Rate the Last Game You Played

[g_bassi13]

Transistor - 6.25/10

It was highly upsetting, as I expected better from Supergiant Games. It looks sublime, one of, if not the, most beautiful games I've ever looked at in my life. The gameplay was brilliant, even better than bastion, with great powers and combination mechanics.

But the story? Oh God the story. Not just the story itself, but the awful, disjointed storytellng. The story itself had potential, but it got caught up in the pretentiousness that just ramps up as the game moves along. By the ending I just stopped giving a frack about what was happening, despite giving them all the benefit of a doubt that comes from being the creators of Bastion.

It recycled a lot of elements from Bastion, mainly in its core premise and the state of its world, but the destruction and desolation just isn't as palpable. It just feels like an empty city, and the empathy is lacking. Motivations aren't explored. The narrator is bland and un-engaging.

Despite the entirety of the story being week in my opinion, the worst comes at the ending, where the game gives up trying to make coherent sense, and jumps into a philosophy lecture. And unlike Bastion, the game forces it's own feelings and personability on you, rather than letting you explore it for yourself. The powerful moments in Bastion where you can choose to see a fallen friend or a traitor, or when you see renewal and rebirth through different lenses, are comparatively missing in Transistor, which offers no choices. You just do whatever your character wants, and like the rest of the game, it's awkwardly forced, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

I loved the pause based combat, and its use in conjunction with the power bar/move limiter. It created a unique but familiar way to approach real time tactics. All the different powers, and the ability to place them into active, supplementary, and passive roles worked great, as you got a chance to feel through them as you tried different combinations to different results while fighting. It's one of those things where I'm sure everyone has wildly diverging character builds.

And again the game is visually stunning, and is accompanied by a great soundtrack. It would have been so easy to get immersed in the world if the storytelling was working against it.

As is, I don't have any interest in really replaying the game, but I would love to stick to the combat contest/training chambers to get the best of the game without the anchor of the campaign weighing it down.

[DollarAndADream]

The Witcher 3 - 10/10

Not really good at writing reviews, but great story, great gameplay, and great graphics. Having been a gamer for many years, this game actually is my favorite game of all time now. Everything about it, is... amazing.

The game really is amazing. I've put it off for a bit now that I've been playing Batman: Arkham Knight and Rocket League, though.

Also g_bassi, I still haven't gotten around to playing Transistor. It got to a point where I wanted to wait for a Steam Sale, but then PS Plus had it as one of the free games of the month, so I grabbed it there.

[g_bassi13]

Also g_bassi, I still haven't gotten around to playing Transistor. It got to a point where I wanted to wait for a Steam Sale, but then PS Plus had it as one of the free games of the month, so I grabbed it there.

My opinion on the story is pretty subjective, but what I had to say about the gameplay is not. It's worth checking out for that alone at least, before you gauge the rest of it.

[JohnScott]

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2

So good. So much nostalgia.

8.8/10

[g_bassi13]

Hyrule Warriors - 7.75/10

Dragon Ball Xenoverse - 7.5/10

They're both the last two games I've played, and I don't feel the need to separate the two in review as they're both the same game at least in concept. You take two worlds that are rich in lore, you contrive some story plot that falls within acceptable expectations within said world, that does little more than to serve as a means to bring all characters and lore into the same arena, and then use weak plot points to string together the gaps between these fighting set pieces.

And both games are great, at least in moderate doses. Better than what I expected out of either. Neither revolutionize their combat, but both deliver to the best of what their series offers. Dragonball Xenoverse is the best Dragon Ball game I've played, and while Hyrule Warriors is obviously not even in the league of Zelda games, it is better than all of the Dynasty Warrior games.

In Dragon Ball Xenoverse the novelty lies in throwing your custom fighter into these historic battles, and it does work out well, even if some fights are horribly balanced and paced. I was more concerned about how the story was skipping many major fights and plotlines than I was about how those fights played out, per se. Certain costumes took to long to unlock, or become available in the store as well. The best part of the game for me was the freedom in customizing a move set, and finding masters to teach me their techniques. At the end of the day it had it so I was just spamming Destructo Discs all fight, but I appreciate my freedom to do so.

In Hyrule Warriors I think the novelty lied more in the ability to play as characters you never had played as before, and doing so on a large scale through bombastic combat. While the game is not deep, there is a sense of satisfaction in mowing through enemies. I don't know why they needed to throw in that made up anime chick into their game (even if she fought pretty well), but I guess Tecmo Koei's gotta do, what Tecmo Koei loves doing. Though for the most part what they did here was make a balanced and enjoyable game.

Both games wear out their welcome for the same reasons, but offer enough through their main campaigns that they're worth playing through and finishing. A thumbs up for both.

[Monty]

Game of Thrones - Telltale Games

So far I've played through episodes 1-5, with only one more remaining. It's been an up and down series so far. At times it shows a lot of promise, while other times it has just gone completely off the rails. But I understand that it can't be easy for that team.

After a successful "season" with The Wolf Among Us, making your decisions actually matter in the long run and how it will affect the ultimate outcome from episode to episode and the ending, Telltale jumped from you controlling one character in a story to 4 in Game of Thrones. The result, so far, has been a mixed bag. Two of the characters have been handled very well and have "ok" stories. Another character you control has been handled poorly, but has the most interesting storyline of the 4. And then one has been a complete write off on both character and story.

The ending to the last episode, much the like the ending to episode one, was terrific and could make for a very great finale. However, I'm also not holding out too much hope.

So far, a 6.5/10.

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Then, on the other hand from Telltale, you have...

Tales from the Borderlands

They've released 3 episodes in 8 months! That said, the voice acting, writing, story, and characters are phenomenal. Every decision actually matters, and none more than your decision at the end of episode 2. The decision you make there completely changes the story, relationships, and outcome in the entire 3rd episode. It's no wonder the Telltale team took such a long (and criticized) time between episodes 2 & 3.

So far, I would absolutely give this a 10/10. Tons of fun.

[Junkyard Dog]

League of Legends. 10/10 because I won the game I just played.

[WHL rocks]

Agar.io. 9/10

Arghhghgh, so addicting and frustrating at the same time. made it to 1900+.

[Guest]

Dragonball: XenoVerse - 8/10

Kinda has the Destiny style "MMO" feel to it. The main story isn't very long, so you spend most of your time grinding away in the side quests hoping to get the drops you want / need, but the missions are all pretty fast thankfully.

Fun gameplay, cool character creation, easy to play with friends or randoms. Worth a look if you're a DB fan

[Kryten]

Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - 3/10

This game annoys me to no end. Repetitive gameplay and quests (find monster using senses, rinse, repeat). The combat is also very basic and there are many issues with the collision detection (not to mention glitches throughout). Losing hours of gameplay to loading glitches especially sucks when the quests you have to repeat are so tedious.

I have never been so bored playing an open-world RPG in my entire life.

Most half-decent games make it a struggle to drop the controller and take a break, this game made it a struggle to pick the controller up to continue. The main reason why I bothered to continue playing the game was Gwent. I would rather just play Gwent for hours than the actual game itself.

Really not impressed at all, especially after reading some reviews. It boggles my mind that people actually enjoy this game. Immediate trade in as I will never play this game again.

[g_bassi13]

Life is Strange is maybe the best game I've ever played in my life, or at least it's a personal favourite. I can't really overstate it. I wasn't planning on playing it until it finished, as I hate episodic releases and think they are an awful way of distributing a game. My friend gifted it to me the first episode, so I installed it to give it a play. After doing so I bought the rest of it because I couldn't stop. I can't imagine buying it when it first came out, to have to play it in 3-4 hour spurts between 2 month waits. Luckily I at least started when the last episode was only a couple of weeks away at most.

Makes playing that Telltale Walking Dead game seem like even more crap, even though I already thought that game was crap after playing it the one time. Seeing how a game could be made with real emotion instead of forced ones, and a game handle choice in a tangible and massively game altering manner make me appreciate it all the more when I've seen it done poorly previously. It's so obvious where all your choices made a difference, vs. The Walking Dead where I was keeping count of all the times it didn't (by the end of the game it was everything).

I'll probably give it a full review after the last episode comes out, but right now it's at least a 9.5/10 for me. If it keeps on track it could be 10/10. It's just so atmospheric, you have so much control, and it's written and choreographed in a perfectly cinematic manner. The adventure gameplay is not too robust, but the rewind feature gives you an element of problem solving and progression that's pretty unique. But any choose your own adventure tale, or adventure game, rely on the ability for the story and the storytelling to carry them. It does, and then some.

[Monty]

Life is Strange is maybe the best game I've ever played in my life, or at least it's a personal favourite. I can't really overstate it. I wasn't planning on playing it until it finished, as I hate episodic releases and think they are an awful way of distributing a game. My friend gifted it to me the first episode, so I installed it to give it a play. After doing so I bought the rest of it because I couldn't stop. I can't imagine buying it when it first came out, to have to play it in 3-4 hour spurts between 2 month waits. Luckily I at least started when the last episode was only a couple of weeks away at most.

Makes playing that Telltale Walking Dead game seem like even more crap, even though I already thought that game was crap after playing it the one time. Seeing how a game could be made with real emotion instead of forced ones, and a game handle choice in a tangible and massively game altering manner make me appreciate it all the more when I've seen it done poorly previously. It's so obvious where all your choices made a difference, vs. The Walking Dead where I was keeping count of all the times it didn't (by the end of the game it was everything).

I'll probably give it a full review after the last episode comes out, but right now it's at least a 9.5/10 for me. If it keeps on track it could be 10/10. It's just so atmospheric, you have so much control, and it's written and choreographed in a perfectly cinematic manner. The adventure gameplay is not too robust, but the rewind feature gives you an element of problem solving and progression that's pretty unique. But any choose your own adventure tale, or adventure game, rely on the ability for the story and the storytelling to carry them. It does, and then some.

I've been vocal about how much I enjoy episodic games, especially The Wolf Among Us and, what I believe is best of them all in Tales from the Borderlands.

As for Life is Strange, I've been playing it since it first came out. While the first 3 episodes were fantastic, episode 4 took a nosedive. To me, not only a mistep, but a massive turd compared to the first 3.

The fact that episode 3 ends with the cliffhanger of your friend in a wheelchair, only for episode 4 to basically start by saying "Oh, by the way, that doesn't happen. So we hope you enjoyed the first hour; you know, a complete waste of gameplay." It was also very predictable with who the villain was, something I was really hoping wasn't going to be the case (teacher)

.

I'm hoping episode 5 corrects the mistakes that episode 4 had. If certain events that took place in episode 4 end up happening, then it was a great transition episode.

I still stick by Tales from the Borderlands being the strongest of them all.

[Guest]

Nothing touches the Game of Thrones release by Telltale. It is superb.

[Monty]

Nothing touches the Game of Thrones release by Telltale. It is superb.

Disagree. While episode 1 and episode 5 have been alright, there has been too many inconsistencies. Some of the characters have been handled very well, while others have been downright terrible. Also, Daenerys' dialogue and character are handled even worse in the game than she has been in the show, which is saying something.

It's certainly not as bad as the first season of TWD, but it has been far too inconsistant. With some episodes being phenomenal (episode 1), some great (episode 5), and others downright terrible (episode 4).

[thejazz97]

RYSE isn't half-bad for a Day One game. It's fairly bloody, but the movements are smooth for the most part.

6/10.

[g_bassi13]

I've been vocal about how much I enjoy episodic games, especially The Wolf Among Us and, what I believe is best of them all in Tales from the Borderlands.

As for Life is Strange, I've been playing it since it first came out. While the first 3 episodes were fantastic, episode 4 took a nosedive. To me, not only a mistep, but a massive turd compared to the first 3.

The fact that episode 3 ends with the cliffhanger of your friend in a wheelchair, only for episode 4 to basically start by saying "Oh, by the way, that doesn't happen. So we hope you enjoyed the first hour; you know, a complete waste of gameplay." It was also very predictable with who the villain was, something I was really hoping wasn't going to be the case (teacher)

.

I'm hoping episode 5 corrects the mistakes that episode 4 had. If certain events that took place in episode 4 end up happening, then it was a great transition episode.

I still stick by Tales from the Borderlands being the strongest of them all.

I saw that more as a slight against episode 3 than 4. It was a pretty big leap, and it was obvious from the moment we saw Chloe in a wheelchair that storyline wasn't going to be too relevant. I could see the euthanasia choice becoming relevant somehow. It took up some unnecessay time in episode 4 and it dragged things down, but there wasn't much to be done when the thing started already dragged into it.

But in episode 4 you got to see the culmination of choices in how Frank was dealt with, like whether Chloe had a gun, whether Frank was agitated with you, whether you previously tried to kill him, whether his dog was alive or not. It all factors into how the scene played out (Chloe shot Frank the first time through for me).

Even you're ability to convince Victoria her life is in danger goes through a similar checklist system, based on what you've said and done with her.

So the episode was fine on most fronts for me. I think Chloe dying at the end signals that there will be more time based hijinks to undo whatever emotional impact that was supposed to carry. And if it can't be undone, it will be the exact kind of Walking Dead crap I was talking about earlier. So either way that ending was weak, outside of the Mr. Jefferson reveal.

I can't say I even relate to the main character too much, but the whole thing has grabbed me emotionally. Makes me even more pissed when they released the final episode's release date today, and it's 3 months separated from the last entry as opposed to the customary 2 months for the game so far. I just want to finish it, lol.

I haven't played Tales of Borderlands but I'm gun shy after The Walking Dead, and everything that I know about their Game of Thrones game. Maybe it was my mistake to use that game as a platform to try to get back into the Telltale games with, but it makes me not want to try the others, even if I want to take your word for it

[Monty]

I saw that more as a slight against episode 3 than 4. It was a pretty big leap, and it was obvious from the moment we saw Chloe in a wheelchair that storyline wasn't going to be too relevant. I could see the euthanasia choice becoming relevant somehow. It took up some unnecessay time in episode 4 and it dragged things down, but there wasn't much to be done when the thing started already dragged into it.

But in episode 4 you got to see the culmination of choices in how Frank was dealt with, like whether Chloe had a gun, whether Frank was agitated with you, whether you previously tried to kill him, whether his dog was alive or not. It all factors into how the scene played out (Chloe shot Frank the first time through for me).

Even you're ability to convince Victoria her life is in danger goes through a similar checklist system, based on what you've said and done with her.

So the episode was fine on most fronts for me. I think Chloe dying at the end signals that there will be more time based hijinks to undo whatever emotional impact that was supposed to carry. And if it can't be undone, it will be the exact kind of Walking Dead crap I was talking about earlier. So either way that ending was weak, outside of the Mr. Jefferson reveal.

I can't say I even relate to the main character too much, but the whole thing has grabbed me emotionally. Makes me even more pissed when they released the final episode's release date today, and it's 3 months separated from the last entry as opposed to the customary 2 months for the game so far. I just want to finish it, lol.

I haven't played Tales of Borderlands but I'm gun shy after The Walking Dead, and everything that I know about their Game of Thrones game. Maybe it was my mistake to use that game as a platform to try to get back into the Telltale games with, but it makes me not want to try the others, even if I want to take your word for it

As I said, I love episodic games. And even though I find episode 4 of Life is Strange to be a massive crapfest, the game as a whole is terrific. A lot better than Game of Thrones.

I was hesitant to try Tales from the Borderlands, mainly because I have never played the FPS and knew nothing of the universe. However, the writing, voicework, balance of 2 playable characters, and humour is some of the best I've ever experienced. And it really is a game where the choices effect the games outcome, especially your decision at the end of episode 2, as it completely alters episode 3 and 4. After I read the experience is vastly different, depending on your choice, I went back and replayed it. Absolutely incredible. Very understandable why they waited nearly 4 months between episode 2 and episode 3, as the Telltale team wrote and produced 2 completely different outcomes for episode 3 and 4 entirely. And it looks like, again, that your choice at the end of episode 4 will alter the final episode and the outcome as well.

[g_bassi13]

I finished the last episode of Life is Strange. Well.... it was very disappointing. I was hoping for more interaction, and better resolution recaps. Felt that all I got was a surrealist recap of the story thus far, that while it respected and reviewed my choices, didn't forward the story properly. I don't want to go into spoilers.

If the first 2 episodes were a 10/10 or thereabouts each, and episodes 3-4 were 8ish/10 while being interspersed with brilliant moments, then this last episode finished far below them. Not really in the same league. Worth the time in that it wraps up the story, but it could have been, and maybe needed to be so much better than that.

I dunno if it's more that you were just a passenger in this episode, or whether the surrealism just felt like BS in the representations it was taking, but I tuned out part way through.

I like where they took the Chloe and Max relationship particularly in the choices, whether it remained a friendship, or turned into a romance. But the ultimate decision was a bit shit. I know they intended it to be a hard choice, but it made things feel incomplete, especially when it felt like I had to trudge through that episode as it was already.

Great game, just an unsatisfactory ending. Probably killed the chance this game had to end up as one of my all time favourites, but as an experience, it's still so worth the time to play through it. There's enough cause and effect, and proper emotional storytelling from the first few episodes alone, as I mentioned in my review of the game in a post above.

I think waiting for over a month help killed what momentum I was feeling towards playing the game, so it doomed to negatively impact my view of the episode in some way, but if it was worthwhile. Though I'm even more certain now that I will never bother to play episodic games until they're fully released. If waiting for a month killed that momentum for me like it did, I couldn't imagine playing the game over the course of a year like others.

[Monty]

I finished the last episode of Life is Strange. Well.... it was very disappointing. I was hoping for more interaction, and better resolution recaps. Felt that all I got was a surrealist recap of the story thus far, that while it respected and reviewed my choices, didn't forward the story properly. I don't want to go into spoilers.

If the first 2 episodes were a 10/10 or thereabouts each, and episodes 3-4 were 8ish/10 while being interspersed with brilliant moments, then this last episode finished far below them. Not really in the same league. Worth the time in that it wraps up the story, but it could have been, and maybe needed to be so much better than that.

I dunno if it's more that you were just a passenger in this episode, or whether the surrealism just felt like BS in the representations it was taking, but I tuned out part way through.

Hidden Content

Great game, just an unsatisfactory ending. Probably killed the chance this game had to end up as one of my all time favourites, but as an experience, it's still so worth the time to play through it. There's enough cause and effect, and proper emotional storytelling from the first few episodes alone, as I mentioned in my review of the game in a post above.

I think waiting for over a month help killed what momentum I was feeling towards playing the game, so it doomed to negatively impact my view of the episode in some way, but if it was worthwhile. Though I'm even more certain now that I will never bother to play episodic games until they're fully released. If waiting for a month killed that momentum for me like it did, I couldn't imagine playing the game over the course of a year like others.

As I played and finished this last night, I literally said, "Oh brother, I can only wonder what bassi thinks of this."

This was, without a doubt, one of the worst conclusions to anything I've experienced. I can't even begin to say how bad it is. First 3 episodes? Terrific. Penultimate episode? Ok, well, maybe they're building onto something really great. Last episode? Sweaty nutsack.

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On another note, Tales from the Borderlands dropped its last episode on Tuesday. All I can say is, "Best conclusion." While The Wolf Among Us was the reigning champ in the Telltale Series, TftBL absolutely crushed it. Incredibly witty dialogue. Phenomenal voice acting. Choices that actually mattered to the outcome. Just amazing. Unbelievable how great this game is.

[g_bassi13]

As I played and finished this last night, I literally said, "Oh brother, I can only wonder what bassi thinks of this."

This was, without a doubt, one of the worst conclusions to anything I've experienced. I can't even begin to say how bad it is. First 3 episodes? Terrific. Penultimate episode? Ok, well, maybe they're building onto something really great. Last episode? Sweaty nutsack.

--------------------------------------------------------------

On another note, Tales from the Borderlands dropped its last episode on Tuesday. All I can say is, "Best conclusion." While The Wolf Among Us was the reigning champ in the Telltale Series, TftBL absolutely crushed it. Incredibly witty dialogue. Phenomenal voice acting. Choices that actually mattered to the outcome. Just amazing. Unbelievable how great this game is.

Calling it a sweaty nutsack is totally fair. It's not worth pulling any punches on. I'm surprised at the above average reviews it's getting though. People tend to get enthralled by stupid and shallow things that are draped up to look deeper than they actually are.