What is the last video game you played?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

What Quint said.

I signed up for PlayStation Plus last night. They added a new feature where you can "save to the cloud." So you can upload all your saved data to Sony's servers, and therefore can play it on any PS3 with no hassle, as well as keep back up copies if your system crashes.

Easier than constantly backing up a flash drive, plus you get all the discounts and free stuff from the Store.

[Quintus 5,399]

Sorry Koray, I think it's a complete con. I have absolutely no need or or desire to save my games anywhere other than on my hard drive and I'm not in any hurry to effectively rent some old games I have no interest in playing. Oh and they can keep their gimmicky themes.

All those 'goodies' and yet they still can't manage to include cross-game party chat? Meh.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's worth it to me, since I play on two systems. It's also nice to know that if something goes wrong, I won't lose all my saves again.

I agree that it's rather pointless, unless you crazily buy everything from the Store, but this new addition was the deal breaker for me.

[Quintus 5,399]

Fair enough. Seems like an expensive way to save game though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That's what my brother said

$50 for 15 months isn't too bad.

[King Mark 3,631]

Tough call but I think I'll go for the PS3 version of Dragon Age 2. I'd rather have a bit of tearing than slowdowns

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-dragon-age-ii-face-off

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Taking advantage of Amazon's Warehouse deals.

Got Mafia II for $20, will play it for two days and sell it back for a couple bucks less.

I need to finish up Blood Stone so I can sell it back as well. I need two more trophies for the campaign, and then a bunch of online trophies. I may not even bother with the online ones though.

I might get Assassin's Creed II from the Warehouse as well, it's only $17. I'm gonna play the 60 minute game trial first though.

[King Mark 3,631]

KM, rpg games are not the titles which have vast amounts of resources poured into their graphics engines. Cutting edge graphics engines will never be found in Japanese role playing games. Due to the rpg genre's inherently broad size and hefty content, the visuals are never going to be as good as you would like them to be, this gen. Just look at the brand new Dragon Age II: it looks pretty bland and tired, visually speaking.

I'd be happy with graphics of the quality of Assassin's Creed 2 on RPG's. There you have complex cities all rendered in great detail and dozens of NPC's on screen at the same time yet everything runs smoothly

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Graphics really aren't that important though. I mean, there's a standard games shouldn't drop below, but most games these days are at least decent. Gran Turismo 5 is the only recent game I can think of where I went, "Really?"

If the gameplay is good, average graphics don't hurt as much. But then again, these days they kinda go hand-in-hand, because if a developer is putting a lot of time into the graphics, they're usually doing the same in every other department.

[King Mark 3,631]

Well I'm done Assassin's Creed 2

I did everything except finding all the feathers and 2 races I can't beat

Time played = 37 hours

[Quintus 5,399]

Well I'm done Assassin's Creed 2

I did everything except finding all the feathers and 2 races I can't beat

Time played = 37 hours

Did you like it? Brotherhood is even better.

Tough call but I think I'll go for the PS3 version of Dragon Age 2. I'd rather have a bit of tearing than slowdowns

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-dragon-age-ii-face-off

I'd rather have the Achievements

I find screen tear to be terribly distracting (I remember how bad it was in Darksiders, before they patched it). I played the DA2 demo on 360 and it ran absolutely fine.

[King Mark 3,631]

Well I'm done Assassin's Creed 2

I did everything except finding all the feathers and 2 races I can't beat

Time played = 37 hours

Did you like it? Brotherhood is even better.

It was better than I expected but got a bit repetitive at the end. I need a break from it. I'll get Brotherhood when I find it at a good price

[Quintus 5,399]

That's good thinking. I remember feeling the same way towards the end of the game. Brotherhood is actually paced much better actually.

[King Mark 3,631]

So I'm looking at those Eurogamer videos for "screen tearing". What is it ?Is it the little horizontal red lines that appears randomly on the edges of the screen?

I looked at the combat video and it doesn't seem like something I would have noticed

[Quintus 5,399]

Do you still have your copy of Darksiders on Xbox? If you delete the auto update from your hard drive and run the game offline you will see it.

I haven't watched those vids because I'm currently in bed on iPod. Screen tear is just what you'd expect it to be - when the camera is moved by the player, the visuals have the appearance of being 'torn' out of shape, distorted, before lining up again when the camera movement comes to a halt. According to that article though, it's less of a problem in Dragons Age than it might have been simply because it's not the sort of game which requires constant camera shifting from the player.

I'd take the article's word for it, since Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter analysis is always absolutely spot on trustworthy.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Just played the demo for the BTTF game now it's finally available on the UK PS3 store. I liked it, great voice acting, pretty fun although a bit basic. But I dug it enough to purchase when I get paid.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah I tried it, it was okay. Trouble is I've got far too many games to wade through at the moment and I'm feeling swamped. Besides, Beyond Good & Evil HD takes priority over BTTF.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I just don't have the time to get deep into a game, so something like BTTF works well for me.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah I don't know how I manage it myself tbh.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm buried in games right now and am only digging deeper.

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

Graphics really aren't that important though. I mean, there's a standard games shouldn't drop below, but most games these days are at least decent. Gran Turismo 5 is the only recent game I can think of where I went, "Really?"

GT5 looks great. They did fuck up the shadows (apparently, they were fine in the prologue - haven't played that since to compare). But the fact that the "standard cars" look and play like shit is irrelevant, in my opinion. There's a ton of premium cars, and they look awesome. If bonus content looks bad, so be it.

[vmw331 2]

Just finished playing Bioshock and enjoyed it. The atmosphere, setting, characters and action didn't get dull or repetitive like a lot of FPS games out there so it ended on a strong note....although the final boss was too easy:)

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Graphics really aren't that important though. I mean, there's a standard games shouldn't drop below, but most games these days are at least decent. Gran Turismo 5 is the only recent game I can think of where I went, "Really?"

GT5 looks great. They did fuck up the shadows (apparently, they were fine in the prologue - haven't played that since to compare). But the fact that the "standard cars" look and play like shit is irrelevant, in my opinion. There's a ton of premium cars, and they look awesome. If bonus content looks bad, so be it.

The premium cars range from decent to good, but as a whole package, Gran Turismo 5 is the ultimate failure in my book. Need For Speed and hell, even games like Blur, look better.

[King Mark 3,631]

One of the things about Assassin's Creed 2 is that you can't re-do missions . There's a few I would have liked to complete more "gracefully"

Well I'm back in my element with Two Worlds 2, an Oblivion style RPG that seems to have a ton of stuff to do. First impression is good

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Graphics really aren't that important though. I mean, there's a standard games shouldn't drop below, but most games these days are at least decent. Gran Turismo 5 is the only recent game I can think of where I went, "Really?"

GT5 looks great. They did fuck up the shadows (apparently, they were fine in the prologue - haven't played that since to compare). But the fact that the "standard cars" look and play like shit is irrelevant, in my opinion. There's a ton of premium cars, and they look awesome. If bonus content looks bad, so be it.

GT5 looks absolutely amazing at its best, which is not all the time, or even half the time.

Premium cars make up a 5th of the total cars, and a lot of awesome cars that should have been premium are standard (Veyron anyone?). There are a lot of premium cars no one gives a shit about.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Mafia II

I was surprised by this one. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill GTA/mafia game that I'd blow through in a few days and sell back. I like this one so much, I may actually keep it. It does have the cliche elements of a mafia game. Immigrate from Europe, try to start a life in New York, etc. But the style and atmosphere are just gorgeous. Love the 40s and 50s setting. In the beginning when you get in the car with Joe and "Baby It's Cold Outside" started playing, I was in genuine awe. Loved it. Great attention to setting and detail makes up for the lack of dynamic gameplay. I also like the story told in chapters versus random mission assignment. Oh, and the cops actually go after you if you're speeding, a nice touch of realism.

Forgot to mention the score is pretty good too. I have also discovered that your car will eventually run out of gas and that major accidents will actually kill you. Love it.

[Kevin 22]

Anyone remember the Command & Conquer Red Alert series?

That was quite fun to play multi-player on.

[Henry B 50]

Yes, it was.

[King Mark 3,631]

Well I'm about 8 hours into Two World 2

I'll finish it but my advise is that if your not into RPG's, this is not the one to try to change your mind so play something else

[King Mark 3,631]

Argh I hate when a quest bugs and your last save is 2 hours of play before

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Mafia II

I was surprised by this one. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill GTA/mafia game that I'd blow through in a few days and sell back. I like this one so much, I may actually keep it. It does have the cliche elements of a mafia game. Immigrate from Europe, try to start a life in New York, etc. But the style and atmosphere are just gorgeous. Love the 40s and 50s setting. In the beginning when you get in the car with Joe and "Baby It's Cold Outside" started playing, I was in genuine awe. Loved it. Great attention to setting and detail makes up for the lack of dynamic gameplay. I also like the story told in chapters versus random mission assignment. Oh, and the cops actually go after you if you're speeding, a nice touch of realism.

Forgot to mention the score is pretty good too. I have also discovered that your car will eventually run out of gas and that major accidents will actually kill you. Love it.

Did you ever play the original? It is one of my fav games of all time, though it is a bit more erm...hardcore than most games nowadays.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

When they first announced Mafia II, I thought it was a console sequel to the Facebook game Mafia Wars. I believed that for a long time before my friend corrected me

So no, I never played the first one.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

You should. Its still a great game. And believe it or not, the cops were even more anal in the first game, you would get pulled over for running red lights. Doesn't end the game, just slows you down.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I was thinking that they should have done that in the game, but honestly that's taking it too far. Going 10+ miles over the speed limit guarantees them to go after you, which is a nice touch. It forces you to watch the road, and the driving is a lot more realistic than most other games. But for running a red light? It'd take you an hour to go from Point A to Point B.

Mass Effect 2

Decided to cave and pick this one up. It's a good game, but I have yet to see anything that makes it great for me. Everything seems terribly repetitive, each mission being the exact same thing. Recruit him, her, her, him, and her and the game ends. Not much of a story honestly. At this point, I don't understand the high praise that it has gotten. I find the combat system to be generally lacking. On the other hand though, the voice acting is pretty superb, and the graphics are very good. Music ain't too bad either.

Crysis 2 got a 9.0 from IGN, and they said it was the best looking game on the 360. Don't know if I'll pick it up though, maybe when it gets cheap. I played the SOCOM 4 beta, and that was crap, so now I'll most likely be getting Portal 2 on the 19th instead.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Mass Effect 2

Decided to cave and pick this one up. It's a good game, but I have yet to see anything that makes it great for me. Everything seems terribly repetitive, each mission being the exact same thing. Recruit him, her, her, him, and her and the game ends. Not much of a story honestly. At this point, I don't understand the high praise that it has gotten. I find the combat system to be generally lacking. On the other hand though, the voice acting is pretty superb, and the graphics are very good. Music ain't too bad either.

Aaaah, thats because I'm assuming you haven't played the first one and therefore, you aren't invested in the entire story. Its not a very good standalone story I admit, but I don't think its meant to be.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah I figured as much. There is a comic book retelling of the first game, where you can make all the important choices for yourself, but when I was making them, I didn't understand the gravity of each situation. I made a couple poor choices by killing the Queen and that other guy, as well as accidentally picking the wrong dude to run the Council. I eventually restarted mostly because I made the mistake of not being a Soldier in the first place.

So yeah, right now I have just recruited Jack and walked around the Citadel a little bit.

[King Mark 3,631]

Mass Effect 2 is a bit overrated

[Wojo 2,453]

I've got enough games to contently avoid the craze that is Mass Effect.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

why would you want to do that? The Mass Effect games are at the very least, extremely fine experiences. There are far more inane crazes out there, like the Call of Duty one, where it seems like a lot of people buy it blind regardless of quality, which then prompts even more people to buy it because 'all my friends have/play it'. again, regardless of quality.

[King Mark 3,631]

I hate Call of Duty

[Wojo 2,453]

why would you want to do that?

Because I have enough games that I want to get to first?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's a decent RPG, but a lot of it is tedious. I'll be getting the third one, for sure.

COD just needs to stop for awhile or change. Different guns, more advanced environments, toss out the crazy perks and killstreaks to even the playing field, stuff like that. Take away people's beloved Marathon or Sleight Of Hand, delete their killstreaks, and then see how good they are. There would no longer be a reason to camp!

[King Mark 3,631]

Yes , there's stuff to read and figure out and NPC's to talk to in Mass Effect. It's not just shoot, find ammo/healing pack, shoot again

Also Mass Effect 1 was more difficult than Mass Effect 2. There was more to "figure out" and more complicated inventory and leveling system

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

It's a decent RPG, but a lot of it is tedious. I'll be getting the third one, for sure.

COD just needs to stop for awhile or change. Different guns, more advanced environments, toss out the crazy perks and killstreaks to even the playing field, stuff like that. Take away people's beloved Marathon or Sleight Of Hand, delete their killstreaks, and then see how good they are. There would no longer be a reason to camp!

If you look at it from an objective point of view, then yes you can say its very repetitive in structure. However, the world and universe is just so rich that it almost doesn't matter. And obviously, if you have the experience of playing the first this down time (relatively speaking) is very welcome as it allows you to just delve into the universe Bioware has created without the intergalactic wild goose chase/save the universe story of the first. Its all in anticipation of the third and I'm very very excited.

And yes I do agree with you about CoD. The singleplayer campaigns are fun, but they are like a James Bond movie. I know if they released a Bond movie every year, I'd get sick very fast. Same thing with CoD. However its such a cash cow it will definitely be pumped out as fast as they can be.

And CoD multiplayer? As an old school Quaker I can never take CoD MP seriously. Its a horrifically unbalanced mess, and I hated the idea of perks and upgrades from day one.

why would you want to do that?

Because I have enough games that I want to get to first?

Fair enough, but it almost seemed like your original post had a tinge of distaste.

[Wojo 2,453]

Since I'm a PC gamer, I just have to wait for a box set that contains the entire Mass Effect trilogy for $20.

[A24 4,331]

Me kid is playing Crisis 2 and during the opening scene I said to myself "Jees, another Hans Zimmer clone! What terrible music!"

And then the credits said "music for opening scene by Hans Zimmer"!

Am I good or am I good?

[Wojo 2,453]

I read the entire game itself was dumbed down for consoles. I'll pass.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

Me kid is playing Crisis 2 and during the opening scene I said to myself "Jees, another Hans Zimmer clone! What terrible music!"

And then the credits said "music for opening scene by Hans Zimmer"!

Am I good or am I good?

Zimmer-ish music has invaded gaming a long time ago, and I do not believe Crysis 2 is Zimmer's first game score either.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Zimmer's first venture into video games was with Modern Warfare 2. This is his second outing, and I'm sure Lorne Balfe did the meat of the score with Zimmer providing the themes. IGN gave the game an "amazing" 9.0 and even mentioned the score as a plus. I'd buy it, but I just got Mass Effect 2 and still want to clean up Blood Stone and Mafia II. Then there's Portal 2 on April 19th. I'm drowning in games. In all honesty though, I'll probably pick it up. It's $53 on Amazon plus you get a $10 gift card for buying. Not too bad.

[A24 4,331]

Zimmer-ish music has invaded gaming a long time ago, and I do not believe Crysis 2 is Zimmer's first game score either.

I know it's big business and big business doesn't take any risks but, as a gamer, don't you get tired of it?