Our Favorite Games of the PS3/360/Wii Generation

[Atty]

Okay, so this is a thread idea I’ve had for some time now. It’s not a countdown list (though I may well do one later on if this shows interest), but rather a showcase thread. The goal here is to allow posters to have an outlet to talk about the games they loved from the PS3/360/Wii generation. This isn’t meant to just list off games but to talk about why you liked them, discuss them and hopefully help us all find some new games to play or some games to replay or give a second chance to.

So often with countdowns, we get quality discussion on a game, wrestling match or what have you only to have everyone move on when the next name on the list is revealed. Hopefully this bypasses that stopping point.


As Kyle and I already brought up Mass Effect in the ramble thread when I was throwing this idea out there, I’ll start there.


Mass Effect 3
http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/electronic-arts2012/bioware/masseffect3/MassEffect3GOTY610.jpg

Everyone seemed to make his or her judgment on the game when it came out. The original ending was a mess and the structure of the game—where you would miss missions entirely if you didn’t happen about them at the right time—was something that no one was really ready for on their first run. That being said, it is not the same game today. Yes, they fixed the ending but the DLC added loads to the story. Really, I couldn’t imagine the game without the story from the Leviathan DLC after having played it a few times. Omega is also great and the party in the Citadel DLC is a great send off to the series as it gives all the past characters one more chance to shine.

Not just the ending and DLC, it’s a different game now because I don’t play it individually. Like most everyone else, when it came out I played 3 on it’s own with characters I created years prior. Now I’ll play a character from 1 to 3 and the story flows so perfectly that the culmination of the series just has more resonance to it than when it was a 20-40 hour individual game with a botched finish.

[The Rick]

I never got around to playing the game. The game looks amazing and grand, but when ME2 came to PS3(never had the 360) I was playing other things. It probably coincided with my obsession with COD (MW2 & Black Ops). I didn't want to play 3 with out hitting the first two. But if it is that good with out playing the first two, when I get my WiiU here in a month or two I will make a point to pick this up.

[Atty]

I only play it straight through all three now. What you do in you game one effects what happens later on in the second and third and it just creates such an immersive vibe. I almost look at the series as a single massive game at this point.

[Kdestiny]

There are games that were good that are honorable mention for me like some of the AC games.

Maybe while I am at work I will come up with a decent list. For me, games really have to be immersive and have great storytelling so my choices may be different from most but I look forward to any response.

I didn't play any of the Mass Effects until recently and I do regret not playing them sooner, but they will not be on my list.

[Atty]

Ass Creed really was fantastic. After years I went back to play the first one again as I had given up on it fairly quickly before—wound up loving it. Now I'm almost through AC2 again. So fantastic. I have 3 set up for another try and 4 still unopened. Brotherhood may be the underrated crown jewel of the series. On the whole I'd rate 2 higher, but Brotherhood really took me by surprise. I went in expecting a short champaign, with its push of multiplayer, and wound up with a massive and fantastic campaign and my favorite gameplay of the series.

[Kdestiny]

Brotherhood was probably the best game of the series so far.

[Atty]

I really can't say enough how much Brotherhood caught me off guard.


With AC3 and 4, I'm going to be really curious how they play as I have both sitting ready for the Wii U and that could alter the experience.

[Kdestiny]

3 was eh.

I got tired of 4 after a while as well. It just hasn't interested me lately.

[Kyle_242]

I may as well continue from Atty's lead and talk about Mass Effect as well. This time, Mass Effect 1, also known as Mass Effect.

http://lvlt.bioware.cdn.ea.com/bioware/u/f/eagames/bioware/bioware/_commonext/themes/masseffect/default/images/home_header_noflash_1000x467.jpg

I feel it's important to talk about this one because it's so, so overlooked, and I think it's the most underrated of the trilogy. Many people I know who are huge fans of ME in general have either never played the first one, or only played it far enough to realize that it's a buggy mess that doesn't play nearly as well as its successors. And unfortunately that's true, the gameplay itself is very clunky and unrefined, especially as far a shooters go. The weapon upgrade system is a complete ill-designed mess. The Mako sequences (where you drive a little vehicle around on a planet) are pretty dull. But despite the game's weaknesses, its strengths are SO good that it more than compensates.

I don't know how to describe this exactly, but it really feels the most "Mass Effect-y" to me. That makes sense since this is where it all starts story-wise, but the music and mood really capture the space opera genre perfectly, and the fact that your decisions really carry weight not only in this game, but throughout the entire series, makes it pretty intense, especially for those of us who had no idea how deep our decisions would be at the time of its original release. And of all 3 entries, I think it has the best story, and some of the best characters (it's really criminal that Wrex only makes a cameo in later games, Grunt is great but not quite as cool).

So there you have it. If you haven't played ME1 yet, I highly recommend it. It's extremely rough, but once you learn it's intricacies it's one hell of an experience.

[Kdestiny]

Throughout this thread I will probably give some of my favorites since I don't want to have one gigantic post of 10+ games that I really love, so I'll spread it out to make it easier to read.

The first of which is one that I immersed myself in completely and is one of the few games that I actually wanted to beat 100%.

Heavy Rain
http://assets.vg247.com/current//2010/01/Heavy-Rain-US-Cover.jpg

This game got me fully interested in each of the characters and that is what is important to me. A great story needs to be told. This game surrounded the question "How far will one go to save someone they love?" and it's something that they use well. It's not necessarily a role playing game, but the decisions you make along the way will decide how the game ends and I just loved that. I really enjoy games that aren't necessarily linear because it gives you that sense of freedom to do what you want or do how you are feeling at the time.

Ethan Mars is one of the most interesting characters I have played as. The way he changes physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically is heartbreaking. Yet, the emotional struggle he goes through gives him depth as a character. That is what I like in all facets of media: Television, Movies, Theatre, and video games. I want that emotional connection between myself and one or more of the characters. I could feel the pain and struggle that is felt throughout the game. Sure, some of the voice acting isn't perfect, but it was a lot of fun for me and it was a game I could not put down... another thing that is important in my favorites (rewatchability or in this case replayability.)

[Kyle_242]

Gah, I really have no idea what to do with Heavy Rain.

After playing it, I lambasted it pretty hard for a number of reasons that I still feel pretty strongly about. The female character was oversexualized (and if this is me noticing this, it's pretty blatant), there were some pretty big stretches in the plot that they never came close to explaining, and the twist was certainly unexpected but mostly because it didn't make any sense at all. You can easily tear this story apart, and oh yeah, 98% of the gameplay was pointless too.

But at the same time I have an incredibly soft spot for this game. After a couple of years passed, I still remembered pretty much everything that happened in this game, which is rare. I remembered that this game actually made me feel something, and did an excellent job of serving as an escape (which, largely, is why I play video games in the first place). I played it while promising myself that I'll never go back to earlier chapters and just let the story take me wherever it did, and that made it feel like something was on the line. And even on a design level, after seeing other games try the "choose your own adventure" thing and failing, it's actually secretly quite remarkable that they managed to make this entire game so coherent.

I personally think that it has too many flaws to be considered one of the best games of the generation. But certainly one of the most memorable, and it'll always have a special place with me. Fuck I think I need to play it again now.

[Kdestiny]

http://freakify.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/BIOSHOCK-INFINITE.jpg

This game is not only one of my favorites from this current gen of consoles, but it might be one of my favorites ever.

I didn't play the first two Bioshock games before I played this one, so I didn't know what I was in for. I went in thinking this could end up being a monotonous first person shooter that looked really awesome, but didn't stand out.

Wow, I was absolutely wrong. The gameplay was a lot of fun with the mixture of different weaponry as well as the use of the vigors made the combat a lot more interesting than I expected it to be. It was a beautiful looking game that managed to keep my interest in the gameplay.

The story was great too with Elizabeth and her use of tears and finding ways out of certain situations that way. Won't reveal much more, but the story did get me. I've played through the single player 5 times now and it is still a lot of fun to play. The inclusion of the Burial at Sea has made it even better as you get to play in Rapture as Booker as well as Elizabeth.

I went back and played the first two. They are fun, but they don't feel nearly as fluid as Infinite does. Although Big Daddy is way more terrifying.

[Beefy]

Mass Effect is on sale on PSN at the moment so I bought it yesterday and downloaded it overnight. Got ME3 last year with PS+ so just need to pick up 2 if I like the original. I'll give it a go this weekend.

[The Rogerer]

Mass Effect is an interesting game, if a bit wonky and unbalanced in some aspects but that gives it a charm. I liked the mako driving bits even though they're also quite terrible. Mass Effect 2 was an absolute high spot that they were doomed to fall from in 3, and fall they did. It's only complaint about 2 would be that it is polished a lot more than 1, which is good but also makes it feel slightly less charming. 3 has the multiplayer aspect which is actually quite fun in itself. The story in 3 is garbage and nonsense.

[The Rogerer]

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110709023556/fallout/images/8/88/Fallout_3_Steam_banner.jpg

I'd gone a couple of years without much interest in the generation. Seeing a video of Fallout 3 changed all that, I had to get in on it. I'd loved Fallout 1 and 2 in my school years, and had dabbled a bit with Morrowind but was put off by elves and goblins and all that. The national cirriculum in the 90s made sure I was full of paranoia about nuclear war and the thought of a quiet wasteland was always appealing.

Fallout 3 was worth the whole system. I got drawn into it in a way that I hadn't since. This felt like it was something that just wouldn't have been possible on the older generation, not something of this scale and detail. People hate those subways but I even loved them, the first time around at least. Wandering through a grey, empty field was awesome. I read it was originally supposed to be set just after the bombs fell, as a prequel, but that was hastily changed which accounts for a lot of why civilisation is mysteriously sparse when people have picked it apart.
The VATS system was an excellent compromise of dealing with the mundane aspect of combat (and the madness of first person melee) with a nod back to how the turn based combat worked in the old games.

Fallout diehards disapproved of what Bethesda did with it. Why not New Vegas? The old band got back together to make New Vegas, the real Fallout 3. Technically it's a better game with a phenomenal amount of effort put into making it's interweaving story work. Unfortunately by the time it came out, it looked even more low rent and dated, a cheap Fallout 3 retread and the storyline had so much effort put into it to the point that it could be overbearing. I loved the original games but I wasn't particularly bothered by the canonical story, it was the feeling of desolation and the mood that worked. Fallout New Vegas should be better, but the magic was gone. It had too much talking, it had too much stuff, the realistic locations just meant loads of wide empty spaces, but without the intrigue.

Anyway, the main joy of the game was still blasting someone and watch them faceplant as their arm flew off and skidded across the room.

This would have been my main pick for a long time, I have some others...

[Jez]

http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1315370853-00.jpg
"I never asked for this"

It's hard to put my finger on what exactly I loved about Deus Ex so much but something about it just clicked with me as soon as I started playing it. I had never played any of the series, and knew very little about the story before playing but once I began I was in love with the world, the characters, the tech and the gameplay. I recognise it has its flaws, in particular the boss battles which were very difficult and far too spray and pray for a game designed to offer the player a choice in play style but I overlooked all that and enjoyed it for what it was.

The fact that the game is often overlooked and isn't quite as mainstream as the likes of Call of Duty, Skyrim and Assassin's Creed is a shame because I genuinely feel most gamers would find something to enjoy in Human Revolution. There is a lot of interest in future technology as seen in the likes of the new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and films like Elysium and this game offers a fairly realistic interpretation of what augmentation technology could offer us in a few generation's time.

To say that I am excited to see what kind of cyber punk world the latest consoles can support is a bit of an understatement, hopefully Deus Ex Universe doesn't disappoint like Thief did.

[Kdestiny]

Totally agreed on Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Both are on my list of favorites just because there was so much you can do there!

I will probably get another one posted today.

[Atty]

Mass Effect is an interesting game, if a bit wonky and unbalanced in some aspects but that gives it a charm. I liked the mako driving bits even though they're also quite terrible. Mass Effect 2 was an absolute high spot that they were doomed to fall from in 3, and fall they did. It's only complaint about 2 would be that it is polished a lot more than 1, which is good but also makes it feel slightly less charming. 3 has the multiplayer aspect which is actually quite fun in itself. The story in 3 is garbage and nonsense.

1 is really fascinating. It's the last one I properly played and I went in expecting it to be the weakest. After an IMMEDIATE second and third run, I left thinking it was the best overall. It's got so much of BioWare's KOTOR in it that it's just perfect for me.

[Kdestiny]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/LA-Noire-Box-Art.jpg

I had never been as excited for a game as I was for this one. My expectations shot through the roof.

I played through it and I ended up disappointed. Why did this game feel so underwhelming?

The ending wasn't great, so why did I want to invest myself in this?

I recently played through the whole game again and I have a new perspective on it completely. I enjoyed it much more because (being a psychology guy) I was intrigued by how Cole's psyche was ever changing through the entire game. He starts as this wholesome man and his change is just so interesting to me now.

The story of this game originally was lacking, but once I got another look it all made sense. Someone who thought they had it all only thought all was well. He got in too deep. Then the redemption.

It was all very well voiced too and the look of the game is absolutely stunning. The facials on each person was absolutely top notch as you could actually see what a person was feeling. The concept of figuring out whether someone was lying or not went really well with this motion capture (or whatever it is) because you could figure out each person's tick.

I got this game again thanks to XBox Gold for free, and I am not regretting it. It's another game I beat entirely and it's another one that I am sure I will keep going back to because of how unique it is.

[Kyle_242]

That's an interesting take, since I had the same initial reaction that you had.

I think the story was actually decent, and the technology was really, really cool. Unfortunately the game just had a ton of design issues. They built this fantastic city with absolutely nothing to do in it. They had this great facial technology that led to a really annoying interrogation mechanic that just didn't really pan out. They recycled a few different mission types over and over with very little variety (WHY DO THEY ALWAYS RUN!!?).

I think LA Noire's biggest flaw was that it had so, so much potential. Shame they'll never return to it to try to get it right a la Ass Creed 2.

[Kyle_242]

This thread needs more indy cred, so let's talk about Hotline Miami!


http://media.indiedb.com/images/articles/1/121/120898/auto/1390856492394234_284987734948280_1781522247_n_larg e_verge_medium_landscape.jpg

As a lover of all things 80's, this game was nothing like I expected, but in a very good way. I expected it to be over-the-top, and it is, but in a dark Twin Peaks sense. Right from the opening screen, the vibe is less playful than it is disturbing, and the beginning of the game cements that. You really have no idea why you're doing what you're doing until well into the game, and even then it takes some attention to detail to piece everything together.

Story aside, the gameplay is fantastic. If you're really good, you could theoretically clear each chapter in about 15 seconds by going in guns blazing. But if you're like me, you treat it almost like a puzzle game, getting a bit further each time before you realize "fuck, that asshole with a shotgun can shoot me through the window". It's a great candidate for speedruns (if you're into that sort of thing), but more importantly the carnage just feels extremely satisfying. And the music is perfect, very rarely do I feel like I can't put a game down because of the soundtrack, but playing this was one of those times.

I think you can find it on any platform for pretty cheap these days if you haven't played it yet, and the sequel is right around the corner. Not only that, you can finish it in a few hours. Definitely worth your time. :yes:

[The Rick]

If we are talking about any digital games we have to talk about


http://25.media.tumblr.com/bf8a79d61952f22ed05284e848f96e1e/tumblr_mj9y1n4rkO1rpnsjko1_1280.jpg



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

Journey is an amazing experience. From the start where you are given very little instruction as to where to go, or what to do. You are set in the middle of a dessert to wander and explore. Meeting up with another wanderer was pretty cool especially when you find out that it was actually someone else controlling them. There is no voice chat, and that is to the game's credit. You slowly progress through the ruins of a once impressive civilization. There are so many stunning visuals that accompany you whilst gliding and sliding about through the world.

There are some pretty great digital games, but I would put this game up amongst the best of the generation.

[Beefy]

Yeah Journey would have been my pick for this. Amazing 'experience'.

[Atty]

Journey is exactly the type of game I made this thread for. I really need to go back and play it properly. When I touched it before, it was around Christmas when I had buckets of games to play and I only played it for a bit and not at all properly. Maybe after these Silent Hill 2 and AC 2 runs are done, I'll properly play it.

[Kdestiny]

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTW0dEmLF7S40-n_mxWkXOtaas45Ey58RxycCYYZWPJ2x-7WhKc


This one won many awards and I know why. It is a different game where it's really a choose your own adventure which I love. It also really gets you invested in certain characters to where you are either pulling for them or hoping they would piss off.

There are some strong characters, and even though you don't really get to play much, it's almost the same style as Heavy Rain where it is part game and part cinematic experience.

The art style is really great too, there is no way I will be missing any of Telltale Games future products (Borderlands)...

Season 2 is a lot of fun as well, but that one isn't finished yet so I can't include that.

By the end of the game I was a bit teary eyed for the Clem/Lee scene at the very end when he is dying and you are forced to either leave Lee to turn or to end it there. It's really heart-wrenching.

[The Rogerer]

Fallout diehards disapproved of what Bethesda did with it. Why not New Vegas? The old band got back together to make New Vegas, the real Fallout 3. Technically it's a better game with a phenomenal amount of effort put into making it's interweaving story work. Unfortunately by the time it came out, it looked even more low rent and dated, a cheap Fallout 3 retread and the storyline had so much effort put into it to the point that it could be overbearing. I loved the original games but I wasn't particularly bothered by the canonical story, it was the feeling of desolation and the mood that worked. Fallout New Vegas should be better, but the magic was gone. It had too much talking, it had too much stuff, the realistic locations just meant loads of wide empty spaces, but without the intrigue.I keep thinking about this. I've played New Vegas more than Fallout 3 now, and it's still a funny thing. New Vegas is very hard to get into because it overloads the system - every character is holding 20 items instead of the 3, your quest log gets filled in with a fat stack of quests that you won't resolve any time soon, and they had strong limitations. It's like they weaved this fantastic narrative in where you can go and pull out so many jenga blocks and everything still holds together. It looks ugly and was really buggy until there were more patches. It's a diamond in the rough, maybe hard to recommend, but there's a hell of a game under there.

[Kyle_242]

I'd rank New Vegas up there with one of my favorite games ever played. I've only played it through once, but it was extremely memorable (even after Fallout 3), and I keep getting the urge to back and re-visit it. Pretty much everyone I know that's played it has played it through more than once.

Fallout's odd though, because you find people who either love it or hate it with not many people who fall in-between. I've talked to just as many people who've told me that they tried Fallout for a couple hours and it did nothing for them.