What [not shmup] game are you playing now?

[Moniker]

Just beat Metroid Prime. ~75% item collection. Not bad for a 2nd playthrough. I'll have to play it again on "Hypermode" difficulty sooner or later. Onto Echoes, which I never finished playing back when I got the trilogy; starting it from the beginning. Always felt more like a Zelda than a Metroid game to me, which is weirdly off-putting.

Fun fact, in Police Quest, taking your clothes off in the locker room to take a shower KILLS YOU.

I remember back in the day, as a kid, playing King's Quest. Most of the fun was finding all the bizarre ways to die. My friend had it, and he'd play it some when I wasn't over, and when I came he'd show me all the game overs I'd missed. Sort of how these days, people go out of their way to see all the finale iterations in games w/ multiple endings, even the bad ones. So I think you can chalk it up to a different gaming culture, one more focused on enjoyably killing time than beating games.

[FIL]

One thing Police Quest (the first one at least, I don't know about the rest) has over some of the King's Quest games is you don't appear to be able to unknowingly make the game un-winnable. If you screw up, it tells you. Usually that means restoring a save or restarting from scratch.

I know King's Quest V has several ways to permanently screw yourself over. I imagine some of the other games have similar situations.

[Ed Oscuro]

A SEALED GAME?

distinctly possible

fuck it though, I'm playing that updated King's Quest, finally

One thing Police Quest (the first one at least, I don't know about the rest) has over some of the King's Quest games is you don't appear to be able to unknowingly make the game un-winnable.

AGDI actually has fixed this! Now there is an option to play the game with the original silently unwinnable conditions, or to play "without the possibility of encountering dead-ends or getting stuck." I am going the original route first.

Edit: 28 (or so?) of the total 150+ points done so far!

[FIL]

I guess I should get LA Noire now huh?

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I've been playing Rocksmith and Pinball Arcade all day. Pretty much the only games that I play on a regular basis anymore.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Finished Xenoblade Chronicles. For whatever reason made me want to play FFX-2. I wonder if FF Chronicles: Crystal Bearers will scratch the itch...
Two things I disliked most about Xenoblade Chronicles would be:
a) lack of proper bossfights
b) lack of proper dungeons.
As for the former, they probably had no idea how to make bosses what they should be with this combat system. Only one story-related boss was too tough for my dudes to beat EASILY on their levels at the time. I fought him all night long, then gave up and did a little bit of grinding (just a bit) and what do you know, after that he went down at my second attempt. The enemies are either out of your league just yet or too easy; there's almost no middle ground. Also, the enemies immune to Break are not fun to fight. The combat is such a one trick pony and with that trick disabled, the fights just take longer and that's it. No hum.
As for the dungeons, I'm spoiled by my favourite Shin MegaTen games, admittely. Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't quite compete with DDS or Nocturne, the engine being vastly different, but at least 3D Zelda games set the standards Xenoblade Chronicles should live up to. No such luck here.
Having said that, the game's strangely hard to dislike. The more I play jRPGs, the less I know what I like about those I enjoy (what I DON'T like remains pretty obvious to me).

[null1024]

The Adventures of Batman and Robin [Genesis].

Pretty fun beatemup with some slick graphics. I can't seem to dodge this one pattern on the first boss though, he sweeps the screen with a stream of bullets, and I have no clue what to do to avoid them.

Assault Suit Leynos 2 [Saturn].

Protect the convoy! Fuck.

[Ed Oscuro]

The Adventures of Batman and Robin [Genesis].

Pretty fun beatemup with some slick graphics. I can't seem to dodge this one pattern on the first boss though, he sweeps the screen with a stream of bullets, and I have no clue what to do to avoid them.

Interesting early Jesper Kyd soundtrack, too. Some of the tracks are as long as his later work. Really, despite the format, it's quite similar to his later MP3 orchestrated works (like some tracks for the Hitman series).

[Moniker]

The Adventures of Batman and Robin [Genesis].

Pretty fun beatemup with some slick graphics. I can't seem to dodge this one pattern on the first boss though, he sweeps the screen with a stream of bullets, and I have no clue what to do to avoid them.

One of the few genesis gems I actually owned as a kid. Really fun, especially with 2 players. IIRC, for a beat-em-up, had low enemy hp which made for some good fast-paced gameplay. The shmup stage may have been my first shmup, now that I think of it. I'll have to dig it out of the basement for the memories.

[Obiwanshinobi]

F-Zero GX - the story mode. Challenge of the Bloody Chain forced me to learn the ropes of spin attacking and taught that successful attacks restore my energy. Yay! I'll say it again - Sega's early post-Dreamcast years for my money were their finest hour in terms of game development. Makes the original Xbox all the more tempting...

[njiska]

Grabbed Sleeping Dogs off Steam and so far I've been having a blast. Every bit as much fun as I remember True Crime: Streets of LA being.

[Illyrian]

True Crime was quite good fun, but the main character was a fucking douchebag.

[Kiken]

Currently been playing Dust: An Elysium Tale on XBLA. It's a very pretty 2D side-scrolling hack-n-slash action RPG, very much in the vein of Princess Crown and Odin Sphere. I've been playing it with a joystick (instead of the recommended pad) which seems to work pretty well, I just loose the R-Stick ability to 'look around' (which really isn't that bad).

[null1024]

Contra: Hard Corps [Genesis].

Well, fuck. It's been ages since I've played it, and even longer since I've played on a pad. Can barely reach the first boss before getting trounced.

EDIT:
Virtual On [Saturn].

Took 4:45 for the simulation section and got SS. What.
How the hell does the ranking even work?

[sjewkestheloon]

Had the mother of all shit times over the last two months of hell, so went out and bought a PS3 with Demon's Souls, Yakuza 3 and Little Big Planet. Got some more money left over for a handful of other exclusives that I have been drooling over for years and also a preorder of the day one edition of Tales of Graces F so that I have a game to play with my wife.

[Aguraki]

anyone here played darksiders?
It looks pretty cool and consider getting it on pc(if steam is kind to me)

[Op Intensify]

anyone here played darksiders?

Yeah, it's a rotten 3D Zelda clone with World of Warcraft graphics. Even if you can get it for under $10, don't bother, it's just a waste of your time.

I got a used copy of Project Silpheed (360) for ninety-nine cents. While the earlier Silpheeds are shmups, this is an Ace Combat-like space dogfight sim. It's also the last game that Seta, the Twin Eagle developers, worked on.

It was terribly reviewed upon release, and I don't think it really deserved it, though it does have some strange gameplay mechanics (i.e. a ramming attack made incredibly risky by its short invincibility time) and extremely awkward story sequences. This should be an interesting ride. There's a demo on XBL, if anyone else is curious.

[Ruldra]

anyone here played darksiders?

Yeah, it's a rotten 3D Zelda clone with World of Warcraft graphics.

That was exactly my impression when I tried the demo. Didn't like it one bit.

[Moniker]

Excite Truck (Wii). Rulz. Just got it today. Honestly, I don't think I've had this much raw fun with a racing game since Burnout 3. Might have to bump it up a tier (oh the power of an OP).

[sjewkestheloon]

Been enjoying Demon's Souls, progressing well in 2-1 but I need to farm for grasses due to getting frustrated with one enemy and using a whole ton of them just so the enemy didn't defeat me lol.

Also picked up Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2 today, and I started up the first one. I played the original Xbox version a fair bit and thankfully I haven't lost all my skills in the interim.

[Marc]

After dedicating nearly every gaming hour for the last three months towards it, I'm on the last boss on Dark Souls. Unfortunately, it's whipping mly sorry arse, big time. Doesn't help that I found the lightening spear such a comfortable weapon to use that I levelled it up to +5 and used pretty much nothing else since then. It's barely scratching this guy, yet my other weapons aren't levelled at all, so even the heavy hitters are doing less damage. My only other viable option is a +10 longsword, but even that doesn't make a dent. Think I need to farm some green titanite, can anyone recommend where? I need to put this fucking game to bed once and for all.

[Moniker]

After dedicating nearly every gaming hour for the last three months towards it, I'm on the last boss on Dark Souls. Unfortunately, it's whipping mly sorry arse, big time. Doesn't help that I found the lightening spear such a comfortable weapon to use that I levelled it up to +5 and used pretty much nothing else since then. It's barely scratching this guy, yet my other weapons aren't levelled at all, so even the heavy hitters are doing less damage. My only other viable option is a +10 longsword, but even that doesn't make a dent. Think I need to farm some green titanite, can anyone recommend where? I need to put this fucking game to bed once and for all.

IIRC, the giant blacksmith in Anor Londo sells green titanite. Plenty of silver knights there to farm for souls. Requires the 1.05 patch. I need to finish the game myself. I'm still stuck on the boss with the big guy and the lightning guy... Stein and someone.

[null1024]

Keio Flying Squadron 2 [Saturn].

Just beat it, although I continued once [managed to lose my last life immediately at the start of the space shooting level for no good reason, which was probably the level I ended up dying most on].

Was loads of fun, some of the little puzzles were pretty interesting. And all the sprites except Rami herself [what the hell] look great.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Spent the weekend in a place with no telly whatsoever and the only computer monitors being LCD (I'm too cool for those, if given any choice). GBA SP to the rescue! Shared my gaming time between Oracle of Ages, Super Mario Land and Super Monkey Ball Jr.
SMB Jr. is mighty good. The inevitable graphical downgrade (lower framerate, most notably) is less of an issue than you'd think and the controls, after a while, don't feel like a downgrade at all. The physics seem reworked for the sake of D-pad and two buttons being of any use. The floors (reworked as well) are up to the original SMB's standards. It is faithful to the uplifting spirit of Super Monkey Ball.
If you keep playing GBA games, I couldn't recommend it enough. If I had to find fault with it I'd pick on the sound. Downsampled (or so I think) and monophonic only, but it is NOT one of those cases where single tiny speaker adds any low-tech charm. Quite the opposite, I liked it better with decent earphones. Not a biggie, though.

[EmperorIng]

Whachu talkin' 'bout, null? Rami is simply adorable in that game! :3

On the other side of the gaming spectrum, I finally managed to get past the first level of Rastan on mame last night.

Man, those fucking tiny bats are a major pain in the ass. Anyone have a decent way of dealing with them once they're all over you like gravy on potatoes?

The game rocks me hard but I can't stay away. Is the music OGR? It sounds like something awesome he'd do.

[BIL]

Masahiko Tataki (MAR) composed Rastan, according to the first Zuntata History disc. Vintage ZTT either way. He also did the excellent Night Striker OST (Urban Trail and Burning Road are such cool songs).

I still want to know who composed Megablast's soundtrack... there's some really good stuff in that game. The second stage's wistful tone makes me think of YACK's Gun Frontier OST (st2, nonetheless), but that's just a hunch.

[FIL]

I'm back in the rut again after deciding to finally play Bayonetta. It was pretty good but I liked God Hand more.

Maybe I should play Police Quest 3. I could also stick pins in my eyes. It's 50/50.

[dukenukems]

Been playing legend of zelda on 3ds and mortal kombat trilogy on saturn.

[null1024]

Persona 4 Arena [PS3], played a bit with some friends today. Not sure if I want it, it seems interesting enough .
Sonic Generations [3DS], the Classic era levels are short and easy, the Adventure era levels are piss-poor. Currently at Radical Highway.
Big Arm should not have been a first boss, fuck keeping with the era.

@Obiwanshinobi:
SMBjr is absolutely fantastic. Very well designed levels, great graphics for the GBA, handles well considering the available controls. Brilliant.

[FIL]

After dedicating nearly every gaming hour for the last three months towards it, I'm on the last boss on Dark Souls. Unfortunately, it's whipping mly sorry arse, big time. Doesn't help that I found the lightening spear such a comfortable weapon to use that I levelled it up to +5 and used pretty much nothing else since then. It's barely scratching this guy, yet my other weapons aren't levelled at all, so even the heavy hitters are doing less damage. My only other viable option is a +10 longsword, but even that doesn't make a dent. Think I need to farm some green titanite, can anyone recommend where? I need to put this fucking game to bed once and for all.

Can't for the life of me remember what weapon I beat him with. Probably something dumb like my divine claymore.

Giant Blacksmith sells green titanite. Or you could try farming slimes by the bonfire in the depths. You'll need something like the Gold Serpent Ring or Symbol of Avarice to speed the process up. Held humanity helps too.