The "What are you playing?" topic.

[Kekvit Irae]

Actually, the disk tray gets stuck, the laser burned a permanent ring into my Overlord CD (thankfully the guy at gamestop gave me a new copy), and some games like Beautiful Katamari just wont recognize (they show up as Play DVD rather than the game on the dashboard).

As for melee in Condemned 2, parry, hit, and then quickly move away. When you hit them while they are stunned, it will take them out o the stun and force them to quickly counterattack. You will have ample amount of time to do the combos, so avoid the counterattack and then move in with the combo.
It gets a little easier around the snow level, since you'll have easy access to assault rifles, and rarely need to go into melee. Once you unlock and play FPS mode, there's no reason why you should go into melee in the first place.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm playing Condemned 1. The full stop between the name of the game and the "2 levels" is doing its best to hide. :gring:

[Kekvit Irae]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.

[CountArach]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.
Don't tase me dude!

Still playing Crusader Kings (with the Alternative Scenario Setup mod) and a bit of EUIII now that Magna Mundi Gold 2 has been released.

[frogbeastegg]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.
That was good advice. As soon as I gave up on blocking I raced through the game without any more deaths, and I only got low on health on the more difficult set piece battles. I'm now on level 10; I might complete it tonight. I will then backtrack to pick up the couple of metal bits I missed. Whether I will bother to do the all firearms/all melee weapon achievements and so get the full set is hard to say. Depends how much work it will involve, I guess.

I still haven't found it scary. As usual with scary games, I can see the shocks coming a mile off, and find the attempts to manipulate me via spooky sounds and whathaveyou irritating.

Still been worth playing. It's very different to my usual fare. I do prefer Bioshock though, and I'm not sure if I will play Condemned 2.

[Xiahou]

Im currently tearing thru the .hack//GU series. Finished part1 in just under 30hrs and am now onto part2. The plot premise is sometimes a little dubious, but as a game it's a page-turner.

I've also been playing some PN03, which I found in the bargain bin for $5. It's a pretty fun, old school, Gamecube game with a fun dodge/shoot mechanic. I'm glad that I didn't pay full price, but for $5 it was more than worth it.

[frogbeastegg]

Monday's "tonight" turned into Thursday's "this morning". Condemned is now completed. I have done everything except use every single variety of melee weapon and firearm, and I don't think I can be bothered to replay most of the game to get those two achievements. It doesn't seem worth it.

Next up is ... ah ... well ... GTA4 :sweatdrop: Why the sweat drop, you may be wondering. It goes like this:

-I don't like gangsters, gangs, and all of that. I don't find them interesting, and I have never found anything related to them likeable, be it books, films, or games.

-I don't care for games in modern settings that much.

-I don't like driving games.

-I am not fond of swearing, ultra-violence and all that in my games. I can play and enjoy a game with it in (most recently Condemned) but given a choice I'll do without it, thanks.

-If I'm going to play a thief then I'd rather play a Garrett style one. i.e. sneak about in the dark, kill very few people, and after a well-guarded item. A skilled thief, not a thug or a looter.

-GTA as a series is one which I have never played. Too many glaring faults lurking under the hype.

-I don't find running over pedestrians and killing prostitutes funny.

BUT!

+ I have always liked sandbox games.

+ GTA + Bart Simpson + Dennis the Menace = Bully. GTA + wild west theme + smaller, more concentrated game world = Gun. I liked that game too.

+ GTA4 finally fixes the more glaring faults, e.g. the hideous checkpointing and difficulty spikes.

+ I love the animation! The game looks fabulous in action in the bajillion and twelve videos out there. It is technically impressive, and I'd like a closer look at it in action.

+ This one is getting a lot of praise for its story and characters.

+ A lot of the content is optional. It always has been, whatever the hysterics wanting it banned say. I don't have to murder random people in the street or whatever.

+ I play a lot of niche and smaller budget games; sometimes it is nice to load up a huge budget game and see what can be done when you've got $100 million to spend.

So ... um, there you go. Chances are roughly equel between my hating it and my finding that the game is good enough that I can suffer through the things I don't care for.

[Kekvit Irae]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI while waiting for my 360 to come back from repairs, and having a really hard time enjoying the game. Everything that was good about X (RPG elements, playing individual officers) was taken out. Still, it's starting to grow on me since custom officers are much more varied, thanks to being limited to only a single skill. You can still make super soldiers with 100s in all attributes that have Lu Bu and Guan Yu as Oath Brothers, but now you have to decide if you want a skill that allows you to gain gold from a city every 10 days instead of 1 month, or if you want a skill that allows you to automatically capture enemy officers when you defeat their units.

[Dodge_272]

http://ourworld.cs.com/Carledwards15/toon1.jpg

[naut]

I bought EU:II off Gamersgate for a meagre $US10, and sat there anxiously watching it slowly download, then slowly install. Then the opening video played, and the first thing it says is how they dedicate this game to their fans, I swear a tear almost rolled down my cheek.

Overall the game is awesome, but it's taking me ages to get the hang of even though I've got HOI2:DDA and CK+DV. It's just so much more complex.

[Csargo]

chants Vicky, then realizes his game doesn't play and cries

[naut]

HOI2:DDA, Armageddon scenario as the Cossacks. Pretty fun, damned hard trying to hold any ground though having enemies on all sides. To the east I have an elastic defence that the Russians can't get through. Attacks through the Caucus are slow due to the mountains. The Ottomans have a lot of men in the Balkans. And Prussia won't go down without a fight.

https://img337.imageshack.us/img337/9792/cossacksnq0.jpg

Edit: Still playing

https://img371.imageshack.us/img371/2786/cossackslb3.jpg

[frogbeastegg]

I've had my fill of 3 G games (grey, grim, guns) after Condemned and GTA4, so GTA4 is back in its case. Doesn't help that the game kept hanging up on loading screens, and had some infuriating design decisions. I'll come back to it when I feel able to face more 3G gameplay.

I'm now playing Call of Juarez. It's short, it's not grey, and I thought it might be fun. So far (up to level 4) it's ok. No better, no worse. As this level has me sneaking about in a thunder storm with lightning flashes threatening to reveal my position and thunder drowning out loud noises it may be about to pick up. I have often seen it called a slow burning game. The average voice acting is made worse by contrast to the higher quality vocals from the last few games I've played. :cringes:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Your viewpoint for Call of Juarez has encouraged me to try it. :yes:
.

[Csargo]

What exactly is the Armageddon scenario Rythmic?

[naut]

What exactly is the Armageddon scenario Rythmic?
It's basically a scenario designed for balanced multiplayer. Every nation starts with almost nothing (since WWI never happened) and enemies everywhere. Wiki gives a good description of the alternate events.

Two new scenarios are entered into the franchise offering a new world to play in. The Abyss is a level where none of the 19 nations are at war, whereas Armageddon is a war between the Allies, Axis and Comintern. The game includes scenarios designed not just to reflect history, but also to provide balanced scenarios for multiplayer use. An example of the alternative history involved includes:

* The American Revolutionaries captured Quebec and as such took control of Canada in the Treaty of Paris. Thus it became the United States of North America (USNA).
* The Confederates win the war but Virginia and Kentucky defect back to the North due to its economic strangle hold on the south. Eventually, the Confederates merge with Mexico and form the Confederate Empire.

* France never suffers from revolution and in fact it is annexed by the Spanish Crown after the last King of France dies leaving the King of Spain as heir to the throne. Later, Portugal is annexed too into the Bourbon. A good portion of historical French North Africa is also transferred to the Bourbon Kingdom after the war against the Ottomans.

* The British Empire falls apart after the failure of the King (Queen Victoria never succeeds to the throne) to suppress the Chartists. As such all the remaining members of the Empire revolt or leave. However, Britain inherits the thrones of Hanover, the Netherlands and Denmark; the combined nation turns into a Stalinist nation which is called the European Soviets in honour of the failed Russian Revolution of 1905.

* Italy not only becomes unified, but it crushes and absorbs a major portion of the Austrian Empire after the latter's many revolutions in 1848. It succeeds in wresting Tunisia and Libya from the Ottomans, but fury due to lack of massive territorial acquisitions and losing the greatest portion of men in the war, the elections lead to Tito coming into power and establishing a communist state.

* Germany never unifies and is left instead with a Prussia that extends across most of Central Europe. When the game starts, Kaiser (or more likely Koenig) Wilhelm II is not the head of state, but rather his son.

* Sweden still encompasses all of the Nordic Region (with Denmark and Iceland as the exceptions). At the beginning of the game it holds most of the Baltic States and even controls Leningrad (the names of the provinces were not changed).

* After Russia lost the Russo-Japanese War, Ukraine broke off from the Empire and established the Cossack state that later came to encompass sections of the Danube.

* Though losing a good portion of territory and Ukraine in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia remained in control and never fell into the revolutions of 1917. Neither Nicholas II or his son, Alexis, are the Tsar but rather Kyril Romanov (the pretender to the throne after the Romanov dynasty was extinguished at Yekaterinburg).

* All the sub-Sahara territories not under European or Ottoman control form under a unified communist state under Heile Selassie (the historical last emperor of Ethiopia).

* Most of South America forms into a communist state after many repeated attempts by the Bourbon Kingdom to retain control over the empire.

* Australia and New Zealand break away from the UK after it becomes communist, declaring itself the independent state of Australasia and captures Papua New Guinea, a small portion of Indonesia and all pacific Islands between New Ireland and Tahiti from their respective rulers, forming a modest empire under Australasian control.

[Csargo]

Thanks :2thumbsup:

[Duke John]

Battlefield 2 with the Project Reality mod. I see a lot more teamwork with this game, so I like it a lot even if it means hiking for 5 minutes with your squad to get across a map.

[frogbeastegg]

Your viewpoint for Call of Juarez has encouraged me to try it. :yes:
If you do get it then don't pay much for it. I'm a few levels further in, and it's still firmly in OK territory. I'm losing confidence that it will manage to pull itself up out of that for me. I'm not a fan of FPS at all, so if you are then you may find it somewhat better.

Presently I'm stuck on a little set piece. There are three enemies with shotguns. Long range, sniper rifle accurate shotguns. I'm the feeble stealth character. There's nowhere to stealth; you have to fight. I can manage to down 2 but the 3rd always kills me. It only takes two shots for them to kill you, and they manage to hit me through the available cover. The instant you kill one or one spots you the rest start attacking, so you need to kill them all in a matter of seconds. They are too widely spaced out for that. I'm getting very sick of "Press A to load last checkpoint".

[Xiahou]

DL'ed 'FFCC: My Life as a King' for the Wii. Not a bad game for the price- I've managed to waste a few hours on it pretty easily.

[naut]

So I'm playing EU2, exported my game from CK:DV to it, and I can't stamp out revolts in the Mediterranean due to fact I have no idea how to get my armies onto the boats. Why is it so complex!

[ElectricEel]

So I'm playing EU2, exported my game from CK:DV to it, and I can't stamp out revolts in the Mediterranean due to fact I have no idea how to get my armies onto the boats. Why is it so complex! You can only move troops to a fleet that is at sea (*not* in port). Select the army you want to embark, and right-click on the fleet. If that doesn't work, check that the fleet has enough transportation capacity to carry all the troops.

[naut]

Thanks, I've got it now.

[frogbeastegg]

I decided that paid holiday so precious it shouldn't be wasted on an OK game. My current gaming fodder needs two words and a single smiley to sum it up:

Mass Effect :loveg:

If I expand that to useful singular words then we're looking at the likes of: OMG!! WOW!! Awesome!! Stunning!! Brilliant!! Gorgeous!! Amazing!! And yes, the double exclamation marks are compulsory.

If we step away from singular words then I'm presently having no qualms about the phrase "Best game I've played on my 360!" or "Best game I've played this year!" or "At last, after years of waiting, an RPG which is completely enthralling!"

If we had for something more personal, and thus more verbose, then I think "Bioware are back!" does very well. Jade Empire was awful. I didn't make it past 2 hours of Neverwinter Nights 2. That's two strikes against the people who made many of my favourite RPGs, and those strikes are their most recent work. I feared their day was done, that the final bastion of the great names from my childhood gaming days was toppled. I avoided playing Mass Effect for half a year because I was terrified of it being the third and final strike.

Bioware are back, woohoo! :birthday2:

I have not loved the opening hours of an RPG so much since KOTOR.

I have not been sucked into a new and fresh world so comprehensively since Baldur's Gate II.

I have not sat there in the opening hours of a game and realised that I'm going to have to play it several times to see everything and then grinned with delight for so, so long.

Yes, it has technical issues. Rampant pop in and pop up, jerky framerates, long loading times. Somehow it's hard to care when the rest of the package is so damned good. Maybe after 20 hours my view on this will change.

The world is rich and unique, populated with well-voiced and well designed characters. The plot is somewhat run of the mill but it's being done in style, and feels fresh, unlike the stale rehash of uber stale rehashes that was Jade Empire's predictable dullness.

I'm playing a female character and Bioware appear to have finally, at long last, produced a male character who won't annoy the crap out of me if I follow the romance line. Not a sad past in sight, not a hint of whininess, and he's not self-absorbed to the point of resembling some kind of sponge. He's got a nice voice, too :gring:

The combat works. Actually works. 3rd person squad based tactical combat. In an RPG. A Bioware RPG. And it works. I usually find Bioware's combat systems to be a trifle rickety, so this is doubly a surprise.

There's a race of giant space-faring Eyores. Same doleful way of speaking, same sad eyes, vaguely donkey-like appearance. What's not to love? I want one in my party. :loveg:

I'm leaving citadel station for the first time now. If the game doesn't live up to this amazing start I shall be completely heartbroken.

There is but one fly in the ointment: I have lots of things planned for my time off which do not involve playing games. I don't think I shall get many of them done; I've got a galaxy to explore and a traitor to hunt down.

[Kekvit Irae]

Mass Effect :loveg:

I told you. :tongueg:

[Tratorix]

I didn't make it past 2 hours of Neverwinter Nights 2.

Hey, that was Obsidian, don't hang the blame on Bioware! :smash:

I loved Mass Effect, but you might find the exploration parts a bit of a letdown. The main storyline is gold though.

I'm currently trying to work my way through Final Fantasy 12. So far, so good. The combat system is alright, and the main plot doesn't seem to consist of exclusively romance and angst. :2thumbsup:

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Total War: VI and RTW/M2TW


Call Of Duty 4: Great MP indeed

Quest For GLory 1: Great Orgianla Adventure Game

[TevashSzat]

Sins of a solar empire.

I'm also debating on whether to get Baldur's Gate and play through the series

[frogbeastegg]

I'm also debating on whether to get Baldur's Gate and play through the series
If you like RPGs then you need to play them. Full stop. Then get Planescape: Torment.

You can buy the Baldur's Gate trilogy DVD pack, which has both games plus their expansions, for the bargain price of £14.99 or less if you shop around. Having the games on DVD removes one of the bugbears of the original version, namely disc swapping like a mad DJ. A modern PC will eat the loading times too, killing the other main bugbear. All that is left is hundreds of hours of pure RPG joy.

Play them in order though! Baldur's Gate 1 -> Tales of the Sword Coast -> Baldur's Gate 2 -> Throne of Baal.

There's also an Icewind Dale DVD pack, again with all the games and expansions for crazy cheap. That's well worth picking up if you like a dungeon crawl style AD&D RPG.

[Mouzafphaerre]

If you do get it then don't pay much for it. I'm a few levels further in, and it's still firmly in OK territory. I'm losing confidence that it will manage to pull itself up out of that for me. I'm not a fan of FPS at all, so if you are then you may find it somewhat better.

Presently I'm stuck on a little set piece. There are three enemies with shotguns. Long range, sniper rifle accurate shotguns. I'm the feeble stealth character. There's nowhere to stealth; you have to fight. I can manage to down 2 but the 3rd always kills me. It only takes two shots for them to kill you, and they manage to hit me through the available cover. The instant you kill one or one spots you the rest start attacking, so you need to kill them all in a matter of seconds. They are too widely spaced out for that. I'm getting very sick of "Press A to load last checkpoint".
.
I happen to have it in my hold. Thanks for the warning. I hate reflex based FPS action. I'm often godmoding certain scenes replaying Vampire Bloodlines for instance.
.

[Csargo]

Playing a Ricky campaign with VIP 0.1 as Prussia one year in. Nothing of significance has happened so far.

[OverKnight]

Speaking of NWN2, I just finished it.

I detect a recurring theme from Obsidian: Their reach exceeds their grasp. There are interesting concepts and characters in NWN2 and KotOR2 with some good missions, but they both are less than the sum of their parts.

And Obsidian can't do endings, whether they're nerfed (KotOR2) or glorified power point presentations with one of the worst lead ins to an expansion I've encountered (NWN2). Why would that ending make me want to buy MotB? What happened to end-game cinematics as a reward for all the time and effort you put into a game?

My PC is buried in rubble? WTF? I'm not told the fates of my party NPCs, only tertiary characters I barely know? :wall:

[frogbeastegg]

I have completed Mass Effect. 31 hours in 5 days. I feel exhausted. Elated. My hands are trembling. I'm still amazed my 360 hasn't died from such heavy usage.

Next up is .... Mass Effect. What can I say?

This is the first game I've replayed immediately on finishing since KOTOR.

This is that rare, rare thing: a game I would happily buy a console for. If this were the only game I ever played on my 360 I'd be content.

This is the first game in this console generation I'd call 10/10. That makes it one of an exclusive handful of games I'd rate so highly. Even my beloved KOTOR doesn't get that.

There was not one single thing about it I didn't like, which is incredible. Even the tech issues didn't bother me. The rest of the experience was such that frame rate shudders and pop up textures really did not matter. Ordinarily this kind of issue bothers me greatly.

The world was great. The characters were great. The plot was great. The detail was great. The execution was great. The voice acting was great. You get the idea - I loved every second of those 31 hours. :gring:

If the replays leave me feeling the same then Mass Effect will edge Planescape: Torment out of the top spot of 'froggy's favourite RPGs', a spot it has occupied for 9 years.

Bring of Mass Effect 2! I want to see where this trilogy goes.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Robert E Lee Civil War General, 1996, good old Hex game, love it :clown: :clown:

[Kekvit Irae]

Fatal Frame (Project Zero) 2
:loveg:

[Fragony]

Nice knowing ya.

And Fragony joins the Condemned. Awesome, it's rather, well violent. Kinda bugs me that it's still not possible to bludgeon off chunks of face, I mean an axe in the face does that. Better then the first in every way though.

[shlin28]

Neverwinter Nights - best 6 years old RPG game I have played yet :2thumbsup:

If only I havn't got exams...

[naut]

Trying to mod HOI2 to make Switzerland uber! No success, back to Mount&Blade.

[Kekvit Irae]

I am so totally addicted to Fatal Frame 2. The ending made me cry. :sadg:

[Ferret]

GTA IV!!! Finally! Good first impressions, except multiplayer seems a bit slow...

[Kekvit Irae]

Finding the Holy Grail (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/f/fatalframeIIcrimsonbutterfly/default.htm) of survival horror games in GameStop for only 12.99! I am now going to play this to death.
:loveg:

[Fragony]

Can't wait for the Wii version, it looks fantastic.

http://www.destructoid.com/new-fatal-frame-wii-screenshots-and-details-67619.phtml

[Kekvit Irae]

Indeed. It's one of the main reasons I want a Wii again.
I also kinda curious as to what the Japanese cellphone game looks like.

[Craterus]

Football Manager, as usual.

Contemplating whether or not to sign Ronaldo. The fat one.

[shlin28]

Still on Neverwinter Nights, its a pity I can only play an hour a day, at this rate its gonna take me a year to finish the whole game and the expansion packs...

[frogbeastegg]

Having finally reached these shores, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is filling my lunch breaks with sharp writing. I love this series :loveg: Phoenix Wright 3 had better get a release date soon; I've been waiting for months.

[doc_bean]

Having finally reached these shores, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is filling my lunch breaks with sharp writing. I love this series :loveg: Phoenix Wright 3 had better get a release date soon; I've been waiting for months.

That's why I couldn't find trials and tribulations ? They released Apollo Justice first ?

Damnit, I want them in order !

[frogbeastegg]

Yes. Trials & tribs was out 7 months ago in the US. It had a UK date which then slipped and turned into TBA. Apollo was then announced, dated, and recently released.

Rumour says trials and tribs failed to get a 12 PEGI rating, and so won't be released. A poster named 'Official Capcom Guy' on the eurogamer forums says this is untrue and the game will still be released here. That poster is what his name suggests: a Capcom employee. He's held a few low key but official competitions for Capcom releases, and his information is always good.

Apollo doesn't spoil the Phoenix games at all, or so I have seen many claim. I'm on case 2 now and that does appear to be true. Something has happened to Phoenix which at first glance looks like heavy spoilers for the end of trials & tribs. A little playtime reveals that that's not so; this plot point is the main over-arching mystery for Apollo's game. It's comparable to the Phoenix/Edgeworth story from game 1.

If you like the series do get Apollo! The writing is as sharp as ever, it's totally demented, and it's the first to benefit fully from the DS' capabilities. The courtroom sections are far better than those in justice for all. There's far less trial and error. "I need to show proof of finger prints. That'll be the cup with finger prints on it then. No, didn't work. Er ... how about the glove with DNA traces? Nope. The gun with wiped finger print traces? No. [several increasingly desperate attempts later] Oh, it was the lollypop. Riiiight ..."

I forgot to include something in my first post. Ahem.

OBJECTION!!!

[Dodge_272]

The only two games I play these days are:

Football Manager 2008 - currently Wigan, 2008/9

and

Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday: Armageddon - currently Germany, 1945

[Fragony]

Yes. Trials & tribs was out 7 months ago in the US. It had a UK date which then slipped and turned into TBA. Apollo was then announced, dated, and recently released.

Just ORDER it :beam:

[CountArach]

Still playing my Mega Campaign in CK.

[Must`]

Playing cod4 multiplayer online with my clan in various leagues :smg:

[naut]

A mix of HOI2:DD-Arm as Ethiopia, managed to defeat the Italians by joining the Allies, gaining Lybia in the process. Saw a historic build up to WW2, then a massive steam-roll of Europe by Russia, which is now Stalinist. The Allies then declared war on the ComIntern. Not looking good. As Japan has conquered India and has most of the South-Pacific/Australia under its belt.

Also, FM 2008, Arsenal, winning the league after 10 games. Victory against the 'pewl and Manure was sweet.

[TevashSzat]

Reinstalled Neverwinter Nights 2 and its MOTB expansion and am going through both campaigns again.

This time I'm thinking of going as a sun elf 15 Rogue/ 1 Shadowdancer / 7 Duelist / 7 Weapon Master. The idea is to focus in rapier and along with a high intelligence and dexterity, get a crazy high AC. Furthermore, at 7 WM along with a keen rapier and crit feats, I should be able to get a 15-20 crit range rapier with a multiplyer of 3 iirc.

Goal is to go in in stealth mode, do a flourish along with sneak attack for the opening blow which will end up being like 10d6 additional damage to take out the biggest threat. Then, I enter parry mode and take it out until I enter stealth mode again with hide from plain sight and repeat.

[Kekvit Irae]

Keen doesn't stack with Improved Critical. It's either one or the other, but not both.
Personally, I play with a PrC pack which gives me access to a lot more PrCs and new feats and spells. I love Bards, and there's two feats that I enjoy. One gives +1 to all Inspirations, and the other gives DR 2/- when wearing Medium Armor (important for Bards with Battle Caster feat / Mythril Plate Mail).

[Beirut]

Had a choice between COD2 & COD4 today. COD2 was $20 and COD4 was $50. The choice was clear. Besides, I prefer older era shooters and I like the satisfaction of hammering through a tough level with a Lee-Enfield. And COD2 at 1920x1200 with everything maxed looks pretty sweet, too.

[TevashSzat]

Ah, too bad, but that means I'll have an extra feat that I sorely need. This build is really feat intensive with focus, dodge, mobility, spring attack, combat expertise, weapon finesse, and whirlwind attack all needed to even function really.

I have a question here: is whirlwind attack really useful? I'll have to get it anyways for weapon master, but I'm debating whether to get improved whirlwind. My epic feats planned so far are epic prowness, combat insight, expose weakness. That leaves 2 extra which will probably mean armor skin (the natural armor does stack with na from other sources like a +5 ammy of natural armor right?) and improved whirlwind

[naut]

Had a choice between COD2 & COD4 today. COD2 was $20 and COD4 was $50. The choice was clear. Besides, I prefer older era shooters and I like the satisfaction of hammering through a tough level with a Lee-Enfield. And COD2 at 1920x1200 with everything maxed looks pretty sweet, too.
Great games, good choice. :2thumbsup:

I'm back on Footy Manager, time to win me some trophies.

[Kekvit Irae]

Ah, too bad, but that means I'll have an extra feat that I sorely need. This build is really feat intensive with focus, dodge, mobility, spring attack, combat expertise, weapon finesse, and whirlwind attack all needed to even function really.

I have a question here: is whirlwind attack really useful? I'll have to get it anyways for weapon master, but I'm debating whether to get improved whirlwind. My epic feats planned so far are epic prowness, combat insight, expose weakness. That leaves 2 extra which will probably mean armor skin (the natural armor does stack with na from other sources like a +5 ammy of natural armor right?) and improved whirlwind

Whirlwind is (literally) hit-or-miss. Unless you are taking the Tempest PrC from the PrC pack, I wouldn't build my character around it. In theory, WW attack is pretty great to use. But in practice, a wounded enemy fights just as well as a healthy enemy, and you'll need your full attacks to defeat the enemy one by one rather than whittle down everyone in range.

I do not suggest Armor Skin as an Epic Feat choice. The enemies in MotB and Epic modules will have attack bonuses coming out of the rear, and +2 isnt all that helpful. If going Dex Rogue, I'd work my way up to Epic Dodge (dodge the first attack every round? yes plz), or grabbing Epic Toughness and then Epic Resilience (with a high enough Reflex, you will ALWAYS succeed at Improved Evasion).

Personally, because Parry is bugged, I'd rather have Two-Weapon Fighting.

[Marius Dynamite]

I just started a new story on Mass Effect, mainly because of the positivity I got from reading frogbeastegg's post a few up. Its so much better through the second time when you get to grips with the shooting. The first time round those early levels were a nightmare :wall:

Then, after one day of playing Mass Effect again, I get a loan of Devil May Cry 4... the Mass Effect revival is officially on hold. :2thumbsup:

[Timsup2nothin]

Current binges in progress:

Civ3: just had my first win ever on 'demi-god' difficulty.
GalCiv2: working with Stardock techs to solve installation issue.
MTW: one day a week for AAR
SMAC: joining a demo game forming at Apolyton

Plus hoping to hang onto a top seven position to qualify for the finals in an on-line Diplomacy tournament...currently fifth.

[frogbeastegg]

I just started a new story on Mass Effect, mainly because of the positivity I got from reading frogbeastegg's post a few up. Its so much better through the second time when you get to grips with the shooting. The first time round those early levels were a nightmare :wall:
I found that combat became far easier once I'd got a couple of blocks of shield power on my health display. Once you've got that then you're laughing; it only gets easier. On the lower difficulties anyway.




My RPG stint continues. In additon to my (very slowly advancing) Mass Effect replay, I'm playing Gothic II gold edition and Two Worlds.

Gothic II is ah ... well, ask me again when I stop dying on the first couple of enemies. It's a difficult game, and the gold edition includes the expansion which ramps the challenge up still further.

Two Worlds got panned when it was released. Several patches later and it's fixed right up; most of the bugs are squashed and the frame rate is stable and fluid. On the 360 anyway, I can't talk about the PC edition. When I saw a cheap copy I thought I may as well give it a go, since those who stuck with it loved the game despite its problems.

It's Oblivion with a lower budget and a pinch of Gothic thrown in. Huge world, billions of quests, challenging difficulty level, etc etc. TW's world is better than Oblivions IMO; it's larger and more realistic. There's loads of armour and weaponry, and items which are identical can be combined to create a more powerful version of that same item.

I spent the first 10 character levels dying repeatedly, just as the game's fans promise. Death is handled well enough that this didn't matter. You get resurrected at the closest shrine without losing anything at all. Character advancement is so rewarding. Now I'm level 22, and those same enemies which slaughtered me now fall like wheat before my big two-handed sword. I can wipe out an entire Grom warband without breaking a sweat. Balance is maintained by there still being a legion of new enemy types which can wipe me out without breaking a sweat.

Verily, the voice acting 'tis a thing of great terror. Prithee. Yay, also 'tis in cod Olde English. Forsooth. Methinks it be a source of hilarity, unto the point of seeming a farce. Also of farce is the plot. Verily, 'tis dreadful.

It's good. Well worth the £15 I paid for it.

[Kekvit Irae]

Death is handled well enough that this didn't matter. You get resurrected at the closest shrine without losing anything at all.

Sounds like the biggest flaw of Bioshock.

[frogbeastegg]

It's exactly the same, with the difference that here it works. Bioshock didn't need free unlimited vita chambers; they were a safety net to make sure all players could get to the end. IMO it didn't need it; I completed it without dying once and I'm rubbish at FPS. That's why the game has an easy setting. The lack of a death penalty undermined the tension in the game's atmosphere, and made it contemptuously easy to run endless suicide attacks against enemies until you hammered your way through. You could defeat anything provided you were patient enough.

In Two Worlds the difficulty is far, far higher. Three bites from a wolf and you're dead in the early going, or one hit from a Grom with a big two-handed axe, or two from a bear. Wolves come in packs of 2 - 5, Grom in groups of 3 minimum. Bandits can and will tear you a new one, and there's always precisely 3 in a group. Enemies who are far above your level are effectively invincible. You can't inflict noticable damage on them, and they'll kill you in a single swipe. You can run suicide attacks for half an hour and still make no headway. There are enemies with specific damage immunities, so again you'll make no progress if you're not set up for the job. I'm starting to run into enemies with abilities like disarm. Get disarmed and then killed and congratulations, you've respawned without that awesome sword you've been customising. Now you'll have to win it back, or find a new one.

Two Worlds manages to get enemy level scaling right as well. Most enemies do not scale, but bandits do. They get better gear. They do not get uber rare gear a la Oblivion; they get better stats on their cheaper armour types, so their gear is always worse than your nice shiny stuff.

[Craterus]

Great games, good choice. :2thumbsup:

I'm back on Footy Manager, time to win me some trophies.

Exams are over and I have 13 days off with absolutely no responsibility. Get ready to see the Xfire counter skyrocket. Moreso than it already has been... :undecided:

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Quest For Glory 3,Elder Scrolls IV and Emenrceny Room 2, Excellet games. Latter I was obess with when I was younger.:clown: :egypt:

[frogbeastegg]

Lego Indiana Jones. Pure fun distilled onto a disc. If you liked Lego Star Wars you should play this. If you like Indy you should try this. If you like both you will adore it. Co-op mode is fantastic. The puzzles are improved, being longer and more complex. The new features all work well. The addition of tools aids the puzzles, and when a character's phobia kicks in it's so cute. Little Lego Indy cowering and shivering because there's a snake near him, inching gingerly along and refusing to do any of his moves until someone else clears the snake away, or Lego Willie having a panic attack over spiders. There aren't any vehicle levels this time, though there are sections during levels where you can use vehicles. Those levels weren't my favourites in the Star Wars games; even so it's a bit disappointing. What the game loses in terms of hordes of recognisable characters to play as it more than gains in humour, both in the brief cutscenes and in the levels themselves.

[Kekvit Irae]

No vehicles make me sadf. :(
I always liked those scenes from Lego Star Wars.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Beside TW games??

Faces of War and Cossacks 2 are the ones that I play when I have some spare time :lam:

[Xiahou]

I saw Jeanne d'Arc for the PSP on clearance at Target for $14. I don't really need to accumulate any more games atm, but I remembered hearing some good things about the game and bought it. I played maybe about 45mins and based on that, I'd say I found one heck of a deal. :2thumbsup:

[frogbeastegg]

I'm now playing xbox360 support. The graphics aren't very good and the gameplay is severely limited, but it's different to the usual RPGs, adventures and shooters. I hear it's quite a lengthy title too, at least 9 days of solid play before you are done.


Xiahou, I was the one with Jeanne d'Arc. It was a wonderful game, excellent fun throughout. My only dislike was the way it occasionally took party members from you or forced you to use certain ones. My advice is to try and keep your people about even in levels. You can replay the maps in freeplay mode as much as you like.

[Kekvit Irae]

I'm playing Madden College Life 2008. Not as popular as Madden Football 2008, but just as engrossing. Sadly, I keep losing to the University Financial Aid team. :/

[Marius Dynamite]

I was playing the Civ Revolutions Demo on 360 today for a few hours. It's fairly addictive even though you cant get out of the ancient Rome era. I would say its overall disappointing though, doesnt seem to be much economics going on and the fighting is non-existant! I haven't played any other Civs but from videos I seen the campaign maps look so much better.

Anyone else played the Demo?

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

My dad rented Lego Indiana Jones for the family and I've had to fight my brothers and sisters to play it. I heartily second Froggy's blurb about it.

I've also started playing a mod for Half Life 2 (while I can't play Lego Indy) called Eternal Silence. link (http://www.eternal-silence.net/) Basically you're in space, flying fighters and bombers with crude physics around a few capital ships blowing stuff up. Then when one side is out of corvettes, they get to board the enemy mothership and play changes to FPS. The FPS part doesn't feel as good, and the flying is more simple than Freespace 2, for instance, but is pretty rewarding. It's also in beta so it might get better.

[Fragony]

Condemned II is pwned. I am a bit dissapointed, short and surprisingly easy. Enviromental kills are too over the top, why would Thomas get to all the trouble of dragging someone to a workbench just to slowly crush his head if he can just whack him around the ears, he's the kind of guy that likes to keep things simple. I do like the new investigation-mechanics. Graphics are at times breathtaking especially the oily parts, but the snowlevel shows that the Lithtech engine still sucks at outdoor inviroments felt like I was playing NOLF2, NOLF2 actually did it better. Once you are inside there is enough eye-candy at least. Melee is fun, but like the first it isn't possible to blow chuncks out of someone's face, I mean we have pipes, paper cutters, cleavers, and the visual feedback is really lacking (sounds makes up for it though) only to go all the way when you can score a rediculously violent enviromental kill (what was the fuss about Manhunt 2 anyway?). Good game but not nearly as good as it could have been.

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict here I come. Owwww advance wars hihihi :2thumbsup:

[Xiahou]

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict here I come. Owwww advance wars hihihi :2thumbsup:Heh, "Dark Conflict", I had to think about that one a second- it's called "Days of Ruin" in the US. Whatever you call it, it's a good game. I definitely appreciated the darker tone as compared to its more cartoony predecessors. :2thumbsup:

[Fragony]

Sure is the most fun AW I ever played, a post-apocalypse advance war how could this possibly suck?

[Tony Furze]

Neverwinter Nights 1. It's one of the very few games I can play on this PC. Nice contrast with MTW/VI.

[shlin28]

I'm playing NWN1 too :smash: Only been playing for 3 weeks though, and with all my exams and stuff I am still on Chapter 2 with my level 9 Wizard.

My computer can handle most games, but its a hit and miss thing, I can run Dawn of War, but my pc utterly failed to run KOTOR... :wall:

[CountArach]

Just bought Victoria: Revolutions and all I have to say is:

OMG! WOW!

[Tony Furze]

shlin28: Yes, it's a great game. I'm on my second attempt as a Monk this time. Last time I was a Dwarf.

CountArach: another one that's slipped under the radar-Crusader Kings is also supposed to be good, but I've never managed to track it down.

[TevashSzat]

I'm somehow back to playing Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines as a Malkavian. The wierd dialogue and font was kinda awkward at first, but its not that bad after a while. I'm surprised at how short the game seems now. I've played for maybe 6-7 hours and I'm at the early part of hollywood

[naut]

Just bought Victoria: Revolutions and all I have to say is:

OMG! WOW!
I just got Vicky and Ricky also, (about 2 weeks ago) and for the life of me I can't figure out how to play, so complex.

Playing HOI2:DDARM, a massive game as Roma, control most of Europe, Caribbean and North Africa.

[WarMachine187]

COD4 is just hella realistic and its online play is more enjoyable than halo3s.i dont spend to much time playin games on my comp tho,Just MTW2 and Oblivion for me.

[CountArach]

CountArach: another one that's slipped under the radar-Crusader Kings is also supposed to be good, but I've never managed to track it down.
I've got it and I recommend it, but with the caveat that you realise that game has some problems. I have heard the expansion is great, though it too has some problems (A new patch is coming soon though that should fix these). I'm currently writing an AAR for it, which you can see in my Signature (Shameless plug :tongue: ).

I just got Vicky and Ricky also, (about 2 weeks ago) and for the life of me I can't figure out how to play, so complex.
Yes, it is VERY complex, especially the economy. I would recommend a couple of guides though, which can be found here:
http://www.paradoxian.org/vickywiki/index.php/A_Modest_Guide_For_Brand_Spanking_New_Players
and
http://www.paradoxian.org/vickywiki/index.php/The_Victoria_Manual

Both made by users, so they are generally more practical than the Victoria one.

[Craterus]

Final Fantasy VII on PS3. Thank goodness for backwards compatability because I can't find my PS1 anywhere and I've had such an urge to play it again.

However, does anyone know where I might be able to buy another copy because the discs, especially disc1, are looking very scratched and I remember having a problem with them before. Thanks for any help. :balloon3:

[naut]

Final Fantasy VII (http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Final-Fantasy-VII/dp/B00000JRSB) on Amazon, maybe some better deals on eBay.

My main problem with CK is how frustratingly slow/expensive upgrades and buildings are to produce, even if it is historical I'm far to impatient.

[Craterus]

Thank you :bow:

[CountArach]

Final Fantasy VII (http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Final-Fantasy-VII/dp/B00000JRSB) on Amazon, maybe some better deals on eBay.

My main problem with CK is how frustratingly slow/expensive upgrades and buildings are to produce, even if it is historical I'm far to impatient.

Get Forestry, Sawmill and the technology that lets you get one of the factories (Can't remember which one it is... the building reduces build time) before you do anything else.

[Tony Furze]

CountArach: just has a look at your AAR over at Paradox. That's a real labour of love! Well done. Really like the image work.

I believe "Knights of Honor" is part of the Paradox contribution (?) I stilll have it, but it creates quite a few problems to run and uninstall.

[naut]

Interesting ARR. :2thumbsup:

[Csargo]

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305484&page=1&pp=20

Good AAR to help with Vicky. VIP is a great mod as well.

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm currently writing an AAR for it, which you can see in my Signature (Shameless plug :tongue: ).



Excellent work, and no shame in any plug. If you don't market yourself, no one will.

On the 'what I'm playing' front...I've gotten involved up to my eyes in a democracy game of Alpha Centauri, which is just getting started. Having never played such a thing, and never having scored well in 'plays well with others' this is an interesting challenge.

[Bob the Insane]

GRID (on the 360)...

Good fun for an arcade racer... Might even finally invest on one of those sterring wheel thingies...

It makes up for it's arcadeiness with the sweet, sweet gfxs and crashes...

And the retry feature is a god-send for the likes of me (i.e. not so very good at racing games)...

[Ferret]

Just got the Battlefield:Bad Company demo on 360, average first impressions...

[CountArach]

Thanks for the kind words all :bow:

[frogbeastegg]

:sneaks through while hiding under an up-turned cardboard box:

While I await the return of my xbox so I can pick up Lego Indy and Two Worlds I'm replaying Metal Gear Solid, the PS1 Platinum edition. I feared it would look like someone vomited pixels onto my TV as it looked decidedly creaky on my old PS2/small standard TV set up several years ago. Happily that's not so. My PS3 has done an astounding job of upscaling, smoothing, and generally making it look acceptable on my HDTV.

With that main weakpoint taken care of it has aged exceedingly well. The controls are somewhat clunky. Otherwise it's much the same as I remember it, from the footprints in the snow to the long-winded codec sequences.

[ElectricEel]

Recently I've been sinking a lot of time into the Fall from Heaven (http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1) mod for Civilization IV. It's a total conversion, set in an original fantasy setting.

It really *is* a complete overhaul with a huge amount of effort behind it, with a completely new tech three, hundreds of new units, and a couple of dozen civilizations which are far more significantly differentiated from each other than the civilizations in a standard Civ game. Religions are far more interesting, with major differences between their game-mechanical effects. Many new game mechanics are introduced - for example, war and strife within the world can cause the approach of Armageddon, which has major effects on every civilization, and which some civilizations will try to stave off, and some further. Over the course of the game, the armies of Heaven and Hell can be summoned into the world, and will gain strenght as the soldiers and citizens of their aligned civilizations are slain and their souls join their armies. Vampires, werewolves, mages...

I could go on and on. Honestly, I find standard Civ rather dull after playing Fall from Heaven. It should be noted it's still a work in progress, though eminently playable; apparently one of the main focuses in the near future is going to be improving the AI, which currently doesn't handle all of the new game concepts all that well.

[Geoffrey S]

Just got the Battlefield:Bad Company demo on 360, average first impressions...
I've been enjoying the demo immensely. First time I've used Live (housemates finally hooked it up), and it's been a blast. Well-paced, very cinematic for a multiplayer game - in particular, the sound is extremely good. Been fun, a lot of memorable and quite spectacular moments.

[TevashSzat]

I got Need for Speed Most Wanted from a friend, I might start playing it once I finished running through Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines again

[Ferret]

I've been enjoying the demo immensely. First time I've used Live (housemates finally hooked it up), and it's been a blast. Well-paced, very cinematic for a multiplayer game - in particular, the sound is extremely good. Been fun, a lot of memorable and quite spectacular moments.

I dunno, the camera seems far too zoomed in which makes it hard to know what is going on due to your restricted vision. Add the high default sensitivity and you end up spinning around and not being able to see who is shooting you :laugh4:

I'll try and tweak it a bit when I next play so that I can see more people to shoot. But I suppose it does make it easier for you as well, on one game I spawned with my squad leader who was behind enemy lines and I saw 6 enemies, mostly snipers, hiding behind a cluster of rocks and shooting my team. I was able to kill them one by one without the others even noticing...

[shlin28]

Still on NWN... but by the gods of gaming the storyline is so good!
Just went into Charwoods, and the people in there are so weird... must...find...out...why...

[Geoffrey S]

I dunno, the camera seems far too zoomed in which makes it hard to know what is going on due to your restricted vision. Add the high default sensitivity and you end up spinning around and not being able to see who is shooting you :laugh4:

I'll try and tweak it a bit when I next play so that I can see more people to shoot. But I suppose it does make it easier for you as well, on one game I spawned with my squad leader who was behind enemy lines and I saw 6 enemies, mostly snipers, hiding behind a cluster of rocks and shooting my team. I was able to kill them one by one without the others even noticing...
To be honest, that's what I rather liked. It's almost impossible to know what is going on all around you, and all too frequently I end up hitting the dirt due to sniper fire from the flanks. But that feels right - I end up flitting from cover to cover, and taking things carefully extends the lifespan significantly. Not only that, but it makes it very important to stick with the team. Two people supporting each other cover far more angles and last far longer. It feels just right. I'm not focusing on being a killing machine, but lasting long enough to get to the objective and letting the enemy come to me.

[Ferret]

I suppose, but in most of the games I've been in no one actually will work as a team, they all just run off somewhere. Are you playing it on 360?

[Geoffrey S]

Yeah. But whether others want to play in the team doesn't matter that much - still possible to stick with other players myself, and that increases survival rates too. Spawning with the squad is great for that.

[TevashSzat]

Still on NWN... but by the gods of gaming the storyline is so good!


My favorite part of the game is in Act III when you get to fight against some really serious creatures ie Dragons and such

In the end of Act II, you're gonna be getting a nice surprise in Luskan

[naut]

I bought Battle for Middle Earth II ages ago and never really played it because it was so ridiculously buggy. I recently gave it another go and surprise surprise it's still buggy. An utterly rubbish game. Try play through the campaign, and randomly lose because of stupid aspects of the game. I can't even complete the first "Good" level, I lose since it leaves insufficient time to complete the objectives, some 5 seconds when about a minute is required. A big WTF!

Edit: All better now, found the patches. :laugh4:

[tibilicus]

Recently I've been sinking a lot of time into the Fall from Heaven (http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1) mod for Civilization IV. It's a total conversion, set in an original fantasy setting.

It really *is* a complete overhaul with a huge amount of effort behind it, with a completely new tech three, hundreds of new units, and a couple of dozen civilizations which are far more significantly differentiated from each other than the civilizations in a standard Civ game. Religions are far more interesting, with major differences between their game-mechanical effects. Many new game mechanics are introduced - for example, war and strife within the world can cause the approach of Armageddon, which has major effects on every civilization, and which some civilizations will try to stave off, and some further. Over the course of the game, the armies of Heaven and Hell can be summoned into the world, and will gain strenght as the soldiers and citizens of their aligned civilizations are slain and their souls join their armies. Vampires, werewolves, mages...

I could go on and on. Honestly, I find standard Civ rather dull after playing Fall from Heaven. It should be noted it's still a work in progress, though eminently playable; apparently one of the main focuses in the near future is going to be improving the AI, which currently doesn't handle all of the new game concepts all that well.



Hmmm been considering that but I mainly only play Rhyes of civilization mainly because of features which make it feel histrionically accurate.

Only wim is that the game time aint long enough. Domination victory is to easy to achieve.

[TevashSzat]

I am going to finish Need for Speed: Carbon pretty soon and must find a game that I will move onot next. I might just finish Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines again, but I'm strangely not able to find the incentive to do so.

I am very very strongly fighting the urge the fire up Diablo II again, but the 1.12a patch just came out and ladder has been reset so I don't know....

[Fragony]

Playing ' The world ends with you' , if you got a ds get it, it just could be the coolest game ever made, there's the magic touch here.

[doc_bean]

Still Wesnoth, haven't had much time lately. i did finally finish the Heir to the Throne campaign, it's somewhat uneven as it gets *much* easier at a certain point. I wish it had kept the difficulty level of the original levels.

On to the Rise of Wesnoth it is ...

[Fragony]

Playing ' The world ends with you' , if you got a ds get it, it just could be the coolest game ever made, there's the magic touch here.

That is how I felt about it after a few hours. Further in, I can safely say this is the best rpg ever. Hip as can be, truly innovative, awesome art, fantastic music.

10/10 :2thumbsup:

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Quest For Glory Series And Call Of Duty 4. :clown::egypt:

[CountArach]

Broke out Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30 on the PS2 yesterday and played it again this morning. I love the authenticity and the fact that you have to think about where you want to put your men. I plan on getting the sequel as soon as my exams are finished.

[naut]

Ricky, as Japan. I'm having a tough time though.

Edit: Should I trade my independence for technology?

[CountArach]

Ricky, as Japan. I'm having a tough time though.

Edit: Should I trade my independence for technology?
Probably not, you'll catch up in time.

[naut]

I'm trying to figure out how to claim Okinawa. Really annoying that I can't declare war.

[Husar]

GTA IV ~:)

[The_Doctor]

I'm trying to figure out how to claim Okinawa. Really annoying that I can't declare war.

Events.

[naut]

Finally getting the hang of Ricky, made a bucket load of money as Japan, invaded Korea and I'm now ranked as a Great Power. :2thumbsup:

[frogbeastegg]

My xbox came back a few days ago. This morning I completed Lego Indy with the full 1000/1000 achievement set. Ah, bliss.

I've given Civilisation: Revolution a go at long, long last - I got my copy delivered the day before launch and had nothing to play it on. I won a space race game as the English, far too easily. I should have ignored the game's insistence that I start on chieftain for the 'benefit' of the 'tutorial'. The inverted commas are there by virtue of the fact having an advisor tell me every 5 turns that I should consider building settlers or meeting other civs is not my idea of a tutorial. Especially when I've met all the other civs and own half the map. There wasn't much else in the way of 'advice'. I haven't seriously played Civ since a bit before Warlord's release and Civ: Rev is a very different beast to the sprawling behemoth that is the current PC incarnation, so I thought playing the tutorial would be wise. Oh well.

I'll try another game a few difficulties up before I cry.

Now my xbox is back and Lego Indy completed I'll be resuming Two Worlds.

After a brief period on the shelf Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney will be back in play, owing to the hour I'll be spending on a bus for 5 days a week now. Guess the new job will soon put a dent in my DS and PSP backlog :sweatdrop:

[Fragony]

In the name of awesomness get ' The world Ends with You' for your DS. I haven't been this sucked in in a game since SD-Snatcher on my MSX2.

[Baby Boomer]

In the name of awesomness get ' The world Ends with You' for your DS. I haven't been this sucked in in a game since SD-Snatcher on my MSX2.

I checked it out on Gamespot, they gave it a 9 rating and Editor's Choice award, so I might get it after the heavy list of PSP Games I want... *sigh*

Right now I am playing several games. I have recently been sucked in by Online Shooters, and am playing COD2, BF '42 and America's Army. I am also getting out Victoria again after all the talk about it here. Going to check out your AAR now CountArach! Also playing some PSP Games (Mainly God of War:COA, GTA:VC, Sid Meiers Pirates, FIFA 08 and Burnout: Dominator. All great and fun games) For some reason GTA disappointed me, the series has never impressed me as much, but GTA IV defintely looks good. I don't have a console yet, only the DS, PSP and PC...

[frogbeastegg]

A week and a half of bus travel has tidied away Apollo Justice. It was ok, a solid entry into the series. The 3rd case was the worst IMO: long, dull, nonsensical, and I had to watch that boring video clip so many times! The grand finale, the sprawling final case, was a mix between neat (the MASON system) and the WTF!?

Still, what other game could possibly contain a magician character who says "Alakaoooooooomg!" when he's shocked? Or a case which features magic panties as evidence? Or a prosecutor who is leader of an uber famous rock band?


In the name of awesomness get ' The world Ends with You' for your DS. I haven't been this sucked in in a game since SD-Snatcher on my MSX2.
I already have it. The concept sounded too unique to pass over.

[Kekvit Irae]

Currently I'm replaying Dead Rising (I need to get 53k kills eventually) and Crackdown, and I recently bought Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements after playing the PC game.
Hopefully I'll be able to get Alone in the Dark sometime. I'm very eager to play it, after Armake21's stunning review (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLk_1mrSmeM) (MASSIVE language warning).

[Motep]

Im replaying Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, along with need for speed most wanted. Is a sweet day of video gaming for me.

[Kekvit Irae]

Bought Gun for 12 dollars. It's a good game, but horridly short.

[frogbeastegg]

I completed Two Worlds yesterday. The last third of the game let the experience down badly thanks to two separate problems.

There were far too many enemies which could insta-kill you, and they came in huge mobs. Your level didn't matter. Your equipment didn't matter. One hit, one kill. The balance was gone, as was the satisfaction of working to improve my character. Earlier enemies became noticeably easier as you gained XP and better gear, whereas in the latter parts the same giant insect which one-shotted me at level 25 still one-shotted me at level 54, and now came in mobs of 6 plus 4-12 weaker enemies instead of being alone. The only defence was to hit the backwards jump button when the enemy began the move, something that's hard to do when you're surrounded by a horde. Not to mention the jump doesn't always work. Not to forget that often you became hung up on scenery or other enemies. Not to mention that there were so many of these one-hitters that as you came out a jump for one enemy the next enemy killed you.

Strangely enough, despite there being a great variety of insta-killers out there the monsters I expected to be toughest took several hits to kill me. Thus all sorts of golems, a common giant insect, a troll, and loads of others were able splatter me across the landscape without even trying, while the likes of huge dragons and the end boss posed few problems.

Did I neglect to mention that all of the insta-kill enemies have tonnes of health and even my uber weapons combined with high strength and maxed damage skills barely scratched them? Didn't matter what damage type I tried, be it spells, bows, slashing, bludgeoning or piercing, nothing did meaty damage.

The second problem was with the world itself. Wasteland areas tend to be, well, wastelands. Few settlements, little pretty scenery, few people, little wildlife, and mile after mile of burned out grass and other grey/black/brown colours. The first half of the world felt alive and it was a pleasure to explore, the other half was boring and dead. There were far fewer quests, and even the main quest took a dive. Collecting the first few mystical McGubbins was an involved process with multiple routes to success. Collecting the last few was a case of slogging across X amount of dull landscape to the marker on the map and picking up the glowing ball.




Next up is .... Kung Fu Panda. Yes, the tie-in game for a kid's film. It's the internet's fault! I saw too many people talking favourably about the demo, and then again about the final game. It's been compared frequently to the Lego games and to :gasp: Ninja Gaiden. Then came the reviews, and they're mostly very positive. The demo was fun. It was £25. So here I am.

The comparisons weren't wrong. It plays like an easier, simpler version of Ninja Gaiden, right down to the way combos work and the way you buy new moves. Production values are very high, it looks and plays beautifully, and it's a game first and a tie-in long way second. Like the Lego Star Wars/Indy games it's one that any age can enjoy. Children will play the main game, and older games can hunt down secrets and tackle the harder difficulties. Some of the achievements look like they will be tough to get: complete a level without being hit, complete the game without dying.



Further thoughts on Civ: Rev: Civ 4 is a 3 course roast chicken dinner complete with wine. Civ: Rev is a freshly made chicken and stuffing sandwich prepared in your favourite way. Similar core, very different end product. Both nice in their own ways. One is not a replacement for the other, and both have their place in life.

One could put the comparison another way: Civ: Rev is closer to Civ 2 than Civ 4. It has some of the features from the more recent Civs, such as great people and unit promotions, but it keeps the gameplay more focused and less sprawling.

I bumped the difficulty up a few levels. Ouch. I got spammed with demands from all of the AIs, threatened, attacked, battered, and left behind. The small game world, more focused gameplay and faster tech pace allow the AI to play a mean game.

The lack of options hurts it. You must always have 4 opponents, always play on the same size and type of world, and always have all the victory conditions enabled. You can't pick your opponents, or block one from the random selection. There are only 5 difficulty levels, and the jump between them seems harsh.

I wish there was an option to disable the advisors. I know I can build the UN. I don't want to. Stop popping up and spamming with me a reminder that I can build it at the start of every turn!

The pace itself is fast. I'm finishing games is 3 hours or less. I'm in the modern age before I know it in most games, because era is tied to number of techs researched. That means it's not unusual for me to wage war in the modern age with knights and catapults.

I think I like the unique civilisation traits better in Civ: Rev than Civ 4. Instead of having a pair of generic boosts each civ gets 4, one for each of the eras. They stack, meaning in the late game you have all 4 in play. The bonuses do more to personalise a civ, and so they all play differently and lend themselves to certain strategies. Bonuses include things like starting with an advanced government type, cheaper settlers, free promotions for certain unit types, a boost to culture growth, a free technology or building at the start of a certain era, extra food/gold/resources from set tile types, and half price roads.

It does play nicely. That's the thing - when I look back on it I find lots to criticise. When I play it it's good fun. It's a good game ... when you want a chicken sandwich instead of a 3 course meal.

[TevashSzat]

More Diablo 2 for me.......and some Need for Speed Most Wanted ( I really really want that Lamborghini Gallardo)

[Syxx_Killer]

Right now I am alternating between Oblivion and Silent Hunter IV.

[rajpoot]

Just bought Imperial Glory. Too late I guess, but I wanted to warm up before ETW. Now I wish I'd checked the topics here first. I haven't even opened the package yet, and I'm already depressed. Sounds too useless to be true :(

[Kekvit Irae]

I just finished up The Darkness on normal setting. Gods, that ending was depressing. It's just as bad as Fatal Frame 2. :sadg:

[CountArach]

I bought Pro Cycling Manager 2007 pretty much on an impulse and I have been playing it almost non-stop today. The game is very awesome, if a bit confusing at first (I still haven't had a podium finish :wink: ), but it seems very solid. I just wish my PC was a bit better so I could play 2008...

[Andres]

A new pc = new games: Assassin's Creed and The Witcher (yeah yeah, I know, there's a major patch coming which will give a whole new experience/new game and blahblahblah). And now I can finally play M2TW and Oblivion on a decent graphics setting and without my PC crashing every 30 minutes :2thumbsup:

And I still have to get Mass Effect, and Bioshock, and when is GTA:IV coming out on PC?, and, and... :jumping:

But most of all, I need more spare time...

[TevashSzat]

A new pc = new games: Assassin's Creed and The Witcher (yeah yeah, I know, there's a major patch coming which will give a whole new experience/new game and blahblahblah). And now I can finally play M2TW and Oblivion on a decent graphics setting and without my PC crashing every 30 minutes :2thumbsup:

And I still have to get Mass Effect, and Bioshock, and when is GTA:IV coming out on PC?, and, and... :jumping:

But most of all, I need more spare time...

I envy you....Bioshock "works," but my graphics are messed up. Mass Effect won't even start for me since I don't have up to date pixel shaders, and I'm not going to even get started on Assassin's Creed...

Its a good thing I'm gonna be getting a kickass gaming laptop probably this winter

[naut]

Ran through Diablo II for memories sake. Good times.

[shlin28]

Playing Diablo 2 for the first time... got a level 13 Barbarian who currently pulverises anything that comes close to me :smash: (The two boss fights from Quest 3 and 4 were over incredibly quickly, 5 clicks and they are dead...)

[Kekvit Irae]

gaming laptop

Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing at your unintentional oxymoron. :laugh4:

[naut]

Playing Diablo 2 for the first time... got a level 13 Barbarian who currently pulverises anything that comes close to me :smash: (The two boss fights from Quest 3 and 4 were over incredibly quickly, 5 clicks and they are dead...)
Barbarian FTW. It's all easy till you hit Duriel, with players set to eight. :skull:

[TevashSzat]

Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing at your unintentional oxymoron. :laugh4:

Well, the thing I have in mind is not so much of a laptop as a desktop replacement. Its going to have horrible battery life and weigh alot, but it will be a lot easier to move around than unplugging everything from a desktop and moving the tower/monitor/keyboard/speakers every single time

As for gaming, I'm currently playing Hardcore online with some friends. We're not going for anything cookie cutter, but just playing HC for fun and maybe getting a Guardian or two. Our first session got us through Act 1. Atm, I have a lvl 19 windy/mauler/hunger druid (again not going for cookie cutter here....) in beginning of Act 2.

Also am playing some Need for Speed Most Wanted. The game is simply crazy hard. I have to reload most races, on average, a dozen times. I'm not a bad driver really and my car is pretty nice. The problem is that you get to make max 2 or 3 "medium" mistakes or you lose. One major mistake ie you went into a turn too fast and crashed completely into a wall and its reload time. That wouldn't be much of a problem if a race is just a minute long, but now each race is like 4-5 min to go through and I always end up seeing the finish line and then making a huge mistake and then curse as I proceed to reload yet again.

[Kekvit Irae]

Well, the thing I have in mind is not so much of a laptop as a desktop replacement. Its going to have horrible battery life and weigh alot, but it will be a lot easier to move around than unplugging everything from a desktop and moving the tower/monitor/keyboard/speakers every single time.

The problem with this is that said laptop will be mediocre for gaming, as you'll need a good hardware video card for most 3D apps; something a motherboard video adapter can't handle well. If you plan on playing just Diablo II, however, then it will work perfectly for you. Otherwise, plan on spending upwards of 2000 USD for any serious gaming, whereas desktops of the same caliber can go for a thousand less.
But this discussion is best left to the Hardware forum.

On an unrelated note, I'm done with The Darkness and now starting Oblivion + NotN + SI for the 360. Not being able to install any mods makes me sad. :sadg:

[shlin28]

Finished Act 1 in Diablo :devilish:

[Xiahou]

Finished 'Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'. It was all very enjoyable except for the last battle- the setup was so lopsidedly in favor of the CPU that I eventually just gameFAQs it to get it over with. That aside, I think it was my favorite Advance Wars entry.

After that, I finally started in on 'The World Ends With You'. So far so good. :2thumbsup:

[Fragony]

The world ends with You is one of the best jrpg's in a long long time, pure genius

caaaaaaaaalling someone is caaaaaaaaaaaaaaalling

[naut]

Felt like playing Diablo + Hellfire. Just killed the Butcher.

[TevashSzat]

Felt like playing Diablo + Hellfire. Just killed the Butcher.

I remember playing the game a long time ago. All I remember is that the walk speed simply frustrated the heck out of me.

Anyways, more Diablo II for me, I don't know how I keep on returning to it. Every time I quit Diablo 2, I swear that I'll never return to the game again (wayyyy to much of a time drain....) and even deleted all of my SP stuff (can't play on b.net, I have weird lag issues), but still, I go on...

[Spino]

Sins of a Solar Empire
Developer: Ironclad Games
Publisher: Stardock

I bought this game a number of months ago and never got around to playing it despite the fact that I've been dying for a game like this to come along since Homeworld 2. Since loading it up I now see what all the hype and buzz is about... wow. To date no developer has successfully tried to combine Homeworld's RTS style gameplay with the '4X' style empire building genre until Ironclad Games, a small 'independent' developer based out of Canada, somehow managed to make all the pieces fall into place. FYI, 4X stands for EXplore, EXpand, EXploit & EXterminate.

The empire building aspect of SOSE is clever and remarkably streamlined, the starship combat is epic and dramatic, the clever & handy user interface that allows you to manage your empire is fantastic, the uber-zoom feature is really cool but the icing on the cake is that the AI in SOSE is good... really good, and operates with far greater effectiveness and sensibility than anything I've seen in similar games. SOSE's impressive AI keeps with Stardock's tradition of placing greater emphasis on things not necessarily related to eye candy. I think it's pretty cool that this up and coming publisher can tout two bonafide hits, neither of which rely on eye candy to boost sales or ridiculous cheats for the computer so that it can provide some semblance of a challenge for players.

SOSE isn't perfect. As many reviewers and fans have mentioned SOSE does not sport a single player campaign complete with a well fleshed out storyline. However that really doesn't bother me since most 4X empire building games don't either. What is important to me is the random map generator for player vs. player/player vs. AI games and the strong AI. And despite the fact that this game takes place in space all action takes place on one relatively flat plane so there's not even the illusion or feeling of 'true 3D space' as with the Homeworld games (now that I think about it SOSE feels alot like the Starfleet Command games). The Pirates can be quite annoying and seemingly unrealistic but at least you can disable them. The ships & tech 'buildings' for each faction are not quite as different and varied as I'd like them to be but I can see why the developers didn't go too crazy; balancing the game would have been a nightmare. While the combat in SOSE isn't quite as entertaining or visually visceral as that found in Homeworld it is quite good, and thanks to the game's moddability can be easily enhanced.

I can't wait for the expansion and am dying to know what the sequel will be like.

[Warmaster Horus]

Well, I've been playing a few games:
-Mafia: Been drawn to it by shots of Mafia 2, which looks awesome. The first is nice, but not that good. The story isn't bad, but the gameplay... for about 3 quarters of the game you drive. And drive. And drive. What do you drive? Cars from the era. And that means bad steering, slow starting cars. And the police doesn't help. Go slightly too fast and you've got the cops on you. Doesn't matter that the enemy mob family is after you: you've gone over the speed limit, you've got to be fined, or arrested. Gah!
-EB: I recently installed 1.1 so... took a long break, and to get back in the flow decided to play Rome. Never got to the Imperial Era anyway, and that's my goal now.
-EU III, IN with the TOT graphics mod, anxiously awaiting MMP: started a Teutonic Order game, formed Prussia, trying to get Germany, but I've suffered BadBoy wars for 5 years. Now my BB is under the limit (I've went from a Feudal Monarchy to Despotism just to increase it), but I've still got to wrap these wars... Gah! I had 1 province minors declare war on me, with no reason at all. Well, they paid for it!
-Mass Effect: tired of waiting for the free DLC, I decided to get it now and play through it at least once. It's a good game, the fighting and conversations are good but the Uncharted Worlds... The problem is they all look the same.

And voila.

[Kekvit Irae]

Now playing Battlefield: Bad Company. It's Crysis meets Larry the Cable Guy. :tongueg:

[Veho Nex]

Lots of Mount and Blade.

Stopped gothic 3 cause my computer was so hot it melted my fan that was a little to close.

Getting ready for a LAN coming up so CoD4 CoD4 CoD4

And occasionally company of heroes

[Husar]

Now playing Battlefield: Bad Company. It's Crysis meets Larry the Cable Guy. :tongueg:

Playing that as well, only the multiplayer so far, too bad you're playing it on the "wrong" console though. ~;)

[Motep]

PC: Rome total Realism, M2tw, Rise of Nations, Age of Empires, Age of Empires 2, Battle for Middle Earth,

PS2: Metal gear solid 3, Metal gear solid 2, Need for speed Most Wanted, Need for Speed Carbon, Need for speed underground, Onimusha 2, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, FFX, FFXII, FFX-2,

PS1: FFVII

X-Box: Halo 2

Summer = no life for me...:shame:

[Husar]

I just finished the simgleplayer campaign of Battlefield: bad company on the PS3 and it was a short but fun experience IMO, now back to the multiplayer part. :2thumbsup:

[ElectricEel]

I just finished Aquaria (http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/). An excellent game from a small independent developer; the most fun I've had since Jade Empire. The game is 2d (shown from a side perspective), and is largely about exploration, with battles with dangerous boss monsters inbetween. The story's interesting, the controls are intuitive, the hand-crafted 2D graphics beatiful, the music works well... It just fits well together. The demo on the official site gives a fairly good presentation of what the game is like, I feel.

The game ends with a cliffhanger, and I'm certainly looking forward to the sequel.

[woad&fangs]

I just finished the simgleplayer campaign of Battlefield: bad company on the PS3 and it was a short but fun experience IMO, now back to the multiplayer part. :2thumbsup:

Husar, what's your nick?

[Husar]

Husar, what's your nick?

supercoolfhdkjhjh2356, no, RoyalHusar. (admit it, with that other name in front of it my name looks a lot less stupid, doesn't it? :sweatdrop: )

And please leave a message in a friend request about who you are.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm playing HOMM5 plus expansions. It's one of those games with nice music, nice visuals, nice gameplay, and which provides an experience you can only describe using that overused and faintly damning word 'nice'. Um, provided you don't talk about the storyline or voice acting. They aren't nice.

Time and patches has done the game a lot of good. The AI is (supposedly) pepped up, the erratic and occasionally sadistic random difficulty level has been turned into something more rational, and it seems to be far less buggy. My current PC is more powerful than the one I originally played it on, and that fixes the performance hitches and lengthy times between turns. I'm still working my way through the heavily scripted Haven learning campaign so I am withholding judgement as to how much pep the AI has received. Poor AI was one of my original complaints about the game.

[Kekvit Irae]

I finally managed to finish the expansion pack to Overlord, earning me a decent 150 gamer points in the process. The ending to the expansion made me squee with joy!

[Kekvit Irae]

Finally got my hands on Civilization: Revolutions.

[CountArach]

Victoria: Revolutions with the VIP Mod. I'm Austria and I've just put down the Hungarian revolt, as well the Slavic revolts and the Northern italian revolts...

[frogbeastegg]

After a stressful day yesterday I'm spending my day off being completely idle with Viva Pinata and Civ: Rev. I might play a scenario in HOMM5 later too.

The former is nice and relaxing but a bit boring if played for more than an hour at a time. Too much sitting about waiting for this pinata to move where I can select it so I can order it to eat that sweet so I can wait for that pinata to move where I can select it to get it to eat the other sweet so I can wait for the first pinata to reappear so I can send the second pinata to romance it so I can wait to ...

Civ: Rev, it's about time I completed some games on king and above instead of getting bored and wandering off midway through. Classic Civ series problem for me - post medieval period I find it hard to care. On the lower difficulties it's so easy I was able to click-click-click my way through the end period in next to no time, and so forced myself to endure. Why am I determined to get those higher difficulty wins? Ego. I don't like having the game sat on my profile with wins only recorded for idiot level. :elephant:

[The_Doctor]

CountArach, this should give you nightmares:
https://img380.imageshack.us/img380/3884/russiaog2.th.png (https://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=russiaog2.png)

:laugh4:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

CountArach, this should give you nightmares:
https://img380.imageshack.us/img380/3884/russiaog2.th.png (https://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=russiaog2.png)

:laugh4:

Another one joins the fold. :2thumbsup:

Now take some screenshots of Georgia.

[The_Doctor]

Another one joins the fold

Actually, I have been playing it for a while.


Now take some screenshots of Georgia.

I didn't know that Ossetians where muslims.
https://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9248/ossetiansof3.th.png (https://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ossetiansof3.png)

[Kekvit Irae]

Civ: Rev, it's about time I completed some games on king and above instead of getting bored and wandering off midway through. Classic Civ series problem for me - post medieval period I find it hard to care. On the lower difficulties it's so easy I was able to click-click-click my way through the end period in next to no time, and so forced myself to endure. Why am I determined to get those higher difficulty wins? Ego. I don't like having the game sat on my profile with wins only recorded for idiot level. :elephant:

Play the Beta Centauri scenario on Deity level. You have all the techs already, so there is no race to see who is on top. Unfortunately, this means that the other guys are all buffed up too. For a Domination win, play the Americans. You'll need the Shermans and Flying Fortresses. For Cultural, play the Greeks and build the Temple, Cathedral, and Magna Carta first. Economic victory is a no-brainer since it's an easy win.

Unfortunately, you cant get a Tech victory using this scenario. Instead, play Lightning Round as the Aztecs.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I didn't know that Ossetians where muslims.
https://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9248/ossetiansof3.th.png (https://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ossetiansof3.png)

Wiki says there's a minority that practices Sunni Islam, but they're mostly Eastern Orthodox.

[Mailman653]

I was playing Freeciv for a while until I screwed up the program trying to update it, now I just play Frozen bubble and Freetux :tumbleweed:

[frogbeastegg]

Play the Beta Centauri scenario on Deity level. You have all the techs already, so there is no race to see who is on top. Unfortunately, this means that the other guys are all buffed up too. For a Domination win, play the Americans. You'll need the Shermans and Flying Fortresses. For Cultural, play the Greeks and build the Temple, Cathedral, and Magna Carta first. Economic victory is a no-brainer since it's an easy win.

Unfortunately, you cant get a Tech victory using this scenario. Instead, play Lightning Round as the Aztecs.
I suspect I will do something very similar. Originally I wanted to get my wins honestly, without dabbling around with scenarios and cheese. I'm now getting rather tired of the game; each playthrough is too similar to the last, and there's no way to remove the exasperating pestering by the collection of pop up characters. If I didn't let Napoleon and his puny 4th place civ have alphabet the last 6 times he asked I'm not going to let him have it now, and yes, I do know I can build the UN and win the game but I DON'T WANT TO!

It would be nice to have the full 1000/1000, for completion's sake.

[Kekvit Irae]

I suspect I will do something very similar. Originally I wanted to get my wins honestly, without dabbling around with scenarios and cheese. I'm now getting rather tired of the game; each playthrough is too similar to the last, and there's no way to remove the exasperating pestering by the collection of pop up characters. If I didn't let Napoleon and his puny 4th place civ have alphabet the last 6 times he asked I'm not going to let him have it now, and yes, I do know I can build the UN and win the game but I DON'T WANT TO!

It would be nice to have the full 1000/1000, for completion's sake.

Trust me, it's very honest, as you'll start getting gangdesu'ed from turn one at Deity level. For a Tech win, go with the Eternal Kombat scenario. The AI will be too busy dealing with each other to bother ganging up on you, and you'll have the fortune of seeing some of them switch to Fundamentalism (no science). Eternal Kombat was really the only way I could have gotten my Deity Tech win.

[frogbeastegg]

Trust me, it's very honest, as you'll start getting gangdesu'ed from turn one at Deity level. For a Tech win, go with the Eternal Kombat scenario. The AI will be too busy dealing with each other to bother ganging up on you, and you'll have the fortune of seeing some of them switch to Fundamentalism (no science). Eternal Kombat was really the only way I could have gotten my Deity Tech win.
I know it's closer to levelling the field rather than stacking the odds, it just doesn't sit easy with me. It feels like I am doing so because I'm not good enough to do it in a normal game. ~:( I played some deity games a while ago, so I know what it's like. Cheating. Ganging up. Spamming with pointless demands and threats. Endless warfare. Armies spawing in the FOW or on ships which never move. Garrisons being rush produced every turn in any city you might attack. Combat odds which are stacked heavily against you. It's not remotely enjoyable IMO.

The great people achievement is the hardest to get for me so far. I've been stuck with 4 left for most of the time I have owned the game. I have tried running chieftan level beta centauri/Greeks/culture games over and over. While I spawn loads of great people it tends to be the same ones over and over.

[Kekvit Irae]

Combat odds which are stacked heavily against you.

Combat odds in Deity are exactly the same as they are in King.
:tongueg:


The great people achievement is the hardest to get for me so far. I've been stuck with 4 left for most of the time I have owned the game. I have tried running chieftan level beta centauri/Greeks/culture games over and over. While I spawn loads of great people it tends to be the same ones over and over.

Alas, I have the exact same problem. I'm missing Confucius and two other people.

[Motep]

Im not playing anything, to my surprise. The only playing I have done in the last week or so is testing my modding.

[Veho Nex]

Hmmm lets see SH3 SH4(Silent Hunter not hill) Wolfenstein et. Red alert beta and Dungeon Siege, which I am having so much fun with its crazy

[frogbeastegg]

Combat odds in Deity are exactly the same as they are in King.
:tongueg:
On king if my army has a 5 point combat score advantage over the enemy one then I win nearly all of the time. On deity it's common for my armies to die even when they have a 10 point advantage. Doesn't matter if I'm attacking or defending. I've seen standard pikemen armies kill veteran bomber wings :blankg: Either there's something behind the scenes or I'm the unluckiest frog in the Civ world.


Alas, I have the exact same problem. I'm missing Confucius and two other people.
I've got him! :tongueg: I'm missing 1 thinker, 1 builder, and 2 humanitarians. It's a pity great people can't be traded like pokemon cards

I collected the "win before 1000AD" achievement along with the domination victory on king this morning, so that leaves me the 4 deity wins, the great people one, and the one which requires you to stay in despotism and win.

[TevashSzat]

More Diablo 2 for me atm.

I am, though really excited at the games coming out pretty soon:

Spore
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky
Fallout 3
X3 Terran Conflict
Empire: Total War(kinda, but not that excited)

[Warmaster Horus]

Started playing Ricky (Victoria + Revolutions). Took France for a WW1 experience, and while my allies ruled, I got my backside handed to me.

I've got to find a really easy faction to start with, and get used to the general gameplay...

Edit: also, since the 1.3 patch is out, I might try going back to EU:Rome... No. I only played 5 minutes with Rome, but that turned out to be a couple of years. And I'm not specially happy with it. A few mods later and maybe...

[Csargo]

Started playing Ricky (Victoria + Revolutions). Took France for a WW1 experience, and while my allies ruled, I got my backside handed to me.

I've got to find a really easy faction to start with, and get used to the general gameplay...

Edit: also, since the 1.3 patch is out, I might try going back to EU:Rome...

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=305484

A lot of people say Belgium, not sure why.

[CountArach]

Because your Independence is often guaranteed by Britain, you start the game in a fairly easy position eonomically, you get to try your hand at colonisation... eventually... and it is a good introduction to the European diplomatic systems.

[Warmaster Horus]

Ah, thanks Ichigo. I did read that AAR, and that kind of report is partly what made me start playing. I do plan to try VIP:R someday, but for a new guy :no: not yet.

Cheers CA. I'll try Belgium out, then.

[Csargo]

Well the AAR helped me learn to play the game. ~:cheers:

[naut]

Japan or Argentina. Good countries to try when you just start out.

[Motep]

Been playing Soul Calibur 3

I SUCK!!! :cry:

[frogbeastegg]

I've got the full 1000/1000 on Civilisation: Revolution and have added it to my pile of completed games with some relief. That leaves me with Viva Pinata and HOMM5 on the go.

[KarlXII]

FSX Deluxe. Formation flying with my recently downloaded Eurofighters. I'll probably try to go online.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

FSX Deluxe. Formation flying with my recently downloaded Eurofighters. I'll probably try to go online.

The demo version, or did you buy them?

[drone]

Been over at a friend's, just finished Portal. This game rules, it's a shame it's so short but I guess that's part of the charm. Simple, but complex, with plenty of cool ways to get through the levels.

With the voiceover, it reminded me a bit of the old Paranoia RPG, back in the day.

The cake is a lie...
The cake is a lie...
The cake is a lie...
The cake is a lie...
The cake is a lie.......

[Motep]

Gave up on soul calibur after I puched the floor (it won the fight...)

So I decided to play Metal Gear Solid...gotta love it!

[KarlXII]

The demo version, or did you buy them?

Yeah demo Eurofighters, I uninstalled FSX so I could bring back some favorites, and my planned purchase of Il2.

[frogbeastegg]

I've been playing Braid, that downloadable puzzle/platformer game people have been going nuts for of late. I'm disappointed. Not hugely, heart-breakingly so, but definitely enough to find the game doesn't shine as I wanted.

Braid has been compared to Portal a lot, and that sums up perfectly my problem with it. I see many people saying both games are short and better for it. Agreed. That they are quite unique. Agreed. That they feature good puzzles and require the player to think, not follow through tired old game-trained motions. Agreed. That their developers poured heart and soul into them. Agreed. Blah blah blah, let's get to the last comparison, the one I add: both games are fiddly enough that on too many occasions I know what to do and how to do it, and have to keep on trying over and over because I keep missing what is required by a fraction. In Portal I struggled to aim while being catapulted about at high speed from one portal to another, often leading to me landing right on the edge of the latest portal I'd created and not quite passing through it. In Braid there are a lot of bits which require precision. A precise jump. Precise timing. Precise position. A precise chain of precisely carried out precise actions. Make a mistake and you must wind time back and try again.

Yes, wind time back. You can turn time back at any point, for as long as you like and as often as you like. It's vital to solving many of the puzzles. Later worlds add in aspects which play with this ability, such as items and enemies which are not affected by turning time back, or the creation of a shadow who then runs through all the actions you performed before you went into the past. There are occasions where you can't wind time back to fix your mistakes. They are few and far between, and I have found them all the more annoying for it. I had to exit and re-enter one level over and over again because I kept failing something which should have been very straightforward but wasn't at the beginning. That failure then made picking up a puzzle piece impossible until the level was restarted.

What else does Braid do well? Should you doubt that 2D graphics can still look stunning in this 3D day and age go and take a look at some footage of it and recant your heresy. There are two exceptions to the beauty: the boring and somehow ugly protagonist and very common enemy which looks like a cross between a goomba and a rock. The limited number of boss battles are cleverly done, and are possibly trhe only bosses in a puzzle game that haven't felt out of place for me. They simply feel like a bigger puzzle for you to solve, not an instance of "Quick! Throw in some action and pretend it's puzzly!" a la the ending of Portal. The game features many homages and digs at other games. They are best discovered by the player, so I'll limit myself to saying the Donkey Kong level (fittingly named Jumpman) is my favourite of the bunch so far, and I challenge you not to smirk when you first get told "The princess is in another castle ...". With a handful of exceptions it is impossible to become stuck and unable to progress, as the level exit door is always easy to get to and you are not required to pick up the puzzle pieces to progress. That said, if you want to complete the game you will need to collect every last piece.

In the end Braid and Portal both are games that on paper I adore, but in play I merely like. Solving a puzzle in your mind and then being held up on passing it because of a fiddly jump is not my idea of fun. I prefer the hold up to come from needing to figure out what to do.

[Rilder]

Been playing Dwarf fortress lately.

Dwarf Fortress is the best game on earth tbh.

[Tiberius of the Drake]

Playing my nice, shiny new copy of Too Human and Loving it. I have always liked Norse Mythology and the way silicon Knights used the myths ro suit their story is quite intriguing.

[Fragony]

Alone in the Dark, for the Wii. Despite knowing I was in for a truly terrible experience I bought it, sometimes one needs a horror-fix and the 360 did the die thing, what could I do? So, yes, it's terrible. The outdoor-graphics are an atrocity, indoors are acceptable, sometimes even kinda pretty. Controls, you will just have to figure it out. Once you are used to them it works great, melee combat really needs a log-on system though, but nothing really poses a thread so waggle them to death! Biggest problem of the game: it takes itselve seriously and expects nothing less from you, and to emphasise this is for mature crowds every sentence has at least one f-bomb, how very childish. So yes, it's terrible but, thing is, I enjoy it. My inner masochist tells me to go on, solve these silly puzzles, tolerate the truly awful driving sequences, deal with the epic faillure it is. So I am having fun really.

[Hax]

Movie Battles 2, a mod for Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

[CountArach]

Started a Vicky game as Sardinia-Piedmont. Their economy sucks, but I think I've got it on-track now.

[The_Doctor]

Started a Vicky game as Sardinia-Piedmont. Their economy sucks, but I think I've got it on-track now.

Here is a little peice of advice, When you unify Italy you will lose Savoy and Nice to the French, both of these places have loads of Italians in them, so as soon as you have an empty factory turn all of them into craftsmen(even the soliders), and then will move to the province with that factory in.:balloon2:

[CountArach]

Here is a little peice of advice, When you unify Italy you will lose Savoy and Nice to the French, both of these places have loads of Italians in them, so as soon as you have an empty factory turn all of them into craftsmen(even the soliders), and then will move to the province with that factory in.:balloon2:
Will do.

[Csargo]

Invade Tunisia :grin:

[Kekvit Irae]

Playing Viking: Battle for Asgard, and I'm disappointed in CA. I am NOT liking this game so far. It just feels like a watered-down God of War, right down to the quicktime events and fatalities. The insistence to rapidly tab the B button to do ANYTHING annoys the hell out of me. Open a chest? Tap B. Open a door? Tap B. Use a fayline? Tap B. Free prisoners? Yep, you guessed it: Tap B.
There are no levels, so no real reason to kill enemies except that they are in the way. Stealth is a poor mechanic that needs expanding upon. No classes to choose unless bad-ass sword-wielding steroid viking is a class.
Achievements are dull and lifeless. "Kill X Legion" seems to be the prevalent 360 achievement type. I can think of plenty of achievements that are more interesting than "Complete X Level" or "Kill X Enemy"

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
CA? What's that now? Oh, that... :no:
.

[CountArach]

Ricky with the VIP mod installed. I am playing as Carlist Spain and... wow...

If you haven't played as Carlist Spain before, try it next time. You start in a Civil War with Spain and if you play well enough you can make a couple of territorial gains in the first part of the Civil War (I captured Madrid and forced Spain to sign peace... which worked out well). However, after that initial war things get much, much tougher. I just fought part 2 of the Civil War and I was forced to give up some land (Though I have still made a net gain after the first 2 civil wars). However, worse than that is that Spain destroyed all but 4 of my 12 divisions during the war. Yeah... Not good...

I shall persevere and... survive...

[The_Doctor]

I am playing as Carlist Spain

All you need to do is take Madrid, Barcelona and Estella and you win the civil war and take control of all of the Spanish Empire.

[CountArach]

All you need to do is take Madrid, Barcelona and Estella and you win the civil war and take control of all of the Spanish Empire.
Hmm... how long do I need to hold these for?

[The_Doctor]

This is the event:

#########################################################################
# The King of Spain enters the Court of Madrid (idea Sertorius, Lucius Sulla, scripted Generalisimo)
#########################################################################
event = {
id = 282001
random = no
country = U01

picture = carlist

trigger = {
exists = SPA
# important cities in carlists hands
control = { province = 708 data = U01 } # Madrid
# carlists also controls
control = { province = 347 data = U01 } # Barcelona
control = { province = 695 data = U01 } # Estella
}

name = "EVT282001N"
desc = "EVT282001D"
style = 0

date = { day = 1 month = january year = 1837 }
offset = 30
deathdate = { day = 30 month = december year = 1850 }

action_a = {
name = "ACT282001A"
command = { type = badboy value = -10 } # to reduce BB
command = { type = trigger which = 269013 } # SPA surrender
#sleep all help to U01
command = { type = sleepevent which = 111053 } # AUS
command = { type = sleepevent which = 111054 } # AUS
command = { type = sleepevent which = 247033 } # PRU
command = { type = sleepevent which = 247034 } # PRU
command = { type = sleepevent which = 251070 } # RUS
command = { type = sleepevent which = 251071 } # RUS
# take some prestige away!
#command = { type = prestige value = -100 }
}
}

It might be 30 days, I am not sure what the offset thing means.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm playing the Simpsons game. It's alright; the main thing which drags it down is the camera. It's one of the worst I've seen in a long time.

[doc_bean]

Restarted The Phantom Hourglass. I stopped playing it several months ago after getting frustrated with the temple of the Ocean King. :furious3:

It really is a charming game but I already felt the tedium set in going throught hat temple again ...

[Kekvit Irae]

I finally got myself a 60gb PS3, and I'm now enjoying all my favorite PS2 games in HD, along with Metal Gear Solid 4, and Siren: Blood Curse.

EDIT: I LOL'ed greatly at the "Don't litter! Use an ashtray!" comment during the installation screen when Snake is tapping out the ash from his cigarette.

[CountArach]

Spore.

[Kekvit Irae]

I am absolutely LOVING MGS4!
I especially like all the easter eggs they put in as a nod to all the MGS vets out there (Otacon has an MGS2 wallpaper on his computer desktop).
But what puts the game over the top for me is how non-lethal combat effects boss battle cutscenes. In MGS2 and 3, if you kill a boss with a tranq, they still die, but in MGS4, the cutscene will play out as if you actually tranquilized them instead of killed them.

[Martok]

Now that my PC is up and running full speed once again, I've reinstalled Shogun Total War (Warlord Edition -- my red box copy is currently on loan to a friend), and have started up a Shimazu campaign. Haven't played them in ages, so should be interesting to see how well I fair. :sweatdrop:


Also playing Birth of the Federation again (no surprise), this time with the 3rd edition of the Ultimate Dominion Mod (UDM3) installed. The mod changes a lot of things -- the Ferengi being replaced by the Dominion being the biggie, of course, but it also has new & revised "special" buildings, bigger colonies, new & revised minor races, a *ton* of new ships, etc. -- so am still getting used to it.

I'm definitely having fun, though. The new/revised special buildings seem to be much more useful than in the vanilla game, the minor races are generally much more useful *and* powerful (Son'a battleships & Ferengi Marauders, anyone?), and the expanded shiplist means that you get new toys more frequently as you move up the tech tree. Speaking of ships, their maintenance costs have all been drastically lowered, meaning that the five major powers can now afford to build much bigger fleets than in the vanilla game -- I'm only about 80 turns into my current Federation campaign, yet my fleet is already composed of over 40 starships. I'll have about double that in another 20 turns or so. ~D

In addition, the game has received something of a visual revamp/upgrade. The Dominion gets their own interface, thankfully doing away with the ugly Ferengi one. Indeed, all major races have had visual tweaks to their UI, with the Federation's UI second only to the Dominion in seeing the biggest change. There are also small changes like the new major race symbols and territory coloring being more subtly shaded. Far and away the biggest visual change, however, are the ship models, which are absolutely stunning -- it's hard to believe the mod's creators managed to add these beautiful-looking vessels to a game that's nine years old!

The only real complaint I have is the pacing, which is quite a bit faster than in the vanilla game. Not that I have a problem with the fact that colonies now develop much quicker, as I actually appreciate that bit. What I *do* have an issue with is the tech tree, which I now seem to be racing through in no time flat. It diminishes my sense of accomplishment when I get a new technology breakthrough every 4-5 turns, not to mention which it hardly gives me time to appreciate the new toys I just got from the *last* tech achievement.

Still, the last is a fairly minor quibble overall. I'm enjoying the game as much -- if not more -- than I ever did playing the original game back when I first got it. Kudos to the mod creators siggi & thunderchero! ~:cheers:

[Motep]

Been playing Metal of Honor Frontline, rising sun, european assualt, and call of duty for the ps2. Took advantage of a sale and got all of 'em for $24!

Nostalgic...

[naut]

HOI2 as Romania, annexed Yugoslavia.

[Csargo]

HOI2 as Romania, annexed Yugoslavia.

Have you joined the Axis? :evil:

[Ferret]

Europa Universalis III as Germany (formerly Saxony)

[frogbeastegg]

The Simpsons game is rather too gah! to be fun, so it's shelved. Life's too short to play on games which aren't enjoyable.

I'm now back to the second game I got for my xbox: Eternal Sonata. It's been nearly a year since I last touched it! At the time I was right near the end of my first game, Blue Dragon, and loaded ES up for a couple of hours to see what it was like. A couple of weeks later and I was bored of a particularly grindy patch at the end of Blue Dragon and Assassin's Creed arrived, so off I went. Then came the other winter 07 highlights, followed by the January sale highlights, followed by ... Uh, yes. Quite sad really, as Eternal Sonata was one of the games I was most excited about when I brought the console.

It's a JRPG about the composer Chopin's last hours, a fantasical world which may or may not be his dream, and death and music. That's not death in the usual JRPG "I'll die so the planet can transform into the ultimate healing spell and save the universe!" way either. At the start it looks like another tale of bright-eyed young heroes fighting injustic and saving the world; now I'm several hours in I'm beginning to wonder if that's a misleading impression. I do hope so - my suspicions are quite awesome.A JRPG about destroying the world?

[TevashSzat]

Well, I got spore and I've been playing it since. To be honest, I've found myself to be kind of dissapointed by the game. I think the cell and creature stage were wonderful, but the last 3 stages were very dissapointing considering all the hype put into the game and how high my hopes for it were. IMO, its not as replayable as the Sims 2.

[Xiahou]

I just finished .Hack//GU vol2 on the PS2 and will be shortly moving on to vol3- I may go back and finish a few side quests first. What an engrossing series. :2thumbsup:

On the Wii, I've mainly been playing Boom Blox (aka: fun with physics). Its a great pick up and play game with no real story line, so it's great when I want a break from, or don't have time to get involved in deeper games.

On the DS, which I haven't had much time for lately, I'm slowly making my way through 'The World Ends With You'. It's got an interesting story, with a fresh setting/premise- the only real downside is that combat feels like little more than button mashing.

Finally, on the PC, I've been getting into the Demigod (http://demigodthegame.com/) beta. The beta is very barebones at the moment, but it looks like there's some massive potential there. Even the severely crippled beta1 is enjoyable to play, so I'm quite optimistic about what the full game will bring. :yes:

[Fragony]

It's a JRPG about the composer Chopin's last hours, a fantasical world which may or may not be his dream, and death and music. That's not death in the usual JRPG "I'll die so the planet can transform into the ultimate healing spell and save the universe!" way either. At the start it looks like another tale of bright-eyed young heroes fighting injustic and saving the world; now I'm several hours in I'm beginning to wonder if that's a misleading impression. I do hope so - my suspicions are quite awesome.A JRPG about destroying the world?

Good game, cute is actually cute instead of annoying, but the combat gets boring because of a lack of enemy variety, you are basicly fighting the same battle over and over again untill you are strong enough to move on.

@Xiahou, The world ends with You has me dripping with fanboyism, press on it will blow you away. It gets pretty hard, I hope you have the mastered button-mashing by then.

[seireikhaan]

Victoria: Revolutions

Just about to finish a game with Japan, currently in 2nd place behind a nearly almighty United Kingdom.

[frogbeastegg]

Good game, cute is actually cute instead of annoying, but the combat gets boring because of a lack of enemy variety, you are basicly fighting the same battle over and over again untill you are strong enough to move on.
I find that the main issue with combat is the way they keep changing the rules. I've just lost 1 second off the alloted time to move and attack, and suddenly ~5 hours of training in what I can do with each character goes right down the toilet. I'll have to re-learn the system for a second time, in the knowledge that it will change a further 4 times before the game is complete.

[Paradox]

Nobunaga's Ambition: Rise to Power.

This game is awesome. Playing as the Takeda in the 1551 (Struggle for Power) campaign, does anyone here have any idea when the game ends? Does it just end with the reign of the Toyotomi or does it continue through an unlockable Sekigahara scenario? Only 10,000 more gold and I'll be able to seize the capital and become Shogun of Japan!

[Kekvit Irae]

I finally "finished" Spore by reaching the center of the galaxy. The ending had me laughing all the way! Unfortunately, the game crashed on me shortly afterwards, and I am NOT going to blitz through the Grox again for that. Only one more objective (finding Earth) to go before I can put the game on my shelf in favor of something that's actually fun.

[Husar]

Stalker: Clear Sky

Looks pretty good on my notebook with High settings but static lighting and no DX10 features, would love to see it in full detail but apparently that requires a beast of a graphics card, or two, at the moment.

[Warmaster Horus]

How is it? Really a lot like the first Stalker?

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Gun :rifle:
.

[CountArach]

A bit of Italy in HoI2 and some CSS. Why oh why did I return to the abyss of gaming!?

[Thermal]

C&C - kanes wrath for xbox 360

wouldnt recommend it much, its similiar to the first version

[TevashSzat]

I'm on a bit of a gaming slow down so I've been replaying starcraft campaigns. Its funny that I've never finished them before

[naut]

Just about to load up M&B. So excited!!!!! :thumbsup:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Deus Ex
.

[Togakure]

M&B 1.003 yay!

[Veho Nex]

M&B

[Fragony]

.
Deus Ex
.

owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww one of my favorites, a masterpiece of storytelling and a mediocre game but screw that. You are in for one hell of a ride.

[Mouzafphaerre]

owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww one of my favorites, a masterpiece of storytelling and a mediocre game but screw that. You are in for one hell of a ride.
.
:2thumbsup:
.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Finished HL2 and episodes recently.

Playing FEAR. Meh beginning, but the levels really pick up after the first one, and it's genuinely creepy.

And M&B, of course.

CR

[CountArach]

Playing FEAR. Meh beginning, but the levels really pick up after the first one, and it's genuinely creepy.
Yup, FEAR is the only game that has made me jump recently. Extraction Point even more so.

I've been playing CSS lately. I now remember why I stopped playing in the first place :cry:

[frogbeastegg]

Played and completed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. My in-detail verdict can be found in the game's thread. If you are a star wars fan then you'll be able to grin and bear the worst to see the best, and will probably enjoy most of it. If you are a reformed star wars fan like me then it's a rougher ride which you may or may not see the end of. If you don't like star wars then stay away, far away.

I'm grudgingly trying to drag myself back to Eternal Sonata. Only 2 chapters left to go. I just ... it's very ... it just doesn't ...that is to say ... :sigh: Actually, :sigh: may be the summing up of the game I was looking for. So many good things spoiled by so many other things which can't even muster up the energy to be actively bad. :dizzy2:

My PC is getting something of a gaming revival. Civ4: colonisation, XIIIth Century: Death or Glory, and The Witcher expanded edition. I also have the itch to start playing GalCiv2 again, and civ4, and to try Sword of the Stars plus expansion, and some more HOMM5, and a few others. Wonderful. I don't feel like playing much on the PC for ages, then I want to play half my HD in one go. :blankg:

[Martok]

I'm still playing Birth of the Federation with a vengeance, only this time with Gowron's Balance of Power Mod -- he just released the new 1.1 version yesterday. Despite it being not quite as "shiny" as the Ultimate Dominion Mod, I think I actually like it more overall. It just feels better and more balanced to me. :2thumbsup:

I've also finally gotten a little further into my Shimazu campaign in Shogun. Good gods, I'd forgotten just how poor their income was (I was spoiled playing the Hojo and Uesugi all the time)! :dizzy2: I've been working on a shoestring budget, scraping together an army to shove aside the ronin occupying Shikoku (I'm ignoring Imagawa and the rest of Kyushu for the time being). At least I can finally train No-Dachi now, which helps. Still, is definitely a challenge....not that I'm complaining, however. :beam:

I've also been playing GalCiv 2 again the last few days. I have a decent Iconian campaign (Normal difficulty) going right now. I've colonized around 10 planets, with another 2-3 left to go. Happily, my neighbors include the other "good" races (Altarians and Torians) plus the Arceans, all of whom seem to be kindly disposed towards me, despite my possessing no military at the moment. My major worry right now is the Thalans, who are less than enthusiastic about sharing a border with me. Will have to see what I can do about cozying up to them....

[Kekvit Irae]

Mega Man 9. First thoughts: I wasted 10 bucks.

[Husar]

Mega Man 9. First thoughts: I wasted 10 bucks.

May I ask why?
I'm curious because the PlayStation blog mentioned it and was all about how it's just like in the good old times which players want back anyway etc.

[Kekvit Irae]

May I ask why?
I'm curious because the PlayStation blog mentioned it and was all about how it's just like in the good old times which players want back anyway etc.

The difficulty factor has been completely ramped up, teetering on the edge of unfairness (this is coming from someone who beat MM2 several times in one day).

Many of the stages and bosses feel like rehashes (coming from a Mega Man game, this is not a surprise). Why does Buttplug Man remind me of Shock Man from MM3? Why does Homosexual Man use the exact same attack/defense as Wood Man in MM2? WHY MUST THERE ALWAYS BE AN UNDERWATER LEVEL?!

There is nothing memorable about the game except that it has a female boss (Splash Woman). Even the music is just "eh."

[Xiahou]

I picked up 'de Blob' for the Wii recently and finally got to sit down with it for an hour yesterday. Based on those initial impressions, I've gotta say that I love it. Great art style, great gameplay, great controls, great fun. :2thumbsup:

You can unlock the gates to proceed thru the level fairly quickly, but I found myself sticking around, completing challenges, and painting stuff for more points before wanting to move on. At one point, I think I had gotten enough points to unlock the next 3 gates before I finally had my fill of the area I was in and moved on. :beam:

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I recently installed 'Imperial Glory' all over again.
I'm trying to get the right feeling before E:TW comes out. ~:)

[TevashSzat]

Finished Starcraft and Brood War campaigns for the first time.

Now, i dug up my copy of Kotor II and am going through it as a dueling light sentinel/weapon master. I've finished Dantooine and I have just gotten on Nar Shadda

[CountArach]

I bought SWAT 4 this morning and I'm really enjoying it. A thinking-man's shooter.

Highlight so far - Tasing a 60+ year old woman... She left me no choice! I swear! *Shifty glance*

[Veho Nex]

the second level? Did you get stechkov sindakate with it?

If you want to maybe i can go get my copies outa the dust some where and we can play a co op some time

[CountArach]

Nah they didn't have the Gold Edition or the Syndicate available. And yeah it was the second level.

As for online gaming, the problem is that, being in Australia, it is hard to find servers that don't lag.

[Kekvit Irae]

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
:loveg:

[Rilder]

Been playing Navy field lately, bit of grind and I can only play it during non-peak hours but its a fun distraction.

[Veho Nex]

I used to play that then stopped when they started charging for anyone over level 35(I was level 68 when they started it) Forcing me to start over or pay, well I was kinda fond of my Jap carrier, stopped after that

[seireikhaan]

Mount and Blade; having a pretty good time, though I'm keen on when the Calradia War Chronicals mod makes its port to 1.03.

Victoria: Revolutions, using the VIP mod with the hotfixes and everything. Currently, having a grand ol' time as British India, stomping down rebellions and annexing almost at will. Currently have annexed: Burma, Siam, Nepal, Sikkim, Yemen, Oman(including their African holdings, as well as swiping their colonies), Sindh, Rajputatra, Punjab, and Awadh. Satelites include Afghanistan(from events), and Tibet, whom I decided to beat down into submission to ensure they served as a proper buffer for my northern Indian possessions, particularly Delhi and Lucknow. Only took one province, Gar, because it is physically vast and further enhanced the "buffer" area. Right now, I'm biding my time waiting for machine guns so I can start colonizing east africa(especially Kenya) from my base in Zanzibar and surrounding territories.