[fatdoc]

To pass ( waste) some time I got a bargain priced far cry 3.... Very good.. What assassins creed should have been, but more depraved, and thus enchanting. I've binned skyrim... Too buggy and listless..

[Fiend]

Oh yeah. FC3 I binned, but only because it was exactly like FC2 but in exactly the same setting as FC1/Cry1, and I'd played enough of that already. If you haven't I'm sure it would be a great game, good recommendation. Skyrim is amazing despite being occasionally buggy and listless, a truly vast amount to do and thus a big timesink, not for the father of two I don't think.

Edit: Deus Ex HR if you want Cyberpunk but it is more of RPG timesink.

[fatdoc]

Deus X.. Fully recommended...

Father of four!! 

[Dolly]

Why playing video games is good for you
http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/mp2013120a.pdf

[Fiend]

Path Of Exile...

+  looks pretty nice for an isometric ARPG
+ nicely open class system and skill tree
+ monsters are pretty stylish
+ environments distinctive and varied
+ gem system for combat skills is good fun

- isometric perspective sucks
- mouse only movement sucks
- randomly generated maps and spaced way-points get frustrating
- prone to a lot of disconnects
- in-game map is useless

But...

There's one more positive point...

+ completely FREE 

[SA Chris]

Take it back for a refund 

Bit difficult - it was given to me for free! Getting to grips with Assassin's Creed, bit tricky but getting the hang of it.

Still fancy a flying sim / fighter planes if anyone can recommend one over another?

[JackAus]

Which AC is in the double pack? 1 and 2? I didn't play 1 or 2 but came in to the series at Brotherhood (AC 2 part 2) and all since.

[SA Chris]

Sorry Jack, I had to look then forgot to reply - it's 1 & 2.

[JackAus]

Steam has a sale on at the moment. Shit loads of stuff massively discounted.
store.steampowered.com

[r-man]

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/charlie-brooker-videogames-changed-the-world/4od

[Fiend]

Okay so I'm looking for some different gaming ideas....I'm mostly an FPS/3PS player, but I've tried a little bit of other genres:

I've tried definitive modern RTS - Starcraft 2

I've tried definitive modern iso-RPG - Path Of Exile, Torchlight 2

I've installed definitive modern turn-based strat - XCom

I'm running low on games to play, so I am wondering what other genres I could dabble in?? Ruling out any sport games, side-scrollers or racing games as I would rather switch off the PC and stare at the wall, what other modern (not after 2D pixelly shit sorry) classics could people recommend?? Space strategy? Empire building? Survival? Give me ideas please. AAAAAAA perfectly acceptable too....

[Baldy]

You could give Bastion a shot,
World of Goo perhaps?
Braid

All modern classics from the indie pc crowd.

[JamieG]

Have you tried Spec Ops: The Line? Military shooter, but with a much more hard hitting story.

I have also been enjoying DMC: Devil May Cry. Action game with an over the top story (tongue in cheek), good combat, platformy bits. Nothing too serious, just fun.

Lastly, the batman games. Arkham City and Arkham asylum are both excellent, not played the most recent effort (Origins?), but supposed to be good too.

[slackline]

Deadspace series is good.

Portal variants if any exist for PC.

[Fiend]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Played DS2 and DS3, liked them despite the awful controls.

Portals are both PC games and I might get round to them at some point.

Sorry would rather play a toilet un-blocking sim than a military shooter 

Bastion - looks too cutesy for me but have heard good things, might check it out more.
Braid - not into 2D stuff sorry.
World Of Goo - ditto.
Batman games - have seen t'burd play them, they do look very well done, but probably have seen enough!
DMC - looks okay but doesn't really grab me.


In the end I have gone for Fallout New Vegas, Sins Of A Solar Empire, XCom and Overlord II. Will see how I get on.

[miso soup]

+1 for Portals.  X-Com is good.  Fallout is good but might just make you want to play Skyrim.

[Fiend]

243 hours of Skyrim and then uninstalled!

[JamieG]

Sorry would rather play a toilet un-blocking sim than a military shooter 

I'd normally totally agree with you. I tried to play Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and quit after a couple of missions. But Spec Ops somehow grab me.

Another one I thought of was borderlands 2. I really enjoyed that, probably played this more than any other game over the last year. And the DLCs.

Both Portals, I agree are very good. Especially the co-op in 2. And I normally don't like co-op.


I thought Fallout 3 was one of the most overrated games I have ever tried to play. I found it super boring. But other people think it is one of the best games ever. And i guess if you like Skyrim you are probably onto a winner. 

[miso soup]

Oblivion / Fallout 3 / Fallout New Vegas / Skyrim is all essentially the same game, and Skyrim is the best version of it.  I reckon if you've played Skyrim you'll be underwhelmed by any of the others, and if you caned Fallout Skyrim might just feel like more of the same.  Although I do know people that have put hundreds of hours into all four of them.

[Fiend]

Sounds like a fair assessment. At least the styles/themes are fairly strong and distinct.

[JackAus]

I tried both Skyrim and Fallout 3. Uninstalled Fallout after 5min and Skyrim after 10. Not exaggerating... Couldn't stand them.

I played the demo of Spec Ops. It didn't grab me, felt very much like a cover shooter (Gears of War (which I didn't like)) but I've heard the story in it is pretty amazing. But... It was the demo, didn't take notice of any story in it...

Still haven't done the co-op in Portal 2. Really need to get on to that. Always a game I re-play every couple of months. Very fun.

I bought a bunch of indie games in the steam sales.
Things like:
Hotline Miami - Extremely fast top down shooter. Fuck me its insane... Very good but very hard.
Fez - Heard great things about it but just hasn't drawn me in at all.
Limbo - Very good side scroller puzzle game. Trying to do it without watching any videos when I get stuck. Can be done in about an hour, I've been playing it for weeks.. Very well done.
Stanley Parable - Mind fuck of a game... I've heard it called "a thesis on what is possible with a game, rather than a game". I still haven't finished it.

Oh and I'm still playing Age of Empires 2 HD..... :D

[JackAus]

Right. Fuck all other games. Get Papers, Please. Absolutely brilliant. I am addicted...

Only a couple bucks on Steam. You play as a immigration officer in a fictional Eastern Block country in the early 80s. You have to make the most moral choices ever, do either let people into the country or reject them. I've split up families and had wives beaten because they wouldn't co-operate when I rejected them... I've let in shady guys who I've already been warned about by women earlier that day, then in the next day's newspaper, he's killed a bunch of prostitutes (the women who warned me...). I've taken bribe's to let terrorists in, I've had terrorists blow themselves up in crowds when I reject them.
Fuck me is it fun....

[Baldy]

Seconded,

I have been playing for the last week or so, and it is so enjoyably 'pick up and play' that I dont feel I need to play more than a level or two at a time. This in turn leads to me playing about 5 or 10 levels at a time.

My favourite point was when my 'son' gave me a crayon drawing to put on the wall, so I did. This then lead to me having my pay docked for having non official documents on the wall. I got the last laugh, because it meant that he didnt get any medicine that evening.

[JackAus]

My favourite point was when my 'son' gave me a crayon drawing to put on the wall, so I did. This then lead to me having my pay docked for having non official documents on the wall. I got the last laugh, because it meant that he didnt get any medicine that evening.

Ahahaha... Haven't had that yet!

I was umming and ahhing about buying it, then I saw on Steam how much time you had put into it... Definitely swayed my decision!

[Fiend]

Been playing quite a bit of XCom: Enemy Unknown recently. I'd put if off for ages as I didn't think I'd like the slower pace of turn-based games, and the first few missions felt pretty drab, but once the options have opened up, I'm really liking it.

Pros:
- Game is properly tactical, using cover, overwatch, weapons choice, flanking etc, and is generally rather addictive and moreish.
- %-based nature of combat is interesting and treads a good line between satisfaction and amused exasperation.
- Presentation of both bases and battlefields is well themed and coherent.
- Tactical UI is pretty good and grasping the battlefield is quite slick.
- Turn-based nature is actually a pleasant change from relentless high APM RTS or twitchy FPS.

Cons:
- Manual is RUBBISH and you have to read everything everywhere on screen very carefully to pick up mechanics.
- No easy key navigation around Geoscape
- GFX don't really take advantage of the Unreal 3 engine nor the slower pace.
- Tile based nature of scenery is a bit obvious in places.

Not sure how far I am into it now, no doubt I will get my ass kicked soon, uninstall it in rage, and come to re-write this or something