Starhawk
Here's another shooter that tries to do things differently, successfully merging elements of TPS and RTS in a space-age western adventure. Players build constructions RTS-style, which are paid for using 'Rift Energy' earned from successful shoot outs and TPS rampages.
While its single player campaign leaves much to be desired, multiplayer is an absolute gem and clearly where developer Lightbox focused most its efforts. Up to 32 gamers can take part in the usual array of Capture the Flag, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes, which are backed up with various features and statistics options.
There is also a co-op mode where players join forces to defend a base against waves of enemies. Again, there's nothing overly unique about any of Starhawk's offerings, but the combination is a gripping experience and multiplayer junkies will be in their element.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
The Witcher 2 slashed its way onto PCs in 2011, but only made its way onto the Xbox 360 in April and has since been the cause of much hand cramp in my sordid abode. Scenes of sex and violence – as well as themes of racial abuse, political depth and moral choice – all come together for the "mature" experience. And what an experience it is.
Players take control of Geralt of Rivia, one of the world's only remaining witchers – mutant-humans enhanced with skills to battle beasts from a young age. The combat system is majestic and battles are always a challenge. The quests are well thought out and the script is engaging. It isn't as much of a challenge as the unforgiving Dark Souls, but on harder skill levels, things do get pretty hairy.
The Witcher 2 for Xbox doesn't quite match the graphical prowess of its PC release, but few games look this impressive on the 360 and, if you're without such high-end gaming hardware, you won't be disappointed by settling for the console edition. ®
Ten... console games you may have missed
COMMENTS
I hate to be that guy, but £2k is phenomenally expensive, even for a brand new extremely high spec gaming PC if you build it yourself.
£600 will do for a good gaming PC. I realise that's still a lot of money, but I'm posting in the interests of accuracy, not sanity. My current machine was about £1300 in total, but it'll last me 4-5 years unless I get the itch to be a bit childish and go spunk more cash on it.
Are you guys allergic to giving a game less than 70%? This is another reason why I can't take you seriously on gaming (the Halo reviews aside...). You basically called several games on this list crap, then gave them 70%. And El Reg is hardly alone in doing this,
This is why I prefer the scoring of people like Angry Joe. Dude isn't afraid to mark your game down. If a game is average, it gets 50%, if it's great it gets 70%, and it has to be ball-bustingly brilliant to get 90% or above. Otherwise you can't differentiate between the scoring on the games, and you end up with a bunch of games with the same score that vary wildly in quality.
TL;DR - knock it off. Stop being afraid to give games crap scores if they're crap.
well at least playing games into your 30's has given you some experience on consoles.
Me too... then I got married had two kids and started again :)
