Giveaway of the Day Forums

1. 

   Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   Okay, no one in their right mind would die for a video game. :) The following games are ones I'd love to purchase ( a few, such as Two Worlds 2, Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor Frontlines and Sniper: Ghost Warrior, I already have on pre-order). Most are multiplatform, but some are not available on PC which is my favoured platform for playing games. I've included non PC games and am hoping that they will eventually be ported over to the PC, but if they aren't; (which for titles like God of War III it's unlikely), it looks like I'll have to eventually go get an X-Box and a PS3 so that I can experience some of those amazing non PC games.

   Most if not all should have been released by mid 2011.

   I was going to add images to each game, but most of the unreleased games don't have many images available yet and those that I found didn't do justice to what I've seen on video so far. Some of the games are already out on PS3 and/or XBox and a couple (e.g. Sniper: Ghost Warrior) will be released imminently on PC.

   I reckon I'll have to upgrade my present gaming rig for some of these new titles. The imagery will blow your mind when you see them. If you don't have at least a dual core 3GHz processor and a recent 200 series graphics card with at least 1G RAM, and 4Gb RAM of system RAM you may as well forget buying any of the titles mentioned below because it's unlikely your rig will be able to play the games, but do check them out still; it may inspire you to upgrade. :)

   Anyway, less of the waffle, go check 'em out, they are in the main, very impressive and I can't wait to get my hands on most of them. :)

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Red Faction Armageddon:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtZMfZlFneE

   Crysis 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O2jaiyTsfI

   Fear 3:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeLoGlV6GFY

   Nuclear Dawn (multiplayer only) (not to be mixed up with Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rotyXB4oErM

   Sniper: Ghost Warrior (release imminent - 24th June)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WVzMWAyw0s

   Darksiders: Wrath of War:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VMxP_GstP8

   Call of Duty Black Ops:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umOPurmleBc

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unt1_Pg2x9Y

   Vanquish:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_JWrJDTCjs

   2 Worlds 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPc323rcuSA

   Homefront:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5yyWZ2Z6Ps

   Medal of Honor:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czDu97cMSIY

   Ghost Recon: Future Soldier:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfmP0etpqmw

   TRON Evolution:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKxSAyX2ax8

   True Crimes 3:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWagXEnK-2o

   Crackdown 2: (you need to sign in to a you tube account to see this one)

   http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D8K9QQZMBJvc%26feature%3Drelated

   Transformers: War for Cybertron:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaFLIX5BH68

   Bayonetta Hell Hath no Fury:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-m7Ue72ZFQ

   Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs_kkJRNbf0

   Enslaved:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG4oLZR3Qx8

   Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: (360/PS3)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8F0dQM1DI

   God of War 3 (PS3)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_mHDgROLrU

   Rage:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjITBIDV1FU

   I am Alive:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN0CiFs3U9I

   Metal Gear Solid: (PS3 only)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsbDa0SEnFE

   The Last Guardian (PS3)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHzHoMT5eRg

   Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90BmP93b1pQ

   Driver:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbq0qhvDVgw

   RedDead Redemption:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZUUVV2rjoc

   X-Com:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdVb4UnqO7A

   Batman Arkhan Asylum 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W73_hcyc6Dg

   Deus Ex: Human Revolution

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6JTvzrpBy0

   Alan Wake (XBox)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjNZT9QobIY

   Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0QD9NQZG0A

   F1 2010:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z2sYWE6nc4

   Split/Second ([i]released but not in the UK yet)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTn66KwMLME

   Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhgnZcVbvOE

   Test Drive Unlimited 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS0yDi6UC3Y

   Need for Speed World: (Multiplayer only)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uBpWRKQewc

   Mafia 2:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3kNM_eBaK8

   Fallout 3 New Vegas:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcXjTYLrQ0A

   Mortal Kombat: Rebirth:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is33FDaqID0

   Splatterhouse: (X-Box 360 & PS3)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4aJz62fiDs

   Assassins Creed Brotherhood:

   http://www.youtube.com/assassinscreedUK

   Spec Ops The Line World: (PS3)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxn8Uv4hAlU

   Army of 2: The 40th Day: (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcBUjPaw5m0

   Halo Reach: (X-Box 360)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ez7iNjoVg

   Darksiders: Hellbook 4 Ruin:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiiCRuqLbmQ

   Dantes Inferno: Gates of Hell: (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP)

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmngP_T8xAs

   ==============================================================================================

   I've not labelled every game that may only be available on X-Box or PS3 as I'm not totally sure of some of the titles?

   Posted 13 years ago #
2. 

   Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   The above titles will set you back at least £1400 over here in the UK if you buy every one of them at release prices. Hopefully most of the PC games will appear on Steam and eventually will then get into the great deals system that Steam has. Still, even at discount prices, there's 48 games in the above list, so it;ll still cost a lot of money. :)

   Posted 13 years ago #
3. 

   wizzard_of_ozz2004
   Games Master

   Skip Dantes Inferno and get the MUCH superior God of War. I played it for hours straight the day it came in...kind of short but a whole heck of a lot of fun. Arkham 2, Split/Second, and Alan Wake I'm dying to get my hands on.

   I had no idea Volition was doing a 4th Red Faction, I was excited when I saw the title. Then I watched that trailer and was let down. It looked freaking great until I saw that you're battling aliens. You mean to tell me that we've been on Mars for hundreds of years but never encountered aliens!? Give me a break. I hate to see such a great series go the easy route and turn into an alien shooter when it could be so, so much more. Imagine sabotaging one of the enemies above ground bases from below! Just annoys me to see THQ go the route to cash in on a successful previous game by rushing into another one and doing it with little thought.

   Posted 13 years ago #
4. 

   Deserthead47
   Member

   Sniper-Ghost Warrior looks like my next buy,from the trailers I've seen I could easily lose myself for a good few hours in this one.Dilemma is - do I buy in 2 days on Steam,or wait two months or so for the price to go down.
   Unfortunately for the wallet,I enjoy sneaking around killing people,so it's a difficult decision.

   Posted 13 years ago #
5. 

   Inas
   Member

   I'm not really into these manly/macho games (and this makes perfect sense because I am of the female persuasion) - I'm more of an Eye for Design, Farm Frenzy, and Posh Boutique sort of girly-game-gal :)

   Posted 13 years ago #
6. 

   2-SHEDS
   Member

   Looking forward to CoD Black Ops and Medal of Honor myself (I got a pre-order beta key for MOH because I have BFBC2 as well). Missed a few games though that I'm looking forward to. A good majority of these were from E3. Some good footage in the trailers. I'm looking forward to "Tron Evolution" too. I'm still playing the Tron rom for Mame ;/. Still fun though.

   More coming out that I'm waiting for include "StarCraft 2", now in Beta (key which I have from a pre-order). I expect "Diablo 3" (also from Blizzard) coming out shortly after that. How could you forget "Portal 2"? Also looking forward to a new low price FPS called "Brink".

   Posted 13 years ago #
7. 

   Inas
   Member

   By the way, WR, thank you for the games - even though they're not my cup of tea - and, to dovetail on what you said - these games are not to die for, but maybe to dye for, if a person feels like changing the color of their clothes? :) LOL!

   Posted 13 years ago #
8. 

   Whiterabbit-uk
   Games Guru

   LOL Inas, I also like Farm Frenzy. I have all the titles up to Pizza Party; decided not to bother with Ice age and the last one as I though Alawar were ruining a great series of games. I also love Indie games, Match 3, some HOG's, simulation games (mainly Flight sims, city building and submarines, but any sim will do though I've never got into The sims), but, apart from Farm Frenzy and a couple of others I don't like time management games.

   I tried to get onto the MoH beta today, but wasn't able to. I also have Battlefield Bad company 2 and the preorder, but I keep getting the message failed to connect to server. Possibly overloaded, lol. No great loss though as I have loads of other games to catch up on since getting back off vacation.

   Yeah I have to agree with you there Wizz, I was disappointed as well. not only because of the aliens, but also because the game is set mainly in underground passages and caves, which for me destroys the open world feel of the game and there won't be any large bridges to destroy either, lol. (I spent at least a week destroying a particular bridge over and over when I first got the game, marvelling at the physics of destruction)

   Sniper: Ghost Warrior is out tomorrow. I've already made space on my creaking HDD ready to install it as soon as it becomes available. When I saw the visuals on this game I knew I had to have it, lol.

   Posted 13 years ago #
9. 

   wizzard_of_ozz2004
   Games Master

   I kind of like the underground aspect of the game. However I picture that your clan of revolters are exhiled into hiding underground and only come out for attacks. Kind of like an Al-Quaida thing where it's just a maze of underground tunnels that the enemies can't find you in. The part I think could be best is creating your own tunnels. Imagine tunneling your own route up to the enemy fortress and surprising them with a sneak attack. Of course there are two possible repercussions for doing this instead of going the direct route of above land...first would be the possibility of a cave-in that could potentially kill you. The other repercussion would be that the enemy could find your hideout by accessing your tunnel. That'd be a great system of punishment/reward. I think that would give the game a newer more unique aspect. Like I said, just imagine sabotaging the foundation of their base without them even knowing you're there.

   So...so disappointed in the route they're taking. Not saying that it will be a bad game, I just didn't want to see the series move in that direction.

   P.S. I'm curious to get some reactions to this idea...What about an RPG where you spend the game playing as one player...you level them up and you gain access to all great and wonderful items and gold...and then you fight a monster you can't handle and die. Instead of dropping some experience points, or gold, or what have you...you actually die. You take up the role of another person in the game and have to start the process back over, but you can pick up the game in the same location as the old character. I know it sounds frustrating, but I think it gives the game more purpose when it really is life or death situations. I kind of envision that system with Red Faction. Instead of being SO story driven that everything is centered around your one character, the game is a basic plot driven game. You revolt, you win, there is no one real hero. The players you take over are real players in the game with their own stories and lives. There are no new spawning of players to make up for your death. If you die 10 times, you've lost 10 people in your group and could possibly cause yourself to lose the war.

   Posted 13 years ago #
10. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    oth ideas sound interesting wizz, the ability to create your own tunnels and the no respawning idea. Though I'd maybe get a little fed up of having to build up my character time and time again. I can see that it would add just that bit more realism to the game. Though, until we can play in such a system, it would be hard to make an informed decision.

    Posted 13 years ago #
11. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    The first of the unreleased games has now been released, called Sniper: Ghost Warrior, and I've spent some time playing it this morning and am impressed. I compared it with other sniper orientated games that I have (a couple of the Marine Sharpshooter series and Sniper: Art of Victory) and can say it's definitely got the bead on any of those titles. The graphics are excellent and I kike the red dot that shows where you should be shooting after taking into account wind, breathing, heart rate humidity etc. Hopefully a demo will be available soon, but not yet. you can check it out on Steam [url=http:store.steampowered.com/app/34830/, where you'll find another video screenshots and information about the various aspects of the game.

    It's set mainly in jungle environments and is very realistic. Well worth the money; though I'm sure in a few months the price will have dropped and several months from now it'll be a deal for the weekend game. 8 out of 10 from me (It lost a coupl of points becasue of the lack of variety with respect to environments. But I'm a sucker for this type of game. :)

    Posted 13 years ago #
12. 

    pavid
    gamer extraordinaire & knowledgeable computer nerd who likes to argue, but is still a very nice guy

    The release of Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a mockery of justice. We in North America are supposed to get things first, not wait for 4 more days. :( I just know the rabbit is going to mock me. :) It seems the old world is striking back at the new. I just want to cry. Anyhow, the wabbit still gets my vote for Rabbit of the Year. :)

    Posted 13 years ago #
13. 

    Deserthead47
    Member

    Just remembered about Sniper:Ghost Warrior being released,my murderous instinct took over,game presently downloading.

    Posted 13 years ago #
14. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    That's really unfortunate pavid,......Mwwwaaaaaa :) I think you'll thoroughly enjoy this game Deserthead. I noticed your alter ego on Steam had downloaded it :) I like the red dot thingy, it allowed me to shoot all the birds out of the sky. The blood spurt and puff of feathers then the inevitable spiral and tumble down to earth looks very realistic. You wouldn't believe I'm a long time vegetarian after that sentence, lol.

    The other titles I mentioned should also include Sniper Elite. Of those four older games (Sniper: Art of Victory, Marine Sharpshooter 1 and 3 (never purchased the second one) and Sniper Elite I reckon Sniper: Art of Vistory comes the closest to todays excellent game, though I also like Sniper Elite, the only one to tackle urban environments properly.

    Posted 13 years ago #
15. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    UpdateMost of the above have been released now and in most cases already sold at discount via Steam, though there are still several titles such as Deux Ex and Rage that have yet to be released, (both of those tites are actually imminent plus a few others.

    Other games to look out for over the coming months are:

    • From Dust - Simulation (just released today) *****

    • Deus Ex: Human Revolution - RPG (released on 25th Aug 2011) *****

    • Blocks that Matter - Indie casual (Available aug 2011) ***

    • Rock of Ages - Indie (Available 31st Aug 2011) *****

    • The Baconing - RPG (Available 31st Aug 2011) ****

    • Tropico 4 - Strategy Simulation (Available 1st September 2011) *****

    • Wasteland Angel - Action (Available September 2011) ****

    • Binding of Isaac - Indie RPG (Available September 2011 ****

    • Dead Island - RPG (Available 9th September 2011) *****

    • Serious Sam 3: BFE - Action Shooter (Available Summer 2011) this one’s been put back a few times. I've been waiting for this one for over 5 years *****

    • Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad - Action shooter (Available 13th September 2011) *****

    • Call of Juarez: The Cartel - Action Adventure (Available 15th September 2011) *****

    • Renegade Ops - Action (Available September 2011) ***

    • Dungeon Defenders - RPG - (Available Q3 2011) ***

    • Ignite - Racing (Available September 2011) *****

    • Driver San Francisco - Racing (Available 30th September 2011) ****

    • Stronghold 3 - Strategy (Available Q3 2011) ****

    • RAGE - Action (Available 7th October 2011) *****

    • Might & Magic: Heroes VI - RPG Strategy (Available 13th October 2011) *****

    • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Action Shooter (Available 8th November 2011) *****

    • Metro: Last Light - Action RPG (Available Q1 2012) *****

    • Jagged Alliance - Back in Action - Strategy (Available Q1 2012) ****

    • Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - RPG - (Available November 2011) *****

    There are more titles which I'll add later. Of the above I've marked those i really want with stars. apart from a few I think i'll be holding off pre-ordering them as most of the games I purchased prior to the Steam summer sale ended up being in the sales; even games that had been released only a few days. some that had only been released for a week ended up with 40% off and other with even more so I'll wait for the christmas sales for a change. (Apart from Skyrim RAGE, Tropico 4, Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 3 and maybe a few others such as Dead Island and Serious Sam 3: BFE)

    Posted 12 years ago #
16. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    The disappointments from the first list (IMO):

    It's a pity that Red Faction; Armageddon ended up being a flop as was Crysis 2. Violition have said that's the end of the red Faction franchise. that's a great pity as apart from the latest one, which I've so far found rather boring they have been brilliant, especially Red faction guerrilla. 9i'm still jumping into that one for a bit of destruction therapy). Also I was very disappointed with Crysis 2. The original and expansion both of which were released nearly four years ago are far superior. I've just not enjoyed playing Crysis 2 at all even though they have improved the suit and made it easier to swap between the different attributes. Something seems to be missing from the game. Test Drive 2 was also a big flop, probably because it was full of bugs when it was released (despite the release having been knocked back several months). I remember loving the first one because you could immediately wander anywhere you wanted on the Hawaiian Island (with around 1500 miles of roads to explore), but with the latest release most of the areas are locked and not that easy to unlock either. The graphics have been upgraded a little but not as much as I was expecting. I was really disappointed with F1 2010, I can barely make it around a circuit without being lapped by the race leaders (AI controlled). My problem is 've not set up my Force feedback racing wheel yet. I bought it second hand and as yet haven’t found up to date drivers for it so I’m still using the keyboard. FI 2010 is definitely q game that requires a proper racing wheel to be able to play it effectively. The graphics are superb, but until I am able to steer properly it’s got thumbs down from me.

    Those I'm really pleased with:

    I was really pleased with Sniper Ghost Warrior, but I didn't like the fact that the expansion pack was multiplayer only. It's the best sniper based game I’ve ever played and I’ve got several dedicated sniper games. Call of Duty: Black Op's is as any COD fan would agree a great game. I wouldn't say it's superb, in fact i preferred the Medal of Honour release as opposed to the Black ops one. I do like the addition of Zombie modes; they add a little extra to the game. As for Two Worlds Two, I've only scratched the surface, but so far I'm impressed. It feels better than its predecessor and well worth the pre-order. Homefront was a game I was really looking forwards to playing. I was rather disappointed with the game but still think t's worth including in this category. It's an okay game but really didn't deliver what the pre-released videos of game play promised. As already mentioned I'm really pleased with the latest Medal of Honour. It's fresh and feels different to its stable mate Call of Duty. The game was even cheaper than your usual AAA game at only £24.99 as opposed to £29.99 yet it was IMO better than Black op's (though I do like the zombie modes in black ops). Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was an excellent release, it brought the original hot Pursuit back into focus but with superb visuals. there's been another NFS game released since the list was made up called Need for Speed: Shift 2 which was also a superb racer. What i liked about Shift 2 was the ability of the AI to adjust itself to the playing style of the human player, though i do think the first shift did it better. they have made it too easy to beat the AI now via ‘dumb down’ toggles. Still it's a fantastic game. I’m looking forwards to their next release which isn’t listed above yet,, but is due for release in November I think. I loved Split Second (though it's never been released on Steam. It's a refreshing change from your usual racer. I love destructible environments which this game has. It's not as good as Flatout Ultimate Carnage, but I've still really enjoyed playing it. I loved Mafia II. It was a period GTA clone with gorgeous 1940's environments that eventually ran into the rock n roll 50's and psychedelic 60's. Graphically very similar to GTA IV, though I think the open world is slightly smaller than GTA IV's world? You can pick it up dirt cheap via steam when the sales are on and is well worth getting together with the several expansion packs. Fallout New Vegas was not a disappointment, it's got most of the elements from Fallout 3 plus a whole new environment to explore that was more colourful that the Capital wasteland. To be honest every Bethesda game I’ve ever played has been brilliant including two titles i missed when i first posted the list last year, they were BRINK and Hunted: The Daemon’s Forge, both Bethesda games and both deliver as well as previous Bethesda titles. I'm really looking forwards to their next release which is due in November. It's probably the most anticipated game of the year (apart from maybe COD: Modern Warfare 3), but for me definitely it’s the one I’ve been waiting for since Oblivion was released back in 2006, of course I'm talking about Skyrim. I’ve seen loads of screen captures and three or four in game videos and it looks amazing. Oblivion still looks fantastic 5 years after its release, but this new game is well just gobsmackingly beautiful. Roll on November. I was also pleased to see Assassins Creed: Brotherhood finally released several weeks ago. The consoles always get the Creed games about 4 or 5 months before the PC versions, but we always get improved versions usually with extra's the console versions miss out on.

    Finally there have been several other games released that weren’t mentioned in the original list such as Shogun 2: Total War, which for me has to be the best total war title to date. What I'd really love to see now is two more Total War games one set in China, covering its history from the 10th to the 19th century. I’d like to see the second cover the American Civil War. There's also been a few more games such as The action adventure game called The First Templar, which I’ve enjoyed playing though it is rather prescriptive; and then there's the city building game Cities XL 2011, which was an improvement on the 2009 release. They took elements from the defunct multiplayer game and added it to the single player game quite successfully. The graphics and building types are second to none and very diverse. There's also been a few flight simulators released, the true flight simulation 'Digital Combat Simulator: A10C - Warthog' the sister game to DCS: Black shark a helicopter simulation. Both of those games are amazing. I’m sure once you've picked up all of the controls for both those games you'd really be able to fly for real both the attack chopper and the warthog tank buster. Oh yeah another couple of games I neglected to add to the original list were the third Mount & Blade release (Mount & Blade: Fire and Sword), that took the franchise further into the future around the time of the Musketeers. Great game with some great game play and improved visuals over the original as well as The Witcher 2 another great game that is a massive improvement on the original (IMO). I've only played the game for several hours but have thoroughly enjoyed myself when playing. it's a very immersive game with beautiful visuals and sound effects.

    There's been loads of independent games released over the last year, too numerous to mention here. Most have been very playable and well worth the money, even when purchased at full price at release (e.g. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Ball, Proto galaxy, Terraria, Minecraft, Shatter, Fortix 1 & 2, Tidalis, your Doodles are Bugged, Atom Zombie Smasher, Beat Hazard, Solar 2, Star Trek DAC, 1...2...3...KICK IT, Revenge of the titans, Worms Reloaded, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Galcon Fusion, Altitude, iBomber Defence, Shank, Power of Defence, Sanctum, Jamestown, Deathspank, Delve Deeper, winter Voices, Quantz, RUSH, Turba, Zen Bound 2, Braid, Max & the Magic Marker, Universe Sandbox, Amnesia: The Dark Decent plus loads more too numerous to mention here.

    Those I've not played enough to form an opinion:

    Fear 3 was only released a few weeks ago and I’ve been so engrossed in other games that I’ve barely scratched the surface. as of yet i can't say whether it's a good game or not. I really wanted Nuclear Dawn, but because it's one of those games that requires a monthly premium I didn't purchase it. I've had Darksiders since it was released but as yet haven't actually played it so that's another I can't say anything about. I got stuck right at the beginning of Transformers: War for Cybertron and haven't returned yet. the game looks brilliant, but until I figure out how to get out of the large crater that you find yourself in at the beginning of the game it's been put on hold. I got Star wars the Force unleashed 2 last Christmas, but it's one of those games i've not played yet, but not because of time limitations. It won't work on my main computer for some reason. i keep getting error messages so have given up until I upgrade.

    All in all 2010 to 2011 has been one of the best years for game releases IMO. I've never seen so many original indie games released plus the number of decent triple AAA games has increased almost exponentially. Graphics have suddenly taken a step forwards after being mired for several years. Games like Crysis, Call of Duty and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 have set such a high standard it's taken some years for everyone else (apart from Bethesda) to catch up. We are now entering the next generation of graphics chips held back only by the consoles whose games have had to be dumbed down to cope with the lack of an up-to-date graphics chip (Remember both of the main consoles are now four years old at least yet if you purchased a computer with a four year old graphics card you'd be up in arms.

    Considering that most PC gamers now have graphics cards that cost up to three or four times as much (and even more) as a PS3 or Xbox 360 and are ten times more powerful with bump mapping that makes virtually everything look real and shader models that have taken a giant leap forwards over the last two years. (My two year old graphics card had the latest shader model back when it was released that is Shader Model 3.0, now we are onto Shader Model 5.0. (or is it 7.0 – lost count, lol)

    I'd better stop there; been waffling for a good hour writing this resume of the last years releases and my opinions of some of them. I've not given opinions on all of the games in the first list, mainly because I couldn’t purchase most of the ones not already mentioned as they haven't released PC versions. I'm a dyed in the wool PC gamer whose been avoiding buying any consoles for years (despite wanting loads of games that have never been released on PC such as Red Dead Redemption and God of War); however, I may have to give in soon as my son is getting to an age where all his friends are getting PS3's and X-Boxes. Thankfully as yet my son seems happy with PC gaming especially as he's totally wrapped with games like Terraria, Minecraft and recently Team Fortress 2. Still there's time for him to desert to the consoles, lol.

    Posted 12 years ago #
17. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    Was wondering if the upcoming Battlefield 3 will be similar to Battlefield: Bad Company 2? I never really played the original Battlefield games but did like BF BC2 because it was similar to COD in it's single player(which is pretty much all I play).

    Posted 12 years ago #
18. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    Hi rta, no BF3 is going to be like Battlefield 2, only much better I liked Bad Company 2 but it did disappoint me in that it wasn't like the original Battlefield that is, it wasn't open world and you couldn't just jump into any vehicle you wanted. The game was too prescriptive for me. The beauty of the original battlefield maps were that every time you played them they were different, or could be. sometimes you'd get loads of enemy AI in one place wheras the next time you played it they enemy AI would be somewhere else.

    I've played Bad Company several times over, but it becomes boring doing exactly the same thing every time I play it. Don't get me wrong, the visuals are amazing and the models fantastic, especially the weapons, then again you can get loads of weapon mods for Battlefield 2 now. Even tohugh that game is over 6 years old, the modding community are still releasing mods for the game.

    The main difference between Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 (BF3) will be you have a choice of open world maps in BF3 that basically allow you to wander around in game anywhere you wish to go (though the mav meshing may dictate where the enemy AI will go - to a certain extent). BF3 will be moddable so get ready for loads of custom made maps and mods plus you'll be able to drive/fly or sail any vehicle that's in game.

    BF3 is a game I've been waiting 5 years for. (BF2 was released in June 2005), I'm so looking forwards to it being released, tohugh it's a pity Valve and EA have fallen out and BF3 will no longer be sold via Steam. (That sucks as far as i'm concerned).

    Posted 12 years ago #
19. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    So what type of single player campaign will it have, if any? I guess I kinda like the "prescriptive" aspects of a FPS game. Now, I have played games like Far Cry 2 and Just Cause 2 that are more "open", I guess you might say, and I like them fine. I suppose the more open and unrestrictive format is more like multi-player which is probably why I don't care for it as much. I don't ever play multi-player in games like COD and MOH because I don't have the time to devote to getting good enough to compete. When I do try multi-player I usually end up getting killed pretty quickly because it seems everyone else is so much better than me.

    Posted 12 years ago #
20. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    I also don't like Multiplayer in such games. If they have a well-supported co-op game then that's different because you can play with friends against an enemy AI. but when you play against humans, then I’ve found cheating starts to rear its ugly head. Also stats whores who are only interested in boosting their stats and not playing the game as it should be tend to dominate many of the official multiplayer servers. There are always dedicated servers where you can probably get a decent game, but they are unfortunately usually a lot more dedicated to the games than I am. I like to play a lot of different games all the time and rarely focus on just one or two at any one time so I very rarely become an expert.

    As yet I'm not sure about the single player part of Battlefield 3. From what I've read a while ago it's primarily aimed at the multiplayer market, but there should be a single player element? So long as they release a full editor that enables the modding community to ‘nav-mesh’ the maps there will eventually be loads of single player maps.

    The original BF2 game initially shipped with about 8 or 9 maps, but with successive patches this was raised to around 15 maps, but the modding community released hundreds of single player maps. I've got literally hundreds of gigabytes of Battlefield maps and mods. I can't put a figure on how many maps there are now as many of the maps have been released in several forms so as to be able to play in the best mods, for example you may find several versions of a single map, each one slightly different, usually from the point of view of vehicle types and uniforms and weapons types. reckon there's going on for 800 plus single player maps for BF2 with loads more multiplayer maps available. Many of them are also co-op ready so you can play against AI with friends.

    If a map has enemy AI then no matter how open it is I would never compare it to a multiplayer only map. The main difference for me between a prescriptive single player map that restricts your movement through a corridor to one that's open world is that each time you play it it can be as different as you want it to be. Take a different route through an urban area or a city center, or sneak thorough a woodland or try for open ground. The variety you get from an open world map (for me at least) means I will probably play the game for years as opposed to months. When BF2 was released back in June 2005 it was the only game i played every day for over 2 years and I'm still playing it, though not as often. The amazing thing is, many of the maps I have got I’ve hardly scratched the surface of, and many I’ve still to play yet. There are mods I've only tried briefly with the intention of returning, but the modding community were so prolific in the first three years after BF2 was released many of them I’ve never had time to return to yet. Despite the games age it still looks really good, especially when you have the graphics maxed out. it's not as amazing as ArmA II nor the latest Call of Duty games, but it's still excellent.

    'Scuze my slightly off topic waffle. The battlefield series of games is one of my favourite franchises alongside the ArmA and Operation Flashpoint series (and to a lesser extent the Tom Clancy franchise), so I tend to waffle on and go off point quite often.

    My recommendation (bearing in mind what you said above) would be to wait until it's on sale if you’re not as much into open world shooters. At least Modern Warfare 3 will be released around the same time, so you'll have something to be going on with. (I'll be getting both as soon as they are released though as I doubt either will drop in price like most games do; well at least not for the first year after release) :(

    Posted 12 years ago #
21. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    WR,

    Thanks much for the comments. I'm probably going to get the BF3 game when it comes out. I think I would like it. I tend to stick with one game until I finish it because I get familiar with the controls and there are usually some differences between games in regards to keyboard functions. I recently played through Half-life2 and Episode 1 and 2 again. Was fun to revisit it. I'm still working my way through Just Cause 2 but I've been in "mercenary" mode for a good while which basically means all the agency missions have been finished. It's getting a little redundant but still fun blowing things up. :)

    Posted 12 years ago #
22. 

    triphammer
    Member

    BF3 won't have mod tools WR.. hence no mods.

    http://battlefieldo.com/dice-confirms-no-mod-tools-for-bf3/

    I was in on the Alpha for BF3 and there's no in game browser either for finding servers. Everything goes through their Battlelog system now. I'm looking forward to BF3 myself. I've even got the limited edition pre-ordered, so I'll have the Karkand map pack. It'll be nice to get the BF2 maps in a destructible environment, so I'm looking forward to seeing them.. but that'll be the closest we're going to get to the BF2 experience. The best part of the Battlefield series is the team play.. and the mix of vehicles and infantry. There'll be an infantry only mode that should be nice. Might be hard on the bigger maps though.

    MW3 will be a continuance of the CoD series of course (hard to beat that smooth gameplay), but the "CoD Elite" is not going to fly IMO. A subscription fee every month on top of what you already paid for the game? When I buy a game, I'm used to having the full game. I'm not too crazy over forking over $60.. then if I want to enjoy the full game, it's another $15 every month. Granted... you get DLC free when you have the premium membership... but they just killed the CoD series. At the very least.. they're splitting up the community. The best thing CoD has going for it right now.. is that they've announced it'll be free server files.. so basically the game will be set up like CoD 4 was instead of the mess they tried after CoD WaW. This is a big plus for the community. I'm hoping mod tools will be released as well.. but mod tools and map tools are kinda different if they go by the same formula as CoD Black Ops. They released the tools, but not everything the modders needed when compared to what they had in CoD4.

    Looking forward to both games, but gaming is changing for those of us who love shooters...

    Posted 12 years ago #
23. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    Since we are discussing new games here, is anyone playing the new Deus Ex? I've been playing it the last few nights and it's actually pretty good. Especially for us old timers like WR. :) The graphics are very good and the gameplay is smooth so far. The pacing is somewhat slow because of the stealth element. However I do find the interaction with the characters a little frustrating at times. Also I don't really understand the hacking thing yet. Seems I'm just randomly clicking without really understanding what I'm supposed to do. I was able to get it for $34 from Green Man Gaming and downloaded it through Steam.

    Posted 12 years ago #
24. 

    delenn13
    Minbari Ambassador

    I have company coming in 2 hrs and I don't have a lot of time..but I wanted to post this. FYI..................

    DO NOT buy Deus Ex from Gamestop. The employees are being told to pull the free on line code to be able to play on the online gaming service OnLive.

    I got an email from CNet(don't have the time to look for it)..plus got this from my Google+ account.

    "If you purchase your copy of Deus Ex: Human Revolution at a retail store, you're supposed to receive a code that allows you to play the game for free using the online gaming service OnLive. It's a neat giveaway, and it certainly gives gamers an incentive to try the service, but a leaked memo seems to show GameStop's fear of digital delivery: employees are allegedly being asked to open every game and remove the coupon."

    GameStop opening Deus Ex boxes, removing free game code

    Posted 12 years ago #
25. 

    Anonymous
    Unregistered

    What you are reporting is accurate and it sounds like Gamestop pulled a boner on this one from a customer relations standpoint. However I read that they have tried to make amends. This is from Gamefly:

    "Earlier this week, GameStop removed a competitor's coupon from standard edition PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a recent release by Square Enix. We were not aware that the product box would contain this competitor's offer. We regret the events surrounding this title release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this, we are truly sorry.

    For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor."

    So basically if you bought the game from GameStop you'll end up getting it for free. Also I read that what they did was supposedly legal though not very smart.

    Besides all this, who buys games in stores anymore anyway? I haven't in years. Costs too much.

    Posted 12 years ago #
26. 

    Whiterabbit-uk
    Games Guru

    That's true rta, plus the choice has dwindled to virtualy nothing but the top few gaes. ther was a time sevral years ago when my local Game store had several shelves full of PC games, not they have less than one shelve full. most shelves are taken up with the console games, which really maddens me as the PC is the only platform where you can truly experience the full beauty of many games via some of the best graphics chips available today. I still don't understand what the attraction for a console is. give me a PC any day.

    As for Deus Ex, yeah, finally unlocked on Steam yesterday evening here in the UK. i've only played it a little so far as we had our first power cut in many years today and the internet was off for sveral hours so wasn't able to boot up Steam.

    Thans for the info Triphammer, that's a great shame. I don't agree with their reasons for not putting modding tools out though. It's the modding community that extend the life of most games so i think DICE are making a big mistake. That said I'm still looking forwards to getting the game, just not happy about having to install yet another online gaming client seeing as EA have decided not to sell BF3 via Steam.

    by the way $34 is a great proce for Deus Ex rta, nice one. :)

    Posted 12 years ago #

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