I think I'll just post these two for now
Just Cause 2 PC
This is one of those games that came out of nowhere. Apparently there was a prequel on the PS2 or something, but no one cared. For some reason, this game was different.
It all started when I saw that this game had a free demo on Steam... so I tried it out. What I got was easily the worst voice acting I have ever encountered in any game EVER (yes, worse than CD-I Link). I'm sitting there kind of confused, as a plane drops me off on this desert cliff. So it's the typical 3rd person shooter deal, move around, shoot at stuff, oh cool there's a grappling hook, nice, hey look there's this platform that I can jump off. Woah, this freefalling is awesome, and this parachute stuff is awesome too! I float down to the nearby town and start shooting people up and stole some cars, solid stuff so far, but nothing amazing. My 30 minute demo is approaching its end when I see something off to the horizon... some big red cranes... with health bars? I pull out my C4 and set them to blow up the cranes... WOAH, awesome destruction. And then I look over at where I came from. I can see the little town slightly blurred over there, and the cliff I was at in the beginning looks really far away. But wait, does that mean... Woah, WHAT? Can I actually reach those mountains all the way over there? HOLY **** THIS PLACE IS MASSIVE. And then my 30 minutes ended... played it 4 more times and then bought the full version.
That's pretty much all this game is. Just WOAH after WOAH. What is especially unique about it is the dedication to fun... the dedication to this abstract concept of a "video game" that so few games nowadays actually embrace. It's always "photorealism" this and "authentic" that... they forget about the FUN. Most notable example: GTA IV. That game was great, but it was so limited by the "realistic" elements. Soon after GTA IV I first played Just Cause 2 and it was so jarring. JC2 ignores ANY and EVERY semblance of realism that gets in the way of fun. What? Pulling out hundreds of parachutes out of nowhere isn't realistic? Jumping out of a 747 mid-flight and surfing it isn't realistic? The game is like a slap in the face that shows you how fun video games can be. It's so refreshing, and it single-handedly renewed my faith in gaming.
And whenever someone says that graphics don't matter in games, I'll point them to this game. God damn this game is beautiful, and god damn does it greatly improve the experience. It's obviously got cartoony graphics, but everything is just so beautiful. The sunset over the ocean with all the mountains in the background... it's kinda sad to say that it looks better than real life... especially when you happen to be surfing on a plane during all of it. My favorite thing is how the background blurs out as you distance yourself. You see this large city or huge blimp waaaaay at the horizon, all blurred out, and you assume that it's just a background image... but then you realize you can actually reach it. It's a very mind-blowing experience. I recently got a new computer that can max this game and holy **** the water when you turn on GPU Water Simulation is so magnificent... I watched it for like 15 minutes once.
--
_foolmo_
mobile computer