When the original Playstation (PSX) came out to replace the SNES and/or Sega, you looked at the thing, at the games, and realized “holy cow, this is next level”. I mean, sure, one of the earliest games was Battle Arena Toshinden but, remember, when the system was closing out, it was capable of giving us Final Fantasy IX.
And then! When the PS2 came out (or the Gamecube or the original Xbox), it was, once again, obvious that the system was necessary. The newest software was pushing the limits of the old hardware and even though the PS2 didn’t have any games for a year (until Final Fantasy X, funnily enough), you could tell that it was seriously the next big thing.
AND THEN AGAIN! When the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii came out, you knew that you never had a game system like this before. This was the next logical step. Look at these graphics! Look at these physics! Look at these games! It made sense that you couldn’t get a PS3, or 360, or a Wii for months.
And now? Well… I’m considering buying a PS4. Not because I *NEED* a PS4… but because, well… it’s the next generation.
But there aren’t any games, really. And I already use my PS3 as my blu-ray player. I suppose I can pick up the Pinball Collection that came out for the PS4 (I do love me my Pinball Collections), but… then what? 400 bucks for a single game that isn’t one of those HOLY CRAP I NEED TO GET THIS GAME games like Grand Theft Auto III was?
I’m officially old, I guess. (You know, if they had backwards compatibility, I’d pay an extra hundred bucks and replace the system tomorrow.)
Which means that I’m back to playing Heroes V.
So… what are you playing?
Wasteland 2. The difference between “Normal” and “Ranger” difficulty is quite a bit, but I’ve found that I prefer (for now, anyway) save scumming or restarting (for now, anyway) to a cakewalk. Can’t recommend this game enough.Report
I finally said “okay, I’ll just watch the opening sequence” to Wasteland 2… AND THEN I WAS HOOKED.
It was only my need for an oil change that got me to stop playing.Report
How necessary is playing the original to understanding any references in the game?Report
I’d say precious little. There are little rewards for those who have played the original (OH MY GOD THEY BROUGHT BACK TOASTER REPAIR) but, as far as I can tell, no punishments for those who didn’t.Report
This is high on my list of games I want to play, but I am not sure if I am ready to commit the kind of time it needs. Right now I have been playing Conquest of Elysium 3. It was on sale this week, so I jumped on it. It took me a few false starts to figure out how to play, but now I understand the basics. I have to figure out the strategy part now.Report
Wasteland 2, of course…
@hoosegow-flask – I think they’ve kept the references to the original to the “fanboy bonus” category – the characters in the main narrative stand for themselves with just what they see. And shout outs like the night terrors are just that, they still are fully within the sequel’s narrative.
That said, I didn’t realize at first that they’d gone away from the “improve a skill by using it, and if you don’t have it you never will” paradigm, so my initial party has a bunch of skills at level 1… I was using a variation of my Jagged Alliance 2 “Eurotrash” strategy – fill your party with cheap, overlooked talents but try to maximize your leveling-up bonuses, and eventually you’ll be better off than if you’d min-maxed from the start. Not sure how well that is working out so far. But I’m only just now going to the first real encounter – Highpool/Ag Center – now, so it’s still early days and plenty of time to readjust.Report
Slowly finishing up Assassin’s Creed I. I can’t understand how this game got to be so popular. Whomever designed the dock level should be dragged out and beaten with copies of better games.
It’s not just the ludicrous one-mistep-equal-death jumping puzzle — there’s also the total lack of “help” (your guy DIES if he touches water. Yet for some reason, he’ll happily jump off at insane angles which are not the ones I had him going) on jumps like that.
And lastly, my personal favorite, the stupid camera locking onto a guard in combat. I mean it’s nice when fighting, but when trying to run it seems to lock on RIGHT as I’m hitting the “jump” key, which means my character spins and jumps in a random direction because the facing changed right as I was committing to the move.
Which leads me back to the “water = instant death…”
Parts of the game are great. Parts of it are just head-banging frustrating.Report
For what it’s worth, Assassin’s Creed wasn’t awesome until Assassin’s Creed II. Assassin’s Creed was merely a next-gen Prince of Persia with a really silly conceit.Report
So I’ve been told, but I’ve got a rather stubborn “completion” streak in me. I’ve started it, it’s not annoying enough to call it quits on, so I soldier through because I have to finish it. 🙂
It’s okay. I’m playing a ton of Civ 5 in between. (Greece is about to win culturally, after France has twice broken itself trying to take my via military might. After the second time I reduced their military to scrap without losing a single unit, they went and picked on the Brazillians. That war has been raging for 60 years now…)Report
Just like real life.Report