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Veta

By Veta,
in General Gaming

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Victoria K.

Victoria K.

Posted
Posted

Throne Of Darkness

 

Reckoning Kingdoms of Amalur

 

Alpha Protocol

 

Reckoning is just awesome. Sure, voice acting is not top notch at all. And at some point I had no idea what I was doing. I had so many quests and I just lost focus and gave up. But damn, the combat is superior to anything I have ever played. Using bows sucks, but the rest, EPIC. I mean,

Chakra!!

 

Yes. I played it after playing Skyrim and being utterly disappointed and I was like "Thanks for this game!". Simple but amazingly immersive with lot of attention to the details, original storyline, a millions of quests nicely integrated with the realm.

 

It has been a very pleasant surprise, I felt the forgot sensation of buying something totally randomly and find myself very entertained.

 

A real flaw for me was the extremely low rate of set-armor pieces dropping. Tons of fantastic unique sets in there but too damn difficult to find the pieces.

 

 

 

Throne of Darkness if you are interested is an old little jewel Sierra game.

 

I guess playing it now wouldn't be much fun as for all these old games, except for the genre-lovers.

 

I managed in some way to slightly modding it years later, with the help of a guy who was also a big fan.

 

A game that was amazingly immersive and sorting out the inventory took always an hour and more (no kidding), too much about crafting and choosing the right equipment for the team, a delirium.

 

If you should play it and wonder why it's so damn similar to Diablo, that's because the same people made it.

 

I dislike the end of the game but it was too much fun to play through the whole thing, I had to forgive.

 

 

 

Alpha Protocol, have only beat it once. But damn that was a big mess when it came out. But when they patched the more serious stuff, it was one of the better RPG games I have played at the time. Still thinking of goin back to it sometimes. Juts don't have the time right now, grrr.

 

Alpha Protocol, I havent played it on launch so I was like wtf is wrong with this people are they mad? This game is great.

So I can't really tell if it deserved all that that bashing. For me it was good game.

 

Alpha protocol, what a blast. I wasn't expecting something so good. I had to play it start to finish in a row.

 

Me too I got it after some time it was out, I played it on console and besides the save system which for me was a pain (needing to listen several dialogues several times), I could say it's one of the best game I've ever played, Avellone can write.

 

What it lacks about mechanics and customization is nothing compared to the storyline, tremendous plot and characterizations. Extremely satisfactory about choices and consequences.

 

The end of this game has been without a doubt the more gratifying I never ever experienced.

 

I was hoping for a second one, but part of me is kinda glad there is none. I doubt it could have been up to the expectations. I think about AP as something truly unique.

ToJKa

ToJKa

Posted
Posted

Shadow Warrior (that just happens to be on sale at Steam right now ;)). Good looking PC only old-school FPS game. No health regeneration, no hiding behind walls, just slaughtering hordes of enemies with plenty of different, kick-ass, upgradeable guns. And the sword of course, excellent melee system for a FPS game (better than what Bethesda has ever managed if you ask me), that thing is always good as a backup. Some interesting giant boss fights too. If you like old school FPS games, check it out, it was my personal game of the year ;)

 

And the hero's name is Lo Wang, and yes, every character jokes about it :lol:

 

Totalbiscuit's video sold it to me:

 

Reckoning is just awesome. Sure, voice acting is not top notch at all. And at some point I had no idea what I was doing. I had so many quests and I just lost focus and gave up. But damn, the combat is superior to anything I have ever played. Using bows sucks, but the rest, EPIC. I mean,

Chakra!!

I have conflicting feelings about that game. I like the combat system and skills, and the world design, but as a whole it just feels boring to me. I think it's too big for it's own good, spread too thin. I got it pretty close to it's release, but finished it only a couple of months ago. It picked up speed when i got to the other continent, but getting there was the real challenge, i quit due to getting bored of it three times before making it that far :P

ChancellorKremlin

ChancellorKremlin

Posted
Posted

Shadow Warrior was pretty good, I remember playing it around the time I was also playing Duke Nukem (all of them, even the crazy Christmas and Caribbean expansion packs) and I was at that age where you know naughty stuff where you see it but puberty was still a few years off. It was hilarious. The nudity, the rabbits fucking about on a few levels... really memorable game.

 

Another FPS gem, not as old school, was Unreal 2 though. I really liked it. I was disappointed it deviated from Unreal 1 so much, but I just remember it having really good graphics, levels and the story was pretty dark and grim. Oh, and you got your own space ship, and crew too. In a lot of ways, it was like a proto-Mass Effect. Ending was also pretty good. Don't think it got the attention it deserved, and I still feel they never really touched the universe of Unreal in the single-player point of view, like, besides Tournament that is, which is just multi-player. It was a pretty good universe.

ToJKa

ToJKa

Posted
Posted

I seem to remember the response to Unreal 2 being "it's just a tech demo". Certainly was just a run-of-the-mill FPS with more than healthy amount of eye candy when i played it. The first Unreal though, that was something special. And Unreal Tournament i found fun too, even though i almost always played with just bots :lol:

Victoria K.

Victoria K.

Posted
Posted

Another FPS gem, not as old school, was Unreal 2 though. I really liked it. I was disappointed it deviated from Unreal 1 so much, but I just remember it having really good graphics, levels and the story was pretty dark and grim. Oh, and you got your own space ship, and crew too. In a lot of ways, it was like a proto-Mass Effect. Ending was also pretty good. Don't think it got the attention it deserved, and I still feel they never really touched the universe of Unreal in the single-player point of view, like, besides Tournament that is, which is just multi-player. It was a pretty good universe.

 

All the people I personally know in life that played and loved the first one, hated Unreal 2 with passion. So it's kinda strange for me to hear that. You also say it was disappointing but you liked in the end.

Me, I can't say much about Unreal 2, I took a fast look at it (visually was stunning) but I'm not very fond of fps and only played the first one because someone very close to me was crazy about this game and the bigger boaster about the engine (he was right I saw, of course), so I'm not a lover but I had some real fun; for me, as opposite to other fps, it was fun even watching other persons next to me playing it. The music alone made great atmosphere, the unknown behind every corner was frightening, and that's a feeling they failed to deliver in Unreal 2 I guess, for the little I remember of some major complaints from the others who played also the 2.

But overall it's not really my thing and many years has passed. When I'll have a chance I will ask them why they felt Unreal 2 was so awful, just out of curiosity. I could see it myself maybe, but I don't feel like playing it now.

jxm

jxm

Posted
Posted

Arcanum Of Steam Works and Magics. I loved the very unique take on the Fantasy Stereotypes and this whole "Middle-Earth/Faerun reaches the Steamage"-setting.

Also the story was pretty grown-up and dark (you could destroy the world, which my half-orc once did with delight), though the battle-system was...not the best. And also there was a gap in usefulness between magic (way more confortable to play) and mechanics (rather tedious afair)

 

Vampire: Bloodlines. Gladly that game over teh years got some audience and is rightfully considered as one of the best RPGs of the modern times. I love that game. To hell with "vampires" sparkling in the twilight...This game had a grim story with some (un)pleasant surpises in the end. Some very memorable characters (too many to count them all) and just a lot of what games often sorely miss: atmosphere...

 

Demon Stone. A fantasy-beat 'em up in the Forgotten realms. Usually not my cup of tea, but that one I really love. Can't really say why though. Maybe backstabbing with Zhai the half-dark-elf is it, or killing a dragon, or battling throguh hordes of bugbears and Yuan-ti. Well, some of my Elder Scrolls dark Elves are called Zhai'elle or similar for a reason :cool:

 

The Old Republic: Yeah I know, it sold millions and is still around.But after all the backlash it (partly unjudged imho) it might fit in here too...And I still like to play that now and then, though Online-Games don't appeal to me for too long. But at least you can play it mostly solo (which suits me fine) and it lets me breathe again the atmosphere of the awesome Old republic Setting from KOTOR...(Listen Disney: Old Luke is fine, but really awesome movies would cover THAT timeframe, with thousands of Jedi and Sith battling it out...and fewer fans nitpicking every new idea you might have....)

 

 

ChancellorKremlin

ChancellorKremlin

Posted
Posted

I seem to remember the response to Unreal 2 being "it's just a tech demo". Certainly was just a run-of-the-mill FPS with more than healthy amount of eye candy when i played it. The first Unreal though, that was something special. And Unreal Tournament i found fun too, even though i almost always played with just bots :lol:

 

I think that was because it went in a totally different direction than expected, and Unreal 1 was pretty much a masterpiece. Yeah, I only played UT with bots. Not much of a multi-player guy. U1 and UT were both very good games, and definitely not underrated! :lol:  

 

All the people I personally know in life that played and loved the first one, hated Unreal 2 with passion. So it's kinda strange for me to hear that. You also say it was disappointing but you liked in the end.

 

Me, I can't say much about Unreal 2, I took a fast look at it (visually was stunning) but I'm not very fond of fps and only played the first one because someone very close to me was crazy about this game and the bigger boaster about the engine (he was right I saw, of course), so I'm not a lover but I had some real fun; for me, as opposite to other fps, it was fun even watching other persons next to me playing it. The music alone made great atmosphere, the unknown behind every corner was frightening, and that's a feeling they failed to deliver in Unreal 2 I guess, for the little I remember of some major complaints from the others who played also the 2.

 

But overall it's not really my thing and many years has passed. When I'll have a chance I will ask them why they felt Unreal 2 was so awful, just out of curiosity. I could see it myself maybe, but I don't feel like playing it now.

 

Unreal 2 is one of those games that makes a terrible sequel to an established title but, if taken by itself as a "game", is terribly fun. I suppose you could say the same of FO3 - I hated, HATED it for a Fallout title. But as a "game" I can't deny it wasn't fun or enjoyable. If only they'd taken the "Fallout" out of the title, I imagine a lot of people felt like that about Unreal 2.

 

Because fundamentally, Unreal 2 does not follow Unreal in any way, shape or form. I don't understand why that is the case, and why such a radical departure from the series established cannon was necessary, but that isn't to say I didn't enjoy it. They were both great games in their own right - Unreal had amazing music, somber maps, a haunting atmosphere, impressive enemies (for the time) a decent story, good weapons and rewarded curiosity. Unreal 2 was visually stunning, had really amazing maps, and was altogether more concerned with characterisation and one man's journey rather than that of some nameless, faceless soul on a barren rock, and was to me, quite darker in nature. The ending alone was brave, to say the least. But I thought it was a good game.

 

Given that you know my views on ME (1-3 at least!  :P ) and the way I feel about it, I'd recommend you give it a try, even if FPS aren't your thing. It isn't an overly long or complicated game, but I think it has many parallels with ME1 in some form. And I realise the irony of this statement, but as well informed and well intentioned as other people's opinions may be, nothing compares to the real thing of trying it out for yourself. 

 

Any now for something completely different: THE BEST ADVENTURE GAME OF MY CHILDHOOD:

 

 

Little Big Adventure 2

 

dm1j.jpg

 

So much win.

Victoria K.

Victoria K.

Posted
Posted

 

All the people I personally know in life that played and loved the first one, hated Unreal 2 with passion. So it's kinda strange for me to hear that. You also say it was disappointing but you liked in the end.

 

Me, I can't say much about Unreal 2, I took a fast look at it (visually was stunning) but I'm not very fond of fps and only played the first one because someone very close to me was crazy about this game and the bigger boaster about the engine (he was right I saw, of course), so I'm not a lover but I had some real fun; for me, as opposite to other fps, it was fun even watching other persons next to me playing it. The music alone made great atmosphere, the unknown behind every corner was frightening, and that's a feeling they failed to deliver in Unreal 2 I guess, for the little I remember of some major complaints from the others who played also the 2.

 

But overall it's not really my thing and many years has passed. When I'll have a chance I will ask them why they felt Unreal 2 was so awful, just out of curiosity. I could see it myself maybe, but I don't feel like playing it now.

 

 

 

Unreal 2 is one of those games that makes a terrible sequel to an established title but, if taken by itself as a "game", is terribly fun. I suppose you could say the same of FO3 - I hated, HATED it for a Fallout title. But as a "game" I can't deny it wasn't fun or enjoyable. If only they'd taken the "Fallout" out of the title, I imagine a lot of people felt like that about Unreal 2.

 

Because fundamentally, Unreal 2 does not follow Unreal in any way, shape or form. I don't understand why that is the case, and why such a radical departure from the series established cannon was necessary, but that isn't to say I didn't enjoy it. They were both great games in their own right - Unreal had amazing music, somber maps, a haunting atmosphere, impressive enemies (for the time) a decent story, good weapons and rewarded curiosity. Unreal 2 was visually stunning, had really amazing maps, and was altogether more concerned with characterisation and one man's journey rather than that of some nameless, faceless soul on a barren rock, and was to me, quite darker in nature. The ending alone was brave, to say the least. But I thought it was a good game.

 

Given that you know my views on ME (1-3 at least!  :P ) and the way I feel about it, I'd recommend you give it a try, even if FPS aren't your thing. It isn't an overly long or complicated game, but I think it has many parallels with ME1 in some form. And I realise the irony of this statement, but as well informed and well intentioned as other people's opinions may be, nothing compares to the real thing of trying it out for yourself.

 

Any now for something completely different: THE BEST ADVENTURE GAME OF MY CHILDHOOD:

 

 

Little Big Adventure 2

 

dm1j.jpg

 

So much win.

 

 

 

I will when I'll have a chance, I'm plenty of old (more or less old) games I have to give a try and I never find the time or the right incentive, now I got the incentive for Unreal 2, must find the time! ^_^

About the Fallout series, I'm grateful I didn't played the old ones back in the days, could have easily ruined my transcendent (yes, I struggle to be as hyperbolic as possible here! :-D ) experience with Fo3.

About the last one you posted, now you got me perplexed, I don't remember this one. You know, I replied to one post of yours some time ago in this section about F-19 Stealth Fighter :lol: , my goodness that was old!

 

 

 

BoozeJunky

BoozeJunky

Posted
Posted

Infinite Space.

 

It wasn't just one of the best RPGs on the DS, but one of the best RPGs of the last generation. Unfortunately, Sega had no idea what they had on their hands and failed to both advertise the game or print enough copies for it's initial launch. So the game kind of slipped under the radar. Now it's one of those rare gems that's going to cost and arm and a leg if you don't pirate it. At least on Amazon, it's going for about $50 used - $175 new.

 

ChancellorKremlin

ChancellorKremlin

Posted
Posted

I will when I'll have a chance, I'm plenty of old (more or less old) games I have to give a try and I never find the time or the right incentive, now I got the incentive for Unreal 2, must find the time! ^_^

 

About the Fallout series, I'm grateful I didn't played the old ones back in the days, could have easily ruined my transcendent (yes, I struggle to be as hyperbolic as possible here! :-D ) experience with Fo3.

About the last one you posted, now you got me perplexed, I don't remember this one. You know, I replied to one post of yours some time ago in this section about F-19 Stealth Fighter :lol: , my goodness that was old!

Well, I ranted about Fallout as much as I did about ME, so you could read the review if you like, but I doubt you'd like any of it...  :D

 

I missed that post, just read it. F-19 was a blast. Pixels have never been so much fun! I remember how frantic it was when you ran out of missiles and had to use the machine gun to kill airplanes, it was brilliant. Nearly impossible to win on the hardest setting. I also loved (and hated!) how if you died, you lost all your medals and had to start from scratch. It used to infuriate me when I had a perfect mission but messed up the landing on the way back and lost it all over a silly mistake.

 

I actually still play it every now and then for the memories. And LBA... well, that was easily a perfect game. I don't think I have a single complaint about it, it was so lovable!  ;)

Victoria K.

Victoria K.

Posted
Posted

 

Well, I ranted about Fallout as much as I did about ME, so you could read the review if you like, but I doubt you'd like any of it...  :D

 

I missed that post, just read it. F-19 was a blast. Pixels have never been so much fun! I remember how frantic it was when you ran out of missiles and had to use the machine gun to kill airplanes, it was brilliant. Nearly impossible to win on the hardest setting. I also loved (and hated!) how if you died, you lost all your medals and had to start from scratch. It used to infuriate me when I had a perfect mission but messed up the landing on the way back and lost it all over a silly mistake.

 

I actually still play it every now and then for the memories. And LBA... well, that was easily a perfect game. I don't think I have a single complaint about it, it was so lovable!  ;)

 

Yes, I can't read your Fo3 review and any other as well, I did actually read yours some time ago ;) and others' as well but while I could appreciate to different degrees the narrative buildup, exposition, (in your case even the title is a shrewd and remarkable input to the rest of the review), and while I could also agree on some aspects of the gameplay, I could never be able to conduct myself with a decent amount of rationality about it as a whole. Fo3 is the person you fall in love with because of both vices and virtues, the flaws could be even more attractive than the actual merits. I love it in his strengths and weaknesses, in a very unconditional way. It's just that special to me.

 

About F-19, you remember it very well. For me, as I wrote, it's a very distant memory but nonetheless I was glad someone else did mention it.

In this section I came across to various good surprises about old and almost forgot games. It's not a very active one but probably the most interesting section. ^_^

 

 

  • 2 weeks later...
ChancellorKremlin

ChancellorKremlin

Posted
Posted

Was it just me or was 1998 the best year in video gaming history?

 

I mean... Half Life, Fallout 2, Grim Fandango, Starcraft, Baldur's Gate, Unreal and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, a game completely overshadowed by the rest, but which was still an awesome game in its own right. The Mechs, the story, the pseudo-rpg elements, the characters, atmosphere, awesome weapons! Did I mention the mechs?! Ahhh...

 

Man, those were the days, when developers still tried. I'll have half of a 1998 any year of the decade these days, but I doubt it it will happen any time soon. Still... it would be nice if 2014 turned out to be the year The Witcher 3, Half Life 3, Fallout 4 and Mass Effect 4 came out ... now that  would be something!  :D

jxm

jxm

Posted
Posted

Was it just me or was 1998 the best year in video gaming history?

 

I mean... Half Life, Fallout 2, Grim Fandango, Starcraft, Baldur's Gate, Unreal and Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, a game completely overshadowed by the rest, but which was still an awesome game in its own right. The Mechs, the story, the pseudo-rpg elements, the characters, atmosphere, awesome weapons! Did I mention the mechs?! Ahhh...

 

Man, those were the days, when developers still tried. I'll have half of a 1998 any year of the decade these days, but I doubt it it will happen any time soon. Still... it would be nice if 2014 turned out to be the year The Witcher 3, Half Life 3, Fallout 4 and Mass Effect 4 came out ... now that  would be something!  :D

 

Not wanting to derail the thread but...looking at the praised games from 1998 and the games anticipated from 2014, it is quite funny I have to say. I marked what I mean

 

It might actually be a hint about what has changed in the gaming industry? I guess its just the way it had to become. All the years the gamers were a bit complaining about not being taken seriously, their hobby in general viewd as weird and nerdy. Now, 20 years later or so...gaming has become a massive multi-million dollar industry. And just like it is with movies...nobody likes to take risks with new franchises/games anymore...at least not when millions are at stake. Understandable, but it also leads to this massive sequel-ism ... just like in the cinemas ... but hey, I am looking forward to Dragon Age 3 as well. No wait, its called simply Dragon Age Inquisition, without a number. Clever girl, Bioware.. <_<

arrow72

arrow72

Posted
Posted

 

 

Well, I ranted about Fallout as much as I did about ME, so you could read the review if you like, but I doubt you'd like any of it...  :D

 

I missed that post, just read it. F-19 was a blast. Pixels have never been so much fun! I remember how frantic it was when you ran out of missiles and had to use the machine gun to kill airplanes, it was brilliant. Nearly impossible to win on the hardest setting. I also loved (and hated!) how if you died, you lost all your medals and had to start from scratch. It used to infuriate me when I had a perfect mission but messed up the landing on the way back and lost it all over a silly mistake.

 

I actually still play it every now and then for the memories. And LBA... well, that was easily a perfect game. I don't think I have a single complaint about it, it was so lovable!  ;)

 

Yes, I can't read your Fo3 review and any other as well, I did actually read yours some time ago ;) and others' as well but while I could appreciate to different degrees the narrative buildup, exposition, (in your case even the title is a shrewd and remarkable input to the rest of the review), and while I could also agree on some aspects of the gameplay, I could never be able to conduct myself with a decent amount of rationality about it as a whole. Fo3 is the person you fall in love with because of both vices and virtues, the flaws could be even more attractive than the actual merits. I love it in his strengths and weaknesses, in a very unconditional way. It's just that special to me.

 

About F-19, you remember it very well. For me, as I wrote, it's a very distant memory but nonetheless I was glad someone else did mention it.

In this section I came across to various good surprises about old and almost forgot games. It's not a very active one but probably the most interesting section. ^_^

 

 

 

So... wait. There are more people who played F-19 here? That is just awesome! First real game/simulator I ever played. Still remember the awesomeness. Had to fly at exactly the right speed/altitude to fool radars, and was also fun as an arcade game. Still remember strafing recently launched Typhoons. Great fun! Think my record of Purple Hearts was 4, or 5 lol.

 

Almost makes me feel young again  :D

 

EDIT : And just a shoutout to CK for his mention of SHOGO : Mobile Armor Division. Holy shit what a fun game at the time. Funny, over the top (anime style) and giant humaniod robots. That you get to pilot!

 

Still remember finding the easter egg in F.E.A.R and had to reinstall the game  :P

  • 2 weeks later...
fuseyzero

fuseyzero

Posted
Posted

Suikoden series is pretty unappreciated. As well as the Wild Arms series and Saga Frontier 1 & 2. Depending on one's taste Harvest Moon.

 

I forgot to add the Breath of Fire series. Yeah I like my JRPGs.

Spectre_15

Spectre_15

Posted
Posted

This will surprise... no one, but my choice is Final Fantasy XIII-2.  The story in Final Fantasy XIII is literally the worst story I've ever seen, in my life.  None of the characters, except Fang and Lightning are even remotely likable (though I do like Vanille, and Lightning is mostly likable only because she punches Snow... a lot).  The combat system is horrendously boring.  The monsters were invariant, strategically placed to get you to the level the game wants you to be at.  The entire game is one giant fucking hallway (hence why a lot of people refer to it as Final Hallway).  There are no rules to the world of XIII, and no consistency in the game.  The entire game is horrid.

 

Final Fantasy XIII-2 fixed a lot of the problems from Final Fantasy XIII.  Despite being a pretty bad story overall, it's a time travel plot that actually makes fucking sense.  Honestly, aside from a few things with the Proto Fal-Cie, it was a pretty good story.  At the very least, it didn't collapse in on itself and become a piece of shit story like XIII.  XIII-2 actually had story elements and questions that were unanswered until the post game and the alternate endings.  Speaking of alternate endings, XIII-2 has alternate endings!  The characters are likable in this game.  Serah is my second favorite heroine in gaming, and Noah is a good character too.  The game revolves around Serah, but I found myself emotionally invested in Noah's story.  He held dramatic tension in his backstory, and his motivation was and probably the best of the 8 characters introduced in the Final Fantasy XIII world, second maybe to Sazh.  The combat was still broken, though slightly improved with the monster capturing mechanic.  Monsters now spawned in again!  They actually spawn!  They're variant again!!  The levels are hallways, but the game is more open than XIII!  Oh, and there's actually fucking consistency.

 

If XIII-2 were named XIV or XV, then I think it'd have been a more successful game, since it didn't have the XIII brand on it.  It's not the best game of the series, but considered that every one of them since VIII has steadily gotten worse and worse and worse, this was the best Final Fantasy in a long time.

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