)So, the games I have, I really like.
One of the important things for me is replayability. I don't want to finish a game to never play it again.
Here are some of my thoughts on the games I have.
GTA 4
Let's start with the obvious favorite. I've been a fan of the series from the first one. Where people say GTA 3 was the greatest, for many it was a surprise hit. I knew it would be good because everything in GTA 3 is in the previous games. (On the top down view- it's like watching a satelite surveilance camera, so it doesn't bother me much.)
The GTA 4 looks fantastic. And I say this having played the game on a really lousy TV. Many missions and emails were missed because I couldn't read the text.
What I like is the little details. I'm sure if they spent less on say, watching TV or surfing the internet, they coulld put even more details in to the game.
Lighting is fantastic. It reflects off cars at night, and off the street when it's wet. The rain effect is beautiful. Not only does it reflect light and look wet, you can see drops hitting the ground, your footfalls sound different on wet pavement, control of the cars is more of a challange and tire screeching sounds different as well.
Shadows act like shadows. They don't "overlap" and are the shape of the character. I crossed in front of a person, and the shadow acted as a shadow would- it wasn't flat, and seemed to be at a different angle than the rest of the shadow. It didn't appear flat at all.
The streets themselves look great as well. Some areas are patched, some have large metal plates, there is variety with cobblestones and brick, some "older" areas have the tar pulled up exposing the cobblework undernieth, and most of the paint looks worn and in need of another coat.
Car crashes look and sound real. Damage to cars happens at the point of impact.
It's little details like that I really enjoy. For example, at night you can see the car's dome light come on when the car door is opened.
One thing I don't like is the friend/dating system. A game should be fun, not a chore on keeping someone's opnion of you up.
There's a lot more I can say on this game, but there are more on the way I want to touch upon.
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.
I'm a fan of the original games. I always love themes in games. Ice theme for some levels, desert theme in others. Hanuted house theme is a favorite of mine.
As a fan, I like this game. The text, sady was too small when it was released so I had to pick up the cheat book to know what the goals were.
Yes it is a racing game, but one thing that's a blast is you can build and test your own vehicles.
I'm having a lot of fun buidling a lot of different vehicles, then taking them to the test track. It's like a video game version of building blocks. I've tried to re-create the batmobile that separated into a bike.
I have a plane with no wheels, but uses baloons to get air lift before taking off.
Building different vehicles is such a blast. I see a lot of replay value with this one.
Farcry 2
Some friends introduced this first person shooter to me. I don't mind first person shooters per se, but there are a lot of them out there. What I liked about this one is it's continuous flow from one area to another without load screens. You stay in character as well. Open the car door and get it never breaks the first person view. You can check the map, but the game's not paused, you're checking the map in game.
I also like the fire effect. I've caught enemies in a gun fight with some fire.
Bioshock
The same friends introduced this game as well. I love the setting. I like the otpimistic 50's feel of it, and how everything goes so wrong and is destroyed.
My wish for this game would be more licensed music and use it more. Under the sea echoing from a distance then winding down is fine, but I like GTA where you can hear the whole song (or at least most of it) by driving. The music should play until you turn the jukebox off or blow it up.
I like the Fallout 3 setting. Everything is flattened yet familiar. As with Bioshock, it has 50's theme to it.
Oblivion is similar to Fallout 3, but with a fantasy twist. I liked Oblivion, but not as much as Fallout 3. After I get through Fallout 3, I'll take another look at Oblivion,.
The Force Unleshted.
Star Wars. Lightsaber. Go kill Jedi for Vader. Awesomeness. I love throwing things around with the Force.
Fable 2
Although I still feel burned over what was promised vs what was delivered for Fable 1, I still picked up Fable 2.
It's a neat setting, and for the most part it's fun but I don't like the blue glowing lines you get if you use magic. So for the most part I don't.
Someday I do hope we get Project Ego.
(The best augment combo you can have is one that gives gold on a kill, and steals life and heals you.)
Lego Indian Jones
It's cute and fun for adults as well as kids.
The Force Unleshted.
Star Wars. Lightsaber. Go kill Jedi for Vader. Awesomeness. I love throwing things around with the Force.
Unleashed.
I love pulling a bunch of things off the wall, putting them into a large pile, leading a bunch of guys toward it, then using Force Push. Blasts a WALL of fast moving metal at them. Fun times to be had by all.
Unleashed.
I love pulling a bunch of things off the wall, putting them into a large pile, leading a bunch of guys toward it, then using Force Push. Blasts a WALL of fast moving metal at them. Fun times to be had by all.
I loved this tactic, too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A19OUUT4SWU7GH/ref=cm_pdp_rev_title_1?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R12A15CB7D95GE
Fable II's -okay- but really it's not a winner (especially the end.... and the post game content is a FAIL).
Overlord I and II are both fantastic games as well. Dark, humorous and loads of fun to play. It's a unique and refreshing experience that can make a jaded gamer such as myself have faith in the gaming industry once more. The controls can be a little annoying at times in the first game but I blame the camera more than the controls there.
Ghostbusters: If you liked the Ghostbusters movies, first or second tv series you'll love this game. It really is Ghostbusters 3. (complete with proper voice actors) The first time you wrestle with a ghost using the proton pack you'll love this game. Then you get the slime gun... which I'm incredibly addicted to.
Halo3 is worth getting (actually I feel if you own a 360 you are pretty much obligated to get this game), tight gameplay, tons of multiplayer options. Love the maps.
Forza2 is the best racer I've ever played over all. Though I have not tried Grid and I hear Grid is incredible. You might want to wait though, Forza 3 is coming sooner rather than later and it looks -amazing-.
If you like mechs I recommend Armored Core 4. (Don't bother getting AC4 For Answer... really other than the Arm's Forts it's a worse game in my opinion)
Fear 1 and 2 are both amazing as well. Fear 1 really sucks you in, despite it's generic environments. Really there's three kinds of shooters out there. FPS like Fear and Farcry 2, Multiplayer Shooters such as Halo 3, and Third Person such as Gears Of War. Really there's room for multiple shooters in your library. Since you have Farcry already you could skip out on FEAR though really Fear has a very well done story. Gears of war is loads of fun and I love absolutely love it's cover mechanics.
Dead Space is pure awesome sauce though. Skip RE5. I was never actually -scared- before playing games. Then I played Dead Space, there are parts of this game that are pure terror given form.
Dead Space is pure awesome sauce though. Skip RE5. I was never actually -scared- before playing games. Then I played Dead Space, there are parts of this game that are pure terror given form.
Deadspace? Truly. One of the best games I've ever played. Not the usual survival horror knock-off. Lighting & sound, unpredictability, spatial awareness, especially the Zero-G bits, etc., all are remarkably high quality. Lot of work went into this little gem. Very innovative, terribly original, and graphically more intensive than most games. Even newer ones.
We only have that for our PS3 though. Bioshock is rather similar (a great game admittedly), but I'd say this beats it easilly enough.
ResEvl 5 left me underwhelmed. It's got its charm, but if 4 and 5 were released w/ even times/devleopement/budget, 4 is clearly superior. The AI really gets under your skin at times (empty a clip @ the enemy just beyond me...winds up in my back -> "I'm out of ammo, help me!"...again. Feels more action than horror IMO. 4 really brought the dread home for sure whereas 5 seemed to be banking on its father's success. Trust fund kid...
CoD: World @ War is fun as Hell...on-line. The best part it would seem about modern shooters. Fav shooter on-line. Campaign is so so. Overall, it didn't have the original punch Modern Warfare had cuz' many of its concepts were the same, but the maps are better I suppose. When ModWrfr 2 comes out (Nov), it'll likely get game of the year...again. Awesome franchise. I prefer it vastly to Halo and its ilk.
Just borrowed Infamous from a friend. The initial impact was outstanding, very fun, very compelling, omg levels. Once you get into it, thrill settles down a little, but it is still admittedly a very good game. Lay out is sandbox-ish, akin to GTA in terms of missions, maps, etc. Playability is better though. It's backbone is a comic theme, so remember that; not going for best supporting actor, you know? Go good, go evil, different powers both. One of the better games this year, easilly.
Gears of War 2 (borrowed) is an average shooter, but the cover system...God, I love the cover system. One more degree of realism other shooters skimp on. They should've been doing this for years. Story is weak, dialogue is worse, some of the characters you want to mute, but the Locusts are very compelling. The actual "action" itself is topknotch work though.
I did dig Force Unleashed, despite some rather annoying bugs, etc. Havok engine it used was very novel at the time, much fun, particularly w/ Force Grab, etc. More of a lightning (sith) guy myself, but still. The options afforded in terms of versatility and movement are hard to beat. Much fun. However, story = lame. The initial concept of the secret apprentice is sound, but they drive it into the ground. Fan base (screw 'em, it's a game, not a book/film) was quite upset and are going to rework it, if you can believe this, as a "dream" Vader had. Wtf?
It's like being Spiderman, and Wolverine combined... but instead of being lame like either one... you are actually cool. You have a reason to be a dark ruthless SOB in that game. It's also very open ended as far as moving through the city and the like goes.