Random Video Game Thoughts 2: A Link To The Past

[dlong5665]

So I just got done playing The Walking Dead and... wow what an absolute masterpiece.

I can guarantee you that you will not find a story as dense, rich with characters, and as emotionally rewarding as The Walking Dead in any form of media from last year. The story telling in this game is a sheer work of genius incorporating player choice unlike any game ever has, Mass Effect eat your heart out. The characters in this game are so incredibly rich and complex that I highly doubt you'll find an ensemble this intricate and dense in any other video game.

The gameplay relies more on story than having you mow down hoards of zombies. The best parts of the game are just simply picking a conversation with another character. The dialog system let's you choose between a plethora of options and is timed in rough situations that can lead to some memorable moments to say the least. One time I was in the middle of a heated argument and my decision to not say something at all lead to another characters death. In a span of about three minutes I had just lost 1/3 of the group I had gone to know and love/hate . It's insane. The tension within the game is incredibly well done. Walking into a completely abandoned Savannah is one of the spine tingling moments in a video game in a really long time.

The most surprising aspect of this game is the emotions that it builds up. Let's just say you'll probably tear up every now and again. The most emotionally investing part is the character of Clementine. An 8 year old you find early on and keep by your side. You learn to love and take care of her rather easily and when you make certain decisions involving her it can be incredibly heartbreaking. Every time she brings up her parents is like a kick to the gut. By the end you don't even care for your safety but rather just hers. She's easily one of my favorite characters in a video game ever.

So I can't recommend this game enough. It's cheap, easy to play, and truly rewarding and a huge bang for your buck. If you have a way of playing this game then don't even think about it, just go out and get it. NOW!

[Artimus]

How long was Walking Dead?

[dlong5665]

How long was Walking Dead?

It's five episodes long that are about a good two hours or more depending on how long you take to complete missions. It flows really well though.

[Midnight]

I enjoyed The Walking Dead game, but I have to disagree with you. It was certainly fun (weird for something with so little gameplay), but when it all ended my emotions basically went from "that was the best ending to a video game ever!" to... "But the rest of the game was just okay."

For a game that emphasized choice, I felt like the choices you made had shockingly little to do with the outcome of your journey. Just some examples,

Kill Carley? Doesn't matter, Doug dies soon anyway. And vice versa.

Decide to keep Lily in your party? Doesn't matter, she leaves anyway.

Decide to leave the station wagon in tact? Doesn't matter, the rest of your party takes it all anyway and the guy goes crazy and irrationally wants you dead no matter what.

Help Omid up onto the train? Well, Christa ends up on there too.

I was just kind of like, why did they give us those choices then if they knew exactly how they wanted them to pan out anyway? I suppose I like it because it really helps you build your character, but plot-wise it's really cheap and gives the illusion that your choices are more serious than they are. You mentioned Mass Effect, which has gotten some flack for choices not mattering but... I have to disagree with that sentiment (don't know how you personally feel about it), the choices in Mass Effect are very profound compared to TWD. Mass Effect trilogy spoilers:

Your choice of Wrex's fate in the first game is directly died to another choice in the third game. And speaking of which, that choice is huge. Not only is it a big character moment: do I doom a race to extinction or allow them to reproduce again knowing that it could backfire and it will lose me the support of a much needed ally, it's also a big plot moment. Mordin's fate, how you part with him or if you're one of the few who manage to keep him alive.

That's the type of choice I really like to see in a game. The Walking Dead gives you a lot of the tough issues of morality but with none of the real consequences; you never get a sense of what could have happened if you did something differently, because it all ends up coming back to the same conclusion no matter what you do. A little disappointing.

I also detested the character of Kenny and not in the way that the game wanted me to, I don't think. I still can't tell if this was just a (very, very common from what I've heard) bug, but there were like three different occasions when

Kenny either left me to die or REFUSED to offer help because I was "never there for him and his family", which was just blatantly false. The game programs it so that if you literally side against Kenny once (and there are tons of instances where you have to choose a side) he never forgets it but DOES seemingly forget the other 12 times to were there for him and helped him out. Again, if this were a conscious character decision I wouldn't mind but something tells me it's just very poor writing/programming based on what he actually says to you.

So, I dunno. I ended up thinking the whole thing was overrated. It's a great emotional experience, don't get me wrong, and I'd even recommend it to people just so they could decide for themselves. But the hyperbolic reviews kind of make me scratch my head. The most spectacular thing about it all was the ending to me and the rest of it... was a mixed bag. I look forward to what Telltale does with their sequel, but I hope that they're careful to keep their characters more consistent, to let the branches of their many plot decisions extend a bit further, and to keep the focus on the story and characters. They're doing great so far with that last one, at least.

[shooter_mcgavin]

It hasn't been that good of a year for Videogames so it was kind of hard to find my Top 3 games for this year. But If I had to pick them they would be (alpha order)

Mass Effect 3
Dragon's Dogma
The Walking Dead Game

As for the Walking Dead I don't think it's a masterpiece but I did enjoy the way the story is told. I just wished my decisions actually made an impact to the story. I kind of feel like they didn't but I guess it's more to do with the fact that they didn't want to complicate the initial story of the Season 2 game/Sequel too much.

[Largo]

This happened. (pretty NSFW picture at the top, just so you know what the hell this article is talking about)

http://gameological.com/2013/01/it-belongs-in-a-museum/

The article I linked to is a wonderful takedown of how ridiculously awful... this... is, and also the kind of crap that's driven many people away from the gaming industry.

[shooter_mcgavin]

There's a lot of things wrong with the gaming industry to be honest. Unfortunatley the industry is still being ruled by frat boys that there's an obvious lack of professionalism in journalism (Doritosgate) and cordiality ( I remember the Fez developer insulting a Japanese Developer in a press conference). My guess is that the games industry got too big and too fast that standards and ethics were never set in place when the industry just exploded.

The industry just needs to mature and I don't mean having brodudes FPS as an indication of maturity.

That said Ni No Kuni is coming out next week ... I plan to get this eventually

[shooter_mcgavin]

For the future of Final Fantasy Toriyama has to go ....

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/18/li...final-fantasy/

Revisionist BS fro the director of Final Fantasy XIII, Motomu Toriyama, who want's us to believe all his BS. Saying Lightning is the first female protagonist in a Final Fantasy is rewriting history as if Final Fantasy VI. Yes FFVI was more of an ensemble piece but Terra and Celes were the central characters. And if he wants to argue against that then what about FFX-2?

He also says that Lightning Returns is to make people "fall in love with her even more". Ok no one fell in love with Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII she was an average at best character and Toriyama has been insisting for a long time she's an icon and she a great character that people love.

He also says Lightning is the strongest female character. Again looking bada$$ doesn't make you the strongest. Aeirth sacrificed herself to save the world makes her strong. Celes from FFVI had overcome despair after the the world turned to s*** makes her strong. Lightning doing 1 Million Backflips and diving 100 meters to the ground does not make her strong.

Motomu Toriyama making a game like Lightning Returns (what is she Batman or Superman? Sorry she's not that popular for people to care if she returns) and ignoring past FF games shows that he's the main cancer to the Final Fantasy series. The one that turned one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time into a joke in the eyes of the gaming community.

I loved Final Fantasy and still want to give it a chance but when the successor to handle the franchise stays in self denial what chance does the once great franchise have.

[Artimus]

On a brighter note I played Journey this weekend. Talk about a game that creates something entirely new out of traditional elements. A really, really bold creation. Also one of my favorite uses of multiplayer ever. There's not a mechanic in this game that isn't in service of the themes. I can't think of any other game where that's true (well, few others).

And oh my god gorgeous.

[shooter_mcgavin]

Deciding to get Ni No Kuni today or not ... still have a backlog with Dragon's Dogma (which is a pretty great game), though my Pawn is getting average at best feedback from online players

[coolinout1]

Decided to randomly get ($2.99 at GameStop) and play Betty Boop's Double Shift on the DS yesterday due to the curiousity that it takes a classic cartoon character and puts them a Diner Dash type of game.

Some gameplay elements were a bit difficult, but the game itself isn't all that hard. Passed it in less than 2 hours!

[dlong5665]

So I bought Arkham City last weekend and finished it today and overall I really liked it. It wasn't as open world-y as I thought it would be but still had enough side missions (some of which I'm not done with) to occupy a good amount of your time and there are always thugs you can swoop down and have a quick brawl with. The Riddler Trophies and Challenges are on steroids compared to Arkham Asylum and the puzzles are peetty well thought out, I can only imagine how long it would take someone to collect them all. The graphics are great and there is an insane amount of detail. Heck, have the Riddler Challenges are there just to show it off. The voice work is top notch and Mark Hamill delivers a performance for the (video game) ages.

Yeah I know I'm late to the party but I enjoyed it and would reccomend it to anyone who has yet to play it as well (and of course play Arkham Aslyum first).

Also, I'm playing Final Fantasy VII next.

[RRA]

Is Sony announcing PlayStation 4 on 2/20/2013?

[Artimus]

Ugh. I was so enjoying this generation lasting forever. Fucking Nintendo and their stupid useless upgrade.

[RRA]

Ugh. I was so enjoying this generation lasting forever. Fucking Nintendo and their stupid useless upgrade.

Yeah honestly I'm happy with my PS3. Plus resent the plans by the companies to make "Used Games" extinct.

[Artimus]

Like, really, what good would a new console be? What would it do different?

[RRA]

I have no sympathy for them at all.

EA suffers $45 million loss

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...5-Million-Loss

[The Sapient]

Like, really, what good would a new console be? What would it do different?

I would imagine there would be a big increase in the gpu?

[Artimus]

Again, what good would that do? Unless they can improve games the advantages in visuals would be the most minor ever. Not worth it. And I'm sick of stupid useless "innovation" updates. So none of that crap.

[RRA]

Again, what good would that do? Unless they can improve games the advantages in visuals would be the most minor ever. Not worth it. And I'm sick of stupid useless "innovation" updates. So none of that crap.

Unlike most gamers it seems, graphics aren't a deal breaker for me. I can safely say I would trade away good graphics for great playability.