the be all end all video game thread

I had some trade in credit to gamestop so I decided to pick up New Vegas.. holy shit is this addicting. I'm only a little over 7 hours in and it seems like I always end up playing at least an extra hour than I originally planned. The wasteland seems massive too, I never got into Fallout 3 but I don't see how this could be just a glorified DLC either.

I'm at level 7 now, what are some good ways to level up? Just explore and kill the radioactive animals and some side quests? I haven't been able to complete a couple of the side quests because I've been to weak.

Just talking about it makes me want to go play, I can't wait to see what else I can do/discover.

 

Thanks to Game Access, I finally got around to renting (and quickly finishing) Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Anyone played it? Predictable and actually pretty easy, but I thought it was a decent game. I'd gladly play another SH title done in this style.

 

http://www.tekgoblin.com/2010/10/27/farmville-worth-more-than-ea/

Zanga the company that owns farmville is now worth more the EA. This is a sad sad day.

 

I have it for the PSP and have had it for more than a year and still haven't finished it. I keep getting stuck at various parts. First it was the sinking car (I didn't realize you could move into the back seat) and now it is the top of the mall. I see on the map where it wants me to go but when I get there, I can't figure out what to do and those bastards are chasing me so I don't have loads of time with which to stand there and ponder my options (or the cosmos).

It was a total blind buy for me and that first screen that pops up that says that the game plays you as much as you play it really amped up the wow factor for me. Unfortunately, as my favorite game reviewer points out, it was practically useless. (the second link is NSFW)

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/7510-Extra-Punctuation-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/article ... d-Memories</a>

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1651-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/ ... d-Memories</a>

 

New Vegas is an extended DLC, nothing more.

Not a strike against it, but don't expect anything more than a new storyline and a few more customizations.

Graphics and gameplay are identical.

 

I just got Rock Band 3 sent to me by Amazon. Hasn't arrived yet, and I didn't remember that I ordered it.

Is there any real point in ordering new RB or GH games? You can get far more new tracks to play on their respective DLC networks. It seems like I'm paying $60 for 50 songs, although I guess that's cheaper than the DLC rate, so maybe I shouldn't complain.

 

Kind of like how Wii Sports is the highest-selling "game" ever at 65 million copies, the awful New Super Mario Bros. for Wii, worse than many fan-made Mario games, sold 20 million copies, and if you want to look at other industries, HP/Twilight are the highest selling book series, the most popular music stars are a bunch of awful hacks, and the highest grossing film in recent times is a rip-off from "Ferngully", except with prettier pictures?

These things are a common occurrence.

Focus-

Played "Comic Jumper", a download from XBL. While the mechanics and levels are nothing special, (a mix of beat em' ups, side-scrolling Contra-like shooter, and the occasional free-roaming shooter) it is legitimately one of the two or three funniest games I have ever played. It's also quite lengthy and has a ton of cool "challenge" scenarios after you beat the game. It's not great overall, but a worthwhile purchase for 10 or 15 bucks, however much it cost.

 

Just downloaded and played through Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

For those who don't know, this game is basically a side-scrolling beat-em-up in the vein of games like Final Fight. This game, however, adds some depth by allowing players to level up, buy upgrades for their stats, and having a few hidden areas and shops for you to find.

Also for those who don't know, some quick story background: Scott Pilgrim is dating Ramona Flowers. In order to continue to date her, he must defeat her seven evil exes. You can fight as Scott, Ramona, or Scott's band-mates Kim Pine and Stephen Stiles.

First, the good: The game has a good sense of humor, and if you've read the Scott Pilgrim books, there are a lot of nods to the comic. The characters more closely resemble their comic book counterparts than their film counterparts, the animation is done well, and graphically it does what it is supposed to do. It isn't meant to blow you away, but rather be a nod to old-school style games. There are a lot of old video game references (so far, I've seen references to Super Mario Bros 2, Mega Man, Zelda, Kirby, and a few more) that are neat to try to pick up on. The music is also an homage to old school video games, in that it is very 16-bit music, and at times sounds like something straight out of a Mega Man game. Again, I found this to be a good thing. The music was never annoying or grating, and provided a good background.

Now, the mediocre: Because it is a standard beat-em-up, the fighting can get repetitive. They try to throw in new moves, and there are different weapons all over the place (everything from snowballs to samurai swords), but the fighting is pretty standard for a beat-em-up. One button is quick hits, the other is hard hits, and you can jump and block. There are clearing hits and you can call another character to come in and do a special attack. The fighting is fun for the first few levels, but if you want to earn money for upgrades or something, it can get repetitive real quick. The game does support (and encourage) multiplayer, BUT you have to be in the same room, there is no online multiplayer. If you have 3 friends over, all of whom have PS3 controllers, you can play with 4 people in your living room. I'd have liked to have seen online multiplayer (sadly, most of my friends are not the huge video-game geek that I am).

Finally, the game is VERY hard. I beat it on the lowest difficulty setting, and had to continue several times. I put it up to the highest setting, and could barely make it through the first stage. It can be really unforgiving and tough to get through, so keep that in mind.

Overall, I had a lot of fun playing the game, and got a few good hours of entertainment out of it. Considering it only has a $10 price tag in the Playstation Store (and I imagine the price is the same on Xbox Live), I'd say it is absolutely worth it, especially if you're a fan of the series. Even if you're just a fan of old school side-scrolling beat-em-ups, download the demo and give it a shot.

 

Anyone here tried Amnesia (<a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia:_The_Dark_Descent" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia:_The_Dark_Descent</a>) yet? I tried it at my friend's house last night, and holy shit does it pull you into its environment. As far as survival horror games go, its pretty interesting. I'm picking it up next week.

 

Spoilers have been released detailing how zombie mode has been implemented in COD Black Ops. Looks hilarious.

<a class="postlink" href="http://kotaku.com/5677841/you-wont-believe-who-is-killing-zombies-in-call-of-duty-black-ops?skyline=true&s=i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://kotaku.com/5677841/you-wont-beli ... e=true&s=i</a>

 

I recently got a powerful-ish desktop PC (Windows 7 Pro 64 bit) to support some of the graphics software I use for work. Naturally, I installed all my work related software, then immediately downloaded Steam and got Fallout 3 GOTY edition and Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY.

I used to be a pretty big gamer, but lost interest for a few years. My last system was a PS2 that I got when it was a couple years old, I played like 3 games for it and it's now collecting dust.

I've been enjoying playing Fallout 3 quite a bit so we'll see if games continue to hold my interest. I do have a couple questions for you all.

Any PC titles that I've missed that I can pick up cheap on Steam? I prefer single player for the most part and used to like JRPGs, but Fallout has me more interested in Western RPGs now.

I'm thinking about getting a game pad for games like Batman. KB+M works nicely for Fallout and it was OK for the Batman demo, but I think a game pad may be more intuitive for action games. Any recommendations in that regard? I've read some good reviews for a wireless logitec pad, but terrible reviews for other logitec pads so personal experiences/suggestions are very welcome.

Any other tips for an exiled gamer coming back into the fold are welcome as well.

 

Anyone had a crack at F1 2010 yet? (I have PS3 but any format will do)

I have heard mixed reviews about it but will still probably end up ordering it online. If anyone has feedback on the game please let me know. Looks decent from the youtube vids.

 

I've not heard much bad about this game. I've got it on PC but haven't played it yet - waiting to get a nice steering wheel setup.

 

It's exactly like River City Ransom on the NES in that sense, and for that matter, so is the gameplay. I knew about the game for a while, since it was designed by Paul Robertson, who makes these insane, violent, anime-inspired videos.

Anyways, one of my friends considers it one of the best games of 2010, and while I wouldn't go that far, it was definitely a very good title. Then again, anything that closely resembles River City Ransom is automatically of considerable quality.

 

In regards to New Vegas over FallOut 3. Since technically it is not a sequel, bugs aside which they're probably going to patch, is the difference the same as GTA III to Vice City or Vice City to San Andreas?

I just beat FO3, and I'm thinking about going back and getting Platinum for it, which means playing the game over again, playing around with saves and getting the other two karmas.

 

Ok, these games are like 10 years old now, but damn, are they good: Deus Ex and Civilization 3 (yes, I know they're up to Civ 5 now).

Deus Ex is a FPS/RPG hybrid and probably one of the best games I've ever played. Civ 3 is, well, an awesom Civ game. Both are like 5-10 bucks on Steam. Neither of them requires anything close to a good gaming system so they'll sort of render your new hardware a moot point. But they rock nonetheless.

 

Agreed. However, I would disagree about the weapons being better. All of them (with the exception of the Cowboy Repeater) seem woefully underpowered compared to Fallout 3. I remember being able to march into the Capitol building with a Chinese assault rifle and take down super mutants in one burst to the head in VATS. I try the same thing now with the assault carbine or service rifle and it's just not the same. They feel like pea shooters. Maybe it's the sound and models, but they all feel weak compared to the last game.

On a side note, Vault 34 is the most aggravating level in history. I spent the better part of an hour clearing out the place only to find out the computer to unlock the weapons cache (and the unique assault rifle) is glitched out and requires a 100 science skill. (It's only supposed to require the password key card if you find it.)

 

It does feel like they rushed out New Vegas.

Before the patch, the game would lock up almost everytime I played.

After the patch it's still struggling some. FO3 never had problems like this, and since the engine is the same you can't blame it on the console.

 

Deus Ex is one of the best games ever made. I've played it three or four times. Shit gets crazy in that game. There is also a ton of flexibility. Eidos keeps trying to do sequals, but I don't ever feel like they'll make a true sequel. It'd be nice though.