The "What are you playing?" topic.

[Kekvit Irae]

Actually, the disk tray gets stuck, the laser burned a permanent ring into my Overlord CD (thankfully the guy at gamestop gave me a new copy), and some games like Beautiful Katamari just wont recognize (they show up as Play DVD rather than the game on the dashboard).

As for melee in Condemned 2, parry, hit, and then quickly move away. When you hit them while they are stunned, it will take them out o the stun and force them to quickly counterattack. You will have ample amount of time to do the combos, so avoid the counterattack and then move in with the combo.
It gets a little easier around the snow level, since you'll have easy access to assault rifles, and rarely need to go into melee. Once you unlock and play FPS mode, there's no reason why you should go into melee in the first place.

[frogbeastegg]

I'm playing Condemned 1. The full stop between the name of the game and the "2 levels" is doing its best to hide.

[Kekvit Irae]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.

[CountArach]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.

Don't tase me dude!

Still playing Crusader Kings (with the Alternative Scenario Setup mod) and a bit of EUIII now that Magna Mundi Gold 2 has been released.

[frogbeastegg]

In that case, attack, move back and to the left/right when you see them attack, and counter attack. Melee in Criminal Origins is a bit harder than in Bloodshot, but it's still doable. Just remember that the tazer is your best friend. Use it often.

That was good advice. As soon as I gave up on blocking I raced through the game without any more deaths, and I only got low on health on the more difficult set piece battles. I'm now on level 10; I might complete it tonight. I will then backtrack to pick up the couple of metal bits I missed. Whether I will bother to do the all firearms/all melee weapon achievements and so get the full set is hard to say. Depends how much work it will involve, I guess.

I still haven't found it scary. As usual with scary games, I can see the shocks coming a mile off, and find the attempts to manipulate me via spooky sounds and whathaveyou irritating.

Still been worth playing. It's very different to my usual fare. I do prefer Bioshock though, and I'm not sure if I will play Condemned 2.

[Xiahou]

Im currently tearing thru the .hack//GU series. Finished part1 in just under 30hrs and am now onto part2. The plot premise is sometimes a little dubious, but as a game it's a page-turner.

I've also been playing some PN03, which I found in the bargain bin for $5. It's a pretty fun, old school, Gamecube game with a fun dodge/shoot mechanic. I'm glad that I didn't pay full price, but for $5 it was more than worth it.

[frogbeastegg]

Monday's "tonight" turned into Thursday's "this morning". Condemned is now completed. I have done everything except use every single variety of melee weapon and firearm, and I don't think I can be bothered to replay most of the game to get those two achievements. It doesn't seem worth it.

Next up is ... ah ... well ... GTA4 Why the sweat drop, you may be wondering. It goes like this:

-I don't like gangsters, gangs, and all of that. I don't find them interesting, and I have never found anything related to them likeable, be it books, films, or games.

-I don't care for games in modern settings that much.

-I don't like driving games.

-I am not fond of swearing, ultra-violence and all that in my games. I can play and enjoy a game with it in (most recently Condemned) but given a choice I'll do without it, thanks.

-If I'm going to play a thief then I'd rather play a Garrett style one. i.e. sneak about in the dark, kill very few people, and after a well-guarded item. A skilled thief, not a thug or a looter.

-GTA as a series is one which I have never played. Too many glaring faults lurking under the hype.

-I don't find running over pedestrians and killing prostitutes funny.

BUT!

+ I have always liked sandbox games.

+ GTA + Bart Simpson + Dennis the Menace = Bully. GTA + wild west theme + smaller, more concentrated game world = Gun. I liked that game too.

+ GTA4 finally fixes the more glaring faults, e.g. the hideous checkpointing and difficulty spikes.

+ I love the animation! The game looks fabulous in action in the bajillion and twelve videos out there. It is technically impressive, and I'd like a closer look at it in action.

+ This one is getting a lot of praise for its story and characters.

+ A lot of the content is optional. It always has been, whatever the hysterics wanting it banned say. I don't have to murder random people in the street or whatever.

+ I play a lot of niche and smaller budget games; sometimes it is nice to load up a huge budget game and see what can be done when you've got $100 million to spend.

So ... um, there you go. Chances are roughly equel between my hating it and my finding that the game is good enough that I can suffer through the things I don't care for.

[Kekvit Irae]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI while waiting for my 360 to come back from repairs, and having a really hard time enjoying the game. Everything that was good about X (RPG elements, playing individual officers) was taken out. Still, it's starting to grow on me since custom officers are much more varied, thanks to being limited to only a single skill. You can still make super soldiers with 100s in all attributes that have Lu Bu and Guan Yu as Oath Brothers, but now you have to decide if you want a skill that allows you to gain gold from a city every 10 days instead of 1 month, or if you want a skill that allows you to automatically capture enemy officers when you defeat their units.

[Dodge_272]

[naut]

I bought EU:II off Gamersgate for a meagre $US10, and sat there anxiously watching it slowly download, then slowly install. Then the opening video played, and the first thing it says is how they dedicate this game to their fans, I swear a tear almost rolled down my cheek.

Overall the game is awesome, but it's taking me ages to get the hang of even though I've got HOI2:DDA and CK+DV. It's just so much more complex.

[Csargo]

chants Vicky, then realizes his game doesn't play and cries

[naut]

HOI2:DDA, Armageddon scenario as the Cossacks. Pretty fun, damned hard trying to hold any ground though having enemies on all sides. To the east I have an elastic defence that the Russians can't get through. Attacks through the Caucus are slow due to the mountains. The Ottomans have a lot of men in the Balkans. And Prussia won't go down without a fight.



Edit: Still playing

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[frogbeastegg]

I've had my fill of 3 G games (grey, grim, guns) after Condemned and GTA4, so GTA4 is back in its case. Doesn't help that the game kept hanging up on loading screens, and had some infuriating design decisions. I'll come back to it when I feel able to face more 3G gameplay.

I'm now playing Call of Juarez. It's short, it's not grey, and I thought it might be fun. So far (up to level 4) it's ok. No better, no worse. As this level has me sneaking about in a thunder storm with lightning flashes threatening to reveal my position and thunder drowning out loud noises it may be about to pick up. I have often seen it called a slow burning game. The average voice acting is made worse by contrast to the higher quality vocals from the last few games I've played. :cringes:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Your viewpoint for Call of Juarez has encouraged me to try it.
.

[Csargo]

What exactly is the Armageddon scenario Rythmic?

[naut]

What exactly is the Armageddon scenario Rythmic?

It's basically a scenario designed for balanced multiplayer. Every nation starts with almost nothing (since WWI never happened) and enemies everywhere. Wiki gives a good description of the alternate events.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Two new scenarios are entered into the franchise offering a new world to play in. The Abyss is a level where none of the 19 nations are at war, whereas Armageddon is a war between the Allies, Axis and Comintern. The game includes scenarios designed not just to reflect history, but also to provide balanced scenarios for multiplayer use. An example of the alternative history involved includes:

* The American Revolutionaries captured Quebec and as such took control of Canada in the Treaty of Paris. Thus it became the United States of North America (USNA).
* The Confederates win the war but Virginia and Kentucky defect back to the North due to its economic strangle hold on the south. Eventually, the Confederates merge with Mexico and form the Confederate Empire.

* France never suffers from revolution and in fact it is annexed by the Spanish Crown after the last King of France dies leaving the King of Spain as heir to the throne. Later, Portugal is annexed too into the Bourbon. A good portion of historical French North Africa is also transferred to the Bourbon Kingdom after the war against the Ottomans.

* The British Empire falls apart after the failure of the King (Queen Victoria never succeeds to the throne) to suppress the Chartists. As such all the remaining members of the Empire revolt or leave. However, Britain inherits the thrones of Hanover, the Netherlands and Denmark; the combined nation turns into a Stalinist nation which is called the European Soviets in honour of the failed Russian Revolution of 1905.

* Italy not only becomes unified, but it crushes and absorbs a major portion of the Austrian Empire after the latter's many revolutions in 1848. It succeeds in wresting Tunisia and Libya from the Ottomans, but fury due to lack of massive territorial acquisitions and losing the greatest portion of men in the war, the elections lead to Tito coming into power and establishing a communist state.

* Germany never unifies and is left instead with a Prussia that extends across most of Central Europe. When the game starts, Kaiser (or more likely Koenig) Wilhelm II is not the head of state, but rather his son.

* Sweden still encompasses all of the Nordic Region (with Denmark and Iceland as the exceptions). At the beginning of the game it holds most of the Baltic States and even controls Leningrad (the names of the provinces were not changed).

* After Russia lost the Russo-Japanese War, Ukraine broke off from the Empire and established the Cossack state that later came to encompass sections of the Danube.

* Though losing a good portion of territory and Ukraine in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia remained in control and never fell into the revolutions of 1917. Neither Nicholas II or his son, Alexis, are the Tsar but rather Kyril Romanov (the pretender to the throne after the Romanov dynasty was extinguished at Yekaterinburg).

* All the sub-Sahara territories not under European or Ottoman control form under a unified communist state under Heile Selassie (the historical last emperor of Ethiopia).

* Most of South America forms into a communist state after many repeated attempts by the Bourbon Kingdom to retain control over the empire.

* Australia and New Zealand break away from the UK after it becomes communist, declaring itself the independent state of Australasia and captures Papua New Guinea, a small portion of Indonesia and all pacific Islands between New Ireland and Tahiti from their respective rulers, forming a modest empire under Australasian control.

[Csargo]

Thanks

[Duke John]

Battlefield 2 with the Project Reality mod. I see a lot more teamwork with this game, so I like it a lot even if it means hiking for 5 minutes with your squad to get across a map.

[frogbeastegg]

Your viewpoint for Call of Juarez has encouraged me to try it.

If you do get it then don't pay much for it. I'm a few levels further in, and it's still firmly in OK territory. I'm losing confidence that it will manage to pull itself up out of that for me. I'm not a fan of FPS at all, so if you are then you may find it somewhat better.

Presently I'm stuck on a little set piece. There are three enemies with shotguns. Long range, sniper rifle accurate shotguns. I'm the feeble stealth character. There's nowhere to stealth; you have to fight. I can manage to down 2 but the 3rd always kills me. It only takes two shots for them to kill you, and they manage to hit me through the available cover. The instant you kill one or one spots you the rest start attacking, so you need to kill them all in a matter of seconds. They are too widely spaced out for that. I'm getting very sick of "Press A to load last checkpoint".

[Xiahou]

DL'ed 'FFCC: My Life as a King' for the Wii. Not a bad game for the price- I've managed to waste a few hours on it pretty easily.

[naut]

So I'm playing EU2, exported my game from CK:DV to it, and I can't stamp out revolts in the Mediterranean due to fact I have no idea how to get my armies onto the boats. Why is it so complex!

[ElectricEel]

So I'm playing EU2, exported my game from CK:DV to it, and I can't stamp out revolts in the Mediterranean due to fact I have no idea how to get my armies onto the boats. Why is it so complex!

You can only move troops to a fleet that is at sea (*not* in port). Select the army you want to embark, and right-click on the fleet. If that doesn't work, check that the fleet has enough transportation capacity to carry all the troops.

[naut]

Thanks, I've got it now.

[frogbeastegg]

I decided that paid holiday so precious it shouldn't be wasted on an OK game. My current gaming fodder needs two words and a single smiley to sum it up:

Mass Effect

If I expand that to useful singular words then we're looking at the likes of: OMG!! WOW!! Awesome!! Stunning!! Brilliant!! Gorgeous!! Amazing!! And yes, the double exclamation marks are compulsory.

If we step away from singular words then I'm presently having no qualms about the phrase "Best game I've played on my 360!" or "Best game I've played this year!" or "At last, after years of waiting, an RPG which is completely enthralling!"

If we had for something more personal, and thus more verbose, then I think "Bioware are back!" does very well. Jade Empire was awful. I didn't make it past 2 hours of Neverwinter Nights 2. That's two strikes against the people who made many of my favourite RPGs, and those strikes are their most recent work. I feared their day was done, that the final bastion of the great names from my childhood gaming days was toppled. I avoided playing Mass Effect for half a year because I was terrified of it being the third and final strike.

Bioware are back, woohoo!

I have not loved the opening hours of an RPG so much since KOTOR.

I have not been sucked into a new and fresh world so comprehensively since Baldur's Gate II.

I have not sat there in the opening hours of a game and realised that I'm going to have to play it several times to see everything and then grinned with delight for so, so long.

Yes, it has technical issues. Rampant pop in and pop up, jerky framerates, long loading times. Somehow it's hard to care when the rest of the package is so damned good. Maybe after 20 hours my view on this will change.

The world is rich and unique, populated with well-voiced and well designed characters. The plot is somewhat run of the mill but it's being done in style, and feels fresh, unlike the stale rehash of uber stale rehashes that was Jade Empire's predictable dullness.

I'm playing a female character and Bioware appear to have finally, at long last, produced a male character who won't annoy the crap out of me if I follow the romance line. Not a sad past in sight, not a hint of whininess, and he's not self-absorbed to the point of resembling some kind of sponge. He's got a nice voice, too

The combat works. Actually works. 3rd person squad based tactical combat. In an RPG. A Bioware RPG. And it works. I usually find Bioware's combat systems to be a trifle rickety, so this is doubly a surprise.

There's a race of giant space-faring Eyores. Same doleful way of speaking, same sad eyes, vaguely donkey-like appearance. What's not to love? I want one in my party.

I'm leaving citadel station for the first time now. If the game doesn't live up to this amazing start I shall be completely heartbroken.

There is but one fly in the ointment: I have lots of things planned for my time off which do not involve playing games. I don't think I shall get many of them done; I've got a galaxy to explore and a traitor to hunt down.

[Kekvit Irae]

Mass Effect

I told you.

[Tratorix]

I didn't make it past 2 hours of Neverwinter Nights 2.

Hey, that was Obsidian, don't hang the blame on Bioware!

I loved Mass Effect, but you might find the exploration parts a bit of a letdown. The main storyline is gold though.

I'm currently trying to work my way through Final Fantasy 12. So far, so good. The combat system is alright, and the main plot doesn't seem to consist of exclusively romance and angst.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Total War: VI and RTW/M2TW


Call Of Duty 4: Great MP indeed

Quest For GLory 1: Great Orgianla Adventure Game

[TevashSzat]

Sins of a solar empire.

I'm also debating on whether to get Baldur's Gate and play through the series

[frogbeastegg]

I'm also debating on whether to get Baldur's Gate and play through the series

If you like RPGs then you need to play them. Full stop. Then get Planescape: Torment.

You can buy the Baldur's Gate trilogy DVD pack, which has both games plus their expansions, for the bargain price of £14.99 or less if you shop around. Having the games on DVD removes one of the bugbears of the original version, namely disc swapping like a mad DJ. A modern PC will eat the loading times too, killing the other main bugbear. All that is left is hundreds of hours of pure RPG joy.

Play them in order though! Baldur's Gate 1 -> Tales of the Sword Coast -> Baldur's Gate 2 -> Throne of Baal.

There's also an Icewind Dale DVD pack, again with all the games and expansions for crazy cheap. That's well worth picking up if you like a dungeon crawl style AD&D RPG.

[Mouzafphaerre]

If you do get it then don't pay much for it. I'm a few levels further in, and it's still firmly in OK territory. I'm losing confidence that it will manage to pull itself up out of that for me. I'm not a fan of FPS at all, so if you are then you may find it somewhat better.

Presently I'm stuck on a little set piece. There are three enemies with shotguns. Long range, sniper rifle accurate shotguns. I'm the feeble stealth character. There's nowhere to stealth; you have to fight. I can manage to down 2 but the 3rd always kills me. It only takes two shots for them to kill you, and they manage to hit me through the available cover. The instant you kill one or one spots you the rest start attacking, so you need to kill them all in a matter of seconds. They are too widely spaced out for that. I'm getting very sick of "Press A to load last checkpoint".

.
I happen to have it in my hold. Thanks for the warning. I hate reflex based FPS action. I'm often godmoding certain scenes replaying Vampire Bloodlines for instance.
.