What game are you playing?

[ibanezmonster]

FF15 comes out Dec.31 and I don't have a PS4... 

My bad... was looking at the amazon page, which is wrong. There isn't a release date yet.

And I forgot to mention that the crafting system in this game is fantastic. Such a huge improvement over FF11's.

[Rinaldo]

I picked up the new Wolfenstein game.  Look forward to shooting Nazis.  The school year is almost over, just a couple of weeks left.  I can't wait for a break.

I wasn't very interested but it's getting a lot of praise for the Nazi shooting AND the story as well, so I'll probably check it out.

[Moonfish]

Hmm, pondering jumping into this one (but Skyrim beckons..   )
Was this a good experience?

[asin] B007CM0K86[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Hmm, pondering jumping into this one (but Skyrim beckons..   )
Was this a good experience?

[asin] B007CM0K86[/asin]

What little of it I've played, I've enjoyed, Moonfish. Of course, it's a completely linear game and follows a storyline, so there's hardly any chances of exploration. It's not a sandbox game. But, for what it is, it's enjoyable. I honestly prefer games that have more of a fun factor and where it's more about the gameplay than the ongoing story, which is part of the reason why I never liked RPGs for example. Just to give you an idea of games I do like: one of my favorite games of all-time was Donkey Kong Country on SNES back in the day. But The Last Of Us offers a unique gaming experience and it's definitely worth playing, but I imagine it has little replay value once you finish the game.

[Moonfish]

Thanks for your thoughts MI. It does sound enticing, but you are probably right about the replay value. Kind of typical for story-line games....

[Mirror Image]

Thanks for your thoughts MI. It does sound enticing, but you are probably right about the replay value. Kind of typical for story-line games....

You're welcome. Well, in some instances a game with a strong narrative will have replay value. Like, for example, my favorite game of all-time is The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. With this game, even though I've beat it on numerous occasions, I still find something new when I play through it again and again. I suppose a lot of it has to do with there's just so much stuff to do in this game and it's quite long. Not Final Fantasy long, but long enough.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

You're welcome. Well, in some instances a game with a strong narrative will have replay value. Like, for example, my favorite game of all-time is The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess. With this game, even though I've beat it on numerous occasions, I still find something new when I play through it again and again. I suppose a lot of it has to do with there's just so much stuff to do in this game and it's quite long. Not Final Fantasy long, but long enough.

And same can be said about my favorite game: Majora's mask. If any game has replay value it's definitely that one. And what makes it impressive is that even though the game has only 5 dungeons (4 if you don't count the moon) the 100 % completion can take more time than twilight princess or ocarina of time. You can thank numerous sidequests about that. Even though I love such games as elder scrolls, I find the daily routines of NPC:s in this game even more compelling and interesting. I of course love twilight princess also. I really hope they reveal something about wii u zelda at E3.

[Mirror Image]

And same can be said about my favorite: Majora's mask. If any game has replay value it's definitely that one. I of course love twilight princess also. I really hope they reveal something about wii u zelda at E3.

I didn't enjoy Majora's Mask at all, but apart of this had to do with the day/night and three days gimmick. Twilight Princess was a much more mature game overall. Not to say that Twilight Princess didn't have it's flaws, but it's pluses definitely outweighed the minuses IMHO. As for the Wii U, this is the only major console by Nintendo that I've not been interested in at all. To be even more honest, I seldom play video games much these days anyway.

[kishnevi]

Found this while looking for something else.  Is that not how it always is?http://www.declarationclothing.com/collections/assassin-s-creed-shop

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I have changed my mind. Earlier Majora's mask was my all-time favorite game if you had to pick only one. But now I think the first place goes to final fantasy IX. It's just so... humane. There is no other word for it. It's so humane.

Majora's mask has the same kind of humanity which makes me love it so much. And it is definitely the most mature Zelda game. But now maybe just a tiny bit more I love Final Fantasy IX. As much as it is a cliche to pick it. Technically I have many (and I mean MANY) favorite games.

[ibanezmonster]

I have changed my mind. Earlier Majora's mask was my all-time favorite game if you had to pick only one. But now I think the first place goes to final fantasy IX. It's just so... humane. There is no other word for it. It's so humane.

Majora's mask has the same kind of humanity which makes me love it so much. And it is definitely the most mature Zelda game. But now maybe just a tiny bit more I love Final Fantasy IX. As much as it is a cliche to pick it. Technically I have many favorite games.

Ha! If it weren't for Chrono Cross, FF9 would be my favorite game as well. Such a thrill ride of a story and some of the most interesting places to visit in any game.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I have to confess I have never played Chrono Cross. Chrono Trigger I have though, many times. And I loved it.

[ibanezmonster]

Chrono Trigger is one of the greats. You may very well end up hating Chrono Cross if you ever play it, as some do (especially if you go in thinking that there will be similarities with Chrono Trigger), or you may love it.

It does also involve using time to jump in between two different eras in the same world, a silent protagonist and an intricate and fascinating storyline with many different endings and characters. The criticisms against the game include the time spent setting up your characters' battle abilities and the lack of character development. I can't really pinpoint why it's my favorite game, but if I had to guess, I'd say that it inspired my imagination the most.

[DavidW]

I'm replaying Mass Effect 3.  I hate how the journal is nearly useless and clearly broken.  I do like how streamlined inventory management is.  Kind of don't like how little there is in the way of exploration and side missions.  This is the most linear bioware game that I've ever played.  Dragon Age 3 will be a breath of fresh air.  Don't get me wrong I love this game... but with ME each game keeps making it less rpg like and more Call of Duty clone. 

[Jaakko Keskinen]

What I like most in bioware games such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect is that they are extremely well written. The lines are witty, characters complex etc. This is what I feel is lacking in Bethesda games such as Skyrim. They can make a convincing-looking world but the script is often poor.

Oblivion had much better script IMO than Skyrim and overall I like it much better, especially the Shivering isles. The main quests in both games are often much more boring than some of the side quests. At first I thought that poor as Skyrim's main story is, it at least beats the endless oblivion plane runnings in Elder Scrolls IV. But now I think that Oblivion's story, poor as it is, has some kind of charm in it. Skyrim on the other hand managed to make something as cool as fighting dragons boring and irritating. Don't get me wrong, I still like Skyrim but to me it has some flaws, even some major ones. The Quests in Markarth and Riften are often my favorites. However I think Bethesda handled Fallout 3 magnificently (even though I like 2 most). You really feel the post-apocalypse crarm it has, complete with awesome songs in radio.

In short, the perfect western RPG game to me would be combining the writing and characterization of Bioware with environment and gameworld of Bethesda.

[DavidW]

I think the new Dragon Age should be that fusion between open world Elder Scrolls and narrative driven Bioware.  Fingers crossed.

What I loved about Oblivion is even the smallest side quest was interesting, or had a hook or a plot twist.  I just wish that they didn't simply scale the whole world with you and make every dungeon and every oblivion plane feel the same.

I disagree on Fallout 3.  I thought the stories were threadbare or simply not there.  I became tired of VATS too and wish the game could have been a bit faster paced.  New Vegas is on my backlog, and since Obsidian has a better reputation for story telling, I'm hoping to get my fix there.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

New vegas is a great game. I actually like it more than 3. I even like the widely disliked Dead money add-on.

[ibanezmonster]

Still playing FF11, but having second thoughts about what I want to accomplish in the game.

I originally returned to it just because I missed Vana'diel and just felt like playing the game more, but then I ended up getting the idea of building several jobs. Currently, I have Beastmaster, Corsair, and Samurai leveled to 99 and plan to level Red Mage to 99- those I consider to be my 4 main jobs. One of the main reasons for building a job is to be able to participate with my linkshell in the highest level endgame content, called Delve. The problem is that vast amount of time required to the appropriate armor... possibly a couple of months of regularly doing once-per day (what they are essentially) "dungeons" (Limbus and Dynamis). This is 2 hours+ a day to do both. I don't have that time, patience and I sure don't enjoy doing the same thing each day. (These two things are also, incidentally, the best way to make money in the game).


We'll see, but I may just consider exploring the jobs and other content the game has to offer now that I know how the systems work, and it'll be more work than fun. And then I'll quit long term. It may be better for me to eliminate that allure and mystery of the game to keep me from coming back, since there is just SO MUCH to explore. Endgame is more about the feeling of achievement through long-term commitment through massive timesinks, and I surely don't need a game for that (too much like real life for me).

[ibanezmonster]

Oh, boy... I've done something naughty.

Due to my lack of time and desire to continue the game, I've gone to my last resort... buying gil (in-game money for those who don't know). I hate to support RMT companies, but the rate was pretty good and I have a ton of money in the bank, just no time. $20 for 5 million gil is pretty good. That saves (at this point in time for me) probably 30+ hours (at least) of time I don't have, and did buy from the most trusted RMT source out there. Eventually, I'll find a way to make gil easier, though.

[stingo]

Played through Valiant Hearts: The Great War this weekend. Really good story and engaging play mechanics. Looks and sounds good too.