Topic: PS4 recommendation thread

@RogerRoger Continuing my previous reply...

I can absolutely relate to your experience regarding OCD behavior on video games. That's exactly what makes me dread open worlds like I've said before. Great point with always being able to do the side content beyond the main story as well. It'll just take a lot of rewiring my brain to make it recognise that! Absolutely we all play differently, but your experience seems like it's always been the one I've ideally wanted to have and yet can never get myself to do, so I will absolutely take these tips into account and try to apply them to whatever open world game I run into next! Possibly Gravity Rush Remastered or Red Dead Redemption 1/2, although I don't know exactly how open world the former is. My troubles with it definitely do not go to the point of equal trophy and completion rates, though! That sounds like a pain to have to deal with. Outside of in-game stuff, I really only notice it with routines and always forcing myself to check something a certain amount of times... to the point where it becomes ridiculous. I've been able to start cutting back on that a little bit more recently though, so maybe I can manage the same within the gaming sphere!

Haha, considering how I've watched you post plenty of photo mode screenshots and some very well edited ShareFACTORY videos as well as multiple drafts of such videos on last week's quiz, I can see how you might be afraid of perfectionism regarding Dreams! It definitely sounds like a game that could suck you into it for the rest of your life, which could be a good and bad thing depending on your situation! I'll be sure to get Arkham Origins on PC after what you said. I don't really have loyalty to either platform regarding PC/Playstation. I usually just go for whichever one is more convenient, or can run the game I want to play. I have a fairly low budget laptop, so any game from 2012 or before is usually fine. After that it starts to get trickier and more limited to well optimised games or indie games. It's why I can probably manage Arkham Origins on PC, but will definitely have to resort to my PS4 for Arkham Knight if I ever get to that point. That said, I do prefer gaming in bed with a controller over sititng behind a laptop having!

Bold statement to admit to liking Star Wars: Battlefront II on the internet! Just kidding. I'm definitely not one for playing online (multiplayer) games solo. Maybe occasionally with friends, but I much prefer the singleplayer experience. That said, it sounds like you're making it your own singleplayer experience by turning it into Photo Mode: The Game. Not like I'm missing out on much on that front either, since I'm not all that into the whole shooter genre and that's a lot of the online-only games! You having to play your games systematically only sounds like further proof of your OCD to me, not meant in a bad way, mind! I think a more scattershot approach also just helps me finish games. I usually get to a point in a game where I've binge played it for days, and have just gotten tired with it. By playing a few games simultaneously, my playtime is more balanced and varied and I therefore face less of a risk of ''acidentally'' burning myself out. I just finished Dreamfall: The Longest Journey before starting to write up this reply, so it seems to be working for me so far! I would recommend it to you personally, but it's not available on any Playstation consoles. Definitely give it a look if you ever find yourself in the PC gaming space, although it's also available on the original Xbox.

I had never heard of the Katamari series before your quiz, so I'll have to look into that. I'm not at all familiar with the Japanese gaming scene though, outside of the more mainstream titles. I do hope to get my hands on Yakuza 0 at some point, or maybe even start Kingdom Hearts in the future if I'm feeling bold since I do enjoy my Disney characters! I'm not sure how I feel about ''Michael Bay directing a racing game'', but it sounds like such a wacky combination that I just have to check it out. I'll definitely research more into that tomorrow as well. I didn't know Platinum Games even did a third-person cover-based shooter, so I'm intrigued. I can see how that specific company taking a stab at that genre could make for some interesting results. I'll definitely pick up The Order 1886 if I come across it for cheap. That game's release situation followed by it's increasing praise over the years afterwards has always fascinated me. Definitely sounds like a game worth experiencing.

I don't replay games much, outside of the aforementioned Mass Effect and Dishonored. Most of the time I don't really see the value in doing so, even if I've really enjoyed a game, besides --- you simply don't have the time! There's too much to keep up with, especially with the indie gaming scene in full swing nowadays! I've got too many games and not enough time to play them, haha.

Despite absolutely loving Mass Effect 2 and 3, I have never played the first game. I've played through ME2 three times (normal run, save everyone paragon, and renegade FemShep), and ME3 twice I think carrying on my "save everyone" game (the first run I didn't have an online connection so missed out on getting those war assets, and the second I used guides to get all the best outcomes on different decisions). Also got the platinum for both.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about a remaster in all honesty. I loved those games but sometimes think they're best left alone, especially only one console generation later! But it would be a great way to get hype bak up for another good ME game.

I also never played the Citadel DLC. I think Leviathan was the only one I picked up for ME3. As I got the PS3 version of ME2, I got all the DLC with that and then picked up Arrival later in to tie into ME3.

Personally, I always thought there'd be great scope for prequel games covering the contact wars etc. Admittedly, it may be a little hard to write and some options for narrative branching could be limited with what story has already been written but I always thought it would be really interesting to visit that storyline.

@Thrillho What??? Is there any specific reason you've never played the first Mass Effect? You absolutely need to play that if you've still got your PS3 lying around or manage to run it on PC. Not having played it before Mass Effect 2 honestly sounds so strange to me. You'll miss out on so many powerful moments in Mass Effect 2. Does this mean you've never met Wrex?

The Citadel DLC is great. If you ever end up doing another playthrough (which you should, including the first!!!), definitely buy that too. It's the perfect swan song to the series and possibly my favourite piece of DLC in the series, only rivaled by Lair of the Shadow Broker. You might as well buy Omega too in that case if you've got extra money lying around. Not the best DLC but a fun return to the character of Aria with a solid storyline. From Ashes for ME3 is definitely the first priority for DLC though, since it adds an entirely new squadmate who is actually very important to the plot. Such a strange decision to lock him behind a paywall.

I agree that the Contact Wars would definitely be a very interesting period in Mass Effect lore to visit at some point. I think you could do a lot with the setting even if the resolution of the war is set in stone.

@Tjuz @Thrillho I also quite liked Mass Effect 2 and 3. Some of PS3’s best. But ME1 was a Microsoft exclusive until the trilogy was released together. ME2 on PS3 started with one of those “the story so far...” intros where you make the handful of major choices (which character to save, etc) and these carry over so that ME2 is in line with those choices. So yeah, I never played ME1 either. And at this point it’s just too much of an investment to go back and start over for me. If I ever win the lotto and quit my job then it will maybe make it into the rotation.

@RogerRoger I'll be sure to reply later, bur I just want to quickly offer you a code for the Dishonored Definitive Edition on PS4. I got this with the Dishonored 2 Limited Edition on launch day, and have had this lying around for ages now. It says it's long expired, but I just tried redeeming it and it seems like it still works? I'm not sure if the code is region specific, but I figured it was worth a try if you're interested. It'd save you some money! Not sure if I can private message on this forum though, so I don't know how I'd get the code to you without bots possibly picking it up and redeeming it before you get the chance to.

@RogerRoger No worries. As long as it isn't because you're too proud for it!

Anyone else interested in a code for Dishonored: Definitive Edition? I can't guarantee it works, but it's worth a shot if it's something you're interested in.

Does anyone know if RIGS is worth buying for the single player campaign alone? How much content is there? Just an hour or so, or a little more than that?

@Th3solution @Tjuz Yeah, I jumped in with ME2 on PS3 so just had the comic book prologue to get me up to speed. I never felt it made a massive difference to my experience but the game certainly made a big deal over characters I'd never met.

For instance.. I chose to save the Racnhi queen in the prologue. In ME3 she returns but it didn't mean anything to me really.

And don't worry @Tjuz of course I chose to have Wrex survive and appear in ME2!

EDIT: I also got the collector's edition (or whatever it was called) so got From Ashes with the game so I got to play with Javik. I used him a lot on my second run-through. I especially liked him dismissing just about everything Liara "knew" about the prometheans

@RogerRoger It does seem that a lot of people prefer Ashley. Kaidan was nicer and I couldn't bring myself to sacrifice him. In the third game my Shepard romanced Cortez, who seemed sweet; but given the history with Kaidan and everything they'd gone through I felt Alenko would have been a better match. I also chose to be a Ravager (awesome class), which fit in nicely with Kaidan's side story relating to his implants was interesting given my Shepard's biotic abilities.

Also, I must get round to playing Rime!

@RogerRoger Yeah, I was also concerned that Cortez would lean on stereotypes. That he didn't was a mark of the great writing in the games. I don't think it's bad to be concerned that he would be a stereotype, as so many gay characters in media still are poorly written - especially when romance is involved.

I'll certainly put Rime on my big list of games I'm interested in! Is it particularly gut wrenching?

@RogerRoger The second the piano started playing in the Liara clip I recognised it! i definitely saw that scene, I had just forgotten. Too bad, since it's really cute like you said. I can see how you would get teary-eyed if not outright bawl at that scene once you're getting close to the end. Hell, I might have and simply forgotten that as well! Í'm surprised by your romance choices. Those are characters I've never really considered seriously romancing. I only started romancing Kaidan on my third playthrough since it's the only one I hadn't seen yet, but was planning to move to Garrus for ME2 and probably ME3 as well. Any specific reason you were so adamant on romancing Kaidan instead of exploring different options? I frequently heard Jacob is one of the worst romances in the trilogy, and he definitely was a total creep whenever he'd be talking to my FemShep. Hopefully he wasn't as awful as advertised!

I think what you proposed regarding a division between the ''subjective'' and ''objective'' review score is a good solution. It's probably the best way anyone can go about it, even if it becomes slightly convoluted. It will require even more of a thorough readthrough of reviews, though, and unfortunately that not something that's all that prevalent within gaming culture. Most people like to simply skip to the end for the score and believe that any score below 8 is terrible, which is a terrible way to ''take reviews into account'', but what can you do?

Ah, I got the numbering wrong for the Tomb Raider games! I can't fault myself for that one considering how many of them there are. I'm glad to hear it got soft-rebooted and it isn't all an ongoing storyline. I don't know if I could ever get myself to start on a nine-game long journey! If I end up liking Legend/Anniversary/Underworld I'll be sure to go further back and see if I can appreciate those as much. I'm certainly not opposed to PSone gaming! That said, to go off on a slight tangent, do you know if there's a specific reason why people call PSone as such instead of PS1? The latter seems like the more logical choice. Is that a marketing term Sony ushered in themselves or is that just kind of the way it is? It's always interested me.

No need to apologise for how you play Hitman 2! That's how I played Blood Money, and intend to play any future Hitman game I pick up, as well. I can't imagine playing Hitman any other way, although missions do have a tendency to somewhat go off the rails at some point. At that point it's just about recovering and avoiding civilian casualties, but I can't say that's something I've always managed! I mean, no Silent Assassin is good too, right?

I actually ended up buying Arkham Origins earlier today upon your suggestion. I saw it was included in the recent Humble Bundle in the $1 tier, so at that point it's a steal! It's all downloaded, installed and ready to go. Just gotta find the right time to boot it up, since i also started a playthrough of the original Borderlands with a friend on PC yesterday and he's quite the active fellow! Clearly my one game per system.. system is already broken. That didn't last very long! I'll be sure to try and follow up on those OCD tips with this one in particular, but I must admit that anything that includes proper districts and progressively unlocking side quests can be extremely tempting like you say. It'll be a hard one! I hope I enjoy the main story as much as you did and that helps me stay on track.

Regarding the amount of time it will take to play Kingdom Hearts, I agree. I only recently find out how ridiculously long it is to play all the games. I believe HowLongToBeat pegs it at around 180 hours total. Add the completionist mentality, and you've got yourself a hell of a mountain to climb. I can barely even get myself to finish 10 hour games! That said, I should've expected it considering it's a JRPG. Obviously they're all notoriously long. I figure maybe something among the likes of Yakuza 0 would be a better entry point into that specific area of gaming. We all gotta face it, we'll never get to play everything we want to play.

@Th3solution @Thrillho Ah. Mass Effect being an Xbox exclusive for a while is a great point. I hadn't thought of that considering I personally played the trilogy on PC. Such a shame that both of you missed out on the first one, though! I think that it might be the best self-contained story of the three. Some incredibly memorable moments in there. I do recommend both of you give it a shot at some point in the future if you can, though! Definitely not an experience you should miss if you enjoyed the second and third games, even after having played those. You can also simply play the first one without soldiering on, altough, admittedly, that might be tough to do once you get into it again!

@Thrillho Ah. Saving the rachni queen is definitely a huge plot point in the first game. They were creatures who were once very violent and almost brought the galaxy to extinction. Luckily the Krogan were there to bring them to their knees, but they had to be brought into the fold by the Turians/Salarians/Asari since they hadn't yet made contact on their own yet. This is also what the prerequisite was to the Sarlarians creating the Genophage. Once they noticed how strong and aggressive the Krogan were to the point where they were significantly able to weaken the Rachni on their own, the Genophage was created to stop them from reproducing and to keep them in check, but I digress. The Rachni were subsequently brought to extinction, yet the antagonists from ME1 managed to hatch Rachni eggs in the hope of recreating their once powerful army to do their dirty work along with the Geth. This is where the Rachni queen came in, since these creatures rely on a ''queen'' to control them. You had a choice between killing the Rachni queen to avoid a potential disaster, or to let her escape with the promise that she would not use her ''children'' for warring and that she would bring peace to the Rachni. If you let her escape, that's when she shows up again in ME3 to aid you. I'm not sure if you already knew all this, but I always enjoy recalling Mass Effect lore! All that said, the return of the Rachni queen was definitely not as epic as I had hoped it would be. It was very underwhelming, especially since she didn't really serve any purpose.

I'm also glad you saved Wrex! I was worried since I believe the default option when you create a fresh game in ME2 is him having died. I can't imagine playing the trilogy without him!

@RogerRoger Certain things can make me emotional, so I'll see how it goes. At the moment I feel like even a small thing might make me sob. I've played games where after completing them I've felt sad but almost hollow, because they've had such a stunning emotional impact.

@RogerRoger Just saw your post above (it must have popped up when I was typing my other reply). I was perplexed that there weren't male same-sex romance options in the first two Mass Effect games. Bioware's explanation irked me. I'm not one who is typically hyper-sensitive, but it didn't make sense that in an RPG where you can be your own Shepard and where there are also female same-sex romances that they then basically said, no Shepard isn't and can't be gay. They had to be concerned with backlash from certain sectors. :-/ I really liked that in Fable 2 (the first one in the series I played) that there were same-sex romances and it wasn't a big deal.

@KratosMD Wrong tag?

@KratosMD Whoops, my bad; I didn't see the first line. That explains a lot, thanks!

Though maybe it's useful to say that I've bought RIGS anyway; I looked up some gameplay, and it was only a tenner anyway. I don't have a PSVR yet, lol!

@beemo Good to know! I'm hoping for a good sale during Black Friday, because I want to get one for Dreams anyway. I've also got Astro Bot already; €10 was too good to pass up on! Any other titles I should look out for? I'm thinking of Farpoint, that looks pretty good as well.

@RogerRoger So to carry over the question about Infamous. Yes, I would recommend the series as a whole for you. It’s clear you have an appreciation for the superhero genre. The first two games on last gen are probably more widely acclaimed as better games, but Second Son is superior of course in the technical department. Despite being an early PS4 game, it still holds up graphically.
It’s basically a world where some people (conduits) have developed super powers which typically revolve around power over some elemental or natural phenomenon. And yes, the protagonist goes through some of the ‘reluctant superhero’ themes and the whole ‘learning how to harness and develop your powers while fighting against all odds’ plot devices as well. Thematically, it is nothing ground breaking, but is well done. The superpowers involved are spectacular at times. And Second Son’s open world of an accurately rendered Seattle is a pretty good playground to try them out in. The production value is high, and I think you’d like it. All the games have a morality component of being able to play as good or evil. (Good Karma or Evil Karma it’s known by, I think). Be a savior to humankind, or use your power for destructive purposes. The choices you make affect what powers you have access to. So if you play evil, you’ll get to develop powers that you can’t use when playing as ‘good karma’. I think you’d like they aspect also, to be able to choose the more noble and heroic paths, based on our previous discussions. As I recall, you don’t like playing the villain or the morally corrupt role.
But yeah, highly recommend giving Infamous a try. All the games could be bought for a pittance at this point. Personally I think you could just jump into Second Son without having played the first 2 and be fine. There is not much of any carry over from Coles story that you can’t be quickly brought up to speed with, as I recall.
The expansion First Light is wonderful as well.

@RogerRoger I can’t find the initial question, but inFamous is a great series. I’d reccomend for story along with gameplay. The story goes through some normal beats at first, but honestly becomes mind blowing, especially if you play it evil. Second Son doesn’t have a mind-blowing story, but it’s very well done and on a more personal level. It also skips superhero reluctance completely. They are have some of the most fun worlds to run around in. I’m not talking about side-quests either, I mean just running around with parkour and powers. It’s just tons of fun and I’ve spent too much time doing that.
And as said, you can play Second Son only and be okay, but you’d be missing out on some great story if you do.