Dark Souls
Dark Souls II

Simply put, two of the best games of the previous console generation. I passed on the first one for a long time because I had assumed it wouldn't appeal to me as someone who doesn't really play hack and slash games; I was terribly, terribly wrong. Thank you so much to 2+2 for correcting the error of my ways.

You still have Demons souls left.

But which is better? I'm still waiting for PC version.

Why cant more games Dark Souls. Games suck now because I played DS.

Play state of decay with the breakdown dlc

Really?

Ya have you heard of it? It's like a zombie apocalypse sim with perma death and leveling. The core game was good but easy but the dlc has you going through higher difficulty levels. It's gets very challenging and intense because you don't want to lose your high level survivors



Just note, there is no dubstep in the game. The game has an awesome soundtrack by Jesper Kyd (assassins creed)

That video kind of sucks this one is better

I really can't say. The 2nd one doesn't stray very far in gameplay, so it comes down to whether you prefer the world of the first or second or small differences in mechanics. They're both great.

I think DS2 is slightly better gameplay wise but i feel that it doesnt really have the depth that made DS1 my fav game of all time.

DS1 also has the best boss

Super Mario Galaxy

I have 97 stars so I guess I could be posting this in games you didn't finish but having beaten Bowser and seen the credits I feel like I'm entitled to post here.

SMG has a couple of problems. The control on the 2D levels isn't as tight as it was on the old 8/16bit Marios but it's still acceptable. Running around on very small planets makes the controls flip out and that problem comes up a bit. Underwater control is also a slight frustration.
Lastly a common Mario problem the bosses are predictable and a touch easy.

Having said that this is still a great game. It's full of invention and keeps throwing new mechanics at you all the way through. Every galaxy has a mix of straight precision platforming, puzzle platforming and racing. You rarely get asked to do the same thing twice in a row and the difficulty levels nicely set. A touch on the easy side by default but if you want a challenge there are optional levels for you and comets that ramp up the difficulty on the regular levels.

9/10

Halo 3

Not exactly a new game, but what the hey let's talk about it anyway. My exposure to the Halo series has been pretty disjointed, as I owned a PS2, a Gamecube, and a Wii before finally getting rid of all those for a 360 a few years after it came out. The first Halo game I ever played was Reach, which was by all means a quality game that didn't require playing any of the others to enjoy, but it also let me pretty confused in terms of lore and background. After that, I've managed to play most of the core games out of order, starting with the original Halo, then Halo 4, and now Halo 3 which I got free on Games with Gold.

Despite faltering a little towards the end, I felt that 3 was the best of the games I've played in the series (only taking into account the campaign mode). I think the most impressive thing about the single-player experience in the Halo series is that you pretty much fight the same enemies from start to finish in every game and yet it stays engaging thanks to the variety of weapons, vehicles, and situations. Given that, Halo 3 has the best suite of weapons to choose from out of the last few games, bringing back all the favorites while adding a few brute weapons and allowing for double wielding with a number of them. There were probably a few too many vehicle sequences for my liking, though they mix things up and driving the Scorpion tank is always satisfying.

Even though I didn't play Halo 2, I was more or less able to follow the storyline of Halo 3 - you are simultaneously trying to prevent Truth from activating the rings along with the Arbiter while searching for Cortana. It's solid and engaging thanks to the voice acting and strong characterization even if it's fairly linear. Some of the "flashback" sequences with Cortana genuinely scared me, though I admittedly spook easy.

Not sure if this is really a spoiler and the game has probably passed the statute of limitations, but since I really hate knowing too much story before getting into a game I'll be on the safe side.



For a 7-8 year old game, the graphics and sound remain very strong compared with later 360 games. As usual, the AI stands out compared to other games in the genre, with the grunts and Brutes even having appropriate sounds queues that reflect the action, including when they kill you, which happened to me repeatedly on Heroic difficulty. In that vein, I do feel like the Chief is fairly easy to kill compared to the protagonists of most other modern games, making you feel like less of a "bad ass", though that's more a modern of taste than an actual complaint. Overall, Halo 3 is a fantastic game, remaining impressive even after the release of a new generation of consoles.

9/10

The Shivah

Short, but very nice point and click adventure game. Story is good, graphics look outdated, but it wasn't a problem for me. Music is well chosen. If you like classic adventure games, you should give it a go. Especially now, since it's still in the humble bundle.

Rating: 7/10

Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den (DLC)

It's self-contained single-player DLC. You preferably would have played BS1-2 as it references characters and events, but it's not strictly necessary. If you haven't played BS1-2 I would in no way recommend that you play this, because it isn't as good as either of those.

This got praise for some reason, which increases my disdain for the gaming community. It's the same basic gameplay as BS, but the design is more strictly linear without a single interesting location like BS2's Pauper's Drop (open-world slums) or an abandoned Epcot ride.

The game has the usual dumb BioShock twists that gamers think make it "meaningful". Then there's a ham-handed attempt to says something about grief which makes the whole thing embarrassing.

Whatever. 3/10, 4/10, who cares.

Yea, solid little adventure game.

Thomas Was Alone

Indie puzzle-platformer, I played on PS3. It's okay. The characters are all little rectangles as it's supposed to be taking place in a computer. The conceit here is to get us emotionally invested in a story in which the "characters" are all just blobs of data. Which isn't the worst idea. But then...

They add a "humorous" British narrator, who speaks a monologue at the beginning of every level telling you the story. Why would they do that? Take the risk and tell the story with just the blobs and some simple events on the screen. Don't go halfway with it and then give us a narrator with a "moving" score to make sure we get it.

Journey hit some similar notes without using a narrator or words.

Wasted opportunity.

To each his own, but most people that enjoyed Thomas Was Alone enjoy it almost entirely because of the narrator. If you want that kind of game without the scripted narrative there are a few thousand flash variations of the same thing

That's fair.

Just got around to playing Dishonored a few weeks ago. This is a pretty good game. I went stealth / no kill, but apparently you can get darker endings if you play through with a lot of killing. Mechanics are decent, story and missions were pretty solid. It is not an open world game, and is linear in progression, but you have multiple ways to complete the missions and you do have choices that have consequences. I'd probably give it a 9/10. I definitely feel good about picking it up cheap on sale at some point.

I though Dishonored was a fantastic game, but I tried to do a "no kill" playthrough and just got bored right away. Why give me soooo many ways to kill people and then reward me for not doing it? An exercise in restraint is not something I ask for in my video games. I sold my disc copy but I'd but it with some DLC on Demand in the future because it's the kind of game you could go back to repeatedly.

Amnesia: The dark descent

If you like horror and puzzle games then this is a perfect match. One of the best puzzle games I've played and while I generally don't freak out of from horror movies I found the game extremely creepy.

It's one of those games where I was disappointed because it ended.

Great video review where he talks about that:



All of Errant Signal's videos are worth watching. He thinks about things way more intelligently than most games reviewers.

Wow, I just watched that whole review. It was pretty awesome, going to have to check out some of his others now.

just went through Borderlands 2 in about week and man what an addicting fun ride that was , still finishing off the side missions and might get some the DLC's but not sure how far ill keep doing those , only thing i didnt like were some of the bosses at the end of the game were a bit tedious . but still an incredible game 9/10 overall

^Didn't watch the whole video but loved the little I saw, maybe I'll finish it another time. Basically summed up my thoughts, though.

Interested in if you played the first one. I had a blast with the first one but the ending left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I've been avoiding the second one. I'll probably cave and get it when I can get the GOTY for $10 or so but I'm just curious about how people who have played both feel.

Borderlands 2 is significantly better. They get better and putting you through overwhelming combat scenarios with very little downtime between each. Writing is better in 2 with much legitimately laugh out loud character dialogue. I enjoyed both as coop RPGs but if you have to pick one, pick 2 and going back to 1 might seem like too much of a step back.