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OnePompousPenguin

Help me choose...please.

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Alright, it's been quite a while since I've been really motivated to play games. Mainly because of college....so much homework....anyway.  I've been finding more and more time to get back into the hobby and have played through a few games recently (specifically Dust: An Elysium Tail, The Swapper, Mark of the Ninja, Gunpoint, Darksiders and Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis*).  So here's what I need some help with, which game do I play next and why?  I really like games that make me think (The Swapper, Gunpoint), but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for another one of those right now.  Here is my list of possibles:

Far Cry 2 (Because, you know, I've heard it's alright or something)

Braid

Antichamber

Don't Starve

Dustforce

Fez

FTL

Half Life 2 (I know I know)

Limbo

Machinarium

Metro 2033

Sleeping Dogs

Superborthers: Sword & Sorcery EP

Super Meat Boy

The Cave

Tomb Raider

Torchlight

To The Moon

Trine

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

 

PS3:

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 (I've played the original many many times)

Finish Bayonetta (I'm something like 3/4 of the way through)

Metal Gear Rising

Dark Souls (I tried Demon Souls, but didn't get into it, but that might be because I watched my roommate play for ~100 hours before attempting myself)

 

Wii:

Xenoblade Chronicles (I'm 100 hours in, and my motivation just fell off and I haven't gotten back to it)

 

So I really like games that challenge me throughout, but not in a frustrating, cheap shot kind of way.  I like platformers that get progressively more difficult as the game goes on, puzzle games that require me to sit back and think for minutes at a time and make you feel smart for figuring it out, combat systems that are deep but not overwhelming, witty writing....I just don't like games where I feel like my brain is put on auto-pilot and repeat the same encounters again and again. I think I'm in the mood for something that looks fantastic (which doesn't mean it has to be AAA, just have a unique art style) and has great music at the moment. So, recommendations?

 

* The reason I played Dune II, for those who were cuirous, is I'm trying to get into RTS games, and decided to go about it by playing through the evolution of the genre from the beginning.  Command & Conquer is next on my list.

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If you like The Swapper and Gunpoint I'd suggest Fez and Braid. They are both action puzzly.

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Yep, I'd say Fez and Braid as well. I am somewhat biased in favor of Fez over Braid because I had to go to a walkthrough for some stuff in Braid whereas I didn't (except for the super, super esoteric stuff that doesn't count towards getting to the second ending) in Fez.

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Hmm, I thought about those two, but I'm not sure I'm up for another super puzzle heavy game after playing those two.  Puzzles are fine, but I think I want to avoid that as the main mechanic.

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In a similar vein to the suggestions above, I watched a full play of Limbo recently. It's pretty short and damn atmospheric.

 

I just started playing Dark Souls on PC myself. It requires a certain mental state, but if you like games where the primary draw is the challenge, it's defintely one of the best.

 

Finally, I like Don't Starve a lot, but it's not one of those games that really has an end. If you're content with just wandering around and trying to survive Minecraft style, it's well worth playing. If you're wanting to start and finish a game and get satisfied by reaching the end and seeing the credits, it may not be for you.

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Well... you said you wanted to play games that required you to think. None of those other games really require much thinking (don't know about xcom though)

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I have to say Super Meat Boy, I think it is the best game on that list. It's sublime. Plus, you said you liked a good challenge.

 

edit: oh I spotted Dark Souls down there.

God, that game is so good too. It's so different from Meat Boy though, it's a commitment.

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In a similar vein to the suggestions above, I watched a full play of Limbo recently. It's pretty short and damn atmospheric.

 

I just started playing Dark Souls on PC myself. It requires a certain mental state, but if you like games where the primary draw is the challenge, it's defintely one of the best.

 

Finally, I like Don't Starve a lot, but it's not one of those games that really has an end. If you're content with just wandering around and trying to survive Minecraft style, it's well worth playing. If you're wanting to start and finish a game and get satisfied by reaching the end and seeing the credits, it may not be for you.

I'm definitely thinking something with an end, though I've never played a game like Don't Starve before, which is why I purchased it.

 

 

Well... you said you wanted to play games that required you to think. None of those other games really require much thinking (don't know about xcom though)

 

Yea, I was hoping one of those games might have combat that requires you to think through each encounter and the best way to approach an enemy rather than just mash the buttons, move on.  Dark Souls is an option for this kind of thing, but I'm not entirely sure I'm up for the slow speed of the combat (this is an assumption based on my time with Demon's Souls, where every action you take during a fight takes a bit of time to actually pull off.  Brilliant in its own right, just a bit too much for me).

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Well, if you want thinking about fighting, there's:

- dishonored

- mark of the ninja

- deus ex: human revolution

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Braid

Half life 2

Don't be a dingbat

 

Am I being a dingbat, I didn't mean to be :-/

 

 

Well, if you want thinking about fighting, there's:

- dishonored

- mark of the ninja

- deus ex: human revolution

 

Dishonored is on my wishlist for now, but I do have Deus Ex.  I was planning on playing the originals first though.  Maybe those would be a good choice?

Let's say the choice is between Half-Life 2 and Deus Ex (which ever version people see fit).  What types of experiences are we talking here?  I seem to recall discussion of Deus Ex being a game you can play stealthy/no-kill, which always appeals to me, and Half Life 2 has actiony bits and puzzle-type bits correct?  Is Deus Ex also an FPS with Puzzle-type bits?

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I'll just say the obvious thing that if you're posting on these forums you owe it to yourself to play Far Cry 2. I've been replaying it lately, and it totally holds up as a fantastic experience.

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That being said your list is really good, the only thing I disliked on it was Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery so it looks like you have some pretty excellent gaming in your future.

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Yea, I was hoping one of those games might have combat that requires you to think through each encounter and the best way to approach an enemy rather than just mash the buttons, move on.  Dark Souls is an option for this kind of thing, but I'm not entirely sure I'm up for the slow speed of the combat (this is an assumption based on my time with Demon's Souls, where every action you take during a fight takes a bit of time to actually pull off.  Brilliant in its own right, just a bit too much for me).

 

That first sentence is pretty much the definition of Dark Souls. It's slow leading up to the fight (creeping around corners, making sure you don't get ambushed) but once combat begins in earnest it's pretty fast paced I would say. Nothing as crazy as Devil May Cry or God of War of course, but still pretty quick and intense.

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That first sentence is pretty much the definition of Dark Souls. It's slow leading up to the fight (creeping around corners, making sure you don't get ambushed) but once combat begins in earnest it's pretty fast paced I would say. Nothing as crazy as Devil May Cry or God of War of course, but still pretty quick and intense.

Hmm, that's interesting. Is it more combat, less jockeying for position than Demons Souls? Or are you better off playing it safe, keeping your distance, and finding your opportunity every now and again to attack?

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I feel like you should finish Xenoblade after putting that much time into it. You've got to be close to the end.

 

 

...I'm on the second-last boss and haven't touched it in months. :getmecoat

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There's no real puzzling or fight planning in HL2.

DX/DX:HR/DX:HR:TML are mostly about planning on how you are going to approach the situation. Puzzling depends on which plan you want to execute and usually comes in the form of hacking and key finding.

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I feel like you should finish Xenoblade after putting that much time into it. You've got to be close to the end.

 

 

...I'm on the second-last boss and haven't touched it in months. :getmecoat

I would but I just get so sucked into finishing that damn relationship graph. I'm just not in the mood to run around and talk to virtual people about their piffling lives.

There's no real puzzling or fight planning in HL2.

DX/DX:HR/DX:HR:TML are mostly about planning on how you are going to approach the situation. Puzzling depends on which plan you want to execute and usually comes in the form of hacking and key finding.

Well I think that's the one then, the original Deus Ex.

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I would but I just get so sucked into finishing that damn relationship graph. I'm just not in the mood to run around and talk to virtual people about their piffling lives.

 

Yeah, probably don't do that. I did that and i had probably a hundred and fifty hours in the game before finishing it, Xenoblade is a fucking enormous game that can take absolutely forever if you let it dig in like that. If you still want to be semi-completist about it, figure out which persons give unlocks for extra skill trees and leave it at that.

 

Well I think that's the one then, the original Deus Ex.

 

You should also totally play System Shock 2.

Less stealth and adventuring than Deus Ex, but more planning and nuance. Both are incredible must-play games.

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Make sure you get some mods to make old games like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex look a little nicer. People have done some good work there...

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Yeah, probably don't do that. I did that and i had probably a hundred and fifty hours in the game before finishing it, Xenoblade is a fucking enormous game that can take absolutely forever if you let it dig in like that. If you still want to be semi-completist about it, figure out which persons give unlocks for extra skill trees and leave it at that.

 

That would probably be for the best, but I feel like I've put this much time into it, I best just go all out. 

 

 

You should also totally play System Shock 2.

Less stealth and adventuring than Deus Ex, but more planning and nuance. Both are incredible must-play games.

 

 

I'm thinking about playing System Shock 2 closer to Halloween along with Amnesia: A Dark Descent. 

 

 

Make sure you get some mods to make old games like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex look a little nicer. People have done some good work there...

 

I'll consider it, but old graphics don't normally bother me.  Maybe a little at first, but after a while I usually get used to them. 

 

Also, just in case I forget, thank you all for your recommendations!

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The high-resolution texture mod for SS2 is very nice, the fan-made model pack less so

 

 

I'm thinking about playing System Shock 2 closer to Halloween along with Amnesia: A Dark Descent. 

 

I'd advise glancing through some of the posts in the thread i linked to, SS2 is complex in ways that can be very off-putting if you don't know what you're getting into. It's very easy to create a broken character build that has none of its disparate elements working together in any harmony.

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* The reason I played Dune II, for those who were cuirous, is I'm trying to get into RTS games, and decided to go about it by playing through the evolution of the genre from the beginning.  Command & Conquer is next on my list.

Which RTS games are you looking at playing?

While It's probably the least well liked of the Westwood games, definitely don't skip over Tiberian Sun, it's a really interesting and terribly underappreciated game.

Make sure you hit up Total Annihilation. Both the developer and publisher are gone now, but it was a hugely important game in its time and in my opinion still the near pinnacle of the genre. It was RTS gameplay on a massive scale with an absolute ton of UI innovations that have kept the game incredibly playable in a way that many older RTS's are not. It was also uncommonly moddable, rare for an RTS even now. Along with spawning a huge modding community, it led to Cavedog extensively adding to the game, both as free updates and retail add-ons. The version of the game available on GoG has all the official content patched in, minus the no longer functional galactic conquest multiplayer metagame, and also unfortunately including a final, particularly glitchy and game-breaking Core unit. (The Core "Necro".) Also: Probably ignore the campaign, go straight to skirmish.

Also definitely look into Relic's Homeworld series. Gearbox has the rights to HW and HW2 and is apparently working to update and re-release those, but they do not seem to have rights to the rather excellent Homeworld: Cataclysm. As for the two they do, the original is probably one of the best examples of single-player story-telling in the entire genre. Homeworld 2, on the other hand, is probably the weakest game in the series, mainly for its trainwreck of a campaign. It's still quite good as a MP game, but Homeworld wasn't really ever a series people went to for multiplayer. (If you play the games without access to physical copies, try to find scans of their manuals, those games were particularly excellent examples of exhaustive manuals filled with interesting story and gameplay information.)

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Ground Control was a really superb game, Supreme Commander has a ton of problems that don't exist in the original TA.

Seems like people made good recommendations in there, though.

I didn't see anybody mention it, you should look into Battlezone(1998). It's like commanding a game of Starcraft while out on the field as a unit yourself. (Ocassionally sniping the pilot of an opposing vehicle and stealing it.) In the late 90's, there was a very brief explosion of RTS games that had you both commanding and participating in strategic conflicts, and Battlezone was probably the best.

(Oh, somebody did mention it. Uprising too!)

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