Feedback from a 16 year old casual gamer

[hollowleviathan]

In half of all the alternate realities of the Earth, I've been playing Civilization II constantly for the last 15 years.

[gandalf91]

Just played through the Eye of the Beholder series (1990-93) a couple years back.

[Bek]

He probably was engineered to be better than a normal soldier. Of course there are RPG elements, but you don't design a super-agent to start out as a fucking cripple who is more likely to die than gain experience in his field training.

You start off with 5000 xp points which is more than enough to train you up in two weapon sets. You also start out "trained" in pistols.

Of course I didn't finish it. Because it was terribly built full of bad game design choices.

Like what? Poor AI? Granted, it's pretty bad, but that was a problem with the technology. It's good enough to sound alarms etc though.
Deus Ex is the best example of gameplay I can think of. Multiple approaches to everything.

[Deu sex]

He probably was engineered to be better than a normal soldier. Of course there are RPG elements, but you don't design a super-agent to start out as a fucking cripple who is more likely to die than gain experience in his field training.

You start off with 5000 xp points which is more than enough to train you up in two weapon sets. You also start out "trained" in pistols.

Of course I didn't finish it. Because it was terribly built full of bad game design choices.

Like what? Poor AI? Granted, it's pretty bad, but that was a problem with the technology. It's good enough to sound alarms etc though.
Deus Ex is the best example of gameplay I can think of. Multiple approaches to everything.

don't argue more, he dislikes, he dislikes.

[oldfartkeywester]

Here is an excerpt from the wiki entry for Deadly Shadows, the last, and, I believe, the best of the Thief series. It was a true break through for its time, one of the first true stealth games.

You play as Garrett, a master thief whose particular skills involve sneaking, climbing, lock picking and stealing. You get caught up in a truly involved and well written plot involving a machinist faction called Hammerites, a faction called Pagans and a mysterious order known only as Keepers.

You can get it very cheaply thru steam, or if you trust torrent sites (I do not and do not recommend them) you may be able to get it free. If your system has a modern OS such as W7 or Vista you may need to fiddle around a bit with the settings to get it to work properly, the last system I can remember it working perfectly with was XP SP3. But in my view it is well worth the effort for those whose forte is thinking through a problem and not just rushing in with guns ablaze or sword swinging.

"Thief: Deadly Shadows is a stealth video game in which the player takes the role of Garrett, a master thief. It is set in a fantasy/steampunk world resembling a cross between the Late Middle Ages and the Victorian era, with more advanced technologies interspersed. It is the third entry in the Thief series of video games.

One of the game's major new features was the ability to explore the City. While previous games sent Garrett straight from mission to mission, Thief: Deadly Shadows allows him to walk the City streets between missions where he can steal from passersby, spy on the townspeople's daily lives, and search for side quests in addition to major story missions. The game also introduced an ability to switch between first and third person views, and to flatten against walls.

It was released for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox in 2004, on May 25 in North America, and on June 11 in Europe. Development for both platforms started simultaneously. Like its predecessors, Thief: Deadly Shadows has received almost globally positive reviews, winning IGN's "Editor's Choice" award and "Game of the Month" award for May 2004. A follow-up to this game, Thief 4, is confirmed to be in development by Eidos Montreal Studio. "

"The game begins when Garrett steals a rare opal from a nobleman's castle. After fencing it, he is contacted by Keeper Artemus to steal two Artifacts; The Builder's Chalice and the Jacknall's Paw from their respective peoples, in exchange for access to the Keeper Prophecies. After hearing about a coming Dark Age, Garrett reads about a lost book, the Compendium of Reproach, which supposedly offers information about it. Garrett manages to steal it, the "Glyph" Key required to open it and the third Artifact, the Kurshok Crown. The Keepers read the Compendium's prophecy, including: "When the progress of time ceases, the evil one will be pointed out for all to see".

I urge anyone slightly intrigued by this game to look up Thief: Deadly Shadows in wikipedia, the article is quite long and detailed. It is an award-winning game that was in some ways ahead of its time, and a refreshing change from shoot em up or hack n' slash.

It also features what is almost universally acknowledged as one of the creepiest, most frightening levels in any recent game, the Shalebridge Cradle! Kids who played the game have literally had nightmares about that level!

[benvereen]

Is this the thread where we push our favorite games? In that case, play EarthBound!

Earthbound=My Childhood! No game makes me feel more nostalgic. And don't get me started on the music!!!

[Funman]

Oh my gosh... Majora's Mask...

I can't believe none of you have said anything about it.

I can honestly say I have never seen more feelings and emotion put into a game before. It's just too hard to believe or describe.

I played through it once while getting only what was required and thought, "Wow, that was REALLLLLLY good." Then I played through it again, getting every mask and other item (Which is soooo hard to do), and was astounded by how deep each of the characters is. They all have their own personality, and depending on how you play out the three days, they all act differently.

For instance, there is one sidequest where you must reunite a couple who were supposed to get married, but got caught in all the evil going on. It's just so... sad. If you go to a certain place while it's raining, the wife-to-be sits down with an umbrella, looking depressed. And when you finally get them together (after countless hours of perfect timing and hard work), it's too late for them to escape, and they just wait to die together. I was like, dang, all that work for nothing.

I don't think I've ever felt a greater sense of accomplishment from completing a game than when I saw the end credits.

[hollowleviathan]

And don't get me started on the music!!!

Now let's sit down, and have a nice cup of coffee.

You've come a long way, benvereen...

EDIT: You should definitely play the fan-translated sequel Mother3. Somehow as emotionally penetrating and oddly wonderful.

[Vael]

Besides the 4 1/2 pages of "PLAY X! IT'S A GOOD GAME" spam, I read your review and thought that it was a very honest, descriptive and well-written review. I'm also sixteen and really not a fan of horror; however I started to search on YouTube about Amnesia and saw how eerie the atmosphere was and how the story was given to the player by using the note mechanic. Amnesia is truly a masterpiece and I am not disappointed in anything of it. A riveting story, excellent atmosphere, story and the use of Daniel's sanity with the light/dark is absolutely genius and classic. I never played the Penumbra games - I have seen them though! I remember a few years back about the series. Bon travail, Frictional Games! Keep the good games coming!

[hollowleviathan]

Sure are a lot of 16 year-olds round these parts.