Topic: Modern Gaming

OK, as a person who has only owned Nintendo consoles since the Genesis, there are some games I have always wanted to play but couldn't like Bioshock, Uncharted, and Mass Effect (I'm holding out for what I assume is an inevitable Trilogy release). So now with the Wii U we are finally able to play more modern games that just wouldn't fit file-size wise (amongst other reasons) on the Wii. I recently got Arkham City because I'd heard it was great and thought it looked cool. Maybe it's just me, but I find it completely overwhelming and probably unnecessarily so. I always like reading the manuals for my games, but there is like 500 screens to flip through in your Bat-catalog or whatever it's called telling you how to do the 3,000 different moves you call pull off, and each button on the controller can do like 700 different things depending on what other buttons you push at the same time. I play video games for fun, and I simply don't feel like reading the equivalent of War and Peace just to figure out what I'm doing and then have to actually remember it all. I haven't gotten very far yet, but I've survived just pressing the attack button over and over again with the occasional dodge button thrown in, but I assume that won't work for long. I guess I'm wondering, are all of these modern games that I've wanted to play but haven't been able to (like the ones listed above and others) like this? Because if so, I don't think I care anymore if they come out for Wii U because I'm not sure how much longer I'll give Batman before just moving on to the next, simpler game (bring on Animal Crossing and Pikmin!).

I literally have no response to this beyond "sucks for you I guess". You'll get used to it...if not...I point you to my previous statement.

And yeah they do tend to be kinda like that.

Actually, it will kind of take a load off. There are already enough games that I want and don't have time for even without all of these. It will just shorten my imaginary potential backlog if I don't care if I play them or not anymore.

I don't know what to tell you. You've been playing games for a really long time but have never played Modern games? I don't think I've ever heard of that before. I'd say just keep trying because they're are a lot of great games you're missing out on if you just give up now after one game. The other games you listed aren't that complicated. Mass Effect has a lot of dialogue choices but it's a pretty standard shooter for the most part.

A better term would be "complicated games" not modern.

A lot of the games today can co-exist in a realistic fantasy with little limitations in that aspect. Simpler Batman games on older consoles can't compete with the aesthetic achievements the recent Arkham games withhold.

Not all games are overwhelming, though. You just need to find the right game(s) that suit your tastes. Plus, judging all recent games based off the time you spent with one, is a little ignorant. (No offense.)

both Arkham games seemed like they were going to be fun, then lost me a few hours in. The CSI stuff got really laborious and the combat was...weird...and not gratifying, despite feeling like Batman. Idk what it was really... But those games didn't do it for me either.

I may take flack for this... But I'd pass on Mass Effect. I've heard the storyline is awesome, and have heard the universe called "the most important sci fi universe of our generation", but the first game was horrid for me. Walk up to weird looking creature who was way too shiny. "Hey - I'm gonna randomly tell you about my backstory" - make one of 4 choices, none of which I could care less about - "more loosely related, sci-fi-jargon-laden backstory with stupid terms galore." Gameplay was extremely uncomfortable - sloppy third person shooting you're constantly pausing to order teammates around. I heard 2 was a lot better (and 3), but 1 was atrocious.

Uncharted is arguably the best series of games I've ever played, and Bioshock is a really accessible FPS if you haven't delved into that too much, with a really cool universe. And Infinite (most recent one) is outstanding. That said - UC is exclusive, so short of buying a PS3 you probably won't get to play it any time soon.

yeah I love the Mass Effect universe but the first game, mainly the first few hours, isn't the most ideal way to get you care about anything let's just say. You have to go into the game with some patience. And a tolerance for bad cover shooting.

Thanks for the comments, everybody. Maybe "complicated games" would be a better term, but I didn't know if it was just me that found it complicated. For example, I was putting Batman on hold until I beat The Last Story (which I finally did), and you basically had to hit C to gather and then just move around a lot. Simple, but a lot of fun. And I'm trying not to judge all recent games which is why I am asking you about them so I can get a better view, as I still have no way to play any of them except ME3 and Assassin's Creed which I never had any real desire to play. I guess Batman is just the first game I've played that has had so many moves and button combinations. I'm sure I'll get used to it now that I'm diving back into it again.

I highly recommend not playing Assassin's Creed III. What genres or specific games do you enjoy immensely? Or prefer?

Well, keep in mind that Arkham City can be enjoyed without using all or even most of the moves available to you. The combat system is really rather simple and enjoyable at its core. Focus on punching and countering at the right moments. Know how to use your retractable grapple hook to launch you into a full glide. Know basic things like how to change between tools and how to activate detective mode. I think you're getting intimidated by it because you think you have to explore all of the title's complexities. You don't. The nice thing about Arkham City is learning how to do things basically at your leisure. All you really have to know are the basics of the controls.

You consider the control scheme in Batman to be complicated? Wow. I'm speechless here.

Press X to dodge, mash Y. Done, dusted, Bring on the next baddie and repeat. You don't even need to read the manual, it's all made explicitly clear in the game what you need to do and when.

You'll probably do well to skip out on many/most "AAA MEGA BUDGET CUTSCENE CINEMATIC 11/10" games anyway. I'm personally bored of them.

I'm bored of them as well, but it doesn't sound like he's played enough to be bored of them, and I find it unwise to recommend people avoid quality games for reasons that don't honestly apply to them.

That said...@Xyphon22 - You'd do well to check out indie games if you want things simpler. The PC has tons, and the Wii U seems to have plenty of simpler games lining up for it. XBLA (since it sounds like you have a 360) also has a myriad of simple-yet-fantastically fun games, like Shadow Complex and 'Splosion Man, if you're looking for simpler games from people with a pedigree.

Yeah, the mash Y with occasional X is my strategy so far, I just assumed it wouldn't work anymore once I get farther into the game. But if it will always work, then cool. No I don't have a 360, all I have is a Wii U and 3DS, so quite honestly this whole thing is really more a question of interest for me as opposed to a "Which games should I get or avoid" question because I will be avoiding them all by force until they come out on Wii U (or a 360 becomes really cheap once the 720 comes out or I can convince my brother to give me his because he never plays it). The 2 that I am interested in that would fall into the category of game I am thinking of are Deus Ex and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Obviously no one knows about Blacklist yet, but how do the controls for Deus Ex compare?

Man it's a shame you don't have a PS3.... Uncharted 3's hand to hand combat is basically an infinitely-more-cinematic-and-refined version of Arkham's attack-and-counter system, with a metric ton of awesome situational attacks. Plus the tried and true 3rd person shooting awesomeness that has always been there.

Deus Ex is actually quite cool. Incredibly open to play style - the beginning forces you to handle things in certain ways to teach you, but after that it's up to you. Pretty easy set of moves to remember as well, and an AWESOME system of character development RPG-style. I wasn't expecting much for that game and got it on sale for like 10 bucks a few years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised. Splinter Cell I can't comment on - never played a game in the series, or even seen one played to be honest.

If the new Splinter Cell is anything like Conviction, you could just hold the left stick forwards and get though the majority of the game.

Are you from the future?