Games You've Beat in 2013

[TheMightyEthan]

Having reflected (hey, look, it's exactly an hour later!) and read some thoughts of other people, I've decided I like it.  Or think it was "good", or whatever.  That was my initial reaction, but there was one aspect that left me unsatisfied that made me have to think about it more:

 

 

The fact that it's not made entirely clear what all was a hallucination, or when there were hallucinations what was actually happening underneath.  I get that it's intentional, but I'm someone that likes everything tied up in a neat little package so that part left me unsatisfied.  Having thought about it more though, I can put that gut-dissatisfaction behind me.

 

 

Also, reading about it has convinced me to try Bioshock again.  For the third time.  Somehow I've managed to make it 5 1/2 years without really spoiling that game, though I have no idea how.

[toxicitizen]

Having reflected (hey, look, it's exactly an hour later!) and read some thoughts of other people, I've decided I like it.  Or think it was "good", or whatever.  That was my initial reaction, but there was one aspect that left me unsatisfied that made me have to think about it more:

 

 

The fact that it's not made entirely clear what all was a hallucination, or when there were hallucinations what was actually happening underneath.  I get that it's intentional, but I'm someone that likes everything tied up in a neat little package so that part left me unsatisfied.  Having thought about it more though, I can put that gut-dissatisfaction behind me.

 

 

Also, reading about it has convinced me to try Bioshock again.  For the third time.  Somehow I've managed to make it 5 1/2 years without really spoiling that game, though I have no idea how.

 

I also didn't pick up on the whole

fade-to-black/fade-to-white thing for reality versus hallucination while I was playing the game. Some sections are obviously Walker hallucinating but I never really paid attention to the transitions between the scenes so I didn't pick up on the white fades during the epilogue. I don't know if what you've read covered this but I really love how in the third act the game only vaguely hints (without ever explicitly saying so) that Walker died in the chopper crash and the entire game is what's happening in his head in his final moments.

 

 

I think it's fair to say that the game is merely average from a gameplay standpoint (and an argument could be made that that was 100% intentional) but in terms of writing I think it ranks with the likes of Planescape and Deus Ex as one of the greatest game narratives ever.

 

Out of curiosity, what is it about this that made you want to retry BioShock? Last time you brought it up, you really seemed like you didn't like how it played at all.

[TheMightyEthan]

Some of the things I read mentioned Bioshock when discussing the thematic nature of this game.

 

Bioshock has always been a game I really WANT to like, because from what I've played the atmosphere is fantastic, but I never liked how it played.  I'm planning to try again on the easiest difficulty to see if that will mitigate the problem (the problem wasn't that the game was too hard, but perhaps on easy the feel of the play won't bother me as much because it won't be as important).

 

Regarding the helicopter in Spec Ops thing:

 

 

Right after Walker makes the comment about how we've done this before, at that moment I thought "I wonder if we died in the crash and now we're trapped in Hell reliving this over and over and over again" and kinda hoped it would just go back to us walking through the desert back into the city after we crashed again.

 

[toxicitizen]

Regarding the helicopter in Spec Ops thing:

 

 

Right after Walker makes the comment about how we've done this before, at that moment I thought "I wonder if we died in the crash and now we're trapped in Hell reliving this over and over and over again" and kinda hoped it would just go back to us walking through the desert back into the city after we crashed again.

 

 

That certainly would've made for a very cool "Oh shit!" moment, but I think I like the ambiguity more. I'm a fan of stories letting you draw your own conclusions on stuff like this. Like the end of Inception, for example.

[TheMightyEthan]

I agree, I like how it was actually done better, just that was my thought at the time.

[MetalCaveman]

Dead Space 3, awesome game.

[Masonvrocks]

Persona 4 Golden, finally beat it. One of my favourite games of all time. Golden adds so much to it. 

[Waldorf and Statler]

I don't know who you are but you have good taste. I never played the original but read on the additions and I can't imagine the game without some of them. Especially my dear Marie-chan.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Finished The Walking Dead last night. Not quite what it was hyped up to be, but a good game nonetheless.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Finished The Walking Dead last night. Not quite what it was hyped up to be, but a good game nonetheless.

 

What do you mean it wasn't quite what it was hyped up to be? Did you hear some incorrect description of the game?

[Saturnine Tenshi]

It was just described as something intensely emotional and an exceptional example in interactive storytelling, and I never really got that from it.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Really? Everything in Episode 5 had me worried like a motherfucker for Clementine and the ending  I chose is hands down heart fucking breaking.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

It was just described as something intensely emotional and an exceptional example in interactive storytelling, and I never really got that from it.

 

That's because you're dead inside.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Maybe.

[deanb]

Bioshock Infinite.

 

Overall, rather good. Very much Bioshock but in the clouds. There are of course differences here and there beyond that, but largely plays the same. I'll throw more thoughts at it in the Bioshock thread.

[Waldorf and Statler]

I don't mind getting spoiled if you give a one or two word answer like yes or no.

 

So could you answer for me if there's any romance between Booker and Elizabeth? It won't influence whether I play the game or not as I'm playing it, but it's a spoiler I don't mind knowing.

[deanb]

The simple answer

 

Nope.

 

 

Slightly more in-depth/not too spoilery.

 

She resents his lying about his motives for a fair chunk of the game, he sees her mainly as a contract. There's a closeness in "you saved my life" sort of element, but not much beyond that.

 

 

Really in-depth/spoilery.

 

It would be incest.

 

[Waldorf and Statler]

Right before you posted that somebody spoiled me with the third one you gave lol. I don't mind though I enjoy those relationships too.

[MetalCaveman]

StarCraft: Brood War, Zerg campaign was a bit boring specially on the last 3 missions, also, wish they had expanded a bit more on the stuff that happens in the bonus level/mission. The other 2 campaigns were pretty cool.

[toxicitizen]

wish they had expanded a bit more on the stuff that happens in the bonus level/mission

Might want to get started on StarCraft II, then. Edited March 28, 2013 by FLD

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Really in-depth/spoilery.

 

It would be incest.

 

 

 

(That was totally worth spoiling for myself.)

[madbassman39]

I just finished assassin's creed revelations. The opening sequence started off very strong and it ended very strongly, although a bit strange. The main body of the game was just a chore though. I enjoyed watching Ezio grow old and seeing his story comes to an end. It's a tad strange watch a character grow from this young ambitious kid to the leader the guild. I just wish they wrapped up Ezio's ending with a scene of him on his farm with a child or something. 

[NeoStarr]

 

wish they had expanded a bit more on the stuff that happens in the bonus level/mission

Might want to get started on StarCraft II, then.

 

Entire SC1 and Broodwar campaigns ported to SC2;

http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/sc1-episode-1-rebel-yell/

 

Also; some stuff I beat this year (cause I can't sleep);

• Bleed - Excellent. Dying to 1cc it. Also; please greenlight - http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92919970
• Heart of the Swarm - Interesting single player, massively improved multiplayer.
• Bientot L'Ete - Brilliant. I played like 20 minutes and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.
• Far Cry 3 - Trash.
• XCOM - Awesome. And it taught me how to play X-Com.
• X-COM - Holy shit why did I wait so long to play this. I bought it years ago when the collection was on sale for a couple bucks and could never figure out how to play. Now that I know it's insanely rewarding.
• Saints Row 3 - Took me long enough to catch up with that bandwagon. It was pretty good.
• Antichamber - Drugs.
• FTL - Pretty good. Wouldn't have minded a longer, less random game mode that allowed for more optimization and experimentation in a single playthrough though.
• Dungeonland - Great with 4 people; pretty weak otherwise.
• Game Dev Story - So you're telling me I have the potential to run a multi-trillion dollar game studio with millions of fans despite the fact that I release nothing but porn parodies with mini-skirt and swimsuit themes? I'm going to play you A LOT.
• Bioshock Infinite - Didn't like it.

[toxicitizen]

Ah, nice. Last time I checked they weren't done doing the Brood War campaigns so I held off. I'll have to give them a shot now.

 

Anyway, just beat Infinite. Holy fucking shit that ending. Loved it. There were elements throughout the game that disappointed me slightly and made me feel like it didn't quite match the original, but I think the ending more than makes up for it.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Neostarr: Why do you play FPS when you don't like them?

I beat Revengeance yesterday. Fantastic game. If I didn't have a huge backlog I'd keep playing to unlock and find everything. The story was pretty good and it was very MGS like the whole way through when it came to dialogue.