The last few games you beat and rate them III

[SniperHF]

Sproggiwood - 7/10

Amusing little "rogue-lite". All the classes play a little different. You move in turns and can take only one action per turn. Enemies do the same. You traverse through 8 maps or so earning upgrades to your character classes and "civilize the $@%# out of everything". RPG systems aren't too deep and there's no real permadeath. If you die you have to restart the level but that's it.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Rayman Legends: 9/10

Absolute gem of a platformer. I got it free through Xbox Live (i think, def don't remember buying it)

Everything about it is bang on. Smooth as hell platforming, a metric crapton of stuff to do like "invasion" levels (basically pieces of levels you play in game chopped up into a time trial to rescue creatures), ranked challenges/leaderboards and about half of the first game, Rayman Origins' levels built into this game (also a great game btw)

My absolute favorite part of this game is probably the "boss" level of each world. You don't fight a traditional boss, instead you get a music inspired level that is so, so well done. All but two are based off of actual songs;

World 1: Ram Jam - Black Betty
World 2: piece created by the composer for this game
World 4: 5 6 7 8 - Woo Hoo (also known as that annoying af song from Kill Bill/mid 2000's cell phone company commercials)
World 5: Antisocial - Trust
World 6: Another piece creared for the game

Last but not least, world 3's music level; a god damn mariachi/flamenco inspired version of Eye of the Tiger;



Never knew i wanted that.

Only real complaint i have is the supposed actual final level is locked behind a wall that requires you to get 1,000,000 of the game's currency (lums) and that's no easy task. Doing absolutely everything nets you only roughly 500-600k so the rest needs to be grinded through the leaderboard challenges/just playing levels over and over.

Do recommend for sure.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Just finished up Dishonored 2 on PS4.


I was really enjoying the game right up until the ending. The ending felt rather....bland, especially compared to the first one.


Up until then, though, it's Dishonored with improved mechanics. Creepy and fun with multiple approaches to every situation. Absolutely worth a play.

Strangely enough, the best in the series remains the DLC for the original.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Evoland 2 - 7.5/10

I really enjoyed Evoland 1 and figured why not get the second one. I think I paid $5 for it months ago and just started it a couple weeks ago. For those that don't know, Evoland is an RPG where you travel through each generation of gaming. You start in a Game Boy era, move on to an 8-bit, to a 16-bit, to a full 3D. It's a pretty fun concept and in the sequel, each era of gaming is like a time line of past, present, and future.

Eventually you gain the power to control time and go back and forth. To complete certain objectives, you have to go back in time and do something to make it come into fruition in the future. This is actually different from the original which basically started in the Atari era and only went through each generation of gaming every 15 minutes or so.

At first I was thinking I enjoyed the original more because the second one is long (took me about 24 hours to get all the achievements on) and it started off very slowly but it picked up later in the game. The gameplay is pretty much your standard Zelda style gameplay but the story and concept of manipulating time was really neat.

There was a pretty cool card game mini game for you to go along and collect cards to complete your collection. Some of the music was very good as well. Overall, it starts pretty slow, and that's where it loses some points, but if you stay with it, you'll be rewarded. I enjoyed it and found myself continuously playing it until I completed it. Definitely worth a pick up if you're looking for a longer old-school style console RPG.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Dark Souls 3
Genre: Soul Shattering RPG
Played it on: PC

So............

First thing's first: what a visual upgrade from the first two games. As the first game built only for the Xbone/PS4 era of gaming power, the visual fidelity is far better than what I saw up to this point (even if Dark Souls 2 had some beautiful areas like Heide's Tower). I tried to start up Dark Souls 1 again for the hell of it, and boy oh boy did it become hard to look at.

So, the game itself. The end of an era. You have no idea how badly I needed to beat this series. It got to the point where I eventually skipped past the Nameless King, who I could barely put a dent in, because I just needed to finish it. I had to move on. Which is funny, because I felt like Dark Souls 3 was relatively easy and fast compared to DS1 and DS2, yet the Nameless King, couldn't do it.

I enjoyed several of the bosses: the Pontiff was a difficult asshat, the Abyss Watchers were awesome and surprising, the two brothers, it was all good. The Soul of Cinder was a fitting end to the series as a boss that recalls Gwyn and even several of my character playthroughs in a way. But I got to be honest: I am burnt out on this series. Playing them back to back to back killed me on the inside.

8/10

Final Tally

DS1 - 9
DS2 - 7.5
DS3 - 8
Overall: ****ing Kill Me

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Batman: The Telltale Series - 9/10

If you enjoy Telltale games and you enjoy Batman, definitely give this game a go. The story is great, the pacing is great, it gets very tense at moments, and I feel is the perfect length for a Tetlltale game.

If you haven't played a Telltale game, it's not so much a game as much as it's an interactive movie. You make choices and see how the story goes as well as deal with some easy QTEs. There's not much "game" there at all. If you want something more interactive, it's not really for you. But if you want to sit back and enjoy a great story, go for it.

As far as Telltale games that I've played go, I would rank them:

Walking Dead Season 1
Walking Dead Season 2
Batman/The Wolf Among Us
Game of Thrones
Walking Dead - Michonne Miniseries

I feel it was on par with The Wolf Among Us. Not quite as good as the first two seasons of The Walking Dead but better than Game of Thrones (which I did also really enjoy.)

 

[John Price]

I beat Arkham Origins today I liked it. Some other HFBoards guy said Origins was the worst but I didn't really see what was so bad about it. Bane can be a tough cookie though. Guy just charges at you and then when you try to "Ultra Stun" him he just jumps up and shockwaves everyone But I pressed stun!

 

[Unaffiliated]

I beat Arkham Origins today I liked it. Some other HFBoards guy said Origins was the worst but I didn't really see what was so bad about it. Bane can be a tough cookie though. Guy just charges at you and then when you try to "Ultra Stun" him he just jumps up and shockwaves everyone But I pressed stun!

So you liked it more than at least one of Asylum, City, Knight?

It can be the worst and still be good, like season 5 of The Wire.

 

[Blitzkrug]

It probably has the best story of the four games imo. the Deathstroke battle is the best fight in the series by a mile too.

It does fall short in some aspects though. Side quests are a lot more boring in comparison to City and the combat doesn't quite feel as smooth imo.

Would replay it over Knight in a heartbeat. Take your stupid stealth tank sections and kick rocks.

 

[Plural]

The Talos Principle

9.5/10

I still have a lot of easter eggs and some extra content to play but I found all the sigils from regular maps and ascended the tower and went through the dual doors in C land too.

Amazingly beautiful game and the atmosphere of the game was brilliant. The dialogue made me question myself and humanity. Intense experience. At this point, it's my all-time favorite game. Still have lots to do in the game and full DLC Road to Gehenna to play. As a puzzle game it goes right to the top of all-time greats.

 

[John Price]

So you liked it more than at least one of Asylum, City, Knight?

It can be the worst and still be good, like season 5 of The Wire.

never played Knight

 

[aleshemsky83]

Dark Souls 3
Genre: Soul Shattering RPG
Played it on: PC

So............

First thing's first: what a visual upgrade from the first two games. As the first game built only for the Xbone/PS4 era of gaming power, the visual fidelity is far better than what I saw up to this point (even if Dark Souls 2 had some beautiful areas like Heide's Tower). I tried to start up Dark Souls 1 again for the hell of it, and boy oh boy did it become hard to look at.

You mean 360/PS3?

But I agree, DS1 has aged really poorly visually, but I always thought that. The textures are extremely low res, even at 720p it looks rough.

 

[Unaffiliated]

You mean 360/PS3?

But I agree, DS1 has aged really poorly visually, but I always thought that. The textures are extremely low res, even at 720p it looks rough.

I played DS1 on PC with DSFix for 60FPS and an HD texture pack and I thought in a lot of ways it looked better than DS2.

The firebombs in DS2 looked like a joke.

 

[Unaffiliated]

The Talos Principle

9.5/10

I still have a lot of easter eggs and some extra content to play but I found all the sigils from regular maps and ascended the tower and went through the dual doors in C land too.

Amazingly beautiful game and the atmosphere of the game was brilliant. The dialogue made me question myself and humanity. Intense experience. At this point, it's my all-time favorite game. Still have lots to do in the game and full DLC Road to Gehenna to play. As a puzzle game it goes right to the top of all-time greats.

****ing loved that game, totally agree with you.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

You mean 360/PS3?

But I agree, DS1 has aged really poorly visually, but I always thought that. The textures are extremely low res, even at 720p it looks rough.

Pardon the confusion, I was referencing how DSIII was the first Souls game built for the PS4/Xbone era, whereas the two titles that preceded it were previous generation releases (with DSII getting a Scholar of the First Sin update on modern consoles). The jump in tech showed big time as a PC player, though I also get the feeling DSIII was a prettier game even accounting for development kits.

DSI had some great visual designs, especially Manus, Artorias and the Four Kings, but the texture work looked pretty muddy even for its time.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Very well made game: production values are outstanding and the combat is very satisfying.

Suffers from a lot of the issues of AAA western open world games in which combat is the only way to get anything done and poor reward system. The story really doesn't do anything I found to be notable but the premise is so cool, I feel it was almost entirely inevitable that the reveal was going to be a bit weak and, to their credit, the writers just rolled with it rather than try to be clever.

I had a blast and easily recommend it to anyone who likes open world games, it definitely is one of the best I have played.

 

[SniperHF]

Finally got around to finishing W3 Blood and Wine.


TBH I don't really get the hype, think people were just happy to have a new Witcher 3 area. It's pretty good and all, though I think both the main and sidequest quality is on middle/lower end of the scale compared to the rest of the game. Especially in characterization and plot. There's really a whole lot of illogical stuff going on. The endings are also super railroaded and the main quest is too short. You can choose what to do but not really how to act when doing it. Probably enjoyed the Vintner rivalry quest and the Lebioda's footsteps quests the most. The bandit camp/base system felt completely tacked on or like they wanted to do more but ran out of time.

But I did enjoy the new items and skill expansions, new places to explore, and a reasonably dense map. I think the homestead option needed a little something more like some scripted events you could tend to, deals you can make with other vintners, or maybe the option to sell the place if you don't want to use it.

7.5/10.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

XCOM 2

9.5 out of 10

 

[Plural]

XCOM 2

9.5 out of 10

It was that good? Awesome. I've been on the fence on buying it for a long time. I played a lot of UFO games as a kid and I also had the new XCOM for PS3 and loved it.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

It was that good? Awesome. I've been on the fence on buying it for a long time. I played a lot of UFO games as a kid and I also had the new XCOM for PS3 and loved it.

It's pretty great. It's a tougher outing than the first one, which I never finished for some ungodly reason.

Highly recommended.

 

[Oscar Acosta]

MLB 17 The Show

Not sure you can really "finish" a sports game, but with the Platinum trophy in hand I guess I can try to review it.

Simply perfect as far as sports games go. What's your flavour?

Franchise - it's the most in depth franchise mode I've ever played, from how you scout, handle contracts, budgets, sponsorships, owner goals, etc. It's insane to think this is a mode they don't spend all their time on. Oh yeah if you want an online franchise like GM Connected with your friends - of course you can. It's just a side feature.

RTTS - Yes, you can play a career with actual consequences to what you do. Not just create a player, score 98 goals in a CHL year and get drafted 5th round. You will be drafted based on team needs, your attitude, your abilities and before you get to the Majors - you're going to get traded

Diamond Dynasty - Yeah, the HUT of baseball. But it's ****ing awesome. You can earn a stellar team, a diamond team by playing offline for free. You'll have to play to earn them but everything is attainable. Every live player in MLB is actively adjusted by Inside Edge to reflect their current status. For example if this worked in NHL - Crosby could be 97 overall base, then 91 overall on his performance, or 99 jacked up because he's on fire. Every player in the league is updated on Fridays - so there's a fantasy aspect to it. You can invest in players and win big or lose big depending on their tier.

Once again this is a 10/10 Game.

Unfortunately they had major server issues so I can't give it a 10.

9.5/10 - GREAT GAME

 

[KingBran]

New Super Mario Bros - 3DS 9.5/10

Fantastic game. Like any 2D Mario game this one is near perfection. Only being able to save after castles (the first play through) and the final boss battle were annoying but lots of extras in the game and they really drive home that it's fun to collect coins!

 

[NyQuil]

It was that good? Awesome. I've been on the fence on buying it for a long time. I played a lot of UFO games as a kid and I also had the new XCOM for PS3 and loved it.

There are some stripped down elements (you can't capture aliens any more, no interceptor missions to take down UFOs) but the plot is very good.

The first playthrough is always the most fun because you don't know what the aliens are capable of.

I recommend always playing in Iron Man.

It's pretty great. It's a tougher outing than the first one, which I never finished for some ungodly reason.

I don't know if it's necessarily tougher.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I don't know if it's necessarily tougher.

Once you add timers into the equation, the need to make risky maneuvers adds to the difficulty for me.

 

[NyQuil]

Once you add timers into the equation, the need to make risky maneuvers adds to the difficulty for me.

The first couple of times, but after awhile you get used to it.

I would use a few more Support/Ranger guys per mission than in X-COM 1 because they can cross more distance.

I used to use a lot of Heavies in X-COM 1 but almost cut them out entirely (Grenadiers) in the sequel.