Post by slendermaschine on Feb 3, 2014 10:16:47 GMT -5
ASSGRRR: After Spill Similar Game Recommendation/Request/Ratings Thread
Have you ever played a game and immediately thought "if you liked [x], then you'd love this!" or were desperately searching for a game to fill that empty bit in your heart clamoring for that *one* game you loved? Well, considering it's gonna be a while until the official site is up anyway, I figured why not have a place to recommend, request, and rate games to help discover possibly new ventures to follow... or ones to avoid like week-old Taco Bell left in the sun (Or what I like to call "The Bieber"). That's where ASSGRRR comes in! Yes, it's pronounced AssGrrr. No, I honestly did not do that intentionally.
And yes, that doesn't make it not funny because given the nature of this topic, in some cases ASSGRR is both hilarious and contextually appropriate.
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So to start off, I'll offer the request for any recommendations for a game to fill a Legend of Zelda (3D) part of my heart that, in case it wasn't clear, is not Legend of Zelda (or on the Wii/Wii-U, if possible).
-Would anyone recommend either Dark Souls or Dragon Age origins for that type of gameplay?
And to round things out, I'll throw in a few ratings of games I've experienced that might appear to fit that but either fail or succeed:
First, the ASSGRRS (Avoid)
1. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning - Perhaps you've heard the glowing reviews for KoAR, but to put it simply those reviewers are like Subway calling their employees Sandwich Artists; they're still fast food workers who only handle pre-prepared deli meat and can only be trusted with a toaster oven for cripes sake. Kingdoms of Amalur, in short, might allow for a few unique options but in the end can't even cook you a goddamn burger.
If there is on thing that has to be addressed first and fore most it is that the combat in this game is NOT what reviewers have cracked it up to be; it's ass. Shoddy camera, typical one button mashing, and boring animations. So called "special" kills don't live up to the hype and look silly (especially with the graphics/art) and ranged combat is very difficult to aim when you're not fighting the camera.
My biggest complaint is the absolute absence of any sense of urgency or reward, especially in combat. It's so bland that you just hit a button and don't even bother to challenge yourself or time your blocks much. The combat just isn't dynamic whatsoever, even with fast-switching magic and archery. In fact, I'd say that fast swapping makes the action seem worse because having a bow magically appear feels stupid - especially a fat, horrendous-looking bow at that. Enemies don't feel dangerous or impressive in the least and worst of all the game is GLITCHY. To put it in perspective, I can run Skyrim with over 250 mods and not have it immediately CTD. In the KoAR demo you face a troll mini boss thing and only two grunts; I take out the two grunts first but the troll just stares at a wall for no damn reason, then I actually hit the troll a few times, he just lays on the ground - rinse repeat - and randomly appears facing me without as much as a turning animation. This happened several times during the aforementioned rinse cycle, but I don't even think this was just a one time thing based off of the overall experience.
Finally, although some Zeldas aren't my cup of tea as far as art, I still feel they all have a *look* that feels natural in its own game at least. Amalur just looks clumsy and ugly - think World of Warcraft and Fable mixed together - and it plays like it as well. My suggestion is to either try the demo on Steam if you must or just give it a pass because it's ass. It tries to make you care and even goes so far as to have dialogue options, but if you don't give a shit - which is easier than not giving your credit card to a Nigerian prince - then it all just gets in the way, makes you hit the *SKIP* button again and again, but before you know it you really don't know what the hell is going on because you skipped all of the boring conversation nonsense so you just shrug your shoulders and move along the single path provided.
This might be good if you wanted something like WoW but without the multiplayer, but I have no real idea if that's really accurate other than basing impressions off of graphics because I don't like WoW, never played WoW, and one thing I can say about both WoW and KoAR is I positively hate both of their art styles to high hell. Particularly I did not like the design of these stupid dwarf bastards you're surrounded by from the get go; they're just plain stupid looking. One last note, the inventory is very poorly designed, especially for leveling up, so for an RPG that is probably something to really take good note of because you obviously have to deal with that a lot in RPGs.
I sincerely wanted to like this game, I really did, but the art/graphic design was ugly in practice, the combat was grossly overhyped bullshit, and it just feels thrown together. It isn't open feeling and I felt absolutely no need to give a damn about anything; no feeling of threats, intrigue, danger, interest, nothing. It's just so generic feeling, which is a special kind of fucking up because the game does try to differentiate itself from other fantasy games, it just does so in the most boring way possible.
And now I'll dropkick the point that this is an EA published game, so now it all makes for a clearer picture.
Oh, and did I mention that just to use the demo you need to put in your email address? Ok, fuck you Amalur. Fuck you and your stupid dwarf fuckers.
2. Fable 2 - I'm only putting it here because it's the only Fable game I've played of the 3 (and isn't there some motion controlledspinshit-off now?) and in case you ever wondered, I'd say eh. It's the better of the 3, but it's not that great either. Kingdoms of Amalur is basically a deeper, more RPG version of this but I'd also add if you've played Fable 2, Kingdoms of Amalur is especially not going to be that much of a worthwhile experience because they're so similiar: Neither has deep combat
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My Recommendations:
1. Skyrim - While not puzzle oriented, it at least has some puzzles unlike the other two games but what puts Skyrim under my recommendation list for a game to help fulfill a Legend of Zelda desire is the mod options. Specifically I would suggest looking at a few of the face/character mods and consider a Bosmer (basically a Wood Elf, so you could really look like Link), surprise surprise, a mod that specifically replaces the music with Legend of Zelda's, and to greatly enhance the 3rd person perspective, the Dual Sheath Redux Mod, Immersive Animations, and XP32 (required skeleton; link apparently needs you to allow adult mods to be shown because of some of the user images or something). Most of all, though, get a mod like Deadly Combat or Ultimate Combat to improve the combat tremendously, and I'd say look up either Immersive Creatures or the Skyrim Monster Mod (not on Nexus)
Personally I don't play this way, but it's an avenue I would suggest for those who aren't looking to just play Skyrim. I'd also suggest checking out some of the ENB graphic enhancing mods because some might be more fantasy oriented, and I *think* Climates of Tamriel has a more fantasy oriented setting. If not, it was Realvision ENB. If you require assistance installing ENBs, just look up "Gopher ENB," on youtube because anything mod related I'd say he's the man to look towards.
2. Morrowind or Oblivion - similiar reasons as above, but specifically because even Morrowind, old as it is, is a fuckton better than Kingdoms of Amalur.
Other avenues to look into that I *know of* but have not actually played are Anodyne for a more 2D/NES feel or 3D Dot Hero on the PS3 because we can't always have nice things (it should totally be on the PC *grumble*). If I still used my PS3 for anything but a way to raise the value of an otherwise boring shelf, I'd definitely check out 3D Dot hero. I know less of Dragon's Dogma, but it might actually be worth looking into - this one I have to ask if it even is because it's another game that has slipped under my radar.
Have you ever played a game and immediately thought "if you liked [x], then you'd love this!" or were desperately searching for a game to fill that empty bit in your heart clamoring for that *one* game you loved? Well, considering it's gonna be a while until the official site is up anyway, I figured why not have a place to recommend, request, and rate games to help discover possibly new ventures to follow... or ones to avoid like week-old Taco Bell left in the sun (Or what I like to call "The Bieber"). That's where ASSGRRR comes in! Yes, it's pronounced AssGrrr. No, I honestly did not do that intentionally.
And yes, that doesn't make it not funny because given the nature of this topic, in some cases ASSGRR is both hilarious and contextually appropriate.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So to start off, I'll offer the request for any recommendations for a game to fill a Legend of Zelda (3D) part of my heart that, in case it wasn't clear, is not Legend of Zelda (or on the Wii/Wii-U, if possible).
-Would anyone recommend either Dark Souls or Dragon Age origins for that type of gameplay?
And to round things out, I'll throw in a few ratings of games I've experienced that might appear to fit that but either fail or succeed:
First, the ASSGRRS (Avoid)
1. Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning - Perhaps you've heard the glowing reviews for KoAR, but to put it simply those reviewers are like Subway calling their employees Sandwich Artists; they're still fast food workers who only handle pre-prepared deli meat and can only be trusted with a toaster oven for cripes sake. Kingdoms of Amalur, in short, might allow for a few unique options but in the end can't even cook you a goddamn burger.
If there is on thing that has to be addressed first and fore most it is that the combat in this game is NOT what reviewers have cracked it up to be; it's ass. Shoddy camera, typical one button mashing, and boring animations. So called "special" kills don't live up to the hype and look silly (especially with the graphics/art) and ranged combat is very difficult to aim when you're not fighting the camera.
My biggest complaint is the absolute absence of any sense of urgency or reward, especially in combat. It's so bland that you just hit a button and don't even bother to challenge yourself or time your blocks much. The combat just isn't dynamic whatsoever, even with fast-switching magic and archery. In fact, I'd say that fast swapping makes the action seem worse because having a bow magically appear feels stupid - especially a fat, horrendous-looking bow at that. Enemies don't feel dangerous or impressive in the least and worst of all the game is GLITCHY. To put it in perspective, I can run Skyrim with over 250 mods and not have it immediately CTD. In the KoAR demo you face a troll mini boss thing and only two grunts; I take out the two grunts first but the troll just stares at a wall for no damn reason, then I actually hit the troll a few times, he just lays on the ground - rinse repeat - and randomly appears facing me without as much as a turning animation. This happened several times during the aforementioned rinse cycle, but I don't even think this was just a one time thing based off of the overall experience.
Finally, although some Zeldas aren't my cup of tea as far as art, I still feel they all have a *look* that feels natural in its own game at least. Amalur just looks clumsy and ugly - think World of Warcraft and Fable mixed together - and it plays like it as well. My suggestion is to either try the demo on Steam if you must or just give it a pass because it's ass. It tries to make you care and even goes so far as to have dialogue options, but if you don't give a shit - which is easier than not giving your credit card to a Nigerian prince - then it all just gets in the way, makes you hit the *SKIP* button again and again, but before you know it you really don't know what the hell is going on because you skipped all of the boring conversation nonsense so you just shrug your shoulders and move along the single path provided.
This might be good if you wanted something like WoW but without the multiplayer, but I have no real idea if that's really accurate other than basing impressions off of graphics because I don't like WoW, never played WoW, and one thing I can say about both WoW and KoAR is I positively hate both of their art styles to high hell. Particularly I did not like the design of these stupid dwarf bastards you're surrounded by from the get go; they're just plain stupid looking. One last note, the inventory is very poorly designed, especially for leveling up, so for an RPG that is probably something to really take good note of because you obviously have to deal with that a lot in RPGs.
I sincerely wanted to like this game, I really did, but the art/graphic design was ugly in practice, the combat was grossly overhyped bullshit, and it just feels thrown together. It isn't open feeling and I felt absolutely no need to give a damn about anything; no feeling of threats, intrigue, danger, interest, nothing. It's just so generic feeling, which is a special kind of fucking up because the game does try to differentiate itself from other fantasy games, it just does so in the most boring way possible.
And now I'll dropkick the point that this is an EA published game, so now it all makes for a clearer picture.
Oh, and did I mention that just to use the demo you need to put in your email address? Ok, fuck you Amalur. Fuck you and your stupid dwarf fuckers.
2. Fable 2 - I'm only putting it here because it's the only Fable game I've played of the 3 (and isn't there some motion controlled
-----------------------------
My Recommendations:
1. Skyrim - While not puzzle oriented, it at least has some puzzles unlike the other two games but what puts Skyrim under my recommendation list for a game to help fulfill a Legend of Zelda desire is the mod options. Specifically I would suggest looking at a few of the face/character mods and consider a Bosmer (basically a Wood Elf, so you could really look like Link), surprise surprise, a mod that specifically replaces the music with Legend of Zelda's, and to greatly enhance the 3rd person perspective, the Dual Sheath Redux Mod, Immersive Animations, and XP32 (required skeleton; link apparently needs you to allow adult mods to be shown because of some of the user images or something). Most of all, though, get a mod like Deadly Combat or Ultimate Combat to improve the combat tremendously, and I'd say look up either Immersive Creatures or the Skyrim Monster Mod (not on Nexus)
Personally I don't play this way, but it's an avenue I would suggest for those who aren't looking to just play Skyrim. I'd also suggest checking out some of the ENB graphic enhancing mods because some might be more fantasy oriented, and I *think* Climates of Tamriel has a more fantasy oriented setting. If not, it was Realvision ENB. If you require assistance installing ENBs, just look up "Gopher ENB," on youtube because anything mod related I'd say he's the man to look towards.
2. Morrowind or Oblivion - similiar reasons as above, but specifically because even Morrowind, old as it is, is a fuckton better than Kingdoms of Amalur.
Other avenues to look into that I *know of* but have not actually played are Anodyne for a more 2D/NES feel or 3D Dot Hero on the PS3 because we can't always have nice things (it should totally be on the PC *grumble*). If I still used my PS3 for anything but a way to raise the value of an otherwise boring shelf, I'd definitely check out 3D Dot hero. I know less of Dragon's Dogma, but it might actually be worth looking into - this one I have to ask if it even is because it's another game that has slipped under my radar.