Last Video Game You Played?

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  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    That's funny! I've got Max Payne 3 on the way on Sunday, so I can't wait to play it. I'm so pleased it's been getting great word of mouth everywhere I turn.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    It is, it's fantastic
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    I got an Xbox 360 a few months ago, and my girlfriend let me borrow 'Skyrim.' I'm playing through the Thieves Guild quests right now, then I'm tackling the Dark Brotherhood, and then the Daedric Artifact quests.
  • edited July 2012 Posts: 12,837
    I need to rebuy Skyrim on my 360, I think I'm ready to forgive it for murdering my ps3.

    When I had it, I was one of those cat people, and I didn't do many quests apart from the misc ones. I got bored of the main story after I killed the first dragon. So I just wandered around hunting and played as sort of a drifter, going from city to city looking for stuff to do. It was awesome being a criminal and escaping jail. And I banned myself from fast travelling, takes away from the fun.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    @thelivingroyale, I tried to do that, but not fast traveling grew to be incredibly repetitive, very fast. I would venture out to a few caves, rob corpses and dungeons until I was nearly over-encumbered, then I would run back to Whiterun, sell everything, repeat. It just grew old. I had to start doing quests and fast traveling, or I was going to go insane.
  • Posts: 12,837
    @Creasy47 I did let myself use the horse carriges if I just couldn't be arsed walking (I never had a horse). Hunting was fun though, I just went, killed animals and saved my stuff. My favourite bit in the game was when I found a quest that was basically The Hangover.

    Anyway, I played Fallout New Vegas today. For the next game, they should add motorbikes or battered old cars.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    @Creasy47 I did let myself use the horse carriges if I just couldn't be arsed walking (I never had a horse). Hunting was fun though, I just went, killed animals and saved my stuff. My favourite bit in the game was when I found a quest that was basically The Hangover.

    Anyway, I played Fallout New Vegas today. For the next game, they should add motorbikes or battered old cars.

    Yeah, that quest was pretty fun. Another movie-esque mission I really enjoyed was from 'Oblivion,' and it was just like 'Clue': you had five guests you had to kill while locked in a mansion, and you couldn't let any of them catch you. I had a real blast with that, trying to turn them on one another and get them to split up so I could take them out stealthily.

    How are you liking 'Fallout: New Vegas?' I enjoyed 'Fallout 3' much more, as it didn't feel rushed or forced, like NV seems to be.
  • Posts: 612
    I've been battling in the Battlefield 3s. Good times.
  • edited July 2012 Posts: 4,813
    Creasy47 wrote:
    @Creasy47 I did let myself use the horse carriges if I just couldn't be arsed walking (I never had a horse). Hunting was fun though, I just went, killed animals and saved my stuff. My favourite bit in the game was when I found a quest that was basically The Hangover.

    Anyway, I played Fallout New Vegas today. For the next game, they should add motorbikes or battered old cars.

    Yeah, that quest was pretty fun. Another movie-esque mission I really enjoyed was from 'Oblivion,' and it was just like 'Clue': you had five guests you had to kill while locked in a mansion, and you couldn't let any of them catch you. I had a real blast with that, trying to turn them on one another and get them to split up so I could take them out stealthily.

    How are you liking 'Fallout: New Vegas?' I enjoyed 'Fallout 3' much more, as it didn't feel rushed or forced, like NV seems to be.

    ABSOLUTELY!! That is the logical next step for the new one whenever it comes. I have seen this game called "Rage" on the shelves. At a glance, it looks like it could be very similar to Fallout plus the use of vehicles. Anyone have that? Am I right? It's only $20- maybe worth a look
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    @Master_Dahark, it was pretty entertaining for $20. It most certainly had a 'Fallout'/'Borderlands' vibe to it, only with vehicles (including races, vehicle battles, etc.) such as cars and ATV's. It was given high praise for having some of the best graphics in a game ever, but I didn't see it - the sky looked incredible, almost like real life, but the rest of it was pretty mundane and had a bit of lag behind it in terms of loading.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I quite liked playing RAGE. It's not the best material out there at the moment, nor is it 'the latest' in video game tech, but it's good enough. Let's say it's not the best steak you could be served, but it's a darn good cheeseburger deluxe. And when you're hungry, you can enjoy both, right? ;-) I like RAGE's premise very much. It feels like I'm in a Mad Max setting. I like the versatility of the gaming experience (although it adds little new stuff to, say, the GTA games in that you can more or less choose your missions, or simply walk around, drive cars, participate in races and buy items as long as the money is there). My only serious complaint is that once you've finished the main story, the game's finished too. Unlike certain other games which allow indefinite walking around even after you've conducted all programmed missions, RAGE calls it a day. That said, I doubt there's much fun to be had anyway after the main story is finished, except for the races perhaps but if you want to keep racing, I suggest you resort to a professional racing game anyway, rather than to a game that's primarily a shooter.

    Bottom line, RAGE is good - not great, worth your money - but not too much. 20 Dollars seems reasonable. So sure, go ahead, play it and have fun! But like I said before, it's a really good hamburger so if you're in the mood for the best steak in town, back off. There is better stuff available. Sometimes, however, I myself simply desire a good and juicy hamburger. Well, to satisfy those needs in video game terms, I'm glad RAGE is installed on my computer.
  • Posts: 12,837
    Creasy47 wrote:
    @Creasy47 I did let myself use the horse carriges if I just couldn't be arsed walking (I never had a horse). Hunting was fun though, I just went, killed animals and saved my stuff. My favourite bit in the game was when I found a quest that was basically The Hangover.

    Anyway, I played Fallout New Vegas today. For the next game, they should add motorbikes or battered old cars.

    Yeah, that quest was pretty fun. Another movie-esque mission I really enjoyed was from 'Oblivion,' and it was just like 'Clue': you had five guests you had to kill while locked in a mansion, and you couldn't let any of them catch you. I had a real blast with that, trying to turn them on one another and get them to split up so I could take them out stealthily.

    How are you liking 'Fallout: New Vegas?' I enjoyed 'Fallout 3' much more, as it didn't feel rushed or forced, like NV seems to be.

    I also enjoyed the dark brotherhood starting quest, where you kill the old woman and then you get kidnapped, although I got bored of doing missions for them pretty quickly.

    I like the setting of New Vegas more, but yeah it does feel rushed. I'm disappointed that they used the Fallout 3 engine, in some ways it could've been an expansion pack.
  • Posts: 153
    Catherine. Got the good ending :)
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    @thelivingroyale, are you speaking of the Dark Brotherhood starting quest from 'Skyrim?' If so, I quite enjoyed myself with that, as well. Just replayed it last night :)

    The main problem 'New Vegas' had was the factions - it just felt like no matter who you picked, you would be under fault at some point. That, and there were some very cool outfits I couldn't wear because it would 'upset' others. All of this led to the ending, giving us five or six different endings that you can only experience by either saving at the ending, or starting up a new game every time; neither outcome is what I wanted to do.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I'm close to finishing Max Payne 3 but I desperately need something off my chest. You see, I'm still a passionate fan of the first two games in the series. Besides being excellent shooters, they were supported by a great story, told impressively via a collection of comic strips and a minor few cut scenes. These were omnipresent throughout the entire game, but they never felt to me like they overstayed their welcome. The actual active parts of the games were always dominant and one could often keep running and firing for several minutes in a row before another comic strip or cut scene provided a much needed pause. Upon repeat playing, one could also fast forward through most of these breaks and go absolutely ballistic against the enemies. Tons and tons of baddies needed to be taken out but things hardly ever got repetitive. Each room more or less offered new challenges and required new strategies. That's what I like so much about Max Payne and Max Payne 2.

    Now as for Max Payne 3, I have complaints and I don't like that feeling, being - again - the passionate Max Payne fan that I am. This game, however, couldn't have been more dull in its narrative structure. It's basically a linear sequence of cut scenes with brainless shoot-outs in between. This is hardly a game; it's more an animated Max Payne film with a few interactive moments here and there. The active/passive ratio is almost the exact opposite of what it used to be. You clear out a map loaded on baddies in about half a minute and then you get another 5 minute long or so cut scene. I'm at this point also largely disappointed that all I ever get to do is shoot at targets from behind walls and other hiding places, without the wonderful variations that the first two games provided. I'm more disappointed, even annoyed, that after half a minute of going berserk, another long cut scene loads and I'm again pulled out of interactive gaming mode. Now, since I'm playing this game for the first time, I find myself still enjoying the continuation of the story (even though my hands are off the controls) but I already dread the prospect of having to go through all of this again during future replaying (because it seems they cannot be fast forwarded). The first two games, it should be noted, hold a strong replay value for me. I keep going back to them because I can't get enough of them. I've been playing Max Payne for 11 years now (!). The story naturally progresses in both the first two games, while I'm at the controls, mind, with only a modest few interruptions from cut scenes and with several comic strip interventions, however of fairly modest length. As far as the cut scenes in Max Payne 3 are concerned, they are too many and they are too long. Plus, the plot driven cut scenes are in vast contrast to the actual shoot-outs which hardly grab on to the story at all. They merely exist for us to get the shooting out of the way really fast so we can move on to yet another bit of animation.

    I really wish they had gone back to the model of the first two games. Provide information through passive moments when absolutely needed and let Payne's quest progress while we're actually playing. Also, please allow us, as in the first two games, to roam around multiple rooms, go back for ammo or painkillers when needed, and so forth. Max Payne 3 almost literally closes the door on a single room once we're through it. Things are kept so tight, our freedom so limited, I really can defend Bloodstone now, often criticised for directing the story too closely, as offering a relatively fair amount of freedom whilst playing.

    Of course Max Payne 3 has a lot going for it. It looks very good, the story is interesting, the voice work is splendid and Max has added a few interesting new moves to his pallet. In that sense, it does have its entertaining qualities. But the way I see it, this isn't a video game with a good story. This is an animated film with a few interactive bits that always require us to do the exact same thing: find quick cover, shoot, move, shoot, move, shoot and let the controls go for another animated bit. I'm sorry: this game is turning into my QOS of the Max Payne series: a lot of unrealised potential, blocked by annoying artistic arrogance from the creators.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited July 2012 Posts: 13,350
    Well, I'm of course playing Max Payne 3 for the first time as well and I completely agree DD. I get the feeling, everyone thought after nine years something new had to be done to mix things up but nothing had to be done at all!

    Where are those great mazes or dream sequences from the other games? Gone.

    I think we're playing the wrong parts. Letting us play the cutscenes would have been far better. It's as if half the game is missing.

    I'm nine chapters in, so who knows what the last five will bring up but it's good, just a little dare I say, average?
  • 001001
    Posts: 1,575
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Well, I'm of course playing Max Payne 3 for the first time as well and I completely agree DD. I get the feeling, everyone thought after nine years something new had to be done to mix things up but nothing had to be done at all!

    Where are those great mazes or dream sequences from the other games? Gone.

    I think we're playing the wrong parts. Letting us play the cutscenes would have been far better. It's as if half the game is missing.

    I'm nine chapters in, so who knows what the last five will bring up but it's good, just a little dare I say, average?

    I was going to buy it,now after reading your opinions i'll give it a miss.

  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    001 wrote:
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Well, I'm of course playing Max Payne 3 for the first time as well and I completely agree DD. I get the feeling, everyone thought after nine years something new had to be done to mix things up but nothing had to be done at all!

    Where are those great mazes or dream sequences from the other games? Gone.

    I think we're playing the wrong parts. Letting us play the cutscenes would have been far better. It's as if half the game is missing.

    I'm nine chapters in, so who knows what the last five will bring up but it's good, just a little dare I say, average?

    I was going to buy it,now after reading your opinions i'll give it a miss.

    Here's a crazy idea...make your own assumptions! Whaaaaaaa?! :O ;)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Well, I'm of course playing Max Payne 3 for the first time as well and I completely agree DD. I get the feeling, everyone thought after nine years something new had to be done to mix things up but nothing had to be done at all!

    Where are those great mazes or dream sequences from the other games? Gone.

    I think we're playing the wrong parts. Letting us play the cutscenes would have been far better. It's as if half the game is missing.

    I'm nine chapters in, so who knows what the last five will bring up but it's good, just a little dare I say, average?

    Agreed. The things that made Max Payne stand out above other shooters are now stuffed away in cut scenes, meaning our input is zero. What remains is what we've been doing since Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, only with better graphics.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    001 wrote:
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Well, I'm of course playing Max Payne 3 for the first time as well and I completely agree DD. I get the feeling, everyone thought after nine years something new had to be done to mix things up but nothing had to be done at all!

    Where are those great mazes or dream sequences from the other games? Gone.

    I think we're playing the wrong parts. Letting us play the cutscenes would have been far better. It's as if half the game is missing.

    I'm nine chapters in, so who knows what the last five will bring up but it's good, just a little dare I say, average?

    I was going to buy it,now after reading your opinions i'll give it a miss.

    Don't. Buy it. Especially if you loved the other games. Once you except and realise how the new game plays, you should be OK with it. It just takes a while to go used to and is a little jarring at first.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited July 2012 Posts: 23,449
    Just understand what you're buying: a very short shooter, dragged out by a long story. It's a well-told story I should say, presented in beautiful graphics (though I'm not sure the deliberate blurs and nods to Max' perennial state of delirium were needed ALL the time) and with great voice work. I'm not saying this game has nothing going for it: that'd be a lie.

    Overall though, I crave for the days when Max protected Vinnie from the cleaners, when Mona Sax entered the picture, when Max worked his way up Puncinello's manor to get to the Trio and eventually the big man himself, when that AWESOME garage full of baddies had to be cleaned floor after floor, when we had those hallucinating dream sequences, when Max could walk around practically freely in the police station, ... Why? Because I did it, it wasn't *just* shown to me.

    There's a sacred rule of screenwriting: show, don't tell. For video games, I'd change that to: let me play it, don't show it. They violated that second rule in Max Payne 3.

    I don't hate this game, I simply think it isn't what it should have been. Being a Max Payne game, it should have been exactly that. Sure they can change a few things here and there, add to the game play experience, increase the visual quality and all that. But it should never be less than its predecessors. I'd say it increased the looks of the game, but the game play itself seems narrowed down to just shooting.

    I once read criticism of Quantum Of Solace. People said all Bond had to do was duck and seek cover, then shoot from there, and proceed. If that kind of shooting annoys you, you won't like the active bits in Max Payne 3. You might like other things, but not those bits, that's all.

    I'll be fair, in terms of aesthetics, the games rank as follows for me:

    1) Max Payne 3


    2) Max Payne 2
    3) Max Payne

    which is like stating the obvious.

    However in terms of overall gaming experience, my list turns upside down:

    1) Max Payne
    almost on par with 2) Max Payne 2


    and then far below

    3) Max Payne 3

    I'm sorry folks, this is IMO a game that mostly plays itself. It even decides at times which guns I will use the very second baddies start shooting at me after another cut scene. So little actual input do we have. Restrictions are everywhere. Whereas selecting the appropriate gun was one of the interesting bits in the first two games, here the game often tells me what to select.
  • edited July 2012 Posts: 12,837
    I love all the Max Payne games (and yes I did play the originals first back when they came out), My Max Payne list.

    1- Max Payne
    2- Max Payne 3
    3- Max Payne 2

    There are a few problems I have with Max Payne 3, like too many cut scenes (half were just shoved in to mask loading screens I think), and you have to take cover lots (in the other games I generally just run n gunned). But I like Max Payne 3's story more than the 2nd game, which is the main reason I rank it higher.

    After 9 years, I think maybe it was a bit of a let down, but then I just do what I do playing Duke Nukem Forever, I try to forget about how long I waited and just enjoy the game.

    My favourite parts of Max Payne 3, were when the new jersey sections. They felt a bit more noirey, like the old games, and I liked the nod to his wife, glad to see they didn't just forget about her. But they did more or less just forget about Mona, which I didn't like.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    How about the music? Just a minor thing I need to add. MP and MP2 had wonderful tracks with interesting melodies and cues. Then there's Poets Of The Fall's beautiful Late Goodbye, giving MP2 a cinematic conclusion. The music in MP3 doesn't stick IMO. I've forgotten the last musical bits that played when I was at it a few hours ago.
    My favourite parts of Max Payne 3, were when the new jersey sections. They felt a bit more noirey, like the old games, and I liked the nod to his wife, glad to see they didn't just forget about her. But they did more or less just forget about Mona, which I didn't like.

    I completely agree, @thelivingroyale! The nods to the wife were great and the NJ sections gave me a truer sequel feeling. But Mona is mentioned I think merely once in the entire game and in a throwaway line. Given the alternative ending to MP2, there was even a good chance of bringing her back (although I agree that would have been a debatable retcon. ;-)) Just imagine Mona and Max doing the shooting instead of Passos and Max. For the record, I like Passos. :)
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    I've done 12 chapters now, so two more to go. I'll finish it tomorrow - God willing - and share my thoughts then.
  • WillardWhyteWillardWhyte Midnight Society #ProjectMoon
    Posts: 784
    I have heard similar things from other people Dimi and Sam......I wont be spending the 60 bucks to play it as I was never a fan of the originals...but your thoughts echo what others have said to me.
  • edited July 2012 Posts: 12,837
    I did like the games finale, it was almost as good as the assault on the skyscraper from the first game.

    @DarthDimi I think I would've enjoyed it a bit more if the whole game was set in Jersey and focussed on Max's war with the mob instead of all the Brazil stuff. Passos can stay though because he was awesome. I could never get the alternate ending on the 2nd game because I could never finish the game on that difficulty level.
  • Posts: 12,837
    Talking about Max Payne 3 and the Mona stuff being forgotten, this is intresting.

    http://www.gamezone.com/products/max-payne-3/originals/max-payne-3-sequel-or-reboot

    tbh I agree with this. I loved Max Payne 3 but really it's more of a reboot than anything else.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Talking about Max Payne 3 and the Mona stuff being forgotten, this is intresting.

    http://www.gamezone.com/products/max-payne-3/originals/max-payne-3-sequel-or-reboot

    tbh I agree with this. I loved Max Payne 3 but really it's more of a reboot than anything else.

    That's heavily debunked. Max references events of the past heavily, as it shaped why he left in the first place to Brazil. His problems have led to his addictions, and that sordid past is his reason for trying to dull that payne. In MP3 you can visit the graves of characters of past games, and there is this haunting easter egg with the voice of Mona and a twist at the end:
  • Posts: 12,837
    I started Arkham Asylum again today, once I've beaten it again I'm replaying Arkham City.

    Anyway, the whole Riddler riddles/trophies, I'm not gonna bother with it all, because running around playing his little game is what he wants. If I just ignore that, then I've beaten him, I win :P
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I started Arkham Asylum again today, once I've beaten it again I'm replaying Arkham City.

    Anyway, the whole Riddler riddles/trophies, I'm not gonna bother with it all, because running around playing his little game is what he wants. If I just ignore that, then I've beaten him, I win :P

    You are missing all the great easter eggs if you skip that. Don't have that attitude when you play Arkham City. Hostages' lives are at stake, and you can actually find him and take him out if you find all the riddles.
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