well, I have been playing video games a lot lately after I didn't do much gaming this past summer.
Played through The Last Guardian which was a wonderful, unique and just jaw dropping experience. I really love Team Ico, they really know how to create unique games that are true works of art. Yes, it's not perfect by any means. The camera can be a pain in the rear, the controls aren't the most precise ones out there. Yet this game somehow manages to make you forgive all these shortcomings by creating an experience that you won't forget. And Trico is just way awesome
And it's really rare to play a game that can move you, heck, possibly even make you cry...a game that gives you the feeling that you've just played something special after you finished it. This one's one of those games.
I also played Watch Dogs 2. I liked the first one, although I do understand that some people were underwhelmed by it. The second Watch Dogs game however gets a lot of the things right that Watch Dogs 1 struggled with. The addition of the drones for example was one damn fine idea because it opens up a lot of possibilities to tackle missions. Sure, you can absolutely go in guns blazing and just shoot your way through a mission but this game really wants you do take advantage of all the stealth mechanics and they are tons of fun.
For example, you can sneak through a building yourself and just get the mission done that way. OR you use your drones to help you by making them hack and manipulate your environment. Heck, you can even just use your remote controlled RC car to get through a mission. Watch Dogs 2 in that sense kind of approaches gameplay like Metal Gear Solid 5 did, for example, where you could approach missions in several different ways. I understand that Watch Dogs 2 didn't sell all that well but I sure hope that more people give it a chance eventually. I had a blast playing it.
I also played and beat Final Fantasy 15. I will admit I was not a big fan of Final Fantasy 13. FF13's characters were too silly and everyone was just constantly whining. When it comes to gameplay it was also way too linear I think. For the majority of the game you were just running through a set path fighting monsters over and over. Yes, eventually you ended up in a more open, sandbox-type environment but that was really just a big, green field with some monsters on it. Not very exciting....
.....now Final Fantasy 15 however takes a completely different approach. Right from the get-go you find yourself in a huge, beautiful open world that is filled with little outposts and towns, wonderful scenery and lots of beautifully designed creatures...which you eventually of course end up killing, heh.
Yes, the usual Japanese trademarks are all there: emo haircuts...check. Girls in tiny hotpants with gigantic boobs in tiny bras...check. Well, you get the idea. However they didn't go overboard.
OK, I will admit there were times when I wanted to strangle Prompto in his sleep (he's one of your team members). Well, pretty much constantly actually. But after a while you get used to him. But this game is just hugely fun. Yes, there's no turn based fighting system anymore but in all honesty, I can absolutely live with that. Due to the sheer amount of enemies you have to fight in this game, or Final Fantasy games in general, a turn based fighting system can really make things feel tedious. FF15 takes the Mass Effect/Dragon Age approach which means you can switch to 'wait mode' if you want to and then you can pause the game and plan your actions. Or you choose the action mode which plays a lot like other western RPGs and is therefore a lot more fast paced.
Combat is a lot of fun, really. Fighting some of the biggest monsters you'll ever get to see in a game (one is as big as a mountain, not kidding) is just fun and enormously satisfying. I will admit that side quests aren't really this game's strength. NPCs basically just give you fetch quests or bounty hunts. But somehow it's still fun to do them.
I really did enjoy the story too and I really don't have to mention FF15's cut scenes. Final Fantasy games always had some of the best cut scenes you'd ever get to see and the series' 15th installment is no exception. Jaw dropping stuff, really. Anyways, I highly recommend that one too.
Not sure what I'll play next but I hope it'll be something good!