 

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Gone for now

I've decided that this once-a-month sham of a podcast needs to take a break. I hope to one day devote a little more time to doing this right because I thoroughly enjoyed it when I had the time. 

Thanks for checking it out and going along with my little experiment. I will occasionally monitor @gameswithchris, but you can find me @ditchell on twitter most reliably. 

Thanks again and one day we'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. 

P.S. Wife says bye. 

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It's Games With Chris for May 14, the most emo of days. Everything sucks. I hate video games now. Here's some stupid words and then Wife shows up and we say some stuff. And then I just wish I'd never known the sweet caress of Super Mario 3. Because it's brought me to this moment- the moment when games suck. Also Diablo 3 comes out tomorrow! Woo hoo!

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Games with Chris April 17th, 2012

HOLOGRAPHIC TUPAC EDITION GAMES WITH CHRIS PODCAST WHATS UP COACHELLA

I talk about Fez, Mass Effect 3, Tribes Ascend, and Super Monday Night Combat. Then Wife shows up and it gets real.

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Visit Original Link

Hey it's time for another episode of Games With Chris. What's that you say? It's been 3 months? Shut up. Stop being so smart. Just for that, you get me rambling for 15 minutes about Journey, Saints Row the Third, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. And then you get a promise of future content that may or may not be recorded in the immediate future. Did you know Idle Thumbs got over $100,000 on Kickstarter to continue their podcast? Maybe if you started ponying up some money you'd get some more out of me, you cheap bastard.

In other words, thanks for listening!

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[fungii]

[kirk-almighty]

fungii:

TODAY’S GIF WAS MADE BY AN IMPATIENT FUNGII

BEST CHARACTER 

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Missile from Ghost Trick. This dog is awesome. Trust me.

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Mass Affection

I played all of the Mass Effect 3 demo they would let me play last night. Apparently on Friday the multiplayer will be unlocked. God help us all then.

But for now, the single player. It was... very reminiscent of Mass Effect 2. Very. I am not saying that's bad. I guess I'm just not bubbling with excitement this time around. It feels safe. But the good part is that it doesn't feel shitty. Because my biggest concern after Dragon Age 2's shitfest was that it would be a half-assed game. That all of their talent was Old Republic'ing, leaving behind the interns to work on ME3.

That appears to be unfounded. It looked good. It played good. It had characters I had killed off in it, which made me kind of sad. I KNOW I should have saved Wrex. Why must you remind me of that, EA?

And don't give me the "you can play it over again and save him" line. The game loses all meaning if you are downloading saves of the perfect playthrough so everyone lives. Wrex died. Tali died. I didn't want to lose them, but I'm not going to cheat now.

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Games With Chris December 29

Chris discusses the best games of 2011, and Wife discusses the best new Joystiq Editor in Chief of 2011. It's a good time, fueled by Dew. Just kidding. Beer. Mostly beer.  Music is from my favorite video game related song of the year. Please, for the love of God, don't sue me. I love you, unnamed awesome band. 

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Podcast sponsored unofficially by beer

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Games With Chris Episode 14 is here. Did you know that there are only 12 episodes in iTunes? What the hell is that about? I should probably stop numbering them. Anyways, let us discuss new games and releases and then Wife makes this whole podcast thing worthwhile. 

Some things mentioned in the show that may be of interest:

Shitty Battlefield 3 textures

Humble Bundle

Grand Theft Auto V trailer

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Tumblin'

They've added a lot of cool Tumblr themes. I didn't change a thing on this one. very cool.

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YES YES YES