The "What are you playing?" topic.

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:

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.

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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.

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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...

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?

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Originally Posted by 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.

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I already have it. The concept sounded too unique to pass over.

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 (MASSIVE language warning).

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

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

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.

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

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

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 :(

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

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...

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...

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Originally Posted by 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...

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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

Ran through Diablo II for memories sake. Good times.

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...)

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Originally Posted by TevashSzat

gaming laptop

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

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Originally Posted by 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...)

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Barbarian FTW. It's all easy till you hit Duriel, with players set to eight. :skull:

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by TevashSzat

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.

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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:

Finished Act 1 in Diablo :devilish:

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:

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

caaaaaaaaalling someone is caaaaaaaaaaaaaaalling

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

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Originally Posted by Rythmic

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

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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...

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.

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.

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

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