Help me choose a new video game

The Game Room
#1

Ah yes, one of THESE threads. I am a relatively experienced gamer, and I am also a tried and true PS3, so no Xbox only games.

I have my staples, but I also like to peruse around the used section to find me a good game, and right now I’m striking out. So I was wondering if everyone could help.

The games I like are the hybrid first person shooter/RPG type games, and extra points if you have certain things to level up, or put points in.

My favorite game series of all all time is Mass Effect, and I will never get enough of that game. I love the Fallout games as well and I did play Oblivion for a while, but I get bored with those games pretty quickly because I’m not all that particularly interested in that straight a fantasy realm.

My recent strikeouts were the God of War series (I played and beat them, but they were way too repetitive and just button mashing-y), and I played about half of the original Dead Space before the wonky camera and messed up controls drove me up the wall.

I’ve heard good things about Deus Ex, and I think that’s something along the lines of what I like, but I don’t know.

Also since I’m Playstation I heard the Uncharted games are also fun. But I just don’t know.

Anyone have any suggestions?

#2

I love Red Dead Redemption. It’s much more than just “Grand Theft Equine”, though it uses the GTA4 control scheme. Bounty-hunting, poker-playing, Liars’ Dice, hunting, helping random people. I spend a lot of time just doing those, apart from missions.

You indicated you like first-person shooters. It’s not a shooter exactly, but Mirror’s Edge is definitely worth your time. It’s a parkour game: Run as fast as you can, use the environment to get to higher or lower ground. I remember a part, early in the game, where I was on a platform a hundred feet above where I started and I had to take time to admire my handiwork. “Wow. How did I get HERE?!” And in this game, your character is actually fairly incompetent with weapons. Much better to disarm your opponent if you can and keep running. In fact, achievements are awarded for nonviolence.

Since you didn’t enjoy Oblivion, I shouldn’t recommend Skyrim, but that’s all I’ve been playing since December.

#3

You may enjoy Dishonored; it’s a first person shooter, but there’s an emphasis/option (depending on your style) on stealth. You can tear through the game guns ablazing, or (so I’ve read) you can complete the entire game without killing a soul.

There are level-up where you have to find things (rune stones, or something like that) on the levels, and with each set you find you get to up your powers. The powers range from being able to “warp” to a spot, or to be invisible for a few seconds, or to manipulate time, or to channel into the body of a rat to sneak through a small hole … etc.

The levels generally consists of puzzle-like tasks to complete - not just ‘get from point A to point B’ - and they can be played in a variety of ways and routes, depending on how you want to go, and how the NPC’s react to you.

And it’s got a pretty cool steam-punk theme to it, if you’re into that.

#4

When you say Shooter/RPG, the obvious candidate is Borderlands 2. Pretty much Diablo as an FPS.

Dishonored is excellent, if that appeals to you.

#5

Oh man, I forgot about Borderlands…

And I am only vaguely familiar with Dishonored, I will have to look into that one

#6

Maybe Far Cry 3. First person shooter mechanics, leveling up and skill trees, modern setting and an RPG style story (which admittedly ain’t award winning but it’s better than, say, Borderlands 1).

You can play through with various styles: run & gun, stealth, sniper, etc. Big attractive open world to explore but not so aimless as the Elder Scroll games. Available for both PS3 and PC.

Tomb Raider 2013 might work as well. It’s got many of the same attributes as Far Cry 3 although it’s more linear and has less open world to poke around in. Little heavy on the Quick-Time Events in the first third of the game although it eases up on them later. Better story though and a fun game in it’s own right. Tomb Raider is shorter than FC3 so you might even be able to knock it out as a rental. Tomb Raider picked up a lot of favorable comparisons to Uncharted when it released although I don’t own a PS3 so I couldn’t say how valid they were.

#7

I would point out that Borderlands and Borderlands 2, although they use a very Diablo-like random loot system, involve a lot more jokes and better voice acting.

#8

Personal opinion but I’d skip Borderlands and go right into BL2. You’ll miss out on a few callbacks but BL2 is a superior game in practically every way and it’s not worth slogging through the original just for a couple jokes.

Plus, BL2 is currently a free PS+ game if you have that.

#9

If I can jump straight into BL2, can I also jump into Far Cry 3? or will I be lost?

#10

The three Far Cry games have zero relation to one another beyond their names. You can jump right into FC3 (and for what you’re looking for I’d recommend it over the previous two).

In retrospect, I’m not sure I’d classify it as an RPG-style story in that there’s very few real decisions to make. Rather, the game is plot driven more strongly than just “Go kill some dudes”. There’s a consistent narrative moving the game along although you can jump off from it for random animal hunting, looking for collectibles, etc. I just didn’t want to make you think it’d have the same interactions as, say, Fallout 3 or Mass Effect. I still think you’d take to it though.

#11

Do you only have a PS3? If you happen to have access to a PC that’s not too old,I’d recommend the Stalker games.

#12

Ugh.

Talk about a game with a great premise and great promise but executed horribly. The story was…well…not exactly boring, but completely by the numbers. (Which is a shame, since it’s written by Terry Pratchett’s daughter.)

And yeah, you suck at combat, so why do they even bother with it? Especially because there are frequently parts of the game where it’s unavoidable.

But the worst part is the parkour is extremely unforgiving. Particularly in the part about 3/4 of the way through where you’re climbing all the scaffolding inside the building to get to the top. There’s one point where you have to 4 or 5 wall runs in a row, and if you fail, you fall to your death…and get kicked back to the first one. I actually gave up on the game at this point and went and watched a compilation of all plot scenes (both gameplay and cutscenes) on youtube just to see how it ended.

Granted, I was playing the PC port, which in a game like this originally designed for consoles I could see the PC port being harder control-wise than the console, but the game struck me as something that didn’t know what it wanted to be. You’re a crappy fighter and a practically superhuman parkour machine who at certain points hasn’t figured out that you could just jump with your hands up and grab that ledge above you rather than having to perform a series of wall runs with no margin of error that result you plunging to your death if you fail.

And how in the Hell do you keep reincarnating anyway?

#13

I own a cheapie Xbox 360 controller just for this reason. Game slike this, Batman series, Sleeping Dogs, etc just play better with a controller since that’s what they’re designed around. I’d rather play M+KB but it’s not worth the frustration.

#14

Yeah, Batman specially sucked because mouse and keyboard combat is soooo much better. It becomes this continuous, beautiful, almost choreographed ballet of kick-assitude, rather than a frustrating exercise of fighting the camera.

However, for complex flight maneuvers the gamepad is superior, and there are a few scenes that remove camera control from you and you’re stuck with pure wasd - the gamepad is a must in those.

Wish there was a controller than turned from a mouse and keyboard to a joystick to a wheel and back to a gamepad a la transformers. Would be the perfect controller.

Someone get on that!

#15

If you haven’t played ‘Fahrenheit’ or in America ‘Indigo Prophecy’ you absolutely must.

#16

Yes I only have a PS3, and PC games never really appealed to me anyway.

Although I can’t imagine why I would want a play a game called “Stalker” cuz, I mean, why play a game about my life?

#17

So I’m at work in the mall today and think "oh I should probably stop by gamestop because I’ll kinda price around Dishonored.

So I walk in there and what do they have but a bundle featuring not only Dishonored, which was reccommended by you guys, but also Borderlands 2…all for 30 bucks!

So I thought I can’t let THAT pass me by. So I got two games! thanks everyone

#18

Have you ever considered Sonic Generations? It celebrates the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega’s classic mascot, by having levels across all formats that he’s been on, both in Classic and Modern formats.

I would explain more, but I think that this Wiki article about the game should tell you all you want/need to know:

#19

Just bear in mind that *Dishonored *is very short, and has a fairly predictable plot. That twist you think will happen half-way through the story? It happens half-way through the story.

IMHO, it’s more a proof-of-concept than an actual complete game. *Dishonored 2 *will probably be freakin’ awesome.

#20

Dishonored and Deus Ex: human revolution are the closest to what you are looking for.