Jump to content
[[Template core/front/custom/_customHeader is throwing an error. This theme may be out of date. Run the support tool in the AdminCP to restore the default theme.]]

Video Games; What are you playing lately?


Tford
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • 2 months later...

I finished off XCOM: Enemy Unknown and the Chrono Trigger remake (PS1). Also buried The Last Story.

 

I was very impressed with the XCOM game overall (although there was a bug at the end of the game that prevented me from getting the completion trophy). It's nice to know that in a world of first person shooters and sports dominated video game genres, a tactical simulation game can make some headway.

 

Chrono Trigger was every bit the game I remember it to be. What might be the best time based RPGs ever made still holds my attention in another playthrough years after 16-bit became obsolete. Unfortunately, I am now without a game to play on the bus with this one complete. If anyone can recommend a good PSP, Vita or PS1 (DLable from PS network), please let me know.

 

The Last Story is a great swan song for the Wii as it really tests the capabilities of the system. It's impressive graphically compared to other Wii games but not to the PS3 or Xbox 360. The Last Story is a hybrid action strategy JRPG where you control the leader of a mercenary band. You can take actions yourself (on the fly, not turn based) or issue commands to your teammates depending on the situation. The story is very linear but I found myself immersed quickly. There is a fair amount of town travel and fetch quests however but these are optional. All in all, I really enjoyed The Last Story and would recommend it to JRPG fans.

 

 

New games in the rotation:

 

NHL 13 - The online GM that you can play with your buddies is incredible. I am hooked again on this game because we can move through a season online. Send trades to your buddies, draft players, sign FAs and play games against each other. It's like fantasy hockey but you get to play video games against each other.

 

Madden 13 - Madden has a similar option as NHL 13 for online GM but I don't know as many Madden players so I haven't played this. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same ol' Madden.

 

Sleeping Dogs - A grand theft auto clone of sorts. I haven't played this one yet but I've heard good things about it.

 

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - JRPG in the make of Guardian's Crusade. I was really amped up about this one but it is pretty slow moving and monotonous in the first 3 hours. Not nearly as excited to pick this one back up as I was when I bought it.

 

Gran Turismo 5 XL - The boys are really getting into cars so I bought this game. The same Gran Turismo formula still applies but this one includes Go-karting and NASCAR. They enjoy the customization of the cars and getting to buy a new car from any dealership and go race it. I would rather them play a driving simulation like this than a beat-em-up or a shooter.

 

ScribbleNauts Unlimited - Scribblenauts is a great game to play with your kids. It helps with spelling, imagination/creativity and problem solving. My daughter particularly enjoys this one. Long story short, your task is to help random people with problems by creating something with your handy notebook. By writing a words (or words) into your notebook, that thing becomes reality. It's difficult to explain the premise of the game in words however. Watch a couple videos on the gameplay if this sounds like the kind of game you are interested in.

 

 

What I'm looking forward to:

 

Playstation 4 system

Lego City Heroes: Undercover (Wii U)

Final Fantasy XIV rerelease (PC) [Didn't get into the beta :(]

Dragon Age 3 (PS3 or PS4)

Tales of Xillia (PS3)

 

 

Currently being played:

Borderlands 2 (PS3)

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together (PSP)

Super Mario Wii U (Wii U)

Final Fantasy Dimensions (Iphone)

 

On tap:

RAGE

Finish Fallout: New Vegas

Finish Xenoblade Chronicles

Finish Zelda

Finish Skyrim

Front Mission Evolved

Finish Arc Rise Fantasia

Finish Sonic Generations

Edited by Tford
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Played a couple of 3's recently:

 

FEAR 3 = decent storyline and cut scenes. Not much of a scare factor compared to the first one. Can finish it pretty quickly. CO-OP might be fun, but haven't tried it out.

 

Fable 3 = still a great concept of your character aging as it goes and all the actions determine how the environment reacts to the character. Kind of sucks that it starts as a late teen this time around. Doesn't really "lead you" through the game, you can go do whatever you want. Again, not nearly as good as the original, but not many games are.

 

Mass Effect 3 = can choose roleplaying, battle heavy, or middle ground setting to start with, depending upon your play style. Really enjoy Bioware games, so this one was pretty good. Can take a while to finish compared to some other games (if you do everything). Good storyline and decisions made in the game make big differences in the story flow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sleeping Dogs is the real deal. Think Grand Theft Auto meets the fighting style of Batman Arkham City set in Rush Hour 2. But instead of the criminal, you are the borderline vigilante cop.

 

Really enjoying this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW. Get Tomb Raider (reboot). It's for real. I have played all of the older titles of TR and this one is the only one where I feel connected to her like I should. This is the game we should have had all along. On the fence? Get it, rent it, borrow it. You'll thank me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW. Get Tomb Raider (reboot). It's for real. I have played all of the older titles of TR and this one is the only one where I feel connected to her like I should. This is the game we should have had all along. On the fence? Get it, rent it, borrow it. You'll thank me.

 

 

I heard this from a buddy as well. Anyone play the Madden online franchise stuff on PS3? We could always use more members!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking forward to this game Pandora's tower. Probably going to be my last Wii title. I am a sucker for Xseed games though.

 

Also really looking forward to this as well Lego City Undercover Big fan of the Lego series and this one looks impressive. I am interested in seeing how the Wii-U controller gets used in this game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick update:

 

I finished Sleeping Dogs this week. Overall, SQEX's copy of a Grand Theft Auto game was impressive. I felt like the story was quality and the gameplay fit in with what I was trying to accomplish.

 

The melee fighting aspect was a nice twist and didn't fade into the background despite guns coming into play later in the game. It felt very Batman-like (rocksteady games) which was a plus. However, unlike Batman, I found it fairly easy to master and battles became trivial quickly. The minigames for hacking, lock-picking and safecracking were a nice touch especially during timed missions. It gives you the feel of really being pressed for time before getting caught.

 

Overall, Sleeping Dogs is a definite buy.

 

 

Picked up Lego City: Undercover last night. Only put in hour into it but it looks good. The game is something I want to play with my boys so I won't be sinking a ton of time into it until they start playing it.

 

Dropped some time into Gran Turismo 5 also, if only to unlock some cars. I will say that I am still a sucker for GT games. An impressive gaming franchise.

 

DL'd Final Fantasy 7 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on my Vita for a game to play on the bus on the way into work. As I expected, despite both of those games pushing 15 years old, I fell into both of them easily again. Both are among my all-time favorite games and are worth a look even if graphics-wise, they do not compete in today's market.

 

Also, on the Vita front, I am looking hard into Persona 4: Golden. I've heard lots of good things about this one story-wise and I am a sucker for a good JRPG with a quality story. Or maybe by finally buying an actual PS Vita game, I'm desperately trying to justify the $300 price tag I paid for my Vita which has become a portable PS1 machine for me.

 

:bag: Although I am ashamed to admit this, I attempted to recover my 7 year old Final Fantasy 11 account last week as well. That game stole months of my life from me but I loved it like I haven't loved many games. After reading about some of the changes made, new jobs and expansion, I really wanted to get back into it. Unfortunately (or fortunately), SQEX couldn't recover my character. Maybe I need another MMO to play. Final Fantasy 14's reboot is taking too long.

 

Currently being played:

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)

Borderlands 2 (PS3)

Final Fantasy 7 (PS Vita / PS1)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS Vita / PS1)

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together (PSP)

Super Mario Wii U (Wii U)

Final Fantasy Dimensions (Iphone)

 

On tap:

RAGE

Finish Fallout: New Vegas

Finish Xenoblade Chronicles

Finish Zelda: Skyward Sword

Finish Skyrim

Front Mission Evolved

Finish Arc Rise Fantasia

Finish Sonic Generations

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Picked up Lego City: Undercover last night. Only put in hour into it but it looks good. The game is something I want to play with my boys so I won't be sinking a ton of time into it until they start playing it.

Am doing that right now. I don't like the fact that it is one player unlike evry other lego game. I do however think the story is good and it will provide my son and daughter and I alot of time to play together without having to play it all the time. Easily picked up where we left off type of stuff!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Been a while since my last update here and with E3 pressers to drop shortly, I thought this might be a good time to get the video game hype train rolling again.

 

For PS Vita:

 

I downloaded Final Fantasy 7 (originally for the PS1) to my Vita a couple months. I was a huge fan of this game and I still am. This game holds up over the years with a strong storyline, character development and customization (the materia system). I got sucked in quickly again and played through once more. I forget how many notches I have on my belt for this game, 4 or 5 at least.

 

In that same Final Fantasy vein, I downloaded Final Fantasy 8 (also originally for the PS1). Although I really enjoyed this game a lot when I was younger, I'm not getting into it now nearly as much as I did back then.

 

I also bought Persona 4: Golden for the Vita. Although it starts off remarkably slow, it finishes very strong. It looks like a standard vanilla JRPG dungeon crawler but the dungeon crawler aspect is almost secondary to the life management and social game that exists outside of the dungeon. A great storyline coupled with excellent character development and near limitless replay value, Persona 4: Golden cannot be played the same way twice. Definitely worth a pickup. I dropped 100 hours into this easily. I am usually into games that Atlus produces and this one is no different.

 

 

For PS3:

 

I picked up Record of Agarest War Zero. Haven't played it yet but have heard some good things. Will let you guys know.

 

Not much up on the PS3 front, still grinding out Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It is getting kind of dry to be honest with the grinding necessary to finish quests but I am still working through it. My console time is getting to be much more limited than my handheld time because of my boys' baseball practices but I'd rather coach than play so it works out.

 

 

For Wii:

 

I picked up Pandora's Tower as probably the last Wii-only title I'll buy. No gameplay yet but the premise of the game looks great and I am a sucker for Xseed games so this one will probably go good. More to follow.

 

 

For Wii U:

 

I picked up Lego City: Undercover for the Wii U. So far, I like it and so do my boys. I think the incorporation of the Wii U gamepad makes a lot more sense that other games where it feels more "forced" than natural. For example, the gamepad becomes your minimap when driving around. It also becomes your phone. It is a Lego game so you get the standard Lego "build your way out of a problem" strategy but it takes on a bit more of a Grand Theft Auto feel. I like it and would recommend if your kids like the Lego series at all.

 

 

For 3DS:

 

With the myriad of games coming out for the 3DS (and lack of JRPG support for the big consoles it would seem), I broke down and picked up a 3DS. With the majority of my gaming becoming handheld gaming, I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on some major titles. The two games I bought out of the chute were Fire Emblem: Awakening and Paper Mario: Sticker Star. I was a huge fan of the N64, GBA and Gamecube renditions of both of those games so I'm looking forward to getting into these ones. I'm only 8 hours into Fire Emblem so I can't really comment too much but if you've play Fire Emblem before, you'll love the game. If you haven't, it plays like Tactics Ogre or Ragnarok Tactics and is worth a shot if you liked either.

 

The 3D of the system isn't bad, I can see it and it's not taxing on the eyes. You do need to keep the 3DS at a certain distance away from your face though or the screen gets distorted. Neither games I bought are twitch games but I'm looking forward to buying the Star Fox 64 remake.

 

 

Confirmed games I'm looking forward to:

 

Final Fantasy 14: Realm Reborn (Aug 27)

Grand Theft Auto 5 (Sep 17)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Winter 2013)

Tales of Xillia (Aug 6)

Elder Scrolls online (Late 2013)

Batman: Arkham Origins (Oct 25)

The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past 2 (Late 2013)

 

 

My backlog:

 

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)

Borderlands 2 (PS3)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS Vita / PS1)

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together (PSP)

Super Mario Wii U (Wii U)

Final Fantasy Dimensions (Iphone)

RAGE

Fallout: New Vegas

Xenoblade Chronicles

Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyrim

Front Mission Evolved

Arc Rise Fantasia

Sonic Generations

Edited by Tford
Link to comment
Share on other sites

E3 rumor-mongering:

 

With E3 happening over the next few days, there's been a lot of speculation over what games will be unveiled. Sadly, much of that hype has been overshadowed by the brewing next-gen console war.

 

So without devolving the conversation into PS4 vs Xbox One, what games are you hoping for an announcement on?

 

My list (in random order):

 

Phantasy Star Online 2 (PC and PS Vita) (NA release date)

Dragon Quest Online (Wii and Wii U) (NA release date)

Persona 5

Final Fantasy 15 (hopefully single player)

Dragon Age 3

An action game that utilizes the Wii U gamepad better than it is currently

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loaded up Neverwinter (free to play MMO) this weekend.

 

Only level 20, but so far it's pretty decent. The questing feels like a solo game inside a multiplayer environment. Wish it had 1st person views. Over-all, fun quests and great graphics. Only tried 1 group PvE instance and one group PvP instance. Neither were tactic heavy. There's events every half hour so the game isn't just an experience grind. Even has player made instances. They did a lot of work for a "free to play" worldwide / open environment game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information