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Hayley

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I know that a few people at least on here play video games, and although there is a thread for favourite games, I thought it might be fun to have a more general discussion area.

 

So... for a start, since we're all book lovers here, what about games with a literary theme?

 

I know there's a pc game based on Terry Pratchett's discworld novels called 'discworld noir' (which I own but can't get to run... still waiting on boyfriend to fix it!)

 

Today I tried 'Alice the madness returns' on xbox, which is based on Alice in wonderland, but has a freaky twist to it (at the beginning I thought a little too freaky but it got better). It's very good so far though, I love finding all the links to the book, it's very cleverly done.

 

I also just found out that Terry Pratchett's daughter is behind writing the upcoming tomb raider game, which I already thought looked like it had a really interesting story line.

 

Does anybody know of any more? And what do you think of books as games?

 

(feel free to throw in any other game related topics by the way! :smile: )

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Hey Hayley! I'm a huge fan of the Alice games (I prefer the original American McGee's Alice, but Madness Returns is good too.) The original isn't as pretty, but I prefer the story and gameplay. And it has a spectacular soundtrack. Madness Returns has very repetetive gameplay, I'm sad to say. Still, it's not the longest game in the world, and it has some great scenery and moments, so it's worth sticking with. It IS very dark, but that's what I adore about both Alice games - how dark they are! I even dressed up as Alice for halloween last year! :D

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American McGee's Alice is far better than Alice: Madness Returns and I definitely recommend playing that. Did my own little reviews of both of them, actually (Alice and Madness Returns)

 

Cthulhu Saves The World is pretty good, but it doesn't seem to have too much bearing on the books other than names.

 

Dante's Inferno I originally thought was alright, but I replayed it recently and it's awful. I don't mind the fact it doesn't have much to do with the poem, but the gameplay and story are both horrid, boring, and it's a blatant rip off of God of War. So many elements straight up stolen. I was okay with this at first, but I suppose I'm bitter now :P

 

Games I haven't got round to playing yet are Metro 2033 and Call of Cthulhu, but both look good

 

Oh, and watch out for the Discworld games. They can be quite insanely hard, just thanks to moon logic.

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I like to play boardgames like Lost Cities, Ticket To Ride and Cargo Noir and I also used to play miniature wargames with metal miniatures. My friend at work does "mods" for PC games. He has recently got me into a mod called Brutal Doom which is a more bloody version of original Doom.

I think this what he calls "a first person shooter".

I really am terrible at these sort of games though. I much prefer the boardgames because 5-6 people can all play at the same time and its more fun.

Edited by vodkafan
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Well, there's a lot of video games out there for board games. Played a few Risk video games that have been good (Risk: Factions was pretty good). Monopoly games have always been weird. Bloodbowl, a board game based on Warhammer, has a PC version that is pretty good which you can play with friends. Catan is also meant to be pretty good, based upon Settlers of Catan, which is a great board game.

 

Oh, we also have the infamous Pandemic 2 flash game which is based upon the board game of the same name (minus the "2"). It's fun, but Madagascar will annoy the hell out of you.

 

I think Ticket to Ride recently had a PC version come out on Steam.

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I'm glad a couple of you mentioned the first Alice game, I've been wondering if I should try it, but I will now if it's really good :smile: I have a code for it which came with the game, but it was second hand so it might have been used, I'll just keep my fingers crossed!

Nollaig, madness returns really does have amazing scenery doesn't it? Good idea to use it as a halloween costume! Someone must have spent ages designing all the game outfits for all the different areas of wonderland!

 

Dante's Inferno I played a bit of, and I liked the mythological characters you could find, but apart from that I thought it was really repetitive. Really just a series of similar enemies followed by a boss. over and over again. Quite nice graphics though.

 

I like that the Discworld game will be difficult, I prefer actually having to think to finish a game. I played Broken sword ages ago with my boyfriend, and recently they had the remastered edition for sale on steam. But when we downloaded it, there's now a glowing spot over everything you can look at and pick up, so it's stupidly easy, and there's no way to turn them off. I was very annoyed. There's nothing difficult about point and click games if the computer is going to tell you where to point and click :doh:

 

Vodkafan, I'm not a big first person shooter fan either but you do get the occasional really good one. When you say you prefer board games where multiple people can play at once, what about games with online multiplayer? I'll assume you game on pc, since you mentioned the mods, so there's loads of mmorpg's available, have you ever tried one of these?

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I'll assume you game on pc, since you mentioned the mods, so there's loads of mmorpg's available, have you ever tried one of these?

 

Hi Hayley, actually Doom is the only game I have played on PC and just a few times because my friend thought I would like it. I have never had a console game player although my children have Playstations and X boxes. The only rpg I have played is Dungeons and Dragons (the board game) with the little miniatures, which I have played with the kids.

Never played anything online.

Edited by vodkafan
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Dante's Inferno I played a bit of, and I liked the mythological characters you could find, but apart from that I thought it was really repetitive. Really just a series of similar enemies followed by a boss. over and over again. Quite nice graphics though.

 

Sometimes I liked the characters, sometimes I didn't. It really depended upon the description they gave. I remember really hating Tiresias, but if you touch my Greek mythology you better do it right!

 

God of War definitely has a lot over Dante's Inferno. You see, what Visceral seemed to think people loved about GoW was the combat and the combat only, so focussed on that. Really, it was the plot, the combat and the puzzles. Definitely pick up God of War if you can. If you have a PS3 they released an HD collection of the first two games. Really want to play it now...

 

II played Broken sword ages ago with my boyfriend, and recently they had the remastered edition for sale on steam. But when we downloaded it, there's now a glowing spot over everything you can look at and pick up, so it's stupidly easy, and there's no way to turn them off. I was very annoyed. There's nothing difficult about point and click games if the computer is going to tell you where to point and click :doh:

 

I actually downloaded that the other day, but haven't got round to playing it. I think the glowing edge comes from people's irritation with point and click games being a bit too vague. Moon logic was never a good things, and sometimes graphics would often be a limitation as you were never too sure what you could or could pick up. Dreamweb is a perfect example as it had some vital items being only blandly coloured pixel on the floor that is completely miss-able. So these game include this sort of function now. One of the best ways to do it, I think, is the way Puzzle Agent did it. Give the frustrated player the option to press a button and highlight nearby stuff you can use.

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I would contribute more to this thread as I'm an avid gamer but I just don't really know any games based on books!

 

Most of my gaming revolves around RPGs, mostly Snes and PS1/PS2 games as I don't have access to a PS3 and find the controls quite hard.

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I don't know any games based on books either. My two favorite games are : Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I have clocked up a couple of hundred hours on each, and still have loads more to do. I love the sandbox type games, but can't get into the Oblivion titles. I bought Skyrim, and played it for a few weeks, but it just didn't interest me half as much as the Fallout series.

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I don't know any games based on books either. My two favorite games are : Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I have clocked up a couple of hundred hours on each, and still have loads more to do. I love the sandbox type games, but can't get into the Oblivion titles. I bought Skyrim, and played it for a few weeks, but it just didn't interest me half as much as the Fallout series.

 

Have you played any of the earlier Fallout titles before Bethesda took over? Back when they were isometric and turn based.

 

What is it you prefer about the Fallout games? Is it the post-apocalyptic setting?

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No, never played the earlier Fallout games, never even heard of them until Fallout 3. Yeah, I think it's the post-apocalyptic setting that really appeals, because it's more realistic when compared to Skyrim with the dragons and magic, etc. It's the fantasy element that put me off the Oblivion series.

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Yeah, this often seems to be the thing. See, I actually preferred the world in Oblivion to Fallout 3, but I still enjoyed Fallout 3. Still need to play Morrowind as I've heard that's great.

 

If you like that type of setting, though, you may enjoy Borderlands, especially if you have a few friends to play with. The sequel is coming out soon and I couldn't be more excited :D

 

Oh, and I'm going to be cheeky and mention some games based off of comic books (not comic-movie-game adaptations), to make this a bit more on topic.

 

Ultimate Spider-Man on the PS2 was an amazing game, if a bit difficult at times for my younger self. Being able to play as both Spider-Man and Venom was absolutely amazing and the art style was fantastic. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions however was pretty lame. It was mostly average and didn't let you really swing around and have a lot of fun (review here).

 

Now, one thing that Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions took was an element from one of my favourite games: Batman: Arkham Asylum. It's just an amazing game and you feel like Batman. The combat feels great, the detective stuff is great and the story is brilliant. I loved it so much that I was surprised to find that Batman: Arkham City topped it by miles. It improved upon areas I didn't even realise needed improving. I was noticing where they went wrong in the first game because of what this game did right. I don't have a favourite game, but if I had to choose it would be this. Brilliant story, more gadgets, better combat. Everything's great.

 

The Walking Dead episodic game has been good. I have yet to play Episode 2, but Episode 1 was fantastic. It felt so close to the comics without actually intruding on the comic's story. It felt a lot like a side story from that universe, and was a lot more truthful to the comic than the TV show is. Telltale know what they are doing, and have made probably one of the best adventure games in a long time.

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I'm an advid gamer too, but the books to games that I have played have already been mentioned :giggle:

 

I had seen there was a game that was done off of Raymond E Feists world, but never played it.

 

I play just about every genre except sport games.

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I had seen there was a game that was done off of Raymond E Feists world, but never played it.

 

Just checked out Betrayal at Krondor. Looks very interesting. Some pretty good writing and music. Plus, the combat reminds me of Shining Force, so that's always good. Might need to check those out at some point.

 

Also, I just remembered a game that I am hitting myself for forgetting. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game. A brilliant text adventure, which has an updated version on the BBC Radio 4 website. As with any text adventure it is ruthless and won't hesitate to kill you. But it's also funny and enjoyable. Really recommend it!

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If you like that type of setting, though, you may enjoy Borderlands, especially if you have a few friends to play with. The sequel is coming out soon and I couldn't be more excited :D

 

The Walking Dead episodic game has been good. I have yet to play Episode 2, but Episode 1 was fantastic. It felt so close to the comics without actually intruding on the comic's story. It felt a lot like a side story from that universe, and was a lot more truthful to the comic than the TV show is. Telltale know what they are doing, and have made probably one of the best adventure games in a long time.

 

I have Borderlands but was a bit disappointed in it. It was more fetch quests, whereas Fallout 3 (and New Vegas) had a main story and little side quests, and you could also change the path you took and so changed the story. Apparently there will be a Fallout 4 at some point, so I will look forward to that (though I will probably need to upgrade my PC by then!).

 

Where is The Walking Dead game - is it online? I'll have a look at that if it is, as I'm loving the TV series.

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I also had borderlands, but I wasn't much of a fan of it either, I preferred fallout 3 and New Vegas. I am going to give borderlands 2 a chance though, I never stop playing a series just because I didn't like a game.

 

 

 

I'm just going to chuck it out there and say, If anyone would like my gamertag/psn/steam name, just pm me! :D

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Borderlands sometimes had that reaction, but somehow I didn't care about the story, I just enjoyed the gameplay. I could just pop it in and start running around and doing things. A great stress relief, and a really fun co-op game.

 

Walking Dead you can find on Steam, PSN or XBLA. It's nothing like the TV show, which I personally found disappointing, but more so the comics.

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I would contribute more to this thread as I'm an avid gamer but I just don't really know any games based on books!

 

I really only asked the question about the literary games to get the conversation started, feel free to talk about whatever games you like on here! :smile:

 

Both the Batman games mentioned above I thought were brilliant. I really liked the Riddler challenges in them. Although I haven't heard very good things about the new DLC for Arkham City, has anybody played it?

 

I did really like Fallout too, but I got a bit distracted and never finished it :blush2: I think my problem is I start exploring random areas and doing side quests until I forget to actually do the main quest :DSkyrim is my favourite at the moment though, I prefer the fantasy genre, so it wins over Fallout for me (sorry bobblybear :lurker: )

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I've heard from some of my friends who have played the new batman dlc say it's pretty average, doesn't really add much apparently.

Edited by Devi
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Yeah that's pretty much what I heard too Devi, I think they gave the game an ending where they could have had a big dlc to follow but oh well. At least the game was good :D

 

Talking about endings, what are peoples thought's on the controversial Mass Effect 3 ending? I'm definitely one of the people who was seriously disappointed with it, to the point where I felt the game was a waste of money. I know there's a free dlc now that extends the ending, but apparently you have to replay the last 3 hours of the game for it to work, and it's not that much different, so I haven't bothered to get it so far!

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If you are really curious about the new ending, you can see it on YouTube.

 

Personally myself, I missed the mass effect train, when I finally bought a 360, the first was out and the second was on the way. I had other games to play too, but I have read all but the latest mass effect novel thus far.

 

 

 

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Both the Batman games mentioned above I thought were brilliant. I really liked the Riddler challenges in them. Although I haven't heard very good things about the new DLC for Arkham City, has anybody played it?

 

I wish I could get around to playing the DLC, but I haven't plugged in my 360 for a while and have little time to fit it in around working and doing other stuff. I hope it isn't disappointing, I loved Arkham City so much.

 

Talking about endings, what are peoples thought's on the controversial Mass Effect 3 ending?

 

I'm kind of evil. I was gleeful that this series ran itself to amazingly into the ground. I detested the first game so much that I refused to buy the other games. Everything (apart from the ending) was wrong with the first game in my eyes. I just couldn't like it, nor could I understand why people liked it so much. Like with Halo. I... I just don't get it.

 

But yeah, that ending was pretty awful...

 

Now, for an ending that was absolutely amazing:

 

Say what you want about the franchise, but Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is probably one of my favourite games. The other games aren't of such high quality as that game. CoD4 is essentially what every other modern military shooter should be, but none of them are.

 

But that ending... oh that ending was amazing. I mean, it's cinematic and kind of emotional at the same time. To anyone who hasn't played it then do so. It's not like a lot of the modern military shooters out there. This has a story and characters. Like a real game should.

 

Oh, and God of War had a cool ending, what with it going all Power Rangers near the end. If you've played it you'll know what I mean.

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I don't know if anyone would know of this game, but shadow of the colossus had a profound effect on me, which is impressive when you find out there was very little talk during the game. It's just you, your horse and colossi in a huge open map.

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I don't know if anyone would know of this game, but shadow of the colossus had a profound effect on me, which is impressive when you find out there was very little talk during the game. It's just you, your horse and colossi in a huge open map.

 

One of my favourite games of all time. So beautiful in more than one way. Also has probably one of the hardest hitting moments when

Agro falls.

 

 

I've played Ico but I wasn't that keen on it. Looking forward to The Last Guardian.

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