What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[CStarFlare]

I bought over a dozen games on this steam sale, so I've started going through and trying to wrap up a few games I'd never properly finished/even started from previous purchases.

I finished Typing of the Dead: Overkill (the humor does nothing for me, but it was an OK game to play through once) and am about halfway through Broken Age. I think next will be LA Noir and/or YS: The Oath in Felghana. Both will take longer to get through than the previous two, but they're games I never started because I didn't trust that my old computer could run them well enough rather than because I didn't have the interest. Should be good times.

[Some-Mist]

played/beat d4: dark dreams don't die season 1 (PC) this weekend, and it was one of my most anticipated games of this year. lived up to my hype - what a fantastic swery65 game. just as odd and surreal as you'd expect it to be, and makes me want the 2nd season. I'm hyped.

the doctor just randomly sticking out of a vent he crawled into:


also had to buy the talos principle (for jonas kyratzes!) and the wolf among us via the steam sales since both were priced pretty low.

I bought over a dozen games on this steam sale, so I've started going through and trying to wrap up a few games I'd never properly finished/even started from previous purchases.

I finished Typing of the Dead: Overkill (the humor does nothing for me, but it was an OK game to play through once) and am about halfway through Broken Age. I think next will be LA Noir and/or YS: The Oath in Felghana. Both will take longer to get through than the previous two, but they're games I never started because I didn't trust that my old computer could run them well enough rather than because I didn't have the interest. Should be good times.

what do you think of broken age? buncha people gave it flack, but as a high level backer, I was actually content/not disappointed with my playthrough.

[Blinge]

I'd grab that if I could afford to support game that may never be finished.

As for now? I beat Killer7. ohh my head hurts..

[Ed Oscuro]

As for now? I beat Killer7. ohh my head hurts..

Emir Parkreiner
tbh, the ending was decidedly non-fun.

[Some-Mist]

I'd grab that if I could afford to support game that may never be finished.

As for now? I beat Killer7. ohh my head hurts..

killer7 is too good. I took one screenshot in my playthrough in 2011 which was one of my favorite parts in the game - save it for near the end of your playthrough

Spoiler

the russian roulette scene is pretty ballin too. and iirc, the gas mask afro dude outside??

also, take it with a grain of salt, but

"Kotaku: Can you guarantee fans there’s going to be another episode of D4? Are you working on it right now?
Swery65: There’s no such thing as an “absolute guarantee” in this world. But I can show you proof that I’m trying my best right now.
Well? Want to see more?"

(not included anywhere in d4: s1)

[Blinge]

Yeah the russian roulette scene was amazing.

I've started that new game/difficulty that unlocks upon finishing the game. It's pretty tough not being able to see weakspots!

[Jonathan Ingram]

You guys have played Deadly Premonition, right? Just making sure.
And yes, D4 is wonderful. New season can't come soon enough.

Playing Fable: The Lost Chapters. I'm at a point where I'm starting to get really annoyed from all the male NPCs hitting on me and asking for a wedding ring. What in da fock??? How were the people of Albion ever able to procreate with such a high proportion of gay population?

[juonryu2nd]

I started the Four Job Fiesta in FF5. Got a White Mage and Time Mage so far.

[Blinge]

You guys have played Deadly Premonition, right? Just making sure.

Sure have, coop!

[Some-Mist]

You guys have played Deadly Premonition, right? Just making sure.
And yes, D4 is wonderful. New season can't come soon enough.

you betchya. back when I didn't have a 360, I imported red seeds profile and played the jpn version on PS3. then I got a 360 and played the 360 version. still considering getting the PC uncut version even though I heard it was poop.

[null1024]

100% Orange Juice [PC].
I have played this game for 48 hours, the most in my Steam library by a long shot.
help

Freedom Planet [PC].
Just started.

holy fuck, it's cool
Looks like the kind of 2D action you'd see on the Saturn. Lots of nice graphical effects. Character design just sucks though, across the board. Main characters look kind of lame and it gets worse from there.

On the boss of Relic Maze right now, such a cool fight. Lost the first time, and got interrupted to go somewhere the second try. It's not even a complex fight or pattern, but it's just satisfying doing crazy dodges and racking damage up on the arms and it's just wonderful.
Game has clear Sonic, Ristar, Rocket Knight Adventures, and Gunstar Heroes influences. You can't miss them if you've played any of those games.

only real major issue has to be the player handling, it kind of feels like an odd cross between Sonic Rush's handling [you can walk up slopes, there's no real feeling of momentum] and something approaching the Genesis Sonic games
forgot to remap the controls too -- the default layout is screwing with me [every Genesis game seems to follow A- special, B- jump, C- attack, and FP doesn't for no apparent reason]

[Obiwanshinobi]

Some WipEout HD. Never been terribly into the series, but... elegant is the word. Many "slick" games out there, yet "elegant" is more of a rare bread. It's nice to have some of it for a change. Ballance is the only other one I'd recently call that.
The tech's been spoken highly enough of, but there's so much more to it, such as: how pleasing to the ear sound effects are (another common trait with Ballance), or how depicted world, rather than some holiday resort for the posh or amusement park, looks like the kind of bright future we all secretly hope awaits.

[Stevens]

Still at Grandia 2 while the Mrs. plays Dragon Quest 8. Been a nice change of pace and I had forgotten what an excellent game it is.

[BIL]

BDOOMv20. Liking the new chainsaw. First step towards a really good DOOM engine swinging weapon. Needs separate commands for overheads and slashes. Generally just punching motherfuckers in their shit so hard they cunt.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm repeating myself, but when playing Republic Commando, DON'T quicksave-quickload through it. Checkpointing alone deserves savouring as it is.
If I had to nit-pick anything, well, the sound engineering isn't up to usual Star Wars level, but the library of sounds (and animations!) more than makes up for it. I almost wish they toned down the glitz (and shunned "save/load anywhere" feature), so the jaded gamer had a better chance to spot all the service galore beneath pretty "me too" layer of explosions and more explosions.
I mean the things abundant in games of its time obfuscate all that is not quite like anything else around.

[EmperorIng]

I am actually bummed that I purchased D4 on steam and I discovered that my laptop is not up to snuff to run it. I guess it will become a gift to my older brother.

Whirling up some PC-Engine CD RPGs, with varying degrees of Role-Play:

Genso Tairiku Auleria: This has an excellent Tamayo Kawamoto (of Zuntata fame) soundtrack, and it plays all right when you are dungeon crawling and fighting all sorts of nasty monsters. An interesting bit is that as you level up, lower level monsters cease to appear on the maps, leaving some areas that previously had kicked your butt devoid of all activity. I've only explored two dungeons thus far, but they were fairly labyrinthine.

I think what unfortunately brings it down is the amount of talking to random people you have to do to trigger the next story event - this is a problem for someone with no knowledge of Japanese.

This is a game that is a prime candidate for a fan-translation, given its pedigree (Taito weirdness*/Winky Soft quality?), engaging visuals, and accessible game mechanics. I like it and it's fun to kill monsters; however, getting bogged down in Japanese text is less appealing.

*nothing quite like mowing down waves of skinless baby midget monsters, and later on succumbing to droves of jumping jolly jesters.

Fray in Magical Adventure ~ Xak Gaiden: Cute and easy, as well as easy to understand despite most text being in Japanese. Having items represented pictorially really helps, and most of the town portions are resolved (thus far) by talking to everyone; these segments are short. It left a good first impression.

I'll admit that I can be suckered in for a cutesy game from time to time, and this fits the bill pretty well.

Xak I: Another game that is easy to figure out without Japanese knowledge - though I have had to consult a FAQ/Walkthrough a few times; luckily there are good ones for the PCE-CD port. I have unfortunately overleveled (the first time ever in an RPG I think, ha) - being at max level well before the end of the game (Xak I caps at Level 25). I did this early on because I couldn't even scratch a boss at one point - I power-leveled and killed it in one hit, and proceeded to kill other bosses in a few hits. It feels a little hollow when you mow down monsters and don't get any experience =(

It sort of shares the problem that I suspect many Japanese PC RPGs face[d], that being in order to make the experience longer, you are required at points to grind out levels and gold in order to simply survive the later dungeons. I've noticed this with Ys I&II especially. It feels a little cheap, but at least in the case of Xak and Ys, the grinding is fairly enjoyable as you zoom around the map wrecking the shit of every living thing that stands in your way.

I look forward to the usual Ys 2-switcharoo where all my experience is rendered null and void by the second game's monsters.

[Necronopticous]

Well, since Mother 4 was delayed I decided to finally make my way through the original. I purchased it on the Wii U on principle, since it is so rare to even have to opportunity to legitimately acquire anything relating to the Mother series outside of Japan. I played all weekend and, judging from melody completion, I estimate I am roughly 3/4 of the way through the game. Great stuff! The charm really holds up, which I suppose is unsurprising considering its successors.

[Some-Mist]

I've been considering snagging it since earthbound and mother 3 are two of my favorite jrpgs of all time. It kind of looks bad though

[Gespenst]

Starfighter 3000 (DOS)

Mowing down mountains with laser has never been so much fun.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I thought the first Mother looked good.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

I like Mother. It's a rough game for sure, but as someone who isn't typically into RPGs (and hasn't played any others on the NES), I think it's fun.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Does what you get for Wii U require as much grinding as the original version? When the English ROM emerged, there was a day-one hack reducing that.

[BIL]

Oh wao BDOOMv20 slump is neat Opened a secret panel some poor fucker had died against, sending the corpse flopping through to my mild starting and profound appreciation. REAL SCAREZ in 2015.

Reminds me of AKI introducing the "knocked flat on ass / onto hands and knees" position in Wrestlemania 2000. "LOL WHO CURR" no seriously it adds a lot of heft to the action, and fuckin' heft and its compatriot handling is largely why I enjoy TV games. *BOOM* fist in the face -> kick in the teeth! That's WM2000, but could totally apply to BDv20.

[Some-Mist]

I thought the first Mother looked good.

says the guy who hasn't liked a video game cover or movie poster in years lol.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Does what you get for Wii U require as much grinding as the original version? When the English ROM emerged, there was a day-one hack reducing that.

The Wii U version (the English one, at least) is unaltered from the prototype that got leaked years and years ago.

[Marc]

Renegade, via Hamster's PS4 port. Remembered how balls hard this is, although I never finished it back in the day I did make it to the last boss, but I was getting my ass handed to me by the motorcycle guys on ST2 last night. Having said that it only took ten minutes or so for me to remember the little tricks that I used to use on the first stage - take a few hits from the front to back kick enemies off the edge and prod the boss to death with the jump kick - so I'm hopeful of improving over the next few days. Always loved this game, although it could be argued that Technos refined this sort of thing there's just something really crunchy and tactile about Renegade. Combattribes would have been it's ultimate evolution if it wasn't such a damn coin sucker.

[Acid King]

Dark Souls 2 - Just cleared Drangleic Castle after finishing all three DLCs (except for the Frigid Outskirts portion of Ivory King). My first go at a STR character and I've been rolling through the game, though after pumping my STR to 50 I have my DEX at 40 and switched from the Great Club to the Greatsword. I forgot how goddamn lazy and stupid the first part of Drangleic is. It took me like 45 minutes to kill all the bullshit respawning royal swordsman for entry, which, for my money, is the worst part of the game. Standing around one-shot killing the swordsman until my Greatsword was about to break, switched to Great Club, until that was about to break, then the Drakeblood Greatsword til it was about to break, then the Zweihander, which actually did break, then a Broadsword until... well, you get the picture. Boring as fuck and all told I think I went through 6 weapons before the gate unlocked.

[Satan]

Renegade, via Hamster's PS4 port. Remembered how balls hard this is, although I never finished it back in the day I did make it to the last boss, but I was getting my ass handed to me by the motorcycle guys on ST2 last night. Having said that it only took ten minutes or so for me to remember the little tricks that I used to use on the first stage - take a few hits from the front to back kick enemies off the edge and prod the boss to death with the jump kick - so I'm hopeful of improving over the next few days. Always loved this game, although it could be argued that Technos refined this sort of thing there's just something really crunchy and tactile about Renegade. Combattribes would have been it's ultimate evolution if it wasn't such a damn coin sucker.

I love Renegade, did you know there is an alternative Japanese version? I had no idea, I've only recently played it.

[Immryr]

Dark Souls 2 - Just cleared Drangleic Castle after finishing all three DLCs (except for the Frigid Outskirts portion of Ivory King). My first go at a STR character and I've been rolling through the game, though after pumping my STR to 50 I have my DEX at 40 and switched from the Great Club to the Greatsword. I forgot how goddamn lazy and stupid the first part of Drangleic is. It took me like 45 minutes to kill all the bullshit respawning royal swordsman for entry, which, for my money, is the worst part of the game. Standing around one-shot killing the swordsman until my Greatsword was about to break, switched to Great Club, until that was about to break, then the Drakeblood Greatsword til it was about to break, then the Zweihander, which actually did break, then a Broadsword until... well, you get the picture. Boring as fuck and all told I think I went through 6 weapons before the gate unlocked.

i'm not sure I understand how it took you so long? unless they have drastically changed it from when I played the game you only need to kill two of them.

[Marc]

Renegade, via Hamster's PS4 port. Remembered how balls hard this is, although I never finished it back in the day I did make it to the last boss, but I was getting my ass handed to me by the motorcycle guys on ST2 last night. Having said that it only took ten minutes or so for me to remember the little tricks that I used to use on the first stage - take a few hits from the front to back kick enemies off the edge and prod the boss to death with the jump kick - so I'm hopeful of improving over the next few days. Always loved this game, although it could be argued that Technos refined this sort of thing there's just something really crunchy and tactile about Renegade. Combattribes would have been it's ultimate evolution if it wasn't such a damn coin sucker.

I love Renegade, did you know there is an alternative Japanese version? I had no idea, I've only recently played it.

Yeah, it's a shame they couldn't include it on the port as they have with Gradius, but I believe it's based on a Japanese cartoon or comic so I guess licencing issues.