Last game played...

[Sandman1]

Oh, don't be like that. You asked for examples, and he gave one.

Don't be like what? You have misjudged me if you think I had malicious intent.

[Professor Bear]

I think the Witcher is great and though some of the writing veers on the Carry On style of humor (or for a loftier example, Shakespeare and the cheap seats)

I suspect it also has its roots in the series' Xbox-exclusivity around the time that Microsoft - for whatever reason - decided to actively pursue the jock douche gaming demographic despite growing awareness of console gaming's increasingly-diverse audience.

To each their own though. I mean how anyone could think Alien Isolation was rubbish completely baffles me...I've never been so tense in my own living room.

Dated gaming mechanics pretty much killed my enthusiasm - although ten years ago it would have been great.
It actually made me think of Alien Resurrection way back on the PS1, a great game from which Isolation borrows pretty heavily, and which also had the misfortune to come out a couple of years too late.

[Theblazeuk]

Yeah you were who I was referring to To me Alien Isolation was an FPS version of an adventure game, with the added bonus of a terrifying monster stalking you throughout the station. It's a running and hiding game and to me the clunkiness made me feel more vulnerable. I can only really think of one knee-high obstacle I couldn't jump over...

I loved Alien Resurrection. 1g0tp1nk8cidb00ts0n! Such a good shooter.

(Don't think you can blame XBox exclusivity/BroGamers as it's always been a PC series - think it lies at CD Projekt's feet and the legendary sexual prowess of Gerald in the original works. Though the latter is a second-hand impression).

I'm playing Pillars of Eternity at the moment and after bouncing off it at first, I have slammed the difficulty down and enjoying the plot much more than the combat. I just don't have the time for it anymore and the RPG mechanics are a bit too crunchy for me to work with, so I'll just steamroll through the hordes and only get involved with the boss fights. Interesting world and beautifully drawn.

[jacob g]

I just stoped playing Andromeda for a moment to checked Nier: Automata and... I don't think I'll be back to Andromeda anytime soon.

[Judge-Wolf]

Ive been playing transport fever. With the new update urban games gave to it, the game is amazing to play now.

[Pegasus P Artichoke]

Just completed Vanquish and it's a great wee third person shooter with lots of energy and it's pretty action packed throughout. Graphics are still good looking and the banging techno soundtrack just adds to the whole experience.

A very enjoyable game and it's sad that the sequel hasn't really came to anything

Started to play Dead Space now and it's very good so far

[JamesC]

Vanquish is one of my favourites - love that game. I find it hard to believe that there isn't more of a market for that brand of fast paced, arcadey action.

[Arkwright99]

Finished Horizon: Zero Dawn (after almost 143 hours) last night. Very happy with it. Loved learning the story behind Project Zero Dawn and Elisabet Soubeck/GAIA/HADES and think Aloy is a great protagonist and very much enjoyed playing as her. I hit Level 50, got all the Skill Trees and have (so far) unlocked 81% of the Achievements and the only ones left that look unachievable (for me) are the Hunting Lodge Time Trials (particularly the Blazing Sun-level rewards).

As I've noted before, from an RPG perspective HZD maybe isn't as fully-formed as existing franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age or Mass Effect but for a first try RPG from an existing FPS developer it's an incredible debut.

I can see a lot of room for development/improvement in any sequel. The only thing I'd be worried about would be adding more standard RPG elements - more sophisticated dialogue paths, more meaningful in-game decisions and more complex relationships (romances?) with NPCs - at the expense of the existing RPG elements that make HZD so enjoyable.

To be fair, I'm a little doubtful about the re-playability aspect of the game (compared to say BioWare's offerings) but as a one-off experience, as Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate, Grim Fandango or even The Witcher 1 were for me back in the day, I had a lot of fun discovering the world of Horizon.

[Woolly]

I just stoped playing Andromeda for a moment to checked Nier: Automata and... I don't think I'll be back to Andromeda anytime soon.

Bought NieR:Autonama on a drunken whim after reading this post.
Thank you! It's fantastic!

Hack n' slash meets RPG, with some Ashley Wood-esq robots thrown in for good measure. Brilliant!

[shaolin_monkey]

Just finished Horizons: Zero Dawn. I got all the trophies. I got the Platinum for it. That is the first time EVER I have gotten all the trophies in a game.  I played it, and played it, and played it, which also is the first time ever that has happened. The best I've previously managed in a game is about 40%, before I got bored and looked for the next fix.

Damn, this game is good! Perfection. It has the best protagonist, fantastic supporting cast, superb worldbuilding, a totally engaging narrative with some great twists, astounding graphics and sound, exhilarating combat, and a whole bunch of ferkin huge robot dinosaurs to take down.

I'm sure there are things that could be included - decisions that impact gameplay, love interests, and maybe some more stuff pinched from Mass Effect or The Witcher. However, I was happy just roaming a massive landscape finding all kinds of nooks and crannies, and taking down dinobots of all shapes and sizes.

My favourite game on the PS4, by a long chalk.

[Link Prime]

I was always going to pick it up at some stage, but there's a lorra love on here for Horizon Zero Dawn- it'll be sooner than later.
Just a bit of mopping up on Breath of the Wild, then completion of The Witcher III (Blood & Wine) to take care of first.

Time is the only true enemy.

[Theblazeuk]

Finished off Mankind Divided as wanted my precious SSD space back. Welp, by the end things picked up and got a little more interesting. Yet even as I started to get more interested - and finally got to grips with some people who I could kill without thinking "They're just doing a job you horrific knife-armed murderer" - it all ended. My stockpile of 'Going HOT' weaponry barely got used even when faced with an army of mercenary killers, as I had to stay quiet or risk disaster until the last moment.

Mind you that last section was easily the best part of the game. Sadly it felt like everything had just taken too long to get there and when it wrapped up, I knew full well I'd simply killed a pawn and achieved little. Obviously things have to get to the point of Deus Ex, where the UN *is* a military police force and the shadowy illuminati has been subverted by the rapacious MJ12, where millions are dying because of an artificial plague and the United States is actually at the point of civil war... but ultimately this was very abrupt and disappointing. More missions like the opening bit in Dubai would have gone a long way to mitigating the frustrations of chasing leads around Prague.

Next up: Shadows of Mordor (£7 in Steam Sale)

[Keef Monkey]

Yeah Mankind Divided was a weird one, because I loved Human Revolution so much and just sort of...enjoyed MD. I didn't think it was bad, but after starting really strongly (I was so buzzed about it those first few sessions) it sort of peters out and then ends in a really damp way.

Any hope that the DLC would tie up some things and progress the story were dashed too, I bought the season pass and felt a bit cheated by the two short mini-campaigns they released. Neither was particularly interesting, and for the cost of that season pass it's probably the first time I've regretted blindly buying one.

I guess they were pinning a lot on a sequel, but that's not happening now. Sad times. I'll go back and replay it sometime and see how it holds up without as much expectation attached.

I've been playing nothing but Mass Effect: Andromeda since it came out, and I know a lot of people are disappointed with it but I love it so very, very much that I can't get enough.

[Satanist]

This should go in next game played but I've just ordered Nier Automata and cannae wait. But wait I will as I wont be able to start it for another week and half due to work pish.

Currently I went back to Cod:Blops on PS3. I'm still a complete BEAST online 

[Krakajac]

Fired up Witcher III on the PS4 for the first time.

The jury is still out whether I'll persevere.  I haven't played W1 or W2, so it's a bit confusing being plonked straight into the world of W3 without some sort of adequate back story.  There is a cartoon montage/cut scene at the start - but it doesn't go far enough to explain why two factions are currently at war - and why Geralt is trying to track down his ex-lover, etc.  Yes, I know there are reasons - but for a person picking up the game for the first time - it's a tad confusing and difficult to emotionally invest in what's going on.

Graphically, it's exceptional and the exploring aspect is great.

However, I'm not sold on the combat system either.  My first quest was to kill the Griffin.  First attempt, I got mauled and died very quickly.  Second attempt, the system seemed to take into account that I didn't do so well the first time - and made it very easy for me to kill the beast.  How did I beat the Griffin?  Approached it and button-mashed until it went down.  Not all that satisfying.

But I'll give it a bit longer and see if it improves.