Games I Played Last Week 12/15-12/21

Following my son's birth and my return to gaming (well, at least a few hours a week...), I had a choice to make on what game to spend my time on. These were my choices:

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition
2. Far Cry 4
3. Alien: Isolation

Dragon Age: Inquisition may have been my most anticipated game of 2014. If not the most anticipated, it was tied for most anticipated. However, the controls really bum me out. I hate that it doesn't play like Origins or DAII with a mouse and keyboard. I feel a lot of tactical gameplay is lost.

Therefore, I was excited to read that Bioware is going to be patching in better mouse/keyboard controls!! They have given no indication on how long that will take, but I'm honestly considering waiting for that patch before returning to Inquisition...

Far Cry 4 is another one of my most anticipated games of 2014 after loving 3 so much. I pre-ordered the game after getting a good deal, but I hadn't been able to touch the game since launch due to it sharing a release date with Inquisition and then my son's birth.

Alien: Isolation is a funny one. I had zero interest in the game before launch. I've never watched an Alien movie ever, and I really had no interest, since I'm not a fan of "horror" movies or games. However, the style of Isolation plus the raving reviews plus the stealth gameplay (I love stealth games) made me interested. Also, for some reason, I just find the idea of watching the movie and then playing the game a fun multi-medium tie-in that I think would make the experience feel that much more "grand."

My Week in Gaming 12/15-12/21

Far Cry 4

I decided to start Far Cry 4. For now, I'm going to keep waiting on the Inquisition patch, and I'm not sure I'm in the right "headspace" right now for Isolation. Far Cry allows me to jump in and out for relatively brief play sessions while enjoying the larger world and story I'm taking part in.

I'm enjoying the game a lot so far, though I know I'd enjoy it more if I could play it more with longer play sessions.

Even if they patch in new controls for Dragon Age: Inquisition, I doubt the game will feel any more tactical. The combat gets a little more interesting once you've gained more abilities, but it's still kind of a slug-fest through-and-through. I still enjoyed the game, but I wish Bioware would just realized how much people really liked Dragon Age: Origins for what it was.

I'm playing through Far Cry 4 right now as well. The game did not immediately grab me, and I found traversal in the Himalayan setting to be a bit of a chore, but it's definitely grown on me. There's probably too many things to do in this game, but it makes it great for quick sessions where you just hit two side missions, or liberate one outpost, or hunt down enough snow leopards for your next upgrade, etc. It also enables long play sessions because these activities can so easily be chained together based on their proximity in the world.

Alien: Isolation is a long, slow game. You're going to have a hard time fitting this game in with an infant to take care of. The save system really negates the option of short play sessions, as save stations are sometimes pretty far apart, and quitting out will lose all progress since the last save. Still, I had a lot of fun with it, and while it was too long, there's really only one section of the game I thought was truly a waste of time. If you have an understanding enough wife/girlfriend, then this is a game you'll want to get to soon, while it still gets dark early in the evening. Not a game to play with the sun up.

Oh yeah, and congratulations on the whole baby thing.

Hey FakeKisser

Congrats on your new child!

Totally agree with you on the lack of good KB&M controls for DA:I, not too mention it is way way to easy to powerlevel on that game. I'm having to play on the hardest difficulty to have fights be worth anything and even then they are only tough due to my companion AI being not very sharp (I wish I had rolled rogue instead of Mage since they seem to have a death wish).

In general the combat in that game is a bummer, I just wish Bioware would stop trying to console-ify/MMMO-ify their RPGs in that regard.

Still I am having a good time with it because I like the world and characters which are heads and shoulders everything I saw like this this year.

Happy New Year!

Thanks for the comments, guys...and the kind words/congrats and Happy New Year to you, too!!

I played a mage in DAII and enjoyed it, but I got excited to play a warrior Qunari as a "Samurai/Ronin archetype." The change in combat just really bummed me out. However, if they don't patch it by the time I finish Far Cry 4, I will probably go back to Inquisition anyway. :)

Having an infant does making gaming harder, especially since this is my second kid... :P However, there is usually still an hour or two a day that I can play a game after the kids are asleep...providing I'm not too tired, myself. It's really the first couple months that are the hardest. So, I'm hoping I'll be able to get at least 7-10 hours a week back for gaming soon. At this point in my life, that's about all I can ask for. And, yes, I'm very fortunate to have a supportive wife that understands my love for this medium and doesn't give me a hard time for spending my free time with gaming.