What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Aquas]

Ocarina of Time on N64. I guess the hype for the 3DS version got me interested in the game again. It's been nice to revisit but the sense of exploration kind of pans out pretty quickly so it's mostly sticking to the main quests.

Also Dragon Warrior 4 on the NES, at around the beginning of chapter 4.
And as always SSF4 Arcade Edition

[Obiwanshinobi]

There's nothing to match the atmosphere of Resident Evil 4's opening hours.

Huh? Resident Evil 4's opening hours made me swap the disc for Onimusha 2 and play that instead. Many moons later I came back to RE4 and found it not as weak on the balance as its opening hours made it seem, but man, was that one lame opening.

[drauch]

Snatcher. Best purchase I've made in quite awhile.

[SockPuppetHyren]

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

It's like crack if the crack particles were shaped like @s and when you snorted it everybody you meet on the street shouted at your for some reason and then you ran into this breaded dude with a scythe and he turned invisible and started shooting you with magic then he cut you in half because he could...

It's a lot of fun.

[BIL]

I've just finished hacking several suspected gang members to death with a samurai sword. Also, I've been playing Final Fight!

[Skykid]

There's nothing to match the atmosphere of Resident Evil 4's opening hours.

Huh? Resident Evil 4's opening hours made me swap the disc for Onimusha 2 and play that instead.

Whoops!

[null1024]

Mario Kart Wii [tons of fun, and online play is surprisingly smooth and free of noticable lag [wish splitscreen play while online was 60fps like the rest of the game though, but that's a minor gripe]].

[Daigohji]

Also, I've been playing Final Fight!

As Metro City mayor, Mike Haggar, I hope.

[BIL]

^Indeed! Suplexing crooks left and right, through barrels and phone booths, all over the fucking room (more like consistently towards one side of the room), etc. Nothing like stuffing Sodom's clothesline into a couple of headbutts and a super piledriver, splat. I just made it to Bay Area on a credit for the first time today, talk about a difficulty spike.

Only problem is I'm playing in MAME on a Saturn pad... I much prefer the PS2 version and a nice arcade stick. You really need to put your whole forearm into hammering the attack button for maximum satisfaction with this game. FF has the most viscerally rewarding 2D sprite-on-sprite violence ever. I'll never tire of the *WHOOMP* *WHOOMP* *CRACK* sfx accompanying a three-hit combo, or the screen rumbling after Haggar's slams ("RAHHH!").

[Siren2011]

Only problem is I'm playing in MAME on a Saturn pad...

This reminds me of how badly I need that Goddamn Mayflash 3 in 1 Saturn to USB adapter, so I can finally play Ketsui with a great stick. It's literally extinct on the internet. There's no trace of it on big name stores like Ebay and Amazon, and specialty game shops all turn up "Sold Out." Later tonight I'm going to check out Hotpotato.jp. I can't imagine them not having it.

[Shinra]

Recently finished Bastion. Quality game, I highly recommend it. I bought Outland, Castlevania: SotN, Garou MotW & Banjo-Kazooie shortly after. I've been playing them all simultaneously except for Castlevania, all of which are great. I'm putting Castlevania off for awhile though.

Has anyone played Galaga Legions DX? Is it worth a purchase? Blasting away in the demo was fun, but I've heard mixed thoughts from critics.

[null1024]

Sin and Punishment 2 [does this count as a not-shmup? :3].

So. Much. Fun. Currently on the fight with Hibaru, fff I'm sucking at it.

[Vexorg]

Picked up the latest Humble Indie Bundle, and out of that I've mostly been playing VVVVVV... Or at least I was until I got stuck on one screen for 150 tries.

[shmuppyLove]

Radiant Historia on the DS

Holy crap the soundtrack is epic.

[ratlhead]

Holy crap the soundtrack is epic.

+1.

The Melody Connecting The World is the best video game music i ever heard in a while. Simply a masterpiece.

[guigui]

Sin and Punishment 2 [does this count as a not-shmup? :3].

So. Much. Fun. Currently on the fight with Hibaru, fff I'm sucking at it.

Reminds me of the good old times. Have fun with the game !

[null1024]

Sin and Punishment 2 [does this count as a not-shmup? :3].

So. Much. Fun. Currently on the fight with Hibaru, fff I'm sucking at it.

Reminds me of the good old times. Have fun with the game !

Thanks, managed to get through it, total blast, now on stage 6.

Currently playing Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, it's pretty decent. Once you get the hang of the gravity control it becomes way too easy, and playing with a friend who isn't used to it means you will always win. Always. Especially since you have to start your drifts well before the corner starts, and the boost mechanic involves running into things, something that one would naturally try to avoid.

[Siren2011]

I'm on a PSX nostalgia trip.

I just finished the wonderful Heart of Darkness from the makers of Out of This World. The 2D graphics, the world itself, the music, the villains, everything was fucking awesome. I remember renting this one from Blockbuster when they were cool AND they allowed you to rent consoles for $20! Remember that, anyone? The fighting did get a little bit repetitive, though.

And I also just finished one of my favorite games ever, Fear Effect. The last boss battle was A_BITCH, but he's far from insurmountable once you discover the correct strategy to bring him to his doom. With 4 discs and 5 different endings, you really can't go wrong. If I had to make a couple complaints, they would be...

1.) The story is great, dark, and original, but it has some vague and poorly explained parts.

2.) The pacing is dropped abruptly during disc 4, thanks to boring backtracking (inevitably fighting the same enemies over and over again ad nauseum, without any change up in difficulty or style of take-down) and errand running for quest items.

I'm just now starting on its sequel, Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix. Hard mode proves to be a much greater challenge in the very beginning alone than the last few areas that brought its predecessor to the end credits screen. The puzzles are not necessarily harder than those in the first game (at least not so far), but they are different, which adds to the freshness.

[ShmupSamurai]

Xenogears, currently on the Sewer Horror part with the Redrum boss.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Xenogears, currently on the Sewer Horror part with the Redrum boss.

First and last semi-decent dungeon in the whole game.

[Siren2011]

At Arcade UFO, I played Arcana Heart 3. What a disappointment. The pacing is all kinds of fucked up, because things don't even get remotely heavy until the fifth or sixth fight. At least the early tier fighters proved somewhat of a challenge in the first game. I just don't see myself coming back to it ever again, unless of course the PCB has adjustable difficulty switches. Sadly, I am incapable of playing a game that fails to keep my interest in the first few parts of it, even if it looks like AH3.

I'm kinda in the mood for playing either Homeworld 2, or finally finishing Deus Ex. My god, It's been so long since I've played the latter that I've forgotten most of the story and would be better off if I just started from scratch again.

[Marble]

I cleared Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on SNES the other day. I found (playing as Kimberly) that the difficulty curve was a bit strange, with the non-ranger parts of levels 2 and 3 giving me the most trouble. I also suspect that the game might be easier with Kimberly because I (think) she has the longest attack range after she transforms, but since the system is good I'm considering trying another character. Perhaps Trini because in her non-ranger form she throws enemies across the screen instead of in a looping arc, and this would mean I'd have to change a lot of my tactics.

The only things that annoyed me is when in ranger form every character is just a palette swap (So the chicks suddenly lose their tits and gain lots of muscle lol, I guess you could say this fits in with the MMPR show but still) and that you only get one life for the final bosses regardless of how many you had when you made it to them. Not that they are really hard or anything, but the game's mechanics change completely so it takes a little working out. This actually annoyed me enough to practice the end of the game using the password feature.

[EinhanderZwei]

BOOM! Devil May Cry
Russian voiceover is surprisingly decent for a bootlegged fan translation

[scrilla4rella]

Been on a bit of a Sega CD kick lately. Just finished Rise of the Dragon on Sega (Mega) CD. Great game. Probably the best $5 I've spent on a game in awhile

[Icarus]

Mega Mall Story and Final Fantasy Tactics, both on iOS.
This smartphone gaming malarkey is actually quite fun.

[KBZ]

Been playing Vendetta Online lately

Haven't played a space shooter in forever. really liking it so far.

Beyond that, the usual hours of DOD Source.

[evil_ash_xero]

Just discovered Monster World IV. Beat it, and am now playing it again. Also, am messing around with other Genesis games, like RKA.

[Daigohji]

I tried the demos for El Shaddai and Driver: San Francisco now that they're up for Europe. Neither impressed me.

El Shaddai is trying so damn hard to be artsy, but it just falls flat for me. The way it throws skinny pretty boys, mobile phones, and designer jeans in with the mythology in a strained attempt to make it "hip and with it, man" reeks of everything that's been going wrong with Japanese games for the last decade. As for the combat, I kept feeling like I was missing something. Hack hack counter hack, purify weapn, hack hack hack, steal enemy's weapon, hack hack counter hack, purify weapon, hack hack hack, and eventually one enemy dies. The sword is as satisfying to wield as a feather duster, and the projectile thing was like a mystic spud gun.

Driver: San Francisco is pathetic. The developers had such a lack of confidence in its core driving and game world that they felt the need to throw in the dumbest gameplay mechanic I've ever seen in a driving game: possession. That's right, true believers, Tanner has suffered a near death experience and now he can possess the driver of any other car. The story can't seem to decide if it's a piss take or if this is meant to be serious, and the little shown off in the demo flounders in tone. Who needs compelling characters, a well written story, or tight core game mechanics when they can throw in a dumb gimmick and brag about it on the back of the box, right?

[shmuppyLove]

Alice: Madness Returns!

[worstplayer]

Tasty Static. This thing is addictive.