VGB: Halloween Let's Play

[Valigarmander]

So, Halloween is coming up, and I wanted to do something special for you guys. It's been a little while since my last LP, so why no do another one of those?

I've compiled a list of cheesy spooky potential candidates, and I want you all to vote for the game you want me to make an LP of. Voting will be done this week, and I'll take care of the LP the week before Halloween. Hopefully you guys will enjoy the result. Here's the list of games you can choose from:

• Alone in the Dark (MS-DOS)
• Castlevania (NES)
• Chiller (NES)
• Fester's Quest (NES)
• Frankenstein: The Monster Returns (NES)
• Friday the 13th (NES)
• Monster Party (NES)
• Uninvited (NES)

I've only played at half of the games on this list before, and have never beaten any of them, so whatever you pick, I'm sure it'll be a fun and frightening experience for me. Vote for the one you like the most, and we'll have a game picked out a week from now.

[Jere]

so far 100% at alone in the dark!

[monstrman]

make that TWO hundred percent.

[Robotazy]

[FlipSwitch]

AITD I heard was pretty creepy. So, I guess I'm voting for that.

[monstrman]

Don't worry guys, alone in the dark still has 300% of the vote!

[Valigarmander]

If I have enough time, I might be able to do the top two choices.

[Loot]

You should LP Doom 3. I hear that's a pretty neat game with a few scares.

[X-3]

I remember playing Doom 3 and being so proud of myself for some reason. I think I used to gloat about how I played a game with dismembered corpses.

[Valigarmander]

I don't think I'd be able to run a game like Doom 3 on my laptop. Too fancy.

[Booyakasha]

'Alone in the Dark' is rawsome. You play that, son.

[Valigarmander]

Right now it appears as if Alone in the Dark will be the winner, so this morning I decided to test play to see how well I'd be able to record it. I used HyperCam 2, which recorded the video very well, yet I wasn't able to record any sound.

HyperCam is capable of recording audio with a microphone or without one; I'm trying to do it without (that is, record the sound the game is making). To do so, you need to select something like "stereo mix" or "mono mix" from the list of available sound recording devices in the HyperCam options. However, the only option I get is "default sound recording device", and that doesn't record the sound properly. A couple of alternatives that the help file suggested was placing a microphone up to my computer's speakers to catch the sound (I'd rather not do that), or to use an audio patch cord to connect the headphone jack on my computer to the microphone jack and record the sound that way (I don't have a cord like that, and I don't have the money to buy one at the moment). While I'm busy troubleshooting and looking for alternative ways to record my LP, does anyone here have any suggestions or ideas?

---

Nevermind, I got it. Kind of.

The sound output is too dang quiet, though.

[Dizzy]

There was no Maniac Mansion on that list. I am disappoint.

(But actually, it's not too halloween-y a game at all, not to mention how much time you'd have to invest in it. So whatevs.)

[Valigarmander]

^ I didn't include it because it seemed kind of long to do a full playthrough.

I'm only giving myself about a week to do it, anyway.

[Loot]

Dear Val

Get a $600 computer and you can run Doom 3 like a boss

<3 Loot

[Valigarmander]

Dear Loot,

Go away.

<3 Val

[Leinad]

I wouldn't even entertain the thought of playing Doom 3, that game sucks.

So are you going to be using a walkthrough for help on the winning game, or are you just going to make your own way through? Because I think that'd be more entertaining.

Also if you're playing Alone in the Dark through DOSbox, I'm pretty sure DOSbox has a recording feature for video and sound. I have no idea how you'd use it though.

[Loot]

Originally Posted by Leinad

I wouldn't even entertain the thought of playing Doom 3, that game sucks.

No part of this sentence made me not want to strangle you with a PS3 controller

[Leinad]

Originally Posted by Loot

No part of this sentence made me not want to strangle you with a PS3 controller

Much appreciated.
But seriously, that game sucks. The core mechanics are stupid, such as the guy's inability to tape the torch to the end of his gun. and then there's the fact that the guns aren't very satisfying to use, or that everything is too dark to be able to see what you're doing or where you're going (which is not so much scary as it is irritating), the arbitrary nature of the recordings strewn all over the place, or perhaps the crowning turd for the game, that it isn't scary. It might make you jump once or twice, but other than that it's the same 'scare' over and over again, whereby a panel in the wall that would have been invisible beforehand has now slid out and a drooling monster that was apparently a person is gnawing on the back of your ankles. Let's start by wondering why all of these panels exist in the first place, and why what seems like hundreds of people were in them with the exit sealed behind them when **** went down, or why the monsters decided to climb in and cover themselves up, rather than getting out and murdering some space marines. There doesn't seem to be any practical use for them, and it certainly isn't explained to us. Oh, and how about that you can basically tell when you're going to be attacked. (Is there a new gun in front of you? You're going to get in a fight). Don't get me wrong, Doom 1 and 2 are great games, but this? This is just wretched.

Sorry for derailing your topic there, Val.

[Loot]

This is the fun part where I completely tear apart your post, douse it in gasoline, take out some napalm, and completely torch the place, hopefully taking X-3 down with this all.

Originally Posted by Leinad

But seriously, that game sucks. The core mechanics are stupid, such as the guy's inability to tape the torch to the end of his gun.

I really have a hard time understanding why people bitch about this. Especially with larger guns that, oh, I don't know, have recoil or already are ungodly heavy.

Download the Duct Tape mod if you actually have issue with that. Not that I complain, if I were in this situation finding a roll of duct tape would be my last concern. Well, no, my last concern would be "Gee I wonder how SephirothKirby is doing".

and then there's the fact that the guns aren't very satisfying to use, or that everything is too dark to be able to see what you're doing or where you're going (which is not so much scary as it is irritating)

Are you one of those people that would use Force Model in games like Quake III Arena to make everyone else some giant green dude?

Also if you didn't find the Plasma Gun satisfying as hell you are very hard to please. Not that guns in FPS's are required by law to shoot twenty rockets that produce even more rockets that turn into chocolate chip cookies that then proceed to explode like frag grenades.

Actually that sounds like an awesome idea if anybody steals it I'm going to cry

the arbitrary nature of the recordings strewn all over the place

So what should provide the backstory and atmosphere, unskippable cutscenes? Yes there are already cutscenes in the game, but those are dealing with present situations. Also it's how you find the locker codes. The ones that provide awesome ****.

or perhaps the crowning turd for the game, that it isn't scary. It might make you jump once or twice, but other than that it's the same 'scare' over and over again, whereby a panel in the wall that would have been invisible beforehand has now slid out and a drooling monster that was apparently a person is gnawing on the back of your ankles. Let's start by wondering why all of these panels exist in the first place, and why what seems like hundreds of people were in them with the exit sealed behind them when **** went down, or why the monsters decided to climb in and cover themselves up, rather than getting out and murdering some space marines. There doesn't seem to be any practical use for them, and it certainly isn't explained to us.

Did you even play the game? I'm assuming not because I already put the images in my post.



These are Lost Souls. The cutscene you encounter them first in is horrifying. Unlike their cutesy little Doom I and II counterparts these ****ers are actually terrifying to look at. They're also a pain in the ass to aim at, but that's a different can.



Cherubs. Not scary in the least bit, nope.

Oh, and how about that you can basically tell when you're going to be attacked. (Is there a new gun in front of you? You're going to get in a fight).

Haha! That's funny! Funny because this is a tactic used in just about every single game series ever. Obviously not just new weapons but it's the same stupid thing. Play Half Life 2? That Rocket Launcher fight is the most infamous example of this.

Don't get me wrong, Doom 1 and 2 are great games, but this? This is just wretched.

Please turn in your Gamer card, you are no longer fit to be called a gamer. Thank you, come again!