Neuro
A champion of Kurtis SP
Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7225
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i still havent tried halo odst |
Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:31 pm |
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Mark in Minnesota
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 1895
Location: Saint Louis Park, MN |
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Like it or not, franchises tend to be more important than single titles in modern video gaming; idioms which appear in those games tend to cross-pollinate into standalone titles more than the other way around.
So, start with franchises. I think your top priorities here should be:
- Rocksteady's Batman games: Arkham Asylum, and Arkham City. These are the best action platformers of a generation. They're fun, they've aged quite well, and they're fairly fast to play through.
- The Assassin's Creed franchise. The first one feels a little dated and you might be able to skip it (or at least power through it without trying to 100% complete anything) without missing much in terms of story or learning curve. The franchise as a whole is one of the most important series of this generation on consoles, for its revolutionary approach to control schemes, crowd dynamics, etc. Playing these are a good way to get a sense of what modern titles _should_ offer in terms of technology.
- The Fallout franchise, starting with 3 and potentially moving on to New Vegas. Both titles can be had cheaply in definitive editions which include all the DLC already on-disc. Bethesda makes the best-of-breed first person RPGs for the single-player console; the only way you should avoid these is if you can play them on the PC and get access to the modder community instead.
Top priority standalone titles:
- Metro 2033: This game is a short work of art, combining standard first-person-shooter mechanics with survival horror.
- Halo: ODST: This game is the best thing in the Halo franchise. It's far less ambitious than any of the other titles but it has a tone of craft and ambience to it. If you're only going to play one Halo title before Halo 4 is released this winter, IMO this should be the one you play.
- GTA4, including DLC chapters. Grand Theft Auto is technically a franchise but this is currently the only GTA game out for the consoles. I think Rockstar did an incredible job tying three different lead characters into a single world. I've been systematically replaying these games for what amounts to the fourth time since the main title came out in 2008, and it doesn't feel dated to me at all.
Secondary priority franchises:
- Halo. Halo is the definitive Xbox FPS, both for single-player and multiplayer. The single-player campaigns are rich and engrossing, and the multiplayer components are intensely competitive and well-balanced. As others have mentioned, Halo Wars is a tie-in game from a different developer and should be avoided, or at least treated as product of a lesser pedigree.
- Gears of War. Gears is the definitive Xbox third-person shooter in the same vein as Halo. These titles quite strongly defined that genre and it's worth playing these if only to get a sense of those idioms for use in future games.
- Portal. First person platform/puzzler. These have really come to define a certain segment of geek pop culture which is in love with gaming technologies but are embarrassed by their macho violence. They were a critical event in this generation of consoles and PC games, and every serious gamer should either play them or see them in action.
- Kane & Lynch. There are only two of these so far; they take the hard-boiled action of films like Heat and build a third-person shooter out of them, resulting in much more intense and polished action than you will see in similar gameplay from sandboxer titles like Grand Theft Auto. Good writing, good voice acting, challenging play, creative approaches to both co-op and multiplayer.
- Mass Effect & Dragon Age: Bioware's action RPGs, respectively issued in science fiction and fantasy flavors. I'm not as big a fan of these as many people, because I think that the games have been partially ruined by the structure of the downloadable content, and because I think that the action is too simplistic and that the role-playing dialogue trees get stale too quickly.
Secondary priority standalone titles:
- Skyrim. This is the only Elder Scrolls title currently worth playing, and since you have so many other good games to play in the meantime you should let more bored and desperate gamers be Bethesda's after-market beta testers. There will most likely be some definitive edition of this game released on disc within a year or two, an omnibus of the patched title and final releases of all the DLC. This game is great, and huge, and so long that you'll probably only play it once, so wait until it's stable. Also, consider playing it on the PC instead if you want access to the modding community.
- Red Dead Redemption. The Rockstar Games sandboxer format taken into the cowboy/western genre. It's a great game and it's aged well. You should play it but probably not until after you've played GTA4 and its DLC.
- Dead Island. First person action RPG with zombies, nearly-seamless integration of single-player and multiplayer modes, rewarding replay value, fun DLC, beautiful scenery, etc. Unfortunately it's fairly buggy in places and feels like a tech demo from a studio struggling to scale up to a larger production. Worth playing, eventually.
- Mirror's Edge. This was a fairly ambitious and revolutionary thing to attempt: A first-person 3D action platformer. Concepts introduced here (like being able to see your avatar's hands and feet as you run) have made it into a quite a few subsequent and upcoming titles. This one is aging badly but has historical importance and so I think serious gamers should play it at least once or twice.
- Braid. This is a throwback to 2D platform games, but gives an artistic, puzzle-oriented approach to them. It's the single best thing to happen in Xbox Live Arcade and deserves your attention.
- I AM ALIVE. Another Xbox Live Arcade game, this is the first one I've played that really felt like it could have warranted a full standalone disc--albeit for an earlier game system. This is a thoughtful re-visitation of the post-apocalyptic world: no mutants or aliens or Road Warrior-esque bondage/leather gangs. Just starvation, crumbling buildings, choking dust, and people who don't know whether they should cooperate or kill one another to survive. Some of the best games are great because of the things they leave out, and this is a very good game in that spirit of prior-generation titles like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.
I really like a lot of games that I haven't mentioned here--but this list would probably take me six to nine months to get through and so I don't want to start muddying you up with shit like Alpha Protocol that just isn't worth your time by comparison. |
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Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:43 pm |
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OM3N
Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 1297
Location: Thailand |
Has anyone here ever played EvE Online? I just started the 2 week free trial yesterday and already have more than 12 hours logged. After 12 hours I probably understand 0.0003% of this game, but goddamn it is fascinating. The fact that the (HUGE, and insanely complex) economy is completely dictated by the players, and that it seems to be probably the most complicated game ever made make it irressistible to me.
Is it repetitive? Yes, so far. Is it Super Duper Grafx Awesome? Not really, but it has a charm to it.
Help me, this is my first hit of MMO, I think I might never be able to quit. |
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Mon Jul 09, 2012 4:59 am |
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Prontoid
Joined: 07 Aug 2002
Posts: 1567
Location: Melbourne, Australia |
I found Metro 2033 harder than Dark Souls, although I never put as much effotr into trying to figure it out |
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Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:00 pm |
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breakreep
homophobic yet curious
Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 6627
Location: Fifth Jerusalem |
Having beaten Metro 2033 and played Dark Souls for about 25 hours now, I feel that Dark Souls is significantly harder than Metro 2033 in almost every way that it could possibly be harder. |
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Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:54 pm |
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Prontoid
Joined: 07 Aug 2002
Posts: 1567
Location: Melbourne, Australia |
breakreep wrote:
Having beaten Metro 2033 and played Dark Souls for about 25 hours now, I feel that Dark Souls is significantly harder than Metro 2033 in almost every way that it could possibly be harder.
yer no doubt im tripping, I just remember that game being very difficult |
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Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:01 am |
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Captiv8
Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8167
Location: Third Coast |
Metro 2033 was one of the best games I've played for 360. It has an awesome story, a nice variation of weapons that make killing foes interesting, and a style of play that can range from stealthy to Rambo depending on taste. There was also a great mix of indoor and outdoor environments, both of which were designed and lighted really well. I played through this one twice, once just for kicks. |
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Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:39 pm |
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Z-0
Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 700
Location: Sydney |
started the HD remake (remake used very loosely) of Silent Hill 2 today. thankfully a patch was released today helping it run a little smoother and restoring some density and depth to the fog. despite it being a lazy port, thanks to its design it still looks better than most modern survival horror games and surprisingly it still packs quite a psychological punch. havent yet had a look at SH3HD. i do wish they'd also included The Room. |
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Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:09 pm |
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Captiv8
Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8167
Location: Third Coast |
I've been looking into getting the Silent Hill collection and Downpour. Good survival horror is well worth the price, and I wouldn't mind replaying SH2. It's a shame the first one wasn't included. Never played 3.
I also had a blast as a werewolf in Skyrim. I never actually transformed into one until the dlc compelled me to for an achievement. There was something really gratifying about bashing a foe's head into the ground while slashing his face, then biting out his heart. Plus you can run super fast. Oddly, transforming back to a human leaves you in your skivvies, but doing the same as a vampire lord doesn't. |
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Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:30 pm |
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Z-0
Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 700
Location: Sydney |
Captiv8 wrote:
I've been looking into getting the Silent Hill collection and Downpour. Good survival horror is well worth the price, and I wouldn't mind replaying SH2. It's a shame the first one wasn't included. Never played 3.
if you're playing on 360 the HD collection is definitely worth your time and money. i dont think it has any of the issues the ps3 version has (or had pre-patch). it's worth the price for SH2 alone. it's still not a particularly amazing hd upgrade, but it's a fine game. and SH3 is also very good, amazing actually. less surreal than 2 and probably the last truly great game of the series (though i do love 4 as well). |
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:06 am |
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Neuro
A champion of Kurtis SP
Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7225
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i have never played any silent hill and dont know what they are, is it like re4? |
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:52 am |
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Neuro
A champion of Kurtis SP
Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7225
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holy shit
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:08 am |
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Captiv8
Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8167
Location: Third Coast |
Silent Hill, on paper, is basically just you clunking around in third person, worrying about groans coming around corners and through fog. And for some reason the town of Silent Hill always continues to exist (or does it?) despite its supernatural horrors. But the gameplay experience is awesome in my book. It's a spooky kind of thing. Think Dead Space without the space or the cool weapons and upgrades. |
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:53 am |
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Z-0
Joined: 28 Sep 2004
Posts: 700
Location: Sydney |
neuro, i much prefer the manner in which team silent handled the themes running through the first 4 Silent Hill games, as opposed to the popcorn nature of RE. SH focuses more on human conditions and the consequences of actions. in SH2 alone you're dealing with denial, abandonment, child abuse, sexual abuse, incest and so on. and none of those issues are cheaply applied to the narrative for simple shock purposes, at least i dont feel they are. in terms of gameplay it is just another 3rd person horror adventure with monsters to shoot.
and of course there's this
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Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:32 am |
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