What is the last video game you played?

[Holko 9,499]

To clarify, I may have more been aiming that at the one who called it that in the first place, but fuck me if I'm attempting selective quoting on mobile.

[Quintus 5,399]

@Nick Parker

 

I played a good chunk of Prey and was thoroughly enjoying it. But then surprise surprise the Forsaken expansion for Destiny came out midway through and I put it on hold. I've been meaning to restart the game ever since. Annoyingly, Destiny expansions have always caused me problems in this way with other titles.

 

This is why I absolutely blitzed my way through Red Dead Redemption well before Shadowkeep came out.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

8 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

 

Huh, I thought it was just a remake or remaster(did they do one a couple years ago or something?). Just looked this up, it sounds really cool! I love the idea of ambiguous targets; one of my favorite elements in Human Revolution was when a dude would hold someone hostage and you would either have to talk him down or distract him enough to pop him, depending on how you liked to play. First Call of Duty game on my radar in almost 15 years, thanks for pointing it out!

 

I think Bioshock did it really well, but I don't know if I could ever go back to it. Infinite was a great game but I was very disappointed by the plot.

Activision released a remastered version of COD4 alongside Infinite Warfare in 2016. The upcoming game is completely new, but retreads some elements and characters from original game. The naming convention they chose for all of them certainly doesn’t help.

 

Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (2016)

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)

 

By dropping the numeric title in the remaster, it makes it seem like we had a remastered version of the upcoming game three years before it came out. 

 

RE: BioShock Infinite

The plot is one of my favorite elements of that game. All hail Ken Levine! 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

1 hour ago, Koray Savas said:

The plot is one of my favorite elements of that game. All hail Ken Levine

 

It's certainly not bad by any means--in fact, for what it was doing I'd say it was damn good. Really damn good. Probably great. It's probably really great.

 

But I almost felt like they took the "safe route", funny to say given the plot"s turns (trying to be vague in case KM gives it a try after all). In the beginning, they had everything set up to really take on American mythology, which was incredibly compelling and ballsy. It's one of my favorite subjects, and how often do you see a piece of media really go for that? But then after a little while it feels they totally sidewinded all of it to go for a more typically "far out" plot, know what I mean?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I thought it was a brilliant way to tie it to the original game, especially with the Burial At Sea DLC. The pseudoscience they utilized in the environmental storytelling with the Lutece twins was great. I really enjoyed how everything came full circle.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I bought the Mega Drive today.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

9 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

I thought it was a brilliant way to tie it to the original game, especially with the Burial At Sea DLC. The pseudoscience they utilized in the environmental storytelling with the Lutece twins was great. I really enjoyed how everything came full circle.

 

I never played the DLC, but the ending(ish) was goosebumps-inducing.

 

9 hours ago, Thekthithm said:

I bought the Mega Drive today.

 

Plenty of great games on there! Which ones do you have for it?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It’s the first time I ever felt DLC was crucial to the base game. I played it years later on PS4 never realizing it continued the story and wrapped everything up in a neat bow. 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

2 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

Plenty of great games on there! Which ones do you have for it?

 

It's got about 40 games preloaded into it, so I'm all set. It's got the Sonics and a bunch of others.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

30 minutes ago, Thekthithm said:

It's got the Sonics and a bunch of others.

 

Any ones in particular you're planning on checking out?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

There's a Castlevania game on there I've been dying to try out. Apparently it's almost on par with Super Castlevania IV on the SNES!

[Nick Parker 3,040]

18 minutes ago, Thekthithm said:

There's a Castlevania game on there I've been dying to try out. Apparently it's almost on par with Super Castlevania IV on the SNES!

 

It's great! The music is super-rad, too! One of the best for sure.

 

The peak of that groovy Baroque rock sound that Castlevania is known for.

 

 

 

I would highly recommend Contra Hard Corps: it's _hard_, but it's the best Contra game ever released! 

 

Thunder Force III is an amazing game with absolutely fantastic music (hard, starting to see a pattern?)

 

It might be boring without a friend, but Streets of Rage 2 is a great game too.

[Arpy 4,145]

On 9/19/2019 at 5:59 AM, Quintus said:

@Nick Parker

 

I played a good chunk of Prey and was thoroughly enjoying it.

I love the worldbuilding in Prey, it's similar to Dead Space in many ways. 

[King Mark 3,626]

Still enjoying Outward but I have a copy of Kingdom Hearts 3 from the library to play next.

 

Better brush up on my KH "lore"

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

On 9/19/2019 at 6:39 AM, Thekthithm said:

I bought the Mega Drive today.

 

I could never make it past the first level of Back to the Future III on that system.

[Edmilson 7,398]

Beat the main campaign of God of War 2018 last night.

 

Here's what I didn't like:

• The map and orientation system is very confusing. It makes a little harder to go after the sidequests.
• Actually, its a little weird that the game suddenly turns into a semi open world style of game after you're halfway through the main journey, and this transition is a little jarring.
• The teleporting dwarfs. I mean, there are these two dwarfs, Brok and Sindri, that helps you upgrade both Kratos' and Atreus' armor and weapons, but they appear literally everywhere the game needs them to be - even if it's on the verge of a dangerous realm. It's like they are teleporting with their tools all through the nine realms! It works for the game, but it ruins a little of the experience. Maybe it's some dwarf magic...
• Sometimes the camera doens't work so good. I've lost so many battles against hard enemies, of which you can't loose track, because suddenly I was unable to move the camera.
• Some of the games' most epic moments are told by cutscenes. The developers must have wanted to leave behind the quick time event system of the Greek Era games, and there's very little of them on this, which makes some great moments that could have been playable - the most egregious example being when 
  Spoiler

  Baldur attacks you a second time, and during the confrontation you'll go to a second trip to Hel.

• There are nine kingdoms on the Norse mithology - but you don't go to all of them. Instead, you'll visit Hel twice, and basically enter the same mountain on Midgard TWO TIMES, which makes for a "running in circles" sensation.
• There's a dragon battle halfway through the game that I found to be a little underwhelming. It could have been a little more epic and memorable.
• The last boss fight, though epic from the point of view of the story and the four main character's arcs, is quite easy. I've died only twice during them, and I'm not even that good at the game.

Now, what I liked:

• The story is pretty good. Instead of the epic tale of violence and carnage on the anciet Greek of the previous games on the franchise, this one uses its Nordic setting to tell a more intimate and personal story about the ghosts of the past and complicated relationships between parents and sons - not only Kratos and Atreus, but also Freya and Baldur and Thor and his sons. You guys know that cliche of the villain being a dark refletion of the protagonist, here this is literally the truth:
  Spoiler

  Baldur going after revenge against his mom Freya echoes Kratos' revenge against his father Zeus, which influenced his final decision on killing him to spare Freya. And maybe Baldur working for the Aesir gods on tracking Faye, Atreus' mother and one of the last remaining giants, probably reminded him of the cruelty he had done when he was on the service of the Greek pantheon.

  It's almost like Santa Monica Studios is using this game as a critique of the previous saga's endless violence and brutality. Also, there's some unexpected emotional scenes on this story - who would've known?

• But what I did like more about the story was its atmosphere and worldbuilding. This game actually reminded me of the BioShock franchise, on which the player is put on a eerie, haunted and past-its-prime setting, ravaged by wars, tragedies and tyrants, on which the only people left are dangerous monsters that'll try to kill you. The player can feel this atmosphere, but only discovers (part of) what happened for things to be the that way not through flashbacks, but through notes left on the walls and tales from Mimir. Want to know more about the game's lore? You'll have to take a few boat rides through the Lake of Nine with Atreus and Mimir, during which he'll tell the boy stories about Odin, Thor, Baldur, Freya and his time living with the Aesir.

• Speaking of which... You may think that after killing Zeus and the entire Greek pantheon, Kratos wouldn't be afraid of facing the Nordic deities, right? That he'll just annihilate Thor, Odin and everyone... Well, think again. Thor and Odin are never actually seen through the game, but tales of their cruelty, madness, tyranny and immense power, as told you by Mimir, actually makes you feel afraid of finding these guys. This, combined with the fact that the game makes it clear that Kratos and Atreus inevitably will have to battle the two gods, is a very effective strategy of conveiying their threats and make them, well, terrifying. The game sets up some extremely epic sequels, and I for one can't expect the Kratos v Thor (Dawn of Justice) confront and the inevitable Ragnarok.

• About the gameplay, well, even if you build extremely powerful armor for Kratos, unlocks all of the skills tree and find some powerful magic for Atreus, even so you'll have to be calm, patient and strategic during battles. No mindless hack and slashing - you'll have to choose very carefully your weapons, when it's the best time to use your more powerful attacks and combos, when to use your shield to block attacks and when you just have to dodge enemies attacks, because they're so powerful. For example, minor spoilers ahead, but at some point at the game Kratos gets his classic Blades of Chaos back to use them along with the Leviathan Axe. However, there's certain enemies that are almost immune to the Blades of Chaos, obligating you to use the Leviathan Axe, and vice versa. And sometimes you'll be attacked by both kinds of adversaries AT THE SAME TIME, fire enemies (weak on the Axe) and ice enemies (weak on the Blades), which makes for some very hard battles.

• The game has something for everyone: casual gamers will still be able to beat the main story, which have its hard moments, but nothing too impossible. And hardcore gamers, that like to platinum everything they play, can go after the sidequests, which, in my opinion, are considerably harder than the main campaign. One example is the Valkyries, 8 optional boss fights that are the hardest thing on this game. There was this time when I stupidly got lost and entered on a Valkyrie area. I've spent the next two and a half hours getting my ass kicked by her, until I was able to predict all her movements and what to do to counter them, finally being able to defeat her. I'm still not sure if I want to go after the 7 other Valkyries.

• Bear's score works pretty great on the game. He takes a few cues out of James Horner's Braveheart and Zimmer's The Last Samurai on giving a score about brutish warriors some emotional tones and pathos. Its probably one of the best Norse-inspired scores of the decade (better than any of the MCU Thor scores, lol).

• Voice acting is great! Loved Christopher Judge's Kratos, Sunny Suljic's Atreus, Danielle Bisutti's Freya and Alastair Duncan's Mimir.

• So combining the gameplay, the story, atmosphere, voice acting, cinematography and music, this makes for a very hypnotic and mesmerizing game, that's probably very addictive, even when you're on a hard moment, you'll want to play until you beat the challenge.

All in all, that's a perfectly satisfatory game that also sets up some pretty epic and dramatic stuff for Krateus and Atreus on the Norse world. I for one still thinks that RDR2 should've won the Game of the Year award, but this one is also excellent.

 

4 and a half stars out of 5.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

My favorite game of the generation so far. 

[King Mark 3,626]

I have it in my shelf .Porobaly play it after I finidh Outward and Kingdom hearts 3

 

[Quintus 5,399]

God of War was undeniably a well crafted game which took it's well worn cues from the 'metroidvania' genre, but for some reason I didn't click with it as well as I expected to and frankly I found great portions of it to be a bit of a chore. It's a long-winded experience, which can feel like a bit of a slog which rambles on, but I think it meant well all the same. It had some terrific highlights (the dragon thingy boss) and great presentation, but in the end I think it's a good game but not a truly great one.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It’s not perfect but the gameplay is superb. Can’t wait to see how they iterate on it with the sequel. Same with Horizon: Zero Dawn. Sony is going to have a great line-up of games for PS5. 

[Quintus 5,399]

Horizon Zero Dawn was epic, I loved it.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

7 hours ago, Quintus said:

Horizon Zero Dawn was epic, I loved it.

I couldn't get past the opening 2 hours or so.  The dialogue was so stilted and the lore seemed pretty contrived.  Wasn't into the game play either.  

[Quintus 5,399]

The dialogue is stilted in 99.9% of all video games, so that aspect doesn't even register to me anymore,  I treat bad voice acting practically as a given. The story is good ol' TV grade sci-fi though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

If y'all play PC and are okay with wrongs darker than death, night, Trump, Hitler, and Bon Jovi combined, the Arkham trilogy is available for free on the Epic Games Store until the 26th of September.

 

I have no idea why people don't like Knight so much.

[Holko 9,499]

I like Asylum the most by far. Well-rounded, not overbloated, enclosed 3D Metroidvania instead of a fake open world jerking you all over repetitively and slipping into pieces, I like its comic-book-y atmosphere and aesthetics the best. Knight especially is much more modern, angular, shiny metally.

[Quintus 5,399]

Played and enjoyed them all, it's a superb series. Even Origins was good, and I preferred it over City.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Only played part of Asylum and all of Knight.
 

Everyone criticized the batmobile for some reason, I thought all of it was great. 

[Quintus 5,399]

I never bothered to upgrade its tree because those games were inherently more fun to traverse via the gadgets Bats had at his disposal.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

30 minutes ago, Holko said:

I like Asylum the most by far. Well-rounded, not overbloated, enclosed 3D Metroidvania instead of a fake open world jerking you all over repetitively and slipping into pieces, I like its comic-book-y atmosphere and aesthetics the best. Knight especially is much more modern, angular, shiny metally.

 

I think Asylum works the cleanest since it's a nice, cute little story that's very streamlined and self-contained, as you say. 

 

Arkham City tries to do a lot of more, and tried to do waayyy too much. The opening is so badass, it's unfortunate that the game peters out pretty quickly after that. It's a really fun game to play, combat and movement wise, but it's so shallow in so many respects, and the stealth moments got real old real quick. The AI had the illusion of being really responsive and dynamic, but you can only play so many rectangular shaped rooms with conveniently placed gargoyle ledges before you start to see just how rote their patterns are.

 

Whereas every problem I had with it was fixed by Knight. The plot doesn't just happen to Batman, there's psychological weight, and the gimmick of a returning character brilliantly allows the quick pace of these games to chug along while still probing Batman's mind and exploring some very deep character flaws that's infinitely more interesting than the "reliving parents' murder" button writers seem to enjoy pressing so much. As well, these said character flaws, though never truly brought up (anti-Nolan), inform much of the conflict in the plot, particularly with Batman and his friends/allies. Very well-done.

 

The stealth moments are way more varied and inventive in practically every way, and the game does pretty well at balancing the classic dilemma of open world games "There's this really urgent thing you need to do or else the world is doomed!....but if you want to collect some trinkets that's cool too". 

 

Koray, I can agree in theory with why people dislike the Batmobile's massive presence in the game, but like you, I thought it controlled really well and was lots of fun (though ultimately zipping around and everything is a lot more satisfying as Quint says). It's really cute seeing just how far they have to stretch it not breaking the no-kill rule.

 

So of course you add all these up and the consensus between journalists and gamers is that it's the weakest in the trilogy, and a massive disappointment. 

 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It’s my favorite. My only real gripe was having to complete all 250 Riddler puzzles to unlock the true ending. Story should never be locked away like that. 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

5 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

It’s my favorite. My only real gripe was having to complete all 250 Riddler puzzles to unlock the true ending. Story should never be locked away like that. 

 

Totally agreed, especially when it's something as trivial as going around and literally collecting trophies. Talk about poor dramatic pacing!

 

Though all of the endings are the weakest part of the game, in my mind.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I’m eagerly awaiting Rocksteady’s next game announcement. They’re overdue!

[Quintus 5,399]

I was hoping for their take on Superman but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be more Batman albeit for the next gen systems.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The long standing rumor is that they’re working on a Justice League game. Arkham Knight was supposed to be their last Batman outing. WB Montréal is more than capable of continuing on that front. 

[Quintus 5,399]

Funnily enough...

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/WBGamesMTL/status/1175764366169399296

 

[King Mark 3,626]

I saw it

5 hours ago, Not Mr. Big said:

I couldn't get past the opening 2 hours or so.  The dialogue was so stilted and the lore seemed pretty contrived.  Wasn't into the game play either.  

 it was good when you start going into ruins and reading logs

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

2 hours ago, Quintus said:

I was hoping for their take on Superman but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be more Batman albeit for the next gen systems.

 

The definitive Superman game already exists.

 

[Jay 37,322]

 

[Edmilson 7,398]

Trailer for TLOU Part II

 

 

[Quintus 5,399]

 

 

The sequel to one of the greatest and most well written thrillers in modern gaming is almost upon us!

[Jay 37,322]

Immediate Cremeritis!

[Quintus 5,399]

But with added ultra hi-def image

[Jay 37,322]

[Quintus 5,399]

😵

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Interesting that the best selling XBox One exclusive isn’t even in the top ten overall for the system (these are North America only)

 

 

Compare to PS4 where the top 2 exclusives are in the top 10 overall.

 

 

And of course for any Nintendo system of the last 20 years, the top 10 exclusives is usually the same thing as the top 10 overall.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Can't wait! 

 

[Edmilson 7,398]

There's a rumor floating up on the internet that The Last of Us 2 will be released in 2 discs - much like Red Dead Redemption II.

 

Also, the game is being developed since 2014, with things kicking into high gear after the release of Uncharted 4 on 2016.

 

I don't think I'm prepared for the scale of this game.

[Jay 37,322]

2 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Interesting that the best selling XBox One exclusive isn’t even in the top ten overall for the system (these are North America only)

 

 

Compare to PS4 where the top 2 exclusives are in the top 10 overall.

 

 

And of course for any Nintendo system of the last 20 years, the top 10 exclusives is usually the same thing as the top 10 overall.

 

It's also interesting to see the top 5 for both systems are the same games, just in a different order. I wonder what factors play into people preferring PS4 for Red Dead and XBO for the CODs... 

 

And yea, Sony destroyed Microsoft with exclusives this gen, INEC. I can't see that changing much next gen either 

 

It's also fascinating the #1 game in either system is a port of a game from the previous gen, too. GTAV is a remarkable phenomenon that may never be matched. Unless they pull it off again with GTA6! 

[Koray Savas 2,251]

6 hours ago, Edmilson said:

There's a rumor floating up on the internet that The Last of Us 2 will be released in 2 discs - much like Red Dead Redemption II.

 

Also, the game is being developed since 2014, with things kicking into high gear after the release of Uncharted 4 on 2016.

 

I don't think I'm prepared for the scale of this game.

It’s still a linear game, so the scale will be in line with their previous games. Probably more areas like Madagascar from Uncharted 4. 

[Quintus 5,399]

I really hope they haven't gone too mad with any open-ended areas in this game. Narratively driven experiences always seems to lose focus whenever they open up the explorable environment too much. I want a nice long linear adventure with the expected NG polish and care in the moment to moment gameplay.