The "What Are You Playing Now?" Thread

[Eamin]

Got my ME2 PS3 save file up and running in preparation for ME3. Started playing Demon's Souls again for a bit, but I'm getting my ass absolutely stomped by Maneater on NG+. Just ordered Dead Space 2 (it's on sale for $40 on Amazon today, if you're interested), so I'll probably be playing that for a bit.

Mostly just waiting for DA2 to come out.

[Wool]

Bah it really did have one of those stupit boss gauntlets. Needless to say, I did not A or S rank that mission. Still awesome though.

[Dawlin]

RIFT beta, when avaliable. A bit of Magicka on the side, mostly trying (operative word, TRYING!!!! ) to set up multiplayer games.

[DietCanada]

doing castlevania
the game puts god of war to shame hehe

also really addicted to netflicks on my x-box

[Dawlin]

I'm getting into ME2. Hope I'll be able to finish it off before the february 24th RIFT headstart.
Loving it so far

[Matthias]

ME2 really is an amazing game. Have fun!

[Eamin]

Beat Dead Space 2 the other day. What a great game. I didn't think I would like it nearly as much as I did.

[Laeadil]

Well, shortly after midnight, it'll be MVC3!

[Wool]

Still playing Radiant Historia, which I talked about in the February thread.

Much further into it, and I'm a little disappointed in the time traveling. I didn't expect it to be perfect, but I had my fingers crossed. I was hoping it would explore how much history would be different based on your actions, but instead they have a system in which choices in one timeline effect the others in ways that don't make temporal sense.

For example, let's say in one timeline you have a choice that could avert a war. In the other timeline you were never present to make that choice, so that war should occur regardless. But in this game you can go to that first timeline and avert the war, and then the war won't happen in the second timeline either. This makes NO sense and it's driving me crazy!

All the bad choices so far are also pretty obvious, and leave to a broken path game over/redo screen. This is fine, but I was hoping for a confusing web of multiple timelines based on every little action, instead there are just a few genuine branches.

The combat on the other hand is more fun than I was expecting. Fairly challenging as well, which is nice in a world where most DS games are so brain numbingly easy you could just mash the button while not even watching the screen and still win.

[Ikeya]

Friends have suckered me into League of Legends. Been enjoying it for the most part - other than the fact they're all level 30 with 100+ wins and I'm currently rocking level 10 with like 6 wins. So the match up place the scales all over the freaking place - sometimes it's so face rolly because friends are so experienced and I'm dragging the team's average rating down so much and getting put up with other genuine new comers. Then other times it matches us closer to people at or above my friend's skill level and I basically just run around dieing and giving the enemy free kills and gold.

Edit: It's good to know the league of legends community is just as vile, spiteful, and petty as the Defense of the Ancients community.

[Yaxa]

I've been playing Kingdom Hearts Re:coded on the DS. It's a fun little time killer, although at times it shows that it's a remake of an episodic cell phone game. Different stages not only have different themes (based on Disney movies, of course), but differ in gameplay mechanics as well. Aside from the typical action adventure 3D hack & slash, there are also shooter stages, sidescrolling platforming stages, and a world with turn-based RPG-like combat. Camera control borders on terrible, which can make some of the 3D platforming far more unforgiving than they should be. I'm currently nearing the end with just over 15 hours on the clock, which is far more than I expected giving the game's cell phone history. I haven't even taken advantage of the option of revisiting previous worlds.

[Matthias]

I've been playing Dragon Age 1 for the reason of having a "good" save prepared for Dragon Age 2. I shall be sad if my Old God baby doesn't have some kind of effect.

I'm up to Awakening now, and hopefully i can beat it + the two DLCs in time for next Tuesday.

[Laeadil]

Right now, its the new Dawn of War 2 expansion.

[Mileron]

Games I've played more than an hour in the last 2 weeks:

Back to the Future Episode 2
Magicka
Champion's Online
DCU Online (cancelled, the control scheme is still shitty)
Star Trek Online
WoW
Trainz 2010
X3: TC

Super Mario Galaxy
Kirby's Epic Yarn
(I've discovered there might be a problem with my TV, it's super blurry. Then again it is a 13-14 year old RCA. Which means no more Wii for a while.)

Final Fantasy IV DS (just finished the Tower of Babil first trip, heading to Eblan)
Radiant Historia. I'm only halfway through the first chapter but I completely agree with Wool's assessment of the illogical timeline interactions. Also, the fact that you MUST bounce between timelines, because if you "advance too far" in one thread, you end up getting squashed by mobs that hit you for 50% of your health in one swing.

[Wool]

Radiant Historia. I'm only halfway through the first chapter but I completely agree with Wool's assessment of the illogical timeline interactions. Also, the fact that you MUST bounce between timelines, because if you "advance too far" in one thread, you end up getting squashed by mobs that hit you for 50% of your health in one swing.

I was nodding my head sagely in agreement until this part. It's still correct in my experience, but for different reasons. I've appreciated the challenge, and have only come across a few areas that seemed ridiculous compared to my own power. You need to make good use of both turn changing and monster stacking to win some fights. Most DS rpgs you can smash your face against the buttons and still win, so I like this.

But as it turns out, your progress in any single timeline is still directly dependent on visiting the other. It's tied right up into the core of the design. And in that sense, ignoring the plot device of time travel, it's still a very linear rpg, and like most Japanese games, the choice is an illusion and there is only one right answer.

Having said that, I'm much further in (20 hours) and have gotten past my disappointment of what the game isn't, and am enjoying it a good bit now.

Edit: Out of curiosity, what is your primary timeline, Rosch or Heiss? It occurred to me that perhaps you are right, and the reason why I didn't notice it is because the levels of my chosen first path are more seamless than yours. In other words, maybe even in that first choice there is only one right answer.

[Mileron]

I was nodding my head sagely in agreement until this part. It's still correct in my experience, but for different reasons. I've appreciated the challenge, and have only come across a few areas that seemed ridiculous compared to my own power. You need to make good use of both turn changing and monster stacking to win some fights. Most DS rpgs you can smash your face against the buttons and still win, so I like this.

For example, at level 7, Marco has barely 120HP.
I ticked over to start Chapter 1, then backtracked in Alternate History to get the bomb merchant cleared up.
THen I popped back to Ch1 Standard and, after getting through the "wait for the agent" part, was going through the forest and the first mobs that I get attacked by not only stacked 4 turns above mine, but do some kind of double-swing that hits for 35+ each, or singles that hit for 65. So I think I advanced too far.

It's like FFIV - I knew the first time I played it, back in 1991, that upon getting the Airship and free-roaming, choosing to enter the Castle of Eblan would be full of monsters or traps that my barely-level-25 wouldn't be able to handle - but I managed to clear it with difficulty - but then the mobs in those chests were super-powerful ones that were stronger than bosses (to that point) since they were supposed to be dealt with 10+ levels later.

My complaint is more about a seeming jump in mob difficulty in what looked like a linear progression.

But as it turns out, your progress in any single timeline is still directly dependent on visiting the other. It's tied right up into the core of the design. And in that sense, ignoring the plot device of time travel, it's still a very linear rpg, and like most Japanese games, the choice is an illusion and there is only one right answer.

I realized this right after my latest death. So now I figure if I reach a major branch, I'll bounce to the other timeline and see if I can advance. Basically zig-zag across the board.

Edit: Out of curiosity, what is your primary timeline, Rosch or Heiss? It occurred to me that perhaps you are right, and the reason why I didn't notice it is because the levels of my chosen first path are more seamless than yours. In other words, maybe even in that first choice there is only one right answer.

I picked Rosch, because Heiss gave me the creeps.

[Wool]

Hmm, I went with Heiss first, I wanted to see what he was up to.

That might explain it. Or I might be avoiding less enemies. The game is a little bit tough though all around. There are only a few times in which I felt I didn't have to be on my guard.

[Wool]

I just got finished playing Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. I was very skeptical about this game going in, and even rolled my eyes quite a bit at first, but the more I played it, the more I appreciated it.

It's basically the DS equivalent of adding old text based PC adventure games and old point and click PC adventure games together. You read descriptions of rooms, dialogue, story, etc, make some choices, then end up in puzzle rooms and interact with the environment via stylus to discover the solution and escape.

The premise is that nine people get kidnapped and trapped on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, and only have nine hours to escape before the ship sinks and they drown. Each character is assigned a different number bracelet, of which they have to create the right combinations to get through each checkpoint door. If someone breaks the rules, the bracelet sets off a bomb in their stomach.

The puzzles are varied and interesting, there are multiple endings to discover, and the plot is full of crazy pseudoscience that can be quite amusing. I recommend it if any of this sounds the slightest bit interesting. I was skeptical going in, and now that I've discovered every ending and learned the whole truth behind what was going on, I have to admit it was pretty great, although a few quibbles have prevented my mind from being blown.

[Yttrium]

I finally finished Bayonetta today. Despite all the poo-poo'ing reviews, I really enjoyed the game, the style, and especially the music. The hyped sensuality is a nice touch, but it isn't some "fanboy joygasm" as some critics listed it. Of course some teenage boys are gonna tug a few to it - more power to them. As an adult, it was an interesting juxtaposition of scary "angels" against sexy, witty "demonic" witches.

The ending was fun, and I expect to play through it some more!

[Ronaan]

I finally found some time on sunday and tried to get back into Dragon Age Origins (yeah, part one... I'm slow like that).
Failed, got kicked around and beat up, frustrating experience.
Switched to Gran Turismo 5 ... racing games are my thing. Or so I thought. Got pwned, frustrated.
Switched to Ratchet & Clank. Made some progress. Ran out of time.
Now I want to buy NFS:Shift2Unleashed.
But I probably won't have time to play it. /sadface