By Jim Rossignol on May 2nd, 2011 at 10:41 am.
Hark, another sunny day here in the Isles, and also a national holiday for all the Britons. We should spend the day guzzling gin and smoking our pipes. Consequently it might be a bit quiet on this here computer gaming blog feed. In fact it would be quiet even if it were not a holiday. John has the pox and is abed. Alec has abandoned us to head abroad, and Quintin is posting about puzzles games. Well, at least there’s that. I’m just finishing off some thoughts on Darkspore, which I spent some of the weekend playing, and then I shall return to my return to Call Of Pripyat and the lovely Complete mod. Ah, lovely.
All of which leads to you telling us a bit about your weekend! Did you do computer games? If so which ones, and why? Points will be awarded for the best reasons, and the obscurest games. Speak!
02/05/2011 at 10:43 coldvvvave says:
DoW 2 Retribution.
02/05/2011 at 10:56 McDan says:
I found myself playing this as well, but then wanted larger scale warfare so I installed all the original DOW games, except soulstrom, because it just wasn’t as good.
02/05/2011 at 11:38 x25killa says:
I also played DoW 2 Retribution, but only Last Stand. Managed to get all the achievement weapons after all these weeks.
03/05/2011 at 02:43 Arathain says:
This is also what I have been playing. I am taking learning a proper online RTS as a serious mental exercise. It really taxes my memory and ability to track multiple threads simultaneously to its limit, and those are the mental skills I most want to improve.
02/05/2011 at 10:43 Spider Jerusalem says:
Finally got around to trying out the cRPG mod for Warband.
Dying is fun!
02/05/2011 at 11:35 d32 says:
Yay for Warband!
I’ve been ‘Diplomacy-ing’ my way through single player this weekend. 100 hours and counting.
02/05/2011 at 12:24 JB says:
I was a-Warbanding too. We need to get some RPS M&B going again.
03/05/2011 at 03:45 MajorManiac says:
I’ve been playing Warband for nearly 150 hours. For me the ultimate mod is – Floris Expanded Mod Pack.
This includes Diplomacy and 56 others mods. It can be found here – http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,148140.0.html
02/05/2011 at 10:43 Gap Gen says:
Thinecraft, because lava sculpting.
02/05/2011 at 10:44 heretic says:
exams ;_;
02/05/2011 at 17:52 The Army of None says:
Seconded. Finals week this week. I did work in a bit of Black Prophecy though.
02/05/2011 at 10:45 Petethegoat says:
I’ve been trying to play Pathologic again. Decided to play the Haruspicus, which was stupid, because everyone tries to stab me in the street. And in the game!
02/05/2011 at 10:47 Quintin Smith says:
Can the existence of the Haruspicus be said to rise with as the moon? Certainly he waxes. See him, pushing against the sand dirt, oinon. What can be done?
…I should probably play that game again.
02/05/2011 at 10:55 Petethegoat says:
Q: Is there an easy way to get around town? At the moment I’ve been sticking to the railway, but I need to get to Isidor’s house. :(
02/05/2011 at 11:33 Fhoenix says:
Well you can activate the console and fly. That would ruin the survival aspect but greatly save time.
Barring that… you can always try running diagonally :)
02/05/2011 at 12:52 Voxel_Music_Man says:
Oh no, it’s one of those is it!?
It’s annoying because once I find a game has this flaw, I can’t help but spend the whole game running diagonally.
Seriously, it’s not that hard to normalize a run direction vector before multiplying it by some speed and ‘timePassed’ variables. It’s just not on, I say!
02/05/2011 at 10:45 Tunips says:
I finally got around to re-installing The Witcher, then played some Gothic 3.
02/05/2011 at 11:52 Leyths says:
I installed the Witcher too in prep for the second one. Last time I played it I couldn’t force myself to get past the opening bit in that village, I found it too boring, but once I’d got past that area this time it really opens up and becomes a much more fun experience.
02/05/2011 at 15:27 Snargelfargen says:
I also need to finish The Witcher. I got stuck in the swamp, after some courier quests sapped my will to continue. I hear it gets better afterwards? There was an awful lot of running back and forth.
02/05/2011 at 10:45 Mockturtled says:
The Battlestar board game. Cylons won again, boo!
02/05/2011 at 11:08 BaronWR says:
Same here. And the Cylons also won again. I’ve yet to see a human victory, although it usually comes close.
02/05/2011 at 11:37 Gap Gen says:
A lot of it is luck. Getting hit by a couple of Cylon fleets or more can really screw things up, Cylons or no Cylons.
02/05/2011 at 16:52 TCM says:
Hence buy Exodus, if only for the Cylon Fleet Board. Makes things much more balanced, space combat wise.
02/05/2011 at 10:45 Rii says:
Pfft, computer games are for nerds.
02/05/2011 at 17:00 Doesntmeananything says:
Fuck yeah. I’ve spent my mornings at the gym, deadlifting 560 lbs like it’s air, then I’ve been hooking myself up with some nice threads, and after that I’ve been clubbing till 3 AM, ending with two smoking hot chicks in my bed each day.
…And so I’ve woken up in front of my computer after trying to install and make work together >200 mods for Oblivion and falling asleep fatigued due to the terrifying complexity of the task.
03/05/2011 at 12:43 Quinnbeast says:
It took me *several* attempts (starting from scratch each time) to get a heavily modded Oblivion running without falling over. I found the only sure-fire way was to simply play for an hour or so after adding in any of the major overhaul mods, and in turn do some fairly extensive reading of any relevant support / info files when it wasn’t for playing ball.
Even a miss-placed selection when creating your Bashed patch is enough for it to choke.
02/05/2011 at 10:46 Wilson says:
Mostly Men of War Assault Squad, messing around with a skirmish map I’m making, and gradually learning the editor. Also played a bit of Sol Survivor since it was on offer, it seems good. Oh, and I’ve been playing a PBEM game of Strategic Command WWII Global Conflict. Just this morning I managed to land German troops south of London and took the port at Newcastle, where hopefully I will be able to ship in more troops, assuming the Royal Navy doesn’t spoil my plans.
02/05/2011 at 10:46 Corrupt_Tiki says:
Counterstrike Source, Metro 2033, CoH, ArmA 2, DCS A-10C! ^^
02/05/2011 at 10:46 Out Reach says:
In celebration of todays news me and my friends are playing war on terrorism the board game.
02/05/2011 at 10:50 Wilson says:
I like that game, but when me and my friends play games almost always end either with someone super wealthy joining the terrorists and everyone else gradually giving up/joining them too, or someone goes terrorist a bit early or without enough money, and the other empires destroy them and declare world peace because the game’s gone on so long. Still fun though.
02/05/2011 at 10:48 Jonathan says:
Portal 2, because life is predictable. Also, Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP).
I don’t know what “obscurist games” are, but it sounds like an interesting genre.
Also this weekend: a lovely 14-mile coastal walk in gorgeous weather, ruined castles and churches, and the TV adaptation of Mildred Pierce.
02/05/2011 at 10:48 taione says:
Loaded up my ancient copy of Alpha Centauri. That game is like Smac, I tell you. I lost my weekend to terraforming, unfettered capitalism and a nasty standoff with those eggheads from the university.
02/05/2011 at 11:55 Leverpastej_ says:
Played Alpha Centauri for the first time yesterday morning haven’t eaten or slept since.
02/05/2011 at 23:36 The Army of None says:
“Played Alpha Centauri for the first time yesterday morning haven’t eaten or slept since.”
This sums up everything about the game.
02/05/2011 at 10:48 CaLe says:
I finished The Witcher in preparation for the sequel. Really enjoyed most of it and haven’t been as excited for a game as I am for TW2 in a long time. I have exams too but my life is already a huge mess and I’ll probably fail those.
02/05/2011 at 11:02 Stephen Roberts says:
Advice from people who’ve been there before: Give your studies the time and focus they deserve and get back to the games afterwards. Exams don’t count for much in this world but knowing you didn’t let yourself down is a real treat.
02/05/2011 at 11:42 dogsolitude_uk says:
Urgh! Don’t do what I did and spend loads of time doing non-exam stuff because you think you’ll fail your exams… I bolloxed my degree somewhat, and as a result my life went downhill quite a bit due to the crit blow to the confidence and resulting difficulty getting graduate work. I found a nice job in a bookshop though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination
I know what it’s like: exams come up, and suddenly you have a major urge to iron your socks, play games, start collecting Magic: The Gathering cards, clean the murky bit behind the fridge, put your pens in order… It’s a displacement activity! You must fight it!
Good luck anyway mate :) If you do decide to get your head down and burn the midnight oil with loads of textbooks, do make sure you schedule in regular breaks rather than torture yourself, but you’ll find that once you get started it’s not that bad. You’ve probably already pilfered a few, but I found grabbing a few past papers was helpful as well as going through notes/textbooks. :)
02/05/2011 at 12:00 CaLe says:
Thanks for the comments. Your advice is better than any I’ve received from the people around me. The problem is that I’m completely self taught and doing my final A2 exams next month, and due to being self taught I have made some mistakes in scheduling myself. I’ve left myself far too much to do in too short a time and only realized it when it was already too late. If I do fail I won’t give up though, I’ll just try again next year. Just one more wasted year among many. I honestly have no interest in any of my subjects and really just wish I could study what I’m interested in. But in order to do that I need to prove I can perform appropriately at completely unrelated subjects. I’m quite bitter about the whole thing but I know it all comes down to me in the end. What I’ve learned in all this is that attitude is everything, and unfortunately it sometimes seems like something I have little control over; emotionally unstable and all that. Thanks again.
02/05/2011 at 12:28 Grible says:
@CaLe – I’ll third that, go do the damn revision, it’s worth knowing you didn’t screw your life up just to get a high rank on your favourite CS:S server….
As to this weekend, Magika (where are you guys?) and Portal2 Co-op.
02/05/2011 at 15:49 Lilliput King says:
.
02/05/2011 at 10:48 Quintin Smith says:
I’m re-downloading Hitman: Blood Money in preparation for finishing Capsized. Everybody has to buy Capsized btw
02/05/2011 at 11:19 Anthile says:
Is it true that Capsized is really really short?
02/05/2011 at 11:51 SilverSilence says:
Yes! Capsized is amazing, I would have bought it for the music alone <3 Solar Fields.
02/05/2011 at 12:28 JB says:
+1 to Capsized being great. I played the demo yesterday – now I want to buy the game so badly but have no cash at the moment. Soon though, sooooon.
02/05/2011 at 12:29 destx says:
It’s true, capsized is not a long game, but it is a beautiful game. Fun too. Lovely music.
I’d describe it as a the best bits of Turrican, Abuse, and Bionic Commando. With a dash of HL2 (physics wise).
02/05/2011 at 13:27 Pani says:
I just played through Hitman Blood Money for the first time last month. What a great experience that was, one of my favourite games for a while.
I had intended to play some more DA:O and some Magicka but the wife’s birthday prohibited/took precedence.
02/05/2011 at 14:11 Clippit says:
I already bought capsized before you told me to! I am improving!
also since it’s winter and also bedtime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMynY_klOGg
I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time buying and fixing ropey old N64 controllers.
02/05/2011 at 15:59 msarge says:
I was disappointed to find that Capsized wasn’t a Metroidvania style game.
03/05/2011 at 04:05 MajorManiac says:
Minor side-rant:
Personally my favourite Hitman game is Hitman: Contracts, as the missions feel a little James Bond at times. But this seems to have been forgotten to have ever existed by the Hitman Collection. They make it look like Bloodmoney is the third game in the serires.
02/05/2011 at 10:50 Gassalasca says:
Predictably, Portal 2. And then Portal again. And then Portal 2 with commentary.
02/05/2011 at 10:51 MuscleHorse says:
I’m about half way through Mass Effect. I lost my proper ME character in a horrible hard drive cock up and am yet to play ME2. I discovered I could get over my Dragon Age 2 disappointment with the free ME2 copy you get with it!
02/05/2011 at 10:54 Wilson says:
I need to finish my game of ME1. I’ve already finished it once, but I got the second game in a sale, and since I didn’t have my original character saved anywhere I decided I wanted to play the first one again. I keep putting it off for some reason though.
02/05/2011 at 11:34 CMaster says:
http://www.masseffectsaves.com/
Of course, you can play through again if you want. It just isn’t necessary.
02/05/2011 at 11:45 Wilson says:
@CMaster – Cheers for that, but I’ve already looked there, ages ago. I decided against using it for some reason (probably not a good one, but there you go. Either I couldn’t find the character I wanted, or I didn’t want to spoil the game for myself, even though I wasn’t planning on playing it again at that point).
02/05/2011 at 10:52 KauhuK says:
Minecraft, TF2 and Witcher. Still waiting for my copy of Portal 2. Tomorrow I’ll get to play M&B with Fire & Sword, yay.
EDIT: Just got the portal 2 at last. Installing NAO.
02/05/2011 at 10:52 Thants says:
Instead of playing video games I got drunk on whiskey and watched some Tarkovskiy movies… It was a good weekend, although I think I may now be insane.
02/05/2011 at 10:52 Sorvin says:
What else but Minecraft… finally got a minecart system going down to my mine with the new powered rails.
02/05/2011 at 11:03 Andy_Panthro says:
I am also Mine-and-Crafting.
My attempts to build a continent-spanning railway system are hindered by my lack of iron.
02/05/2011 at 15:14 Mr_Initials says:
So much easier to mine and cart when you can simply /give yourelf. I made cart track from one cool landmass to the next. I also made it entirely out of brick and glass
02/05/2011 at 10:52 Dzamir says:
Replaying Half Life 2 for the 12th time. The more will play it, the sooner Valve will release Half Life 3!
02/05/2011 at 11:46 coldvvvave says:
They never will.
02/05/2011 at 10:53 Lewie Procter says:
I’ve been playing “hit refresh on my new PC order tracking”.
02/05/2011 at 10:55 markside says:
Me too. I find it emotionally engaging, though the level of player interaction is minimal at best.
02/05/2011 at 11:17 Synchrony says:
I’ve also been playing this, most of the game is quite repetitive, but the ending is excellent
02/05/2011 at 22:25 ERGlabs says:
yeah, finished that months ago. the finale is epic, but the expansion, “PC Order: RMA from Hell” is just awful. Completely ruins the series.
03/05/2011 at 17:15 Synchrony says:
Well I seem to have lost this game, made a mistake early on in this game and its made the rest of it much more difficult, seems I accidentally ordered 2 of something where only 1 was in stock and then didn’t notice my mistake for 4 days.
02/05/2011 at 10:53 markside says:
I have been at work. But in the evenings I’ve started playing Lego Star Wars III with my brother. It’s our 4th joint Lego game. We are not too old for them. No.
02/05/2011 at 10:53 Kirrus says:
OpenTTD:
http://openttd.org
Transport tycoon simulation thing. Fun. Addictive. ;)
02/05/2011 at 10:55 Wilson says:
Yeah, OpenTTD is amazing.
02/05/2011 at 11:33 d32 says:
Its .. well sorry for the word: _shocking_ how complex the game is to its contemporary counterparts.
But also, quite unwieldy to control.
02/05/2011 at 12:26 Gassalasca says:
Gosh, it’s been ages since I last played it.
Which probably means I missed out on lot of the complexities. Care to elaborate? :)
02/05/2011 at 12:36 Grible says:
Has it changed much in the last year or so? I remember it being very much fun to play trains with but less so for anything else.
02/05/2011 at 12:50 d32 says:
Well I haven’t played it for at least a year (been going with trains+planes combo), but even at that time, the amount of (useful!) complexity you could achieve with railroads and various signals was amazing.
See this and this for examples.
02/05/2011 at 10:54 mlaskus says:
I cooped the DoW 2 + Chaos Rising campaigns with a friend, and played the Last Stand for the first time, it is way better than I expected.
02/05/2011 at 10:54 PoulWrist says:
Played a lot of Rift.
02/05/2011 at 10:56 Stranglove says:
A New Zero, mainly. I only had a laptop and it was the best low demand game I could lay my hands on.
Also, shouldn’t it be ‘most obscure’ as opposed to ‘obscurist’ or ‘obscurest’
02/05/2011 at 12:44 BloodPukeSalvation says:
i believe its obscurist as in someone who delves into the obscure. its not a word, but it should be. another example: cultist as opposed to cult-like.
02/05/2011 at 10:57 Alexander Norris says:
ArmA2, duh. We only went and had a bloody event of it (about 35 people turned up, which was great).
02/05/2011 at 11:22 abhishek says:
I tried playing during the event but it didn’t go too well. I was a little late to join so I spawned 10 kilometres away from the action. I was merrily on my way on an ATV to join up with the rest when the mission objective suddenly changed and I was bang in the middle of a large red circle on the map. Needless to say I was shot and killed a few seconds later by the bad guys. Also joined the Mumble server in the correct squad channel but got unceremoniously booted out by someone and thrown into the channel where no one can speak.
Took that as a hint that it was not my day and left the server :(
02/05/2011 at 16:55 SvDvorak says:
abhishek, it’s odd that you got kicked out of the mumble room, there must have been some kind of misunderstanding. I hope you try again soon, we really are nice guys, I promise!
03/05/2011 at 04:15 MajorManiac says:
Had a good time, but looks like we need more good co-op missions for large groups.
02/05/2011 at 10:58 FunkyBadger3 says:
SMAC – it seems, easier than I remember… up to the 4th difficulty level with no problems whatsoever so far…
02/05/2011 at 11:42 CMaster says:
One of the things that SMAC gets wrong compared to other Civ games is indeed the difficulty. The AI (with the possible exception of the Hive) simply doesn’t know how to use and abuse its faction advantages. Civ 2 and 4 I normally play on middle difficulty settings (~prince) and normally squeeze a win. SMAC I can walk the game on Transcendi difficulty (with a couple of autosave reloads for abrupt catasrophes).
02/05/2011 at 12:17 Gap Gen says:
Yes, given how flexible the combat is, the AI just doesn’t know how to use it. You can block zones of control and massacre the enemy with needlejets. I’d love to see an update to this, just for things like a better learning curve and better AI.
02/05/2011 at 10:58 dogsolitude_uk says:
Dragon Age: Origins, mainly :)
Tried to shag Morrigan, but she wasn’t having any of it, despite my g/f giving me plenty of advice on the matter. I did however make a rod for my own back, ‘cos g/f is now really keen to play the game and I think I’m going to have to build her her own PC so she can play The Witcher 1+2 as well.
Oh, and boned up on Visual Basic (fptthhtff…) and ASP.NET for a test at work.
And Fritz beat me at chess.
And I sowed some wild flower seeds in the front garden, received an out-of-the-blue letter telling me that someone’s coming round to remove Asbestos+Artex from ‘a room’ in the flat on Wednesday, so could I ensure that it was emptied of all furniture, without specifying which one! Nobody was available when I phoned, so I’m going to have to call someone on Tuesday AM at work… *sigh*
02/05/2011 at 10:58 Olero says:
Mount and Blade! (yes, the original…. I figured I’d never play it if I started with Warband). I didn’t expect much of it, but the game has got me hooked. Is it disturbing to enjoy skewing people with a spear? Or to trample them under your horse? Nah, probably not.
Also did a lot of Trackmania United Forever. Frustrations and excitements in equal measures most of the time, though I really can’t drive the car of the “coast tracks”. I mean really can’t. I struggle to get bronze medals sometimes! I feel like I haven’t figured out the trick in it yet, but doubt I ever will.
02/05/2011 at 11:05 Stephen Roberts says:
Never ever ever break. That’s all the trick to Coast cars. Unless you are in the air. Then you break (sometimes, and only for a millisecond).Edit: Oh. I had some doubt if got that right. Turns out Coast isn’t what I thought, 434 days since I last played Trackmania (apparently). The Coast cars are a nightmare, you just have to expect to slide at almost any speed as break early acccordingly. Most of the time you’ll be aiming for a ‘slow but stable’ approach and avoiding walls. Very rarely do you get to go at a decent speed. Lets hope that’s right.
02/05/2011 at 12:07 Olero says:
Heh, yes, that sounds more like the soapbox (?) cars I drove, thanks for the tip. I’ll try that the next time, see if I can finally get it right. The frustration of fully pressing a direction but watching your car just slide along is the worst part of Trackmania for me. But the other 6 cars are fun to drive, so all in all I am a content being.
02/05/2011 at 16:08 Wilson says:
Yeah, I never got the hang of the Coast cars, they always felt really awkward to me. Which is a shame, because I like the landscape in Coast. It looks pretty.
03/05/2011 at 06:04 Pointless Puppies says:
It might just be me, but I find that if you drive the cars in Coast the way you would play a race sim, I get much better results. I have the feeling that was what Nadeo was going for anyway <_<
02/05/2011 at 10:59 Gnoupi says:
Civ 5, Global Agenda, and second run of the Portal 2 single player, mostly
02/05/2011 at 10:59 TooNu says:
Games, I have played this weekend:
- Minecraft
- Dragon Age : Origins
- EvE online
All of this while having Orange Juice in a drip.
02/05/2011 at 12:40 Hanban says:
Found myself playing EVE as well. Had some exciting roams around in RPSH’s new home.
I also played a lot of Dwarf Fortress Adventurer. Died A LOT, but there is something wholly satisfying with choking a goblin archer out and then punching a whole through his skull. Love it!
02/05/2011 at 10:59 Hidden Thousand says:
Wakfu Open Beta. I’ve been waiting for so long, I don’t even care much for lags (I just quit when it’s past midday in France:^).
02/05/2011 at 11:00 Casimir Effect says:
Finally gotten round to playing King Arthur – The Roleplaying Wargame. Great game, well worth the £3.50 it cost to buy on Steam a year ago. Wish it would hide it’s cheating better though. I appreciate it needs to spawn in full-stack, high-level armies to fight my ones, but some more restraint doing it would be nice.
02/05/2011 at 11:02 Kaira- says:
Dawn of War – Dark Crusade and Tropico 1. Mainly Tropico. Yes, it is still awesome.
02/05/2011 at 11:03 rozpocet1 says:
I played Half-Life 2 Episodes 1 & 2. My reason: I played Half-Life 2 during the week for the first time and I just couldn’t believe that I had it on my computer for over two years without ever playing it. I could cry over this.
02/05/2011 at 11:04 CyberBrent says:
I’ve been getting back into the Left 4 Dead series again. Been playing 1 and 2 sporadically over the weekend, trying to convince some ‘Bros’ to play it and stuff.
02/05/2011 at 11:05 Rii says:
Actually the most interesting thing I did this weekend was to watch Minority Report for the first time in a long while. An hour in, and I’m wondering why it isn’t remembered as one of the finest sci-fi films of the last decade; two hours in and I realise why it isn’t: it drags on too long and the pacing goes to shit in the last 45 minutes. The jigsaw puzzle is also unsatisfying in its complexity: the audience never has enough clues to derive satisfaction from seeing it all come together. It’s unfortunate really, as there’s a lot to like about it, and it says something that even today we’re comparing advances in computer and user interface technology to the systems featured in the film.
02/05/2011 at 11:11 ColOfNature says:
And Tom Cruise is a knob.
02/05/2011 at 12:00 Rii says:
Maybe, but this was back before most of us realised that. ;)
In any case I like him as an actor and rarely have issues disassociating the artist from his work. Hell, it’d be a thing to dismiss Polanski’s oeuvre merely on account of the guy being a rapist and all.
Back on topic – insofar as Minority Report can be said to be on-topic for this thread – it occurs to me that the film’s pacing issues are similar to A.I.’s: just as it felt in that film as though an extra act had been tacked on to provide the traditional Hollywood ending, so it is with Minority Report. Where A.I.’s emotional crescendo and denouement were in New York and with Blue Fairy, In Minority Report it’s Anderton defying the system he helped create by making the *choice* not to kill Crowe, and his subsequent ‘boxing’ by way of Witwer’s murder. Just as with A.I. the case could be made that ending Minority Report with Anderton’s eternal imprisonment, innocent victim of the ‘perfect’ system, wouldn’t have satisfied intellectually, but I’m talking about the emotional pacing. The audience has no energy left for the last act of either film, and being forced to coast through it the experience subsequently leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth. Simply cutting out the last act of Minority Report wouldn’t really work, but I suspect a much tighter film could’ve been made had Spielberg (or the studio or whoever) been prepared to accept that darker ending.
02/05/2011 at 19:33 KenTWOu says:
It’s still one of the finest sci-fi films of the last decade :-P
02/05/2011 at 11:05 The Promised Landt says:
Why, Cargo of course! After I got first win of the day in League of Legends, that is.
02/05/2011 at 11:06 McDan says:
I also finally got round to playing Don’t take it personally babe, this just ain’t your story on saturday night. I’m not sure how far I am thorugh it but I am liking it, I decided to play that because I had no mouse and I thought it would be easy to play without one, it was, and because I thought I’d be able to play it with one arm. I only had one arm available to play it because I was upside down so I had to hold it off the ground. Tiring, but worth it.
02/05/2011 at 11:06 ananachaphobiac says:
I played the London underground. It’s a strange and alien world full of dark tunnels and ruthless monsters. It gets a bit crowded on the servers though, especially in the evening.
02/05/2011 at 11:08 SilverSilence says:
Arma 2 with some RPS fellows, 35 of them actually :O
02/05/2011 at 11:08 Davee says:
Arma II, World of Tanks, A little Minecraft and some Vikingr (the M&B: Warband mod).
02/05/2011 at 11:10 ColOfNature says:
Ace of Spades until I got annoyed with people swapping sides to grief. TF2 cos I’ve never really put much effort into it and figured now was as good a time as any. Bioshock cos I never finished it and Bioshock 2 is sitting in my Steam All Games list accusingly. Also, M.A.R.S. A Ridiculous Shooter, which makes me smile.
02/05/2011 at 11:24 gorgol says:
AoS is a great game but I got bored of it now. The building side of it is too optional, and the best strategy is simply tunneling to their flag, and tunneling back to your base with it. Zzzz.
03/05/2011 at 03:44 jrod says:
all fair complaints for AoS, but keep in mind its very much in early beta. They have some very nice plans for the future so I would check back on it in a bit. Personally im excited for machine gun nests.
02/05/2011 at 11:10 Stephen Roberts says:
Super Meat Boy: Renaissance (that’s where you pick up again from where you left off the last time, after being ground down by some of the dark world levels). Slowly getting better at meat boy-ing. Unlocked the kid and won a bet. Free Dead Space 2 for me.
Magicka: Will it work? The answer is… sometimes! When it does? Hilarity! Would it be nice if all the major bugs to multiplayer were ironed out? Yes please.
Eating food: Not a PC game. Fun though.
02/05/2011 at 11:11 Kefren says:
Ghosts & Goblins, Uridium and 1942 (all C64) with my nephew.
Supreme Commander on my own – finished the Cybran Nation campaign. Girlfriend asked if I was coming to bed. “Yes, just finishing this…” Took another 4 hours, until 2.30am. The problem was that an Aeon Collossus destroyed my whole land base – I really mean _everything_. I finally took him out with a big ship. I then had to rebuild things with just my commander whilst defending against regular land (UEF) and air (Aeon) attacks. Problem: the sea-based defences were draining energy and mass, but I had none, so building anything was about ten times slower. I eventually built a mass-producing mine and energy producer. Took half an hour. The enemy blew them up. Start again. Built some point defences and anti-air. Then got on with energy and mass. Defences were destroyed but I eventually got up to positive mass and energy and could build quickly again. Two hours later I was back up to the strength I had before the Collossus attacked. Then I could start my long battle to whittle down UEF defences.
I was tired the next day.
02/05/2011 at 11:11 FCA says:
Started with Arma2, and then broke down and bought the Mount & Blade complete set, and played Warband. Strange that. I used to play more slower, tactical games (mostly RPG’s, also Civ and X-Com) and now I’m turning towards more actiony (though still tactical) simulation type games as I grow older.
02/05/2011 at 11:12 iLag says:
Finally finished Deus Ex. A bomb! Started Deus Ex 2 right after that, was terribly disappointed. I just hope that this gets better somewhere along the way.
02/05/2011 at 11:39 CMaster says:
It gets better around the middle (Cairo especially), then nose dives towards the end (Antarctica, Liberty Island). It also never gets especially great (although there are a few nice little subplots) and the horrendous failings of the art and UI departments never go away.
02/05/2011 at 12:11 PickyBugger says:
@ CMaster: I like the bit where you’re fighting a group of tough enemies when your best weapon runs out of ammo. Quickly you switch to your pistol to finish them off only to realise it has no ammo, oh happy times…
In answer to the threads question i’ve been playing Day of Defeat over on the UKCS servers.
02/05/2011 at 19:18 Berzee says:
“Meaningful plots and serious moral choices tend to be somewhat undermined by the idea that you can just throw the nearest armchair or crate at anyone For Massive Damage.”
And…In…The….GAME.
02/05/2011 at 11:12 grossvogel says:
I’m playing Minecraft with the FiniteLiquid mod, which enables proper DF-style flooding of caves. Lots of fun.
02/05/2011 at 11:14 Jumwa says:
I spent the weekend playing D&D (pen and paper style) while busting out my DSi XL to play Pokemon Black and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in between turns and such. Other than that, my time was mostly spent reading upon the couch with the significant other.
02/05/2011 at 11:15 Carra says:
Finished Portal 2 last week. And started playing BulletStorm this weekend.
02/05/2011 at 11:15 Dolphan says:
Trying to get through to the point in the Witcher that I got up to when I played it a couple of years ago (bit tedious playing the bit you’ve already done, but I changed PCs and lost the saves). Nearly there now, looking forward to getting on to the rest of it.
02/05/2011 at 11:15 Eddeman says:
Drove around for hours in Fuel while listening to som relaxing techno, then made a little timelapse. Finished Portal 2 again. Then yesterday I managed to join the RPS Arma gang (some if it anyway) in some man-shooting. After a while pretty much everyone went to sleep, leaving just me and a certain Sinister Agent (we we’re both new to the game) to fend for ourselves.
We we’re trying to capture some objective in Fallujah, was at it a good 3 hours in our 2-man team of sneaky stealth. We got pretty damn close to capturing it, until they started dropping in loads of reinforcements because we had forgot to take out their radio tower. The rest of the game was spent trying to take out tanks and choppers on our way to said tower. I think the chopper carpet-bombed me with something, suddenly the whole world turned into stuff exploding.
There was plenty of intense moments, really looking forward to playing some more of it.
02/05/2011 at 17:21 Jim Rossignol says:
Commendable. Fuel is the finest ambient driving game. If only it were actually a game. :(
02/05/2011 at 11:15 somini says:
Still playing XIII.
One of the best FPS I had ever played. Too bad it will never get a sequel.
02/05/2011 at 11:54 Anthile says:
Well, you can always read the (very good) comic books.
02/05/2011 at 11:15 Fire_Storm says:
BULLETSTORM!
Got a bunch of friends to buy it in the EA store uber-sale (Thanks Bargain Bucket!) and since then shouts such as “No… You were supposed to shoot him in the balls”, “I can’t believe we can’t stop tearing guys in guys in half when we don’t mean to” and “Quickly! Shoot his anus” have been heard reverberating around the flat.
It’s the most entertainingly crass of all the man shoots.
02/05/2011 at 11:17 gorgol says:
Been playing Heroes of Might and Magic III exclusively for a while now. Why? ‘Cos its fuckin’ awesome. But to be more specific, I don’t think you can beat its implementation of turn based strategy and RPG progression. Plus I don’t think I ever completed all its campaigns (including the expansions).
02/05/2011 at 11:20 icupnimpn2 says:
I’m playing responsible adult as I graduate from my two professional programs. And Transformers War for Cybertron.
02/05/2011 at 11:21 Hunam says:
I’m going back through Mass Effect 2 so I can write down every single little thing I hate about the game. The list is already quite large. Though I’m noticing a metric ton of model clipping/intersection that I didn’t before. Maybe the latest Nvidia drivers don’t like the game as much.
02/05/2011 at 11:22 Daave says:
Blood Bowl – The Board Game!
02/05/2011 at 11:22 JohnnyMaverik says:
No, I have a ton of essays, I should be playing the RPS minecraft chainworld, which I have played a bit but not over the last couple of days, and I’m sure people are getting frustrated by how long I’m taking to just bloody die, but hey, my turn came at the worst possible time for me. In my defence I’m working like a mad man at the moment to try and get the work out of the way now, like today, so I can play some minecraft later or at least tomorrow, and probably commit suicide so the next person can have their turn.
02/05/2011 at 11:24 Vandelay says:
Been mostly playing Crysis 2 (opinions in the “What Are You Playing Right Now?” forum thread,) but more interestingly I’ve been dipping into the world of Portal mods. Gamma Energy has some great puzzles in it and was the one I’ve played most. I also started Blue Portal last night, which seems to be excellent so far. I was little disappointed in Prelude, which seems to rely greatly on twitch portal placement in tight spaces. I’m still completely bemused by the direction you face coming out of portals and random spinning is completely disorienting when trying to reach some platform up above. In more open levels it would be fine, but it is just frustrating when you only have some walls to orientate yourself against.
02/05/2011 at 11:25 Xan says:
Finally decided to play The Path.
Played once with one of the characters by just staying on the path, didn’t pick up any items or interact with anything.
Spent the rest of the day confused and I didn’t even scratch the surface of the game.
02/05/2011 at 11:25 jon_hill987 says:
Portal 2.
A bit short, and far less puzzling than the first, but still good fun.
02/05/2011 at 11:26 Wulf says:
Hm.
Mostly Darkspore. I find this game mesmeric, but I think it’s something about the heroes, I absolutely love customising and building onto them, and to do so has been a true compulsion. Not only that but I’m eager to see what other locations there are, and what the AI has to say about them. There are some truly grand moments, such as plasma falls being controlled by magnetic fields and such, and the explanation for how the mutated plantlife had gained bioluminescence through absorbing phosphorous minerals from the soil (this is entirely plausible).
The beauty of the environments, that the game is every bit as fun as Darkspore, and that it appeases my xenophilia, this game has me in my element. Plus, I really dig the insect heroes, because I like insects. This is one of those things I rarely talk about, but there are many critters of the animal kingdom both usual and unusual that I find fascinating, it goes beyond just wolves. The wolf is a therian thing for me, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be equally as fascinated by others, I’m especially fond of bats, too, and I’ve spent no small amount of time reading about them.
Where was I? Oh yes. The chitinous heroes in Darkspore are awesome! They look great, they actually appear as though their exoskeletons could be functional, and it’s just nice to have something different to the same old stiff chinned bloody human hero. Not many will agree with that because so many people are absolutely terrified of different things (ex: how scared people are of insects), so it’s not going to work for everyone. And people may be put off by the unusual locations as well that may take a brain a little while to parse before you get used to them.
But all of this, along with it actually being fun, along with the story being enjoyable but soft science-fantasy patter has coalesced into one of the better games I’ve played in a while. Not everyone is going to see it the same way, not everyone can, but hey… for those who can’t, there’s still Torchlight, right? And Torchlight 2 on the horizon! I love Torchlight. But I love this too. I’d say that I can’t see Darkspore being a hit but I’d be lying, there are loads of people online in it all the time, and people who are not me have spoke lovingly about it around the Internet.
I think the only reason you could slam this game is because you’re put off by the non-human heroes and the non-earth environments. That’s totally okay! But… just don’t convince other people that this won’t be a game for them, because not everyone may think the same way.
After finishing up Portal 2 I went back to The Ball. I’m enjoying the puzzles in that and the techno-Nahuan cultural stuff, that’s great, this sort of thing isn’t frequently done. The only aspect of The Ball that I begrudge it is that it has foes, I think the game would be so much better without them, or maybe I’m just a wuss, because when I get charged I totally freak out. And I’m getting a bit tired of that. :p Not even Amnesia had me freaking out in the same way, bloody alien zombie things that come out of nowhere. Though sometimes I can predict them by asking myself where I’d put an ambush. There are a lot of parallels between The Ball and Portal though puzzle-wise, and you get some Portal test chambers in it, too, and those are incredible!
I played a little bit of Capsized, love the art, iffy about the game.
I’ve been trying hard to finish off Defence Grid and all the DLC maps (I bought the Resurgence map packs for it, too). I find it difficult, but the AI tends to spur me on. GLaDOS and The Entity (from Defence Grid) are now my two favourite AIs, and C.H.A.S. (a Defence Grid map) featuring both of them has been one of my favourite and most memorable gaming experiences. That was fun. So I’m really enjoying Defence Grid, and that’s strange since I never thought I’d get into a tower defence game like this, since I didn’t even get into Sanctum like this. But I suppose it’s The Entity, it’s his fault, I really like well written, friendly characters, and that can make or break a game for me.
Cargo is awesome, strange and awesome, but I’ve spoken enough about Cargo elsewhere. I love the vehicle building though and the strangeness of it. I really only have one thing to say about Cargo, really: Penguin anal vore. That… sums up Cargo, right there. I don’t call it so much of a game as an experience, a fun, bizarre, forgiving, yet incredibly strange experience.
I’ve been continuing with Dreamscape from the Gamer’s Gate JRPG sale. Dreamscape is a fairly massive JRPG-style game that has more charm and charisma than a modern RPG has any right to be, it reminds me of the likes of Shining Force and games of yore, it’s happy, it has characters whom I’ve simply fallen in love with (an egotistical but cheery cat, an eccentric old lady flower, a quixotic mouse with delusions of grandeur, and so on), and best of all, it doesn’t have the grind of traditional JRPGs! It mixes up all that was great about JRPGs, such as the exploration, the art, the storyline, and the strongly character-driven scenarios, and it adds that to the more casual styles of play we’re accustomed to today. Not to mention that it’s really, really, really pretty. The artist here deserves so much credit and then some. More of this, please?
I’ve been plucking away at Nimbus… Nimbus is clever, cheerful and clever. It’s a happy little puzzle game which often has me completely taxed about how to approach things, whilst having me deal with elements such as inertia and gravity. Also, it’s a story about a sapient No Batteries Required-like living spaceship who’s on a quest to save his girlfriend, and she’s a living spaceship too. I can totally get behind this. I was the sort of sop who absolutely loved No Batteries Required. Shut up. There are some great puzzles as well where you have a companion sphere involved in physics puzzles, and you have to open gates to let your companion sphere roll on and open things for you. It’s very clever. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes happy, intelligent puzzle games, this is one of the best. I’ve learned to love it even more than Toki Tori. Also… you can get a rainbow trail for your ship! My ship is Rainbow Dash!
And that’s it!
02/05/2011 at 11:31 BebopBraunbaer says:
Where did you get Dreamscape ?
02/05/2011 at 11:34 Wulf says:
It was in the Gamer’s Gate JRPG sale. So I got it for pretty cheap. It’s £14.95 at the moment at its full price, but I still would’ve paid that had I known how good it was. Still, check out the screenshots first to see if it’s your sort of thing, it’s very… Japanese in how cute and cheerful it is. But I actually really, genuinely like that. More than once I’ve gone into that game to pass ten minutes, only to find it’s been more like hours.
Dreamscape on Gamer’s Gate.
I’m appreciative to Lewie or whomever it was for pointing out that JRPG sale to me, if they hadn’t then I’d never have found that game. None of the others appealed to me visually, but that one stuck out, and it really is something very special.
02/05/2011 at 15:54 Wulf says:
Just to drop this in, this is one of the better reviews of Darkspore that I’ve seen. It feels the same way that I do about a lot of it. The only point of contention for me though is a common one.
“As in Spore, non-humanoid characters make it hard for real humans to care about what’s going on story-wise.”
That’s the opposite of how I feel, I’m almost diametrically opposed to that, and I think that the lack of expression of human characters in games usually makes me feel less connected. Example: If Wheatley had been a human rather than a very expressive eyeball robot thing, I probably wouldn’t have liked the character as much. I find that this is becoming more and more true all the time. Perhaps it’s because the uncanny valley makes human characters uninteresting.
In Spore, I cared about the characters a lot because it was a race that I had made, I had spent ages labouring over these guys, customising every last bit of them, and making them uniquely my own. And in Darkspore I feel the same way, I want my heroes to succeed versus all odds, their failures are my own. Obviously, but still, hopefully you’ll realise what I mean by that.
The story of Darkspore is that you’re all alone in a hostile universe, and these are the last beings who aren’t part of the dark hive, who can think and feel individually, and you’re helping them to save that universe. So I cared about that storyline – because of my heroes.
03/05/2011 at 03:55 jrod says:
TLDR – can we get the cliff notes version? ;-)
02/05/2011 at 11:26 BebopBraunbaer says:
Just one game for this weekend
League of Legends
But at the end i got sad about all these unfriendly people shouting at each other (even when winning!). These are bad days for random multiplayer players. At the beginning i could find friends by playing random now i just get sick.
very very sad
02/05/2011 at 11:32 mpk says:
The LoL community is unfortunately rife with asstards. Still better than WoT, mind.
02/05/2011 at 11:28 mpk says:
Second long weekend in a row, wahey! Thanks royal people!
Friday and Saturday I mostly played Being a Dad: Crazy Toddler edition, which is kind of like an ARG mixed with LARPing and with added levels of Call of Cthulhu-type existential dread and fear of inanimate objects. It was awesome and I think we both have heat stroke.
On Sunday I did something I haven’t done in a long, long time, which was to plonk my arse in front of a computer with a 12-pack of beer and play LotRo for about eight hours. I started at level 30, I finished at level 30 and I don’t quite know how I managed not to ding. But I killed lots of things and almost bought a house.
02/05/2011 at 11:35 Squire says:
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve played maybe 1 hour of Portal 2 and watched over 20 hours of various “Let’s Play Terraria”s ha.
That game looks like hot donkey. The hottest donkey I’ve seen in a while.
Minecraft is rendered irrelevant to me now.
02/05/2011 at 11:30 Synchrony says:
I’ve mostly been playing minecraft, although I did also fire up Rag Doll Kung Fu, which I haven’t played in years as its quite a laugh and probably has the best/funniest fmv cutscenes I’ve ever seen
02/05/2011 at 11:31 Sami H says:
Replayed Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (or from Wikipedia: “The Adventures of Sir Kicksalot Deathboot in the Land of the Conspicuously Placed Spike Racks”). Fell in love with the combat again, and then remembered that no other game has managed to replicate it since :(.
02/05/2011 at 14:02 BobsLawnService says:
What a great game. You’ve just reminded me that I came within a cats whisker of finishing it but I got hopelessly lost right towards the end.
02/05/2011 at 11:31 CMaster says:
Lots of SWAT4 coop. It really is excellent. It’s tense, it demands teamwork, it demands careful thought and planning and it demands quick reactions and sharp shooting. With the expansion, you can have up to 10 players too, so maybe a candidate for some kind of RPS gaming session?
Also, bits of Civ, Minecraft, Company of Heroes.
Oh, also Magicka coop. Which oscillates between entertaining and just frustrating. Yetis are just pissing annoying (seriously – super fast, cold resistant enemies with an insta-kill attack – what were they thinking?), as was Fafnir. Regular deaths due to bizzare bugs and up to 500ms lag (despite the fact that I was the host!) just make it feel like you are fighting the game as much as the enemies.
02/05/2011 at 17:56 Jim Rossignol says:
SWAT4 is some of the best possible co-op. Brilliant.
02/05/2011 at 11:32 SuperNashwanPower says:
Finished Bioshock 2 on Friday, then went back and re-started Bioshock 1. Reasons: Steam sale a while back on BS2, and a long discussion I had on a forum about the finer points of first person storytelling with some lovely gaming chaps prompted me to want to play BS 1 again. The story seems to make more sense this time round, and I am a lot better at the combat. Figured out I dont need to fight Big Daddies, I just get them to fight each other, go invisible, and then finish off the winner with a grenade :) What delicious machiavellianism.
Also, pipes and monocles what ho pip pip and so forth.
02/05/2011 at 11:34 Spacewalk says:
I played hard to get.
02/05/2011 at 11:35 Arclight says:
Erm, Hearts of Iron 3 and a little Tropico 3 iirc. Best Sunday ever… well, best one of that week.
02/05/2011 at 11:39 Dave says:
ace of spades
that is all
02/05/2011 at 11:41 Holybasil says:
Starcraft and Torchlight.
Felt good.
02/05/2011 at 11:44 Nighthood says:
ArmA2, though small-scale coop with friends instead of big RPS battles. It’s probably the best elaborate failure simulator since Dwarf Fortress.
Edit: Oh, and Half Life: Opposing Force, as it’s always good for a replay.
02/05/2011 at 11:44 FiveO says:
The Witcher, because I am so diligent and prepared.
02/05/2011 at 11:44 frenz0rz says:
I’ve mainly been playing GalCiv2:TotA, which I always seem to find myself coming back to. Figured I’d try and step up the challenge and start playing on ‘Painful’ difficulty, and so far it has certainly proved challenging. I was forced to completely abandon my first game as the Thalans, since although I expanded quite well at the start, their -30% population growth combined with the stupidly high maintenence cost of their structures left my floundering in debt and ruin with my populace despising me and both the Yor and the Arceans rampaging through my territory and conquering planets on a whim.
I started again on the same difficulty yesterday as the Drath, hoping that their war profiteering and good diplomacy would allow me some room to comfortably expand my starting economy without everyone viewing my empire as a free breakfast. Still, its proven a challenge, due to a rather unfortuitous starting position and their -20% population growth which had me boosting my approval to 100% by dropping taxes to around 10% just to give my population growth a kick in the arse. Just like with the Thalans, my lack of population has lead me to overexpand without sufficient income through taxes to survive, which in turn has led me to sell off most of my techs to pay for a hastily constructed fleet of freighters.
Playing GalCiv, I always find myself thinking of Kieron’s article (it was his wasnt it?) on how the new tech trees make you -think- like the race you are playing as. In the Drath’s case, I’ll no doubt have to win through my diplomacy and subtle politics, as my low population will prevent me from expanding too much and getting involved in too many wars. As the Thalans, its all about adapting to this new universe full of strange and interesting humanoids – something I failed at miserably by only allowing myself to construct expensive, high maintenence Thalan structures instead of buying the techs for cheap xeno factories or research centres. A while back, I even tried playing as the Korx – an interesting race whereby the only way to really gain dominance is PROFIT. I found myself unwittingly reciting Rules of Acquisition as I expanded my trading empire to lock the galaxy into a huge, two-sided galactic war, whereby I reaped both trade profits from my allies, and war profits (through mercenaries) from my enemies.
So yeah, been playing a lot of GalCiv. Also, a shit ton of Bad Company 2, which I always find myself going back to, and a bit of Revenge of the Titans, which (to my suprise, considering what state the game was in when I last played it) I’m currently finding quite addictive.
02/05/2011 at 11:48 Teronfel says:
Europa Universalis III Divine Wind
02/05/2011 at 11:49 itchyeyes says:
I played about 7 or 8 hours of Fallout New Vegas. With games like The Witcher 2 and Deus Ex HR looming on the horizon, I’m trying to get my backlog finished out. New Vegas and Dragon Age 2 are the two games I have left. Since both will likely take some time to complete, I’m trying to straight shot New Vegas as quickly as I can; but godamn it’s easy to get sidetracked in that game.
Like Fallout 3 it took me a while to get into the game, but now that I’m into it, it’s become one of those games that keeps drawing me back to it after I put it down.
02/05/2011 at 11:50 ran93r says:
A little TF2, just to squeeze out some giggles before Brink.
A fair amount of hours went into Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, jumping from rooftops to stab Borgia guards in the face never gets old.
I also checked out the Anomaly: Warzone Earth demo. I was a little underwhelmed to be honest, for one of the smaller titles it’s production was pretty decent but the gameplay felt a little dull.
Spent an hour or so playing Dogfighter with my brother.
02/05/2011 at 11:52 mrwonko says:
Instead of playing games, I made one myself for Ludum Dare 20.
But to be honest I did play some games, too. Mostly Painkiller, because I just bought that on Good old Games, and some Left 4 Dead 2, because a friend asked me to.
02/05/2011 at 11:55 .backslash says:
Mostly various manshoots. Played some Killing Floor, tried Arma 2 for the first time and ran away whimpering after I couldn’t even finish the first tutorial. Attempted to remedy with BFBC2, but I’m bored to death of CoD and its numerous clones by now. So I Broke down and pre-bought Brink. It better be good.
02/05/2011 at 11:55 timmyvos says:
I bought Afterlife at the Queen’s Day market for a euro. I’d wanted for some time and it’s a very nice, especially the humour. Aside from that I’ve also played some HOI 3, I managed to take over both North- and South-America as the USA, the first time it actually worked.
02/05/2011 at 11:56 Hatsworth says:
Finished up Portal 2′s developer commentary and single player achievements.
Installed and updated In The Groove, but didn’t play it yet.
02/05/2011 at 11:58 sonofsanta says:
Red Alert 3, oddly, as Metro 2033 didn’t quite click for me last week. Too shootered out after STALKER SoC I guess.
Mostly, though, I’m just treading water until Witcher 2. 2 weeks!
02/05/2011 at 12:00 MythArcana says:
I engaged in the best game in the world that nobody ever played: Space Rangers 2 Reboot (DRM-free version at GamersGate). It’s a shame that more games aren’t designed, built and expanded upon from the ground up to be an actual game system more than just a one trick pony. This game does it all and about 94% perfectly.
02/05/2011 at 12:00 Chris D says:
You had to ask this weekend didn’t you. Gyromancer and Bloody Good Time. Yeah, it came as a surprise to me as well.
Gyromancer is like a packet of biscuits. You only ever mean to have the one but somehow the whole packet disappears. Only this time there is always one more left.
As for Bloody Good Time, sometimes you just want to stab someone with a poison syringe.
02/05/2011 at 12:01 dragonhunter21 says:
Little Starcraft 2 (Not MP, god no, just AI), little SWAT4 (w/ 11-99 enhancement mod), little Darkest of Days- but the majority of my time was spent in a self-run Minecraft MP server with two buddies of mine making grand, fantastic things (Or, in the case of one of my buddies, making lots of ugly, horrible things and dying in his own lava moat).
02/05/2011 at 12:04 DiamondDog says:
A large amount of BC2 recently, which is still a huge amount of fun with friends and voice comms. Lots of badly explained positional information (“There’s a guy in the thing. No, over there! Left!” *dead*). Shouts of surprise when a tank rolls past your head (“OK there’s a tank coming on our…” *dead*). Plus lots and lots and lot and lots of swearing (“F**K” *dead*)
Can’t wait for BF3.
02/05/2011 at 12:04 Predalienator says:
Some Quake 4 with some shader and sound mods and Supreme Commander:Forged Alliance :)
02/05/2011 at 12:04 kutkh says:
Spent Sunday in my pyjamas playing a 10-hour game of Sins of a Solar Empire against the computer. I always find it difficult to return to a long-form strategy game if I try to play it in bursts, so giving one a full day when I can is my preferred way of getting the ins and outs.
Thoroughly recommend it – the morning is for planning and expanding, then lunch, then mid-game crises and mistakes in the early afternoon, then triumph and eventual cleanup as the sun sets.
The game’s really interesting, too – and manages to sidestep the late-game tedium that its whole genre suffers from with smart application of the “enormous fleets of spaceships emerging from hyperspace is always awesome” principle.
02/05/2011 at 12:04 Hodge says:
Over The Edge, because it’s been sitting on my desktop since the AGS awards thingy.
The first Command And Conquer, because I unearthed the CDs when I was looking for something else and felt all nostalgic.
Faery Tale Adventure, because I moved the old Amiga into my loungeroom when I moved, and made the mistake of firing that one up. Also: Civ1, same deal.
As soon as my Internet gets connected I’ll be buying + playing Cargo. A friend showed me his copy and it looks agreeably batshit.
02/05/2011 at 12:07 Loopy says:
I’ve been trying to finish off the Portal 2 single player, a bit at a time when I get the chance. I think I’m almost at the end now, and so far it’s been completely awesome. :)
02/05/2011 at 12:09 BathroomCitizen says:
This weekend I had many rounds of challenge mode in Magicka, finished Batman: Arkham Asylum, played a bit of Capsized – I love the sense of freedom in the movement system in it – and a bit of Warband multiplayer.
02/05/2011 at 12:10 Colthor says:
I’ve been filthy, traitorous scum playing dirty console-toy games like the pathetic degenerate I am. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes really is excellent, though.
Also Fable 2 and Red Dead Redemption (horseys!). Nothing if not cutting edge.
Maybe I’ll play SpaceChem later.
02/05/2011 at 12:14 Will Tomas says:
Portal 2, because I got it a week late, and have M&B: Warband waiting for me. Plus a bit of GRID for when I want to play something in short bursts. I also need to finish The Witcher, which I’m halfway through.
02/05/2011 at 12:17 Thion262 says:
A bit Deus Ex, because there´s nothing else left to play. I´m thinking of getting Cataclysm to pass the time until SW:TOR gets out.
02/05/2011 at 12:17 Nezuji says:
I randomly stumbled accross an Amstrad CPC game called Orion Prime, and somehow ended up spending most of the weekend playing that. It is one of the best first-person point-and-click adventure games I have ever played, and that’s not meant to be a back-handed complement, although I know it sounds like one. Although it’s a CPC game, it was only released about 18 months ago, and It’s loosely modeled on System Shock 1 & 2; the graphics have clearly passed through the SS2 engine at some point in their creation. It’s bloody difficult, but the puzzles are pretty logical, and the whole thing has been made with such love that I can’t seem to put it down.
02/05/2011 at 12:19 jaheira says:
Wrath of Ashardalon. Rules can be annoyingly vague, but the AI system for the enemies works very well.
02/05/2011 at 12:20 Nidokoenig says:
I’ve been playing Pinky Street: Kira Kira Pop Princess on the DS, mostly as a way of procrastinating rather than work on my My Little Pony mod for Dwarf Fortress. Pop Princess is a pretty groovy little rhythm game with a dolly dress up thing for powering up your character, but the various bits and pieces are usually only effective in one part of town, like in TWEWY. I’ve been trying to get perfects on more difficult tracks so I can get prettier clothes to dress up my dolly.
Oh, I probably played a bit of AudioSurf, too.
02/05/2011 at 12:59 Wulf says:
“Pinky Street: Kira Kira Pop Princess”
Is it bad that I googled that based on the merits of the name alone? Also, this strangely reminds me of how much I want another good Princess Maker game. I really could use one. Aside from Princess Maker 2, are there any out there? Anyone know?
“My Little Pony mod for Dwarf Fortress.”
o_O
02/05/2011 at 13:42 Nidokoenig says:
Look upon my works, ye mighty, and tremble:
http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4013
The version I’m working on now will clear up some glove issues, and add wood-painting workshop and buffalo and diamond dog civs. It might also include apple “ents” to get around the absence of fruiting trees if I can get that to work.
I’ll have to investigate Princess Maker. The concepts looks quite interesting. The dolly part in Pop Princess is really all about looking pretty or getting better stats, the storyline is essentially… Saints Row 2, now that I think about it. You have dance fights with people in different parts of the town and earn popularity points to dance fight with more people until you’re the grooviest girl in town. But the core of it a pretty good, challenging rhythm game.
02/05/2011 at 15:00 Wulf says:
Wow, that’s… something. Gah. Now I have to check out Dwarf Fortress again. And with it being Pony Fortress this time, it might just eat my life.
02/05/2011 at 12:24 RagingLion says:
Completed Portal 2 (single player) on Saturday. An amazing amazing game. Left me feeling satisfied as if I’d just eaten a good meal.
02/05/2011 at 12:24 Keilnoth says:
I sanded down a friend’s chalet and then went for some rock climbing… oh wait, video game you said ? Ah well, then Stracraft 2 and I bought Capsized which is pretty cool even though the mobs freak me (especially the flying green ones that make horrible screeching sounds).
02/05/2011 at 13:01 Wulf says:
I’m utterly fascinated by those. >_> I want to know how they work.
02/05/2011 at 12:24 mod the world says:
I played a bit of the Witcher 1, to prepare for the successor and Natural Selection 2, which is finally in a playable state.
REASON: It was cold and rainy outside and i hate humans.
02/05/2011 at 12:28 Squirrelfanatic says:
I spend my time outside in the sun and the fresh air. Had a blast.
02/05/2011 at 14:49 Burning Man says:
A pox upon thee, ye outside lover! May your muscles shine slightly less brightly and the women form more orderly queues to molest thee!
02/05/2011 at 12:29 dawnmane says:
I have this job where I look after this 10-year old kid one weekend each month, and this weekend I introduced him to Heroes of Might and Magic V. He was just as amazed by it as I was when I played Heroes 2 when I was his age, and for a moment there I felt just like I imagine a really proud father would. He’s gonna grow to be a fine armchair general someday :)
02/05/2011 at 12:36 Edawan says:
Not a lot of play time. I advanced a bit in the Portal 2 commentary, and played the new dungeons in WoW.
02/05/2011 at 12:37 catmorbid says:
Played a bunch of World of Tanks (great game!), then Cargo! (Another great game!) and a little bit of this and that.
02/05/2011 at 12:43 bascule42 says:
Niether obscure nor a very good reason for playing:
But this weekend, I ar bin mostly playin’ Neverwinter Nights 2. Why? Because Ah’m woth it.
02/05/2011 at 13:02 Wulf says:
I liked NWN2. Though the Mask of the Betrayer expansion was… simply glorious. One of the greatest moments of gaming history in this humble oddball’s opinion.
02/05/2011 at 12:48 JayTee says:
A frankly obscene amount of Shogun 2. Not really got into the multiplayer much, primarily as I’m running a few mods which disable the multiplayer annoyingly. Kinda annoying that CA didn’t come up with a way to run mods but have the game revert back to defaults when doing multiplayer, particularly in the drop-in campaign.
I was really looking forward to playing a campaign and dropping in on other people’s campaigns but it turns out I’d have to play a no-mod campaign just to be able to do this. Most disappointing :(
02/05/2011 at 18:32 Jimbo says:
I finished up my Long Hard (titter) Shimazu campaign.
The game plays well enough and the difficulty was about right… but it still felt unsatisfying. The lack of siege maps was a real bummer, and I ended up fighting dozens of almost identical siege battles over and over again on identical maps. The back half of the game where it just becomes you vs. everybody also sucks a lot of fun out of the game, because trade and diplomacy go right out the window.
They did make some important improvements this time around (for the most part battles play out like you might reasonably expect them too, rather than the AI just spazzing out randomly), but whatever the next game is (hopefully Rome 2) just needs a lot more variety in all areas.
02/05/2011 at 12:50 Dominic White says:
This weekend, I mostly played Terraria! I even recorded gameplay videos to share with you lovely people.
http://www.diygamer.com/2011/05/terraria_adventucast_ep1/ – I just released the second video, too.
It’s an ace little game. Word is that they may be releasing via Steam in the next couple of months. It’s really the opposite of Minecraft in a lot of ways. It’s structured, objective-oriented stuff. You’re always keeping an eye on the next progression milestone, rather than just reforming the world as you see fit.
It’s also very, very good.
02/05/2011 at 13:05 Wulf says:
Damn it, I want to play that now, too. Thanks to you Dominic I ended up watching the Let’s Plays of it, and yes, it does look really good. I had to stop watching them because I found it irritating that there was a game that looked that entertaining out there that I could not play. And I could rope my Minecraft friends into this.
Do me a favour and ask them something for me, though? Ask them if you can mod the sprites. I’m really not a fan of them, but if I can mod the sprites and the animations then I can either, myself, create some weird or wonderful playable entities for that world, commission someone to, or both!
02/05/2011 at 12:51 inspirius says:
I had a LAN party this weekend so played quite a few games, these are the ones I can remember:
Borderlands
Magicka
Left 4 Dead
Dogfighter
GRAW
Teeworlds
Flatout 2
BF 1942
Alien Swarm
Portal 2 co-op
Borderlands and Left 4 Dead were the big hits this time around probably because we haven’t played them at previous LANs and this time we had fewer players so we could have 2xBorderlands running or 1 Left 4 Dead versus.
02/05/2011 at 12:52 frozenbyte says:
Age of Mythology. An extremely underappreciated classic.
02/05/2011 at 12:56 Vexing Vision says:
I played “Don’t take it personally, babe”. Still thinking about how absolutely awesome the character writing was.
Oh, and RIFT. And downloaded the Avadon for Windows demo, which I can’t wait for! Where’s the Wot I Think for Avadon? :)
02/05/2011 at 13:10 Wulf says:
I’m sorry but I was so disappointed by Avadon. It seemed like a play to the masses, leaving out the more strange elements of Avernum and trying to make it as straight a typical RPG as possible. When comparing it with Avernum and Geneforge, it’s fairly meh and dull in regards to its setting. I suppose Vogel just wanted something that would sell a lot this time instead of something that’s weird. But contrary to where I’ve bought Avernum and Geneforge games in the past due to them actually being interesting, I have no desire to buy this.
I’m sorry. I do like Spiderweb Software’s output, normally, but I feel let down by Vogel’s recent additions of Nethergate: Resurrection and Avadon. It feels… dare I say it? Dumbed down.
02/05/2011 at 17:15 Vexing Vision says:
Ah, that sounds bad… I like the concept. I love Avernum’s world since Exile, but never cared for Geneforge’s strangeness. I loved GeneForge 5 with the different cross-faction-treachery you could engage in though, which made it very worthwhile to play.
On the other hand, I love the idea of the individual characters. Need to see how that plays out.
Incidentally, your comment about Vogel’s games being “dumbed down” reminds me of my complaint about Avernum after playing Exile – and Avernum 5 and 6 were still really, really awesome.
02/05/2011 at 13:06 zergrush says:
A boatload of Patapon 3 with friends, a couple of hours trying to learn how to play Blood Bowl.
02/05/2011 at 13:11 Wulf says:
I… really need to get and play that.
Is it better than 2?
02/05/2011 at 13:46 zergrush says:
It’s a bit harder and less grindier, there’s less farming for materials but you still have to grind a bit to level up. Also there’s no more squad-based play, you just use four heroes on single player. There was a trade-off between army management and a somewhat more rpg-y focus between 2 and 3. There are some new race and CTF levels that are pretty fun, and multiplayer is better due to the increased player count.
It’s a great game, easily one of the best things on PSP specially if you have some friends to play with. For 20 bucks it’s really a steal.
02/05/2011 at 15:05 Wulf says:
I shall grab that.
I think that if I play any more Disgaea Infinite on my PSP I’m going to end up talking like Gordon, with random affixed utterances of dood.
02/05/2011 at 13:07 JackShandy says:
I’ve been reading the books the Witcher is based on- specifically, The Last Wish. Lovely stuff, but the end boss is giving me trouble.
02/05/2011 at 13:12 Plivesey says:
I’ve been eyeing up buying Last Wish for a while now, Amazon keeps sticking it on the front page for me. Is it worth a buy? Or would I be let down after having the story from the game?
02/05/2011 at 13:52 JackShandy says:
I’d say it’s worth it, especially if you liked the game. They add to the game’s story, not subtract from it. Keep in mind I haven’t completed the game, so I’m not sure how much overlap there is – but the opening cutscene’s situation is so much better in the book, seeing as you can understand the background behind the whole thing.
02/05/2011 at 13:10 Robbeasy says:
A bit of Outcast
A wedge of Amnesia
And…….
Battle Slots!
02/05/2011 at 13:10 Plivesey says:
Played a lot of STALKER CoP (plus Complete) myself actually. I tried Clear Sky but the capturing bases faction mechanic got very annoying, after almost capturing a base a required one was lost making all my effort useless.
Call of Pripyat is a great game so far (I’m up to Pripyat), but I still think Shadow Of Chernobyl wins in terms of atmosphere and gameplay. This one seems too directed, whereas I remember lots of time spent in SoC just exploring the place. Perhaps its me, though.
02/05/2011 at 13:11 Kadayi says:
After a friend was asking me on Steam for advice with M&B:W I got back into playing that for a bit, though having noted they now have Steam achievements I parked my existing character (with his vast dominion) and started afresh. Such a good game.
However of late I’ve become hopelessly addicted to Dragon Age legends. So 4 days to concentrate on that has been great. Helped by having a 24 hour double XP code.
02/05/2011 at 13:11 Cradlejoe says:
This weekend I finally pulled my finger out my arse (take that how you will) and got on with learning how programming thingies in preparation for university.
02/05/2011 at 13:12 phenom_x8 says:
Playing beneath a steel sky and shogun total war 2. but the shogun kind of dissapoint me, its make my rig shutdown for itself because of my procie was overheated when playing this game. Time to upgrade my athlon x2 4800+ I guess!
02/05/2011 at 13:14 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Need for Speed 6 Hot Pursuit 2
…
…
…
What? I had it lying around…
02/05/2011 at 13:22 Lars Westergren says:
Played Portal 2 for a while, then Dragon Age 2 until I realized that it felt like a chore. Decided I probably won’t finish it ever. Life is too short, and too many good games are coming out. So I started a new game of Fallout: New Vegas, decided to play as a despicable SOB who will side with Caesar (I usually go for Lawful-Good-Stupid. And in the game).
02/05/2011 at 13:37 Wulf says:
“(I usually go for Lawful-Good-Stupid. And in the game)”
Me too!
/max
Plus, it’s all too possible to have entirely ludicrous characters in that game, with the right mods, such as a gun-toting cowboy who riides into combat atop a hoverboard. Closely followed by his ‘pet’ deathclaw. (Though that guy never seems to take orders from me, likes me enough to follow me around though, probably because I kept him fed. But I’m not complaining. He helps and looks good whilst doing so!)
02/05/2011 at 13:26 chokoladenudlen says:
Played Portal 2 for the umphteenth time, and also had the pleasure of introducing it to a friend who hadn’t yet received his copy. It’s amazing how entertaining it can be simply to watch someone toiling with the puzzles of that game :)
I also played through Bulletstorm, which I immediately regretted. That game is, hands down, the worst and most disappointing FPS game I’ve played in the past few years. It’s not even the equivalent of a B-movie, you have to move further down the alphabet. A D-movie / D-game, or so…
02/05/2011 at 13:28 BobsLawnService says:
I’ve been playing Look After The Toddler With The Nasty Ear Infection and Avoid The Wife Who Is Going Through Some Violent Hormonal Episode. Oh, and a bit of The Witcher. Can’t wait for work tomorrow.
02/05/2011 at 14:52 Burning Man says:
Oh hey, I’m playing the Witcher too, in prep for TW2!
Oh, and I’m also single. HOW DO YOU LIKE DEM APPLES?!
02/05/2011 at 19:02 BobsLawnService says:
So how about that second chapter then?
03/05/2011 at 03:47 Burning Man says:
That’s precisely where I am right now. I’ve almost finished the Raymond detective quest line. Kinda curious to see if I actually get to fight Azar Javed. It should be very interesting.
02/05/2011 at 13:29 Sonny B says:
Killing floor & Minecraft with some friends
And then Stepmania and Touhou.
02/05/2011 at 13:36 Vinraith says:
Bob Came in Pieces and Defense Grid solo, AI War and Magicka co-op.
02/05/2011 at 13:37 jackflash says:
Call of Pripyat with the Complete mod by Artistpavel et al. F’n brilliant.
02/05/2011 at 13:42 InsidiousBoot says:
I finished playing Mass Effect for the PC yesterday, I’ve always been evading that game for some reason since it ever was been launched. Now I still need to go and play Mass Effect 2 but that’s for another day.
02/05/2011 at 13:50 Tei says:
All Point Bulletin Reloaded (PC) and Dungeon Raid (for iPod)
02/05/2011 at 13:51 KindredPhantom says:
I played APB Reloaded all weekend. I think that the relaunched APB: Reloaded may have more success than APB.
02/05/2011 at 15:30 ninjapirate says:
I played APB:R all weekend as well!
It still suffers from many of its old flaws, yet it remains to be one of the most addictive games I’ve played in the past couple of years.
02/05/2011 at 16:25 Thunderkor says:
Is the driving any better than it was before? That was the deal-breaker for me with the first version.
03/05/2011 at 10:59 KindredPhantom says:
The driving and shooting is much better than before, though there is still room for improvement.
Overall the changes to the gameplay being made are in my opinion for the better, it makes the game more accessible and a lot more fun.
02/05/2011 at 13:52 Hmm-Hmm. says:
Minecraft. Made my first generation cobblestone generator.. and it looks nice, but it’s not as practical as it could’ve been. But I’ve decided to leave it as is.. I’ll try different designs on other worlds. Also, digging and tunneling and spelunking.
02/05/2011 at 14:00 Poppis says:
Finished Max Payne for the umphteenth time. Also played some Mount&Musket(napoleon mod for warband), great fun!
02/05/2011 at 14:00 magnus says:
This weekend it was; Aquaria, Capsized, AVP2, Sol Survivour,Front Mission : Evolved, Darksiders and CreaVures.
02/05/2011 at 15:03 Wulf says:
Hooray for CreaVures! :D
02/05/2011 at 14:04 Berzee says:
Here I provide my critical input!
I played Oblivion for a wee bit (having just gotten some decent conjuration spells, I am experimenting with being lazy while my minion kills the world). But mostly I got around to playing I Have 1 Day, and it was *the bestest*.
I also played Legend of the Golden Robot for like 2 minutes, yees.
02/05/2011 at 17:51 Urthman says:
I also picked up Oblivion this weekend after a very long hiatus, isolated the mod that had been giving me all the crashes, removed it, and got on with recruiting some help for Bruma and gathering the Crusader’s relics.
One of my mods make the number of summonable creatures scale with your Conjuration skill. Also I’ve completed the Shivering Isles. So I had a whole squad of Golden Saints to send ahead of me whenever the Oblivion dungeons started getting tedious.
Also I love casting a weather control spell in Oblivion to replace the hellfire clouds with sunshine and rainbows. I like to imagine it striking fear and dread into the hearts of the Daedra whose link to Tamriel I’m about to destroy.
02/05/2011 at 19:13 Berzee says:
Lol — I hate the actual “Plane of Oblivion” in Oblivion so much that I set difficulty to 0% whenever I have to go there. It sounds like I need a Sunshine & Rainbows mod.
02/05/2011 at 14:05 terry says:
Minecraft: Played for several hours, looking for rain. Eventually realised graphics were not set to “fancy”. Cooed at rain.
World in Conflict: Played tutorial. Got shouted at repeatedly by tiny man.
Alpha Protocol: Began “troublesome contrary asshole” run.
Mass Effect 2: Continued “troublesome contrary asshole” run.
Atom Zombie Smasher: Got trounced, again.
02/05/2011 at 14:43 CMaster says:
WiC is good, try to stick with it.
I actually find AZS really easy these days, unless I play on hardcore, at which point it seems nigh-impossible. Try using the new chooser mode maybe?
02/05/2011 at 14:18 Imbecile says:
Alpha Protocol. Loving the concept, but fearing for the execution.
02/05/2011 at 14:28 theSAiNT says:
Starcraft II: Because the Ladder Calls.
L4d2: Because my friends need me to hold their hands while they try to escape from zombies.
02/05/2011 at 14:31 Chakawi says:
Tyrant (even if it’s partly evil)
02/05/2011 at 14:34 bartleby says:
Ace of Spades for too long and DCS A-10. I’m not sure what the connection is there.
02/05/2011 at 14:35 SquidgyB says:
I’ve been hooning around in Rise of Flight – WWI combat sim.
Seeing as the latest and greatest of the WWII flight sims is currently a bug ridden mess (but outstandingly promising, if you’ll wait, mmm, maybe 3-6 months), I thought I’d go a bit further back in time, and relive my Biggles fantasies.
02/05/2011 at 14:39 mbp says:
Good lord, reading this comments thread has been something of an eye-opener. Most of the games listed are oldies. I think Portal 2 got a couple of mentions but aside from that I strained to find any recent releases.
In musical terms it feels like I am looking at the playlist from BBC radio 2.
Given that RPS is surely one of the most influential PC gaming websites what does this all mean? Is it that we PC gamers are a discerning lot who are not influenced by hype or is it just that we are all old fogies who have passed the point of relevance?
02/05/2011 at 15:02 Wulf says:
Sales + GoG = Explanation!
02/05/2011 at 15:27 bartleby says:
I think it means we all finished Portal 2 last week. I’ve been playing a bit with commentary on, but it feels like there’s less of it this time around. Big gaps without it, at least. Still a lovely game.
02/05/2011 at 14:40 Tonamel says:
Starcraft the first. I’ve still never played it all the way through, even after all this time. Maybe this go-around!
02/05/2011 at 14:41 Giaddon says:
Been playing through some action games from a couple years ago: Singularity, Dark Void, and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. All very fun, and well worth the ten bucks each I spent on ‘em.
Also: Bulletstorm, which completely blew me away. I’m about halfway through my second playthrough, and it’s great, but — kicking dudes into deadly things should give a quarter of the skillpoints. 100 points for hitting “E”? Lame.
02/05/2011 at 14:42 bleeters says:
Dawn of war: dark crusade. Whaddya know, drag selecting ten Dark Reaper squads still works!
02/05/2011 at 15:00 Kaira- says:
I myself only play Space Marines. I don’t know why, but I simply can’t (read: don’t know how to) play any other race, though Orks seem like something I might enjoy.
:(
03/05/2011 at 04:01 bleeters says:
Dark Reapers are to Eldar what Heavy Bolters are to Space Marines: Infantry-b-gone buttons.
Orks are great fun, I’d say try them out. You’re pitted against Tau first anyway in the singleplayer, and your starting commander tears them to pieces, so you’ve got time to figure it out. The only real complication is that their tech tree is advanced by either a) training more Orks, or b) building waaagh banners, rather than the ‘click this research to unlock more stuff’ style the Space Marines have.
Build banners. Lots of banners.
02/05/2011 at 14:53 arghstupid says:
I finally got around to giving Recettear a go and was pleasently surprised when it made me laugh repeatedly. On the flip side, it has the most irritating music I’ve heard in about a decade..
02/05/2011 at 14:54 Po0py says:
Been playing a good deal of Stalker Call of Pripyat. After missing Clear Sky I can say that Pripyat is way, way more easy to get into than Shadow of Chernobyl. As I remember in SoC I was yomping for miles to a mission, finding the enemies were way to overpowered, having to retreat and find side missions so I could purchase better equipment and more ammo and then try again. In Pripyat the progression is much more subtle and much less frustrating. You pretty much know where you stand with regard to the plot and what you need to do so I’m having a great time with it. It still has the clunky, unintuitive PDA/map/quest log system. It’s early days yet but that’s really my only complaint so far.
02/05/2011 at 14:56 Bureaucrat says:
Mostly Civ V. I’ve come back to it after a few months away to find it a much-transformed game, thanks to that major balance patch that came out about 2 months ago.
Also, some netbook time-killing with Might & Magic 4-5. This game breaks about 500 rules of good game design, but the core RPG XP/Loot/Ability progression is strong, and the M&M series in general is probably the one I am most unreasonably nostalgic about. M&M 1 was the very first CRPG I ever played.
02/05/2011 at 15:00 Fumarole says:
Deus Ex for the first time since forever. I’ll stick with it this time.
02/05/2011 at 15:01 Bennyjh says:
An obscene amount of Haven & Hearth… its rather addictive.
02/05/2011 at 16:01 Foosnark says:
Champions Online.
Wanted to play Portal 2 co-op with the wife, but she opted for actually getting some sleep.
02/05/2011 at 16:07 theimpossibleman says:
Played through Army of Two with my brother over the weekend and beat it in two sittings. Had a blast…great coop!
02/05/2011 at 16:15 bwion says:
Mostly I’m playing Sacred 2 at the moment. Because it lets me be a dog-headed robot who fights elves with lasers.
02/05/2011 at 16:30 Moonracer says:
Most interestingly, I started dabbling in Battlefield 2 as I’d never played it. I haven’t played much but I’m already thinking of dropping it and going back to 2142, which I played a lot a few years back and remember fondly. Only Online FPS I liked enough to join a clan.
I’m wondering if/when we will see a battlefield 3 video that gives us an idea of map sizes/open-ness.
02/05/2011 at 16:31 bobdisgea says:
I finished planescape torment for the first time tonight. I feel like a better person.
02/05/2011 at 17:20 Jim Rossignol says:
You are a better person.
02/05/2011 at 16:33 Betamax says:
Trucking on with The Witcher EE. Enjoying it so far, although I agree with those I’ve seen say that the Swamp in Chapter 2 is quit-worthy. Dreading going back there in C3 which I’m working my way through at the moment.
Definitely a great game but also incredibly flawed in places as well, reminds me of DA2 in that respect.
It has also made me do two things:
1) Dig out my copy of Jade Empire. The combat makes me nostalgic for it amongst other things, and it’s been quite a while since I completed it.
2) Pre-order The Witcher 2. Quite late to the party but I’ve been following TW2 closely. I don’t even have a computer that can run it yet! But I’m in the process of building a new desktop that can so… Hopefully I’ll have that sorted by the time of release.
02/05/2011 at 16:34 Thunderkor says:
Been getting back into Minecraft, and Saturday night had a great run where I got lost in a cave, found lots of lapis lazuli and iron, got withing a heart or so of dying, dug my way back up to the surface with way too many close calls, positive that I was completely lost – only to find myself within site of my temporary mining shelter.
Then it crashed right after I unloaded my goodies into a chest, and when the game came back all the stuff i put in the chest was gone. I felt justified in replacing it via InvEdit, as I only replaced what the crash stole from me.
Oh that and a fair amount of Global Agenda. I like it, but not as much as I want to, if that makes sense. Also agonized over whether I should purchase Section 8: Prejudice.
Ordered Portal 2 from Amazon, waiting on it to arrive now. Feel silly ordering a physical copy to be shipped, but it was the cheapest deal I could find and I hate paying full price.
02/05/2011 at 16:38 The Innocent says:
Finals.
Also, Capsized.
More Capsized than I should have played.
02/05/2011 at 16:40 calavera says:
Started playing Mount and Blade based on the demo and Steam sale. Liking it so far, but I must say I’m kind of confused as to what I’m supposed to be doing :)
02/05/2011 at 17:15 Berzee says:
It’s a bit sandboxy, so setting your own goals is the best way to get the most fun out of it. =) Are you playing the new one? (I only know about Warband).
In one game, I tried to bring an existing king ultimate victory over the land, but I got tired of the loooong sieges, so I restarted and chose a different route. I hired the bare minimum of men, replacing them with companions as I went (because companions can level up and are cheap) and I gave everyone blunt weapons, and trained my prisoner management skills 2 tha max! and bought the fastest horses I could…and I became a great and legendary slaver, feared among bandits. =P
Then I sold the prisoners and bought businesses in as many towns as I could manage, so that I could be assured of everlasting riches.
Then I bought Recettear and the rest is history. o_O
02/05/2011 at 17:19 Jim Rossignol says:
I desperately need to play more Mount & Blade.
03/05/2011 at 04:30 sinister agent says:
You are of course free to muck about as you see fit, but a good start would be to make some money by trading, hire a few recruits from villages and hunt Looters (Looters are the weakest enemies in the game and great combat practice) and/or speak to the Guild Masters in the cities (you’ll have to wander around a bit, sadly) for some usually quite easy money missions. Do that until you’ve got enough money to buy whatever nice equipment takes your fancy, and/or one or more of your weapon skills is a bit healthier. Then you’re in a better position to wander round looking for trouble.
You might also find it fun to enter the arena – tournaments are rough and one-off – when it’s over, you have to find the next tournament. But you can practice in the arena anytime for free, with no danger. That’ll give you a little combat practice, some skill increases, and a few pennies if you knock down enough people.
02/05/2011 at 17:26 m3metix says:
About 2/3rds of the way through Capsized. I’m really enjoying it, even if it can feel a little “grindy” because sometimes there are A LOT of enemies that take many hits to kill. I’ve found the solution is to practice doing crazy maneuvers with the gravity hook while taking out the enemies. Also, not so much a negative about the game, but I am super disappointed with all the negative “I thought it was a metroidvania style game” comments. Get over it and enjoy a great game!
I also played a couple hours of Singularity, a bunch of ArmA2 and some MineCraft (with the PlasticCraft mod).
02/05/2011 at 17:43 Inglourious Badger says:
I’ve been playing EVE online with the express purpose of updating my EVE online beginner’s blog found here: http://fourmyleofceres.wordpress.com/
I started playing a couple of weeks ago after the King of Space interview on this very site won me over and finally convinced me to give the game a go (you got a mention and a link on my first post so I don’t feel so bad about plugging myself here!). Anyone interested in joining EVE online or old hands wanting to remember how baffling and scary EVE is at the start please check it out!
I’ve also found time to play a couple of hours of the Portal 2 co-op and I’m only typing this while I await my ‘partner in science’ to log on and play some more.
All in all a good gaming weekend, despite the sunshine!
02/05/2011 at 17:47 Jake says:
The Game of Thrones boardgame. Ned sailed to King’s Landing and got killed en route. Lannisters were generally awesome as per usual. There was much treachery.
02/05/2011 at 17:57 Om says:
Mount and Blade: Warband
Minecraft
Football Manager 2010
02/05/2011 at 17:58 Adriaan says:
Project Reality (BF2 mod), on a 200 player server! It was rather awesome…
02/05/2011 at 18:34 Man Raised by Puffins says:
Wot? TF2
Why? Hats!
02/05/2011 at 18:38 Conor says:
Exams begin tomorrow, so not too much, although I have squeezed in some manshooting here and there to relieve stress.
02/05/2011 at 18:45 Waltorious says:
I’ve been playing The Witcher (for the first time!) so I can be ready for The Witcher 2. And I must say, I am very impressed with it. I’m going to have to track down the books now.
02/05/2011 at 19:00 Gabbo says:
I finally beat Deus Ex after having it installed on my various pc’s for over a decade and never getting out of New York. I have conquered this giant!
I don’t quite know how I feel about the game yet, but dammit if I don’t want to go back and play it again completely differently than this play through.
02/05/2011 at 19:04 Palsang says:
Seventeen hours of Warband. Twenty-six if you count nine hours of the demo on Friday.
02/05/2011 at 19:39 Rikard Peterson says:
I finally finished Portal! (The first game.) After being stuck on the five-minute timer at the end for a long time, I finally managed to complete it. Feels good.
Edit: And a big thanks to those who recommended Blur to me! I started playing it today, and am blown away. I haven’t had this fun in a racing game since Rollcage 2!
02/05/2011 at 23:53 Moonracer says:
Oh man I forgot about Rollcage! I never new there was a sequel. I’ll have to look it up ( or dig out my disk for the first one. Glad you are enjoying blur
02/05/2011 at 20:15 Frank says:
Bioshock, again.
Man, that game is long. Deus Ex is really **** long too, as I realized recently.
02/05/2011 at 20:17 karthink says:
Max Payne 2 (The Fall Of Max Payne)
I’d heard good things about it. ’twas rather short though; finished it in two sittings.
Starcraft II (the campaign)
Because it’s atmospheric as hell and brimming with detail.
02/05/2011 at 20:34 Dominic White says:
I remember nearly getting lynched back in the day for suggesting that Max Payne 2 wasn’t worth the full asking price on launch day, having beaten it in a single 4-hour sitting, on hard mode. It was pretty neat, but I actually preferred the longer, more varied original.
02/05/2011 at 20:30 Cheese says:
Started with DF. Ended with X-COM.
02/05/2011 at 21:06 a.simons613 says:
I played minecraft. Looking forward to the maps in 1.6
also Ace of Spades has potential.
02/05/2011 at 21:31 laddyman says:
Borderlands (<3) and some Left4Dead2 custom campaigns.
Bricka bricka!
02/05/2011 at 22:17 Tom Camfield says:
Torchlight, after the GamersGate (was it?) sale. £3. It’s lovely. Plus, I went walking with chums around a big lake and hit up some fort somewhere that bikers use, and was closed. Hijinks.
02/05/2011 at 22:27 laikapants says:
A bit of M&B: Warband multi mixed with copious amounts of a new singleplayer much about session while I wait for the new ExpandAlone.
Also a few rounds of BC2: Vietnam, but the server was laggy and I was too lazy to go in search of others.
02/05/2011 at 22:33 catzilla says:
This bank holiday monday I just got horribly addicted to dungeon crawl. Just get some keen gear and then bam, mobbed by a bunch of orc priests.
*sighs* just one more go…
02/05/2011 at 23:02 CrankyChipmonk says:
I sat down on Friday and played psychonauts for the first time ever. I’ve stayed up until 5am-ish the last two nights because i didn’t want to stop. Quite an amazingly fun and funny game that is.
02/05/2011 at 23:05 Mut says:
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. And if you need to ask why, you should go sit in the corner. Any corner. Preferably a dark one. Yeah.
02/05/2011 at 23:55 Worldbeing says:
Blast from the surprisingly distant past… I’ve been replaying Max Payne. Still one of the best games for senseless violence and easy gunplay.
03/05/2011 at 00:49 cookie says:
World of Warcraft, ’cause I’m one of those nerds.
03/05/2011 at 02:24 drewski says:
Halo: Reach and Fable III, both on consoletoy.
I’m sorry Jim :-(
03/05/2011 at 02:57 MrPants says:
LOTRO. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve returned to the MMO fold for the first time in years. Someone gave me a long weekend trial key for Rift, and it was like a massive saccharine binge – fun for a while, but ultimately unfulfilling and ending in remourse. LOTRO is a leisurely Sunday roast accompanied by a cold pint of stout. Where Rift was a breathless treadmill of mandatory action, LOTRO feels like a place you inhabit, carefully crafted from aged lore. The ubiquitous Everquest template will of course begin to chafe after a while, but when that time comes I’ll sleep easy knowing I only paid for what I wanted and used, and if the urge strikes again next year I can jump in and continue where I left off.
03/05/2011 at 06:37 amishmonster says:
I went to a LAN party, whereupon my computer started blue-screening whenever I launched anything other than a web browser. It was not awesome.
03/05/2011 at 07:34 Emergency Rations says:
Slowly grinding my way through the swamp section of the Witcher in anticipation of the sequel… all the time hoping the rest of the game makes this worth the effort…
03/05/2011 at 09:09 Optimaximal says:
Another World… every time I think i’ve just managed to escape the beast, one of those bloody worms bites my leg and I die.
I have a feeling I won’t be finishing it very soon.
03/05/2011 at 09:44 jakonovski says:
I am unable to do anything except play World of Tanks.
03/05/2011 at 10:07 Fathom says:
Half-Life 2!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZhnGQXWi1U&feature=channel_video_title
Plz watch this I need precious exposure to RPS people who have enjoyed my stuff in the past.
Also Jim doesn’t respond to emails.
03/05/2011 at 20:44 Jake says:
That is really great. Combining Half Life 2 and The National is a pretty sure thing though in my book, I’ll plug it.
03/05/2011 at 10:27 Blackberries says:
Played the entirety of Gemini Rue on Sunday after being reminded of it by a Giant Bomb Quick Look. It was brilliant. Before that I spent a couple of hours hammering away at Desktop Dungeons, which is pleasant but I think I’ve already exhausted what it has to offer.
On Saturday I was getting frustrated at a difficult FreeSpace 2 mission and at not being able to connect to L4D2 games nine times out of ten. I also went on a small Flash game binge thanks to Extra Credits’ previous-to-last episode (Every Day the Same Dream, One Chance, The Company of Myself).
Finally got round to trying Uplink yesterday.
And of course the near-constant Pokémon HeartGold and White. But that isn’t PC.
03/05/2011 at 10:27 amorpheous says:
TL;DR version: I played Oblivion, mostly, with a sprinkling of ‘The Wonderful End of the World’, Cogs, and Rush.
After finishing the much anticipated Portal 2 within the first 48 hours of launch (hey, I was working those two days too), I was back to my usual dilemma of “Which game shall I play?”, a decision I sometimes take days mulling over because I’m either bored or frustrated over where I’m currently up to in the many games that I haven’t finished yet (I have over 100 games in Steam alone).
It’s gotten to the point where I keep telling myself I shouldn’t buy any more games until I’ve finished at least the ones that are supposed to be decent, but still I ended up buying Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition off Steam last night (‘coz it was cheap, innit). Unfortunately, it was bedtime before it was done downloading.
There is one game that I know I can always rely on when I have this problem and that’s Oblivion. I’ve never actually finished the main quest even though I have over 100 hours of play time racked up because I feel I have to try and complete every single side quest I come across in the game (this goes for most RPGs I play and is why I have a love/hate relationship with them). But I seem to be getting bored a lot more quickly with Oblivion now than I used to so after a few hours it’s back to faffing about trying to find something else worth playing. Oh well…
03/05/2011 at 10:56 akemichan88 says:
Finally picked up Dragon Age: Origins again and finished it. Slayed the archdemon, let Morrigan have her bastardchild, made Alistair king and myself Queen.
I tell you, we will be the new William & Kate.