What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Blinge]

Do you like Valkyria Chronicles 1 by any chance?

[Immryr]

i don't have a ps3, so i've never played it.

[Blinge]

Ah damn, I'd recommend VC to anyone RPG inclined.

[iconoclast]

No miss'd Metal Slug X again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1IAqkj ... ure=gp-n-y

This took a lot more effort than my first no miss. I almost had it several times, but I'd always die on something stupid towards the end of the game, or I'd screw up a boss fight and lose my Metal Slug (which is unacceptable since I wanted 5+ million points, and finishing a stage with the Slug gives you a huge bonus). Amazing game though, it's definitely become one of my favorites over the last couple weeks.

[CIT]

Playing Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day (PS3), a.k.a. the game part of Short Peace.

Wasn't expecting too much, but it's actually a pretty fun arcade-ish 2D sidescrolling action game that rewards skill with unlockables. The anime sequences are very nicely done, and get progressively more surreal. I think it's the kind of game most shmups forum members will get a kick out of, at least for an evening.

[KennyMan666]

Last weekend I spent playing Diablo III: Reaper of Souls on Xbox 360. First took my old Barbarian that was working on Hell difficulty in the base game and ran through Act V with her (as Normal/Nightmare/Hell doesn't exist anymore) and then started a Crusader that's a little bit into Act II. Really great game, RoS brings with it a lot of little improvements to an already excellent game.

This weekend I've spent playing Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call on 3DS. Game's fucking amazing and definitely satisfies the part of me that's been wanting an Ouendan 3 for forever.

[broken harbour]

35 hours into Final Fantasy X - HD remaster...

I love the battle system, even if it can be unfair at times, as some enemies, if they ambush you, can kill the entire party before you get a turn. I kind of wish, after all the time they spent remastering the game, that they could have at least fixed the lip sync, and eliminated save points. Story is still genuinely interesting, and some of the voice acting is pretty good. I can't take Tidus seriously tho, as the acting is kind of nauseating, and he just sounds like Ratchet to me.

Overall, it's great, but hasn't aged as well as I thought.


Wipeout HD Fury

I loved the original Wipeout back in the day, I played it to death. I haven't followed the series since but I'm really loving this. Zone mode is super fun and trippy and control is solid. A few music tracks grate but overall it fits the mood and makes good use of my subwoofer. Once you hit the fastest speed class though... the game becomes un-fun, much like F-Zero GX it just becomes unplayable, at least to me. People are still playing this online too! Lots of fun racing others.

[Moniker]

Smash Bros Demo (3DS) and a little bit of Team Fortress 2 (PC)

Pretty stoked for Smash. Took a bit of readjusting to the 3DS controls - the analogue nub range is circular, rather than octagonal, which makes directional input difficult at first. And the distinctions b/w tilt-up/jump/smash-up are pretty small. Using a jump button helps immensely; thankfully the full version apparently allows for extensive control remapping. Think I've got things more or less down though, at this point. Starting to get more intuitive and less control-fighty. Can rock it as a simple character like Mario; Link and Mega Man are a little more difficult, input-wise. (Mario, MM, Link, Pikachu and Villager are the only playable characters in the demo.) It's definitely more fun playing 'omega' mode, which is Final Destination, no items. Haven't played with friends yet.

Villager seems like strategist's dream come true. So much zoning and pre-planning. Mega Man seems pretty underpowered, unfortunately, although the versatility of the Metal Blade is promising. As an MM fanatic, was looking forward to making him my main. But that just means more mastery is necessary, at least on the level I play at. Aside from MM, I'm guessing Mr. Game & Watch will probably remain my go-to-guy, with pepperings of Mr. & Dr. Mario & Luigi, for flavor. Villager remains very tempting, however.

As for TF2, apparently I'm really good at Heavy. It's a low-skill class, I know, but zoning and tactical aim go pretty far against other classes. Love intimidating one or more paths of entry from the other team. I've figured out how to counter most enemy classes - kill medics first, intimidate sniper positions with occasional spray, prioritize scouts for immediate killing (they were my most hated enemies till recently), and just mow down everyone else. Spies are currently my heavy bane: don't really know how to handle them. I consistently lead my team's boards, so I must be doing something right. Cheap fun, in any case.

[Bananamatic]

As for TF2, apparently I'm really good at Heavy. It's a low-skill class, I know, but zoning and tactical aim go pretty far against other classes.

you counter heavy by not fighting him directly which is pretty unintuitive in a fps so he naturally smashes pubs with zero effort required(not to mention how he has no reloading, extremely generous aiming and a fuckton of hp so there's no need to dodge)

intimidate sniper positions with occasional spray

you do around 3 damage per bullet at long range assuming they hit in the first place, so the most it will do is throw off their aim a bit

[Ed Oscuro]

you wanna see some shit?
counter-strike nexon: zombies

it's like they set out to downgrade Combat Arms. Amazing!

[Zaarock]

Gauntlet (reboot) on Steam.

Almost done with a two player playthrough on the highest difficulty,

I think it's a decent game, probably not worth the price point for most people though. Gameplay is solid and teamwork is very fun. If you want to play solo the Wizard class is probably the way to go since he is super versatile having 9 different attacks. Most people who are into the game seem to want to use him (not that the other chars are bad, wizard is just the most versatile). All the characters play very differently which is great.

Difficulty scaling based on number of players is pretty drastic. If you have beginners in your party at higher difficulties you are going to get destroyed because enemies spawn much faster and in bigger numbers. The highest difficulty has no healing items which means you need to be very careful and do good teamwork. You have access to special abilities that heal but they are generally less useful than offensive ones.

If I had one gripe it's that theres a bunch of RPG element grinding that can power up your characters (kill 10,000 of some enemy type and you do 20% more damage to it, etc.). These don't make a huge difference unless it makes enemies one-shottable but the concept is very stupid, as apart from this 'mastery' feature the whole game is nice and arcade-like. No continue clears on highest difficulty are challenging in any case.

[system11]

Playing Counterspy on PS4, it's quite nice.

[professor ganson]

Luminous Arc 1 - There just wasn't enough here to make up for the fact that you need to grind in order to get beyond chapter 14. There are some SRPGs that are good even though they require grinding. This for me isn't one of them. Done playing at ch. 14.

Disgaea 4 (Vita) - This is really a joy to play. I lost track of the storyline at some point, so my enthusiasm is all game-play related. I'm taking on the story stages without any grinding, and without creating any additional characters. The stages are super fun and occasionally have some challenge. This is easily the best SRPG I've played since Fire Emblem Awakenings.

[gameoverDude]

Gauntlet (PC, 2014): Like the Genesis & arcade originals it's top down but there are also some differences. Instead of potions functioning as bombs, they are used to power Relic items which you buy from the shopkeeper before leaving the hub to go tackle a section. Level design is maybe a bit more linear, and all food and potions can be smashed/shot. Just stay the Hell out of Death's way- he will 1HKO you, and you can no longer kill him with a potion. He does go away after chasing you for a brief time. Each character has their own special moves (Thor has a Final Fight spin attack which costs no life but has a cooldown time, and also a rushing tackle that you charge with the right analog). Different, but not bad.

[Doctor Butler]

Arcan Heart 3 Max.

The manliest game on earth.

[ACSeraph]

Arcan Heart 3 Max.

The manliest game on earth.

I bought the Vita version recently but as I expected I can't really get into it. I don't think it's a bad game but it doesn't suck me in either, and none of the characters feel all that fun to play to me. Hard to justify playing it over BBCP when I'm out and about.

---

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

I'll go ahead and just say that I fucking love Kojima's games and the MG series. I can agree that he gets more hype than he probably deserves and there are a lot of flaws in this series, but I just can't get enough neck breaking and G.I. Joe plot.

After my love affair with overpriced uber-demo MGSV Ground Zeroes I decided to go back and replay the main series in preparation for Phantom Pain. Now that the MSX games are done I decided to jump into TS rather than the PSX game because the gameplay is somewhat superior (bullet time doesn't bother me, it's not like the game was a work of literary genius in the first place).

But uhhhh... This game hasn't aged very well. All of my memories of playing this in high school were great but after playing the more modern revisions the camera and shooting controls are almost laughably bad. So many of the fights are made infinitely harder by not being able to move while in first person view and the overhead camera which prevents you from ever seeing the threats around you. It basically comes down to you going into first person to search for your target and then getting shot out of it as you are searching. It's really frustrating.

Probably the most glaring example of it's flaws is in the cave where you need to sneak past the wolves. Your radar is jammed and the camera totally prevents you from seeing where the wolves are when you are moving around corners. You can't peak out since first person doesnt let you move, so your only option is just to run out blind and hope you can use the shitty controls to tranquilize the wolf before it bites you. The control and camera limitations force you to give up on stealth completely and find a way to work around them which is really sad. It's kind of surprising how inferior Solid's gameplay is to even the MSX games that preceded it.

That said the overall experience and adventure is still great. Story is entertaining, and there's lots of creativity and wackiness on display. I'm enjoying it I guess, but not really as a game. If only they could remake it using 5's engine... It's really a shame for an otherwise awesome game to be chained down by unnecessary limitations. But as is it sadly has to go to the retirement home with other similar once awesome games like Turok 64.

[Blinge]

So many of the fights are made infinitely harder by not being able to move while in first person view

Say it ain't so, Seraph

[ACSeraph]

So many of the fights are made infinitely harder by not being able to move while in first person view

Say it ain't so, Seraph

Look man, I get it in the context of survival horror, but I can't see how it enhances the quality of Metal Gear. It probably wouldn't be such an issue if problems weren't compounded so much by the overhead camera.

[Stevens]

I just finished Fur Fighters on the DC. It might be shiny new toy syndrome, but I am really kicking myself for not picking it up sooner.

Probably in my top 3 DC games.

Started Red Dog: Superior Firepower.

And splitting my fighting game love between Super Turbo HD, 2nd Impact, and 3rd Strike.

[Ruldra]

Bought Gigantic Army on Steam and enjoying it a lot, just barely cleared it on normal. The individual stages aren't actually hard, but you replenish so little health between levels that completing it on a single credit is pretty tough. Looking forward to beating it on hard and insane modes.

Also went back to Faster Than Light and I'm considering beating hard with every ship. I'm putting a number next to the ship's name to keep track of how many attempts it'll take to do it with each one. So far, Kestrel 1 already met its demise.

[Blinge]

The Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap (GBA).
So far so good, it's got a stronger adventure game sense of "where do I now?" than most in the series. Quite a bit of time spent gabbering to NPCs or rubbing items on other items, between the actual dungeons.

I said 3 years ago or something that I'd finish ever canon Zelda game out there, the series was my main childhood love after all. I've let that goal run away from me with the release of the 3DS one.. but I think i'll ignore that.
Once Minish Cap's down I've only got 1 and 2 on the NES left. I saved the hardest till last.

[trap15]

Gonna do the second loop?

[Blinge]

oh shi.. is that for both NES or just 1?

well now you've asked, I suppose I'll have to.

[Immryr]

I love Zelda 2, it's my favourite game in the series (probably). I always found the first game a lot harder for some reason.

[R-Gray 1]

Silent Hill 1

wow very nice game. first time i played it. the piano puzzle took me good time to solve it and i defeated the 1st boss the big worm. Great atmosphere.

[MrLaterreur]

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
and
Trying to finish Pocky and Rocky in single...

[EmperorIng]

I never finished the second quest of Zelda 1 as a kid/teenager, because I had no clue that some of the walls in dungeons were actually fake and could be walked through. I thought (and think!) it was very sneaky trick. Better call that Nintendo hotline!

[Weak Boson]

Witcher 2

I was kind of on-and-off with the first game but overall I liked it quite a lot. It certainly had its flaws (combat and pacing) but these were pretty minor concerns considering it delivered absolutely on other significant elements - and in quite a nice way, too. Aside from its story, world and characters a lot of standard RPG features were employed with an unusual competence that helped the whole thing stay together as a game.

The sequel has a vastly improved combat system, I wouldn't recommend it on the sole basis of the action, but it's not boring, and you can get fucked up if you let the odds go against you, even on normal. I'm a bit concerned that the quest design is going to be a bit less open-ended, but it's too early to say. It has a more cinematic feel in places too which, while actually being pretty awesome, does make me think there'll be a cost in player agency.

But at this point there's no doubt I'm along for the ride and an open-world sequel is an appealing destination.

[Khan]

Mass effect 2 on the xbox360

I enjoyed ME1 there was so much to read up on about the world the species, biotics, alignments ect so im glad to say ME2 is more of the same however the mining minerals and exploring other planets is quite tiresome and a little mundane but good for someone who wants to kill some time rather than play battles I think so far im like 30 hrs in and ive only died maybe twice it just feels so easy.

[Moniker]

Hyrule Warriors (WiiU)

It's Dynasty Warriors with Zelda characters. Don't have much to add on top of Jim Sterling's review. (It's awesome.)