Fall/Winter videogame lineup

[bjkrautk]

2. Uncharted 2. Simply the best single player game experience on any current gen system. Again, simple controls are the key(except for grenade tossing) which lets you still have input, but also allows the full cinematic showing to unfold. Yes, its like a summer blockbuster movie in viewing, with a ton of cut scenes that are not too long that you are looking to skip them. The game has the perfect mix of action on one level, to puzzle solving on another level and tons of humor that make every level totally unique from each other. Didn't try the online modes as I had to flip it quick, but the single player mode is worth it alone.

I can definitely jump on board the Uncharted 2 hype train. Great single-player experience. Not a perfect game (many of my gripes would be tied to railroad crossing signs & helicopters....and if you've played the game, that says enough), but it's such a fun narrative that you want to keep playing to see what's going to happen next.

 

Some other quick reviews:

 

Final Fantasy 13 - aka, the reason I bought PS3...3 years before the game came out. Even with all that extra time, the game still felt unfinished. As someone who has played Final Fantasy games since #1 hit the NES (without looking....1988?), the lack of any side-missions through the first 2/3rds of the game really stood out. The game is by the same team that developed FF7 and FF10 (both being the first FF games on new console hardware, that being PS1 and PS2, respectively), two titles which both gave players reasons to delve back into areas they had previously been. The lack of any ability to re-direct (or travel from place to place on the planet Cocoon), or a reason to do so made the game look and feel very much like an on-rails RPG. While the game environments look beautiful, the lack of anything meaningful (or even meaningless - as there have always been people to talk to in previous games with nothing important to say) made it feel empty in a way the designers probably didn't intend.

The combat system doesn't really get in the way (you're more of an RPG conductor than a player - giving members of your parties roles and mostly letting them pick how to go about them), but just making the same commands faster doesn't make the experience better....just different.

FF13 isn't a bad game; it has most of the things that I like in the genre. For a game in which the sense of place is so very important to the characters' focus....it just doesn't convey those feelings well to the person holding the controller. All of the things that would make me want to go back to that game (like I do the with so many of the previous games in the series) aren't actually there.

 

Prof. Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) - If you liked the first game primarily for its puzzles, this game has more of them. While the presentation and most of the elements of the game stay the same, I just didn't enjoy the story elements of the second game nearly as much as I did the first. (No spoilers, just that the final reveal felt dissatisfying.) Also, one of the games' side-objectives didn't involve puzzle solving, unless you consider trial-and-error to be a valid puzzle solving mechanic. (Making tea in-game literally involves tossing 3 ingredients into a pot, and then seeing if you come up with one of the in-game formulas. While it's possible to go through every potential combination....systematic t&e isn't fun.)

Play the first one instead, if you get the inclination.

 

Just bought Puzzle Quest 2 over the weekend. Don't expect a review any time shortly, as that game is meant to be ground through to the level cap. Initial impression is that it's fun, albeit one of the few times in games where I could use a bit of hand-holding to explain the changes from the first game.

[sbrylski]

Quick question for those that have played the Civ series on the computer........I see that Civ 5 is coming out soon, and I am on the fence on buying it. My first Civ experience was the Civ series on the Xbox, and its still one of my go to games late at night. However, I know it was dumbed down for the consoles, and am fearful that jumping to the computer version might be a huge step. I have heard of these epic eight hour game lengths and not sure if I have that kind of spare time to devote to my gaming life with school and work. Should I stick with what I like or make the jump to full nerd status?

It is possible to stop playing Civ at a reasonable time of night with some self control. (Thank god they added a clock to the interface...)

 

I've never played Civ on the console before so I can't compare directly, but for the PC, they do a great job of allowing for multiple strategies to playing the game. What I mean by that is there are a lot of different ways of running a successful nation, with the catch being the simpler the method the lower the difficulty level you need to play at. So you can approach Civ for the PC with a a real simple strategy, a lot of micro management things running on auto so you don't have to deal with them, and still have a very enjoyable game on one of the lower to mid difficulty levels. But as you play, you will find ways to unlock a little more commerce here, a little more production there, a little bit more optimization everywhere... and gradually climb the difficultly levels.

 

In other words, you shouldn't be overwhelmed, at least after playing through a game or two.

[endaround]

from playing the console demo, its fairly similar just slightly streamlined. The game moves faster which isn't necessarily a great thing. The worlds tend to be smaller and you need fewer workers. But I think its very similar to regular (post Civ 3) Civilization

[radman12484]

I don't play many different video games. But I'm sure all football fans are looking forward to Madden and NCAA the next few weeks. The one I am looking forward to is Socom 4 for the PS3 with the new motion controller. Been playing Socom games since Socom 2 was out.

[mothershipconnection]

Uncharted 2 is awesome. It's the first game I bought on the release date in a long time, and was happy with my allocation of $60. The multiplayer is really only good if you have a friend to play co-op with. If you match with strangers, they just care about points and it sucks the "co-op" right out of it. I played with my friend and his brother, and it was a lot of fun under those conditions.

Recently, I got Bioshock 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Arkham Asylum for $18 each off gamefly. Bioshock 2 was pretty good, Assassin's Creed 2 is awesome, and I hope to get to Batman in a few weeks.

 

I'm as excited for Fallout: New Vegas as the average female freshman was for the new Twilight.

[Viva La Grinch]

Assassins Creed 2 is a great game as well....a slick improvement on the first one. I didn't feel like I was repeating the same areas over and over like I did in the first game. Wait to you get to the ending, its a strange one that came out of nowhere for me...still not sure if I understood it.

 

Been playing Just Cause 2 for the last few days. First of all, its some of the cheesiest voice acting I have heard in a game lately, but you can still laugh at it. For anybody that likes sandbox games, this has to be your dream game. The story seems unimportant. From what my friends tell me, you can finish the story and only have unlocked less the 30% of the game.

 

There used to be an old trick on Oblivion where to max out your running skills, you would stand against a wall and put a rubber band on your thumb stick to the up position and come back in an hour. I have thought of this trick trying to get to place to place. It takes forever, but there is nothing wrong with that. Planes offer great views of the totally unique environments of the mountains, jungle, snow and desert areas. The grapple hook you get can lead to some crazy fun. Just imagine taking it and shooting a jet taking off, and the other end tied to a semi truck and you can imagine the scene that unfolds. If you can 100% this game then my hat is off to you...but there is no way you can accomplish this and still have a wife/girlfriend...impossible!!

[thebruce44]

Recently, I got Bioshock 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and Arkham Asylum for $18 each off gamefly. Bioshock 2 was pretty good, Assassin's Creed 2 is awesome, and I hope to get to Batman in a few weeks.

In my opinion, Batman is by far the best of those 3. I would pop that in sooner than later.

Been playing Just Cause 2 for the last few days...There used to be an old trick on Oblivion where to max out your running skills, you would stand against a wall and put a rubber band on your thumb stick to the up position and come back in an hour. I have thought of this trick trying to get to place to place.

I hated that at first too, but then I realized you are supposed to use the grappling hook and parachute together to move around the island. I hardly ever walk or drive anymore. Its either a helicopter or the hook and shoot method.

[stoutdude04]

Been playing a bit of Final Fantasy. I just dont feel the urge to go right home and play it like I did with most/all of the others.

[Viva La Grinch]

Well, since it is almost fall, and I think its time to look at the 2010 Fall/Winter lineups. Lots of good stuff here or on its way in the next few months. Games like Halo Reach, Civ 5, Little Big Planet 2, Call of Duty Black Ops, NBA 2K11, Rock Band 3, Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2, Fallout New Vegas, Fable 3, and Medal of Honor look great, not to mention Move and Kinect. What is everybody looking forward most to this holiday season?

 

As for Halo Reach, if you have it, what are your thoughts? I admit, I stink in Halo, always have. I don't know why, as I do well in other FPS like COD, and Battlefield. I just don't get the shoot em and melee quick to kill aspect. Too much running and jumping around for me too sometimes. However the jetpack option has me intrigued, since I loved that in Red Faction. I don't want to fall into the Halo trap and drink the juice again and regret my decision after a couple of days playing. Really on the fence with the Best Buy special ending today with the $20 gift card, so any mini reviews would be nice.

[logan82]

I have not yet received my copy of Reach yet. I am to cheap to pay for shipping.

 

Honestly I am most looking forward to the upcoming Borderlands DLC. I just can't put the game down. I will probably wait on Fable and Fallout for a few months.

[bjkrautk]

Well, since it is almost fall, and I think its time to look at the 2010 Fall/Winter lineups. Lots of good stuff here or on its way in the next few months. Games like Halo Reach, Civ 5, Little Big Planet 2, Call of Duty Black Ops, NBA 2K11, Rock Band 3, Star Wars The Force Unleashed 2, Fallout New Vegas, Fable 3, and Medal of Honor look great, not to mention Move and Kinect. What is everybody looking forward most to this holiday season?

Really light purchasing fall for me...mainly because most everything I care about came out already. I bought a PSP for Valkyria Chronicles 2 (and if my overwhelming love for the PS3 game didn't get you to try it...I ask what is wrong with you?), and have been playing a good deal of Dragon Quest 9, which is a wonderful rebalancing of old-school RPG gaming with online multiplayer and continually updating quests a la an MMORPG.

 

Rock Band 3 (PS3) is the only guaranteed pickup for me, and I haven't decided which of the 'new' instruments I'll be picking up to go along with it. I may catch a good sale on NBA Elite (Unrivaled, or whatever the EA replacement for NBA Live is called) for the ability to play NBA Jam on my arcade stick in HD, the way an updated version of that game is meant to be played. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is on my radar as well, but I don't know how much I need to be in Ezio's story....since it felt like his role in the parts of the AC story that I'm interested in had been played out by the end of AC2; I may pick it up for the multiplayer...which is something I do once every two-to-three years. I'm also going to be continuing my WoW fixation into the Cataclysm expansion, whenever that comes out.

 

Aside from that, it's mostly going to be playing through the games I didn't get to last Fall/Winter (Mass Effect 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend, finishing Rachet & Clank: ACiT, and Fallout 3....and if I get through 2 of those games, I'll be lucky.)

 

Expanding to Winter, there's Portal 2, which will be a Day 1 purchase.

[nate82]

So far just Medal of Honor and Fable III are on my buy list.? After that I am just waiting for Dragon Age II and Star Wars: The Old Republic to come out.? I might buy NBA 2K11 when it comes out.

 

And if you haven't been following the Star Wars: The Old Republic game they just put up a new video this last Friday.

[sbrylski]

Civ V, Call of Duty Black Ops, Civ V, Fallout New Vegas, and Civ V are on my buy list. Civ VVVVVVVVV!!!!!

[Viva La Grinch]

I can't wait for Civ V too. I have never played the computer version, just the console, so am going to download the demo tomorrow and see if i can get used to the computer controls. I just got the option to work at home and only have to take some service calls every now and then. Perfect job that allows me to do my homework with my laptop nearby, but might also let me get in these monster gaming sessions in while being paid.

[Schlitz001]

I will be buying Fallout: New Vegas (subject to positive reviews) and maybe renting Fable III. This won't be a big fall for me. I read a yahoo article blaming the economy for a possible slow videogame season, but in my opinion there just aren't enough good releases this fall. I hope to be proven wrong.

[RightFieldCoder]

ciV day! Unfortunately the last Brewers home stand will consume too much of my time this week, but next week is ciV all day, every day.

Civ Rev is very dumbed down. I'm a huge Civ fan (I've bought every game, including every expansion and Civ Rev for DS and 360). I don't play on the harder difficulties, I like to play on the middle level and have fun building a civilization to my liking. Civ Rev was the first time I could win on the hardest difficulty. Also, there wasn't much difference between random games if you're playing the same Civ. In the PC, the world can be radically different based on the starting settings. Playing on a Pangaea map is different then giving every civ it's own landmass. I would give pc ciV a try. There are more options, but the lowest difficulty walks you through everything. There are several Civ Fan sites. My favorite is CivFanatics.net. They will have tutorials, walkthroughs, tips, mods, etc. I'm the one that links to BF.net in his sig http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif (although I don't post very often over there).

[endaround]

So anyone here know what the deals at Target and KMart for Civ 5 are? Target supposedly has a $10 gift card according to the Civ5 site but there was nothign in there ad. KMart has a $20 coupon on future game purchases but I really don't see that much I'd want to buy that KMart would actually stock in the next few months (though maybe the new Professor Layton game...) and their ad listed the game at $59 which I assume was just a misprint.

[sbrylski]

I was all jacked up for the Civ V release, had a new laptop picked out (just waiting on a call that should be "you got the job" before I dish out $800), was reading the manual and checking out reviews...

 

And now that it's out, suddenly my interest has dropped. I can't pinpoint why. I've played the series since Civ I, but my current attitude is "meh". So someone do something to jack me back up about it!

[RightFieldCoder]

There is several versions of ciV available. KMart is either gouging, or is running the ad based on the "special" edition. It doesn't matter where you buy it. It only runs through the Steam service. The disk contains the same files you download from stream, but either way it takes a connection to steam to unlock the game to play. I don't know what the deals are, since I preordered from Direct2Drive. I got the special edition, plus the next DLC pack for free, plus $10 off for a total of $49.99. All D2D gave me was a code. I had to install Steam and give them the code. I got the source files from Steam. As soon as a DLC pack comes out, D2D will give me a code for that also.

[Viva La Grinch]

In regards to the Civ deals, I have had no problems getting Best Buy to match that Kmart deal, as they will just give you a $20 gift card on the spot. There is always something you can buy there rather then Kmart.

 

I downloaded the Civ demo today between classes and got a couple of turns in before I had to stop. At least give the free demo a try before you lose your enthusiasm.

[thebruce44]

I know I am a couple months or so behind, but Uncharted 2 is pretty awesome.

 

I would like to grab Civ 5 and play until my eyes bleed, but I also like talking to girls and the two don't seem to go together well for me. I wish I had more free time for videogames these days.

[bullox]

but I also like talking to girls

eww!

 

looking forward to Cataclysm myself. Huge WoW nerd.

[GAME05]

i bought ciV (Civ V) a few days ago. it's 4:30 in the morning. this is really not good at all. though i don't have to get up for work, this still isn't right.

 

probably soon there is going to be a computer game giveaway. same fate as Civ IV.

[Hammer]

I am getting so frustrated with COD Modern Warfare 2 for PS3. Too many hackers/aimbot users. What a waste...

[stoutdude04]

There is no aimbot for MW2. Its a stupid auto aim glitch. It was the same with the first MW. Hackers do exist however.