SC +11: Area Effect

Submitted by Perrin on Wed, 22/04/2009 - 19:29

So let's take a look at what we have on offer this week. The podcast runs over an hour, Rob waffles on for ages about raiding in WoW, in bollocks of the week we go wildly off topic, in you shouldn't play this I praise a game I haven't even played, and in reader's comment you all prove to be very dull when it comes to MMO anecdotes.

Strangely enough though 5 wrongs somehow make a right, and the whole thing is reasonably entertaining. Well as entertaining as Stage Clear ever seems to be.

I hope you've all got a very long and delayed commute in which to "enjoy" this episode.

Enhanced iTunes M4A version (31.6MB)
Normal MP3 Version (29.6MB)

Reader's question: "What is the most frustrating experience you've had while playing a video game?"

Dear Stage Clear, I'm

Submitted by Quit on Tue, 28/04/2009 - 15:17.

Dear Stage Clear,

I'm confused about your justification of dorks who talk about wielding level 9 staffs or being the elfin mage of Van-Der-Valk (or wherever). You seem to equate them to fans of cars such as Jeremy Clarkson and fans of football such as racists. I'm not sure how that supports your argument.

Sure, all hobbies have terminology, but not all hobbies require you to become a crushing embarrassment to your peers. Although, actually, it's video games isn't it? So. Who am I to judge? Well I'm NOT a fucking dungeon master, that's who.

Matt.

I've broken one ps2

Submitted by madmatt95 on Sat, 25/04/2009 - 01:44.

I've broken one ps2 controller thanks to tomb raider and two ps3 controllers from fifa 09 embarrisment and the other from the cock kicking cod5 veteran mode. I might have broken my current one too because of rock band failure (it was the 2nd closest thing to me other than the guitar), the sticks are stiff and sometimes x gets stuck. Oh and what was the story of the guy who caught scurvy by playing an MMO?

Their have been loads of

Submitted by Gamer2k on Fri, 24/04/2009 - 22:16.

Their have been loads of frustrating scenarios’ that I am finding it hard to pick a worst one, theirs beating meta Ripley on hard mode in metroid prime, getting the unlockables in goldeneye, getting Micro Machines 2 not to crash randomly.

But thinking about it their is one game that frustrated me too no ends, after playing double dragon 2 for ages and loving it I went out and bought double dragon 3... after playing the game for about 10 hours and not even getting past the 1st stage this game is my constant reminder that no mater how good the last game was the sequel can be shit.

I'm a casual gamer at best.

Submitted by Agent_grey on Fri, 24/04/2009 - 15:26.

I'm a casual gamer at best.

I find a game I might like, play it to a point and then either something in the real world interupts me or I'm distracted by a shinier new item or game and wander off to pay some interest into that berifly.
So rare is it that I do get fustrated with a game, I just plain dont get into them enough.
But there was one that flicked that tiny switch deep inside me. that little flick from meer annoyance to sheer unabashed rage filled detemination.

Eternal Champions on the Megadrive. Time traveling warriors fight it out to see who is suitable to be the great savior of the future, featuring Sexy Ninjas, 1920'sDetectives, Cavemen and Vampires.

I used to read a comic that would have rotating strips based on popular or new games released for sega consoles. Eternal Champions got quite the push, it had a strip in the comic, it's own special issue dedicated to it, a poster magazine the whole shebang. I'd even found a 'choose your own adventure book'

I was so excited to play this game, I rented it out after saving up every penny I could grab from the sofa and grandparents sweetie money.

And I played.

Oh lord did I play.

Being as casual as I was It was novel for me to learn or even be bothered to remember moves for a game, so the fact that I did was testement for how sweapt up I got in this game that no one remembers now.

I did all I could, tested the waters with each character and finnaly settled on using one, quickly learning all there was to know.
I ripped apart all that stood before me in glorious 16bit battle, Tremble and find yourself humbled before my vast time traveling vampiric onslaught!

All the way up to the second to last battle.

Against THIS man! http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/5112/234473-jonathan_blade2_large.jpg

I attempted anything and everything yet nothing would get through, all that time and effort wasted as he blocked all but the meerest fraction of attacks and pulverized me at the same time.

Defeated. I did it again.

And Again.

And AGAIN.

I forget how long it was I spent on this game but by the time I started it was 11am, now it was dusk and still the green suited bastard would not fall.

I stopped as my dad came in from work, he greeted everyone, came up put a hand on my shoulder and almost instantly I turned into a 10 year old blubbering wreck.

Years later I would find a copy on the flea market in university. I calmly bought, took it to the train station and threw it under a train just to watch it die it's little death in my mind.

All in all it's a good thing I didnt have this trouble with a cat or something, I'm told this is how serial killers start...

Oh God, I remember that game.

Submitted by Quit on Tue, 28/04/2009 - 15:21.

Oh God, I remember that game. That guy was a cunt.
I'm glad you found piece by murdering the cartridge later on.
That's probably the only way to let go of obsession. Murdering.

Shiva in Resident Evil 5

Submitted by Tseng808 on Thu, 23/04/2009 - 12:45.

Shiva in Resident Evil 5 ENOUGH said!

Most fustrated i've been with

Submitted by Spunky on Thu, 23/04/2009 - 10:21.

Most fustrated i've been with a game would probably be with CoD4, veteran mode, either doing the final mission which took 3 days of trying (i didn't do the easy mdoe way of making the bots do the work!) or even worse, the 3rd to last level, when you go underground, into the silo... Theres boxes everywhere, and after that, a tunnel which splits left and right, both with 2 enemies, but instant kill you n_n I'm very vocal and not physical with my anger, but god damn the pad almost got it that day.

Games that force you to use

Submitted by trav on Thu, 23/04/2009 - 10:03.

Games that force you to use broken mechanics. For this we will use the good old Mirror's Edge example. A game that when it got it right, it was great. But the combat was designed, coded and tested by a team of deaf, mute monkeys.

Now, if during the entire game you could avoid combat and get one with it, then great, wouldn't be a problem. But when you encounter sections were you have to BEAT EVERYONE UP to continue and they all have guns, then we have a serious fucking problem. The person who suggested that should be shoved into the car park outside of DICE's offices and told to beat up 5 people while they are all shooting at them. See how easy they find it now.

Oh and games with terrible sign-posting for their next objective. Well done Sonic Unleashed. Creating a world map that gives you no clear idea of where you're supposed to go, even worse if you have left the game for a while and are coming back to it.

There was one time, where I

Submitted by elenawing on Thu, 23/04/2009 - 09:18.

There was one time, where I truly screamed out in sheer rage.

I was playing grandia 2 on the dreamcast, was doing the second to final boss (giant freaky jellyfish), and I had been fighting for ages, 5th try I managed to kill him....and my dreamcast reset itself...

I actually screamed in horror and threw the controller on the floor in frustration, bear in mind I was about 12 and i swear it's affected me for life.

I am now a save point freak, I get nervous everytime there's an endboss and i pray that lightning storms don't hit when im playing something.

fucking grandia 2....the end wasn't even worth the frustration! D:

Platformers. The whole genre

Submitted by DiamondMX on Thu, 23/04/2009 - 02:59.

Platformers. The whole genre frustrates me - I think they've got the whole frustration-reward balance...actually I don't think they have a 'balance'.

I wrote the whole genre off at Sonic, checked out Lara's boobs a while later, and never looked back.
(I lie, I may have looked at Lara's boobs again, once)

when it comes to frustration,

Submitted by fatkraken on Wed, 22/04/2009 - 22:30.

when it comes to frustration, I *was* going to post Yoshis Island or Donkey Kong country; 2D platformers where I had to spend dozens, if not HUNDREDS of lives getting past certain points. Yoshis island was particularly bad because I was going for 100%, and there were ski jump and timed helicopter sections where you could permanently miss an item and would have to restart the level.

then I remembered Earthworm Jim. The bathysphere on the third level. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKQyA_evq3k#t=06m00s

timed? check. you had to be FAST. Hard to control and drifty as FUCK? check. Totally different from the rest of the game? yup. You also took damage whenever you bumped a wall, and because it wasn't taking %-ages off your health, invincibility cheats and such didn't work. Look at the video; even the guy who recorded this and thought it was worth posting to youtube nearly dies. I think I beat this section ONCE, after that I just skipped the entire level whenever I wanted to play.

for more modern games, the difficulty spikes for some of the bosses in Strangers Wrath are pretty unforgiving, no destroyed controllers but a lot of VERY late nights because I refused to go to bed without beating a level.