What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[iconoclast]

Catherine is fantastic, easily my favorite puzzle game this gen. Hard mode makes it even better too, but I wouldn't recommend it until a second playthrough - you have to know advanced techniques right from the start.

[null1024]

Been on a classic Square kick, so...
Chrono Trigger [SNES].
Seiken Densetsu 3 [SNES], yay English patch.

I see why 90s Square had such a great reputation. Both of these are damn fine games. SD3 has some pretty neat boss fights [with awesome multi-sprite action], and the characters are really likable. Chrono Trigger has a pretty nice story and a nice battle system.
But fuck fullscreen attacks in both games, especially in SD3, where it feels like you should have a bit more control over getting hit or not. It's a standard RPG thing, but SD3 isn't particularly a standard RPG, battle system wise.

Oh, and Biomotor Unitron [NGPC]. Just cleared through the Arena [and got the title of Master of Masters], opened up the 5th dungeon in the process, and now I need to clear 3 [beat the water one, no sweat] of the other 4 dungeons before I go in.
Also, fuck the last Arena fight. The boss has a full health and energy restore move, and I'm so glad the the AI didn't do it again because it seemed like it could do it at any time. Otherwise, easy fight.

[trap15]

NIN2-JUMP!

I just pushed my Winter Adventure mode time up to put me in 9th place on the leaderboard

[PainAmplifier]

With the death of new games that I actually want to play, I've been playing the Disgaea games again.

I've been grinding up my Disgaea 2 characters and replaying the story in Disgaea 3. I recently wanted to pick up Disgaea 4, but couldn't find a copy locally...I'll probably have to find it online now.

I'd have to check again, but I think I have over 400 hours in *each* of those games right now. One of the best time/money values I've had. Especially for an entire series of games.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

NIN2-JUMP!

I just pushed my Winter Adventure mode time up to put me in 9th place on the leaderboard

I liked Nin2Jump, Summer was the one that clicked with me most.

[trap15]

NIN2-JUMP!

I just pushed my Winter Adventure mode time up to put me in 9th place on the leaderboard

I liked Nin2Jump, Summer was the one that clicked with me most.

Try to beat my time! I want more people to try to kick me down the board. I don't really play that often, and I'm sure there's a deal of optimizations I've missed (hell, NYossan probably utilized most of them; that guy's a maniac why'd he bite me!?), so it shouldn't take too long to bump me down!

[Ed Oscuro]

Trying to get Bram Stoker's Dracula by Psygnosis for DOS working in DOSbox, on a whim. I watched a bit of gameplay for the Mega-CD version on Youtube. Wow, that's just terrible. This all reminds me that I would like to try to get back into Obitus sometime (I was playing it via bsnes, I think). Bunch of obscure crap here, really.

I have been playing through Okamiden a second time. Yep, all those really terrible translation errors and typos are right where I left them. Oddly, it seems they are mostly gone by the last third of the game (or so), but they are just as unforgivable as they were last time: "forrest," "smokey," two cases of characters inappropriately repeating another character's lines (the first and most obvious case of this is at the Nameless Man's shack very early in the game), and plenty of other dumb stuff. At the same time, I think they did a pretty good job with the translation in other areas, particularly in giving each character and even group a distinct feeling - for example, the Thunders speak in a stereotypical kind of fashion but it is kinda charming. Anyway, grinding sucks just as bad as ever; too bad the game's not about fighin'.

Still haven't gotten back to Otogi 2, or anything else for that matter.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

NIN2-JUMP!

I just pushed my Winter Adventure mode time up to put me in 9th place on the leaderboard

I liked Nin2Jump, Summer was the one that clicked with me most.

Try to beat my time! I want more people to try to kick me down the board. I don't really play that often, and I'm sure there's a deal of optimizations I've missed (hell, NYossan probably utilized most of them; that guy's a maniac why'd he bite me!?), so it shouldn't take too long to bump me down!

Tried playing a little bit today, was throwing out miss directed kurasi' left right and centre with my slims dpad, I remember last time I played it took me quite awhile to get used to throwing accurate kusari'. Its about time I upgraded to a better pad.

That NYossan's times are very good, i'd always just assumed he/she was using a technique the rest of us didn't know or was very lucky with spawning enemies and cheesing through spike traps (Its how I got the times on some of my summer stages so low)

[null1024]

Wipeout Fusion [PS2], for all of 15 minutes.
Then I realized I needed a new PS2, as it crashed on a spotless disc, and made various horrid sounding noises at me [it makes a clicking noise when trying to load PS2 games, it makes horrible squelching noises when trying to read Wipeout 3 [bought it in nearly spotless condition, with original case and manual], and refuses to run any PS1 game I threw at it].

So, waiting on Amazon for a new one [goodbye $50]. I'll probably sell this old one to a buddy or something, see what they could make of it.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

You probably already know this but If its a fat Ps2 I believe its possible to fit a HD in it.

[null1024]

You probably already know this but If its a fat Ps2 I believe its possible to fit a HD in it.

Yeah. I was considering that. I would need to get an HDD to stick in there, get a FreeMcBoot memory card [as I have no way of installing it on my own here], and then get a way to put games on to HDLoader [IIRC, it was set up so that you'd need to load the games from the DVD drive and install them to the HDD, but there's probably a way to get games on in the case that the drive doesn't work, although I remember reading that you needed a network adapter for that].

[BIL]

RE: PS2s making dreadful noises - I've experienced this with the ol' fatties, and it was always down to the rubber platter the disc sits on losing its rough surface over time. No grip = no loading and horrible "tyres squealing" noise. Especially bad on blue discs (CD-ROMs) like Shin Contra, Gradius V and ICO.

In case it's any help and you've had the same problem, the solution is to open the PS2's shell and remove the drive cover, apply a thin layer of rubber cement to the rubber platter, then let it dry. Rough surface restored = problem solved. Don't tear the silver ribbon cable connecting the PS2's shell to the rest of it, this is apparently (?) fatal (there's enough slack that you can safely get it open).

[trap15]

Diablo 2

[null1024]

The Red Star [PS2].

Just got this in the mail [for like, no money at all]. Pretty fun so far [just spent 20 minutes or so playing], but I'm seeing that some of the enemies are just no fun to fight [notably, those guys with the spinning batons that are invulnerable to bullets, so you have to wait till they launch the baton, attack, rinse, repeat, and it takes forever]. All the bosses and sub-bosses I've seen [like, 5 or so] are pretty cool though, with [almost too slow] bullet patterns and lasers and then some mooks to get rid of your focus. Good fun.
Definitely not a shmup to me [it feels exactly like a beat-em-up, but you also have a gun and bullet spewing bosses].

Still waiting for my new PS2 to arrive, I'll probably get this old one fixed so it reads CD-ROMs [so I can't play blue or black discs...], but it seems to have mostly no issue with DVD-ROMs [it has crashed once or twice since my last post in Wipeout and KOF11 on me, but otherwise has played them].

[BIL]

Did you give the fix a go? That definitely sounds like my old problem (CD-ROMs unusable, DVDs mostly okay with some issues).

[Strider77]

Vanquish and Asura's Wrath....

LOVE Vanquish.... 4th time threw it.

[null1024]

Did you give the fix a go? That definitely sounds like my old problem (CD-ROMs unusable, DVDs mostly okay with some issues).

Not yet, I need to get some rubber cement. Shouldn't be too much of an issue, although I'll wait until my new PS2 arrives to actually do it in case I mess up.

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Was trying to clear Obelisk on Catherine. No success.

I want to know who it was that thought RNG'd Mystery Blocks and Monster Blocks when you can't undo them was a good idea . try to avoid the mystery blocks if I can, but sometimes you just have to use them. And the Monster Block movement randomness can sometimes screw the stage up if you're unlucky. My best so far was 182 steps, and I haven't gotten anywhere near that again. I know the other Babel stages have RNG stuff too, but nothing that actively screws you over. Mystery Blocks and Monster Blocks are why I haven't even seriously started the Empireo on Hard yet because even with vids I know it's not going to necessarily work out even if I do the same stuff due to these 2 random block types.

[professor ganson]

Drone Tactics (DS) - I'm working through the last 10 of the 60 bonus stages (Badlands). Good challenge for turn-based tactics fans.

[Moniker]

On a whim I started up a new game of CV: Aria of Sorrow. Such a great game. Played it all the way through. I remembered it being too easy, but so long as you don't do any farming, the challenge is pretty good. Gonna give Order of Ecclesia another go now.

[Ed Oscuro]

I said I was gonna play through Otogi 2 again...I didn't.

Raced through Deep Space Nine: Crossroads of Time via bsnes, finally realized it had vsync garbage on by default. Interesting game, but it's almost what you'd expect a postmodern critique of a game would be. The platforming isn't too fiddly, but everything else is: Too-precise positioning needed for interaction, maze level layouts, very strict time requirements in some areas, fiddly combat, hidden or invisible items, completely terrible spaceship piloting sections. Playing as Odo was sadly the most useless thing I've ever done in a game, which is sad because he's one of my favorite characters (and not just in Trek, either). On the plus side, everybody looks more or less like they should, a sweep of interesting scenarios, some great background graphics, and some (but not all) great dialogue, mostly uncovered by running around the Promenade. On the whole...not a great game. Still, I am not regretful. As terrible as some of the later levels are, even with savestates, you get something of a feeling of accomplishment when you pull 'em off. Happily, the game offers up a password and then a faux Konami Code combination to unlock some extra options, including level select and invincibility - but there's no invincibility for Odo. Ha, Odo...all he can do is turn into a vole and shapeshift through vents, like the Blob.

A much more promising, but just as frustrating, experience is being had by myself in trying to get Deep Space 9: The Fallen to work stably. Lotsa general protection faults, and it won't run fullscreen or with any other kind of rendering but software. Might play it using a different computer, though, since it seems very competent. Uses the Unreal Tournament engine. No in-mission saves that I've found so far.

[BIL]

Raf World - Famicom version of Journey to Silius. Seems identical, except the giant-headed anime twink is replaced by a smartly functional commando who complements the grim futuristic setting. A shame this didn't turn out to be a Terminator license as planned. The intense soundtrack and ruined urbanscape + malevolently sterile cyberfortress are bang-on.

It has an interesting way of combing Contraesque run-and-gun levels with a Castlevania or GNG's strict controls. Not being able to magically bend and warp jumps as needed is surprisingly satisfying - when a bullet or enemy comes flying you have to react very deliberately. Say, using a perfectly-judged short hop to clear an oncoming missile while obliterating its sender in a well-aimed hail of bullets, rather than taking said missile in the chest and its followup in the grill because you just mashed fire and jump.

A minor disaster are the "dead frames" between changing directions or going between standing and lying prone, in which the character cannot jump. Very stupid and comes perilously close to overstepping the thin line between economical movement and clumsy control wrasslin'. This can be adjusted to, though (certainly teaches you to think carefully before retreating or hitting the deck), and the stages and boss battles are worth it.

[Ruldra]

I was looking for superbike games on MAME other than the Hang-On series and I came across Riding Hero. Super Hang-On is obviously superior but this one is good enough to have some fun. You can play it easily with a keyboard since the controls aren't analog.

The game also has a RPG mode but you need to keep pumping in credits to keep playing so I don't bother with it.

[Ed Oscuro]

An interesting update to Deep Space Nine: Crossroads of Time:

http://molyneaux.tripod.com/mm-ds9.htm

This is the game's designer, not Peter, but Maurice. He did some pretty notable work all the same - Drakan, Ecco for Dreamcast amongst his credits. He calls the SNES version of Crossroads of Time a bad port, and makes other very interesting notes - the Saratoga level was meant to be at the beginning, he had to come up with the design six weeks before the show's pilot (that explains putting the Saratoga at the beginning, too), and Paramount's go-betweens, at least, were incompetent. Pretty interesting stuff - I guess I've got to look up the Genesis version now. I'm not expecting it to be vastly improved, but as I'm trying to slog through a few stages of Blackthorne, I feel distinctly that I had more fun trying to get down some of the "difficult" levels of Crossroads than I'm having at any point in Blackthorne. It is very strange that a game that is so abysmally slow as Blackthorne depends so much on timing.

[whoozwah]

Been playing the new SSX since it came out.

[sjewkestheloon]

Played some DJ Hero 2 this evening, good fun. Currently playing Medium to get a taste for the mixes but will crank it up to Hard very soon as the challenge level is pretty low. The first was the same other than a few balls hard tracks that I still don't have 5* on Hard.

Also played a few tracks on DJ Max Fever which is always a pleasure.

[shmuppyLove]

Dusted off the DS for some portable goodness, and decided to pop in Contact

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/contact/3137

It's a pretty fun RPG, definitely different from anything else -- except (obviously) the Mother/Earthbound games, which I was surprised to to learn it has no actual connections with?

Also amusing was how I started playing FFX-2 and then Contact at the same time, as they both share a costume/job system.

[R-Gray 1]

virtua fighter 4 - Ps2
pai!!

[null1024]

Final Fantasy X [PS2].
why is it taking so long for things to happen

In the first 40 minutes, there are probably only 8 minutes of you actually playing. What.

[Illyrian]

Final Fantasy X [PS2].
why is it taking so long for things to happen

In the first 40 minutes, there are probably only 8 minutes of you actually playing. What.

It gets worse. You have to suffer through a lot to enjoy the best battle system of any FF game.

The story is fucking stupid as well.