I picked up the new Tomb Raider game. I think the open world thing is pretty neat and it has awesome graphics even for the Xbox 360, but there are some things I really don't like about the game like for instance it just holds your hand too much. The survival instinct thing that allows you to basically X-ray scan the area and see enemies and such is so stupid and I don't use it at all, but now that I don't use it the game constantly fucking reminds me that I should use it every time there's enemies or something on the screen and you can't turn hints off in the options, that pisses me off. But yeah, so far I've enjoyed it regardless of that.

How far are you? The game opens up quite a bit, and there is a hell of a lot of stuff to find that can't easily be found with the instincts button.

I'm only maybe 2,5 hours into the game.

Can you tell me where that location is, exactly? I can't remember the times, just the events.

Still one of my favourite games ever.

Well I advanced quite a bit since that post, I think I just completed this monastery part where I had to bring down a bell and some supernatural shit was going on. I'm enjoying the shit out of the game right now, I would like to be able to play stealthily and avoid gunfights though, but that doesn't seem to be possible. Also, can I free roam the island if I complete the story or do I have to do that in the between of objectives?

You can indeed freeroam after the game.

You're about a third of the way through, then. Stealth can be done, upgrade your bow and skills, you will be forced into the occasional gunbattle but if you get a chance to shoot an arrow at an enemy, take it.

Like Manco, I'd have played "The Last of Us" - But unfortunately I don't own a PS3. So instead I watched the entire thing on Youtube over the past 4 days, like a 15 hour long movie.

It left me contemplating it for a long while after I'd finished watching - Modern society mostly abandoned for 20 years and left to ruin, a fungus which drives people insane and mutates them, deep characters which undertake a long, epic journey which we witness slowly bonding together and succeeding against impossible odds, only to be betrayed in the end... Dark stuff portraying the fragility of humanity, and a story that for once isn't all sunshine and roses. Not original, but stuff like that isn't normally shown in prolonged detail in other games and films.

The gameplay didn't seem to me to be very groundbreaking but Naughty Dog did really well with the setting, atmosphere, environment detail - Brilliant voice acting, motion capture and excellent facial animation really helped with immersion, too. I just wish I played it rather than watch someone else play it. :/ Platform exclusivity needs to die horribly.

Super Metroid. It's aged really well. I've just finished collecting all of the health/missile expansions, and off to fight Mother Brain.

I'll be buying the Jak and Daxter collection for Vita tomorrow. If it's not as good as you guys keep saying then I'll vandalize your blogs for the next couple of months.

No no no, don't do that. There was a bug yesterday that allowed you to download it for free so I did and my god is it a bad port. Just get the collection for PS3. Even the original PS2 versions play and look better than the Vita collection. They did a very, very mediocre job.

But I don't have a PS3. I don't have a PS2 either.

Oh. I still wouldn't recommend the collection.

Prepare your blog, Dyna

I misread blog as butt.

It works so much better.

I made a typo.

Okay I read a couple of reviews and using the back touchpad in place of shoulder buttons sounds as appealing as sludge. Maybe I'll get the Sly Cooper game instead.

Finished Tiny & Big. It was waaaay too short. Not much longer than Portal

My brother got me Dragon's Dogma for my birthday.
I'm not too far into it, but so far it's looking pretty good. There's just some issues that bring it down, like the control scheme. It makes no sense, like B is the action button for some reason. It's also really really hard. I'm playing it on easy and yet I can't walk 2 minutes down the road without being attacked by about 20 bandits or monsters or something, and each enemy does loads of damage and they're insanely hard to kill, so it can get fustrating.
The interface is really convoluted too, like the inventory and stuff, but I guess that won't be a problem because you just get used to it. The NPCs are annoying, they help you fight and stuff, but their lines are unbelievably repetative, and they fall down every 2 minutes so you have to go and help them. I can't tell you how many times I've heard my followers say "what a large tree". They do heal you when you get hurt though, which is good.
The game is also really unclear about what it wants you to do, you have to go around all over theplace talking to people trying to find which one has the quest for you. The graphics are probably the biggest let-down though because they're really terrible, because I don't have enough space on my Xbox to install the HD texture pack, so the graphics look like shit. It's really disappointing too because I bet it looks amazing when you install it.
The dragons themselves don't look too amazing, just like normal dragons, but they're so fuc king big that it doesn't matter, they're epic. Again, though, I can't install the texture pack so they look crappy which is really sad. The combat is fucking amazing though, it's just annoying that the enemies are so hard.
Some of the mechanics are amazing too, like the ability to pick people up and throw them. The most fun I've had is picking up random people and throwing them off cliffs and hearing a crack as they faceplant a rock and loads of blood comes out.
One of the most annoying things though is the fact that it commits the videogame sin of having the character stop and take a 10 second breather after your stamina runs out when you're sprinting. You don't have any control over it and when you're fighting enemies you get killed in about 2 seconds of it happening.
Like I said though I'm not very far into it because I keep getting distracted by picking up random people and throwing them off cliffs, so I'm hoping for some epic battles. The problem with the dragons being so big is the fact that when you're fighting them you can only attack their toes which subtracts a little from the epicness a bit, whih is sad. But it doesn't matter because they're unbelievably huge. My character is a huge guy who looks evil as fuck but has a voice like the beginning of that Scooter song that has the really high pitched voice because it's funny. I'm enjoying it so far. It's just really sad because those problems deduct from the enjoyment of it.

I finished Tomb Raider. The story was pretty interesting, but I didn't really like the characters with the exception of Roth. Even Lara was surprisingly shallow and uninteresting to be honest. Anyways, the gameplay was pretty fluid and I was very impressed that the 360 hardware could handle the game's graphics and environments without even dropping from the 30fps, very nice. Overall a very good game that had some small things that bothered me, but yeah, definitely like a solid 8/10 game, will continue to explore the island in hope of finding the rest of the tombs and relics.

Oh yeah and the multiplayer is actually alright too, it just struggles to maintain a good framerate most of the time (at least on the 360). I played with some max level guy today and he showed me how to get some simple achievements, it was fun.

I'm playing a game called Faster Than Light. It's about space ships that travel faster than light. I remember some user saying that this game is awesome. He was right. Go buy it. I have so much fun with it.

Also, it's only $2,5 at Gog.com (discount)

I've apparently racked up 379 hours of FTL since I bought it last October and I'm not entirely sure why I like it so much... Maybe 'cause each playthrough is unique, and that I like the fact it can randomly go against you and kick your arse at any time. Provides a challenge based on luck and strategy... Maybe I should search for more rogue-like RPGs if there are any other games similar to it.

Maybe I also like it 'cause it's easy to play while I'm watching TV or doing other tasks, since it can be paused at any time. Awesome soundtrack IMO, too.

It's quite different from FTL, but Dungeons of Dredmor is definitely worth checking if you want a challenging roguelike. From the two, I find DoD more appealing solely because of the humour and the charm of the game. Standard DoD is available for €4, along with a DLC that's available for free, and the whole pack is €10. Totally worth it IMO, I still play it (in fact, I'm making random skill build videos of it these days, it's good fun).

Sword of the Stars: The Pit is also a fun roguelike, I've tried the demo on Steam and I was impressed.

DoD is awesome.

Alright, I'll take a look. Thanks. :)

I bought the Wii U version for 30 cents. Was never a huge Metroid fan but I do actually like this game and plan to complete it sometime. In the GOG sale I got Magic Carpet 2 and Master of Magic (think Civilisation meets Warcraft).

Also I got Dishonored from Amazon and I got The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) in a humble bundle. Seems like my next few months are thoroughly sorted!

Playing the Darksiders. It's a game about ripping off God of War. Seriously, is there gonna be anything original in this game later?

It's not about ripping off God of War at all. Like, not even a little bit.

It's about ripping off Legend of Zelda.

That being said I did really like both 1 and 2. 2 introduces a ton of new gameplay elements that are a lot of fun, but yeah, the first one is just a really well made Zelda clone.

Yeah, I'm not watching that.