What are you playing? Thread 2.0

[Humble Asskicker]

I'm still waiting on a price cut for the PS3, and as the duration of that wait seems resoundingly indefinite at this point, I'm simply going through a bunch of old games I have in my collection. I'm doing a re-run of Dos games, including Betrayal at Krondor, Realms of the Haunting (yet again, such a fucking ace game), Daggerfall, Call of Cthulu, Gabriel Knight 1-2 (woefully under-appreciated by gamers nowadays) Ultima 1-7 (not sure if I can put myself through the harrowing ordeal of 1-3, as they don't actually qualify as, you know, fun), and some of the Lucas Arts classics (Monkey Isle series, Sam and Max, Full Throttle, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Maniac Mansion, and Day of the Tentacle). And then there's Deus Ex (I know, not Dos). Also on my list are some non-PC games - I'm going to do a run-through of all the console Zelda games, and God of War 1 and 2, and just for the hell of it, I'll go through Final Fantasy 1-10, and Super Mario RPG (and it's follow-ups, up to but not including the Wii RPG).

Those are all on my list, and they should take well over a year, perhaps somewhere around two, to complete.

Right now, though, I'm almost finished with a complete run-through of the Baldur's Gate trilogy. I used the essential Tutu modification, so everything, including the first game, used the Baldur's Gate 2 engine. It's taken forever, but it's so cool. The best, most satisfying series ever contrived.

This is the first time I've played through as a good character. Normally, I hate doing any good deeds in these games. It's opened up some surprising avenues, with the new interactions I've been allowed with a good party. First, you can do some awesome things, like force Keldorn to kill his own children. :lol:

And also, if you romance Aerie (the most annoying character in the entirety of the series) you can have lots of fun there. First, I killed her uncle (if you initially refuse to rescue her, and kill Quayle while he's a blob, it's feasible to do this without turning her into an enemy), and she sulked a bit, but I was her rock of indestructible emotional support. At each advancement of the romance, I've tried every insult (which range from incredibly mild to fairly strong) and asshole option, to hilarious results. The writers were geniuses with this character. My favorite option that you can choose is abandoning her while pregnant. I was incredibly annoyed that you couldn't toss the baby (what the hell is it doing for the party, anyways, the leech), but you can seal Aeries and the child with Demogorgon, forever. :lol: It's utterly despairing that you can't see a dialog reaction to that, but I guess sometimes one must use one's imagination.

Really, what's even more despairing (and what I'd rather not imagine at all) is the players who don't consider this romance a joke. It's loads of fun, but it's excruciatingly cheesy and - how to put it - Twilight-y with the serious dialog options. I winced several times at the options I was forced to choose just continue with the romance.

Anyway, I fucking love Baldur's Gate.

[Werthead]

I gave up on Starlancer's final mission (ragequit!) and then at some point in the final stretch in WC:Prophecy I ran into a bug that makes me fail a mission before my fighter even leaves the carrier.

The final mission is rage-inducingly impossible until you realise you can do it with the cloak fighter. Then it becomes a piece of piss. Target each cannon on the superweapon, decloak, fire, recloak, move onto the next one. It's almost stupidly easy.

[Anatole Kuragin]

*snip*

GAMES

*snip*

If I had this much time to play video games, I think I would achieve Nirvana.

[Durckad]

Anyway, I fucking love Baldur's Gate.

Goddamnit, now I want to play through Baldur's Gate again. I love those games, probably some of the best RPG's ever made.

Anyways, I'm still playing WoW, haven't been playing much else. Played Morrowind for a few days then I lost interest. Maybe I'll go back and continue, but probably not.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

The final mission is rage-inducingly impossible until you realise you can do it with the cloak fighter. Then it becomes a piece of piss. Target each cannon on the superweapon, decloak, fire, recloak, move onto the next one. It's almost stupidly easy.

Yeah, gamefaqs told me that. But then the fighters that I'd been told to ignore blew up the rippers, so I had to restart. And then while I was dogfighting the fighters I got wasted by the ion cannon because the coders' inability to code properly meant I didn't get the 'targetting us' warning until it was already firing. And then I flew in front of one of those glowing plasma things that the ships fling at each other to no discernible effect. And then I got too close to the reactor when I shot it. And then I said fuck it.

[Inigima]

Recent plays:

- King's Bounty: The Legend (PC)

- Dystopia (PC, HL2 mod)

- ExciteBots (Wii)

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

- Dystopia (PC, HL2 mod)

It's a great mod. Unfortunately for me, one of the upgrades increased the system reqs to the point where it's unplayabe. Grumble.

[Jacen]

The new Wolverine game is actually pretty damn good- for what it is. I felt like blowing money so I bought it , but I think any fan of the character should rent it. It's definitely the first game where you really get a feel for how powerful Wolverine is.

[haLobEnder]

I was in the mood for some Sim City so I picked up Sim City Creator for the DS.

All I've done so far is listened to some little guy talk my ear off for five minutes, but I was kind of hoping for a very traditional version of the game. From what I gather that's not what you get here though: the game starts in the 'primitive era' and progresses in time until you reach the modern day.

Also, the previously mentioned 'little guy' won't stop talking. I know he's there to make the game more user friendly but I can't tell you how many DS games I've put down now just because their friendly little mascot won't shut the hell up. Brain Age, Personal Trainer Math, My Weight Loss Coach -- yeah, I admit it, I'm fat :P -- I'm sure there have been others as well. I want to kill them all! :devil:

Why can't I just zone my shit, build a power plant and watch my city grow? The game won't even let me access the 'present day' until I've progressed to that era.

[Inigima]

The new Wolverine game is actually pretty damn good- for what it is. I felt like blowing money so I bought it , but I think any fan of the character should rent it. It's definitely the first game where you really get a feel for how powerful Wolverine is.

I heard it was pretty great. Pity the movie sucks so hard.

[Jacen]

Ini- Thats kind of a problem with the game though. I haven't beaten it yet so I can't say definitively, but so far they give like ZERO explanation what you are doing in the game or any background. It's pretty much okay for some reason you are in Africa...now you're in the Weapon X lab, etc. Not much story telling. So I guess I would have to see the movie to truly know what is going on.

But that doesn't matter, cause ultimately the game is about kicking ass as Wolverine in a very violent and gory fashion (unlike in most games were Wolverine hits someone with his adamantium claws and the game acts like he punched someone), and the game is really good at that.

[Muttering Bill]

Got Left 4 Dead on rental. I only got to spend around half an hour with it, but the game is great. Too bad none of my friends can detach themselves fro CoD5 (I don't understand why the play this; it sucks), because I would actually play this online. But as it is, I don't know how long it will hold my interest as a single player game. I'll have to give it some more time, but so far it fantastic. And after seeing the lousy perks list for the new Fallout dlc, I might just put that off a while and play this instead.

I still have Mirror's Edge to finish too. I keep getting stuck in rooms full of cops, then I get frustrated after a dozen or so tries and switch to something else. So I haven't even made it through the game once yet, nevermind the 3 times I thought I was going to be able to.

[Scafloc]

Right now, though, I'm almost finished with a complete run-through of the Baldur's Gate trilogy. I used the essential Tutu modification, so everything, including the first game, used the Baldur's Gate 2 engine. It's taken forever, but it's so cool. The best, most satisfying series ever contrived.

It's is the first time that I play the complete run-through. At this moment I am in Icewinddale through some time portal about 100 years before the series.

Did you also installed a number of mods? Which ones are good?

[haLobEnder]

Sim City DS isn't as bad as I first thought. I wish it was more customizable -- like including the ability to turn off disasters -- but it's got a fair amount of the staples I've come to expect from a Sim City game. The interface definitely takes some getting used to for anyone who has played the game in windows.

So my collection of sandbox time-fillery games for the DS seems to be a reasonable size now -- SC, Civilization, Harvest Moon, among others.

Can anyone think of any others I should get? I'm looking for things that aren't heavily plot driven yet have enough substance to sink many hours into.

[Azador]

The only game I've had time for recently is Spelunky. It's like if Cave Story were a rouge-like. And though I say it's all I've had time for, it's actually all I've needed. It's surprisingly deep, play-throughs are short, and it's really really fun.

[Rhaco]

Just been playing Oblivion and Call of Duty: World at War.

I think I've pretty much tapped Oblivion out. Not many quests left to do. Really good game, though. I've certainly spent more time playing it than any other singleplayer game on the 360. Other than some levelling issues I have with the game, my only complaint is how NPCs sometimes react to me. I mean, I'm pretty much God at this point and yet I so much as pick up an apple that doesn't belong to me and everyone starts calling for my blood, guards come running, and if I don't feel like meekly allowing them to lead me off to jail, everyone tries to kill me. Just stupid. Peoples' responsibility or whatever and guards' actions really need to be affected by the player's fame or level or something. It does allow for some amusement, I guess. I've taken to walking up and punching random people in the face, then slaughtering in various ways everyone who comes running to attack me.

I'm really starting to get a little excited about Battlefield 1943. Looks like it's going to be a $20, 2GB download and the latest videos look great. Still on schedule for June for consoles (Sept, I think, for PCs).

The new Wolverine game is actually pretty damn good- for what it is.

Yeah, the demo definitely surprised me. The combat is fun, fast-paced but simple and the character upgrades could give it legs. IGN even gave it a 7.8, which is firmly in the Good range. I'm not sure it's worth $60, though. I might pick it up when it drops to ~$30 used.

[Humble Asskicker]

If I had this much time to play video games, I think I would achieve Nirvana.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't, unless you're raising seven children, or your commute to work is several hours long. I expect the total play time to last from 500-600 hours, which in two years means less than an hour a day. My break down Final Fantasy 1-10 and Super Mario RPG should take about 150 (I plan to cheat my ass off to avoid random battles for the games predating Playstation 2, and for the Playstation 2 one I have several saves which allow me to skip most of the battles and only focus on the cut scenes and exploration parts). With the Lucas Arts games, well, I already know what I'm supposed to do, so that should be less than 20-30 hours for the lot of them. Same with Call of Cthulu and Gabriel Knight, which should take another 20-30 hours. God of War 1-2 will probably take me together less than 20 hours (more likely fifteen).

The long ones will be the Ultima series, the Zelda series, Deus Ex and most of all, Daggerfall. I think all of them together will take me 200 hours, give or take.

If you like games so much that playing them a lot would put you in a state of Nirvana, and yet cannot sacrifice an hour out of your day to play them, that's fucked up, man. Because I agree with your position: playing games rocks. So I make time for it (but I don't have to rear children or have long commutes either, so I do have that luxury).

[Relic]

Anytin good out for the 360? Im replaying Mass Effect but getting bored fast. I might be forced to Buy the new Star Ocean...yikes.

Does anyone want to trade (or loan trade) 360 games? I currently have Fallout 3, Halo 3, and Gears 2. I'd like to play RE 5 or Tales of Vesperia. Lemme know.

[haLobEnder]

Relic - I highly recommend you and anyone else interested in trading games get an account on a site like GameTZ or Goozex. If you go with the former I have an account there under the same name as the one I have here. Usually there's a hierarchy structure on who sends first, etc. but I'd be willing to trade right away with anyone who I recognize from Westeros.

ETA: GameTZ is free which is one of the pluses of that site. Goozex I think costs some moola to trade.

[Relic]

Relic - I highly recommend you and anyone else interested in trading games get an account on a site like GameTZ or Goozex. If you go with the former I have an account there under the same name as the one I have here. Usually there's a hierarchy structure on who sends first, etc. but I'd be willing to trade right away with anyone who I recognize from Westeros.

ETA: GameTZ is free which is one of the pluses of that site. Goozex I think costs some moola to trade.

ill check it out. thanks.