What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Ed Oscuro]

but opening my DMC and Onimusha three-packs will decrease their value



Maybe I should just buy Red Dead Revolver and cry myself to sleep?

In fairness the new slim 360 is supposedly "whisper quiet," though that is Microsoft's own advertising spiel.

If I could trick them into giving me one of these new "whisper quiet" 360s in place of this one, I'd go for it. Hmm...time to plot!

[Obiwanshinobi]

but opening my DMC and Onimusha three-packs will decrease their value

Hear, hear. I'd feel bad about cracking my Haunting Ground or Onimusha 3 and Dawn of Dreams copies open before getting busy to Gregory Horror Show, already unsealed.
Have yet to finish DMC3 and Viewtiful Joe. Oh dear.

[null1024]

Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman [PSP].

Good fun, although it's a shame it crashes if I'm using RemoteJoyLite -- on a PSP 1000, so I don't have the memory to load it, it crashes when I kill an enemy. >_<
It's a shame, because the pace of the game is excellent for use with this considering the massive delay between showing the image on the PC screen, and getting inputs from a controller -- using a pad and looking at the PSP screen, or looking at the PC screen and using the PSP as a controller is fine. Using a pad and looking at the PSP screen, the delay is massive.

Oh, and more Wipeout Pure. That works just fine with RemoteJoyLite, but still, the combined input delay is disappointing.

[trap15]

Yeah, the new slim 360s are indeed quite a deal quieter than the original models. Not silent, but definitely not a fucking jet engine like the original models were.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, the new slim 360s are indeed quite a deal quieter than the original models. Not silent, but definitely not a fucking jet engine like the original models were.

The only downside is that they won't be $9.99 (decimal is in the right place!) like my 2009/2010 manufactured one

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

Decided to join in on the Persona 4 Arena bandwagon.

It's alright, but christ is it ever annoying how easy it is to accidentally get the wrong input because of how overly simplistic everything is.

[BIL]

Whoa indeed, Justine. God help me, I'm replaying IGGER's GBA Castlevanias. Because I am dangerously close to picking up a GB Player and wanted to see if they're any less forgettable than I recall. I cleared both at release and can't remember a fucking thing about them, other than HOD being ugly and tuneless as sin, and Juicy Belmont controlling like a fridge falling off the back of a truck. I do like the concept of its two-layered map which is why I'm even bothering. It really does feel like shit compared to COTM.

Regardless HOD is a very precious game to me, as its EGM review (10/10/10/10 ungghhhhh u gotta buy dis kidz its perfec) taught me to ignore mainstream opinion on anything and everything 2D. I might've believed Gradius V was impossible to finish without credit feeding a couple years later, otherwise.

[CptRansom]

I finally decided to take the plunge and start playing Skyrim on PC with some mods to fix bugs and enhance graphics, as well as the high-res texture DLC. I'm refusing to use any sort of guide or walkthrough, and I don't give a shit about the story. I'm just wandering and exploring and killing and I'll "do stuff" as it comes up. I've been wanting to do this for months, but I kept shying from it because I know it's going to eat up a TON of my gaming time... but I honestly can't think of anything else I'd rather do right now. I was going to wait for Skyrim and Fallout: NV until my backlog got smaller, but my backlog just doesn't seem to ever SHRINK... I still haven't done everything I want to do in Dark Souls PC. I still want to work on DFKBL and some other STGs. I still want to replay Deus Ex and Deus Ex: IW before I finally play Human Revolution with DLC. I've got a fair amount of backlogged PS2 games that I want to play/replay [oh god discovering PCSX2 was the worst thing to happen to me as a gamer right now]. I have several things I've purchased from GOG to catch up on.

Anyone else ever get so overwhelmed with stuff to play that you spend half your time just mindlessly browsing the internet instead? Paralysis of choice = sucks.

[EmperorIng]

In my experience, the only portable CV worth playing on Nintendo was Order of Ecclesia.

It was more or less a classic-style Castlevania dressed up in SOTN clothing.

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

I might've believed Gradius V was impossible to finish without credit feeding a couple years later, otherwise.

lol, telling someone to credit feed a Gradius game sounds more like a dick move than helpful advice no matter how you look at it. I hate to generalize, but 2001 was the last time Castlevania games were ever good IMO.

[BIL]

I think the reviewer was trying to say that the last three stages would whoop everyone's ass so badly, they'd need to wait for free play to unlock. Very nearly convinced me to not buy the game and by extension not rediscover 2D gaming, glad I ignored it and plunked down the $30 GV cost when it came out (iirc...). They totally lumped in the most user-friendly Gradius ever with III & IV. :/

HOD isn't quite as offensive as I was expecting from a decade-on replay. It does control atrociously while attacking in the air, and some areas+BGMs are painfully ugly. But it's not quite as busted-feeling or as aesthetically repellent as I'd assumed. The dual-layered map is a fun concept worth tolerating the somewhat shoddy aesthetics and controls for.

edit:



You wacky Alucard in a gay sailor suit, you.

edit 2:



I know the feeling Death! *laugh track*

[blackoak]

Gunlord for the DC. A little underwhelmed so far... its like, A for effort, but I just don't find the game that fun. Exploration feels a little stale, and the stage design is weird. Maybe if I had played Turrican before I'd be enjoying this? Though, stage 1 seems to be the worst offender in terms of "where the fuck am I" syndrome...

I've also been playing CPS1 Daimakaimura, which I really like so far. Been on a bit of a platformer kick lately. I wish someone would hack the rom so that diagonals work though. I guess I need a 4-way gate restrictor on my joystick or something, because a good number of deaths come from immobility because I ever-so-slightly pressed up+left instead of just left. I'm puzzled as to why it was programmed this way?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Whoa, not playing it (Tekken games are not something I really play), but Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is out and... cor blimey, Tekken on Xbox. I know it's not the first one, but last time around I somewhat took the multiplatformism for granted. Now the idea dawned upon me that the party's over.

[BIL]

Spent the last four hours or so in HOD... nice way to murder an evening, but I remember now why I never kept any of the GBA Draculas around. Compulsive and fun enough while they last but little more than fugly SOTN retreads in the long run.

I've also been playing CPS1 Daimakaimura, which I really like so far. Been on a bit of a platformer kick lately. I wish someone would hack the rom so that diagonals work though. I guess I need a 4-way gate restrictor on my joystick or something, because a good number of deaths come from immobility because I ever-so-slightly pressed up+left instead of just left. I'm puzzled as to why it was programmed this way?

Great game, but yeah, the dead diagonals are jarring at first. It's exactly like that on the Capcom Generation 2 disc as well, at first I thought it might be some weird glitch.

[Ed Oscuro]

God help me, I'm replaying IGGER's GBA Castlevanias. Because I am dangerously close to picking up a GB Player and wanted to see if they're any less forgettable than I recall. I cleared both at release and can't remember a fucking thing about them, other than HOD being ugly and tuneless as sin, and Juicy Belmont controlling like a fridge falling off the back of a truck.

Juiced...man that takes me back!

I actually did like the part of HoD when you finally cross over to the "other side" near the entrance of the castle. Beyond that, pretty forgettable and ugly.

The main problem of the GBA CVs (all of them) is that there's really no sense that there is bad, amazing, or even just interesting stuff just beyond the screen - almost every boss is going to be sitting there in the room patiently waiting for you, instead of rampaging on through (although some do that fancy warping shit). Even CV2 with its repetitive screens and few areas of actual content managed to give the feeling now and then of being in a big world (amplified by insane designs in some of the mansions). In the GBA games, it's just little boxes connected by little hollow boxes. No pits (many didn't mind that, of course) and not much mystery at the end of the day.

I preordered the original DS release and then neglected to ever open it (didn't have a DS at the time, lol; financially speaking it was worth it, though), maybe out of guilt for having just emulated the GBA games at their time of release (I have actual copies now; Aria was a similar purchase to the original DS game - just wasn't convenient to play on the GB Player or handheld)

I should go through them again and give 'em a second go, because I know I was just savestating through tons of shit I shouldn't have.

Now the idea dawned upon me that the party's over.

WHY am I listening to this? Actually it gets pretty interesting around 3 minutes in...the first minute was uncomfortably reminiscent of It's My Life (duh, I should have realized that's why I recognized the singer) and other things from this compilation

[Obiwanshinobi]

It's just that something about Tekken not being exclusively on PlayStation anymore makes me think of winter...

[shmuppyLove]

The more I learn about Xbox 360 and PS3, the less I want to own one. Consoles as I knew them do seem to be nearly extinct. Even my Wii is a bit louder than my PS2 slim (comparing the noises extensive data streamers make both make, such as Metroid: Other M and God of War).
Just set up your PS2 and play pretty much anything Capcom made for it; you're in for a treat. They went nuts that gen.

Oh dude, softmod your Wii and load your games onto a USB hard drive. Greatest thing ever.

And I have to say, the launch model PS3 that I just got is surprisingly quiet. It's sitting vertically behind my TV and I cannot hear anything it's doing.

[Acid_Rain]

Played some Max Payne 3. Oldschool difficulty was quite fun.

Only downside: Cutscenes aren't completely skippable.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Oh dude, softmod your Wii and load your games onto a USB hard drive. Greatest thing ever.

I intend to softmod it (Mega Drive emulation is too tempting), but I think loading times via USB might be actually longer... The only beef I have with the Wii hardware at this point is that I can't easily clean the lens. No idea why Nintendo aped the retractable disc thingy. All that hassle for the sake of what exactly? Snake oil this, and wireless controllers (at least the latter make SOME sense on the Wii).

Unsealed the aforementioned Onimusha 3 copy. The best looking water in PS2 games award goes to Capcom (BoF: Dragon Quarter also had some nice looking water). On top of that, some of the best modelled 3D faces of their time (although Onimusha 2 is where it's at, and I don't mean just the models, but the "acting" as well). Seriously, Onimusha 2, H-L2, Beyond Good & Evil, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Silent Hill IV and... not much else could get away with the real-time "acting" in 3D around that time. More games had good models, but the "acting" was embarrassing at best. Well, I actually was quite impressed by Gothic (ridiculed to hell and back in this regard), but it was long time ago. Even these days, however, Xenoblade Chronicles strikes me as a game that would be more fun if it was more patterned upon Gothic than friggin' Bioware engines.

[njiska]

but I think loading times via USB might be actually longer...

Not in the slightest. I actually tend to find that they're a little better than off disc. Either way it's not a negative difference.

[shmuppyLove]

I intend to softmod it (Mega Drive emulation is too tempting), but I think loading times via USB might be actually longer...

This might have been true in the early early days, because I think Ninty only had USB 1.1 support out of the box. But at some point it was updated to 2.0 which is obviously a huge improvement in speed.

Maybe if you're using a really shitty flash drive? Or SD cards ... gah

But yeah, it's so nice to have your whole library available whenever you want. And of course region-free.

[CMoon]

Don't know how far I'll get, but started replaying Persona 3 (psn version.) Played it years ago but never finished it, though I'd give it another chance. Everyone I know who loves this game is female.

[drauch]

^Wow, yeah, same here...I don't know many girl gamers, but like every one of them loves Persona 3...

[Illyrian]

Guild Wars II.

A MMO with levelling that's actually fun, holy crap.

Well worth the price of admission, I'm going to enjoy this for a long time to come!

[EmperorIng]

Because -spoilers- Persona 3 is a dating sim VN disguised as an RPG.

[CMoon]

Man, I should have just played that pigeon dating sim:

[trap15]

The best Tesla simulator

[Ed Oscuro]

Fallout 3: Orgy of Indifference

Holy shit, this game is ugly. Too many dumb things to nitpick with (VATS vs FPS is just as obnoxious as I said I was worried it would be back on the Bethesda forums well before its release; Bottle Caps: Why carry plentiful Prewar Money when you can fuck around with rusty, sharp and possibly sticky caps; Moira Brown: Shining eyes of sexiness in the darkness, or five-o'clock-shadow in disguise? Also, the pitfalls of writing those "humorous" characters into the game; GameBryo: How to minimize the visual impact of your unique art assets with just one crate-placing technique!; Loot Quest: WE FUCKING LOVE SCHLEPPING RAIDER ARMORS AND RAT MEATS AROUND!!!1) so I will just pick up one that might not have been so obvious:

BioShock got a lot of press and acclaim over its "retro" looks. Actually those looks got a bit tiresome while (this is not a contradiction) not always maintaining the same high standards throughout. Overall, though, it was pretty good.

Now take Fallout 3, which basically screams "we're tracing old posters and we still can't get it to look right" in the chunky, clumsy '50s pastiche humans in assorted odd poses shown throughout the landscape. Also, if you were brave and tried to navigate the sentences above, you'll notice that I don't think the characters always look especially good in the environments. I'm willing to give any company a pass for trying to get something out of the hardware that's a bit beyond what it can reasonably be expected to do, and maybe not reach that goal. But the really clumsy artwork is just a sign that they are trying to do too much with too little in the way of resources. There was plenty of pretty atrocious commercial art in the '50s but you might notice a trend: The really fly-by-night stuff never pretended that it was the best. It may have been gentle, but in trying to target the art of the '50s Fallout 3 ends up looking like a lumpy, misshapen parody of the Fallout series. That, I just realized, is not too out of place in a lumpy, misshapen game.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Because -spoilers- Persona 3 is a dating sim VN disguised as an RPG.

I believe dating sims to be made mostly by men for men. That's why the protagonists are male. I for one would feel awkard playing as a girl trying to score with numerous dudes. Remember when Otaku no Musume-san asked her dad to teach her how to play games? Dating sims for straight ladies are probably quite unlike Persona 3.
I'm inclined to think that if Persona 3 is particulary popular with the ladies, it's one of those mysteries of videogaming, like why does Diablo or BG: Dark Alliance in co-op strike a chord in their hearts.
@CMoon - Persona 2: Innocent Sin is a Shin MegaTen "light" game done RIGHT. More of a typical jRPG than stark dungeon crawler (lots of dialogues and story), but pretty good at that (the dungeons are DESIGNED to boot) and not a dating sim at all.

I wonder if anybody else plays the original Burnout. Would ask on the Rolling Start forums, but I don't feel proud enough of my scores. Oddly unnerving game, though. I'm trying to work out why the crashes, technically surpassed by many car games released since then, retained that obscene "snuff game" flavour, rarely present in video games (still fairly innocent medium at heart).
In case of Burnout, maybe it's the grungy graphics combined with excellent sound that do the trick.

[trap15]

I for one would feel awkard playing as a girl trying to score with numerous dudes.

Albaria no Otome [PC-FX/PSX]