Rate the last game you beat.

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Riku
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Riku »

The reason is to make races tighter and more fun. If you dont want a shell hitting you I suggest Gran Turismo or Project Gotham.
Chaos
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Riku wrote:The reason is to make races tighter and more fun. If you dont want a shell hitting you I suggest Gran Turismo or Project Gotham.
Yeah you're not even paying attention to anything I'm saying. Have you even played Mario Kart Wii, or are you basing your argument off older mario karts? Getting hit with items every 5 seconds or less (you're stunned from items more often than you're actually driving in this shitty game, and I'm not exaggerating) is NOT fun. The series did items just fine up until mario kart DS, and that's when it started to get a little out of hand. DS wasn't nearly as bad as Wii though, and I still had a lot of fun with it.

If they had an option to tone down the items in races the game would be a lot better. (I think you can in private matches, but I don't know enough people that own a wii and mario kart to do private matches. At least, not with more than 3 people.)
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Riku
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Riku »

You can tone down the strength of items but I really like it being mad. When your playing with 3 others it's just a good laugh evreytime they get you.
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Ryudo
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Ryudo »

I liked every MK game except DD.
Still would like to see a console version that is more like super circuit,it used some stuff from the original like coins but had an updated feel.
Do that plus keep the retro tracks DS and Wii had oh and bring back the feather.
Dump the blue shell.
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Vyse Hazuky
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Vyse Hazuky »

Another World

In 199x Éric Chàhi of Délphine made what was to be, along with the original Prince of Persia, the founding father of the modern console adventure game. Both these games stuck out back then due to their incredibly realistic animations (thanks to use of rotoscoping technique), minimalistic storyline, dark visuals and frustrating difficulty (one-hit kills). As acknowledged by Fumito Ueda, Another World is the true videogame precursor of what are the practically undisputable videogame masterpieces of the XXI century, SotC and Ico. But, 15+ years on, how does it test the strain of time? The recent 15th anniversary edition gave the game a beautiful graphical lift, with really smooth HD and high res graphics. I would dare to say, the best graphical remake of this generation, definitely benefitting from having been made by Chàhi himself and not some outsource job, like the incredibly cringy HD remakes on XBLA or the Ultimate Genesis comp. the minimalistic approach is now beautifully rendered and it gives an even more awe-inspiring view of this alien landscape our hero ended up on.
Keeping things ever so simple, only 1 button is used, apart from the directional controls, throughout the game, just another example of spot-on design. The gameplay is of course still deep, with various jumps and shots possible. It can sometimes be, though, extremely tiring as it uses the “trial-and-error” method, even if ways to die are incredibly varied and well animated and directed (I guess as a small treat for the player). Unforgiving, but gratifying, as it makes the journey all the more epic.
The story is mostly non-verbal (very little text) (another thing Ueda picked up on) and even in “alleged” cutscenes you are somehow always in control of your character. Now, this is something that only very recently VGs have picked up on (Assassin’s Creed, Half-life,…). It is also overwhelmingly cinematic, with very smart cutscene direction and a great sense of action and tension throughout.

Comparison between the old version and the high res remake.
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Bottom line: A very interesting tale of friendship bypassing oral communication with a very iconic ending. All in all, simply one of the finest ever made. Deep, engaging, different and visionary.
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Chaos
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Uncharted (PS3) - 9/10 - The only thing I didn't really like about the game was the last chapter, and it wasn't all THAT bad, it was just a little lame. Overall the game was really damned fun. I can't wait until I have the money to pick up Uncharted 2, since I hear it's even more fun.
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Flower (PS3) - 10/10 - I've been wanting to play this game since way before I was even thinking about buying a PS3. It's not so much a game, as it is a way to just sit back and relax. (there's only one part where you can "die", or even get hurt, in the entire game) Basically all you do is fly around as a flower petal and collect other flower petals until you reach the end of the level. It's just something fun to play after a hard day, and it will calm you right down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUC2tpY5gb4 - Here's a 15 minute video showing the first level of the game. I recommend anyone who has a PS3 and an open mind to buy this game asap. It's only $10. (It's extremely short, but it has a lot of replay value imo)

Hell, if you're REALLY in the mood to just relax, you can press select and it will show you scenes from around the level while playing the relaxing music. (There's even a trophy for watching it do that for 3 minutes, strangely)
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Vyse Hazuky
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Vyse Hazuky »

I'm glad you liked it. I assume you've already played through flOw as well?
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Ryudo
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Ryudo »

I have been interested in flower since I first saw it years ago as just a video concept at some indy game conference.

flOw screens remind me od elektroplankton but gather it's very different.

Another game I have set my eyes on is called "And yet it moves"
Chaos
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Vyse Hazuky wrote:I'm glad you liked it. I assume you've already played through flOw as well?
yeah I played through it a while ago on my psp. I have a feeling it's basically the same game on PS3, so I won't bother. Relaxing game though.
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Vyse Hazuky
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Vyse Hazuky »

Ryudo wrote:Another game I have set my eyes on is called "And yet it moves"
While at first you might say something like "Hm.. I wonder why they hadn't thought of this before" and while the game's visuals are certainly interesting, I was left wondering if this, a bit like Crayon Physics Deluxe was no more than a demo of this new gameplay device, to be better implemented in future games. As a game it's just not very good.

But definitely worth a shot!
Chaos
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) - 8/10

Yeah, it took me this long to finally pick the game up. It was fun, but I'm not huge on realistic shooters. I'm not sure how they did it, but I think they actually made a game shorter than the Halo games.

I'll definitely play multiplayer for a while though. I've played a few matches so far and it's pretty fun. I don't wanna get TOO into it though, because I wanna pick up MW2 eventually, and I assume that has a much larger community of people who haven't been playing the game constantly for 3 years, who are gonna own me.

also, since I never come close to "beating" racing games fully, I'll just do this now.

Burnout Paradise (PS3) - 7/10

It's a very fun racing game. There are some things I don't like about it though. I don't like the free roaming gameplay. Maybe I'm just retarded, but I often find myself taking a wrong turn and losing a race unless I'm checking the map every 10 seconds. I'd also like to be able to just pick a race from a menu instead of driving around a huge map to get to a specific race. Otherwise it's about what I expected from a Burnout game. Well worth the $20 I paid for it on PSN.
Chaos
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Chaos »

Okay, so, I returned cod4 back to gamestop and got my $40 back, and put it towards Modern Warfare 2. I figured I should get a game that is a little more current to play online.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) - 8/10
I think they actually managed to make MW2 shorter than cod4. When I beat it, my play time was 5 hours and 20 minutes exactly. Oh well, I didn't buy the game for the campaign. Multiplayer is really fun. I'm not sure what people hate about it, but I'm having fun. Then again I didn't play cod4 online for more than maybe 5 matches so I can't see the big differences that would piss someone off. Overall I think I'll be playing online for a while.
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Vyse Hazuky
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by Vyse Hazuky »

Far Cry 2

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I'm going to start by stating that I am in no way a fan of first-person shooters. In fact, I can count the ones I like with just one hand: Half-Life 2, Prey, Breakdown and now Far Cry 2. What I think these games have in common though is that they definitely transcend a lot of the stigmatic barriers of this ill-genre although, with the exception of Breakdown, they're still far too rooted in them to reach their true potential.

Such is the case with Far Cry 2. From the get go, you're dropped into a vast unnamed african country, divided into two areas. Like most FPS the story is non-essential, which is a great miss considering the incredible potential it had. You're main goal from the start is to assassinate The Jackal, a take on legendary weapons dealer Viktor Bout, as you take missions for both opposing factions UFLL and APR which, just like real-life militias, all look the same. The supporting cast is thus far and wide forgettable, a huge miss considering the fairly interesting range of characters movies with similar backgrounds like Hotel Rwanda, Last King of Scotland or Blood Diamond have produced.

You are commissioned your story missions in towns which are another miss as they're totally FPS-like. While there's talk of "the people" and "refugees" and stuff, during the entire game, you only see soldiers, taking a big amount of realism out of it, as for instance more interaction with villagers, drivers, women and children would surely give a lot more emphasis on the dramatic action. Like all FPS, interaction is nearly limited to gunfire.

All this would be unbearable if it didn't have some redeeming factors. The big star is the environment. I was very excited when Resident Evil 5 was unveiled as being in Africa as this continent has such great potential that is seldom used in art, and more so in video games; i was then very disappointed when I saw the final result. In Far Cry 2 however things are different.
One of the criticisms the media pointed were the long treks you had to consistently make to get to your target missions, as well as the overall length of the game (it takes seriously more than 30 hours, huge for an FPS). I myself revelled in it. In fact, it's where my comfort with this game comes from.
Although mission objectives are relatively strict, you can execute them to your liking. If you wanted you could take days preparing a mission, deciding on what equipment to take, deciding your approach, placing getaway vehicles, planning the hour of the day of your attack...
This is aided a lot by the excellent dynamic GPS and map system, allowing you to pursue paths less travelled, reach for higher grounds for scoping and just essentially to get by, as you'd feel very much lost without them.
There's a reasonable network of roads and vehicles (including gliders and boats) you can take as well, but sticking to them is detrimental to the experience: refreshingly, this is an FPS where you can explore a beautiful, lush, dynamic reactive environment with great delight.

Apart from the fixed gun set in front of you all the time which really aggravated me (it's part of that country-with-no-people-just-soldiers thing), the first person perspective is quite dynamic and enthralling. Coupled with the silent protagonist, you get a real sense of presence in the world, even if for the smallest glimpse, and that makes it very special.

The special effects department is a beacon of excellence, with fire effects simply astounding. It develops very realistically through all flammable contents and is just a delightful eye-candy. The one set-back is that it puts itself out and very quickly at times (no more than 2 minutes)...
Fortunately it's not just fire that shines. The light and dark routines are excellent (aided by a full 24hour system), with sun effects really top notch. Let me tell you, it's really something to watch a sunrise or sunset just as you wake up in the middle of a forest hill. The storms that punctuate the game at times are also incredible, trees shake everywhere, rain pours, I wish they had gone the extra mile and put up puddles and mud development as well...

An ingenious piece of design is that you're never really in control, a harsh difference from common "action-hero" type of FPS. Guns jam and even blow up in your hands (right when you were gonna take that crucial sniping shot, hehe), cars break down, you get malaria attacks periodically, and even the environment can work against you (since there's no HUD it's sometimes really hard to see who's hitting you at night; although the same applies to the enemy).

Sound is amazing, from the environment sounds to a great soundtrack that keeps you on the edge just as you try to sneak through the long grass outside an enemy post.

Final words: while it's still an FPS, I feel that games like this and Prey really try to push forward the genre, making it feel more dynamic and alive. It's a shame that it got a little stuck halfway. Still it's an incredibly enjoyable ride, very entertaining, and especially atmospheric.

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tao
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Re: Rate the last game you beat.

Post by tao »

Mass Effect 2

Absolutely beautiful. Bioware can do no wrong. A seriously good example for the naysayers that video games can be art and not just mindless entertainment.

As for gameplay, I kind of miss going on shotgun rampages like I like to do on ME1, but the fights really force me to pick and position my teammates carefully. I'm not a big fan of FPS, but I love the melding of the action that comes with FPS with the strategy of RPG. I also do not miss the long "elevator" sequences and Mako roving in ME1 that made it so tedious sometimes.

It's also great that you can import your saves from the previous ME installment, so the choices you make in the previous game will bring consequences in the next. I've started a second play-through as female Shepard that I plan to import in ME3 and will begin one later with a male Shepard. I've also noticed the gender discretion in the romance plots, but I suppose marketing a game with a potentially homosexual male as the main character to a generally male and homophobic mass audience wouldn't bode well for sales or criticisms.
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