Topic: Rate The Last Game You Played

[Halbred]

Assassin's Creed 2
Almost finished with it. So much better than the first game, which I also loved.
 
Braid
Can't decide whether this game is challenging or frustrating. Either way, it's pretentious.
 
Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
Just beat it with four people. Good arcadey fun, wouldn't pay any more for it than half-off, which is what I bought it for.
 
Excitebots
Super-fun! Kind of hard sometimes, the course designs are either awesome or kind of poorly laid-out.
 
Let's Tap
LETS TAP LETS TAP CHOOSE A TAPPING GAME. It's actually really fun!

[D_Average]

lol at Braid review.  I feel the same way.

[broodwars]

lol at Braid review.  I feel the same way.

Same here as well.  I finished that pretentious mess of a game, but I never once got into it.  Some clever puzzles and a generally appealing art design don't make up for how utterly artificial the whole experience felt, like it was made by a guy demanding to be called an artist rather than letting their work speak for itself (which it was).

[SouthFork]

Puzzle Quest 9.0/10


If the story were a bit more tied together I would give this game a perfect score. The puzzles are engaging, the level up system which takes advantage of the mana you collect while playing puzzles is innovative. And the tone of the game immerses you in an ancient, old-world RPG setting which is made perfect by the soundtrack.


A must have for fans of Dragon Age, Bejeweled/Tetris/Peggle and Lord of the Rings.

[D_Average]

Raving Rabbids Go Home - 3/5
I rented this game after reading all the high praise. I think this is a simple case of over rating a game due to a lack of competition. There just aren't many new platformers on the Wii. Given that Ubi took the franchise in a new direction I believe that garnered them a large amount of goodwill from the press. As for the game itself, while the levels look great and the music ads a nice touch, the actual gameplay is pretty stale. I kept waiting for things to freshen up or become a bit more challenging but it's very monotonous. Collect a bunch of random crap and move forward as fast as you can, or take your time, it doesn't really matter. It reminds me of the early 90's when we saw a lot of generic platformers gamers quickly grew tired of. Some kids may enjoy it, but seasoned platforming fans looking for a new adventure will certainely grow bored.

[Halbred]

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
Pretty decent sequel to the original on the PSP, and ties nicely into AS2. The combat is more simplistic, but that's fine. There's plenty to do, and connecting the game to AC 2 opens up a bunch of new weapons which are very useful early in the game. Unfortunately, once you beat the game, there's no unlockable content (as far as I can see).
 
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
I forgot how crazy this game can be. The move lists are plagued by bizarre symbols that aren't explained (kind of like Soul Calibur...) so you end up doing a lot of button mashing. Wonderful sprite animation and great character designs, though. Best in a two-player setting. The online play is decent, but I get my ass whupped by people who actually know what they're doing. Technical 2D fighters aren't really my bag.
 
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Is it just me, or does this not feel like a Zelda game? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm two dungeons in and still not really liking it.
 
God of War (GoW Collection)
Oh my gosh this game looks incredible on the PS3. Anti-aliasing! Hilariously, the gameplay looks better than most cutscenes. Beat the original on Hard, fully intend to beat God Mode before going on to GoW2. Played the E3 demo, it was too short! Anyway, this most recent playthrough reminded me why I love the series so much. GoW is just plain EPIC from start to finish, and on the tougher difficulty levels, it's not a button-masher, you've gotta know what you're doing.

[broodwars]

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Is it just me, or does this not feel like a Zelda game? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm two dungeons in and still not really liking it.
 
God of War (GoW Collection)
Oh my gosh this game looks incredible on the PS3. Anti-aliasing! Hilariously, the gameplay looks better than most cutscenes. Beat the original on Hard, fully intend to beat God Mode before going on to GoW2. Played the E3 demo, it was too short! Anyway, this most recent playthrough reminded me why I love the series so much. GoW is just plain EPIC from start to finish, and on the tougher difficulty levels, it's not a button-masher, you've gotta know what you're doing.

Well, for me Oracle of Seasons was the game that didn't feel like Zelda, with its combat focus and lame puzzles.  Oracle of Ages with its puzzle focus and dual world mechanic really felt like Zelda to me.

As for God of War, "meh."  I've beaten both games, and while I like the second far more than the first neither really strikes me as all that interesting.  It's just one long button-mashing extravaganza with one of the worst cameras I've ever seen in a 3rd person action game (which especially becomes problematic in the first game where you have platforming sequences).  There's also Hades in the first game.  *shudders*  Maybe the biggest reason I didn't like either game all that much, though, is that I can't stand Kratos.  We're supposed to be invested in his story, but he's a **** who deserves everything he gets.  Hopefully God of War 3 ends with someone killing him permanently.  That's probably why I'm much more interested in Dante's Inferno than God of War 3.

And incidentally, the reason the cutscenes look worse than the in-game action in the God of War Collection is because the in-game stuff was redone in HD while they left the cutscenes alone (probably because they would have to re-record them using the new in-game assets).

[KDR_11k]

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: You all know about it, it's one crazy fighting game. What's interesting is that one of the giant characters is actually viable, usually you'd think characters like that end up useless in any situation with a modicum of skill.

AI War: Fleet Command: They call it a combination of an RTS and Tower Defense, it's pretty much you vs an AI that has no unit limits and owns the entire galaxy, your only hope is to stay under its radar and make it not care enough to crush you with its full force.

[broodwars]

Bioshock 2 - 9/10 - Not as good as the original Bioshock, but still a very quality game that FPS fans should definitely check out.  The pacing's a bit off (my first time through, I felt like the game just dragged on way too long for what the story could handle), the game is exceptionally linear (once you finish a level, you cannot come back), the ending still feels way too brief (though longer and more satisfying than the first game's by a healthy margin), there isn't a great amount of environmental variety, and there's only one really interesting new plasmid (the Cyclone trap).  That said, the gunplay's better and faster than ever; the story is still excellent and philosophical (better than the original game's IMO); and you still have that wonderful atmosphere with Rapture that's unlike every other FPS on the market.  There's also a surprisingly fun multiplayer mode (even if some modes, like Capture the Sister, don't really work as of this writing due to pretty-hardcoded stalemate situations) that's also surprisingly story-based.  On the presentation side, this game is only marginally better-looking than the original Bioshock and has a fair number of bugs (audio logs that don't play audio unless you quit out of the game and re-enter, water that doesn't have a graphical impact on your helmet, etc.), but it still has that eye-pleasing art deco look and a wonderful soundtrack.  Not a perfect game, but it's still "the thinking person's" FPS.

[Halbred]

Hmmmm. I'll definately buy it, but I'm a little wary. BioShock was such a...shock (snicker) that I felt like a sequel would just insult it. I don't like that you speak of bugs...maybe I'll wait a few months until (hopefully) newer disks fix those errors or patches are available.

Does the story break completely from the first game, or does it tie in with it? As in, is the story in BioShock 2 present BECAUSE OF the events of the first game?

[broodwars]

Does the story break completely from the first game, or does it tie in with it? As in, is the story in BioShock 2 present BECAUSE OF the events of the first game?

That's actually kind of a hard question to answer.  Most of the characters are new (with the exception of Sinclair, who you see hints at in Fort Frolic in the original Bioshock), and they have roles in Rapture that were previously unknown.  You also visit completely new areas that were perhaps hinted at in the first game (like Fontaine Futuristics) and see the evolution of concepts from the first game (again, Fontaine Futuristics).  A great example of this is Ryan's Amusements, which is an amusement park/museum area dedicated to Ryan's Objectivist ideals, and it is suitably hilarious and fitting for what we know of him and Rapture. 

For the most part, Bioshock 2 feels like its own experience and it seems to me that the development team went to great lengths to answer the questions "how did the world of Rapture function prior to the Civil War of 1959" and "what kind of society would arise in the aftermath of the loss of its two major leaders"?  In the first Bioshock, the environments you went to were designed to show you how Rapture may have functioned for the elite and the criminal underworld.  The story and environments in Bioshock 2 seem to be geared towards showing you what Rapture may have been like for the average citizen, if that makes sense.  This changes a bit towards the end when the villain's Ultimate Plan is revealed, and you find out that this plan occurs directly because of one incredibly minor plot thread (one that was hinted at maybe a handful of times) and one incredibly major plot thread from the first game.  The villain in Bioshock 2 also assumes power because of the events of Bioshock 1.  That said, I really feel that this is an intelligent sequel that pays homage to the first game, but really tries to do its own thing.  I was wary of the game going in because I hold the first Bioshock in such esteem, but I'm satisfied with what we got.

[D_Average]

Man, what the hell, why haven't I played Bioshock yet???  Gotta get on that.

[KnowsNothing]

It's time to review every Steam game I have...one in sentence or less.  Most of these I haven't even come close to finishing...some I haven't even started!  IT'S UP TO YOU TO FIND OUT.  Or not.

Audiosurf - 3/5
Fun diversion, not worth the asking price.

Braid - 4/5
Beautiful graphics, beautiful music, extremely creative puzzles.

Morrowind GotY - 4/5
When this came out it was a 5/5, but in terms of combat and quest tracking it has not aged well.

Fallout 3 - 4/5
Repetitive environment, weak story, terrible AI...still addicting.

Left 4 Dead - 5/5
Hours of cooperative zombie killing fun, but make sure you know the people you're playing with

Left 4 Dead 2 - 4/5
Technically better than the first one in every way, but not creative enough have me coming back to it again and again.

Mass Effect - 4/5
The above average (but not spectacular) story is made better by extremely high production values and a decent morality system, but the frustrating combat mechanics and abysmal squad AI keep this from being perfect.

Psychonauts - 4/5
Hilarious, fun, and creative, but poorly paced a mechanically frustrating.

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl - 3/5
With the 2009 mod this game is very atmospheric (in a terrifying way!) and could be incredibly fun if you can get past the insane difficulty.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition - 5/5
I HAVE TO GIVE THIS GAME A PERFECT SCORE it's really freaking hilarious and awesome...but I'm not very good at it...

Civilation IV + Expansions - 5/5
I don't know why I bought these games, there isn't enough time in the world for them.

Team Fortress 2 - 5/5
Best online shooter around.

Torchlight - 4/5
Worth the $5 I spent on it but the content is too sparse to warrant the full asking price.

Doom 3 - 1/5
Okay I'll be honest here I've played none of this.

Half Life 2 - 5/5
One of the best single player shooters ever made.

HL2: Episode 1 - 3/5
Meh.

HL2: Episode 2 - 4/5
A little more than meh, but still not perfect.

HL2: Lost Coast - 5/5
This is only a single area as opposed to an entire game, but it gets a perfect score for introducing developer commentary, a feature which was then used in both HL2 episodes and...portal? Maybe?

Portal - 5/5
YOU MUST PLAY THIS

Mirror's Edge - 2/5
Creative I guess, but frustrating to play...especially the TERRIBLE shooting portions.

Prey - 6/5
I've played none of this one either.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 - 3/5
It would get a lower score but user made mods really improve the packaged experience, but note that i've never played the actual management portion...I just like building stuff.

Rome: Total War - 4/5
A bit dated but still fun.

Knights of the Old Republic - 3/5
Sorry nerds, but neither the story, characters, or game play are really astonishing me.

Trine - 3/5
Trine is another title not worth the retail price because not only is it short, but really after the first couple levels you've seen all it has to offer.

[oohhboy]

KOTOR has aged very poorly and it's sequel does no better.

I would rate FO3 a hair lower than that since the combat is pretty terribleand random.

DOOM 3 graphically still holds up somewhat, but the gameplay just don't and never had along with surprisingly terrible weapons for a FPS.

Prey was pretty average with some cliched to hell American Indian mystic stuff. If your willing to laugh about it, it's not too bad.

I would also rate Mass Effect a bit lower just because the Gameplay wasn't all there. The prefab planets were terrible as with the driving. As mentioned, the combat is arbitrary and AI is definitely in the running for the Darwin Awards. The Hacking mini game is a joke.

[broodwars]

Heavy Rain - 9.5/10 - Let me get this out of the way: This is a flawed game, with significant mechanical problems with the gameplay (namely the walking controls, especially when you're in tight spaces) and some major plot elements that literally vanish halfway through the game.  That said, I love this game and feel its pros far outweigh its problems.  The music is phenomenal, the story generally well-scripted and paced, the action exciting and engaging, and there's a great feel of authorship in this game.  You might not always have control over the story but the game constantly makes you feel like you do, that your choices matter.  The story builds to a nice, satisfying conclusion that leaves even myself (as cynical as I am about games these days) quite content and wanting to explore more of what this game offers.  To that end, I'm really looking forward to the "Chronicles" DLC packs that will be coming out in the near-future (especially the first one, because I'll be getting that for free).  Highly recommended for fans of Adventure games, though I definitely think you should check out the demo up on the PSN first to see if this game is for you because it's definitely not for everyone.

Robert Ebert once said that video games can never be art because the player is the one in control of the game, so the director can never convey a vision for the project.  I wonder what he would say of Heavy Rain, where the player is the director and (to some extent) the writer.  Actually, I'm kind of curious how Hollywood might view this game, because this might be the future of cinema as video games continue to slowly eat away at movie sales.

[King of Twitch]

Wave Race: Blue Storm 7.5

A fun, challenging game that gets bogged down by a cruel hard mode (to say nothing of expert level) which is a shame because on easy, the difficulty is just right.

Stunt mode is again a fun diversion, and the scenery and water effects are still--after 8 years--easy on the eyes and better than anything on Wii.

The various riders give a good range of control stats and the turbo system is good. In the original, following the buoys would fill your maximum speed meter, but here, a full meter allows the use of a turbo boost. Performing stunts will fill it up even faster, giving a nice incentive for hardcore racing, but the rubberband AI always manages to overcome this and they never crash into buoys or rocks. Similarly, trying to get your best possible score on hard stunt mode will make you feel more like an angry, killer orca than a graceful dolphin.

If Nintendo is working on Motion Plus Wave Race, I hope they realize this amount of frustration is not something the blue ocean crowd would be willing to barrel-roll with, but that the graphical flourishes and beautiful weather effects are something that everyone can appreciate.

[D_Average]

Thats awesome you took Blue Storm for a spin!  I was just playing it last week.  First time playing it?  I thought the game was great, but the N64 one is still my favorite.  It has the perfect blend of difficulty, while as you mentioned, Blue Storm is punishingly brutal.  You've really got to dedicate yourself to beat the game.  I'd say both games have great courses though.  I believe you can pick it up for like five bucks at Gamestop now.  Despite its difficultly, I'd recommend it to anyone at that price, plus the visuals still hold up.

**Goes back to praying for Wave Race Wii***

[King of Twitch]

Ya I got it for about $4 along with Excitebots because you can never have too many racing games.

I remember being put off by the load times and for some reason thought you were supposed to hold the trigger buttons at all times in order to steer, so my original view of the game was slightly warped :X

The interaction with the waves is definitely a giant leap forward but...unless you're playing on easy mode, you're going to be throwing your controller.

[KnowsNothing]

The GC versions of both Wave Race and 1080 were both titles that I disliked at first but grew to love after a while.  1080 Avalanche in particular became tons of fun when I finally realized that I needed to stop trying to pull tricks like in the original and just race.

[broodwars]

Dante's Inferno - 7/10 - I'm not a big fan of Hack & Slashers, but the demo really got me interested in the story (something none of the God of War games have ever managed) and I had an opportunity to pick the game up at the low price of $20 so I thought I'd give it a shot.  Overall, I really liked the game.  It's not the least bit original, but like Visceral games' other works (Dead Space and its prequel Extraction) it feels like they took something famous and put their own interesting spin on it.  The story's interesting and reasonably well-told, most of the Circles of Hell are well-designed (except for a couple at the end of the game, where it's obvious the developers ran out of time and money) and beautiful in a grotesque sort of way, I like the way the game worked its upgrade mechanic into the narrative, and the combat system is more fun than I ever had with the God of War games.  This is also one of the strangest games I've ever played when it comes to explicit content: this game is gory and filled to the brim with explicit imagery, and to its credit none of it feels forced or exploitative but it is disarming to see so much of it in an M-rated game.  My big complaint is that the game really runs out of steam right at the end with the 2 final Circles, which just aren't fun in any conceivable way.  The game is also surprisingly difficult, especially the boss battles.  In fact, the final boss is probably in my Top 5 of Most Difficult Bosses in video games, so much that I had to swallow my pride and bring the difficulty down from Normal to Easy just to beat his second form (and there is a wide gulf between Easy and Normal).

Now, I know it's easy to look at that score and just dismiss this game as a second-rate God of War ripoff, but it's really a lot of fun and has an awesome soundtrack.   I just couldn't let the aggravation and repetition of the final Circles slide.

[D_Average]

Dante's Inferno - 7/10 - most of the Circles of Hell are well-designed (except for a couple at the end of the game, where it's obvious the developers ran out of time and money) and beautiful in a grotesque sort of way,

I agree.  I had a lot of fun with it, and found some of the low reviews it received rather puzzling.  Sure it copies GOW, but lets not get all high and mighty, the vast majority of games copy each other.  I think reviewers crucified this one b/c it was one of the first games to blatantly rip GOW.  But look at the new Sonic racer.  Its receiving mighty praise for ripping off the Mario Kart formula.  It seems reviewers are letting that slide for Sonic since so many others have tried to copy Mario Kart and failed.  That said, I'd give Dante about the same score and encourage others to try it.


Oh yeah, saw this today on Joystiq.  Figured I'd post it since we were just talking about Wave Race.  Looks like the PSN is getting a water sport game similar to Wave Race, but its wake boarding, and it looks pretty slow.  Its from the same folks who made Smash Cars, a very mediocre Excitetruck + Mario Kart type game.  So I'm not expecting much, but you never know.  Link to trailer --> http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/15/wakeboarding-hd-splashes-onto-psn-this-month/1#c26258023

[Halbred]

Playing several games right now:

Endless Ocean 2: I CAN'T STOP PLAYING IT'S SO GOOD

Pokemon HeartGold: It's Pokemon. Again. That's all you need to know so far.

Bioshock 2: I totally see what broodwars means about the "average citizen" angle. I wish you could sit there and watch the ocean go by on the train, although maybe it's in a tunnel like the train in Dead Space? I dunno. Anyway, the game is gorgeous and the story is engrossing. Much creepier than the first Bioshock, too. I like that Sophia Lamb IS Andrew Ryan, just on the opposite end of the individualism/community spectrum. I am disappointed by how the Big Sisters are handled. They're basically boss scripted boss fights (get all the Little Sisters, fight a Big Sister), although they're not particularly hard once you upgrade your sh*t.

The one thing I'm not loving is that there's a larger focus on gene tonics, rather than Plasmids, this time around. It is cool that plasmids have secondary uses, though. Guarding Little Sisters is something of a chore, especially when there are three in a level. The rewards do tend to be worthwhile, though. PROTIP: Use the "Enrage" Plasmid (or whatever it's called this time) on Slicers when you're guarding Little Sisters. You'll be able to pick them off while they're fighting each-other.

[Kytim89]

I just played Dead Space Extraction and I would give it a 9/10. I was a little hesitatnt towards the game at first because it was a rail shooter, but I warmed up to it once I played the first couple of hours. Graphically the game is amazing, but the game play does get a little repetitive going through countless dark corridors with necromorphs jumping out at you. The game does this for suspense and there were times when I ws cought off guard in the dark parts of the game.

[D_Average]

I just played Dead Space Extraction and I would give it a 9/10. I was a little hesitatnt towards the game at first because it was a rail shooter, but I warmed up to it once I played the first couple of hours. Graphically the game is amazing, but the game play does get a little repetitive going through countless dark corridors with necromorphs jumping out at you. The game does this for suspense and there were times when I ws cought off guard in the dark parts of the game.

Did playing the game ever put this expression on your face(the gal's expression)?

[KDR_11k]

Batman Arkham Asylum: Yep, it's great.