Recommend on: recent 360/DS games

MundaneSoul

Hey all,

I've been out of touch with the gaming world the past few months because of vacations and business trips and whatnot tying up my cashflow, so I've missed out on most of the new releases back to November-ish. I grabbed Dead Space recently and I'm enjoying that, but I wondered if you guys could throw out any must-have games that came out during that period that I missed out on.

I've browsed around some gaming sites, but I trust you guys way more than them for recommendations, so smash me in the face with awesome. I've been looking at Mirror's Edge and Saints Row 2, but I'm hearing Mirror's Edge is more of a rental than anything. Convince me, woo me, hold me, thrill me, etc.

Let's do this.

Game I've bought and played recently, that can be safely ignored: Dead Space, Fallout 3, GTA: Chinatown Wars.

urahonky

Resident Evil 5.

Lunker

The DS has had awesome bombs dropping left and right: Retro Game Challenge, Henry Hatsworth & Dragon Quest V. On the 360, I adored both Mirror's Edge and Prince of Persia but they are immensely polarizing games. I would play the demo of Mirror's Edge and see if it tickles your fancy.

Slicer

Are you looking for any specific genres? That might help in narrowing it down a bit.

Otherwise, seconding the Resident Evil 5 recommendation.

MundaneSoul

Slicer wrote: »

Are you looking for any specific genres? That might help in narrowing it down a bit.

Otherwise, seconding the Resident Evil 5 recommendation.

Any more I mostly lean towards action/adventure business. RPGs are sometimes okay, but they need to be action-y. I don't have the patience for anything too awfully involved these days.

And thanks Lunker, I'd forgotten about Prince of Persia. What's the high/low on those two?

darleysam

Dark Athena's coming out soon, for some stealthy/stabby Riddick action, if that's your kind of thing. It's both an updated Escape From Butcher Bay, as well as a whole other episode (Dark Athena), like two games in one.

greeble

Resident Evil 5 is fun, especially with coop. But don't go into it expecting it to be as great as RE4, because its not. (still good though)

Left 4 Dead is fun. I'd recommend the PC version over the xbox if your machine can run it well. If not get the xbox version cause its still good.

Lunker

MundaneSoul wrote: »

And thanks Lunker, I'd forgotten about Prince of Persia. What's the high/low on those two?

Oddly enough, Mirror's Edge has been criticized for being way too hard, and PoP for being way too easy. There was also Tomb Raider Underworld, which sat in the middle on the difficulty scale but didn't really make a splash either way.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for out of a puzzle-platformer. PoP is really cinematic and beautiful; it has long strings of chained commands like wall-runs and jumps, but the timing windows are really wide and most of the platforming paths are really spelled out for you, instead of sitting in a room and figuring out what you're supposed to do next. I love the exhilaration of nailing long paths, and the setting and characterization just clicked with me. It has a really sweeping Indiana Jones vibe to the whole thing, but if you want to be challenged and feel like you'd be really bored without dying all the time and forcing yourself to improve, it might not tickle you.

Mirror's Edge, on the other hand, is all about dying all the time and self-improvement. It's more like a racing game, really; finding the right route through a section and then blazing through it as fast as possible. It totally nails the feeling of first-person platforming while still letting you know where your feet are. It's got a big emphasis on momentum and flow—seamlessly moving from running to wall-running to hopping over a fence, landing in a somersault and then sliding underneath another platform, all while cops are shooting at you. It has first-person melee combat, but a ton of people hated it; I liked it, but only once I had time to practice moves that the game doesn't spell out for you. There was a big to-do since a ton of people hated trying to go through the game without firing any weapons, which is an Achievement. And the game sings when you're on rooftops jumping and running like an agent chase from a Matrix movie, but it also has indoor sections where you have to puzzle out how to move through box-filled closed rooms and it's sometimes tough to figure out what the game wants you to do. But since it's got that flow/momentum vibe, plus a whole score-attack speed-run and time-trial leaderboard, your first time through the game is the most frustrating. The better you become, the better the game rewards you.

I adored both games, but they have no gray area. Fans love them and their critics despise them. Renting might be a good idea if you're still uncertain, but again, there is a Mirror's Edge demo available.

MundaneSoul

Lunker, you magnificent bastard, you've got me sold on both. I was actually pretty rabid to pick up Mirror's Edge before a lot of negative comments threw me a bit. But I generally enjoy most of your recommendations, and if I don't it's usually because my attention span in recent years has shrunk to the point where I can't give some games the attention they deserve (i.e., most of the great RPGs you dote on).

I think I'll end up grabbing both games soon.

slash000

Some good recent DS games include Henry Hatsworth, Retro Game Challenge, Puzzle Quest Galactrix, Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon, Dragon Quest V, Age of Empires Mythologies, Chrono Trigger, Robocalypse, Metal Slug 7, Trackmania DS, NinjaTown, FFCC Echoes of Time, Suikoden Tierkreis, Valkyrie Prifole Cov. of the Plume, Big Bang Mini, and Pokemon Platinum (if that's your thing).

I can vouch for Retro Game Challenge if you're into new 8-bit style games that are each representative of their respective genres, encapsulated within nostalgia-fueled presentation.

There are a lot of other good recent DS games that I still need to get; Henry Hatsworth being one of them.

Satanic Jesus

Have you tried The World Ends With You?

Lunker

MundaneSoul wrote: »

Lunker, you magnificent bastard, you've got me sold on both. I was actually pretty rabid to pick up Mirror's Edge before a lot of negative comments threw me a bit. But I generally enjoy most of your recommendations, and if I don't it's usually because my attention span in recent years has shrunk to the point where I can't give some games the attention they deserve (i.e., most of the great RPGs you dote on).

I think I'll end up grabbing both games soon.

If Mirror's Edge sounds like it's your thing, and the demo leaves you breathless, the full game shouldn't disappoint. Especially if you're the type who likes speed runs and leaderboard-chasing, since that's where a lot of the game's competitive side comes from.

And PoP is still great, but in its own right. Truth be told, it doesn't quite hit the peaks that Sands of Time did last generation, but it's still a sight to behold. It's relaxing in a way.

Zombiemambo

urahonky wrote: »

Resident Evil 5.