What is the last video game you played?

[A24 4,348]

Luckily, in Europe we still play Pong ... in monochrome.

[Quintus 5,399]

Luckily for me the FPS genre is probably my most favourite. Not all First Person titles involve shooting people in the face and watching as their heads explode, though. The Portal series doesn't have any killing and not even a gun. My all time favourite games, along with Bioshock Infinite, as it happens.

Another First Person oddity is the mesmerising Proteus. A surprisingly stunning audiovisual way to pass an hour or so.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-05-proteus-review

And Dear Esther takes games as narrative further than ever before.

Beware though! Such titles are most certainly reserved for the gamer who is very much interested in video games the art form and do not feature instant gratification and mechanics in the conventional sense at all.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Alex would probably be disappointed with Uncharted or The Last Of Us. Great atmosphere, lighting, voice acting, but then all hell breaks loose. Sigh!

They're games, not movies.

[A24 4,348]

If it's yet another shooter, yes, I would be disappointed. Who ever thought games were going to be so unimaginative and monotonous?!

[Wojo 2,453]

You may dislike seeing and using a gun or sword as the primary means of interacting with the environment, but the rest of the industry sees imagination in graphical fidelity, environmental interaction and destruction, degree of freedom, vehicles, weather, story, NPC interaction, economy, upgradable skills and collectable items, and, of course, modifications.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

If it's yet another shooter, yes, I would be disappointed. Who ever thought games were going to be so unimaginative and monotonous?!

The fact that you think this about something like BioShock Infinite is baffling.

Would you rather have pointed and clicked your way through the story like Thor?

[Quintus 5,399]

Lol @ you engaging.

[Quintus 5,399]

I started The Last of Us last night. Wow, that intro.

It's like playing a movie; just a shame about that less than ideal frame rate.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The prologue is the highpoint of the game for me. Managed to illicit some tears, unfortunately was never as involved for the rest of it.

[King Mark 3,631]

It's like playing a movie

Right there that turns me off.

I like cut scenes but don't feel the actual gaming part should be secondary

[Wojo 2,453]

I can't wait for the next month or so to unfold and bring forth Rise of the Triad and Brutal Doom v19.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's like playing a movie

Right there that turns me off.

I like cut scenes but don't feel the actual gaming part should be secondary

The Last Of Us has the ingredients for deep and great gameplay, but some developing choices sort of put me off of it. Either way, I think it's ignorant to dismiss an entire game based of its cinematic qualities. Uncharted always felt like a movie yet was an enthralling gaming experience.

[Quintus 5,399]

I wasn't even referring to its cutscenes anyway, of which there are surprisingly very few, or at the least it feels like the superb pacing keeps them at a minimum only inserting them at key moments same as pretty much any other game. Can't stand games which interrupt my control and immersion every five minutes. Uncharted 3 was guilty of that imo.

Nah, I was talking about atmosphere, staging and dialogue.

Still don't think it's your type of game anyway KM. There is no levelling or side quests. The majority of the gameplay involves emergent stealth, exploration and absolutely brutal combat.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'll play Dishonored instead

Really I tried Uncharted and it turned me off. One of the few games I started and just left there. I might finish them eventually though

[Quintus 5,399]

Dishonored was a very good game; a little bit overrated for my liking. Probably more your thing though because it does have a few side quests and stuff. Again though, it's predominantly a stealth 'em up, but I wasn't as keen as I am about the sneaking in The Last of Us. Dishonored was very much a trial and error game vs. The Last of Us stealth/melee on the fly. I prefer the visceral panic of its stealth systems compared to Dishonored's 'tag the enemy and plan your approach'.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The Last Of Us just does an excellent job at creating tension.

[King Mark 3,631]

I saw Dead Island, The Movie today...(World War Z)

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Been playing The Last Of Us on Survivor+ difficulty. There's a weird workaround the New Game+ system, so I was able to continue with all of my upgrades intact. Going for that shiny Platinum. Things move by much quicker and flow better now that I know what's coming. I think it's a better experience the second time around. This is possibly one of my most polarizing games, such that there are moments of sheer brilliance and moments that make me wonder what the development team was doing.

GTA V gameplay trailer:

This looks staggering in its awesomeness. Maybe even enticing enough for KM? This and Beyond: Two Souls are most likely my last PS3 purchases. But then again Sony just announced a new Ratchet game just for PS3, developed by Insomniac surprisingly enough. Supposedly it'll only be $30. I'm in.

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm playing on Hard with all assists OFF anyway. Why on earth anyone would want to use fucking x-ray vision in a game like this is beyond me and NG really undermined their achievement adding it in the first place.

Nearly at the end now.

GTA does look good, even for current gen (it'll have a sturdier frame rate on the Xbox, though), but I'll wait for the PC version.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

All assists? Isn't Listening Mode the only thing? It was essential to move stealthily through areas infested with people or infected. Now that I know where everyone is though, I can move without it.

I've been playing a little more guns loose this time around, which should be the opposite considering how limited supplies are. Health packs are hard to come by. I've just finished Bill's Town and am now in the Hotel level that was previewed at E3.

[Quintus 5,399]

I'd have thought a LOT less of my experience with the game had I used superhero powers throughout it. I like to keep this genre as realistic and tense as possible otherwise what's the point? It also meant I didn't need to waste upgrade points on that ability

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah cause hauling 1,000 lbs of gear on your back is realistic

[Wojo 2,453]

Hey, you can keep Oblivion and other level scaling games easier if you just never level up.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah cause hauling 1,000 lbs of gear on your back is realistic

Actually, I think the backpack inventory/crafting system is THE best I've ever known in a game.

Anyway, I bet any money the x-ray vision thing was a demand of Sony's who probably thought their extremely costly game would be too hardcore for casuals. The blockbuster releases have to be nerfed for the casuals nowadays or run the risk of under performing.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm not criticizing the system, just the reality of it. It's a video game, judging one aspect of it for not being real and not another doesn't really make sense.

In other news, Hideo Kojima says he's depressed about the quality of GTA V, saying his own open world MGS V won't live up to Rockstar's quality.

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm not criticizing the system, just the reality of it. It's a video game, judging one aspect of it for not being real and not another doesn't really make sense.

Nonsense, why on earth not? These things are context dependent. Carrying a heavy backpack full of scavenged parts and a supply of weaponry is one thing; using your Superman vision to see enemies through concrete walls is another thing entirely. Where does your logic come from?

We're not even talking Oblivion or standard RPG amounts of junk and clutter here either. You just get to carry exactly what you need, nothing more.

I don't even find the rucksack in The Last of Us implausible. It feels real. I even think the fact that it takes a few moments to remove it from the shoulders, kneel and unzip the bag is another clever piece of invisible design which adds to the sense of believability and purpose. I deliberately haven't upgraded the ability to speed up that stuff for that reason. I like and appreciate that opening the bag feels like a thoughtful decision instead of a button press.

[King Mark 3,631]

So once you go to the prison in Dead Island, you can't come back to the island and finish other sidequests?

I have a big warning in the game...

[Quintus 5,399]

Yep, wrap your loose ends up first if completionism is your thing.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm more worried about the items I'll need to make mods...should I stock pile?

I bought a bunch of stingray tails yesterday (they are very rare even in merchants) to make my deathstalker mod

I haven't found any of these friggen colored skulls to make the super special items either.

[Quintus 5,399]

You've got quite a long way to go yet I think. Plenty of opportunities for modifications yet, don't worry about wasting materials now. Just max out what you have if it bothers you.

[Quintus 5,399]

Finished The Last of Us.

What. A. Game.

I feel like I've been on a journey.

10/10

[Ren 75]

Heard lots about that game, have a feeling I'll be seeing it here soon

[Wojo 2,453]

Finished The Last of Us.

What. A. Game.

I feel like I've been on a journey.

10/10

So you now know downtown Pittsburgh better than me, I wager.

[Red 75]

The Last of Us is pretty much a masterpiece. I have virtually nothing bad to say about it. That being said, it's kind a hard game to recommend because it is so brutal in its violence and storytelling. It can also be quite difficult if you aren't skilled at stealth gameplay.

[Quintus 5,399]

I couldn't recommend it enough. The melee and violence never felt more justified. Of course, those scenarios are only a part of what the game is about, what it accomplishes.

You're right about the difficulty, and that was most refreshing - that a game with so much in the way of story and character development still managed to retain plenty of its game. I went through it on hard without x-ray but it always felt fair. By comparison The Uncharted games always felt challenge-lite, there combat fun and accessible but too loose and really lacking in feedback and depth, but here Naughty Dog engineered some of the very best third person combat yet to grace a video game - and that's coming from someone who plays Gears of War online very well.

When I said the combat wasn't as fun or engaging as I had hoped, it was because of the sparse arsenal at your disposal. But also because I was still getting a feeling for the controls. A lot of that goes out the window as you progress and 'level up.' That's all the more evident when

Joel is injured and you start playing as Ellie. Losing access to all my weapons and gadgets sucks. I'm still on this part of the game now. Hoping to finish it up soon.

Lol, trust Koray Savas to hate one of the most sublime part's of the entire game.

[A24 4,348]

Holy sh!t:

Journey was a financial disaster, Chen tells me. Pushed back twice, the game bankrupted thatgamecompany. Eventually, it did make its money back plus some, but not Minecraft money, Chen says. While it was well received, it wasn't well received by a big enough audience for Chen.

"I wouldn't say that the development of Journey was a successful example of game development," he said. "We bankrupted the company."

[Quintus 5,399]

That was then. It turned profitable just in the last fortnight I believe. But yeah, still ludicrous.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm not criticizing the system, just the reality of it. It's a video game, judging one aspect of it for not being real and not another doesn't really make sense.

Nonsense, why on earth not? These things are context dependent. Carrying a heavy backpack full of scavenged parts and a supply of weaponry is one thing; using your Superman vision to see enemies through concrete walls is another thing entirely. Where does your logic come from?

We're not even talking Oblivion or standard RPG amounts of junk and clutter here either. You just get to carry exactly what you need, nothing more.

I don't even find the rucksack in The Last of Us implausible. It feels real. I even think the fact that it takes a few moments to remove it from the shoulders, kneel and unzip the bag is another clever piece of invisible design which adds to the sense of believability and purpose. I deliberately haven't upgraded the ability to speed up that stuff for that reason. I like and appreciate that opening the bag feels like a thoughtful decision instead of a button press.

It's actually hearing if you ever paid attention to it, hence 'Listening Mode.' If you put it in that context, it's quite more realistic than your interpretation. You pretty much triangulate targets based on the sounds they make. Someone talking makes more noise, thus making them more visible, than someone lightly walking. It's all the more evident in your showdown with Drake (David), where you can't find him in that mode unless you're close enough and he's moving. Even then he's hard to spot.

The game is far from a masterpiece, story gripes and design choices aside, it's chock full of shoddy development and polish. Glitches galore. A solid 8.5 for me.

As for Journey, I second guess the validity of that quote. I don't know how much the game cost, but it was the #1 seller on PSN for like 4 straight months. Tremendous critical praise, and as far as I know, thatgamecompany still exists and is still making games. Journey was simply the last of their 3-part deal with Sony.

[A24 4,348]

As for Journey, I second guess the validity of that quote. I don't know how much the game cost, but it was the #1 seller on PSN for like 4 straight months. Tremendous critical praise, and as far as I know, thatgamecompany still exists and is still making games. Journey was simply the last of their 3-part deal with Sony.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/11/3969140/next-game-from-journey-developer-thatgamecompany

[Quintus 5,399]

It's x-ray vision Koray, stop glossing over it with your BS! 'Listening mode' is just spinning what it is - which is to say it's a design aid for the less core audience, which is fair enough (if a shame).

Not once did I feel like the odds were unfairly stacked without it, not once. The burning bar sequence you mentioned was made all the more tense using only my wits and sound system. The x-ray assistance is unnecessary and rubbish.

As for your bad experiences with bugs etc, it's a shame you got unlucky. My playthrough was flawless.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't disagree, they designed it to be more tense if you were using the mode or not. I'm still arguing the realism aspects of the game. You think a giant backpack that can carry 10 guns but only 7 bullets is realistic, I don't.

[Quintus 5,399]

It's called a progression system. Players like that stuff nowadays. Dunno about you, but I was never struggling to carry ammunition (in fact I felt like I couldn't even find seven bullets at times, which is part of the brilliance).

Anyway, I see convention has claimed another gamer. Happens all the time!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Again, not really complaining about how it affects the gameplay, but about how realistic you claim it to be. My main issues with the game are its polish and technical glitches.

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm not saying it's realistic per se either (obviously it isn't, not really), but relatively speaking, it's one of the most convincing and plausible titles I've played.

[Marian Schedenig 8,212]

As for Journey, I second guess the validity of that quote. I don't know how much the game cost, but it was the #1 seller on PSN for like 4 straight months. Tremendous critical praise, and as far as I know, thatgamecompany still exists and is still making games. Journey was simply the last of their 3-part deal with Sony.

That's independent game development for you. I don't think "bankrupted the company" is to be taken literally, but I can well imagine that it put them in serious financial trouble. Over the course of the production, they twice had to go back to Sony for more funding (I assume this correlates to the two production delays mentioned in the article).

Double Fine's Broken Age (their famed Kickstarter point and click adventure, still in production) just found itself in a similar situation where the success of the Kickstarter campaign allowed them to extend the scope, which in turn ended up in them underestimating the time and money involved. They've now pushed back the planned release date to next year and will release it in two parts, so as to allow them to use the first release to raise more money to finish the second part.

The relevant point is: This happens all the time in software development. But if big studios are involved, you don't hear about it, and the games are either cut short or just killed off altogether (at this point in the production, many studio games aren't even officially announced yet).

Recommended viewing in this context: Indie Game: The Movie.

[Quintus 5,399]

It's an epidemic which isn't getting better even though the bubble burst ages ago. Somethings got to give otherwise before the next gen is a barren place full of fps sequels.

[King Mark 3,631]

Wow , there's an online petition by xbox fanboys to bring back the original policies of the xboxOne including the DRM

[Quintus 5,399]

IF it meant Xbox was almost identical Steam, as they allegedly intended (which I doubt), I'd sign that petition. But MS are not Valve in any way shape or form.

Btw I forgot to mention the sparse but poignant score to The Last of Us by Gustavo Santaolalla. It was perfect.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Indeed. Thanks for reminding me that I have to review it.

[Red 75]

I couldn't recommend it enough. The melee and violence never felt more justified. Of course, those scenarios are only a part of what the game is about, what it accomplishes.

I'm disputing that one iota. It's one of the only games I've played where the violence felt completely appropriate and even necessary. But I have friends who I know would not be able to stomach it or just the desperate, desolate tone of the whole game. It's like Telltale's The Walking Dead, which is a great game but incredibly sad and so not the kind of thing I'd tell everyone to pick up and play.