I Have a Tough Decision

[champagne supernova]

Okay, I'll cut to the chase. Basically I have a long break coming up, and I'd like to get a game. But, I'm already getting Oblivion (yes, I know I'm a bit late to the party) and Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty. I also have FIFA 09. And my hand is currently broken (literally), so I can't do much with my console for the next 4 weeks roughly.

So, although I have a long break, I do have stuff to do entertainment wise, but I think I need to get one new game to fill it out properly. I've narrowed it down to a few: Valkyrie Chronicles, Bioshock, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4 or Little Big Planet. Just a note, I have a PS3, so Fallout will be running on that (which, judging by the coverage, means there are issues).

My problem is that it is quite hard to narrow it down from those 5 to just 1. I'm thinking of removing Fallout from the competition, because I will be playing Oblivion, and because of the technical issues on PS3 (and therefore giving me time to see if they patch it). That still leaves me with a massively hard choice.

So, could someone help me make my mind up. Fortunately, time is one thing I have on my side.

[Roto13]

Wouldn't most games be pretty tough to play with a broken hand? :P Except for possibly Valkyria Chronicles, since it's a strategy game. I haven't gotten around to playing the demo yet, though, so I don't know if there's anything you need both the D pad and buttons for at the same time.

[Dreddz]

The Valkyrie Chronicles demo is great. But it isn't set on a grid and there is a lot of moving around so it is still not ideal for a broken hand.

I'd get Ratchet and Clank: Future if you enjoy Quest for Booty, but you haven't listed that. Bioshock is awesome so I'd pick that out of your list. Metal Gear Solid 4 is also great but if you haven't played previous games I'd give it a miss.

[Bolivar]

They're all such great games, I would narrow it down personally to my 3 recommendations: MGS4, Valkyria Chronicles, and LBP. From what I've heard from a friend, the last one really seems to be the game to get for the PS3.

But personally I would recommend to you, 100%, no contest, Metal Gear Solid 4. I mean, damn. If you got a PS3, there's no way you should miss it. I'm not sure how many MGS games you've played, but I wouldn't consider it a probelm, since the first MGS heavily referenced previous games, its story was deeply built around them (not nearly to the extent of MGS4), and most people who thought that was a masterpiece probably didn't play them. I know I didn't.

This post is becoming longer than I thought it would be, and I could go on and on for pages about why you should get that game, I'll just say it's a craaazy portrayal of life, insane story, scenario, characters, with must-see graphical design and completely out of this world gameplay. Get it.

[Roto13]

Yeah, maybe forget about Metal Gear Solid 4 if you haven't played the other games. (Though you should definitely look into those.) The whole game is like a giant love letter to fans of the series and a lot of it would be lost on you without playing the other games. Hell, the other Solid games are really story heavy on their own. They're not something that can be easily recapped, like the original Metal Gear games. There's actually a free Metal Gear Solid encyclopedia on the PSN, and it's huge. :P

[champagne supernova]

Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't played any Metal Gears before, although my friends have and so I have an idea of what is going on. But do you think it's still playable if I don't have a complete understanding of what went on before.

About the hand - I'm not going to play at all until it heals. I just threw it in to sort of highlight that I don't have lots and lots of time, so it doesn't have to be factored in.

I'm not really into Fallout at the moment because of the technical issues. And Bioshock really isn't floating my boat that much. So it is down to LBP, VC and MGS4. It's still a tough one to call.

Also, if anybody has any recommendations outside those, I'm open to that as well. And Dreddz, I have played Tools of Destruction. That's why I'm going to get the new one.

[Roto13]

It's still playable, but Metal Gear Solid is one of those games where the story really overshadows the gameplay and you probably won't enjoy it nearly as much as if you had played the rest of the series. Plus, it would pretty much ruin the other games with nasty spoilers. :P My advice to you would be to go back and play Metal Gear Solid 1-3 first. (The first two pre-Solid Metal Gears aren't really necessary because they have pretty simple stories, and neither is Portable Ops because it just isn't referenced much, if at all.)

[Dreddz]

Ill just say this. I have played all the previous MGS games and I still didn't understand the story to MGS4. The game isn't tailored for even the general fans of the series. Its strictly for the hardcore fanbase that know everything. I still enjoyed the hell out of the game, but I still had to check up on wiki files afterwards to fill in some gaps which I don't think I should have to. Although one big advantage that MGS4 has over other games is that its gameplay stands up just as strong as the story. Even if you don't enjoy the story there is still an awesome stealth game in there.

And the PS3 version of Fallout 3 is fine. Its just the draw distance is slightly poorer. There are other bugs but I hear they are present in all versions of the game.

[champagne supernova]

And the PS3 version of Fallout 3 is fine. Its just the draw distance is slightly poorer. There are other bugs but I hear they are present in all versions of the game.

Fallout 3 for PlayStation 3 Review - PlayStation 3 Fallout 3 Review

Read the fifth paragraph from the top. But I'm also thinking that I'm getting Oblivion anyway - even though the games are different, they're still made by the same developer. I think I'd rather see how I like Oblivion, see whether they patch it, and then decide.

And Dreddz, from what I've heard, I think you're one of a large group of people who've played the Metal Gear series and who is still confused.

[Roto13]

I wasn't confused. :P

[Dreddz]

Yeah right. I don't believe anyone who says they fully understood everything. I got the general gist of the story but all the intricacies of the story I was lost. It was when they started throwing diagrams with lines going from picture to picture that I had to pause the game from the sheer amount of information they were feeding me. My head was a mess.

[Slothy]

Yeah right. I don't believe anyone who says they fully understood everything.

Just because you didn't understand everything doesn't mean other people couldn't. The story gave me absolutely no trouble to be honest. Was it complex? Yes. A little convoluted even? Of course. Doesn't mean totally unfathomable though.

As for my recommendation, I'd say stay away from MGS4 until you play the others. They are all not only still playable today, but some of the best examples of great game design out there in any gaming era.

Personally, I'd go with Little Big Planet or Valkyria Chronicles out of your choices. I have Little Big Planet now and am having lot's of fun with it. Haven't had much time to get deep into it though, but it's certainly wowing me already.

[Roto13]

It's not hard to understand if you just take the charts and graphs and simplify the end result. You can describe that point in a few sentences if you want to. The extra stuff is just for show. :P

[Nifleheim7]

Buy Valkyria Chronicles and support a game that is destined to be overlooked by many.

[Bolivar]

The only part of MGS4's story I misunderstood was details contained within that game's story - i just wasn't sure about what was actually going on in the beginning after the ending, and that was actually pretty minor. But then again, I've completed all of the games at least 3 times before starting 4, so I'm definately in that hardcore fanbase Dreddz was talking about.

They're not something that can be easily recapped, like the original Metal Gear games. There's actually a free Metal Gear Solid encyclopedia on the PSN, and it's huge. :P

You are right, Roto, but it makes me wonder. The only people I've seen saying "You have to beat the priors to enjoy 4" are people like us who've already beaten the other games. I'd like to know what a newcomer to MGS actually feels about the game. I would guess there would be an added factor of enjoyment, getting to experience these characters for the first time. Edit: This reviewer apparently had no problem and gave the game incredibly high marks.

I would also agree with Dreddz that the gameplay stands up on its own. Not only is it mindblowing how detailed every little facet of the actual game is (the soldiers having emotions, the economy actually fluctuating), but it's so intense to play, and there's a million and one ways to go about infiltrating.