The "What are you playing?" topic.

[frogbeastegg]

Is it really that bad?

In a word, yes. You know how much I love Mass Effect.

The only reasons I can think of for getting it are if you are a completionist and must have everything, or if you want to farm a bunch of combat achievements. The DLC has 3 achievements and the ability to launch endless bouts of combat make it easy to chalk up the kills required for the gun and power achievements. I didn't even get that much use out of it as I had 100% before this DLC appeared.

[Greyblades]

Would it be any use for someone who wants to practice his fighting?

[frogbeastegg]

Would it be any use for someone who wants to practice his fighting?

Not entirely. Well, it depends what aspect you want to practise. If it's aiming, running about without cover, and dealing with spammed hordes of goons that spawn without any sense of terrain utilisation, then yes. If it's tactical cover based fighting against enemies pre-placed to create a battle that makes use of the terrain, then no.

It's like Mass Effect trying to do Quake. The arenas have little cover and using it is futile because you're either sprinting around to find markers/enemies, or you are being swarmed on all sides by endless spawns. There's no room for tactics, no time to consider a plan, and no need for them either. I passed all the scenarios by selecting my assault rifle and holding the trigger down, and there were only 2 I didn't get 1st place on at the first attempt. Both of those maps were 'capture the marker' jobs and it took me a bit to find the first marker because they don't bother to mark them on your hud.

If you want to hone your combat skills play on hardcore or insanity. Hardcore is the difficulty where the game truly shines IMO; the enemies have skills and use them frequently meaning your team needs to do likewise, along with using the terrain and the various weapon upgrades. Insanity gets a bit tiresome as too many enemies have immunity and take forever to kill.

[Greyblades]

I kinda meant practicing using your team to fight, but from the sound of it your on your own for the DLC's missions.

[frogbeastegg]

I kinda meant practicing using your team to fight, but from the sound of it your on your own for the DLC's missions.

Your team's there. I totally ignored them the entire time; the AI is good enough at shooting and basic power usage that I didn't need to give orders. On some arenas I could probably have won by standing with my back to a wall and putting the controller down while they did all of the killing for me.

[Xiahou]

I finished Cursed Mountain, and have to say I really enjoyed it. The setting and the Buddhist themes were both refreshing, but it was the setting that stole the show- abandoned mountain towns and villages, sprawling monasteries, and of course the mountain itself. I was pleased with how well they pulled it off on the Wii's comparatively weak hardware. One of the touches I appreciated was being able to look down on areas you've come through as you progressed through levels. It really helped create a sense of scale and it reinforced the sense of isolation.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sorry for the poor image quality, but I don't really have a good way to get screenshots from my consoles.....

The game was a little on the short side, probably less than 15hrs, but I could definitely see myself wanting to play through it again sometime.

[Meneldil]

Just went through Starcraft/Broodwar and Warcraft3/TFT solo games.

I'm now left wondering, as I don't find any game that catches my interest. I'm thinking about starting yet another (likely never finished) EU3 game, replay HoMM5 and addons, or reinstall WoW (which I'd rather avoid as far as possible).

I have so many games to finish/play, but none of them really interests me at the moment :-/

[FactionHeir]

Play Age of Chivalry with me

All you need is HL2 or another type of source game.

[drone]

Giving Demigod a try. Not that deep of a game, but the matches are quick and entertaining.

[Prussian to the Iron]

well, lately I've been playing alot of Oblivion, but yesterday I DLed Mount and Blade: LOVE IT!!!

[Krauser]

Is it really that bad? I ask simply out of morbid curiosity, it's sitting on xbox live marketplace for a measly five dollars and at that price it's sorta hard not to take a look.. Though the description doesn't inspire much enthusiasm in me. It promises 2-3 hours of more gameplay, but if all that amounts to is shallow combat then I'm not sure it's for me.

Generally, the number of gameplay hours should exceed the cost of the game. Sure, it's just $5, but that can go towards some other future purchase that is really worth it. Too many people get tricked into buying DLC because it's "only" a few dollars. It really adds up over time.


On topic:
I'm going through an RPG phase right now playing Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion, and Mass Effect. Also wishing there were deeper RPGs these days like Baldur's Gate 2. I still play it sometimes, but I've practically memorized everything.

[Husar]

Venetica, and so far I'm enjoying it.

[seireikhaan]

HOMM3. Been a while, so I'm a bit rusty.

[Monk]

Truth be told I've been replaying a lot of my older games lately, and also still continuing my Victoria run. Mass Effect is getting (yet another) play through as I work to make my biotic jugglers even more efficient and Gears 2's multiplay is never far from my mind.

But beyond that I haven't been playing much, Fall classes start up soon so that (and my meager social life) has had my attention for the last week or so. Though I have to admit, with the holiday gaming releases fast approaching that I think my library may see a few new additions. On the top of the list are Assassin's Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Sea Dogs and Europa Universalis Rome
.

[johnhughthom]

.
Europa Universalis Rome
.

Was it worth the hassle?

[Mouzafphaerre]

Was it worth the hassle?

.
Here.
.

[frogbeastegg]

And that's Samurai Warriors 2 done! Phew. I can't be bothered with survival mode or the silly board game thingy so those two characters can stay locked.

I'm now playing Metriod Prime Trilogy on the wii. Or I would be if I weren't still waiting for it to arrive. My copy should have been here on Thursday, Friday at the latest. :sad froggy: The only game which I have preordered and wanted to play right NOW in absolutely ages and it's also the only time in absolutely ages that the Royal Mail let me down. Oh well, not the end of the world; it's only a game and it will probably arrive tomorrow.

[Fragony]

.
Sea Dogs

So close to greatness

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Indeed. What a misuse of resources.
.

[frogbeastegg]

Metroid Prime Trilogy dawdled its way home in today's post, 6 days late. I'm savouring the last moments of anticipation; I shall start playing after I've had something to eat. It's time: I have been waiting for this since Corruption's release day.

Metriod Prime is one of the stand out games from last generation, and possibly my favourite gamecube game fullstop. The original release had but a single flaw IMO: the controls. My fingers could not handle them as the spring on the pad's shoulder buttons was too strong for me to hold down comfortably for lengthy periods of time, and needing to release and re-press the button repeatedly in short periods of times was agony. That meant my ability to aim failed during frantic battles or certain long sections between save points, and the pain was enough that I couldn't leave it on pause and come back after a brief break. I've started it three time and aways end up stuck at the same part: phazon mines. It's just too long between save points and with the hardest battles in the entire game; my fingers broke every time. Echoes was worse - the game was more demanding, and so I had to give up before I'd got past the second proper boss because I got to the point where I couldn't even get the aim button to depress far enough to register. Corruption's wii based controls were perfect; within half an hour of starting that game I knew I wanted the other two games ported over.

Finally I will get to see Prime and Echoes, start to finish. I might replay Corruption or I might not; I have already completed that one and found that the world wasn't as enjoyable to explore as it was all cut up into seperate chunks.

[Prussian to the Iron]

you should post a review once you get really into it; i am considering getting it too, and haven't beaten corruption yet.

[Xiahou]

I wanted the Trilogy just for the widescreen support. I'll look forward to playing it, but next up for me is Muramasa.

[seireikhaan]

Might and Magic 6: Mandate of Heaven

All kinds of pixelated goodness.

Ok, so the graphics are kinda brutal, but what it comes down to- I like playing the game, and it makes me come back for more.

[johnhughthom]

Crusader Kings.

You ever judge a game by it's title? I always thought Crusader Kings would just be EU in the Holy Lands.

I think I care more about my virtual family than my real one.

Now when will that woman give me a son??!!

Playing Deus Vult with the VIP mod.

[Jolt]

I think I care more about my virtual family than my real one.

Awesome thing I did for myself was when my first leader managed to get the Holy Roman Emperorship (By then he was Emperor of the Spains and of the Roman Empire (Byzantium), Protector of the Holy Sepulchre, King of Portugal, Aragon, Léon, Castille and Navarra, Egypt, Jerusalem, Mauritania and Africa.) His name was "D. Estevão I". Curiously he was the son of the first character I ever saw in CK with my very own first name (He too was King of all those places, except Egypt, Jerusalem and Africa, the former two he conquered in his three zealous crusades which eradicated the giant Seljuk Turkish empire.)

I proceeded to use a special program to trace back all his ancestors from Estevão I. Sort of an "Imperial Lineage". My dynasty was a Portuguese one "De Braganças", hailing from Braganza. Obviously in the Imperial blood of Estevão ran the genes of all the Royal Iberian famillies at the start of the game. The Berenguers from Aragon and the Jimenez from León, Castille and Navarra. However after the death of the Emperor, things went downhill as the Emperor died without a male heir, and his only daughter married to a de Bragança which was of a seniorest branch of the dynasty (The split happened long before that date, since the Heir of the Kingdom was excommunicated at the time the King died, so he couldn't inherit the throne, which fell to the second son of the King. Than both branches eventually grew, with the senior one was eventually dilluted with Russian ethnicity). In the end, the duaghter married the direct senior heir of the familly, and their son (Unfortunatly of Russian ethnicity) became King, succeeding the Emperor. The empire was gigantic by that time and after the Emperor's death, the Empire was plagued with rebellions. Unfortunatly, my computer had to reformat and I forgot to save that save game. :P

[johnhughthom]

I'm aiming on becoming King of Ireland, your scale of achievements are a bit ambitious for me yet I think.

I restarted twice, first game my twelve year old daughter commited suicide because she didn't get on with her eight year old sister... (first time I have ever been genuinely disturbed by a game, couldn't play that any longer). Second game two days in the Pope died and Leinster became Papal controller, they excommunicated me immediately (no idea why) and at least twenty people claimed my title, I was gone in a year...

My current game is much better, created the Duke of Ulster and I have two vassals two years in, still no son though...

[Prussian to the Iron]

in my stainless steel campaign, my Aragonians are starting to really kick some Moorish ass. Nobody even knows badass until they watch the enemy get annhilated by Aragonian top-tier swordsmen (cant remember the name)

[frogbeastegg]

Returning to Tallon IV was quite the experience. Although I have played Metriod Prime 3 times it's been several years now since the last time. Discovering that it's all aged fabulously and can still affect me in the same way it did the very first time is quite special. As soon as I heard that familiar theme and stood in the grassy landing area in the rain with feelings mixed between awe at the loneliness of the world and a thrill at how much there was for me to explore, I knew the game hadn't lost anything. It's an incredibly well designed and realised world.

Reminds me of an era when Nintendo made sure its fans got several triple A titles each year. :nostalgia:

you should post a review once you get really into it; i am considering getting it too, and haven't beaten corruption yet.

If you like Corruption at all then the Trilogy is something of a must. While a good game in its own right, Corruption is generally agreed to be the weakest of the three. The controls were the only thing it improved on. If you haven't played Prime 1 then it's worth getting for that alone; I got right near the end of the game each time I played it and can say that it only gets better as it progresses. I can't speak as much for Echoes as I played so little of it back then, though I very much liked what I did see and would have played on through if the controls hadn't killed my hands. I'm really looking forward to tackling it with the new control system - it's one of my longstanding gaming regrets that I couldn't endure the controls and get further.

Aside from the superior wii controls, the Trilogy package features widescreen, and it reinstates the progressive scan mode which a)most people couldn't benefit from back then and b)got removed from the PAL releases. Loading times are around half of what they used to be. Some glitches have been fixed. There are a bunch of little tweaks here and there.

I still own my gamecube and copies of all 3 Metriod Prime games, and I felt it more than worthwhile to purchase the trilogy.

I wanted the Trilogy just for the widescreen support. I'll look forward to playing it, but next up for me is Muramasa.

I'd like to hear what you make of Muramasa. In the event it comes out on PAL shores I'd like to know if it's worth getting or not; I love the artwork and the premise sounds good.

[Prussian to the Iron]

thanks, I'll probably get it now. To the Car-you-get-into-when-you-ask-your-grandma-for-metroid-prime-trilogy-for-channukah-Mobile!

and that Muramasa game looks pretty crappy. I mean, it's a wii game...that looks like its on the DS. 2D? nothing really intuitive or complicated?

I mean, I don't like most Japanese games anyway (and especially hate the anime-like ones), I guess I just never had a good experience with them.

but I do remember Klonoa 2 from years and years ago. let's just say that I was playing that right before I went to go see LotR 1 in theatres on opening day :P. I then got stuck in some stupid maze and proceeded to shatter it in about a week >:)