Favorite current generation video games?

[NotFadeAway]

Just loving Mass effect 2 and World of Warcraft simultaneously.... Loving it!!!
Looking for some good suggestions on new games.....

Mass Effect 2 is the stone nuts.  
And I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard a lot of people say that Dragon Age is a good choice is you're a ME fan.

[austin5string]

I've been unable to get into The Show, which is sad to me since I love baseball video games.  I find myself spending MUCH more time on NES and SNES and Genesis baseball games, as Sony seems to have filled them game with so much technical impressiveness that they didn't have room for the fun.

Can you clarify this a little further?  I was kind of interested in getting a baseball game, but knowing that you're a big baseball fan (real and video games) and you don't like it makes me hesitant.

[TwoToGo-Grave]

I've been unable to get into The Show, which is sad to me since I love baseball video games.  I find myself spending MUCH more time on NES and SNES and Genesis baseball games, as Sony seems to have filled them game with so much technical impressiveness that they didn't have room for the fun.

Can you clarify this a little further?  I was kind of interested in getting a baseball game, but knowing that you're a big baseball fan (real and video games) and you don't like it makes me hesitant.

Actually, if you'd like, I'd be happy to send you my copy of '10 so you can give the series a try for yourself.  It's just sitting here unplayed and wouldn't cause me any inconvenience to do so.

[Detroitdad]

I only have the 360, so I'm hoping they finally get MLB 2K11 right. We haven't bought a Baseball game since 07 i think.

It came out today. I'm patiently waiting for IGN (or one of you folks to review it).

B

[austin5string]

I've been unable to get into The Show, which is sad to me since I love baseball video games.  I find myself spending MUCH more time on NES and SNES and Genesis baseball games, as Sony seems to have filled them game with so much technical impressiveness that they didn't have room for the fun.

Can you clarify this a little further?  I was kind of interested in getting a baseball game, but knowing that you're a big baseball fan (real and video games) and you don't like it makes me hesitant.

Actually, if you'd like, I'd be happy to send you my copy of '10 so you can give the series a try for yourself.  It's just sitting here unplayed and wouldn't cause me any inconvenience to do so.

Thanks for the offer - much appreciated!  From what I've read, the control system is totally revamped for '11, so I'm not sure it would be a comparable experience.  Given my history, I'll probably just buy it regardless.  Hehe..

~A5S

[TwoToGo-Grave]

I've been unable to get into The Show, which is sad to me since I love baseball video games.  I find myself spending MUCH more time on NES and SNES and Genesis baseball games, as Sony seems to have filled them game with so much technical impressiveness that they didn't have room for the fun.

Can you clarify this a little further?  I was kind of interested in getting a baseball game, but knowing that you're a big baseball fan (real and video games) and you don't like it makes me hesitant.

Actually, if you'd like, I'd be happy to send you my copy of '10 so you can give the series a try for yourself.  It's just sitting here unplayed and wouldn't cause me any inconvenience to do so.

Thanks for the offer - much appreciated!  From what I've read, the control system is totally revamped for '11, so I'm not sure it would be a comparable experience.  Given my history, I'll probably just buy it regardless.  Hehe..

~A5S

Actually, I wasn't aware the control system had been revamped.  I might have to check out the demo for 11 and see if I might like it more.  I've gotten 09 and 10 (even though I found 09 to be tedious, slow, a little too technical, making one have to master so many controls to enjoy the game), so I'm guessing I'll wind up trying and maybe getting 11 too.

[K ALL IN 9]

Did anyone else pickup LA Noire today?

Because if you didn't you really should. If you're a fan of the game developer Rockstar and their Grand Theft Auto series you will enjoy this game. It's not like GTA where you can go around shooting anyone you want and jack every car you see. Instead you're a cop trying to work through the ranks in 1940s Los Angeles. You investigate crime scenes, look for clues, interrogate suspects and get into car/foot chases and shootouts. Well you can steal cars, but the protagonist does it very nicely by saying, "We need this car, official police business."

During the interrogations, you have to pickup on facial clues and try to read the suspects to determine if they're telling the truth, a lie, or have doubts about their response. So this means the facial expression have to be accurate and natural and IMO they succeeded with the realism. So far, like in live poker, my reads have been off but it doesn't really affect the cases themselves, but the rating (1-5 stars) you get after each case is solved.

I have a feeling it's going to take forever to finish the game because it's 3 discs long. But it's a definite buy if you're in the market for a new game.

[OldWestGambler]

Really, no action on this thread since May?

So many new games came out.

Actually I finally had to put my old first generation PS3 to rest and get a new 320gb PS3 Slim.
And I've been sick for the last month and a half so I've been doing a lot of gaming.

Of course I love to rent a lot of games from Redbox because many games like Modern Warfare 3 you can play through in a couple of long sessions and you only end up spending $4 to play through a $60 game. Then there are games that are more immersive that you kind of have to buy.

As soon as I got my new Slim I had to download a copy of Read Dead Redemption (with all the dowloadable content including the Zombie addon). And Skyrim came out the same week. Then I had to get Mass Effect 2 because I had never played it and the third installment is coming out within months. Batman: Arkham City was a must because I loved Asylum so much and it didn't disappoint.

Uncharted 3 made me fall in love with that game and it's awesome control setup all over again. It's easily one of best game series ever created. Top ten.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one of the top five games of the year. I loved the whole concept, the story is very Phillip K. Dick with stealth. Think Minority Report meets Metal Gear Solid. I think it's classified as an Action RPG. That's accurate.

Rage was just ok. I mean it's definitely got hours and hours of content but I just couldn't relate to the game and my character. Same with Resistance 3. I just didn't like the game as a whole. If i had to choose to play one of these two though I'd probably go with Rage instead of Resistance.

Skyrim continues to flesh out the world of the Elder Scrolls. Oblivion was always one of my favorite games and this is exactly like Oblivion but everything about it is upgraded. I'm super impressed with this game and it's developers. So much content it's hard to imagine the hours/days/months/years of work that went into it.

[austin5string]

Why did you have to post and mention a bunch of games I don't have?  I need to stop buying games!! Hahaha..   I'm still sitting on half of L.A. Noire, MW3, Battlefield 3, NFS: The Run and Arkham City that I still need to finish.. Dig them all, though.

[Detroitdad]

Arkham City is a blast. I enjoyed MW3.

[NotFadeAway]

I got Mass Effect 3 last week (the night it came out...), and will write up some thoughts when I finish (which might take a minute due to work.)  So far (about 13 hours in) it's awesome.   

[NotFadeAway]

Last Sunday I finally finished Mass Effect 3, and I guess I need to write a bit about it.  First off, it's great, which, if you're a fan of the series, is certainly to be expected.  I'll put my thoughts in a spoiler for length.

(Click to show/hide)

First off, the good:
-The combat:  The combat in ME 1 and 2 is very good, although both are a little bit different.  However, the combat in ME 3 blows away both of the first two games in my opinion.  The enemies are more aggressive, more varied, and require a lot more strategy to fight.  Personally, I love games where you're stuck fighting in a mess of enemies with @#$% flying all over the screen, and this game delivers that at times.  Having to constantly switch to the right weapon for the job, use your and squadmates' powers and ammo, and find the time to use grenades and med-gel is intense, but so much fun and rewarding.  Personally, this was my favorite aspect of ME 3.
-The story:  Not surprisingly, this is great, at least until the last few minutes, but I'll get to that later...
-Characters:  I was very surprised at the lack of squadmates in ME 3.  ME 2 had a huge squad, but in this game the number was vastly shrunk (and can be shrunk further if the returning characters didn't survive the Suicide Mission in ME 2...)  However, I consider this a good thing, as having fewer characters allows for a tighter feel to the story and to the mission at hand.  ME 2 was always more about assembling the characters than the plot of the game, but in ME 3 the war against the Reapers is always the main focus.  I think this was easily the right decision, as it also allows for more attention to be given to each character on the Normandy.  Plus, there are chances to meet most (or maybe all) of the characters from 1 and 2 at various points in the game (well, assuming that they survived the first two games.)
-Planet scanning:  Planet scanning is totally revamped, and it's only about 1 million billion gajillion times better than in ME 2.  I hated scanning planets in ME 2 but in 3 it's great.  All you have to do is go to a planet and scan it in the same fashion that you do to find side missions in 2:  You simply follow an arrow on the planet and when you get to a white dot, hit the probe button.  Then you're done.  It's so much better than the boring, monotonous method of ME 2.

The bad:
-The ending:  I won't say much about it, as to not spoil anything, but it's controversial for a reason (the reason being that it's bad.)  It simply makes no sense.  Personally, this doesn't bother me much, as the game is still great, but it would have been nice to have a solid ending to the story of the series.
-The lack of endings:  I could make this part of the previous paragraph, but I think it's deserves it's own section.  For a game built on choices, all roads pretty much lead to one place.  I honestly expected a Heavy Rain-type variety of endings, but was greatly disappointed.  And this leads to my next complaint...
-Choices don't matter:  Now, I've only played ME 3 once (I've played through 1 and 2 three times each), but after finishing the game I did read the internet (well, not all of it, as that would have taken a while) and I've learned that the choices you make in 1 and 2 don't really mean much in 3.  Even the choice at the end of ME 2 doesn't really wind up mattering at all.  Same with the fate of the Rachni Queen.  Granted, there are some things that do wind up mattering, and they decide whether certain characters live or die as the game goes on, which is cool.  However, the main story of the game is not at all affected by your decisions, which was a pretty big letdown imo.
-Multiplayer:  It bothered me that you are literally required to play mulitplayer to get the best possible ending.  I don't know if this is just an effort to sell more XBox Live subscriptions or what, but I really resented the fact that the multiplayer, which should be a completely separate venture, is, in a way, shoehorned into the single player campaign.  Personally, I also don't know why there couldn't have been local co-op missions, but I guess Microsoft and Bioware think ME players have no real life friends to play with....

Overall, I have to say that Mass Effect 3 is an incredible game.  I was disappointed that the ending sucked and was poorly written and conceived and totally illogical in every way, as well as the fact that the promise of choices that matter was not fulfilled and that they try to force you to play multiplayer.  However, the game is so much fun that it doesn't matter that much.  The vastly improved combat, as well as other areas, like an improved Citadel and more varied interaction with the crew members (another advantage of fewer characters) make the game addictive and one that shouldn't be missed by fans of RPGs, action games, good stories, and video games in general.