The "What are you playing?" topic.

[frogbeastegg]

Picked up Heroes of Might and Magic V again. I shelved it about a month after release to wait for patches. It's now in quite good shape, and the AI isn't as dreadful as it used to be. I'm loving the way I can slap everything on full and have it play perfectly on my new PC; on my old one it was strictly half settings and jerkiness on busier maps. It looks very pretty, and I don't have to wait so long for the AI to think. Only done two missions so far, so I've a long way to go before I catch back up to where I was.



Now I'm back at work I've started a new portable game for those lunchtimes when I can't be bothered to lug in whatever heavy book I'm reading. The lucky choice is :drum roll: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the DS. So far it's a worthy enough sequel to the GBA's Aria of Sorrow. Having a choice of the map or the vital stats and enemy details on the second screen makes such a difference; it cuts down on the 'start, map, start, run a bit, start, map, start, run a bit' gameplay, minimising interruptions and making the experience smoother.

The magic seal thing is awful. When I smack a boss down to his last sliver of health I don't want to have to scramble to grab my stylus and draw a precise imitation of some fancy design inside a time limit to finish it off!

[English assassin]

Civilization IV Beyond the Sword. Get it.

I just reloaded Civ III. WHY, God, WHY?

Just...one....more....turn.

Next time I am burning the discs, its the only way

[Lorenzo_H]

I just reloaded Civ III. WHY, God, WHY?

Just...one....more....turn.

Next time I am burning the discs, its the only way

Civ IV is even better man, trust me. BTS is right on as well.

[doc_bean]

The magic seal thing is awful. When I smack a boss down to his last sliver of health I don't want to have to scramble to grab my stylus and draw a precise imitation of some fancy design inside a time limit to finish it off!

If you practise a bit it gets pretty easy, keep your stylus half out so you can grab it quickly.

Aria of Sorrow is still the better game imo, I'm thinking of replaying that again.

[Kekvit Irae]

I'm currently playing Star Wars: Empire At War - Forces of Corruption.
I just wish Star Wars: Rebellion had the space battle complexity of EaW :(

[Xiahou]

If you practise a bit it gets pretty easy, keep your stylus half out so you can grab it quickly.

Aria of Sorrow is still the better game imo, I'm thinking of replaying that again.

I think even the developers acknowledged that the seals were a mistake. They just tacked it on so they could say the game used the touchscreen. It's still a good game though.

Anyone tried 'Portrait of Ruin' yet? It's been on my 'to be played' list for quite awhile not, but I've never gotten it yet.

[Lorenzo_H]

One of my friends recently got my lil bro a game called Sniper Elite. I played it for a few minutes last night. It is a unique cross between a WW2 shooter and a stealth game. It is quite good, however I think I prefer normal WW2 shooters. Stealth games to me are just a bit tedious (with all the hiding you have to do) and the atmosphere gives me the creeps. You can walk through the whole of (a pretty well ruined) Berlin and not see a single soul apart from an NKVD agent with a machine gun, who will suddenly appear in front of you from nowhere.

[Martok]

I'm currently playing Star Wars: Empire At War - Forces of Corruption.
I just wish Star Wars: Rebellion had the space battle complexity of EaW :(

Bah! Rebellion would still be a labyrinthian mess, even with EaW-type battles.

On a more serious note, do you enjoy EaW overall? I've looked at picking it up for a while now, but haven't decided if it would be worth my while.

[Kekvit Irae]

Bah! Rebellion would still be a labyrinthian mess, even with EaW-type battles.

And yet I still play it often.

On a more serious note, do you enjoy EaW overall? I've looked at picking it up for a while now, but haven't decided if it would be worth my while.

It's ok. The land battles need to play a lot less like your average RTS and more like actual battles. The space battles is where the game really shines.
I'm sad because the Forces of Corruption expansion promised me I could play with SSDs, but the only SSD I saw was a partially-built one on the final campaign mission, along with one I fight. At least Rebellion had fully-playable SSDs.

[Motep]

Naruto Ultimate ninja 2

my playstation broke this morning, so Ill have to replace it and finish the damned game. My sister prides herself on kickig ass, and I whooped her the first time I played it.

[doc_bean]

Just finished Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, I played the first four cases around easter but still needed to do the fifth case. It certainly was interesting with all the extra features, though story and 'gameplay' wise I didn't think it was the best.

Well, if all the cases in And Justice for all are as good as the last one I'll be happy.

[Fragony]

Embrace The Darkness!

The Darkness is awesome. AI is not the best but if you are a sucker for dark and moody games, with awesome enviroments, downright cruel powers and one sick puppy of a villain, gogogo. Now the gameplay isn't that good, it feels dated, but New York is such a fantastic setting, and the WW1 levels, oh god, think about it. The soldiers have gotten stuck in a nightmare-war where they can't die, there is a guy constantly trying to blow his brains out, only to come back to life again and again and again, now there's futility for ya. The mood is so thick here, the best realised utterly depressing place in a game I have seen in a long long time. Story...ah, see for yourselve it is great. great music, great story, great powers, great music, great setting, somwhat dated gameplay, yup this is a buy.

[Decker]

Just bought and started playing The Warriors game after watching the movie. I haven't gotten very far but I am enjoying the game immensely and I can't wait to get to the levels that replay the awesome movie it was created after.

[Ice]

Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat Beta

[Ace of Spades]

I've been playing the crap out of Caesar IV lately. I've spent many late nights trying to get my city ratings just a little bit higher so I can go on to the next one. Then I get sleepy & have to quit (have to get up for work and all). I'm gonna' get back into MTW (XL) & take a break from city-building for a little. I also have The Warriors on the PS2 that I have to finish. If I didn't have to work, I'd have all the time in the world .

[doc_bean]

Continuing God of War. Ugh, I wish I could find my thread again so i could withdraw my recommendation. It has way to many frustrating platforming sections (the kind that take me half an hour to an hour or more to beat), I've just about gien up on this game 3 times by now, the fighting is still fun, but the variety in the enemies just isn't enough, there aren't enough fighting sections anymore, and where you do fight enemies they just respawn four/five or more times. Even worse, enemies are often placed on higher ground (or you are) and the AI has no idea how to handle that, making them easy pickings.

I just want to finish this game now, I hope it does pick up again, it has some brilliant moments, but far too many flaws and boring sections to deserve all the praise it has gotten (including from me, sorry about that).

[frogbeastegg]

This last week has seen two big changes in my console set up. First is my acquiring a PS3, or PSfree as I call it, owing to the fact it was free. If it wasn't I wouldn't have bothered with it. The second is that I replaced my tiny, ailing standard definition TV with a HDTV. Oooh, prettiness. Finally I can see what I'm doing - my old best score in Super Stardust HD was a pitiful 49,000; I got vaguely respectable for a newbie 250,000 on my first go on the new TV.

God of War is on hold while I decide whether to keep going with my game on the PS2, losing the benefits of upscaled graphics and a wireless controller, or whether to restart it on the PSfree and take advantage of those bonuses. :mutters about Sony's stupidity in not putting a port for PS1 and PS2 memory cards on the PS3: I'd like to use the PSfree but there are three parts of GoW I don't want to play though again: the entire first level, the bit where you need to freeze an enemy onto a switch, and the battle with the big grey monsters in Athens square.

I started up Okami instead, and fell in love once the game got going. All other games shall remain ignored until Okami is completed, methinks.



Doc_Bean, your thread

[Bijo]

Continuing God of War. Ugh, I wish I could find my thread again so i could withdraw my recommendation. It has way to many frustrating platforming sections (the kind that take me half an hour to an hour or more to beat), I've just about gien up on this game 3 times by now, the fighting is still fun, but the variety in the enemies just isn't enough, there aren't enough fighting sections anymore, and where you do fight enemies they just respawn four/five or more times. Even worse, enemies are often placed on higher ground (or you are) and the AI has no idea how to handle that, making them easy pickings.

I just want to finish this game now, I hope it does pick up again, it has some brilliant moments, but far too many flaws and boring sections to deserve all the praise it has gotten (including from me, sorry about that).

It is humble of you to see and admit the error of your ways.

[Veho Nex]

DW5 and Res Evil 4

[Kekvit Irae]

DW5

Xtreme Legends =

[Stig]

Planning on finally buying Anno 1701, been playing the demo for almost a year now, that should change

[ElectricEel]

Recently, I've been playing Jagged Alliance 2 again. It's an old classic - and like with Freespace 2, which I mentioned earlier in this thread, the source code has been released by the developers, and the fans have continued to improve the game.

[doc_bean]

Finished God of War, 12hours of gameplay time. Hard game to judge, I absolutely loved some parts and absolutely loathed others. Luckily there weren't that many parts I loathed, and they were concentrated towards the end.
I'd say the game is still worth playing for its good parts.

[Decker]

Has anybody played the "Call of Juarez"? I heard it's pretty darn good.

[Marshal Murat]

Company of Heroes
I am enjoying it, despite the harsh language.

[CountArach]

Take Command Second Manassas

Best game I have played in a long time.

[Taurus]

Picked up Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars yesterday at the bargain price of £14.99 it's the Kane Edition too. Anyways its an awesome game, more of the same old build and destroy but thats we we like. A definate recommendation to everyone.

[TinCow]

Civ IV BTS. As if the game wasn't good enough before this expansion pack... I think the amount of time I spend on this game would cause marital problems if it wasn't for the fact that my wife is addicted too!

[Lorenzo_H]

Company of Heroes
I am enjoying it, despite the harsh language.

Yeah the language almost put me off it, but I got it anyway.

Picked up Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars yesterday at the bargain price of £14.99 it's the Kane Edition too. Anyways its an awesome game, more of the same old build and destroy but thats we we like. A definate recommendation to everyone.

Dude where did you get that? The cheapest I found the normal version was HMV for 20 quid.

Civ IV BTS. As if the game wasn't good enough before this expansion pack... I think the amount of time I spend on this game would cause marital problems if it wasn't for the fact that my wife is addicted too!

lol I have never met a woman who likes Civ! If I do, thats who I'm marrying.

[TinCow]

lol I have never met a woman who likes Civ! If I do, thats who I'm marrying.

My wife actually plays it more than I do, though we tend to play cooperative (same team) multiplayer games together more often than single-player. We were just getting good at consistently beating Monarch on Large before BTS came out. We've dropped it back to Prince for our first BTS coop game though.