Gaming recs
Sep. 9th, 2011 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norcumiSo I have no consistent internet access, and some spare time on my hands, so I'm tossing together something I've been meaning to do for awhile.
I like video games. And there are some out there that are way more kickass than you might think. So here's a few recommendations for y'all! These are either games I personally have finished or seen played (by Quindar) to the end. Presumably spoiler free, unless you are very very VERY harsh about what you think spoilers are.
XBox 360 (primarily – I actually suspect all of these are cross platform, but this is where I found them)
* Tomb Raider: Legend -- I cannot BEGIN to express my undying love for this game. Yes, this is Lara Croft. Yes, I am female (fairly asexual, of all things) – and this is a game I am happy to come back to and giggle at the sheer delightful wonder that is this game. The story is... rock solid and beautiful. The characters are interesting, the banter lovely, the game play nice (occasionally clunky, but not horrid). I totally unhesitatingly recommend this for anyone who is a Gargoyles fan, for the quality of lore in the game, the storytelling style, and the voice acting. Yes, there's occasionally some fan service, but it's a side thing, so if you like you can cater to that, and if not, it's a touch of flavor and no more.
* Sonic Unleashed -- The biggest down side to this Sonic game is that it is painfully, obviously written for kids. If you can tolerate/forgive that, then this is a nice, cute game that should satisfy gamers that like the traditional Sonic running-around-like-crazy-in-very-scenic-ways paradigm, but also folks who like brawlers. There's a touch of the classic RPG questing to find stuff 'round the world and talkin' to folks, too. The strongest features, however, are the art, the music, and the story. The visuals are... glorious, with rich colors, fascinating use of a fish eye lens, and cute character design. The music is fun (pop, and somewhat j-pop sometimes), but I dig. And the story is not just cute, but what I'd like to think is a little bold given this is for kids. It says something about this game that I feel the need to speak up again and say yes, this is for kids, and not strong on the depth front. Milage may vary? Also, the DLC is not really recommended. It's more of the same, only insanely harder without the sense of taking place in a solid, realistic world.
* Red Faction Guerilla -- We got this game as a freebie, and I've been pleasantly surprised ever since. The demo is... not a useful metric of this game, and if you haven't played the game itself it's nigh on incomprehensible. It CAN give a good idea of the visuals, but it skips so much of the story it's almost a crime. This is a fun 3rd person shooter/brawler/destroy everything in reach as efficiently as possible as you can, with a fun little story. There's some depth to the plot, nicely interspaced with "running around doing stuff for people". One of the best bits I've found is that this game accepts and encourages different approaches to game play: Quindar likes his shooters, and he's usually impressively precise. I like running in and smashin' things/flailing about madly until I die and see what saved for the next reload. We were both stunned when we watched Lynati genuinely employ guerilla tactics and schooled the game like it was back in kindergarten. Both of the other approaches worked, but getting outside the traditional box of gaming works Very Well. The down side? Some of the voice acting.... oh GODS, the pain. Clearly it was a reward to some of the game developers to have a voice acting bit part, and it is an anti-reward to the player. Thankfully, those bits are entirely optional.
* Costume Quest -- So this is a downloadable game, and CUTE. It's short, a fun little RPG with some nice art, and enjoyable story. It's like Calvin and Hobbes the video game, right down to the elevated language and kids being wiser (and more competent) than the adults around them. The expansion is ALSO worthwhile, and retains the cuteness and rich story. Still targeted towards the younger crowd, so comes out as a fluffy but solid game.
* L. A. Noire -- So I think this game has been getting solid reviews, but I'm gonna toss my two cents in.
Play this game.
I guess more than two cents is useful, so here it is. If you like period work, this is glorious. Life in the 40's is well represented. The music, the styles, the close-minded xenophobia – good, bad, and stereotypical are presented in wondrous detail. The facial recording if amazing (oh, the expressions the characters can have! Whoo!), the story line(s) is/are fantastic, and the cases are interesting. The DLC is also pretty high quality (not... across the board, but solid in all cases), and the most fantastical one that had both me and Quindar calling bullshit – is actually based on real events. Educational, too! There is a slump about a third of a way through the game where things just drag, but even that is done for story-telling reasons (... I still want to smack some folks around for that, but I can live with it). The match between body movements and facial movements is jarring, but not horrible, and is probably the most critical thing I've got to say about the matter.
Well, that and trigger warnings. It can be pretty graphic.
PS 3
* Valkyria Chronicles -- I have a spare ps3 just to loan out for this game. Quindar has the one we play on, mine travels around with a copy of Valkyria because it's that. Frikkin. Good. The art is spectacular, the story is sweet and set in an epic fantasy-esque version of WWII, and the voice acting is quite nice. It's also a little hard to pin down; it's kind of a Real Time Squad game, it's kind of a Turn Based Squad game, and it's kind of also RT 3rd person shooter and turn based shooter and RPG and movie all at the same time. Basically, I recommend this to just about anyone.
* Heavy Rain -- This is actually more of an art project than a video game, and that's pretty cool too. The plot is nice (though occasionally more full of holes than a block of swiss cheese), the art is swiffy, and the strength is in the game style. This is the first game I've ever played on hardest setting, and the experience is richer for it. See, the controller (… the 6-axis wireless, not the move or whatever you call it) allows for an almost intuitive movement set that matches on screen stuff with an astonishingly solid experience. Easy example: at one point, one of the characters uses an inhaler. The player has to shake the controller, and then use the bumper in a way so like using a real inhaler, the first time I hit that sequence I squealed, tossed down the controller, and kept pointing at the bedamned thing in shock (there might have been squeaking about "too real" – I refuse to comment about that). On easier levels of play, the button sequences are less complex, less organic, and map to reality with less reliability. This is a more satisfying game with more challenge. Also, you can get a less than optimal ending, but you can't really lose the game – there's no flashing of "game over" text and the sense that you fail. Now, on the flip side, this is also the first game that I've sat through 3 other folks playing it, and I literally can't watch parts after the first time – there are some trigger warnings I'd like to toss out there.
Also, it's French, and the voice acting reflects that sometimes. Especially with the kids.
* Uncharted -- So I keep hearing this is a popular franchise. Or... something. Um, ok. I hadn't encountered it before Quindar borrowed a copy and played it. I might also be entirely, criminally oblivious. I like this game, and it was fun – it's the popcorn that we expected Tomb Raider: Legend to be (you know, before the plot kicked in). It's the Indiana Jones kinda thing, with lots of shooting, and witty banter and fun shenanigans the the universe kicking the hero whenever it can. The animation is lovely, the plot fun and cracktastic, the characters endearing – this is nice, solid popcorn.
And that's what I got that you might not heard of. And even if you had, hopefully this was fun or useful info.
I like video games. And there are some out there that are way more kickass than you might think. So here's a few recommendations for y'all! These are either games I personally have finished or seen played (by Quindar) to the end. Presumably spoiler free, unless you are very very VERY harsh about what you think spoilers are.
XBox 360 (primarily – I actually suspect all of these are cross platform, but this is where I found them)
* Tomb Raider: Legend -- I cannot BEGIN to express my undying love for this game. Yes, this is Lara Croft. Yes, I am female (fairly asexual, of all things) – and this is a game I am happy to come back to and giggle at the sheer delightful wonder that is this game. The story is... rock solid and beautiful. The characters are interesting, the banter lovely, the game play nice (occasionally clunky, but not horrid). I totally unhesitatingly recommend this for anyone who is a Gargoyles fan, for the quality of lore in the game, the storytelling style, and the voice acting. Yes, there's occasionally some fan service, but it's a side thing, so if you like you can cater to that, and if not, it's a touch of flavor and no more.
* Sonic Unleashed -- The biggest down side to this Sonic game is that it is painfully, obviously written for kids. If you can tolerate/forgive that, then this is a nice, cute game that should satisfy gamers that like the traditional Sonic running-around-like-crazy-in-very-scenic-ways paradigm, but also folks who like brawlers. There's a touch of the classic RPG questing to find stuff 'round the world and talkin' to folks, too. The strongest features, however, are the art, the music, and the story. The visuals are... glorious, with rich colors, fascinating use of a fish eye lens, and cute character design. The music is fun (pop, and somewhat j-pop sometimes), but I dig. And the story is not just cute, but what I'd like to think is a little bold given this is for kids. It says something about this game that I feel the need to speak up again and say yes, this is for kids, and not strong on the depth front. Milage may vary? Also, the DLC is not really recommended. It's more of the same, only insanely harder without the sense of taking place in a solid, realistic world.
* Red Faction Guerilla -- We got this game as a freebie, and I've been pleasantly surprised ever since. The demo is... not a useful metric of this game, and if you haven't played the game itself it's nigh on incomprehensible. It CAN give a good idea of the visuals, but it skips so much of the story it's almost a crime. This is a fun 3rd person shooter/brawler/destroy everything in reach as efficiently as possible as you can, with a fun little story. There's some depth to the plot, nicely interspaced with "running around doing stuff for people". One of the best bits I've found is that this game accepts and encourages different approaches to game play: Quindar likes his shooters, and he's usually impressively precise. I like running in and smashin' things/flailing about madly until I die and see what saved for the next reload. We were both stunned when we watched Lynati genuinely employ guerilla tactics and schooled the game like it was back in kindergarten. Both of the other approaches worked, but getting outside the traditional box of gaming works Very Well. The down side? Some of the voice acting.... oh GODS, the pain. Clearly it was a reward to some of the game developers to have a voice acting bit part, and it is an anti-reward to the player. Thankfully, those bits are entirely optional.
* Costume Quest -- So this is a downloadable game, and CUTE. It's short, a fun little RPG with some nice art, and enjoyable story. It's like Calvin and Hobbes the video game, right down to the elevated language and kids being wiser (and more competent) than the adults around them. The expansion is ALSO worthwhile, and retains the cuteness and rich story. Still targeted towards the younger crowd, so comes out as a fluffy but solid game.
* L. A. Noire -- So I think this game has been getting solid reviews, but I'm gonna toss my two cents in.
Play this game.
I guess more than two cents is useful, so here it is. If you like period work, this is glorious. Life in the 40's is well represented. The music, the styles, the close-minded xenophobia – good, bad, and stereotypical are presented in wondrous detail. The facial recording if amazing (oh, the expressions the characters can have! Whoo!), the story line(s) is/are fantastic, and the cases are interesting. The DLC is also pretty high quality (not... across the board, but solid in all cases), and the most fantastical one that had both me and Quindar calling bullshit – is actually based on real events. Educational, too! There is a slump about a third of a way through the game where things just drag, but even that is done for story-telling reasons (... I still want to smack some folks around for that, but I can live with it). The match between body movements and facial movements is jarring, but not horrible, and is probably the most critical thing I've got to say about the matter.
Well, that and trigger warnings. It can be pretty graphic.
PS 3
* Valkyria Chronicles -- I have a spare ps3 just to loan out for this game. Quindar has the one we play on, mine travels around with a copy of Valkyria because it's that. Frikkin. Good. The art is spectacular, the story is sweet and set in an epic fantasy-esque version of WWII, and the voice acting is quite nice. It's also a little hard to pin down; it's kind of a Real Time Squad game, it's kind of a Turn Based Squad game, and it's kind of also RT 3rd person shooter and turn based shooter and RPG and movie all at the same time. Basically, I recommend this to just about anyone.
* Heavy Rain -- This is actually more of an art project than a video game, and that's pretty cool too. The plot is nice (though occasionally more full of holes than a block of swiss cheese), the art is swiffy, and the strength is in the game style. This is the first game I've ever played on hardest setting, and the experience is richer for it. See, the controller (… the 6-axis wireless, not the move or whatever you call it) allows for an almost intuitive movement set that matches on screen stuff with an astonishingly solid experience. Easy example: at one point, one of the characters uses an inhaler. The player has to shake the controller, and then use the bumper in a way so like using a real inhaler, the first time I hit that sequence I squealed, tossed down the controller, and kept pointing at the bedamned thing in shock (there might have been squeaking about "too real" – I refuse to comment about that). On easier levels of play, the button sequences are less complex, less organic, and map to reality with less reliability. This is a more satisfying game with more challenge. Also, you can get a less than optimal ending, but you can't really lose the game – there's no flashing of "game over" text and the sense that you fail. Now, on the flip side, this is also the first game that I've sat through 3 other folks playing it, and I literally can't watch parts after the first time – there are some trigger warnings I'd like to toss out there.
Also, it's French, and the voice acting reflects that sometimes. Especially with the kids.
* Uncharted -- So I keep hearing this is a popular franchise. Or... something. Um, ok. I hadn't encountered it before Quindar borrowed a copy and played it. I might also be entirely, criminally oblivious. I like this game, and it was fun – it's the popcorn that we expected Tomb Raider: Legend to be (you know, before the plot kicked in). It's the Indiana Jones kinda thing, with lots of shooting, and witty banter and fun shenanigans the the universe kicking the hero whenever it can. The animation is lovely, the plot fun and cracktastic, the characters endearing – this is nice, solid popcorn.
And that's what I got that you might not heard of. And even if you had, hopefully this was fun or useful info.
