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I also just finished The Swapper and pretty much agree with what Tycho said above. The audio/visual design in that game is soooo good. I guess everything was made from actual clay models. It works really well. I did have the same issue with the sound mixing and actually ended up turning on subtitles so I could be sure to make out all the dialogue. My only real complaint is that there were these hidden terminals that add some additional backstory, but they were so outrageously hidden that I can't imagine anyone would find more than one or two in a normal playthrough, and when you finish the game it saves at the credits sequence so to explore the station again to try and find them you'd have to re-solve all the puzzles. But like I said it's just some optional backstory and that's what youtube's for, so it's a very minor complaint.

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Trine 2 in co-op.  Overall I thought the original was more charming and engaging.  Some of the levels feel too long and puzzles too direct.  Though the free expansion redeems 2 in a lot of ways, as the puzzle design is better and the mission length is shorter in the Goblin campaign compared to the main story.  Still, worth playing if you like the first one.

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Bought Hard Reset in the Steam sale and i mostly really like it. Lots of lazy gating with invisible walls and a bad universal ammo system marring what is otherwise an excellent old-school FPS.

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I finished The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD yesterday, and did enough New Game Plus stuff to drop off my last pictograph. That ending is still so good, though Ganondorf is a much easier fight than I remember. The whole game's pretty easy, to be honest. I think I only ever needed to heal once, on the last floor of the Savage Labyrinth.

 

I'm just happy I finally got this.

 

amvs3xe.png

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Arkham CIty. Really enjoyed this. Rocksteady nailed the mood and the balance of swooping/arse-kicking/World's Greatest Detective stuff, even if it only involved scanning bloodstains and following the trail. The collectables felt a bit overwhelming this time round - my map is cluttered with ?s - but there's a chance I'll go back and hunt some more just because it felt so good to be 1970s Batman.

Of minor concern was the framing of female characters. I understand there aren't any munters in comics but I don't remember a frame when Talia al Ghul was onscreen and her arse wasn't. Likewise, Catwoman is ridiculously sexualised, but it seemed in keeping with her character and her excellent animation was a welcome break. With Talia it felt more leery - this character model's got a great ass so let's track it through the cutscene.

 

I've got no desire to play Origins, but if Rocksteady do another, I'd definitely consider it. A story about Bruce Wayne struggling with age would be interesting.

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The Walking Dead

Way over due, but I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The story had me desperate to know what was happening next. However one of the flaws I got rather aggravated with was that your choices don't matter...at all. The characters I wanted to live would die no matter how hard I tried to save them. Some would die or leave in lazy ways just so I couldn't take them further.

Despite that disappointment, I really enjoyed it!

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I finally played Mass Effect 2. What awkward dialogue. People think this is good? Hm. I mean the game was okay overall. It was dumb super sci-fi/future-fantasy bullshit, which is fun. But that writing... Anyway, Mordin is amazing. Grunt was surprisingly great, too. I really enjoy the salarian/krogan dynamic. Also I weirdly feel like there's LESS squadmate interaction than there was in the first game? You'd think Tali and Legion would be constantly bickering if you bring both of them on a mission. Granted, you do get Legion pretty late...

I wonder how I'd feel about Mass Effect 1 today. I remember liking it a lot more, but back then video games were KNOWN and PRAISED for their awkward writing! Now we have Telltale, among others.

Regardless, I already know Mass Effect 3 is the worst of the series because I looked it up and Mordin is not an available squad member. Even more egregious, there's no salarian squad member PERIOD. And no krogan. Someone go tell Bioware they're fucking idiots. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

SALARIANS ARE THE BEST RACE IN MASS EFFECT. Though Elcor certainly give 'em a run for their money.

 

(I also like the history of the hanar/drell relationship. I also really really really want a recent-Telltale-style(/developed? I mean they're doing BORDERLANDS c'mon also I feel like I can trust them more than Bioware to deliver dialogue that doesn't make me laugh or roll my eyes when I'm not supposed to - I mean I understand that these games take a LOT OF WORK AND PLANNING, but if you can't deliver on the small scale, don't make a trilogy of games that are each 20+ hours, dummies) game set in the Mass Effect universe on the Citadel.)

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I can't pinpoint why but I recall quite liking the dialogue in ME2, despite being it pretty cheesy/pulpy. Then I watched a friend play the first couple hours of ME3 and found it utterly cringe-worthy. From memory it had the same lead writer as Dragon Age 2 which I decided was terrible based on the dialogue in the demo alone ("I want to be a dragon!").

 

I wish I had something to contribute to this thread but I'm bad at finishing games.

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I just played through Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons to confirm that I do in fact, have a heart of solid stone. It is fun - the puzzles are easy enough that you're always moving forward, there's some nice variety in them, and the setting is right up my street (not literally) but I was continually reminded of Ico and Sands of Time while playing it and they're both far better ways to spend an afternoon so that realisation kinda hurt it. The story didn't do much for me except for one nice wee bit about two-thirds of the way in and the ending did not have the impact I'd been led to expect. Not bad, but glad I only paid the price of a pint for it in the PSN sale. 

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Regardless, I already know Mass Effect 3 is the worst of the series because I looked it up and Mordin is not an available squad member. Even more egregious, there's no salarian squad member PERIOD. And no krogan. Someone go tell Bioware they're fucking idiots. Thanks.

SALARIANS ARE THE BEST RACE IN MASS EFFECT. Though Elcor certainly give 'em a run for their money.

 

(I also like the history of the hanar/drell relationship. I also really really really want a recent-Telltale-style(/developed? I mean they're doing BORDERLANDS c'mon also I feel like I can trust them more than Bioware to deliver dialogue that doesn't make me laugh or roll my eyes when I'm not supposed to - I mean I understand that these games take a LOT OF WORK AND PLANNING, but if you can't deliver on the small scale, don't make a trilogy of games that are each 20+ hours, dummies) game set in the Mass Effect universe on the Citadel.)

 

The redeeming value of ME3 was the co-op horde mode.  Without that, it would have been a massive disappointment, in part because of the lack Drell, Salarian and Krogan characters.  But we got to have 3 sexy pinup models to run around with (that is not a compliment, in case the sarcasm is missed).

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I find the combat in Mass Effect pretty boring, so I'm sort of surprised you'd say a horde mode redeemed the game.

 

But yeah I know all of the squad members you can get in ME3. None of them are characters I like or want to see. Blargh. (That's not totally true, but they're all the least interesting ones.) I'm also aware of how the game ends and it's disgusting. They may have been terrible writers, these Bioware fellows, but they crafted a super rad world, and I don't understand I DON'T UNDERSTAND. And they're making a sequel. Shit's weird, man. Anyway, that's beyond the scope of this thread.

 

OH OH OH. ALSO. It's hinted at in ME2 that the asari don't ACTUALLY look like humans - they just look like blue-skinned whatever-race-you-are. So salarians see salarians with blue skins and tentacle heads. I found this hilarious and sad.

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I find the combat in Mass Effect pretty boring, so I'm sort of surprised you'd say a horde mode redeemed the game.

 

But yeah I know all of the squad members you can get in ME3. None of them are characters I like or want to see. Blargh. (That's not totally true, but they're all the least interesting ones.) I'm also aware of how the game ends and it's disgusting. They may have been terrible writers, these Bioware fellows, but they crafted a super rad world, and I don't understand I DON'T UNDERSTAND. And they're making a sequel. Shit's weird, man. Anyway, that's beyond the scope of this thread.

 

OH OH OH. ALSO. It's hinted at in ME2 that the asari don't ACTUALLY look like humans - they just look like blue-skinned whatever-race-you-are. So salarians see salarians with blue skins and tentacle heads. I found this hilarious and sad.

 

To avoid derailing this thread with any more ME talk, I replied over in the ME3 MP thread with my thoughts on why their horde mode was awesome:

 

https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/7819-mass-effect-3/

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I finally beat The Last of Us and... frankly, I don't see what's all the fuss about it. It's far from a bad game, but GOTY.cx material?

 

Apart from the story, the only enjoyable parts where the clickers and the clicker to bandit ratio is so overwhelmingly big I feel a bit ripped off in this aspect.

 

As for my grievances with the game:

 

I groaned the moment I realized I had to mow down the only hope for humanity (apart from Ellie). I'm pretty sure this isn't the only AAA "horror" where the finale is just mowing down humans with an overpowered weapon.

 

And it feels so forced... Of course they have to kill Ellie to get the cure, because Joel needs an excuse to for his last murder spree! And why the hell did he kill the doctor? I bet they are even more valuable than Ellie, not to mention unarmed.

 

Some say Joel was a monster before and Ellie made him less of a monster, but I think it's the opposite. Not only do I see him turning Ellie into someone just like him, but now I see him more ruthless than ever. The first time he tortures someone it was horrid, but the second time he's even worse...

 

Right now I can imagine him speaking to Ellie saying how he'll teach her to swim and treat her like a daughter, only to have him leave Ellie for a pit to crubstomp a rabbit, because it might bite her, therefore it's a thread and it must die horribly.

 

Yeah, I would try to save Ellie too, but Joel almost seems to relish the overkill.

 

Highlights of the game: Any clicker encounter, "Ish", Ellie's hunt and escape.

Low point: Any human encounter, which was unfortunately 90% of the game.

 

Also Lee/Clementine did it better than Joel/Ellie.

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Just finished it too! I agree with you about the high points, but I didn't find the bandit shooting to be that bad, especially as it allowed more stealth than when dealing with runners.

 

I also thought the last shooting sequence could have not been there. I kind of liked the ending, though. I suspected they would not end with the cure actually being developed, and how they did it was handled well. I hope they are not making a sequel, though -- would be too bad if this turned into Uncharted.

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I think I'm just getting sick of AAA games and shooting people in the face...

 

Anyway, I just beat Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and... Wow, is it too late to call this my game of the year? The fact the ending still made me emotional even though Giant Bomb spoiled it to me this very morning must give some brownie points!

 

I felt more scared, tense and emotional playing this game that during the whole of the Last of Us, of course, the fact that you don't have to stop every five minutes to shoot someone in the face helps a lot. 

 

This game feels more "fable" than all Fable games combined. I kinda breezed through the game up until the end where it was very un-intuitive for a sec and I loved every moment of it, every sequence felt right, neither too thin or too padded.

 

I only wonder about one thing....

Was the young brother some sort of medium? He saw the spirit of his mother and his brother and it's brother spirit helping him at the end, right?

 

Also, what was the deal with the deal? A giant mother holding the father and the the older brother attacks the younger one? I guess the attack signifies his guilt for the mother's death, but I'm not sure about the rest.

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spelunky! this is probably already amongst my most played games ever so it was a huge accomplishment to finally finish it. hasn't put me off the game whatsoever, still playing the game just as much. hell next

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I've been playing Diablo 3... on a 360!

 

This isn't Diablo. It's not. They didn't make Diablo. They made fucking Gauntlet Legends, and you know it's not bad. The fact that your "weapon" doesn't directly connect to how you attack is perpetually weird, and I'm not sure just replacing the entire idea with like, an "attack gem" wouldn't have been a much better idea. I mean, if I'm a wizard and still shoot a magic missile even if I having a fucking sword then I'm certain your conceit is broken and you need a different one.

 

The classes also feel disappointing compared to Diablo 2. They feel more practical, more carefully designed, and except for the Witch Doctor just not as fun. The Witch Dr. gets to throw jars of spiders and summon zombie dogs and etc. But all the other classes... a "trap" set by the Demon Hunter is just a little X thing on the ground that slows guys, not nearly as fun as the Assassin in Diablo 2. The Wizards lame frost beam and swirly magic thing and etc. just aren't comparable to the Sorceress flinging lighting and fire every which way.

 

So even on the "best" version, and honestly it controls so well and oddly on the 360 I can easily imagine why people prefer the console version over the PC. But even then, it's not properly Diablo. It's just not as good. But imagined as Gauntlet Legends continued, with 2-4 player local co-op, then it works out for being pretty fun.

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Kentucky Route 0 Act One

Uh, wow. That was really good. Taking a bit of a break before I play act two. I can already tell that waiting for acts three through five is going to be tough.

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Kentucky Route 0 Act One

Uh, wow. That was really good. Taking a bit of a break before I play act two. I can already tell that waiting for acts three through five is going to be tough.

 

I've owned it for months now, and haven't started it as I don't want to HAVE to wait to play the rest of it. 

 

Don't Starve: I was stung to death by wasps 10 minutes into my first game.  Does that count as finishing it?  What I saw was certainly intriguing though.

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Don't Starve: I was stung to death by wasps 10 minutes into my first game.  Does that count as finishing it?  What I saw was certainly intriguing though.

Well, you didn't starve, so I would argue you won. Congratulations!

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I beat Long Live the Queen, which is like Princess Maker only with more political intrigue and assassination attempts.

 

All you have to do is survive one year and you'll be queen of the realm, except some people are trying to assassinate you, some are trying to take over your country and you suck enough, they might be a revolt...

 

The political and intrigue aspects are interesting, but you also can get married, but frankly, you barely get to know anything about your suitors. The suitor I choose didn't even have portrait, that's how unimportant he was!

 

I died a few times a long the way, but it seems that if you stick to a "path", you only need to study certain subjects to succeed, also your moor will influence how hard you study in each subject. For example,  if you are angry you'll do better at training with weapons. 

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Ducktales Remastered :tmeh:

Damn this game is hard. I started with normal, but after failing a bunch of times to complete one level I restarted as easy. I've never played the original, but I've got the feeling that this is quite a good remake of the original (it would be awesome if you could switch between remake and original graphics like with the monkey island remakes).

I'm giving this a :tmeh: because I don't think this is a game you must play, it's fun, it's challenging. If it's cheap, pick it up (like I did). Skipping the cutscenes is cumbersome, so replying a level is quite annoying.

 

Brothers :tup:

This game is awesome. It looks gorgeous and the game allows you do really take in the beautiful world. The gameplay is also great, it's worked out really well. It is a bit difficult to control two characters at the same time, but the game doesn't require you to be fast or precise, so it's not a major issue. I also liked that they did not use any real world language in the game. So, while people do talk you cannot understand it. So the whole story is present purely by body language.

I would quality this game as the Journey of 2013. I almost finished this game in one sitting (it's not that long, but you really want to keep on playing).

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I just finished Gunpoint and i really liked it. I think it unfortunately ends a little too early, in the sense that i don't think the game fully exposed the potential offered by its systems. The game made me feel like it was just settling into things right as it ends. Maybe that's not an entirely bad thing, but it's an interesting set of mechanics that i would have liked to explore more. The game has a ton of personality too, I love its sprite art, its music, and its writing.

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Guacamelee - Finished with all the mask pieces. Great fun! It seemed light and breezy at first, but the mask challenges, and the Devil's Office got quite challenging towards the end. I loved the ending graphic of El Presidente's Daughter yelling at the chicken giving her a red card.  

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I just finished Gunpoint and i really liked it. I think it unfortunately ends a little too early, in the sense that i don't think the game fully exposed the potential offered by its systems. The game made me feel like it was just settling into things right as it ends. Maybe that's not an entirely bad thing, but it's an interesting set of mechanics that i would have liked to explore more. The game has a ton of personality too, I love its sprite art, its music, and its writing.

 

Gunpoint was fantastic and deserved to make more top 10 lists at the end of the year.  It also might have been the funniest game of the year.  I agree it left me wanting more, but that's kind of a good thing in games sometimes.  Too many games overstay their welcome.

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