Bluffmaster
Forerunner
Hi Guys,
I thought of this thread when I was browsing the gaming section yesterday. The section has come a long way from the early days of TE when this section was not even half as active as it is today. It is really nice to see members taking a keen interest in the world of gaming. More importantly, I was happy to see the progress made in the Gaming consoles section. If you would just search for the infamous "PC vs Console thread", you would realize the state in which the console gaming was a few years back, atleast on TE. The major support was always with PC gaming, but with the launch of the next gen consoles, that trend soon changed. Even the major game publishers started supporting Console gaming and as a a result we now see people with more inclination towards console gaming than PC gaming. I support this trend as it opens up gaming to a wider audience and the hardcore gamers can still have the best of both worlds.
Anyways, I guess I deviated from the topic a bit.
Well, I was bored and I was looking for some good games of 2008-09 era, I selected a few games based on the reviews but I wanted people's opinion on those games hence I decided to search them up here on TE. While I found what I was looking for, it was also a PITA searching for the right content as most of the threads were full of useless troll banter and it took a lot of reading each and every post carefully to land on some sensible opinions. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not have a problem with useless troll posts as I understand that those posts have more to do with the excitement surrounding the game and less to do with actual spamming but whatever maybe the reason, it doesn't help members like me who visit or stumble upon this section looking for some sound advice and instead get lost in troll posts.
So, I thought of creating this thread. So what’s this thread all about you ask? Well, it’s about giving your opinions about certain games. More like a mini review you may say. I have always been a gamer, but somewhere transitioning from a boy to a man, I kind of lost my interest in gaming as other more important things in life became priority. But as they say, you can never really forget your first love, my interest in gaming was reignited recently. Now, I have played a lot of games in my life to know a good game when I play one. So, I am here to give you my opinion and to read your opinions about games that I think are good and worth playing.
So, how will it work? Every couple of days we will have a game which we would give our opinions/review about. Now, your opinion can be as long as a professional review or just a sentence expressing what you thought of the game when you played it. But please refrain from starting a flame war or trolling this thread. Everyone is entitled to their opinion so if you don’t like someone’s opinion please do not flame him. This thread would be helpful in 2 ways. First, it would be a great help to any gamer looking for some quality titles to play (in case he/she missed out on them when they came out) and secondly, it would be cool to read and share a second opinion on games we all know and love.
So, lets get started.
P.S : Please post only about the game which is in the topic of discussion at the time of your posting.
--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Let me start this thread with a recently launched title which was a sequel to "Crysis", one of the landmark games in the PC gaming community.
Crysis 2 released with a mammoth hype and huge expectation surrounding it. After all it was a sequel to one of the best looking games on PC. This time, there was an extra reason for people to celebrate, as Crysis 2 was going multiplatform which meant that gamers who were not blessed with a powerful gaming rig, could play Crysis 2 on their consoles. While this was certainly a move in the right direction it also made a lot of PC enthusiasts skeptical of what would be left of their beloved franchise after the "port". Their fears were justified though, as the consoles do have an aging hardware, does this meant that Crysis 2 won’t look as pretty as the original or set new benchmarks in gaming graphics for PC? Crytek did promise the best looking console game to date, but it didn't say anything about how it would look on a PC. Does the best looking game on a console = Average looking game on a PC ?
Fortunately that wasn't the case. Atleast, for me it wasn't. Although Crysis 2 received positive reviews from almost all major critiques, strangely enough, it received a lukewarm response from the gamers worldwide with a mediocre user rating on most gaming sites. As for me, I failed to understand this response from gamers. Because this game worked for me, it worked for me big time.
Let me first tell you, I am a fan of Crysis. I played the original in all of its glory and was awe-struck by its beauty like most of the gamers were when they first looked at the lush full jungles of the beautiful Lingshan island. Not only was this game pretty to look at, but it also introduced a new concept to the FPS shooter genre and added a deep layer to the run n gun gameplay. The Nano-Suit was kickass to say the least. While I enjoyed my time with Crysis and its expansion, I somehow felt that it could work upon its presentation. The plot of the game wasn't that bad but the way the story was told was not very impressive. The voice acting too, was nothing spectacular. Overall it was a great game but it could work upon its story and presentation.
Now, believe me, I was as skeptical as you when I first heard about Crysis 2 and that it was to take place in NYC rather than the island which we all had come to love. Will it loose its charm and feel? Will it be just like countless other FPS games which are based in a city environment? Well, I was about to find out.
Presentation : As soon as I laid my hands on Crysis 2, the first impression I got from looking at the menu was that they have really worked on the presentation. It felt slick and stylish, and coming from Crysis, it felt like a huge improvement. I also noticed the "Extras" section in the menu which made me even more impressed by the games presentation. Then I started the game and witnessed the intro in-game cutscene and I was immediately sold. It had to be the best intro movie I had ever seen in a game. It felt all soughts of awesome. At that point of time, I had no doubts regarding the presentation of the game. It was epic.
Graphics : When the actual game started, what immediately caught my attention were the graphics. Now, I have read comments about this games graphics on various forums and how they are not "that" great. Well, I don't know about you, but on my rig, never has a game looked as pretty as Crysis 2. Now, I am not exaggerating. After completing the game, I genuinely and honestly feel that this is one of the best looking games on a PC. I say this not because I was blown away by the textures or the set pieces but because of the little subtle graphical effects that I found and admired throughout the game. The fact that its so well optimized for the PC and runs flawlessly on even modest systems only add to the points. And to know that all of this has been made possible using DX 9 is mind boggling. Also, if you haven't played Crysis 2 before or have just started playing it, bear in mind that the earlier few levels of the game do not do justice to the overall graphics or the gameplay. Just wait for the alien invasion to start and you will know the reason why I keep calling it awesome.
Gameplay : Now over to the actual gameplay. We have a new Nano-Suit which is an improved version of the Nano-Suit of the original game. Lets just say, that I never thought that the gameplay of a game could be so drastically improved by tweaking little parts of it. The Nano-Suit in Crysis 2 feels very natural and adds a deep layer to the gameplay. We no longer have a different mode for speed and strength, instead its combined and made as the default power of the suit. Whereas the Armor and Cloak power have been given different modes. The energy takes less time to recharge and more time to drain which is a welcome change. The change in the suit has actually made the game a little less complicated now. You either switch on the armor mode, and take on the baddies terminator style or you cloak yourself avoiding or stealth killing your foes to complete your objective. Its a welcome change and it works great. The AI also has been greatly improved although they do have their dumb moments. As mentioned in a lot of reviews, do not judge this game based on the first couple of hours of gameplay. As the game is just warming you up for some really cool things to come. Rest assured, you will be deeply immersed in constant engaging battles and have plenty of fun doing that as soon as the aliens arrive.
But wait, like most things, the gameplay is not perfect. Thanks to the unforgiving and often frustrating checkpoint style save system. I do not have a problem with checkpoints, a lot of games have it these days including hit games like Call of Duty, so most of us are accustomed to it pretty well. But this system simply doesn't work in a game like Crysis and let me tell you why. Its not because it makes the game hard but because it takes away the freedom to explore from the players. And when you take away freedom from players in a sandbox style game, you know you are asking for trouble and a lot of unsatisfied gamers. The problem with the checkpoint system in Crysis 2 is that there are too few of them which are positioned far away from each other. This means to reach a checkpoint, you will have to kill 20+ enemies which could take you 15- 30 mins and then when you are just about to reach a checkpoint a careless mistake kills you and you start all over again. Its fine in the beginning when you are actually just having fun and admiring the game but it soon becomes incredibly frustrating when the game starts getting a little tough.
How does it take away from the freedom to explore you ask? Well, Picture this. I have killed around 10 + enemies which were not so easy to kill in the first place and all this has already taken me 10 mins. I am yet to reach a checkpoint when I reach an intersection and see something really cool. The road is blocked in front of me, but I have around 3 tactical positions from which I can play this out. Now I see a tank nearby surrounded by 4-5 enemies. A part of me wants to just walk over to the tank, kill everyone and drive the tank blowing everything in my way to the end of the level. But I decide against it, why? Well, because, its not easy stealing a tank and most likely I will be killed the first time I try it and no matter how tempting the tank looks, I sure as hell do not want to start this mission all over again. Now you see? All this because the game didn't let me save it so that I can attempt a trial and error method and have fun while doing it. Its a serious issue which needs addressing, while not a game killer, its definitely a fun killer. It gets better as you get better at not dying that easily but trust me you will replay a lot of portions of the game early on. Its just poor game design.
The only logic I can understand behind implementing such a system is that the developers wanted to extend the single player campaign length by doing so. A cheap move but it works although there wasn't a need for it as the campaign is long enough even without it. This system will easily add atleast 3 hours to the otherwise 10-12 hours long campaign. Yes, for a change, the campaign is that long. IMO 12 hours for a FPS is a pretty decent and respectable length especially when we have games like call of duty averaging only 5 hours.
Story : Yes, there is a story. No, I did not understand much of it. The story is the weakest part of Crysis 2. The presentation and the manner in which the story is presented is sure as hell is slick but the actual story is just some mumbo jumbo B grade science fiction material. Blame it on the intense gameplay, I never found myself engaged or interested in the story. All I got from it was that there was an alien invasion in NYC and I am the badass the world is relying on to send them aliens back on their planet. But a lack of a good story doesn't stop me from enjoying an otherwise awesome game.
Sound : This game has an epic soundtrack, the best I have heard in a long time. A large part of how the game environment makes you feel has to do with the awesome soundtrack that plays in the background. As you progress through the missions new soundtracks get unlocked in the extras section allowing you to hear them again. The voice acting is also good for a change. Its really cool to hear the fear in enemy soldiers voice when you are approaching them. They will constantly chatter and let each other know when and where they see you. The guns and explosion sounds are amazing too.
Summary : Overall, a fantastic game. A huge improvement over the original. Not only FPS lovers but every Gamer should give Crysis 2 a try. Oh and don't worry, you won't have to sell your kidneys to get Crysis 2 running in all its glory. If you were able to run Crysis, you would be able to run Crysis 2 better.
Presentation - 9.5/10
Graphics - 9.5/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Story - 6/10
Sound - 9.5/10
Overall - 9.3
So, What do you guys think about Crysis 2? Let everyone know.
P.S : Please keep the discussion about Crysis 2 only.
I thought of this thread when I was browsing the gaming section yesterday. The section has come a long way from the early days of TE when this section was not even half as active as it is today. It is really nice to see members taking a keen interest in the world of gaming. More importantly, I was happy to see the progress made in the Gaming consoles section. If you would just search for the infamous "PC vs Console thread", you would realize the state in which the console gaming was a few years back, atleast on TE. The major support was always with PC gaming, but with the launch of the next gen consoles, that trend soon changed. Even the major game publishers started supporting Console gaming and as a a result we now see people with more inclination towards console gaming than PC gaming. I support this trend as it opens up gaming to a wider audience and the hardcore gamers can still have the best of both worlds.
Anyways, I guess I deviated from the topic a bit.
Well, I was bored and I was looking for some good games of 2008-09 era, I selected a few games based on the reviews but I wanted people's opinion on those games hence I decided to search them up here on TE. While I found what I was looking for, it was also a PITA searching for the right content as most of the threads were full of useless troll banter and it took a lot of reading each and every post carefully to land on some sensible opinions. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not have a problem with useless troll posts as I understand that those posts have more to do with the excitement surrounding the game and less to do with actual spamming but whatever maybe the reason, it doesn't help members like me who visit or stumble upon this section looking for some sound advice and instead get lost in troll posts. So, I thought of creating this thread. So what’s this thread all about you ask? Well, it’s about giving your opinions about certain games. More like a mini review you may say. I have always been a gamer, but somewhere transitioning from a boy to a man, I kind of lost my interest in gaming as other more important things in life became priority. But as they say, you can never really forget your first love, my interest in gaming was reignited recently. Now, I have played a lot of games in my life to know a good game when I play one. So, I am here to give you my opinion and to read your opinions about games that I think are good and worth playing.
So, how will it work? Every couple of days we will have a game which we would give our opinions/review about. Now, your opinion can be as long as a professional review or just a sentence expressing what you thought of the game when you played it. But please refrain from starting a flame war or trolling this thread. Everyone is entitled to their opinion so if you don’t like someone’s opinion please do not flame him. This thread would be helpful in 2 ways. First, it would be a great help to any gamer looking for some quality titles to play (in case he/she missed out on them when they came out) and secondly, it would be cool to read and share a second opinion on games we all know and love.
So, lets get started.
P.S : Please post only about the game which is in the topic of discussion at the time of your posting.
--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Let me start this thread with a recently launched title which was a sequel to "Crysis", one of the landmark games in the PC gaming community.
Crysis 2 released with a mammoth hype and huge expectation surrounding it. After all it was a sequel to one of the best looking games on PC. This time, there was an extra reason for people to celebrate, as Crysis 2 was going multiplatform which meant that gamers who were not blessed with a powerful gaming rig, could play Crysis 2 on their consoles. While this was certainly a move in the right direction it also made a lot of PC enthusiasts skeptical of what would be left of their beloved franchise after the "port". Their fears were justified though, as the consoles do have an aging hardware, does this meant that Crysis 2 won’t look as pretty as the original or set new benchmarks in gaming graphics for PC? Crytek did promise the best looking console game to date, but it didn't say anything about how it would look on a PC. Does the best looking game on a console = Average looking game on a PC ?
Fortunately that wasn't the case. Atleast, for me it wasn't. Although Crysis 2 received positive reviews from almost all major critiques, strangely enough, it received a lukewarm response from the gamers worldwide with a mediocre user rating on most gaming sites. As for me, I failed to understand this response from gamers. Because this game worked for me, it worked for me big time.
Let me first tell you, I am a fan of Crysis. I played the original in all of its glory and was awe-struck by its beauty like most of the gamers were when they first looked at the lush full jungles of the beautiful Lingshan island. Not only was this game pretty to look at, but it also introduced a new concept to the FPS shooter genre and added a deep layer to the run n gun gameplay. The Nano-Suit was kickass to say the least. While I enjoyed my time with Crysis and its expansion, I somehow felt that it could work upon its presentation. The plot of the game wasn't that bad but the way the story was told was not very impressive. The voice acting too, was nothing spectacular. Overall it was a great game but it could work upon its story and presentation.
Now, believe me, I was as skeptical as you when I first heard about Crysis 2 and that it was to take place in NYC rather than the island which we all had come to love. Will it loose its charm and feel? Will it be just like countless other FPS games which are based in a city environment? Well, I was about to find out.
Presentation : As soon as I laid my hands on Crysis 2, the first impression I got from looking at the menu was that they have really worked on the presentation. It felt slick and stylish, and coming from Crysis, it felt like a huge improvement. I also noticed the "Extras" section in the menu which made me even more impressed by the games presentation. Then I started the game and witnessed the intro in-game cutscene and I was immediately sold. It had to be the best intro movie I had ever seen in a game. It felt all soughts of awesome. At that point of time, I had no doubts regarding the presentation of the game. It was epic.
Graphics : When the actual game started, what immediately caught my attention were the graphics. Now, I have read comments about this games graphics on various forums and how they are not "that" great. Well, I don't know about you, but on my rig, never has a game looked as pretty as Crysis 2. Now, I am not exaggerating. After completing the game, I genuinely and honestly feel that this is one of the best looking games on a PC. I say this not because I was blown away by the textures or the set pieces but because of the little subtle graphical effects that I found and admired throughout the game. The fact that its so well optimized for the PC and runs flawlessly on even modest systems only add to the points. And to know that all of this has been made possible using DX 9 is mind boggling. Also, if you haven't played Crysis 2 before or have just started playing it, bear in mind that the earlier few levels of the game do not do justice to the overall graphics or the gameplay. Just wait for the alien invasion to start and you will know the reason why I keep calling it awesome.
Gameplay : Now over to the actual gameplay. We have a new Nano-Suit which is an improved version of the Nano-Suit of the original game. Lets just say, that I never thought that the gameplay of a game could be so drastically improved by tweaking little parts of it. The Nano-Suit in Crysis 2 feels very natural and adds a deep layer to the gameplay. We no longer have a different mode for speed and strength, instead its combined and made as the default power of the suit. Whereas the Armor and Cloak power have been given different modes. The energy takes less time to recharge and more time to drain which is a welcome change. The change in the suit has actually made the game a little less complicated now. You either switch on the armor mode, and take on the baddies terminator style or you cloak yourself avoiding or stealth killing your foes to complete your objective. Its a welcome change and it works great. The AI also has been greatly improved although they do have their dumb moments. As mentioned in a lot of reviews, do not judge this game based on the first couple of hours of gameplay. As the game is just warming you up for some really cool things to come. Rest assured, you will be deeply immersed in constant engaging battles and have plenty of fun doing that as soon as the aliens arrive.
But wait, like most things, the gameplay is not perfect. Thanks to the unforgiving and often frustrating checkpoint style save system. I do not have a problem with checkpoints, a lot of games have it these days including hit games like Call of Duty, so most of us are accustomed to it pretty well. But this system simply doesn't work in a game like Crysis and let me tell you why. Its not because it makes the game hard but because it takes away the freedom to explore from the players. And when you take away freedom from players in a sandbox style game, you know you are asking for trouble and a lot of unsatisfied gamers. The problem with the checkpoint system in Crysis 2 is that there are too few of them which are positioned far away from each other. This means to reach a checkpoint, you will have to kill 20+ enemies which could take you 15- 30 mins and then when you are just about to reach a checkpoint a careless mistake kills you and you start all over again. Its fine in the beginning when you are actually just having fun and admiring the game but it soon becomes incredibly frustrating when the game starts getting a little tough.
How does it take away from the freedom to explore you ask? Well, Picture this. I have killed around 10 + enemies which were not so easy to kill in the first place and all this has already taken me 10 mins. I am yet to reach a checkpoint when I reach an intersection and see something really cool. The road is blocked in front of me, but I have around 3 tactical positions from which I can play this out. Now I see a tank nearby surrounded by 4-5 enemies. A part of me wants to just walk over to the tank, kill everyone and drive the tank blowing everything in my way to the end of the level. But I decide against it, why? Well, because, its not easy stealing a tank and most likely I will be killed the first time I try it and no matter how tempting the tank looks, I sure as hell do not want to start this mission all over again. Now you see? All this because the game didn't let me save it so that I can attempt a trial and error method and have fun while doing it. Its a serious issue which needs addressing, while not a game killer, its definitely a fun killer. It gets better as you get better at not dying that easily but trust me you will replay a lot of portions of the game early on. Its just poor game design.
The only logic I can understand behind implementing such a system is that the developers wanted to extend the single player campaign length by doing so. A cheap move but it works although there wasn't a need for it as the campaign is long enough even without it. This system will easily add atleast 3 hours to the otherwise 10-12 hours long campaign. Yes, for a change, the campaign is that long. IMO 12 hours for a FPS is a pretty decent and respectable length especially when we have games like call of duty averaging only 5 hours.
Story : Yes, there is a story. No, I did not understand much of it. The story is the weakest part of Crysis 2. The presentation and the manner in which the story is presented is sure as hell is slick but the actual story is just some mumbo jumbo B grade science fiction material. Blame it on the intense gameplay, I never found myself engaged or interested in the story. All I got from it was that there was an alien invasion in NYC and I am the badass the world is relying on to send them aliens back on their planet. But a lack of a good story doesn't stop me from enjoying an otherwise awesome game.
Sound : This game has an epic soundtrack, the best I have heard in a long time. A large part of how the game environment makes you feel has to do with the awesome soundtrack that plays in the background. As you progress through the missions new soundtracks get unlocked in the extras section allowing you to hear them again. The voice acting is also good for a change. Its really cool to hear the fear in enemy soldiers voice when you are approaching them. They will constantly chatter and let each other know when and where they see you. The guns and explosion sounds are amazing too.
Summary : Overall, a fantastic game. A huge improvement over the original. Not only FPS lovers but every Gamer should give Crysis 2 a try. Oh and don't worry, you won't have to sell your kidneys to get Crysis 2 running in all its glory. If you were able to run Crysis, you would be able to run Crysis 2 better.
Presentation - 9.5/10
Graphics - 9.5/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Story - 6/10
Sound - 9.5/10
Overall - 9.3
So, What do you guys think about Crysis 2? Let everyone know.
P.S : Please keep the discussion about Crysis 2 only.
