What We Played #183: The Crew, Grand Theft Auto V & Dragon Age

Kicking off this week’s playlist we have Dan who, after reviewing Bound By Flame back in May, decided to give it another shot. “It’s really not a bad game at all,” he says, praising the combat and simplistic progression systems. After swapping out the conventional sword for a brace of daggers, he’s enjoying the faster paced melee battles and now, having finished the game, is diving straight back in. This time with axes and war-hammers. Other than that, he’s been playing FIFA 15 and Thomas Was Alone (again) as well as The Crew:

I’ll admit I wasn’t that impressed with the beta but the full game has got me hooked. It’s like Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed 2 mixed into one game. The story is very predictable and cliche for the type of game it is but it’s still interesting enough. The world is absolutely huge too. Don’t think I’ve played a game with such a big in-game map. Driving in the same direction for half an hour gets you no where.

What’s more the loading times are short, there’s no late pop-ins and it looks wonderful, and you’ve also got some mini driving games to stop you getting bored on long drives. Really impressive stuff. The driving takes a lot of getting used to. It’s sluggish at first but after a while it will feel natural. Looking forward to exploring the map more as I’ve literally just touched the surface.

Joining him in his race tour from coast to coast is Aran, who has also had a chance to play Ubisoft’s massively multiplayer online racer, noting that the car handling has improved since the beta. Aside from that, he’s also been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition which he much prefers over the series’ divisive second offering. Still, he’s a long way off killing a dragon, admitting that even one of their offspring would be enough to fell his entire party.

For me, Dragon Age: Inquisition has been placed on the back burner. As much as I really enjoy the game, my temptation to bag all of the trophies has left me at a crossroads. My dilemma is that I’m already fifteen hours into my current playthrough but, if I wanted to bag that coveted platinum trophy, I would need to beat the game on its hardest difficulty. Whether I go back and start afresh or carry on is a choice I’ll no doubt have to make soon.

Over the past couple of months I’ve found myself being taken under Nintendo’s spell. Traditionally, I’ve always flitted between my computer and PlayStation consoles while also making allowances for handhelds. At my new uni house, ignoring Nintendo, and more specifically the Wii U, is no longer an option. Though I’ve hardly been thrilled by Super Mario 3D World, both Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 have absorbed a staggering amount of free time. A few more exclusives under the belt and I may well buy a Wii U myself in near future.

Dom has also been playing Smash Bros., taking things that one step further with the Wii U GameCube adapter.

I’ve also tinkered with One Piece: Unlimited World Red, Never Alone, New Super Mario Bros. U and Rayman Legends, with the platformers currently being my three year-old son’s games of choice. I can’t say it’s upsetting me to play them either, as they’re all fantastic games!

With TSA’s Game of the Year voting under way, Blair has been playing through potential candidates in the indie category:

The one which really caught my eye was Transistor. My, what a beautiful game, and that almost turn-based, programming-esque battle system is brilliant. It’s got a really lovely soundtrack too.

Grand Theft Auto V has also been eating up his free time. Despite initially being put off by the remaster’s first person mode, he’s found another use for it, snapping pictures while using the Skyfall cheat around Los Santos.

Finally, we have Peter, who is still chipping away at massive space sim, Elite Dangerous. With the game shifting towards release, he’s been forced to restart though contests that game is refreshing enough to warrant all of that (re)grinding.