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The People's Republic of Clogher
I eventually really liked Dishonored, but it took me 2 or 3 restarts to finish the story. Liked it so much by the end that I planned on jumping straight back in again to get the other ending. Got bored, didn't bother finishing.

The path which I enjoyed (and finished) was the stealthy, non-violent one. The 'kill everyone' path just didn't do it for me.

I'm having a ball with Crusader Kings 2, and am slowly conquering feudal Europe. I'm in my third generation and have had to plot, murder, bribe and invade to progress and am currently weighing up if it's worth assassinating my eldest son (and heir) in order for succession to pass to the much more capable number two son.

It's that kinda game.
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



I finished up Far Cry 3 recently and man was that fun as hell. A lot of komodo dragons I really didn't want to deal with it but a worthwhile experience, especially from a free roam standpoint. Definitely my game of 2012 (released in December but my current game that I've played in 2013) and one of my all time favourites on the modern consoles.
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Fan of all genres | Avid documentary fan



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
I liked Dishonored enough. It reminded me a bit of Bio Shock and I loved the game. I never finished Dishonored though and that has nothing to do with the quality of the game, just my time schedule.

Although, I did recently purchase a beat The Walking Dead, which was on PSN. Gotta say, it was a gripping story, probably the best story in a game I've played in a long time. It's pretty much Heavy Rain set within the walking dead world. A point and click third person adventure in which your choices affect the outcome of the game. Granted, it's not as in depth as Heavy Rain is (choice wise) but it drew me in a lot more than Heavy Rain did. It takes some getting use to the controls at first, but after the first episode, you get the hang of it.

There are 5 episodes in total, you play as Lee, a convicted murderer who stumbles upon a little girl Clementine, who you take under your wing. You meet other survivors along the way, but the main relationship is between these two characters. For a little girl in a zombie game, she was not annoying at all. Which is surprising to me. She actually kicks some ass and you grow attached to her. This is probably the best aspect of the game, your relationship with her.

This being a zombie game, people die and sometimes you have to choose which one. Saving one person over the other might make some enemies within the group of survivors, but tough decisions have to be made. I quite liked this QTE game.

You don't need to watch the show to understand anything here. Some characters from the show crossover, but that doesn't matter, nor would you really be able to notice or tell otherwise. It's pretty straight forward and each episode takes about an hour and a half to complete (depending on skill and search savvy you are). Easy platinum for those looking to add one to their list.

I'd recommend it.
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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



The People's Republic of Clogher
TUS, are your PS3 trophies syncing ok? I've not been able to sync mine for a week or two. Remember a PSN problem like that a while back but it fixed itself eventually.

EDIT - Oh yeah, I read a rumour (Eurogamer I think) that there won't be a ban on used games with the PS4. We'll see.

Played a bit of Dragonborn and am kinda disappointed. I'd probably built up too much of an expectation in my head due to intense Morrowind love but the whole experience feels kinda sterile and as much of a generic fetch & carry treasure hunt across the map as Dawnguard was. The addition of the wonderful Morrowind score only heightens the disconnect between an absorbing world and a bit of DLC with Boneguard armour and Rieklings.



In the Beginning...
Played a bit of Dragonborn and am kinda disappointed. I'd probably built up too much of an expectation in my head due to intense Morrowind love but the whole experience feels kinda sterile and as much of a generic fetch & carry treasure hunt across the map as Dawnguard was. The addition of the wonderful Morrowind score only heightens the disconnect between an absorbing world and a bit of DLC with Boneguard armour and Rieklings.
I kind of agree with you. The smoking Red Mountain in the background is a cool touch and I feel like the design of Solstheim is pretty nice, but otherwise it's pretty much a hollow echo of Morrowind. That said, there's some decent stuff in the Hermaeus Mora storyline (which is clearly Bethesda's love letter to H.P. Lovecraft), so I'd keep at it.

Still, as Morrowind crossovers in Skyrim go, I still prefer running into Jiub in Dawnguard, if anything because Bethesda brought back that raspy Dunmer voice just for him.

***

Last Christmas, I bought the girlfriend The Unfinished Swan. She has yet to play it, so last night I fired it up. I just played through the first chapter, but it's definitely unique and fun in its simplicity. It's not nearly as good as TGC's Journey, but it still does a nice job of cultivating that sense of discovery and giving you some increasingly impressive landscapes as you press forward.

I won't post any gameplay because I believe that should be discovered on one's own, but here's a trailer that pretty much gives you the feel of playing the game.

&feature=player_embedded



A system of cells interlinked
Playing System Shock 2 made me like Bioshock a whole lot less. Bioshock was a watered down (get it?) version of system shock, with too much hand holding, reduced difficulty, a tacked on pseudo RPG system, and a LAME ability system you could constantly rewrite, meaning no choices ever meant anything or had any real consequence. The worst aspect is the total and complete aping of all the twists in System Shock 2, used in almost the exact same way in Bioshock; it's like they didn't bother to come up with any new surprises, and just re-made System shock 2 with better graphics and put you underwater instead of in space.

Although philosophy is mentioned in Bioshock, and it acts like it's a deep game - there is ZERO actual depth when you really think about it. The tacked on Ayn Rand musings of Andrew Ryan are dry and obvious, and never amount to anything - it's just superficial window dressing dressing up what amounts to a "follow the flashing arrow" shooter, because that is ALL it is. System Shock 2 is an RPG. It has a full inventory, you can never go back on your choices, you can never "reset" your abilities or go back on the things you have done, and the philosophy and challenges in the game have weight and depth the likes of which you rarely see in video games.

I have high hopes for Bioshock Infinite, and it's 1999 mode, which turns off most of the hand holding.

Hand holding ruins games, period.

That said - the atmosphere of Rapture etc. was REALLY well done, so I am glad I played through Bioshock...um, twice.

*Whistles*
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



The People's Republic of Clogher
Bioshock Infinite has a season pass. I wept a little inside after I heard that.

Sleezy - At least the difficulty's been ramped up in Dragonborn. I started a new character in preparation and was getting my arse handed to me so loaded up an old lv 30 save and it seems much more balanced.

One thing which annoyed me (and I know it's lore-friendly) about Solstheim was the dust/ash storms. Overdone, for me.

Fortunately there's a mod which pushes the distance back a bit.




I don't remember asking you a ******* thing!
Playing System Shock 2 made me like Bioshock a whole lot less. Bioshock was a watered down (get it?) version of system shock, with too much hand holding, reduced difficulty, a tacked on pseudo RPG system, and a LAME ability system you could constantly rewrite, meaning no choices ever meant anything or had any real consequence. The worst aspect is the total and complete aping of all the twists in System Shock 2, used in almost the exact same way in Bioshock; it's like they didn't bother to come up with any new surprises, and just re-made System shock 2 with better graphics and put you underwater instead of in space.

Although philosophy is mentioned in Bioshock, and it acts like it's a deep game - there is ZERO actual depth when you really think about it. The tacked on Ayn Rand musings of Andrew Ryan are dry and obvious, and never amount to anything - it's just superficial window dressing dressing up what amounts to a "follow the flashing arrow" shooter, because that is ALL it is. System Shock 2 is an RPG. It has a full inventory, you can never go back on your choices, you can never "reset" your abilities or go back on the things you have done, and the philosophy and challenges in the game have weight and depth the likes of which you rarely see in video games.

I have high hopes for Bioshock Infinite, and it's 1999 mode, which turns off most of the hand holding.

Hand holding ruins games, period.

That said - the atmosphere of Rapture etc. was REALLY well done, so I am glad I played through Bioshock...um, twice.

*Whistles*

The choice in Bioshock came down to whether or not you wanted to become super powerful (harvesting the little girls for maximum energy) or purposefully limit yourself to make the game a little more challenging and rewarding(saving the little girls and having them reward you every so often). And it's more than just the philosophy of Ayn Rand. It's kind of an allegory for gaming in general. That "would you kindly?" moment is there to prove to you that all you are is a slave to the objective and really have no choice but to continue in order to finish. The Ayn Rand stuff is window dressing, but the actual philosophy of the game isn't necessarily rooted in that alone. The game deliberately holds your had for a reason. At least, that's how I view the game (personally one of my all-time favorites).



The People's Republic of Clogher
That said, there's some decent stuff in the Hermaeus Mora storyline (which is clearly Bethesda's love letter to H.P. Lovecraft), so I'd keep at it.
I've just stumbled on that quest, totally by accident.



As you say, Lovecraftian. Reward's pretty decent too - I took the scholar one.



In the Beginning...
I've just stumbled on that quest, totally by accident.
Oh, you'll revisit Mora's realm a few times, to be sure. I'm not yet done with Dragonborn, but it seems like Mora is directly connected to the source of Miraak's power. And speaking of that option to choose a reward perk, I've run into two of those instances so far.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Yep, I remember seeing the Seekers (you think of Lovecraft, I think of The Who ) hanging with Miraak when you first meet him so Mora is no doubt intertwined with the whole thing.

Run into my first major bug, and I think it's mod related - I couldn't dismiss the Dunmer mercenary follower, even via console. Had to kill him.

Here's an interesting article on BEYOND: Two Souls, Heavy Rain's successor.

WARNING - Video footage of Willem Dafoe with a face covered in ball bearings.

I'd automatically assumed that this was gonna be a PS4 game so was pleasantly surprised that it's PS3 and coming in the autumn. The last major PS3 game?



The Adventure Starts Here!
Just played my first few games...tense! But also even more engaging than I'd expected. Nice community; some guy with a couple dozen games under his belt was teaching me some stuff. Even won a couple of games (2 out of 6, I think it was). But only because he was new, too.
I got my SpyParty invitation just before the weekend, did a little bit of practicing, and finally found time to play for just about an hour with Yoda online. Needless to say, whenever I was the spy, he shot me in the head fairly early on each time. I am too easy a target, apparently. I've got to learn to hide my humanness and blend in better.

When I was the sniper, I was totally overwhelmed with all the info overload. The cheesy graphics might make you think this game is cheesy, but it's just not true. All I kept thinking is that, even if they never upgrade the graphics, this game could be infinitely replayable even as it is now.

Each session is only four minutes long, but it is an INTENSE four minutes! And totally cool.

Oh, and I made sure to end our practice session together the only time I sniped Yoda in the head. Good for my otherwise bruised gaming ego.

Highly recommended!



A system of cells interlinked
OK - Far Cry 3 is THE ****. This is the most fun I have had in an open-world game in a long time. Just so much to do!

Chris - this is right up your alley, man! Lots of things to collect, and places to explore...on a hang glider! Or a truck...or a ski mobile...or a zip line... I can't wait to get home to play more!




So I've heard. It sounds like a mix between Fallout 3 and Just Cause 2. Which is either a reason for me to play it or a reason to stay very, very far away. But yeah, I've heard a lot of things. Is there a lot to do in the Fallout/Skyrim sense, or just an open world in the GTA 4/L.A. Noire sense? Because while the latter is fun for awhile, there isn't much in the way of side missions relative to F3/Skyrim.



Meanwhile, I'm at 160-something games of Spy Party. I had some time off work this past week and played a fair bit over the last 3-4 days. I definitely feel I've improved a lot, but when I play a top player (there are only a handful at this point, mind you, and it's a small enough community that you can definitely take them on if you want to) I'm reminded of how far I have to go. Still, really fun. And I'm a lot less terrified of playing Spy than I was before. So that's nice.



A system of cells interlinked
So I've heard. It sounds like a mix between Fallout 3 and Just Cause 2. Which is either a reason for me to play it or a reason to stay very, very far away. But yeah, I've heard a lot of things. Is there a lot to do in the Fallout/Skyrim sense, or just an open world in the GTA 4/L.A. Noire sense? Because while the latter is fun for awhile, there isn't much in the way of side missions relative to F3/Skyrim.
Definitely reminds me of Fallout 3 as far as missions structure is concerned. This is an RPG, first and foremost. It has XP, a full skill progression, and all the rest. The driving has a GTA style feel to it, and the mini-map sort of makes me feel like it's a GTA title when I am driving, but you play it more like Fallout 3. That feeling when you are hiding under some brush or in a cave, sniping enemies etc, is right out of a Bethesda title. People call this Skyrim with guns, and I can see their point.

It also has a full, Skyrim-esque crafting system, with plant picking, animals skinning and bag making etc. The guns are all really fun, and so far, the missions have been well done and engaging.



The reason I ask is that elements of it feel a lot like Just Cause 2. Obviously, superficially both involve a lot of jungle exploration. But specifically, in JC2 I'd mechanically "wipe out" an area and move on. There was a lot of "clear out this city/village, then onto the next, which looks different but basically works the same way." And the reviews I saw made it look like FC3 had an element of that. IE: a few dozen mostly identical outposts, each of which you need to be clear. Which is not to say that can't be fun, but the most enjoyable thing about F3 and Skyrim is how varied the missions felt, and that most had a different story underlying them. Just wondering where it is on that scale, if you dig.

All that said, I wonder if the presence of sharks alone is enough to keep me away. I hate going into the water, especially in a game where things in the water can hurt you. Especially when those things are sharks.

Mainly I'm still traumatized from the giant eel in Mario 64. Not kidding. I've hated water levels in games ever since.



AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.



The People's Republic of Clogher
I really liked Far Cry 3 at the beginning but got a bit bored in the end. Steam says I've spent 12 hours in it, so I gave it a good go. The archery's cool though.

It was my favourite Far Cry game though, and far better than FC 2, but I didn't like the whole Frat boys on holiday premise. It gives the nitwit you're controlling the excuse to grow in skill, I suppose.

Picked up (finally) Assassins Creed 3 a few days back, once the price dropped basically. Not overly impressed so far - Apart from looking a bit nicer than previous games we've still got the distillation of the original formula. It's definitely turned into Tomb Raider.