gdf

Recently completed video games

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So I don't often finish games, but when I do I like to say some things about it. Instead of searching for the necessary thread and dragging up some three year old one-pager, let's have a mighty easier time by posting in here!

I've just completed Call of Juarez. The ending tried some interesting things, but paradoxically fell back on a lot of stupid tropes and ended up being dishearteningly fragmented. It was also the only time the player gets removed from the first person perspective throughout and it broke the immersion in the dying seconds (the game keeps it up till then despite character changes, which works very well). Overall it was incredibly rough around the edges, but daring and endearing. Involving narrative and some excellent, reserved combat were keys to its success.

Excited, I rushed off to download the recently released sequel's demo. It threw hundreds of guys, a second slow-motion/bullet-time mechanic and more explosions than the entire first game at me. Streamlined and consolefied to the max, very disappointing.

I would recommend the original though. Strangely compelling when you get into it, and that game's engine is capable of a lot more ambitious stuff. They could (and should) have gone the "Like Oblivion with guns in the Wild West" route instead of the "Call of Duty of Juarez: The Generic Subtitle" for the sequel.

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I can't remember if i finished call of juarez 2. I played a lot of it but i can't remember the end, so i may have stopped playing. It gets extremely tedious by the end. Gattling turrets ahoy. There were also a couple of bizarre pseudo open world type missions randomly placed throughout the game, where you got to earn money and upgrade your weapons, but you could only do it with one character.

I most recently finished Dawn of War 2, finally. I've stopped & started this game a few times near the beginning, but recently it just got its hooks into me and i poop-socked it to completion. Great game.

I think what initially turned my off was that the game is essentially about micro managing units and in RTS games that's always been my weakness. It helped me to think if it as an extremely involved tactical diabloesque, rather than an RTS.

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I've been keeping a list of what I've completed this year. It's fairly telling. There have been a lot of "larger" games I've made a real effort to complete, but have just proven too boring or endless or uneven after hours and hours, so many of the games on this list are just a couple hours long. Anyway, here's how it stands right now:

Hitman: Blood Money

Tomb Raider: Underworld

Mirror's Edge

Far Cry 2

Dr. Dobbs' Challenge Deuce

Assassin's Creed

F.E.A.R. 2

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa (haha)

The Graveyard

Rhythm Heaven

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Defense Grid: The Awakening

Musaic Box

Plants vs. Zombies

Blueberry Garden

Little Wheel

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 1 - Launch of the Screaming Narwhal

Trine

Chains

And Yet It Moves

Sam & Max 201: Ice Station Santa

Sam & Max 202: Moai Better Blues

Zuma Deluxe

QWOP

Droplitz

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 - The Siege of Spinner Cay

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My signature is pretty much a list of recently completed games:

Time Gentlemen, Please!

Ben There, Dan That.

Broken Sword 2

The Wonderful End of the World

Broken Sword 1

Overlord 2

the Dig

Shadowgrounds

Shadowgrounds Survivor

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures

Haven't played a lot of new big games, there hasn't been much interesting :/

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QWOP

is this possible?

gdf, would you say the first Call of Juarez closer to the open world style of Oblivion? I played through the sequel and was pretty disappointed. The only two areas that i liked were the two maps that let you go on little side-missions and explore the country side. Otherwise it was so linear and smoothed over I felt like it could've been in space or WWII or whatever and been the exact same game. I would really love a western where things actually felt dirty and open and clunky and not rely on massive cinematic sequences filled with crappy banal plot.

The last game I finished was X-Men Origins: Wolverine (surprisingly good), Shadow Complex (very good), and the remake of Secret of Monkey Island. Although I still preferred the "old school" version of Monkey Island, I still kinda hope they bring LeChuck's revenge out on xbla because it's a good environment to play through it again with my gf. Sitting around the computer feels MUCH dorkier than sitting on the couch.

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gdf, would you say the first Call of Juarez closer to the open world style of Oblivion? I played through the sequel and was pretty disappointed. The only two areas that i liked were the two maps that let you go on little side-missions and explore the country side. Otherwise it was so linear and smoothed over I felt like it could've been in space or WWII or whatever and been the exact same game. I would really love a western where things actually felt dirty and open and clunky and not rely on massive cinematic sequences filled with crappy banal plot.

No, it's very much a level based game, but there are plenty large, open spaces to explore. As I said, it's pretty much entirely in first person, meaning the dialogue and stuff is usually experienced passively to a degree. It's less focussed on shooting, and though the stealth bits are quite wank it's worth persevering. The style changes a lot throughout, with some bits straight shooting, some horseback chases, some sneaking, some platforming, some rabbit hunting. Unbalanced, all over the place and full of dodgy moments, but surprisingly ambitious and different overall.

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No, it's very much a level based game, but there are plenty large, open spaces to explore. As I said, it's pretty much entirely in first person, meaning the dialogue and stuff is usually experienced passively to a degree. It's less focussed on shooting, and though the stealth bits are quite wank it's worth persevering. The style changes a lot throughout, with some bits straight shooting, some horseback chases, some sneaking, some platforming, some rabbit hunting. Unbalanced, all over the place and full of dodgy moments, but surprisingly ambitious and different overall.

It's funny how a lot of the gamers I know who would love a really amazing Western game all agree on what the core principles and themes should be and that all of the western games I've played end up missing the mark.

Aside from the old Sierra Gold Rush, does anyone know of a western RPG (in that it's set in the old west, not made by westerners)? Maybe I played too much Oregon Trail as a kid but it sounds like a real fun idea to me.

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Was it you that sent in reader mail saying a Wild West MMOFPS would be the best game ever? :)

Red Dead Redemption could be amazing. The first was great, but lacked a certain something.

Have you played Gun?

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Was it you that sent in reader mail saying a Wild West MMOFPS would be the best game ever? :)

Red Dead Redemption could be amazing. The first was great, but lacked a certain something.

Have you played Gun?

No it was some other western fan in the reader mail... I'm not a very big fan of MMOs because of what the thumbs have mentioned in some cast or another (everyone wants to be the outlaw, no one wants to be the barkeep), but yeah I have hope for Red Dead Redemption (although I never had a console for the first one).

I did play GUN and it I thought it started off with great promise and I still liked enough about it to play all the way through but it ended up being more of a Western GTA (which is ok) than a Western Oblivion (which is more what I'd like). The open range feeling was good except the map was way too small and the missions were... I dunno... had some charm but a little too simplistic or off in some way. I'd definitely play a GUN 2 made this generation with hopes that they expanded on some of the elements which i thought were too small or simplistic... hopefully that'll be Red Dead Redemption.

Also, as a fan of Italian Western films, the second Call of Juarez gets maybe a bit too much credit for their homage. There's really not much taken from those films other than what people who have only seen one or two think represent the genre.

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My primary issue with the idea of a western RPG is that I imagine developers would feel forced in some weird indefinable way to include Magic. I'd be into a open world western RPG where things that may have actually applied to people of the old west are pertinent to the game. Like if the character was (as most-all western games begin) some sort of eastwood-esque character, except without all the skills maybe. Perhaps just a gun and the need for income. Then things like the ability to drink water and go for a while without dying, or building up stamina under the hot sun, or (obviously) gun-slinging abilities and animal husbandry (ie horse-riding) would be the "skill trees." What I fear is that someone comes along and says, "hey lets put oblivion/fable/diablo in the American West." What I also fear is that my idea of a good western RPG might feel too much like Fallout in the American West. Replace enclave with some rich prospector and keep the raiders "raiders" and replace the radiation sickness with dehydration and heat-stroke. Keep dogmeat. Add horses as "vehicles."

Maybe I'm just being too cynical here, but I feel like it'd be hard to make a Western-Themed RPG that could feel like what we "think" the Wild West was like without someone crying foul over another game that's so similar but just painted in a different backdrop. At the same time if this Red Dead Redemption becomes GTA in the old west with the first Red Dead's game mechanics, I'll buy it. But only if they keep the film grain and perfect sound they had before. Plus the "wild-west" accents. I'm that kind of cheesy.

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Were someone to do it properly I think they'd have to hide all of the numbers. Have natural progression in abilities, passively improve at what you like to do etc. instead of all this assigning skill points frippery. Games have gotten past the point that these systems have to be prevalent, because the whole point of them in the pen and paper days was to help people imagine these fantastical scenarios. Well, guess what, we've got video games now and it's possible to have that experience without staring at stat sheets. RPG totally doesn't mean role playing game any more. Far Cry 2 is arguably a role playing game.

Actually, Far Cry 2 in the Wild West would be sweet. Put Will Smith in it as well and you're really on to something.

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My primary issue with the idea of a western RPG is that I imagine developers would feel forced in some weird indefinable way to include Magic. I'd be into a open world western RPG where things that may have actually applied to people of the old west are pertinent to the game. Like if the character was (as most-all western games begin) some sort of eastwood-esque character, except without all the skills maybe. Perhaps just a gun and the need for income. Then things like the ability to drink water and go for a while without dying, or building up stamina under the hot sun, or (obviously) gun-slinging abilities and animal husbandry (ie horse-riding) would be the "skill trees." What I fear is that someone comes along and says, "hey lets put oblivion/fable/diablo in the American West." What I also fear is that my idea of a good western RPG might feel too much like Fallout in the American West. Replace enclave with some rich prospector and keep the raiders "raiders" and replace the radiation sickness with dehydration and heat-stroke. Keep dogmeat. Add horses as "vehicles."

Maybe I'm just being too cynical here, but I feel like it'd be hard to make a Western-Themed RPG that could feel like what we "think" the Wild West was like without someone crying foul over another game that's so similar but just painted in a different backdrop. At the same time if this Red Dead Redemption becomes GTA in the old west with the first Red Dead's game mechanics, I'll buy it. But only if they keep the film grain and perfect sound they had before. Plus the "wild-west" accents. I'm that kind of cheesy.

I think you speak to a larger trend in a lot of games that they don't feel secure enough with an intimate story. The whole SpaceCop thing where it'd be refreshing to play a dude who doesn't control the fate of the universe, isn't the chosen one saviour of generations king of the world. My guess is that there's a fear that if you play someone relatively insignificant, people wont want to play it. I don't know about other people but at this point, making something small is more new and exciting than making something epic and i'd love it.

I agree. no magic. no aliens (prey). no Wild Wild West mechanical spiders. Just some cowboys on the open range, man.

but yeah... i think ideally, land would play a large part in my fantasy Western RPG. You'd have the ability to buy a store and stock it with inventory or something or acquire assets around town. My super-fantasy would be the ability for towns to spring up if you discover gold in a mountain... some sort of mining or panhandling mechanic if you wanted to. but also all the things you mention about the sun and water management... I know those don't immediately sound like "fun" things to have in a game but i'm fairly sure with enough polish it could be an effective mechanic that doesn't become too annoying.

But just off the top of my head, you could have like a sheriff path where you uphold the law in different towns and your reputation grows or an outlaw path where you eventually get bigger and have a posse and can tax towns and put up with vigilantes or a fortune-hunter path killing buffalo for trade and on the trail of hidden mexican treasure or even an indian path at war with the white man in defense of your homeland. Whether these are different characters to play or different missions to sign up for, it still seems like there's a metric ton of genre terrain to cover. The game just needs to be big and beautiful and open and detailed enough to pull it off.

Personally, I wished Fallout 3 coulda been Old West several times while playing. I think it would've been just as much fun.

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Were someone to do it properly I think they'd have to hide all of the numbers. Have natural progression in abilities, passively improve at what you like to do etc. instead of all this assigning skill points frippery. Games have gotten past the point that these systems have to be prevalent, because the whole point of them in the pen and paper days was to help people imagine these fantastical scenarios. Well, guess what, we've got video games now and it's possible to have that experience without staring at stat sheets. RPG totally doesn't mean role playing game any more. Far Cry 2 is arguably a role playing game.

Actually, Far Cry 2 in the Wild West would be sweet. Put Will Smith in it as well and you're really on to something.

Just so long as the 2 hit knife kill (1st hit knocks them down, 2nd hit stabs them in the chest) is retained, I'd be VERY excited for that kind of game. Ok Developers, ASSEMBLE!

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Wouldn't you rather have a kill/scalp two hit knife combo?

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Only if I had indian heritage. I kind of like the Far Cry 2 "stab in the chest" animation. Alot. It umm... Well lets say I'm glad that there's no connection between video games and actual violence.

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but yeah... i think ideally, land would play a large part in my fantasy Western RPG. You'd have the ability to buy a store and stock it with inventory or something or acquire assets around town. My super-fantasy would be the ability for towns to spring up if you discover gold in a mountain... some sort of mining or panhandling mechanic if you wanted to. but also all the things you mention about the sun and water management... I know those don't immediately sound like "fun" things to have in a game but i'm fairly sure with enough polish it could be an effective mechanic that doesn't become too annoying.

But just off the top of my head, you could have like a sheriff path where you uphold the law in different towns and your reputation grows or an outlaw path where you eventually get bigger and have a posse and can tax towns and put up with vigilantes or a fortune-hunter path killing buffalo for trade and on the trail of hidden mexican treasure or even an indian path at war with the white man in defense of your homeland. Whether these are different characters to play or different missions to sign up for, it still seems like there's a metric ton of genre terrain to cover. The game just needs to be big and beautiful and open and detailed enough to pull it off.

Personally, I wished Fallout 3 coulda been Old West several times while playing. I think it would've been just as much fun.

Thinking about this a little makes me wonder. What if you did a MMO-style Western. (Don't run away yet) where you had quotas. Like if the game has 2 towns and 1 rebel outpost (I would imagine it would be so much larger in design), you couldn't have just any random number of Farmers or Clint Eastwoods or Marshalls or Sherriffs or Raiders. I would think the regular townspeople would generally be NPC's, but you would obviousy have only 2 sherriffs, 4 deputies, maybe a posse of 4-6 marshalls, many farmers and maybe another 2-3 clint eastwood types and probably about a dozen Raiders. All Player-Characters. If you could design ratios into the population, a MMO-style western would rock pretty hard. At the same time, if you wanted the game to be popular at all you'd need a huge gameworld with lots and lots of instances so that the ratios work out and so that in general each "area" doesn't feel totally unpopulated, but still feels like the West (Kinda spread out). Anyways, a non-magic Western RPG would definitely get a serious consideration from my wallet.

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So, basically, we all want to go back in time and just live as a bounty hunter in the Wild West.

Still, there's plenty of potential for Westerns that's yet to be exploited in any meaningful way.

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So, basically, we all want to go back in time and just live as a bounty hunter in the Wild West.

Still, there's plenty of potential for Westerns that's yet to be exploited in any meaningful way.

Basically. What would be cool is if they designed a game that removed as much "game interface elements" (maps w/GPS, health bars, even character names (until you find them out yourself) as possible, and put that in a western themed game.

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What would be cool is if they designed a game that removed as much "game interface elements" (maps w/GPS, health bars, even character names (until you find them out yourself) as possible, and put that in a western themed game.

I think all games need to cut back on the interface, regardless of the setting they're in. I've played two different games this year (Assassin's Creed, Ghostbusters) that I enjoyed so much more after I turned off all the HUD bullshit from the menu.

But yeah, an Old West RPG would be awesome. But then, pretty much any RPG that's not set in either outer space or Tolkien fantasy land would be awesome too.

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Hmm, it's a good idea to keep a list for the year. AFAIR this has been my year so far...

GTA IV: The Lost and Damned

Rock Band 2

Professor Layton

Sam & Max: Season 2 (all episodes)

Tales of Monkey Island: Episodes 1 & 2

Ben There Dan That

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1

Damn... I can't believe that's all I've managed in 9 months :hmph:

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360

GTA4

Gears 2

burnout paradise

shadow complex

splosion man

Monkey island

the maw

magic the gatheing

wallace and gromit 1

mirrors edge (hard and no guns)

Wii

Smash bros brawl

Resident evil 4

PC

tomi 1

strong bad 4

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I finished Stranglehold on PC last night. It was crap of course, but sensibly short and a decent way to whittle away a few hours with some perversely entertaining explosions and comically bad cut scenes.

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Here are the games I have recently beat:

Red Faction

Shadow Complex

De Blob

Final Fantasy VII (On PSP)

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (I cant believe I have not played that until now)

Mirrors Edge

Pikmin Wii

Retro Game Challenge

Trauma Center Under the Knife 2

World of Goo

And Just about finished Final Fantasy IV

I know there are some more though

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