PC Gamer - October 2011

PCGAMER POLL
BACK CHAT TER

When you get a game with
multiplayer and single-
player, how do you play it?

Play the single-
player campaign,
ignore the
multiplayer
14%

Play the single-
player campaign
first, then
multiplayer
76%

Play the
multiplayer,
ignore the
single-player
campaign
6%

Play the
multiplayer
first, then
the single-
player
5%

I’ll play about a quarter of the way through single-player to get a feel for the game, then I’ll go try out multiplayer. Jarad Faucheaux

It really depends on what I’m buying the game for. If it’s a game like Call of Duty or Battlefield, the single-player might as well not even be there. However, there are a lot of games like any GTA4 or Gears of War where I won’t touch the multiplayer. John Hubbs

I would rather play the multiplayer, because games are more fun with friends. Forest Bosley

Games have single-player modes? How do you tell when you’re beating other people? Allan Conn

I usually only buy the CoD games for the single-player, then barely touch the multiplayer. Casey Morgan

Personally I play the single-player campaign first, then again, then again, and again (and maybe one more time), before getting into the multiplayer. Michael Clitheroe How could you possibly think that?

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■ Robin in Batman: Arkham City is 38. 6 percent less flouncy than expected. Spatula

■ Duke Nukem Forever would’ve been much better without the “tiny Duke jumping from here to here” filler. Other than that, I had no complaints. Wayne Hudgins

■ Just listen to the fans: DNF was great, everything Duke Nukem needs to be. Duke is what he is, like it or not. gabrielonuris

■ DNF ’s Halo-style weapon system and regenerating health are real let-downs for me. I expected it to be more old-school. zeroskill

■ Some games are better left un-re-booted. TheVGamer

At what point is a game sequel undeserving of the family name?

Attention: Bio Ware

I see the MMO subscription model as creating pressure to play, which is pretty much the opposite of what I’m looking for in my gaming entertainment. Thus, I just want Bio Ware to know that the instant Star Wars: The Old Republic becomes sub-scription-free like Guild Wars, they won’t be able to take my money fast enough. They might even get me with some micro-transactions, who knows?

Max Ryan

When will there
be a new…

Have you guys heard any plans for EA to release Command & Conquer Generals 2 With the Zero Hour expansion, it was arguably the best RTS ever. Since then, EA has butchered the C&C series by releasing one unpolished pile of crap after another. Any chance they’re gonna get their act together and make a quality game someday? Jack Gray

We’d disagree on the notion that
C&C3 and Red Alert 3 aren’t
worth playing (you’re right about
C&C4, though), but to answer
your question: EA does appear to
have the wheels in motion on a new
Command & Conquer game
from a newly formed studio called
Victory Games. Whether it’s a new
Generals game or an online-style
reboot of the Tiberium universe, no
one knows yet. PCG o a ic eb b d e r your question: EA does appear tol l u a l

Will there ever be another true sequel to SimCity SimCity 4 came out in 1993—has EA just given up on the franchise, since it isn’t a massive moneymaker? I would love to see a SimCity 5 one day. Daniel Surface

There’s been no life in the SimCity franchise since the forgettable

SimCity Societies in 2007. Sorry to be pessimistic, but we’d bet that if EA does choose to bring it back, it’ll be as a competitor to Zynga’s

CityVille Facebook game. City sims aren’t dead, though—this year saw the release of the pretty-good Cities in Motion and Cities XL 2011. PCG

From another mother

Dungeon Siege III is like the third cousin from the old country who you’ve never met.

Left: DS2. Right: DS3. See the family resemblance?

It bears no resemblance to its predecessors, and I feel like it should be packaged with paternity test results. It makes me wonder: at what point is a game sequel undeserving of the family name? Mike Musatow e u e

Different doesn’t mean worse, so in our book, a game becomes undeserving of a good name when it’s a crappy game. It’d definitely be easier on nostalgic gamers’ emotions, though, if publishers would quit picking up dormant franchises, skinning them, and slapping their lifeless faces on otherwise completely unrelated games. But hey, catchy new names are hard to come up with these days. At least DS3 remains a fantasy hack ‘n’ slash action-RPG with co-op, so it’s got more than a few things in common with the first two Gas Powered Games-developed installments. PCG

■ You mean accurately high. RT @GreedyRaven: Listening to the PCGamer podcast where they defend their abnormally high score of DNF. @NO_IRONY