Video Game Reviews: What Are You Playing?

[nate]

I just got a 970 myself.

 

In fact I have my old Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB for sale for $100 if anyone is interested.  Paid 600 new about three years ago.

[Hollyw00d]

[Hollyw00d]

[HaloFan85]

So much news on games just came out today. 

 

I'll be getting the following this year:

 

Ghost Recon

Just Cause 3

Halo 5 (which just announced a $1 million prize pool for tournament play with crowdfunding on top)

 

And in 2016, I'll be getting Crackdown 3.  The gameplay environment looks extraordinary. 

Definitely looking forward to Just Cause 3.  JC2 was so much fun just for the pure amount of "chaos" to perform and vehicles to operate on such a large scale map (400 sq. km?).  The multiplayer mod then took it to a whole other level of awesome.  I believe JC3 will also be single player only, which I'm totally cool with, but someone, if not the same team of modders, will eventually make a mp mod for JC3 too.

[Hollyw00d]

Just got fallout new Vegas

Heard good things about it

[TobiasFunke]

Have you played FO3 Hollywood?

[TobiasFunke]

If one brings up FO:NV one has to post the greatest song in the game

 

[Hollyw00d]

Have you played FO3 Hollywood?

Ya I got 3 way back when it first released and finished the main quest

For some reason I passed up on new Vegas until now, I liked fallout 3 but didn't love it. I'm digging the atmosphere so far though, definitely a bit more like the old school fallouts with the wild west type of feel

I'm just barely starting though

[Tank]

 

If one brings up FO:NV one has to post the greatest song in the game

 

 

 

glad to see you're being exposed to some quality old time country western music. Marty Robbins was a great singer.

[TobiasFunke]

I've always been a big fan of original country western, western swing, country blues, etc. Even before they put Big Iron in New Vegas. But yea, them putting the classics in video games definitely opens up a new generation of possible fans.

[Hollyw00d]

Really enjoying FONV

Pretty cool how they've used some soundtrack from previous fallout games.

[mulwin444]

I preferred New Vegas to Fallout 3...Obsidion does a good job.

 

I just finished the new Dragon Age Inquisition DLC "The Descent"...give it about 7/10.  Some of the best looking scenes in the series and excellent combat but, at it heart, its just a basic dungeon crawl.  Fun but nothing spectacular.

[UndertheHalo]

I just finished up Arkham Knight.  I finished all the missions except the Riddler one because i'm not gonna be bothered to chase down 2 hundred and something trophies which is 2 bad because I did want to finish the boss fight with the Riddler.  Great game though, just like the rest of the series.  I'd say a 9/10.  

 

Also, has anyone checked out the MadMax game ? It looks pretty cool to me, but the reviews swing between good and really bad. 

[UndertheHalo]

Also, is anyone looking for a PS4 Destiny buddy.  If so, PM me.  Really hoping to find 1 or 2 people to play through the new content with.

[Blarg]

I guess the drop was this weekend? I launched destiny and get a file upload that is going to take hours. Should have paid attention and let it go overnight.

[mulwin444]

Last DLC for "Dragon Age Inquisition" drops today to finish the storyline 2 years after the conclusion of the initial game's ending.  Considering all the playthroughs I've done, all the DLCs I've played, all its strenghts and weaknesses, I'd still give it a 9/10.  I think Bioware could learn something from CD Projeckt Red in terms of sidequests but preffered the characters overall in Inquisition.

 

Next BioWare game to look forward to is "Mass Effect Andromeda" coming towards the end of 2016 on all next gen systems.  Loved the first trilogy so looking forward to seeing what they do with the next series of games set in a different galaxy away from the Shepard/Reaper/Milky Way story.

[Brandon]

I've literally played 15-20 minutes of Dragon Age. I just don't have the time.

[mulwin444]

I've literally played 15-20 minutes of Dragon Age. I just don't have the time.

If you are a completionist by nature, it can take around 80 hours to complete the game so, yeah, 15-20 minutes means you got through the introduction...haha.  Add another 4-6 hours for each of the 3 DLC's and you are hovering near 100 hours. 

 

I know you dig GTA so The Witcher 3 would probably be a better option for you as they have similar aspects

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I enjoyed DAO and DAI but DA2 not so much as it really seemed like a rushed attempt to capitalize off DAO and wasn't the best stand alone game when compared to the others.  I played DAI quite a bit initially but after killing 4 or 5 of the 10 dragons I put it down for a while and haven't touched it in months to the point I'd probably have to restart which I don't have the interest in doing right now.   

[mulwin444]

I enjoyed DAO and DAI but DA2 not so much as it really seemed like a rushed attempt to capitalize off DAO and wasn't the best stand alone game when compared to the others.  I played DAI quite a bit initially but after killing 4 or 5 of the 10 dragons I put it down for a while and haven't touched it in months to the point I'd probably have to restart which I don't have the interest in doing right now.   

I liked DA2 but both Origins and Inquisition were a lot better overall.  The good in DA2 was the introduction of the voiced protagonist, the dialogue wheel similar to the one used in the Mass Effect series, the companion characters like Isabella, Varric, and Merrill, the intrasquad banter, and simplified progressions trees.  The Bad was the re-used environments, the spawning enemies, and the third act which felt rushed and didn't fir the narrative.  Overall, I enjoyed the game and its DLCs - Legacy and Mark of the Assassin - but it was flawed, felt rushed and appeared "cheap" and "superficial" despite a overall 50 hour game experience.   

 

As for DA:I's DLCs, if you finished the game you don't really need to kill all the dragons to play the DLC.  It does scale up the challenge though as all of them recommend at least level 20 or greater characters.  "Jaws of Hakkon" was very similar to the areas you'd unlock during the game with areas of interest, a faction to defeat and a final boss.  "The Descent" was more of a dungeon crawler where you get to explore the Deep Roads and learn more about its and the Dwarves ancient history.  "Trespasser" takes place 2 years after you killed Corypheus and it examines the tensions between Ferelden, Orlais, and the Chantry as the power and legitiacy of the Inquisiton is challenged.  Only about half way into that one but so far its fun.  If you played the Mass Effect series, its very similar to the "Citadel" DLC in many respects.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I think my mistake with DAI is that towards the end of my playing time I was more focused on killing dragons than advancing the story and eventually killing them got repetitive.  On the other hand I finished DAO (only game I've completed in probably 10 years) while only killing the dragons I had to kill.  I'm sure there's some middle ground and hopefully I'll find it when I restart DAI.  At the crux of it all like I said earlier in this thread is that my biggest issue is I have video game ADD nowadays.  I used to love playing the FF games all the way through (stopped after 7) but once I got into online games like TFC/CS/BF1942 I stopped playing the actual games they were based off of and just played online.  I think the human element of playing against someone that is thinking and reacting keeps me more interested than games themselves no matter how open the world within the game is.         

[mulwin444]

I think my mistake with DAI is that towards the end of my playing time I was more focused on killing dragons than advancing the story and eventually killing them got repetitive.  On the other hand I finished DAO (only game I've completed in probably 10 years) while only killing the dragons I had to kill.  I'm sure there's some middle ground and hopefully I'll find it when I restart DAI.  At the crux of it all like I said earlier in this thread is that my biggest issue is I have video game ADD nowadays.  I used to love playing the FF games all the way through (stopped after 7) but once I got into online games like TFC/CS/BF1942 I stopped playing the actual games they were based off of and just played online.  I think the human element of playing against someone that is thinking and reacting keeps me more interested than games themselves no matter how open the world within the game is.         

One thing that kept me going through DA:I was saving the dragon battles until the very end...even completing some after the final battle with Corypheus.  If you complete the game, and have been pretty thourough in your playthrough, you should be near level 20 or higher with some highend gear.  At that point, the dragon battles are pretty easy.  I played dual-wield warrior with the Reaver specialization which enabled me to take big chunks of XP with each hit.   

Edited September 11, 2015 by mulwin444

[Sam Sanchez]

I picked up both Until Dawn and Phantom Pain recently. Decided to tackle Until Dawn first, since I know how time consuming MGSV would likely be. 

 

I've had a lot of fun with Until Dawn. It's a Heavy Rain-esque type of game, but intended to be just a more fun experience since Heavy Rain was pretty dark and broody. If you're a fan of horror movies in general, Until Dawn just borrows a ton of tropes and even plot points from popular movies for it. It's basically a "cabin-in-the-woods" horror movie storyline but borrow very heavily and somewhat directly from Saw, My Bloody Valentine (original), and The Descent.

 

Just finished my first playthrough of it, and since it is like Heavy Rain, I'm curious replaying it again now since the game is very heavily into the "butterfly effect" and how smell decisions can change the outcome of the storyline. About half of the cast of characters in my playthrough died, so I'm gonna streamline a second playthrough to see the story with everyone surviving and see that how plays out.

 

Also, it has similar tech to L.A. Noire and character's faces look like the people playing them, so it was kind of cool/odd to see Peter Stormare, Hayden Panetierre, and Rami Malek playing prominent roles throughout it.

[Hollyw00d]

Just got a brand new Samsung smart tv yesterday

I have a huge technology boner right now

[Ochocinco!]

Anybody else play the Battlefront beta? I got addicted for a couple days and I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. The game play felt that of a halo game but smoother and I liked that the jet pack perk has to regenerate once you use it so you can't spam it like in call of duty. I don't think I'll be buying it on release day for full price but I'll definitely pick it up on ebay for cheaper a couple weeks after it cools down.