What are you playing at the moment?

[icemann]

Finished off .Hack Part 3 - Outbreak. Very good on the overall whole. Plenty of side stuff to do and good story development. The final boss was a push over however.

Now onto Part 4 - Quarantine. The final game in the series (not counting .Hack GU).

[Kodeen]

Just started Arkham Asylum yesterday, and promply lost the whole day to it. What a great game! Haven't played Arkham City either, but if it's anything like the first one then it'll be a big part of my limited 2012 budget.

[Duckee]

Arkham City was great, but they really skip through the villains very very fast in this game. Would have liked some longer quest lines for some of the villains.

[sabrage]

Donkey Kong Country is stressful. I stocked up on ~20 or so lives, then proceeded to use EVERY ONE OF THEM in the three levels before the next save point (with numerous extra lives on the way.) I was literally on my last life when I scrambled, sweating and gasping, out of the last level. I'm sure this game is a lot easier on repeat plays. It was created in a time where people didn't buy very many games, and were expected to play the same ones over and over until they beat it. But that's not really how I play games.

[Chevy]

Donkey Kong Country is stressful. I stocked up on ~20 or so lives, then proceeded to use EVERY ONE OF THEM in the three levels before the next save point (with numerous extra lives on the way.) I was literally on my last life when I scrambled, sweating and gasping, out of the last level. I'm sure this game is a lot easier on repeat plays. It was created in a time where people didn't buy very many games, and were expected to play the same ones over and over until they beat it. But that's not really how I play games.

Oh man, they still make them like this, and it's awesome! New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Rayman Origins are all very new and very hard.

[sabrage]

Oh man, they still make them like this, and it's awesome! New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Rayman Origins are all very new and very hard.
Well, for the former two, I'd have to actually play my Wii, which involves touching a Wiimote, which I hate.

I just tried out Stealth Bastard for the first time. Beat the first block of challenges, and I think the name is pretty apt. I fear the game will reach a point where I just can't figure out the solutions. I'm impressed by how complex it is already, given how simple its systems are. Deserves as much attention as Super Meat Boy received and more, especially given that it's free.

[Chevy]

Well, for the former two, I'd have to actually play my Wii, which involves touching a Wiimote, which I hate.

A fair point! The Wiimote is terrible. However, those two games can be played by holding the Wiimote sideways like an NES controller. Apart from the really stupid and annoying need to shake the controller to perform a double jump in Mario, or a ground pound in DK, it works surprisingly well.

I second Stealth Bastard. Finished the second set of levels so far, and it is a wonderful little game.

I am currently playing Spellforce 2, thanks to its mention in a thread last week. It is very good!

[sabrage]

A fair point! The Wiimote is terrible. However, those two games can be played by holding the Wiimote sideways like an NES controller. Apart from the really stupid and annoying need to shake the controller to perform a double jump in Mario, or a ground pound in DK, it works surprisingly well.
I don't know why Nintendo even comes out with accessories like the Classic Controller when they outright refuse to support them. Then again, poor tail-end support is practically Nintendo's MO these days...

[TailSwallower]

Made the mistake of downloading the Atom Zombie Smasher demo... Want. Not a good idea to be downloading demos during NNGFAY.

Not sure why I didn't grab it during the Xmas sales, seeing as it was definitely on my radar. Anyway, giving me a reason to power through the backlog so I can justify a purchase....

[ffordesoon]

Skyrim and Fallout 1, mainly. It's my first real time through F1, and I'm really digging it.

That said, does anyone know of a mod for it that autosaves for you like Fallout 3 does? I keep getting into the game so thoroughly that I forget to save manually.

I know, grognards, "That's not how it was!" You're right; that's BETTER than how it was. :P

[Heliocentric]

Set quicksave as a button you press by accident.

[Anthile]

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/439/2012012400002.jpg

[Jams O'Donnell]

Hax, Anthile. Hax.

[Giaddon]

Finished The Saboteur for the second time last night. Very good game, worth the replay. It's only beaten by Just Cause 2 in the open-world-driving-and-explosions sweepstakes.

Dabbling in Hinterland, a perennial favorite. Poking at Disciples 3 (Renaissance, not Resurrection).

Back on the Age of Empires 3 Complete wagon, there are a few campaigns I haven't yet beaten, so I want to finish those up.

[Wizardry]

Where's the guy who said he'd start Wizardry 8 last Monday? The game has either killed him (in which case we'll never hear from him again) or he's so addicted that he hasn't had time to post.

[Danny252]

Been drawn into SOTS1 again - bloody Silicoids are everywhere D:

(Still waiting on Vinraith to declare SOTS2 polished enough. And for it to be cheap.)

[ffordesoon]

Set quicksave as a button you press by accident.

Does it even have a quicksave? I'm pretty sure it doesn't, actually.

[vinraith]

Been drawn into SOTS1 again - bloody Silicoids are everywhere D:

(Still waiting on Vinraith to declare SOTS2 polished enough. And for it to be cheap.)

It's definitely getting there, I'll try to keep you apprised. I tried it over the weekend, actually, and the only thing holding me off right this second was that I couldn't get a stable MP game going for any length of time. I should give it another go in SP and see if the problem is present there or not.

I'll tell you one thing, it's one of the most ambitious strategy sequels I've ever seen. Some systems from SotS1 have been completely replaced, others transformed almost beyond recognition. There's some genuinely brilliant design under the creakiness, and also a lot of stuff I'm just going to have to learn anew. When it's done I think it'll be great, but it will also stand as a totally different game than SotS1, rather than replacing it as an iterative update.

[Heliocentric]

When it's done I think it'll be great, but it will also stand as a totally different game than SotS1, rather than replacing it as an iterative update.
They said that was the plan from the start.
I do wonder how cheap the game will be when its finally not screwed, its already regularly about £8

[Odeon]

Does it even have a quicksave? I'm pretty sure it doesn't, actually.
It's been quite a while since I fired up the original (though I do still love it!), but I'm pretty sure that Fallout is where I learned to rely heavily on the Quick Save function. I'll admit that I could be confused with Fallout 2, but I seem to remember using it in the first one any time I was about to try something important and reloading from Quick Save any time I failed at that important something.

[vinraith]

They said that was the plan from the start.
I do wonder how cheap the game will be when its finally not screwed, its already regularly about £8

Yes, but lots of strategy devs say that, few follow through.

As to the price, I'm sure it will be cheap. My concern is that due to the launch we'll never see the planned expansions, let alone another sequel.

[vecordae]

My concern is that due to the launch we'll never see the planned expansions, let alone another sequel.

What a fiasco that was and, though it would be a shame, they wouldn't really have anyone to blame but themselves. Kerberos can produce some interesting games, but they really need a lot of work when it comes to interfacing appropriately with practically anyone else.

[vinraith]

What a fiasco that was and, though it would be a shame, they wouldn't really have anyone to blame but themselves. Kerberos can produce some interesting games, but they really need a lot of work when it comes to interfacing appropriately with practically anyone else.

Mostly that was business mismanagement, as far as I can tell. It was a desperation release for a cash infusion, but while I agree that they have no one to blame but themselves I'd really hate to see it kill them. I really want to see those expansions!


Back to topic, I've been playing the beginning of Dreamfall. So far so good, but I can already tell the craptastic combat is going to be a pain.

[vecordae]

I am playing X3: Albion Prelude and Defender Quest tonight. I will have exactly three grand old times while doing so. If the amount of fun you are having is sub par I can be convinced to part with one of them.

[TailSwallower]

Decided to give VVVVVV a shot as it's in my backlog from a bundle purchase. Felt like I played it for a good chunk of time, but in the end it was only 30 minutes - long enough to realise it's not my sort of game. I probably only stuck with it for 15 of the 30 minutes because the music is fantastic.

It's an old-school difficult platformer, which I appreciate as a response to the hand-holding that happens in many modern games, but it's not a style of game I generally appreciate. Something about the aesthetic of Super Meat Boy appeals to me but nothing about VVVVVV grabs me quite enough to put up with the difficulty and frustration.

[Heliocentric]

Finished The Saboteur for the second time last night. Very good game, worth the replay. It's only beaten by Just Cause 2 in the open-world-driving-and-explosions sweepstakes.

I know, just discovered this after getting it cheap off D2D, its a much better game than I ever expected.

[Casimir Effect]

Back to topic, I've been playing the beginning of Dreamfall. So far so good, but I can already tell the craptastic combat is going to be a pain.
Thankfully it doesn't feature much and seems to realise its own shortcomings because it errs on the side of easy. The stealth always annoyed me a lot more. Still one of my favourite games though as I'm a sucker for developed characters and a great tale.

[vinraith]

Thankfully it doesn't feature much and seems to realise its own shortcomings because it errs on the side of easy. The stealth always annoyed me a lot more. Still one of my favourite games though as I'm a sucker for developed characters and a great tale.

The story is great, the characters are great, but every single aspect of actual gameplay is horrible. I've played a bit further tonight and I can state definiteively that the puzzles are based on moon logic, the combat is clunky and awful, the stealth is crap, even the movement feels shoddy. There's no reason this should be a game, basically, it'd be so much better if it weren't interactive at all. I guess I'll go find a let's play or something, because I'm pretty much done.

[trjp]

It's Quadtastic Bundle launch day and the first game I tried was Slydris.

Given that Radian are mainly known for shooters, I wondered what a puzzle from them would be like.

3 hours later I was still enjoying the hell out of it. It's one of those puzzles where you can never be too screwed, if you have your head-on right. It has that 'just one more go' factor too - love it!!

[Casimir Effect]

The story is great, the characters are great, but every single aspect of actual gameplay is horrible. I've played a bit further tonight and I can state definiteively that the puzzles are based on moon logic, the combat is clunky and awful, the stealth is crap, even the movement feels shoddy. There's no reason this should be a game, basically, it'd be so much better if it weren't interactive at all. I guess I'll go find a let's play or something, because I'm pretty much done.
That's a shame. I feel that losing the interactivity you have will be detrimental to the entire experience. I actually found the puzzles preferable to those in The Longest Journey, with only a sound-based one being really silly because it was easy to miss the solution. There is too much backtracking with a slow movement speed though, that's what annoyed me the most in the gameplay.
I know there's an LP over on the Something Awful database but I'm not sure of the quality. Or if it has someone talking over it the entire time which would kind of kill things.

[Heliocentric]

Play Gemini Rue, then look at how stupid so much of TLJ is (I loved the first few hours though). Moon logic indeed.

[cosmicolor]

Lately I decided that I'm going to try one or two Wizardry games. Started with Wizardry 8 and have just gotten through the monastery and am now wandering through Arnika Road. Also attempted to play Wizardrys 6, 7 and the Iphone one. Wizardry 6 dislikes my computer, Wizardry 7 doesn't seem to want me to equip my dudes and the Iphone one has awful controls, so Wizardry 8 is it for now. Also been messing around with Star Trek Online and Might and Magic IV-V still.

[squirrel]

Sigh, turn there is not many human players around for Unreal Tournament 3. Play a few rounds and I realized that I was actually playing with bots. Why they operate servers with bots crawling around?

[vinraith]

I actually found the puzzles preferable to those in The Longest Journey


They probably are, actually, if my memory is accurate. They're still beyond my "fiddly obnoxiousness" threshold though, and I'm only willing to consult a walkthrough so often before I decide I'm wasting my time.


There is too much backtracking with a slow movement speed though, that's what annoyed me the most in the gameplay.

Yup. When I saw the "Longest Journey" subtitle this is not what I had in mind.



I know there's an LP over on the Something Awful database but I'm not sure of the quality. Or if it has someone talking over it the entire time which would kind of kill things.

I say that, but the reality is I'll probably never do it. That's a shame, I'd like to know how the story ends, but I'm only willing to fight bad design so hard before I move on to something I enjoy playing as well as watching.

[Wizardry]

Lately I decided that I'm going to try one or two Wizardry games. Started with Wizardry 8 and have just gotten through the monastery and am now wandering through Arnika Road. Also attempted to play Wizardrys 6, 7 and the Iphone one. Wizardry 6 dislikes my computer, Wizardry 7 doesn't seem to want me to equip my dudes and the Iphone one has awful controls, so Wizardry 8 is it for now. Also been messing around with Star Trek Online and Might and Magic IV-V still.
What iPhone one? Must be Japanese.

[Heliocentric]

What iPhone one? Must be Japanese.

Google spat this out
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wizardry-labyrinth-lost-souls/id438372850?mt=8

[squareking]

BONECRAFT

Nah, just a survival/wandery Fallout 3 playthrough (though the constant crashing is harshing my mellow...I'll have to retweak fallout.ini, no doubt) and DE:HR.

[Miker]

Finished Crysis 2. Pretty damn good, all things considered. Not really sure why I didn't hear more hubbub about it around launchtime.

[Cryptoshrimp]

Still playing Terraria. Just defeated the wall of flesh, and suddenly the game got a lot less fun, and contains a lot more gravestones. They weren't kidding about Hardmode.

[Althea]

That's Skyrim's main quest done.

Eh. Ehhhh. It just kind of ends, which is really disappointing. I'd have thought that there'd be more to it, but obviously not. The final boss fight is also insanely underwhelming (at level 34, anyway).

Will post more in the Skyrim topic.

[cosmicolor]

What iPhone one? Must be Japanese.

It's a port of the Japanese Wizardry game that got released onto PSN a while ago. The problem with the port is that they took the HD version's interface wholesale and just squished it down, meaning that the menus are all hard to read, occasionally unresponsive, and in dungeons you have a choice between a just about tolerable control scheme and an awful one.

While I'm at it, apparently Japan had a big nerd-boner for the first few Wizardries but hated all the rest. Is there any particular reason why that is, or was it just some odd coincidence?

[Wizardry]

While I'm at it, apparently Japan had a big nerd-boner for the first few Wizardries but hated all the rest. Is there any particular reason why that is, or was it just some odd coincidence?
Because the last three Wizardry games were a whole lot more complex with more going on than just leveling up in a dungeon (okay, less so for VI). The Japanese seem to prefer simplistic repetitiveness.

[crossangel2012]

i noticed that, this question always ask repeatedly .. but anyway I'm currently playing rosh online..

[MD!]

Just finished the Saints Row 3 storyline missions.

It's my firm belief that the game was made 200% better by using the Australian Male voice with this character:

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4794/sr3b.th.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/256/sr3b.png/)

[Sproutmask]

Running through Divinity 2 Dragon Knight Saga (part of my backlog of doom that formed over Christmas) and really enjoying it - gameplay is addictive, graphics are very pretty and your character dishes out some nice put-downs when talking to the bad guys. The combat system is based on a mix of rpg-light stats and real-time hack-and-slash with a WoW-style hotkey bar for special abilities. Skill trees are flexible and you can mix and match melee, ranged and magical combat more or less as you like. There's a lot of good humour running through the game, it's got an irreverant tone and some genuinely funny jokes. If anyone was put off by the SecuROM DRM, Steam have just dropped the patch that removes it (the patch, an exe-replacement, was made available on Larian's website a while back). I've heard some complaints about the levelling/difficulty curve, but I think that this has been sorted by the work Larian have done on improving the game since release - I've found the pace of the game to be about right.

[Roufuss]

Where's the guy who said he'd start Wizardry 8 last Monday? The game has either killed him (in which case we'll never hear from him again) or he's so addicted that he hasn't had time to post.

That was me; I still plan on playing it, I've just been busy with some pressing personal concerns so I haven't had time yet. I figured its better to wait until I can devote time to it rather than play for 10 min here, 20 min there.

[Voon]

While I'm just grinding away to kill -pretty much- Satan in Dragon Quest V, I stopped to play Deus Ex. Still in NYC to find a smuggler's (was that his name?) friend in the sewers. Knocking out MJ12 troops. I don't even know where's the entry point into the warehouse, though.

And finally got the AI's ass handed to them in Dune 2000. The spice flowed, many tanks were ordered. Deployed them to their base and found the backdoor to their base after all my tanks went sky high. Gotcha.

[Wizardry]

That was me; I still plan on playing it, I've just been busy with some pressing personal concerns so I haven't had time yet. I figured its better to wait until I can devote time to it rather than play for 10 min here, 20 min there.
*salutes*

10char

[Voon]

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2.

Now making Rollercoasters in the Infernal Heights park. Lots. Because I'm free to waste more precious money than oil moguls from Dubai, i'm also free to experiment on the rides without a care on how much it would cost. The first ride had a high exitement rating with medium intensity. For second one, it's the other way around. I'm a bit perplexed when the second ride filled the queue line quick while the other, none at all. Too fun for them?

[Althea]

Gray Matter

By the Nines am I glad to have that over and done with. What starts off as a fairly interesting adventure game ends up boring, dull, over-indulgent and a pain in the backside, not to mention the absolutely dire ending.

It suffers from the usual problems that plague the adventure genre - annoying interface, average to poor animations, moon logic puzzles, so-bad-it's-sadly-not-hilarious voice acting - and it really drags the game down. I love the backdrops, I love various aspects of the story, but so often it feels incredibly contrived and so forth.

I did enjoy bits of it, sure, but I'm glad it's over.

[Giaddon]

RE: Gray Matter

Word. I'm baffled it gets as praised as it does. The opening is, as you say, promising, but it's all downhill from there, and the ending made me want to sneeze my brain out. A lot of potential that just didn't come together.

And no word on The Last Crown. Sad Giaddon.

[Heliocentric]

Adventure game fatigue Go play Gemini Rue until the bad taste Grey Matter left in your mouth fades.

[Kodeen]

Still playing Arkham Asylum mostly, but am having trouble with the last boss. I hate enemy marathons.

[Althea]

Go play Gemini Rue until the bad taste Grey Matter left in your mouth fades.
No thanks.


RE: Gray Matter

Word. I'm baffled it gets as praised as it does. The opening is, as you say, promising, but it's all downhill from there, and the ending made me want to sneeze my brain out. A lot of potential that just didn't come together.
If I'm honest, it didn't help that I played Gray Matter piece by piece over the course of maybe six or so months (I picked it up the month, if not the day, it had a retail release in the UK) and as such had forgotten parts of the narrative, but it really does just stop making sense over the course of the game. It's like it tries to balance too many plotlines at once (although there aren't many) and there's a lot of questions left unanswered - such as the contents of the box under one of the student beds.

[Heliocentric]

@Althea Played it or being dismissive?

I can't usually stand adventure games, even ones I enjoyed (grim fandango, beneath a steel sky) I play with a walkthroughs on the other tab but my time with Gemini Rue has been smooth running, even beating machinarium for not having to tab out(yay ingame hints).

[Althea]

@Althea Played it or being dismissive?

I can't usually stand adventure games, even ones I enjoyed (grim fandango, beneath a steel sky) I play with a walkthroughs on the other tab but my time with Gemini Rue has been smooth running, even beating machinarium for not having to tab out(yay ingame hints).
Being dismissive. Not a problem with the devs or anything, I'm just not interested in it.

[Heliocentric]

Being dismissive. Not a problem with the devs or anything, I'm just not interested in it.

Neither was I until I got it free* in a bundle, glad I got it though. It's not smugly forcing you into one answer to a practical problem, you realise alternatives were available often while you are exploring a new area.

*I bought the bundle for other titles

[vinraith]

@Helio

So it's a good adventure game? Who knew there was such a thing? I find that in retrospect even the classics I enjoyed as a kid were pretty shit from a gameplay perspective.

[Wizardry]

@Helio

So it's a good adventure game? Who knew there was such a thing? I find that in retrospect even the classics I enjoyed as a kid were pretty shit from a gameplay perspective.
All adventure games are shit from a gameplay perspective. I basically use adventure games as substitutes for television. That's why I like them.

[vinraith]

All adventure games are shit from a gameplay perspective. I basically use adventure games as substitutes for television. That's why I like them.

OK, I should clarify "shit" there because I know what you mean. What I mean is "so bad that I can't enjoy the plot/characters/good stuff about them." In other words, a good adventure game is an adventure game in which the gameplay does not drive me away from the game despite an interest in the plot/characters (as it did in Dreamfall, to site an example of a "bad" adventure game).

[Wizardry]

OK, I should clarify "shit" there because I know what you mean. What I mean is "so bad that I can't enjoy the plot/characters/good stuff about them." In other words, a good adventure game is an adventure game in which the gameplay does not drive me away from the game despite an interest in the plot/characters (as it did in Dreamfall, to site an example of a "bad" adventure game).
Isn't Dreamfall an action adventure? I never liked those at all.

[vinraith]

Isn't Dreamfall an action adventure? I never liked those at all.

Well, yes, which is part of the problem.

[Wizardry]

Well, yes, which is part of the problem.
I see. The problem with adventure games is that they are 99% content and 1% mechanics. Everything you do in an adventure game is born out of content. Using one item with another, using an item with the game world, talking to a character, reading messages, all of those rely purely on content creation. To improve an adventure game you have to redo or add content. You can't really improve the mechanics.

There's not much you can do with that formula.

[Heliocentric]

@Helio

So it's a good adventure game? Who knew there was such a thing? I find that in retrospect even the classics I enjoyed as a kid were pretty shit from a gameplay perspective.

It's like.... Most adventure games are a book/comic (or TV like wizardry says) where you need to guess the subject of the next paragraph before you can read on. Where Gemini Rue is using a gui to tell the TV game shows contestants what to do next and it generally being a sensible right answer, but having no involvement in the act itself.

Essentially Knightmare Noire
www.knightmare.com/

[vinraith]

I see. The problem with adventure games is that they are 99% content and 1% mechanics. Everything you do in an adventure game is born out of content. Using one item with another, using an item with the game world, talking to a character, reading messages, all of those rely purely on content creation. To improve an adventure game you have to redo or add content. You can't really improve the mechanics.

There's not much you can do with that formula.

True, but all I'm asking is that the 1% not be so bad that it kills the other 99%.

@Helio

Well, now you've gone and gotten me to add it to my wishlist. Curse you, sir!

[sabrage]

Just beat Donkey Kong Country. Final percentage was 60%. Can't be arsed to go back and find all the bonus rooms; the levels aren't as fun/infinitely replayable as Super Mario World's were, plus the game doesn't tell me which ones I missed. On to Super Mario World 2.

[Heliocentric]

Super Mario World 2.

Aka Yoshi's island?

[Voon]

I don't know.... Mother 3 looks fun; fun to play; Hell, it even feels fun. But everytime I try to play it on the emulator, I always paused and played something else. Like some wierd force draggimg me away from playing the game. Strange...

[sabrage]

Aka Yoshi's island?
That's the one.


I don't know.... Mother 3 looks fun; fun to play; Hell, it even feels fun. But everytime I try to play it on the emulator, I always paused and played something else. Like some wierd force draggimg me away from playing the game. Strange...
I feel this game with every emulated game I play, and every game I pirate. I don't feel any moral obligation not to do so, I just get bored and move on quickly if I don't actually have the game and I'm not playing on original hardware. That's why I'm playing all these games on my SNES; I've had them on emulators before, but I beat DKC and SMW within days because I just value them more when I'm playing the real thing.

[airtekh]

I've been attempting to play Brink, but with little success. The game has crashed to desktop without fail, every single time I've run it; and when it does run, the performance is awful. I've trawled forums looking for fixes but none of them have worked. It's a damn shame because it looks like a game I really would have enjoyed. I can't say I wasn't warned though.

I've started Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Mouse controls are totally screwed compared to AC2, which is disappointing. A fix for it eludes me so I've just had to manually increase the DPI on my mouse.

Single player is solid so far, but it's the multiplayer which really has my attention, it's absolutely terrifying (in a good way). I've enjoyed a handful of games now and my mood constantly alternates between joyous (at making a stealthy kill) and petrified (every time I hear the whispers of my potential killer).

It does seem a tad simple at times though, what with the infallible compass pointing towards your targets. I've been watching some AC:Revelations multiplayer videos and it seems better implemented there, with more emphasis on observation rather than blindly following the compass.

However Brotherhood's MP also serves as another reminder as to why I fucking hate unlocks in multiplayer games. I still wonder what kind of an idiot designs a system which handicaps new players by rewarding more experienced players with more varied and better equipment.

Also still playing Bejeweled 3, which is delightfully addictive.

[Heliocentric]

I would pay good money to buy a copy of Ass Rev where there is no leveling at all. By all means have 200 achievements but don't lock items away. In other but identical news, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a beautiful game. But dying to a level 55 sniper, and then being team killed by his clanmate who flys away in the teams helicopter pissed me off something rotten.

It's like it's "be a dick-the game", I have no grenades, crap guns, no scopes, no special equipment and because I'm not a cheating turd in a clan I'm going to end up with an 1-8 kdr, but the last laugh is mine, when I get in that helicopter later I'm a freaking savant. I patently line targets for my gunner, dodge incoming fire, and only pop off my own rockets because I was coincidentally lined up. When I finally get damaged I ditch in a small village (I know bad company 2 has magic parachutes but I forgot) rub around the village, hose 3 snipers with my pee shooter, and capture the point.

Hurrah... Fecking unlocks.

[Drake Sigar]

Really enjoying UFO: Afterlight. It's like a turn-based Dune 2 with elements of X-Com and, err, Space Colony?

[The JG Man]

Just beat Donkey Kong Country. Final percentage was 60%. Can't be arsed to go back and find all the bonus rooms; the levels aren't as fun/infinitely replayable as Super Mario World's were, plus the game doesn't tell me which ones I missed. On to Super Mario World 2.

Your exploration into the games of yore is always interesting to come back to and it helps that the SNES had such a stellar array of great titles. If it helps, I don't believe my completion in DKC was that much higher. I always remember a room in one of the last levels (the last one?) with a secret that I got into once by mistake and spent a whole afternoon trying to get into and subsequently not. Still, a good game, but I'd agree not as good as SMW.

As for Yoshi's Island...man, you are in for one hell of a treat. I didn't play it as much as 1, but it was an absolute blast. There was only one bad thing in it from what I can remember and even then, it's kind of important; wahhh, wahhh, waahhhh, wahhh, wahhh, wahhh. It WILL haunt your dreams, to an extent matched only by the Sonic drowning theme.

Anyhow, in my own land, I've been playing Star Trek: Online in what time I've had to play games. It's...good. Not great, at least not as an overall package. Things of it are great, such as the space combat and general feeling of being in a very large space, but the ground combat is pretty dire and seeing as how you can't change the difficulty on the fly as to make space combat hard and ground combat easy, I'm stuck enjoying the challenge of one and hating the frustration of the other. Despite that, I'm having fun and I can see me enjoying it for some time. It helps that I have big ships fly by every so often making me go "God damn, I need a Galaxy class!" Though, I do question some people's tastes as they have horrible looking ships, but hey ho.

[Voon]

I would pay good money to buy a copy of Ass Rev where there is no leveling at all. By all means have 200 achievements but don't lock items away. In other but identical news, Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a beautiful game. But dying to a level 55 sniper, and then being team killed by his clanmate who flys away in the teams helicopter pissed me off something rotten.

It's like it's "be a dick-the game", I have no grenades, crap guns, no scopes, no special equipment and because I'm not a cheating turd in a clan I'm going to end up with an 1-8 kdr, but the last laugh is mine, when I get in that helicopter later I'm a freaking savant. I patently line targets for my gunner, dodge incoming fire, and only pop off my own rockets because I was coincidentally lined up. When I finally get damaged I ditch in a small village (I know bad company 2 has magic parachutes but I forgot) rub around the village, hose 3 snipers with my pee shooter, and capture the point.

Hurrah... Fecking unlocks.

Heh. Most of that bullshit rarely occurs in the Rush servers. But, good God, Conquest servers are so incredibly off-putting with the hacks and base-rapes, I sworn them off. Never going back there. Ever. Squad deathmatch is incredibly bland with most people rolling Engies or Recon, though.

[sabrage]

Your exploration into the games of yore is always interesting to come back to and it helps that the SNES had such a stellar array of great titles. If it helps, I don't believe my completion in DKC was that much higher. I always remember a room in one of the last levels (the last one?) with a secret that I got into once by mistake and spent a whole afternoon trying to get into and subsequently not. Still, a good game, but I'd agree not as good as SMW.
I have a running wishlist of games that I want to buy; my SNES list is easily 2-3 times longer than the next closest one. It's incredible how much quality they pushed out on that console, especially when 2 generations later the Gamecube had maybe 20 exclusives worth actually owning. While I can't really complain on the Gamecube front - makes collecting a hell of a lot easier - I'd argue that the SNES has the biggest library of great games outside of PC (and the latter has the benefit of 25 years of games to draw from.) And I never really got to play one as a kid, so outside some half-assed emulation attempts (I think the only game I ever got truly far in was EVO: Search for Eden, which kicks ass) I've never really played these games.

As for DKC, there was one level in particular (one of the snow ones) that I literally was only able to beat because I accidently shot myself off the screen and landed in a lucky barrel. That's my biggest issue with the game; so much of what you have to do is hidden just off-screen, making progress more trial-and-error and luck than actual skill. I noticed as I repeatedly played a level, I always did better simply through pure memorization. This isn't exactly Mega Man; I didn't expect such difficulty from a first-party game.


As for Yoshi's Island...man, you are in for one hell of a treat. I didn't play it as much as 1, but it was an absolute blast. There was only one bad thing in it from what I can remember and even then, it's kind of important; wahhh, wahhh, waahhhh, wahhh, wahhh, wahhh. It WILL haunt your dreams, to an extent matched only by the Sonic drowning theme.
Oh god, I hate it so much. My dog wandered in the room while I was playing, heard the baby wailing, gave me the "are you fucking kidding me?" face and walked back out. Everything else is great; the Yoshi transformations are awesome and the graphics aren't only the best on the SNES, they're better than any N64 game as well. I love that the game tracks and tells me every single secret that I missed, so I know where to go back to (that's what's keeping me from 100%ing DKC) and I'll probably end up finding every secret like I did with SMW. I was gonna complain that the game doesn't have enough save points... But it automatically saves every level! Probably the biggest leap in terms of innovation of any Mario game, though I think I still prefer the first one.

I've also been playing Monster Tale on my DS, which had been sitting sadly unused for quite some time. It's the best Final Fantasy Tactics/Castlevania/River City Ransom/Pokemon mash-up ever.

[SMiD]

Sabrage! Dammit dude! I'm trying to clear out my backlog and keep my oath of NNGFAY, and I DO NOT need you reminding me of how awesome the SNES was. I know exactly where in my parents' house the console and games are; and I've got a decent used-games shop nearby that has quite the SNES collection.

You monster.

[sabrage]

Sabrage! Dammit dude! I'm trying to clear out my backlog and keep my oath of NNGFAY, and I DO NOT need you reminding me of how awesome the SNES was. I know exactly where in my parents' house the console and games are; and I've got a decent used-games shop nearby that has quite the SNES collection.

You monster.
Well, for what it's worth, every SNES game I add to my backlog is getting beaten... Just at the cost of every other one of my games. Ain't cheap either, even the most common SNES carts worth having demand at least $5, and I feel like I'm never going to have my own copy of Earthbound...

[Chevy]

It's worth repeating at every possible opportunity that Earthbound is one of the greatest games ever made.

[SMiD]

Still have my copy of Earthbound, although I did pay a premium on it (along with guide) on Ebay some time ago. That's certainly a harder game to come by nowadays.

[sabrage]

It's worth repeating at every possible opportunity that Earthbound is one of the greatest games ever made.
I've played a bit on emulator, enough to know that it's awesome and the music is badass, but I'm holding out to find it at Goodwill or something.

[Chevy]

I've played a bit on emulator, enough to know that it's awesome and the music is badass, but I'm holding out to find it at Goodwill or something.

Yeah, I very much agree with your sentiment that playing these old games on emulators somehow makes them far more disposable and easier to forget. I have yet to finish any game I start on an emulator, but as soon as I plug in the old systems, I can lose myself for days in the classics.

[Sketch]

I'm going to be trying the Baldurs Gate series for the first time ever, I picked big pack of games for cheap from Impulse. Any recommendations before I do?

[Sproutmask]

I'm going to be trying the Baldurs Gate series for the first time ever, I picked big pack of games for cheap from Impulse. Any recommendations before I do?

There's a few mods I'd recommend to tidy up the graphics and fix a few bugs. Afaik, none of these change the story at all (though a few quests that were cut from the original are added) and the mechanics only in minor ways. All the detail you'll need is in this GOG forum here http://www.gog.com/en/forum/baldur_s_gate/baldurs_gate_2_essential_mods/page1. This is the set up I've been using. I'm half way into BG1 with no issues so far (running the GOG installer on Win 7).

Also, if you're not familiar with the AD&D ruleset then I'd recommend a read of the manual as some of the game mechanics are complex. The game is pretty flexible and you can start out as whatever class/race combination takes your fancy (I've gone with a half-elf cleric myself).

Finally, the difficulty level of the combat can be quite high, and low-level characters vulnerable, but don't give up because the game rewards patience - once you get the hang of some tactics that work for your party, it gets rather satisfying. Strategy guides are easy to find on t'internet and you might want to look at some of the tips for how different combinations of starting character and party members - this site is pretty good: http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG/index.php.

Hope this helps!

[The JG Man]

I know exactly where in my parents' house the console and games are; and I've got a decent used-games shop nearby that has quite the SNES collection.

You monster.

1. The best kind of monster.

2. ...I may have made a bet with a friend re: Mario Kart 64. This, inevitably, calls for me at some point soon to retrieve my N64, Mario Kart and a couple of controllers to settle this bet. She seems to think she can win using Peach whilst I use Toad. Preposterous! Also, she hasn't played Ocarina of Time. I will attempt to fix that. An N64 at uni alongside my PC? I may have gone back in time. Ninty might have made some odd recent decisions, but the quality they use to command was absurd.

Anyhow, on-topic. More Star Trek Online! I spent a seminar yesterday thinking up ship names (in my defence, I wasn't the only one bored at the presentation going on; when one of the presenters wasn't speaking, he was looking at stuff on his phone!) and have named my newest cruiser, a Cheyenne class, the USS Century.

[vinraith]

Dreamfall made me want to play a better, less irritating adventure game, so I blew through Ben There Dan That and am now working on Time Gentlemen, Please! both of which have proven to be pretty entertaining.

This amidst continuing to poke around Academagia and playing some SotS 1 multiplayer.

[Sketch]

There's a few mods I'd recommend to tidy up the graphics and fix a few bugs. Afaik, none of these change the story at all (though a few quests that were cut from the original are added) and the mechanics only in minor ways. All the detail you'll need is in this GOG forum here http://www.gog.com/en/forum/baldur_s_gate/baldurs_gate_2_essential_mods/page1. This is the set up I've been using. I'm half way into BG1 with no issues so far (running the GOG installer on Win 7).

Also, if you're not familiar with the AD&D ruleset then I'd recommend a read of the manual as some of the game mechanics are complex. The game is pretty flexible and you can start out as whatever class/race combination takes your fancy (I've gone with a half-elf cleric myself).

Finally, the difficulty level of the combat can be quite high, and low-level characters vulnerable, but don't give up because the game rewards patience - once you get the hang of some tactics that work for your party, it gets rather satisfying. Strategy guides are easy to find on t'internet and you might want to look at some of the tips for how different combinations of starting character and party members - this site is pretty good: http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG/index.php.

Hope this helps!

Seriously thanks a lot for this, that guide is absolutely perfect! I'll give the rules a read up, I'm very much in it for the story so hopefully I can get my head round some of the more complex stuff. I'm excited to give it a shot, I enjoy most of Bioware's work, so to try a game many consider to be their better work is awesome.

[Voon]

I tried to get the AMK 1.4 mod for STALKER: SoC to work, I really do. But it just gets buggy as fuck, I end up not playing at all. Especially, after that "fix" i downloaded. Replaced the system.ltx file in the gamedata folder and then, it kept crashing everytime i start a new game. I'm playing this on 1.0005 and I can't be arsed to reinstall the damn game and download the 1.0004 patch. So, I need help on this. Badly.

[Casimir Effect]

Crysis 2 really is a bit rubbish, and that's comparing to to modern shooters. Compared to Crysis 1 it's painful. Everything just feels off: the movement is too heavy, the weapons feel weak, there are invisible walls in odd places, the game/story takes itself far too seriously when it's obviously B-movie content, and the AI is too all-knowing.

This final point is the most annoying because the AI in Crysis was so good. Take cloaking for example, it's apparent to me that the AI knows exactly where I am when cloaked but there is a block in place to stop it firing. As soon as I uncloak, regardless of if I'm behind them or barely visible behind several fences/objects, they will open fire with perfect accuracy. I was just trying to put C4 on a LAV and, as I crouch-moved towards it with my cloak slowly running lower, the damn thing pulls away then stops, then pulls away then stops, then pulls away then stops, every time I almost reach it until my cloak is entirely drained. It was just so damn blatant and would have been really funny (like a tank playing keep-away) except I was kind of pissed off by this point.

I'll struggle on with it but I have a horrible feeling the game will conform to the usual Crytek model of having the best bits in the first half then sucking more as the game goes on. If the best really has been already then damn, that'll have been my first bad purchase in quite a while.

[Fumarole]

I've been playing Napoleon: Total War as the Russians and am going for the Medallion of the Imperial Psychopath achievement. I'm typing up an AAR as I play and will post it on RPS when I am finished. This is my first AAR and I find that I'm spending at least twice as much time writing as I am playing, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

[Flint]

I bought Serious Sam 3 on impulse (not Impulse) earlier this week, just finished it on single player. It's by no means a perfect game; it takes itself a bit too seriously (har) at times in contrast to the previous parts and it feels like the game is constantly holding itself back, the start is famously slow and I personally miss the sheer batshit insanity of The Second Encounter (my favourite game of the series). The thing is though, it manages to rub my cravings for a FPS game excellently. FPS has always been one of my favourite genres but the current design trends in the genre have made it the most disappointing genre for me for years now and I've been desperate for ages now to get a new shooter I can fully enjoy (rather than always rely on the old favourites; those are great to replay but I want new experiences too!). Which is what SS3 is. I can actually dodge things, I have more than two weapons, there's proper action going on and I can even explore the levels (I've kinda missed hunting for secrets) should I wish to do so. It just feels so... fluid. It's linear but it doesn't feel chained by it, it turns its straight lines into playgrounds. I'm not saying every FPS should be as over-the-top arcade action as Sam is, but its sheer mental shooting has really hit the spot for me right now, even with its flaws.

Going to soon play the campaign through again in co-op with a friend who I've played the previous Sams with. Can't wait.

[vinraith]

There's a few mods I'd recommend to tidy up the graphics and fix a few bugs. Afaik, none of these change the story at all (though a few quests that were cut from the original are added) and the mechanics only in minor ways. All the detail you'll need is in this GOG forum here http://www.gog.com/en/forum/baldur_s_gate/baldurs_gate_2_essential_mods/page1. This is the set up I've been using. I'm half way into BG1 with no issues so far (running the GOG installer on Win 7).


Let me second others in saying thank you for that. It's been about a decade since I last played BG and BG2, so I'd been a bit unsure what the best modding path was at this point. This appears straightforward, and seems to set the game up the way I'd like it to be set up, so that's fantastic. I don't suppose there's an equivalent guide somewhere for the Icewind Dale games?

[Wizardry]

The Gold Box games are more fun.

[Oak]

I've been playing Napoleon: Total War as the Russians and am going for the Medallion of the Imperial Psychopath achievement. I'm typing up an AAR as I play and will post it on RPS when I am finished. This is my first AAR and I find that I'm spending at least twice as much time writing as I am playing, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

I'm looking forward to this. Please don't get burnt out.

[Faldrath]

Let me second others in saying thank you for that. It's been about a decade since I last played BG and BG2, so I'd been a bit unsure what the best modding path was at this point. This appears straightforward, and seems to set the game up the way I'd like it to be set up, so that's fantastic. I don't suppose there's an equivalent guide somewhere for the Icewind Dale games?

The widescreen mod is the same for all the IE games. I don't think there are "Unfinished Business" mods for IWD, but you should be able to find equivalent fixpacks and tweak packs at the same sites you download the BG ones.

I don't know if there's a way to make IWD1 run in the IWD2 engine, though.

[NecroKnight]

Alice: Madness Returns

[Fumarole]

I'm looking forward to this. Please don't get burnt out.Knowing that someone wants to read it is definitely encouragement for continuing.

Let me ask you this: would you rather read an AAR after it is complete or in small chunks while it is being played? It won't affect how I'm doing this AAR but it may for future ones I hope to do.

[Miker]

Playing through Batman: Arkham City at the moment. There's an absolutely insane number of collectibles, somewhere in the range of 400. It's honestly way too much for anybody to care about.

[Oak]

Knowing that someone wants to read it is definitely encouragement for continuing.

Let me ask you this: would you rather read an AAR after it is complete or in small chunks while it is being played? It won't affect how I'm doing this AAR but it may for future ones I hope to do.

I'm fine with whatever, personally, but the feedback you'll get if you write as you play (or post updates as you write) could provide the encouragement you need to see it to the end. Assuming that's an issue, of course.

[Sproutmask]

Glad my BG tips were helpful to a couple of you. @Vinraith, I've never played IWD, so can't be any more help there unfortunately but the GOG forums are an absolute goldmine for tips on modding.

With BG I made 3 or 4 attempts to get going with the game, but that combination of mods coupled with finding a class that I really like the feel of (tended to go fighter or mage in my tabletop days) was enough to get me addicted. The graphics actually look really nice with the resolution cranked up and there's something about the art style that pulls you in to the world.

[Sproutmask]

I've been playing Napoleon: Total War as the Russians and am going for the Medallion of the Imperial Psychopath achievement. I'm typing up an AAR as I play and will post it on RPS when I am finished. This is my first AAR and I find that I'm spending at least twice as much time writing as I am playing, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

I would also definitely read this, I like both AAR's (I think this one is probably my favourite ever: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/captain-smith/) and a bit of Napoleon or Empire:TW. I've noticed that a lot of really good AAR's are done in parts, so maybe try the RPS style of posting some of it when you feel like you've finished a chapter?

[sabrage]

Spent a bit more time with Ninja Senki. For those who don't know, Jonathon Lavigne of Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Wizorb fame came out with this freeware a bit over a year ago. It plays a lot like a stripped down Mega Man with a double jump. I thought I'd never play it again after getting stuck on the 5th level (of 16) which took me about 40 minutes to reach, but I was craving it today and reached the same spot in about 15 minutes. I've been playing with my Xbox controller, and the analog stick works surprisingly great with it.

Did I mention the music is incredible?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxlom9SVppk&feature=related

[agentorange]

Wasteland and Shadow Complex. Got a bunch of microsoft points because of my account getting hacked, so I picked up SC which I had been looking at for a while. Very competent Metroid style platformer, with lots of secrets to find and upgrade to get. My only problem is with the way the game controls, it just doesn't feel as smooth as I am used to with 2D platformers; feels almost like the game was made as a third person shooter then ported to a 2D plane.

[Herzog]

Darwinia: Finished this the last days and what a great game it was. In the end you really care for these small green stickmen! The last mission was a bit short though, as you could easily rush the places with the viri infection with squads. Nevertheless a perfect package of graphics, music and game design.

Serious Sam - The Random Encounter: Completed this one yesterday evening. I heard that it was supposed to be quiet short, but I didnt expect to beat it after 2,5 hours. And it took me even longer because I played from stage 2-1 to the Final Boss in one sitting. Problem is that there is a bug that when you die at the final boss the game will freeze and not safe your progress. So I had to play half of the game again! The last stage is really hard though and I beat the boss in the end by mere luck. In the end I wished it was a bit longer, but I wont complain as I paid 2 or 3 euros for it.

Red Orchestra 2: Still playing this most of the time when gaming right now. Currently at honor level 65 and nearing veteran level with assault class, so that finally I can also win every match alone with the mkb42. My favorite maps are Apartments, Barracks, Spartanovka and Grain Elevator. Also tried the new custom maps that came out (butovo and ogledow) but didnt enjoy them so much. I like the small/medium size maps much more. When Fallenfighter or Redoctober come into map rotation I normally quit. Red Orchestra 1 veterans surely hate people like me :)

Started but not finished: Deus Ex , Amnesia and Skyrim.

[Voon]

Got sick of running STALKER in 1.0005 with the constant crashes with the AMK 1.4, so I said "fuck it" and uninstalled it. Reinstalled it again in a last ditch attempt to play it on the 1.0004 patch and it work. Obviously. Now to get the graphics fixed coz vanilla STALKER's uglier than i remember. Lots of grey. Thankfully, not as terrible as LURK.

In the meantime, played Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 just to sate my management game cravings. All of a sudden, the park rating bombed and I don't even know what the fuck is the problem. Suddenly, I've just discovered that there's a pathway leading out of a ride was disconnected by accident and it was full of very angry guests, running around saying "It's too crowded here!". Happens every fucking time.

[Scumbag]

Red Orchestra 2: Still playing this most of the time when gaming right now. Currently at honor level 65 and nearing veteran level with assault class, so that finally I can also win every match alone with the mkb42. My favorite maps are Apartments, Barracks, Spartanovka and Grain Elevator. Also tried the new custom maps that came out (butovo and ogledow) but didnt enjoy them so much. I like the small/medium size maps much more. When Fallenfighter or Redoctober come into map rotation I normally quit. Red Orchestra 1 veterans surely hate people like me :)

I did not play the original RO too much, but Ogledow is an old RO1 map and its seriously lacking due to the fact there are only 2 tank types and no troop transports, which is bananas considering the map sizes. Its nice the tanks are now not ultra aimbot assisted win-machines though.
Sure RO1 vets hate you for saying nice things about RO2 ;)

On topic: Just finished Defense Grid: The awakening. I am REALLY bad at tower defense games so this was painful, but rewarding. Weird control system which is not too bad once you get used to it. Nice to always know where you are pointing compared to some games that have so much visual-noise (is that a term?) you oftan loose where the mouse pointer is on screen.

[SirKicksalot]

Today I gave Battlefield 3 one last shot. I played less than 6 hours in multiplayer. I really hate it. I preordered it because I loved BC2 and thought the game would surely be better than the beta. Well, I wasted my money on it. I wish I could sell it to recover some of them, but alas...




I'll struggle on with it but I have a horrible feeling the game will conform to the usual Crytek model of having the best bits in the first half then sucking more as the game goes on. If the best really has been already then damn, that'll have been my first bad purchase in quite a while.

IMO the best bits are in the middle, the dusk and night levels.

[sabrage]

Super Mario Land 2: I remember begging my neighbor to borrow his Game Boy all the time when I was little, just to play this game. I remember when he finally relented, and gave me this along with Bomberman GB... Probably one of the defining periods of my childhood. Best Mario game period, and I think that's all that needs to be said about it.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge: It's no secret that I love Castlevania games, and Belmont's Revenge is no exception. The game actually gets a bad rap compared to the rest of the series, but I actually think it's pretty decent. The only I have is the uneven difficulty ; I shouldn't be dying to bats when I can kill bosses without getting hit once. Oh, and Konami's naming on this one is a bit weird; this is the Game Boy version, which is an entirely seperate entity from the NES's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

[Lukasz]

still playing Septerra Core. 55 hours in if saves can be trusted but I did start it 2 months ago now. Almost finished. Last mission. A bit tired of it. Too long, way too many fights for combat so simple and repetitive. Yet I like characters and storyline that's why i stuck with it.

[Althea]

The Settlers VI - Rise of an Empire is something I've put a couple of hours into this week.

It's... different, I'd say. It's a nice mix between an RTS and an economic game, but in an easy going fashion. The military aspects are basic (I think it works out - at least in the campaign to the halfway point - as swordsmen, archers, siege gear), but it does work really well. There's little micromanagement and generally you can leave things to work. Aside from wood (depending on the map), you generally don't have the resource drought that occurs in most RTS games, instead it gets moving very quickly.

I also like the weather system. It's basic but incredibly functional, and does have some impact on food production at the least. If your food system relies on fish, for example, you need to make sure you're getting as much harvested in the time between the waters freezing (which can be, going by the campaign, from between 2 months of ice through to 6 or 7 months), and the same goes for grain. It doesn't happen so much with deer, as it's non-seasonal.

So yeah, quite enjoying it.

[Similar]

Been playing the Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War original campaign, Soulstorm as the Tau and a little bit of Winter Assault and Dark Crusade. Still good games, although it always did feel like the squads were too large for the terrain; the pathfinding wonks out too often. And of course, a mixed bunch of units is difficult to handle because the faster units won't slow down to keep pace with the slower ones, so attacks have to be seriously micromanaged.

My ex just gifted me Skyrim... I have no idea how or whether it'll run on my laptop (my desktop is currently sort of half-dead, but I doubt the game would run on 256mb. video RAM anyway).

[coldvvvave]

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason aka 20 FPS: The Game

Seriously, this game's performance on every PC I had was unbearable since it's release two or three of my PC's ago. I had an intention of making a music video based on this game with this song (http://soundcloud.com/flint-glass/flint-glass-transistor-the-ice) but... 20 fps.

[Birdman Tribe Leader]

Super Mario Land 2...
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

Oh man that brings me back. Having to split computer time with 2 other gamers growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Game Boy. Mario Land 2 was great! But I'm surprised you like Belmont's Revenge. It was too hard for me as a kid, and I remember it not being very good. Maybe I'll have to give it another chance.

I assume you've played Castlevania 3 and Rondo of Blood? I got on a bit of a Castlevania kick a year ago when I was recovering from surgery, and I thought those two were clearly the best of the traditional Castlevanias.

On the Game Boy front, since you seem to be going through the Game Boy catalog, I remember really liking Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Final Fantasy Adventure (actually a Secret of Mana game they slapped a different name on to sell more copies). Have you played those?

[Anthile]

Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason aka 20 FPS: The Game

Seriously, this game's performance on every PC I had was unbearable since it's release two or three of my PC's ago. I had an intention of making a music video based on this game with this song (http://soundcloud.com/flint-glass/flint-glass-transistor-the-ice) but... 20 fps.


Do you have an ATI card? I've been told it runs a lot smoother on Nvidia chips. I think there is also some sort of fix but it's going to make your old saves incompatible.

[sabrage]

Oh man that brings me back. Having to split computer time with 2 other gamers growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Game Boy. Mario Land 2 was great! But I'm surprised you like Belmont's Revenge. It was too hard for me as a kid, and I remember it not being very good. Maybe I'll have to give it another chance.

I assume you've played Castlevania 3 and Rondo of Blood? I got on a bit of a Castlevania kick a year ago when I was recovering from surgery, and I thought those two were clearly the best of the traditional Castlevanias.

On the Game Boy front, since you seem to be going through the Game Boy catalog, I remember really liking Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Final Fantasy Adventure (actually a Secret of Mana game they slapped a different name on to sell more copies). Have you played those?
I absolutely love Belmont's Revenge, having played a few more hours of it. It plays more like a puzzle platformer game once you know what you're doing, just with Castlevania trappings. And yeah, it's pretty hard, but it's also really short. I played on and off for about 2-3 hours today and I beat all four stages, and I'm on Dracula's castle right now. A couple of the enemies are real fucking bastards, but you've got unlimited continues and that's all I really need to power through a game.

I actually have only played the handheld GBA/DS Castlevania games and Symphony of the Night, starting with Circle of the Moon. I assumed that the older-style games would be too primitive for me (I probably bought CotM when I was 12-13) and I'm only just now discovering them. Rondo is probably one of the few games I'll end up using an emulator to play, unless I break down and finally use Virtual Console. I've been toying around with the idea of buying a PSP, but I've got a lot of new systems sitting around my house and I think I'm gonna ease off for the next 6 months or so.

I played Sword of Mana a long time ago, which is a remake of the first Final Fantasy Adventure. I remember enjoying it up to a point, but I don't think I ever ended up beating it. I've got a flash cart for my DS that I can use for GBA games as well, so I might just download it again... But on the other hand I find RPGs pretty taxing these days, so I usually avoid them. Right now I've got a pretty big Game Boy wishlist, so I'll likely end up just buying wholesale ebay lots, but I'm specifically looking to get the three Zelda games for Game Boy Color at the moment.

[Memph]

I don't know if there's a way to make IWD1 run in the IWD2 engine, though.

IWD2 in the IWD1 engine is what i want. what i need in fact. the lack of hardware acceleration made 2 slow, ugly and a major dissapointment after 1 got me utterly hooked.

[Casimir Effect]

IWD2 in the IWD1 engine is what i want. what i need in fact. the lack of hardware acceleration made 2 slow, ugly and a major dissapointment after 1 got me utterly hooked.
Agreed, IWD2 often had problems keeping up a decent FPS for me. The worst part of the game is the pathfinding though: so many dungeons where you'll tell your party to move about a screen away then notice they're now all spread out along the route you've already travelled. Truly a shame because the game has some wonderful moments.

[sabrage]

I am going to find the man who designed the last level of Jamestown, cut off all his fingers and rip out his fucking eyeballs.

[Voon]

I am going to find the man who designed the last level of Jamestown, cut off all his fingers and rip out his fucking eyeballs.

That bad, huh?

[sabrage]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTvnqLS0Xio
Right around 1:18... That's when I realized this level fucking sucks.

[Kodeen]

I am going to find the man who designed the last level of Jamestown, cut off all his fingers and rip out his fucking eyeballs.

Nobody likes looking at a man with empty eye sockets. Put the fingers in there. Nails out.

[Voon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTvnqLS0Xio
Right around 1:18... That's when I realized this level fucking sucks.

Holeee shit

[Tikey]

I'm playing X-Com: Enemy Unknown. I got lucky and managed to capture a leader and a commander early on (about one or two months into the game) So after a few more months of research I'm on preparations for the final assault. I just need an Avenger (which is being built as we speak). Problem is aliens know the location of my main base and I don't have my defences set yet so I'm having to fight them every once in a while. Hopefully I can keep up until everything is ready.

[squareking]

Spent a chunk of time with the DS this weekend -- mostly Etrian "you'll die fairly often at first" Odyssey and Final Fantasy "where did the past 4 hours go" Tactics A2.

[sabrage]

Think I'm about ready to give up on Serious Sam: The Random Encounter. The difficulty has ramped steadily from "Slowly shake my head in disbelief" to "Haha, fuck this game" as I die instantly. The worst part is, I'm on the very last level but I just don't think I'll be able to beat it.

[Cryptoshrimp]

I'm horribly stuck on Defender's Quest, so I think I'll skip back to Anno 2070. Those underwater platforms aren't going to build themselves. (neither am I, though, those production chains are pretty hard to manage)

[Herzog]

sabrage
Think I'm about ready to give up on Serious Sam: The Random Encounter. The difficulty has ramped steadily from "Slowly shake my head in disbelief" to "Haha, fuck this game" as I die instantly. The worst part is, I'm on the very last level but I just don't think I'll be able to beat it.



Get all the chests and try not to use any items in the four fights before the final boss. You will die often because some of the hordes are just too massive. After every survived encounter go to to main menu to save your progress. In the final battle use every item you have. Thats how I did it :)

[sabrage]

Get all the chests and try not to use any items in the four fights before the final boss. You will die often because some of the hordes are just too massive. After every survived encounter go to to main menu to save your progress. In the final battle use every item you have. Thats how I did it :)
Yeah, I'm on the level before the final boss (I passed it once, but somehow didn't save) and I just can not do it. The waves are utterly ridiculous.

Make that three final bosses/levels I'm stuck on! The last bit of Belmont's Revenge makes me want to throw my Game Boy at the wall.

[vinraith]

Spent a chunk of time with the DS this weekend -- mostly Etrian "you'll die fairly often at first" Odyssey

"At first" nothing, you'll be dying fairly often all the way through if you're anything like me. Then again, being under substantial constant threat is half the fun.

[Casimir Effect]

Bastion done, very much a case of all-style, little substance. That's not to say I didn't like it or it's bad, it's just one so very much outweighs the other. For an indie game it's incredible and the production values could give a AAA game a run for its money. But the gameplay itself did nothing for me: the game felt too long by a few hours, there were around 3-5 weapons I never had or will have a use for, and the endgame weapon-swap is the biggest dickmove I've seen in a game recently:
"Hey! Know all that dodging, fast-blocking and ranged/melee quick-swapping you've been doing so far? Fuck that noise! Here's something slow and rubbish to use for the last few fights. You're welcome".

Now it's on to Dragon Age 2.

[sabrage]

Belmont's Revenge has by far the hardest Dracula in any Castlevania I've played. But I beat it. I had to memorize every pattern in the whole fight, and watch several youtube videos, and leave my Gameboy on for 3 hours because I was afraid that it wouldn't checkpoint right where I was, and I only killed him by the skin of my teeth, but I beat that goddamn game.

I need to go play The Sims or Just Cause or something. My thumbs hurt.

[Fumarole]

I am going to find the man who designed the last level of Jamestown, cut off all his fingers and rip out his fucking eyeballs.I'll hold him down; that's where I stopped playing.

[Chevy]

Woo, finally finished Baldur's Gate for the first time. Now to start the second one!

[SMiD]

Woo, finally finished Baldur's Gate for the first time. Now to start the second one!

Oh come now. You can't just say you finished BG1; details, man! How was it?

[Chevy]

Oh come now. You can't just say you finished BG1; details, man! How was it?

Ha, fair enough. Overall, I liked it. I enjoyed that the story unfolded through exploration rather than exposition. I loved the small scale of the plot, too.

However, I felt the game dragged on a bit after arriving at Baldur's Gate itself. I actually reached that point a couple of months ago, but couldn't bring myself to finish until tonight. Not sure exactly what it was, but I guess I missed the wilderness exploration.

And that last boss was a tough one. Took a couple hours of attempts to beat.

[sabrage]

I beat the last boss in Jamestown, felt incredible... And then they rolled out the second form.

I don't think I'm ever going to beat this game.

[Wizardry]

Ha, fair enough. Overall, I liked it. I enjoyed that the story unfolded through exploration rather than exposition. I loved the small scale of the plot, too.

However, I felt the game dragged on a bit after arriving at Baldur's Gate itself. I actually reached that point a couple of months ago, but couldn't bring myself to finish until tonight. Not sure exactly what it was, but I guess I missed the wilderness exploration.

And that last boss was a tough one. Took a couple hours of attempts to beat.
Is it the best CRPG you've ever played?

[Chevy]

Is it the best CRPG you've ever played?

I've played close to zero CRPGs, but no. Ultima VII is the best I've tried, if that counts.

[Spider Jerusalem]

diablo 3 beta.

amazing it takes so long to make such a mediocre game.

[Voon]

Spent my time on the DS for Dargon Quest(yes, again) VI after beating the final boss with only one fucking golem left in my party in V. So far, so good. Still a bit confusing on the connection between the Real World and the Dream World in this game. Then, I need to try out The Dark Spire on the DS. Its a bit like Wizardry, so I heard. If anything else, I'm playing I Wanna Be the Guy- say, why am I doing this?

[Heliocentric]

I restarted SP&Z, but quickly caught up my progess, I guess I'm just better at the game? Learned the merits of minelayer, got funky new ships and plonked a station to death from outside its range.
Space!

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

I was in the mood to play through older Looking Glass titles last week.

I've finished Ultima Underworld for the first time now, or at least the first time I remember it. It's one of those games, much like Terranigma, that I always come back to at some point but that always make me stop for one reason or another before I finally see the ending.
While the game is certainly excellent, there is a very distinct deterioration in level design quality in the last couple of levels that is in stark contrast to what you have been presented with right from the start. Tunnels become smaller and more twisted, and the gimmick on level 7 makes mages barely playable. I went through the game with a 15 strength paladin, which I knew was a bad choice, but I prevailed by lots of backtracking for loot and ultimately having to abandon my armor completely. Thankfully many of the issues are fixed in the sequel, but it still keeps a couple of quirks of its own (what were they thinking designing the Pits).

Secondly, and more importantly, I've played and finished the original System Shock. I've tried to get into it over the years, but always abandoned it a bit into the first deck due to its strange and convoluted controls. This wasn't helped by the fact that I was only playing the floppy version, which as it turns out is incredibly inferior to what was released on CD. For all these years I thought the game proper was its crippled, prematurely released version!
Now, with higher resolution settings and voiced logs and emails, the experience was much closer to what I was used to from System Shock 2, and the always strange controls were ultimately not as much of a hurdle as I thought.
It is great experience, and it does make me dream of a different present in which developers followed its path towards greater and more engaging complexity in first-person shooters, and games like E.Y.E. would be commonplace instead of looking like artifacts of times past.

[sabrage]

Now, with higher resolution settings and voiced logs and emails, the experience was much closer to what I was used to from System Shock 2, and the always strange controls were ultimately not as much of a hurdle as I thought. .
I believe there's a mouselook mod. Also


Terranigma
What happened to "Romancing Saga 3 is the only good JRPG?"

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

Terranigma is an action game.

[Memph]

However, I felt the game dragged on a bit after arriving at Baldur's Gate itself. I actually reached that point a couple of months ago, but couldn't bring myself to finish until tonight. Not sure exactly what it was, but I guess I missed the wilderness exploration.
And that last boss was a tough one. Took a couple hours of attempts to beat.

Exactly the same happened to me. Soon as I'd reached BG itself I got bored and dropped it, then went back later to play it out. Being my first foray into olde cRPG territory, the combat was infuriating for the most part and I just wanted to see the story (but wouldn't let myself drop the difficulty below normal). I was in Durlag's Tower before i'd started to flesh my characters out a bit and work out how to cheese my way through battles, though i flat out gave up on the chess part and scuppered off to wrap things up. I'm sure I missed stuff out, but what I saw wasn't blowing my skirt up the way i'd hoped, with no really corking gear to speak of, every dungeon just a forever-winding 2-tile wide maze and the repeating shout spam by the NPCs, both friendly and enemy started to chafe on my lobes after a while.

Undeterred I moved on to Icewind Dale and absolutely freaking loved it. Granted by now i'd grasped the mechanics a little better, but it's far superior combat, locations, monster variety, gear, complex dungeons and the fact you can customise up to 6 party members from scratch was compelling. I may get inter-stoned for it, but by the (maze-like 2-tile wide) sewers I just wanted BG to sodding end so I could try one of the newer ones.

[sabrage]

Terranigma is an action game.
So are Tales of Symphonia, Star Ocean, and Kingdom Hearts. It's ok, you can be wrong.

[Casimir Effect]

Things
I finished a full BGT playthrough a few months back and likewise was burnt out by the time I reached the city itself. I ended up firing up an FAQ so I knew exactly where to go for all the sidequests so as not to waste time. To be fair to the game there really isn't much left of the main quest once you make it to BG - it's just those sidequests that add the hours on.
Moving on to BG2 though was a breath of fresh air and I went through all of that and ToB in no time at all.

[Wizardry]

Undeterred I moved on to Icewind Dale and absolutely freaking loved it. Granted by now i'd grasped the mechanics a little better, but it's far superior combat, locations, monster variety, gear, complex dungeons and the fact you can customise up to 6 party members from scratch was compelling. I may get inter-stoned for it, but by the (maze-like 2-tile wide) sewers I just wanted BG to sodding end so I could try one of the newer ones.
Better combat? In Icewind Dale? No chance. Encounters sucked massively in Icewind Dale. You enter a dungeon full of giants and fight nothing but giants until the end. You enter a dungeon full of orcs and you fight nothing but orcs until the end. Monster variety? Again no. Baldur's Gate had more enemies in than Icewind Dale as far as I'm aware. Also you can create all 6 characters in Baldur's Gate so I don't see what the problem is.

[Kodeen]

Tried Super Meat Boy after having left it alone for a couple of weeks, and I immediately remembered why I stopped playing it. Once you get to world 5 the difficulty prohibits fun.

Luckily, I just received my copy of "Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril" in the mail, and played it through the first boss so far. It's very well done for an NES game. It's also pretty difficult, with one-hit kills, but it's not unfairly so. That's what I also thought of SMB at first as well, so take that with a grain of salt.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=86

I'm also still playing Geneforge and The Longest Journey.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

So are Tales of Symphonia, Star Ocean, and Kingdom Hearts. It's ok, you can be wrong.

No, trust me. I am very cultured.

[amusingthebrood]

No, trust me. I am very cultured.

Like a good yoghurt.

I've not had the time to play much; I started the main campaign in Rome: TW after playing around in the tutorial, I started a OOC game in Civ IV but have got a position where I know I'll win so I'm probably not going to finish it. I filled in a little time with Dungeons of Dredmor as well I think but nothing of any note.

[Casimir Effect]

Better combat? In Icewind Dale? No chance. Encounters sucked massively in Icewind Dale. You enter a dungeon full of giants and fight nothing but giants until the end. You enter a dungeon full of orcs and you fight nothing but orcs until the end. Monster variety? Again no. Baldur's Gate had more enemies in than Icewind Dale as far as I'm aware. Also you can create all 6 characters in Baldur's Gate so I don't see what the problem is.
You've just hit on the problem I've always had with IWD but never been able to put into words: apart from some of the areas at the very end the enemies are usually very homogeneous. That's not to say the encounters are bad so much as different - they are often presented in a more scripted way than they were in BG1 (eg. things appearing around you, more diverse makeup of enemy classes). But often the areas do start to drag (fuck you Dragon's Eye and Severed Hand) because there's only so many times you can fight the same battle setup.

The problem with creating all the character youself in a BG game is that it feels like you're missing out on something. Unless you really couldn't care less about the story or characters anyway.

[squareking]

"At first" nothing, you'll be dying fairly often all the way through if you're anything like me. Then again, being under substantial constant threat is half the fun.

The more time I spend with EO, the more I realize you're right. I love it. :D


I am going to find the man who designed the last level of Jamestown, cut off all his fingers and rip out his fucking eyeballs.

You can totally beat it. Be attitude for gains, yo.

[Wizardry]

The problem with creating all the character youself in a BG game is that it feels like you're missing out on something. Unless you really couldn't care less about the story or characters anyway.
Yeah but you'll miss out on the things Icewind Dale doesn't have anyway. So if you prefer the Icewind Dale approach of making your whole party then you'll prefer doing the same in Baldur's Gate, surely. I know I do.

[Casimir Effect]

Yeah but you'll miss out on the things Icewind Dale doesn't have anyway. So if you prefer the Icewind Dale approach of making your whole party then you'll prefer doing the same in Baldur's Gate, surely. I know I do.
It's one thing to miss out on something that doesn't exist, and another to voluntarily miss out on that something when it does.
Making all your party members in BG1 is also a tricky thing to do in terms of balance. You could have 6 characters by the Friendly Arm Inn but it would be a pretty poor party and would stay like that for a while even if you have plans to, eg., head to Beregost for Branwen, go to Nashkel for Minsc then save Dynaheir etc. Making your own allstar team from the Inn onwards could break the early game. IWD is far better balanced when it comes to allowing player freedom in my experience.

[Duckee]

I have been playing a lot of Battle of Wesnoth the last few days. Quite a fun hex rts which is open source and free and all that jazz. I do recommend it

[Kodeen]

I have been playing a lot of Battle of Wesnoth the last few days. Quite a fun hex rts which is open source and free and all that jazz. I do recommend it

I've never heard of this game before, but have seen it referenced twice today. Looks kind of interesting. Isn't it a TBS?

[Duckee]

I've never heard of this game before, but have seen it referenced twice today. Looks kind of interesting. Isn't it a TBS?

Yes it is :)

[Wizardry]

It's one thing to miss out on something that doesn't exist, and another to voluntarily miss out on that something when it does.
Miss out on what exactly? It's not like Baldur's Gate is full of companion quests and banter like its sequel.


Making all your party members in BG1 is also a tricky thing to do in terms of balance. You could have 6 characters by the Friendly Arm Inn but it would be a pretty poor party and would stay like that for a while even if you have plans to, eg., head to Beregost for Branwen, go to Nashkel for Minsc then save Dynaheir etc. Making your own allstar team from the Inn onwards could break the early game. IWD is far better balanced when it comes to allowing player freedom in my experience.
Well, I'm not so sure about this. I tend to play through Icewind Dale with only two characters these days.

[sabrage]

You can totally beat it. Be attitude for gains, yo.
I did it. Took me two straight hours of memorization, but I beat that fucker.

If anyone did all those challenges in Jamestown... Hats off to you. Unless I find a co-op buddy, I don't think I'll be playing this game anymore.

[Lukasz]

So I finished Septerra Core and now I am playing Jack Orlando. Played it ages ago but never finished so I guess it's about time.

[Casimir Effect]

Miss out on what exactly? It's not like Baldur's Gate is full of companion quests and banter like its sequel.
I was actually going to mention that in my post seeing as the BG1 characters don't do anything. My counterargument is only that, for some people, there is a sense of depth which comes from having (some of) the same companions in BG1 as in BG2 such that it enhances the experience of both. Of course this supposes the player intends to play through both the games, has the right mindset or wants to role-play to such an extent. It's kind of a weak argument but for my part having Jaheria, Edwin and Imoen in my parties throughout both games lent an undefinable quality to the experience.


Well, I'm not so sure about this. I tend to play through Icewind Dale with only two characters these days.
It's because of the nice balance that you can do anything from a solo run to a full-party one in IWD without there being a twisted difficulty curve. Small party or solo games of BG1 require quite a carefully constructed party else they can be very frustrating.

[Drake Sigar]

My party in BG physically attacked one another due to alignment differences. That's gotta' count for something.

[Casimir Effect]

My party in BG physically attacked one another due to alignment differences. That's gotta' count for something.
Ahh, the BG Tweak pack is a wonderful thing

[vinraith]

Ahh, the BG Tweak pack is a wonderful thing

I'm pretty sure that could happen in vanilla. Hell, I'm pretty sure I had that happen in vanilla.

[Wizardry]

I'm pretty sure that could happen in vanilla. Hell, I'm pretty sure I had that happen in vanilla.
It did. I remember an old game called Ishar having something like that, but more complex and less scripted. From the wiki:


It also featured a unique system to change the lineup of player characters: the player can have up to five characters at the same time, but each one will like or dislike his comrades. These preferences come into play when the player tries to recruit or dismiss a character, because the other characters will then vote for or against the recruitment or dismissal. If a character cannot be dismissed by a vote, it is possible for the player to have him assassinated by another character, but there is a risk that other characters will murder the murderer himself, possibly creating a chain of murders that slays the whole party but one.

[Casimir Effect]

I'm pretty sure that could happen in vanilla. Hell, I'm pretty sure I had that happen in vanilla.
I was actually referring to how the Tweak pack gives an option to turn that stuff off, along with people leaving due to very high/low reputation. I think it was the Tweak pack anyway, either that or the Fixpack or Unfinished Business.

[vinraith]

I was actually referring to how the Tweak pack gives an option to turn that stuff off, along with people leaving due to very high/low reputation. I think it was the Tweak pack anyway, either that or the Fixpack or Unfinished Business.

Ah, now I understand. Why would a party of severely mixed alignment be a desirable thing to keep artificially stable? I mean, a chaotic evil character really IS liable to try to kill your paladin after all.

[Heliocentric]

I've become a pirate... No not like that.
In SP&Z I was so mindful to not upset people needlessly. I could easily pop open the science station to get all that delicious research. But no, I will go mine resources and find a tech 3 civilian mining base and syphon off the resources.

When I got the upgraded clockwork something switched in my brain, you need the utility slots for point defence guns, tractor beams become a luxury. Suddenly you have this enormous appetite for goons and rez and killing for tech really is so much easier than mining.

Now just to find a station with twin barrelled turrets.

[Drake Sigar]

Ah, now I understand. Why would a party of severely mixed alignment be a desirable thing to keep artificially stable? I mean, a chaotic evil character really IS liable to try to kill your paladin after all.
Yeah... basically taking a video game character and removing the undesirable traits to make a perfect obedient slave (and noone tell me the personality isn't affected, if characters are prevented from acting on their established traits then they're damn well affected) doesn't appeal to me. I mean fair enough it's not Baldur's Gate 2 where the character interactions practically ARE the game, however we're still talking about a story-driven RPG here. If anything I'd of thought D&D fans would create mods to expand on these explosive party politics even further!

[Wizardry]

I mean fair enough it's not Baldur's Gate 2 where the character interactions practically ARE the game, however we're still talking about a story-driven RPG here.
Hmmmmmmmm.

[Casimir Effect]

Yeah... basically taking a video game character and removing the undesirable traits to make a perfect obedient slave (and noone tell me the personality isn't affected, if characters are prevented from acting on their established traits then they're damn well affected) doesn't appeal to me. I mean fair enough it's not Baldur's Gate 2 where the character interactions practically ARE the game, however we're still talking about a story-driven RPG here. If anything I'd of thought D&D fans would create mods to expand on these explosive party politics even further!
Fundamentally the problem is the Reputation system those games had. The evil people will quite happily join you to end a variety of evils plaguing the Sword Coast in and, so long as you murder an innocent every so often for the reputation hit, will never complain. Or you could have a party of do-gooders where you complete every quest in the most dickish way possible but then so long as you swing by the nearest church and donate some gold you're fine.

I prefer to pretend that no one in my party would disrespect the authority of the leader such that they would start inter-party fights, and that they would wouldn't leave once they realised just how rich & powerful they were getting. This rationale easily fits for Edwin and Tiax (who just want power), Eldoth and Kagain (money). Montaron and Xzar have their own agenda which is furthered by sticking with you, while Shar-Teel is impressed by your power. Also, I imagine Korgan will be satisfied just by the amount of people we're killing, and Viconia never really fit an evil role anyway. None of them have established traits that get in the way.
I use the mod such that it still allows for inter party bickering but otherwise there is no way for characters to go off in a sulk or suddenly start a fight apropos fucking nothing.

You want disfunctional parties? Play Neverwinter Nights 2 or KOTOR 2 or even (briefly) Dragon Age.

[Lukasz]

I am playing Jack Orlando at the moment. It is pretty bad.
I'm not really good with adventure games although i played a quite few of them and I really like them but the game so far is such a nonsense I just gave up and read walkthrough as I play it so I can say i beat it.

I mean: illogical puzzle such as giving a neighbor woman a spoon you found in jail is weird enough. Not having a frigging clue what to do next and being forced to practically click everything on everyone all the time is just not acceptable. even with me sucking in this genre.
also i found out a crypt with hidden switches, magic books (in 'noir' game?) hidden behind restaurant which looks like from sam and max (and with 50 inches flatscreen tvs in 1933)

bad game it is :)

[Nalano]

Fundamentally the problem is the Reputation system those games had. The evil people will quite happily join you to end a variety of evils plaguing the Sword Coast in and, so long as you murder an innocent every so often for the reputation hit, will never complain. Or you could have a party of do-gooders where you complete every quest in the most dickish way possible but then so long as you swing by the nearest church and donate some gold you're fine.

That's just gameplay and story segregation, and while it's inevitably the result of (arguably bad) game design, we at least try to eliminate it.

[Wizardry]

That's just gameplay and story segregation
I don't see how it is.

[Kodeen]

I mean: illogical puzzle such as giving a neighbor woman a spoon you found in jail is weird enough. Not having a frigging clue what to do next and being forced to practically click everything on everyone all the time is just not acceptable.

The Longest Journey has some bizarre moon logic puzzles as well. Because, as you know, while it is a very common practice to make fishing poles out of string, hose clamps, and inflatable duck buoys with slow leaks, it's unfortunately something that I've never done personally.

[vinraith]

Having given up on Time Gentlemen, Please! (hilarious though it may be) I'm left wondering if there's any adventure game on Earth whose puzzles aren't complete shit.

[Althea]

Having given up on Time Gentlemen, Please! (hilarious though it may be) I'm left wondering if there's any adventure game on Earth whose puzzles aren't complete shit.
Keepsake.

Yeah, Keepsake... *Polite cough*

[Kodeen]

This is from Gamespot's review of Gemini Rue


With a few exceptions, the solution to any puzzle is obvious and never impedes your progress. The puzzles simply guide you through the action of what is essentially an interactive novel. This means you're never saddled with frustrations, such as attempting obtuse, trial-and-error item combinations or pixel hunting for a tiny key hidden in a busy background. However, this also means that the game slips into monotony at times as you go through the motions of its clearly prescribed path to the next plot point.

Though that does make me somewhat cautious of those 'few exceptions', it sounds promising.

[vinraith]

This is from Gamespot's review of Gemini Rue
Though that does make me somewhat cautious of those 'few exceptions', it sounds promising.

Yeah, Heliocentric mentioned that one awhile back in this capacity, now that you mention it.

[Heliocentric]

Yeah, Heliocentric mentioned that one awhile back in this capacity, now that you mention it.

I did, to paraphrase.
"The only adventure game where I played it without needing an FAQ", really the whole genre is riddled with a cancerous case of "guess what the developers are thinking", Gemini Rue just outright tells you if you ask(talk to people examine sensible things) , but it also carries multiple paths to win.

[Althea]

The two remastered Broken Sword games also have built-in hint systems now. Very useful as they don't exactly tell you outright at first, instead nudge you towards the answer.

[sabrage]

I'm left wondering if there's any adventure game on Earth whose puzzles aren't complete shit.
I take it either you've never played Machinarium, or we can never be friends

[Drake Sigar]

Machinarium's official walkthrough is the hardest puzzle of all.

[Birdman Tribe Leader]

Yes, Machinarium had reasonable puzzles. I'm also going to bang the drum for Quest for Glory, even though it's an adventure-RPG hybrid: Most puzzles are very logical and have multiple solutions anyway. Conquests of the Longbow also had almost all reasonable puzzles (and most also had multiple solutions). I also remember Monkey Island 2 and Day of the Tentacle being mostly fair, although my memory may be failing me here.

[sabrage]

Machinarium's official walkthrough is the hardest puzzle of all.
It took me forever to figure out that you can shoot the spiders...

[Anthile]

Monkey Island 2 has that terrible bone puzzle. I played through the game three times and I have still no idea how it works. Also, the monkey wrench puzzle, which only makes sense if you play the game in English.

[Smashbox]

I finally cracked open Patrician IV, which I got in a sale a while back and I've been having a really good time with it. It seems strangely underrated online, I get the sense that Patrician III is more widely loved, though I haven't played it. It seems fairly unique to me. Anyone else played it, or can anyone else recommend better trading games?

[Sketch]

Monkey Island 2 has that terrible bone puzzle. I played through the game three times and I have still no idea how it works. Also, the monkey wrench puzzle, which only makes sense if you play the game in English.

You get the solution to the puzzle quite a while before you do it, if I remember. It's when you see his mum and dad dancing and turn into skeletons, he writes down the order you need to go through the doors.

[Althea]

I finally cracked open Patrician IV, which I got in a sale a while back and I've been having a really good time with it. It seems strangely underrated online, I get the sense that Patrician III is more widely loved, though I haven't played it. It seems fairly unique to me. Anyone else played it, or can anyone else recommend better trading games?
I've got it, but only put an hour or two into it. I strongly urge you to play the tutorial/intro missions as they give you an idea of how to play the game, but it's... really not that clear at times. You have to have patience with it, I think.

[Bumble]

Considering picking up Star Wolves and/or Space Rangers 2: Reboot - Can anyone give me any decent justifications as to why I shouldn't?

[FunnyB]

...Space Rangers 2: Reboot...

I too have been interested in this game. Can anyone share some feelings on the game?

[Ian]

Finished Bastion (excellent) and Stealth Bastard (enjoyed it way more than I expected) and am now wondering what to start next to serve as my "between doing other things" game. Maybe Cthulhu Saves The World.

[Faldrath]

I too have been interested in this game. Can anyone share some feelings on the game?

It's a flawed gem, but quite a gem. Lots and lots of ideas thrown in with mixed results, a surreal sense of humor which is helped by the bad translation, and utterly absorbing. My main issues with it were the very uneven difficulty curve, and the fact that there is a somewhat hidden time limit that ended up ruining my game. And yet I recommend it without hesitation.

I played the original SR2, though, not Reboot, so I don't know what it changes/fixes.

[Giaddon]

I finally cracked open Patrician IV, which I got in a sale a while back and I've been having a really good time with it. It seems strangely underrated online, I get the sense that Patrician III is more widely loved, though I haven't played it. It seems fairly unique to me. Anyone else played it, or can anyone else recommend better trading games?

A different style, but I've always been partial to the Sierra city-builders. You have to obtain materials, refine them into goods, and then trade them with other cities to get the money/materials you need to finish your own city-building projects. That has always been more appealing to me than the buy-low, sail somewhere, sell-high of the Patrician games. Caesar IV (http://impulsedriven.com/caesariv) is available on impulse, and Pharaoh (ancient Egypt) and Emperor (ancient China) can be purchased cheaply from Amazon, if you're interested.

In the vein of the Patrician games, Port Royale 2 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/12470/?snr=1_7_suggest__13) is very similar, except in the Caribbean and with a pirates vibe. The Guild (1 and 2) also has elements of business management, but is probably ultimately a failure as a game and not worth your time.

And of course there's the lineage of space trading games!

[khaz]

I too have been interested in this game. Can anyone share some feelings on the game?

I've just pulled an all nighter working and am past the NEED SLEEP phase so somewhat wired and hence, this post will be rambly but will try and keep it precise.

Its a top down, turn based space'em up with text adventures, puzzles, a 3d rts, pirating, looting, trading, joining the military, fighting off three alien robotic invader species type game. I'll break it down. :D

You - five races, five classes, two skills and two pieces of equipment to start off with. Pick well. No option is useless, it just results in a very different first third of the game. Be warned though, choosing an aggressive setup wanting to be a pirate or bounty hunter is helluva tough. The game has four difficulty settings (Very hard is pretty much impossible frankly). Best of all it has a custom difficulty mode; every element of the game can be adjusted to your liking. Ranger stations are dotted all around the galaxy and allow access to various things not available elsewhere, primarily modules for your ship and other upgrades. Not to mention info.

Space - you always start of in the Sol system but the rest of the galaxy is randomly generated so that in itself leads to a great variety in geography alone. Although you need to acquire star charts, better engines and friendly systems (More on this later) to explore thoroughly There are five races and the relations between all five, while straight forward love/hate/indifferent, the various permutations makes it complex for you depending on your race and class. This does make a significant difference early on in the game and gets worse/better depending on your choices.

One of my playthroughs, for the life of me I can't remember what I did but I pissed of the Pengs (Think yellow biped amphibians with big flat snouts) and the instant (Seriously, that instant) I warped into a system dominated by them, three planets launched their entire fleets towards me demanding an immediate surrender. Initially, I escaped but on returning to the system (A quest forced the return) I let myself be captured and it resulted in a superb text adventure with various puzzle elements and multiple endings to get out of the prison. You could also just serve your sentence in real game time too if you wanted. :) Post prison release, they weren't so pissed off with me anymore.

Trading - very basic. The game has several tradeable goods and some planets/races make a few of them illegal but often there's a black market for illegal goods. You just need to find the right planets to buy from and sell to. Tip: right clicking on a planet will save its trade prices in your info bar. I haven't really headed down this route except when I was seriously strapped for cash and just blew up a few asteroids for tradeable minerals/metals. Although the game has given no indication that it really goes anywhere aside from healthy respect from the money minded races and being able to hire minions.

Combat - in space, straight forward. Its turn based and top down. Surprisingly shiny shooty fx. I didn't really pay attention to this myself until the first time I ran into a military fleet (The galaxy has a military combining all five races, one of two areas where they work together, the other being pirate stations) preparing to take on the Dominators (Borg like invaders split into three factions intent on taking over the organic world) in a neighbouring system. I warped in with them. 15 military ships, my clunker of a ship that had no business being in a space battle and realising this only when I saw the enemy fleet being led by a capital mothership and their fighters having cloaking/shielding tech. Lots of whoosh and whish and pew pew but we were outgunned, outnumbered and outtechd.

But that was the moment the game sucked me in. You even have the option to join the Military (Which I did) and it opened a whole new avenue of hardware and software for me and the military has their own quests and rewards. That hidden time limit Faldrath mentioned becomes a lot more prevalent if you become a soldier though as they are constantly battling the dominators.

3d rts - this is love or hate frankly. Its very basic but you can control units in 3rd person and your bases produce units based on your specifications. Many missions are intensely frustrating but if you nail the rhythm of the AI (Its very straightforward) and create strong defensive positions in the later missions they are winnable (I beat most of them). Monetarily very rewarding as well. Alternatively, you can skip them entirely.

Puzzles + text adventures - many, many quests involve these. I love them. Old school, excellent puzzles which range from verbal to mathematical (Argh!) and/or straightforward adventures. One of my standout favourites was trying to locate and kill the leader of a rebel faction and locating his base and stealing sensitive stuff from it.

Pirating - yet to play the game as a pirate. What I did notice is that all the pirates in the game did usually have the best ships, weapons and armour/shields. On the few occasions I had to visit a pirate station (They operate in a similar manner to the military ones albeit for a commission for every purchase among other things) resulted in some very cool hardware and software. Definitely going have to play as a pirate at some point. Oh, the pirates nurse a grudge something fierce. You piss one off and he happens to be part of a crew, be ready to be chased to hell and back if you enter their territories/systems. Especially if they've completely dominated a system. They do however fight against the dominators if their system is attacked.

Then there's things like medical stations, science stations and how you can choose to upgrade any station you want by agreeing to take part in their development, ordering military excursions yourself, setting up research nodes etc. There's a healthy dose of strategy even in this area. There's tons of things related to the Dominators themselves but i've covered most of the basics here so yes, get the game. Flawed in places but all the good massively outweighs them.

Edit: almost forgot, there are also arcade schmup sections. But i'll leave this for you to discover. Do note that all of these other bits aren't in there just for fun/questing. They do lead somewhere story wise. Faldrath is also correct about the surreal humour because of the wonky translation. It really works with the game though as it doesn't take itself seriously anyway.

Edit 2: the news/information section on each planet/station is your lifeline. It comes with its own search engine as its so comprehensive. And its not just for information but trading news, bounty listings, dominators news, hardware/software specs, etc. it goes on and on

[Flint]

Popped my Civ-a-like cherry with Alpha Centauri. Lost several hours to it without realising. Need to go back now and backstab the living hell out of The Hive guy who first threatens me throughout the game and eventually overtakes one of my frontier bases, then has the audacity to ask my help against one of his other enemies. Oh I'll accept your truce... until I get some military units shifted to your borders.

[FunnyB]

Lots of words.

Hmmm... Sounds really interesting actually. I think I'll definitely check this out at a later moment. I got too much on my plate as it is when trying to clear out some stuff from my backlog! :D

Thanks for the info!

[vinraith]

Per my discussion with Dominic in the "dust settled" thread, I've been modding up New Vegas (with all DLC) for a run. I've played it before, but have not previously finished it. Hopefully this time I've found a balance of mods that I'll really enjoy, and that won't destabilize the game such that I can't finish.

I’m also playing the "Utah Beach to Cherbourg" campaign in Close Combat: The Longest Day and am having a great time with the night fights. I love these games, I love that they still hold up, and I particularly love that the remakes actually seem to have markedly improved the AI.

And, finally, I’m playing a new co-op AI War campaign with a friend. This thing never gets old, and every time I've come back they've added some new toy or rebalanced things in such a way that it feels like a fresh (yet familiar) gem.

[simast]

Just finished Battlefield 3 singleplayer.. Why did they bother, really? And how long was it? I don't think it took me more than 3h. I can already see a vision where DICE designers are full of ideas and suggestions and EA execs are pointing all fingers at CoD franchise.

Oh, and the final "boss" fight was just brilliant: hit "e" key at the right time, then hit "space" key at the right time - you win.

Another thing I noticed is that for the most of the "cutscenes" you basically lose control of your character. I haven't been up-to-date on FPSes but I do recall from the past they would lock you in place while the animation is playing but at least you could still move the camera (look around). You can't do that in BF3 (well, you can - but you have to move your mouse literally a couple of meters on your desk to turn 10 degrees in game). It's like a smoke screen for the worst.

[SMiD]

Just finished Battlefield 3 singleplayer.. Why did they bother, really? And how long was it? I don't think it took me more than 3h. I can already see a vision where DICE designers are full of ideas and suggestions and EA execs are pointing all fingers at CoD franchise.

Oh, and the final "boss" fight was just brilliant: hit "e" key at the right time, then hit "space" key at the right time - you win.

Another thing I noticed is that for the most of the "cutscenes" you basically lose control of your character. I haven't been up-to-date on FPSes but I do recall from the past they would lock you in place while the animation is playing but at least you could still move the camera (look around). You can't do that in BF3 (well, you can - but you have to move your mouse literally a couple of meters on your desk to turn 10 degrees in game).

No, I'm pretty sure that's par for the course now. You're all caught up!

[Jams O'Donnell]

I have mostly been playing old games like UFO: Enemy Unknown (I will not call it X-COM), and then I realised with some distress that I have no FPS games installed. Recommend to me a single-player FPS, people!

[simast]

Recommend to me a single-player FPS, people!
Arma 2: CO with the latest 1.60 patch! Can't go wrong. Unless you are into CoD stuff.

[Jams O'Donnell]

Arma 2: CO with the latest 1.60 patch! Can't go wrong. Unless you are into CoD stuff.
You did see the single-player part, right?

[simast]

You did see the single-player part, right?
Absolutely, yes. If you think the official campaigns kinda suck (which were quite good IMHO, at least Arma 2 one) there is that thing called "Editor" - sort of an "infinite" single-player mode.

[Casimir Effect]

I have mostly been playing old games like UFO: Enemy Unknown (I will not call it X-COM), and then I realised with some distress that I have no FPS games installed. Recommend to me a single-player FPS, people!
Tribes: Vengeance. It has a great space opera of a story with multiple player-characters, jetpacks, grappels, skiing, cyborgs, and some large outdoor environments.
Otherwise I'd recommend FarCry 2 but that's kind of a controversial thing to do. For my part I love the game.

[sabrage]

The Legend of Zelda and Ninja Gaiden for NES.

[Anthile]

Ninja Gaiden for NES.

You are about to enter a world of pain.

[sabrage]

You are about to enter a world of pain.
I can't beat the 4-3 boss :/ I'm actually surprised I've even made it that far.

[SirKicksalot]

Replaying Rage with the updated graphics patch. So good. Best looking game ever and best shooter of 2011.

I also started the Ryder White DLC for Dead Island. Eurogamer gave it a 2/10. I haven't played much but it's enough to know they're bullshitting. I'm surprised the level-up mechanic was removed. However the combat is amazing, the atmosphere is great and I even got scared a bit already.

[khaz]

I have mostly been playing old games like UFO: Enemy Unknown (I will not call it X-COM), and then I realised with some distress that I have no FPS games installed. Recommend to me a single-player FPS, people!

Ooh, someone called?

Crysis: Warhead - criminally overlooked and the best of the Crysis series by a distance.
FarCry 2
Stalker series - technically not a traditional single player FPS but i'd argue the FPS view really seals the deal.
FEAR - not the second one.
CoD2/4
Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena. One of my favourites from the last few years.
Serious Sam 3 - get past the first few corridor levels and it blossoms.

[Voon]

I've realized that I've reached a stalemate between me and House Ordos in Dune 2000. Both of us employing utterly futile tactics of trying to rush at the front door and lose a lot of tanks and spice money. And we both managed to block up our backdoors so none of us can exploit such opportunity. Even bringing in the engineers to the base would be a waste of time and money when the best thing they could do is become cannon fodder or roadkill.

Oh, that and X-Com.

[Kelron]

Stalker series - technically not a traditional single player FPS but i'd argue the FPS view really seals the deal.


With it being single player, first person and involving a lot of guns and shooting, I'd say it's technically an FPS.

[khaz]

Oh all right then.

[Anthile]

I can't beat the 4-3 boss :/ I'm actually surprised I've even made it that far.

Yeah, it only gets worse. If I remember correctly, it suffered the same fate Battletoads and other games did. It was a lot easier in the original version but it was made more difficult for western audiences so they wouldn't just rent the game and play through it over a weekend. As a result, it's a lot like Battletoads - almost impossible unless you spend weeks mastering every goddamn level.

[sabrage]

Yeah, it only gets worse. If I remember correctly, it suffered the same fate Battletoads and other games did. It was a lot easier in the original version but it was made more difficult for western audiences so they wouldn't just rent the game and play through it over a weekend. As a result, it's a lot like Battletoads - almost impossible unless you spend weeks mastering every goddamn level.
Well, I pretty much reach the point where I can no-hit run the level beforehand, and then get my ass completely handed to me by the bosses. The game seems a bit glitchy though; the I killed one of the fake toad... Things that I'm stuck on and it spawned two more on me! I also need to get better AV cables for my NES... RF is just hideous.

Anyways, busted out my arcade stick and played through the first chapter of Tyrian 2000. It's an awesome game, but the difficulty curve is completely broken. The second level of the game was almost impossible for me, but after that you become so monstrously powerful that the rest of the game is almost literally as easy as holding down the fire button and going through the motions. Are the later chapters balanced better than this one was? Because if not I might just buy UN Squadron and play that instead.

Also, I don't think the music in this game is terrible, but it's not very good either.

[khaz]

Well, I pretty much reach the point where I can no-hit run the level beforehand, and then get my ass completely handed to me by the bosses. The game seems a bit glitchy though; the I killed one of the fake toad... Things that I'm stuck on and it spawned two more on me! I also need to get better AV cables for my NES... RF is just hideous.

Anyways, busted out my arcade stick and played through the first chapter of Tyrian 2000. It's an awesome game, but the difficulty curve is completely broken. The second level of the game was almost impossible for me, but after that you become so monstrously powerful that the rest of the game is almost literally as easy as holding down the fire button and going through the motions. Are the later chapters balanced better than this one was? Because if not I might just buy UN Squadron and play that instead.



Tyrian's nostalgic value held up very strongly for me as I sat through the whole game from start to end and am now on a hard difficulty playthrough. The difficulty balancing does improve but I found myself playing the game to collect all the story cubes as I found them totally absurd, surreal, brilliant and actually concocted a fun story.

Episodes 4 and 5 do provide a challenge though although yet to make it there on hard. Actually, just played a quick session. Hard difficulty is proper hard as your shield is effectively useless.

[Heliocentric]

SP&Z needed 40,000 ore popped to a friendly level 3 mining platform, set my fleet, laid down to read.
Fell asleep, whoops.

Still... Now I have lots of ore.... :D

[sabrage]

Tyrian's nostalgic value held up very strongly for me as I sat through the whole game from start to end and am now on a hard difficulty playthrough. The difficulty balancing does improve but I found myself playing the game to collect all the story cubes as I found them totally absurd, surreal, brilliant and actually concocted a fun story.

Episodes 4 and 5 do provide a challenge though although yet to make it there on hard. Actually, just played a quick session. Hard difficulty is proper hard as your shield is effectively useless.
Yeah, I should've mentioned I'm playing on easy as I suck as SHMUPs... I regretted it the first level, thanked god it wasn't any harder the second, and then breezed through the rest of the chapter. I don't know what to do really.

[Duckee]

Replaying Rage with the updated graphics patch. So good. Best looking game ever and best shooter of 2011.

I also started the Ryder White DLC for Dead Island. Eurogamer gave it a 2/10. I haven't played much but it's enough to know they're bullshitting. I'm surprised the level-up mechanic was removed. However the combat is amazing, the atmosphere is great and I even got scared a bit already.

Is this patch something modded or an official fix? Still, I feel that this game does not offer much beyond looking gorgeous. Every time I decide to start it up I give up after 1 fetch quest..

[SirKicksalot]

An official fix. The textures are upscaled. The base resolution is not increased but everything looks better.

[Scumbag]

Duke Nukem: The Doctor Who Cloned Me: Well that was better then the original DNF but still not something I'd advise people jump on. The NPC buddy you get for most of the game is horrific however; Never wanted to jump through the screen and hit a computer character as much as him.
"Wow! That this is huge, like my dick! Its like those plants that look just like a dick! Dick dick dick!" every 5 goddamn seconds more or less!

Aqueria: Finally at the end of this. Very fun for the most part despite the deceptively casual apperance early on. The final boss REALLY needed a checkpoint system though IMO.

[Lambchops]

The final boss of Aquaria is (to channel the annoying Duke companion!) a dick! Though at that stage I think I had enough buffs and healing potions that it didn't actucally pose me too much trouble.

However I seem to remember being most irritated by one of the earlier bosses, I think largely because he was situated just after an annoying section to navigate so if you died you would have to keep doing the same annoying section again.

[eRa]

An ungodly amount of Space Pirates and Zombies, probably the most time I've spent with an indie title yet. And there's more content to come.

[cosmicolor]

Been playing the Rift Lite thing for a little bit, decided that it couldn't do much harm if it was free, along with Might and Magic, still, and also reaally wanting to be playing more Soul Calibur V. Soon...

[Lukasz]

Installed Fallout Tactics. On first mission. it is gonna take a while.

[apricotsoup]

Fired up might and magic: clash of heroes for the first time yesterday (whilst waiting for gran turismo 5 to do it's 4 hours worth of downloads, installs, calibrations, etc. before it was playable) and it's really really good.

The art style will turn some people off but it feels to me how I should have felt about puzzle quest. There's less frilly bits all over the place that puzzle quest has but the core mechanics are very well implemented. I fully recommend this to everyone :3

[Scumbag]

The final boss of Aquaria is (to channel the annoying Duke companion!) a dick! Though at that stage I think I had enough buffs and healing potions that it didn't actucally pose me too much trouble.

However I seem to remember being most irritated by one of the earlier bosses, I think largely because he was situated just after an annoying section to navigate so if you died you would have to keep doing the same annoying section again.

That sounds like the Sun temple boss. Forces you through a long area filled with spikey balls and changing water levels, then throws you at a boss in a room filled with spikes, changing currents and the boss is a big worm of pain that seems to be everywhere bar where you want him.

[Althea]

Fired up might and magic: clash of heroes for the first time yesterday (whilst waiting for gran turismo 5 to do it's 4 hours worth of downloads, installs, calibrations, etc. before it was playable) and it's really really good.

The art style will turn some people off but it feels to me how I should have felt about puzzle quest. There's less frilly bits all over the place that puzzle quest has but the core mechanics are very well implemented. I fully recommend this to everyone :3
How's the balance? The DS version had some difficulty curve problems for me.

[Heliocentric]

An ungodly amount of Space Pirates and Zombies, probably the most time I've spent with an indie title yet. And there's more content to come.

Word. Minor spoilers follow. What are you up to? The war is quite primitive but it's a happy change of pace.
Mechanical spoilers: keep a mining station level 0, build 2 grinders (be sure to leave their huge mining laser) and a tug, pilot your smallest ship and give the other 3 move orders on the asteroid.
Go afk for 30 minutes for 50,000 ore.

[Birdman Tribe Leader]

Inspired by Sabrage, I started playing some of the Game Boy and NES platformers I never made much headway in. Played a bit of DuckTales for the NES, decided it was too tedious and really only notable for its great music. The Game Boy Donkey Kong was a little too easy and not as puzzly as I expected. I might go back to it, but I got bored pretty quick. Castlevania 2 for Game Boy is really good. A really pleasant difficulty level, good checkpointing, and some remarkably clever mechanics for a Game Boy platformer. The area where destroying candles makes the lights go out and wakes up a nocturnal enemy was particularly clever. I also appreciate that it's pretty short. All in all a great game for playing for 45 minutes after my girlfriend falls asleep.

Sabrage, if you liked Belmont's Revenge, I think you'll appreciate the NES Castlevanias and Rondo of Blood. Castlevania 3 on the NES is the best mechanically (although quite hard), and Rondo of Blood is still fun and has great art and music. The difficulty is a little off though; I thought it was just slightly too hard for the first third until you get an optional alternate character who makes the game a little too easy. It's still hard even with her, but I felt guilty using the cheese character to get through the hardest parts.

Hoping to get back to SpaceChem soon and not be an obnoxious dude constantly talking about console games on a PC forum.

[sabrage]

Sabrage, if you liked Belmont's Revenge, I think you'll appreciate the NES Castlevanias and Rondo of Blood. Castlevania 3 on the NES is the best mechanically (although quite hard), and Rondo of Blood is still fun and has great art and music. The difficulty is a little off though; I thought it was just slightly too hard for the first third until you get an optional alternate character who makes the game a little too easy. It's still hard even with her, but I felt guilty using the cheese character to get through the hardest parts.
Belmont's Revenge really re-awoke my love for the series, so I'm going back and playing through all the later handheld ones again. I never did finish Order of Ecclesia or Portrait of Ruin, so those should be fun. I'm planning on slowly 100%ing all of those, then replaying Symphony for the third or 4th time, and then seeing where I want to go from there. I'm only on Circle of the Moon right now, I forgot how goddamn hard this game was! I've never played the 3D ones, so despite what I've heard I kind of want to try them out, and Castlevania Chronicles is only $6 on PSN. I didn't even know that Chronicles existed until a few days ago, but it looks a lot like Belmont's Revenge mixed with Super Castlevania IV from what I've seen. If I see a good deal on Lords of Shadow I'm definitely going to snap it up, too.

I'm on chapter 4 of Tyrian 2000 right now. A lot of things about the game just irk me. The levels are too long and you can't go back and play them again, so replayability is shot. When you reach the later stages, you're unloading such a ridiculous amount of firepower that it just eclipses the screen, like a bullet hell in reverse. The music is hit-and-miss, the bonus stages aren't a lot of fun, and the difficulty curve still feels a little off. It's getting me back into shmups though; I hadn't put any significant time into the genre since I played Gradius III every day on my PSP (and I sold that 6 years ago) and the options and modules are definitely making me hunger for that game again. It's a shame the best classic shmups are so expensive, but at least Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun are on XBLA for cheap.

[Anthile]

Played through Mass Effect 2 and all the story DLC on hardcore difficulty. Did every last mission, reached max level and everyone survived the suicide mission.

[Giaddon]

Finished the vanilla campaign for Age of Empires 3, which means I have just the two acts of the Warchiefs expansion left, which I'm sure I'll blow through pretty quickly. What a fantastic game. But I've taken the milestone as an opportunity to play a new RTS: RUSE. Love it. My favorite RTS since... Rise of Legends, I guess? Or AOE3: Asian Dynasties, if you count expansion packs. But yeah: great stuff. I'll be interested to see what Wargame is like later this month, but it looks like they've changed a lot of systems so it will be more like World in Conflict on an epic scale, which isn't a bad thing, but I'm worried I won't like it as much.

Also picked up Trine 2, which I didn't buy on release for some reason (I really enjoyed the original), and have been having a blast with it. It's crazy-beautiful, and the controls and levels feel tighter and better than in the original. Having a great time.

[Flint]

The XCOM interview series made me feel like playing something akin to it so I reached out for the closest thing to tactical squad action I own... Fallout Tactics. It's a game I've owned since release but I've never really got very far into it. Back around its release I fell to the victim of the difficulty spike, and the other times have been interrupted by a sense of fatigue: the missions and firefights can go on for raaaaather long, sometimes making the game feel quite a slog. I have to be really in the mood for the game to 'survive' through that.

And this time I am in the mood and find myself enjoying it far more than ever. The game's not changed and I can still recognise the annoying things that have always, well, annoyed me in it but this time I'm getting far more from the game than I've done previously. I've now progressed to the first super mutant mission, ie the difficulty spike where the game suddenly ups the challenge and outright punishes you if there's no heavy weapons expert in your squadron (which, up until this point, there's never been any need to). With a little foresight I've got a few guys who can wield the heavy machine guns dropped by the mutants to some degree and whilst it's still a major jump in challenge, I don't feel like it's overwhelming me this time. I think the furthest I've got in the game has been the mission after this and I can't even remember what it's like, so quite excited to continue.

Still find it rather stupid though that I have to pay extortionate prices for new gear. Give me a break Brotherhood, if you want me to complete these missions for you at least give me some armor!

[One Pigeon]

Played a bit of DuckTales for the NES, decided it was too tedious and really only notable for its great music.

As a slight aside, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OKOAgffd8s

But back on topic, I have finally torn myself away from Skyrim and am about to get stuck into the many games I bought in the Christmas Steam sale.

Wanted- Weapons of fate which was a nice no brain action game. Not that original (apart from the bendy bullets) and the graphics and story are pretty bad but it was fairly fun overall.

Now into the first Assassins Creed to see if I get through it all and alleviate my need to collect every goddamned item and do all the side missions. Currently hoping Altair won't become much more annoying as a main character.

[SirKicksalot]

I'm playing Skyrim again after a month long break. Overclocking my Q6600 from 2.4 to 3 Ghz makes a huge difference. Now I have a steady 40 fps in towns, as opposed to 15 before...


But I've taken the milestone as an opportunity to play a new RTS: RUSE. Love it. My favorite RTS since... Rise of Legends, I guess?

I never imagined there could be someone else that thinks like that. There must be, what, a thousand of us that played and liked Rise of Legends? And what are the odds that our next best RTS is another flop? Amazing.




Wanted- Weapons of fate which was a nice no brain action game. Not that original (apart from the bendy bullets) and the graphics and story are pretty bad but it was fairly fun overall.



You should be able to curve bullets in every game. Awesome mechanic.

[Kodeen]

Playing Dirt 2. Love the actual driving. Progression though the game is pretty good as well, as long as you ramp up your own difficulty. Hate the "xtreme to the max" menus and general aesthetics. The in-race chatter from the NPC's is annoying, though I laugh when I intentionally ram into another car and he asks me if I'm okay.

[Althea]

I thought I'd play Drakensang: The River of Time tonight. Started a Healing Mage - Combat was slow and uneventful, magic didn't do much and I died on a quest. Yup...

I think I'll be trying my soldier or whatever again next time.

[Chevy]

I thought I'd play Drakensang: The River of Time tonight. Started a Healing Mage - Combat was slow and uneventful, magic didn't do much and I died on a quest. Yup...

I think I'll be trying my soldier or whatever again next time.

Oh man, that game. Such beautiful art direction! Such terrible voice acting. At least, that was my impression from the twenty minutes I played.

I can't remember why I stopped playing it, I should go try it again.

[Althea]

Oh man, that game. Such beautiful art direction! Such terrible voice acting. At least, that was my impression from the twenty minutes I played.

I can't remember why I stopped playing it, I should go try it again.
I generally stop playing because I get fed up of the game's balance (or, should I say, lack thereof). Combat is slow and tedious, enemies can be ridiculously hard for no reason, there's no real easing you into it...

And yet I don't regret buying either game. The art is - as you said - absolutely beautiful, and so is the music (DYNAMEDION! <3), as for the voice acting... eh. It's no worse than your standard redubbed German game. Some characters like Forgrimm are really annoying as they talk slowly like this with no punctuation nor any emotion as if they are reading the script without thinking about it, whereas some are! so! amazingly! cute! like! Sailor Janah! who! sometimes misses her voice direction cues but that's OK 'cos she's absolutely goddamn adorable <3

[Similar]

Skyrim. 74 hours since I got it seven days ago according to Steam, all with the same character and I suspect I haven't finished more than at most 20% of the game (haven't joined the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild or finished the Companion questline, for one thing).
Rather nice game and it runs pretty well on my laptop, much to my surprise.

[Vexing Vision]

I can only affirm that the German voice-cast for Drakensang is actually outstanding for a change. ;)

Now you know what we Germans suffer through whenever we get one of your games dubbed!

[Althea]

I can only affirm that the German voice-cast for Drakensang is actually outstanding for a change. ;)
That's what I heard on the dtp forums, but you can't get the game's voice in German unless you take the sound files from a German edition. Yay...

[Chevy]

I would love to try the game in german, with english ui. That would be excellent.

[Vexing Vision]

The German audiofolder is around 860 Megabytes... if you have a FTP hidden away somewhere, PM me and I'll attempt to upload it the next time I have time to do so.

[cosmicolor]

Got a copy of Soul Calibur V, so it's been that. Getting beaten up and beating up online so far.

[Casimir Effect]

I can only affirm that the German voice-cast for Drakensang is actually outstanding for a change. ;)

Now you know what we Germans suffer through whenever we get one of your games dubbed!

That's what I heard on the dtp forums, but you can't get the game's voice in German unless you take the sound files from a German edition. Yay...

I would love to try the game in german, with english ui. That would be excellent.
This leads onto a concept/thing I've been meaning to ask about for a while. Is there a way to get the extra language subtitle options in games without having to do anything too weird? This question mainly concerns games which are fully-voiced RPGs so I can have the English language track playing but then some French/German/Spanish/etc subtitles when in conversations.

As an example I'm currently playing Dragon Age 2 (currently on hiatus due to dead HDD) and would love to be able to have some French subtitles being a counterpoint to the English voices. Why? To see if it has any effect on my foreign language ability, which is something I'm always looking to improve.
I suspect what I'm asking isn't possible because of publishers not wanting people in some regions/countries playing the games from others, which having all the subtitles could facilitate, as they do enjoy putting a penis in my ideas.

On topic: Dragon Age 2 is a lot of fun. It definitely doesn't deserve all the hate it gets seeing as the combat is very similar the the original, just sped up a bit, and the gameplay is very similar.
There are places where it is worse, for example: repetitive environments, spawning enemies, dull loot system and some of the characters are just too... obsequiously written for the fans if you know what I mean.
But in other ways it is, to me, better: generally better level design, no Bioware hub-with-3-or-4-directions mechanic, character-centric story is more appealing, better ability system, voiced protagonist and little UI/gameplay tweaks (it is now far easier & quicker to re-equip the whole party, no having to jump in and out of camp which could sometimes progress certain events far too rapidly).

[Althea]

I could be wrong here, but I *think* TRoT only ships in one language per region. German is in, well, German, BeNeLux regions are in English, US is English, Italian is Italian and (if my memory is right) Spanish is Spanish. If there is a Spanish one, that is. There isn't an English release, funnily enough.

You might be able to get the audio files from those games and mix-and-match, but I wouldn't really know how or if it's possible, sorry :(

[apricotsoup]

How's the balance? The DS version had some difficulty curve problems for me.

I would imagine it's the same, it does feel a tiny bit imbalanced in places but not enough to spoil any enjoyment.

I have however come across a nice bug yesterday that may require me to start the entire necro zone again as I can't seem to access a boss fight after mucking it up the first time. This has severely dampened my will to play it for a bit (that and I find the undead armies somewhat underwhelming).

[Heliocentric]

Finished SP&Z, ended more with a whimper than a grand hurrah but I cant really fault it, it was probably the right ending for most people who had barely given their ships orders up until that point.

Uninstalling it so it doesn't tempt me back too easily, but its certainly one I'll return to once they add more content.