What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Ed Oscuro]

As for what I'm playing right now, I grabbed Retro City Rampage off the Steam sale, and I've been playing that. It's one of those games that I like in theory, but the gameplay is just a bit too shallow for it to have any real staying power.

Bah. Hotline Miami looks even more samey (thought that was the one you meant when I first read the post). Welp, there's two games I don't have to worry about then!

[Mero]

I've been absolutely caning SonSon the past few days, furthest I got was the penultimate stage.

Anyone on here ever looped it?

[njiska]

Spent today playing Spec Ops: The Line. Got to the White Phosphorous scene. Now I feel like a piece of shit. That is all.

[KAI]

Majora's Mask - never finished the game, now i have the chance.

BB Extend - Hate every second I spend on that thing.

[Moniker]

Been playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (360). The plot is utterly stupid, and much of the main gameplay is low-brainer move, jump, attack, with obvious paths. Open combat, to be fair, is above average, if not particularly terribly inspired. For some reason, though, I just can't put it down. The metagame is really addictive, and some of the sidequests, particularly DaVinci's, are actually fairly interesting. I remember after finishing AC2, I felt like I'd never need to play another iteration. I guess enough time has passed. In a few years, I'll probably tackle AC:R & AC3.

Also got Ibara (my holy ygw grail) working on my new notebook. Naaahce.

[null1024]

Also got Ibara (my holy ygw grail) working on my new notebook. Naaahce.

At full speed? Blaaaaaah. I can run Futari just fine [for the most part, some stages and enemies do cause a pretty major speed hit], but Ibara just dicks out on me by running at 50-70%. Jealoussssss.


Sonic 2 [Genesis].

It makes me wonder why I'm not playing Sonic 3+K. It's fine, but gaaaah.

[Aquas]

I've been absolutely caning SonSon the past few days, furthest I got was the penultimate stage.

Anyone on here ever looped it?

Naw I always get my ass kicked a bit past the Capcom logo.

[null1024]

Tales of Eternia [PSP].

One hour in. Combat is currently more button mashy than other Tales games I've played [it's rather fast, so you can get away with it right now, maybe it'll get better later, but when I press the attack button a bunch, everything dies without much of a fight]

[EDIT]
Oh hey. 10 minutes after typing that, things got harder. Found myself facing random enemies that killed most of my party.
I'm fighting Undine, she's taking fuck all damage.

Also, Meredy is fairly fun to play as because she separates attacking from where she is: have her pet Quickie kick ass, and be spaced out enough to have time to fire off a spell. Keeping Quickie in the right area to attack without being too close is harder than I would like, but eh. I almost considered going for quite a bit with her as my character, but eh.

Reid has the Generic Tales Protagonist Moveset(tm), so it's really easy to fight with him.

The game really wants you to block, unlike other Tales games I've played. TotA and ToI want you to physically get out of the way [yay free run], ToD and ToP want you to interrupt the shit out of your opponent [being more spell focused, so stop the bastards from casting], only other Tales game I've played that wants you to block as much as ToE is ToS. Not blocking gets you killed here, whereas I almost never block in other Tales games.

I like the extremely 32-bit look, I wish there was an option to disable the bilinear filter on the character sprites... gah.
And the voice acting is terrible. Charming in a way, but still fucking terrible. Especially whenever Meredy speaks [it's worse when she says anything in untranslated Melnics, aaaaaa].

[Moniker]

Just finished The Walking Dead (360). I have mixed feelings. Illusion of choice seems to outweigh actual choice. The story is, for the most part, very good, and the final episode verges on fantastic. But after awhile, you can really tell that the devs had a limited palette when it came to gameplay. Little glitches aside, the game is really quite immersive, and there are very few moments when you're stuck in the typical click'n'point conundrum.

7/10.

Also got Ibara (my holy ygw grail) working on my new notebook. Naaahce.

At full speed? Blaaaaaah. I can run Futari just fine [for the most part, some stages and enemies do cause a pretty major speed hit], but Ibara just dicks out on me by running at 50-70%. Jealoussssss.

Yeah, full speed ahead. Only problem right now are video settings - it's hard to make out different gameplay elements. But sooner or later, I'll sort those out. Ibara is sort of a halfway point b/w YGW's Raizing efforts and Pink Sweets, which is pretty rad. Haven't been playing shmups for awhile, so the game is kicking my ass, in the best way possible.

[null1024]

Jeaaaah.

Been playing quite a bit today/yesterday...
Tales of Eternia [PSP]. Beat Undine [somewhat easily, leveled up a bit earlier and did a fair bit more damage, I remember doing single digit damage with Reid the first time around, gaaaaaa], now I'm in the forest right after that, have to do a pretty easy puzzle [I did it actually, but walked back to the dungeon entrance, which resets everything ].

Tales of the Abyss [3DS]. When my PSP died, I pulled this out. At the Zao Ruins [again], beat that stupid looking dinosaur skeleton boss, which was rather easy, especially since Tear has a revive spell at that point... why the fuck is this place so large, it takes way to long to walk down to the inner section when you're in the not-ruined bit...
Oh, and ToE taught me to block more, so I've been doing it here too, heh. Not nearly as helpful [at a glance I saw ~100 damage attacks being dropped to 80 or so], but it does prevent potentially crippling knockback [you can't keep your opponent in combo lock if you are on the ground waiting to get up, nor can you really run out of the way if the enemy is all but on top of you when you wake up].

Metal Gear Acid 2 [PSP]. So much fun. Did my first 2 boss fights, got a partner character, have the MGS2 packs, it's great. The only issue is when there are too many enemy characters in an area, turns take forever.

so much portable
The PSP is now one of my favorite systems. It's been beating out my DS, and I have an Acekard...
I can emulate more, I can play nearly every PS1 game, and I have the surprisingly enjoyable PSP library at my fingertips. Fuck the PSP-1000 D-pad though. Superglued some coins to it for leverage [a nickel and dime, which works!].

[Chaos Phoenixma]

Ys: Oath in Felghana PSP Version on Nightmare.

I've beaten the PC one on Inferno, but I'm so rusty at the game. I really shouldn't have been needing the PSP exclusive Double Boost as much as I have been.

I'm up to Garland right now though. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but what I did to dodge the lightning in the PC Version doesn't seem to be working for me here. I could pretty consistently do the first phase without damage on the PC version, but now I'm dying to it or getting so low in HP I need to use Double Boost to heal some, then I still die in the second phase due to the lightning.

I don't have access to the PC version at the moment to check, but I'm pretty sure they screwed with how that attack targets you to make it more likely to hit in the PSP version. But it'd be nice if someone else that's played both versions could confirm it. I'm planning to just stay back and use fireballs after breaking the shield instead of trying to melee a lot after. Maybe being farther away will help me. It wasn't just this fight either. Some of the other fights seemed easier or harder than they should have been.

[gabe]

I just played through Daytona USA Circuit Edition (SAT). This was my first time playing the Saturn version, and it was awesome... But not vastly superior to Daytona USA 2001 (DC) as I had been previously led to believe. The physics between the two games are very similar - I was able to successfully use the same shifting/drifting strategies that I employed in 2001 in CE. This made for a rather quick play-through (though my 2001 lap times are better). The main differences I found were:

1. Daytona USA CE is more forgiving when it comes to kissing the wall, or dipping a tire off of the tarmac
2. Daytona USA CE is easier to control with an analog pad (as opposed to a steering wheel)
3. The AI in CE is much more unpredictable

[Moniker]

On a bender of stuff I've wanted for PC but didn't have the specs to run-

Got Torchlight 2 & the demo of Diablo 3. Played a few levels up in each of them. I'm sort of torn. I vastly prefer D3's atmosphere, but the skill system seems very linear, and while it generally runs well and looks great, I get a stutter every 5 seconds or so, no matter how high or low I set the video settings. The always-online thing is annoying, but not a deal-breaker.

Torchlight 2 is a vast improvement over the fairly bland original. I rather like the skill system, too. Not as dynamic as D2's, but you still have to make some hard choices, since you can't respec back very far. And no more of the 'any character can do anything' nonsense from the original. The difficulty levels also seem better-handled than in 1; the most difficult setting no longer slows down the game as much by overdoing monster HP.

If I can't fix D3's stutter then guess I'll shelve it until I upgrade my gear 5 years down the road...


Edit: Apparently micro stutters in D3 are due to a design flaw unrelated to the system requirements. Tons of pages of workarounds. Fuck that noise. Uninstalled.

[dunpeal2064]

Spent a great afternoon on the couch cracking into Final Fantasy XIII

How are you liking it? I've been playing this one for a bit now, and I was so set for a shitty game that I am actually having a pretty good time with it.

After playing some FFXIII, I returned to Mega Man, which I've been playing through the last few days for the first time, and finally took that sonofabitch 6 boss fight last stage down.

I know I'm a little late, but that game is awesome. The NES was a bit before my time, and I am now playing through all the games that I've always wished I could try. Mega Man was a good first game.

[KAI]

RIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACEEEEEEEEER V!
and Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.28 ''New Century'' . Best Tetris on earth, the vs matches are so fucking fun and Namiki's music makes the game even better.

[sjewkestheloon]

Got the credit roll in Theatrhythm, Luke got a hair cut in Tales of the Abyss and I just finished Point Lookout in Fallout 3. That leaves me with some random questing and the Brotherhood of Steel expansion stuff to do. Will probably do an achievement mop up of anything that is easy enough to finish before I put it away. Will do my last 'evil' run later in the year to top it all off. Great game.

[null1024]

Tales of the Abyss

...is probably the only reason I have a 3DS, haha [my other 3DS games are Mario 3D Land, which was okay, but I'm probably going to sell it on, and Kingdom Hearts 3D which I haven't played in forever].

I'm now leaving the Zao Ruins for the second time [only non-spoiler way I can describe my location ].

[Obiwanshinobi]

Unreal Tournament 2004 against bots. Just trying out the new chair, browsing through my PC backlog. Next FPS will probably be Project I.G.I.

Project I.G.I. it is, then. I think I'd spent more time with IGI2 back when, but the first one is kinda fun. The charms of computer gaming and goofy A.I. It's a game of enginexploitation.
What's aged particulary well (for the genre A.D. 2000) are the character models and animations. The lady looks like a woman and the death animations make up for the lack of rag doll. It's also refreshing that the engine is neither QIII nor Unreal. If a first person shooter powered by a flight sim engine sounds intriguing to you, give it a try.
Even the voice acting doesn't rub me the wrong way and the game is neither too serious, nor trying hard to be funny. I can think of very, very few games about "special forces" that do it for me. Good stuff.

P.S. That Joint Strike Fighter game looks like something I could buy a joystick for. Does some groovy... mip mapping? Geometry scaling? The engine was something else forsooth.

[Ed Oscuro]

I remember being super entranced by the resolution of the wicker chair texture in Project IGI (in some random room early on). I didn't end up struggling through all the levels, or if I did I've forgotten. Is this the game with a long "protect the train" sequence? Maybe I have...interesting game and playing the airbase level repeatedly because tiny mistakes get you killed was certainly intense (but annoying after a point as well).

Right now: Xardion, SNES.

Some good ideas and some neat-looking stuff mixed in with a bunch of shit.

[BrianC]

Been playing Super Mario 3D Land 3DS and Batman Arkham City 360. I beat the main story of Arkham City and I'm doing side missions and riddler trophies. I'm on the special worlds of 3D land, which are incredibly fun and more challenging so far.

[Aguraki]

been playing faster than light and love it so far.
it´s a space roguelike and really difficult (for me at least).
lot of different strategies and builds,lot of replayability.
love it!

started Torchlight 2 which looks pretty good after playing D3.

[Daigohji]

Currently on Alice: Madness Returns. Levels go on a bit too long, but the designs are suitably bizarre and the combat is much more enjoyable than in the first game. It varies the pace with occassional side-scrolling platform and shmup sections, water slide rides and...sliding block puzzles. Cranking up the Physx setting on the PC version results in some pretty cool particle effects.

[njiska]

Currently on Alice: Madness Returns. Levels go on a bit too long, but the designs are suitably bizarre and the combat is much more enjoyable than in the first game. It varies the pace with occassional side-scrolling platform and shmup sections, water slide rides and...sliding block puzzles. Cranking up the Physx setting on the PC version results in some pretty cool particle effects.

By the end of the game you'll realize that ever chapter makes you repeat the same thing three times. It's incredibly repetitive and the game becomes a real chore to complete by the end. Such a major disappointment. If it was a third as long it'd have been fantastic.

[null1024]

Tales of Eternia [PSP]. Left the Forest of Temptation, spoke to the King, about to enter the port.

EDIT:
Ages past that now, just reached Celestia, that battle music that plays is soooo goood, starts off weird, and then has this really delicious synthy feel.

also, Celestia gives me the creeps, what the hell happened here that it's so "world of ruin" looking, even though the people Imem seem happy enough

Oh, and playing Ridge Racer V [PS2]. I know it's a first-gen PS2 title, but R4 makes me feel like "woah, graphics", and V... doesn't. Definitely good though. Need to get some cars unlocked before I can do time trials, and I haven't gone through Grand Prix as I don't know the courses or handling well enough to place properly.

I find myself driving pretty damn well, but never managing to catch up with the cars ahead half the time. If they are on screen, I can get into first.

[sjewkestheloon]

Tales of the Abyss

...is probably the only reason I have a 3DS, haha [my other 3DS games are Mario 3D Land, which was okay, but I'm probably going to sell it on, and Kingdom Hearts 3D which I haven't played in forever].

I'm now leaving the Zao Ruins for the second time [only non-spoiler way I can describe my location ].

It's a goodun, and my first chance to play it in the UK. I picked up a 3ds xl at Christmas withthis and the final fantasy music game, Mario kart 7 built in and Mario 3d land as a free download. I don't expect to be getting too many other games for a while but I hope to see Bravely Default, SMT and Fire Emblem eventually as well as the usual oddities. I also got it to catch up on the ds games that I have missed so that should keep me busy.

[Ed Oscuro]

urgh

[EmperorIng]

I've been playing a lot of Fallout 2 and recently, some Fallout Tactics. Man oh man, lots o' fun.

This is my second time tackling Tactics, and I appreciate it more now, now that I know the ropes a bit. The first time it took me close to 2 hours to complete the first mission - it was a real clusterfuck. Now, I "sort of" breezed through it, it taking less than an hour, at the least (probably close to 50 minutes, I think). Hopefully that type of momentum keeps up, ha ha.

Still, playing the old Fallout games really makes me pine for a new game in the older style - Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are good, but just don't quite cut the mustard in comparison.

[null1024]

Metal Gear Acid 2 [PSP].
On that ass-retarded mission where Snake can't get hit without getting KO'd.

Tales of Eternia [PSP].
In the Earth Craymel dungeon. No fucking idea what to do with the boulder in the way of any progress, and I don't see anything around to deal with it...

[Obiwanshinobi]

The more I play Metroid Prime (Wii), the more it reminds me of the first Unreal and Deus Ex. Mostly the graphics and text messages do it for me. The engine looks more 2002, but Zeitgeist is very 1998-2000.

On the other hand, Project I.G.I. reminds me of... Ground Control (same year, interestingly enough). Both games took engines very good at rendering 3D terrain and did something (for their time) unusual with them.
Oh how I wish Battalion Wars 2 was a bit more like those two. Gave me more room for fooling around.

This is my second time tackling Tactics, and I appreciate it more now, now that I know the ropes a bit.

I stopped playing Tactics when it let me quicksave shortly after the main character died. The game is breakable like that.
Still, gun freaks should know that it's the Gran Turismo of firearms. I don't think I've ever seen weaponry this varied in any other game.

[EmperorIng]

The original Fallout games have a very, very good and varied selection of weapons, for all persuasions and pleasures.

It doesn't come quite as cool as Ultima VII's Hoe of Destruction, but it does come very close when you factor in all the delicious death animations.