Gamer Opinions Needed

[Serephino]

I know it's early, but I'm already thinking about what to get my boyfriend for Christmas.  He's a gamer, I am not.  I don't know anything about games.  I know even less about Animae, his other interest. 


We don't have a lot of money, so I probably won't be able to get him anything that's new.  He likes things like Aion, Assassin's Creed, Mercenaries II, Left 4 Dead....  He likes good graphics, and a good story line.  He also likes to kill stuff.

Anyone have any suggestions on games to get for him?  And what are some good places to buy games from?

[Brandon]

Dragon Age origins is pretty good if he could like RPGs but I get the feeling that hes more of a FPS (first person shooter) or 3rdPS (3rd person shooter) type person. Of the list you gave Assassin's creed 2 and Left 4 dead 2 would probably be fun for him but I dont know if theyll start to fall in price by then. Uncharted 2:Amoung thieves comes to mind if he likes Indiana Jones type stories. Gears of war 2, Prototype, Infamous, and bionic commando also all come to mind but a few of their stories are IMO Meh at best. If you think he could get into a FPSRPG then Bioshock and Fallout 3: Game of the year edition are both solid choices (the former might be hard to find though)...I forgot to ask what kind of consoles does he use? or is he using a PC? or multiple platforms?

What are some of the anime he enjoys? and if you could tell us why that might also help

[Krysia]

If he has Aion you could go to game stop and get him a recharge card. :) Like put enough on it for a months subscription. I plan on getting like 50 bucks on a PWE card for my husband, he's also a gamer. Probably going to get him the 3rd Bleach boxed set as well.

But you also could get him a game stop gift card where he can pick out his own gift. :) You can't go wrong with a gift card that way if they get something it's what they like. Last year I got my husband the 2 Bleach games for his DS and he ended up trading one of them in cause he didn't like it. :(

[MercyfulFate]

Borderlands. Trust me.

[Andy]

Borderlands. Trust me.

Borderlands.. GO FOR IT!!!

Buy two copies so you both can play together :3

[Doomsday]

Perhaps Fallout 3: Game of the Year?

[Jude]

Sounds like he's a PC gamer from the titles you've mentioned.  That makes it a bit harder to find cheap games, since you don't find many used PC retailers.  Even if you don't go the route of getting him a game, you can always get him a new piece of hardware.  A new mouse, keyboard, microphone, headset; they all make a nice gift.

But honestly your best bet of figuring out what he wants is to strike up a conversation subtly on the matter.  Say you saw a thread about x game (left4dead2 for instance) and you're wondering what he thinks of the sequel.  Best way to do this subtly is bring up a controversy associated with it.

i.e. ask about the Left4Dead boycott and if he thinks that it's justified and that Left4Dead2 is a worthwhile purchase; he'll tell you what he thinks of the product, whether he has it or not, and if he plans on getting it probably.  From that you can determine if he wants it.

For Modern Warfare 2, just talk about the dedicated servers controversy.  MW2 doesn't have them and is leading other products to abandon them too.  Or you could talk about the No Russian level with him.

There's a controversy over Borderlands about whether or not it's a "port" that's raging big time.

Basically just talk to him.  I'll give you insight into what he wants and score points in the mean time because you're showing interest in one of his interests.

[Serephino]

Yes, he plays on a PC.  I probably should've mentioned that.  I have talked to him, and he says he likes Medieval/Fantasy games like Fable and Assassin's Creed. 

He just bought Dragon Age off of Steam.  Last year I got him Mercenaries II, and he loved going around and blowing stuff up too though.  He wants Resident Evil 5, but that's a bit out of my price range this year. 

[Jude]

If he likes Dragon Age, he'd probably like Knights of the Old Republic 1 or 2 and maybe even Baulder's Gate if he can tolerate the graphical downgrade.  Both KOTOR games are relatively cheap.  Dragon Age's graphics aren't so hot for current gen so it isn't a downgrade much in that instance.  The system of KOTOR & Dragon Age are also extremely similar, but KOTOR is Star Wars based (though not in the same time as the movies).  Pretty different really, more interesting.  Very nice modding communities on both of those titles too I believe.

[Brandon]

It really depends on what system your playing Dragon age on. The consoles have a very noticeable downgrade but the PC version (from what Ive seen so far) is always crisp and beautiful.

Since he seems to like some of the more open ended RPGs Mass effect might be another good choice (although it is on the XBOX), but again Ill recomend Fallout 3: Game of the year edition.

[consortium11]

I'll discount my own hatred of Fallout 3 for the moment and say it may be a pretty good choice. The mercenaries style randomly walking around randomly lowing stuff up is definately there and there's quite a lot of game for your money.

As long as you don't pay attention to the plot and just let it roll along then the plot holes aren't a game killer and if you go in thinking of it as more as a shooter than an rpg then the very limited roleplaying opportunities don't really matter. It doesn't have the greatest replay value (as in starting a new game) but a single game (especially with all the add-ons) will take a lot of time.

On that note if he can put up with very outdated graphics (although they serve the purpose very well) then I can't recommend Fallout 1 + 2 enough. They're the precursor to baldur's Gate which in turn was the precursor to Dragon Age, have great settings and storylines, incredible replay value and the can pick up the pair for around $10. They can be pretty "heavy" rpgs, especially compared to most modern games but they can really eat up the hours (in a good way).