Topic: Rate The Last Game You Played

[broodwars]

Super Mario World - Well, it was fun to return to this childhood favorite after all these years, but honestly there's just something about it that doesn't appeal to me much anymore.  Despite incredibly tight controls and some creative (and sometimes sadistic) level design with secret exits, the theme-ing is weak and the overall level design just doesn't inspire much excitement.  The game's also considerably easier than I remember, outside a few areas towards the end of the game and the Star Road Specials.  Fun, but we've seen better Mario platformers, especially SMB 3. 8/10

[KDR_11k]

Mostly been playing:

Dawn of War II Last Stand mode: This was added in a later patch (hooray for PC gaming!), 3 player coop against powerful waves. It's much closer to the singleplayer than the regular MP mode and you really need the cooperation, especially later on when the waves reach "how the **** are we supposed to kill THAT?" proportions. Ton of fun.

Pokemon Rumble: Appeals to the "collect tons of ****" impulse within us. I'd compare it to Diablo to some degree, instead of capturing and then training Pokemons you just sometimes drop enemies and can take them. They have different power levels and some have special titles (e.g. one that triples all money income, another that grants near-immunity against attacks of a certain element, increased critical hit chance, etc), when you grab a better one and your old one is obsolete you just sell it off (they call it releasing and getting parting gifts but it's really just selling, if you sell a lot of one type you have a chance to get a coupon for the evolved form). The action combat is fairly fast paced though too easy in the regular levels. Level design is nonexistent, just long corridors filled with random enemies. Buffs have a noticeable effect, e.g. an attack up seems to roughly double the damage output. The collecting is addictive, especially finding some good mons (though those are unfortunately obsoleted fairly quickly) like the high powered fire-proof earthquake using Chansey I got.

[broodwars]

Assassin's Creed - To keep this short and family-friendly, I'll just leave it at this: this game is horrible, with constant repetition; unreliable controls (the Right Trigger and X together represent 90% of all the possible commands in the game, and as such the game frequently gets confused); constant design elements intended to irritate you constantly getting in your way (beggar women, lepers/drunks, people carrying junk that just like to run into you) that you get penalized for dealing with; a combat system horrendously bad at dealing with mobs in a game where you spend the entire last 1/4 of the game just fighting mobs; and a story that just stops when the credits roll.  Despite its many flaws, I still kind of liked the game if only for the story and atmosphere (which are both excellent).  The game was just kind of refreshing, as I haven't really played a game quite like it and I do want to see where the story goes in Assassin's Creed 2. 4/10

[D_Average]

New Super Mario Mario Bros 4/5 - Was it fun?  Yes.  But the whole time, I found myself wanting to play Mario World instead.  Instead of a cohesive new experience I felt like I was getting recycled ideas.  But at the end of the day, a good mario game, is still an awesome video game.  So its hard to complain about this one.

[broodwars]

Flower - I picked this up due to Jonny's recommendation while it was (and still is, btw) $5 off the PSN, and finished it with all the trophies.  Now, like its similarly over-hyped cousin, Braid, I found Flower to be a bit overrated as one of those "revolutionary games of this generation" but it is a pleasant experience.  It took me a long time (the entire game, in fact) to get used to the phenomenally imprecise SIXAXIS controls (which I blame more on the controller than the game.  It's no secret that that controller's motion control is even worse than the Wii's sans Motion +. ), which often caused me to miss my targets while flying around at top speed.  The first few levels are also a little weak, with the game not really hitting its stride until the game transitions to night for the 3rd level.  The game does finish very strongly, though, with a particularly spectacular 6th level and then the credits stage.  I also thought the game really didn't hit its stride in art design till around halfway through, though when it does it is very striking in how it uses color and mood to convey the "dream" concept.  I do think the game could have used more levels, even as DLC if needed.  8/10

[D_Average]

Yeah, I'd give Flower the same score.  It was over hyped, but nevertheless, a very interesting and relaxing experience.  I disagree on the controls though, I thought they felt very natural, I remember being surprised as every other Sixaxis game has been a disaster.

[broodwars]

Yeah, I'd give Flower the same score.  It was over hyped, but nevertheless, a very interesting and relaxing experience.  I disagree on the controls though, I thought they felt very natural, I remember being surprised as every other Sixaxis game has been a disaster.

Like I said, it could just be a question of getting used to the SIXAXIS controls, since I had a noticeably easier time after beating the game and going back to the older levels while working on the "Nature" trophy.  I just felt them too unresponsive for the speed you're capable of going, so combine that with the flower buds often being difficult to see and I found myself constantly stopping and turning around to get ones I missed.  To me, that hurt the flow of the experience.

[Halbred]

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Holy sh*t/10: Incredible experience. Story-driven, but with enough of a Super Metroid-like sense of level progression (and backtracking!) that it just sucks you in. Incredible graphics, although the Commish looks a little burly. Final battle is a little disappointing, and all of the "boss" encounters amount to throwing tons of dudes at you at once. Happily, the combat is so fluid you barely mind.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

9/10: Multiplayer is fun, but not the focus for me. This game feels like what the DS game SHOULD HAVE been. A little simplistic at times, with way too much focus on big spinning environmental objects, but just plain fun nonetheless.

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Can't Say Yet/10: I just started it, only a few hours in. I don't care for the spaceship segments (sooooo boring) but the rest is R&C bliss. The Clank puzzles make my brain hurt, but there's a great sense of accomplishment when the puzzle "clicks" in your mind.

[broodwars]

Assassin's Creed 2 - 8/10 - Long story short: it's a huge step up from the last game, both in terms of pacing and execution (pun not intended).  It can't escape from the general flaws that just come with being an open world title and the meta story is an absolute joke of Dan Brown proportions, but it is a good game.  It's not a game I'm likely to ever play again, though.  Really abysmal ending, as well.  And Ubisoft, if you're going to have us perform pinpoint Prince of Persia-style platforming under time constraints with these controls, you have to be more lenient with the level design because these controls just weren't built for that.  This is also the only game I've ever seen that's managed to correctly time a humorous "it's-a-me, MARIO!" reference that doesn't sound completely lame.

[KDR_11k]

Dragon Master Spell Caster: Got it for laughs, what reviews don't mention is that it has a classic controller option (maybe it was patched in later) that has none of the problems the motion control setup apparently has. Still one of the ugliest console games I've ever seen.

[kraken613]

Left 4 Dead 2 9/10

Its just more L4D and thats good with me. There is a ton of content packed into this game. I would say more than double what the first game launched with. 5 campaigns which all very a lot from the first game and have amazing level design. Your good old versus mode, its great with the new infected a lot more variety. Scavenge were you have to power a generator by carrying gas cans and filling it up, think short Versus. Survivial mode is back, get ready to have tons of zombies try to kill you! Then realism mode mere is just bumps up the difficulty, on Realism-Expert the game is nearly impossible unless you have amazing team work. So if you didn't like the 1st you won't like this one. If you loved the 1st one you will love this one too!

[broodwars]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - Just take what I wrote here: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=27619.msg570398#msg570398 and add a 8/10 to it.

[Halbred]

Boy & His Blob

Can't Say Yet/10. Just started it, I'm about six or seven levels in. My god, this game is incredible. I'm a little iffy about the control scheme (no D-pad movement, selecting jellybeans can be wonky on the Classic Controller) but the animation absolutely sucks me in. I love the bonus stages, too.

Wario Land: Shake It

9/10: I've not played this in a long time and picked it back up to find all the bonus levels. I wish the reward for getting all the goals in a level were better (stage soundtrack? Yipee.), but I don't really care. The game itself is reward enough. Between this and Boy & His Blob, I'm in hand-drawn, 2D heaven.

NyxQuest
8/10: Some awkward multitasking, but overall it's a great game. Finding all the treasures is gonna be a b*tch, though.

[vudu]

NyxQuest
8/10: Some awkward multitasking, but overall it's a great game. Finding all the treasures is gonna be a b*tch, though.

How do you mean?  I'm about 60% of the way through the game and so far I have all the treasures.  They're really not that hard to find--they're generally just in out-of-the-way places, so as long as you don't blow past everything (which is hard to do considering how slow Nyx moves) you shouldn't have too many problems.

[KDR_11k]

The multitasking is what makes NyxQuest so awesome.

[broodwars]

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 9.5/10 - Still my favorite Zelda game, though that Water Temple is even more obnoxious than I remembered.  Some truly great cinematic moments, though (the scene where you summon the giants to stop the falling moon is still very emotional) and the game as a whole is still very emotional as a whole.  Playing this game, it makes me wonder where the manic energy and inventiveness that made this game went because I don't think we've seen it since.

[D_Average]

Topatoi: Spinning Through The Worlds - PS3 - 1/5  Damn.  Thank god I played the demo first.  Cute graphics, interesting idea, but its like controlling a water bumper car with a 10 second delay.  Stay far away from this one.

[broodwars]

Topatoi: Spinning Through The Worlds - PS3 - 1/5  Damn.  Thank god I played the demo first.  Cute graphics, interesting idea, but its like controlling a water bumper car with a 10 second delay.  Stay far away from this one.

I do believe that James called this one back at E3.  Nope, different crappy game.  Thanks for the heads-up, though.

[broodwars]

Portal - 9/10 - Very good, funny, and inventive.  Too short for its standard $15 price tag, but at its current $5 sale price on Steam it's definitely worth it.

[KDR_11k]

Shattered Horizon: Cannot connect to server/10
Seriously, I didn't even get it to run for more than a few seconds before losing connection.

Modern Warfare 2 (Multiplayer): A neato casual game that has rewards around every corner. I wouldn't recommend playing it seriously though, it's all "you haven't unlocked the right tools yet" then.

Harvest - Massive Encounter: One of those network-and-resource based tower defense games, pretty fun. Also has a creative mode that lets you build that deathstar laser you always wanted.

Go Go Cosmo Cops: Awesome grapple-based game. I guess I should try the multiplayer mode too.

HAWX (iPod): Gameloft really missed the core of HAWX. The OFF mode is a central part of it and they completely missed that OFF mode is more than just a camera angle, the physics don't change at all and you can't drift or stall. Also there's no difficulty selection. HAWX was easy enough on the highest difficulty and this one is locked on the lowest.

Catoon [sic] Wars Gunner: Nice game that appeals to the "gotta upgrade 'em all" aspect. A bit opaque what the stat upgrades really do though (how much HP do I get for a level?) and could get fairly repetitive.

Doodle Jump: Yep, nice casual timewaster.

Ice Age 3 (iPod): It's made by the Toki Tori guys and you can tell! I'm not very far into it but since I loved TT I think it'll be worth the 80 cents I paid.

[oohhboy]

Crysis

This game is a lot of fun until the aliens show up, then it feels a little more of a chore to play. Not helped by the lack of ending. It also somewhat lacking in the weapon selection. It's expansion, warhead is even more fun to play, but suffers from the same problems. It's Farcry on on steroids and superpowers. Never get tried of throwing Koreans at shacks.

Modern Warfare 2 singleplayer

I like the first game better. This game feels like it jumps the shark a little with the story and it just jumps around too much to stay cohesive. You play as a total of 4(5) different people and it just gets confusing who you are and where you are within the story at any moment. That said, when the game is good, it's really good. But there are some pretty deep lows.

Dawn of War 2

This game is a real blast to play. In terms of unit count, it's a much smaller game than it's predecessors, but the amount of tactical control is much greater giving a much more satisfying experience when you destroy foes more powerful than you. In the campaign mode there isn't any resources beside strategic assets and wargear you can capture and equip on your squad. So instead of quickly teching up and sending in massive waves of Marines, you pick which of your squads you deploy and off you go. The fastest missions can be completed in 5 minutes, while the longest can be about 20. One small issue around the endgame is that your can get some really powerful wargear and pretty much start throwing aways tactics by rushing the closest xenos.

[Peachylala]

Might as well take a crack at this. Short blurbs, no score.

Rabbids Go Home
Very hilarious game, but can get on the repetitive side at times. Shows what happens when UbiSoft gets their **** together to make a competent game that Wii owners (aka us) will play.

Super Mario Galaxy
SMB3 in 3D. Yoshiaki Koizumi is a force to be reckoned with.

Metroid Prime Trilogy
All three Metroid Prime games, with the first two getting much needed Wii FPS controls. A must have for anyone who never owned the GCN games.

[Halbred]

Eternal Darkness: 8/10
Love it. LOVE IT. Combat is a little middling (anytime you face a Horror, it's not great), but the story is fantastic. The game is begging for a proper Wii remake.

Wario Land: Shake It (9/10)
Going back through, getting all the secret maps. God, this is an incredible piece of software.

[broodwars]

Final Fantasy 7 - 7.5/10 - Yeah, I've been replaying this old game for the first time in about a decade, and contrary to all the complaints it's not all the different in the PS1 version (via PSN on PS3) than the PC version I played (yeah, One Winged Angel plays with vocals in the final fight...big frickin' deal considering I usually kill him by the time the vocals really kick in).  Despite my growing dislike for this game over the years due to the overwhelming number of fanboys this game has (who always whine every time a new Final Fantasy game is announced that isn't a remake of FF7), replaying the game I was relieved to see that the "fun, but dumb" game I played all those years ago still holds up..somewhat.  The gameplay's as moderately entertaining as ever, there's plenty of stuff to find (including killing the Weapons, which I actually did this time...ouch), and the graphics hold up better than you'd expect given the PS1's complete incompetence at rendering good-looking 3D models.  The story's just as mind-numbingly stupid and obtuse as ever, though, and the pacing in the cutscenes is agonizingly slow.  Still a decent enough romp, though.

[sladeadams]

WiiWare - Muscle March - 4/5
I found Muscle March to be a fantastic, over the top, cooky game. For 500 wii points (5 dollars), It is great fun and extremely funny in sometimes an uncomfortable way. You have a very simple concept that is performed in a very simple way. The game does tend to be short and very simple, but do not forget how much you spent. 5 dollars... Up to 4 player madness and simple gameplay makes this game more than worth the price. The only gripe I could have with this title is the unresponsive controls, but that is to blame the controller not the game.  If you can get past watching but shaking action with your characters, I feel you can easily find enjoyment out of this title. Just do not do the actual poses the character does, it doesnt work...