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Games You've Beat in 2012


deanb
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The Darkness II.

 

A bit on the short side but I really enjoyed it. Also, I thought it looked pretty great. The cell-shaded/comic book-style aesthetics were a much better fit for it than the original's more photo-realistic approach.

 

It was kind of an impulse purchase but I'm really glad I got it. Hopefully they'll make a third one. In the meantime, I think I just might try and hunt down a used copy of the original so I can finally beat it.

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The Witcher.

 

It's been in my backlog for a while now, I was pretty near the end so figured I may as well finish it off. Means I can start Witcher 2:EE using an imported save too :D

 

It sure changes a fair bit towards the end mind, rather hack n slashey instead of unravelling all the mysteries. Oh and for those interested I had a Neutral run. Mainly because neither faction had anything appealing about them.

 

Oh and given recent political topics (at least in UK) this provided amusement.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=104650635

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It sure changes a fair bit towards the end mind, rather hack n slashey instead of unravelling all the mysteries.

 

Hmm? What do you mean? I guess it is the sort of game where you have to make sure you read everything rather than taking the events at face value.

 

Look up theories on who the Grand Master might be if you're wondering what I'm getting at. Of course this series whole thing is kind of that it's a living, breathing world, so it's impossible for things to ever be wrapped up all that nicely.

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I mean you end up facing off horde after horde towards the end, be it Scoi'etal and Order, mutants and bosses, or icey gauntlet. As opposed to the usual lead-up of doing quests, chatting with people, finding stuff, and so on with intermittent beast fighting.

 

And I'm aware of who the Grand Master is reckoned to be.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Witcher 2. Though I think something fucked up with the EE content at the end cos Chapter III seemed to jump about a lot and assume things of my game that hadn't happened. For example at one point I end up chatting to Triss about Iorveth, a guy I've not seen since I fought him in Roche's flashback in Chapter 1.

 

All very good though, feels much shorter than Witcher 1, but that's not a terrible thing given Witcher 1 dragged on in some cases. I kinda expected more nods towards the first game, but it mostly extends as far as "I met you in vizima once". And the story doesn't quite mesh with how Witcher 1 ends

Foltest is attacked by a witcher assassin, which is why you're his sorta bodyguard come Witcher 2. Problem is you're explained Foltests assassination (that killed him) wasn't planned, only Demivend was to be killed. So who the fuck was the original assassin of the end of the first game?

. But this story is compelling, and the choice to split Chapter II how it does certainly ballsy and a move I doubt many games would care to follow. Does certainly provide opportunity for playing the game through twice.

 

I'm to assume Witcher 3 will be set in Nilfgaard?

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I liked the combat and some aspects of the story in ME3 but I didn't like the overall direction of the story. The shift in the atmosphere was unavoidable, so I can't really mark it down for that (just find it less enjoyable because of it). A lot of it felt half-assed though, with a lot of cut corners. Plus...they didn't bring back the interesting squadmates (ie. the ones I wanted :P).

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My only complaint was not enough Miranda ;)

 

Other than that it's better in every conceivable way than Mass Effect 2, IMO. Don't get me wrong, I loved ME2, but ME3 actually made me feel something at points (Mordin and Thane specifically). Considering how cold my heart is, that's an accomplishment right there.

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My only complaint was not enough Miranda ;)

 

Ha, I can get behind that.

 

Honestly, though, I agree with some of the character stuff and there was some really nice writing.

 

Mordin especially. Thane's actual fight was totally lame, but the death was sad.

 

Though, there was nowhere near enough complexity or interesting character writing (due to all the squadmates being boring paragons). And the conversation stuff was reduced in unwelcome ways, making Shepard almost bi-polar or outright psychotic.

 

I preferred the pace and atmosphere of the earlier games, which ME3 in no way captures (because of war). Plus, it has a single boring hub that didn't help make the galaxy feel like a place when you spend a lot of it fetching 'war banners' from a probe launch screen. Too much of it was setpieces. I really disliked a lot of the general direction of the story in some aspects.

 

The dreams. Cerberus outright space nazis. Shoehorning in EDI sexbot and stupid BSG organic/synthetic themes. The whole Earth-centric nonsense.

 

 

I would put my preference of ME2 down to nostalgia from when I first played it, but I replayed it recently and I still find it entertaining. Though a lot of it probably comes down to loving the characters, who were sidelined in ME3, rather than the actual plot. Then again, it does expand the universe nicely and ties it all into your squadmates, giving it special relevance.

 

Obviously, with someone of BioWare's calibre, you won't get a bad game but ME3 feels like so much wasted potential and the ludicrously short development time really shows.

 

For example, compare the tense last section of ME2 to ME3's 'horde mode on Earth'.

 

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Yeah a fair bit of pre-collector faffing. Had I known I'd have gone in sooner, but then again, I am playing as a renegade so I'm not too shaken by the loss.

 

I didn't like ME2 combat at first because my biotics didn't carry over so I went from Biotic God to nothing. Once I'd built back up I enjoyed it much more. Was delighted to find that my upgrades carried over for ME3. Feels good to hit the ground running in that respect. I've only just gone to the Citadel for the first time, so can't really comment on the feel of the game, though it does seem a little restricted / linear at the moment. Hoping it will open up in a bit.

 

Story wise, ME3 has been significantly spoiled for me though as I had to handle the ASA complaints relating to the ending, which meant I had to be fully versed on the decisions and outcomes. For that I will always bear a bit of grudge against the people who made the official complaints. Especially as I won on all counts. Ho hum.

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I've only just gone to the Citadel for the first time, so can't really comment on the feel of the game, though it does seem a little restricted / linear at the moment. Hoping it will open up in a bit.

 

There will be a bit more going on, but it won't open up as much as ME1 or 2, unfortunately. There are some strong sections to come though (and a few lacking ones).

 

One tip: priority missions should not be your priority. :P

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