GhostofAnakin

Maybe I just have a short attention span or bad memory, but I can't switch between games. I always have to finish the one I've started or I risk forgetting what the entire point of the story was up until that point. That's why I'm finishing off Horizon Zero Dawn before attempting my Torment of Numerology play through.

It's got some bare-bones RPG elements. There's a "dialogue wheel" and there are a few rare moments when you can answer in one of three different tones (caring, smart, aggressive) that determines how certain quests play out (I just played one tonight where I could "fight" someone or agree to a compromise to solve a situation). Plus there's the ability to level up your character's various abilities and modify their armor. And no, no climbing towers in this game. You climb the backs of giant machine dinosaurs to unlock points of interest in an area. Completely different.

The tripcaster is a life saver in Horizon Zero Dawn. Set a couple up in the path of the machine, then fire away and watch them run right into it.

A new action adventure game They're making sure we know it's not a RPG and is a new IP but that's about it.. or maybe they've said something after that but I've stopped listening Isn't that essentially what they turned the ME franchise into?

I'm enjoying it, but best ever seems a bit hyperbolic.

Enjoy hunting machines. They're a lot more fun than the random bandits you come across. Machines have weak spots that you can aim for that challenge your ability to aim (especially when they're charging at you!). Humans can be killed in one shot to the head.

Unless I'm missing it, I wish Horizon Zero Dawn had a "lock on" button for combat. Having flying machines buzzing over your head with nothing but a random arrow pointing up (but not telling you if they're "up, but behind you" or "up, but to the left/right of you") is giving me a headache. Especially when there are multiple enemies, so you can't tell which of those "arrows" corresponds to the one about to dive-bomb you.

Sigh ... the conundrum when you have to decide on armor that looks good or has good stats. Why do the best armor, stat-wise, almost always look less impressive than weaker armor? I don't know why, but Horizon Zero Dawn has decided that all the "high level" armor has to have these weird headgear. I prefer the look of Aloy when she's just wearing the armor but nothing on her head.

The one downside (if you can call it that) to open world games is I get sidetracked and put off the main quest for days, then end up forgetting or being a bit foggy on what I was supposed to do. I'm doing that this last little while with Horizon Zero Dawn. I'll finish a main quest mission, then spend the next couple of play sessions just "mopping up" the various tasks around the map that I've already unlocked. It works okay within the frame work of this story because it's not one of those "if you don't solve the problem right away the world ends" type stories. That was one of those things that made ME3 so weird. You're racing against time, but you can stop to help people find lost jewelry or whatever.

Horizon Zero Dawn's map is BIG. I've been playing for a few nights now, and quite a bit each play session, and I've still only unlocked about 1/5 of the map. Granted, I don't know how much there is to actually do in the 4/5 of the map still in a "fog of war", but if it's anywhere close to what I've current experienced, I've got a long ways to go. It's an addictive game in the same way Far Cry is, with the exploring, the weapons, and the killing of random animals you come across.

Don't get me wrong. I've bought it but haven't played it yet, so I don't know precisely how much reading there actually is. However, when a game makes it clear it's a spiritual successor to a game that was widely known as basically like a novel, one would expect some large degree of reading to be involved. The comments section just made me chuckle because it's like they expected Destiny but in isometric form, and are now completely taken by surprise by how much reading is involved. It brings up another question: Do people not actually read previews/reviews of games they're unfamiliar with before buying?

I got a chuckle out of reading some of the comments by gamers in the comments section of the reviews where they complain about how much reading there is. Did these people NOT play PST?

More Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm out into the "open world" now, so I'm just picking up the various side activities. I keep forgetting that my character has different weapons available to her, so it's always the bow and arrow I use when I see an enemy. The story so far is actually pretty good as these things go. Enough intrigue to keep you wanting to continue to see how it plays out. It feels a bit like Far Cry with tribes and robot dinosaurs, but with a less wacky story and no guns (okay, very, very limited guns).

More Horizon Zero Dawn. Fire arrows are fun when you can actually hit the vulnerable spot. I took out an entire horde of striders when one blew up.

I'm enjoying Horizon Zero Dawn so far. Skulking around in the high grass, waiting to ambush robot dinosaur-like creatures? Yes, please. I'm still getting used to the slowing down time as you shoot your bow mechanic, though. You have to press the R3 thumbstick (PS4) while aiming, and right now I'm finding it awkward. But overall it's pretty good. Even gives you the option to be a jerk/nice/smart ass.

That's not a brand new IP. I would give my kidney for Alpha Protocol 2 though. I'd probably just give a lot of money for it. Probably safer for my health.

Heh ... apparently I just finished the prologue of Horizon: Zero Dawn (playing as a little kid Aloy). That was actually a pretty long tutorial. Not so bad the first time through, but I hope you can skip that if you play a second time. Reached the "main" game now. First time you can actually manually save.

Picked up Horizon Zero Dawn. Very early in the game so far. It's difficult not to pronounce the character's name as "alloy" whenever I see it in subtitles.

I'm buying it for the PS4 tomorrow. Yes, I sold out to the almighty console.

When I first heard this, I thought it was about the first winner of the reality show Survivor that had died.

You get a different set of powers and some different lines of dialogue. That's it, really. Corvo's set of powers makes clean hands/ghost rather easy tho if you still want to do that. It also makes murderspree easier. ... Corvo's set of powers is kinda more powerful than Emily's. It's a slog for me. If a game doesn't branch significantly on a second play through, and if the story/game doesn't pull me in completely, I have trouble playing it a second time through. I'll probably just try and finish off some achievements while waiting for Tuesday.

There was one of the most amazing side things in all the games tho. I mean the Stilton manor mission resolution. That was exceptionally cool. Shame there wasn't really more of that. The mansion resolution was pretty cool. I'm trying a second play through as Corvo, but so far (early on) it just feels like I'm replaying Emily but with a different character. Does it branch at all?

The male character looks like his real life model counterpart. The female character looks like the model might look after she'd just been in a serious car accident.

Is it just me, or do the character models look weirder in Mass Effect Andromeda than the previous ME games that were released almost 5 years ago, and on the previous Gen console?

Finished the Emily version of the Dishonored 2 play through. Pretty good game, though like I said, very, very little actual side content. It seemed to be almost entirely about the main quest line. Some of the powers were cool, but I found myself using basically two most of the game (the one that allows you to reach and jump distances, and the mesmerize one). I also only used sleep darts, as I was trying to do the non-lethal approach, so I didn't get any of the benefits from the various weapon and gadget upgrades. Next up is playing as Corvo.