What are you playing at the moment? [Archive] - Page 11

Roufuss

01-01-2012, 08:09 AM

There's some games that I can stomach the repetition and difficulty because they actually feel fair. Games with a disgusting difficulty curve like this level in SS3 (WHY DID YOU TAKE MY WEAPONS AWAY) or Super Meat Boy just aggravate me to no end. I hate that those grown-up scorpion guys have infinite range. I'm clearly not drunk enough for this.

Its not just infinite range, they are fucking snipers with the minigun as well. I remember that level where they took the weapons away and I'm pretty sure I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Is it that one section where you only have like half your weapons, you have to cover a large expanse of desert with no cover and on the other side is just one giant red scorpion man who guns you down no matter what?

That part infuriated me.

The difficulty curve in SMB is not so bad (just speaking about the base game here, not those insane SMB World levels), especially when you learn the strengths of the additional characters and how to best use them. The chick from Aquaria is really broken and you can pull off some incredible shit with her. There is definitely nothing unfair to the point of cheating like the infinite range superior accuracy of the scorpion in Serious Sam 3.

That helicopter is a POS too, not too mention the lady who takes control of your body.

sabrage

01-01-2012, 08:26 AM

Its not just infinite range, they are fucking snipers with the minigun as well. I remember that level where they took the weapons away and I'm pretty sure I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Is it that one section where you only have like half your weapons, you have to cover a large expanse of desert with no cover and on the other side is just one giant red scorpion man who guns you down no matter what?

Bingo. And all those kamikazes...... Good lord

The difficulty curve in SMB is not so bad (just speaking about the base game here, not those insane SMB World levels), especially when you learn the strengths of the additional characters and how to best use them. The chick from Aquaria is really broken and you can pull off some incredible shit with her. There is definitely nothing unfair to the point of cheating like the infinite range superior accuracy of the scorpion in Serious Sam 3.
I never got far enough to unlock the Aquaria chick. The problem I have with SMB is that it plays off my OCD to the point that I need to A+ every single level before I move on to the next one. I think it was the Warp Zones that finally did me in. I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like the game (enough to buy it 3 times) but it just gets too hard around World 5 for me to bother anymore.

That helicopter is a POS too, not too mention the lady who takes control of your body.
I realized I thought that about every damn enemy in this game. The hitscan clones, the kamikazes, the space monkeys, the skeletons... Every time I see a horde I just think "oh FUCK."

Roufuss

01-01-2012, 08:33 AM

I like Serious Sam 3 but for everything it does awesome and right, it does so many things so very very wrong.

That level in particular was a huge step back and I just ran past the space monkeys every single time after the first... they never leave the area they are in, making them a stupid new addition haha.

I'm curious what you will think of the final boss when you get to him. You're almost at the end now, I think only two more levels? I can already think of another part of the game you are going to absolutely hate... something very reminiscent of Left 4 Dead 2.

And Aquaria chick is only 50 bandages I think! Surely if you were getting an A + on every level you can grab 50 bandages ;)

sabrage

01-01-2012, 10:06 AM

You're almost at the end now, I think only two more levels?
That's actually really good to hear, I'm gonna try to finish it up tonight.

I can already think of another part of the game you are going to absolutely hate... something very reminiscent of Left 4 Dead 2.

Every part I die on, I'm going to wonder "is this the part?"

And Aquaria chick is only 50 bandages I think! Surely if you were getting an A + on every level you can grab 50 bandages ;)

I formatted my hard drive and neglected to back up my game save, so I'm back at square one now.

Roufuss

01-01-2012, 10:16 AM

Haha, you'll know exactly what part I mean because its a straight rip-off from Left 4 Dead 2.

jp0249107

01-01-2012, 02:26 PM

Alter Ego
http://www.playalterego.com/

I died playing a Ball game as an Infielder with some old pensioners. Got the winning catch and dropped dead. BEST DEATH EVER!

That game was quite interesting. First time I told a man motioning my young self to get into a car that I can't do that...so he decided to kidnap me anyway and KILL me...

Then I made it to old age and promptly died during a bypass operation on another one. It's too bad you can't resume a game from before death so I don't have to go through all the other stuff again.

sabrage

01-01-2012, 02:35 PM

Oak

01-01-2012, 04:21 PM

Play those levels again in co-op and the bad taste will be washed away.

Voon

01-01-2012, 05:47 PM

That game was quite interesting. First time I told a man motioning my young self to get into a car that I can't do that...so he decided to kidnap me anyway and KILL me...

Then I made it to old age and promptly died during a bypass operation on another one. It's too bad you can't resume a game from before death so I don't have to go through all the other stuff again.

Yeah, but that's life and that's what the game wants to simulate. Lots of sex too, surprisingly.

And the part with that creepy stranger, I always remember that Mama always tell me to never talk to strangers.

sabrage

01-01-2012, 06:42 PM

Play those levels again in co-op and the bad taste will be washed away.
Alas, my co-op buddy thinks it's "the kind of game that would be fun for like $5."

Anyways, I mostly bought the game to evaluate the imaging quality of the headphones I got for Christmas, and in that respect it was a great investment.

Roufuss

01-01-2012, 07:46 PM

Re: Serious Sam 3:
ಠ_ಠ
The final boss would have been awesome, if I didn't instantly die every time I stopped moving.

Also, looking at the time stamps, the last two levels alone took me 4 and a half fucking hours, or about a third of the time I played the whole game. That's unacceptable. I'm in such a bad mood now.

What did you think of the gas can bit? I thought that part was complete crap myself.

And for the last boss, I had to look up a damn video on how to beat him since the game provided no clues on what I was supposed to be doing, other than Sam picking up a pole and going "Its a bit unconventional, but okay!" Maybe I missed a prompt or something but I had no damn idea what I was supposed to be doing until I realized what was going on with the pole (or that I even needed it) until after watching the video.

I definitely wasn't a fan of the last boss at all. I thought the level itself was pretty fun, though, despite its length.

Lukasz

01-01-2012, 07:46 PM

I got Counter Strike Source together with my copy of Half Life 2 back in 2004. Today I had installed it for the very first time, just so I could get an achievement.
7 years since a purchase, I finally played my copy of CSS.

Oak

01-01-2012, 08:40 PM

Alas, my co-op buddy thinks it's "the kind of game that would be fun for like $5."

Anyways, I mostly bought the game to evaluate the imaging quality of the headphones I got for Christmas, and in that respect it was a great investment.

He's being silly, but that's fine. Co-op should be played with 10+ people anyway, and I'm sure there are plentiful games going at this very moment in which to bear witness to the absurdity.

sabrage

01-01-2012, 10:35 PM

What did you think of the gas can bit? I thought that part was complete crap myself.
Fucking terrible. I thought to myself through my drunken stupor, "Yep, this is the part...." though I didn't die until I was about 6 cans in. I had way more difficulty with the skeletons in the canyon sections myself.

I was able to figure out the last boss through trial and error, but I was pretty frustrated until I found the jetpack and it started to click. I still probably died a good 50 times before I got it right.

I think the part impressed me the most was the way that some of the enemies started as tough-as-nails boss fights, and then were slowly integrated into the waves you faced. It really illustrated the steady upward arc of your capabilities.

SirKicksalot

02-01-2012, 12:28 AM

L.A. Noire. I like the actual investigation. Whenever there's a chase or a fight everything falls apart. Knowing that the dialogue options were originally written as Coax, Force and Lie helps a lot during interrogations. It still feels kinda random and rigid, but I enjoy it.
The performance is mostly terrible so I avoid driving and action as much as possible.

vinraith

02-01-2012, 01:06 AM

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light in multiplayer, which is an absolute blast of a co-op game.

Arkham City in single player, but I'm on the verge of surrendering. It is an exceedingly well-crafted game, it fixes all the problems I had with Arkham Asylum (as far as I can tell), but my god am I horrible at it. Just absolutely horrible. I can not for the life of me keep the controls straight, and it's turning what should be a joy into an exercise in frustration.

MD!

02-01-2012, 01:20 AM

Saints Row 3 for frustration-free silliness, and Quake Live to keep my competitive juices pumping. Now I just need to get hooked on something puzzley or strategic, and I'll have my basic food groups covered.

The JG Man

02-01-2012, 02:45 AM

TOR.

Just TOR. Only TOR.

Good lord. I'd forgotten what it meant to be suckered into an MMO. Again, not sure if want. I'm enjoying it, but it's an MMO. I have about a dozen games again in my backlog that are waiting to be played, that I'd really quite like to get to at some point. Alas, that seems not to be so, for the moment at any rate. I'm at level 37 now, so at this rate I should be at level 50 fairly soonish. Been doing about 2 levels a day. It's fun. Unfortunately. Dammit.

Also, if anyone's found a way to get the Steam overlay to work with it, that'd be fantastic...

Roufuss

02-01-2012, 08:31 AM

He's being silly, but that's fine. Co-op should be played with 10+ people anyway, and I'm sure there are plentiful games going at this very moment in which to bear witness to the absurdity.

Actually, for the most part Serious Sam 3 multiplayer is completely dead.

Maybe this changed due to the sales, but a week after release I found one multiplayer game and maybe 3 or 4 co-op games, with only like 3 people a piece, in a three day span.

I think the part impressed me the most was the way that some of the enemies started as tough-as-nails boss fights, and then were slowly integrated into the waves you faced. It really illustrated the steady upward arc of your capabilities.

I think you would love most 90s FPS games and most 90s games in general then, haha.

sabrage

02-01-2012, 10:28 AM

I think you would love most 90s FPS games and most 90s games in general then, haha.
Relevant:
http://i.imgur.com/LRO5v.png
http://i.imgur.com/nBAst.png

Roufuss

02-01-2012, 10:29 AM

Rogue Warrior? Really?

But no original Deus Ex.

I'm ashamed for you.

sabrage

02-01-2012, 10:33 AM

Rogue Warrior came with the complete pack that all those other games did; I didn't buy it individually.

Deus Ex is on GFWL - I have it, just not worth the effort to install.

Edawan

02-01-2012, 10:52 AM

The Binding of Isaac.
I didn't kill the boss for the holiday achievement (saw him once, failed), but I did kill Mom for the first time after 63 deaths and 20 hours of playing !
I know it's far from the end of it but still, first victory !

TailSwallower

02-01-2012, 11:51 AM

The Binding of Isaac.
I didn't kill the boss for the holiday achievement (saw him once, failed).

You have to kill him? I thought you just had to find him. Was looking forward to getting that achievement because a) possible free stuff, and b) another reason to play Isaac, but the game runs kinda laggy on this netbook.

Doodier

02-01-2012, 02:25 PM

You have to kill him? I thought you just had to find him. Was looking forward to getting that achievement because a) possible free stuff, and b) another reason to play Isaac, but the game runs kinda laggy on this netbook.
You definitelly have to kill him. I met him twice. Failed the first time, the second time I've met him and beat him the achievement has unlocked.

Roufuss

02-01-2012, 02:48 PM

I'm not posting this to show off my skills or anything like that, but is Isaac generally considered that hard for a large amount of people? I know it was billed that way by the developers but I always take that with a grain of salt. I think it was Alec who said he still has yet to beat the game and he's logged a ton of hours.

Maybe it was playing a ton of Zelda as a kid, but I actually found Isaac quite easy... it was difficult at first to kill Mom in the depths, but I thought the next version of Mom was really, really easy.

I think I've logged about 30 hours, unlocked every character, killed Mom 11 times and am just now getting to a true challenge with the final unlockable character not to mention Sheol (which I have beaten once, but I got lucky with items.)

I will say though that the game gets way easier the first time you kill Mom and the more characters you unlock. Cain is by and large the best character in the game -- his Lucky Foot makes every pill a good one and he finds better items in all item rooms and bosses.

Are you guys still using Isaac? Maybe thats what the difference is... I never use him anymore.

I had just assumed for most people it was hard at first as they were getting used to the game but then it got a lot easier, but I read a lot of stories of people struggling on Krampus or even getting a demon door on a regular basis.

sabrage

02-01-2012, 03:22 PM

Isaac
This can be attributed to a couple of things. The Binding of Isaac was - much like Super Meat Boy before it - one of the biggest indie games of last year. It got a lot of attention from high reviews, the Humble Bundle, word of mouth and finally the Winter Sale. Because of this, we can assume that the audience it reached was much larger than other similar games with permadeath. For someone who regularly plays, say, the Assassin's Creed series (where it's literally impossible to die) it's probably a bit of a shock to get thrown into Isaac.

Another thing you brought up - that Cain doesn't get bad pills - is something you couldn't even know without a lot of trial and error or taking the time to look at a wiki. The game doesn't really explain a lot to the player - from locations of hidden rooms to what each item does - and while it's easy to tell after 30 hours, someone who just bought the game for the achievement isn't really able to immediately intuit what the hell they're doing.

There's also the fact that, due to the procedural nature of its level generator, sometimes the game just fucks you. Lack of bombs/keys, getting Gurdy as the first boss, getting terrible power-ups or no money... I don't think the game is ever impossible, but there are definitely playthroughs that are a lot harder than others.

Roufuss

02-01-2012, 03:36 PM

Yea, I looked at the wiki for the Lucky Foot, but it was one of the only times because that item is almost impossible to tell what it's supposed to do. Even though the game doesn't explain a lot, the wiki is still easy enough to find so one could read up on the mechanics.

I do wish that once an item was found, the item collection menu told you what it was after the game. Its kind of stupid that it doesn't and there is no reason for it not doing so.

I have a crap memory so even items I've gotten repeatedly I sometimes forget what they do, especially in the demon door when some of the items look almost identical.

Rauten

02-01-2012, 03:52 PM

The Binding of Isaac was - much like Super Meat Boy before it - one of the biggest indie games of last year. It got a lot of attention from high reviews, the Humble Bundle, word of mouth and finally the Winter Sale. Because of this, we can assume that the audience it reached was much larger than other similar games with permadeath. For someone who regularly plays, say, the Assassin's Creed series (where it's literally impossible to die) it's probably a bit of a shock to get thrown into Isaac.

Me and pretty much all my friends can attest to this; Isaac has been our entry point into roguelikes. We did kinda expect the difficulty, though; we do all have Super Meat Boy.

magnolia_fan

02-01-2012, 09:03 PM

sabrage

03-01-2012, 12:00 AM

Playing Amnesia, and also went back to 1990-ish (I think?) since I began playing realMyst (never actually played any Myst game). Liking it a lot.

Maybe I'm not made for horror games, but I don't find Amnesia *that* scarry.
Myst isn't that old! And realMyst must've come out in 1998 or so.

Are you playing Amnesia in the right setting? When I played it I was living in the dorms... There was a window looking out on the hallway right next to my desk area with a semi-sheer blind covering it. It kept most of the light out, but every once in a while I'd see one of my drunk peers stagger by out of the corner of my eye and I'd shit myself. Dark room, high quality headphones, naturally. By the time I got to my first actual monster encounter.... Let's just say that, over a year later, I can't even go back to it.

Miker

03-01-2012, 12:20 AM

Just inadvertently finished Shadow Complex because I didn't know I was going into the final boss fight. I didn't even get all the items, but after that horrible ending, I don't really feel like going back to it.

Heliocentric

03-01-2012, 01:53 AM

Just devoured a big chunk of bastion. The kid just finished a level or 2 after getting the mortar which as suggested is lolz.

I can't see how it could be as praised , it's pretty primitive, sure it's interesting, and I'll certainly finish it, but had I never played it, how much poorer of character would I really be?

acenck

03-01-2012, 06:17 AM

Skyrim, MGS HD Collection

squirrelfanatic

03-01-2012, 09:05 AM

I'd love to play Magicka - The Stars are left (crashes on startup), as well as Bioshock 2 (GfWl profile fails to update, so I can't log into my profile, meaning I can't save the game). So it's back to Skyrim. I have finally started the main story arc after running around the game world for what must have been weeks. I have rolled a Highelf with a primary focus on Illusion and Conjuration magic (with a Destruction spell thrown in here and there) and still keep Lydia and a Flame Atronach with me. I am a wuss, I know.

Also, getting prepared for a new run through Fallout - New Vegas for the DLC experience. Haven't decided on the character yet, last time I went with a Tankgirl look-alike (tagged skills: Guns, Explosives, Repair; little armor apart from a combat helmet) and had a lot of fun. Maybe a classic Vault-dweller or a John Wayne guy will do the trick.

Scumbag

03-01-2012, 09:29 AM

Finished Psyconauts last night and damn was that fun! Not played something that varied in a while. Shame some of the platforming was a bit ropey in areas, punising you heavily for a goofy camera hurling you down back to a point that took you 20 minutes to traverse.
Also been playing more E.Y.E. Go down to an area with mutants and other nasties including Lizzard creatures, Werewolves, things that look like Geiger Aliens and... a woman in a skimpy white dress and a shotgun?!?!? Am I missing something or do scantily clad girls now count as mutants?

Heliocentric

03-01-2012, 11:27 AM

I have been playing L.A Noire, or rather my fiancée did, it made her sleepy and she went for a nap (TRUE) so i went to "play" uPlay after I got some stupid email about it being out of beta, i bet the conviction match making still doesn't work, give us a server browser damn it!

Love subverting avatar systems, here is my uplay avatar.
http://uplay.ubi.com/en-GB/avatar/d71688dd-c9e0-4b38-98bf-74f4f30f9dbf/heroes/tall.png
Really, its the best I could do the faces are horrible.

Herzog

03-01-2012, 01:41 PM

Skyrim : Got it for christmas. Played around 30 hours. Playing a dark elf battlemage at level 20. Started the main quest after 20 hours and have finished Diplomatic Immunity today. Also I am quiet far into the Thiefs Guild main quest and a Hero of the People! Skyrim is my first TES game I have ever played and I was quiet surprised that it is more of a action rpg... should have known that after Fallout 3. Still enjoying it greatly though!

Red Orchestra 2: Still playing and having fun! Finally got my bayonet for the russian rifleman!

Binding of Isaac: Finishing Sheol with Maggy and Eve are the two missing things. Because of an invincible bug I had with ??? I got all the no-damage achievements. Should go for Golden Boy there.

Darwinia: Played four more missions. Also fun game, but on-hold at the moment because of Skyrim ;) Will finish it though!

baboonanza

03-01-2012, 02:05 PM

I've started playing Men of War: Assault Squad again since it was in the steam sale and so had a corresponding up-tick in players. I largely stay clear of competitive matches these days but co-op skirmish is a lot of fun. God I love that game.

Rauten

03-01-2012, 02:25 PM

S.P.A.Z.; S.P.A.Z., S.P.A.Z, S.P.A.Z.
I have a pending game of Sonic Generations, a pending game of Skyrim, I've Deus Ex HR all downloaded and ready to go, but I just keep coming back to S.P.A.Z.; Because no other game will let me throw unwilling hostages into space and then run them over with my ship.
Aahh, life's little pleasures.

Heliocentric

03-01-2012, 07:12 PM

Finished bastion, evacuation was the only answer. I was disappointed I couldn't spend more time with the mortar+(spike/musket/hammer/flamer) but I really cant see the pointy of playing any more except those survival missions.

Ah well, checked off the list I guess.

Similar

03-01-2012, 08:29 PM

Roufuss

03-01-2012, 08:40 PM

Damn it, I'm playing the "I am incredibly sick because the temperatures in Florida suddenly changed overnight."

It was actually hot here two days ago, now it is cold and I caught some sort of illness due to the temperature rapidly changing and I have a weak immune system.

Someone recommend a good slow paced game for when you are sick? Preferably something that doesn't require a lot of reading, haha.

squirrelfanatic

03-01-2012, 08:55 PM

Althea

03-01-2012, 09:10 PM

I've been playing Space Marine on and off recently.

I'm enjoying it, but I can see why people get annoyed with it. The balance seems a little wonky, and the combat can feel a bit odd. The voice acting for Drogan is terrible too, and if I hadn't looked it up in imdb, I would swear it's the guy who voiced Dr David Styles in Gray Matter. I tend to love soundtracks, too, but the Space Marine one is implemented terribly (to quote Dr Zoidberg: "Your music's bad and you should feel bad!") as the same little things constantly repeat. There's moments where it sounds good, but largely it's the same little bits repeating ad nauseam.

That said, once you get into it, it can be pretty fun and it's nice to smash Orks.

SirKicksalot

03-01-2012, 10:17 PM

Six hours into L.A. Noire, I can clearly see it has gigantic flaws but I enjoy playing it. Thank God there's little action. The interrogations are a huge missed opportunity. I can't figure out what's the logic behind having only three vague dialogue options. It's TERRIBLE design. It's a very rigid adventure game but it somehow doesn't get boring.
I think what makes me enjoy it is that all crime scenes and locations are lovely to look at and the main character has a great voice.

The faces are distracting because everybody feels the need to blink and move their eyebrows constantly. I'm sure it's involuntary due to being required to sit in a chair and act with their face only. Also everybody had a crash course in human behaviour because they're making it extremely obvious when they lie and when they tell the truth. LOOK RIGHT AND ACT CONFUSED. LOOK LEFT AND BLINK A LOT. Few people try to show restraint during the interrogations...

alms

04-01-2012, 12:37 AM

I'm still trying to decide whether I like Sanctum or not. Tower defense isn't a genre that I generally am very fond of, and with FPS it's a love/hate relationship (hint: I suck at them). So I went in with little in the way of expecations. Suffice say my first impressions were not positive either, and there's a problem with rendering small text that makes it hard to read.

I only went back to it because of Steam's GGP. It took me some time to get the achievement, enough to get used to it, and eventually I caught a fleeting moment of satisfaction while sniping off Tanks. So I played it more, until I got my ass handed to me several times on Arc. I was this close to giving up. What made it frustrating (and uselessly so IMO) is the game doesn't retain older checkpoints and if you mess up you're forced to start all over again. Maybe Arc made a better player out of me, because Glade seemed sooo easy, or maybe the level difficulty is just uneven, not sure.

squirrelfanatic

04-01-2012, 12:41 AM

Gave a few of my new purchases a try.

- Magicka - The stars are left: Finally got it to work, googled the code from the crashdump file, just had to reinstall some old DirectX files. Played with a friend, had some good fun. It's the same feeling of chaotic confusion when your fingers don't do what you think they should be doing.

- Desperados 1: Got to the second bigger mission (not counting training missions). It appears to be harder than the Commandos games, but this impression probably is caused by the unfamiliar controls. Commandos 2 felt more naturally with its hotkeys. Still a fun game.

- Neverwinter Nights 2: I am 2-3 hours into the main campaign and the story is already boring me to tears, generic as generic can be. I think I will give Mask of the Betrayer a try though, at least now I know how the interface works and what's important with building a character. The game seriously lacks a sprinting option, walking from one side of the map to the other just takes ages (this is probably due to the D&D rule set).

No really bad surprises with my holiday purchases yet, that was some well invested money.

Wizardry

04-01-2012, 01:16 AM

The game seriously lacks a sprinting option, walking from one side of the map to the other just takes ages (this is probably due to the D&D rule set).
No.tenchar

vinraith

04-01-2012, 02:50 AM

Started and finished Portal 2's SP. Cave Johnson is great, the National's song is great (though it's barely in the game), some of the puzzles were good, and GLADOS early on, when she's in form, was of course good. The plot, its narrative and logical connections to the original, all the parts where there was no indication where to go next that amounted to pixel hunting for portalable surfaces, and the ending, were not so good. All in all a very mixed bag. I get the sense, from what little I've played, that the co-op is much stronger.

I've been trying to play Arkham City but I'm starting to sincerely regret having bought it. It may simply be that I suck, but I'm not enjoying it nearly as much as I did the non-boss portions of Arkham Asylum. To their credit they seem to have cut way back on the annoying boss fights, but for some reason hunting goons isn't nearly as fun as it used to be. I can't figure out if it's the game or me, but I'm just about done forcing myself along. Advice on how to suck less welcome, nothing saps the coolness factor out of being Batman like getting flattened by random thugs on a regular basis.

Instead, I've started Assassin's Creed Revelations, which I'm finding much more fun. Maybe it's that I've always got along with AC's controls, maybe it's the historical setting, maybe it's the sense of freedom and speed, but whatever it is I never seem to get tired of these games.

In multiplayer I've also been spending a lot of time co-oping through Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light , which is a blast and ironically has some outstanding co-op puzzle solving that compares favorably with Portal 2's IMO.

amusingthebrood

04-01-2012, 07:37 AM

A long absence from home over Christmas has thankfully cured me (temporarily I fear) of my Terraria obsession, so last night I settled down and started to have a crack at Dungeons of Dredmor. I am finding it lightly entertaining and it probably has a fair bit of depth, but in the long run I can't see it being more than an occasional filler. Fun for now though.

Casimir Effect

04-01-2012, 08:14 AM

- Neverwinter Nights 2: I am 2-3 hours into the main campaign and the story is already boring me to tears, generic as generic can be. I think I will give Mask of the Betrayer a try though, at least now I know how the interface works and what's important with building a character. The game seriously lacks a sprinting option, walking from one side of the map to the other just takes ages (this is probably due to the D&D rule set).
NWN2 is notorious for quite a boring Act 1 which also drags on for a while. It has too many characters to introduce, plots to explain and events to set in motion for it's own good. If you can stick with it though you are rewarded by a very good (often great) game afterwards.
If you can't then definitely give Mask of the Betrayer a go because - in terms of story, themes and characters - it is one of the best games ever made.

TailSwallower

04-01-2012, 08:18 AM

In the process of testing Icewind Dale I inadvertently started playing it (should really stick with one game, but I flit). I created a party of only females, just 'cause I could. Haven't worked out how combat works yet, and thus my entire party got slaughtered by the Orcs outside of town, losing me enough progress that I decided to quit and get back to it later.

Guess I should be reading that manual before going back to the game.

Okami

04-01-2012, 09:50 AM

After playing Arkham City, Skyrim and a couple of indie games on my pc, I've dusted off my Xbox 360 after more then 6 months to play a few console exclusive titles:

Dark Souls - if losing is fun, this is the most fun I've ever had with a game. It's so close to beeing frustrating, without ever really crossing the line, you just have to admire the devs. Don't see myself playing this to completion, though.

Rayman Origins - beautiful, whimsical and insanely fun platformer. Like a cross between Super Mario and a french cartoon.

El Shaddai - Ascension of the Metatron -Simplistic beat em up with the most striking art and sound direction I've ever seen in a game. It's probably art or something like it. Also features the devil talking to god on his mobile phone, which is always nice.

apricotsoup

04-01-2012, 10:37 AM

HoMM 6 - Very fun actually, not seen too much but from what I have seen it looks like it brings some nice polish to the series and a few nice features such as town teleportation. Not used the dynasty stuff much so I'll have to see how that all works out. The extra ubisoft stuff was a bit of a pain at first, taking ages to patch itself and then crashing but no problems since then, as long as my net holds out.

Voon

04-01-2012, 11:35 AM

Still doing some hunting on the Wii . Got a Rusted Ancient Blade from mining in a Volcano and fortunately enough, I get to upgrade/restore it into an Ancient Blade. Haven't used a good Greatsword until I found this one. Fucking brilliant

Tikey

04-01-2012, 12:01 PM

I've been trying to play Arkham City but I'm starting to sincerely regret having bought it. It may simply be that I suck, but I'm not enjoying it nearly as much as I did the non-boss portions of Arkham Asylum. To their credit they seem to have cut way back on the annoying boss fights, but for some reason hunting goons isn't nearly as fun as it used to be. I can't figure out if it's the game or me, but I'm just about done forcing myself along. Advice on how to suck less welcome, nothing saps the coolness factor out of being Batman like getting flattened by random thugs on a regular basis.

Try to keep moving constantly instead of punching madly. Tap the spacebar twice to move around and punch guys from one place to another instead of the ones nearby. That helps a lot when there are many enemies trying to hit you.
Use the batarangs to get a few extra hits when you have some distance. The batclaw-punch combo is great if there are few and far away enemies, don't use it when surrounded.

airtekh

04-01-2012, 12:10 PM

I just finished Hard Reset, which I really enjoyed. I remember John Walker's WIT being quite critical but I honestly had a whale of a time. A very solid shooter indeed. I actually finished it longing for some sort of co-op or multiplayer mode, because it would suit the game perfectly.

I'm a few hours into Bastion. It's good, but I can't say I'm enamoured by it. I've never been a fan of Diablo-esque combat, so that's probably the reason why. Everything else about it is lovely though.

I've also started Dead Space 2. I quite liked the first game, so if the sequel is more of the same then I'll be a happy man. Might poke my head into the multiplayer too; for curiosity's sake.

Roufuss

04-01-2012, 12:53 PM

PC Gamer's Saturday Crapshoot has made me dive into configuring DOSBox to play Terminator: Future Shock, a game I only owned in demo form as a kid but have always wanted to play fully.

Thanks Richard Cobbett!

squirrelfanatic

04-01-2012, 01:00 PM

No.tencharI think I know what you mean, sprinting is actually covered by the rules. Bad wording on my part, I was referring to the different speed modifiers the races and classes provide, which are a constant change in pace in contrary to a stamina based sprinting system (I think D&D does this via a sprinting skill somehow?), like for example in Skyrim.

In this case that is one reason less not to implement a sprinting option into the game, the base movement speed is really low. That's fine as long as you play a pen & paper game or round based computer game, where you do not have to wait out the movement in real-time, but it is a nuisance in NWN2.

Heliocentric

04-01-2012, 01:27 PM

I'm a few hours into Bastion. It's good, but I can't say I'm enamoured by it. I've never been a fan of Diablo-esque combat, so that's probably the reason why. Everything else about it is lovely though.play it with a 360 pad and it will suddenly make more sense. Especially with the weapons that really benefit from locking on (the repeater the mortar and the carbine for example).

Giaddon

04-01-2012, 02:37 PM

- Desperados 1: Got to the second bigger mission (not counting training missions). It appears to be harder than the Commandos games, but this impression probably is caused by the unfamiliar controls. Commandos 2 felt more naturally with its hotkeys. Still a fun game.

Desperados is soooooo hard! One of the hardest games I've ever played. The secret is really to murder everyone.

I've fallen into a hole filled with hack-and-slashers, beat-em-ups, and brawlers. I'm playing:

Hunted: Demon's Forge - This game got hammered on release, and I can't yet tell why. Honestly, I'm having a great time with it. I grabbed it for $10 during the Steam sale, and I've put about six hours into it since then. Solid graphics (although way too dark, I've had to abuse the gamma setting in some areas) two fun characters, and all the enemies to shoot, slice, freeze, burn, etc., that I could want. I've been playing mostly as the ranged elf-lady, who has fun arrows that explode, break armor, and do other stuff. It's very linear, although there are side quests that lead to loot, treasure, and level-up crystals. $10 is a good price for this game.

The First Templar - This is an interesting one. Clearly a budget game (I got it for $15, also during the Steam sale), it still has ambition. While the bread-and-butter is kinda wonky melee combat, it also has stealth sequences (hide behind barrels!), using crusadervision to track down enemies and clues, and levels that have no enemies and are simply solving lever puzzles and avoiding traps. I'm enjoying it. The combat is fine. It takes a fair bit from the recent Batman games, with fast strikes between multiple opponents and counters, but is far less fluid and powerful. Also, enemies don't attack enough. But combat can get into a decent rhythm, and you can switch between characters (a tough sword and board crusader and a fast, roguish woman with knives) at any point, literally mid-strike, which I find very entertaining. I also like the historical story and setting. I wouldn't have given this one a try without UnravThreads recommendation, so thank you to UnravThreads.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Ignoring the warnings, I got this game for $15 from Greenmangaming (that sale is still going, I believe) and it's pretty good! Not great, not even half-great, but good. If I had to identify one problem, it would be that enemies have too many hitpoints. I don't know why they set it up this way. It controls like a fast and fluid action/rpg, it plays in many ways like the same, but I am just hammering and hammering on guys to make them go down. And it's not like there are cool moves you can do to weaken enemies (like breaking their shields in Hunted, or disarming them in Batman), it's just whack whack whack, critical hit, whack whack, spell, whack whack. Dead. There's also often dozens of enemies, which, again, would be awesome if they went down faster, if combat had a few more moves, but as it is I'm bouncing from guy to guy to guy to guy, picking away at them with my sword, until eventually they die. Combat is getting more interesting as I unlock more abilities, and it's often great spectacle, with goblins climbing down walls, orcs charging into battle, heads flying off, fire arrows everywhere etc., and the world of Middle-Earth looks as great as ever, but it's clear that if it had moved a bit away from the numbers game (attack damage depleting hitpoints) and moved closer to an action model, with attack combinations and certain moves for certain enemies, they could have had something really special here. It's still good.

I've put a couple hours into the latter two, to try them out, and I think I'll play them in this order: finish Hunted, move on to First Templar, and then War in the North. I'll let you know if anything amazing happens.

In the world of iOS (hiss-boo, I know), I have been consumed by Nueroshima Hex!, an adaptation of a Polish boardgame in which you place hex tiles on a hex grid to build a kind of puzzle of death that leaves you the victor. It's amazing. If you have an iOS device (I use an iPad, no experience with the iPhone version) and like strategy games, I highly recommend it.

Althea

04-01-2012, 02:53 PM

I wouldn't have given this one a try without UnravThreads recommendation, so thank you to UnravThreads.
Ce n'est pas une problem.

Flint

04-01-2012, 03:13 PM

Started E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy. Feels like the slightly 'special' child of STALKER and Deus Ex who suspiciously resembles the HL2 living next door. The gameplay is a bit... wonky, the loading times are murder, the translation is rather cringy and the lore is so batshit insane that I've already given up even attempting to understand what's supposed to be going on, yet I find it interesting enough to still go on. After all, I'm still only a low-level guy with very little upgrades, gadgets, skills and weapons so I'm hoping some of the mechanical wonks are simply slight early-game awkwardness due to the sheer amount of stuff you can upgrade. It's definitely a very, very interesting little beast.

TailSwallower

04-01-2012, 03:20 PM

vinraith

04-01-2012, 03:42 PM

Ok, having my arse absolutely handed to me in Icewind Dale. Any suggestions? My party is a Ranger, Mage, Thief, Cleric, Fighter and Bard... Guessing it's not a tough enough group, but I don't really want to load up on boring old fighty-types.

I'd much prefer turn-based combat, but I guess pausing will suffice.

I'm pretty sure there's a setting in IWD that auto-pauses at the end of every round, which makes it more like turn-based anyway. It's helpful to have at least two high hitpoint characters with good armor class to stand at the front and soak damage/distract enemies. I'm not sure how you've specced your ranger, but at first glance your party looks too singularly focused on ranged attacks. Can you give us a run down of how a typical fight is going?

Anthile

04-01-2012, 03:45 PM

A pure thief is not necessary. Turning it into a dwarf fighter/thief should do wonders. Don't be afraid to give your guys two-handed weapons. Make sure that your bard has the song active all the time. If you're still having problems, try to exchange the bard for a druid and the ranger for a a paladin. The paladin can heal and remove diseases as special abilities which is especially early in the game quite literally a blessing.
Also, your cleric is your most important man. If this was a game of chess, he'd be your queen. Later on your wizard becomes one as well. Then you're playing chess with two queens.

Another golden rule: the longer a fight lasts, the less likely you are to win.

Wizardry

04-01-2012, 04:30 PM

I think I know what you mean, sprinting is actually covered by the rules. Bad wording on my part, I was referring to the different speed modifiers the races and classes provide, which are a constant change in pace in contrary to a stamina based sprinting system (I think D&D does this via a sprinting skill somehow?), like for example in Skyrim.

In this case that is one reason less not to implement a sprinting option into the game, the base movement speed is really low. That's fine as long as you play a pen & paper game or round based computer game, where you do not have to wait out the movement in real-time, but it is a nuisance in NWN2.
That's not what I'm talking about. D&D does not require game time to match up with real time. If moving from one city to another in D&D takes 20 days, it doesn't mean the group has to wait 20 actual real life days before they can continue their campaign. It's an abstraction. Therefore it doesn't break D&D for your characters to run at 100000000000 miles per real life hour.

Wizardry

04-01-2012, 04:34 PM

Ok, having my arse absolutely handed to me in Icewind Dale. Any suggestions? My party is a Ranger, Mage, Thief, Cleric, Fighter and Bard... Guessing it's not a tough enough group, but I don't really want to load up on boring old fighty-types.
That group is absolutely fine. I'm sure you could even solo the game with just the bard. The attributes of your characters are the most important thing, however.

I'd much prefer turn-based combat, but I guess pausing will suffice.
Yes. Turn-based combat is superior.

Roufuss

04-01-2012, 04:39 PM

Damn, can't get Skynet to detect Future Shock. Future Shock has such a horrible resolution without it.

Has anyone here got both running together under DOSBox?

ETA: Forget it -- the thing isn't even stable in SVGA. Its good the Bethesda tradition of buggy as shit games stretches back this far and touches every one of their games. Its like their trademark!

And yea, I know Daggerfall is buggy as well but Terminator is a pretty straight forward, non-open ended game.

Guess I'll just deal with 320x200.

Heliocentric

04-01-2012, 05:49 PM

If you are not going to carefully tune your tank, healer and dps characters than I recommend 6 clerics. NOTHING they can't do.

SirKicksalot

04-01-2012, 05:58 PM

The First Templar

This game is more entertaining than it has any right to be. If these guys had a bigger budget (and no Tropico in development, I guess) it would be a Darksiders-style surprise hit. I'm baffled by how much gameplay and visual variety it has.

I abandoned L.A. Noire in favour of Driver: San Francisco. It's pure gold, absolutely hilarious and brilliant writing in service of a very solid action game. If anyone played The Wheelman - this game took the best parts of that one and mixed them with Burnout.

sabrage

04-01-2012, 06:06 PM

If you are not going to carefully tune your tank, healer and dps characters than I recommend 6 clerics. NOTHING they can't do.
I recently got Icewind Dale, and if I ever get around to playing it I'm going to roll through the game with this. I'll try to get FRAPS up and running when I do.

I'm eagerly awaiting an N64 I grabbed off Ebay, and everything in my games library kind of pales compared to the excitement playing Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for the first time brings me. I've mostly been playing bite-sized games like Bit.Trip Runner, Wipeout HD and Nightsky in very small increments. I've decided that if I endeavor to just beat one level of Bit.Trip a day, I may actually finish the game without getting massively frustrated.

When I do work up the urge to game proper, I've been switching off between Arx Fatalis and Shadow of the Colossus, the latter of which probably has my favorite game soundtrack of all time. It's sparse like a Lynch film when you're riding around, but when it comes to the actual battles it's really quite remarkable (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tRtQ8Z5v2E&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP3E738D45EC1215FB). I'd love to put my hands on a physical copy, but they seem really hard to find.

Giaddon

04-01-2012, 06:13 PM

I'm eagerly awaiting an N64 I grabbed off Ebay, and everything in my games library kind of pales compared to the excitement playing Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for the first time brings me.

Oh man, these games are hard to look at nowadays, but the gameplay is still gold, especially Majora's Mask which is one of my favorite games ever.

sabrage

04-01-2012, 06:23 PM

Oh man, these games are hard to look at nowadays, but the gameplay is still gold, especially Majora's Mask which is one of my favorite games ever.
I never really understood these comments, but then I still play the original Super Smash Bros on an almost weekly basis. I tried emulating Ocarina with a texture pack, and in my opinion it made the game look hideous (and also caused it to crash, which is why I never played much.)

Rauten

04-01-2012, 06:27 PM

I'm eagerly awaiting an N64 I grabbed off Ebay, and everything in my games library kind of pales compared to the excitement playing Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for the first time brings me.

Please, please, please tell me you also have Perfect Dark.

Heliocentric

04-01-2012, 06:32 PM

Oh man, these games are hard to look at nowadays, but the gameplay is still gold, especially Majora's Mask which is one of my favorite games ever.

There are ways and means to play them at 1080p and beyond.
http://cdn.head-fi.org/6/6d/6dde3a18_Ocarina.png
Certainly takes the edge off the ugliness.

sabrage

04-01-2012, 06:46 PM

There are ways and means to play them at 1080p and beyond.

Certainly takes the edge off the ugliness.
Yes, but emulators are too fiddly and sterile and upscan converters are too expensive.

Danny252

04-01-2012, 06:59 PM

Trying very hard to put up with the Anno 1404 campaign, but it's just such utter tripe. Hunting around for some orphans in a ship? I wanted a city-building game...

So instead, I've pretty much given up and am instead playing some Tropico 3. Oh god, I forgot how amazing the radio chatter was.

vinraith

04-01-2012, 07:10 PM

Trying very hard to put up with the Anno 1404 campaign, but it's just such utter tripe. Hunting around for some orphans in a ship? I wanted a city-building game...

Play continuous, that's the real game. The campaigns are just extended, annoying tutorials.

squirrelfanatic

04-01-2012, 07:13 PM

Desperados is soooooo hard! One of the hardest games I've ever played. The secret is really to murder everyone. You're right, the game is pretty tough, even with hotkeys set and training missions teaching you the basics. In part this is because the enemies tend to show erratic behaviours from time to time, like turning around for a really brief moment without anything or anyone within earshot or "suspicious" enemies that for some reason get stuck in their "I'll check the surroundings" routine until the most inconvenient moment.

In addition, Cooper and the gang tend to react slowly from time to time, making timed actions a bit of a gamble. Also: Pathing. Why can't I ride my horse through this obviously opened gate? So yes, I tend to murder quite a lot of people, just to get them out of my way (it should be noted that I have played through Commandos 1+2, so I am not really unfamiliar with this kind of game). This led to the bizarre situation in which I killed off the entire guard force of a wealthy southern states farmer's cotton plantation, just to release one guy from the man's services and recruit him into my gang. Madness.

Danny252

04-01-2012, 07:27 PM

extended, annoying tutorials

On that note, is there a proper manual or similar for it somewhere? There's a teeny little "DON'T DIE OF EPILEPSY AND SUE US PLS" PDF (with some vague suggestions as to what the buttons on the main menu do) that comes with the download, plus the thing on wikia which is rather dire. It's half the reason I've stuck with the campaign - nothing else even tries to explain it.

TailSwallower

04-01-2012, 08:01 PM

I'm pretty sure there's a setting in IWD that auto-pauses at the end of every round, which makes it more like turn-based anyway.

I did poke around the Options menu to look for something along those lines, but came up empty. I'll have another look though, 'cause I'd much prefer turn-based, at least until I'm familiar with the game.

I'm not sure how you've specced your ranger, but at first glance your party looks too singularly focused on ranged attacks. Can you give us a run down of how a typical fight is going?

You're probably right about the ranged focus, because I was able to easily tackle the handful of Goblins when I made them run at me through a hail of arrows, but once I leave the first area and the small pack of wolves get in my face, things go downhill quickly.
I do like the fact that you can change your party on the go, but I wanted to avoid that for XP gaining reasons, though it sounds like I'll need to make some changes.

[Class advice]

Thanks. Sound advice. I'll take that all under advisement when I tweak my party.

Another golden rule: the longer a fight lasts, the less likely you are to win.

Yeah, I started to realise that during my fights with the wolves. Even when I got it down to one wolf he could still do some damage if I didn't put him down quickly enough.

That group is absolutely fine. I'm sure you could even solo the game with just the bard. The attributes of your characters are the most important thing, however.

Alright, I'm curious - how would one pull this off?

If you are not going to carefully tune your tank, healer and dps characters than I recommend 6 clerics. NOTHING they can't do.

Haha, sounds kind of boring though. I deliberately picked some weird classes that I haven't played around with before, though it's actually been a very long time since I played anything D&D-related besides Planescape: Torment, and I don't know if that even counts. I don't want to go down the min-maxing route 'cause that's no fun.

squirrelfanatic

04-01-2012, 08:16 PM

That's not what I'm talking about. D&D does not require game time to match up with real time. If moving from one city to another in D&D takes 20 days, it doesn't mean the group has to wait 20 actual real life days before they can continue their campaign. It's an abstraction. Therefore it doesn't break D&D for your characters to run at 100000000000 miles per real life hour.Yeah, that's what I meant with

"In this case that is one reason less not to implement a sprinting option into the game, the base movement speed is really low. That's fine as long as you play a pen & paper game or round based computer game, where you do not have to wait out the movement in real-time, but it is a nuisance in NWN2."

It works fine with pen & paper, but walking speed in NWN2 (in context of an actual screen you are playing on, not the fast travel map) would have profited from a possibility to let your characters run/sprint, so you can go quicker about things.

Roufuss

04-01-2012, 08:22 PM

Actually, I changed my mind completely about what I'm playing.

I've never played Jagged Alliance 2 more than a few minutes, and after reading Adam Smith's piece on the new game, I think its time I give JA 2 a shot.

SirKicksalot

04-01-2012, 08:23 PM

On that note, is there a proper manual or similar for it somewhere? There's a teeny little "DON'T DIE OF EPILEPSY AND SUE US PLS" PDF (with some vague suggestions as to what the buttons on the main menu do) that comes with the download, plus the thing on wikia which is rather dire. It's half the reason I've stuck with the campaign - nothing else even tries to explain it.

All you need is the production chain table (http://www.anno1404-rechner.de/produktionsketten.php?lang=en) and to learn how to set up trade routes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhgbqTCNlQo).
Don't bother with the fighting, just set up a peaceful sandbox game with all three factions and enjoy.

Scallat

04-01-2012, 08:33 PM

As a consequence of the recent RPS archive trawl I've been playing Solium Infernum.

Anyone fancy a p.b.e.m. game?

Smashbox

04-01-2012, 08:40 PM

I read the Solium Infernum blogs yesterday for the first time and loved them. So excellent. Sadly, I know that I would be complete dogshit at that game. Thank goodness someone(s) took the time to write up those blogs.

I've been playing a lot of Space Pirates and Zombies (if ever a name did a game a disservice...) since I got it for $2.50 in the Steam sale. It's an excellent game, and it reminds me of the Escape Velocity titles from my youth. What an incredible bargain!

Also, I finally jumped into Frozen Synapse after buying my brother a copy and forcing him to play it over Christmas week. It's a lot of fun to play across a table - Battleship for the 21st century.

Drake Sigar

04-01-2012, 09:04 PM

Wizardry

04-01-2012, 09:12 PM

Alright, I'm curious - how would one pull this off?
There are many ways such as using (non-healing) potions, scrolls, wands, ranged weapons and spells (later in the game). D&D is one of those systems in which there is always a way to pull off a victory by altering tactics or preparations.

Heliocentric

04-01-2012, 09:15 PM

- I holster my weapon and step into the room in an attempt to peacefully negotiate -
Do not negotiate with terahists.

Heliocentric

04-01-2012, 09:17 PM

There are many ways such as using (non-healing) potions, scrolls, wands, ranged weapons and spells (later in the game). D&D is one of those systems in which there is always a way to pull off a victory by altering tactics or preparations.

My preference is morning stars, being of a mixed spiked blunt type they are excellent for ruining the opponents day, that and area effect spells.

Voon

05-01-2012, 04:45 AM

Ppppphhhhpppbbttttt. I didn't know that was posted yesterday! The forums were down after replied

PC Gamer's Saturday Crapshoot has made me dive into configuring DOSBox to play Terminator: Future Shock, a game I only owned in demo form as a kid but have always wanted to play fully.

Thanks Richard Cobbett!

I love it when he does his Saturday Crapshoot at PCG

Arona Daal

05-01-2012, 05:38 AM

I do like the fact that you can change your party on the go, but I wanted to avoid that for XP gaining reasons

I used Dalekeeper to get my replacement Chars to the average party xp levels.

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD/index_editors.php (http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/index_editors.php)

Btw: falling back to chokepoints,scouting ahead with stealth classes, and dogpiling one enemy at a time helps.And read the combat logs,several enemies have resistances to certain weapon types.

Anthile

05-01-2012, 07:08 AM

Played through all of Defense Grid. Currently doing the You Monster DLC. Can't say I like it. On the one hand it's nice to have some missions that are a bit more restrictive about what you can use but these ones are just too gimmicky. Just did Command Decision and absolutely hated it.
Sure, Glados messing around with the towers is funny but it will most likely screw you over and have you return to an earlier wave.

apricotsoup

05-01-2012, 10:59 AM

So the Ubidrm stuff went down last night and kicked me out of my homm6 singleplayer game.
It was time for me to get to bed anyway but this is not a good sign, though entirely expected.

Tis just a bit more justification for any boycots, which is a shame as the game is quite good.

Tikey

05-01-2012, 11:20 AM

In an attempt to clear the backlog I've finished rock of ages (fun) and Magicka: The Stars are Left (great).

Juan Carlo

05-01-2012, 03:46 PM

Assassin's Creed 2--this is surprisingly awesome. Especially since I hated every repetitive, boring, second of Assassin's Creed 1. I can't really think of another franchise with this big of a leap in quality between the first and second games. The modern plot thread is still stupid, but I think the historical stuff is nicely done. Plus, it has tons of variety in gameplay.

Prester John

05-01-2012, 04:51 PM

Blood Bowl mainly with some Warhammer 40k(Retribution) thrown in and a dash of AI Fleet command. I don't even like Games Workshop (White Dwarf Grudge !)

squareking

05-01-2012, 04:58 PM

Path of Exile beta and the occasional dip in EYE, Deus Ex Human Resources and SPAZ. What I need to play/finish is Borderlands, Dragon Age and Amnesia, but new and shiny things are new and shiny.

Kodeen

05-01-2012, 04:58 PM

On PC, I'm currently playing Cave Story+. I've already played it before on Wii, but it's still fun and in one of my 'uncompleted' lists on Steam, so why not?

Speaking of Wii, I'm also playing Skyward Sword. Kind of. I'm sort of kind of playing Skyward Sword, but it's surprisingly difficult to get into. It heavily makes use of motion controls, and the game uses so much bloom and depth of field that I can't play for more than an hour before my eyes start to bleed. It's supposed to be great otherwise, so I'll give it more of a chance.

Heliocentric

05-01-2012, 05:34 PM

I can't really think of another franchise with this big of a leap in quality between the first and second games.
I actually liked AC1 but I rationed it and played it with other games, softening how repetitive it felt certainly, I honestly felt AC2 is the one with the weakest combat, by the end of AC1 I was one hit killing anyone who hesitated making me feel very ninja. In AC2 if I didn't catch my opponents by surprise I had to grind down their hit points or rely on special tools like the cross bow.

But AC was a major user of meh acclaim but awesome marketing.

NecroKnight

05-01-2012, 05:36 PM

I'm currently playing Rage.

vinraith

05-01-2012, 06:17 PM

I've yet to meet an Assassin's Creed game I didn't love (even 1), and Revelations is no exception. Constantinople is gorgeous, elder Ezio is fun, zip line assassinations are a joy, and even the tower defense game is actually pretty entertaining IMO. I've given up on Arkham City entirely (at least for now). Ezio is just cooler (and more fun to play) than Batman. Yes, I just said that, you may now throw vegetables at your discretion.

Still co-oping through Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. It's that rare game that actually makes me want to 100% levels, because it actually rewards that behavior in meaningful but not unbalancing ways with nice little upgrades. Plus, I like finding hidden stuff. Anyway, it's a blast and considering how much we're replaying levels (and considering the enormous and rich DLC) I suspect we'll be at it for some time.

I've also been dabbling a little bit with Atom Zombie Smasher, one of my self-disappointing impulse buys from the Steam sale. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, honestly.

squareking

05-01-2012, 06:21 PM

I've also been dabbling a little bit with Atom Zombie Smasher, one of my self-disappointing impulse buys from the Steam sale. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, honestly.

Make sure the volume is up.

If you can't dig nuking zombies from on high to the tune of righteous surf guitar, I don't think we can be friends. :(

alms

05-01-2012, 07:01 PM

I've also been dabbling a little bit with Atom Zombie Smasher, one of my self-disappointing impulse buys from the Steam sale. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, honestly.

It's got great style but it's a bit hard for me and for the wrong reasons (e.g. some mercs not being available on the maps, at random?). I've been trying to play it less casually because that simply doesn't work for long. Maybe I'll try enabling the Casual or Triplets mods.

The staple of my diet is still Sanctum with a bit of The Oil Blue on the side. Yesterday I also tried some Katawa Shoujo.

Juan Carlo

05-01-2012, 07:02 PM

I actually liked AC1 but I rationed it and played it with other games, softening how repetitive it felt certainly, I honestly felt AC2 is the one with the weakest combat, by the end of AC1 I was one hit killing anyone who hesitated making me feel very ninja.

Well, AC1 definitely had simpler and easier combat. Once you got the counter move, you could basically one hit kill every single enemy just by pushing a button.

Personally, I found it really boring, though. It was just "push a button, wait for a death animation, repeat."

vinraith

05-01-2012, 07:04 PM

It's got great style but it's a bit hard for me and for the wrong reasons (e.g. some mercs not being available on the maps, at random?). I've been to play it less casually because that simply doesn't work for long. Maybe I'll try enabling the Casual or Triplets mods.

The staple of my diet is still Sanctum with a bit of The Oil Blue on the side. Yesterday I also tried some Kawata Shoujo.

I think "chooser" solves the problem you're referencing.

Damn I love Sanctum. I wish there were more maps.

Heliocentric

05-01-2012, 07:12 PM

Well, AC1 definitely had simpler and easier combat. Once you got the counter move, you could basically one hit kill every single enemy just by pushing a button.

Personally, I found it really boring, though. It was just "push a button, wait for a death animation, repeat."
True enough, if AC2 had the same combat I would have likely complained about that too.

squirrelfanatic

05-01-2012, 07:29 PM

I've just finished the main story arc of Skyrim. I just felt that it was time to see all of the Dragons. For me, the showdown was a bit anticlimatic, but the fact that I mainly used Illusion and Conjuration magic might have something to do with that. Nevertheless, what a great game.

Now I'm planning to dive into the game again right away, roll a new character, and get involved in some politics, Deadric rituals (seriously, the sidequests involving Daedric Princes are no great help in invoking fear or awe in me...), and Nord drinking contests.

To the chopping block... cave... eh... scene!!

Heliocentric

05-01-2012, 09:07 PM

Spent a few hours trying to play the first areas of Neverwinter Nights (1)'s expansions, they are both pretty much how i remember them, but I have become expectant. Guild Wars has done most of the damage to my mind, the utter lack of skills (see warrior, thief, etc.) or having to rest every fight (mage, cleric etc.) means that the game has no flow whatsoever, or is numbingly boring.

As much as the Dragon Age 1 combat bored me (I stopped shortly after the origin story and never went back) with its pitiful range of skills for warriors at least it had a few, and mages were much more like Guild wars, if not a strategically interesting. Sure other games like Torchlight (which was pretty boring once i finished its main story) and Bastion (uninstalled very shortly after finishing the story, never want to play it again, but enjoyed it) got their kicks in. Why cant the game be punchy, have coop, allow massive strategic flexibility tell a story without you having to desperately dig for it and try new things without it having to punish you for experimentation?

So that's it then, I've become a spoiled child. Only 1 unit to control? Limited powers? Loads of down time?
Unacceptable!

That's not to say I don't have issues with the acting and voice work, Deekin despite being 15% Jarjar Binks is still well written enough to be enjoyable, but the traditional-ness of nearly everyone else is rather boring. But then, at least I never felt like I was fed a massive force fed character betrayal like Mass Effect 2 ("Yes I'll work with you, you racist space terrorist") or uttery rail roaded down an illogical path ("Sure, I'll drink your suicide potion that offers me no actual benifits but forces me to join your faction", "yes lets piss about helping people for no reason so that I have more XP for the final boss despite the fact the world is ending","yes, I would like to join you despite it being super obvious you will betray me").

I guess its true what you say, you cant go back, I just didn't realise Guild wars was my turning point, not for story obviously, the Guild Wars story was straight out of a DnD paper back.

Wizardry

05-01-2012, 09:09 PM

What did you expect? Neverwinter Nights is a single character D&D game. Of course it's going to be extremely boring.

Heliocentric

05-01-2012, 09:28 PM

What did you expect? Neverwinter Nights is a single character D&D game. Of course it's going to be extremely boring.
I enjoyed Soloing Planescape Torment (a second playthrough where i tried to annoy everyone as much as possible after kissing up the first game) and Baldurs gate 1&2. To be honest, I enjoyed Baldurs Gate 1 less with a full party, so much fussing about with minutia (open door, fire a load of area effect death rays wait a few seconds and send in the main tank), like I said *SPOILED*.

Heliocentric

06-01-2012, 10:17 AM

Now this is more like it.
I got Dawn of war II:Retribution with a Christmas gift card, added it on steam and forgot I'd probably save time using the disc. The regardless the game is a riot under the right conditions. I started 3 campaigns to choose who to use. And yes, it really is just one campaign with a handful of variations. I started Orks (funny but strategically dull), Tryanids (dull but strategically exciting) and Imperial guard (excellent lines from the commisar and commando but very bloby and hard to micro effectively).

The versatility of the Tryanids make them an absolute joy to command, I am only on mission 3 but I can throw down a squad of reavers(for free) at a moments notice, in synapse range I suffer no suppression and nearby squads reinforced near my commander (also free) these free troops break the mission economy but also allow for a stomping good time.

Nalano

06-01-2012, 10:29 AM

and Imperial guard (excellent lines from the commisar and commando but very bloby and hard to micro effectively)

There's no "micro" with Imperial Guard. There is only "blob" and "airdrop reinforcements."

Drake Sigar

06-01-2012, 10:35 AM

Deus Ex tricked me. My first real mission and I misinterpret the idle chatter of two supposedly regretful terrorists as a possible choice.

"I'm just sayin', I'm not shootin' anyone unless they're pointing a gun at me."

- I holster my weapon and step into the room in an attempt to peacefully negotiate -

"Look out! Shoot him!"
Update: I'm feeling better now that I've been given the opportunity to run around town for sidequests. Met some whores who want me to cosplay a Hitman. I'm down with that, baby.

Heliocentric

06-01-2012, 11:18 AM

There's no "micro" with Imperial Guard. There is only "blob" and "airdrop reinforcements."

Then why do I have 4 heroes with click to use abilities, units with facings, units that die faster clumped and a need to drop units out of melee range?

Maybe being a CoH player has frayed my expectations... My expectations have a lot to answer for.

Roufuss

06-01-2012, 12:30 PM

Still playing Jagged Alliance 2 for the first time -- I love how deep it is.

Just captured all of Drassen just to have 9 guys show up and cause my team a world full of hurt. The health system in this game is especially brutal, I never really have my team at full health.

alms

06-01-2012, 02:57 PM

I think "chooser" solves the problem you're referencing.

Combatant also looks good, it prevents the game from selecting only defensive mercs, which is the most frustrating situation for me.

Damn I love Sanctum. I wish there were more maps.

Agreed. I'm almost out of maps already, although there's still plenty of playtime in them for me and I haven't bought any of the DLC maps yet. Since Coffee Stain opened their own forum, I have a feeling they might be working on something new, hopefully this won't keep em from releasing new maps.

Smashbox

06-01-2012, 03:18 PM

Saint's Row 3 is so incredibly stupid, but I love it. It's really confusing to me though. An autotuned pimp and a dildoweapon... I shouldn't like this game.

vinraith

06-01-2012, 03:24 PM

Agreed. I'm almost out of maps already, although there's still plenty of playtime in them for me and I haven't bought any of the DLC maps yet. Since Coffee Stain opened their own forum, I have a feeling they might be working on something new, hopefully this won't keep em from releasing new maps.

Do you have the DLC weapons? I can't even imagine playing that game without Violators. I'd actually recommend all of the DLC, it provides some interesting (but not overpowered) new options and some fun and unique new maps.

SMiD

06-01-2012, 03:41 PM

You should absolutely grab the DLC maps for Sanctum. IMHO they're better than the vanilla ones that shipped with the main game. Joyous.

alms

06-01-2012, 03:54 PM

I've got the Violator, Penetrator and Killing Floor. So far I haven't even used them once, still focusing on the default ones (mind you, I've only played on Normal difficulty and still haven't tried Survival). I was very close to getting the other stuff during the holidays, but eventually decided to postpone until I had seen more of the game.

vinraith

06-01-2012, 06:08 PM

You should absolutely grab the DLC maps for Sanctum. IMHO they're better than the vanilla ones that shipped with the main game. Joyous.

I'm particularly fond of Aftermath, myself. They're all good, though.

Flint

06-01-2012, 06:11 PM

Definitely give Violator and KF a try, they're brilliant towers and make a great addition to the game's arsenal; the former has a HUMONGOUS range and great damage (yet slow enough fire rate not to become overpowered) and the latters can be used to utilise the hordes' movement area with incredibly deadly results. Penetrator is nice too but due to its nature requires a lot of cunning and somewhat finicky planning, it's fallen somewhat out of the way for me because it's less convoluted to focus on the other towers.

-----

Just to stay on topic, I'm still playing EYE. The game's habit of crashing after every mission is becoming a right pain, especially when coupled with the terrible loading times and the utterly stupid decision to have a 5-second 'map' to cross when starting the game before getting to the actual main game (leading to yet more loading screens). And yet I still find it enjoyable enough to go on.

vinraith

06-01-2012, 06:37 PM

@Filint

I love and adore Violators, but I've had no luck with Killing Floors. Any advice on how best to use them? For the most part the only "plate" towers I tend to use are highly upgraded slow fields.

----

To topic: Yet more Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This is one of my favorite co-op games of all time, and is in serious contention for the top spot on the list. So much fun, so well designed, I dearly hope they continue this series. I lost interest in the primary Tomb Raider games long ago, but the top-down third person camera and co-op puzzles really make this a much more enjoyable beast.

Still playing the SP of Assassin's Creed: Revelations. It's very much more of the same from Brotherhood with a couple of new tricks thrown in, but honestly that's fine with me. I have a real soft spot for these games, and don't seem to tire of them.

I got a copy of Scourge of War: Gettysburg for Xmas that I expect to get into over the weekend for the first time. It looks absolutely outstanding, a TW-like close-in perspective with commander psychology, lines of communication, and a breadth and depth of options and mechanics that are simply staggering. I'm really looking forward to this, and expect to quickly find myself picking up the Antietam and Pipe Creek (hurray for alternate history!) DLC packs as well.

Flint

06-01-2012, 07:04 PM

I love and adore Violators, but I've had no luck with Killing Floors. Any advice on how best to use them? For the most part the only "plate" towers I tend to use are highly upgraded slow fields.
Focus. Don't try to cover the whole area with them - instead focus on a particular stretch of 5-6 floors and keep upgrading those. If you look at their stats you can notice that their damage jumps like a madman whenever you upgrade them, and already at lvl3 a stretch of 5-or-so KFs does a big amount of damage (not to mention when you go beyond that!). They're especially evil when coupled with some lightning towers, as their high damage and chain effect softens up those about to get KF'd and finishes the ones that just got hit by them. I personally prefer to insert them at the very start of the level where you've (obviously) got the most traffic, which means you can get the most out of them. They're also really effective towards most ground creatures, including tricky ones like floaters.

That said, I never play Sanctum on singleplayer so I'm not sure how well they work with the SP mode's limited resources/tower amounts. On multiplayer they've however become one of my favourite things to have, despite not really having any hope with them in the beginning like you feel. But the trick really is to choose a particular stretch and pour money onto that, rather than trying to cover the whole zone with them. A a few well-placed and supported KFs can deal a massive amount of damage and in the games I have with my frequent co-op buddy we often hardly lift a finger for the first 10 or so turns on hard and just watch the monster bodies pile up on the stretch.

vinraith

06-01-2012, 07:11 PM

Focus. Don't try to cover the whole area with them - instead focus on a particular stretch of 5-6 floors and keep upgrading those.

That seems to be the rule with floor plates in general (certainly with slowfields), but now that you mention it I'm not sure I've retried KF's since I figured that out. I'll give them another try, then. Thanks for the advice!

Flint

06-01-2012, 07:17 PM

vinraith

06-01-2012, 07:22 PM

Yeah, the great thing about Sanctum is that none of the towers/floors are throwaway filler - each one can be a really fantastic asset if you just know how to use them right. I'm still having some problems understanding how to really use the mortars but I'm quite sure they're just as deadly as everything else when used right, my usual strategies just simply clash with their ballistic arc.

Interesting. We (my co-op partner and I) have had huge success with mortars. If you build a very turn-intensive maze and place them at the center (and heavily upgrade them, they're useless at low levels) they rip apart densely packed mobs. Statistically they're often some of our best performers, though it's worth saying that you never seem to need more than 2 or 3 (even on survival-hard).

Flint

06-01-2012, 07:27 PM

Interesting. We (my co-op partner and I) have had huge success with mortars. If you build a very turn-intensive maze and place them at the center (and heavily upgrade them, they're useless at low levels) they rip apart densely packed mobs. Statistically they're often some of our best performers, though it's worth saying that you never seem to need more than 2 or 3 (even on survival-hard).
Have to keep that in mind, thanks. Our strategy tends to involve a lot of creative mazing as well but we tend to focus a lot on "lightning alleys" (lightning towers + amp floors) as well as KFs and Violators (and obviously anti-air + Kairos for the fliers). I have to give mortars a go now!

Lambchops

06-01-2012, 08:28 PM

Messing around with QUBE.

It's early doors but I have to admit to finding it a bit bland so far. The concept is sound and the game is fine at letting you figure out how things work but none of the puzzles have of yet been particularly interesting or had "ah-ha" moments. Maybe things will pick up but I've got a fear that I'll just end up stuck on a puzzle and not feel like there's anything pushing me on to continue. However I''m putting that fear in the back of my mind and will play tomorrow once more full of optimism that there will be some fun puzzling ahead.

Also got Sonic Generations downloading now, looking forward to some good Sonic action as most people seem to have enjoyed it.

Similar

06-01-2012, 08:50 PM

Just to stay on topic, I'm still playing EYE. The game's habit of crashing after every mission is becoming a right pain, especially when coupled with the terrible loading times
Odd. No crashes here and the load times seem fair enough for my system.

and the utterly stupid decision to have a 5-second 'map' to cross when starting the game before getting to the actual main game (leading to yet more loading screens). And yet I still find it enjoyable enough to go on.
Can't you skip that by starting at the HQ? Granted, there can still be rather a lot of walking to get to where you want to be, but at least there should only be one loading screen.

Fumarole

07-01-2012, 02:54 AM

I've been playing Flight Control HD and Dwarfs!? lately. My tastes sure have changed recently.

augustuskent

07-01-2012, 03:01 AM

I finished up making a tiny game for a competition (aside from a larger project I'm working on), Currently playing Brytenwalda until I scream, but at least I'm a marshal....

SirKicksalot

07-01-2012, 04:10 AM

For the last three days I've been forcing myself through Space Marine. I reached the final boss and abandoned after five tries.

The good:
- Mark Strong. He was born to play a Space Marine. By far the best thing about this game.
- The jump-pack. All seven minutes of using it. The final level starts with it equipped and I almost shat my pants in excitement. The following two minutes were incredible, and then "Out of fuel". Fuck you Relic.
- The bolter and the warhammer
- Strong artistic design, of course. Otherwise it has all the bells and whistles of a wet paper bag, although I guess it's nice that you can have 30 enemies on screen.

The bad:
- EVERYTHING ELSE. I realise Relic worked in a new genre and I expected mistakes, but this is outrageous! A fucking monkey could point out everything that's wrong with this game, how come the devs couldn't see it? Y U SO BLIND RELIC FFS.

This was a waste of money, but I had to get it out of my system.
Next time give the franchise to Vigil. Oh wait that won't happen because THQ publishes bomba after bomba and they'll go bankrupt before DMO is out.

Heliocentric

07-01-2012, 09:28 AM

The demo yoinking away the superb jetpack because it was "too big" told me everything I needed to know. Mechwarrior games might make you fight inside but it's didn't steal your jump jets because it wasn't super linear.

Relic, stick to multiplayer or/and strategy games.

Althea

07-01-2012, 11:42 AM

They stop you using the jetpack because there's generally no room to do so in the subsequent section, but also because it's a hinderance. You can't fight in the same way with a jetpack (it alters your weapons loadout AND the controls), so it's better for them to make it a temporary part of the game.

Voon

07-01-2012, 12:07 PM

Now that my shitty rig's back from the shop, i reinstalled Deus Ex with Shifter. Would it work with the New Vision mod (if it's out already)?

Also, played a little SimCity2000 and STALKER: SoC. Somehow the PC's got a little slower than it used to be; even when the MoBo's replaced.

Heliocentric

07-01-2012, 12:18 PM

Althea

07-01-2012, 12:24 PM

'Whoooooosh BANG'! The Emprah finds your reasoning faulty, it should be a choice, not dragged off your back by a script.
Why should it be a choice? The jetpack is useless beyond that point, which is why it's taken off you. If it wasn't, you'd be crashing into the ceiling every two seconds and basically be no good to anyone. The points when you use it are built specifically for the jetpack, the rest is built otherwise. The evade/dive button, at least on the controller, is the same as one of the jump buttons, and you're much more restricted in what weapons you can use with a jetpack - no heavy weapons, so no lascannon or anything.

The JG Man

07-01-2012, 01:37 PM

Space Marine was very much intended to be an introductory slice to the WH40K universe, from what I took of it. I have limited knowledge of the universe through talking to friends, playing at times in the Games Workshop (I played the LOTR tabletop. I've since learned of that error) and playing Dawn of War which, whilst utilising some elements a bit derivatively (this even comes up again in SM; CHAOS TAINT!!) tend to be a bit more in keeping with the universe's lore.

Should Relic get another opportunity to do another WH40K game in a similar vain, I think they just need to not hold back. A lot of the mechanics were totally solid and the MP itself is great, but the whole thing just needs to be bigger. What we really need is Battlefield: Warhammer 40K edition, but for the moment I'll make do with Relic's sterling job with DOW.

Heliocentric

07-01-2012, 01:38 PM

I sat and gorged on Cargo: The Quest for Gravity last night. It's everything I hoped and little of what I feared. Yes the scripted talking fires off at the wrong time, but I actually think that they are being subversive here. Like the subliminal but plain text messages saying humanity was cancelled and that you should now 'are you having fun yet? '.
I'd certainly suggest people try the demo, but the demo highlights the most frustrating part of the game sailing against the wind with a time limit.

It's not for everyone but I adore it.

eRa

07-01-2012, 01:47 PM

Heroes Chronicles from GoG, which is too easy atm, and Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Both widely different but very enjoyable strategy games. How did they come up with the fiasco that was C&C 4 again?

Voon

07-01-2012, 02:38 PM

How did they come up with the fiasco that was C&C 4 again?

INNOVASHUN!!

Okay, probably they tried experimenting by replacing base-buildings with giant fucking walkers that builds your units. Most obviously, they failed. I don't think I have to remind you of the XP and unit unlocks system, which was another totally horredous experiment.

Scumbag

07-01-2012, 03:24 PM

Can't you skip that by starting at the HQ? Granted, there can still be rather a lot of walking to get to where you want to be, but at least there should only be one loading screen.

If you just want to do the repeat missions that works, but only if unlocked in the main story. To continue with the game you have to do the "Dream" level each time. I dont mind it as I can see what they were hinting at (on my 4th playthrough now) but it does take a long time to load considering how long you spend in it.
AND on topic: E.Y.E. is all I've been playing for the past bloody week. The more I play the more I see I missed by choosing a certian route. Kind of intresting if a little repetative.

alms

07-01-2012, 03:59 PM

Since the Sanctum ingame help is very basic and trial-n-error can take a long time (if only there was a full fledged save system!), the wiki (http://sanctum.wikia.com/wiki/Sanctum_Wiki) has been useful to me in choosing towers. BTW the guys are selling the OST on bandcamp (http://coffeestainstudios.bandcamp.com/album/sanctum-fps-td-ost) for pennies!

Yesterday I brought Jamestown back into rotation. It's really a great little game. I'm stuck on the last level, so I've been hunting achievements for a while.

I'm also finding myself liking Katawa Shoujo more and more, currently halfway through Act 3 and going down the Lilly route I think.

SirKicksalot

07-01-2012, 04:03 PM

Why should it be a choice? The jetpack is useless beyond that point, which is why it's taken off you. If it wasn't, you'd be crashing into the ceiling every two seconds and basically be no good to anyone. The points when you use it are built specifically for the jetpack, the rest is built otherwise. The evade/dive button, at least on the controller, is the same as one of the jump buttons, and you're much more restricted in what weapons you can use with a jetpack - no heavy weapons, so no lascannon or anything.

I thought about this. At night, angry in my bed.
Every outdoor area should allow jetpack use. They don't really need to be built for it.
There already are plenty of cavernous indoor spaces where the jetpack would fit well. For some of the smaller areas you can make smaller jumps - that's already a thing in DoW2, where not every whoosh-bam is at maximum power like in Space Marine. And when Relic really wants to put you in a small narrow corridor, Titus could be all like "well I guess I can't jump here eh brothers?" and switch off the engine to make it obvious.
The evade button has the same function when you equip the jetpack, the action just looks different.
As for heavy weapons, either allow you to equip/unequip the jetpack at ammo pods or allow switching equipment with your team. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the other 40k games but I actually expected some simple item management.

/armchair developer

Similar

07-01-2012, 04:12 PM

Danny252

07-01-2012, 04:26 PM

Just finished SPAZ. Took about 85 hours (I restarted after having played my first game for about 20 hours). Excellent game, although it does get a bit samey after a while. The end fight was far easier than I expected, but I did play on the default difficulty too.
I can even see myself replay the game (especially since they're still adding stuff), but maybe not right now.

I got the same impression from the game. Then again, I don't know what they could've added to the fights towards the end, other than giving the AI more health (which just makes the fight longer) or more shootyful (which could just end up making it unfair, rather than difficult).

Similar

07-01-2012, 04:45 PM

I got the same impression from the game. Then again, I don't know what they could've added to the fights towards the end, other than giving the AI more health (which just makes the fight longer) or more shootyful (which could just end up making it unfair, rather than difficult).
Agreed. From the dialogue before the fight, I just thought the beam would smash the enemy's shield for a while and that you could only hurt it then (sort of generic end boss type thing), but the shield never came back up once it was down. And my own mothership didn't get attacked at all, so I was free to just hit the enemy all the time.

Not that I'm complaining, really. The ending fit well enough with the rest of the fighting in the game. But perhaps more danger to your mothership would work.

Althea

07-01-2012, 04:45 PM

I thought about this. At night, angry in my bed.
Every outdoor area should allow jetpack use. They don't really need to be built for it.
There already are plenty of cavernous indoor spaces where the jetpack would fit well. For some of the smaller areas you can make smaller jumps - that's already a thing in DoW2, where not every whoosh-bam is at maximum power like in Space Marine. And when Relic really wants to put you in a small narrow corridor, Titus could be all like "well I guess I can't jump here eh brothers?" and switch off the engine to make it obvious.
The evade button has the same function when you equip the jetpack, the action just looks different.
As for heavy weapons, either allow you to equip/unequip the jetpack at ammo pods or allow switching equipment with your team. Perhaps I'm spoiled by the other 40k games but I actually expected some simple item management.

/armchair developer
No offence, but it just doesn't sound very practical. I doubt rolling around with a jetpack on is as simple as it sounds, and what you're suggesting would mean they'd have to spend more time and effort working on the non-jetpack areas to make sure it works fine. It just doesn't seem like it'd really be all that... fun, I guess. I like it how it is.

Roufuss

07-01-2012, 05:05 PM

Still working through Jagged Alliance 2.

Took Drassen and Chitzena and now I'm working on Cambria... shit got a lot easier when I got two G41s. Buzz almost killed a whole squad of soldiers by herself.

Doodier

07-01-2012, 05:05 PM

Just finished original Magicka in co-op. Well, it was fun. Friendly fire killfest, mostly, but still fun. Frustrating sometimes but funny. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to play Vietnam. One thing I hate about this game is, that it seems like it's not optimized at all. Long loading times, sometimes poor perfomance but still sheer fun.

Wooly Wugga Wugga

07-01-2012, 05:41 PM

Duckee

07-01-2012, 06:23 PM

Played some Starcraft 2 online today. Lost. Every. Single. Game.

I'm depressed now. I do this to myself every two or three months. Decided to give it a shot, get whipped, swear it off and leave feeling like half a man.

You should check out dAppollo's tutorials for SC2 on youtube. They are very good! I think they are good at least, I am still too scared to play ladder.. I still watched these videos though, to learn and to be entertained.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/dignitasApollo

Xerian

07-01-2012, 07:22 PM

Finally gotten around to playing Deadspace 2 again. Almost completed it, I expect. - I've had The Witcher 2 lying around since it came out (preordered it) But I never managed to play more than half an hour, and now that I've gone up to about 300 hours on Skyrim, I figured I should finally play it. Did I mention I've played abit of Skyrim? ;p... Besides that I've been playing a decent amount of Minecraft on the Unofficial RPS Server, some Battlefield 3 with a few friends and The Binding of Isaac.
I'm loving all of said games, although -something- about BF3 is bugging me, but I cant put my finger on it.

TL;DR: I'm currently playing alot o' lovely games, and thoroughly enjoying all of them.

Lambchops

07-01-2012, 10:43 PM

The JG Man

07-01-2012, 11:07 PM

I'm enduring a love hate relationship in my breather from TOR by way of BF3. I come back to it after a bit away, then realise why I stop playing the bullshit-ridden game. It yearns to be so good and with slightly different design decisions, the MP could be amazing, but as it stands it has too many flaws that mire its good play. I keep thinking "2142 was better." along with all the other things in 2142 that WERE better. Hell, even if you didn't do much, defending a Titan corridor was as intense as it got, unless you were doing the only thing possibly more intense of invading the enemy Titan. Where's all this dynamic play gone? It seems to have been replaced with scores of guns and mis-placed gagets or bizarre point allocations.

Basically, BF3 is a really good test-bed for what could be a great game.

Kodeen

08-01-2012, 01:05 AM

Just remembered why I stopped playing Cave Story last time round having fired up Cave Story+. The difficulty married to some iffy save point placing and thus the need for relentless backtracking as it turned out. Not as initially thought simply getting distracted. Ah well, that teaches me for choosing normal mode on the basis I'd played the game before. Guess I'll have to do the ultimate backtrack and start again on easy, still glad I noticed this before I got too far in or I'd probably never complete the damn thing, which woud be a shame as it's a fun game overall. I'm on my second playthrough right now, both on normal difficulty, which I don't find that bad. The one major complaint that I have with this game is that you are able to screw yourself out of great gear very early in the game without knowing it. Possible minor spoiler, If you want to get to the really difficult optional levels at the end of the game, there's a point where you'd get a jetpack but you shouldn't get it because if prevents you from getting a much better one later on. But there's nothing in the game that communicates that to you at the time. Basically you talk to this guy and boom, crappy jetpack. The only way to get around that is to know to not talk to him at all, which is counterintuitive. Besides that, great game.

sabrage

08-01-2012, 03:19 AM

I started playing Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy both this week, and I'm astounded how much better the former feels. Galaxy is alright and all, but it's really marred by the Wii controls. The camera and especially the motion control segments can be a real pain in the ass. SMW on the other hand... Pure fucking bliss.

The JG Man

08-01-2012, 03:37 AM

Bros. 3 is better than World. Hammer Suit. Your move :P

Started playing Serious Sam First Encounter which I bought in the pack with Second Encounter. Played for 2 hours and it was incredibly welcome after BF3 earlier. My bro got me 3 for my birthday (it was a retail copy, so I get Double D too!) which I may not play immediately after finishing SE, but it's nice to know I'll incredibly enjoy it.

sabrage

08-01-2012, 03:44 AM

I wouldn't know. My parents didn't let me have any consoles in the house until 1999 or so, and then I only had a GBC until maybe 2001 when they bought us a Playstation. I'm only just now in a position financially to stock up on vintage games that I never played, and Super Mario World is kind of blowing my mind (I played Super Mario Bros. DX on GBC, Galaxy like I said and both Super Maro Lands but I don't think I ever really "got" it until recently.) Anyways, I plan to grab a NES in a few months, or whenever I see a deal on a top-loader.

Voon

08-01-2012, 04:44 AM

Bros. 3 is better than World

Nope. 'Coz three things. Cape; Yoshi; every level in SMW, ever

Miker

08-01-2012, 04:58 AM

I'm playing Bayonetta on my X-toy. It's easily my favorite console game of this generation, of the handful that I've played. It's so incredibly confident and slick, and it's rewarding beyond belief.

Anthile

08-01-2012, 09:14 AM

Playing some more Orcs Must Die, I'm not really sure what to think about the whole unlock system. Since you can use traps and weapons you get later on in earlier levels, whatever highscore you acquire for your first run is essentially meaningless. Not that I really care about high scores but I don't think it's a good design decision. One thing I like about Immortal Defense is that you are limited as to what defenses you can build in every level. The way Orcs Must Die handles it, it doesn't make you care about developing a strategy with the tools you are given but simply "I'll just come back when I have all the traps".

Heliocentric

08-01-2012, 09:57 AM

Totally, but when you do come back with all the traps and your favourite half dozen upgraded? It's a revolution, it's no longer 'Orcs Must Die' imploringly its 'Orcs Must Die: In the most convoluted way possible' if the orc is waist high in goo, on fire, has both archer arrows and wounds from magic cross bow bolts, in addition to being fed into a grinder while in a lightning storm (quite possible) that a *6 combo and a horrible death. Now deal out 40 of them in rapid succession for a 1600 kill streak bonus.
Best warmage ever? Check the leaderboards.

Immortal Defence' method is valid but I have no reason to replay that as I played each level in its ultimate form the first time.

Tldr:The main game is a tutorial for the race for first place, it's an excellent tutorial too, you know the game inside out by the end, in a way you wouldn't if they dumped 40 traps on you at the beginning.

Voon

08-01-2012, 10:07 AM

2 hours in Deus Ex and this is the first time I actually fell in love with it. Manhattan's hideous, grey and full of dead guys, sure, but the reason I love it is that because I actually can approach just about any situation however I want because I can and able to do so. I've never played anything that gave this much freedom and detail to me as much as DX; not even the prequel came close. Even some broken gameplay made it actually enjoyable, rather than off-putting! Now, I just need to get to Hong Kong...

Scumbag

08-01-2012, 12:42 PM

Finally finished EYE divine cybermancy with the "true" ending.
Jesus! What a headfuck! If anybody else bothered to go that far did the ending catch you out?

The JG Man

08-01-2012, 01:00 PM

Nope. 'Coz three things. Cape; Yoshi; every level in SMW, ever

World 4 (Giant), World 6 (Ice), Shoe. SMW is amazing, but SMB3 is amazinger.

Flint

08-01-2012, 01:10 PM

Finished EYE: Divine Cybermancy. Overall a rather... special game. Very wonky, but still rather enjoyable. Special mention to the guns which have a really good feel to them. Enjoyed it, but not so much that I'd instantly start tackling the new game plus so moved onto different waters.

In this case, King's Bounty: The Legend. I've only played it for about six hours but I'm already somewhat preferring it to the HOMM series despite my love for those games. This is mainly because the map's 'static' and doesn't really have a competing AI opponent. I always enjoyed HOMM the most when I could go with my own pace which the aggressive, growing AI forces always interrupted. With KB, I can simply enjoy the great sides of the whole fantasy army general tactic thingamajig. Don't really have any deeper impressions so far, but this is the first time in ages where I've literally forgotten the flow of time while playing a game. Here I was thinking I had been doing very little in-game for a couple of hours but turns out it was closer to five...

SirKicksalot

08-01-2012, 02:31 PM

Replaying Quake for the first time since 2005. I use some random mod that makes the engine more compatible with modern machines while preserving the original look.
It's incredible how well it holds up. It feels... progressive compared to most modern shooters. The art design is boss and the graphics are a lot more easy on the eye than of many newer games.
I'm not sure how I played it back then. My memories are certainly slower than the insane pace I have now... I finish all levels in just a couple of minutes. It's perfect for when I'm in the mood for a ten minutes shooting session.

Hordriss

08-01-2012, 03:39 PM

This weekend's gaming has mostly consisted of SpaceChem, interspersed with Waves for some light relief.

Abraham

08-01-2012, 04:10 PM

Dota 2, The Ball and Call of Juarez: The Cartel

Skalpadda

08-01-2012, 04:35 PM

Rifling through old boxes of stuff today (trying to decide what can safely be chucked in the attic) I came across a game called Experience 112, which I vaguely remembered having spent an afternoon with some years ago and then never touching again, so I decided to check it out. Turns out it's an adventure game with some really interesting mechanics.

You're on a research ship where something has gone wrong, you're in control of surveillance cameras and security systems with some access to personnel files and other data. What I found so interesting was that you're not in control of the main protagonist; you can't give her orders or even speak to her but instead have to exert your limited control of the ship's systems to help her navigate the ship and solve puzzles. This also means the story is told in a bit of an unusual way.

Taking the role of an observer with very limited agency in the game world rather than the usual direct control or cursor-god in the sky gives you a sense of distance to the whole thing, while at the same time observing events through cameras and rifling through files and folders for information is mundane enough to give a different sort of immersion.

I haven't played enough to give a verdict on whether it's any good or not, but coming across an interesting gaming experience while throwing out junk was an unexpected delight.

Kodeen

08-01-2012, 04:39 PM

I wouldn't know. My parents didn't let me have any consoles in the house until 1999 or so, and then I only had a GBC until maybe 2001 when they bought us a Playstation. I'm only just now in a position financially to stock up on vintage games that I never played In that case I would highly recommend getting Mega Mans 2,3, and X, they are definitely the best that that series has to offer.
Anyways, I plan to grab a NES in a few months, or whenever I see a deal on a top-loader. Get a front-loader. The only reason I say that is because the top-loaders are restricted to RF video output, while the front loaders can do either that or composite, and RF is crap quality. When you get a front-loader, either get one with it's ZIF connector already replaced, or be prepared to do it yourself, because you'll want to minimize having to blow into the cartridges/system, constantly tapping the reset button, and pushing the cartridge up/down while in the system as much as possible. While I'm on the topic of dealing with cartridge shenanigans, you'll want to clean the connectors on them when you first get them, to prevent dirtying up the connectors in the system. To do so, add just enough Windex to the end of a Q-tip to saturate the cotton, and rub it against the connectors.

TailSwallower

08-01-2012, 05:12 PM

Basically you talk to this guy and boom, crappy jetpack. The only way to get around that is to know to not talk to him at all, which is counterintuitive.

Only an hour or two into the game. Who's this mystery guy I shouldn't talk to?

Althea

08-01-2012, 05:23 PM

sabrage

08-01-2012, 05:32 PM

Only an hour or two into the game. Who's this mystery guy I shouldn't talk to?
It's right after the Monster X boss battle. There's a deep pit with someone you can talk to at the bottom; the game essentially punishes you for exploring. Really poor design if you ask me.

Giaddon

08-01-2012, 06:38 PM

Finished Hunted: The Demon's Forge, and quite liked it. It's a bit too long (took me ~15 hours to beat), but it consistently delivered entertaining fantasy action. I was the archer chick, and by the end my bow could shoot fireballs and blizzards, and I could charge my partner up with same. It's very much an action game (it borrows a lot from Gears of War), and the enemies come fast and thick (especially in the latter half), and the game does a great job increasing the player's power, so by the end you're casually destroying dozens of enemies that once were quite challenging alone. I bet it would be especially fun in co-op.

FunnyB

08-01-2012, 09:38 PM

Just finished Shadowgrounds which I got in the Frozenbyte Humble Bundle. Quite a good game I must add, loads better than for example Alien Breed 2: Assault which I got as a prize during the Steam Summer sale.

In Alien Breed, you got the feeling that everytime you got an objective, and reached it to flip a switch or whatever, something went wrong, and you had to backtrack/move on to flip ANOTHER switch which enabled the first one, and on and on and on....
Plus you never got a feel for the surroundings, everything looked the same.

In Shadowgrounds, it was pretty easy to keep track of where you were and what you were currently doing or supposed to be doing.
The story was your typical sci-fi Alien rip-off or whatever, but all in all, very nice!

:D

Oak

08-01-2012, 09:44 PM

"Beat" Saints Row: The Third last night. I could complain about the weird pacing and a few other little things, but I was ultimately pleased-to-happy with almost everything about it. Even little things like the interstitial music and the way your goons hang around the penthouse texting and eating sandwiches.

Despite appearances, it reminded me more of Just Cause 2 than any Grand Theft Auto game. Not just in that your character is a human tornado, but in the way it feels to run, jump, and shoot; the Cruisin' USA driving; the endless parachutes; and the bigger-is-better mission setups. Respect even works a bit like JC's chaos level did.

Heliocentric

08-01-2012, 09:44 PM

Shadowgrounds coop deserves a shout out.

vinraith

08-01-2012, 11:06 PM

Shadowgrounds coop deserves a shout out.

Local only, isn't it?

sabrage

09-01-2012, 12:20 AM

In that case I would highly recommend getting Mega Mans 2,3, and X, they are definitely the best that that series has to offer.

I've got one hell of a wishlist; all in due time. I really do think it's best I hold off until summer to even think about an NES.

Get a front-loader. The only reason I say that is because the top-loaders are restricted to RF video output, while the front loaders can do either that or composite, and RF is crap quality. When you get a front-loader, either get one with it's ZIF connector already replaced, or be prepared to do it yourself, because you'll want to minimize having to blow into the cartridges/system, constantly tapping the reset button, and pushing the cartridge up/down while in the system as much as possible. While I'm on the topic of dealing with cartridge shenanigans, you'll want to clean the connectors on them when you first get them, to prevent dirtying up the connectors in the system. To do so, add just enough Windex to the end of a Q-tip to saturate the cotton, and rub it against the connectors.
Yeah, I did a bit more research since I made that post and I honestly don't think it's worth the money/effort to mod a top-loader. They're really nice, though. I love the way they look.

When I got my SNES I opened it up, (attempted) to Retr0brite the top half, and cleaned every inch with q-tip, alcohol and Deoxit. I'm definitely not squeamish when it comes to gutting these old things.

Still playing SMW. Still don't want to play anything else.

Craig

09-01-2012, 03:13 AM

I have been playing ArmA 2!!

And a little minecraft. :)

My latest ArmA 2 project (Zombies!!): http://www.moddb.com/mods/bobtoms-arma2-missions

DigitalSignalX

09-01-2012, 05:17 AM

Risen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risen_(video_game)). Not sure how I missed this open world RPG when it came out, I guess I wasn't reading RPS enough or a small budget German dev just was off my radar at the time. I looked it up when hearing about the sequel which is on the way.

It's a pretty remarkable game. It's also very unforgiving in western terms. If people thought sword play was difficult in the Witcher 2, they have never played this. With the difficulty though, comes rewards. Pulling off a successful block is just as critical to every encounter as slipping in a counter-parry or a combo. Even the lowliest of critters can bring you to the brink of death or beyond. And it happens. Often. Almost to the point of savescumming before every encounter, no matter how trivial it looks.

The skill system is pretty interesting. With only a static amount of XP available on the entire island (no respawns), you are forced to conserve your points to spend on only one specialization, and a few small ancillary things like gathering or crafting. All stats and skills are purchased, so your money has to be factored in as well, balancing xp, your gold, and skill level for certain areas as well as access to trainers.

All the NPC's are fully voiced, and your character's voice talent sounds exactly like Ewan McGregor. It's eerie. Lena Headey (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372176/), who played Sarah Conner in the recent Terminator TV series plays several parts, and she's damn good, as well as John Rhys-Davies (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0722636/) who played Gimli in the recent LOTR flicks. Another LOTR actor, Andy Serkis (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0785227/) plays a major role.

The graphics stand up nicely after 3 years. It looks pretty good in 1920x and while it's clear it's a xbox port from the options, the game runs smooth as butter even when traveling long distances without a load screen.

Not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth a try if you missed it first time around - 15 bucks at amazon.

Roufuss

09-01-2012, 12:25 PM

I'm definitely not squeamish when it comes to gutting these old things.

Better learn how to solder too (if you don't already know how); its only a matter of time before your carts lose their battery charge and you're gonna have to replace the battery.

I cringe when I see your average person (who doesn't know how to solder) pay something like $50 - $100 for any SNES RPG, when I know in probably under a year the battery is going to go and they are left with a piece of gray plastic.

and while it's clear it's a xbox port from the options,

It definitely was not. The console versions were started after the PC version was finished and are extremely poor ports compared to the PC version.

Prokroustis

09-01-2012, 01:43 PM

It definitely was not. The console versions were started after the PC version was finished and are extremely poor ports compared to the PC version.

That. The Xbox version (the only console one) was a pretty horrible port, due in part to the limitations of its hardware - the game was developed with PC in mind. One of the things I'm wary of for the sequel is that it's being developed simultaneously for both PC and the consoles and that means taking into account the latter's limitations, hence the game world consisting of numerous smaller islands with loading screens in between instead of one or two big ones.

SMiD

09-01-2012, 02:00 PM

Just finished Shadowgrounds which I got in the Frozenbyte Humble Bundle. Quite a good game I must add, loads better than for example Alien Breed 2: Assault which I got as a prize during the Steam Summer sale.

Having just recently finished Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds: Survivor, I'm here to tell you that the former is greatly superior to the latter. Survivor is quite the letdown in just about every way.

Kodeen

09-01-2012, 02:56 PM

Currently playing Super Meat Boy, and have discovered that I am extremely unimaginative when swearing. It's still really fun, and I can tell that I will be compelled to 100% it, which I haven't done with a game in a long time. Whether I'll actually have the skill to do that, however ...

The JG Man

09-01-2012, 03:55 PM

You gain skill in it rather rapidly, so don't fret about that! I love your comment about unimaginative swearing though. I think I just said 'fuck' over and over, at various volumes. At one point I scared a housemate downstairs as he heard me dying on a bonus level.

Heliocentric

09-01-2012, 04:06 PM

I'm backseat driving fallout new vegas "why don't you wait for him to come to you and hit vats at the corner?"
*fiancée runs up to them and chops off their heads in vats*
"or not"

Rauten

09-01-2012, 05:26 PM

I'm backseat driving fallout new vegas "why don't you wait for him to come to you and hit vats at the corner? "
*fiancée runs up to them and chops off their heads in vats*
"or not"

I like your fiancée.

Smashbox

09-01-2012, 06:14 PM

*fiancée runs up to them and chops off their heads in vats*

And in the game?

sabrage

09-01-2012, 07:33 PM

Better learn how to solder too (if you don't already know how); its only a matter of time before your carts lose their battery charge and you're gonna have to replace the battery.
I'm not skilled at it, but I'd imagine I can handle desoldering and replacing a button cell.

Wizardry

09-01-2012, 07:38 PM

I cringe when I see your average person (who doesn't know how to solder) pay something like $50 - $100 for any SNES RPG, when I know in probably under a year the battery is going to go and they are left with a piece of gray plastic.
I don't see the problem here. It's not like they are paying $50 to $100 for the ability to actually play the game.

trjp

09-01-2012, 07:45 PM

Despite having a massive backlog of stuff I've bought, I find myself drawn back into a free MMO I tried over the Steam Xmas Sale - Rusty Hearts...

Gameplay is quite similar to Vindictus except that the combat in Vindictus was horrifically repetitive and dull and this isn't - yes, it's a one-trick-pony of a game - the combat - which is an endless stream of similar fights in similar locales, but the desire to hone your ability to keep combos going and kill more and more things in one stream is pretty strong.

I couldn't tell you a thing about the story (it's easily skipped and can even be disabled) - I don't care 1 jot for the characters and the whole anime thing leaves me stone-cold but I do enjoy the actual fighting which is quite 'un MMO'.

I don't care about how I look - the default gear you get from quests seems decent enough and customisation is limited so it's really just 'kill shit, level up, repeat'. There's allsorts of crafting about which I know nothing too - and yet I still like it ;)

I've no idea where it's going - the skills you get seem less and less useful and the ominous taint of 'pay to win' is a constant threat but I still keep putting 45mins in, from time to time, for some weird reason...

Unlike Vindictus which I kicked-into-touch fairly early on when it became clear is was about 40% loading screens, 30% easy-mode-combat and 30% tiresome chat...

FunnyB

09-01-2012, 09:25 PM

Having just recently finished Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds: Survivor, I'm here to tell you that the former is greatly superior to the latter. Survivor is quite the letdown in just about every way.

Oh? I haven't started Shadowgrounds: Survivor yet, since I was thinking about saving it for a later time. What's so bad about it? Story? Gameplay? Missions? Or D: All of the above?

Heliocentric

09-01-2012, 10:14 PM

I actually enjoyed survivor but it was way too fragmented and a few of the enemies really made me roll my eyes. Shadowgrounds is about shooting hordes of bugs, and giant bugs. Not bloody cyber demons.

augustuskent

10-01-2012, 01:15 AM

I just started my first Rome Total War play through, playing barbarian invasion as the Saxons, so far its been pretty easy on medium difficulty!

Fumarole

10-01-2012, 04:15 AM

I just started my first Rome Total War play through, playing barbarian invasion as the Saxons, so far its been pretty easy on medium difficulty!Wait for the squalor to kick in.

Casimir Effect

10-01-2012, 09:35 AM

I just started my first Rome Total War play through, playing barbarian invasion as the Saxons, so far its been pretty easy on medium difficulty!
Wait for the horde mechanic to bite you in the ass.

Pseudo310

10-01-2012, 01:24 PM

Age of Wonders. It's been years since I played it, but it's still good. I do wish it was a bit easier to keep hobbits on eagles from backdooring all my big cities and razing them to the ground, though.

Althea

10-01-2012, 01:28 PM

I do wish it was a bit easier to keep hobbits on eagles from backdooring all my big cities and razing them to the ground, though.
Well, that's the strangest thing I've read recently...

Pseudo310

10-01-2012, 01:32 PM

Well, in Age of Wonders you often have to leave some cities undefended. You can build walls around them, but flying units just fly over the walls and conquer the cities. The AI likes to employ a strategy of flying around your large armies with individual flying units, conquering your most important cities, and then burning them to the ground. It's annoying!

Althea

10-01-2012, 01:39 PM

Oh, I understand that, it's just quite an odd statement to read.

Roufuss

10-01-2012, 02:07 PM

33 hours into Jagged Alliance 2, just have Grumm and Meduna left to conquer.

What a fantastic game this is, can't believe I waited so long to play it.

SMiD

10-01-2012, 02:16 PM

Oh? I haven't started Shadowgrounds: Survivor yet, since I was thinking about saving it for a later time. What's so bad about it? Story? Gameplay? Missions? Or D: All of the above?

Sadly, all of the above. The story is a tacked-on addition to that of the original. The missions are split between 3 different characters who are mostly terrible. The best of the bunch (Bruno "Napalm" Lastmann) is utilized the least in 2 very short missions (with an option to be used in the finale, which is also garbage). The weapons have also been split between the characters, which makes for some terrible unbalance. The female (Isabel "Sniper" Larose) has the worst of the bunch with a pistol, railgun, and plasma gun; and she has the most "survival" levels. Ugh.

The graphics are slightly improved over the original. But the voicework is... inconsistent; and never great. The survival areas of missions drag on for far too long with bouts of inaction making you feel as if you've missed a button or should be moving somewhere. But no, you're waiting for an invisible timer to end, and you need to endure the trickle of monsters. And there's something wrong about the "feel" of the game. I'm reminded of how I felt when I played Unreal Tournament 2003 vs the original; something's just off.

All in all, it's not a terrible game. It simply falls short of what its predecessor already did.

TailSwallower

10-01-2012, 07:57 PM

Prompted to play Gemini Rue by (my continued failure at Icewind Dale and) the Ensemble thread in the Social subforum. I really like the graphics, setting and what little of the story I've gotten to see so far, but P&C adventure games really aren't my thing, so we'll have to wait and see how long I can stick to it.

Kinda wish the game would just let me pistol whip a beggar though to get rid of some frustration after a puzzle I can't get past. Sure, make their be bad repercussions, but let me do it ;)

FunnyB

10-01-2012, 08:57 PM

Sadly, all of the above. The story is a tacked-on addition to that of the original. The missions are split between 3 different characters who are mostly terrible. The best of the bunch (Bruno "Napalm" Lastmann) is utilized the least in 2 very short missions (with an option to be used in the finale, which is also garbage). The weapons have also been split between the characters, which makes for some terrible unbalance. The female (Isabel "Sniper" Larose) has the worst of the bunch with a pistol, railgun, and plasma gun; and she has the most "survival" levels. Ugh.

---

All in all, it's not a terrible game. It simply falls short of what its predecessor already did.

Ahh... So that's how it is. Well, I will still play it at some point, but now I'm prepared and won't get my hopes up too much.

I'm reminded of how I felt when I played Unreal Tournament 2003 vs the original; something's just off.

Amen to that. I remember trying the demo and the feeling in that game was just..... weird. A part of it was definitely that I really disliked the new "bulky" look of the player models, but there was definitely more weirdness going around as well.

-----
Besides all this, I finally caved and bought Saint's Row: The Third. I loved the second game on my 360, but I bought the third one for my PC instead. I'm definitely gonna enjoy this one!

alms

10-01-2012, 10:11 PM

I've removed Sequence (keyboard feels weird and gamepad only works if it has triggers, which mine hasn't - I will pick it up again when Iridium adds proper pad support as promised) and Atom Zombie Smasher from rotation, and I've started playing Solar 2 after a short flirt with the demo during the holidays. After 3+h I'm really intrigued, the music is great and really adds to the experience, the gameplay is addictive and clever.

airtekh

10-01-2012, 10:23 PM

I'm having a blast with Dirt 3. I loved Dirt 2 and this is pretty much more of the same. I don't buy many driving games but there's something about rallying which I find mysteriously appealing.

The new Gymkhana stuff is interesting. I like the Battersea compound you can unlock which gives you free roam of a giant car playground. I've spent ages in there completing the little missions, drifting around corners and smashing through things; it's great fun.

Just finished Dead Space 2's singleplayer too. A very solid sequel, in my opinion. Thankfully they got rid of the mouse acceleration bug which plagued the first game; this one controls perfectly. The weapons are brilliantly destructive and the zero gravity sections are just awesome.

The only negative I can think of are the QTEs; which are often hard to distinguish from cutscenes. I lost count of the number of times I sat back in my chair, ready to sup a mouthful of tea, only to hurriedly slam my mug onto the desk so I could hammer 'E' on the keyboard. Great game otherwise.

sabrage

10-01-2012, 10:57 PM

I'm on the last world in Super Mario World (I think I've found most of the exits,) I just started Ocarina of Time, and I've only touched my PC to play Bit.Trip Runner in the last week or so. I finally got a Perfect in BTR; those retro levels are a total bitch.

augustuskent

11-01-2012, 01:46 AM

Just got bitten in the arse by the horde! 3 full stacks on one of my cities (Rome TW)! BUT, and here's the kicker - each stack has a load of generals/cav, making their pitiful attempts at my walls useless - drove them back :D

Also downloading Darthmod for both Shogun 2 and Napoleon.

icemann

11-01-2012, 08:57 AM

Currently playing Dot Hack - Episode 3: Outbreak (via emulator) and Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor. MM7 in particular I'm finding very addictive.

I'd played through the game (MM7) a long time ago and only started playing it again as to give myself something to play whilst the girlfriend was on the main PC. I'd forgotten how damn good the game was. Good gaming :).

Earlier on this week I finished off Rage (PC) which whilst what was in there was excellent, there wasn't enough of it. The game needed an extra chapter added onto it and the final battle wasn't even that much of a challenge.

Ian

11-01-2012, 11:54 AM

Skyrim - STILL. o_o

FM11 - Obvs.

Dungeons of Dredmor - I'm finding this an odd one. There's not one thing I can think of that I really dislike about it and yet it's just not grabbing me. No idea why. Will have another couple of runs at it but thus far it hasn't hooked me at all.

vinraith

11-01-2012, 01:57 PM

Assassin's Creed: Revelations, still, though I've less time to devote to it now that classes are back in session. Similarly, Wars in America, which I think I'm finally starting to figure out (maybe).

Portal 2 Co-op, which is interesting. I had mixed feelings about the single player. The co-op puzzles are definitely more interesting, for the most part, and of course playing anything with a friend tends to be a lot of fun. It's strange how off-form GLADOS seems throughout, though, just like in single player. Needs more Cave Johnson.

Kodeen

11-01-2012, 02:08 PM

SMiD

11-01-2012, 02:23 PM

Ok, so I'm trying to finish Osmos, but this game can go fuck itself. Does anyone have any tips for F3A-2 and -3?

alms

11-01-2012, 02:34 PM

Ok, so I'm trying to finish Osmos, but this game can go fuck itself. Does anyone have any tips for F3A-2 and -3?

Not really, my patience ran out on F3A-1 and F3B-1, but FWIW you have my sympathy. The force zones really require boatloads of patience, dedication and precision. It's an exercise in frustration.

SMiD

11-01-2012, 02:37 PM

Not really, my patience ran out on F3A-1 and F3B-1, but FWIW you have my sympathy. The force zones really require boatloads of patience, dedication and precision. It's an exercise in frustration.

So would alcohol enhance or inhibit my ability/dedication to complete these levels? I may need to conduct a poll.

Wizardry

11-01-2012, 02:56 PM

alms

11-01-2012, 02:57 PM

@ SMiD I have been testing that theory with Jamestown yesterday, to see whether an alcohol-induced zen-like meditation state would improve my gauntlet scores, prompted by the observation I tend to die more often if I'm having too much fun.

For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, it didn't do much for my score, but it improved my ability to come up with questions I don't know the answer to, like: is the gunner the single most powerful ship in the whole game?

Kodeen

11-01-2012, 03:20 PM

Geneforge perhaps?

Any particular reason over Eschalon? I'm assuming Planescape is out because of the combat.

vinraith

11-01-2012, 03:27 PM

Any particular reason over Eschalon? I'm assuming Planescape is out because of the combat.

I can't speak for Wizardry, but for my part I'd always pick a game with a controllable party over a game with a single controllable character, all else being equal.

Kodeen

11-01-2012, 03:29 PM

Sounds reasonable.

Wizardry

11-01-2012, 03:34 PM

Any particular reason over Eschalon? I'm assuming Planescape is out because of the combat.
I found the Eschalon games to be quite boring. Controlling a single character doesn't help, and the game world is much worse than in the Geneforge games. It does look a hell of a lot prettier though, but that's really the only thing going for it.

Heliocentric

11-01-2012, 03:37 PM

I can't speak for Wizardry, but for my part I'd always pick a game with a controllable party over a game with a single controllable character, all else being equal.

I like a main character but most importantly a horde of directable (probably disposable) minions, RPG/RPG or some kind of summoner. Failing that run an MMO guild.

Kodeen

11-01-2012, 03:51 PM

Sounds like Geneforge. Thanks for the input guys.

Ian

11-01-2012, 03:52 PM

db1331

11-01-2012, 03:58 PM

I'm giving up on Skyward Sword. I played up to completing the first dungeon and never really had any fun the entire time, which is unprecedented for a Zelda game. So instead, I think I'll play a cRPG. I've narrowed it down to these three, which one should I play?

Eschalon Book 1
Geneforge 1
Planescape Torment

I'm a lifelong Zelda fan, and even I am having trouble finishing Skyward Sword. I have to force myself to sit down and play it. I've actually played more of Link's Awakening on my 3DS in the past week than I have Skyward Sword. I'm just SO over motion control, and your sidekick this time out is SO FUCKING ANNOYING.

Like I said though, I have been a Zelda fan all my life. I somehow just got around to picking up 3D Dot Game Heroes for PS3 for $15. It is the most charming Zelda clone/homage/ripoff that you could ask for. I'm loving it so far. I also started a Dark Mode game in The Witcher 2. I'm actually doing better on Dark Mode than I did on regular difficulty my first time through. This is probably due in equal parts to my enhanced understanding of the combat and to CDP-R's difficulty-nerfing patch.

Kodeen

11-01-2012, 04:30 PM

I'm a lifelong Zelda fan, and even I am having trouble finishing Skyward Sword. I have to force myself to sit down and play it. I've actually played more of Link's Awakening on my 3DS in the past week than I have Skyward Sword. I'm just SO over motion control, and your sidekick this time out is SO FUCKING ANNOYING.

Yeah, same here. I actually liked Wind Waker (which everyone dogs on) and LOVED Twilight Princess (which is also not usually a favorite), but this one just wasn't doing it for me at all. The worst part of the motion controls were not that they were difficult to use but that they weren't transparent. I was thinking about the controller the entire time. I'm glad I bought it with a Christmas gift card, otherwise I would also feel obligated to keep playing it, which I just don't want to.

Roufuss

11-01-2012, 04:41 PM

Weird, I'm also in the camp that got to the first dungeon and stopped playing.

Not sure what it was about Skyward Sword, but it just wasn't ticking all the boxes a Zelda game usually does.

LordHuggington

11-01-2012, 04:50 PM

Ugh. The last few nights were supposed to be short sessions with Master of Orion 2, but every time I wind up going to bed at 2:30 or 3, and am a zombie in the morning. The stupid Antarans have it out for this one colony, and just won't bugger off. >:-(

db1331

11-01-2012, 05:11 PM

Yeah, same here. I actually liked Wind Waker (which everyone dogs on) and LOVED Twilight Princess (which is also not usually a favorite), but this one just wasn't doing it for me at all. The worst part of the motion controls were not that they were difficult to use but that they weren't transparent. I was thinking about the controller the entire time. I'm glad I bought it with a Christmas gift card, otherwise I would also feel obligated to keep playing it, which I just don't want to.

I love both WW and TP. Matter of fact, when I finally traded in almost all of my Gamecube games last year, WW was 1 of the 3 games I never even entertained parting with for a second. Out of curiosity, have you played Okami? It's basically TP's gameplay in WW's cell-shaded art style. If you haven't played it, I highly recommend it.