The "What are you playing?" topic.

[Tiberius of the Drake]

Oblivion
with frostcrag spire, battlehorn castle, deepscorn hollow, and Knights of the nine add ons. very good. trying to get every achievement in regular before having to get shivering isles

[Mikeus Caesar]

Solitaire. Lots and lots of solitaire. Mainly because it sharpens the mind. And because my computer won't be shipped over till the beginning of February...

[Craterus]

Mainly because it sharpens the mind.

How? I feel like I'm getting stupider and stupider the more I play that game...

[Xiahou]

If you wanna sharpen your mind, play chess.

[Warmaster Horus]

Yep, one advantage of Vista: free chess!

And yes, I do like sticking up for the underdog.

[Paradox]

Finished playing Assassin's Creed three weeks ago, the only game I play now is Call of Duty 4, which I'm about to finish right now. AC's ending was very confusing, I'm looking forward to the next one, they rarely make games about the third crusade and Saracens.

[frogbeastegg]

I played Jade Empire, and I'm not convinced I shall drag myself on to the finish. It's shocking. It's Bioware by numbers with a poor fighting system. Every last Bioware cliché and hallmark is present and correct, and this time around they are most irksome. Every single instance in this game has been done better elsewhere, in many cases done multiple times better.

Dawn Star is the straw which breaks the frog's break - I've seen her at least 3 times before and she's the only incarnation of the character type to have no personality whatsoever, no charm, no humour, no combat worth (have to stick her on support mode to get any use), and nothing at all to mark her out from the other incarnations except her lacks. The main romance NPC for the female character is just as bad: it's Carth again, complete with the same boo hoo story and, like Dawn Star, stripped of anything which might make him interesting. Blergh! HK-47 was a better version of the comedy evil NPC than the lug with 2 axes whose name I can't remember. Minsc was by far a better comedy good NPC than the inventor guy, as was Mort, Jan, and countless others. Etc, etc, right through nearly every member of the cast.

The plot? I didn't complete Jade Empire the first time I played it. I didn't get half way. I've reached a little past half way this time. I don't know for certain what happens. I sure as anything can lay out a detailed guess, and would stake quite a lot that it is accurate. Most of that guess was formed within the first hour. It's so obvious what is going to happen because it's a Bioware cliché redux.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The old man will turn out to be evil. He's been using me all along to get the amulet put back together so his brother can finish off the water dragon and become uber powerful. He's probably got a scheme which will let him dispose of his brother and replace him as emperor. Before the end of the game my character will probably die, going by all the not at all subtle hints. He'll be magically revived, of course, and probably go on to become good/evil emperor himself. Dawn Star is his daughter, and Sagacious-what's-his-name left the assassins and carried her to safety instead of killing her. This was probably part of the master plan. Death's Hand will be a pawn, a relatively minor player being used as a cover by the real villain.

The combat is slow and awkward. The styles barely have any range at all, meaning my deadly spirit monk chappy flails around at air and fails to hit a bandit who is right next to him. The power attacks are so slow they are infuriating, yet you're forced to use them over and over because enemies spam block. The sword style is the only one I like; it's useless against ghosts so I can't use it half the time. Follower AI is moronic in the extreme, the only way to get some use out of them is to leave them on support mode. Only a couple of followers have useful support effects, meaning the bulk of your party is useless. The combat is so bad I have scaled the difficulty down, and then down again in order to get through it as quickly as possible.

I stopped playing the game when it was released because I was busy. Now I wonder if it might not have been best to leave it like that. Returning to it has done nothing but ruin the positive impressions I had from back then.

The worst thing is that I am now afraid to try Mass Effect. That was going to be my Christmas game. I got the limited edition of it, and brought my 360 with that at the front of the must play games list. But it's Bioware. Unless things have changed very much it will have the same marks as all the other Bioware games. Jade Empire was one repetition too many. Where does that leave Mass Effect?

So I'm playing Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga in co-op mode with my boyfriend. Loved the original two games so it is little surprise I love this director's cut.

[econ21]

I'm sorry you did not like Jade Empire, frogbeastegg, I thought it was very good. You are on the money in your plot predictions. I confess I did not see the twist coming, so it hit me in real life, as in the game, in the solar plexus. I also thought Dawn Star was cute. I guess it helps to be a dumb male to enjoy the game.

[Fragony]

Bland piece of gaming if you ask me, lost interest a lot sooner.

//continues Hotel Dusk <--awesome

[Kekvit Irae]

After a few false starts, I'm finally enjoying NWN2... at least I am after installing the AI fix at NWN Vault.

[Warluster]

I am playing Europa Universalis III and Hearts of Iron 2. In EUIII I am enjoying a game playing as England, its 1462 and I've taken a bit of SOuthern Scotland and all of Ireland.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm sorry you did not like Jade Empire, frogbeastegg, I thought it was very good. You are on the money in your plot predictions. I confess I did not see the twist coming, so it hit me in real life, as in the game, in the solar plexus. I also thought Dawn Star was cute. I guess it helps to be a dumb male to enjoy the game.

I am? Great. I formed most of them within the first hour. That puts the nail in the coffin, I think. I can’t face however many more hours of that only to be told something I figured out ages ago.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Let's see. He won't talk about certain subjects. He makes suspicious remarks, such as the attack on the village being useful. He blasts an entire boat effortlessly, but won't defend himself or the village when it is being firebombed. He's got a rather dodgy story about how he acquired your character. Some of the things he says do not fit together. After trying so 'hard' to remain hidden he is unconcerned that Gau, a vengeful and petty little fool he just publicly humiliated and threw out of his school, overheard who he truly was. Then there's the character who tells you that the things master Li did do not fit with the way the Glorious Strategist would have behaved. There's the heavy hints about betrayal. There's the heaven-given prophecy about a weakness in your defences where you can't see it, and how it will be your downfall. There's the even heavier hints - it's outright said at one point - about your being used and led along by your nose. There's the way he's always one small step ahead of you no matter what troubles you run into, like he is being used to lure you along. There's the way his family are supposed to be dead, yet there's Dawn Star, blatantly his daughter, still alive.

That's just off the top of my head, and up to an hour or two into the imperial city.

I wanted to like the game, I really did. Bioware games are usually very much to my tastes, and I've been playing them since the release of the original Baldur's Gate. AFAIK this was the first time Bioware have created their own unique setting instead of using an established one like AD&D or Star Wars. I felt they did a good job of it. The fighting is poor, and that is no surprise though it is a disappointment. There's not been a good combat system in any Bioware game IMO, however this is the first to centre itself so fully around one. The engine was a bit ropey and was plagued by huge loading times, again expected and again disappointing.

Dawn Star is the template they built Bastila, Arabeth and Aerie from. When building Bastila they added a sense of humour and a certain determination to be the best. When building Arabeth they added arrogance, and a desire to be good which ultimately blinded. When building Aerie they added whining about her wings, endlessly and repeatedly until I wished I could hit her with a +4 mace. When building Dawn Star they added ... nothing. Not a thing. It's like they didn't have time to make her more than a stock template. Dawn Star doesn't have a sense of humour, and I don't mean that in the sense that it is part of her character not to have one. Her creator neglected to wonder if she should have one or not.

I don’t think it is a dumb male thing, after all I did like Bastila and Arabeth was ok. I’d have had a better view of Aerie if only she hadn’t complained and gone on as much. I can’t stand whining characters, whether they have good cause or not.

The male romance lead is just as bad. My female character gave him the proverbial boot before the first "I have a tragic background but I shall stoically bear it (by the way this means I shall whinge about it in every single conversation with you so I hope you don’t mind, sob)" line finished playing. How many times have Bioware done that one? Carth certainly, and IIRC Anomen from BGII was the same. There's probably more. Again it felt like they forgot to advance him beyond the stock template. It's even the same tragic background as Carth's!

As for the other party characters … meh. They don’t talk. When they do it’s a bare handful of lines and then they shut up again. In KOTOR, for example, you can talk to new members and get to know a little about them right at the start. Jade Empire makes you gain levels and finish key plot points before you can get so much as a “Hello.” The few who do talk soon turn out to be barely developed templates fielded in prior games. The few who look like they may be different, such as the little girl, stay virtually silent whatever I try.

I find I'm fed up of seeing these stock templates over and over, developed or not. I don't want to mentally tag characters under the familiar old labels after a couple of lines of dialogue and then be able to predict what's going to happen. I especially don't want to know the workings of the plot from the first hour, simply because I have seen the same tricks too many times before.

I guess I feel that all the time and creativity went into creating the Jade Empire and nothing was left for the characters and plot, the areas where Bioware usually do best and the areas where my main reason for playing lie.



The more I think about it the more I want to play a good RPG It's been quite a while.

[The Wizard]

Currently playing EU3 vanilla with the 1.3 patch, and enjoying it. I am missing a somewhat clearer time speed interface (even at the highest speed it seems to be just a notch slower than in CK's or Vicky's highest speed), but overall I've been enjoying getting over the learning curve (more than with Vicky, I know that), and that's a good sign.

[Motep]

Im maxing everybody on FFX...
Playing Drakenguard again...
and FFXII...
and Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2 (what can I say, i like fighting with the pervy sage..)

Hoping to get Xtreme Legends: Dynasty warriors 5 soon...

[Tratorix]

Mass Effect. It's completely taking up all my time when I should be finishing Halo 3. Stupid Bioware and making good RPG's.

[TevashSzat]

My prompt dissapearnce from the forums was due to yet another Diablo II attack, my fourth one since 05 when I "officially" stopped playing. Can't say that I've beaten it, but I'm spending alot of time with the Witcher.

[Dutch_guy]

Just finished playing Bioshock, and quite enjoyed it. I'm thinking of replaying it, only this time taking the 'evil' route - apparently this game has more than one ending. Nice feature.

After that I'll check out the mod scene for the game, but I doubt I'm installing anything in the coming month.

[Craterus]

I got the Hitman Triple Pack recently so I'm playing Hitman 2:Silent Assassin.

[Marius Dynamite]

I got Mass Effect when it came out on 360 and finished it a few days later. Its a great game but a little short and the side missions aren't great.

I got Assassins Creed at christmas and done that in a few days. Its great running around the cities but the story and missions are pretty poor. All the Assassinations are pretty much the same. I get the feeling they used up tso much storage making the cities and graphics that they ran out of space to make the story any decent length. Either they ran out of space or they ran out of time. If its the former it would probably be better if the next installment to the unfinished story came as an expansion.

Right now I play CoD 4 and Halo 3 on Xbox Live with friends and the occasional race on PGR4. I also play Company of Heroes on the PC pretty much every day.

I'm looking forward to (and bracing for dissapointment) Halo Wars and Tom Clancys EndWar on 360.

[Midnight]

I'm playing The Witcher at the moment - it's a pretty good game, nice alchemy system, and apparently not immediately obvious choices\consequences (it was a surprise to find out that someone I needed to talk to had died because of something I'd done quite a while ago). I hope more CRPGs move in this direction.

[Viking]

CoD 4 and more CoD 4

Level 43 and counting.

[Marshal Murat]

Bioshock. I was thinking about getting CoD 4, but I figured I go a different and darker path with Bioshock.

I'm not regretting my choice. I just need to keep all the lights on, and avoid water from now on...

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Mount&Blade
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[Dutch_guy]

Bioshock. I was thinking about getting CoD 4, but I figured I go a different and darker path with Bioshock.

I'm not regretting my choice. I just need to keep all the lights on, and avoid water from now on...

Have you managed to get your shotgun yet ?

[Marshal Murat]

Just got it, working through the Medical Pavilion.

[Xiahou]

I got a number of Wii games for Christmas. SMG is an amazing game. MP3 also looks awesome, but I'm holding off on getting into it because I still hold out hope of finishing the prequels... from what little I played, I suspect I won't want to play the prequels if I get too used to the Wii controls for MP3.

I also got Battalion Wars 2 and Trauma Center: New Blood. Of the two, I probably like Trauma Center better, but the new control scheme for BW2 is a definite improvement over the GC version and I'm looking forward to online vs play eventually too..

Strangely, what I'm playing most now is Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I'm planning on getting the Wii sequel, so I popped the game in to take another look at it and was immediately hooked. Great fun.

[tibilicus]

Just finished playing Bioshock, and quite enjoyed it. I'm thinking of replaying it, only this time taking the 'evil' route - apparently this game has more than one ending. Nice feature.

After that I'll check out the mod scene for the game, but I doubt I'm installing anything in the coming month.

I'm afraid to disappoint but if I remember correctly no SDK (modding tools and so on) has been released or is planning to be released for bioshock. That was the last time I checked, it might of changed since then.


Any way for me lots of COD4, it's kept me away from playing both ghost reacons. As for assassins creed, it disappointed me. I played around 1 hour and something and have no desire to pick it up again.

[Fragony]

Just finished playing Bioshock, and quite enjoyed it. I'm thinking of replaying it, only this time taking the 'evil' route - apparently this game has more than one ending. Nice feature.

He tried that, but it's so horrible to kill the little sisters, saw it once, was shocked, and never did it again. Yes I am a wuss.

[Kekvit Irae]

The evil ending to Bioshock is quite exciting, in contrast to the tear-jerking good ending. However, if you are going for pure powergaming, it's more to your advantage in the long run to save the Little Sisters than it is to kill them (ADAM bonuses every third or fourth child, plus FREE tonics and plasmids you cant find anywhere else).

[Fragony]

At least evil isn't really evil in Bioshock, just byebye morals. But harvesting the little sisters is a tad too sinister for me even if it fits the game like a glove. Could never really bring myselve to being a nasty in games like KOTOR because there isn't really a good reason to be be such a meany while the light side always makes sense.