I'm hoping that question will be answered in one of the novels.
Just beat: Halo Reach
Personal Score: 8.0 out of 10
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I played through it co-op/split-screen with my brother over the Christmas holiday.
I've been playing split screen Halo co-op since Christmas of 2001 when I got the original Xbox, and while I've thoroughly enjoyed every game (minus ODST), I hate to say, the formula is getting a taaaad stale at this point. The "good" missions, where you're in a large-scale battle with vehicles and friendly AI are still a blast, especially with a buddy, but the more enclosed, linear ones are no longer terribly exciting.
Still one of the best console shooters out there, but instead of being the mind-blowing experience the first game was, it's now basically a solid, balanced, but predictable game.
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Up Next: Still playing the heck out of Skyrim. Also started Arkham City and Forza 4, and plan on starting (and finishing?) Gears of War 3 before my brother leaves town.
Just Beat Uncharted 3
Weakest game in the series. Already put it up for sale.
Also just beat Uncharted 3. Put it aside until they fixed the aiming and then Skyrim got in the way. Played on normal and two chapters before the end I almost put it on easy. The gunplay is simply not fun on harder difficulties. What good is cover when they have pinpoint accuracy, come from the sides and lob limitless grenades at you? I also want more exploring and less repeated spawn rooms. Killed all the enemies? Nope. Here comes another wave. They also need to get away from the Tomb Raider bullet sponge deal with the enemies. Beautiful game and I'll always love Drakes Theme (the title track) but if they don't make some changes next gen I think I've had my fill.
Started up Arkham City.
I haven't played Uncharted 3, but I cannot STAND that they do this in 1 and 2 and I actually never finished 2 because I just became sick of it. Hearing that they haven't changed this at all in Uncharted 3 means I probably will not be playing it.
Crazy waves of enemies have their place in gaming (Killing Floor, Left 4 Dead, CoD to an extent), but when it doesn't contribute anything to the game and only seems to function as a means to delay progression, that is bad design.
I played 3 on Hard and the overall experience was more of a bore/chore then fun and engaging. Enemies will res pawn right behind you for one shot kills. Cover is wonky and the aiming sucks. The voice acting is well done and the game has a movie quality but you can clearly see those aspects overshadow core game play mechanics and balance. That said, it was a pretty weak story IMHO and I think I've enough of Naughty Dog.
The dumb spawning is exactly what kept me from ever playing those games. I watched my brother play and he would be in the same room for over 30 minutes killing waves of random guys. I've heard there are very frustrating places in Uncharted 3, like the pirates. Most say the Sand scene is the best and there is absolutely no shooting during it.
I agree with you Kama, waves have their place. However, they don't need to be in every other room in a story driven game.
That is why I loved Enslaved. It was perfectly balanced. Truly a fantastic game.
Little technical nitpicks aside, Enslaved really impressed me.
I loved Enslaved.
I keep forgetting about this thread. Over the last week I've finished four games:
Crackdown 2 (okay, but not as good as the original except for being able to fly choppers)
Sniper Ghost Warrior (not as bad as you'd think)
Quantum of Solace (pretty solid - makes good use of the cover system similar to Gears)
Fight Night 3 (sucked, glad it was more or less free)
A couple weeks back I finished Lost: Via Domus. Interesting game in that you shoot more with your camera than you do your gun. I think I shot three times in that game. I'm not kidding either.
Started Sacred 2 the other night. It's not too bad; sort of similar to the first. Started Fear 3 last night and just about half way through. Will probably finish tomorrow night. That's the one I nabbed for free because of a BB error. Got my packing slip ready for Amazon trade-in. $17.55 on that bad boy. :)
Just beat Shank. Its a flash version of final fight but very repetitious to the point of boredom. The boss fights are more annoying then challenging.
All in all a solid mediocre.
Finished mw3 a short while back, making a concerted effort to polish off bf3 within these few days. Btw, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :D
Finished. Divine Divinity. 7/10. Very good, like Diablo but more single player focused and with more RPG stuff and better quests and humour. Very easy game though, and some of the skills are so overpowered you have to wonder if they even tested them. Also no uniqueness to any of the character classes..they are all identical. Good game though, up there with the best action RPGs.
Next game, probably either The Lost Crown or TOEE.