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IMPress Polly
01-30-2016, 11:26 AM
What video game or games have you been playing this last month that you would recommend to others?

Here are my top picks from among the January releases. Both are inexpensive independent games available for computer and at least one home console via digital distribution.


1) THAT DRAGON, CANCER

Genre: Empathy
Platforms: Computer and Ouya
Price: $15
Completion Time: One evening.
Recommended Especially To: @PolWatch (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=1099)

I agree completely with Carolyn Petit's review of this game, so thought I'd share what she had to say about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryt_AcS7igg


2) OXENFREE

Genre: Teen Drama / Psychological Horror
Platforms: Computer and Xbox One presently, but a PlayStation 4 version is also in the works.
Price: $20
Completion Time: One evening if you skip the collecting, but branching story paths ensure lots of replay value.
Recommended Especially To: @Chloe (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=565)

Here's the written review I agreed most with (http://www.destructoid.com/review-oxenfree-334593.phtml). I couldn't find a video review containing more information than the trailers, so here's a trailer for the Xbox One version instead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUe19PJocRQ

Ethereal
01-30-2016, 01:15 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsIzqv_JvIQ

The Xl
01-30-2016, 03:07 PM
Haven't played any games released this month, unfortunately.

Green Arrow
01-30-2016, 03:26 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYNCCu0y-Is

New expansion in September!

The Xl
01-30-2016, 03:28 PM
Damn it, I need a new computer. That pos broke down like two months ago.

IMPress Polly
01-31-2016, 09:16 AM
Thanks for that contribution, Ethereal. That was fucking hilarious! :laugh: Those poor old people!


The XL wrote:
Haven't played any games released this month, unfortunately.

Oh, for clarity people, it doesn't actually have to be a game released this last month. The question I posited in the OP reads: "What video game or games have you been playing this last month that you would recommend to others?" I wanted to leave it kind of open-ended. It can be any game that you've been playing in the last month, new or old, that you'd recommend (though I'll likely tend to focus on new releases, personally). Think of this a little like the "Whatchoo Listenin To?" threads, except substitute the focus from music to video games.

Peter1469
01-31-2016, 09:28 AM
I started up a new game of Rome Total War. :smiley: First game in months.

IMPress Polly
01-31-2016, 09:46 AM
Welcome back to the game-O-sphere, Peter! :smiley:

(Incidentally, is anyone noticing a pattern of military-themed games being picked by the guys? :wink:)

Private Pickle
01-31-2016, 10:45 AM
I started up a new game of Rome Total War. :smiley: First game in months.

The Total War series is my favorite strategy series.

Here is a WWII Tank and Aircraft Sim. It's free to play off of Steam:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Fm7-7qtPI

Peter1469
01-31-2016, 11:39 AM
That looks cool.

Captain Obvious
01-31-2016, 10:38 PM
Every now and then, maybe every year or so I do a FFVII run, just finished one. Sort of.

Beat Diamond, Emerald and Ruby. Maxed my stats out too. Didn't beat Sepheroth but after Ruby the game is basically over outside of the ending cut scenes.

I really wish I could find a PC version of FF Tactics. I had that on the original PS and haven't played it in decades. Never finished the game, it's tough. Strategy based game, I'd like to give it another run.

kilgram
02-05-2016, 08:32 PM
Alice Madness Returns. Beautiful game.

Enviat des del meu Aquaris E5 usant Tapatalk

Doublejack
02-05-2016, 09:53 PM
http://www.eveonline.com/

Just getting back into EVE. I've been playing off and on for about 10 years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08hmqyejCYU&list=PLF614A7A6461E61E1&index= 26


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2X1MIR1KMs

The Xl
02-06-2016, 01:05 AM
Every now and then, maybe every year or so I do a FFVII run, just finished one. Sort of.

Beat Diamond, Emerald and Ruby. Maxed my stats out too. Didn't beat Sepheroth but after Ruby the game is basically over outside of the ending cut scenes.

I really wish I could find a PC version of FF Tactics. I had that on the original PS and haven't played it in decades. Never finished the game, it's tough. Strategy based game, I'd like to give it another run.
beating Sephiroth after Ruby is like benching 200 after benching 600. Easy as fuck.

Hal Jordan
02-06-2016, 01:58 AM
I haven't played any games in the past month... I do have some new Skyrim mods I want to try, though...

decedent
02-06-2016, 02:26 AM
I'm addicted to WWR. It's an app but it's as good as any console FPS I've played. If you don't get 'Nam flashbacks then you ain't playing it right.

http://pixonic.com/static/G8/G8cxXU7st-ZulwBQt2dNZw.pnghttp://www.tapscape.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Walking-War-Robots-4.jpg

CreepyOldDude
02-08-2016, 12:27 PM
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UyMAPr-G44

And then Fallout 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4

William
02-08-2016, 01:25 PM
The Total War series is my favorite strategy series.

Here is a WWII Tank and Aircraft Sim. It's free to play off of Steam:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Fm7-7qtPI

Hey cool beans - I've got a Steam account - how can I download the game? Is there an AI, or can you only play against someone on Steam?

Private Pickle
02-08-2016, 01:37 PM
Hey cool beans - I've got a Steam account - how can I download the game? Is there an AI, or can you only play against someone on Steam?

Just search in Steam for War Thunder and download. It is all multiplayer based. I prefer the air combat.

The Xl
02-08-2016, 02:26 PM
Thanks for that contribution, Ethereal. That was fucking hilarious! :laugh: Those poor old people!



Oh, for clarity people, it doesn't actually have to be a game released this last month. The question I posited in the OP reads: "What video game or games have you been playing this last month that you would recommend to others?" I wanted to leave it kind of open-ended. It can be any game that you've been playing in the last month, new or old, that you'd recommend (though I'll likely tend to focus on new releases, personally). Think of this a little like the "Whatchoo Listenin To?" threads, except substitute the focus from music to video games.

Oh, lol. In that case, I've been playing a lot of dynasty warriors 3 recently, which is great if you like post Han China, hack and slash gameplay, and absolutely horrific English voice acting.

kilgram
02-08-2016, 02:37 PM
Oh, lol. In that case, I've been playing a lot of dynasty warriors 3 recently, which is great if you like post Han China, hack and slash gameplay, and absolutely horrific English voice acting.
Dynasty Warriors 3? That is very old game :)

I've recently played Dynasty Warriors 8 and is great :)

I play it in with the Japanese voiceover and English subtitles, much better :) English dubs are very bad, no offense :)

IMPress Polly
02-09-2016, 09:22 AM
The game I'm about to recommend was released back in September (I'll post my top February release recommendations at the end of the month, as I did last month in the OP), but, having just completed my third journey through with every intention of playing through again in the near future, I absolutely have to put this Kickstarter-funded indie out there as an extremely solid recommendation:

UNDERTALE

Genre: Role-Playing
Platform: Computer
Price: A mere $8. Best investment in a game you'll ever make!
Completion Time: About six hours for average players (if you skip the extras), but branching story paths will likely have you playing through at least three times.
Recommended Especially To: @The Xl (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=865) , @kilgram (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=867) , @Green Arrow (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=868) , @Peter1469 (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=10) , and anyone else who has ever either played an RPG or is a retro-gamer or has a sense of humor or loves great storytelling and characters and music or appreciates games of truly holistic design. Basically, everyone should play this game!

Put quite simply, Undertale is the best RPG of the century so far and perhaps even the best of all time for my taste. We'll see how my tastes change over time, but for right now, I even like this game better than the legendary Final Fantasy VI. It's that good!

What makes it so good, you ask? The answer lies in what the game asks of the player! Here's some commentary from the PBS Ideas program on one of the key things that makes this game so distinct and compelling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSd_opycoI

In short, this is a game that asks why we play video games, and RPGs in particular. The answers the game supplies are highly customized to what combination of narrative and battle choices one makes and decisions made in one playthrough have irreversible consequences in all subsequent playthroughs as well.

Unlike most video games (especially those with strong adventure elements), Undertale makes killing enemy characters a free choice rather than a compulsion required to progress, and actively incentivizes the player against it. You evade enemy attacks by solving puzzles and have the option to either kill the enemy monster or resolve the conflict peacefully by showing mercy, flirting (:tongue:), etc. And one of the things most distinct about this game is that ALL characters therein, including all of the enemy monsters you encounter, are given personalities rather than being objectified. Enemy characters are not simply presented as obstacles in the player's path, but are instead as multi-dimensional characters with feelings, and this is what gives Undertale its true depth. The game's conclusion depends on how many monsters you freely chose to slay for experience points or other selfish ends in the course of your journey. The conclusions, as well as other related story points, are done in such a way as to reveal something about the player's motives for playing. This game will make you think hard about that.

It's worth adding that everything in this game is there for a reason. Even options like saving and resetting the game are ultimately revealed to be suspendable parts of the game's universe rather than simply tools for the player to use in order to conveniently reverse difficult decisions once their consequences are revealed. In these sorts of ways, Undertale breaks the fourth wall a lot. Everything about this game is there to aid the telling of it's morality tale. At once then Undertale accomplishes the rare feat of simultaneously giving the player a tremendous sense of freedom through its highly consequential narrative choices while simultaneously feeling like it has a strong sense of direction and purpose throughout. Everything is a metaphor for something real.

It's worth adding that while the core storyline is pretty serious and weighty, the mood is routinely lightened by a steady supply of consistently funny humor that helps one psychologically manage and process the serious choices they're making, as does Undertale's highly loveable cast of characters.

I can't recommend Undertale enough! I really can't. This has quickly become one of my very, very favorite games of all time. As you probably know by now, I've become a harsh grader when it comes to video games. This one though is among the only titles I would give a perfect score to. I can find absolutely nothing I dislike about it. For my taste anyway, Undertale is an absolutely perfect game in every way and those don't exactly come around often.

William
02-09-2016, 12:59 PM
The game I'm about to recommend was released back in September (I'll post my top February release recommendations at the end of the month, as I did last month in the OP), but, having just completed my third journey through with every intention of playing through again in the near future, I absolutely have to put this Kickstarter-funded indie out there as an extremely solid recommendation:

UNDERTALE

Genre: Role-Playing
Platform: Computer
Price: A mere $8. Best investment in a game you'll ever make!
Completion Time: About six hours for average players (if you skip the extras), but branching story paths will likely have you playing through at least three times.
Recommended Especially To: @The Xl (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=865) , @kilgram (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=867) , @Green Arrow (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=868) , @Peter1469 (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=10) , and anyone else who has ever either played an RPG or is a retro-gamer or has a sense of humor or loves great storytelling and characters and music or appreciates games of truly holistic design. Basically, everyone should play this game!

Put quite simply, Undertale is the best RPG of the century so far and perhaps even the best of all time for my taste. We'll see how my tastes change over time, but for right now, I even like this game better than the legendary Final Fantasy VI. It's that good!

What makes it so good, you ask? The answer lies in what the game asks of the player! Here's some commentary from the PBS Ideas program on one of the key things that makes this game so distinct and compelling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSd_opycoI

In short, this is a game that asks why we play video games, and RPGs in particular. The answers the game supplies are highly customized to what combination of narrative and battle choices one makes and decisions made in one playthrough have irreversible consequences in all subsequent playthroughs as well.

Unlike most video games (especially those with strong adventure elements), Undertale makes killing enemy characters a free choice rather than a compulsion required to progress, and actively incentivizes the player against it. You evade enemy attacks by solving puzzles and have the option to either kill the enemy monster or resolve the conflict peacefully by showing mercy, flirting (:tongue:), etc. And one of the things most distinct about this game is that ALL characters therein, including all of the enemy monsters you encounter, are given personalities rather than being objectified. Enemy characters are not simply presented as obstacles in the player's path, but are instead as multi-dimensional characters with feelings, and this is what gives Undertale its true depth. The game's conclusion depends on how many monsters you freely chose to slay for experience points or other selfish ends in the course of your journey. The conclusions, as well as other related story points, are done in such a way as to reveal something about the player's motives for playing. This game will make you think hard about that.

It's worth adding that everything in this game is there for a reason. Even options like saving and resetting the game are ultimately revealed to be suspendable parts of the game's universe rather than simply tools for the player to use in order to conveniently reverse difficult decisions once their consequences are revealed. In these sorts of ways, Undertale breaks the fourth wall a lot. Everything about this game is there to aid the telling of it's morality tale. At once then Undertale accomplishes the rare feat of simultaneously giving the player a tremendous sense of freedom through its highly consequential narrative choices while simultaneously feeling like it has a strong sense of direction and purpose throughout. Everything is a metaphor for something real.

It's worth adding that while the core storyline is pretty serious and weighty, the mood is routinely lightened by a steady supply of consistently funny humor that helps one psychologically manage and process the serious choices they're making, as does Undertale's highly loveable cast of characters.

I can't recommend Undertale enough! I really can't. This has quickly become one of my very, very favorite games of all time. As you probably know by now, I've become a harsh grader when it comes to video games. This one though is among the only titles I would give a perfect score to. I can find absolutely nothing I dislike about it. For my taste anyway, Undertale is an absolutely perfect game in every way and those don't exactly come around often.

Yeh, yeh, yeh! But where's the mindless violence? What sort of computer game doesn't have mindless violence!!!

IMPress Polly
02-27-2016, 03:42 PM
FEBRUARY 2016 GAME OF THE MONTH:

FIREWATCH

Genre: Mystery
Platforms: Computer and PlayStation 4
Price: $20
Completion Time: About six hours, plus lots of replay value.
Recommended Especially To: @Hal Jordan (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=994)

This is an indie game that came out on February 9th. It's about the feeling of alienation. Unlike in most video games, Firewatch addresses the subject of alienation in a serious, adult manner rather than within the confines of a ludicrous power fantasy. The writing in Firewatch is some of the very best I've ever seen in a video game in my life! I would say it's in the top three for writing, it's sole competition being from Gone Home and Undertale. It has some minor, technical flaws, but nothing that should in any way deter people from buying. The review below sums up my opinion of Firewatch to a T:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u25l3-SoFNs

BONUS!

TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS

Genre: Graphic Sci-Fi Comedy
Platforms: Computer, cell phone, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox One and 360; basically everything but Nintendo platforms and Ouya.
Price: $20 for the full game or $5 per episode (which would amount to $25 total, so just buy the season pass).
Completion Time: About 11 hours, plus massive replay value.
Recommended Especially To: @The Xl (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=865)

This game really strikes me as your style, XL! It has a lot of the qualities that anime fans enjoy in their entertainment: a look that appears partially hand-drawn and partially computer-animated (it uses cel-shading to accomplish this), heavily stylized characters, situations, and tone, comedy, clever plot twists, and a lot of expressiveness. Now like all other Telltale games, Tales From the Borderlands is a graphic adventure (i.e. an interactive movie), so the player primarily controls dialogue choices and split-second responses to various forms of endangerment rather than their character's movements most of the time (you alternate playing a couple characters with very different motivations), so if you haven't played a graphic adventure before, it may take some adjusting to this type of play. Trust me though, it's well worth it!

Thematically, this game is basically Office Space if Office Space were an interactive science fiction adventure with a Clint Eastwood aesthetic. I'll add that the experience only gets progressively better, with the fifth and final episode really standing out as the finest of all. Unlike so many others, Tales From the Borderlands not only starts out strong, but also saves its best for last. It came out over the course of a year, from late 2014 to late 2015, but I just recently got around to playing it and have to say that it's easily my favorite Borderlands game. I think you'd like it!

I think the trailer below gives you a better feel for the general tone of the game than the reviews do, so here's a look at that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Od_savz7A

The Xl
02-27-2016, 03:55 PM
Nice. Sounds good, and since it's on Xbox one I can get it. Can't get stuff on my computer, it's down and I have to get a new one. Thank for the recommendation

IMPress Polly
02-27-2016, 04:06 PM
No problem, XL! Any time. :cool2: And thanks for letting me know about the computer situation for the future.

jimmyz
02-27-2016, 04:13 PM
My plug-n-play Asteroids hand held controller hooked up to by Sony CRT TV.

IMPress Polly
03-30-2016, 05:49 AM
MARCH 2016 GAME OF THE MONTH:

ADR1FT

Genre: Space Survival / Mystery
Platforms: Currently computer, but also coming out for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Price: $20
Completion Time: About four hours.
Recommended Especially To: @Chloe (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=565) and @Dr. Who (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=612)

I was guessing a little on who to recommend this most to. I've been looking for an excuse to mention you though, Chloe, because I think I speak for at least most of us when I say that we miss having you around! It's just not the same anymore. :sad: I hope everyone will join me in echoing that sentiment.

As to Dr. Who, you came to mind when I was playing this game recently. You strike me as a mature and forward-thinking person, so I figured this might be a game you'd like.

Anyway, story-wise, ADR1FT follows astronaut Alex Oshima as she (the player) floats through the wreckage of a destroyed space station with no memory of the incident. Over the course of the game, she finds clues that piece together the events of the incident and attempts to repair the escape vehicle to return home.

Development began in 2013, following creator Adam Orth's resignation from Microsoft. Orth compares the game to the upheaval in his life following his controversial comments about the Xbox One's DRM proposal. It's a very heartfelt game about isolation and recovery and it's also pretty unique. There are other space survival games, but they revolve killing monsters and/or aliens (Dead Space Extraction comes to mind), which gives them a less adult feel than this game has. And there are likewise simulations about building a space craft (like the recent Kerbal Space Program), but those kind of straightforward simulations can get a little dull, I think. ADR1FT, in contrast, offers what I've found to be a compelling mixture of both adventure and the believable in connection to space faring. It's really the only game of its kind.

ADR1FT is also a launch game for the new Oculus Rift virtual reality headset (which just came out a couple days ago). It's my first game that's compatible with the headset and I would highly recommend playing this game with the Oculus Rift headset if it's at all feasible for you. It's just not the same without the headset. It really isn't. To give you an idea of how real the experience feels with the Oculus Rift, people who get motion sickness have reportedly had to remove their headsets from time to time. It feels that authentic! If this is any kind of harbinger of what's to come in terms of future VR titles, then I'm very excited about what the future holds!

Now ADR1FT isn't perfect because it has some secondary "gamey" conveniences, like how oxygen tanks seem to be conveniently floating around every 50 feet or so, like they'd be spread out that neatly at random, but even these minor flaws that somewhat lessen the immersion are often made up for by other mechanics. For example, when I was desperately reaching for an oxygen tank in immediate need of a refill to survive, a piece of floating debris might knock it into another room, making for some genuinely terrifying moments.

Here's a trailer to help give you some idea of what the game looks like (though, again, there's really no substitute for seeing it in VR):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8HfHRm53Uc

exotix
05-20-2016, 02:02 PM
http://www.evga.com/articles/01000/evga-fragfest-mayhem-gaming-event/

http://i67.tinypic.com/23udl40.png

Ethereal
05-21-2016, 02:53 AM
Company of Heroes, a WWII real-time strategy game:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqhz_-HypPA

In my top five favorite games of all time.

IMPress Polly
05-22-2016, 07:33 AM
Sorry I didn't post here last month. I haven't really found a new game released in April or May of this year that I would definitely recommend, but I have found a game from 2012 that seems very timely right now, given all the controversy of late surrounding public restrooms and transgender topics:

DYS4IA

Genre: Empathy / Autobiography
Platforms: Adobe Flash
Price: Absolutely free!
Completion Time: 7 to 12 minutes. (You paid nothing. What do you expect?)
Recommended Especially To: @PolWatch (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=1099)

Dys4ia is pretty unique for a couple of reasons: 1) the game's subject matter, and 2) its design.

This is an autobiographical game about one woman's experiences with hormone replacement therapy (motivations, ridicule, struggles, and triumph) that just seems like it couldn't be any more timely at this moment in America's cultural life, given all the discussion and struggles that have been going on around transgender topics over this last year. I can't really think of any other video games that address this subject so directly.

In terms of design, I'll bet you've probably never played a narrative-driven mini-game collection before, have you? It's a pretty unique experience! The simple mini-games that serve as the interactive elements provide a touch of playfulness to the brief story that helps give it a strong sense of personality. Fret not about your skill level though, as Dys4ia is hardly concerned with such "gamey" conventions as winning and losing. You can't really "win" or "lose". You instead simply participate and experience.

Since the game is so short, figured I might as well just post a playthrough of the whole thing. The complete playthrough below shows you what the game is like from start to finish in just under seven minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8x9hjGBY7c

exotix
07-27-2016, 08:39 PM
http://i64.tinypic.com/10xg6fr.png

IMPress Polly
08-21-2016, 03:48 PM
I think it's time for another Game of the Month! For August 2016 releases, I already know what my favorite is:

BOUND

Genre: Atmosphere-Driven Mystery
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Price: $17
Completion Time: Two hours. (Or more if you take advantage of the unlockable time trial mode.)
Recommended Especially To: @Chloe (http://thepoliticalforums.com/member.php?u=565)

This game instantly made me think of you, Chloe, since it's about a ballerina and I remember you mentioning before that you enjoyed ballet. :smiley:

It is worth saying this: Bound is definitely a game that's about its story, not so much the "gamey" elements. Like in many other atmosphere-driven games, it's more of an emotional/aesthetic experience than a quality action romp. Evaluated as a puzzle-based platforming game, it comes up short. But evaluated based on its narrative and the close connection between the themes and the play mechanics, this is one of the better games of the whole year to date, in my view. It has some personal resonance with me as well, as a game that sort of revolves around the question of how we can use our escapes in life (implicitly: sports, dreams, games, whatever) to overcome fears left over from traumatic experiences. It doesn't provide complete clarity -- a definite formula -- in that connection, but I think that's because there just isn't one in life. In this connection, Bound might be perhaps considered the thematic inverse of Child of Light, which (in contrast to its title) is actually a very dark game that conveys escapism not as a potentially useful tool to impact our real lives, but as an end unto itself; as the only means of survival that introverted people (such as yours truly) have. To this end, in my view both games might be seen to complement each other in providing equal and opposite spins on the same theme; Bound's being the more positive, optimistic one. I think of it kind of like how I see Depression Quest and Actual Sunlight as complementary games that deserve to be played one right after the other.

Well anyway, for a more detailed look at Bound, here's Anita Sarkeesian's review, which is pretty good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfcgu2TR5o
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfcgu2TR5o)
...And for good measure, here's a brief look at Child of Light: the game I was thinking of a good logical complement to Bound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRIJhsWILI4