Videogames: The War (for equality) Has Just Begun

[Jon AS]

Interesting. I just finished the Quarian/Geth story... Is that how he appears throughout his role in the story? Seems like it would lose some of the effect that way.

Well yeah, that's sort of the point of having familiar characters in a story: they help with emotional investment.:P

What you get when characters are dead are replacements to make the plot work (some of which appear in the game anyway) that remind you of what could have been if you had made different choices, but that of course just underscores the unrealised potential of those plotlines in these cases.

Not having the plot-relevant NPCs alive in ME3 also tends to restrict your options: you usually don't get to pick the "best" solution to any problem.

[The Anti-Targ]

Yeah, I always made sure I had 100% survival of the playable NPCs after the suicide mission in ME2. The only variations I put into the outcome of the suicide mission was whether Kelly Chambers made it out or not. At the time I had no real thought about consequences of characters dying for ME3, I just didn't want characters dying in ME2. Seems like there's no real jeopardy in ME2. If you play your cards right everyone lives. ME2 should have made death unavoidable but you choose, similar to the Ash/Kaiden situation in ME1. If there had been 2 unavoidable death situations, with choosing between 2 characters, then there would be 4 permutations of carry through characters to ME3.

[Jace, Extat]

You did choose. You chose who to send to do what tasks, and you chose whether or not to do their loyalty mission. Boiling it down to 'Samara or Garrus' would cheapen the effect.

[Muttering Bill]

Thinking of cancelling my ACU pre-order (because I still haven't bothered to finish Black Flag) and pick up The Last of Us Remastered instead.

So, anyone who's played TLoU, does it live up to the 'best game ever!' hype?

[Jace, Extat]

Yes

[KiDisaster]

Best game ever? No.

Damn good game that you should play? Yes.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

I just finished Arkham Origins, which I understand was not as well received as Asylum and City. I think that's weird because it was on a level with City and with some really good boss fights which the series had been sorely lacking in. :dunno: I thought it was great.

[Jon AS]

I just finished Arkham Origins, which I understand was not as well received as Asylum and City. I think that's weird because it was on a level with City and with some really good boss fights which the series had been sorely lacking in. :dunno: I thought it was great.

I think the issue is that it's pretty much exactly like City without meaningful innovations. Taken in isolation they are games of very similar quality (I don't care about the boss fights in either one), but Origins came later, the development team for City did all the heavy lifting.

[Shryke]

I think the issue is that it's pretty much exactly like City without meaningful innovations. Taken in isolation they are games of very similar quality (I don't care about the boss fights in either one), but Origins came later, the development team for City did all the heavy lifting.

Yeah, basically all the complaints are that it's a carbon-cash-in-copy of City with a crappy story.

And it's definitely a cash-in because it's a game developed by another studio because the publisher wanted to milk the franchise for more money while the team that built Asylum and City worked on Knights.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

I think the issue is that it's pretty much exactly like City without meaningful innovations.

That's fair enough as it is almost identical to City in terms of gameplay, just on a larger scale.

Yeah, basically all the complaints are that it's a carbon-cash-in-copy of City with a crappy story.

I actually enjoyed the story and I think it explored Bruce Wayne's character and his relationship with Alfred quite well and I liked the fact that it was about

him meeting the Joker for the first time and their relationship.

I understand the criticism of the lack of innovation, but it's still a fantastic game IMO.

[Jabronius Maximus]

Thinking of cancelling my ACU pre-order (because I still haven't bothered to finish Black Flag) and pick up The Last of Us Remastered instead.

So, anyone who's played TLoU, does it live up to the 'best game ever!' hype?

Not best game ever, but definitely one of the best in the last several years. Online is also seriously underrated; I had a lot of fun playing Factions. Also the remastered version comes with all multiplayer and single player dlc for $50. For a console game that's a pretty solid deal.

[Whiskeyjack]

Thinking of cancelling my ACU pre-order (because I still haven't bothered to finish Black Flag) and pick up The Last of Us Remastered instead.

So, anyone who's played TLoU, does it live up to the 'best game ever!' hype?

It's an awesome game. Highly recommend it. Definitely my favorite out of the ones I have played.

There's just something about it that strikes the right chord with me. Great story that can get pretty dark, two very strong main characters who are well developed, and enjoyable gameplay that matches up well with the tone created by the setting (post apocalyptic world where ammunition is scarce and you need to manage your resources and to some degree rely on stealth to survive).

[Jabronius Maximus]

I don't know about you guys, but I just couldn't play it for extended periods of time. The sheer brutality in LoU was just too much to handle at times. I hope the film will be able to capture some of that.

[Rhom]

That's fair enough as it is almost identical to City in terms of gameplay, just on a larger scale.

I actually enjoyed the story and I think it explored Bruce Wayne's character and his relationship with Alfred quite well and I liked the fact that it was about

him meeting the Joker for the first time and their relationship.

I understand the criticism of the lack of innovation, but it's still a fantastic game IMO.

Good to know. I planned to play it as soon as I finish up ME3. I really liked the gameplay in City, so I bought Origins fully expecting more of the same.

[AndrewJ]

So, anyone who's played TLoU, does it live up to the 'best game ever!' hype?

Yeah, I'll add my voice to the chorus. Best game ever discussions aren't terribly meaningful (and I know you are just quoting the hype and not asking if it really is). But it definitely belongs in the conversation about the best game in the last generation.

For me... the best games of the generation would be...

Mass Effect 1

Skyrim

Red Dead

Last of Us

Fallout 3

Arkham Asylum

Bioshock

GTA5

Somewhat in that order with games easily able to move a place or two. (ME2 and 3 and Fallout NV are all thereabouts too but I picked one game from each franchise. ME 2 and 3 are slightly behind ME1 for me. Fallout Nevada might actually be a better game, but it was building off the brilliant Fallout 3 and I spent far more time playing the first).

Anyway... Last Of Us is right up there. I may or may not pick up Assassin's Creed - but Last Of Us is clearly superior and you owe it to yourself to play it ASAP.

[Muttering Bill]

Well, you all convinced me. I started The Last of Us. :crying: :bawl:

A bit of a slow start, but I am enjoying the focus on stealth.

For me... the best games of the generation would be...

Mass Effect 1

Skyrim

Red Dead

Last of Us

Fallout 3

Arkham Asylum

Bioshock

GTA5

My top gen list would look much diffferent. The top 3 would have the word "Souls" in them. ;) Then maybe throw in a few like Ninja Gaiden 2, Tomb Raider and Dragon's Dogma.

[Slurktan]

Yeah, I'll add my voice to the chorus. Best game ever discussions aren't terribly meaningful (and I know you are just quoting the hype and not asking if it really is). But it definitely belongs in the conversation about the best game in the last generation.

For me... the best games of the generation would be...

Mass Effect 1

Skyrim

Red Dead

Last of Us

Fallout 3

Arkham Asylum

Bioshock

GTA5

Mass Effect 1 was the previous generation. And leaving off Dark Souls at least is criminal.

[Sivin]

Previous generation of what? Mass Effect was released in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC.

[Slurktan]

Previous generation of what? Mass Effect was released in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC.

You are right for some reason I thought it was Xbox 1 and pc.

[AndrewJ]

Yeah - I was forgetting Dark Souls.

I'd probably put Dark Souls 2 in somewhere around the Arkham/Bioshock/GTA 5 area.

I possibly enjoyed the atmosphere of DS1 a little more, but I got into DS2 a lot more and wound up playing it a whole lot more.

And yeah - I bought my 360 about a year after launch and picked up Mass Effect and Bioshock with it. Fun times. And I was just blown away by the universe and story of Mass Effect. It was my first 360 game and remains my favourite. Sure, there's technical issues - but nothing I couldn't forgive for such an otherwise incredible game.

Tomb Raider would be an honourable mention.

Dragon's Dogma is one I missed but really should try some day. Not sure I will, though. I'm hoping to retire my 360 soon and free up some space. And there's already so many new games to be played and it sounds like Dragon's Dogma would be a hell of a time investment (and time for games is becoming more scarce nowadays, I'm afraid)