197 replies to this topic

[kieranbeech]

Haven't played on much recently, but can someone answer me the question, is the Arkham DLC out more, if so its it any good?

[Youri Zoutman]

Nnnnggg Diablo III next week. Downloading II in anticipation.

[Dave Wallace]

Vikram, I can definitely second the recommendation of the Batman Arkham games, as well as Lego Batman. That's some fun hours of gameplay you've got ahead of you.

[Ogul]

Fez. New Game+. Mother####ing clock puzzle fail. I should not have to unplug my ethernet and manually shift my time and date just to solve a puzzle.

[Dave Hudson]

So this weekend, totally unexpectedly, and for no apparent reason, without any provocation, my mother bought me an X-Box 360 S (250GB) + Kinect.

Now, my gaming days are way behind me, so I know next to nothing about anything X-Box or gaming related these days. What's the essential stuff I need? What are the solid gold games that I must get to waste my precious free time on? And what do I get for the kids, using the Kinect (they're young, 6 & 3)?

Obviously, being a Batman fanatic, I guess the Arkham Asylum/ City game are good bets. I also like the looks of the Lego games and I always enjoyed playing Halo back in the day.

[She also bought my missus a brand new iPad at the same time ... !]

The 'Mass Effect' trilogy is very good and you'll be able to get parts 1 & 2 pretty cheap, it really does benefit from playing all the way through: the choices you make in earlier games have an effect in subsequent episodes.

The 'Call of Duty' games are worthwhile if you have access to Xbox Live Gold for the multiplayer, not so much for the single player campaign. 'Black Ops' is my personal favourite but 'Modern Warfare' 2 & 3 are pretty decent with only slight differences between them.

'Assassins Creed 2' is another top game, don't bother with the first one though you're not missing much.

[craggy]

I'll second the Arkham Games and LEGO Batman and yes, Mass Effect. The ME trilogy is one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in space. I really like the Gears Of War games for their carnage, and the story just feels like the biggest baddest action movie of the 80s-90s with more roids than you can shake a wrestler at. Sonic Generations is a nice nostalgia trip, whilst adding some new stuff. (new to me anyway)

Really, Vikram, I'd say give us more info on what sort of games you're interested in.

For Kinect stuff for the kids...I have no idea. I've heard Kinect Star Wars is pretty terrible, but that's from adults. There's the Kinectimals one where you can have a tiger as a pet and stuff, that looked pretty cool when it was demo'd way back when.

edit: oh, Red Dead Redemption (for you, not the kids!) is a good laugh. Think Grand Theft Auto in a western film, starring "Totally NOT Clint Eastwood!". I'd recommend that well before the latest GTA, which I hated. Haven't played them myself but the Saints Row series has a lot of fans if you're looking for mindless violence in a vaguely realistic setting.

[Chris Fenton]

Gave Pandemic 2 a go it is really good for such a simple browser game. I found the best tactic is to do nothing and let your evolution points build up high. By doing that your virus hardly spreads but stays well below the radar. Once you have a huge number of points you can quickly adapt your virus into a something really effective really quickly and the spread will be very sudden getting a large majority of countries before they can react.

Just checked my Lovefilm account and I have Prototype and Burnout Paradise, I never got round to either of them at the time of release. Really want to give Prototype a go before Prototype 2.

[brucegray666]

Had 35 minutes to spare before tonight's episode of The Apprentice. Decided to go for a speed run on sonic the Hedgehog. Got "Game Over" on Green Hill Zone act 3. Balls. A bit rusty by the looks of it...

[Adam Balson]

I'm pretty keen to just vegetate over the summer with a copy of Mass Effect 3 and Max Payne 3.

My 'Box has been sorely neglected these past few months.

[craggy]

My 'Box has been sorely neglected these past few months.

the jokes write themselves.

[Vikram Singh]

Thanks for the recommendations to date folks. I managed to pick up a copy of Arkham Asylum and have been playing that for a couple of nights now. Good stuff! Got a copy of Lego Batman on the way too.

Really, Vikram, I'd say give us more info on what sort of games you're interested in.

Well, Craggy, as I said it's been a fair while since I played any games regularly, but those that I remember fondly from "back in the day" were the first couple of Tomb Raiders, the Tekken beat 'em ups, and I think it was Crash Bandicoot on the original Playstation; the two Buffy games, Halo, Hulk, and Conflict: Desert Storm on the original X-Box. There must have been a few others, but those are the only ones I can really remember spending hours on.

[brucegray666]

Today is the 20th anniversary of Wolfenstein 3D's release. I'm going to load up my downloaded XBLA version to celebrate. iPod / Pad users can celebrate for free as the full game is available to download from iTunes for free for today only.

[craggy]

Thanks for the recommendations to date folks. I managed to pick up a copy of Arkham Asylum and have been playing that for a couple of nights now. Good stuff! Got a copy of Lego Batman on the way too.



Well, Craggy, as I said it's been a fair while since I played any games regularly, but those that I remember fondly from "back in the day" were the first couple of Tomb Raiders, the Tekken beat 'em ups, and I think it was Crash Bandicoot on the original Playstation; the two Buffy games, Halo, Hulk, and Conflict: Desert Storm on the original X-Box. There must have been a few others, but those are the only ones I can really remember spending hours on.

I enjoyed the most recent Tekken (6), it's not changed that much, but it's better for it. It's also got a scrolling beat em up mode, similar to Tekken Force from Tekken 3. Probably be able to pick it up cheap nowadays. The Special Limited Collectors Fancy Pants edition has a hoodie and a really cool art book with it too. Crash Bandicoot...hmm, I've only really played Sonic Generations in the 3d platformer. There are plenty of bits where you might easily misjudge jumps and end up falling into oblivion, so that part is similar.
The new Halo, Reach, I found okay, but Halo isn't my thing really. I preferred the Gears Of War series. For some random Hulk smashing, try Ultimate Alliance or UA 2. You get to be loads of Marvel characters and smash a bunch of stuff/people/things.

[Dave Wallace]

Having never actually played any of the Mass Effect games before, I finally put down the money for ME2 (the first game isn't available on the PS3), and I'm really enjoying it. I'm finding the RPG elements and cutscenes a lot more involving than I expected, the combat is decent and pleasingly straightforward, and the plot is pretty interesting. I like the way they handle the recap of the first game too - the interactive comic is a bit of an infodump for people like me who have never played the original, but it's a neat way of giving you the key elements of the story and encouraging you to make all the important choices that play into the plot of ME2.

[craggy]

Dave, glad you're liking it. Shame you've not been able to enjoy the first one. It's a really fun game. The actual gameplay is a bit better in 2. Some slight, but very welcome improvements, that I can't remember right now. I'd say 2 is also the most rewarding of the series. It's a really good ride and it all feels big and important and epic. Also, it has Miranda.

[Chris Fenton]

Finding Prototype both enjoyable and infuriating at the moment. I'm not really certain what is happening or why, but that might just be because i've had the volume down so low to try not to wake up baby. It's fun but at the same time I feel that I am already hugely powerful and I have only completed a few missions...

[Ben the Obiwomble]

Vik,

Great as Batman AA is, Arkham City is better by far, BUT I think you can only fully appreciate the jump by playing the games in order.

Lego Batman is superb, as is Lego Star Wars.

For a sheer nostalgia hit and simple fun, After Burner: Climax is worth a few quid. You know what you'll be getting, but playing it with a custom soundtrack is great.

For racing, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is worth checking out. Again, you get to bomb down a road at up to 220mph in a car you could never afford in real life to music of your choice, you crash - question of when, not if - and blam, back on the track in a spanking new motor!

[Dave Wallace]

Vik,

Great as Batman AA is, Arkham City is better by far, BUT I think you can only fully appreciate the jump by playing the games in order.

Plus, story-wise I think it's more satisfying if you've played through AA first.