The last game you beat,did you like it and what are you playing next?

[Lee_T]

Alpha Protocol

8/10

There isn't much I can say about this game except I have no idea why it got bad scores, I had so much fun playing it and am very tempted to play through it again

I concur.

As for the reviews my guess is that just like some of Mass Effect reviews, for some reviewer as long as the main character wields a gun the game must compare favorably to shooter games. Shooter fans are playing those games because they saw a guy in camo shooting opponents and expect it to have the same mechanics as any CoD/GoW/MoH/Halo/etc... Which is both wrong and unfair, but that's the way it is and it won't go away (Bioshock was more a shooter than System Shock, ME2 more a shooter than ME1, Splinter Cell V more a shooter than any SC, etc...).

[James]

Haven't beaten a game in a bit.

But I'm currently finishing up CoD3, as well as Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

I started playing Viva Piñata. Man, this console to PC port buggy as hell.

[Timman_24]

I've been sucked back into WoW dammit! I have been playing GT5 and plan to play NFS HP during christmas break along with Halo Reach with my brother.

[Lee_T]

I just finished "Splinter Cell : Conviction" and this games bring to my Trekkie mind the 239th Ferengi rule of acquisition "Never be afraid to mislabel a product".

The shorty:

It's a good game, albeit a short one. However, Splinter Cell fans beware, it is not, I repeat NOT, a Splinter Cell game. Change the names of the characters and you have a new Ubisoft IP.

Old & New :

This game is about gunning, killing, defeating waves of mercenaries, interrogating guys Bauer style, exploding stuff, pursuing guys, outsmarting gatling guns and combat helicopter, saving the president attacked in the white house by your former teammates (the story does get quite preposterous) and in the midst of all that doing about one mission reminiscent of what used to be Splinter Cell (which used to be about stealth, infiltration and sabotage, sometimes upping the ante by forbidding killing).

The names of the character are the same, but the story and the characterization makes them look like their old selves as much as Katee Sackhoff looks like Dirk Benedict. Continuity note : the game assumes you killed Lambert in the previous chapter.

The new Sam's equipment is different too, gone are the two weapons and gadgets. They're replaced by an arsenal of guns not unlike the one you'll find in most modern world FPSs (though you'll still be only able to equip two) and a handful of gadgets functioning like grenades. Old Sam's fancy ninja tricks and moves have been replaced by simpler moves and kravMaga take downs. The best transition from old style to new style is the way movement from cover to cover is handled. I hope other games using cover will take note of that simple yet effective system.

Other new mechanics are:

Prepare & Execute : you're able to "mark" enemies (a tiny arrow appear above their head and is visible through walls making it easy to follow their movements), and when you do a close combat take down you earn the ability to "Execute" all the visible marked enemies by pressing a button (the ability is "stored" and can be triggered whenever you want).

This new mechanic pretty much set the rhythm of the game as you'll constantly try to get up close to a poor P&C "ammo guy" and then wait for the best moment to unleash Sam's fury on as much enemies as possible (of course to balance for that new mechanic the levels are way more crowded than before, way more crowded).

Last Known Position : when you go out of the field of vision of enemies who spotted you the last point where they saw you will be marked by a "translucent Sam statue" enemies will gather around and check if you're still there while you circle around them to get them by surprise (or not as the AI may decide things are getting too much dangerous and try to consolidate it's position rather than going after you).

the new Goggles : gone are the night/thermal goggles, they're replaced by sonar ones. The main advantage : you can spot enemies behind walls (and "mark" them that way), the main defect : they don't work well when you move, but it's not a big problem since you can follow "marked" enemies without them thanks to the P&C mechanic.

Using the new mechanics and gadgets will earn you P&C points with which you will buy items in the game.

Will you like it? :

If you're into action games and were bored by the Splinter Cell games when you tried them then this game has been made for you. Have fun, it's a well done game if overproduced (a bit too much flash over substance for me) the gameplay mechanics are solid and well incorporated into the level design. The campaign is short (for me, but longer than most FPS's solo campaign nowadays) but there's a bunch of "challenge" maps on the side which you can play coop (the mechanics of the game do lend themselves very well to the coop playstyle, I could only try it alone with two controllers but it made me wish I add a friend interested in playing it).

If you're a fan of the slow paced, careful planning and trying as much as you can to be a ghost leaving a trail of unsuspecting living enemies behind you then walk away or play this game for what it is (that is NOT a Splinter Cell game).

Final word :

The Ubisoft guys tried to blend action and stealth mechanics and did good. However Conviction is imo nowhere as good as Batman : Arkham Asylum (better graphic, better story and characterization, better mix of action and stealth, better action and better stealth, longer too).

I wish they didn't change the Splinter Cell IP so much. I'd rather they had created a new IP, or created another character in the same universe spearheading the new gamestyle. I wonder if they'll ever be able to make a new "real" Splinter Cell" game without completely disregarding this opus. But that's not a problem as they probably won't ever want to go back since this one seemed to cater to a larger audience as the old ones and larger audience means bigger money.

They changed the team for the next game, I wonder what they'll do. I hope they'll decide the IP is now in a state of flux and make it their own and perhaps, maybe, add a little more stealth and less Bauer-ism in the mix.

Next in line... probably Alan Wake

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've decided to start Lost Odyssey.

I've had the game since Christmas 2008, and I've never even opened it...until last night.

I'm not even an hour in yet, haven't met any major characters yet that I can tell, but I already like the feel and atmosphere of the game. The FF lineage is very plain to see, and if the story and characters can stay interesting, I'm hoping it will be more entertaining than the last 3 FF games I've played.

Anybody else played it? Any thoughts/opinions on it or how it compares to other JRPGs?

[fastitocalon]

I've decided to start Lost Odyssey.

I've had the game since Christmas 2008, and I've never even opened it...until last night.

I'm not even an hour in yet, haven't met any major characters yet that I can tell, but I already like the feel and atmosphere of the game. The FF lineage is very plain to see, and if the story and characters can stay interesting, I'm hoping it will be more entertaining than the last 3 FF games I've played.

Anybody else played it? Any thoughts/opinions on it or how it compares to other JRPGs?

I've played through about 1/2 of it, I really like it and it is much better than FF13. It is just really long lol, the 1st disc is pretty boring also so if you like it now I imagine you will enjoy it.

[Lee_T]

I just finished Alan Wake and wow, what a ride.

I'm not a big fan of spooky story (because I'm a wuss) but this one just hooked me from beginning to end. The atmosphere is excellent, the writing is very good, each and every game mechanic is tied to the story and never gimmicky, etc... I liked it a lot.

The best part for me was the manuscript pages that you find on your way, pages about the story you're going through and are wonderfully done. They're used to give you warnings, foreshadowing, explanations and insight into the other characters (by describing scenes from which your character is absent).

I've read here and there that some got tired with the gameplay along the way, there's a handful of different enemies and there's not many different tactics to eliminate them. But I didn't mind, I was going along for the story and I felt it reinforced the story's consistency.

If you're into storytelling, then you'll like it. It's a well thought out, well told and well "directed" game.

If you're more into action, it might disappoint you as it's fights, interaction with the environment & scenery can get repetitive or monotonous.

After Max Payne and Alan Wake, I'll be waiting for Remedy's next IP.

Next in line will be Prototype. Tried it a while ago and never got past the first mission, time to finish it.

[LiquidCrash]

Last game I beat was probably Fallout: New Vegas. Really enjoyed it, but haven't really touched it after putting 80 hours into it.

Playing through FFXIII right now because I never finished it, and I'm honestly liking it more the second time around.

Next game I'll probably play will either be Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction or Demon's Souls. I might save Demon's Souls for after beating R&C and 3D Dot Heroes because I hear it can be pretty addicting.

[monroeski]

Haven't really "beaten" anything lately since I've mostly been playing stuff that doesn't properly end (like Minecraft). I guess the last one I finished was Recettear three weeks ago; thought it was pretty great overall.

Started Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey and Civilization V in the last few days; I'm liking them both a lot so far. Land units being able to embark and cross water without needing to build a transport ship is a wonderful and welcome change to Civ.

[taggart6]

Beat Batman Arkham Asylum before I left for Xmas vacation. Great game with my only complaint being the boss battles which severed more like speed bumps in the racetrack of awesomeness that is Arkham Asylum.

I also wrapped up Dead Space. Another great game though the ending is pretty predictable.


Not sure what to play next.

[fastitocalon]

I just beat Two Worlds and I had a fun time with it. I heard it had issues but I didn't run across a single bug and only 1 crash the entire time I played it ~20 hours. The voice acting is unbelievably bad but you forget about it after awhile and the side quests are quite fun. It can be had for under $10 almost everywhere and I would recommend it. Just know it feels quite like a low budget game.

[Kamakazie]

I just beat Two Worlds and I had a fun time with it. I heard it had issues but I didn't run across a single bug and only 1 crash the entire time I played it ~20 hours. The voice acting is unbelievably bad but you forget about it after awhile and the side quests are quite fun. It can be had for under $10 almost everywhere and I would recommend it. Just know it feels quite like a low budget game.

What platform did you play it on?

[fastitocalon]

What platform did you play it on?

PC, figured if it was gonna be a pain in the butt I would at least play on a platform that I could have a decent chance of fixing it.

[PointlesS]

Beat Super Meat Boy today. Got A+ in all the light world levels and I A+'d 2 and 1/2 dark world chapters. Even with a 360 controller, my fingers hurt so much.

[Kamakazie]

Beat Super Meat Boy today. Got A+ in all the light world levels and I A+'d 2 and 1/2 dark world chapters. Even with a 360 controller, my fingers hurt so much.

Did you beat all the Dark World levels? Did you complete all the warp zones and glitch levels?