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I had a similar experience when my then girlfriend and I played through the entire co-op campaign of Portal 2. Having two people of similar logical ability play that game made for an incredible time. "
Honestly, I think The Thing has even more potential to be even more heart wrenching than The Walking Dead. In TWD, I keep the 2-3 characters I really like as safe as humanly possible. And when I make a tough choice, it's always with their best interests in mind. I can trust these characters implicitly...until they get bitten (which hopefully doesn't happen as I'm only on Ep. 3)
But in a Thing game, I could never trust anyone completely, no matter how much I cared about them. And that's a fascinating concep"
In fact, I'd argue that the way the side missions appear based on your progress in the story actually keep you on track. In a game like Skyrim, you can branch off the main quest line almost immediately and never look back, but Borderlands 2 only allows you to stray so far before your only choice is to get back to the story at hand (even though that story isn't particularly good).
As for your conclusion, I hope Gearbox doesn't answer your question because I think it would force them into a design style that doesn't match up with what they are trying to do.
Borderlands needs to continue to straddle that line between linear and open experience. I think that's what makes it so interesting and gives it the ability to keep players on task while also allowing MMO-style party mechanics. "
I believe exploiting a computer is just fine. In any PvE situation, using whatever advantages you have at your disposal should be not only tolerated, but applauded. Finding a spot to "glitch" Crawmerax the Invincible (a raid boss in one of the original Borderlands DLCs) into not registering your existence was extremely satisfying (especially when that boss has the audacity to be called "invincible").
If Gearbox (the developers of Borderlands) want to correct this, that's their perogative. But until they do, it should be fair game (which, in this instance, it is). In fact, today Gearbox fixed a bug in Borderlands 2 in which a character that would give you a rare piece of loot each time you found him would appear 100% of the time instead of the normal ~10% of the time. It's a little disappointing that they fixed it (since the bug actually fixed itself mid-way through the game, so that only low-level characters could take advantage), but again, that's their call.
But when an exploit interferes with the fairness of player v. player, that's when things need to be put to a stop. Bobby's right, developers have to look out for the greater good, especially near the end game where players have little left to improve on their own. If one class has an exploit that gives it an unfair advantage over every other class, what would the point be in playing one of those other classes? At that point, the game is broken, and must be repaired.
But the more interesting and important point is how exploiters are dealt with. In my opinion, a message should be sent to offending players warning them of their misconduct. If these Guild Wars players were told that what they were doing was outside the parameters of the game and that they would be banned if they continued their activity, then I'd bet a majority of them would stop the exploit (and those that didn't would be rightly banned). But that should only be a stop gap measure until the developer was able to patch the game.
What you don't do is immediately ban people without warning, even those that are exploiting on purpose. After all, if there's a leak, you don't punish the water. You fix the leak. "
My favorite line ever though comes from the abrupt, somewhat unfinished ending of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
"It is all that is left unsaid upon which tragedies are built."
Whether accidentally or purposefully ironic for the game in which it was featured, that line has always stuck with me through the years."
While I don't think I'd make the claim that it's the first FF game anyone should try, I find its simplicity, traditional turn-based combat, and job system scratch the itch perfectly when I'm in a JRPG mood.
My runner up would be Final Fantasy V, but now it's just obvious how much I like the job system. "
There are some community members though (I'd go so far to say "lots,") that would like to see more of their work promoted and read by more people. These are just a few tips for them."
Also, how about those Scarecrow stages from Arkham Asylum? Those were pretty cool too."
I agree with you on Psychonauts: It could fill the whole list on its own. I think I'd edge out "Lungfishopolis" with "Milkman Conspiracy," but it's nice to see someone talk about the less obvious choice.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2's "Chemical Plant Zone" has some of the best music in not just a Sonic game, but all of gaming. And it gives you an adrenaline-fueled scare when the pink/purple chemicals rise up and try to drown you.
Can't argue against "All Ghillied Up." All tension, all the time. I'm just disappointed that Call of Duty has yet to match that moment in any of its follow-ups.
Bioshock's "Footlight Theater" (headed by insane thespian Sander Cohen,) was easily the most atmospheric level in one of the most atmospheric games of its generation and creeped you out in the best way possible.
And lastly, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island's "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy" was a technical marvel in it's day, and is still incredibly fun today.
Cool list and a great chance to discuss and remember some great parts of some great games."
And though I'm sure it's not much consolation, you can always get a newer, stonger Breaky when you boot up True Vault Hunter mode! "