So.....I have three games I'm thinking about getting.....

[Demolition_Human]

The three games in question are as follows: Saints Row 2, Max Payne 3 and Dark Souls. These three I know came out a while ago (one a long while ago) but I need something fun to play. I want to get Saints Row 2 cause it look like the right mixture of zany and realistic (and there is a pimp cane shotgun!!) I want to play Max Payne 3 cause I hadn't played a Max Payne game in a long while. And finally, I want to get Dark Souls because of the gameplay, the look of the game and the cool bosses in it as well. I think I would enjoy Dark Souls very much. But I want to get your input escapists, what do you think I should get? And if you have any more suggestions, let me know, alright? Oh right I forgot to mention I can only get one.

EDIT I forgot to mention the system I'm getting said game for! My bad. I'm planning on getting a game for my PS3 ^^;

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I can only recommend Saints Row 2 on hearsay, and Max Payne 3 as well, though it doesn't feel very Max Payne-y if that's the vibe you're going for.

 

[tippy2k2]

GASP! A "What should I play?" thread where I've actually played all the games!! YAH!!!!

Well first off, all three have been out for quite a while so you can probably get all three very cheap. Here is my breakdown of each

Max Payne 3: Did you like Max Payne 1 & 2 for the game-play and style? If so, you'll likely like MP3. The story is a'ight at best; just giving you enough of a reason to slow-motion dive and murder your way through Brazil. I liked the story but many didn't so your results may vary.

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Max Payne 1 & 2 to play this but it'll help enhance the game

Get this if: You're looking for a linear game that tells you a story

Dark Souls: A hack-in-slash if it had the deepness of a fighting game [footnote]EDIT: My apologies but to be clear, when I said as deep as fighting games, I was referring to the timing and precision needed during fights and the large amount of different play-styles you can have (though that's due to the weapons/magic being very different rather than picking a different character). I apologize for any confusion/flame-wars I may have caused [/footnote]. Renowned for it's difficulty, it's not really THAT difficult, you just have to pay attention (although there are some bs things in the game so be prepared to die at least a few times no matter your skill). A great game that is unfortunately, marred by the frame rate committing suicide every so often. I actually stopped playing the game about eight hours into it because the frame rate became so bad at this one part that I was just stuck. I have since been told how to get by the part but I've already started other games since then so it's remaining skipped...

Get this if: You want a good and deep hack-and-slash and you are patient enough to learn how to truly play (it will kick your ass if you don't).

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Demon Souls to play this

Saints Row 2: Remember when Grand Theft Auto had a sense of humor? This is that game. An excellent mix of fun and wackiness, this open world game is juvenile humor at it's finest while still having an excellent and telling story. In my opinion, if you can only get one, I'd go with this guy.

Get this game if: You want an updated GTA: Vice City with more potty humor after it has snorted its weight in cocaine.

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Saints Row 1 to play this

EDIT: Also Note; I have played all these on the 360

 

[Strelok]

Saint's Row 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, I like it more than Saint's Row 3. Max Payne 3 was really, really good, great story great gun play. As for Dark Souls, I can't say, played Demon's Souls, it was an awful game, horrid controls, putrid visuals, clunky, boring game play, so if it is anything like that steer clear.

Queue the Demon's/Dark Souls Defence Force *** Differing Opinion Detected ***

 

[Racecarlock]

SR2 is some of the most fun you'll ever have playing a sandbox game. If you don't get it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. If you like fun, get that game.

 

[Demolition_Human]

Saint's Row 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, I like it more than Saint's Row 3. Max Payne 3 was really, really good, great story great gun play. As for Dark Souls, I can't say, played Demon's Souls, it was an awful game, horrid controls, putrid visuals, clunky, boring game play, so if it is anything like that steer clear.

Queue the Demon's/Dark Souls Defence Force *** Differing Opinion Detected ***

Well my friend, that's your opinion and you are entitled to it like everyone else. If a game like Demon Soul's did not strike your fancy than that is alright. But I still want to play Dark Souls for the gameplay and the look of the world and the neat looking bosses. But hey different strokes and all that.

 

[Nouw]

Max Payne 3 is fun, but it's not really a Max Payne game if you get what I mean. Gone is the night-time atmosphere and poetic monologues that came with it, including the comic-strip cut-scenes. I still enjoyed it as a straight-action game and I'm sure you will too. People often complain about frequent cut-scenes but I didn't feel they obstructed the pacing too much.

 

[shrekfan246]

Oh right I forgot to mention I can only get one.

I feel like we should also know what platform you'd be planning on playing on.

Saints Row 2 is pretty infamously horrible on the PC, and requires a fair amount of modding/tweaking to get running at something resembling a playable state.

Dark Souls is playable on the PC out of the box, but will have a locked resolution and framerate and minimal graphical options if you don't get the DSFix mod and play with the .ini file it adds.

I can't speak for Max Payne 3, but I haven't heard anything bad about its PC version.

The difference being, of course, that on consoles each of the games works pretty much fine right out of the box.

Anyway, I bought Saints Row 2 after playing Saints Row: The Third over the course of the Steam Summer Sale, but I haven't played it yet so I can't speak for its actual quality. By all accounts it's basically what Grand Theft Auto used to be, with a bit more in the way of wacky minigames. But it offers large amounts of personalization for your character, so if you're looking for an open world game that will let you put your own personal touch on things, then go for it.

Dark Souls gets a hearty recommendation from me, with the caveat that you should be ready for frustration. It's a game that requires you to be patient and slow, to be careful when you go around any corner, and to try anticipating and reading the moves your enemies are going to make, all while pressuring you and pushing you. It's also pretty gleeful with the ways that it torments the player, and the environment is as equally deadly as any of the enemies or bosses. But it heavily encourages exploration and has some fantastic level designs, inch-wide beams you have to scale aside.

And I haven't played Max Payne 3.

 

[MysticSlash]

GASP! A "What should I play?" thread where I've actually played all the games!! YAH!!!!

Well first off, all three have been out for quite a while so you can probably get all three very cheap. Here is my breakdown of each

Max Payne 3: Did you like Max Payne 1 & 2 for the game-play and style? If so, you'll likely like MP3. The story is a'ight at best; just giving you enough of a reason to slow-motion dive and murder your way through Brazil. I liked the story but many didn't so your results may vary.

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Max Payne 1 & 2 to play this but it'll help enhance the game

Get this if: You're looking for a linear game that tells you a story

Dark Souls: A hack-in-slash if it had the deepness of a fighting game. Renowned for it's difficulty, it's not really THAT difficult, you just have to pay attention (although there are some bs things in the game so be prepared to die at least a few times no matter your skill). A great game that is unfortunately, marred by the frame rate committing suicide every so often. I actually stopped playing the game about eight hours into it because the frame rate became so bad at this one part that I was just stuck. I have since been told how to get by the part but I've already started other games since then so it's remaining skipped...

Get this if: You want a good and deep hack-and-slash and you are patient enough to learn how to truly play (it will kick your ass if you don't).

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Demon Souls to play this

Saints Row 2: Remember when Grand Theft Auto had a sense of humor? This is that game. An excellent mix of fun and wackiness, this open world game is juvenile humor at it's finest while still having an excellent and telling story. In my opinion, if you can only get one, I'd go with this guy.

Get this game if: You want an updated GTA: Vice City with more potty humor.

Sidenote: You do not have to have played Saints Row 1 to play this

This guy pretty much got it except that I think Max Payne 3 might be a little better if you haven't played the first two as I enjoyed those two more for some reason. Regardless, it is still pretty freaking fun. Also, if you play Dark Souls make sure you get the DSFIX to move the FPS cap to 60 and have a gamepad for your PC or else you won't get to experience it to its fullest! I personally recommend Dark Souls as I believe the difficulty is overhyped and it simply is a really good game with really good combat. It is, in my opinion, a much better game than the other two you mentioned. Have fun regardless!

 

[kingthrall]

Three words

No
No
NEIN

Get some better choices bud.

Choose games like NOX what i am playing from gog. six dollars it cost me and its freaking amazing!
Or get Myth II we need fresh blood.

Seriously though, Saints row has to be the peak of stupid players and worse than COD player I.M.O. Supporting senseless violence, abuse with no sense of dignity about it just seems wrong.

However if the game was about Police officers chopping off criminal ears and cashing them in for trophies then I would totally buy it.

 

[scorptatious]

Out of the three here I've only played Dark Souls, and that was an awesome game. So you probably won't get an unbiased opinion from me unfortunately.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Saint's Row 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, I like it more than Saint's Row 3. Max Payne 3 was really, really good, great story great gun play. As for Dark Souls, I can't say, played Demon's Souls, it was an awful game, horrid controls, putrid visuals, clunky, boring game play, so if it is anything like that steer clear.

Queue the Demon's/Dark Souls Defence Force *** Differing Opinion Detected ***

I agree for the most part. I only played Dark Souls and the best thing about the game is really the atmosphere and level design. The combat system works but that's really about it. It's not even close to as deep as a fighting game at all, not even close to the average hack and slash game in depth (yeah, it has more depth than God of War but that's not saying much). All you have to do is block and use light attack ALL GAME, that's it. The game doesn't throw enemies at you to force you to use the advanced moves like the riposte. Bayonetta, on the other hand, threw enemies at you that forced you to use its dodge offset mechanic. Even Heavenly Sword threw enemies at you that forced you to use different stances and combos. Plus, so many enemies in Dark Souls can be cheesed with the bow and arrow. I went into Dark Souls expecting a legitimately hard game and I got an easy game disguised as a hard game. The only hard part is leaning how everything works, what your stats do and such because the game doesn't tell you anything, but once you learn that and you play careful, you'll be golden. Lastly, I killed one of the game's dragons just mashing attack and never blocking (standing right in front of it) without being overleveled or getting some broken item/equipment or anything, that's just how easy that dragon was.

Sorry, OP but that's all I got, I haven't played the other games on the list.

 

[Evonisia]

Well seeing as you're not on PC, I highly recommend Saints Row 2. It's essentially GTA IV if it was a GTA game, a nicely paced fun action shooter sandbox genocide driving simulator murder-fest. And unlike Saints Row: The Third is tries to stay grounded so expect to be dressed up as a policemen butchering hippies one minute and the next minute seeing an enemy gang member beat the teeth out of one of your friends with a pipe wrench.

 

[Tanis]

I'd get Dark Souls.

Best game out of the three.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I say Dark Souls, if you're anything like me, you'll get months of playtime out of it, it's reasonably old at this point, and it's a refreshing experience to be given a world and approach it however you wish.

I only played Dark Souls and the best thing about the game is really the atmosphere and level design. The combat system works but that's really about it. It's not even close to as deep as a fighting game at all, not even close to the average hack and slash game in depth (yeah, it has more depth than God of War but that's not saying much). All you have to do is block and use light attack ALL GAME, that's it. The game doesn't throw enemies at you to force you to use the advanced moves like the riposte. Bayonetta, on the other hand, threw enemies at you that forced you to use its dodge offset mechanic. Even Heavenly Sword threw enemies at you that forced you to use different stances and combos. Plus, so many enemies in Dark Souls can be cheesed with the bow and arrow. I went into Dark Souls expecting a legitimately hard game and I got an easy game disguised as a hard game. The only hard part is leaning how everything works, what your stats do and such because the game doesn't tell you anything, but once you learn that and you play careful, you'll be golden. Lastly, I killed one of the game's dragons just mashing attack and never blocking (standing right in front of it) without being overleveled or getting some broken item/equipment or anything, that's just how easy that dragon was.

Not deep? Almost every weapon has a different moveset, and you have 4 attributes to manage to create a build. It's straightforward in some cases, but not shallow. A game is not only as deep as the shallowest playstyle. Although I agree there's nothing that forces you to riposte if you've got a decent shield, I'd rather that than heavy shields be useless sometimes and be forced into a specific playstyle.

EDIT: Although expecting combat to be as deep as a fighting game, which basically only has to worry about combat, is a tough ask for any non-fighting game.

 

[Easton Dark]

Saints Row 2 is pretty infamously horrible on the PC, and requires a fair amount of modding/tweaking to get running at something resembling a playable state.

It actually runs fine unmodded. It just looks bad.

And uh... I dunno OP. Of the three I'd pick Saints Row. I played through that all the way, bad PC version and all. Dark Souls didn't keep my attention very well. Who knew not explaining game mechanics could turn people away *shrug*. Never played a Max Payne or Max Payne 3, but it looks like a serviceable shooter (that you will only want to play through once).

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Dark Souls is the only correct choice. Easily one of the best and most immersive RPGs out there. Probably my favourite new IP this gen along with Demon's Souls.

 

[SouthernStar]

Saints row 2 is fun for awhile I guess. Max Payne is kinda grinding shooting boring reminds me to much of Gears of war. Have no idea about Dark souls. I would reevaluate what your planing to get asap.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Hard to say.

Max Payne 3 is a third-person corridor shooter. It's main draw was that it's shooting was really fun. Like, really fun. Literally everything else about it was mediocre at best and it only manages to hit an acceptable level with me because of how good the shooting was. If you just want to awesomely dive in slow-mo headshotting bad guys in linear corridors with mostly-unskippable cutscenes and a somewhat uninteresting story, go on ahead.

Saints Row 2 is a GTA-Style open world game with a funny sense of humour while still keeping an interesting story. There isn't really much else to tell, it keeps the same third-person shooting/melee with driving as GTA. If you want to drive cars into people, cause mayhem and in general engage in wacky hijinks while still enjoying an engaging story go for this.

Dark Souls is a hack 'n slash RPG with a focus on lethal combat (i.e. both you and the enemy do tones of damage and have mostly low HP) and evading hits. It's very unforgiving as you probably have heard, most of the enemies/bosses require occasional trial-and-error to memorize attack patterns but the combat is all and all fair. The story is a mostly minimalistic one where you are given environmental hints at whats going on but never really straight up told anything. Get this one if you want to play a unique RPG with a challenging but fair combat system.