Review The Last Game You Beat

[Bluecast]

Well the Virgil DLC is out

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PzKA3Mmv9k[/youtube]

Will he be facing Nailz?

[Axm]

A new style of gameplay, a new tone and a new direction for an old and familiar character. Tomb Raider is more than just a reboot of the popular series, Crystal Dynamics are taking the game and turning it upside down and sending it on a new and exciting direction. Many say how Uncharted was inspired by the original Tomb Raider well this reboot isn’t afraid to learn from those they influenced as well as other series that have come about in recent years.

The original Tomb Raider was ground breaking at the time and the main character became a household name. You didn’t need to pay attention to video games to know what Tomb Raider was and who Lara Croft is. Lara has always been the leading lady of video games and Crystal Dynamics want to show us how she became the person she is. The game starts off with Lara being an average girl with a keen interest in archaeology who gets thrown in the deep end on her first expedition. At the start Lara isn’t anything special other than being able to adapt to things quickly but she feels very human and she’s very enjoyable to play as. You see her struggle in a harsh environment and she is forced into doing things that she really struggles with knowing it’s morally wrong. Being her first adventure you see her commit her first kill, this affects her in a big way but strangely only for a few minutes. After this it’s very rare she shows any emotion for the lives she’s taken even if they are ‘bad’. It would have been nice to see more of how the killing is affecting her mentally as this is the biggest flaw in an otherwise great character. While Nathan Drake can come out of an explosion wiping the dust off his jeans like Indiana Jones, Lara comes out more like John McClain covered in blood and barely able to stand. Each time she comes out bruised like a peach that’s fell down some stairs you feel like she has got stronger mentally.


The pickup scene in a bar seemed out of place in game set on a deserted island

A massive weak point is Lara’s friends who you will run into along the way. As the game opens up throwing you straight into the action you never get the chance to meet them and learn about them. When you finally do meet them the game acts as if you already know these people and all their quirks. It would have been nice to get to know these people and their relationship to Lara so that they seemed more interesting. The cut scenes with them in end up feeling like you missed some character building moments at the start of the game.

Lara is quick at picking things up and one of these is combat. The bow is possibly one of the best weapons in a video game and one of the most enjoyable to use. Just using a bow you are able to sneak into a base undetected while killing everyone in your path. There are times when you will need to use a guns but well over 50% of the time you will be able to use nothing but your bow. All weapons can be upgraded making them never get boring to use. The combat uses what is very common now in third person games where you must hide behind walls for cover and shoot. There is no button to take cover as Lara sticks automatically to any wall or behind any crate, this never became an issue and actually worked very well. Lara will automatically start walking slower and crouching should an enemy be nearby that isn’t aware of you so you can use your bow and take him out undetected. The combat while not hard never makes you feel comfortable. The AI tries it’s hardest to make you come out from cover meaning you need to be quick with your kills and to find other means of protection fast. Some of the ways that Lara dies is very uncomfortable and can make the Saw movies look tame, should you have an issue with gore then you really should avoid this game. It is horrible to see but it is something that makes you try even harder next time not to die again.


Having to torch the girlfriend of Lara's ex is a very disturbing part that could have been cut

The island where the game is set is large and beautiful with lots of secrets to explore. It is very much inspired by the Batman Arkham games. You can backtrack at any time which makes the game not feel linear like similar TPS experiences. There are plenty of collectables to find such as upgrades and journal entries that make backtracking very worthwhile. On the island you will also find secret tombs which are similar to the hidden tombs in the Assassin Creed games. To complete them you will have to complete puzzles which always get you thinking and never feel boring. The rewards aren’t always mind blowing but the challenge of getting there is worthwhile.

The story never feels boring and is always interesting with epic set pieces. It’s hardly a script that will win at the Oscars but it succeeds in being entertaining. The set pieces rival those of any movie or game and there is one set piece halfway through the game that is so over the top that it feels like the ending. If you can enjoy watching action then there are certain moments of this game that will be just for you. While the game is dark at times it never tries to be anything it’s not.


Having never played the original I never knew Lara was a werewolf

Crystal Dynamics wanted to recreate the series and take it in a new direction. While they have done that they have done it amazingly. Tomb Raider is a game that will hook you in and keep you playing right to the end without getting bored. It will be interesting where the series goes from here as the path looks very bright for a franchise and character that has for a long time been ignored.

[OL]

Just beat Front Mission: Gun Hazard last night.
Considering that it was once a game I thought I would never get to finish (before I discovered repro carts), it was a damn good feeling to actually get through it. It's much longer than I thought it would be, too; granted, much of my time was spent leveling up, but it's still a much more expansive story than you'd normally ever get with a side-scrolling run-n-gun.
Of course, that also means that you'd better be really fond of run-n-gun gameplay, because there's not a whole lot of variation here. Sure, you can customize your Wanzer in plenty of different ways (mostly with different weapons), but launching missiles honestly isn't much different from firing a vulcan cannon. So there's a lot of repetition.
But I'm always fine with that, as long as it's fun.
I think the only thing I really didn't like much about the game was the sort of "randomly-spawning" enemies that litter each stage. Sure, they provide a simple, accessible means for leveling up; a bar at the top of the screen basically shows how many more enemies will keep coming in, which means you can sort of section-out which areas will be good for leveling up. But they also detract from the atmosphere a bit. They almost come off like the constant stream of enemies that pop up in old games like Last Battle; they make it feel a little hollow. Eventually you figure out that if you find the right place in a level, you can easily aim in a certain direction and just pick the enemies off as they continue to show up.
Easy XP.
I would have much preferred if each stage simply had a set number of enemies stationed in specific spots around the level, as with most games. Cybernator/Assault Suits Valken (which shares the same basic gameplay) was like that, and had a much more effective atmosphere because of it, despite being an overall smaller production.
Still, most of the bosses are really fun to fight, and some of the levels provide a great surprise or two. One early level has you exiting your Wanzer to explore a peaceful little town... until rebel guerrillas launch nerve gas on the place, and you have to dash back to your Wanzer for protection. Even though the gameplay itself is relatively limited, the situations you find yourself in are occasionally really fun and interesting, which more than makes up for it.

[Kenny]

Bioshock 2.

I like the upgrades and weapons (don't remember how they were in the original) but the game is too ridiculously hard at times. Specifically when I want to gather Eve, I have to use a ton of turrets and traps to prepare and a ton of med kits during the battle. The health and weapons upgrades don't feel they do much. Especially against those stupid Big Sisters and Brutes (not to mention other Big Daddies).

And I guess I should comment on the story too. Uuhh...herrm...it was just kinda there? I just remember getting confused because I kept tuning out, cause the goddamn narrative was boring as hell.

I hope Infinite isn't a snorefest or tremendously difficult.

[Yokosuka Martian]

I beat Tomb Raider 2 days ago and have to agree with you Mark. Here's to hoping we don't have to wait as long as we did for this game.

[Henry Spencer]

Drakengard 2



I straight up love Cavia games and this one was a really mixed bag overall, let me (not so) briefly explain:

Pros:

Some of the characters are really great, like Gismor is a great villain. You absolutely know that he's going to be a problem from the start and keeps trolling you until your final encounter with him. His transformation into

the Prototype Shadowlord from Nier is really quite a shock for those of us who played Nier

Game is longer than I thought. It has one of those...

places where you think the game will end; after killing Gismor, but it in fact keeps going on a fair while after that, seeing the aftermath of your actions.

Game is a bit self aware that it is a sequel to Drakengard 1 and actually turns the scenario on its head with making he game as routine as possible (rather boring main character, predictable plot twists, one dimensional villain, same enemies over and over) definitely intentionally on the part of the devs, since they know who their fanbase are, since the second half of the game is actually a Drakengard sequel, everything before that is intentionally trolling the player. The turning point is when Caim steps into the story.

Great send off for Caim and Angelus.

Gameplay is much better from 1, missions are far more varied and there are a lot of combos to unlock with lots of weapons to use, enemy types to kill and characters to play as. Had fun hacking and slashing away.

Weapon histories that you can read up on are fascinating.

Music is great, very different from 1, but still good.

New Game+ gives you new scenes and new endings, in typical Cavia fashion.

The art is phenomenally good. Kimihiko Fujisaka's best work, probably.



+/- (in between):
Story goes a bit more batshit towards the end, but not enough, imo. Feels a lot more restrained from Drakengard 1. It's really telling that Yoko Taro had very little to do with this game (didn't write or direct it).

The main character is a bore (intentionally, imo), but the supporting characters are really neat and interesting, especially Gismor, Urick, Caim, Legna, Manah, Manch and Angelus. Those characters have great character arcs.

Cons:

Game ends a bit flat in its first ending. It's all very abrupt and the final boss battle really reminds me of The Last Story's.

The main character, Nowe. He is so stupid, seriously. When you find out that he

is Inuart's [the jealous insane best friend of Caim in 1 who develops a necrophiliac tendency towards the end of 1] son it all makes sense. Their stupidity is shared alright. Through their blind love, they help to bring about the apocalypse to the world. At least Nowe realises his mistakes and tries to right it.

Legna turning into the Black Dragon and going all evil at the end is totally out of nowhere.

The endings, in general, are pretty poor and feel rushed. So glad Yoko Taro is back directing/writing the series again, since his absence was really felt with this game.



Overall I liked it but it could have been better.

[ThyDarkAngel]

^Kudos on posting that beautiful, beautiful art instead of screenshots, Spence.

[Axm]

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Wow...what the hell did they do with the Metal Gear story? It was crazy, no doubt about it. But the thing that really disconnected me was the pace (which was too fast) and lack of personality between Raiden and all the other characters. I didn't give a crap about any of them. Largely forgettable cast. And I FUCKING HATE GEORGE. I'm SO glad he's not the focal point of the story.

I did enjoy the theme they were trying so desperately to get across, but I could tell the guy writing this was trying to be Kojima in his delivery. But he ain't. He just ain't.

Not to mention the FUCKING CAMERA. It made playing the game downright unenjoyable sometimes. I mean HOLY CRAP.

I'm glad I ended up renting it. If I ever pick it up, it's going to be for dirt cheap.

[Axm]

Tomb Raider.

Hell yeah, this game kicked ass. I enjoyed it so much i'm breaking my "one rule" and buying the Survival Edition for PS3. It was an amazing game to play, everything was functional and worked perfectly. The difficulty was neither too difficult or easy, allowing for me to enjoy the experience more. And some of the scripted sequences are AWESOME, I can say they top Uncharted at times.

Only thing that sucks was the story and those forgettable characters. Something about...cannibals...and ritualistic sacrifice...and...fuck, I dunno. I had no idea what was happening. All I saw was cool action set pieces and that was good enough for me, but the story could've been just as amazing. So Uncharted has that advantage, only for Tomb Raider to match and even surpass everything else it did.

This game was worth the wait. Pretty surprised I enjoyed it was much as I did.

[Jokatech19]

ARCHIBALD'S ADVENTURES




Wow. I don't know where to start with this one. I took so long to write this because it took a while to finish the game and there is so much to say. I'm going to condense the essence of this game as best I can.

For a few months, you may have noticed me referencing this game across this site on various threads. At the time, I knew that it had recieved some good reviews, but not much attention. So I vowed to finish the entire game and review it. From the start, I thought about Angry Birds and how far it has come in the last few years; also the large fan base that it has built. This game immediately will make you feel that it is even beyond that. You start off with kid named Archibald, who is a daredevil and says that he can jump the biggest ramp in town at the professor's mansion. In the process, he falls down a chute and is trapped inside of the professor's secret laboratory with no way out. Via computers the professor routinely recons with Archibald throughout the games 100+ levels with clues on how to get out. In time, you come across one of his machines and can do even more things in the lab. Various freakish creatures haunt the lab, some of them very malicious. At some point, you take on the role of the professor and assist in getting out of the lab. After the last level, he invites you to help him clean up his mansion which is another slew of worlds and levels with increasing difficulty. In fact, this game gets to Rubik's Cube level at times which makes it so beautiful to make it through a stage. In total there are almost 200 levels. You will be immersed in each and every one.



The music is a throwback to the 90's era, with a theme song that will have you singing it all the time. Actually there are only a few songs, but they are so well done, you never get annoyed with the soundtrack at all. The graphics are very well done and have a throwback feel to them. The game controls well, but is also somewhat rigid and demanding in areas that require pinpoint precision. The thing that will get you is the occasional leaps of faith that make you feel like you should be able to see more of the screen. However, none of this is overbearing. In fact, not to spoil, but there are certain levels where dying is part of the strategy. Exactly. The Russian crew who put this game together are geniuses. The levels are so clever, that if feels like a classic from the golden eras of gaming. It's one of those games that will have you playing nothing else until you beat it, and thinking about it afterwards. I don't just suggest, I demand that you get this one. At a couple of dollars, this game is wronglfully being given away.


Months ago, I watched a documentary movie called "Indie Games" on xbox live. In that movie, you get to see the heart and soul that some of these developers are pouring into their projects. In fact, companies are increasingly reaching out to such developers now, because the most creativity is coming from them. At times during the film, it was touching to see a developer come to tears when discussing the childhood memories that made them develop their signature game as a fan, not just a producer. We can relate to people like them as gamers, and I personally feel like I would like them and their companies to be the future. This game made me think of that and appreciate it that much more. I score this game perfect 10/10.

[Axm]

Are video games art? It’s a question that can be answered with some help from a dictionary but for those that insist on dragging out this debate The Last of Us will be used to support it in the years to come. Naughty Dog have previously took inspiration from films such as Indiana Jones to create the Uncharted series, but for The Last of Us they have took inspiration from such works as The Road to create a much more ‘serious’ tone.

Set in the year 2033 where the world hasn’t had it easy for the last 20 years. People are getting infected and are turning into people filled with rage and some bad fungus growing out of their heads. So you play as Joel a middle aged tough guy who must take a young 14 year old girl (because they need you to care about this character and no one likes 30 year old guys) named Ellie across America on a road trip as she holds the key to saving mankind.


It was a moving moment until The Proclaimers started to play...

The story is the main selling point of the game and just summing it up makes it feel like a stereotypical post-apocalyptic tale. Seeing the things Joel and Ellie go through and how their relationship evolves is the real story of the game and one that has to be experienced to understand. The things you learn about the characters and how they evolve over the course of the game will even have you reflecting on them outside of the game. Straight from the start the game begins with one of best openings I have ever seen in a game and ends with one of the most interesting and thought provoking.

Along the way you’ll run into some trouble and have to do all you can to survive. You’ll fight infected as well as other humans but it’s hard to choose which is worse in a world like this. The Uncharted series has become well known for the fact you usually kill a couple of hundred people each time you walk in a room, The Last of Us takes a different approach where you will have to access each situation and decide how to handle it on a case by case basis. You can stealth kill everyone in the room and make your way through which takes time and planning, you can blast your way through which can be tough due to low health and ammo or you can sneak past undetected killing almost no one. Each scenario will feel different ranging from a full on gun battle to sneaking past hordes of infected which come across as extra scary and tense if you have surround sound thanks to the brilliant sound design. Although similar to Uncharted in many ways shooting will feel very different, guns don’t feel as easy to use and it’s only through upgrading them that using a shotgun feels natural.


Being a serious game there isn't much horsing around.

The combat is great but feels a little forced at times. It feels like Naughty Dog didn’t trust themselves at times to just let the player walk through and experience the world and felt the need to throw in enemies to keep the player entertained. It’s a shame as Naughty Dog have created a beautiful world even if it is meant to be destroyed. I found myself going through numerous houses looking at little details, reading old notes and diaries. Most homes have a story to tell and it’s great to discover what a family did in the days after the outbreak and how differently some handled it.

Although the world is great the standout part of The Last of Us is the acting and performances of Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. Naughty Dog raised the bar with the Uncharted series with the acting but they have climbed a ladder to push it a bit further. Some scenes rival the most moving in the film industry and hopefully other games will see this as something to aspire to. Even when scavenging for supplies the talk between the two is interesting and fun. It’s not until the second half of the game that the story really picks up and the stand out scenes and set pieces come into play. One part in particular had me just admire the world and what was happening for about 5 minutes before I forced myself away. The first half of the game is mostly filled with tutorials and action that may make you feel like the game is not anything special for some time. Although there’re still times towards the end when a wonderful moment is spoiled by someone pulling out a gun and announcing a gun fight is about to go down


The Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton cameos where a little out there

Coming off the back of the colourful and cartoony Jak series as well as the fun popcorn movie type action of Uncharted the Last of Us feels very different. Naughty Dog have succeeded in creating one of the darkest and bleakest games in the history of the medium but have also succeeded in creating an amazing game which is one if not their best to date. It’s because of experiences like these you can see why Naughty Dog is seen as a beacon of light within the games industry.

Outstanding - Everyone should experience this game

[Thief]

I just beat The Last of Us -- just now -- at two in the morning. I don't even really know what to think at the moment, at first, and by at first I mean the first eight hours or so, I felt like this game had all the problems that the Uncharted series had. Such as drawing too much from Hollywood and creating a mostly forgettable experience once you're not actively engaged in it. Oh... I was wrong. Thank God I was wrong.

Joel is the most interesting video game character in years and the whole Winter section was brilliant. Oh and that ending, it ended perfectly. Aside from the combat, which is not stellar but adequate, this is one of the best games I've played in a long while. At least this is what I think of it now, while it's fresh; let's see what I think in a couple months from now.


Conclusion: please play it and please play it to the end.

[AnimeGamer183]

How the fuck is this thread still on the same page still?

[OL]

It may seem like an obvious thing to say, but "scariness" is an almost completely subjective concept. And never had that seemed clearer to me than when I recently played through the initial two entries in the Fatal Frame series for the first time.
For just over a decade, I'd heard many times how they were some of the scariest survival horror games ever made. And while they do have a great sense of atmosphere and a lot of potential for being scary, I ultimately felt like the gameplay itself was a bit of a hindrance to the games' scare-factor.
The gameplay is certainly unique; since the environments are all haunted houses and the enemies are all ghosts, the usual guns or melee weapons that other horror games opt for wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, so the games instead implement the use of a camera, presumably harkening back to the old superstition that cameras can steal a part of your soul. The idea itself is fantastic; having to switch into a first-person perspective in order to dispatch your attackers would obviously be a great way to keep the scares coming directly at you, or to keep you dreading that there might be something creeping up behind you. Unfortunately, using the camera feels a little too "arcade-y" to keep things scary. You don't simply aim and snap away at the ghosts in a panic; you're generally required to either let a meter fill up while aiming at the ghosts, or wait for the right moment while a ghost is attacking to achieve a "shutter chance," inflicting increased damage on them. Along with that, you also have to progressively level your camera up, and collect new lenses throughout the games which allow you to use special moves, slowing down a ghost's movement, blasting them backward, or increasing the damage you cause with each shot.



It's kind of a strange thing to consider, but in some ways deepening the gameplay can be a bit of a detriment to the potential scariness of it all. Instead of focusing on the creepiness of a situation, I'm constantly paying attention to the camera's functions, waiting for opportune moments to attack, trying to make sure I'm using the right type of film, and trying to determine if and when a special move might be necessary. These things tend to pull me out of the experience, thus nullifying the scariness that the games are trying to present.
In saying all of this, I don't mean to imply that Fatal Frame 1&2 are bad games. On the contrary, they're incredibly well-made experiences. The first game might be a little bit bland in the visual department, but the aesthetics otherwise are really good, especially once you get to the second game. And despite what I've said about the gameplay, it actually is pretty fun once you get good at it.
It just isn't very scary, which is kind of a drawback when you're dealing with the horror genre.
So after finishing the first two games, I was intent on completing the trilogy, hurrying right into Fatal Frame III: The Tormented. By this point I didn't expect the game to creep me out by any means. I was simply expecting more of the same general stuff I got out of the first two: a distinctly-Japanese story of sacrificial rituals, haunted houses, picture-taking, and fetch-questing. And for the most part I was basically right.
But surprisingly, Fatal Frame III managed to improve the series in virtually all aspects, ending up as not only my favorite in the series, but quite possibly one of my favorite "classic-style" survival horror games ever.



Though it ultimately ends up being about an ancient ritual gone awry -- exactly what I was expecting after the first two games -- Fatal Frame III is set up in a much different way from its predecessors. While the first two essentially threw you into a haunted area and kept you there for the entirety of the game, this one divides its time between a nightmare world, dubbed the Manor of Sleep, and the real world inside of the protagonist's apartment. Basically when she goes to bed, she enters the Manor of Sleep and finds items, solves puzzles, and discovers new details relating to the game's overall story. Then when she wakes up, she's able to wander around her apartment, finding articles, old pictures, and tape-recordings that relate to the things she sees in her dreams.
It's a really effective setup for two reasons: first, it allows a break from the dark, oppressive corridors of the ghost-infested manor. Keeping you stuck in these kinds of areas throughout the entirety of the first and second games made me feel a little too used to being there. And familiarity causes comfortability, which isn't something you want the player to feel in a horror game.
Secondly, this setup actually allows it to pull out some of the most effective scripted moments in the series when, a bit later in the game, the apparent "safe" zone of the protagonist's apartment starts to show signs of haunting...



The story is also miles ahead of the first two for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the main character, Rei, actually has a backstory right from the start, and has a legitimate reason to obsessively continue exploring the Manor of Sleep in her dreams.
The opening scene shows her climbing out of a car crash on a rainy night. She looks back toward the wreck and sees a man -- her fiance, Yuu -- lying dead inside of it. Fast forward in time ever so slightly, as Rei starts having dreams where she pursues Yuu through a creepy old mansion, eventually having a run-in with a ghost woman covered in snake tattoos. During a chase, the woman touches Rei, at which point she awakens and sees a tattoo-like bruise spreading across her shoulder, which promptly disappears until the next night, when it spreads just a little further.
After a little investigation, Rei discovers a number of other cases involving trauma victims chasing loved ones through an old mansion in their dreams, and starts trying to piece together just what exactly is happening to her...
It's a complex narrative with tons of detail throughout. Seemingly every few minutes, you'll come across a new diary or article clipping which elaborates on the story further. And while previous games generally had pretty straightforward stories, with everything seeming absolutely clear by the end of it, FFIII actually requires a bit more attention and analysis to fully understand it all. It's an aspect that really makes it feel a little more mature in nature, and I absolutely love that about it. It also elaborates on things from the two previous games as well, giving the series a much more detailed, unified history than it had before.



So, while I might not think of Fatal Frame as being the scariest series in the world, I've still fallen in love with it over the past couple of week, with Fatal Frame III coming out in my eyes as the absolute best in the series. The visual design work is effective and memorable. The scripted scares actually work this time, and some of them actually sent a bit of a chill through my body, something neither of the previous games achieved (funny how the simple odd placement of legs behind a curtain can be so unnerving, and looking into a bathroom mirror isn't going to be quite as comfortable to do anymore ). Despite being mostly the same as before, the gameplay actually feels a little more natural this time, which slightly eases up on the previous immersion-breaking. And surprisingly, the story is more multi-layered than most games in general -- not just limited to horror.
It's no secret that I absolutely love the PS2, and I now see Fatal Frame III as one of the high points on the system. Ignoring the fact that I'm 8 years late on it, this one is recommended to anyone who loves a good Japanese-flavored ghost story. It's some of the best survival horror I've ever played. It's good enough that I really don't even feel the compulsion to import and patch the fourth game; The Tormented acts as a great end to the series on its own.

[Axm]

Finally just finished The Last of Us.
Just wow.. I cant beleive the ending. Honestly this is now one of my top 10 games of all time and certainly my GOTY for this year. I cant see anything else beating it for the rest of the year.
This is probably my favorite story in a video game since Shenmue. The combat is great, the level design is great, graphics are beautiful, voice work is uncanny. I loved every minute of this game.
I encountered some bugs here and there but theirs nothing else to complain about. Really an exceptionally special game that every PS3 owner needs to play. No excuses. Play it.
5 Stars.

Now im on to the multiplayer.