The "What Are You Playing Now?" Thread

[Mileron]

I've had more game time in the last two weeks than I have in the last ~4 months. And that's with two new kittens.

Spending maybe a day or two on each game, I've played some Lego Indiana Jones (360, picked up for 7 bucks at a yard sale), a little Fable 3 (360, free with Gold), some Terraria (prepping for the 1.2 patch, getting used to it again), a tiny bit of Minecraft (just enough to log in and see Dale's new world, then Java crashes like a bitch), a smidgen of DC Online (the controls still suck, but I'll have to dig out my wired 360 controller and see if it makes a difference), a bit of Skyrim (the Mage's Guild storyline rocked), Civ 5 (I was doing okay with Alexander until both Gandhi and Caesar decided they didn't like me) and a smattering of other Steam games. And a bunch of FFXIV, which was an early birthday present to myself.

I patched WoW for 5.4 but cannot get enthused for "yet another long slog-like grind".

I keep wanting to push a few bucks towards Star Citizen but due to the fact I need a new video card (my GTX260 won't cut it) I might have to pass for a while. Even X:Rebirth will require a better card.

[Wool]

I haven't posted here for awhile, I've been playing Xenoblade for the past two months. I always put it off because I never had time for it, and it occurred to me that at that rate I never would have time for it, so I went ahead and started it.

It's very good, but it also isn't meeting the expectations that all the hype set it up for. I think it took me awhile to get into it as a result. So many things that people hyped up ended up being simple and not really that big a deal.

It's also got a lot of interesting systems and almost every one of them is in need of refinement to some degree. Some of the rpg mechanics themselves feel like a chore with the way they are handled. Gear for example, is an absolute pain to sort through.

The music is excellent, and while most of the fights are pretty dull, the few that are tough enough to require you use Shulk's visions to form a counter strategy are quite fun.

[Silke]

This thread hasn't been updated in ages...

Anyway, I finally finished Assassins Creed IV. This is, easily, the best in the series. The story is extremely good and there is just so much to do. If you decide to power through the main campaign, you're looking at 20 to 30 hours I'd say. If you want to do all the side stuff, excluding multiplayer which I never got into for AC games, there's several hundred hours of content. I was being pretty OCD of hitting a new part of the game and stopping to collect everything I could but towards the end I just powered through the remainder.

Fantastic game though.

[Wool]

Hmm, I played Odin Sphere and those games I got during the Steam Sale.

Odin Sphere held up pretty well. The art and the story were really good. The gameplay was interesting but a little awkward, not very fluid. The game mechanics were interesting but incredibly time consuming. You level up attack strength by absorbing souls from fallen enemies, and you level up your hitpoints by growing food with those souls and eating it. You also make potions that if you go through the trouble of leveling up too, gives you more souls in return. All of this sounds interesting at first, but quickly grows old and makes the game two times longer than it really ought to be.

You have limited inventory and little money, so you end up farming to buy bags, then farming to buy HP upgrades. And because you start over with each character, when you finally get decked out you have to do it all over again. The good news is that if you bothered to do this, the final ending chapter becomes much easier. I had to go back and farm again for the very first character though, because I had not yet learned what you needed to do and she was under-powered and unprepared for the final boss.

Overall good, but patience is required, and you will get sick of it. I like it more now that I'm not playing it anymore.


Also played Antichamber, really weird puzzle game. My joke to friends was that you don't play Antichamber, Antichamber plays you, because it seldom feels like you are solving puzzles as much as you are accidentally discovering the next thing to do. I enjoyed it a good bit, much more than something like Fez where the puzzles all felt like homework.

Papers, Please is a game for pseudo intellectuals without a demanding job, and their form of escapism involves feeling what it's like to have to do tedious bullshit for a living. You play a border crossing agent and have to make sure everyone's paperwork is correctly filled out. You get paid per person serviced, but get fined for incorrect actions. This is important because you also have a family you have to take care of, and you don't get paid enough to afford food, rent, and heating.

It's an interesting game, but not a very fun one. Half joking with the pseudo intellectual stuff. It's just funny to me remembering back when I first heard people start hyping the game and the kinds of things people said.


Going to play Gone Home later today, then get back to the PS2 backlog.

[Yttrium]

I'm playing Adventure Town, a nonsense, waste-of-time freemium. It's fun and well-done, and, after a week and a half, still hasn't required any $RL to progress. If you pick it up, don't spend gems until you're ready to make a badass weapon.

I played through the single player of Modern Warfare: Ghosts, and it was quite enjoyable. The storyline was a bit surprising, the play control was pretty good, and I enjoyed *not* playing the dog 90% of the time. I tried the campaign for Battlefield 4, and I hated it instantly. Del-Taco'd.

I tried GTA V, but it just didn't "snag" me. Given the volume of games available, I skipped it. Baleted.

I have a backlog of LOTS of XBLA games, and I've been spending 10-15 minutes on each one, then deciding if I want to keep it. It's a long slog. Lots of d3l3t3.

Batman: Arkham Origins is fun, and it's my go-to. I also recently picked up Recettear, which is quite fun. Between the 3, I have something to play on every platform

I have Assassin's Creed *. I played ~80% of 1, just a bit of 2, and the first hour of 3. I didn't really enjoy 2 that much, and 3 was an interesting change of pace, but still very more-of-the-same. I'll give 4 a spin. I could use a long game to sink my teeth into.

[Melcar]

I've been spending alot of time with Kerbal space program.

It's a pre-release, which I very rarely do - but an amazing sandbox game. It's kind of like Orbiter, except there's these adorable green guys who go riding on rockets, that... well, they sometimes (most of the time) blow up. Ok, maybe that's just my rockets. The stuff some people make is absolutely amazing. It's actually taught me a lot about orbital mechanics. Like what a Hohmann transfer orbit is and that I am the worlds worst rocket scientist.

[Milton Finkelstein]

...

Papers, Please is a game for pseudo intellectuals without a demanding job, and their form of escapism involves feeling what it's like to have to do tedious bullshit for a living. You play a border crossing agent and have to make sure everyone's paperwork is correctly filled out. You get paid per person serviced, but get fined for incorrect actions. This is important because you also have a family you have to take care of, and you don't get paid enough to afford food, rent, and heating.

It's an interesting game, but not a very fun one. Half joking with the pseudo intellectual stuff. It's just funny to me remembering back when I first heard people start hyping the game and the kinds of things people said.

It's funny how I thought pretty much the same, when I bought it based on the rave reviews, and experienced not much else than a "crappy bureaucrat job simulator". It was fairly depressing rather than fun, even though I tried to continue onwards to see more of the storyline.
I only managed to play 2-3 hours I think, before I decided to go spend my time on something else, and the thought of spending time on a "second job" doesn't help draw me back in.
I like the idea of the game, and I like how its possible for indie games to get alot of exposure, though.

[Wool]

It's funny how I thought pretty much the same, when I bought it based on the rave reviews, and experienced not much else than a "crappy bureaucrat job simulator". It was fairly depressing rather than fun, even though I tried to continue onwards to see more of the storyline.
I only managed to play 2-3 hours I think, before I decided to go spend my time on something else, and the thought of spending time on a "second job" doesn't help draw me back in.
I like the idea of the game, and I like how its possible for indie games to get alot of exposure, though.

I sort of think that this is the type of game that would appeal to people who like the idea of something as much as the reality of it, and aren't necessarily concerned with "finishing" the game. People who derive amusement from the scenario as much as the gameplay. The type that can ignore the fact that you are doing mindless paperwork in a video game because "wow, it's such an interesting take on fascism and personal privacy". It's the sort of thing Graffe's OT might like. The guy who made it should do one about being a US republican in Congress next and get similar results.

Personally, I did manage to finish it, but the final couple days I was so sick of it that my performance dropped dramatically and I just stopped letting anyone and everyone in. Doubled the amount of citations I had received over the entire game, but I already had two possible endings lined up and had enough money to keep my family alive so wasn't worried about it. Screw bureaucracy.

I've been spending alot of time with Kerbal space program.

It's a pre-release, which I very rarely do - but an amazing sandbox game.

Wait, what? This is still pre-release? People have been playing it for years! It's come so far I just assumed it was technically "done" by now.

[Melcar]

Wait, what? This is still pre-release? People have been playing it for years! It's come so far I just assumed it was technically "done" by now.

They just released version 0.23

The main focus of development right now seems to be a career mode. (that was just released with version 0.22 basically) - In the career mode you earn science points by conducting research, which can then be used to unlock the tech tree. (sandbox mode has all the parts unlocked).

So yeah, it's very playable - but far from "done".

[Yaxa]

Episode 1 of Broken Sword 5 took me around 8 hours to complete, which I guess is decent enough for half a point & click adventure. Stylistically, both in terms of art as well as storytelling, BS5 does a good job at mimicking the first two games of the series. The 3D-rendered characters blend well into the traditional 2D hand-painted backgrounds. Animations, unfortunately, are very stiff. I don't know whether that's indicative of budget constraints of a conscious, stylistic choice, but it sticks out.

Apart from the characters there's no direct connection to the story of the previous games. The only indication of a timeline comes in the form of modern smartphones and computers. (The game actually pokes fun at how much easier things are with internet access on the go.) Travel is limited to a handful of locations in Paris and a short trip to London. There is some, but not excessive, backtracking. Compared to the first two games, there are very few incidentals for the characters to comment on.

Gameplay feels very much like an old-school point & click adventure. Veteran players can choose between modern and classic interfaces while newer players get help in the form of a tutorial and a well-integrated hint system. The latter nudges players by having the characters tell you what they think needs to be done ("I should find something to..."). The overall difficulty of the puzzles is low. Inventory combinations are rare, dialogue puzzles do not exist, and solutions are never more than one screen away. The lack of a hotspot system may be a downside for new players, but interactive elements are never found in unexpected places. Sliding puzzles as found in the Nintendo, iOS and Android remakes of the first game make a cameo appearance.

As this is only half of an adventure game, BS5 unsurprisingly ends on a cliffhanger. Episode 2 is expected in January.

[Mileron]

Been a busy work and life couple of months, but starting in December during "off nights" I started on Starbound. On "hiatus" right now while waiting for the next major beta patch.

Since then, I've gotten a few hours for the following:
Euro Truck Sim 2 (Steam Holiday Sale). Glad this one doesn't make me physically ill (like the first one did). Quite enjoying it but wish the American version would come out sooner. The trucks in ETS2 are just so... boring.

Diablo 3. Got my demon hunter to 60 (with Dale and his wife's legit group help) and into Inferno (and most of the way through Act 1 solo).

Borderlands 2. I know Steam doesn't do returns, however I cannot play this game more than 30 minutes before I get a migraine and get nauseous. If, after a third try, the issue still occurs, I hope I'll be successful getting a refund.

Evoland. Only played the first half hour or so. Enjoying it though.

Torchlight 2. I never finished the second act. I didn't remember what the hell I was doing so I grabbed a couple mods and started over.

Castle Crashers. Enjoyable little game. Reminds me a lot of TMNT:Arcade.

[Silke]

I bought the Metal Gear HD Collection awhile back and have been playing through them. I've been playing them in chronological order for the most part:

I know that these were among the first "stealth" games out there but it annoys the heck out of me how difficult stealth kills are to pull off.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Decent game. I never played it before so wanted to see the story

Metal Gear: The original was much better than the NES port that we all remember. The differences are subtle but it's a stronger game.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake: Never played this one either since it wasn't released in the U.S. until a few years back (unless you emulated it with a translator). Had a surprisingly deep and good plot for an old NES era game.

Metal Gear Solid: The pack comes with a download for the game. Not sure what has changed but it seemed a LOT harder than the original PSX version that we all remember. Bosses that I remember breezing through gave me lots of problems this time around (in particular REX and Liquid were brutal for me and I never had problems with them in the past).

Metal Gear Solid 2: Just started it.

Good games overall. Just part of my backlog that I'm getting around to while I wait for the early year releases (FF XIII-3 and Dark Souls 2 in particular).

[Yaxa]

As I'm nearing the end of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, I find myself backtracking to try to find the remaining items. I went through most of the game without the dash boots, so I hadn't rescued a lot of maimais even though they were in plain sight. Oddly enough the only other use for those boots seems to be a lone, optional dungeon with nothing but rupees as a reward.

Spoiler for spoilery specifics:

After finding all 100 maimais and upgrading most items and the spin attack (which I rarely use), I'm still missing three heart pieces. At first I thought the Lorule castle boss might drop another heart and the game would continue after beating him. But then I ran into another piece in Hyrule. I suspect the remaining pieces might be rewards from some of the nonsensical mini-games. Each of the others seemed to reward you with a heart piece if you got a high enough score. EDIT: Got two more heart pieces from mini-games. Unfortunately the 100-second cuckoo challenge only rewarded rupees.

And I'm also still looking for the fourth piece of Master Ore to get the second Master Sword upgrade. I was hoping that would be the reward for the 50-level challenge at the Treacherous Tower, but I only got a lamp upgrade for that. The hint to bring a net to get a special reward for repeating that challenge suggests that it might be a golden bee (which is obtainable through far easier means).

I'm a bit disappointed that the wall-merging mechanic never escapes its gimmick status. The maimai weapon upgrades are a nice touch. But unlike other Zelda games, unless you're a completionist, you don't really need to bother with them. The Lorule castle dungeon has item-specific challenges seemingly just to remind you that you have those items. No other dungeon in the game requires more than two items to complete.

Despite its shortcomings, it's probably my favorite original Zelda since Ocarina of Time.

[Wool]

I haven't had as much time for stuff lately. When things get like this I always end up trying an ios game to pass the time, and I remember someone talking about Tiny Death Star, so I tried it. Decided it was cute but not for me.

I also started The Last Story for the Wii, which I got for Christmas. The story isn't very interesting, the controls are awkward, and it's rough around the edges in general, but overall I'm pretty impressed with it. It sort of seems like there are two socially acceptable paths for jrpg combat: either it needs to harken back to classic jrpg combat, or it needs to be some kind of mmo hybrid. This is the first jrpg I can think of that has tried to modernize the genre in new ways, taking inspiration from western games without soullessly copying them without understanding for the mechanics at play.

So for example. Combat is real time and you control a single character. There is cover, which you use to flank the enemy or for surprise attacks. If a meter fills up, you can pause combat to issue more specific orders. Allies create fields you can interact with abilities of your own to produce unique effects. It's very cool, although the controls and camera need a lot of work.

Borderlands 2. I know Steam doesn't do returns, however I cannot play this game more than 30 minutes before I get a migraine and get nauseous. If, after a third try, the issue still occurs, I hope I'll be successful getting a refund.

Think it's a fov issue? A lot of console ports aren't adjusted for how much closer a person sits to a monitor. It's an annoying oversight that I will never understand.

I know that these were among the first "stealth" games out there but it annoys the heck out of me how difficult stealth kills are to pull off.

You mean like stealth melee kills? I always just use silenced pistols in those games.

Despite its shortcomings, it's probably my favorite original Zelda since Ocarina of Time.

I think I feel the same way. I can't remember how much I liked Majora's Mask, but I assume it was a lot (other than the final boss, which I never "got").

[Mileron]

Think it's a fov issue? A lot of console ports aren't adjusted for how much closer a person sits to a monitor. It's an annoying oversight that I will never understand.

Oh, I know it is, but even with the console settings and some playing around, it just doesn't help with this game.
(Actually I have the same problem with Battlefield and COD games. FOV sliders don't help.)

[Yaxa]

Having finally found the last piece of heart and the final Master Ore (and without using spoilers), I went ahead and finished A Link Between Worlds. Having the Master Sword at full power made the boss fight slightly quicker, but not easier.

Now, it's a great game in its own right, but it won't change my opinion regarding my game of the year choices. A good chunk of the mileage I got out of it was backtracking, and I really didn't like the mini-games.

As far as the non-linear dungeons go, my initial impression was that Nintendo intentionally implemented that feature in the most obnoxious way imaginable just so that players would praise them for going back to the traditional item progression with the next game. I'm still not convinced that there isn't some truth to it. With almost all items being available right from the start, there was a great potential for more interesting dungeons. Instead, items played a supporting role to a wall merging mechanic that, in my opinion, was never sufficiently fleshed out. Which is a shame, because it's one of those things we probably won't see again anytime soon.

Hopefully the Wii U will come down in price before the next original Zelda hits.

[Macfudd]

My flatmate and I both picked up 3DS's with Mario Kart & Pokemon plus got the free download of Mario 3D World.

Going to make an effort not to go all out on game buying for the 3DS until I've actually finished those three games.

[Wool]

I resubscribed to Gamefly as a part of my quest to finish all the PS3 games I still care about before I get a PS4. Been trying to get Beyond, but they really seem to want me to play all the Suda 51 games.

Killer is Dead - Not as bad as people said it was, but I still didn't like it that much. Feels a lot like No More Heroes, and I assume Killer 7. Kind of interesting, kind of weird, kind of janky. Probably didn't help that I played the far superior Metal Gear Rising at about the same time.

Shadows of the Damned - Better than I was expecting. It doesn't play as much like his other games, probably because it was a collaboration from the guy credited with creating Resident Evil 4, which this feels a lot like. Still nothing to get too excited about though. Most of the jokes aren't really that funny (to me).

Lollipop Chainsaw - I liked this one the most. It's probably the only one I genuinely liked as anything more than an interesting diversion (as in, the only one I would have been happy with purchasing), and the only one I found to be particularly funny.

The vast majority of the games I've rented have been 6-8 hours long, so it's been really easy to binge two a week in the current rental plan. I've also played Asura's Wrath (makes a better anime than game), Puppeteer, and am currently playing the 4th Ace Attorney game. They also finally sent me Beyond, so I'll be able to talk about that next.

[Silke]

I finished Lightning Returns. The game received some pretty harsh criticism but, overall, it's a decent game. It's not the best Final Fantasy but it's not the worst either. The story is a bit convoluted by this point (Final Fantasy games tend to be a bit on the convoluted side to begin with and this game has 2 previous confusing plots to draw upon and wrap up). But it does a good job of wrapping the series up. I'm looking forward to Final Fantasy XV but I'm also sick of the whole Fabula Nova Crystallis setting. XV is set in the same universe and shares the same mythology but takes place "elsewhere" (on another world) so you won't be running into Lightning or her friends.

Anyway, the clock system is REALLY annoying at first and necessitates the use of a guide if you want to beat the game on your first play through. If you go without a guide, you will, almost definitely, run out of time somewhere and have to start all over (but you will keep all stat increases and items you gained). However, once you figure things out it's pretty easy to freeze time and keep frozen pretty much permanently.

I still think that it was asking a LOT for Lightning to carry the game entirely on her shoulders. She doesn't have a lot of personality (grim stoicism only goes so far) and she's not particularly likable. You only get party members for a few areas and they don't really add much. Finally the world isn't terribly large but there is a TON of running around and backtracking.

I think my least favorite part of the game combined the Time Limit that I've complained about and having certain parts of the game inaccessible except for specific times during the day. For example, there are two main cities in the game. One city has an area with a ton of quests in it (including the need to go there for the main quest) but it's only accessible from Midnight to 6:00 am. It's just annoying being very careful to manipulate time properly and then be forced to waste an entire day just to open that area up.

Anyway... I'm not quite done with the game. I beat the last boss but I have 6 trophies left to complete (can only be completed on a NG+ after beating the final boss). The worst part is they are really stupid ones that simply involve upgrading equipment (which cannot be done on the first play through). But that shouldn't take me too long for the Platinum Trophy.

[Silke]

1 more trophy to go and I'll have Platinumed Lightning Returns. Trophies aren't too bad in this game but they do require you to do a partial 2nd play through. While none of the 3 13's have been difficult to platinum, the first is, by far, the most time consuming and difficult. It's also the only one that you can screw up and be forced to play the whole game over if you mess up (it involves selling some items that must be upgraded). XIII-2 wasn't too bad and this one isn't terrible. Most of the trophies you'll get along the way and the optional stuff isn't too difficult with the right strategies.

At any rate, I should have the platinum in the next day or so which means I'll be "done" with Lightning Returns just in time for Dark Souls 2.