What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[null1024]

KOF '99 (PS1).

I never really played this very much, but I'm liking the strikers system.

[SunJammer]

Vagrant Story (PS1)

so very good. but so very tedious.

[dunpeal2064]

I've been playing Super Mario Galaxy. Quite enjoying this, I haven't been this into a non-shmup in quite some time.

[mesh control]

I haven't been this into a non-shmup in quite some time.

Crackdown, with the same exact feeling.

[BIL]

RESIDENT EVIL... TOO.

Good lord. I still love RE2's atmosphere, and it's so much easier to listen to its cutscenes than the original Silent Hill's... but I'd forgotten how cruel it can be about backtracking. Silent Hill 1-3 spoiled me thoroughly with the ability to just pick up that "MYSTERIOUS KEY" instead of trekking through several loading screens to offload gear in the magic box. Good job SH4 addressed this with an inventory system even more awkward than the old REs'! (vomit emoticon)

[Klatrymadon]

Heh, I've been playing the GameCube remake myself. As much as I liked the original game as a teenager, I don't think I really "got" survival horror until a bit later. It always seemed massively unnatural to be running away from certain enemies rather than fighting them, and I don't think I realised just how frequently you're supposed to head back to a save room to manage your inventory, etc. I've been having a frankly disgusting amount of fun doing precisely that this time around, though, and I'm finding that if you go nice and slowly and explore thoroughly, you usually have enough ammo to deal with everything that takes a pop at you (provided you don't miss).

Looks terrible via my Wii2HDMI adapter, though. Had to switch back to my CRT/RGB set-up.

Ed: RE2 still has what is probably one of my favourite soundtracks. The second 'Marshalling Yard' piece gets frequent spins, here!

[BIL]

REmake is my favourite of the whole bunch! Damn near palpable sense of mouldering decay in that one.

I've found some of the more restrictive survival horror games I like, such as the old REs and SH4, get strangely enjoyable on repeat plays when you know in advance where you'll be going, what monsters to fight or avoid, and what items you'll need to bring or collect. Obviously the scare factor drops off, but the best ones are atmospheric enough that I never mind much. I guess it's somewhat like obliterating a boss in Metal Slug when you know how to confidently reach it with forty grenades in stock.

I can't hear RE2's save room theme without this invading my mind.

[Obiwanshinobi]

So, would you RE veterans recommend the original RE anymore? I'm still not done with SH on Hard, and am about to start Eternal Darkness. Fancied playing the first RE at some point, but since I recently got a Wii, the 'Cube remakes are an option too (and I've yet to play a last-gen Capcom game I wouldn't like). I even consider buying RE4 Wii (played the PS2 port to death, still like some Mercenaries every now and then) for the graphics alone (also, reportedly the 'Cube and Wii versions throw more stuff at you in Mercenaries).
Go scream.

[BIL]

I tried replaying RE (PS1) recently and couldn't get into it. It's definitely not aged as well as SH1 (even taking the two year+ age gap into account). If SH1 had received a remake as comprehensively excellent as RE1's, I'd probably still recommend experiencing the original for its inimitably rickety, warped presentation backed up by a vicious soundtrack. RE1 is more of a novelty these days.

edit: favourite RE1 moment: "Now he's just a shadow of his former self..." (Chris Redfield on a decapitated colleague)

I replayed SH1 very recently as well - the unlockable "self view" option reminded me of the mind-blowing level of graphical detail KCET crammed into that game. It genuinely rivals that of the PS2 sequels.

[null1024]

I stayed up way too late last night, more of a PS1 binge!

FF7 [looks like ass, but really good so far, just left Midgar]
FF8 [chirst, why does every fight take forever, also, having to junction the ITEM COMMAND is stupid, otherwise the game is enjoyable. Just became a SeeD. I'm wondering whether the excessive fight length is because of emulation errors triggering any anti-piracy though, playing it on my netbook]
FF9 [that's better -- faster fights, interesting characters. I'm in that huge ass-city with all the airships, only problem is pSX screws up some of the framebuffer effects unless you pause during them to get them unstuck]
Tales of Destiny [in that castle with all the food items, gah]
Ape Escape [on the last area I think, gah -- I hope my disc works right despite all the scratching]

edit: this is a shmup, but I will keep it here instead of postcount-plus-one-ing the other thread
Terra Diver [and stupid me didn't notice that I was playing the arrange version, which is asstons easier because there are more but slower bullets]

[dunpeal2064]

Dang, playing FVII, VIII, AND IX at the same time? There's no way I could do that while still remaining fully interested in each title.

I've been playing Monster Hunter Tri with some buddies, pretty fun game.

[null1024]

Dang, playing FVII, VIII, AND IX at the same time? There's no way I could do that while still remaining fully interested in each title.

I've been playing Monster Hunter Tri with some buddies, pretty fun game.

Haha, yeah. I'll probably just focus on IX though, it seems to be the most interesting one. I'l probably finish VII last, because there's something really slick about VIII, despite its horrible gaping flaws [it really feels like a test bed for what would work].

Had to remap the controls for each to be like FF7 because I kept pressing the wrong things in 8 and 9...

[dunpeal2064]

IX is really great, probably my favorite out of the 3 you mentioned. VII gets a lot of points from me for nostalgia, and I really like the characters. VIII is good, but the game is easy to break (become way too powerful for anything but the hardest boss to prove troublesome, with little effort), and I really could not get attached to most of the characters.

[Marc]

Playing through for maybe the fourth time FlatOut UC. Best racing game of this gen bar none. Cant wait for the new Ridge Racer, though it's a pretty strange thing for Namco to have done with the name.

[PainAmplifier]

Currently playing Sacred Underworld again. I play a Demoness and am just trying to uncover the entire map! Other than some poor design decisions,(Useless skills, generic item stats) it's a pretty fun hack-n-slash with few bugs.

Probably the biggest problem I have with the game is the lack of use for gold. I have something like 50 Million and absolutely nothing to spend it on. Although I will say this, it's not just a Sacred issue. So many games fall into the infinite gold trap. Just about every game since Diablo has had this issue. At some point you just run out of things to spend money on or the amount of gold you get is just so massive that there is no way to spend it all. I simply dump most items on the ground now, as they are worthless if they aren't any better than what I am using. Chests and other lootable scenery I don't even bother with anymore. None of them are worth anything. Monster drops are infinitely better.

I'm just about capped out on the current 'difficulty' level and should ratch it up to Platinum when I finish the story quests for this go through. (Minus the exploring to uncover new parts of the Ancaria map.)

About the best thing comparing this game to Diablo (2) is how you aren't chugging potions all the time. That got really tedious after awhile in the Diablo games. (You practically need an turbocharged IV of potions in those games.)

[null1024]

Wipeout 3 Special Edition. Yay emulation, because fuck PAL only releases otherwise.

Finally got gold on everything in Vector class on the Wipeout 3 tracks.
There's a handful of classic tracks that I need to stop sucking at and get first on -- if I'm out in front, inevitably I will be shot or hit or crash near the finish line. And most likely explode, because I have like 15% energy left.

EDIT:
And now some Silent Bomber.
Really slick and fun. Shame I suck at it right now, got D ranks on every mission so far, currently on the 4th one.
Great graphics for the PS1 too.
Voice acting is so bad that all the lines meant to be serious make me giggle.

[Moniker]

Finished up Megaman 8 and Deus Ex: HR today. HR's endings were a bit... underwhelming. I don't recall exactly how the endings in the original were presented, but I remember being wowed. Ah well. Now to trade 'er in for a bargain bin game.

Have my eye on Ninja Gaiden II (360). Any thoughts on how it distinguishes itself from DMC & Bayonetta?

[Siren2011]

Please forgive me if this information is wrong, as it has been some time since I played NG II.

You will need to use your nimpo and charge attack a lot, even more so than the first game. Your health will also go down faster after hits than it did in NG's normal mode. Plus, there is no longer a rolling/evade mechanic. In its place, however, you are given the ability to swiftly dash like Shinobi and Raikoh (Otogi) in any direction. Even though I beat the game, I still had yet to find a way to utilize this properly. In many cases it can be a burden, throwing you into harm's way instead of out of.

[Moniker]

Thanks for the info, but as I haven't played the first one, most of that doesn't register. Mostly I want to know if it's worth getting if you've already played the daylights out of Bayonetta and DMC3.

[iconoclast]

So, would you RE veterans recommend the original RE anymore? I'm still not done with SH on Hard, and am about to start Eternal Darkness. Fancied playing the first RE at some point, but since I recently got a Wii, the 'Cube remakes are an option too (and I've yet to play a last-gen Capcom game I wouldn't like). I even consider buying RE4 Wii (played the PS2 port to death, still like some Mercenaries every now and then) for the graphics alone (also, reportedly the 'Cube and Wii versions throw more stuff at you in Mercenaries).
Go scream.

Play the Gamecube remake of RE1. There are a lot of people who still consider it the best in the series, but it depends on what you're after. The earlier RE games are more survival-horror, while RE4 is pretty much an action game. They nailed both styles pretty well, but they're fairly different from each other.

Have my eye on Ninja Gaiden II (360). Any thoughts on how it distinguishes itself from DMC & Bayonetta?

The main difference between those games is that Ninja Gaiden has enemies that are actually out to kill you, instead of merely existing as combo fodder. But seriously, I think the most basic difference is that most enemies can be killed within seconds, but they can also kill you within seconds. It's an aggressive game, it's more about surviving the onslaught rather than doing fancy combos.

[PainAmplifier]

Finished up Megaman 8 and Deus Ex: HR today. HR's endings were a bit... underwhelming. I don't recall exactly how the endings in the original were presented, but I remember being wowed. Ah well. Now to trade 'er in for a bargain bin game.

Have my eye on Ninja Gaiden II (360). Any thoughts on how it distinguishes itself from DMC & Bayonetta?

I haven't played any of the DMC, but I did play Bayonetta and both NGS's on the PS3. Although if the youtube I saw of DMC is any indication then NG is more like Bayonetta, but with less Spectacle and more lethal combat. Although having only played the PS3 ones, I know that there were some complaints about NG2 on the 360 and some fairly cheap missle spam and a couple of cheap enemy attacks...but I would still recommend giving NG2 on the 360 a try. The NG games are the only ones I've played that really live up to the feeling of "Flipping out and killing stuff like a NINJA!"

[null1024]

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit [PS1]. Damn, I love this game. Great graphics, great control, pretty good soundtrack, and most importantly of all... it has mirror and reverse track modes. Every good racing game needs that.
Final Fantasy VII [PS1]. Just stopped at the bit where you help some resistance group stop the Shinra from attacking a giant bird on a reactor.
Super Mario Bros. [NES]. Actually, the only reason I was playing this is because I noticed I didn't have an NES emulator on my netbook, so I went and installed Nestopia.

[Siren2011]

I'm in a visual novel kind of mood.

Playing Suda 51's "The Silver Case" for PSX. This one is a fucking godsend, because it get's right to the dialogue and puzzles (which are relatively easy, which is the first fault), unlike its sequel "Flower, Sun, and Rain" which made you do an INSANE amount of backtracking through an ugly, lifeless wasteland of an island. TSC has an entertaining story, at least. Even if I have to copy/paste some Japanese guy's retelling of the plot into babelfish in order to understand it. Masafumi Takada is in top form of course, making moody and atmospheric tracks that blend in well with the game's dark theme. Great character designs, too. Makes me wish that Takashi Miyamoto had his own artbook. Definitely not as great of a VN as Saya No Uta, though. Not in any way does it come close.

And speaking of Nitro+, I am getting around to playing Stein's;Gate. I have very high expectations for this one.

[mesh control]

Legend of Zelda: LttP on my GBSP.
First time actually playing a Zelda game.

Played a bit of GGXXAC to see if I remembered any combos, but I don't. Probably won't ever play the game again, unless I go to evo this year which is unlikely. Looking forward to KOF XIII since I actually have people to play against locally.

[linko9]

Lots of stuff in the last week. Mainly Recettear (fun stuff). Also:

Super Meat Boy (beat, pretty good)
VVVVVVV (just played a half hour, loving it)
Bit Trip Runner (played a couple hours, loving it)
Braid (played an hour.... hating it)
Jamestown (still loving it)

Thanks indie bundles/steam sales!

[beatsgo]

Playing good old Monster Hunter Tri. Building up my Gunner set so I can start playing gunner online soon.

[guigui]

Bit Trip Runner (played a couple hours, loving it)

If you have not, definitely try Bit Trip : Core. That one has real rythm based gameplay, great soundtrack, and such inventivity in patterns thrown at you that I cant believe my eyes everytime I see them.

Also, I played Runner a while ago when it came out on Wiiware and did try it on the Bit Trip Collection just a few days ago. It seems to me that the Collection version is easier : more permissive jumps and timing, especially regarding the stairs. However, that shitty kick move still lasts not long enough. I always anticipate the purple cristal and die...

[null1024]

Wipeout 3 SE [PS1], almost done with the classic tracks on Vector class.
Wipeout XL [PS1], jeez. I love this game, and the weapon selection is better than Wipeout 3's, but I'm so used to Wipeout 3's control.
Super C [NES], and having fun. I noticed that the game spaces out its really really hard moments, rather than being annoying hard throughout. In fact, that one boss with the 2 forms from the second top-down section is reallllly easy, I took down the first form while thinking about how easy it was, expected another form, got it, but it was still too easy. Also, spread shot if using autofire is broken as hell, it just kills everything. It's almost like chaser+lightning broken in Gunstar Heroes, but you still have to aim somewhat.

[dunpeal2064]

Legend of Zelda: LttP on my GBSP.
First time actually playing a Zelda game.

How are you liking this? I absolutely loved this game when I was a kid, but I'd be interested to hear what you think of it playing it for the first time.

[Deca]

Just finished Ys 2 and started Kirby Mass Attack. After that its on to Oath in Felghana and then Tactics Ogre psp.

Been playing UMVC3 and Battlefield 3 fairly regularly as well.