R2DJ

Since I've heard of the news that there will be a GOTY version of Batman: Arkham City this month, I'm pretty pumped up again, considering I've finished the game already but I wanna play through it again and I didn't really fiddle with the challenges as I just rented it. Now that I've pre-ordered it, it's gonna be a keeper and I'll tackle the challenges when I get it, not to mention the new Harley DLC.

I've also heard that Arkham City will have future episodes, I'm not really familiar with how content works across different versions of games, so I'm asking these questions:

1) Are there any other games that had DLC after a GOTY/ultimate version was released? I look at Borderlands, Arkham Asylum, and BF: BC2 and, correct me if I'm wrong, those games did not have DLC released after a GOTY version was released.

2) I've only ever owned one physical GOTY version, and that was Arkham Asylum. On the 360, the GOTY version was different than the standard version in a way that saves cannot be used inbetween the two versions and the achievements list are separate. Does this also apply to GOTY versions? I haven't tried a game where I played a standard edition beforehand, finished the game, bought the GOTY months later and continued the save.

3) How are the extra content usually bundled? Arkham Asylum had all the content on the disc. Are there other GOTY releases where the extra content came in the form of a download code/extra disc/online pass?

As days pass by, I notice myself playing less and less of my 360. The only game I play off it is Rock Band 3 (thanks to 800+ songs) and the occasional Mass Effect 3 and BF3. Ever since I played Battlefield 3 at my friend's house, it's hard to look back considering BF3 PC had AMAZING graphics. I have never been that much of a graphics whore, until now. Not really 100% graphics whore, but more like seeing things a bit clearer on the PC version. I've also played a lot of OnLive recently and I love it. True, people hate it but only because they have crappy connections. Whilst I do have the occasional blur and lag, I don't mind. I like the fact that people can watch you and cheer/jeer you, seamless switching between mouse+kb and controller, and the little microconsole only uses up 10% power of the 360.

I am tempted to sell my games for the PC versions. I have been also taken a little more interest in the mouse and keyboard control scheme as of late, and I'm loving it again. Last time I played mouse and keyboard was about 12 years ago, playing Warcraft II, Age of Empires II, Doom, Hexen, Return Fire, the list goes on!

At the same time, I don't have a very powerful machine. I use a Macbook Pro 13" 2010 model, which has subpar specs. I can run the old games like Deux Ex GOTY, Viva Pinata, Microsoft Flight and Batman Arkham Asylum. I can run Batman smoothly on 1280 x 800 res, with high quality and it runs fine. Microsoft Flight, with V-sync off and high quality, suffers some hiccups but when I set the quality to Medium it's smooth. I do have a HDMI monitor, but I don't mind playing on the 13' screen as it's one of the best screens I've ever seen and I'd favor performance over size for this one.

Here are the specs of the MBP:
2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
nVIDIA GeForce GT 320M
Windows 7 SP1 64-bit
250GB HDD, 120GB partition for OS X and Win 7

Also, if you will recommend me to switch to PC, I plan to split it between native PC and OnLive version. Basically, the ones I want to have physically are Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim and a bunch of old games (Mass Effect and the ones listed before). If my Mac won't run it, I'll buy it on OnLive (if it's there)

Finally, I've done tests via systemrequirementlab.com and when I tested the games, all specs are PASS except the graphics card. Important question: which looks better: game running on 360 or on PC with Low Quality settings and V-Sync off?

So, should I switch to PC/OnLive for games or should I remain on the 360?

I think I can say I'm finally burnt out from playing video games. I just rented Halo CE for 360 and No More Heroes for PS3 and when I play them, I find myself getting bored of it really quick, and after 30 minutes or so I turn it off. It's a shame because I just paid for Lovefilm 5 days ago so that's a whole month of gaming waiting for me. I knew I should've cancelled it... I had that gut feeling but I wanted to try out the games mentioned. Now I just feel like I can't play video games anymore. I'm burnt out. I also tried playing my 3DS and I'm still yet to play any of my ambassador games. The 3DS is a keeper though, definitely.

Maybe it's because I've got arguably "instant access" to games; I've got Lovefilm and I can get any game I want (provided they have it) after 2 days of waiting, I've picked up some cheap games for 99p before my local Gamestation closed down (Prey, Gears of War, Resistance, Mass Effect, Avatar), the 3DS has about 20+ games that I still have to play, I've got some awesome games on OnLive in the form of Deux Ex, Borderlands, Mafia 2, Dead Island. Not to mention I can pretty much demo any game on that platform for 30 minutes and that will usually get me satisfied. My friends are way too busy with their dissertations/school/work/away on holiday. And I've just had 3 grueling months in uni and now that I'm on a break and won't be back to uni until next month for exams, I still got that feeling where if I spend my free time enjoying myself, I feel stressed and constrained because I keep thinking that I have coursework or something else more productive to do. Maybe those are the reasons why I don't feel the fun in playing video games anymore.

Now that that's all out, I guess I gotta bring back my other hobbies, hobbies that I haven't enjoyed for a long time. I've been considering getting the Hunger Games trilogy books because I've been intrigued by it. Last time I've read a book was Deathly Hallows and that was 3 years ago. Any tempers here that are readers? Care to recommend any books for me to read? I like to read anything really (except Twilight).

I may also carry on with my UDK coursework from uni and make it a fully fledged game (because we were only required to make a level. Not a fully playable level, just a level that can be walked through in UDK). Or delve more into 3DS Max, or maybe learn a programming language or two to be more proficient in it. I'm also considering re-joining the gym, or learn to play guitar.

Any tempers here experienced burnout? What things did you do whilst you "were on hiatus"?

Can anyone describe to me how this works? My friends are asking me if I want to "stealth patch" my 360. Although I don't want to, I'm a bit intrigued. How does it work exactly?

I've done some googling and found that stealth patching is done so you don't get caught by MS when you're playing an ISO. Isn't it that you will still be banned even if you stealth patch?

Will you recommend it to me? I regularly play online, download games, add-ons and other stuff from the marketplace and use services like YouTube, BBC on my 360?

I'm also aware of the XGD3 format on some of the newer games on the 360. Can they be stealth patched too?

Would appreciate some clarity.

So I just had a grueling 3 months in uni and now that I got a month off until my exams, I plan to grind a few games. Care to give me any suggestions on what games to play?

I have enjoyed the following games and I wish to play games similar to these ones:

• Batman Arkham Asylum, Arkham City
  
• LA Noire
  
• Portal 2, Orange Box
  
• Assassin's Creed (all of it)
  
• The multiplayer aspects of Assassin's Creed Revelations and Mass Effect 3
  
• Battlefield 3
  
• LEGO Games (Batman, Star Wars)
  
• Simpsons Game
  
• Red Dead Redemption
  
• LIMBO
  
• Uncharted trilogy
  
• RAGE
  
• Need For Speed Hot Pursuit

To describe that list even further, I'd like to play games with excellent story, intuitive gameplay, not necessarily combat-driven, would cater to a collector like me and optional free online multiplayer.


So please recommend me at least 3 games on the 360/PS3 and reasons why. I'm using Lovefilm and their recommendation system is not enough for me. Seriously, half of the list is COD, games I've already played and FPS garbage.

Thanks