Video Games

almost to a game the sandbox nature just means you're filling time doing the same missions over and over.

Variety is the spice of life.

agreed wibble yet there were some exceptions. Psi-ops (xbox, ps2) was a sandbox game that encouraged experimentation as demonstrated here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMbhHrW1-28

and non-sandbox games don't have you doing the same thing again and again? (FPS-shoot duck run shoot duck run, RPG- fight loot fight loot, Platformers- jump jump double jump) and there's peggle

peggle is amazing

peggle is amazing

agreed. Addicting and facinating combo of luck and a little skill, doing the same action again and again in all its iterations. Makes you doubt the verity of ...

Variety is the spice of life.

Peggle so addictive. Still play it now and again.

and non-sandbox games don't have you doing the same thing again and again? (FPS-shoot duck run shoot duck run, RPG- fight loot fight loot, Platformers- jump jump double jump) and there's peggle

But the thing about good non-sandbox games is that the single player experience ends when it should.

You could say Uncharted 2 is just jump jump shoot shoot but the masterfully paced experience built around the rock-solid mechanics is SO polished you struggle to put the controller down until the credits roll.

and non-sandbox games don't have you doing the same thing again and again? (FPS-shoot duck run shoot duck run, RPG- fight loot fight loot, Platformers- jump jump double jump) and there's peggle

Don't ever play Assassin Creed.

The missus stop playing with it because it became so repetitive (it's a sandbox games, but the mission is pretty identical).

2 is better though.

I though 3 was? (Brotherhood), hear some review about it not being reptitive.

Brotherhood is more like 2.5 than 3. I can't speak for brotherhood as I'm waiting til my birthday in a couple weeks to get it, but 2 is still a bit repetitive, although still really fun. It's the first game I've 100% completed in a while.

It seems I am the only one who grew up on early mac games. Playing Dark Castle and Beyond Dark Castle on the MacPlus took up many hours of my childhood. The move to pc games lead to a love of RTS, C&C, Starcraft all time favourites.

I thought the first Assassin's Creed was pretty boring but enjoyed the second while up at my folks last Xmas. Still thought it a shame that the climbing is such an integral part of the game, but there's very little skill needed and absolutely no tension involved. Would probably pick up Brotherhood but I've more important things to deal with...

GT5 is here next to me at work. Am preparing myself to be simultaneously impressed and underwhelmed, but still very much looking forward to it.

GT5 is here next to me at work. Am preparing myself to be simultaneously impressed and underwhelmed, but still very much looking forward to it.

Summation of most of the reviews:

Cars look amazing but game is underdevloped

Shame because i was thinking about picking it up.

Been wandering around the Epic Citadel on my iPhone 4. Only a tech demo so far but it's really just incredible. The resolution, the colour. Another step towards mobile phones basically being little PC/consoles.

I'm sitting at my bsl course until nine waiting for the moment when I can run home and begin playing gt5. think im going to be disappointed

I'm clearly not twitchy enough to be a FPS kinda guy. I like them, but there is no way in hell I'm going multiplayer.

I'm playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 right now in the single player campaign. It mainly consists of 90 seconds of shouting, gunfire and 'Marlowe's down' followed by a loading screen. Rinse and repeat.

I'm clearly not twitchy enough to be a FPS kinda guy. I like them, but there is no way in hell I'm going multiplayer.

I'm playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 right now in the single player campaign. It mainly consists of 90 seconds of shouting, gunfire and 'Marlowe's down' followed by a loading screen. Rinse and repeat.

If you're not a twitch gamer Bad Company multiplayer is definitely for you. It's bullet detection and hitboxes are so wank it DEMANDS you get in a chopper and rain slow hellfire on people. You can be pretty cack handed and still feel like you're doing something worthwhile.

BoCo2 was balls.
i had it from boomerang and i didnt like it at all.

GT5 is similar to the previous incarnations in racing, but the inbetween bits are better.
levelling is a nice touch (although a bit frustrating that you cant buy an old supra/ skyline straight off and pimp it to the max)
Karting is good fun too.
i am looking forward to 5 straight hours on saturday with it (with a case of beer and a Olivia Serie G)

you have almost exactly described my whole upcoming weekend right there.

In GT5, do the premium cars really look that much better than the standard ones? Is it only the interior or the exterior as well?

Just realized I could download the first bit of the Alan Wake DLC for free. Sweet!

My all-time favourite games:

Ignition
Command and Conquer: Red Alert
Baldur's Gate (1+2)
Goldeneye
The Sims
Driver
Quake 2
Anachronox
Little Big Adventure 2
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2
Half Life/HL 2 and the episodes
Soldier of Fortune (1+2)
Fallout 2 (and 3)
Freelancer
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear to Athena Sword
Deus Ex (1 and even 2)
UT/UT2003/UT2004
Elder Scrolls (2,3 and 4, natch)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl (really sad that my PC died before i could finish it)
Mass Effect 1+2
Mirror's Edge
Broken Sword - played it for the first time on my iPod touch

Top 5:
Deus Ex
Mass Effect 1
Mass Effect 2
Elder Scrolls 4: oblivion
Half Life 2

I haven't finished Deus Ex yet. I've been playing it, on and off, slowly, for the past 6 or 7 years. It is still the pinnacle for me, and i'm not really sure why.

I have played all of the GTAs, and i have recently decided that I get no enjoyment from being a criminal, even in a sandbox game environment... how lame is that! This is especially true in GTA 4 - killing someone in cold blood in that game feels so chillingly real that it's not entertainment. At least in GTA 3 it was cartoon-like and somehow not serious.

I feel dirty, I've started playing an MMO again.

Did amazon get you with their WoW discount?

Fucking bastards.

Im playing Quake Live online. Teh awesome.

Not WoW, I'm not that sad...
My internet hates Quake Live, I get disconnected after a couple minutes. It sucks.

I bet you play Evony.

WoW is rad.