Hello,
I thought I'd come here for a more discerning audience, rather than other forums.
I've been gaming since the years of the ZX Spectrum 16k and now own an Octane III 17.3" (or IV can't remember) with a GTX1080, M2 and i7-7700k. I haven't played any online games except a few silly card games.
I honestly thought the years of ground breaking games were over. I thought I'd gotten old. Forget the Spectrum years, the games back then were truthfully rubbish if not addictive. The true, first real game was in the form of Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation. I watched my friend play it and couldn't quite believe the graphics and open world gameplay. I later bought a PlayStation and this game, and had the best experience of my (game playing) life. it had so much RPG depth, great emotional storytelling and it had great minigames. I spent hours at that arcade at the top of the lift.
Since then I've played great games, but none other managed to recapture that amazement. Games that stood out would be Civilization IV & V, Fall Out New Vegas and GTA V. I do like games where you can potter about whilst in the game.
I've also enjoyed Far Cry 3 and the Mass Effect Series. Oblivion and Skyrim are quite good. Massive disappointments have been The Witcher III and Bioshock. I could critique these all these games here but I don't intend to. They provided me with entertainment, but most I've never finished.
Now I just thought it was me getting old, not enjoying games anymore, games aren't what they used to be etc. However, I'm currently 3/4 through my second play of KCD, this time on Hardcore mode and it is amazing. I am living the life of Henry. It is great that you are rubbish at the beginning. You have no skills. you can barely lift a sword. You can't fight. The local drunk beats you up when you ask for your Dad's money. You have to run from every battle, from every bandit and mugger. You can't even read. I love that. You have to work your way up from scratch. You gradually learn these things. You can learn to pickpocket and lockpick if you want. You learn to drink alcohol, brilliant. All this and the game looks amazing. There is no simultaneous levelling of enemies with yourself. You experience yourself getting better both at combat and through levelling. Combat is about watching your opponent and timing, not just spam and roll. You feel like you actually deserve the perks because you worked so hard for them and they make a real difference. The storyline is pretty good too. I found the voice acting convincing and had one or two lumps in the throat. I love the local English accents (isn't the game set in Czech), but it makes it feel more rustic. To their credit they made the right choice in going with first person mode. It always feels more immersive, I wanna be my character. 3rd person always feels too detached and too much like you're playing a game.
This is a gaming experience which I never thought I'd have again. I touched upon it with Fall Out New Vegas and GTA V but this feels more permanent. I feel like I grew with Henry and turned from rubbish into no quite so rubbish. Now I'm just waiting for the next DLC so I can carry on.
This game broke through a barrier which I thought was closed forever. I tried GTA V since, with graphics mods again but it seemed dated.
I'm thinking the only way to top this would be to buy VR and a racing sim, but I have a young family and can't justify that expense and detachment from the outside world right now.
Anyway, a 43 year old gamer giving his point of view.
Ta, Matt
I thought I'd come here for a more discerning audience, rather than other forums.
I've been gaming since the years of the ZX Spectrum 16k and now own an Octane III 17.3" (or IV can't remember) with a GTX1080, M2 and i7-7700k. I haven't played any online games except a few silly card games.
I honestly thought the years of ground breaking games were over. I thought I'd gotten old. Forget the Spectrum years, the games back then were truthfully rubbish if not addictive. The true, first real game was in the form of Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation. I watched my friend play it and couldn't quite believe the graphics and open world gameplay. I later bought a PlayStation and this game, and had the best experience of my (game playing) life. it had so much RPG depth, great emotional storytelling and it had great minigames. I spent hours at that arcade at the top of the lift.
Since then I've played great games, but none other managed to recapture that amazement. Games that stood out would be Civilization IV & V, Fall Out New Vegas and GTA V. I do like games where you can potter about whilst in the game.
I've also enjoyed Far Cry 3 and the Mass Effect Series. Oblivion and Skyrim are quite good. Massive disappointments have been The Witcher III and Bioshock. I could critique these all these games here but I don't intend to. They provided me with entertainment, but most I've never finished.
Now I just thought it was me getting old, not enjoying games anymore, games aren't what they used to be etc. However, I'm currently 3/4 through my second play of KCD, this time on Hardcore mode and it is amazing. I am living the life of Henry. It is great that you are rubbish at the beginning. You have no skills. you can barely lift a sword. You can't fight. The local drunk beats you up when you ask for your Dad's money. You have to run from every battle, from every bandit and mugger. You can't even read. I love that. You have to work your way up from scratch. You gradually learn these things. You can learn to pickpocket and lockpick if you want. You learn to drink alcohol, brilliant. All this and the game looks amazing. There is no simultaneous levelling of enemies with yourself. You experience yourself getting better both at combat and through levelling. Combat is about watching your opponent and timing, not just spam and roll. You feel like you actually deserve the perks because you worked so hard for them and they make a real difference. The storyline is pretty good too. I found the voice acting convincing and had one or two lumps in the throat. I love the local English accents (isn't the game set in Czech), but it makes it feel more rustic. To their credit they made the right choice in going with first person mode. It always feels more immersive, I wanna be my character. 3rd person always feels too detached and too much like you're playing a game.
This is a gaming experience which I never thought I'd have again. I touched upon it with Fall Out New Vegas and GTA V but this feels more permanent. I feel like I grew with Henry and turned from rubbish into no quite so rubbish. Now I'm just waiting for the next DLC so I can carry on.
This game broke through a barrier which I thought was closed forever. I tried GTA V since, with graphics mods again but it seemed dated.
I'm thinking the only way to top this would be to buy VR and a racing sim, but I have a young family and can't justify that expense and detachment from the outside world right now.
Anyway, a 43 year old gamer giving his point of view.
Ta, Matt
