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Post by Simon on Aug 13, 2014 9:12:53 GMT -5
Do you guys on the podcast (or anyone in the forum) have any recommendations for single-player games to play with a significant other? A little backstory: My wife and I play only co-op games together where we're both on the same team (it helps because it puts her stress level at ease knowing she's not competing) but we've pretty much run through the catalog of notable titles to play. We've gone through both Left 4 Dead games, both Borderlands, all the Halo games, all of Gears of War, etc. Now I'm thinking about trying to have us play a single-player game that is exciting for one person to watch while the other person plays. Ideally, I would like us to switch off playing, so it can't be something that's too difficult (though I think she could handle it). But it also has to be engaging. I've tried playing The Walking Dead with her and she gets bored by the lack of action. As you can see by the games we've played, she enjoys shooters. So what do you think would be a good fit for my current situation? Mass Effect? Uncharted? Something else entirely? (We have a PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U) What about either The Last of Us, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, or Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is maybe a little story driven or slow in places, but it's one hell of a story. |
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John D.
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 81 
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Post by John D. on Aug 15, 2014 8:17:11 GMT -5
Do you guys on the podcast (or anyone in the forum) have any recommendations for single-player games to play with a significant other? A little backstory: My wife and I play only co-op games together where we're both on the same team (it helps because it puts her stress level at ease knowing she's not competing) but we've pretty much run through the catalog of notable titles to play. We've gone through both Left 4 Dead games, both Borderlands, all the Halo games, all of Gears of War, etc. Now I'm thinking about trying to have us play a single-player game that is exciting for one person to watch while the other person plays. Ideally, I would like us to switch off playing, so it can't be something that's too difficult (though I think she could handle it). But it also has to be engaging. I've tried playing The Walking Dead with her and she gets bored by the lack of action. As you can see by the games we've played, she enjoys shooters. So what do you think would be a good fit for my current situation? Mass Effect? Uncharted? Something else entirely? (We have a PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U) Hey! I run into this all the time with my fiancee. She played games in her youth and still proclaims Super Mario Bros. 3 as her favorite, but since that era, she really hasn't played anything and isn't overly interested, though occasionally she'll play with me since she knows I love it so much. Be very thankful your wife gets into sci-fi shooters! I wish I was as lucky. So, games I found that worked pretty well: 1) Puzzle games, even single player games are great. Get one with good atmosphere and it's even better. Games like Limbo and Braid were perfect since one person controls the character while the other one is engaged with trying to help solve the puzzles. You work together to figure it out. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons would be another one. Incredible story. Gameplay-wise, they're nothing special, but everything else makes up for it and really, all three could be considered works of art. 2) Like racing games? I found racing games are perfect for trading off between players since you really need repeated plays get to know tracks and beat them. I do this with a buddy of mine constantly going through single player campaigns to unlock cars. Good fun and VERY engaging. Personally, I only enjoy arcade racers. Burnout, NFS, Blur, Motorstorm, Midnight Club: LA just to name a few. 3) You didn't mentioned platformers, but games like Rayman (Origins and Legends) are amazing and co-op. If you haven't played them, check them out. Also, Tomb Raider: Guardian of Light is a great two player game with lots of challenges. There's an incredible number of couch co-op games for Xbox live. 4) Though I did trade off playing Super Mario RPG on the Wii with my girl, I personally think most RPGs are tough unless the story is REALLY excellent. No one wants to watch someone else go through their inventory or assigning skill points. Adventure games could be okay. Again, I'd stick to the ones that put an extra level of effort into the story and narrative... something like Broken Age. Or if you haven't played them... the Monkey Island series. (if you haven't played older LucasArts games... you really should do that regardless... Day of the Tentacle is incredibly good... and the story/humor/puzzles are enough to keep non-players interested.) 5) Another good style of game to trade off on would be ones with multiple, distinct levels... for example, Bangai-O Missile Fury for Xbox Live. It's 2D PURE action... made by Treasure (best in the business for this type of game). What makes it a great trade-off game is that there's 40-something distinct levels and they're fairly hard. If you die, pass the controller. If you beat the level, pass the controller. Makes going back and forth quick and the action is ultra-intense in that game. 6) Last thing I'll say is don't forget about the plethora of "light-gun" games for the Wii. That system really excelled with them and most were co-op. No one really talks about light gun games anymore, but they're really great with the wii-mote. Dead Space Extraction was built for the Wii and was a perfect example of how good those type of games could be. There's at least 4-5 others that I'd recommend as well.... though one of them is NOT Mad Dog McCree. My god that game was horrible. Hope that helps... BTW - I also found The Walking Dead to be boring. Thanks lanemeyer and Simon for both of your responses. One of the things I left out in my original post because I didn't want it to get too long is that my wife used to hate video games and now she loves games like Borderlands and Gears of War. However, it's because those are mostly mindless shooters. She doesn't really play games to get invested in characters and the story--she just likes the action. So that makes picking out a single-player game a little difficult for me since the recommendations for games that are engaging are usually ones with strong story elements (Mass Effect, Walking Dead, etc.). She's mentioning being interested in Skyrim (which I don't have) but I'm thinking about playing through Fable 2 and 3 since those are pseudo co-op games where I can be the "tag-along" character but she can mainly control the protagonist. As for your suggestions: -Racing games are kind of off the table since it's competitive and she gets frustrated when she loses. Mario Kart is about the only racer we can play. -We have played through Tomb Raider and the Guardian of Light but I tend to stay away from co-op platformers because she's just not good at them. She's more of a shooter girl. -That being said, we did play through a lot of the light gun games on the Wii. I think the problem she has with those games is just being on rails. -I played through Heavy Rain myself and I wish we had played it together. We tried playing Beyond: Two Souls together and while we managed our way through it, she stopped wanting to play it halfway through because there wasn't a lot to do, especially in that section in the desert. She did, however, want to see how the story ended, so that's good. |
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Post by Simon on Aug 15, 2014 9:06:54 GMT -5
Hey! I run into this all the time with my fiancee. She played games in her youth and still proclaims Super Mario Bros. 3 as her favorite, but since that era, she really hasn't played anything and isn't overly interested, though occasionally she'll play with me since she knows I love it so much. Be very thankful your wife gets into sci-fi shooters! I wish I was as lucky. So, games I found that worked pretty well: 1) Puzzle games, even single player games are great. Get one with good atmosphere and it's even better. Games like Limbo and Braid were perfect since one person controls the character while the other one is engaged with trying to help solve the puzzles. You work together to figure it out. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons would be another one. Incredible story. Gameplay-wise, they're nothing special, but everything else makes up for it and really, all three could be considered works of art. 2) Like racing games? I found racing games are perfect for trading off between players since you really need repeated plays get to know tracks and beat them. I do this with a buddy of mine constantly going through single player campaigns to unlock cars. Good fun and VERY engaging. Personally, I only enjoy arcade racers. Burnout, NFS, Blur, Motorstorm, Midnight Club: LA just to name a few. 3) You didn't mentioned platformers, but games like Rayman (Origins and Legends) are amazing and co-op. If you haven't played them, check them out. Also, Tomb Raider: Guardian of Light is a great two player game with lots of challenges. There's an incredible number of couch co-op games for Xbox live. 4) Though I did trade off playing Super Mario RPG on the Wii with my girl, I personally think most RPGs are tough unless the story is REALLY excellent. No one wants to watch someone else go through their inventory or assigning skill points. Adventure games could be okay. Again, I'd stick to the ones that put an extra level of effort into the story and narrative... something like Broken Age. Or if you haven't played them... the Monkey Island series. (if you haven't played older LucasArts games... you really should do that regardless... Day of the Tentacle is incredibly good... and the story/humor/puzzles are enough to keep non-players interested.) 5) Another good style of game to trade off on would be ones with multiple, distinct levels... for example, Bangai-O Missile Fury for Xbox Live. It's 2D PURE action... made by Treasure (best in the business for this type of game). What makes it a great trade-off game is that there's 40-something distinct levels and they're fairly hard. If you die, pass the controller. If you beat the level, pass the controller. Makes going back and forth quick and the action is ultra-intense in that game. 6) Last thing I'll say is don't forget about the plethora of "light-gun" games for the Wii. That system really excelled with them and most were co-op. No one really talks about light gun games anymore, but they're really great with the wii-mote. Dead Space Extraction was built for the Wii and was a perfect example of how good those type of games could be. There's at least 4-5 others that I'd recommend as well.... though one of them is NOT Mad Dog McCree. My god that game was horrible. Hope that helps... BTW - I also found The Walking Dead to be boring. Thanks lanemeyer and Simon for both of your responses. One of the things I left out in my original post because I didn't want it to get too long is that my wife used to hate video games and now she loves games like Borderlands and Gears of War. However, it's because those are mostly mindless shooters. She doesn't really play games to get invested in characters and the story--she just likes the action. So that makes picking out a single-player game a little difficult for me since the recommendations for games that are engaging are usually ones with strong story elements (Mass Effect, Walking Dead, etc.). She's mentioning being interested in Skyrim (which I don't have) but I'm thinking about playing through Fable 2 and 3 since those are pseudo co-op games where I can be the "tag-along" character but she can mainly control the protagonist. As for your suggestions: -Racing games are kind of off the table since it's competitive and she gets frustrated when she loses. Mario Kart is about the only racer we can play. -We have played through Tomb Raider and the Guardian of Light but I tend to stay away from co-op platformers because she's just not good at them. She's more of a shooter girl. -That being said, we did play through a lot of the light gun games on the Wii. I think the problem she has with those games is just being on rails. -I played through Heavy Rain myself and I wish we had played it together. We tried playing Beyond: Two Souls together and while we managed our way through it, she stopped wanting to play it halfway through because there wasn't a lot to do, especially in that section in the desert. She did, however, want to see how the story ended, so that's good. What about Left 4 Dead or Dead Island? They're both action games, both can be played Co-op. Another couple of lightgun-esque games but for the PS3 are the Time Crisis games, or the House of the Dead games if you have the Move controller or whatever their lightgun was called. |
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John D.
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 81
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Post by John D. on Aug 15, 2014 19:20:34 GMT -5
What about Left 4 Dead or Dead Island? They're both action games, both can be played Co-op. Another couple of lightgun-esque games but for the PS3 are the Time Crisis games, or the House of the Dead games if you have the Move controller or whatever their lightgun was called. We actually have played through both Left 4 Dead games. That's actually the game that got my wife into shooters. Unfortunately Dead Island is not couch co-op. It would be absolutely perfect for us if it were. We've also played House of the Dead: Overkill but it's way too short. I don't want to take up any more time in this forum with this question but I appreciate all the responses. I'm curious to hear what the podcast suggests as well. Honestly it's hard to know what kind of game my wife will be interested in until we try a lot of these suggestions. |
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Post by Tony on Aug 31, 2014 21:44:57 GMT -5
I recently tried to get a copy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and its sequel for 360, both of which I rented years ago when they came out and enjoyed thoroughly, and I thought, "Surely, now'd be a good time to look into grabbing an actual to-keep copy of those games." Apparently, my timing was way off (!), because neither is particularly easy to get these days (the first can be had online, but only the vanilla game, not the Platinum Hits or the Gold Edition with the DLC included for any kind of reasonable price, and in my experience it's very odd that a Platinum Hits edition of any game is expensive or rare only a few years later, as the whole point of the Platinum Hits line seems to be a good price point and a new batch of copies being made available). I'm not a newb when it comes to the gaming thing, and it's not often that i've come across this sort of situation; games that are some years old for the last-gen (just now being phased out) system, but that I know were not particularly rare to begin with, now being priced ridiculously on amazon/ebay/gamestop/bestbuy/etc. So I thought that was odd; definitely took me by surprise. Anyone have any idea what's up with that, other than the MCU making the Marvel brand more popular?
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John D.
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 81
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Post by John D. on Sept 1, 2014 11:52:59 GMT -5
I recently tried to get a copy of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and its sequel for 360, both of which I rented years ago when they came out and enjoyed thoroughly, and I thought, "Surely, now'd be a good time to look into grabbing an actual to-keep copy of those games." Apparently, my timing was way off (!), because neither is particularly easy to get these days (the first can be had online, but only the vanilla game, not the Platinum Hits or the Gold Edition with the DLC included for any kind of reasonable price, and in my experience it's very odd that a Platinum Hits edition of any game is expensive or rare only a few years later, as the whole point of the Platinum Hits line seems to be a good price point and a new batch of copies being made available). I'm not a newb when it comes to the gaming thing, and it's not often that i've come across this sort of situation; games that are some years old for the last-gen (just now being phased out) system, but that I know were not particularly rare to begin with, now being priced ridiculously on amazon/ebay/gamestop/bestbuy/etc. So I thought that was odd; definitely took me by surprise. Anyone have any idea what's up with that, other than the MCU making the Marvel brand more popular? From my understanding, it's not about the popularity of the Marvel brand but that the game developers of the M:UA series lost the license and had to remove all the DLC from the marketplace. Therefore, the Gold Edition of the first game is valuable since it includes the content that you can't get anymore. I'm not sure why the second game would be that hard to get since it never came out with a similar DLC-packed edition like the first one, but the value of the games has everything to do with the DLC not being available anymore. |
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Post by Tony on Sept 1, 2014 17:36:56 GMT -5
From my understanding, it's not about the popularity of the Marvel brand but that the game developers of the M:UA series lost the license and had to remove all the DLC from the marketplace. Therefore, the Gold Edition of the first game is valuable since it includes the content that you can't get anymore. I'm not sure why the second game would be that hard to get since it never came out with a similar DLC-packed edition like the first one, but the value of the games has everything to do with the DLC not being available anymore. ahhhhh, interesting. That's a bummer! Thanks. |
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Post by captainamericaz on Sept 22, 2014 18:29:50 GMT -5
I got a question to everyone. Whats your favorite video game weapon and spell and why? Mine has to be Ultima in FF6. I just like the sound effects and visual of a giant blue dome forming then exploding. That and it was an almost 9999 damage every time. For weapon I like the mega buster. Huge megaman fan so love that charge and blast.
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Post by RiddleMeChris on Sept 22, 2014 18:42:38 GMT -5
I have a mighty need to play a good X-Men game. Do you have any recommendations? Is there even such a thing as a GOOD X-Men game?
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Post by captainamericaz on Sept 23, 2014 8:03:38 GMT -5
If you wanted to pull out an Xbox or ps2 and play x-men legends 1 or 2 you will definitely enjoy. Especially if your into diablo type games
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Post by lanemeyer on Sept 23, 2014 10:30:32 GMT -5
I got a question to everyone. Whats your favorite video game weapon and spell and why? Mine has to be Ultima in FF6. I just like the sound effects and visual of a giant blue dome forming then exploding. That and it was an almost 9999 damage every time. For weapon I like the mega buster. Huge megaman fan so love that charge and blast. So hard to think of all the good gun we've seen... but some that just come to mind: The Gravity Gun - Half-life 2. So much fun with this thing. Stake Gun - Painkiller... It flies in a parabolic curve and you can pin your enemies to the wall. Awesome. There were a lot of great guns in this game. Underrated game. Line Gun - Dead Space. How satisfying was it lopping off two legs with one shot? Pistol - Halo. This gun was amazing... Halo also had a very satisfying shotgun... speaking of shotguns. Shotgun - Wolfenstein: The New Order. Dual-wielding this this was pretty much walking death for the Nazis. Flak Cannon - Unreal Tournament. This was the gun I rolled with all the time playing this on the PC. Damaging, a little unpredictable, and a joy to watch those super-heated shards travel through the air toward their target. I actually can't think of any specific spells at the moment. |
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snubix
Fearless Defender
Posts: 2
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Post by snubix on Sept 24, 2014 13:50:36 GMT -5
Going to the mall as a kid I used to love going to TILT, the local arcade. Back in the mid 90s it seemed like every game was available from racing, fighting, shooters, etc. They were all quarter based style. Through time it became GameWorks where the quarter based pay system turned into a prepaid card. Games became a bit pricey as well. I dont go to the mall often now a days and at 27 years old I stopped by the mall one day and they actually reverted gameworks back to TILT. But the place is just so empty! The exciting feeling I had as a kid going into the arcade just burst into flames and its quite depressing. I used to enjoy playing mortal kombat or virtua cop and just being able to see what new games have entered the market.
My question is do you see the arcade scene ever coming back? What can be done to drive gamers (casual and competitive ones) to come to the arcade and socialize like in the old days? What modern games would you like to see in an arcade now a days? Or what console game would you like to see or play in an arcade setting?
Love the podcast BTW, been listening for about a month now on my route to school in the morning. Keep up the great work!
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andy
Fearless Defender
Posts: 1
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Post by andy on Sept 24, 2014 14:22:09 GMT -5
Are there any other time-periods you would like to see represented by Ubisoft (akin to Valiant Hearts)? I personally would like to see a game based on the Norman Conquest of 1066 utilizing the art style of the Bayeux Tapestry.
Thanks,,
Andy Breeden
PSN HistoricMe
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Post by lanemeyer on Sept 25, 2014 7:05:20 GMT -5
Going to the mall as a kid I used to love going to TILT, the local arcade. Back in the mid 90s it seemed like every game was available from racing, fighting, shooters, etc. They were all quarter based style. Through time it became GameWorks where the quarter based pay system turned into a prepaid card. Games became a bit pricey as well. I dont go to the mall often now a days and at 27 years old I stopped by the mall one day and they actually reverted gameworks back to TILT. But the place is just so empty! The exciting feeling I had as a kid going into the arcade just burst into flames and its quite depressing. I used to enjoy playing mortal kombat or virtua cop and just being able to see what new games have entered the market. My question is do you see the arcade scene ever coming back? What can be done to drive gamers (casual and competitive ones) to come to the arcade and socialize like in the old days? What modern games would you like to see in an arcade now a days? Or what console game would you like to see or play in an arcade setting? Love the podcast BTW, been listening for about a month now on my route to school in the morning. Keep up the great work! Recently, I've seen a re-emergence of sorts for arcade gaming by way of the so-called "bar-cades." This is basically a bar that brings in various old-school arcade machines and sets them on free play. Basically, you come in, buy some drinks, get some food, and play nostalgic arcade games. First saw one in Columbus, OH, but now see they're springing up in and around Cleveland, so I'm sure there's many of them in larger cities. I love the concept. |
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Post by RiddleMeChris on Sept 29, 2014 11:11:18 GMT -5
I just found out that this November we're getting not one but TWO new Assassin's Creed games (Rogue and Unity). Does anyone else feel like the market is being over-saturated with AC games? Do you think there might be some blow back of getting too much too soon?
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