What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[EmperorIng]

I actually ordered myself last week Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (PAL) for the DS, based on some DS game recommendations here on this forum (that and I was looking for a new arcadey DS game to keep me occupied).

I'm pretty excited and I hope it gets over here soon. I picked up the PAL version (which was only a bit more expensive in the shipping costs) because the USA version has some characters and some game modes removed for no good reason, and I'm not a huge fan of silly pointless region differences that adversely affect me.

I also did order Die Hard Arcade for the Saturn, and got it at a fairly decent $29.99 (no one else bid on it, surprisingly), so I'm pretty stoked about that.

I've borrowed my brother's copy of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as his limited edition Wiimote+ that goes with it. I played for about two hours one night last week, and haven't jumped back into it yet. It took me those two hours to wade through the intro bullshit and get to the first dungeon, so by then I was kind of burnt out.
I've sort of noticed a trend in post-OoT Zelda games that it takes longer and longer to get your damn sword and go adventuring. A trend I'm not all too happy with. In MM and WW it was still pretty quick and spry, but Twilight Princess really dragged its ass with the boring farm stuff. And the DS games were just kind of rubbish as far as I'm concerned. Mediocre, decent, but after I beat them I shelved them (and recently sold them for cash moneys).

I hope SS clips at a better pace. I actually really loved Wind Waker's sense of exploration, so it's not like I don't like slow-pacing here and there (the DS games were bad at this, though - ESPECIALLY the boring train rides of Spirit Tracks). But this is Zelda!

[null1024]

Sonic R [GC], just unlocked everything.
Grandia 2 [DC], it's so much better than FF10 it hurts. I told myself I'd finish FF10, but every time I feel like popping that in, I pop Grandia 2 in instead.
Fighting Vipers [Saturn]. So good. I want to get Fighters Megamix, because it's supposedly even better than this.

...and I am still waiting for effing Keio 2, Burning Rangers, and Assault Suits Leynos 2 to arrive in the mail damnit...

EDIT:
Panzer Dragoon [Saturn]. Great fun, and feels a lot more like a light-gun style rail shooter than say, Star Fox, especially considering your only defense when not facing forward is to shoot the projectiles coming at you. The 360 movement makes things a bit harder to memorize though, and the complete lack of health pickups makes getting hit much more dangerous.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Oh my golly, in Xenoblade Chronicles I reached Prison Island and my bullshit-proof fortress lied in ruin. I consider myself fairly immune to jRPG nonsense, but the storyline lost me there. It's like some extremely juvenile fanfiction turned into a videogame at a high price. Eybrow-raising even by videogame standards. The last resort to trick at least SOMEBODY into following your writing? Make it a video game.
I wonder if some unread fiction writers joined the porn industry as well.

[Moniker]

Oh my golly, in Xenoblade Chronicles I reached Prison Island and my bullshit-proof fortress lied in ruin. I consider myself fairly immune to jRPG nonsense, but the storyline lost me there. It's like some extremely juvenile fanfiction turned into a videogame at a high price. Eybrow-raising even by videogame standards. The last resort to trick at least SOMEBODY into following your writing? Make it a video game.
I wonder if some unread fiction writers joined the porn industry as well.

Uh oh. I'm on my way to Prison Island presently. The story, dialogue, and voice acting have been amazingly cringe-free so far. Can't have everything, I guess. An unexpected highlight has been the Mechon voices. I don't know what region/class the accents come from, but they're priceless.

[EmperorIng]

Just face it, you play the game to hear Xord.


AWWWWWWWWWWW RIGHT BOYS

DINNAH'S OWWWWWWHHHHNNN MAEEEEEEE

THAT LI-L MO-NAH-DO CANT PUT A DENT IN ME ME'AL!

IT FEELS LOIK AH FLOOOI BIT MEH

I mean, for fuck's sake I was nearly dying of laughter during that boss fight. Whoever thought of making giant hulking robots speak in cockney wins the damn gold medal for localization as far as I'm concerned.

[Ebbo]

I actually thought the story finally kicked in during the Prison Island and don't really get what was so bad about it, especially when compared to other jrpgs. Pretty much all the twists were hinted at some point. The tone of the story kind of changes from there on though so if Prison Island made you cringe, things are only going to get worse for you.

[sjewkestheloon]

Bayonetta. Finished up nsic mode and now working on all the alfheims on normal so that I can get my routes down for my platinum attempts. I want Jeanne damnit.

Also need sai-fai and rodin.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I actually thought the story finally kicked in during the Prison Island and don't really get what was so bad about it, especially when compared to other jrpgs. Pretty much all the twists were hinted at some point. The tone of the story kind of changes from there on though so if Prison Island made you cringe, things are only going to get worse for you.

Didn't exactly make me cringe (it's a jRPG after all; my money, my decision and all that) as I haven't been expecting any better story of Tetsuya Takahashi since Xenogears.
It just, in cutscenes, looks and sounds like machinima (think S&P2 cutscenes made longer) with anime voice acting, telling the kind of story it does. Can't quite put my finger on the most bewildering aspect of it, but I find myself unintentionally grinning through the most (intentionally) mournful scenes, or paying more attention to the characters' outfits and weaponry than their lines.
Of jRPGs this wordy, taking themselves so seriously, I think the means of expression time-tested by BoF, Suikoden or MegaTen are more becoming. Those can get their point across without trying to look like films.

Just face it, you play the game to hear Xord.

Pretty much, yeah. Norio Wakamoto is the Louis de Funès of Japanese voice acting (in that he plays his one and only role all the time and is quite awesome at it).

[Moniker]

Just beat Metroid: Other M. Initially, I thought it was pretty solid, but looking back, not feeling much love. Part of the problem is that the game I really want to play basically starts at the epilogue, and then ends abruptly. The later cutscenes were also more off-putting than the early ones. I could tolerate a Samus who voices her misgivings and vulnerabilities, even the culturally non-exportable thumbs up/down thing. But when it gives way to Elektra complex and excessive sentimentality, bleh. The control scheme could've been better-handled, too. If the game had just ditched the POV element, it would've flowed much better. Also, upgrading missiles was pretty pointless.

Got 71% item collect, but I could've gone whole hog... just didn't know where the ending-scene trigger was and got it early. If you get 100% you unlock Hard Mode which disables energy & missile upgrades and does some other stuff. If the cutscenes were skippable I might consider it, but meh.

Went straight into Metroid Prime (Wii). Good lord, what a great game.

[EmperorIng]

hard mode is unlocked after beating any mode.

Also, all cutscenes are skippable once you beat the game once.

It didn't really motivate me to play through too many more times.

i beat the game twice, and started a third, before I said "no, not really going through this again"

[Moniker]

hard mode is unlocked after beating any mode.

Also, all cutscenes are skippable once you beat the game once.

Ah, good to know. Might have to give it another run sometime. Although the whole time I was playing it, it made me jones hard for Prime.

[null1024]

Kingdom Hearts 3D [3DS].
Just bought it, 30 minutes in. I don't know what to make of it yet.

[Moniker]

Hey wow, there's a homebrew port of Cave Story for PSP. Plays and sounds perfect, so far - take that Nicalis, you twats. Also, Tyrian. Shut up, I like Tyrian kinda.

Makes me wonder if there are any doujin games ported to PSP.

[trap15]

Yeah, I played through Cave Story about 2 or 3 times on the PSP. Ran through Hell on at least one of them. So damn good.

[Krimzon Kitzune]

*

[Obiwanshinobi]

Started to enjoy the combat of Xenoblade Chronicles in Sword Valley. Clunky as ever and a bit late in the day, but the game is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Does nothing really new to me, and yet it's a ride like no other at this point.

[BIL]

Finally got a PS2 again, and was noodling about with various old favourites... no-missed Metal Slug 3 again, was delighted with the (stand-alone) port's accuracy (apparently the PS2 Anthology has all sorts of shitty issues, but I've never played it). Plays just like overclocked MAME. But no autofire. For the curious, playing without autofire contributes precisely jack shit to the game's challenge, it just makes the first vert section of mission 5 a pain in the ass/arm since the autofire ceiling isn't a cinch to hit there like it is everywhere else. Mashing buttons to blow up large inanimate objects before they reach the bottom of the screen, woohoo! I *wish* it were possible to hammer the button to kill the fourth boss (that should've been the last boss) quicker instead of praying to god that he doesn't do Angry Gold Pinwheel Pattern and/or the POWs give Lasers.

Also Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta, the *definitive* version since random farmhands shat all over the HD collection, the Xbox version adds a hideous "NOW LOADING" that shouldn't be there and the PC version's mouse cursor is a retarded eyesore. Fundamentalist SH fan, Imamura or bust. Before summer's out I'll try to finish this in a single night like I have with SH1 and SH3, but it's not as short as them and I always end up dawdling to bask in the gloom and James's manful determination to jump down every bottomless pit he can. Same with SH4 come to think of it, but swap bottomless pits for hitting monkey men in the face with a shovel.

And rekindled my love/disappoint relationship with Shin Contra. Love the rusty aesthetic and searing fire/explosion effects, disappoint that in an almost entirely pattern-based game some seem to be alpha build leftovers (WTF @ the st2 bikers, seriously - W T F ?). When it's good it's fucking ace, when it's bad etc etc. Should've played Sin & Punishment for an example of a boss rush done perfect. Luckily there's a lot more good than bad and it's all worth it for stuff like this. Huge battleship approaching? I don't think so mother fucker, Señor Tortuga has other plans! Bahahaha!

[evil_ash_xero]

Max Anarchy is in, and I'll be picking it up and starting a game tomorrow.

[Aquas]

Rygar (Arcade) trying to 1cc it. I love this shit.
Mega Man Legends 2 (Hard mode) ... I hate the fucking underwater areas. God.
Ninja Gaiden II (360). Holy shit this is hard.
(this post brought to you by "shit" and "fuck")

[Illyrian]

Just face it, you play the game to hear Xord.


AWWWWWWWWWWW RIGHT BOYS

DINNAH'S OWWWWWWHHHHNNN MAEEEEEEE

THAT LI-L MO-NAH-DO CANT PUT A DENT IN ME ME'AL!

IT FEELS LOIK AH FLOOOI BIT MEH

I mean, for fuck's sake I was nearly dying of laughter during that boss fight. Whoever thought of making giant hulking robots speak in cockney wins the damn gold medal for localization as far as I'm concerned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tibQtCUzKv0

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA "I ATE 'EM ALL UP!!"

[gs68]

La-Mulana. Fuck you, Gate of Illusion.

Also playing Rhythm Heaven Fever. I didn't like the first Love Rap, I don't like the second one. I swear the OK requirements are harsh as crap.

[Moniker]

La-Mulana. Fuck you, Gate of Illusion.

How is it, generally? I sorta gave up on the original because I had to keep referring to a wiki to figure out anything at all. Was hoping there'd be a little more in the way of guidance/clarity in the revamp.

[Marc]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution, again.

Trying for the pacifist achievement. Not sure I'll get it because somebody I Tranq'd was showing a dead icon.

I went for this on the first play through. Killed nobody, but didn't realise that the playable intro - with no HUD, a gun automatically given to you, and a set of linear rooms obviously leading to the intro proper - would count. Cocks.

[EmperorIng]

So I bought Mr. Driller Drill Spirits (the PAL release because heck yes region free DSlite), and hot damn this is one addictive game. I love it sooooo much.

At first I thought to myself "this is shallow. Random blocks, all I need to do is drill down in a straight line."

Then I quit being hardo-gay, and started learning how to play the game. Now I compulsively go for a all-air-bonus each time I try a level. That has, however, prevented me from beating any of the 1200+ Mile levels, but hey I'm improving!

At first, I bought a speed-up item at the game-store, and when I go to use it in the Mission mode, the game says "Hey bitch you use this, no high-score for you." And I'm like "helllll naw I ain't no item-usin' bitch" and said "fuck dat bitch slap dat ho" and proceeded to drill till I couldn't drill no mo'.

Then I went and booted up a backup of the original on my DC (finally got backups working), and IT'S JUST AS GOOD BUT MORE COLORFUL AND WITH WAY BETTER MUSIC!
Hot damn this series has gotten all of my love, very quickly.

[trap15]

Maka Maka [SFC]

Basically everything you need to know about this strangely awesome game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGXPy_HDz7Q

[njiska]

Continuing my Survival Horror marathon with Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately progress is being delayed as my xbox is crashing a lot.

[gabe]

Mr. Driller

Yeah!

At first I thought to myself "this is shallow. Random blocks, all I need to do is drill down in a straight line."

Personally, I think that false simplicity is part of what makes the series so accessible to new comers, and even (*gasp*) non-gamers (like my wife). That, and you only need to use one button.

As an interesting note... Some of the other entries into the series change the rules a bit to add some depth to the core concept. Like the Tower of Druaga influenced games found in Mr. Driller Drill Land (GC) and Mr. Driller A (GBA). Instead of having a timed air meter, you lose 1% of your air each time you drill. This can be very frustrating, but it encourages you to start thinking about setting up combos. Additionally, you collect gems which grant you certain abilities, like the ability to cast a spell to make to make a certain color of block disappear.

[EmperorIng]

What's nice about the DS game is that it has several different modes to play: a Druaga-esque "Dristone Mode" which has those same gems and 1% rule (-this was left out of the USA release, opting me to pick up the PAL edition-), Endless Mode, Time Attack, Pressure Driller (which is kind of like boss-fight mode against the big Destroyer Drill), and the regular mission mode.

if you want Mr. Driller on the go, it's a pretty damn substantial package.

And yes, the game is pretty bright, colorful, and accessible. That's how more games should be instead of just being your run-of-the-mill minigame compilations! But that's just this curmudgeon's opinion.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Maka Maka [SFC]

Basically everything you need to know about this strangely awesome game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGXPy_HDz7Q

You are a man of impeccable taste. I wish the translation project for the game would hurry up.

[null1024]

Burning Rangers [Saturn].

Damn thing finally arrived in the mail.
Excellent so far, great control, and some of the best 3D I've seen on the Saturn.