OT: Sens Lounge LXXI: Ehem... Hockey Lounge (?) Edition

[OmniSens]

Another lounge finished.

Big snow storm coming!







(MOD EDIT: OLD THREAD CAN BE FOUND HERE)

Click to read more...

 

[18Hossa]

Snow day please!

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I think FQL's game-of-the-year post merits a repost. Great writeup.

 

[YOW]

Bah, snow day= work day for me. Yuck.

 

[Deku]

Man I'm still waiting for a new winter jacket that I ordered online. Gonna suck when that storm comes

 

[Benjamin]

Looking forward to the shoveling. Need dat exercise.

 

[saskriders]

No storm here :p

 

[BonkTastic]

It rained for 7 hours here yesterday.

 

[OmniSens]

I'll break down your post

I think I'm ready to pick my game of the year now with all the new systems out and essentially every major release out of the way with black Friday and Christmas around the corner. The only game that I haven't played that I see as a real contender would be A Link Between Two Worlds.

So far so good!

[spoil]A lot of the same soundtrack at the Link to the Past game. Pretty good graphics, same map-ish and cool items to work with. The wall thing is pretty unique. Only an hour into the game, so I can't really spoil much yet.[/spoil]

Fire Emblem: Awakening; A legendary Nintendo series that hasn't really been brought to North American audiences before. It's a turn based strategy RPG with visuals that really features the visual capabilities of the 3DS during its many cut scenes. There's great depth with the gameplay and strategy. One play through can easily take 40+ hours.

While I played only one or two Fire Emblems, the one I remember most is the one with Ike. Path of Radiance I believe? I'm not a huge fan of the game play. Pretty cool story though and would probably play it again if it wasn't for the game play.

Super Mario 3D World: I'm not quite done this game yet, but I feel like it'd be a sin to not to put it here. This game is a culmination of everything Mario. It's 64, NSMB and Galaxy all rolled into one with a twist. The entire game can be played co operatively, which is pretty much unheard of these days with games like Call of Duty spitting at the idea of playing locally with friends. It's a throwback in that sense just to be able to play with people who are actually present and it adds something I haven't really seen in a game before in that you can help each other through the levels but also be competitive to see who can get the most points or finish first. This game is just a ton of fun and stands as the best Mario game since Galaxy.

Call me crazy, but I haven't liked many (If any) Mario games since Mario 64. Was not a fan of Mario Galaxies, but then again never really gave it a chance. I bought Super Mario Land 3D on the 3DS and played it maybe for a combined time for a half hour and haven't touched it since. Maybe it's because I'm too old school and/or I'm just not into games as I once was.

Pokemon X&Y

My friend told me this is arguably the best DUO the series has ever had. I haven't check the ultimate evolutions or whatever they're called, but try and tell me that this doesn't look badass (image below)? I doubt I'll buy it. I bought my nephew Pokemon Heart gold and ended up getting back for myself because he didn't understand the game. I tried it out and it's pretty good and can't imagine things getting better. *Note to self, don't buy these kind of games to a 4 year old I guess *

I really recommend those who liked Link to the past to get the new game.

 

[OmniSens]

Bah, snow day= work day for me. Yuck.

Likewise! Another day another dolla.

 

[saskriders]

So far so good!

[spoil]A lot of the same soundtrack at the Link to the Past game. Pretty good graphics, same map-ish and cool items to work with. The wall thing is pretty unique. Only an hour into the game, so I can't really spoil much yet.[/spoil]



While I played only one or two Fire Emblems, the one I remember most is the one with Ike. Path of Radiance I believe? I'm not a huge fan of the game play. Pretty cool story though and would probably play it again if it wasn't for the game play.



Call me crazy, but I haven't liked many (If any) Mario games since Mario 64. Was not a fan of Mario Galaxies, but then again never really gave it a chance. I bought Super Mario Land 3D on the 3DS and played it maybe for a combined time for a half hour and haven't touched it since. Maybe it's because I'm too old school and/or I'm just not into games as I once was.



My friend told me this is arguably the best DUO the series has ever had. I haven't check the ultimate evolutions or whatever they're called, but try and tell me that this doesn't look badass (image below)? I doubt I'll buy it. I bought my nephew Pokemon Heart gold and ended up getting back for myself because he didn't understand the game. I tried it out and it's pretty good and can't imagine things getting better. *Note to self, don't buy these kind of games to a 4 year old I guess *

I really recommend those who liked Link to the past to get the new game.

Wow, that is like an ice charizard. They seem to be running out of pokemon ideas. I would have rather seen them expand, and maybe even link the different evolution branches from the original games

 

[Quo]

 

[saskriders]

Snow day please!

Time for my yearly every other month in the winter rant about how lucky you easterlings are and how I got only 2 snow days in my entire life. One was when I was in preschool and it didn't matter anyways. The other I was in grade 3 and the power at my school (not all just mine) went out. You guys seem to get a couple a year.

 

[Deku]

My school "doesn't do snow days"

Yet no one shows up anyway, we do nothing in most if not all classes, and my mom still makes me go.

Time for my yearly every other month in the winter rant about how lucky you easterlings are and how I got only 2 snow days in my entire life. One was when I was in preschool and it didn't matter anyways. The other I was in grade 3 and the power at my school (not all just mine) went out. You guys seem to get a couple a year.

Seems like it's usually 3-5 per year

 

[OmniSens]

Wow, that is like an ice charizard. They seem to be running out of pokemon ideas. I would have rather seen them expand, and maybe even link the different evolution branches from the original games

Yeah, that's Mega Charizard in X

This is Mega Charizard Y

 

[MainDotC]

Looks like I'm going to Dec 1st game.

 

[saskriders]

I wish the Flames would just put the second half tickets on sale

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I think FQL's game-of-the-year post merits a repost. Great writeup.

Here you go. It could be useful to some in their Christmas shopping. If anyone has questions about this stuff don't hesitate to ask me.

I think I'm ready to pick my game of the year now with all the new systems out and essentially every major release out of the way with black Friday and Christmas around the corner. The only game that I haven't played that I see as a real contender would be TLOZ: A Link Between Two Worlds.

The nominees are:

The Last of Us: Naughty Dog gets away from the cheesy stereotypes of Uncharted and beautifully crafts one of the best narratives of its generation. This game makes you care about the main characters and blends that with the gameplay that made the Uncharted series such a hit. It's a very dark tale that reminds me of The Road but mixes in the horror/suspense element of Resident Evil IV. It's a master piece.

Rayman Legends: Worth the wait. After getting delayed to expand the number of platforms from just exclusively the Wii U to essentially everything, the Wii U version is definitely the best with the GamePad as a 5th player who can manipulate the environment for the rest of your buddies to work through gorgeous and really trippy world's to save the Teenies. It's a platformer on acid with fun original concepts using a touch screen in conjunction with co operative team work. You unlock a stage at the end of each world that resembles Guitar Hero as your character jumps and punches in conjunction with the music. These were easily the highlight of the game for me along with the couch co op experience. This is the game everyone in my household wants to play on games night and the one all my friends want to play more of whenever they come over for hockey, beers and vids.

Grand Theft Auto V: probably the best value for your dollar of any game this year. I've barely scratched the surface of the online features but the single player elements are among the best in the series with the biggest world to explore yet. The characters offer a bleak social commentary that you don't know whether to laugh or cry over at times. The ability to switch between three vastly different characters in Trevor, Michael and Franklin is a nice step forward and is used effectively in the story and the gameplay. My favourite new addition is the stock market. This immerses you in the world in a way that I never thought it could. Kill CEOs, blow up a lot of cars, buy tons of guns... it all affects the market and it's the best way to make money in San Andreas when you have an inside scoop (hey! Like real life!) You can kill a lot of **** and basically do whatever you want. There are hundreds of hours of content in this game and it needs to be played (unless you're under 15 years of age, ffs parents out there don't give this game to your children. Its rated M for a reason. There are many parts that are DEEPLY disturbing including torture scenes)

Fire Emblem: Awakening; A legendary Nintendo series that hasn't really been brought to North American audiences before. It's a turn based strategy RPG with visuals that really features the visual capabilities of the 3DS during its many cut scenes. There's great depth with the gameplay and strategy. One play through can easily take 40+ hours.

Pikmin 3: another strategy game from Nintendo. Like GTAV, you switch between 3 protagonists throughout the game to accomplish missions and advance the story. It's adorable and challenging and does a great job of incorporating the GamePad to see what your 3 astronauts are doing. This game couldn't be accomplished on any other system. It also has a really interesting multiplayer component with enormous potential if they ever take it online. There are 1 v 1s you can play that develop almost like a pro Starcraft game might with resource gathering and posturing with massive armies and different units with special abilities. It's also a story that preaches to kids the damage we're doing to our planet and environment, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your political views, I suppose.

Bioshock Infinite: If you've played a Bioshock game before, you know what kind of standard has been set for this series. There's always a light house, a man and a city. There's also always a mind bending story that questions faith and the values of western society which always ends in a WTF Sixth Sense type ending. Bioshock is proof that video games can be art. It's not just gorgeous in visuals but the relationship that develops between the main characters Booker De Witt and Elizabeth is emotional and touching in a way that few games could ever possibly be. This isn't just a function of the narrative but also the gameplay, with Elizabeth using her powers that manipulate space and time to help Booker shoot, burn, electrocute, water tentacle (yeah, you read that right) etc. through the floating American Dream that is Columbia.

Super Mario 3D World: I'm not quite done this game yet, but I feel like it'd be a sin to not to put it here. This game is a culmination of everything Mario. It's 64, NSMB and Galaxy all rolled into one with a twist. The entire game can be played co operatively, which is pretty much unheard of these days with games like Call of Duty spitting at the idea of playing locally with friends. It's a throwback in that sense just to be able to play with people who are actually present and it adds something I haven't really seen in a game before in that you can help each other through the levels but also be competitive to see who can get the most points or finish first. This game is just a ton of fun and stands as the best Mario game since Galaxy.

Honourable mentions: Brothers: A tale of two sons, Pokemon X&Y, Starcraft II: HotS, DOTA2

FQL's choice (drum rolls.....)

Bioshock Infinite. This game stuck with me for months after I completed it. The story isn't something that I believe has mass appeal but for those who love scifi/fantasy drama driven by characters, this game will engulf your imagination for a long long time.

It didn't really achieve what it originally set out to do in the gameplay sense. Some of the early demos of the game showed Booker stopping artillery fire mid air, sending it back to the enemies while Elizabeth created Tornados to deal with massive foes all on enormous battlefields. One can't help but think it may have been limited by an impatient publisher and the serious limitations of the almost 8 year old technology in the current gen consoles. It could have gone down as the greatest game in history but it's ambition still shined through with the writing and art design of Columbia. It's an instant classic and worthy descendant of the original that is still to this day one of the greatest games conceived.

I think most main stream publications will go with the Last of Us or GTAV and I can't really blame them. Those games offer a lot more in terms of variety, online multiplayer and hours of enjoyment. But for me, I can't shake the feeling of my first play through of BSI. It's hard to compare to anything else besides other Bioshock games or great mysteries from literature or film. It's also the only game I'd recommend from this year to actually pay for the DLC. For those of you who are interested in getting into Bioshock, Amazon is going to be selling all three games in a bundle for 14.99 on black Friday. I don't know a better way to spend 15 bucks for entertainment!!!

 

[OmniSens]

Looks like I'm going to Dec 1st game.

Should be there too. Likely going to the Canucks game on the 28th to check those jerseys out.

 

[18Hossa]

Will be there on the 28th and 1st aswell.

 

[BonkTastic]

My Game-Of-The-Year vote goes to "Fallout: New Vegas".

3rd year in a row! Threepeat Champion!

 

[Benjamin]

Im still waiting for a game that is Skyrim(theme, feel, story, 1st person) + Borderlands(Humour, random generation of items) + Diablo(Item trading and rarity, runs/questing, leveling, skill tree)

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Im still waiting for a game that is Skyrim(theme, feel, story, 1st person) + Borderlands(Humour, random generation of items) + Diablo(Item trading and rarity, runs/questing, leveling, skill tree)

That just sounds like Borderlands without guns. Though maybe the Elder Schrols Online will be like what you describe. Or better yet, the ES online game does well, and they make a Fallout MMO. Nintendo could do a Hyrulian Borderlands with an option to go third or first person. Get Retro studios (Metroid Prime makers) to make it and poach Blizzard talent to iron out the servers.

 

[18Hossa]

Im still waiting for a game that is Skyrim(theme, feel, story, 1st person) + Borderlands(Humour, random generation of items) + Diablo(Item trading and rarity, runs/questing, leveling, skill tree)

Kinda like Destiny?

 

[SixthSens]

Missed it in the previous thread, but congratulations Cujo!