Last Game you played/bought

[chappers]

I've only played three of the games you mentioned, I'd probably give Skyrim a similar score, its a good game, brilliant if you want your money's worth out of a game; endless content. Personally though, having played and completed Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas I felt this game hardly added much that those 3 games already brought to the table. Since they are all very long games it can feel like a real drag playing Skyrim imo. Its a good game, I just wish they would do something different; changing the combat system would be a good start, currently its awful. Give the game more incentive to go and complete missions, build alliances or be feared throughout the whole universe, they really missed out on that in this game. Its lack of innovation and the product being watered down hurts its replayability.

I can see your points on H3: ODST, I actually enjoyed that game a lot, didn't expect anything good out of it after playing Halo 3, but ODST surprised me. Story isn't great, but it knows it isn't and just feels like a bit of fun, introduction of firefight was awesome even if they refined it in Reach. Its a good game but I understand your gripes and I know you are not alone, many claim it to be the worst of the franchise, I just felt very disappointed with Halo 3 and this got me back into the series.

Halo CE I pretty much agree with what you put, original Halo game was brilliant in its time, gameplay perhaps feels dated at first but once adjusted its a blast. Multiplayer expansion could have been bigger, they actually missed out on all the maps I wanted them to throw in from the original Halo, Blood Gulch (on all the games in some form, but I never felt they topped the original one or the Halo 2 one), Sidewinder (can be played on Halo 3 I think) but more importantly the sniper level with two ships either side and the teleport level. I was pissed those weren't included and will probably never return.

[RyPrax]

Max Payne 3:
http://betterwithpopcorn.com/blog/george-prax/gaming-reviews/max-payne-3-review-reinventing-aging-character

9 out of 10

A few annoyances about the game design and it's not exactly the Max Payne we all remember, but otherwise a fantastic game with the kind of production values we've come to expect from Rockstar and a great story that meshes well between movie-like cinematics and gameplay.

[Rhymin' Greiman]

Just completed Prototype 2.  Loved the original and this one was pretty fun as well.  More or less the same type of action the original had but the story was much more interesting.  I kind of shot through it as I borrowed it from my nephew so it only took me like 12 hours to beat and I left a lot of the side-quests behind, which isn't important to the story at all as they just make you stronger.  Worth at least $30 if you can get it used but glad I didn't fork over $60...

[chappers]

I just finished up on Mass Effect 3's single player. An excellent game let down by the final 5 minutes. The final mission is superb, basically it takes about 3 hours to complete without dying, its a really immersive experience and gives a great sense of loss and desperation, something I feel only Red Dead has been able to accomplish on video games before this game, and that's a great compliment to this game and its predecessors. Its not just the last mission though, the game in general is an awesome experience. It all builds to a climax that should have been all laid out and ready to reward the players who have invested time and money into this series. Instead its a disappointing finale, reminiscent to the ending of Lost (well, Lost from season one onwards tbh and not as diappointing since that was going to suck anyway). Honestly, up to the final 5 minutes its a 10/10 game and would easily rank with the likes of Uncharted 1 and 2, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2 and GTA IV, but those final 5 minutes leave the game on such a sour note, I'm still pissed off with it after finishing it a couple hours ago. Only one other flaw was annoying, to complete the single player and have the best outcome you possibly can, you HAVE to play the multiplayer, a terrible flaw, but that is something that isn't of major concern unless you have no means of playing the multiplayer. I really wanted to give this game 10/10, but the final 5 minutes lead to an undesired conclusion, completely out of character from anything the series has done before, leaving plenty of plotholes, no diversity in the variety of outcomes that could have been at Bioware's disposal and no conclusion to the characters that make the game, all topped off with a load of pretentious turd that tries to be like an Ingmar Bergman philosophical view, but does exactly that, tries but fails.

Like I said 65 hours of gameplay leading up to the final 5 minutes - 10/10 with only a couple minor complaints about the Reapers and their leader and the flaw I mentioned above, a flawless experience.

Final 5 minutes - Turd/10.

[Adampro123]

basically it takes about 3 hours to complete without dying

This made me not want to play this game. I remember one of the big issues i had with the first one was horrible checkpoints.  Seems this one is keeping to tradition.

[chappers]

basically it takes about 3 hours to complete without dying

This made me not want to play this game. I remember one of the big issues i had with the first one was horrible checkpoints.  Seems this one is keeping to tradition.

I didn't sit down and play the final mission in one sit down, had 2 or 3 breaks turning the console off each time. The game auto-saves after each battle you have, plus you have the option of saving by pressing start and save at any point (besides when you are in the middle of a firefight, which is understandable). It isn't an issue at all and hasn't been since Mass Effect 1 (honestly, I can't remember much of the gameplay in Mass Effect 1). However, I never had a problem with this in the second installment and I would have complained about it in this game here if I felt they were harsh, particularly coming off fresh playthroughs of Dark Souls and Rayman Origins. The final part is split into about 5 or 6 different parts that accumulate together, its similar in a way to the final mission in Mass Effect 2, a point of no return, relatively long but lets you have breathers between each sub mission and lets you save after each battle.

[RyPrax]

I haven't played 3 yet, but I know the ending and I have a theory about it that makes it a lot easier to swallow. I won't spoil it here but it seemed to make a lot of sense from an artistic point of view, but I can understand why people would be mad.

[Adampro123]

Ahh nice to know thanks for clearing it up Chappers.

Maxe Payne 3

I went into this game never having played a Max Payne game before, I knew somewhat of the back story that his Wife and Kid died in previous games and though it comes up in this game i don't feel like it hurt me not playing those 2 previous games. I was pretty much blow Away by this game in every way. The story mode was extremely fun and i was really into the story and was probably one of the better stories in a game that i can remember playing in a long time and so well told too. Also this game has some really awesome parts in it that are just epic moments that you play and it feels so satisfying. I really liked the controls, Rockstar has seemingly got this one right unlike GTA IV but it seem to just be an improved GTA IV controls but with the addition of the slow mode stuff and the diving which is really fun. there were a few issues where when you were diving you would get caught up on the wall or sometimes even fall off the map and it would count as a death but those didn't come up THAT much.

Multiplayer as i have talked about was also surprisingly really fun too, a pretty good selection of different modes and you can either go soft aim or free aim, i go soft aim. Anyways i really really liked the multiplayer i think it is great in its self and after you beat the game it gives you reason to keep playing it and gives you more for your money a lot like one of rockstars previous games Red Dead Redemption.

Trophies were kind of anoying in this one, I did the story on medium using free aim mode to get some of the trophies and the free aim made the game a lo harder at times. In the end i ended up with 45% of the trophies and I'm happy with that, mised out on 2 multiplayer trophies and a few single player ones including some which are extremely hard like New york min or the grinds which will be well... grinding.

Overall i had a blast with this game and i think it is an early Game of the year contender

5/5

Minecraft 360 edition

I had never played minecraft before, Tried once but my computer and it didn't work too well. However i did play this indie game on XBL called Castle Miner which is a lot like Minecraft in some ways. But i bought this because my cousin got it and he's a big fan of minecraft so we can play together. and that's the fun of it. Playing with someone you know online, Because playing alone is not fun which is unlike Castle miner where  i had fun playing by myself or with someone else. Minecraft is the most expensive XBLA game out there at $20 and it's also broken Records for most sold XBLA game too. I don't think it's worth $20 though and especially if you don't know anyone else with it. I would say maybe wait until it is on sale for $10. But like i sid most of my time played was with friends online and that was fin and it does feel rewarding finding stuff in mines even if it can be really annoying at times

3/5

Now onto Dragon's Dogma and whatever else Gamefly sends me. Either The Witcher 2, KOA: Reckoning or the New Silent Hill.

[chappers]

I've wrote two really long replies to this post and the site has either been down for maintenance or my damn computer crashed .

I haven't played 3 yet, but I know the ending and I have a theory about it that makes it a lot easier to swallow. I won't spoil it here but it seemed to make a lot of sense from an artistic point of view, but I can understand why people would be mad.

Put spoiler tags on then

Spoiler:

The problem a lot of people are having is the lack of variance with the endings, there are about 6 endings but they are all literally the same. Considering earlier in the game and for most of the series there are points within the game which have various twists and turns, its disappointing and it strays from the selling point of the series. Best example is earlier in ME3 which i'll have to spoil

Spoiler:

when you cure the genophage. Curing the genophage can have about 4 or 5 different implications - the krogans have a choice of two leaders, Wrex or Wreav, I had Wreav (accidentally imported my "renegade" playthough from ME2) and constantly through the whole game he is teasing a war between the krogans and everyone else once the reaper invasion is over. Key characters can either survive or die, Mordin the salarian doctor and Eve the cure to the genophage. Plus you can either sabotage or cure the genophage to either align with the krogans or the salarians.

I mean that shows the level of detail the game can have and what was expected come the end of the game, but for it to boil down to just 6 endings with hardly any difference is just plain sloppy.

I actually think the idea of Shepard sacrificing his life for the peace of the universe is quite touching, but they executed it poorly and it would be so much better if there was an option whereby he didn't sacrifice his body and lived in a society that had the problems before the war - I would have way preferred that if I am honest to what is on offer. It just seems like a real kick in the face to get right to the end for basically all the hard work to meet different expectations to what was built through all the games, its a cop out from the storyline they built, and there is no denying that happened. Shepard dies - no further development or closure with any of his friends/love interest. Everyone lives in peace - destroys all the hard work that the game puts you through and doesn't really leave the mind wondering if the various races are going to go back to their old ideas of not trusting other races or find some unity from the war they just had with the reapers, plus this ruins many characters, I mean Zaeed for example is an anti-hero, i don't see how he is going to work in society now. Its too short sighted and didn't take much thought to end the game like that, and its not a case of being snobby - its generally a flawed finish to the game.

The fact that everyone has to be altered in some shape or form no matter which ending you undertake is a kick in the balls as well, I would much rather know I saved the people the way they were before without altering their character, the whole game builds an enemy in cerberus for doing that very thing and slamming it only to do it yourself at the end is disappointing - particularly when my character doesn't question the motives behind it. It actually feels like the Illusive Man and the Reapers won, since so many lives were lost and in some form you are controlling the way everyone will behave, when I just kind of want everyone to remain with their thoughts and ideas before and during the war with the obvious exclusion of the reapers. All the mass relays are destroyed, crucible is destroyed - most of shepards mates are on that. The implications from earlier installments and this game have no real bearing on the finale, which should have happened. Its how the game plays right up to that point.

I hated seeing Anderson die as well, he's the one character who I felt deserved the best ending going, he had to lead the resistance on earth whilst you went out and collected all the war assets, he lost out as a council member (at least on mine can't quite remember if there's a decision in the first game that allows him to represent earth), he lost his ship in the first game, and he seems to generally be doing things that he doesn't personally want to do but does it for everyone else. I wanted him to catch a break and generally to retire and have a decent life, instead he's just expendable.

To sum it up, with a few alterations the ending can work, it needs some elaboration, it needs some plotholes fixed and it shouldn't be the best ending - i don't think many wanted it to end like that, i honestly think a red dead style ending would have worked well here, like having the mundane stuff follow for the purpose of storyline development since interaction with characters has never been more important in a game since this series. The final decision shouldn't be made with some invisible ghost kid that has only just come into the story, it should be made between shepard, anderson, illusive man and maybe harbinger (I think that could work). What is currently on offer shouldn't be the best ending more options should be laid out with the option to keep shepard alive. If they could elaborate on it some more it would be a million times better. The fact its the only "good" ending is a horrible design though and contradicts everything about the game imo. If they can offer more choices for an ending to give the send off it deserves it would give the closure many including myself would want from the series or even better hype many of the tensions built into the game for further DLC.

[RyPrax]

Fine:

Spoiler:

The theory I read was that Sheppard was indoctrinated, and that's why it ended the way it did. No matter what choice you make at the end, your character is indoctrinated so it doesn't matter. Like I said I haven't played the game so I can't really go into detail about it, but basically Bioware not only indoctrinated the character, but you as well into believing otherwise. It was an artistic choice, one that sounds like it would have been really cool but tough to execute, which is why so many people were pissed. I hope that makes sense lol

[chappers]

Spoiler:

Actually, I like that idea, I'm not sure how much I like it as a definitive ending, I've already spoken of my distaste on that, but the more I think on it the more it works. Its still flawed, and I don't see what the point of it was or why they would bother making the trilogy for that to be the final result. The only part I feel doesn't work on that is the Reapers attacking Cerberus's base - why would they feel the need to attack cerberus's base on Horizon when they know where the Citadel is (Mass Effect 1) - only reason is because they fear Illusive Man's ideas, just like they fear Shepard for his resilience. Either way I would still prefer to have a larger range of endings to reflect on the way i played the game and to give me more reason to go back to it, I could honestly see myself playing that single player like 3 or 4 times through all games if they gave me a better ending.

[Adampro123]

Dragon's Dogma
(PS3)

This game did the one thing in games that i can't stand and that's horrible checkpoints and not only that this game is very very hard and has no fast travel. I didn't really enjoy it at all though i was interested in playing it and did enjoy the demo but this was just too frustrating i would get so far and be so close then get hit once by some asshole and die and then have to go waaay far back and fight my way back to that part of the game with no fast travel and have to beat the same enimies again. Very Annoying. So needless to say i didn't not enjoy this game.

No rating because i feel like i didn't get too far.

Dead Island
(360)

I Played some of this game last year and didn't really like it much, Didn't like the combat or how the game felt and just seemed kind of boring. but i got it on sale for like $12 and gave it another chance,

This time i played it like i played Skyrim which is really not paying attention to the story. I mean it's pretty obvious it's a group of people who is on an island with zombies who want to get off. but i played it and played it and played it and eventually beat it out and even did every quest that i came across. and although i still think the combat is shit and there really isn't anything special about this game i don't even like the world it's in. but i just kept playing it and enjoying it, i can't really say why though. maybe it just scratched an itch at the time? i don't know. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone especially people that like story based games like Batman or Uncharted or God of War but i would recommend it to people who like games like fallout or elder scrolls or even borderlands who just like to do a lot of quest

3/5?

[chappers]

Decided I'm going to play games I once purchased, but never got around to playing, starting with inFamous. Been playing it for the past few days, really enjoying it, just a fun game in general, on the warrens at the moment which seems to be a lot harder then the first island. Got quite a lot of the trophies already, reckon I could easily plat the game.

[Adampro123]

Only 3 trophies i didn't get on there was getting all the shards and the combos and beating it on hard. those combos are a real bitch but that game is really good.

[chappers]

Yeah the one where you need to kill a guy by shockwaving his grenade back at him seems to be the most annoying. I've almost got that trophy though, its just the one I mentioned I might struggle to get . Heard the shards are a pain as well. I was hoping to get inFamous 2 from PS+ after completing this, but i don't even know if my console has that much space on it in the first place lol