Gaming thoughts of the day

[Crimson Ryan]

Plus subscription runs out soon and I'm not renewing, so I'm on a Store raid downloading all the free stuff while I can!

[ThyDarkAngel]

^You know you will not be able to play most of those after it runs out right?

[Crimson Ryan]

^You know you will not be able to play most of those after it runs out right?

Yeah, I already knew since it's a subscription service. The games under the 'Instant Game Collection' disappear after a few months that's why I'm getting them on my download list before they leave the Store. Then when I get Plus in the future, I still have access to them..

[ThyDarkAngel]

^Ah, so that was it.
Smart boy.

Give me impressions on Double Dragon when you can.

[Tuffty]

I submitted a question to the 4PlayerPodcast and it got read out on the latest podcast! It's right at 90 mins if you want to hear. My question was:

Are there any games from this current generation that you would consider to be the best in its genre or could even be considered as one of the best games of all time?

I suggested Bayonetta to sort of get the ball rolling and on what they should think of. Nice enough question right? The other guys seemed to think so too, but I had a hunch Brad would have an issue with it because...he's a dickhead.

And I was right! "Best in it's genre, what does that even mean?" Um...exactly what it says Brad, no more, no less. Don't know why he has to over analyse or be pedantic about everything. He tried to defend himself by going on about how games these days sort of blend genres and that my question avoided PC games. It didn't, but I had hoped they would all understand my question was all encompassing for them to include any game released between the launch of the 360/PS3/Wii to now. Besides, his answers of great PC games this gen were FEAR and Half Life 2. Both great games, just not released in this current gen. Silly Brad. Other answers like Red Dead Redemption or COD4 were answers I could agree with.

Guess I may as well extend the question out to you guys as well. Are there any recent games you've played this gen that you would consider to be one of the greatest ever games?

[Segata Sanshiro Jr.]

but I had a hunch Brad would have an issue with it because...he's a dickhead.

Bayonetta as the best 3D action game for sure. there were some really good beat em ups like Batman and Yakuza 4. Can't think of anything else this gen that would be the best of its genre.

[Tuffty]

I had a hard time with examples for the racing or platform genre. I think FIFA 12 can be seen as one of the best sports games ever. I think this gen has been pretty good about producing some games that will stand the test of time. Portal as another example.

[OL]

"Best" always ends up being purely subjective, even if one tries to be objective about it. I personally try to make a distinction between "best" and "favorites" myself, but obviously people won't always agree.
They are kind of right that games tend to blend genres these days, but that just makes it important to set even more specific distinctions between different types of games.
I'd personally name Uncharted 2 as at the very least one of the greatest action/adventure games ever made. But "action/adventure" can cover a lot of ground, so in saying that, I need to specify that I'm speaking in comparison to all other games that involve a combination of shooting, puzzles, and some manner of "platforming".
Genre distinctions aside, it's just an amazingly solid action game with great level design, excellent control, fantastic acting, and one of the absolute best senses of adventure and excitement ever put in a game.
Almost anything negative that a person could say about it simply comes down to personal preference issues, rather than the actual quality of what's there.

[OL]

For anyone with a Vita (not many here, I'd guess) the Virtue's Last Reward demo is up on PSN. Didn't have time to go throught the whole thing, but it looks goddamn beautiful on the Vita's screen.
I love this little system. Just hoping the flow of games picks up eventually...

[Crimson Ryan]

^Ah, so that was it.
Smart boy.

Give me impressions on Double Dragon when you can.

I may not get round to it at all. Looks like a coolish side scroll beat-em-up, though.

[Dorian]

DLC and DRM is total bullshit. In some 10 years, people will hate the fact that they can't go back to the games they've paid for (because of various reasons). It's going to be a very sad day to realize how fucked we all got with DLC and DRM... People living in a fucking dream...

http://www.hark.com/clips/fvpvcxjzbh-sa ... r-goes-mad

Genre distinctions aside, it's just an amazingly solid action game with great level design, excellent control, fantastic acting, and one of the absolute best senses of adventure and excitement ever put in a game.
Almost anything negative that a person could say about it simply comes down to personal preference issues, rather than the actual quality of what's there.

No.

The game is "amazingly solid" in what exactly? It had amazing graphics when it came out. That's the only amazing thing about it. Controls were generic, the acting was generic as well and "the absolute best senses of adventure and excitement ever put in a game" is just a joke. U2 is a short video game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The melee is clunky, the AI is barely competent and the shooting has everything but depth. This level of glorification for U2 is one of the most subjective things you could have pulled out.

EDIT: Ars Technica posted a great review of RE6. Here's their summary, but it's worth reading the whole thing:

A failure of epic proportions, and perhaps the end of an era

Capcom fumbled badly here, perhaps even to the point that the Resident Evil franchise as we've come to know it is effectively finished. Maybe that's a good thing, though. The game may be a mess, but it also serves to highlight what Resident Evil should not be. I'd like to believe that we've reached a breaking point, and that Capcom will have to rebuild from scratch going forward.

That doesn't help in the here and now, however. Resident Evil 6 is a spectacular failure on nearly every level. The best thing I can say is that the moment-to-moment beats of each campaign are at least coherent and that the action occasionally—very occasionally—leans toward the sort of gameplay we've come to expect from the series in this post-RE4 world. It's a messy and unenjoyable experience though, and it should be avoided by anyone who feels a fan connection to the series.

The Good:

Each campaign's plot is easy to follow if you overlook the frequent nods back to Resident Evil lore.
A few brief sections effectively capture the spirit of the series and what makes it fun.

The Bad:

You're fighting with poor controls and a wildly swinging camera as frequently as you're fighting enemies.
Each campaign loses focus over time, eventually falling back on straightforward action.
Bafflingly short response windows for the abundance of quick time events.
The series' identity is lost in the wash of a wide mix of misplaced gameplay styles.

The Ugly:

The fact that millions will no doubt buy this clunker on name recognition alone.

[MiTT3NZ]

DLC's actually one of my favourite things this gen. Always loved expansion packs, and it's about time it went mainstream with consoles.

[Bluecast]

but I had a hunch Brad would have an issue with it because...he's a dickhead.

Bayonetta as the best 3D action game for sure. there were some really good beat em ups like Batman and Yakuza 4. Can't think of anything else this gen that would be the best of its genre.

I bought it today

[OL]

No.

The game is "amazingly solid" in what exactly? It had amazing graphics when it came out. That's the only amazing thing about it. Controls were generic, the acting was generic as well and "the absolute best senses of adventure and excitement ever put in a game" is just a joke. U2 is a short video game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The melee is clunky, the AI is barely competent and the shooting has everything but depth. This level of glorification for U2 is one of the most subjective things you could have pulled out.

I knew that would set you off.
The game is amazingly solid in just about every way. The control is precise, glitches are extremely rare (apparently an unusual quality in modern shooters), the combination of shooting and traversal works together seemlessly (though, as you said, melee isn't particularly good) and, unlike many other cover shooters, the levels are designed in such a way as to encourage the use of all the abilities at your disposal, and keep the action moving at a quick pace, as it should. There's almost nothing about it that isn't solid.
Its a fun game made by people who had a passion for what they were doing. Nothing wrong with that. I honestly don't see what it ever did to incite such hatred from you toward it, besides being a shooter and being popular.

[ThyDarkAngel]

Anyone know the game Baroque, for the Wii?