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

[fastitocalon]

Divinity 2

8/10

+ARPG ridiculousness
+GFX
+Voice Acting

-Wild difficulty spikes
-No weight behind strikes


Bought it for $20 and it was well worth it, at completion (vanilla, not expansion also) I logged roughly 30 hours and enjoyed 25 of them. The other 5 were filled with pure difficulty frustration, this game has the ability to be so completely broken difficulty wise. I have never seen a game that varied so much. However, you can ( once you get your tower ) always escape any situation so you can't get yourself into something where you are stuck. That is about it for the bad, I really enjoyed this game. It had a really "epic" (I know the term is overused but stick with me) feel to it and while you don't have the ability to change the outcome you do have dialog choices.

I do feel the need to add that I don't think this game is for everyone, it feels like a mashup of old school difficulty ( as a warrior at least, not sure on ranger or mage ) diablo's loot grind and a rpg so I'm sure not everyone would like it. If you are curious I wouldn't spend more than $20. If you already have an interest in it I wouldn't feel guilty spending $30 for the box set including the expansion ( Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga ).

Think I'm gonna try to beat Batman: Arkham Asylum, bought it and installed but never played it.

[Lee_T]

I finally didn't started up Prototype again. Instead I played ME1 & 2 in a row.

ME1 is still just as good, good story, good characters, it has faults (worst inventory system ever) but it's still a great game.

ME2 is still a weird experience for me, ambivalence is the word.

The story isn't as good but it's different in a way that make it hard to compare. First it's a bridge between a beginning and an end, meaning less freedom for the writers, second while the first is built like a blockbuster action sci-fi flick ME2 is built like a TV show, with a big pilot a big finale and a whole season of episodes in between (ending up a longer game than it's predecessor).

The amount of changes is also very weird. Some I fail to understand the point (e.g. I don't mind the ammo change, but it seems pointless as it doesn't change the way you play much), some I didn't foresee but were efficient (the new skill "grid"), some I did foresee but I don't understand the change still (bad inventory, no problem let's just get rid of it). Add in new problems (worst cover system ever) and I really can't make up my mind, they modified so many factors that it's impossible to compare "all things being equal".

The one thing I hope they'll fix for ME3 is the very bad case of "silent partner". The people you bring with you only have gameplay effect, they don't matter to the story. You can bring along Grunt with you on Mordin's quest, he won't react, you can have a Cerberus agent on Jack's mission, they won't kill each other. You can do the worst things to get X loyalty it won't affect care bear Y's loyalty who's tagging along because you need Y's skill set.

You can bring Legion on the citadel and nobody, nobody, cares (I've just started another game of Dragon age and today I've been thrown out by the reverend mother of Lothering's Chantry because I brought the Qunari to her, come on guys talk to each other during lunch break and share the good ideas).

The character/background/story connections should be a lot more important imo and that's what I'd like they implement in ME3.

(that and correct the stupid idea to use the same button for "running" "taking cover" and "jumping off cover" which is probably the reason my poor character died about 50% of the time).

So, really I hope they did get a lot of money for that project. Because since characters got to talk in game, every line got a lot more expensive that when they were written (just compare the liberty you have in games like NWN/DA0/KOTOR, compared to ME). I'm willing to bet that ME2's silent partner case is really a problem of having (dozen+ actors) x (number of added lines recording time) in hours to pay.

Let them have money to push the boundaries of gameplay and expend on the experience of exploring a fictional world with fictional people in it.

Next stop Dragon Age (very fun to play the three in a row and comparing them).

[xclite]

I found the cover system to be serviceable. I definitely agree on story - 2 was pretty weak and when you get done you compare it to what you accomplished in 1 and it seems inconsequential. Hopefully it's preparation for an epic Mass Effect 3. I would have liked a more varied skill system - they truncated it too much in my opinion.

I didn't miss having an inventory, to be honest.

[fastitocalon]

Batman: Arkham Asylum
9.5/10

All I can say is play this game, holy crap I can't believe I waited this long to play it. Only knock is the bosses are fairly lame but that is a small chink in this armor.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
6/10

These games are just not very fun anymore, Innovation is badly needed. I played on PC ([email protected], 8 gigs ram, 4870) and I had to basically put everything on low to get it to run decently, the targeting is extremely frustrating and clumsy and the vehicles all control like they are on ice. I am hoping that 5 changes things up bigtime. Time to make a game where we aren't errand boys Rockstar.

No idea what i'm gonna play next.

[Rush]

Agree on Batman AA, that was incredibly fun. Recently played through it again and had just as much fun - can't wait for Arkham City. I have loaned AA to 4 friends now and every one of them had as much fun as I did.

Most recent game completed was AC: Brotherhood. Very fun game that plays like AC2 but adds a few new twists. I was ready to be done with that game by the end of it, though. Doubtful it will get a replay. Recommend it as a bargain buy - if you want to complete all of the side quests, you will have to rent it for a long time.

Castlevania was great fun - so much so that I went back through it to get 100% completion. Probably will not replay that one either. Recommend it as a rental as there is little-to-no replay value other than completing trophies.

Looking forward to Dead Space 2 - will probably buy it sometime next month. Absolutely loved the first one.

[xclite]

I just beat Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It was pretty good, although I was trying to hang around and tie up loose ends when I inadvertently began a mission that is basically the no turning back point - no warning either.

Definitely a good game, and the multiplayer is pretty neat also. I'd give it at least an 8.5/10. I'm considering going back to SC2 for a while or going on to play with RDR.

[Lee_T]

I was floored by Batman AA, impressive work, models, animations, scenery, story, animations, items and level design, etc... the way it meshes together, one of the best game I've played

I found the cover system to be serviceable

It might be me not using it well. But I don't know how many times I tried to run "away" from a danger to die hugging the nearest obstacle, or the number of times I was staggered out of cover and jumped over it rather than simply going into cover again.

I didn't miss having an inventory, to be honest.

Not a problem in itself for me too.

However they went too far by removing the choice element. Instead of adding more powerful guns along the way they should have added "different" guns along the way. Give the player tactical options within the categories.

That's (imo) the very function of inventories in every game there is one.

The weapons in ME1 weren't much interesting either, but you had at least minimal choices with the mods. That went away with the inventory.

ME1 had a bad economy, various items although not much interesting in themselves and a very very bad ergonomic. I wish they had tried to better it instead of dropping it.

I just beat Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. It was pretty good, although I was trying to hang around and tie up loose ends when I inadvertently began a mission that is basically the no turning back point - no warning either.

Is there a way you could warn us about that mission without spoiling too much?

[JDC]

It might be me not using it well. But I don't know how many times I tried to run "away" from a danger to die hugging the nearest obstacle, or the number of times I was staggered out of cover and jumped over it rather than simply going into cover again.

I had the same problem with cover in ME2. I would be running to cover and just as I'm able to stick to a crate I leap over it. I don't know if I'm doing an extra button press or holding A too long, but it is definitely frustrating.

I've also had situations where I'd pop out of cover to shoo, get hit, press A to get back into cover, but whoops, over the crate I go. Or I would get back in cover, but pressed A because I thought I'd have to get in cover again, only to realize I'm now out in the open.

Is there a way you could warn us about that mission without spoiling too much?

I haven't gotten there yet, but I think it's Memory Sequence 8 which is the point of no return.

[xclite]

Yeah that sounds about right. I think I checked the achievements and thought I saw an 8 and a 9, so I figured I would stop after I got the achievement for 8 and do the rest of the stuff I wanted to do. Unfortunately, finishing 8 ended the game basically as far as side quests go until after you beat it.

[Lee_T]

I'll remember 7 as the magic number then. Thanks guys!

[Rush]

... I was trying to hang around and tie up loose ends when I inadvertently began a mission that is basically the no turning back point - no warning either.

Oh man, that was so annoying. I still had freaking subject 16 puzzles to do - I still did them after finishing the main storyline, but I wanted to do all of the side quests first. :/

Random thought about the game - they made counterattacking way too easy. All you have to do now is mash the counter combo and you'll waste even the biggest, baddest-*** guard that is attacking you... kinda ridiculous. then you can rip off a bunch of one-hit kills on other enemies (even papal guards). In the earlier games you had to have at least some sense of timing. Combat in AC:B is beyond easy.

[James]

Just finished: Brutal Legend. B+

I love pretty much all double fine games. This game is very reminiscent of Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Only not as well done. It is a similar mix of wandering around and fighting (though much more open vs. Giants), and RTS "Defend your base and destroy the other guy's" stages. Console controls definitely make the RTS aspects (along with some clunky controls) a little more rough than they should be. Overall though, it's fun.

I like the humor in Tim Schafer/Double Fine games. So it was worth the $10 I got it for at Fry's.

[taggart6]

Just beat Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Single Player


Honestly, after that i have no desire to ever play a COD game again. I find it to be a pretty stupid and frustrating experience. Overall, I found everything to just be off. Level design is linear and perhaps one of the worst I've ever seen. The story makes no sense, and the game mechanics feel clunky and inconsistant.

And the stupid bleed screen. Oh god how i hate it. One shoot, and everything goes red. I found that to be beyond aggravating.

I guess the real charm is Mp, however I prefer keyboard and mouse for FPS mp so stayed away from it in COD:MW2 because I was playing on the 360.

[xclite]

Every time I see/hear about MW2 or Black Ops I am more and more satisfied that I made the correct choice in swearing off the series when they took out dedicated servers.

[taggart6]

Every time I see/hear about MW2 or Black Ops I am more and more satisfied that I made the correct choice in swearing off the series when they took out dedicated servers.

I'm sticking with BF from now on.