Random Gaming Thoughts

[BogusMeatFactory]

I'm looking for a game...

My wife and I had a lot of fun playing Her Story together. It was a game we could think about and discuss while playing. There was no action stuff, yet it was a lot more interactive than something like a visual novel. And it was an experience that we could feel satisfied with in a single evening. So I was trying to think of other games that might sort of fit this bill. It occurred to me that the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective games probably are sort of similar - though I'm not sure how it would take to beat one. BUT having said that, neither of us are really big fans of Sherlock Holmes in general.

So can anyone think of similar games that aren't Sherlock ones?

I am very sorry that I am late to the party with this topic in particular, but I have to put my two cents in on suggestions. A lot of people are recommending L.A. Story and I would to a degree, but it is a double edged sword. If they would just remove the driving and shooting elements, the game would be 100% what you guys need, as the interrogation and investigation elements are spectacular and special.

My recommendation is this... and it is a crazy one so bear with me. URU: Ages Beyond Myst/Myst Online: URU Live. I know I know! I talk about this a lot, but I genuinely think that this is a game worth playing and you both would enjoy. The first reason why I suggest it is because it is FREE! Sure you need an internet connection and it is an online game, but can be handled entirely solo or with your wife if you both have computers (and I suggest doing it that way!) You do not need to have previous experience in the Myst games and I actually recommend playing URU FIRST, because the game has a larger focus on world-building/story versus puzzles, which are fewer and rely more on exploration and experimentation. If she has a PC, you both can explore the worlds and solve the puzzles together and having two brains is far better than one, especially when the worlds change and morph in ways that can only be seen when two people play in different parts of the worlds. If you decide to play this, let me know, because there is a tiny bit of a primer on what to do when you get started that I can help you with as one of the biggest flaws the game has is the lack of a great introduction.

If you decide to tackle the games, I suggest playing URU, Myst V, Myst, Riven in that order. You can skip the third and fourth games, as all you need to know from them are two tiny facts and they do nothing to really elevate the series.

Cronozilla has had a taste of URU and is very intrigued and he walked around with me in the game as I gave him history and backstory to the places he visited.

I second people's recommendation of To the Moon, as it is a larger story focused game and really worth experience. Grab your tissues though!

Another big one I would recommend the Gabriel Knight series, especially the second, The Beast Within. These games are great amalgamations of investigation, interrogation and puzzle solving a-la the typical point and click adventure game. What makes them better is their noir style and horror/supernatural elements. The games are excellent and why I suggest the Beast Within the most is because of the FMV elements. Sure the acting isn't the greatest, but there is a level of charm there because of it.

Another game I would recommend is Contradiction, which is for Mac and PC. It is a Murder Mystery FMV game that pleases. It is not quite at the level of Her Story, but it is cheap and utilizes the FMV sequences in great ways to again capture the nuance of a person's body language.

I am including a huge compendium of FMV games Here that you can pick through at your leisure. Some are great, some are horrible, but they give you a good sense of where FMV games have gone and where they are going and may give you some good ideas on what to play.

Again, my number 1 pick is the Myst games in the order provided. URU is free and spectacular. If you can't see why, just ask and I will show you!

[Stark]

Contradiction looks great. I really want to get to that one.

[noiseredux]

great post bogus!

My wife does have her own gaming PC, so URU Live is an interesting choice. Especially being free. Might look into that - not sure how soon. But keeping it in my mind.

The only Myst I ever played was the original and I couldn't get into it.

To The Moon, I am very interested in. But I'm not sure I want to use such a depressing game as something to do on a "date night." We'll see.

My wife played the first Gabriel Knight and found it frustrating. I imagine Beast Within is pretty different though in design?

Thanks for the FMV site list, too. That looks like a lot of good info.

[Stark]

My wife played the first Gabriel Knight and found it frustrating. I imagine Beast Within is pretty different though in design?

Not really. It plays a lot like the original, but with FMV instead of pixel art. I seem to remember it being a little easier to figure out though, but BMF might have played it more recently then I have. Oh, and you play as two characters, which seemed pretty novel at the time.

[BogusMeatFactory]

great post bogus!

My wife does have her own gaming PC, so URU Live is an interesting choice. Especially being free. Might look into that - not sure how soon. But keeping it in my mind.

The only Myst I ever played was the original and I couldn't get into it.

To The Moon, I am very interested in. But I'm not sure I want to use such a depressing game as something to do on a "date night." We'll see.

My wife played the first Gabriel Knight and found it frustrating. I imagine Beast Within is pretty different though in design?

Thanks for the FMV site list, too. That looks like a lot of good info.

I understand your feelings towards the original Myst, especially if you played it later in its life. The game is a strange one. There is a reason why I place it later and that is because having a better understanding of the world and history of Myst helps drive you to play the original just a bit more. You learn about the characters and where they end up in URU and Myst V to the point where you want to see where they come from and what they have gone through. It also helps you understand how deep the rabbit hole goes when you play a game like URU, look back at the original and see the parallels in storytelling. They really had a world made in Myst and fleshed it out to an insane degree in Riven and the fruits of that work is seen in URU and Myst V.

With Beast Within, it is still very similar in design to the first, but the puzzles aren't completely obtuse like the third game is and one particular puzzle in the first. I think that is why it is a better game to be played with as a group. If you aren't an old-school adventure game nut, you need to have a wingman to give you a different set of eyes. It makes things a bit easier.

[Erik_Twice]

Today I decided to check out some of the usual sites. Everyone has the same stories. It's such a shit show. I think everyone just piggybacks off each other's work. I visited no less than 5 sites all of which had the same 4-5 stories on their front page.

They do. Most of the big sites scrap articles from each other, Reddit and Neogaf. The main reason is that the big sites focus on publishing as many articles as quickly as possible because volume drives significantly more traffic than in-depth articles or reviews. This is why you get PR statements and easy, quick comments on recent topics.

[MrPopo]

I have no idea what this is, but it's Vanillaware and involves giant mechs. I want it.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I thought all us weeaboos could read Japanese. It says Thirteen Sentinel Aegis Rim. I'll buy if it comes to Vita in the US.

[Fragems]

If you have a PS3 it might be interesting to try out Beyond Two Souls co-op. You could handle Jodie doing all the QTEs and the handful of third person shooter sections while your wife plays as Aiden a telekinetic spirit that can't really be messed with. There is a branching story as well so there are not a ton of ways to get a game over either.


Sadly it sounds like only one character can be controlled at a time though so while you can use two controllers only one person can be active at a time.

http://kotaku.com/beyond-two-souls-is-b ... 1443204688

[Damm64]

I ended up mixed on MGS 2 in the end, the final cutscene was about 30 minutes long and the general feel was "too much talk but little reward" the games ends with a awkard melee fight but against someone you barely know and didnt show itself in great matter until the last third of the game, the game clearly ends with a clinfhanger in plenty of ways with the patriots and the next assigments of Snake. So i think Kojima was either full of it when he said, several times, that "this is the last MGS" he either A) Wanted to troll his fans in order to make some noise when the next metal gear actually was announced B) He didn't have any idea on how to continue his own story so he said "I want it to leave it a mystery", there's some thing that you can leave a in the shadows but not this.

I find it funny how this game barely uses Raiden''s backstory despite that you play him for about 9 hours and revengence actually did a better job doing this part in a 5 hour, more over the top, more silly game.

If i talk about the mechanics themselves the game is far superior than its predecesor, tough the stealth is still a bit wonky and the fact that you need to find terminals in each section first before you can use the radar is nonsense (yes you have a thing that vibrates your controller when a "living thing" is nearby but that's barely suficient feedback to know where your enemy is), it introduces another mechanics like hanging on egdes that you can use to avoid enemies and now you can shoot in first person (now the action sequences are actually playable!). Still the game focus way too much on it's crazy story and making you go back and forth on the same rooms that dosen't use all the stuff it has to actually make a great sthealt game, but is still competent in that area.

Well this was longer than i planned, i could copy & paste this and post it under the game's beaten!