I joined this site to specifically post on this topic and I got screwed. My original post was a long one which took over an hour to write with a wealth of information and I was logged out while writing due to a session time out. I logged back in to post and the site said I needed to reload the page, but when I did I lost EVERYTHING. God, I was so pissed. To prevent this kind of thing from happening again, thus saving me from punching a hole in a wall, I'm going to dramatically shorten my post and take out a lot of info related to plot on the titles I will be providing.
I'm going to give a brief description of gameplay on each title and then provide links to articles on Gamespot.com so you can look up more on plot and other information for each title. I'm an aspiring game designer and lifelong gamer who prefers third person action/adventure titles. I understand adventure gaming focusing largely more on exploration and complex puzzles where you have to seek out obscure items or information, know how to combine and use the items is a popular medium for a lot of people, but I don't care for those heavily puzzle oriented adventure games with mind bending challenges where the process of solving them is more complicated than the solution itself. I find the action oriented games which use common sense in a logical sense more enjoyable, but still provide enough of the adventure element in practical environmental puzzles with a mission based style to be satisfying. All of the titles I'm providing have very good to astounding graphics so if you're liking for amazing visuals they're sure to be aesthetically pleasing enough for you.
So here's my list:
(1)
Fallout 3 - One of my all time favorites now, phenomenal game. People will list this as a FPS, but you can easily switch between the first and third person perspective with the mouse wheel allowing you to choose how you want to play. This is a shooter game with an RPG element where you will have stat attributes [strength, agility, endurance, perception] and skill points which will affect your character's performance in combat. Skill points will be used to upgrade skill categories such as melee weapons, big guns, small guns, science, lockpicking, repair, etc. A high skill in science per say will make your character more proficient in computer hacking and more damaging against robotic enemies in combat. Repair will affect your character's ability to fix and maintain his own weapons. This game has a very well written dramatic plot, features characters you will grow attached to, and has a larger than life epic atmosphere, but what really makes it outstanding is the interactivity of the game world. The choices you make in dialogue and how you approach each mission will affect the world around you thus making you feel you are indeed a part of it. The game has highly detailed and stunning 3D graphics. Also features the voice talent of Malcom McDowell (President Eden). This is my most recommended title and should not be missed.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallo...result;title;0
(2)
Batman: Arkham Asylum - PC release date: September 15th. My second favorite new title and the most amazing Batman title ever conceived. Played this one on the console. This game has some of the most amazing visuals of any current title, the graphics are incredible. This is an action oriented game emphasizing hand to hand combat and high combos, but this isn't a superficial action run of the mill beat 'em up game like previous batman installments. The large scale and interactive environments will provide enough of stealth tactics as well so combat will depend largely on how you approach each situation and your style of play. In addition to the action packed combat where you will be fighting a crapload of baddies you will use high tech forensics to solve crime scenes, you will have platformer sequences where batman will have to use his agile abilities to climb and shimmey along surfaces to traverse treacherous landscapes, and you will have a number of bat gadgets at your disposal which you will upgrade with experience earned (certain gadgets such as the line launcher and the batclaw won't become available until certain points in the game). Do note this game isn't based on the modernized Batman from the movies. In terms of appearance, art style, and character portrayal this is a contemporary reimagining of the 1940's Batman from the comics. The plot is based partly on the
Arkham Asylum graphic novel and the
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell comic series. There's also a large minigame full of puzzles setup by none other than the Riddler where he challenges you to find all the trophies, taped patient interviews involving the key players essential to the plot, and Chronicles of Arkham hidden around the island. Your reward for finding all of this is unlocking bios and fact sheets for the essential characters in the Batman universe from past to present and beautiful 3D character trophies you can marvel at in a gallery in the main menu. I loved the character depiction and their costumes. You shouldn't pass up on this one.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/ba...result;title;2
UPDATE: I've posted screenshots in sets on flickr for anyone who is interested in seeing them. You can check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/genocidemajik/sets/
(3)
Resident Evil 5 - PC release date: September 15th. I'm a huge RE fan, people are always knocking the series, but I personally have always loved the plot, the complicated characters and their dynamical relationships and how they struggle to retain their humanity while not succumbing to the evil which surrounds them, both literally and figuratively, in this violent and brutal world they live in full of death and corporate espionage.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/re...result;title;0
(4)
Thief: Deadly Shadows - a very fun stealth adventure game. Although if you haven't played the previous titles,
Thief and
Thief II: The Metal Age then you won't fully grasp the characters and the dynamics which bind them together. This can be resolved by researching and reading up on the plots of the other titles on wikipedia. This game doesn't have a strong close quarters combat so it focuses on more stealth assassination or just sneaking past enemies because you play the role of a thief and exposure usually means death or just makes it that much harder to get to a critical area of the level. Garret, the master thief with the mechanical eye, is a beast.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/th...result;title;0
(5) The
Legacy of Kain series - a great action/adventure game with a phenomenal epic gothic plot. The complicated amoral characters, the practical envionmental puzzles, and the complex plot which spans both time and history make for a very fun gaming experience. At first it's hard to grasp the full implications of what is really happening in the overall plot when jumping from title to title in the series, but once you understand the key players, their involvement and how their actions and choices affect this game's universe it's sheer mastery. Many gaming sites have said that the plot is ingenius and one of the most well written for any game title.
http://www.gamespot.com/search.html?...m_clk=gssearch
(6)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Release date: 03/26/2010. I'm also a huge CV fan and this new project looks AMAZING. This is not the Castlevania you know from your childhood, it's a complete rebirth of the series reinventing everything from the gameplay mechanics to the adult oriented plot to the graphics from the ground up. It's a bit controversial of whether or not there will be a PC port of this title. Most websites list this as a console exclusive title, but I have found two websites which list a PC rendition for this game. The first is Play.com where you can also preorder a PC copy of this game. Now, play.com has been known to spread bad information before and if I were to assess whether or not there will be a PC rendition based solely on the information from play.com then I would say no. However, I found reference to a PC port of this CV title on Voodoo Extreme 3D (ve3d.com) which is owned, operated by, and affiliated with the IGN network. IGN is a very respectable gamer's site when it comes to information and the lowdown on games so it's the second site more so than the first which has me hopeful for a PC port. I really hope there will be a PC port because I really, really want to play this, this game looks like it's going to be incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8F0dQM1DI <======I've watched this four times and still has me drooling! It should also be noted there's a video on youtube of the trailer's debut at E3 '09 preceded by a speech from Hideo Kojima and this trailer had the crowds ROARING with approval and anticipation.
(7)
Highlander - Release date: TBA 2009. There isn't much information on this since it's still in development, but you can find previews and images on gamespot. It looks like it's going to be good so I'm keeping my eye on it.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/hi...=result;title;
