# What Game Are You Currently Playing?



## McMurphy

What are you currently playing in regards to video games? This thread will remain stickied until 2010, which sounds very science fiction.

For myself, I am replaying the Nintendo Wii's version of Resident Evil 4 from Ada's viewpoint. I am enjoying it immensely. The price tag of just under twenty U.S. dollars for a new copy sweetened the deal.

I recommend it for adult players interested in the horror genre. It is not, however, recommended for children due to zombie violence.


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## Lenny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

New year, new thread. Reasonable.

Which means I can narrow it back down to one game - *Resistance 2*. It's so much fun!  The original was good, but after a while it got a bit stale, and I haven't really played it since I completed it. The sequel, however, is a lot better. Either that or I've become a better gunner since my days of knee-capping people all those years ago in March 2007.


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## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I certainly found Resistance 2 to be alot easier than the first game.

Anyway my blitz on completing games since Xmas continues.

Resistance 2  - Mediocre
Gears 2 - Superb in every way
Tomb Raider Underworld - Twas ok
Prince of Persia - Pish easy, with an annoying main character, but the platforming was fun.

and now  Mirror's Edge

It was nice to see somthing different, however the first person parkour game just doesn't work for me. It's weird trying to judge distance and after falling for the millionth time it got a tad boring. When you get it right it is a flowing thing of beauty, but all too often I went splat.

The combat is also rubbish, which might have been fine if you could avoid combat, but you can't always do that.

Also I thought it a but weird that they hade the very nice model of Faith in the trailers and then had all the story parts in the game done in an anime style that clashed with the main graphics.

Overall it was a nice try at something new, but too annoying and far too short to be a class game.

6/10


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## Lirael

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well, I don't game as much as I used to, but I've recently been playing Apollo Justice on my D.S. I sadly don't have access to my Wii or PS2 at Uni!  I've also been completing the bonuses on Professor Layton and the Curious Village, but have finished all but 2 puzzles in-game.

Oh, and since we're recommending... I'd recommend both of the above games to anyone really. Layton took me 12 hours to finish, so it's fairly short, but it's a lot of good fun! Oh, and I think everyone should play Phoenix Wright 1 before they consider any of the other games (1 has been my favourite so far).

I really need to get my hands on Final Fantasy VII: Crises Core...


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## elvet

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've started the Sacred Rings, a PC adventure game sequel to Aura Fate of the Ages. Lots of good exploration and mind engaging challenges, stuff that I really enjoy.


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## Brett Howell

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Mainly Football Manager 2009 (4th season with Blyth Spartans now, currently in the Blue Square Premier, top of the ladder 10 games in to the season)

I have Gears 2 to play, GTA IV and Star Wars: Unleashed to finish (keep getting distracted by real life)

Though I've had a bit of nostalgia and decided to replay the old AD&D games from SSI - starting with the original Pool of Radiance. Despite the poor graphics, they're such addictive games.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Resistance 2* *(PS3)* and *Fable II (360) *and *Prince of Persia (PS3)*


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## Ice fyre

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm on wii sports at the mo. Just got a wii yesterday!


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## TheEndIsNigh

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Sadly, Miss Croft.


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## Perpetual Man

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

ANd with the Wii in mind I've just had my first play of Batman Lego and then Indiana Jones Lego. Only had one since Christmas - and one a lot ealier, but there you go eh?


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## Ice fyre

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Whats sadly about Miss Croft, I mean they are good games arent they, nothing to do at all with her skimpy outfits and gravity defying aaaaa, antics of course, yes antics .......


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## Dagny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I finally found some video games that I don't suck at! Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero for Xbox.   cuz if I gotta fly around and shoot stuff and remember to pick up ammo packages and do quests or build a character or upgrade armor, it ain't gonna happen.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm playing *Left 4 Dead* right now. It is probably the best zombie game I have ever played (keep in mind that I have never played the Resident Evil games...I'm too big a wuss for those). The computer is actually competent! It's awesome.

*Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII *is another game that I am in the middle of. I'm one of those RPG freaks that has to level up to 99 and complete every side quest imaginable, not to mention get all of the best armors and weapons so the final boss is a breeze.

*Zelda: Twilight Princess *on the Wii. I played it through about half way on the Gamecube, but then gained access to the Wii version and am now hooked.

Annnnnd...I've already beat *Gears of War 2*. Such a good game. When I run into more I'll let you guys know!


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Oooh! And I see that Lucien21 has also played *Gears of War 2*!!! Good game.


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Simcity 3000 (UK Edition)-* Retro fun


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Aeris said:


> Oooh! And I see that Lucien21 has also played *Gears of War 2*!!! Good game.



I played the first...that was enough for now.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Did you enjoy the first one, Cayal? I sure did. I waited and waited for the 2nd one to get released, and now I'm breathless for the 3rd one! So many unanswered questions! (If you listen after the credits, it SCREAMS sequel...I'm excited.)


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It wasn't bad. I don't hold it in high regard as others do.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Ah. I can see why that might be. There are a lot of cliches with the characters, but I really enjoyed the game play. Though it took me a little bit to get used to the controls (over-the-shoulder shooters aren't generally games I play...I'm more of a first-person shooter person myself), overall it was a very enjoyable experience.

I mean, the chainsaw melee? I don't generally like a ton of gore, but that's just flat-out fun. 

Also, they go more into depth with the story in the second one. Very cool.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Controls were a bit annoying...but I am so used to a PS controller.

I don't think it is better than Mass Effect or Fable 2.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Agreed. Those are both stellar games. I wouldn't necessarily argue that it's better than most games out there, but it is definitely up there for me personally. I think that the most over-hyped game there is would have to be Halo.

*braces for blows from Halo lovers everywhere*


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## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been playing Final Fantasy games, sort of in reverse order.  I'm down to number 7 now; just got an old copy in the mail yesterday.  It's rather exciting to finally play the FF game that EVERYBODY says is the best.

(I still think FF9 is the best, but that's okay.)

I've also been playing Little Big Planet.  It's a fun game!


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Aeris said:


> Agreed. Those are both stellar games. I wouldn't necessarily argue that it's better than most games out there, but it is definitely up there for me personally. I think that the most over-hyped game there is would have to be Halo.
> 
> *braces for blows from Halo lovers everywhere*



I haven't played Halo 3 yet, but the other two were massively over-rated.



Lillyanna said:


> I've been playing Final Fantasy games, sort of in reverse order.  I'm down to number 7 now; just got an old copy in the mail yesterday.  It's rather exciting to finally play the FF game that EVERYBODY says is the best.



I really do not know how to respond to that...how can you have no played FFVII?


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## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'll be replaying FFVII sometime fairly soon, myself.  I'm currently replaying Wild Arms 3.


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## Happy Joe

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Still playing at Titan quest (one of my friends wanted a look at it so I fired it up and got hooked). 
Tried Sacred 2 and it is a totally worthless pile of DREK! don't bother/save your money ...
I think that 2008 will be the year I gave up on video games, not a single one that I liked...
Waiting for Diablo 3...

Enjoy!


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## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> I really do not know how to respond to that...how can you have no played FFVII?


 Hey, you!

>.<

I just started playing games in *2007*!  I completed Twilight Princess, then FF10, FF10-2, FF9, My Life as King, Lost Winds; nearly finished FF8, FF12, Mario Galaxy; and played a bit of The Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, Fire Emblem (PoR), Kingdom Hearts, Tales of Symphonia, Mario RPG, Lair, Little Big Planet, and some others.

It's just not possible to catch up at this point.



And it's not like FF7 was available at Game Stop.  I had to wait until we found a copy that was a reasonable price.  I just started FF7 last night, and I'm a newbie to FF11 right now.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

 You have good gaming taste, Lillyanna. It makes my heart smile.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Lillyanna said:


> Hey, you!
> 
> >.<
> 
> I just started playing games in *2007*!  I completed Twilight Princess, then FF10, FF10-2, FF9, My Life as King, Lost Winds; nearly finished FF8, FF12, Mario Galaxy; and played a bit of The Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, Fire Emblem (PoR), Kingdom Hearts, Tales of Symphonia, Mario RPG, Lair, Little Big Planet, and some others.
> 
> It's just not possible to catch up at this point.
> 
> 
> 
> And it's not like FF7 was available at Game Stop.  I had to wait until we found a copy that was a reasonable price.  I just started FF7 last night, and I'm a newbie to FF11 right now.



Sorry but Final Fantasy VII takes precedent over every single game ever made or ever will be made.

If it costs $1,000. You buy it. No questions.


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Agreed. I still hope they remake it...have all of the same music and dialogue, but make it prettier than the first go. Make it look more Crisis Core-esque. It would make BANK, and make all of the loyal fans very very happy.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Square-Enix lost their loyal fans when they became money grubbing back stabbers (or so the fanboys say).


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## Aeris

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well, what corporation really becomes successful if they AREN'T money grubbing back stabbers.


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## kyektulu

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Im still playing Oblivion + both expanion packs, Im holding back buying Fallout 3 untill I have finished playing Ob otherwise I would never spend anytime out of the house!


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## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Lillyanna said:


> Hey, you!
> 
> >.<
> 
> I just started playing games in *2007*! I completed Twilight Princess, then FF10, FF10-2, FF9, My Life as King, Lost Winds; nearly finished FF8, FF12, Mario Galaxy; and played a bit of The Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, Fire Emblem (PoR), Kingdom Hearts, Tales of Symphonia, Mario RPG, Lair, Little Big Planet, and some others.
> 
> It's just not possible to catch up at this point.
> 
> 
> 
> And it's not like FF7 was available at Game Stop. I had to wait until we found a copy that was a reasonable price. I just started FF7 last night, and I'm a newbie to FF11 right now.


 
if you are enjoying the FF style rpg's, give the Breath of Fire series a go (I've only played BoF3 but I eally enjoyed it once it got started and I figured out what I was meant to be doing) and also try Suikoden which has some really nice ideas


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## McMurphy

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Now that I have completed all the extra assignments for the Wii edition of Resident Evil 4, which I still recommend, I have moved onto another game for the Nintendo Wii system:  *Tales of Symphonia:  Dawn of the New World*.

This JRPG is the direct sequel of the Tales of Symphonia game that was previously released on the Gamecube, and some of the original cast come back in supporting roles.  The game hasn't gotten the greatest reviews due the game's inability to expand on the Japanese rpg storytelling and a whiny main character, but, thus far, I appreciate its presence on a gaming system that has yet to offer a whole lot in regards to JRPGs.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just finished *Resistance 2*, at least the single player campaign. Look forward to playing online and co-op.

Really enjoyed the game and the ending leaves it open for #3.


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've just started on _Medieval II: Total War _(currently eyeing off Scotland), and I've been playing a little _Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines_, which I bought cheap years ago and was never able to get running on my then-PC.


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## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Urlik said:


> if you are enjoying the FF style rpg's, give the Breath of Fire series a go (I've only played BoF3 but I eally enjoyed it once it got started and I figured out what I was meant to be doing) and also try Suikoden which has some really nice ideas



I'll add my recommendations for Breath of Fire and Suikoden.  Both are very good rpg series.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Far Cry 2: *I can't believe how wide open this game is. A game this wide open usually sacrifices graphics to do this (ala GTA) but it is simply gorgeous.


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## AE35Unit

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

My other half is playing *Kingdom for Keflings* a lot. Not my thing but the acoustic guitar and banjo music is great!


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I bought _F.E.A.R._ and _Condemned_ yesterday. Only played _F.E.A.R._ so far, pretty spooky...


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## Karn Maeshalanadae

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well, right now I'm into Twilight Princess, and I'm starting up a couple games on PC that's a few years old....


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## GrantG

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Counter-Strike: Source. I've had one version of CS or another ever since the first one came out years and years ago, but I have never gotten into it until recently. In fact, I downright hated it until recently.


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## Animaiden

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (I'm the furthest I've ever gotten) and for nostaliga and mind numbing purposes The Lost Mind of Dr Brain


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## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Stronghold Crusaders - loads of castle building and sieging fun 
also messing around with the Battlelords Warcry 3 demo

oh and I finished a game recently - Giants Citizen Kabuto!


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm back into World of Warcraft - concentrating on my level 47 Human Paladin.


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

MotoGP 3. older game but i like it!


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## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Another old game for me, too, but I'm replaying Wild Arms 4.


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## fabio0069

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I actually have a burning desire to go back and create a new character for Oblivion: Elder Scrolls. However, my recent attempts have been thwarted by the fact I have a nine month old daughter who demands my real-world attention!

I'll have to settle for the occasional match on Football Manager 2008.


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## kyektulu

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



fabio0069 said:


> I actually have a burning desire to go back and create a new character for Oblivion: Elder Scrolls. However, my recent attempts have been thwarted by the fact I have a nine month old daughter who demands my real-world attention!
> 
> I'll have to settle for the occasional match on Football Manager 2008.



Indeed Oblivion is immensely addictive, you will have to wait another couple of years to play it. lol


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## fabio0069

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



kyektulu said:


> Indeed Oblivion is immensely addictive, you will have to wait another couple of years to play it. lol



I surely will Kyektulu! The late nights spent playing computer games have been replaced by late nights learning the game of being a parent 

Still, I wouldn't have it any other way


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

And for me, compleatly the opposie


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm keen to get my hands on a copy of _Oblivion_. Haven't seen it about here for some time. Heading to a couple of game stores tomorrow, though, so hopefully I'll turn it up.

I bought _NFL Head Coach_ off eBay last week and it arrived on Wednesday, so I've been playing that the last couple of days. A great concept, though I think not particularly well executed. I'm a little annoyed that the updated 2009 edition isn't coming to PC...


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## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm playing Resistance 2 and it's great
I'm also having a few races in Gran Tourismo and my eldest has just bought all 3 Lego titles, so I'm having fun with those as well


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## Dexter

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword and King's Bounty.


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## Michael01

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Culhwch said:


> I'm keen to get my hands on a copy of _Oblivion_.


 
*Oblivion* as in *The Elder Scrolls IV*?  If so, great game.  It has a lot going for it.

I'm playing *Eternal Sonata* right now.   Well, when I'm playing.  Fortunately I've been writing lately so I haven't been playing that much...

I like the way it tells the story of Chopin at the same time.  Actually get to learn something from it!


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well, I still haven't found a copy of _Oblivion_ - plenty of _Morrowind_, strangely, and the _Oblivion_ expansions, but not the original. I have picked up a few new games in the last week - _Medal of Honor: Airborne_, _Need for Speed: Most Wanted_, _Company of Heroes_, and _Sim City 4_. So far I've been playing _Most Wanted_ the most, due mainly to its accessibility...


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Echochrome FINALLY got trophy support so I been playing a bit of that.

Killzone 2 next week.


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## Laughing Man

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Street Fighter 2 HD Remix* - In anticipation of the new *Street Fighter IV* release, have bought & downloaded the recently released SF2: HD Remix from Sony's PSN... keeping me occupied till my SF4 comes through which should be 2 days from now.

Also anticipating the release of *Resident Evil 5* which is due for release March 13th here in the UK and the much awaited arrival of the new *Diablo 3* of which the release date is yet to be announced.


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Back to online poker .


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I am currently playing DotA and WoW (both online games).

DotA is played using Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (computer game) while being online in something called Garena (don't know how to explain that one... Maybe you could call it "The Master of the Network Connection" as it let's you play with anyone else in the world)

and for WoW (World of Warcraft) you only need internet and a few GB  Really cool. (also computer game)


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Never played WoW...too scared too.


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## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Tonight I start Crisis Core.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Lillyanna said:


> Tonight I start Crisis Core.



Did you finish FFVII?


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Never played WoW...too scared too.




Scared of WoW?


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## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have known people go missing in WoW!


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

My brother inlaw built the computer i'm currently useing _just_ to play WoW!
(he now has a bigger and better computer,hence me inheriting this one)

We don't see him for day's on end sometimes.


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## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Did you finish FFVII?


 
No and yes.

Whenever Safer Sephiroth casts Supernova, the software crashes (I think it has to do with the backwards compatibility of the PS3, and the data rate).  The second time it crashed during the final battle, I went to YouTube for the rest.

And I bought Advent Children earlier this week; so I'm ready for Crisis Core, I think.


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



sloweye said:


> My brother inlaw built the computer i'm currently useing _just_ to play WoW!
> (he now has a bigger and better computer,hence me inheriting this one)
> 
> We don't see him for day's on end sometimes.



You *have* to be kidding...


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## mygoditsraining

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Uninstalled WoW at the start of the year.

Was too fed up to do much this weekend so I booted up Mass Effect.  Someone at Bioware reads too much Alistair Reynolds!

I really should go buy SF4 and work on my dragon punch timing (I got whipped midweek by a friend who nabbed an illegal copy and practised like crazy so he could beat me) but I can't be bothered shelling out the cash just yet.


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Playing my Blood Elf Rogue on WoW.


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Hilarious Joke said:


> Playing my Blood Elf Rogue on WoW.



We should get together some time ...


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Runya said:


> You *have* to be kidding...



 No, he spent near £1500 building this one at the time, but the new one he has is around £2000 worth of Alienware, it dosen't mean alot to me but he's just upgraded the Graphics card again. MADNESS i tells ya!


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



sloweye said:


> No, he spent near £1500 building this one at the time, but the new one he has is around £2000 worth of Alienware, it dosen't mean alot to me but he's just upgraded the Graphics card again. MADNESS i tells ya!



Your brother in law has definitely gone overboard  . I am not like that  So I don't think WoW is scary...  Just a little too _addictive_.


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## sloweye

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

in fairness he is a Network specialist and dose use it for more than just gameing, but his office looks like something from Deep Space Nine


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

LoL. Cool! Can I meet him?  But...does he talk all day long about WoW and Networks and bla bla bla?


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## AE35Unit

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

We got Race Driver Grid to play on the X box and its pants


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Playing Resistance 2 online until Killzone 2 in a couple of days, since my Far Cry 2 game is glitched and I cannot progress any further. I am really really mad about it.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Runya said:


> Scared of WoW?


 I have heard how addictive it is. I fear it.


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



> I have heard how addictive it is. I fear it.


 
And so you should! It sucks so much time that it feels your out-of-game existence is naught but an inadequate reflection of that of your character's, a terrible doppleganger of your true self: a blood elf rogue with a 57 hit rating.

Other than that it's a pretty good game.


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It's more than a pretty good game.  I looooo-ove it!!


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It's the best game ever. There I said it.


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## Runya

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Hilarious Joke said:


> It's the best game ever. There I said it.



Thumbs up!


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Not really helping.


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Don't bother, Cay. Seriously over-rated. Unlike sunshine, and actual social contact.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Culhwch said:


> Don't bother, Cay. Seriously over-rated. Unlike sunshine, and actual social contact.



I work in a suburb called Sunshine...it is probably similar to the World of Warcraft world...in that there is a bit of violence.


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## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Cayal - would you like to see my camera?
it does almost all that WoW does for you - but it gets you outside (sometimes)  



As for me Still playing around on Stronghold Crusader - building castles and smashing into others


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have a job...

Killzone 2 later today. I am HYPED.


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## Laughing Man

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Blistered fingers from *Street Fighter IV* this whole week, fantastic game... they changed the soundtrack though which I am not too happy bout but otherwise its an amazing ps3 rendition of the legendary classic.


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## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Stronghold Crusader! I have that somewhere. The question is, where? Hmmm. Must have a search...


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have been Killzonwd. Fantastic game.

Play it on a good tv with surround sound and it feels like you are there. 4 years wait was worth it.


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## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Man I wish my camera gave me as much enjoyment as WoW does. Ah well! *logs on*


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## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm very sad to say that I cleared Crisis Core after only about 30 hours of play.

<3

Started Kingdom Hearts I a couple days ago.  Sora is annoying.


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## thepaladin

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Old school, Neverwinter Nights 2 (and expansions) on my PC.


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Killzone 2!!!!


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## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I bought Killzone 2 and Silent Hill Homecoming.


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## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I wasn't completely blown away by the Killzone demo


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## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Demo was too short.

Game is absolutely amazing.


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## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've heard mixed reports
graphics great but some gameplay problems


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## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

shifted play to Sins of a Solar Empire - Entrenchment
 great big space stations 
mine fields
an ai that attacks and does not run from every encounter
long range siege ships 

tis all great stuff


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## Michael01

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm playing *Eternal Sonata* now. It's interesting, anyway. Kind of neat to get a biography of Chopin while playing a video game...


----------



## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Michael01 said:


> I'm playing *Eternal Sonata* now. It's interesting, anyway. Kind of neat to get a biography of Chopin while playing a video game...


 
I had a look at the Japanese version (Trusty Bell) on PSN (if you haven't already got a Japanese account, google Japanese PSN account and follow the directons. it's worth it for the different demos in the store and the PS Home is comepletely different)

Eternal Sonata is on my "to get" list along with White Knight


----------



## Jinny_Afersin

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Brett Howell said:


> Mainly Football Manager 2009 (4th season with Blyth Spartans now, currently in the Blue Square Premier, top of the ladder 10 games in to the season)
> 
> I have Gears 2 to play, GTA IV and Star Wars: Unleashed to finish (keep getting distracted by real life)
> 
> Though I've had a bit of nostalgia and decided to replay the old AD&D games from SSI - starting with the original Pool of Radiance. Despite the poor graphics, they're such addictive games.



well, brett,
I've tried Football Manager 2009 and found it horrible for me...but it is ok, anyway, maybe i'm not professional enough


----------



## Jinny_Afersin

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Lillyanna said:


> I'm very sad to say that I cleared Crisis Core after only about 30 hours of play.
> 
> <3
> 
> Started Kingdom Hearts I a couple days ago.  Sora is annoying.


lol
nice shot though


----------



## Lillyanna

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Hey, my name's Jinny.

*laugh*

Well, I need to play Crisis Core over again and do all the missions.  I had it set to EASY and only completed 30 or 40% of the missions.

I'm going to start Dirge of Cerberus sometime this week.  Kingdom Hearts I is okay but it doesn't quite give me the fix I need.


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I rather liked Dirge of Cerberus, although it took me a while to get used to the different system (being an old fashioned RPG girl, rather than an FPS one).

I've currently gone back to playing Odin Sphere, after having given up on it for a while last year.  Hopefully I can get a bit further in the story this time.


----------



## MontyCircus

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm currently playing Mega Man.  I'm having a bit of trouble with 2 of the boards.  Maybe Fire Man and Ice Man I think are the names.  It does seem like the boards are very short and repetitive, and most bosses you can just stand there and fire and still win.  So the  sequels are definitely better.  Mega Man 2 is so great.  I guess this one is more or less a framework for the greatness to come.  Still, I'll have to boot it up again and soldier through to the end before I move on.

Modern games suck.  8 & 16-bit games are still better than anything made since.  You can shove the latest and greatest FPS up your ass!  WOOOOOO!!!


----------



## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been having a lot of fun with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Overlord: Raising Hell 
I'm now eager for the release of Uncharted 2


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

After finishing the awesomeness that is Killzone 2 I am back onto Eternal Sonata (XBOX 360)


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Recently got _The Sims 2: Seasons_, so playing _The Sims 2_.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Coincidence? Installed _The Sims 2_ yesterday! And am now, of course, thoroughly addicted. Who'd have thought.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I could never get into The Sims. It got annoying when they took 5 hours to get out of bed.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Dawn of War 2.


----------



## Cudaer

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I am currently playing Dead Space on PS3 - The chapters are quite long and arduous but the game is certainly a good one. Unfortunately I am now stuck, trying to Kill this huge alien creature stuck in this wall. To my cost I have learnt that it pays to store ammo throughout the coarse of the game so that you have enough to destroy the beast. It also pays to make sure you have at least one highly upgraded weapon. 

I thought that watching the film- which was a prequel to the game, may have given me some clues but sadly this was not the case.

If anyone has played this game already I'd appreciate any pointers.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It is the Alien that shoots big balls at you? I think it is Chapter 4 or so?


----------



## Connavar

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Killzone 2*

*Metal Gear Solid 4*
_*
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009*_

Mostly Killzone 2 but i play Pro Evo with my brothers.


----------



## Cudaer

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> It is the Alien that shoots big balls at you? I think it is Chapter 4 or so?



Yes, and it is a right royal pain in the, well you probably now what I mean?

I have tried throwing everything at it. I can get through the first stage, but then it regenerates its tentacles and fires fire balls and you run out of ammo

any tips?


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Not sure if I remember but use the gravity gun to catch the balls and fire them back at him.


----------



## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Shoot the Yellow bits of the tentacles until they blow up.

It then starts tossing fireballs from it's mouth in the centre, catch them and throw them back into the mouth (I.e yellow bits in the mouth)

Then there will be more tentacles so shoot more yellow bits on tentacles until it dies.

Like this YouTube - Dead Space: Exterminator and Playing Catch Achievement Guide


----------



## Fake Vencar

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just started Empire Total War


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just started being jealous.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Resident Evil 5 (PS3)


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Finished Dawn of War 2 awaiting arrival of Empire Total War


----------



## bluerayarchangel

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I completed Zelda - Twilight Princess,   still on Fire Emblem - Path of Radiance, I keep going back to Final Fantasy - Crystal Chronicles, I love playing Final Fantasy games, completed FF7 system broke before I completed FF8 and I love Zelda have nearly all of them.


----------



## Laughing Man

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Resident Evil 5


----------



## Althain's Warden

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Resident Evil 5- finally a decent co-op Res game !
Street Fighter 5- sigh not as good as it was claimed to be! looks awesome though
Tiger WOods 2009 quality i will out drive anyone ! 
Still dable every few days on Unreal Tournament 2004 ! Way better than UT3


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Today I bought _Assassin's Creed_ and _Sins of a Solar Empire_. Only played a little of the latter, mostly the former. Quite enjoyable...


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have played Sins of a Solar Empire and thought it was a very good game, but did not believe it quite reached the high level of accolades it received in reviews.

I really wanted more from the game. On that note however, there is an add-on pack called Entrenchment (with more add-ons apparently in the pipeline for release). Unfortunately I just can't seem to find anywhere that sells it


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Shadow - did you play sins fully patched (possibly with entrenchment addon).
Its initial release was rather lacking in polish - but its had some of the best after release support from the developers and its fully patched form is far more refined - the ai has also been upgraded (it no longer runs at everything)


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Overread said:


> Shadow - did you play sins fully patched (possibly with entrenchment addon).
> Its initial release was rather lacking in polish - but its had some of the best after release support from the developers and its fully patched form is far more refined - the ai has also been upgraded (it no longer runs at everything)


 

Sorry for the delay in replying Overread. I played Sins a while back (6months +).

I have recently purchased the Endless Universe addition to Galactic Civilization II, where (on installation) the Impulse software update alert indicated the ability to update my Sins of a Solar Empire.

I did this, but have yet to play it as I thought it was only a basic patch. If _*it is*_ indeed the Entrenchment add-on, many thanks. 

If not, never mind, but thank you nonetheless for your time


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

entrenchment costs something like £5 and its an optional addon but well worth getting I think (and you get big space bases!). 6 months is a fair bit of time and even normal patches have changed gameplay balance quite a lot in that time - give it a try you might find things better


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Overread said:


> entrenchment costs something like £5 and its an optional addon but well worth getting I think (and you get big space bases!). 6 months is a fair bit of time and even normal patches have changed gameplay balance quite a lot in that time - give it a try you might find things better


 

Thanks for the advice. I have shied away from purchasing/downloading direct from the internet in the past for fear of inviting s*ds law into the house and something going wrong! 

However, Sins is going on tonight and if the previous download isn't the entrenchment then I think I'll purchase it later on tonight anyway.

Once again thanks for your time, appreciate it.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Replaying Metal Gear Solid 4 and Ratchet and Clank - ToD


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Much to the annoyance of the missus (and all Overread's fault ) I played Sins of a Solar Empire 'Entrenchment' over most the weekend. Superb game with more bolt-ons to come in the future.

This week its been Total War Empires. This has had mixed reviews but I've gotta say I'm really enjoying it. All the town management side of things (which I could never let be auto managed by the CPU) has been simplified, so for once I'm actually enjoying this part of the game as well. 
I actually like the presentation style of the strategic map (some people have quoted it's too colourful/not gritty enough.) And my computer does not seem to have a problem with running it:

Dell 2.6 duel core Pentium. 256mb graphics card (if anyone wants full specs I can give you them later, as I'm at work at moment!). I run it on a 172 widescreen (1440x900 I think).

I have only played/am playing the American campaign but it is great. This is even with an Indian tribe kicking my butt last night (it was truly a Custer's Last Stand scenario). The tactical battles are extremely well done. One of the best TW titles (along with the Rome edition)


----------



## Pyan

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Age of Empires II - Conquerors Expansion...*

I know, I know...


----------



## HoopyFrood

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Nowt wrong with Age of Empires.

Was playing Pokemon Ranger earlier. Think I'm getting near the end so trying to curb my playing on it.


----------



## Lenny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Final Fantasy X* again.

I've just survived the laughter cutscene (at low volume, of course), and I beat the _Luca Goers_ 3-2 in the Blitzball Tournament!


----------



## HoopyFrood

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Freaking hate cutscenes. And hammering on the buttons just doesn't make them go any faster...


----------



## HoopyFrood

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Double post...people need to post things!

Just had a go on Wii Fit on my housemates Wii (didn't even know he had a Wii board, he kept that quiet). I rock at tightrope walking.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Wii - TV Rabbits (whole family)

PC - Empire Total War (just me; gotta love those mortars!)


----------



## Joel007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Fallout 3, awesome even at minimum gfx. Extremely creative, and a stagging amount of little jokes and references. I'll have to complete it a few times to get the full flavour, but this may well end up near the top of my all time favourites list.

 Also Dawn of War 2: Co-op... awesome.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm currently being scared out of my tree by *Dead Space* Xbox 360. Awesome game, will one day be seen as one of the greats. Still playing *Call Of Duty 4* Xbox 360 if I find the time.

Also just got a copy of *Final Fantasy VII* and *VIII* on pc, so I'm gonna take a peek tomorrow, see if the magic is still there after all these years.


----------



## AE35Unit

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Other half is currently enjoying Fable II on the 360. Not my thing but she loves it.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Noah Phoenix said:


> I'm currently being scared out of my tree by *Dead Space* Xbox 360. Awesome game, will one day be seen as one of the greats. Still playing *Call Of Duty 4* Xbox 360 if I find the time.
> 
> Also just got a copy of *Final Fantasy VII* and *VIII* on pc, so I'm gonna take a peek tomorrow, see if the magic is still there after all these years.


 
I remember enjoying FF VII quite a bit. I'm just waiting for something new now (like Starcraft II or maybe a new RPG that I can get into), come on and get releasing!


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

O.K, so FFVII has lost a little of its shine, but I enjoyed FFVIII more this time around. About halfway through it now.

Dead Space is still awesome. A definite recommendation. Just got back into Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic on xbox. Keep getting a little bored with it, but I'm trying to stick with it, I've heard its a classic.

Sold Fallout 3 xbox360. Just couldn't get into it. Didn't rate it at all. But then I didn't like Oblivion either, strange.....


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Condemned 2 - Bloodshot (PS3). *Bizarre but freaky game. I like the investigation part of it.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

FFVII, _lost its shine? _   That's blasphemy, man!  

;p

I was thinking of getting _Dead Space_, but I got _Killzone 2_ (as mentioned in the other thread).  Am really enjoying it, although tonight a particular section drove me wild...

I also had the dubious fortune of picking up _Mercenaries 2_, which was thoroughly mediocre, and in places, laughably bad.  One more trophy for platinum, and then I can trade it in and be done with it. 

I'm still working on _Mirror's Edge_, since the speedruns and time trials are solid.  Overall I enjoyed it, but it was very frustrating at times, between missing the same jump twenty times and the awful combat system (and trying to get the 'Test of Faith' trophy...one unarmed young lady against half-a-dozen big dudes with machine guns, gnnngh!).

And I still have to play multiplayer in _GTA IV_.  Loved the single player, though.  

I played _Flower _recently, which was cool.  And _Wipeout HD_ is an ongoing project, although I haven't got far, and haven't touched it in a while...



Not sure what I'll play next.  Thinking of _Bioshock_, but there are other options, and I'm open to suggestions.  

Anyone had a great time playing any RPG on PS3 recently?  I notice a few folk mentioned _Eternal Sonata_.  Is it worth playing?  If so, why?



[edit]  Oh, and Lenny, if you're still playing Final Fantasy X again, are you going to beat Penance?  It's an awesome challenge.......


----------



## Saeltari

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Recently addicted to Europa Universalis III Complete. Seriously.

I have also been playing Sid Meier's Pirates (I wish they'd come out with another Pirate game like this one!) and the original Baldur's Gate, working towards bringing a character all the way through to the conclusion of BGII. 

I picked up Crusader Kings and its expansion plus the 1701 Gold edition (it is on sale at D2D right now til the 10th). I got The Guild 2 plus expansion a while back but have yet to install it. I have also played Mount&Blade and am eagerly awaiting its expansion and really looking forward to Dragon Age. 

I have also been keeping my eyes open for any really good new RPG, although I haven't really found one yet. Fallout III is probably good but I want the fantasy RPG. Swords and magic, dragons and fair maidens (or handsome princes if that's your preference) are what I need in an RPG, no Sci-Fi for me! (Nothing against science fiction of course, just a personal preference for my alternate realities). I recently found a site called Good old Games that has a lot of great old pc games I would like to play but just don't have the time to at the moment. I still need to read and write and study and work and eat and poop and breathe and all that other stuff 

Even with only 4 hours sleep a night there is still not enough time to do everything you want to, inclusive of work and play!


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Sephiroth said:


> FFVII, _lost its shine? _   That's blasphemy, man!



Yes I agree.




> I was thinking of getting _Dead Space_, but I got _Killzone 2_ (as mentioned in the other thread).  Am really enjoying it, although tonight a particular section drove me wild...



You have to get Dead Space. Killzone 2 is awesome, but Dead Space is right up there.

I am going to play it through again soon to get some more trophies (along with GTAIV)



> I also had the dubious fortune of picking up _Mercenaries 2_, which was thoroughly mediocre, and in places, laughably bad.  One more trophy for platinum, and then I can trade it in and be done with it.



I just bought Mercs 2. I haven't started playing it yet.

But if you do trade it in, get Dead Space.



> And I still have to play multiplayer in _GTA IV_.  Loved the single player, though.



I wasn't a big fan of GTAIV but I am going to replay it now that it has trophy support. 



> I played _Flower _recently, which was cool.  And _Wipeout HD_ is an ongoing project, although I haven't got far, and haven't touched it in a while...



Flower is great. It's Zen.

I have Wipeout HD as well and I just play it here and there.





> Not sure what I'll play next.  Thinking of _Bioshock_, but there are other options, and I'm open to suggestions.



I have Bioshock on 360, haven't played it yet but it is one of my most anticipated.



> Anyone had a great time playing any RPG on PS3 recently?  I notice a few folk mentioned _Eternal Sonata_.  Is it worth playing?  If so, why?



I played it on 360 and recently finished it. I recommend it. If you like Classical music even better. It's short-ish (took me about 16 hours to finished) but I recommend it.

[/QUOTE]


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I shall have to try and pick up Eternal Sonata at some point, then.  It's still quite expensive here, though.  If a game is short, I prefer to try and pick it up on the cheap (like I did with Mirror's Edge).  

I do like classical music, though.  

Will have to check out Dead Space, too.  A friend of mine has it on 360, and it looks cool.  He has a problem with ammo in his game, IIRC, and is stuck somewhere.  Maybe he got past it by now............

I finished Killzone 2 (the last section was gnarly...), but I still have a couple of single player trophies to get.....including the 'complete the game on Elite', one.........which I think is gonna be a nightmare, tbh..........

Like I said above, though, Bioshock should be my next purchase.

The trophies in GTA IV were quite fun, I thought; with the exception of the pigeons one, which was a major pain in the behind.  I do plan on having a go at the multiplayer sometime, but I'll probably play MP in Killzone a bit before I do that.  

Oh, and _if _you're keen on getting platinum in Mercs 2, and you're playing it soon (coz I'll prolly trade it in soon-ish), _and _if you don't know anyone else who has/is playing it, I'd help you out with the four co-op trophies...coz it's a pain trying to find randoms on the server willing to co-operate (particularly with the gunner seat one).  

Not everyone cares about the trophies, but I quite like the extra challenge, and I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive about stuff like that.  



I've been dying to play MGS4, but I haven't played any since the first one on PSX, and I've been told that there's no point in playing it until I've caught up by playing 2 & 3 first.  For so long I wasn't able to buy games, so I missed out on quite a bit.  


Oh, and Saeltari, I couldn't agree more about the time thing!  Grrrr!

As for RPGs, well, I'm hoping that _Demon's Souls_ will prove to be half-decent when it comes out here.  Other than that, I'm hanging on for FFXIII...


----------



## BookStop

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I existed since the beginning of time, and I can tell you; our gaming methods have improved over the current years. but I; for some uneexplainable reason, always end up picking up my Game Boy and playing Pokemon. i own every version. My sister thinks I'm insane. 

She is more into Kingdom Hearts. She is angry that some sort of 365/2 isn't out yet.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I never owned a Game Boy (nor any other hand-held), but I used to love playing Mario on my friends'.  I must admit, the whole Pokémon thing is lost on me, however.   


Kingdom Hearts looked cool.  But then, I _would _say that -- I'm _in _it.  Heh.


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Back into The Sims 2.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Call of Duty - World at War (PS3)*


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Man, i'm still playing Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. Half Life two as well. 

Have KOTOR 1 and 2 ready to play when i can find the time.


----------



## Simple Simon

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've started playing Doom 2.

I played it years ago when it came out and I was about 10 but I always used cheats back then.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Rodders, I've just started Knights of the Old Republic 1 on the xbox, and it's great so far. Just hope they give me a blinking lightsabre soon!


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been playing fable 2 on and off, finished the main story and now going back doing the side quests.


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Noah Phoenix said:


> Rodders, I've just started Knights of the Old Republic 1 on the xbox, and it's great so far. Just hope they give me a blinking lightsabre soon!


 
Yeah, i'm, really looking forward to starting this.I just need to find a couple of days by myself.


----------



## Saeltari

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have been trying to find that KOTR on the pc as a download but haven't seen it at any of the download sites. I was hoping it would be on Steam or D2D.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*2160*, got it off Steam for £2.99. It's not bad. 



I'm *still* waiting for Starcraft II, but also looking at a game called *Dragon Age* by Bioware (saw it advertised on IGN), it looks pretty good and a game that might get me back to the RPG world of gaming.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Saeltari said:


> I have been trying to find that KOTR on the pc as a download but haven't seen it at any of the download sites. I was hoping it would be on Steam or D2D.



You can pick it up for cheap anywhere these days. Got my xbox copy for £5. But then i guess its a little harder to get stuff in Mongolia....


----------



## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm back into TW2 playing the Third Age TW mod
Middle Earth will soon fall under the iron shod feet of my Uruk Hai


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Started _Uncharted _today.  When I get back from my holiday, I'll probably be playing that and _Bioshock _at the same time.


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Good to see you round Seph!

Back into online poker


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Cheers, HJ!

Will be back in a week or so.  



...in the meantime, I'll miss my PS3.  *sniff*


----------



## AE35Unit

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Yesterday we were playing Oddworld,Munch's Odyssey. Its an old Xbox game and on the 360 its not full screen and the sound is missing when the characters are talking. There's music and there's certain sounds but when you get Abe to talk or one of the info beings pop up with useful information you can't hear it! It sounds like its coming from the bottom of a very deep well! Annoying but apparently many have reported the same!


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I just got my 3 yr old Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets (xbox), and on the 360, the intro is slow, and theres no sound, and when playing it slows down horribly. I'm thinking of shelling out the £20 for an old xbox. I've also got Prince of Persia the Two Thrones which won't work on the 360. Aother thing to whinge about the 360......


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well I did a 360 degree turn and fell over. Bloody 360s.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Hilarious Joke said:


> Well I did a 360 degree turn and fell over. Bloody 360s.


LOL. I just borrowed an xbox for my boy to play it on, it's fine now.


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'd like to start playing X-Wing versus Tie fighter again, but i can't get it to work on my PC. Damn. Someone should release a new one.


----------



## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Sephiroth said:


> Started _Uncharted _today. When I get back from my holiday, I'll probably be playing that and _Bioshock _at the same time.


 
I recently finished Uncharted (got to love platinum games) and considering its age, it is a fantastic game.

the effects are amazing. I still get a buzz from the way he gets wet when he goes in water and dries out in the sun.
the story is pretty good as well and I can't wait to get my hands on Uncharted 2


----------



## Michael01

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm playing _Lost Odyssey_ right now.  Love it.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Urlik said:


> I recently finished Uncharted (got to love platinum games) and considering its age, it is a fantastic game.
> 
> the effects are amazing. I still get a buzz from the way he gets wet when he goes in water and dries out in the sun.
> the story is pretty good as well and I can't wait to get my hands on Uncharted 2



I got my platinum yesterday in this, and I couldn't agree more.  I loved it.  The game looks amazing (like you, I spent some time just admiring the fact that you can get wet and then dry out in the sun), sounds good (and the voice acting was solid enough), and the story is decent.  

I watched the six-minute trailer for Uncharted 2 the other day, and I must say, I can't wait!



On to Bioshock now, I think.  Although I picked up inFamous at the weekend, too.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm just about finished Dead Space, excellent game so far. I've borrowed Left 4 Dead, and I'm glad I didn't buy it. A little disappointed with it, to be honest. I'm surprised they announced Left 4 Dead 2 today, there's just no need. Why can't they just finish off the first game instead? The developers said that there would be constant content for it, as the basic game is repetitive and short, but theres been very little so far.

Just started Mass Effect again as well. I didn't get very far with it the first time, and gave up on it. This time I'm going to stick with it, as everyone keeps telling me its a great game. But then they said that about Oblivion and Fallout 3, and I didn't like either of them. And considering I love RPG's that's saying a lot.

I've still not played Bioshock, I keep meaning to.....

Did inFamous get mixed reviews? I'd love a PS3, but unfortunately can't afford that and my 360. But at least I'm going to get to play FFXIII and Metal Gear Rising soon (ish)! Yay for Microsoft!


----------



## Urlik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

just had a play of the inFamous demo and it's pretty good.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've only played the intro/training thus far (most of the reviews I've read are pretty positive, though).  It looks cool, but I've had other stuff to play first.  Am in the process of chalking up the LOTR online trophies, and tonight I started Bioshock at last.  

It's _creepy_.  I'm liking it, although I haven't played much yet.  



Oh, and Rag Doll Kung-Fu is available for free on the US PSN Store.  The game itself is pretty crappy, but the theme tune is awesome...............


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Fished Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 out of a bargain bin on Saturday and have been obsessed with it ever since...


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I want to get dead space. I loved the Twinkle, Twinkle little star promo they did. Creepy.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I haven't played a PGA game in a while (since before they were Tiger Woods, I think...), but I used to love them.  


I may still pick up Dead Space in the future, although I'm eyeing up Red Faction: Guerrilla as my next FPS purchase.  I remember enjoying the original Red Faction, although I never played the sequel.


----------



## Lenny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

A friend has lent me Heavenly Sword, and I started playing it yesterday.

To say it's a hack'n'slash, and that they're usually not my cup of tea, I'm rather liking it! The game itself is surprisingly good, and the voice-acting is hilarious (not bad, rather incredibly melodramatic. I quite enjoy the cutscenes)!


----------



## Ross

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've decided to go back in time and play the fantastic Grim Fandango.

Was one of my favourite games back in the day

It's just as difficult as I remember it


----------



## Althain's Warden

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well i'm still playing UT2004 as it still rocks.
The only other development is i've been suckered into re activating my Star Wars Galaxies account, all my friends still play it and so as i'm around it most of the time anyway i may as well play it.
TBh they have improved it a lot since i left. Any other chrons members play SWG? Inparticular any on the server- Bria? Lol that would be cool


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

On chapter 5 of Bioshock.  It's still creepy.  And _solid_, on Survivor.  The last couple of levels have been pretty hardcore.  Mainly the Big Daddies.......


----------



## Erin99

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Little Big Planet, which is _weird_! 

I'm wearing a TV on my head, a plantpot and plant around my waist, some specs, a moustache, and a TV remote in my hand. Oh, and I run around while I'm crying.........


???

It's the strangest thing I've played in a while.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It looks strange.  I've never known quite what to make of it, and thus, have never purchased it.  



Bioshock has got easier as I progress, but I've still got a fair bit to go.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

inFAMOUS = Awesome!


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Glad to hear it.  Can't wait to get playing it!



Was watching my friend play _Prototype _on the 360 today.  Looks pretty cool too, from what I saw.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Yes Prototype is meant to be good. But I will refrain from getting that at the moment since my job situation is a little shaky so I need to save my money.

After Infamous I plan on re-playing Uncharted to get all the trophies and then play some other games I have neglected.


----------



## Ross

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I started playing Prototype last night.

Didn't play too long but looks a very simple but very fun game to play. I'll enjoy that one

(I actually thought it was something to do with cars at first, maybe a super car that can do awesome stuff...but obviously, I was wrong)


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Question Please! *

Has anyone played *Sword of the Stars* and if so what do they think of it?

I have a Steam account and at the moment they are offering SotS the 2 expansions (Born of Blood and A Murder of Crows) and the new Argos Naval Yards add-on. *Price £12.99*.

I have looked at a few reviews and as it marks at around 75% on most sites; it seems quite reasonable (even though it's a little old).

However, I have Galactic Civilizations 2 pack as well as Sins of a Solar Empire (and Star Wars Empire at War). These games are similar and so was hoping there was someone who had actually played the game who could comment.

*Thank you for any help!*


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

One level of Bioshock left, and then on to inFamous.......

And like Uncharted, Bioshock is definitely at its hardest in the early stages.  If you've still to get the Crushing trophy on Uncharted, Cayal, levels 4 and 5 are the worst, IMO.  


Will definitely consider playing Prototype in the future.  Maybe not right after inFamous, though, since (as Lucien said in the other thread) they seem pretty similar in many ways.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Sephiroth said:


> Will definitely consider playing Prototype in the future.  Maybe not right after inFamous, though, since (as Lucien said in the other thread) they seem pretty similar in many ways.



I am thinking a long those lines as well. It would probably ruin one or the other if you played both one after another.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just started *Mass Effect*...awesome so far. I didn't like either Fallout 3 or Oblivion, so here's hoping...


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Noah Phoenix said:


> Just started *Mass Effect*...awesome so far. I didn't like either Fallout 3 or Oblivion, so here's hoping...



Mass Effect is great. I can't wait for the sequel.


----------



## weblegend

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Call of Duty 4  It just so good


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Mass Effect is great. I can't wait for the sequel.


The more I play it, the more I love it! Not even done any of the first plot missions after you get the Normandy, and I've been playing for seven hours! Scoured the universe, taken out Geth outposts, explored uncharted worlds and not even started the story yet!

Loving the sniper rifle and NO AMMO! The only gripe I have is the limited difference in the interiors on the worlds. It's a massive game, and I understand that they couldn't fit a lot on the disk. Perhaps they should have left some of the star systems off and had them as DLC and then put a few more interiors in?

I've also got PGR4, Left 4 Dead and Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii waiting in the wings once I've finished Mass Effect.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just finished InFamous. Awesome, awesome game.

Now onto Uncharted trophy whoring and FFVII PSN.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Just finished InFamous. Awesome, awesome game.
> 
> Now onto Uncharted trophy whoring and FFVII PSN.



I'd be so freakin jealous if I didn't already have it on the pc


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

You mean FFVII?


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Yep. Awesome game. Lost a little of it's shine over the years for me, but still one of the best I've played, if not THE best. I seemed to enjoy FFVIII a little more this time around than the first time. Perhaps it's the fact I've changed a lot since the first time I played them. Think I was around 15 when FFVII came out (1995-ish wasn't it?). 28 now, so my taste has bound to have changed over the years. I used to love JRPG's back then, hated FPS and racing games. Now I find it hard to get into big RPG games, I didn't like Oblivion or Fallout 3, and love COD4, Burnout Paradise and PGR4. 
Mass Effect however, seems to be changing that.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

1997 I think Final Fantasy VII came out. I remember seeing the advertisement for it on TV before I ever had a Playstation and then my parents bought me a Playstation for my birthday and Final Fantasy VII was the first game I ever bought.


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

What a way to start, eh? I would have been 17 then. Good memories!


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I would have been 13 when I got the PS/FFVII and while Final Fantasy VII may be the greatest game I've ever played. The first ever PS game I played was Resident Evil...boy did I never ever expect the dog smashing through the window. That is one hell of a memory.

The more I play FFVII the more I want a remake. God I hope Square Enix get it done, the PSN release sold incredibly well.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I was 17 as well, and I bought a Playstation specifically to play it, having been astounded by my first impression of watching a friend play the beginning when it first came out.  

Thus ended the long and distinguished tenure of my Mega Drive, may it rest it peace.  (I wish I still had it, now... )

And in my opinion, FFVII is _still _the shiniest of all shiny things, btw.  

_Great _memories.  Some of the best of my life, and that's no exaggeration.  Which is why I'm tentative when it comes to a remake...do I really trust them to deliver something that does justice to the greatness of the original?



Anyway, the Bioshock plat is in the bag, and I'm halfway through my second playthrough of inFamous now.  I'm enjoying it -- further comment is reserved for the game thread.  

Not sure what's up next, yet.  Was excited by Ghostbusters, but the PS3 visuals thing is putting me off.  Have been considering Red Faction: Guerilla for a while...  And people still keep telling me to try LBP, and that it's awesome fun, etc, etc...

We'll see........


----------



## Noah Phoenix

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I think if they keep the story exactly the same, added to the incredible depth and merely updated the visuals, then they could make it work. But the problem with remakes is that the original was popular because of the time it came out, and that it was really ahead of it's time, a remake now would just be a remake. It wouldn't be ahead of it's time, it wouldn't be anything new that the western world hadn't seen much of before.
It's the same with the slew of movie remakes. Who really thinks that a Flashdance remake would do well these days? It was popular because of the times, not because it was a great movie.
I fear there would be too much disappointment in a FFVII remake, and IMO SquareEnix just wouldn't risk it in the 'current economic climate'.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I think there is a difference between remaking movies and video games. 

If they leave FFVII and update the visuals, give it voice acting and improve the dialogue (such as Aeris saying 'This guy are sick') it will work. 

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind a Final Fantasy VII remake will sell millions. In Japan alone I think they'd make their money back. I'm pretty certain if Square Enix put dog poo and labelled it Final Fantasy VII dog poo it would sell millions.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Currently playing Company of Heroes and loving it!


----------



## Connavar

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I borrowed my brother's PS3 and im enjoying fully *MGS4* my first time playing it. 

 I was playing all night almost to dawn.  Playing with dark room liking being to cinema but with  a great story and great gameplay.   Kojima and co never lets down.   MGS series is what gaming experiance is all about.  Not about some repetitive shooter or a game like Assassin's Creed who gets old after 5 minutes of gameplay.

Its about the fun,joy you get from sneaking through a war zone and being proud you made it without dying or getting seen by the enemy.  Then the tempo changes and its a cool gunfight with Liquid cyborg like private soldiers.  You know when you meets Meryl's team for the first time.


----------



## StoryForge

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Our 2d specialist is currently playing Infamous, and our intern....(me) is waiting for Mass Effect 2


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm not sure if they could make it work or not, Noah.  But Cayal's right, in that it would sell millions, regardless.  Which, I think, is what worries me...  The temptation may be too much to resist, and the end result may be something that those of us who adore the original will be very disappointed with.  



Anyway.  Finished inFamous, got my platinum.  

Have just finished Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires, as well, which I must say was a thoroughly mundane and repetitive experience........

Currently I have Little Big Planet and Burnout Paradise on the go.  The former has yet to excite me, although I've quite enjoyed certain parts of certain levels, and I have begun to create a level of my own.  The latter is actually quite fun, in a mindless sort of way.  I played the original years ago, and I got this as part of a deal.


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Work was tossing out Oblivion without a case for cheep so I got that and that I am liking that, and now we have Assassins creed for $25 so I might pick that one up this week when I pick up GH Metallica from my husbands birthday.

I'm also giving sims 3 a go on the PC.


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I was enjoying Oblivion, but I racked up 50+ hours of gameplay without actually _doing_ anything (except levelling-up and the odd side quest), and I don't like how the enemies/dungeons all level with your character, so that everything always feels very generic and 'samey'.  

It's a cool game, but has major design flaws, IMO.




I've stayed away from AC on the advice of others who've played it, but maybe you will enjoy it.  I think Lenny did.  A lot of people seem to find it very repetitive, though.


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Yeah that happens alot with Elderscrolls games, though I like it cause I dont finish them in 6 hours


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I picked up Oblivion on the cheap last week too! Can definitely see it getting repetitive, but then I don't play games all that often, so when I dip in and out it's not so bad. Plus a gorgeous world to wander around in. Far too many ROUSs for my liking, though...

_Assassin's Creed_ is similarly pretty, and similarly repetitive...


----------



## Sephiroth

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

It's certainly a beautiful world.  And those ROUSs are pretty handy for levelling up your armour skills.


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Gotta love the ROUSes.

Just a heads up for any Aussies with  a PSP, Kmart are moving away from them so games should be going out pretty cheaply soon.


----------



## AE35Unit

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Well my other half rented Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Xbox. Graphics and gameplay superb but she's completed it after two plays!


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

What are ROUS?

I am playing Mercenaries 2 on PS3. Destructible environments FTW!


----------



## Rinman

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Man I'm obsessed with Ys Book I and II for the Turbografx-16 but I just can't go anywhere with Legacy of Ys: Books I and II for the DS...it's a remake and re-release by Atlus and there's a fair bit different in it. I keep getting killed and well, I'm not used to certain enemies being stronger than the original game and well I get killed in one hit. Then I have to start the game over.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



			
				Cayal said:
			
		

> What are ROUS?


 
Have you never seen _The Princess Bride_? *R*odents *o*f *U*nusual *S*ize.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Culhwch said:


> Have you never seen _The Princess Bride_?



I'm a guy....


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

That's no excuse!



> The Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?
> Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

The Princess Bride is compulsary veiwing. IIRC they actually made a small game based on it too.


----------



## Erin99

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've never seen it either. I mean to, but the name always puts me off. I keep confusing it with that Anne Hathaway movie about a bride (I think it was Anne)..........

Sounds like a fairytale about a beautiful lady trapped in a tower, or something.





Anyway, I've still got that game with the Sackboys in it, but I've yet to play it again. It's.... weird. And it hasn't sucked me in yet....


----------



## HoopyFrood

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I think I steered clear of it for a while because of the name

I watched it. Then I _had_ to read the book, because I enjoyed it so much. It's quirky and funny and very good.

The name is a little misleading, but this is me who's talking...you have to strap me into a chair to watch something that really would centre around the typical idea of a "princess bride".

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"


On topic, finally completed (and I mean, completely completed) Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. So I've started it again.


----------



## Erin99

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Hmmmm, I've looked up the film on IMDB, and I recognise the leading man. Where have I seen him before? ('S okay, no one has to answer; I'm just thinking aloud.)

And LOL! That quote, Hoops, you've said it before! You put it in my head last year, adn now I find myself saying it at random times to Seph. "Prepare to die!" It's catchy.


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Carey Elwes has also been in such greats as "Robin Hood Men in Tights" "Liar Liar" "Hot Shots" And six episodes of "The X Files" (among many other things)

Did you you have a multi region dvd device? if so I have a spare copy of the movie I will send ( I got one then a few years later a special edition one came out and I _just had_ to ge that one)


----------



## Erin99

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Nope - mine's the Region 2. But it's okay, I'm sure one of the channels will put it on sooner or later. They seem to repeat everything else. 

Thanks for the offer, though.  Does your generosity ever end???

And aha! I've seen him in _Men in Tights_! Thank you!!! I loved that film.


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Bummer, cause it is just gathering dust here, and everyone I know has it already.

Sure it does, Im not sending $1 000,000 to anyone, no matter how much I like'em

Men in tights is an awesome flick.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Leisha said:


> Nope - mine's the Region 2. But it's okay, I'm sure one of the channels will put it on sooner or later. They seem to repeat everything else.
> 
> Thanks for the offer, though.  Does your generosity ever end???
> 
> And aha! I've seen him in _Men in Tights_! Thank you!!! I loved that film.



99% DVDs can be made region free.

Just google your DVD model (eg - Sony DVDR-321) and region free and you should find a method that removes region coding from your DVD. It's usually just inputting a series of numbers on your DVD remote.


----------



## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Havn't seen "The Princess Bride" --- Inconcievable.

It's a brilliant film.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Topic -

Just finished *Resident Evil 5.* Bought it ages ago and just got round to playing it. The set pieces and gameplay more or less a copy of RE4. 

loved it 

9/10


----------



## Gandalf

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I agree with the above - Princess Bride is excellent 

I'm playing Soulstorm at the moment, not bad but just more of the same from the guys at THQ.


----------



## Joel007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Dawn of War II changed the gameplay on strategy games to more of a domination style, and it is awesome to play, but I still like going back to Soulstorm.*

And the Princess Bride is a fantastic film!*


----------



## Rinman

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Practicing speed runs of Ys Book I and II for the Turbografx-16 on the Virtual Console.


----------



## Quokka

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I bought Capcom Classics 2 a little while back, the games have aged about as well as you'd expect considering they're 20+ years old but still had some side-scrolling fun with Black Tiger, Strider and Knights of the Round.


----------



## thesoothsayer

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Daggerfall. 

It's been re-released FOC, so I'm playing a game I didn't finish due to frequent crashes in the past. Still crashes a lot, but it's faster to reload now, even on dosbox on my Linux laptop.


----------



## mushroomyakuza

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Currently playing: Fallout 3 expansions Broken Steel, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta. Other than that, I'm just waiting for Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin's Creed 2, and Bioshock 2, until they delayed it


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Stronghold Lord of the Rings Mod! Great fun and the castles are really well made for it!


----------



## Skipbee

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Spider-man: Web of Shadows! Game is very awesome.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

phew not much gaming going on at the moment!

Changed to The Settlers 2 - great old game off GoG and rather fun to play


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Bought CoD 4 off of eBay, it arrived yesterday. I fear I'll have played through it before long, but it's very enjoyable.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

CoD4 is definitely not the longest single player you will play. The meat is in the multi-player aspect which I highly recommend.


----------



## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Currently addicted to the superb Batman:Arkham Asylum.

Superb voice acting, atmosphere has really captured the comic world and the characters are superbly designed. (Esp Joker and Killer Croc)

The way the levels work and the constant voice of the joker reminds me a lot of Bioshock.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I played the demo - since the full game is not yet released down here - but I was very impressed with the game entirely. Especially the depiction of the Joker. They could have easily just tried to copy the Ledger version of the Joker, but they went their own way (from what I saw) and it is impressive.

-----------------

I've been playing Madden 10, Killzone 2 online, Fat Princess all on PS3 and Bioshock on XBOX 360.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Aw, Madden 10. Madden 07 is still getting a workout on my old X-Box. I wish 10 was coming out on PC. If I bought a console, it'd pretty much be for the Madden games.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Meh...they ain't worth it anymore.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

At this point, there can't be much to add on. I'm three years removed from the latest version, so I'm sure I'd be more impressed. Besides which I've wasted more time on Madden than most other video games combined...


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

They can improve a lot of little things.

And I get it every year, always will. It's good fun until you start winning easily.


----------



## Joel007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I hereby declare Bioshock to be awesome.*

That is all.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Joel007 said:


> I hereby declare Bioshock to be awesome.*
> 
> That is all.


 
Werd, I just started playing it on 360. I had it for months without picking it up. big mistake.

It's great.


----------



## Winters_Sorrow

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Bioshock is brilliant. A good example of how a story can lead a game, not the other way around. I'm a little worried by what I've heard about Bioshock 2 and I'm not bothered at all about the multiplayer aspect but I'm obviously swimming against the tide on that one.

Oh and currently I've been sucked into the evil that is World of Warcraft but I'm looking forward to escaping soon


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

How the heck do you kill the Bouncer or Big Daddy or whatever they are called (the things with the drill arm). Took me three deaths to kill one, and that was with having their heath depleted to the stage it was when I died. They move ridiculously fast.


----------



## Lucien21

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Hack a nearby turret usually works and the electric shotgun shells do a fair bit of damage and freeze them at the same time.

Bioshock Rules.


-----------------------------------------------

In other news I completed Batman: Arkham Asylum.

It was brilliant.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been tempted to get that game right now, but since pay week is in a couple of days, funds are low and I've been starving off temptation (as well as Simpsons Season 12)


----------



## mygoditsraining

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

IL-2 Sturmovik weekend! 

Been waiting so long for a flight game that doesn't include multiple-target fire and forget missiles (the bane of online play, IMO - oh look, we've shot each other down from six km out, what a fun game).

Just been online, cackling in delight at all the people in Realistic mode matches spiralling out of the sky because it's not the _Ace Combat_ flight model where you can just fling your plane about willy-nilly.  Tally ho!


----------



## Quokka

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Icewind Dale, another old one but I'm determined to finish at least one Black Isle game!


----------



## Rosemary

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Celtic Dawn by Rob Korb.  Very relaxing pieces of music.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I think you might be in the wrong thread, Rosie - this one is for what _video game_ you are currently playing....


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria.  It took me a while to get used to the style of play, but I'm enjoying it so far.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Exclusively on Bioshock for the moment, but I did buy Arkham Asylum for PS3.


----------



## Joel007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> How the heck do you kill the Bouncer or Big Daddy or whatever they are called (the things with the drill arm). Took me three deaths to kill one, and that was with having their heath depleted to the stage it was when I died. They move ridiculously fast.


 

You can usually go back to them later once you've leveled a bit. Once you get the camera they get easier, and electric shotgun shells are awesome vs them.*
Just nuke them all out with your opening salvo (headshot, lightning blast, another headshot, etc). Then dodge like crazy


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Exclusively on Bioshock for the moment, but I did buy Arkham Asylum for PS3.


 
Now that does look like an interesting game.


----------



## mushroomyakuza

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Arkhum Assylum is a pretty good game, though it occasionally delves into repetitive habits. In terms of atmosphere though, it does a great job and is definitely worth playing.


----------



## bobbo19

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Currrently a Steam addict so: Counter Strike Source, Team Fortress 2. 

On my Wii I have been playing Mario Kart and SSBB, 

Xbox 360 PES 2009, Fifa 09.


----------



## thepaladin

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Replaying Dungeon Seige 2...I only finished it once and I never played the expantion...have it loaded and ready to go.


----------



## ubik

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just picked up the _Bioshock/Oblivion _dual pack from GAME for £19.99. Perfect! I'm a little way through _Bioshock_ at the moment but I can already tell it's going to be an epic game. Think I'll be picking up the 2nd one as soon as it comes out next year. 

Also thinking about returning to my _Dead Space_ game. I gave up on it, but saw the anime last night and realised I need to give it another go. Hacking off alien-zombie limbs is too fun.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Dead Space is awesome, give it a chance.

I just finsihed Arkham Asylum on PS3, excellent excellent game. Though the boss battles are too easy. They hint a sequel, so I look forward to it.


----------



## Daisy-Boo

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm playing Rise of Nations.

I'm itching to get Sims 3 and Godfather II but I need a better video card. Maybe next month...


----------



## HoopyFrood

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Oh my...

My friends in another house nearby have rock band, with two guitars, drums and vocals.

I've played on it once so far. I see an addiction growing in the very near future...


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been lolling around mostly waiting for Uncharted 2. But trying to get all the trophies on Arkham Asylum.


----------



## McMurphy

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I have dabbled with a couple different titles since I last posted in this thread...some time ago.  The games are the following:

The Conduit (Nintendo Wii)
Uncharted 2 (Playstation 3)
Burn-Out Paradise (Playstation 3)


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Bioshock *- 360 again. Hopefully going to finish it before I get Uncharted 2.


----------



## JDP

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Playing Killzone 2 (PS3). Had it for about three weeks, playing singleplayer off and on. Only just tried the online multiplayer yesterday - it's awesome! Would heartily recommend


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just started in on _Age of Empires 3_, but I fear it won't get much playing time because _Empire: Total War_ is in the post. Hoping it arrives before my coming long weekend.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Going through a "computer not powerfull enough" and "not enough HD space" crisis so I'm revisiting the old favourites instead!
Currently trying to rule the kown world in Warrior Kings Battles - if only they had fixed the ruddy pathfinding - but still a good enjoyable game!


----------



## Diggler

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I'm banging away at *Borderlands*. It's not perfect, but the Diablo style of looting seems to get you mighty addicted.


----------



## Harry Kilmer

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Fallout 3. Damn this game is addictive.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Ratchet and Clank - A Crack in Time. Boy it rocks.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Got _Dead Space_ in the mail today, played it a little bit tonight. Nice and moody, but by God the control system sucks. I hate these third person games. Give me FPS any day...


----------



## Harry Kilmer

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Fallout 3 still - tempted to go back and play an evil character but can't be bothered training up all my skills again.

And also GTA - The Ballad of Gay Tony. Currently doing the drug missions in a Gunship. Goodtimes.


----------



## Connavar

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Football Manager 2010*

Its such a struggle being a Roma fan and trying to win the league with your team when they are so poor,cant buy players.

The owners gave me a million Euro to pay players and thats like what Cristiano Ronaldo makes in a month


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Someone convinced me to get Medieval 2 Total War  and its expansion = that and the ASOIAF mod for it! Wish I had got this game ages ago - great fun - but I now have to clear out some harddrive space - no space for the expansion or mod


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Must go back and play that a bit as well. I was playing as the Tyrells, and had taken Dorne, most of the Stormlands, and was just turning to the face the Lannisters the last time I played. So many games, so little time.


----------



## plg007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

FARMVILLE. this one is the coolest game i have ever seen.


----------



## thepaladin

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Replaying Neverwinter Nights (1) I'd like to try Dragon Age Orgins but I still have a Pen.4 processor and I'm afraid it wouldn't run it.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Got Empire: Toatl War in the mail yesterday, installed it last night, but didn't get a chance to play it yet. I know how I'll be spending my wekend though...


----------



## Jon Sprunk

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just reactivated my WoW account last night. Not a good sign....


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

The Sims 3. Love it.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Demon Soul's *(PS3) - Wow this is one ridiculously difficult game.


----------



## Denie Alconn

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Totally into Sims 3 right now, love the expasion. Oh, and of course Dragon Age, brilliant game!!!


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Fired up _Empire: Total War_ on the weekend, but I wasn't in the mood to get into it. I've been playing two little games I got cheap from Steam, _Osmos _and _World of Goo_. Beware, you'll lose large chunks of your life to these two...


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've only recently started playing The Sims 3. What's the expansion about, Denie?


----------



## Denie Alconn

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

You get to travel to China, Egypt and Paris, where you can do "quests" to earn "visa points" to be able to go on a longer vacation the next time you travel. Makes it actually to an adventure game  . Plus you have tons of new stuff to find and purchase, sooooooo fun.


----------



## Denie Alconn

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Oh, nearly forgot to mention, while on vacation your character doesn`t age, I just love that!!!


----------



## Hilarious Joke

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Interesting. Thanks Denie!


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I reloaded Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds last night. I only do the freeplay and never got into the actual game itself. Maybe i should give it a go.


----------



## Denie Alconn

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Hilarious Joke said:


> Interesting. Thanks Denie!


 
I think my describtion sucked actually, so here is some more:
In each country you are like Indiana Jones, exploring tombs, dungeons and so on. You find many cool artifacts, have new skills like nektar making, photography and martial arts. You can also build basements which can double your living area, buy vacation homes, learn foreign songs and invite sims from other countries to visit you and you also have more feats and real cool lifetime rewards to choose from.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Finished *Demon's Souls* (finally) and now going to play *Dragon Age: Origins (PS3) *and *Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)*. I also aim to finish *Bioshock (360)*.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Rodders said:


> I reloaded Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds last night. I only do the freeplay and never got into the actual game itself. Maybe i should give it a go.



For such a simple game I find it rather fun 
The Campaign games are mostly quite fun I find, early ones limit you to the units you can use and some of them can be a bit slow (in that it takes a while to build up a larger army of weaker units to seige an enemy position) whilst a few force you to play without any additional building of units - its then a case of balacing your force to stay alive whilst also completing the objectives and seeking out any allies on the map.


----------



## CyBeR

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

On my hunt for the platinum trophy in "Ratchet & Clank: A crack in time" and "Uncharted 2". I've got 4 more trophies to go in the first, and a sh*tload of treasures to find in the second...plus, the higher difficulty playthroughs.


----------



## Moontravler

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Finished Dragon Age (all my games are for PC) a while ago.  Played it on "normal" with a female Dalish Elf Warrior. When I have time, I'd like to replay it it as a male mage (already did the origin), this time on "hard".

 I picked up Divine Divinity 2 after that, which is a lot of fun; -still busy.  Also busy playing Ceville, on the AG front, and my copy of Dark Fall 3 has just arrived.

I've been neglecting strategy, since I played DA:O in micromanagment mode, which amply satisfied my strategy itch, it seems, but I've got waiting: 
King Arthur: the Wargame, Elven Legacy, and King's Bounty.

Sadly I'm rather short on time, though...


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Having finished Dragon Age and replayed Dawn of War 2, in anticipation of the Chaos expansion, I find myself revisiting the Company of Heroes Anthology (a fantastic RTS game and well worth a purchase at the reduced prices if you're into RTS games).


----------



## Moontravler

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Talking of expansions, I think I'll wait for the DA:O expansion before I start it up again.

I just realised that I actually bought DOW 2 when it came out, and then completely forgot all about it, because I then played Risen, and after that, Dragon Age.

Now I'm enjoying Div 2 too much to interrupt it, but I must definitely find out what I did with my copy of DOW2 and put it on the shelf in front of me..


----------



## Pyan

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

*Age of Chivalry* - a total conversion modification pack for _Age of Empires II: the Conquerors_ set in Western and Central Europe 1100-1500 AD.

If you're bored with _Age of Empires II: the Conquerors_, try this - great fun. 
It overwrites the existing copy of AoE, so if you want to play both, you have to re-install AoE with a different address and make a new shortcut. CD  and "C" patch required.

Age of Kings Heaven - The Blacksmith :: Age of Chivalry: Hegemony


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I reloaded and am in the process of replaying Star Trek: Armada 2. (I prefere the original, but it won't load on my PC.)


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

After a break from playing anything on my PS2, I'm going back to replay Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria, to try and get through the bonus dungeon this time.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I am so excited for Mass Effect 2 but I have so many games to play, I might have to leave it until I finish Dragon Age.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Been playing Warlords Battlecry 3 recently - though whilst I am no expert gamer the AI in this game does need rather an overhaul. I'm upping the game to hard and it still does not really pose a big threat unless it starts with a majorly overwhelming advantage (which in this game would be three or four level 20 creatures on the attack).
Its a fun game though and has all the content that modern games just seem to lack on in that it has a wide number of different armies and it has an experience, inventory and personal guard setup as well which I find pleasent additions to what is, in the end, a typical RTS experience.

I do often think that PC games would do well to throwin those little trophies and extras that console and online games get. Not the silly impossible ones (find the 2 pixels that represent a hidden chest hidden behind a massive door in a very large dungeon sort) but the achiveable achiveables


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Thought I might give Torchlight a go, and so far I am enjoying it.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Good to hear Wy 
I should get to playing it again - and check out the community for some mods


----------



## Wybren

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Thanks for recommending it, I like the cartoony type look to it too and the little wolfy that follows you about.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

heh last time I was on the main website forum there was a mod to make the pets larger (and yes wolfy is the best of course). Check the torchlight thread: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/525418-torchlight-diablo-2-5-a.html and get one of the mod managers first though - they are needed once you go beyond one or two different mods.


----------



## Joel007

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Definitely play DOW2 co-op with someone, it's great fun. Try out the new "Last Stand" option as well.*
Dragon age is great fun, I've tried being an evil persuasive rogue ranger duelist. Time for a good warrior


----------



## CyBeR

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just finished "Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for sail!" and I can say I really enjoyed it (though I needed some help at times). I'm now getting "Magna cum laude" from the same series and plan on installing "A vampyre story" soon. I've got an itch for some adventure games and I plan on scratching it.


----------



## Red 13

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've been playing Dragon Age origins on Ps3. Its a great game and i strongly recommend it to Fantasy lovers.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Finished *Bioshock *on 360 and started *Halo 3 *on 360.
Still playing *Dragon Age *and *ModernWarfare 2 *on PS3


----------



## Rodders

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I just ordered a couple of Star Wars games from Play. (SW: TCW: Republic Heroes and a collected RTS game.)


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Cayal said:


> Finished *Bioshock *on 360 and started *Halo 3 *on 360.
> Still playing *Dragon Age *and *ModernWarfare 2 *on PS3


 
Started playing Bioshock last weekend. Interesting game, though it didn't grab me enough to keep playing. Will return to it, though.


----------



## Lenny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Bought *Psychonauts* off Steam on Thursday (£1!!), and I started playing it yesterday - fantastic!


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Culhwch said:


> Started playing Bioshock last weekend. Interesting game, though it didn't grab me enough to keep playing. Will return to it, though.



My problem with Bioshock, and to a lesser extent Halo, is that the voices are so low or drowned out by the action, and there are no subtitles it's really hard to follow what is going on.


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Yeah, I found that too! I'm not one to have the sound blaring, so I have to dive for the remote anytime I want to hear something...


----------



## lew82

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just finished Crysis - fricken EPIC


----------



## thaddeus6th

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

For the time being I'm done with Dragon Age (great game but I must've clocked hundreds of hours). Assassin's Creed 2 arrives soonish, and in March I'll be getting God of War 3.


----------



## CyBeR

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Making good headway with "A Vampyre Story"...but, sadly, it's really clear that I have no practice with such games and I find myself often stuck or tempted to look through a walkthrough. I did so on a few occasions and am trying to limit it... I'm used too much to actually having a direction in games and it's hard to be with no indicatives of what's expected. 
Plus, the buggy nature of the game doesn't really help. 

Anyway...great game, and really fun characters.


----------



## Rahl Windsong

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Can't afford any new games at the moment so I have dug into some old ones...

I reactivated Titan Quest the Immortal Throne on my Steam account the other day so that I could continue my epic run. I am finding Typhon to be a real pain in the butt in the epic difficulty so for now I am just trying him once in a while and in the mean time I just go to a place like the Outskirts where a ton of magic stuff drops. This does two things, gets me the odd better item then I already have, and it advances my character who is currently level 57 so that I can have another go at Typhon. He sure is a pain to take down though, he has to be one of the hardest bosses to take out that I have ever encountered.

Another game I just can't seem to put down, well two actually, Torchlight and Dragon Age: Origins. Both games are easy to install mods to, with Torchlight you need to download a tool called Torchleech, Runic Games &bull; View topic - TorchLeech - WoWMatrix clone for Torchlight , This tool downloads, installs, uninstalls, and checks compatibility with all your installed mods, it is really a must have for anyone installing mods to Torchlight.

Dragon Age: Origins is also very easy to install mods and there is also a user created tool to do this, of course you can use the DAUPATER.EXE that is supplied with the game but not all mods come with a compatible file to use the Bioware updater. So the solution is to get the user created tool called DAModder.exe this tool operates very much like the DAUPDATER but it also allows you to use regular .zip files where DAUPDATER only allows you to use .DAZIP files and not all modders supply their mods in that file format. Here is a link to DAModder.exe for anyone interested in using mods with Dragon Age: Origins...

DAModder - Premiere DA Mod Manager at Dragon Age Nexus - Dragon Age mods and community

I am also thinking of a replay of Mass Effect while I save up the money for Mass Effect 2, the TV commercials for ME2 are driving me insane!!! lol


----------



## lew82

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Just started Wolfenstein - find it really hard to get into the Wolfenstein games, it's like at parts they try and make it like Raiders of the Lost Ark...but then you see nazi superhuman particle cannon soldiers...oh well...Wolfenstein 3D (1992) will live forever in my childhood. A game they should SERIOUSLY consider remaking in the sci-fi genre is Wing Commander...either a sequel to the games already made or a complete remake of the series, but of course you'd need to be so careful how you did it, else you alienate the entire fanbase, JJ Abrams managed ok with Star Trek though so it can be done. Just don't pull a Paul Anderson with Resident Evil.....uuuurggghh *grumble grumble*


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



lew82 said:


> Just started Wolfenstein - find it really hard to get into the Wolfenstein games, it's like at parts they try and make it like Raiders of the Lost Ark...but then you see nazi superhuman particle cannon soldiers...oh well...Wolfenstein 3D (1992) will live forever in my childhood. A game they should SERIOUSLY consider remaking in the sci-fi genre is Wing Commander...either a sequel to the games already made or a complete remake of the series, but of course you'd need to be so careful how you did it, else you alienate the entire fanbase, JJ Abrams managed ok with Star Trek though so it can be done. Just don't pull a Paul Anderson with Resident Evil.....uuuurggghh *grumble grumble*


 

Agree with you 100% lew82. Wing Commander Prophecy was one of my favourite games when it came out, and only the upgrading of my PC meant I couldn't revisit it. I thought the storyline and history to the game was great.

I still haven't found a replacement space sim that could take it's place in my collection.


----------



## Lenny

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Rahl Windsong said:


> I reactivated Titan Quest the Immortal Throne on my Steam account the other day so that I could continue my epic run.



One of my housemates has been playing a lot of Titan Quest recently and, when I saw it on Steam for £2.50 (for both Titan Quest and Immortal Throne), I thought, "Why not?".

Now I've got to find the time for it.


----------



## Overread

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Sometimes I'm glad I haven't had the money to upgrade my computer - Titan Quest I completly ignored - however Rome Total War attracted me and I might be liking it just as much if not more than the medical 2 version. Great game


----------



## lew82

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Shadow Trooper said:


> Agree with you 100% lew82. Wing Commander Prophecy was one of my favourite games when it came out, and only the upgrading of my PC meant I couldn't revisit it. I thought the storyline and history to the game was great.
> 
> I still haven't found a replacement space sim that could take it's place in my collection.



It's definately a genre that they don't put much time or effort into these days. Sins of Solar Empire was ok but got boring pretty quick and was RTS not flight sim...Freelancer was pretty good, but hey that's Chris Roberts again there. Prophecy was epic! I had just got a 3D accelerator at the time and was so amazed at the graphics - blew me away. If you still have the Prophecy CD-Roms you should try installing DosBox which is a great way to play all the old skool games.


----------



## nj1

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Being the extreme tightwad that I am and the fact that my cpu's are for work and I don't have hours to spend playing games I am currently playing any one of these

BBC SPORT | Fun and Games | Games

free games from bbc (probably won't work oversea's sorry) The graphics are poor and a thre year could play them better than me, but hey!


----------



## lew82

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I also just finished Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth - pretty intense game, but you sorta have to like HP Lovecraft to get it. Very edge of your seat scares on some levels and alot of saving and loading hehe.


----------



## Shadow Trooper

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



lew82 said:


> It's definately a genre that they don't put much time or effort into these days. Sins of Solar Empire was ok but got boring pretty quick and was RTS not flight sim...Freelancer was pretty good, but hey that's Chris Roberts again there. Prophecy was epic! I had just got a 3D accelerator at the time and was so amazed at the graphics - blew me away. If you still have the Prophecy CD-Roms you should try installing DosBox which is a great way to play all the old skool games.


 
I'll look into DosBox, as I think I took the game (with the covert ops expansion disk) to my parents when my OS was upgraded. Hopefully good ol' Mum will have remain true and not thrown it away (she rarely throws anything away!).


----------



## Rahl Windsong

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

All this talk about the old Wing Commander games, man I loved those games! I have a story where I met Chris Roberts. I was in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show and EA had their booth set up there. Their newest game at the time was Wing Commander 3, the one where the cinematics really took the forefront of that series. Anyway I walked up to the EA booth and I noticed an area that I could get to but it was limitted top press and employees only. I slipped in and started to check out all of the props they had. There was a life sized Kilrathi head on display and several models of some of the space craft in the game. Pretty soon in walks Chris Roberts and Richard Garriot, the man behind the Ultima series. They started to talk to me, I guess they thought I was with some magazine or some other media and most of the talk was about the game Garriot was developing, Ultima Online.

After about a half hour of talking to them I told them who I was, they both laughed and congratulated me on being resourceful enough to make it into the press section without a press pass, I just walked in...lol They were really great to talk to, their passion for gaming was infectous and I could see why they were able to lead teams in game design.


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Replaying a few old games this month, and just started on Breath of Fire 3.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I finished:

Heavy Rain (PS3) - Awesome
God of War Collection (PS3) - Awesomer (and prepared for GoW3)

Put on hold:

Mass Effect 2 (360)
Halo 3 (360)
Braid (PS3)
Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)


----------



## Culhwch

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Not currently playing but soon will be - _The Force Unleashed _and _Fallout 3_. Arrived in the post yesterday. Also purchased _Arkham Asylum_ from Steam but haven't downloaded it yet.


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

God of Epicness 3 will be in my PS3 after I finish work.


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Currently replaying Suikoden 5.  I'd forgotten how much I love the Suikoden series, even if it does seem like an age between each new release.


----------



## Adasunshine

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

Made the recent mistake of investing in World of Warcraft, The Wrath of the Lich King... am far too addicted... am really enjoying it though...

xx


----------



## Rahl Windsong

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Adasunshine said:


> Made the recent mistake of investing in World of Warcraft, The Wrath of the Lich King... am far too addicted... am really enjoying it though...
> 
> xx


 
WoW can be very addicting, however I find I loose interest as soon as my characters all reach the current level cap. So I tend to only reactivate my account when Blizzard comes out with a new expansion. I am waiting for their next expansion Cataclysm, but I have heard that it will only raise the level cap 5 levels instead of the usual 10 levels so I am thinking it might not be worth it...


----------



## Talysia

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I haven't had much time to really get into any games lately, but I've been playing a few of the sub-games in Wild Arms 4 for a bit.  It's funny, but sometimes I get more enjoyment out of the mini-games and subquests in a game.


----------



## reiver33

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I've gone back to play 'Yuri's Revenge' an old Red Alert 2 game (Command & Conquer).


----------



## Lacedaemonian

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

I am becoming increasingly bored of console gaming and miss my clan gaming on the PC so much!  

Currently bored out of my mind playing FIFA10 and CODM2 on the Xbox.


----------



## Devil's Advocate

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*

You know, this thread has 2009 in the title. Should we be starting a new thread for gaming in 2010?


----------



## Culhwch

There, I fixed it. Seeing as how we're three months in, I didn't see the point of starting a whole new thread...


----------



## Cayal

Jumped on Mass Effect 2 to focus solely on it.

Loving it so far. Bioware never cease to amaze me.


----------



## Devil's Advocate

So, I finished Uncharted 2 a couple of weeks ago. Excellent game.

Now, I'm on to Assassin's Creed II. So far, so good...


----------



## Red 13

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Lillyanna said:


> No and yes.
> 
> Whenever Safer Sephiroth casts Supernova, the software crashes (I think it has to do with the backwards compatibility of the PS3, and the data rate).  The second time it crashed during the final battle, I went to YouTube for the rest.
> 
> And I bought Advent Children earlier this week; so I'm ready for Crisis Core, I think.




I just re- played FF7 for the 10th time (i never get sick of it) and i'm now re-playing Crisis Core. I actually bought the PSP just for that game and i don't regret it! Its great, especially for fans of FF7!


----------



## Overread

AI War Fleet Command Demo 
A really light on requirements 2D topdown game, but which has army sizes to rivel most other titles (1000s of ships apparently!!) Still fiddling around with the demo and not quite ready to click buy - the lower graphics work well for smooth gaming but might be a little too simplistic


----------



## soulsinging

Currently in the middle of:

Batman: Arkham Asylum- pretty good, but I've not played it in a while as it got very repetitive.

God of War- incredible. bought the collection in anticipation of the third coming out (never played any) and I'm still pretty early on in the first game, but it is a blast to play.

MLB 10: The Show- impossible. i still have no idea what i'm doing when i play, yet it's oddly addictive anyway.

Recently abandoned:

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune- it was pretty entertaining, but the second is so much better that i found it hard to keep interested and get over my frustrations with certain things.

Metal Gear Solid 4- nowhere near as fun to play as the first one i remember playing on the original playstation.


----------



## Tansy

Uncharted 2, Dragon age Awakening, Fall Out 3


----------



## Cayal

*Re: What Are You Currently Playing? (2009)*



Red 13 said:


> I just re- played FF7 for the 10th time (i never get sick of it) and i'm now re-playing Crisis Core. I actually bought the PSP just for that game and i don't regret it! Its great, especially for fans of FF7!



I did the same thing. The FMVs are a sight to behold.


----------



## Talysia

I'm quite jealous!  I've only seen clips of Crisis Core online, and can't afford to get a PSP right now.  Oh well.

I'm currently replaying Odin Sphere on the PS2 - I'd forgotten how good the graphics were for a 2D game.  Just a shame about the few cases of slowdown from time to time.


----------



## CyBeR

I've gotten through 'God of war 3' about twice already, so I'm not doing my best to get 100% on 'Darksiders'. This Zelda/Portal/God of War/WHATEVER knockoff is insanely fun to play and the world, and art design, are a blast. I haven't had this sort of fun since 'Jak 3' on the PS 2.


----------



## biodroid

NFS SHIFT on PS3, good game pity about the porting, it keeps stuttering in certain places and sometimes the frame rate drops too.


----------



## Culhwch

Finished downloading _Batman: Arkham Asylum_ overnight (forgot I had it queued on Steam) so have been having fun pounding Joker's goons this morning.


----------



## Pravuil

Heroes of Might and Magic II. 

Some things refuse to age on me.


----------



## Tansy

Just enjoyed completing Hard Rain on ps3, it was different


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## Overread

A mixure at the moment of:
Master of Magic - old - dated - never played it before and yet its simple interface is very playable and fun. 
Mater of Orion 2 - similar story to the above though a slightler newer game and its aged very well - honestly once you get solid gameplay into a turnbased game there is little for it to age in and they keep their quality very well.


----------



## Cayal

Tansy said:


> Just enjoyed completing Hard Rain on ps3, it was different


This is the second time I have read Heavy Rain called Hard Rain, the other was in a Newspaper, is it actually named Hard Rain in places or just a common mistake?


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## Talysia

Currently replaying Star Ocean: Till the End of Time on PS2.  I missed about a fair few of the battle trophies on my last playthrough, and I'm cursed with being a gaming completist...


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## Tansy

Cayal said:


> This is the second time I have read Heavy Rain called Hard Rain, the other was in a Newspaper, is it actually named Hard Rain in places or just a common mistake?




Twas an error lol I must have been thinking of the film

It's definitely called Heavy Rain


----------



## Wybren

Just got Final Fantasy XIII (360) yesterday and got a chance to play it today. It is very different from what I am used to, the graphics are amazing in it, but I am finding the battle structure is taking some adjusting to.

Also have been playing Lego Starwars, Batman and Indiana Jones.


----------



## thepaladin

Reloaded my old PC Baldur's Gate 2 and expansion...again.

And if all goes well I'm planning to start a new Table top Dungeons and Dragons game at the end of the month...2nd edition.


----------



## Red 13

I downloaded the demo of "Forbidden Planet 2" on PS3. Its awesome! When i've saved up some cash i'm getting it.
Two other games i still want to get are "Final Fantasy 13" and "God of War 3". I'm a big fan of both.


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## Red 13

When i say forbidden planet 2 i mean "lost planet 2" lol.


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## Culhwch

Tansy said:


> Twas an error lol I must have been thinking of the film
> 
> It's definitely called Heavy Rain


 
I believe _Hard Rain_ is a movie starring Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman, though I don't know that they ever made it into a game...

I'm still plugging away at _Arkham Asylum_. I think I'm almost done, though it's telling me I've only completed 25-30%. I imagine that's counting all the trophies and riddles I have bothered to stop to find and/or solve.

I've also just stated _CoD: World at War_. Only played a little, and I'm not so impressed as I was with _Modern Warfare_, but, hey - Keifer Sutherland! I love this game.


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## Cayal

Bought Bioshock 2 the other week and finally started it. Will focus on it and then get Red Dead Redemption I think.


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## Cayal

So I got Red Dead Redemption. 

Bioshock 2 can wait.


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## Culhwch

Thanks to a tip from Wert I snaffled _Portal_ for free from Steam, so I've been playing that lately...


----------



## Rodders

I recently got a new Laptop, so it's back to JK: Outcast for me. (Starting tonight.)


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## JDP

Cayal, let me know what Red Dead Redemption's like. I've pre-ordered it but don't expect it to arrive for a few days. Looks awesome


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## Culhwch

Looks like fun, though I'll be waiting for the price to drop. Would prefer it on PC, as well...


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## Lenny

I've just ordered *Final Fantasy XIII*.

Currently I'm playing the waiting game.  Exams start tomorrow and finish in just over a week.

First thing I'm going to do once they're over is go for a drink with the rest of my year (only 40 of us!). Then I'm going to get a Greggs lunch. After that, go home and laze about for a bit. Then I'm going to unpack my PS3, unwrap *Heavy Rain* (got it on release day, haven't opened it yet) and shut myself away until it's complete. Finally, I'm going to pop FFXIII in and not sleep for a week.

I haven't turned my PS3 on for nearly two months because of work and revision; I can't wait!


----------



## Hilarious Joke

What's a Greggs lunch?

Hope your exams go well, Lenny.


----------



## JDP

Best of luck with the exams, Lenny.


----------



## Lenny

A lunch from a chain of bakers that I am quite partial to. They make fantastic fudge doughnuts!

Just remembered that I've got FFX and Kingdom Hearts 2 still to finish, and Is quite like to replay KH1. I also bought quite a few things on Steam recently - Torchlight, Titan Quest and Civ4 (with all the expansions), and I'm only halfway through Psychonauts.

The weeks after exams are looking better than I expected! 11 days left. Thanks for the good wishes.


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## Cayal

JDP said:


> Cayal, let me know what Red Dead Redemption's like. I've pre-ordered it but don't expect it to arrive for a few days. Looks awesome



It is amazing. There is so much to do and it's actually fun to ride the horses to the different towns.

It is pretty much GTA gone west but it is well done and really enjoyable. I recommend it.


----------



## JDP

Cayal said:


> It is amazing. There is so much to do and it's actually fun to ride the horses to the different towns.
> 
> It is pretty much GTA gone west but it is well done and really enjoyable. I recommend it.



Yeah, mine actually arrived on the release date in the end (even though I chose the cheapest delivery option). Haven't had that much time to devote to it since then though, but what I've played looks great.

Like you said, very much GTA gone Wild West, but if you like both those elements, you'll like this  I would also recommend (unless you hate GTA or cowboys; then not so much...).

I am loving going out into the wilderness and hunting animals for fun and profit. I must admit, it took me a couple of hours to get to grips with the controls for some reason - I kept forgetting how to pull out my gun... not helpful in the West 

It's actually harder than it looks to play the 'good guy'; I saw some poor soul running for his life from a couple of gun-toting outlaws. It was only after picking them off from long-range that I found out they were actually lawmen, and I now had a bounty on my head. Serves me right for jumping in headfirst I suppose.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hmm. I'm playing Nier at the moment. Very old school. Quite an odd game, but I'm rather enjoying it.

I'm intending to get Red Dead Redemption at some point. I've heard it can be a bit buggy and be hard work for a fat 40GB PS3. Any truth in that, do people know?


----------



## JDP

thaddeus6th said:


> I'm intending to get Red Dead Redemption at some point. I've heard it can be a bit buggy and be hard work for a fat 40GB PS3. Any truth in that, do people know?



Can't give a definative answer, but I've played a few hours on my fat 40Gig PS3 and haven't encountered any problems yet.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, good. Be a while until I get it, I imagine, but it does look very nice. Thanks for the quick reply, JDP.


----------



## Lenny

I caved under the pressure (read too many reviews, I fear) and ordered *Red Dead Redemption* (PS3. I've got a fat 60gb, thad. I'll let you know if I have any problems). Well, reserved it at Argos... hopefully I can pick it up on Wednesday after my second exam.

Lots of games to play after exams.  Eight days!


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## thaddeus6th

Good luck with your exams, Lenny 

And good luck with Red Dead Redemption too


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## Cayal

I have a fat 60gb and it runs fine.

I also have a slim but that's another matter.


----------



## Culhwch

Does all this talk mean I'll need a hard drive on my Xbox to play this? I have no idea about these things, but I've been getting by without it fine so far...


----------



## Wybren

You should be fine Cul, though having an external hdd or a large usb key would be handy for saved games. We had an old 20gb 360 which never had problems till it died about a month ago (it 4 years old)

we sold out of Red Dead Redemption in the first 2 days at work.


----------



## Cayal

Culhwch said:


> Does all this talk mean I'll need a hard drive on my Xbox to play this? I have no idea about these things, but I've been getting by without it fine so far...



No you'll be fine, unless you want to install it to the hard drive.


----------



## Culhwch

Ah, excellent. Might see about trading in some of my old games and picking it up earlier than I had anticipated, then. I do like me a good western.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Westerns aren't necessarily my favourite genre, but this game does look damned good.

Thanks for the multiple replies. Now the agony of choice arrives: do I get it now, or wait a bit and hope the price drops?

Mind you, there's also Uncharted 2, which has a platinum version out in a month or so. Hehe, it's a shame spotting every game isn't like Valkyria Chronicles: hugely underpriced (at the time) and fantastically enjoyable.


----------



## Lenny

If you do get it early, shop around a bit - I found that the cheapest PS3 version was at the local Argos (£33.99), but they'd sold out so I've got a copy reserved.


----------



## JDP

Lenny said:


> If you do get it early, shop around a bit - I found that the cheapest PS3 version was at the local Argos (£33.99), but they'd sold out so I've got a copy reserved.



Yeah, good point Lenny. My pre-order was 34 quid from Amazon, but it's gone up to 38 now.


----------



## Lenny

And now it's back down to £34.99 on Amazon for the PS3... but £40 for the 360 version. They're toying with us!


----------



## Tansy

Other half -as predicted- bought Red Dead Redemption the other night, enjoying it so far and finding the horses easier to ride than I did the cars in GTA


----------



## Overread

Recently got back into card games - on the net!
Battleforge from EA - an interesting approach to merging RTS and card collection into a single game. Its recently gone free4play so you can get all the game access without spending anything - then you just have to unlock certain areas (takes an afternoon of playing) and then if you choose to purchase cards with real money (or you can use the gold farming method 0 but that is more for grinding fans).

Have to say with the boxed game being on discount in most places (its a year old) it means you can pickup quite a bit of ingame card spending power without paying the higher direct fees for cards. And any trading addicts can often trade in game with the auction house feature to earn more card purchasing points.


----------



## Cayal

Tansy said:


> Other half -as predicted- bought Red Dead Redemption the other night, enjoying it so far and finding the horses easier to ride than I did the cars in GTA



Cars were horrible in GTAIV.


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## Culhwch

I picked up GTAIV over the weekend, and I'd have to agree with that assertion, yes.


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## Lenny

Cars weren't horrible, they were just... different. I quickly learnt that squealing around corners with handbrake turns wasn't going to work as well in GTA4 as in previous GTA games.

You just get used to them. Indeed, I rather prefer the GTA4 cars.


----------



## Cayal

Also doesn't work with Horse's in RDR...


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## thaddeus6th

Cayal, I would've thought if you were riding a horse and suddenly yanked on a big long thing it'd stop pretty sharpish


----------



## Joel007

All hail Modern Warfare 2! I'm level 27 5th prestige (refuse to use nukes until everything else has been finished), and climbing!


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## thepaladin

Just started a new "old school" table top D&D game, Second Edition. I horded material including 7 players handbooks to use as loners if players can't find one.


----------



## Cayal

thaddeus6th said:


> Cayal, I would've thought if you were riding a horse and suddenly yanked on a big long thing it'd stop pretty sharpish



But you can't drift around a corner on a horse


----------



## Ice fyre

I'm playing Dawn of War II, took me a bit to set up, but once i did...interesting gonna be very very difficult in the later levels! Graphics are nice but the mouse is a bit creaky, may just need adjusted.


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## Lenny

I've torn myself away from my PS3 for a bit (had a friend over - we watched Cowboy Bebop and explained things to each other; him Physics to me and me computers to him), so I'll tell you that I'm playing...

*FFXIII*! Loving it. 24 hours in. I've a feeling that it's only really starting proper now (or, at least, battles are).

Also played eight hours of *Red Dead Redemption* - very good. More than just Grand Theft Equine, but you _can_ tell that it's a Rockstar game.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've still to unwrap *Heavy Rain* (I'm having too much fun with FFXIII).


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## Connavar

Lucky you having Heavy Rain as back up.

I bought PS3 yesterday with 2 years insurance so i cant afford new games until the end of the month.

Im enjoying Killzone 2 at the moment, surpsingly addictive,fun,hard FPS.  For me who thinks FPS are one dimension,boring usually.


----------



## Red 13

I'm playing FF13 (finally), i'm at chapter 13 so i imagine i'm close to the end. I'm enjoying it mainly for the characters, story and beautiful graphics but its quite dull for a final fanatsy. Its basically running in a straight line, fighting, fighting and more fighting until a cut scene and then more straight lines and fighting. Luckily there's the whole Gran pulse bit for a bit of freedom.Still, i'm enjoying it alot more than FF12.


----------



## Tansy

I  was up till 5am last night playing Assassins creed 2 - much better than first one, only ever play on ps3 when bf is away lol


----------



## Connavar

*Tansy*:   What do you think of Ezio and his italian story ?  He is much more interesting and great hero.  That plus more varied gameplay made AC 2 much better.  I borrowed from a friend and enjoyed it alot.


----------



## Cayal

Finished Red Dead Redemption and have been in touch with my child-like side in playing* New Super Mario Bros. Wii* and *Lego Harry Potter (PS3)*


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## Wybren

Red 13 said:


> I'm playing FF13 (finally), i'm at chapter 13 so i imagine i'm close to the end. I'm enjoying it mainly for the characters, story and beautiful graphics but its quite dull for a final fanatsy. Its basically running in a straight line, fighting, fighting and more fighting until a cut scene and then more straight lines and fighting. Luckily there's the whole Gran pulse bit for a bit of freedom.Still, i'm enjoying it alot more than FF12.



I am playing it at the moment, though i am only up to chapter 11. I am enjoying it, though I am told that I should play 7 as 7 is the best in the series.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Can't answer definitely, but VII is very good. I also really like IV (got the re-release for the playstation).

XII annoyed me. I loved certain aspects, but the story seemed half-done. Vaan and Penelo were both pointless and irritating, and, oddly, the graphics took a step backward.

For the first time (not counting the internet only FF) since VII I didn't get the latest version. It sounds pretty, but also rubbish. After Dragon Age and Oblivion I don't want a linear RPG.


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## Sephiroth

VII is truly awesome.  VI is pretty awesome.  X is good. 

(I haven't played any prior to VI.) 

I was the same with XII.  I loved the mark hunts, and the battles were pretty cool, but the story was absolutely _dire_, and Vaan and Penelo were, well, what you said.  

For me, XIII was a _huge _disappointment.  I won't get started on that, right now, or I'll spend the next three hours writing this post.  In many ways, I prefer a linear RPG.  I got bored of Oblivion, and wasn't impressed with its story.  But FFXIII is _way _too linear, and they've stripped out most of the elements that made FF games fun.


----------



## No One

I'm a huge fan of almost all Bethesda's games (they make the Elder Scrolls stuff as well as the Fallout series - with Fallout 3 being one of my absolute favourites).

I don't mind a linear RPG at all (_Knights of the Old Republic_ was fantastic and I liked the _Witcher _on PC a great deal), but there's nothing like the wanderlust that comes with an open environment (plus you get to look at the glorious environment at your leisure from all angles and times of day). I enjoyed _Oblivion_, but as Seph said it lacked a robust enough story. I rate the previous outing of _Morrowind _as a far superior game, with a better-designed environment and far more involved main quest, along with the obligatory infinite number of side-missions. You could also walk straight into villages and towns in Morrowind (where Oblivion had loading screens) and you couldn't fast travel, which gave being caught unprepared in the wilderness much more of an edge (at least for lower level characters).

Which brings me to my main gripe about Oblivion - the incumbent difficulty settings, which tailored themselves to the player's level. So at low-levels demons were managable and at high-levels goblins were ridiculously tough. That practically ruined the game for me, because I prefer what they did with Morrowind - at low levels you stay away from the horrible stuff (stumbling across Daedric ruins would have me scrambling in the other direction). So much of _Morrowind_'s progress and scope seemed to be thrown out to cater for the gorgeous graphics of Oblivion. Hopefully, Bethesda will set that right in the next game.

To get on thread - I'm playing a combination of Call of Duty 4 (also loved the 6th and, well, all the CoD series) and Crysis. I seem to be in a "shoot everything that moves mood" lately 

And I'm almost always playing Civ 4 to one degree or another.


----------



## Sephiroth

Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun playing Oblivion.  I played it for 60 hours.  But I don't feel that I really did anything much of consequence in that time, much as I enjoyed wandering around looting dungeons and doing random quests.  

And I _hated _the levelling system.  I didn't have a problem at higher levels, because I planned out my power-levelling strategy meticulously and stuck to it -- but I found it annoying that I didn't get a great deal of benefit from that, seeing as almost all the enemies just level up alongside you.  There seems to be no real reward for levelling up.  Even the armour and weapons you find stop being exciting pretty quickly.  

And the fact that the vast majority of dungeons are just random, and all at the same difficulty level (_your _present level), I found very unsatisfying.  

But there's a lot of cool stuff about the game, too.  

I'd heard that Morrowind was better, but I didn't play it.  


My ideal RPG would be one that has a deep and involved 'linear' story but also a huge amount of scope for exploration, side-quests, character development, etc..  Not that I'm asking for much.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Agreed regarding the Oblivion levelling system. It was innovative, in the same way as a car made of asbestos is innovative 

I suspect I like the game more than Seph and No One, but I utterly agree regarding the unimpressive and tiresome main story (I much prefer the Dark Brotherhood quests). Also, excepting the big names, the voice acting is sometimes lacklustre, and I feel huge sympathy for the horrendously overworked 8 or so actors who do almost every voice.


----------



## Sephiroth

I was enjoying the Dark Brotherhood quests, yes.  If I do go back to my saved game, it'll be to finish those.  


Well, _and _to check out those hot blue elf chicks, again.


----------



## No One

heh - I did actually _love _the game when I first started playing it (and could still enjoy it), but it's deficiencies crept up on me.

Another comparison between the two: as Seph notes the dungeons and caves in Oblivion were very repetative, as opposed to the more unique environs of Morrowind. Many a character of mine lived out of a cave in Morrowind (and several other locations naturally), because a) there were some great individual layouts and b) because you could _do _that in Morrowind, i,e: store equipment basically anywhere.

I still await the next in the Elder Scrolls series like few other games though. Later guys.


----------



## CyBeR

Seph, you are a horrible horrible, sacrilegious...uh, person, for not having played 'Morrowind' prior to 'Oblivion'. 

I have reached the conclusion that if the next 'TES' game will not go closer to 'Morrowind' than 'Oblivion', I will never touch another 'TES' game ever again. 
I'm playing 'Gothic 3' at the moment. Although it is HORRIBLY, HORRENDOUSLY optimized, buggy even with the 880 mb community patch, it is by far the BEST RPG I've ever played. 
It topples 'Oblivion' in almost every single department, except graphics and actually running fine on a normal PC. It is vast, the world is alive, there are monsters you can take and ones you can't, there is a sense of accomplishment, and the quests are fantastic. I'm at my 4th town right now and even with some bouts of utter frustration, I am still enjoying it tremendously.

I'm waiting for the release of 'Gothic 4 - ArcaniA' like it'll be the next coming of gaming Christ.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Never played Morrowind, and the repetitive caves/forts etc doesn't bother me. The levelling system and tiny voice actor cast for a huge number of characters does, somewhat. I still like it rather a lot though.


----------



## Sephiroth

CyBeR said:


> Seph, you are a horrible horrible, sacrilegious...uh, person



Wait... which of my real-life friends are you, really?  Because that description is _scarily _accurate.  




I hadn't been gaming much at the time Morrowind was out, and although there are exceptions, I've always been more of a console gamer.  

I must say, you make Gothic 3 sound rather good, though.


Oh, but if Morrowind has more of the blue elves, I'll happily play it.  Heh.


----------



## Wybren

Oh definitely check out Morrowind, it has to be up there among my favourite games along with the Fable and Diablo series. you can play it for hours and not get bored with it because there are so many different tangents to go off on. 

I got Oblivion because, being elder scrolls, I thought it would have similar game play to Morrowind, but I lost interest after about 2 hours. I am glad I got it for $5 from work because it had no case.


----------



## CyBeR

Wybren, please be talking JUST about 'Fable 1'. I find it inconceivable that if you've enjoyed something as deep and rewarding as 'Morrowind', you could put up with the many many shortcomings of 'Fable 2'. 

Sephiroth, 'Gothic 3' is an amazing game. As is the whole of the 'Gothic' series on the PC. Quests are rich, there are hundreds of tangents to go off on and it simply a grand RPG in every aspect. 
What sets it apart from its...let's say rivals, is the fact that the main quest is INDEED the main quest and you feel like playing it. Everything you do in the world just furthers the main story. 
You hunt down a pack of wolves in a cave and it raises your liking in the town where you got the quest. People like you more, they give you information that adds up with what your main goal is. And so forth. Everything in 'Gothic' helps you along and you rarely feel like you're wasting time. 
You don't get to play in a world of fairies and elves though. This is a strictly serious, down to Earth, humans vs monsters and orcs, with a real medieval feel to the world.

The problem with the third game is the fact that it was pushed to market too early. It comes out of the box with crippling bugs and frustration. The most famous of which is the 'vicious wild boars' one, where a single wild boar could decimate the entire population of Myrthana, simply by fact that his attack was glitchy and as such it had no cool down period...aka, he had a machine gun snout. 
Most bugs have been fixed by the community, with the most recent build of the patch being just about 880 mb. There are still performance issues and bugs, but it can be played....and it is engrossing.


----------



## Wybren

CyBeR said:


> Wybren, please be talking JUST about 'Fable 1'. I find it inconceivable that if you've enjoyed something as deep and rewarding as 'Morrowind', you could put up with the many many shortcomings of 'Fable 2'.



I enjoyed Fable 1 more than 2 but I still found 2 to be enjoyable for light entertainment. At least I was able to finish it, unlike Oblivion where I lost interest early on into it. I hope 3 will have more to it.


----------



## Sephiroth

Hmm, I'm going to have to check out the Gothic series, I think.  



But that wild boar sounds _nasty_.


----------



## ktabic

Just blasting things in L4D2 at the moment. But thats just to kill time until the end of the month. Then SC2.


----------



## CyBeR

Sephiroth said:


> Hmm, I'm going to have to check out the Gothic series, I think.
> 
> 
> 
> But that wild boar sounds _nasty_.


 
*does a happy dance and brings out cookies to welcome Seph to the dark side*

As I've said, 'Gothic 3' runs well with the latest community patches, all of which you can find on Worldofgothic.com. 
But if you're new to the series, I strongly recommend the previous games as well. They may be old, and they may be ugly by today's standards, but they are great. 

I'm getting 'Risen' after I get through with this game. It's the spiritual successor to the series, and it should tide me over until 'ArcaniA'.


----------



## Connavar

Im playing *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves*, a great game with a great film like story,clips.  It doesnt have as much gameplay,the same charm as the first game though.

They made it too epic, i hope they dont make the third game the same.....


----------



## AE35Unit

We're playing Lego Harry Potter, years 1-4 on the Xbox


----------



## biodroid

I have Ratchet & Clank: Tools of destruction, waiting for the F1 game on PS3.


----------



## biodroid

Conn - I thought Uncharted 2 was awesome. What was wrong with the gameplay?


----------



## Connavar

The levels was too short, not as great plattform gameplay as the first.  Better action but too epic story,film clips all the time.  

The first had great levels that you got left alone for hours to jump around in.   Its a minor disappointment because the first one was magical.


----------



## biodroid

I thought the second one was better but a bit over the top too.


----------



## CyBeR

Still on 'Gothic 3'. I still have one town to work in the Middlands, but I've gone into Nordmar for a while to hunt ice wolves. I can't believe that I've yet to get bored of killing orcs without any sort of mercy...

I've just got a paladin armor that took out all my savings...I wonder what'll happen when I'll go into the next orc controlled town...


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

I've restarted Xbox 360 Oblivion, and recently finished DAO: Awakenings.

Hehe. I forgot how much of a beast my elf fighter is on DAO.....he's a true demon on that thing.  Full Juggernaut suit, and I had eventually replaced his Summer Sword with Vigilance. AWESOME WEAPON.





As far as Oblivion goes, I'm hoping on this next character I created, to have more gates closed than I did on my hammer swinger. Not even three dozen on her.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Incidentally, Dragon Age 2 is due for release in the first quarter of 2011. Little info out yet though:

BioWare | Dragon Age: Origins


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

First quarter of 2011? I'll have to be looking for it.  I wonder if one will be able to import a character....?


Incidentally, it was rather misleading that that game actually has "100 hours of gameplay".

Well, okay, it might, but, the storyline itself certainly doesn't.....


----------



## digs

I'm slowly (very slowly) working my way through Oblivion in between playing with the lives of my nearest and dearest.


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Nice, digs. You won't be disappointed.  Oblivion is awesome.

A word of caution, however: Do NOT play it at night with HD. Believe me.


----------



## digs

It's taken me a very long time to get into it. I've had it for a year and only just got past closing the first gate. I'm not sure what it was - initially I didn't really like it, then for a bit I was addicted to it, and now I'm happy to play it every now and again. Some elements of it baffle me a bit (combat, training and money mostly) and I usually feel like there's some rules or tips that I should know and don't. Still, I like it.

Wouldn't mind getting DAO too...as well as every other BioWare game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

On DA2: you have to play a character called Hawke, but it can be male or female, and I think you get to create the face as well as pick class (race is set as human). Also, the character's voiced.

I don't think you can import anything.

The game's set over a decade, with your actions having (as expected) a huge impact on the world around you. I hope they fix the beard bug for PS3 creation, and the crossbow mistake.


----------



## Triffids

I picked up DAO as everyone kept going on about how good the game was, and was sorely disappointed with it. 
It seems they have gone down the Mass Effect route with the new game.


----------



## citri

I just got a ps3 and just finished inFamous. I played red dead redemption before that which was fun but a little too easy and not a whole ton to do after the story was done. Just seeing this recent talk, I played dragon age a little while ago. I really wasn't that blown away--the plot seemed kind of weak. The whole thing was just going around getting people to join the fight and the fight itself didn't get much attention. The people joining the fight didn't even seem to help that much. Oblivion is (excluding the completely idiotic levelling system and those ridiculous guards and something like 4 people voice acting the whole game) one of the best games I've ever played. Morrowind was also extremely good but a little too easy since you could just steal stuff, sell it, buy levels, then kill and soul trap things for money which you could buy more levels with. There's just so much in the games and so much to do and just wandering and screwing around is a ton of fun in its own right. The plots weren't incredible but the worlds made up for it easily. If you play them, you need to get them on computer since the modding community is enormous and there's just a lot more options on the computer. Also Fallout 3 was amazing though I swear there must've been something like 50 people in the whole game. I can't wait for new vegas and tes5 whenever it's going to come out.


----------



## nebsmith

Hi. I haven't been on the forum for six weeks because I discovered Dragon Tavern on the internet, its addictive.


----------



## Talysia

Replaying the original _Wild Arms_ (couldn't believe I had the original disc, and that it still plays on the PS2), and overusing the 255 item trick a bit too much.


----------



## starrypawz

Nothing currently as my XBox is disconnected and has been for a few months. But I was making my way through Assassins' Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins with occassional bursts of Fable 2. I picked up a whole bunch of games recently inlcuding:
Prince of Persia, Sands of Time
Brutal Legend
Bayonetta
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Thief: Deadly Shadows (X Box port) 

So hopefully when the XBox is back I'll be doing plenty of gaming, and be able to carry on with Mass Effect 2, as I'm quite behind on that.


----------



## Red 13

I'm seriously addicted to Oblivion at the mo. I only just realised you can reduce the difficulty level (duh ) so i'm actually getting advancing and finishing mission's. I 'm lovin it!


----------



## reiver33

I've got sucked in to playing 'Europa Universalis II' again...

Byzantium Endures!


----------



## Triffids

Currently playing Super Street Fighter IV. 
I think my copy of the game is broken because when i select medium on arcade mode it feels like I'm playing super mega hard mode.
Before this game the last time i chucked my controller at a tv was when i had a Megadrive.


----------



## Overread

Starcraft 2


----------



## Cayal

Lego Harry Potter trying to get 100%


----------



## GuerillaRuss

Fallout 3 again. trying to be a good character... just not happening.


----------



## Triffids

GuerillaRuss said:


> Fallout 3 again. trying to be a good character... just not happening.



I had to cheat on the PC version for the Karma achievements because i couldn't be bothered to play it again.


----------



## bluespider100

I just bought and played the *Starcraft 2*, which apparently was amazing! it was well worth the 12 years wait.


----------



## Hilarious Joke

Playing *The Sims 3 *again.


----------



## Starbeast

GHOST RECON games on Playstation 2


----------



## Triffids

Monday Night Combat.

I like the game, I hope they keep adding stuff to it.


----------



## Thing

Just finishing Half Life 2: Episode 2. Completed Alan Wake last week and looking to get either Oblivion or Mass Effect next.


----------



## Thadlerian

Playing Starcraft (one), to see if the story actually was better than Starcraft II. I think it is. It feels more genuine.


----------



## Moontravler

Fiddling around in Oblivion again, and amazed that I hadn't noticed before how REALLY ugly the faces of the character models are.

Puttering along with the Awakening expansion of Dragon Age Origins. 

Stuck somewhere in the middle of Whispered World.

Going to install Disciples 3 this weekend.  Can't wait!


----------



## Overread

I'll be interested to hear how Disciples 3 turns out - I've heard some dark, bad things about it


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hehe, yeah, the character creation of Oblivion is not splendid. That said, I do like the very variable skin/hair colour and the ability to alter hair length. Spray-on beards are not good, though.


----------



## dustinzgirl

Red Dead Redemption is fun!


----------



## Cayal

Got up to 99.7% complete in Lego Harry Potter and i can't get the last two character tokens because of a glitch, I am not impressed.


----------



## Cayal

Now that I have to wait for Lego Harry Potter patch (hopefully) I've moved onto Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.


----------



## ktabic

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm


----------



## Rodders

Finally picked up Dead Space today and something called Cryostasis so i shall be playing them soon. I'm not much of a gamer, so i don't know how long it's going to take me to finish these.


----------



## Red 13

Rodders said:


> Finally picked up Dead Space today and something called Cryostasis so i shall be playing them soon. I'm not much of a gamer, so i don't know how long it's going to take me to finish these.



I looove Dead Space!Played it about 10 times and re-playing it now.Its the scariest game ever(play it in the dark with volume high) and in my opinion one of the best games ever.Can't wait for the sequel!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Top Spin 3. Quite an enjoyable tennis game, though I must say I'm rubbish at volleying.


----------



## Cayal

Red 13 said:


> I looove Dead Space!Played it about 10 times and re-playing it now.Its the scariest game ever(play it in the dark with volume high) and in my opinion one of the best games ever.Can't wait for the sequel!



I agree, Dead Space is awesome.


----------



## Rodders

Playing it now and pooing my pants. Superb. I must check out that DVD.


----------



## CyBeR

Am I the only person on Earth that considered 'Dead Space' to be even less scary than 'Resident Evil 4' or, I dunno, 'Red Faction'? Every scare in 'Dead Space' is exactly where you'd expect it to be...every empty room that you backtrack to is always filled with new enemies or resurrected corpses (though from early on I took to the habit of dismembering them as I came along)...and not to mention such grand flops like the first elevator scene (nothing bad can happen since I have no weapons or any other way of defending myself) and the crew rooms on that other ship (big empty room full of bunks...of course there's gonna be a huge battle there).
I was genuinely scared in 'Fatal Frame'...that was a fantastic experience, and the mood is dark and oppressive in ways 'Dead Space' only wished it would be. 

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed playing 'Dead Space', only not as a horror game. As a shooter it has the greatest pace ever, but as a horror game, it's really uneventful if you stop a bit and think about it. 

I'm currently playing 'Resistance 2' (finally loaned off a friend), and I'm enjoying it. I really loved the first game (the armory was fantastic), and this seems just as good. I hate the fact that there are a few cheap deaths, but otherwise I'm enjoying it as a shooter. 
Also playing 'Sam & Max - Season 1' and 'Dungeon Keeper 2' on my girlfriend's computer. The second mainly to teach her how stuff works, but the first I bought just to support the adventure game genre. It's been getting way too little love.


----------



## CarlottaVonUberwald

I'm currently Drowning in games. Just finsihed playthrough one of dragon age and about a quarter of the way through playthrough two. Now i've moved out of halls Trying STO. Transferred my DDO char so gotta playing around with that on the unlimited version. Then getting mass effect to play then mass effect two. Hopefully by the time i've sorted all that it will be knights of the old republic time lol.


----------



## Talysia

Going retro again and replaying Breath of Fire 3.  I love old school RPGs like this.


----------



## Red 13

Talysia said:


> Going retro again and replaying Breath of Fire 3.  I love old school RPGs like this.



I'm playing Valkyrie Profile Lenneth on PSP.Its kinda old school being mainly in 2D and i'm loving it


----------



## Talysia

That's one I haven't played, Red, though I really want to.  I've only played the sequel - Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, but I enjoyed it a lot, and would love to play more in the same world.


----------



## Dale R

Assassin's creed 2.


----------



## SC1F1

currently... XMoto


----------



## Connavar

*Mafia II*

Im actually enjoying it, i thouught i got sick of this kind of game.

The linear storyline,missions are making it fun like a cool Mafia movie.


----------



## Allanon

Going Old School with Rome Total War!


----------



## CyBeR

Going bonkers with 'Demon's Souls'. Finally found a cheap copy and started playing a couple of days ago with my girlfriend. We've managed to kill the first boss, the first black phantom (CURSE YOU MIRANDA!) and I managed to kill the red dragon.
This game brings back memories of NES era where I'd memorize where everyone was and how to get past certain stages. I've missed this level of challenge and frustration...and the rewards it brings.


----------



## biodroid

F1 2010 and Assassins Creed 2, both very good games.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I decided against getting F1 2010. It's a shame, because I was really looking forward to it, but it sounded too buggy. The pit lane bug is unforgiveable, the kind of thing that should be caught very early on in testing and corrected immediately.

I just hope the 2011 game is actually tested properly. The graphics, in-depth set-up options and variable weather all looked brilliant.


----------



## Cayal

Gears of War 2 and Bioshock 2.


----------



## vector7

*Prototype* and *FarCry*. 

Prototype may not be a genre-defining achievement but at the least it tried something different. FarCry on the other hand is brilliant inspite of its cheesy SFF and a genre-definer.


----------



## sloweye

*3D Mini Golf Challenge* for the *iPhone.
*
Not bad for wasteing a few minutes here and there.


----------



## Red 13

Fallout New Vegas is out on Friday, can't wait!!!
I've finally got round to playing Red dead redemption recently and i must say i undestand why everybody and everything has been going on about it, its great.


----------



## soulsinging

CyBeR said:


> Going bonkers with 'Demon's Souls'. Finally found a cheap copy and started playing a couple of days ago with my girlfriend. We've managed to kill the first boss, the first black phantom (CURSE YOU MIRANDA!) and I managed to kill the red dragon.
> This game brings back memories of NES era where I'd memorize where everyone was and how to get past certain stages. I've missed this level of challenge and frustration...and the rewards it brings.


 
i'm so intrigued by this game, but very intimidated. i'm actually pretty incompetent at video games, esp the ones with 20 buttons and 2 joysticks, hehe. i also was never terribly good at those old school games other than sonic the hedgehog. but i may yet give this one a shot.

in the meantime, im in the middle of the call of duty:modern warfare 2 campaign and having a blast playing it. looking forward to playing the special ops missions too. once i beat it (which i hear shouldnt take long), im finally going to get into red dead redemption, which has been sitting on my shelf unplayed for far too long.


----------



## CyBeR

You know, that's how I felt at first about the game. My girlfriend as well, since she's pretty new to games as a whole (I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for having gotten her more interested in them :-> ), but she's actually making good headway through the game right now. 

I'm at the final world of the game, and had a blast so far. World 3 was very easy for me, though I read that a lot of people found the boss there to be extremely frustrating. I was at very high level when tackling it and came out quite well. 

The game isn't THAT hard, it's just that it's frustrating at times. After a while you get the feeling of attacking and defending, you get what you need to take down your enemies easily...and so on. It's surprisingly fun and surprisingly well worth playing. The story is more of background, rather than full on narrative. Your interest is held by bits of dialogue, and the combat is the main thing for you to play with. 
I recommend this game...it's a jewel.


----------



## Culhwch

Allanon said:


> Going Old School with Rome Total War!


 
I've got this queued up on Steam, but have yet to download it...

After a long hiatus I'm back to _Arkham Asylum_, trying to finish it before the new one arrives.


----------



## itstito

I think I'm going to play Worms Armageddon on my pc all my life. That game's a masterpiece. Any Worms player here?

Also, I've started on Kingdom Hearts for the ps2. Looks to be great!


----------



## AE35Unit

itstito said:


> I think I'm going to play Worms Armageddon on my pc all my life. That game's a masterpiece. Any Worms player here?
> 
> Also, I've started on Kingdom Hearts for the ps2. Looks to be great!


I have Worms on the DS, fabulous games!


----------



## sloweye

Haha, Worms. Now _*thats*_ what i call going old school, makes me want to play lemmings.


----------



## Hilarious Joke

LOVE worms.


----------



## itstito

The new one they released for the PC, called Worms Reloaded, was not very well made unfortunately. Armageddon was a masterpiece.


----------



## Hilarious Joke

I agree, I had Worms World Party for a while, but Worms Armageddon was/is the best.


----------



## Moontravler

Fallout New Vegas, Gothic 4: Arcania, and Warlords: Battlecry 3.


----------



## CyBeR

Moontravler said:


> Fallout New Vegas, Gothic 4: Arcania, and Warlords: Battlecry 3.



How's 'Arcania' faring? I've read a lot of negative reviews towards it and I'd be curious to see the thoughts of someone that's playing the game right now.


----------



## Moontravler

> How's 'Arcania' faring?


 
I've just gotten past the part where the demo concludes. 

Thoughts so far: (I have the PC version) Beautiful graphics, but gee, they should have included an option to disable animated foliage (very distracting) and dynamic shadows since my not-too bad system (- played Risen fine ) started stuttering a bit with all options on high, and the options I'd mentioned above are the ones I would have preferred to turn off in order to improve performance.

The game does feel pretty consolised compared to the previous Gothics, although I'm actually rather enjoying the combat a bit more, which seems to include building up increasingly complex combos for melee as you level up.

The leveling is different to the previous Gothics, and more "menu-bound", and I'm not too impressed by it; (it's rather similar to that of Rise of the Argonauts , to give you an idea) which I don't feel gives you scope for deep enough character-building choices .

One can set the game on 4 or 5 difficulties, and the normal difficulty is quite a bit easier than the previous Gothics. I haven't tried it on "Gothic" difficulty yet, but it's kinda nice that one has a choice.

Other things that tend to make the game over-easy, are quest-markers, but once again, one can set those off.

I hated the linearity of the first chapter (= the demo), but I'm guessing that is just to facilitate the prologue to act as a tutorial.

Will let you know once I get to the real meat and potatoes of the game, but a nice thing is that it does seem a lot less buggy (so far) than Gothic 3 was, though I really wish they'd allow for lower sys. req's in these Gothic games..

All in all not too terrible, but the prologue didn't exactly immerse me, let's see how it goes as the story unfolds.


----------



## Lenny

I haven't played much recently (I'm yet to start *Heavy Rain*, believe it or not!).

I was bored yesterday and today, so I went through two older games (I'm not yet ready to pour a week into a new game):

Yesterday I played up to the hotel in *Uncharted 2*.

Today, I got the final three trophies in *Assassin's Creed 2* - get all the feathers, wear the Auditore cloak in all five areas and the Platinum Trophy for getting the rest of the trophies. Productive day was productive.


----------



## starrypawz

Not been gaming much as of late due to college. But I have been playing some Final Fantasy XIII which I got months after everyone else. That and I decided to try my hand at some Mirror's Edge speed runs, I'm at like 3.12 and so stupidly close to the 'qualifying' time it's not funny.


----------



## Red 13

I'm playing Fallout New Vegas. Its good and pretty much the same as Fallout3 but in Vegas(duh,obviously). I get the impression the map isn't quite as big though,shame.
Is anyone else playing Fallout New Vegas on PS3?If yes, does the game freeze for a second every now and then?Its really irritating me and i don't know if its the game thats like that or my PS3.


----------



## Cayal

Playing Force Unleashed 2.


----------



## Moontravler

Got a bit bored with Arcania and now playing Fallout: New Vegas.  So far I'm missing the urbanised areas that one had in FO3, but haven't reached Vegas yet, so I'll give it more time.


----------



## sloweye

*Brothers in arms 2 *for the iPhone... s'all right i supose.


----------



## Cayal

Finished *Bioshock 2* on PS3 and *Force Unleashed 2* on PS3. Now playing *Gears of War 2* on 360.

Bioshock 2 was pretty good.
Force Unleashed was good but disgraceful in how short it was. Massive rip-off.


----------



## soulsinging

just finished call of duty: modern warfare 2 today. not quite as enthralling as the first, but it had its moments. i'm looking forward to the spec ops part of the game... hoping it will hold me over until i can get black ops for xmas.

also gave up on god of war and mlb 10. but am finally going to delve into red dead redemption. im pretty excited.


----------



## Cayal

*gasp* how could you give up on God of War?


----------



## Boneman

Fable 3 - slowly adjusting to the Road to Rule bits, where you have to go, to spend your credits.


----------



## devilsgrin

FallOut New Vegas is seriously awesome. the best thing that Bethesda could have done, was pass the franchise back to those who are essentially the games original creators (since so many Obsidian peeps are Black Isle peeps). FNV benefits from the graphical pretty of any Bethesda game, matched with the nearly unrivalled ability to tell a compelling story that Obsidian brings, complete with companions, companion quests, convoluted side-quests that can be completely ignored, but add SO much to the game when you actually do them.


----------



## vector7

Great! I am playing the previous version now, *FallOut 3*. Awesome!!


----------



## Doctor Crankenstein

SC2... just bought it... yeah bit late but whatever.

it's so awesome


----------



## WanderingWind

I'm playing an old game that was never released in the US. It's called Seiken Densetsu 3 (or Secret of Mana 2). It's a lot of fun so far!


----------



## Culhwch

_Rome: Total War_ at present.


----------



## highscorewins

my all time favorite Tetris


----------



## Rahl Windsong

Lately I have gone back to playing Bioware's masterpiece, NeverWinter Nights, because my main gaming computer had the motherboard fail and I had to piece together an older Pentium 4 system with a 128MB AGP graphics display card. 

This game is timeless, the community is still going strong with new mods coming out every day. This has to be one of the best computer RPG's ever made, you can play single player, multiplayer, and even persistant multiplayer worlds with Dungeon Master support. Trust me until you have tried a game with a really good DM running it, you have yet to experience the true potential of online multiplayer gaming, WoW does not hold a candle to what is possible because there are no DM's in that game.

The forums for NWN have been recently moved to Bioware's new Social site Choose Language | BioWare Social Network so the posts there have yet to build up to what they were at the old site. However if you visit the new site you will see that there is still to this day lots of activity for a game that was released in 2002 and it has gone through many enhancements and upgrades from the developer Bioware but more importantly from the NWN community of Modders.

A really great game, give it a try if you have not yet....


----------



## biodroid

I am a complete sucker for racing games so still stuck on F1 2010, NFS: Hot Pursuit and the really good Gran Turismo 5.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Being the cool kid that I am, being somewhat engrossed by *Pokemon Platinum* of late.


----------



## thaddeus6th

How're you finding F1 2010?

I was tempted to buy it, but the pit lane bug really put me off.


----------



## Kyndylan

I'm currently playing *Mass Effect 1* (behind the times, I know). If I can get it done before Christmas, I'll have my fingers crossed for *ME2* in a Steam sale! I try not to build up a backlog of games, so if I haven't finished the first one...

On a more casual note, I'm playing the flash prototype of Super Meat Boy (which is just called *Meat Boy*). Very hard, very fun, and very addictive.

Oops, almost forgot Counter Strike Source as well...that's been a staple for a year now!


----------



## CyBeR

Bought myself some goodies off of PSN these days:

-finished but still playing 'Prince of Persia - The sands of time HD'...great game that's aged really gracefully
-'Deathspank'...it has been a long time since I've smiled at a game
-'Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light'...great game to be playing co-op with my girlfriend.


----------



## biodroid

thaddeus6th said:


> How're you finding F1 2010?
> 
> I was tempted to buy it, but the pit lane bug really put me off.



It really is a great game, all I do is I change my pitstop strategy to either come in 1 lap earlier than the default or 2 or 3 laps later. I have been stuck in the lane waiting for all the other cars to pass but it has only happened 2-3 times and I have done a few hundred laps already. The controls are very responsive and you can feel the acceleration. The graphics are very good. If you like F1 this game won't dissappoint.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Thanks 

Any other bugs I should know about? Feel a bit daft having not bought it on release, as planned.


----------



## biodroid

thaddeus6th said:


> Thanks
> 
> Any other bugs I should know about? Feel a bit daft having not bought it on release, as planned.



The save game file can be corrupted but there is a work around, apparently it only occurs when you do an R&D track session and once finished you quit the game, then it corrupts it. In this case you just need to move from the practise session to the qualy session or I think you can quit to paddock (there are worka arounds on google from the official site) after you do R&D (R&D is for upgrades on your cars etc.). I think there is a patch to fix this. One other "bug" is that some drivers don't do a compulsory pitstop in a dry race but I have not experienced this. Wet races don't need stops. The penalties are somtimes ridiculous like a driver bumps into you but you get penalised, just drop the race rules to "Reduced". They seem to have fixed this as well apparently they set the sensitivity of pitstop lollypop man and warnings very high but we can't change certain aspects of the game. I managed to overcome these problems very easily and the game works as if I patched it (which I haven't).


----------



## biodroid

Made an error in previous post, if you quit the game just after an R&D session it can corrupt the save game file, not "the R&D session will quit the game for you"


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ok, cheers


----------



## ktabic

Kyndylan said:


> I'm currently playing *Mass Effect 1* (behind the times, I know). If I can get it done before Christmas, I'll have my fingers crossed for *ME2* in a Steam sale! I try not to build up a backlog of games, so if I haven't finished the first one...
> 
> On a more casual note, I'm playing the flash prototype of Super Meat Boy (which is just called *Meat Boy*). Very hard, very fun, and very addictive.
> 
> Oops, almost forgot Counter Strike Source as well...that's been a staple for a year now!


Behind the times? Hah! I finished *Half-life* just before November. Yes, the original Half-life. I still have Opposing Force and Blue Shift to go. I'm hoping to get to Half-life 2 before the end of the next decade.

Mass Effect (1 and 2) are pretty good, I quite enjoyed them.

Currently playing *Fallout: New Vegas*.


----------



## sloweye

iSniper 3D, fun little time waster.


----------



## Kyndylan

Does anyone here use Steam? I see a 360 Gamertag thread and a PSN ID thread on the front page, but nothing for Steam IDs. I haven't actually looked though...

Mine's *|UKMD| Kyndylan*, for anyone who's interested.


----------



## Rahl Windsong

Kyndylan said:


> Does anyone here use Steam? I see a 360 Gamertag thread and a PSN ID thread on the front page, but nothing for Steam IDs. I haven't actually looked though...
> 
> Mine's *|UKMD| Kyndylan*, for anyone who's interested.


 
Not sure how to find out my Steam ID but my account name is Jeckenn. Also many of the Steam games I currently have I can not play on the PC I am using right now. Recently the motherboard fried on my gaming PC so the only games I can play now are older ones that still work on a Pentium 4 with an AGP graphics card. The motherboard gave up right after I purchased Mass Effect 2 so, sadly I have not even had the chance to try that game yet...


----------



## Kyndylan

Hmm, that's weird - I search for Jeckenn, but get no results 

Is it possible your account's set to Private or Friends Only?

In any case, feel free to add me if you like.


----------



## Rahl Windsong

Kyndylan said:


> Hmm, that's weird - I search for Jeckenn, but get no results
> 
> Is it possible your account's set to Private or Friends Only?
> 
> In any case, feel free to add me if you like.


 
Yes it must default to private because that is how it was set and I don't ever remember changing that, you can add me if you like though at the time all I am playing is NeverWinter Nights because 90% of my Steam games won't play on the computer I am using right now. About the only ones I can play are Morrowind and Titan Quest the Imortal Throne....


----------



## vector7

Playing a couple of good games now: *Mass Effect*, *Dead Space* and *F.E.A.R*.... Damna re they good!!


----------



## Star Girl

Played through *Fable 3* after my long love affair with *Fable 2*. I found that it wasn't as full as the brilliance of Fable 2, and it just didn't have the depth. Shame really I thought I'd get more from it. 

Now playing through *Red Dead Redemption*, I've discovered that getting drunk is the funniest thing in the game.


----------



## Kyndylan

Just bought *Left 4 Dead 2* due to the Steam sale - looking forward to giving it a go tonight!


----------



## Michael01

_Fallout: New Vegas_, and the games I never finished for one reason or another, _Fallout 3_ and _Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion_.


----------



## My Atomic Tales

Fallout 3. I bought it along with Fallout: New Vegas, so once I've finished all the DLC I'll be happy to continue the adventure, especially now that all the bugs in NV have been ironed-out.


----------



## Culhwch

_Fallout 3_ for me as well. I had it on Xbox 360, but never really got into it because I hate playing that kind of game on a console. So I traded it in a while back, and then the other day saw the PC version cheap. Kinda addictive, but I doubt it will hold my attention long...


----------



## My Atomic Tales

Culhwch said:


> Kinda addictive, but I doubt it will hold my attention long...


I can see how it would become a bit samey, if only because of its length. I've just completed the main story after too many hours, and the thought of wading through the add-ons is a bit daunting. It's a quality game, but perhaps there's just a bit too much quantity.


----------



## Red 13

I'm playing Fable on my new laptop. I bought Fable about three years ago but my old laptop wasn't powerful enough to run it properly so i never played it and completely forgot about it. I only just found it again tonight so i decided to try it out on my new laptop and it works fine. I've been wanting to play it ever since it came out so i'm really happy i'm finally getting round to it even though the third game is just out, but hey, its never too late


----------



## Cayal

Got my first level prestige on Black Ops and I think I might be done with that now. Also playing the Sly Cooper Trilogy.


----------



## AE35Unit

Grand Turismo 5 on PS3- oh my god its good! Best driving game ive tried!
Also tried Fallout 3 but got bored once i got out the vault! And Fable3 on xbox, co-op with my other half.


----------



## AE35Unit

Culhwch said:


> _Fallout 3_ for me as well. I had it on Xbox 360, but never really got into it because I hate playing that kind of game on a console. So I traded it in a while back, and then the other day saw the PC version cheap. Kinda addictive, but I doubt it will hold my attention long...



Whats the difference between playing on a console and pc? If anything id say the console was easier- its what theyre designed for. PCs need constant ruddy updates and then other things wont run!


----------



## Hilarious Joke

I would say for shooters and stuff it's easier to point and click on a mouse than to use an analog knob or directional pad on a console controller.


----------



## Thadlerian

'tis the season! Garden Gnome Carnage: Flash version


----------



## Star Girl

*Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templar directors cut
Pokemon HeartGold*


----------



## HoopyFrood

Woot, Pokemon!

I'm on Elite Four stage of Platinum and run out of steam seeing as all I can do is train until I'm good enough.


----------



## sloweye

*Empire Ascendant- *Another iphone game, pretty rubbish really but i'm giving it a chance.


----------



## Culhwch

My Atomic Tales said:


> I can see how it would become a bit samey, if only because of its length. I've just completed the main story after too many hours, and the thought of wading through the add-ons is a bit daunting. It's a quality game, but perhaps there's just a bit too much quantity.


 
I don't know that I've actually played at all since that post, so it looks like I was right, it didn't hold my attention long at all!



AE35Unit said:


> Whats the difference between playing on a console and pc? If anything id say the console was easier- its what theyre designed for. PCs need constant ruddy updates and then other things wont run!


 
As HJ says, I just find it easier to use the mouse and keyboard for this type of first-person game, and I also find it easier to traverse the inventory and such with a mouse pointer.

My computer is a couple of years old - I think I built it at the start of 2009 - and I've never had an issue running any game I've bought between then and now. And trust me, it wasn't that high-spec then and it definitely isn't now. 

I grew up playing PC games - though I did have a Sega Master System and a SNES during the nineties, it wasn't until I got my first PC that I really got into gaming. So it's only natural that I'd be more comfortable on the PC. I know it's a console-driven maket these days, but there's still a few of us cavemen who still shop in the PC section of the gaming store. Or, increasingly, on Steam...


----------



## Rahl Windsong

The main thing I like about the PC as a gaming platform as opposed to the console is the fact that a lot of computer games like the Elder Scrolls series, NeverWinter Nights and more recently Dragon Age all come with all the tools that are needed for players to create modifications and new adventures for the game. What this does is it makes those game last much longer because you can always find new things to do with it from the gaming community.

I like the easy of use the console offers but I would rather learn a bit about the computer and play my games there, I do own the original xbox but I only bought it because someone bought me the game Morrowind for it one christmas so I bought an xbox so I could check it out. Right away I found out Morrowind had a modding community and then purchased the game from Steam for my PC...


----------



## AE35Unit

Still on GT5, very addictive! Am online with it too but not sure how you find friends (PS3)


----------



## InfinitySquared

Sword of the Stars. Nothing beats Dreadnoughts armed to the teeth with cutting beams and antimatter cannons!


----------



## Cayal

I've never heard of that game.


----------



## Red 13

Cayal said:


> I've never heard of that game.


Lol! Yeah, i've herd its really good but that unlike the title its a bit too short.


----------



## Cayal

Finished Alan Wake, it was a bit meh. I really disliked the main character.


----------



## tangaloomababe

Actually I am appealing for ideas for games.

I havn't played a game for years, well a long complex game that is.

I don't like killing things.  I like solving puzzles going on journeys (so to speak)
There are plently of short games around that fill this but I want something a bit bigger somthing that will take a bit of time to work through.
All ideas greatly appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

tangaloomababe said:


> Actually I am appealing for ideas for games.
> 
> I havn't played a game for years, well a long complex game that is.
> 
> I don't like killing things.  I like solving puzzles going on journeys (so to speak)
> There are plently of short games around that fill this but I want something a bit bigger somthing that will take a bit of time to work through.
> All ideas greatly appreciated.
> Thanks



I'm afraid you're not going to find anything along those lines, Tanga, at least, nothing new.  Games these days are focused on MMORPGs and military war games.


I'm back to playing Oblivion because it's the only damn thing that will run on Windows 7.  After all the trouble I had to acquire classics like Baldur's Gate and Diablo II in the past, too. 


And Windows 7 is what I had to get after my Dell went bellyup.  They should have kept with XP.


----------



## Boneman

tangaloomababe said:


> Actually I am appealing for ideas for games.
> 
> I havn't played a game for years, well a long complex game that is.
> 
> I don't like killing things. I like solving puzzles going on journeys (so to speak)
> There are plently of short games around that fill this but I want something a bit bigger somthing that will take a bit of time to work through.
> All ideas greatly appreciated.
> Thanks


 

Hi Tang

I'm very late to this thread, so what console are you playing on? If you don't want the shoot 'em up or World Of Warcraft type games then have you considered The Broken Sword games? There's a few in the series now. There's usually one death of someone to set you on your way and then it's up to you to solve the mystery. I guess it depends how long you want to play for. Could always try Leisure Suit Larry if you like innuendo, frat humour and belly laughs... 

Me? I'm back playing WOW, trying to fight the addiction. I love what they've done with the Cataclysm, makes it fresh, when you're restarting. Mind you, I wasn't paying attention and fell down the rift when I was looking for copper mines t'other day. I have to use it as a reward system ie: done all my writing, all my chores, made the dinner, tidied the house, so I can have a coupla hours playing. At least that I get things done!


----------



## Red 13

Funny you say that Boneman, i've never played WOW because i'm terrified of being completely addicted, it really looks like my type of game but i'm already bad enough on the addiction level with other video games. I've purposefuly kept away from wow from the beginnig!


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Red 13 said:


> Funny you say that Boneman, i've never played WOW because i'm terrified of being completely addicted, it really looks like my type of game but i'm already bad enough on the addiction level with other video games. I've purposefuly kept away from wow from the beginnig!



You're _really_ not missing much with it, Red. The thing is, MMOs are all the same, essentially, and I had downloaded the free trial version of the WoW a while back-the 10-day trial version-and I quit the first day. You could get an F2P MMO that would be almost the same in game play style-and better visual graphics, especially where the characters are concerned. The only thing WoW has going for it is its reputation, one I think it does not deserve.

The original RTS Warcraft games I found to be far, far better.


----------



## tangaloomababe

Hi Boneman
I have not heard of the Broken Sword Games, so I shall give that a look and see what they are about. Its not that I am adverse to killing, but not all the time. I remember many years ago someone gave me the first Silent Hill and whilst you have puzzles to do and things to look for, I was pretty over the killing thing. I guess I got into computer games with the very first Myst and the like. I have been down the Larry road also and yes whilst they were a bit crass they did require some thought, which is what I like.


Karn I havn't heard of Oblivion either so I will give that a look and see what it is about. I to am running Windows 7. I did have Vista but it didn't see to like anything that I wanted to play.
Thatks for your ideas and please keep them coming.

I don't understand this Warcraft addiction and it is an addiction, I know my son plays it and he would rather play it than spend time with his girfriend!


----------



## Boneman

Red 13 said:


> Funny you say that Boneman, i've never played WOW because i'm terrified of being completely addicted, it really looks like my type of game but i'm already bad enough on the addiction level with other video games. I've purposefuly kept away from wow from the beginnig!


 

Red... keep away... just keep away. It starts off as being quite 'kill, do quests, advance', but then come the secondary skills that you work on the tertiary skills that advance you; then you join a guild and go raiding with others, and then you do dungeons and 'instances' that take an age of time to complete, and you're completely breathless after. Then you start helping others, and that is fun, too. Some of the spells you can train in are awesome, and often pretty funny, too. Just...keep away.



> By Tangaloomababe
> I don't understand this Warcraft addiction and it is an addiction, I know my son plays it and he would rather play it than spend time with his girfriend!


 
Like all good things there does come a boredom threshold, it's probably best to let him get it out of his system, and he'll pay attention to the fair sex again. Unless, of course... he meets a girl who plays WOW... Gives a whole new meaning to them being in the bedroom playing with each other!!


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

tangaloomababe said:


> Karn I havn't heard of Oblivion either so I will give that a look and see what it is about. I to am running Windows 7. I did have Vista but it didn't see to like anything that I wanted to play.
> Thatks for your ideas and please keep them coming.



Oblivion is the fourth installment of the Elder Scrolls series. It's rated M, though, a first-person sandbox game. It does have its story quest, but there's a HUGE amount of side quests to get done as well. Some can even be frustrating.  But I doubt it would be anything you'd like. It relies heavily on medieval violence and there are instances of blood and sexual themes. Especially with mods. 


Did I say that last part out loud?


----------



## Lenny

tangaloomababe said:


> ...they did require some thought, which is what I like.



In that case, you might like to look at the Monkey Island games - point and click adventure games, complete with an item combining system built on logic from another dimension.

On the subject of the obscene number of Oblivion side quests, it's true that they'll keep you occupied for a good while - I'm 150 hours in and about three story missions in. I've done maybe 90% of the side quests and still have the majority of the caves, ruins and gates to explore. There's a crazy amount of content, and that's even without Shivering Isles and the other DLC!

---

Currently, I'm working my way through *Mass Effect* and *Dead Space* on the PC (damn Steam and their oh-so-tempting sales!) and *Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood* and *Singularity* on the PS3.


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Oh, I always ignore the caves and ruins, Lenny. I really don't like those things-although at later levels you can get some kickass equipment. Two of my favorites are the Amulet of Axes and the Necklace of Swords.


----------



## Red 13

I just played the Dead space 2 demo on PS3. Its awesome! I nearly craped myself at least twice and its just the demo, can't wait to play the whole thing!


----------



## RoninJedi84

I'm going through a retro-game phase myself.  Just beat the first Castelvania on NES last night.  Only took me 20 f*&^ing years!  Been playing Tetris off and on, too, but currently bouncing between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mega Man 1 and 2.

Looking for suggestions for other "classic" games that actually _deserve_ that term.  Sadly, I'm not much of an RPG fan, and Final Fantasy on the NES and Final Fantasy III (or VI, whichever way you look at it) on SNES just didn't do it for me.  Any ideas?


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

You can't go wrong with the Mario games, Ronin, and those aside, if you have a Sega Saturn, there's the Sonic games.


If not there's still a few options for SNES. The Legend of Zelda games are a good choice, there's always sports games, Mortal Kombat...um...Metroid games.


----------



## cornelius

Minecraft and Lord of the Rings Online. I'm waiting for diablo 3, looks like it's going to be a loooooong wait.


----------



## crys

RoninJedi84 said:


> I'm going through a retro-game phase myself. Just beat the first Castelvania on NES last night. Only took me 20 f*&^ing years! Been playing Tetris off and on, too, but currently bouncing between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mega Man 1 and 2.
> 
> Looking for suggestions for other "classic" games that actually _deserve_ that term. Sadly, I'm not much of an RPG fan, and Final Fantasy on the NES and Final Fantasy III (or VI, whichever way you look at it) on SNES just didn't do it for me. Any ideas?


 
I was more of a Sega Megadrive and Master System fan, although there were of course some games that were common to both Sega and Nintendo. Cannon Fodder was a fun little war sim, Super Turrican a neat platform shmup, Gods was a great arcade style game set in ancient Greece... Karn has already mentioned Super Metroid and, yep, it's a genuine classic. 

It's a pity you're not a fan of RPGs, because it's probably worth owning a SNES just to be able to play Shadowrun. It's far superior to the Megadrive/Genesis game, in fact it's a completely different game.


----------



## soulsinging

Just got Mass Effect 2 for ps3, and 3 hours in it is blowing me away already. I can see myself being lost in this game for weeks.


----------



## Cayal

^ It's a damn good game. I have it on 360.

I am currently playing *Fable 2*


----------



## Culhwch

_Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy_.


----------



## AE35Unit

Gran Turismo 5 on ps3, Gran Turismo on the psp! Also Lego Indiana 2 (ps3 ) and Angry Birds (phone and ps3 )


----------



## Rane Longfox

Just finished playing through Freelancer again, after 5 years having not touched it. I love that game, it's beyond awesome. A quick google shows very little hope for the sequel ever coming to fruition though, mores the pity. I'll just have to rely on mods to find new stuff to do on it!

But it got me back into massive-world games, so I've just ordered Just Cause off amazon - only a couple of quid, and I absolutely loved it on Xbox360 when it first came out. Unfortunately my PC isn't up to managing Just Cause 2, but we can't win 'em all!


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm still hoping for a sequel to Vagrant Story. Not holding my breath, though.


----------



## Red 13

I've just started playing Assasins Creed Brotherhood and i'm loving it. I must admit that i'm quite overwhelmed by the amount of contracts and other stuff you can do in the game. AC2 seems quite bland in comparison.

Last week i played Dead Space 2 and have played it about three times since. I was already in adoration of the first one and was incredibly releaved by the fact that the second one is just as good and just as scary. I particularily enjoy using the javelin gun, lol.


----------



## Overread

Currently dipping in and out of a few games (not really got settled into anything at present). 

Stronghold 2 and Stronghold Legends are fun little games to get into, though I find them rather lackluster in some ways compared to the original game. Still a lot of fun to be had and some areas have become a new challenge (esp in SH2 with balancing your castle out) but just not that same charm as the first.

Sword of the Stars - I want to like this title; its got charm to it in bucketloads; but I've yet to really sink my teeth into it and get to grips with the game (and the combat). I think once I master understanding the tech tree I'll be half way there.

Minecraft - this is like lego  so much fun in such a simple game its hard not to lose hours to mining and building


----------



## Rane Longfox

Just Cause turned up three days before it was quoted, and it's just as good as I remember, though the background music is quite irritating.


----------



## AE35Unit

Worms on the psp is a lark!


----------



## Menion

Found my old copy of Crimson Skies, couldn't belive my eyes when I found it, lost it about....4 or 5 years ago. Won a CS competition in my local Games Workshop shop first prize!


----------



## Heck Tate

Just got sucked back into Starcraft 2 after months of not playing.  I swear Blizzard games are like some sort of drug that I can never fully kick.


----------



## AdamCollings

I'm playing 'The Silver Lining' Episode 3. I'm a real adventure game kind of guy and haven't really touched many games since the decline of the adventure genre. If you're not aware of 'The Silver Lining' it is a fan-made (but very professional) sequel to Sierra's King's Quest series.
I'm really looking forward to Infamous Adventure's Space Quest II remake.


----------



## AE35Unit

Currently on Gran Turismo 4 on the PS2. Tried out Heroes over Europe, a WWII dogfight game on the ps3 , very hard! Need to try out a Midnight Club game when I get time.


----------



## merry gentry

Playing Dragon Age Origins on the PC...again.  Also playing the Dragon Age 2 demo.  

A week from Tuesday, I will be playing Dragon Age 2 XD


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm playing DA:O as well 

Actually, I'm trying to get Awakenings finished with my two main charactes for decision importing for DA2.


----------



## cornelius

Age of Empires III: don't like it that much, it doesn't have the same feel like the other AOE's

Call of duty2 (online, just for some quick frag-fun)


----------



## Red 13

Mass effect 2. It took me a bit of time to understand the concept but once i got it i started reallly enjoying it. I'm playing it on ps3 and have never played the first one so its a bit hard to follow the story even with the comic book style recap of the first game at the start.Still, i'll be playing Mass effect 3 when it comes out.


----------



## ZombiezuRFER

Playing Shores Of Hazeron... what a fantastic game, even if it is still in alpha.


----------



## vector7

FIFA 10... Back to the roots of football. Taking my team: MANCHESTER UNITED (forever) to all trophies...

Enjoying it.


----------



## Cayal

Rocking NBA 2K11 on 360 and for some reason I went back to Black Ops on PS3. It has a hold on me, that damn game.


----------



## Pjodor

I'm playing League of Legends mostly atm but I little bit of other games get throu too, like Transformers: War of Cybertron. When I play on my PC otherwise if I play on my PS3 there it is games like Assassins Creed and Uncharted.


----------



## cornelius

Pjodor said:


> I'm playing League of Legends mostly atm but I little bit of other games get throu too, like Transformers: War of Cybertron. When I play on my PC otherwise if I play on my PS3 there it is games like Assassins Creed and Uncharted.


 
Just started playing League of legends as well. It's good fun, too bad there are a lot of players you just can't trust on there. I had to 4v5 quite a lot, and as a noob I'm not strong enough to fight a group of gankers. 

I bought Sion, he's not too bad once he manages to farm, but I keep dying in early and mid-game.


----------



## Pjodor

cornelius said:


> Just started playing League of legends as well. It's good fun, too bad there are a lot of players you just can't trust on there. I had to 4v5 quite a lot, and as a noob I'm not strong enough to fight a group of gankers.
> 
> I bought Sion, he's not too bad once he manages to farm, but I keep dying in early and mid-game.


Yes it's really annoying when you have leavers because the preformance is dependent on the whole team usually. I haven't really played Sion, he is good though with the long stun and everything, my favorits atm is akali, blitzcrank, zilean and lux but it changes and it's really up to the team I usually pick my champion last (in normal game) so if noone pick a tank or whatever I can play that.


----------



## cornelius

Pjodor said:


> Yes it's really annoying when you have leavers because the preformance is dependent on the whole team usually. I haven't really played Sion, he is good though with the long stun and everything, my favorits atm is akali, blitzcrank, zilean and lux but it changes and it's really up to the team I usually pick my champion last (in normal game) so if noone pick a tank or whatever I can play that.


 
Played with Amumu and Nasus (the anubis like champ) so far I'm best with Lady Fortune and Nasus. Will start looking up guides and stuff to see where that gets me


----------



## vector7

Started *Crysis* after waiting a long time to get it. Pretty graphics!!


----------



## Pjodor

cornelius said:


> Played with Amumu and Nasus (the anubis like champ) so far I'm best with Lady Fortune and Nasus. Will start looking up guides and stuff to see where that gets me


You can take a look at Solomid.net, the Featured Guides are good to look at they are written by some players with high elo and should be pretty good.


----------



## Daerana

Assassins's Creed 2... again


----------



## cornelius

Picked up Minecraft again after a month of silence. I should pick up LOTRO again, and I'm occasionaly playing League of Legends... But it's a busy month at the job, and I'm investing some time in the writing challenges this site has to offer.


----------



## Joel007

I'm on my 3rd playthrough in Dragon Age 2. Great characters, good dialogue with some epic choices, and snappy fight scenes (some built-into the dialogue). The re-use of levels is something I don't mind, it lets the designers put more polish into other areas. 
My main concerns would be the rigidity of the final fights (could have mixed it up a bit and made the character decisions alter the final boss faced), the tendency of enemies to spawn behind me during fights (not that I want to face 50 enemies at once, but they must have amazing legs to survive that fall), and the lack of variety in female character models (probably in the male ones too but I'm less likely to notice those). 
The quest to kill the ancient pride demon took a bit of googling before I could find the right places, poorly marked on the map!

All in all though, it's a cracking good game. I'm already planning my 4th playthrough.


----------



## Norlan

Everquest for me


----------



## CyBeR

*Demon's Souls*
After I've lost my previous save games I had abandoned the game for a while, while my memory of it cooled off. Now I''m back playing with my girlfriend and we're making insanely good progress. We're at level 90 right now and have only King Allant to vanquish. Great game, I'm going for a platinum here...even though that takes 4 playthroughs to manage.


----------



## Cayal

Finally jumped on Dragon Age: Origins.

Human, instead of Elf like I was during my first playthrough that I never finished.


----------



## DMZ

Guild Wars and im currently waiting for Guild Wars 2.


----------



## Joel007

Got a free copy of Mass Effect 2 (Plus Cerberus DLC which it took me a while to find) just for owning Dragon Age 2! All glory to the hypno-Bioware!


----------



## Robbiedbee

I'm having somewhat of a JRPG renaissance at the moment. I'm about 2/3 thorugh Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call (Nocturne), and I've just started Tales of Symphonia again.

I think I'm gonna have to buy a 360 now Tales of Vesperia has been put on the Games on Demand shop.


----------



## Lemmy

I'm currently enjoying *Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars *on my 3DS. It doesn't look like much from screenshots, and sure, I don't enjoy playing it in 3D normally. (unless you set off an airstrike, of course. Weeeee!) But then you sit down and play it... oh, boy. Put it this way: I played it for four hours on Rookie (the easiest), trying to get used to the game and deciding if it was any good. Then I decided it was too easy, so I restarted it and started on Veteran (medium). It was already past midnight, so I was just going to test the difficulty level to see if I had done a mistake. A few missions and a few hours later I was really going to bed. Just a few more turns. So I started a new mission to see what it was all about. Over an hour later I only had a few more enemies to take care off, but one of them got in a lucky shot and killed one of my ghosts. So I restarted. Over an hour later and getting exhausted, I finally neared the end of the mission.... and got shot again, loosing a ghost. So I restarted. Again. It took me one hour fourty minutes, but then I finally got the last terrorist and cleared the mission. And onto the next... Thirty minutes later, I accidentally discovered we can save the game any time. And the sun was up.


----------



## Lenny

Does *Minecraft* count? I ask because it's more a way of life than a game, you know?  

But seriously, I finally found some DDIIIIIIIAAAAAAMMMMMMMOOOOONNNNNNDDDDDSSSSSSS!!!!!! today, mined me some obsidian and made a portal to The Nether. No hax, too! 

Does anyone else play?


----------



## Red 13

Lenny said:


> Does *Minecraft* count? I ask because it's more a way of life than a game, you know?
> 
> But seriously, I finally found some DDIIIIIIIAAAAAAMMMMMMMOOOOONNNNNNDDDDDSSSSSSS!!!!!! today, mined me some obsidian and made a portal to The Nether. No hax, too!
> 
> Does anyone else play?



Hi Lenny,I want to try Minecraft, i keep on hearing about it. Can you download it for free?


----------



## Menion

I seem to have misplaced my copy of Lord of the Rings: Battle for middle earth. And decided to install Lord ofthe rings online again, And it seems if I want to install my 3 or 4 yearold cd copy I would have to install ALL the paches that have come out since, it said over 40k files.... or download it from the LOTRO website. I try to download it and theres a fault with there website... Damn Lord of the Rings cravings...


----------



## Lenny

Red 13 said:


> Hi Lenny,I want to try Minecraft, i keep on hearing about it. Can you download it for free?



There is a free version you can play online: Minecraft

It's incredibly old, and doesn't have any of the crafting features that are in the current version, but it's a taster of what it's like.

The best way to see how different the current version is to the older, free-to-play version is to watch videos on YouTube.


----------



## Overread

The emu lives in caves? Get out they are wolf places!
And yes Minecraft is a heck of a lot of fun - can't wait till the snow and rain update (ooh and did you see there are wolfies in minecraft now!)

And yes diamond is a nightmare to find, downside is each time I find some in a supercave its normally only because I've wandered to far - too deep and can't remember the way out (normally I'm just dumping candles to reduce monster spawns and exploring). So I know there is some in the cave- somewhere --- deep!


----------



## Hilarious Joke

I've heard of Minecraft and reading you guys talk about it inspired me to go watch some youtube videos and now I really want to play!

What are some cool things you dudes have done on it?


----------



## thaddeus6th

I played Lucifer's Call some time ago. I did like it, but was really bad at it.

Never actually finished it. Can't remember why.


----------



## biodroid

Busy gunning my way thru Killzone 3 (awesome) which is way better than Killzone 2 and then on my days I don't feel like blowing up fascist humans I really floor it in NFS Shift 2 Unleashed. Way better than the first 1.


----------



## Lenny

Hilarious Joke said:


> I've heard of Minecraft and reading you guys talk about it inspired me to go watch some youtube videos and now I really want to play!
> 
> What are some cool things you dudes have done on it?



The coolest thing I've done recently is an underground rail system with launchers (they start the cart moving) and boosters (give the cart an extra bit of speed).

Screenshots and discussions of things here: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/531369-minecrafters-assemble.html


----------



## Lemmy

I'm playing with monkey balls.


----------



## Lemmy

I'm currently playing Grey Matter, a pretty decent adventure-game by Jane Jensen. And reading Dante's Equation, but... uh... Jane Jensen.


----------



## Red 13

God Of War 3, finally!


----------



## thaddeus6th

What d'you make of of it, Red 13?

[On a completely unrelated note, I misread XIII as VII and for aaages thought he was called Red 7, which I prefer  ]

I loved the first boss fight.


----------



## Lenny

Playing that damned waiting game. *Portal 2* has been despatched - hopefully I'll have it on Thursday!


----------



## Cayal

God of War 3 is awesome. Loved it. (my 2 cents)

Playing *Resident Evil Archives *on Wii. I just moved house and the Wii is the only console set up. Pretty darn good game. So different from the original Resident Evil.


----------



## Chaoticheart

Playing *The Witcher* as I wait anxiously for the release of its sequel.


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> What d'you make of of it, Red 13?
> 
> [On a completely unrelated note, I misread XIII as VII and for aaages thought he was called Red 7, which I prefer  ]
> 
> I loved the first boss fight.



Lol, funny the other day someone told me they just called him Red X because they found that cooler, i just always stuck with Red 13 

I'm enjoying God Of War 3, its very spectacular and very well done. The only critic i can give it is that its very samey to the other two and so to me its kind of lost its element of suprise. I remember the first time i played God Of War it felt amazing and new but now it just seems normal. But hey, its still great, Kratos is THE ultimate badass!!


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'd largely agree with that. I think the second part is marginally my favourite though.


----------



## Cayal

I used to call him Red Ex 11


----------



## Lemmy

I downloaded it for my PSP recently through PSN and started calling him Red Forman. 

Anyway, I just ordered Mortal Kombat after thirty minutes with the demo. Forget the old games (well, MK4 and up), this is the real deal, folks. Finally!


----------



## Lenny

I've just finished *Portal 2*! Magnificent game! Fiendishly difficult in parts, fantastic levels, some incredibly good humour, superb voice-acting and a brilliant story. 

Took me about ten and a half hours to complete (no breaks).


----------



## Joel007

Awww I want Portal 2. 

I also tend to agree with Zero Punctuation about most games.


----------



## Red 13

Lol, i think a whole thread could be dedicated to "what did you choose to call Red XIII in ff7?"


----------



## Cayal

Lemmy said:


> I downloaded it for my PSP recently through PSN and started calling him Red Forman.



LOL!

I once called him Nanaki, got a little silly when he said 'Nanaki also known as Nanaki'


----------



## Shinju

Currently playing Tales of Symphonia. I dusted off the Gamecube from under my bed last night after getting a sudden urge to get back into ToS and Wind Waker!


----------



## Lemmy

I'm currently annoyed at the mailman and playing the *Mortal Kombat *demo. Again. I want the full game, dammit!


----------



## kizi

who playing talisman online with me? hi. i'm playing talisman


----------



## Joel007

Currently playing with Visual Basic. Amazing what you can make with that thing


----------



## Lemmy

Currently playing The Great Diamond Sisters: Breakout Party Beta. Haven't heard of it? I'm not surprised, seeing I'm the one making it.  But don't worry, I'll release it for free whenever I finish it.

Other than that I got my hands on Portal 2. The graphics are really bad and gameplay repetitive, but still... "Most people emerge from suspension terribly undernourished. I want to  congratulate you on beating the odds and somehow managing to put on a  few pounds."


----------



## AE35Unit

Started *Secret.Agent Clank* last night on the psp,  not easy !


----------



## Gamblor

Just finished F.E.A.R. 2 on the xbox - was awesome although the sexually violent ending was weird as well as a let down. Looking forward to the third installment though.


----------



## geordie bob

Ive just completed halo 3 with my brother thought it was very good,am considering popping out to buy halo reach but dont know if its any good


----------



## Freelancer

Mass Effect 1 with Bring Down the Sky and Pinnacle Station. Then comes Mass Effect 2.


----------



## Chaoticheart

The Witcher 2 - Soooooooooo good!


----------



## Member

L.A. Noire
I know this is a good game, I just know it.
But I can not get into it for some reason. I fear I may be getting too old for video games, which sucks because the new Hitman is sliding down the pipeline as we speak. =/


----------



## Red 13

Member said:


> L.A. Noire
> I know this is a good game, I just know it.
> But I can not get into it for some reason. I fear I may be getting too old for video games, which sucks because the new Hitman is sliding down the pipeline as we speak. =/



I'm playing L.A Noire too. I like it but i'm finding it a tad repetitive and a bit too linear.


----------



## Member

Red 13 said:


> I'm playing L.A Noire too. I like it but i'm finding it a tad repetitive and a bit too linear.


Mr. Linear killed it dead, and I do mean dead.
I completely stopped playing this game and that is something I have never done.

I think Skyrim comes out in November, but other than that I'll probably be hanging up my gaming shoes.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Looks like my impoverished status has helped me out, for once. I decided against getting LA Noire, but thought it looked very good.

I think I know what you mean about slightly losing interest in games. I still like them, but I can take or leave most of them and spend less time playing them. Likewise, I'll be getting Skyrim.


----------



## soulsinging

thaddeus6th said:


> I think I know what you mean about slightly losing interest in games. I still like them, but I can take or leave most of them and spend less time playing them. Likewise, I'll be getting Skyrim.



There are very few that really draw me in anymore. Actually, a lot of the critically acclaimed ones just bore me. They are SO detailed and SO plot driven that I almost wind up feeling like it's another job or something to get my way through it. Who has 40 hours for games like LA Noire, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2...?

But I'm sure there are plenty who would say the same about my current addiction... MLB 11: the Show.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Red Dead Redemption confounded me. I bought it, liked the gameplay and so forth but... there was no spark. It was like a girl who ticked every box but with whom a fellow has zero chemistry.


----------



## Starbeast

*PS2 - Rainbow Six* 

I like to pretend I'm James Bond infiltrating an enemy base filled with henchmen.


----------



## thatollie

I'm playing LA Noire, it looks beautiful and plays alright. However; the MC is a bit annoying, the free roam isn't as free roamy as other Rockstar games (overall, it lacks Rockstarness), and it gets repetitive.


----------



## Cayal

thatollie said:


> I'm playing LA Noire, it looks beautiful and plays alright. However; the MC is a bit annoying, the free roam isn't as free roamy as other Rockstar games (overall, it lacks Rockstarness), and it gets repetitive.



It's not a sandbox game.


----------



## Chaoticheart

thatollie said:


> I'm playing LA Noire, it looks beautiful and plays alright. However; the MC is a bit annoying, the free roam isn't as free roamy as other Rockstar games (overall, it lacks Rockstarness), and it gets repetitive.



Well it's not really a rockstar game. They only published it. The game was developed by Team Bondi.


----------



## Cayal

L.A Noire (PS3) and NBA 2k11 (360) at the moment.


----------



## Joel007

Tried a playing a Starcraft 2 copy of questionable legality, and was so impressed that I immediately bought the game. 
60 euros is a bit steep! I found it for £29 in the end.


----------



## AE35Unit

WRC on the PSP. Its awesome!


----------



## Stalker

All this time dreaming of installing Sid Meyer's Civilization V but to do that I'll have to upgrade my comp because all those lags during the game make me tired. Well, the comp is really old - 7 years already.
So far, I enjoy the online game *Heroes of War and Money* based on popular Heroes of Might and magic. But I would rather open a separate thread fot that.


----------



## Red 13

I just bought Vanquish and The Saboteur. I'm gonna play them soon.


----------



## Starbeast

*Driver: Parallel Lines*

It's fun to just cause havok in the city with cops chasing you. (while using cheat codes too)


----------



## Thadlerian

Just got myself Mass Effect 2. This game seems great! The writing is _much_ better than ME1, and the gameplay is more engaging.


----------



## biodroid

Thadlerian said:


> Just got myself Mass Effect 2. This game seems great! The writing is _much_ better than ME1, and the gameplay is more engaging.



It's better than ME1 except for the tedious mining. You will see what I mean.


----------



## biodroid

Currently playing Portal 2 and it's really good so far. More lateral thinking is involved in this one with a better graphics engine and the sarcasm is way more funny than the first one. I prefer this one to Portal 1. Seems like more thing can go wrong and you actually get frustrated because there is only one exit and you need to do X Y Z and then compound them to get to A B C before you need to actually do D which is not the correct solution if you get my meaning.


----------



## Starbeast

*Left 4 Dead 2*

I really enjoy this series, I feel like I'm in a zombie movie with the atmospheric suspense and the sudden thrilling excitment by a horde of the dead attacking.

Great gunplay!


----------



## reiver33

I've gone back to Conquest: Frontier Wars (great musical score).


----------



## Chaoticheart

Started Playing WoW again. There are sooooo many Lovecraft ripoffs post-cataclysm.


----------



## Overread

reiver33 said:


> I've gone back to Conquest: Frontier Wars (great musical score).



Ahh I remember that game - loads of fun building mighty space empires with it!


----------



## No One

biodroid said:


> It's better than ME1 except for the tedious mining. You will see what I mean.



Agreed.

As for myself, after a couple of years without a games console and seeing my PC slowly lag behind the technological curve of the current crop of games, I decided it was time for a new xbox.

And with it - *Halo: Reach*. Suffice to say, I'm as happy as a pig in the proverbial. 

I'm seeing links appearing here - so just to be clear, they're not my doing!*


----------



## Starbeast

biodroid said:


> Currently playing Portal 2 and it's really good so far. More lateral thinking is involved in this one with a better graphics engine and the sarcasm is way more funny than the first one.


 
My nephew introduced me to *Portal 2*, I love it. It's a sci-fi puzzle game that I've been waiting a long time to play, with great graphics and cool challeges, it's a dream game brought to life.


----------



## biodroid

Starbeast said:


> My nephew introduced me to *Portal 2*, I love it. It's a sci-fi puzzle game that I've been waiting a long time to play, with great graphics and cool challeges, it's a dream game brought to life.



A very clever game and the robots are so sarcastic and witty, you can't help but giggle.


----------



## Thadlerian

Thadlerian said:


> Just got myself Mass Effect 2. This game seems great! The writing is _much_ better than ME1, and the gameplay is more engaging.


Never mind.

Finished it today. Halfway into the loyalty missions, the game just stopped being interesting. Hardly any more character development. Many wasted opportunities for greatness, most of all the Exile Fleet quest.


----------



## Joel007

Starbeast said:


> *Left 4 Dead 2*
> 
> I really enjoy this series, I feel like I'm in a zombie movie with the atmospheric suspense and the sudden thrilling excitment by a horde of the dead attacking.
> 
> Great gunplay!



Yes, and the versus mode is a whole different beast. Knowing that intelligence and teamwork is out to get you adds a new fear to it, but on the other hand you get to take your turn at savaging the survivors in creative ways


----------



## Arkose

Hi, my name is Arkose and I am addicted to video games.


I have given up RPG and online gaming (be it MMO or call of duty games), but I can't let it all go cold turkey.  I am currently waiting for EA sports NCAA football 2011, and luckily enough have been away from the console as I been reading more.  I am almost over the hurdle!

I think this last American football game might be the last.........


----------



## Cayal

Finished LA Noire and now back on to Dragon Age Origins.


----------



## Red 13

Just finished Vanquish, great agme, really fun and full of crazy action. Now i have a choice of many games to play since playsatation network is back online i've been able to download 2 free games, so i got "wipeout HD" and "Little Big Planet". I've also got "The Saboteur" so i'm gonna have alot of things on my gamers plate!


----------



## biodroid

Between F1 2010 and Portal 2. F1 because I just love it and Portal because I want a bit of a puzzler.


----------



## Talysia

I'm currently replaying Final Fantasy 7 - it feels like ages since I last played it, and wanted to go through it again in case my ancient memory card gave up the ghost!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, I do wonder how long it'll be before I end up throwing out systems. 

I've still got a mega-drive and Sonic the Hedgehog.


----------



## pit

MtG: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. can't wait for expansions


----------



## Red 13

pit said:


> MtG: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. can't wait for expansions



I played that today. I'd never played Magic before so you can imagine how lost and confused i was. I gave up in the end.


----------



## pit

Red 13 said:


> I played that today. I'd never played Magic before so you can imagine how lost and confused i was. I gave up in the end.



Yes, i remember my beginnings, but do not give up, game is worth it. Cards are better, but computer version is fun too, especially when you don't have much time to play real cards game, few fast matches and i am happy i could play 

If you were interested in card game itself, find  MtG store near you. There you can go play and meet other players who will help you understand magical world of MtG: 


Good luck


----------



## Red 13

pit said:


> Yes, i remember my beginnings, but do not give up, game is worth it. Cards are better, but computer version is fun too, especially when you don't have much time to play real cards game, few fast matches and i am happy i could play
> 
> If you were interested in card game itself, find  MtG store near you. There you can go play and meet other players who will help you understand magical world of MtG:
> 
> 
> Good luck



I'll try and stick with it, it does seem like good fun.
For now though i'm seriously addicted to Plants vs Zombies. Craziest game ever but really fun!


----------



## Talysia

thaddeus6th said:


> Ha, I do wonder how long it'll be before I end up throwing out systems.
> 
> I've still got a mega-drive and Sonic the Hedgehog.



I know what you mean.  I think my old Dreamcast is still sitting around somewhere.

Currently replaying FF7 - Dirge of Cerberus, but I'm just not good at these type of games!  I'm playing it more for the story, really.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Great minds, Taly 

Mind you, I do lack space and (even if it's in storage) keeping a Mega Drive, Playstation and PS2 plus however many games I have must use up a bit.


----------



## Freelancer

Just finished F.3.A.R. with both characters. It wasn't good as the original F.E.A.R., but it wasn't bad either, just damned short (I started it yesterday and I finished both the Point Man and the Fettel walkthrough already.).


----------



## Talysia

I've recently been replaying Odin Sphere on the PS2.  I keep forgetting what a beautiful, underrated game it is.


----------



## Joel007

Ever since Team Fortress 2 became free I've been trying to make up for lost time with that beauty of a game. I used to play the Quake2 and 3 mods of Weapons Factory too, very well designed.


----------



## Cayal

Infamous 2 and it is in-freaking-credible.


----------



## Red 13

Cayal said:


> Infamous 2 and it is in-freaking-credible.



Thats definatly the next game i'm gonna get. I thought the first one was quite good but not amazing, but from what i've seen of the second it looks waaaay better.


----------



## Starbeast




----------



## Freelancer

Bulletstorm. I love it. 

And it has a pretty good main theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v45ibILW83w&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v45ibILW83w&hd=1


----------



## Starbeast

Freelancer said:


> Bulletstorm. I love it.


 
I just watched a demo of the gameplay. It's quite an exciting weapon-blasting gorefest.


----------



## Freelancer

Starbeast said:


> I just watched a demo of the gameplay. It's quite an exciting weapon-blasting gorefest.


Yep, but I like the story the most. While it's not an A+ story, it's revenge story is much deeper than the story of any present shooter (It's also funny at most places as the game doesn't want to take itself serious at all.). Here you actually care with the characters, their past, their mistakes (Even if the MC is not a real genius... Translation; Dumb as hell.  ). The level design is also good, regardless it's a tunnel FPS. The weapons are very useful, some are pretty fun to use and the visuals are beautiful. The sounds are superb, the actors are also real pros (The female character is voiced overed by my favorite Jennifer Hale.). Oh, and the skill shot system can be funny and thanks to that the game is not really repetative (And the best is, the skill shot system itself also has it's own backstory in the game story, what I really appreciate. It's not just an out of nowhere system, but it's explained why it's in the game.).

To me, this game is the greatest surprise in 2011 (And it's one of the very few good games that with I played in this year.).


----------



## Cayal

Red 13 said:


> Thats definatly the next game i'm gonna get. I thought the first one was quite good but not amazing, but from what i've seen of the second it looks waaaay better.



It's not all that different from the first, gameplay wise, but I loved the first and love the second, I do think it is better (except the ending of the first was excellent, haven't finished 2 but I can't imagine it could end like the first did.)


----------



## Cayal

Finished Infamous 2 and now getting my trophies before I will get to the 2nd playthrough to get the rest of them.

But before then I will be playing Tomb Raider : Guardian of the Light and might start Final Fantasy XIII


----------



## Abd-L-zeez

i finished playing silent hill 1 and 2 and 3 and am playing 4 now


----------



## LittleMissy

I've recently downloaded Forsaken World through Steam and for a free to download/play game.  It's suitably simple for me, and thanks to the handy click-to-go-to feature in the quests I don't got lost too often 

I'm currently a level 21 dwarf marksman, and still enjoying it


----------



## Red 13

While patiently waiting for Skyrim i've taken up a saved game i have in Oblivion playing and i'm playing the shivering isles bit again. This is a part of the game i've only played once so i'm really enjoying it.


----------



## Joel007

Battlefield 3 alpha. It's a bit high-spec for my graphics card, and occasionally goes blue... but it's a fast-paced absorbing beautiful game.


----------



## C Of K

Long time no see, Joel. Welcome back!


----------



## Star Girl

After many years I decided to complete Final Fantasy VII again. It is just as good as I remember it. After this I might play Okami for the Wii.


----------



## Cayal

Star Girl said:


> After many years I decided to complete Final Fantasy VII again. It is just as good as I remember it.



That game with never get old.

Currently playing Final Fantasy XIII and Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions


----------



## Bugg

I've been re-playing Metroid Prime.  I played it when it first came out on the Gamecube and it became pretty much my favourite game.  Loving the Wii controls


----------



## Joel007

C Of K said:


> Long time no see, Joel. Welcome back!



Thanks, I still drop by from time to time 

By the way, Dawn of War retribution is a shiny game.


----------



## thatollie

I'm replaying GTA: Vice City.


----------



## Wybren

I am  playing Dungeon Siege III on the pc.


----------



## Overread

Wy - how are you finding the game? I've been hearing horror stories about it for the PC - esp with the interface being somewhat too based on console and not pc interfaces.


----------



## Wybren

When I started playing it I was a bit confused - it kept telling me to move my character with L and nothing would happen when I pressed L - once I worked out that it meant the controller not the keyboard I have had no problems, Graphics are good, story is good. It is a bit weird not using the keyboard but you get used to it.


----------



## Star Girl

After finishing FFVII and having lots of fun, I've decided to continue Final Fantasy Fest 2011 with Final Fantasy IX. Maybe afterwards I'll play FFIV and FFV as those are some of my favourites too.


----------



## Snowdog

Lately I've been playing UFO Extraterrestrials, heavily modded. It's the best follow-up to X-COM that I've played but still doesn't quite capture the brilliance of the first two X-COM games.


----------



## Red 13

I've recently played Borderlands, i really enjoyed it. I'm currently playing Bulletstorm which is great fun!


----------



## Cayal

Platinum'd Madden 11 and now working on Infamous 2 platinum


----------



## Adasunshine

Mostly World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.  Very much enjoying the new expansion so far although the dailies are becoming a bit too much of a grind 

Looking forward to being able to make my new shiny epics look like tiers of the past... Druid Tier 6 here I come 

xx


----------



## wookie8472

times of lore and exile on the commodore 64 
elite on the amiga 600 
and elder scrolls 3 morrowind goty edition on the original xbox. i rarely use anything newer because games and consoles these days have lost the magic for me.


----------



## Joel007

I found Deux Ex Human Revolution at "Cool Shop" for under £20  And only just after it's release! I'm looking forward to playing that, the ratings are very good.


----------



## Joel007

Aye, Human Revolution be awesome. Whether you're bowling soldiers over with heavy machinegun turrets or dropping frag mines onto puzzled guard's heads from above, it's great fun.


----------



## Mith

Just recently aquired a 360 and am currently (thanks to my ex) playing through Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Loving the game but am unfortunately a bit stuck.


----------



## biodroid

DiRT 3 and it's awesome.


----------



## AE35Unit

I've completed Gran Turismo on the PSP,  level S on all tracks, total earned 27 million! Oh if only it were real! Have erased data and will start again!


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> DiRT 3 and it's awesome.



I want that for the PS3! Also a PSP version would be nice!


----------



## biodroid

AE35Unit said:


> I want that for the PS3! Also a PSP version would be nice!



Get it! You won't be disappointed. It's the only rally game that has the most content than any other rally game. And the Gymkhana stuff is fantastically addictive. Powersliding a Ford Fiesta has never been as much fun. GFX are very good and crisp, physics are great and is very scalable to suit your level of driving, which I assume is good seeing as you played GT.


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> Get it! You won't be disappointed. It's the only rally game that has the most content than any other rally game. And the Gymkhana stuff is fantastically addictive. Powersliding a Ford Fiesta has never been as much fun. GFX are very good and crisp, physics are great and is very scalable to suit your level of driving, which I assume is good seeing as you played GT.



Just what I wanted to hear! The previous incarnation of Dirt was utter pants!


----------



## Star Girl

I'm playing two games at the moment, I'm playing Shadow of the Colossus, and after beating one Colossi I then switch and play some Final Fantasy IX, then once I fancy a change I'll play some Shadow of the Colossus... It's a great routine.


----------



## TheTomG

I was going to buy the Shadow of the Colossus and Ico pack, but have gone and got a Digital SLR instead and so ruled out any game purchases for quite a while to come... that pack, Skyrim, SWTOR.... this is gonna be tough! I shall read this thread with envy from now


----------



## Quokka

_Enslaved: Journey to the West_, it's a shame it didn't get the full polish, finished treatment. There's a good game here and I like the main characters but I'm finding it plays best when you keep running and swinging along. It's when you try to stop and look around that you notice all the rough edges and camera angles.


----------



## CyBeR

*Batman: Arkham Asylum*. The game had been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now and I finally worked up the interest. And boyyyy was it fun. I've finished the story mode on normal and am now working on secrets, collectibles, challenge rooms and finishing the game on Hard. Looking forward to Arkham City now.


----------



## biodroid

AE35Unit said:


> Just what I wanted to hear! The previous incarnation of Dirt was utter pants!


Ok, I have not played the other Dirt games before so don't shoot me if it does not work for you


----------



## Red 13

Quokka said:


> _Enslaved: Journey to the West_, it's a shame it didn't get the full polish, finished treatment. There's a good game here and I like the main characters but I'm finding it plays best when you keep running and swinging along. It's when you try to stop and look around that you notice all the rough edges and camera angles.



I bought Enslaved about two months ago because it was at a very cheap price. I played it for about an hour and i havn't been bothered to pick it up again since. I think i'm getting really bored with games where you have to co-operate with other AI characters, i would of prefered to just be monkey by himself.


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> Ok, I have not played the other Dirt games before so don't shoot me if it does not work for you



I loved all the Colin Mcrae games, even theyre often ruddy hard, but when Dirt came oit they used a different engine.  #1 ain't bad, i have it on xbox, but Dirt 2 is crap! Im thinking theyve changed the engine for this one, plus its done with Ken Block!! I got it to try for free for a couple of days!


----------



## Overread

TheTomG said:


> I was going to buy the Shadow of the Colossus and Ico pack, but have gone and got a Digital SLR instead and so ruled out any game purchases for quite a while to come... that pack, Skyrim, SWTOR.... this is gonna be tough! I shall read this thread with envy from now



DSLRs are loads of fun 

But you'll want to get ICO and Shadow sometimes - two of the best games on the PS2


----------



## TheTomG

Agreed, I will continue to think of the acquisition of those two games as merely postponed rather than cancelled!


----------



## Overread

out of interest what camera did you get?


----------



## AE35Unit

Overread said:


> DSLRs are loads of fun


Indeed they are!


----------



## AE35Unit

Gave Dirt 3 a demo tonight. Boy its fun but ya gotta be awake- especially on snow! When I first tried it it was far too easy compared to Gran Turismo, then I discovered all the driving aids were on! Turn em off and hang on to the reins! I havent laughed so much in ages!.


----------



## Culhwch

_Madden 12_ on 360 at the moment. Have a _Fable II_/_Halo 3_ pack on the way, as well. Need to get into gear and get my new PC built before _Arkham City_ and _Skyrim_ hit.


----------



## biodroid

Culhwch said:


> _Madden 12_ on 360 at the moment. Have a _Fable II_/_Halo 3_ pack on the way, as well. Need to get into gear and get my new PC built before _Arkham City_ and _Skyrim_ hit.



Get a console


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> Get a console



My thoughts exactly!


----------



## thatollie

I'm playing the FIFA 2012 demo on PS3.


----------



## Red 13

I'm re-playing Okami on PS2. I love this game! I wish they did a proper sequel of it on PS3.


----------



## AE35Unit

Re Dirt 3, the novelty wore off pretty quick! It seems fun but when you get into the serious racing zone you need to either use a wheel or cheat to even get a look in! Its impossibly hard! And unlike the GT series Id imagine myself soon getting bored!


----------



## CyBeR

I have played the Ace Combat 7 demo today and it was a gift from the Heavens for which I have felt unworthy after my treachery of hating Ace Combat 6 so very very much. But nonetheless, it hath descended unto my grateful PS3 and it was...Heavenly. 
Seriously though...I would play the demo on and on and on and on until the game is released and then I would play that on and on and on and on. (Huge Ace Combat nerd here, ever since it was called Air Combat).


----------



## AE35Unit

Tried *Driver San Francisco* last night. Its fun at first, I like the Shift idea where you can jump into someone else's body a la Quantum Leap,  but after a while the fun fades, cos the cars handle like crap! Unless you nab a European car, an  Alfa or Audi! The default car, a Dodge charger or some american tank is ruddy awful!


----------



## biodroid

AE35Unit said:


> Tried *Driver San Francisco* last night. Its fun at first, I like the Shift idea where you can jump into someone else's body a la Quantum Leap,  but after a while the fun fades, cos the cars handle like crap! Unless you nab a European car, an  Alfa or Audi! The default car, a Dodge charger or some american tank is ruddy awful!



I tend to steer clear from those types of games. I can't wait for F1 2011 to be released this week.


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> I tend to steer clear from those types of games. I can't wait for F1 2011 to be released this week.



Ah I'd rather watch paint dry than play F1!


----------



## biodroid

Imagine drying your paint with an F1 car


----------



## AE35Unit

biodroid said:


> Imagine drying your paint with an F1 car


Well Jeremy Clarkson got painted by a formula 3000 car!


----------



## Talysia

I'm planning to replay Suikoden V on the PS2.


----------



## Red 13

I'm playing two oldschool classics that i've always wanted to play from the very moment they were released. Final Fantasy VI and Zelda Link to the past. Yaaaaay!


----------



## King Mob

i used to have a PS3 but at the moment i have an old original xbox and my girlfriend's daughter has a DS, so i'm playing def jam fight for new york, which i still think is one of the best fighting games ever, and i'm enjoying playing gta san andreas and burnout revenge again, also been playing super mario world on the emulator


----------



## AE35Unit

King Mob said:


> i used to have a PS3 but at the moment i have an old original xbox and my girlfriend's daughter has a DS, so i'm playing def jam fight for new york, which i still think is one of the best fighting games ever, and i'm enjoying playing gta san andreas and burnout revenge again, also been playing super mario world on the emulator



Ha, we got a pre-owned xbox for a tenner a while back. Yet to try it tho!


----------



## Quokka

I finished _Enslaved: Odyssey to the West_ yesterday, fun because it was short. I really liked the two central characters and how they came together but a lot of the surrounding game was very average. Was interesting to read afterwards that Andy Serkis (Gollum in the LOTR movies and Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) was so involved, doing the motion capture and voice of Monkey as well as being part of the writing and development. 

I'm loading up _Valkyria Chronicles_ now which I'm liking the looks of.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I really liked Valkyria Chronicles. Unusual type of game, I think, but pretty cool.


----------



## Red 13

I'm seriously loving Final Fantasy VI!! Its amazing how a FF game that was released nearly 20 years ago kicks every other FF game released in the last 10 years ass!! (IMO)


----------



## thaddeus6th

VI is one of the few I've not played. IV and V were better than the more recent ones (I didn't get the latest one, as it sounded like a linear, tedious game).

Slight self-plugging (but it is in line with the conversation): http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.com/2011/09/end-of-road-for-final-fantasy.html


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> VI is one of the few I've not played. IV and V were better than the more recent ones (I didn't get the latest one, as it sounded like a linear, tedious game).
> 
> Slight self-plugging (but it is in line with the conversation): http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.com/2011/09/end-of-road-for-final-fantasy.html



Yeah, i definatly agree with your blog. I did buy FF XIII even though i had herd it was very linear. I thought that maybe it was just more linear than the others but still with quite alot of free roaming, wow, i was so wrong... It's just corridor after corridor of fighting, cut scene, and then more fighting. There's no world map, no exploring villages, no interaction with other characters and not even a proper shop to walk into and buy stuff. What the hell happened!! It is definatly wonderful to look at and the story is quite good but its completly empty of any FF soul. I didn't even bother finishing it.

On a side note to do with FFVI, the english version is actually called FFIII because apparently at the time they didn't release the original FFIII, IV and V in the USA and Europe. So you might have played it. Its the one with the characters Terra, Locke and the bad guy Kefka in it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Alas, I haven't. I've heard VI praised a lot, though, and given IV, V and VII are all very enjoyable I'd expect it to be good.

It's a shame that FF is now putting shiny graphics above gameplay.


----------



## King Mob

AE35Unit said:


> Ha, we got a pre-owned xbox for a tenner a while back. Yet to try it tho!


 have you seen what those things can do if you modify them? there's no need to open it up and chip it either, you can do it all with an installer embedded in a gamesave, a modded xbox with XBMC on it is better than any prebuilt media client you can buy


----------



## biodroid

F1 2011 - And it's a lot better than 2010. The cars feel like they have weight, the engine sounds are better, lots of bugs fixed, the AI is a lot more difficult and tricky. The safety car is in and you can now have drive through penalties instead of adding the time to your final score. Graphics are a bit better with better lighting and reflection rates for the cars. DRS and KERS is fun just don't use DRS on a curve or corner


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, that's interesting to read, Biodroid. I decided against getting 2011 (I have 2010). The thing is, 2012 has the same basic rulebook, so the 2012 game will probably be similar to 2011 in most regards, but better. I'll probably wait and see what I think of F1 2012 rather than getting 2011.

Good to know that drive-throughs are in now (I knew about most of the other stuff).


----------



## biodroid

thaddeus - The only reason I know the drive thru's are there is because I got 2 last night for unsporting behaviour  Hey I can't help skidding around in the wet. I am playing on intermediate AI and signed with Lotus and Qualy and race is damn difficult, seems like the teams are better placed in this game than the last one. Sometimes you see Sutil or Petrov winning and even Kobayashi won but it is forgiveable because 80% of the time the top 5 qualifiers are McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull then it's Mercedes-Benz then it moves to the way it currently looks in reality.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Some nutter bought Pokemon White (because I want the Black Dragon at the end) for me as an early birthday present and insist I play it. So I've been going through that these past few days. 

It's got a whole new list of pokemon, none of the old ones included, and it's made to introduce newcomers to the world of Pokemon. As such, having played pretty much all the games previous to this one, I found it a little holding-your-hand-taking-you-through-everything. Even more so than usual.

But this game, with it's entirely new region, is reported to be more based on America, specifically New York. And when I hit 'New York', the game got awesome. The graphics are so much better than previous! Swooping angles and changing POVs and cities so big there are different switch screens for different areas. There's a fresh feeling -- despite it being entirely similar to the previous games, plot-wise -- to this game that's making it very enjoyable to play.


----------



## LadyLara

Having read this thread I decided to start playing F1 2010, which I bought last year but then never played for some reason. It's pretty good, but there are some definite omissions. Like there doesn't seem to be a track map or overview the first time you go to a track, you just have to drive round it and learn it sort of 'blind'. And despite having a nice weather forecast system, it's pretty hard to tell what the weather actually IS at the time, other than just the view out of the garage which is sometimes misleading. A couple of times now I've gone out thinking it's dry and then suddenly iscovere there's water all over the track. The engineer sometimes mentions the conditions when you go to the tyres menu, but not always. other than that though it seems pretty good


----------



## thatollie

Replaying Spiderman 2


----------



## biodroid

LadyLara said:


> Having read this thread I decided to start playing F1 2010, which I bought last year but then never played for some reason. It's pretty good, but there are some definite omissions. Like there doesn't seem to be a track map or overview the first time you go to a track, you just have to drive round it and learn it sort of 'blind'. And despite having a nice weather forecast system, it's pretty hard to tell what the weather actually IS at the time, other than just the view out of the garage which is sometimes misleading. A couple of times now I've gone out thinking it's dry and then suddenly iscovere there's water all over the track. The engineer sometimes mentions the conditions when you go to the tyres menu, but not always. other than that though it seems pretty good



You can view track details I'm sure in one of the menus. But that's also why you have practise sessions to learn the track. The weather system is always shown to you in the montage before you enter the garage, just don't press a button then you can see the beginning they show you the track in whatever weather condition. There is also a menu system while you are sitting in the car on the screen in front of you with all the times and positions to tell you if practise/qualy/race will be wet, just press your action button to access those areas, you can set your car up their, change gear ratios etc. And your engineer will give you the correct tyres. I have played F1 2010 to death so sold it and got 2011 which is a lot better overall.


----------



## Overread

Darn it Hoopy I'm trying to avoid getting re-addicted to Pokemon! 
I keep toying with the idea of soulsilver just to re-live the good old golden age of the series -- with a backlight so I don't have to visit the chiropractors after gaming


----------



## LadyLara

biodroid said:


> You can view track details I'm sure in one of the menus. But that's also why you have practise sessions to learn the track. The weather system is always shown to you in the montage before you enter the garage, just don't press a button then you can see the beginning they show you the track in whatever weather condition. There is also a menu system while you are sitting in the car on the screen in front of you with all the times and positions to tell you if practise/qualy/race will be wet, just press your action button to access those areas, you can set your car up their, change gear ratios etc. And your engineer will give you the correct tyres. I have played F1 2010 to death so sold it and got 2011 which is a lot better overall.


 
You can read a little bio (if you can say bio about an inanimate object) about the track history, and it tells you things like full throttle percentage, but there's no overhead view of the whole track marking out where the sectors are or anything like that. Yeah I can learn it in practice, but it would still be nice to have something like that.

And yes you can see the weather at the beginning of the session, but if it changes you can't tell exactly how wet it is from in the garage without going out there. You can just about see rain falling, but if it's not raining then has the track dried or not yet? The engineer gives you the right tyres at the beginning of the session, but after that it seems to be up to you. He might occasionally give advice when it's wet, but it doesn't seem fully reliable. Also if you are moving from practice 1 to practice 2 or to qualifying without going back to the paddock then you don't get the track overview again for the new session, and the weather might be different.


----------



## biodroid

LadyLara - Normally if it stops raining in a session like the race, then the engineer will tell you to come in for a pitstop, but most of the time if you are out on wet or inter tyres then the compulsory 2 stop strategy doesn't exist because wet tyres are harder and last longer. If it starts raining and you are on slicks or inters then the engineer will tell you you need to get to wets soon. The sectors are marked on the mini-map when you drive, the sector you are on will be highlighted brighter than the sector you still need to reach. Check if you can change the mini-map to full map or rotating. The weather system was built into the game to be dynamic so that it can be unpredictable like the real F1. It makes it more challenging. You can set the sessions up to be only dry if you want. I don't know if I am missing anything about what you mean overview of the tracks before you drive them. I have an idea, check out www.formula1.com and look at the onboard laps videos for each track and you can see how it's done in real life.


----------



## LadyLara

What I meant about the weather was the practice sessions not the race. Obviously if I'm on the track I can see the weather, but in the garage it's not always obvious what tyres to go out on if you've been sat there for a while messing with set ups or accelerating time to let the other drivers put some lap times in to compare to.

Yeah I know I can look up tracks online, but it would be nice to have an overhead overview of the tracks in game, other than just the zoomed in mini-maps while you're on the track. It seems a bit of an oversight to me.


----------



## Talysia

Since we got a Wii, I've been mostly having a go on that - playing golf and table tennis in _Wii Sports Resort_, and trying to shape up a bit on the _Wii Fit_.  Not my usual kind of thing, but a change is as good as a rest, they say.


----------



## Cayal

Playing God of War - Origins.


----------



## Lenny

Got *Deus Ex: Human Revolution* on the PS3 last week, which I've played a few hours of.

I've also just started *Dead Space*, using a software hack to get it playing across three monitors (though, as a trade-off, it does mean I'm stuck using a keyboard and mouse. I can't remember which keys to press ). I figured that, seeing as it would scare the living daylights out of me if I played it in bright lights, I'd play it 'properly' - curtains closed, door closed, lights off and surround sound.


----------



## AE35Unit

Soon it's gonna be Forza 4 on the xbox and F1 2011 om ps3,


----------



## No One

Lenny said:


> Got *Deus Ex: Human Revolution* on the PS3 last week, which I've played a few hours of.



Same here, 'cept on the 360. Big fan of this series and what little I've played is more than promising. 

One small gripe though is that much of the text in the game, particularly in the menu systems, is intended for a HD screen, which I don't have. Makes reading info - which I actually like doing in this series - ruddy difficult.


----------



## Cayal

Bought Arkham City today.


----------



## dask

OUT OF THE DARKNESS by Midnight Syndicate


----------



## Bugg

Dark Souls.  I loved Demon's Souls so am looking forward to really getting stuck into this one (I've only played an hour or so of it so far).

Also got Arkham City on the way.


----------



## CyBeR

*Dark Souls* as well here, started today and played about 3-4 hours. First impression: this b**** is hard. It seems a bit harder than Demon's Souls since enemies are now a lot more aggressive and the bastards play dirty (spear guys are real stinkers, they just wait for you to make the first move which they'll block and then just turtle their way into the remainder of your health). It doesn't help that the levels are bigger (with appropriately placed shortcuts now) and the health drops virtually inexistent so far. 

What bothers me now is the fact that so far I haven't really got a grasp on WHY I'm there and WHY I'm struggling to stay alive. Yeah, the mystery of the bells is interesting, but the end goal is a bit too shrouded in mystery at the very beginning. 
More details as they get pummeled into me (seriously, I've died silly so far...I think I'm a masochist).


----------



## Red 13

Batman!Bataman!Batman!.....BATMAN!!! (Arkham City) I wrote that with the old Batman intro music from the 70's in mind, just in case you hadn't understood.


----------



## Bugg

CyBeR said:


> *Dark Souls* as well here, started today and played about 3-4 hours. First impression: this b**** is hard. It seems a bit harder than Demon's Souls since enemies are now a lot more aggressive and the bastards play dirty (spear guys are real stinkers, they just wait for you to make the first move which they'll block and then just turtle their way into the remainder of your health). It doesn't help that the levels are bigger (with appropriately placed shortcuts now) and the health drops virtually inexistent so far.
> 
> What bothers me now is the fact that so far I haven't really got a grasp on WHY I'm there and WHY I'm struggling to stay alive. Yeah, the mystery of the bells is interesting, but the end goal is a bit too shrouded in mystery at the very beginning.
> More details as they get pummeled into me (seriously, I've died silly so far...*I think I'm a masochist*).


Yeah, it definitely helps 

There's a great sense of achievement when you finally get through tough parts, though - at least, there was in Demon's Souls, I still haven't had much time with Dark Souls.


----------



## geordie bob

Just started playing FEAR 3 and not really sure if its any good or not, hopefully I will appreciate it better when I play I co-op with my pal later.


----------



## Cayal

Finish God of War - Origins. Now just going to plat it and play Black Ops until Uncharted 3 is out.


----------



## Sakina

i was playing wow&dota


----------



## CyBeR

Bugg said:


> Yeah, it definitely helps
> 
> There's a great sense of achievement when you finally get through tough parts, though - at least, there was in Demon's Souls, I still haven't had much time with Dark Souls.



In *Demon's Souls*, after getting through the poison swamp of 5-2 and the rickety village at the end, finally managing to reach The Dirty Colossus, I just wailed on it with the fury of countless hours of pain and suffering in the swamp. I actually felt bad for the thing, especially since during the fight I couldn't help but keep on saying: "I will NOT NOT NOT  NOT NOT NOT BE DEFEATED. NOT going through the swamp again. You die and go back to HELL!". Dragon Sword +5 + My best healing herbs at the time + Purple Flame Shield +10 meant he had not a prayer.


----------



## Culhwch

Picked up LIMBO from Steam. Very addictive little puzzle/platformer, and beautiful to look at.


----------



## soulsinging

Cayal said:


> Finish God of War - Origins. Now just going to plat it and play Black Ops until Uncharted 3 is out.



I just finished Black Ops the other week. Liked it a lot better than MW2, but CoD is not really my thing. I much preferred Uncharted 2 to all of those games, and can't wait to pick up Uncharted 3 this afternoon.

Otherwise, I've been mostly playing Arkham City, which I'm loving even though it's more open world than I usually enjoy. I also still play MLB the Show 11 frequently. Love tinkering with my lineups.


----------



## Cayal

I put Arkham City on the backburner because of Uncharted. Which is why I played BO after GoW.
The Double XP weekend was great though. Went up from 36 to 49 lol.


----------



## CyBeR

Playing some online *Magic: The gathering* with my girlfriend. She's systematically kicking my ass. What have I unleashed upon the world when I started coaching her more and more into gaming?


----------



## Joel007

My PC managed to handle Crysis 2 on "Very High" without a stutter. When I gather the courage maybe I'll try "Ultra", and maybe even "Extreme", at the risk of inhumane treatment of my CPU.


----------



## Talysia

I'm replaying Final Fantasy X, after finding a copy of it in a charity shop.  I can't believe how long it's been since I last played it.


----------



## CyBeR

*Uncharted 3*...and it is AWESOME. Only sneaked in a couple of hours yesterday and it's already one of my favorite games out there. Gonna platinum the crap out of it once I'm done with just playing for the story.


----------



## biodroid

Uncharted 3 - So far the best out of the trilogy, it feels a bit shorter than the others which hopefully will be overlooked if the rest of the game lives up to the hype. It's also 3D compatible which is very cool. The graphics are way better, the physics and controls are improved.


----------



## Quokka

Still playing through a bit of ps3 back catalogue which does keep it cheap  Finished Valkyria Chronicles and now starting Red Dead Redemption. Then there's Uncharted 2 and Arkhym Asylum at least before looking at anything new. Playing a bit of Galaga this week as well.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I loved Valkyria Chronicles. Shame the sequel was for the PSP only


----------



## soulsinging

Cayal said:


> I put Arkham City on the backburner because of Uncharted. Which is why I played BO after GoW.
> The Double XP weekend was great though. Went up from 36 to 49 lol.



I've done the same. Was out of town this weekend though so I'm hoping to finish today.


----------



## Tecdavid

I'm thinking of starting a new file in Lost Odyssey, while I wait for Christmas to shower me with newer games, but I'm not sure...
I reached the start of Disc 4 last time, and then... stopped.  I can't even remember why.


----------



## THX-1138

Drake's Deception. I'm on the part with pirates.


----------



## Culhwch

I tend to buy a lot of games on Steam when they have their sales, and then finally get around to installing and playing them months later. As such, I'm currently playing _Assassin's Creed 2_. Quite enjoyable so far, even though I never really got invested in the first offering...


----------



## TheTomG

I have fallen victim to the fun of wielding dual red lightsabers - yes, Star Wars The Old Republic has been using up unfair amounts of my time. In my defense, I am down with a cold so can't do much productive anyway. This cold might last a while....


----------



## Talysia

I'm replaying Final Fantasy XII after a long time, and enjoying it a lot more than I did the first time.  It took me a while to get used to the battle system, and I'm still not convinced on the license board, but I'm definitely appreciating the story more this time around.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The storyline of XII is quite good, but it feels like it could've and should've been more developed.


----------



## Freelancer

Chronicles of Riddick & Assault on Dark Athena.


----------



## Freelancer

I have won three games via Steam's Great Gift Pile (Cogs, Back to the Future and FarCry 2 Fortune's Edition). 

- Cogs is a brilliant and very hard puzzlegame.
- Back to the Future is like if you would watch the never existed forth movie. Very good story, easy puzzles.
- FarCry 2 is beautiful, even by today's standards and runs better than Crysis (And even prettier.). Sandbox, jungle GTA. Slow pacing as the story is slowly evolving and you must drive a lot. But it's pretty fun.


----------



## Starbeast

*Ghost Recon: Summit Strike*


----------



## Cayal

Finished *Arkham City*, now playing *Alpha Protocol.*


----------



## Bugg

Up to Christmas it was Skyrim. Since Christmas it's been Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (marvellous game), and a bit of Bastion which I got in the Christmas deals on Steam


----------



## Red 13

I'm playing Deus Ex Human Revolution. After months of playing Skyrim it feels good to be leaving dungeons and caves, putting down the swords, battleaxes and hammers for machine guns and grenades in a futuristic world,lol.


----------



## wookie8472

skyrim and dead nation.
skyrim has its flaws and bugs but at least its not oblivion...


----------



## Red 13

wookie8472 said:


> skyrim and dead nation.
> skyrim has its flaws and bugs but at least its not oblivion...



I absolutely love Oblivion!! How dare you!


----------



## Starbeast

*Angry Birds* - I was curious why my brother and his son were so hooked on it. So I tried it out online and now I like playing it.


----------



## Talysia

thaddeus6th said:


> The storyline of XII is quite good, but it feels like it could've and should've been more developed.



I finished it yesterday, and I completely agree with you.  I liked the fact that it wasn't as linear as some Final Fantasies, but taking time out to gain licences and loot to sell took a bit of momentum out of the game for me.

I'm now replaying Final Fantasy X-2.


----------



## THX-1138

Currently playing Skyrim, Arkham Asylum, and Turok. Mostly Skyrim.


----------



## biodroid

THX-1138 said:


> Currently playing Skyrim, Arkham Asylum, and Turok. Mostly Skyrim.



Which platform are you playing Skyrim on? I heard it is very buggy on the PS3 because of a save file issue. Is there a patch to fix this? I would like to buy Skyrim as I enjoyed Oblivion more than Fallout 3.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Biodroid, I still don't have a character with a high level (highest is 26) but in a hundred hours or more of gameplay I've had 5 freezes. Regarding the lag and super-lag issue, I haven't really experienced that, but I think my save files aren't necessarily big enough to trip the problem (9-12MB is needed, apparently, which is level 24-30 depending how you play, I think).

I only downloaded patch 1, and I'm glad I did because patch 2, brilliantly, made the game worse. 

When I got a character with a bigger save file I'll try to remember to report back. The super-lag problem is well-known but it's unclear how common it is.


----------



## biodroid

Thanks Thaddeus, I think I will wait for the GOTY edition (if it ever earns that rep) that will have all the problems sorted and include all the DLC too. It would be cheaper too.


----------



## CyBeR

The patch to fix the lag on the PS3 version is incoming very soon, as Bethesda have announced a couple of days ago. We'll have to wait and see if they actually fix it this time. I'm holding out for the GOTY version as well.


----------



## Red 13

CyBeR said:


> The patch to fix the lag on the PS3 version is incoming very soon, as Bethesda have announced a couple of days ago. We'll have to wait and see if they actually fix it this time. I'm holding out for the GOTY version as well.



To be honest, i don't think they'll ever be able to fix the lag problem completely. From what i've read, the problem is more to do with how the ps3 saves, so in order to fix it they would have to go around your house and modify the inside of your ps3. Hopefully the patches will help delay the problem. I'm on Level 40 and at 13mb and the lag problem starts happening after about 2 hours of playing, in wich case i just switch of the ps3 and turn it on again so that all the auto save files are deleted, then i can go on to play for another 2 hours. Apparently turning off the auto save helps too, but that means you have to remember to save often.


----------



## biodroid

I have no problem turning autosave off.


----------



## Red 13

biodroid said:


> I have no problem turning autosave off.



Really? How much mb are you at?


----------



## Red 13

Oh sorry biodroid,i just got your last post. I thought you were saying you have turned the autosave off and it works fine.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I turned autosave off, in response to the freeze bug (turning it off almost eliminated the same bug in Dragon Age 2).

Plus, I'm a compulsive saver, so that's not an issue for me.


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> I turned autosave off, in response to the freeze bug (turning it off almost eliminated the same bug in Dragon Age 2).
> 
> Plus, I'm a compulsive saver, so that's not an issue for me.



Thats good to konw, i'll have to turn it off then. I'm terrible at remembering to save though so i'll have to train myself to do it... alot.


----------



## Cayal

My PS3 laser started to die, meaning Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3 both don't work (I just got them too). I sent it in and they are replacing it so in the meantime I'm just going to play the 360 - NBA 2k11, Fable 2 etc.


----------



## Talysia

Finished Final Fantasy X-2, although I might replay it again to try and get 100%.  I've also been playing the incredibly addictive Bejewelled...


----------



## AE35Unit

Paradise Island
TapFish
Angry Birds

All on android, all free!


----------



## biodroid

Red 13 - Playing games like Mass Effect 2 has an autosave function near loading levels etc. But I always save manually after a battle, because I really don't feel like doing that all over again if I get my character killed. I think I had somewhere close to 200 saves in ME 2 and it didn't bother me. I learned early on in gaming life to save as often. I normally just overwrite the one save game thus reducing the size.


----------



## Foxbat

I'm currently rediscovering the joys of Unreal Tournament 2004 online. It's still the best out there. I only play Onslaught on one map (the absolutely stupendous Torlan). It was wonderful when I first played it and it has stood the test of time. I've had a few kickings but now I'm starting to kick back


----------



## Red 13

biodroid said:


> Red 13 - Playing games like Mass Effect 2 has an autosave function near loading levels etc. But I always save manually after a battle, because I really don't feel like doing that all over again if I get my character killed. I think I had somewhere close to 200 saves in ME 2 and it didn't bother me. I learned early on in gaming life to save as often. I normally just overwrite the one save game thus reducing the size.



I've played Mass Effect 2. I can't remember if i saved all the time or not. Probably didn't and ended up re-doing bits all the time,lol.


----------



## CyBeR

Talysia said:


> Finished Final Fantasy X-2, although I might replay it again to try and get 100%.  I've also been playing the incredibly addictive Bejewelled...



Not planning on waiting on the inevitable HD version? 

I'm playing *Resistance 3*.  Old school, *Half-Life 2* old school. Health bar, 10 weapons at one time, no regenerative health, great enemies and you actually have to plan your encounters, creative upgrades for weapons, a pretty good story and the best graphics I've seen in a FPS this side of *Killzone 2* (Yes, I am a fan of the Killzone aesthetic...I hate the boring real-life camo obsession of most other developers).


----------



## Talysia

CyBeR said:


> Not planning on waiting on the inevitable HD version?



No, although I'd heard about it.  I guess I really am an old fashioned sort of gamer!


----------



## biodroid

CyBeR said:


> Not planning on waiting on the inevitable HD version?
> 
> I'm playing *Resistance 3*.  Old school, *Half-Life 2* old school. Health bar, 10 weapons at one time, no regenerative health, great enemies and you actually have to plan your encounters, creative upgrades for weapons, a pretty good story and the best graphics I've seen in a FPS this side of *Killzone 2* (Yes, I am a fan of the Killzone aesthetic...I hate the boring real-life camo obsession of most other developers).



Half-Liife 2 is the best game ever made IMHO. I think I have played it around 10 times through and through. I just love that kind of story. Pity there aren't any books with similar types/style stories like it. Killzone 3 is way better than 2.


----------



## Kaladan

biodroid said:


> Half-Liife 2 is the best game ever made IMHO.



Quoted for truth. Massive fan of Counterstrike too. Many a fond memory of clogging up the vents in Assault with the riot shield and sneaking around Office with the silenced M4.

These days I play FAR TOO MUCH Modern Warfare 3 TBH. 5th prestige I think? Too much time on my hands for all the wrong things.

Gears of War 3 and Skyrim are what keep me up at nights, alongside MW3.


----------



## geordie bob

After reading some of the posts went out and bought mass effect 2, best £10 I ever spent.


----------



## CyBeR

The only thing I did not like about *Killzone* *3* was that the weighty feel of the weapons from the second game was missing. I wanted it to be more *Killzone* and less *Call of Duty *honestly.

I'm still trying to finish up *The impossible game*. Third level is driving me up the wall.


----------



## Joel007

geordie bob said:


> After reading some of the posts went out and bought mass effect 2, best £10 I ever spent.



I got it for free after buying Dragon Age 2. I'd probably spend more time on it if it had cost me money, as it is a great game, and I've followed that series (and style) of games ever since Baldur's Gate. 

Still, at present I have Dawn of War 2: Retribution, Skyrim, MW3, Human Revolution, and Starcraft 2 vying equally for my attention; with Crysis 2, Portal 2, Left 4 dead 2, and Dragon Age 2 not far behind. So many epic games and so little time!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Am I the only one still playing Skyrim?


----------



## CyBeR

I was so convinced I'd be playing *Skyrim* these two weeks of free time that I'm having now...but I just can't muster the will to put down all these great books I'm currently plowing through.


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> Am I the only one still playing Skyrim?



I'm constantly going back towards skyrim, i think i've played most of it by now but there's always more stuff to do. I've started a new game as a breton where i'm attempting to use mainly magic. I've even given my character a Gandhalf look to go with it,lol.


----------



## thaddeus6th

By weird coincidence I also made a Gandalf type character (after watching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings). Magic in one hand (destruction, or a similar staff) and a sword in the other, with robes and some focus on enchantment. Only up to level 7 with that one, but it's worked pretty well so far.

I made my Gandalf a Nord, though (height is better, and the racial ability, and it gives an edge to the one-handed ability).


----------



## AMB

I was re-playing FFVII. Then the PS1 stopped reading discs. Then the PS2 started hanging at stupid moments, deciding it doesn't like PS1 games any more.

Now I've given up until the PS3 arrives and am instead watching my sister play FFX.

Newer games? What are they about then?


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> By weird coincidence I also made a Gandalf type character (after watching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings). Magic in one hand (destruction, or a similar staff) and a sword in the other, with robes and some focus on enchantment. Only up to level 7 with that one, but it's worked pretty well so far.
> 
> I made my Gandalf a Nord, though (height is better, and the racial ability, and it gives an edge to the one-handed ability).




Haha, i'm the same, i always keep a one handed weapon for when i'm out of magika.I've become arch mage so i'm wearing those robes wich help alot when using magic obviously.At the moment i use a scimitar as a one handed weapon and fireball in the other hand or chain lightning,i'm on level 12. I already have a nord character so i wanted to try being a breton, plus they're good with magic.


----------



## No One

I recently bought F.E.A.R 2 (loved the first one), while telling myself that Alma wouldn't be as scary second time round. How wrong I was. Not far into it, but it seems very good and pretty damn terrifying.

But last night, I decided that was all a bit too intense to play so I settled for a bit of light Firefighting on my beloved Halo: Reach. I fairly recently beat my previous best killing spree of 611 with a 726, but had given up on reaching the 'unfrigginbelievable' landmark of 1000 (with 500 being 'inconceivable').

Anyhoo, an hour and forty-five minutes later, with almost exclusive use of the DMR battle rifle and shotgun (and just a tiny smattering of heavy weapons) I had a kill spree of...1007.

I am a god of war!  *



*Even if this god of war reached 1000 and then lost all composure, pausing the game to throw his arms in the air and laugh like a loon. Clearly, I didn't really recover after that, but just for the record, it was an Elite General who finally brought me down with a fuel rod and I'm alright with that (even if he did kinda sucker punch me as I turned to face him. Git). Oh well, at least it wasn't a suicide Grunt.


----------



## Cayal

Between *Uncharted 3 *and *Lost Odyssey.

*Uncharted 3 has some amazing action sequences.


----------



## Warren_Paul

I've rarely had time to play games recently, but when I do find the time, I've been, regrettably, rather addicted to Minecraft... 

I decided it would be a good idea to start on a project that no singular sane person should ever undertake alone. An almost lifesize gothic cathedral. Its taking me a very long time, but the results are great.


----------



## Wish

I'm taking this thread at it's word. 

I'm playing the special edition Monkey Island 2, which I'm not in love with. The Witcher, which I got on sale for 2.50 at Christmas, which I am kind of in love with, and Gotham City Imposters, which I'm on the fence about.


----------



## No One

Wish said:


> I'm taking this thread at it's word.
> 
> I'm playing the special edition Monkey Island 2, which I'm not in love with. The Witcher, which I got on sale for 2.50 at Christmas, which I am kind of in love with, and Gotham City Imposters, which I'm on the fence about.



There were aspects of The Witcher that a lot of RPG games could learn from. I really enjoyed it.

Completed F.E.A.R 2 last week and loved every minute of it. Some great action and an intense atmosphere throughout, littered with frankly terrifying moments. And ye gads, what an ending! I've never had that happen to a player-character before .

Opinion seems a little bit divided on F.E.A.R 3, but it's definitely going to be got.


----------



## Warren_Paul

No One said:


> There were aspects of The Witcher that a lot of RPG games could learn from. I really enjoyed it.



Definitely, right now The Witcher series of games are the only brand not made by Bethesda, that has not caved in to the blindness of the penny pinching conglomerates. A quality RPG series, hopefully it stays that way.

NOTE: Stay away from CD Projekt RED, EA!   - Just as well they are their own publisher. I believe?


Always thought about trying out the F.E.A.R games but never go around to it.


----------



## geordie bob

Just bought Red faction armageddon for a fiver and am really enjoying it, A slightly different take on the first person shooter.


----------



## CyBeR

Started on *Alan Wake* on PC. At first I was ready to give up after a couple chapters but I'm sticking to it. The atmosphere is really top notch and the story is great...too bad the horror isn't there really. This could have been the definitive Silent Hill like game of this generation...and it fudged it in that regard. Still a good shooter and a great game...just a missed opportunity for something greater.


----------



## Wish

The first FEAR was godlike, and I continue to wait for a good steam sale to get the other ones. 

I'm a little bit back into Killing Floor at the moment. It's impressive the way they keep updating that game and adding new stuff. Not to the degree of TF2, but still quite a bit. 

Gotham City Imposters is good, but the matchmaking is a deal breaker. I'm still enjoying The Witcher. Slowly.

I'm hype for Alan Wake PC; I was all set to get it on Xbox, but now I'll wait for a steam sale and play it with a mouse.


----------



## Cayal

Urgh can't stand Alan Wake (the character). Something about him just really annoyed me.


----------



## Atelier182

Hello everyone,i`m playing on Hyperdimension neptunia i`m finding it a hard game but i`m enjoying it.


----------



## Chaoticheart

*Crusader Kings II*. Easily the best grand strategy I've ever played. Absolutely loving the dynastic focus.


----------



## Kaladan

Overall level 53 or something on the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer demo. When I like something I just _can't_ put it down :\


----------



## Bugg

Over the weekend I started Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  So far, I really like it.  In some ways, I prefer it to Skyrim, especially the character development and the combat.


----------



## Chaoticheart

Bugg said:


> Over the weekend I started Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  So far, I really like it.  In some ways, I prefer it to Skyrim, especially the character development and the combat.



Really?

I honestly abhorred that game.


----------



## Bugg

Chaoticheart said:


> Really?
> 
> I honestly abhorred that game.


Yeah, I like it - but I have only just started it (played about 4 hour so far) so my opinion may change!


----------



## Chaoticheart

Bugg said:


> Yeah, I like it - but I have only just started it (played about 4 hour so far) so my opinion may change!



Haha, I think that's about the point where I finally gave up. It just felt so depthless to me.


----------



## Wish

Sat down and played another five or six hours of Witcher. I don't play it very often, but when I do I just can't stop. 

I also beat an old-timey Commander Keen game that had been haunting me. I'm the best in the galaxy.


----------



## Bugg

Chaoticheart said:


> Haha, I think that's about the point where I finally gave up. It just felt so depthless to me.


Oh I'll stick with it for a while yet.  Four hours on an rpg is barely scratching the surface.


----------



## CyBeR

I played the demo for *Kingdoms of Amalur* and it's on my To-Buy list (shows what a good demo can do for a game that's basically a brand new IP) along with *Mass Effect 3* for the year, and *Skyrim GOTY Edition* (whenever that'll be). 

I agree with Chaoticheart that the game feels pretty depthless as you start off, but there are quite a few threads there that can be considered as the seeds of something greater in the game world. 

I'm flashing through the evil campaign of* inFamous 2*. The music for the game is absolutely fantastic and I think I'll get it once I'll recharge my electronic wallet on PSN. 
My girlfriend finished it on good and she had a hard time putting it down. Now that I'm playing I can understand precisely why. They improved on everything from the first game and it's just so fun now to run around and just be a super villain. I would pledge money for a game where the Cole I'm playing should be the main villain and you'd have to battle him after just surviving one of his rampage (something like Image Comics' *The Boys*, but made into a free roaming action game).


----------



## Wish

Just finished Monkey Island 2 special edition. Mixed feelings.


----------



## Michael01

Kind of playing _Final Fantasy XIII-2_ and re-playing _Dark Cloud_ for the third time (when I have time, that is...taking a break from gaming since I have lots of work to do for school). _Dark Cloud_, despite all the typos and such, is a geat game. One of my faves.


----------



## Wish

Started Dreamfall. Not quite as godlike as TLJ, but so far pretty dang good.


----------



## Tiffany

I am addicted to Angry Birds.


----------



## devilsgrin

well... I WAS playing Mass Effect 3 - but having finished it once, completely disinclined from ever touching it again...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ouch.

I must admit, hearing people go on about how fantastic ME2 was got me thinking of buying that and then ME3. I was surprised when I checked yesterday and saw the latter game had just 3 stars on Amazon. 

Mind you, A Dance With Dragons has just three, and I think that's a shade harsh.

Without spoilers, can you give a fuzzy idea of why it failed to live up to expectations?


----------



## Cayal

The ending is the reason. A lot of uproar.

I just bought it, so I haven't seen or heard about the ending but that is the reason for it.


----------



## devilsgrin

thaddeus6th said:


> Ouch.
> 
> I must admit, hearing people go on about how fantastic ME2 was got me thinking of buying that and then ME3. I was surprised when I checked yesterday and saw the latter game had just 3 stars on Amazon.
> 
> Mind you, A Dance With Dragons has just three, and I think that's a shade harsh.
> 
> Without spoilers, can you give a fuzzy idea of why it failed to live up to expectations?



the problem is the complete and utter lack of relevence that ANYTHING you do in any of the three games has on the endings and their "options". Not to mention that theres also the irrelevence of EVERY major decision in the games prior - except only for the Vermire Survivor.


----------



## Talysia

Replaying Final Fantasy VII again.  What can I say?  I love that game.


----------



## choccoweeble

Michael01 said:


> Kind of playing _Final Fantasy XIII-2_ and re-playing _Dark Cloud_ for the third time (when I have time, that is...taking a break from gaming since I have lots of work to do for school). _Dark Cloud_, despite all the typos and such, is a geat game. One of my faves.



I agree Dark Cloud rocks. May be forced into a dozenth replay after reading your post! 

Currently mainly on 3DS (we've bonded), Kid Icarus: Uprising is getting most play time at the moment.


----------



## juelz4sure

choccoweeble said:


> I agree Dark Cloud rocks. May be forced into a dozenth replay after reading your post!


  Dark cloud I found to be very repetitive after a while still a good game but one time through was good for me. Currently I'm replaying Fable 2.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Played the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. Almost done with MGS3, then it's time for Peace Walker. It was originally made for the PSP so I've never played it before.


----------



## Cayal

Was playing Mass Effect 3 until my X-Box RROD'd.

Mass Effect is the reason I got an X-Box and this happens to me. Grrr.


----------



## biodroid

Cayal - get a PS3, best decision I ever made. My Xbox RROD as well for no reason and I had one of the updated MS versions. PS3 just works and you can play ME on it now.

I am playing the seasonal events on GT5 and loving it.


----------



## Cayal

biodroid said:


> Cayal - get a PS3, best decision I ever made. My Xbox RROD as well for no reason and I had one of the updated MS versions. PS3 just works and you can play ME on it now.
> 
> I am playing the seasonal events on GT5 and loving it.



I've had a PS3 for a lot longer than my X-Box, I only really got a 360 for Mass Effect (before 2 and 3 went to PS3) and Gears of War. I continued to get Mass Effect for it because I had my saves on it.

I am trying to fix the 360 but I doubt I'll be successful. My PS3 died earlier this year as well but I got a replacement for that.

Both were out of warranty so I got good years from both of them, though my 360 was played a lot less.


----------



## Keldaris

Diablo 3 beta


----------



## reiver33

Gone back to playing the classic Homeworld


----------



## Cayal

Assassins Creed 2.

Going through my backlog now.


----------



## Phyrebrat

I'm stuck on *Alan Wake* for 360 which I love for it's Twin Peaks-ery; I've run out of flashlight batteries and bullets with which to kill the _Taken_ so I've put it down for a few months as I can't face the tedium of redoing the previous level.

In any case I'm more a PS3 fan and have been unable to put down the new next gen *SSX* which is just phenomenally good.


----------



## psychotick

Hi,

For me it's been Skyrim and Fable III on the xbox, and I've been going back to some of my older games on the PC, Temple of Elemental Evil, Civ III and Master of Orion II.

It's really biting into my sleeping time!

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Fake Vencar

Steadily battling through Neverwinter Nights. I've never really 'got into it' until now, although a seemingly impossible dragon has slowed progress down for the last couple of days!


----------



## psychotick

Hi,

Love Neverwinter - which one? One or Two? And which expansion pack? I think there's six in total. The dragons though, haven't been so tough, as long as you're levelled up enough when you face them - I have been known to level up my characters using some of the in game levellers before facing some critters.

The worst though for me, was the bloated red dire spider in the crypts under the old section of Neverwinter one. That was a sod as you can end up facing it at level three, and you can die a lot. You really wanted to be level five.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Finnien

There's a Neverwinter free-to-play MMO coming out at the end of this year, but I unfortunately don't know anything about it.  The developer behind it hasn't had a ton of success - City of Heroes, Star Trek MMO, Champions Online.  However, they do plan to have a content-creation tool so players can make their own dungeons/campaigns.  It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

Personally I'm fiddling with some Diablo 2 and Path of Exile just scratching the itch until Diablo 3 releases in a week, and I become a total recluse for the foreseeable future.


----------



## Fake Vencar

psychotick said:


> Love Neverwinter - which one? One or Two? And which expansion pack? I think there's six in total. The dragons though, haven't been so tough, as long as you're levelled up enough when you face them - I have been known to level up my characters using some of the in game levellers before facing some critters.



Neverwinter Nights One. I completed Two, and the first of its expansions, a few years back, great game. I've never got too far into One though before now; certainly never into dragon territory before! My character's leveled enough, I think, it's just an incredibly tough fight!


----------



## Myra

I recently played through all the Final Fantasy 7 games I own (Original, Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core) then played FFXIII again when the sequel came out and have just completed XIII-2 which was brilliant  Time Travel is a favoured subject of mine, it is fascinating and this game is full of it


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not bought a Final Fantasy since XII. Heard that 13 was pretty linear.

With competition from Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age, as well as things like Kingdoms of Amalur and Two Worlds II, I can't see the appeal of a linear RPG, unless it has many optional sidequests as well as a linear main quest and great acting/plot.

Been playing Skyrim for a while, but after some contemplation just ordered Dragon's Dogma. The game generally looks promising but I do loathe on-disc DLC. It'll be interesting to see if it's as challenging as has been widely reported.


----------



## Myra

thaddeus6th said:


> Not bought a Final Fantasy since XII. Heard that 13 was pretty linear.



I have to agree, 13 was quite linear compared to the ones that came before it, but the sequel to it, though it does have elements of being linear, was actually very good. The whole Time Travelling aspect of it and the way they managed the plot and what needs to be done was brilliant in my opinion. Doesn't beat Skyrim, but it is still a good game


----------



## Cayal

Resistance 2

Shame that game isn't still played, it is so underrated, especially the co-op. I am trying to get the 10000kills trophy but probably won't happen with such a small online group.


----------



## Wybren

Still playing Skyrim, we have Diablo 3 but as my husband keeps complaining about lag, and server issues (i.e. not enough of them, and lack of servers in Australia) I think I am going to leave it a while.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Dragon's Dogma.

There are some rough edges, but the combat is great. Killed an armoured and armed cyclops yesterday and it was the most fun I've had in an RPG fight for some time.


----------



## CyBeR

Cayal said:


> Resistance 2
> 
> Shame that game isn't still played, it is so underrated, especially the co-op. I am trying to get the 10000kills trophy but probably won't happen with such a small online group.


Have you thought about seeking some help boosting the trophy via some of the PS3 trophy sites? On Ps3trophies.org the community is generally very nice from what I've seen.


----------



## Cayal

I've thought about it, but it's so hard to find ranked games on R2 that I am thinking about doing the rest and foregoing the 10k kills unless I get the glitch.

I'm also playing Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions


----------



## kaufmannp

I've been rocking it old school with some Suikoden.  Trouble is, I'm trying to not screw up getting all 108 stars and I don't want to use the online walkthrough.


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

A couple I've come across recently. Sacred Gold and Alpha Centauri. Both are challenging enough to keep me driven, but my mood better fits Sacred.


I'm not ever going to buy Diablo 3. I know it's not Diablo 2 but even if I CAN overlook Blizzard's little online only stunt, I hated how the skill system was set up and even with your server closed someone on the account I was playing still popped up to say something.


I play games to get through the storyline with no distractions. That was a distraction.


----------



## Cayal

Just about plat'd Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions.

Then onto Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One. Love the free games from Sony.


----------



## Vekhein

I am currently playing some skyrim and also some league of legends.


----------



## Illusive

_Saints Row: The Third_ and _The Secret World_!


----------



## Miggy

Some Civ 5 although I'm going to stop again. Really can't be assed on Deity, hunkering down for a million turns whilst Immortal is too easy...


----------



## Cayal

Ratchet and Clank trilogy.

Up to the 3rd one.


----------



## Kylara

Man I love R&C! I'm currently (when I'm at home anyway) working my through Prince of Persia again...definitely needs to be played in one continuous go I think...I keep forgetting skills, it is beautiful though, and just the right mix of puzzle style travel and destroying things...


----------



## Cayal

Which Prince of Persia?

R&C is awesome. Loving the HD release.


----------



## Kylara

I haven't got the new R&C  I'm pretty sure it's the PS3 08 Prince of Persia not the original trilogy thing, it's really far too beautiful :wink: oh and I'm _still_ struggling with the final battle in Heavenly Sword, I mean seriously, it's taking me forever! (not helped by leaving and coming back to it I think hehe)


----------



## Grimbear

Been playing Alan Wake on XBox 360. Started off on Normal level. But it's very easy. There are only 3 levels - normal, hard and nightmare. They called it 'normal' - should have called it 'ridiculously easy'. Am going to change to 'hard' and see if any of the Taken get even close to killing me. If they don't will try it on 'nightmare'.

So far have only died once and it was my own fault (ran Alan off a tree trunk and into a raging river).

Pretty cool game but with lots of cutscenes and very filmic. It's more like an interactive horro film thatn anything else. Utterly linnear, and no evidence that anything you do has any effect on the oputcome (yet). Haven't looked at any boards to can't swear to this as haven't finished the game yet. 

This game has had some good review so it better improve.


----------



## Cayal

I found it over-rated. It was alright but nothing special.

Concept was good but it was repetitive. I also hate Alan Wake as a character.


----------



## Cayal

Kylara said:


> I haven't got the new R&C  I'm pretty sure it's the PS3 08 Prince of Persia not the original trilogy thing, it's really far too beautiful :wink: oh and I'm _still_ struggling with the final battle in Heavenly Sword, I mean seriously, it's taking me forever! (not helped by leaving and coming back to it I think hehe)



Is it the Prince of Persia where you can't die, the chick always saves you and you pick up the white orbs? I liked that one, it was really good.

I don't remember the ending to Heavenly Sword but yeah, if you stop playing you won't improve, lol.

Great game though.


----------



## Kylara

Yup! I love not dying hehehe, I got there during a very hectic point of doing lots of stuff, and had to drop it for a couple of months, and now I cannot for the life of me finish it! I did enjoy it very much, so I may just start it over and play through again :wink:


----------



## Cayal

I had the same plan for Heavenly Sword (and many others) alas I seem to have more new games to play as well.

Vicious cycle.


----------



## Illusive

Just finished *Saints Row: The Third *and tinkering a little with the old *X-com*, while I wait for my copy of *Heavy Rain* to arrive.


----------



## Colbey Frost

Baldur's gate for the ipad anyone?


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Saint's Row was awesome. 

Just picked up Spore the other day and got into it so much that I got the Galactic God achievement. Sad, isn't it?  And to think that I'm having so much difficulty with space when my own little planet fell so easily to my akunta race.  Crazy bipedal bugs.


----------



## RoninJedi84

Taking it old school, playing through the Castlevania series.  Currently playing Simon's Quest.  It would be so much better if it just had some kind of map function :/


----------



## Cayal

Finished and plat'd the Ratchet and Clank Trilogy and then went on to a Crack in Time. It is unbelievable how gorgeous the cutscenes are in that game. Pixar like.


----------



## Dante DiBenedetto

The Secret World.

Lovecraftian shenanigans, secret societies, and cultists. What's not to love? ^_^


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Dante DiBenedetto said:


> What's not to love? ^_^



A strange, deep-voiced British guy in the background swearing at jump scares and sarcastically bitching out a guy named Bob for leaving ketchup messes along the walls and floors of areas?


Okay. I think only people who watch Let's Plays would understand what I mean here...


----------



## Illusive

_Borderlands 2 _and _Heavy Rain_. Fun, fun!


----------



## thaddeus6th

F1 2012 - about halfway through my first season (initially with Amateur AI, increased slightly to Intermediate level). Although I'm pretty rubbish I'm liking it a lot, and it's a definite improvement on 2010.


----------



## LadyLara

I'm still playing 2010 even though I bought 2011. It just takes so long to play through a 7 year career for me that I can't really justify buying a new one each year


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, for that very reason I didn't buy 2011. I think biannual releases would generally be better.


----------



## biodroid

thaddeus6th said:


> F1 2012 - about halfway through my first season (initially with Amateur AI, increased slightly to Intermediate level). Although I'm pretty rubbish I'm liking it a lot, and it's a definite improvement on 2010.


Since 2011 was very poorly ported with bad gfx and fps was low too. I think this one the codies redeemed themselves.

I am also playing Mass Effect 3 and so far better than 2


----------



## Cayal

Dead Space 2 and Madden 13


----------



## Snowdog

Just gearing up for another crack at Morrowind, getting some mods together. Some of the graphic overhauls of the last few years look quite spectacular, not as pretty as Skyrim but every bit as good as Oblivion, to go with the superior gameplay.


----------



## Rodders

I need to get my PC back up and running and get back into the Dead Space universe. I also want to play Half Life Two again. 

Star Wars: The Old Republic also beckons but I can see that getting me into some trouble with the missus.


----------



## Jake Reynolds

Cayal, Dead Space 2 is great, improving on what I think is the best horror series in years. Loved it. 

I'm getting dominated by Mists of Pandaria at the minute...


----------



## Cayal

Jake Reynolds said:


> Cayal, Dead Space 2 is great, improving on what I think is the best horror series in years. Loved it.
> 
> I'm getting dominated by Mists of Pandaria at the minute...



I thought it was really good but I didn't think it was as scary as Dead Space. I like it better than Dead Space though. I like that Isaac has a bit of personality in this one.

I finished it a few nights ago and trying to find something to play from the Free PSN list. I tried Darksiders but not sure if I like it or not.

I still have LBP2, Motorstorm Apocalypse, Just Cause 2, Deus Ex and a few others. Plus some hard copy games but I wanna clear some space from my PS3 first.

I am also going away for a week so no need to start something and then wait til I get back.


----------



## Venusian Broon

I think I've made a mistake.

But I snapped and now the game I've ordered is right here, sitting on top of the PC, waiting to be installed. 

I've got so much to do with other things: work and writing, and even more work (and a lot of it involves the same PC, so it's going to interfere...) 

But like a drug addict I need my fix, and games of Civ4 weren't cutting it. So I've got the pure stuff, after falling for the land of Cyrodiil years ago. I tried my hardest to resist

but Skyrim beckons...

...Cajols...

...Tempts.

To paraphrase something a certain Captain Oates said, I am just going away for a bit. I may be some time.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've gone back to Dragon's Dogma. I love the gameplay, although I need to redesign my main pawn.


----------



## nubins

I'm splitting my time between XCOM and Skyrim. I have also just gotten the Mechwarrior Online beta. I have ace combat assault horizon to play as my lovefilm rental for the month. Dishonoured I still need to get. Halo 4 at the end of the month. Im thinking of getting Enchantress too. Just not enough time in the day. FML.


----------



## thaddeus6th

XCOM looks very good. Is it?


----------



## biodroid

F1 2012 - The best F1 game from codemasters. Graphics improved a lot, physics are better and the AI is more challenging and "clever", the drivers also get positioned closer to the real world drivers, instead of Karthikeyan being on pole and Vettel starting 24th if you get my meaning.

Thaddeus, you will love this game, even the PS3 versions FPS is higher and smoother than 2011. The lighting is more realistic, the distance perspective has a bit of haze and the car reflection rate is brilliant, the cars throw up sparks if you hit a bump, there is smoke from lockups too. The cars don't "float" on the like 2011 because the shadows are better designed. Sound echo's in tunnels etc. is well realised and sounds great. The wet weather is similar to the previous games. Your race engineer gives you messages in real time, lap times are in real time as well and no more over sensitive pitstops where you have to wait for every car to pass before the lollipop man lets you go. The menu system is different, takes a bit of getting used to. More game modes included, especially real life race scenarios from last year where you compete against a champion in their specialty tracks etc.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Biodroid, I largely agree, but there's a suspicious lack of crashing from Maldonado and Grosjean. 

I've got F1 2012 

AI does seem improved on 2010 (didn't play 2011), and I found it much easier to start Monaco without an instant and massive crash.


----------



## biodroid

Hehe, I know Kimi likes to shove you out the way in the game and Schumacher backs off sometimes, Vettel and Alonso are tricky to beat.


----------



## nubins

thaddeus6th said:


> XCOM looks very good. Is it?


 
In a word.. yes


----------



## reiver33

Back to the classic 'Homeworld'.


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

As for me at the moment...

Indie made RPG maker games.


----------



## Cayal

Kingdoms of Amalur (PS3) bought it second hand and was lucky that they didn't use the online pass. Really good game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I was tempted by Amalur, but with Skyrim and Dragon's Dogma and limited funds/playing time I thought it'd be a better idea to get something more different.


----------



## nubins

Amalur starts off as a great game.. but then about 33% of the way through the map the gameplay starts to get very repetetive. By the end of was skipping lot sof content because there wasnt any point in doing it and it was all very samey, I was just chasing achievements.


----------



## Bugg

Playing and thoroughly enjoying XCOM Enemy Unknown on PC.  It's dumbed down (sorry, streamlined) a bit from the original game and Terror from the Deep, but it's still the best game of its type I've played in many a long year


----------



## HoopyFrood

Been playing Halo 4.

Well, No One's been playing (actually, completed) the campaign (and you can be sure when he pops in, he'll have some raving to do).

I've mostly been playing the online matchmaking and beefing up my Spartan. Online is hilarious, although getting used to all the new weapons and features is so much fun in the middle of frenzied battle


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded Star Wars angry Birds yesterday so i'm kinda hooked on that.


----------



## cyrusDCmonster

i played and beat Halo 4 campaign in a day or so. in a word, AWESOME! beautiful looking game!

been playing online, it's okay, i want to play a bit longer but i think i'll be playing Reach online again soon, more fun!


----------



## somnambulist

Torchlight 1. 

Mixing in an hour of mindless monster bashing and trouser collecting helps me study.


----------



## Riddick

At the end of Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy X. Also about half way through Final Fantasy IX


----------



## thaddeus6th

Gone back to Valkyria Chronicles, after enjoying a few playthroughs of XCOM. Interesting to note the quite substantial differences.


----------



## nubins

somnambulist said:


> Torchlight 1.
> 
> Mixing in an hour of mindless monster bashing and trouser collecting helps me study.


 

You should give Torchlght II a go, it's greatly improved over the first game (which was great).


----------



## DarkYami

I've been playing Hitman Absolution; the game is ok but it isnt the best of the series. That has to be Blood Money which i hear is going to be ported on the PS3 as a HD Collection along with Silent Assassin and Contracts. Absolution's biggest problem is that the save sometimes corrupts; so far i've found it only happens when the update is installed. When i have the update the game gets stuck on the save/load screen between levels and when that happens you have no choice but to manuelly restart the PS3. When you do though the save corrupts and you have to start again. When i took off the Update it never got stuck on the save/load between levels however then i can play contracts mode as everytime you want to play contracts you need to sign into the PSN and when you do it trys to update. You click to cancel the update and it unsigns you in meaning you cant play contracts.


----------



## Reivax26

Finishing up Lost Odyssey for the 360. Then I will take a trip back in time and defeat the original Shining Force followed by Phantasy Star 3. Got to love that ultimate Sega Collection.


----------



## biodroid

Skyrim and its awesome!


----------



## thaddeus6th

It certainly is. Played it (with occasional breaks) for almost a year after getting it.

I'm presently playing Dishonored. I think it's a good game, but not a great one.


----------



## Warren_Paul

biodroid said:


> Skyrim and its awesome!



Can't wait until they make the next one. Elder Scrolls Online - an MMO version of Skyrim. Will be awesome to explore all the areas from each of the games they've created in an online persistent world.


----------



## TheTomG

I have my concerns that what makes Skyrim great won't survive the transition to MMO, and that it will be another typical MMO with the same old mechanics as every other, just the places and beasties will be from the Elder Scrolls franchise. I hope I am proved wrong though!

Currently playing MW3 and Black Ops 2, but the one I am playing (replaying) and really loving is Okami HD. Okami is one of the few games I regard as a piece of art and that really gets an emotional response from me. Love that game and so glad of its appearance on the PS3 since my PS3 isnt backward compatible and I've been unable to replay the game for many years.


----------



## Warren_Paul

TheTomG said:


> I have my concerns that what makes Skyrim great won't survive the transition to MMO, and that it will be another typical MMO with the same old mechanics as every other, just the places and beasties will be from the Elder Scrolls franchise. I hope I am proved wrong though!



It's definitely not the same old mechanics as other MMOs. 

I've already read/listened to reviews of the Elder Scrolls alpha and the combat is the same system as used in the single player games; manually attacking and blocking using the left and right mouse buttons, and using movement to avoid attacks altogether, which already makes it ahead in engine design compared to its competition this year (FFXIV: ARR). Apparently the AI is pretty smart in the game too, which makes combat quite challenging. And the graphics look amazing, keeping within standards of an Elder Scrolls game. It will definitely be the best looking MMO when it is released.

As far as I'm aware, it will be the first major MMO release in recent years to make combat completely 100% active and step away from the button-mashing hotbar systems of other games - where you just run up to a mob and press hotbar buttons until they are dead. So I think we will be pretty pleased with it. Age of Conan started that trend. GW2 built upon it. Tera built upon it too. but all of them still rely on the hotbar for combat. As far as I'm aware, Elder Scrolls Online doesn't rely on the hotbar for combat. There is a hotbar, but I believe it's more for utility than combat.

The only thing I might worry about is the story. I think FFXIV: ARR will probably beat it in that regard. Not sure about the questing system though; haven't heard anything about Elder Scroll's system yet.


----------



## nubins

Warren_Paul said:


> As far as I'm aware, it will be the first major MMO release in recent years to make combat completely 100% active and step away from the button-mashing hotbar systems of other games - where you just run up to a mob and press hotbar buttons until they are dead.


 

First MMORPG maybe, definitely not the first MMO


----------



## Talysia

I'm currently replaying Final Fantasy VII.  I don't know whether it's nostalgia or something else, but I never get bored with it.


----------



## biodroid

The problem I have with Elder Scrolls becoming an MMO, is that it would be like World of Warcraft, plus I dont have a PC only PS3


----------



## Warren_Paul

biodroid said:


> The problem I have with Elder Scrolls becoming an MMO, is that it would be like World of Warcraft, plus I dont have a PC only PS3



I don't get this. Why would it be like World of Warcraft? The game plays completely different - we've already been told as much by alpha reviews. Just because they both are online only, doesn't mean they are exactly the same game. And even if they were - there's nothing wrong with that.

I'm not entirely sure why some people are so anti-WoW anyway. Seems to always happen with massively successful companies. WoW was an amazing MMO back in its day. The game is showing its age now, and other games have come along to show it up, but back in 2004 it was a very good game and deserved its success when you compare it to its competition at the time.

Bias against PC games doesn't work with me...


----------



## biodroid

Firstly I used to play PC games so I have no bias against any platform, it just started costing a lot to keep upgrading so I got a console. Skyrim can be played in the 3rd person as well as first. There are missions to do and exploring to do, and because its an MMO it means you can interact peacefully or fight other players in the virtual space, hence the comparison of WoW.


----------



## nerd literature

Skyrim when the wife isn't playing Sims


----------



## Galacticdefender

I have been replaying Mass Effect 3. I've just now gotten over the ending and started to get back into the Mass Effect universe, this time with extended cut which I hope will make the ending better. I didn't mind the overall idea of the ending, unlinke most fans. I just wish it was futher elaborated on, like with at least another thirty minutes to an hour of gameplay.

Regardless, after playing through Mass Effect 3 a second time, I remember why I love the Mass Effect universe so much. Heck, it is the closest thing video games have to Hard Sci-fi, and it has provided quite a bit of inspiration to my own writing. I might just play through the game again and stop right before the ending  Though there is more DLC coming, and it looks like it' s going to be big (We can hope, can't we?)


----------



## Reivax26

I just beat Lost Odyssey the other day. It was surprisingly a good game. It combined the feel of old school Final Fantasy with a new "ring" system that I found to be very engaging.

Just started playing Shining Force again the other day. Its on the sega collection for the 360. The game has a special place for me since it is responsible for the first writing that I ever did. I wrote a prologue that explained how the demon lord took over the rival country in the game. Oddly enough I still have it 17 years later.


----------



## nubins

Galacticdefender said:


> I have been replaying Mass Effect 3. I've just now gotten over the ending and started to get back into the Mass Effect universe, this time with extended cut which I hope will make the ending better. I didn't mind the overall idea of the ending, unlinke most fans. I just wish it was futher elaborated on, like with at least another thirty minutes to an hour of gameplay.
> 
> Regardless, after playing through Mass Effect 3 a second time, I remember why I love the Mass Effect universe so much. Heck, it is the closest thing video games have to Hard Sci-fi, and it has provided quite a bit of inspiration to my own writing. I might just play through the game again and stop right before the ending  Though there is more DLC coming, and it looks like it' s going to be big (We can hope, can't we?)


 

The DLC ending is consdierably better than the original one. I absolutely adored Mass Effect, right up until the last 30 minutes.. which is a shame because it's the most important 30 minutes of the series. The writers fell into this trend at the moment of coming up with silly pseudo spiritual plot devices to end stories, in order to avoid a cliche "happy ending". It's really very annoying, it ruined Battlestar Galactica as well.


----------



## Thamaris

I'm currently playing both Morrowind and Skyrim, depending where I am. AC II: Brotherhood and the first Assassin's Creed, again, depends where I am. And I always make time for a game of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.


----------



## Joel007

The Warspace Extension for X-COM makes the game much more enjoyable  
There goes my life again.


----------



## J Riff

The B-Flat harmonic minor scale.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Warspace?

If there's a ton of XCOM DLC I hope they do a GOTY edition with it all included.


----------



## Keldaris

FTL,Don't starve and Minecraft


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

House of the Dead - Overkill with the Sharpshooter gun. Woohoo!


----------



## Nerds_feather

Replaying The Witcher 2.


----------



## allmywires

Just bought Anno 2070 as it was in the Steam sale...very good game so far, quite challenging. A good stop-gap until SimCity comes out I think.


----------



## Warren_Paul

allmywires said:


> A good stop-gap until SimCity comes out I think.



Yes, about time they brought out another SimCity. Looking forward to it. I just hope it doesn't end up being the disappointment Societies was.


----------



## GWakeling

Warren_Paul said:


> Yes, about time they brought out another SimCity. Looking forward to it. I just hope it doesn't end up being the disappointment Societies was.



Crikey, I have words to say how disappointed I was with Societies...it gripped for half a day or less and then I probably never played again. I'm still unsure as to the new SimCity....EA seem to have gone done a more cartoon route of late with games such as The Sims and SimCity. I preferred the graphics in SimCity4. Still...I'll most probably buy the game and give it a go.

In the meantime I'm still playing Mass Effect 3. Currently on the 4th play through..I can't get enough of that universe.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Been playing a lot of Skyrim. Only just finished the main quest last night because I'm contrary and just like going off exploring. So my character was already leader of the assassins, the magic college, the thieves guild, thwarted the vampire threat, built her own house, explored Solstheim and can tame and ride dragons whenever she wants. The Solstheim expansion has been especially cool.

I was playing a lot of Halo 4 online matchmaking. I'd almost reached Rank 70 with my Spartan but then I got a cold and the hectic fighting was too much and since then I haven't gone back to it. Should probably soon before I lose the feel of it.


----------



## Nerds_feather

HoopyFrood said:


> Been playing a lot of Skyrim. Only just finished the main quest last night because I'm contrary and just like going off exploring. So my character was already leader of the assassins, the magic college, the thieves guild, thwarted the vampire threat, built her own house, explored Solstheim and can tame and ride dragons whenever she wants. The Solstheim expansion has been especially cool.



THink I might get this expansion after finishing with The Witcher 2.


----------



## allmywires

GWakeling, Warren...google SimCity 2013. It looks stunning! I honestly can't wait. 

I always erase Societies from my mind when I think of SimCity.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Nerds_feather said:


> THink I might get this expansion after finishing with The Witcher 2.



It's been really cool to explore a whole new place (and if you've played the previous Elder Scroll games -- is it Morrowwind that had Solsthiem? -- it's massively nostalgic, according to my partner. Right down to the music). The main plot is pretty nice, different, almost Lovecraftian. And you get some awesome new Shouts. As well as being able to tame and ride dragons, there's one called Dragon Aspect that boosts your powers and makes you look all shiny.


----------



## Nerds_feather

HoopyFrood said:


> It's been really cool to explore a whole new place (and if you've played the previous Elder Scroll games -- is it Morrowwind that had Solsthiem? -- it's massively nostalgic, according to my partner. Right down to the music). The main plot is pretty nice, different, almost Lovecraftian. And you get some awesome new Shouts. As well as being able to tame and ride dragons, there's one called Dragon Aspect that boosts your powers and makes you look all shiny.



Oblivion was my first foray into the Elder Scrolls, but I pretty much covered every inch of Skyrim, and it's probably my favorite game ever, so I'm ready to get back into it!

Have you played The Witcher 2? It's totally different from Skyrim, but almost as good. I evangelize the game to every RPG player I meet.


----------



## Warren_Paul

allmywires said:


> GWakeling, Warren...google SimCity 2013. It looks stunning! I honestly can't wait.
> 
> I always erase Societies from my mind when I think of SimCity.



Yeah, I've seen videos and screenshots of it. There certainly looks to be a lot of potential. I'm not sure though, I think SimCity 2000 will always be my favourite. But it looks like the new one will be worth playing. Of course, until we actually get out hands on a copy, we won't know for sure, but so far the impression I've got is positive.




Nerds_feather said:


> Have you played The Witcher 2? It's totally different from Skyrim, but almost as good. I evangelize the game to every RPG player I meet.



There has been a real slump in the singleplayer RPG industry recently with the whole MMO craze taking over, but the Witcher series is about the best alternative to Skyrim you can play at the moment. The developers are currently making a third Witcher game.


----------



## allmywires

True, it's always hard to tell from promo shots/videos because odds on your computer won't run it like that etc... Still, can barely contain myself. I think SimCity 4 will always be my favourite, but probably because I was too young to really understand how to play 3000 (My brother and I didn't get 'zoning', so we just made roads, built bus stops and 'replaced' the buildings with houses to make neighbourhoods...needless to say that game didn't get played very long.)


----------



## Warren_Paul

3000? You're making me feel _old_. 

I think I could possibly say that about the very first SimCity, but I was old enough to understand 2000 fine.

Luckily, my PC can handle any game I throw at it in full. Hopefully EA hasn't added their 'touch' to it like they have been want to on other big titles. They've made a terrible name for themselves recently.


----------



## allmywires

I think there will be some EA-isms with it, and I'm dreading the multiplayer aspect because of the notoriety of the EA servers, but hopefully (hopefully!) it won't tarnish what should be a great game.


----------



## Nerds_feather

Warren_Paul said:


> There has been a real slump in the singleplayer RPG industry recently with the whole MMO craze taking over, but the Witcher series is about the best alternative to Skyrim you can play at the moment. The developers are currently making a third Witcher game.



Agreed. I've heard that Dragon's Dogma is okay, but not great. Hard pressed to think of another decent one that's come out recently.


----------



## Warren_Paul

There's Divine Divinity III coming, but Divine Divinity II was such a disappointment compared to the first one, so I don't hold much hope for it, but you never know. The developer has blogged recently that he wants to make the third one the biggest RPG he can, going back to the days of Ultima VII. The original Divinity game was very good back in the day.

Saying that, there were good things about Divine Divinity II - graphics, story, and the turning into a dragon concept - but they were just buried beneath the terrible world design and game engine.


----------



## ragtagblues

Nerds_feather said:


> Agreed. I've heard that Dragon's Dogma is okay, but not great. Hard pressed to think of another decent one that's come out recently.



It is a good game; but has some pretty major flaws that take at least 12 hours to adjust to . . . . 

Worth a try; but has a very steep learning curve! Capcom want to make it a franchise and I hope they push on with a game that has massive potential!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Dragon's Dogma's well worth playing. I like the steep learning curve and the combat's great. However, the world is very generic, the script is ropey and some of the voice-acting's dodgy.

They're definitely making a sequel. If they can keep the gameplay but flesh it out with better dialogue and a more interesting world it'd be fantastic.


----------



## devilsgrin

thaddeus6th said:


> Dragon's Dogma's well worth playing. I like the steep learning curve and the combat's great. However, the world is very generic, the script is ropey and some of the voice-acting's dodgy.
> 
> They're definitely making a sequel. If they can keep the gameplay but flesh it out with better dialogue and a more interesting world it'd be fantastic.



lets not forget also, that although its a generic fantasy world, it is absolutely gorgeous. I sometimes hesitate when i see a griffon... i want to kill it... but i also want to look at it. 
the pseudo multiplayer aspect with Pawns is also great. You feel tenuously connected to other players, but never intruded upon in a single player RPG.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Have you guys played Dark Souls? It's amazing...


----------



## ragtagblues

devilsgrin said:


> lets not forget also, that although its a generic fantasy world, it is absolutely gorgeous. I sometimes hesitate when i see a griffon... i want to kill it... but i also want to look at it.
> the pseudo multiplayer aspect with Pawns is also great. You feel tenuously connected to other players, but never intruded upon in a single player RPG.



It is stunningly crafted - the Chimera design is stunning.

It has such potential to be an amazing game; but for a few flaws -


Its very repetitive and after about 30 hours in I have taken a break from it to keep it fresh.

The combat system sometimes (mostly at the start) has a button bashing quality that I'm not fond of; but is amazingly smooth.

The inventory system needs tweaking as I find it counter intuitive - that may be just me!

The Pawns, whilst awesome, I just wish they would shut the hell up!

If things like that could be resolved in my books it would be amazing game capable of competing with the big dogs.


----------



## Warren_Paul

crooksy73 said:


> Have you guys played Dark Souls? It's amazing...



As long as you don't mind dying over and over again with incredibly harsh death penalties. I haven't played Dark Souls, but I played Demon's Souls. I believe they are designed much the same. The game engine and graphics are pretty good, the combat is like you're desperately fighting for your life every single fight - it can get a bit exhausting.


----------



## devilsgrin

> The Pawns, whilst awesome, I just wish they would shut the hell up!



you can set them to not talk at all...


----------



## thaddeus6th

The battles with large enemies in Dragon's Dogma, especially early on when they're at their toughest, are fantastic.

I agree the inventory/user interface is a little rough. It's not that it's buggy or doesn't work, it's just a bit clunky and awkward sometimes.

It's also the first (and to date only) game that I've used the internet. I think the Pawn system is brilliant, though having more than one save file would be rather nice.

Incidentally, here's my review of it:
http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/review-dragons-dogma.html


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Warren_Paul said:


> As long as you don't mind dying over and over again with incredibly harsh death penalties. I haven't played Dark Souls, but I played Demon's Souls. I believe they are designed much the same. The game engine and graphics are pretty good, the combat is like you're desperately fighting for your life every single fight - it can get a bit exhausting.



Most definitely. It's the toughest and most challenging game I've ever played. I've completed both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, they're not to everyone's tastes simply because they're so challenging and you have to think how to approach every single battle. 
On the plus side, the battles are immense, some are extraordinary and when you kill some of the end of level monsters it gives you a huge feeling of accomplishment. I was jumping up and down at some points!


----------



## Warren_Paul

Definitely. The boss fights in those games are amazingly complex. Like doing a WoW raid boss solo.


----------



## Reivax26

Dark Souls is one of those games that makes me want to smash my 360 controller against the wall out of frustration. After 3 hours of pointlessly dying over and over I took the wretched thing back to the video store.

Ninja Gaiden 3 had a boss fight in it that made me do the same thing. I died 26 times in a row.

I like a challenging game as much as the next guy but some game designers take it too far.


----------



## Foxbat

Got myself a copy of L.A. Noire and I'm utterly hooked. It's got atmosphere, gameplay al la typical Rockstar but mixed with a bit of brain stimulating crime investigating, a real cinematic feel, great music and fantastic dialogue. It's pretty unique.


----------



## Nerds_feather

Foxbat said:


> Got myself a copy of L.A. Noire and I'm utterly hooked. It's got atmosphere, gameplay al la typical Rockstar but mixed with a bit of brain stimulating crime investigating, a real cinematic feel, great music and fantastic dialogue. It's pretty unique.



Been meaning to play this...heard they did a great job rendering LA of the 1940s.


----------



## Warren_Paul

I've been meaning to get around to playing it too. I love noir settings, and this looks great.


----------



## Foxbat

Nerds_feather said:


> Been meaning to play this...heard they did a great job rendering LA of the 1940s.


 
Not only a great job rendering LA, they also did a great job with character facial expressions (very important to the story). I believe they used real actors and captured every twitch.


----------



## Nerds_feather

I'm currently playing the Dragonborn expansion for Skyrim. Lots of fun.


----------



## GWakeling

Nerds_feather said:


> I'm currently playing the Dragonborn expansion for Skyrim. Lots of fun.



I didn't allow myself to buy Skyrim because I knew I'd no longer do any work (I work from home)! However, having no discovered that they're bringing out an Elder Scrolls online, my life's pretty much over from launch date.


----------



## Warren_Paul

GWakeling said:


> I didn't allow myself to buy Skyrim because I knew I'd no longer do any work (I work from home)! However, having no discovered that they're bringing out an Elder Scrolls online, my life's pretty much over from launch date.



Tell me about it... there are currently two big "success story" names in the PC market; Blizzard and Bethesda. (no other studio comes close to matching their successes atm) If any game will come close to matching WoW's subscription numbers, it would be Elder Scrolls. That game is going to be huge.


----------



## GWakeling

Warren_Paul said:


> Tell me about it... there are currently two big "success story" names in the PC market; Blizzard and Bethesda. (no other studio comes close to matching their successes atm) If any game will come close to matching WoW's subscription numbers, it would be Elder Scrolls. That game is going to be huge.



I can't wait! I watched the introductory trailer and was very impressed. As long as they're megasever works, I'll be playing this a lot, no doubt. Signed up for beta testing so we'll see if I can get an early look!


----------



## Warren_Paul

I'm not sold on the "megaserver" yet. I'll have to wait and see it in action to believe it. I'll be playing it too. That and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be my two games for this year. (Not hard for Final Fantasy, considering I get the client for free)


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Reivax26 said:


> Dark Souls is one of those games that makes me want to smash my 360 controller against the wall out of frustration. After 3 hours of pointlessly dying over and over I took the wretched thing back to the video store.
> 
> I like a challenging game as much as the next guy but some game designers take it too far.



I think the whole point of Dark Souls is to make you learn from your mistakes and go into battle cautiously rather than gung-ho, you need to think about how to approach each battle. I completed both of them after many, many hours of playing (and countless deaths) and haven't had such a feeling of accomplishment from any other PS3 game. Or perhaps even PS2 and PS1 game.......maybe Resident Evil 1 the first time round??
After playing both of the Souls games I picked up Skyrim. I played it for a week or two and gave up, the combat felt so flimsy and inaccurate compared to the accuracy of the Souls games. 
If Skyrim had Dark Souls combat it would without doubt be one of (if not THE) best game ever made.


----------



## GWakeling

Warren_Paul said:


> I'm not sold on the "megaserver" yet. I'll have to wait and see it in action to believe it. I'll be playing it too. That and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be my two games for this year. (Not hard for Final Fantasy, considering I get the client for free)



I'm with you on the megaserver idea. The idea that the game 'puts you where you need to be' was slightly worrying to me, as if you'd have no control over where you log in. I'll wait to hear more on the concept though. It'll be nice not having to switch servers constantly to find friends and a decent RP'ing group.


----------



## Warren_Paul

Looks like there is some event starting in about half a day on Guild Wars 2. So will probably update the client and check it out. Not sure, but I doubt at this point it's going to be anything near as grand as the Lost Shores event was, but maybe next month it will build up to something bigger. ArenaNet say this update is a prelude to a bigger story so fingers crossed we eventually get some epic, sever wide events like we did last year.


----------



## nubins

Ive been playing a new game called Path of Exile over the lat couple of days. Its a free to play title that just went into open beta (which is basically launch for f2p games). there is no pay 2 win, the only financial transactions are for cosmetic effects (glowing swords and the like). Its a hack n slash game and many consider it to be the spiritual successor to Diablo 1/2. Its dark, its gory, its absolutely full of character customisation stats and options with total customisation (all options are open to all character classes, your class just determines what is easier to do from the start, so if you wanted you could have a witch who uses a poleaxe and heavy armour.. which would be odd.. but fair enough, or a berserker who uses magical shields and fireball spells).

Even the spells are customisable, you dont learn them you just collect spell crystals, plug them in an apprporiate armour slot and as long as you have the base requirements, start using it. They level up the more they get used and can be modifed if you have the right support slots by support crystals.. so im still early in the game but i have a ranger who has an ability that shoots multiple arrows - starts as 3, as it levels up it adds more, now 4. Ive add a support slot to it called Fork, this splits the projectile in two after it hits someone.. .so now.. i fire 4 arrows that then each split into two after hitting a target.. basically.. chaos. After a big fight the area is literally plastered in arrows, its quite amusing. Its fully multiplayer - pvp as well.. proved hugely popular. Incredibly strong game from what is a small indie studio from new Zealand.


----------



## Reivax26

I got the new Devil May Cry and beat it. I was surprised at how good the game was. I will caution everyone on one part of the game though: Do not, I repeat do not let small kids play this game. 

I have 2 little girls, 9 and 7, they were absolutely not allowed in the room while I was playing it. After the first few minutes, I told them they could not watch me play it. Its for language and adult content. One of the boss fights actually made my stomach churn from nausea. It was creepy as hell.


----------



## Warren_Paul

oh yes, Devil May Cry is definitely a dark series intended for adults.


----------



## Reivax26

The first few games in the series weren't really that creepy or adult to be honest. There was fighting, violence and demons. Nowadays, kids see that on tv all the time on their own cartoon shows. The language was what caught my attention this time because the other games really didn't have that aspect to them. 

Trust me, this one is a lot edgier than the others ever were. If they wanted to make for a memorable gaming experience, mission accomplished.


----------



## Cayal

Trying to get 10,000 kills in Resistance 2 online.


----------



## nerd literature

Back to playing Skyrim since it work like a champ on my new laptop until SimCity 5 comes out in March


----------



## EricWard

Dusting off some classics in preparation for a LAN party - Unreal Tournament 2004, Command and Conquer, Far Cry, and Age of Mythology.


----------



## Freya Robertson

Hi everyone,

Anyone here playing Guild Wars 2? Hubby bought me a bouquet of red roses for Valentine's Day, only to find out they were account bound, LOL! Am waiting for the next part of the latest event to come out. Great game though.


----------



## nubins

Yea ive just started playing it again actually, good game


----------



## Warren_Paul

I was playing it. Not so much atm, but I will probably check out the March event. Have a engineer with full temple set, but haven't bothered going after any ascendant gear yet. My character is on Sorrow's Furnace.


----------



## Freya Robertson

Yeah I have an 80 engineer too. I love the profession - love all the tool kits and the options, but then I used to like playing druid and shaman on WoW so I guess it's a similar kind of thing. I'm levelling an elementalist atm, and she's similar with all the attunements and various weapons. Not sure what to roll next - I like being close to the action, which tends to get me into trouble with a cloth wearer, LOL. Anyone played warrior or guardian? Which do you recommend?


----------



## Warren_Paul

Guardian is a good class. I've levelled it to 60. I'm enjoying it. I think it is more capable class than the warrior because you have multiple ways to heal yourself, and those around you. And the shields and buffs you can do are very useful. You have a good selection of weapons to choose from. 

1H mace with torch offhand seems to work best for me soloing. Sometimes I chuck on a 1H sword to get the teleport attack, which is fun. But the Mace and shield is the preferred combo in parties.


I've been playing a bit of TERA atm, since it's free to play now. Although similar in playstyle, GW2 is still way better than it.


----------



## Freya Robertson

Guardian, okay  What's your opinion on GW2 vs WoW? I loved WoW so much, but hated what they did to the druid with Cata. Just couldn't get on with the eclipses. I much prefer the way quests are done with GW2, and love the events. Not too sure about the change in the dailies. I find myself focussing on them atm instead of just exploring the land, which was what I enjoyed originally. The dailies make it more of a game IMO. But it's still great for all that.


----------



## Warren_Paul

Coming from a raiding background in WoW. My opinion of the game is that WoW has been on a downward spiral. It started off great, but more and more they are pushing aside the true MMO fanbase in favour of the casual crowd who want everything dumbed down and easy to get. Pretty much, Blizzard ruined WoW by trying to satisfy the jealousy of those who wanted what the raiders had, but couldn't put the time in to get it.

But if I was to compare it to GW2? The combat and engine design is far superior in GW2, but good endgame content is still something that GW2 is lacking. WoW is all about the endgame, which means once you get to level cap, there is much more to do in WoW than there is in GW2. Or at least that was the way it was back when I played it. I'm not entirely sure what WoW is like in regards to endgame Post WotLK -- when I stopped playing it.

I like GW2's dynamic event system. It works very well and is quite fair. The storyline is really good in GW2. WoW had a story, but it wasn't anything like GW2 -- where you are directly involved in it, and get to see cutscenes etc.


----------



## Freya Robertson

I never played much end game as I just didn't have the time for raiding, but I understand that GW2 doesn't have as much for Level 80s as WoW. I think in general GW seems to appeal less to the younger audience, at least it does in our household! The Boys want to check out everyone's armour, to see DPS meters and know they're doing better than everyone else. GW2 is more about enjoying the story and the scenery, the whole picture, IMO. I also think it doesn't have the same addictiveness as WoW - there's not the same push to level. Ever played LOTRO or Warhammer Online? Obviously Warhammer's more PVP based but it looked good.


----------



## Warren_Paul

I've played just about everything. Was a big fan of LOTRO until it went f2p and they started micromanaging the game. 

Like most of the world, I got burnt out pretty quick on the PvP aspect of Warhammer Online. Everyone just stuck to one popular battleground and barely did the world pvp. GW2's WvW is much more successful than Warhammer. The problem with Warhammer was that the developers became convinced that the majority of MMO players prefer to do PvP rather than PvE, which just isn't true. The PvP crowd is the minority, so when they made a game that pretty much requires you to PvP to level, people got tired of it pretty quick. The playerbase died out rather quickly on Warhammer Online.

You're right that GW2 is not as addictive. That I think comes from the fact that the game is all about the adventure, the journey of getting to the end, whereas WoW is all about levelling as fast as you can so that you can become the best and get the best gear in the game through raiding. There is that push to get to endgame in WoW that GW2 doesn't have. There is no point to rush to the end of the game.

Next on my list of MMOs to play is the reboot of FFXIV. Beta starts next week... playing TERA in the meantime. Will probably play Elder Scrolls Online later in the year. And guess I'll try out Neverwinter too, since it's f2p.


----------



## nubins

I've played a fair few MMO's and the problem of casual vs hardcore wont go away whilst gear is more important than player skill. The issue with WoW is that whilst player skill undoubtedly has an impact on the outcome of a fight, the vast gulf between a well geared character and a poorly geared one means that only those with access to the best gear, get to win the battles and trophies. The only purpose of wow is to get the best gear, but raiding as a mechanic to do it, effectively closed off that gear to all casual gamers. But those gamers were paying the same amount to play the game .. so why should the best stuff be closed to them? As a result Blizzard introduced smaller party content and the token system where you can earn tokens to trade in for gear, rather than have to repeatedly slog through a 6 hour raid for a small percentage chance of getting the piece you want. Which then upset the hardcore raiders.

In GW2 there is less of a gulf in gear, but it's still too important. I'm not sure there is a way to solve that though - cosmetic loot items with purely skill based combat might work.. but that will upset the group that likes to press the same icons over and over again to win their fights. Also are cosmetic items enough of a motivator for some? Accolades and cosmetics will appeal to a significant proportion of the players, but not all. 

I dont think there will ever be another success story quite like WoW, games will start specialising in one or two areas to appeal to a particular group of players. Or they will need to come up with radically different ways to play the games (NC Soft has an interesting game in development, something like Lone Star, it looks really interesting). 

GW2 does an admirable job trying to appeal to all.. i like the questing, but am a little turned off by the lack of character development - you have pretty much everything for your character by about level 20.. but have 60 more levels to work through. Lots of people love the pvp.. i personally thought it was sterile and offered nothing more than WoW's. The big events are a great thing to have, but .. they are spread out and not happening all the time, so its hardly a reason to login every day, mind you, without subscriptions that isnt so bad. 

With regards to questions about character class to try.. if you are looking to try a melee character.. the Guardian is good, seems to be good allround actually. I struggled to enjoy the warrior, they really need to be more active than they are. However you might enjoy trying a thief or mesmer. This are surprisingly versatile and fun characters with strong melee abilities that often require a bit more thought in how they are applied. The mesmer especially surprised me, so many weapons and skills to choose from - its a shame that the starting weapons they chose for them are so horribly dull, it must put so many people off playing them (try 1h sword with either 1h sword, pistol or torch .. or use a staff .. basically anything except the sceptre or great sword!).


----------



## Mangara

I play a little bit of Red Orchestra 2, just for that tactical, slow WW2 realism style FPS. Its ok but frustrating in large doses.

Just finished the Elite 4 on Pokemon Black, so probably won't pick it back up for a while.

I keep playing 10-30 mins of Torchlight 2 here and there which is fun, but ultimately easy to put down.


----------



## Freya Robertson

Yes Guardian seems to be the choice for my next roll. Do you play Charr at all? Can't bring myself to roll one. I prefer Norn or human. There was an interesting article on MMORPG yesterday about the next race that Anet are likely to make - Quaggan seems popular, LOL although not sure why. I like centaurs but they're a natural enemy so playing as an ally would be odd. Returning to the mention of gear, one thing I dislike about GW2 is the fact that lots of the gear looks the same - as the Engineer I picked up a dozen similar floppy hats with a feather. But I think the dyes are a huge step forward, I love that aspect. But then I'm a chick 

Haven't heard of Red Orchestra 2, sounds good if it's a WW2 game. Played the original Call of Duty on PS2. Not heard of Torchlight either, jeez, I'm slacking!

Yeah the guy in the MMORPG video on Fixing the Holy Trinity was talking about Neverwinter and I was intrigued. Haven't really got the time to commit to another MMO unfortunately, not if I intend to get the next wip done, LOL. But I tend to think of it as research, then it's okay ;-)


----------



## Warren_Paul

The problem with Neverwinter is it's a small world -- I read it was based purely in and around the city of Neverwinter, which reminded me too much of the horrible mistake Dragon Age 2 was -- and it's going to try make all its money from the item mall. The client is free to download and free to play, and the developers said they don't want to make it pay to win, which means the items for sale in the mall are going to be unnecessary novelty items. That of course means it will never be a hugely profitable game, which in turn means the content is going to be severely lacking because they won't have the money to make proper expansions.


Yeah, the variety in gear is quite lacking in GW2, but at least it all looks decent -- which is more than I can say for Age of Conan. Back when I played that, my character looked just about the same all the way through the game -- dull and boring. Not only was the gear repeating designs in Age of Conan, but the designs looked horrible too.


----------



## Mangara

Freya Robertson said:


> Yes Guardian seems to be the choice for my next roll. Do you play Charr at all? Can't bring myself to roll one. I prefer Norn or human. There was an interesting article on MMORPG yesterday about the next race that Anet are likely to make - Quaggan seems popular, LOL although not sure why. I like centaurs but they're a natural enemy so playing as an ally would be odd. Returning to the mention of gear, one thing I dislike about GW2 is the fact that lots of the gear looks the same - as the Engineer I picked up a dozen similar floppy hats with a feather. But I think the dyes are a huge step forward, I love that aspect. But then I'm a chick
> 
> Haven't heard of Red Orchestra 2, sounds good if it's a WW2 game. Played the original Call of Duty on PS2. Not heard of Torchlight either, jeez, I'm slacking!
> 
> Yeah the guy in the MMORPG video on Fixing the Holy Trinity was talking about Neverwinter and I was intrigued. Haven't really got the time to commit to another MMO unfortunately, not if I intend to get the next wip done, LOL. But I tend to think of it as research, then it's okay ;-)



Torchlight is made by the people who made Diablo 2. Its a really good action RPG if those games float your boat!


----------



## nubins

Warren_Paul said:


> The problem with Neverwinter is it's a small world -- I read it was based purely in and around the city of Neverwinter, which reminded me too much of the horrible mistake Dragon Age 2 was -- and it's going to try make all its money from the item mall. The client is free to download and free to play, and the developers said they don't want to make it pay to win, which means the items for sale in the mall are going to be unnecessary novelty items. That of course means it will never be a hugely profitable game, which in turn means the content is going to be severely lacking because they won't have the money to make proper expansions.
> 
> 
> Yeah, the variety in gear is quite lacking in GW2, but at least it all looks decent -- which is more than I can say for Age of Conan. Back when I played that, my character looked just about the same all the way through the game -- dull and boring. Not only was the gear repeating designs in Age of Conan, but the designs looked horrible too.


 

If you look at your post, you can see why neverwitner might actually make reasonable amounts of money. Compare your first paragraph against the second .. cosmetic stuff is extremely important to gamers who are building a character.. for many it's more important than stats. Which is why quite a few companies have started to realise what a cash cow they can be (team fortress 2 has been funded by sales of digital hats for many years now). Some of the most requested and downloaded mods for rpgs like skyrim, dragon age etc are those that change cosmetic things - hair styles, makeup, clothes, special weapon effects etc.  I buy cosmetic stuff, usually only on F2P titles that are good, as i personally feel its a fair way to pay the developers for their game


----------



## Freya Robertson

It's funny but, being a girl, I've been kind of surprised the cosmetic stuff appeals to guys - I love being able to dye my clothes, and love changing outfits and transmuting to get the best look. But The Boys like it too - hubby's always dying his stuff, and Son No. 1 bought the Quaggan backpack. I was gutted when hubby found the Celestial Dye - and sold it! For 11 gold. Absolutely gutted.


----------



## AE35Unit

Lego Lord of the Rings on ps3. Funny!


----------



## Haidi

Subway Surf


----------



## Wybren

Currently sucked into the new simcity game.


----------



## Nerds_feather

Crysis 3 at the moment.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Just finished Uncharted 2 and now on Kill Zone 2


----------



## Cayal

Finally getting a chance to play/finish Mass Effect. My 360 RROD'd midway through and I never got a new one. Mass Effect 3 was free on PSN+ so I'm about halfway through it.


----------



## Nerds_feather

Cayal said:


> Finally getting a chance to play/finish Mass Effect. My 360 RROD'd midway through and I never got a new one. Mass Effect 3 was free on PSN+ so I'm about halfway through it.



Curious to hear what you think when all is said and done. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.


----------



## Cayal

Nerds_feather said:


> Curious to hear what you think when all is said and done. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.



Amazingly I have managed to remain in the dark about the ending so I am looking forward to it.


----------



## Bugg

Me and a friend are currently playing through Torchlight II. We'd previously played Diablo III and enjoyed it a lot, then tried Borderlands II (but I had to pass on that as it gave me awful motion sickness  ). Not sure how long the novelty would last playing solo, but Torchlight II is great fun in co-op. 

We've also got Lara Croft & the Guardian of Light lined up, seeing as we both got it free with the new Tomb Raider game.


----------



## nubins

Cayal said:


> Amazingly I have managed to remain in the dark about the ending so I am looking forward to it.


 

Make sure you have applied the free DLC that updates the ending. The original was attrocious (made more so by how good the rest of ME3 was) the updated is better, but still has some ... problems.


----------



## Nerds_feather

Cayal said:


> Amazingly I have managed to remain in the dark about the ending so I am looking forward to it.



I don't want to prejudice you one way or the other, so let's talk more when it's done.


----------



## Cayal

Bugg said:


> We've also got Lara Croft & the Guardian of Light lined up, seeing as we both got it free with the new Tomb Raider game.



That's a pretty fun game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've started a new Dragon's Dogma game.

Hoping to have made some progress by the time Dark Arisen comes out.


----------



## Cayal

Nerds_feather said:


> Curious to hear what you think when all is said and done. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it.



So I finally got to finish it.

It is such a good game, and if I didn't know the ending was such a big deal by others, I probably wouldn't have really seen much of a big deal.

But they don't really explain anything and I can see why that is the problem. You play probably 75 hours and get to know the universe, but you don't know what Shepards choice leads to.

I haven't downloaded the add-on yet. I plan on getting it, installing it and playing 1 through 3 again to port over my Shepards (since ME and ME2 were on Xbox and ME3 was PS3 due to dead xbox).


----------



## Lenny

I've just found my copy of *Kingdom Hearts*! 

Farewell, original plans for the day.


----------



## Christopher Lee

It was StarCraft 2.  But I forced myself to stop so that I could get some writing done.    Starcraft is my weakness.


----------



## Red 13

Skyrim DLC's Hearthfire and Dawnguard on PS3! Finally they've been released on PS3! I truly believed this day would never come... oh happy day!


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded Star Wars Pinball last night for my iPAD. It's OK.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Red 13: do they work, though?


----------



## Cayal

Replaying God of War 3.

My God that opening is so epic.


----------



## biodroid

Busy blasting aliens in Mass Effect 3, I am stuck on one section but the story has picked up a lot.


----------



## Bugg

BioShock Infinite on pc.


----------



## Red 13

thaddeus6th said:


> Red 13: do they work, though?



I've had no problems with them.


----------



## Phyrebrat

I should have posted here a few weeks ago, as I have - technically speaking - _finished_ playing the game, rather than currently. 

So, I'm an horrendous Assassin's Creed fan, and have played all the games so far. Just finished AC3 which, despite the proximity of the time period, was really looking forward to.

What an overblown mess. It seems the game has divided AC fandom, with some loving it, and others hating. for me it was just clunky and changed the premise far too much.

How fertile the subject war was but really, what did we get to play? Two of the big combats. And it is now less about stealth assassinating targets, than just leathering any ol' person, with none of Altair, or Ezio's finesse.

I found the Homestead trading and unlocking labourious and disengaging, and don't even get me started on the wafty almanacs! 

The weapons wheel has become clumsy, and requires you to be *really* mentally present when using it, especially the pre-select directional button set-up, and it frequently reset my secondary weapon to Horse Whistle... (yes, really! I killed plenty of Lobster backs with a well aimed whistle)

Also, using the wheel really took the flow out of the game.

I thought the naval objectives were rather harsh regarding time limits and escort craft keeping 50% of their health, but I managed them so it can't be all _that _hard, right?

There were things I loved (naval battles) but I wonder if Ubi has jumped the shark with this franchise. 

So, now I need recommendations for a new game to pick up, please. My go to game-in-between-games is SSX or Burnout Crash from PSN, and they are getting a bit tarnished...

Was thinking;
Mass Effect
Walking Dead
Drake
Borderlands

I have not played any of them.

pH


----------



## Tryfan1701

Finished Dishonored a couple of days agio, now working on Bioshock Infinite.


----------



## Red 13

Finished Bioshock Infinite a couple of days ago, now working on Tomb Raider.


----------



## SeveX

Right now I'm playing Dragon's Dogma. I thought that Dark Arisen was a DLC, but it doesn't seem to be worth the money in my opinion.
I'm also playing Gods Eater Burst.
Afterwards, I'll start playing Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.


----------



## Redman02

currently playing State of Decay and Torchlight... thinking about restarting FF13 or Mass Effect from the beginning though.


----------



## Lenny

I've just finished a pretty intense fortnight of gaming: *Deus Ex: Human Revolution*, followed by *BioShock Infinite*, and capped off with *The Last of Us*, all on the PS3.

All three games are very much story and character driver, and all three stories take some thinking about.

I think I'm all storied out for the moment. Not sure what I'll play next, but it needs to be a bit of light fun (I'm half-tempted to give Heavy Rain a second blast ).


----------



## Sapphie

I'm currently playing Aion - I got it for my birthday years ago when it was still under paid subscription but could never keep up with the payments, but now the EU Version has gone Free to Play I've gone back to it and I'm not disappointed at all. 

I've also got a game called Resonance of Fate that I'm slowly (very slowly!) working my way through, it's quite complicated for me. 

Finally, and although I'm not playing it, I really do want to play The Last of Us - I've heard nothing but good reviews from it and I just cannot wait until Payday so I can buy it!


----------



## Warren_Paul

*Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn*, and loving it. Can't wait for the game to go live so that I actually get to keep my character.


----------



## Mariella

For a quick game there is *Castle Siege* for Android which is a turn based resource management card game.  Fun diversion that can be played against the AI or another player.  I am in the process of playing the port to Windows which is available from the developer on his Facebook page.  It's a great lunch break diversion!


----------



## sooC

The Roswell google doodle. I'm left with a feather, a nuclear can , half a spaceship and no ideas.


----------



## Ian The Poet

I am currently hooked on Fable: The Lost Chapters, for PC, a brilliant gaming experience.


----------



## Nzuev

I'm curently playin torchlight II. I didn't expect much fro mthe game, but strangely enough, It's even better then the game it  "copied", Diablo 3.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

The Last of Us


----------



## biodroid

is it any good Crooksy?


----------



## Lenny

Mind if I offer my views?

The gameplay is based around stealth. Whilst it may be possible to complete the game with a run and gun attitude, it will be a long and frustrating play-through. Most people find themselves quickly learning that sneaking is the way to go early on in the game. That said, the gameplay doesn't offer much more than you'd find in an FPS game (in fact, it's probably best thought of as the gameplay from the "Uncharted" series, with basic crafting mechanics and better melee combat).

What makes it a great game is not the gameplay, obviously, but the level designs (think the cityscapes from the most recent "I Am Legend" film), the atmosphere (even when you're safe, you can't help but be scared that something is going to burst around the corner), and the story.

The story in *The Last of Us* is brilliant, with a heavy focus on how the characters deal with the world - two main POVs. The first is a man who can remember the world before the infection, and the second is a fourteen year-old girl who only knows this world.

I totally agree with all the reviews that said TLoU is a genre- and generation-defining game. With the possible exception of the recent The Walking Dead games, I've never seen or heard of a game that deals with an infection-based apocalypse quite so well, with a story this deep. And although the gameplay doesn't bring anything new to the table, it doesn't detract from the rest of the game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Lenny, I'd agree with that.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Absolutely spot on Lenny. 

Best game I've played for ages and ages


----------



## K-9

finally .... ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST!!!!  soooo old!!!


----------



## biodroid

Thanks Lenny, I think it is made by the same studio who did the Uncharted series, which was voted one of the best games ever made.


----------



## Nzuev

Torchlight II. Such a good hack and slash


----------



## Darkchild130

Playing the Crysis series in reverse order so they get better as I advance. Favourite series ever, the only games that let you play as both the Predator and the soldiers from the Predator simultaneously.


----------



## RoninJedi84

I'm in a bit of a nostalgia phase, I guess.  I'm playing The Legend of Zelda, RBI Baseball 1 and 3, and Super Mario Bros 3 - all on NES.  Ah, the good ole' days.....


----------



## ed9428

Still hooked on Skyrim.
Played Deus Ex: Human revolution for a while, but once I finished didn't feel like playing it again. To rigid in structure. I like exploring.


----------



## Darkchild130

Stealth ******* (re titled stealth inc now they're going mainstream) on my vita. I love puzzle platformers, elegant stealth mechanics and addictive, simple puzzles. Just wish there were more levels.


----------



## Foxbat

*The Occult Chronicles*
It's a kind of rogue-like game where you create a character and investigate strange happenings in a Lovecraftesque world. I just died in my first game - which is just as well because my sanity points were dropping like a stone

Anybody familiar with Armageddon Empires or Solium Infernum should enjoy this.


----------



## Darkchild130

Splinter Cell Blacklist. Wow, somehow it manages to allow you to play like conviction (movie style ott action) or like Chaos Theory (sneaky sneaky, don't kill anyone use loads of spy gadgets) which is widely regarded as the best in the series.

As far as splinter cell games go, it is all things to all people! Love it.


----------



## Lenny

I'm going to hazard a guess that enough time has passed since launch for the bugs to be ironed out of the PS3 version, so I'm going to unwrap, and get started on, *Skyrim*!

And so begins the hour-long task of designing my character...


----------



## Red 13

Lenny said:


> I'm going to hazard a guess that enough time has passed since launch for the bugs to be ironed out of the PS3 version, so I'm going to unwrap, and get started on, *Skyrim*!
> 
> And so begins the hour-long task of designing my character...



Wow Lenny. I admire your restraint from playing Skyrim for so long! I wish i could be starting it for the first time again! Oh, and say good bye to your social life for at least a couple of months.


----------



## Lenny

Err...yeah, restraint, that's exactly what it was!


----------



## StormSeeker

Portal 2.

Unfortunately I'm finding it really hard. I just dont have a technical brain, I'm artistic and find problem solving in games / tests very difficult! 

Why am I playing Portal 2 you ask? Because I love a challenge! ahah


----------



## Lenny

*Surgeon Simulator 2013*

AWESOME!

Got a message that it's currently in a Steam sale, so I figured I'd buy it and have some fun.


----------



## Mith

When I actually have time to switch the XBox on, I'm currently alternating between Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption.


----------



## bright

I play Eve Online. This game is remarkable. Really dynamic. But complicated for the first time. And if you are patient you can try to play.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Well...

Recently I went through the two Batman games, and the extra Harley's revenge. Considering my love of comics I can be quite vocal about the shapes and sizes of characters but I have to say I think the big chunk of Batman in these games should be how he looks. Also love all the various gadgets, of course. Hamil as the Joker is, as ever, perfection. I do miss Scarecrow and Croc in the second game, though, as they are my favourite bits in the first.

Did some Assassins Creed a while back. Did enjoy leaping around rooftops but the first does follow a very repetitive structure. I like that they really expanded the second and third (which I intend to play eventually).

Got majorly obsessed with Minecraft for the last few weeks. I've built a few things (see the thread dedicated to the game) but I prefer exploring and delving deep underground.

And now I'm in the mood for something with guns so I'm back to Halo Reach. Maybe I'm biased because it was how I was introduced to Halo, but it just feels like a perfectly balanced and great game, definitely my favourite of all the Halos.


----------



## Remedy

I want to try Batman: Arkham City, Hoopy. I enjoyed Arkham Asylum.
I only played the first Assassins Creed - got a bit too repetitive for me.

I make my girlfriend play 'Worms: Revolution' with me on the Xbox 360 at the moment... so much fun!
Just finished claiming all the achievements for 'Too Human'


----------



## millymollymo

The hubby and I are just finding our way around the dungeons of Diablo III  
Part time adventurers, us.


----------



## biodroid

F1 2013 standard edition. Waiting to buy the dlc to get the 90s cars but alas sony/codemasters havent released it yet. Much better than 2012, the AI is vastly improved and so are the physics and graphics.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Remedy said:


> I want to try Batman: Arkham City, Hoopy. I enjoyed Arkham Asylum.
> I only played the first Assassins Creed - got a bit too repetitive for me.



Yeah, I didn't finish the first Assassins as it just got a bit meh...and this from someone who generally enjoys the sneaky killing based games most.

Batman City is good! The Batman games have been some of my favourites, as they're nicely varied. Love the gadgets. With the boosted batline you can just soar over the city for ages! Plus the joker is just hilarious. And the Ra's and Clayface fights are lots of fun.

Still playing lots of Halo 4 matchmaking. Had my best run yesterday (and on my birthday of all days ) on the first time I'd played King of the Hill. Best time holding the hill from the team, plus had 32 kills and only 14 deaths. Well proud 

Think I'm getting Halo elbow, though, from all the playing!


----------



## Phyrebrat

HoopyFrood said:


> Yeah, I didn't finish the first Assassins as it just got a bit meh...and this from someone who generally enjoys the sneaky killing based games most.


 
The first _Assassin's Creed_ game is _relentlessly_ repetitive but I finished it (twice) because there was something so beautiful about it, and the music is so lovely. Just don't even bother wasting time collecting Templar Flags....

_Assassin's Creed II_ is a huge improvement on the first, with far less repetition and the most beautiful soundtrack of any game I have come across. Florence is also my favourite city and the Renaissance period my favourite era so I'm presold . _Assassin's Creed Brotherhood_ (the third game) is the finest in terms of variation and gameplay, with some wonderful side quests, and _Revelations_ - the conclusion of Altair and Desmond's story - is great but Constantinople did not have the romance of Venice, Rome and Florence... It is rather tear-jerky at the resolution, though [sniff].

I won't comment on _Assassin's Creed 4_; my Grandmother said 'If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'

pH


----------



## Lenny

I agree with you on AC and AC2 - *Assassin's Creed* is one of the very few games I sat down and didn't move until completing, and it was fantastic. I've only completed it once (damn those unskippable cutscenes!), but it was a genre-defining experience that stuck with me (for a few weeks after, I'd be looking at a building as Altair, working out how to climb it, and I still pick up the new games and try to use the original controls).

*Assassin's Creed 2* was what all game sequels should be - the best bits about the previous game, in a deeper and more vibrant world, with a killer story, and extra mechanics that really add to the game. Renaissance Italy was such a fantastic choice (Venice remains my favourite AC city), and AC2 is the only game in my collection that I've achieved the Platinum trophy for (PS3 player, here - it's the achievement you get for getting every achievement).

*AC: Brotherhood* was alright. Rome was a nice city to play through, but I didn't find the story particularly engaging (although I will say the game did pick up in the last few levels, which were quite enjoyable).

*AC: Revelations* was a slog and a half, and I only finished it because I didn't want to miss any story when AC3 came out.

*Assassin's Creed 3* wasn't that bad. It didn't reach the levels of greatness that AC2 managed, and there were some new mechanics that I couldn't be bothered to touch, but it was fun, and I particularly enjoyed the sense of extra freedom running through trees gave you, and the ship sections. At the time I thought: "Man, I could so play an entire game of ship missions!".

I'm cautiously optimistic for AC4, and I'll definitely buy and play it.. but probably not at launch.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Because I'm also the type who goes off plot a lot just to mess around (sandboxes and open world games are my favourites -- I've played the first four Grand Theft Autos and I think I've only ever done about three missions ) I did really enjoy the free running aspect of Assassins. Climbing the biggest buildings you can find just for the hell of it!

No One's completed Assassin's Creed III and I think his favourite bit was the ship missions.

Also, considering that he's still playing little side missions, it seems like a pretty massive game.


----------



## reiver33

Retro here - SMAC


----------



## millymollymo

Lenny said:


> *Assassin's Creed* is one of the very few games I sat down and didn't move until completing, and it was fantastic.



This is the main reason why I've only played the first hour or so. Anything with plot doesn't get a chance and is sat waiting on the shelf along with the tens of books that I WILL read/play WHEN I finish _the book_.

. . .
One day.


----------



## Talysia

I'm replaying Valkyrie Profile 2 on the PS2 (the only working console I have these days).  It's funny that I still find things I've missed in these old games, even years on.


----------



## Dr Zoidberg

I'm currently mooching my way through GTA V.
Hopefully I'll have time to finish that and Arkham Origins before my PS4 arrives.


----------



## bright

Talysia said:


> I'm replaying Valkyrie Profile 2 on the PS2 (the only working console I have these days).  It's funny that I still find things I've missed in these old games, even years on.



I really fond of this game)I can replay it again and again


----------



## biodroid

F1 2013 with all the 80's and 90's DLC is the best F1 game ever made. EVER! I hope Codemasters releases more DLC over the course of the year.


----------



## bright

Tried to play some Diablo 3 while Max Payne 3 downloads off Steam, but that went about as well as you'd imagine. Think I might play the CoD Black Ops campaign again, I remember that being really enjoyable


----------



## PizzaCaviar

Hi,

I am currently playing Dead Space. A friend of mine recommended that horror-survival game - a genre I am not used to at all - a few month ago and I finally took the time to go through it. I have to say that so far I am genuinely surprised at how good it is, although people have praised it for so long. I mean not only are the graphics amazing for 2008, the gameplay, the narration and the sound effects are literally awesome. The first steps walked aboard the space ship are amazing. Faced with the terror of the unknown and the threat of necromorphs, you slowly progress through an amazingly believable environment where no one can hear you scream - expect your housemates.

I am playing in the hard difficulty in order to accentuate the fear and pressure felt when facing the smallest of enemies. I am currently at the beginning of Chapter 7 and my Plasma Cutter and my Liner are almost fully upgraded. I have more than 40k credits. I am not spending them at the moment because I believe I will find the schematics of the suit level 4 soon.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I bought the Mass Effect Trilogy (PS3) a little while ago. Still playing the first one. Quite liking it.


----------



## Glitch

just started call of duty: ghosts


----------



## biodroid

thaddeus6th said:


> I bought the Mass Effect Trilogy (PS3) a little while ago. Still playing the first one. Quite liking it.


 
The story and gameplay improves as you go along. 3 is more challenging though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

There was a really annoying bug, which meant the game froze immediately after ultimate victory but before I could make a save file to import my FemShep to ME2. *sighs*

Annoyingly, all the 'default' choices of ME2 carried over from the first game are different to what I did. Spoilers are below, in white:

Kaidan's not dead. He was annoying in the first game and annoying in this one (I hope I get to kill him).

Wrex is dead. He was a mainstay of my team and I used my super-charm to stop him going nuts on Virmire[sp].

The Council's dead. I heroically saved them despite the urgent need to stop sovereign.


----------



## biodroid

In ME 1 there was a major bug with the final boss. He got stuck on the wall and I just opened fire on him till he died. The easiest boss ever.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, he isn't much harder when he moves around. It's just a shame practically every decision I made was the opposite of default-land in ME2. Hopefully I'll at least be able to import FemShep into ME3.


----------



## Glisterspeck

Started Assassin's Creed: Black Flag on Tuesday and put in my first continuous 24hr+ gaming session since, dunno, prolly the original Windwaker on GameCube. If you like giant sandbox type action adventure games, you'll most likely love it. I was getting a tad weary at the 14 hour mark, but the. I got my own pirate ship. Awesome. Heading back home post turkey day and anticipate playing through he rest of a weekend. Beautiful way to waste a vacation I had intended to spend writing. Oh well.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Sandboxes are my favourites and I love being able to run and climb over stuff in Assassins. With the addition of pirates I think I could definitely enjoy the fourth one.

I've been playing the new Batman Origins game. Man, where do I start. Well, mainly the fights. Croc is terrifying. Deathstroke is just cinematic. Today I fought Firefly and though I laughed at him the first time I saw him, fighting him was a hell of a lot of fun! A real combination of gadgets and then just kicking him in the face. While dodging fireballs. On a collapsing bridge. And Copperhead was creepy and awesome in equal measures. Just disappointed by Shiva, considering that in the comics she is the badass of badassery when it comes to combat but at the same time I like that the assassins do challenge Batman's beliefs as well as trying to kick him through walls.

And Joker! I thought I'd miss Hamil and his brilliant Joker from the first two games. But I _really_ like this Joker, definitely my favourite. I'm not a fan of how everything needs a gritty reboot lately but in terms of being origins of the characters I love seeing the less-comic-booky more actual deranged individual teetering on the edge of fully becoming the Joker persona.

I'm usually a bit of a button masher when cut scenes come up -- I'm playing a game, not watching a film  -- but man, this game is stunning at times and a delight to watch as well as play.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Finally got the Mass Effect save, but now I'm on Mass Effect 3. Shame they changed the character creator so much. Now my FemShep, practically identical in the first two games, looks too different.


----------



## lonewolfwanderer

Hah, I just started D&D Neverwinter and been playing that with my bro and his friends... So far so good.


----------



## HoopyFrood

So the streets of Gotham are safe once again (at least from the main storyline, which means I've only done 26% of the game, lol) so back to some familiars.

I said the other day that I'd love a mix of Skyrim and Minecraft. And then what pops up on Xbox? A Skyrim Minecraft mashup. They've built what seems to be the area in and around Whiterun and Riverwood, including the big temple on the nearby moutain. Dragonreach in particular has mad detail. And it uses the Skyrim music!

And that got me back into Skyrim. I'm back to my favourite method of playing -- super sneaky and with mad archery skills. I went straight in for the Brotherhood storyline so I'm already the new leader. Such a harrowing storyline. Also gets you so involved, I was actually talking out loud to myself at one point about the most painful and satisfying way I could kill Maro and have my revenge for the Brotherhood.


----------



## devilsgrin

I'm currently playing - and loving - Assassin's Creed IV on the PS4... love the fresh take on a series that had become weighed down by all the fluff of five (or was it 6 if you count Liberation) previous games. Piracy is much more fun than killing templars.


----------



## TimmoUK

I've been playing Tearaway on the Vita, awesome game.


----------



## Glisterspeck

devilsgrin said:


> I'm currently playing - and loving - Assassin's Creed IV on the PS4... love the fresh take on a series that had become weighed down by all the fluff of five (or was it 6 if you count Liberation) previous games. Piracy is much more fun than killing templars.



Just finished yesterday, or at least, finished as I'm likely to get with the main story done and 88% total sync, following 79 hours or so of gameplay. Awesome game. Broke the top 500 in the prosperous pirates stat. Did a lot of raiding and managed my fleet pretty well to do so.


----------



## Glisterspeck

I'm not playing it yet, but man, I'm definitely looking forward to Watch Dogs. It first perked my interest when I saw it was set in Chicago, but after seeing the gameplay -- awesome!


----------



## Darkchild130

Since my damn PS4 still hasn't arrived, I'm playing through killzone mercenary again. It's still awesome.


----------



## Wraith68

Hello all, I am currently playing/heavily addicted to, Mount and Blade:Warband and its numerous mods.


----------



## Dozmonic

Well you can't be faulted for that, mount and blade is excellent. Native Expansion for original and warband is, by far, my favourite mod


----------



## Wraith68

It is, i think my favorite warband mods would have to be...

Perisno 0.5
Prophecy of pendor
1257 A.D.
A Clash Of Kings-Game of thrones mod.

Just can't stop playing this game !!


----------



## Darkchild130

Warframe. It is really fun. On ps4. Possibly more fun because its free.


----------



## Rodders

I down loaded Tiny Death Star for my iPad over the weekend. Good fun so far.


----------



## Glisterspeck

Splinter Cell: Black List - gotta say, the flaws of the rails formula really show through after playing Black Flag for a couple weeks. I'm like, what do you mean I can't climb over this two foot fence? And when there's a whole street that looks wide open but turns your camera around... Ugh. That's the brilliance of the scifi frame story in the Assassins Creed series (even if the modern settings don't deliver much interesting gameplay), the scifi bit allows things like map borders, rare as they are in Black Flag, to be handled as a believable part of the story. If Ubisoft can incorporate all the leveling up into Splinter Cell (took me a quarter of the game to buy a decent stealth suit), why not ditch Unreal, open up the world a bit, and take it off the rails?


----------



## Darkchild130

Flappy bird. Current top score 171. This game fell out of satans arsehole to waste my time.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I got 96 the other day. I should probably take that as a sign and never go back to it now (or sell my phone for thousands on eBay, which is tempting).

Recently got a Wii and have been making my way through Zelda: Twilight Princess. Much fun, I love the Zelda games (though Ocarina for Time 5eva) and I do love using the remotes to slice, smash and generally go mad. Almost completed it, just making my way through the castle at the end.

Though that's been put on hold as I've suddenly got back into Minecraft. Set up home at the bottom of a ravine and will be questing for some sweet resources.


----------



## Dozmonic

Minecraft is always a time consuming addiction that does the rounds every now and then 

I've been playing Game Dev Tycoon, because it went really cheap on a steam sale. It's one of those games that you don't know why it's fun, but somehow it is.


----------



## Wazkal

I've been playing NEO Scavenger for the last couple of days, it's a turn-based rpg-game. The plot is that you wake up in a cryo-facility, with no recollection of who you are, and you have to survive the extremely harsh conditions of the post-apocalyptic world.

Try the demo on Steam!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Dozmonic said:


> Minecraft is always a time consuming addiction that does the rounds every now and then



Ain't that the truth! When I first got it, I played it endlessly for about a month and then it just died off. And now suddenly the urge is back. And it's definitely one of those games where you can spend like, seven hours straight and realise you've spent it all in one small cave system.


----------



## Overread

HoopyFrood said:


> Ain't that the truth! When I first got it, I played it endlessly for about a month and then it just died off. And now suddenly the urge is back. And it's definitely one of those games where you can spend like, seven hours straight and realise you've spent it all in one small cave system.



Worse is when you come out of the cave and go "Ok er where did I leave that house/castle/flying island/underwater home?


----------



## HoopyFrood

Hah, yes. I started a new game so I'm currently at that inbetween bit where I'm not quite strong/established enough to take the brunt of a creeper/zombie horde attack, but I want to be venturing further and finding awesome new caves.

Hence my building a little halfway house in the ravine.


----------



## Dracin

Splinter Cell Blacklist, Star Wars The Old Republic, Planetside 2, Tribed Ascend, Counter-Strike


----------



## SleepyDormouse

Lord of the Rings Online, I have a level 35 Elf hunter and just made a Hobbit Minstrel today.


----------



## biodroid

Nothing at the moment, I am bored of GT6 and F1 2013, waiting to buy the PS4 when the new F1 game is launched. Has anyone played Dark Souls yet? Is it really difficult?


----------



## Dozmonic

Back on some Diablo 3 at the moment. Quick to put up, quick to put down  Quicker than Rust that does a minecraft and occupies my attention for a couple of weeks at a time, but is a far harsher world


----------



## lonewolfwanderer

I'm currently busy with the new Thief 2014. Awesome game...


----------



## BenSt

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.  Bought it at Christmas time but didn't really get a chance to play until now...wow, I am really getting into it, fantastic game.  It's like playing AC2 all over again before all the bad sequels.


----------



## cornelius

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. It upped the quality of diablo III a bit, I've enjoyed playing it more now the expansion introduced some new features.


----------



## Darkchild130

I'm playing far too much borderlands 2 at the moment. I'm dreaming of weapons crates.


----------



## Dozmonic

I did enjoy d3 reaper of souls for a bit, but I made sure not to play too much. At the moment I'm working towards beating civ v on deity in time for civ:beyond earth.

Borderlands 2 I haven't tried on this computer. My old one struggled, the cell shading turned the graphics card into something generating heat comparable to a lesser known sun.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Lately I have mostly been playing the following:

Continued with my burning love of *Zelda* by purchasing *Skyward Sword*. Was dubious at first, and have to say that returning to the same three areas each time was a little repetitive, but overall was enjoying it. Even grew to really enjoy the flying, and the storyline was lengthy, I'd racked up about fifty hours and I am a swift, impatient player.

But then...As a Zelda fan, I know there are going to be puzzles. It's inevitable. But I got to the Triforce Temple, pretty much near the very end of the game, and the puzzle involved moving entire rooms around and it broke me. So as of yet, game still incomplete and may be for some time.

But that was OK, because I was also playing *Oblivion*. Rather enjoyed the break from the kill-you-at-every-step terrain of Skyrim, to instead wander around an English countryside. Liked the brightness and the colour of the people and the cities.

Though then I listened to the *Skyrim* soundtrack and it enticed me back in, so I'm on Skyrim again. This time around I based my person on a book character and playing the game making decisions based on what I think she'd do has given me a whole new outlook on it. For a start, my beloved archery, sneaking and assassinating has all had to be shunned. I'm actually using magic this time, something I've previously disliked. And shock of shocks, I killed off the Dark Brotherhood, who are usually the first guys I get involved with. It's all gone topsy-turvy.


----------



## Karn Maeshalanadae

Not bad there. Within Oblivion and Skyrim, I usually wind up making heavy infantry. A little unoriginal, to be sure, but, it works out well.


I recently just finished the main storyline for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. I rather enjoyed that one, much as I expected I would, and while its scale isn't on that of TES, I think with the things I did, including joining two different factions, I would guess I would have around thirty hours on my main character. And full, master crafted Prismere gear, which I kind of roleplayed into a particular type of set. It's perfectly fine to LIKE the character, but don't ever make the mistake of trusting her...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Considering giving Fallout 3 another crack. Whilst technically better than Oblivion, I'm not too fond of the post-apocalypse (especially when up against fantasy). Need stuff to tide me over until Inquisition.

And why doesn't Skyrim (and other RPGs) allow any hair colour? I like being able to have crazy hues.


----------



## Darkchild130

Fallout tactics. Every few years I reinstall it and it becomes my favourite game ever for a while. Has to be played in real time mode of course, turns are not nearly stressful enough.


----------



## Michael Colton

I have sort of been unable to find anything to play. Once in a while I pop in a racing game for a few laps, but I have not found something to play on a regular basis. It is odd, but I am rather enjoying the free time to do other things. It has been a couple years since gaming was not my primary pastime. Leaving EVE Online frees up time . . . go figure.


----------



## Gawian

Sodice said:


> I have sort of been unable to find anything to play. Once in a while I pop in a racing game for a few laps, but I have not found something to play on a regular basis. It is odd, but I am rather enjoying the free time to do other things. It has been a couple years since gaming was not my primary pastime. Leaving EVE Online frees up time . . . go figure.



Tried getting into EVE recently. Can't get to grips with it 

I've mostly been playing the Destiny Beta and some Battlefield 4.


----------



## Michael Colton

Gawian said:


> Tried getting into EVE recently. Can't get to grips with it
> 
> I've mostly been playing the Destiny Beta and some Battlefield 4.



I loved EVE for many years, but I eventually ran out of inspiration once most of the people I knew had left.

How is Destiny?


----------



## Darkchild130

I got obsessed with BF 4 when it first came out. I got to division 1 in carbines and overall skill then had to quit, it's like a drug that makes you angry!

recently I've been playing Fez, a pleasant indie platformer, and luftstrauser, a mental game about planes.


----------



## biodroid

*GRID Autosport*, pretty good, not as good as F1 2013 or Gt 6 but lots of fun. AI is good if a bit blind at times.


----------



## Pwaa

Pretty hooked on Mario Kart 8 still.  It's potentially my favorite in the series.  That and playing through Bioshock 2 again just because i bought it in a Steam sale.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Gone back to The Last Of Us and Dragon's Dogma. I tried replaying The Last Of Us after my first completion but it felt a bit weird. With more time having passed I can enjoy a replay more.

Dragon's Dogma's a great game, albeit flawed. I hope they do make a sequel and sort out the voice-acting, lore, world and storyline. I know that sounds like everything, but the character creator's rather good and the gameplay is fantastic.


----------



## soulsinging

Lenny said:


> What makes it a great game is not the gameplay, obviously, but the level designs (think the cityscapes from the most recent "I Am Legend" film), the atmosphere (even when you're safe, you can't help but be scared that something is going to burst around the corner), and the story.
> 
> The story in *The Last of Us* is brilliant, with a heavy focus on how the characters deal with the world - two main POVs. The first is a man who can remember the world before the infection, and the second is a fourteen year-old girl who only knows this world.
> 
> I totally agree with all the reviews that said TLoU is a genre- and generation-defining game. With the possible exception of the recent The Walking Dead games, I've never seen or heard of a game that deals with an infection-based apocalypse quite so well, with a story this deep. And although the gameplay doesn't bring anything new to the table, it doesn't detract from the rest of the game.



I just finished this game the other day, and man was it incredible. Worthy of all the praise it received. It was tense and emotional and horrifying and everything I hoped it would be. Can't wait to download Left Behind and take a crack at that.

I just ordered the God of War saga, so I'm going to be playing some of those as well. Might check out Bioshock Infinite.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not sure what's included in the GoW Saga. I've played the main games, from first to third, but none of the side-games (for PSP and suchlike). Generally, I enjoyed them quite a lot.

I'm replaying Dragon's Dogma. I wish they'd made just a few tiny tweaks (a single save file for an RPG is just monumentally stupid and unnecessary) but I really love the combat. I really hope Dragon Age: Inquisition lives up to the hype (and The Last Of Us is proof that a game can).

They're making a film of The Last Of Us, and there's talk of a possible sequel.


----------



## Lenny

Since the *Destiny* beta, I've been craving *Guild Wars* - found my installation files on an old hard drive, and I've just fired it up. Incredibly, everything still works, and I can remember my password! 

So great to hear the login screen music again.


----------



## Jo Zebedee

I'm having fun with Sid Meier's Pirates on the ipad.


----------



## BigJ

I'm in the middle of another playthrough of the Mass Effect series (maybe halfway through ME2), which I'm annoyed that I started because I'm only partway through Fallout 3, and have Borderlands 1/2 and Assassin's Creed IV that I have yet to start.


----------



## Michael Colton

I reactivated a couple EVE Online accounts but do not really 'play' much. Mostly just trading and managing market orders. Rarely undock from the station.   Just too busy to really play, but love it too much to stay inactive for too long.


----------



## Phyrebrat

On my PS3 I'm playing _Uncharted 2, Dead Space 3_ and _Resistance 2_. 

It's so cheap to get these from pre-owned game stores like CEX. Drake and Resistance cost me £3 and £2 respectively!

I'd heard a lot of good things about the Uncharted franchise and I must say that I can't see how it has had the plaudits it has. It's very linear with a restricting on-rails approach to the chapters and the combat system is a bit pow-pow-pow. I love the approach that the _Assassin's Creed_ franchise has to take downs where planning and stealth reward you with successful mission outcomes (altho' AC3 was just awful in that regard), and I think the Uncharted franchise could learn a lot from that. However, these are old games now and with next gen out it's a bit redundant of me to say that. I just recall other early PS3 games that did better combat mechanics.

I play _Clash of Clans_ and the new Star Wars version of that game model: _Star Wars Commander _on my iPad. 

pH


----------



## Lenny

Phyrebrat said:


> I'd heard a lot of good things about the Uncharted franchise and I must say that I can't see how it has had the plaudits it has. It's very linear with a restricting on-rails approach to the chapters and the combat system is a bit pow-pow-pow. I love the approach that the _Assassin's Creed_ franchise has to take downs where planning and stealth reward you with successful mission outcomes (altho' AC3 was just awful in that regard), and I think the Uncharted franchise could learn a lot from that. However, these are old games now and with next gen out it's a bit redundant of me to say that. I just recall other early PS3 games that did better combat mechanics.



At the time of each release, the *Uncharted* games were pushing what the PS3 could do. The combat isn't great, and the games are entirely linear (which I personally quite enjoyed **), but graphically they had no equals***, and the stories and characters were highly praised - the first became, arguably, the PS3's first must-have game, and the franchise grew from there into what is now seen as a rival to things like *Tomb Raider*.



** Everything seems to be sandbox these days, so it's nice to sit down and just play without having to cross the map every freakin' time you want to progress in the story

*** Both in terms of looks, and, particularly the first, the use of actual actors for the cutscenes and character animation - mocap was a rarity before Uncharted. It might not have popularised its use, but it was definitely one of the first really big games to use it


----------



## reiver33

Conquest: Frontier Wars - if only for the stirring soundtrack!


----------



## Michael Colton

Gawian said:


> Tried getting into EVE recently. Can't get to grips with it



You are far from alone in this.







It is an absolutely brutal game to get into. Not only the learning curve, but also the way the game is set up can make it very, very slow to get started and feel like you are doing much.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've played the first two Uncharted games, but didn't feel the need to try the third. They're enjoyable, but I prefer games that I can sink hundreds of hours into, as rule. 

I've only played the second Assassin's Creed game. It disappointed me enormously because it had lots of the right ingredients (a non-typical historical setting, assassinations, free-roaming, various missions). The running around and climbing soon bored me (unlike, say, the swinging around in the PS2 Spiderman 2 game, which was so fantastic it was worth a game by itself), the missions were tedious, the 'modern day' setting pointless and boring. The combat didn't interest me much either.


----------



## Michael Colton

I enjoyed the first two Uncharted games purely because I am a sucker for the Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider type of setting. And 'sucker' really is the right word - I do not know what it is about that sort of story, but I just love them. If I were to step back from the love of that setting, Uncharted 1/2 were decent games but the recent Tomb Raider reboot blew them out of the water. To the point that as long as they keep releasing the new Tomb Raiders via Steam, I will likely not continue playing the Uncharted series. That and the fact that I recently purchased every Tomb Raider ever made. So I have a lot of replaying to do.


----------



## Rodders

I just downloaded Star Wars Commander for my iPad. Pretty good so far.


----------



## Jo Zebedee

Oh, I looked at that yesterday. I'll give it a whirl, then, Rodders.


----------



## Rodders

Let me know. We can join up and help each other on raids. I'm in the process of gathering resources and bolstering defense a. Slow going.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Dark Souls 2 DLC


----------



## Chris Guillory

I was in the mood for a turn-based strategy, so I picked up Disgaea 4 yesterday.  Looking forward to Destiny here in about a week and a half.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Well after I finally lost my venerable XP PC of ten years standing a week ago to some sort of hard drive failure (knowing that this was the case for the past 6 months meant I was fully prepared so thankfully nothing lost...) Sad to see it go, it was a beast of a machine - albeit had a few upgrades to keep it current.

But now I've got beast 2.0 - 24G of ram, 2G graphics card, 2TB of disc space a 8 CPU 3.6 GHz Intel i7 and a new 23 inch widescreen monitor. 

Slightly concerned about Windows 8.1 to begin with, but took to it like a duck to water, even managed to install and run my old Rome Total War perfectly. 

But really gaming-wise I've been running Skyrim on it with all the settings on ultra...just beautiful!


----------



## soulsinging

thaddeus6th said:


> I've played the first two Uncharted games, but didn't feel the need to try the third. They're enjoyable, but I prefer games that I can sink hundreds of hours into, as rule



This is exactly why I like uncharted. I don't have the time, ambition, or patience for a game that takes hundreds of hours. I've never gotten anywhere in an open world game, I get bored looking at the maps and figuring out what to do next. And if I'm going to spend hours leveling up, I feel like I might as well study/level up something in real life.


----------



## Michael Colton

Not currently playing it obviously, but I am looking forward to Civilization: Beyond Earth. Comes out next month and I have it preordered.


----------



## Culhwch

I very rarely buys games on release, but _Alien: Isolation_ looked too good to resist, and I'm not sorry I picked it up. So faithful to the movie, and amazingly atmospheric - and i still haven't even encountered the alien yet...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not my sort of game, but what I've seen does make Alien: Isolation look good.


----------



## jotun913

McMurphy said:


> What are you currently playing in regards to video games? This thread will remain stickied until 2010, which sounds very science fiction.
> 
> For myself, I am replaying the Nintendo Wii's version of Resident Evil 4 from Ada's viewpoint. I am enjoying it immensely. The price tag of just under twenty U.S. dollars for a new copy sweetened the deal.
> 
> I recommend it for adult players interested in the horror genre. It is not, however, recommended for children due to zombie violence.


Have you played the game series " Fatal Frame" grate horror game. Made me jump quite a few times.


----------



## Chris Guillory

Ended up going for *Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor*. Have to say, I like it! Being a fan of the movies and never having read the books, I have no idea if Talion is even a cannon character. I'm focused more on the game play. Think Assassin's Creed mixed LOTR lore. Although the story may have nothing to do with the book, it's still good on its own. Plus, I'm 99% sure one of the main voice actors is Saren from Mass Effect.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Chris Guillory said:


> Ended up going for *Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor*. Have to say, I like it! Being a fan of the movies and never having read the books, I have no idea if Talion is even a cannon character. I'm focused more on the game play. Think Assassin's Creed mixed LOTR lore. Although the story may have nothing to do with the book, it's still good on its own. Plus, I'm 99% sure one of the main voice actors is Saren from Mass Effect.



It's had a fantastic review on GINX TV. So much so that I am even considering picking it up (after I get a PS4, that is )

I'm currently struggling on chapter 18 of _Resistance III_ - Love the franchise - which I discovered only two or three months ago - and a welcome change from the on-rails, repetitive bore-fest that was _Uncharted I & II_.

But really, I am just wishing time away until I can play _AC: Unity_, the new _Star Wars: Battlefront_, and the _Mirror's Edge_ sequel. 

pH


----------



## Bugg

Culhwch said:


> I very rarely buys games on release, but _Alien: Isolation_ looked too good to resist, and I'm not sorry I picked it up. So faithful to the movie, and amazingly atmospheric - and i still haven't even encountered the alien yet...



I keep being tempted by Alien: Isolation.  It looks great but I know what'll happen - I'll buy it, play a couple of hours, get scared and never go back to it 

Maybe when it's in a Steam sale . . .


----------



## Bugg

^^  Okay, I caved and got Alien: Isolation.  Rather predictably, after playing the first hour, it's scared me witless and I had to take a break  - and I haven't seen the alien yet, either 

Talk about atmosphere, though.  In terms of evoking the look and feel of the first movie, it's perfect!


----------



## Remedy

I avoid the games which can only be bad for your heart. I think Doom 3 was the last one I played and thought I felt palpitations. 

I've been playing Dark Souls (finished recently), now at the end of Skyrim... So much game!

Looking forward to upgrading to Xbox one and trying titanfall and destiny.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I want to play Alien: Isolation, but I know I won't be able to take it!

I am, once again, back in Skyrim. What I love about it is that when you think you've found your niche, you try something else and it's equally awesome. I was always a sneaky assassin archer. Then I reluctantly tried magic -- loved it. Never wanted to be a fighter, but I'm doing it this time and, guess what, love it! 

Also _still_ finding new missions that I've never done before.


----------



## Remedy

HoopyFrood said:


> I want to play Alien: Isolation, but I know I won't be able to take it!
> 
> I am, once again, back in Skyrim. What I love about it is that when you think you've found your niche, you try something else and it's equally awesome. I was always a sneaky assassin archer. Then I reluctantly tried magic -- loved it. Never wanted to be a fighter, but I'm doing it this time and, guess what, love it!
> 
> Also _still_ finding new missions that I've never done before.



I've just been a sneaky assassin archer  So much damage. I felt let down by the destruction magic though, even when I got it to 100, it never quite packed the punch I expected. I'm enjoying the benefits of good smithing and enchanting though.

I'm hunting down some missions I missed.


----------



## Bugg

Remedy said:


> I avoid the games which can only be bad for your heart. I think Doom 3 was the last one I played and thought I felt palpitations.



Oh crikey, I remember when I was playing Doom 3 and my cat picked one particularly scary moment to rub against my leg.  I don't think I came down off the ceiling for about two hours  

I was watching these two videos about Alien: Isolation just now.  They quite amused me


----------



## JugoZille

- Civ: Beyond Earth!
- Star Admiral (mobile TCG)
- Heroes&Generals (f2p, similar to Battlefield)


----------



## Boaz

Lux Delux.  Map: Imperium Romanum Expletus.  Settings: Random armies, random countries. Biohazard: Light.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Worms Armageddon, on ye olde Playstation disc. It's aged extremely well (about 15 years old, give or take). Tail end of 2-D graphics so it still looks relatively good and the gameplay's still cracking.


----------



## BigBadBob141

Slowly slogging my way through Diablo 2 (PC), I've named the barbarian after me and the rest of the characters after my cats (lol).
Farthest I've gotten so far is act 2, quest "The Tainted Sun", it's fun being a sorceress and throwing fireballs all over the place!


----------



## Chris Guillory

Now that the complete Season 2 of Telltale's Walking Dead is out, I'm replaying Season 1 since it's been a while. This game's story is better than much of the actual show!


----------



## Remedy

Playing *Red Faction: Guerrilla* at the moment, on Xbox 360... Its destruction mechanics are amazing. Blowing up buildings on mars piece by piece is so satisfying. And when you run out of explosives, you can get out your trusty sledge hammer and swing away like a loon. The story is weak though - you just drive from one place to another to blow up more stuff and rid mars of its oppressors. I can't see I'll ever play it again when I'm done, but it's fun at present.

I've also dabbled in a bit of *Happy Wars* multiplayer which has a lot of staying power, keeps drawing me back. What's not to enjoy from customizing your little cartoon dude and battling your way into the enemy castle. Mages, warriors and clerics all zooming about the field like tiny crack addicts.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Dragon Age: Inquisition. I have really mixed feelings. There's a lot I like (enormity of the world, voice-acting, the combat's grown on me, customisation) and some things I don't (graphics vary [hair looks pretty poor], loading times are long, there are a number of small bugs). 

Overall, I am enjoying it rather a lot. The number of small issues is taking a little of the shine off.


----------



## Chris Guillory

thaddeus6th said:


> Dragon Age: Inquisition. I have really mixed feelings. There's a lot I like (enormity of the world, voice-acting, the combat's grown on me, customisation) and some things I don't (graphics vary [hair looks pretty poor], loading times are long, there are a number of small bugs).
> 
> Overall, I am enjoying it rather a lot. The number of small issues is taking a little of the shine off.



Just started Dragon Age 2 again...I never finished it primarily because the lack of scenery. There is Kirkwall, and then a mountain. However, I still want to get through it for storyline reasons before I start Inquisition.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Well, scenery definitely abounds in Inquisition. Not too far in, but there's a lot of variety. Whatever else you can criticise it for, it's not just bigger than DA2, it absolutely eclipses it. The world might be bigger than Skyrim.


----------



## Colbey Frost

I play League of Legends because it's all my pc can handle.. oh and DayZ


----------



## Foxbat

Doorkickers. Interesting little tactical top-down game of hostage rescue and terrorist elimination. I've recently discovered that I enjoy kicking in doors and throwing flash grenades about the place. Maybe I should have been a cop


----------



## thaddeus6th

Finished my first, fairly minimalist, playthrough of Dragon Age Inquisition. I won't spoil the scene, but there is one just after the credits which is rather fantastic. [NB, unlike previous games you can continue playing after the main storyline ends].

I agree with those who say the story is too slow early on (I'd say focus on story stuff until you reach the early major turning point, which you will absolutely know when you see it), but after that it's very good. Graphics could be better (hair especially is dodgy on PS3), voice-acting is usually good and often great, the decisions feel like they have weight (and are often life and death), but there's perhaps a bit of clutter in terms of the smaller quests. 

I'll do a proper review when I've played some more of it. An early thoughts review is up here: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/early-thoughts-dragon-age-inquisition.html


----------



## Chris Guillory

Looking forward to this (keep the updates coming!) - Plugging away at pt 2 still. I'm sure that despite the lackluster graphics you report, it'll be a huge leap when I transition from this current one!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ahem. In some regards you'll be disappointed.

Haven't tried making a human male yet, (if you're interested, I could mess about with it just to see), but the facial hair, including stubble, is often so awful as to be comical. Thankfully, Dorian's 'tache looks alright, but most others (admittedly, I only saw a couple up close during my story-focused first game) are not good and a clear step backwards from DA2. On the other hand, if you're playing on a next-gen console, it looks much better.


----------



## Remedy

*Red Dead Redemption - *Fantastic story, cut scenes and voice cast. That's before we get to game play: a proper western with shootouts, cattle ranching, horse breaking, poker playing, wagon riding, hooch drinking, peasant swindling, outlaw catching, cactus dodging, dynamite exploding, spurs wearing goodness!!! (a must play for all)


----------



## thaddeus6th

Red Dead Redemption confounds me. I should love it. Great graphics, sound, voice-acting, the vistas are beautiful, the gameplay works well, the setting is unusual without being weird... but I don't. I tried to get into it twice. It just doesn't work for me and I don't know why. 

I think 99% of people will like it.


----------



## Remedy

Sorry to hear that Thaddeus, you gave it a go at least  Perhaps the pacing is a bit slow.

I've missed the* Dragon Age* games so far, purely because I have *Mass Effect 2 & 3* waiting to be played and after finishing *Dark Souls* and *Skyrim* I was looking for a change.


----------



## thaddeus6th

It's no tragedy 

It was amongst the PS3 games I was considering selling here [Chrons, particularly given forthcoming VAT insanity, isn't a marketplace, though]. Maybe I'll end up giving it away. The problem is it's technically great and I really *should* like it... bah.

Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition are very good. DA2 is the weaker of the series.

Mass Effect 2 is a fantastic game. I was a little less taken with 3 (perhaps because the disc I had did unkind things to my PS3) but it's still a good game.


----------



## Wo7f

Would like to finish *Skyrim*. So many games, so little time. *Destiny, Assassin's creed Black sails, GTA 5*, Sometimes I mess around with *Minecraft,* and I'd like to continue my *Final Fantasy XIV* sometime too. I just made warrior and bard. But then *Elder Scrolls Online* came out, it was ok, but there are things I wish I could do. Like be a thief. I should be able to break in wherever I want. And have a thieves guild, and what about the dark brotherhood? I also miss picking up any object I want and selling it. If I can't pick it up, it shouldn't be in the game.  Oblivion and Skyrim have ruined me for that.
That's all so far.


----------



## Michael Colton

I have a long list of games I have purchased on Steam during sales, but I rarely have time to play. The last thing I played was Borderlands 2. While a fun nonsense romp, I was disappointed at how short the story was and how much they expect you to repeat.


----------



## reiver33

Old-school here - the classic 'Homeworld'


----------



## thaddeus6th

On a second, fuller, playthrough of Inquisition. Facial hair (from beards to stubble) looks bad in the character creator (had a little play last night just to see). It might be a larger beard with lighter hair might be alright, but it's still disappointing [Blackwall and Dorian have unique facial hair and it's not a problem for them].

If you have internet access with your console and played previous games (or even if you didn't but know some of the story) I'd really strongly advise using the Keep. I had the same issue with Mass Effect 2, the default world was practically the opposite of every choice I made. Not only that, certain characters may or may not return based on what you choose in the Keep.


----------



## Michael Colton

thaddeus6th said:


> I had the same issue with Mass Effect 2, the default world was practically the opposite of every choice I made.



I am trying to understand what you mean by this. You felt that the choices you made as Shepard were not properly represented in the story?


----------



## thaddeus6th

I got the trilogy, but for reasons beyond me the comic refused to be downloaded and (until much fiddling and searching found me a solution) Mass Effect froze right after the final boss battle, so I didn't get a save file I could import [at first].

So, my first playthrough of 2 was with the default world. Which happened to have practically none of the choices I'd made in the first game.


----------



## Michael Colton

thaddeus6th said:


> I got the trilogy, but for reasons beyond me the comic refused to be downloaded and (until much fiddling and searching found me a solution) Mass Effect froze right after the final boss battle, so I didn't get a save file I could import [at first].
> 
> So, my first playthrough of 2 was with the default world. Which happened to have practically none of the choices I'd made in the first game.



Ah, I see. I did not have that issue because I never finished the original Mass Effect. I could see how that would be irksome, though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

At the time it really irked me [I'd use more honest language, but that would contravene forum etiquette]. Eventually I found a way around it (lower difficulty and turning off various filters which are set by default to on). It wasn't great, though.

Back to DAI: just killed my first optional dragon. I thought I'd screwed it up because it was going pretty well up until the dragon's last third of health, then my squad started dropping like flies. Except Blackwall. By frantically resurrecting people I scraped a victory (3/4 of my squad had health so low it barely registered). But I slew it, and there was much rejoicing.

I thought I'd end up failing and was already considering how I'd change my approach for next time. The fight was pretty long (I did the first bit with the tactical view, but it was going so well [then] that I switched to real time), so the victory felt glorious indeed.


----------



## Remedy

Been quite ill recently, so I blasted through *Mass Effect 2 *and* Metro 2033

ME2* is absolutely brilliant, so much replay-ability. I will be importing my *ME1 *character for a second play through to see the differences in the story.

*Metro 2033 *felt quite clunky. Although it is based entirely on the (Russian - best selling) book of the same name, the story was weak, IMO.

However, now I am working through the sequel, *Metro: Last Light. *This game is far more polished and immersive. Everything works better, sounds better and looks better. So glad I stuck it out with the first one now.


----------



## Wo7f

Final Fantasy 14. Starting over and really enjoying it.


----------



## Prescott Fry

GTA V SON!!!!


----------



## Prescott Fry

Also, the new black ops


----------



## Mangara

Really getting back into my DS. I had a brief Gamecube fling but I'm totally back on the handheld now.

Currently playing: Solotorobo: Red the Hunter

It's a Japanese Action RPG with anthropomorphic dogs and cats as the cast who rather randomly speak French to each other through cutesy little sound bites. It has a distinct steampunk feel: Airships everywhere. You play as Red, who is a dog perpetually chewing a bone and complete various quests via the aid of your robot buddy. The game revolves around picking things up and smashing them down, catching and combo-ing the varous enemies/items. It is a bit of a limited mechanic but the game keeps it fresh through a whole slew of fun mini games from Mario Kart inspired racing to a battle arena where you face other robot pilots or monsters. The main story is fun and the setting is very original. Overall a very good game.


----------



## Wo7f

Looking at Dragon Age Inquisition. Pretty close to Skyrim. Lots of detail, and I like that your decisions make the game's outcome different. Of course the main story stays the same, as far as I know.


----------



## Compcat

Recently beat South Park: The Stick of Truth.  I highly recommend it if you enjoy the show, since it really is just like a long episode that you get to participate in.


----------



## Wo7f

Decided to play Dragon Age Inquisition. Pretty fun so far. So much to do. I started out as a human, but then decided to try Quniari (spelling unsure) it's been more interesting.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Qunari.

The races do offer some slight differences in dialogue, as well as the rather, er, striking physical differences (I went from female Qunari to female dwarf, and the height difference was massive. For a little while it was really weird).


----------



## opuscosmos

Strangely hooked with grinding on Destiny, leveling up for some Iron Banner PVP. Just started with Watchdogs too.. story seems engaging enough, not really impressed with the graphics given the hype prior to release, still very cool environments.


----------



## Michael Colton

Some Hearthstone. That's about it. It fills my daily 'turn off brain' quota.


----------



## Lifeonerth

This is a thread after my own heart.    I am currently switching between games a bit.  I recently finished Dragon Age: Inquisition; without knowing about the plot twist at the end, I started off playing a female elven rogue archer and decided to romance Solas, since he was the only one I would not be able to romance under any other story conditions.  In the end, I was so glad I did, despite the fact that your charachter gets *mild SPOILER* quick, scroll past!! No nookie!  Aargh!!  After all that effort?!  Sigh.

But I felt like I learned a lot more about his character, the whole backstory involved, and lots of juicy foreshadowing.  If you are into the story aspects of the game, I recommend the experience.  It may not be totally immersive, but I did save and try some of the different convo options to see what the responses would be out of curiosity.  I am disabled, so I have a LOT of time to kill.  The game does punish you at tmes for being a Dalish elf (or an elf period), which is a bit weird compared to other fantasy worlds, where elves have traditionally been awesome.  I might replay as a human noble and go with the Templars and Chantry bit (went with mages and freedom in my first go) just to see what changes.  Besides, I got the game from a pre-order, and when I started, the Keep wasn't working so I was unable to import my world state.  What a bummer after all the hype.

I LOVED the optional dragon battles, they did a great job making them feel very epic.  I love dragons though, and some of them (the Sandy Howler stands out in my memory) I felt bad for killing, just because they were such magnificent creatures and I liked the world better with them still in it!  It was a real twist of the knife for me that they made them be *sleeping* when you come upon them, lying curled up on their sides, at their most vulnerable, snoring gentle dragon snores...  Nooo!!  NOW you want me to KILL her??    The drops from the dragon battles made me wish I had done the earlier in the game, as they had some good loot I could have used.  As it was, I pretty much crafted everything.

I thought it more than a little improbable, however, that these mother dragons which are supposed to be SO rare, would wait until they were low on health and start sending their babies into the fray to get killed by the team of bad-ass warriors first...?  No self-respecting mother would do something like that.  I guess if she lived but the babies died, perhaps she could make more...but what if she couldn't?  After all, they are UBER rare, and we never did see a single male.  Shouldn't she be protecting the babies rather than sending them to the slaughter?  

I could go on for a long time about the intricacies of DAI, but I will *try* to spare you the endless text walls.  Hey, YOU try being house/bed-bound for six years.  It would make any reasonably sane person stir-crazy...and I make no claims on sanity.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I like the Dragon Age world a lot, including the elves being rubbish bit (elves always being pretty and wise and graceful and generally super can grate sometimes).

I hope they settle down with the format a bit, though. Whilst I've enjoyed the three games, and don't mind the varying protagonists, the substantial changes to the way the games work do make it feel slightly disjointed.

And I'm calling Bianca as a companion in the next game (or a large DLC).


----------



## Lifeonerth

Bianca was great...I was glad to finally get the real story on Varric's crossbow!  I really enjoy the Dragon Age world too.  I've been reading about some of the other bits of backstory and lore in the novels and graphic novels and such, and I'm going to give them a try.  I was surprised how much they really tie it all back into the games, even including the Facebook game, etc.  Have you read any of the books?  What did you think?


----------



## Lifeonerth

thaddeus6th said:


> I like the Dragon Age world a lot, including the elves being rubbish bit (elves always being pretty and wise and graceful and generally super can grate sometimes).
> 
> I hope they settle down with the format a bit, though. Whilst I've enjoyed the three games, and don't mind the varying protagonists, the substantial changes to the way the games work do make it feel slightly disjointed.
> 
> And I'm calling Bianca as a companion in the next game (or a large DLC).



Oh yeah, and about the elves...I enjoy seeing different takes on the familiar tropes and archetypes and such as long as they are done in a way that is internally consistent with the story world.  These are very well done in that respect.  This is actually the first time I have played an elf in a DA game, because generally I play these games partly because I enjoy feeling like a badass.  It's a fine balance, because if my character gets too OP it isn't a challenge and isn't really fun anymore, but hey, I am disanfrancised and unempowered IRL; I play these games to *escape* that feeling.  I want to feel empowered, to feel a sense of real agency.  It really wasn't that bad playing the elf this time though, despite all the hate from NPCs.  I was still a badass, even if the NPCs had trouble admitting it at first.  It was a bit over the top going around and having everyone calling me, "Your Worship" all the time, but it was funny and not without precedent, given that the original Chant of Light had a whole verse about the Elf who was Andraste's right hand man.  Ahh, the revisionist histories.   

It's good when there is some grit and darkness to make the world more believable, but too much just gives you crapsack, which isn't really realistic either, and again, I play to *escape.*  There were a couple of moments in the game when I had three or four crapsack-ish quests in a row and I tried all the approaches and they all lead to the same outcome, which made me feel like what I did and my choices didn't really matter as much as I thought they did.  Then Bioware comes out and says they need to have *more* dysfunctional relationships in the series going forward... Really??  Careful, Bioware!    We can feel like crap in Real Life for free.    I still love it though, so far.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The only extra-curricular, as it were, I've done for Dragon Age was the red lyrium something or other game on the official site which got me some slightly overpowered gear in Skyhold. My reading list is vast and my wallet's emptier than a eunuch's underpants so I haven't even looked at the novels/comics, though I've heard snippets of what they contain.

My last playthrough was as a very honourable elf who didn't even believe in the Maker (but Cassandra still liked him  ).

Choices are difficult, because if they're all meaningful that means a stack of extra writing that might never be seen (I play games to death but I know others only have a single playthrough). Plus, importing means if you have even 4 major binary choices per game, then you end up with 16 possibilities (I think, my maths is awful), and before long you'll have hundreds of variables. On the other hand, from a player perspective, a faux choice can be worse than none.

Weirdly, I think the only videogame I ever read books about was Sonic the Hedgehog. Martin Adams wrote four and I really enjoyed them as a child and learnt about the grandmother paradox of time travel, transmogrification (seriously) and other things from them.


----------



## Culhwch

I've just built myself a new PC for the lounge room (kind of a Steam Box knock off) so I have been playing lounge-friendly PC games like _The Wolf Among Us_, _South Park: The Stick of Truth_, and _FIFA 14_. Keen for any suggestions as well!

Also have a copy of _Dying Light_ coming my way at some point. Thought I'd get this on release day, but even though I bought a 'digital download' copy, apparently the vendor has to wait for the physical release...


----------



## Wo7f

Really enjoying my Qunari female. I chose to side with the Templars. I decided I'm going to play again when this one is finished and be a female elf,



Spoiler



Since it's really their fault this whole thing started because of some ancient orb the elves made and the bad guy now has.


 and side with the Mages.


----------



## Lifeonerth

Wo7f said:


> Really enjoying my Qunari female. I chose to side with the Templars. I decided I'm going to play again when this one is finished and be a female elf,
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Since it's really their fault this whole thing started because of some ancient orb the elves made and the bad guy now has.
> 
> 
> and side with the Mages.



That's awesome- I've been wondering what it would be like to play as a Qunari.  As soon as I finished, I wanted to play again because I was sad that it was over, and because the storyline and ending raised so many interesting questions.  I'm trying really hard to make myself wait until the DLC (whatever that may end up being) comes out before I play again though, since with DA2 I didn't do this and was a bit burned out by the time the DLC came out.  I feel a bit like a kid in a candy store sitting on my hands though.  

Thankfully, there are a number of good games out at the moment and more on the way...  I can't wait to see what The Order 1886 will be like, and am really excited for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.  I'm currently switching around between the two latest Assassin's Creed games and Far Cry 4, which is my first Far Cry and I am really having fun with it!  Also just played through the first episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones game, but when I started episode two, I encountered a well-known (apparently, though not to me) bug which causes people playing on Xbox One to not have any of their choices carry over to the next episode.  Really wish I had not bought that season pass now.  

I wish there were more single player RPGs in general.  I'll take some good stealth action too.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Aye, I'm not into multiplayer. The only sort of interaction with others I've enjoyed (in a gaming sense  ) recently was with Dragon's Dogma, and the excellent pawn system. 

Damned shame Capcom have decided to make the sequel some sort of MMORPG nonsense.


----------



## Bugg

After a gap of over two years I finally went back and finished *XCOM: Enemy Unknown* last week.  Great game - not going to replace *Terror from the Deep* or the original game in my affections, but as good an update as I could've hoped for.  I was going to dive straight into *Enemy Within*, but I've now become addicted to *Shadowrun: Dragonfall* instead.  Great story, great characters, great turn-based combat.  Love it.


----------



## Remedy

Coming to the end of *Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor -* I've really been enjoying this. Not so much the story (its a little thin) but the gameplay is fluid and enjoyable. Everything looks good and LOTR-ingy. Even been spending the time collecting everything and reading the lore which I don't do for every game. As far a replayability goes though, I can't see doing it again for a couple of years. Though I may dabble in assassinating some orc chiefs from time to time.

I also finished the single player campaign of *Battlefield 4* recently... Awful. The characters were annoying and you don't care about any of them. The game seemed to be set against you for some parts and ridiculously easy in others. Clichéd story and set pieces. I was begging for it to end after just halfway through. I rarely leave a game unfinished, so I slogged it to the end, but there was no sense of accomplishment when I got there.

Looking forward to returning to *Titanfall *when I get back from skiing - my favourite Xbox One game so far.


----------



## Chris Guillory

Remedy said:


> Coming to the end of *Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor -* I've really been enjoying this. Not so much the story (its a little thin) but the gameplay is fluid and enjoyable. Everything looks good and LOTR-ingy. Even been spending the time collecting everything and reading the lore which I don't do for every game. As far a replayability goes though, I can't see doing it again for a couple of years. Though I may dabble in assassinating some orc chiefs from time to time.
> 
> I also finished the single player campaign of *Battlefield 4* recently... Awful. The characters were annoying and you don't care about any of them. The game seemed to be set against you for some parts and ridiculously easy in others. Clichéd story and set pieces. I was begging for it to end after just halfway through. I rarely leave a game unfinished, so I slogged it to the end, but there was no sense of accomplishment when I got there.
> 
> Looking forward to returning to *Titanfall *when I get back from skiing - my favourite Xbox One game so far.



I really enjoyed Shadow of Mordor. It was definitely a sleeper in which I wasn't expecting too much and was surprised at the end. It had an Assassin's Creed feel, but with enough of its own content to set it apart.


----------



## Wo7f

Lifeonerth said:


> Also just played through the first episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones game, but when I started episode two, I encountered a well-known (apparently, though not to me) bug which causes people playing on Xbox One to not have any of their choices carry over to the next episode. Really wish I had not bought that season pass now.





Lifeonerth said:


> really excited for The Witcher



Game of Thrones was pretty cool. Can't wait for the 3 episode. Sorry you had trouble.

The Witcher! I'm very excited about this game!


----------



## Bugg

Finished *Shadowrun: Dragonfall*.  Brilliant little game.  Shall probably play the first game, *Shadowrun Returns*, next as I didn't get far with it the first time around.  Or I may just play *Dragonfall* again with a different character.


----------



## Wo7f

LOL! I just went to the ball on Dragon Age Inquisition. 



Spoiler



I was warned when I entered that, being Qunari, I would be seen as no better than an animal!


 I think I did pretty well though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

There are quite a few variety of outcomes there. Despite three playthroughs, I haven't had all the possible outcomes (I'll go back to it at some point. I like the game, but the load times are lengthy and the freezing is irksome).


----------



## Wo7f

thaddeus6th said:


> There are quite a few variety of outcomes there. Despite three playthroughs, I haven't had all the possible outcomes (I'll go back to it at some point. I like the game, but the load times are lengthy and the freezing is irksome).



You have freezing? And lengthy loads? Ouch! That would make me not want to play.


----------



## steelyglint

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat with the Sigerous (SGM) mod version 1.7 - have been playing the Stalker games for 8 years or so now. They're worse than heroin and nicotine combined for addictiveness. Some mods have hugely long load times (Narodnaya Soljanka), and they all have pauses, hiccoughs and freezes as large groups of NPCs hit your switch-distance. All of them have CTDs of varying severity, but that's just Stalker. Not one of the three 'official' games was playable on release - Call of Pripyat was closest, but still had its foibles. I likened them to buying a car and suddenly finding that it had no brakes. Didn't matter: you just had to get into the coding and figure out what was wrong, correct it (if you could), then get back into the game.

The multi-player version is utter silliness. Stalker games are single-player experiences, and every game is different depending on the choices you make.

.


----------



## thaddeus6th

PS3 version, it varies (better than the woes of Xbone, it must be said). 

If I ever acquire enough disposable income/time for a PS4 I may get the inevitable Legendary/Ultimate/GOTY edition for it.


----------



## Wo7f

Shadow of Mordor. Pretty awesome!


----------



## Remedy

Wo7f said:


> Shadow of Mordor. Pretty awesome!



I just finished that last weekend. Great fun. The character ability progression is well timed and substantial all the way through to the end.

Played and finished the _very _short campaign of *Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare* recently. I went in with low expectations because the franchise was getting stale. But I left having thoroughly enjoyed myself and wanting to do it again. The story is predictable, but seeing Kevin Spacey in your game sort of makes up for that - even if its not his best performance. Its nice to see professional talent getting more involved in video game story-telling. The game is visually stunning which goes a long way to aid immersion. There's lots of adrenaline filled scenarios and fun gadgetry to get yourself around. However, all this futuristic business is becoming tiring. I would love for Call of Duty to return to WW2 again.

Currently, I'm playing *Destiny *(more futuristic business) - Finally, a FPS game that has areas requiring real teamwork. I've played strike missions with fantastic allies and ones without and you really notice the difference. It can be a bit of a grind after a while, but there is enough variety to keep you coming back every day. I'm a bit annoyed about the price of the DLC though. It has its faults, but the fun I'm having outweighs them for now.


----------



## Culhwch

Remedy said:


> However, all this futuristic business is becoming tiring. I would love for Call of Duty to return to WW2 again.



Agreed!

I've recently been sucked in by_ Sim City_.


----------



## Wo7f

Culhwch said:


> I've recently been sucked in by_ Sim City_.



Been a while since I played that one. Awesome game!


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

I've been playing XCOM: Enemy Within with the Long War mod far, far too much. The base game was lacklustre, but Long War totally transforms it. It's punishingly hard, but well worth it.


----------



## Bugg

cyberpunkdreams said:


> I've been playing XCOM: Enemy Within with the Long War mod far, far too much. The base game was lacklustre, but Long War totally transforms it. It's punishingly hard, but well worth it.



I'm definitely going to give *Long War* a go at some point.  I finished *Shadowrun Returns* a couple of weeks ago and was planning on going back to play *XCOM: Enemy Within *again when I saw that *Xenonauts *was on sale on Steam. Been meaning to get it for ages and it was impossible to pass by for £9. So I bought it, and now I'm completely addicted. Much as I loved the Firaxis Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within games, they didn't quite scratch the itch I had for the original *X-COM* (hyphenated!) games, i.e. *UFO Enemy Unknown *(as it was called in the UK) and *X-COM Terror from the Deep*. *Xenonauts *is definitely fitting the bill, though. I lost most of last weekend to it, which hasn't happened to me with a game for years.

Also picked up *Wasteland 2 *half price on Steam last weekend, although I won't be going anywhere near that until I've finished *Xenonauts*.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've been thinking of getting a PS4, but the two games that would most entice me (The Last of Us and Dragon Age: Inquisition) I own for the PS3 [I may buy a GOTY version of DAI].

Banner Saga, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and The Witcher 3 all look good, and I might buy Tomb Raider, but it's a surprising lack of games I want given the console's about a year and a half old.

As an aside, how well does the 500GB hard drive last? With my 40GB PS3 I've often had to delete installed game data.


----------



## thaddeus6th

And there's the white/black question. I know Michael Jackson said it doesn't matter, but still....


----------



## Remedy

thaddeus6th said:


> As an aside, how well does the 500GB hard drive last? With my 40GB PS3 I've often had to delete installed game data.



If its anything like the Xbox One, with 500GB, not long if you're an "enthusiastic" gamer. If you only plan on playing up to 9 or 10 games on it, you should be fine. Games are becoming larger (one of mine is about 70GB). I have 5.5GB left on my internal hard drive which isn't enough for another full game install. I didn't want to uninstall anything so I bought a 1 Terabyte external hard drive from amazon for £30 - which will keep me going for a long while.

I'm still playing *Destiny* - still a little too enthusiastically. I'm at a high enough level to take part in the long and intense 6-person raids now, which is where the teamwork and social side of the game really open up. I've had some brilliant runs with Australian, UK, US and Canadian players.

My partner bought me a bundle of games a month ago, which I've installed but not yet played: *Alien: Isolation --- Ryse: Son of Rome --- Wolfenstein: The New Order*


----------



## thaddeus6th

Your girlfriend sounds like a wise and generous lady.

I tend to buy relatively few games but play the hell out of them. Hmm. Cheers. I'll probably buy one relatively soon [I wasn't going to buy Bloodborne... but now I see you can make a character with a monocle. That's tempting].

Multiplayer isn't my style. The only time I've ever (recently) enjoyed it was the bare-minimum pawn-swapping of Dragon's Dogma.


----------



## Remedy

thaddeus6th said:


> Your girlfriend sounds like a wise and generous lady.
> 
> I tend to buy relatively few games but play the hell out of them. Hmm. Cheers. I'll probably buy one relatively soon [I wasn't going to buy Bloodborne... but now I see you can make a character with a monocle. That's tempting].
> 
> Multiplayer isn't my style. The only time I've ever (recently) enjoyed it was the bare-minimum pawn-swapping of Dragon's Dogma.



Ha! Yes, she is!  She gets shoes from me and I get Video Games 

If I really like the game, I'll play it to death; hunt all the achievements and secrets. That's why I haven't touched the other games yet, because I usually only ever play one at a time.

I find multiplayer hit and miss. I stopped playing *Call of Duty* games on multiplayer because of the sheer number of unsavoury humans I found blaring down the mic, not to mention the children who really shouldn't be playing that sort of game. However, *Destiny* has found a way to encourage good teamwork and communication for the benefit of all involved. I've had some genuinely nice folk help me out just for the sake of it too, no incentive.

I don't want to get games like *Witcher 3 *or *Dragon Age: Inquisition* at the moment because I know they'll absorb me for a long time. I'm still recovering from *Skyrim  *they're perfect if you're in it for the long haul though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Inquisition is now weird for me. I'm going to wait for a PS4 GOTY/Ultimate edition, which means I'll probably have 1-2 years without it, then get it again with much better graphics [and hopefully far less in the way of loading times].

I've sunk hundreds of hours into Skyrim. Just imagine the current-gen Elder Scrolls game we'll get (although Fallout's probably next. And there's Mass Effect 4).

I'll also see about trying some independent games. Banner Saga's been very well-received, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance looks promising. [I do prefer physical copies, though. That way the game data can easily be deleted and re-installed later].


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

Bugg said:


> ...was planning on going back to play *XCOM: Enemy Within*



I'd really recommend trying it with the mod; I think they got the balance of the strategic game quite wrong in the vanilla version. Long War does much more than change the balance, however. There are huge numbers of new items, including new MEC suits, the alien AI (both strategic and tactical) has been completely reworked, new skill trees, new solider types, etc., etc. And did I mention that it's also punishingly hard?


----------



## Bugg

cyberpunkdreams said:


> I'd really recommend trying it with the mod; I think they got the balance of the strategic game quite wrong in the vanilla version. Long War does much more than change the balance, however. There are huge numbers of new items, including new MEC suits, the alien AI (both strategic and tactical) has been completely reworked, new skill trees, new solider types, etc., etc. And did I mention that it's also punishingly hard?



Shall definitely give it a go at some point.  I've just reached the endgame in *Xenonauts*.  For me, it's been the best X-COM-type game since *Terror from the Deep*.  I absolutely love it, even at its most hair-tearing, swear-inducing, infuriating moments.  Hoping to complete it tonight.

Once that's done I have a choice to make.  I've picked up *Wasteland 2* and both *Legend of Grimrock* games in Steam sales over the past couple of weeks, so need to make a choice between those.  I'm leaning towards *Legend of Grimrock II *at the moment.


----------



## Bugg

^^ Those other games are going to have to take a back seat now that *Pillars of Eternity* has arrived . . .


----------



## thaddeus6th

Pillars of Eternity sounds good, but it's PC-only, which is a shame.

On the other hand, Banner Saga is someday heading for the PS4, and Kingdom Come Deliverance is (after an initial PC release) also heading for consoles, which is good to see.


----------



## Foxbat

Bugg said:


> Shall definitely give it a go at some point.  I've just reached the endgame in *Xenonauts*.  For me, it's been the best X-COM-type game since *Terror from the Deep*.  I absolutely love it, even at its most hair-tearing, swear-inducing, infuriating moments.  Hoping to complete it tonight.



I'm finding Xenonauts pretty difficult even on the 'Easy' setting. I've not got much hair left (although that's more genetic then Xeno-related)


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, that's real commitment to aerodynamics


----------



## HanaBi

*Championship Manager 97/98
*
Yes, that's right. 1997/98!

i have played subsequent CM games over the years, along with it's offshoot *Football Manager*. But with every new release came more features, added complications and lots of faffing about. Whereas with 97/98, you simply bought/sold players, picked match-day teams, selected a formation, and then off you go with the game!

I have no doubt the latter versions are equally as good, if not better: especially with the additional features etc. But for me, I just wanted something more straightforward - a lite version in fact. And as a consequence I've been playing CM97/98 for almost 20 years (now via an XP VM), and have still to win the European Cup!


----------



## Bugg

Foxbat said:


> I'm finding Xenonauts pretty difficult even on the 'Easy' setting. I've not got much hair left (although that's more genetic then Xeno-related)



  Yeah, I feel your pain - it's rock hard.  I think it took until about month 4 for me to have enough money to start doing the things I really wanted to.  I finished it the other day, finally.  Took about 40 hours . . .


Pillars of Eternity is stunning.  For any fans of Baldur's Gat 1 & 2 or Icewind Dale it's a must.


----------



## Phyrebrat

I saved up for a year so I could get a PS4 solely because I held off getting AC4. I adore the franchise. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and am loving ac4 _Black Flag_. I'll then pick up _AC: Unity_. 

I have _The Order 1886_ and _The Last of Us _but I'll wait till I've finished the AC games before starting them. Looking forward to _Alien Isolation_, too, and May looks great for upcoming release dates of _Star Wars_ and _Mirror's Edge 2_ 

pH


----------



## Remedy

Phyrebrat said:


> I saved up for a year so I could get a PS4 solely because I held off getting AC4. I adore the franchise. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and am loving ac4 _Black Flag_. I'll then pick up _AC: Unity_.
> 
> I have _The Order 1886_ and _The Last of Us _but I'll wait till I've finished the AC games before starting them. Looking forward to _Alien Isolation_, too, and May looks great for upcoming release dates of _Star Wars_ and _Mirror's Edge 2_
> 
> pH



Hey Phyre, I just finished *Alien: Isolation *the other night... you're in for a treat. Without spoiling it, I will just comment that its very long. Take a spare pair of boxers too!


----------



## Phyrebrat

Remedy said:


> Hey Phyre, I just finished *Alien: Isolation *the other night... you're in for a treat. Without spoiling it, I will just comment that its very long. Take a spare pair of boxers too!



Good!  I'm a total _Dead Space_ fan, and apparently _Alien_ kicks it into a cocked hat! I'll probably do it after AC: Unity if I can get it for a reasonable price. 

pH


----------



## millymollymo

We're replaying Diablo 3 with the Reaper of Souls expansion. The mindless "kill that thing" is reassuringly good for letting my brain work through other writing related stuff. There just isn't enough couch-co-op RPG out there.   In between killing all the things there is much Minecraft happening.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just finished the remastered reboot of Tomb Raider (PS4). Rather enjoyed it. First experience with a touch-screen. I still think they're witchcraft.

I think The Witcher 3 may be my next game.


----------



## Bugg

millymollymo said:


> We're replaying Diablo 3 with the Reaper of Souls expansion. The mindless "kill that thing" is reassuringly good for letting my brain work through other writing related stuff. There just isn't enough couch-co-op RPG out there.   In between killing all the things there is much Minecraft happening.



I thought _Diablo 3_ was great in co-op, as was _Torchlight 2_.  We've recently been playing _Divinity: Original Sin_ in co-op and it's really, really good fun - I'm enjoying it far more that way than I did when playing it single-player.  Worth a look if you're after a different kind of co-op RPG 

I'm 70 hours into _Pillars of Eternity _and still loving it - so much so that I'll probably re-play either _Baldur's Gate_ or _Planescape Torment_ once I've finished it.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Been playing a lot of stuff lately.

Restarted Skyrim for the who-knows-what-time. This time I want to be pure thief and I've never gone the Illusion, Pickpocketing and Alchemy avenues so I want to see how far I can get through just being really sneaky, poison-y and misdirection-y.

Terraria can up on Xbox gold as the free game of the month so we downloaded that, and then I got it on my tablet as well. Something that I've always felt a little let down by in Minecraft is the thin fighting/surviving aspect to it -- mostly because I'm not patient enough to build big things and I love cave diving -- so Terraria is perfect for me. Really enjoying it and the crafting seems to be endless! Taken down the Eye of Cthulhu, he waren't no big thang. However I did get massively overrun by Lepus...

Also on my tablet...I downloaded an emulator and got myself OCARINA OF TIME. Hands down my favourite ever game and though I have an N64 and the game, having it on my tablet now is so very novel. The problem, though, is the controls aren't all that great so I'm dying at points where I have never died (stupid Death Mountain eruption...). Might have to see if I can get a USB controller...

And finally, the thing that has taken over my life these past few months -- Final Fantasy 14. Never played Final Fantasy games before, never played an MMO before and only joined so I could be at the online wedding of two friends. But since then I've got royally sucked in, am now a lv 50 Black Mage with ilv108 (despite starting the game as a tank) and will be having my own wedding this evening ^.^


----------



## Chris Guillory

Picked up Hand of Fate for Xbox One. Nice combination of card strategy and Diablo-style combat.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Bloodborne PS4 - superb, very much in the same vein as Dark Souls


----------



## Remedy

Been playing *Wolfenstein: The New Order, *an incredibly far-fetched alternate history war game. The Nazis develop the atom bomb first and use it on New York, taking over the world and turning it into a concrete hell.

It's the 1960s with big scary robots and a Nazi moon base, lasers and cyborgs, plus plenty of swastikas and propaganda.

You play as the gung-ho American, William Blazkowicz - A troubled biological tank who can take 30+ bullets to the face and still keep steady fingers on the triggers of dual shotguns. His voice sounds like Christian Bale's Batman and he looks like Dolph Lundgren (except with a 2ft-wide jaw).

Gameplay is fun because of the variety of scenarios. Fighting in a castle, a psychiatric centre, the streets of London and Berlin, a concentration camp, plus the aforementioned moon base. All these areas involve vast amounts of Nazi soldiers coming at you with many, many guns.

To enjoy, you can't just suspend your disbelief - you must flush it away and lock the door.

While its definitely not the best game I've played recently, you can see that a lot of effort went into it. The characters are mostly 3-dimensional and follow some sort of story arc. The design is interesting and detailed. Also, the progression appears to be well paced.

A game that's easy to pick up and put down. I kind of wish that this story and theme had been taken on by a more serious platform, like if the makers of *Deus Ex: Human Revolution *(Eidos & Square Enix) had done it.

In conclusion, this game isn't for everyone, but there is plenty of fun to be had if you like your single-player FPS games.

When I've finished, I shall be moving on to *Ryse: Son of Rome* - a game I'm hoping to be completely opposite.


----------



## Remedy

*Ryse: Son of Rome *is proving to be as opposite to *Wolfenstein* as you could imagine.

Close quarters fighting games often employ hack 'n' slash button bashing, but here you really have to think about your thumb coordination. Fighting is cinematic and brutal.

Its short. Two sessions totalling 4 hours have got me to the 50% mark.

Visually its beautiful, something I seem to be saying for all these next-gen games.

Changing from solo battle, to commanding troops, to leading a testudo formation and firing a ballista, it tries to break up the repetition. It doesn't always succeed - it's quite repetitive.

You meet many characters from history and travel (so far) from Rome to England and then to Scotland.

Story is patchy but the characters/voice actors seem to make up for that.

Overall, I think its worth a go... if you feel like being a Centurion for an afternoon


----------



## Bugg

I finished *Pillars of Eternity* a couple of weeks ago.  Great game.  Took me just over 80 hours to play through and I can't say I ever got bored with it.  More please!

After that I made a second start of *The Witcher 2*.  Gorgeous looking game but a bit too console-ified for my liking, after really enjoying the original game.  I'd played about 5 hours and seemed to have spent more time watching and listening and pressing random buttons in QTEs than actually _playing _it.  And then I hurt my back and couldn't sit for long at the pc, so I haven't been back to it.

Considered starting *Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition* but my head was spinning at all the choices in the character creation.  Maybe a bit to soon after PoE to go down that route.  So I may finally install *GTA V *and get on with it - considering I pre-ordered it months before release, it's probably about time.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Currently playing The Witcher 3, PS4 version.

After initial frustration, I'm hugely enjoying it. [That frustration was due to the first load screen going into an infinite loop. I eventually got past it and haven't had a problem since. Remedies for it include: uninstalling and reinstalling game data, freeing up more hard drive space, and disconnecting from the internet].

Anyway, after that annoyance, I haven't had another bug or problem. Voice acting's great, graphics are very good, the much-mentioned frame-rate issue [NB, with the initial patches] is minimal, and it seems pretty damned fantastic, though I'm still only a little way in.

Open world of Skyrim, narrative strength of Dragon Age, morality of Game of Thrones and circa 200 hours of gameplay. Huzzah!


----------



## thatollie

I'm a little late but I'm playing Fez.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

thaddeus6th said:


> Currently playing The Witcher 3, PS4 version.
> Open world of Skyrim, narrative strength of Dragon Age, morality of Game of Thrones and circa 200 hours of gameplay. Huzzah!



How's the combat? I found the combat in Skyrim very frustrating compared to say the combat in the Dark Souls games. It wasn't anywhere near as accurate and seemed far too flimsy.

If the combat in Witcher 3 is as good as in Bloodborne then I'll be very interested.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not played any Souls game [including Bloodborne, which isn't 'officially' a Souls game, but I know is similar].

Combat took me a little while to get into, but I think it's pretty well-balanced. Spells are strong enough to be useful without being overpowered, and whilst enemies can be slain without optimising your set-up (using the right oil on your sword, for example) doing so makes it significantly easier.

Mounted combat makes it tricky to hit, but you can do a lot of damage. I even cut diagonally through someone's torso, which was quite the surprise [for him too].

Early thoughts blog on it: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-witcher-3-ps4-early-thoughts.html


----------



## HoopyFrood

I'm still fully wrapped up in Final Fantasy 14, I don't think it's going to get old for a long time, yet. I'm now lv 50 in both weaving and botany, as I took a break from fighting and went in for some crafting and field work. I'm nearly at the end of the MQ, and just in time for the expansion that comes out soon, it would seem.

My OH @No One started playing Alien Isolation last night. I've said before that I just wouldn't be able to play it because it would make me far too tense and jumpy, but it seems I don't need to to still get the same effect -- I was happily playing FF14 next to him when the Alien leapt at his face, he jumped a mile and scared the crap out of me!


----------



## Alias Black

Working on Pillars of Eternity and This War of Mine at the moment. Brilliant games both. Will eventually get to Witcher 3.


----------



## Vince W

Dune 2000. Found an updated version of this classic gem.

http://cncnet.org/dune-2000

The best thing is that it's free!


----------



## Warren_Paul

HoopyFrood said:


> I'm still fully wrapped up in Final Fantasy 14, I don't think it's going to get old for a long time, yet. I'm now lv 50 in both weaving and botany, as I took a break from fighting and went in for some crafting and field work. I'm nearly at the end of the MQ, and just in time for the expansion that comes out soon, it would seem.
> 
> My OH @No One started playing Alien Isolation last night. I've said before that I just wouldn't be able to play it because it would make me far too tense and jumpy, but it seems I don't need to to still get the same effect -- I was happily playing FF14 next to him when the Alien leapt at his face, he jumped a mile and scared the crap out of me!



What server do you play FFXIV on?


----------



## HoopyFrood

I'm on the European Chaos (I think that's its name) and then the Phoenix server.

On the pre-release expansion at the moment, trying out the new Dark Knight!


----------



## Warren_Paul

HoopyFrood said:


> I'm on the European Chaos (I think that's its name) and then the Phoenix server.
> 
> On the pre-release expansion at the moment, trying out the new Dark Knight!



Aww, shame. I play on the US server Gilgamesh.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Aw. Well, if you ever fancy going for a trip to another one for a holiday... 

What are you up to in the game? How long have you been on it? I got sucked in just to watch a couple of friends get married and now I can't ever escape


----------



## Michael Coorlim

Vince W said:


> Dune 2000. Found an updated version of this classic gem.
> 
> http://cncnet.org/dune-2000
> 
> The best thing is that it's free!



Loved this on my genesis. Gonna have to check it out.

Picked up Fallout 3 and New Vegas in the Steam Sale. Playing through 3 again, after finally managing to get it to work with Win 8. Hasn't aged as well as I'd have hoped.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Aged?! It's only six years old.

.....

What? I still have my original copy of FFVII. That's totally normal. I'm not some sort of hoarding lunatic.


----------



## Warren_Paul

HoopyFrood said:


> Aw. Well, if you ever fancy going for a trip to another one for a holiday...
> 
> What are you up to in the game? How long have you been on it? I got sucked in just to watch a couple of friends get married and now I can't ever escape



Weren't they moving the EU servers to the UK for heavensward? Considering I'm in NZ, it would be a bit problematic for me to play on servers that far away. US is bad enough. (Still hoping for the day an MMO decides to actually release a true oceanic located server.)

I've been playing since alpha, that's what, 2 years, 7 months ago now? I'd done pretty much all the content pre-heavensward with best gear for my main. (WAR) I'm currently finishing up studies and getting ready for finals, so I'm not playing any heavensward content until after exams week. From the sounds of the server trouble mentioned on the forums, I dodged a bullet by not pre-ordering. Likely wouldn't have been able to play much anyway.



thaddeus6th said:


> Aged?! It's only six years old.



Although six years is practically a lifetime in game years. 

FFVII is from the prehistoric era!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Warren_Paul said:


> Weren't they moving the EU servers to the UK for heavensward? Considering I'm in NZ, it would be a bit problematic for me to play on servers that far away. US is bad enough. (Still hoping for the day an MMO decides to actually release a true oceanic located server.)
> 
> I've been playing since alpha, that's what, 2 years, 7 months ago now? I'd done pretty much all the content pre-heavensward with best gear for my main. (WAR) I'm currently finishing up studies and getting ready for finals, so I'm not playing any heavensward content until after exams week. From the sounds of the server trouble mentioned on the forums, I dodged a bullet by not pre-ordering. Likely wouldn't have been able to play much anyway.



I've only had one pretty severe server issue when I was kicked off and couldn't log on for an hour (and seemed most people got varying kicked-off times at the same time too) but other than that it's been OK. But yeah, having to use a sever from halfway around the world must be tough!

And wow, you've been through it all, then, right from its beginnings. This is my first time with anything Final Fantasy and I'm also not one for watching a lot of cut scenes and remembering who everyone is so to be honest I'm not even entirely sure of what's going on in the game  I started off as a warrior (well, Marauder of course) and while I do enjoy tanking, I'm probably not all that good at it yet. My highest is my BLM, which I mostly play as. I love the rhythm of the rotation for it.

Really enjoying the expansion, though! The new classes are fun, with brilliant animations, and the all the new added areas are HUGE.

And last night I finally got my flying Chocobo and went soaring through the skies and it was amazing. Worth the price of the expansion right there


----------



## Michael Coorlim

Warren_Paul said:


> Although six years is practically a lifetime in game years.



Old enough that I had to mess around quite a bit to get it to run on my machine.


----------



## Warren_Paul

HoopyFrood said:


> I've only had one pretty severe server issue when I was kicked off and couldn't log on for an hour (and seemed most people got varying kicked-off times at the same time too) but other than that it's been OK. But yeah, having to use a sever from halfway around the world must be tough!
> 
> And wow, you've been through it all, then, right from its beginnings. This is my first time with anything Final Fantasy and I'm also not one for watching a lot of cut scenes and remembering who everyone is so to be honest I'm not even entirely sure of what's going on in the game  I started off as a warrior (well, Marauder of course) and while I do enjoy tanking, I'm probably not all that good at it yet. My highest is my BLM, which I mostly play as. I love the rhythm of the rotation for it.
> 
> Really enjoying the expansion, though! The new classes are fun, with brilliant animations, and the all the new added areas are HUGE.
> 
> And last night I finally got my flying Chocobo and went soaring through the skies and it was amazing. Worth the price of the expansion right there




Everything about Heavensward looks really well done, especially flying. Looking forward to getting the gryphon mount! Will start playing again in 2 weeks.


----------



## Maria Hunt

I have for the past two years is trying to work my way through Final Fantasy XIII, but it is very slow going because I keep getting side tracked by both life and other video games particularly Final Fantasy 7.


----------



## holland

I'm playing a game developed by my friends - it's silly, moderately difficult and free for Android and Windows Phone


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Dying Light on PS4


----------



## Vince W

Phaëton. A game mentioned in Armada and based on the book. Available for iPhone and Android and online with the Unity player.

http://phaetongame.com/game


----------



## Anushka Mokosh

Age of Mythology like always.
Deadpool
Tekken 5
Mortal Kombat Armageddon


----------



## Vince W

Asteroids. Joust. Defender.


----------



## HanaBi

I still have a fully workable Sinclair ZX81 and Sinclair Spectrum 48K.

Unfortunately even though I still have an old-fashioned tape recording machine, most of the tapes the Sinclair games come on, have long since perished. 

But last night, I got "*3D Monster Maze*" up and working on my '81.

An incredibly addictive game, but also very scary too. The only problem is navigating using the membrane keyboard; the other problem is the 16K RAM pack fixed with BluTac to the back of the computer. One hard nudge and the game crashes  because the RAM pack lost connectivity. Which then means having to load the game all over again from tape

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Monster_Maze


----------



## Vince W

You can play a lot of old games like this online in emulators Hana.

http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/zx81/emulate.php?track=3DMonsterMaze.tzx.zip@0&title=3D Monster Maze

But I agree, there's something very special about playing them on the original hardware.


----------



## HanaBi

Agreed. I've played quite a few emulators over the years for the 81, Spectrum, Oric, Vic20 etc.

But as you say, there is something rather reassuring about playing a game on the original hardware - despite all the problems of loading and playing


----------



## Venusian Broon

Well, as I've been at a tiny bit of a loose end waiting for all the mechanics of selling a house to go through, I re-discovered my PS1 and have been blitzkrieging through Europe with _Panzer General_. It surprises me how addictive this game can be, despite it's relative simplicity (or perhaps despite it's complexity - not sure.)

However for the first time ever, I managed to get a major win in France and got to do Sealion '40 - plus on the same campaign got to Washington and defeated the US. There I can say my life hasn't been a total waste then having finally achieved that after a few decades.


----------



## BigBadBob141

Supreme Commander 2, it's a blast!!!


----------



## EJ Heijnis

Venusian Broon said:


> Well, as I've been at a tiny bit of a loose end waiting for all the mechanics of selling a house to go through, I re-discovered my PS1 and have been blitzkrieging through Europe with _Panzer General_. It surprises me how addictive this game can be, despite it's relative simplicity (or perhaps despite it's complexity - not sure.)
> 
> However for the first time ever, I managed to get a major win in France and got to do Sealion '40 - plus on the same campaign got to Washington and defeated the US. There I can say my life hasn't been a total waste then having finally achieved that after a few decades.



Panzer General was my very first strategy game. My dad bought it for me for a birthday, so I was a no-show for most of the party. I really liked how your performance affected the direction of the campaign, and how you could even spend Prestige to decide where you would fight next. The game even let you avoid diverting forces from the first Moscow drive, giving you a chance to finish the Soviets early. Once I'd played the campaign a few times, my favorite thing to do was play the early scenarios as the Allies and hold back the Nazis in Poland, France and Norway. 

These days, I don't have much time to play between a full-time job and developing my writing career, but what time I get goes into Distant Worlds and War In The Pacific: Admirals Edition. And maybe the occasional Bridge Commander skirmish.


----------



## Michael Coorlim

Just started playing Fallout 3 again. Using the Tale of Two Wastelands mod, which blends F3 and New Vegas into one long game using the New Vegas engine. 

I was going to do a series of Let's Play videos, but my computer is too old and slow to provide good footage, so I'm doing a narrative epistolary blog series involving lots of screenshots instead.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Preparing yourself for Fallout 4?


----------



## Michael Coorlim

You know it.

Not that my laptop is going to be able to run it, mind you. I need to update my rig.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Destiny


----------



## HoopyFrood

In a shocking turn of events, I'm playing Skyrim again. I was trying to go for a slow and steady pace this time, staying around Riverwood and doing things properly...But it's just not my style.

I also played through Diablo III. Really enjoyed it, a meaty game that gave me lots of playing hours just on the main campaign. I had it up to Master level by the final fight, so it was a real challenge which was frustrating but fun.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I hope there isn't such a long wait to the next Elder Scrolls game. From Skyrim to Fallout 4 will be almost exactly four years. I'd prefer not to wait until 2019 for Elder Scrolls VI...


----------



## SilentRoamer

Well I'm playing a few things, I generally only play a couple of hours a week:

PC - Skyrim (Vanilla) I never played it until a few months ago so I bought it on Steam and played it a bit.
PC - Rage of Mages 2 (Yeah I know it's old but I still love it)
PC - X-Com (1994 version) Old school game working on my long term Superhuman level.
Phone - Emulating Final Fantasy 7 - Completed game a load of times and nice to play when I have 5-10 mins.
PS4 - GTAV - played a few hours on this. Should probably play more.


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

Finally tackling Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Director's cut). I'm playing it on hard but should probably have chosen the hardest level. Really enjoying it though.


----------



## Wo7f

Mad Max
Finished Craft the World (darn addicting app game. curse those needy dwarves!)


----------



## EJ Heijnis

What time I get goes into War In The Pacific: Admiral's Edition, which is by far the grandest game I've ever played. It's the entire Pacific theater, played as either Allies or Japan, and you're in control of individual ships, squadrons, regiments, and so forth. But you'd better keep them fueled and supplied. And watch the morale. And fatigue. And get your ships withdrawn to other theaters on time. And so forth... Playing the whole thing start to finish, even against the AI, can take over a year. Your mouse hand gets a workout in the process, because the developers never really embraced the whole "right-click" concept, but it's a strategic challenge unlike any other I've heard of. There's also a very active player community that produced a handful of exceptionally good mods to an already stellar game. Highly recommended... If you're into that kind of thing.


----------



## Vaz

thaddeus6th said:


> I hope there isn't such a long wait to the next Elder Scrolls game. From Skyrim to Fallout 4 will be almost exactly four years. I'd prefer not to wait until 2019 for Elder Scrolls VI...



Too right.

I'm currently re-playing Skyrim on my Xbox 360 and loving it, I fully expect the next one to be awesome.

I'm also re-playing the Gears of War trilogy and Lollipop Chainsaw which is Bats*** crazy, Got to love Suda 51 games


----------



## Vince W

Returned to Mechwarrior Online after a long hiatus. I love this game too much I think.


----------



## yorelm

thaddeus6th said:


> I hope there isn't such a long wait to the next Elder Scrolls game. From Skyrim to Fallout 4 will be almost exactly four years. I'd prefer not to wait until 2019 for Elder Scrolls VI...


I almost wouldn't mind the wait if it was released wo about a thousand bugs. Though I admit, when ES V was released, it had some of the funniest bugs I'd ever seen--like floating mammoths.


----------



## yorelm

Right now I'm playing Dead State. Thought at first it was just another zombie game, but it turned out fairly deep. I didn't expect the strategy aspect.


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded Star Wars Uprising the other day. It's ok, but I haven't played it too much.


----------



## Phyrebrat

yorelm said:


> I almost wouldn't mind the wait if it was released wo about a thousand bugs. Though I admit, when ES V was released, it had some of the funniest bugs I'd ever seen--like floating mammoths.



Nice! I've been pulling my face off with some of the bugs on AC: Unity. I can't say how many times I've been doing bloody excellent assassining only to have Arno sink up to his knees in the ground. And the free run mechanics can be perfect at times and dreadful at others.

I've put Alien Isolation aside for the time being. It was increasing my risk of heart attack. I'm quite early on in the game and seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in lockers or under trolleys praying for deliverance.

pH


----------



## HoopyFrood

Haha, @No One was like that with Alien. I am very aware that I would not survive that game, so I won't be playing it.

I bought him an Xbox One for his upcoming birthday which we've cracked out already. And it's October and for some reason this time of year is always Minecraft for me, so I'm playing that. Made a proper Grand Design on a mountaintop. 

We also have the new Batman Arkham Knight which I'll probably play at some point. I do enjoy the Batmans. I think Origins has been my favourite, though.


----------



## Wo7f

Uncharted 1
Uncharted 2
Metal Gear Solid 5


----------



## Vaz

Phyrebrat said:


> I've put Alien Isolation aside for the time being. It was increasing my risk of heart attack. I'm quite early on in the game and seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in lockers or under trolleys praying for deliverance.



Great game.  The Nostromo DLC was also excellent


----------



## Vince W

Blade Runner. The 1997 game from Westwood.


----------



## Wo7f

Assassins Creed Unity. Need to finish it up before Syndicate comes out.


----------



## Heir

I completed Halo 5 on Legendary solo! I have no idea how many people care about that game, but I have to say of all the Halo's since Halo 2, it's probably had the best campaign IMHO. But as much as I love Halo, I mainly got it as filler until next Tuesday. I can't wait for Fallout 4!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not my game (not had an Xbox and also not into FPS games) but I've also heard that Halo 5 is one of the better games in the franchise.

Unfortunately, you must wait for Fallout 4, and so must I. Just hope it gets delivered on the day. Or before. I would accept early delivery.


----------



## Heir

thaddeus6th said:


> Not my game (not had an Xbox and also not into FPS games) but I've also heard that Halo 5 is one of the better games in the franchise.
> 
> Unfortunately, you must wait for Fallout 4, and so must I. Just hope it gets delivered on the day. Or before. I would accept early delivery.


What are you getting it on? PS4 or PC?


----------



## thaddeus6th

PS4. 

Not sure if I'll bother with the mods, but I do think it's excellent they're coming to consoles.


----------



## Heir

Yeah, I was going to mention that. I tried using the GECK on PC for Fallout 3 years ago, but I never understood it. My friend who's a lot better with that stuff also didn't get it. He said it's basically a proper developers kit and you'd have to either already understand it, or churn out the time to learn. I won't be doing either, but mods in general are quite fun. 

Mods or no, I'm confident it will be a great game.


----------



## Wo7f

How about what WILL I be playing- Fallout 4!


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'll be playing that too.

I'm still hoping Amazon bugger up the order, send it too early by mistake, then send me a £100 gift card as recompense for the trauma of the unexpected early delivery.

Incidentally, beware of spoilers. Apparently, everything up to and including the main quest's ending has been leaked, so if you see any (even legit) videos, such as the trailer released yesterday, don't check the comments.

Got a build in mind? I'm thinking of a female sniper. This is because I strongly endorse diversity, and also like killing people without them even realising they're in danger.


----------



## Heir

thaddeus6th said:


> Got a build in mind? I'm thinking of a female sniper. This is because I strongly endorse diversity, and also like killing people without them even realising they're in danger.


Thanks for the warning. And I only saw the trailer today, and I can safely say the hype is real! 

I always play as a female character to start off in RPGs. It's just something I do, and honestly, considering what I write that's not very surprising. I'm not sure about what particular build I'll have. I tend to always make my characters charismatic, and good at whatever seems to be the best fit for that character. So many an energy weapons expert, or maybe the next samurai, or perhaps a one punch man(or woman). I dunno. I normally play those kinds of things by ear.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I recently bought Dragon Age Inquisition on a whim because I wanted a new game, despite having not played any of them before. And Jesus, it feels like a massive game. I'm not even entirely sure I'm doing things in the right order, or if there even is a 'right order'. It's interesting for me, though, I've spent most of my life being the second person to get to play a game so already seen what to do and where to go, so in this one I'm actually having to take my time and learn stuff.

We've got Fallout 4 preordered and apparently it's already been dispatched so we may end up getting it early. I am probably about the lose @No One for a month as he's the Fallout nut. I could never get into them for some reason, always much preferred the Elders, but maybe this time I will.

Sniper is always my favorite type to play, I love picking people off from miles away. And it's so satisfying to take them down with one headshot.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I prefer Elder Scrolls (only played Fallout 3, mind), but Fallout 4 does look good.

Brilliantly, despite checking my pre-order a week or two ago, I got the payment wrong, so I had to update that Saturday morning and it hasn't dispatched yet. Serves me right for not investing more in Intelligence.

Inquisition is very big. I think cutting back on the fetch quests and spending more time making the quests feel more important would've been an improvement, though. What race did you go for? Although it was delayed, that allowed for the addition of the Qunari race, which is a very good addition.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I tried Fallout 3 and I think my problem is I get bored during the Vault bit so by the time I get out my interest has abated. Whereas Skyrim, it's just -- holy heck, I'm about to be executed, s*it, bloody great dragon, now I'm running for my life! 

I started with a Qunari as I love giant characters, but I don't have much patience for character building so she ended up looking a bit odd...So I restarted and went with an elf who is rather cute but also looks perpetually worried.


----------



## Heir

The vault is a bore. I remember saying to my friend who'd urged me to play it, that it was boring. But because I'd seen gameplay I knew what the potential was. In terms of immediacy, Fallout NV was semi-immediate. There's no vault level, and it opens with you being shot in the head, but it's not as immediate into the action as Skyrim is. Then again, Fallout 4 seems like it's going to open with your home about to be destroyed. Not sure if that's going to do the trick for you, but I know it's certainly more immediate than Fallout 3.


----------



## thaddeus6th

My only concern with elves in Inquisition is that they look malnourished, or possibly anorexic. Slender = fine, but they look like their chests could be mistaken for glockenspiels.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Oh yeah, they're described as 'lithe' but I often wonder how my elf manages to lift her staff with those twiggy arms.


----------



## Wo7f

I went for the Qunari female. She was awesome. I did want to replay as an elf and get different types of interaction, but never got around to it.
I got to check out Fallout 4 this morning. Looks pretty cool so far. 
I'm also half hooked on Banished. I'm finding it difficult keeping the villagers alive. First they freeze, then they starve, then they won't build what they need so they can live longer.  Hmm... what am I doing wrong? I know. I'm not playing Fallout 4. Goodbye Banished, for now anyway. Hello new Charisma, Science, Sniper.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Fallout 4 was meant to come yesterday, but some sort of delay means it was, er, delayed. Hope to get it today.

In Inquisition, it's nice to see more variety based on your race compared to Origins (where, admittedly, you got a specific prologue but after that there were few mentions of it).


----------



## HoopyFrood

Well, after watching @No One play it, I've now started Fallout 4! I've literally only just started, just got out of the Vault, but the starting was the right level of action for me. I've already sworn vengeance. I've made my lady look nice and worn and angry so I'm looking forward to taking her out as a lone wanderer, stalking the land, sorting shiz out.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

_Fallout 4_ is one of the games I'm looking forward to, but I've only ever played the Bethesda games as mod engines; the actual base game story and gameplay never really gripped me that much, and I really hated the level scaling in the more recent ones ('Hey, congratulations, you just got more powerful. Guess what? So did all the monsters!'). So I'll be waiting until there are hundreds of mods and it's available cheap on Steam with all the DLCs included.

I actually liked the Vault intro on _Fallout 3_--my only real complaint about it was that you can't convince the girl to become a companion of some kind--but I found the start of _New Vegas_ really tedious. Lot of time listening to the doctor guy blathering on about stuff I already know from earlier games, when I just wanted to be out there shooting rad-beetles.

Still slowly working through _Shadow of Mordor_, and swearing at the developers on a regular basis.

Escort mission. Ugh.

Compulsory stealth mission. Ugh.

Escort mission with compulsory stealth. What were they thinking?

I'm guessing that they put these things in to show that they expect you do to a lot of the missions by stealth rather than by running in and killing everything, but it's annoying when I could run in and kill anything much faster than I can stealth around to avoid killing them.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just started Fallout 4 (after some faffing with the delivery...). Early days (don't have enough time to dive properly into the settlement stuff, which is a shame), but liking it a lot so far.

Combat feels much tenser than 3. I think it's not only because VATS is slow motion rather than a total pause, but the way enemies can appear. Atmospherically, it's working well.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Ah, I did wonder about the VATS as I seemed to recall it pausing in previously games. 

I haven't fought anything but roaches yet but I foresee ghouls scaring the crap out of me. Also I watched No One have an epic battle in the power suit with something terrifying and unexpected, hopefully you'll get to experience that soon


----------



## Foxbat

Morrowind. Picked it up for a pittance on GOG yesterday.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, it strangely amuses me that we have people playing a Bethesda RPG released not a week ago, and a Bethesda RPG released over a decade ago.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Written an early, spoiler-free review of Fallout 4: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/fallout-4-ps4-first-impressions.html

Short version would be that it's very good.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Ha, it strangely amuses me that we have people playing a Bethesda RPG released not a week ago, and a Bethesda RPG released over a decade ago.


I'm a Scot that lives up to the stereotype. 
My sporran is Fort Knox Ecosse


----------



## Davidjb

Just beat Baal on Diablo 2 and he was easier than Diablo which was a relief. Is Diablo 3 any good?


----------



## Wo7f

David said: Is Diablo 3 any good?

I liked Diablo 3. You should try it out. 


As for those playing Fallout 4, I'm really slow when it comes to these types of games (finding stuff to buff up your perks) because I search every nook and cranny. Loving it so far.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I tend to do that as well.

It's particularly worth it in this game for the collectibles.


----------



## biodroid

Fallout 4 on PS 4. Lovely...


----------



## SilentRoamer

I really fancy getting Fallout 4 for my PS4 it looks lovely. Fallout 3 was great.

I might treat myself at Christmas.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I was less taken with Fallout 3, but 4 is excellent. It's better than Skyrim (I think), and may be better than The Witcher 3 (right now I'd probably say The Witcher has it, but we'll see how that stands when I finish the main quest). 

As mentioned in my review (link on prior page), the depth of the companions was the most pleasant surprise.


----------



## SilentRoamer

Ill be honest. I bought a PS4 and I have played a grand total of no more than 10-20 hours on it combined across the games I have played. Little bit of GTA, little bit of AA: Black Flag. I really should start playing it - especially now I am at an age in my life where I have good disposable income.

Alas in an evening I just CBA!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Get The Witcher 3 as well. 'tis an excellent game.


----------



## Davidjb

Wo7f said:


> David said: Is Diablo 3 any good?
> 
> I liked Diablo 3. You should try it out.


Thanks, I may do that although just started Diablo 2 as a barbarian so may be a while


----------



## Heir

thaddeus6th said:


> Written an early, spoiler-free review of Fallout 4: http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/fallout-4-ps4-first-impressions.html
> 
> Short version would be that it's very good.


I just finished it yesterday... I feel a void. This is an odd feeling. I've not felt like this from a game for ages. The reason why it's particularly odd, is because Fallout is a game where you can have multiple playthroughs, but somehow, I feel like I have made the best playthrough I'd ever make on this game and that I shouldn't bother doing another one. Especially since there's no level cap. I think I'll just keep building up this character until I make her so powerful, she's essentially a Goddess. And I'm sure the first expansion isn't too far off. 

What a game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I had a similar feeling to that with The Last Of Us, although obviously that's much more linear. 

Hard to say what I'll do when my character does the main quest and most of the other stuff that grabs my fancy. I like the absence of a level cap and the ability to boost stats as well as acquire perks upon levelling.


----------



## HoopyFrood

RE: Diablo III, I recently played through the whole thing (without playing any of the previous ones, story of my life when it comes to games) and really enjoyed it. I found I kept cranking up the difficulty quite often as my character got mad-powerful but I quite enjoyed that. The relentless smashing of demons was very fun and the final fight was a real challenge. 

So yeah, I am well into Fallout 4. I think it's safe to say that I am finally enjoying a Fallout  I haven't moved all that far through the main quest yet because I am loving the settlement part of it all. Recently got the Castle and am kitting that out (I had to fight the big beastie three times because the quest kept bugging straight after -- it seems that whenever something does bug like that you just have to keep going until it sorts itself out). I've also got another five or six settlements around, four of which are doing pretty well and I've got recruitment signals up to start filling them out. 

Also just joined the Brotherhood of Steel last night because they enticed me with their massive balloon.


----------



## thaddeus6th

That makes it sound dirty...

"I'll dress up in power armour for you, but only because your balloon is soooo big."

I've also just got the Castle. Took me a while; I had to perfect my Fleeing Mongoose combat style to win the battle. I've only really enswankified Sanctuary, though I've made a few improvements to one or two other places. 

Didn't have a bug, fortunately. What platform are you on (I'm PS4)?


----------



## HoopyFrood

Heh, I may have deliberately made that sound saucey. But it is massive. That was an awesome bit, stepping out onto the roof and seeing that go overhead. 

There was a great deal of hiding behind walls and lobbing grenades during that bit, I will admit. As well as eating my entire stock of food because that vomit crap was deadly. 

I'm on the XBox. Every time she died and it told me to meet the Minutemen in the Courtyard, Preston had fecked off elsewhere. The first couple of times I tried to follow him to where he was but he just kept skipping around. Finally I just plugged in the radio and fast travelled a couple of times and he turned up where he was supposed to be.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I also used grenades (my hoarding tendencies helped a lot, as I had a stockpile).

No issues on the PS4, though I'm sure there'll be console-specific bugs elsewhere.


----------



## Heir

HoopyFrood said:


> Also just joined the Brotherhood of Steel last night because they enticed me with their massive balloon.


Admit it, the moment you saw them arrive was epic. Hopefully you had the radio off and heard the soundtrack. From that moment, I was their pawn. But... well... at least I _was_ until something changed. That's part of what made my playthrough so dramatic. Whenever you guys finish the game, be sure to say what you done in the end. I'd be really interested to see how much our conclusions differed. 

The choice I made in the end was painful.

But I have no regrets. I didn't do it for glory. No greater good, no just cause. All for revenge.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Just had Star Wars Battlefront delivered! Woohoo!


----------



## ralphkern

Currently playing Star Craft: Legacy of the Void.

Have to say a little dissapointed. I'm just playing it for the resolution to the character arcs which started nearly twenty years ago.


----------



## Phyrebrat

crooksy73 said:


> Just had Star Wars Battlefront delivered! Woohoo!



Yup, I've been playing this since release (so far stats say I have clocked in 37 hours, but most of that has been in Fighter Squadron). I'm very impressed with the fluidity and fidelity, but it seems a bit lite compared to BF 1 & 2, and there is little finesse to playing outside of Fighter Squadron. IGN or someone said that this is a game you shouldn't expect to stay alive in, and will be respawning at least 10 times. To me that's just clumsy and imbalanced. Most people are complaining about the DLC model for this title but I suppose that is the way gaming is going these days. I just wish it were a bit more diverse.

As for MP idiot bugbears: when you power up as Slave 1 or MF, and some total ****hat kamikazes the MF or Slave 1 into you for a cheap kill. It really bugs me.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Got frustrated with Star Wars Battlefront, some amazing moments but too many frustrating ones for me.

Back to something much more to my tastes with the new DLC for Bloodborne: The Old Hunters - and my goodness on NG+ it's tough!


----------



## SilentRoamer

Got Fallout 4 for Christmas from my significant other.

Really enjoying it so far which I am relieved about (especially considering my disappointment in Fallout:NV


----------



## juelz4sure

SilentRoamer have you come across any major glitches? Fallout:NV was absolutely riddled with them so much I stopped playing all together. I just picked up Shadows of Mordor, haven't had a chance to play it but looking forward to it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not SilentRoamer (obviously  ) but I didn't encounter many glitches with Fallout 4. The biggest would be the game freezing and refusing to advance past a certain point. However, this was 15-20 minutes in (I had to create a new character) and has only happened on that occasion.


----------



## juelz4sure

Thanks thaddeus6th than that's is a definite pick up for me. I loved fallout 3. So ill give them another chance.


----------



## SilentRoamer

Yeah I am referring to the PS4 version but so far I only have 1 noticeable bug:

When building a lot of food resources close to each other you lose the ability to move individual items (I noticed this building rows of Tato plants) and it means Sanctuary Hills now has a load of Tato plants.

I only have 15 Settlers in Sanctruary Hills so hoping as this fills up and the Tato plants get assigned (only a dozen or so need assigning) that I can then remove them and replace with Mutfruits.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Bought _Skyrim_ in the 2014 Steam Christmas Sale, and actually started playing it over Christmas 2015 .

Have completely lost track of the story, and just exploring and having fun with mods, instead. Still wondering why Sabre-Tooth Tigers are more of a threat than dragons.


----------



## juelz4sure

You'll love it I'm waiting to get a new tv so I can hook the xbox up and play it some more! I've beaten it but there are still some more places to finish discovering. Can't wait for the next one, I'm not a big fan of mmorpgs which is why I probably v won't get the last one they came out with.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Dark Souls 2 for PS4. Completed it on PS3 and heard it's a slightly different experience on PS4 so thought I'd give it a go after picking it up cheaply on EBay


----------



## thomas sweetman

Playin witcher 3 wild hunt. Enjoying it


----------



## thaddeus6th

A few hours into Banner Saga, the PS4 version. One bug (occasionally combat just goes into a mini-loop during an enemy turn), but otherwise enjoying it rather a lot.


----------



## Khalid M

Slowly going through Trails in the Sky Second Chapter. A bit slow pace but the character interactions are sooo endearing, thanks to some really well written (and translated) dialogues.


----------



## Bugg

Decided (finally) to give Star Wars The Old Republic a go.  I've been playing for about three weeks now and I'm loving it


----------



## Chris Guillory

Thought I was done with Assassin's Creed, but some co-workers were talking about Unity so I gave it a go. I found myself liking it. Maybe I'll get Syndicate when I'm done.


----------



## Dangur

Shadow of Mordor. Enemies spawn faster than rabbits if you dont take care of the chief but it gets hard because so many enemies spawn.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Had a go at Shadow of Mordor, didn't really take to it. Thought Dark Souls and Bloodborne took more thought before going into battle rather than button bashing which I found I was doing with Shadow of Mordor


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Dangur said:


> Shadow of Mordor. Enemies spawn faster than rabbits if you dont take care of the chief but it gets hard because so many enemies spawn.



It's one of the rare games that starts hard and gets much easier as you progress and gain new abilities.


----------



## Camiedee

Right now, I'm playing through dragon age inquisition, and am still loving it. Bioware are my favourite game developer and they can do no wrong.


----------



## Chris Guillory

So...Xcom 2 came out. I don't have anything that can run it, so I started playing the first one for the first time. I was loving it until I realized that I wasn't upgrading my weapons properly, and got to a point where I can't go further and will have to start over. When this reality sunk in nice and good, I ordered the Fire Emblem game and will pick it up tomorrow. When the Xcom scars have healed, I will go back.

Thanks for listening.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, we've all made mistakes like that, I think.

The other kicker is when your top team get brutally slaughtered, and you face the dreaded dilemma of loading an old save and being a bit of a cheat, or playing on with Rookie McN00blet and other raw recruits.

Still hoping XCOM 2 comes out for consoles. It looks (performance issues aside) fantastic.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

_Life Is Strange_. Not the kind of game I thought I'd like, but I bought it when it was cheap in a Steam sale a while back, because of the good reviews. So far it feels a bit like _Pathologic_, in that you spend much of the game having to pick the least bad choices, which are often the choice the other characters think is the worst.

I believe it's currently Tuesday, and I'm wondering how the heck I'm going to save the town and prevent half the kids from killing themselves or each other by Friday.

Though if they decide to kill Nathan, I won't stop them. Except he'll probably turn out to be vital to saving the town, and we'll all die.


----------



## Caledfwlch

Edward M. Grant said:


> Bought _Skyrim_ in the 2014 Steam Christmas Sale, and actually started playing it over Christmas 2015 .
> 
> Have completely lost track of the story, and just exploring and having fun with mods, instead. Still wondering why Sabre-Tooth Tigers are more of a threat than dragons.



I had a theory about your woes and a quick google confirmed what I was thinking - Dragon Breath is at least partially Magical, which suggests then, that you don't have much resistance to magic, via either yourself, or your armour - either next time you level up try for the Magic Resistance Perk, or for example, Smith or buy yourself amulets or rings that increase your resistance, or indeed, get a piece of your Armour Enchanted with Resistance. 

How many Mods are you running? Last time I played I had somewhere between 50-60 Mod's installed!!!
Its been a couple years since I played, due to gaming pc blowing up, so I don't know if it's changed, but as you say you bought the Game from Steam, I assume you get your mods via Steam Workshop?

The chances are the best Mods have also been stuck onto Workshop, but just in case they have not, go to Skyrim Nexus, a wonderful site for mod downloads, I was using Nexus way back in Oblivion days, nearly 10 years ago iirc!
If you sign up (for free) so you have a user account with Nexus, you can download the Nexus Mods App, so unless a Mod requires complex additional installs such as Script Extender, most Mods are 1 click downloads & installs via the app, it also sticks all your downloaded/installed Mods into categories, and works for multiple games, you just switch the app over to the game you want mods for.

Ones I recommend if you have not run across them:
Skyrim UFO - this is a big overhaul to Followers, it gives you ways of commanding your follower/s, if you give them weapons, armour they will equip it, which does not always happen in Vanilla. lots off stuff like that, it improves their AI a lot.
UFO - Ultimate Follower Overhaul at Skyrim Nexus - mods and community

Better Horsies - I don't recall the mod name, but if you look on nexus & steam workshop, it will likely be one of the highest, if not the highest rated horsie mods - you can change the colours/pattern of your Horsie, iirc it's speed, breed, and how Cowardly it is - he or she in Vanilla would sometimes follow you right in front of that nasty Dragon your about to fight, and become roasted Horsie  it also allows you to call up your Horsie, and iirc, it calls up your Followers Horsies too. Looking quickly at Nexus there's a couple of horsie mods that do stuff like, "maintain up to 30 Horsies, have them follow you" and even adds Guard Dogs to protect your Horsie herd!

I had some really nice texture mods too - like Dragon Bone Plate Armour in Black, with gold highlights, stuff like that.

And then there is the mighty NPC Editor, a standalone app you can use to modify followers or indeed any NPC in the game, with it, you can change how an NPC looks, what skills/perks they have and so on - One of my fave Followers was Mjoll the Lioness, Using NPC Editor, I removed that awful full face tattoo that she has, gave her dark red hair, and purely to save messing around trying to forge or find the right bits and pieces, as I always got her done up in either Daedric or Black Dragon Plate, I gave her one of them as her standard kit for when you meet her. I also had a mod that makes helmets invisible - what's the point in the effort spent making your Character look exactly like you want him or her to look, then ram a helmet over so you can't seem them.....


----------



## Bugg

In addition to my second *XCOM 2* campaign I've finally started *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*.  I thought it was about time - I've had it since day one and contributed to the Kickstarter for it and hadn't been near it 

Also finished *Rise of the Tomb Raider* last week.  Very enjoyable (especially seeing as I got it free!).


----------



## thaddeus6th

Looking forward to Rise of the Tomb Raider coming to PS4 (I like the timed exclusive approach compared to the proper exclusive. Stupid Xbox owners can't play The Last of Us).

I'd like XCOM 2 to come to PS4 as well... and I'm looking forward to Fallout 4's proper survival mode coming in.


----------



## Culhwch

I'm playing far too much *Civilisation Beyond Earth*.


----------



## MWagner

Started playing *Darkest Dungeon* on the weekend. It's fantastic. So gratifying to come across a game that presses all of your buttons. Turn-based. Tactical. Resource-management. Exploration. Incredibly atmospheric. If you like turn-based tactics and/or a dark fantasy theme, it's a must-have.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Culhwch said:


> I'm playing far too much *Civilisation Beyond Earth*.



Is this a Sid Meier Civilisation game or something totally different? I love the pared down civ rev on the PS3 and would love something similar for the ps4. 

pH


----------



## Culhwch

Phyrebrat said:


> Is this a Sid Meier Civilisation game or something totally different? I love the pared down civ rev on the PS3 and would love something similar for the ps4.
> 
> pH



Yep, the latest iteration of the classic Civ games, this one given a SF flavour as humanity has abandoned Earth to colonise a new planet. I believe it is PC exclusive, though, I'm afraid.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Ahhhh thanks. That's a shame. I know the PS3 version really took a bashing from civ fans but I loved it. I expect that's why it's PC only. Too complex key map for console 

pH


----------



## EJ Heijnis

*World of Warcraft* has its hooks in me again, mostly because it's the only game I can play with my wife.


----------



## Foxbat

*Tigers On The Hunt *
For people like me, the Holy Grail of PC gaming has been a proper port of Advanced Squad Leader (  Advanced Squad Leader - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) to the digital realm. Within days of TOTH coming out, a mod was available and the grail has been found.


----------



## Venusian Broon

I've just found *Order of Battle: Pacific *(and the DLC *Morning Sun*) 

Yay! back to hexagonal tiled Panzer general.


----------



## biodroid

Dragon Age: Inquisition for PS 4. Brilliant so far, old school style BioWare RPG I grew up loving.


----------



## thaddeus6th

What race did you go for?


----------



## Bugg

I've finally managed to break *XCOM 2*'s hold over me   I managed it by getting stuck into *Invisible, Inc.* - which I've had since the day it came out last year, but barely looked at.  No idea why that was the case, as I was so looking forward to it in the lead up to its release.  Anyway, turns out it's fantastic.  It's another turn-based strategy game, this time demanding stealth.  It's hard as nails and wonderfully tense.  It's also coming out on PS4 this month 

It's over a week since I played *XCOM 2*.  The twitches are starting to subside.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Caledfwlch said:


> I had a theory about your woes and a quick google confirmed what I was thinking - Dragon Breath is at least partially Magical, which suggests then, that you don't have much resistance to magic, via either yourself, or your armour - either next time you level up try for the Magic Resistance Perk, or for example, Smith or buy yourself amulets or rings that increase your resistance, or indeed, get a piece of your Armour Enchanted with Resistance.



Thanks! Sorry, forgot to reply until now. Actually, I have the opposite problem, that dragons seem easier to handle than sabre-toothed cats. But that may be because I mostly sit back and snipe at dragons with a bow, so I don't get hit much. I noticed something on the startup screen recently saying the cats are vulnerable to poison, so maybe that's what I've been doing wrong.



> How many Mods are you running? Last time I played I had somewhere between 50-60 Mod's installed!!!



Not sure, but I backed them up the other day and found I had 60GB of mods installed . Not all of them in every game profile, though.



> Its been a couple years since I played, due to gaming pc blowing up, so I don't know if it's changed, but as you say you bought the Game from Steam, I assume you get your mods via Steam Workshop?



Some. Most of them I've downloaded from the Skyrim nexus and installed with Mod Organizer. That's pretty neat, because I can have completely different Skyrim overhaul mods installed for different game profiles. The more realistic overhauls really are brutal, to the point where I had to take a couple of followers along to survive.

Of course, that means that, after over 200 hours in the game, my highest character is still only level 16...



> Better Horsies - I don't recall the mod name, but if you look on nexus & steam workshop, it will likely be one of the highest, if not the highest rated horsie mods - you can change the colours/pattern of your Horsie, iirc it's speed, breed, and how Cowardly it is - he or she in Vanilla would sometimes follow you right in front of that nasty Dragon your about to fight, and become roasted Horsie



I realized last night--when my character was tired and overloaded with loot and barely crawling along--that, unlike Oblivion, I'd never actually bought a horse in Skyrim, because I'd either used fast travel or the Touring Carriages addon to travel long distances. I should probably install that mod and buy one!

Hoping to try it out in VR with a treadmill later this year. If I can walk from one end of Skyrim to the other in VR, I'll be good for this generation of the technology. And thinner.


----------



## Bugg

*Galactic Civilizations III*.  I'd been playing the previous game in the series recently, which is about 10 years old now, and looking at GalCiv3 longingly on Steam, wishing it would come down in price cos I didn't want to pay £29.99 for it.  Then I found that it's available via Amazon for around £8.  Bought it, popped DVD in drive, entered game key into Steam and voila, me happy  

Of course, *Stellaris *is out in a couple of weeks, so I'm glad I didn't pay full price for GC3


----------



## Chris Guillory

Loved Witcher 3 but never played the second game. Now that it's available to play on Xbox One, I'm giving it a shot. It's always a gamble playing the older game after the newer one.


----------



## Gawian

The Division on PS4. 
Despite reading several hinky reviews, I took a risk and bought it.

Overall though, I'm quite happy with it. OK, the character customisation is a bit lacking, and the vanity outfits all look too similar, but that's all superficial.
Gameplay wise, it's pretty good.


----------



## Bugg

*Stellaris*.  My Claw Collective (a despotic empire of space cats from the planet Furball) got about 150 years in when an empire of space parrots decided to declare war on them (anything to prove the IGN review wrong, I suppose!) and promptly annihilated the wimpy Claw fleet and attacked their home system.  As I'm only learning the game at the moment I decided to load a save from a few hours beforehand and see if I could do things better. I'm roughly up to the same point now and the space parrots are making noises (squawks, mainly) so I expect war is imminent, again. I'm making lots of mistakes but I'm thoroughly enjoying myself!


----------



## Venusian Broon

*Fallout 4 *for the PC. I know, I know. I'm really slow. I'm not swayed by hype (most of the time) and usually pick up games way after they first arrive.

First impression - you can use all that junk you collect! Wa-hey! And getting killed a lot by booby traps and simple mobs. Need to level up and slap on a bit of armour I think...


----------



## SilentRoamer

Venusian Broon said:


> *Fallout 4 *for the PC. I know, I know. I'm really slow. I'm not swayed by hype (most of the time) and usually pick up games way after they first arrive.
> 
> First impression - you can use all that junk you collect! Wa-hey! And getting killed a lot by booby traps and simple mobs. Need to level up and slap on a bit of armour I think...



Hey - I'm level 85 on Fallout4 and been working on a huge castle in my main Sanctuary Hills Settlement. I'm a sucker for resource games and a sucker for FPS games so I was always doomed with this one!

When I upgrade SFFDen after my holiday I am going to be hosting some native videos showcasing my settlement build!

At the point I am in the game I can encounter Super Mutant Primus and Chameleon Deathclaws with insane HP - the Super Mutants in particular becomes insanely difficult to kill whilst doing no damage on you at all lol


----------



## Venusian Broon

SilentRoamer said:


> Hey - I'm level 85 on Fallout4 and been working on a huge castle in my main Sanctuary Hills Settlement. I'm a sucker for resource games and a sucker for FPS games so I was always doomed with this one!
> 
> When I upgrade SFFDen after my holiday I am going to be hosting some native videos showcasing my settlement build!
> 
> At the point I am in the game I can encounter Super Mutant Primus and Chameleon Deathclaws with insane HP - the Super Mutants in particular becomes insanely difficult to kill whilst doing no damage on you at all lol



Right, so I have meet one of the standard Deathclaws, whilst in one of them armour suit thingys in that first mission you stumble across when you leave sanctuary. So that was a lot easier. 

I have played Oblivion and Skyrim (although I haven't yet finished _any_ of the main questlines in any of the Skyrim content, despite running up 900 hours+) so it's all quite similar. But a lotta fun with the gun generator and I'm really looking forward to making a huge base.


----------



## SilentRoamer

Venusian Broon said:


> Right, so I have meet one of the standard Deathclaws, whilst in one of them armour suit thingys in that first mission you stumble across when you leave sanctuary. So that was a lot easier.
> 
> I have played Oblivion and Skyrim (although I haven't yet finished _any_ of the main questlines in any of the Skyrim content, despite running up 900 hours+) so it's all quite similar. But a lotta fun with the gun generator and I'm really looking forward to making a huge base.



Here's a tip when making larges bases - you can probably install a mod that does the same thing but this also works on consoles:

When you hit the build limit you can drop and scrap weapons and armour and it adds them to the build limit. One scrap is one more buildable item. It means you can have sanctuary hills as enormous.

I will be putting a hitns and tips section along with some videos when I finally make the post so hopefully it may come in useful to those just picking it up


----------



## Bugg

Started a game of *Crusader Kings II* playing a Norse Jarl called Haralde, making money by raiding Kent and Essex and leading Alfred the Great's army a merry dance.  Meanwhile, back home one of my vassals is plotting to overthrow my steward, who is also my best friend.  Thinking I should have him executed or banished before he kills either me or my friend.  Or worse, my newborn son and heir.  Hmm, decisions, decisions.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Fallout 4 on Survival Mode. Quite enjoying it, the only thing that irks me a bit is the save-on-sleep mechanic, but I've gotten a few settlements now, so it's not so bad.

I hope the next Elder Scrolls comes with something similar.


----------



## Kieran Song

I'm doing a replay of bloodborne. I love these uber difficult games.


----------



## Venusian Broon

thaddeus6th said:


> Playing Fallout 4 on Survival Mode. Quite enjoying it, the only thing that irks me a bit is the save-on-sleep mechanic, but I've gotten a few settlements now, so it's not so bad.
> 
> I hope the next Elder Scrolls comes with something similar.



ooh survival mode! Looks good. Although I am dying many times anyway in the game I'm playing anyway. I wonder if I should restart everything (I've only done a dozen missions...) or try it after playing it a while at the level I'm on right now. Might be better to get to know the enemies I'm likely to encounter in higher levels.

Agree with you for the Elder Scrolls. Also I hope they put a crafting/hovel building system as good and flexible as Fallout 4 in it. Hearthfire was a bit OCD to try and complete. Spent ages trying to find spots to find fish to stick on the walls in Skyrim.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'd probably make a new character, but it's up to you (NB collecting empty bottles is now useful as you can fill them up to convert them to purified water).

If they have Castle Architect Simulator in Elder Scrolls VI I will play that to death. Then subject it to necromantic magic, and play it some more.


----------



## Allen Teasdale

I've just started a new run of Star Flight (the one from 1986 or so).     It is the bestest game ever made.   Well, that or Wasteland.       I may be stuck in the late 80's when it comes to my video game loves.


----------



## Bugg

Still playing *Crusader Kings II*.  My Norse Jarl called Frederik - who was my first character Haraldr's ******* son (and who turned out to be a damn sight more use than Haraldr's legitimate son, Halfdan, who opposed and raised an army against his father before being beaten and imprisoned like he deserved) - formed the Kingdom of Norway before dying at the age of 52.  His heir Dyre last night subjugated Sweden just in time to fight wars against five separate Catholic armies who'd taken a dislike to him for some reason.  Can't imagine why.  Maybe because he kept throwing their emissaries in the dungeon and leaving them to rot 

Subjugation of Finland planned next.  Fun!


----------



## Bugg

For @thaddeus6th


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'd actually seen that already 

Not too surprising, but good news. I do wonder if mods will be possible.


----------



## Bugg

Well, my Norse kingdom in *Crusader Kings II* collapsed spectacularly upon the death in battle of King Dyre.  It had been going well up to that point.  I'd taken over all of Norway and Sweden and was on the verge of claiming Finland, too.  Too much unrest, too many uprisings, and too many Catholic kingdoms to the south getting annoyed because so many of their bishops were enjoying the hospitality of my dungeons   So they formed a defensive pact against me and then all declared war on me at the same time.  Gaaagh!  Quite amusing to watch it happen, though 

I decided to take a break from it at that point and return to *Stellaris*, where I managed to dig my United Federation of Planets out of the big hole they were in due to an invasion of genocidal swarming creatures from another galaxy, the Plethoryn Scourge.  So that was good.

And last night I might have started *Hearts of Iron IV*, which came out on Monday


----------



## Gawian

I recently started playing *Overwatch*. And now I'm addicted.
Excuse me while I go play my beautiful Pharah baby.


----------



## Bugg

Started a new game of Crusader Kings II with the Game of Thrones mod enabled.  Beginning as Ned Stark.  It probably won't end well . . .


----------



## Phyrebrat

Waiting for Pay Day so I can pick up Mirror's Edge 2 

In the meantime, I'm still hammering away at the trophies for _SW: Battlefront.
_
pH


----------



## Gawian

Phyrebrat said:


> Waiting for Pay Day so I can pick up Mirror's Edge 2


I want Mirrors Edge 2 so bad.... but I'm skint lol. All the time.


----------



## Khuratokh

GOG is having a summer sale. Buy some game bundles, earn some xp, get some free games.

About a week ago I installed the free version I earned of Spelunky HD.
I enjoy the classic version a lot and all it's mods. And have given this a shot.
The interface is slightly different and muscle memory is making an already difficult game almost impossible.
It's just as addictive as the old version though. I will persevere and try to finish the game at least once before moving on to something else. I'm already up to 210 Deaths.

The time of the great dying has recommenced.


----------



## harryjones0071

Back into world of warcraft again - cant seem to leave it for longer than a few months. levelling my horde orc warrior - kulk at 94 now - absolutely brilliant game - start out with the intent to play for 1/2 hour, end up playing with some band of lunatics and attacking some city 8 hours later.... really blizzard have the secret ingredient for game addiction in their algorithms, made from the same stuff as the secret ingredient in coca cola i reckon... 

Im on quel thalas server in EU if anyone wants to come along for the fun - hopefully get a couple of hours in this weekend, in between glastonbury and the soccer on the box ... and reading another Neal Asher book ...


----------



## harryjones0071

EJ Heijnis said:


> *World of Warcraft* has its hooks in me again, mostly because it's the only game I can play with my wife.


 Yea I know the feeling ! Actually starting to get my warrior up to 100, so Im ready for the new expansion legion at end of August. For a new expansion there should be a public holiday - going to need it with all the late nights  
My wife wont play, but my two daughters have played over the years, I wonder they might join in for the expansion too  - I've played since it first came out and it just gets better and better. 

I'll send an email to the government to make it a public holiday -see how that goes


----------



## Bugg

I may have bought:

Endless Legend bundle (including all expansions)
Dungeon of the Endless
Endless Space: Disharmony
Age of Wonders III
Company of Heroes Complete

Damn you Steam, and your Summer Sale


----------



## harryjones0071

ok - must checkout the steam summer sale so


----------



## Bugg

^^ Think it ended on 4th July so you may have missed it.

I'm now completely addicted to Endless Legend - possibly the best 4X game I've played yet.  Looks great, has a wonderfully intuitive and informative UI, and I love the various races and lore.  Dungeon of the Endless is also fantastic, which has completely surprised me as it didn't really sound like my kind of thing.  Maybe my thing has changed 

Haven't played any of the others I bought in the sale as yet (well, that's not strictly true: I played Company of Heroes years ago, and I've played vanilla Endless Space but not the Disharmony expansion).


----------



## Azzagorn

Currently playing Overwatch to death on my Xbox. So much fun.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence on the PS4. Don't play many proper strategy games, being a console peasant, but rather enjoying it.

Unlike the Azai, who made a fatal error incurring the wrath of Saito clan. Asakura: you're next.


----------



## AlexanderSen

Company of Heroes 2 - OMG so much RTS goodness...
Offworld Trading Company - an awesome economic strategy game.
Invisible Inc. - one of the best turn based strategies!


----------



## Bugg

AlexanderSen said:


> Invisible Inc. - one of the best turn based strategies!



That's a really good game - it was my go-to after I'd played XCOM 2 to death earlier this year 


I'm currently addicted to the new *Master of Orion*.  Despite all the bitching and moaning about some aspects of it, I think it's great fun.  Very polished, very intuitive, and some outstanding voice work (from the likes of Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, John De Lancie, Dwight Schultz) means it's got loads of personality (something I couldn't say about other recent space-based 4X-ers).  It's not as complex as some of those other games, but I'm finding that something of a breath of fresh air at the moment.  The AI seems decent to me - even on the Normal difficulty it declares war on me if I expand too close to its borders, or insult it via diplomacy once too often, or even just become friendly with one of its enemies.  

It could do with some work in a couple of places, for sure - the late game micro-management, the planetary invasion mechanics, add a few more events to spice things up occasionally.  The choice to make combat real-time instead of turn-based (like MOO 2) seems to be the main bug-bear but I actually quite like that part as it's more involving than any of the other recent similar games I've played like *Stellaris *and *Galactic Civilizations* (where you just sit back and watch).  Nothing's perfect - but I'm having a whale of time with it.


----------



## Steven Sorrels

For some mindless time-killing, I've been playing *Battleborn.*
I've also been occasionally delving back into *XCOM: Enemy Unknown* and *The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.*


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

I recently played XCOM2 -- I liked it a lot, but found it far too quick and easy. I've gone back into Company of Heroes 2 a little as well, but I don't like it as much as the first one. My main things recently have been Shadowrun: Hong Kong (epic!), KSP (probably needs no introduction) and Life Is Strange (which is ohmygodthebestgameever (apart from Mass Effect)).


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

AlexanderSen said:


> Company of Heroes 2 - OMG so much RTS goodness...
> Offworld Trading Company - an awesome economic strategy game.
> Invisible Inc. - one of the best turn based strategies!



Heh, I was about to add those second two to my Steam wishlist, but they're already there


----------



## Vince W

Bugg said:


> That's a really good game - it was my go-to after I'd played XCOM 2 to death earlier this year
> 
> 
> I'm currently addicted to the new *Master of Orion*.  Despite all the bitching and moaning about some aspects of it, I think it's great fun.  Very polished, very intuitive, and some outstanding voice work (from the likes of Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, John De Lancie, Dwight Schultz) means it's got loads of personality (something I couldn't say about other recent space-based 4X-ers).  It's not as complex as some of those other games, but I'm finding that something of a breath of fresh air at the moment.  The AI seems decent to me - even on the Normal difficulty it declares war on me if I expand too close to its borders, or insult it via diplomacy once too often, or even just become friendly with one of its enemies.
> 
> It could do with some work in a couple of places, for sure - the late game micro-management, the planetary invasion mechanics, add a few more events to spice things up occasionally.  The choice to make combat real-time instead of turn-based (like MOO 2) seems to be the main bug-bear but I actually quite like that part as it's more involving than any of the other recent similar games I've played like *Stellaris *and *Galactic Civilizations* (where you just sit back and watch).  Nothing's perfect - but I'm having a whale of time with it.



I've been looking at *Master of Orion*, but I don't think my computer will run it well enough.

I've been back on *Mechwarrior Online*. It's fun for a while, but then it feels like pointless grinding if I play too long.

I've also been trying to play *Starcraft 2 *on Brutal. It is killing me quickly and often.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Still on Dark Souls 3, what a game!


----------



## Bugg

cyberpunkdreams said:


> I recently played XCOM2 -- I liked it a lot, but found it far too quick and easy. I've gone back into Company of Heroes 2 a little as well, but I don't like it as much as the first one. My main things recently have been Shadowrun: Hong Kong



You found XCOM 2 easy?  Blimey   I played it through on Commander and Legend difficulties and found it rock hard.  It's the game that got me back into gaming, I enjoyed it so much.  According to Steam those two playthroughs took me 118 hours, the only game I've got that's gone anywhere near three digits so far 

Love the Shadowrun games, too.  Dragonfall was excellent.  I'm midway through Hong Kong.





Vince W said:


> I've been looking at *Master of Orion*, but I don't think my computer will run it well enough.



That's a shame.  I didn't realise it was all that demanding, although I suppose there must be a lot of stuff going on 'under the hood'.


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

Bugg said:


> You found XCOM 2 easy?  Blimey   I played it through on Commander and Legend difficulties and found it rock hard.  It's the game that got me back into gaming, I enjoyed it so much.  According to Steam those two playthroughs took me 118 hours, the only game I've got that's gone anywhere near three digits so far
> 
> Love the Shadowrun games, too.  Dragonfall was excellent.  I'm midway through Hong Kong.



Admittedly I've not tried it on the hardest difficulties yet, but I am a veteran of XCOM:Enemy Within with the Long War mod, which was basically impossible. 779 hours sunk into that, according to Steam, and I never managed to complete a campaign. Completing XCOM 2 in ~30 hours was a breeze in comparison. Still fun though, and I loved the soldier customisation.

A lot of people seem to prefer Dragonfall to Hong Kong, but I can't really understand why. Dragonfall was great, but I just found HK exceptional. Maybe it's just me.


----------



## Vince W

Bugg said:


> That's a shame.  I didn't realise it was all that demanding, although I suppose there must be a lot of stuff going on 'under the hood'.



I just took a look at the requirements and it seems my computer will run it passably. There's also a sale where I get MOO 1,2 and 3 as well so I think I'll give this a go.


----------



## Bugg

cyberpunkdreams said:


> Admittedly I've not tried it on the hardest difficulties yet, but I am a veteran of XCOM:Enemy Within with the Long War mod, which was basically impossible. 779 hours sunk into that, according to Steam, and I never managed to complete a campaign. Completing XCOM 2 in ~30 hours was a breeze in comparison. Still fun though, and I loved the soldier customisation.
> 
> A lot of people seem to prefer Dragonfall to Hong Kong, but I can't really understand why. Dragonfall was great, but I just found HK exceptional. Maybe it's just me.



I started playing Long War, and I was enjoying it, but I knew it was going to take so long I'd probably never get anywhere near finishing it.  Might be tempted again if an XCOM 2 version appears, though.

I haven't completed Hong Kong yet, so my favourite may change.  I certainly like the setting in Hong Kong better, and the artwork is so atmospheric.




Vince W said:


> I just took a look at the requirements and it seems my computer will run it passably. There's also a sale where I get MOO 1,2 and 3 as well so I think I'll give this a go.



I also got MOO 1, 2 and 3 with it, and have been playing MOO 2 a bit as well.  It's a shame they don't offer a demo version of the new one to try it out, although I suppose you can get a refund if you  try it and don't want it, so long as you don't play for more than 2 hours.  Good luck, hope you like it!


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'll be getting XCOM 2 at some point, but (being a PS4 player) I may wait a bit, see if a DLC-laden version emerges, as happened with the previous game. I have a horrendous history (even worse with consoles) of buying something a few months before a better version comes out.


----------



## Chris Guillory

I haven't scrolled too far back, but nothing on Deus Ex. Nobody? I'm considering picking it up this weekend, but may just play the Witcher.


----------



## Khuratokh

Chris Guillory said:


> I haven't scrolled too far back, but nothing on Deus Ex. Nobody? I'm considering picking it up this weekend, but may just play the Witcher.


I think the problem with Deus Ex is the one-time-use items you have to pay extra for, the pay to win content and more changes to come with microtransactactions in mind. Which sours the experience of an otherwise competently made game. It also kind of goes against the underlying theme of the Deus Ex franchise.


----------



## sinister42

Bought the latest expansion of World of Warcraft.  The intro quests for the demon hunters and the 100-lvl character entry onto the Broken Isles is pretty cool.  Bored again with the rest of the game already.


----------



## sinister42

I also got scammed into buying the 1/3 of a game that is No Man's Sky.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Was just playing Dirt Rally in VR. It's good fun, but the cars still don't quite feel right: sometimes they go round a corner fine, other times they slide sideways as soon as I hit the brakes. There are probably some settings I need to fiddle with.

Was trying to get Alien Isolation working in VR, but the field of view is too small. Maybe there's a hack for it.


----------



## Bugg

So I may have become addicted to *XCOM Enemy Within* again over the past week, after the conversation up-thread a bit.  Playing on 'classic' difficulty and going down the gene mod route rather than the MEC route.  After this play-through I'm planning on installing the *Long War* mod again and having another go but, having seen the footage of *Endless Space 2* last week, I suspect that may get in the way when it hits Early Access this month


----------



## Venusian Broon

I have finally got round to figuring out Paradox Interactive's _Crusader Kings II. _What a great game.

And yet, sweet mother of god, it can really stick it to you. 

I thought I was doing well: my king hadn't reached 40 yet, he had three sons and I'd got rid of the major claimants to the throne. My demesne size was maxed out, I had a very sizable personal levy and money was pouring in. 

Then the king got pneumonia and died, swiftly followed by the new king _and_ the third son getting leprosy at the same time. So no babies from them and to cap it all the new King got depressed. So essentially he's going to pop off the mortal coil at any point now. Which leaves the second son, who is thankfully healthy, but being 16 has no heirs whatsoever. And in the meantime _all _the other Earls of the country are just a few bad calls away from rebelling. I was actually thankful for England to invade so that everyone would rally round my king.

I think my game is going to end quite soon 

Still brilliant though!


----------



## Bugg

Finished my latest play-through of *XCOM Enemy Within*.  Such a brilliant game.  Now I'm taking a brief break from it and started this:






It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last best hope for peace


----------



## Froboy69

I am thinking about playing an old starwars game. Then again, when I go on deployment I should get as many games as possible from steam for my surface pro.


----------



## thaddeus6th

There are tons of games coming out that look tempting. XCOM 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Skyrim Remastered (if the PS4 version gets survival type mods, unsure if it will), FFXV looks like it might be good despite the ridiculous boy band aesthetic. 

All of you should buy my books so I can afford these games, and the time to play them.

[It annoys me there's a games drought in summer, followed by a flood].


----------



## Old_Man_Steve2016

Bugg said:


> Finished my latest play-through of *XCOM Enemy Within*.  Such a brilliant game.



I suggest using the Jumpstart mod for Long War to better tailor your campaign, especially if you don't want to go through the early outgunned months again. 
JumpStart at XCOM Enemy Unknown Nexus - mods and community


----------



## Bugg

Old_Man_Steve2016 said:


> I suggest using the Jumpstart mod for Long War to better tailor your campaign, especially if you don't want to go through the early outgunned months again.
> JumpStart at XCOM Enemy Unknown Nexus - mods and community



Thanks for that, bookmarked 

I'm just finishing off another playthrough of *Enemy Within* - my third time through but my first time on Classic Ironman.  I think I love it even more this way.  After this I'm almost certain to have another crack at Long War.

Although I am quite tempted to give this a go - has anyone here played it?


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Rise of the Tomb Raider on the PS4.

Enjoying it rather a lot. Gameplay very similar to the previous game, as might be expected, with an expanded crafting section, and I like the addition of learning languages. And there's a small amount of Byzantine history too, which is a welcome and unexpected thing.

I'll review it in due course but I think that'll be a long way off as I'm currently using it as the reward in a behaviourism programme to encourage me to actually do the dreaded proofreading.


----------



## Bugg

Finished my Classic Ironman campaign of *XCOM Enemy Within*.  Hadn't played on Ironman before, now I don't think I could play it any other way - it elevated the whole experience to another level for me.  I only lost six soldiers in the whole campaign, by which I am fairly amazed - and one of those was in the final room of the final mission, when he got mind-controlled and shot dead by one of my own soldiers on overwatch 

Taking a break from turn-based strategy by playing some . . . turn-based strategy.  So I've had a go at *Halfway*, as mentioned above, and *Hard West*, both of which are really good fun and should keep me occupied for a while until XCOM drags me back in (for the inevitable second crack at Long War).


----------



## thaddeus6th

That's an impressive result.

I had a huge Ironman failure on Enemy Unknown. It was my first (also last, I got into other stuff afterwards) attempt and I got a rare but terminal bug on a mission, and that was the end of that.

Not sure if I'll hold off XCOM 2 for a long time, hoping for a full bundle (as per Enemy Within) or get it sooner.

Still really enjoying Rise of the Tomb Raider. Bigger than I'd expected, and the side quests are really well done. The rewards (extra gizmos, upgrades for weapons, a new costume) all give you incentive enough to actually want do them.


----------



## Bugg

Well I somehow managed to start a new XCOM 2 campaign last night, on the second highest difficulty (Commander) in Ironman, using the Long War mods and a bunch of quality of life mods.  So I guess the EU/EW Long War will have to wait (unless I crash and burn in XCOM 2, which is entirely possible!).


----------



## Raman biot

After completing Lollipop Chainsaw(Xbox 360). I've started playing Sword of the Samurai it was originally for MS-DOS though I'm playing the Steam emulation.


----------



## Vladd67

I'm playing a survival game at the moment that is in early access on Steam, Rising World. It is sort of a more realistic looking Minecraft. At the moment the only dangers are animals but I understand NPCs are to be introduced along with dungeons.




Has anyone played Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Management on the PC? It's an updated version of the 90s Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space, I have it on my tablet and it was quite cheap but on steam it is over £20, and in the YouTube videos I have seen I can't see any difference.


----------



## Steven Sorrels

Currently re-examining Star Trek Online now that it has come to Xbox One. Love me some Trek!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ended up getting XCOM 2 sooner than planned. It's more difficult than the first game. Enjoying it, though.


----------



## Bugg

I'm deep into my Commander/Ironman game of XCOM 2.  Going well - only lost five soldiers so far.  I played vanilla first two times through, so this time I'm playing it with the Long War mods (apart from the Long War Toolbox, which seems to conflict with a number of other non-Long War mods).  I'm not quite sure how I made it without a Shinobi in the squad before now.


----------



## thaddeus6th

On the PS4, so modding isn't an issue (note for other players, don't download the Resistance Warrior pack if you get a free download code. Seems a little buggy).

Just lost a great rookie who took out three enemies in her first mission and then got killed when a Faceless [if I got the name right] appeared right next to her. I seem to be losing a lot more soldiers than I did with the previous game.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel


----------



## Steven Sorrels

Been considering going back a few decades and starting a replay of Final Fantasy Tactics.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> On the PS4, so modding isn't an issue



Shame you can't have mods for the console versions, though.  I thought the vanilla game was marvellous, as you know, so it's no big deal - but for replay value, some of the mods make it even more fun 

I finally picked up the Alien Hunters and Shen's Last Gift DLCs last week for £3.99 each, so I'm already planning at least one more playthrough after my current one.


----------



## juelz4sure

Fallout 4 on ps4 and Dark Souls 2 on ps4 as well. Live both games!


----------



## Bugg

Christmas came early.  £249.99 for a 1TB PS4 Slim with Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Remastered, and Drive Club - it was too good a deal to pass up, especially as I'm not paying for it 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M35QSAZ/?tag=brite-21


The only annoying thing was that a few days before this bundle became available I had ordered the 500GB version with Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, plus I'd bought Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us separately - but, happily, I never opened any of them, and Amazon are sending a courier tomorrow to collect the PS4 500GB and the latter two games and I'll get a refund for them.

I've handed all the other games over to my Lord Commander and I'll get them back at Christmas, but I have set up the PS4 and checked it's all working as expected 

In the meantime I'm playing Witcher 3 on pc, as I got the 'game of the year' edition in the Steam sale last week.


----------



## thaddeus6th

That's a great deal. Makes me slightly sick given how bad my timing buying consoles (going back 20 damned years) is. Seriously, people. Watch me. Wait until I buy a console. Then wait 6-18 months for a far better deal to emerge.

The Last of Us is an outstanding game.


----------



## HanaBi

I am playing "*Chuckie Egg*" on my ZX Spectrum Emulator for the PC.

First started playing this during the golden age of home console gaming - 1983/4 on my dedicated 48k ZX Spectrum. 

Hours turned into days; days into weeks..... the most addictive platform game I have played on any console. And still great fun today


----------



## Tulius Hostilius

HanaBi said:


> I am playing "*Chuckie Egg*" on my ZX Spectrum Emulator for the PC.
> 
> 
> First started playing this during the golden age of home console gaming - 1983/4 on my dedicated 48k ZX Spectrum.
> 
> 
> Hours turned into days; days into weeks..... the most addictive platform game I have played on any console. And still great fun today





You are not the only one in a retro mood!


Back in the 80’s with the spectrum I played a fantasy Wargame, turn based, with RPG elements called “Lords of Midnight” than had a sequel called “Doomdarks Revenge”, both by Mike Singleton. You command armies and explore the landscape in a fist person view, and sometimes you feel a bit like a medieval warlord when you try to see some enemy forces in the landscape, or send a small force in a scout mission just to be butchered.


Anyway, recently I found that some fans in a strong community worked the concept and transformed it to an online browser game, respecting the original games (still by turns) and introducing some excellent new features, like caravans with supplies and ships to new scenarios.

For those who want to take a look: Midnight/MU

Edit: Btw, it is important to say that is a free online game without publicity.


----------



## Bugg

So, 20 hours into *Witcher 3* and I'm already thinking it's in the 'Best Game I've Ever Played' vicinity.  Gods, it's good.  Running it on 'ultra' settings and it's jaw-droppingly gorgeous, the evolving quest lines are a cut above other RPGs I've played, it's got loads of fantastic characters (the Bloody Baron!), and Geralt is just too cool for school.  I didn't really like the second game, which is why I held off getting this one for so long, but I'm so glad the Steam sale last week made me cave in.  Starting to wonder if the PS4 will get a look in at Christmas if I haven't finished this (and there's no way I will have finished it by then)  .


----------



## Toby Frost

Thief 2. It's still brilliant. I'm tempted to get Xcom 2 though, if only because you can give your men silly names and hats.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The sillier hats require a DLC, though. That said, XCOM 2 is still an excellent and challenging game. The balance of classes is nigh on perfect.

I reviewed it here: Thaddeus the Sixth: XCOM 2 (PS4) Review


----------



## Bugg

^^  Great review.  Forgot to mention that I finished my Commander/Ironman game before I started on Witcher 3.  






Now I need to play it with the Alien Hunters and Shen's Last Gift dlc.


And I'm still playing Witcher 3 - nearly 80 hours now and still loving it.  Also been playing Inside (which is excellent) on the PS4 for a change of pace.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Only one mission failed is rather good. When I finally (5th full attempt, although I aborted one very early on) completed Ironman on standard difficulty I had 6 failures and just 1 flawless mission.

This one is impressed with your skill.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I can't remember if I ever mentioned that I was playing Dragon Age: Inquisition. I've never played any of the Dragon Ages before and, despite the fact that I play almost exclusively open-world RPGs I don't actually have much patience for the little side-quests and grinding you have to do for a lot of it. HOWEVER. I think having gone so blind into DA:I meant that I had to take my time and get to know stuff and I _really_ got into it, probably more than I ever have in any game. By midway through I _was_ the Inquisitor, trying to make all the decisions I felt like I should (and I loved that element of the game, that I had to make choices and that it would affect the next part of the game) and I loved watching my character progress and become ever more powerful and authoritative.

I mean, I love Skyrim and for pure awesomeness and scope of exploration and just do-whatever-you-want, it's the best. But for me Dragon Age: Inquisition has kicked it into second place because:
- My character felt way more involved and dynamic.
- People actually recognised my character and gave me the respect I deserve 
- There felt like a much greater mix of quest types. I loved faffing about in the Winter Palace, spying on people and eavesdropping.
- I loved my little posse so much  Sometimes I'd just spend my gaming time for the day going around the castle, catching up on all the chat with my friends and doing castle errands.

That's another thing -- loved how many women there were in the game, and how it wasn't any kind of "a woman doing THAT!" kind of crap. With me and my four advisors, it was basically four women and one dude around the war table each time, which is like the inverse to any team in any game or film.

Anyway, so suffice to say, I really enjoyed it.

At the moment I've come out of my usual 6-month hibernation and gone back to Final Fantasy XIV. They are constantly added new patches to it and there's a big expansion due next summer, so plenty to do still.

Also replaying my favourite Halo, Halo: Reach, for the mindless shooting and the odd 'I'm a goddamn badass' assassination of particularly tough Elites.


----------



## Bugg

^^ I just got the Dragon Age: Inquisition GOTY edition in the sale on Origin, so I'm looking forward to that.  I've played the first game but not the second.

It's got to wait in the queue, though, until after I finish Witcher 3 and its expansions, and then Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us.


----------



## Overread

Skyrim is so free and yet hollow at the same time with how the way quests are basically all in their own little world and have almost no effect on the world outside of the quest dungeon - its a shame as they put so much work into such a huge world and I love roaming skyrim and suddenly there's a dragon or a wild sabre cat or a group of people having a fight that I get involved with etc... 

I should get into Dragon Age Inquisition more so - never really pushed that far into it


----------



## thaddeus6th

Inquisition's problem is that it pales beside Origins (first game, as you might expect) which was very, very good indeed. There's a lot I like about Inquisition but they overdid the shopping list quests. The relationships are done very well, and I like the judgements. I just hope they settle down a bit, every Dragon Age game has been quite divergent from the last.

Incidentally, there's a reasonably high chance of a Dragon Age Tactics game (akin to XCOM) in the next year or two.


----------



## Overread

I'd welcome a tactics style game set in fantasy - though yes Dragon Age seems unsure of itself. The first game was a very standard DnD style affair; the second was a DnD light and more hack and slash whilst the third is open world. Quite a lot of changes


----------



## HoopyFrood

Oh god, those tactic games I just do not want to play! I completely ignored the tactics method of fighting in Dragon Age, don't have the patience for it at all! Hack and slash, thanks


----------



## Overread

I do like a bit of hack and slash - though I still maintain that the best is Diablo 2! With Torchlight 2 a close second and Grim Dawn deserves a mention (although its very grim - so grim its almost got a colourless pallet)


----------



## Bugg

^^ Torchlight 2 was great fun in co-op.


----------



## HanaBi

Well I'm going to disappoint you younger game-masters because I was contemplating upgrading my PS2 to a 4, given all the superior games out there.

That said, I haven't really played with PS2 in anger for a good 5 or 6 years, probably due to work and social commitments. So quite recently I was considering a PS4, but I realised I probably wouldn't get that much time to play with that either. Instead I dusted down my "2" and 30 odd games collected over the last 15 years, and knuckled down to some *Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec* (originally released in 2001!)

Still a terrific racing game, with plenty things to do and achieve. So am going to focus on my existing PS2 library of games before thinking of leveling up to a PS4 or 5 (coming soon apparently).


----------



## thaddeus6th

I sometimes go back and play PS2 or even original Playstation. Might have the Mega Drive somewhere, but that would mean searching the spider-infested hell of The Loft.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I still have my N64 in the cupboard that I crack out so that I can play Zelda until I die. In fact they'll probably find my dead body with that odd three pronged controller clutched in my hands, the final credits of Ocarina of Time playing for the 7,000th time.


----------



## HanaBi

thaddeus6th said:


> I sometimes go back and play PS2 or even original Playstation. Might have the Mega Drive somewhere, but that would mean searching the spider-infested hell of The Loft.



I too have a Megadrive buried in my loftspace. Along with a Spectrum, a Commodore Vic-20, a ZX-81 and I think an Atari 2600!

Haven't played with any for years; and probably won't work now given all the dust and moisture up there.


----------



## Bugg

HanaBi said:


> Instead I dusted down my "2" and 30 odd games collected over the last 15 years, and knuckled down to some *Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec* (originally released in 2001!)



I _loved _that game - I played it more than any other game on my PS2 and still rate it as my favourite racing game.


I may have started *Uncharted 4: A Thief's End* over the weekend.  This is the one I really wanted a PS4, er, for and it has not disappointed so far.  I wasn't intending to start it until I finished *The Witcher 3*, but what the hell - I can play both


----------



## HanaBi

Bugg said:


> I _loved _that game - I played it more than any other game on my PS2 and still rate it as my favourite racing game.



It is an incredibly addictive game, especially with the background music giving you that extra bit of a pump as you drift into this tight hairpins and edge yourself into first place and take the flag on the straight. Perfect!

I do have GT4 for the PS2, but haven't got round to that yet.


----------



## the_evil_ted

Got back into Fallout 4 over Christmas and the DLCs on the PS4 - except NukaWorld isn't working properly


----------



## Bugg

I saw that the Long War 2 mod has been officially announced for XCOM 2.  Like I needed another excuse to play it again 

https://xcom.com/news/xcom-2-long-war-2-mod-adds-new-technical-class-on-pc


----------



## the_evil_ted

Bugg said:


> I saw that the Long War 2 mod has been officially announced for XCOM 2.  Like I needed another excuse to play it again
> 
> https://xcom.com/news/xcom-2-long-war-2-mod-adds-new-technical-class-on-pc



I'm waiting on my pc upgrade before tackling it again. But I've downloaded far too many mods - going to have to strip it down. Love this game!


----------



## Bugg

I finished *Uncharted 4* last night.  Wowzer, what a game!  Loved the story, loved the characters and acting, loved the exploration and action, loved the ending, beautiful to look at.  Could've done with a few more puzzles but basically I just loved it 

Next up on PS4: *The Last of Us Remastered*.  I never finished it on PS3 cos it made the console's fans rev up so much I couldn't hear what was going on! 

Might finish the main story of *Witcher 3* first, though.


----------



## Bugg

Long War 2 is out already


----------



## Vladd67

I have just picked up Conan Exiles from Steam. It is an early access game so it should be interesting to see how it develops.


----------



## Lucien21

I just finished replaying Bioshock on the PS4. Love that game.

Currently playing *Kathy Rain *an indie point & click adventure


----------



## Bugg

Finally made a start on *The Last of Us Remastered*, and got past the place I'd last got up to on the PS3 version (which wasn't very far!).  Great game, very intense, but I'm finding it mightily frustrating at times (mainly due to my ongoing inability to aim with a controller  ).


----------



## thaddeus6th

Persevere. You may also enjoy fiddling with the camera mode. I got a few nice shots (let me know if you want the link. Didn't post it now because there are story spoilers included).


----------



## elvet

I am playing The Witness (2016 video game) - Wikipedia on my PC. It is a massive game, and I have been enjoying it for over 50 hours, playing when the time allows. This is a puzzle and exploration game, with a somewhat ominous backstory that I am teasing out of the clues in the environment. It is unique in the games that I have played in that the developer has set the challenges to help you learn the rules as you access the parts of the island. Many puzzles are set in banks of 'tutorials' (as I call them), increasing in difficulty until you master the concept. For those of you that like these types of games, this one is a good bang for your buck. There are over 600 puzzles, and my game save tells me I'm not even at 400 yet.


----------



## Bugg

Bugg said:


> Finally made a start on *The Last of Us Remastered*, and got past the place I'd last got up to on the PS3 version (which wasn't very far!).  Great game, very intense, but I'm finding it mightily frustrating at times (mainly due to my ongoing inability to aim with a controller  ).





thaddeus6th said:


> Persevere.



Oh I am, I am.  The story and characters are so good it just sucks you in, right from the beginning.  There are a lot of films/tv series that would kill for that opening fifteen minutes.  Seriously, if the acting and dialogue in The Walking Dead were half as good I'd still be watching it  

Anyway, I upgraded some of Joel's abilities, particularly the weapon sway, and that's helped me no end.  Haven't died for a while now (according to the stats I've been killed 28 times  ).  Just escaped from the hotel in Pittsburgh.  Nice place, shame about the basement


----------



## thaddeus6th

The upgrading works nicely, and I like how crafting works in real-time (no pausing). 

What's your weapon of choice? I always liked the bow or the shotgun (if things went bad).


----------



## Bugg

Oh definitely the shotgun for when the proverbial hits the fan.  But generally I'm using stealth kills, or molotov cocktails/nail bombs for groups.  I haven't really used the bow much, although that may change now I've reduced the weapon sway.  I actually used the hunting rifle for the first time in ages last night, in the street when you leave the hotel, and got two kills with two shots, so I'm not wasting so much ammo now, either.


----------



## Phyrebrat

There must be a series of TWD I haven't seen 

pH


----------



## Bugg

Count yourself lucky


----------



## thaddeus6th

Molotov cocktails are splendid, especially for clickers.


----------



## Phyrebrat

And spare your resources rather than upgrading a shiv so it lasts longer - that's such a waste!

pH


----------



## Bugg

Do you mean the 'shiv master' upgrade that allows you to fend off a clicker?  I avoided that one in favour of the reduced weapon sway.  I did get the longer-lasting shivs through the two training manuals, though.


----------



## Phyrebrat

The upgrades are cool, Shiv Master isworthwhile, but I meant I saved my knives and tapes and scissors to make the blade bombs instead of making my bat last longer.

pH


----------



## Lucien21

Finished *Bioshock 2* This is the only one of the three that I never finished when it was first released. I gave up due to the hoard mode parts when the little sisters are collecting ADAM and you have to protect her. They were annoying and still are. However I managed to get through to the end this time around.

The story isn't as compelling, they have simplified the hacking and the combat and the world of Rapture is too familiar.

Still fun, but more of a Bioshock 1.5 than a proper sequel.


----------



## Bugg

Phyrebrat said:


> The upgrades are cool, Shiv Master isworthwhile, but I meant I saved my knives and tapes and scissors to make the blade bombs instead of making my bat last longer.
> 
> pH



Ah right, yeah, I've been doing that too.  I think I've added a shiv to a melee weapon the grand total of once so far.


----------



## Gawian

Bugg said:


> Ah right, yeah, I've been doing that too.  I think I've added a shiv to a melee weapon the grand total of once so far.



As long as you have at least 1 shiv, you should definitely invest in upgrading the melee weapons. Much better. 

I'm just playing Overwatch and Skyrim at the moment. Waiting for HORIZON to be released....


----------



## Heir

I'm playing NieR: Automata, whose protagonist has been my profile picture on here for a little while now. It's not released for about another week in the US and a week after that for the UK. I've not had this much fun playing a game for a long time. 

In relation to writing: the creator, Yoko Taro, is one of my biggest inspirations for storytelling. My stories tend to pull on the same heartstrings as his, and we both like to take our plots to ridiculous places (in his case, maybe _too_ ridiculous sometimes).


----------



## Phyrebrat

I'm trying to finish the last Hutt Contract on the Scarif expansion for SW Battlefront: getting 5 kills with the sonic exploder is torture! I've been at it for 2 weekends and only managed 3. I'm hiding in choke points, sending a shock grenade to freeze a troop and reduce his HP then throwing a sonic imploder at him and I'm still not getting anywhere near the K/D ratio I should be!

Torture. It's bloody torture.

pH


----------



## Kerrybuchanan

I don't play games -- usually. However, I acquired a copy of The Hobbit for PC by Sierra and found it extremely addictive. So much so that no dinner was cooked, and no writing or editing was done for a full week (okay, it probably should have taken a couple of days to complete, but it took me nearly two days just to work out how to switch between weapons).

Has anyone else played it?

I feel like a ten-year-old asking a team of professional ice hockey players if they've tried figure skating. I barely understand one word in ten of the posts above mine....


----------



## Lucien21

Lucien21 said:


> Currently playing *Kathy Rain *an indie point & click adventure




Finished it.

Lots of fun


----------



## thaddeus6th

Afraid I'm PS4-only, Kerry. Glad you liked it, though. Videogames can excellent (Vagrant Story, Phantasy Star IV, Witcher 3, The Last of Us etc)


----------



## Bugg

Just finished *The Last of Us*.  So, so good.  And that final scene . . .


----------



## Lucien21

You shoud play the Left Behind DLC it is just as good.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Lucien21 said:


> You shoud play the Left Behind DLC it is just as good.



Is that DLC from _The Last of Us_? 

pH


----------



## Lucien21

Yes it's a prequal that shows how Ellie got the way she did. It switches between the part of the Last of Us when you control Ellie and a time in the past where her and her friend are goofing around in a mall.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, I'm going to play Left Behind, it's on the disc.  But I'll wait for a bit.  Horizon Zero Dawn arrives tomorrow.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Lucien21 said:


> Yes it's a prequal that shows how Ellie got the way she did. It switches between the part of the Last of Us when you control Ellie and a time in the past where her and her friend are goofing around in a mall.



How on earth did I miss that? I had a look on the disc and saw it. So happy.

Now all I need to do is finish AC:Chronicles and Steep, and I'll go back to Ellie 

(I've all but given up on Alien:Isolation after just repeatedly getting killed and now the alien has learnt my hiding techniques so I just can't get past this stage. And I'm not even that far into the - but can't face restarting it!)

pH


----------



## CylonScream

Burned out on Destiny, I haven't played in a while. But I'm waiting impatiently for Mass Effect: Andromeda.  So excited! I just hope I dont get sucked into it and lose focus from the story I'm working on.


----------



## Bugg

Getting stuck into Horizon Zero Dawn.


----------



## Lucien21

Bugg said:


> Getting stuck into Horizon Zero Dawn.



I played an hour or so last night. Just got some Fire Arrows and wandering around the valley area. I'll get some more time in tonight once I get out of work.


----------



## Ashleyne

I've got Horizon Zero Dawn, but I'm ill and I don't wanna play it for the first time when I've got the sniffles.

I think I've almost finished Resident Evil 7. It's a bit to scary, even for me.

Last week I finished playing Nioh. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it was decent enough and I wasn't disappointed.


----------



## Heir

CylonScream said:


> Burned out on Destiny, I haven't played in a while. But I'm waiting impatiently for Mass Effect: Andromeda.  So excited! I just hope I dont get sucked into it and lose focus from the story I'm working on.


Have you seen the Peebee Loyalty Mission gameplay for Andromeda? If not, I'd give it a look. A lot of people have begun to doubt it's even worth their time now after watching that. On IGN's video you'll see more than enough comments about it. Main criticism seems to be the dialogue, and after watching the whole video, I can certainly see where people's issue is. But in a way, I can see how some people might like it.


----------



## Inari Writer

Am in an abusive relationship with Dark Souls 3 atm. I keep going back to it even though it keeps hurting me.

(I know it loves me really).


----------



## thaddeus6th

Inari, Dark Souls 3 doesn't love you. It's just hurting you because it can.


----------



## Bugg

I may be slightly addicted to Horizon Zero Dawn


----------



## Inari Writer

thaddeus6th said:


> Inari, Dark Souls 3 doesn't love you. It's just hurting you because it can.



No! Dark Souls 1 and 2 did that. So did Bloodborne. But Dark Souls 3 is different!

(Sobs).


----------



## Bugg

I'm now just over 30 hours into *Horizon Zero Dawn*.  It's astonishingly good, IMO.  It's so much fun, even doing things which normally bore me to tears, like hunting for resources, are enjoyable. In fact, I've yet to find anything about it that I dislike or find even a little irritating.  Fighting a Thunderjaw may be the single most awesome thing I've done in a game, ever.  Plus Aloy is a fantastic character with an involving story, who's smart, agile and deadly.  Sony seemed to be trying to force her on players as a new gaming icon in the lead-up to release, but I reckon they might actually turn out to be right.

I really didn't expect it to rival Witcher 3 in my affections but it is doing just that and more (much as I love it, there's plenty in Witcher 3 I find irritating!).  I only got my PS4 at Christmas and so far I've played this, Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us.  Well happy!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not played Horizon or Uncharted 4, but The Last of Us and Witcher 3 are fantastic.

What sort of RPG elements are there?


----------



## Inari Writer

Bugg said:


> I'm now just over 30 hours into *Horizon Zero Dawn*.  It's astonishingly good, IMO.  It's so much fun, even doing things which normally bore me to tears, like hunting for resources, are enjoyable. In fact, I've yet to find anything about it that I dislike or find even a little irritating.  Fighting a Thunderjaw may be the single most awesome thing I've done in a game, ever.  Plus Aloy is a fantastic character with an involving story, who's smart, agile and deadly.  Sony seemed to be trying to force her on players as a new gaming icon in the lead-up to release, but I reckon they might actually turn out to be right.
> 
> I really didn't expect it to rival Witcher 3 in my affections but it is doing just that and more (much as I love it, there's plenty in Witcher 3 I find irritating!).  I only got my PS4 at Christmas and so far I've played this, Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us.  Well happy!



That's a pretty glowing review. I might have to check Horizon out.


----------



## Lucien21

Bugg said:


> I'm now just over 30 hours into *Horizon Zero Dawn*.  It's astonishingly good, IMO.  It's so much fun, even doing things which normally bore me to tears, like hunting for resources, are enjoyable. In fact, I've yet to find anything about it that I dislike or find even a little irritating.  Fighting a Thunderjaw may be the single most awesome thing I've done in a game, ever.  Plus Aloy is a fantastic character with an involving story, who's smart, agile and deadly.  Sony seemed to be trying to force her on players as a new gaming icon in the lead-up to release, but I reckon they might actually turn out to be right.



I'm level 22 and just over 29 hours in.

I'm loving it for the most part as I'm taking my time doing side quests etc. I've only just passed Daytower so havn't met a Thunderjaw yet. There are a couple of niggles with the AI. It's easy to cheese the combat with the whistle and the silent strike, they come across to you one at a time and generally ignore the large pile of their predecessors as you stab them. I'm activly tring not to do that.

Loving the world and the story. Right now i'm in the middle of Cauldren Rho.


----------



## Bugg

Lucien21 said:


> There are a couple of niggles with the AI. It's easy to cheese the combat with the whistle and the silent strike, they come across to you one at a time and generally ignore the large pile of their predecessors as you stab them.



That's by design rather than a problem with the AI.  When you first use Lure it tells you that it will only attract the enemy nearest to the centre of your aim.  I've frequently seen machines come to investigate the ones I've just killed, though.  The AI for the machines is excellent, IMO - the way they work together to root you out once they know you're around is brilliant.  




thaddeus6th said:


> What sort of RPG elements are there?



It's a tried and tested one skill point per level (plus others for certain quests) and three skill trees to invest in: Prowler (for the stealthy stuff), Brave (for the all-out combat stuff) and Forager (for more passive skills).  Base level skills take 1 point to get, next level is two, then three etc.  You also get loot called Coils (for improving weapon damage) and Weaves (for improving armour).  Lower level weapons only deal one or two types of damage, higher ones deal three.  You can equip four weapons at a time, so you can get some awesome combinations going.

Highly recommend going down the Brave skill tree.  Being able to use Knock Down on an enemy and then hit it with Critical Strike is great fun, and being able to fire two or three arrows at a time is vital for the larger enemies.  But then Tinker is also invaluable for swapping Coils and Weaves around (without it they get destroyed if you change them), and that's at the bottom of the Forager tree.  Once you have Tinker you can adapt your weapons and armour on the fly to deal with whatever enemy weaknesses are in front of you.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Sounds interesting. Got to say the publicity didn't grab me. When the price tumbles I might give it a look.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Got to say the publicity didn't grab me.



Got to admit the publicity didn't grab me, either.  But the great thing was that they allowed the reviews to go out almost two weeks before the game was released (a rarity these days).  It was after watching a few of those that my interest picked up.


----------



## Bugg

Oh dear . . .

The first few hours of Mass Effect: Andromeda are… well they aren’t good


----------



## Lucien21

I watched the Giant Bomb live show of Mass Effect and  they were not being that enthusiastic about it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

That does sound horrendous. A shame, I rather liked the Mass Effect trilogy. FemShep is splendid.


----------



## Christopher Lee

Still playing the crap out of Elder Scrolls Online on my PS4. Nothing has been as detrimental to my reading and writing as this PS4 has been.


----------



## Bugg

A follow-up to the Mass Effect: Andromeda article a few posts back:

Wot I Think: Mass Effect Andromeda


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Almost crapped my pants last night playing Until Dawn - Rush of Blood. 

Really good fun VR experience with a few jumpy moments!


----------



## Venusian Broon

Back to Crusader Kings II a game I only started playing about a year ago.

Doing a Pictland ironman starting at 792. It's been a bit of roller-coaster ride...

Spent the first hundred years nerfing out my main vassal who's family always were a few bad moves from trying to take over. Eventually reduced the family to a drooling_ imbecile_ and an eight year old...both dying to (cough) suspicious deaths. Also dragged the Picts into the Feudal age and just as I finally got primogeniture and (luckily!) agnatic-cognatic rules set up...my queen decided to produce only daughters. Four of them.

I didn't panic, it's harder - but ruling as a queen in a man's world is okay. So I carefully set up an Amazon of a queen to take over. Who was promptly poisoned 2 days into her reign. So the next on the crown was _her_ daughter (the programs random number generator was not kind to me ) Who turned out to be _slow. _Cue 14 years of regency, just about hanging on, fighting a large scale revolt. But she made it.

Only to die after giving birth to her son. 

Cue another 16 years of regency 

I think, fingers crossed and touch (lots of) wood, I've left this behind. He has three sons already and is only 24. World domination has been on hold a little, but I think I can restart it.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I'm off Final Fantasy for a while, because my MMO friends have got me into another MMO. Elder Scrolls Online. It feels much more raw and open than Final Fantasy (which is basically all the prettiness and orderliness of FF made into a world) and I am nowhere near as invested in it as am I in Final Fantasy, but it's enjoyable to play, especially as I do love Skyrim. Plus -- it's MAD HUGE, holy crap. I've decided to go for the healing route, something I've never really got on board with in FF, and I'm just having fun throwing out the heals while my friends take down everything. 

I know for sure that I haven't even scratched the surface of what the game can offer as I am basically just sticking with my friends and doing dungeons when we're all on, so one day I will sit down properly and explore and find out stuff.


----------



## EJ Heijnis

Venusian Broon said:


> Back to Crusader Kings II a game I only started playing about a year ago.
> 
> Doing a Pictland ironman starting at 792. It's been a bit of roller-coaster ride...
> 
> Spent the first hundred years nerfing out my main vassal who's family always were a few bad moves from trying to take over. Eventually reduced the family to a drooling_ imbecile_ and an eight year old...both dying to (cough) suspicious deaths. Also dragged the Picts into the Feudal age and just as I finally got primogeniture and (luckily!) agnatic-cognatic rules set up...my queen decided to produce only daughters. Four of them.
> 
> I didn't panic, it's harder - but ruling as a queen in a man's world is okay. So I carefully set up an Amazon of a queen to take over. Who was promptly poisoned 2 days into her reign. So the next on the crown was _her_ daughter (the programs random number generator was not kind to me ) Who turned out to be _slow. _Cue 14 years of regency, just about hanging on, fighting a large scale revolt. But she made it.
> 
> Only to die after giving birth to her son.
> 
> Cue another 16 years of regency
> 
> I think, fingers crossed and touch (lots of) wood, I've left this behind. He has three sons already and is only 24. World domination has been on hold a little, but I think I can restart it.



What an epic!  No external threats during this time? Hopefully your world conquest gets off to a smooth start now that the royal family has stabilized a bit.


----------



## Bugg

God, I love *Crusader Kings II*  

I've just about finished the main storyline in *Horizon Zero Dawn*.  The story's been brilliant (I finally know why it's called Horizon Zero Dawn, and why there are robot dinosaurs  ).  Once the next main quest or two is done I'm hoping I'll be able to get the best armour in the game, then I'll head off and do all the side quests, cauldrons and other fun stuff that I've been holding off doing until I've got it


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, heard many good things about it. How's the protagonist? Somewhere or other I read she's very good indeed as a character.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, she's brilliant.  And, in gameplay terms, her movement is fast and fluid and a joy to control.  Plus I'll never get tired of rappelling from high places 

I saw this yesterday, and I think it sums her up quite well, despite the guy having played the game and _still _not knowing how to pronounce her name correctly   (go to around the 6 minute mark if you haven't got time to watch the whole thing):


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'll never rappel. I'm British, and you can't make me. Abseiling paves the way to victory!

Is there a camera mode?


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I'll never rappel. I'm British, and you can't make me. Abseiling paves the way to victory!



But . . .  But . . .









> Is there a camera mode?



There is indeed   Here's couple I took:


----------



## Phyrebrat

I'm grinding to get to level 100 on Star Wars BAttlefront (currently 93) so I can get a the Scarif DLC Gold trophy and unlock the Shoretrooper skin. Thing is the latest update (I think) has frelled the EA server so the lag and jump is just horrendous. My KD has gone down from 8/1 to 1/1 in Fighter Squadron !!!

pH


----------



## Lucien21

I Platinumed *Horizon Zero Dawn*. 81 hours of Enjoyment saw me get all the trophies and 100% all the missions.

Fantastic game.


----------



## Lucien21

Bugg said:


> But . . .  But . . .



But it is so much cooler when it discharges shock onto the ground as you rappel.


----------



## Bugg

Lucien21 said:


> But it is so much cooler when it discharges shock onto the ground as you rappel.



Yeah!  I just went for the shortest clip, but there's the old gameplay trailer I s'pose:


----------



## thaddeus6th

.... I'll probably end up getting it just for the camera mode. Seriously, I'm terrible for screenshotting all over the place (I did clear out quite a few recently, although they're handy for drawing practice).

I've posted this link before but must stress it's full of spoilers. Here are a few I took from The Last of Us (remastered):
Thaddeus the Sixth: Gallery: The Last of Us Remastered

Does it have a noir filter? 

Also, abseiling! I can abseil if I want to.


----------



## Bugg




----------



## Bugg

I finished HZD finally.  After I got *that* particular set of armour I found loads of side quests I hadn't come across before, so I did all those first, then did the final main quests last night.  I pretty much loved it from start to finish but I did find one thing I absolutely _hated _and that was



Spoiler



the scene that came after the end credits.  It was totally unnecessary and I felt it undermined everything I/Aloy had just been through.  I felt, up until then, everything had been handled really well, and the game and story felt complete.  Even though we know there'll inevitably be a sequel or maybe story DLC, did they really need to whack us over the head with that cliffhanger?  It kind of distracted from the 'proper' ending for me, which is a shame.



I'm standing at about 79% on trophies.  I didn't bother finding all the collectibles or Grazer dummies, or doing the Hunter Trials and I'm not sure I can be bothered at the moment, but I might use them as an excuse to dip in and out when I fancy killing some machines.

All in all, I think it's an awesome, awesome game that I expect I'll be mentioning in years to come in reverential tones along with the likes of Metroid Prime, Resi 4, X-COMs and XCOMs, and - more recently - The Last of Us and The Witcher 3.  I'm not feeling quite as bereft as I did when I finished Witcher 3 (I couldn't play anything for about a week after that) but I might take a break for a day or two before launching into Persona 5, which'll be popping through the letterbox some time today.


----------



## Bugg

Well, Persona 5 is a bit good


----------



## Bugg

Still loving Persona 5, around 40 hours in.  I'm just at the end of the third palace (dungeon) which has a fun and intricate design.  I had to use a notebook to write down and figure out one of the puzzles - I can't remember having done that with a video game before.  I'm assuming subsequent palaces will get increasingly complex, which is fine by me.

I've already decided that my next PS4 purchase will be Bloodborne.  I had a sudden craving for Dark Souls (having played some of the first game and Demon's Souls a few years back) but decided to stick to PS4 exclusives for now


----------



## thaddeus6th

I think 3 is the only Persona I played. I quite liked the strange mix of school simulator and freaky dungeon crawler. However, a huge irritant, and why I stopped playing, was the combat system. The computer having control of my companions, and often being quite stupid, drove me to distraction.

On PS4 games, there are three incoming, perhaps this year, that I've got an eye on:
Shadow of War
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
The Last of Us II


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> The computer having control of my companions, and often being quite stupid, drove me to distraction.



You have control of them all in this one.

Doubt we'll see The Last of Us Part II until Christmas 2018, at the earliest.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, a man can dream.

I'd be slightly more surprised if Kingdom Come were on time than delayed, to be honest. But Shadow of War should be this year.


----------



## Stewart Hotston

Loved HZD. Traipsing through Andromeda right now. Feels really old fashioned if I'm honest, although the story is interesting. I feel like they went for the Witcher in openness but it hasn't quite worked. It looks wonderful though, almost as good as HZD on 4k HDR...


----------



## Venusian Broon

Skyrim.

I did get the game in 2012, but even so...

...after 1229 hours and with my third character...






I have for the first ever time reached Sovngarde. 

In fact I've still to initiate the Civil war, finish the Dark Brotherhood storyline or totally complete the Daedric full quota of quests. Just got sidetracked wandering about


----------



## thaddeus6th

It be value for money, Venusian.

I just hope the next game stacks up. There are some clear improvements that can be made (combat, making quests more Witcher-quality). I hope they stick with the voiceless protagonist, and don't try crowbarring in a backstory as they did with Fallout 4. Quality of protagonist voice-acting was good, but I'm not sure it fits with the level of freedom you're meant to have creating your character (not to mention their jobs, relationship etc).


----------



## Venusian Broon

My understanding is the Bethesda is that they are going to:

- Port Skyrim to the Switch
- Release a version of Fallout 4 for virtual reality headsets
- Do a mobile game based on Fallout...
-...then have two games 'bigger than anything they have done, but just the sort of projects we know Bethesda do'
- Of which for one, I believe, they have trademarked the name 'Starfield'. So some sort of SF openworld thingy?
- The other one, no one knows. But let's see, they have 'medievalesque/Tolkien fantasy, Post Apocalyptic then potentially SF. So that makes the mysterious one...????
- _Then_ they will be releasing Elder Scrolls 6. Maybe even as late as 2019/20? Perhaps my extremely slow play style will be just perfect for their release plan


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I've heard of Starfield, reckoned to be a sort of sci-fi/space RPG, but we'll see.

They're taking too damned long over Elder Scrolls VI. If it doesn't match up to some newer RPGs (again, Witcher 3, and maybe Kingdom Come Deliverance, if that can deliver, ahem, on its potential) it could end up looking rather out of date.


----------



## HoopyFrood

thaddeus6th said:


> It be value for money, Venusian.
> 
> I just hope the next game stacks up. There are some clear improvements that can be made (combat, making quests more Witcher-quality). I hope they stick with the voiceless protagonist, and don't try crowbarring in a backstory as they did with Fallout 4. Quality of protagonist voice-acting was good, but I'm not sure it fits with the level of freedom you're meant to have creating your character (not to mention their jobs, relationship etc).



Yeah, I prefer the voiceless protagonist. But I think that adds to the passive feeling of your character, which is starting to become my biggest peeve with the Elder Scrolls. As I talked about when I was playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, I loved how involved my character felt and as such I felt way more involved in everything, too. I think it's the first time I've ever really felt attached to my character and made me feel like I was active and making decisions (another thing I'd like to see more in Elder Scrolls -- decisions that really matter and affect the storyline).

I think really, the main thing I really want is for people to react more to my character -- especially as you rise up through the ranks of various organisations. I feel like if you're walking around as _Head of the bleedin' Mages Guild_, people should at least stop calling you a damn sneak thief! And conversely, you shouldn't be able to walk around in armour that clearly shows you're part of the Brotherhood or the Thieves' guild.


Anyway, the leader of our little three-person MMO band has picked us up and moved us on again. Now we're going over to Destiny. I'm just downloading the demo now. I'm looking forward to it, though, as I enjoy the Halo games and I also enjoy shooting things in the face.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hmm. The quality of the voice acting in DAI is perfectly good, but I never had that problem of disconnection with the Warden in Origins (best Dragon Age game by far, I think).

I agree that it's discombobulating when you've just saved the world from dragons and vampires, and then get sassed by a guard. It'd be like if Alfred were walking through Winchester after defeating the Vikings and a fishwife yelled at him to get back home because his cakes were burning.


----------



## Lenny

HoopyFrood said:


> Now we're going over to Destiny. I'm just downloading the demo now. I'm looking forward to it, though, as I enjoy the Halo games and I also enjoy shooting things in the face.



Oh man, the hours I sunk into *Destiny*. It's a strange game - whilst vastly improved from the game that launched, the story is lacking, and it can feel a bit small...but the gameplay more than makes up for it (even after I'd finished everything, I found I could still spend a couple of hours a night doing the daily activities, and I was more than happy to sink time into trying to solo the weekly missions), whether you're playing solo or with friends. 790 hours of shooting things in the face have me convinced that the weapon mechanics, and the feel of them, are some of the best out there.


----------



## AlexH

I don't play games apart from multiplayer these days, but had a quick go of Breath of the Wild at a friend's last week - it's the most tempted I've been to buy my own console for many years. But I won't!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Lenny said:


> Oh man, the hours I sunk into *Destiny*. It's a strange game - whilst vastly improved from the game that launched, the story is lacking, and it can feel a bit small...but the gameplay more than makes up for it (even after I'd finished everything, I found I could still spend a couple of hours a night doing the daily activities, and I was more than happy to sink time into trying to solo the weekly missions), whether you're playing solo or with friends. 790 hours of shooting things in the face have me convinced that the weapon mechanics, and the feel of them, are some of the best out there.



Yeah, I played a bit with my friend last night and soon realised that you basically just go into orbit, go do your thing, then head back to the tower. No free roaming and massive social places like in other MMOs. But after playing the likes of Final Fantasy XIV, which is all story and lore and the like, it's quite refreshing having something so light and quick. The intro bit last night was one of the most fun and immediate beginnings I've had out of most games I've played. 



AlexH said:


> I don't play games apart from multiplayer these days, but had a quick go of Breath of the Wild at a friend's last week - it's the most tempted I've been to buy my own console for many years. But I won't!



I don't really have money to spare at the moment but by the gods I am so tempted to get a Switch/Wii U for Breath of the Wild. Me and Zelda are my OTP!


----------



## AlexH

HoopyFrood said:


> I don't really have money to spare at the moment but by the gods I am so tempted to get a Switch/Wii U for Breath of the Wild. Me and Zelda are my OTP!


Similar here - I've been playing Zelda since the SNES days - though preferred Terranigma and Secret of Mana in that era - it was Ocarina of Time that kicked things off in spectacular fashion. The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were good, but Skyward Sword felt disappointing (I played about 15 hours on my brother's copy). Breath of the Wild seems to be right back on track.

As for buying a Switch/Wii U, it's time as well as money that I'm bothered about!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Ocarina of Time is hands down my all-time favourite game ever. I enjoyed Twilight Princess but wasn't overwhelmed by it. I think I preferred Skyward Sword but I missed the old Zelda layout of Hyrule field and all the rest of it. 

Breath of the Wild sounds absolutely massive and something that would definitely rob you of your life for a good long time!


----------



## Bugg

I'm a big Zelda fan, too.  I'd love to play BotW, but the Switch will need more great games before I'm tempted to buy.  Maybe if they released another Metroid Prime . . .

I took a break from Persona 5 over the weekend and spent a few hours with Bloodborne.  Sorry, I'll rephrase that: I spent a few hours _dying _in Bloodborne.  Strange how the Soulsborne games get under your skin, though.  Even though I kept dying I knew it was my fault and that I'd learn and get through the bit that was troubling me - or find a way around it and come back to it later, better prepared.


----------



## Calum

Undertale, though playing might not be quite the correct turn of phrase, more like addicted to the point where I've partially fossilised into my armchair. This game is sly, it lures you in with it's witty humour, colourful characters and thought provoking story and turns you into a couch potato.


----------



## Bugg

I've been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, as a human mage.  I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would (I'm not much of a Bioware fan).  I'll be dividing my gaming time between this and Persona 5 for a while I expect.


----------



## HanaBi

Grand Theft Auto III, on my PC. 

Used to play this till the cows came home years ago. But only started playing again a couple of days ago after catching an old song on the TV that also featured in the game, and all of a sudden the memories came flooding back!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Inquisition's something I largely liked but I am a bit worried they're moving ever further from Origins.

Anyway, I have returned to Skyrim, with (limited PS4) mods. Trying the Great Realism Overhaul, which changes an awful lot of things (carry weight nerfed, combat causes double damage to player and enemies, potions work differently, more than half the perk trees are changed, no fast travel). Mostly I like it a lot, although the dragons (only fought one) seem to be too strong. 

Might well write a blog having a quick look at the mods I've used. Just a shame the PS4 doesn't have the same range as the Xbox One.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I really enjoyed Inquisition. I played it on the Xbox but now have a PS4 so may have to buy it all over again (at least it's considerably cheaper now).

I also recently bought the remastered Skyrim. When I started I was all "I'll just play the vanilla game, no mods," and that lasted until I got out of Helgen  I've added the NPC overhaul so they move around a lot more and talk a lot more. Also added the major spells addition so now have over 400 spells available! It also adds in Hogwarts on a random mountain (seriously, the effort that must've gone into building that) plus three new other world places that I'm yet to explore. 

What I'd really like is a realism mod that means you have to sleep and eat like a normal person. Dunno if there's one on the PS4.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hoopy, there is. It's basic and only recently added (I think if you search 'survival' you'll find it). You need to eat, drink and sleep regularly. If you go without then you suffer things like carry weight penalties and health, magic and stamina not regenerating.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Ah! I haven't been on it recently so maybe I missed it being added! Awesome, cheers dude.


----------



## thaddeus6th

It was only a week or so ago.

I've only had a quick fiddle (I wouldn't advise using it with the Great Realism Overhaul or anything else that drastically reduces carry weight) but it seems to work fine. As per the description, just eat an apple to activate it. Also, food will indicate if it slakes thirst or sates hunger.


----------



## Lucien21

Currently playing *Prey*. Only a couple of hours into it and it seems pretty decent so far. It's fairly derivative of a few games esp the "Shock" games.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Inquisition's something I largely liked but I am a bit worried they're moving ever further from Origins.



It relies a bit too much on MMO-style fetch quests, IMO, but the main quests are decent and the combat's fun.  The voice acting's middling, though, and as always I find Bioware's dialogue system a pain in the arse to wade through.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Agree entirely on the shopping list quests. The combat annoyed me, because they removed the simple but effective orders system they had for Origins and DA2 (so companions automatically use certain skills in certain situations) and replaced it with a far inferior one.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> they removed the simple but effective orders system they had for Origins and DA2 (so companions automatically use certain skills in certain situations) and replaced it with a far inferior one.



Yeah, I noticed that, although it hasn't caused me any real issues as yet.


----------



## Bugg

Picked up Darkest Dungeon on the cheap in the GOG sale.  It's rather good.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Hurrah! For the first time I have managed to kill the Ender Dragon in Minecraft.

Had the game for years.

I take a very long time with all my games.


----------



## reiver33

Conquest: Frontier Wars (again)


----------



## kaufmannp

Privateer 2 and Rebel Galaxy- got the one on sale at GOG.com and the other came along for free! Makes me wistful for the old EB games bargain bins; ah, the late 90's and early 00's...


----------



## Heir

Speaking of GOG, I just finished a game called "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey". I gushed about it to others immediately after the credits rolled in. It's a sequel to a game called 'The Longest Journey' (a point and click game from 1999), and both those games have some of the best writing I've ever seen in a video game.

Honestly, Dreamfall was way ahead of its time in terms of storytelling in a video game. The controls in the sequel are a bit wonky, but if you're interested in it, I'd seriously recommend the pair of them. I always tell people to play/watch/read things in release order, and if you play The Longest Journey first, it will make you appreciate Dreamfall a million times more.

There's also a third and final installment called 'Dreamfall Chapters' which is available on both console and PC, but I've not played it yet. I've heard it's a great conclusion. Either way, those first two games are worth playing for the writing alone. It's a criminally underrated series.

Be prepared to have a guide handy though, they were the first games that ever made me need one.


----------



## kaufmannp

I have also heard great things about the Dreamfall series; I would add that to my media bucket list should I ever be placed on house arrest or likewise arrangement.  Right alongside the Baldurs Gate series ( or pretty much anything with Bioware stamped on it), Nexus: the Jupiter Mission, Chrono Cross, Xenosaga...I could go on and on.

And then there would be the books...but that's a different sort of thread I believe.


----------



## AlexanderSen

I have been going back and forth playing a bit of Inside, Hard West, and Dropzone. Inside is a 2d side scroller with an amazing lighting and atmosphere. Hard West is a turn based strategy based in the Weird West. Dropzone, what I played most of lately, is a RTS and MOBA mix (it's early access right now, but I really enjoy this game and seeing it develop).


----------



## Bugg

AlexanderSen said:


> playing a bit of Inside, Hard West



Really like both of those games.  I finished Inside but haven't finished Hard West yet - I really should go back to it at some point.

Absolutely loving Darkest Dungeon, as I'm getting to grips with the tactics and mechanics.  I hear there's a major difficulty spike later on but at the moment it's great fun - more than worth the £7 I paid for it.  There's an expansion for it due out next week.

Also, there's a big announcement due today regarding an expansion for XCOM 2 - just when I thought I'd kicked that particular addiction . . .


----------



## HoopyFrood

Annnd back into Final Fantasy XIV again. But the Stormblood expansion comes out next week and I have it pre-ordered so early access on Friday and I need to be back in the groove before then!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hoping we get a Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen release date for the PS4 during E3. I never got the expanded version but the basic game was fantastic. Dialogue was 'aught' shoddy at times and the storyline had a great beginning and end but went missing for 40 hours in between. The gameplay, however, is hands down the best of any modern RPG.

I hope it sells well and they make a proper sequel, not some sort of MMO ****.


----------



## Heir

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen was an amazing game. The gameplay was ridiculously well done, and especially as a game from Capcom, I never expected such a well-made RPG. I never played the original, because on xbox 360 they removed it and kept Dark Arisen, so I wouldn't know what the differences were, but I can assure you, the game I played was also one of my top experiences with a video game. 

It has something that I like to call a 'more' factor, which is when a story/game goes further than I would expect. Dragon's Dogma had such a great story and ending, and I'd love a sequel, but it's one of those games where the ending was wrapped so well, that I am completely satisfied with it.


----------



## Bugg




----------



## reiver33

I played XCom: Enemy Unknown to death back in the day...


----------



## Bugg

I have to laugh at the stress mechanic in Darkest Dungeon - it reminds me very much of playing Call of Cthulhu back in the day.  I sent a party into a 'long' dungeon last night and one of my best characters maxed out on stress quite early in the run and rolled the 'masochistic' affliction.  After that he wouldn't accept any healing and was begging the enemies to attack him, saying things like "What's one more scar?"   It was both funny and tense.  I was sure he was going to die but they all made it through in the end, somehow.  Great game!


----------



## Zoe Mackay

I'm playing Endless Space 2 - it's a 4X game, and it's really rather nicely done. I've barely scratched the surface, though... and I've already managed to ruin my first civilisation.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Robert Mackay said:


> I'm playing Endless Space 2 - it's a 4X game, and it's really rather nicely done. I've barely scratched the surface, though... and I've already managed to ruin my first civilisation.



Ermmmm... aren't you meant to be limiting your screen time, Mr?

pH


----------



## Zoe Mackay

I have glasses now! I even sometimes remember to wear them.


----------



## Bugg

Robert Mackay said:


> I'm playing Endless Space 2 - it's a 4X game, and it's really rather nicely done. I've barely scratched the surface, though... and I've already managed to ruin my first civilisation.



I played it a fair bit in Early Access but have only looked at it briefly since the full release.  I like that they've taken a lot of what worked so well in Endless Legend and combined it with the first Endless Space, then added more stuff like the politics etc.  Their interfaces are always so slick and intuitive.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Heir, yeah, I just wish they'd made a proper sequel instead of some multiplayer online tosh. 

Maybe if the re-release gets good sales we might actually get a proper sequel.


----------



## AlexanderSen

I have been playing Starship Corporation. It's in early access, and there are some bugs to work out, but you get to build interstellar starships - so what's not to love?


----------



## Bugg

After a lot of deliberation I finally succumbed to the Steam Summer Sale and got five games:

Hollow Knight
Hyper Light Drifter
Ori and the Blind Forest
Firewatch
Stardew Valley

Hollow Knight and Hyper Light Drifter are both brilliant.  I'm not sure Stardew Valley is really my kind of thing but it might get a look in when all else fails.  I haven't downloaded Ori yet.

I had to refund Firewatch as it was giving me awful motion sickness.  Fortunately I was three minutes short of Steam's 2 hour limit for refunds.  I may will use the refund to get Salt & Sanctuary instead.


Oh and I've been playing a bit of Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander again.  It's really good fun.


----------



## AlexanderSen

Lately, I have been playing many hours of a game called Gundam Breaker 3 on the PS4. You get to build your own customizable Mobile Suit and fight with it. Pretty Awesome if you ask me.


----------



## Bugg

I'm back on Elite Dangerous after about two years away from it.  It seems to me to be a much better game, now, and is evoking the feelings I had when I played Frontier back in the day.  I may even have bought a Hotas to play it with


----------



## Vince W

Trying out EVE Online for the first time. What I really want to play is Star Citizen, but I have to get a new computer capable of running it first.


----------



## HoopyFrood

The Stormblood expansion came out for FF14 and I've finished it (and become a level 70 Red Mage in the process having changed from Monk halfway through. Love this new class!) The story was cool and it was nice to have a proper, utter evil ******* type as the enemy. I don't feel like it's had the highs and lows of the Heavensward/Dragonsong stuff, but then there are plenty more patches to come yet to add more.

Now it's back to daily roulettes and grinding until new stuff comes out!


----------



## Paul_C

I mentioned elsewhere that I bought an XBox One a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had much time yet to play  

I've mostly played Forza Horizon 2 so far, waiting in the wings are Dishonored 2, Doom, Fifa 17 (all acquired as a bundle), Witcher 3 and Deus Ex: Something-or-other. 

I've got an extensive wishlist and 15 games from my XBox 360 can be played too, but I'm in no great rush until I've worked through a few of the above.


----------



## steffthecat

I can't get enough of Skyrim!


----------



## Bugg

I've been continuing with *Elite: Dangerous*, and also played a bit of *Uncharted: The Lost Legacy* (more Naughty Dog brilliance).

But they'll both be going on hold for a while as I'll be making a start on *XCOM 2: War of the Chosen* tonight (assuming it downloads in time!).


----------



## Bugg

Dug my 3DS out of the cupboard for the first time in about two years to play a bit of *Metroid: Samus Returns*.  Love the Metroid games - the 'proper' ones, anyway.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm playing Pillars of Eternity (PS4 edition). Not played much just lately due to lack of time, but I'm enjoying it a lot. Must say the text/lore-heavy nature will put some people off, but it's right up my street.


----------



## Bugg

^^  Played that on pc when it came out.  Really good.  Keep meaning to go back for the White March expansion(s).


----------



## thaddeus6th

I know it's a ye olde style game but, despite having played games since the days of cassette tapes, I hadn't ever played this particular RPG type before. Interesting to see I still like it a lot despite the total absence of nostalgia.


----------



## AlexH

thaddeus6th said:


> I know it's a ye olde style game but, despite having played games since the days of cassette tapes, I hadn't ever played this particular RPG type before. Interesting to see I still like it a lot despite the total absence of nostalgia.


Which means there's so much for you to discover (if you want to)!


----------



## cyberpunkdreams

thaddeus6th said:


> I know it's a ye olde style game but, despite having played games since the days of cassette tapes, I hadn't ever played this particular RPG type before. Interesting to see I still like it a lot despite the total absence of nostalgia.



I've got it too, looking forward to play it (so many games to play!) The current new game I'm playing is NieR:Automata.


----------



## Lucien21

I would be playing Destiny 2 if the server wasn't down for maintenance AGAIN.

Finished the main story and levelled up to 252 (max 300 I think).


----------



## Bugg

I seem to have become addicted to . . .


----------



## thaddeus6th

I still haven't finished the first game. Too stubborn to lower the difficult, but I think I'm 80-90% in.

Sorely tempted by the Dragon's Dogma remake but I'm not sure I have the time.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I still haven't finished the first game. Too stubborn to lower the difficult, but I think I'm 80-90% in.



It's loads better than the first game.  The story and tone are much more consistent.  The whole thing's more cohesive as a whole.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I do like the first one, but the difficulty is a bit high for me. (For reference, I never had problems with Dragon's Dogma/XCOM, so while I'm far from a pro I'm also not n00blet Mcn00bleby).

I may have just ordered Dragon's Dogma for the PS4. But don't tell anyone.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I do like the first one, but the difficulty is a bit high for me.



It's definitely from Ye Olde Skool of Videogame Difficulty - no hand-holding, difficulty spikes if you wonder into and area you aren't high enough level for etc, quest paths that you have to figure out for yourself rather than following a question mark on the map.  Reminds me so much of Baldur's Gate and the like.  I much prefer the combat system to that in Pillars of Eternity, I must say, even if it is difficult.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Pillars of Eternity would be greatly improved with the addition of tactics as per Dragon Age: Origins or FFXII. Still like it, though.

I do prefer turn-based. Suits my slow and methodical style.


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Very much enjoying Resident Evil 7. I started it in VR but it was too clunky and started to make a feel a little unwell so reverted to playing it on the telly.
Have to say it's right up there in terms of atmosphere!


----------



## Caledfwlch

I am playing this, finally!! though my PC is still struggling with a bit of stutter here and there, absolutely loving it!!




 

yep, Maker's Breath! I am finally playing Dragon Age: Inquisition!

As the new Lord Inquisitor, I have declared the Inquisition for Faith!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Intrigued to see what you make of it. I like quite a few aspects of Inquisition... but some things are not to my taste (removing combat tactics is just plain stupid).


----------



## Caledfwlch

thaddeus6th said:


> Intrigued to see what you make of it. I like quite a few aspects of Inquisition... but some things are not to my taste (removing combat tactics is just plain stupid).



The biggest mistake they made imo was making it pretty much somewhere between total nightmare and impossible to mod the game!
The things that kept Origin, and to a degree DA2, alive well beyond their sell by date, a thing which Bethesda have never, ever forgotten is to if not release modding tools, then at least make modding *possible*. And either through extremely poor coding (this seems to be the most popular theory) or simply because, despite supposedly knowing the fanbase of DA and Mass Effect, Bioware simply screwed the fans big time over Inquisition, modding is a total nightmare, and thus, Inquisition doesn't have the longevity of Skyrim for example. Hell, I say Skyrim, people are still playing Oblivion because the game is so moddable, mods are still coming out, the same for Skyrim.

My personal theory is I suspect that some new suit at Bioware kicked off, and had them go for the "quick buck", screw the fans and the massive modding community, lets make cash now from the general gaming population - why do we need an incredibly loyal fanbase anyway?

err, well, Mr Suit, because that incredibly loyal fanbase will make your game popular, tell everyone they know, and you will still be making sales in 6 months time, not just a huge cash influx on release date, but cash coming in, for years.....
As I said, I am loving inquisition, but it does feel like theres a major conflict going on between a know nothing about anything suit, and the coding/design team, and sadly, this time, creativity lost.

At the moment, it feels like the only big gaming companies that actually care about their fanbase are Bethesda and CD Projekt: Red, Bioware used to be in that list, its very sad times that they no longer are.


----------



## Bugg

I played DA:I for about 40 hours and then got bored with it.  I quite enjoyed it to start off with but it got repetitive fast.  I really disliked the MMO-style combat, so I doubt I'll ever go back to it.

I'm now a similar amount of hours into *Divinity Original Sin 2*.  I haven't got off the first island to go to the mainland yet, but the story and characters are so good it doesn't matter.  I'm in for the long haul with this one, I think (especially as a couple of us are intending to play the co-op campaign once we've finished the single player).


----------



## thaddeus6th

Caledfwlch, Bethesda are rapidly burning through fan goodwill with the Creation Club.

Bugg, the endless fetch-quests are a bigger problem than combat, I think (although remove tactics is both inexplicable and stupid).

Heard many good things of the sillily entitled Divinity Original Sin 2.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing *Fallout 4*, as usual, and a strange little game called *Submerged*, which is very gentle and pretty, although I can't work out if there's much substance to it at all. I too had problems with *Divinity*. It had a lot of charm but was just really, really hard.

I've also tried some of the "challenges" on *Alien: Isolation*. All I can say is that, if you thought the main game was difficult and frustrating, you ain't seen nothing yet. I simply can't recommend these because they're too irritating. As with the main game, they look fantastic, but there's a sense that the programmers didn't really understand that a game isn't meant to kill you at random.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> the sillily entitled Divinity Original Sin 2.



Yeah, they didn't think that through properly did they? 

Just made it off the island.  On to Chapter 3


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, probably still less silly than Two Worlds Two, though


----------



## Caledfwlch

thaddeus6th said:


> Caledfwlch, Bethesda are rapidly burning through fan goodwill with the Creation Club..



Because you have to pay?

Some games really take the mickey, where they make things that should be a basic part of the game you have purchased costly DLC on day of release. i have no problem with Bethesda charging for DLC because the vanilla games are so massive, you don't need the DLC, and there's plenty of fan stuff.


----------



## Overread

Caledfwlch the problem is that Skyrim has been out for years with free mods by players. Indeed Bethsea hasn't made anything new for it in years. Then they made an update for it on newer systems with some newer graphical improvements and,importantly, ported it to 64bit not just 32bit so it could support even more mods.

However this is the second time that they've tried to turn the mod scene into a paid-mods. The problem is not just charging for mods and allowing modders to earn an income; its the fact that its appearing so late in the games cycle and also because Bethsea want to enable mods without any approval system.
Their first crack had it had no validation for any of the mods; you could easily steal code/modcontent and upload it as your own and profit from it. 

The newer version I've not looked into but honestly its the same kind of thing. Bethsea basically want to earn income without the input/work. They've sort of tried to be nicer this time by adding their own mod content - but honestly they should simply have made an expansion back - everyone would have been happier.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not only that, Overread, lots of the mods have similar or identical versions that are free. It's really not a good look.


----------



## FibonacciEddie

Skyrim is my 'go to' RPG

I think that Fallout 4 almost as good... but the load screens between zones just kills me... I have quite powerful computer but still have to wait for 20/30 seconds when entering/exiting a building

Currently playing Grim Dawn... very decent

And have logged many years on turn-based "Civilisation 4 BTS"


----------



## Lucien21

Recently played.

About 90 hours of Destiny 2. Now more or less maxxed out at 304.

Finished:

* Everyone's Golf - lot of fun and an addictive golf game
* Dishonored 2 DLC - more of the same 
* Hob - Shame to hear that Runic have closed as this game was a great little game.
* South Park - Fractured But Whole : Not quite as original as the first game, but taking the mickey out of Superhero's was a hoot

Currently playing "Evil Within 2"


----------



## DragonAether

Currently playing:
Raimbow six siege
CS:GO
Xcom enemy unkown 
Sniper elite 4


----------



## thaddeus6th

DragonAether, at the risk of sounding like I'm 7, when I noticed the first aliens in XCOM: Enemy Unknown are naked it did make me think "XCOM: Enemy Undressed".

Also, how's Sniper Elite 4? I've never played one of them, but they seem somewhat interesting.


----------



## Toby Frost

Well, I finished the main story on Fallout 4's Far Harbor and very good it was too. Apart from a strange moment in the middle where it became a different game entirely (not terribly well) it was very entertaining.


----------



## Bugg

FIFA 18.  Easily the best FIFA I've played, although I've played nowhere near all of them, but definitely better than last year.  PES 2018 plays a more fluid and better game of footie but FIFA's close this time, I think, and they nail it with the presentation, with which PES just can't compete, sadly.


----------



## Foxbat

The Operational Art Of War IV. Just released today and bought immediately. First impressions are good


----------



## AlexanderSen

I got hooked on Fortnite after a friend introduced me to it. I am addicted! It's one of the best games I have played in a while. Imagine Minecraft meets Left4Dead. Sweet molasses~


----------



## Vladd67

Autonauts, a fun little game where you build robots and teach them how to do jobs. I have loads of little robots running automating lots of jobs but to be honest I haven’t really achieved anything lol, still a fun way to past the time.
Autonauts by Denki


----------



## Bugg

I'm still flitting between FIFA 18 and PES 2018, just can't make up my mind which I prefer.  First World problems and all that


----------



## Lucien21

Finished Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II.

The plot of Wolfenstein II...man that story goes places


----------



## Pedro Del Mar

Lucien21 said:


> The plot of Wolfenstein II...man that story goes places



I'm just playing Resident Evil 7 and been thinking of picking up Wolf 2 because I really enjoyed Wolfenstein on the PS3


----------



## HoopyFrood

Hey my fellow What Are You Currently Playingers. I'd like some suggestions.

I'm in need of a new game to play. I enjoy rpgs and I especially like Skyrim, Fallout etc, though I'm getting increasingly unsatisfied by them. I really enjoyed Dragon Age Inquisition as I felt like I was making actual decisions and my character actually went through development. I know that Witcher is supposed to be a good story-led game but I'm not sure I want something _that _big_, _and I like the ability to play as a woman where possible.

Saying all this, though, I'm basically just looking for something good and entertaining. I will happily play FPS, puzzle games, platform games, whatever. What I can't deal with is not having a game to play 

Oh, should add I'm on the PS4.


----------



## Toby Frost

Alien Isolation (beautifully made, but scary and difficult, and you are Ripley jnr)
Shadow of Mordor (you’re a bloke – well, two blokes – and I didn’t like the combat, but a lot of people love this game)
Assassin’s Creed 2 (old, but you get to climb over Renaissance Italy, and there’s loads of it)
Divinity: Original Sin (RPG – you can be anyone, really, and it’s quite amusing, although difficult)
Xcom (you're you, and you control a bunch of guys who you can customise in ludicrous ways. Essentially a skirmish wargame on the PS4)

Also, how about Dishonoured 2? I've never played it, but the first is pretty good in an updated-Thief sort of way. I think you're a woman in it.
Also, I've enjoyed the Shadowrun games Dragonfall and Hong Kong on the PC. They're old-school RPGs, and I'd be surprised if they weren't available on the PS4.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Noooo can't deal with Alien Isolation, it would kill me. The tension, man. Too much. 

My ex's favourite game is xcom but it's not my cup of tea. Not a fan of turn based strategy (I completely ignored this aspect of DA:I).

I have seen Dishonoured popping up in the online store and considered it. Maybe I'll give it a proper look-see.

Thanks!


----------



## Venusian Broon

_Dishonoured_ comes from Bethesda Softworks so it feels like it might be a good fit.

Loads of people love the open world of _Red Dead Redemption_, but I'm just not that keen on cowboys. And you can't play as a woman. (I prefer playing as a woman too.)

What about _Mass Effect_? The good ones, not Mass Effect Andromeda.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Cowboys could be fun.

Something else I've realised I like -- a challenging boss. Like, the big bastards that take a good half an hour or more to whittle down, to the point where you're throwing every healing thing you have down your neck, you're out of special moves and you're basically just punching it in the eye and you're both down to the hilt in health and you manage to kill it before it kills you. Love those moments. I enjoyed smashing endless demons in Diablo III but I remember the end fight being one of those types.


----------



## HanaBi

Football Manager at 25: From Tonton Zola Moukoko to Premier League club tool

After reading this article on the BBC website a few days ago, I became a little nostalgic for this great footballing franchise. So decided to install *Football Manager 2007* on this laptop and take a trip down memory lane (my personal favourite for this franchise was Championship Manager 97/98, and also 2001/2002, primarily because they were both less granular compared to more recent releases)


----------



## Bugg

HoopyFrood said:


> Something else I've realised I like -- a challenging boss. Like, the big bastards that take a good half an hour or more to whittle down, to the point where you're throwing every healing thing you have down your neck, you're out of special moves and you're basically just punching it in the eye and you're both down to the hilt in health and you manage to kill it before it kills you. Love those moments. I enjoyed smashing endless demons in Diablo III but I remember the end fight being one of those types.



And you're on PS4?  Have you played Bloodborne?  Or Dark Souls 3? 

Edit: although, of course, you should play Witcher 3, regardless of length, because it is The Greatest Game Ever Made


----------



## HoopyFrood

Bugg said:


> And you're on PS4?  Have you played Bloodborne?  Or Dark Souls 3?
> 
> Edit: although, of course, you should play Witcher 3, regardless of length, because it is The Greatest Game Ever Made



Are these the ones that are completely sadistic and offer the player no mercy whatsoever?


----------



## Overread

Dark Souls is the one that is brutal evil and offers the player no mercy what so ever! 

Witcher 3 is probably THE best at present! 

I don't know if PS4 can run PS3 games or if they've done a re-release in HD but ICO and Shadow of the Colossus would be fun games (shadow is basically all boss battles)


----------



## HoopyFrood

Haha, dammit people, I said no to Witcher  (maybe I'll give it a look...)

I remember my friend used to mention Shadow, I'll look at see if that's available.


----------



## Overread

ICO and Shadow are in the same series though very different games. ICO is more of an area environment puzzler; moving around as you try to escape a strange almost abandoned castle. Some combat but its more a puzzle, made harder by having to protect your companion along the way. 

Shadow is basically set a long time before ICO and is very differnet; in this game you have a huge, mostly empty but very pretty environment. However situated within it are 13 or so unique titans that you have to take down. Each one is unique in how to beat it - puzzling out how to do it is the fun. 

Both are also examples of silent story telling in games. With very limited spoken parts, yet with very clear moving stories.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Looks like Shadow is getting remastered and released on PS4 for next February.

I just got a sudden hankering for Batman: Origins (really enjoyed that) but basically available on everything but the PS4 

Gonna go have a look at Dishonoured now I think.


----------



## Overread

WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT What about Horizon Zero Dawn!!

Robots, adventuring (skyrim style) and female protagonist!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Yeah, I did think about that one. I'll have a look at that, too.

Hmm, £50 and no demo to download. I might pass on that for a while.


----------



## Overread

That one is on my "probably worth getting the console just for that game" list. 

(when said console is on discount - and unless it gets a pc port)


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, HZD is fabulous 

It's no Witcher 3, though


----------



## Bugg

HoopyFrood said:


> Are these the ones that are completely sadistic and offer the player no mercy whatsoever?



I wouldn't go that far.  Put it this way, I'm not good with that sort of thing, but I loved Bloodborne (haven't played DS3 as yet, although I do have it) and if it's mahoosive bosses you're after, look no further


----------



## HoopyFrood

Ooh, OK, I'll give it a look, thanks!


----------



## Bugg

And this is just the first one . . .


----------



## Bugg

But seriously:


----------



## HoopyFrood

Christ, it does look stunning.


----------



## AlexH

HanaBi said:


> Football Manager at 25: From Tonton Zola Moukoko to Premier League club tool
> 
> After reading this article on the BBC website a few days ago, I became a little nostalgic for this great footballing franchise. So decided to install *Football Manager 2007* on this laptop and take a trip down memory lane (my personal favourite for this franchise was Championship Manager 97/98, and also 2001/2002, primarily because they were both less granular compared to more recent releases)


It was 00/01 or 01/02 for me too. An Italian player called Lorenzo Tramarin was my star. I don't think I could play one again - too much of a time-eater!


----------



## HoopyFrood

OK, thanks for your help everyone, I've started the demo of Dishonoured 2. All manner of stuff has kicked off, I've been booted in the face and now I'm mad. Here we go, prepare to get stabbed up, everyone!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not out yet, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance (due February next year) looks very interesting. It's set in Bohemia (Czech Republic today, ish) 1403. Looks like there's great freedom of choice being sneaky, being nasty, being nice etc. You can cook stuff, get drunk, perform historical alchemy [I think]. 

Dragon's Dogma is out, and it's a fantastic action RPG. Has the best combat of any RPG I've ever played (well, maybe par with Phantasy Star IV, but that was turn-based). Word of warning, perhaps avoid ordering via Amazon, they seem to have a problem with accidentally sending out Xbox versions.

Pillars of Eternity is a very old school RPG, a bit like Divinity: Original Sin (but not quite as steep when it comes to difficulty... I still haven't finished the latter). Should warn you it's text-heavy, but decisions do have consequences and there's great scope for customising your character both at creation and through making good, or naughty, choices.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Ooh, thanks, nice suggestions! I like the idea of being able to be nice or nasty (though usually my conscience means I go nice all the time). I'd love a game where you could basically become a dark overlord by the end.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Battlefront II. 

I’d mastered Battlefront and 100%’d it a few months ago which took me nearly two years. I fear this one will take longer. Still getting to grips with the new methodology of levelling up but enjoying it. A lot. 

Here I am as Maul on Naboo. The Queen’s Royal Starship has to be seen to be believed. Phenomenal. 


  

pH


----------



## Toby Frost

I tried to play _Elite: Dangerous_, but I've given up. Everything in it seems to be set up to be counter-intuitive and penalising: to give an example, you fly to a space station, get permission to land, and then realise that there's no clear landing pad. So, you look for the landing pad, which involves flying around the station. But the game only gives you a few minutes to land (why? there are no other human players) and if you try to land on the wrong (but empty) landing pad, the game fines you (why again?). Sorry, life's too short.


----------



## Vladd67

The trouble I found with Elite and a lot of other games I like to play is I can’t give them enough time to do them justice. I just don’t have the time to grind my way through earning money or collecting material for building. Watching games like The Forest, 7 Days to die, and Conan the destroyer on YouTube I get loads of inspiration for building but I know I just cant spend the time levelling up or resource gathering to make my plans happen.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> you fly to a space station, get permission to land, and then realise that there's no clear landing pad. So, you look for the landing pad



Have to disagree with this.  The landing pads are clearly numbered, and have those numbers hovering above them, so you have to go to the one the station told you to go to, no choice.  But I agree, it's a monumental time suck, and the combat can be a pain.  I return to it every now and then, play it for a bit, then move on.  It's really meant for people like my friend, who's part of a group that play in their own instance for a few hours practically every night, and who doesn't have a life


----------



## Bugg

Earlier this week I finally played the Left Behind DLC for *The Last of Us*.  It slots so neatly into the main storyline.  Beautifully done.

And I finally got around to properly playing *Uncharted: The Lost Legacy* over the last couple of days.  So many 'wow' moments in that game - totally spectacular, with a truly breathtaking finale.  It's made me want to go back and replay all the others.  

In the last 12 months I've played a couple of games that shot right to the top of my all-time favourites list (*The Witcher 3* and *The Last of Us*) but, for games actually released in 2017, *The Lost Legacy* may just edge out *Horizon Zero Dawn* and *Divinity Original Sin 2* as my favourite game released this year.  Naughty Dog can do no wrong in my eyes.

What are everyone else's favourite releases of 2017?


----------



## Bugg

Bugg said:


> And I finally got around to properly playing *Uncharted: The Lost Legacy* over the last couple of days.  So many 'wow' moments in that game - totally spectacular, with a truly breathtaking finale.  It's made me want to go back and replay all the others.



Since posting that I have replayed* Uncharted 1* and *2 *and then played *3 *for the first time.  Loved all of them.  I'll get on to replaying *4* and *Lost Legacy* soon, but I decided to dig out my Xbox 360 for now to replay *Red Dead Redemption* before its sequel arrives, which I started last night.


----------



## Starbeast

_PS4 - Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare_








​Man-alive, it's exciting. An awesome sci-fi adventure. Plus it's the first PS4 game I've played.


I saw on Youtube, that you can customize your character in hundreds of different variations of outfits and weapons. However, I think this can only be done ONLINE. And, you have to EARN "drop boxes" (that contain 3 items each - weapons and gear) by playing ONLINE.

1. It's costs money to go ONLINE, doesn't it?

2. Customize character, only ONLINE?

3. Drop Boxes, only ONLINE?


----------



## HoopyFrood

I've been peer pressured into buying Monster Hunter World that's released today. I know nothing about this franchise and I've heard it described as Dark Souls mixed with Jurassic World, so I'm a little bit scared. It'll be fun playing in our MMO trio again, though.


----------



## Bugg

Starbeast said:


> 1. It's costs money to go ONLINE, doesn't it?



You have to get a PS Plus subscription if you want to do multiplayer, yeah.  The loot box issue has attracted a lot of controversy in recent months.



I'm just over halfway through Red Dead Redemption.  I'm now past the point I got up to when I played it when it first came out.  Loving it much more than I did then.  I think my tolerance for open world games has increased since playing Witcher 3.


----------



## Starbeast

Bugg said:


> You have to get a PS Plus subscription if you want to do multiplayer, yeah.  The loot box issue has attracted a lot of controversy in recent months.



Thanks, Bugg. I'll look into PS Plus Sub. This game is so much fun, it just might be worth paying for a subscription. Temptation is great, to have a customized character look cool with awesome weapons.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Starbeast said:


> I'll look into PS Plus Sub.



SB, I can’t recommend Ps+ enough! It’s cheap and great vfm bearing in mind the free games you get each month. 

pH


----------



## Toby Frost

I was rather annoyed to learn that you have to have PS+ to play Vermintide, even if you only want to do so off-line with bots. It's not very expensive, but it does feel like a bit of a cheat.


----------



## Bugg

Phyrebrat said:


> SB, I can’t recommend Ps+ enough! It’s cheap and great vfm bearing in mind the free games you get each month.
> 
> pH



Second that.  I've got quite a few free games from it (the latest being Deus Ex Mankind Divided).


----------



## Bugg

Just about finished with Red Dead Redemption.  I've got four or five missions left to do.  Great game, although - much like the first time I played it - I'm finding it's overstaying its welcome a bit and the repetitive 'ride here, shoot stuff, ride there, shoot stuff' gets a bit tiresome in the end.  You go on a mission and just wait for the red dots to show up on the mini map.

Being the contrary sod that I am, though, I've already decided to play GTA V next, so it'll be 'drive here, shoot stuff, drive there, shoot stuff' instead     That's not fair really, as there's a lot more variety in GTA V.  I've played about 10 hours of it previously but decided to restart it last night whilst I was listening to the footie.


----------



## Phyrebrat

I’ve heard so many good things about _Red Dead Redemption_ but the play I saw on The First Hour looked as you’ve said. i was always going to pick it up but never got enthused enough to. Now I have a TBR pile on PS4 I doubt I’ll get round to it. 

Is anyone here playing Battlefront II? Glorious visuals but the most broken game I’ve ever played. It’s worth it however, just for Starfighter Assault. 

Playing Burnout Revenge on Ps2 and Sonic Allstars Racing Transformed on PS3, too. 

pH


----------



## Bugg

RDR does start out a bit slow, yeah.  But then it gets really, really good and the atmosphere it creates is pretty much perfect.  It's just that the final chapter pads it out a bit too much, IMO - but I do remember the ending being one of the best, so I'm looking forward to that again.


----------



## thaddeus6th

RDR is an enigma to me. It has all the right ingredients, and I enjoyed playing it, but it never really grabbed me and I never finished it.


----------



## Bugg

I just finished it for the second time.  For me, it just slows down too much towards the end, even though the payoff at the finale is really good.  The pacing is all wrong.  Maybe that's cos I'm coming to it off the back of the Uncharted games, especially Lost Legacy which has possibly the most exciting ending to any game I've played.

Anyhoo, on to GTA V now.


----------



## X Equestris

Just recently finished playing through both seasons of Telltale's Batman series.  As far as I can, anyway, since the last episode of Season Two has yet to be released.  

I've enjoyed these more than any game in a while.  The twists Telltale put on the existing Batman mythos were great, and often surprising.  A lot of other Batman adaptations borrow whole comic plot lines, but these games have managed to avoid that by and large.  Your choices probably have the most impact of any Telltale title I've ever played; they actually feel like they have some serious weight.  Building up the characters was extremely well done.  I'm not sure ever I've been as attached to game characters since The Last of Us.  

Now I'm on to wrapping up an unfinished playthrough of The Witcher 3 so I can make some room on my PS4.


----------



## Bugg

I finished *GTA V*'s story mode last week.  I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  Partly it was down to being able to jump between three playable characters at any point (so if one character's missions got boring, switch to another and do something different), plus the heists were great fun and it has the most solid, consistent and gorgeous open world.

Continuing my trawl through older games that I've played a bit but never finished, I've now returned to *Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning*, which Steam tells me I played for four hours back in 2012   Despite its generic setting and storyline it's hitting the spot at the moment, mainly due to its fantastic combat and lovely Warcraft-meets-Fable vibe.  Hopefully I'll stick with it this time.

Oh, and a friend and I are also playing *Borderlands 2* in co-op.  We tried it a few years ago and it gave me awful motion sickness but I seem to have found a sweet spot (involving field of view settings, distance sat from screen, and using a controller instead of mouse and keyboard) which means I can play it.


----------



## Vaz

*Shadow of Mordor
*
Awesome open world game set in... Err, Mordor. Third person action game where you play as a ranger named Talion, who seeks revenge against The Black Hand of Sauron and the Uruk Warchiefs when his family is slain.

Violence has never looked so good. Bethesda should take note and implement a similar combat system in the next Elder Scrolls game.

v


----------



## Bugg

This is looking great:


----------



## monsterchic

Sword Art Online: The Lost Song

For about the gazillionth time.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Getting quite far (I think) into Kingdom Come Deliverance. I now have armour swanky enough that strangers call me 'sir knight'.


----------



## Bugg

Robotality have suddenly woken up and released a trailer for Pathway.  Been waiting for this for ages.


----------



## Bugg

*Endless Space 2* has taken over my gaming time at the moment.  I hadn't played it much since early access but the Vaulters expansion got me enthusiastic again.  The game's come a long way in the past ten months.  I've finished one game as the United Empire (which I managed to win) and am now playing another as the Vaulters, which is proving to be a bit more difficult but no less enjoyable.  Amplitude's games are exemplary in terms of UI and presentation - it's so slick and a joy to use, they hook me in like no other 4X games have before.  So much so that a friend and I have been playing *Endless Legend* in multiplayer, too.

If I'm in the mood for something different I have re-started and been dipping into *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*.  This is one where I jumped in on the Kickstarter because I loved the previous game, *Dragonfall*, so much, but then only played for half a dozen hours on release.  It's brilliant, and the atmosphere and characters are fantastic, but it's text heavy, so I have to be in the right mood for a lot of reading!


----------



## HanaBi

Am playing the original "Quake" and "Doom" games on a PC emulator. I remember playing these on some really old 486sx single core Pentium processors, back in the 90s. Obviously in terms of graphics etc, they pale quite poorly by today's standards, but in terms of gamesplay, they're still pretty immense and straightforward. Plus adding all the mods & Mission Packs, certainly enhanced the games. And the good thing about these games is the relatively simplistic controls - you don't have to remember a shedload of key combos or turn manoeuvres to progress through to the next level.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I am playing The Witcher 3 in German. I have the exact proficiency in the language for this to be a challenge [and an occasionally comedic one, at that]. Keeping the voices in English, though.


----------



## Bugg

I thought I'd give *Stellaris *another go over the weekend, to see what the 2.0 update is like.  I wasn't as bothered by some of the changes as a lot of people seem to be but, after about 4 hours, I started to find it just as boring as before.

So, back to *Endless Space 2*, which is much more my kind of thing.  I finished my Vaulters game, which was great fun.  Each game I'm increasing the galaxy size, number of opponents and the difficulty.    I'm thinking Cravers next, on 'Hard'.


----------



## Lucien21

I'm currently roaming the Montana countryside shooting militia and Cultists in *Farcry 5*.


----------



## zmunkz

Lucien21 said:


> I'm currently roaming the Montana countryside shooting militia and Cultists in *Farcry 5*.



Hey, me too! So far I’m enjoying the gameplay and graphics, but I feel a general sense of indirection with the game course as a whole.


----------



## Rodders

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMPORPG. 

I've not played an RPG before so this is a big learning curve for me. I played a few hours last night and it seems pretty enjoyable, but it looks like you might need to devote a lot of time to it. 

First impressions are good.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Started playing _Skyrim VR_, but I didn't have time to get far into the game. Performance is definitely better than the previous VR mod, but I do miss being able to see my body rather than a couple of disembodied hands.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm back on *Skyrim* and very good it is too.

I'm also playing a game called *Rogue Galaxy*, which is a space trading game. It looks like Elite or Freelancer, but combat is much more like old naval warships. While I don't think it's got huge lasting appeal, it is easy to control so beats Elite already as far as I'm concerned.

_Shadowrun Dragonfall_ and _Hong Kong_ are both really good. I slightly preferred _Dragonfall_, but I thought they were both excellent games.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, I played Rogue Galaxy... not sure it's the same game, though, as mine was a sprawling (too sprawling, to be honest) RPG.

I've been playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, and writing a wry comedy of my elf's actions (a bit like the Fallout 4 Diary of a Deceiver). First part will be up next week.


----------



## Lucien21

Rogue Galaxy was a PS2 JRPG made by Level 5.

I think Toby might mean Rebel Galaxy which is a space trading type game.


----------



## Overread

To clear it up if this





is playing then its Rebel Galaxy


----------



## Toby Frost

Got my rogues and rebels confused there. I doubt I'll be leading an X-wing squadron soon.


----------



## Bugg

*God of War *downloaded and ready to go - just waiting for it to unlock at midnight.  I'm vaguely excited


----------



## thaddeus6th

Got to say, I'm unlikely to get it. I played the three main entries for the PS2/3, but giving Kratos a child is just asking for trouble. Either they've made his character too different, or they end up with him committing infanticide (again)/being unable to stop the kid dying. Those aren't great options.

Those aren't great options. I hope the game works, but Dad of War just feels like too big a shift for the World's Angriest Man.


----------



## Bugg

Glad to say, after playing the first couple of hours last night, you're wrong on all counts.  It's . . . incredible.


----------



## Toby Frost

I played an interesting horror game called *Monstrum* on the PC. This feels like a stripped-down, procedurally generated version of _Alien: Isolation_ set on a container ship. It also has hints of _The Ship_, a jolly little multiplayer game based on Agatha Christie novels, which I found strangely compelling and unsettling.

*Monstrum* has almost no back story: you start in a room on the ship, and you collect a number of objects to help you escape. Also on the vessel is one of three monsters: a ghosty thing, a sort of transluscent Alien with a flower for a head, and a hulking demon that looks oddly like Horace from _Horace Goes Skiing_. All are very sinister and want to kill you. And that’s more or less it. You creep around looking for parts, hiding and avoiding death. As per _Alien: Isolation_, you can’t kill the monster and, if it gets hold of you, you’re dead.

The setting is very well realised, and capitalizes on the sinister feel of abandoned ships. Every time you play, the computer generates a new ship, so you can’t learn where the items are. I actually found it more frightening than the better-produced _Alien: Isolation_, although it’s undoubtedly shallower and there's less to do. I could imagine this game providing a few hours’ entertainment to most people and, given its procedurally generated environments, a lot of entertainment to others.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, me, wrong? Unpossible!

Glad to be so. Still unlikely I'll pick it up (money, time, woe, me miserum etc) but if it's good, 'tis good.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Toby Frost said:


> I played an interesting horror game called *Monstrum* on the PC.



I've avoided buying that game because horror games scare the heck out of me in VR. But I see it's $4.99 this weekend in the Steam VR sale, so I may just have to give in...


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Bugg, me, wrong? Unpossible!
> 
> Glad to be so. Still unlikely I'll pick it up (money, time, woe, me miserum etc) but if it's good, 'tis good.



I suspect your PS4 would have a coronary as well  

I played a couple of the earlier games and enjoyed them but didn't love them.  This one, though.  The combat, the characters, the graphics, the sound design - all fabulous.  And Bear McCreary's music!  Wow.  It's epic.






The only problem I'm having with it - apart from not being particularly good at it! - is that it's obviously designed to be played on a bigger screen than my 32" one, so the text is very small, which is a pain when trying to read Atreus's journal or the bestiary, upgrading skills/armour/weapons etc.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, it does annoy me that a couple of games (The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition stand out) do make my old, fat PS4 scream like a jet engine at times.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

thaddeus6th said:


> Bugg, it does annoy me that a couple of games (The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition stand out) do make my old, fat PS4 scream like a jet engine at times.



You should hear my PC playing _Skyrim VR_ . Never knew the fans in there could get so loud until I started playing VR games.

Back on my previous post, I discovered last night that I actually bought _Monstrum_ in the Steam Christmas Sale, but hadn't realized because it doesn't show up in the list of VR games in Steam. I'll have to give it a try.


----------



## reiver33

Hearts Of Iron 4 - but the more I play it, the more I become irritated by some of the game mechanisms.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Bugg, it does annoy me that a couple of games (The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition stand out) do make my old, fat PS4 scream like a jet engine at times.



God of War makes mine rev up a bit at times but it's not so noisy that it overwhelms the game's sound.  I remember trying to play The Last of Us on my PS3 and the fans got so loud I couldn't hear what was being said without turning my amp up to ridiculous levels.  That's the main reason I didn't play the game properly until I got the PS4 version.


----------



## Bugg

Finished God of War today.  Fan-bloody-tastic.  It's the best game on PS4.  There, I've said it 

Disclaimer: not counting The Last of Us (cos it's a PS3 game, even if I played it on PS4) or Witcher 3 (cos I played it on PC)


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, I like your disclaimers.

I've seen a fair amount of gameplay. Quite a lot looks good but I'm not a fan of the new camera, which doesn't give enough field of vision (the old, zoomed-out one, was better, I think). Also, The Last of Us 2 will be out at some point, so you may need to reconsider then


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Ha, I like your disclaimers.
> 
> I've seen a fair amount of gameplay. Quite a lot looks good but I'm not a fan of the new camera, which doesn't give enough field of vision (the old, zoomed-out one, was better, I think). Also, The Last of Us 2 will be out at some point, so you may need to reconsider then



You're just making excuses now   The camera can be adjusted in the options, not to the extent of the old games - which wouldn't work here - but enough to suit most.

Re The Last of Us 2, you may be right.  But.  One thing about God of War, bearing in mind it has a similar parent/child dynamic at its heart, is that the gameplay is paramount and it rarely takes control out of your hands, yet the story is still fantastic (the revelations at the end had my jaw on the floor, just like those other games in my disclaimer did).  As much as TLoU is one of my favourite games its best moments are cut scenes where you have no control.  Plus its combat isn't a patch on GoW.  Naughty Dog will have to up their game, literally.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Aaah, I've just found _The Witness _and am bashing my head at some of the problems....this might have been a mistake.


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Was playing _Drop Dead_ on my new Oculus Go VR headset last night. I've played it before on the Rift, but was surprised by how well it worked on the sofa with a headset that only tracks rotation and not position. I guess it was originally a phone game, so designed for that kind of usage.

Looked at the instructions for installing the VR mod for _Alien Isolation_, but was too scared to try it .

BTW, the headset is great for US$199. The hardware even beats the Rift and Vive in some respects (e.g. better lenses and higher resolution).


----------



## Bugg

Edward M. Grant said:


> Looked at the instructions for installing the VR mod for _Alien Isolation_, but was too scared to try it .



It was scary enough without VR  


Since finishing God of War I've been re-learning how to play Galactic Civilizations III with the Crusade and Intrigue expansions.


----------



## Rodders

I just finished Half Life 2.

What an awesome experience that was. I may go back and replay it on hard setting. HL2 Episode 1 first though.


----------



## Rodders

I’m on a roll. Just finished Half Life 2: Episode One. Not being much of a gamer, I don’t usually complete my games (I’m not good enough, you see).

On to Episode Two. What next? Suggestions are welcome.


----------



## Lucien21

I would say Episode Three, but


----------



## thaddeus6th

Returned to Pillars of Eternity. A fair way through. My flame-headed former shopkeeper Selena has just attended Duc Aevar's hearing. He seemed like a sensible chap.

My first playthrough (on the default Easy) was as Pengel, the world's nicest Chanter. Selena's focused on being Rational (Normal difficulty). Next time, thinking of jacking up the difficult and playing as an absolute *******.

On such things: I really like Divinity Original Sin but I wish it were sometimes clearer where to go/what to do. I've not touched my current playthrough for a while because the fights I can enter seem a cut above me and I'm not sure where else to go. I appreciate the absence of handholding (likewise with PoE and Kingdom Come Deliverance) but a little guidance just so I know would be good. Of course, it's possible I'm in the right place and just not good enough at the combat. 

Also, instant death traps/enemies suck. If they were Latin, they'd be Suckulus Maximus Sodofficus.


----------



## Overread

The Divnity games/series have often suffered from that situation whereby the developers kinda drop you into a situation with no lead as to what you're supposed to do besides just randomly talking to everyone (and often as not it seems that random characters you talk to wind up being key plot drivers). Worst was in the game where you can turn into a dragon where at the start you're specifically told to "stay in the village and wait." Which if you do you'll wait forever - instead the game sort of relies on you getting bored and wandering off on your own to explore before triggering one of the games most key plot points (I guess its sort of trying to make you into that bad-macho character that ignores their superior but there's no story lead into that at all). 

Divinity 2 is a VAST improvement on that*; however it still has a gameplay style that is similar to the old Baldur's Gate game. Whereby sometimes you have to do a bit of quest, fight a battle. Then retreat and go do a bit of another quest, fight another battle etc.... Ergo do a few areas little at a time and get a level up before finishing off one area. 
Also sometimes the battles require you to out-think your opponent a bit using the terrain. A well placed shot at a barrel might spill oil that you can then set aflame to set fire to a whole group of the enemy to give you the upper hand. 


*I've never liked their games and until D2 the only one I bought new was Dragon Commander (which was a huge let down). Others I picked up mostly through bundles with other games that I wanted. So whilst I've never liked their stlye I've ended up following their games for a while; but Divinity 2 is where I think they finally hooked me with a plot and structure that works.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I've read that Original Sin 2 (daft name) is very good.

I quite like that old style RPGs, this and Pillars of Eternity, are coming out on consoles now. Good to have some variety.


----------



## Rodders

Was HALO only released on the Consul as i cant find it on Steam?


----------



## Lucien21

Halo 1 and 2 are the only ones that were given a PC release. Not sure if they have appeared in download version.


----------



## Overread

Halo 1 and 2 are also stuck in some kind of licence limbo because they are no longer sold on PC anywhere. It's one of the few cases where a game went from PC to console and stayed on console. 
Although in more recent years the strategy Halo games have come to PC (I forget what they are called).


----------



## Toby Frost

I played a bit of God of War on a friend's PS4 (which might have been a helicopter for the noise it was making). It wasn't quite my cup of tea, but it was very impressive.


----------



## Phyrebrat

I was considering starting a 'What are you not playing' thread due to the fiasco I've been having with Star Wars: Battlefront II on PS4pro.

Instead I thought I'd be a little more (uncharacteristically) upbeat and tell you that it's given me chance to really mainline SSX on PS3 and Burnout Revenge on PS2. I still use my PS3 a lot -especially for party games like karting and golf when I have friends over - so replaying SSX isn't so much of a generation leap. The PS2 (Burnout) has remarkably good visuals and stands up better than any PSN minigame (esp the PSN PS4 karting titles which are hopeless) and I'm thoroughly enjoying swearing at the TV. I loved the Burnout franchise and was excited to play the PS3 Burnout Paradise, but it was a horrible 'reinvention' and I lost interest.

RE Star Wars BF2... I burnt through the 2015 version, paying for the season pass, too, so my outlay was about £79-£89. I adored it. It was simple but it did what it said on the tin and was pure SW adrenline. People complained about paying for DLC (oh, the fools, now) and so when BF2017 came out, it came with MTX and all sorts of backlash happened. What we have now is an almost uplayable game with dreadful lag, awful support, and a hero/villain roster that has Bossk, Finn, Phasma, Iden Versio, but no Obi Wan or Anakin (!!!!) DICE handled the main share of the game (that being infantry combat) and Criterion the Star Fighter Assault which is the only faultless part of the game. However there are no plans to increase the SFA maps content and as a pilot main-er I've given up on the game. 

I don't think EA will ever see this license again. And if Disney let them, then they're bloody idiots.

pH


----------



## Sum Dude

Lately Ultra Street Fighter 4, Megaman 9 and 10 and been procrastinating playing MegaManX2 is it's my favorite in the series. although X6 might top it if I ever beat it for being stupid hard.

L.A. Noire, Street Figther III 3rd Strike, Final Fantasy XIII, it's just as lame as the reviewers said, I gave it a shot.

Need to spend more then a half hour in Metal Gear Solid V

Halo 4.

Dicked around with Castlevania III the other day.


----------



## Rodders

I'm hoping that Disney will revisit the Star Wars X-Wing series "Space Combat Simulator" Genre again. 

I'd love another addition to the Jedi Knight series as well.


----------



## Ninjastarfury

I'm playing Dying Light and Uncharted 3 at the moment. I'm stuck on a bit in Uncharted 3 that's doing my but in. I think I might have to look it up online.

Dying Light is superb. However my PS4's BD drive is dying so I'm not sure if It can last.


----------



## Rodders

Downloaded Metro 2033 from Steam. 

I read and enjoyed the novelisation. Still, it could be a little too scary for me. It’ll be a while before I can play it, though.


----------



## Lucien21

I finally finished the main storyline in God of War.

Loved the hell out of that game. I have done most of the side quests, just got the Valkyries and the two challenge realms to complete. (and a bunch of birds)

Teal'c was great as Kratos.   BOI...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not played Dad of War, but I dislike VA changes. That said, when I learnt it was Teal'c/Christopher Judge, it became acceptable.


----------



## Bugg

I've been splitting my time between Beyond Two Souls (free on PS+ this month) and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (£6 on PS+ at the moment).  I'm enjoying both to one degree or another but I never quite understand why the AC games are so popular (this is the third one I've played), mostly because I find the character constantly gets stuck on scenery, or doesn't do what I was expecting him to do based on the buttons I'm pressing, and the modern day story parts bore me - I'd rather they just made an out-and-out historical game.  But Black Flag holds more interest for me due to the adventure on the high seas aspect.  Plus pirates, of course.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've played one AC game (2). I sure your confusion at the popularity.


----------



## Bugg

Played AC IV for a couple more hours last night and started to get into it a bit.  The main character is entertaining, at least, and saving a load of pirates from the Spanish and stealing one of their ships was fun, clunky controls aside.

I wonder if it'll stick, though.  Nier Automata is supposed to be delivered today . . .


----------



## Bugg

TotalBiscuit/The Cynical Brit has passed away. 

YouTube star TotalBiscuit dies aged 33


----------



## Bugg

Finished my first play through of Detroit Become Human last night.  I thought it was an utterly brilliant experience.  I didn't imagine for one moment that what is effectively a 'choose your own adventure' story would be so tense in places and so thrilling in others.  It had my jaw on the floor a couple of times.  Totally unexpected.  Can't wait to play it again and do it all differently.  It's all Ninjastarfury's fault


----------



## Vladd67

Currently having another crack at Conan Exiles


----------



## Bugg

Vladd67 said:


> Currently having another crack at Conan Exiles



One of my mates has been playing that in a party on PS4 and over the weekend something happened on their server which lost all their progress, so they've had to start all over again.


----------



## Vladd67

I play on the PC myself.


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded the two Metro 2033 games, but I didn’t fancy it. I’ve gone back to play the first few levels of HL2. Next, I might download Left for Dead which is also by Valve.


----------



## Av Demeisen

*Civilization V Brave New World*. For some reason, I simply love refusing the English trade agreements more than ever.


----------



## Zblugg

Bugg said:


> TotalBiscuit/The Cynical Brit has passed away.



This news saddened me to a level I didn't know possible. He was a voice. One of a kind...

OT: Detroit Become Human, PUBG and Civ VI. Hurray for variety! 

Also: first post. Hi.


----------



## Bugg

Zblugg said:


> This news saddened me to a level I didn't know possible. He was a voice. One of a kind...
> 
> OT: Detroit Become Human, PUBG and Civ VI. Hurray for variety!
> 
> Also: first post. Hi.



Hello and welcome 

Agreed about TotalBiscuit.


I've mostly been playing Assassin's Creed Origins, which I got on the cheap a couple of weeks ago.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I think I mentioned somewhere up-thread that I've never been particularly interested in the AC games but I was tempted in, first by Black Flag (because pirates!) and now by Origins because I've read so many people say it's like a cross between AC and Witcher 3.  I'm about 25 hours into it and it's been fun to play: the combat's okay, it looks great, the sense of time and place is fantastic but it feels very repetitive to me.  The quests usually involve sneaking into an enemy base to either rescue someone, kill someone, or steal something, with only occasional deviation to investigate a crime scene (who said 'Witcher senses'?  Not me, nope), and if you're not doing that you're killing wildlife or merchants for resources to upgrade damage, health etc.  Oh, you can take part in chariot races and become Ben-Hur, if you want.  That's quite good fun.

Has anyone else here played it through?  Does it change things up at all?  Cos at the moment I'm tempted to go back to Black Flag (because PIRATES!)


----------



## thaddeus6th

Welcome, ZBlugg.

Must admit, after AC2 I've never been tempted to buy another Assassin's Creed.


----------



## Lucien21

I finally 100% completed God of War.

I loved the game but the after game stuff was a bit tedious. The two challenge realms were not a lot of fun (esp Nifelheim) just grindy.
You had to do it to get to a couple of the Valkyries and omg the Valkyrie Queen was a pain in the ass. I was level 8 and was getting my butt kicked over and over until I went and grinded for a bunch of upgrades and then finally found on a strategy that worked out. It was pretty satisfying completing it and getting the platinum, and I loved most of my time with it, but it has it's issues.


----------



## SilentRoamer

Got bored of WoW (for like the 5th time) a few months ago so picked back up one of my old Runescape accounts. Still a great game IMO.


----------



## Bugg

Assassin's Creed Origins - I was enjoying it again yesterday as I started to progress the main story missions a bit more.  Got to Giza.  Exploring the tombs around there was great fun.


----------



## Bugg

Highlights, for me, of E3 2018:











and of course:


----------



## Lucien21

*Cyberpunk 2077* and *Last of Us 2* probably top for me.

Then in no particular order

*Forza Horizon 4* (Mainly because it has Edinburgh and the Highlands in it. Not usually a driving game guy)





*Doom Eternal* (First Doom remake was awsome and Hell of Earth *Boom*)





*Ghost of Tsushima *looks awesome. The lighting, wind effects and partical effects looked amazing.





*Resident Evil 2 remake*






Other games looked like fun like Spider-Man, Division 2 and Gears 5


----------



## Lucien21

Nintendo still to come this afternoon so hopefully something decent there. Galaxy 1-2 for the switch..maybe.

The most bonkers game i've seen so far is an open world RPG called Maneater where you play as the shark.


----------



## Bugg

Lucien21 said:


> Nintendo still to come this afternoon so hopefully something decent there.



I'm hoping they'll show something of Metroid Prime 4.  I'd buy a Switch for that alone.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The Last of Us 2 (or is it II?) has a lot to live up to, but the video looks good. Heard from a former industry chap (little while ago now) that he reckons Cyberpunk 2077 might not be as good as is hoped, from the perspective of world-building etc. He also reckoned the PS5 could be out late next year.


----------



## Lucien21

Well that Nintendo thing was a bummer.

Unless you were into the 40 mins of Smash Bros coverage. Did they really need to go over every character in the game and all their moves and stages etc.

No Metroid Prime after teasing it last year is weird.


----------



## Brian G Turner

Lol! I thought this was a music thread, so I've added the word "Game" to the thread title. 

In the meantime, I'm playing Mediaeval 2 Total War to death - again. Just finished as the Portuguese and decided to play the Turks next for no good reason. It's proving more difficult, which is always satisfying.


----------



## Bugg

Lucien21 said:


> No Metroid Prime after teasing it last year is weird.



That's ridiculous.  Shan't bother watching any of it, then.

*flounces out*


----------



## Lucien21

It seems Cyberpunk 2077 is a first person rpg rather than the 3rd person Witcher.

E3 2018: First Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay Details: First-Person, Driving, and Character Name, More - IGN


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, that's an interesting development.


----------



## Bugg




----------



## scarpelius

Beat Saber when I have a bit of free time (not me in video  )


----------



## Toby Frost

I was hoping that was going to be Siri the Apple operating system.

I've been playing Warhammer Quest, which is a very simple but addictive dungeon exploring game, and enjoying it a lot. I got it for £1 in a sale. I think it's worth about £5, although it usually retails for £10.


----------



## Vladd67

Are there many Conan Exiles players here? I was thinking of getting a server and wondered if anyone would be interested.


----------



## reiver33

Hearts Of Iron IV (still)


----------



## Rodders

Black Mesa. Just started, but I’m not getting the same feeling as I do when playing the original Half Life. I’ll finish it, then go into Metro 2033, I think.


----------



## Bugg

I finished the main story of Assassin's Creed Origins last night.  Loved the ending.  Overall a thoroughly enjoyable game.  I can see they picked up a lot of design tips from Witcher 3.  As open world games go it's in my top 5 behind W3, GTA V, probably slightly ahead of Horizon Zero Dawn, purely because the recreation of Ancient Egypt is breathtaking.  I've still got loads to do in terms of side quests and also the expansions but, after nearly 70 hours on it I need something different.

So next up is Dishonored: Definitive Edition.


----------



## Bugg

Finished Dishonored, the main game anyway.  Still got the DLCs to do.

Now making a start on Prey, thanks to the Steam Summer Sale.


----------



## ChatBot

_Subnautica _was a very welcome addition to my collection of sci-fi games. Features a company man marooned on an open world aquatic planet.  A great effort from a little indie outfit, but sure, it's marred by some bugs and development shortcuts as you'd expect.

2017's _Prey _was also brilliant. Perhaps the spiritual successor to _System Shock 2_ for those who remember that then ground breaking narrative based fps:  An infested space station, lots of back story to uncover with an unhealthy dose of existential paranoia. Also set in a largely open world, it features some really good zero-g areas.


----------



## Toby Frost

Two old games on my PC: _Dead Space_ and _Fallout 3._

_Dead Space_ isn’t frightening so much as drably gruesome. The graphics are very good for its time but not very interesting: it all feels pretty generic. The character moves as if he’s trying to get home after a few pints. For all the jump scares and limb removal, I actually find it a bit boring.

_Fallout 3_ is also drab, in that the world is so washed-out that it looks almost sepia, but the humour and potential for adventure still make it very entertaining. It’s a very detailed game, where even the objects in an abandoned shed can tell a story about what happened to the people who used to live there. It's a classic as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## Bugg

I loved Dead Space at the time, played it on 360.  Never bothered with the sequels, though.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Working my way through a survival mode Fallout 4. This is exactly how to play the game - I feel - instant death on hitting a mine, barely being able to survive a dozen .38 rounds being half-heartedly thrown at you by a toddler and only saving if you can sleep. 

Just spent three hours today doing a dozen attempts at HalluiGen...managed it eventually! Warm glow of satisfaction.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I thought the survival mode added a lot, but did have some gripes. The cycle for food/water seemed too quick, and in certain situation it seems ill-fitting. If you're in a confined space where you're very likely to encounter multiple enemies or just a few with explosives, it's difficult (and not the 'challenging' type of difficult so much as the 'annoying' variety).

That said, I did get a fair way into things before stopping, and I hope that my grandchildren enjoy survival mode in the next Elder Scrolls game.


----------



## Venusian Broon

thaddeus6th said:


> I thought the survival mode added a lot, but did have some gripes. The cycle for food/water seemed too quick, and in certain situation it seems ill-fitting. If you're in a confined space where you're very likely to encounter multiple enemies or just a few with explosives, it's difficult (and not the 'challenging' type of difficult so much as the 'annoying' variety).
> 
> That said, I did get a fair way into things before stopping, and I hope that my grandchildren enjoy survival mode in the next Elder Scrolls game.



I'm just at level 24 on the run, but still enjoying trying to balance the various demands. Plus I've just picked up my first 50 cal sniper rifle (swoon)...

Frankly there's enough food lying about to not worry so much, as long as you explore thoroughly and don't mind a few rads...purified water is tough at first, but I enjoying trying to find beds and purified water sources (although for water it's easy enough when you find a workstation) deeper and deeper into the commonwealth.

As for the fights, it can be annoyingly quick to get mashed - but I'm still at the stage of enjoying working out each situation and how to deal with it. It feels a bit old school - like trying to complete levels/sequences on chuckie egg or games of such ilk 

Still to finish Skyrim properly mind you, so this run is likely to meander into oblivion....


----------



## Bugg

They need to get Fillion on board for the actual movie!


----------



## Anushka Mokosh

Playing The Witcher 3. Late to the party, but my brother got a really good laptop now and lets me play it on those rare weekends when I go for a visit. It is an engrossing game.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm replaying the third _Shadowrun_ game, _Shadowrun Hong Kon_g. While the first game, _Shadowrun Returns_, is nothing very special, the second (_Dragonfall_) and third have been really good. One of the main improvements is that you work with a team, from which you can pick people to help you with missions. Team members often have issues of their own that, if discussed properly, can lead to additional side-quests.

Anyway, the writing is good. I particularly like the way that _Dragonfall _and _Hong Kong_ both feel as if they've taken in the feel of Berlin and HK without turning them into a complete caricature. The combat system is very much like _Xcom_. The roleplaying elements are quite decent, although I've found it much easier just to be a bloke with a gun than anything especially fancy. Good stuff.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I'm replaying the third _Shadowrun_ game, _Shadowrun Hong Kon_g. While the first game, _Shadowrun Returns_, is nothing very special, the second (_Dragonfall_) and third have been really good. One of the main improvements is that you work with a team, from which you can pick people to help you with missions. Team members often have issues of their own that, if discussed properly, can lead to additional side-quests.
> 
> Anyway, the writing is good. I particularly like the way that _Dragonfall _and _Hong Kong_ both feel as if they've taken in the feel of Berlin and HK without turning them into a complete caricature. The combat system is very much like _Xcom_. The roleplaying elements are quite decent, although I've found it much easier just to be a bloke with a gun than anything especially fancy. Good stuff.



I loved Dragonfall, such a good game.  I've had to re-start Hong Kong as I wasn't happy with the character class/build I'd chosen, so it's still a work in progress, which is shameful really, as I jumped onboard with the Kickstarter so really should have played it through by now.


----------



## Lucien21

Bah the first Shadowrun game was brilliant


----------



## Toby Frost

I like the way they kept some of the music for the new games!


----------



## Toby Frost

Dragonfall is terrific. I think I prefer it slightly to HK, especially in the way that it deals with the hacking parts. Dodging the security programes in real-time feels rather out of place compared to the rest of the game.

In fact, I'm going to say that if you're writing a book and your main characters aren't as well-rounded as the ones in Dragonfall, something has gone wrong.


----------



## biodroid

I bought a sim racing wheel and got Project CARS 2, it's awesome. Waiting for F1 2018 the game, it looks better and sounds better than 2017 with a better career path etc. Apparently the AI is a lot more racy, they don't give up if you try passing them and each season doesn't start off with Ferrari or Merc being the top teams, they have built it in such a way that Sauber or Toro Rosso can be the top teams in the next season due to upgrades to the team and car. That means you can race a previous backmarker team for the championship in a Merc team that is now a backmarker team, sounds like fun.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Returned to a fairly late-on Pillars of Eternity playthrough. After finishing, on Easy, as Pengel, the world's nicest man, playing as Selena, the godlike ex-shopkeeper who is very rational. If/when I finish that, I might try an evil playthrough.


----------



## Bugg

Decided, finally, to try No Man's Sky with the 'Next' update, especially as it's half price or less on Steam and the PS Store at the moment.  I'm finding it pretty boring, tbh, but I've yet to try multiplayer, and my main reason for doing it now was to play with friends, so we'll see what that's like.

Also got Monster Hunter World on the way to try the multiplayer on that.

Otherwise I am still playing Prey, which is fantastic, and the Dishonored 'Knife of Dunwall' DLC, which is also fantastic.


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, I was disappointed with No Man’s Sky. While the visuals and the generation of the planets were great, I found myself not doing much except landing and then desperately trying to find enough fuel to take off again, while my life support system slowly ran out of juice. It made me realise that I really don’t like games that are continually prodding me to do things before a time limit runs out, whether it’s finding fuel, defending the base, rescuing passers-by from zombies and so on. For me, it’s too much like having to keep feeding coins into a parking meter. It discourages experimentation and exploration for its own sake.

The Dishonoured add-ons are pretty good, I thought.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> Yes, I was disappointed with No Man’s Sky. While the visuals and the generation of the planets were great, I found myself not doing much except landing and then desperately trying to find enough fuel to take off again, while my life support system slowly ran out of juice. It made me realise that I really don’t like games that are continually prodding me to do things before a time limit runs out, whether it’s finding fuel, defending the base, rescuing passers-by from zombies and so often. For me, it’s too much like having to keep feeding coins into a parking meter. It discourages experimentation and exploration for its own sake.



Yes, you've just summed up exactly my feelings about it.  I've only played for about three hours but that side of it is already exasperating.  At the moment it's got me running around a planet trying to find buried technology, but there was none in the area where I first landed, so I decided to fly around and try other areas, which resulted me running out of both the take-off fuel and the regular fuel (whatever they're both called), so I spent more time running around shooting at rocks and plants just to be able to take off again.

Naturally, when I actually found some buried technology, I didn't have the resource I needed to actually activate it, so off I went again.

Pretty tedious.  I can't imagine the multiplayer is going to change my opinion but we'll see.




Toby Frost said:


> The Dishonoured add-ons are pretty good, I thought.



I'm certainly enjoying this one.  I loved the main game and I'm keen to get onto the sequel, too, so thought I'd better play these first.  I highly recommend Prey if you enjoyed Dishonored, as it's by the same developers and has a similar approach to exploration and experimentation, just in a more open environment (a space station).


----------



## Toby Frost

For me, I need to be leading the game, not it leading me. I really don’t want a game that’s continually telling me to go and do things, partly because I don’t have the time for that, and partly because it strikes me as unnecessarily stressful (even in games when the aim is to destroy everyone). I’m also not keen on any game that includes running out of fuel as a mechanic. Fine, it’s realistic, but it’s pretty un-fun. 

I suppose No Man’s Sky is in an awkward situation: to be more enjoyable, it needs to either give you a heap of gear and money at the start, or to make its world less superficial and more engrossing. Making it less superficial would involve a lot of extra programming, which I can’t see happening. However, giving you a load of extra stuff at the start would take away a lot of the incentive to keep playing it.


----------



## biodroid

I've been mulling over getting Mass Effect: Andromeda but heard it is terrible, anyone played it yet?


----------



## thaddeus6th

No. Played the original trilogy, and really liked FemShep, but felt no desire to get Andromeda.

From what I've seen, it's a downward step for the series, but would've had less vitriol if it'd been the first entry in a new series rather than following on from a great trilogy. But you can probably get it for sixpence now, so...


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> For me, I need to be leading the game, not it leading me. I really don’t want a game that’s continually telling me to go and do things, partly because I don’t have the time for that, and partly because it strikes me as unnecessarily stressful (even in games when the aim is to destroy everyone). I’m also not keen on any game that includes running out of fuel as a mechanic. Fine, it’s realistic, but it’s pretty un-fun.
> 
> I suppose No Man’s Sky is in an awkward situation: to be more enjoyable, it needs to either give you a heap of gear and money at the start, or to make its world less superficial and more engrossing. Making it less superficial would involve a lot of extra programming, which I can’t see happening. However, giving you a load of extra stuff at the start would take away a lot of the incentive to keep playing it.



At the moment I have finally got round to Rimworld. Which you could conceivably have a similar sort of issue with. In that you are constantly having to deal with issues thrown at you as well as keeping food, temperature and loads of other issues at good levels.

Except it's more of a 'keeping spinning plates going' sort of game that just gets richer and richer the longer you survive. 

I'm adoring it at the moment. 

I suppose the problem with NMS (I've played a good 60 hours + when it first came out) is it's so shallow in comparison and you have to constantly resource grab to just do basic stuff. 

RW could be


----------



## Toby Frost

I find the idea of what makes a good game really interesting, especially since views can differ so much. I think one of the things I want – although it’s a sign of one particular style, rather than of quality – is the option to just wander around and experience things at my own pace. That requires the option to wander about – often, but not necessarily, in a sandbox kind of way – and there being things worth seeing, which I suppose means that the setting needs to be detailed enough to justify the wandering (Fallout 3 and 4 score very highly on this, and Skyrim does to a slightly lesser extent).

The problem with No Man’s Sky is that you spend so much time trying to get off the planet, it begs the question of why you’d want to land there in the first place – which is the whole point of the game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

One thing I found interesting was with Kingdom Come Deliverance. Disregarding the bugs, opinion was generally very in favour of the unforgiving nature and the historical realism, but also united against the difficult save system (which could be fairly easily resolved by spending an hour in a bed at an inn).

People may tolerate or even like tough gameplay, but difficulty saving is less likely to be forgiven.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I find the idea of what makes a good game really interesting, especially since views can differ so much. I think one of the things I want – although it’s a sign of one particular style, rather than of quality – is the option to just wander around and experience things at my own pace. That requires the option to wander about – often, but not necessarily, in a sandbox kind of way – and there being things worth seeing, which I suppose means that the setting needs to be detailed enough to justify the wandering (Fallout 3 and 4 score very highly on this, and Skyrim does to a slightly lesser extent).



Seriously, give Prey a go (assuming you haven't already).  You can wander around and experience things and, as it's set on a space station, the environment's open but it's not sprawling or daunting.

There's a demo available on Steam - it's got to be worth a look!

Plus, if you buy it from Green Man Gaming before 4pm tomorrow, 2nd August, it's only a tenner (you get a Steam code for it) 

Prey | PC - Steam | Game Keys


----------



## biodroid

I tried Prey but it was boring when the chairs turn into monsters and you fire crystal glue at them then beat them with a wrench.


----------



## Toby Frost

One of the more unusual sentences I've ever read! Unfortunately, Prey is too modern to work on my rather dated PC. On the other hand, I really ought to finish some of the games I've got, or even write some books.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> Unfortunately, Prey is too modern to work on my rather dated PC.



That's a shame.  Do you play No Man's Sky on console?  Because that seems more demanding than Prey on my pc, for some reason.


----------



## HoopyFrood

My MMO trio have packed up again and we've now moved onto Destiny 2. Sometimes you want to RPG it in fantasy lands, other times you want to just shoot endless aliens in the face. The Halo games were one of the first shooters I played so Destiny always feels comfortable and familiar. 

Currently chain-queuing PvP battles.


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, No Man's Sky was console.

I recently discovered a strange, entertaining game called No-One Lives Forever. This dates back from the early 2000s, and is a tongue-in-cheek parody of a 1960s spy film. It plays as a cross between Deus Ex and a third-person shooter and in that department is reasonably good. The retro design is very decent and, unusually, you play a female agent of the Emma Peel variety. Quite entertaining.


----------



## electricsheep

Sid Meier's Civilization... (I'll get me coat...)


----------



## Bugg

Oh dear.  I had it all planned.  I was going to finish Prey and the Dishonored DLCs and then play Dishonored 2.  And then this comes along and ruins it all.


----------



## Bugg

^^ Thoroughly enjoying my first few hours with Star Traders: Frontiers.  It's a full-on science fiction RPG from Ye Olde Skool: text/stat heavy, basic but colourful graphics, turn-based combat (ship-vs-ship and crew-vs-enemy), trading, smuggling, pirating, spying, bounty hunting.  The list goes on.

The writing seems decent, too.  The first quest line I did - the one you're handed right at the start, which you can choose NOT to do if you so prefer - quickly expanded into several different sub-plots/quests and ended up going in a direction I did not expect.  I would like to play it through again and see what happens if I choose a different path.

Anyway, now I appear to be free to go where I like and do what I want, although it does dangle other potential quest lines and contacts in front of you if you want direction.

I'm playing a smuggler.  My name's Reynolds.  My ship's called Serenity.  What's not to like?


----------



## Bugg




----------



## Bugg

Rock Paper Shotgun's review of Star Traders: Frontiers.  They love it, too!

Wot I Think – Star Traders: Frontiers


----------



## Lucien21

Really looking forward to RDR2, but maybe not as much as for this game....


----------



## Foxbat

I've gone back to Cryptic Comet's Occult Chronicles and thoroughly enjoying it. Sometimes simplest is best
You can download a demo here (along with others) Cryptic Comet - Turn Based Strategy Games


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just completed my second playthrough of Pillars of Eternity. Mildly miffed because I was just a bit too weak to have a crack at a certain high level optional boss, and much too weak to defeat the Master Below. Trying a new game on a higher difficulty (not the top rank) and already finding it noticeably tougher, but that's probably just teething problems. If needs be, I can always hire some more minions.


----------



## oganalp

Finished playing Starcraft 2 campaign (all four chapters) for the nth time last week. This week was mostly about Euro Truck Simulator 2 with ProMods. I am working on setting up a new company, and driving the truck helps me a lot to think about details as I roam the countryside.


----------



## Bugg

Me and a mate have started playing *Monster Hunter World* co-op.  I held off buying it after playing the demo last year and not thinking much of it.  But the full game - holy moly, it is so much fun!


----------



## Toby Frost

I've got *Dishonoured 2* second hand. It makes the fan in the PS4 sound as if it's about to take off, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It seems to be set in Gormenghast-On-Sea.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, I know (and hate) that sound.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I've got *Dishonoured 2* second hand. It makes the fan in the PS4 sound as if it's about to take off, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far.



I'm still wondering how my pc will handle this.  I tried the demo before I bought it, and it ran beautifully, but I've since heard that it's a couple of the later levels that really tax the hardware.  

Still, I've got to finish the first game's DLCs before I play it properly.


----------



## Toby Frost

The loading in some of the levels takes a long time, which is irritating if you're trying to play it stealthily and reload if you get spotted. It's very enjoyable, but I'm disappointed that none of the guards have invited each other to have whisky and cigars yet.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I'm disappointed that none of the guards have invited each other to have whisky and cigars yet.





Inspired by (obsessed with) the Cyberpunk demo I decided to start Deus Ex: Human Revolution last night.  Played the first mission and failed to save all the hostages (mainly because I forgot to look for them!  ) except the nice lady at the end who then cried because her husband, one of the other hostages, had been killed as a result of my ineptitude.  That made me feel bad, so it looks like I'll have to start it again.  Or maybe I should just live with the consequences.  Hmm.

I seem to be flitting between games at the moment and not settling on anything, when I play on my own at least.  I picked up Battle Chasers: Nightwar on sale and have been enjoying that, too, and that's given me a craving for JRPGs, which reminded me that I never got far with Fire Emblem: Awakening so now I'm thinking about starting that again.

I really need to get a life


----------



## HoopyFrood

Bugg said:


> Me and a mate have started playing *Monster Hunter World* co-op.  I held off buying it after playing the demo last year and not thinking much of it.  But the full game - holy moly, it is so much fun!



I'd never played the Monster Hunter stuff before but my MMO trio picked it up and I was peer pressured but man did I end up enjoying it! It really felt like such an achievement when you finally managed to take something down. 



Toby Frost said:


> I've got *Dishonoured 2* second hand. It makes the fan in the PS4 sound as if it's about to take off, but I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It seems to be set in Gormenghast-On-Sea.



Ended up getting this back when you all gave me the suggestions for a new game and enjoyed it (though yet to finish it to the end). I think I'd need to restart it, now I know what it's about. I wasn't very successful at staying stealthy before - the first time I tried far reach, I ended up bottling myself in the face and alerting all the guards. 

Currently I've gone into proper relaxed mode and am playing Stardew Valley. It just keeps you playing in such simple devious ways, as you start adding more to your farm and having more chores to do, new little quests to complete, and then before you know it the change of season is approaching and you have whole new things to take care of before you can take a break...


----------



## Toby Frost

"Do you think you'll get your own squad after what happened last night?"
"Yes, I believe so - hey, did you hear that? It sounded like a bottle breaking and the deposed former queen saying 'Ow, my face'."
...
"Guess it was just rats."


----------



## HoopyFrood

Toby Frost said:


> "Do you think you'll get your own squad after what happened last night?"
> "Yes, I believe so - hey, did you hear that? It sounded like a bottle breaking and the deposed former queen saying 'Ow, my face'."
> ...
> "Guess it was just rats."



 it's like you were there!


----------



## Toby Frost

Random thought: parts of Dishonoured reminded me strongly of Gormenghast. I wonder if the giant stuffed owls in the museum level of Dishonoured 2 are a homage to it?


----------



## Edward M. Grant

oganalp said:


> This week was mostly about Euro Truck Simulator 2 with ProMods. I am working on setting up a new company, and driving the truck helps me a lot to think about details as I roam the countryside.



I haven't played that in a while. I had it set up with my VR headset, racing seat and steering wheel, and driving around listening to the online radio stations was a good way to relax some days.

Lately I've been playing _Beat Saber_ and trying not to die. Anything above easy mode scares my Fitbit after a while.


----------



## Bugg

I'm going to wax lyrical for a moment (again!).  Forgive me!

So, yeah, Fire Emblem: Awakening took over all of my free time at the weekend.  I can't believe I've had it sitting on the shelf since 2015 and barely looked at it.  I bought both it and a 3DS in 2015 when I was going on jury service, as everyone said I'd be sitting around waiting _a lot_, but then I ended up chatting to people instead.  So the game and the 3DS got put in the cupboard rarely to be seen again.

Now I've sat down and really played it and blimey - it's amazingly, wonderfully brilliant and addictive as hell.  It's gorgeous, the 3D is marvellous and, most importantly, the gameplay is both outstanding _and _challenging.  It's got an engrossing story, fantastic characters, and beautifully localised dialogue which is, at times, very funny.  Plus I'm a bit gobsmacked by how good it sounds on headphones.

I've played three Fire Emblem games in their entirety in the past (two on the GBA, one on the 2DS) and loved them, too, but they seem to be taking things to another level with this one through the character interactions and story presentation, wrapped around the hard as nails turn-based strategy that hooked me in the other games.

I also dabbled with the two games that came out on Game Cube and Wii but sitting in front of the tv playing Fire Emblem never felt right to me.  It will always be a handheld series for me.

I'll stop now.  Any other FE fans here?


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've occasionally heard positive things about FE but as I'm strictly a console gamer that's the extent of my contact.

Some good RPGs coming out right now. Divinity Original Sin 2, Dragon Quest XI, Shadow of the Tomb Raider (ok, not an RPG but still), and, later this year, Pillars of Eternity 2.

I think it's good that the B-tier games, between huge budget blockbusters and indie hits, seem to be coming back.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I've occasionally heard positive things about FE but as I'm strictly a console gamer that's the extent of my contact.



It's only ever been a console series, back as far as the SNES.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I wouldn't count 2DS etc as consoles.


----------



## Bugg

Haha, well that's just a definition difference


----------



## Bugg




----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, I don't judge GAME for that. If they want to be heretics who use the word 'console' completely incorrectly, that's up to them. I support their freedom to be 100% wrong 

I do get the appeal of handhelds, my personal problem with them is akin to my PC problem. I know I'd get distracted a lot. The console is much better for me in that regard. It lives in my room. It can't be carried in my pocket. And it isn't suggesting I play X-Wing versus TIE Fighter (the last PC game I played) when I should be working.

He writes, on a forum, when he should be checking Sir Edric and the Plague for quotes.


----------



## Bugg

I'm sure they support your freedom.  As do Amazon, Argos, Nintendo . . . 

Mind you, when Wikipedia calls them consoles, too, I start to doubt everything


----------



## Boneman

Revisiting Fable III, in the hopes that the rumours of Fable IV will turn out to be true...


----------



## Venusian Broon

Oh my god...have been carefully plotting for the past ten years to put my 'super' male relative, via changing to agnatic gavelkind just recently, onto the throne (My descendants being basically all female and pretty low scoring, and well let's face it: the game scores female rulers down heavily) and careful husbanding of a now, almost 60 year old king....

BUT GODDAMIT HE GOES AND PRODUCES A MALE HEIR. AT THAT AGE!?!?!?!?!

So now for realm stability and a chance to actually make this work he's got to get to his late 70's to let his heir grow up.

Otherwise I've got probably a decade of a realm controlled by a regent :-(

GOD DAMN YOU CRUSADER KINGS 2 !!!!!!!



In fairness, this is why this game, despite it's age and relative simplicity, is so brilliant.

EDIT: 

Now I've got an 'illness' (CK2 warning that it may just kill your character off) and my +1 health pet cat just died too...I am not looking at the screen and crossing as many appendages as possible to make the random number generator in CK2 keeps my oldster going...


----------



## M. Robert Gibson

0 A D - For a free game this is absolutely astounding





If you like real time strategy games set in the ancient world, I highly recommend this.
Download it here 0 A.D. | A free, open-source game of ancient warfare


----------



## Bugg

I've hit a mission in Fire Emblem: Awakening that is absolutely kicking my arse, which I actually think is a good thing in a strategy RPG.  I think I've attempted it six times now, trying different strategies and party combinations.  I got pretty far the latest time but then just got overwhelmed by high level enemies which spawned at a certain point.  Fortunately it's a side story, so it's not blocking my progress in the main campaign.  I'll have to come back to it once some of my characters have levelled up a bit more.

Awesome game.


----------



## Boneman

I like that you have to try and try again. Too many games allow you to win virtually every battle - I get bored in the end.


----------



## Bugg

Things just got weird.  Part of the strategy with the Fire Emblem games is to have the same characters fighting side by side as much as possible, so that they form a friendship and develop support bonuses the more they fight together (a mechanic the most recent XCOM game shamelessly nicked, iirc).  FE: Awakening takes it a step further in that, if you nurture those relationships enough, the characters get married and have kids.

I'll spoilerise the next bit just in case anyone ever wants to play it:



Spoiler



Back near the start of the game there was a mission where a stranger fell from the sky and saved one of the main characters.  I'd almost forgotten about it, what with all the 'getting my arse kicked' and stuff.  

Now, much further into the game, the main character, Chrom, and his wife have had a child.  But it turns out that the stranger who fell from the sky was actually that child, all grown up, sent back through time to save the future.  Turns out she brought a lot of other 'children of my characters' back with her, too.

Marty McFly will be turning up next.  Or possibly Arnie.



God, I love this game


----------



## Lucien21

I'm about 30% of the way through Spider-Man. Loving it so far. The swinging through the city is fantastic.

I't not doing anything fantastically new (It's basically one of the Arkham games), but it does it very well.


----------



## AlexH

Retro gaming... the Battle mode on Super Mario Bros. 3 has to be one of the most simple and fun multiplayer games ever.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Lucien, did you ever play Spiderman 2, for the PS2? That had fantastically fun web-slinging travel through the city, and I was wondering how the two compare.


----------



## Lucien21

thaddeus6th said:


> Lucien, did you ever play Spiderman 2, for the PS2? That had fantastically fun web-slinging travel through the city, and I was wondering how the two compare.



It's been a while since I played that, but I would say that this is better.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Cheers for that, Lucien.

Looks a little easier, with less plummeting woe (it was always a bit lame when you screwed up and ended up as a pedestrian), but a better flow to it. Also, better draw distance so you don't see lights turning on as you swing around.

As a game mechanic, it's pretty cool.


----------



## Culhwch

Lucien21 said:


> I'm about 30% of the way through Spider-Man. Loving it so far. The swinging through the city is fantastic.
> 
> I't not doing anything fantastically new (It's basically one of the Arkham games), but it does it very well.



I'm at about the same point! The web swinging is a great mechanic. Even though I can fast travel now I still find myself swinging to the next objective! The combat is certainly very Arkham-esque, as is traversing the city in a lot of ways, though the city is a lot more colourful and lively than Gotham. And massive too! 

My only issue is that it's a console exclusive - I'd rather play a game like this on PC, just because I'm far better with a mouse and keyboard than a controller.


----------



## Lucien21

I just finished it. Spider-Man is an amazing game I loved it. Just a few things to tidy up and this will be my second Platinum trophy this year. (God of War being the other one)


----------



## Stable

Has anyone tried Cultist Simulator? I don't have heaps of time to play games, so I've been taking this one very slowly, but it's great. Like a strange, relaxing, threatening card game with plenty of text and story. I love the atmosphere.


----------



## Toby Frost

More Dishonoured 2.

Today, in my stealthy, non-lethal quest to bring mercy and justice to my people:

- See a guard smoking next to a pond
- Decide that he's in the way, but just a hapless minion, so I'll be kind to him
- Shoot guard with tranquiliser dart
- Guard promptly falls into pond and starts to drown
- Shoal of piranhas arrives and starts to eat drowning guard
- Nearby security device blasts entire pond with gigantic lightning bolt
- Awkward.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, that's the best advertisement for Dishonored 2 I've seen. Makes me actually want to buy it.

Currently playing Dragon Quest XI (*cough* drew something that's in the media gallery). Very old school, but I like it. A significant change of pace from my usual serious/grim stuff (Witcher 3, The Last of Us, etc).


----------



## Bugg

Dragon Quest XI is very good.  I've played about 15 hours of it and enjoyed it muchly - especially once the first couple of hours were out of the way and the story got going - but I'm still playing and loving Fire Emblem: Awakening (60+ hours now) so it's taking a back seat.  My 3DS addiction shows no sign of abating as I also picked up Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies and Etrian Odyssey IV from the eshop for a total of £12.  Bargainous.


----------



## frhudson

Assassin’s Creed is my top. Waiting for new _"Odyssey" _now.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, one thing I always dislike with 'party' style RPGs is waiting to get all the companions. I'm a fair way in now, really enjoying the gambling (not sure how to get into the top poker table. I've got over 50,000 chips, so I don't think that's the limit. Might need to be level 30, or higher).


----------



## oganalp

Near to my quarterly Witcher 3 run, I am starting Divinity: Original Sin 2.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Got my eye on Divinity 2. I did play the first game and got a long way in, but didn't finish it. Thought it had a lot of charm, the UI could occasionally be a little irksome (item menus, mostly), and the lack of pointers was sometimes refreshing, sometimes frustrating.

I also have a burning hatred of instant kill mechanisms. For traps, I can just about tolerate it, but for the little moving about thingummyjigs in the forest, it just annoyed me. 

The humour, on the other, was great, and I liked the combat (although if you're under-levelled you're almost always toast and grinding wasn't possible).

Hmm. Maybe I should write an unfinished review.


----------



## Bugg

DOS 2 is awesome in so many ways.  Quite annoyed that I have to start a new game if I want to take advantage of the Definitive Edition, though.


----------



## Bugg

Finished Fire Emblem: Awakening a couple of days ago and, yeah, straight into my top 5 all-time favourite games.  Absolutely loved it.  Still got some post game content to do but the story is wrapped up.

Last night I made a start on SteamWorld Heist (3DS version).  The gameplay's excellent, it looks gorgeous, and the music is brilliant.  Love the old Saturday matinee Western serial aesthetic, too.  Think I'm going to enjoy this


----------



## Vince W

Started playing Starship Titanic again. This time on my mac the way Adams wanted it to be played.


----------



## AlexanderSen

The Alpha for Iron Harvest, an RTS based off of Jakub Rozalski 1920+ world.


----------



## HoopyFrood

It's my birthday today and I don't have anything planned so yesterday I decided to get myself a new game to play today. I opted for the new Spider-Man game. Not a big Spider-Fan but I like superheroes and I'd been seeing/hearing good things about it.

First thing that was surprising was that all 45gb loaded in under an hour, usually my toaster internet takes 10 hours for that.

So I tried it out and yes, swinging around the city is a great deal of fun. It reminds me a lot of the Batman games -- swooping around a massive city, dropping down on petty bad guys and beating the crap out of them. Which is no bad thing, that's always fun. So much so that I've barely touched the main story yet, although I did decide I was going to unlock all the police radars first so I could see the whole city.

Also appreciate a game that gets straight on with it (I'm not a long cut scene person) and teaches you as you go, and it also has some great button-jabbing action scenes.

I think it'll definitely keep me entertained today.


----------



## Rodders

Happy Birthday.


----------



## Vince W

Hmm. There's some bleed through in the forums lately. Oh well.

Happy Birthday, Frood.!


----------



## Bugg

I currently have two games on the go: Bravely Default on 3DS, which is brilliant, and Xenoblade Chronicles on pc via the Dolphin emulator with an HD textures mod.  I bought and was playing it on 3DS but it's so epic it needs the bigger screen.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Interestingly, the 'end' of Dragon Quest XI isn't really the end. Not sure if there's a New Game Plus mode (from the start) but there is an ongoing story after what seems to be the main ending.


----------



## Venusian Broon

So...finally after many attempts, to understand the mechanics, and work them well, I have finally made a breakthrough in CK2, through diligent use of family and laws....

.....the Empire of Alba is here: 




Well, this is a picture _just before _I made the Empire, but you can see the extent of the Anglo-Saxon and Welsh domains!


Still another 400 years, in game, to spread the worthy culture of Pictish to the rest of the world. ;-)


----------



## Culhwch

Venusian Broon said:


> So...finally after many attempts, to understand the mechanics, and work them well, I have finally made a breakthrough in CK2, through diligent use of family and laws....



Oh, I've installed and uninstalled that game so many times, trying to get into it. It sounds so appealing, but I can never get into it when I start. Maybe I'm due for another try!


----------



## Bugg

I spent ages trying to take over Scandinavia in CKII and it was going really well.  I'd claimed Norway and Sweden and was on the verge of taking over Finland when my king died in battle.  His name was Dyre, so I should've seen it coming.  The Holy Roman Empire was already rather annoyed with me because I had several of their bishops enjoying the hospitality of my dungeons, so they soon came in force.  Let's just say my game collapsed quite spectacularly soon after that 

In other news, what an amazing game Xenoblade Chronicles is.


----------



## M. Robert Gibson

Venusian Broon said:


> CK2


What's the full title of this game?  It looks like my sort of game (world domination is a hobby of mine )


----------



## Venusian Broon

M. Robert Gibson said:


> What's the full title of this game?  It looks like my sort of game (world domination is a hobby of mine )



I really need to conquer the rest of the globe, the border gore is horrendous at the moment on mainland Europe.





The game's name is Crusader Kings 2, part of the Paradox Interactive stable (In fact, at the end of the campaign, 1440 or thereabouts, you can convert your save to the next time period and game, Europa Universalis 4, I think)

The only issue I'd have with it, for someone that comes to it cold, is that there's a lot of DLC, some of which I do think is really good...but that means, to get the full set, it could be pretty costly. I bought tons of the DLC in the black Friday sales and got 50-66% off.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, definitely wait for a sale, either on Steam or Paradox's own site.  I do understand Paradox's business model but I also find it extremely off-putting, especially when they make fundamental changes to the gameplay, as they have done with Stellaris.


----------



## Av Demeisen

*Stellaris*. I bought it and all then available DLC during last Christmas' Steam sale, but have yet to complete a whole game due to the major restructuring the game underwent at the start of the year. More big changes upcoming with the Le Guin update (2.2).


----------



## Bugg

Yep, they move the goalposts far too often.


----------



## HoopyFrood

So I’m still on Spider-Man and enjoying it a lot. Love his witty quips. Love the twitter feed. Unlocked lots of the suits, though I was mainly sticking with the white spider one until I recently got the shiny Stark suit. Climbed to the top of the Avengers tower and knocked on the window, asking if I could join (doubt I’ve been the only one to do so because we’re all hilarious nerds, right). 

Swinging around is a great deal of fun, I’ve only used fast travel once, that first time when you have no choice but to. It’s so much fun that it’s made me do loads of the side tasks, because I’m often just swinging from one side of the city to the other, so why not stop for a backpack, pigeon or science experiment. That’s another thing I like, that it involves all sides of Peter, including the science stuff. 

I also like the occasional breaks to MJ, sneaking around and investigating, it’s nice that she’s got some agency in this.

But what I really like is how the game levels up with you. First I was just punching thugs and drug dealers, then bigger guys started appearing in the groups, then they got weapons, then guns, and then when the Demon stuff kicks in suddenly there are Demons in the streets, and their weapons have been upgrading, and now they’ve started setting bombs or having rooftop fights with Sable Security (also liked that they’re taking over the streets, too, and Silver Sable looks cooool. Always a fan of angry, tough women, me).

I think maybe the only thing I’ve been missing is big fights with known Spider-Man enemies, but considering there’s a Black Cat DLC coming out tomorrow, I guess that kind of stuff is going to be for later add-ons. 

Oh, and perhaps one of my favourite things is the JJ radio show. His most recent one has just accused Spider-Man of eating pigeons


----------



## Bugg

Playing Breath of the Wild on my newly acquired Switch, met this guy standing watch on a bridge in the middle of nowhere, he says:  "We're doomed!  I mean, don't panic!"

Dad's Army references in Zelda??  I'm in love


----------



## HoopyFrood

HoopyFrood said:


> think maybe the only thing I’ve been missing is big fights with known Spider-Man enemies



I was a bit hasty saying this, now that I'm over 70% through the main story and things have kicked off big style


----------



## Venusian Broon

Oooohh, CK2 has a new, more detailed map. More provinces. West Africa has been expanded, which is great, but virtually every part of the map has new additions. 

Surely China and Japan will surely be added properly at some point. 

Still not complaining, only got ~550 hours on the game on Steam  ;-)


----------



## Edward M. Grant

Stared on _Fallout 4 VR_: I never played the flat version of the game, so this is a new one for me. 

It's... shall we say?... not very well optimized for VR, but it's still playable. Most of the issues are with trying to stuff the number of controls the game requires onto a handful of buttons and two joysticks. Inventory management in particular is painful compared to a keyboard and mouse, and, when using power armor, the helmet blocks some of the 'press A to do stuff' popups on the screen.

But the performance is OK on my PC (i7-3770 and GTX1080) and there are only occasional stutters. The only real graphics issue is that it will sometimes drop frames when talking to an NPC, so the entire screen fades out for a split second before it comes back. Also, loading new levels can take a long time.

Also, big shootouts with bandits can get somewhat painful after a while when you're standing up, leaning around corners and aiming a gun by hand rather than using a keyboard and mouse to do so.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I had started a new Skyrim (Survival) game but it's been weirdly prone to crashing. I know Bethesda is famous for its bugs, but I hadn't suffered quite so many in such a short time.

So, after a long hiatus, I returned to my attempt to play The Witcher 3 in German. Videogames are the only way I ever practise/use the language these days. Interesting to note little quirks. Started the Jenny in/of the Woods contract, but in German it's Hanna, not Jenny.


----------



## Av Demeisen

I just bought the *Endless Space 2 Collection* (Endless Space 2 Digital Deluxe, Lost Symphony, Untold Tales, Vaulters) for just €12.41. Looks really slick. And complicated ...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Doing some grinding in Dragon Quest XI.

I will say that I didn't have to do any grinding at all for the entire main game, but there's a sort of post-game aspect. The big boss of that is an order of magnitude harder than the main storyline's boss. On the plus side, listening to Queen's Platinum Collection whilst levelling did take me back to catching the Cactuar in FFVIII.

Does make me wonder about reviewing, though. It's been some time since I actually went through the story (I usually finish a game before reviewing, which is why my abandoned 90% effort on Divinity Original Sin didn't get one) so I've probably forgotten a fair whack of it.


----------



## Bugg

Av Demeisen said:


> I just bought the *Endless Space 2 Collection* (Endless Space 2 Digital Deluxe, Lost Symphony, Untold Tales, Vaulters) for just €12.41. Looks really slick. And complicated ...



It's brilliant, enjoy!


----------



## Overread

Av Demeisen said:


> I just bought the *Endless Space 2 Collection* (Endless Space 2 Digital Deluxe, Lost Symphony, Untold Tales, Vaulters) for just €12.41. Looks really slick. And complicated ...



Endless Space is not as complicated as it seems, its actually a simpler style of game to get into, once you get used to it. You might want to start off as one of the human factions like the Empire as they are fairly standard in how they work. Some of the other factions, such as the plants, or the faction with the Ark ships - can be a little tricky to work out at first as their method of planetary expansion and securing new systems is very different.

I have to say the Endless games (Endless space 1 and 2 and Endless Legends) are beautiful games in terms of their creative and artistic design. I rank them very high as atmospheric games that really immerse themselves in their own universe and lore.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, agree, they are gorgeous and have very slick and intuitive UIs.  Also agree about starting as one of the human factions, or possibly the Sophons for their research bonuses.  One of the truly excellent things about the Endless games is how differently each faction plays.  I'd also recommend starting with a small-ish map and fewer opponents for a quick game just to get used to the systems.

Oh, and they also have quite wonderful music:






I think you get the soundtrack as part of the Digital Deluxe package.

Perhaps the only thing that lets them down (a little) is the combat, but I even find that fun as - rather than being hands-on - it's more about creating strong ship designs and the best combination of tactics.

I also really enjoy Dungeon of the Endless . . .  even though I've never made it all the way to the end


----------



## Av Demeisen

Right, I got the OST as mp3s (along with some novelisations). From what I have heard so far, the soundtrack is a lot nicer than _Stellaris_'. I went ahead and bought the new DLCs _Harmonic Memories_ (music originally from ES1, I believe) and _Celestial Worlds _with 15% off for €5.41. Now I am all set to go.

I am only missing the warfare centred _Supremacy_ DLC. Combat is not my main focus in this type of game anyway, and some elements of that DLC are supposed to be a bit disruptive to the endgame.

Now the question is, will I finish my current game of _Stellaris_ this weekend before starting up _Endless Space 2_ again. _Stellaris: Megacorp _and the Le Guin update arrive 6 December and look set to improve that game further on the economics side.


----------



## Overread

The Supremecy adds the Hissho  major faction and also the behemoth ship. The Behemoth has three basic modes; supreme warship; planet destroyer; system shield. There's also a new minor faction and heroes.
So its not all about conquest, well worth getting along the way (don't forget steam has a big Christmas sale too so there's no pressure to get it all now)


----------



## Bugg

I've spent a lot of hours on Stellaris but I didn't like it half as much as ES2.  So much potential but Paradox always keep moving the goalposts, which I find really annoying.


----------



## Bugg

In other news, I just finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.  I am in awe.  It has to be the most EPIC game I've ever played.  Easily my favourite JRPG that I've played to date, and straight into my top 5 games of all time.  Simply amazing.  I may have got something in my eye at the end . . .  

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ready to go!   Although I might play something different for a while first.


----------



## Bugg

I didn't play anything different (well, I _did_, but only for one evening).  Xenoblade Chronicles 2 underway.


----------



## Av Demeisen

Temporary (?) performance hit aside, Stellaris 2.2 Le Guin is a success. The new economic system greatly improves gameplay, even without the MegaCorp DLC.


----------



## Rodders

I down loaded Star Trek: Fleet Commander last week. It’s very good.


----------



## redbrickwriters

I play Hearthstone. Too much Hearthstone.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I finally finished Dragon Quest XI. The main game, as it were, is well-paced but the post-game, for me at least, took a lot of grinding. On the other hand, listening to music whilst levelling relentlessly did take me back to the likes of FFVIII, hunting a cactuar. Queen's Platinum Collection remains excellent.

I'll see about writing a review, but suspect I'll've forgotten quite a bit. Started a new game just to test the Draconian Quest options. The Shypox one is my favourite. The player-character can become temporarily frozen in battle as he remembers embarrassing memories or fails to talk to NPCs the first time of asking because (for example) he's afraid they're going to think he's chatting them up, or breaks wind.


----------



## Bugg

40+ hours into Xenoblade Chronicles 2.  Just finished chapter 4.  It is fantastic.  Such an engaging combat system with so many different ways to combine various aspects of it.  Doesn't take itself as seriously as the original game but the way it paces and presents its story moments and plot twists are just as brilliant and dramatic. 

I love playing the big story bits on the tv for all the spectacle, then picking up the Switch and doing side quests in handheld mode.  This is the game I bought it for in the main, so I'm glad it's turned out to be so good.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm playing Divinity Original Sin II, which is a stupid title.

I got about 90% through the first game before quitting. Whilst I liked a lot of it, the instant death enemies (limited area, but still) and lack of quest guidance meant I got frustrated, which was a bit irksome happening so late.

However, so far, I'm very much enjoying the sequel. I've assembled a merry band of lunatics, the nicest of whom seems to be the hired killer, and had many larks and adventures in the starting area. Got a bit frustrated not being able to find a certain item (it could turn up in the last bit, I suppose) so I vented my fury by returning to the prison from whence I escaped (no spoiler, that's literally the premise) and murdered everyone.

Playing as Fane, which may be a brave choice as you get a warning asking if you really want to be an undead. Perversely, I'm an undead cleric (my own healing spells would cause me harm).

Yesterday I planned to play an hour then do some other things, and ended up playing for three hours.


----------



## Bugg

I've re-started Dragon Quest XI.  As soon as I found out there's a way to replace the ear-grating MIDI music of the Western release with the sumptuous Japanese full orchestral soundtrack I got the pc version in the Steam Christmas sale and modded it.  It changes the feel of the game completely and I love it even more now 

Also nearly finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2.  Finished chapter 9 (of 10) this afternoon.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Got to say the MIDI stuff didn't bother me, although I've heard others dislike it a lot too.

Are you playing with the optional Draconic modifiers? I started a game with about half of those. Got a fair way in (just met the mermaid) before I got Divinity 2 for Christmas.

Speaking of which, I'm having a similar problem to the first game. A spot of option paralysis over choosing, beyond obvious choices, what to spend points on. Just decided to expand the Red Prince, mostly a beefcake, into a summoner (on brand, as a move) and giving Sebille a polymorph point (wish I had another, though, as there's a nice looking level 2 book I've got which would help make her a bit more resilient. Great for damage, though).


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Got to say the MIDI stuff didn't bother me, although I've heard others dislike it a lot too.



Yeah, it probably doesn't bother a lot of people but it seemed so out of step with the quality of the rest of the game to me.  As an example:

Original MIDI music:






and the orchestral mod:







I'm not playing with the draconic modifiers.  I want to finish it once without them.  I'll use them next time through, which will be on the Switch I expect, as I will definitely be getting that version too.


----------



## thaddeus6th

To be honest, although it doesn't bother me it does sound like quite a lot of people share your view, so I'm not sure which of us is in the minority. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer the orchestral score, it just doesn't irk me all that much.

My suspended draconic playthrough has about half the modifiers. I think trying all of them would be a bit brave/frustrating.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> To be honest, although it doesn't bother me it does sound like quite a lot of people share your view, so I'm not sure which of us is in the minority. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer the orchestral score, it just doesn't irk me all that much.



I'd have put up with it but, once I knew about the mod, there was no going back for me 


I just finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2.  I think it out-epic-ed the epicness of the end of the first game.  Took me five attempts to beat the final boss, then the ending cutscene lasted over half an hour.  I'm in bits


----------



## thaddeus6th

Although it's only my first playthrough, it's clear to see some areas where decisions do alter the way that Divinity 2 unfolds. That's always cool to see. And my companions sometimes have differing but valid perspectives, helping to make decisions less a case of Supreme Evil versus Ultra Good (mostly) but a bit greyer. 

Also amused when my necromantic undead cleric got attacked by someone who tried using poison. Which heals the undead. Good luck, you buffoon! Mwahahaha!


----------



## Bugg

More expansions for Endless Space 2 and Endless Legend incoming:


----------



## Overread

I really want someone at studio Ghibli to just hire the creative people behind the Endless games and give them a movie or TV series! I love their artwork and style! 

And I've caved and am going to have to find some money to at last leave the 1024*768 community and get a widescreen so I can properly enjoy Endless Legends


----------



## Bugg

All the Endless games are free to play on Steam this weekend, and on sale until 4th February.


----------



## Vladd67

Just started Medieval Engineer, a little annoying as I’m trying to build and I keep getting attacked by barbarians.


----------



## Bugg

Still loving Dragon Quest XI on pc (55 hrs in) and Octopath Traveler on Switch (50 hrs in).  Hit a brick wall with one boss in the latter so am going to have to revise party combos and strategies a bit, I think.  Given the way I hated the MIDI soundtrack in DQXI, I have to say Octopath has got one of the best game soundtracks I've heard to date.  Barely a bad theme in it and this battle music, in particular, is foot-tappingly brilliant:






Me and a mate have also started, finally, a co-op play-through of Divinity Original Sin 2.  It's making me feel very tempted by Pillars of Eternity 2 now that it has had proper turn-based combat added in the latest patch.  I enjoyed the first game a lot but the combat was messy, which is why I've stayed away from 2 so far.


----------



## Bugg

Ha, so I adjusted my strategy a bit in Octopath and beat that boss on the next try, and pretty easily, too.  Plus, after five or six previous attempts that resulted in party wipes (and took aaaages), I only had one character, Therion the thief, KO'd during the fight and I had him equipped with a support skill that automatically resurrected him anyway.  Result.


----------



## Bugg

Really enjoyed the latest Nintendo Direct.  Fire Emblem: Three Houses is looking great.  A remake of Link's Awakening was a complete surprise and looks lovely.  Very intrigued by the trailer for Astral Chain.  And, best of all, Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition with extra story content for _all _characters AND the full orchestral score.  I was already thinking of playing it again on handheld with the Draconian options enabled but now I'm really looking forward to it.  Plus it's not out till the end of the year so I've got plenty of time to finish it on pc and have a decent break from it before it's released.


----------



## Av Demeisen

Civilization VI: Gathering Storm.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Vladd67 said:


> Just started Medieval Engineer, a little annoying as I’m trying to build and I keep getting attacked by barbarians.



Thank you, this gave me a good chuckle this drear foggy morning - I shouldn’t laugh but the image of it is too good. 

I’m not playing anything half as worthwhile (basically, I’m driving cars into other cars in the hugely fun but moronic arcade game _Onrush_). 

I was playing _Until Dawn_, a survival horror that makes use of the butterfly effect in terms of choices you make but the teen characters are all so foul and unsympathetic I’ve stopped (but not before getting a couple of them killed off!). It’s one thing working with snarky teens but I’m not keen on spending my free time with ‘em. 

Hope your building plans are more successful in future! : D 

pH


----------



## Vladd67

@Phyrebrat on the plus side I’m building a nice collection of skulls should I wish to use them for decoration.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've gotten back into Divinity Original Sin 2, and made quite a bit more progress.

My level of heroic role playing has now reached the stage of actively hampering my own advancement.


----------



## AnnWanges

The last game I played was Resident Evil: Remake


----------



## Bugg

I finished the main story of Dragon Quest XI last night.  What a wonderful game.  I had a brief look at (as in watched the opening cut scene of) the post game but will take a break before doing any more, or might even wait for the Switch version with all the extras.  Loved it, though.  Absolutely loved it.  It felt like a grand adventure from start to finish.

My next main project is Persona 5, which I re-started a week or two back.  I played 40 hours or so when it first came out then got distracted (by W3 Blood & Wine, iirc), so it's high time.


----------



## thaddeus6th

A word on the post-game: I found it a bit of a slog. There's a lot there but much of it required, for me, grinding, unlike the main game.

That said, I did rediscover, maybe for the first time since FFVIII, listening to music whilst playing a videogame.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, I remember you saying it was a bit of a grind.  I'll try it at some point, as mentioned, but I feel the need for something else now.  Generally, once I finish the main story of a game I'm happy and done with it.  Never really bothered with post-game stuff before.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I think my time split was 60 hours for the main game and 30 for the post-game, but quite a bit of the latter was grinding.

I finished a certain section off my own bat, but the last boss annoyed me so I just checked Youtube for cunning tactics, which worked nicely.

That said, there's still some interesting backstory in the post-game.


----------



## Bugg

Well the main game apparently took me just over 79 hours to complete, but it didn't feel like it.  I took my time with it, and loved almost every minute.  It was so focussed, no messing around with endless side quests (in fact, I've still got loads of those to do if I feel like it).  But I did go around talking to everyone and investigating every nook and cranny.  The only bit I didn't like was when it forced me to play the slot machines in the casino in order to advance the main plot.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, the casino wasn't a problem for me because I played a ton of poker so I had a load of chips already


----------



## Bugg

That was really the only thing in the game I couldn't be bothered with, just did the minimum necessary.  Still took a couple of hours, though.


----------



## picklematrix

I played the first few missions of LA Noire last night. Very good, though I may not have time to finish it anytime soon.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, if it helps, the poker odds are broken in your favour. Particularly the doubling chances. I went middle, and rightmost for 1st and 2nd, occasionally adding a 3rd round with the leftmost card. Came off (2 rounds) about 50% of the time, and maybe a third of the time for 3 rounds, making it a clear advantage.

Of course, you have to not be utterly bored by doing it. I quite liked it, and stuck some music on, but I can see how it might be a slog for some.


----------



## Bugg

I might give it a proper go when I play the Switch version.  Somehow doing that sort of thing whilst sitting in front of the pc is not my thing, but doing it in handheld mode might be more fun.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I can see it as something people might do when lazily watching TV or suchlike. I quite enjoyed revisiting old CDs and playing some new ones, whilst playing the poker game.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm back on the robot dinosaur hunting in *Horizon Zero Dawn Dark Thirty* or whatever it's called. It's fun, and very well-executed, but not the ground-breaking piece of art it was advertised as being. I've also downloaded *Hidden & Dangerous 2* on the PC and it's clunky but very enjoyable. There's something quite strange about having characters who have pretty much your own accent, though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

How's the photo mode in Horizon Zero Dawn?


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm not sure what that is! Have I missed the game's most important feature?


----------



## Bugg

Photo mode is great in HZD.  I think I posted some waaaay back when.  I'll see if I can find them.


----------



## Bugg

Well I found the post but the screenshots have gone missing 



Bugg said:


> There is indeed   Here's couple I took:


----------



## Bugg

Oh, in other news I've (finally) started Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC (First Chapter).  I can already tell that the writing and characters are a cut above.


----------



## Bugg

Rumours that Persona 5 is coming to Switch are gathering pace.  JRPGs are such time sinks I much prefer playing them on handheld, but now I don't know whether to suspend my current PS4 playthrough until it's confirmed or otherwise.  Hmm.  Well, it's not like I haven't got anything else to play, is it?  

Rumour: Persona 5 S Expected To Arrive On Nintendo Switch This Fall


----------



## Toby Frost

For fun I bought _Hidden & Dangerous 2_ for my laptop, a WW2 game in which you control an SAS unit. It's very weird to play a computer game where some of the characters have the same accent as me. Anyway, someone called Xander Armstrong is listed in the credits as voicing one of the spiffing hardcases. I looked him up and was delighted to find that it's the same Alexander Armstrong from the sketch show Armstrong & Miller, who are known for playing two useless, puerile pilots in a war film parody. Well I never!


----------



## Bugg

I remember playing that!  Really good game, enjoy 

Oh, those screenshots reappeared, lol.  "Proudly hosted by Photobucket" my arse


----------



## Rodders

I've been downloading and playing the Half Life 2 mods on Steam. Some of them are pretty good and manage to capture the feel of the game.


----------



## Toby Frost

_Hidden & Dangerous 2_ is both clunky and very satisfying. I first bought it about 15 years ago, and used to play it with my old housemate. There was a particular line about explosives and pressurised containers being a perfect combination that always amused us.

I've also bought another game I used to play: _Dragon's Dogma_ or, as I think of it, "Drunk Skyrim".


----------



## thaddeus6th

I like Dragon's Dogma, it's a shame they never made a proper sequel. It's aught good.


----------



## Toby Frost

It is good, although I do find it unintentionally funny. I like the way that the secondary characters say things like "Mayhap men cannot stand 'gainst such mighty foes" while you are literally standing on the mighty foe's head and whacking it with a sword, probably shouting "Whey, look at me lads!"


----------



## Bugg

I've often looked at Dragon's Dogma and considered buying it but never bothered.  It _is _coming out on Switch, though, so maybe that'll be the chance.  I'd really like to get Final Fantasy X and XII for Switch but the prices they want for them are the same as brand new triple-A games.  Ridiculous.  Of course, I'll inevitably buy them


----------



## Bugg

D'oh, double post.

So, might as well add that I'm really, really enjoying Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The combat's fantastic, but the drunken overuse of 'aught' is just weird. Really deserved a proper sequel. And I like the layered armour/clothing too.

I keep toying with getting FFXII for the PS4. I played the original, the last Final Fantasy game I bought, and liked it quite a lot, although it's a shame they switched tracks with the story (Vaan wasn't in it originally. Basch was meant to be the main character).


----------



## Axissun

McMurphy said:


> What are you currently playing in regards to video games? This thread will remain stickied until 2010, which sounds very science fiction.
> 
> For myself, I am replaying the Nintendo Wii's version of Resident Evil 4 from Ada's viewpoint. I am enjoying it immensely. The price tag of just under twenty U.S. dollars for a new copy sweetened the deal.
> 
> I recommend it for adult players interested in the horror genre. It is not, however, recommended for children due to zombie violence.


 
Warframe- lil bit of a steep learning curve but great nonetheless only let down for me is the kind of lack of backstory

Elder Scrolls Online- same as above though there is more backstory just confusing alongside having to be in a faction compared to the other Elder scrolls games


----------



## Toby Frost

thaddeus6th said:


> The combat's fantastic, but the drunken overuse of 'aught' is just weird.



It's as though the game was sponsored by Aughtco Inc. When I was playing Alien: Isolation, I thought "This is both really impressive and plays as if the people who made it had never played another game before". There's a bit in DD where, to progress the story, you have to accept a really innocuous and unimportant-sounding offer to rest in a camp. Then all hell breaks loose, but there's no real indication that you should do it. It's really odd writing.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, it's a weird RPG. The combat mechanics are fantastic and the classes play in genuinely different yet useful ways, yet the writing is wonky at times and the story, which has a great start and finish, goes missing for most of the middle.


----------



## Bugg

I'm currently in chapter 2 of the First Chapter (figure that one out . . .) of Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.  It's absolutely wonderful, so engrossing and fun.  The characters, the story, the world building, the combat, all as good as I've seen.  Why have I not played this game before now???  It's been sitting in my Steam library since 2015 

Should've watched this sooner . . .


----------



## Toby Frost

thaddeus6th said:


> Yeah, it's a weird RPG. The combat mechanics are fantastic and the classes play in genuinely different yet useful ways, yet the writing is wonky at times and the story, which has a great start and finish, goes missing for most of the middle.



I always assumed that it was strangely-translated, or aught like that. I get the feeling that there's a lot going on in it that I'm not picking up, especially with regard to fighting. My combat skill boils down to "hit fast" (quite good) and "hit strongly" (not as good), occasionally coupled with "climb onto enemy's face".


----------



## thaddeus6th

I played a magical approach the first time round, and there's some very cool spells available. Some throw the enemy up into the air, and the tornado-type spells are fantastic powerful. 

Anyway, XCOM 2's DLC was on special offer (until 20 March, on the PS4 at least, it's discounted by 62% for War of the Chosen and 50% for the bundle of the other stuff). Even though I almost never buy DLC, I decided to get it and see how it stacked up. Just begun playing through 'normal' XCOM 2, with the DLC. Still playing Divinity 2.


----------



## Bugg

The War of the Chosen expansion is fabulous, improves on the base game in almost every way.  The other DLC is a mixed bag.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm quite enjoying my new one-shot crossbow gun. It combines my love of history with my delight at annihilating alien scum.


----------



## Av Demeisen

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but the *Endless Space Collection* is now free (for ever)! Just link your Steam account to your games2gether.com account and head for rewards on your profile, something which I had neglected to do until yesterday.


----------



## Bugg

Which reminds me, I must get the latest expansions for Endless Space 2 and Endless Legend.


----------



## Overread

Interesting news is that the team which made the last few expansions for Endless Legends are now making them for Endless Space 2 - which suggests the main team might now be working on something else - fingers crossed for Endless Legends 2!


----------



## Toby Frost

Is No Man's Sky worth a look these days? I bought it a while ago, was unimpressed and abandoned it, but I'd really like it to be worth another go.


----------



## Overread

Toby Frost said:


> Is No Man's Sky worth a look these days? I bought it a while ago, was unimpressed and abandoned it, but I'd really like it to be worth another go.



I've not got it but all that I've heard is that its improved by leaps and bounds from its launch state. I believe that the developers are responding well to feedback and adding in features and content and that the game is far more a game now than it was. 

I've certainly (though thankfully) been burned by games that didn't live up to their advertising - the biggest for me being Spore which was a horrible disappointment. Going through ALL of the evolution periods in one sitting without really trying was really a shocker that suddenly BAM you're at the space age and all that evolution animal shaping stuff means nothing by then - you're just buzzing around in a ship doing quests or something I forget what it was now. Sadly they never revised the game nor adding in loads and loads of content though I believe they sort of made an adventure game from it at some stage.


----------



## Toby Frost

Thanks, I might give it another go. My main issue was that I spent all my time running about trying to find enough fuel to get off the planet before my suit ran out, instead of actually enjoying the game. The creative mode, which apparently gets rid of a lot of the grinding aspect, might be interesting.


----------



## Toby Frost

Well, I gave it another go last night. It looks fantastic but I still find it fundamentally annoying, because so much of being on planets is about working against the clock as your protection runs out, whilst trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

- This looks like a fun place to explore.
- Warning! Vital signs decreasing! You need to fuel your ship with carbon!
- Ok, I've got some carbon. Do I just pour it into the petrol cap?
- You need to enhance the carbon! Vital signs at 75%!
- Oh. Ok, I'll just press the "enhance carbon" button. Where is that, please?
- It's on the carbon enhancer! Vital signs at 50%!
- Where's the carbon enhancer?
- You need to build a carbon enhancer! Vital signs at 25%!
- Argh.

OK, I exaggerate, but it still feels annoying to be continually fighting the clock like that. That said, it looks superb, and I suspect it'll be much better once I've finished building this stupid carbon enhancer.


----------



## Bugg

That was exactly how I felt about it, too, even with all the work that's been done on it since launch.  One of the most irritating games I've played in recent years, it's just not enjoyable for me.  I found Starlink more fun, tbh.


----------



## Toby Frost

One thing I've realised about games is that I don't want to have to be continually topping up the petrol tank in any way. I even felt this with weapon damage in Fallout 3, that the game was effectively penalising me for being in it. I want to be able to accept the challenges that the game offers and do them in my own time. I will get the greatest enjoyment out of it if I'm given the opportunity to explore it at my own pace, without pointless diversions to collect more fuel.

I'm quite interested in the way that games (computer and otherwise) work, and one thing I've come to notice is the introduction of mechanics that make the game more complex or give the player something new to do, but actually reduce the amount of fun that the game delivers.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, I like Kingdom Come Deliverance a lot (being into history) but one thing, since patched, that bugged me was the lack of an exit save and saving only being possible by sleeping or using a special potion. It's not that hard to game (plenty of inns about) but it just added a bit of hassle for no real benefit.

I agree on weapon durability, something that also featured in Oblivion. Another realism aspect that can make things worse is the shift from Oblivion to Skyrim of paths and mountains. They're far more realistic in the latter, but that also constrains movement, whereas in Oblivion you could go anyway you liked and crab hop up a mountainside, making exploration easier and increasing the number of locations you might find that way.

I think that more sophisticated difficulty/gameplay settings is the way to go, so you can toggle things on or off as you like. Easier for some stuff (like fast travel) than others, of course.


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, I think that probably is the only way to do it. Years ago, I played a bit of World of Warcraft, and again, I got the feeling that the designers had confused the amount of time players spent in the game with the amount of enjoyment they got out of it. Last week, some friends and I played a board game called Gloomhaven, which is a sort of Heroquest-type dungeon exploration thing. The main feeling I had was of unnecessary complexity. Every mechanic (moving, fighting, picking things up etc) seemed to have a little sub-game linked to it, which was clever but completely unnecessary, and removed the sense of exploration and moving forward that those games need to have. Presumably there are people out there who find these annoyances actually benefit the game – but I can’t see it.

(As a complete aside, almost everyone in Dragon's Dogma seems to sound just like Brienne of Tarth.)


----------



## Bugg

Speaking as someone who loves JRPGs, the amount of different complex systems, busywork, grinding, the complete disrespect  many of them have for the player's time is quite mind-boggling, and this has only got worse in recent years.  Most of them now require 100+ hours to complete.  And I have to say, I think open world, sandbox and MMO games are largely to blame.  They've encouraged this form of gameplay where chasing down icons on a map is more important than direction or story, it seems to me anyway.


----------



## thaddeus6th

The Dragon Age series went backwards with this too. The side-quests in Origins were relatively few in number and many were at least somewhat interesting. In Inquisition, it was all shopping lists and busy-work.

It's an interesting step that Obsidian have taken with The Outer Worlds to make it relatively short (say, 30 hours).


----------



## Toby Frost

Bugg said:


> Speaking as someone who loves JRPGs, the amount of different complex systems, busywork, grinding, the complete disrespect many of them have for the player's time is quite mind-boggling, and this has only got worse in recent years.



I agree. Another problem with this is that it becomes increasingly difficult to tell whether you're making a good job of playing the game. When the decision to be taken between Armour X or Y with Hat A or B, I just tend to stick whichever looks more entertaining, which defeats the object.

To me - and I may be being an old fart here - RPGs offer the opportunity to explore and have adventures that, while exciting, are safe. I'm unlikely to have the money to go to the Grand Canyon and I'm certainly not going to be able to fly a spaceship down it - but on a computer, I can do something a bit like that. The introduction of tedious minutia weakens that, and I think that is a huge problem with No Man's Sky.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I agree. Another problem with this is that it becomes increasingly difficult to tell whether you're making a good job of playing the game. When the decision to be taken between Armour X or Y with Hat A or B, I just tend to stick whichever looks more entertaining, which defeats the object.



Yes, and a lot of it seems to go along with the completionist mindset that comes along with achievements/trophies, too.  For me, I like games that have story and characters (and good gameplay, of course) and, once I've finished the story, then I'm happy, done with it, and can move on.  The endless search for a particular type of some completely irrelevant _thing _just to get an achievement doesn't interest me at all.  I'm happy to say that I've never got 100% on any game.  I think the closest I've got was 80% on Horizon Zero Dawn. 

This is possibly why I am so enamoured with Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, because it is has a brilliant story and quite wonderful characters to match the engaging gameplay.  It's a JRPG that doesn't require grinding to progress.  If you hit a battle and you die the game just puts you back at the start of said battle and automatically adjusts the difficulty (this can be turned off in the options, for those who don't like that sort of thing).  It doesn't punish you at all.  But the fact that the developers just want the player to enjoy the experience first and foremost, in whatever way they please, is a revelation.


----------



## Happy Joe

Was surfing the web (not looking for anything in particular) and just found out that there is a new (last year) expansion to *Titan Quest *called* Titan Quest Ragnarok...* since titan quest Anniversary edition (a prerequisite) is still on this machine I figure that I will order the expansion  (along with, perhaps, *Grim Dawn*) From Good Old Games (GOG).
2 games (Grim Dawn is on sale) for less than $30... not bad!
Has anyone played these?

Enjoy!


----------



## Bugg

Never finished Titan Quest but really liked it.

I'm into the final chapter of Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC, which I guess means I have about 10 - 15 hours to go.  Such a great game.  I already have the other games in the Sky trilogy, and the first two in the Trails of Cold Steel quartet, plus I've got the Japanese versions of the linking Crossbell duology, which has never been released in the West, but there's a fan translation available which I've patched into both games.  It's recommended to play the games in order (Sky trilogy, Crossbell duology, Cold Steel quartet) as the stories are all linked and characters from one go on to appear in others etc etc.  Going to be a long haul!


----------



## Overread

I never liked Titan Quest - the combat felt a little "flat" (a bit like the early Divinity games) and the maps were very linear. That worked in Dungeon Siege (much older) and Torchlight at least added some random elements to map creation - but by and large Titan Quest was just one long road through Greece. 

Grim Dawn though is fantastic fun and possibly rising to become second to the great Diablo 2 (which still rules!). The maps are fixed, but I've personally found them to be a lot of fun. They are more sprawling and filled with hidden bits so they don't get that "rail roads" feel. The character classes are varied and fun to play as and the option to merge two classes (like in Titan Quest) works well to provide variety. There's also a third layer of abilities in their constellation system which lets you get at a few more abilities and bonuses for combat. 
They've also added a way in which you can use an illusion ability on your equipment, which at a practical level means once you've found an item of a certain look you can recreate it on different items of the same type. This means you can keep chasing the best stats without sacrificing looks. Though it suffers from the same thing that most "generic central character" hack and slash games suffer from which is that your heroes (male and female) end up looking much the same once armoured. Granted they've some creative armour sets, but its not like the old Diablo 2 where the sorceress and all her gear was visually distinct from the barbarian. 
Grim Dawn is well worth it and, like I said, I'd rank it second to Diablo 2 (followed fast by Torchlight series).


----------



## Bugg

I'm almost at the end of *Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC*.  Hands down one of my favourite JRPGs that I've played to date. 

My late night Switch sessions over the weekend have been taken up with *Cosmic Star Heroine*, which is bloody brilliant.  It looks and plays a lot like *Chrono Trigger* - minus the time travel - which immediately escalated it in my estimation.

Also still working my way through *Persona 4 Golden* during my lunch breaks.  I did decide, though, that I want to make more use of my recently acquired Vita than just this one game, so I got *Suikoden I *& *II *and *Wild Arms* for the princely sum of £3.99 each.  I never had a PS1 so haven't played any of them before, but I've heard so many good things about them, especially *Suikoden II*, that it had to be done.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Nearish the end of XCOM 2 plus War of the Chosen. Only on normal, but still surprised to have had so few deaths at this stage.


----------



## Bugg

Been waiting for what seems like forever for this and now it's only a couple of days away


----------



## Toby Frost

Back on *Shadowrun: Dragonfall*, which really is an excellent game. Both the writing and the gameplay are very good.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Aaah, my level 42 character in Fallout 4 just sat down in The Third Rail and got a few songs. Sweet!

Love just taking it slow. I am playing it on (hardcore?) survival mode so any place that I can relax, then sleep off a save is excellent. Plus I get the bonus for sleeping with Cait, as I've decided that I didn't like my husband...Still to get, in this run, to find out what the institute are about, so way back in the main plot line.

Have to say, still at level 42 I am not suffering from "high level overpowering-ness". A bunch of rust devils, or half a dozen super-mutants are enough to get me to retreat, creep in the shadows then ponder the best way to kill them or find another way around them.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I got to about that level on Survival Mode, and enjoyed the challenge quite a lot. Would've preferred a slightly longer day/night and food cycle. One problem is that in that mode if you're facing something like a rocket launcher-toting maniac (or more than one) at close quarters, surviving is very difficult and that becomes more of a pain than anything else. But in many other ways it works well, stressing resources, limited carry space and so on.

I just finished XCOM 2 with the War of the Chosen expansion. Mixed feelings, mostly positive. I like the DLC a lot, although the two crashes I had at the end of long Lost missions didn't thrill me. I did only play on standard difficulty but was surprised that, discounting the two scripted losses in the tutorial (I wanted to see if there was any change with the DLC, and there was, albeit minor) I only lost two soldiers during the campaign (got lucky sometimes, but even so) and none during the final mission.

I still haven't actually finished my PS4 Dragon's Dogma playthrough, so I'll return to that, I think.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> Back on *Shadowrun: Dragonfall*, which really is an excellent game. Both the writing and the gameplay are very good.



I loved that game.  I really like *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*, too, but I am nowhere near finishing it yet.

I just finished *The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC*.  Holy crap, that ending!  Was not expecting that _at all_.  I think I mentioned before that it's probably my favourite story/character driven JRPG that I've played to date and that finale drove that home for me, right in the feels (or should that be 'feelz', never quite sure . . .).  Don't know whether to dive straight into *SC*.  The temptation is almost too great, but I think I should try and finish some other games first.

Oh, who am I kidding <starts *SC* downloading>


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Bugg said:


> Speaking as someone who loves JRPGs, the amount of different complex systems, busywork, grinding, the complete disrespect  many of them have for the player's time is quite mind-boggling, and this has only got worse in recent years.  Most of them now require 100+ hours to complete.  And I have to say, I think open world, sandbox and MMO games are largely to blame.  They've encouraged this form of gameplay where chasing down icons on a map is more important than direction or story, it seems to me anyway.



Not every jrpg is like that, as you discovered with legend of Heroes. Of course almost all jrpgs are long games but to me thats a good thing.

A game that gets it right is Dragon Quest IX. The newest one in the series. You'll spend close to a 100 hours or more just doing the main story. Its a long game. And the story is damn good. And the characters are the best ever! You get to the end, defeat the villian and then think. I'll go do the endgame now which is surely a final fantasy style grind fest to max out levels... Nope you have 20 more hours of main story to go yet...

Dragon Quest has easily become my favorite jrpg and i play a lot of jrpgs... A lot...


----------



## L.L.Lotte

I haven't been playing all that much atm, but when I do, I'm working through Kingdom Hearts 3. It's been a long road. I was way behind on the games and knew KH3 was coming, so I picked up the ps4 bundles that contain all the games you need to play first to know what's going on in KH3.

You see, them calling it Kingdom Hearts 3 is a lie. It's actually like the 10th one or so... 

Yes, every single on of those "spin off" games is actually important to the main story. And I made myself play through every single one of them before finally starting on KH3. No wonder I'm not playing it consistently... probably a bit burnt out on Disney stories/characters atm...

Overall, the game is more of the same with more polished graphics. They have put a lot of effort into the worlds, and the interactivity of each zone is pretty good. But really... it's just another Kingdom Hearts game...


Once I get through that, I'll start on NieR: Automata, which I've been told is really good. I've got it sitting there, waiting...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Lotte, assuming you meant XI rather than IX, I'd agree with most of that, although I did have to grind quite a bit in the post-game bit (it's entirely possible you're just more competent at the battle system than me. When I'd finished everyone except the final boss I ended up checking online and the quick win solution was something I would never have thought of).

It's a shame more Dragon Quest games haven't come out for consoles. I liked XI a lot, and VIII was great, but I haven't played any others.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

You are correct. I had the numerals back to front. 

Calasmos was hard, but i didnt need to grind. I suspect I was always a bit ahead of the level curb. 

As for the trick. Im assuming you mean the super sword of light. Yeah it's not surprising that people forget about using equipment as items.


----------



## thaddeus6th

There's that, but it was actually a different tactic involving magic offensive magic and... er... something, which I've forgotten.

I did my grinding beforehand, to get through the trials.


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> Not every jrpg is like that, as you discovered with legend of Heroes. Of course almost all jrpgs are long games but to me thats a good thing.



It very much depends on the game, I think.  I play a lot of JRPGs - it's my favourite genre - but finding the time to spend over 100 hours playing some of them is difficult, especially when some disrespect the player's time so much (Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I'm looking at you, much as I liked you).  If you read further back up-thread you'll see how much I loved DQXI, so I completely agree on that one.  

I think the main problem I have at the moment it too many games to choose from, and too little time to play them.  I have Trails in the Sky SC (pc), Final Fantasy X (Switch, although I have previously played it on PS2 and pc), Cosmic Star Heroine (Switch) and Persona 4 Golden (Vita) at various stages of completion.  I'm also itching to play Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology on 3DS.

But I'm mainly concentrating on Suikoden at the moment, which runs about 20 hours, and have Suikoden II lined up, which runs 50-60 hours, so I get to play two awesome games in the less time it would take to finish, say, Persona 4 Golden, which, to me, is a win-win situation.

It also doesn't help that I've recently been investigating emulation, as it was annoying me that so many JRPGs I want to play are not available in the UK.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Bugg said:


> I think the main problem I have at the moment it too many games to choose from, and too little time to play them.  I have Trails in the Sky SC (pc), Final Fantasy X (Switch, although I have previously played it on PS2 and pc), Cosmic Star Heroine (Switch) and Persona 4 Golden (Vita) at various stages of completion.  I'm also itching to play Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology on 3DS.
> 
> It also doesn't help that I've recently been investigating emulation, as it was annoying me that so many JRPGs I want to play are not available in the UK.



I hear you on the lack of availability. I've been looking on Amazon and other websites at JRPGs and surprised at how many aren't sold in shops where I live. To satisfy the craving, I'll probably have to start importing them. At that point, I'd probably have to learn to read japanese kanji. 

I too played Final Fantasy X on ps2 back when ps2 was a thing, and to this day, it is still my favourite Final Fantasy. The characters and story just resonated with me so well. But to some extent, I'm the minority in that situation -- I think most people found Tidus annoying and that put them off. I do remember putting about 200 hours into that game doing all the post-game content....

But being the odd one out has always been the case for me; Tales of Zesteria is also my favourite Tales Of game, especially when it's complemented with Tales of Beseria. Yet for some reason, the majority of Tales Of fans rate Zesteria pretty low compared to other games in the series, like Vesperia -- its rated higher by fans.

While Vesperia wasn't bad, I found the story was no where near as satisfying as Zesteria. It felt incomplete to me.




I'd say the game I'm looking to purchase next is *Persona 5 Royal*. While I played the original, and I'm annoyed that they left out all this content, forcing us all to buy a second copy, I loved the game so much that Atlus knows I, along with many others, will give them more money for the chance to play more Persona. The game had so much style. I will say though, that it falls clearly into the category of time sinks you're talking about  You pretty much have to play the game through twice to experience all the content...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just on Final Fantasy, X/X-2, and FFXII (the international swanky Zodiac edition) are both available for PS4 and they reckon the PS5 will be backwards compatible (so you'd probably be able to play them on that).

XII was the last FF game I bought. I liked it a lot, although it was apparent the story should've been more developed. A shame Vaan was inserted late as the main character (it was going to be Basch, a far more interesting chap, originally).


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> I'd say the game I'm looking to purchase next is *Persona 5 Royal*. While I played the original, and I'm annoyed that they left out all this content, forcing us all to buy a second copy, I loved the game so much that Atlus knows I, along with many others, will give them more money for the chance to play more Persona. The game had so much style. I will say though, that it falls clearly into the category of time sinks you're talking about  You pretty much have to play the game through twice to experience all the content...



Yes, very much so.  I have actually started the game twice, the first time when it was released (about 40 hours into it), then again about three months ago with every intention of playing it all.  Got about 20 hours in this time, then all the rumours of Persona 5 S being a Switch version made me stop, because I would have much more chance of finishing a long game like that if it was portable.  Of course, P5S has turned out to be nothing of the sort, which is disappointing.  I suppose now I should hold out for Royal, but it has got to the point where it might be a long time before I consider playing it again.  Too much else to play.


----------



## Vladd67

I reached an emotional moment in Red Dead Redemption 2 yesterday. I’ve never really got invested in a video game character but I had to put the controller down, made a cup of coffee and thought twice before carrying on.


----------



## William Delman

I’m still invested in Hearthstone to a degree that probably isn’t healthy. New expansion is pretty good though.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

thaddeus6th said:


> Just on Final Fantasy, X/X-2, and FFXII (the international swanky Zodiac edition) are both available for PS4 and they reckon the PS5 will be backwards compatible (so you'd probably be able to play them on that).
> 
> XII was the last FF game I bought. I liked it a lot, although it was apparent the story should've been more developed. A shame Vaan was inserted late as the main character (it was going to be Basch, a far more interesting chap, originally).



Yes, FFXII was seriously underdeveloped. I think they rushed it because the ps2 was at the end of its age and they didn't want to carry it over to the next gen console and have to start over reprogramming it. Programming efficiently for the PS3 was pretty hard to learn by all accounts...

They of course followed up with a sequel, on the DS, which probably wrapped up the stories that were left hanging... I wouldn't know though, never got the chance to play it. It's a different genre of game though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've also heard that the game itself took far longer to make and the original chap in charge left, which is why the interesting political/religious-rocks angle is a bit less developed than it should be. That and Vaan's insertion as lead character is a shame, although I do really like the battle system. I've heard the same thing about the PS3.

I didn't know there was a sequel to FFXII. But then, I don't have a DS, so...


----------



## Bugg

I got FFXII for Switch.  No idea when I'll get around to playing it but it looks like they've done a very good job with the port.

I think I'm nearing the end of Suikoden.  I have one of the 108 stars left to recruit.  Great game, and the sequel is by all accounts one of the best JRPGs ever, so looking forward to that - but I doubt I'll go straight to it.  I just finally managed to get my hands on a UK copy of Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, which has been ridiculously hard to find, so that will probably be my next handheld endeavour.  That, or Tactics Ogre.


----------



## MaxiPower

Rocketleague and revisiting FInal Fantasy X now its been released on the Xbox one. Eagerly awaiting news on the remake of 7 at E3... hopefully


----------



## Dozmonic

William Delman said:


> I’m still invested in Hearthstone to a degree that probably isn’t healthy. New expansion is pretty good though.


I never played HS much because people always said it was pay-to-win. But with the ability to turn WoW gold into tokens and that into HS packs, it's something I've considered. I just haven't taken the plunge yet. There's always that period of being terribad that you can only face when you're ready for it


----------



## William Delman

Dozmonic said:


> I never played HS much because people always said it was pay-to-win. But with the ability to turn WoW gold into tokens and that into HS packs, it's something I've considered. I just haven't taken the plunge yet. There's always that period of being terribad that you can only face when you're ready for it



Yeah, it's totally pay to win, but considering what most people pay for games and/or subscriptions these days I honestly don't think it's that bad. The real issue is the time sink if you play on the ladder (competitive play). It's very easy to burn a few hours and end up getting nowhere because of the way the ranking system works (and win rates for good players and decks usually hover around 60%). Of course, there are also times when I catch fire and jump three ranks in a less time than it takes to do a load of laundry, so...

Regardless, it's not the cheapest game on the market, but in the end I do think it's one of the better games out there for people who can't regularly afford to burn hours on their dalliances.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm a modern chap, so I'm playing FFXII Zodiac Age. The original game is the last FF I played (XIII was online and the XIV stuff with Lightning didn't seem my cup of tea. More 'modern' combat gameplay put me off rather than enticed me. Did consider XV but declined on a similar basis).

Got to say the Gambit system holds up nicely, and Balthier remains a cool cat.


----------



## Bugg

I'm playing FFX on Switch at the moment and starting to rather enjoy it.  I can't remember where I got up to on previously playthroughs back in the day before I'd had enough of it.  It's clunky as hell by today's standards in a lot of respects (character movement, dialogue and voice acting) but the combat is still great fun.  I still hate Blitzball with a fiery passion, though.

I finished Phantasy Star last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I've got the other games (well, II to IV) on the Mega Drive Classics Collection for Switch so will play those soon.  I finished Suikoden, too, which was fantastic so I'll definitely play the second game soon and see if it's as good as its reputation suggests.

I've also been playing Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on 3DS, which is brilliant, but I bought a couple of Monster Hunter games on the cheap this week and made the mistake of loading up Monster Hunter Stories last night, just to check it worked, and got instantly hooked.  I think it may take over for the foreseeable future, cos it's just adorable


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing Vermintide recently, which is basically Left For Dead in the Warhammer setting, with Skaven (that's rat-men) instead of zombies. Despite some extra bells and whistles, it's pretty mindless, but it works well and the graphics look excellent (my excuse is that I'm researching how to make model buildings). The Skaven all sound like Gollum when angry, and the characters are suitably over the top (the wizard, who sounds like an angry grand dame of the theatre, is my current person). Decent stuff. The only bad thing is that you can't play it offline, even if you're on your own.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Bugg said:


> I finished Phantasy Star last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I've got the other games (well, II to IV) on the Mega Drive Classics Collection for Switch so will play those soon.



Phantasy Star IV is the series at its finest. Pity it all went downhill after that... the series did not make a graceful transition to 3D.


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> Phantasy Star IV is the series at its finest. Pity it all went downhill after that... the series did not make a graceful transition to 3D.



Yeah, so I've heard.  I probably won't play III, not soon anyway, but I'll play II and IV for sure.  I've no idea why I didn't play these games on original release as I had both a Mega Drive and the attachment that allowed it to play Master System games.  Probably gives an indication how my tastes in genres has changed since then.


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing Vermintide recently, which is basically Left For Dead in the Warhammer setting, with Skaven (that's rat-men) instead of zombies. Despite some extra bells and whistles, it's pretty mindless, but it works well and the graphics look excellent (my excuse is that I'm researching how to make model buildings). The Skaven all sound like Gollum when angry, and the characters are suitably over the top (the wizard, who sounds like an angry grand dame of the theatre, is my current person). Decent stuff. The only bad thing is that you can't play it offline, even if you're on your own.


I saw someone play this on YouTube, they played as a dwarf which was fine until he hit the long grass/corn field. His fellow players thought it was hilarious.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Phantasy Star IV is one of the best games I've ever played.


----------



## Toby Frost

Vladd67 said:


> I saw someone play this on YouTube, they played as a dwarf which was fine until he hit the long grass/corn field. His fellow players thought it was hilarious.



Oddly, the dwarf's shortness is one of the running jokes between the characters in the in-game dialogue.  You'd have thought that the designers would have considered this. Or maybe they did.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Bugg said:


> Yeah, so I've heard.  I probably won't play III, not soon anyway, but I'll play II and IV for sure.  I've no idea why I didn't play these games on original release as I had both a Mega Drive and the attachment that allowed it to play Master System games.  Probably gives an indication how my tastes in genres has changed since then.



Don't skip III.

I don't understand what people had against III. It wasn't that bad _-- _a bit grindy maybe -- but I actually prefer it to II. And the story is actually quite good. It has some nice twists to it. I liked that in III you could change the story by decisions you made during the game. I think there is like 8 different routes you can take.

There is a bit of a misunderstanding that it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series, which isn't actually true. There are references to III in IV.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Just starting _Observation_.

Very atmospheric and interesting story. Kinda a puzzle game, but very story-led. Looks gorgeous.

Basically it gives off a 2001 vibe and you play as HAL trying to help (? just started so...maybe not) the human on your ship.


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> Don't skip III.
> 
> I don't understand what people had against III. It wasn't that bad _-- _a bit grindy maybe -- but I actually prefer it to II. And the story is actually quite good. It has some nice twists to it. I liked that in III you could change the story by decisions you made during the game. I think there is like 8 different routes you can take.
> 
> There is a bit of a misunderstanding that it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series, which isn't actually true. There are references to III in IV.



Interesting, you're the first person who's said that to me.  Hmm.  I'll have to see how I feel come the time.  I don't want to Phantasy Star myself out before getting to IV, cos not playing that one would seem to be the bigger crime.  I'm even tempted to jump straight to IV and play that first, but I'm not sure then if I'd ever go back to II and III.

So many games to play, too little time.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Bugg said:


> Interesting, you're the first person who's said that to me.  Hmm.  I'll have to see how I feel come the time.  I don't want to Phantasy Star myself out before getting to IV, cos not playing that one would seem to be the bigger crime.  I'm even tempted to jump straight to IV and play that first, but I'm not sure then if I'd ever go back to II and III.
> 
> So many games to play, too little time.



Just mix it up with other games. 

Thinking about it more, i do remember that the movement speed in III was quite slow so it took ages to cross a zone but thats such a minor thing. It is also probably the hardest out of them all.


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> Just mix it up with other games.



Yeah, that's a given.  I won't be getting to them for a while - I have to at least finish FFX, Radiant Historia, and now Monster Hunter Stories, plus I really, really want to get to Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and FFVI.

That said, only FFX out of those is on Switch, so I may go for Phantasy Star II for my next game on it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Not playing it now, but played a bit of FFIV (re-release for Playstation) and the Cecil/Kain[sp] storyline was really good. I liked FFV's job system too (FFXII Zodiac Age has something similar but the outfits are locked, which is a shame).


----------



## MikeAnderson

M.L.B. 19 The Show.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Not playing it now, but played a bit of FFIV (re-release for Playstation) and the Cecil/Kain[sp] storyline was really good.



I played the DS version of that one, loved it.


----------



## Foxbat

Doom (the original). I say original but I've installed a load of stuff so it's now in proper 3D. Also discovered Doomworld with loads of wads to download  play. Great fun


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Foxbat said:


> Doom (the original). I say original but I've installed a load of stuff so it's now in proper 3D. Also discovered Doomworld with loads of wads to download  play. Great fun



I remember the days of Doom modding. There were some total conversions out there that were absolutely spectacular, like the Aliens TC and the X-Men one.


----------



## Bugg

Making progress in FFX (currently in Bevelle).  Played a few more hours of Monster Hunter Stories and also Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on 3DS.  For all the praise for Monster Hunter World being the most accessible of the MH games, and as much as I love that game, I've found 4U to be the most approachable.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm guessing it's not a spoiler but I'll keep it vague anyway: I always found Bevelle a bit disappointing. 

In FFXII, I've been blocked by a forest and given directions by a village full of bunnygirls. I'm enjoying the hunts too. One change for the PS4 Zodiac edition is that the bestiary artwork, which I really liked in the PS2 version, has been replaced with models of the enemies. Minor point, but a shade disappointing. Really rather enjoying the game, though.


----------



## Toby Frost

Thief: Deadly Shadows (I'm still researching how to make model buildings). This is an entirely mediocre game that forgets why the first two were so good.


----------



## Bugg

Want.


----------



## Bugg

Not convinced.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Outer Worlds does look tasty.


----------



## Bugg

This has me intrigued.  I'm not a big fan of the Tales games, but it looks like they've made major changes to the combat if this is anything to go by.


----------



## MemoryTale

I like the Tales games - I'm currently playing through Zestria, but compared to others I've really enjoyed I'm not digging it all that much. I think it'll be the first Tales of game I don't replay at some point.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

I find it strange how Zesteria is disliked by most tales fans. I really liked the story and its characters - - far more than Vesperia

The game engine used by the tales games is really dated. It's about time they reimagined the game.

It is turning to the same way final fantasy went, which wasn't widely accepted. "this isn't the Tales game we know."

Although, considering that tales were always trying to be semi-realtime combat, there is no real reason not to take the game engine in this direction.

I will definitely be playing it when it comes out.


----------



## Bugg

I've tried Vesperia, Symphonia, Eternia and Berseria and not been grabbed by any of them but I'll inevitably give this one a go at some point 

Nearly done with FFX.  I'm inside Sin at the moment.  After that I need to concentrate on finishing Radiant Historia and then get back to Trails in the Sky SC, as I've been neglecting that one.  And continue with Monster Hunter Stories, of course, which is fab.

I also got Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth last week.  I'm glad I pre-ordered it as it already shows as unavailable on Amazon.  I've only dipped my toe in it so far but, much like the first game, the blend of Etrian Odyssey dungeon crawling/mapping and Persona's characters and combat is fantastic.  Plus this time it has all the mesmerising style and presentation of Persona 5, and the awesome soundtrack to go with it.  If it is the 3DS's swan song then it's a hell of a way for the system to bow out.


----------



## Bugg

Oh, and . . .


----------



## thaddeus6th

FFVIII was a big favourite of mine. Triple Triad was great fun.

The FFXII remake is really rather good, but with VIII being a generation earlier I'm wondering how well it'll age.


----------



## Bugg

Probably about the same as the recent VII and IX remasters have.  Which is fine.


----------



## thaddeus6th

IX was remastered?


----------



## L.L.Lotte

thaddeus6th said:


> IX was remastered?



Yeah it was, but i found even the remaster looked very dated. I've only ever seen the digital version for sale on the playstation store.

I was excited to hear about the Grandia remasters coming but they too are probably going to be underwhelming based on what I've seen so far. Grandia 2 is a favourite of mine. But they should look fantastic on Switch, which is the intended platform for the remaster.


----------



## Bugg

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the Grandia remasters.  I have the first game on my Vita and the second on Steam, but I'll get the Switch version.

I haven't bought FFIX for Switch yet.  Probably will at some point but kind of have my hands full at the moment


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, I have no Switch, and tend not to buy electronic-only, so that explains it.

Thanks to both of you.

As an aside, I'm not buying Watchdogs Legion, but did enjoy the combat granny moment during the E3 presentation.


----------



## Bugg

I'll be buying this - for the third time


----------



## Bugg

And then Ninty drop this bomb:






I mean, we knew it was happening, but I wasn't expecting them to show anything this E3.  Looks very dark - Majora's Mask to BotW's Ocarina?


----------



## MemoryTale

I like most of Zestria just fine, but I find the equipment fusing aspect to be a chore, and unless I've missed something it's never really explained how you go about getting the skills you want. I'm just not a fan of poorly explained complicated game mechanics.

It's good to see Final Fantasy 8 finally getting some love. Does anyone know if it's just going to be a graphical polish or are they going to rebalance it like they did FF12? I remember stumbling across a few junction combos that really trivialized the game.


----------



## Bugg

So.  It's actually happening.






Play Witcher 3 on the go?  Yes please!


----------



## L.L.Lotte

I'm actually impressed switch can handle Witcher 3, which begs me to wonder why other big titles dont come to the platform? I guess percieved target demographic.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Lotte, I'm still miffed the Switch gets a Civ game and consoles don't.

DQ XI is a pretty cool game. It still seems odd we had to wait so long (last release beforehand was DQ VIII).


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I'm still miffed the Switch gets a Civ game and consoles don't.



But the Switch _is _a console 

I'll no doubt get W3 again when it comes out on Switch.  Amazon are already listing it, at £59.99   I don't actually own a physical copy of it so I hope they do some kind of special edition - I'm not holding my breath, though.

There was some great stuff in that Direct.  September looks like being a particularly busy month in terms of new releases.

Re DQ, I've got DQIX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies on DS.  Not that I've played it but I do own it.  DQX never made it to the west but wouldn't have interested me anyway, being an MMO.

I'm seeing a lot of anger on Steam about Switch getting the definitive edition of DQXI.


----------



## Bugg

Finished FFX today.


----------



## MaxiPower

Bugg said:


> Finished FFX today.



What a game....

I finished Ori and the blind forest. Great Metroidvania if anyone into that sort of thing. Gorgeous artwork too.


----------



## Venusian Broon

_Slay the Spire_

....maybe one day I will get my life back.


----------



## Bugg

After finishing FFX I started dabbling in Breath of the Wild again.  It's been a few months since I left it hanging, and it took me a couple of sessions to find my feet, but now I've fallen completely in love with it all over again.  I haven't progressed the main story much, beyond doing my second Divine Beast.  Instead I've been doing side quests, upgrading my armour and runes, running around taking in the gorgeous sights, and experimenting with different ways to take out groups of enemies.  And running away from Lynels  

Also doing lots of shrines to get more hearts.  I wandered into the Lost Woods the other day and found the Master Sword, but I don't have enough strength to pull it out of the stone yet.  I've still got loads of the map to explore and I don't really have a plan of where to go next, but I like that sense of freedom.  Oh yeah, and I want to recover more of Link's memories.  The artist guy has pointed me in the general direction of one so I may try and find that next.


----------



## IAmTR

I don't play games these days as much as I'd like to but when I do it's most often Overwatch. Yup, I know I'm basic lol. But it's still such a good game!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just entered the Draklor Laboratory in FFXII. Got to say I do like the soundtrack (the PS4 version is redone with a full orchestra).


----------



## MemoryTale

MaxiPower said:


> What a game....
> 
> I finished Ori and the blind forest. Great Metroidvania if anyone into that sort of thing. Gorgeous artwork too.



That's on my "to play" list. Tuhou: Lunar Nights is another good indie Metroidvania, it's got a pretty neat time control gimmick.

I recently discovered a remaster of an old Square game called Romancing Saga 2. It's got an interesting generational theme going on, where you'll play as one hero for a little bit, then after a while you play as their descendants, then as _their_ descendants, and so on. The drawback is that since you only spend a couple of hours or less with each hero, they're all pretty interchangeable. The gameplay is fun though, but Final Fantasy fans should be warned it's nowhere near as easy as that series. It is... Kicking. My. Butt


----------



## Overread

I've started Survive Mars - an interesting title and very atmospheric in how they've modelled it. I also enjoy that the gameplay has a casual air to it and yet has a good challenge toward building a thriving colony that will survive the test of time and trials that get thrown its way.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm flitting about a bit but just started a new Witcher 3 game, now I have the expansions. Ahem.

I was playing in German before (I do that sometimes to try and stop myself forgetting every single word) so the advice on how to start the expansions might've gone over my head as it popped up before I could change the language back


----------



## Bugg

Are you going straight to the expansions (which are both superb, btw - Blood and Wine is pretty much a whole new game, took me 40 hours just to play that) or starting from scratch?

I finished Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, or the main story at least. Not really interested in the 'Possible History' that was added in the re-release, which is why I didn't choose the option to integrate it into the main game. I was a little bit annoyed that it didn't show the ending credits before dropping me straight into the additional stuff but hey ho. Now I can concentrate my 3DS time on Monster Hunter Stories.

Other than that, it's all Breath of the Wild until Fire Emblem: Three Houses releases (three weeks from today!).    Re BotW, I confess that - back to when the first Star Wars came out - I've been a collector of action figures.  Amiibo have always fascinated me but I've restrained myself from buying them because it would quickly get out of hand, lol.  But the other day I found out there are things called Amiibo Cards which have the same functionality as the figures.  So I got the Legend of Zelda set.  Each figure would've cost £10.99 and upwards (depending on availablity - prices for some of them are stupid at the moment but Nintendo are re-stocking them all later this year) but the 22 card set cost me £9.99 total.

Now I just have to see if they work


----------



## thaddeus6th

Started from scratch. I do really like The Witcher 3, I just wish my PS4 didn't scream so much.


----------



## MaxiPower

MemoryTale said:


> That's on my "to play" list. Tuhou: Lunar Nights is another good indie Metroidvania, it's got a pretty neat time control gimmick.
> 
> I recently discovered a remaster of an old Square game called Romancing Saga 2. It's got an interesting generational theme going *on, where you'll play as one hero for a little bit, then after a while you play as their descendants, then as their descendants, and so on.* The drawback is that since you only spend a couple of hours or less with each hero, they're all pretty interchangeable. The gameplay is fun though, but Final Fantasy fans should be warned it's nowhere near as easy as that series. It is... Kicking. My. Butt



That sounds cool, actually sounds like a point in my book where it switches from the hero Darius and his great grandftaher Darnell as the story unfolds. Ill defo check it out.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Speaking of remasters, Baldur's Gate, and the sequel, and Neverwinter Nights will be released for consoles towards the end of this year.


----------



## VictoreaRyanMeadow

Currently playing the following:
Star Ocean: Anamnesis on my Android
Dragon Quest Builders (replaying, actually)

What I want to be playing: 
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time


----------



## Sean16

I've been jumping between 3 games recently:

*Deus Ex (2000)
*The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
*Mount & Blade: Warband


----------



## Toby Frost

Morrowind is a classic. It's a little dated now but generally holds up very well. I gave it a brief go a few nights back.

I bought something called Strange Brigade recently. It's extremely similar to a game called Zombie Army (or maybe Nazi Zombies), by the same company, but I think it's better and more amusing. It's done in the style of a Ryder Haggard/Indiana Jones pulp adventure, and has a narrator who sounds exactly how I imagine Space Captain Smith to sound. Good fun.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've never played Morrowind, but everyone who has seems to like it.

Meanwhile Bethesda's gone from being laughed at for horse armour in Oblivion to Fallout 76. *sighs*

Looking forward to The Outer Worlds in October. Recently learnt about the forthcoming Age of Wonders: Planetfall (more of a fantasy than sci-fi guy but it's relatively uncommon to get strategy releases on console, and what I've seen looks pretty good).


----------



## Foxbat

I think I must be devolving. Recently started  playing X-Com Terror From The Deep.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I occasionally go back to my PS2. Some good games for that. Hope the backwards compatibility rumours for the PS5 are true.


----------



## TGStigmata

Mostly teamfight tactics, overwatch, and hearthstone. Love the lore, but moreso love strategy games recently. But tbh I just get into games cause my friends tell me to and I get addicted


----------



## Vladd67

Have been playing Kenshi recently, a struggle at first but I have started an outpost and am building walls etc so hopefully the roaming bandits won’t be too much of a problem in the future.


----------



## Bugg

Foxbat said:


> I think I must be devolving. Recently started  playing X-Com Terror From The Deep.



One of my faves.  I think I slightly preferred the first game, mainly because it was a bit quicker to finish a campaign, but TftD was incredibly atmospheric.


I'm currently playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses on Switch and Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter on pc, with brief bouts of Ocarina of Time on 3DS during my lunch breaks.


----------



## L.L.Lotte

Terror from the deep was alright. It's from an era when X-Com were still good games. I remember putting many hours into it.



Bugg said:


> I'm currently playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses on Switch and Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter on pc, with brief bouts of Ocarina of Time on 3DS during my lunch breaks.



Oh snap! I just finished FC and have started on Trails SC as well, also playing on PC because they never ported it to PS4. It's a dated game, but the story and characters are good. I've heard that SC is very long... But I wanted to get through the trails in sky before starting trails of cold steel -- even though I know they can be played independently from each other. Just wished they had ported the entire series to PS4 rather than just skipping ahead to cold steel...


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> Oh snap! I just finished FC and have started on Trails SC as well, also playing on PC because they never ported it to PS4. It's a dated game, but the story and characters are good. I've heard that SC is very long... But I wanted to get through the trails in sky before starting trails of cold steel -- even though I know they can be played independently from each other. Just wished they had ported the entire series to PS4 rather than just skipping ahead to cold steel...



Yeah, I would've liked similar, or even better if they'd bring them all to Switch so I could play them on the go.  I have more chance of getting through long games if I can do that (I do have FC for PSP and SC, Cold Steel I and Cold Steel II for Vita but may end up playing them all on PC or PS4 for the better visuals, QoL additions, and enhanced translation).  

But it is what it is.  They're brilliant games, and there's no need for grinding, so I don't have a problem with them being long.  More of an issue - for me - is the Crossbell arc, Zero and Ao.  So many people say they're the best games in the series.  I have managed to, um, acquire English translations for both of those, and also imported second-hand PSP versions from Japan so I can at least say I bought the games and can assuage my guilt  

But yeah, it's going to be a long time before I get to Cold Steel, even though I already bought them . . .


----------



## Garfunkel

I'm currently playing Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on the 3DS. I'm only 9ish hours into it, but I'm enjoying it a lot.


----------



## Bugg

Garfunkel said:


> I'm currently playing Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on the 3DS. I'm only 9ish hours into it, but I'm enjoying it a lot.



Great game!


----------



## Paul_C

I hadn't touched my Xbox for ages, but in an attempt to get myself using it for more than a way of my daughter watch YouTube on the TV, I recently picked up Forza Motorsport 6 and I'm having fun with that. 

I do need to order some more AA batteries now, though.

I've got Witcher 3 and a couple of other games waiting to be played if I do.


----------



## Bugg

I finished my first run through of Fire Emblem: Three Houses the other day.  Fantastic game (just behind Breath of the Wild as my favourite on Switch so far) but a number of things stop it from being my favourite Fire Emblem game (the Persona-style between mission faffing around being the main culprit - previous FE games didn't have or need any of that and were better for it).  

Also, I chose the Blue Lions house for my first play through and there was a plot twist right at the end which came completely out of nowhere which, I have to assume, is explained in the story of one of the other Houses.  I'm all for games having lots of replayability but, if someone doesn't have the time or inclination to play the game multiple times to see all its content, it renders the ending nonsensical.  And, indeed, looking in the movie gallery after completing the Blue Lions story I saw that there were several cut scenes that were still locked.  Ho hum.

I was thinking, as I was playing, that I might jump straight back in and play one of the other houses, but I'm leaning more towards playing one or two of the previous games first (probably Path of Radiance and its sequel, Radiant Dawn - proper FE games, those).


----------



## Rodders

I just downloaded Deadspace 1 and 2 from Steam. For some reason, Deadspace 3 isn't available.


----------



## Overread

Rodders said:


> I just downloaded Deadspace 1 and 2 from Steam. For some reason, Deadspace 3 isn't available.



I think that's because it likely came out after Valve and MS had their small argument which resulted in MS making Origin and leaving Steam for future distribution of games. So  the old games remained, but new ones were only (or mostly) sold on Origin. I forget the reasons why, I think it had something to do with profit margins on DLC and game content etc..... Whatever it was MS went off and made Origin, which honestly is a good service. It works well and isn't obtrusive nor tricky to handle and its got a pretty good library of games on it now.


----------



## Rodders

Thanks Overread. I've never heard of Origin. I'll check it out.


----------



## Bugg

I thought the first Dead Space was brilliant.  Never played the others, though.


----------



## Rodders

I played it when it first came out. Terrified me and I kept turning it of after about half hour of game play. Thought i’d try again.

I haven’t been interested much in new games at all. I mean, I’m still playing Half Life 2 regularly.


----------



## Bugg

I was reading some stuff about the New Game+ in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and it sounded pretty good, so I jumped back in after all, on the highest (so far) difficulty.  Only got about an hour into it before the Persona-style messing about got on my nerves again and I put it down.  Thing with Three Houses is that I think it's a great game, I'm just not sure it's a great Fire Emblem game 

Anyhoo, I'm continuing with Ocarina of Time 3D.  I had a run on it over the long weekend and progressed from having just finished the Forest Temple last week, through the Fire and Water Temples and am now in the Spirit Temple.  What a magical game it is.

Also, before starting to replay Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (you know, a truly _great _Fire Emblem game), I'm delving back into Valkyria Chronicles 4, another fantastic game.  The weird thing is, the between mission Anime cut scenes used to annoy me when I played the first game, but now I'm finding them pretty enjoyable and far less egregious than the nonsense in Three Houses.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've toyed with getting Valkyria Chronicles 4. The intervening games, from the first to that, seem a bit ropey.


----------



## Bugg

4 is excellent.  I haven't really looked into 3 as it never came West, but there is a fan translated version out there.  2 is still sitting on my Vita untouched


----------



## Bugg

Astral Chain arrived yesterday.  I played the first few hours.  I'm calling it now:  Game of the Year.  It is STUNNING


----------



## Foxbat

AGEOD's Pride Of Nations. I've always liked the idea of AGEOD games but have always had trouble getting to grips with them so I'm giving this one another try. I'm starting off light with the Russian/Japanese War scenario.


----------



## Overread

This is probably the best place for it




__





						Fanatical
					






					www.fanatical.com
				




Endless Legend Classic on Fanatical star deal. So its just under £3 for one of the most beautiful 4* strategy games in a fantasy setting on the PC in a long while. Very much worth the cost and a great title! It won't be up for sale on that price for long (They don't last more than a day or so typically); but grab it if you get a chance!


----------



## Bugg

Dammit Nintendo, what are you doing to me???


----------



## L.L.Lotte

So finally completed Trails in the Sky SC. Fantastic game. Very long and great conclusion to that story arc.

Downloading Trails in the Sky The 3rd at the moment, but I've heard negative things about the third one, as in it is the worst in the series, but will see how it goes.


----------



## Bugg

L.L.Lotte said:


> So finally completed Trails in the Sky SC. Fantastic game. Very long and great conclusion to that story arc.



I haven't played it for about a month so I'm still in Chapter 4.  I'll get back to it after I finish Valkyria Chronicles 4.


----------



## HU_Nathan7

Anyone play Hollow Knight?!?!


----------



## Bugg

^^ Never finished it but, yeah, brilliant game.  Got it on Steam and Switch.  Keep meaning to return to it.


----------



## Toby Frost

Back on Morrowind. There's a lot wrong with this game, especially the lengthy and awkward travelling, and some of the monsters - those damn birds! - but it really is so quirky and so bizarre that it's always entertaining. It's also _hard_. Playing it without exploiting some of the tricks in the game would make it quite slow and dull. But for all that, the pleasure of seeing new things, exploring new places and just generally enjoying the weird setting is great. If only you could ride a netch!


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought a game called *Grim Legends 3 - The Dark City*, which was in a sale. It's one of those "hidden object" games which are apparently popular with older people, although there's a lot to do that doesn't involve finding hidden objects. I was expecting something a bit cheap, but it was a very slick game, with many puzzles that were generally slightly easy but challenging enough to be enjoyable. The story was all right, and the voice work perfectly acceptable. 

Of course, it makes no sense that virtually every important building has a puzzle instead of a lock, and the heroine suffers from a condition obliging her to carry around random junk in the hope that it might be useful for something later on. Above all, the artwork was extremely good and it was very pleasant to look at. I might have a go at some more of these.


----------



## Boneman

Not ashamed to admit to really enjoying the Classic World of Warcraft! Playing it on my son's computer, and finding the slowness of the action superior to the latest versions, especially instances. Only playing once a week at the moment, so it will take me ages to progress though the levels.


----------



## thaddeus6th

As an aside, there are some small free DLCs ('bags') in Divinity Original Sin 2 (customisation options and some gameplay fiddling).


----------



## Phyrebrat

Rodders said:


> I just downloaded Deadspace 1 and 2 from Steam. For some reason, Deadspace 3 isn't available.



Once you’ve played DS1 I’d seriously recommend watching the _Dead Space: Downfall_ anime. It’s really great and has expanded the backstory of the _Ishimura_ in such an interesting and comprehensive way that I wish there was a massive catalogue of DS material.

Also _Dead Space: Aftermath_ is another animated film that is linked with one of the DS2 characters but I prefer Downfall.

I’m a huge fan of the Dead Space franchise and love the way it becomes totally Lovecraftian. 

pH


----------



## Bugg

So I'm about ten hours into Dragon Quest XI S : Echoes of An Elusive Age Definitive Edition on Switch and enjoying it even more than the first time (and a bit) I played it.  It feels like this is the way the game was always meant to be.


----------



## Vaz

Dead Space is ****ing amazing. Even the Wii game - extraction - is fantastic.

Anyway I recently fixed my cousin's old PS4 and she let me have it cheap like. Anyway I've picked up Dragon age Inquisition, Abzu, and Far Cry 4 as well as Spider-Man. Absolutely loving Spidey, the story and combat is fantastic. Hope there's a sequel.


V


----------



## Rodders

I just bought Mass Effect 1 and 2 from Steam. 

I have heard so much about these games and I really want a good Sci-Fi experience. I haven’t had much experience with RPG games, though as I don’t have too much time on my hands. Still, let’s see. 

I did start to play KOTOR and really enjoyed it, but I didn’t even get off the first planet.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I was just talking with someone about the Mass Effect trilogy the other day. I liked them a lot, particularly the second game.

Speaking of sci-fi RPGs, just a couple of days until The Outer Worlds comes out.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Speaking of sci-fi RPGs, just a couple of days until The Outer Worlds comes out.



It's getting good reviews, too.  I like that it's a comparatively short game (as in 30-ish hours).  I've got more than enough long-ass games to deal with at the moment   

Speaking of which, alongside replaying DQXI on Switch, I've been dabbling in Pathfinder: Kingmaker.  It doesn't do a very good job of explaining its systems, so I'm relying on the internet crutch to clarify some stuff, but I'm having a great time with it.  The characters and story are excellent, the lore is wonderfully deep, and the whole thing looks gorgeous.  I'd heard so much about its teething problems on release but - so far - I've had no problems with it at all.

We're also gearing up our co-op play-through of Divinity Original Sin 2, which has been sidelined for a while.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I've heard 30-40 hours. But it also sounds like it has good replay value.

With more limited time than in the past, I think a longevity of that type is more of a pro than a con in this case. 

Hope Pathfinder comes to PS4 (I think it's planned to).


----------



## Rodders

Started playing Mass Effect last night. First impressions are pretty good. I still have 12 days of leave to take before the end of the years, so I might take a couple of days to spend on this.


----------



## thaddeus6th

It's a damned good game. And the sequel's even better.


----------



## Dozmonic

Bugg said:


> We're also gearing up our co-op play-through of Divinity Original Sin 2, which has been sidelined for a while.


I never got round to finishing that. I was excellent at starting it multiple times!


----------



## Bugg

Dozmonic said:


> I never got round to finishing that. I was excellent at starting it multiple times!



I'm like that with most Western RPGs     I have a love/hate relationship with DOS2.  We're actually further into it now than I got on my solo attempts.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've completed DOS2 once (playing Fane. I was good throughout then accidentally made a significantly different choice near the end which, er, altered things a bit). About halfway through with a Beast playthrough (on hiatus for Outer Worlds) and I had a false start with Lohse.

I do like the characters they've got as the main six. Who're you playing as, or did you go custom?


----------



## Bugg

I'm playing as Ifan (Summoner/Ranger) and Fane (Fighter/Tank), my mate's playing Sebille (Rogue/Necro) and Lohse (Enchanter).  I've actually started soloing it with that set up too, from the point we were at in co-op last weekend.  Long story, but my mate's not very good at the game, doesn't want to put the time in to understand the skills and systems.  Part of the reason we dropped it for a few months was because we were getting bogged down and it was getting frustrating not to make any progress.  I'm happy to let him get on with it without interfering but wanted to move the game on for myself as well, so I picked up our latest save and completely re-specced the characters so I could solo.  We've carried on with the original set up in our co-op game, apart from me re-speccing Fane into a tank, and giving Ifan some ranger skills.  

My other solo games I played as Lohse and The Red Prince.

Giving a lot of thought to getting the game on Switch so I'm not tied to the pc to play it. I've put 140 hours into it so far, one way or another, on Steam. Being able to carry saves from Steam to Switch and vice versa is very tempting.


----------



## olive

I've played several pc games available to me when I was a kid in 90s, but then got cut out from it completely during the univ and after, save a rare session with old beloved games in 2000s. Then 15 years later I had the chance -it's always been somewhere at the back of my head- because my life style was changed. But game world had moved so forward, it was intimidating. Then an online American friend gifted Skyrim to me during a rough patch. That was the first Open World RPG I've played. I instantly loved it very much. It was also a very funny noob adventure. As old games I played automatically started from the 'easy' level, I never thought about to check and change the game difficulty whenever I need it, at least to make the first experience better. I finally dropped it at some point going crazy, obsessed with some little draugr boss. Not even a death lord.  I loved it so much, I kept postponing the main story. I eventually finished it and then came the Witcher 3. In the last five years or so I realised, I loved that specific theme of swinging a sword in some old world -though my examples are very different- and also games like Dawn of Discovery, Banished, Feudal Life; Forest Village, Frostpunk, Dawn of Man... (Still no news form Ancient Cities.) The last game I bought was Anno 1800. Futuristic, high tech combat themes didn't attract me so far, but Cyberpunk 2077 looks it could change that. Along with the desktop I currently have of course, lol.


----------



## Dozmonic

I really enjoyed banished more than I thought I would. Frostpunk I have but haven't put time into yet. At the moment I go between a few games: WoW, D3, Rust, Rimworld, 7 days to die, Civ 6 and colony survival.


----------



## olive

I loved Frostpunk. It also made me sad, frustrated, angry... about my own species. It's a brilliant take on 'human' and 'human behaviour' in a nutshell. I have played it for 17 hours in the first round, because I was so frustrated that I couldn't beat the easiest, first scenario. That is a lot for me.


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought _Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor: Martyr_ - or, as it should be called, _Warhammer Diabolo_ - in a sale. It's very competently done, but really, it is _Diabolo_ with guns. I'm about a 10th through it, and it's already feeling a bit samey. 

It's interesting how less convincing the Warhammer 40,000 world feels when it's on a screen. It just feels a bit daft - there are skulls on everything, and every other word the characters say is "Heretic!". It doesn't help that some of the voice acting is a bit ropey. Still, it's entertaining enough.


----------



## Bugg

Talking of Diablo (at least, I think you were   ):


----------



## Overread

I wish I could get excited about DIV - the cinematic they've posted is beyond awesome; but from what I've heard its an always online basically small team mmo thing. Basically following the same footsteps as DIII. Which means I can't get it. 
It's not even a choice thing, my internet is just too slow to run it (I can just run starcraft 2 and even that gets choppy from time to time online); but DIII is right out for a fast action game. DIV is thus even further out. 

Esp since I'd only want to play it singleplayer most of the time. 
Still at least we've still got DII and dreams that maybe Bliz will remaster it (and keep it offline)


----------



## Toby Frost

When the chap in the trailer put his flask down, I did wonder if he was going to pick up a slightly better flask to replace it.


----------



## Bugg

I gave in to temptation and got Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Switch.  The Steam cross save function works brilliantly, so now I can continue my game during lunch breaks


----------



## Foxbat

Currently playing Space Empires V. Made friends with almost every other race so now it's time to research and build some planet destroying devices and reveal my true intentions.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Recently played the Shadowbringers expansion for FFXIV and loved it. Best expansion by far, brutal and interesting and with great new characters and most importantly finally filled in some massive answers about the whole game universe. Also best antagonist of pretty much every game I've played, if literally every other person in the game can escape death/come back from the dead but he can't I'll be mad (although the ending was ridiculously epic and brilliant). 

Now trying Outer Worlds, the Fallout-esque space colony RPG. I know pretty much nothing about it apart from it's capitalism in space so I've been doing something incredibly rare for me and taking my time


----------



## MoominAhoy

I'm waiting to move house and then I'll be playing Death Stranding when it arrives. Loved the MGS games from Kojima back in the day so have high hopes for this. Returning to WoW classic is tempting since I lost a lot of interest and drive post-WotLK but if I go down that rabbit hole again it will take over my life haha. 

Also looking forward to the FFVII remake next year, simply because that's my all time favourite game and childhood nostalgia. Some of my earliest writing stems from that game.


----------



## Toby Frost

The 1990s game of Blade Runner. It's still very good.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Well, I am loving Outer Worlds. I've played Fallout 4 and Skyrim and they are fantastic in terms of huge, open worlds but I have said I would gladly cut down on that for more depth, and that's exactly what this game has done. I've only been to three locations so far but I need to explore every nook and cranny because I don't want to miss anything -- and I can't stress it enough that this is completely unlike how I usually play these games.

And it's still stunning in appearance, like opening onto Groundbreaker's promenade was a treat for the eyes, and the sky is always beautiful on planets or when in space. But more importantly places feel busy and bustling and actually lived-in. 

I'm still not entirely sure what's going on Main Story wise but despite my lack of knowledge about anything, I'm gonna forcibly liberate everyone haha

The thing is, it mainly is about talking to people (I mean there are quests and fighting) but there's so much to each conversation that it is the most enjoyable bit. I've just spent this evening putting aside all space-based adventuring to help my companion who's having her first crush. And some seriously unexpected representation popping in that I've never seen in any other media. I feel validated! I'm a big supporter of representation but I forgot how much it warms the cockles of your heart, especially when you're in a teeny minority. 

Though I think Martin the Moonhead man is my favourite NPC so far. He's got nothing to do with any missions, you just chat some hilarious dialogue with him. 



If you like your RPGs with lots of dialogue, storyline choices that actually affect the progression, have a nice slice of dark humour, and look pretty great, then get yourself Outer Worlds.


----------



## Rodders

Interesting. I remember enjoying it back in the day, but didn’t get too far in and stopped playing. (I still have it somewhere)


----------



## Venusian Broon

HoopyFrood said:


> Well, I am loving Outer Worlds. I've played Fallout 4 and Skyrim and they are fantastic in terms of huge, open worlds but I have said I would gladly cut down on that for more depth, and that's exactly what this game has done. I've only been to three locations so far but I need to explore every nook and cranny because I don't want to miss anything -- and I can't stress it enough that this is completely unlike how I usually play these games.
> 
> And it's still stunning in appearance, like opening onto Groundbreaker's promenade was a treat for the eyes, and the sky is always beautiful on planets or when in space. But more importantly places feel busy and bustling and actually lived-in.
> 
> I'm still not entirely sure what's going on Main Story wise but despite my lack of knowledge about anything, I'm gonna forcibly liberate everyone haha
> 
> The thing is, it mainly is about talking to people (I mean there are quests and fighting) but there's so much to each conversation that it is the most enjoyable bit. I've just spent this evening putting aside all space-based adventuring to help my companion who's having her first crush. And some seriously unexpected representation popping in that I've never seen in any other media. I feel validated! I'm a big supporter of representation but I forgot how much it warms the cockles of your heart, especially when you're in a teeny minority.
> 
> Though I think Martin the Moonhead man is my favourite NPC so far. He's got nothing to do with any missions, you just chat some hilarious dialogue with him.
> 
> 
> 
> If you like your RPGs with lots of dialogue, storyline choices that actually affect the progression, have a nice slice of dark humour, and look pretty great, then get yourself Outer Worlds.



I'm really enjoying it too....but actually I feel it's a bit too railroaded and pine a bit for it to be much more of an open world. It's pretty easy to complete everything on each map and min/max it. Would like more exploration and really just be a lot messier - quest-wise. Each world feels like one of the DLC from Fallout:NV, but nothing like the main NV game. So I'm not really getting the depth - not really come across any standout quests.

However, not got to the end, things might change, and it will be interesting to see how different it is if you take radically different approach to the missions. And I have not playing on survival setting, which is my preferred difficulty level. Fallout 4 on survival mode was wonderful. 

And finally no Bethseda bugs, not had any problems - touch wood - so far. They have done their work on that


----------



## HoopyFrood

I think it's probably because the last major RPG like this I played was Fallout 4 and that felt so empty to me, and also much more, you must follow only this path. I got annoyed that in dialogue there was only really one actual choice that would progress the story so I would have to pick it. And on one play through I decided to ignore Diamond City for as long as possible but it felt like because I wasn't following the Main Quest and the path it carves, I picked up no other major quests anywhere else, I was literally just going into places, clearing it out, moving on. 

And my biggest gripe was that whenever I did seem to get onto something good, it would turn out the actual event had occurred 200 years ago and all that's left for me is skeletons. People are actually alive in Outer Worlds!   

Everything just feels a bit more engaging, a bit more interesting, but then I realise I am comparing it to a post apocalyptic world heh. 

I've heard that the overall game is quite short but I'm already thinking ahead to new play throughs, and new decision choices to make. That's another thing I like, I can be anarcho liberator, Capitalist lackey, or be completely capricious and serve both, or just kill everyone and steal all their stuff  I also like that there's more than one way to do things sometimes -- although I can attest that the stories about why you probably shouldn't go through Cascadia have some truth to them haha


----------



## Venusian Broon

That's fair enough, although that's not my experience of Fallout 4 - I just edged along the main quest, very slowly, but I did find plenty of other quests about. (Actually still to play the DLC, but then after owning Skyrim for 6 years or so, I haven't completed that either.) Yes, the main quest line is dissappointing as the choices you make don't do much. But the 200 year old thing, nah, usually find a lover quite quickly .

I did love the exploration and piecing together the multitude of stories in the lore, either on the computers or elsewhere and where you found skeletons and artefacts lying about the place. There's a bit of that in the Outer Worlds, but it seems lite compared to NV or even F4.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I think what we have here is patient vs impatient gamer


----------



## Dave Carignan

I have an NES and SNES set up in my living room.  I don’t find a lot of time to play either I just keep too busy.  However I have a Switch which I like because I can play a little then shut it off and come right back and play where I left off.  With that said I plan The NES Mega Mans a lot when I do on the switch even though I have an NES set up.  It’s my favorite series and I never get sick of playing them.

However I really do need to get the new Link’s Awakening and give Mega Man a break.


----------



## Bugg

I'm still playing Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and will be for a loooooong time I expect.  Can't believe a friend of mine is on his fourth play through 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Anyhow, it's annoying that this game was knobbled by being released in an incomplete/bugged-to-hell state and got average/poor reviews as a result, because now it's been patched and balanced to a point where it is as slick as hell and an absolute joy to play, plus the Kingdom management adds another level of complexity and fun that I heven't really encountered in other games of this type.  Loving it. 

Divinity Original Sin 2 co-op is also continuing.


----------



## Rodders

I saw on Steam that they're getting HALO. I've never played it, but if it's on the PC, I'm downloading it.


----------



## Overread

Halo originally launched on PC -  it even had a pc demo. However they fast jumped into the consoles and vanished from PC for a long while. However the Halo game coming to PC is basically ALL of the current games (I think its 5) in a one game bundle. Basically one big "Oh hey there PC we forgot about you) update.


----------



## Vince W

I've been playing some old games again. Master of Orion, Starcraft, and lately Doom.


----------



## -K2-

Though I do not play many games, I do miss flying online, playing the IL2 Sturmovik series and RB3d. Lots and lots of wasted hours (great folks though and good times)... but... Lots of real history learned as well.

K2


----------



## Av Demeisen

_Homeworld Remastered_. I bought the Remastered Collection some time ago and it's been sitting there until now.


----------



## Toby Frost

For the first time in many years, _Half-Life 2_. It really is excellent. In particular, it's really good at depicting its setting without explaining much directly to the player. It's quite violent and the setting is bleak, but it has this cheerful feeling that I think comes from the dated graphics. The characters are surprisingly well fleshed-out. Still recommended, even now.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Have been doing various _Rimworld_ scenarios. And sometimes you just have to go cannibal because you find yourself recreating the Doner Party. (Although, after many deaths and the colony a few hours away from wiping, it has actually managed to get back to spring and growing season. I'm impressed by the tenacity of those pawns.)


----------



## Dozmonic

Venusian Broon said:


> Have been doing various _Rimworld_ scenarios. And sometimes you just have to go cannibal because you find yourself recreating the Doner Party. (Although, after many deaths and the colony a few hours away from wiping, it has actually managed to get back to spring and growing season. I'm impressed by the tenacity of those pawns.)


Rimworld's one of the greats! I'm sure I've racked up around 300-400 hours on steam on it :-(


----------



## Venusian Broon

Dozmonic said:


> Rimworld's one of the greats! I'm sure I've racked up around 300-400 hours on steam on it :-(



Only 536 hours on that game for me at the moment


----------



## Wyrmlord

Been playing Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar when I can. The game is a certified meme, but it's fun, and I like the campiness of it. I'm also thinking about trying out Heroes of Might and Magic III.


----------



## Foxbat

I recently started playing Eschalon Book 1 (which I picked up from GOG.com for just a few quid... also bought books 2 & 3). It's an old school computer RPG - isometric - none of this FPS malarky. I'm really enjoying it


----------



## Wyrmlord

Foxbat said:


> I recently started playing Eschalon Book 1 (which I picked up from GOG.com for just a few quid... also bought books 2 & 3). It's an old school computer RPG - isometric - none of this FPS malarky. I'm really enjoying it


This actually looks pretty good.


----------



## Overread

I tried their Geneforge series games a while back, but their engine just feels so very very dated. It was more little issues and things that felt cumbersome having come from modern games more than its visuals.


----------



## Foxbat

The only two issues I've come across are 
1) sometimes some of the textures don't load when entering an area 
and 2) combat can be a bit fiddly. It's very easy to move instead of strike a blow if you're not precise enough where you click the mouse. 

Apart from that , the three games came in at less than £20 total and I think it's great value

Oh yes...one more thing. I found it to be very slow with Direct X  drivers so opted for OpenGL and it performed much better. You can choose which to use at the startup screen.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm most of the way through the final act of Divinity Original Sin II. Getting more stuff done, and more competent in combat, than my first time around.

Might go for another playthrough, or flit back to The Witcher 3 (new playthrough + DLC for the first time), or get Civ VI next. But for now I'm enjoying a few different choices and generally getting more stuff done.


----------



## Bugg

We've just reached The Nameless Isle in our co-op playthrough of DOS II.


----------



## Wyrmlord

I'm at my partner's house, and I introduced their little brother to Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. I pulled out my computer to play with him, but something happened to the kernel -- Linux -- and spent the rest of the evening debugging and fixing the damn thing. Hopefully we can game tomorrow.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Ah dear, doing a 'mega run' of various Rimworld locations picked at random but all different. My current Desert biome colony, on Randy Random and not quite the hardest difficulty, set in mountainous terran (colony called "Death Valley") is just managing to get through it's third winter. 

Everyone died bar one in the first winter to hypothermia (I started all colonies on Tribal so it's taken _ages _to research and I was nowhere near any power options for all of the first year. Plus they only had their stupid tribalware clothes). The man in black came in as well to save me...

Survived the second winter with three pawns, but we essentially had to eat all the humans (raw as I had no fuel or electricity to cook anything*) that we killed in the large numbers in loads of raids, because I did manage to build a welcoming entrance to my base (<cough> kill box <cough, cough>) 

Managing to get some power in the third year, got the colony up to 7 pawns, and got hydroponics...yet, still nowhere near enough food to survive. 

At least this time I can cut up the human flesh and cook it. 

Despite the need to recreated the Doner party, I'm impressed by my pawns. 

----------------------------------------

* I've stripped all the cacti and trees off the entire map, and I've not seen any wildlife on the map for about three seasons!


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded Halo Master Chief files from Steam. This could be what I need to replace Half Life 2 in my gaming life.


----------



## Bugg

I finished The Banner Saga 2 and picked up Assassin's Creed Odyssey in the Steam sale so made a start on that.


----------



## Wyrmlord

Playing some Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. I love the game's campiness and really like the combat, flow and overall UI. I know this isn't Baldur's Gate, but NVN is definitely scratching that RPG itch.


----------



## Dozmonic

WoW has called me back. But I realised I didn't have any interest in playing until Shadowlands, so I'm just dabbling making gold


----------



## Wyrmlord

Dozmonic said:


> WoW has called me back. But I realised I didn't have any interest in playing until Shadowlands, so I'm just dabbling making gold


I feel you. There are times when I sink hours into the game then take weeks off. Rinse and repeat.


----------



## Vladd67

A friend of mine daren’t play WoW anymore. He was, shall we say, a little obsessive with it and in the end his wife threatened to leave him.


----------



## Wyrmlord

Vladd67 said:


> A friend of mine daren’t play WoW anymore. He was, shall we say, a little obsessive with it and in the end his wife threatened to leave him.


How much did he play for his wife to threaten leaving? How long were they married at the time?


----------



## Vladd67

I don’t know all the details but I know he was getting up at 4 in the morning so he could play it before going to work, and then played it in the evenings until stupid o’clock at night.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Played an hour or so of Civ VI (bit more, but that was tutorial stuff).

Rather more stuff than I remember in Civ II... I've already slightly cocked up a city position, although Ravenna's placed nicely. Rome ended up immediately between two barbarian encampments, but weathered the storm nicely. Control scheme could be a shade better, perhaps (a button to toggle through cities would be good). But mostly enjoying shambling my way through things.


----------



## Overread

MMO's have never held my interest gaming wise. I've tried a few but always fall down because I never maintain long term interest in them. Plus I tend to find most of the gameplay really simplistic. In their bid to have the game easy to drop into many MMO games are highly efficient and highly simplistic; and players often push for the highest DPS playstyle which means that builds are also often curtailed. The result is a game where I feel like you're not really "playing" you're "working/grinding" and the only fun aspect is the social links. Which is partly why they are so entrapping to many because the gameplay is almost a robotical level function whilst the social aspect provides its own reward. 

But like I say I flip and jump between games and moods too often to stick at any MMO. 

Right now I'm jumping around a bit - though I did have a mammoth playthrough of Spyro 1 and 2 and started 3 (then needed a break). Fantastic to see the work they've put into the remakes of them for PC/console. It's so rewarding to see a game updated to modern visuals, but which plays just like the originals - it tickles that nostalgia itch, whilst also giving you modern visuals and performance. It's also interesting because looking back you can see how the company behind the games changed and shifted- the experimental Spyro; the improved Spyro 2 where they polished it all up; Spyro 3 where I believe they started running out of money (you get this feeling because you start to lose a few little things from Spyro 2 such as the entering/leaving world cutscenes). You also see the multitude of characters and those side-characters that they were messing with and looking to spin-off into their own games that never came around.


----------



## Nekros Arts

Currently I´m playing Northgard. When you´re into celtic mythology and creatures and enjoy build-up simulations, you should definitively check it out. Made by indies and very fun!


----------



## Wyrmlord

Vladd67 said:


> I don’t know all the details but I know he was getting up at 4 in the morning so he could play it before going to work, and then played it in the evenings until stupid o’clock at night.


Sheesh. It's all about compromise. My partner doesn't mind me playing video games or lurking forums, as long as it doesn't get in the way of doing stuff together or getting out of the house once in a while.


----------



## Dozmonic

Nekros Arts said:


> Currently I´m playing Northgard. When you´re into celtic mythology and creatures and enjoy build-up simulations, you should definitively check it out. Made by indies and very fun!


It's nicely made, well done, has a really good feel to it. I rate it highly


----------



## Foxbat

Something very rare happened recently...I actually completed a game (the RPG Eschalon Book 1). Now starting Eschalon Book 2 and wondering if lightning will strike twice


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Civ VI. On my third game so still learning the ropes.

Making notes along the way for a review. Mostly positive, but housing is just an annoyance.

Also, I enjoy conquering enemy cities and renaming them obnoxiously. Nothing is more psychologically crushing for denizens than seeing their city fall and renamed Big Sally's Love Shack.


----------



## Wyrmlord

thaddeus6th said:


> Playing Civ VI. On my third game so still learning the ropes.


Just one more turn. 
Just one more turn.
Just one more turn.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, it's reminiscent, in that way, of Civ II some time ago.

Going fairly well.

I'm oddly annoyed that there's a sale on the DLC (not huge, about a quarter off) as I'm still getting to grips with the game and playing on standard (Prince) difficulty so I'm not sure if I want the DLC (yet, at least). Sale ends on the 17th. 

Just took my third capital, so I'm nearly halfway there. Got Aztecs, Persians, Arabs, and the Polish to go. But first, my frigate fleet is going to become a battleship fleet.

I've racked up massive warmonger penalties but nobody's actually attacked me yet, though I've been denounced a lot (which is fair enough, I've invaded everyone I could find on the same continent). Unsure if that'll last.


----------



## Foxbat

Rodders said:


> I downloaded Halo Master Chief files from Steam. This could be what I need to replace Half Life 2 in my gaming life.


When I first read this, I thought it said Halo Master Chef (note to self...time to get eyesight checked). 

Then I thought, wouldn't a Gordon Ramsey simulator be good fun? You could  collect expletive points to advance your character through the kitchen heirarchy


----------



## Dozmonic

thaddeus6th said:


> Yeah, it's reminiscent, in that way, of Civ II some time ago.
> 
> Going fairly well.
> 
> I'm oddly annoyed that there's a sale on the DLC (not huge, about a quarter off) as I'm still getting to grips with the game and playing on standard (Prince) difficulty so I'm not sure if I want the DLC (yet, at least). Sale ends on the 17th.
> 
> Just took my third capital, so I'm nearly halfway there. Got Aztecs, Persians, Arabs, and the Polish to go. But first, my frigate fleet is going to become a battleship fleet.
> 
> I've racked up massive warmonger penalties but nobody's actually attacked me yet, though I've been denounced a lot (which is fair enough, I've invaded everyone I could find on the same continent). Unsure if that'll last.


It is one of those games that's fun with mates but not so much with strangers. Until you forget to set a turn timer and have one mate who takes 15 mins to micro their apostles through your land! I had a mate who wanted to play only duel sized pangea maps where he was Sumeria so he could war cart spam and win in 10 turns. For him that was fun.


----------



## Phyrebrat

thaddeus6th said:


> Played an hour or so of Civ VI (bit more, but that was tutorial stuff).
> 
> Rather more stuff than I remember in Civ II... I've already slightly cocked up a city position, although Ravenna's placed nicely. Rome ended up immediately between two barbarian encampments, but weathered the storm nicely. Control scheme could be a shade better, perhaps (a button to toggle through cities would be good). But mostly enjoying shambling my way through things.



I’ve been doing the same this last week (PS4) but it’s such a huge step up from the 2008 version I’m struggling with understanding city placement and all the extra facets.

Also playing Cleopatra in the tutorial with an advisor with a Keighley accent is... disconcerting.

pH


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, it seems rivers/lakes are very important, certainly within aqueduct range.

One thing I don't like is that cultural flipping of cities, which was in Civ Rev, is only in the expansion here. Seems more like a core game mechanic to me.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Deleted: didn't think this went through, but it did so twice.


----------



## Wyrmlord

I played about six hours of CKII last night and had a blast. I raised my daughter to be a warrior queen of the Scottish tribal lands, circa 800 AD. Her martial stats are above 20 by the time she hit 18. After the second battle she got punctured by a spear and earned the "disfigured" trait for life *womp womp*. However, I'm not trying to let that stop her from ruling with an iron fist. 20 years later, she's grown to own duchy and has several large vassals supporting her. The whole, from her line, will be to conquer Scotland.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2, which is a lot of fun, but unfortunately I've run up against the bit I could never get past (the carnival games in Venice) and I'll have to give it up again. Thief 2 continues to be excellent, especially the huge number of very good fan missions out there.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Wyrmlord said:


> I played about six hours of CKII last night and had a blast. I raised my daughter to be a warrior queen of the Scottish tribal lands, circa 800 AD. Her martial stats are above 20 by the time she hit 18. After the second battle she got punctured by a spear and earned the "disfigured" trait for life *womp womp*. However, I'm not trying to let that stop her from ruling with an iron fist. 20 years later, she's grown to own duchy and has several large vassals supporting her. The whole, from her line, will be to conquer Scotland.


That's what I love about that game, no matter how well you organise your dynasty, the game will always find a bag of spanners to throw into the works.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing Assassin's Creed 2, which is a lot of fun, but unfortunately I've run up against the bit I could never get past (the carnival games in Venice) and I'll have to give it up again. Thief 2 continues to be excellent, especially the huge number of very good fan missions out there.



that’s such a shame; that’s by far my favourite AC game. I really hope you get through it.

I stopped playing AC origins months ago because it just felt too un-AC. The renaissance period of AC2 and Brotherhood are divine.  Black flag is amazing too


----------



## Toby Frost

In my experience the difficulty suddenly goes through the roof at that point. One of the challenges, where you steal ribbons from women at a party, is simple, but the other three are very hard indeed. I bought a set of all the Ezio games, so I might just skip on to Brotherhood instead.


----------



## Av Demeisen

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1219973994402713600








						Every classic Half-Life game is now free on Steam
					

For a limited time. What better way to catch up before March's Half-Life: Alyx?




					arstechnica.com


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished Half-Life 2 last night!


----------



## Wyrmlord

Toby Frost said:


> I finished Half-Life 2 last night!


Now for the never-ending wait for Half-Life 3. 

If anyone is interested, I heart the classic HL games are all free on Steam.


----------



## Overread

Wyrmlord said:


> Now for the never-ending wait for Half-Life 3.
> 
> If anyone is interested, I heart the classic HL games are all free on Steam.



They've got about 2 months "free to play" rather than being free. Which means you can download and play them just as if you own them, but once the time limit is up they'll be removed from your account. Of course they go on sale pretty often so chances are you can easily pick them up with a good discount.


----------



## Laughingbuddha

Path of Exile mostly. Its like rare modern jewel for an old hardcore action-RPG fan like me. I really hope that GGG will keep up the good work, as they did so far.


----------



## BAYLOR

*Skyrim *


----------



## Bugg

Phyrebrat said:


> that’s such a shame; that’s by far my favourite AC game. I really hope you get through it.
> 
> I stopped playing AC origins months ago because it just felt too un-AC. The renaissance period of AC2 and Brotherhood are divine.  Black flag is amazing too



I'm the opposite - didn't like the earlier AC games at all but liked Origins a lot and absolutely love Odyssey.  I get why long-time fans don't like them, though.


----------



## Toby Frost

Half-Life 2 is an interesting one. My main feeling towards it is a sort of affection: despite it being about killing the soldiers of a genocidal alien dictatorship, I remember it as a "nice" game. I suspect it's because most of the people you meet are rounded characters: scientists, civilians or rebels, rather than unconvincing space soldiers grunting about honour. The setting feels well-established, and the overheard conversations are interesting and lend depth to it all, especially given that most of what you do is kicking doors open and slaughtering enemies. Even the villain is more nuanced than most computer game dark lords. Anyhow, it's very good.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Bugg said:


> I'm the opposite - didn't like the earlier AC games at all but liked Origins a lot and absolutely love Odyssey.  I get why long-time fans don't like them, though.



I'll finish it - or rather, restart it and finish it - and it wasn't the story side of things that I had a problem with, it was the controls and methodology that I struggled with. Like all things, I'll get used to it, though, but after having the same problem with the hella-boring Fallen Jedi title, I wasn't in the mood for that kind of game, I suppose.

Right now, I'm back on Battlefront II which I've been banging since 2018! It can be a mess, but it's a beautiful mess.

pH


----------



## etaylor

Katana Zero is wonderful. Great pacing, interesting story. Simple and intuitive yet remarkably engaging. 

Give it a whirl.


----------



## etaylor

For those interested in strategy, who enjoy the likes of CK2, I would highly recommend Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension. The name is a mouth full of word salad, but once you get past the learning curve it's deeply engaging.


----------



## biodroid

Toby Frost said:


> I finished Half-Life 2 last night!


Best game ever made IMHO


----------



## biodroid

I was playing *Assetto Corsa Competizione* (on racing wheel) but discovered I have 2 herniated discs in my neck that is pinching a nerve and makes my arm feel like it's on fire, I have to get surgery done and have prosthetic discs inserted, so no racing games for a while, I'll probably carry on with Fallout 4 then as it's less strenuous on the neck.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've played the original Sphere of Influence (I think Ascension's the updated version?). Liked quite a lot of it, although some more individuality to cities would've been good.

Roads having differing speeds and battles either auto-running or being playable are nice features.


----------



## etaylor

thaddeus6th said:


> I've played the original Sphere of Influence (I think Ascension's the updated version?). Liked quite a lot of it, although some more individuality to cities would've been good.
> 
> Roads having differing speeds and battles either auto-running or being playable are nice features.



Ascension makes some pretty strong strides towards making cities more individually unique. 

And it implements a pretty nice system for granting specific cities and characters over to the AI and letting them work towards a specified goal so you don't need to micromanage any more than you actually want to.


----------



## etaylor

Tonight, I'm playing Cities: Skylines.


----------



## Wyrmlord

etaylor said:


> Tonight, I'm playing Cities: Skylines.


Very comfy game!


----------



## .matthew.

After a couple of years steering clear, I started another playthrough of Crusader Kings II. Weekend of nothing but playing a feudal lord and trying desperately to stop my family members marrying each other... Incestuous animals


----------



## etaylor

I have a love/hate relationship with CK2. 

I desperately want to like it, because I really enjoy the empire building and family intrigue and intercharacter connections... But as soon as I start a war I remember why I hate it. The combat mechanics are so shallow, so completely out of any meaningful control, that it ultimately boils down to whoever started the war with the bigger army is going to win. And that's just not entertaining for me. 

I have the same problem with the Total War series but in reverse. I love the combat in the Total War series (though the original Shogun handled this best because it was the most complex without relying needlessly on micromanaging individual unit "skill buttons" and similar silliness). But the diplomacy, empire building and campaign aspect of it always seems so terribly shallow. 

The Nobunaga's Ambition series that I mentioned earlier is something of a compromise between the two. It's empire building and city management aspects (especially in Ascension) are far better than anything CK2 and Total War have to offer. But it's diplomacy is still pretty shallow, and the combat mechanics are better than CK2 but not as good as Total War. 

There's a spot in the market that can thread the needle between the two well, and I'd love to be a part of it, but I don't have any coding experience nor the time and financial resources to dedicate to opening an independent studio and figuring that career path out by scratch.


----------



## Overread

I think the problem with marrying a deep diplomatic system like Crusader Kings 2 has with an indepth battle system like Total War is that you end up with a game with two very complex areas that heavy rely on each other and yet are very deep in their own right. I think the result is that you end up with a game that, on paper, sounds great; but in reality can be too complex for many to wrap their heads around how to play and what choices to make. The result being many would lean heavily toward one aspect or the other, which would continually trip them up. The heavy diplomatic player might be able to stave off wars and such, but if they got involved they'd get smashed; whilst the heavy combat player would find themselves getting beaten down by diplomatic angles. 
Total war games have fairly simple diplomacy, because the prime focus is to get into fights. Alliances and such are there to balance out the fact that you can't war with everyone at once and survive, but its not there to really win the game. I think if they made it too deep you'd run the risk of players winning games without raising armies and battling it out on the maps; which is sort of a big point of them. 

My main problem with Crusader Kings 2 is that along with a combat system that I think is too watered down; I also feel like the game hasn't got a steady pace to it. I find that you're either endlessly waiting for something to happen if the speed is too slow; or suddenly everything is happening too fast if you speed things up. Try as I have I can never find a point at which the game feels "fun" to me; and yet every review and opinion I read of it makes it sound SO much fun. 
I often think I'd enjoy it better if it were turnbased instead of realtime. 

Personally I've got hopes on Knights of Honour 2 and hope it keeps its edge that the first game had, whilst also being quite relaxing to play compared to some other 4* games. It's still one of the few that actually makes a big empire harder and harder to run as you get bigger; capping your armies and creating rebellions and such - you can easily end up losing whole segments of your kingdom if you get too big. Though against the AI two vs one armies (you send in two) tends to be a bit of a broken trick to expanding pretty fast and reliably.


----------



## .matthew.

@etaylor @Overread

I know what you both mean (and the reasons I've stayed away for the last few years).

I actually prefer the combat in CK2 to that of EU4 (which overall is a much better game). It's a lot less about min-maxing and rolling that impossibly high stat general to counter the AIs. I also appreciate the smaller scale of the wars. It's much more of a relationship management game that while I do play as a map painter, can be just as much fun as a vassal for some AI, where all you have to worry about are said incestuous sisters and the odd assassination attempt. You can also turn against your lord with fun little faction mechanics and plotting etc.

At this point in the game I'm a little out of control as I've been hoarding my dynasty and taking massive prestige hits to bring in husbands for the women rather than sending them away. It's a staggering family tree full of the best traits I could scrabble together... and yes that makes a medieval eugenicist. It's not without it's flaws though, I have a least one branch that are ugly clubfooted imbeciles, but at least they make compliant vassals... well not compliant so much as incapable of successfully plotting against me  Unfortunately it leaves me constantly busy with micromanagement and hardly any time to declare my random acts of warfare on neighbouring states.

Another problem is that after a generation or two, you start acting less like a person and more like an evil mastermind who will murder your own son to put the better traited twin on the throne after you die... I mean comeon... strong, tall, and quick vs dim and ugly. No contest... 

-

All that said there is a turn based sci-fi game in development that seems very similar except that you get only so many 'moves' per turn and then you watch as your advisors and whatnot play out your plans (to mimic you not being an omnipotent overlord). I can't recall the name of it right now but if I come across it again I will be bookmarking the page.


----------



## etaylor

@Overread @.matthew.

Have either of you tried the new Imperator: Rome? It's something of a fast paced blobfest but it's entertaining.

Also, I had no idea a Knights of Honor 2 was in the works. I loved that game.

I think my favorite old PC strategy games would have to be Lords of the Realm 2 and the original Shogun Total War.


----------



## .matthew.

@etaylor 

Not tried it, was going to give it a go on that free week but after that disastrous release that got completely slated I figured I'd give it a year or two to become a full game. I've still not started on Hearts of Iron 4 either 

I do like Stellaris. The equal starts and exploration early game is fun, but as with all Paradox titles I've given up on dlc at this point. Even on sale they don't seem worth the money anymore. I also like the battle cinematics.

The best thing about their games, and honestly the only thing that keeps me playing them is mods. There are so many, and it's super easy to tweak the game to how you like it if there isn't a mod to do what you want. Oh so many mods.

-

I bounce off Total Wars even though I have most. The strategy layer gets dull and overly finicky (building certain troops only in certain provinces for the massive bonuses you get there) and constantly upgrading every region. Then the battles are just not good anymore. I remember Med2 and Empire were really fun, but since then it's just been stupidity (and looking back there was definite stupidity in those as well). I played half a game of Shogun 2 last month, and took every other province with armies of 80% archers who just shot over the walls and killed everyone as they lined up to replace the troops I'd just killed in that exact spot... They make pretty games but the AI just sucks on every level.


----------



## etaylor

@.matthew. Oh the Total War AI is absolutely pitiful. And they try to make it more challenging by just letting the AI cheat with boosted stats and income without actually making it any smarter. It's a cop-out method that always falls flat. 

But, like you said, dang is it pretty. Lol. 

Something happened in their development team on the strategic level though around the development of Rome 2 where they just got flatout stupid. The building aspect of the game got so pointlessly convoluted and just...silly. they would have been better off staying with the way things were before. 

And I pretend Rome 2, Attilla, and at least one other I can't remember don't even exist because the battles were just so...awful.


----------



## etaylor

@.matthew. 

Stellaris is cool. 

Have you tried Endless Space or Endless Legends at all? Different kind of formula but similar 4x style gameplay.


----------



## .matthew.

@etaylor

It's why I prefer the Paradox ones that have that deeper strategy element and diplomacy that feels meaningful. Even if the fighting is awful.

I have, and I do like them, but not for long. The scripted stories are fantastic, until you've seen how they play out, then it just feels a bit empty to me. At least with Endless Space 2 (can't recall the others at the moment) the AI is possibly worse that Total War's though.

I had one game where I was B, A and C empires on either side of me. A on contact proposed an immediate alliance, so sure why not. C at some point decides to declare war on A (through my space) and even though I had only 1 main manufacture world and a fleet a third of their size, they warped right over me to reach A. I had a dozen turns to become the sleeping bear and began attacking their planets. Their response... continue to slowly annex A and reinforce their fleets over there, while I'm seiging their capital...

That same game, not a single AI did anything other than scout ship the story locations you have to seize so I won those eventually having to travel like 20 turns to reach some of them.

And not forgetting the constant "Do you want a research agreement?" spam from my ally... EVERY TURN... which wouldn't be so bad but the whole aesthetic of the game is that swishy polished thing that makes the notifications pop up with no way to dismiss beforehand, meaning I had to hear the opening few words of their greeting message about 60 times, for something I didn't want and couldn't afford to maintain. Grrrrr.

Very pretty games but I think they went overboard on the tech tree (even though I love the idea of teching up specific trees to unlock wonders and stuff. Plus the AI sucks as much as Total War (seems they were built more for multiplayer).

Edit: Oh, and the battles are terrible. I wish there was a way to make them more interactive, like giving you a choice of tactics per stage instead of only pre fight. Maybe letting you actually choose a formation as well.


----------



## etaylor

@.matthew. 

That's actually a really good descriptor for those games. It's also why I don't play them single player. They're interesting when you play multiplayer against actual people. But yeah, the AI is a bit dull.


----------



## Overread

Have you tried the TW WArhammer games? The AI in those is far more aggressive than regular TW games where the AI tends to get a bit fixated on drawing up rank and file and letting you come to it. In the Warhammer its far more eager to come to you. 

They also reduced map sizes, which sounds bad, but in reality it makes for a more engaging battle experience I find. You've still got room to wheel and turn and flank and rear attack; just now it happens without the 5 min wait for things to get into position. Same for Sieges - the maps are much smaller but you get a lot more combat on the walls and far less of the "chase the AI around the castle" experience.


----------



## .matthew.

Yes, warhammer 1 anyway, not played 2 as I'm assuming it'll pop up in the humble monthly at some point. I know what you mean though, I think they took the decision weighting from Shogun 2 after the realm divide where everything just goes ballistic. The are some really good siege map mods available as well (that makes the city battles a lot more lifelike and epic).


----------



## etaylor

I have played both of the warhammers. And they probably were my favorites of the recent releases. But something happened with my game and now no matter what I do (delete, reinstall, direct x update, etc) it crashes on startup and I can't play them. :-(

I really liked them though. Even the building trees seemed less goofy and senseless than the historical releases lately. Still thought it was silly that they restricted the number of buildings in a settlement though. 

But ultimately those were great games. 

Undead for life! ...wait...lol. you know what I mean.


----------



## Overread

They did steadily allow at least starting settlements to build more of the tree, I recall early in Warhammer 1 many of the core cities were very very restricted. I think its a neat idea because its trying to get you to use your whole empire rather than just a single power-core of one powerful settlement. 

Etaylor I hope you can get it to work - have you asked on their TW Access forums in the support bit (you also get some free stuff if you've not got a TW access account - a whole load of regiments of renowned for some of the Warhammer 1 factions). Posting something like your DxDiag (google it if you don't know how to get it - its really simple) and details of your install and what happens and hopefully someone can give you the help to get it running again.


----------



## etaylor

@Overread I haven't gone through the effort of reaching out to their support team yet. Im waiting on getting a gaming laptop because sitting in front of my PC is just not practical at the moment for real life reasons. But a gaming laptop I can manage.


----------



## Overread

@etaylor ahh I'm sorry to hear that, but good luck with your gaming laptop. Do some good research on it though and ask around on the steam forums and game forums for games you play before you buy for some good models to look at within your price range. Laptops are funny things for games at times and what might appear powerful enough on paper might have a mobile graphics card with some niche issues.


----------



## etaylor

@Overread 

I know. Gaming hardware is very much a "you get what you pay for" situation.


----------



## Overread

Very true - though if you can run a modern TW game like Warhammer 1 or 2 then you're doing really well since big RTS games tend to be one of the most demanding things. Supreme Commander and Ashes of Singularity are another two big RTS style games that can grind PCs to a sluggish halt very easily.


----------



## .matthew.

I'm lucky in that I've got a pretty beefy rig (even if it is a few years old now). Never has any problems with anything. Except Stellaris after they introduced that population rework and the game has to calculate stuff for every one of them :/


----------



## etaylor

My PC is probably close to 4 years old, and it was probably an 8/10 when I bought it. So today it's hovering somewhere around mid tier. Except for Warhammer TW, which inexplicably crashes, I can run anything I want on it, but that doesn't mean it's going to be running at full steam so to speak.


----------



## Foxbat

Eschalon Book 3. I'm loving this series. It kind of reminds me of my days rambling the internet wilderness in Ultima Online


----------



## thaddeus6th

That comment reminds me of the MUD, Fatal Dimensions. I loved that game. Sadly died due to lack of activity (spent over a decade there, I think).


----------



## olive

I played Pharaoh and Cleopatra yesterday.  It's still good.


----------



## Wyrmlord

Jumping between Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Crusader Kings II


----------



## Toby Frost

*Hidden and Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron*

This is an old and somewhat clunky game in which you control a team of SAS soldiers and carry out a variety of missions in WW2. It's difficult and is neither a great strategy game or a great shooter, but I enjoyed it very much. It's atmospheric and requires a degree of planning and caution that you don't see in a lot of shooting games.

Best of all, I discovered that many of the (very British) voices were done by one Xander Armstrong. This is actually Alexander Armstrong, the comedian, who as half of Armstrong and Miller did a sketch about two puerile fighter pilots. He clearly had the right voice for the job!


----------



## Foxbat

Just completed Eschalon 3. Significantly shorter than the other two but enjoyable nonetheless. The very fact that I finished them all probably means they may  be too easy for some but (as Goldilocks said) just right for me. Not a lot of money spent so enjoyment per pound is very high indeed

I've just bought all five of the Geneforge series for a pittance on GOG so may give them a try soon.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Still playing Civ VI.

I do think some mechanics in the expansions should've been included in the main game, particularly the ability to flip cities using culture.


----------



## Toby Frost

Back on Dragon's Dogma, a crazy roleplaying/adventure game seemingly made by someone who had been told about The Lord of the Rings by a drunken friend in a noisy pub. The duke summoned my person to his castle, apparently to give them a mission. Two minutes later and I'm wearing a party hat and about to start a lesbian affair with the duchess. None of this is down to player choice.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Dragon's Dogma has utterly fantastic combat, though.


----------



## Toby Frost

It is very entertaining!


----------



## thaddeus6th

It's a damned shame there wasn't a proper sequel (there was some online nonsense nobody wanted).

Dragon's Dogma is a weird RPG, though. The combat's fantastic and the story's weak (it's got a good premise and ending but just goes missing for over half the game), plus the armour/clothing options are really nice. I also like the main pawn/second character approach, hoping some open world RPGs nick that in the future.


----------



## .matthew.

I reinstalled Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes at the weekend, before spending 7 hours playing through a random map. Hadn't touched it in over 4 years and it was old even then, but surprisingly it holds up. Was never a popular 4x, but plenty of magic and light RPG elements make it quite fun (if about as gamey as you can get).

Doubt I'll bother with another match but it was a nice distraction (or a naughty distraction to my writing - dealers choice).


----------



## Toby Frost

I've started The Witcher 3. I played the first game a long time ago, found it very difficult and gave up. This game is odd: it looks great but so far my main impression is that it's cumbersome and slow. I feel that I'm not doing much more than I'd do in Skyrim, except that it's a lot more fiddly.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm going to return to a Witcher 3 game soon. Give it a chance. The story is fantastic. It's arguably the best game of this generation.


----------



## Vaz

Dishonored 2. This series is really fantastic.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I've started The Witcher 3. I played the first game a long time ago, found it very difficult and gave up. This game is odd: it looks great but so far my main impression is that it's cumbersome and slow. I feel that I'm not doing much more than I'd do in Skyrim, except that it's a lot more fiddly.


Mods, mods, and more mods and it's the best game I've ever played. Without them it is still clunky and a bit annoying 




Vaz said:


> Dishonored 2. This series is really fantastic.


Love that series. I still need to play the standalone expansion thing they did for number 2 but the main game was really bloody good. Like every level just oozes style, and the mechanics are great.


Right now I'm playing Space Engineers (trying not to crash into the ground).


----------



## Luiglin

Jumped back into PlanetSide2 after a long time away. Loved the first version.


----------



## Foxbat

Space Empires IV Deluxe with the Star Trek mod installed. Currently in a seemingly never ending war with the The Tholians. They keep sending their dreadnoughts through the warp point and I keep filling the zone with mines. Just waiting for an opportunity to nip through and seed their colonies with plague bombs. That’ll sort em


----------



## thaddeus6th

I have vague memories of a rather cool Tholian webspinner.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> Just waiting for an opportunity to nip through and seed their colonies with plague bombs. That’ll sort em



Please tell us you're playing as an evil Federation


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> Please tell us you're playing as an evil Federation


Currently playing as a wimp federation who’s getting an ass kicking. The Tholians have faked transmissions and provoked three other races to declare war on me. Currently in a fight with four empires and my population is growing restless. I think my days are numbered.


----------



## Dozmonic

COD:Warzone is proving to be the first BR style game I can play more than 3 times.


----------



## olive

I'm playing Heroes of Might and Magic III and pretending it is 20 years ago.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been doing that with Neverwinter Nights!


----------



## Astro Pen

I loved _Riven_ (sequel to Myst)
I'm considering getting _"Obduction"_  Any good?


----------



## Dozmonic

olive said:


> I'm playing Heroes of Might and Magic III and pretending it is 20 years ago.


HD edition is just over 3 quid on steam right now. I dread to think of how many hours I played games like that and master of magic back in the day.


----------



## Vaz

I'm going to pick up a few more games: Horizon Zero Dawn and the rebooted God of War look like stand out candidates.

Might also pick up The Last of Us and Death of the Outsider which is connected to the Dishonored series.


V


----------



## olive

Dozmonic said:


> HD edition is just over 3 quid on steam right now. I dread to think of how many hours I played games like that and master of magic back in the day.



I know! I've got that one. It's been sooo long. Man...I have heard that music...you know what I2m talking about.  and then I fell to Dungeon in random. ANother that music. Gawd.


----------



## Foxbat

The original Half Life. Enjoying it but starting to remember that I hated all those  bits where you have to jump over gaps.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just finally finished Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen. Now I'm pondering the New Game plus or starting a new game. Hmm.

I do really like playing it through from level 1. Might see how the New Game plus goes.


----------



## Vaz

Foxbat said:


> The original Half Life. Enjoying it but starting to remember that I hated all those  bits where you have to jump over gaps.



Always loved and was creeped out by the episode "We don't go to Ravenholm."


V


----------



## R. K. Clark

Borderlands 3 -- the mechanics and gameplay is great...the story is kinda weak.


----------



## Vaz

Yeah... Sounds like every borderlands title to be honest. Still, good fun though.


V


----------



## Foxbat

Was bored so decided to poke around in the attic (I shoved a storage box full of old PC games up there years ago). Found Championship Manager 03/04 season. With no footy for the forseeable future, busy installing as I type this. Can’t decide whether to play as Cowdenbeath or Huddersfield Town (my sister stays there so I like to keep an eye in their status)


----------



## Astro Pen

I picked up a copy of the original _Bejewelled_. So natch stopped writing all afternoon.  
 Not sure whether I am addicted to the game or the music but when I stop the game the silence hits like a brick wall.


----------



## .matthew.

Astro Pen said:


> Not sure whether I am addicted to the game or the music



Ha. Music is such a powerful tool for game design. Still, I usually end up muting it and dropping the volume of everything else so I can have on my own tunes (unless it's a game I really need to pay attention to.


----------



## Foxbat

Oh dear! I’d forgotten how addictive Championship Manager is. I’ve decided to manage Albion Rovers (because of a book I like ....scottish short stories called Children Of Albion Rovers). I’m only at the third game of the pre-season and I’m already shouting at the computer...


----------



## Dozmonic

CM is one of those devil games you'll lose days to. I'm lucky enough not to have old copies of it lying around and smart enough not to insta... oh wait, I loaded Rimworld up. There goes another 300 hours.


----------



## Overread

Foxbat said:


> Oh dear! I’d forgotten how addictive Championship Manager is. I’ve decided to manage Albion Rovers (because of a book I like ....scottish short stories called Children Of Albion Rovers). I’m only at the third game of the pre-season and I’m already shouting at the computer...



My brother, who was never good at losing, broke out first keyboard with his first game which was Football Manager - in fits of anger he'd smash his hand on the keyboard when he lost. The poor spacebar couldn't take it!


----------



## Laughingbuddha

Borderands 3, new DLC released - my favourite sci-fi loot shooter, and the DLC heavily based around the Ctulhu theme. Can't wish for the better combo.


----------



## Foxbat

Overread said:


> My brother, who was never good at losing, broke out first keyboard with his first game which was Football Manager - in fits of anger he'd smash his hand on the keyboard when he lost. The poor spacebar couldn't take it!


I had Sensible World Of Soccer and, being a Celtic supporter, I played Rangers....ensuring they lost 36-0. Football games create bizarre behaviours in people


----------



## Cydramech

[Prototype]: Biohazard Bundle (Prototype & Prototype 2) & Final Fantasy XIV.


----------



## Dozmonic

Bannerlord early access came out. I lost a couple of evenings to it.


----------



## Toby Frost

Last night I actually, finally, managed to do the bit in Assassin's Creed 2 where you have to get a flag off a man. I hate anything with time limits or that kind of thing in games, so I was very surprised to have succeeded. I suspect that the game has basically become too hard for me now, but if I get past that stupid bit, I'll be very pleased, because the rest of it is so good.


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> Last night I actually, finally, managed to do the bit in Assassin's Creed 2 where you have to get a flag off a man. I hate anything with time limits or that kind of thing in games, so I was very surprised to have succeeded. I suspect that the game has basically become too hard for me now, but if I get past that stupid bit, I'll be very pleased, because the rest of it is so good.


----------



## Toby Frost

That bit about opening the map makes me think that Snake missed his true calling as a dancer at a 1990s rave.


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> That bit about opening the map makes me think that Snake missed his true calling as a dancer at a 1990s rave.


Big fish, little fish?


----------



## Vaz

Toby Frost said:


> Last night I actually, finally, managed to do the bit in Assassin's Creed 2 where you have to get a flag off a man. I hate anything with time limits or that kind of thing in games, so I was very surprised to have succeeded. I suspect that the game has basically become too hard for me now, but if I get past that stupid bit, I'll be very pleased, because the rest of it is so good.



Still my favourite Assassin's Creed game. Two was and still is so good.


I'm currently playing The Last of Us Remastered on the toughest difficulty. This game looks breathtaking which is what you can expect from a studio like Naughty Dog. A great survival horror game.

V


----------



## Vladd67

Vaz said:


> Still my favourite Assassin's Creed game. Two was and still is so good.
> 
> 
> I'm currently playing The Last of Us Remastered on the toughest difficulty. This game looks breathtaking which is what you can expect from a studio like Naughty Dog. A great survival horror game.
> 
> V


I am tempted to get the remastered complete Ezio adventures.


----------



## Toby Frost

That's the version I've got. I can't work out if it will keep my game in 2 if I start Brotherhood. I've got a lot of Ezio to work through.


----------



## Foxbat

In Championship Manager, my team (Albion Rovers) is currently leading the 2003 season Scottish Third Division. Next up is a cup game  against division 2 East Fife. Talk about glamour match...


----------



## Vaz

Vladd67 said:


> I am tempted to get the remastered complete Ezio adventures.



I definitely would. Think I'll order it today, actually. It must be pretty cheap right now and well worth it


----------



## .matthew.

Dozmonic said:


> Bannerlord early access came out. I lost a couple of evenings to it.


Ditto, but had to do it for a review which took the fun out of the first dozen hours... Oddly enough started enjoying it a lot more after I'd finished that.



Toby Frost said:


> Last night I actually, finally, managed to do the bit in Assassin's Creed 2 where you have to get a flag off a man. I hate anything with time limits or that kind of thing in games, so I was very surprised to have succeeded. I suspect that the game has basically become too hard for me now, but if I get past that stupid bit, I'll be very pleased, because the rest of it is so good.


Don't get me started on time limits. Too late, I hate them so much, both micro and macro. The worst for me are long strategy games where they force you into a rush, I never bought XCOM2 because of that reason.



Vaz said:


> Still my favourite Assassin's Creed game. Two was and still is so good.


Black Flag for the win. Tropical islands aren't my thing but I enjoyed the pirate ship. I'll always have the greatest fondness for the first one though, when the Animus chapters still felt like they had a point and I didn't wish for a way to skip them.


----------



## Toby Frost

.matthew. said:


> when the Animus chapters still felt like they had a point and I didn't wish for a way to skip them



Yes, even in 2 they feel pretty pointless. The overlying plot is one of the weakest things, to my mind.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> Yes, even in 2 they feel pretty pointless. The overlying plot is one of the weakest things, to my mind.


And when they started adding all the parkour parts as well... Your ancestor was a master assassin, you're just some random with the right genes. Even if you could remember the techniques you wouldn't wake up and be able to run up walls without the proper conditioning (logic for a game like this falls flat but it still bugs me).

I haven't finished an AC game in so long either, they've gone the way of adding so much to do and so many sidequests required to level up for the main story that I get bored and move on.


----------



## Toby Frost

I just find the adventures of Dennis - a confused, somewhat angry man in a hoodie - much less interesting that the adventures of Ezio, a master assassin who knows everyone in the entire Renaissance. I don't especially like the whole Templars-vs-Assassins thing, which sounds like a weak Dan Brown plot. It just seems weird to go from this exciting adventure in Renaissance Italy to an angry bloke in a warehouse.


----------



## Vaz

Different strokes for different folks. Always be two for me because as much as I adore the original, two seemed like a big step up at the time.

I still vividly remember tuning into E3 that year to watch stage gameplay. They showed a mission during some night time festival where Ezio gets to use Da Vinci's flying device. I thought it looked so stunning.


On another note the Last of Us is extremely hard - especially on Grounded difficulty. I also really hate Clickers.


----------



## Foxbat

Playing Half Life: Opposing Force. I thought it would fill me with nostalgia but it’s just incredibly frustrating with all that ridiculous jumping around. There’s far too much of it. 

Not only that, I’d forgotten about the bug that randomly traps you in an elevator, forcing you to reboot the game and start from your last save point.

The past is not what it used to be


----------



## biodroid

Assetto Corsa Competitzione and got 3 Batman games for less than $5 on Steam


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> The past is not what it used to be



It never is... I'm always wary of revisiting games I have a fondness for.


----------



## Dozmonic

.matthew. said:


> It never is... I'm always wary of revisiting games I have a fondness for.


What about those, like Valorant, that take a formula that worked (CS1.6) and add new flavour (overwatch)?


----------



## .matthew.

Dozmonic said:


> What about those, like Valorant, that take a formula that worked (CS1.6) and add new flavour (overwatch)?



How does that make it anything other than a new game? All games are copies of copies at this point with the occasional inspiration that shifts the genre (MOBAs are basically warcraft gameplay, and Royales are FPS last man standing games). They're still new games though.


----------



## Rodders

Still playing Half Life 2, it's expansions and mods. I just cannot get into anything else, but it's starting to lose some of its appeal now. Maybe I should give Halo another go.


----------



## Bugg

When I can get to the tv I'm playing Persona 5 Royal.  When I can't I'm playing Persona 4 Golden.  Both fantastic games.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Foxbat said:


> The past is not what it used to be



yeah, I got out my N64 and managed to tune it to my digital tv (graphics not great but playable) to play my favourite game ever Zelda: Ocarina of Time but I think I may have finally reached my fill of it. I’ve played it so many times I could probably do it with my eyes closed, and the levels really aren’t hard at all when you know what you’re doing. I got through the Forest Temple in about half an hour the other night and even the dreaded Water Temple no longer gives me much grief. I think what’s also changed is that I’ve done so much other modern gaming since I last played OoT, so that it really does seem even more tiny and easy.


----------



## Dozmonic

.matthew. said:


> How does that make it anything other than a new game? All games are copies of copies at this point with the occasional inspiration that shifts the genre (MOBAs are basically warcraft gameplay, and Royales are FPS last man standing games). They're still new games though.


That reminds me of the ship of Theseus. There are some games that are so closely related to those that inspire them that there's little difference. Not just straight sequels or remakes, but what Urtuk is to Battle Brothers, for example. If you've played Battle Brothers to the point of exhaustion, then Urtuk won't appeal.

I guess more than that it depends on what the barriers are to revisiting the past. If you literally try and replay an old game then the interface or the resolution can be the hindrance. Times have changed. If it's that you played the game to saturation, then how much of that ship needs to be changed to feel new.

For me the game needs to feel sufficiently different. MOBAs were born out of DOTA, sure. But something like Smite changes the feel to such a degree that the game feels different. But the difference from DOTA, to DOTA2, to LoL, just isn't sufficient to make me want to play them after the time I sunk into DOTA.


----------



## .matthew.

Dozmonic said:


> For me the game needs to feel sufficiently different. MOBAs were born out of DOTA, sure. But something like Smite changes the feel to such a degree that the game feels different. But the difference from DOTA, to DOTA2, to LoL, just isn't sufficient to make me want to play them after the time I sunk into DOTA.



There were several MOBAs in WCTFT before DotA came on the scene, and honestly I liked some of them better at first (they just lacked the persistent development that DotA had so ended up falling well behind in popularity). I haven't bothered with DotA 2 or LoL at all, I had my fill of the first and by the time they made the standalone versions the community was so toxic that it wasn't worth the aggravation.


----------



## Dozmonic

.matthew. said:


> There were several MOBAs in WCTFT before DotA came on the scene, and honestly I liked some of them better at first (they just lacked the persistent development that DotA had so ended up falling well behind in popularity). I haven't bothered with DotA 2 or LoL at all, I had my fill of the first and by the time they made the standalone versions the community was so toxic that it wasn't worth the aggravation.


I wasn't aware of any, but if you work in the industry I've no doubt you're right. I only started to play dota because more people were playing it rather than the hero siege maps that I preferred. Toxic communities are tricky. Sometimes it's the competitive nature of the game. I led a reasonably successful 1.6 clan almost 2 decades ago. The community was called toxic then, but when you compare it to what you see in rust or PUBG these days, it was pretty tame. Competition seems to breed toxicity, until you get to the higher levels where mutual respect starts to take over.


----------



## .matthew.

Dozmonic said:


> Competition seems to breed toxicity, until you get to the higher levels where mutual respect starts to take over.



True, but a big part of it for MOBAs comes from the fact you can see what your teammates are doing at all times and you often have time to check in on them, That and it's more dependent on teamwork than many other games.

As for the higher levels being less toxic, I would suspect that's less about respect (although it will exist) and more about the punishments that are handed down that can burn their accounts and destroy their stats, not even going in to prize money and that.


----------



## Overread

Toxicity isn't a measure of skill nor level but more one of upbringing and personal qualities of those taking part.

That said I would also say that moba and a lot of online games, by their design are very odd. Teamplay is required to win, but the game actually rewards selfish play slightly more than team play. For example you get gold to upgrade your character, which increases your performance. You get more experience at the end based on your game performance. So in game you want more gold which you get with more kills and, importantly, you get more gold when you make a kill. This means if someone else on your team swoops in and kills something you've been attacking they get the gold pay-out and you only get a supporting payment.

Suddenly there's an element of selfishness within the team system.

Plus there's the aspect that unless everyone on the team knows each other before the match; many will not unit perfectly during a match when they are randomly placed together. People get stressy and everyone wants to be in charge because there's no team unity.

Another aspect which adds to the stress is daily targets. It's not just playing the game, its winning as fast as you can so you can meet daily targets and time slots to play. Winning isn't enough its winning as fast as you can whilst in a random group of people with limited communication and teambuilding elements; ontop of some mechanics in game which reward personal performance above team performance.

All that added together can produce a more stressful environment where toxicity can set into the population and once it becomes an established norm, getting rid of it is no simple task (especially because once it becomes normal you get people who act toxic just because they can)


I'd argue that at higher levels its less about the daily personal reward and more about the team win; teams have organised plans with players having set roles that they perform and understand and which fit into the team aspect. You're not worried about kill steals and such its far more about the team winning.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m starting to think you guys are playing A Game Of Acronyms...


----------



## Foxbat

I fired up Capitalism 2 and ran through the tutorial. It seems to get good reviews (and it was cheap at Gog.com) but I’m not sure if it’s for me.


----------



## Rodders

Alien: Isolation is on sale at the Steam website for Alien day, (which is today). I downloaded the game and two DLC's for just over £8.


----------



## Toby Frost

It is very good indeed.

I bought _The Outer Worlds_, which seems to be a cross between Fallout and Firefly. It's pretty entertaining so far.


----------



## Phyrebrat

@Toby Frost I'm so pleased to hear you're sticking with AC2. It's my favourite game on the franchise and although the mechanics are improved in later games, nothing can replace Florence as a setting (my favourite place on the planet, I think). Brotherhood is good and I have to admit to man-weeping <ahem> at the end of AC Revelations. I think the franchise foundered a bit until Black Flag (although Unity is beautiful to look at), then it got back on its feet again.

Funnily enough, I rage quit Star Wars The Force Awakens Lego yesterday because of a supremely annoying mini-game on the prologue Endor level. It's based loosely on 80s Defender Arcade game where you have to fly along a side scroller avoiding simple asteroids that appear in ones and twos at the top or bottom of the screen. It sounds easy but the controls are sluggish and there's no real skill.



Rodders said:


> Alien: Isolation is on sale at the Steam website for Alien day, (which is today). I downloaded the game and two DLC's for just over £8.



I really enjoyed this game up till a point where I had to get a keycard to open some doctor's door - I got the keycard but the Alien AI leanrs how you play and I was constantly getting killed. I gave up 2 years ago because spending 2 hours creeping around then running back to hide in the same locker seemed like a false economy in entertainment. The game's exceptional though and I might fire it up again.

pH


----------



## HoopyFrood

Toby Frost said:


> It is very good indeed.
> 
> I bought _The Outer Worlds_, which seems to be a cross between Fallout and Firefly. It's pretty entertaining so far.



I really enjoyed Outer Worlds, it was a small but layered game, felt like the right sized RPG for me. Direct enough that I didn’t get annoyed and felt like I was overlooking or missing out in potentially loads of other stuff, but fleshed out enough that when I did go exploring and stumbled over stuff it was was fun and interesting. Loved how colourful and lively things were, as well. I enjoyed Fallout but my main gripe was every time I stumbled across something, it turns out it happened a hundred years ago and all that’s left is skeletons and holo  tapes. People are alive in Outer Worlds! And when I first opened those doors onto the main Groundbreaker part, wow. I also really enjoyed the companion aspect. I never elect to travel with companions in other games, but I loved how much they added to the game, the way they would even chat just between themselves. At one point I was in a five way conversation between me, my two buddies and two NPCs. There must be an incredible amount of potential dialogue trees depending on who you take where.

Also something that hit me only after I finished was there was no Sex Sells capitalism. No scantily-clad neon women, no raunchy adverts, it was refreshing. Nice LGBT+ representation, including my own tiny minority, which I don’t think I’ve come across before in any media; blimey, I exist!

One thing about it, though, and is still my main gripe for RPGs in general is there still needs to be more depth to your involvement in the story. I get that it’s hard, considering the nature of RPGs is self-insertion, so you can’t make decisions and events too rigid, and games are starting to have more places where choices do effect the outcomes and have consequences. But the thing that I felt this game needed was to make the Board feel like an actual threat, and also make our character feel like an actual threat. Because characters in the game can say as much, but if nothing particularly happens game-wise then those words feel empty. I admit I did speed through the story towards the end, 



Spoiler: Some mild to moderate spoliers



but I think I got one, maybe two threatening video calls from the Board and that was the extent of them trying to stop me. Everyone else in the game seems terrified of the Board, tales of people being stalked and disappearing, people ending up in rubbish chutes, the whole side story involving the Lottery...


couldn’t my character get dragged into a dark alley and roughed up at least once?

But yeah, generally really enjoyed it. Not sure it’s got the extreme replayability of Skyrim, say, but I could definitely see myself playing it a couple more times, if for nothing more than being a Complete Corporate ******* next time.


----------



## Toby Frost

Phyrebrat said:


> I really enjoyed this game up till a point where I had to get a keycard to open some doctor's door - I got the keycard but the Alien AI leanrs how you play and I was constantly getting killed. I gave up 2 years ago because spending 2 hours creeping around then running back to hide in the same locker seemed like a false economy in entertainment. The game's exceptional though and I might fire it up again.



I remember this and I think it's one of the hardest parts of the game. I would recommend:



Spoiler: this



Throwing the noisemaker past the alien and down the corridor, and then turning left. Even this isn't guaranteed, but it does at least let you get away from the doctor's office. I found it was best to never run and rarely walk if you could sneak instead.



I tend to play RPGs quite slowly, and explore as much as possible, so I reckon I should get my money's worth out of The Outer Worlds. It's early days and I've only got one minion, who reminds me of Kaylee from Firefly. I like the look of the spaceships and the landscapes. It has a similar retro feel to Bioshock and Fallout, but doesn't have the decayed look of either. So far, so good.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I tend to play RPGs quite slowly, and explore as much as possible, so I reckon I should get my money's worth out of The Outer Worlds. It's early days and I've only got one minion, who reminds me of Kaylee from Firefly.



Same, except it can be a problem too... spending so long essentially screwing about means I usually get bored and end up losing interest. The Witcher 3 and The Original Sin games are the only exceptions I can think of in the whole wide world of my Steam RPG catalogue.

You're not the first person to mention Kaylee either  I've had someone tell me as much, and watched a little review video that said so to. It's enough to make you think there was some definite Firefly love in the writers room.


----------



## Luiglin

Got Alien Isolation off Steam for £1.50. 

It's already got my nerves on edge and I've not even seen or heard the Alien as yet. 

My advice... don't play it in the dark when you have cats mooching around.


----------



## Toby Frost

I actually find the androids just as sinister as the Alien. They come from the very bottom of the uncanny valley, deep in the Swamp of Nope.


----------



## .matthew.

If anyone knows anyone in the NHS, a group of companies have 85,000 game keys to give away to anyone with an NHS email address.


----------



## Vaz

Horizon: Zero Dawn.

God of War

Might buy Skyrim Special Edition soon.


----------



## Ravensirtis

I've been playing GTA a lot with the UK lockdown but i have expanded into red dead and thoroughly enjoying star trek online.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Vaz said:


> Horizon: Zero Dawn.
> 
> God of War
> 
> Might buy Skyrim Special Edition soon.



Wow, someone that hasn't bought Skyrim. I can't remember the last time I met someone like that   

Still you might finish it before me, I've only played 1200 hours since I bought it in....2013 I think...and I've still to finish one or two of the major plotlines. 

I might, after fiinshing the Outer Worlds, do a whirlwind campaign with the special edition to actually finish it. Or I might just buy something else, like Assassins Creed Odyssey.


----------



## .matthew.

GTA 5 is up for grabs in this week's Epic giveaway malarkey


----------



## Cydramech

Grim Dawn. Got all DLC for it recently.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Well, just finished _The Outer Worlds _on supernova difficulty. 

Very polished game and fun. Nice little RPG from Obsidian. Overall really enjoyed it.

But for me personally, for the sort of RPG I like, not quite there. 

1) A bit too small. Felt like a number of DLC's strung together. Each map was fun at first, but once you had exhausted the missions it quickly felt a bit soulless and empty. Got a tad bored going back to Monarch to get bits and pieces, to have the same enemies spawn at exactly the same points. Prefer big open worlds, a bit of randomness etc. 

2) Survival mechanics and Supernova difficulty...too easy. Never once got into trouble because of thirst, hunger or sleep. Too much stuff just lying about. Occasionally got held at a difficulty spike when meeting new enemies for the first time - for example the mauraders outside Stellar Bay, then the first Mantiqueen group, or first time meeting a group of Primals - which I enjoyed. But for all its faults I rate the survival difficulty of Fallout 4 way ahead. (Plus also better mechanics.) 

3) The companion system. Probably the one thing that irritated me the most. On supernova difficulty they can die, (until you get to the top level of perks where you are then able to pick a perk that can revive them), and also they are flimsy in term of HP and the enemies can pack a punch at the start. So it meant that I was not using them aggressively - as they would invariably die - only 'switching them on' to combat when I knew we were down to the last enemy and they would probably not get themselves killed (Oh, and also take down those irritating mantiswarms). So it meant that I was being attacked by hostiles while they would completely ignore the companions, they themselves just walking behind me as if nothing was happening. Wish there was a better way of doing it. 

Of course I could have just done everything lone wolf....but the companions had great bonuses for skills so needed to be along for the ride. 

Anyway just minor points. Would be happy to play the next story content that should be coming along soon.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve re-installed Fallout 2. I got a fair bit through it many years ago bit never managed to finish it. Hopefully I’ll do better this time around.


----------



## .matthew.

Inspired by the big update (and constantly seeing Steam jabber on about the free weekend) I decided to start a new Stellaris playthrough. Going okay, but the whole galactic congress thing is like the UN/Europe in space and it really saps the fun out of the game because nobody really declares war all that much anymore


----------



## pickinanameainteasy

*Deus Ex: Mankind Divided*

I've played through the main game and two of the DLCs, currently playing through the "A Criminal Past" DLC and loving it. Easily my second favorite gaming experience on PS4 after Bloodborne. Jensen is pretty much an edgy Neo, but I can look past it because the art direction is incredible and the plot with its unfolding conspiracies is awesome.


----------



## thaddeus6th

May well get Stellaris for the PS4 in the future.

Just ordered Age of Wonders: Planetfall. Sci-fi mix of Civ and XCOM, it looks like (B-tier, perhaps, but looks fun).


----------



## Overread

Planetfall is good fun, it has some rougher edges that I'd really like them to clean up, but the game is solid. They've also a new expansion coming out next week adding a new race and minor races and such.


----------



## Toby Frost

Thief 2 again. It's still excellent.


----------



## Dozmonic

I got a valorant key after about 7 hours of having a stream on in the background, so I'm reliving how woeful I am now compared to 2 decades ago when it comes to competitive FPS games.


----------



## .matthew.

Dozmonic said:


> I got a valorant key after about 7 hours of having a stream on in the background, so I'm reliving how woeful I am now compared to 2 decades ago when it comes to competitive FPS games.



Ha, competitive gaming really is a young man's game


----------



## thaddeus6th

Overread, yeah, I like the game (blogged about it, linked in that thread). I wish my PS4 weren't so damned noisy during battles, though.


----------



## MemoryTale

I've been playing Trials of Mana. It's remake of an old action JRPG that never made it to these shores, and what's interesting about it is that you have a choice of 6 main characters, and can pick a further two to recruit as you progress in your story. In practice it works out a lot like Dragon Age:Origins.

Each character also has a potential to level up their class in 4 different directions, some focusing more on magic, some on tanking, and some on buffing/debuffing, so it's made with replayability in mind in trying new combinations of characters and classes.

What I'm also liking is that each main character has their own villains, who end up getting in each other's way as much as they do yours


----------



## thaddeus6th

What platform(s) is that for?

In pleasant news, the battles seem a bit quieter in Planetfall so I played quite a lot of it yesterday. Getting to grips with systems etc and liking it quite a lot.


----------



## MemoryTale

thaddeus6th said:


> What platform(s) is that for?
> 
> In pleasant news, the battles seem a bit quieter in Planetfall so I played quite a lot of it yesterday. Getting to grips with systems etc and liking it quite a lot.



I've got it on Steam, I believe it's also available on PS4 and Switch. Not sure if it's on Xbox.


----------



## Night_Eternal

Been on WoW a lot more lately than I expected. Haven't cared much for BFA, but kinda giving it another shot and enjoying the Horde side more than the Alliance this time around. I look for fights to get into with my Demo-Warlock and so far I haven't fallen to even large pulls. I think it's making me cocky.


----------



## Joshua Jones

I just wrapped up a social experiment over the course of a couple months in a game called LifeAfter. It's a mobile zombie survival/3rd person shooter with a HEAVY emphasis on the social dynamics. 

My experiment was into the different experiences between male and female gamers. To that end, I did a 2 month run as a male character and another as a female character, who were in every way identical apart from appearance (and the fact I pretended to be an actual girl as the female character). It was really interesting to see how people reacted differently to the same things based on perception of gender...


----------



## Bren G

Sid Meir's Civilization 4. Best of the series and IMHO the best game of all time. Though I can only play it twice a year. Too addictive and keeps me from writing!


----------



## Foxbat

And talking about what games are being played...found this on another forum and thought it was too funny not to mention here.

_My partner plays the Sims 4 and has every single add-on for it. I tried getting into it a few times, but except for building property, It's really not my thing.

So, last week I downloaded an alcohol/drugs mod and a sex mod and played around for a while on it. Formed a gang, sold drugs, made sims have sex. It got tired quickly but was fun for a couple of hours.

I didn't realise that the mods work in the background, because the Sims 4 is a continuous game world.

When my better half fired up a game her neighborhood had a gang war going on and her couples were spontaneously having sex, smoking weed, sniffing coke, getting drunk and masturbating. Cops were busting people.

I heard cries of real shock from my partner who thought she'd been hacked. 

I'm now in the doghouse for 'ruining' her idyllic neighborhoods._


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, that's rather good.

I'm flitting about a bit, played a spot of The Witcher 3 and returned to an old Civ VI game as Rome (it had a rare perfect starting location, with two mountain-guarded entrances to enough land for me to found about 10 cities or so without any military worries at all). 

Main thing I'm sticking to is Age of Wonders: Planetfall. It's not perfect, but I do like the mix of Civ and XCOM. The races are nice and distinct. Enjoying the Dvar (Russian space dwarves). The Vanguard and Kirko are about refounding civilisations, and the Dvar just want to mine and make money.


----------



## Foxbat

Busy playing Armageddon Empires. An oldie but a goodie.

Decided to halt my Fallout 2 game for now (just about ready to take on the enclave in the end game). I always find the last part of any RPG the least satisfying and often most frustrating as you come up against near impossible odds most of the time. If I keep going right now, I’ll probably end up in a seething mass of rage and frustration after making so much progress so time for a break.

I’ve got my eye on a new turn-based strategy game called Shadow Empire. It’s a one man design/development team and I have most of his previous games and there’s not a dud among them. This new one is getting great reviews from strategy gamers but I’ll hold off until my new PC arrives.

For anybody that’s interested




__





						Matrix Games
					






					www.matrixgames.com
				




Note: in case you haven’t noticed, all games mentioned are post-apocalyptic. I seem to have a fetish for  these.


----------



## thaddeus6th

You might be interested in Wasteland 3. Comes out in August, I think.

As does Pathfinder Kingmaker and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [dumb remaster name, but still].


----------



## Justin Swanton

I'm playing a game I developed myself: Optio. It uses VASSAL and recreates battles in Antiquity but unlike every other Ancients ruleset it has virtually no randomness - no dice. Here's a screenshot. Click on the image then right-click, choose "View Image" and use the magnifying glass to get a zoomed version.


----------



## Foxbat

I have VASSAL myself. A good bit of software.


----------



## AlexH

Golf Story
Death Squared (one of the best two-player games I've played)
Gorogoa


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still playing Armageddon Empires (I’ve never ever won a game). In my last turn, one of my recce units discovered a cult out in the wastelands. They lived in a place called Vault 13 so I’m guessing the game designer was a fan of Fallout.


----------



## Justin Swanton

Foxbat said:


> I have VASSAL myself. A good bit of software.



Into Ancients gaming?


----------



## Foxbat

Justin Swanton said:


> Into Ancients gaming?


I used to do a bit of boardgaming (Avalon Hill and the like in the days when I could find face to face opponents). I’m more of a WW2 gamer. I have a few modules for Vassal but they’re mainly WW2 or modern.

I do have the great battles series on PC (Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal) and give them a whirl now and then.


----------



## Justin Swanton

Foxbat said:


> I used to do a bit of boardgaming (Avalon Hill and the like in the days when I could find face to face opponents). I’m more of a WW2 gamer. I have a few modules for Vassal but they’re mainly WW2 or modern.
> 
> I do have the great battles series on PC (Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal) and give them a whirl now and then.



I'm looking for playtesters if you're interested...

BTW I was also an Avalon Hill fan: Tactics II, Panzerblitz and War and Peace. Many happy hours.


----------



## Colbey Frost 2

Well, I was playing WoW Classic for the last 6 or so months, but I had to have an operation and when I returned home, I could not get back into it. I have since picked up Team Fight Tactics, but again, I'm not really into it (as in addicted). I actually started work on an Online Cyberpunk Card Game. I dunno if I'm allowed to post links, but I made a video of it for Youtube. I might try and get back into MTG, I dunno.


----------



## Foxbat

Justin Swanton said:


> I'm looking for playtesters if you're interested...
> 
> BTW I was also an Avalon Hill fan: Tactics II, Panzerblitz and War and Peace. Many happy hours.


I’m neither skilled enough as a gamer to play one forensically or be able to articulate/uncover any flaws or solutions within a game system. Sorry but I have to decline your invitation.

Yes. Happy hours indeed with Avalon Hill


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing a game called The Procession to Calvary, which is entirely by one person called Joe Richardson. It's a point and click adventure, but the twist is that all of the artwork is taken from old paintings and animated like a Monty Python animation. It's very funny and silly. Recommended, and very impressive work for one guy.


----------



## Foxbat

Finally! I managed my first ever victory in Armageddon Empires. Playing as the Machine Empire, managed to locate an ancient nuclear submarine in the wastelands, recovered a warhead and nuked the last of humanity.  The Earth is mine and their bones mingle with the dust.

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Never played any Ubisoft titles till last month when I got _Assassin's Creed Odyssey. _Finding it very enjoyable, slaughtering and shaggin' my way through ancient Greece. Love the time period and the effort they put into putting the history into the game (okay <cough> plenty of fantasy too....but Atlantis was first invented in Athens about then  and most of the rest is mostly based on Greek myth.)

Anyway after 80 hours, on level 43 and still got half the map to explore and much assassinating to do. Even got my dad hooked on it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I keep toying with getting Odyssey, but when I look at other options (Stellaris, for one, and I'm still in early stages of Planetfall) I always seem to go for those.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing a game called _Invisible Inc_, which is a sort of stealth game in which a team of agents has to infiltrate a building. It's like the turn-based combat from XCOM, but with the emphasis on going unseen instead of fighting. The system is slick and the missions can be very tense. Although the background is nominally cyberpunk, the art style reminds me of Saul Bass' pictures from the 1950s and 60s. 

Because the buildings are procedurally generated, the layout of the rooms can occasionally throw up a mission that's near-impossible to complete. The story of the game only takes place over 5 or 6 missions (although you can alter this). Overall, _Invisible Inc_ is a very good stealth/strategy game and definitely worth a look if that's your sort of thing.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I think I heard of that ages ago. Not my cup of tea, but looked competently made.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve tried stealth games and Invisible inc. looks very interesting, but I always get to the stage in these types of games where I just want to jump out of the shadows and gun everybody down. I guess I’m just a killer at heart.


----------



## Toby Frost

It's very much not that sort of game, but I know how you feel! Even knocking the guards out is only a temporary solution.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> I’ve tried stealth games and Invisible inc. looks very interesting, but I always get to the stage in these types of games where I just want to jump out of the shadows and gun everybody down. I guess I’m just a killer at heart.


Ha, see that's why I liked the original Splinter Cell as a kid - normally a shoot them down guy but when they only give you a handful of bullets for the entire level you're left with no choice but to be stealthy. Have you ever played the Dishonoured games? Absolutely wonderful in almost every way and you can literally complete the missions in either stealth or brutality  Edit: SAVAGE BRUTALITY!



Toby Frost said:


> It's very much not that sort of game, but I know how you feel! Even knocking the guards out is only a temporary solution.


I've had that for years, opened it up once, saw some kind of countdown timer and was like naaah. I kept meaning to give it a shot but you know how Steam libraries can get - too many games, too little lifetime.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> Have you ever played the Dishonoured games? Absolutely wonderful in almost every way and you can literally complete the missions in either stealth or brutality  Edit: SAVAGE BRUTALITY!



I haven’t. But as you say, so many games, so little time. Maybe one day


----------



## thaddeus6th

Currently into my best playthrough on King difficulty of Civ VI yet*. As China, Mali immediately disliked me so I took advantage to take them out super early with a pair of warriors. Then Cyrus did what Cyrus does and attacked me, forcing me to brutally conquer his entire empire.

At that point, with Alexander on my doorstep and denouncing me, the path was clear. There's nothing quite like carpet-bombing an opponent whose idea of advanced technology is about a thousand years earlier than my cutting edge weaponry. Just got Rome and Georgia to go, and their capitals are conveniently close. Should win in about 300 turns or so, which, for me, is very good.

Mildly puzzled it's going so well. But it's very cathartic to annihilate my enemies.

*Yes, yes, it's not that high, but given my previous full game was Civ II in 1999 I think I can be forgiven for being less than stellar.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm currently playing *Spec Ops: The Line*, which, awkward title aside, is proving quite interesting. It's one of those games where you play a tactical black ops spec ghost recon man, and you hide behind cover a lot. In this, you're hunting a spec recon black ghost deniable ops man who has gone rogue in ruined Dubai. The gameplay is fine, if a bit repetitive, but it's clearly trying to do something clever with the story. There are a lot of references to _Heart of Darkness _and _Apocalypse No_w, and you're frequently forced to take questionable choices that seem to involve blowing up the local residents and then arguing with your men about it. (I strongly suspect that I'm going to have to kill my own men at the end.)

Clearly it's attempting to make you question the validity of pretending to kill people as a form of entertainment, and the idea that one side in a war always makes the right decisions and is morally perfect, but I'm not really sure that this works. There's a longer article to be written that vicarious simulations of violence are fun (at least for a lot of us) and that actual violence isn't and shouldn't be. In fact, by appearing to recognise this issue, *Spec Ops: The Line* becomes less disturbing than something like *Call of Duty*, which ends by telling you that 60m people died in WW2, and you have now unlocked the zombie levels. Yay, zombies!

Ultimately, I think it's a good game if you like that sort of thing, and attempts some new and interesting things. But it's not as successful in that as, say, *Bioshock* or *The Last of Us*, and I wonder if its attempt to do so is fundamentally flawed.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished *Spec Ops: The Line*, and... hmm. The story spirals down to a bleak, morally-compromised conclusion, but slightly fudges what's actually happening. Perhaps it's necessary to tell gamers that war is complex and sometimes Our Guys aren't perfect, but the end moral feels rather weak. I was reminded of *Far Cry 2*, which tries to put shooting soldiers and a moral dimension together, with slightly more success.

Ultimately, it was more satisfying than enjoyable. Blowing up the enemies from cover is a fairly slick - but not perfect - experience, but rather dreary. When you've heard the hero shout "Kill ****ing confirmed!" for the hundreth time, you just feel tired. It's almost like a satire of the stupider flag-waving sort of cover-based shooter. Well-executed (as were the enemies) but wearying. Perhaps that's the point.


----------



## Foxbat

Finally took the plunge and bought Shadow Empire. Jeez! It looks complicated...so much to do...so much to think about....and I've got a planet to create. Tempted to create a Dune style world just to see what happens.

I may be a while


----------



## thaddeus6th

Planet simulator/strategy game, is it?


----------



## Foxbat

It's a sort of hybrid strategy/4X/management thing. It's getting good reviews but it's not for the faint hearted.




__





						Matrix Games
					






					www.matrixgames.com


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> It's a sort of hybrid strategy/4X/management thing. It's getting good reviews but it's not for the faint hearted.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Matrix Games
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.matrixgames.com



Looks very deep, but I wish (and call me shallow) games like that would spend a little more time on polishing the aesthetics (it's not the 90s anymore). You can have basic style sure, but visible pixels are just a joke at this point...


----------



## Foxbat

I'm running the game at 1920x1080 and there are no visible pixels. Don't take the video as an example, the game resolution is better than shown. I'd say the manual is the weakest aspect so far. There are in built advisors and help tabs within the game but I think just playing it through is probably the best method of learning.

It should be borne in mind that VR Designs (the game creator) is essentially a one man operation. The artwork is nothing special but other than that, I think he's doing pretty well.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing a game called _Invisible Inc_, which is a sort of stealth game in which a team of agents has to infiltrate a building. It's like the turn-based combat from XCOM, but with the emphasis on going unseen instead of fighting. The system is slick and the missions can be very tense. Although the background is nominally cyberpunk, the art style reminds me of Saul Bass' pictures from the 1950s and 60s.
> 
> Because the buildings are procedurally generated, the layout of the rooms can occasionally throw up a mission that's near-impossible to complete. The story of the game only takes place over 5 or 6 missions (although you can alter this). Overall, _Invisible Inc_ is a very good stealth/strategy game and definitely worth a look if that's your sort of thing.



I loved Invisible Inc. As you say, very XCOM/X-COM-like in many ways. I think the time limit is an interesting addition. I highly, highly recommend another of Klei's games, Mark of the Ninja. It's not turn-based, but it's easily the most enjoyable stealth-based game I've ever played. This is the Switch trailer, but it's available on PC etc as well.







I'm currently finishing off Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC. I strayed away from it for a while but so glad to be back to it, and can't wait to get to all the other games in the series that are sitting in my backlog.

Also playing Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, which I'm starting to think is something of a masterpiece.


----------



## Foxbat

Shadow Empire is starting to make a bit more sense to me now. Had a few border skirmishes but no major war yet. Been concentrating on building infrastructure and replacing militia with regular units (raising their fanaticism levels by assigning mystics from a religious cult to each formation). My main advisor isn’t too happy because I gave the workers a big wage rise. I’ve got too much to build right now and I need to keep the union leaders on my side. I’m financing the wages by sending out military advisers to any nearby regime that asks for them and cutting a little cash from the various research councils.  Gave the advisor a wage rise too and that’s raised his happiness a bit.

Had to turn away thousands of refugees because I couldn’t risk a fight yet with a nearby major power and taking them in was going to upset my opposite number.  Left them to fend for themselves in the wasteland. It’s hard work being president...


----------



## Foxbat

Here’s a review of Shadow Empire that explains things a bitbetter than I can








						Shadow Empire review – the best 4x wargame you’re (probably) not playing
					

This fascinating blend of old school sci-fi 4X strategy and hex-and-counter wargaming is highly compelling




					www.wargamer.com


----------



## reiver33

The remastered Command & Conquer, takes me back!


----------



## Foxbat

Still playing Shadow Empire. It's just a small planet test game with no alien lifeforms (just other human factions...didn't fancy starting out as a newbie on a planet of giant arachnids...). I'm just trying get to grips with everything. It's compelling but frustrating. There's a ton of information and the hardest thing is actually finding it. There are so many tabs and sub menus to go through to find what I want...and then the next time I play, I forget where the information was again. I think it's time to buy an old fashioned note book and start writing things down.

Despite all that, it's been years since a game has gripped me thusly  - as Sheldon would say. As a matter of fact, Sheldon Cooper would love this game. He could finally become Sheldor The Great, ruler of Sheldonia. 

Me, I'm happy running New Carthage


----------



## Venusian Broon

Just passed 200 hours on Assassin Creed Odyssey. My Kassandra is kicking serious a*** agasint the entire Greek world. 

Finished the main 'family' quest a while ago, but so much more content to even come close to the real ending. Of which I'll probably need at least another 50 hours. Plus the game is gorgeous, really love the world they've put together. 

But also have discovered _Satisfactory. _So...it's a first person _Factorio_ set on an alien world. Horribly addicitve. If you like industry real-time construction and management simulators, this might be for you.


----------



## Dozmonic

I did some very early access satisfactory. It was definitely a fun time sink then. I can only imagine it has added depth and life-sucking built in now


----------



## Cydramech

After last week's Ubisoft giveaway with _*Watch Dogs 2*_, I beat it after a few days. I enjoyed it, but Marcus annoyed me all the time (I'd love to just punch him through the screen) and the gameplay just wasn't polished, which led me to replay the first Watch Dogs.

Meanwhile, after years of anticipating it, after enjoying Nioh even though I've yet to beat it, and after being disappointed in the atrocity that is Sekiro (I don't care who you are, tanky controls have no place in the video game industry anymore), I finally got to play *Ghost of Tsushima* and it'll be another platinum in my collection in a few days (which isn't saying much).

The controls are on point; the skills and abilities are fun to use (Ghost Mode FTW); Jin Sakai himself is wickedly awesome; and the aesthetic is beautiful. It's only too bad there's no NG+ mode, but I'm definitely looking forward to additional DLC and/or a sequel.



Spoiler



(I'd even place my money on the sequel being named either Terror of Tsushima or Ghost of Japan.)


----------



## thaddeus6th

After a little break, returned to Stellaris. Still on my first game. Not doing too badly, currently 4th of 8 (and ahead of me there's an old school superpowerful empire and one that started with a massive tech boost, so not too bad). 

The joy of being in Federation with dimwits is that they keep wanting wars they lose. Ironically, last time I accidentally conquered an enemy homeworld (I was just trying to even the scores so we didn't end up surrendering) which meant my empire sprawled (got too big for my admin capacity) and I ended up being horribly inefficient.


----------



## Bugg

I finally finished The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter on Friday.  Fabulous ending to a wonderful story spread over the two games.  The pay-offs in the last few hours were so well done.  They were a slow burn at times but the wonderful characters always kept me invested.  I'll miss Estelle, even though I know she and Joshua crop up in the other games in the series.  Possibly my favourite female character in a game ever.

Now started Trails in the Sky The 3rd, which is a further story in the same world but with different lead characters.


----------



## Rodders

I haven't been playing anything and am getting bored with Half Life 2. I have plenty of games in my Steam Library, but nothing is calling to me. I might download Horizon Zero Dawn when it's released in Steam next month as I've been looking at YouTube videos of the back story and it is superb sci-fi.

If I survive this round of redundancies at work, I might invest in a VR set and get HL: Alyx.


----------



## Toby Frost

Half-life 2 remains excellent. Have you played the two extra parts? Apparently there are some good fan-made missions. I've played two, called Miranda and Year Long Alarm, and thought they were both quite decent.


----------



## Rodders

I’ve played and really enjoyed Episodes one and two.

I have played a couple of the fan made Mods, including Year Long Alarm.


----------



## Toby Frost

Such a shame we never got to find out what was on that ship!

I always think of Half-Life as quite a "nice" game, probably because the other characters are friendly and interesting, and I'm always surprised by the dead bodies, violence and genocide. I played Doom 3 recently and my main thought was that I wanted to shoot the stupid marine guy shouting "Hurry it up, soldier" at the start of every level.


----------



## Rodders

LOL. Nothing Nice about HL:2. Have you played the Minerva Mod? It's very good and available on Steam. (The guy the wrote the mod got a job with Valve as a result.)

I might go back to the Original Half Life.


----------



## Toby Frost

Sorry, Minerva was what I meant when I wrote Miranda above! Half Life: Miranda is the title of the BBC's light comedy about dating in an interdimensional dictatorship.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Current game of Stellaris going fairly well. Being largely peaceful, focusing on tech. I've got terraforming and can also manipulate the genes of my species so they can live anywhere (still have to put that into practice). Got lucky and encountered two other federation-style empires so we've got a union that pretty much sews up the galaxy.

On the other hand, the fallen empire is right next to me. Ironically, they're named after my first race (I'm currently playing as the Vulpae of the Serene Republic), so I'm worried about the long term prospect of a British invasion.


----------



## .matthew.

I like Stellaris but I always get sick of the late-game slog and micro, especially without a mod that lets me cleanse the alien worlds from orbit


----------



## Foxbat

Had a look at Stellaris but I'm always immediately put off when I see the phrase 'real-time'. I'm a turn based dinosaur.


----------



## JadeW

My husband and I jump back and forth between video games. So far this month, we've been playing Shovel Knight and Metal Slugs 3.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> Had a look at Stellaris but I'm always immediately put off when I see the phrase 'real-time'. I'm a turn based dinosaur.



The key there is real-time _with pause._ I find it a lot more liberating and far less tedious than turn-based games when you hit that point of needing to wait for stuff. You pause to do your stuff, then let it all play out without having to repeatedly hit next turn


----------



## MikeAnderson

My girlfriend, Shelly, has been trying out *The Last Of Us 2. *So far, she says it's the most beautiful and technically masterful game you will NOT care about. Poor story, a forced LGTB story-line put in there just to pander to a demographic instead of adding to the universe they're trying to establish...

And this 'roid freak Abby is one of the worst "heroes" in any form of media I've seen. Sony must think people are stupid to believe a woman that steals and kills indiscriminately and in bulk (quite sadistically too) is a decent because you get to pick corn or play with a dog every once in awhile.

Too bad; the first game was not only a masterpiece of video gaming, it was a breakthrough in the over-saturated zombie genre.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, I haven't gotten it yet, but with the Apocalypse DLC you can indulge your Death Star fantasies.

I've recently expanded a bunch and, coupled with my federation starting another war, gotten a bit behind with the planet management. I think that's often the case with strategy, though, similar can happen in Civ especially if going for religious/military wins.

Foxbat, I'd strongly second what Matthew wrote in response to you. I feel much the same way on turn-based stuff but the pausing works very well so you can take your time picking research or deciding what to build on your planets.


----------



## Foxbat

Stellaris is available on GOG. I'll wait and see if it becomes available in one of their regular sales 
Meanwhile, I'm still hooked on Shadow Empire.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, I've considered Apocolypse but didn't really like the look of a lot on offer there. Plus I'd have preferred to just wipe out life on a planet and leave it for future use. In fairness to Paradox (ha) the last big patch did fix the population lag issue (made it a lot better anyway) which was the primary driving force in my quest to minimise populations 

In terms of the actual gameplay, I reckon Stellaris is my favourite of their games, but have way more time in EU4 because of the time period. Still, I usually just rotate through the different series whenever I have a week to kill.


----------



## Venusian Broon

MikeAnderson said:


> My girlfriend, Shelly, has been trying out *The Last Of Us 2. *So far, she says it's the most beautiful and technically masterful game you will NOT care about. Poor story, a forced LGTB story-line put in there just to pander to a demographic instead of adding to the universe they're trying to establish...
> 
> And this 'roid freak Abby is one of the worst "heroes" in any form of media I've seen. Sony must think people are stupid to believe a woman that steals and kills indiscriminately and in bulk (quite sadistically too) is a decent because you get to pick corn or play with a dog every once in awhile.
> 
> Too bad; the first game was not only a masterpiece of video gaming, it was a breakthrough in the over-saturated zombie genre.



This will get closed down if it continiues, no doubt, so I will limit my response to this post then move on. However, why is it forced? Ellie is cannonically gay, no? That was quite clear in the DLC for the first one. 

Also are there any heroes in the game? I mean Ellie kills and steals indicriminately in her quest, to get revenge for Joel. (Who went through a battalion of people in the first one.)


----------



## Cydramech

With a couple of deals on PSN, I ordered two digital Resident Evil bundles, getting me most of the main-title Resident Evil games on PS4 (excluding RE7 and the unreleased RE8 title - neither of which I've any intention of ever playing - and excluding CVX, though I'll get it later). I can't believe it's been way over a decade since I last played _*Resident Evil 4*_ or _*Resident Evil Zero*_ and yet it has. Completed RE4 as well as Assignment Ada and now working on Separate Ways just so I can get the Chicago Typewriter and Knight suit for Ashley in the normal campaign, and only got the 2nd tablet in Zero last night.

I'm actually surprised by how the prerendered cutscenes in RE4 look like sh*t while the actual game doesn't. I figured a "half-assed" HD remaster would be the opposite (hell, many PS1 prerendered cutscenes look better in HD than what comes out of RE4's prerendered cutscenes, and that's saying something).


----------



## Foxbat

I never play zombie games. Not because I don’t like them but because they give me the creeps....I even struggle to watch the Walking Dead sometimes.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, I much prefer medieval/fantasy to sci-fi but as a console peasant I take what I can in the realm of strategy. Can't you bombard planets to bits to reduce populations?

Just defeated the Hulfir Berserkers. So the entire galaxy now is the federation, assorted vassal and protectorate states, with just three others: an empire that likes me a lot, one that dislikes me but whom I would annihilate in a war, and the fallen empire of the British, who are right next door to me...

Quite liking the mostly peaceful and research-focused approach.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Matthew, I much prefer medieval/fantasy to sci-fi but as a console peasant I take what I can in the realm of strategy. Can't you bombard planets to bits to reduce populations?
> 
> Just defeated the Hulfir Berserkers. So the entire galaxy now is the federation, assorted vassal and protectorate states, with just three others: an empire that likes me a lot, one that dislikes me but whom I would annihilate in a war, and the fallen empire of the British, who are right next door to me...
> 
> Quite liking the mostly peaceful and research-focused approach.


Don't know if this will interest you but I'll post it anyway




__





						Matrix Games
					






					www.matrixgames.com


----------



## Foxbat

Found this as a follow on to my last post. It's the Fantasy General 2 prologue free to download and play. I don't know if it's available for console but if you've got a PC you can stick it on, you can try it out for nowt




__





						Matrix Games
					






					www.matrixgames.com


----------



## Cydramech

Foxbat said:


> I never play zombie games. Not because I don’t like them but because they give me the creeps....I even struggle to watch the Walking Dead sometimes.



Everyone's got their limits. For some, that'll be zombies; for others, vampires; werewolves; purple T-Rexes; etc.


----------



## MikeAnderson

Venusian Broon said:


> This will get closed down if it continiues, no doubt, so I will limit my response to this post then move on. However, why is it forced? Ellie is cannonically gay, no? That was quite clear in the DLC for the first one.
> 
> Also are there any heroes in the game? I mean Ellie kills and steals indicriminately in her quest, to get revenge for Joel. (Who went through a battalion of people in the first one.)


The retort is in your mailbox.


----------



## Dozmonic

I'm back on WoW. Group of mates are moving to a new realm, so I'm getting set up on there ready for the next big expansion. Gaming does eat into the writing time so much that I physically have to control my environment and dismantle the PC from time to time so I can't game forever. WoW's especially bad for that -)


----------



## Vladd67

Dozmonic said:


> I'm back on WoW. Group of mates are moving to a new realm, so I'm getting set up on there ready for the next big expansion. Gaming does eat into the writing time so much that I physically have to control my environment and dismantle the PC from time to time so I can't game forever. WoW's especially bad for that -)


a friend of mine said his wife threatened to divorce him over his WoW habit. he used to get up at five and play til seven before going to work.


----------



## Dozmonic

Vladd67 said:


> a friend of mine said his wife threatened to divorce him over his WoW habit. he used to get up at five and play til seven before going to work.


If she truly loved him she'd have offered to tank or heal for that time


----------



## thaddeus6th

Cheers. Foxbat, although I never play game son my PC (too much chance of distraction, so I like having a gaming-specific device). I'll see if it's out for PS4.


----------



## reiver33

I’ve resorted to trawling the internet for advice on HOI4, given my inability, as Germany to invade Britain in 1937, having knocked the effete French out of the war.


----------



## Cydramech

After being asked to return so much, I told my friends if they found out my estate was still around, I'd return to playing Final Fantasy XIV for a while just for them. It is, so I'm returning once more. Will need to either find a guild or create one for myself, get back into RP, and finally go back to raiding treasure maps for some sweet gil.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Has anyone heard anything about the resurrection (nae pun intended) of the Dead Space franchise?

I’m still playing BF2 until SW squadrons comes out. I’ve got a vr headset so I’m excited that it’s for full VR support.


----------



## Overread

Horizon Zero Dawn on PC - my gods this game is going up there with Witcher 3 as an awesome experience. The story writing is good (not Witcher 3 good but solid entertaining writing); the questing is good fun; the world feels big without being overwhelming. There's lots to do the characters are really very well done and the gameplay is very entertaining. Roaming the wilds and having to keep awake because of roaming beasts; watching patrol paths; planning how to take down big ones and having to actually think it through and not just charge in blind. There's a lot to love in this game and the PC version makes it very pretty. Though my system can't really do it on top settings, but it does a very good job overall. 

Be nice if/when they patch it up and deal with some of the niggles - slowdowns to happen (esp in towns) and getting more performance out of it for smoother and superior play will be great. 

Overall if you've any interest in roaming the wilds populated with walking robot animals and huge robot dinosaurs; hunting then; riding to battle; one person against the world etc... Great fun!


----------



## Rodders

Horizon Zero Dawn is on my list of games to download, so I might do so this weekend. I saw a YouTube video that explained the back story and it sounded like very good Science Fiction.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Due to building up forces for fear of the British, I was well-placed when the late game crisis unfolded and managed to crush the invaders. Still got to count down the clock, which is a bit tedious, but right now things are looking good in Stellaris for a first win.


----------



## Foxbat

The British? In space? I hope they still pause their inexorable conquest every now and then  for tea and cake.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ironically I created them as my first empire, then they showed up as the superpowerful fallen (since awakened) empire in my current playthrough. The mini-bio I wrote for them didn't reference cake, but did mention cricket, tea, and interstellar violence.


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Ironically I created them as my first empire, then they showed up as the superpowerful fallen (since awakened) empire in my current playthrough. The mini-bio I wrote for them didn't reference cake, but did mention cricket, tea, and interstellar violence.



I think every British English player made that same empire for their first playthrough


----------



## thaddeus6th

I may have to make AstroFrance, just so I can beat the French


----------



## .matthew.

Nah, they'd only end up forming Federation Europe and being snarky to you...


----------



## Foxbat

The Movies.
Bought this many years ago but didn’t play it much. I noticed it was still on my HD so fired it and I’m enjoying it. Not sure of its longevity potential. Time will tell.


----------



## Rodders

I want to get into VR Gaming (specifically Half Life: Alyx). I just did the VR test on steam and by GPU needs replacing. Is this easy to do in a laptop?


----------



## Foxbat

Rodders said:


> I want to get into VR Gaming (specifically Half Life: Alyx). I just did the VR test on steam and by GPU needs replacing. Is this easy to do in a laptop?


Laptops tend to have integrated chips rather than replacable boards as per the PC so I’d guess no. Even if you did replace  it with a more powerful one, heat dissipation could become a big problem in the enclosed environment of the laptop.  To be honest, for something like that, I wouldn't even consider a laptop in the first place.


----------



## Overread

Yeah sadly laptops are very limited in how you can upgrade them and even when you can its typically not simple and doesn't have a huge range of options. VR is pretty top end of things and demanding on systems to run, so chances are you'd have to replace the whole laptop. You'd get more power for your money if you buy a PC; plus you can upgrade a PC with new components pretty easily these days (heck even building them at home is pretty simple).


----------



## Rodders

Sounds expensive. Shame. I'm not really in a position to spend a couple of thousand Earth monies on a new PC and VR headset. Perhaps building one would be the most cost effective way forward.


----------



## Cydramech

_Modding with Skyrim (SSE & LE)._

Figured since I've returned to FFXIV and play it on PS4 until my desktop is fixed, I'll get back to playing modded Skyrim on my laptop with two different setups (SLE for a non-serious playthrough and SSE for a serious playthrough).


----------



## Toby Frost

Are there many mods for Skyrim? Back in the day I used to play a lot of heavily-modified Morrowind. Some of the mods were amazing.


----------



## Foxbat

Rodders said:


> Sounds expensive. Shame. I'm not really in a position to spend a couple of thousand Earth monies on a new PC and VR headset. Perhaps building one would be the most cost effective way forward.


I used to build my own machines but haven’t done so in more than ten years. However, I recently had to replace a faulty graphics card in an old PC of mine. I was able to buy a 2 Gigabyte Nvidia Gforce card for £40. It’s obviously not top of the line but I thought it was a pretty good price for a pretty decent graphics card. If this is an example of current prices, building one shouldn’t break the bank.


----------



## Cydramech

Toby Frost said:


> Are there many mods for Skyrim? Back in the day I used to play a lot of heavily-modified Morrowind. Some of the mods were amazing.



Just going by Nexus results alone: +64,000 mods for SLE (Skyrim Limited Edition) and +24,000 mods for SSE (Skyrim Special Edition). That said, the mods for SSE are universally better than what you can find for SLE (thanks to SSE being Skyrim ported to a 64bit engine).


----------



## Vladd67

I’ve recently been playing Conan Exiles, I have spent hours building a couple of small bases and was feeling quite pleased with myself until yesterday when I was wandering through the countryside and came across a massive roman style palace complete with arena. I couldn’t even begin to visualise such a structure let alone build it. Makes you realise that you are just a tier 1 player.


----------



## Cydramech

Now I remember why I quit playing Skyrim LE even for the non-serious playthroughs. It keeps crashing like an avalanche (in no small part due to its 32-bit memory limits). Skyrim SE all the way now.


----------



## Toby Frost

I played and finished a short game called Firewatch. It's about a troubled man who becomes a lookout in the Rockies, and experiences a set of increasingly weird incidents while on his own. Throughout the game, you communicate with your boss by radio, leading to interesting conversations and a growing sense of paranoia and mistrust.

This is a very mature, and quite slow, game: there's no real violence, and the story is dominated by conversations between flawed people whose problems can't be solved by blowing stuff up. The dialogue and acting are very good, and I found it genuinely sinister at points. The conclusion might slightly disappoint some people, but I thought that it worked fine. It's odd, but well-executed and worth a look.


----------



## Overread

Horizon Zero Dawn! 

 A game I've wanted for years, yet being on a console I could never justify the cost of a console just for that one game. Now its on PC and whilst the port has had some issues for some users including general slowdowns/memory leaks and such- its been FANTASTIC! Open world, roaming robot machine monsters; hunting etc... SO MUCH FUN!

But there's one thing that I really want to highlight - sidequests. In so many modern RPG games the sidequests tend to be rather droll. They are "please save my child/baby/wife/husband/stuffed toy" from the "insert name of cave/region/tree/". Typically go from from A to B and kill everything and then return to A for reward. Simple, innocent and whilst some might run alongside the same areas as the main quest, they mostly don't change the world; nor do they really change your character nor players, perspective on the world. 
Horizon Zero Dawn feels different, very different. Several sidequests feel almost like they should be main-game based content. Whilst they don't change the game world, they do give you more insight and hints and visual experience and roleplay into the game setting and world. 

For example one set of totally optional side quests is exploring Cauldrons. Totally optional, yet each one has you diving into the inner machine heart of the game. Huge areas, big display scenery. The kind of work that normally only ever gets spent on a main quest. Yet its to the side. There's this feeling on a good number of other quests as well. Content that feels like its a main quest, but its not.


Personally I really enjoy it, it makes the side quests fun and more engaging and the kind of things you want to do. Even if functionally they are still "go from A to B". etc... The functionality is still similar, but the overall work, approach, presentation etc.... is very different. It's a very neat attitude toward sidequests that makes them feel more than just throw-away events.




And sure its a crafting game off  console so its got loads of "find random item in terrain" type quests. Though by the nature of the terrain (its a very beautiful game) and by the nature of roaming machines - even the fetch quests are entertaining. 


Overall this is one of those "Masterpiece" games that's ever so much fun. PC port does need some work, there's been a few patches already and I really hope they can continue to work and polish it up. This game deserves to be a highlight of the year 0 even when we've got a massive giant that is Cyberpunk coming out later this year (by the same team that did Witcher 1, 2 and 3).


----------



## Rodders

Thanks for the review. Are you going to get the sequel?


----------



## Overread

Sadly the sequel is console locked and I'm mostly out of the console game. Just can't afford it alongside a gaming pc. If I had the hundreds to get a new gen console for the sequel I'd be more likely to ugprade my processor/motherboard. 

If it came to PC it would be an absolute YES. Heck who knows perhaps if I wind up with more cash on day I'll get the console just for it.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm playing Torment: Tides of Numenera, a Baldur's Gate - style RPG based on the Numenera game. While a lot of it involves talking to people (there's a lot of dialogue) and doing quests, the setting is extremely weird. So far, I'm enjoying it, but it's definitely at the intense end of its spectrum, if you see what I mean.


----------



## .matthew.

Currently available for free on Epic Games, Hitman and the Shadowrun Trilogy. Think I'll start playing the Shadowrun Hong Kong.


----------



## BT Jones

Still playing No Man's Sky with my son.  I think it's 3 years we've been going on it, always finding new worlds, new species, new base ideas.  The best value game I've ever bought!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Pathfinder Kingmaker (for the PS4). Some small technical gripes (had a few crashes and one enemy I couldn't loot, which was irksome as he had intriguing gear) but on the whole I'm enjoying the combat and world, and governing my new barony of Yorkshire.


----------



## Venusian Broon

ooooh, about to start a new game. Crusader Kings 3 available in mere hours. 

I'll say goodbye right now. (Doesn't help that I also just bought Factorio 1.0 last week). I may just survive on Doritos and Pepsi Max, and sit in my underpants in front of the PC for the next two weeks.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> ooooh, about to start a new game. Crusader Kings 3 available in mere hours.



It's good. A lot more intuitive than CK2, and you don't need to spend a whole generation saving for stuff anymore. Be warned though, it's still not bug free


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> It's good. A lot more intuitive than CK2, and you don't need to spend a whole generation saving for stuff anymore. Be warned though, it's still not bug free



I quite liked the slow burn in CK2....but I can always go back to that if CK3 misfires!


----------



## .matthew.

There is slow burn and there is CK2 lol. Don't get me wrong, I still have a few hundred hours in it but sometimes there were some truly painful waits.

It's mostly just easier to get gold now, though if you found it too easy I'm sure there'll be mods within a week.


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> There is slow burn and there is CK2 lol. Don't get me wrong, I still have a few hundred hours in it but sometimes there were some truly painful waits.
> 
> It's mostly just easier to get gold now, though if you found it too easy I'm sure there'll be mods within a week.



Only 720 hours in CK2 in total myself, which was about four or five proper games in total   (a lot of playing about with mechanics as well, but mostly the long slow burn of pedesterian empire building)


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> Only 720 hours in CK2 in total myself


That'll be like double my time then. I mostly went for EU4 and Stellaris as I reckon they have a better pace for me (until the end-game of both).


----------



## Venusian Broon

I've tried over many years to get into _any_ space 4X but they just have never gelled for me. I need a universe that has deep 'roots' for these games to come alive - and most space empire stuff seems so arbitrary.

I don't know why EU4 or HOI4 never called to me either. More of a 'Panzer General' person for WW2 strategy games. Possibly now, if they did a EU5, I might be tempted.

Completely fallen out of love for the Civ series. Stopped at 5


----------



## Overread

Venusian have you tried the Endless Space games - ES2 would be a good starting point (ES 1 has no connecting story and whilst its good the sequel improves on mechanics). It's got one of the more creative universes behind it and it feels alive and detailed without overburdening itself with story and turning into an RPG instead of a space empire game. 





Also Horizon Zero Dawn is going to settle into a high spot for me of games with really great stories to it! Also really really don't miss the sidequests in this game. There are several which are basically core parts of the story, but totally optional. So you get all the epic fun of a main story style quest. They even slip references into them every so often in the main story. 
Overall fantastic game and I'm not even finished!


----------



## Venusian Broon

Overread said:


> Venusian have you tried the Endless Space games - ES2 would be a good starting point (ES 1 has no connecting story and whilst its good the sequel improves on mechanics). It's got one of the more creative universes behind it and it feels alive and detailed without overburdening itself with story and turning into an RPG instead of a space empire game.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also Horizon Zero Dawn is going to settle into a high spot for me of games with really great stories to it! Also really really don't miss the sidequests in this game. There are several which are basically core parts of the story, but totally optional. So you get all the epic fun of a main story style quest. They even slip references into them every so often in the main story.
> Overall fantastic game and I'm not even finished!


Maybe in 2021 I'll have a look at Endless space!  I have Factorio, CK3, and really need to finish Octopath Traveller (okay probably restart) and I always keep a few games of RTW and Rimworld on the go just for a bit of relaxing fun  

With regards to Horizon Zero Dawn, I'm still finishing off the last bits of Assassins Creed Odyssey, which I really enjoyed, and might still have 30-40 hours left to get to level 95 or so (Lockdown has me at ~350 hours on that game. I think my Dad has done about the same.) Which reminds me I still have the major DLC of Fallout 4 to go through in survival mode. 

F*** me, too many games.


----------



## Overread

Factorio will certainly eat up time. Nice thing about it is it very open on how you can build your factory. You can go totally nuts with logic gates and hover delivery units and build a supremely efficient factory. 

Or you can have one that burns coal nice and day and produces things in perhaps not the most efficient manner, but it works.

Gives the player a lot of room to be themselves in terms of how far you want to and like to take things.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Tried Stellaris, Venusian?

I hope Crusader Kings III comes to consoles. Given Civ VI and Stellaris have, I'm slightly hopeful. 

Speaking of which, I won my first game of Civ VI on Emperor difficulty, which I was pleased with as it was science up against Korea (Scotland also not bad in that regard). Despite playing as Cyrus/Persia I went for a peaceful route and never had a single war. 

Also playing Pathfinder Kingmaker. There are some technical bugs to be ironed out but I'm really liking it a lot, even though I'm not au fait with all the rules. Turns out kineticists can do a bucketload of damage.


----------



## Overread

Just avoid the tiny spiders! Seriously they are dangerously overpowered in early Kingmaker!


----------



## thaddeus6th

I was lucky that my main character is a wizard so the acid splash cantrip proved very handy.


----------



## Dozmonic

thaddeus6th said:


> Speaking of which, I won my first game of Civ VI on Emperor difficulty, which I was pleased with as it was science up against Korea (Scotland also not bad in that regard). Despite playing as Cyrus/Persia I went for a peaceful route and never had a single war.



From memory it's when you get to immortal and deity that being peaceful's tricky. It has been far too long since I played Civ6. Just seeing it mentioned has made me install again to give it a whirl :-D


----------



## Venusian Broon

CK3. So far, brilliant. Not only streamlining a lot of the old things that were a bit irritating in CK2 but the highlight is that some of the new mechanics are fantastic. So many ways to play. 

Currently, nervously eyeing the b*****d Lord of the Isle who has a very, very powerful ally just to the South. Hurriedly trying to get allies/armies big enough to threaten the git.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> Currently, nervously eyeing the b*****d Lord of the Isle who has a very, very powerful ally just to the South. Hurriedly trying to get allies/armies big enough to threaten the git.



My advice there is to pick on weaker game. Alliances end and gravelkind can cripple a large power. Bide your time and strike when they're vulnerable 

Plus, even when you win them, large wars arerarely worth the cost (unless you have a cassus belli on the whole kingdom.


----------



## Bugg

I finished Trails in the Sky the 3rd last night - well, early this morning, actually.  Loved it.  It was a separate story to the first two games, and essentially a long farewell to the characters, but it had some of the best boss battles in the trilogy.  The final boss was a total *******.  Even when I'd figured out what I needed to do, it turned out only one of my party had regular access to the art that would prevent a party wipe at regular intervals.

I haven't quite decided which sequence to follow now - it's either the next game that was actually released (Trails from Zero), or Cold Steel 1.  I'll probably go with the latter as Geofront are currently working on the translation for Trails to Azure, the immediate sequel to Zero, so I've no idea when they'll actually finish it.


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> My advice there is to pick on weaker game. Alliances end and gravelkind can cripple a large power. Bide your time and strike when they're vulnerable
> 
> Plus, even when you win them, large wars arerarely worth the cost (unless you have a cassus belli on the whole kingdom.


It's okay, I know what I'm doing .

King of Alba follows Tanistry; always try to avoid Gavelkind! At least at first. For a challange at somepoint in the future will go Gavelkind with no parachute. ("You went full Gavelkind. Never go full Gavelkind.")  

I think some of my lesser counties may be handed out to my sons via Gavelkind, but at least I have a chance of picking the next king to have a good demense. 

The problem above was that he was going to attack no matter what at some point in time and he was far too powerful to launch a <cough> preemtive 'defensive' attack before he was ready (Although my stupid brother really wanted to. Idiot.). Wasn't even really enough time to set up any intrigue against him - he was just keen on taking over the whole of the British Isles at a fast canter. 

Going for scraps of land can be counterproductive. In this case I found it generally weakens your position against such powerful neighbour and you really don't have time to integrate anything, especially if they are different culture or religion, to make a difference. (Possibly if you get some good rolls, but it's not something to rely on - it's going to tie up your council and may generate unrest etc.) Remember the big guy is eyeing your lands and is moving fast. There aren't that many juicy targets on the British Isle - and I assume that the Nordic/Viking cultures get pretty wide and deep casus belli to take over whole regions in Britain. I may be wrong, but looking at what they did in my game so far seems to suggest this! 

[How many times when I was learning CK2 when I mis-clicked the 'disband armies' button when my troops were not on my territory, to find that half just dissappeared, to then have a powerful neighbour or vassel instantly declare war/independence because he now outnumbered me!  Answer: Too many.]

Although I admit in the above game I couldn't resist a bit of a 'nibble' for some fame and glory. 

Thankfully I had an alliance with West Franconia through marriage, and although their armies were pretty bad, they were plentiful so we could chew through his special troops* that somehow he had been awarded at the start. Made the war, he started, a long slog...and then the tough old ******* died halfway through. 

Managed then to white peace out as his sons didn't have the alliances, nor the money for mercenaries, nor much of an army. Yet still tough to beat. 

I have time now to build up, conspire and plot revenge. Hopefully he'll go off and waste his resources on another war as I'm doing this. 

Loving the stress meter and how it interacts with the characteristics. So for example, my King is unfortuantely painfully shy, so practically every decision has the possibility of raising stress. Great mechanic for role-playing. 


--------------------------------------------------------
* he and his ally had 10,000 specials in total, whereas my army was reaching only just over 2000 in total. If he'd turned on me day one I won't have survived. Thankfully he went for the much weaker kingdom of Northumbria.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> It's okay, I know what I'm doing .



Ha, that's what I usually say before the Liberty faction goes all medieval on my ass. 

Right now I'm doing a quick Tribal run for a guide I'm writing (check out GameWatcher CK3 guides for loads of them), but I will say from my previous Feudal game, Gravelkind is fine if you are willing to Disinherit your other sons using Renown. Gets expensive if you have a lot, but keeps it all under one ruler (I had Ireland, Alba, and Wales all under Gravelkind for multiple generations with that tactic). You can also embrace Celibacy pretty easily and that stops you popping out heirs once you have a few 

I also wouldn't worry overmuch about integration or culture. Just slowly replace any foreign rulers with your own courtiers and they'll deal with it for you. Even if you don't do that, the penalties for those things are so small they're easy to ignore.


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> Ha, that's what I usually say before the Liberty faction goes all medieval on my ass.



For me it's the little things in the game that can crush you.

So if you're a small independent state and a muslim empire about 50 times bigger decides you're the wrong sort of muslim and decided to invite themselves in with swords....well, I can live with that.

...but once I had a great King, probably a good 4-500 years into a CK2 game. I had just formed the Britannic Empire with him, he was happy painting all sorts of Europe the home team colour. But it was the next generation I had worked hard at. The succession laws were at primogeniture and my eldest son was a genius, brave and diligent, double digit stats for everything. I married him off to another genius, beautiful heir of vast tracts of Southern Europe. It looked like a proper mega-Empire was within my grasp with _the _'it' couple of fourtheenth century Europe.

However, my King lasted a bit too long. And the genius prince partied a bit too hard 'cause he wasn't doing too much. He got syphilis. Which he then gave to his wife.

Syphilis, as I am sure you know, does not end well and as it curtails fertility dramatically and life _and _they had failed to produce any offspring at this point. This was bad. I had no other offspring in the immediate family so the prince could be 'retired', and the Old King was, as you may guess, too old to start producing more.

The old King then died. I panicked. The new syphilitic King could have died/gone mad at any point and the game would have ended. So I hurriedly doubled my efforts to change the succession laws. Only seniority made any sense - a terrible succesion law, but it meant I could continue the game. It took a very nervous 5 or so years to put it all through.

But, with a sigh of relief I managed it. The King could die.

Mere months after I managed this, the King and Queen produced a son. A healthy non-syphilitic son.

Now it's probably all just RNG, but hell, that felt like a scripted mega-event to teach you about hubris.

Still, I don't mind saying, I rage quit the game at that point,   (I can laugh about it now...just)


----------



## TheEndIsNigh

Just un-installed Red Dead Redemtion II

After 8 hours of play I had lived 8 hours in the game. To finish it would have taken the rest of the time I have left. It was like living the old west in real time.

Got desperate and bought/downloaded  

*Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition*

from the playstation store - a bargain at £2.39 - special offer. 

With my new 500GB external drive it laughs at the 15GB the game takes up.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Had a bit of a saving bug with Pathfinder the other day. Hope that can be resolved.

Been playing a new Stellaris game as the Schnapp Republic. Peaceful again, want to try and see how robots etc work. Then I need to either go for an aggressive empire or up the difficulty.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Recently played through the latest FF14 patch, which basically brings the Shadowbringers storyline to an end. What an absolutely amazing story. Loved it, my favourite game narrative (although it is the culmination of the whole huge storyline that I've been playing for over five years now, so it's going to have quite the impact. And still more to come with more expansions!) 

In the meantime, I've got into some older content for the first time, something called Eureka, which is basically moving through four increasingly difficult areas, grinding your way up from level 1 to 60, no quest markers, incredibly tough mobs that can one-shot you if you're still low level (and you lose a heckton of exp if you aren't rezzed by another player) and just farming constantly for items. It was originally created for the level 70 relic weapon (big fancy weapons that involve a lot of time and effort to upgrade) but the reason why I've been going through this absolute hell for the past few weeks...is for some glowy armour. And that's honestly it. For the glow. It's not useful armour in any other way because it's too low levelled now. I just want dat glow. 

If only I could put this much effort into real life goals.


----------



## Toby Frost

Vermintide 2.

Like a lot of sequels, this is like the first game with everything turned up to 11. This time around, the ratmen (one of Games Workshop's best inventions) have been joined by a grunting horde of Chaos worshippers. There are a huge number of ways to alter your character, some of which are rather bewildering, but which lend a nice element of role-playing to the hacking and shooting. It's mind-bogglingly violent, at points almost incomprehensibly so. Even the characters are the same, but more: the elf is more obnoxious, the dwarf more a comedy Yorkshireman, and the wizard (my favourite) sounds like a grand dame of the theatre complaining about service in a fancy restaurant. Entertaining.


----------



## AlexH

I've been enjoying some great multiplayer games recently.

*Death Squared *is an outstanding co-op puzzle game. The voiceover is loud and can get annoying, but thankfully it can be turned down. Otherwise, it's superb. Communication is essential, unless you want to make the game super-difficult.

*Hidden in Plain Sight *doesn't look like much, but is likely the most fun multiplayer game I've played since Super Bomberman 2 in the 90s. It's also a game pretty much anyone can play.

*Mario Kart 8 Deluxe *is probably the best version of Mario Kart, but considering I struggle to see what's going on anyway, I find the ink (covering the screen) weapon very frustrating. Which makes the game fall short of greatness for me.


----------



## JJewel

Iron Rage in Kongregate one year and 3 months playing and finally getting bored of it, did little on it in the last two days.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Played quite a lot lately, because my internet broke (wiring problem). 

Just hit level 10 in Pathfinder Kingmaker with my elven wizard Lauremir. I'm not saying things are going badly, but quite a lot of the residents in my capital are now dead. Or, as I like to think of it, they have embraced inevitable destiny and are now free of worries. 

Lazily playing through Stellaris again. Going to have to bump up the difficulty as this is currently too easy, but good to get to grips with the mechanics. The Schnapp Republic has the entire galaxy, save the Fallen Empire, either in its federation, vassalised, or vassalised to another federation member.


----------



## biodroid

*Assetto Corsa Competizione* and *Batman: Arkham Knight*


----------



## paeng

_World of Tanks_ because I find the strategies and tactics interesting (e.g., using high-speed medium tanks to flank while heavier ones act as bruisers, with scouts either passively spotting and doing hit-and-runs or operating in swarms to detect and harass slower heavy tanks). Also, as I grow older I begin to experience more difficulty with first-person shooters.


----------



## Foxbat

Currently playing Betrapped. It’s a murder mystery puzzle game kind of like minesweeper. Quite addictive


----------



## AE35Unit

Zombie Castaways on my phone


----------



## Venusian Broon

Rimworld. There's something about overcoming huge problems for your pawns and making dubious ethical decisions that makes this 'game' so morish.


----------



## Phyrebrat

Star Wars Squadrons in VR. 

Just outstanding


----------



## Foxbat

I recently read an article reporting on research into watching nature programmes on TV and how it can help combat negative thoughts. It then went on to explain that the use of VR for immersing a person in nature gave an even greater benefit. With this in mind, I can’t help wondering how VR Star Wars would stack up....maybe even greater positive benefit?

As for me, currently playing Jagged Alliance 2. It’s a bit fiddly but I canforgive it that because it only cost me a couple of quid.


----------



## AE35Unit

I don't think I could use VR because I only see through one eye. Can't see 3D


----------



## thaddeus6th

That's an interesting consideration. Lots of games now have user-friendly options to help those with colourblindness etc, so there may have been work done on this.

I'm still playing Stellaris.

The Vines of Eternity have vassalised most of the Galaxy now, but I do have some pesky raiders who had the temerity to intrude upon my space once. Fortunately, I'm researching titans and will soon teach them the error of their ways. After that, just a couple of pushover empires and then the knotty problem of conquering a Fallen Empire.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> The Vines of Eternity have vassalised most of the Galaxy


Sounds like something from Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, more menacing, I'd say.

I just annihilated the plunderers more easily than expected, which was a pleasant surprise (although not for them). Currently own (including vassals) about two-thirds of the galaxy.

I now have a micro-empire I'm amusing myself with by leaving in peace until the very end, a weak materialist empire that will kneel before my crusade, and an empire that has decent technology but is too weak to survive without being my vassal.

And then... the Fallen Empire. Mwahaha!


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> I just annihilated the plunderers more easily than expected, which was a pleasant surprise (although not for them). Currently own (including vassals) about two-thirds of the galaxy.



And that's where I normally get too bored to continue. Especially if I have all the techs researched and it's just a slow crawl to victory. 

Right now I've just been playing about in Rimworld, and that usually keeps me interested for a little longer before my colony becomes too powerful to assail (and I don't play on crazy difficulties because I just find them annoying).


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm still pretty new to Stellaris, and encountering some new Spiritualist events, so I'm still enjoying this.

I've also started a new, more peaceful playthrough at a higher difficulty.


----------



## Laura R Hepworth

Right now, the only game I'm playing is Knights & Brides on Facebook . I don't play a ton of computer/video games, but used to play the Myst series of games by Cyan. Would love to try their new games!


----------



## Overread

Laura you know most of the Mist series (including I think a remaster?) are on GOG


----------



## Laura R Hepworth

Overread said:


> Laura you know most of the Mist series (including I think a remaster?) are on GOG


I hadn't, so thank you! I'll have to look into that . And also whether Cyan's newest game Obduction is on there. I don't think Firmament is out yet, but it really looks interesting!


----------



## HoopyFrood

Introduced the boyfriend to Outer Worlds on my PS4 and watching him play has put me back in the mood to play it myself, as it's been long enough now that it feels interesting again. I've done the anarchist liberator, I got a fair ways through the corporate shill, this time I think I'm going for a mix -- basically a ruthless, no-nonsense character who is just clearing up the colony in whichever way seems right at the time. Also being a lone wolf, no companions. 

The Groundbreaker still looks amazing, and very much enjoyed chatting to Moonhead Martin again.


----------



## Toby Frost

I got a bit tired of The Outer Worlds a while ago, but I gave it another go last week and enjoyed it a lot. It's good fun.

I've also gone back to a game called Rogue Galaxy, which is a space-trading game like a simpler Elite with a Firefly-type feel. It lacks depth, but it's pleasant, and there's something weirdly satisfying about upgrading my spaceship. I just wish that I could paint the ship a different colour.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Yeah I don’t think there’s quite enough to it that it’s something you can go back to again and again (or just to aimlessly stroll in the wilderness like in Skyrim etc) but given enough time between playthroughs it can draw you back in, and there’s no doubt lots of little small things I’m yet to discover.


----------



## Overread

My Horizon Zero Dawn playing has stalled for a bit; mostly because its getting nearer to the end of the game and I'm sort of wanting to actually clean up a lot of the sidequest stuff (normally I blaze past a lot of it in games). So I'm pacing myself a little so I dont' wear myself out for the final. REALLY REALLY REALLY Enjoyed it and strongly recommend it! Really hope the sequel eventually comes to pc too.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I've also gone back to a game called Rogue Galaxy, which is a space-trading game like a simpler Elite with a Firefly-type feel. It lacks depth, but it's pleasant, and there's something weirdly satisfying about upgrading my spaceship. I just wish that I could paint the ship a different colour.


I did the same last week with FTL and it kept me occupied for a weekend.



Overread said:


> wanting to actually clean up a lot of the sidequest stuff


Ha, the bane of all open-world RPGs. I think the only one I ever enjoyed completing like that was The Witcher 3. Mostly the side quests end up so repetitive and dull that I give up on the game completely.

But yea, this week I've gone back to my old Battletech campaign save. I get very annoyed at the enemy mech swarms (because it's boring to wait for so long between turns) but I've been enjoying stomping on stuff


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, I remember Rogue Galaxy. Definitely a game you can pump hundreds of hours into it. I liked the mini-monster tournament (reminded me a little of the Dragon Quest VIII monstrous pit). RG's combat wasn't something I liked too much, though.


----------



## Toby Frost

Is there one? I'm quite near the beginning, and it feels huge. Unfortunately, it also feels like I could be doing much the same thing endlessly, without much in the way of variety. It's pleasant enough for now but it needs something more.


----------



## thaddeus6th

It is huge. Absolutely massive. From memory, the mini-monsters you collect start after the first two planets, not sure how much later.


----------



## Toby Frost

Hang on, is this the same game? I'm thinking of the space trading game with a country-rock soundtrack and Firefly-esque style.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I think it might not be the same. 

This is the game I'm thinking of:




__





						Rogue Galaxy (PS2) : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games
					

Rogue Galaxy (PS2) : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games



					www.amazon.co.uk


----------



## Toby Frost

I know why - the game I've been playing is called Rebel Galaxy, not Rogue Galaxy! Sorry!









						Rebel Galaxy - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Foxbat

I used to play a bit of X: Beyond The Frontier, which looks a bit like Rebel Galaxy and is, basically, an Elite clone. I also used to play a bit of Jumpgate, a MMORPG that was a bit like Elite online.

I enjoyed Jumpgate but it’s also the reason I gave up completely on MMORPGs. The reason is quite simple. One day they’re there and then they’re gone and you’ve just wasted hour upon hour on something that no longer exists and you’ve absolutely nothing to show for all that effort.








						X: Beyond the Frontier - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org
				












						Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> The reason is quite simple. One day they’re there and then they’re gone and you’ve just wasted hour upon hour on something that no longer exists and you’ve absolutely nothing to show for all that effort.


As opposed to the 400 outfits you'd acquired that make it totally worth it while it's still around?

I gave up on them becuase of the huge time commitments and the inevitable repetetive grind more than anything else.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> As opposed to the 400 outfits you'd acquired that make it totally worth it while it's still around?


I found that I quite enjoyed being a space pirate


----------



## Rodders

I started playing Star Wars: Squadrons over the weekend and found it a lot of fun. 

It's interesting playing it with a mouse and i think they did a good job of it. I still prefer a good old joy stick, though and might invest in one as a Christmas treat. I'd bet this game is amazing in 3d.


----------



## Toby Frost

I got Dragon Age 2 in a sale on Steam, and I've been enjoying it a lot. It's simpler than the first game, but I think more streamlined, and I quite like the other characters. I gather it gets a bit repetitive, but so far, so good.


----------



## reiver33

The remastered Command & Conquer


----------



## thaddeus6th

It does, Toby, but that's because Bioware were seriously rushed. I do like quite a lot of DA2 (not just making Lady Hawke walking around in her underwear).

I hope DA4 is good but I'm less than confident.

In Stellaris, I currently have two games on the go. I have discovered Captain difficulty in German is easier than Commodore difficulty in English.


----------



## Toby Frost

I quite like the sense of doing small missions and returning to base to collect a reward, but I suspect it will get a bit boring after a while. A lot of the streamlining of the game seems good to me, but I can see why people might miss the micro-managing of the NPCs' armour and the reduced options as to what you can be (I was surprised to find that you're a human and that's that). Of course, this being Bioware, there's the question of who your character is going to end up with (a) in the party and (b) in the sack. I've already forgotten what the main story is, but I don't think it's "shack up with the Welsh elf".


----------



## thaddeus6th

The human angle is because you've got family, I think. And to reduce work on armour and the like.

They did fix, alas, the fun Origins 'bug' where you can play as a black human noble. But with an entirely white family. Which does raise the question of what the lady of Highever was getting up to...


----------



## Toby Frost

Fallout 3 had an interesting bug where you were occasionally attacked by mercenaries, who were a (presumably randomly generated) mixture of white, brown and black men. However, if you stripped the bodies for armour, the bodies often didn't match the heads, so it would look as if the mercenaries had detached their heads and stuck them back on the wrong bodies. That said, given that Fallout works according to the rules of 1950's SF, maybe they had...


----------



## thaddeus6th

In an exciting reversal of fortune, things are now going better with my Commodore difficulty game. I'm in a federation with the two (discounting Fallen Empires) most powerful empires in the galaxy and have just one strategic strongpoint to defend.

Meanwhile, on Captain (auf Deutsch) I've been subjected to two separate yet simultaneous declarations of war by different empires and am currently losing to both.

I do like that the neighbours you have affect things a lot.


----------



## .matthew.

I love strategic chokepoints. I used to play with all modes of FTL active but switched to hyperlanes only just before they patched it to be the only way to play. I don't miss the others. Strategically taking systems is so much more fun than being able to warp anywhere


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I'm a fan of seizing chokepoints and thereby effectively claiming territory you can formally take later on.

Unfortunately, with the bad luck of the Captain game wars I'm spread too thin even so. Likely to lose both wars, I think, though it's just humiliation and losing one system (annoyingly, one that affords access to a three crystal system and that contains a fairly well-developed starbase). Not great, though.

Does remind me a bit of a very early game, maybe my second, when I did everything I could but even so just got steamrollered by an ultra-warlike opponent. Early game can be rough.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, my favourite early game is to run rampant as far as I can to create dead zones that I can claim later without the need for war. It does tend to leave me with a much too small military budget though. On the plus side if you go far enough even warlike opponents can't actually push you too far back because of claim costs.

I do miss the old stations though. Used to love heavily bunkering a system to the point of slowing or even stopping late game crises. I remember once when the portal spawning ones destroyed 2/3s of the map and I was frantically throwing resources into constantly building and rebuildings stations.


----------



## Toby Frost

Dragon Age 2 continues to be very entertaining. I had to lower the difficulty a bit for two big fights (boss fights really aren't my cup of tea, and the game feels weaker at these moments), and the overarching plot seems to be hardly there, but the missions are good and the secondary characters are all well-written. The lack of a saving-the-world story means that I don't know where it's going to go, which is interesting. 

I find it amusing how the companions have various concerns and worries - and some seem downright insecure - but are all hardened killers as soon as the fighting starts. After a shaky start, it's really grown on me.


----------



## .matthew.

@thaddeus6th I hereby curse you... making me start playing Stellaris again 




Yes, the snaking mess of border gore is clearly me. Successfully manoeuvred to block access to more total systems than I actually control.

I'm playing with the Real Space mod (amongst others) and that tiny purple dot of a star in the bottom right of my territory is the single best system effects I've ever seen for a chokepoint...



Ships come in, but they won't get out... at least not with many ships left.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, that's the galactic real estate equivalent of ****-blocking. And I do exactly the same.

That mod looks very nice.

I'm tempted to abandon the initial German-Captain game as it's early on, and I'm playing life-seeded which already has me at a disadvantage. That, coupled with no allies/federation and two independent but equally antagonist foes as neighbours isn't great.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, Real Space is a nice set of visual and slight gameplay tweaks (in maybe a dozen mix and match mods). This is my first game playing with a lot of them but definitely makes the galaxy look more alive. I've got those combined with More Events and some other event-based mods to mix up the stories that the game generates. Definitely recommend both sets to revitalise the game if you play it a lot 

Go ahead and abandon it then... or my preferred approach... declare wars and go out in a blaze of glory...

Then install some pretty mods and restart.


----------



## Toby Frost

Hmm. Dragon Age 2 is beginning to show its flaws. It's not so much that the scenery is repeated too much (although it really is - it uses the same generic cave more often than the original Star Trek) but that every notable achievement involves fighting through several unnecessary waves of respawning baddies. At one point, I was attacked in a deserted mansion by more people than could realistically have fitted into the building. I'm tempted to drop the difficulty, but I think that won't really help. It's a good story - well, lots of little good stories - with a lot of tedious fighting.


----------



## Foxbat

Saw Ticket To Ride in a GOG weekly sale for less than £3. Bought it. Installed it.Tried it.
Distinctly underwhelmed. Don’t think I’ll be playing it again. At least it didn’t cost much.

Why is this game getting great reviews?


----------



## Venusian Broon

Awww, I never realised that Fallout 4 did something special for Xmas. 






That is Xmas, Fallout 4 time, not ours. Yet everything feels so chrismassy this year, hence me noticing it!


----------



## Venusian Broon

So I'm doing a 'this time I'm going to finish as much as possible' survival run of Fallout 4 at the moment. Given that lockdown has suggested that this might be a good time to do it. I've never got to the end of the main game or even started the big DLC's. (Also, although I've got 1200+ hours on Steam on Skyrim, I've yet to finish one of the main factions in that game, so technically I haven't finished that either, so I have form!)

Currently I have played ~450 hours of Fallout 4, mostly other runs before this one, FYI only a couple of real days into this one. 

And yet....

....I have been surprising myself by finding stuff: missions, locations, characters that in the past 400 hours I never came across. Even in the 'safe' North-West corner of the map. This world is so stuffed with things to discover and find out. 

Sure, it's story doesn't really make sense, blah blah blah, but I am so enjoying just looking into nooks and crannies and discovering all sorts of stories, tales, jokes and secrets. Just love being the lone wanderer, I suppose.


----------



## Rodders

I thought i'd download and replay Black Mesa. I should really get back to playing Star Wars Squadrons. 

Kinda getting bored with HL2 and i can't workout how to play the Mods outside of those available on Steam.


----------



## HoopyFrood

Gone back to Monster Hunter World, wherein you do nothing but...hunt massive monsters. It's just one big mega grind to take each one down. It's the type of game where, while fighting something stupidly tough and I keep getting steamrolled and hit and stunned I'm yelling 'I hate this ****ing game, why am I playing it??!' but once the monster is finally down I'm all 'YES, I love this ****ing game!!' 

Finished the storyline, just literally smashing monsters to make gear now, with the intention of maybe buying the Iceborne DLC eventually but wanting to keep ranking up and see what happens first.


----------



## Foxbat

Why hasn’t somebody released a monster fps? I’d like to play Godzilla and fight all the other monsters....or maybe Gypsy Danger from Pacific Ring and take down some kaiju (and beat them over the head with a boat, just like in the movie)...


----------



## Toby Frost

There's always Rampage! There was a game called Giants: Citizen Kabuto, where you played a huge monster, but only in a third of the levels or so. It was very odd.

Fallout 4 is a really impressive game. It doesn't make perfect sense, but that doesn't really matter. I loved the sheer detail of its world, the way that you could open a door and not just find some stuff to take, but a skeleton, and a sort of visual story about why everything was where it was. I bought the art book for Fallout 4, partly to help in making models, and it shows that the sheer amount of work involved in creating the game must have been huge.

Dragon Age 2 continues to be compelling, despite the repetitive nature of the missions and the near-lack of any overarching plot. A lot of the appeal comes down to defeating the short-term challenges and seeing what happens to the companions, who are very well-drawn. There's still no real story to it, but it's drawing to an end. It's a strange game with blatant flaws, but still very enjoyable.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> Fallout 4 is a really impressive game. It doesn't make perfect sense, but that doesn't really matter. I loved the sheer detail of its world, the way that you could open a door and not just find some stuff to take, but a skeleton, and a sort of visual story about why everything was where it was. I bought the art book for Fallout 4, partly to help in making models, and it shows that the sheer amount of work involved in creating the game must have been huge.



I know, there is so many little bits of 'personality' in the world that, if you were rushing through it, you would easily miss, like teddy bears on toilets with papers 'in their hands' etc.

One of my favourites is a factory where there is a big 'danger: no smoking' sign, but there are two skeletons, one male, one female just below it, with a gold flip lighter between them. Or the two feuding brothers in the marina, the notes they left and their diary entries (I don't know which one is the skeleton that you find, I guess you might find the other one dead in his boat on the map either south or north depending on which brother won?  )


----------



## Toby Frost

Have you found the abandoned boat with the Jaws reference?


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> Have you found the abandoned boat with the Jaws reference?


I have never really explored the water! But this run I've got Aquagirl, so the whole of the coast is about to reveal its secrets.


----------



## .matthew.

I decided to jump into my Steam library last night and found a game called Interplanetary. It's one of those tiny indie titles and it's about lobbing projectiles at other planets in a system and using gravity to make your shots. 

It gets quite intense as your cities are wiped off the surface and in the first game I won, human civilisation went from 14.5 billion people to a tiny 140 million probably rather relieved citizens cowering under the final bombardment from the now doomed enemy world.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> I decided to jump into my Steam library last night and found a game called Interplanetary. It's one of those tiny indie titles and it's about lobbing projectiles at other planets in a system and using gravity to make your shots.


Many years ago, working a nightshift, a work colleague and I were pottering about on one of the work computers when we discovered what I think was called MS Basic tucked away in Windows (this was the early nineties). Within that environment, we found a game called Gorillas. It was a two player game with each person’s King Kong style primate perched atop a skyscraper in a cityscape. You had to type in the trajectory and power for your weapon (a thrown bannana) and the object was to kill your opponent. It was great fun and a good way to spend any downtime.

 This Interplanetary sounds like a similar style of game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Started a new Divinity Original Sin 2 playthrough. Some things same as usual (Sebille as a rogue with polymorph skills) some things different (main character's a player-made one, focusing on warfare and necromancy). 

Although the initial load time, on the PS4, is fairly long, I do like a lot about the game. Not least how technically well put together it is. Pathfinder Kingmaker has some great aspects but the constant gnawing dread of a sudden crash (doesn't happen all the time but often enough to always be possible) does dilute the enjoyment.


----------



## Foxbat

Bought Dead State some time ago but never really gave it a chance so I’ve re-installed and so far played about an hour. I think it might be worth persevering with. The zombie killing seems a bit easy and (so far) any wounds received by my character don’t seem to cause an infection. It might have been better if you get infected and then have to race against the clock to secure medical help before turning into a flesh eater. It’s early days yet so maybe too early to criticise.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> Fallout 4 is a really impressive game. It doesn't make perfect sense, but that doesn't really matter. I loved the sheer detail of its world, the way that you could open a door and not just find some stuff to take, but a skeleton, and a sort of visual story about why everything was where it was.



Sorry, I couldn't resist...I was going through Parsons state insane asylum, opened a door and really thought about your comment ...


----------



## alexvss

I'm currently playing through the entirety of the Metro 2033 games. They are cheap at playstationstore right now. They're great and very immersive too. Very good for those who love FPS and long for those good old survival horror games. I was just watching this video about it:


----------



## Bugg

I succumbed and got Cyberpunk 2077.  Much to my astonishment it's running very smoothly on 'ultra' settings on my 6 year old pc (i5 4690k, 8gb RAM as they were when I bought it, GPU upgraded to a GTX 1060 6gb about 3 years ago).


----------



## Venusian Broon

Anyone taken the plunge and got Cyberpunk 2077 for the PC? Dissappointing and full of Bethesda glitches or great fun?

I am definitely looking for a big open world to replace FO4 when I get to the end of it.


----------



## AlexH

Venusian Broon said:


> Anyone taken the plunge and got Cyberpunk 2077 for the PC? Dissappointing and full of Bethesda glitches or great fun?
> 
> I am definitely looking for a big open world to replace FO4 when I get to the end of it.


My brother's enjoying it.


----------



## Overread

Venusian Broon said:


> Anyone taken the plunge and got Cyberpunk 2077 for the PC? Dissappointing and full of Bethesda glitches or great fun?
> 
> I am definitely looking for a big open world to replace FO4 when I get to the end of it.



Just a note but Cyberpunk isn't Bethesda, its CDProjekt - the team that made the Witcher 1 through to 3 games. 
From what I gather the only major issues for it are on the previous generation consoles where it seems to be having some serious issues. Otherwise there's a slew of "new game launch bugs"that the developers appear fast to fix. Which is nothing out of the ordinary.


----------



## Foxbat

Gave up on Dead State because I found it incredibly frustrating. The zombies are essentially static until you encounter them at close range. Then, despite being shambling, mindless flesh eaters, it’s been my experience that they always get the initiative (combat turn allocation based on this) and manage to attack first. Got sick of party members receiving serious wounds at the very start of combat due to losing the initiative to the mindless and  then running away.  Now uninstalled once more.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Overread said:


> Just a note but Cyberpunk isn't Bethesda, its CDProjekt - the team that made the Witcher 1 through to 3 games.



I know   

Bethesda glitches are just industry standard for a certain level of messing up.


----------



## Bugg

Bugg said:


> I succumbed and got Cyberpunk 2077.  Much to my astonishment it's running very smoothly on 'ultra' settings on my 6 year old pc (i5 4690k, 8gb RAM as they were when I bought it, GPU upgraded to a GTX 1060 6gb about 3 years ago).





Venusian Broon said:


> Anyone taken the plunge and got Cyberpunk 2077 for the PC? Dissappointing and full of Bethesda glitches or great fun?
> 
> I am definitely looking for a big open world to replace FO4 when I get to the end of it.



^^ Points at post immediately above this one 

Anyway, yeah, it's running brilliantly for me. I've only noticed a couple of minor visual glitches so far, touch wood (a pair of chopsticks floating in the air, for instance). I'm running it on Ultra settings at 1080p with just a couple of things turned down. Pretty much the same as I did for Witcher 3. I'm just over 10 hours in and so far I think it's fantastic.

Here's some screenshots from my pc:


----------



## Venusian Broon

Bugg said:


> ^^ Points at post immediately above this one


?? Don't understand, I can see a video for Metro Exodus, then...??

Anyway good that it seems to be running well on PC's. I've got a nice future proof one.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm still playing Dragon Age 2, which is a sort of weird friendship simulator set in a fantasy city, and appears to have no real plot (or maybe three plots squashed together). I also had a go on Strange Brigade, a shooter set in an Indiana Jones-type 1920's Egypt, which has a narrator who sounds like Alexander Armstrong and is extremely silly. When you pause it, the narrator says "Off for a cup of tea, are we?". Recommended.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ha, friendship-simulator is pretty accurate. Got to say I liked Lady Hawke's (as I called her) voice. The DA2 story did suffer from time constraints, alas. Given the very short timescale, I think the writers did a pretty good job.


----------



## Bugg

Venusian Broon said:


> ?? Don't understand, I can see a video for Metro Exodus, then...??



Weird, my post is right between that one and your question


----------



## Venusian Broon

Bugg said:


> Weird, my post is right between that one and your question


Must be a Bethesda glitch


----------



## Toby Frost

Lady Hawke is well-acted - pretty much everyone is good, and the writing is decent. I actually quite like the lack of overarching story, and even the repetitive environment has its advantages (the option to visit places at night or in daytime is a really good one, although I'm sure it was prompted by time and budget). I remember getting really bored exploring the dwarven city in the first game. Dragon Age 2 alternates between plot, violence and the Welsh elf pointing out that she's stepped in something, and for me at least, its plusses balance out its flaws.


----------



## .matthew.

I got a cheap copy of Total War Warhammer 2 and have been bashing that pretty heavily until the slew of minor annoyances flips me out too much and I need a break.

Then I head off to Oxygen Not Included... until the slew of minor annoyances flip me out there too...

It's a vicious cycle


----------



## Rodders

I saw there is a new Oddworld game in the making. I adored Abe’s Odyssey back in the day.


----------



## alexvss

Just stated playing through The Wolf Among Us again. It's based on Vertigo's Fables. It don't get to "play" much, but the story is very well written!


----------



## Toby Frost

The spectacularly stupid Saints Row 4. It is actually very well-made and aware of its ridiculousness, and compares very well with the Grand Theft Auto type of game. But it is seriously daft.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Normally I always put a bullet into a Raider scum's head as I journey about the Commonwealth in FO4. (No fast travel in Survival mode)...

And I came across one today. But when I put the crosshairs on him....I saw what he was doing, I just couldn't shoot:





So I tip-toed past him and left him by the graveside.

The next living thing I did see, straight after, got his bullet. But then again radstags taste nice.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finally finished Dragon Age 2! It's quite hard to sum up what I think about it. There's so much wrong with it - or perhaps it's better to say that it has so many limitations - but ultimately it plays to its strengths well, it makes the best of its small setting, and the characters and acting are very good. It has a feeling of intrigue that I've not seen in very many games. Would I recommend it? Definitely, but it's a pretty specific sort of game, and I could imagine quite a few people finding it not to their tastes. So long Varrik and Merrill. I hope you found a shirt and some shoes.


----------



## alexvss

Toby Frost said:


> I finally finished Dragon Age 2! It's quite hard to sum up what I think about it. There's so much wrong with it - or perhaps it's better to say that it has so many limitations - but ultimately it plays to its strengths well, it makes the best of its small setting, and the characters and acting are very good. It has a feeling of intrigue that I've not seen in very many games. Would I recommend it? Definitely, but it's a pretty specific sort of game, and I could imagine quite a few people finding it not to their tastes. So long Varrik and Merrill. I hope you found a shirt and some shoes.


After I played this, I was completely fed up with Dragon Age. I had beaten the first game already. I didn't play DG: Inquisition because of that. These games feel the same

Speak of the Devil, I'm currently playing Spider-man: Miles Morales. It's... OK. But feels like a spin-off of the original game.


----------



## AlexH

I'm really enjoying *Full Metal* *Furies* in co-op mode. It seems to be a hidden gem that suffered at launch from a few issues (now fixed). At first I thought it was just an action RPG, but it's heavy on the puzzles too. It's in a 16-bit style and like a mashup between Contra (shoot 'em up mayhem and difficulty-level) crossed with Secret of Mana (action RPG) and The Witness (puzzles). It's also pretty funny at times. Highly recommended for anyone looking for something a bit different.

I've just finished the New Donk City level on *Super Mario Odyssey*, and that was so much fun. It felt GTA-esque at times, which I didn't think possible in a Mario game. And one sequence gave me great nostalgia for Mario and Donkey Kong games of the 80s and early 90s.

I completed *To the Moon*, and it was a slog even though it was only 4 hours - the worst game I've completed. It was story-driven, but the characters were unlikeable and the story didn't immerse me either. I don't understand why this game has overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.

I bought *Horizon Chase Turbo* in the current e-shop sale for £5. I couldn't resist given it's a spiritual sequel to Top Gear on the SNES and Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge from various home computers - the same composer made the music too. I didn't like it so much at first (preferring the older games), but I'm getting into it, and it is a good arcade racer.


----------



## Rodders

I went back to Black Mesa. 

Reminded me of how good and how big Half Life actually was, although BM does feel a little shorter.


----------



## Bugg

I've been thinking about giving Xbox Game Pass for PC a try and am wondering if anyone here is using it?  I was going to buy Wasteland 3 whilst it's in the Steam/GOG sales (at around £35) but I noticed it's on the Game Pass roster as well, so I could give it a try for £1 for the first month.  Quite a few other games on there that I want to play, too (and quite a few that I've already bought, as well, sadly).


Talking of which, Desperados 3 is awesome.


----------



## Edoc'sil

I found the subscription service for playstation is great, haven't tried the xbox one. However I dislike the model, I don't want gaming to turn into that and I'm oh so scared it will. 

I've been playing Afterparty which is a really fun game, works on my potato laptop. Reminds me of the old choose your own adventure books (turned up to 11) but with fun mini games thrown in. It's set in hell and you have to out party the devil to get out. It's a cool little story with some nice character development, mystery and world building.


----------



## Bugg

Edoc'sil said:


> I found the subscription service for playstation is great, haven't tried the xbox one. However I dislike the model, I don't want gaming to turn into that and I'm oh so scared it will.



Yes, thanks - I came to pretty much the same conclusion last night and decided against it. Of course, whilst I was dithering the Steam and GOG sales ended and Wasteland 3 is back up to full price


----------



## Overread

Shipbreaker!
It's still in early access so not complete, but its a very fun game. Basically its set in "not homeworld" Homeworld setting (same/similar artistic style) and has you performing the job of a cutter, someone who has to come into old ships and slice them up for decommission. Fully 3D movement with you basically having a puzzle which is the ship, to dismantle. Learning to be careful to decompress the right way; not blowing yourself up; now blowing the ship up etc... A 15min time limit per "shift" of in game work keeps you focused on the job at hand and you can keep coming back to work on the same ship over and over or move onto another. 

It's still quite early access so there's a few oddities here and there and its not a complete game by any stretch, but the engine is sound; the visuals good; the gameplay engaging and the overall challenge is good and fun.

There's also a no-timer mode for taking as long as you want to strip down a ship


----------



## Bugg

I've been playing a lot of Trails of Cold Steel II. 

I've also stumbled across a bit of a hidden gem called Banner of the Maid. I saw a review of it a while back and thought it looked like my kind of thing, being a Fire Emblem fan.  I got it on a whim in the Switch eshop sale and absolutely love it. It's a tactical turn-based RPG set during an alternate French Revolution, basically a Fire Emblem game in all but name - but a proper old school Fire Emblem, rather than the disappointment of FE Three Houses. It's available on PS4, XB1 and PC as well, but these sorts of games are perfect for a handheld.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve been playing a game called Realpolitiks for the last week and I’ve found it to be quite intriguing. It has been criticised for being too simplistic but, considering things you have to manage or deal with are: wars, GDP, unemployment, diplomacy, spying, UN voting, energy policy, economic blocs, financial markets, bidding for the olympics and much, much more, I don’t see how anybody could cope with this if it had not been simplified. I’m getting a little tired of it now but it cost less than £3 so I’ve already had my money’s worth. More importantly, it’s real-time pausible - a bit like many Paradox games. I could never get into those but maybe Realpolitiks is the gateway to me finally warming to Paradox stuff. Maybe it’s finally time to fire up Crusader Kings again


----------



## elvet

I have gone back to more gaming now that I've updated my computer. I've even invested in a proper gaming chair.
I am currently playing Oknytt, a 3rd person adventure game on Steam. It is very atmospheric, and based on Norse mythology.


----------



## Ellizze

DOTA 2 and FIFA 21.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm back on Skyrim, with its Viking helmets, magic swords (the w is pronounced) and deeply obnoxious children. None of the later Elder Scrolls games have the weird charm and invention of Morrowind, but it's still a very impressive piece of work. The sheer amount of stuff to do and things to see is fantastic.


----------



## Pyan

Just found an emulator for *Sim City 3000*, (from 1999!) a game with happy memories, so I'm reacquainting myself with how to play it.


----------



## Rodders

I tried to download Star Trek: Armada from a freeware site, but i can't get it to work.


----------



## Foxbat

Rodders said:


> I tried to download Star Trek: Armada from a freeware site, but i can't get it to work.


Often, you need to mount an iso file for these games to work








						How to Mount an ISO image in Windows 7, 8, and 10
					

On Windows 8 and 10, Windows finally offers a built-in way to mount ISO disc image files. If you’re using Windows 7, you’ll need a third-party tool.




					www.howtogeek.com


----------



## elvet

pyan said:


> Just found an emulator for *Sim City 3000*, (from 1999!) a game with happy memories, so I'm reacquainting myself with how to play it.


I love replaying old games. Hearing the music of certain games is so nostalgic for me, and brings back good times.  I have over 250 vintage games in my collection, and I am not great at getting them to work on newer systems. I have kept old Windows (95, 98, 7) computers to play them on, but even that is a challenge as parts wear down and monitors change.


----------



## Overread

If you like old games go to GOG








						GOG.com
					

Download the best classic and new games on Windows, Mac & Linux. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies and 30-day money-back guarantee.




					www.gog.com
				




They legally get a lot of old games, but also patch them to run on modern OS systems! There's still some that won't run on some of the latest, but by and large what they get runs on modern computers without issue! 

They even have Sim City 3000 ultimate and Sim  City 2000








						SimCity™ 3000 Unlimited
					

Create and control your urban empire with more power than ever before. With SimCity 3000




					www.gog.com
				











						SimCity™ 2000 Special Edition
					

Now you can design any city you can imagine and SimCity 2000 will bring it, and its resid




					www.gog.com


----------



## Pyan

Yes, that's where I got my Sim City from. May have a look through their list later - Manic Miner was a favourite, as was Elite and The Lords of Midnight/ Doomdark's Revenge...


----------



## elvet

Overread said:


> If you like old games go to GOG
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> GOG.com
> 
> 
> Download the best classic and new games on Windows, Mac & Linux. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies and 30-day money-back guarantee.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.gog.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They legally get a lot of old games, but also patch them to run on modern OS systems! There's still some that won't run on some of the latest, but by and large what they get runs on modern computers without issue!
> 
> They even have Sim City 3000 ultimate and Sim  City 2000
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SimCity™ 3000 Unlimited
> 
> 
> Create and control your urban empire with more power than ever before. With SimCity 3000
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.gog.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SimCity™ 2000 Special Edition
> 
> 
> Now you can design any city you can imagine and SimCity 2000 will bring it, and its resid
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.gog.com


I have found a few old faves on GOG, but have heard on my forums to beware of remastered versions in that they are changed from the original game (i.e. Atlantis 2). They are all quite inexpensive, it's not like I'm losing a lot of $ to try them. I guess playing a watered down version is better than  not experiencing it al all.


----------



## Overread

Mostly all they do is patch them to run on a modern OS if possible. Sometimes expansion packs are missing if they can't get the legal licence to sell them; other times they bundle them in. Eg Dungeon Siege currently lacks expansions for the first and second game on GOG which is a huge shame, but its likely a legal matter and they do keep trying to get as much as they can.


Remasters are a different ballgame though and are typically a full remake of the old game. Often they are quite good on modern PCs because resolutions on modern screens are huge and a simple "HD Remaster" often allows you to play on more of the screen rather than a tiny window in the middle or having big blocky graphics that look ugly when blown up to full screen.


----------



## Overread

Oh and in further game news - It's the ENDLESS WEEKEND! 
That means  all the Endless games on Steam are having a free-to-play weekend. This means that you can download the full game and play it fully with all features for the entire weekend (starts early Friday ends late Monday). During that time they are also on sale so if you decide you like them you can buy them and keep playing them after the free weekend. If you don't buy them then they disable in your account after the free weekend is over.

Endless games are beauties and very much in the full sci-fi fantasy market. They are typically empire building 4x games where you build a nation, research technologies, build units, conquer your foes and rise to rule. There's a lot of woven story elements and good fun within the games. Though as they are universe games you don't have to play the first games to understand them. 

I'd really recommend checking out:
Endless Legend - a fantasy empire building game. Found your empire, capture the mythological magical dust and quest across the lands








						ENDLESS™ Legend on Steam
					

Endless Legend is a 4X turn-based fantasy strategy game by the creators of Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless. Control every aspect of your civilization as you struggle to save your homeworld Auriga. Create your own Legend!




					store.steampowered.com
				




Endless Space 2 - a sci-fi fantasy game where you found your galactic race and fly through the darkness of space to conquer the galaxy. And yes this is real space-fantasy stuff with technological races, cyborgs, living trees, magical dust and more. 








						ENDLESS™ Space 2 on Steam
					

Endless Space 2 is a Strategic Space Opera, featuring the compelling “just one more turn” gameplay, set in the mysterious Endless universe. As the leader of your civilization, will you impose your vision and build the greatest stellar empire?




					store.steampowered.com
				




Dungeon of the Endless - not as pretty, but a fun dungeon exploring and defending game. It's not one I've played, but its got solid reviews like the other endless series games.








						Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ on Steam
					

Dungeon of the Endless is a Rogue-Like Dungeon-Defense game, in which the player and their team of heroes must protect the generator of their crashed ship while exploring an ever-expanding dungeon, all while facing waves of monsters and special events as they try to find their way out...




					store.steampowered.com
				





PS the team are also making two more games, Humankind which is a similar style as their other 4X games but is aiming to work on the real human world rather than their endless setting. And another dungeon game as well.


----------



## .matthew.

I want to love the Endless games (and keep buying them) but while they are beautiful, polished, and well thought out, the combat mechanics are terrible and the AI is the worst I've ever seen. 

I played one game where the AI declared war on my ally on the other side of my space, warped over my territory to get there and constantly ignored me, even when I built up my fleet (which at the start of hostilities was zero threat to them) and began to take their systems. Even then they ignored me and kept sending additional fleets into my allies space where they just sat there for dozens of turns between each push.

They also tend to ignore the whole storyline objectives leading me to win every time regardless.

Also how many times do I have to listen to the communication message when I've literally turned down their science pact thing for the last 20 turns...


----------



## Overread

AI is one thing that has stagnated in games as far as I can see. At least for the smaller publishers. Blizzard have a great AI in their Starcraft 2 and its the only AI I've seen actually do scouting and flanks and attack and retreats. Thing is for a lot of games AI doesn't need to be that bright, shooters, racers and such; whilst in strategy games the AI's lack of forethought and planning become big issues whilst fast reaction times aren't really a bonus (or at least not the big bonus that having a plan is)


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've also returned to Skyrim. For Redfall, they should make the children killable, or non-existent. 

Went for a slightly different approach to my usual builds, with a warrior, light armour, and a sideline in conjuration/destruction. Pretty powerful, to be honest.


----------



## .matthew.

Overread said:


> AI is one thing that has stagnated in games as far as I can see /// in strategy games the AI's lack of forethought and planning become big issues whilst fast reaction times aren't really a bonus



Indeed. I've been playing Total War Warhammer 2 the last few weeks and while I always end up buying the series when it drops to a reasonable price, I am never surprised by the lack of a decent AI. The only thing they do is increase AI bonuses to make it harder, which then causes the player to have to cheese it as the only way to win. It pretty much takes tactics out of it altogether. 

The AI in that also only seems to factor in army strength to decide who is more powerful, leading to some random war declarations where they sit around and do nothing and wait for the larger side to build up new forces 

The problem comes from AI being the most complicated part of the game to code, and financially it pays to work on the graphics and the flash than it does to create a proper challenge. 

I will add, that despite the general stupidness of grand/4x strategy AI, Paradox's has gotten rather good at at least simulating human actions, even if it's still no real challenge for a real human player.


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> The problem comes from AI being the most complicated part of the game to code, and financially it pays to work on the graphics and the flash than it does to create a proper challenge.



To be fair to programmers writing strategy games for home PC's and consoles, the reason the AI is the most complicated is because it is a _very _non-trivial problem for games like Total War. Purely from the standpoint of possible moves & actions, it would make chess look like noughts and crosses.

Here I'm talking about the tactical battles - the strategic side of the game, like all of Paradox games, is actually a "relatively simpler" problem and can give humans more of a challenge - although frankly the best 'strategy' these games have is to build up mega-stacks and just overwhelm you with numbers, usually 

Now you can crack it with 'brute force' in the same way that chess was beaten. So Google's Deepmind, which uses at it's core learning neural networks, was trained to play Starcraft II and they claimed to have made it able to defeat 99.8% of all human players. One assume they could apply their machine to play Total War too...

....but, DeepMind is a serious piece of kit. Earlier they made a verion of it that, for the first time, defeated the World Go champion. DeepMind apparently required 1202 CPU's and 176 GPUs to achieve that. I have no idea what sort of computational power they use for the Starcraft challenge, but if one goes back to the single computer version of the program, called AlphaGo, and they used that, that was 1/25th smaller. So, 48 CPU's and 7 GPUs???

Now of course you wouldnt want to design the normal AI to be invincible  but I'd guess that even a lesser version would be out of reach of even a high end PC today, one assumes! My guess is that even a huge investment of time, programmers and money into trying to make a reasonable AI on a current average PC would give a miserable return of investment - possibly eke out a 'few percentage' increase in effectiveness, that will still be easily beaten by a human.

However perhaps one day in the future if we can continue to make impressive advances in computational power, then we will all be getting regularly crushed by some descendant of DeepMind.


----------



## Overread

Yeah true AI is way beyond the home pc and game developer team. What we can hope is that things like the use of bigger AI in games like Starcraft 2 will produce understandings of how AI think and work which can be built into smaller systems for games. A trickle down effect that will sadly take time to branch out from just Blizzard/Activision having the technology.


----------



## Foxbat

Many years ago, I used to play a tactical boardgame called Advanced Squad Leader but always lacked opponents. So, when the publishers released a solitaire module, I bought it. In amongst the extra rules and charts, it had a kind of flowchart that said stuff like ‘if x  happens, then  the response is y’. I guess this was/is a kind of rudimentary paper AI and I wonder how much of computer based AI is based on a flow of possible events and subsequent responses.


----------



## Overread

Quite a bit I would suspect. PC game AI also often build things in specific orders predefined by the designers and often don't have to manage resources in the same way the player does. With many you can even see the specific base building, unit hiring and then unit movement pings when they attack at almost timed intervals along the same pathways with similar units every few moments (increasing the number to reflect advancing through the game etc...).


----------



## Rodders

Thought i'd return to the Jedi Knight series with Outcast and Jedi Academy. Great fun.

I hope that Lucasfilm Games decides to revisit Kyle Katarn with another FPS game.


----------



## elvet

I played Haven Moon ( a very short game ) yesterday. It was a typical first person puzzler, but I found the challenges poorly clued. I decided my next game will be SF, so I installed Prominence. So far, so good.


----------



## Toby Frost

thaddeus6th said:


> I've also returned to Skyrim. For Redfall, they should make the children killable, or non-existent.



"Hey, look at me! I'm an obnoxious child, and I'm not afraid of you!" Oh, to be able to Fus Ro Dah the little darlings over the horizon. There also seems to be a problem with the vampire-hunting add-on, where random vampires show up and start killing vital NPCs if you don't get on with it. But it is such a large and entertaining game. Even this time around, I'm still finding new places to see.


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought _Journey to the Savage Planet_, which is ok so far. It has a very jolly look and the same basic joke as The Outer Worlds, namely that you're a small cog in an uncaring corporation, and feels quite like a mod for it. It seems ok.

I also bought _The Banner Saga_, which is a very stylish game involving Vikings. Its described as an RPG, but it seems to be more about managing supplies and winning turn-based fights. The logic to the fighting is strange and hard to grasp, and the lack of a manual save option makes it frustrating. Not sure I'll stick with this.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I got the first part of the Banner Saga. I think it's interesting and quite liked it, but it didn't grab me enough to want to replay or buy subsequent parts.


----------



## .matthew.

I had the same reaction to the Banner Saga as you two. I got a little into the campaign but didn't much like the combat. Ended up with the second from bundle or something, but doubt I'll ever play it.

I haven't played Journey to the Savage Planet but looked at it a few times. That it's 'ok' is pretty much the impression I got from the trailer and description. 

I've been spending a few hours on Valheim for work and despite the dodgy graphics, it's quite good.


----------



## Toby Frost

I had another go at The Banner Saga and I'm liking it slightly more. The combat seems to be about whittling enemies down and doing combination moves. It's still rather weird.

It's a great-looking game, but the travel scenes remind me so much of the "Sir Robin's minstrels" scenes in _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_.

What do you do for work, then, or did I misread that?


----------



## .matthew.

The story in Banner Saga is good as well, but overall it didn't click for me.



Toby Frost said:


> What do you do for work, then, or did I misread that?


Freelance games journalism/guides/reviews/deals (that sort of stuff) since lockdown started. I made the unfortunate decision to leave my last job just before everything kicked off so had to find something I could do from home.


----------



## Toby Frost

I hope you get to pick the games! An old friend of mine reviews films for a living, which sounds great until you realise just how much films vary in terms of subject and quality.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, it's freelance stuff so first come, first serve when they pop up. Not a great living but keeping me in food


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm playing Stellaris again, with the MegaCorp DLC.

I really like my ShroomCorp enterprise (where fungi meet finance, and armies are called Corporate Consolidation Teams [I wanted them to be Corporate Consolidation Committees but there's a character limit]). Won't spoil anything, but I massively buggered up an otherwise very promising initial playthrough and started again. In game 2, everybody else is a xenophobe. Literally everyone. Managed to get along with my isolationist neighbour through bribery, but some warrior numpties keep starting a war with me on one side.

And the advanced tech empire is also a ravenous swarm of hive-mind lunatics. And they're my other neighbour, after my first contact in that direction persisted in being my enemy (I did nothing to them) even when the hive-mind lunatics were annihilating them.

In short, in a world of idiots, bigots, and violent thugs, ShroomCorp is almost the sole bastion of civilization, reason, open-mindedness, and robust profit margins.


----------



## .matthew.

Everybody wants to kill me...
Mmm... whatever...
War is good for business.


----------



## thaddeus6th

That's one of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.

Another is that peace is good for business.


----------



## .matthew.

Yup, but I didn't think you'd have that opportunity


----------



## thaddeus6th

ShroomCorp is currently at peace, having successfully completed the hostile takeover of the United Sildor Confederacy (who, having been suitably bribed, now appreciate their financially prudent corporate overlords).

Just building up my fleet before I get a handy defensive pact with another power then start crushing the devouring swarm. Mwahaha!

Profits!

UNLIMITED PROFITS!

Ahem.


----------



## Foxbat

You make me want to buy Stellaris @thaddeus6th  but it’s  Paradox,  and I’m a turn-based animal, and that means I know I will probably play it for a few hours and then never look at it again.


----------



## .matthew.

@Foxbat You could always play it with the pause on. Set up actions then unpause. 

It has a great advantage over turn-based when you hit that point of having to just wait for stuff to happen.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> @Foxbat You could always play it with the pause on. Set up actions then unpause.
> 
> It has a great advantage over turn-based when you hit that point of having to just wait for stuff to happen.


That’s the problem for me with Paradox games, I often feel like I’m sitting there waiting for something to happen more than turn based.  I just don’t feel that I’m actually playing a game. I spent £60 on Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations (not a Paradox game but real time) and have the same problem. 

Still, I notice that Stellaris is on GOG. That means it will be on discount now and again. Maybe wait and get it when it’s cheap. If I like it then it’s a bargain. If I don’t like it, I haven’t wasted too much money.


----------



## .matthew.

I get that feeling a lot more on turn-based when I have to keep clicking next turn without doing anything but waiting for building queues and stuff. 

That said I see where you're coming from. Stellaris has a fair amount of flavour events and little extras to keep you engaged though, especially with a few mods.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, I can see where you're coming from, much as I enjoy Stellaris.

You can speed things up.

With this playthrough, I've had a lot on my plate so the 'waiting' phase has been more the 'desperately build up my armed forces to try and win the inevitable wars on two fronts because everyone else is a xenophobic moron' phase.


----------



## Overread

Foxbat I have tried and tried  and can't like Crusader Kings 2 nor many of the Paradox style real time games that feel like they should be turn based. I agree you're either sitting there waiting for something to happen or you speed it up and suddenly everything is happening at once and you can't keep up.

Stellaris is NOT like that. The game speed is far more smooth and whilst there will be times you speed it up and slow it down, I don't find it gets the bottlenecks of sudden events that games like Crusader Kings 2 gets. So you can often stay at a comfortable speed for a while. Indeed its much like a more fleshed out world version of Sins of a Solar Empire in terms of combat nad fleet structure. Overall I've sunk hours into it and its great fun!


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> That’s the problem for me with Paradox games, I often feel like I’m sitting there waiting for something to happen more than turn based.  I just don’t feel that I’m actually playing a game. I spent £60 on Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations (not a Paradox game but real time) and have the same problem.
> 
> Still, I notice that Stellaris is on GOG. That means it will be on discount now and again. Maybe wait and get it when it’s cheap. If I like it then it’s a bargain. If I don’t like it, I haven’t wasted too much money.



I'm sort of with you Foxbat, not on the turn based stuff however. I do love CK2-3 because they are dynasty simulators - you build stories about characters and follow individuals in their lives and I feel it works exceptionally well. I think the main problem is the steep learning curve on building an active play style. Paradox games are quite easy to get totally lost at the start because of the large number of mechanics involved.

But Stellaris....meh, leaves me as cold as intersellar space. I would do a space opera 4X game differently. 

Talking about strategy games that are sort of turn based, I've been looking at a lot of _Steel Division II _content at the moment. I love the nod to a form of historical realism, the RTS battles are lovely, and the campaign mode is interesting. Sort of Total War World War 2. I should, however, point out there are problems - battle maps seem repetitive etc... Have a gander at some Youtube let's plays for a look.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve been playing Quadriga today - Roman chariot racing. It’s a simple fun game where you can play a whole season visiting various venues throughout the empire. Haven’t played it for years and found myself a bit rusty. I had a tendency to take corners too fast with the end result that my chariot fell apart and I was dragged to my death until I was nothing more than a bloody splatter on the sand. Good fun

For anybody interested (I bought it from Matrix Games but I see it’s now on steam).








						Qvadriga on Steam
					

Qvadriga is a tactical game of chariot racing in ancient Roman circuses, where you take control of a four horse chariot team. Choose your preferred upgrade combinations and prove your skills at the arena.




					store.steampowered.com


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> I would do a space opera 4X game differently.


Star Dynasties? Crusader Kings in space?


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> Star Dynasties? Crusader Kings in space?


Believe me I have too many projects on the go to start a new game   

And I've still got _Fallout 4_ and _Octopath Traveler _to finish. Many hours in the latter to go....


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> Believe me I have too many projects on the go to start a new game


I just spent an hour activating 77 games from over a year of Humble Bundle... I will not be playing at least 75 of them


----------



## .matthew.

I also found a game on the list I already have on Steam. I opened so many tabs it could be anything. Good? bad? it's first come, first serve for a mystery key 
KEHW3-YA5L3-I773I


----------



## Toby Frost

Has anyone played Subnautica? I wondered about it, but I'm not really into games where you have to spend a lot of time collecting bits and bobs to build stuff.

I had a go on Left 4 Dead last night, after 10 years or so. It's still really good.


----------



## Edoc'sil

I've played subnautica, think I have about 2 days real time logged. It is a bit collecting stuff to get to the next item so you can then go further. However, I think the environment and the story are so well done, it's not like other games like that. 

It's more survival horror, than collection and base building. That area of the game is pretty robust though. I really enjoyed finding out more about the strange planet you've crash landed on.

It's nothing like Left 4 Dead or Half Life or anything like that though. I would liken it more to The Long Dark but set underwater (and better). I would really recommend it.


----------



## Toby Frost

Thanks, that sounds cool. I don't really get on with crafting games: I think it's because I make models in my spare time, so that part of building things is pretty satisfied. It does look very good. I might give it a shot when it's on sale.


----------



## .matthew.

I found the inventory management and stuff a massive hassle in Subnautica, to the point I've bounced off and uninstalled it twice. I will say they nail the atmosphere though.


----------



## .matthew.

Okay, in an effort to actually avoid another backlog of unclaimed Humble games I'm giving away the keys for any of the games *not already claimed by me *here. 

Especially of note is Endless Space 2 so if anyone wants anything let me know. 





In the case that a few people ask for the same thing I'll probably just roll a dice to see who gets it - either that or something else to try and keep it fair. I'll also leave this a few days to give more people a chance.


----------



## Edoc'sil

What a kind offer Matthew, I've been meaning to try out endless space for a while. I'll throw my cap into the ring for that one, thanks a bunch!


----------



## Fox Cafe

I have played a lot of Ghost of Tsushima and Destiny 2 recently, though I look forward to the games Biomutant and Boundary this spring/summer.


----------



## Edoc'sil

Ghost of Tsushima was my personal GOTY


----------



## Fox Cafe

Absolutely. In my opinion The Last of Us 2 didn't deserve it.


----------



## Rodders

I bought Horizon Zero Dawn yesterday. It's been on my list for a while as the story looks superb.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m back playing Shadow Empire with its latest update.Damn! I’d forgotten how difficult, absorbing and complicated this game was. Currently fighting on two fronts (slavers in the north and giant arachnids in the south) but holding my own. My private secretary rebelled and took charge of a small military unit but I used my 1st Light Infantry Brigade to corner them and make sure none got out alive. Such is the fate of all traitors and turncoats.  Now I’m doing a bit of forced relocation to boost my worker and military pools. All must make the necessary sacrifices for my war effort


----------



## Rodders

I downloaded Jedi: Fallen Order and Alien: Isolation today. 

I'll play Jedi: Fallen Order first. (Badly).


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm back on Mass Effect 1. Almost everything I can remember about playing it 10 years ago has happened in the first hour, so it's going to be an interesting experience.


----------



## Vladd67

Back to Subnautica, next month I might buy the new one.


----------



## Rodders

I'd love to get into the RPG games. I did start Mass Effect and enjoyed what i played, but stopped playing and struggled to get back into it. I've been watching and enjoying KOTOR videos on youtube. 

I downloaded Alien: Isolation and Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order which I started playing last night. It looks good, but i was only able to play half hour, or so.


----------



## .matthew.

There's a Stellaris bundle up on Humble right now, only a dollar for the base game. Even I'm looking at it for the DLCs I'm missing


----------



## Toby Frost

For some reason, Steam decided that it wasn't going to run Mass Effect any more, so I had to delete it. I've installed No Man's Sky instead. It may turn out to be too complex for my laptop. I've played it on other machines, and really wanted to like it, but was disappointed with the results. We shall see, but I'm not holding out great hopes.


----------



## Rodders

Oh, that's not good. I wonder how they are allowed to do that if you've bought it already?


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I've installed No Man's Sky instead. It may turn out to be too complex for my laptop. I've played it on other machines, and really wanted to like it, but was disappointed with the results. We shall see, but I'm not holding out great hopes.


I hated that game with a passion. Bought it in a recent sale and while it was kind of fun for the first few planets it became so repetitive and easy to game. Not to mention it was full of little bugs and had the worst UI I've seen in a decade...



Rodders said:


> Oh, that's not good. I wonder how they are allowed to do that if you've bought it already?


We have almost zero rights in regards to any and all digital purchases. In nearly every case the distributor is legally allowed to cut your access at any time for any reason


----------



## Rodders

Quite poor, IMO. I noticed a similar thing on my iTunes account last week. A Hol Baumann LP disappeared from my account.


----------



## Toby Frost

I really want to like No Man's Sky. The idea of travelling to new planets and just looking at amazing stuff is extremely appealing, like being in a Chris Foss picture. But it's all so awkward. Flying the spaceship is awkward, building a base is awkward - even getting into the spaceship isn't exactly intuitive. It's such a shame as I really like the concept. Maybe I'll figure out the controls and drive about in the car. That might be cool.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Oh dear...

...I've just discovered _Loop Hero_

Goodbye world and all other activities for a rather long time. 

(Only £12.49 on steam and as one of the reviews of it says "I may only have 7.5 hours in this game. But I bought it 7.5 hours ago. So yeah, buy it.")


----------



## Vince W

Just started Halo 5. The first mission was kind of easy even on Legendary setting.


----------



## Foxbat

I picked up Age Of Wonders for 49 pence at GOG. Not a bad little game.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Planetfall or a different version?

I liked it, although between Civ and Stellaris haven't found much time for it. Russian space dwarves are fun.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Planetfall or a different version?


It’s the very first one from the late nineties...elves, humans, dwarfs etc. My biggest criticism is that it has no manual and the tutorial doesn’t cover everything. Took me a while to figure out how to split parties. It’s a fun turn-based game of magic, fighting, some settlement management and exploration.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm back on Skyrim, which remains excellent.

Unfortunately, Steam has become very strange. It seems to minimise almost every game as soon as it's turned on (except Skyrim, apparently). I'm not sure how to fix that.


----------



## Foxbat

Bit of a frustration in Age Of Wonders. I led my lizard men into a cavern and encountered some undead. Couldn’t win any battles as all my weapons were ineffective. Led the troops back to the cavern entrance but no matter what I tried I couldn’t get out. After about half an hour of frustrated swearing, I noticed a small picture of the cavern mouth in the user interface on the right of my screen. Below the picture was a large button that said ‘Go Up’


----------



## Guanazee

Hey all.
Right now I'm playing Minecraft and the Beyond Earth spin off of Civ. My kids pestered me to try Minecraft and...I'm hooked.


----------



## .matthew.

The last couple of hours to get Surviving Mars for free from the Epic Store. Ends today at 3 pm GMT.


----------



## alexvss

Started Hollow Knight a couple days ago, after having dropping it some years before. I'm glad I got back to it. It's a work of art. The reason why I dropped it before was that I kept drying in the beginning. But I got the hang of it.

There's a massive sale on Playstation Store right now. I bought Far Cry New Dawn and Streets of Rage 4. I've beaten pretty much all of Far Cry games, except for Primal. New Dawn will be a nice warm-up for the sixth installment.


----------



## Foxbat

Bought Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 from GOG and fired up the first one. 
And verrily there was much rejoicing and merriment so far,  forsooth


----------



## Toby Frost

*What Remains of Edith Finch*

This is a short game about the last remaining member of a family who may be cursed to die in unusual ways. She returns to the family home and, whilst exploring it, uncovers the stories and ends of the various family members. This is undoubtedly a very good product, but it's more an experience than a game: gameplay largely involves moving Edith to the different locations and prompting the stories to unfold. It's unsettling without being sinister - don't expect fireworks. The closest comparison I can think of is _Firewatch_.

However, the stories are all told in clever and charming ways: through a flick-book, a daydream, a horror comic, even a mini-game where you play a baby who has to move a wind-up frog to trigger events. It's ingenious, beautiful and slightly macabre. Ultimately, the story falls a little bit flat, and it feels slightly like a demonstration of different ways to involve a player, but it's genuinely impressive and worth a look.


----------



## MemoryTale

alexvss said:


> Started Hollow Knight a couple days ago, after having dropping it some years before. I'm glad I got back to it. It's a work of art. The reason why I dropped it before was that I kept drying in the beginning. But I got the hang of it.
> 
> There's a massive sale on Playstation Store right now. I bought Far Cry New Dawn and Streets of Rage 4. I've beaten pretty much all of Far Cry games, except for Primal. New Dawn will be a nice warm-up for the sixth installment.



Hollow Knight is excellent, and well worth gitting gud at. I'm near the end of a playthrough at the moment, whiling away time while I wait for Silksong.


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought a game called Ravenfield, which was in a sale. It's a sort of large-scale single-player shooter, like Star Wars Battlefront except that the graphics are crude and the whole thing seems to have been made by one person. It's also a lot of fast, silly fun. Apparently there are a huge number of mods for it, too.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Started a new game of XCOM 2. Going pretty well so far. Only loss was unlucky (chap got stunned then the car he was next to exploded).


----------



## BT Jones

Sub Nautica; an excellent undersea exploration game on an alien planet.  It's really sucked my son and I in, but we are close to finishing it after almost 4 months.


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Only loss was unlucky


That's my main issue with the XCOM games, there's too much luck involved 

Shotgun. 95% chance to hit a giant stationary alien from 3ft. Miss. Die. Damnit...


----------



## Vladd67

BT Jones said:


> Sub Nautica; an excellent undersea exploration game on an alien planet.  It's really sucked my son and I in, but we are close to finishing it after almost 4 months.


Ready to start Subnautica: Below Zero.


----------



## Rodders

What is XCOM? I’ve seen it mentioned a lot, both on and off these forums. Is it an RTS?


----------



## Toby Frost

It's a strategy game. You play the head of an organisation fighting off an alien invasion, and you build a base, research equipment and train troops to fight the aliens. When the aliens attack, you send your squad of soldiers in and play a turn-based game against them, rather like chess or a skirmish wargame. It's really good.


----------



## Rodders

Thanks Tony. Sounds like something I’d enjoy.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Rodders said:


> Thanks Tony. Sounds like something I’d enjoy.


Plenty of Let's plays on Youtube if you want to check out the gameplay, graphics etc. However, I can't tell you what is the best or most up todate version as I don't play the game and there's a number of them.


----------



## BT Jones

Vladd67 said:


> Ready to start Subnautica: Below Zero.


We will be, hopefully, although we might need a break from all the foraging and oxygen concerns!  When is it out?


----------



## Vladd67

I got it last week, still early access but works ok.


----------



## Vladd67

Rodders said:


> What is XCOM? I’ve seen it mentioned a lot, both on and off these forums. Is it an RTS?


There is a free demo of XCOM: Enemy Unknown available on steam if you just wanted to try out the game.


----------



## Rodders

apologies. That was supposed to be thanks Toby. Poxy spell check.


----------



## Toby Frost

No problem!


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> No problem!


You mean "No pronlem"?


----------



## Foxbat

Not actually playing it yet - it’s a game by ageod, which means you have to learn it first. It’s called Field Of Glory: Empires. It looks a bit like Rome:Total War with less ornate graphics. The focus is on the cyclical nature of empires with culture, legacy and decadence being deciding factors.
Hopefully it will be interesting.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> It’s called Field Of Glory: Empires.


I've had that on and off my wishlist since it came out. On the one hand wooo, on the other the ridiculous tie-in with their other game which apparently makes it a giant pain of saving exporting quitting loading importing saving exporting loading importing...

I know you don't need the other game but that game looks fun and it feels like you'd be missing out without it


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> I've had that on and off my wishlist since it came out. On the one hand wooo, on the other the ridiculous tie-in with their other game which apparently makes it a giant pain of saving exporting quitting loading importing saving exporting loading importing...
> 
> I know you don't need the other game but that game looks fun and it feels like you'd be missing out without it


They’ve recently released a new standalone Field Of Glory covering medieval battles. I think I might buy this soon as well. It won’t tie in with Empires because that time period isn’t covered (unless, of course, they release a dlc taking empires beyond the ancient and into the medieval).


----------



## thaddeus6th

XCOM 2 is great. On missing: I both agree and disagree. I like that 95% isn't guaranteed (the flip side works too). What annoys me a bit is you can be right next to a guy and miss, I think for the next game they should rework that a bit.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> What annoys me a bit is you can be right next to a guy and miss, I think for the next game they should rework that a bit.


I think if I owned this, my PC would have been chucked out the window. 

Although I do remember many many moons ago when I used to play Counterstrike on line (Crazed Loner was my name). In one match, I was an anti-terrorist(GSG9) and there was only me and one terrorist left. The match dragged on as I methodically hunted him down. Eventually, I climbed some ladders to see him (his back to me). He was pointing his rifle outa window hoping to ambush me. I got extremely excited and pulled the trigger, emptying my whole magazine (forgetting about the simulated recoil). When the dust settled, there he stood looking at me with a ring of bullet holes in the wall around his body. Not a scratch on him. As I tried to reload, he just stepped forward and gave me one shot to the head. I got dogs abuse from the rest of the team that day


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> They’ve recently released a new standalone Field Of Glory covering medieval battles. I think I might buy this soon as well.


I saw that and it looks pretty good.  I'd have to wait until a sale though - buying games at full price when I have hundreds I haven't played is too much shame 



thaddeus6th said:


> XCOM 2 is great. On missing: I both agree and disagree. I like that 95% isn't guaranteed (the flip side works too). What annoys me a bit is you can be right next to a guy and miss, I think for the next game they should rework that a bit.


True, and it may be observational bias but it feels like you miss a lot more of those than you really should. Part of it as well is that I just don't trust a random number generator - or even the % that is actually shown. They should sell a game with a little Bluetooth dice and just tell you on screen the number you need to roll 

There is also your point there where they make it possible to miss shots that just shouldn't. Maybe with your fresh recruits, but after a while, you've got the elite of the elite and all the best gear and you still struggle to hit the side of a barn with a bazooka


----------



## Foxbat

GOG has a sale on Fields of Glory II (not the medieval one) and now you’ve got me thinking maybe I should buy this to incorporate into the Empires battles.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> GOG has a sale on Fields of Glory II (not the medieval one) and now you’ve got me thinking maybe I should buy this to incorporate into the Empires battles.


Sorry?


----------



## Foxbat

Dammitall @.matthew. Look what you made me do! I've only gone and bought FOG2 
Whether I actually incorporate the battles into Empires remains to be seen but at only £12 it was too cheap to ignore.

An observation: the FOG engine is the same (or at least updated) as in Pike&Shot and Battle Academy before that. I already have these games so learning FOG should be fairly straightforward.  I bought Pike & Shot specifically so I could play the battle of Dunbar 1650 (my hometown).


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> Whether I actually incorporate the battles into Empires remains to be seen but at only £12 it was too cheap to ignore.


From what I've seen it's a really good game but the integration is terrible. It's not like how Total War Warhammer 1+2 installations work seamlessly together and is the reason I didn't buy either one of them... not just that I have so many damn empire games


----------



## Venusian Broon

I'm a massive fan of the old Total War games (I gave up after buying Total War Napoleanic and look at the Warhammer titles with mild disgust  )

 I still play Rome Total War (882 hours on steam...gawd knows how many hours on the CD version I had for 10 years before that. Maybe multiply by 3-4? as a conservative amount.) 

So to my delight, I've just seen they've remastered Rome Total War. Apparently fixed some ancient bugs, tidied up the interface, added some new bits and pieces (which you can turn off if you wish and just play the original game), rebalanced and altered the AI a bit and obviously cleaned up the graphics - it's no longer attack of the clones. Not only that, they've added the night attack ability from Barbarian invasion to the original. 

You also get the Barbarian invasion and Alexander DLC with the whole package. 

Oh, and the original music and voice acting is, I believe, still there. 

AND

if you own Rome Total War on Steam, they give you 50% off the price. 

So al that for £12.50. 

It's not out now, should be out in four weeks time. Never has a purchase button been hitten so quick.


----------



## Foxbat

I must admit, I did ask myself: do I really need FOG: Empires when I have Rome: Total War? It will take some time before I really know the answer to that. I was intrigued by the victory conditions (not that I’m good enough to win) in FOG:Empires.

And don’t get me started on music in games. I hate all music in all games. The first thing I do when I install and fire up for the first time is turn the music off. It doesn’t matter how good it is, or how long some poor sod has spent composing, it’s off. There’s nothing more irritating for me than music in the background. It’s probably a legacy from my younger days when all I had to play was chess (and this was done in silence, except for the sound of the clock being pressed and the odd snide comment to try and psyche out my opponent)


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> So to my delight, I've just seen they've remastered Rome Total War.


----------



## Foxbat

Oddly enough, buying Field Of Glory 2 has resulted in my returning to an older game with an older incarnation of the same game engine.

So here I am fiddling around with Pike And Shot. I’m currently playing a few scenarios from the Thirty Years War and learning all about early and later tercios. I fired up a random scenario and found myself fighting as German Protestants against Spanish Catholics. It’s an interesting game because I kept losing, so I found myself having to research the tactics used against these units of the time period.

Now with some knowledge of the pros and cons, I won my first battle. I get the distinct impression from this game that conflict on the field at this time was initially quite attritional. Once some disruption in the enemy ranks was achieved, it was safe to send in the cavalry and not, as I had first assumed, to use my cavalry in a kind of blitzkreig to cause the disruption in the first place. My casualties dropped significantly once I’d got the hang of how to fight the battle.

I like this game because it kind of forces you to use the tactics of the time. I have often found other games of this type beatable simply by applying more modern tactics but not this one.

And for anybody interested, a history of tercios








						Tercio - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## .matthew.

I've always secretly wanted to play a wargame based on the two general problem, with communication to troops being important and somewhat time delayed


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> I've always secretly wanted to play a wargame based on the two general problem, with communication to troops being important and somewhat time delayed


You could always play total war with the proviso that you are fixed on the commander _at his eye level_. So no birds eye view of the battle. Then use his unit as 'messenger' so that you can only change an order of another unit if you are close to it.

I've heard of people playing it this way.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> You could always play total war with the proviso that you are fixed on the commander _at his eye level_. So no birds eye view of the battle. Then use his unit as 'messenger' so that you can only change an order of another unit if you are close to it.


Now that's not a bad idea. I do think it'd drive me mad though.

That said, it is how Mount & Blade II plays and I enjoy that. Though that is more direct character control, where Total War games have always had the slightly dodgy unit mechanics.


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> Now that's not a bad idea. I do think it'd drive me mad though.
> 
> That said, it is how Mount & Blade II plays and I enjoy that. Though that is more direct character control, where Total War games have always had the slightly dodgy unit mechanics.


True, but they at most distances TW actually look like battles, rather than the small scale skirmishes that M&B produces which personally doesn't really satisfy.

I've done some epic battles with 8-9,000 'men' in TW which have been awesome.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> True, but they at most distances TW actually look like battles, rather than the small scale skirmishes that M&B produces which personally doesn't really satisfy.
> 
> I've done some epic battles with 8-9,000 'men' in TW which have been awesome.


I actually managed to have some really large battles in the M&B2 beta but they are definitely smaller than in TW. I prefer the smaller battles in TW though, since you mostly run out of ammunition in large ones and end up having to micro all the units that rout in random directions before rallying, leaving them miles away


----------



## Venusian Broon

.matthew. said:


> I actually managed to have some really large battles in the M&B2 beta but they are definitely smaller than in TW. I prefer the smaller battles in TW though, since you mostly run out of ammunition in large ones and end up having to micro all the units that rout in random directions before rallying, leaving them miles away


You're not setting up your army properly then   

I alway use the grouping functions to make flanks, main bodies/line, reserves, skirmisher line etc (will depend on how many and what type of troops I have of course) to make maneouvers easier and simplify your battle plan. Generally have the "Cav - Inf...Inf - Cav" line up so as to do the old Alexander 'hammer and anvil' tactics, but if you have a horse archer faction, deep multiple lines of HA are very effective! Put the commander in the middle to 'steady the troops' and provide support. But I'm sure you know all that. 

Also I think its cheating to use the pause function - if your left flank collapses when you are micro-managing your right or trying to be efficient with your Cav trying to run down fleeing enemy, so be it. 

The old Medieval Total War 1 had a pretty ridiculous routing mechanic, so that units would sort of 'bounce' near the boundary and in a really long battle you'd end up with a stream of returning units continually feeding themselves back into the battle, breaking, then bouncing at the boundary, repeating ad infinitum. It still happens a little bit in later TW games, but is nowhere near as standout - usually I find a unit may stop routing, pause and hold ground, but if it breaks again it tries to get off the map.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> I've always secretly wanted to play a wargame based on the two general problem, with communication to troops being important and somewhat time delayed


Back in the days when I had a trusty old Atari ST, a guy called Peter Turcan created a game where you were limited by an order system that simulated the delays that can be caused in a battlefield. It was a bit clunky but it worked quite well. 








						Waterloo (video game) - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Vladd67

Venusian Broon said:


> You could always play total war with the proviso that you are fixed on the commander _at his eye level_. So no birds eye view of the battle. Then use his unit as 'messenger' so that you can only change an order of another unit if you are close to it.
> 
> I've heard of people playing it this way.


Reminds me of a set of Wargaming rules called Shako. In that, you had your General figure surrounded by runners or light cavalry and to issue an order you had to write it down and the unit couldn't react to the order until the figure representing the runner reached them, and orders couldn't be issued unless you had an available messenger. I remember watching a video of two guys fighting the battle of Waterloo in three rooms, In one was the man playing as Wellington in another the man playing as Napoleon and in the third the battlefield. Each general had to rely on information from the battlefield to arrange the troops on their personal table and had to issue orders by writing them down and having them past to the battlefield room.


----------



## reiver33

Red Alert II, with the Yuri's Revenge add-on.

I've played a double-blind boardgame of Normandy (company level), both teams and the umpires with copies of the map, but only placing enemy counters on the team maps when they were in contact or spotted, and leaving them there until a new position was confirmed. Really ramps up the paranoia on the German side as Allied air recon becomes the ultimate pain in the ass. As commander of 21st Panzer (and with a train to catch that evening) I abandoned Caen and stormed Omaha, crushing the beachhead at the expense of virtually the entire division. Then left...


----------



## .matthew.

Vladd67 said:


> Each general had to rely on information from the battlefield to arrange the troops on their personal table and had to issue orders by writing them down and having them past to the battlefield room.


----------



## Rodders

After 23 hours i finished Jedi: Fallen Order and found it to be really great fun. It's been a while since i have been up until 05:00 to play a game. Dathomir was a blast. 

I'll explore next to see if i can complete the maps and get more chests then i think i'll give it a go on a harder level. After this, perhaps Alien: Isolation or Horizon Zero Dawn.


----------



## Vince W

If you start A:I, Rodders, let me know and I'll give it a try. You'll probably go faster than I will as I always play games on the hardest level so it takes me longer to finish.


----------



## Rodders

Okay. I’ve downloaded it. Let me play J:FO over Easter and I’ll message you before I start.


----------



## Toby Frost

*Tomb Raider* (2013): a succession of tedious quick-time events. Not recommended.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I think my current XCOM 2 playthrough may have run its course, after a promising start and seemingly effortless procession up until recently.

I made a mistake (but also felt a bit hard done by) when advancing into a tricky area, ascending to a new level where there were six enemies, scouted by my reaper. Despite knowing where they were and no red indicated, moving up a grenadier alerted them, and I was pretty much screwed from there. Lost all but one of an experienced squad.

Better yet, the dark event was closing the Black Market. Moments later, I'd finished researching the best armour but couldn't buy it as I couldn't sell stuff at the market.

Next mission, it was so-so, then I moved a ranger a few squares and managed to alert six damned enemies, already with an archon, blazing pinions, a Chosen, and the Lost on the scene.

Ah, well.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still playing Pike and Shot and  thoroughly enjoying it. I’ve had to drop the difficulty level to that of a lowly captain but now feel ready to raise it again. The hardest troops I’ve come against are winged hussars. They were going through my units like a hot knife through butter. I had to do a bit of research on them and it turns out their ‘wings’ weren’t just for show. The wooden frames helped protect their backs. I like a game that forces me back to the history books








						Polish hussars - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## Garfunkel

I've been playing Final Fantasy 7 (the original) on the PSP. It's been really good; I think I'll complete it soon, which will make it the first Final Fantasy game I've actually finished. I have 8 and 9 to play on the PSP too, so I may tackle one of them next. Or perhaps a different series; Dragon Quest 6 for the DS arrived a few days ago, so maybe I'll go for a 2D RPG instead.


----------



## paranoid marvin

It may (or may not!) be of interest to you fans of Total War , but there was a tv series on the BBC where they invited guests to replay a famous battle using the Total War engine called Time Commanders. Worth checking out.


----------



## Foxbat

paranoid marvin said:


> It may (or may not!) be of interest to you fans of Total War , but there was a tv series on the BBC where they invited guests to replay a famous battle using the Total War engine called Time Commanders. Worth checking out.


I remember watching that at the time. There was also one before it hosted by Angela Rippon on Channel 4 called Game Of War. It used  modern military commanders to recreate tabletop versions of battles like Waterloo and Naseby. It was okay but never really left Nerdsville.


----------



## Rodders

Replaying Jedi: Fallen Order on a harder setting. 

Sorry Vince, I won't be starting Alien: Resurrection until after the Easter break.


----------



## Vince W

No worries. I'm spending my time switching between Halo 5 and Doom: Eternal.


----------



## Venusian Broon

paranoid marvin said:


> It may (or may not!) be of interest to you fans of Total War , but there was a tv series on the BBC where they invited guests to replay a famous battle using the Total War engine called Time Commanders. Worth checking out.



This was the TV show that got me into Total War when I saw it in 2003. First obsessed with Medieval then Rome when it came out the year after. 

Showing my age a bit, as I was thirty at the time! 

Really dissappointed when the TV show got a re-make and it got an episode in 2016 and they put Greg 'soddin' Wallace in as the presenter   
The man who likes to 'age' his books by taking them into saunas and steaming the pages.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> This was the TV show that got me into Total War when I saw it in 2003. First obsessed with Medieval then Rome when it came out the year after.


Same, except my first real playing of Total War was Medieval 2 - loved that game.


----------



## reiver33

Still plugging away at HOI4, The Road To 56


----------



## Rodders

Vince W said:


> No worries. I'm spending my time switching between Halo 5 and Doom: Eternal.


I should try Halo.


----------



## Vince W

Rodders said:


> I should try Halo.


Very shooty, but fun.


----------



## paranoid marvin

Rodders said:


> I should try Halo.




I tried it on PC quite some years ago. From what I remember, the weapons seemed very under-powered and kept running out. Driving around in the vehicle was good fun though.

Tbh my 2 most favourite FPS games are both quite old now, Tron 2.0 (which had a great basic disc weapon) and the original Far Cry.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing some Civ VI, which has many new modes since the last time I won a game. Not playing with all of them, but about half.

Doing pretty well so far as Nubia. Simon Bolivar hates me for no apparent reason, but otherwise everyone else likes me a lot. The hero Maui is proving very handy (he can make bonus/luxury resources).


----------



## Pyan

thaddeus6th said:


> Simon Bolivar hates me for no apparent reason, but otherwise everyone else likes me a lot.


Perhaps he hates you _because_ everyone else likes you a lot...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Pyan, that's true. He be but a green-eyed monster.


----------



## Foxbat

I upped the difficulty level in Pike and Shot and got my arse handed to me on a plate. Playing as the Polish against the impertinent Transylvanians, even my winged hussars took to their heels and ran. Today I commanded a parcel of rogues with no stomach for a fight.


----------



## paranoid marvin

The problem with computer AI is that you never know at what stage they are cheating. Making an artificial opponent faster, more intelligent, more cunning is one thing, making them omniscient (ie seeing parts of the play area the player isn't capable of seeing) or giving them an unfair advantage such as faster movement/construction is another altogether.

A computer can't cheat at chess for example, but it is capable of doing so in most video games. When we ramp up the difficulty level on a game, we never really know for sure if we're simply making the AI cheat to beat us.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m a bit unsure what the actual problem is. If an enemy unit is charged and falls back, my unit follows. If an enemy unit breaks and routs,  my unit often chases it off the map and returns sometime later. I know this is historically accurate regarding the behaviour of some cavalry, it’s just that although the AI units still tend to chase fleeing forces, they  (appear to) return to the fray much quicker and gain local superiority. Often they are then able to conduct rear or flank attacks whereas, my units never seem to have such favourable positioning after chasing fleeing troops. I should probably point out that the user has no control over chasing units and simply has to wait until they start behaving themselves again. 

It’s probably just me, and I think if I’d been a field commander in the Thirty Years War, casualties and defeats would have marked me down as one of the worst generals in history.


----------



## .matthew.

I've started a fresh Mount and Blade II campaign to see how the early access is getting on. So far pretty similar to originally but now we have perks that _mostly _work. 

Had a pretty awesome 800 man battle but I've found most don't seem to want to let you play that big and do some weird splitting thing to give the player a smaller battle that somehow decides everything? or something... It is not explained well at all.




paranoid marvin said:


> A computer can't cheat at chess for example, but it is capable of doing so in most video games. When we ramp up the difficulty level on a game, we never really know for sure if we're simply making the AI cheat to beat us.


Most games are far far far more advanced than chess though.

I will say that most of the cheats are a result of the players' abilities, either in cheesing the AI or in the case of Total War, cheesing every single aspect of the game. A big problem in the newer ones is that it's an endless cycle. Players need exploitable stuff to beat the OP AI, then the AI needs _more _cheats to counter those cheats... and so it continues.


----------



## Foxbat

The problem with AI cheating is the lack of reaction when you call it out by yelling at the computer. At least a human would probably be embarrassed if caught cheating


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> The problem with AI cheating is the lack of reaction when you call it out by yelling at the computer.


I foresee the first real development of gaming AI will be to acknowledge our pain with an ashamed HDD whine... 

Or trolling...


----------



## paranoid marvin

Foxbat said:


> I’m a bit unsure what the actual problem is. If an enemy unit is charged and falls back, my unit follows. If an enemy unit breaks and routs,  my unit often chases it off the map and returns sometime later. I know this is historically accurate regarding the behaviour of some cavalry, it’s just that although the AI units still tend to chase fleeing forces, they  (appear to) return to the fray much quicker and gain local superiority. Often they are then able to conduct rear or flank attacks whereas, my units never seem to have such favourable positioning after chasing fleeing troops. I should probably point out that the user has no control over chasing units and simply has to wait until they start behaving themselves again.
> 
> It’s probably just me, and I think if I’d been a field commander in the Thirty Years War, casualties and defeats would have marked me down as one of the worst generals in history.



Unless the opposition's cavalry was historically more disciplined, or unless there is some way to make them so , it sounds like the AI is cheating.

I had similar issues back in the day playing


.matthew. said:


> I've started a fresh Mount and Blade II campaign to see how the early access is getting on. So far pretty similar to originally but now we have perks that _mostly _work.
> 
> Had a pretty awesome 800 man battle but I've found most don't seem to want to let you play that big and do some weird splitting thing to give the player a smaller battle that somehow decides everything? or something... It is not explained well at all.
> 
> 
> 
> Most games are far far far more advanced than chess though.
> 
> I will say that most of the cheats are a result of the players' abilities, either in cheesing the AI or in the case of Total War, cheesing every single aspect of the game. A big problem in the newer ones is that it's an endless cycle. Players need exploitable stuff to beat the OP AI, then the AI needs _more _cheats to counter those cheats... and so it continues.




I only mention chess because it is impossible for a computer to cheat at it. It can only anticipate and react to the human player, it can't (for example) start a game with 8 queens, or have twice as many plays as a human opponent.

In most computer games which (as you say) are far more complicated, it's not always easy to tell if (when upping the difficulty level) we are making it cleverer or faster at reacting (which is fair) or if we are letting it cheat by letting it do things that the player can't.

So as foxbat mentions above, are his opponent's cavalry historically more disciplined, or has the computer used the in game mechanics to make them reappear on the battlefield more quickly. Or has it simply cheated by making them unrealistically more disciplined and/or tactically aware?


----------



## Foxbat

I finally won a battle of Pike&Shot at a slightly higher difficulty level (I think I’ve progressed from easy to normal difficulty...captain to colonel). As the Catholic League, I crushed the Bohemian Revolt. I think it’s all about understanding the capabilities of the troops at your disposal and how to apply them against enemy concentrations. 

Another few practice skirmishes like this and I think I’ll be ready to graduate to a full English Civil War campaign


----------



## Bugg

Well I was playing Bravely Default 2 and Trails of Cold Steel 2.  But then Monster Hunter Rise landed and everything else became irrelevant


----------



## Rodders

Vince, fancy starting Alien: Isolation this weekend?


----------



## Vince W

I will certainly give it a start. I don't expect to get very far very quickly at the hardest level, so no spoilers please.


----------



## Foxbat

I got a bit overconfident today and started up a Pike and Shot English Civil War campaign as the Royalists and quickly got my comeuppence. Total defeat in  the first battle. All my forces in disarray. 

I decided to check the settings and discovered that it was on the hardest difficulty setting. Time to start again.


----------



## paranoid marvin

Foxbat said:


> I finally won a battle of Pike&Shot at a slightly higher difficulty level (I think I’ve progressed from easy to normal difficulty...captain to colonel). As the Catholic League, I crushed the Bohemian Revolt. I think it’s all about understanding the capabilities of the troops at your disposal and how to apply them against enemy concentrations.
> 
> Another few practice skirmishes like this and I think I’ll be ready to graduate to a full English Civil War campaign




Hope you play as the good guys (ie Cavaliers) !

*Edit* Just seen in your last post that you have.


----------



## Vladd67

My Old Regiment


----------



## Rayjunx

Lost of us II, and Space Kraken ;-)


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing Warhammer Quest on the PC. It's a pretty basic dungeon-exploring game, and for some reason you can only currently play the four basic characters, and not the extra ones. I got it cheap in a sale, and for what it is, it's perfectly functional. I find it weirdly compelling, though.


----------



## Rodders

Starting Alien: Isolation, which I've been looking forward to for a while. I hear that this game gas masterful tension building, so I expect to play it for quite a long time as I'll have to keep turning it off if I get too stressed.


----------



## Toby Frost

It is very good indeed, but very tense. 

In fact, Alien is probably the most tense game I've ever played, with the exception of a game called Monstrum. Monstrum is about a man trapped with a monster on a deserted cargo ship, who has to collect objects to get off the ship. It's extremely creepy, but very arbitrary about killing the player. An exciting experience, but probably not that good a game.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> In fact, Alien is probably the most tense game I've ever played, with the exception of a game called Monstrum.


Have you ever played The Long Dark? That can be really tense, with it mostly being you alone against the elements.


----------



## MemoryTale

Garfunkel said:


> I've been playing Final Fantasy 7 (the original) on the PSP. It's been really good; I think I'll complete it soon, which will make it the first Final Fantasy game I've actually finished. I have 8 and 9 to play on the PSP too, so I may tackle one of them next. Or perhaps a different series; Dragon Quest 6 for the DS arrived a few days ago, so maybe I'll go for a 2D RPG instead.



I've played Dragon Quest 6 - word of warning, it has some of the most obnoxious random encounter rates I've ever seen.

I'm playing Star Ocean - The Last Hope on Steam. I'm not really enjoying it as much as previous Star Ocean games, and the inclusion of a cat girl in the main party is starting to make me seriously consider my life choices.


----------



## Vladd67

Those playing Alien: Isolation does this ring any bells?


----------



## Foxbat

There's no way I'm ever going to play that game!


----------



## Toby Frost

He never even got to the place where they store all the androids!


----------



## Vince W

I started *Alien: Isolation* today. I'm playing it on Nightmare level (which comes with a warning when you select it!) The atmosphere and tension are superb. They used sound from Alien and the aesthetic is spot on. It was also written (partly) by Dan Abnett.

If you love the film _Alien_ then this is a must play I think. Rodders will probably finish long before I do, but I'm looking forward to completing this game and all the DLCs.


----------



## Rodders

I'm not after the challenge, so unlike Vince, i'll be playing on the easy setting. Don't judge me.  

I have just gotten on to Sevastepol Station and it is very well done.


----------



## Bugg

I remember seeing this one before the game came out, and I _still _bought it


----------



## Venusian Broon

For those that don't want to play scary games and go in the total opposite direction, I'd recommend Dorfromantik, which is my current minesweeper equivalent. Very nice vibe, pretty simple gameplay, but reasonably difficult to excel at.


----------



## Foxbat

Rodders said:


> I'm not after the challenge, so unlike Vince, i'll be playing on the easy setting. Don't judge me.
> 
> I have just gotten on to Sevastepol Station and it is very well done.


Does it have a ‘play while hiding behind the sofa’ setting?


----------



## Vince W

Foxbat said:


> Does it have a ‘play while hiding behind the sofa’ setting?


Actually, on the Xbox there is an option to have the game monitor noises you make while you play and have the xeno find you more easily because of it. Playing behind the sofa could help with that.


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> He never even got to the place where they store all the androids!


I think that was in video 3


----------



## Foxbat

I’m currently reading a book on the battle of Dunbar 1650. It covers quite a lot of the known or perceived tactical failings of the Scottish deployment so I’ve fired up the Dunbar scenario  (playing the Scots) I downloaded for Pike & Shot. I’ve been attempting to compensate for the failings by shifting the vast majority of my cavalry over to the right wing to counter Cromwell’s heavier horse formations, and I’m trying  to concentrate my cannon fire for more effect. I’m holding a few pike formations in reserve, hoping to plug any gaps in the line. This is a totally defensive battle for me. Not a chance of me taking it to the enemy and getting mauled in a repeat of history.

A few turns in I’m so far holding my own on normal difficulty settings (around 8% losses so far on both sides). Historically, despite being at a 2:1 disadvantage, this was Cromwell’s greatest numerical victory.  I’m not expecting to win but hoping to do better than Leslie (the Scottish commander at Dunbar).


----------



## Foxbat

Well that was disappointing. In shoring up my right wing to avoid the historical problems there, my left wing completely collapsed. Despite the number of infantry, this battle was all about the cavalry and Cromwell’s heavier units were too much for the lighter Scottish brigades. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t have a setting to suit me (tactical numbskull).


----------



## .matthew.

A few deals on XCOM expiring soon. Get the complete first game for £3.99, or the complete second game with expansions for £12.49.

For those looking to grab Alien: Isolation, it will be free on the Epic Store for a week starting on the 22nd of this month (so don't buy it early).


----------



## Toby Frost

For the first time in nearly ten years (and the first time on a computer that can reliably run it) I've been playing Bioshock Infinite. What a weird game it is. The combination of beautiful surroundings, serious philosophical and political issues, crazed violence and the overall sense of melancholy is really odd. At points it's surprisingly creaky, but overall I think it's excellent. Elizabeth, with her magic powers and weirdly large eyes, must be one of the best sidekicks in computer game history. And of course you get to fight Robot George Washington. I hold that awesomeness to be self-evident.


----------



## Toby Frost

I can't say much about this without breaking forum rules, but let's just say that in the last few years, Bioshock Infinite feels increasingly relevant and satirical. This morning I saw a cartoon of an enraged Uncle Sam that would have made an excellent Motorised Patriot.

I really like the way that it riffs off things of the time, giving them a science-fiction twist: the spiritualism and ghost-hunting of the turn of the century, the poor workers looking for jobs as if in the Depression, and so on. It's like what would happen if William Gibson and Nick Cave wrote a sequel to _Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?_


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> I can't say much about this without breaking forum rules, but let's just say that in the last few years, Bioshock Infinite feels increasingly relevant and satirical. This morning I saw a cartoon of an enraged Uncle Sam that would have made an excellent Motorised Patriot.
> 
> I really like the way that it riffs off things of the time, giving them a science-fiction twist: the spiritualism and ghost-hunting of the turn of the century, the poor workers looking for jobs as if in the Depression, and so on. It's like what would happen if William Gibson and Nick Cave wrote a sequel to _Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?_


There is a book about the founding and final collapse of the underwater city.





						Rapture (Bioshock): Amazon.co.uk: John Shirley, Ken Levine: 9781848567047: Books
					

Buy Rapture (Bioshock) by John Shirley, Ken Levine (ISBN: 9781848567047) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.



					www.amazon.co.uk


----------



## .matthew.

FREE... Alien: Isolation 
FREE... Hand of Fate 2


----------



## Cypress

*Stellaris* (Paradox Interactive) is still going strong with the latest Nemesis major expansion, but *Wayward* (Unlok) got a great update as well.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm playing Stellaris now (PS4, though).

Got both lucky and unlucky with a red wraith. My fleets were engaged against determined exterminator robots so I couldn't do much but watch as it destroyed my outposts. When I could send fleets up it moved away. But then I had a huge stroke of luck as it went against a weird beast (forget the real name) that had hatched from a planet-sized egg. Watched on sensors for what I thought would be a clash of the titans, but the voidbeast annihilated the wraith. 

Rather glad the voidthingdoodah just stays in one system.


----------



## .matthew.

I love having those systems as chokepoints. Saves so much effort in defence forces


----------



## thaddeus6th

Me too, I've parked a massive starbase right next to a rival. Our fleets are about the same strength (22k) and the starbase is 27k, so if they ever show up they'll get wrecked


----------



## Foxbat

Is that 22k in ships,  tonnage or some other factor? I ask only because I’m sceptical you have 27k starbases.


----------



## G.T.

I'm finding it hard to finish games over the past year. I get almost three quarters through and move on.

So far the following are waiting to be finished:

Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Witcher 3
Wasteland 3

The last one I finished is Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.

My go to game for wasting time is Diablo 3.


----------



## Foxbat

There are very few games that keep me enthralled long enough to finish. I recently completed NeverWinter Nights (but I bought that years ago so it’s taken a very long time to get around to actually finishing it).


----------



## G.T.

When I first got Neverwinter Nights, I thought it was the best thing ever (I'm a huge Baldur's Gate fan) but I couldn't play it for more than a few hours, my pc at the time was terrible. Now I'd be afraid the graphics would disappoint.


----------



## Foxbat

The graphics are a bit dated but good enough to get by with (plus it runs pretty smoothly on more modern machines). I enjoyed it immensely


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Me too, I've parked a massive starbase right next to a rival. Our fleets are about the same strength (22k) and the starbase is 27k, so if they ever show up they'll get wrecked


I love a good turtling playstyle... so much so that I miss the old defence stations you used to be able to build 



Foxbat said:


> Is that 22k in ships,  tonnage or some other factor? I ask only because I’m sceptical you have 27k starbases.


In Stellaris, all forces are given a strength rating. Ship size, tech tier, module layout, etc all contribute to the strength. 

Starbases can be levelled up and build additional platform guns to increase their own rating. In either case, these numbers are fairly mid-game strengths but likely enough to seriously hurt any attacking force.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, Matthew is correct in his answer.

A 27k starbase is far from invincible but a huge asset for a defensive fleet and enjoy to take a chunk out of enemy fleets by itself.

At the moment the galaxy is limited to my allies, my vassals, and one other power I'm in the process of thrashing in a war. Quite pleased how things are going given by only two neighbours to start with were determined exterminators to the south, and honour-bound warriors (who hated me) to the north.


----------



## .matthew.

I'm currently trying to decide if it's worth buying War of the Chosen for XCOM 2. I got the base game in a bundle ages ago and haven't bothered playing it yet (partly because everyone says WotC makes it soooo much better. But even then, I have far more games than I'll ever play...


----------



## Toby Frost

I thought that XCOM 2 was very good in itself, so I'd recommend giving it a look anyway.


----------



## Rodders

Thinking of getting Hardspace Shipbreaker as it’s on sale on Steam. It looks different from the games I normally enjoy and could be interesting.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, I really liked XCOM 2 as the base game, and the War of the Chosen DLC adds a lot. I'd suggest playing the base to see if you like it first.


----------



## .matthew.

Rodders said:


> Thinking of getting Hardspace Shipbreaker as it’s on sale on Steam. It looks different from the games I normally enjoy and could be interesting.


I've looked at that myself but from what I've seen it seems really repetitive and not worth the money even on sale. As an idea it's cool though.



thaddeus6th said:


> Matthew, I really liked XCOM 2 as the base game, and the War of the Chosen DLC adds a lot. I'd suggest playing the base to see if you like it first.


Well, I enjoyed the first one and other similar games so I'm fairly sure I'll like it. The expansion is on sale for like £7 so felt like a good time to get it... though I also saw I didn't get the Tactical Legacy Pack in the original bundle... and I like the idea of skirmish games to play from time to time too...


----------



## Toby Frost

Bioshock: Burial At Sea, the DLC for Bioshock Infinite. It's the same weird mixture as Infinite - crazed violence interspersed with complex plot and discussions about probability - except this time there's a stealth element and we're back in the underwater city of Rapture, which is basically J.G. Ballard's High-Rise meets the ballroom scene from The Shining. The feel of melancholy is very well done, but it does feel as if the game's setting just allows any old thing to happen.


----------



## Toby Frost

For a change of pace, I loaded up Star Wars: Jedi Academy. It's really dated (being from 2003) and pretty creaky, but a lot of fun.


----------



## Rodders

I played that pretty recently and enjoyed it, a lot. 

Yeah, it's dated but as you say, fun.


----------



## Foxbat

If it’s retro fun you’re after, you could do worse than download Risen3D and download the hundred of fan made Doom wads that are available. Old Doom in 3D is wonderful and there are alternatives to Risen like jDoom or zDoom. As for myself, I’ve recently bought Heretic and Hexen from GOG for less than 2 quid.


----------



## .matthew.

I went against buying any new games this month and just continued an older Rimworld colony save. The base game is good and basic, but the modding community are what makes it great.


----------



## W Collier

My grandmother is working her way through Portal 1 and Witcher 3.  She tells me what she wants done, and I work the controls.  (If you're curious, Geralt stays faithful to, but gets busy with, Yen.  And after flying through most of the chambers at a pace that would shame the rest of us, she's currently a little stumped about how to access the weighted storage cube in chamber 18.)

Otherwise, getting a flight sim online.  If anyone is curious about learning to fly with X-Plane 11 and VR, let me know.  This technology is staggering.


----------



## HoopyFrood

I’m currently on hype overload as FFXIV has just had its fan fest, with lots of new stuff about the upcoming expansion in November, so I’m watching the new trailer on repeat.

I’ve been playing this game for six years now, but I’ve only really been taking it seriously in the last year or so, and that’s definitely thanks to the previous expansion that has managed to turn the story into something absolutely amazing. This next expansion will end everything that’s been going on since the game basically started, so it is huge. Which is why I’m obsessed with the trailer, because it’s the culmination of all of that.

But yes, as I say, it’s also helped by the fact that this has become my favourite game now, and because it’s an MMO, there is so much, and because I’m only just getting into pretty much the 70% of it that I’ve been ignoring, there is SO MUCH. Started my own FC (guild), become a mentor, finally got into healing and found out that instead of being terrifying, it’s actually massive fun, and finally finally got into high end content. I bloody love this game.


----------



## M. Robert Gibson

I've become a little addicted to this free open-source game, Widelands.  I think it nourishes my empire building ambitions quite nicely




__





						Widelands.org
					






					www.widelands.org
				




"The game was inspired by Settlers II™ (© Bluebyte) but has significantly more variety and depth to it"


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing a puzzle game called The Talos Principle. It's a lot like a serious version of Portal, although the background is more engrossing. It's largely about moving laser beams, boxes, fans and the like in order to access various rooms. It's very polished and has an interesting story. If recommend it, if that's your sort of thing.


----------



## Ellizze




----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing a puzzle game called The Talos Principle. It's a lot like a serious version of Portal, although the background is more engrossing. It's largely about moving laser beams, boxes, fans and the like in order to access various rooms. It's very polished and has an interesting story. If recommend it, if that's your sort of thing.


Sounds a bit like an old game called D/Generation. I was hooked on that game for a very long time.


----------



## paranoid marvin

Foxbat said:


> Sounds a bit like an old game called D/Generation. I was hooked on that game for a very long time.




I used to love playing fixed perspective isometric games back in the day. As soon as you were able to swirl screens around and zoom in and out it lost some of the charm for me. My favourite was Quazatron on the ZX Spectrum, although I have never put more hours into any game than I did into Baldurs Gate 1+2.


----------



## AlexH

I'm 50 hours into Breath of the Wild, which is by far the most I've spent on a game in 20 years. I love being distracted by all the exploration and particularly enjoy wandering along the coast - I think the game is actually satisfying some of my wanderlust after a year without travelling. I find the Guardians terrifying.

I also had lots of multiplayer fun playing Wrestling Empire on Switch this week - a ridiculous game that plays on its glitches.



paranoid marvin said:


> I used to love playing fixed perspective isometric games back in the day. As soon as you were able to swirl screens around and zoom in and out it lost some of the charm for me. My favourite was Quazatron on the ZX Spectrum, although I have never put more hours into any game than I did into Baldurs Gate 1+2.


Knightlore was my favourite of those. I recently bought Lumo on Nintendo Switch, which is heavily influenced by those games and has that fixed isometric perspective.


----------



## Rodders

Deciding whether to get "Days Gone" on PC.

I've been watching videos online and it looks pretty interesting, but I'm going to need to devote some time to it.


----------



## alexvss

AlexH said:


> I'm 50 hours into Breath of the Wild, which is by far the most I've spent on a game in 20 years. I love being distracted by all the exploration and particularly enjoy wandering along the coast - I think the game is actually satisfying some of my wanderlust after a year without travelling. I find the Guardians terrifying.
> 
> I also had lots of multiplayer fun playing Wrestling Empire on Switch this week - a ridiculous game that plays on its glitches.
> 
> 
> Knightlore was my favourite of those. I recently bought Lumo on Nintendo Switch, which is heavily influenced by those games and has that fixed isometric perspective.


I've been dying to play Breath of the Wild for years now, but I just can't buy a console for the sole purpose of playing a single game!



Rodders said:


> Deciding whether to get "Days Gone" on PC.
> 
> I've been watching videos online and it looks pretty interesting, but I'm going to need to devote some time to it.


Yeah, definitely dozens of hours. Took almost 70 hours to beat this game (with a lot of secondary stuff done). I imagine it's pretty cheap nowadays.


----------



## Rodders

Loving Alien: Isolation, but i'm a stuck somewhere at the moment.

Downloading Days Gone now. I have some leave to take, so i might try and get into this over the next few weeks. I like the look of the game from what i've seen of videos and it kinda reminds me of the White Forest in HL2: Episode 2.


----------



## Vince W

Rodders said:


> Loving Alien: Isolation, but i'm a stuck somewhere at the moment.
> 
> Downloading Days Gone now. I have some leave to take, so i might try and get into this over the next few weeks. I like the look of the game from what i've seen of videos and it kinda reminds me of the White Forest in HL2: Episode 2.


My experience playing Alien: Isolation on nightmare:

Turn game on. Start saved spot. Move as quietly as possible. Come upon the xeno die horribly. Repeat. I'm not really making any progress at the moment. It's frustrating but I refuse to ratchet down the difficulty.


----------



## G.T.

paranoid marvin said:


> I have never put more hours into any game than I did into Baldurs Gate 1+2.


Same here, hours must be in the thousands. I have tried recapturing that feeling with subsequent games like Pathfinder, Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny. The closest of those in feeling was Tyranny, to be honest, and I didn't think it would be. I feel like they got something right in Tyranny but it was a very small game. Pillars of Eternity 2 had scope, but it lacked something.

I think a lot of the makers of isometric games, that are trying to capture BG1, forget about the simplicity of the exploration in the early game. A large part of that game had nothing to do with the main storyline and that's what made it great in my opinion. Pillars of Eternity felt very linear, for example, Tyranny was similar but there was something better about it.

Right now I'm trying MW5, I have to see it is lacklustre so far. The graphics look like they are 20 yrs old.


----------



## AlexH

alexvss said:


> I've been dying to play Breath of the Wild for years now, but I just can't buy a console for the sole purpose of playing a single game!
> 
> 
> Yeah, definitely dozens of hours. Took almost 70 hours to beat this game (with a lot of secondary stuff done). I imagine it's pretty cheap nowadays.


The Switch has a superb library of games. I've been very surprised at the huge depth of quality games available, and there are some great hidden gems. I've even had thoughts that the Switch might beat the Super Nintendo as my favourite console. And I barely play it handheld either, which seems to be one of the main selling points.


----------



## .matthew.

Free this week on Epic Games. Control doesn't look half bad to me 

Genshin Impact

Control


----------



## .matthew.

There's also Surviving Mars free on Humble.

And Batman - The Telltale Series available if you happen to have Amazon Prime (scroll to free games).


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing_ The Room_ - thankfully not an adaptation of the legendarily bad film - in which you uncover a story by opening a set of puzzle boxes. It's interesting, because that's all you do: it's like the sinister box from Hellraiser but much more complex and you don't summon demons. An engrossing little game.

And fun times galore as I've started up_ The Last of Us_ again. It's interesting to be back in the shoes of Joel, the happiest man in the whole post-apocalypse, whose life revolves around belting people with lengths of bent pipe and refusing to talk about things. TLOU doesn't do anything one thing exceptionally well, except perhaps the characters and story, but all the elements are well-made and it's engrossing stuff, even when you know how it's going to end.


----------



## Rodders

So i'm about 60 hours into Days Gone and maybe half way through. It's very good and i'm reaching a stage where i need to start killing some hordes as there are zombies everywhere and i really need to start thinning some of the smaller ones out. The game can be repetitive, but i am enjoying it and the tension is getting high.


----------



## Tawariell

I'm currently playing Genshin Impact. It's an open-world high-fantasy game, and I absolutely love it! The storyline is brilliant, the graphics are beyond, and even the scripted audio is well done (seriously, don't get me started on the worldbuilding they did), but best part of all— it's FREE!


----------



## DrStrangelove

Just finished Resident Evil 4 and 2 (both original and remake), which is my first contact with the series. I was incredibly surprised that a game with zombies and mutants (neither of which I like as tropes) turned out to be that good and engaging, especially in terms of design choices like how even the control scheme is set to generate tension. Sometimes venturing outside of the comfort zone can bring the best of surprises.

Otherwise Field of Glory 2 (the love of my life) - a turn-based wargame focused on antiquity and Dark Ages, and Legacy of Kain, which I replay periodically just for the incredible voice acting and setting (especially the quasi-industrial vampire post-apocalypse of Soul Reaver).


----------



## Rodders

I'm stuck on the Chemult Horde mission in Days Gone and just can't get past it. 

Starting up Horizon Zero Dawn.


----------



## Garfunkel

I've recently been playing Metroid Fusion, as the announcement of Metroid Dread for the Switch put me in the mood for some 2D Metroid action. It's a great game, with a terrific atmosphere.


----------



## DrStrangelove

Garfunkel said:


> I've recently been playing Metroid Fusion, as the announcement of Metroid Dread for the Switch put me in the mood for some 2D Metroid action. It's a great game, with a terrific atmosphere.



The announcement of Dread was the most bizzare experience of the year so far, and a most pleasant one.


----------



## Foxbat

I've finally done it. I've bought Stellaris as recommended here, despite my dislike for  real-time strategy and Paradox in general. First impressions are not good. How on earth can a game covering galaxy wide grand strategy not have a manual?

Also, it says on the specs that it will run on Vista. I have an old Vista PC no longer connected to the internet and it will not even look at Stellaris. A quick search on the internet found me the answer. It did run on Vista at one time,  but a patch then meant it would no longer run. I bought it on GOG, which only provides the latest version. 

What do the developers say about this? Sorry. Maybe the next time a Windows update crashes everybody's computers, instead of fixing it, Microsoft should just say sorry too and not bother doing anything about it?

Technically, this is the wrong thread to post this  because this is the game I am currently_* not*_ playing. I have it installed on my Win 10 machine but still feel like I've been cheated because I didn't want it on my main machine (it's essentially reserved for recording music). I'm too pissed off to even go near it right now. Maybe in a few months time I'll look at it again.

Bloody Paradox. I should have known better.  Never again.


----------



## M. Robert Gibson

@Foxbat  could I suggest you try installing Linux on your Vista machine? 
Obviously I don't know how technically minded you are, but it could be worth it if you really want to play because it seems Stellaris does run on Linux




__





						[./play.it] Install Stellaris on Linux, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com
					

Download the best games on Windows & Mac. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies, and lots of pure customer love.




					www.gog.com
				




Failing that, there is a free game available on Linux called FreeOrion which is oft recommended as an alternative to Stellaris





						FreeOrionWiki
					






					freeorion.org
				












						Stellaris Alternatives and Similar Games | AlternativeTo
					

The best Stellaris alternatives are FreeOrion, Endless Space and Galactic Civilizations. Our crowd-sourced lists contains more than 10 apps similar to Stellaris for Windows, Steam, Linux, Online / Web-based and more.



					alternativeto.net
				





Edit

Of course, I've just realised a flaw in my suggestion.  You need to be connected to the internet to download the game.  ( Although there are always other ways and means)


----------



## .matthew.

In all fairness, it's basically impossible to keep current generation games working on old operating systems and both GOG and Steam list it as Windows 7 minimum. I don't even know if a computer that old would give you any sort of reasonable performance either, as the games can become massive in scale.

That said, I do feel for you. I remember when I upgraded my computer and was told Windows 7 didn't support the new hardware and I'd have to upgrade to 10, at additional cost :/

As to the manual, I agree and love a good manual to be included. There are a fair amount of beginner guides both written and on YouTube to get you the basics, though the helper that suggests things as you play is fairly useful to start with as well. It's harder for new players though, what with all the changes and updates and stuff over the years.


----------



## MartinC

I am currently playing Assassins Creed Valhalla - which is what I was also playing six months ago. Either games are getting bigger or I'm just not gaming anywhere near as much as I used to. I suspect a little of both - scratch that - a lot of both!


----------



## thaddeus6th

Sorry to hear that, Foxbat. I'm only a PS4 player, so didn't know about any kind of change like that. Can imagine it being very frustrating.


----------



## Foxbat

From GOG Stellaris page:

Works on:
Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10), Linux (Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04), Mac OS X (10.11+)


----------



## non_author

I'm currently playing Aion - I got it for my birthday years ago when it was still under paid subscription but could never keep up with the payments, but now the EU Version has gone Free to Play I've gone back to it and I'm not disappointed at all.

I've also got a game called Resonance of Fate that I'm slowly (very slowly!) working my way through, it's quite complicated for me.

Finally, and although I'm not playing it, I really do want to play The Last of Us - I've heard nothing but good reviews from it and I just cannot wait until Payday so I can buy it!


----------



## .matthew.

@Foxbat I didn't see that. I read the one at the bottom of the page.




No idea what GOG is playing at with having two different sections with conflicting information. Either way, that's clearly on GOG as the Steam page for it lists the same as the bottom of GOG. If I were you and I really didn't want to play it on my main machine, I'd avail myself of GOGs return policy and just get my money back.


----------



## Foxbat

I would ask for a refund if it was full price but I got it for £8 so, frankly, although very annoying hardly worth the bother.  I consciously avoided paying full price and waited for it to appear in a sale because I don’t think I own  a Paradox game that I never regretted buying. This is just another to add to the pile.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've started playing Mass Effect 1 again. It's enjoyable but pretty po-faced. It's amusing how brusque Sheppard sounds: even the "nice" speech options sound like a 1950s cop saying "Just the facts, ma'am".


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, is that the re-release or the original game?

I always played as FemShep. Tried one game as ManShep but within a few minutes I had to quit as it just felt wrong.


----------



## Foxbat

Just downloaded Carrier Battles 4: Gaudalcanal. Looks interesting and gets decent reviews. It’s for people like me who cut their strategy teeth on hex-based boardgames. I like the graphics. They echo those cardboard hexagon origins, are nice, crisp and functional.  Busy learning how to play right now.


----------



## Toby Frost

It's the original game, and not the remastered version of it. Before I ever played it, I was told that the female voice acting was better than the male, so I went for a female Sheppard. She always seems really angry and humourless.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> She always seems really angry and humourless.


There's a joke to be made there... 

*no comment*


----------



## Rodders

I need to try and get into Mass Effect again. I tried to play it a few years ago and liked what I played and is very much solid SF story telling, but my mood wasn't right so I stopped and never really got back into it. 

I'm 110 hours into Days Gone now, which is fantastic value for money. I've been having a fabulous time. I've read complaints that the game can be a bit samey but it's to be expected, I think. I've not yet finished the story missions and am just taking the time to kill off some of the smaller hordes which certainly gets the heart pounding.


----------



## Foxbat

I've been playing a game called Wars Across The World. It’s actually a game system utilising area movement, traditional looking counters and card draws. It can be used to simulate conflicts throughout history (and fiction).

The base game is only anout £7 (summer sale) and comes with 8 scenarios. You can buy DLCs of more scenarios (10 per DLC I think) at around £9 each. The range is vast, covering Roman conquest and well into our own century.  The maps and other artwork are gorgeous and give it that traditional boardgame feel. If you’re looking for zip-zap bang and the latest graphics innovations then look elsewhere.

I’ve recently been playing as the Romans against the Carthaginians, fighting for Sicily in the first Punic War. Now, I’m playing as the FBI and other forces of law and order in a tactical scenario, fighting against  Lovecraftian monsters in Innsmouth, 1928.

The fact that I’ve won the last two games makes wonder about AI capability but, at this price, I’m quite happy with my purchase. Next in Wars Across The World, I’m taking on the USA in the Battle Of The Coral Sea.


----------



## Vladd67

It’s reduced to £3.59 until the 8th of july


----------



## Foxbat

Vladd67 said:


> It’s reduced to £3.59 until the 8th of july


Is that on Steam? I don't use Steam (but that's another debate for another thread). I buy direct from French developers Avalon Digital.


----------



## Vladd67

That is on steam


----------



## Rodders

I finished Days Gone last night. I did get side tracked with some of the side missions, so it ended up taking me about 135 hours to complete. What a blast and great value for money. I'm just spending a little time to kill off the remainder of the hordes, then on to Horizon Zero Dawn, i think.

I was surprised that the game received so much criticism on it's release. Some of it was warranted, i'll agree, but i thought they fixated on the negative. I really enjoyed the open world style of game play. I hear that a Star Wars open world game is in the works. After playing this, i'm delighted.

On the basis of this game, i also bought Red Dead: Redemption, but i prefer a sci-fi title.


----------



## Lawrence Twiddy

Just brought a switch and started Zelda breath of the wild. Already the easy open world play is drawing me into a wonderful experience of roaming and exploring for hours on end; before bed when I should be reading!


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm still on Mass Effect and frankly I'm pretty awed by the sheer scale and quality of it, especially since it was made in 2007. Yes, it is quite repetitive - I'd forgotten how many near-identical mines and prefab colonies you visit - but the sheer size of it and the detail is really impressive. Technically, I think it's remarkable.

And yet it's a bit lacking in _fun_. It might be because Sheppard is either a by-the-book military type or a jerk depending on how you play him/her, or that there's no real humour or levity. It lacks that feel of "let's all have a big adventure" that you get in something like Firefly, Dragon Age or the KOTOR Star Wars games. Even Dishonoured, with its obsession with rats, feels more of a laugh. But it's still a real achievement.


----------



## Foxbat

Got crushed as the Japanese in Coral Sea and soundly beaten as the Germans in Battle Of The Bulge. Patton made an audacious strike from the south the relieve the siege of Bastogne. All I could say to that was Nuts! 

Maybe the AI in Wars Across The World isn’t so bad after all


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished Mass Effect, which was a technically superb but slightly joyless experience. It makes me think that all the games I like the most have an element that it lacks. It's hard to give it a name: "charm" seems to be the right expression, but it isn't necessarily anything cutesy or "nice" (or maybe "wit" in the old sense of the word). It's a mixture of having a genuinely engrossing setting and a sense of (non-forced) quirkiness or individuality. Anyhow, Mass Effect is extremely good.


----------



## Chris 1978

Still PUBG with a few friends, one who left the country a year ago so we play partly for the social aspect. The game itself is great though, the gun play and just general feel of it hasn't been matched for me personally with any other recent FPS games.


----------



## Rodders

Horizon Zero Dawn. 

Been on my "to play" list for a long time. Just started, but first impressions are great.


----------



## Toby Frost

It's a very good. Definitely worth a look.


----------



## reiver33

Still shouting abuse at HOI4; playing as Germany, attacked nobody, assembling the Axis against an anticipated Soviet attack - then Turkey declares against Bulgaria, joins the Allies, and suddenly the entire West is up in arms.


----------



## .matthew.

reiver33 said:


> Still shouting abuse at HOI4; playing as Germany, attacked nobody, assembling the Axis against an anticipated Soviet attack - then Turkey declares against Bulgaria, joins the Allies, and suddenly the entire West is up in arms.


I tried HOI4 once and the abuse I ended up giving the screen made me just sort of put it away and never look at it again


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing _Abzu_. You are a diver, who seems to be a woman but might be a robot, and you explore an underwater world. It's basically _Journey _under the sea, and while it's not clear what I'm actually trying to do, it's relaxing and the graphics are beautiful. _Journey _helped keep me sane during last year's heatwave, and hopefully _Abzu _will help in 2021.


----------



## AllanR

*Aftermath!* pen and paper role playing game reimagined for a low fantasy environment.


----------



## Foxbat

Bought Warplan Pacific yesterday. Looks right up my alley but a quick play around with it confirmed that I will need to read the manual before going any further.


----------



## Vince W

That is the game of a proper grognard.


----------



## alexvss

I bought RE: Village with the movie I got from my short-story sell. Finally! So hyped for this game!


----------



## Vince W

Foxbat said:


> Bought Warplan Pacific yesterday. Looks right up my alley but a quick play around with it confirmed that I will need to read the manual before going any further.
> View attachment 80468


I've been thinking about this game and realise I could never play it unless there was a counter clipping sim included.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Like a crazy person (or someone who prevaricates buying things for so long he can usually get them on sale) I'm playing both Wasteland 3 and Valkyria Chronicles 4 for the first time.

Despite being a mix of XCOM and Fallout in Colorado for the former and tactical JRPG in not-Europe for the latter, they both somehow involve Rangers and heavy snow.

Post-apocalypse isn't my favourite setting but I'm liking Wasteland 3 a lot, already having factions and morally difficult questions to answer. I played, and liked, the first Valkyria Chronicles, but this is the first real successor game to mainstream consoles. I like the small changes to the battle system (gaining a small APC rather than a second tank changes things up tactically, and the basic command system works well), story/characters not so far on a par with the original but not bad.


----------



## Foxbat

I‘ve recently fired up XCOM Apocalypse and I’m rapidly remembering why I never finished it when it first came out. Jeez! This game is hard…so hard it’s not particularly enjoyable just getting wiped out. 

On novice level, my first mission and I’m up against half a dozen headcrabs and other aliens. I quickly lost two of my four agents to these brainsuckers (which then are controlled by the aliens). I used stun grenades to put the turncoats out of action without hurting them and then dealt with the remaining aliens. I had hoped that the group could return to base and perhaps the turncoats could go back to duty after medical treatment. But no. It appears once under alien control, they’re gone for good and no way to bring them back. Might  as well just kill them. 

All this happened within the first day of operation. My troops had no chance to train or improve the odds against them. If this difficulty level on novice isn’t caused by a bug, I dread to think what this game is like on the greatest difficulty level.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> I quickly lost two of my four agents to these brainsuckers (which then are controlled by the aliens)


Mind control in any game is one of my pet peeves. Hate it so much :/


----------



## Foxbat

Tried the same battle (I saved at the start of tactical combat). I knew there were headcrabs, I had all my guys with action points reserved so they could react to any enemy movement. They  were set to cover all directions and I still got nailed. Lost three of the four troops in one turn. Never saw a thing. The headcrabs suddenly just appeared and took over. Normally, you catch a glimpse of them scuttling across the floor (they must have a huge number of action points for the distance they can travel). The fog of war is more like fog of teleportation. I did some digging on the internet and it seems that XCOM Apocalypse was released as a half-finished mess with loads of issues. That’s it. No point in wasting my time. This one’s binned from my hard drive. Time to move on to something else.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Some more tactical innovations have occurred with VC4. Just small stuff but it all adds up to some extra flexibility, and are improvements rather than detriments (not always the case when things are 'updated').


----------



## .matthew.

@thaddeus6th Noticed I have VC4 from what I suspect was a Humble Bundle. Would you say it's worth playing?


----------



## alexvss

I should've read a book last night; instead, I stayed up to beat RE: Village. Great game, keeps getting better as you go. Took me 11 hours.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing Fallout 3 again, and enjoying it a lot.

I also tried to download an old Amiga game called Perihelion, which was free on the site of the guy who made it. Unfortunately it wouldn't work on my computer, which is a shame as I remember it being very stylish.


----------



## Foxbat

This is interesting. After rage-quitting X-COM Apocalypse the other day, I decided to try it on the next difficulty level up. The first mission was exactly what I expected it to be: challenging but  without the player being overwhelmed by aliens. I don’t know if I was just unlucky two times in a row on the lower difficulty level or if there’s perhaps some bug that‘s rearing its xenomorphic head. I’ll keep going and see what happens. This game was on hard drive death row but has now just had a last-minute stay of execution.  

I’ve also been mucking about with dosbox config files and managed to get it looking a little better, mainly by getting it to utilise openGL and changing the original resolution. I did the same for the original X-COM and it also looks a little better.


----------



## G.T.

Finished Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries campaign and played around for a while, but it isn't very interesting without something to pull you into the game.

Finished Total Warhammer 2's Vortex campaign, now a few turns into Mortal Empire campaign. I like Total War games but like Mechwarrior, I find it hard to stay interested once I've played through once.

I still have the last section of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to get through, but I don't think I'll be interested in newgame+ on that, to be honest. Once through is enough for me.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, I'd say so. Won't spoil anything, but the story just became significantly more interesting (it's not bad, or anything, up to that point, but less intriguing than the first). If you're new to the battle system the first battles are easy enough and provide you with useful tutorials.

The only tip I'd offer ahead of time, which is in the game but oddly late, is that scout's have a 75% field of vision (so they notice you unless you're in the 25% right behind them) whereas everyone else has about a 25% field of vision, just ahead of them.


----------



## Rodders

Hi Toby, I've been thinking of getting into the Fallout series. Would you recommend it?


----------



## Toby Frost

Definitely! The ones I'd really recommend are 3 and 4. 1 and 2 were great in their time, but they are dated and clunky to play now. 3 is a very good game, but it's ten years old now and does look slightly drab. 4 is just excellent. It's very playable, and there's a lot to do (if you want to do it). They're pretty violent, in a deliberately over-the-top way, and there's a lot of black comedy. The gameplay is good and there's a real depth to the setting. Yesterday, while fighting my way through a ruined hotel in Fallout 3, I stumbled upon a skeleton in a bathtub re-enacting the painting The Death of Marat, next to another skeleton who had clearly drunk himself to death through dodgy cola drinks. It's well worth a look.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> They're pretty violent, in a deliberately over-the-top way


Totally agree, but whatever you do, don't get the perk that explodes enemies on death... it makes looting corpses a giant pain


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, it's one of those "amusing the first few times" kind of things.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, and it made me give up playing when I realised I couldn't ever turn it off again.


----------



## Rodders

Thanks Toby. I've had an interest in Fallout for some time but never really knew whether or not it was something that i'd enjoy. I'll buy 3 and 4 when i've finished my current game.


----------



## Toby Frost

No problem! There's also a game called Wasteland 2 (Wasteland 1 was a very old game that partly inspired Fallout 1) which might be of interest. It's very similar in feel, but a rather more hardcore RPG experience where you control a group of people.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, I'm playing Wasteland 3 right now. It's a mix of XCOM and Fallout, it seems. Easy to spend more time than intended playing it.


----------



## Toby Frost

thaddeus6th said:


> Easy to spend more time than intended playing it.



Definitely. It seems to take a long while to do anything. It's also quite hard, I find.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Wasteland 3 can be challenging. The fact combat is all one side then the other means getting the drop on the enemy can make a very big difference.


----------



## Betok_Haney

I just "finished" Fallout 4. This was after spending several months at the beginning of this year "finishing" Skyrim. I never got into them, and then I dove head first into the abyss - what a ride.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Rodders said:


> Thanks Toby. I've had an interest in Fallout for some time but never really knew whether or not it was something that i'd enjoy. I'll buy 3 and 4 when i've finished my current game.


There is also Fallout New Vegas which is essentially Fallout 3 but made by Obsidian (the company that handled Fallout 1 and 2 orginally, they were given the Fallout 3 engine by Bethesda and asked to to a whole new setting and game). It's as big as Fallout 3.

I've watched so many let's plays of New Vegas that I am very unlikely to get it, however many people have this as their favourite Fallout game, with reference to the plot, faction dynamics, quests and the DLC's. I enjoy the atmosphere and gunplay in Fallout 4 - plus it's very stable on my rig, New Vegas can be (still!) a bit buggy.

EDIT: Just seen that currently all the Fallouts are on sale at Steam today - you can get it all for -70%, so all of New Vegas for ~£10, Fallout 3 for ~£3 and Fallout 4 for ~£9


----------



## Toby Frost

I wasn't very impressed by New Vegas, but I've got a friend who loves it, so each to their own. There's an add-on for it about mad science that's a lot of fun. 

There was also an online Fallout game released a couple of years ago, which isn't really my kind of thing. It sounds as if it was a bit of a mess when it came out, but has been improved since then.


----------



## Foxbat

I bought Fallout New Vegas when I dabbled in the console market (PS3). I didn’t even get out of the start location. I just couldn’t get to grips with controlling An FPS with a controller. One of these days, I’ll go nuts and buy it for the PC.

Meanwhile, I‘ve gone further than ever before in X-Com Apocalypse and shot down a type 4 UFO. I’m convinced there’s a bug in the difficulty levels because I’m finding it easier on a harder level. There are definitely bugs. After one hard fought mission, I returned to my main base to find my second base (with large bio-research facility, security station and vehicles) had completely disappeared. I had to reload a previous save and lose all that experience paid for in my operative’s blood. The computer was verbally abused and threatened with an exit via the window if it happened again


----------



## Rodders

I had to uninstall Days Gone because i can't stop playing it. Just finished my third play through. I cannot believe it was so badly received on its release. Horizon Zero Dawn for realsees this time.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> Toby, I'm playing Wasteland 3 right now. It's a mix of XCOM and Fallout, it seems. Easy to spend more time than intended playing it.



I've been playing that as well.  I like it a lot.  I think they've done a great job in refining the combat.  It's much better than the previous game in that regard, for me at least.

I've got several games on the go at the moment as I had to buy a new pc, so I've been flitting between them to test them out.  So that's Ys IX, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and the aforementioned Wasteland 3.  I've also returned to Cyberpunk 2077, having drifted away from it for months.


----------



## Toby Frost

The combat in Wasteland 2 is slightly crude, and certain elements don't feel as if they've been thought through very well. It's good, but it already feels a little bit repetitive, in that fight/upgrade/fight way you see in things like Diabolo. So far, it's enjoyable, but I wonder if I'll make it to the end.

I also had a go at Fallout 3's Point Lookout add-on, which really is great. Very atmospheric and sinister.


----------



## Simbelmynë

Has anyone played a "roguelike" game? I can rarely enjoy video games anymore but there's something about the procedural generation - the randomly generated maps and features giving you something different every time you play - which keeps me hooked. The graphics are often very simple, originally they were all ASCII art, but some are now graphical, using mostly 2d tiles.

I started with the classic game NetHack, and now I'm playing Caves of Qud (god knows how it's pronounced...), a more modern roguelike with a post apocalyptic, science fantasy setting, and it really shows the development these kind of games have gone through over the decades. Stone Soup, UnReal World and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (the detail in this one blows my mind) are some other fantastic examples of the genre, the latter two being hyper-realistic survival games, and much too challenging for me right now, especially as, like most roguelikes, permadeath is a feature. I've enjoyed what I've been able to do with them so far though.

I've only scratched the surface really but during a time in my life where I'm bombarded with depression it's a kind of solace to find something enjoyable to get lost in.


----------



## atsouthorn

I've just finished Half Life: Alyx. If you don't want to play a game that ruins all other games, don't play this. An absolute masterpiece of immersion.


----------



## alexvss

Simbelmynë said:


> Has anyone played a "roguelike" game? I can rarely enjoy video games anymore but there's something about the procedural generation - the randomly generated maps and features giving you something different every time you play - which keeps me hooked. The graphics are often very simple, originally they were all ASCII art, but some are now graphical, using mostly 2d tiles.
> 
> I started with the classic game NetHack, and now I'm playing Caves of Qud (god knows how it's pronounced...), a more modern roguelike with a post apocalyptic, science fantasy setting, and it really shows the development these kind of games have gone through over the decades. Stone Soup, UnReal World and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (the detail in this one blows my mind) are some other fantastic examples of the genre, the latter two being hyper-realistic survival games, and much too challenging for me right now, especially as, like most roguelikes, permadeath is a feature. I've enjoyed what I've been able to do with them so far though.
> 
> I've only scratched the surface really but during a time in my life where I'm bombarded with depression it's a kind of solace to find something enjoyable to get lost in.


I played *Darkest Dungeon* some years ago, and *Dead Cells* a while ago. They're great, if not awfully frustrating (you die a lot and have to restart )

*Hades* is a roguelike game that won pretty much every single prize last year. It's out on Playstation now, so I'm waiting for a generous sale  .


----------



## Simbelmynë

alexvss said:


> I played *Darkest Dungeon* some years ago, and *Dead Cells* a while ago. They're great, if not awfully frustrating (you die a lot and have to restart )
> 
> *Hades* is a roguelike game that won pretty much every single prize last year. It's out on Playstation now, so I'm waiting for a generous sale  .


I might try Darkest Dungeon at some point, I know it's popular. I tend to go with the top down roguelikes inspired by the classic style, but I'll keep an open mind. I do love a good dungeon crawl.


----------



## Toby Frost

*Invisible Inc* is a very interesting procedurally-generated stealth game. I'd recommend it.


----------



## Vince W

Simbelmynë said:


> Has anyone played a "roguelike" game? I can rarely enjoy video games anymore but there's something about the procedural generation - the randomly generated maps and features giving you something different every time you play - which keeps me hooked. The graphics are often very simple, originally they were all ASCII art, but some are now graphical, using mostly 2d tiles.
> 
> I started with the classic game NetHack, and now I'm playing Caves of Qud (god knows how it's pronounced...), a more modern roguelike with a post apocalyptic, science fantasy setting, and it really shows the development these kind of games have gone through over the decades. Stone Soup, UnReal World and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (the detail in this one blows my mind) are some other fantastic examples of the genre, the latter two being hyper-realistic survival games, and much too challenging for me right now, especially as, like most roguelikes, permadeath is a feature. I've enjoyed what I've been able to do with them so far though.
> 
> I've only scratched the surface really but during a time in my life where I'm bombarded with depression it's a kind of solace to find something enjoyable to get lost in.


I can't count the number of hours I've spent playing Nethack. It was a serious addiction for a while.


----------



## HareBrain

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing _Abzu_. You are a diver, who seems to be a woman but might be a robot, and you explore an underwater world. It's basically _Journey _under the sea, and while it's not clear what I'm actually trying to do, it's relaxing and the graphics are beautiful. _Journey _helped keep me sane during last year's heatwave, and hopefully _Abzu _will help in 2021.


Given that that game was obviously made especially for me, it seems odd that nobody thought to inform me about it till now.


----------



## Foxbat

Going to give X-COM Apocalypse a break. All of a sudden, the aliens are much, much more difficult to deal with. The UFOs come in swarms and it’s really hard trying to shoot them down. On the ground they now have personal shields (and a seemingly unlimited number of action points). I’ve been trying to take them out without causing damage to the shields so I can research them. Even if I manage to drop a few with stun grenades, it takes so long to find and deal with the rest of the incursion that the stunned ones are regaining consciousness and rejoining the fray when I’m badly hurt and almost out of ammo.

It’s costing mea lot of bodies and I still haven’t managed to recover one shield. Rage quit is becoming the norm. I need something soothing to play.


----------



## Vladd67

Foxbat said:


> It’s costing mea lot of bodies and I still haven’t managed to recover one shield. Rage quit is becoming the norm. I need something soothing to play.


Have you tried Dark Souls?


----------



## Foxbat

Vladd67 said:


> Have you tried Dark Souls?


Never heard of it but I did a search and it looks very interesting. Might have to think about this one


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> It’s costing mea lot of bodies and I still haven’t managed to recover one shield. Rage quit is becoming the norm. I need something soothing to play.



May not be your thing but I had a nice time with _Loop Hero - _a sort of tile placement rogue-like. I didn't find it particularly difficult and did end up killing God three times and gettng most of the achievements.


----------



## Betok_Haney

I LOVE *Caves of Qud*, it is a brilliant game. Jason Grinblat's writing is wonderful. I have 100's of hours in that gem.


----------



## Foxbat

Never heard of Loop Hero. Might check it out. I don’t mind rogue-like now and then (although my purchases in that area tend to be spaceship based…FTL and Smugglers sort of thing).

Ditto Caves Of Qud. I see this one is still in development but it does look like a potential buy.

I checked out the review of Loop Hero in Rock Paper Shotgun and it‘s pretty positive. I see that it can be set as an auto-battler…ie. the computer can battle itself. It would be nice if some programmer did this in such a way that it would cause the PC to rage-quit and give it a taste of its own medicine


----------



## alexvss

Foxbat said:


> It’s costing mea lot of bodies and I still haven’t managed to recover one shield. Rage quit is becoming the norm. I need something soothing to play.


Off the top of my head, the most soothing game out there is *What Remains of Edith Finch*.


----------



## avalonimperium

I am currently replaying the dead space trilogy of action horror games.  I am now on dead space 3 about to explore the scaf flotilla


----------



## alexvss

avalonimperium said:


> I am currently replaying the dead space trilogy of action horror games.  I am now on dead space 3 about to explore the scaf flotilla


I really like this franchise, but I think they really messed up in third installment. A reboot was announced though.


----------



## Bugg

For some bizarre reason I decided to try out Game Pass for PC as there are some games on there that I've been interested in for a while so thought it might be a good way to try them out.

First up, Control.  Loaded up, started, crashed.  Thereafter wouldn't get past the splash screen.  This is, apparently, unique to the Game Pass version.

Next, Jedi Fallen Order.  For this you need to link your Game Pass account to your EA account.  The only problem being that I apparently linked my EA account and Xbox Live account many moons ago on an old email address, so can't unlink them, so can't play the game.

Now, The Ascent.  Looks lovely, but I absolutely hate the game.

So far it's going well for Game Pass. At least it only cost £1


----------



## Rodders

Surely you can reset your EA account?

Jedi: Fallen Order was an excellent game, i thought. It took my 23 hours, but i have read some people who beat it in 16 hours. Still, a great gaming experience with interesting planets. Zeffo and Dathomir was a blast. I adored this game.


----------



## Bugg

Rodders said:


> Surely you can reset your EA account?
> 
> Jedi: Fallen Order was an excellent game, i thought. It took my 23 hours, but i have read some people who beat it in 16 hours. Still, a great gamin g experience with interesting planets. I adored this game.



It might be possible if I could remember the password I used with my old email address, or if I had access to the old email address so that I could reset it.


----------



## Rodders

Is there a "Contact Us" form on the EA website?


----------



## Bugg

Rodders said:


> Is there a "Contact Us" form on the EA website?



They won't do anything as I am unable to verify the account from the old email address.  Reading up on it, a lot of people have encountered the same problem.

Actually, Fallen Order has just gone on sale on Steam for £17, so that's much my preferred option anyway


----------



## Simbelmynë

Vince W said:


> I can't count the number of hours I've spent playing Nethack. It was a serious addiction for a while.


It was my gateway drug.


Betok_Haney said:


> I LOVE *Caves of Qud*, it is a brilliant game. Jason Grinblat's writing is wonderful. I have 100's of hours in that gem.


It's the currently the gift that keeps on giving for me, always new surprises built into the game system. And all those gorgeous little sprites...

The prose writing I find a little off though actually. I find myself distracted from immersion by the odd phrasings and word use. I like my SF and fantasy prose to be peppered with archaic or invented words but the descriptions in this game are just plain confusing. I do think the setting is original, however, especially when post apocalyptic and fantasy worlds are both such clichés now that they involve nothing which feels fantastic or surprising. And despite any criticisms I might have I'm just in awe of this game.


----------



## Bugg

From all the games I was flitting between, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox has turned out to be the one that has grabbed me and kept me playing.  I'm not surprised by this as Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is one of my all-time favourite games, but that had resulted in me approaching Ys IX with some trepidation in case it was a let down.  It isn't, though - it may even be better.  Navigating the Isle of Seiren in Ys VIII could be a pain because the map was almost indecipherable at times, but moving around the prison city of Balduq in Ys IX is an absolute joy using the Monstrum skills (teleportation, running up walls, gliding from rooftops, and more).

The pc port is fantastic but I originally started the game on Switch and it was not good at all.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing Xcom 2. It's excellent, especially because you can customise the soldiers to look suitably silly. At the moment, the cast of _Space Captain Smith_ are doing quite well.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've been dipping back into The Witcher 3 now and then (still not levelled enough for the DLC [I know you can just skip to it, but I prefer not to]).

Still a fantastic game.


----------



## Bugg

thaddeus6th said:


> I've been dipping back into The Witcher 3 now and then (still not levelled enough for the DLC [I know you can just skip to it, but I prefer not to]).
> 
> Still a fantastic game.



Some of the best DLC ever made, IMO.  Blood & Wine, in particular, is good enough and long enough to be a stand alone game.  In fact, it's better than a lot of triple A games.  I'm just waiting for them to release the next gen update and then I'm intending to play it again.


I picked up Jedi Fallen Order on sale on Steam. Played the first hour or so last night and can't remember the last time a Star Wars game made me feel that much like I was in a Star Wars movie. It plays very much like an Uncharted game set in the Star Wars universe. Whilst I'm not actually sure its a great _game _yet, it looks and sounds awesome.


----------



## Rodders

How far into Jedi are you, Bugg? Once you get off the scrapper planet, the game starts to excel in my opinion. It rewards exploration and there is a good learning curve. I envy you playing for the first time.  

I've uninstalled mine and will play it again when the sequel is released.


----------



## Bugg

Rodders said:


> How far into Jedi are you, Bugg? Once you get off the scrapper planet, the game starts to excel in my opinion. It rewards exploration and there is a good learning curve. I envy you playing for the first time.
> 
> I've uninstalled mine and will play it again when the sequel is released.



I've just learned how to wall run 

Definitely has an Uncharted/new Tomb Raider feel to it, in terms of movement and set pieces at least.


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> I've been dipping back into The Witcher 3 now and then (still not levelled enough for the DLC [I know you can just skip to it, but I prefer not to]).
> 
> Still a fantastic game.


If you haven't tried yet, I strongly advise getting some mods for the game. There were so many little wrinkles that got ironed out for me with them and it made the game almost totally perfect.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Alas, I am but a poor console peasant. No mods for me.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m back to playing Shadow Empire. All the latest patches have really improved what was already a good solid game.

 I’ve just nationalised my transport network and seen a drop in popularity because of it.   **** em!   I’m the boss, They won’t be complaining when I start invading neighbouring territories and start bringing in the glory


----------



## thaddeus6th

Is that the Paradox gangster game?


----------



## Rodders

I bought Death Stranding yesterday as it was 60% off on the Steam sale. It looks like something I'd enjoy.


----------



## Foxbat

Is that the Paradox gangster game?


No, it’s a planetary conquest 4x. It’s quite deep with private and state economies, industry, politics, logistics, bureaucracy, etc. It’s taken me months to figure things out and I’m still a  novice. It’s all set on a post-apocalyptic world that you can generate from a variety of planets and options. It has the usual 4x stuff like technology to research, diplomacy and, of course, war.  Sometimes, it’s not just other regimes that threaten. It could be the natural fauna (like giant spiders)

My biggest criticism is that the end goal should be to get back into space and then to go on and conquer other planets devastated by the ‘Dissolution War’. That would elevate it from very good to awesome

Here’s a review








						Shadow Empire review – the best 4x wargame you’re (probably) not playing
					

This fascinating blend of old school sci-fi 4X strategy and hex-and-counter wargaming is highly compelling




					www.wargamer.com


----------



## atsouthorn

Rodders said:


> Surely you can reset your EA account?
> 
> Jedi: Fallen Order was an excellent game, i thought. It took my 23 hours, but i have read some people who beat it in 16 hours. Still, a great gaming experience with interesting planets. Zeffo and Dathomir was a blast. I adored this game.



I loved all the planets! Such a great game - just thankful someone out there still realises there's a market for single-player games.

I've just booted up Flight Simulator now that they've fixed a lot of bugs. Such a beautiful game.


----------



## Garfunkel

I've picked up Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on the 3DS again. It's a really fun JRPG, with a well-developed story, an interesting battle system and an incredible soundtrack. I have a habit of drifting in and out of RPGs, but I'm going to try and stick with it now until the end, to get the most out of the story.


----------



## Andy Hauser

Hearthstone (Arena mode) while I eagerly wait for Book of Travels to come out


----------



## .matthew.

I bought a new m.2 drive for game storage so I've been downloading games I like the look of from my overflowing Steam library now I have the space.

First up in the order of play, Middle Earth - Shadow of War, and first up holy hell that was a big download. Played a few hours last night and it seems okay, though with the same downsides of the first where everything seems to get a cutscene which breaks the flow of the game a lot


----------



## Bugg

Garfunkel said:


> I've picked up Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on the 3DS again. It's a really fun JRPG, with a well-developed story, an interesting battle system and an incredible soundtrack. I have a habit of drifting in and out of RPGs, but I'm going to try and stick with it now until the end, to get the most out of the story.



I loved that game! I kept annoying myself by switching between the original and the updated character artwork, though 


Played a bit more of Jedi Fallen Order (now on Zeffo) but I really must finish one or two of the other games I've got going.  Ys IX is the best of the lot, so I'm concentrating on this . . . mostly


----------



## Garfunkel

Bugg said:


> I loved that game! I kept annoying myself by switching between the original and the updated character artwork, though
> 
> 
> Played a bit more of Jedi Fallen Order (now on Zeffo) but I really must finish one or two of the other games I've got going.  Ys IX is the best of the lot, so I'm concentrating on this . . . mostly



Haha, I've stuck to the updated character artwork, so haven't had that annoyance.  

I'm pretty sure it's going to go down as one of my all-time favourite RPGs.


----------



## alexvss

Just beat *Far Cry Primal*, and I regret not playing this sooner. I bought it for a few pennies on a recent sale and, man, did I like it!

I confess I stepped in a little biased because of the lack of firearms (they do have "firebombs" but I think that's historically inacurate ); but fighiting with spears, clubs and bow and arrow is just as fun, if not funnier, than shooting things. It's just a little harder to take aim and kill the enemies.

It's not perfect though. The villains, the highest point in the franchise, could be much better. *Far Cry* villains are so good that they're on almost all the covers. But it fell flat here.

Excited for *Far Cry 6*.


----------



## Rodders

I started playing Death Stranding last night. Only a couple of hours in and It's leaving me a little cold as there are a lot of cutscenes in the initial stages of the game. The game seems to revolve around delivering packages to other cities in old continental United States and I think i prefer something a little more shooty. I'll stick with it for perhaps another ten hours, or so to see if i can get into it.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ever play a Hideo Kojima game before? Much to like, but the man does have a thing for cutscenes.


----------



## Rodders

No, never. I've been looking at some YouTube videos and it does look intriguing. I'll play it again in a minute and see if i can get into it a little more.


----------



## Deke

Playing fallout 4 modded to the gills for immersion.

Before I left online gaming behind for the last time, I used to play this D&D style game called Neverwinter Nights. It recently got an enhanced edition on Steam and my old server is pretty popular these days. It’s a persistent world role playing server, if you like D&D and immersive storytelling it’s the place to be. PM me if you want the details I’d be happy to share.


----------



## Foxbat

Just got my arse handed to me as my beloved Nova Carthago crumbled into the post apocalyptic dust. Like all great empires, the rot started from within when one of my most trusted advisors turned on me along with many disloyal militia. As I struggled to maintain food and power supplies, my northern neighbour just wouldn't surrender, sucking up much of my forces and I ended up with the dreaded war on two fronts.

Shadow Empire is the kind of game where taking a break from it for a few months and then going back to it creates a huge disadvantage. There are so many nuances.

From the ashes, my next empire: New Byzantium.


----------



## alexvss

thaddeus6th said:


> Ever play a Hideo Kojima game before? Much to like, but the man does have a thing for cutscenes.


I've beaten *Metal Gear Solid 4* and *Death Stranding.* If cutscenes aren't your thing, stay away from it. I'd literally sleep with MGS4 cutscenes; Death Stranding's thing is to make you walk for hours on end.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, MGS4 was really overdone in that regard. Shame.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m not a fan of cutscenes. I just like to get on with the mayhem.


----------



## Overread

I find that there's a balance between the two. Having too many cutscenes or talking points can interrupt the flow of the gameplay because you just get into the swing of enjoying the game and suddenly it all has to pause. Similarly sometimes having too much grind and repetitive gameplay with no goals, achievements or changes can end up leaving a game feeling hollow. Both are problems. 

I've been playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth and that one certainly has a lot of very short missions interspaced with long talking segments and "back and forth" missions (without any fights/gameplay) which can make the game feel less engaging even though they are trying really hard to build a huge story into it. 


That said the worst crime are cutscene quicktime events. When you're watching a cool cutscene battle and suddenly everything pauses or slows down and a BIG "Press X" symbol appears and you have to hit it at either the right time or many times to "advance" the scene forward. Or the infamous "Press F to show respects". Basically events that have to happen and are going to happen to make the scene move forward, but which require you user input in a totally skill free and meaningless way. They annoy me because you can't enjoy the scene before you and because the developers feel like "yeah we've put gameplay into it" when really its not.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I've started a new Dragon Age: Origins playthrough. PS4 being a bit wobbly and I go back to old consoles now and then anyway.

Just finished the dwarf commoner origin (female warrior). Holding up very well so far.


----------



## Foxbat

Not sure if you’re aware @thaddeus6th but there’s a number of old consoles been released in mini version with a load of games built in. One of those is the Playstation 1. Might tickle your fancy


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, hmm, cheers for the heads up.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve restarted my new regime in Shadow Empire. The food shortages in the last game were a huge problem so I visited the official forum and searched for tips. Apparently it’s better to minimise government run farms and let the private economy supply the population. I’ve done that and It seems to be working. In my last game, the more I built state farms, the worse things seemed to get but this time, with a hands-off approach, things appear to be better (so far). It kind of reminds me of all those inefficient state run farms in soviet Russia.


----------



## thaddeus6th

One of the hardest parts of Dragon Age: Origins is picking party composition because the characters are great.

This was Inquisition's weakest spot, perhaps. Blackwall was depressing, Iron Bull a bit of a lecturing dong on legs, Serah annoyed the hell out of me. The Cassandra, Dorian, Varric combination was pretty strong, but there isn't a single weak link, in character terms, in Origins.


----------



## Foxbat

I think my head is going to explode. I'm starting to suffer food shortages again in Shadow Empire and have discovered it's because of 'adminstrative strain'. What that means is my regime is too big and making food is too labour intensive (humans who work have a very bad habit of wanting to be fed). The further the asset is from my capital, the less efficient and more logistics hungry it gets. My farms are currently running at 41% administrative strain, which is much too high. I  need to bring more automation into food product and rezone my regime but first I need to research the relevant tech. On  top of that, my southern neighbour has decided to invade. Right now, it's only my vast metal mining and manufacturing might keeping me afloat. I'm having to buy in huge quantities of food from the profits they generate. If I exhaust my mining operations, I'm probably kaput.

I don't think I've ever played a more complicated game.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> Apparently it’s better to minimise government run farms and let the private economy supply the population.


The history of the 20th century could have told you that 



Foxbat said:


> Right now, it's only my vast metal mining and manufacturing might keeping me afloat. I'm having to buy in huge quantities of food from the profits they generate. If I exhaust my mining operations, I'm probably kaput.


Since you're already at war, can't you just use your manufacturing might to take some more farmland off your neighbour?



Foxbat said:


> I don't think I've ever played a more complicated game.


You nearly had me interested in trying it... missed by _this _much. Though I do like complicated games so....


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> Since you're already at war, can't you just use your manufacturing might to take some more farmland off your neighbour?


A landgrab right now would only increase administrative strain because it’s based on a formula that takes into account distance from the administrative centre. I could build more farms but that would  increase inefficiency. What I really need to focus might manufacturing on is rezoning and multiple administrative centres (to decrease the distances) not fight a war (and increase the distances). Like I said, complicated and hurting my head.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> A landgrab right now would only increase administrative strain because it’s based on a formula that takes into account distance from the administrative centre. I could build more farms but that would  increase inefficiency. What I really need to focus might manufacturing on is rezoning and multiple administrative centres (to decrease the distances) not fight a war (and increase the distances). Like I said, complicated and hurting my head.


Yea I get you, administrative simulations like that always drive me up the wall as well.

But on the other hand... WAR!


----------



## Toby Frost

What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

I've been playing the completely disposable dungeon-explorer game Warhammer Quest. I think I've probably played it more than all the developers put together. It's really simple and a bit mediocre, but there's something reassuring about its lack of bells and whistles, and the graphics are both simple and good.


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> It's really simple and a bit mediocre, but there's something reassuring about its lack of bells and whistles, and the graphics are both simple and good.


 One of my all-timer favourite games is still D/Generation. Simplicity at its best.


----------



## AlexH

Since I completed Mario Odyssey a few months/weeks ago (at least to the extent I was happy with - no way do I want to collect every star), I haven't played anything solo apart from *Breath of the Wild*. I'm 65 hours in after starting sometime last year. Still very much enjoying it but wishing such games were shorter so I could play more of them. I intend to try something shorter like Edith Finch or Gone Home, but given I only play Zelda about once a week, I haven't got around to it.

On co-op mode, my bro' and I completed the first part of *Full Metal Furies*. It's an outstanding ARPG/Contra-esque shooter/puzzle game, but that first 'ending' was a little underwhelming. *Akuto: Showdown *has been fun on local multiplayer too. It's like little Morphs with swords and guns and basically kill or be killed with lots of (cartoony) blood, and I like the isometric viewpoint and levels.


----------



## Bugg

I picked up Tales of Arise at a reduced price.  It's very, very good, which is a relief as I haven't particularly liked any of the previous Tales games I've tried.  Currently dividing my time between that, Nier Automata and Ys IX.


----------



## AllanR

A java clone of the old board game Titan (called Colossus) Found at Play Colossus


----------



## Toby Frost

Fallout 4. It really is excellent. The experience of picking through ruins is amazing. It's more visually interesting that Fallout 3's rather drab world, and inspired me to make a load of model terrain when I last played. I could probably spend days just mucking about on it.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> Fallout 4. It really is excellent. The experience of picking through ruins is amazing. It's more visually interesting that Fallout 3's rather drab world, and inspired me to make a load of model terrain when I last played. I could probably spend days just mucking about on it.


Ha, I literally had some plaster cast walls in my hands like 30 seconds ago - trying to build a ruined structure for a model I'm making.

I've been playing Timberborn though, it's a beaver colony game with some fun water mechanics. Could use more of a challenging aspect though.


----------



## alexvss

I just beat *Bioshock 2*. Great, great game. I really like the worldbuilding and plot twists of this franchise. The second installment recycled a lot from the first game though, and lacked a final boss.

Now I'm off to beat *Bioshock: Infinite* again. I've beaten this game as soon as it came out, but I'll play through the whole franchise.


----------



## StilLearning

I'm working my way through Alien:Isolation one save point per evening - it's a pretty tense game, but mainly the limit is to keep myself from getting too sucked in - it uses a lot of details from the Alien universe, often that we're only given in directors cuts or assembly editions, and I'm a sucker for that stuff!


----------



## DrStrangelove

As *Space Marine* just got a free update for it's tenth anniversary, the multiplayer is finally alive again and I decided to return to the game, tackling the campaign and every mode.

After ten years, having last played the game as a teenager, I did not suspect it would age so well, especially how Relic managed to balance W40k's balls-to-the-wall premise with a simplistic, but sombre plot. Gameplay is still amazing - it is  adeffinitive Space Marine power fantasy, with soundscape, animation and mechanics all tailored to recreate the feeling of running across a battlefield as an adamantium-clad mutant space knight.

After rereading the _Blood of Kerensky _trilogy by M. Stackpole I have also returned to *Battletech. *Amazing game, one of the best tacticals in recent years, with the only drawback being that the plot occurs long before the invasion of the Clans, which is, for me, the best timeline point in the setting.


----------



## Toby Frost

Space Marine was a good laugh. The orks always amused me. "Uh-oh boss, what do we do now?" "Just shout the IP, Grug!" "OK - Space Marine! Space Marine!"

I always find it slightly odd that people often talk of "beating" games instead of finishing them. Unless they're really linear, I tend to think of it as experiencing them. I don't see how you could "beat" something like Skyrim, unless you finished absolutely every mission in it.

Fallout 4 continues to be really good - I don't think it's the best RPG, shooter or building game, but every aspect in it is very good, and the combination of the makes it excellent.


----------



## condatis

thaddeus6th said:


> Ever play a Hideo Kojima game before? Much to like, but the man does have a thing for cutscenes.



Yeah, you can tell he wanted to be a movie director.

Way late to the party but I started on Elder Scrolls Skyrim last month and it's the only thing I'm playing at present. The history & lore is so deep, it still feels like I'm just scratching the surface of it. The combat controls felt weird and limited at first and it's probably what pushes many into stealth archery, but stealth is my favourite form of action game anyway.


----------



## Toby Frost

Mr too - I always found the stealth option easier and more enjoyable than just running in and hacking everything up. Stealth lets you take enemies out one at a time, but whenever I took a full-on approach, I ended up running away from a conga line of loads of enemies.


----------



## condatis

Yeah, the scope of magic is cool in combat as well but it takes time to level up to the complex stuff, especially if you're not a high or dark elf.


----------



## bretbernhoft

I am currently enjoying Horizon: Zero Dawn. It is a game set a couple+ hundred years into the future, after our global human society collapsed because of a technological disaster.

The main character's name is Aloy, which speaks to the most important aspect of the game; the fusion of the untamed wilderness with human innovation. It's a great game, exceptionally beautiful.


----------



## .matthew.

I've been playing New World... when I can get past the queues


----------



## Toby Frost

Last night Fallout 4 provided this noir image:


----------



## .matthew.

Some decent free games if you happen to have a Prime account - scroll to the bottom. Alien Isolation, Ghostrunner, Star Wars Squadrons, and a bunch of Wallace and Gromit games which probably aren't great but hey, it's Gromit 

Epic Games also has Europa Universalis IV for free as well.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still playing Shadow Empire and have developed nuclear weapons. I’ve just nuked my first city with a short range ballistic missile as part of my planetary conquest plans. Unfortunately, I’m now having to research how to clean up the radioactive fallout before I move my forces in and enslave the surviving population.


----------



## Bugg

Metroid Dread

It's fantastic in just about every way but, unfortunately, my reactions are no longer as good as they were nearly 20 years ago when I was playing the Prime and GBA games


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, not my type of game but I have heard some mockery of games journalists who disliked it because they found it too hard (a bit like Cuphead).

Satisfying type of difficult, though, right?


----------



## Bugg

Oh definitely, yeah.  It's not the game's fault I'm rubbish


----------



## thaddeus6th

Still playing Shadow Hearts: Covenant. 

The gameplay mechanics remain innovative and very well put together even 16 years after initial release. The ring makes each battle something more engaging, and performing well (all perfect results, no/few enemy turns, no damage) gift extra rewards after a battle so there's an incentive to try even when battles are easy. Almost all characters can equip demonic crests for transferable magic skills, but if you place them in correct sections of Solomon's Key then additional powers are unlocked, so old crests don't just become useless as the game progresses. And if multiple crests on the same character confer the same skill, the MP cost of casting gets halved.

Pretty nifty stuff, by and large.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm still on Fallout 4, and probably will be until I'm 60 or so. Yesterday's highlight was hiding from super mutants, as a woman in a blue vault suit: "Here, human human human... come out and die, stupid blue lady!"


----------



## Deke

Anyone play Horizon Zero Dawn? I loved the story and how they fed it to you piecemeal. I thought it would make a great movie, probably a better movie than a game but the game was still good if a bit repetitive. 

But the story kept you wanting to push on, not the story in the games timeline for me but what happened before, though I did become emotionally invested in Aloy towards the end.


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, I had it. I enjoyed it, but I never felt that I really got the hang of fighting the robots. I reached a point near the end where I seemed to need a better bow, and getting hold of it was very difficult, so I got no further.


----------



## Deke

There is a “story” difficulty. It drops the difficulty to a level you can just enjoy the game for the story telling.


----------



## Toby Frost

Maybe I ought to give it another go sometime. It was good fun.


----------



## AlexH

Bugg said:


> Metroid Dread
> 
> It's fantastic in just about every way but, unfortunately, my reactions are no longer as good as they were nearly 20 years ago when I was playing the Prime and GBA games


I wasn't a fan of Super Metroid on the SNES and as a result never really tried a Metroid game again. Maybe I should revisit. I bought a 3DS last year and had an eBay alert for the 3DS Metroid game for <£20. That never materialised, and since Dread was announced, prices more than doubled. So I wish I'd splashed out the £20+ to try the game. It would've been a good profit if I didn't like it!

I'd like to try the Prime games. Apparently they're best on the Wii, but the Prime Trilogy is expensive too. Maybe they'll remaster for Switch...


----------



## Bugg

AlexH said:


> I wasn't a fan of Super Metroid on the SNES and as a result never really tried a Metroid game again. Maybe I should revisit. I bought a 3DS last year and had an eBay alert for the 3DS Metroid game for <£20. That never materialised, and since Dread was announced, prices more than doubled. So I wish I'd splashed out the £20+ to try the game. It would've been a good profit if I didn't like it!
> 
> I'd like to try the Prime games. Apparently they're best on the Wii, but the Prime Trilogy is expensive too. Maybe they'll remaster for Switch...



There have been rumours of the Prime Trilogy coming to Switch for a while now. I think the latest expectation is that they'll release it in the run up to the release of Prime 4. Metroid Prime was my favourite game of all time until Witcher 3 came along. I still prefer it in many ways. It was worth having a Game Cube just for that game, even if my hands turned into claws by the time I finished playing it    I did play it on Wii as well and they adapted the controls very well, and it's in 16:9 as well, as opposed to the original version being 4:3, so probably the best way to play it these days, short of the Dolphin emulator.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Still on Shadow Hearts: Covenant, now playing disc 2. I'd forgotten more of this than the first disc, but it's still nicely done. Shame the series stopped shortly thereafter (there was one more game but it wasn't as good).


----------



## Toby Frost

I thought I'd try Torment: Tides of Numenera again. It's like a very talky, combat-light version of Baldur's Gate. It's also utterly weird, to the extent that one of my party seems to be a translucent blob made out of my character's own sense of guilt or something. I appreciate the original setting, but the sheer oddity makes the game's logic hard to understand, and hence the puzzles are quite obscure. It's hard to know whether I'm doing anything wrong.


----------



## BigBadBob141

Yes folks I've gone back to the Stone-Age, I've put on my furry briefs ( synthetic not real fur ) and got my trusty club, now am looking for a nice girl to bash on the head and drag back to my cave by her hair, I always was a romantic!
What the hell am I twittering on about you may well ask, well as far as computer games go I really have gone back to the Stone-Age.
Am talking about the famous Infocom text based adventure games such as Zork.
They can be found to play free of charge on-line at enderandrew.com/if/games.html
They seem to have the full set of Infocom games plus a load of others, but sadly no Level Nine Games, I was so looking forward to replaying Snowball and Red Moon but never mind, there's lots of other stuff to have a go at.
What a text based adventure is, is just that, all text, no graphics or sound, this may sound very boring but it's not, some of the puzzles are rock hard to crack, you also need a large sheet of paper to draw a map on as you go, otherwise it can be easy to get lost or go around in circles, to be honest a lot of people who bought them never finished them as they can be so hard!
I'll be honest they can get frustrating and you need a fair bit of patience, but keep on trying out different things, if that doesn't work just give it a rest for a while and the answer might come to you.
There's lots of great games as well as the famous Zork series, there's one based on The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy made with the help of the late, great Douglas Adams.
There is also a very kinky one called The Leather Goddess Of Phobos, now that is worth a try just for a laugh!
It could be said that text adventures were the very first computer games, the first being Colossal Cave written by students on a university main frame before there was such a thing as personal computers, so go on give yourselves a treat and have a go at the granddaddy of them all!


----------



## Toby Frost

I was slaughtering a range of fascists in the old Call of Duty: World at War game. I don't think it's particularly good, and there are much better WW2 games, but it's the only one that's ever given me much of a feel of how utterly grim it must have been to take on hordes of crazed sadists with machine guns. The problem is that this (literal) stab at realism means a lot of just dying arbitrarily. It's a relief to finish the levels, but not actually all that enjoyable.

Anyhow, just before the end, the game randomly wiped all my saves, so it's been deleted. Well done, CoD.


----------



## MemoryTale

Deke said:


> Anyone play Horizon Zero Dawn? I loved the story and how they fed it to you piecemeal. I thought it would make a great movie, probably a better movie than a game but the game was still good if a bit repetitive.
> 
> But the story kept you wanting to push on, not the story in the games timeline for me but what happened before, though I did become emotionally invested in Aloy towards the end.


That's next on my To Play list, after my current run through of Arkham City - all I've got left to do is pick up the last few Riddler trophies for the ultimate reward in all of gaming history - getting to punch Riddler in the face


----------



## Toby Frost

Prey (2017): this is by Bethesda Softworks, and should be a mixture of Dishonoured and Bioshock, as you try to survive in a ruined space station. Unfortunately, it's bogged down by endless busywork (put the objects in the machine to make goo, now put the goo into the other machine to make new objects etc), and continual backtracking, which makes progress very slow. Add to that very high difficulty and confusing directions, and it's a bit of a missed opportunity.


----------



## alexvss

*Warsaw*. A turn-based RPG about the Polish uprising during the Nazi invasion. You manage your resources and characters, then go out on expeditions to try and reclaim the city. The battle system is the same as in *Darkest Dungeon*, and I like it a lot. If the characters die, they stay dead, even the main ones. The story is pretty straight-forward and you know you're doomed from the start; but Poland has an amazing history of resistance on that era so I'm enjoying it a lot.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I was slaughtering a range of fascists in the old Call of Duty: World at War game. I don't think it's particularly good, and there are much better WW2 games


It's actually one of my favourite CoDs from my relative youth. I didn't play the ones after that because it got way too in your face achievements, multikills, ridiculous customisation and grind, etc. But, I do remember liking the multiplayer of World at War.

I've been playing a bit of Space Haven. It's an early access game I picked up from a Humble Bundle but it's not terrible. Gets repetitive and slow but the idea of a colony manager where your colony is a ship travelling from system to system in search of resources is pretty good.


----------



## Toby Frost

The multiplayer always struck me as a really jarring change of tone. You finish the last mission, and there's a solemn speech about death tolls and the evils of fascism, and then the game goes "Now, wanna shoot some zombies?!" I find it slightly uncomfortable to be playing a game - at least, a purportedly serious one, unlike Wolfenstein - set in the real world's atrocities, but at least it seems half-accurate and shows some stuff that has been conveniently forgotten and ought to be remembered.

More time-killing with Prey. It really has one enormous flaw: it's very unclear about what you're supposed to be doing to progress. It'll often say something like "Open the airlock" without explaining that you need to make a keycard to open the airlock, using the makeotron. Or maybe I'm just dopey and need more hand-holding. It's far more stressful than a horror game like Bioshock, because it's so irritating.

I also played a game where you have a theme park with dinosaurs (not Jurassic Park). It was very simple and pleasant.


----------



## Vladd67

I been having with the big train set that is Transport Fever 2.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, but Call of Duty was never meant to have a serious multiplayer, at least after the original game. It was very arcadey but got progressively worse as the series went on. I do still remember the WaW campaign start with the flamethrower though, so it certainly did a good job with that.

Was the dino game Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs by any chance?



Vladd67 said:


> I been having with the big train set that is Transport Fever 2.


I'm not big on train simulators but did play Railway Empire last month. It was pretty entertaining for a while but lacked enough to keep me interested.


----------



## Toby Frost

I think it's called Dinotopia. It's very cartoony and quite fun, if simple. You acquire some dinosaur eggs and build a little theme park. Predictably, every so often a dinosaur breaks loose. I've managed to tranquilise them and put them back before they ate the visitors, fortunately. That must be some strong tranquiliser to stop a Triceratops.


----------



## .matthew.

All I can think from that description is


----------



## Toby Frost

What's that from? I worry for that giraffe stuck in an enclosure with two anklyosaurs.


----------



## .matthew.

The Zoo Tycoon one. It started as a regular zoo game and had a dinosaur expansion. That meant you could literally put the goat in with the t-rex.

I remember it being pretty good, in a dumb sort of way. It also had the escapes and the tranquilising and the cartooniness, which is why my mind went to it. All I recall about Dinotopia is that it was an amazingly detailed storybook I had as a kid.


----------



## Toby Frost

I take back what I said about Prey not being scary.


----------



## Toby Frost

Oh, the dinosaur game is called Parkasaurus.


----------



## .matthew.

@Toby Frost Hang on just one finger-lickin' minute... you could remember the name of the anklyosaurs but not Parkasaurus...

It also looks a lot like Parkitect but for a zoo


----------



## Foxbat

Picked up War In The Pacific:Admiral’s Edition for £12.80 in a sale at Matrix Games (normally going for £61). 

I already have the standard edition and, so far, I‘ve noticed better UI performance and graphical improvements. It’s also meant to have better AI but it will take me a while to delve deep enough into this monster game to find that out.

 I’d forgotten how complicated this game is. My brain is already balking at the horror.


----------



## Bugg

Ordered an Analogue Pocket.  Looooooong wait for it (don't know which pre-order group I'm in yet) but couldn't resist.


----------



## .matthew.

I downloaded Endless Sky (open-source free on Steam) and it's surprisingly solid. A pretty decent space ship/fleet based trading/fighting open world. Put like 20 hours into it over the last 2 weeks and it's easy to play even with the incredibly deep ship customisation and stuff.

Definitely recommend anyone interested in sci-fi games like this to try it out. Totally free, no microtransactions or anything, literally free in the classic sense of freeware


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing Final Fantasy VII (remake). It's quite weird having it be a million miles from the original in terms of technology. Quite liking it so far, though.


----------



## Toby Frost

After 10 years or so, I managed to get Fable 3 to work on my computer again. It's great. It's too simple to be a proper role-playing game, but it's got some interesting ideas that never quite come together. It's also really entertaining and quite funny in places. The voice-acting cast is amazing: Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Bernard Hill and John Cleese, among others. I like the look and tone of it very much and you can dress up in silly ways and impress people by belching at them. What more could anyone want?


----------



## Foxbat

Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe. Still the nearest thing (that folk like me who lack the space) to having a train set on your PC. Not only that, it’s free at GOG.com

If you want to find it there, don’t search for transport tycoon. Instead, type in OpenTTD.


----------



## MemoryTale

thaddeus6th said:


> Playing Final Fantasy VII (remake). It's quite weird having it be a million miles from the original in terms of technology. Quite liking it so far, though.


If you're not there already, wait until you get to the Airbuster fight - I played that whole sequence with a big grin on my face


----------



## Foxbat

Just bought, installed and fired up for the first time Kerbal Space Program. Looks like it might be fun but I'm suspecting it will take a while to figure out how to get a rocket into space. 

It is, after all, rocket science


----------



## Vladd67

Foxbat said:


> Just bought, installed and fired up for the first time Kerbal Space Program. Looks like it might be fun but I'm suspecting it will take a while to figure out how to get a rocket into space.
> 
> It is, after all, rocket science


No shortage of YouTube videos to help you. Scott Manley is a good one


----------



## Foxbat

Vladd67 said:


> No shortage of YouTube videos to help you. Scott Manley is a good one


And after losing a number of astronauts in tutorial number 2 (I had trouble deploying the chute on re-entry), YouTube is exactly where I had to go. 
This video was helpful and I know what went wrong (tutorial never mentioned that you can get your astronaut to help control the attitude of the craft). Hopefully my days of losing astronauts because the module nose-dived into the ground are over.
Initially very frustrating but I think it could be a lot of fun once the basics are mastered.


----------



## Vladd67

Foxbat said:


> And after losing a number of astronauts in tutorial number 2 (I had trouble deploying the chute on re-entry), YouTube is exactly where I had to go.
> This video was helpful and I know what went wrong (tutorial never mentioned that you can get your astronaut to help control the attitude of the craft). Hopefully my days of losing astronauts because the module nose-dived into the ground are over.
> Initially very frustrating but I think it could be a lot of fun once the basics are mastered.


Quill also did a great series. Personally I can get a kerbal into orbit but never have the fuel to bring them home.


----------



## paranoid marvin

Did anyone ever try to get the Space Shuttle into orbit (and home) in Activision's game on the Atari VCS? Now that really _was _a challenge!


----------



## Foxbat

Vladd67 said:


> Quill also did a great series. Personally I can get a kerbal into orbit but never have the fuel to bring them home.


I finally managed to get a kerbal back alive  (it was just straight up and down, nothing fancy like orbiting).

For some unfathomable reason, tutorial 2 is actually more difficult than in the game itself. I can’t get the chute to deploy because of attitude problems in the lesson but I can do it successfully in a proper game. From now on, all tutorials are abandoned in favour of YouTube. 

This is my only criticism of this game. I can’t think of anything more likely to put off a new player than an impossibly difficult tutorial (it’s not as if there’s a manual to turn to).


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm doing ok with a Stellaris playthrough on Commodore (not super easy, but not a top difficulty either). Annoyed with my allies, though. The AI of them is rampantly incompetent, despite one having a very sizeable fleet. The enemy, however, with whom my allies are constantly spoiling for a fight, are way smarter. 

Next time I'm thinking of playing as a more aggressive, domineering empire just so I'm not hobbled by my 'allies'.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm still playing Fable 3, and I'm now in the strange second half of the game, where you've taken the throne and have to make various decisions to raise money to fight an incoming threat. It's weird and can be quite arbitrary at time, but it's interesting and takes the game in a new direction. Unfortunately, it also involves a lot of mucking around as you try to find ways to kill time while your treasury grows from rent and taxation. I don't think the second half really works, but it's definitely interesting.


----------



## Rodders

I bought Fallout 3 and 4 this evening. I'll finish my current game of Days Gone before i start a new one. 

Any recommendations on which one to start?


----------



## atsouthorn

Has anyone given Halo Infinite a whirl yet? I've got it on standby, and have heard good things. I'm afraid of playing any new release nowadays given how buggy and unfinished modern games from the big publishers seem to be.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> This is my only criticism of this game. I can’t think of anything more likely to put off a new player than an impossibly difficult tutorial (it’s not as if there’s a manual to turn to).


It could be worse? YouTube might not have been invented yet... Woe were the gaming days before the internet 



thaddeus6th said:


> The AI of them is rampantly incompetent, despite one having a very sizeable fleet. The enemy, however, with whom my allies are constantly spoiling for a fight, are way smarter.


I'm not sure if it's true for Stellaris as I notice a lot of terrible AI decisions, but in a lot of games, ally AI gets dumbed down to compensate for a human player on their team.



atsouthorn said:


> Has anyone given Halo Infinite a whirl yet?


Not yet, but I see a few people on Steam playing it all the time so I assume it's at least worth a go.

---

I began playing Total War Troy (with Radious Mod) that I got free on Epic ages ago. It's not terrible... but the UI designers don't appear to have ever played a Total War before, and there are so many little annoyances that wouldn't have taken them more than a day to fix


----------



## Toby Frost

Rodders said:


> I bought Fallout 3 and 4 this evening.



Tricky one: Fallout 3 is simpler, but to be honest, Fallout 4 just feels better in almost every way. It's more complex but there's a lot more that you can do. They're both excellent, though. I hope you enjoy them!


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> It could be worse? YouTube might not have been invented yet... Woe were the gaming days before the internet



It’s probably an age thing but I much prefer a manual (even if it is just in pdf form). If I’d known this didn’t have one (I assumed that it did), I probably wouldn’t have bought it. 

Come to think of it, I think it may well be an age thing….there used to be a TV programme called Grumpy Old Men where folk complained about things and life in general. I often found myself agreeing with them


----------



## Foxbat

So I thought I'd share some screenshots of my many failures



Back to the drawing board...



Something wrong with our boosters..



Finally made it into orbit but, unfortunately, the chute failed to open on re-entry. No survivors


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, that's an interesting idea.

I think that, usually, the AI is equally simple whether it's an ally or enemy in Stellaris, but this time it was so repeatedly and obviously slanted it was quite annoying.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> It’s probably an age thing but I much prefer a manual (even if it is just in pdf form). If I’d known this didn’t have one (I assumed that it did), I probably wouldn’t have bought it.


Funnily enough, a good manual is something I praise in a game - Slitherine is great for including them in all their titles.

Also, a quick search turned up the Kerbal Manual on their website. The page was already marked as read so I assume I must have looked at it myself at some point as well, though I didn't save the cursed PDF


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Matthew, that's an interesting idea.
> 
> I think that, usually, the AI is equally simple whether it's an ally or enemy in Stellaris, but this time it was so repeatedly and obviously slanted it was quite annoying.


Yea, Paradox aren't great for strategic AI, though I do like them a lot more than the simplistic Total War ones.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> Also, a quick search turned up the Kerbal Manual on their website


I eventually found this too. It’s not a great manual but it did help. I also found that it’s available in-game but I prefer a separate manual I can peruse at my leisure 

I’m busy mucking about in sandbox mode and finding out things. I’ve lost count of the number of kerbals I’ve roasted on lift-off.


----------



## Av Demeisen

thaddeus6th said:


> I'm doing ok with a Stellaris playthrough on Commodore (not super easy, but not a top difficulty either). Annoyed with my allies, though. The AI of them is rampantly incompetent, despite one having a very sizeable fleet. The enemy, however, with whom my allies are constantly spoiling for a fight, are way smarter.
> 
> Next time I'm thinking of playing as a more aggressive, domineering empire just so I'm not hobbled by my 'allies'.


Do you use mods like _StarNet AI_ and _Growth and Conquest Rebalancing_ (which are compatible with this patch in place)?


----------



## thaddeus6th

Av, nope, I'm afraid I'm a console peasant.


----------



## Av Demeisen

thaddeus6th said:


> Av, nope, I'm afraid I'm a console peasant.


Ah. My last console was a PS3. I got rid of my television for good since. (I watch everything on my desktop computer, including F1.)


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Av, nope, I'm afraid I'm a console peasant.


I, on the other hand, only really play PC games that can be - and are - heavily modded. It's the way to go


----------



## alexvss

*Metro: Exodus*. I'm still at the introduction though. Very excited to experience its famous open-world. I really like the novel.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Av, I still go back and play old games sometimes. Dragon Age: Origins (PS3) and Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2) both hold up really well.

And I'd forgotten the latter has an MGS stealth style section, with a wolf sneaking around to get the rest of the party out of prison.


----------



## Foxbat

Picked up Fallout New Vegas for £4.49 at GOG. Surprisingly, it runs pretty well (so far…might change if things get busy on screen) on my old Vista machine. 
First impressions…..looks like it might be fun.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Picked up Fallout New Vegas for £4.49 at GOG. Surprisingly, it runs pretty well (so far…might change if things get busy on screen) on my old Vista machine.
> First impressions…..looks like it might be fun.


I don't have the game but the number one tip I have noticed from seeing livestreams of this game is to save often.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m not a particularly good gamer so ‘save often’ is my mantra


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> I’m not a particularly good gamer so ‘save often’ is my mantra


It's not so much about gameplay, rather the number of times the game crashes!


----------



## Foxbat

Ah! 

So far I’ve been lucky with no crashes. Very irritating to setup up though. Binding specific keys and mouse functions had me pulling what little hair I have left out. I didn’t notice the device button for changing between keyboard, mouse etc. on the settings menu. This was because it had almost blended into the splash screen. Had to go online to find out about it. Not an auspicious start but now the game appears to be performing well. 

I never did finish Fallout 3 so I might put this one aside and return to its predecessor for now.


----------



## New

I've been playing a little less lately - but I'm a fan and player of a fairly old game - EVE Online.
The game should appeal to every SCi-Fi fan. Unfortunately, EVE Online takes a lot of time, it's like a second job.


----------



## .matthew.

New said:


> I've been playing a little less lately - but I'm a fan and player of a fairly old game - EVE Online.
> The game should appeal to every SCi-Fi fan. Unfortunately, EVE Online takes a lot of time, it's like a second job.


EEEEEEEEEEK!

The flashbacks. The horror.

I gave up on Eve years ago thankfully. Did the whole wormhole ninja thing, founded Hard Knocks with a couple of corpies, then got burned out on the administrative end of running a growing corp.


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> It's not so much about gameplay, rather the number of times the game crashes!


I just started playing Fallout 3 again (on my old Vista machine). It used to be pretty stable but now it crashes all the time after just a few minutes play. I had to replace the video card with a newer one about a year ago and it has the latest drivers installed. Ironic that it ran fine on my old now defunct card but not on my newer more powerful up to date one.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> I just started playing Fallout 3 again (on my old Vista machine). It used to be pretty stable but now it crashes all the time after just a few minutes play. I had to replace the video card with a newer one about a year ago and it has the latest drivers installed. Ironic that it ran fine on my old now defunct card but not on my newer more powerful up to date one.


Yeah, it'll probably not be tested with newer cards so the old game will 'fall through the cracks' - I guess. Fallout 3 does have quite a dedicated player base, but it's probably not big enough for the graphics card company to make adjustments to the drivers to help it in their updates. 

Mind you, if the rumoured Fallout 3 remastered comes out, that may change.


----------



## Foxbat

Oddly enough, going back to playing New Vegas….seems pretty stable (so far).


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still playing New Vegas and enjoying it. Surprisingly few crashes.


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm still mucking about on Fallout 4. It really is one of the best games ever made.

I've also discovered how to make the Thief 2 fan missions work on my computer, so that ought to keep me busy for a while! I played a demo for a game called Rustler (a sort of medieval Grand Theft Auto) which was very funny and full of great ideas but sadly just not that good a game.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still enjoying New Vegas (just helped the mutants blast off in their rockets) so I might have to invest in Fallout 4 soon.


----------



## Travalgar

I'm on my first run through Valkyria Chronicles on my laptop. Got it as an economic bundle with VC4 from Steam. Looking good so far.


----------



## worldofmutes

I’m playing The Game of Love - Europe Conquest Love Games IV „Return to the USSR - Baltic States Edition Vol. 2” Chapter III- A Little Brothel in Tallinn.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I liked both of those VC games (not played any others). Probably like the first one more, but the gameplay is better in the latest.


----------



## Vladd67

Just started Crusader Kings 3. I can see time just drifting away with this one.


----------



## alexvss

*Forgive me Father*. A fast-paced FPS where you play as a priest killing Lovecraftian creatures. I'm currently crafting a Lovecraftian horror story so I bought this game to help, but it has almost no story. It's fun as hell though. The graphics have a comic book style that I'm enjoying a lot and the game is very challenging. Let's see if I'll get any inspiration from it..


----------



## worldofmutes

The last game I played was *Rainbow Six: Siege. *I was playing it with my <grntxt> >girlfriend </grntxt>. I enjoyed the dynamic functions and utilities of all of the characters, it’s a very fast paced high adrenaline fps. I still miss the vast, sprawling maps of the old Halo games though. These maps felt very claustrophobic.


----------



## Garfunkel

I'm currently playing Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, which is pretty good. I've really gotten into metroidvanias in the past year and a bit, and while I don't think I'll love any as much as Hollow Knight, I've had a lot of fun. 

I also started playing Final Fantasy 9 over Christmas and need to get back to it. I have a bad habit of playing RPGs for a while and then drifting to something else, which means I have quite a few half-finished RPGs kicking about.


----------



## BAYLOR

Im still playing Skyrim.


----------



## worldofmutes

Garfunkel said:


> I'm currently playing Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, which is pretty good. I've really gotten into metroidvanias in the past year and a bit, and while I don't think I'll love any as much as Hollow Knight, I've had a lot of fun.
> 
> I also started playing Final Fantasy 9 over Christmas and need to get back to it. I have a bad habit of playing RPGs for a while and then drifting to something else, which means I have quite a few half-finished RPGs kicking about.


FF9 is hands down my favorite! But it was really difficult, I couldn’t get beyond the Gizamaluk in the grotto. Just like in FFX, I didn’t get beyond the machine (Crawler) after the meeting with Seymour. Our key word back then was training! We call it farming now. I remember when that game came out I had a big crush on Lulu. I had this nice blog on dragid with her wallpaper and all things Lulu. 

But still, 9 was my favorite. But the best game I ever played was *The Legend of Dragoon. *I revisited it just a few years ago, and it was like magic.


----------



## Foxbat

Out for my usual morning cycle today. It was just before dawn and I noticed something dark cross the road just in front of me. _Radscorpion, _I thought. No. It was just a cat. But perhaps it means I need a to take break from Fallout: New Vegas, so I’m currently checking out the latest patch for the excellent Shadow Empire once more. It’s a game I keep coming back to


----------



## Garfunkel

worldofmutes said:


> FF9 is hands down my favorite! But it was really difficult, I couldn’t get beyond the Gizamaluk in the grotto. Just like in FFX, I didn’t get beyond the machine (Crawler) after the meeting with Seymour. Our key word back then was training! We call it farming now. I remember when that game came out I had a big crush on Lulu. I had this nice blog on dragid with her wallpaper and all things Lulu.
> 
> But still, 9 was my favorite. But the best game I ever played was *The Legend of Dragoon. *I revisited it just a few years ago, and it was like magic.



I was surprised by how difficult Plant Brain in the forest was, considering it's the first real boss you face. But it's a brilliant game. I haven't had a chance to play X yet, but I've heard a lot of good things about it, so hopefully I'll get around to it one of these days.

The Legend of Dragoon looks cool! So many good games to play, so little time...


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ah, I remember that. Yep, the big plant was tougher than might have been expected, but I liked the cool action sequence afterwards.


----------



## Toby Frost

*Shadowrun: Hong Kong*. It's excellent.


----------



## BigJ

Just wrapped up my first playthrough of Subnautica a few years late. Did not expect to get sucked into that world like I did.

Looking at my backlog, next on the docket is likely either Star Wars: Squadrons or Total War: Warhammer II; Squadrons would be a quicker playthrough, but TW:WH3 is less than a month away now. Of course, I should also spend some more time with my budget sim racing rig I spent all that money on. Le sigh.


----------



## Toby Frost

I did try Subnautica, but something about construction games really puts me off. I think it must be all the ingredient-gathering. That said, it's definitely a good game.


----------



## Travalgar

thaddeus6th said:


> I liked both of those VC games (not played any others). Probably like the first one more, but the gameplay is better in the latest.


VC2 and VC3 never became as popular as VC and VC4. I wonder why. Maybe it's the platform choice (PSP), or the decision to only release them in Japan for VC3.


----------



## thaddeus6th

It did seem an odd choice for VC, given the original was something of a sleeper hit.


----------



## worldofmutes

One game I really, really want to be playing right now is Dark Alliance II: Baldur’s Gate. What a great game, I had so much fun transmuting weapons and armor.


----------



## worldofmutes

Well, I’m playing!


----------



## Phyrebrat

Well, I’ve done it; possibly the hardest Platinum trophy I’ve ever gone for but with a HOTAS and VR it was hella fun.


----------



## Rodders

Well done. Sounds like quite an achievement.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*. It's excellent.



Love those games. *Dragonfall *was my favourite but *HK *is, as you say, excellent, too.

To my great surprise I've actually managed to finish a few games recently:  

*Ys IX: Monstrum Nox*, which I absolutely adored and loved every bit as much as *Ys VIII* (which means both now rank among my all-time favourites).  Great story and characters, outstanding music, and my favourite non-turn-based combat system in any game(s) - it's so fast and fluid - plus it looks fantastic on pc (do NOT play the Switch version unless there's no alternative)

*Eastward *which, again, I adored and, like Ys IX, is one of those games I wanted to play again immediately upon finishing it.  Loved the story and characters.  It got very weird in the final third, which I loved.  Looks and sounds lovely and played perfectly on Switch.

*Forgotton Anne* (their spelling!) which had some clunky movement at times, but had a lovely story, great music, and some of the best voice acting I've heard

*The Last Campfire*, a story-driven puzzle game by the same company that made No Man's Sky.  I actually found it quite moving, not going to lie.  The music is wonderful, and the narration by Rachel August is amazing.

and lastly, *The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero*, which is the 6th game I've played in the series and took me months to complete (I think I played too much of the series in succession so needed to keep taking breaks from it).  Still, awesome story, world building and characters.  Needless to say, in spite of what I just said, the ending drove me to start the next game, *Trails to Azure*, immediately


----------



## Toby Frost

Bugg said:


> *Dragonfall *was my favourite but *HK *is, as you say, excellent, too.


 Me too! I think Dragonfall just has the edge for me, mainly because I know Germany far better than I know Hong Kong. I really like Shadowrun's take on the settings, and the characterisation is very good. The combat system reminds me of old skirmish games I used to play with miniatures. I wish they'd make more of these, especially since the first one is a weaker by comparison.


----------



## Foxbat

I bought Dragonfall and Hong Kong from a GOG sale but still to play them. Sounds like I should get started


----------



## Toby Frost

For what they are, they're nearly perfect, but of course they won't be everyone's cup of tea...


----------



## Toby Frost

*Shadow of Mordor*: Not only is this game very difficult, but every time you die, you get a two-minute cut scene, _following which it becomes slightly more difficult_. It's bizarre that something with such a fundamental design flaw could make it onto the shelves. The quality of the setting and execution is ruined by stupid design choices. Avoid.


----------



## Toby Frost

So perhaps I was a little harsh on this, but I would still say that it's a harsh and unforgiving game with a central gimmick that doesn't lend it much. There's climbing, fencing and backstabbing, but it lacks the levity of, say, Assassin's Creed 2, and is mired down with the hero muttering standard Grim Hero Things in the muddy back end of Mordor. The twist, that individual orcs can progress up the ranks and become minor arch-villains as the story goes on, doesn't matter much because all orcs have the same personality. It's okay, and riding a giant hyaena is fun, but not a classic.


----------



## Bugg

I've been playing a bit of *Children of Morta*. I got it ages ago, played for a while and didn't really click with it. This time, though, I'm rather enjoying it. I'm not very good at it - but I'm enjoying it


----------



## .matthew.

I've given the Mordor games a play - both of them - and while I get really into them for a day or two, they very quickly become so repetitive I just walk away. It's not even just the combat, as the maps also feel identical even when they've changed the setting.

Anyway, came to post here because I've noticed a few people have mentioned Field of Glory II and it's currently cheap on IndieGala. Its DLC are also on sale for anyone who already has the game.

It's also about the same price on Humble, a little cheaper if you have Choice (but the deal expires sooner)


----------



## alexvss

*Final Fantasy VII Remake*. Pretty disappointed with it. They transformed the first 7 hours of the original game into a boring 70-hour playthrough. And now we have to keep buying the rest of the game in episodes


----------



## thaddeus6th

Matthew, I tried the first game, and although I like the world, and the Nemesis system, it really didn't grab me.

Alex, interesting, I rather liked the remake. To be fair, you don't *have to* buy the other parts.


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Matthew, I tried the first game, and although I like the world, and the Nemesis system, it really didn't grab me.


That's what I mean too. I played each for long enough to get a very good feel for them but nothing was bringing me back to them as it all felt very samey after a fairly short time.


----------



## Toby Frost

Shadows of Morrrdorrr is rather repetitive, and part of the problem is that Mordor is imagined as just an empty load of mud, cliffs and broken walls (how it actually supports life, I don't know). One of the pleasures of Assassin's Creed was that its world was interesting to look at, where as Shadows just looks dull. There's never that feeling, which I get from the best open world games, of "Let's go and look at that cool thing". There's a sort of satisfaction from finally killing some irritating orc leader, but it's not like Assassin's Creed or Skyrim, where a lot of the fun comes from discovering things.


----------



## Foxbat

I’m still playing Fallout New Vegas. I’m not really playing the main quest (although I have progressed quite a bit). I tend to spend my time exploring and killing things. I recently spent all my hard earned/stolen caps on an Anti-Materiel Rifle at the Gun Runners kiosk. I also bought as many explosive shells for it  as I could afford. 

Wow! Not only can I take out a Deathclaw at long range with just one shot but I once managed to take out two of the blighters at the same time. A young Deathclaw fell to co-lateral damage.
It’s great for accumulating lots of XP.

I love this gun


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> I’m still playing Fallout New Vegas. I’m not really playing the main quest (although I have progressed quite a bit). I tend to spend my time exploring and killing things. I recently spent all my hard earned/stolen caps on an Anti-Materiel Rifle at the Gun Runners kiosk. I also bought as many explosive shells for it  as I could afford.
> 
> Wow! Not only can I take out a Deathclaw at long range with just one shot but I once managed to take out two of the blighters at the same time. A young Deathclaw fell to co-lateral damage.
> It’s great for accumulating lots of XP.
> 
> I love this gun


Have you been to Big MT yet? By far my favourite DLC of any Fallout game.


----------



## Toby Frost

Is that the science episode, with the brains in jars? I enjoyed that one a lot.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> Is that the science episode, with the brains in jars? I enjoyed that one a lot.


Yep, _Old World Blues _I believe it's called.


----------



## BAYLOR

*Outerworlds*.


----------



## alexvss

BAYLOR said:


> *Outerworlds*.


This is great. Pay keen attention to the secondary characters. The developers took their time crafting those.


----------



## BAYLOR

alexvss said:


> This is great. Pay keen attention to the secondary characters. The developers took their time crafting those.



Unfortunately  , I failed to upgrade my weapons . This  proved  problematic when I went to a place that was monster infested and , the creatures weren't bothered by any of my weapons.


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> Have you been to Big MT yet? By far my favourite DLC of any Fallout game.


I believe the version I’m playing has all the DLCs but I  have no idea what Big MT is. There are a couple of DLCs where you have to leave the Mojave with no way back  until you complete that add on. I haven’t ventured there yet because I have too many wonderful weapons stashed away that I’d hate to leave behind.

An update. After a bit of googling, I find Big MT is activated at the Mojave satellite (which I’ve found). I haven’t gone there yet but I will eventually go there with guns ablazing


----------



## Toby Frost

On a nostalgia trip, I loaded up Assassin's Creed 2 and the "classic" (ie basic) version of World of Warcraft.

Assassin's Creed 2 is still excellent. The plot is sub-Dan Brown gibberish, and the modern-day bits are boring, but climbing over Renaissance Italy is fantastic. The missions are fun, and there's loads of entertaining stuff to do. Jumping into wagons never loses its appeal. A very enjoyable game.

World of Warcraft is odd. I have very fond memories of playing it with my friend Mark: being amazed at the size of it, and the ability to talk to other players. I remember a picture of a dwarf fighting an owl-bear on the front cover, and thinking "This looks incredible". Now, it looks pretty basic and the setting is very empty. The missions are repetitive, and the character interaction is pretty minimal. And yet the art style has a certain charm, and it's simple, mindless fun. I don't think it's terribly good, but it's entertaining to see it again.


----------



## Mr Cairo

Playing Watchdog Legion on the PS5 and loving how they recreated London for the game.

On the PC trying out Days Gone (Hordes make my system a little choppy) and it looks gorgeous and about to try Quantum Break as my son thinks its a game I will enjoy.


----------



## Bugg

I've been having a lovely, leisurely time with Paper Mario: The Origami King.  Just a perfect game to chill out and relax with whilst I bide my time until the awfully named Triangle Strategy arrives, which is easily my most anticipated game of the year to date.


----------



## stevejk

Titan Fall 2 in campaign mode on XBox one. Taking my time on it and enjoying how there are various ways to complete each task/battle.


----------



## alexvss

Just bought *Horizon Forbidden West* on the PS4, currently downloading. I really like the first installment and DLC of the franchise, so I'm looking forward to this one.


----------



## Bugg

Okay, I succumbed.  I had a gift card burning a hole in my Steam wallet, so Elden Ring is now pre-loading.  I'm utterly rubbish at Soulsborne games (I've played - but never finished - the original Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne) but I just love the atmosphere and the ideas behind them.


----------



## StilLearning

Alien: Isolation. In short sections, with a small whisky next to the XBox.


----------



## bretbernhoft

I've been watching playthroughs of Horizon: Forbidden West on YouTube, along with other video games. But I haven't been playing video games too much recently.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished the main story of Shadowrun: Hong Kong. It really is very good - for the kind of game it is, I can't see how it could have been better-executed.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I finished the main story of Shadowrun: Hong Kong. It really is very good - for the kind of game it is, I can't see how it could have been better-executed.


I never quite got through to that one even though the previous Shadowrun was really good. I think I played the first Divinity Original Sin right after and it so totally blew me away I forgot about Hong Kong 

And now I want to play DOS2 again...


----------



## Toby Frost

Funnily enough, Divinity never quite worked for me while Shadowrun did. Perhaps I ought to give it another go.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> Funnily enough, Divinity never quite worked for me while Shadowrun did. Perhaps I ought to give it another go.



I liked DOS and DOS2 but, like you, preferred the last two Shadowrun games.  Maybe it was the setting and characters.  Must play them again.


Elden Ring is awesome.  Some minor technical problems on pc but I'm not finding them anywhere near as bad as is being reported elsewhere - so far, at least.


----------



## .matthew.

Bugg said:


> I liked DOS and DOS2 but, like you, preferred the last two Shadowrun games. Maybe it was the setting and characters. Must play them again.


Yea, the Shadowrun games had a really distinct setting. That said, the freedom DOS gives the player is pretty much unmatched and fun to play around with. 

The main issue I had with the second game was the armour mechanics though, with separate physical and magic armour. Sure, it makes a lot of sense lore-wise, but in gameplay, it forces you to mostly focus on one damage type or most fights drag on for way too long as you whittle down both for different attackers.

@Toby Frost  If you played them before the free definitive upgrades/patches/etc, then it's probably worth giving them a second shot, they really improved on everything in the first game, though I haven't replayed the second yet.


----------



## Rodders

Installing Fallout 3. 

I know nothing of this game, but read a lot about it and it seems like i'll enjoy it.


----------



## Toby Frost

It's really good, and Fallout 4 is even better!


----------



## Toby Frost

I loaded up Divinity and remembered very quickly why I stopped playing it - it's really difficult. It feels much too hard for its story and art style. Every fight seems to be almost unwinnable, to the point where I suspect that I just don't understand how the game works.

The only other Larian game I've played, Dragon Commander, was almost unplayably hard on the easiest mode possible, so perhaps it's just their style.


----------



## Luiglin

Toby Frost said:


> I loaded up Divinity and remembered very quickly why I stopped playing it - it's really difficult. It feels much too hard for its story and art style. Every fight seems to be almost unwinnable, to the point where I suspect that I just don't understand how the game works.
> 
> The only other Larian game I've played, Dragon Commander, was almost unplayably hard on the easiest mode possible, so perhaps it's just their style.


I'm just going through Divinity II Original Sin. Very tough in places but when you get tactic right, it brings a smile to your face. The best part though is the storyline, chock full of twists and turns that is keeping me surprised.


----------



## Bugg

I remember there was one particular battle in DOS2 in the quarry with tons of fire slugs, or whatever they were.  That was far and away the most difficult fight in it, for me (well, us, as we played it co-op).  I don't know how many attempts it took to get through that one.  We just didn't have enough of the right build/skill set to deal with it.  Speed was of the essence and our character with the highest initiative was the one who did fire damage   I seem to remember we went back to the ship in the end and completely re-specced, then had to steal or buy new skill books etc.


----------



## Bugg

I've played about 12 hours of Elden Ring and absolutely love it.  I'm still rubbish at it, but it's so much fun.  Going with a faith build.  I have a bunch of ghostly wolves that I can summon for help.  Kind of feels like having the hounds in Malazan following me around 

I've also been playing Triangle Strategy, which is everything I hoped it would be.  It's very story/character heavy but I'm finding it very involving, and the battles are fantastic.  Plus the HD-2D art style is gorgeous, as it was in Octopath Traveller.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I loaded up Divinity and remembered very quickly why I stopped playing it - it's really difficult. It feels much too hard for its story and art style. Every fight seems to be almost unwinnable, to the point where I suspect that I just don't understand how the game works.
> 
> The only other Larian game I've played, Dragon Commander, was almost unplayably hard on the easiest mode possible, so perhaps it's just their style.


I suspect the same. I played on the normal difficulty setting and found the game quite doable. There were some battles I had to replay a few times, but for the most part, once you understand the elemental aspects it all clicks into place. I hate hate hate the super hard games, so if it was like that I never would have finished them. 

I also really like how there's not much RNG in it like XCOM, especially with magic where you can see the effect based on where you aim.



Bugg said:


> I remember there was one particular battle in DOS2 in the quarry with tons of fire slugs, or whatever they were.


That fight was so epically ridiculous I took a screenshot...



Of me literally setting the entire map on fire!


----------



## Luiglin

.matthew. said:


> I suspect the same. I played on the normal difficulty setting and found the game quite doable. There were some battles I had to replay a few times, but for the most part, once you understand the elemental aspects it all clicks into place. I hate hate hate the super hard games, so if it was like that I never would have finished them.
> 
> I also really like how there's not much RNG in it like XCOM, especially with magic where you can see the effect based on where you aim.
> 
> 
> That fight was so epically ridiculous I took a screenshot...
> View attachment 87269
> Of me literally setting the entire map on fire!


That scrap took a bit to work out.

Prep the battlefield first. Block off steps to the top platform using boxes and barrels, making sure they're not near oil patches. Set light to the oil patches on the ground as the blobs appear.  Use teleport to drop tge magisters in amongst the fire and blobs.


----------



## .matthew.

Luiglin said:


> That scrap took a bit to work out.
> 
> Prep the battlefield first. Block off steps to the top platform using boxes and barrels, making sure they're not near oil patches. Set light to the oil patches on the ground as the blobs appear.  Use teleport to drop tge magisters in amongst the fire and blobs.


It was more fun to desperately heal up and use rain to put the fires out, although I do remember teleporting people into the flames. The main issue I think I had (like 5 years ago lol) was the fire healing the enemy slugs.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> I’m still playing Fallout New Vegas. I’m not really playing the main quest (although I have progressed quite a bit). I tend to spend my time exploring and killing things. I recently spent all my hard earned/stolen caps on an Anti-Materiel Rifle at the Gun Runners kiosk. I also bought as many explosive shells for it  as I could afford.
> 
> Wow! Not only can I take out a Deathclaw at long range with just one shot but I once managed to take out two of the blighters at the same time. A young Deathclaw fell to co-lateral damage.
> It’s great for accumulating lots of XP.
> 
> I love this gun


After a long time watching let's plays, after you've been posting about it, I decided to go in myself and got the ultimate version. (Still haven't finished Fallout 4 or Skyrim properly, but what the hell...)


----------



## Toby Frost

Given that I find Divinity almost unplayable, I've loaded up Knights of the Old Republic 2, which I once started and never finished. It's old and buggy, but still really good.


----------



## Bugg

Triangle Strategy is turning out to be something like the video game equivalent of Game of Thrones.  I am _really _enjoying this!


----------



## Bugg

Still playing Triangle Strategy, which is getting better and better and better as it goes along.  I've seen complaints about the amount of dialogue and story sections but these are a major plus for me.  As a long-time fan of the Fire Emblem series I was extremely disappointed by the between battle nonsense in the most recent entry, Three Houses.  By contrast I'm finding the between battle sections in Triangle Strategy completely absorbing.  The characters are great and the story is fantastic - and very ruthless.  If only they'd changed the title  


ETA: I'm listening to the soundtrack of Ys IX while I'm working, so I'm also craving for an Ys game.  I'm tempted to start NG+ in Ys IX but also a replay of Ys VIII.  Two of the best ARPGs ever made, IMO.


----------



## Pyan

Well, I've just reached 4,000 games played in Microsoft FreeCell, well into Gold Grandmaster 3. 
_Won: 3980 - Lost (or abandoned): 20. 99% win rate..._


----------



## Justin Swanton

Just finished the Battle of Leuctra with my own gaming system using a VASSAL module I created (so that counts as a computer game). Spartans under Cleombrotus vs the famous Theban Column under Epaminondas. For the first time in their history the Spartans suffered a major defeat. Here's a screenshot of the deployment. Spartans at the top, Thebans at the bottom. The Theban column was 50 men deep and drove the Spartans back like a steamroller.


----------



## .matthew.

I've played about 4 games of Microsoft FreeCell...
_Won: 0 = Lost (ABANDONED): 4. 0% win rate..._


----------



## Phyrebrat

I’m still kinda hooked on Star Wars Squadrons (VR) because there’s no beating that childhood wish. However, now I’ve got the platinum I’ve reinstalled Jedi: Fallen Order as I never got past the second big mission. 

I found it boring and figure I should give it another go. If only to avoid Twitter spoilers. 

@Toby Frost I play AC2 once a year when summer gets really hot. Just as you say, Florence is rendered beautifully and Jesper Kydd’s soundtrack is fantastic. 

Update on Alien: Isolation — still stuck on an early mission years later. Seems all I do is hide in a locker, get fed up and quit.


----------



## Foxbat

Justin Swanton said:


> Just finished the Battle of Leuctra with my own gaming system using a VASSAL module I created (so that counts as a computer game). Spartans under Cleombrotus vs the famous Theban Column under Epaminondas. For the first time in their history the Spartans suffered a major defeat. Here's a screenshot of the deployment. Spartans at the top, Thebans at the bottom. The Theban column was 50 men deep and drove the Spartans back like a steamroller.
> 
> View attachment 87569


I tried Vassal but I find it a bit clunky. I’ve got so many old board games that I’d like to play again but, everytime I fire Vassal up, I take one look at it and close it again. Don’t know what it is about it that puts me off.

Meanwhile, the release of Distant Worlds 2 spurred me into trying out the original Distant Worlds again. It’s been so long that I’m having to learn from scratch. I remember liking it first time around but this time, I‘m watching the screen (it needs little interaction from me) and thinking _this is like a Paradox Interactive game_. 

Glad I didn’t dive right in and buy Distant Worlds 2 when I still can’t find what I liked about the first one.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing some more _Fallout 4_. It's absolutely vast and extremely good. It really is superb.


----------



## hitmouse

Wordle


----------



## Mr Cairo

Like hitmouse I play Wordle and then at the moment Half Life Alyx is having a replay on the Oculus and Watchdog Legion on the PS5


----------



## alexvss

Just bought *Little Nightmares II*. It's very short (5 and a half hours according to HLTB) so I'm planning to beat it this weekend.


----------



## Mr Cairo

alexvss said:


> Just bought *Little Nightmares II*. It's very short (5 and a half hours according to HLTB) so I'm planning to beat it this weekend.



Damn fine game and can I suggest that if you like it play Limbo, Journey and the Unfinished Swan


----------



## alexvss

Mr Cairo said:


> Damn fine game and can I suggest that if you like it play Limbo, Journey and the Unfinished Swan


Thank you for the suggestions. I've beaten *Limbo* and I played the sequel *Inside* until I got stuck (there's a damned sea monster who's a pain). I didn't play *The Unfinished Swan*, but I did play *What Remains of Edith Finch*, which is from the same developer, and it is one of the best indies ever made.


----------



## Mr Cairo

alexvss said:


> Thank you for the suggestions. I've beaten *Limbo* and I played the sequel *Inside* until I got stuck (there's a damned sea monster who's a pain). I didn't play *The Unfinished Swan*, but I did play *What Remains of Edith Finch*, which is from the same developer, and it is one of the best indies ever made.



All i can suggest is try the Unfinished swan you will know ithin a minute if its for you, What Remains of Edith Finch is sooooo good but also mile away from the Unfinished Swan, 2 very different games


----------



## Toby Frost

Edith Finch was a great game, and very unusual for its time. The bit with the man working in the fish processing plant is particularly good. Very strange and linear, but a great bit of storytelling.


----------



## Bugg

Finally went and dealt with Godrick in Elden Ring. I was over-levelled, I think, but damn he still hit hard 

Needing something a little less intense and a bit more relaxing, I started replaying Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, one of my all-time favourite games. When I played it before it was on Switch in handheld mode, so playing it now on pc at 1440p with everything maxed out is wonderful   

I also picked up Nier Automata in the Steam JRPG sale.  I think it's the 4th time I've obtained it.  First time was PS4, but I stopped using my PS4 in general so didn't get far.  Then I got it on Steam but the performance was so bad at the time I refunded it.  I was finally playing it properly via Game Pass for PC, on a 3 month free trial, but put it down for some reason and realised yesterday that I'd been paying the £7.99 Game Pass subscription for the past couple of months without actually using it - so cancelled that, as I wasn't playing anything else on there, and bought the Steam version again, which was finally fixed last year, in the sale.


----------



## urrutiap

recently im playing WWE 2K19 and WWE 2K22.

Other games Im playing this year

Tales of Vesperia
Dead Rising 4
Final Fantasy XIII
Star Wars Force Unleashed for my Playstation 3. Still have the final Death Star battles against Vader and the Emperor to do.
Assassins Creed Brotherhood
Assassins Creed Revelations
Zelda Skyward Sword for my Nintendo Switch Lite
Paper Mario Origami
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil Revelations 2


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing _Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon_. This is an expansion for Far Cry 3, but it's also a standalone product, and turns the original serious game (which was about killing people traffickers on a remote island) into a parody of an 80s action film, set on an island full of robot-zombie cassowaries and neon dinosaurs that shoot lasers from their eyes.

Michael Biehn of _Aliens _and _Terminator _fame voices "you" - Rex Colt, cyber-commando. (I actually think both of those films are really good and that Michael Biehn is a decent actor, and it's just bad luck that he's associated with 1980s kitsch). The whole macho 80s action movie joke is getting a bit tired, but this game is at least 10 years old, so it was one of the first to do it, and some of the dialogue is quite funny. There are some cut scenes that would look primitive on an Amiga 500, which adds to the charm. 

Perhaps the best thing is that it's short and simple: the skill tree stuff from Far Cry 3 has been replaced, and you just get more powers by killing more stuff. It doesn't outstay its welcome and it's pretty good fun.


----------



## Riddley

Playing Elden Ring (PS4 Pro) as the Prisoner class. Dying a lot. A lot. A lot. And again. More dying. But absolutely in love with it. The voice acting is sublime, and it's so exhilaratingly terrifying to play. I mean the wolves are supposed to be easy to kill, but when you're exploring dark caves (even with a torch) they end up lurking right behind you and killing you anyway. I just can't get over my button panic, where in my frightened controller mashing I put away a weapon by mistake and just flail an empty fist, etc etc. And then of course I die. Again. The enemies don't laugh at me in astonishment about how easy I am to destroy, but I hear it anyway. God knows when I'll ever be able to take on a proper boss monster. The game is asking me to attempt a zen-like recalibration of my personality and evolve into someone who is completely fine with repeated and relentless frustration. Challenge accepted! Better than therapy!

For anyone else with a PS4 pro out there - I swapped out the existing hard drive for a new 1TB SSD, and it's a game changer. Almost instant game loads, and all sound stuttering has gone.


----------



## LisaMaeLove

I've started the new Pokemon game on Switch, and I've also gotten back into Runescape!


----------



## Oochillyo

LisaMaeLove said:


> I've started the new Pokemon game on Switch, and I've also gotten back into Runescape!


hey how are you 

That's really cool, are you enjoying them ?

Regards - Declan Sargent


----------



## Oochillyo

hey everyone how are you all 

I'm playing a few games like GTA but mainly playing Burnout Paradise remake , if any of you have it maybe we could create a group and play it together through the lobby feature 

Regards - Declan Sargent


----------



## Zach777

LisaMaeLove said:


> I've started the new Pokemon game on Switch, and I've also gotten back into Runescape!


Which one? PAL or PDSP? I've been playing PAL recently. Right now I'm trying to find the darn wisps. 

I haven't played Runescape in years! Are they still updating it?


----------



## Rodders

Finally uninstalled Days Gone, otherwise i just won't stop playing.

Now installing "Hunt Down The Freeman" which is a Half-Life 2 mod. It doesn't look that great, but it should be amusing enough for a few hours. After that, i'm thinking of installing Dead Space and giving it a replay.


----------



## Foxbat

This morning I got the urge to start playing Rule The Waves. It’s a strategy game of naval arms race, technology, ship design, espionage and sea battles in the early part of the 20th century. All graphics are rudimentary but functional. I hadn’t played it in a long time and had forgotten how much of a gem this one is. I’m currently playing my custom nation - the tiny island of Grand Fenwick somewhere off the coast of South America. I’m in a phase of rising tensions with France. Two of our ships have collided at sea and it looks like the path to war. 

The mouse will roar once more


----------



## Toby Frost

Rodders said:


> Now installing "Hunt Down The Freeman" which is a Half-Life 2 mod.



I've been playing "Black Mesa", which is an updated version of Half-Life. I think it might be updated to work on the engine of Half-Life 2, but I'm not sure. It's pretty decent. It reminds me of just what a new, innovative game Half-Life was, but also what its flaws were. The people who updated it seem to have taken out some of the worst of the jumping stuff, which I always found extremely irritating, but there's still enough to be a pain. However, the design is great and the way the story is told is very smooth and effective.


----------



## Rodders

I liked Black Mesa, but it’s thought that HL was just a little better.


----------



## Bugg

*13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim* is a gorgeous, glorious love letter to Science Fiction - a visual novel/graphic adventure/real time strategy (with pause!) feast. I played it originally on PS4, but my Switch copy arrived on Saturday. I was worried about how the battles would look on the handheld but they've done an amazing job.  It's stunning in portable mode and looks/sounds/plays quite beautifully.  It's fully voice acted (in both English and Japanese) and the music is fabulous.  I can't recommend it highly enough.


----------



## Rodders

Hunt Down The Freeman didn't appeal to me. Installed Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy.

Both games are just over a GB. Amazing really. Days Gone was 60 GB.


----------



## Toby Frost

I didn't get on with Jedi Outcast (I hate jumping and I particularly hate jumping in first-person games) but Jedi Academy was great fun, especially where you could choose from a variety of missions. It got a bit slow towards the end but overall it was a good laugh.

On the subject of jumping, I'm at the last levels of Black Mesa. I always like weird planets that don't just look like medieval D&D land, and this looks really cool, but there is so much infuriating jumping.


----------



## Rodders

I know what you mean. It wasn't so much the jumping by Kyle's "hup" that made me laugh. Always made me think of a dwarf trying to get on a womans bed.


----------



## Rodders

I'm playing Jedi Academy at the moment as i lost a bit of interest in Jedi Outcast. Time has not been kind to the graphics, but the episodic format of the missions is very enjoyable and makes it an easy game to dip in and out of. I like the way they tried to introduce something different with the Swoop bike. Shame there weren't many more missions with that kind of feature.

Also, The Empire is a Health and Safety nightmare.


----------



## Foxbat

After my recent delving into Rule The Waves reminded me just how much I enjoyed this graphically challenged game, I’ve just gone and splashed out on Rule The Waves 2 and, so far, it’s just as good as the first iteration but with some significant improvements. I’m already enjoying it a lot and, with a massive 75meg hard drive space, it outgames and outguns some games that run into the tens of gigabytes.

 Judge not a game by its size but by that warm feeling it leaves you with when you hit the magazine of the enemy flagship and send it to the deep, forcing them to the negotiating table with a willingness to make some concessions.


----------



## .matthew.

@Foxbat That's a really good point. I just checked my Steam library and almost all of the truly great games in my own opinion and in the user reviews have fairly small space requirements by today's standards.

Rimworld takes up less than 500MB, Valheim barely over a gig, Oxygen Not Included sits at 2, and Deep Rock Galactic at 2.5GB. 

Each of those has 95%+ from player recommendations compared to something like Total War Warhammer - which isn't actually that bad at all - sitting at 77% and 39GB...

Now, some of those you could say don't have the best graphics, but I'd argue that Oxygen Not Included and Deep Rock are both very nice looking games, and the first two definitely have a charm about them. 

For most modern titles the graphics do seem to be what drives the size up though, often seemingly at the expense of mechanics. There's so much competition now and developers would rather just make something look good to try and grab as many sales as quickly as possible before moving on to the next game.


----------



## Foxbat

I find myself leaning towards the small, independent creators. Two of my favourite games (Rule The Waves and Shadow Empire) are, essentially, one-man affairs. They are created with a passion for the subject matter rather than a need to satisfy the shareholder.


----------



## .matthew.

Tried XCOM2 today and bounced off it super hard. Just a few missions in and I was reminded of how utterly arbitrary the gameplay is, with the clearest shots missing and the hardest scoring crits. Not to mention the mind control nonsense and timed missions that force you to basically suicide rush the objectives.

Oh well, I only spent 4 quid on the DLCs so it's not a terrible loss. Still, I should have known better... just the concept really appeals to me.


----------



## Rodders

Anyone played Elite Dangerous?


----------



## .matthew.

Rodders said:


> Anyone played Elite Dangerous?


Got it as a freebie a while ago and jumped right in. I didn't like it but for fans of flight sims and sci-fi it'd be a good fit.


----------



## Bugg

Rodders said:


> Anyone played Elite Dangerous?



I used to, yeah.  Not for a few years, though, so I haven't tried it since they released the Odyssey expansion, where you can get out of the ship and walk around etc.  I really enjoyed what I played, though.  If you liked the original game, or Frontier, then I expect you'd love it.  £4.99 on Steam is worth a punt, I'd say (although that's just the base game and doesn't include Odyssey).  Best played with a flight stick and throttle control, though.


----------



## Bugg

Yesterday I finished NieR:Automata, in that I attained endings A, B, C, D, and the "true" ending, E.  Now that the Steam version has been fixed I finally got to play it properly after three or four aborted attempts in the five years since release.  I could have modded it and got it running properly in that time, I guess, but didn't.  

I could gush about it for ages but best not  I loved the mind-bending mash-up of gameplay genres, the fabulous combat, the gorgeous soundtrack and, most of all, the deep philosophical underpinnings of its world. I would love to forget it all and experience it again for the first time.

I need some time to fully absorb it, but it's easily in my top 5 favourite games now.


----------



## Mr Cairo

Currently finishing up A Plague Tale Innocence on the PC its a very stealth oriented game with little resource and good cover mechanics with a surprisingly good story line.

On the PS5 I tried to enjoy HOOD a game I had hoped would be a good Assassins Creed clone but the lack of SP has put me right off, shame as the opening robbery sequence really promised something new 

On the Phone its only Wordle


----------



## Rodders

I finished Star Wars: Jedi Academy. It was good fun, but it felt a bit short.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I know, I've just bought The Skywalker Saga, but I've seen a few reviews that rated this a little better and it seems like the two are quite dissimilar.

I also bought Deadspace 3. Even though i haven't gotten around to a replay of Deadspace, i wanted it to complete the set. 

Trouble is... i reinstalled Days Gone and am playing in the sandbox at the end of the game. Hmmm. It seems i'm not quite ready to leave that world yet.


----------



## Bugg

Having real trouble settling on a game to play after NieR:Automata.  What do you choose after one of the best games you've ever played?  I figured something completely different.  I'm torn at the moment between restarting Wasteland 3 or getting Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

Still enjoying 13 Sentinels on Switch, although I'm playing that in short bursts in handheld mode.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Well, after about 12 hours of play...I have finally managed to defeat the Taurus demon in _Dark Souls: Remastered. _

I am a From software noob of course. And yet to look up any guides. On the plus side, (I think), I am probably a bit over-levelled for where I am...


----------



## Toby Frost

I've played Elite Dangerous, or at least tried to, and I found it extremely awkward and difficult to control. I like the idea of that sort of game, but it was punitively unfriendly to the player, so I gave up. I really enjoyed X-Com 2, especially since I could give my characters silly names and hats.

I've been bashing ratmen in Vermintide 2, playing as the wizard. She sounds like a crazed Judi Dench, which is entertaining.



Rodders said:


> The Empire is a Health and Safety nightmare.



There's a distinct lack of railings.


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> I've played Elite Dangerous, or at least tried to, and I found it extremely awkward and difficult to control. I like the idea of that sort of game, but it was punitively unfriendly to the player, so I gave up. I really enjoyed X-Com 2, especially since I could give my characters silly names and hats.



Did you play Wasteland 3 in the end, Toby?  I have restarted it this week (having let it slide last year for some reason or other) and am impressed with the overhaul they gave the combat since the second game.  It's now pretty much just like XCOM 2 combat within a proper CRPG.


I still can't decide whether to concentrate on Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous or the aforementioned Wasteland 3.  So I'm currently playing them both (not at the same time!).  Not being a table-top RPG player, I find the rules and mechanics of the Pathfinder games quite overwhelming but muddling through it is a lot of fun.  The depth of the worldbuilding is also incredible.  I never finished Kingmaker so we'll see how I get on with this one.


----------



## Toby Frost

I never played the third game. I quite liked Wasteland 2, but just not enough. The third one does sound better. I'll give it a look if it's on sale (and it's not too huge).


----------



## Toby Frost

This is why I like X-Com.


----------



## worldofmutes

I have a television but need to dig my PS2 out of storage.
I am surprised how many gamers are at work. Seems like they’re the hype right now, and anime.


----------



## Toby Frost

I think games have got much better over the last ten years: not just technologically, but in terms of quality and variety. There is still a lot of mindless violence, and online gaming is full of jerks, but there is a far wider range of games, including thoughtful and quite artistic games like _Journey, Abzu _and _What Remains of Edith Finch_. The _Fallout_ series is violent, but it's also intelligent and witty. Providing that you're able to find it, there's probably a game out there that you'll enjoy.


----------



## .matthew.

@Toby Frost I don't recall you ever writing Isambard with a beanie or quite so 'suspicious' a moustache... it's almost French


----------



## Toby Frost

There was no pith helmet option! There's also a Major Wainscott, looking suitably feral in his underpants and with a dodgy beard!

Incidentally, if anyone ever wants to make a mockup of their characters (and potentially have them 3D printed), I'd recommend this site:









						Hero Forge Custom Miniatures
					

Hero Forge® is an online character design application that lets users create and buy customized tabletop miniatures and statuettes.




					www.heroforge.com


----------



## .matthew.

I've mocked up a few on Hero Forge myself, but as I don't have a 3D printer it always felt like I'd be paying twice.


----------



## Astro Pen

Small thing, but I am chuffed.
Started doing Wordle in the NYT this week. My brother has been going on at me to try it.
Got today's in 2 

Yes it is addictive but there is only one a day so only 5 mins (unlike solitaire)


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> There is still a lot of mindless violence, and online gaming is full of jerks,


This is why I never consider multiplayer anymore. Single player or nothing for me.

Meanwhile, I’m utterly hooked on Rule The Waves 2. As Argentina in 1928, I ended up in a war with Brazil. I lost my only dreadnought when a shell hit a forward turret. This caused a flash fire with the whole ship exploding and no survivors. I also lost my converted carrier Che Guevara but my newly built (first purpose built light carrier) Eva Peron survived her first engagement. I hit 2 Brazilian dreadnoughts with torpedo bombers, finished off with shelling from an old pre-dreadnought of mine and I also sank an enemy battlecruiser for a marginal victory in the River Plate


----------



## Bugg

Toby Frost said:


> This is why I like X-Com.
> 
> View attachment 88981



Talking of XCOM, I've been drawn back to Phoenix Point.  Much as I hate the way games these days seem to be released unfinished, it's turned out to be a really good game.  It lacks XCOM 2's personality but, in every other way, it feels much more akin to the original UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM Terror from the Deep.  It's much darker in tone than XCOM.  I just need to get my head around all the changes that have been made since I last played it, and all the DLC.


----------



## AllanR

Galactic Civilization 3. Played #1 long ago, similar enough -though they cleared up many of the problems. Don't think I'll stick with it though as I am tempted by Stellaris (I like other Paradox Games games)


----------



## Rodders

Steam had a May the Fourth sales on Star Wars titles, so i went and ordered a big chunk of them for about £50. 

It'll be quite nice to play some of the older games again. I'm also looking forward to playing the Force Unleashed, which i haven't sampled yet.


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought Republic Commando in that sale for about £2, which so far is pretty good fun.


----------



## Rodders

I vaguely remember playing it. It was well done, but i remember having trouble with the squad aspect of the game play.


----------



## Toby Frost

To be honest, I think the squad bit is a little primitive, but it's quite entertaining. And only 2 GB!


----------



## Rodders

How quaint.


----------



## Please Be Nice

Venusian Broon said:


> Well, after about 12 hours of play...I have finally managed to defeat the Taurus demon in _Dark Souls: Remastered. _
> 
> I am a From software noob of course. And yet to look up any guides. On the plus side, (I think), I am probably a bit over-levelled for where I am...


Congrats thats a big first moment in the game.

Becomes a bigger moment on new game+ when that fight will take 3 seconds with any build.


----------



## Please Be Nice

Destiny 2...still


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing _Mordheim: City of the Damned_. I loved this as a tabletop game and really wanted to like the game. Unfortunately, it's not only extremely difficult and unintuitive, but it killed most of my team in a completely arbitrary fashion, so I deleted it. A real shame.

I think there's an interesting point here. As it is, _Mordheim _isn't enjoyable. It's too difficult and much too arbitrary, but in ways that would have been obvious in playtesting. This could very easily have been rectified by the designers or, like _Skyrim_, options could have been included to make it easier in a few small ways and therefore less irritating. So I wonder if the hope was that, instead of concluding that it was an annoying waste of time, players would keep coming back. Or maybe there was a sort of prestige in making a very punishing game, a kind of notoriety?

That balance between interesting challenge and irritation is an interesting one. I've played a few games now that seem to deliberately make themselves less fun, either by punishing the player or introducing time-wasting busywork - almost as if people buy games to fill up time, rather than to be a pleasant experience.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve just heard some good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s been an update on  the expansion of my current favourite game (Rule The Waves 2). There’s so much improvement in the expansion that the coders have decided just to keep going and release Rule The Waves 3. The bad news is that it’s not released until October and I want it now.

Currently struggling to make headway in RTW2 as head of the Austro-Hungarian navy and warring with Italy for control of the Adriatic.


----------



## Indoril Nerevar

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing _Mordheim: City of the Damned_. I loved this as a tabletop game and really wanted to like the game. Unfortunately, it's not only extremely difficult and unintuitive, but it killed most of my team in a completely arbitrary fashion, so I deleted it. A real shame.
> 
> I think there's an interesting point here. As it is, _Mordheim _isn't enjoyable. It's too difficult and much too arbitrary, but in ways that would have been obvious in playtesting. This could very easily have been rectified by the designers or, like _Skyrim_, options could have been included to make it easier in a few small ways and therefore less irritating. So I wonder if the hope was that, instead of concluding that it was an annoying waste of time, players would keep coming back. Or maybe there was a sort of prestige in making a very punishing game, a kind of notoriety?
> 
> That balance between interesting challenge and irritation is an interesting one. I've played a few games now that seem to deliberately make themselves less fun, either by punishing the player or introducing time-wasting busywork - almost as if people buy games to fill up time, rather than to be a pleasant experience.


generally, i find the best test to see if a video game is meaningfully and compellingly challenging rather than poorly designed tedium is the following question: if i beat this game once, would it be non-trivially easier for me to beat it again? in other words, is there some form of required mastery over the systems that creates difficulty or is it merely bullet spongy enemies and/or, as you aptly put it, "time-wasting busywork" that makes it hard? in the former, once i beat the game, i have attained a level of skill that benefits me in subsequent playthroughs and makes its challenges easier to conquer. in the latter case, any sort of skill obtained from prior playthroughs will not matter in any substantive way as the player is forced to hit a bullet sponge X times until they die or collect fifty Y items or grind levels as the busy work required to beat it. moreover, in the case of a truly challenging title the interactivity of the medium is being fully tapped into as the players problem solving, reflexes, and overall skill is being tested and not just the amount of time they can sink into the game. with this mind, you can tell from two very difficult games which is a well designed one and which isn't.


----------



## Toby Frost

That's a good point. Playing a game ought to involve learning how to get better at it. It shouldn't just be down to sheer dogged persistence.

Back in the days when I played World of Warcraft, it occurred to me that a lot of it was designed just to make me play more World of Warcraft, not to have more fun or get better at the game. No offence intended to WoW players, but it was as if the designers thought that people would put up with a mediocre experience if they got a lot of it. That was weird, because if I paid my monthly subscription, why would it matter how many times I played that month provided that the money got to Blizzard? I do find the way that games work really interesting.

In the case of Mordheim, it's missing one obvious addition that would make it vastly more appealing: a "replay last level" option. Given that is not only arbitrary and quite hard to understand, but also punishes players very hard for making small mistakes, having that option would probably make a large number of people want to stick with it. I would.


----------



## sciwriterPark

destiny 2 as well.


----------



## Foxbat

This is a very unusual occurence….after a few years of playing it on and off, I’ve finally finished Fallout 3. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected (if you find the alien blaster, taking down enemies is fairly straightforward but save your limited ammo for the final stage). I enjoyed it immensely, despite the time it took me to finish it. 

To celebrate, I began the Dead Money dlc for Fallout New Vegas. Big mistake.  Bored out of my skull with this exercise in tedious nonsense and, thankfully, I saved before going there so I’ll be restarting from just before entering the Sierra Madre.


----------



## Bugg

I've struggled so much to settle into any game since I finished NieR:Automata.  Since then I've flitted between various titles: Wasteland 3, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Gears Tactics, Phoenix Point, XCOM Chimera Squad.

They all led me back in one direction.  So, after all that, I'm back on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, settled into it, and enjoying the hell out of it once again.  It's about 4 years since I last played it so it feels really fresh and I'm quite surprised by how good it still looks, six years on since the base game's initial release, in comparison to those other, more recent titles mentioned.

I actually really like Phoenix Point (I know it gets a lot of hate) but I found it quite a dry experience in comparison, and it's just not as fun or as exciting to play.  I do think any future XCOM games should look at PP's ballistics/targeting system, though.  Being able to target and disable particular parts of an enemy is fantastic.  Got a fast-moving enemy coming your way?  Shoot it in the leg etc etc.  Great stuff.


----------



## alexvss

*Resident Evil 4 Remake* just announced at State of Play: 





Mixed feelings about this. The original is not just one of the best games ever made, but it's still great today, 17 years later. Graphics and everything. I'm sure going to play the remake, no question about that; but I'm just not sure if it's really that "necessary". The first trilogy was outdated in terms of graphics and gameplay, so the remakes came in handy.


----------



## Bugg

I groaned when I saw that last night.  I'll just play the original again instead.  It's one of my favourite games.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Bugg, I recently replayed XCOM 2, and you're right that it's still fantastic.

Still slightly irked that Larian Studios shifted from making Divinity Original Sin 2 meets XCOM to Baldur's Gate 3, but I'm hoping the former project is merely suspended rather than cancelled.

I've been playing a little of Crusader Kings III. I've conquered all of Lemon Isle (formerly known as Ireland) and will soon set my sights on creating the Lemon Empire...


----------



## Toby Frost

Rage - a shooter from about 10 years ago or so. The graphics are pretty good, but the style and setting are totally uninspired and generic, even down to the evil authority you fight being called... the Authority. 

Also, I restarted Shadowrun Dragonfall, which is just a great game.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished Rage, which is quite short (and repetitive), and gets pretty easy by the end. It's a strange game, as some aspects are extremely polished, and others are very basic and uninspired. I suspect that it was made to showcase the graphics of the time: I think Jesse plays it in _Breaking Bad_, presumably as some kind of tie-in promotion.

Having seen that they're remaking Resident Evil 4, I bought the original in a sale on Steam. I was never really into these games, which seemed like someone remembering a holiday to America they'd had a long time ago, but with zombies and blob-monsters. But I've heard good things about this one. We shall see!


----------



## Toby Frost

Well I played Resident Evil 4 and all I can say is that I'm glad I bought it in a sale! It was absolutely terrible! Rubbish dialogue, wonky controls, uninteresting action, and the guy I was controlling moved as if he was trying to fight off sedatives. It was almost comically bad. Think I'll play something else. Anything else.


----------



## alexvss

Toby Frost said:


> Well I played Resident Evil 4 and all I can say is that I'm glad I bought it in a sale! It was absolutely terrible! Rubbish dialogue, wonky controls, uninteresting action, and the guy I was controlling moved as if he was trying to fight off sedatives. It was almost comically bad. Think I'll play something else. Anything else.


I see the gameplay didn't age well for you. Well, the game is seventeen already, almost an adult. I'm sure they'll make it all better in the remake.

As for the dialogue and plot, there are reasons for their being trashy believe it or not. RE is based on B movies. It's B movie plot with B movie characters, made by Japanese creators who have stereotypical views about American culture. It's part of the fun, and I don't think that will ever change in this franchise!


----------



## Bugg

RE4 is a masterpiece.  A MASTERPIECE!!

YMMV


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm quite happy with really old games like Thief 2 and Deus Ex (I'm a massive fan of the 2000 Alien v Predator) but I guess RE4 just dated badly. It just felt so clunky and slow. Turning the guy was like moving a container ship. 

That said, I played quite a lot of the remake of RE2 and thought that was pretty good. And the old Silent Hill was excellent.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm flitting through games a bit but one I'm playing is Kingdoms of Amalur. Very interesting gameplay and levelling setup for a lot of versatility. I think I probably prefer Dragon's Dogma, but it's certainly well put together.


----------



## Toby Frost

I always liked Dragon's Dogma, with the climbing on monsters and the awful pseudo-medieval dialogue. And it looked really nice. I'm not sure why I never got to the end: I ought to give it another go.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I know what you ought to do 

The combat's fantastic. First time out I played a mage and I loved the way the higher spells actually felt as powerful as they should. Not just an effect, if you cast a tornado it will flung your foes into the air and ruin most of them. Or you can make meteors rain from the sky. 

I think they're working on a proper sequel, at last.


----------



## Toby Frost

I was a knight, just so I could go monster-surfing. Being a wizard sounds pretty cool too.


----------



## Bugg

I quite liked Kingdoms of Amalur but never finished it.  The combat was fun.


----------



## Bugg

Nintendo finally announced that Persona 5 Royal, and Personas 3 and 4, are all coming to Switch.  I might actually finish 5R at last! 

Aaand . . . NieR:Automata


----------



## Foxbat

Heia Safari. A game that covers the fighting in East Africa during WW1. Interesting, easy to learn and looks like a boardgame. Reviewers have criticised the AI but I’m pretty hopeless so I should still find it challenging.
 Ticks all the boxes for me.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've played _Shadowrun: Dragonfall_, and it's just excellent. Everything it needs to do, it does really well. A classy product.

_Dragon's Dogma_ is a laugh: much more stupid than Skyrim, and much smaller, but with more impressive combat. The dialogue is terrible, like when Edmund Blackadder ridiculed Shakespeare, and there are no memorable characters, but running about the countryside with my little band of idiot sidekicks is fun. "Mayhap this is ought of use, Master," says my assistant, picking up a small rock from the ground, shortly before we climb up a giant and hit it in the face.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Toby, I've been playing Dragon's Dogma too.

Also into Wasteland 3. Whilst post-apocalypse really isn't my favourite setting the game's very well put together (rare bugs aside). XCOM in combat and a great RPG out of it, with plenty of comedy along the way.


----------



## Bugg

Wasteland 3 is great fun.


----------



## Overread

Bugg said:


> Nintendo finally announced that Persona 5 Royal, and Personas 3 and 4, are all coming to Switch.  I might actually finish 5R at last!
> 
> Aaand . . . NieR:Automata


I keep hoping Nier doing well will mean we get remastered Drakengard games (esp if they get put onto switch/PC as well). 

Though I'm also still waiting to see if Advanced Wars on the Switch ever gets released.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, I've reached what (for me) is uncharted territory. More importantly, I now have a goat following my party. 

Interesting that ammo's suddenly starting to become an issue, despite a good mix of differing weapon types. Glad crafting makes it easy to acquire more on the road.


----------



## Bugg

Overread said:


> I keep hoping Nier doing well will mean we get remastered Drakengard games (esp if they get put onto switch/PC as well).
> 
> Though I'm also still waiting to see if Advanced Wars on the Switch ever gets released.



Yeah.  Also, with Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes coming next year I keep hoping they might port the first two Suikoden games to Switch.  Very, very unlikely, especially as they were PS1 games, but I can hope


----------



## MaxRelaxman

Currently playing Jedi Outcast. 
Fun game so far and I'm enjoying the story. I'm not a fan of the save point mechanic and the mobs getting respawned every time I save/heal, but what are you gonna do? I have to get used to playing with a controller instead of my usual mouse/keyboard, too.


----------



## BigJ

I installed League of Legends again

Send help


----------



## paranoid marvin

Got myself an Atari Flashback, and really enjoying the old days of hi-scores.

This plays 100-odd Atari 2600 games, including some Activision titles such as Pressure Cooker and my favourite of all time Frost Bite. And on my first go in years I got 100,000 points which I was really pleased about. The thing is that I've played these games on console and using gamepads, and the accuracy of those controllers just isn't sufficient for arcade style games. Having the Flashback, it came with controllers very similar to the original VCS, and I realise now that I haven't lost my hand-eye co-ordination as much as I thought I had - a lot of it was down to simply using a gamepad when I should have been using a joystick. Which was nice.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been very tempted by the mini-Amiga. The idea of playing Dragon's Breath again is very appealing.

A friend lent me Spider-Man on the PS4. I don't know how good it is, but swinging between the buildings is amazing.

By the way, is the remade version of Fable worth getting? I really like Fable 3.


----------



## Garfunkel

I started playing Citizen Sleeper, a narrative RPG, yesterday and I'm enjoying it so far. My gaming has been heavily restricted due to hurting the tendons on my right hand, so a game where I mostly just have to click a mouse and read is ideal. The story has started strong and the soundtrack is fab, so I'm excited to dig deeper into it. The game seems like it'll reward multiple playthroughs too, which is always nice.


----------



## Toby Frost

A couple of years ago I had to have stitches in my hand. I ended up playing a lot of graphic adventures and games like Baldur's Gate. I found the old Blade Runner game to be particularly good.


----------



## alexvss

*Hades*. An addictive rogue-like about a rebellious son of Hades trying to flee from the underworld. You have to advance through rooms full of enemies (like any rogue-like) until you leave Hell, but you have to start over when you die.

I had this game installed for quite a while, but some things were keeping me from playing it. Now I can see that it lives up to the hype. I really like the depiction of the gods.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Getting quite close to the end of Wasteland 3.

I like the difficulty of a central moral choice when both sides of the argument seem legitimate.


----------



## Toby Frost

There was a sale on at Good Old Games and I bought something called _Eye: Divine Cybermancy_ (?!) for £1. It seems to be a little like Deus Ex, with a slightly Warhammery look, and is badly translated from what might be French. It also seems genuinely interesting, if ridiculously over-complex. 

I really like it when computer games try to do something new and interesting: the potential for unusual games and visuals is huge, but I've rarely seen anything better on the screen than a Roger Dean Yes album cover, probably because bigger studios have to play it safe. My hope is that _Eye_ ends up like a more-modern Morrowind, with a different look and feel to the standard big-budget SF and fantasy games. That remains to be seen.


----------



## Toby Frost

Hmm. _Eye_ is potentially really good, but hampered by an awful interface and an offputting amount of complexity. I have a suspicion that it's really a re-skinned _Deus Ex_, too. I think it's too baffling to be worth me playing, to be honest, but I'm not angered by it the way I was by _Mordheim_. I do find it interesting, though, that a game could be released in such a strange state. Didn't someone point out to the developers that it was really hard to play, even down to the inventory screen being too fiddly? It needs one good mod to overhaul it, and it would be a very promising game indeed.


----------



## Bugg

I think it's very sad that Ron Gilbert and his team have received such levels of online abuse about the new art style used for the upcoming Return to Monkey Island that he has decided not to post about the game anymore.  "The joy of sharing has been driven from me" he said.  I get not liking something about a game, but to then take it out on the developers to such a degree beggars belief.  If you don't like it, don't buy it, simple.  

I think Ron should have adopted an Insult Sword-Fighting stance.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, the level of abuse developers can receive can be pretty shocking. I remember reading about a CoD developer whose family got death threats because in a patch they altered reload times (to try and balance the game better) by tenths of a second. Some people are crackers.


----------



## Toby Frost

It is an absolute sewer, and computer gaming is where some really crazy, evil stuff has started. Forum rules probably prevent me going into much detail. I'm always amazed how comparatively clean and decent the world of wargaming is.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> I'm always amazed how comparatively clean and decent the world of wargaming is.


It takes a certain type of person to meticulously paint little models, and another type altogether to push them around a table rolling dice. Put them both together and you certainly limit the toxicity involved.


----------



## Foxbat

All of the above comments are also the reason why I never partake in any form of multiplayer online. The place is riddled with nasty little arseholes. No wonder developers get such abuse - they’re dealing with infantile mentalities out there.

Meanwhile, I’m busy playing Valor and Victory.

 I was one of the generation brought up on board wargames. I’ve got nothing against miniatures but maps and counters are where my heart lies. V&V is probably the closest I’ve come to playing a computer version of Advanced Squad Leader - and that includes the computer version of ASL, which bore no resemblance whatsoever to its boardgame big brother (except, obviously, for the name).

It’s a trip back down memory lane where I would storm the Dzerzhinskiy Tractor Works of Stalingrad and then whine about my miserable luck with the dice as my panzers and storm troopers would be cut down by my opponent‘s soviets heavily entrenched in the rubble.

It seems that history does indeed repeat itself…but this time, my whining over my miserable virtual dice rolls are met, not with a smug grin from a humanoid opponent but the irritating whoosh of PC coolings fans. Choose your window, Mr Computer, you may be exiting the building far sooner than you calculate…


----------



## Toby Frost

It's the sheer babyish entitlement of it that disgusts me. "You didn't draw the game in the way I like? You added some characters who make me angry? You made a game I wasn't going to go near anyway? Well now I'm going to shoot you!"

And I'll stop there before I get into politics.


----------



## Foxbat

I remember as a fifteen year old (many moons ago when the world was much colder) playing my first ever gig in my first ever band. We were all nervous wrecks. It went down okay. There was one person, however, who decided he was entitled to criticise (and he was right). This, however,  quickly turned quite nasty and became an excuse to ridicule the band’s efforts. I handed him my guitar, told him there was the audience, there were the amplifiers, go and show us how it’s done. 
‘But,’ he spluttered, ’I can’t play.’
I replied that he would have to learn just like I did. He never bothered us again.

The beauty of modern computing is that, in many instances, folk can quickly learn the skills (if they are so inclined)  and develop their own games. There are even game creation kits out there. The types of games I play have a strong modding community and if fans don’t like something or think it can be improved then they get down to work and produce the goods. Most game designers not only support this but actively encourage it. There’s nothing more pitiful than a complainer who always thinks it‘s somebody else’s problem.


----------



## Bugg

What particularly irks me about the Ron Gilbert situation is that the people who loved the original Monkey Island games, and are who getting abusive because the art style has been modernised, are likely somewhere near my age and therefore old enough to know better.  The world seems to have become even nastier since the pandemic began.  It's like all these people used their time during lockdown(s) to store up all this vitriol so they could spew it out as soon as the tiniest opportunity presented itself.


----------



## Foxbat

Personally, I’d have thought depth of plot and accompanying levels of humour would be far more important to a Monkey Island afficionado.  Far more so than a modernised artistic style.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> All of the above comments are also the reason why I never partake in any form of multiplayer online. The place is riddled with nasty little arseholes. No wonder developers get such abuse - they’re dealing with infantile mentalities out there.
> 
> Meanwhile, I’m busy playing Valor and Victory.


Right there with you on that, although I did get Deep Rock Galactic a while ago and thoroughly enjoy it. The games take half an hour tops, jumping in mid-level is easy, and I've yet to encounter more than one single, individual, solitary case of toxicity the entire time. It's also the only shooter I've played in years, as I mostly stick to the single-player strategy stuff.

I played V&V last year and it was pretty good... but I'm a child of the 90s and I expect at least some razzamatazz in my games 



Toby Frost said:


> It's the sheer babyish entitlement of it that disgusts me. "You didn't draw the game in the way I like? You added some characters who make me angry? You made a game I wasn't going to go near anyway? Well now I'm going to shoot you!"


That's not just restricted to the gaming industry, but I will say that for established franchises it's understandable - though not excusable - that the original fans will want to speak their piece. People take things way too far though, and we'd have a lot less of it if those types were only allowed to mail letters about their annoyances instead.


----------



## Bramandin

Foxbat said:


> All of the above comments are also the reason why I never partake in any form of multiplayer online. The place is riddled with nasty little arseholes. No wonder developers get such abuse - they’re dealing with infantile mentalities out there.



While I somewhat regret not playing Nosgoth while the beta was up, the whole thing about PVP is what scared me off.  There was a short tutorial, but I would have rather gone around exploring the map and gotten more comfortable with the controls before going in.  I wasn't at the Discord at the time, but I think I could have gotten a team together to be vampire tourists instead of attacking the humans like we were supposed to.


----------



## Ian Fortytwo

I've just started playing Genshin Impact. Very realistic, quite a lot downloading nearly 3 hours. Playing on my Samsung tablet.


----------



## Bugg

Just popped up in my YouTube feed


----------



## Toby Frost

*Assassin's Creed 2*: This is an excellent game, probably one of the classics, despite its sub-Dan Brown plot and the completely uninteresting Desmond sections. However, some of the missions require a level of precision detail that the game can't really manage: it can end up asking you to do things that it can't quite handle. A few missions have a tendency to just arbitrarily fail. On the other hand, it is very good overall.


----------



## AE35Unit

Really got into *Star Trek, Fleet Command* a pretty immersive RPG. Quite addictive. That green ship is me


----------



## Rodders

I’m totally addicted, AE35Unit. Be warned that this game will try and claim all the time you have.


----------



## AE35Unit

Rodders said:


> I’m totally addicted, AE35Unit. Be warned that this game will try and claim all the time you have.


It already has . Why do you think I haven't been on here in ages! I earned 3 quid for getting to level 15 though, via JustPlay


----------



## bretbernhoft

I'm still playing Day Of Defeat in 2022. It was originally published in 2005.


----------



## Rodders

After nearly 1000 hours of Days Gone, I've loaded up the Lego Skywalker Saga. I'll not play it for a while but looking forward to it as i hear the Lego games are fun.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing the Nukaworld add-on for Fallout 4. It's really good. I've been escorting a group of "Hubologists" through the theme park, and marvelling at the designers' willingness to make fun of two of the most litigious organisations in the world. Fallout 4 is just superb: a vast adventure full of things to see and do, both violent and funny. It's one of the best games I've ever seen.


----------



## Troyzan787

I have been playing Stray. It seems like a fairly short game,  but I have really been taking my time with it. It is a beautifully designed world and there is a ton of story telling and world building that can only be found my taking your time and talking to all the NPCs and exploring. Plus it is just fun to run around as a house cat.


----------



## AE35Unit

Any good games based around LOTR?


----------



## Bramandin

I'm playing Degrees of Separation.  It's a puzzle-sidescroller that I skipped some tokens because it looked metroidvania, but it looks like each level is supposed to be completed by just the abilities you gain in that level.  I just finished another short puzzle-sidescroller called Unravel and it's a cute concept with some dark places.  I recommend both next time they go on sale.


----------



## Venusian Broon

phew. Well, I've found that I'm terrible at actually finishing games. Still to actually fully complete Skyrim, albeit with 1300 hours playing (Still don't know how the assassin quest lines finish, guess I just like wandering about the landscape) 

However yesterday I finally managed to launch the rocket in factario, Sure that base was an utter spaghetti mess and I didn't automate everything but I 'won' the game. 

Now time to do it again but build bigger, better and get more of the achievements. Only hand manufacture less than 111 components for a start


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> phew. Well, I've found that I'm terrible at actually finishing games. Still to actually fully complete Skyrim, albeit with 1300 hours playing (Still don't know how the assassin quest lines finish, guess I just like wandering about the landscape)


I’m a bit like this too. I’ve played a lot Fallout New Vegas and I think I’m pretty near the end but I’m reluctant to play it any more. Experience has taught me that the endings are usually ridiculously hard and I just get frustrated (which is what usually happens). I think, if I continue, it will leave me with a jaundiced view of a game I’ve enjoyed immensely.  

One thing I couldn’t work out was how to get a job from the NCR at the checkpoint with the locked gate (which I needed a key to open and I’m guessing I’ll get the key if I get the job). I feel a bit like Yosser in Boys From The Black Stuff: gies a job. I can do that.


----------



## Toby Frost

Me too. But I think games like Fallout and Skyrim are meant to be experienced rather than "finished" or "beaten". I'm happy to leave some lines unfinished. 

I recently played the Nuka World add-on for Fallout 4, where you have to choose which gang of raiders to lead. I thought "Forget that, they're all scummy" and killed the lot of them. It was like a Nick Cave murder ballad towards the end: bits of raider everywhere, with a crazy robot singing about cola in the middle of it all. Satisfactory.


----------



## alexvss

bretbernhoft said:


> I'm still playing Day Of Defeat in 2022. It was originally published in 2005.


My brother still plays *Tibia* sometimes. And I wonder how anyone EVER played this game


----------



## alexvss

*Trek to Yomi*. A just-released samurai indie game. I found the combat to be a little stilted at first, but the characters die very easily so it has a more realistic feel. The story is pretty straightfoward and cliché--but hey, we all love some historically unaccurate bushido. It's in black-and-white, probably as a tribute to Kurosawa. After Ghost of Tsushima, this feels a little more of the same, but I'll finish it since it's so short.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Still playing Stellaris, and looking forward to the next big console update on Thursday.

My current playthrough will likely be abandoned then but things went so fortuitously it's almost too easy (playing on Admiral, still not quite up to the top difficulty). I found a relic world and got massive population there easily because some horrid aliens were forcing another species to flee, and that planet was the only one with a suitable atmosphere for the refugees so I could barely keep up with the job/housing demand but the upside was an enormous and rapid boost to my science. Now around 2,500 with the next closest empire around 700 or so (excepting a brand new tomb world empire, who are friendly, on 2,300).

So, cruising to victory at this stage really but good to refamiliarise myself with things before the big update. Also got very lucky with the starting position, just one normal neighbour, and two fallen empires (neither in blocking positions) so I got about twice as many stars as any other empire just by dint of that.


----------



## AE35Unit

I found a LOtR game through JustPlay. See what it pays out...


----------



## Overread

Venusian Broon said:


> However yesterday I finally managed to launch the rocket in factario, Sure that base was an utter spaghetti mess and I didn't automate everything but I 'won' the game.
> 
> Now time to do it again but build bigger, better and get more of the achievements. Only hand manufacture less than 111 components for a start


One thing I really love about Factorio is that you can play it your own way. 
A lot of games shoe-horn you into a pathway to play through the game and you basically have to keep moving up the ladder in a set way  to advance. 
Factorio you can automate as much or as little as you want. Heck if you want you can run everything on coal with steam powered grabbers and everything. 

I really like it and its a fresh style of gaming that you don't often get in many games


----------



## Venusian Broon

Overread said:


> One thing I really love about Factorio is that you can play it your own way.
> A lot of games shoe-horn you into a pathway to play through the game and you basically have to keep moving up the ladder in a set way  to advance.
> Factorio you can automate as much or as little as you want. Heck if you want you can run everything on coal with steam powered grabbers and everything.
> 
> I really like it and its a fresh style of gaming that you don't often get in many games


Absolutely agree. I am really keen on trying to make everything symmetrical, neat and fully automated this time, while picking up more of the achievements. Oh and making a bigger base. To then feed the megabase.


----------



## Toby Frost

Last night I finished Assassin's Creed 2. The ending is slightly weak, but perhaps that's inevitable, as it involves all the weakest aspects of the story: the conspiracy nonsense, the Desmond subplot, aliens (at least, I think so), and an actual punch-up with the Pope. Overall, it's a really good game. The overarching story is gibberish, and at times the engine of the game seems to have trouble keeping up with the story (Assassin's Creed 2 is a much better climbing-and-jumping game than a stealth-and-assassination game). However, the core gameplay is excellent and really enjoyable. It's held up really well, even though the world has moved on from Dan Brown and parkour.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Assassin's Creed 2 is the only entry in the series I've played. Didn't finish it. Liked the setting, but the pointless wayback machine gimmick was just tedious, disliked the gameplay, and was not really motivated to keep playing it (this was some time ago so I've forgotten specific gripes).

Edited extra bit: it may be worth mentioning I'm more of an RPG and (sometimes) strategy gamer so having to actually react in real time might have been my biggest annoyance


----------



## AE35Unit

I downloaded a LOtR game. Couldn't get into it, uninstalled


----------



## thaddeus6th

Having a lot of fun with the Stellaris Aquatics DLC (plus major free updates). Also helped by an interesting start. The Holy Draconic Empire lost its first war to the Breanne Imperium, then fought the next to a standstill. And now, when our foe attempted to conquer us, we turned the table and claimed three of their worlds. Huzzah!


----------



## Foxbat

I’m back playing Shadow Empire. I think this is possibly the best PC game I’ve ever owned. I like it so much I bought another copy (this time on GOG without any DRM…admittedly on discount but, still, what better compliment can you pay a game than buying it for a second time?).


----------



## Toby Frost

I'm on Bioshock 2 again. If you wanted a vast shootout set in the party scenes of _The Shining_, except with magic, this is the game for you. It's visually ingenuous, but also bleak and oppressive. There's a lot of back-and froing to complete the levels, which can be a chore. The whole bloodthirsty thing is shot through with weird black humour and fantastic design. It's like eating a huge amount of cake: rich, but you can get sick of it. Anyhow, overall, it's excellent.

(Just as a sample of how nuts it is: while I was rampaging through the decaying underwater city where it's set, a crazed magic lady teleported in front of me - "me" being a semi-robot in a diving suit - shouted something about not letting my kind in here and threw a fireball at me, so I stabbed her with a massive spinning drill. As she died, she muttered "Tell mother she can keep the art collection".)


----------



## alexvss

Toby Frost said:


> Bioshock 2 again. If you wanted a vast shootout set in the party scenes of _The Shining_, except with magic, this is the game for you. It's visually ingenuous, but also bleak and oppressive. There's a lot of back-and froing, which can be tedious. The whole bloodthirsty thing is shot through with weird black humour and fantastic design. It's like eating a huge amount of cake: rich, but you can get sick of it. Anyhow, overall, it's excellent.


I really like the worldbuilding of the entire series, and it inspired one of my upcoming short-stories. The fact that you play as a Mr. B in the second installment is genius. I remember the hotel part in this one being pretty scary.


----------



## Toby Frost

It's just bonkers. I think the designers must have sat down and thought "What scares people?", even down to the vending machines featuring a laughing clown. It's one of the few games that look really distinctive (although it probably owes something to Fallout).


----------



## .matthew.

I love the whole Bioshock trilogy, but I found it far more sinister than scary. Then again I'm not afraid of clowns, so...

But yea, I've been back to Rimworld. This time with a medieval mod pack and a new psycaster mod that is pretty much RPG magic. So basically a fantasy-world colony-sim.


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## AE35Unit

I changed my name in STFC to match my un on here


----------



## thaddeus6th

Pleased with how the mid-game's going with Stellaris, I was concerned it'd be a cruised to victory too early. Just finished ending the nastier of the Fallen Empires and all seemed well, but one of my surprisingly strong neighbours ended up with a determined exterminator robot rebellion.

Concerning. And then the same thing happened with another neighbouring empire... Good stuff.


----------



## Toby Frost

I played a couple of not-especially-amazing games that were in a Steam sale. *Of Orcs and Men* is an action RPG about an orc and a goblin fighting an evil king. It could have been fun but the combat was hard and dull and the writing was bad. A vaguely depressing experience. *Dead Island* is about a tropical resort that gets overrun by zombies. It's okay, but nothing much to write home about, and there's something oddly clunky about the controls. The best thing was that my character, an Australian female cop, said some quite amusing things.

I finished *Bioshock 2*, which was very good, if not especially difficult, and played the add-on, *Minerva's Den*. This was set inside a huge primitive computer, and told a very good story. One of the best bits of a great series.


----------



## R_Bear

I'm hooked on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Switch, and been re-playing Final Fantasy 7 on an old Windows 98 Pentium 3 PC of mine also, I think they will keep me occupied for a few weeks until Trails from Zero releases on Steam


----------



## Foxbat

I've developed nuclear weapons in Shadow Empire so I decided to nuke some  maruaders who were getting too close to my border. Worked a treat. Blew them to oblivion. But then I had to pull my troops back because I had just created a newly irradiated wasteland. Time to develop some radiation filters and upgrade my hospitals before I go on any form of nuking spree.


----------



## Vladd67

Foxbat said:


> I've developed nuclear weapons in Shadow Empire so I decided to nuke some  maruaders who were getting too close to my border. Worked a treat. Blew them to oblivion. But then I had to pull my troops back because I had just created a newly irradiated wasteland. Time to develop some radiation filters and upgrade my hospitals before I go on any form of nuking spree.


It's always those little details.....


----------



## thaddeus6th

Prematurely ended my Holy Draconic Empire run because I annihilated the Crisis easily and it was still about 2405.

Started a new playthrough, had three idiots as neighbours, one of whom were Crisis Aspirants (they want to destroy everything else). Came close to surviving but they got through my defences and my fleet was nowhere near strong enough, so quit that.

Current game has me with a friendly neighbour. We're in a federation. Lovely. Except we're both bordered by fanatical purifiers and both have launched wars against us... so we'll see how that goes.


----------



## Foxbat

I was never able to drum up any enthusiasm for Stellaris. Been on my hard drive for many months and hardly been looked at. Reading the reports from @thaddeus6th it sounds like my kind of game but there’s just that intangible barrier between me and the game that I just can’t seem to break through.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, I get that. I had a similar thing with Red Dead Redemption. Everything seemed there that should be, and it was well-made but I could never sink my teeth into it.


----------



## .matthew.

@Foxbat You could always give multiplayer a go, and get someone to carry you while you're learning lol. But seriously, I get what you mean. I've played a lot of it, but after I got some of the DLCs, I was immediately lost again. 

A big problem for me with all these kinds of games that are really in-depth and sprawling is that I rarely finish them. I reach a point where it's just mopping up or more effort than it's worth, and the games start to drag on.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, if I reach a stage where I've effectively won but there are many years to go to the end date I do just stop. With the Holy Draconic Empire I was the only member of the Galactic Council, for which I'd given myself a permanent seat, and the Galactic Custodian, for which I'd ended term limits, and everyone in the galaxy really liked me so the game was done.

But, I did get over two (of three, on standard settings) centuries of entertainment.

Right now the Leafy Alliance are close to wiping out one set of Fanatical Purifiers (I'm pretty annoyed my army of 440 lost to a defensive army of 350 or so, so I'm having to rebuild and invade but once that's done the enemy is finished). Still got another set to go. Interesting galactic setup, I'm part of a big alliance (maybe a third to half the galaxy by stars), there's a smaller federation nearby, and two independent powers, so we'll see how that progresses.


----------



## Foxbat

I think I'm reaching that similar saturation point in Shadow Empire. You know a game has peaked when you don't get the same thrill nuking an enemy city.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> I think I'm reaching that similar saturation point in Shadow Empire. You know a game has peaked when you don't get the same thrill nuking an enemy city.


Sounds like Rimworld when you realise the thrill from organ harvesting prisoners is gone


----------



## Toby Frost

A friend gave me _Marvel's Spiderman_ a couple of years ago, and I've just got around to playing it. It's a sandbox-type thing, where Spiderman goes around New York having adventures. It's not something I'd naturally go for, but it's so slick and well-made.


----------



## alexvss

Toby Frost said:


> A friend gave me _Marvel's Spiderman_ a couple of years ago, and I've just got around to playing it. It's a sandbox-type thing, where Spiderman goes around New York having adventures. It's not something I'd naturally go for, but it's so slick and well-made.


Web-swinging in these games is therapeutic.


----------



## Toby Frost

Definitely! It's quite hypnotic.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing the old role-playing game Oblivion. I remember it as something of a let-down after the weirdness of Morrowind: smaller and much less imaginative. That's still true, but it's much easier to play and more refined. It has quite a bit of charm. I've gone for the stealthy option, which is a good bet since the combat is one of the dullest things about it (press attack button until enemy is dead, occasionally having a potion). I love the sheer detail of Bethesda's games: if you want to go around stealing cheese, you can. It's old, but definitely worth a look.


----------



## alexvss

Toby Frost said:


> I've been playing the old role-playing game Oblivion. I remember it as something of a let-down after the weirdness of Morrowind: smaller and much less imaginative. That's still true, but it's much easier to play and more refined. It has quite a bit of charm. I've gone for the stealthy option, which is a good bet since the combat is one of the dullest things about it (press attack button until enemy is dead, occasionally having a potion). I love the sheer detail of Bethesda's games: if you want to go around stealing cheese, you can. It's old, but definitely worth a look.


That's the one with the best NPC dialogue in history.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Ahh, Oblivion. Sweet memories, now almost a couple of decades ago, '100%'ing the basic game. (I never got the DLC for it.) 

Visited every place and completed every dungeon/fort, maxed out every stat and ability to at least 100 (you can go higher for some), did all 60 Oblivion towers (Okay that got dull quite quickly, especially near the end when I was damn near invincible, but I just raced up to the stone without killing anything to knocked them out by the end), completed all the various major questlines, and all the other minor quests. Left my beautiful character atop the Anvil lighthouse watching a blazing red and orange sunset over the sea. 

Currently _Many a True Nerd_ is doing an Oblivion playthrough that is fulfilling my nostalgia needs - even though this youtuber has played loads of Bethesda games, has never done Oblivion so watching him find out all its quirks, flaws and nice bits is great.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Oblivion is something I liked a lot... except for the levelling system. That was bloody atrocious. Any system whereby gaining levels can make you relatively weaker is terrible.

Just abandoned a Stellaris Admiral game because it was getting too easy (to be fair I had a really nice start, with good neighbours). Started a new one, Grand Admiral, with a new science-based empire. Encountered my first neighbours, and our interaction to date is them attempting to destroy my science ship, which does not bode well... I'm using the Aquatic Paradise or whatever it's called new origin in the Aquatics pack, but got lucky with two nearby systems (one a relic world). The origin removes the guaranteed nearby habitable planets so that's very handy.


----------



## Raincloud Man

I'm mostly very casually playing Guild Wars 2, trying to unlock the skyscale. They put one of the necessary achievements behind killing your doppelganger though, and I have no luck at all with that fight.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished Bioshock, the game equivalent of eating a huge amount of chocolate cake. It's great but slightly overlong, and the final third is rather flat after the big twist. How many times can the splicers pretend to be dead and then attack? Still, the design is excellent and exploring the setting is grimly entertaining. The mix of Ayn Rand meets The Shining makes it weirdly unique. It's dated somewhat, but it's still a classic.


----------



## Rodders

Remakes of older games seem tip-off be in vogue at the moment, Toby. Would you like to see this one remade?


----------



## Toby Frost

I'd have no problem with a remake of Bioshock (there's already a remastered version out there) but I wouldn't play it as my laptop probably couldn't run it! In general, I'd like to see more "spiritual successor" games than outright remakes: Bioshock itself owes a lot to System Shock, and the Dishonoured games owe a great deal to Thief 1 and 2, although they're sufficiently detailed to feel more than a graphical upgrade. I grew up with ropey circa-2000 graphics, so just enhancing the visuals won't win me over, although other people may well disagree.


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> I'd have no problem with a remake of Bioshock (there's already a remastered version out there) but I wouldn't play it as my laptop probably couldn't run it! In general, I'd like to see more "spiritual successor" games than outright remakes: Bioshock itself owes a lot to System Shock, and the Dishonoured games owe a great deal to Thief 1 and 2, although they're sufficiently detailed to feel more than a graphical upgrade. I grew up with ropey circa-2000 graphics, so just enhancing the visuals won't win me over, although other people may well disagree.


Some of us remember monster maze on the ZX81 so graphics have come a long way for me.


----------



## Foxbat

After reading some of the comments here, I've just bought Oblivion in the GOG weekly sale. Hopefully, after my obsession/addiction to Rule The Waves 2 and Shadow Empire subsides, I'll a spend some time with this RPG.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve been playing a bit of Oblivion and I’m quite enjoying it after a very rocky start. I went straight in to the first quest (seige of Kvatch).

It took me ages to realise that I couldn’t just walk through the oblivion gate but had to activate it myself. After that, things got worse and after numerous deaths and reloading save positions, I discovered the game difficulty slider (which I slid all the way to the left). After some more death/reloading, I finally completed that part of the quest. Once completed, I thought ‘sod this. I need to get stronger before any more progress is made’. I am, therefore, currently on the side quest of the nine. I figured finding all the magical bits of armour would help me survive. I’ve just got my hands on the helmet and my journey into the unknown continues, forsooth!


----------



## Raincloud Man

Foxbat said:


> I’ve been playing a bit of Oblivion and I’m quite enjoying it after a very rocky start. I went straight in to the first quest (seige of Kvatch).
> 
> It took me ages to realise that I couldn’t just walk through the oblivion gate but had to activate it myself. After that, things got worse and after numerous deaths and reloading save positions, I discovered the game difficulty slider (which I slid all the way to the left). After some more death/reloading, I finally completed that part of the quest. Once completed, I thought ‘sod this. I need to get stronger before any more progress is made’. I am, therefore, currently on the side quest of the nine. I figured finding all the magical bits of armour would help me survive. I’ve just got my hands on the helmet and my journey into the unknown continues, forsooth!


I might actually start a new playthrough, I've never gone through Oblivion with my conjuration stealth archer build, and it works great in both Morrowind and Skyrim.

Is the bound bow spell even in Oblivion?


----------



## Foxbat

Raincloud Man said:


> Is the bound bow spell even in Oblivion?


I have no idea. I've got a really big sword and that's all the magic I need


----------



## Toby Frost

I've found that pushing speed and stealth up as far as I can get them is the way to go, mainly because I find combat rather dull and creeping up on (or just past) things is just as enjoyable. Oblivion is scaled a bit oddly: I think the mages guild quests were reasonably easy, for starters. Getting the armour might be a good idea. The Oblivion sections are difficult and a bit samey, in my opinion.

It might be one of those games best played with one eye on the how-to wiki. I've been pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it is, though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

There are a ton more summons and spell customization in Oblivion. In those areas, it's miles better than Skyrim. Also, check out the Dark Brotherhood questline. It's fantastic.


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> The Oblivion sections are difficult and a bit samey, in my opinion.


Do you mean through the Oblivion gates? If yes, then, although I've only been through the one, I did wonder if it would be more of the same each time.

 I think I'm enjoying the side quests more. I've managed to get the helmet, gauntlets, boots and mace in the quest of the nine. I tried to get the mace first but gave up and went for the boots instead. It turned out I needed the boots before I got the mace so, after getting them, acquiring the mace was a doddle.

The Dark Brotherhood I've heard mentioned by NPCs but I'm not sure if I've come across them yet (unless they are the red robed assassins which I've encountered a few times).

My spellcraft is fairly limited but, being Nordic, I do have the cold touch or whatever it's called. It seems pretty pointless to me because if I'm close enough to touch the enemy, I might as well just hack their heads off and have done with it.

Question: in some RPGs, reading a book ups your skill a little in that particular subject. This doesn't seem to be the case here so is there any point in book reading?


----------



## Foxbat

I've just found the bit about books in the manual. It seems that reading can increase your skill. It appears I just haven't found the right books yet (I strive to become a warrior alchemist)


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, those sort of books do exist, but they're quite rare. I was thinking of the Hell-type places through the Oblivion gates, which always involve a lot of fighting - which for me is basically hammering the "attack" button and occasionally healing. Some of the additional DLC content, which I expect would be included with the game if you bought it now, is pretty helpful in terms of acquiring new stuff (although I'd avoid the Shiverring Isles until I was quite high-level, as it's tough).



alexvss said:


> That's the one with the best NPC dialogue in history.



Is that the lizard woman who only ever says "Ninininini"?


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> Is that the lizard woman who only ever says "Ninininini"?


Did Monty Python help out with the dialogue?

Come to think of it, a Skyrim/Oblivion style Life Of Brian or Holy Grail RPG would be fun


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat,


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Did Monty Python help out with the dialogue?
> 
> Come to think of it, a Skyrim/Oblivion style Life Of Brian or Holy Grail RPG would be fun


Apparently, Oblivion was (one of?) Terry Pratchets favourite computer games. But, because he was starting to get Alzheimers, he would get lost in the larger dungeons - so someone modded a companion (that you can still get somewhere in the modding universe) who, if you ask her, guides you out.

At least that's the story I heard from the YouTuber SorcererDave


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> But, because he was starting to get Alzheimers, he would get lost in the larger dungeons


I do find the map a bit limited by its window size. I find myself moving the map around trying to figure out where things are. It might have been better if the map window was something that could be resized (and by that I mean to a full size window in order to get a good view of where I am and where everything else is on the map). It might have even helped poor Terry from getting lost.


----------



## Toby Frost

And on this day, I first learned of the musical career of Tiny Tim.

Yes, that whole map/inventory/statistics bit isn't very well worked out. It needs a lot of clicking to see what's going on.



Foxbat said:


> Did Monty Python help out with the dialogue?



The idea is that she lives on the island of madness, where everything is very weird. Someone has made a song using her voice, in the style of an old computer game. I have no idea why, but it's surprisingly good.


----------



## Foxbat

She definitely must be a sister of one of the knights who say ni


----------



## Foxbat

Thought I’d mention that Skyrim is now available on GOG.

I won’t be buying it for a while because it would just distract me from Oblivion.
I managed to get the sword of the crusader. Sneaked in to the bad guys’ lair and discovered the main bad guy was some kind if ghost wielding the sword. I’ve encountered such things before and knew my big sword probably wouldn’t work so I did what any questing warrior would do - went online and discovered that fire is his weakness. A couple if firespell scrolls later and the sword was mine. Now just the finsl baddie in this quest to face.

Currently, I’m just out for a stroll before going any further. It’s my favourite part about these games. Sometimes you just want to go walk in the sunshine and see what happens


----------



## thaddeus6th

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous came yesterday. Only had time to play a bit, and it took me a while to get through character creation, but liking it so far. Too early to say too much, though. And it's so nice to have a little handbook to read (lore rather than gameplay tips).


----------



## Foxbat

Printed handbooks and manuals are so rare nowadays. I fired up Stellaris to try again and found that it needed to update itself. After update, fired it up again, only to find there is no longer a tutorial (and there's never been a manual). Paradox! What are you thinking? Why don't you just put out an advert saying 'please don't buy our games' because I certainly won't be buying anymore. 

Stellaris immediately powered down again (and now under threat of deletion) and back to strolling through the forests and hills of Oblivion. Ah! Calm


----------



## thaddeus6th

Hmm, odd. My Stellaris version (console, so a little behind) does have a tutorial, I think.

It does have lots of free updates, which is nice, but can be complex to get into. Being entirely serious, would you find it of interest if I put together one (probably written although video might not be impossible)? I'm not an expert but did effectively win (I suspended play because the Crisis was done and it was just counting time) on Grand Admiral (highest difficulty) before starting my current playthrough.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Hmm, odd. My Stellaris version (console, so a little behind) does have a tutorial, I think.


So did my PC version but now it's gone after the latest update.

Thanks for the offer and the video playthrough might be the way to go but, rather than eating up your time, I'm sure there will be things on Youtube already. I just need to find them. There seems to be a large community built around Stellaris so I think there will be a lot of stuff already out there.

What really bothers me is that (in my opinion) it appears to show a complete lack of undertsanding of their market. An example: probably the most complicated game I have is War In The Pacific: Admiral's Edition. It came out around 2007 ish and cost me £60. I still play it now and then all these years later but I always have to relearn the game first and the manual is a couple of hundred pages.

I think the same would apply to Stellaris given its apparent complexity. It's as if Paradox has decided that the market is saturated for this game and there's no point updating a tutorial for newer versions. This, I think, is fundamentally wrong. Strategy games tend to be slow burns with very long shelf lives (I still fire up Laser Squad now and again...the precursor to UFO: Eenemy Unknown). These types of games often have older players and sometimes their memory is not as good as it once was. They need manuals/tutorials etc.

Of course, It could be the case that Paradox already know this but don't really care and are happy to make their money in the short term by firing out DLC after DLC (there seems to be an awful lot of them for Stellaris) and don't work towards the long term market.

Edit: so I broke my own rule and now busy downloading Skyrim. I promise I won't play it until I get through Oblivion. 
Aye right! As we say here


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Printed handbooks and manuals are so rare nowadays. I fired up Stellaris to try again and found that it needed to update itself. After update, fired it up again, only to find there is no longer a tutorial (and there's never been a manual). Paradox! What are you thinking? Why don't you just put out an advert saying 'please don't buy our games' because I certainly won't be buying anymore.
> 
> Stellaris immediately powered down again (and now under threat of deletion) and back to strolling through the forests and hills of Oblivion. Ah! Calm



Paradox providing a manual ?!?!?!

If they ever, better check the weather reports, because hell will be freezing over. (Copyright _Frasier, _this morning on C4) 

Also, all the 'tutorials' I've ever played on Paradox games seemed to be 'anti-tutorials' and confused me more on how to actually play the game. Gawd knows how I managed to work out how to play the Crusader King series. Years ago I got _Victoria._ Which doesn't have a steep learning curve, but a learning cliff. With few handholds, lots of razor-sharp protuberances, booby traps and wall-climbing fire ants. Still no real clue on how that game works.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, Youtube channels like Aspec and Montu Plays have lots of useful Stellaris stuff. I think the tutorial series I checked first, ages ago, was by Quill18 but that was for a much older version of the game and much has changed since.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Foxbat, Youtube channels like Aspec and Montu Plays have lots of useful Stellaris stuff. I think the tutorial series I checked first, ages ago, was by Quill18 but that was for a much older version of the game and much has changed since.


I’ll check that out for starters


----------



## .matthew.

I've been playing fire & maneuver. It's a free early-access Napoleonic-era tactics game. Plays with the two general problem where you queue up your turns and both sides play out simultaneously.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> I've been playing fire & maneuver. It's a free early-access Napoleonic-era tactics game. Plays with the two general problem where you queue up your turns and both sides play out simultaneously.


That looks interesting. The graphics remind me of Battle Academy. Your description of turn mechanics sounds like some sort of hybrid WEGO system. Combat Mission is one that comes to mind, where you can set out more than one order via waypoints for a unit and watch as it plays out over a game minute.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm liking Wrath of the Righteous a lot... except the bug (PS4) which happens sometimes of having info on the layer beneath other things on-screen. It's not game-breaking but is a quality of life problem. On the plus side, things are going well, though it's early game so the training wheels are still on, I think.


----------



## Foxbat

Had a look at some shots of Wrath Of The Righteous and it seems 3D isometric in the style Baldur's Gate and many others. Looks good


As for myself....Skyrim is now installed on my PC but I'm determined not to go near it until I've had my fill of Oblivion...must resist....


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yeah, that bug's a shame (you can work around it, but it'd tedious) but the game itself is going very nicely.

So... you're finally awake.


----------



## Foxbat

I don’t do Steam but I see Wrath Of The Righteous is available on GOG. One to look out for come the sales.


----------



## Foxbat

Today in Oblivion, I became the owner of a castle (Battlehorn). It needs renovation and  that will cost a bomb so, here's a question for any Oblivion veterans...what the hell do I do with a castle?


----------



## thaddeus6th

Just got to level 4 in Wrath of the Righteous which means I got an animal companion. Went for the dog. Trip attack with bite is splendid, because standing up in Pathfinder = attacks of opportunity. 

I like the balance of the initial companions too. Disregarding the one chap I left in jail, got a decent mix of melee and range, magic and mundane attacks.


----------



## Foxbat

Today in Oblivion, I’ve begun a side quest to solve the mystery of a missing painting in Chorrol castle. Getting absolutely nowhere. My sleuthing skills (or lack of) remind me why I would never make a good detective. Methinks I’ll wander out into the wilderness and kill something instead.


----------



## Toby Frost

Foxbat said:


> what the hell do I do with a castle?



Not a lot, in my experience. For me, the main use of buildings like this is to dump objects (knowing that they won't disappear) and to sleep in order to gain levels. You can buy extra facilities to make magic weapons, harvest magic ingredients etc, and it can look quite nice to add new bits. Personally, I would save the money. Recharging and repairing magical gear isn't cheap!

Incidentally, have you done the mission with the paranoid elf man who wants to meet behind the church yet? He's called Glarthir.


----------



## Foxbat

Yes. Sleeping and storage is all I've used the castle for so far.


Toby Frost said:


> Incidentally, have you done the mission with the paranoid elf man who wants to meet behind the church yet? He's called Glarthir.


No but I'll look out for him. I enjoy hanging around with shady characters. That's why I come here


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Today in Oblivion, I’ve begun a side quest to solve the mystery of a missing painting in Chorrol castle. Getting absolutely nowhere. My sleuthing skills (or lack of) remind me why I would never make a good detective. Methinks I’ll wander out into the wilderness and kill something instead.


You'll kick yourself when you figure it out. I got it from the three statements that the various suspects tell you!


----------



## Foxbat

I have one statement but can’t seem to get any more. I’ve also found paint marks on a carpet in the dining hall and a strange painting in a hidden manhole entrance in the west tower but can’t seem to  do anything with  them. Where’s Sir Columbo The Crumpled when you need him…


----------



## Toby Frost

If you've been given the keys to the castle, you can wander about and talk to the relevant people (not the guards). Searching people's rooms helps too.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Yeah, you need to get all third statements. And it should all fall into place!


----------



## Phyrebrat

Dan and I will be doing a podcast on a very popular horror game IP within the next few months…

 It’ll be very topical. 

As for my gaming; still firmly engrossed in Star Wars Squadrons in VR.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> As for myself....Skyrim is now installed on my PC but I'm determined not to go near it until I've had my fill of Oblivion...must resist....



After all your talk about Oblivion, I was in the mood for a bit of dungeon exploring and inventory management, so fire up my Skyrim special edition version - to discover that they've added other bits n' pieces. Including a survival mode. Which I had forgotten that they had added. 

Fantastic. Love me a nice survival mode - actually makes the food crafting system worthwhile. I'm used to looking for beds in Fallout 4's survival mode too, so having to do this to level up in Skyrim is fine and dandy. (Also I never used the fast travel system. I like just running about and admiring the views - normally getting pounced on by the local wildlife while I'm doing it...). 

I'm also running it at Legendary difficulty...so probably will need to use companions for a while


----------



## Phyrebrat

@Venusian Broon next time you stay over you have to get me past that stage in Alien: Isolation after getting the keycard. I’m still hiding in a locker somewhere on the ship


----------



## Toby Frost

Personally, I really dislike hardcore modes and similar things designed to make games more frustrating and arbitrary. If you make the enemies five times harder to kill, you make the game more tedious, not more fun (see the close combat in Oblivion). If, however, that's your thing, you might enjoy the games Kenshi and Mordheim. Kenshi is just very hard indeed. Mordheim is grossly arbitrary and unfair, but some might enjoy that.


----------



## Foxbat

I’ve found my calling in Oblivion. I’ve discovered  that I like sneaking up on people or creatures and firing an arrow in their brains. It’s quite satisfying watching that distant figure drop like a sack of potatoes


----------



## Venusian Broon

Re: difficulty levels - it depends, in my case. 

For most Western RPGs, the storylines are generally pretty weak, fun at first, yes, but if you have been playing 1300+ of playing a game, lets stick with Skyrim, you know the various fetch quests and others that make up everything. So I'm looking for  a challenge. Yes, you could not try to be a stealth archer, but putting in a difficulty that cuts your damage output by a quarter and increases enemies by three, makes you rethink how you would approach certain bands of enemies and other situations. 

Also it makes me look a lot more at alchemy, magic, enchantments, crafting and companions, and develop them properly, whereas at an easier mode, you could quite easily just bash/shoot enemies solo, pick up levelled loot and practically ignore all of those factors above. 

Also (I'm hoping) that changing the difficulty so much means that it takes much longer for me to get to the level when I damn near invincible, which usually happens mid-game for me in Bethesda games. 

Yes, I also have Dark Souls, and really enjoyed the hard bosses in AC: Odyssey, so going Legendary in Skyrim seems natural to me


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> Also it makes me look a lot more at alchemy, magic, enchantments, crafting and companions, and develop them properly, whereas at an easier mode, you could quite easily just bash/shoot enemies solo, pick up levelled loot and practically ignore all of those factors above.
> 
> Also (I'm hoping) that changing the difficulty so much means that it takes much longer for me to get to the level when I damn near invincible, which usually happens mid-game for me in Bethesda games.


I'm much the same here. While normally I play games on whatever generic difficulty it suggests as that's what the game is often balanced around, that mid to end-game invincibility does tend to take the fun out of it for me.

Although, when the game bases its difficulty on nothing more than stats it leads to immersion breaking. For the life of me I can never figure out why the invincible level 9000 town guards can't just go and smash out these quests while I kick back in the local inn... or follow behind them to loot the bodies...


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> Personally, I really dislike hardcore modes and similar things designed to make games more frustrating and arbitrary. If you make the enemies five times harder to kill, you make the game more tedious, not more fun (see the close combat in Oblivion). If, however, that's your thing, you might enjoy the games Kenshi and Mordheim. Kenshi is just very hard indeed. Mordheim is grossly arbitrary and unfair, but some might enjoy that.


Although I have been known to die in the first 5 minutes or so in Kenshi, it's a game I really enjoy. Mordheim I find frustrating as I find your characters make members of XCOM look like consistent good shots who will never ever miss shooting an alien at point blank range.


----------



## Foxbat

Vladd67 said:


> I find your characters make members of XCOM look like consistent good shots who will never ever miss shooting an alien at point blank range


This reminds me of (one of) my most embarrassing gaming moments. It was years ago when I still played online games and it was Counterstrike. There were only two of us left - me (counter terrorist) and one opponent. In Counterstrike, all the dead members of both teams can watch how it plays out and I knew that many eyes were on this final showdown. I remember climbing into a tower and, there in front of me looking out the window with his back to me was a lone sniper. In a fit of excitement, I let him have the full magazine of my M16 rifle at point blank range. To my horror, I realised I’d forgotten about the kick when firing and could only watch helplessly as he turned (bullet holes all around him and none in him). One shot and I was dead. I got a horrendous amount of abuse from my team mates that day


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> One shot and I was dead. I got a horrendous amount of abuse from my team mates that day


Well deserved, I'd say 

On the other hand, you could leverage your skillset as a super-criminal's henchman.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, be honest: are you an imperial stormtrooper?


----------



## Foxbat

Today in Oblivion I gave up on my detective work (for now). It's officially a cold case until I can make a breakthrough. 

And talking of cold, I somehow acquired the deeds to a place in the snow covered mountains (I think) is called Frostcrag. I can't remember how I got those deeds and, after visiting, it looks like some kind of shrine or holy place but I have no idea what to do with it.


----------



## Toby Frost

Foxbat said:


> I’ve found my calling in Oblivion. I’ve discovered that I like sneaking up on people or creatures and firing an arrow in their brains. It’s quite satisfying watching that distant figure drop like a sack of potatoes



Sneaking up on/past people is very satisfying!

Frostcrag is quite handy, especially for dumping stuff and for ingredients. None of the houses seem especially useful, though, and they're all really expensive for what you get, if you buy them (the Anvil haunted house quest is a real waste of cash). In my opinion:

Money - pay for repairing kit, buying non-magical gear, having magic items recharged, training skills (if necessary) and bribing people (occasionally)
Magical items - acquire in the course of adventures. They're expensive to make, but each to his own
Soul gems - for recharging magical gear
Stones acquired when closing Oblivion gates - enchanting high-quality non-magical gear
Houses - for dumping gear you don't want to use right now but don't want to sell.


----------



## Foxbat

What I find odd about Frostcrag is that, if you step on a certain circle (there are a few in the floor) a wall slides away to reveal a kind of altar but I see no purpose for it.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> What I find odd about Frostcrag is that, if you step on a certain circle (there are a few in the floor) a wall slides away to reveal a kind of altar but I see no purpose for it.


I think it means you have a cool secret room in your property. (I mean compare it to your shack in the docks!)

I quite like the hearthfire expansion, in Skyrim - You'll eventually get there Foxbat - where you get to build your own home, nail by nail and plank by plank from the foundations up.


----------



## Tenebrae

Right now I'm playing: Forager, 7 days to die, replaying Morrowind and of course, waiting on that AC update

edit: oh and Rimworld


----------



## Foxbat

today in Oblivion, I killed a unicorn. It wouldn't leave me alone so I had no choice. I'd killed a couple of minotaurs just before the equine encounter so maybe I'd killed its mates. I was reluctant to do it but it doesn't seem to have dented my reputation. Maybe unicorns aren't the nice cuddly things of little girls' dreams but nasty, obstreperous creatures who have it coming to them.


----------



## Toby Frost

I remember that quest being something of a "Hans, are we the baddies?" moment. Was it given by a statue at a shrine? The statue quests are a bit odd and sometimes morally iffy. I think the statue gods are all a bit crazy.

I've been playing a bit of Deus Ex Human Revolution, which is quite decent. The man you play has the obligatory Clint Eastwood voice but looks like an electrician I used to know, with extra cyberpunk bits. It's tough but satisfying when it goes right, and for an old game it looks really good.


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> I remember that quest being something of a "Hans, are we the baddies?" moment. Was it given by a statue at a shrine? The statue quests are a bit odd and sometimes morally iffy. I think the statue gods are all a bit crazy.


I wasn’t actually on a quest but it was in a valley I discovered on one of my wanderings.    It was situated in an area called the West Wield. My sword had no effect on the unicorn but I was able to kill it with silver arrows. Naturally, I hacked off its horn and intend to sell it to the nearest merchant - not that it’s worth much. Good job there’s no Greenpeace in the Elder Scrolls


----------



## smellincoffee

I started playing RDR2 on release, and....I'm still playing it.  Getting Arthur drunk and then stumbling around town  getting into fights just doesn't get old, at least when I only have weekends to indulge the habit. I'm seriously tempted by _Humankind_'s free trial or the _Fallout 4_ sale, though. I haven't tried the Fallout series yet.


----------



## Toby Frost

Not sure if Skyrim wants me to steal pottery or smoke weed:


----------



## BAYLOR

*Doom Eternal  * If you start this game , I suggest playing easy setting first . Even at that level , this game is hard and non stop action . The only rest yo get after you've successful killed off all the demons and monsters on the level your at.  , This game is insane, cruel and fun. .


----------



## Vince W

BAYLOR said:


> *Doom Eternal  * If you start this game , I suggest playing easy setting first . Even at that level , this game is hard and non stop action . The only rest yo get after you've successful killed off all the demons and monsters on the level your at. , This game is insane, cruel and fun. .


I finished it on Nightmare. Still working on Ultra-Nightmare.


----------



## Vince W

If you want a non twitch game set in space that includes unreasonable personal debt give *Hardspace: ShIpbreakers* a try. Once you get used to working in zero g it’s rather relaxing.


----------



## BAYLOR

Vince W said:


> I finished it on Nightmare. Still working on Ultra-Nightmare.


What I find  incredibly cruel about this game is the jumping , leaping wall grabbing/scaling  acrobatics you have to go though to each certain places and levels. Then there's  Demons and monsters . They've really ramped them up quite a bit.

I love the weapons  in this game.


----------



## Rodders

I restarted the Hordes in Days Gone, but after 1000 hours, it's getting too easy and a little boring now. I have Horizon Zero Dawn loaded to play next and I just bought Mass Effect 3 from Steam. (I'll get Mass Effect: Andromeda next month.) I still have the entire Mass Effect series to play through now. 

On my iPad, i still play Star Trek Fleet Command. I kind of enjoy it, but after three years, I'm not as interested as i was and find the whole thing a little boring.

I also play Star Wars: Heroes. I think because collecting the characters is a large part of the game and that leans into my own hobbies and habits. I strongly suspect I'll be a hoarder in the coming years.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Ironic moment in Wrath of the Righteous. I was liking the much simpler Crusade mechanics compared to the kingdom stuff from last game, and have just unlocked the full (presumably) mode which is, er, very like the kingdom management from last game.


----------



## Toby Frost

BAYLOR said:


> What I find incredibly cruel about this game is the jumping , leaping wall grabbing/scaling acrobatics you have to go though to each certain places and levels. Then there's Demons and monsters . They've really ramped them up quite a bit.



But then you'll be able to rip and tear, which I gather is the Doom equivalent of liking Country _and _Western.

I've been playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which is pretty good. It seems to work best as a stealth game. It's one of those games that's extremely polished but doesn't have anything especially charming or memorable about it, despite being enjoyable.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Wow, getting to see the greybeards on legendary difficulty and survival mode is _just _possible*. Was a few seconds away from freezing to death on the way up. Got to find warmer clothing/hot food for the next trip up. (Wonder if it's warmer during the day too?)

=======

* as long as you run past that sodden troll near the top. I (and companion) am still incapable of killing one of those things


----------



## Toby Frost

_Deus Ex: Human Revolution _is good - up to a point. The style of game more or less encourages players to make a stealthy character. However, at periodic points, it introduces boss fights that can't be completed stealthily at all, and which basically kill the player unless they've gone for a strictly non-stealth approach. It makes me wonder if the game was properly play-tested, as this is surely a massive gap in the logic of it all. Given the amount of money that clearly went into it, this feels like an absolutely basic error. So that's getting uninstalled. Life's too short, etc.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> The style of game more or less encourages players to make a stealthy character. However, at periodic points, it introduces boss fights that can't be completed stealthily at all, and which basically kill the player unless they've gone for a strictly non-stealth approach


And that's why Dishonored was so damn good. The same sort of gameplay options let you deal with the bosses violently or sneakily. My favourite one was where you could arrange for the slaver boss(es?) to be enslaved instead of killing them.


----------



## Toby Frost

_Dishonoured_ was extremely good, a sort of _Thief_ for modern(ish) times. I really enjoyed the second game too, although it was a bit too big and complex for any computers that I own.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, the second was a really decent sequel that pretty much just built on the things that made the first so good. 

Having them swap out the victorian city setting for that tropical island was cool too. Even though the original was better, the change made the whole game feel fresher.


----------



## Foxbat

Today in Oblivion, I was visited by a member of The Dark Brotherhood with an offer to join their group if I carry out a murder for them. I’ve killed a lot of folk so far so what’s one more?


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Today in Oblivion, I was visited by a member of The Dark Brotherhood with an offer to join their group if I carry out a murder for them. I’ve killed a lot of folk so far so what’s one more?


Many think the dark brotherhood questline the best in the game.

It is good but I have fonder memories for the second half of the thieves guild quest line.


----------



## Foxbat

I don’t think I’ve come across the thieves guild although they have been mentioned in some rumours.  There seems to be a lot to do in Oblivion. Should keep me busy for a while yet


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> I don’t think I’ve come across the thieves guild although they have been mentioned in some rumours.  There seems to be a lot to do in Oblivion. Should keep me busy for a while yet


Talk to beggars and look around the harbour of the Imperial city regarding thieves guild...

...also be wary of sleeping on floating pubs in the same place!


----------



## Foxbat

Today in Oblivion, I killed a prison inmate for the Dark Brotherhood. Unfortunately, I had to kill four guards too. Not only were the Brotherhood unimpressed and refused to pay my bonus but I had to pay 4000 gold to the authorities to avoid jail (I made only 200 for the contract). 

I think, to make it even more realistic, the Brotherhood should have issued me with a written warning for substandard work/bringing the Brotherhood into disrepute. Of course, they would have needed a representative from HR to be present


----------



## thaddeus6th

What you don't realise is the unspoken punishment of the "Murder-n00b" label they stuck on the back of your ceremonial robes.

Take your time with the Dark Brotherhood quests there are often little extra things you can do which can be a lot of fun.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Take your time with the Dark Brotherhood quests there are often little extra things you can do which can be a lot of fun.


Yes. I must learn to take my time.

I got a bit impatient waiting for the guards to move off so took an invisibility potion and then got lost in the passageways. Unfortunately, the potion only lasts for sixteen seconds so when I became visible and the guards saw me, it was clobberin' time


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Today in Oblivion, I killed a prison inmate for the Dark Brotherhood. Unfortunately, I had to kill four guards too. Not only were the Brotherhood unimpressed and refused to pay my bonus but I had to pay 4000 gold to the authorities to avoid jail (I made only 200 for the contract).
> 
> I think, to make it even more realistic, the Brotherhood should have issued me with a written warning for substandard work/bringing the Brotherhood into disrepute. Of course, they would have needed a representative from HR to be present


Yeah, you weren't contracted to kill the guards! 

If you want to kill everything in sight, the arena seems to be the place for you   (Or perhaps another organisation you may come across, but that'd be spoilers if I told you who and why.)

p.s. did you realise that the guy you were supposed to kill, was the same one that taunts you right at the very start? Karma baby...


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> did you realise that the guy you were supposed to kill, was the same one that taunts you right at the very start? Karma baby


I didn't realise that. If I'd known I would have looked for a more agonising death for him than a simple swing of my sword


----------



## Toby Frost

"We found the body, sir. It's not pretty. He's taken an arrow to the knee and somebody's stolen his sweetroll."


----------



## Foxbat

After dealing with some stubborn roots in my mum's garden, I decided to unwind by taking a break from Oblivion and fired up my recent purchase of Field Of Glory 2: Medieval. I suppose you could describe it as miniatures in a PC. I also recently bought a couple of DLCs for it covering the Crusades (I've recently been reading up on that era). I tried a quick battle to get the hang of things (Andelucian Muslims...me versus Castillians...PC).
Long story short, I got my arse handed to me on a plate. It all started off very well as my light cavalry routed some slingers and a few other light units but, try as I might, I just couldn't cope with the heavy cavalry. I  tried the old Agincourt trick but just didn't have enough archers to make a difference.

The day was not mine so I'll end this post with an apt quote from Henry V. It kind of sums up my leadership skills

*the king himself hath
a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and
arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join
together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at*
_*such a place;' *_


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> I  tried the old Agincourt trick but just didn't have enough archers to make a difference.


Well, you're from a little too far north to pull that trick off


----------



## Foxbat

Well, I can thank my lucky stars I'm not a king in some medieval European realm!
Been playing a bit more Field Of Glory 2: Medieval and it's brutal. I decided to play the Aragonese versus the Almohads and did a bit better than my earlier attempts (mainly because I'd read the manual). But those heavy feudal knights are so difficult to find a role for. 

My first idea was to use them almost like modern battle tanks and try and smash the enemy lines through brute strength. Tip - do not do this.
They are just too difficut to maneuver. Once they become engaged in the fighting, they are easy pickings for flank and rear attacks. 

Even worse, the cavalry I did not use in this manner, I utilised to try and chase the lighter muslim cavalry. Bad idea. They were tormented to death by these fast moving horse units diving in to land a blow then gone like the wind. This was normally followed up by other light cavalry conducting flank and rear attacks until the sheer attrition of the situation broke my noblemen and sent them fleeing the field. 

No wonder so many Crusader battles went awry in the Levantine. About the only thing you can do is to send clouds of arrows into an enemy unit to disrupt them and then send in the heavies to chase them off - a rather inglorious  role for such glorious nobles as these but they're not much good for anything other than mopping up.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Well, I can thank my lucky stars I'm not a king in some medieval European realm!
> Been playing a bit more Field Of Glory 2: Medieval and it's brutal. I decided to play the Aragonese versus the Almohads and did a bit better than my earlier attempts (mainly because I'd read the manual). But those heavy feudal knights are so difficult to find a role for.
> 
> My first idea was to use them almost like modern battle tanks and try and smash the enemy lines through brute strength. Tip - do not do this.
> They are just too difficut to maneuver. Once they become engaged in the fighting, they are easy pickings for flank and rear attacks.
> 
> Even worse, the cavalry I did not use in this manner, I utilised to try and chase the lighter muslim cavalry. Bad idea. They were tormented to death by these fast moving horse units diving in to land a blow then gone like the wind. This was normally followed up by other light cavalry conducting flank and rear attacks until the sheer attrition of the situation broke my noblemen and sent them fleeing the field.
> 
> No wonder so many Crusader battles went awry in the Levantine. About the only thing you can do is to send clouds of arrows into an enemy unit to disrupt them and then send in the heavies to chase them off - a rather inglorious  role for such glorious nobles as these but they're not much good for anything other than mopping up.


I had a quick gander at the game on Steam when you mentioned it.

Looked like a 'chessboard' version of Total War - hence I expect the computer is going to be much harder to defeat!

What are the campaigns like for it? Are they just a number of connected battles or is there a bit of 4X map strategy stuff to do?

It looks interesting.


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> What are the campaigns like for it? Are they just a number of connected battles or is there a bit of 4X map strategy stuff to do?


I haven’t got that far into it yet. I think it is indeed a series of connected battles but, if I recall from the manual, you may be tasked to leave troops to garrison a structure etc. I would hazard a guess that this is to ensure an increasing level of difficulty with fewer (but more experienced) troops when progressing.

There is no 4X as such but Field Of Glory 2 (this is the game version based on the ancients …..Romans, Persians etc) can be used with Field Of Glory: Empires (which is a 4X game). I’ve never tried it but the idea is that you can port any battle from Empires and fight it within FOG2 and then port the results back into Empires….essentially doing in two games what Total War does in one. Whether it is worthwhile, I can’t yet say. The final point on the 4X aspect is that work is currently ongoing on Field Of Glory: Realms. This is a medieval 4X, which will allow similar battle porting in and out with FOG2: Medieval.

The main difference between the battles in Total War and FOG2 is that the latter is turn based and uses stuff like zones of control and command lines - all the usual stuff that you would find in miniatures and board strategy games. I think I’ve taken to this particular game because, long before PCs became de rigueur, I cut my teeth on both board strategy games and miniatures (although I didn’t really take to miniatures at the time). It does certainly have a chessboard feel to it and I’m finding it much harder to defeat than Total War.

My advice, for what it’s worth, is that, if you like miniatures gaming, this might be for you. Otherwise, best stick to Total War. 

Hope that helps


----------



## Foxbat

I found this review of FOG2: Medieval which may help the undecided decide. One criticism in it is the time period covered. There are a number of DLCs (I have the first three) and these take the player beyond the period covered by the original game. My DLCs cover the Crusades, Reconquista and up to around about Agincourt.








						Field of Glory 2: Medieval review
					

There's nothing new in Field of Glory 2's medieval line-up.




					www.pcgamer.com


----------



## Foxbat

Regarding Field Of Glory 2, I decided to take a step back and fired up the vanilla version (ancients). 

I played a sandbox battle of Carthage (me) against Rome (PC) and managed to grind out a victory. I’m not deluding myself that my tactical acumen has somehow suddenly improved. The simple fact is that I had elephants. I used them to smash the Roman centre (which they did admirably). I then backed up the flanks of the elephants with spearmen to prevent any flanking or rear attacks on my precious beasts.  I then used my cavalry, slingers and a couple of offensive spear formations to harry both Roman flanks who were, by now,  isolated from each other and unable to provide any mutual support. It was a long, attritional process. It wasn’t so much blitzkreig as schleppendkreig. But, hey! A win’s a win


----------



## Toby Frost

I've played some of a game called Dead West, which is a sort of adventure with simplified X-Com type combat. It's set in the Wild West (with additional magic) and, while the plot is pretty hard to work out, it's entertaining. I thought I'd reached the end, and then realised that I'd finished the prologue. Whoops.


----------



## Foxbat

Back on Oblivion for me and although I really like this game, I’ve decided I really don’t like the Oblivion Gate sections. I’ve managed to close a couple of them recently and they can be a handy counterweight to the infamy gained from working for the Dark Brotherhood but, other than that, the word I would use to describe them is tedious. I think, from now on, I’ll be doing the absolute minimum where they are concerned regarding completing the main quest.


----------



## Toby Frost

I agree. They are one of weakest things in the game. I found that pushing my speed and stealth up helped me get through them, but they're still a chore. If I remember rightly, if you finish the main quest they either all disappear or no more show up.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Back on Oblivion for me and although I really like this game, I’ve decided I really don’t like the Oblivion Gate sections. I’ve managed to close a couple of them recently and they can be a handy counterweight to the infamy gained from working for the Dark Brotherhood but, other than that, the word I would use to describe them is tedious. I think, from now on, I’ll be doing the absolute minimum where they are concerned regarding completing the main quest.


Yeah, they only did 4 or 5 models for the oblivion dungeons, and they do get very samey once you've gone through them. 

For my 'complete' run I did finish off all 60 that are available...but for all the latter ones I just ran into them with 100% chameleon and 100% invisibility and sprinted up to the top to get the crystal without fighting any of the monsters or picking up much loot.


----------



## Toby Frost

That's exactly what I did, although more haphazardly. I've never been into completing games in that way, and fairly quickly the benefits you get from the crystals aren't really worth that much, especially since they don't sell for decent money (although you could use them to enchant objects and then sell them). I've reached a point where money isn't very useful, except for repairing stuff.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> That's exactly what I did, although more haphazardly. I've never been into completing games in that way, and fairly quickly the benefits you get from the crystals aren't really worth that much, especially since they don't sell for decent money (although you could use them to enchant objects and then sell them). I've reached a point where money isn't very useful, except for repairing stuff.


Exactly! I don't remember really using all those crystals at all. I think I did the final 20 when I was ridiculously overpowered at level 45 or so, so didn't need them anyway.


----------



## Toby Frost

Wow, you got good quickly! I'm still on level 30 or so.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Toby Frost said:


> Wow, you got good quickly! I'm still on level 30 or so.


I did 'efficient levelling' for that run. Maxed out at level 53 or 54


----------



## alexvss

*The Ascent*. Many people travel to a faraway planet called Veles to work for corporations as indentured workers (“slaves in all but name”), believing in all the fake advertising back on Earth. You play as one of these workers. The game starts when monsters called ferals attack the mine where you work. Your immediate boss promises you a reward if you solve the problem. Of course, he doesn’t pay you, claiming budget difficulties.

The gameplay reminded me of Ruiner and Diablo. It’s the same camera angle.

The game isn’t heavy on plot. You customize a character without a name and play as a nobody (well, I guess that’s the point). It’s very heavy on lore though;  reading the codex got me tired. What they basically did was take all the cyberpunk tropes to the fullest.

Now that I’m out of the mine, I’m excited to explore the open world.


----------



## .matthew.

Terra Invicta - a somewhat incomprehensible grand strategy game that's just come out. 

That said, I'm having some fun with it and even though it's real-time-with-pause, it gives that good one-more-turn feeling.

Basically, it's XCOM as a grand strategy game, where you play as a faction vying for control of Earth and the solar system as you try to achieve specific goals regarding the alien invaders.

I'm 14 hours in right now, and it's definitely a slow burn - I haven't even got to shipbuilding yet, and from what I've seen, that's the best part.


----------



## BT Jones

Halo: The Master Chief collection.  Not too excessively.  Just one level on heroic, 4 nights a week.  Plus trying to beat the par time on every game with my son, who is now obsessed.


----------



## bretbernhoft

I'm presently playing Ember Knights and Day Of Defeat: Source.


----------



## alexvss

bretbernhoft said:


> I'm presently playing Ember Knights and Day Of Defeat: Source.


This brings me back. I was addicted to Day of Defeat: Source. I used to spend whole days playing online. I remember playing the fan-made "orange" maps was very fun.


----------



## Toby Frost

Hey nonnny nonny cuz, mayhap I have been playing aught of *Dragon's Dogma*, with its climbing on monsters and awful "ye olde" dialogue. It's one of those games where the visuals and combat are really good, and the setting and story are utterly banal. 

I also bought a book of art from the cancelled game *Fable Legends*, which would have been a four-player co-op thing set in a cartoony fairytale world, rather like Left 4 Dead mixed with Grimm's Tales. It looks as if it would have been great fun, and it seems to have been almost ready to go when it was shelved, at a cost of £75m. A shame.


----------



## Foxbat

.matthew. said:


> Terra Invicta - a somewhat incomprehensible grand strategy game that's just come out.
> 
> That said, I'm having some fun with it and even though it's real-time-with-pause, it gives that good one-more-turn feeling.
> 
> Basically, it's XCOM as a grand strategy game, where you play as a faction vying for control of Earth and the solar system as you try to achieve specific goals regarding the alien invaders.
> 
> I'm 14 hours in right now, and it's definitely a slow burn - I haven't even got to shipbuilding yet, and from what I've seen, that's the best part.


This looks good (it’s on GOG) but it’s still in development so I’ll pass for now. Could be one for the future though.


----------



## thaddeus6th

I'm liking the Crusade aspect of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous a lot more than the kingdom management in Kingmaker, so far. Got a couple of reasonable armies now. And had a couple of nice story twists I shan't spoil.


----------



## bretbernhoft

I just started playing "Horizon: Forbidden West", and am enjoying the game quite a bit.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> This looks good (it’s on GOG) but it’s still in development so I’ll pass for now. Could be one for the future though.


Honestly, it's surprisingly stable. I've got 38 hours into it now and I've only had a single crash. That was during loading as well, so I didn't lose anything.

That said, it's a very slow-burning *cough* game. I've only just entered the mid-game and am pretty nervous about my next move. The aliens have a threat level for you that you don't really see and when you go over it, they just face-stomp you back down.

I have enough firepower to defend Earth from what's currently nearby, but I have no idea how much force they'd bring to bear if I fully antagonise them. On top of that, I don't yet have any capability to defend my asteroid mines, so if they pick those off, I'm essentially cut off from resources and wouldn't be able to recover any losses or even fuel my fleet. It's all very deep and mysterious.

The only real issue I have with it so far is the insane tech tree. You have so many options and without googling the hell out of everything, it's difficult to know what to research at all. For example, there are 30+ types of engines, each with different characteristics. Some are good for combat manoeuvring, some for long-range travel, and some for nothing at all


----------



## alexvss

*God of War: Ragnarok*. Sometime after the events of the first game, Kratos, Atreus and Mimir hide from a vengeful Freya while they train for the upcoming Ragnarök.

Three hours in, I must say I’m enjoying this game a lot. There have been fierce battles since the beginning. They mix cinematic and gameplay quite well, so I was never bored. There’s nothing much new though, when compared to the previous game. The gameplay is basically the same, but it’s been four years so it’s not like I’m bored with the repetition.

I must say I hate Thor and Odin though. Not that I hate Thor’s pot belly--that’s fine--; the problem is how they talk and behave. They’re too American and too modern. Oh, but I hate Odin’s design. I think he should’ve been bigger than Thor, and not the feeble geezer we see in this game. But that’s just nitpicking.

All things considered, I think I’m in for a wild ride.


----------



## Toby Frost

I loaded up* Just Cause 2* for a laugh. It's complete idiocy, like Grand Theft Auto with spies on what might be Malaysia. The characters are ridiculous stereotypes, the violence is crazy, everything blows up. High octane, stupid fun.

*Oblivion* continues to be weirdly fascinating. I'm amazed by how much depth there is in this game, which I'd written off as bland and superficial. A lot of it boils down to "explore place, kill things, find treasure", there's a decent amount of variety and lots to do.


----------



## Foxbat

Taking a break from Oblivion and going through the tutorials in Kerbal Space Program - inspired, I might add, by a documentary on Elon Musk - the first part of which covered his trials and tribulations with getting Space X off the ground (literally and metaphorically). 

My first trial take off went better than Elon's


----------



## Bugg

On PC I'm playing Trails to Azure, and on Switch I'm playing Tactics Ogre Reborn.  Both are sublime.  Azure is the 7th game I've played in the Legend of Heroes series so far.  I played Tactics Ogre previously on PS Vita and they've done a really fantastic job with this new version.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've always been a big fan of Warhammer Quest, a fairly basic mobile game in which you lead four characters through a succession of dungeons. It's simple, slightly stupid fun. Last night I started Warhammer Quest 2, which is a slightly more sophisticated version of the first game. Somehow it loses a bit of the charm (WC1 had strangely good animations when you visited a town) but there's more to it. Also, you can name your characters, which counts for a lot. I foresee exciting adventures for Heinrich Manoeuvre, Rageface Bloodhandle and Stabina Baque.


----------



## Foxbat

Love the names of your characters @Toby Frost


----------



## Toby Frost

Thank you! There were also The Amazing Wizzo (a very grimdark looking sorcerer), Gurney Haddock (a dwarf) and Prudence of the Smalls (an under-clad female dark elf).


----------



## .matthew.

I've cracked open Mount and Blade Bannerlord again now that it's fully released. The mechanics are a bit convoluted at times, but considering it's a grand strategy, an RPG, and a third-person medieval combat simulator, I suppose that's to be expected.

My favourite tactic - spec bows, mount up, and harass the hell out of the enemy until they lose their minds and attack my army's shield wall.


----------



## Vladd67

.matthew. said:


> I've cracked open Mount and Blade Bannerlord again now that it's fully released. The mechanics are a bit convoluted at times, but considering it's a grand strategy, an RPG, and a third-person medieval combat simulator, I suppose that's to be expected.
> 
> My favourite tactic - spec bows, mount up, and harass the hell out of the enemy until they lose their minds and attack my army's shield wall.


You can change the view to 1st person


----------



## .matthew.

Vladd67 said:


> You can change the view to 1st person


I know, but I prefer 3rd person for the situational awareness


----------



## reiver33

Drive On Moscow - one of those PC games where units perform better when controlled by the AI.


----------



## Toby Frost

Sir Loin de Boeuf has joined the party!


----------



## Venusian Broon

I have been mostly fishing in Skyrim Special Edition


----------



## Foxbat

I finally solved the painting mystery in Oblivion. It turned out that it was a fairly linear procedure and I'd missed one crucial part of it.
Also uncovered and joined the Thieves Guild.

I've actually (finally) completed the main quest. Many days of frustration, thumping keyboards and general gnashing of teeth later I have to say that it was probably the least enjoyable part of the whole game. I really have no time for parts that are difficult simply for the sake of being difficult (and camouflaging deficiencies).

I'll probably move on to Skyrim soon but, right now, just chilling out doing a few minor quests. I've found a doorway on an island that leads (by the look of it) to a whole new adventure so might be on Oblivion a little longer than I expected.


----------



## Toby Frost

I recommend going through the magic door!

I've been playing Oblivion too. One of the things I love in sandbox games is stumbling upon odd little things in the game - in-jokes and amusing weird things. I bought some stuff from an alchemist, who casually observed "By the way, is there a fine for necrophilia around here?" When I said it might be 500 gold, she replied "Oh, that's nowhere near as bad as the last place!" and got back to work. Okay...

The Thieves Guild missions are quite fun, especially if you're quite good at sneaking anyhow (having the magic lockpick helps). I agree that the main story is a bit weak. The Oblivion stuff is pretty tedious. To be honest, I think the dull combat doesn't help at all. Hammering the "swing sword" button and occasionally running away to heal gets old quickly.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Returned to Crusader Kings 3, playing it more as a roleplaying than strategy game, and enjoying it more for that. Also, being able to create a character thanks to a patch is a good thing.

I founded the Goose family, led by their heroic founder Aethelgoose Goose, Duke of Gooseland (formerly East Anglia). Between him, his successor Gooseric Aethelgooseson Goose, and my current player character (Richard Goose) we've expanded to claim Devon, most of Wales, and Burgundy after a daring/bonkers decision by Gooseric to attack the kingdom of France (and somehow won).


----------



## Toby Frost

I've also been playing a bit of the Spiderman game. It really is exceedingly good. The inevitable decline of your jolly, klutzy scientist friend into a complete maniac is really well done and actually quite moving. And the repackaging of J Jonah Jameson into a conspiracy-theorist DJ (clearly modelled on a real-world villain) is genius. I've never been into Spiderman (or is it Spider-Man?) but this is a really high-quality game.


----------



## .matthew.

thaddeus6th said:


> Returned to Crusader Kings 3, playing it more as a roleplaying than strategy game, and enjoying it more for that.


Reckon that's the only way to play it. I always end up really enjoying the early game but then it becomes too much micromanagement and min/maxing as time goes on.



Toby Frost said:


> I've never been into Spiderman (or is it Spider-Man?) but this is a really high-quality game.


Worst 'popular' superhero. I've always found him to be the absolute worst. Even most of the villains are total jokes. It really felt like a young kids' thing, more than a serious attempt at the genre.


----------



## Toby Frost

Personally I find the whole superhero genre impossible to warm to: you have the jolly silly ones and the "dark" sulky ones who think they're deep. I actually find Batman & co more ridiculous than Spiderman, who is at least honest about being daft fun. Sometimes the genre is entertaining, but the vast majority of it just seems absurd to me. Each to his own, though. Anyhow, that just goes to show what a good job the computer game has done.


----------



## Foxbat

I still think the best superhero game was Freedom Force (mainly because of all the mods). There was nothing more satisfying than beating down a bad guy with a lamp post you'd just pulled from the tarmac (except maybe throwing a car at a building and watching the whole lot collapse into a pile of rubble).


----------



## Rodders

I bought three 2000AD related games for less than five Earth monies on Steam. 

Judge Dredd 95
Dredd vs Death
Rogue Trooper.


----------



## Raincloud Man

Foxbat said:


> I still think the best superhero game was Freedom Force (mainly because of all the mods). There was nothing more satisfying than beating down a bad guy with a lamp post you'd just pulled from the tarmac (except maybe throwing a car at a building and watching the whole lot collapse into a pile of rubble).


Certain damage types were brokenly overpowered though, I remember in the second game you could make a custom hero that basically just charged things up like Gambit and then threw them at bad guys. Nothing but super throwing ability and the kinetic charge, except instead of cards he'd throw cars.


----------



## Foxbat

Raincloud Man said:


> Certain damage types were brokenly overpowered though, I remember in the second game you could make a custom hero that basically just charged things up like Gambit and then threw them at bad guys. Nothing but super throwing ability and the kinetic charge, except instead of cards he'd throw cars.


The trick was always balance. If a custom hero is too strong it just becomes boring. It ws easy enough to set your own limits on hero powers.
I always found having your hero a bit weaker than the strongest bad guy was always more fun. Alternatively, having a medium strength hero come up against wave after wave of weaker villains but giving him/her a finite resource of energy that had to be recharged (I think it was called energy X or something) meant that there were times that called for a more survival based strategy rather than just out and out wham, kapow, kayo.

And for anybody interested, I've just checked and Freedom Force in on sale at GOG for 79 pence


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> The trick was always balance. If a custom hero is too strong it just becomes boring. It ws easy enough to set your own limits on hero powers.
> I always found having your hero a bit weaker than the strongest bad guy was always more fun. Alternatively, having a medium strength hero come up against wave after wave of weaker villains but giving him/her a finite resource of energy that had to be recharged (I think it was called energy X or something) meant that there were times that called for a more survival based strategy rather than just out and out wham, kapow, kayo


^^^^^
This, so true(forn many games!) Can't be too easy!

For example, really enjoying Skyrim on Legendary Survival difficulty at the mo' - where you start at a level that makes a mud crab a relative difficult opponent. By careful progression I'm now at a level where I could happily take on a basic bandit dungeon/camp (well, as long as I have a tanky companion and a few decent conjugation spells)

Still so many nasty, much more badass enemies hiding out in the bits of Skyrim I haven't dared enter...

...and if I'm ambushed by a couple of cave bears, or more than one troll.....RUNAWAY.


----------



## Foxbat

I've reached level 22 in Oblivion and I'm presuming that the bad guys increase in difficulty as your character progresses. I've just finshed a quest against the toughest goblins I've come across yet. Maybe it's just on this particular quest (the one where you need to find a jade emerald for a widower farmer) but they just suddenly became a problem for me.


----------



## Toby Frost

IIRC, goblins do change in toughness a lot throughout the game, and many of the other creatures do as well (although perhaps not as much).

I seem to have acquired some special skill in archery, because occasionally when I shoot someone they either fall over or bounce into the air.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Yep, the level-scaling in Oblivion is why the levelling up is so atrocious. You can easily become progressively weaker as you level, and you can't always choose when this happens because non-selected skills affect how much more powerful you become. It's a terrible system.


----------



## psikeyhackr

I am playing *Mob* *Control*.

The user plays against a bot but it assigns human opponents to the bot so you can win or lose shields or points against other players around the world. I have not figured out all of the rules. There is also something about cards that I don't have a clue about.


----------



## Foxbat

Bought a few months back, I've only just started delving into Field Of Glory: Empires

It's probably best described as a 4X game in a similar vein to Civilisation. in FOG: Empires, it's all about balancing legacy and decadence. It's not about how much you conquer (although that can be a route to victory) but about how your regime will be remembered. For example, stumbling through my first number of turns, I have progressed Athens from stable city to glorious city state. This is done via culture tokens that are generated through investment of manpower, infrastructure etcetera in cultural aspects of your regimes existence. This investment is part of your overall economy where food, armies, navies etc also have to be paid for.

Of course, certain areas of the regime are prone to and sometimes generate the negative effects of decadence and these can limit or even reduce your progress.

It's all still very new and I don't really know exactly what I'm doing (or what I'm supposed to do) with regions or provinces (regions being the smallest unit of land and a number of regions can be combined to create a province).

Strategy reviewers give this game a fairly positive score but I'm finding the User Interface a bit of a nightmare. Take regional decision making. In the strategy element of Total War, a window would open offering a choice. You either clicked yes or no. Sometimes that happens in FOG: Empires but there are also a number of pre-existing regional decisions that can be made each turn (at a cost). Opening this dialogue and selecting a decision to implement, I fully expected to find somewhere that I could click to activate this choice but no. Half an hour later, I decided to look on the internet for the answer. It turns out that you have to click on a region in the world map (all qualifying regions glowing a subtle shade of green). The regional choice window is overlayed over the map and, maybe it's just my own stupidity, I never thought to look to the map for the answer. What if the region you want is hidden behind the choice window? Why do it this way? It just doesn't make any sense to me?

Surely a list of names of qualifying regions could be shown within the open dialogue window? Clicking on one could then zoom you in to the map area containg that region in order that you can then confirm your choice is the right one. That's how I would do it anyway.

Verdict so far. Interesting with the possibility of a very good strategy game underneath a needlessly cumbersome interface that could put off players before they really get to grips with the game.


----------



## Foxbat

An update on FOG: Empires

I’ve found another annoying quirk, this time in diplomacy. Being offered a trade deal, I discovered it a bit frustrating. When the window opens, it gives a trade deal with another faction. You then have to click to open another window for the details, then go back to the first screen to select to either accept, select or amend. This action simply puts the choice in a line within the offer which previously consisted of a line of dashes.
At this point, I’m looking for a tick or an okay to click, or anything to confirm the choice but there’s nothing. Eventually, I give up, close the window and advance to the next turn. Only then, by opening the diplomacy window do I see that the trade deal is now gone. I presume the choice made is now implemented but I don’t know for sure. 

 I think this game should be called Bloody Infuriating: Empires.


----------



## Toby Frost

I've been playing a bit more of *Just Cause 2*. This game is absolutely huge: it's a massive land-mass covered in settlements which you have to capture. It gets repetitive, but it's a lot of fun if you enjoy blowing stuff up. Idiocy, but enjoyable idiocy.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> I think this game should be called Bloody Infuriating: Empires.


Ha! I've been on the fence about that game since it was released. It seems like it does a lot of things well, but has a clunkiness and some weird needless mechanics than would have driven me up the wall. 

The big thing for me that stopped me from buying it was the integration with their tactics game. I know... that sounds awesome, and it does... but to have it as a separate game, in both play and purchase just put me off the whole thing.


----------



## Foxbat

I have the tactical game but don't plan to use it in conjunction with Empires just because it seems such a palaver exporting the battle and then importing the results. I agree it should have all been under one hood.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Good news! Duke Anselm Goose managed to claim the throne of England through the legitimate medium of war. And also became king of Wales and Ireland. Better yet, his eldest son, the not remotely sadistic or psychopathic Cynwallon, conquered Scotland, founded the Empire of Britannia, conquered France, founded the Empire of Francia, terrified his subjects through repeated torture of noble captives, asserted absolute control of the empire, and annointed his eldest daughter as successor.

Wasn't all plain sailing, though. Cynwallon's firstborn son was murdered, as was his first wife, and his second son died in childhood. At the moment, his daughter's empire includes the kings/queens of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, France, Brittany, Burgundy, Aquitaine, and Navarra. But there are quite a few rebels wanting to reduce her considerable authority.

[Crusader Kings 3, incidentally].


----------



## Foxbat

I've been persevering with Field Of Glory: Empires. I chose to play as the Picts. Very difficult to win with but my objective was to go somewhere remote and learn the ropes. It's been working and I'm starting to get the hang of things. I've been building up population, infrastructure and trade routes with little or no danger of attack from other tribes. Now, however, I've reached that point where I need to conquer territory in order to evolve further. Possibly getting close to abandoning the Picts and starting again with a nation more likely to make an impact.

My previous opinion still stands. There's a lot going on but finding out how to actually do things is a bit of a pain. I'm wondering what the later game will be like (usually the achilles heel of these types of games) but I'm not sure I'll be able to stay interested until then.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Difficult times for Emperor Nicholas of Britannia. Much of Spain demanded independence as he was battling (successfully) to preserve the empire of Francia, so Navarra and Leon (and Sweden) have been lost. However, the empire of Britannia was also successfully defended (due to the claimant dying of obesity) and he has made friends with so many people that rebellions are now highly unlikely.

Still a bit of a problem with few sons. Aethelgoose, the dynasty's founder, had tons of kids of both sexes, whereas Nicholas has been the only male child to survive to adulthood in three generations, so far. If he dropped dead, and there is a plot to murder him, the empires of Britannia and Francia would be split between his daughters.


----------



## Foxbat

CK always sounds great when somebody writes up their adventures but when I fire up CK 1 I just can't gel with it.

BTW, the name of your dynasty reminds me of an event at work many many years ago. There was a guy who, for some obscure reason, was nicknamed the Goose. He phoned in one day to say he would be off sick and, when the girl answering asked for his name, he said 'just tell them it's the Goose.'

She turned to the rest of the office and said, 'I've got a man  here phoning in sick. He thinks he's a goose.'


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> CK always sounds great when somebody writes up their adventures but when I fire up CK 1 I just can't gel with it.
> 
> BTW, the name of your dynasty reminds me of an event at work many many years ago. There was a guy who, for some obscure reason, was nicknamed the Goose. He phoned in one day to say he would be off sick and, when the girl answering asked for his name, he said 'just tell them it's the Goose.'
> 
> She turned to the rest of the office and said, 'I've got a man  here phoning in sick. He thinks he's a goose.'


I don't even know what CK1 looks like. 

I liked CK2 but I fully admit that it is an experience that needs to grow on you to enjoy it.

I'd describe it as like playing a really slow game of snooker, taking about 100 hours to finish, on a table 50 metres square with a couple thousand balls and three dozen colours. 

Fun when you get used to it.

I should really move onto CK3, but I am determined to get to 1485 from the earliest start at least once in CK2


----------



## thaddeus6th

Foxbat, got to admit I'm tempted to write some Secret Diary of Aethelgoose Goose aged 25 and a half type blogs. Anyway, despite losing land Emperor Nicholas is still the pre-eminent power in Western Europe.


----------



## Foxbat

Venusian Broon said:


> I don't even know what CK1 looks like.


----------



## Foxbat

You guys have persuaded me to give Crusader Kings another go. Now re-installed CK1 and once I'm tired of fighting the user interface in Field Of Glory: Empires I'll give it another go.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> You guys have persuaded me to give Crusader Kings another go. Now re-installed CK1 and once I'm tired of fighting the user interface in Field Of Glory: Empires I'll give it another go.


 
I think the best way to approach it is as a dynasty story generator. 

Playing as the head of a family with all his/her virtues and vices (CK3 is good in this account as I have vague memories that you get more "points" or experience for actually role-playing your character properly) and experience the ups and downs of your children, siblings and other members of your family. 

You can play it as a Totsl War "paint the map" simulator, but such an approach doesn't compete with some of the depths of gameplay you get when you run into dynastic problems! 

(Admitedly the combat is pretty basic and not amazingly compelling - I'd love some sort of mixture of "Panzer General" Campaign battles over proper maps with a bit more strategic focus & better goals and "tactical" Total War battles on individual battlefields, rather than the "bigger army wins 95% of the time over 2 week long battle")


----------



## reiver33

Master of Orion on Steam...


----------



## .matthew.

Warhammer 40,000 Darktide. It's fun but I don't think it has a ton of longevity since the maps aren't procedural and they mostly look the same as each other as well.


----------



## Bren G

Almost done *Pentiment.*


----------



## Rodders

.matthew. said:


> Warhammer 40,000 Darktide. It's fun but I don't think it has a ton of longevity since the maps aren't procedural and they mostly look the same as each other as well.


I'm quite interested. Is it a story based game, or just a shoot em up, like Quake?


----------



## Toby Frost

It's a four-player shoot em up, a lot like the earlier Vermintide games. From what I've seen, it all looks very samey, whereas Vermintide had a wide range of level designs.

I'm so tempted to reload No Man's Sky. I wanted to like this game so much, but couldn't get into it. However, since then it's had several updates, and I really hope it's now enjoyable.


----------



## .matthew.

Yea, it's a four-player horde shooter. So you go through a level, A to B, do a few objectives, and otherwise just slaughter thousands of what amount to zombies. Its Vermintide meets Left 4 Dead. It's definitely not a bad game, but lacking in a few ways. I assume that if it does well enough, they'll increase the level variety and tweak the gameplay to improve as time passes.

---

Eugh, No Man's Sky. One of the most regretful purchases I've made. I got it on sale, I played it for 42 hours according to Steam, and the entire time, I was thinking, "is this it?"

It was, and this was after the so-called fixes when people were raving about how much it had improved. Everything about it just felt clunky and poorly implemented. Take resource gathering... you can visit planets and scan around for nodes to mine... or find a single deposit that would let you build a cheap as chips outpost that would give you more of that resource every day than you could ever mine by hand.

There was also so little automation for it, that you had to manually move all this mass in your inventory and then hand refine it bit by bit because it wouldn't fit in all at once. Plus, the marketplace was a total mess, in that you could completely game it by refining minerals at no cost while increasing their value astronomically. And don't get me started on the UI! Just no! Grrrr!

Every planet also started to feel the same as well. They reused the same assets and layouts for the buildings and temples you'd find, and nothing felt new once you'd been to a few. Which as a game designed for exploration... sucks.

Rant over?

Screw No Man's Sky

Now it's over.


----------



## Toby Frost

I think that's how I felt about it. I was annoyed to find that it looked like a space exploration/trading game, and was actually one of those games where you have to make stuff out of resources, which I always find tedious. It felt missold.


----------



## .matthew.

Toby Frost said:


> It felt missold.


Exactly! Felt like I'd been conned. I reckon that's why I still dislike even the memory of it.

I don't actually mind making stuff out of stuff games. They're far from my favourite genre, but if that's what I signed up for, that's all good. Just don't sell me one thing and give me another.


----------



## Toby Frost

I restarted it and immediately remembered why I didn't like it. Oh dear. I'd really like a space trading game that wasn't techy and drab, a bit like that old game Freelancer. The closest thing I've seen in Rebel Galaxy, which doesn't allow dogfighting but has a nice "space Western" feel.


----------



## .matthew.

I'd recommend Endless Sky. It's on Steam, totally free, with no microtransactions or anything. I doubt you'll get infinite playtime with it, but it's quite a fun little space sandbox game. You can trade, hunt pirates, do a big questline against aliens or something, stuff like that. 

Might scratch that itch.


----------



## Foxbat

After several restarts, I’m about 180 turns into Field Of Glory: Empires (playing as the Picts). I’m finally getting to grips with the mechanics although there are still some frustrations (one particular annoyance being indicators on the screen that are not explained within the manual). 

The whole decadence/culture/legacy/age thing is a fresh approach to the genre but I’m not sure that it really adds that much to game concepts that already exist. In fact, it might work against itself in the long run because it seems, no matter how successful you become initially, what you ultimately end up doing is managing a decline as age and decadence start to bite. It might be historically accurate but I’m not convinced it makes for great gameplay.

It does (at least for now) have that ‘one more turn’ feeling but, try as I might, I find immersion lacking. I just can’t help shake the awareness that what I am really doing is not so much managing an empire but juggling a spreadsheet.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> It does (at least for now) have that ‘one more turn’ feeling but, try as I might, I find immersion lacking. I just can’t help shake the awareness that what I am really doing is not so much managing an empire but juggling a spreadsheet.


I still haven't played it, but I understand the feeling. There needs to be enough immersion (or spanners thrown in the works) to distract from that, and without it, games can start to feel like work.

I think the 'idea' of the decline was a good one, but from what you say it sounds as if they overplayed it, as there should always be a way to handle the crisis and grow past it.


----------



## paranoid marvin

Foxbat said:


> After several restarts, I’m about 180 turns into Field Of Glory: Empires (playing as the Picts). I’m finally getting to grips with the mechanics although there are still some frustrations (one particular annoyance being indicators on the screen that are not explained within the manual).
> 
> The whole decadence/culture/legacy/age thing is a fresh approach to the genre but I’m not sure that it really adds that much to game concepts that already exist. In fact, it might work against itself in the long run because it seems, no matter how successful you become initially, what you ultimately end up doing is managing a decline as age and decadence start to bite. It might be historically accurate but I’m not convinced it makes for great gameplay.
> 
> *It does (at least for now) have that ‘one more turn’ feeling but, try as I might, I find immersion lacking. I just can’t help shake the awareness that what I am really doing is not so much managing an empire but juggling a spreadsheet.*




I would imagine that many generals and rulers have felt the same thing over the years!


----------



## Venusian Broon

Oh! _Dwarf Fortress _has finally been released on Steam. It is time to throw away the ASCII and get the new graphic version. 

Of course it is.


----------



## smellincoffee

I'm exploring Texas in the newest DLC for _American Truck Simulator_, and  getting into the Nod campaign of _Command and Conquer_. I have the remastered version now, and never played it back in the day -- my first C&C being Red Alert 2.


----------



## Rodders

I just pre-ordered Jedi: Survivor.





I adored the first one, but at 25 hours, it was a little short. I'm hoping this will be a little longer.


----------



## .matthew.

Rodders said:


> I just pre-ordered Jedi: Survivor.


Looks like Jedi: New Vegas


----------



## Rodders

The Last of Us Part 1 comes to PC in March.


----------



## alexvss

Very excited about Judas, the new game by the creator of Bioshock. The trailer dropped during the VGA. You can see that the game is very Bioshock-inspired. It’s pretty much a female-lead Bioshock at this point, and that’s fine for me. As long as I get to see worldbuilding like Bioshock and Bioshock:infinite, I’ll just say, “shut up and take my money.”


----------



## Toby Frost

Purely on that trailer, it looks like a cross between Bioshock, which was great, and The Outer Worlds, which wore out its one joke pretty quickly. I assume there are a lot of robots, possibly in some kind of theme park. Sounds promising!

I'm still on Oblivion. Yesterday I went to sleep in a floating inn, which was then captured by bandits who sailed away in it. Lots of fun.


----------



## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> I'm still on Oblivion. Yesterday I went to sleep in a floating inn, which was then captured by bandits who sailed away in it. Lots of fun.


Ah yes. Happened to me as well.
I'm back on Oblivion. I find going round exploring the various castles, sneaking up on enemies and firing arrows into their backs quite the stress reliever


----------



## Bugg

I'm about 10 hours into Chained Echoes, an old school JRPG created by one man, Matthias Linda.  It's fantastic.


----------



## Venusian Broon

I'm going in. I may be some time. 

DWARF FORTRESS steam version.


----------



## .matthew.

Venusian Broon said:


> I'm going in. I may be some time.
> 
> DWARF FORTRESS steam version.


Gave that a go last week. It's... intimidating.

I think the thing that put me off most though, was the somewhat archaic UI (not the graphics, but how it functions) which feels like it's fighting you the entire time


----------



## Toby Frost

Still Oblivion! It's not the best game I've ever played in any particular way, but it's very good at everything it does, and it gives you a huge number of things to do. I've often thought of playing something else and thought "Nah, Oblivion's easier and just as fun".

There have been a few games that have really stuck in my memory: Thief 2, Morrowind, Freelancer, Fable 3, World of Warcraft (many years ago) and a bizarre old game called Giants: Citizen Kabuto, among others. Oblivion isn't one of them: I rather wrote it off as a generic Tolkien rip-off after the amazing wackiness of Morrowind. It is less imaginative, but is also much more playable than Morrowind, and is full of entertaining missions. It's also got a sort of silly charm, despite the attempts at horror in the sections set in the Plane of Oblivion. Coming back to it, I'm really impressed.


----------



## Foxbat

Bought and installed the post apocalyptic  Atom RPG. All the reviews are very positive but the first few minutes of play have left me distinctly unimpressed. Long loading times between areas and I’m struggling with combat. It turns out there’s no difference in all the difficulty levels (easy, standard, expert and survivor) when it comes to combat. What changes is the amount of XP. You gain more experience when you defeat your opponents on the easier levels. That’s all very well….if you can manage to defeat them. 

So far, I‘ve found what I’ve paid for is nothing more than an incredibly frustrating and not very enjoyable experience. Ah well, if Atom RPG 2 comes along, I’ll know to give it a miss. Some games have that ‘one more turn’ effect. This one has that ‘I’d rather go and do something else’ feeling.

The good thing about this game is that I bought it in a sale. I’d be even more unhappy if I paid full price for it.


----------



## paeng

I'd like to go back to _World of Tanks_ because I spent so much on collecting vehicles, but I've no idea what now tactics are involved.


----------



## Vladd67

paeng said:


> I'd like to go back to _World of Tanks_ because I spent so much on collecting vehicles, but I've no idea what now tactics are involved.


I played that recently after a long break, you now start with class 3 vehicles which is a pity as I loved racing round the map in a level one tank.


----------



## paeng

Vladd67 said:


> I played that recently after a long break, you now start with class 3 vehicles which is a pity as I loved racing round the map in a level one tank.



I reached Tier 10 for several branches some time ago and was part of a clan, but I don't know what new tactics are now involved for things like two-barreled tanks, which ones have been nerfed, and even how to use the new modules.

I sometimes just log in to get free stuff but also don't know how to use them.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Currently playing CK3 again, starting out as Duke of Bohemia. Little bit easy, as the first character became King of Bohemia and two generations down the line I became Holy Roman Emperor (as is my current character, who inherited the position). Currently taking chunks out of Poland, a duchy at a time.

The most amusing moment was when, in a weaker moment as the second King of Bohemia, I agreed to send troops on Crusade. Just two thousand or so, but they actually ended up making the most difference thanks to sieges and my nominated chap became the King of Jerusalem. Interestingly, the heir to my starting duchy of Bohemia (and the kingdom thereof) and the Holy Roman Empire are different members of my House, and, apparently, my player heir would be the emperor. If I get the choice (I could've chosen to play as Jerusalem's king) I'll go for the Bohemian King rather than Holy Roman Emperor, but we shall see. I'd be intrigued to see if the Bohemian King retained the extra duchies I'd conquered or if that realm would be cut back.


----------



## Foxbat

thaddeus6th said:


> Currently playing CK3 again, starting out as Duke of Bohemia. Little bit easy, as the first character became King of Bohemia and two generations down the line I became Holy Roman Emperor (as is my current character, who inherited the position). Currently taking chunks out of Poland, a duchy at a time.
> 
> The most amusing moment was when, in a weaker moment as the second King of Bohemia, I agreed to send troops on Crusade. Just two thousand or so, but they actually ended up making the most difference thanks to sieges and my nominated chap became the King of Jerusalem. Interestingly, the heir to my starting duchy of Bohemia (and the kingdom thereof) and the Holy Roman Empire are different members of my House, and, apparently, my player heir would be the emperor. If I get the choice (I could've chosen to play as Jerusalem's king) I'll go for the Bohemian King rather than Holy Roman Emperor, but we shall see. I'd be intrigued to see if the Bohemian King retained the extra duchies I'd conquered or if that realm would be cut back.


I'm curious. This sounds very interesting. These situations like nominating a potential king for Jerusalem etc.? Are they available in CK1 or are these new features in CK3? I've never made it far enough in CK1 to find this out.


----------



## thaddeus6th

Unsure, only played CK3.

If you participate in a Crusade you nominate a benefactor (I went for a minor member of my house) and if you contribute the most to the Crusade (unsure how it's calculated) then you get the main title, with lesser titles for lower contributions. 

The Holy Roman Empire is run based on the chap or lady with most votes when the incumbent dies, so it's elective, whereas my personal starting area is inherited based on house seniority. Unexpectedly, this has led to the divergence between the HRE and Bohemian inheritances. If I were trying to 'game' this out I'd look into changing things with title grants/revocations but I'm content to see how it plays out.


----------



## BAYLOR

Still playing Skyrim  and that really horrible man Miraak keeps stealing Dragon souls from.


----------



## .matthew.

Vladd67 said:


> I played that recently after a long break, you now start with class 3 vehicles which is a pity as I loved racing round the map in a level one tank.


I got up to the top tier of medium and heavy tanks and lost interest altogether. I'm okay with slow, but the game becomes more corner camping/best armour wins the more you increase the tier.

I found myself loving the light tanks for that reason and routinely played some low tiers just for that. The trouble was, at least when I played, you'd still get thrown into matches with bigger mid/high-tier tanks.

I really wish they'd have made a light-tank-only game mode. If that was a thing, I'd still be playing it I reckon.


----------



## Toby Frost

*Aliens: Colonial Marines*. Thoroughly mediocre shooter. If you want a good game based on _Aliens_, get the 2000 _Aliens v Predator_ game.


----------



## Rodders

Horizon Zero Dawn. 

I got into it this time. Very enjoyable and i see a few five am bedtimes in my near future.


----------



## alexvss

Rodders said:


> Horizon Zero Dawn.
> 
> I got into it this time. Very enjoyable and i see a few five am bedtimes in my near future.


One of the best storytelling in gaming.


----------



## Toby Frost

I enjoyed _Horizon Zero Dawn_, but I could only get to a certain point before it just became too difficult. I never got the hang of the monster-hunting elements: I could get it in principle, but in practice I just found it much too hard.

It's weird, but every Aliens game I've ever played (which is quite a few) apart from _AvP 2000_ has a clunky, lumbering quality, as if you're shrugging off a head injury. I don't know if this is an attempt at realism, but they've all been awkward and clumsy. I wonder if it's to hide the smallness of the game or to make the mediocre aliens seem more agile.


----------



## Foxbat

I recently bought XCOM Enemy Unknown and XCOM Chimera Squad. 

Disappointed in both. They are very similar games if you subtract the breach element from Chimera Squad. I’m not a fan of 3D tactical at the best of times but, with these two, it appears that the coders have sacrificed elements of tactical user control for cinematic bells and whistles. I absolutely hate that they continually change perspective when selecting weapon or abilities. Grenade aiming in EU is particularly irritating with the target area dancing around is if it is auditioning for some kind of XCOM Strictly. A little research uncovered that it appears this is because the game controls were optimised for an XBox controller and little or no time was spent refining mouse/keyboard controls. Sloppy and shoddy with little care or thought taken for a chunk of the audience. 

Another annoying thing about XCOM EU is that it is impossible to leave the tutorial via a normal route because access to the menu is unavailable until the tutorial is completed. I had to switch to desktop and close. Again, no thought out in tothe fact that the user might not have the time to complete it in one sitting.

Chimera Squad and its (allegedly) humerous dialogue had me shouting ‘shut the f**k up!’ at the screen. It also turns out that it is impossible to turn off autosave in Chimera Squad, meaning that every so often, you have to go in and purge umpteen of them.

No wonder I picked up both of these in a sale and, knowing what I know now, there’s absolutely no way in hell I’d pay full price for either of these XCOM-alikes. The aliens don’t bring danger to Earth, they spread mediocrity.

The time spent on Chimera Squad (set in one city) would have been  better spent redoing  XCOM Apocalypse (also set in one city), which suffered from godawful graphics but had a solid game underneath its ugly exterior.

Personally, I think 3D is the wrong way  to go for these types of games and, so far, I think the best remake/re-imagining I’ve seen of the originals is still Xenonauts with its old fashioned isometric point of view.

Combine these two games with Atom RPG and that’s three turkeys I bought for christmas.


----------



## Rodders

Toby Frost said:


> I enjoyed _Horizon Zero Dawn_, but I could only get to a certain point before it just became too difficult. I never got the hang of the monster-hunting elements: I could get it in principle, but in practice I just found it much too hard.


Me too, Toby. Fortunately the PC version has a story mode difficulty setting and I’ve started on that. The story is incredible so far.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Argh, I found Vampire Survivors.

Very simple but somehow veey satisfying.

And only just over £6 on steam for it and the DLC


----------



## Foxbat

Bought Prison Architect for just over a fiver. Interesting little game. Just executed my first double murderer. Don't quite know how I feel about that.
Apparently it was inspired by the likes of Dwarf Fortress (a game I've never played). I think it might be fun if I can spend my time dealing with prison riots rather than executions. Early days but I'm hopeful.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> Bought Prison Architect for just over a fiver. Interesting little game. Just executed my first double murderer. Don't quite know how I feel about that.
> Apparently it was inspired by the likes of Dwarf Fortress (a game I've never played). I think it might be fun if I can spend my time dealing with prison riots rather than executions. Early days but I'm hopeful.


According to Steam, I've had 90 hours in it, and reasonably sure I've only ever done the execution in the campaign tutorial... maybe one other time.

The point being, you can select what type of prisoners you want in sandbox mode, so it's up to you


----------



## Foxbat

Don't really know what I'm doing yet so sticking to the campaign tutorial for now. I do, on the whole, much prefer sandbox mode in these types of games 

Something I should add for anybody thinking of buying Prison Architect. Since Paradox bought it over, there have been complaints on GOG about it no longer being DRM free (because you start the game through the Paradox launcher) but there's an easy fix to this. I just created a direct shortcut from the executable file and it totaly circumvents the launcher and eliminates the need for Paradox login.


----------



## Rodders

I finished Horizon Zero Dawn and it was a genuinely excellent experience, and probably the best story in a game I've played. The whole Faro Plague back story was terrifying and well done.I was a bit obsessed with it for a while and wouldn't be adverse to a prequel game telling this story, even though we know how it all turns out.  

I still have "The Frozen Wilds" to play and I'll spend the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend clearing up quests and getting the remaining collectibles. I hope that Horizon Forbidden West is ported to the PC.

The music was excellent, and had a lot of different feels, from tribal to electronic. Well done to the composers on that one.

I'll probably play it on the New Game + on the next difficulty level, but I don't feel that i'll play it for as long as i played Days Gone, (which i felt did a better job of keeping the tension high throughout the game and with over 1000 hours played, still manages to get my heart pumping, or makes me jump out of my skin).

I'm also pleased that this had a more RPG feel to it and i might give Mass Effect or KOTOR another go.


----------



## .matthew.

I bought Battlefleet Gothic 2 on sale. It's actually a lot better than I thought it'd be. 

There are some rather unforgivable flaws, but they're not major issues and the fleet combat is pretty fun and weighty. 

Definitely not worth the full price to me, but for a fiver... thumbs up.


----------



## Foxbat

Looks like Prison Architect might be another turkey. I'm trying to complete part two of the tutorial campaign (rebuild the kitchen and canteen destroyed by arson) and I've followed the tutorial each step. It's indicating that I've completed both tasks but it also has an alert showing that I've failed to provide certain objects that are already in place. I've double checked everything is there. The game still says task complete but also says not complete. I'm just about ready to bin this one. Why do game designers not supply manuals and supply instead broken tutorials?


----------



## Toby Frost

I bought _Aliens: Fireteam Elite_, which was on sale on Steam. After _Aliens: Colonial Marines_, this felt like throwing good money after bad, but what the heck.

Despite its rubbish world-salad title, _Aliens: Fireteam Elite _is actually pretty decent. You are one of a three-marine team (other players or bots), fighting your way through hordes of Aliens to get missions done. It's pretty tense and difficult, even on "casual" mode, although it can get a tad monotonous at points. Unlike _Colonial Marines_, it doesn't tell exactly the same story (Company is naughty, Aliens run amok) as every Aliens game and the characters seem to have got the idea that the Aliens exist and that Weyland Yutani is dodgy (at long last).

The thing that impresses me so far is the attention to detail. The backstory involves the Seegson Corporation from _Alien: Isolation_ and the Union of Progressive Peoples from William Gibson's unused _Alien 3_ screenplay. Many of the marine officers seem to be from South America, which has been swallowed up by the United Americas in the setting. The ship's android even seems to reference Lee Brimmicombe-Wood's good but ancient _Aliens Technical Manual_ from 2000 or so. It's as though they've decided to use only the good bits of the setting. So far, I'm impressed.


----------



## Rodders

Toby, I see you're on an Aliens kick at the moment. I see that a game called Aliens: Dark Descent due for release this year.


----------



## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> Looks like Prison Architect might be another turkey. I'm trying to complete part two of the tutorial campaign (rebuild the kitchen and canteen destroyed by arson) and I've followed the tutorial each step. It's indicating that I've completed both tasks but it also has an alert showing that I've failed to provide certain objects that are already in place. I've double checked everything is there. The game still says task complete but also says not complete. I'm just about ready to bin this one. Why do game designers not supply manuals and supply instead broken tutorials?



Paradox actually make a game with a good tutorial/manual???!!! You've got a better chance of being hit by lightning. A couple of times. Then being run over by a clown car driven by Boris Johnson and mahatma Ghandi.


----------



## Foxbat

I've finally figured out what was going wrong in the tutorial. I paused the game and studied both canteen and kitchen as they were burning down. It turns out that neither had doors (just a hole in the wall). Of course, me not being born in a field, I put doors on my first attempt at rebuilding them. This time, without doors, I got it completed. Annoying since it never mentioned doors anywhere in the tutorial. 

I call it a bug, they, no doubt, will call it a feature...


----------



## Vladd67

Toby Frost said:


> I bought _Aliens: Fireteam Elite_, which was on sale on Steam. After _Aliens: Colonial Marines_, this felt like throwing good money after bad, but what the heck.
> 
> Despite its rubbish world-salad title, _Aliens: Fireteam Elite _is actually pretty decent. You are one of a three-marine team (other players or bots), fighting your way through hordes of Aliens to get missions done. It's pretty tense and difficult, even on "casual" mode, although it can get a tad monotonous at points. Unlike _Colonial Marines_, it doesn't tell exactly the same story (Company is naughty, Aliens run amok) as every Aliens game and the characters seem to have got the idea that the Aliens exist and that Weyland Yutani is dodgy (at long last).
> 
> The thing that impresses me so far is the attention to detail. The backstory involves the Seegson Corporation from _Alien: Isolation_ and the Union of Progressive Peoples from William Gibson's unused _Alien 3_ screenplay. Many of the marine officers seem to be from South America, which has been swallowed up by the United Americas in the setting. The ship's android even seems to reference Lee Brimmicombe-Wood's good but ancient _Aliens Technical Manual_ from 2000 or so. It's as though they've decided to use only the good bits of the setting. So far, I'm impressed.


What bugs me with the Alien games is that when Weyland Yutani get in trouble a troop of Colonial marines are sent in to rescue them. Now the company is part of The Three World Empire, an Anglo Japanese political union, and the marines are United Americas Colonial Marines, not only a force from a nation at best in a cold war with the empire and at times actually in a shooting war. I guess that's what happens when you retrospectively write a back story after you have produced a product.


----------



## Toby Frost

Yes, it doesn't make a lot of sense. The whole setting has been added to in bits and bobs, some of them much better than others. I think anyone making an Aliens game has to decide what to leave out/skirt around.


----------



## Foxbat

Rapidly became bored with Prison Architect but might return to it later. For now, I'm trying out Stygian: Reign Of The Old Ones.
It's a Lovecraftian RPG with a kind of comic book art style. I have high hopes but I've been disappointed many times before. Here's a screenshot.


----------



## Toby Frost

Aliens: Fireteam Elite continues to be very entertaining. I've really enjoyed it so far. It's nice to have an Aliens game that is actually good in playability terms and also looks convincing. The characters are surprisingly sympathetic, given that they do very standard stuff, and the decision to leave out the whole Bishop family saga is a good one. Even the second-rate additions to the setting in _Prometheus _and _Covenant _are treated quite well (although I will never understand why the mysterious Engineers turned out to be big blue men).

One level involves fighting rogue androids, which is a nice change, and forces you to adopt a different playing style. I'm a big fan of the Aliens robots, even when they are vomiting and exploding. I've only got a few missions more to do, and I expect that my character will then retire from the Corps and elope with Esther the friendly synthetic. Or just die horribly.


----------



## Foxbat

My time in Stygian: The Old Ones didn’t last very long. Played about a half hour yesterday, loaded up my save game today and nowt.

 It loaded the save and showed the usual ‘press any key to continue’. The problem is pressing any key, pressing the mouse, shouting at the screen, banging my head against the wall….nothing worked. 

To make matters worse, I couldn’t close the game. Task Manager showed no task running. Switching to the desktop merely brought up the taskbar and closing it from there also failed. In the end, I had to restart the PC. I’m not in the mood for any more of this game right now. 

It seems I’m not having much luck with games these days.


----------



## .matthew.

Foxbat said:


> It loaded the save and showed the usual ‘press any key to continue’. The problem is pressing any key, pressing the mouse, shouting at the screen, banging my head against the wall….nothing worked.


I swear by my house turtle god. It's been overseeing computer-related problems for twenty-odd years and never fails to deliver the solution...



Give yourself to the turtle,

Embrace the turtle,

Praise be, the turtle.


----------



## Pyan

Freecell!





​


----------



## thaddeus6th

Playing some Civ VI. But I've also seen that Phantasy Star IV can be bought (as part of a Classics collection) on Steam for 79p. It's one of my favourite RPGs with some fantastic mechanics (combo attacks are cool) and a great storyline so if you don't mind the old school (it's about a quarter of a century old) graphics then it's not exactly going to break the bank.


----------



## Toby Frost

I finished the main campaign in _Aliens: Fireteam Elite_, admittedly on the "easy" setting. I've really enjoyed this game. Like Left 4 Dead, which is basically resembles, it has decent action, entertaining voice acting and lots of interesting things to see and do (whilst running away from hordes of Aliens and robots). The worst bits of the setting are generally ignored and the take on what it does include is very solid (including a surprisingly complex discussion of Asimov's three laws). Even the sub-Von Daniken rubbish in Covenant isn't too jarring when it appears. In a way, it's quite monotonous, but the simple task of advancing and killing enemies is well-handled. Now onto the bonus levels. Saddle up, people!


----------



## Foxbat

Played a bit of Skyrim for the first time. Looks gorgeous but has, without exception, the worst interface in any RPG I’ve ever come across. I couldn’t figure out how to quit the game. In the setting menu, a ‘down’ arrow hinted to me that there were other options so I used my mouse to click on the arrow. Nothing. So I tried using various keys on the keyboard. Nowt. Eventually, I had to use control-alt-delete to bring up the task manager and quit from there. After that, I went on line to research the problem. After fiddling about unsuccessfully with ini files, I went back online to look again. It turned out some folk had been playing this game for months and were still using task manager to quit. I wasn’t alone in this conundrum.

Eventually, I found the answer: place your mouse over the settings menu until you highlight one of the options. When that happens, use the mouse wheel to scroll through and -voila- the quit option. Note, one of the options must be highlighted or the mouse wheel will not work.

What planet are these programmers on? Why couldn’t they stick with the Oblivion set up? It’s simple, easy and highly effective.

It took me so long to sort this out that I gave up in disgust and went back to an old favourite: Rule The Waves 2.


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## paranoid marvin

Foxbat said:


> Played a bit of Skyrim for the first time. Looks gorgeous but has, without exception, the worst interface in any RPG I’ve ever come across. I couldn’t figure out how to quit the game. In the setting menu, a ‘down’ arrow hinted to me that there were other options so I used my mouse to click on the arrow. Nothing. So I tried using various keys on the keyboard. Nowt. Eventually, I had to use control-alt-delete to bring up the task manager and quit from there. After that, I went on line to research the problem. After fiddling about unsuccessfully with ini files, I went back online to look again. It turned out some folk had been playing this game for months and were still using task manager to quit. I wasn’t alone in this conundrum.
> 
> Eventually, I found the answer: place your mouse over the settings menu until you highlight one of the options. When that happens, use the mouse wheel to scroll through and -voila- the quit option. Note, one of the options must be highlighted or the mouse wheel will not work.
> 
> What planet are these programmers on? Why couldn’t they stick with the Oblivion set up? It’s simple, easy and highly effective.
> 
> It took me so long to sort this out that I gave up in disgust and went back to an old favourite: Rule The Waves 2.




Sounds like it was designed as a console game first.


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## .matthew.

Still playing Battlefleet Gothic 2. Honestly, the game has really surprised me. The 4X strategy layer isn't anything special at all, but the actual combat is pretty damn fun.

It feels responsive and weighty at the same time. There's a lot of micro-management available, though it can be mostly ignored on the default difficulty, leaving you free to whizz around and occasionally ram the xenos.

Plus the art style is very nice, with the ships looking super nice and the cutscene art being screenshot worthy.


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## Foxbat

paranoid marvin said:


> Sounds like it was designed as a console game first.


Yes. It appears to be designed with a game controller in mind. The .ini file has settings for controller and controller rumble. 

I played a little more of  Skyrim after sorting out the quit problem (and I had collected all the toys that I threw from the pram) and I have to admit, the landscape is a step up from Oblivion. I’ve just gone into the mountains looking for a dragon stone and the wind is howling through the rocks with snow being blown in streamers from the craggy peaks. Before me is a vast ancient ruin and up a long set of steps looms a pair of massive doors leading into the gut rock of the mountain. What lies beyond is waiting to be discovered and, no doubt the passage there will be fraught with danger, but I have my trusty bow and sword to keep me company.

Visually, it’s just epic


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## Foxbat

So, I've just spent the last half hour trying to sort out my character in Skyrim. In Oblivion, it was easy to assign a key for a magic skill but in Skyrim it's an absolute nightmare. First, you have to assign the skill to a Favourites section and then you can assign it to a number key. The problem is, by doing that, I found it impossible to change back from magic to weapon (I assigned a healing spell in order to quickly heal myself during or after encounters). To fix this, I  also had to assign my bow and sword to the Favourites section and then I could assign them suitable number keys. Talk about a roundabout way of doing things! surely it's not difficult to programme it to be able to assign various keys during initial character setup via the controls menu? It's as if somebody said 'let's make this as difficult as possible for people to play'.

Also, no health, magic or stamina bars on screen but they show up if you use them. I'd rather have them up all the time but that, so far, seems impossible. If there's a way, I haven't found it yet. Again, searching on the net,  I find many folk having the same problems.

It's a fabulous looking game but I find I'm spending more time battling the interface than monsters.


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## Venusian Broon

Foxbat said:


> So, I've just spent the last half hour trying to sort out my character in Skyrim. In Oblivion, it was easy to assign a key for a magic skill but in Skyrim it's an absolute nightmare. First, you have to assign the skill to a Favourites section and then you can assign it to a number key. The problem is, by doing that, I found it impossible to change back from magic to weapon (I assigned a healing spell in order to quickly heal myself during or after encounters). To fix this, I  also had to assign my bow and sword to the Favourites section and then I could assign them suitable number keys. Talk about a roundabout way of doing things! surely it's not difficult to programme it to be able to assign various keys during initial character setup via the controls menu? It's as if somebody said 'let's make this as difficult as possible for people to play'.
> 
> Also, no health, magic or stamina bars on screen but they show up if you use them. I'd rather have them up all the time but that, so far, seems impossible. If there's a way, I haven't found it yet. Again, searching on the net,  I find many folk having the same problems.
> 
> It's a fabulous looking game but I find I'm spending more time battling the interface than monsters.


I'm so used to it, after about 1400 hours of the game! 

So, I  use the 'favourites' button - 'q' - to switch between favourites rather than use hotkeys. 

There are loads of mods to alter the UI to your liking - SkyUI is supposed to be the most used one for changing the clunky original one (that is designed really for consoles rather than PC). But there are others like Immersive HUD that lets you play about with what you see on screen (see this article: Skyrim: 10 Amazing Mods To Clean Up The User Interface. Although as of time of writing this you can't access that particular mod as they are doing work on their site.) 

The inventory system and how it handles large numbers of objects can be irritating - but again, I am so used to it, I've never got round to messing with mods to improve it.


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## Foxbat

I’m hoping now that I seem to have the basics sorted out that I can concentrate on the actual game. I feel like a tourist because, right now I’m just wandering around marvelling at the scenery


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## Foxbat

Still learning Skyrim. Still fighting the worst UI ever. Still enjoying the vistas.

 I’m only at level 5 and still struggling against the most  basic foes. Fighting wolves impressed me. Instead of a straight fight, I notice that they back off if being beaten and then they try to circle around your character and resume the attack from another direction. 

Sly tactics with humans too. I‘ve fought two bandits and one has dropped to his knees saying that he’s had enough. As I finished off the other bandit, I was blindsided by the allegedly beaten bandit initiating a sneak attack. I died and know better now not to take such behaviour as a sign of my victory.


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## Toby Frost

That's an oddity with Skyrim: anyone saying they surrender is always lying. It makes you feel like a merciless lunatic, but then this is fantasy Viking land, after all. Slay everything!

I finished the main missions of *Aliens: Fireteam Elite* on "casual" difficulty level and a few on "standard". I've really enjoyed this game and I'm very glad that I bought it. Ultimately, it's a bit samey, but if you want to shoot loads of Aliens, this is the game for you. While I would have liked more missions, it's got lots of detail that you can muck about with, surprisingly good characters and voice acting, and options to set yourself new challenges for bonus rewards. If this is the sort of thing you like, then you'll probably like this sort of thing.


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## Foxbat

Toby Frost said:


> That's an oddity with Skyrim: anyone saying they surrender is always lying. It makes you feel like a merciless lunatic, but then this is fantasy Viking land, after all. Slay everything!


That's good to know. There were a couple of times in Oblivion where slaying somebody who'd surrendered ruined the quest. One that springs to mind is the quest to uncover the truth about the Fighter's Guild and the Blackwood Company. I had to beat a guy who'd surrendered into talking but not beat him hard enough to kill him. This made me hesitant to kill anybody surrendering in Skyrim.


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## bretbernhoft

alexvss said:


> One of the best storytelling in gaming.



Totally agreed. It's an amazing video game.


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## Rodders

Since i beat the story on HZD i've not had any inclination to go back to it, which is a little odd. I'll keep it loaded so that i can get the remaining data points on the Faro Plague story.

I did think of playing Dead Space, but is there any point if a re-release is coming this year?

I bought the Aliens: Fireteam game, Toby. I might have a go when i get back from holiday.


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## Foxbat

Thought I’d mention this for anybody interested. Daggerfall has been remastered using the Unity engine (unsurprisingly titled Daggerfall Unity) and it looks great. For anybody like me who’s never played it before, it’s free on GOG.com


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