What games are you playing?

Finished Dawn of War II's campaign last night, and it was OK. I didn't do all the side missions, though. I found it a bit of a struggle to get into, and to finish, because it can be kinda... I'm not sure. I don't have a huge passion for it, although I do like it.

I'm a couple of levels further in The First Templar (I'm yet to work out why it's called that), and it's fairly good. A lot of what I said earlier, about it being a mix between Lego Star Wars and Batman: Arkham Asylum, still rings true at this point. I think it could really do with a patch, however, just to even out the performance - It's not unoptimised as such, it just isn't smooth. The combat isn't as smooth as Arkham Asylum's, either, meaning blocking and more powerful attacks aren't as easy to pull off, but that could just be me being terrible at this.
 
So after polishing off Killzone 3 in four or five sittings, which was disappointing (not the game, just the length), I shelled out twenty quid for a used copy of Mass Effect 2. That's more like it. OK the combat isn't as good as K3 but there's much more to it. This should keep me going for a while. :)
 
One disc completed and a few cases into the second, thoughts on:

L.A. Noire - This really wasn't on my radar at all, I didn't even realise it was a Rockstar game until a games mad friend in work showed me a 3min youtube trailer. I went out and got it because I've never played a bad Rockstar game. To begin with the game mechanics are interesting, the investigation and interrogation sections take a little getting used to and I failed the first one a couple of times. This was when the first minor annoyance came into play, even after failing the Chief sent me straight back in again ... and again, until I finally got it right. Not an issue as it is clearly more of a training mission, but later on you don't get the option and it can cause problems. The facial animation is superb to the point where you can clearly recognise the actors playing the roles (I've spotted Dasiy off Bones and Matt Parkman off Heroes) and the dialogue although corny feels like it is authentic for that era.

The action and driving sections are very GTA IV albeit a GTA game set in the 1940's. The shooting is far too easy and accurate, in some off-case missions I found myself killing 8-10 gang members without suffering much if any damage. This leads to a slightly invincible mentality that I've only died once (ha!) from :) It also has the effect, like much of the game, of feeling inevitable. The on-the-rails nature of investigations, the clue hand-holding and limited options around the general gameplay (it's no GTA) plus the limited incentives make the game feel like you aren't always in control.

I've played about seven hours or so and the case completion stat says I'm about half way, which seems a little short but with the game being over three discs still makes for a big game. My concern would be the replay value, at present it doesn't strike me as being likely to have any but here's hoping. More soon.
 
It's not fully a Rockstar title, kater. I think Rockstar assisted in development and have published it, but from what I know they were in more of a support role rather than taking the lead.

The not in control thing reminds me a lot of adventure games. What seems logical and right to you can't be done often due to the game not letting you for various reasons.
 
kater said:
One disc completed and a few cases into the second, thoughts on:

L.A. Noire - This really wasn't on my radar at all, I didn't even realise it was a Rockstar game until a games mad friend in work showed me a 3min youtube trailer. I went out and got it because I've never played a bad Rockstar game. To begin with the game mechanics are interesting, the investigation and interrogation sections take a little getting used to and I failed the first one a couple of times. This was when the first minor annoyance came into play, even after failing the Chief sent me straight back in again ... and again, until I finally got it right. Not an issue as it is clearly more of a training mission, but later on you don't get the option and it can cause problems. The facial animation is superb to the point where you can clearly recognise the actors playing the roles (I've spotted Dasiy off Bones and Matt Parkman off Heroes) and the dialogue although corny feels like it is authentic for that era.

The action and driving sections are very GTA IV albeit a GTA game set in the 1940's. The shooting is far too easy and accurate, in some off-case missions I found myself killing 8-10 gang members without suffering much if any damage. This leads to a slightly invincible mentality that I've only died once (ha!) from :) It also has the effect, like much of the game, of feeling inevitable. The on-the-rails nature of investigations, the clue hand-holding and limited options around the general gameplay (it's no GTA) plus the limited incentives make the game feel like you aren't always in control.

I've played about seven hours or so and the case completion stat says I'm about half way, which seems a little short but with the game being over three discs still makes for a big game. My concern would be the replay value, at present it doesn't strike me as being likely to have any but here's hoping. More soon.
Click to expand...

Go to Options and turn off all the hand holding for the clues. It still doesn't make it terribly difficult, but it makes you feel more in control of the crime scene, rather than being bounced from one marked area to another. It also makes it much more rewarding when you do find all the clues.

I dig LA Noire, but I can understand why not everyone does. I am not one to be turned off by 'interactive movies' like Heavy Rain, Metal Gear Solid, Indigo Prophecy and the like. I also feel like the cases are more meaningful if you play the game casually. I found that playing the game slowly, a case or two at a time, made me feel more on edge than if I was just zoned out and tried to complete case after case in a row.
 
L.A. Noire has almost run it's course with me, I think. The cases have all become very samey, and although it says that there are 90+ vehicles they are ALL pretty similar as well, unless you manage to commandeer a truck or something unworthwhile.

I popped Brink into my PS3 and didn't really catch on for the first couple of plays, but right now it's slowly and surely become a lot of fun. A shame it's been sat on my shelf doing nothing for two weeks up until now!

Solaar
back to the Ark
 
I'm finally in the penultimate case on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (iOS). I've finished this game on the DS before, and the iOS version plays out exactly the same with exactly the same everything beyond the interactive part of the interface (And even then it rarely seems wildly different).

It's pretty good, though, even on what's a repeat play for me. Must admit it's pretty much the only Japanese-developed series I truly like.
 
I've decided to replay Oblivion. I'm waiting for new games to come out. I've got Skyrim pre-ordered and ME3 pre-ordered. I'm already a member of a guild for SWTOR, and I'm just waiting for a release date announcement for that. Maybe I'll replay KotoR too. I feel like I'm in video game limbo.
 
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I've never been much of a gamer, and I'm less of a gamer than I once was, but lately I've been playing a lot of Wii because one of my fellow grad students has set up his system in the department library to kill time in between writing papers.

So I've been playing a lot of Super Mario Bros. Wii, MarioKart Wii, and WWE All-Stars (the last of which is terrible).
 
anyone here tempted to give a review to Duke Nukem Forever?
I'm so ancient I remember playing the original on a 486 Dos system, before installing Windows 3.1 :eek:
I'm curious if the new one was worth the wait.
 
algernoninc said:
anyone here tempted to give a review to Duke Nukem Forever?
I'm so ancient I remember playing the original on a 486 Dos system, before installing Windows 3.1 :eek:
I'm curious if the new one was worth the wait.
Click to expand...
I've not heard anything that positive. I'm ignoring the PC Gamer 80/100 review because it's PC Gamer.

The general consensus is that it's bad, or no better than "average". I haven't seen a single comment stating it was worth the wait, though.
 
You could try the demo if you're a huge DN fan, otherwise don't bother. It was really bad and from the reviews I've seen so far, it doesn't improve in the full game. The fact that Duke, the manliest man in the world, gets groggy after one beer, tells you all you need to know.:D
I suggest you avoid it at all costs and keep the good memories of the original.:)
 
The demo is, somewhat ironically, only available (Or was, the last time I checked) to those who had already pre-ordered/pre-purchased the game or gotten it via a very few other ways (Such as Borderlands Game of the Year Edition).

Funny aside: Borderlands is rather unplayable for me as it makes me sick within minutes.
 
Solaar said:
L.A. Noire has almost run it's course with me, I think. The cases have all become very samey, and although it says that there are 90+ vehicles they are ALL pretty similar as well, unless you manage to commandeer a truck or something unworthwhile.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you. I haven't finished LA Noire but I'm not sure I am all that interested to get there anymore.

I've moved on to Infamous which is pretty fun. Also nice since I got it free with the PS3 welcome back package.
 
I actually loved Borderlands, Cheerwell! It's along the same lines (kind of) as Brink, which I've had my fun with and discarded for now.

Back onto Black Ops and it's new maps. Zoo is fun, as is Convoy, but I've been playing for three days and don't think I've come across the other maps yet! The new zombie level is a lot of fun, especially with George Romero himself chasing you down!

Solaar
and Uncle George
 
Solaar said:
I actually loved Borderlands, Cheerwell!
Click to expand...
I've heard many good things about it, but as it makes me want to throw up I can't exactly play it.

And what little I played wasn't that great anyway. The game just felt so damn... cramped. The UI grated with me, I hated the art style and the texture popping (A common problem with a number of Unreal Engine 3 games), and I just couldn't continue.
 
Goldeneye 007 (N64), Secret of Evermore (SNES), and Shadowrun (Genesis). I play mostly on older consoles, not because of elitism, but because of poverty.
 
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