What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[EinhanderZwei]

I'm finding myself having to do a bit of grinding early on for better weapons and armor (granted, that may just be because I suck.

That was my tactic too! To hell with short sword, gotta grind for teh Talwar, because the mine in Ys I is damn brutal

[Mortificator]

The thing with Ys is that there's a certain threshold you need to be at to do non-pathetic damage to bosses. If you're at level 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 for the first boss, it'll take all day to wear down his health... but level 5, suddenly you're actually hurting him. It's probably based on attack, since if you picked up the longsword then level 4 will put you over the threshold. I wouldn't try to take the mine boss unless I was at level 10 and had the silver sword.

At least, that's how it is in the PC version. It might be different on PCE.

[ZOM]

The (newer)PC versions are a lot more forgiving while attacking the enemy and the damage-calculations are taking place. Also, on the PC remakes the bosses seem to have more "reachable" hitboxes than in any pre-2000 Ys I or II port. Add to that that you can just ram enemies diagonally in Eternal/Complete, and the game's even easier.
However, that sudden powerspike that comes from being at just the right level for a specific boss-fight still applies to pretty much any version I played.

@EinhanderZwei
Grinding one single level can sometimes make a whole world of difference in pretty much any Ys game(Ys seven excluded). Also getting a higher sword and shield gives you an additional edge on bossfights, but specifically grinding for money to buy weapons really shouldn't be needed in Ys I and/or II. Thy gold should come automatically while trying to stay at a decent experience level.

[dunpeal2064]

The mines ARE brutal. I missed the silver sword, that may help against that nasty bat boss

[ryu]

played silent hill homecoming at a friends place the other day. the game somehow glitched out for me while i was standing besides a wall in the sewers. seemed a lot like the room i was standing in had unloaded.

i was lucky there were some objects in there to interact with and open a door out into a loaded room.

(i couldn't even see those objects. just walked about and eventually got the game to tell me to press A to do something)

that was weird.

[dunpeal2064]

Finished up Ys Book 1 over the weekend. Really enjoyed it, so much that I am going to savor its awesome and wait a while to play Book 2.

So now I am playing through Persona 4 for the first time. So far, this game feels far supirior to the third game. (granted, I have not played the FES version, only the original release)

I think for the first time ever, I might actually be able to get through a Shin Megami Tensei game. Got pretty close with Nocturne, but I just didn't have the patience to make the top demons, and give them all peirce.

[Zaarock]

Finished up Ys Book 1 over the weekend. Really enjoyed it, so much that I am going to savor its awesome and wait a while to play Book 2.

2 is even better. But the game starts right where 1 left off so it's probably a good idea to play it while you still remember most of the things that happened in the first game.

[null1024]

Portal, 1 and 2.

Testchamber 18 is irritating as fuck in Portal 1. I know what I have to do, it's just the doing part.
In Portal 2, I'm 3 or 4 rooms after where you first see the propulsion gel. Loads of fun, the only bit that has me stumped for extended periods of time is finding portalable surfaces. A bit annoying really.

[EinhanderZwei]

Just finished Half-Life on PS2. Everyone knows that it's a legendary masterpice on whatever platform, so you know my opinion already

Started one of the most beautiful games I've ever known, Phantasy Star Universe

[dunpeal2064]

Finished up Ys Book 1 over the weekend. Really enjoyed it, so much that I am going to savor its awesome and wait a while to play Book 2.

2 is even better. But the game starts right where 1 left off so it's probably a good idea to play it while you still remember most of the things that happened in the first game.

Eh, the game was pretty dang short, I doubt I'll forget what happened. I am planning on playing it after I finish up Persona 4. The game was just so simple and fun that I didn't wanna play it out all in a few days. Glad to hear that the second game is even better though.

If I get irritated with Persona 4 though, I'll be going back early. I've never made it through an entire SMT game, but this one seems promissing.

[BIL]

Spent the last few evenings replaying Resident Evil (GC) and Silent Hill 2 (PS2), and remembering that neither series' slide into mediocrity matters much when past triumphs remain this comprehensive. The sheer craft in both of these games never fails to absorb me for hours on end.

Ridge Racer Revolution is my daylight game atm, another old favourite. Can't consistently nail that crazy jumping hairpin drift with White Angel on the Novice track any more, but can't stop trying all the same. Not even sure if it's efficient for lap time, but the satisfaction of whipping the back end out at 180mph, rocketing two storeys into the air, and landing at the corner's exit before blasting off without missing a beat is irresistible. Looks utterly insane on replays too!

[Siren2011]

Played Carnevil for the first time in years at a mall arcade. It was very fun. More difficult than House of the Dead, but fun.

Some of the enemies have advanced A.I. unlike anything I've ever seen in a Gun Shooting game. The flying goblins actually duck when you fire at their heads. I hope there are lots more interesting little surprises further in the game.

I almost put in a couple of credits into this really obscure looking sword/sensor bar arcade game. I forgot who made it and what it's called, but it looked interesting. By swinging the sword at the screen, you could block, parry, and attack. It had a traditional Japanese samurai art direction to it. Only problem was it looked like shit on the particular monitor it was playing on.

[AKRATEN]

I have been playing Demon Front
I really dig the art in the game.
it has great style.

[jonny5]

Zombie Crisis 3D on my iPhone

[Aquas]

Super Metroid, ActRaiser, Super R-Type... Super Street Fighter 4... SUPER!

Enjoying the SNES as my friend lent me his.

[spadgy]

It's almost a shmup, but not quite. I can't stop playing iOS bullet hell mine-'em-up Tilt To Live. It's really brilliant.

I just hit 3.5 million nearly.

[Jeneki]

I'm currently making my yearly playthough of Might and Magic III (dos version). I've pretty much got the whole game memorized now; it's kind of sad when I don't even need to figure out the math puzzles anymore and just know the answer.

[Never_Scurred]

Tetris: The Grandmaster Ace for the 360
Super Street Fighter 4

[SniperElite]

-Mass Effect 2 - X360
-Shadow Complex - X360 Arcade

Both Kick Ass!

[EinhanderZwei]

Phantasy Star Universe (still... eheh) - by God it's an awesome game
Silent Bomber - reached final level, hope to beat it tonight
Hexen - where the hell I am supposed to go NOW?
Descent - where the hell I am supposed to fly NOW?

[BIL]

Silent Bomber - reached final level, hope to beat it tonight

>>>W A R N I N G <<<
>>> A crazy motherfucker <<<
>>>(Chris) BENOIT<<<
>>> Is approaching fast! <<<

Be attitude for gains:
1. Difficulty spike up ass 2. Smart stats choice 3. Big hands jumping

Seriously, expect a bit of a difficulty jump. :] It's the perfect finish to a killer action game that never quite makes the player sweat until the final boss.

[Rob]

I need to finish Silent Bomber one of these years. One of 3 PS games I have left.

Majora's Mask - went back to and finished it, think much less of it than I did before! Tries desperately to be Ocarina of Time-length with only 4 dungeons.
RISKY WOODS - dumb 'Drive fun.

[mesh control]

Metroid II - Found my brother's old GBC so I decided too try one of the older Metroids. I'm stuck.

Persona 3 - I'm never going to finish this. I don't have patience for RPGs.

[Rob]

Pier Solar -- story & characters suck. It's fine otherwise, but too many good games vs. a fanfic Lunar.
Portal 2 -- best puzzle series since Lolo.

[Blackbird]

Portal 2 -- best puzzle series since Lolo.

High praise! I'm not in a position to decide if I agree with that assertion or not, though =). I rarely play pure puzzle games, so my knowledge of the genre is admittedly limited.

Is it better than the original game?

[ryu]

i played other m hard mode on a hd tv today.

i don't think i've ever felt to throw the wiimote into the screen that often before.

[lilmanjs]

was playing some Ridge Racer Type 4 today. going with the underfunded dig team and trying to win. not doing so bad through the first heat!

[PainAmplifier]

Currently playing a bit of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.


And so far I find that I prefer Sigma 1. Many of the changes just don't work well for the game. And I'm not just talking about the Xbox->PS3 changes, but also some of the weapon changes and enemies.

I thought NGS1 was a good game, having not played the Xbox versions myself to compare against those, but comparing NGS1 to NGS2 I think the series was poorly handled this second time around. I think too many poor decisions were made even though I do like a couple other changes. Things like the blood loss, fewer enemies, and weird level changes are one thing, changes to how weapons are upgraded is another. And then there are the slightly unquanitfiable changes to combat that make things feel a bit 'off'. My biggest complaint so far has to be the camera...NGS1 took some work to get used to and the most out of..but damn do I hate the NGS2 camera. It sits too damn low, and most of the time I want a higher angle on things, but it keeps snapping back on you so you have problems getting a decent angle almost all the time.

[mesh control]

Uggh. I just wasted an hour playing Fallout: New Vegas. I'm bored.

I'm debating whether getting a Wii.

[gameoverDude]

Dread Lock (PC): A good mech platformer by doujin group Team Gris Gris.

On your way through the levels, you get the red canisters that come out of killed enemies to power up your weapon. There are some bits of platform jumping in it which require you to do double jumps or use an Assault Suits Valken style burner. A dash move (Down+Jump button) is also available, and it's needed in some places to superjump to places you cannot normally reach. The levels are mostly linear but with slight room for exploration: you also can find ID disks which give you bonus points after the boss.

The battle computer will call out the weapons you pick up, or the level you have just upgraded it to after enough red items are taken. Unfortunately, it bitches at you rather annoyingly (yes, that gets STFU bad) when you're one hit away from losing a life or about to run out of time.

Stage 5 has some really tough vertical sections where you'll need to abuse your superjump. One annoyance with Dread Lock is that the sniper turrets can take potshots at you from offscreen. OTOH if you're close enough to one you can do likewise.