Rate the last video game you played

[Webber3000]

Same concept as the Rate the last movie you watched/saw thread in the Movies board.

I was actually inspired by Spazz's thread on two... Not very major games.

[Spazz]

Ha! I actually thought about making this just for the purpose of those 2 games. At least to boot. I for some reason felt like writing much more about them then needed Great idea though. I recently just beat 1 GBA game and in the process of another so I guess why not hit this off? More old ass, not very major games I scooped up for cheap because... because screw you that's why, I'm sick of shooting things

Lunar Legend - 8/10
A stripped down version of one of the Lunar PSX Games (Silver Star Story I think) it's a pretty basic RPG but, I felt the story and characters were all very well done. I actually cared about the good guys and it motivated me enough to hate the bad guys (It throws some twists around though). The combat is pretty basic turn based RPG stuff but, fun nontheless. The in game graphics are nothing special but, it didn't really matter. A lot of the art was cool. During scenes some more detailed portraits of characters or landscapes will pop up. Not too much grinding required except in the beginning but, it's really not much. The only bad thing about this game that I noticed, which is really more of an annoyance than some kind of design flaw, is the maze like areas combined with random encounter triggered combat. It's also kind of short. My version of short may be warped though, my game time for a day is like 13 hours... I know, I'm a loser...

Broken Sword: The Shadows of Templars - 8/10
Another PSX game put onto the GBA, pretty sure it was also on PC. Pretty standard point and click adventure, if that's your thing. (It's totally mine) As far as those games go it's very well done, the story is compelling, the characters are memorable, lots of places to go, and it looks great for GBA. (Well, as good as it could being so detailed)
The only thing I could complain about is the difficulty. Maybe it's just me but, it seems really easy. At least as far as point and click goes. It's still rewarding though. I always feel really smart and accomplished when I figure out something cool

[Spidey 1923]

Spec Ops - The Line - 8.5/10

At first it seems like a generic war shooter but as the game unravels it slowly becomes a critical assessment of the modern day war shooter genre. It almost deliberately goes out of its way to provoke anger from the gamer and instead of being your average war hero, the protagonist is despised for making the hard choices that aren’t faced in typical war shooters. It portrays war for what it really is and makes you think about the choices the protagonist has made (scripted and unscripted) and most of the time, makes you regret them.

Towards the end there’s a revelation that was very intelligently written and integrated into the game. It really highlights a common issue faced by real soldiers that is rarely explored. The endings were also clever.

[Webber3000]

I didn't play it, but from my understanding, it's a game that brilliantly questions the whole shooter genre.
Extra Credits had two pretty good episodes talking about the game, and Caveball seems to like it as well.

[Caveboy0]

Mar 30, 2013 23:53:27 GMT -5 Spidey 1923 said:

Spec Ops - The Line - 8.5/10

At first it seems like a generic war shooter but as the game unravels it slowly becomes a critical assessment of the modern day war shooter genre. It almost deliberately goes out of its way to provoke anger from the gamer and instead of being your average war hero, the protagonist is despised for making the hard choices that aren’t faced in typical war shooters. It portrays war for what it really is and makes you think about the choices the protagonist has made (scripted and unscripted) and most of the time, makes you regret them.

Towards the end there’s a revelation that was very intelligently written and integrated into the game. It really highlights a common issue faced by real soldiers that is rarely explored. The endings were also clever.

sums up my feelings about the game. hugely important game for the medium i think. as much hate as COD gets, it defines the current generation and Spec Ops capitalizes on it in a really interesting way. Many shooters like COD and also Uncharted use the faceless enemy. sure they have a broad banner over their heads that defines them as "villains" but they are still hallow. Spec Ops twists that video game trope into the relm of reality. Using the cliche as a means to evoke actual emotion. Not knowing the enemy or who you are shooting at isn't something you just don't think about or forget. The game demands that you consider who they are and whether they are really your enemy. While also powerless to not kill them. You have no choice in the matter and whether they are good or bad you have to kill them to survive. The mix between choices and the illusion of choice is so conflicting at times. Sometimes there is a choice that I can't make, sometimes I see a false dichotomy where there isn't one.

as the loading screen sometimes says "if you kill you are a murder, if you kill for your government you are a hero" killing is killing and the difference between guilt and pride is a thin line of perspective that the main character carries the burden of the entire game. The final decision in the game at least for my play through was a brilliant stroke to end it. this interesting symbolism and a tough choice.

[Spazz]

ICO - 9/10

Recently got the team ICO collection on PS3 and I had played Shadow of the Colossus before but, never ICO. I think it's safe to say it's become a, if not the, favorite

I feel like I should explain the story but, I'll keep it short. You should look into this game more anyway
It follows the story of Ico. A young boy born with horns. Seen as a bad omen, he is locked away in a castle. In a twist fate he is able to escape his prison in the castle and upon exploring it, finds a girl, Yorda, also locked away. He decides to help her escape too but, dark forces pursue her and things may not be so easy.

The gameplay is fairly simple, it's pretty much holding hands with Yora and solving puzzles to get her through places you can just, "Uncharted", yourself through. As well as protecting her from the shadows that pursue her.

The thing that makes this game different, there's no HUD, no indicators, not even music 90% of the time and barely any dialogue. Much like the perfect box art (Not the horrible original North American one. The finished, EU, JP and Collection one), it uses massive, beautiful, but empty landscapes to put a lot of emphasis on the companionship of Ico and Yorda. She needs you but, as it turns out, you also need her. At least, that's what I feel like is going on. The whole visual theme of the game seems to be contrast. It's quite the work of art, its minimalism and atmosphere done masterfully. It truly evokes emotion and immersion and it's just a video game experience unlike anything I've encountered. It also is quite vague, much to the same effect but, it still holds so much meaning. I can't even express.

It's quite the beautiful, quiet, maybe even romantic, spin on the old, "rescue the princess", tale. My only gripe would be slightly janky controls and I was gonna say some levels feel too designed but, that can actually be explained away by the game. It still hardly takes anything away from this beauty. Plus, you can get it remastered in HD (And 3D) with another great game, for 20 dollars. Do that. Immediately.

[Spazz]

I enjoyed Tara Strong in LC I don't know, I got pretty bored with that game fast, I thought the ridiculousness was the only appeal. It's got pretty good gameplay though just, not a hack n slash type guy as much anymore I guess. L.A. Noire I do enjoy being into those types of movies and point and click style things and all but, I'm waiting for a sequel to really perfect it. Mortal Kombat I thought was funny that they topped the violence of most games these days, just like in the old days but, it's pretty color by numbers. I guess that's what everyone wanted though? Return to the classics and all.

I recently got my hands on NiGHTS into dreams... on PSN, the old Sega Saturn classic I was also aware of but, I never actually owned a Saturn (Did anyone?)
Boy, was I missing out. This game is ridiculously fun and beautiful. I think it looks pretty damn good on the original Saturn res but, you also have the option to play it remastered and it looks even better. Really solid remaster. It took me a bit to figure out what the actual hell was going on but, once you get the hang of it the fun is crazy. I still can't stop playing it. Some complaints would be, short length; even with the option to go back and A rank everything, that only took me a few hours and it really wasn't too hard. It maintains a certain appeal though so that's not too huge. Other than that, I honestly have yet to run into any flaws with this game. There has to be some but, I've had nothing jump out at me. - 9/10

[brotherandbassist]

Just recently got my hands on Assassin's Creed II and Dead Space 2. I'll let you know how they are once I can get into them. It's been rather difficult getting over my Black Ops zombies addiction

[Spazz]

(Forgive the necro post)

Donkey Kong (1994) - Game Boy
I had this game on a cart many moons ago, it was actually one of the first games I had but, it was misplaced and I never replaced it. I recently got a 2DS though and saw this on the Virtual Console and decided to revisit it, not really remembering much.

It's the basic DK arcade formula; save Pauline from DK through strategic platforming. It even pays homage to the DK arcade as well as DK Jr. by having the 4 arcade levels being the first levels of the game and many other levels featuring the same basic design as many DK Jr. levels. It also expands the entire formula and this is one of the areas the game really shines. The sheer amount of expansion based on the arcade is incredible and many new things are introduced.

After you think you've just beaten the arcade, DK springs back into action and grabs Pauline again. You then have to chase him down through 9 worlds all with a varying number of stages, 101 in total. More of a puzzle aspect is present as the goal of each level is to find a key and then find a way to get it down to the door to proceed. The level design here is great though, nothing ever feels too repetitive and there's always something new to challenge you with some new way of completing the puzzle, even through 100 levels. Every 3 levels you catch up to DK and it returns to the more platforming based gameplay of the arcade. It also features the same goal, get to the top where Pauline and DK are but, again, the amount of expansion really shines and these parts are designed just as well. As you would expect in a Mario based title, platforming is also a key part of gameplay generally and it's some of the best. The controls are tight and fluid and Mario is some kind of crazy gymnast in this apparently. Performing many helpful acrobatic feats rarely seen by him. After each of these stages you get a little cutscene which cleverly introduces you to new mechanics you'll have to make use of or new obstacles you have to face and a way of facing them. This is a great feature and a very clever way to teach the player. At the end of each level you have the boss stage in which the goal is to hit DK with 3 barrels. These are never that different but, always a decent challenge. DK Jr. himself also makes an appearance, usually controlling different aspects of the level or trying to hit you with mushrooms that shrink you. Even minor things like the soundtrack are incredible. I don't usually put game OST's on my iPod but, this might change that, ha.

Warp up
This game is a criminally-overlooked, puzzle-platformer masterpiece. I could talk forever about all the stuff thats introduced and how many things come and go in this game. It's so masterfully designed though, everything fits, it's never messy or cluttered, it never feels repetitive and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Unlike the much more popular DK games (Looking at you Country). The platforming is flawless, the strategy aspect is incredible and as I've said, I could go on and on about the scale. It also has the original DK and DK Jr. basically in it, so why you would even need to buy those 2 anymore, is a mystery. This, in my opinion, is not only one of the best DK and Mario games, this could very well be one of the best games, period.

[Spidey 1923]

Catching up on some Quantic Dream games.

Fahrenheit – 6/10

This game was released in 2005 and you can definitely feel the influence it had on Heavy Rain.

Fahrenheit had a lot of good things going for it but it really falls apart about halfway through. What was previously an interesting story with realistic characters becomes a rushed mess with crazy situations occurring left, right and centre. Probably the height of the craziness was when two characters suddenly develop romantic feelings for each other from out of nowhere. This is despite one of these characters recently losing a romantic partner. When they actually declared their love for the other, I couldn’t stop laughing because it made no sense whatsoever. I actually lost it when they had sex.

It's still enjoyable, but towards the end of the game it's enjoyable for the wrong reasons. It’s a shame because the game got off to such a promising start but fell flat on it’s face by the end.

[Spazz]

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Well, I finally was able to get a 3DS game besides Pokemon, ha. I really like this one.

If I could use one word to describe it, and I'm going to use this one a lot, it would be, "personality". I'm always baffled at Luigi's character, he's just so full of it. From his lovable, nervous demeanor to subtle idle animations, he's very fleshed out and just downright enjoyable. Such personality is found elsewhere as well. The ghosts all have distinct behaviors and the like and even the levels themselves, in flavor text and level design, give light to their previous function or owners. Much is left to the imagination but, the attention to detail is still there. The levels also have plenty of secrets to find and scenery that is pretty much 100% interactable. You can examine and vacuum just about everything. The scenery could be the answer to a puzzle, a secret treasure stash, and even weapons and hiding places for the ghosts. It makes for a solid, reactable world. The combat also exhibits a right amount of depth, you must judge when to pull the ghost back with all your might, or let the ghost pull you along in order to dodge other ghosts. Vacuuming, as a core mechanic, works so very well because of things like this. All of this is very similar to the first Luigi's Mansion but, I feel that it's mostly evolved quite a bit.

Of course you must also look at the game as a sequel and comparing it to the first one is tricky. The biggest difference is the setting. The first one featured one mansion with 4 areas, each with 7 portrait ghosts (Minus Area 1). Dark Moon has 5 mansions, each with 5 missions and a boss. I wasn't completely sold on the mission format but, I realized the first one basically had this as well. The Areas don't take too long to complete and feature an objective to reach the next. I suppose the biggest difference is that in DM, there are 5 missions per mansion, not areas. You'll end up in different areas in the later missions but, the mansions aren't that big and the missions not that long, you go through the same places a lot. This also adds a lot of break up. One set of missions could take as long as or a bit longer than 1 area in the first game but, here, you would be returning to E. Gadds lab 6 times in that time. Whether or not that's bad is up to preference. I'm not sure I prefer it but, I think it's really just different. It works fine with the way the game is.
I think my biggest, solid complaint though is the lack of new portrait ghosts. The ghosts in DM, as I said, have personality but, just not as much and they just aren't as interesting given they're all commons, minus the boss fights, which are also all the same type of ghost just possessing different things. I really would of liked to see some kind of portrait ghosts incorporated somehow. I almost want to blame the inclusion of multiplayer for this. (Which I have yet to try) If I must nitpick, I also enjoy the sound effects and music in the first one as well.

All in all, Dark Moon is just a different type of experience, and has a different type of atmosphere than the first. It fixes some flaws of the first but, introduces some of it's own. I would still recommend it, it's a fun time.

[brotherandbassist]

Friday the 13th: The Game- 9/10

Holy cow is this game loads of fun! I got out of my horror movie phase a long time ago, and whenever my nephew told me he had nabbed this game on the Playstation store for his birthday, I was kind of hesitant at first. I knew I definitely wanted to play it, but I had no idea how much I would love it! To me, the movies -most of them, not all -are almost unbearable because of how poorly made, repetitive, and identical they all are, but this game makes up for that. The developers have managed to listen to the fans quite well, and have taken every aspect of Friday the 13th worth praising and combined it into one entity. Playing as a counselor is crazy fun as you rummage through cabins, scavenging for parts to fix the boat or car and trying to find parts to the fuse box to call police. You can also use several objects such as planks of wood, bats, machetes, and wrenches as weapons to use against Jason, and after two characters have been killed, you have the ability to call in Jason's arch nemesis Tommy Jarvis to take him down. Tommy comes equipped with a shotgun and is incredibly over powered for a civilian character. While this game is fun, it's also insanely challenging and also very intense. If you're not looking to borderline pee yourself or be on the edge of your seat for two hours, do not play this game. This game is a close as you can be to being in a slasher movie without actually being an actor. The graphics and game style remind me a lot of some of the bonus modes in GTA V and other elements remind me of L.A Noire. The other awesome thing about this game is that it's all fan funded. Not only that, but it's made by an independent game company not under major game company control, and the people who helped make the actual movies helped make the game. Kane Hodder, who played Jason in Friday the 13th Parts 7, 8, 9, and 10 did the motion capture for Jason and they did a great job of showing off just how massive and powerful Jason is.

What I like about the game:
. Great replayability value
. Great suspense/nice job of capturing atmosphere
. Every playable Jason is movie accurate, not just in design, but in ability. If you're playing as the big, stalky zombie jason from the 7th movie, for instance, he can't run, but is still insanely strong just like in the actual movie, or if you play as the more human Jason from part 2, he's a lot faster but not as over powered, again, just like the movie. They captured Jason's strength and skill level just as it works in every individual movie, so even though each skin is Jason, it's almost like choosing between 8 different killers
. Trying to kill Jason/ and or escape is a fun challenge (see great replayability value)

What I don't like about this game:
. Glitches
. Only one way to kill Jason (it's complicated to explain if you haven't seen the movies)
. Jason being over powered. Seriously. This is good if you're playing as him, but as a counselor, it can be a pain in the butt because he can literally teleport, and you can't kill him, you only temporarily stun him even when shooting him directly in the face with a shot gun.
. There's three maps in the game: Crystal Lake, Higgins Haven, and Pacanack Lodge (I call it pancake lodge). The crystal lake map sucks. The cabins are incredibly small and hard to move in and out of, and a lot of them don't have windows in the back, so good luck getting away from Jason on this map! The other two maps are amazing, but the main map that's inspired by the movies is ironically enough the most frustrating and easy to get killed on map
. Back to maps, there's only three!
. Need more variety in weapons Jaosn uses. Of the eight Jasons you can play as, almost all of them have some kind of axe. He uses multiple weapons in each movie, so it's silly to me for each one to have an axe. It distracts from just how different the design is for the character in each movie when each one has practically the same weapon

Even if you aren't a Friday fan, give this game a shot because it's crazy fun and insanely well made! It really exceeded my expectations greatly. I think this game will put major horror franchise games off the map once all the glitches are fixed and it's a great start to what I think could be a new trend in gaming. This series should've been a game to start with, it's way better in game form than it is movie form. This franchise is just perfect for a survival horror game.

NOTE: My opinion is not biased. So please don't roll your eyes reading this because of how I acted towards horror films on the spidey boards. I was eleven then, and I'm going on 21 now, so my opinion is a lot more open minded and concise. I'm not beefing this game up just because it's a spawn of one of my past obsessions, so take my review lightly.

[Spazz]

Bit of an unloved thread I thought I'd pop in on, as I'm always Gaming™ and always have lots to say about it lol. Although not functioning at High Capacity Critic Brain atm so it's gonna be a little to the point, vague, possibly disjointed but, ya know.

Currently I've been on a big racing game kick, (though usually racers are like a top 3 genre for me) and I've been getting back into Wipeout. (or wipEout as it's sometimes stylized) Wipeout HD (PS3) I have a ton of experience with, legit like 10 years off and on but, recently I've been playing some of the classics, namely the first 3 PSX games. I never really gave them a comprehensive play but, I have long been obsessed with their aesthetics. As you do. If you don't know what Wipeout is, you race anti gravity ships around, that's it really.

wipEout doesn't hold up the best gameplay or design wise, and I generally don't have a lot to say about it. It has some unique aspects that are cool, like being able to pick a pilot. Like, actually having named characters. 2097 can also be a bit jank but, is actually still really solid. It has a surprisingly nice difficulty curve, and actually feels really good, despite lacking analog control. These games more shine in their aesthetics, and again 2097 is the standout to me. Grimy and semi-cartoony at the same time, wonderful mix of low and high tech with some of the boldest nature in the series, incredibly radical, confrontational, and colorful graphic design, stark, night-focused lighting and atmosphere, and a legendary licensed soundtrack, most of it Big Beat focused. The whole package feels straight out of some local underground club scene at the time.

To me the mark of a good racer is not just gameplay but, a game that is overall passionate about some sort of driving (or otherwise) subculture, theme, etc, and has the aesthetic prowess to immerse you in that world. Embody it, and showcase that passion with the multimedia power of a video game. Seems specific but, it is a thing. Classic Wipeout nails this so dang good, despite wonky elements. Tony Hawk games nailed this in a similar way too I think. Also incredible that you could put PSX discs in a CD player and just play the music from the game. You got a sick game, and a small collection of the genre of music it identified with! The focus on music really drives this whole thing home imo.

Wipeout 3 is generally more of the same but, overall holds up a lot better. It's the Ridge Racer 4 of Wipeout. It's a more comprehensive package with a staggering amount of polish, and more interesting ship selection. Some of my favorite tracks in the series too. The aesthetics are a little more refined, the game scales back its use of color in particular, isn't as, "under the cloak of night", and opts for a slightly different musical aesthetic as well, despite featuring some of the same artists as 2097. It overall has a more realistic thing going on, which I'm not as wild about but, the game looks incredible for PSX, and it's aesthetics are still killer. Still to this day some of the best gameplay in the series too, despite some floaty-ness that requires more practice to get used to. It's difficulty curve is a little whack too but, overall it's just plain great. The PAL-exclusive special edition also adds further polish, and a classic league that remakes most of the tracks from 2097, and some from 1! They skipped my favorite from 2097 though, alas.

TL;DR: Wipeout. Wipeout 1? Eh ya know, respect to the elders I guess. 2097? Little jank but, legendary aesthetics, solid feel. Wipeout 3? Not without flaw but, an absolute powerhouse of a package. A testament to 1998/9 being the holy year of racers. Almost mad I didn't grow up with a PSX.

[mr. excellent]

Very nice. RE4 is the only one I've played all the way through, but a while back I joined in on some friends who were playing through the remastered RE2, which was a ton of fun to watch. I'm terrible at gaming, namely, because I never play so I have terrible instincts or lack thereof.

On another note, I enjoyed reading your post up there Spazz. As I just said, I never play games, but as a kid who was never allowed to play due to silly parental restrictions (they meant well I suppose), I enjoyed Hydro Thunder, the super classic Mario Kart 64, and the original Crash Team Racing game.

[brotherandbassist]

Red Dead Redemption 2-
Story- 9
Voice Acting- 10
Gameplay- 9/10
Graphics- 9/10
Online- 7.5/10
Replayability- 8.5/10
Overall rating- 8.8/10

The Last of Us Remastered
Story- 10
Voice Acting- 10
Gameplay- 9
Graphics- 9
Online- 9
Repeatability- 10
Overall rating: 9.6/10

The Last of Us 2
Story- 8.5
Voice Acting- 10
Gameplay- 10
Graphics- 10
Replayability- 10
Overall rating: 9.7/10