T w e n t y S i d e d
Because there is simply not enough poetry in videogames.
From The Archives:
Juvenile and Proud
Yes, this game is loud, crude, childish, and stupid. But it it knows what it wants to be and nails it. And that's admirable.
Object-Disoriented Programming
C++ is a wonderful language for making horrible code.
Best. Plot Twist. Ever.
Few people remember BioWare's Jade Empire, but it had a unique setting and a really well-executed plot twist.
How I Plan To Rule This Dumb Industry
Here is how I'd conquer the game-publishing business. (Hint: NOT by copying EA, 2K, Activision, Take-Two, or Ubisoft.)
Spoiler Warning
A video Let's Play series I collaborated on from 2009 to 2017.
Here’s a chance to either help Sony’s PS3 sales numbers or keep them waiting for the little money hanging around in my pocket: Anyone know if Overlord 2 is good?
I’m basically thinking that I will get the PS3 this year. Right now, I’m waiting for the killer game that I really want to play that I can’t get on the PS2 but can still get on the PS3 (the original Overlord is hard to find). Overlord 2 is the first that actually meets that (DC vs Mortal Kombat was tempting, but just not worth it) — as long as it’s a good game.
About the only thing that would stop me from getting a PS3 if Overlord 2 is good is if Sony’s announced a cheaper version will be out in the next couple of months. Or a backwards compatible one.
Villanelles are the goddamn bane of my existence. On the few occasions I’ve tried to start one, I haven’t been able to write anything that didn’t sound like pure, phoning-it-in cliche garbage. I guess it’s my weak spot.
Mostly, if I’m doing poetry (which I usually don’t), I just wing it. Screw poetry styles. I’m make my own template, and then break it, and then act like that’s what I wanted to do all along.
(I like the poem, but I especially liked the bootlick beatnick quip.)
@Daimbert: In my opinion the plot and characters weren’t quite as good as the original (although they were still good) but the combat was better (and more challenging) with more useful control options available. There are some bugs in the PC version but I didn’t encounter any absolute game breakers.
@Adeon: Aw, crap. Why is it that companies have to try to make combat more CHALLENGING in sequels? Tough combat stops me from getting to the parts of the game I REALLY enjoy, so I tend to look for the setting of “If you breathe on the enemies, they’ll die” for that [grin].
I’m not BAD at combat, but it and puzzles are the number one things that get me to stop a game because I just can’t muster up the effort required to move past it to the more interesting things …
@Daimbert: Well the extra challenge is mostly mental in that you have to put a bit of thought into where your minions go rather than just selecting browns and holding down the left mouse button. They lowered the damage that browns do and upped the damage that reds and greens do so combat is more about positioning the different types to support each other. They also applied a similar thing to enemies so archers do insane amounts of damage and Centurions provide a powerful passive buff meaning that you have to figure out how to flank the main formations and take them out first.
I really wanted to put a Gilbert & Sullivan tune to this one.
My sole, very slight criticism: spelling it “gangsta” would have given it more punch.
Still, it’s quite awesome.
@1:
i havent played overlord 2 yet, primarily because everyone i know who got it said the first one was a lot better (and a whole lot longer/more content)… i loved the first one, but im tired of paying $50+ for a game i can blow through in a weekend…
Daimbert, Overlord II is really, really good unless you break it. Do not break it! It is very frustrating if you do so. You’ll have to go back to a save that’s three hours old, but you’ll never be able to bring yourself to do so and the disc will just sit there all sad and alone for months and months while you play other games on a different platform.
Every once in a while you’ll think back to those poor little minions and feel terribly, terribly guilty. Who will take care of them? Who will find them beer to guzzle, sheep to swarm, peacocks to wear? No one. No one every will love them the way you did. And yet, even as you sadly contemplate this, you will turn away. You will choose again and again to abandon them. You heartless monster. I hope their plaintive cries haunt you until the day you die.
Anyway, never backtrack to save after a boss. Just go on and you’ll be okay. Have fun!
Earlier I wrote up a fairly lengthy opinion on Overlord 2 this afternoon, but the site became inaccessible when I tried to post it, and it unfortunately disappeared.
Anyway, my Overlord 2 thoughs in brief(er) form:
– IMHO not as charming as the first
– A few really annoying parts to get through
– A bug similar to the one Melodrama Jones mentioned almost destroyed 5+ hours of gameplay for me, but fortnately some forum searching turned up a solution. Still really annoying.
– While some improvements were made over Overlord, there’s not all that much that’s really new and interesting.
– I’m fairly near the end, but have little motivation to keep playing. I’m now reading my second novel since I “took a break” from it.
– I quite liked the original Overlord, but overall, Overlord 2 has been a disappointment.
When you finish your villanelle, you can move on to the final stage of poetic combat: the paradelle. ;)
I thought a villanelle was a small female villain. I stand corrected.
You might wanna fix your strip template, this one was copyright 2008.
I’m not really sure why, but the first Overlord just seemed to have more character. I enjoyed Overlord 2, but it did not have the same feel as the original.
One note: If you are struggling on a section (i.e. lots of dead minions) then you are not doing it the optimum way. There were several places in the game where I got all or nearly all of my minions wiped out the first time, but on a second try I was able to get past with no or only a couple deaths by changing my strategy.
Oh, and the spider elevator section is not nearly as hard as it seems, if you think of the correct method (which I did not for quite a while and was really pissed off at the designers until I did).
When the Halo musical comes out I’ll be the first to buy a ticket. :D
Great comic strip.