I've started playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for the PS3. I started enjoying the combat, but as the game progressed I was soon introduced to an open field with newer tasks to accomplish. It wasn't as massive as Skyrim's open world, but it was big enough for me to explore. Now I'm continuing my trend of doing every little side quest and out right ignoring the main quest. I don't do it for enjoyment though, I'm doing it in order to feel like I'm doing everything. At times I question this sense of dread deep down while I play open world games. I feel compelled to see everything that an open world game has. Every nook and cranny has to be seen by me because of an unknown reason. As I'm growing older, I've realized that my love for open world games is decreasing as I continue to play more open world games. I have limited time as each passing day goes by and I worry that I may have more fun with a shorter game. This is why I'm forcing myself to stop caring about everything that KoA has and instead focusing on the essential content that should be completed. I still feel that I'm betraying a part of myself in being so close minded, yet I believe that this is the right course of action. I used to see big maps in games as an endless ocean of possibilities. Now I see huge amounts of content that I'll never be able to accomplish with my limited time. Does anyone else feel this way or am I strange? I'd love some discussion of this exact situation and I'm hoping that you duders can help out. I'll also be writing my thoughts on KoA in a review soon.
I've been a critque of artsy games over the past couple of years. I was raised on brutal platformers and pure gameplay, so I never was emotionally engaged in most games. I questioned the appeal of games such as Flower as they weren't that big of a deal to me. I'm as surprised as you at my utter love for Journey. Perhaps its that Journey actually plays like an actual game or that I finally got the appeal for thatgamecompany games. Regardless, Journey is a near perfect game that doesn't require any thing more or anything less. Well, its almost perfect as my one glaring knock against Journey is its annoying use of Sixaxis for the Dualshock 3. Other than that Journey is one of those games that make me realize all the potential that video games can accomplish. Journey is such a wonderful ride that is mixed with joy, glee, danger, death, and a triumphant rise to glory. You really should play this game as it does so much with so little. It also made me realize the importance of artsy games and why people love them.
2: Asura's Wrath
Asura's Wrath is another game that can simply be described as art. From inspection, people can easily write off Asura's Wrath. I also wrote it off as it mostly showed QTE's and dumb anime shit that I despise immensely. I still wished to try the demo so I could understand what I was making fun of then continue to laugh at a dumb looking game. I didn't expect my jaw to hit the floor after playing that demo, but it did happen. After watching a god man transform into an entity that is bigger than the planet itself I was in awe. I would best describe Asura's Wrath as awesome. The word is overused, but I mean it when I say that Asura's Wrath left me in awe at what I was witnessing. Through out Asura's journey I witnessed a sword that cut the moon, a god that threw planets at me, and oh a weird anime bathhouse scene that is completely random, but necessary. Just play it and see the crazy anime shit for yourself. You won't regret it.
3: The Walking Dead
I've never played a Telltale game to completion. I liked my time with Sam & Max and even Back to the Future. After Jurassic Park's disaterous reception I was begining to think that this trend would continue. I still gave WD a chance as I loved the comics and watched the amc show. I'm here to report that the game easily surpasses the comics and tv show. The games have shown a glimpse of the zombie game that I've always wanted. WD so far has delivered an emotional thrill ride that is mostly you talking to people. The zombies like in the source material aren't the main threat in the world. It is all about the evils of humanity and that is displayed in episode 2. This may be a bit too soon for me to put such high regard in a game that still isn't complete, but you'd be wrong. The Walking Dead has done enough for it to be on my list and for me to finally break my Telltale tradition. I will play all of The Walking Dead and be happy that I did.
4: Mass Effect 3
A game that was probably going to be my main pick for my GOTY. I had a huge addiction to Mass Effect. I've bought books, posters, toys, collector editions, and all the games in the series on day one. My excitement was so huge for ME3 that I even contemplated getting an N7 tattoo on my shoulder. After completeling ME3 that tatttoo won't happen any time soon. The ending has been talked to death so I won't cover that. The ending still feels like an intern wrote his shitty fan-fic ending and replaced that with the original ending. Even after the extended cut I still dislike the endings. The endings aren't why this isn't higher. The quest log is another reason and quests in general. The bare bones content in ME3 is disturbing and a clear sign that Bioware's excellence is fading away rapidly. The relieance on combat is also ridiculous. Just look at ME and then look at how so much has changed. Look at ME's Ash and the new Ash from ME3. Its sad to see one of my favorite franchises be transformed into something unrecognizable by fans such as myself. Still, ME3 has some great moments such as Tutchanka and the Geth conflicts. ME3 is a great game, but it is incredibly disappointing. Mass Effect should have been much more important to this generation, but it fails on several occasions.
5: Binary Domain
Its a fun rope through future Japan. The best aspect of BD is its focus on characters and its Terminator sci-fi story. The game is made by the Yakuze team, so it isn't surprising to hear that. The most surprising aspect of BD is that is plays well and for a TPS, the shorting actually feels good. Also, shooting robots never felt so good. Its a good rental for sure. Just be ready for a crazy Japanese ride.
6: Spec Ops: The Line
A game that I love yet hate. Spec Ops is one of those games that everyone needs to play once. It is honestly the most surprising game of this year. Just think about the delays and look of the game before even thinking about the game itself. The opening doesn't even show how fucked up Spec Ops actually is. Its a game that makes you feel like a villain and doesn't wish to reward you for anything. The world of Spec Op is actively against you and you won't find any solace in Spec Ops. Its a game that tries so many strange things that it deserves to be celebrated. One of these innovations is changing dalogue through out the game. Nolan North's standard reload from the main character turns vulgar the farther on you go in the game. You also kill Americans in this game. Think about how many military games involve you killing American troops. Probably none right? There are other aspects of Spec Ops that deserve praise, but also realize that Spec ops is a terrible game besides its story. The gameplay is awful and even the graphics themselves aren't noteworthy. Still, you should play Spec Ops.
7: The Darkness 2
A game that is on here because I haven't played as many games as I would have liked. The asylum story segments are the main appeal. Too bad the ending is kind of bullshit. It is still a fun game to play for a while.
8: Botanicula
A charming PC adventure game that truly captures laughs and gleeful enjoyment. Go play it and have fun.
9: Max Payne 3
A disappointing game in several aspects. It still manages to be fun in some cases. Props to Rockstar for making Max Payne your own thing now.
10: Fez
I don't love Fez, but I appreciate what it does. I never got the appeal of this game so it won't last long on this list. I had my fun with it, but I didn't make my room like the room from Seven.
About Diablo 3...
I'd love to play it, but my shitty laptop probably wouldn't handle it. I'll play it eventually once I get my PC.
Note: This is the next part of another blog that i wrote a while ago. Click here to read up.
So I decided on what my next course of action should be with the free facebook version of You Don't Know Jack. In the end we all knew that I'd stick to my guns and not pay for a facebook game. No matter how much I enjoyed the fun of YDKJ I still wasn't convinced into paying for games. So my mantra now is to wait a range of 4 to 10 hours for the ability to play another game for free. I don't do it regularly, which has kept me from becoming deranged from my next hit of YDKJ. Like a crack addict I keep waiting for my next shot of fun comedy goodness, but I know now that patience is key. I've realized that I may have learned some strange lesson in all of this. That perhaps keeping me away from what I want may in fact make me better for it. Instead of paying for games and continuing my inevitable spiral into facebook game madness I have instead kept myself clean. This can be seen as the righteous path as now I am the one in control for now at least. It can also be seen as self-deprivation as the lack of continued hilarity may drive me insane either way. In any case I have made my decision and I plan to stick with it for the foreseeable future. May god help me.
I plan to do some more blogging on here if anyone cares enough to read it.
I'll keep it brief, be sure to check out my new LP series for Bastion. It's a great game that you guys have hopefully played by now. If not then use this opportunity to check out my video about it! Also be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel for more cool content! Thanks.
I've done something that I never thought I would do. I played a facebook game for the first time. Before you yell at me about how much you hate facebok try to listen to my reason why. First of all it's a brand new You Don't Know Jack game on facebook and it's free. At first I was stoked at the concept of playing my favorite trivia game for free and with little hassle(unless giving up your info to jellyvision is a no-no for you). So at first it actually looks like another great YDKJ game until I reached the breaking point. You see after 5 or so games I'm treated to a screen that says I'm out of games. Then I noticed that I had to wait 5 hours to play a new game, which seemed reasonable to me. This is after all a highly produced free to play game so the incentive to keep playing is a must if devs wish to gain profit. So I waited and played another wonderful game(actually I kind of suck at YDKJ as I came in last place for a second time). Than I expected the same screen and the same delayed time until another juicy game. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, instead the time until I could play was 24 hours. This is where I questioned my desire to keep playing. There is nothing wrong with asking for money for a free product, but I'm still annoyed by it. Now I'm in a moral dilemma of whether or not I should actually pay to play a facebook game. Think about that for a second guys. PAY TO PLAY A DAMN FACEBOOK GAME? The only people that actually do that are soap opera moms, right? I never thought that I'd be at this crossroads between an action that I despise and a game that I love. Have any of you been in a similar situation or in the same one that I'm in? In any case, I don't know what to do at the moment. The last time I started playing that game I rushed over to my wallet and started punching in my credit card info. I had to stop myself before I took such drastic measures as paying for a facebook game. I'll report back and let you guys know what I've decided. In the mean time I'll keep patiently waiting for my 24 hours to expire. And again, and again, and again.
Hey guys just letting you know that I've finally completed my World of Goo playthrough! To catch up and watch it or to watch it again head over to my channel. You should subscribe too as I'll be showing my latest project soon. Here's the first episode to see if you're interested.
Sorry that it took ages to upload the entire thing. I really haven't had much free time. Still, the next project that I'll reveal will have faster uploads! Be sure to see it all before I start my newest project!
I'm starting a new project that I'll title Let's Fail: The Binding of Isaac. Basically I play a game that I shouldn't have ever played since I suck balls at it! This means that I've already recorded my entire run of this game already and was just waiting for World of Goo to be over and done with. If you hate watching people fail at games than don't watch this! If you do like my recent videos than come and watch! Here's the first episode.
Guess I haven't made a blog to inform you guys about who I am. I'm fairly recent to Giantbomb, I mostly came because of the Giant Bomb cast and soon realized the greatness of what this site is. Soon enough I feel in love with the main GB crew and the Endurance Run. I still try to watch the Persona 4 ER once every month or so. I love most of what Giantbomb does and am now pretty experienced with the site and staff. While I don't have that many forum posts, that's the norm for me. Honestly, I'm not a good forum person as I don't really know what to say in most forum threads. I still haven't been closely tied to one community and their forums, so I may be a late bloomer. While this isn't a noobie introduction, I haven't really introduced myself to you guys in this way. I just hope I can be pals with some duders on here, so we'll see where this goes. For now, I'm just glad to be on here and interacting with you all. That's all for now guys. Until next time!
P.S. My name is Matt by the way. Thought I'd let you know that!
Hey guys, I've recently been interested in commentating video games as hobby. I've never done this kind of thing before, so expect a lack of quality that most commentators have. It has taken a couple of years for me to finally find a way to record games and such, so this is a pretty awesome moment for me to do something that I've been interested in for a while. This is why I'm sharing it with you and asking you guys to help me out in my attempt to commentate games and perhaps be successful at it. So go check it out, comment, like, and subscribe! All I ask of you guys is to support my efforts in a new process that is frankly quite daunting. It has taken a lot of time to get here, but I couldn't be happier. Go check it out! The game is World of Goo, I choose it because it is fairly simple and easy to commentate over. For now it'll be a PC affair, I may record console games and bigger games, but for now I don't have the resources for it. If you have any criticisms or suggestions please leave them here or in the video comments. I'll shut up now.
Log in to comment