Definitely the Uncharted games, which they sell as a bundle for $40 now. Some people don't recommend the first game as highly as the second, but I think Drake's Fortune is still a really good game and worth playing.
Demon's Souls is also really good; it's a pretty challenging yet rewarding game. I haven't beaten it yet because I suck at the game, but that doesn't mean it's not really good.
Heavy Rain's gameplay is a bit wonky in spots, and some of the voice acting is really quite bad, but the story and atmosphere are pretty great.
The two Ratchet and Clank Future games are both pretty great, and A Crack in Time has one of the best and most unique performances that Nolan North has given. I don't necessarily think you need to play both since the gameplay is so similar between the two (and between all Ratchet and Clank games, really, aside from the multiplayer All 4 One), so if you just want to play one, make it A Crack in Time.
MGS4 is really great as well, but if you haven't played the other games in that series, the story might not make sense (and you'll lose a lot of those fan-service in-jokes that Kojima finangled into the game).
Valkyria Chronicles is a really beautiful game, and the gameplay is a pretty unique blend of turn-based strategy and real-time combat. If you like strategy games or are open to trying one, that's a rather good one.
Some people might disagree, but I think that the first inFamous game is a pretty great game. I haven't played the second game yet, but the first one is pretty fun.
Luckily, you can get most of these games for around $20 each (I think inFamous and Heavy Rain are the only ones here that're currently $30).
2. Its a gimmick, overly sexualized, a totally crazy game, or a combination of the 3 (tomb raider, bayonetta, blood rayne, dead or alive, ms splosion man)
First of all, I don't really see how being a "totally crazy game" completely invalidates having a female player-controlled main protagonist. Sometimes, like in the case of Bayonetta, one of the best parts about a game is that it's completely crazy.
@Abigailnn said:
So i started playing dues ex and i realized that I cant think of one serious or realistic story-focused game (or even one that had a decent story that wasn't the focus of the game...) thats come out in the last 10 years that has a female protagonist. Beyond good and evil and alice: madness returns are the best examples i can think of, but they are both more fantasy games (even though alice is still really dark) and the only real examples i can think of at all...
Also, you say that Beyond Good and Evil and Alice: Madness Returns are more "fantasy" games as if that makes it any less serious or realistic than a game like Deus Ex, where a man can get his entire body augmented with bionics and can run enemies through with blades that extend and retract from his forearms. And just because a game is less grounded in reality, it doesn't mean that the characters are instantly less believable or valid as characters. If the writing is done well, then the strength of the characters should come through regardless of how grounded in reality the worlds around them are.
@Abigailnn said:
@Axxol: true but mirrors edge wasnt even a good game really.. nonetheless good story
I'm not the biggest fan of Mirror's Edge, but I would not say that it's not a good game. While it's not the best game experience, I felt that Mirror's Edge was a really special game. Dice was really ambitious in a few different ways when they made Mirror's Edge. They tried to make a compelling platforming game that incorporated heavy use of parkour from a first-person perspective, which couldn't have been an easy feat, especially since platforming in nearly all prior first-person games has been rather terrible. And they tried to do all of this with a female main protagonist that wasn't overtly sexualized. When "clever" Photoshoppers across the globe came up with this... "sexier" version of Faith, some of the developers at Dice openly aired their disappointment at the image because they were trying to make a realistic female character, one that relied on her physical and emotional strength rather than her sexuality to overcome challenges.
So don't dismiss Mirror's Edge simply because you think it "wasn't even a good game really," because it's one of the best examples of game developers doing exactly what you're asking.
I'm not saying that you're wrong in wanting more "big" games centered around female characters. I would absolutely love more of those; God knows I can relate to a good female protagonist much more than I can to the countless "gruff, bald white dude" characters out there. But that's not to say that strong female protagonists don't exist in games right now. Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, while still an anime female character, is a lot stronger and more mature than a lot of other Japanese female protagonists, and the new Tomb Raider game appears to be making some good strides in fleshing out Lara Croft as a compelling character (the Legend/Anniversary/Underworld trilogy did pretty well at giving Lara more depth, but they still gave her a somewhat high level of overt sexuality). And you can say "Heh that demo is torture porn and she makes porny noises," but they are at least handling her situation and physical condition/injuries relatively realistically and, well, hey, you try surviving a shipwreck and crawling through a dank cave without making any sort of noise.
And sometimes, those female characters are definitely there, but you just can't play them. Elena Fisher from the Uncharted series is one of the best-written characters I've ever seen in a game and one of my all-time favorite video game characters, regardless of gender. She is also not overtly sexualized and isn't dependent on Nathan Drake to save her at every turn. While much of her development comes from her interactions with male characters, she is clearly capable of handling herself and often goes against what they ask of her in order to help them with what they need.
As another example, one of the main reasons I'm very excited for BioShock Infinite is to see the story of Elizabeth, the main female protagonist of the game and the companion of the player character, Booker DeWitt. She, too, will no doubt be a very strong character, and from what we've already seen, does as much as Booker does to make sense of all the insanity going on around them. She even goes out of her way and makes sacrifices to help both Booker and other beings in need, like the dying horse in the trailer. In the case of this game, I'd actually rather not play as Elizabeth, because playing as her from a first-person perspective would mean not necessarily being able to see the full extent of her thoughts, emotion, and growth throughout the game.
While I would like to play more games centered around female characters, I am pretty appreciative of the many strong female protagonists in the games I already do play, and I have faith that, eventually, that will happen.
I know this is overly wordy, but one final comment here:
@Abigailnn said:
Im just a bit sick of playing as a guy and then being smothered in female love interests left and right. If it keeps up im going to turn into a lesbian.
Grow up. You and I both know that it doesn't work like that. You want more mature female protagonists? Start by turning yourself into one.
I really enjoyed what Remedy did with the licensed music in Alan Wake. The in-game incorporation with the radios was pretty well done, especially with Poets of the Fall's "War." However, it was the use of the music in the end-chapter cinematics that really sold me. The licensed songs really helped set the mood of the story and the world of the game.
I agree that there have been a lot of terrible uses of licensed music in video games, and I usually prefer an original soundtrack composed specifically for the game, but it's not impossible for licensed music to be incorporated well into a game. And like a lot of the above posters, if it's done correctly, I'm completely fine with that.
Regarding the Commander Shepard statue mentioned in the concept art card, it can be safe to assume that Commander Shepard will not look like a "pretty anime lady" (though I am also assuming that they're going to be making a statue of male Shepard, and that's another matter entirely). Regardless of Shepard's gender in the statue, though, his/her statue will be part of Kotobukiya's ArtFX line and will thus most likely be a very accurate representation of the default Shepard.
For example, this is what the ArtFX Iron Man Mk.IV statue looks like, and it doesn't look anime'd up at all. So I don't think we need to worry about that Shepard statue. Unless, of course, your Shepard isn't the default male Shepard. But in that case, you should probably be used to that by now.
Seems like whoever modeled this thought, Hey I like Liara from Mass Effect.. but I also loooove anime!
That's the idea behind the whole line.
(these things are primarily sold in Japan)
This is correct; a lot of people on the images seem outraged at this upcoming statue, echoing a sentiment akin to "WTF SO ANIME! THIS NOT MY LIARA!"
However, what these fans don't seem to be aware of is that Kotobukiya's entire Bishoujo line is meant to provide "pretty anime girl" interpretations of popular characters. They've already released quite a few statues based on Marvel and DC heroines/villainesses like the above Poison Ivy and the below Jean Grey, and they're beginning to get into the video game realm with Liara and Tekken's Christie Monteiro. While I think that some of these have been a little overboard with the... *ahem* assets, if you will, I think that a lot of the statues Kotobukiya has in their Bishoujo line are pretty neat.
I was going to post a picture of the statue of Christie from Tekken, but I figured she was wearing a bit too little to be positively safe, and I didn't want to get in trouble for posting something inappropriate on here. You can go search for pictures if you really want to.
@Marino: I StreetPassed with you twice (though I already told you that), and I also managed to StreetPass with Johnny V. I was hoping to get Randy Pitchford at the Gearbox panel, but I guess he was already full up. Regardless, it was a very good weekend to be StreetPassing.
@Hailinel: I might've Thrown Down with you at PAX as well, but I'm sorry that I can't explicitly recall. So many Throwdowns.
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