The Video Game Recommendation Thread

[Caiada]

This forum gets a lot of general game reviews and people asking for recommendations on games; getting them altogether into one concentrated place seemed to be something it was really lacking though. I know there's metacritic, but honestly, I think a lot of people here would rather hear MMO-C's opinions, you know, the average dedicated gamer. I myself love writing and video games, so there's some natural interest in reviewing stuff myself. There are also some highly intelligent, highly experienced people here, just the kinda people that people might want to hear reviews from.

The idea of the thread is to post a review of a game you yourself have played and would recommend to others. It doesn't have to be in-depth, but a small paragraph or so explaining some positives and the type of person who would enjoy the game would be nice. Write as much as you want to.Make sure to mention genre too! Makes it easier for me to sort, and easier for people to find If others agree with your mini-review, they can corroborate it. I'll keep track of all recommended games (and how many have corroborated it) here in the OP, sorted by genre.

Rules (read these first before posting, please)

Keep discussion positive. There's no 'unrecommending a game' or telling people to stay away, and especially no game bashing.

If there's a game not here you think should be though, post away! Any and all game recommendations will be taken, edited in and sorted. If it's an older game, make sure it's either abandonware (like many old DOS games, for example) or obtainable within reason and legally. No piracy promotion!

Make sure that, if you post, you're either posting a review, or posting a corroboration! It makes it easier for me to find them. Corroborations can simply be positive comments on a review. Think of it as a personalized "Like" button, if you want a decent parallel. Exceptions will be made to this rule for people suggesting modifications to the rules. It's a community effort, and I guarantee I didn't think of everything. Also, I'd like to hear people's opinions on this idea in general. Post those below too!

(I'll think about consolidating genres later, once there's more reviews/recommendations)

The List (click to see reviews):

2D Action

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Super Metroid
Muramasa: The Demon Blade

3D Action

Zone of the Enders
Assassin's Creed: Revelations

3D Platformer:

The Sly Cooper Collection

Dungeon Crawlers:

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Darksiders

FPS:

Half-Life 2

JRPG:

Earthbound

Survival-Horror:

Silent Hill Collection (includes SH2 and 3)



Have more to add, MMO-C?

[wariofan1]

Oooh! This is great! Been wanting to write my own reviews for video games for quite a while. Ok, so let's start out with this game that I completed just recently:



The Legends of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992) for the SNES.

In this overworld dungeon crawler you play as Link, one of Nintendo's very well known characters. The main object of the game (without spoiling anything) is to save Princess Zelda and defeat Ganon to save the world from being swept in eternal darkness. Sounds brutal? Well, yeah, it is.

General knowledge about gameplay

There's plenty of upgrades and power-ups to find throughout the game which are neccessary for progressing, both in dungeons and in the open world. Dungeons are the main challenges in this game, they all have different themes, but all have 1 upgrade/item and 1 boss by the end which when you defeat it will increase you overall health.

The world



The game sets you into the vast and enormous world of Hyrule where you get to explore everything, just from desert landscapes with tricky challenges to every minigame and shop that you can think of. However, what seperates this game from the rest of the games in the series is that there's not only one world in this game, there's two! You'll continously swap between the normal world (referred to as the Light World) and the Dark World. The Dark World is Ganon's creation, I won't say more. There's so many hidden treasures, items and heart containers (items that help increase your overall health) around the world, you'll have a very hard time trying to get 100%.

Judgement



When I first started on this game I didn't think it would be my type of game, but I lacked an SNES game to play at that time, and thought why not? I've never been a big fan of Zelda games, despite being a huge Nintendo fan, this helped me getting into the series a little more. You get really immersed into the game, and all of the challenges and puzzles that it throws at you will not only require fast timing, but also good thinking. It's also fairly lengthy, even though it hints early on that it won't be.

9/10

[Poppincaps]

Why has this thread not taken off? I am too lazy to write a full review right now, but come on MMO-C let's get some game reviews going!

[Lord Bale]

There are a lot of gamers now a days that never had the chance to experience some of the gems older gamers had the opportunity to play when we were younger. Lke the Zelda post above me. Though I'm not a fan of Zelda, it's a great recommendation. The survival horror genre, in my opinion, has taken a turn for the worst in the last couple of years. The franchise that in my opinion is the face of the survival horror genre, Resident Evil, seems to be even more disappointing with every following installment. So I'm here to recommend:
Silent Hill: HD Collection

Silent Hill 2


Both SH 2 & 3 are included in the collection ported from the PS2 to the Xbox 360 & PS3.(Though technically I'm recommending the original SH games, it's more convenient to post as the collection for me and you both) Both games come packed will all new voice overs and improved graphics. The SH games are more centered on immersion and storytelling Silent Hill is the name of the town in the series. In each of the games the main characters find themselves (willing or not) exploring the town and find it abandoned and filled with horrors. The particular dangers are different for each visitor, and they are always strange. You play as James Sunderland, a man who is grieving the loss of his wife who died three years ago of an unspecified illness. He has a letter which seems to have been sent by his dead wife, saying that she is waiting for him at Silent Hill, where they once spent a vacation together.

Silent Hill 3


The third game in the Silent Hill Trilogy. The heroine of this game is teenaged Heather who is suddenly thrust into a strange alternate reality filled with demonic imagery and twisted monsters. She quickly comes to find that the events unfolding around her have something to do with her past.

I recommend the SH collection for any fan of the survival horror genre, whether you played the originals or not. No game made in today's market will give you a thrill as much as these horror classics will. Also for fans that have seen the movie, the games can provide more understanding and closure to the series as a whole.

Gameplay



Will continue to bump if needed to get a great thread started!

[Badpaladin]

Half-Life 2:

At this point there are probably a ridiculous amount of people who have played this game (likely many times), but for those who haven't it's an absolute must. The game, in my eyes, tends to revolve around two basic principles:

1.) Immersion. From the moment you get placed on the Subway until the very end, this game is about immersing the player in the world of City 17 and its surrounding regions. There are no cutscenes, and aside from breaks to load content (game is from 2004), it's continuous, fluid gameplay. There are little details in every area you go through that make the setting real. Things like Health Packs aren't placed conveniently in the middle of rooms, they're usually in logical places one might expect to find health packs. By the end of the game, you are Gordon Freeman.

2.) Turn something simple into something interesting. There's a standard array of FPS weapons - the pistol, the submachine gun, the assualt rifle, the shotgun - but there's also the Gravity Gun. This is, in my opinion, the single greatest weapon ever conceived in an FPS. You can manipulate your environments and kill your enemies in countless creative ways. One of the most fun aspects of this game is finding new ways to use the Gravity Gun to your advantage, making you take advantage of the amazing physics engine of the game. Most "levels" look somewhat normal compared to what other games offer, but the Gravity Gun changes everything - environments are now your playground rather than just a setting.

[Underskilled]

If your soul hasn't been crushed yet, look no further! Super Ghouls n' Ghosts!


Gameplay

SGNG is a run and gun action game, with bit of platforming thrown in. You can find a large assortment of weapons throughout the levels, with each weapon having its own upgraded version with the green armor, and special attack with the gold armor! But don't start feeling uuber-l33t yet, because in just two hits, you're done. Every level has their own unique boss and enemies, as well as a red arremer here and there just to ruin your day. Not only that, but once you defeat the last boss, you learn must play through every level again, but with even stronger enemies! And not only THAT, but you must also reach the end boss again, with a magic attack, in order to fight the true final boss!


If you see one of these, you're probably about to lose.

Difficulty

Perhaps what this game is best known for. Incredibly unforgiving enemies, levels, and jumps. No save points, you run out of continues, you're done. Combine this with needing to complete the entire game twice, and you've got a monster of a game. Not only that, but the game itself also features a variety of different difficulty levels, with even the easiest being a challenge for newcomers.

Final thoughts

This is the SNES era. This is the Ghosts and Goblins franchise. Expect nothing less than a devilishly hard game, no forgiveness, no hand-holding, no pity, no remorse, and you'll love this.

10/10

[Zenotetsuken]

Darksiders

This game surprised me so thoroughly that it became one of my top 5 games of all time. It is an amazing combination of God of War/Devil may cry action with Legend of Zelda style dungeons & puzzles. I had never heard anything about it good or bad, but I was bored one day looking for something to play when I stumbled upon it in the Gamestop near my house.

You play as War, one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse and you have been summoned to earth to fight in the final battle between heaven and hell.
It is an extremely beautiful game with large areas to explore, some of the best looking levels I have ever seen, and phenomenal art design all around.



I am not going to go into a ton of detail here, because well... I don't think a lot is needed. If you enjoy the gameplay style of Legend of Zelda, but are looking for something darker, and more brutal pick up Darksiders.

10/10

[Dalinos]

Darksiders

If you enjoy the gameplay style of Legend of Zelda, but are looking for something darker, and more brutal pick up Darksiders.

10/10

And when you're done finishing Darskiders, and you've fallen in love with the series, pick up Darksiders 2! In THIS installment of the series, you play as Death, the 2nd of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Shit hits the fan at the end of Darksiders 1, and Darksiders 2 picks up very nicely!

New areas to explore, new skills, new weapons...it's gonna be a blast!

[Poppincaps]

...where did my post go? I posted a review of Dragon Age: Origins like an hour ago...

[wariofan1]

Super Metroid (1994) (also known as Metroid 3) for the Super Nintendo (yet again) is absolutely the best game I've ever played, only contested by two other games I might add on here later.

Story:
You play as the heroine of the Metroid series, Samus Aran, a renowned bounty hunter, in your quest to save the last Metroid in the galaxy from the Space Pirates and their malicious leader, Mother Brain. You're on the planet Zebes, homeworld of the Chozo, and probably the most dangerous and recognized planet in all of the Metroid series.

General Gameplay Knowledge:



Super Metroid is a 2-D Sidescroller Platform/Adventure/Shooter game where you use your beam and other upgrades to eradicate the different enemies which block your path.

There's 4 main bosses to be defeated before you can access Mother Brain's lair, Tourian, and end her reign over Zebes. The bosses are Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon and Ridley (from left to right to top in the above picture). The world is ENORMOUS and it will take maximum skill and tons of hours to grab every power-up in the game. The world is broken down into 7 zones, Crateria, Brinstar, Upper Norfair, Wrecked Ship, Maridia, Lower Norfair and Tourian.

The World:



Crateria: The place where you start the whole adventure, this is the surface of the planet and it usually rains a lot here. The favored color for this zone is gray. You'll face the Chozo Statue miniboss in this zone.

Brinstar: A lush forest crippling with Zebes' most recognizable enemies, this not only features one of the best soundtracks in the game (one of the best things about this game is the soundtrack), but it's also one of the most important zones in the game, and you'll return here often. It is here where you'll fight the Spore Spawn miniboss and face Kraid, the first main boss.

Upper Norfair: Basically a big cavern where lava flows as waterfalls, this is the fiery zone of the game. It is here that the game will begin to get more challenging and you'll have to begin thinking before acting. It is also here where the majority of shortcuts can be used to gain early access to late-game power-ups, like the Wave Beam, to allow for an easy stroll through the game. It is here you'll face the mini-boss Crocomire.

Wrecked Ship: The smallest zone in the game. It's basically an abandoned robotic ship which has been cursed by an evil spirit. All power has been cut off, thus doors, save stations and much more doesn't work until you've defeated the boss. It is here you'll face the second main boss, Phantoon.

Maridia: An underwater zone focusing on various puzzles. It is by far the most frustrating zone in the game due to the quicksand and other challenges. It will be hard to move around in this place until you gain the Gravity Suit. I absolutely adore this zone, it's so well constructed and one of the zones that define Super Metroid. It is here that you face the mini-boss Botwoon and the third main boss, Draygon.

Lower Norfair: We're now in the hollow depths of Norfair, lava and fire is as common as water and air, when in this place you can basically feel the heat crawl up your spine. My personal favorite zone out of all the zones in this game, and it also has my favorite soundtrack. The most challenging enemies lurk down here, some are invincible unless shot in the back, others are like trucks trying to pummel you down. It is here that you'll face the empowered Chozo Statue mini-boss and the fourth main boss, Ridley.

Tourian: The last stop on the journey, Tourian is a giant robotic shell that lies at the center of the planet. It is made specificly to contain and defend The Mother Brain. You'll have to fight your way through the Metroid series' favored enemies until you reach the final climax of the game and discover the fate of the Baby Metroid. It is here that you face the final boss, Mother Brain.

Power-ups:



I'd be stupid to try and list them all here, so here's a few of the primary ones:

Energy Tanks: You start off with none of these, but as you progress through the game you'll find several of them, and they're usually the big catch after finding a secret passage. These increase your overall health, you start with 99HP and each Energy Tank you acquire increases you health by an additional 99HP.

Missiles: For when your normal beam doesn't cut it, this is a primary way to damage bosses, however you have limited amounts of them, so use them wisely. You can fill up your missile stock by killing enemies or finding a missle recharger, and you can also expand the maximum capacity by finding Missile Containers. Later on you gain Super Missiles which are basically empowered missiles but with a more limited maximum capacity.

Morph Ball: Allows you to roll into a little ball to get through small passages that you wouldn't normally be able to get through.

Bomb: While in Morph Ball state you can get a power-up that allows you to drop bombs, this is the primary way of finding secrets and other power-ups/containers throughout the game. Later on through the game you gain the Power Bomb which after ticking down damages all enemies on screen, these are also handy for finding secrets.

Screw Attack: This power-up enhances your jump, so that anything you jump towards will get annihilated. This is the strongest power-up in the whole game, but it doesn't work against mini-bosses or bosses, so it's commonly used for fast travelling so you won't have to mind the creatures.

Beam Upgrades: Aside from you simple Power Beam which you start with there's multiple upgrades to it. There's the Charge Beam which allows you to charge up your beam to do maximum damage, the Ice Beam which freezes the enemies, the Spazer Beam which gives your beam a wider range, the Wave Beam which allows your beam to penetrate through walls, and lastly there's the Plasma Beam which penetrates enemies. Each beam upgrade also enhances your damage.

Suit Upgrades: Samus' suit is made by the Chozos, and thus it's extraordinary. Aside from the suit you start with, the Power Suit, there's a few other suits. The Varia Suit, the suit you commonly see Samus wearing in official art and fan art, makes you able to resist intense heat from different rooms, very usable in Norfair. The Gravity Suit, a purple suit, allows you to move freely underwater and makes you resistant against lava. It is worth noting that each suit reduces your overall damage taken.

These are just few of the numerous power-ups throughout the game, so there's A LOT of work to do if you want to do a 100% run, allowing for good replayability. There's also a few hidden special moves when combining different weapons.

Final Verdict:



I guess this post works both as a review and a guide, but I always get so hyped when writing or talking about this game, can't help it. Soooo, if you're actually still reading (I doubt you've read it all) and didn't just scroll past my wall of text, you're destined to try out this game. Whether it be by emulator or it actually being the real deal (playing it on the TV enhances the experience 10 times), this game will kick maximum ass, there's no doubt about it, and to me it is THE BEST GAME EVER!

Score: 10/10

[Newbryn]

Zone of the enders 2.
Mecha/action with some light rpg elements top notch gameplay, probably the best mecha game ever made. Story isn't too deep, but its actually pretty good beautiful aesthetics still one of the most beautiful games on ps2, if you like mecha then you must play this game.10/10

[Markluzz]

Can we post a link to a list of official reviews, because im no good at really writing any great reviews.

[Caiada]

Can we post a link to a list of official reviews, because im no good at really writing any great reviews.

Preferably not, but it could be included in a small overview or summary. It doesn't have to be great, also, just what you'd tell somebody if you were recommending a game to them.

[Zenotetsuken]

And when you're done finishing Darskiders, and you've fallen in love with the series, pick up Darksiders 2! In THIS installment of the series, you play as Death, the 2nd of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Shit hits the fan at the end of Darksiders 1, and Darksiders 2 picks up very nicely!

New areas to explore, new skills, new weapons...it's gonna be a blast!

Yeah, I am super excited. I am hoping THQs Warhammer 40k MMO crap doesn't hurt Vigil too badly, I was sad to see that something like 79 people from that studio got laid off. Anxiously awaiting June 26th... Oddly even more than May 15th for D3.

[Mechazod]

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Wii

It is actually required by law that if you have a Wii that you must own this game. Forget Super Mario Galaxy, forget Skyward Sword, forget Xenoblade Chronicles, THIS game is what you must seek out. I will break this recommendation into two different categories:


1: If you have ever played Princess Crown or Odin Sphere then you will get this, you probably already have this, there is no option where fans of the previous games mentioned would not own this.


2: If you have not played the two games mentioned above or have no idea what Vanillaware is well then I weep for you but I shall enlighten with the good word of this game.
Muramasa is the third entry to Vanillaware's 2D action/RPG/artgasm series, the previous two being Princess Crown on the Sega Saturn and Odin Sphere on PS2. While they are not directly connected games there is no doubt from those that have played them that they are all very similar and spiritual sequels to one another, as such you could also call Muramasa as Princess Crown 3.

Some people may look at Muramasa and think its just another 2D retro scroller game trying to cash in on nostalgia. Those people are horrible and you should destroy them. 2D scroller does not give this game justice in description though it is indeed two dimensional and does scroll. Instead the words I would best describe it as would be something along the lines of a 2D Devil May Cry which ate a small unsuspecting RPG. Both of the previous games had similar game play but Muramasa is just so much faster and more insane and just better then the previous two which are gems on their own. I have a lack for words to describe it so I shall attempt and show a video of the gorgeous insanity which is The Demon Blade.



Wasn't that beautiful? Wasn't that awesome? Didn't that make your reproductive organs tingle with joy? But wait! You haven't heard the best part about this gift from God! Despite it being a Wii game, which I am sure scared off some people, you can in fact use a normal controller to play this game! That fact alone when combined with this over the top joy ride of a game makes Muramasa sky rocket to the top of my Wii game hoard.

The game however is not purely a 2D God of War, there are in fact elements of Muramasa that make it more closely resembling an RPG, thought not as much as the previous two games Vanillaware produced. Battle are in fact random instead of having regions covered with baddies like normal platformer-esque scrollers. Upgrading your swords through different tress for new abilities is also a very important part of the game as it allows new abilities. There are towns to explore and a large map to travel across and back track through to previous areas you were to weak to conquer, rather then a linear path game. Food is an important part of the game as not only does it heal you but also has its own form of experience that levels you up based on the quality of the food and food that you gain recipes to make, as well as the fact that you cant spam healing items in this game and instead need to make good use of the best quality items to survive. If you see just a 2D game when you look at Muramasa and are expecting something like New Super Mario Brothers Wii then you will have your brain explode upon actually playing the game. Perhaps an even better description for this game would be if you were to somehow combine the 2D RPG elements of Ys III with the over the top fast paced game play of Ys VII.

This game deserves a place in your Wii collection. This game deserves to be right along side of other Wii classics like Donkey Kong Country Returns, Sin and Punishment and Kirby's Return to Dream Land. This is the type of game you bought your Wii for, yes even your grand parents who thought they bought it for Wii Sports were in fact actually buying the system for this one game. This game deserves a spot up on your mantle, throw away little Bobby's trophies and medals in the garbage and put this slice of perfection up instead. Invite your friends and family to form a cult around it and kill in its name. It may not be EarthBound but dear god...its pretty damn close.

[Arrowstormen]

Half-Life 2:

At this point there are probably a ridiculous amount of people who have played this game (likely many times), but for those who haven't it's an absolute must. The game, in my eyes, tends to revolve around two basic principles:

1.) Immersion. From the moment you get placed on the Subway until the very end, this game is about immersing the player in the world of City 17 and its surrounding regions. There are no cutscenes, and aside from breaks to load content (game is from 2004), it's continuous, fluid gameplay. There are little details in every area you go through that make the setting real. Things like Health Packs aren't placed conveniently in the middle of rooms, they're usually in logical places one might expect to find health packs. By the end of the game, you are Gordon Freeman.

2.) Turn something simple into something interesting. There's a standard array of FPS weapons - the pistol, the submachine gun, the assualt rifle, the shotgun - but there's also the Gravity Gun. This is, in my opinion, the single greatest weapon ever conceived in an FPS. You can manipulate your environments and kill your enemies in countless creative ways. One of the most fun aspects of this game is finding new ways to use the Gravity Gun to your advantage, making you take advantage of the amazing physics engine of the game. Most "levels" look somewhat normal compared to what other games offer, but the Gravity Gun changes everything - environments are now your playground rather than just a setting.

I have tried to play this game, but I'm bored out of my skull playing it. Is there a point where everything becomes sweet, or if I don't like it in the start then it's already lost?

[Boxtroll55]

Assassins Creed Revelations




Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty much the same as Assassins creed 2 and Brotherhood. However, playing this gameplay feels entertaining just as it did on the other ones.
Story: Ezio Auditore is back and is trying to find his purpose in the world. He wants to open Altairs Library in Maysaf, However it is gaurded by templars. Ezio finds out he needs to obtain the five Maysaf Keys in Constantanople. The Templars have one key already. each Maysaf key Ezio finds reveals a memory of Altair. The story overall feels the best of the assassins creed games and really develops the characters
Length: With all the things to do the game is a good 20 hours long if not longer with buying all the stores. plenty to keep you entertained
Multiplayer: The multiplayer is a fun side thing to do i wouldnt buy just for it though
Overall Impression: This is one of my favorite games of all time i really enjoyed it i give it a 10 out of 10

[bcbully]

The Secret World.

[bcbully]

The Secret World - Free Form Progression

[Caiada]

I would prefer not just posting videos. It's supposed to be your personal opinion, not some other guy's.