The last game you completed, and rating.
- Thread starter CaptainRAVE
- Start date
Soldato
VVVVVV
8-bit style metroidvania platformer. One single mechanic - the ability to flip gravity - and some tricky obstacles. really enjoyed it. It's short, a little over two hours for me to get through, but really quite good. Loved the c64 loading screen and the wait for the end-game picture to load line by line (kitsch, perhaps, but brings back happy memories)
8/10
8-bit style metroidvania platformer. One single mechanic - the ability to flip gravity - and some tricky obstacles. really enjoyed it. It's short, a little over two hours for me to get through, but really quite good. Loved the c64 loading screen and the wait for the end-game picture to load line by line (kitsch, perhaps, but brings back happy memories)
8/10
Soldato
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Really nice little game this one. TotalBiscuit has it as his favourite ever game, ahead of Deus Ex - it's not quite that good IMO, but it is decent.
Interesting control setup - a game pad is a must, you control each child with a different analogue stick and a shoulder trigger - which really draws you into the difficulties the two lads are having on their adventure. you feel the strain as you try to cope with tweaking both at the same time.
The more I played, the more I liked it, so it's a shame it was only about 3 hours long. A good quality 3 hours, though.
8/10
Really nice little game this one. TotalBiscuit has it as his favourite ever game, ahead of Deus Ex - it's not quite that good IMO, but it is decent.
Interesting control setup - a game pad is a must, you control each child with a different analogue stick and a shoulder trigger - which really draws you into the difficulties the two lads are having on their adventure. you feel the strain as you try to cope with tweaking both at the same time.
The more I played, the more I liked it, so it's a shame it was only about 3 hours long. A good quality 3 hours, though.
8/10
Associate
Mass Effect 2 - 9/10
Had not played the series earlier on. Only picked up the first two games of the series during sale. But was very pleased with both the games. Gripping story line and gameplay is good. Did not realise how many hours I spent until I checked after finishing both.
Had not played the series earlier on. Only picked up the first two games of the series during sale. But was very pleased with both the games. Gripping story line and gameplay is good. Did not realise how many hours I spent until I checked after finishing both.
Soldato
This game is a perfect example of how to tell a story without any words. Wonderfully done and a very enjoyable 3 hours.
I have no problem with 3 hour games if the quality is high and the price is acceptable .
In my top 10 of best games I've played over the last few years.
Soldato
GTA V, single player. Took me around six weeks on and off finished with just over 80% completion as I wanted to see how the story ended. Also TBH lost interest in doing some of the side missions, didn't find them quite as compelling as in GTA SA.
Half way through I was rating the game 5 stars, probably drop that down to 4.5. Seemed to me the designers were struggling for mission ideas before the end with quite a few just amounting to a quick car chase, shoot the tyres out and kill the bad guy. Also it seemed far easier to die than previous GTA's even buying the best armour the cover system having to mash RMB to get back in again often led to instant death from unerringly accurate AI. Thank goodness for sensible checkpoints or the option to skip (though I only used that about three times). The constant bickering between Michael and Trevor was also wearing thin towards the end.
All that said, still one of the best games in its class - has the edge over SA due to much better graphics and less emphasis on the "hood" culture. I would definitely play through again in a few months time, taking a different approach to the heists (IMHO the SP game needed one or two more of these) and maybe go for a higher % finish. Not really interested in "Online".
Half way through I was rating the game 5 stars, probably drop that down to 4.5. Seemed to me the designers were struggling for mission ideas before the end with quite a few just amounting to a quick car chase, shoot the tyres out and kill the bad guy. Also it seemed far easier to die than previous GTA's even buying the best armour the cover system having to mash RMB to get back in again often led to instant death from unerringly accurate AI. Thank goodness for sensible checkpoints or the option to skip (though I only used that about three times). The constant bickering between Michael and Trevor was also wearing thin towards the end.
All that said, still one of the best games in its class - has the edge over SA due to much better graphics and less emphasis on the "hood" culture. I would definitely play through again in a few months time, taking a different approach to the heists (IMHO the SP game needed one or two more of these) and maybe go for a higher % finish. Not really interested in "Online".
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Ori and the Blind Forest
I mean, 'masterpiece' is really the best way to sum this game up. 2d platformers are hardly my favorite genre. I enjoy certain ones, but I dont typically get super sucked into them like I do other genres. But this game, man. This game is special in almost every way.
The movement and controls are just sublime. They are intuitive and slicker than anything other game of its type. I'd struggle to say even Super Meat Boy has the level of downright 'liquidity' that this game offers, which is something else given that Ori has a lot more depth to the controls and moves.
Progression is done extremely well. You gain levels and new abilities at the perfect rate, always keeping you entertained and learning and mastering something new. By the end, combined with the great controls, you feel like a superhuman with the combination of skills and platforming that you take on and pull off.
Which is partly because the level design is *brilliant*. From start to finish, the game never lets up with clever new ways to test your newfound skills and abilities, with masterful pacing and learning curves. It is challenging, but not overly punishing. It requires that you learn your stuff, but doesn't throw anything totally ridiculous at you that feels unfair. A forgiving save system goes a long way in letting you control how often you want to set checkpoints, but I suspect everybody but the experts will want to use them often. There are three sort of 'boss' levels(there are no actual bosses) that consist of branching paths and all culminate in absolutely breathtaking escape sequences that put your skills to the test and dont offer any saving or anything.
Graphics are jaw dropping. Incredible painted-style backgrounds, lovely use of colors, amazing environmental art, the visuals just dont let up from start to finish.
Music is equally top notch. From relaxing themes to heart pumping crescendos, it never fails to perfectly match the mood of what's going on with some memorable orchestration.
I just cant say enough about how insanely high quality this game is. It is the total package, and I struggle to think of much of anything to complain about. Even the length is just right(took me 11 hours), not too short, not too long.
It deserves a full 10 out of 10 from me. It may not win my GOTY, simply because I just love certain other genres a bit more and it's a tough year to compete in, but it'd be ridiculous to say this wasn't an absolute 10/10 masterpiece for what it does. This is the best 2D platformer I've ever played and I mean that.
I mean, 'masterpiece' is really the best way to sum this game up. 2d platformers are hardly my favorite genre. I enjoy certain ones, but I dont typically get super sucked into them like I do other genres. But this game, man. This game is special in almost every way.
The movement and controls are just sublime. They are intuitive and slicker than anything other game of its type. I'd struggle to say even Super Meat Boy has the level of downright 'liquidity' that this game offers, which is something else given that Ori has a lot more depth to the controls and moves.
Progression is done extremely well. You gain levels and new abilities at the perfect rate, always keeping you entertained and learning and mastering something new. By the end, combined with the great controls, you feel like a superhuman with the combination of skills and platforming that you take on and pull off.
Which is partly because the level design is *brilliant*. From start to finish, the game never lets up with clever new ways to test your newfound skills and abilities, with masterful pacing and learning curves. It is challenging, but not overly punishing. It requires that you learn your stuff, but doesn't throw anything totally ridiculous at you that feels unfair. A forgiving save system goes a long way in letting you control how often you want to set checkpoints, but I suspect everybody but the experts will want to use them often. There are three sort of 'boss' levels(there are no actual bosses) that consist of branching paths and all culminate in absolutely breathtaking escape sequences that put your skills to the test and dont offer any saving or anything.
Graphics are jaw dropping. Incredible painted-style backgrounds, lovely use of colors, amazing environmental art, the visuals just dont let up from start to finish.
Music is equally top notch. From relaxing themes to heart pumping crescendos, it never fails to perfectly match the mood of what's going on with some memorable orchestration.
I just cant say enough about how insanely high quality this game is. It is the total package, and I struggle to think of much of anything to complain about. Even the length is just right(took me 11 hours), not too short, not too long.
It deserves a full 10 out of 10 from me. It may not win my GOTY, simply because I just love certain other genres a bit more and it's a tough year to compete in, but it'd be ridiculous to say this wasn't an absolute 10/10 masterpiece for what it does. This is the best 2D platformer I've ever played and I mean that.
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Soldato
Dragon Age - Inquisition.
Finally got around to finishing it after many months leaving it to gather dust... Christ, that main plot was an jarringly paced mess and the big bad guy was utterly hopeless. But it's Dragon Age, and I'm a sucker for it.
Uppers:
Pretty
Audio was wonderful
Some stirring moments, but mostly in the first act...
For a lore nerd the Elven focus and revelations were fascinating, and quite honestly, more engaging than the 'threat' we were supposedly facing.
"In Hushed Whispers" and "Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts" were great quests/areas to play through. The former did a great job of actually making the world seem dangerous.
Downers:
Combat! Seriously, it was not cool. Why did they get rid of the tactics system? The 'casual' mess they gave us here was hopeless.
Possibly too pretty. Few zones really had any real feeling of danger or impending doom. 'twas a bit too techincolor for my tastes.
Many of the 'open world' zones felt lifeless and dangerously like filler.
Not enough Morrigan... really nowhere near enough.
She's easily the most interesting of the DA characters.
The game lacks the intimacy with your travelling companions that Origins and DA2 possessed. Though perhaps being the Great Saviour, it was supposed to reflect that isolation the main character would feel...
Verdict:
My overwhelming feeling is that it was supposed to be a very different game, but it was taking too long and the money men got panicky and demanded 'something be cobbled together' and shipped. Whatever the truth, it's still better than DA2, but not by as much as I initially thought. Origins, however, is still the best of the series.
Now on to the DLC (completing other playthroughs) and the long wait for Dragon Age 4.
7.5/10 (Not terrible, but not a classic)
Finally got around to finishing it after many months leaving it to gather dust... Christ, that main plot was an jarringly paced mess and the big bad guy was utterly hopeless. But it's Dragon Age, and I'm a sucker for it.
Uppers:
Pretty
Audio was wonderful
Some stirring moments, but mostly in the first act...
For a lore nerd the Elven focus and revelations were fascinating, and quite honestly, more engaging than the 'threat' we were supposedly facing.
"In Hushed Whispers" and "Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts" were great quests/areas to play through. The former did a great job of actually making the world seem dangerous.
Downers:
Combat! Seriously, it was not cool. Why did they get rid of the tactics system? The 'casual' mess they gave us here was hopeless.
Possibly too pretty. Few zones really had any real feeling of danger or impending doom. 'twas a bit too techincolor for my tastes.
Many of the 'open world' zones felt lifeless and dangerously like filler.
Not enough Morrigan... really nowhere near enough.
She's easily the most interesting of the DA characters.The game lacks the intimacy with your travelling companions that Origins and DA2 possessed. Though perhaps being the Great Saviour, it was supposed to reflect that isolation the main character would feel...
Verdict:
My overwhelming feeling is that it was supposed to be a very different game, but it was taking too long and the money men got panicky and demanded 'something be cobbled together' and shipped. Whatever the truth, it's still better than DA2, but not by as much as I initially thought. Origins, however, is still the best of the series.
Now on to the DLC (completing other playthroughs) and the long wait for Dragon Age 4.
7.5/10 (Not terrible, but not a classic)
Borderlands 1 (GOTY Edition)
Single Player 8.5/10
Co-Op 10/10
Borderlands is a fun game. It was designed to be fun, plays fun, be funny and to be a game you have fun in.
It does this excellently, at the expense of gravitas, drama and a serious story. Instead the plot is largely inconsequential, rather relying on interesting characters and loot as the PC's primary motivation.
This makes for an excellent co-op experience. There's no waiting around for the nerd of the group to soak up the lore, or 15 confused minutes where everyone figures out where they're meant to be going. Instead you drop in, get entertained by the dialogue and immediately start shooting, killing, pillaging tearing across Pandora's barren wastes as a team, each member specialising in their own flavour of combat. It's still a decent FPS on your own, with its Diablo-esque loot system, irreverent setting and fluid game-play.
Borderlands being from 2009, the GOTY Edition is surprisingly excellent. Its additions being large, engaging and varied storied chuncks, carefully placed into Pandora, rather than the skins, themes and map packs most modern DLC has become.
A blast of a game, well worth grabbing come the next Steam sale.
Single Player 8.5/10
Co-Op 10/10
Borderlands is a fun game. It was designed to be fun, plays fun, be funny and to be a game you have fun in.
It does this excellently, at the expense of gravitas, drama and a serious story. Instead the plot is largely inconsequential, rather relying on interesting characters and loot as the PC's primary motivation.
This makes for an excellent co-op experience. There's no waiting around for the nerd of the group to soak up the lore, or 15 confused minutes where everyone figures out where they're meant to be going. Instead you drop in, get entertained by the dialogue and immediately start shooting, killing, pillaging tearing across Pandora's barren wastes as a team, each member specialising in their own flavour of combat. It's still a decent FPS on your own, with its Diablo-esque loot system, irreverent setting and fluid game-play.
Borderlands being from 2009, the GOTY Edition is surprisingly excellent. Its additions being large, engaging and varied storied chuncks, carefully placed into Pandora, rather than the skins, themes and map packs most modern DLC has become.
A blast of a game, well worth grabbing come the next Steam sale.
You know you need to get Borderlands 2 now, right? Get the GOTY edition again, as its DLC is even better than in the first(with the Tiny Tina DLC being the best DLC I've ever played). In general, the game is better than the first in almost every way, except maybe the humor is a little more forced.
Anyways, game I just finished recently:
Dying Light
One of the best zombie games I've ever played.
The two open world areas are large enough, not too big, not too small, packed with enough meaningfully designed locations to keep things interesting whether exploring or on quests. They are of course also designed specifically to take advantage of the movement mechanics, which I'll get to soon. Each map has its own character(and not just visually), requiring somewhat different approaches to getting around. As an open world fan, I thought they did a great job here.
The game has a strong and fun loot element. Something I love as well. Whether picking up weapons or crafting items or medical items or money, there's usually always something useful to loot wherever you go, giving you incentive to explore, pick locks and risk looting bodies in swarms of zombies.
The movement mechanics are probably the highlight of the game. It really makes the game a joy to play. It's a mix of Assassin's Creed and Mirror's Edge and it's done so well. It feels good straight from the start, but it gets better and better the more you level up your Agility skill tree, giving you more finesse and a bunch of new moves. You eventually feel like you're a parkour god and it's incredibly satisfying.
Combat is decent. Melee weapons will make up the meat of your offensive tactics, which is nice because you have to get close up with your enemies for the most part. I only found guns useful in certain encounters/quests. You can use some pretty fun moves, though, like drop kicking, slide tackling, elbow rushing, etc too. Each have their own usefulness and where you hit enemies matters a whole lot. Human enemies could be a bit frustrating at times, as they are very agile for the most part, but otherwise, I thought combat was pretty good and quite tense at times. Individual regular zombies aren't much of a threat, but in groups, you definitely want to be careful. And then the game starts to throw some properly dangerous zombie types at you which you need to be very careful with. The game had me sweating on a regular basis, though every situation is fair and manageable if you play smart.
The night/day mechanic is obviously a big part of the game, but I found it was mostly avoidable apart from a few early missions that kind of force you to tackle nighttime just to teach you about it. Granted, I avoided it largely because I was totally chicken, because nighttime is hard and SCARY. You cant see very well at all and the zombies that come out at night are fast and absolutely ruthless. It's terrifying to be spotted by them and have them chase you til you can try and find somewhere safe. It's a ton of fun, but it'd be nice if the game forced you into it more so you cant chicken out of it for most of the game.
Graphics are quite nice as well outside the disgusting use of chromatic aberration.
All in all, this is a pretty amazing achievement for Techland. Not flawless, but it does so much well that I found any criticisms I had to be mostly able to be overlooked.
A well deserved 9/10.
Rome 2:Total War
I'm a bit behind the curve, but it means I missed the apparantly very buggy release of this game.
Coming from the original Rome: Total War fandom I was expecting a lot from this game. All in all I feel it lived up to its name.
Graphically this game is stunning. It feels like a lot of effort went into making this better than previous titles, where the graphics were beginning to feel very dated. You could spend the entire game just watching the battle animations, they have done a great job of balancing how the units look from afar and close up.
In terms of campaign gameplay, it feels more streamlined. Hiring units and managing armies is much easier. The addition of provinces also speeds up the management of settlements, reducing the number of clicks needed to check on how your cities are doing. The information lists also help with this, allowing the user to see problems across their empire at a glance. I don't think this streamlining has affected the satisfying, complex nature of the Total War franchise.
I do however feel the senate feature needs strengthening, it seems rather pointless and overly expensive to keep your faction happy for not much gain.
I feel it's a worthy successor to the original, however maybe it's nostalgia speaking but it feels as though it has lost some of the magic that the original captured.
8.5/10
I'm a bit behind the curve, but it means I missed the apparantly very buggy release of this game.
Coming from the original Rome: Total War fandom I was expecting a lot from this game. All in all I feel it lived up to its name.
Graphically this game is stunning. It feels like a lot of effort went into making this better than previous titles, where the graphics were beginning to feel very dated. You could spend the entire game just watching the battle animations, they have done a great job of balancing how the units look from afar and close up.
In terms of campaign gameplay, it feels more streamlined. Hiring units and managing armies is much easier. The addition of provinces also speeds up the management of settlements, reducing the number of clicks needed to check on how your cities are doing. The information lists also help with this, allowing the user to see problems across their empire at a glance. I don't think this streamlining has affected the satisfying, complex nature of the Total War franchise.
I do however feel the senate feature needs strengthening, it seems rather pointless and overly expensive to keep your faction happy for not much gain.
I feel it's a worthy successor to the original, however maybe it's nostalgia speaking but it feels as though it has lost some of the magic that the original captured.
8.5/10
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Cheers for this heads up. Gave it a whirl, and was very pleased I did.
A really well put together game. Cool control scheme, and absolutely beautiful environs and scenery. All I'd heard was it was an indie game, had no idea indie games could looks this good!
Have to say, the... control scheme in the epilogue... that was one of the most impactful moments I've ever had in gaming. Superbly paced and enjoyable 3 hours. 4/5
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