So, I finished Rise of the Tomb Raider recently, and now I'm trying to decide what I should play next. I've been debating this a lot and I can't decide, so I thought I would make a thread about it. I'm not guaranteeing that I'll take your advice, but maybe it will help me in the decision-making process. I've narrowed it down to 4 games. I'll give some background about each game. Half Life 2: I've played this game probably at least twice a year since its release in 2004, so I've probably played it over 20 times. Still, I never really get bored of it. I've also never played it in QHD, which should be cool. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty: I got this game recently and I've only played it a little. I've been looking forward to this game. I've played a decent amount of the original (Abe's Oddysee), but I never actually finished it. Earthbound: I've played through the very beginning of this game multiple times, but never really made any significant progress. I'm not really a fan of RPGs in general, but I kind of like this game because of the music and its setting. I've also heard really good things about it. Conker's Bad Fur Day: I've gotten pretty far in this game, but never actually finished it. Parts of it can be rather frustrating, but it's still a really good game. I already have original copies of all of these games. I plan on finishing all of them eventually. All I'm trying to decide right now is which one I should play first. So, what do you think?
If I truly must say what to play next I say Oddworld. Of all the games listed that one is covered the least, and deserves more attention.
I'd say Earthbound, but that's just because I like RPGs. Give it a bit more time and you might find that it sucks you in. That's the way RPGs work for me. They take a bit to get started, but once they do you get pulled in. Honestly, as Pixel said, Oddworld is probably the most worth your attention. Very underrated series.
I've only played Half-Life 2 and Conker's Bad Fur Day, and they are both great games. HL2 is a fantastic first person shooter, but it's vehicle sections do go on too long (especially the boat), and the ending is a let down (a boring boss fight (sort of) then a cliff-hanger ending), but if you enjoy HL2 then you can buy HL2: Episodes 1 and 2 to continue the story (buy them as DLC, or buy The Orange Box collection), and even though Half-Life 3 doesn't exist (and Valve won't say if they're even planning to make HL3) you can download a fan made mod Hl2 - The Closure (http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-closure) which is due for release any day now, and aims to finish the story. Conker's Bad Fur Day is technically amazing considering it's on the N64, and it's also a lot of fun, sometimes very funny, and is still the closed thing to a cartoon that I've ever played. On the minus side, it's mostly too easy (why do platform games never have a skill setting?), some of the levels are more annoying than fun, and the game doesn't get really good until the later levels. Plus, like Half-Life 2, the game story leaves you wanting more, and sadly the proposed sequel, Conker's Other Bad Day, was never released. My favourite part of CBFD, though, isn't the single player, it's the fantastic multiplayer (which for some reason wasn't included when Rare ported CBFD to the original XBox, and renamed it Conker: Live and Reloaded). Beach and Heist are fantastic, but my favourite by far is War: Colours, which despite having only one map is utterly super against the very good bots, and I've spend countless hours just playing that one mode, me against the bots, my team being the Squirrels, and the enemy being the Tediz (basically Nazi teddy bears, it makes sense (sort of!) in the single player game story).
If I were you, I'd play Oddworld, however, I have a word of advice for you. The remake absolutely butchers the atmosphere and style of the original game, which has its own and unique charm. Also, it conveys a great message and it feels line an onyric fever dream that somehow reflects our own reality in a rather distorted but beautiful way. I ought to remark the original game is considerably hard and it requires some dedication in order to save most of the Mudokons. The original Oddworld universe is fantastic and it's a great lesson of life in an awfully strange way. Skip the remake and go straight for the original version, you won't regret it.
Just finished the new Tomb Raider myself too. Total of 92% complete If I.was you I'd go for Conkers Bad Fur Day next.
Conker's Bad Fur Day is an amazing game. I first played it on my 64 when I was like 12 years old and I still play it every now and then. The story mode is really good and the multiplayer is a blast; especially with friends!
Earthbound, because mindfuck. Also, I love the vote distribution. Let's make this poll cause even more confusion!
Instinctively I would've said Half-Life 2. But since you say you've played that a ton already, then I would definitely go with Conker personally. Haven't played it in a long long time, but I think the game really picks up after the first half. The whole Saving Private Ryan inspired WW2 level had some very funny bits with your team mates/the teddies. Earthbound is a great choice too; it also has a sense of humor like Conker, except more high-brow of course. Although Earthbound IS an rpg, so the comedic aspect is less "in your face", so to speak, than it is in Conker. So depending on what type of comedy you are in the mood for, you can't go wrong with either choice.
Like I said, I've already played the original. I almost finished it. I've played New 'n' Tasty a little and I like the part of it that I've played. I still have the PS1 version, so I could play that if I wanted to. I've already played Episodes 1 and 2 as well as Lost Coast and some mods. I haven't heard of The Closure. I'll check that out. I'm looking forward to the Xen release of Black Mesa. Well, I appreciate everyone's advice but... I'm going to completely disregard it. I'm going to play Half Life 2. I have some specific reasons why I want to play this game. For one, it's one of my favorite games ever, and even though I've played it 45 billion times per second, I never get bored of it. Also, I just recently got a new monitor (ASUS PB278Q) which has a really good image and QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution, and I've never played HL2 at that resolution (except on my MacBook, but that's different). Any time I get a new piece of hardware, I inevitably have to play Half Life 2 on it. I usually try to finish HL2 at least a couple times a year anyway, so the monitor is another reason to play it. I still plan on finishing all of them eventually. I'm not sure what I'll play after HL2. Possibly Oddworld, but we'll see. People can continue voting, and possibly that will influence what I decide to play next. By the way, this is what inspired the title of this thread:
Regardless, it's fundamental to point out that the remake took far too many liberties and distorted the very essence of the original. I can't help but abhor the remake, this video is extremely informative and it summarizes everything that is majorly wrong with the remake:
You know I love Black Flag. Excellent song. I was wondering if that was the inspiration since I remember you mentioning that you liked that song quite a bit.
