Hey, it's another one of these!
Last week was a crazy week for video games. A quick run-down of the releases from last week: Grand Theft Auto V Remastered, Far Cry 4, Little Big Planet 3, WWE 2K15, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire / Omega Ruby. Not a bad week.
Oh - and some game called Dragon Age: Inquisition, which I swore I wouldn't buy until after the new year because my bank account was in ruins, and then promptly got an unexpected bonus from work and bought the game 48 hours later. So far, I think I'm in love. I have a couple of concerns that may apply to me more than other people - in a game with so much to do and so much to see, I tend to end up juggling a hundred different tasks without actually completing any of them - but BioWare did so much right in this game. This may be the best job I've seen of translating CRPG-style gameplay to a console without completely bastardizing it. The interplay between all the various systems is really satisfying and is one of the things that helps me focus on smaller individual quests and tasks, knowing that completing those tasks is what accrues power and influence that I can spend back in the war room.
Other games - I finally finished The Banner Saga (PC). The final boss was more than a handful for me on Normal difficulty - I think it took five or six tries before I was able to squeak out a win. But wow - for the $10 I paid, this game was worth it for the art alone. The gameplay isn't really anything to write home about - I like that character's attacks got weaker as they move closer to death, making initiative more important, but the game could have benefited from some actual terrain (doubly so given the setting), and the turn system incentivizes some really weird tactical decision-making where you're better off leaving enemies alive with one or two strength early in battles instead of killing them outright - but this is the most beautiful game I've played in 2014, possibly ever. Amazing art, above-average writing, a simple but compelling plot - if you like tactical/strategy RPGs and can deal with a combat system that feels a little half-baked at times, buy this game. At least buy it when it inevitably gets a price drop during Steam Winter Sale.
What's everyone playing this week? Or what are you planning on playing on/after Black Friday?
Its been well worth the wait.
I have Far Cry 4 sitting unopened but...I doubt I'll get to it any time soon.
I'm doing the "wait 6 months for patches/DLC/etc. to come out" thing with Dragon Age. Maybe I'll actually play the 2nd one in the interim-- I tried the demo ages ago and couldn't stand how they took away the first game's top-down camera option. Speaking of which, the mouse/keyboard controls and camera options are the one big area where I've seen DA:I being pretty heavily criticized, which concerns me a bit. Hopefully it'll get patched or modded in that regard before I jump in.
Really a great week.
I'm doing the "wait 6 months for patches/DLC/etc. to come out" thing with Dragon Age. Maybe I'll actually play the 2nd one in the interim-- I tried the demo ages ago and couldn't stand how they took away the first game's top-down camera option. Speaking of which, the mouse/keyboard controls and camera options are the one big area where I've seen DA:I being pretty heavily criticized, which concerns me a bit. Hopefully it'll get patched or modded in that regard before I jump in.
I'm playing on PS4, so I don't know how the PC controls are. On console I find them fairly intuitive - I wish the camera would zoom out a little farther in tactical mode, but overall I don't have any major complaints. It is stupid fun to be able to enter tactical mode, check the minimap, pick out a unit, and grapple him into a space where he's easy pickings. If you're playing on PC it definitely makes sense to wait for camera mods - I didn't go for PC this time because I've managed to avoid installing Origin (as in the client - not DA:O) and would like to keep it that way.
Also forgot to mention in my thread starter - got an iPhone 6+, in part to get into iOS gaming. First game I bought is 80 Days, which really straddles the line between interactive fiction and game (which isn't a problem - I'm a sucker for interactive fiction) but is also amazingly well constructed. Five dollars well spent. Also bought Year Walk and Device 6, both of which I'm looking forward to playing while AFK this Thanksgiving.
Curious to hear reasons why? Feels too much like Civ V-and-a-half? Or is it actually a step back from BNW in some tangible sense?
Really a great week.
Lego Batman 3 released two weeks ago, which is why I didn't include it - if I included the games from that week the list would be enormous. Left Ardennes Assault out because I saw it's an expansion, but I checked again and apparently it's standalone? So should've included that.
Going a bit more indie, Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) released last week also and found its way onto my already-too-large wishlist.
Too bad no one likes the WiiU, it has a pretty impressive (albeit 90% 1st party) lineup.
Also - Black Friday deals are hitting early for game sales. I was able to score Infamous Second Son, Shadows of Mordor the Evil Within and Tomb Raider for $80 out the door at Best Buy (with a GCU membership I have) on Sunday with their Elite Member preview and a few price matches from Kmart (who jumped the gun to get people into their deserted shops).
I'm starting to see the value in waiting for games vs. pre-ordering, especially in light of what a total disaster Assassins Creed and Halo have been since launch.
Too bad no one likes the WiiU, it has a pretty impressive (albeit 90% 1st party) lineup.
Also - Black Friday deals are hitting early for game sales. I was able to score Infamous Second Son, Shadows of Mordor the Evil Within and Tomb Raider for $80 out the door at Best Buy (with a GCU membership I have) on Sunday with their Elite Member preview and a few price matches from Kmart (who jumped the gun to get people into their deserted shops).
I'm starting to see the value in waiting for games vs. pre-ordering, especially in light of what a total disaster Assassins Creed and Halo have been since launch.
Totally agree on waiting for games, especially given how aggressive some of the larger publishers have gotten with their review embargo policies (some of them lasting until AFTER the game is available in stores!?). I understand why press embargoes can be a good thing for the industry - review coverage for a game drives interest to a degree, and that interest bump is magnified when reviews go live everywhere at once - but even on a game I really want, I recognize that desire is based on hype alone, and I'm not spending $60 on hype. The only games I've bought Day 1 this year are games I've Kickstarted (Last Life and Hard West) and the FFX/X-2 HD remaster, which I didn't need review coverage for because it's a remaster of a game I'd already played. Beyond that? I always have a game around to hold my interest, so new ones, even amazing ones, can wait a couple of days. The only games I see myself getting Day 1 next year are Final Fantasy XV (if it comes out next year, I know I'm going to want to play it, so I don't really see the point of waiting when I'm not going to care what the reviews say) and Persona 5 (same reason).
And I really like the Wii U! Mario Kart 8 is amazing, I'm excited about Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, at some point I'm going to get around to playing Hyrule Warriors (I was going to play that next, but... Dragon Age).
I know I can't let him play online but are the campaigns ok for kids?
I know I can't let him play online but are the campaigns ok for kids?
It depends on your "hang-up" with shooters.
Its not gratuitous violence and you're shooting space monsters (instead of other humans), but there's still killing - shooting of guns, stabbing with an energy sword, etc. You don't take a machine gun to civilians in an airport like CoD, but its still a shooter.
I sold off my Xbone (so no idea what its like today), but Halo was always notorious for having high-pitched boys voices (likely owned by kids around your son's age) profanely expressing their desire to sleep with your mother. If you want to skip that kind of thing, I'd just not buy a Live subscription and keep the box offline.
Also, there's no official Halo Bundle. If you want the game included, prepare to resort to violence at Walmart on Black Friday.
I know I can't let him play online but are the campaigns ok for kids?
The Halo campaign is totally fine for 11 year olds in my opinion. There are practically no curses. The "baddest" words are ass and bastard, etc. And there are probably some innuendos he probably won't get anyway. So besides the shooting and stabbing, it should be okay.
I would have recommended Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare for a shooter for kids but I do believe that is online only (I could be wrong)
Other that that, I'll probbaly go back to finish games I never finished. I still have to play the last episode of Walking Dead Season 2. I never finished Resident Evil 5 or 6. I have some other games I enjoy replaying from time to time.
I'll probably try to get The Last of Us for Christmas.
But not any upcoming or brand new games I'm really super-excited for. Maybe I'm getting old.
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Back to Civ V (BNW) for me.
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Curious to hear reasons why? Feels too much like Civ V-and-a-half? Or is it actually a step back from BNW in some tangible sense?
Its boring...You never really can figure out what the goal is with it besides grow your lands. Its just not engaging at all.
Been playing Dragon Age also and love it.
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a shooter - he plays almost exclusively sports games. "all my friends play COD, dad!" I don't care about that, but I am looking at the Halo MC xbox one bundle.
I know I can't let him play online but are the campaigns ok for kids?
The Halo campaign is totally fine for 11 year olds in my opinion. There are practically no curses. The "baddest" words are ass and bastard, etc. And there are probably some innuendos he probably won't get anyway. So besides the shooting and stabbing, it should be okay.
I would have recommended Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare for a shooter for kids but I do believe that is online only (I could be wrong)
Thanks for the information! He loves Plants vs. Zombies on ipod/ipad. Didn't know there was a shooter for that, too. I'll check that out.
I don't mind a little language. I like that the violence is a bit cartoony. that's why I don't let him play some of the stuff I play. :) I never really was interested in Halo because it looked so cartoony but now if I get this, I might try it out as well.
He's too young for online because I don't want him to learn to teabag dudes and yell "faggot" into a headset.
Thanks for the feedback. I know that's where this stuff is headed, I just don't really want another thing to monitor yet. Just hoping he can have fun and play campaigns for a while and learn about pwning n00bs later.
Other that that, I'll probbaly go back to finish games I never finished. I still have to play the last episode of Walking Dead Season 2. I never finished Resident Evil 5 or 6. I have some other games I enjoy replaying from time to time.
I'll probably try to get The Last of Us for Christmas.
But not any upcoming or brand new games I'm really super-excited for. Maybe I'm getting old.
I definitely have a backlog problem that is starting to affect how I buy new games. Forget games that I started and then abandoned halfway through - usually if I leave a game unfinished it's for a reason - there are so many games that I bought because I was interested and they were on sale, and then never actually got around to playing. That's especially true on Steam because there are so many good games that are $20 at full price and then drop down to $10 or even $5, which becomes a really easy impulse buy.
"I have too many games" is basically the best problem to have, but it does temper my enthusiasm about new games, especially new AAA games that cost the full $60. There are a few I'll take the plunge on in any given year, but for the most part I wait until a game hits the bargain bin. If I still want a game a year or two after it comes out, that usually bodes well for the likelihood I'll enjoy it. The main downside is that I'm usually not playing the thing everyone else is talking about, but I don't usually do online multiplayer so that's not a major concern.