2661

Space Rangers is so bought. I’ve been wanting to try this for a really long time. Thanks for posting these, I would’ve missed it otherwise.

2662

Does it still come with the Halo 3 beta?

2663

Yeah, considering that I was more than willing to pay $50 and deal with Starforce to play Space Rangers 2 back in the day, $4 for DRM-free, infinitely redownloadable, expansion-bundled SR2 is absolutely nuts. I’m encouraging everyone I know to buy it right goddamn now. Jeez.

2664

I have no idea how I missed that SR2 deal on the previous page. I bought the original package for full price at Frys and was just waiting for an excuse to buy the expansion, but the whole DRM shit had my head spinning. At $4 for no DRM outside of Impulse that’s a big fat fucking DUH.

Also preordered Elemental because Stardock likes to toss out early betas to preorders all the time. Even if they don’t this go around that’s one project I want to support.

2665

GoGamer.com is having a Red Friday Sale with some pretty good deals. Please forgive the copy/paste from the email I got.

BELOW $50:

XBox 360 - SPIDER-MAN: WEB OF SHADOWS - 50% off - $29.90
XBox 360 - TOM CLANCY’S END WAR - 37% off - $37.90
XBox 360 - LEGO BATMAN - 50% off - $24.90
XBox 360 - GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR BAND KIT - $159.90
---------------------Save $30!-----------------------

PS3 - LEGO BATMAN - 40% off - $29.90

Wii - MUSHROOM MEN: SPORE WARS - 30% off - $34.90

PC - GRAND THEFT AUTO IV - 30% off - $34.90
PC - PRINCE OF PERSIA - 40% off - $29.90
PC - LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE: MINES OF MORIA - $26.90
-------------------------Save 33%--------
PC - WARHAMMER AGE OF RECKONING COLLECTOR’S - $44.90
--------------------------Save 10%--------

PC - SAITEK ECLIPSE 2 KEYBOARD - 50% off - $32.90

BELOW $20:

XBox 360 - BROTHERS IN ARMS: HELL’S HIGHWAY - $14.90
------------------------Save 75%!--------------
XBox 360 - FRACTURE - 63% off - $14.90

DS - MUSHROOM MEN: RISE OF THE FUNGI - 33% off - $19.90

Wii - CASTLE OF SHIKIGAMI III - 40% off - $17.90

PC - STRANGER - 65% off - $10.90

BELOW $10:

PC - AGE OF MYTHOLOGY GOLD - 70% off - $8.90
PC - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL - 81% off - $7.90
PC - ARMIES OF EXIGO - 73% off - $7.90
PC - IL-2 STURMOVIK 1946 - 83% off - $7.90
PC - RISE OF NATIONS GOLD - 50% off - $7.90
PC - DUNGEON RUNNERS - 50% off - $9.90
PC - BROKEN SWORD: ANGEL OF DEATH - 80% off - $5.90
PC - AGON: LOST SWORD OF TOLEDO - 80% off - $7.90
PC - DUNGEON SIEGE 2: BROKEN WORLD - 78% off - $3.90
PC - SCARFACE: THE WORLD IS YOURS - 96% off - $1.90
PC - 3 GREAT GAMES FOR GIRLS - 76% off - $7.90
PC - PANZER KILLER - 65% off - $6.90
PC - PANZER: ELITE ACTION GOLD - 75% off - $4.90
PC - NOX - 47% off - $7.90
PC - SUDOKU PUZZLE ADDICT - 90% off - $1.90
PC - SUDEKI - 70% off - $5.90
PC - LOKI - 87% off - $5.90
PC - HAPPY FEET - 80% off - $3.90
PC - ANT BULLY - 92% off - $1.90
PC - ERAGON - 99% off - $0.21 (21 Cents!)
PC - JADE EMPIRE: SPECIAL EDITION - 88% off - $4.90
PC - INCREDIBLES: RISE OF THE UNDERMINER - $1.90
-------------------------------Save 89%!---------------
PC - PHANTASY STAR UNIVERSE: AMBITION OF ILLUMINUS - $4.90
-------------------------------Save 88%!---------------

PC - MICROSOFT DIGITAL MEDIA PRO KEYBOARD - $5.90
----------------------------Save 85%---------------

Amazon is still selling Bajo Kazooie for a reduced price. Today it’s $26.67.

Amazon also has the Limited Edition of Persona 3: FES (with artbook and soundtrack) for $21.86.

2666

What was the word on that PC version of Jade Empire? Does it have good 360 controller support? And for those like me that have the Xbox version already, does the PC version have extra content, like more quests and things of that nature?

2667

I believe it only adds some fighting styles and weapons.

2668

Wiki-wiki-wack.

also includes the Monk Zeng character but not the Tien’s Justice weapon style (both of which are available in the Limited Edition described above). Changes from the Xbox version includes increased resolutions up to 1600x1200 (1920x1200 in Widescreen), new special effects and redrawn textures, two new martial styles (Iron Palm and Viper), a new rhino demon transformation, new monsters, new high level weapons, an improved AI with enemies able to take cover more often; a new “Jade Master” difficulty level, with ability to import save games; a new world map interface; and keyboard and hotkey support. It also contains a bonus art book and poster.

2669

Overstock is having a 4-day videogame sale: only items which stood out were Bully (X360) for $16; and Last Remnant and Silent Hill 5 (X360) for $25 each.

2670

also includes the Monk Zeng character but not the Tien’s Justice weapon style (both of which are available in the Limited Edition described above). Changes from the Xbox version includes increased resolutions up to 1600x1200 (1920x1200 in Widescreen), new special effects and redrawn textures, two new martial styles (Iron Palm and Viper), a new rhino demon transformation, new monsters, new high level weapons, an improved AI with enemies able to take cover more often; a new “Jade Master” difficulty level, with ability to import save games; a new world map interface; and keyboard and hotkey support. It also contains a bonus art book and poster.

So I really like Bioware games but never bought this because I usually don’t like hand-to-hand combat much. Is that the whole combat system? Learning combos and chaining moves or can it be simplified for those that don’t like that stuff?

$4.90 isn’t much to lose even if I don’t like it.

2671

Thanks for the quote Zengonzo.

It doesn’t mention 360 controller support, and I can’t imagine a game like Jade being fun with the keyboard and mouse. And ‘the ability to import save games’ is a feature? Import them from where? The Xbox version? And if not, then why the heck is that even being mentioned? Anyway, it doesn’t mention any new quests or interesting content, so I’ll stick with my Xbox version when I replay it one day from the evil (sorry, Closed-fist) side.

2672

Hmm … I don’t think the combat was very difficult - but it does involve a bit more mashery than the average Bioware game. It certainly doesn’t approach the complexity of a fighting game - more often than not it involves picking the style that Rock-Paper-Scissors-counters a given foe. There were some encounters in the later game where you were in a pretty tough spot if you hadn’t gone down a particular route of development … But not so bad that you couldn’t slog through them with enough time.

It’s a great adventure if you won’t miss the five bucks. The characters represent the most interesting aspect - and some decent quests besides. My greatest complaint was that the latter half of the game feels rushed-up, but that’s pretty typical for Bioware, right?

2673

You can use the 360 controller with the PC Jade Empire.

2674

Combat is fairly simplistic and button-mash-y, IMHO, especially compared to stuff like Devil May Cry or a serious fighting game. The trick is figuring out which combat styles are most effective against which opponents.

2675

Goddamnit. I wish I’d thought of that before I invested in a punk ass wireless bridge for my second xbox and a variety of other home wireless bandaids. Maybe a project for next year’s budget.

2676

Awesome, thanks!

2677

Holy shit, if you don’t already have Bully, do this! One of the best 360 games of last year.

2678

Wow, the price of Fracture really went through the floor in a hurry. Even on other sites it is selling for well below standard Xbox 360 retail prices.

2679

Honestly, it had the stench of Bargain Bin Fodder before it even came out. When one preview I read explained how they changed the main character from one generic-looking white dude to ANOTHER generic-looking white dude, I got the sense they had no idea how to build on their own semi-nifty premise.

2680

My understanding is that it was George Lucas himself that forced the change that resulted in the Jet Brody character the game ended up starring.

I bit on Fracture for 360 when GoGamer had it previously for $15. I tried it out last night and it’s actually pretty bad. The graphics…I dunno. They’re fuzzy and weird. It’s like they can’t maintain sharpness or consistency. The animation, paricularly in the in-engine cutscenes is brutal. The shooting and aiming feels off. Moreover the guns lack any kind of punch. Everything you shoot feels weak and ball-less. Contributing to that is the horrible sound. The music is attrocious faux-summer blockbuster pap. I mean it’s noticeably bad. The sound effects are also bad and lack any sort of pop. The voice acting is decent I suppose and the premise of a second American civil war is somewhat interesting. The gameplay just doesn’t back that up in any way.

Even the game’s big gimick, terrain defomation, is only mildly interesting. You can raise or lower the ground using grenades or the deformation tool. Using the tool to make cover is a decent idea, except it’s frustrating and difficult to actually make the cover rise in front of Jet. Usually I end up with at least some of it rising under my feet, which doesn’t help me when I’m getting decimated by the hoards of faceless enemies the game throws at me. Otherwise the terrain deformation has only been used (in the 1 to 2 hours I played) to “solve” extremely basic environmental roadblocks.

I mean, if you had nothing else to do, I guess you could spend $15 on worse games, but Fracture is (again, based on 1 to 2 hours of play) a thoroughly low-end mediocre experience.