Patrick Versus Summer Games

[Patrick]

So last paycheck week, I finally got out of school for the summer. I decided to pick up a few "modern" games I've been meaning to get for some time. I'd like to share some thoughts on the ones I've gotten and look for some recommendations.

Game 1 - Halo 2: I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed Halo 1, and as expected this was simply more of the same. The Deathmatch and addition of new weapons made things a little more interesting, but it has gotten boring pretty quickly. I will probably finish playing this when I regain some more interest in it.

Game 2 - Doom 3: All I can say is "meh." I was a bit disappointed just given that Doom 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all time. Too Dark, Too repetitive, Too boring. I don't think I'll actually finish playing this anytime soon.

Game 3 - Fallout 3: I have never been a huge fan of RPG games, but I've found this to be nearly the best game out of my selection so far. My main gripes are the fact that the environments are far too grey/brown, the dungeons are basically all clones of the first one, and that the character interation seems a little stiff. Otherwise, for my first "open world" game (Far Cry 1 doesnt count as open world) its been a great experience. I especially love the perk system. Being able to reduce any enemy to a smouldering pile of ashes every time is immensely satisfying. The best feature is definitely the VATS system, as I kinda suck at first person shooters. It makes even the most difficult situations a piece of cake.

Game 4 - Far Cry 2: Easily the best of the ones I've played so far. Far Cry 1 was one of my favorite games, and this game definitely steals the show. It keeps the gameplay from Far Cry 1, while adding some pretty cool additional features. The game is incredibly immersive, everything from the weather effects to the healing system makes me feel much more involved than any other game I've played. Having to crouch down and pull a bullet out of my arm during a firefight then jab myself with a needle is a cool effect. Granted it breaks the flow of a battle, but it definitely adds to the immersion factor. Plus being able to run over Zebras makes it totally worth the 30 bucks.

Game 5 - Geometry Wars: Or better named "Asteroids ... on Crack." I can play asteroids for hours. Mix that with the trippiest effects ever ... I dont think I'll ever stop playing this.

Anyone played these games? Thoughts?

Also, I've made a list of games to try when I have cash the summer: Psychonauts, Painkiller, Crysis, Gears of War, Unreal 2k4, Warcraft 3, Bioshock, Left 4 Dead, Orange Box

[Bucket]

Doom 3 is really fun with co-op. Go download Last Man Standing.
You will probably enjoy Crysis, Left 4 Dead, Painkiller and Portal.

[Enjay]

I like the Patrick versus threads. :)

I've played games 1 through 4 and pretty much agree with you. Unfortunately, I got into Far Cry 2 when I had a few other pretty big games to get into and the other games won more of my time than it did, but it did strike me as a decent game with a very immersive representation of Africa. When I have some time, I will pick it up again with the intention of developing a character and taking him through the game properly.

[Super Jamie]

I've always found Halo games derivative and boring. First person shooters need to be either immersive and with a good story like Half-Life, or action-packed like Doom and Duke. Halo is neither in my book.

I agree about Doom 3.

And whilst I haven't played it myself, what I've seen of Fallout 3 leaves me with the impression that it blurs the line between FPS and RPG, and doesn't quite pull either off, though does an okay job.

The words "RPG" leave me with horrid memories of pointless repeated level-building on SNES iso-top-downs like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and Lufia.

Although I do have fond recollections of PC games such as Bad Blood, Bloodnet, Dreamweb, Ultima Underworld and System Shock, which also fall under the RPG banner too, and I just realised I have gotten off topic.

[Use]

Give Doom3 a chance. I like it.

[Planky]

I am notorious for not playing games through. However, Doom3 is very much an exception to that (more specifically ROE). I enjoyed it - it kept me on edge enough without boring me.

I've just got Left 4 Dead, just haven't had a chance to play it yet.

Geometry Wars is awesome. I wish there were these sorts of games available for the PSP - they keep me far more entertained than rehashes of PS1/PS2 games, publishers seem to focus on Action/Shooters/Racers far too much. Hell. Just give me a device that can play flash games (PSP can, but is too limited/slow).

[Captain Red]

I'm surprised you liked Far Cry 2. I agree it looks nice, and watching your avatar treat wounds in real time is pretty cool, bit it get's really repetitive really quickly. The bloody checkpoints that respawn enemies as soon as you go about one hounded yards down the road gets annoying very quickly, as it means you fight the same 3 guys over and over as you must often travel through the same check point more then once on several missions.

Also, the gun play didn't feel anything like the original Far Cry to me. The ability to sneak up on your enemies is completely down to luck, which REALLY pissed me off. The previews showed cool stuff like injuring an opponent with a sniper shot so that his mate would come out of hiding and help him allowing you to take them both out easily. I have NEVER been able to replicate that. The weapons are such an inaccurate mess you are pretty much forced to spam with them. Not to mention that even if you manage to kill on bad guy completely out of sight of his comrades with a silenced weapon with a single clean shot to the head from one kilometer away while hiding in the grass, all his buddies will immanently know exactly where you are and shower your position with bullets every shingle time Aahhh!!!

[/rant]

[chexwarrior]

Planky said: I've just got Left 4 Dead, just haven't had a chance to play it yet.

A fairly enjoyable game, it just tends to get boring after you've beaten the whole four levels available.

Though Steam is apparently working on some more...

[Kirby]

Well, aside from Doom 3, I can safely say I've never played any of the others. I feel the same way you do about Doom 3 and you really aren't missing much in it. If anything, avoid FEAR 2. Even if there was no pull to it in the first place, avoid FEAR 2 like the plague because it really is awful. Aside from that, please enjoy your summer gaming experience :P

EDIT: Actually, Left 4 Dead isn't quite a summer game, but it is worth it's weight in gold (IMO). I'd say get it if you want an entertaining game you can consistently come back to. Versus and the new "survival" mode are still very entertaining/interesting to me.

[Jodwin]

Fallout 3 sucked as an RPG. Interaction with the NPCs is really bad (compared to previous Fallouts), there are way too few towns (not to mention interesting ones), way too few interesting characters, way too few quests, the dialog is boring and so on. It's ok as an adventure game, but really, an RPG it is not.

Though I must admit, hunting ghouls in the DC subways while listening to the radio is fun. They should have built the whole game around that if they weren't happy with making an RPG.

[Zaldron]

Jodwin said:

Fallout 3 sucked as an RPG. Interaction with the NPCs is really bad (compared to previous Fallouts), there are way too few towns (not to mention interesting ones), way too few interesting characters, way too few quests, the dialog is boring and so on. It's ok as an adventure game, but really, an RPG it is not.

Though I must admit, hunting ghouls in the DC subways while listening to the radio is fun. They should have built the whole game around that if they weren't happy with making an RPG.

Kindly not pay any attention to the crazy person that found sewer levels the funnest part of anything.

[Jodwin]

Zaldron said:

Kindly not pay any attention to the crazy person that found sewer levels the funnest part of anything.

:P
It wasn't the "levels" themselves, but the combination of blasting ghoul heads on close range with a shotgun in a post-nuclear environment while listening to "Mighty mighty man" and "Way back home" that made it fun and slightly morbid at the same time.

[Patrick]

Game 6 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: The only GTA game I've played before was GTA2. Here are my thoughts: Cool Soundtrack, Feels more like the Sims than GTA2, and why dont I get money for running over people?

[Nomad]

I'm pleased to hear that someone other than myself enjoyed Fallout 3. I've been a huge Fallout fan for a while (I honestly couldn't say which franchise I like more; Doom or Fallout) so I had kind of low expectations, but I found it rewarding.

Despite it technically being Oblivion With Guns®, I had a lot more fun with it than I did with any of Bethesda's previous games. All things considered, I think it was the best possible rendition they could have done of the Fallout franchise, and I have been satisfied with it.

That said, after beating it once I have not touched it again since then, while I've replayed Fallout 1 and 2 a few times. I need to get a hold of the DLC one of these days and try it again, I guess.

[Nems]

I liked Fallout 3 as well, despite the main quest being too short for my liking. However, the sense of exploration, not to mention some of the stories behind some of the locations (especially the Vaults) really made the places feel real to me. It was easy for me to get immersed into the game.

I liked Doom 3 as well. I can see both sides of the argument for and against it, though. It's not like Doom and Doom 2. However, it wasn't meant to be like Doom or Doom 2. It was a retelling (reboot?) of the original story. There are also mods and levels that do try to recapture the feel of classic Doom. That's why I still have my copy of Doom 3. That and I liked it.

Halo 2...don't get me started on Halo as a series in general. I could end up writing an essay on why I loathe Halo so much.

[Jello]

Fallout 3 I found to be pretty enjoyable, but it just didn't feel fully fleshed out. It lacked the dialogue and humour of Fallout 1 and 2, and it lacked the extensive quest lines and insane amount of unique items and character styles that Morrowind and Oblivion had. Still a great game, and I'd say a game that gives you 100 hours of gameplay is a good deal, but it just felt slightly unfinished. As for the DLC, I bought Operation Anchorage, and while fun enough didn't really expand it all that much. I can't speak for The Pitt or Broken Steel, but from what I've read they have enough problems of their own.

Doom 3, I found to be more enjoyable once I got a computer that could actually play it. When it first came out I was trying to fumble through it on a P4 1.4ghz machine with 512 RAM, and while it could play okay when nothing was happening it lagged severely with more than one imp on screen. It's a good game, and the graphics hold up surprisingly well even now, but it does get rather repetitive at the end. There's only so many times that an imp teleporting in behind you will be scary.

Farcry 2, haven't played it. Played the demo for the first one, seemed okay.

GTA 4... I'm still not sure about it. It's fun at times, and then as said it can feel like the sims. Yes running people down is awesome, and yes fighting in gang wars and mowing people down in the street with an AK-47 is fun, but constantly going to a cabaret show and bowling isn't fun. It's an amazing presentation, and the story is pretty good, but it drags itself out too long. I ended up preferring Saints Row 2, simply because I could have fun with it, instead of feeling like I was watching the extended cut of The Godfather with extra social gatherings.

Halo 2 is alright. In general I think the Halo games are overrated, but they can be pretty enjoyable. The real gem in them is that they have really fun multiplayer, especially when done split screen with several friends in the room with you. It reminds of the days of playing Goldeneye and Perfect Dark multiplayer, lots of variety, and you can bust each others chops while playing.

[Patrick]

Game 7 - Bioshock: It's been a while since I've wanted to play this game. I finally got the chance to play this and I can't quite decide what to think of it so far. The plasmids are a nice touch to the game, granted it doesn't make any sense scientifically. The general Objectivist Dystopia themes are excellent given that I've read nearly all of Ayn Rand's books. I've always been a sucker for steampunk, so I like the overall feel and look of the game. And its too dark.

Game 8 - Metal Gear Solid 2: I know this game is old news, but my Playstation 2 has been broken for almost a year now and I never had the opportunity to finish it. To be honest, this game would have made a better movie. Clearly Hideo Kojima has a story to tell, but he tells it with some odd gameplay, annoyingly long cutscenes and some very frustrating portions. I can honestly say that, despite the fact that I loved MGS1, MGS2 didn't make any sense and doesn't play well. And why the fuck would I NOT want to play as Snake, Raiden is a pussy!

[Fulgrim]

Mgs2 was all right. If you can get your hands on Mgs3. It is way better then Mgs2.

If you have the cash and you don't have it. You should get Team Fortress 2. At first I was one of the people that hated the Pixar graphic style, but it fits the over the top nature of the game. The characters are great and they all have a crap load of voice acting.

I have spent many hours running into a crowed of enemy's, setting them on fire, then running away as a Pyro. It never gets old. Same with playing as a Heavy Weapons Guy when you have a good Medic working with you.

Over all I'd give the game a 9/10. Not all the classes have got there updates and new weapons. There are some bugs that need to be fixed. Other then that its a great game and worth the 20 bucks.

[Nomad]

Personally, rather than just buying TF2, I'd suggest putting the extra cash towards the Orange Box. Surely the most amazing deal in videogame history.

[The Lag]

fallout 3 is a million times better modded.
mart's mutant mod is the shit. and, of course, both the fake and unofficial patches that actually fix bugs rather than create more.

i love bioshock and you will too if you take it for what it is: a shooter, not an RPG like system shock.

[Sporku]

I wouldn't really compare Geometry Wars to Asteroids. It's probably more along the lines of Robotron 2084 with the vector-style look of Asteroids. It's great fun though, especially the second one if you can get your hands on it.

[Patrick]

Game 9 - Half-Life 2 - Episode 1: I played all the way through half life 2 at a friends house one very drunken night, and I found it to be very enjoyable. It also got me laid. Now, 3 years later, I'm resuming my adventure in the Valve universe to find that nothing has changed. Half-Life E1 is the same as Half-Life 2. And I liked half life 2. Only I didn't get laid this time. But honestly this is just more of the same. Linear Levels, General Sci-Fi Themes, Crappy Vehicles. Kind of your standard FPS, but I love it.

Game 10 - Portal:Wow. Just wow. This is pretty much everything I expected. Some of the best dark humor I've ever heard in a video game. Good job Valve!

[caco_killer]

I played through Portal a few months ago, and I enjoyed it very much. I suck at puzzle games, but I managed to get through it without too much trouble.

[Technician]

Me and a couple mates and I enjoyed it very much as well. We got through Portal in one sitting. I'd love to get the opportunity to try the map pack.

[Fulgrim]

Half-Life 2: EP. 2 makes up for Ep.1. Ep 1 was there simply move the story forward and setup the events of Ep2. You should play Ep.2 when you get a chance. I don't think we will be seeing Ep3 for a while. I bet Valve is working on a new engine and Ep3 is going to be the first game on it.

[Gokuma]

Kiloblaster freaking kicks ass. So does its music.

[Sharessa]

My friends and I loved portal so much that we based our entire WoW guild around it. Some of them even have Portal t-shirts.

Gokuma said:

Kiloblaster freaking kicks ass. So does its music.

Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time... A long time.