What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Ruldra]

At the moment I'm checking out Saya no Uta. I was going to read Umineko, but that VN is so damn long I want to read a couple short VNs first before I start with that one.

The concept is amazing and the story is disturbing. It really sucks that such an unique story had to be mixed up with lolis and porn though. Definitely not something I can recommend to anyone outside of gaming forums.

Anyway, I've reached the first decision point (NSFW pic) of the game and I'm torn.

(spoilers)

So Saya offered him the opportunity to cure his condition and make him see everything normally again. As much as I want to choose that option, the more I think about it, the more I realize Funimori will be royally fucked if his condition is cured.

First of all, he will see what Saya truly is. He'll want to kill her or chase her off or something. In any case, it's safe to assume he won't want to be with her anymore. She won't be able to offer any more help.

Then you have all the stuff that happened in the story so far. In Fuminori's house you have all the stolen medical records, Omi's body pieces in the fridge and the neighbor's completely butchered body on the floor. And the rest of the neighbor's family is dead too. All that will be linked to Fuminori. He will regain his perception but he will end up in prison or in a madhouse for the rest of his life. The idea that he can go back to his previous life like nothing happened is just an illusion.

If he decides to stick with Saya, I have a feeling they will somehow be able to fix all this mess together. While Fuminori's chances of a good ending are still almost zero, they're completely zero if he decides to get his condition cured.

So in the end, I have no choice but to choose "Don't need it anymore". It feels awful that I'll have to refuse a chance of having a normal life again because of the story's circumstances.

[null1024]

Blazblue: Chronophantasma [PS3].

Damn, I'm bad at this. I barely played any of the previous ones, and lots of what I was able to do is invalid since Jin's moveset changed so much. Siiiiigh.

Man, playing this just makes me wish Xrd would come out sooner...

[drauch]

At the moment I'm checking out Saya no Uta. I was going to read Umineko, but that VN is so damn long I want to read a couple short VNs first before I start with that one.

I've been wanting to check this one out for quite awhile now. Almost just started it the other night. Waited and waited for the Nitro+ physical release to come out, then somehow missed the date and forgot to pick it up. I've heard nothing but... violent things.

[Ruldra]

I've heard nothing but... violent things.

The story is turning into something I can barely stomach. At this point I just want the protagonist to die a horrible death.

[broken harbour]

Work's been crazy so there hasn't been alot of time for games for me, tried to wrap up Crimson Skies on the original Xbox on the weekend, but the game kept glitching out and killing me during the final mission, after an hour of of reloading at a checkpoint I gave up, meh, if the developer can't be bothered to finish their game, neither can I.

Too bad, I really enjoyed it up to that point.

Next Up...... Hmmm not sure, I have a huge mountain of unplayed games and don't know where to start.

Might pick up R&C: Into the Nexus, always loved R&C games.... I hear its fairly short, which is just fine by me

[null1024]

KOF 13 [PS3].

Finally bought it!

and it might have the worst netcode ever, fuck

[soprano1]

KOF 13 [PS3].

Finally bought it!

and it might have the worst netcode ever, fuck

Steam version has better netcode, from what i read.

Playing Ys Seven, and i can't stop. Graphics look a bit dated, and voice actors are mediocre like Felghana, but gameplay and music is excellent.

[null1024]

KOF 13 [PS3].

Finally bought it!

and it might have the worst netcode ever, fuck

Steam version has better netcode, from what i read.

Playing Ys Seven, and i can't stop. Graphics look a bit dated, and voice actors are mediocre like Felghana, but gameplay and music is excellent.

Yeah, but none of my machines can run KOF13SE. I have nothing but old shittops here...

Also, Ys Seven is fuuun, but it needs some better late-game bosses.
As far as I can tell, the best fight in the game is the Colosseum one [you'll know it when you get to it].

[broken harbour]

Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus

God it's good. A Classic R&C game after 2 miserable mistakes between A Crack and Time and this one. Not done yet, but it's possibly the best R&C ever in my mind. I don't even mind the fact that it's 30fps.

[Ed Oscuro]

The point flying directly over my head: I finally discovered how to get the ring hanging on a ledge in the Illusion Area of Shadow Tower Abyss. 100% completion for that area.

Even worse, I discovered that the completely mechanical vending machine-like things at the end of the left branch of the Moving Block Area are actually enemies. They actually shot at me as I entered this time! Now I have a golden mask, and 999/9999 in everything (and my raw stats aren't too far off). Even before this point, I punched one of those invisible flying things to death in two hits, which isn't too shabby.

I passed a couple of the early areas this time - not sure if I'll go back this time to clear those areas. Never really was very fond of the waterfall world.

[CMoon]

The point flying directly over my head: I finally discovered how to get the ring hanging on a ledge in the Illusion Area of Shadow Tower Abyss. 100% completion for that area.

So envious. I need to go back and mess around with the ps2 King's Field until I get over the stupid controls and then maybe think about trying to emulate this thing. As much as I love the Souls games, I hope they never lose that dungeon crawler vibe (alone in an inescapable dark place.)

[Obiwanshinobi]

I need to go back and mess around with the ps2 King's Field until I get over the stupid controls and then maybe think about trying to emulate this thing. As much as I love the Souls games, I hope they never lose that dungeon crawler vibe (alone in an inescapable dark place.)

I am not playing it, but am watching this now.

[BulletMagnet]

Am having a slightly-embarrassing but overall good time with Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk II on the PS3 - it's definitely not a top-tier RPG by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're non-serious enough to enjoy the silly setting and characters most of the other parts work well enough to keep you going. In case anyone's wondering, yes, I sprung for Falcom-chan and Cave-chan (who, of course, has the highest Evade rating of the cast, and is apparently good at moving through crowds) - just got them in my party last night. Funny thing is, once you get them you can buy any of their weapons (in Cave's case, feathers or scissors a la Deathsmiles) immediately in the store, including ones way more advanced than anyone else in your party has - pair that up with free "more money" DLC, and you've got some easily abusable possibilities, heh.

[broken harbour]

I've been trying to use my Wii more, been playing Lost in Shadow, and Excitebots. Lost in Shadow is kind of cool, kind of like a combination of the aesthetic of ICO and Limbo, and the light mechanic of Echochrome. It's definitely a budget title, the graphics could have been PS1, and some sound effects are grating, but it's fun and is worth your time.

Excitebots: Trick Racing looks like total shovelware, with uninspired menus and even worse music, but damn if it isn't just ridiculous and enjoyable. I love the ludicrousness of the setting and the sensation of speed. What other racing game lets you play poker while racing? The only thing I really have an issue with is the motion controls. The game would be so much more controllable if playing with the d-pad (ala Mario Kart) instead of waving a plastic steering wheel around, oh well. Still fun.

[null1024]

Ys Seven [PSP].
The Wind Dragon fight was cool. It would have been nice if I noticed that he would spam that fucking wind circle repeatedly, stupid me kept running into it, thinking it would end after 3 spins...

also, super massive plot twists happen right before leaving to go to the water sanctum -- one was totally expected, and the other was completely out of left field

Aquapazza [PS3].
A buddy of mine had it on his PS3, so I fought him. It's a pretty decent game, from what I can tell. Has a nicely solid feel and moves have interesting properties. I'll buy it after I get my new laptop, need to save money now.

KOF13 [PS3].
Played a few online matches, I need to learn how to do this game's cancels -- lost 3 matches because my opponent killed me with their loads of meter after landing a super [that I'd have survived] and then going into a max cancel [so now I'm fucked].

it bears repeating: the netcode is indescribably bad, although I did have one or two matches that didn't feel like I was just drowning in a sea of pausing and input delay.

[heisenbergman]

In between shmuping, I'm trying to get through the campaign of Company of Heroes.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Lost in Shadow is kind of cool, kind of like a combination of the aesthetic of ICO and Limbo, and the light mechanic of Echochrome. It's definitely a budget title, the graphics could have been PS1, and some sound effects are grating, but it's fun and is worth your time.

Could not have been done on PSX. 3D model is very low on polygons, but I don't think we saw such real-time shadow-casting prior to Severance: Blade of Darkness and Silent Hill 2. Real-time soft light effect didn't come true before Ico from what I know, all three titles being from the year 2001.

Interesting read:

Having seen so many ways to use light and shadow in gameplay, I imagine that the game engine is quite unique. Did you have to create an engine specifically for this game? Was it a challenge?

Tsuchihashi: Your assumption is absolutely correct.

Most of the development period for this game was used to create the shadow engine. We had to continue to tweak and correct the engine, right up to the recent debugging. We even had to re-write some data to have it work with this engine.

I can tell you that those tweaking days are the reason why I have an ulcer now...

[broken harbour]

^ I meant PSX-ish graphics in terms of simple low res textures and low poly models, n' stuff. Obviously the lighting couldn't have been done on the PSX.

[Ed Oscuro]

Having an ongoing discussion with myself about playing games just to see them through and get a feel for the game, but do it quickly with time-saving via savestates, versus the deleterious effects of SAVESTATE DISEASE.

So, speaking of games that have a shadow engine, there's Fatal Frame.

Is it just me or is it basically impossible to get the Pleading Girl? I've tried everything I know repeatedly. Even if you don't have to swivel and turn (by using the right stick to step backwards while looking in the right direction) the game (via PCSX2 - maybe this makes a difference) seems not to pull the view up and register your new button press to snap the picture quickly enough. At the point I tried this, I only put one upgrade into the Range (circle size) option on the camera. I don't have a save at that point now, so I won't try again, but it was crazy; I tried a few dozen times at least. Also crazy - the fight with the novelist. I guess you're supposed to just shoot through tons of film on that one, or maybe put points into range first (accuracy was a big problem for me because of how he moves and fades). I have thought about "what happens if you don't do so well and don't get high scores in combats," but to me the main draw is not in being underpowered, but in the designers' attention to traditional horror storytelling forces. Being able to tweak how well I do against ghosts from savestates seems like a bonus (and also a way to learn the game better). Of course, this is much preferable to the old-fashioned model of "you fucked up? Just load a savestate and try again silly." Eh no thanks, I'm busy. (Although I have loaded some saves all the same.)

"Isn't The World fun?" - Orca, .hack Infection
"Go to hell, and take your fake MMO with you" - Me (with apologies to the TF2 Spy class)

I had vague memories of seeing this one briefly years ago and my impression took a nose dive after the promising, Armored Core-like opening (with the desktop and the pages of notes to read through). It is just not compelling. I had hoped that the really primitive boxy dungeon layouts were a parody of MMOs, and after seeing the chapel-like area I had new reason to hope. Then I started plugging in random keywords. There are some interesting touches (I like the one world I went to, which used a couple human-like statues in various humorous poses throughout the zone) but don't be misled - for me the high level of detail in some areas clashes with the very boxy nature of the game. I might not have thought that Shadow Tower Abyss was the perfect game, but it certainly shows how to use a "construction set" approach to creating worlds that stands up better than .hack Infection has so far.

However I say this with one important note - I've just been doing a bit of solo grinding for now, which is explicitly against the advice of the game characters. So I guess I'll spend a bit more time with it.

Overall I don't see much cause for optimism, however.

[rapoon]

world of tanks

6 nations: ussr, Germany, china, usa, uk and france. I haven't been playing too long. t5 atm running around in a StuG tank destroyer.
it's a big frustrating at times: I have the 7.5cm L/70 (I don't think they even put these on the StuGs) and i'll have repeated ricochets off KV-1's and I carefully aim while trying to
avoid getting hit. the german tanks are great but they're very technical: ammo rack explosions, crew dying.
it's an ok game. nothing spectacular.

[Sparky]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds [3DS]
Completed the first two dungeons. Enjoying the new puzzles that come with the portrait function. Graphics feel very fluid. I am finding myself playing with 3D turned on more often than usual. I like that the game starts off quick with very little tutorial or story getting in the way. A lot of the common weapons become available early on making the exploration feel less linear. I will be playing this game for the next couple of days to get familiar the new Hyrule/Lorule.

Cave Story 3D [3DS]
This is my first time playing Cave Story having neglected it since it's original release in 2004. Fun platforming game with an odd storyline. (So far.) The remade graphics are ok but I like the two-dimensional style of the original. Putting this game on hold until I complete A Link Between Worlds.

[royalfan84]

I'm playing through super mario world, super metroid, chrono trigger, and link to the past on my wii virtual console. Also just got around to playing FarCry 3 on 360. 70pct of my gaming time is still shmups though. Just played some Raiden III and R-Type Final with my 8yr old son. He really loves Raiden.

[Ed Oscuro]

Speaking of stuff, Phantasy Star Portable. Not a great game by any stretch, so why did it grab me as much as it has? Still, it hasn't grabbed me as much as the original PSO Ep 1 & 2 on GC did.

[trap15]

The new Phoenix Wright. Loving the 3D stuff, and just liking it in general. But it feels pretty hand-holdy so far. I am only on the second case though, so I guess that makes sense.

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I'm still hooked on DOA5 Ultimate. I'm really liking the zoning on this game. Only complaint I have so far is I think that holds are a little too easy to break.

[professor ganson]

new zelda -
fire emblem awakenings (highest difficulty, no miss) - just got to level 10. This isn't the best fire emblem of all time, but it's excellent all the same.

[Marc]

OutLand. Really surprised that it never seems to have been mentioned on here. Gorgeous platformer, with silky controls, some superb design, and great bosses.

[Jonathan Ingram]

Is it just me or is it basically impossible to get the Pleading Girl? I've tried everything I know repeatedly. Even if you don't have to swivel and turn (by using the right stick to step backwards while looking in the right direction) the game (via PCSX2 - maybe this makes a difference) seems not to pull the view up and register your new button press to snap the picture quickly enough.

Could be PCSX2 related. I vaguely recall there being an issue pertaining to the camera`s tracking ability which made the process of capturing ghosts a rather difficult affair. The problem could be alleviated either by using a specific build of PCSX2 or temporarily switching to the software mode with F9.

That was years ago though and the bug probably has been fixed since then.

[soprano1]

And i'm done with Ys games, at least on the PSP. Seven was all around my favourite, i guess.
I still have Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky and Growlanser WoT to play, but i'm resting the poor PSP for a while, so i can finally start playing some Dragon Quest V on DS.
As a side note, a friend from highschool, whom i haven't talked to for almost 10 years, introduced me to classic FPS source ports, so i should get some Quake and Quake II action on my free time
edit:Maybe i'll also try the Brutal Doom mod, people here seem to enjoy it.

[Moniker]

L.A. Noire (PC)

I'm pleasantly surprised with this one. It's definitely not a gameplay game, but plays like a mature Phoenix Wright game. I'm still in the Traffic Detective phase (I'm assuming he later gets promoted to Vice and Homocide). It's sorta like marathoning a good cop show on Netflix. I get kinda semi erect every time the captain effusively praises my efforts. Probably feeding into the academic insecurity/entitlement side of me.