What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[ACSeraph]

Back into Dark Souls finally sort of "getting" it because Blinge wouldn't leave me alone about it. I still think the game has a lot of problems, but the good outweighs the bad. I think initially playing it after coming off of Bayonetta didn't help things. Now having put a lot of time in it feels to me more like a survival horror style game with an unusually deep combat system. Very slow and methodical exploration, but still good if you are in the mood for that style. I think the difficulty is a bit blown out of proportion, I'm not finding it all that hard so far. I guess maybe it gets that reputation simply because the game has no easy mode and really does force you to learn to play properly, something most modern gamers aren't used to.

On the side I've also been playing Psycho Break (The Evil Within) because I found a junk copy for 400yen. I'm impressed with it so far. The camera and controls can occasionally be problematic, but as a whole it's actually an excellent stealth game. I was expecting something more like RE4, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that wasn't the case. The concept of stealth horror really appeals to me, but this is the first time I've played a game that I felt did the concept well. Only thing is the JP version is very heavily censored, so I may pick up the Western version eventually.

[KAI]

Playing Oratori Tangram to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Virtual On. Fuck Sega for not doing anything to celebrate it.

[JBC]

Zork in the Lost Treasures of Infocom app, which is free for iOS & includes the first game.

It's first two sequels can also be bought in the app, as well as a fourth I've never played.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Started up an attempt at level 1 in Demon's Souls. I've cleared 1-1 and 4-1 so far and have gotten up to 3-1 boss, but I can't seem to 1 cycle it, so I'm planning to maybe come back with Morion Blade since I'll want that for Maneaters anyway. Haven't tried 1-2, 2-1, or 5-1 yet since I'm trying to get through all of World 4. The part with the second reaper is as far as I've managed to get up to with this character, and those lasers 1 shot me in soul form even with Cling Ring, and if I went human form in the hope of maybe surviving it, I'd run the risk of losing my white tendency and I need the Pure White World Tendency after beating 4-2 boss so that I can get Makoto so I can activate Hyper Mode more easily by letting it drain my character's health.


I was tempted to dupe the stones to go body form so I could try PBWT Level 1, but there's some stuff I want that required PWWT(like Makoto and maybe Istarelle, and maybe some others), so maybe I'll try the PBWT content late game or in NG+. I'm also kind of glad I didn't jump straight to PBWT as it seems like anything might be able to 1 shot you there.

[lilmanjs]

Drift Out 94: The Hard Order
Been playing through this quite a lot lately for some odd reason. I've noticed a couple of stages have a second leg, but no clue how to actually get to race on them, or were they never put in? Still a fun game and finally good enough again where I'm actually winning.

[Blinge]

Demon souls stuff

This is why I don't do level 1 runs..

[Jonathan Ingram]

On the side I've also been playing Psycho Break (The Evil Within) because I found a junk copy for 400yen. I'm impressed with it so far. The camera and controls can occasionally be problematic, but as a whole it's actually an excellent stealth game. I was expecting something more like RE4, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that wasn't the case. The concept of stealth horror really appeals to me, but this is the first time I've played a game that I felt did the concept well. Only thing is the JP version is very heavily censored, so I may pick up the Western version eventually.

The stealth gameplay in The Evil Within is actually very obviously derivative of The Last of Us, except not as well executed mechanically.

The Siren games are pretty much entirely stealth. I take it you've played them, but didn't like? Because I feel that Siren 2 in particular pulls off the concept incredibly well.

[Mischief Maker]

I just picked up Saints Row 3 off GOG today.

Volition takes all the good parts of space sims, chucks the bad, and creates Freespace 2, the greatest example of its genre ever. Yet chuckleheads moon over fucking Freelancer.

Volition takes all the good parts of sandbox games, chucks the bad, and creates Saints Row 3, the greatest example of its genre ever. Yet chuckleheads make GTA V a recordbreaker in sales.

This is the REAL reason gamers are dead. They can't appreciate greatness when it's right in their face!

[ACSeraph]

The stealth gameplay in The Evil Within is actually very obviously derivative of The Last of Us, except not as well executed mechanically.

The Siren games are pretty much entirely stealth. I take it you've played them, but didn't like? Because I feel that Siren 2 in particular pulls off the concept incredibly well.

I actually never played Siren 2, only 1 which I didn't like much. I'd be willing to give them another go actually, but they are a little pricey here in Japan and I can't stand to listen to my US dub version. The other thing is that I prefer offensive stealth over pure evasion. I want to hunt the things that are hunting me, but with great consequences for breaking my silence. That's what I feel like PB excels at.

As for Last of Us, as a horror game I just straight up didn't like it. It does nothing for me at all, I hate the human on human gunplay, and the setting in general doesn't feel like horror to me, more like a standard adventure game. I don't think it's a bad game for what it is (it obviously isn't) but it's not what I want from horror. The setting and vibe of Psycho Break is really well done imo.

[Jonathan Ingram]

I actually never played Siren 2, only 1 which I didn't like much. I'd be willing to give them another go actually, but they are a little pricey here in Japan and I can't stand to listen to my US dub version.

If importing is an option, the PAL version of Siren 2(called Forbidden Siren 2) has a Japanese dub(in addition to the English one with British accents) and a 60hz option and since it was fairly common until the shops cleared out their PS2 stock, it's unlikely to command a high price.

The other thing is that I prefer offensive stealth over pure evasion. I want to hunt the things that are hunting me, but with great consequences for breaking my silence. That's what I feel like PB excels at.

Frankly, I don't think The Evil Within fits the bill at all. It's a straight up shooter where a stealthier approach is given to you as an option at certain points for when you feel like changing things up a bit, but is otherwise an woefully inadequate and time-consuming way of dealing with enemies considering that you can waste them right away with the amount of firepower the game gives you.

Are you past the village chapter yet? I'm asking because it's the only portion of the game where the gameplay appears to be on the stealthy side.

[dink]

Garyo Retsuden. [arcade, dataeast dec-8 hw]
Time to kill underpants gnomes!

[null1024]

Was playing way too much of the Sonic series.

I was playing Sonic 2 [fell in that one spike pit you can't escape from in Mystic Cave three or so times and then turned it off, haha], Sonic 4 Ep. 1&2 [and promptly deleted them again, hot fuck they're bad -- Ep. 2 is MASSIVELY better than the first, but still mostly awful], Sonic Adventure DX [it's got issues, so many issues], Sonic Adventure 2 [me and some friends sat around playing this and realizing how bad it is -- it's got some decent parts, but it's mostly shit; the game plays a lot better with a Gamecube controller than the PS3 controller we were using because of the GC's octagonal gating on the analog stick, doing Final Rush was dumb as fuck as a result; we beat the game in like 4 hours or so, was still kind of fun overall], and Sonic Generations [my laptop can't mirror displays and keep the framerate up, bleh -- and it's nice to play a recent Sonic game that's mostly good instead of mostly bad].

oh, and SA2 on PC has this dumb problem where there's a streetcar floating around you in City Escape for no apparent reason
that was the only time in the whole game that I noticed something weird with the graphics

[Leandro]

I'm playing a lot of Skyrim PC. 112 hours already and I'm not proud of it, got the game 2 weeks ago. Very addicting game, like a drug.
First western rpg I've played

Was playing way too much of the Sonic series.

Finished Jet Set Radio?

[null1024]

Finished Jet Set Radio?

Not yet. Haven't touched it in a few days, will probably have another go at it tomorrow.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Made some more progress in Demon's Souls level 1. I'm up to 1-4, done with world 2 outside of some farming for upgrade materials and the PBWT Black Phantom, up to 3-2, done with world 4 outside of some farming for materials for my Crescent Falchion, and haven't even entered World 5 yet.


Got Morion Blade for the full hyper mode now, working on getting Lava Bow, working on Dragon Longsword(currently +3), and Crescent Falchion(currently +2)


I've dealt with the Black Phantoms for World 1 and 4. The world 1 one killed me once but wasn't really that bad. The world 4 one is a pain cause of that chance to just full heal once he's below half health, but I want to kill all 5 of the ones that boost character tendency for the damage boost for being at pure white character tendency.


I may try to go through some NG+ cycles with this character as I haven't actually gone through NG+ in this, outside of getting to Yuria to unlock the last spell for the platinum.

[ACSeraph]

Are you past the village chapter yet? I'm asking because it's the only portion of the game where the gameplay appears to be on the stealthy side.

Actually no, Dark Souls has been my main game lately, so while I did finish the village I havent had time to play anything past it. A bit dissapointed to hear that the style changes drastically, as I thought the village was brilliantly done. But even so, I'll probably still enjoy it, as I enjoyed the more gun heavy playstyle of RE4 too. I'll need to keep an eye out for Siren here still I think, since I don't have a PAL PS2 unfortunately. How is New Translation?

[Jonathan Ingram]

How is New Translation?

It's a reimagining of the first Siren with a streamlined mission structure, a new cast of (English-speaking) characters, improved controls and a dialed-down difficulty. You no longer have to hit restart every time you're discovered and meleeing your way out is at least an option now. New Translation lacks the gameplay additions of Siren 2 nor is it as complex and nuanced, but it's a great horror title that's worth owning for the superb audiovisual presentation alone.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Old PC games to see how they fare on the new TV. About to install SpellForce.

[lilmanjs]

NFS: Carbon (PC edition)
Spending a good bit of time on the challenges section of the game. The camera in the drift events can't keep up with your car though sadly. So many hits of the wall during the challenge with the Corvette ZO6 because the camera was late in moving over to let me see the wall I'd already smacked into. Other than that, having fun doing police challenges. Evade them with a dump truck? Sure, why not?

[dink]

Dai Makamura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts) on PC Engine SuperGrafx

[Ruldra]

NFS: Carbon (PC edition)

Not as good as the original Most Wanted, but still a good game. Loved the Touge events.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

It'll be a while before I get back to Demon's Souls now. I only had 1-4 left on the level 1 run, though I also had BP Selen to deal with in world 5 too. That BP is an issue because of that stupid swamp. I'll be on the land, and the game will somehow think I'm in the swamp when trying to roll, so I can't roll, then she one shots me. Tried sniping her with Lava Bow in Hyper Mode, but she just heals eventually.

As for 1-4, I got Second Chance, which I can use with the ring to increase miracle capacity by 1 and the 2 Silver equips that increase max MP. Cast it before entering the boss then still haven't won. He'll either hit me twice quickly to negate Second Chance, or I'll be hit while switching to Silver Catalyst, using an MP restore item, then trying to recast it. Plus Second Chance revives you to 50% HP, so I'm not sure if it's possible for me to get back to hyper mode(using female character, so I can't use the Darksilver gear set)



I got Bioshock and the Mass Effect trilogy in the recent PSN sale. I haven't played far into Bioshock and I haven't actually downloaded any of the ME games yet, but at the moment, I don't have enough space for all 3 anyway, so I may have to delete stuff to make room. or even delete after I'm done with them at the time and redownload later on.


Also picked up Dark Souls. Started as Deprived(and with one of the useless gifts because Master Key would probably break things) instead of one of the classes that starts with magic, so I'll need to find where to pick those up sometime. Last thing I did was beat the gargoyles which were a huge pain once the second comes in, and the main reason i won was that RNG with their pattern was extremely nice the winning time. I have no idea how you're supposed to actually fight them once the second comes in, though it isn't too bad before that. Currently using an upgraded Gargoyle Tail Ax from the boss as my strongest weapon. Rang the bell and am trying to find how to get to Blighttown since the guy that mentioned the bells mentioned needing to go there.

[ACSeraph]

Somehow I missed that PSN flash sale during my busy weekend. I'm a bit disappointed, sounds like I missed out on some great stuff.

Still playing Dark Souls here myself, making progress slowly but surely, taking my time with things and fully exploring every crack and crevice.

I like the game now, and I can't stop playing it. But it really does have severe problems here and there, with an occasionally horrendous camera, and some weird glitchy stuff like enemies clipping through walls. Spent last night getting repeatedly one shot killed by ceaseless discharge because he would punch straight through the goddamn wall like he had just typed in "idclip".

Arrows are broken as fuck too, I originally took a bow because I wanted to deal with annoying ranged enemies and pull single enemies from groups to melee fight them one on one, but half the time (especially later in the game for some reason) the enemies don't get pulled, they just stand there like "herp, why my head hurt?".

Despite all this I love it. I went from hating it to loving it, but I couldn't really explain why. My (new) wife watches me play a lot, and can't understand what I see in it.

[gbaplayer]

Started Witcher III 2 days ago. What an amazing game it is, truly beautiful graphics and great quests. My first next gen title.
To bad i could not continue for the next 2 weeks as iam on holiday in Bali.

[Blinge]

Last thing I did was beat the gargoyles which were a huge pain once the second comes in, and the main reason i won was that RNG with their pattern was extremely nice the winning time. I have no idea how you're supposed to actually fight them once the second comes in,

Had a similar experience on my first playthrough, but in a later attempt I bothered to upgrade my weapon just a few levels and the difference in damage against the gargoyles made it significantly easier.

[lilmanjs]

NFS: Carbon (PC edition)

Not as good as the original Most Wanted, but still a good game. Loved the Touge events.

I'd say some things Carbon does better than Most Wanted, but overall I must agree. Having a slow to move camera for Drift events makes things much harder than they should be. And when you finally get that last area unlocked, it is at times too hard to take seriously. Still I like the fact I can outrun cops with blown tires. I've managed to do it before and gives a good laugh.

[soprano1]

Valdis Story Abyssal City. Great metroidvania for PC, sprites look nice, and music is really fitting.

[Mischief Maker]

Valdis Story Abyssal City. Great metroidvania for PC, sprites look nice, and music is really fitting.

Fantastic game. I rate it above Cave Story, easily. Maybe even above SOTN. I have never played a game that merged the action and RPG genres so well. It never feels like the RPG is interfering with the action.

[Squire Grooktook]

I played Valdis briefly last year, but only for a bit, and need to get back to it.

Only thing that struck me negatively in my brief playtime was the presence of blocking. I generally dislike block/fencing systems in my 2d action side scrollers. It works for 3d games where it's really the only option, but in a 2d game I feel it's a more thoughtless and unsatisfying alternative to manually maneuvering out of the way of attacks.

[Mischief Maker]

I played Valdis briefly last year, but only for a bit, and need to get back to it.

Only thing that struck me negatively in my brief playtime was the presence of blocking. I generally dislike block/fencing systems in my 2d action side scrollers. It works for 3d games where it's really the only option, but in a 2d game I feel it's a more thoughtless and unsatisfying alternative to manually maneuvering out of the way of attacks.

Now's as good a time to re-download as any because they just had a massive content update patch that includes two new characters.

It plays more like a 2D devil may cry than castlevania. Once you pick up your first master's scroll you get dodge/cancels that can be spent on evasion dashing.

There are 3 methods of defense in this game, and you can choose which one to emphasize with the skills you pick in the defensive tree. There's straight up hold-down block, which can be boosted to become impenetrable. There's dodge/cancel dashing which can be boosted to instantly restore one of your cancels if timed during an enemy attack. Finally there's just defense (parry) which dizzies the attacker and can add other effects.