WHAT PLAY YOU?

[CAREBEAR LUVVA]

I thought it was all over, so I almost came when I saw this bit of unexpected news just now:

 

 

Two more expansions for Fallout 3 have been announced, including plans for the PS3 version.

 

Point Lookout, a massive swampland with new quests and content, and alien abductions in Mothership Zeta will be coming to 360 and PC by July for 800 Microsoft Points.

 

The two expansions, as well as all the previous DLC, will finally arrive on the PlayStation 3 from June. Operation: Anchorage will be released in late June, followed by The Pitt and Broken Steel spaced out until August.

 

The DLC will also be released across retail packs for 360 and PC, while a Game Of The Year edition featuring the original game and all DLC will be released on all three systems in October.

 

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a156548...on-the-way.html

[Adam G]

Can I get some opinions on these games, please...

 

XIII

Black

Worms 3D

Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction

[Onyx2]

XIII

 

A little obscure in style, but essentially an FPS with weird quirks. Beautiful art style, fantastic story but inconsistent gameplay. If you like slightly odd things and can put up with occasional shoddy bits for the sake of seeing the next bit of the story, well worth it.

 

Black

 

Absurd OTT FPS that makes me wish I'd held on to the domain black2.co.uk Quite good fun, short-lived though.

 

Worms 3D

 

Just despicable.

 

Mercenaries: Playground Of Destruction

 

Not played. Helpful eh?

[Adam G]

A few more, if you wouldn't mind...

 

Manhunt

Hitman: Contracts

Tomb Raider: Anniversary

[Onyx2]

I think they're all dull as shit. You see the Manhunt deaths once and that's the appeal gone, Hitman: Contracts is perhaps the worst in the series, and I can't stand Tomb Raider, though I understand it was well-received by its fans.

[Joe_the_Lion]

Black

 

Absurd OTT FPS that makes me wish I'd held on to the domain black2.co.uk Quite good fun, short-lived though.

 

 

 

Black, as long as you ignore the terrible cut scenes, is an amazing game and I can't believe that they haven't made a sequel to it - if Red Faction can stumble on from game to game why can't they make Black 2? Easily one of the better FPS' of the Xbox era for my money.

[Onyx2]

Black

 

Absurd OTT FPS that makes me wish I'd held on to the domain black2.co.uk Quite good fun, short-lived though.

 

 

 

Black, as long as you ignore the terrible cut scenes, is an amazing game and I can't believe that they haven't made a sequel to it - if Red Faction can stumble on from game to game why can't they make Black 2? Easily one of the better FPS' of the Xbox era for my money.

 

Read it again - I used to own the domain black2.co.uk and let it lapse. I'm certain there will be a sequel at some point, but I won't have a mega-valuable domain to sell to EA

[JLM]

"If you think Batman on the SNES is hard".

 

It IS hard. I didn't say it was impossible, we did finish it after all, but I don't think there's any question that it's a fiendishly tricky game. Fair enough on The Riddler Stage goggles thing though, that makes the stage a lot less unfair.

 

Also, The Joker thing... regardless of whether or not there are ways of making it easier etc. you have to concede that it's still pretty mental considering it's the first stage in the game.

 

Re: Manhunt. For me it's actually got to the stage where Manhunt is actually underrated. There was media hysteria, a great deal of fanfare and controversy and then a slew of reviews claiming that the game itself was a piece of shit. I always felt that some of them were written in response to the frenzy in a "who cares, it's rubbish anyway" kind of way. I agree that it wasn't nearly significant enough to attract the hype that it did, but I enjoyed playing through it regardless.

 

For me it wasn't about the gory kills (which are indeed for one or two cheap schlocky thrills before you're bored) but the fact that the game had a fantastic atmosphere about it and was genuinely tense and frightening at times. The fact that the hunters were such scumbags and the locations were so bleak and dystopian made it something akin to actually starring in The Running Man, only far more "gritty" to use a horrible critics' term.

 

Your protagonist being absolutely shit at fighting hand to hand really helped as well. If you did get spotted there was a sense of real panic because the chances are you'd be beaten to death or shot to pieces moments later. Oh, and the boss fight with the pig man and his chainsaw was outstanding.

 

Basic (and yes, flawed at times) gameplay mechanics, fairly average stealth gameplay but, for me, made entirely worthwhile by the fact that the whole thing is dripping with atmosphere and tension.

 

Worms3D is a travesty as mentioned.

 

Black is satisfyingly chunky. I don't actually think a PS3 or 360 game has managed to top the sheer pounding satisfaction of firing the weapons in Black. Didn't do anything revolutionary, but the execution was of what it did do was damn near flawless. Play it through a good sound system on a decent TV and it's a grand experience.

[Adam G]

I went with XIII and Mercenaries, shall get Black another time.

[Onyx2]

Guess I should reply on topic. I borrowed Orange Box recently and finally managed to play and complete Portal. It's as much hilarious fun as I'd hoped. There's a superb mechanic in place, and GlaDOS is simply brilliant. I recommend it to anyone.

 

I then moved on to Half Life 2, which is sadly showing it's age. The opening segments bounce between nothing at all and relentless pursuit, not really letting you get into the game. I'm still playing for now but I might give up.

 

I have Dead Space and Bioshock on the shelf awaiting playing... I'm leaning towards opening Bioshock as everything I've read about it indicates I'll love it.

[Just Me]

I've been getting my feet wet on Fallout 3. Which is unfortunate, since those puddles are radioactive.

 

It's quite absorbing, but at the same time not without its frustrations. Sporadic inability to jump being one of them. My general rubbishness being another. In spite of those I've had some fun, switching between two profiles - one for playing the game "properly" as a good-natured hero, the other for experimenting with more ruthless methods. I won't make the mistake of killing Nova in a crowded gun-toting saloon again.

[Onyx2]

Fallout was the game of last year for me. Absolutely incredible world. Don't rush to level up. You'll hit the ceiling and won't have anywhere for your character to advance.

 

If you're stuck - and don't you dare venture there until you are - go to fallout.wikia.com for infinite resources.

[Gwailofilms]

Guess I should reply on topic. I borrowed Orange Box recently and finally managed to play and complete Portal. It's as much hilarious fun as I'd hoped. There's a superb mechanic in place, and GlaDOS is simply brilliant. I recommend it to anyone.

Portal is an incredibly fun game. Reaching the "twist" blew my mind first time out and then it just gets better. If you're a Rock Band-er, you can download "Still Alive" for free too.

 

I then moved on to Half Life 2, which is sadly showing it's age. The opening segments bounce between nothing at all and relentless pursuit, not really letting you get into the game. I'm still playing for now but I might give up.

I saw it through to the end, only because I hadn't played it first time around (what with owning a shit PC and all). I can see why such a fuss was made about it at the time - there are some great moment and details - , but it screams "10-year-old PC game" on the 360. The mid-pursuit level loading is just bullshit on a console in 2009.

 

I have Dead Space and Bioshock on the shelf awaiting playing... I'm leaning towards opening Bioshock as everything I've read about it indicates I'll love it.

I was three-quarters of the way through replaying Bioshock (to get the "good" ending to sit alongside my "bad" ending), when I got back into Fallout 3 again.

 

I've got all the DLC and started with a new character. I took her to do "Anchorage" first, then "The Pitt" and now I'm just wandering the map, discovering the locations and taking on random missions as I stumble upon them. I'm Level 17, have clocked up 30 hours (the time it took me to finish the main story last time) and haven't even started "Following in his Footsteps" yet.

 

Fallout 3 is starting to look like the best value

[Tommy!]

I went with XIII and Mercenaries, shall get Black another time.

 

Mercenaries got old quick with me but XIII was one of the best games I ever played. It was amazing, i really enjoyed the style and story and it played really well. It was one of the few games that really engrossed me fully, stuntman (the first) being another, and didn't get old as i went on but pulled me further and further in.

 

I also loved Black. Short and lacking in story perhaps but it was amazing fun to blast through.

 

I just picked up Killzone 2 cheapish and it doesn't live up the the hype so far for me, its not knocked UFC of my main play set when i get the time and mood for some games

[Mike Castle]

I've actually gone back to the old N64 for a bit of Doom 64. Despite having the game for years (I'd say about 9-10 years now, as the shop I got it from shut down around then) I never once got round to even getting past level 6, so taken it upon myself to fully complete it.

 

Get just over halfway through and realize that in each of the main 3 secret levels there's an artifact I'm meant to collect to completely complete the game. So looks like I'll be making a second trip through it after this run.