Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Nov 30, 2010 1:36:21 GMT
This thread is where I'm going to list and write about my 10 favourite games. These games will not be listed in any particular order. This is all in my own opinion, so many of you will find that 'popular' games have been left out, but I'm sure you can find a thread on them somewhere else Number 1. The Elder Scrolls IV: OblivionOblivion is the 4th instalment in the Elder Scrolls series, developed by Bethesda Softworks, and a fantastic one at that. Straight away, you’re flung into the story; you’re in prison for some sort of crime, God knows what, and it just so happens that the Emperor (evading assassination, unlike his Sons), needs to escape through a secret passageway in your cell. Your lucky day. You’re told to stay away from them as they make their escape, but you find yourself saving them often. They eventually get to him, right after he entrusts his ‘Amulet of Kings’ to you, before making your way to the exit of the sewers. It's only once you exit the sewers that the game really begins. Your first view out of the sewer may be daunting as first, but you shouldn't be put off. It's a large world, with lots to do. The game first suggests that you continue on with the main quest. I'd advise otherwise, from this point on, it's your game, and you do what you want with it. Whether that's turning yourself into a great warrior, a renowned healer, or going on a killing spree - making yourself infamous - it's completely up to you. There are different factions to join such as the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Thieves Guild and Assassins Guild. There is also an Arena to join and a couple of other lesser groups that don't have major quests. You'll probably pick what factions to join, based on what kind of character you want to develop. Should you find yourself tired of taking orders (or taking lives) in the major cities, you'll normally find yourself walking the countryside, finding new quests, villages, inns, mines, ruins and shrines to worship at (good and bad). The game has some spectacular views for you to just stand and appreciate. Some people find themselves taking the RPG element of Oblivion very seriously, playing it with increased realism. Eating regularly, having proper sleeping patterns, wearing thicker clothes when the weather is cold, etc. Although there is a lot to do in Oblivion, you often find yourself asking "Have I been here before?” This is due to laziness on Bethesda's part, who decided, instead of making everywhere unique, they’d copy and paste half the dungeons in the game, making only moderate changes to them. So the inside of ruins and mines, can start to get tedious. You also find yourself talking to people who have the same voice, which wouldn't be so bad, if it was consistent, but you find someone speaking to you with one voice, then a different one moments later. Oblivion seriously lacks in originality compared to its predecessor, Morrowind. Where it lacks in originality, Oblivion makes up in charm. The NPC's everyday routines, the scenery, the small quips from people as you walk by them all make it seem very real, and it's a game that makes you feel very immersed in it. To this day, I can turn it on and still find something new to do. New character builds to try, new spells to create, etc. You can even give your character a bit of a 'revamp'.....with vampirism, giving you a new way to live in game. If you're an RPG fan, then this game should suit you as it gives you a lot of control and customisation. Whether you fancy sitting for hours at a time or turning it on for a quick killing spree before you go out, Oblivion is a thoroughly entertaining game which has brought me much enjoyment. And that's without the expansion packs.....
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Post by Alex on Nov 30, 2010 3:03:38 GMT
These lists are seriously weakening my plans for my Top Games of the Year topic next month. >>
On the subject of Oblivion, it's one of the first games I bought and played on my 360 back in 2006. I still haven't completed it, despite numerous returns lasting between days and weeks. It's a lovely game, but I've always felt that it seemed a lot like an MMORPG without anyone else in it. I'll be eager to take a look into the possibility of an Elder Scrolls MMO on those grounds alone - but it's something I can never get over when playing Oblivion. It's always there, nagging away in the back of my mind that sharing this character and this world with friends would be so much more fun.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Nov 30, 2010 3:28:52 GMT
This is true, but then it would suffer from what Warcraft does; everyone reaches their full potential, and it's boring fighting each other, because they all have the same gear and strength. Surely it's better to be powerful on your own other than be the same as everyone else?
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Post by Alex on Nov 30, 2010 3:54:58 GMT
Not really, since that isn't how I'd play the game. I'm far less interested in the possibility of competition, and far more interested in the possibility of co-operative play in such a rich world with such rich customisation options.
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Post by Samface on Dec 6, 2010 18:51:57 GMT
I didn't like Oblivion. It was one of my main reasons for buying a 360, I'm normally all over giant absurdly-detailed RPGs like that, but...no. Couldn't get on with it. Still disappointed about that. Mind, later I bought Fallout 3 and completely fell in love with it so go figure. (Actually, the 360 seems destined to be the console that sh atters RPG-based dreams for me: another two major reasons for my buying it were Fable II and Mass Effect and I gave up on both of those too.)
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Post by ShayMay on Dec 6, 2010 19:10:04 GMT
Funnily enough, I loved Oblivion but hated Fallout.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Dec 6, 2010 22:09:41 GMT
Number 2. Animal Crossing: Wild World.Animal Crossing: Wild World is the 3rd instalment of the Animal Crossing series (we’re not forgetting Animal Forest for the N64 are we?) and it’s the one I’ve played the most. Like all Animal Crossing games before and after Wild World, you start of in some form of transport, on your way to a new town. You’re questioned by someone to determine what you want to call your town, your gender and your appearance. You arrive in town, and get a house from the local racoon entrepreneur, Tom Nook. He asks that you pay it off, but in your own time. And this will probably be the basis of your activities in it each day. There are a few ways for you to make your money. Collect fruit from your trees, collect shells from the beach, sell unwanted items and help friends. This will help you pay your mortgage should you feel the need, and once you pay off a mortgage, you can expand your house, to accommodate more of the stuff you’ll probably want to buy. But these – for me – are minor details. The point is, you have your own town, full of anthropomorphic creatures, in your pocket. Over a period of time, you’ll befriend these animals, learn their routines, mannerisms and attitude, as if you were working on a real friendship. Or, should you feel any dislike towards a certain animal, you can ignore them , bash them over the head with tools, shove them about and make them feel bad about themselves, resulting in them leaving town, making space for a new animal. You can visit the museum (and make contributions to it), the observatory, the coffee shop downstairs (which on Saturdays put on gigs from K.K. Slider), visit the shops, visit your friends in-game, or even use Wi-Fi to visit a friend’s town. It’s a game that’s good to just sit and relax with, with no real given objective. What you work towards is up to you and how you want to do it. It’s a charming little game that can whittle the hours away. There are also random events that will happen, normally on weekends, such fishing events, fireworks, visits from ‘special’ animals and more. Animal Crossing also executes the changes is season, which themselves bring new events, characters, new bugs or fish to find, new furniture in shops, and new music. The music in Animal Crossing is wonderfully cheery. It’s always appropriate and fills you with a certain glee that can only be described as the same feeling of being a kid, waking up on a Saturday morning watching cartoons. It’s a game where the subtleties really make the difference. The sound of a friend walking by and whistling, the crunch of the snow, the routines of the animals, seeing bugs scuttle on by you, etc. My only problems with Animal Crossing Wild World, is that sometimes, you find you’ve bled the town dry for a couple of days, done all there is to do and you have to wait for it to be replenished. My other problem is the music. It’s still good, but in comparison to the GameCube version. It lacks a certain feel to it. The tunes are nice and fitting, but they feel a bit empty compared to the GameCube version’s full, happy songs. The songs that make you want to wander around your town, doing sweet FA, just to hear them. At the end of the day, it’s a game that you can have fun with when doing little or as much as you choose. It’s your own little world that you sculpt as you like and it all fits in your pocket.
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Post by Alex on Dec 6, 2010 22:24:53 GMT
Wild World is the only AC game I've played. I liked the connectivity - especially at the time, when it was quite a novelty to be interacting online with a handheld device in any way - and ultimately it was the connectivity with my friends that kept me playing at all, really.
The actual gameplay is quite dull and repetitive - sometimes even a chore. The game is like World of Warcraft to me - it's not the playing the game bit that makes it fun, it's playing it with friends.
The game, though, is such a novel idea and executed in such an inimitable Nintendo style that it kinda makes it hard to really say anything against it. It's just that its gameplay just isn't that great.
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Post by ShayMay on Dec 6, 2010 22:43:42 GMT
I find it's a game that, while good, cannot really be played for more than an hour a day, otherwise, as mentioned, it takes a while for everything to re-grow, as it were. That said, whenever I feel ill or whatever, nothing relaxes me like just catching some fish, or trading turnips.
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 6, 2010 23:22:34 GMT
ARE THERE EVEN TEN GAMES?
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Post by Shadic? on Dec 6, 2010 23:39:22 GMT
Wild World was great. It's a game that you won't necessarily play for long periods of time, but it'll have you coming back every other day to check in or see whats new. The amount of time I spent modifying a house that no one would ever see is ridiculous.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Dec 7, 2010 0:38:04 GMT
I know, I spend an awful lot of time doing up the house too. Especially when I bring Feng Shui into the equation. >_>
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Post by Samface on Dec 7, 2010 8:16:43 GMT
What a choice. I played it every day for well over a year. Even now it's unusual for me to leave it for more than a couple of weeks at a time.
I'll never finish getting the paintings, though. 'Cos Redd's a [censored].
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 7, 2010 10:52:28 GMT
I never played Wild World after Nibbles left. I [censored]ing loved Nibbles.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Dec 7, 2010 15:44:33 GMT
Getting the paintings is a pain in the arse. Every time I bought one, it was counterfeit.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
|
Post by Slender Man on Jan 16, 2011 5:42:52 GMT
It's about time I got another one of these done. Number 3 Bayonetta.One of SEGA's finest. Bayonetta is a game that I haven’t owned for very long, but easily broke it’s way in to my list of favourites. For me – personally – it is the most spectacular game of 2010. You’re one of the 2 remaining ‘Umbra Witches’ who is fighting to find out her past after being retrieved from slumber in the bottom of a lake with no recollection of your past. When you get a lead on the trail, you’re quickly pulled into the big picture. Bad-ass, angelic creatures attacking you wherever you go, being confronted by Gods for you to bash to hell in a stylish and sexy way to be met with them saying “May the creator Jubileus bless you!” which eventually results in you riding a motorcycle up a missile into space and punching God in to the sun. Yeah, it’s that cool. With the plot summary out of the way, we can get down to the goodies. Bayonetta is all about you taking on waves of enemies in the most stylish way possible. The big roster of battle techniques are all you dancing about the screen with guns for high heels and bashing skulls in a series of backflips, heelslides, pirouettes, high jumps and heel stomping. Bayonetta’s body has been proportioned to show off the style giving her elongated legs and a slightly taller body than average, just to make sure she stands out above the enemies. Her main weapons are guns, and lots of them. Your first set of guns are given to you by Rodin (Weapon salesman and bar owner) 2 for your hands and 2 for your feet. Throughout the game if you collect Golden LP’s with angelic hymns on the, Rodin can make you some new weapons. Other weapons are swords, claws, skates and a whip. Another technique you’ll find you’ll be using a lot is known as ‘Wicked Weaving’, This allows Bayonetta to use her hair and weave it into giant hands, feet and demons to destroy her enemies. Aside from your normal ‘strut right on in there and kick some ass’ levels, there are a couple of unique levels in which you find yourself either riding a motorcycle on riding on a missile. These levels are fast-paced and action packed giving you a chance just to kick back and go ‘This is freakin’ awesome’. Bayonetta has a bullet time system known as ‘Witch Time’ in which if you perform a perfect dodge, time will periodically slow down giving you more chance to hit those high combos and earn some halos for you to buy upgrades. Bayonetta can purchase new moves, weapons and accessories. The accessories are something to be loved, bringing new battle styles in to game, and with some, should you learn how combine them with others, learn how to use and execute them properly, you can be potentially invincible (with a lot of skill), which is needed for harder level settings, as witch time is removed. Unfortunately, as much as I like the game, it’s not without a few niggles which kind of lurk in the back of your mind the whole time. - The rating system. Most of the time you'll say to yourself "Oh, that battle went really well" only to be rewarded with a rating basically calling you an idiot, whereas you can do complete and utter [censored] and get a Platinum award. It makes no sense.
- Difficulty settings. When you first play Bayonetta, difficulty settings already there are Very Easy, Easy and Normal. To unlock Hard, Very Hard and Climax Mode, the previous mode must be completed on all chapters. There are a lot of chapters. So you have to complete the game a minimum of 3 times to get the hardest mode. Bad design.
- Unlockables. The other remaining Umbra Witch to be precise. You can unlock the character to start a new game with, only to find that the game is nothing more with Bayonetta's character model with a re-texture, resulting in half the cut-scenes looking daft with Jeanne (The unlockable character) doing the exact same moves as Bayonetta without all the criteria e.g Bayonetta pushes up her glasses with one of her guns in one of the scenes. Jeanne doesn't wear her glasses over her eyes for some reason but rather on her forehead, so it looks like she's sticking a gun into her face for no reason whatsoever.
- The aforementioned 'unique' levels. There's 3. And they don't last very long. Leaving you wondering how you can go back to the normal combat after the fast experience, but you just have to get on with it.
All this aside, Bayonette remains to be one of my favourite games right now. A worthy buy. P.S There's an Eggman reference
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Post by Samface on Jan 16, 2011 12:09:00 GMT
I bought that in the January sales. 'Tis indeed rather fine. I don't agree with your comments about the rankings, though, it all seems to be logically laid out for me. Don't get hit, put some variety into your attacks: good result. Get stabbed in the face a lot and spam the same move: bad result.
One of my favourite bits is all the references. I'm on level 5 and so far I've noticed homages to/digs at Sonic, OutRun, Viewtiful Joe, Resi, Madworld, Okami, and "bald space marines". Probably some more in there I've missed.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Jan 16, 2011 12:24:44 GMT
I think my main problem is sometimes, you're given such weak enemies, you kill them so fast and without a hit, but haven't had a chance to build a combo so your ranking has dropped 2 notches instantly. But I suppose the bit of variety bit is another problem for me. I do tend to spam certain combos.
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Post by Beeth on Jan 16, 2011 13:03:57 GMT
Funnily enough, I bought Bayonetta just now at Asda, for the cut price of eleven pounds. Rave reviews by a couple of people on here recently have convinced me to give it a go, and reading through this, I'm feeling positive about the choice.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Jan 16, 2011 13:47:22 GMT
Sounds like a bargain to me Beeth! I honestly hope you enjoy it. It's a wonderful game.
Is it for an Xbox or PS3?
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Post by Beeth on Jan 16, 2011 13:52:35 GMT
Xbox 360 version. Thought I might as well, as I tend to have a habit of orbiting around certain genres (mainly racing and fighting* games) so it should make a welcome change.
FTR, I also got SSFIV for the pricely sum of twelve pounds.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Jan 16, 2011 13:59:49 GMT
Oh good, you won't need to put up with long loading times then. And I'm not a Street Fighter fan myself like. I didn't like any one past Street Fighter II: Turbo on my SNES
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Post by Samface on Jan 16, 2011 16:43:27 GMT
SSFIV is joyous. I've long enjoyed Street Fighter but always been hopelessly crap at it because I can't get my head round all the fiddly mechanics. So SSFIV, with its straightforward gameplay and glorious stylised look, feels like it's aimed directly at me.
Also, Hakan's hilarious. "Seriously?!!"
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