When this time of the year rolls round it can be difficult acquiring new games. This could be due to a great number of reasons; you are saving to buy gifts, new releases are too expensive, you are getting the games as gifts. When it boils down to it gaming can be a very expensive hobby to undertake, with new releases for consoles usually sitting around the £50 mark it can be hard to get releases when they come out.
So here is a suggestion, why not take a gamble on the pre owned market? Raid the bargain bins and find a game that maybe you once fancied but were not interested in paying 20/30/40 pounds for. The back catalogue of Xbox 360 is extensive to say the least and with so many great games you are bound to find a few things to play on the run up to the festive period, or to tie you over until the cash flow is a bit more in your favour. Below are a couple of titles that may help you in selecting a “wee hidden gem”.
The Darkness
This is a game based off a comic series titled “Witchblade” where the Darkness is given a whole arc of the story itself (even getting its own comic series). The story lies around a young New York hit-man named Jackie Estacado on the evening of his 21st birthday. When the clock hits midnight Jackie then inherits the curse of his family and is plagued/gifted with the supernatural entity know as the Darkness. This allows every element of shadows and dark to work to his advantage and grants him awesome power and supernatural advantages, from serpent like tentacles from his body to goblin like creature to do his bidding.
The game itself is a first person shooter with a twist, the twist being you have the power of the Darkness at your fingertips and as long as you keep the light away you will be fine. TLight sources can harm the darkness and will cause it to retreat stopping you from using the powers in battle, so shooting or smashing lights will tip the balance of power in a fight into your favour.
The story of the first game (there was a sequel) is a gritty almost noir style tale, with Jackie being an excellent protagonist and likeable character. The voice acting in the game is very well played, and the choice of New York accents lends itself brilliantly to the game and enhances the players experience. When the game progresses you discover more about the Darkness and how it came to haunt your family and why you must carry the burden, as well as deal with the life of a Mafia family and trying to protect those you hold dear.
Little touches in this game that make it so enjoyable are the loading screen, these have Jackie just sitting in the middle of a room looking as though he is talking to someone off camera. He is talking about what is on his mind and telling the player about past memories and when his life was in a better place, a great technique to give the player greater insight into the world of a young man who has responsibility beyond his control thrust upon him.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
This is possibly my favourite game of the previous console generation, with its RPG elements and cyber punk setting makes it just a stand out game for me.
This game is a prequel to the 2000 critically acclaimed Deus Ex. A game which to this day many people still regard it as one of the greatest computer games ever created. Followed by a massively disappointing sequel titles Deus Ex: Invisible War, which came close to ruining the greatness of the original. So in 2011, 11 years after the series debut Square Enix released a prequel to the original. The gameplay was similar to the original with its first person RPG gameplay.
With the setting of the prequel different to the original the game, the game take place in Boston in the year 2027 (25 years before the original which was set in New York) you play as the character Adam Jensen. Adam is the head of security of Sarif Industries which is the leading researcher into human augmentation, this is grafting robotic and mechanical body parts onto human beings as prosthetics. When the company is getting ready to announce their latest breakthrough, then the building falls under attack and key members of staff are kidnapped and Adam is mortally wounded. At the this point is he very lucky to be working for the most advanced augmentation company in the world. Adam is rebuilt to be the most advanced piece of equipment in Sarif Industries arsenal.
The game revolves around the search for Adams lost girl friend who is Sarif Industries leading researcher, your journey takes you from Boston to China and even borders beyond there. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game in which you can customise your character to your game play style and then chose in which way you undertake a mission, you can go in all guys blazing or hack your way in via computers. This is a game two people can play and complete but achieve it in very different ways.
Darksiders
The original Darksiders is truly a great game for a number of reasons, and it will not feel out of place to people who grew up playing games like Legend of Zelda. The game is a 3rd person puzzle-action adventure game. Where you take up the role as War, one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse who has been summoned to bring on the start of the apocalypse. On to find out you were never summoned and you have been set up to take the fall, so once War has been chastised by the charred council (the being of balance) he is on a quest to redeem himself and find out what actually happened. Darksiders boasts some very famous voice acting talents as well, once of which is Mark Hamill.
The game is set on earth but after 100 years of hell on earth and demons running free, human life seems to be a thing of the past and War has to traverse the world in order to create to alliances and get him one step closer to his goal. Though with the charred councils agent bound to war as a keeper (Mark Hamill) he is there to aid and torment you throughout the entire journey.
The gameplay style is a little strange to get used to at first, but after the initial teething period that games flows rather well. Mixing the combat elements in with the large and vast levels makes the game fun to explore and makes you want to learn more about the world. Fighting boss creatures unlocks upgrades for War and allows more variation in combat. War can equip a secondary weapon and can be used to mix up your fighting style and create combos. All weapons can be upgraded which allows for stronger weapons with more move sets.
So there are just a few games that can be acquired for cheap that could tie you through a rough period, or even mix up your games library for a change. If you have any other suggestions then please comment below, thanks for reading.
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