The "What are you playing?" topic.

[rajpoot]

You play Minecraft and you've never seen the Yogscast do their Technic Pack spotlight?
-snip-

It seems I have much to learn.
I'm usually content just building little cobblestone castles, and blowing things up with dynamite, but I'll have to check all this stuff out.
The nuclear reactor sounds interesting. Specially if it can blow up.

[Kekvit Irae]

It seems I have much to learn.
I'm usually content just building little cobblestone castles, and blowing things up with dynamite, but I'll have to check all this stuff out.
The nuclear reactor sounds interesting. Specially if it can blow up.

Nuclear reactors are like those in real life: if they are properly cooled with special coolant, they will work fine. If they overheat, everything around is blown up. The blast radius is roughly 10x bigger than a TNT, so building reinforced bunkers is essential to contain the meltdown. There's no fallout in the mod (yet), so you don't have to worry about radiation.

EDIT: Oh, and did I mention that the Technic Pack also allows you to insert programming language into Minecraft and do lots of crazy stuff with it? Like playing Pong inside Minecraft.

[Prussian to the Iron]

Was given Spec Ops: The Line as a gift. I don't know how far into it I am, but I must say I don't like it so far. The review I read had said that there was a deep story to it that I have yet to see. Perhaps I can't see it past the large amounts of aggravation from the crap gameplay.

Seriously. The gameplay is just...bad.

The first thing I noticed in the game was how weak the guns felt. Not to say that they take large amounts of ammo to kill people, but just that feel of actually holding a powerful weapon in your hands. I think it's the lack of vibration combined with the weak, quiet sound that the guns make (especially the pistols) that makes them feel so powerless. That's something I can deal with, but constantly nags at me in a way that games like Gears of War and Battlefield never did.

Another thing you realize very early on is that the creators looked at Gears of War for inspiration...and then managed to totally mess up the cover system (I'll compare this game to Gears of War more probably, because it feels like such a cheap rip-off of it's mechanics). Where Gears of War 3 had you evading grenades, rolling around cover, and seamlessly transitioning between pieces of cover, as well as over and around them, Spec Ops feels more like you have to pause every time you try to change up, or even get into, cover. Many times I have been trying to advance, switch between pieces of cover, or just try to take cover when I was in the open, only to have my guy stand there like an idiot for about 3 seconds before he decided to get down. And with the A.I.'s grenade spam (at least on the 2nd to hardest difficulty), the lack of a dodge makes grenades essentially an A.I. cheat. Because you have to pull back on the stick, wait a second to step away from the sandbags or wall or whatever, then attempt to either lightly jog away from the grenade, or try to sprint away, risking the possibility of going right back into cover next to it. I really can't fully describe how bad the cover system is.

After a while you also discover how few guns there are available; in my 4 hours of playtime, I believe I have found...8 different guns. This might be acceptable if they really were different guns. But for the most part, they're pretty much the same. Aside from sound and the fact that it has a grenade launcher and magazine capacity I can see no difference between the SCAR, the AK, the UMP, and the M4. The sniper rifle isn't useful enough to be carried around for more than the introductory sniper engagement; 1 mission later you get a gun with the same accuracy, a usable scope, and higher magazine capacity.

Speaking of which, that's another thing about this game. When you pull up the scope on the M417, it is literally just your screen zoomed in with a scope overlay. There is no scope movement when you look around, it is not dynamic in any way. It's literally a low-res foreground. Stark contrast to just about any other game with scopes like this; Red Orchestra 2 even had ocular shadows when you move the scope around quickly.

Again with the low-resolution, it seems that the developers forgot that their textures had to load before they appeared on screen. Just about every mission start, and at the beginning and after every cutscene, the whole world is extremely low resolution. It takes away a lot of immersion when you have to watch the textures load everywhere as the characters act out a scene or you start off a mission.

It doesn't help the game at all that it takes about 2 seconds of exposure to die. Under normal circumstances with a working cover system, this would be understandable and appropriate. But when you are pretty much forced to be exposed to enemy fire as you try to make your character actually work correctly, it's more than a bit infuriating.

I'll post again when I finish the game and say if the story was actually good. However as of right now I would definitely not recommend this game to anyone.

[Hooahguy]

Thanks PI, I was considering getting it.
Though Im still going to try the demo. too few games provide demos nowadays.

[Fragony]

It got a great review on my favourite gamesite eurogamer, and these guys are pretty harsh. I really like the idea I think I will pick it up. They also complain about the shooting feeling a bit loose, but they are in love with the twisted setting. I like atmospheric games and this sounds like one

[Prussian to the Iron]

It got a great review on my favourite gamesite eurogamer, and these guys are pretty harsh. I really like the idea I think I will pick it up. They also complain about the shooting feeling a bit loose, but they are in love with the twisted setting. I like atmospheric games and this sounds like one

All the reviews I've seen have said that the plot and atmosphere are great; perhaps I can't see it through the bad gameplay. To each his own though, tell us what you think of it.

[Prussian to the Iron]

*double post, delete please*

[Hooahguy]

Played through the demo. It actually isnt so bad. Controls arent too wacky. I enjoyed it. Ill buy it when it goes on a big sale, since the campaign is only like 6 hours or so and Im not getting it for the MP.

[Gelatinous Cube]

The first Sword of the Stars just never gets old. Taking over the universe, one turn at a time...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Fragony]

Played through the demo. It actually isnt so bad. Controls arent too wacky. I enjoyed it. Ill buy it when it goes on a big sale, since the campaign is only like 6 hours or so and Im not getting it for the MP.

I kinda agree with Centurion if it comes down to the demo at least, there isn't really any weight to the guns and movement. What the Gears of War series absolutely nails they kinda screw up, the shooting and the feeling that you are controlling a person. All third person shooters should take lessons from Epic on how to do this, same goes for first person shooters and the Killzone series. It's really hard to go back to a more floaty feeling after the excellent movement and shooting in said games.

[Xiahou]

Thanks to X-Construction on Android, I was in the mood for a bridge construction game on the PC. That led me to Bridge Constructor- a decent, if short game....

More importantly, when browsing the game publisher's site, I saw a listing for Deadly 30- an old school, indie side scrolling zombie survival game. For $5, this is pretty awesome. From what I gather, this is set during WW2. You are a soldier lost alone on the battlefield.... and then there's zombies. Other survivors you can encounter are a German woman and Russian guy. Once you've found survivors, you can switch control of them on the fly- the American using automatic weapons, the German shotguns, the Russian uses rifles. If a survivor dies, they're gone until you find/rescue another one in the game.

From what I've seen, the game only has 5 settings: The forest- where your camp is, the cornfield, the snowy fields, the mountains, and the castle. You can buy/upgrade weapons at your camp as well as upgrade your fortifications, and you explore the areas to find survivors and collect parts (the game's currency). There's a day/night mechanic and you really want to be back at your base by nightfall. There's zombies during the day, but many, many more at night. Each night (so far) introduces new, tougher types of zombies with the object of the game being to survive for 30 days (as the name implies).... I've made it to morning on day 9 and so far night 2 has been my toughest- I died many times til I figured a way to survive it.

Anyway, here's a trailer, enjoy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[rajpoot]

Thanks to X-Construction on Android, I was in the mood for a bridge construction game on the PC. That led me to Bridge Constructor- a decent, if short game....

That's actually a very fun little game. I got it for free with another game quite a while back, and have been returning to it from time to time. There's a lot of player created content, and some of the later bridges provide quite a challenge

[Fragony]

Saturday Morning Rpg. No it has nothing to do with a legendary porntube vid. Or is that just me. Anyway, this game is awesome. It's a loving mockery of an era, you have to be into the joke to apreciate it.

[Voigtkampf]

Played some Max Payne 3 this weekend, looking forward to some more Walking Dead tonight. And in couple of days, full version of Endless Space.

[Kekvit Irae]

Playing Tropico 4. It is certainly living up to its name as a stressful, but fun, game. I just beat mission 7 (out of 20) where the US and USSR decided to build up their nuclear arms and go to war with each other. I BARELY survived. I built my own nuclear program, and then the US decided to declare war on me because now-president Dick Richards (he is not a crook) blamed me for the assassination of the former US president. I'd like to re-iterate that this is only mission 7 of 20 in the campaign.

[Fragony]

Playing Tropico 4. It is certainly living up to its name as a stressful, but fun, game. I just beat mission 7 (out of 20) where the US and USSR decided to build up their nuclear arms and go to war with each other. I BARELY survived. I built my own nuclear program, and then the US decided to declare war on me because now-president Dick Richards (he is not a crook) blamed me for the assassination of the former US president. I'd like to re-iterate that this is only mission 7 of 20 in the campaign.

Did I already mention Saturday Morning RPG. You will like it. Promise, otherwise my pinkie.

[Kekvit Irae]

Did I already mention Saturday Morning RPG. You will like it. Promise, otherwise my pinkie.

Now available in the App Store for iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone!

[Fragony]

But I am really attached to it, I can't just cut it off.

[Kekvit Irae]

The only game I play on my iPod is King of Dragon Pass, and even then I prefer the PC version.

[Fragony]

Ok here goes, hope you are proud about yourself. I really like that pinkie, and it will be lost to me forever. Don't be so cruel.

[Fragony]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdkg...e_gdata_player

It's free and awesome

[CountArach]

I bought the X Superbox and so I'm playing X3 like crazy. This isn't what my life needs. On the plus side: This is the first game that I've been legitimately addicted to in at least a year.

[Monk]

This isn't what my life needs.

But it is what it deserves. So you should play it, because you can take it.

edit: As if it wasn't clear I have Batman on my mind. Finished Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, two additions to my library i have the steam sale to thank. Overall I enjoyed Asylum much more as the free-roam elements of AC felt a bit tedious. The Riddler, while one of my favorite villains in the comics, can go straight to hell in AC. He and his fetch quests...

"Collect four hundred secrets or the hostages die, Batman!"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

However the story, voice acting, and overall atmosphere in both are just incredible. While i enjoyed the stealth focus of AA more, the twists and turns of the plot in AC were far more enjoyable. I hope some day we get more of these kinds of games because AC left me wanting more. Much more.

[Prussian to the Iron]

Thanks to the Steam Summer sale, I now have about 300 extra GB of games on my computer.

RAGE definitely starts out fun, but it starts to get a bit tedious as it wears on (especially going through the same exact territories, fighting the same bandit cars, and repeating on the way back). Still, for the $5 or $10 I payed, it's definitely worth it. If nothing else, it's pretty cool and makes you feel like a BA for a while.

Dragon Age: Origins is a really great game. I'm actually regretting not getting it earlier. To sum it up in a few words, I would call it KOTOR set in a fantasy world. If you enjoyed KOTOR or Mass Effect, you'll like Dragon Age.

Men of War is...frustrating at times ("at times" being 99% of the time), and even on easy mode is ridiculously hard. To give a feel for how difficult it is, on the very first mission of the first campaign (with less than minimal tutorial or guidance), I lost right before the end, and it said that I had lost all 12 of my men and my only vehicle, and the enemy had lost over 100 men and I think over 30 vehicles (I'm lowballing that estimate, but I believe they had lost closer to 200 or more men). And I somehow lost the mission. That said, it does give an immense sense of satisfaction when you do finally get past a part or when you finish the mission. Definitely not for the impatient, the easily aggravated, or those with little time to dedicate to playing it however.

I got that game in a pack of 5 with it's sequels for about $12 on the steam sale, and I've only tried one other expansion; Men of War: Vietnam. I must say that while I expected to be irritated, I expected it to be a result of the same insane difficulty levels and the complete asymmetry of the missions, not because I couldn't see a damned thing. I would highly recommend never getting this sequel, because you can't see anything. The entire map is always covered by trees, and the small areas where it isn't, the camera angle is so bad (and, at least for me, unchangeable) that you can barely see then. I understand that Vietnam has a lot of jungle. But making it impossible to see through the tree's makes it frustrating to play not because of challenge, but simply bad development.

Max Payne 3 is a really fun and surprisingly deep game, though it can get frustrating when a cutscene ends and you're left standing out in the open with enemies shooting at you (I'm looking at you, Stadium mission). The bullet-time is obviously loads of fun to play with, and the general gunplay just feels right. very good plot as well. would recommend.

Also picked up lots of other games I haven't gotten around to playing yet, like both Witcher's, L.A. Noire, the first 2 STALKER games, and a few others.

By the way, anybody here play ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead? I tried...and I have no clue what I'm doing and need some sort of guru to help me before I consider playing it again

[Hooahguy]

I bought the X Superbox and so I'm playing X3 like crazy. This isn't what my life needs. On the plus side: This is the first game that I've been legitimately addicted to in at least a year.

Is it really that good? Ive heard varying things about it.

[Hooahguy]

Men of War is...frustrating at times ("at times" being 99% of the time), and even on easy mode is ridiculously hard. To give a feel for how difficult it is, on the very first mission of the first campaign (with less than minimal tutorial or guidance), I lost right before the end, and it said that I had lost all 12 of my men and my only vehicle, and the enemy had lost over 100 men and I think over 30 vehicles (I'm lowballing that estimate, but I believe they had lost closer to 200 or more men). And I somehow lost the mission. That said, it does give an immense sense of satisfaction when you do finally get past a part or when you finish the mission. Definitely not for the impatient, the easily aggravated, or those with little time to dedicate to playing it however.

I got that game in a pack of 5 with it's sequels for about $12 on the steam sale, and I've only tried one other expansion; Men of War: Vietnam. I must say that while I expected to be irritated, I expected it to be a result of the same insane difficulty levels and the complete asymmetry of the missions, not because I couldn't see a damned thing. I would highly recommend never getting this sequel, because you can't see anything. The entire map is always covered by trees, and the small areas where it isn't, the camera angle is so bad (and, at least for me, unchangeable) that you can barely see then. I understand that Vietnam has a lot of jungle. But making it impossible to see through the tree's makes it frustrating to play not because of challenge, but simply bad development.

Men of War is certainly a unique series. I spent hours on that game in Junior year. The AI, even if it is a bit scripted, is fantastic.
Also, MP is amazing. I had some fantastic matches with Veho Nex. I remember one where I had a small force under siege in a ruined building and I thought it was going to last a while (units were taking pot shots at each other). I sent in reinforcements but was ambushed en route by VN using concealment. Also I was a moron for using the main roads. Needless to say my units were eventually overwhelmed in the ruined building and the battle moved on but that was one moment that really stood out for me. Also during the siege I had to make my men who were still alive get ammo off of the dead ones. Tough times.

Also the Vietnam game is notoriously bad within the MoW series. Assault Squad is amazing.

[Prussian to the Iron]

Men of War is certainly a unique series. I spent hours on that game in Junior year. The AI, even if it is a bit scripted, is fantastic.
Also, MP is amazing. I had some fantastic matches with Veho Nex. I remember one where I had a small force under siege in a ruined building and I thought it was going to last a while (units were taking pot shots at each other). I sent in reinforcements but was ambushed en route by VN using concealment. Also I was a moron for using the main roads. Needless to say my units were eventually overwhelmed in the ruined building and the battle moved on but that was one moment that really stood out for me. Also during the siege I had to make my men who were still alive get ammo off of the dead ones. Tough times.

Also the Vietnam game is notoriously bad within the MoW series. Assault Squad is amazing.

I figured I would like Assault Squad, since I had read that it was more infantry-based than the original, which will probably be good for me (I really enjoy the small, squad-based missions, like the one in the Russian campaign when you start with one guy and have to round up some partisans to help you release the prisoners and take the German HQ), I will definitely try it sometime. It is definitely a game where micromanagement is extremely important.

If you would like to play with me sometime you should message me on steam

also...how do you change the vertical camera angle? I have no middle mouse wheel, and I can raise it vertically but I can't actually change the angle.

[CountArach]

Is it really that good? Ive heard varying things about it.

It depends on what you are after. If you want an immersive game that rewards long-term play and don't mind a slow start where you have to trade your way up to bigger and better things then yes, it is incredible. But if you want a quick fix or to just play a plot and not fiddle around with the open-world then there are other better games on the market. None of them allow you to hunt space pirates, though. Which, it must be said, is always a positive in any game as far as I'm concerned.

[jht]

Just finished Heavy Rain on the PS3. Really enjoyed it, was a bit skeptical of a game that is nothing but QTEs, but none of it felt out of place. Probably the closest I have played to an actual interactive movie, I did have a few small gripes with it, mainly one scene that felt as out of place as DX:HR's boss fights, but nothing major. Not something I'd play more than once, I think the writer actually said it's best to only have one play through, but pretty entertaining for that time spent on it.

[CountArach]

Just finished Heavy Rain on the PS3. Really enjoyed it, was a bit skeptical of a game that is nothing but QTEs, but none of it felt out of place. Probably the closest I have played to an actual interactive movie, I did have a few small gripes with it, mainly one scene that felt as out of place as DX:HR's boss fights, but nothing major. Not something I'd play more than once, I think the writer actually said it's best to only have one play through, but pretty entertaining for that time spent on it.

Pretty much my thoughts on the game too. Beyond: Two Souls, byt he same people, is looking quite promising and fixes some of the repetitive tasks of the first one. Fingers crossed.