Joant73

I have been playing pretty much non-stop since Friday. It is amazing, the swinging is fun and has a good feel to it and the combat is engaging and difficult, it is not just a button masher. I also like that there are a lot of different approaches you can take to combat which allows you to change it up. Also, the city just has a great feel and scale to it, a lot of NPCs around just providing that live city feel and I don't think any game has provided a full Manhattan to explore in the way this game does, plus you are swinging around it so what can be better.

I don't know that anyone really does it quite like Bioware, the Mass Effect games and DA games are really king at that. But as Dylan mentions story based games like Telltale games, Detroit, or even Until Dawn build good stories but are also a very different type of game. One game that I thought did well with relationship and character building was Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It has some romance options as well that you have to take time to build, going on dates and such.

To move the Thieves Guild you have to focus on those jobs that Vex and Delvin give you in the Ragged Flagon. I believe you have to complete one of each type of job in each major city around skyrim. So it can take quite a while as they will often send you to the same city for the same type of job multiple times before they finally send you to that one city you haven't been yet. But once you do you get a new hideout and the thieves guild master armor.

End of Season 1 of Walking Dead was a big one. Also, the opening of The Last of Us was very emotional, and that game has a few other good moments as well.

Currently playing Dragon age: Inquisition (PS4). Really enjoying it. I'm about 100 hrs in and it seems like I still have a ways to go, but I have been taking my time and doing all the side missions, focusing on crafting new gear, etc. I'm playing on the normal difficulty and it is relatively easy unless I get into a fight way above my level. In a week I will likely get distracted by Spider-man.

Totally agree, I loved No Mans Sky the first time around and put mad hours into it. I haven't picked it back up since all the updates but its on the list for sure.

I have never actually looked up trophies and what was needed to get a specific one. However, I do have a bit of a completionists mindset when it comes to my favorite games, so by trying to collect and complete everything I often end up getting a lot of trophies along the way.

Depends what type of DLC. I don't buy little add on DLC, like costumes, skins, or loot boxes, I can never get behind that. But if we are talking big expansion DLCs that add new map areas, missions, etc then I do buy those occasionally. But even then only for games that I really like, for example Witcher 3 and Horizon ZD both had solid DLCs that really expanded the game. Those were worth it IMO.

I am glad they are taking it back to a more classic game format, as opposed to the episodic form they used last time. I will definitely be checking it out, Hitman has always been a pretty fun series.

I don't if this completely counts as the game was pretty rough upon initial release, but I thought Mass Effect: Andromeda was better than public perception would have you believe. I got the benefit of playing it awhile after release so I didn't face any of the game breaking bugs that others did. But the other complaints against the game I thought were fueled by peoples nostalgia for the original trilogy and wanting more of the same whereas Bioware tried to bring a fresh start to series. I thought the overall game play was fun and engaging and the overall feel of the game was still solid. I really enjoyed exploring a new galaxy, meeting aliens, and building relationships with your team. I had a lot of fun playing that game despite all the negativity surrounding it.

I definitely recommend changing your overall combat style and build. I had one friend who built a barehanded character, you focus on those skills and get a couple key items and you can go around punching all your foes to death. I have built characters focused around stealth and archery or heavy two handed guys who just bust in anywhere and wreck, both can be fun approaches. Also, try taking different sides or approaches to quest lines. (Might be some slight spoilers past this point) For example if you joined the dark brotherhood before you can destroy them this time, pick a different side of the war, do the blades quest line if you haven't. You can try to become a thane and landowner in every town if you haven't before. I do not know if you have the DLCs (if you don't I suggest adding them they add quite a bit of new content) but if you have been a werewolf before you can try being a vampire this time. Also, certain quest lines have special things at the end if you push for them, like the thieves guild for instance can move to a new location (similar to dark brotherhood) and regain its glory if you do enough missions for them. Also, you can focus on collections, all the dragon priest masks for instance (there is something you can do with them as well if you haven't), or all the Daedric artifacts (there is usually one or two ppl have missed). Also, you can look around for articles about the most missed missions or easter eggs, there are usually a couple I haven't done when I look at those and that gives me something to do.

There has been a lot of conjecture lately about when the PS5 will arrive, with some predicting it may come as early as mid-late 2019 while others maintain 2020 is more likely. Do you all think that is too soon for another console generation, or is it right on time?

The only old system I still own is a N64, I still pull it out occasionally to play Ocarina of Time or Mario Kart 64. Sometimes I wish I had kept more as I still play some older games, but I just use emulators on my PC for the other systems.

I have never had a spill or anything like that, I am pretty anal when it comes to my systems and games and I keep them pretty safe and fresh. However, back in PS3 days I did get the dreaded yellow light of death. For that I went online and found a how to video to completely take it apart and re-heat sink the CPU to the motherboard. That was a fun project and it was cool to see the inner workings of the console. And it worked, so totally worth it compared to buying a whole new one.

Mario Kart is the easy winner on this list for me, one of the all-time great series that I still love to play, perfect for when you have friends over and need a good multi-player as well. I never got into the Lego games, they just didn't do it for me. Sonic is Sonic, great classic and good for some nostalgia but gets a bit repetitive and I rarely stick with it for long.

I am ok with both. Typically on PC I will go digital just because I find it easier and I have the HDD space. On console I prefer to get the physical disk. Not only because HDD space can be limited but also because I get the option to sell it back. I know you do not get all that much selling back but something is still better than nothing and there are definitely games that once I play them through I know I am not going back to them and it feels wasteful to just have them sitting around in my library. Plus when I save up a few key trade ins and can get a new game for essentially half off or so that always feels good.

I thought it was a solid game. I have enjoyed both installments in this new reboot. I have always enjoyed that stealth/action style of gameplay. I think these games do a nice job filling the void that Uncharted left when that series ended while also offering moments and a style unique to Tomb Raider. I am excited to play the new one coming out this September.

Agreed. I think intriguing is definitely the right word for it too. Because even based on the extended footage shown at E3 I still don't know what to really make of it. The walking and climbing looked really cool, but like, am I just a post-apocalyptic delivery man? Then with the added mystery of the death-rebirth cycle, that insect whatever it was, and those creatures I really have no idea what to make of it. But I trust Kojima and am very excited to see what he comes up with.

I love San Andreas, definitely the GTA I feel the most nostalgia for, probably my favorite in the series. Getting to build a gang and take over territories was one of coolest things in that game, I always love that stage of the game.

Solid list, I would add Spider-man, AC: Odyssey, Red Dead 2, Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Darksiders 3, Biomutant, and Death Stranding as games I am definitely looking forward to.

I always remember in the first Red Dead Redemption when you arrive in Mexico for the first time it plays this song by Jose Gonzales, "Far Away," and you just get to ride through this beautiful desert country-side just listening and taking it all in. It just makes for a very beautiful and immersive moment in the game that always stuck with me.

I have really enjoyed games like Journey, Limbo, or Inside. I am also looking forward to playing Typoman when I get a chance. What similar games have you all enjoyed?

That is a serious back-log, haha. I am not in too bad of shape right now as there has been a bit of a summer lull in releases since God of War and Detroit and I have been using this time to get caught up. But I always have my GameFly queue building so there are about 30+ titles on there that I would like to get to at some point. I am finally playing Dragon Age: Inquisition and that is one I have been wanting to get to for some time. I am more worried about how I am going to schedule my time once September and October get here as there are so many big titles being dropped late this year that I want to play, Spider-man, Red Dead, Spyro, Fallout, Tomb Raider, AC Odyssey, Biomutant, Darksiders, etc, etc the list goes on and on.

Both of these book series have been popularized in other mediums at this point but I think Game of Thrones and Harry Potter are both series that could benefit from a true top-tier game. The Harry Potter games have been mostly underwhelming in my opinion and I would love to have a good one that isn't focused on being built around one book or movie but just a good game in the wizarding world. For Game of Thrones I really want a Skyrim-esque RPG set it westeros where you build your character, pick a house, and just get to explore that world. I am also a big fan of Orson Scott Card's books like Ender's Game and its sequals. Not sure how they would translate to a game exactly, but perhaps something in the Mass Effect realm where you are exploring space and battling the Formics.

If you like Medieval themed games I would recommend Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It is hyper realistic to the time and just a very immersive and realistic RPG in general. You have to eat and sleep on a realistic schedule and bathe and things like that. You get to start as a low level citizen and work up to being a knight in that time period. You get to own a horse and repair and upgrade armor and weapons. You get to take part in larger scale battles and sieges of forts as well. Very cool game. Combat is unique but can be very rewarding once you get a good at it.