The 2010 Video Games Thread

[TroyF]

Yeah, I've just pushed Heavy Rain off until the Summer sometime. Actually, I've pushed any game not titled "The Show", "Mass Effect 2", "God of War 3", "FM 2010" or "FOF" to the back end of the Summer. No way in hell I'll have time for anything other than those 5 after I finish up with BioShock 2.

[DeToxRox]

I loved Heavy Rain but you can knock it out in a weekend if you so desire.

[CleBrownsfan]

DeTox - you see any reason to play through it again? I beat it over the weekend and really don't have the desire to replay it. I liked it but didn't crack into my favorite game experiences like I thought it was going to.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

DeTox - you see any reason to play through it again? I beat it over the weekend and really don't have the desire to replay it. I liked it but didn't crack into my favorite game experiences like I thought it was going to.

Honestly I have considered it, but I didn't play as much as I wanted during the week. Had I been able to I would have probably done it over the weekend but with the Show coming out tomorrow I just can't see it being played any time soon.

I liked it a lot, and I think the next game by the people who made this one can be excellent, but it is better off as a rental.

I'll trade it in to Gamestop for like 30 bucks in store credit and pay off God of War III with it I believe.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Honestly I have considered it, but I didn't play as much as I wanted during the week. Had I been able to I would have probably done it over the weekend but with the Show coming out tomorrow I just can't see it being played any time soon.

I liked it a lot, and I think the next game by the people who made this one can be excellent, but it is better off as a rental.

I'll trade it in to Gamestop for like 30 bucks in store credit and pay off God of War III with it I believe.

Why not try Craigslist? I have two inquiries on my Heavy Rain listing for $45 and I just put it up on Sunday.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Why not try Craigslist? I have two inquiries on my Heavy Rain listing for $45 and I just put it up on Sunday.

Wow. Glad you told me that. I am gonna do that then.

Thanks for the heads up!

[samifan24]

Has anyone run into this nasty PS3 clock bug yet? I noticed my PS3's clock was set to January 1, 1979 or something last night while playing Fallout 3 but haven't had any other problems. I did read that MLB 09 is unplayable right now, even in single player mode. Hopefully Sony will patch this one up soon.

[DataKing]

Finished my first playthrough of BioShock 2 over the weekend. I won't get into spoilers, but personally the "good guy" ending felt a little weak. I really liked the "good guy" ending of the first one, and IMO this one didn't compare. That being said, it was still a lot better than some of the other junk out there.

Placing BioShock 2 on the back-burner for a little while now and going back to Borderlands for a while as my preferred shooter. I started messing with the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned over the weekend and find it pretty entertaining. I've pretty well burnt-out on L4D2, so that gets put on the shelf for a while too.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Has anyone run into this nasty PS3 clock bug yet? I noticed my PS3's clock was set to January 1, 1979 or something last night while playing Fallout 3 but haven't had any other problems. I did read that MLB 09 is unplayable right now, even in single player mode. Hopefully Sony will patch this one up soon.

Yes and it's pissing me off. I can't check now, but last night I couldn't connect to PSN and my date/clock was jacked. There are more comments in the Ping: MBBF thread.

[RainMaker]

Forgot about Borderlands as I'm about halfway through the latest DLC.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Finished my first playthrough of BioShock 2 over the weekend. I won't get into spoilers, but personally the "good guy" ending felt a little weak. I really liked the "good guy" ending of the first one, and IMO this one didn't compare. That being said, it was still a lot better than some of the other junk out there.

Placing BioShock 2 on the back-burner for a little while now and going back to Borderlands for a while as my preferred shooter. I started messing with the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned over the weekend and find it pretty entertaining. I've pretty well burnt-out on L4D2, so that gets put on the shelf for a while too.

I just beat it and I kind of agree, the ending was a little weak. I really loved the story up until the end. It wasn't nearly as bad as Fallout 3 (which was simply ridiculous). I wish it would have been a little bit better though. I keep hearing good things about Borderlands, but it'll just have to wait til summer with everything else. My PS3 will probably be played more in the next month than it has the previous two years. The Show and God of War are going to be getting a ton of my time this month.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I just beat it and I kind of agree, the ending was a little weak. I really loved the story up until the end. It wasn't nearly as bad as Fallout 3 (which was simply ridiculous). I wish it would have been a little bit better though. I keep hearing good things about Borderlands, but it'll just have to wait til summer with everything else. My PS3 will probably be played more in the next month than it has the previous two years. The Show and God of War are going to be getting a ton of my time this month.

Borderlands is excellent to play multiplayer. It's good single player but it's just amazing multiplayer.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

What BioShock do you recommend to get? 1 or 2?

I'd pick up #1 first. It's cheaper and the better game. Bioshock 2 is not bad by any means but I think you get more bang for your buck with #1.

[DataKing]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

What BioShock do you recommend to get? 1 or 2?

Agree with DeTox, get #1. A big part of the game is the story (unusual for shooters), and #2 pretty much assumes you know what happened in #1.

[illinifan999]

Looks like the first bit of info about this year's NCAA Football is out.

"

• Numbers on helmets

• On-field referees

• Tweaked Pro-Tak gang tackling

• Auto-saves

• Auto-loading of rosters

• Formation substitutions

• New equipment

• Online Dynasty will have all bowl games played in a single week

• Dynamic conference logos for when teams move conferences

taken from pastapadre.

Really is sad how long it's taken to get some of the stuff from xbox/ps2 to 360/ps3.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

Looks like the first bit of info about this year's NCAA Football is out.

"

• Numbers on helmets

• On-field referees

• Tweaked Pro-Tak gang tackling

• Auto-saves

• Auto-loading of rosters

• Formation substitutions

• New equipment

• Online Dynasty will have all bowl games played in a single week

• Dynamic conference logos for when teams move conferences

taken from pastapadre.

Really is sad how long it's taken to get some of the stuff from xbox/ps2 to 360/ps3.

Still no FCS teams, or the ability to create a post season tournament. Really sad that these options aren't available.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Still no FCS teams, or the ability to create a post season tournament. Really sad that these options aren't available.

It does take time to port over options that were in the game 12 years ago to the "next gen".

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Borderlands is excellent to play multiplayer. It's good single player but it's just amazing multiplayer.

Agreed. If you have a friend who will start off with you at a low level, you will have a blast with this game. I actually think playing by yourself would kind of suck considering the awesomeness of multiplayer.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

What BioShock do you recommend to get? 1 or 2?

I'd get 1 right now. It's dirt cheap and still an amazing game. I think you can buy it off Live for $20 and probably cheaper on Ebay. By the time you get around to 2, the price should be down a bit.

[rowech]

Going back to Steam for a second...I'm not sure I understand what the heck it is. Don't you just download a game from there? What am I missing?

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by rowech

Going back to Steam for a second...I'm not sure I understand what the heck it is. Don't you just download a game from there? What am I missing?

Yes. You run a client on your machine, it talks to their servers. You have an account, they track what games you own, and through their client you can remove or download games you own and play them from any computer. It handles the licensing, copy protection, etc.

Welcome to Steam

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by brassmonkey32

What BioShock do you recommend to get? 1 or 2?

I'll pile on with the others & say 1 ... unless you just have to have multiplayer then 2 is your only choice. Otherwise save the money, enjoy 1 and have 2 waiting in the wings down the road when it's cheaper.

[PurdueBrad]

Didn't see anything about this yet, but a "new" Tecmo Bowl coming to 360 and PS3. Link here:

Tecmo Bowl Throwback huddles up on XBL, PSN this spring - Xbox 360 News at GameSpot

[Big Fo]

Tecmo are still too lazy to make any new plays, those were all on the second NES game. It won't be hard for them to make it better than the massively disappointing DS game that came out a year or two ago.

[Scoobz0202]

I forgot about those cocksuckers at EA holding the license for the NFL.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Red Dead Redemption was delayed one month for fine tuning.

[MikeVic]

I'm enjoying Battlefield online right now.

One thing though, just as a general video game industry comment... I think games are too expensive. I spent $80 for this game after taxes. If this wasn't an online game that I wanted to play with friends RIGHT NOW, I could wait a couple of months and get it used for $40 or so online. $80 is way too high for me to pay for games regularly, and I'm just wondering if anyone else feels the same?

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I'm enjoying Battlefield online right now.

One thing though, just as a general video game industry comment... I think games are too expensive. I spent $80 for this game after taxes. If this wasn't an online game that I wanted to play with friends RIGHT NOW, I could wait a couple of months and get it used for $40 or so online. $80 is way too high for me to pay for games regularly, and I'm just wondering if anyone else feels the same?

20 years ago, for SNES and AAA PC games I was paying $50 per title. These days, that has risen to $60 for console and $50 for PC. Compare housing, grocery, gas prices etc. I'm amazed games are as cheap as they are.

[Fidatelo]

I agree with Samdari. I remember Mortal Kombat for the N64 sold for $124 when it came out new. Many N64 titles were over the $100 mark. Sure, the weakness of the Canadian dollar played a role in that at the time, but still.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Samdari

20 years ago, for SNES and AAA PC games I was paying $50 per title. These days, that has risen to $60 for console and $50 for PC. Compare housing, grocery, gas prices etc. I'm amazed games are as cheap as they are.

Yeah, maybe my views are heavily influenced by the fact that I rarely bought new games. I think for the NES I would only buy used games, and for the SNES the only new game I bought was NHL 97. Then for awhile when I didn't have many other expenses, I'd buy some computer and PS1 games... but for the most part I've bought used so my mentality is different.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some rumors coming out ahead of Game Developer Conference. First, Resistance 3 will be announced Friday with game trailer. Second, an yet unannounced PS3 exclusive will be announced at GDC '10 (possibly as soon as today). Finally, a trailer was leaked for Gran Turismo 5 showing an interview of the developer about the NASCAR portion of the game.........

[RainMaker]

Anyone try the Just Cause 2 demo yet? This made me LOL.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I'm enjoying Battlefield online right now.

One thing though, just as a general video game industry comment... I think games are too expensive. I spent $80 for this game after taxes. If this wasn't an online game that I wanted to play with friends RIGHT NOW, I could wait a couple of months and get it used for $40 or so online. $80 is way too high for me to pay for games regularly, and I'm just wondering if anyone else feels the same?

Some of that's gonna be cultural - the exchange rate and all of that.

But as others have pointed out, the cartridge era routinely saw games much more expensive than USD$60.

Phantasy Star 4, when it came out, was $100, if memory serves. Couple of the Zeldas got up close to that with Nintendo. So on.

Part of that was chip shortages - components were more expensive, demand outstripped supply, and so you wound up with $100 games.

These days? It's not physical production costs, but the fact that it's more expensive to develop on today's hardware; inflation is partly in play here, but partly also you have much more massive development teams, advertising is a bigger part of the industry than it used to be, and so on.

In real terms, once you adjust for inflation and the like, I'm pretty sure games today are cheaper off the shelf than they were twenty-five years ago.

[sterlingice]

I remember Final Fantasy 3 (SNES) was $75 at Babbages.

SI

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Anyone try the Just Cause 2 demo yet? This made me LOL.

This game is one of my very few day-1 purchases, so I may skip the demo entirely given the game is right around the corner. The first one really focused on the fun factor and I had a blast with it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Second, an yet unannounced PS3 exclusive will be announced at GDC '10 (possibly as soon as today).

Guess we got our answer. SOCOM 4 announced for Fall 2010. Full single/multiplayer campaign with online play.

[JediKooter]

I still have some of my old Atari 2600 games and their boxes. I believe the price tag from KMart for PacMan was 59.99.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I remember Final Fantasy 3 (SNES) was $75 at Babbages.

SI

And worth every freaking penny.

/tk

[Tasan]

Just got my PC Gamer in the mail today. Loads of Fallout New Vegas stuff in it. It looks really, really good so far.

[DaddyTorgo]

Just Cause 2?? WTF is this game?? It's fucking awesome!!

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

This game is one of my very few day-1 purchases, so I may skip the demo entirely given the game is right around the corner. The first one really focused on the fun factor and I had a blast with it.

haha awesome. i just tried the demo and it was...exhilarating.

[ColtCrazy]

I just got Fallout 3 on the cheap. Never really played another FPS outside of KOTOR and I'm really loving it. Glad to hear there's another coming out.

As for NCAA, unless something ground breaking happens (which it won't) I'll be sticking to this past season's NCAA and Madden.

[sterlingice]

Fallout 3 an FPS? You mean RPG?

SI

[MrDNA]

I feel like Fallout 3 is an FPS/RPG hybrid. It's certainly not a straight RPG, although the combat isn't quite at an FPS level. I just picked it up a few weeks ago for 25 bones and I'm loving it. The game is friggin HUGE and it's so fun to discover new things. Also, it doesn't have the annoyance factor that RPG games I've seen my fiancee play have.

[sterlingice]

True, a FPS/RPG hybrid is a good description. I go with "American-style RPG" but FPS/RPG hybrid is probably better

SI

[Greyroofoo]

KotOR a FPS?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

This game is one of my very few day-1 purchases, so I may skip the demo entirely given the game is right around the corner. The first one really focused on the fun factor and I had a blast with it.

Yeah, I recently picked up the first for dirt cheap and it's a blast. I mean the gameplay has a lot of flaws but you just don't care because it's all about the fun. I love how they don't really even bother to make it realistic and just aim for crazy shit.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Fallout 3 is a great game. It's definitely a RPG/FPS hybrid, though I tended to use the VAT system for combat more often than not. I wouldn't use it during simple fights, but anything remotely complex it was VAt all the way. A good way to conserve ammo (at least for me) and I've always enjoyed turn-based stuff in general.

[Radii]

I just finished up Heavy Rain. I think its easy to finish it feeling like its a great game because the story was very good.. but in the end I feel like it was a good story wrapped up in a pretty shitty game. Perhaps I just failed to become immersed in the story until the very end, but I felt like upwards of 70% of the game was meaningless button mashing for a couple lines of dialogue that I didn't give a shit about. I'm glad I tried it out, its good to see innovation, but if this game took more than 8-10 hours to beat I would have quit very early on. Only because I knew it was so short did I stick it out to see how the story ended/could end.

Also, this game offers no more replayability than any other game I've ever played, I just read a walkthrough to see what could happen instead of wasting my time.

Interesting concept, I don't feel like the first time through was a bad experience, but it was not a great one by any stretch.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good summation by Bill Harris about the Heavy Rain experience.

Dubious Quality: Heavy Rain

I, much like him, was far more absorbed into the story than I ever thought I would be on the first playthrough. I'll be replaying for sure.