What are you playing at the moment?

[jnx]

Heh, I bought Sims 3 from Origin now that it has been on sale. Maybe the most addictive sim / management game. Definitely worth that 22 euros but there's a risk that missus will conquer my command center now :C

[Ravelle]

Heh, I bought Sims 3 from Origin now that it has been on sale. Maybe the most addictive sim / management game. Definitely worth that 22 euros but there's a risk that missus will conquer my command center now :C

The sims 3 would be so much more fun we were actually able to control our sims when they're at work =/

[Heliocentric]

Playing through Driver San Francisco at the moment. Despite the cringe worthy plot Judge the plot after judging it, its right out of 1970's TV, so it NEEDS to be cheese.

[NathanH]

Getting irritated by how quickly people quit out of Planeswalkers games if things aren't going well for them. Man up, people.

I think one guy quit out because he had gambled on 2 lands and hadn't drawn a third by turn 3, not noticed that I had done exactly the same thing.

[SirKicksalot]

This thread inspired me to reinstall Empire TW. I added DarthMod UC, required to make it playable IMO.

I think I'll play some custom battles for a while, I don't feel ready to start a campaign. It's such a bloated mess! The land battles are fantastic, especially with DarthMod's increased unit sizes and better graphics. And in 3D. Pausing or watching the battle in slow-mo never gets old.

[Anthile]

I don't know what's it about Resonance but it makes me go all

http://i.imgur.com/aJSpL.jpg

[Fanbuoy]

This thread inspired me to reinstall Empire TW. I added DarthMod UC, required to make it playable IMO.

I think I'll play some custom battles for a while, I don't feel ready to start a campaign. It's such a bloated mess! The land battles are fantastic, especially with DarthMod's increased unit sizes and better graphics. And in 3D. Pausing or watching the battle in slow-mo never gets old.

Well, despite all its flaws I love it to pieces. I have CK2 for the deeper strategy. I have a hard time deciding which is better of Empire and Rome, but seeing as there are now indications that the next TW will indeed be Rome 2 I'm hoping that that will be it.

I've never tried any mods though. Are they mainly focused on visuals or do they also improve AI?

[Casimir Effect]

This thread inspired me to reinstall Empire TW. I added DarthMod UC, required to make it playable IMO.

I think I'll play some custom battles for a while, I don't feel ready to start a campaign. It's such a bloated mess! The land battles are fantastic, especially with DarthMod's increased unit sizes and better graphics. And in 3D. Pausing or watching the battle in slow-mo never gets old.
The slow-mo mode in battles is just incredible. It makes me sorry I ever doubted this type of combat would be interesting to play in a Total War game. There is no gaming experience more cinematic than turning on the slow motion mode and panning down the line as two forces engage each other: bullets exchanging between units with men falling all around; cavalry crashing into the flanks, throwing men back before succumbing to bayonets; mortar shells exploding behind the front, sowing fear and death amongst your reinforcements; and finally the bayonet charge itself, providing an instant where order gives way to chaos. None of it is scripted and the outcome is purely up to you and how you command the men.


Well, despite all its flaws I love it to pieces. I have CK2 for the deeper strategy. I have a hard time deciding which is better of Empire and Rome, but seeing as there are now indications that the next TW will indeed be Rome 2 I'm hoping that that will be it.

I've never tried any mods though. Are they mainly focused on visuals or do they also improve AI?
There's a guy here who highly recommends using the Europe In Conflict (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=1579) mod for Napoleon, which supposedly increases the AI for that to excellent levels. Not sure about the DarthMod apart from they get near universal praise.

[SirKicksalot]

I've never tried any mods though. Are they mainly focused on visuals or do they also improve AI?

I only use DarthMod Ultimate Commander. Its main focuses are AI and realism. It incorporates a lot of sub-mods which further enhance the game. Also available is a version which keeps the game closer to the original.

In UC, the AI is fucking vicious - both in battles and on the campaign map. You'll learn to fear it in the first couple of turns. There are many tweakable options. Unit range, stats, appearance and size are overhauled, plus there a lot of new units. Other visual enhancements are blood, realistic smoke and particles, better battle UI, a ton of classical music and drum and fife music for the battlefield for that extra Patriot atmosphere. From the very start you'll have to manage 6000+ people battles. It's stunning - and the game runs very well.

One of my first memories of Empire, which I purchased 6 months after release, is the AI being incapable of moving in a straight line. With DarthMod they do exactly what they're told. I can't play vanilla anymore because the AI is retarded and TW is one style of game that greatly benefits from enhanced realism.

[Space Indaver]

I only use DarthMod Ultimate Commander. Its main focuses are AI and realism. It incorporates a lot of sub-mods which further enhance the game. Also available is a version which keeps the game closer to the original.

In UC, the AI is fucking vicious - both in battles and on the campaign map. You'll learn to fear it in the first couple of turns. There are many tweakable options. Unit range, stats, appearance and size are overhauled, plus there a lot of new units. Other visual enhancements are blood, realistic smoke and particles, better battle UI, a ton of classical music and drum and fife music for the battlefield for that extra Patriot atmosphere. From the very start you'll have to manage 6000+ people battles. It's stunning - and the game runs very well.

One of my first memories of Empire, which I purchased 6 months after release, is the AI being incapable of moving in a straight line. With DarthMod they do exactly what they're told. I can't play vanilla anymore because the AI is retarded and TW is one style of game that greatly benefits from enhanced realism.
That sounds amazing. Empire is the one TW game I have on Steam. On it!

[Fumarole]

Be sure to try and get a coop partner (match making is a graveyard), its good coop.... and that's me done with the game. Seven hours is kinda short, but if the co-op is fun I may get some use out of that. Hopefully my SC buddy will be willing to pick this up so we can continue our not-exactly-stealthy fun.

[Space Indaver]

I folded and got Shogun 2, so hopefully I'll get an hour or 5 of that in tonight. Any major mods I should know about, or is this one good on its own?

[arathain]

I find it fascinating that good AI seems to show up pretty often in mods when it lacks so often in the official release. I hope these modders get good jobs- the only time I know that happened was Supreme Commander 2, who hired a modder to fix up the official skirmish AI, with agreeably vicious results.

[SirKicksalot]

CA lost their main AI programmer halfway through Empire's development.

Shogun 2 also has a DarthMod (http://www.moddb.com/mods/darthmod-shogun-2).

I think the campaign map modifications were a mistake in Empire. There's way too much stuff to handle. It's a fucking mess! Medieval 2 had the perfect balance between centralised development and a bunch of other things to do.
I haven't played Napoleon and only tried the Shogun 2 battle tutorial. Hopefully they trim the fat.

[Giaddon]

Both Shogun 2 and especially Napoleon are considerably leaner than previous Total Wars, and, in my opinion, far better. They're all on sale on GamersGate right now, if you're curious.

[Oak]

Yeah. Though the scope was one of the things I loved about it, Empire would've benifited immensely from being broken up into smaller campaigns.

[squirrelfanatic]

Both Shogun 2 and especially Napoleon are considerably leaner than previous Total Wars, and, in my opinion, far better. They're all on sale on GamersGate right now, if you're curious.If the deal is still going, you can get all of them for ~25EUR (or ~22EUR if you've got the -15% IGN promo bonus). Just started playing through the Shogun 2 tutorial and already I am drawn into the game. This will be fun.

[Drake Sigar]

How's the shooting in Napoleon? In Empire I usually just charged because shooting seemed so ineffective.

[Heliocentric]

... and that's me done with the game. Seven hours is kinda short, but if the co-op is fun I may get some use out of that. Hopefully my SC buddy will be willing to pick this up so we can continue our not-exactly-stealthy fun.

Oh, you have about 7 (11 after the dlc, 12 after getting a code from here http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/260291-Deniable-Ops-DLC-Third-Echelon-HQ-Map-How-To-Get-It!-Forums ) campaigns to play through in Deniable Ops, use your Ubisoft points (from achievements) to unlock infiltration mode where 1 alarm=lose and security cameras and laser tripwires decorate levels, slap on a time limit and you completely change the tone of conviction. Throwing a flashbang at the feet of 3 guards and spraying them with a silenced SMG stops being excessive and starts being surgical.

You *have not* finished conviction single player just because Sam is finished, that's the tutorial.

[mrki]

Just Cause 2, after 30-something hours I finally decided to check out the island in the north-west. I was amused. :)

[Voon]

Apparently, I designated my dwarves to mine and break through a wall of frozen water so that I would have some mud for farming after it melts later. Turns out I have to abandon the fort because it was raining and I didn't know it was a part of a river stream. Flood!

New fortress now and I can't get my farmers to, you know, farm; even when I have an area to till the soil for a farm plot. What the heck's going on?

[jnx]

Just Cause 2, after 30-something hours I finally decided to check out the island in the north-west. I was amused. :)

The faction quest that leads you there was the best part of the game.

[Ravelle]

I completed Lollipop Chainsaw, It was rather short but a fun ride. Luckily there are more modes to play and stuff to collect.

[mrpier]

Shift 2 Unleashed - Because it drives nice, cars feel suitably different from each other and when upgraded. It has an optional drift-tour (it's good that it is optional). It's a racing game first and foremost which doesn't use rubberbanding AI opponents, as a result it may be too easy sometimes, but I am playing on normal with some of the driver aids still on so I might bump it up a notch.

[LTK]

I finished Braid. Went waaay over my head. I really didn't like how you are required to complete all of the puzzles in order to get to the ending. At first the game is like "Oh, are you stuck on this puzzle? That's all right, just continue on to the next one, I don't mind." If you wanted, you could walk through the entire game by solving only the most basic of puzzles. Then, once you finish the last world and try to go to the attic, the game says "Nope, you're not clever enough to see the ending, you need to complete every. single. puzzle." That's a pretty sucky move for a game that already makes you feel quite stupid for not understanding the plot.

[Casimir Effect]

How's the shooting in Napoleon? In Empire I usually just charged because shooting seemed so ineffective.
I imagine that like Empire it will depend on the infantry type and research (if that's still a thing in Napoleon). In Empire the basic Militia are rubbish, as are the Armed Populace or anything like that. But you get some Line Infantry then research Line Firing and you'll see how guns changed warfare. Nothing like seeing a huge mass of Native Tribesmen melée troops charging your lines only for them to be cut down by volley after volley, soon making them rout which can then start a chain reaction effect - aided by fresh volleys coming in several times a minute.

[NathanH]

I finished Braid. Went waaay over my head. I really didn't like how you are required to complete all of the puzzles in order to get to the ending. At first the game is like "Oh, are you stuck on this puzzle? That's all right, just continue on to the next one, I don't mind." If you wanted, you could walk through the entire game by solving only the most basic of puzzles. Then, once you finish the last world and try to go to the attic, the game says "Nope, you're not clever enough to see the ending, you need to complete every. single. puzzle." That's a pretty sucky move for a game that already makes you feel quite stupid for not understanding the plot.

It's only saving you from the plot really. It's like the puzzle equivalent of Marauder Shields.

[vinraith]

Still working my way through the Phillip of Macedon campaign in Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece. It's a riot, really, and now that I've discovered the customizable autopause functionality in the interface it's become quite manageable as well. I've been learning how to fend of Illyrian incursions from the west, Athenian raiding parties landing on the eastern coast, deal with food shortages in the south, and work around the occasional crippling manpower shortage, it's a hell of a game. As soon as preorders go up for Hegemony Rome, I'm there.

I'm expecting to get Mass Effect 3 as a gift shortly, so I'm trying to figure out how best to set up for that. I've played the original game twice: once with a male paragon (which was a bit of a slog) and once as a female über-pragmatic renegade (which was a complete blast). I carried that second character on to ME2, and played through it once with her. After adjusting to the fact that I was essentially now playing an action game with dialogue, I had a good time, partly because I like the character so much. So, the question is, what to do in anticipation of ME3? Do I play back through ME1 and 2 with a new character (maybe try a female paragon to see if Hale's voice acting saves it?). Do I play back through ME1 with my favorite red-headed renegade and then carry her into 2 and then 3? Do I skip replaying 1 (having been through it twice and seen, I think, almost every nook and cranny) and just replay 2 with my renegade? I'm at an impasse, suggestions welcome!

[LTK]

It's only saving you from the plot really. It's like the puzzle equivalent of Marauder Shields.
I had to look that up and it spoiled the ending of Mass Effect 3 in the process. What have you done to me?!

Nah, just kidding, I couldn't give two shits about ME3.

Currently trying to get Braid's alternate ending. Thanks, tvtropes. Jon Blow may dislike spoilers but that doesn't mean I do.

[MrBlick]

I just beat Diablo III. It was a pretty good game. I thought it could have been better though.

[Anthile]

If by alternate ending you mean collecting all those stars, good luck with. Unless you clairvoyant or have a guide it's pretty much impossible and even then it's an absurd amount of effort for little payoff. It's really much less of a hassle to just watch it on youtube.

[alms]

About halfway through Monkey 1 SE (thank you Rauten!), 99% in original mode, the new character design/animations are on the wrong side of uncanny valley which is a considerable achievement in itself for a 2D game. Playing the original version reminded me of why MI2 seemed to me such a huge improvement over its forebear at the time (that and also, my first playthrough was the EGA 16-color version). Will have to replay the second one as well, crossing fingers for some juicy deal on it later this week.

Plus half a hour of Super Meat Boy, mainly to figure out what exactly some people were complaining about in Tobe's Vertical Adventure, which I've beaten a couple days ago, and kept playing, now with Nana and for some achievement hunting.

[squareking]

Frozen Synapse, Escape Goat and Dredmor, but I have an itch only X3 can scratch at the moment.

[Kodeen]

Doing a Gothic 3 run again, and this time I'm going to be a bad guy and side with the Hashashin (Middle Eastern stereotyped slave traders who worship the devil).

[MrBlick]

Well, I'll be playing Team Fortress 2 very shortly. That Pyro update is finally rolling out.

[Finicky]

Tales of monkey island: Very very enjoyable story and dialogue, really enjoyed this game.

World of tanks: great learning curve, always enjoyable, pretty unique game

Binary domain: this game contains everything I hate about modern games (chest high walls, 3rd person shooter, console port) yet I really enjoyed the story and the shooting itself is satisfying because of how the robots fall apart.
It's a shame this gamebombed, storywise it's in a league of its own compared to all other shooters (portal 2 aside) this gen, mainly because the stories are so awful in shooters in general though.

Alan wake: looks amazing on the pc, runs really well, great atmosphere, though the shooting is quite repetitive by the second half, this is a gem though.

Tribes ascend: Oldschool skillbased shooter, skiing feels good as always, though I hate that it uses UE3 and that it's f2p, the community is also almost completely dead in europe.
At least it gets right what every shooter this gen gets wrong: good contrast between enemy and background.

[Oshada]

I'm playing Mass Effect 2 again, and romancing Garrus is hilarious.

[Ravelle]

I'm playing Mass Effect 2 again, and romancing Garrus is hilarious.

Awkward love is the best love. ;P

I was doing well in Civ V until Napoleon declared war on me because I engaged a city state, after some defending he asked if I wanted to stop the war and that I would give one of my cities to him in return. I accepted since it was early in the game but later he did exactly the same but this time I wasn''t willing to give one of my cities, that and he advanced to the industrial era while I was still in middle ages. I got wiped by rifle squads soon after.

[Drake Sigar]

I'm playing Mass Effect 2 again, and romancing Garrus is hilarious.
Wait, that's real? I thought people were just poking fun at the demand for a Shep/Tali romance by going one even further.

[Oshada]

It's real, and it's spectacular :P

(Here's a video if you don't mind being spoiled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQOL5Dn7Yg)

[gganate]

I'm playing Rage right now, and it's much better game than you'd think, considering its lukewarm reception. It's kind of like Fallout-lite, in that it has crafting and an inventory as well as a similar post-apocalyptic setting. The shooting's superb as well, although I haven't really done much racing. I understand why the game doesn't get a lot of love, however. From a distance, the graphics are amazing, and sometimes look like concept art. Up close is a different story. The textures are of a very poor quality and look typical of a five-year old console game. I'm not a graphics snob, but such ugliness from ID is rather ironic, considering how much of their reputation was built on their highly-technical engines. I think Rage is the only game I've ever played that has had such a disparity. But anyway, it's a good game, and I'd rather see a sequel to Rage than another Doom/Quake game (although a sequel to Quake 3 would be awesome).

[Heliocentric]

I'm playing Rage right now, and it's much better game than you'd think, considering its lukewarm reception.

When it ends, you'll do a double take, while the ending itself is not surprising, its how suddenly its thrust upon you. I swear that ruined its reviews.

[LTK]

If by alternate ending you mean collecting all those stars, good luck with. Unless you clairvoyant or have a guide it's pretty much impossible and even then it's an absurd amount of effort for little payoff. It's really much less of a hassle to just watch it on youtube.
When you posted this I didn't know there were stars to collect. Eight hours later, the cloud in world 2-2 finished its excruciatingly slow crawl toward the start of the level where I found a star. You're right, I didn't want to collect all eight of them, and watched it on youtube instead. It reaffirms my suspicion that this game's primary target audience is literary professors.

I think I'll go back to the puzzle in Spacechem I couldn't solve to give my thoroughly befuddled mind a breather.

[gganate]

I'm only about seven hours in. I'm assuming it's even more anticlimactic than the ending of Crysis 2?

[apricotsoup]

and that's Quantum Conundrum completed. Far less frustrating than some people said but a short game. Took me less than 4 hours and I don't imagine that was a very fast play through.

Very enjoyable though and I don't hesitate to recommend it.

They also seem to have patched in some extra graphics options as well; FoV, bloom and other filter fx. Still no proper fix for resolution though.

[Drake Sigar]

My first big battle on Napoleon TW went well. I sent a couple of units to try a flanking ambush from some trees, half suspecting the enemy AI would turn the entire army to meet them. But it didn't. The AI delegated some units to deal with them and continued marching towards my main force.

[sabrage]

Every one of my complaints about The Oath in Felghana stems from the boss battles. They're brutally difficult - something that I don't consider to be a problem in and of itself, but several design choices make them way harder than they need to be. For some reason, the pause button is completely disabled during every boss battle. Doesn't happen at any other point in the game, but there's no way to pause a battle once you've started. Next, each boss battle checkpoints right before it starts... And immediately begins the battle every time you reload. This means that there's no way to go back and grind or save the game, or to catch your breath in between repeat attempts. So, the only way I've been able to beat a boss without significant backtracking is by gritting my teeth and learning every single part of the battle. They're satisfying as hell once you figure them out, but the railroaded repeat attempts really start to wear me down.

[Space Indaver]

Really digging Men of War: Assault Squad. If only I were half decent at it.

[agentorange]

Finally finished the third episode of Tales of Monkey Island; only took me about 1 year (I got sidetracked then uninstalled it then forgot about it, wasn't stuck on a puzzle for a whole year). Been on somewhat of an adventure game binge with that, Syberia, and Time, Gentlemen Please! finished in the last week. Also finished the demo of Resonance, and really want to see the rest of it, but goddamn I need to finish at least some of the games I've already started on. Only just got through the 4th mission of MoW: Condemned Heroes...8 hours and I'm only a quarter of the way through it. Thankfully I'm enjoying it, and it doesn't feel like a chore.

[kstress71]

I'm playing Rage right now, and it's much better game than you'd think

I completely agree. I think that this game was an underrated gem, and I'm glad to read that they are going to continue developing the IP with DLC. Hopefully we can get another game out of them, but I don't see it before the inevitable Doom IV.

[sabrage]

I can't pin down what it is exactly I dislike about King Arthur, but if I were to try I would say "Everything."

[Wheelz]

I can't pin down what it is exactly I dislike about King Arthur, but if I were to try I would say "Everything."

the first? I thought some aspects of it were a wee-bit shallow, and the actual combat isn't quite as tactical as I would have liked. But the setting is nice, and I thought the text-adventures were fun.

Does any of that ring true for you?

[sabrage]

Somewhat, but I only made it as far as the second tutorial mission before deciding that the interface was too janky and the combat too slow for my liking. It's probably the comparitively low budget, but something just feels off about the whole thing (which isn't really a fair complaint, my prior experience mostly being Maxis/Blizzard games). I've got a strategy itch that I just can't seem to scratch; Greed Corps wasn't really doing it for me either. The problem is that I'm not really familiar enough with the genre to know what I'm looking for, so I'm just throwing darts at some unplayed games in my library and praying something sticks.

[SirKicksalot]

Empire TW with DarthMod, as Austria. Prussia attacked me in the fourth or fifth turn. I conquered Berlin, now I have to figure out a way to get to East Prussia. I don't feel like building a navy in the North just for this (there's way too much work to do on land) and obviously Poland won't grant me military access.
My plan was to conquer Italy first as it's a rich region. Thanks to Prussia's attack and sabotages - and Brandenburg's shitty population - my coffers are not in a great state right now. Hopefully I'll put an end to this war soon and also keep Poland away from my ass. Their border movements are suspicious.

I want to complete a campaign in Empire, Napoleon and Shogun 2 until Rome 2 hits. Doesn't matter if I win or lose.

[apricotsoup]

Somewhat, but I only made it as far as the second tutorial mission before deciding that the interface was too janky and the combat too slow for my liking. It's probably the comparitively low budget, but something just feels off about the whole thing (which isn't really a fair complaint, my prior experience mostly being Maxis/Blizzard games). I've got a strategy itch that I just can't seem to scratch; Greed Corps wasn't really doing it for me either. The problem is that I'm not really familiar enough with the genre to know what I'm looking for, so I'm just throwing darts at some unplayed games in my library and praying something sticks.

What I found with king arthur is that everything I did felt like I was making some kind of mistake that would come back and bite me in the future and that feeling of futility that swept over me making my entire time in the game feel dissapointing.

This is not a problem I usually have with strategy games, even things like HoMM to which a few bad choices can cost you dearly.

[Track]

I've finished Secret of Monkey Island; I still hold that the first part of the game was the best, and I seriously don't understand some of the puzzle logic (though I imagine that thats mostly my fault for missing clues), but it was incredibly fun, and the dialogue was wonderful. I'll probably pick up the second game soon.

Now I guess i'll try getting back into Assassins Creed again. I've been playing it for a while, but it always frustrates me and I quit. Last time that I played it, I finished an assassination mission, went back to the bureau and quit the game. It didn't save my progress, though, and I had to redo the whole mission, at which point I got frustrated and haven't gone back since. I really do want to play AC2, though, as i've heard that it fixes a lot of the first games problems, and I think that the idea behind the series could be great if handled properly. I have an OCD thing about finishing game series in order though, so I guess i'll go back at it and try to make my way through the first one.

[Casimir Effect]

What I found with king arthur is that everything I did felt like I was making some kind of mistake that would come back and bite me in the future and that feeling of futility that swept over me making my entire time in the game feel dissapointing.

This is not a problem I usually have with strategy games, even things like HoMM to which a few bad choices can cost you dearly.
The thing with KA is to realise that, so long as you pick a direction on the Wheel of Morality and mostly stick with it, you won't be screwing yourself over. Like Total War, the loss of an army/region is not the end; just fall back and rebuild. Economy goes to shit? disband troops until it's stable.
The worst thing I can think of would be to lose a Knight, but even this is really tough as if they 'die' in a battle it usually means they're out injured for several seasons. I think they have to be weak in a certain stat, have 'died' several times already, or make a very bad choice in one of the text quests for them to be able to die permenantly. And even if that happens, you end up with more Knights than you have positions for anyway.

The 'Very Easy' mode really does make it hard to lose a battle and I seem to remember you can change it on the fly. And if all else fails and somehow you screw yourself into a corner, the game has a very accommodating console which allows for all manner of *ahem* rebalancing.

[alms]

I've finished Secret of Monkey Island; I still hold that the first part of the game was the best, and I seriously don't understand some of the puzzle logic

Finished it yesterday as well. The thing I like the most about Melee is the more surreal dream-like environment, like the an entire world stuck in a perennial lazy summer night. Some of this magic is lost on sun-scorched Monkey Island, but there's many great characters, situations and lines there IMO.

I've started Cave Story+. What was that thing about not getting the first jetpack you find but holding out for a better one?

I can't find that bit anymore.

[arathain]

If I recall you get offered a machine gun if you trade in your starting pistol. The machine gun fired downwards acts like a jetpack, and makes some of the platforming you have to do considerably easier. I think if you hang on to the pistol you can trade it for something powerful later in the game.

[khaz]

Every one of my complaints about The Oath in Felghana stems from the boss battles. They're brutally difficult - something that I don't consider to be a problem in and of itself, but several design choices make them way harder than they need to be. For some reason, the pause button is completely disabled during every boss battle. Doesn't happen at any other point in the game, but there's no way to pause a battle once you've started. Next, each boss battle checkpoints right before it starts... And immediately begins the battle every time you reload. This means that there's no way to go back and grind or save the game, or to catch your breath in between repeat attempts. So, the only way I've been able to beat a boss without significant backtracking is by gritting my teeth and learning every single part of the battle. They're satisfying as hell once you figure them out, but the railroaded repeat attempts really start to wear me down.

Some aspects of Japanese game design never change.

[alms]

If I recall you get offered a machine gun if you trade in your starting pistol. The machine gun fired downwards acts like a jetpack, and makes some of the platforming you have to do considerably easier. I think if you hang on to the pistol you can trade it for something powerful later in the game.

You're right about the MG, the part I vaguely remembered was probably Booster V0.8 vs V2.0, though, see here: http://cavestory.wikia.com/wiki/Booster_V_2.0

[sabrage]

Some aspects of Japanese game design never change.
Bad game design is bad regardless of origin.


I've started Cave Story+. What was that thing about not getting the first jetpack you find but holding out for a better one?

I can't find that bit anymore.
Right after you fight the Monster X, DO NOT talk to the guy at the bottom of the pit.

[Heliocentric]

Right after you fight the Monster X, DO NOT talk to the guy at the bottom of the pit.

After I first read that I decided I had better things to do than play this.

[sabrage]

After I first read that I decided I had better things to do than play this.
I loathe Cave Story. The cheap deaths and ass-backwards design decisions frustrated me right up until the marathon back-to-back-to-back-to-back final bosses. I'd never recommend it to anyone, but not having the Booster 2.0 only makes the final chapter that much worse.

[fiddlesticks]

I'd never recommend it to anyone, but not having the Booster 2.0 only makes the final chapter that much worse.
It's been awhile since I last played, but from what I recall you can't even get to the real final level without the Booster 2.0. Having the Booster 0.8 leads you to a significantly easier version.

[alms]

Right after you fight the Monster X, DO NOT talk to the guy at the bottom of the pit.

Thanks. Seems I'll be putting on hold CS+ until I get a new pad, my d-pad has just broken in the sand zone :| next one will be an X360 pad proper, I'm sick of X360CE.


I loathe Cave Story. The cheap deaths and ass-backwards design decisions frustrated me

I don't love it either, up where I've got there's a whole lot of backtracking, sure not a lot of fun? but TVA put me in a good mood for platformers so I said to myself: let's give this one a second chance (also, a chance to scratch another off the backlog)

[sabrage]

It's been awhile since I last played, but from what I recall you can't even get to the real final level without the Booster 2.0. Having the Booster 0.8 leads you to a significantly easier version.
Yeah, there's about 8 other arbitrary bullshit hoops to jump through (all some variation of "DON'T do the thing that would logically help you progress") to get that level as well, so fuck it.

[LTK]

Does Cave Story hate the player even more than Limbo does?

[laneford]

Just finished Arkham City. Beat the main story mode, and all bar two (I think) side missions. Going to clean those up soon, although I think one may be bugged. Really enjoyed the game though, once you get past the feeling of being overwhelmed by constant stuff the game keeps throwing at you, (which is something I felt GTAIV was very guilty of)

Considering which of the backlog next to tackle...

I still have Zelda: Skyward Sword, which I've only just started.
There's also Space Marine which I'm halfway through, which is a lot less interesting, but a lot shorter thus better for backlog clearage.


Also still making the most of foot-to-ball-euro-fever by rinsing FIFA and the silly euro 2012 DLC. (Yes I'm a sucker)

[Ravelle]

Just finished Arkham City. Beat the main story mode, and all bar two (I think) side missions. Going to clean those up soon, although I think one may be bugged. Really enjoyed the game though, once you get past the feeling of being overwhelmed by constant stuff the game keeps throwing at you, (which is something I felt GTAIV was very guilty of)

Considering which of the backlog next to tackle...

I still have Zelda: Skyward Sword, which I've only just started.
There's also Space Marine which I'm halfway through, which is a lot less interesting, but a lot shorter thus better for backlog clearage.


Also still making the most of foot-to-ball-euro-fever by rinsing FIFA and the silly euro 2012 DLC. (Yes I'm a sucker)

Did you bother with the Ridler Trophies?

[Kodeen]

I still have Zelda: Skyward Sword, which I've only just started.

Skyward Sword is the only Zelda game (that I've played) that I didn't finish. I gave it a chance and played through the first dungeon, but it never became fun. The problem is the motion controls and the fact that you're constantly thinking about them, they never become second nature like pressing certain buttons.

That and the fact that this game has some of the heaviest bloom I have ever seen, and I could only play for about a half hour at a time before my eyes started to melt.

[laneford]

Did you bother with the Ridler Trophies?

I've got enough secrets to do the first three riddler hostages. Not sure if I can be arsed to collect enough to unlock the others... some of them seem ridiculous.


Skyward Sword is the only Zelda game (that I've played) that I didn't finish. I gave it a chance and played through the first dungeon, but it never became fun. The problem is the motion controls and the fact that you're constantly thinking about them, they never become second nature like pressing certain buttons.

I haven't played it enough to judge it yet. So far, I did not enjoy attempting to control / flailing madly when flying the bird, but the swordfighting seems ok (which is the most important thing for me at any rate)

[Fanbuoy]

Does Cave Story hate the player even more than Limbo does?

Limbo doesn't hate you. It just wants you to die.

[sabrage]

Does Cave Story hate the player even more than Limbo does?
A damn sight more I'd say, and the feelings are mutual.

[Sketch]

I've been playing Hitman: Contracts, and it's really a very good game. I know there was some critiscism because it has 4 remakes from the first game in it, but it's still an excellent stealth title, and not as easy as Blood Money either. The suspicion is really well balanced, much better than Hitman 2.

[Kadayi]

Sims 3. Noticed that Origin had a 50% sale on and snapped up Generations as it was one of the expansions that I'd passed over (plus 30% your next purchase). Rather than carry on with any of my existing worlds decided to start afresh just with generations and ambitions on (I'm saving WoA and Nightlife for later on when the family is grown up). I've generally stayed away from the family thing with Sims (doing the room mates thing on the whole), but have been trying it with a single mum with 3 young kids and it's proving to be quite entertaining given the extra activities that can be done. I did use some cheat codes to given a bit more money to the family as a starting point (and allow them to purchase a bigger house) and the first thing the mother did was decide that she'd like to send two of the kids off to Boarding school which was quite amusing. Interested to see how that plays out in terms of the dynamic between the siblings in the long term.

[Casimir Effect]

Venice declared war. I'd compliment them - a nation with a single province and port soley focussed on trade - on their temerity and the size of their balls if I wasn't laughing so hard.

Their fleet of 20 ships attacked my 8, however their one was produced by a trade port (brigs, sloops and, oddly, some trade ships) whereas mine was made up of 5th Rates, 6th Rates and headed by an admiral in a 2nd Rate. It did not go well for them. Surprisingly though I actually lost a ship: some dumbass 5th Rate got set on fire in a bad way and just fucking exploded. It was so cool I didn't mind losing the ship. That was it though, the rest of their fleet died and amusingly my 2nd Rate, which lead the fight, barely took a scratch.

Then their land forces split up to harrass my territory in Milan. They now have half the land forces they used to have an will be under siege very soon. A siege I'm happy to draw out until the end as damn the world hates me for expanding so much. Probably why Venice declared war in the first place. Hopefully my expansion diplomatic penalty will die off in the next few years as I plan to sit back and build for a while.

[vinraith]

Mass Effect 2 again, in anticipation of finally picking up 3. I decided to play back through with the character with which I originally beat 2 (and which I imported from 1) to see how that worked and because I enjoyed playing her. I'm a little surprised that not only her skills and level, but also all her equipment transfers (even the stuff that makes no sense, like the collector beam). There's little enough "stuff" collection in ME2 as it is, I assume this means that for my second playthrough there will be none. Does that mean no new anything to find? Because that's half the fun.

[Heliocentric]

Thanks. Seems I'll be putting on hold CS+ until I get a new pad, my d-pad has just broken in the sand zone :| next one will be an X360 pad proper, I'm sick of X360CE.You want a Streetfighter 4 Fightpad
, its the best D pad I've ever used, but its not as clicky as a genesis or snes or wii classic but its very precise and I only play arrow key platformers like spelunky or whatever with it.


amazon fightpad link, mostly the prices are terrible (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=Street+Fighter+IV+FightPad+&x=0&y=0#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=Street+Fighter++FightPad&rh=n%3A300703%2Ck%3AStreet+Fighter++FightPad)

[khaz]

Bad game design is bad regardless of origin.


True but checkpoint right at start of boss battle is fairly common among Japanese devs. Brings back some terrible memories. Grandia 2 is one of my favourite rpgs of any kind ever ever but the absolutely brilliant realtime battle system meant that if you screwed up a few moves gainst bosses starting ALL OVER AGAIN against those monstrous HP tanks. UGH! Especially the "Beat every boss you already beat before meeting the final boss" gauntlet right at the end. Which is another awful idea and again common to many Japanese devs.

On the flip side, if I was in the mood, recovering from some poor decisions resulted in some glorious 20-30 minute battles against said bosses with satisfyingly smug smile on face. It really was such a good battle system. :)

[sabrage]

If we're on the subject of "greatest d-pad", there can only be one:
http://i.imgur.com/6cG7t.jpg
Played a bit of Risen, thanks to Gamergate's Void program... The start-up ads are really annoying, compounded by the fact that they gave me one for WoW: Cataclysm. ("Coming December 2010!") I'm assuming that I'm going to be running into enemies who can easily kill me on a regular basis? Is it impossible to block creatures?


On the flip side, if I was in the mood, recovering from some poor decisions resulted in some glorious 20-30 minute battles against said bosses with satisfyingly smug smile on face. It really was such a good battle system. :)
That's exactly why I'm sticking with Ys.

[internetonsetadd]

I recently returned to Just Cause 2 and finally got around to playing Alpha Centauri. Civ 2 is the only game from its franchise that I played, and SMAC is a wet dream in which nostalgia is making out with awesome. I didn't realize how well developed the sci-fi-ness of the game was.

[Spider Jerusalem]

finally getting around to finishing dx:hr. i quit after the first boss fight made me kill someone.

:(

[Lukasz]

I actually installed DXHR few days ago. It works ladies and gentlemen. barely but i do get 25 and more fps so im okay with that.
decided to not play stalker anymore. ill wait for new computer so i can replay it from a to z with complete and max graphical settings.

[icemann]

If we're on the subject of "greatest d-pad", there can only be one:


PS2 controller for me anyday. Besides n64 and genesis emulation (which I barely ever do anyway) the controller has been fine for any emulation related gaming I've wanted to do. My trusty ps2 controller has lasted me since 2001 without issue. I can't think of any controller I've used for any other system that has lasted that long. And I've been using it quite regularly throughout that time due to emulation.

[Voon]

Trying to play Dorf Fort in ASCII, right now. And trying to play this is half the challenge.

[Ravelle]

I actually installed DXHR few days ago. It works ladies and gentlemen. barely but i do get 25 and more fps so im okay with that.
decided to not play stalker anymore. ill wait for new computer so i can replay it from a to z with complete and max graphical settings.

I never had FPS issues with that game.

[Kodeen]

Played a bit of Risen, thanks to Gamergate's Void program... The start-up ads are really annoying, compounded by the fact that they gave me one for WoW: Cataclysm. ("Coming December 2010!") I'm assuming that I'm going to be running into enemies who can easily kill me on a regular basis? Is it impossible to block creatures?

It's been a while since I've played it and I don't really remember the mechanics of combat, but I think you can block. I remember slow methodical battles with packs of wolves, I must have been blocking. I do remember that it left the best impression on me of any PB combat system.

Speaking of Void, how does the advertising work? Is there just one displayed at the beginning of each play session?

[NecroKnight]

Home- a small indie psychological horror game.

[alms]

Finally started messing around with Simcity 4 Deluxe after it sat in my library collecting dust for, like, a couple years. I only played the original Simcity because after that, 2000 and 3000 looked too complicated to me and when 4 came out I wasn't paying attention to games.

My first city after the tutorials, the patch had this nice river in the middle I carved using the canyon tool. So nice, until I tried to build a bridge on it, when I was greeted by a "cannot build network on this type of ground" error which I couldn't get around in any way. Eventually I gave up and terraformed a connecting ridge :P


You want a Streetfighter 4 Fightpad
, its the best D pad I've ever used, but its not as clicky as a genesis or snes or wii classic but its very precise and I only play arrow key platformers like spelunky or whatever with it.

It doesn't have analog sticks, does it? I need them to play Lunar Flight.

[Heliocentric]

It doesn't have analog sticks, does it? I need them to play Lunar Flight.

No, I pop in an official pad with twin sticks for Luna Flight, driving games and anything that is super xboxpad or death in its controller configuration.

I actually enjoy driving project reality tanks with it too, the extra speed control really helps.

[sabrage]

Speaking of Void, how does the advertising work? Is there just one displayed at the beginning of each play session?
The one time I launched Risen the other day, it played (streamed?) three unskippable, fullscreen advertisement videos before launching the game proper.


It doesn't have analog sticks, does it? I need them to play Lunar Flight.
I would go with Sony's Playstation controller, then. Either a PS2 controller with an adapter, or a PS3 controller with a Bluetooth receiver. Definitely the best combination of analog sticks+d-pad I've used, though the d-pad is definitely lacking compared to some of the 16/32-bit mainstays. I've also heard good things about this Hori pad (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Pad-EX-Turbo-Black/dp/B002LT9PXQ), which also has the added benefit of a USB termination. I've never used it myself, but I imagine that for someone like me with rather large hands it would be a better fit than the tiny Sony footprint.

[alms]

No, I pop in an official pad with twin sticks for Luna Flight, driving games and anything that is super xboxpad or death in its controller configuration.

I actually enjoy driving project reality tanks with it too, the extra speed control really helps.

I'm gonna stick to the official pad then, I'm too cheap to get two


I've also heard good things about this Hori pad (http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Pad-EX-Turbo-Black/dp/B002LT9PXQ), which also has the added benefit of a USB termination.

I'll check that one out, thanks. Wired is plenty good for me, I'm not gonna use it with anything different from a PC anyway, and I was gonna get the X360 pad just because it's become the de facto standard for PC games.

[TailSwallower]

Felt a hankering for some Tower Defense, searched around and found Cursed Treasure and proceeded to spend most of the day playing the goddamn thing. Armor Games have a knack for publishing super-addictive games.

Deliberately didn't include a link. Your productivity levels will thank me later.

[Lukasz]

I never had FPS issues with that game.
did you run it on 4850 amd 3200 2Gb of ddr1
?

[LTK]

Now playing Trine, from the Frozen Synapse bundle. Very pretty and surprisingly enjoyable!

[vinraith]

Playing back through Mass Effect 2 in anticipation of getting 3. I'm making a second run with the same character I played through the first time, so started at level 27 or so, and popped the difficulty up to veteran. It's interesting, they pulled most of the RPG mechanics out, but there's a pretty solid tactical shooter in there in their place. The problem I'm having, though, is that the longer set piece battles have nowhere you can save, so any slip up (be it due to the "space does everything" controls or bad collision detection or my own ineptitude) can set me back half an hour. That's not cool, and I'm not sure how long I can put up with replaying long sections like this.

I'm not sure how much of the difficulty is coming from the "replaying an old character" element, so I'm considering starting over with a new character instead (but trying to stick it out on veteran). Hell, I'm afraid to use my vanguard's charge skill anyway with things the way they are, too easy to screw up and get killed, maybe I'll make a more paragon-inclined female infiltrator and see if that works for me.

[Oshada]

Felt a hankering for some Tower Defense, searched around and found Cursed Treasure and proceeded to spend most of the day playing the goddamn thing. Armor Games have a knack for publishing super-addictive games.

Deliberately didn't include a link. Your productivity levels will thank me later.

That's a good one, although it has a nasty habit of periodically wiping your progress. Bloons Tower Defence 5 is my current addiction, it's amazing how they keep improving it.

[sabrage]

Oh god. Why did I start The First EncountAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH on Hard Mode?
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2bszr0ldA1qelxrxo1_500.png
On that note (actually a completely unrelated note) which one of the DND Anthology games should I start with? (Bear in mind that I know next-to-nothing about DND rulesets)

[Heliocentric]

Playing back through Mass Effect 2 in anticipation of getting 3.

I'm not sure I could stand replaying #2 to completion, but I guess a core missions run would be fun, I scarcely 100%'d it last time. Mass Effect 1 I finished 3 times, I honestly think all the people who said ME2 was an improvement were either only thinking about the conversations or were playing with a controller. Crap like approching an enemy base in cover of a hill in the mako then setting garrus and ashley (this is before she tragically dies: Canon) up with sniper rifles and going to make a drink while they clear house ^_^

Okay, that's an edge case, but you actually seemed to have some strategic choices in a few parts of ME1, this never happened again. I mean, where is the scene in ME3 where you drive a tank/atlas (so no jumping) through London fighting reaper forces able to call down some strategic support depending on who you made friends with?

Calling down a squad of Geth Prime to drop on top of some Banshee's, then calling some Quarian fleet fire support or Salarian anti material snipers to destroy a harvester. Maybe a team of Asari Biotic Commandoes or a Krogan battlegroup like the end of ME2 chose to hole the line.

At what point did they fail to realise how badass that would be.



On that note (actually a completely unrelated note) which one of the DND Anthology games should I start with? (Bear in mind that I know next-to-nothing about DND rulesets)
This is an easy one, Planescape but you need to promise me that you will tough it out until you reach Pharod.
The rules hardly even matter in Planescape, just punch people until they fall over with highish (1-16))constitution you will regenerate health at a healthy rate, set 14 or so strength and you can punch your way through half of the fights if you use Morte's distraction skill well.

[sabrage]

I was thinking Planescape, and was actually in the process of modding it using this guide (http://www.gog.com/en/news/mod_spotlight_planescape_torment_mods_guide/). I know I want the widescreen and UI mods, but as a first-time player I don't know if the others are necessary or preferable. In particular, the "Tweaks Pack" seems to change an awful lot and I don't really know what it's changing. Anyone want to chime in here?

[TechnoJellyfish]

I remember being in this very situation when I started my first playthrough ~ 2 years ago. If you just want to play a high-res, widescreen and mostly bug-free version of Planescape without altering the gameplay mechanics, I'd say install everything up to and including step 3.

Be careful, though, IIRC you may (and probably will) break your savegames if you decide to change the resolution afterwards!

[sabrage]

The Widescreen mod actually had an option to update old savegames so as not to corrupt them, but I don't even launch any older games without addressing the resolution issue first.

[TechnoJellyfish]

Oh, that has been introduced in version 3.00 of the Widescreen Mod. Consider my warning redundant, then.

[vinraith]

I'm not sure I could stand replaying #2 to completion, but I guess a core missions run would be fun, I scarcely 100%'d it last time. Mass Effect 1 I finished 3 times, I honestly think all the people who said ME2 was an improvement were either only thinking about the conversations or were playing with a controller. Crap like approching an enemy base in cover of a hill in the mako then setting garrus and ashley (this is before she tragically dies: Canon) up with sniper rifles and going to make a drink while they clear house ^_^

Well, part of the benefit to playing through with a character that's already completed the game is that it shaves off a lot of bullshit. You start with significant reserves of all the minerals, for example, so planet scanning is minimized. In my case, I thought it would be a good way to get back into the series and refamiliarize myself with my favorite character, and also to catch up on all the new DLC in context. I certainly would never call ME2 better than ME1. It's a very different game, functionally in a completely different genre. I've been pleasantly surprised to discover just how tactical 2 gets when you turn up the difficulty though, it's got an almost scifi-Brothers-in-Arms-lite feel going, right down to me wishing there were more checkpoints because I suck. It's not the direction I'd have chosen for the series (I'd rather have seen them improve the RPG mechanics than jettison them, obviously) but it's fun in its own right.



Okay, that's an edge case, but you actually seemed to have some strategic choices in a few parts of ME1, this never happened again. I mean, where is the scene in ME3 where you drive a tank/atlas (so no jumping) through London fighting reaper forces able to call down some strategic support depending on who you made friends with?


After the finale of Dragon Age: Origins I'm surprised they didn't try to do anything with an idea like this, really. I guess it's another case of Bioware's "this didn't quite work like we wanted so let's never do it again, rather than trying to fix it" mentality. Regardless, I agree that more strategic elements would have been very welcome. Hell, combine some of that stuff with the strength of the tactical game in 2 and you've got a pretty neat shooter, plot and characters be damned.

[Casimir Effect]

Well, part of the benefit to playing through with a character that's already completed the game is that it shaves off a lot of bullshit. You start with significant reserves of all the minerals, for example, so planet scanning is minimized.
Last time I played ME2 I just used a savegame editor right at the start to give me 1,000,000 of all the elements. Never again am I sitting there for several minutes, alternately holding down a mouse button and hearing "Probe launched", "Probe aray".

[FunnyB]

After the finale of Dragon Age: Origins I'm surprised they didn't try to do anything with an idea like this, really. I guess it's another case of Bioware's "this didn't quite work like we wanted so let's never do it again, rather than trying to fix it" mentality. Regardless, I agree that more strategic elements would have been very welcome. Hell, combine some of that stuff with the strength of the tactical game in 2 and you've got a pretty neat shooter, plot and characters be damned.

I really was pleasantly surprised about that in Dragon Age: Origins. The fact that you actually got to field the armies (or rather platoons) that you had spent the entire game amassing. Excellent work!

I have yet to finish ME3, but I'm currently playing through it. Wasn't able to dodge all the info about the ending and all the discussions though. But it's sad to hear that you don't get to direct forces at least for a little bit in the final battle.

[Vague-rant]

Okay, that's an edge case, but you actually seemed to have some strategic choices in a few parts of ME1, this never happened again. I mean, where is the scene in ME3 where you drive a tank/atlas (so no jumping) through London fighting reaper forces able to call down some strategic support depending on who you made friends with?

I forgot the Mako Mountain climbing team. Good times. By the way, surely ME1 is the only game where the vehicles jump, but the characters can't.

[Heliocentric]

Neverwinter Nights Hordes of the underdark's titular underdark area was excellent for just that reason. A strategic defence mission with loyalty quests.

[Kodeen]

After getting it in yesterday's sale, I played a little bit of Avernum AftP. So far so good, only got through the first screen, but it looks promising. I copped out and went for the default party because character creation is not particularly my favorite activity. The one thing I'm disappointed about is that my numberpad is ignoring my numlock key, and they only act as arrows. I usually answer dialogs with those keys. Oh well.

[Giaddon]

I finished Alpha Polaris last night, the Arctic horror point-n-click. It was pretty good! I like horror in my point-n-click. The sedate pace of the genre clashes nicely with the tension of horror.

And now, I think I shall replay some BATMAN.

I've been playing a lot of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, as well.

[fiddlesticks]

In particular, the "Tweaks Pack" seems to change an awful lot and I don't really know what it's changing.
For the Tweaks Pack, I'd recommend installing anything the guide tells you to install. It's mostly there for convenience and doesn't change the game in any significant way. If you're unsure about their exact purpose, the readme (http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/QPSTTweaks_Readme.html) tells you exactly what all of these tweaks do.

[ado]

Just beaten The Witcher for the 1st time. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and the end cinematic kinda makes me want to jump straight in to The Witcher 2 (I hear it's a direct sequel, yay!). That's probably gonna be the next game I play. Apart from that I'm still enjoying Isaac and TF2 on the side.

I picked up L.A. Noire as well on Steam, very curious to try that out.

[Leopig]

After getting annoyed with Alpha Protocol I thought, why struggle with a game like Dues Ex when i can just play Dues Ex, so I decided to play through HR again on hard without killing anyone, or as little people as possible.

[Terry]

Just finished Max Payne 3 and waiting for Hitman: Absolution.
P.S. Sign a petition for The Last of Us on PC http://petitionbureau.org/thelastofuspc

[Rauten]

Just finished Max Payne 3 and waiting for Hitman: Absolution.
P.S. Sign a petition for The Last of Us on PC http://petitionbureau.org/thelastofuspc

*Headdesk* You do realize the developer is Naughty Dog? You DO realize Naughty Dog is owned by Sony? You DO realize, I hope, it will NEVER EVER be released anywhere but a Sony platform?

[Terry]

*Headdesk* You do realize the developer is Naughty Dog? You DO realize Naughty Dog is owned by Sony? You DO realize, I hope, it will NEVER EVER be released anywhere but a Sony platform?
PS3 isn't for forever. *blah*

[Ravelle]

Not only that but it will ruin the game by making it a crappy buggy port most likely.

[Terry]

Not only that but it will ruin the game by making it a crappy buggy port most likely.I'll be agreed with it. 'A port' or nothing at all. What should I take like others?

[Space Indaver]

SMITE. SMITE SMITE SMITE. Join me.

[sabrage]

For the Tweaks Pack, I'd recommend installing anything the guide tells you to install. It's mostly there for convenience and doesn't change the game in any significant way. If you're unsure about their exact purpose, the readme (http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/QPSTTweaks_Readme.html) tells you exactly what all of these tweaks do.
Thank you, very informative.

My base stats: 10 STR, 10 CAR, 12 DEX, 12 INT, 13 CON and 18 WIS.

[johnki]

I've been playing Tribes: Ascend, DotA2 and SpyParty, myself.

[vinraith]

This is an easy one, Planescape but you need to promise me that you will tough it out until you reach Pharod.
The rules hardly even matter in Planescape, just punch people until they fall over with highish (1-16))constitution you will regenerate health at a healthy rate, set 14 or so strength and you can punch your way through half of the fights if you use Morte's distraction skill well.

Wait, wait, wait, is Pharod the line of demarcation that's supposed to be when the game gets good? Because I've played past that point and still hated it, so maybe I can finally just let that one go.

[sabrage]

Wait, wait, wait, is Pharod the line of demarcation that's supposed to be when the game gets good? Because I've played past that point and still hated it, so maybe I can finally just let that one go.
I think you and I share the same sentiment in this area (though not specifically about Planescape, yet): no need to try to enjoy something that you're not.

(I'm taking a break to read the manual; I didn't have a PDF viewer installed)

[vinraith]

I think you and I share the same sentiment in this area (though not specifically about Planescape, yet): no need to try to enjoy something that you're not.

(I'm taking a break to read the manual; I didn't have a PDF viewer installed)

I sincerely hope your experience with it is better than mine. I suspect a lack of D&D familiarity will actually help, I was deeply familiar with both the PnP game, the previous Infinity Engine games, and the setting itself before coming to it. I don't think the expectations that come with all that did it any favors. That said, given the strength of its reputation and my affection for everything I just listed, I've never been able to understand why it puts me off so badly. The result is that I keep coming back to it, playing for an hour or two, and quitting in disgust again.

[Heliocentric]

@Vinraith I'm not sure when most people find it good but I found [a spoiler if it makes sense] the conflict between the town of the dead and the brain rats to be the peak point, followed by personal revelations and then the shift in plot tone rescuing the growing street and a new hub. Up until pharod the game feels meandering.

[roryok]

I played anachronox for the first time yesterday, and I was well impressed by the voice acting and even animation. Faces are just animated textures on a flat surface, but the timing and tweening is done so well that it's believable. I'm drawn into the action already. 3 minutes in and I was wondering why nobody has remade this already.

I got to a place called the fountain spiral, and there was this big swooping cutscene of inverted gravity and all kinds of stuff, then back to boots who just said "I hate this place" with complete conviction. I was hooked.

Then there was a monumental bug which stopped me from playing. I went to Whackmaster Jacks and while I was in a fight with a robot it replayed an earlier cutscene over the top of everything, leaving me under the scenery or something. When it played out none of the controls would work.

Normally that'd be it for me and a game, but I found it so enthralling up to this point that I'm going to continue and try to get past that bug.

[Drake Sigar]

My character in Anachronox started gliding everywhere after the first cutscene, and would get stuck up mild inclines. Made it impossible to play. :(

[byteCrunch]

I played anachronox for the first time yesterday, and I was well impressed by the voice acting and even animation. Faces are just animated textures on a flat surface, but the timing and tweening is done so well that it's believable. I'm drawn into the action already. 3 minutes in and I was wondering why nobody has remade this already.

I got to a place called the fountain spiral, and there was this big swooping cutscene of inverted gravity and all kinds of stuff, then back to boots who just said "I hate this place" with complete conviction. I was hooked.

Then there was a monumental bug which stopped me from playing. I went to Whackmaster Jacks and while I was in a fight with a robot it replayed an earlier cutscene over the top of everything, leaving me under the scenery or something. When it played out none of the controls would work.

Normally that'd be it for me and a game, but I found it so enthralling up to this point that I'm going to continue and try to get past that bug.

It is well worth playing beyond, you'll just have to play up to that point and hope it doesn't happen again, it happened to me on the first time, but was fine the second time through. It really is pot luck, but well worth the effort.

[airtekh]

RE: Planescape Torment

I'm not really a fan of this kind of game but I played it for the first time about year or so ago just to experience the story that I'd heard so much about.

The point at which I found the game really caught hold of me was shortly after you meet Pharod. In the sewers, there's a room you can discover while searching that area that provides some very interesting backstory; and it served as the point where some of the game's mysteries started clicking into place for me.

At the moment I'm playing weekly Arma 2 multiplayer with the lovely ARPS people, and also investigating the new decks in MTG DOTP 2013.

I'm also about to fire up Team Fortress 2 to check out the Pyromania update, since I haven't played that in a while.

[Tikey]

I played anachronox for the first time yesterday, and I was well impressed by the voice acting and even animation. Faces are just animated textures on a flat surface, but the timing and tweening is done so well that it's believable. I'm drawn into the action already. 3 minutes in and I was wondering why nobody has remade this already.

I got to a place called the fountain spiral, and there was this big swooping cutscene of inverted gravity and all kinds of stuff, then back to boots who just said "I hate this place" with complete conviction. I was hooked.

Then there was a monumental bug which stopped me from playing. I went to Whackmaster Jacks and while I was in a fight with a robot it replayed an earlier cutscene over the top of everything, leaving me under the scenery or something. When it played out none of the controls would work.

Normally that'd be it for me and a game, but I found it so enthralling up to this point that I'm going to continue and try to get past that bug.

Oooh, Anachronox. Some of the best written dialogue in gaming.
Its world and characters are brilliant. I love that game despite the awkward combat (It does get better later on)

[Heliocentric]

(It does get better later on)
despicable lies.

[Tikey]

The basic mechanics doesn't change at all but at least you have more things to play with.
But Anachronox is its world and characters. Not the combat.

[Goateh]

I've never been able to understand why it puts me off so badly

I found it just wasn't fun to play from a mechanics point of view. I played most of the other Infinity Engine games and enjoyed them but in Planescape the mechanics clashed with the story too much. I want intelligence for more dialog but I don't like the spell system of X castings per day. I want to bring along these characters because I like their stories but I need these other ones because my party can't function with that combination. I ended up using a few of the mods to make life easier - rest anywhere, max hp every level, stacking inventory - and it improved mightily. I could live with all of the above in Baldur's Gate but Planescape just didn't do it for me in combat at all.

More on topic:

Bastion
I just finished this, but only to complete the story. There are lots of bits left like new game+, idols and the challenges. I liked the story and music (especially the music) of Bastion but I think I've missed what was so popular about it. I can't see me going back to do all the extra things I left unfinished, but I'm glad I played it simply for the way it told the story.

Quantum Conundrum
Again, just finished. It's the same setup as Portal but with dimensions instead of portals. Q might not be Glados but he's quite passable. There are the usual mix of obvious puzzles and brain teasers and the way that it introduces the new dimensions is very nicely staggered. There is a significant emphasis on platforming above just solving the puzzle. I don't think I've ever jumped across waves of flying sofas in a game before.
The only complaint I had was that it ends too soon. The game divides into 4 wings (chapters) and you only get access to all the dimensions at the end. Some of the puzzles that involved mixing more than just 2 dimensions were great but the game is over just after you start exploring what you can do with all four at once. Hopefully the upcoming DLC will start where the main game finished.

Crusader Kings 2
Oh god, the civil wars. Ireland now covers Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Brittany and parts of Spain but a spate of short-lived rulers for various reasons has left me facing rebellion from all corners. The heathens in Spain are also proving difficult to dislodge. I just finished a 35 year civil war and my character died within 2 years to disease, leading to another round of claimants and independent counts. For all its complexity it manages to be incredibly accessible, which is surprising for Paradox. EU and HOI have proven difficult beasts to tame but in Crusader Kings you don't feel you're losing out by not knowing how certain things work. Yes, I only discovered 50 years ago that you could build things inside your castles/cities/etc. Oops!

Darksiders
It's Zelda meets God of War, with a few other bits thrown in. It's not particularly original but it is fun, aside from a few niggles. I still can't tell which way I'm going to go when I press jump while hanging on a wall and some ledges look like they should be grabbable but most certainly aren't. Those aside, the combat is satisfying and there seems to be plenty to explore off the beaten track.

LA Noire
Only just started on this. So far it feels like a high budget Mafia. The PC controls with the mouse are questionable when investigating things and I don't appreciate the built in patcher and Rockstar social club ties. However, it was very cheap and the game itself is entertaining once you get started. It's definitely leaning towards interactive film at times but it's at least a good version of it.

Lego Batman 2
Lego! Batman! Lego with some open world bits and more of the same. It's still a great deal of fun to play cooperatively and it's probably the best of their recent lego games.

Magic - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013
2013? It's more magic, not much else to say. The new decks are the usual mixed bag of fun and questionable. Planechase seems like a horribly random mode where entire games can swing against you before it comes back to you. I'll still have put 100 hours into it by the time the next one comes around.

[Casimir Effect]

I found it just wasn't fun to play from a mechanics point of view. I played most of the other Infinity Engine games and enjoyed them but in Planescape the mechanics clashed with the story too much. I want intelligence for more dialog but I don't like the spell system of X castings per day. I want to bring along these characters because I like their stories but I need these other ones because my party can't function with that combination. I ended up using a few of the mods to make life easier - rest anywhere, max hp every level, stacking inventory - and it improved mightily. I could live with all of the above in Baldur's Gate but Planescape just didn't do it for me in combat at all.
No one should feel bad for doing this with Planescape as it really is all about the story and characters. The combat adds little to the experience so aiding your path through it (either through mods or console cheating) is going to be better than forcing yourself to play through it vanilla while growing more and more miserable.

[alms]

I think I've missed what was so popular about it.

Consider yourself lucky, I found the story a bit meh, and the part in which you're forced to drag around that guy near the end is one is the least enlightened gameplay choices I've seen in an ARPG.

It caught the eye of most, including mine, for its art style (which IS fantastic, there's no questioning that) and some 'innovations', like the world that build itself (a gimmick IMO, the annoyance it adds to the gameplay aka you falling off the platforms exceeds its value) and the dynamic narrator which is another gimmick, 95% of time it's not dynamic at all ('the kid rages around'? come on...)

IMO there are 3 types of bastion players: 1) people who are fascinated by it 2) those found the gameplay entertaining 3) all the others.


The PC controls with the mouse are questionable when investigating things and I don't appreciate the built in patcher and Rockstar social club ties.

I played without the social club connection (skip registration or something like that). I think the only feature I've been missing is that "ask the community" in your notebook, hardly a deal breaker. If for investigating you mean those sequences where you manipulate objects to find out details, just use WSAD. Worked well for me. The patcher only ran once when I first started the game, finished its job decently quickly and never bothered me again.

[Tei]

SMITE. SMITE SMITE SMITE. Join me.

I am tryiing, but the "JOIN BETA" button is made in Flash. F**** flash.

[Winged Nazgul]

The Secret World

[magnus1969]

Rune Classic/Bully/Lone Survivor/Amnesia: The Dark Decent

[Vague-rant]

Valkyria chronicles. Not strictly PC, but shhhh. Actually really fun. I very much like the base management and the strategy stuff. Simple in theory, but with a fair bit of nuance. Plot wise, its an alternate universe that sounds awfully quite like WW2 (called European War 2, with no mention of a first at all), 2 major factions splitting up the map between them with a little neutral country in the middle. Oh and everyone is hates the Darcsen (people with dark hair- apparently).

Few things of note: writing has made me laugh due to twee overload at points, the world map looks like they got a small child to try and copy out europe and there is a camp lancer called Jann Walker (misread it as Jonn initially) who has the attribute "likes men", gaining a stat boost when near male troops.

[kstress71]

Hello, sweet nourishing weekend! Can't wait to dive into some Rage, Mass Effect 3, Binding of Isaac, and Diablo 3 (Hell). Woohoo!

[Ravelle]

Finished Walking Dead Episode 2 in one sitting and man, it was better, darker and longer than previous episode.

[Casimir Effect]

Why do I find it so hard to be an asshole in games? My current campaign of Empire is getting ot the point where I need to betray and alliance, but I just can't do it. No problems with trying to assassinate people I'm allied with, but actually breaking the alliance and attacking? I just can't do it.

Likewise, I have regions where the populace is getting more and more angry because they have universities/schools and I'm researching 'Enlightenment' tech (gives a bonus to unrest). These could be pacified by destroying the school structures, and improved by building Inns and Pleasure Gardens instead, but I just can't bring myself to destroy a school. It just feels wrong, yet I know if the place does rebel I'm going to end up killing a thousand odd people.

[alms]

I'm beginning to love CTDs in Simcity 4, they are not bugs but the game's own way to tell you it's to go do something else for a change. This may or may not be related to the tic I recently developed, which forces me to press Ctrl-Alt-S compulsively every few minutes.

[agentorange]

Done with the Tales of Monkey Island, only took me a year. Now I just finish the final episode of Sam & Max Season 1, that I started something like 4 years ago.

[Scumbag]

Done with the Tales of Monkey Island, only took me a year. Now I just finish the final episode of Sam & Max Season 1, that I started something like 4 years ago.

I swear Sam & Max has a special repellent in it that pushes people away. I love old point and clicks, yet I cant play past part 3 of that no matter how hard I try.

Rather then revising for exams I've been doing the following
Legacy if Kain - Soul Reaver 2: Fixes a lot of the problems the first game had such as the horrid PS1 camera, fully dynamic music, slightly better combat and expands on the already rather nice scripting and voice acting (still one of my favorite games of all time in this regard). Shame its just one long liner corridor and, while improved from the first game, the combat sucks after killing the forth opponent onwards.
I still love it, but I cant recommend it at all unless you really want to play out the full story. You may as well Youtube all the cutscenes without the stress of the boring walking back and forth.

Serious Sam 3: Crap start, gets way better as it goes on.

[Leopig]

Space Marine - Yep, I left it to get at the lowest price as wasn;t sure, but it is quite good actually. Multiplayer is ool too, popped into a first game and topped the leaderboard ;p

[agentorange]

I swear Sam & Max has a special repellent in it that pushes people away. I love old point and clicks, yet I cant play past part 3 of that no matter how hard I try.


The first seasons is just very bland, isn't it? You're retreading a lot of ground in Sam & Max's neighbourhood in each episode, a lot of the writing in those areas just became flatter and flatter. In Monkey Island you were constantly romping around new locales and meeting new characters. It does seem like S&M Season 2 and 3 get better about it though.

[Drake Sigar]

Indeed, it really becomes something special from season 2 onwards.

[ado]

Started The Witcher 2 yesterday... Played for 8 hours straight. Fuck me what a giant leap this game is in every conceivable way when compared to the 1st one.

[alms]

With CK2 going on sale again tomorrow: is there a demo where the tutorials actually work?

The interface (although beautiful) is cluttered enough that I'm already having enough trouble finding buttons without the tutorial skipping panels randomly.

[Drake Sigar]

Game of Thrones. Mors is incredibly badass despite lookin' like a 60 year old. From what little I've gleamed of the combat system I'd say in some ways it's more tactical (in melee anyway) than Dragon Age: Origins. Timing is emphasised to chain and interrupt attacks, but weirdly it's not reflex-based. That's a pleasant surprise.

And as with Alpha Protocol, there's no fucking walk button on the keyboard. Time to bust out the gamepad.

Napoleon Total War sucks. It froze after a certain number of turns and refuses to continue. Over a year it's been out. :/

[sabrage]

I played through BFE before, but Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is making me hate Kleer Skeletons with a fervor I thought myself incapable of. I want to like it more than 3 - I recognize that it's a better game in every way that matters - but it's fucking relentless.

[laneford]

I only have two missions left to do on Arkham City, but I can't get Batman's one to trigger, and I think Catwoman's one is bugged. So I'm going to leave that one.

Just finished Space Marine, having abandoned it halfway through a few months ago. A bit of a wasted opportunity really, considering how much fun it can be at times, but unfortunately isn't for the majority of it's duration. Pleasingly 40k grim ending though.

Thinking about playing MW3 before tackling Zelda, as I assume the SP:Campaign is only about 3 hours long.

[Voon]

Motherf- Shit, man. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not my dwarves built that fucking Carpenter's Workshop yet. I can't even tell whether they're doing the stuff I told them to do, either. And the animals aren't in their pastures, UI's confusing, etc.

/rant

Though, I can't stop playing this one. Dwarf Fortress



I played through BFE before, but Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is making me hate Kleer Skeletons with a fervor I thought myself incapable of. I want to like it more than 3 - I recognize that it's a better game in every way that matters - but it's fucking relentless.

Wait till you play TSE. Going through that Aztec level is a nightmare

[Goateh]

With CK2 going on sale again tomorrow: is there a demo where the tutorials actually work?

I can't say about the demo, but these (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL158344868202D6B3&feature=plcp) videos are very helpful. Even when it's all working perfectly they simply don't cover a lot of things that you'd want, primarily why you want to do the things they just explained to you. Yes, I can click those buttons to press a war but which claim is better to press? Do I even want to bother with war for that claim?

One redeeming feature is that it comes with some excellent tooltips that explain nearly every action you'll take. I wish Paradox were as good at tutorials as tooltips; their games would be a lot less intimidating. Even if you're not sure what some of it does, it doesn't actually matter too much for CK2. Sure, you won't be playing at your best, but you can get a lot from the game even if you do miss details.


Adventures of Shuggy
A clever puzzle platformer that goes for variety over wringing every drop from a core mechanic. There are a dozen different abilities/types of level here and you'll only have one ability per level. Some examples; flying, gliding, rope swinging, time travel cloning, rotating levels and then simply platforming particularly well. Each level is quick (<2 mins when you know what you're doing in most cases) and you can pick and choose the order you complete things in. Some emphasise platforming skills and some are all about working out what you need to do.

It's one of my favourite of the puzzle platforming collection simply for having such variety and not overstaying its welcome. As an added bonus, it has a set of dedicated cooperative levels that work particularly well. It's local only but they're not just a rehash of singleplayer levels with another person.


Gateways
Oh god, my brain. Starts off as a 2d portal and turns into so much more. There are different guns for normal portals, size altering portals, gravity altering portals and time travel portals and it consistently manages to do more with the same base set of mechanics.

It's set over one sprawling map with lots of collectables scattered about in typical Metroid fashion. To alleviate some of the potential confusion it has a fantastic hint system built in. Spread out over the map are various blue coins. Each puzzle has a signpost that allows you to spend 10 coins to determine if you have the correct items to complete it yet and then 40 coins to view a video of the solution.

When the puzzles can leave you stumped for long periods the ability to check to see if you can solve it or not is very welcome. They seem to be plentiful enough that you aren't afraid of spending them but rare enough that it isn't the first thing you want to do when you reach a new room. I've only used the video solutions twice so far, mostly because I didn't realise how the portals could be used for certain things. The time travel can be particularly opaque when you first discover it and it wasn't until I saw the video of a solution using a few clones that I started to realise how it works.

I've just unlocked the ability to use all four portal types at once and I think I'm going to go lie down before I try some of the puzzles that've unlocked with that. It's certainly not a simple game.

[LTK]

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. It's every bit as comfortable to control as you would expect from a friggin' iPhone port. Though I must admit I'm surprised by how the game quits to the main menu after the first level and suggests you take a little break. I'm just not sure if that makes the game more pretentious, or more humble.

[Drayk]

Just Finished HL2 ! \o/ I am only 8 years late. The game is still amazing.

I also started ME3 again in insane mode with my Renegade sentinel.

Play a bit of D3 hardcore too, will probably stop when my monk eventually dies...

[DaftPunk]

Just found out i can create my own merc in JA2,so i created myself as stealth marksman,which is occasionally aggressive :P haha,feels nice to play myself,even his face looks kinda similar to my!

[ado]

Just found out i can create my own merc in JA2,so i created myself as stealth marksman,which is occasionally aggressive :P haha,feels nice to play myself,even his face looks kinda similar to my!

I always enjoyed that very much, whenever a game let me create a custom guy I'd make him my uber fantasy of myself. And not only in RPGs, but even in games like Rollercoaster Tycoon I'd take a guest and give him my name and put his reactions on the ticker.

[Drake Sigar]

Just reached Chapter 4 on the Game of Thrones RPG, and I gotta' say it feels like Game of Thrones. The player characters and their motivations belong here, so much so that I'd swear they've been in the books for years. The loot system is great - armour changes your appearance, there's enough loot to be rewarding but not so much that it bogs you down. Combat is surprisingly tough, I've died several times already (my own fault of course). For any fan of the books or TV show GoT is a must buy. A TV/movie series hasn't been this well converted into video games since Jedi Knight.

[jnx]

Must buy it from a sale then.

[khaz]

I swear Sam & Max has a special repellent in it that pushes people away. I love old point and clicks, yet I cant play past part 3 of that no matter how hard I try.

Rather then revising for exams I've been doing the following
Legacy if Kain - Soul Reaver 2: Fixes a lot of the problems the first game had such as the horrid PS1 camera, fully dynamic music, slightly better combat and expands on the already rather nice scripting and voice acting (still one of my favorite games of all time in this regard). Shame its just one long liner corridor and, while improved from the first game, the combat sucks after killing the forth opponent onwards.
I still love it, but I cant recommend it at all unless you really want to play out the full story. You may as well Youtube all the cutscenes without the stress of the boring walking back and forth.


You should really play the Dreamcast version of Soul Reaver. Glorious gaming. All those issues you mentioned were non-existant for me when I played it way back when (This might be nostalgia but I don't remember a bad camera at all) and the port took full advantage of the DC's hardware too.

[apricotsoup]

That does make the game of a game of thrones roleplaying game sound a bit more interesting to me, but again I think it'll be a sale purchase along with plenty of other stuff I've missed.

Been back playing TF2 mostly, really don't care for the new game mode but I have found a new enjoyment for pyro and sniper (a class I completely and utterly overlooked before for no good reason other than the overuse of them on most teams).

Also a bit of Dredmor and an episode of same & max.

Now downloading Tribes:Ascend finally, had it sitting on my computer for ages but for some reason it didn't work and now steam stops my excuses for fixing it.

[sabrage]

Regarding Majesty: how should I be setting up my tax collectors for maximum efficiency? Sometimes they take forever to reach my marketplaces, and I don't always see the ratmen in time to Extort before they jack all my shit.

[Doodier]

Just Finished HL2 ! \o/ I am only 8 years late. The game is still amazing.
How long is it? I was thinking about playing it for a long time, but I am not sure if it's something I would enjoy. If the main storyline is <10 hrs I might give it a try.

[Heliocentric]

If the main storyline is <10 hrs I might give it a try.
Yeah, if you avoid getting out of the vehicle in the vehicle sections to check under every flipped over bathtub you can easily finish Halflife 2 in 12 hours.

[fiddlesticks]

Well, this speed run of HL2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B83zyts5q88) manages to finish the game in under two hours, so just follow their lead and you'll be fine.

Alright I admit it, I was just looking for an excuse to post the speed run because I feel it's incredibly entertaining. For a serious answer, the game is probably going to take you somewhere between 10 and 15 hours, depending on how much you explore and how good you are at FPS.

[Hypernetic]

Funny story about HL2. When it first came out I got stuck in the first section with the helicopter and the airboat for HOURS.

Why? Well I somehow managed to skip the airboat part or something and continued on foot and then got stuck trying to run from the helicopter. The funny part is I managed to get passed it by memorizing where cover was and slowly making my way across without dying. It wasn't until my second playthrough that I thought "WAIT WTF?!" and then I remembered that I used to do a lot of drugs.

[DaftPunk]

How long is it? I was thinking about playing it for a long time, but I am not sure if it's something I would enjoy. If the main storyline is <10 hrs I might give it a try.



Let me check my steam,loading..


Half Life 2 - 16 hours
Ep 1 - 6 hours
Ep 2 - 7 hours


All three games were played on hardest difficulty settings.

[Heliocentric]

It wasn't until my second playthrough that I thought "WAIT WTF?!" and then I remembered that I used to do a lot of drugs.

Friends don't let friends play Halflife 2 high.

[DrTeflon]

Just bought spec ops the line, max payne 3, x com collection and dnf, ty amazon sales! (still deciding if i should go for the darkness 2). Will probably start specops today, and some bf3 /mowas/ civ V rounds.

[SirKicksalot]

Finished Spec Ops: The Line in one sitting. Best game I played this year.

As a shooter it's more than competent. Controls are tight, no mouse acceleration bullshit on my PC. The weapons are very deadly - this goes both ways. There are many large open combat areas which provide a lot of tactical options. The enemy AI is aggressive and your squadmates are surprisingly useful. Sand and glass offer a lot of amusement. Minor annoyances: no peek option in cover (you know, press A or D to look a bit left/right) and Shift being used for both melee and vault got me in danger a couple of times.

Dubai is absolutely stunning. I can't praise the sound design and voice acting enough... Without such a high quality presentation the story Yager wanted to tell would have been impossible. Story, characters, art and sound - together they create a very unique experience.

Ten days ago I was praising Syndicate ITT for being a demented, sociopathic power trip. I enjoyed playing a bad guy and executing every civilian in sight. And now Spec Ops made me feel awful. I always loved games that make me feel. I'm not sure how much Spec Ops makes me think, but on a visceral level it hit hard and I love it for that.

Side note: the loading screens are quite interesting, especially late in the game. One of them has the message The US Army does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?

[Velko]

Side note: the loading screens are quite interesting, especially late in the game. One of them has the message The US Army does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?

Damn. That is quite something indeed.

[Drake Sigar]

That does make the game of a game of thrones roleplaying game sound a bit more interesting to me, but again I think it'll be a sale purchase along with plenty of other stuff I've missed. Everyone who bought Diablo 3 should have spent their money on Game of Thrones instead.

[The JG Man]

Where the hell did Spec Ops come from? It looked like Generic Action Shooter: The Generic Game, but it seems to be receiving near universal acclaim. I'll need to look into it later on, although without an operable PC, I suppose I'll be waiting. Moving sucks. Moving where you have no space sucks worse. Anyhow, I can just about get Binding of Isaac to play on my laptop without it killing it, although it needs to be run on the lowest graphical setting, resolution and still at the suffering of low fps. I guess I'll be sticking quite a lot to Pokémon Black, of which I've finished the 'main' game.

[SirKicksalot]

Where the hell did Spec Ops come from? It looked like Generic Action Shooter: The Generic Game, but it seems to be receiving near universal acclaim. .

It only looked like that to people who instantly dismissed it when they saw a dude with a gun in the desert and then never bothered to read more about it.

[jnx]

It still is a generic shooter. At least its gameplay. The praise seems to be coming from the gaming making you feel bad about shooting dudes. I can see where they are coming from with that, but to me it just seems like it's a game that plays badly and makes you feel bad about playing it. I call it lose lose. Might be wrong of course.

[Ravelle]

Where the hell did Spec Ops come from? It looked like Generic Action Shooter: The Generic Game, but it seems to be receiving near universal acclaim. I'll need to look into it later on, although without an operable PC, I suppose I'll be waiting. Moving sucks. Moving where you have no space sucks worse. Anyhow, I can just about get Binding of Isaac to play on my laptop without it killing it, although it needs to be run on the lowest graphical setting, resolution and still at the suffering of low fps. I guess I'll be sticking quite a lot to Pokémon Black, of which I've finished the 'main' game.

I hear many people say the story is at least good.

[Scumbag]

I played through BFE before, but Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is making me hate Kleer Skeletons with a fervor I thought myself incapable of. I want to like it more than 3 - I recognize that it's a better game in every way that matters - but it's fucking relentless.

As much as I know others will disagree with this, I'd say the first encounter is the worst of the bunch. Not sure if that's because the Second Encounter was that much more fun for myself, but the way certian levels just devolved into "Throw so many headless kamikaze at you or kleer skellyboblers at you that its almost impossible to cope." Second encounter made good use of the larger enemy pool, plus seemed to take the brakes off the batshit-'o-meter for some parts.

[fiddlesticks]

My memories of First Encounter will forever be tainted by Metropolis and its long corridors full of Kleer Skeletons. Making a really annoying enemy is one thing, but forcing you to fight hundreds of those enemies in a narrow place with no room to dodge is just cruel.

It's a shame because the final level where you assault the Great Pyramid is a masterpiece and one of the highlights of FPS gaming. If only the road leading to it was a bit more pleasant.

[The JG Man]

First Encounter did have a few enjoyment choke points, including a couple moments of "Oh come on, this is impossible", but I never really meant it. I usually just screwed up by doing the same thing over and over, oft forgetting running straight in was exactly why the kamikazes failed and you don't.

And yes, the final level is absolutely magnificent, with a scale that I would truly define as being 'epic'.

[alms]

So, after going through a couple of industrial conversions in SimCity 4 I started a third city and managed to go all high tech with no intermediate steps, so I believe it's fair to say the tutorials are not so much casually misleading you but rather outright lying. Incidentally, that saves a lot of trouble and frees up a lot of space which is at premium in my smallest-lot-available cities. Also poses the question what is the point of having all the dirty industry areas and going through all hell if you can just googleplex the heck out of your city? my interest collapsed shortly after this realization.

Finished Jolly Rover, was disappointed because I missed the collectibles, went back and played it all over again and STILL missed 2 pieces of eight and 3 crackers. Damn. And the worst part is, I still haven't figured out what really doesn't work for me in this game. There is the issue with inconsistency (mainly in graphics and writing), but I'm not positive that closes the case.

And finally picked up Frozen Synapse again. Last time I quit during the tutorial. I already outlasted my last attempt, so proud now!

[sabrage]

As much as I know others will disagree with this, I'd say the first encounter is the worst of the bunch. Not sure if that's because the Second Encounter was that much more fun for myself, but the way certian levels just devolved into "Throw so many headless kamikaze at you or kleer skellyboblers at you that its almost impossible to cope." Second encounter made good use of the larger enemy pool, plus seemed to take the brakes off the batshit-'o-meter for some parts.
Well, I like it better than The Random Encounter. That game really did get impossible.

[arathain]

What difficulty do you play at, Serious Sams?

[sabrage]

I made the mistake of starting TFE on hard.

[tangoliber]

Natural Selection 2 and Tribes: Ascend. Waiting for the Scrolls alpha (craving a turn-based strategy boardgame.)

[Giaddon]

(craving a turn-based strategy boardgame.)

Maybe Montjoie can fill the time (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-MONTJOIE/montjoie)?

[NecroKnight]

I'm revisiting Team Fortress 2. God, I just love those pyrovision googles, they make the game even more fun and hilarious.

[The JG Man]

What difficulty do you play at, Serious Sams?

I made the mistake of starting TFE on hard.

+1. However, upon completion, I felt vindicated. I think I'm a glutton for punishment in games though; when I started up Second Encounter, I started on Hard again. When I eventually start 3, I'll be on Hard for that, too.

[sabrage]

I did BFE on normal and it was still a fucking bitch. But I wasn't getting stuck on one room for over an hour, at least.

[Voon]

I think I made a huge mess of things in my fortress. And the fact that the immigrants are all clogging up that tiny space isn't helping either. Damn, making more rooms is a chore.

I'm gonna consider starting a fort in a new world. I have to prepare carefully, this time and get at least a craftsdwarf with me so my rangers can get a steady supply of bolts.

[Heliocentric]

(craving a turn-based strategy boardgame.)

For the best management of the "free for all alliances" and "strategic bloat" problems I've ever seen I really can't fault solium infernium. It's truely genius.

If you want something more instant, persistent and less diplomatic I strongly recommend Bloodbowl. Build a team, get a reputation and then have your star player crippled by a thrown snotling. It has it all.

[Ravelle]

I'm revisiting Team Fortress 2. God, I just love those pyrovision googles, they make the game even more fun and hilarious.

I am playing it again as well and had a blast playing.

[mrki]

Got a steam key from Amazon for Victoria 2, but I'm not sure whether to use it or just give it away. I really like Crusader Kings 2, but from the screenshots and a few videos on youtube it looks like a spreadsheet that was repeatedly beaten with the ugly stick. And I was into industry in EVE.

I assume plenty of people here have played it, so I was hoping if someone could provide wisdom. How important is combat and units handling, moving around the map? How is research and technology, is it like ck2 or more focused?

Thanks

[agentorange]

A little worn out on adventure games, after binging on them for a week. A good thing too since I was dangerously close to buying Resonance while I still have about another dozen adventures that need finishing. Gone back to Driver: SF, may start skipping a lot of the side challenges and just rush through the story. Also started on Geneforge and have been quite engrossed in it for the past two days.

[Jockie]

I just finished Chapter 2 of the Telltale Walking Dead Series, it's actually rather good. It's more interactive Fiction than a real adventure game (the 'puzzles' are incredibly simple). But the choices you make have an impact on the way the story play out and the loyalties of the survivor group are appropriately complex, everyone has their own agenda and you often have to choose between the different characters.

The little girl character so far is just the right side of adorable and it gives the game quite a moral core, I often found myself refraining from killing bad people, and keeping my language clean to protect her innocence (the one time I slipped and swore in episode 1 got called back very well in Ep 2).

[trjp]

I finally picked-up a dirt-cheap Dungeon Siege III and was pleased to discover that most people's gripes about it were a result of their inability to play the game they're being offered instead of the one they had in their head.

I care not 1 jot that the game is linear or that the story is a bit basic or it's not like it's predecessors (it didn't replace them in the universe so who cares??) I also don't care that you need a controller to play it - I own one of those and I'm not disabled and so can use it just fine.

End of the day it's an ARPG, I expect a corridor of monsters to kill and loads of items and spells to help me do it - I'd also like a control system which works and this has that so long as you have a 360 controller (and if you don't - buy one or don't buy this - simples).

The things which DO drive me nuts about it are the things not really mentioned by the moaners (because most of them presumably never played it). The fact the combat system is shit, the spells are shit, the health system is shit, the energy system is shit, the difficulty level is all over the fucking place, the AI companions are morons (OK, people mentioned that) and so on.

What kills it for me - in a "uninstall it and never come back" sort of way - is the total lack of attention the what an ARPG should be - the way your character and spells and abillities develop, the things you can gain through itemisation etc. etc - NONE of that works.

Items hardly matter, levels hardly matter, upgrades feel like they do nothing at all, statistics are overcomplex and have almost no useful effect anyway. You will run into brick-walls of difficulty - you will run into invisible walls - you will run into your imbecile sidekick - you will die over and over for reasons you'll be mystfied at. This is mostly because non-melee classes are given magical/ranged abilities which suck - they deal more damage in melee (but they die almost instantly) rendering them completely pointless as you die and die and die and die - whilst melee is a mess because you cannot see what the fuck you're hitting most of the time!!

I do wish people would actually play and comment on the game on offer and not the game they've got in their head tho - then I might have realised why this wasn't worth my time!! ;)

[SirKicksalot]

You expected Diablo and got Jade Empire.

[Tritagonist]

Picked up Deus Ex: Human Revolution again after leaving it on hold for a few weeks, and apparently I'm terrible at this game. I don't think I've gotten my character killed as often as I have in this game since I played Deathmatch in a multiplayer FPS. I'll stick with it a bit longer to see if the story grabs my interest, but otherwise I think I'll leave this one alone for a while.

[trjp]

You expected Diablo and got Jade Empire.

I try not to expect too much of any game, in this case I just expected an ARPG where at least some of the core mechanics worked and would get me through the story - but the whole combat system, the whole stats system, the itemisation - it's all complete crap.

You can even unequip most of your gear and the game barely changes - aside from losing a bit of regen (almost useless given how hard some things hit anyway). There's just no feeling to the combat, you get no feeling of growing in power, the upgrades you're offered are dull and then there's some real scorchers...

Bosses where the ONLY valid tactic is 10 mins of running away with the odd attack thrown in (or hoping your useless sidekick can damage it whilst it's chasing you).

The 'healing system' taking a full minute to completely restore your health using the self-heal - a MINUTE - slower than most games regen your health anyway!!

I really do blame this shit on people going to University to learn how to make games. Universities teach people nothing useful (apart from how to look after themselves a bit) - there are far too many people developing games who have no right doing it because they're no fucking idea what they're doing - and a great many of them seem to have worked on DS 3...

[internetonsetadd]

Blacklight: Retribution (freemium now on Steam, apparently, or something). I'm not the best judge of multiplayer FPS, as I haven't really touched them since CS/MoH/CS:Source, but it wasn't half bad. I could go for seconds.

[Marar Patrunjica]

Picked up Deus Ex: Human Revolution again after leaving it on hold for a few weeks, and apparently I'm terrible at this game. I don't think I've gotten my character killed as often as I have in this game since I played Deathmatch in a multiplayer FPS. I'll stick with it a bit longer to see if the story grabs my interest, but otherwise I think I'll leave this one alone for a while.

The trick to playing that game is to not let the enemies shoot you, easiest way to do that is if they don't see you. It's a shame that this wasn't advertised more as the superb stealth game that it is.

[Juan Carlo]

My memories of First Encounter will forever be tainted by Metropolis and its long corridors full of Kleer Skeletons. Making a really annoying enemy is one thing, but forcing you to fight hundreds of those enemies in a narrow place with no room to dodge is just cruel.

It's a shame because the final level where you assault the Great Pyramid is a masterpiece and one of the highlights of FPS gaming. If only the road leading to it was a bit more pleasant.


For me it's the repetition that got me. There was no reason why that game had to be more than 6 or 7 levels, as after that point you had seen all its tricks and the rest was just the same endless monsters in increasingly similar looking arenas.

[sonson]

Finally finished Psychonauts! Had a lot of things on in the past fortnight so I have barely been able to fit any game time in, which has been a shame as I think it’s definitely a game which benefits from continuous play, given that the story is such a strong and enjoyable element.

Meat Circus can get to fuck though. The difficulty spike and level design is such that I imagine the game probably feels disjointed when you get to it anyhow.

My version hadn’t been updated correctly I don’t think so the camera angles at points made certain sections literally impossible without furiously twiddling the analogue stick and hoping that Raz went where you wanted him to go.

Worse than a broken camera though was that it just didn’t feel good enough. It was fine, but in a game where narrative, aesthetics and mechanics are blended so seamlessly and brilliantly across every level I wanted more from the climax than jumping around wacky things. In any other game it would probably have been fine, decent even, but the bar is set so high in Psychonauts it seems rather flat and disappointing when compared to genius of the Milkman, El Odio, Waterloo, Gloria’s Theatre, Linda. It’s more like the first few missions, just made artificially harder by cynical devices such as rising water levels and escort missions. The platform stuff isn’t even difficult except for those elements. It just represents a sore lack of imagination and ambition in a game positively brimming with it.

I thought the ending was rather flat as well really, not the reward I was hoping for/expecting when wrestling through those flaming grates with a broken camera.

For all that though it’s still an absolutely brilliant game. Joyous, tragic, superb story populated by excellent characters, endlessly inventive, beautiful, and crucially the mechanics and game play enhance and work in conjunction with all of these qualities and mesh them together brilliantly. A manifesto for everything the medium can be.

[Drake Sigar]

My first bad word about the Game of Thrones RPG - there's two main characters and one of them is boring. First you've got Mors Westford, a 60 year old hardass with the voice of a vengeful god, honourable yet brutal with a reputation at the wall that draws more fear and awe than even Qhorin Halfhand's. Then you've got Alester Sarwyck, a prequel Jedi who has the personality of a sleeping pill. He's pious, noble, and diplomatic, that's pretty much all there is to him. In brief periods he's not so bad, but the last chapter was a long one and I just kept asking when do I get to play the cool character again.

[Ravelle]

My first bad word about the Game of Thrones RPG - there's two main characters and one of them is boring. First you've got Mors Westford, a 60 year old hardass with the voice of a vengeful god, honourable yet brutal with a reputation at the wall that draws more fear and awe than even Qhorin Halfhand's. Then you've got Alester Sarwyck, a prequel Jedi who has the personality of a sleeping pill. He's pious, noble, and diplomatic, that's pretty much all there is to him. In brief periods he's not so bad, but the last chapter was a long one and I just kept asking when do I get to play the cool character again.

Mors sounds like a Warhammer character and foot soldiers like goofy elfs, it didn't really fit well with the GoT universe.

[Labbes]

In brief periods he's not so bad, but the last chapter was a long one and I just kept asking when do I get to play the cool character again.

It's like the books then.
Apart from that quip, would you still recommend it? I plan to buy it as soon as it gets to ~20€.

[SirKicksalot]

I'm trying to play Shogun 2. No mods. I can't even complete the advanced tutorial.

I'm given a random selection of units. The tutorial is basically "these guys are cool, now go take the castle". First time I had no clue what any of these units are and do. I hate their portraits, I mean the bowmen don't even look like bowmen so I keep pausing the game to make sure I select what I want. The canons don't work, I can't even select them :/ I don't know what the predefined unit groups mean as I forgot what the previous (bad) tutorial said, there's no tooltip and the rubbish encyclopedia keeps asking for Fall of the Samurai.

The tutorial said I should send some guys to take the gatehouse. I figured I should have archers covering them. So I sent troops to scale the walls, archers to cover them and kept my cavalry behind so I could rush into the courtyard ASAP.
Two minutes later my entire army was slaughtered.

I tried again. I tried to attack from three sides. Failed again.

How the FUCK do I complete this tutorial?!
I am so confused right now. I loved sieges in Rome and M2. I could even handle Empire's utterly retarded fort sieges. Playing against vicious AI mods in previous games is not a problem. But this tutorial is IMPOSSIBRU. It soured me on the game too.

[Drake Sigar]

It's like the books then.
Apart from that quip, would you still recommend it? I plan to buy it as soon as it gets to ~20€.

It's exactly like the books, right down to the strengths and weaknesses. I've racked up about 12 hours and my two main characters haven't even met yet. I'd definitely recommend it, but only to a Game of Thrones fan.

On an unrelated note, it takes me five minutes to start the game because I can't resist pissing around the main menu and savouring the TV intro theme.

[Heliocentric]

I'm finally getting back into Renegade Ops I chose the girl with artillery first, I have started to realise that she was why I wasn't enjoying the game. There is a dlc character who can dump a static force field, heal from being in it and carry a smaller persistent bubble with her with the right unlocks. I've gone from casually playing it to being able to richly enjoy playing it and excited about the series future.

[Acacia]

I'm finally getting back into Renegade Ops I chose the girl with artillery first, I have started to realise that she was why I wasn't enjoying the game. There is a dlc character who can dump a static force field, heal from being in it and carry a smaller persistent bubble with her with the right unlocks. I've gone from casually playing it to being able to richly enjoy playing it and excited about the series future.

One of about thirty games that I have in my Steam library waiting for me to get a better PC.
Glad to finally hear that someone has actually played it and can report back.



I finally picked-up a dirt-cheap Dungeon Siege III and was pleased to discover that most people's gripes about it were a result of their inability to play the game they're being offered instead of the one they had in their head.


Ultimately and unfortunately this has been the downfall of a lot of great games. Developers will take a sequel and implement totally different game play which is often times just as good or even better but, for some reason, the mainstream fans of the series tend to want the same exact game over and over again just with a different coat of paint.


To list what I'm currently playing would be a bit obnoxious because I'm jumping around ten different games at once. Multi-player wise I've been playing Section 8: Prejudice, Quake Wars or Unreal 2004.

Also, for the first time ever I'm trying to get though Bioshock and Kane & Lynch (I'm way behind the times).

Most time this week has been spent in Salvation Prophecy which I can highly recommend: http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SALVATION/salvation-prophecy

[magnus1969]

I agree with everything being said about Dungeon Seige III and that last boss? Argh, that was annoying,got stuck there and never went back.

[Labbes]

Most time this week has been spent in Salvation Prophecy which I can highly recommend: http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SALVATION/salvation-prophecy

That looks very interesting, the dev wrote on indiedb that there will be a small demo soon. Will try!

[sabrage]

Regarding RenOps: The comments about tipping over in the WIT were spot-on.

[Lukasz]

I die a lot in DEHR too. Most times it is out of laziness and my own inability to pay attention to my surrounding.
When i actually put some effort then my jensen is fairly effective in taking down opponents.
Just got back to Detroit. the second boss battle was fairly scary but did it on my first try. First boss fight was... weird; I died twice, then decided to use a grenade for the very first time... the battle took four seconds or so. a grenade under feet and then half of magazine straight to the face. so anticlimatic. the dude died in the same spot where he started the battle.


also so predictable was montreal "plot twist" and the plot twist in shanghai... so saw it since two hours into the game or so.


but i enjoy it very much. i like that there is so many ways to do stuff... at least it feels like that. I do a lot of backtracking because of that so i can get all xp. probably not the best way to play the game, but extra 300 xp is always welcomed.
that also resulted in me having almost fifty viruses cause i hack ever damn thing out there. including alarms even tough everyone is dead or kill turrets and robots which are on my side.

[Heliocentric]

Regarding RenOps: The comments about tipping over in the WIT were spot-on.

I don't know if they patched it, or if in just more careful but it was rarely a problem just finished the last mission of the inferno (base game) campaign. It's so 16 bit it hurts in its plot and presentation, but I think it suits it. Will I go back and try and beat my steam friends scores? Yeah, I reckon I might, but first the dlc campaign!

It's the game 10 year old me dreamed Jungle strike was (given LAPD Futurecop I wasn't far off), linear enough to be focused but with occasion open areas to let you flex your navigation muscles between objectives.

[Space Indaver]

I've only played RenOps once, but it was a stupid injection of mayhem into my day. Great fun. I need to put a shortcut on my taskbar thing to remind me to stick it on between sittings of slower games.

[sabrage]

I think the opportunity for some (un)friendly competition might make me enjoy RenOps more. I haven't played since December, so the tipping issues may very well have been resolved. (I'm also not ruling out the possibility that I just suck)

[Acacia]

That looks very interesting, the dev wrote on indiedb that there will be a small demo soon. Will try!

Oddly enough, not yet listed with the developer, the demo is on that GamersGate page - That's how I tested the game to realize that it's old computer friendly despite the listed requirements.

[Leopig]

C&C3

After being dissapointed by RA 3 I thought I was done with C&C until Generals 2. But at the price I caved and so far (about 4 missions in) it feels nice. I didn't go for 4 cause lots of negative reviews.

[postinternetsyndrome]

I liked C&C3, but I was very disappointed that they abandoned the awesome soundtrack of tiberian sun in favour of generic rock stuff that sounded more like C&C Generals than the tiberium branch of the series.

[Voon]

My shiny new fortress is being invaded! Yes, by a single goblin... corpse... thing... and it's now chasing my horse around...

...well, time to conscript the immigrants into the millitary! God, why did I forget about the millitary?


I liked C&C3, but I was very disappointed that they abandoned the awesome soundtrack of tiberian sun in favour of generic rock stuff that sounded more like C&C Generals than the tiberium branch of the series.

That's because Frank didn't do the soundtrack after Westwood was kaput and didn't join in EA along with the rest. It's hard to find people like Frank to make those soundtracks again

[postinternetsyndrome]

A pity. The music was a huge part of the atmosphere of TS, and a major factor in me not being very immersed in C&C3.

[Hypernetic]

http://youtu.be/Tb-gI_pFog0

Two of my favorite game songs ever.

Damnit, won't let me post both as videos.. Well the other one is from the original C&C "Act on instinct". http://youtu.be/1ZTHFRadJwI

[DaftPunk]

Yesterday me and sis finished Episode 2 for The Dead Walking and it was blast to play,it started quite slow but then it picked up the pace and it was rollercoaster till the end. Can't wait for third one :3

[trjp]

After all the glowing praise on there I installed the CK2 demo

45 mins later (a long time for me with grand strategy games) I gave-up with a massive, massive headache.

I really just have too many other things going on to take-in what it's trying to do. I'm sure it's lovely, but I'm also sure I can use all those braincells it's demanding access to, to create things instead of just playing a game!!

I fully expected an exam halfway through the tutorial - and possibly detention for not having a clue what it was telling me!

[Labbes]

I think CK2 is best played without touching the tutorial. Just pick a duchy (any duchy) within a huge realm such as HRE, France or Byzantium, learn how to marry your kids and see what happens. Don't play at a huge speed and learn as you go. You can have fun playing a very non-ambitious family and get the hang of how to enlarge your territory and form alliances later.

[LutherBlissett]

Most time this week has been spent in Salvation Prophecy which I can highly recommend: http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SALVATION/salvation-prophecy

+1 to this recommendation. I'm not sure about the long haul but i've not played a space shooty game that had compelling combat in space and on the ground. Compared to the X series or Evochron it is quite arcadey... perhaps more like Freelancer.

Also this (http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022565.do) book on Dwarf Fortress might finally help me play it.

[Ravelle]

Yesterday me and sis finished Episode 2 for The Walking Dead and it was blast to play,it started quite slow but then it picked up the pace and it was rollercoaster till the end. Can't wait for third one :3

Fixed it for ya. ;p

Glad you liked it! One thing I liked these options more than say, options in Mass Effect is because these options had actual consequences and that you had a limited amount of time to choose.

[Heliocentric]

Two of my favorite game songs ever.
My preference is this version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WqwFhX6Cqg&feature=fvst

[alms]

After all the glowing praise on there I installed the CK2 demo

45 mins later (a long time for me with grand strategy games) I gave-up with a massive, massive headache.

I suppose that means it worked for you?

I've always meant to go back and finish Braid (only played half of it years ago), but it really, really hurts my brain and frustrates the hell out of me - so I'm alternating between that and The Sea Will Claim Everything. Maybe I'm the only one who missed this teeny tiny detail, but this game is basically all about the economic crisis that struck Greece, which is baffling. It's exactly the kind of game that sweeps the player off his feet into another world, only to slam his face against exactly the same issues we've been bombarded with every single freaking day of the week for the past 3 years.

Now whenever I fire up a game, chances are the eurozone crisis is one of things I want to momentarily leave behind. I understand that most people are not really aware of the ugliness of the situation in Greece, but this isn't telling me anything I didn't know already and it's pretty heavy-handed in how it approaches the subject of the memorandum. I mean, sometimes the parts about the good greek people and the philosophers remind me of that-movie-you-all-know.

On the plus side, the game is so colorful and clearly so lovingly put together, I'm trying to put up with the whiny/preachy parts, hoping it will get redeem itself somehow before the end.

TL;DR don't play this if you're german and easily offended.

[Anthile]

Finally played through Avernum: Escape From the Pit. Got both the safety and the vengeance endings though apparently I messed up and if you collect only 4 out of 5 macguffins you can still advance and actually finish your task but you can't go back anymore and die. Doesn't matter because the return to surface ending seems incredibly unappealing anyways. What's the point of going back to a place that makes Nazi Germany look like a vacation spot in comparison. Still kind of a dick move.
Also, I don't get the setting. I call it the prison planet syndrome. Why set up an incredibly elaborate and most likely costly prison when you clearly don't care if it fulfills even the most basic functions of a prison? Why not just execute the (alleged) criminals on the spot?

[Vague-rant]

Also, I don't get the setting. I call it the prison planet syndrome. Why set up an incredibly elaborate and most likely costly prison when you clearly don't care if it fulfills even the most basic functions of a prison? Why not just execute the (alleged) criminals on the spot?
Same reason as transportation in Britain I'd guess. The middle class/judges/juries feel a uncomfortable sentencing so many to death so they come up with a horrific way to get rid, even if in many cases its effectively a death sentence.
Also, what do you mean the basic functions of a prison? That seems like something that would have very varying definitions depending on who you ask.

[Voon]

CnC music time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdCN1T8Fmj8


Also this (http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022565.do) book on Dwarf Fortress might finally help me play it.

Heh. That book. I loved the fact that there's some of Tim's comics featured in it, especially the ironic short involving an elf orphan.

[Drake Sigar]

Game of Thrones RPG - Best ending EVER.

[fiddlesticks]

The recent article on Clint Hocking (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/07/02/a-galaxy-far-cry-away-hocking-exits-lucasarts/) has convinced me to replay Far Cry 2. Maybe I'll actually enjoy it this time around.

[Heliocentric]

Finished Renegade Ops - Cold Strike DLC, it was short but sweet, I played a mission or 2 on hardcore but I really think that maybe the Crystal character is OP, carrying a portable shield with you allows for epic damage comboes which a stray rocket (usually a rocket would wipe out a chunk of your multiplier) just bounces harmlessly off your shield. And if things go nasty and you have a sliver of health, pop up a shield and let it heal you, it eliminates the frustration of losing your double upgraded machine gun because you only die if you really screw up.

But lets be honest, its not a competitive multiplayer game so who really cares about balance, its fun and its pretty.... Right, what's next, either I go back to Aquaria (I'm up to a clam/squid boss thing), Darksiders (it was enjoyable enough, but I hate buying upgrades and wondering if I just got terrible ones because I misunderstood the mechanics), Hydrophobia: Prophecy(Its not as bad as they say), The Ball (about 80% done) or Overlord 2.

An outlier is Recettear because I have a controller with a good DPad now.

[The JG Man]

Cold Strike had some fantastic design and missions and yes, Crystal is hilariously overpowered, but be thankful that her regenerating sphere doesn't overlap with the personal shields you can get from driving through the bubble. Still hilariously powerful, but yeah, it's not balanced for competition, it's balanced for fun, which is only ever going to be in that game's favour.

Regarding your comment on Darksiders, I recommend leaving the...err, Wrath (? - the yellow bar abilities) till later. The combos are more effective. That being said, your best upgrades will come from the enchantments you pick-up throughout the game, especially the legendary/horsemen ones, which tend to merge two or more standard ones. Failing that, just guide it; there's nothing spoileriffic to be taken from it and you don't even need to grind for everything, it's just a case of making it more fun.

[Casimir Effect]

Beware, Recettear can get crazy addictive if it hooks you. It begins with you clapping your hands that an Old Man bought something for a 20% markup and ends with you calling a Little Girl every name under the sun because the little trollop wouldn't accept a 5% markup on some fucking candy! Well fuck you whore! Fuck you and your candy!

[kstress71]

Well fuck you whore! Fuck you and your candy!

Hahahahahaaaa!!! And I thought that particular brand of nerd-rage was just me! Thanks for making me feel better about myself, Casimir!

[airtekh]

Haven't played Team Fortress 2 for a couple of months, but I'm amazed how quickly I've slipped back into my routine due to the Pyromania update. It's still my favourite multiplayer shooter ever; I must've heard the characters' lines hundreds of times, but I still find myself laughing at them. The new game mode is interesting; it's like a cross between capture the intel and king of the hill.

Bulletstorm is quietly impressing me. I'm attempting to perform every single Skillshot as it becomes available but the game just keeps throwing more at me; I think I'll abandon that strategy and focus on enjoying the shooting - which is very solid - instead.

Still unlocking most of the cards for the decks in Magic DOTP 2013 as well.

[trjp]

I suppose that means it worked for you?

I got into the idea but it's insistence on talking about things like inheritance methods and a tutorial which is a BIT obscure didn't help.

Technically it did actually run tho - which is a first for Paradox's demos with me (Warlock, Magicka and others were all an arse-ache to make work).

[sabrage]

Majesty has sucked me back in. "Spam the ever-loving shit out of paladins and healers" remarkably still hasn't gotten old. I had 16 paladins running around by the end of my last skirmish, which equated to about half of my total economy for the game. I think only one of them ever died. I've got 2 or 3 Expert missions left, then I need to put it down for a month or two before doing the expansion.

[Ravelle]

Haven't played Team Fortress 2 for a couple of months, but I'm amazed how quickly I've slipped back into my routine due to the Pyromania update. It's still my favourite multiplayer shooter ever; I must've heard the characters' lines hundreds of times, but I still find myself laughing at them. The new game mode is interesting; it's like a cross between capture the intel and king of the hill.

Bulletstorm is quietly impressing me. I'm attempting to perform every single Skillshot as it becomes available but the game just keeps throwing more at me; I think I'll abandon that strategy and focus on enjoying the shooting - which is very solid - instead.



Even after my year hiatus I still loathe the demoman and too many engineers on one team with all of my fibers.

[Leopig]

Giving Star Trek Online another bash as i heard it is a lot better than at launch.

[Jams O'Donnell]

I gave Bastion a good stab last night. It's so refreshing to play a game that's actually good, not to mention polished.

[airtekh]

Even after my year hiatus I still loathe the demoman and too many engineers on one team with all of my fibers.

You loathe playing as the demo or against him?

Multiple engies are annoying, but counterable. I usually just switch to medic and uber the most competent looking soldier/demo/heavy/pyro to take them out (usually the person with the highest score on my team). It helps if you have more medics and/or a smart spy.

[Ravelle]

You loathe playing as the demo or against him?

Multiple engies are annoying, but counterable. I usually just switch to medic and uber the most competent looking soldier/demo/heavy/pyro to take them out (usually the person with the highest score on my team). It helps if you have more medics and/or a smart spy.

Against them, I never see those sticky bombs and then out of nowhere I'm blown in to pieces. And three sentries on one spot is gamebreaking imo.

[Hypernetic]

Three sentries in the same area is stupid and pointless. One demoman or even a crafty spy can take them all out. I can't tell you how many times I've taken out Engineer nests like that by myself as a Spy simply by running around and sapping everything. The engineers all run around trying to break the sappers like chickens with their heads cut off. Either that or they try to kill me, at which point I duck behind their buildings and jump around or use my dead ringer distracting them long enough for everything to blow up.

Either that or a Pyro follows me in and torches everything.

As for your demo problem I guess you just need better situational awareness and/or map awareness. What class do you usually play?