The "What are you playing?" topic.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and Fallout 2. both great games.

COJ is probably the most actual fun ive had in a game for a long time. not entertainment, but fun, if that makes sense. the graphics are pretty good, the sound is good, strong story, and, the most important, fun as hell combat.
multiplayer is, unlike most games, fairly balanced as well. you have your 1-hit kill weapons, like the bow and sniper rifle, which take a comparatively long time to shoot again compared to other guns. then you have medium power weapons that are 2-3 shot kills, such as the rifle, which are faster, but not fastest. then you have the shotguns, which are usually 2-hit kills and reload fairly quick, plus good fire rate. after this, you have the pistols, which are pretty much last resort weapons, taking several shots to kill, but you can specialize in them if you so choose and they are not underpowered.

Fallout 2 is great, just finished FO1, so I'm now pretty familiar with the combat system. unfortunately, you start with a spear and knife, and pistols cost a lot of money, so you dont start out packing heat like in FO1. makes it alot harder. i just started though, so i hope it unfolds as great as people say.

I just got into Dwarf Fortress thanks to Something Awful's Let's Play of Boatmurdered. Boatmurdered is an epic saga of killer elephants, war dogs that give birth in battle and have their newborns join in on the fighting, and dwarves that go berserk and kill everyone (while on fire).

And dear god... it really is one of the most complex games ever made. If you want to aspire to be a geographer or a geologist, this is a game you HAVE to play.

Losing is fun!

getting back into morrowind. finished Call of Juarez, great game.

Wolfenstein, great fun, feels oldschool. Or it's just old-fashioned. Or maybe it's behind the times. Whatever, it's a blast to play, best pure shooter since Quake 4.

I've reinstalled AOE3. Had some fun with the sandbox skirmishes against the AI. Will be undertaking the campaign soon! I'd like to see how it compares to AOE2 which I played endlessly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by A Nerd

I've reinstalled AOE3. Had some fun with the sandbox skirmishes against the AI. Will be undertaking the campaign soon! I'd like to see how it compares to AOE2 which I played endlessly.

---

It compares pretty bad saddly. I don't know what's wrong with the game, but it simply is not as much fun as AoK.

the problem with AOE3 was that the AOE formula does not work with that time period. maps are too small, the 200 unit limit is really annoying, and there are no big engagements, only a bunch of small ones that after you win those you go on and ravage the enemy town.
i played it for a few days then uninstalled it to make room for Homeworld 2.

Distant Worlds and Sango 2. I'm getting my strategy on!

Fallout 3. Oblivion with guns. I'm not complaining.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CountArach

Fallout 3. Oblivion with guns. I'm not complaining.

---

good game, good game.

started a new game on Fallout 2 due to being limited as a inactive slaver, so this time im not a slaver.

All Points Bulletin Closed beta. I haven't mentioned this since i was under NDA, but since closed beta is essentially over with tonight -

I think APB is a wonderful game, the concept is great and the gameplay feels like a persistant GTA4 singleplayer game, only in mmo setting. The thrill of loading up a car and blowing crap up is insanely. Insanely gratifying. The two sides are set up in a really interesting way and the game is really addicting. You can easily get into a groove of doing missions and lose all track of time, since you never have to head back to base to get the next, you get updates via a pda like device on new missions which you can accept or deny. You can pick up new missions on the fly, respond to calls for backup by people in your faction or jump into one of the opposite faction's missions and try to mess up their game all in the same way. It creates this incredibly tense atmosphere where at any one time you could be in a shoot-out or dodging grenades, just as soon as standing on a street corner. But, that is where the good ends.

The game is mired in technical difficulties, namely a massive memory leak. You can only play for one or two hours before the game crashes hard and there are a few instances of sound glitching horribly as you drive. The pvp balance is :daisy: to all belief too, but the devs know this and have pledged to work on it. Basically think of it this way. Each weapon can have up to 3 upgrade slots. Some dont have any, some only have one - ect. The problem is this: if you do not have an upgraded gun you are sitting at a horrible disadvantage against someone who does. Think of it as playing COD4 without any perks whatsoever.. you're gonna get hurt a lot. This would not be a problem if the matchmaking system was any good, thus far it isn't. You can easily find yourself staring down some hard balling rollers with nothing but a pea-shooter and duct-tape.

It is made worse by the fact that to get the best weapons it takes a long time. APB is suffering the same problem WoW has in that you are your weapons, and that is a hard thing to break away from. It's really gonna be tough for them to balance reward without breaking the system. At the time of closed beta closure, the system was not broken, but it was sporting enough cracks to sink a battleship.

As of now, APB represents a great concept that needs more time. This is normal for MMOs actually - hardly any is released in good condition. (WAR had the most stable of all the ones i've beta'd iirc) and with the devs pledging to get matchmaking, the tech problems and imbalance straightened I think it could shape up to be something worth the time. As of now? There's tons of fun to be had, but you have to take it as it is. Right now, its a VERY mixed bag.

APB releases on June 20th.

What is the format of the actual shooty bits? FPS, third-person, WoW/Old Republic stand around waiting for cooldown timers?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

What is the format of the actual shooty bits? FPS, third-person, WoW/Old Republic stand around waiting for cooldown timers?

---

Straight up third-person shooting with grenades. It plays very similiar to GTA4.

No activated powers, though there are passive perks (that i mentioned) as well as auras available once you unlock them. You can have an aura, for example, that restores ammo to all friendlies within a set amount of distance.

KOTOR. runs on my crappy 6 year old XP, though admittedly laggy sometimes. logged around 18 hours since monday around 7PM, with school every day. i might have a problem, but it will have to wait til i finish this, then KOTOR 2 to be treated.

Am currently playing Armada 2526 with the new 1.03 update. I can't comment on how the battles are yet, but I'm remembering why I enjoy this game. I like the atmosphere, and it's always nice to see an AI that actually behaves intelligently for the most part.

EU3 with HttT.
Supcom 2
Fallout 3
Supcom: FA
Battlefield: BC2
Modern Warfare 2
Hitman 2
Defence Grid: The Awakening

Morrowind, Fallout 2 (still), KOTOR 2

I just started up Pharoah. The game found a way to piss me off pretty much instantly: mere minutes into my old save, half the population emigrated. My advisors told me they were angered by my incredibly extortionistic 1% tax rate.

I decided to apologize to my citizens by setting the tax rate to 0%. After all, those 7 deben I've collected this year should be more than enough to sustain the city's infrastructure.

Well, it's all fruitless, "People are upset with me because taxes are so high".

******* amazing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PI

Morrowind, Fallout 2 (still), KOTOR 2

---

No, see, I saw that "18 hours from Monday to Friday" post, and it's really not unreasonable; back in my heyday I spent upwards of 5 hours a day just gaming. But, to finish KOTOR in 2 weeks while playing two other, even larger, RPGs? You're fast.

I downloaded 'Children of the Nile' from Steam awhile back. Been playing it on and off. It's quite fun, building the cities, trading for goods to make monuments and the like. Though it is terribly hard to keep those people happy somtimes, even when you provide what they are looking for!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Azathoth

I just started up Pharoah. The game found a way to piss me off pretty much instantly: mere minutes into my old save, half the population emigrated. My advisors told me they were angered by my incredibly extortionistic 1% tax rate.

I decided to apologize to my citizens by setting the tax rate to 0%. After all, those 7 deben I've collected this year should be more than enough to sustain the city's infrastructure.

Well, it's all fruitless, "People are upset with me because taxes are so high".

******* amazing.



No, see, I saw that "18 hours from Monday to Friday" post, and it's really not unreasonable; back in my heyday I spent upwards of 5 hours a day just gaming. But, to finish KOTOR in 2 weeks while playing two other, even larger, RPGs? You're fast.

---

@pharaoh stuff: thats hilarious! "your extortionately high 1% tax rate"!

yeah, i got just totally addicted to it man; i think i was playing somewhere around 8 hours a day, with a 5 hour minimum. KOTOR2, unfortunately, isnt as fun at all. im on the first real planet, and it still feels like a tutorial planet, which i thought was supposed to be Peragus. so im mainly playing Morrowind, i might finish FO2 this week though

After waiting far longer than I should have I finally got a DS lite with a little bit of extra money I had laying around.

I'm in love with this handheld and will likely pour a lot more time into it once i get the money to fill out its library a bit. So far I've focused on older titles like Metal Slug 7 and the Mario titles. Metal Slug 7 in particular has proven to be my favorite purchase thus far but god it's difficult. I'm not sure if its the game or the combination with the DS screen but a lot of the time projectiles get hidden in explosions or points counters and all of a sudden i'm dead. I wish the shooting controls were a bit more dynamic as there's no way to shoot in diagnol directions (I'd kill for a Contra shooting scheme) but still, very fun!

Currently I'm playing Beyond Good & Evil, which I got off of GOG. Fantastic game marred by frustrating controls and camera. Just did the first main part, and I was sweating bullets for a lot of the sneaking bits!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Monk

After waiting far longer than I should have I finally got a DS lite with a little bit of extra money I had laying around.

I'm in love with this handheld and will likely pour a lot more time into it once i get the money to fill out its library a bit. So far I've focused on older titles like Metal Slug 7 and the Mario titles. Metal Slug 7 in particular has proven to be my favorite purchase thus far but god it's difficult. I'm not sure if its the game or the combination with the DS screen but a lot of the time projectiles get hidden in explosions or points counters and all of a sudden i'm dead. I wish the shooting controls were a bit more dynamic as there's no way to shoot in diagnol directions (I'd kill for a Contra shooting scheme) but still, very fun!

---

You owe it to yourself to try some of the multitude of turn-based strategy games that the system offers. Many of them, like Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, are quite cheap now too. :yes:

DS Lite = GBA games = Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Currently I'm playing Beyond Good & Evil, which I got off of GOG. Fantastic game marred by frustrating controls and camera. Just did the first main part, and I was sweating bullets for a lot of the sneaking bits!

---

You're gonna love the final boss. The controls....well, I'll let you see for yourself.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Azathoth

I just started up Pharoah. The game found a way to piss me off pretty much instantly: mere minutes into my old save, half the population emigrated. My advisors told me they were angered by my incredibly extortionistic 1% tax rate.

I decided to apologize to my citizens by setting the tax rate to 0%. After all, those 7 deben I've collected this year should be more than enough to sustain the city's infrastructure.

Well, it's all fruitless, "People are upset with me because taxes are so high".

******* amazing.

---

I'm halfway through the game, and I never had this problem. The default tax rate is 9%, but I often increase it to 11% or 12% when my economy booms (white big residences). But I must say the game is quite difficult overall. I had to cheat my way through two missions that I couldn't complete by myself.

The most crappy thing that has happened to me is the kingdom raising the pay while I'm playing at max speed: you don't notice the new change and after a while all your citizens leave the city, leaving you with a bunch of empty building that will one by one start burning or collapsing. By the time people come back, your city will be a field of ruins.

That being said, taxes are not what you build your city with. It's trade (and gold, if available) that's going to bring in enough cash to build stuff. Even if you put Tax Offices everywhere, you'll hardly make enough money to pay half your workers. Quite different from Caesar games, where all cash mostly came from taxing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Meneldil

But I must say the game is quite difficult overall. I had to cheat my way through two missions that I couldn't complete by myself.

---

Definitely. Until now, I hadn't bothered with the campaign since 2002.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Azathoth

You're gonna love the final boss. The controls....well, I'll let you see for yourself.

---

That's what I've heard. :P The combat so far has been mercifully easy (except for the kind of cheap invincible guards during the sneaking bits) so I'm hoping it's just hard in comparison.

Let's see...
Started playing Morrowind for the PC as well as The Battle for Wesnoth.
On my PSP I am playing Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days.
The PS2 is Dragon Quest VII and Kingdom Hearts (just picked this up as I've never played it).
For the N64, it's Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Banjo Kazooie.

Been playing a lot of Fallout 1. Not so keen on 2.

Now Civilization III scenarios-they do actually have:

Medieval
Crusader States
The Boer War
The American Civil War
The Rise and Fall of The Mughals

now that's what I call variety.

Will fire up Morrowind with some sort of improving mod.

Then Mafia 1.