The Video Game Thread

[Indy Coug]

T-minus 13 days until MLB 10 The Show.

[Jarid in Cedar]

T-minus 13 days until MLB 10 The Show.

That is the one thing lacking in the 360 catalog, an excellent baseball game.

[TripletDaddy]

I have just completed Mass Effect 2. It is the single best video game ever made in my opinion. Absolutely incredible.

Is Mass Effect and ME2 quest/task based? I know it is a combo rpg/shooter, but can you elaborate a bit on the rpg aspect?

I enjoy the mission/task based nature of games like Bioshock, Fallout, Oblivion, etc. And I really enjoyed how Fallout could play a lot like a FPS if you were to just roam around and explore without any quest line to follow.

How does ME and ME2 compare to those games?

ps bioshock actually was a bit much for me. that game had some serious jump factor and a very dark feeling to it. not my fave.

[thesaint258]

Is Mass Effect and ME2 quest/task based? I know it is a combo rpg/shooter, but can you elaborate a bit on the rpg aspect?

I enjoy the mission/task based nature of games like Bioshock, Fallout, Oblivion, etc. And I really enjoyed how Fallout could play a lot like a FPS if you were to just roam around and explore without any quest line to follow.

How does ME and ME2 compare to those games?

ps bioshock actually was a bit much for me. that game had some serious jump factor and a very dark feeling to it. not my fave.

I'll take a stab at this even though I've never played Bioshock, Fallout, or Oblivion (I know, I know, I need to play it). ME and ME 2 are quest/task based. Like most RPGs, it has the required stuff to do to move the story along, and a lot of side quests that you can do for fun. It strikes a good balance between being a FPS and a RPG, unlike some which are obviously shooters with a bit of a RPG element or vice versa.

One of the things I liked about both games were how open things are. You choose in what order to do things, and if you feel like taking a break to do some side quests, it won't interfere with the storyline. Another cool thing is that your choices matter. The game's morality system lets you be a good guy or a bad guy, and the game can come out differently depending on previous choices you've made. This is especially true in ME2, which has a lot of different possible endings and paths to take. The cool thing about ME2 is that you can import previous characters from ME so the choices you made in ME affect things in ME2. All in all, both are excellent games. Bioware knows how to make good games, and they've done a fantastic job with ME and ME2.

[TripletDaddy]

I'll take a stab at this even though I've never played Bioshock, Fallout, or Oblivion (I know, I know, I need to play it). ME and ME 2 are quest/task based. Like most RPGs, it has the required stuff to do to move the story along, and a lot of side quests that you can do for fun. It strikes a good balance between being a FPS and a RPG, unlike some which are obviously shooters with a bit of a RPG element or vice versa.

One of the things I liked about both games were how open things are. You choose in what order to do things, and if you feel like taking a break to do some side quests, it won't interfere with the storyline. Another cool thing is that your choices matter. The game's morality system lets you be a good guy or a bad guy, and the game can come out differently depending on previous choices you've made. This is especially true in ME2, which has a lot of different possible endings and paths to take. The cool thing about ME2 is that you can import previous characters from ME so the choices you made in ME affect things in ME2. All in all, both are excellent games. Bioware knows how to make good games, and they've done a fantastic job with ME and ME2.

sounds awesome. in that case, I will check out ME. I love these kinds of rpgs.

Sounds like you need to check out Fallout 3. Oblivion was awesome. I rank Bioshock third.

Fallout 3: questing throughout post-nuclear apocalyptic Washington DC
Oblivion: questing throughout a Tolkien-like world with wizards that peep and mutter
Bioshock: sub-marine art deco underworld of oddly possessed characters (again, I didn't dig the dark vibe and will likely not be partaking in Bioshock 2)

Fallout 3 has a morality engine, so to speak, as well. You have an active karma meter that is affected by things such as stealing, donating money, killing good people or bad people, helping people, etc. Your karma affects how people view you, what they are willing to say to you, whether someone will interact with you, etc. And it is constantly fluctuating, depending on your in-game behavior.

Fallout 3 has a bunch of DLC on the 360 and I have enjoyed each addition. The new Fallout Vegas is coming out later this year and is not a DLC, but rather a brand new game with the same trademarl open-world platform that Bethesda used in Oblivion and F3.

Here is a trailer for it:

[YOUTUBE]v7xME0aFbC4[/YOUTUBE]

[Colly Wolly]

Mass Effect 2 is a crowning achievement in video games and is an amazing experience from start to finish. The only catch is Mass Effect 1 is very much a slow burn and is not everyone's cup of tea.

I had played Mass Effect 1 for about an hour a couple years ago and gave up on it very quickly. The game play was very clunky and awkward, and the story and universe seemed boring. Then I started reading the reviews on ME2 and decided I must power through ME1, because, as was already mentioned, the character you build in part 1 can carry into part 2. I set the game to casual and powered through it, only doing the main story quests, and finished in about 12 hours. I am glad I did this. The story began to pick up, and even though the game play never really got more enjoyable, I began to be drawn into the characters and universe. There are major story developments in ME1 that need to be experienced in the realm of ME1, not the backward looking treatment you would get in the intro of ME2 if you choose to skip part 1. ME1, despite the flaws in gameplay, is a good game and should be played prior to ME2 in my opinion.

ME2 is something else altogether, and I can't recommend it enough. They fixed the game play issues, and the story is stronger than ever. ME2 is basically a cover-based shooter (think Gears of War) coupled with RPG elements.

How are the games as an RPGs? You gain experience and you level up. As you level up you get skill points that you can allocate towards beefing up your character. It's overly complicated in part 1, but very streamlined and enjoyable in part 2. In part 1 there are alot of bland and useless customization options when it comes to your character and your weapons and armor. ME2 strips this down to the point where you basically are just updating character combat skills as you level up.

The main reason this is an RPG is because your decisions decide the course of the story and the eventual outcome of the game (for both iterations). These choices are made in conversations with other characters using dialogue trees. You talk to people to obtain information, then you are presented with responses that serve as decisions. You can make minor decisions like who to split up with on a mission all the way to whether or not to allow an entire race to continue to exist. The story gets very compelling.

Both games follow a similar path in that you are presented with main story missions and problems at the outset and then instructed to recruit a team to help you solve the problem. You recruit your team members and learn their back stories. Once team members are recruited, you are presented with optional side missions to gain their loyalties individually. These missions arent required to complete the game, but they do affect how the story ends up. Once your team is compiled, you enter into a sequence of end game missions. It is in these latter missions that both games really shine. They are fantastic and compelling rollercoaster rides.

These arent games you want to just play casually. They will require time and effort to be enjoyable, but I really enjoyed the payoff. Hopefully that helps. Happy to answer more questions or speak further as this game has really blown me away, and I think everyone should play it.

[Colly Wolly]

DDD - this isn't a dark game like Bioshock. No really scary or spooky moments. The game is very much adult focused, and you can get it on with a love interest in both games. There was a Fox News outrage at the sex scene in part 1, but it no edgier than anything you would see on FX. You see some side boob and a little ass. The sex scenes are completely optional and not crucial to the story. That said, I did think that the love scene at the end of part 2 added to the *ahem* climax of the game. There is no nudity at all in the second game, and I think it is tastefully handled.

Language is not bad in part 1, but there is some bad language in part 2. One of your team members has a troubled past and is very rough around the edges. Likes to swear alot. You dont have to experience her swearing very much at all. Just dont talk to her between missions and dont do her loyalty mission.

[TripletDaddy]

thanks, appreciate the review.

Sounds like you also need to play Fallout 3 and Oblivion, as you would likely enjoy those, esp Fallout 3.

Truthfully, the one thing I didn't like about Gears is how there seemed to be so many options for in-combat movement....tap this button to crouch, tap it twice to duck and roll, tap it and click the stick to stick to the wall, click the right button to strafe right, click the left button to strafe left, etc...yawn. All I need is jump, run and crouch/stand. It was something that bugged me all the way through GoW, although I thought it was a great game.

[thesaint258]

thanks, appreciate the review.

Sounds like you also need to play Fallout 3 and Oblivion, as you would likely enjoy those, esp Fallout 3.

Truthfully, the one thing I didn't like about Gears is how there seemed to be so many options for in-combat movement....tap this button to crouch, tap it twice to duck and roll, tap it and click the stick to stick to the wall, click the right button to strafe right, click the left button to strafe left, etc...yawn. All I need is jump, run and crouch/stand. It was something that bugged me all the way through GoW, although I thought it was a great game.

Combat isn't that complicated. If you want to take cover, you just run up to it, and the game automatically puts you behind it. You do need to click a button if you want to jump over it, but other than that, you just need to move the stick or press the button to aim more precisely and you'll automatically fire over or around cover.

[falafel]

Has anyone played Battlefield Bad Company 2? I thought the first one looked stupid and cheesy (and it looks like a lot of the reviewers, including Brigham Young, agree with me), but number 2 is getting a lot of good press. It looks a lot like MW2, and I'm sure that's the game they are gunning for, but they've got some interesting differences. For example:

Things become more impressive yet when the action kicks in. Returning from the last Bad Company game are nearly fully destructible environments. If an enemy soldier is holed up in a second-story bedroom taking potshots at you, all you have to do is send a rocket at that wall and he'll either wind up dead or fully exposed. The same line of thinking applies to just about anything you see – send enough firepower at it and you can watch it crumble.

These destructible environments exist in multiplayer as well, allowing the game to evolve throughout the match. Suddenly that building that guy's been sniping at you from no longer has a wall.

[FN Phat]

Has anyone played Battlefield Bad Company 2? I thought the first one looked stupid and cheesy (and it looks like a lot of the reviewers, including Brigham Young, agree with me), but number 2 is getting a lot of good press. It looks a lot like MW2, and I'm sure that's the game they are gunning for, but they've got some interesting differences. For example:



These destructible environments exist in multiplayer as well, allowing the game to evolve throughout the match. Suddenly that building that guy's been sniping at you from no longer has a wall.

I may be tempted to buy this game sooner than I would otherwise. I watched a few videos online and it seems awesome.

[Colly Wolly]

Has anyone played Battlefield Bad Company 2? I thought the first one looked stupid and cheesy (and it looks like a lot of the reviewers, including Brigham Young, agree with me), but number 2 is getting a lot of good press. It looks a lot like MW2, and I'm sure that's the game they are gunning for, but they've got some interesting differences. For example:



These destructible environments exist in multiplayer as well, allowing the game to evolve throughout the match. Suddenly that building that guy's been sniping at you from no longer has a wall.

I've played the Battlefield Bad Company 2 multiplayer, but not the single player. The multiplayer is good, but it is no MW2 killer. It is very much a team-focused and squad-based game. Heavier focus on objectives like capping flag points or destroying crates. There are vehicles, which is fun, but they dont control all that well. This game will be a good diversion for you from MW2 if you have 3 other friends who are willing to roll with you, communicate, and coordinate efforts to achieve the objectives rather than just killing people. If you try to lone-wolf it, you end up spawning, walking 5 miles, getting shot, spawning back at the base, walking 5 miles, dying over and over. The maps are very large. Also, the weapons and kit unlocks take a lot longer in BFBC2, which can be very frustrating. You've got to play as a medic for 2 hours before you can unlock the health kit that heals your teammates. Crazy. MW2 is just tighter, smoother, and better.

[FN Phat]

I've played the Battlefield Bad Company 2 multiplayer, but not the single player. The multiplayer is good, but it is no MW2 killer. It is very much a team-focused and squad-based game. Heavier focus on objectives like capping flag points or destroying crates. There are vehicles, which is fun, but they dont control all that well. This game will be a good diversion for you from MW2 if you have 3 other friends who are willing to roll with you, communicate, and coordinate efforts to achieve the objectives rather than just killing people. If you try to lone-wolf it, you end up spawning, walking 5 miles, getting shot, spawning back at the base, walking 5 miles, dying over and over. The maps are very large. Also, the weapons and kit unlocks take a lot longer in BFBC2, which can be very frustrating. You've got to play as a medic for 2 hours before you can unlock the health kit that heals your teammates. Crazy. MW2 is just tighter, smoother, and better.

Maybe I won't be playing this game anytime soon. I'm all about instant gratification.

[DrumNFeather]

Video Games, The Other Vice?

[Mormon Red Death]

One of my favorite games was made in 1987

Colonial conquest. I wish they made an updated version today.