What are you playing now?

[Darque]

[Deraldin]

Started up my Supreme Commander campaign. Made it to mission 5 of the UEF campaign/ I really don't think I'm going to bother playing any of the other campaigns. The missions are well designed, but the game itself is just so dull. I need to complete at least one of the campaigns before I toss it back in the pile though.

[karka]

Just beaten God of War II. It was magnificent.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I'm playing "beat up Oblivion fanbois" on The Witcher forums - it's rather fun*. I'm also playing a bit of The Witcher on the side as well...

 

 

*

Look at Oblivion on metacritic.com most professional critics gave it 100%.

 

Thus making it one of the most overrated games of all time. The original, unmodded Oblivion was, without a doubt, nothing out of the ordinary and should never have achieved the level of praise that it did - although I can understand how some people might have gotten entangled within the hype. Not only was the plot unoriginal and predictable, but the the very game seemed rather humorous and one-sided.

 

There was almost no real "role-playing" to speak of unless one initiated it themselves -that is to say, played a character a certain way even though the game might allow for more options- as every character could do everything without penalty or restriction. Why the hell would the thieves, who have very strict policy against murder and dislike the Dark Brotherhood, accept a member, if not the leader, of the assassins' guild -the aforementioned Dark Brotherhood- into their ranks? Why would the easily recognizable Arena Champion be allowed to waltz around in Dark Brotherhood amour or walk away from the scene of a murder without someone recognizing him or her? Why would a serial-killer be allowed to join the personal bodyguard of the new Emperor? Such questions are never answered, but instead we are supposed to rationalize that everyone is incredibly ignorant and incapable of passing along news and information (a function that even usermade modules have been able to implement without much trouble).

 

The level-scaling also detracted from the role-playing experience as everything and everyone was tied to your hero - I say hero because there was no "evil" option in the main quest, only the normal "you need to save the world" rigmarole. Oh sure, it's nice that your level one mage can kill a few things without being decapitated, but does that really need to extend to "bosses" and other high-level NPCs? For instance, read this description and see if it describes the kind of person a first-level charatar should be able to defeat: "The King of Worms, Mannimarco, is a powerful necromancer in Tamriel and the archenemy of the Mages' Guild. He was originally an Altmer and a Psijic, and a contemporary of Vanus Galerion. At some point Mannimarco broke away from the Psijic order (as well as Galerion, who went on to found the Mages Guild) to further practice his necromancy, and this is the point at which he actually first styled himself "King of Worms". From Scourge Barrow in the Dragontail Mountains, he has cleverly played all the political games and powers for millenia. His influences have even reached Summerset Isle, the homeland of the Altmer. The Sload, the necromantic slug-like creatures living in the Thrassian Reef, worship him as a god." Come on, are you really saying that a game that lets you kill some of the most powerful opponents, such as the aforementioned "King of Worms," at level one, with a rusty iron dagger no less, deserves an almost-perfect score?! Doesn't that ruin the entire world for you?

 

Another thing that bothered me was the focus on combat. Sure, we all like a little sword-swinging now and then, but does every encounter need to end with a bloody corpse or two? Why cannot the player decide if they want to kill the bandits or aid them, why cannot we choose to help the blackmailers by enticing more men to their lair? I guess you enjoy reading what you supposedly decided, but I think that any self proclaimed "role playing game" should at least try to let the player control the outcome once and awhile. Off the top of my head, although I will admit it has been some time since I played a non-modded version of Oblivion, I cannot come up with more than a handful of quests that actually let you significantly alter the outcome and even those are weak compared to any of the really great RPGs. Oh, but I was forgetting, there is that little mini-game you can play to influence people! I guess Todd Howard was not joking when he said "fantasy, for us, is a knight on horseback running around and killing things." Oh yeah, and did I mention the game will not even let you use items if they are flagged as "owned" - talk about breaking immersion and role-playing...

 

Talking about combat, it was not that great either - but I guess you could have predicted by now that I would have some detracting comment to spew out. All it really comes down to is sniping people from a distance, blowing people up with magic spells, or a combination of blocking and stabbing/blunting. I guess I must have high standards or something, but is that really a boring system of what? I mean, it may be entertaining for the first hour or so, but after that... well let's just say it looses some of its appeal. Of course spears, crossbows, and throwing weapons are not making an appearance in this game, I guess they were either too much work or too hard for Bethesda to manage after they spent all that time perfecting the gallons of blood that are seemingly kept inside everything you stab.

 

The AI is atrocious, although it is still better than some I have seen, and is more entertaining than formidable in most combat situations. Making guards fight each other, and anyone who started to help either one, is commonplace and easy to accomplish; while NPCs who are engaged in a task will often stand, or sit, still for you while you go on your murderous way. Oh yes, don't let me forget the mudcrabs - who would ever do that, their being such an critical talking-point in the world of Oblivion! Todd Howard says, "I'd say the "Radiant AI" system, and the NPC life. It's something no one has ever tried on this scale, and we're just starting to see how powerful it is, and how we can translate those NPC behaviors into meaningful gameplay." Yep, that "Radiant AI" is sure great - and, no, of course Bethesda, id est our "old friend" Todd Howard, wasn't exaggerating what it would be like before the game came out. Too bad I've seen much, much older games have more convincing worlds, maybe next time they'll get it right though.

 

Skills were, in keeping with Bethesda tradition, more dumbed down than the last game! Yes, your ax is a blunt weapon and one feat shall govern both daggers and greatswords! Isn't that logical! Oh yeah, we've also made it so anyone can take any skill and you really need X, Y, and Zed - so forget about making unique characters because they'll all end up similar due to our defective, simplistic system! Even things that showed promise, such as the ability to invest in shops, were squandered by Bethesda and turned into boring, idiotic experiences. But I guess you get what you pay for when you buy a game that was designed for, as Gavin Carter puts it, "...casual gamers who are neither 'hardcore' nor 'RPG geeks'."

 

Although there is more I could criticize, I think that I will let you have some time to defend Oblivion while i get something to eat. In conclusion, Oblivion was not a "bad" game, but neither was it a "good" one - and certainly not a one that should have been given "100%" by most reviewers. Now, if you are playing a modded game, things are different, but the original was nothing to laud.

[Slowtrain]

Awesome. I would put that in my sig.

 

However, I just want to note that Oblivion is in fact a bad game. For all the reasons you mention, plus more.

 

Still, totally awesome.

[SteveThaiBinh]

I'm playing "beat up Oblivion fanbois" on The Witcher forums - it's rather fun*.

'Tis God's work you are doing.

[Deraldin]

I'm playing "beat up Oblivion fanbois" on The Witcher forums - it's rather fun*. I'm also playing a bit of The Witcher on the side as well...

 

Why have you not provided a link?

[karka]

I am trying to play Half Life 2 again. This game is just... boring. How such a boring game could be so popular is beyond me. I also hate games like Diablo, WoW, online FPSs and such.. But also I can see why people like them. But when it comes to HL series, I have no idea.

[Musopticon?]

I hated BG 1. It figures I geuss.

 

 

Blade of Dorkness is pretty awesome so far. Though the difficulty curve can be horrendous at times.

[Moatilliatta]

But when it comes to HL series, I have no idea.

Well built levels? Fun combat? Innovative storytelling?

 

Edit: Rule of thumb with HL series is that enjoyment is always a mixture of things.

Edited September 21, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[Volourn]

Still NHL 08, and 09.

 

Finishing up my league's season 4 playoffs and the ASG with 08.

 

Playing club games, and other leagues I am in games with 09. Having fun with BAP, and franchise mode in 09 depsite how extremely toiugh it is to score since I think the goalies cheat. L0L

 

Online EASHL games are much more stable now, thankfully. I still dissapointed my early stats got screwed with; but oh well. 'Tis is life. It is all about the future, BABY!

[Slowtrain]

Curently playing the new WItcher. Its funny that even though I enjoyed the game when I played it previously, I am really enjoying it now. Its even a better game than I gave it credit for being previously.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I am trying to play Half Life 2 again. This game is just... boring. How such a boring game could be so popular is beyond me. I also hate games like Diablo, WoW, online FPSs and such.. But also I can see why people like them. But when it comes to HL series, I have no idea.

 

I played the demo for the Orange Box. It was only the demo for Ep2 though.

 

It was awful. 10 minutes of talking, incredibly small amount of objects to use your gravity gun and Alex did more damage with her freaking pistol. I only had one fight too with about 3 zombies. I'm sure the rest of the game is better, much better, but this was a terrible demo.

 

Also, the Source engine is overrated.

Edited September 22, 2008 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Rosbjerg]

Started a new Multiplayer game with some friends in Hearts of Iron 2 Armageddon.

 

The Cold War just got really cold when Germany wasn't defeated and now (1948) Commitern Russia/Asia, The Democratic Americas and Fascist Europe are building up their respective war machines.

 

it has a 1984 feel to it (except for the different ideologies).

[random n00b]

Why have you not provided a link?

Because most folks would have ignored it. And we can't have that, now can we?

 

 

Innovative storytelling?

Um, if you say so. I found it to be tenuous, possessed of awkward flow and pace and generally uninspiring. Maybe that's what you meant by "innovative"?

 

I'm playing Clear Sky myself. There are a few design decisions I don't like much, and the game seems to be more focused on the various players around the Zone than the Zone itself, which makes it less interesting than the first game in my eyes. It's still good fun, though.

[Krookie]

NHL 09, Be a Pro mode. Definetly my favorite sports game of all time.

 

Also just preordered Brothers in Arms 3 which ships (but isn't released) September 23rd. Been waiting for this game for around 3 years now, and Gearbox has what must be the worst marketing team ever considering they've only released like two 3 minute videos of the game.

 

It better kick ass.

[Nick_i_am]

I played the demo for the Orange Box. It was only the demo for Ep2 though.

 

I enjoyed HL2, but the ep2 demo was awful, so don't go by that.

 

Actually, I don't know if I would still enjoy HL2 if I played it today.

[Morgoth]

I wouldn't want to touch HL2+Episodes these days either, since I played these to death. But back in 2004, I got a boner when playing HL2 for the first time. And I'm still looking forward to Ep3 plus further HL games like any other Valve fanboy out there.

[Pidesco]

Playing The Witcher, DMC4 and System Shock.

 

 

On the subject of HL2, I found it bland, unengaging, and way too linear. The engine was great, though. It ran very well, and looked quite stunning at the same time. I played a bit of CoD4 the other day, and as far as linear shooters go it seemed much, much better than HL2 even if the gameplay suffered from repetitiveness.

[Morgoth]

Weird, I found CoD4 to be bland and boring. But well, that's just how it is. Opinions and stuff....

[Pope]

I'm starting to kick some serious ass with Cyrax and Sektor on Mortal Kombat 3

 

 

Just bought Ultimate MK3 for the SNES on Ebay. Can't have MK without Scorpion.

Edited September 22, 2008 by Pope

[Pidesco]

Weird, I found CoD4 to be bland and boring. But well, that's just how it is. Opinions and stuff....

 

 

I'm not a fan of CoD4 and I can certainly see how it can be considered bland and boring. What I have a harder time understanding is how HL2 can be seen as much better game when, at least from what I saw of CoD4, the core gameplay seems to be about the same: linearly move forward while killing the faceless baddies the game throws at you.

[Morgoth]

It's the subtleties, the way the player gets drawn into the Combine conflict, and the nice variety and overall polish that makes HL2 an outstanding shooter.

[Krookie]

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway

 

Excellent storytelling in this one, graphics a bit off though.

[Rosbjerg]

I bought The Orange Box and Battlefield 2142.

 

Been playing both, as well as a campaign of HoI2 with some friends (I think the missus is gonna kill me some time this weekend for totally ignoring her the last few days )

 

Portal is tremendous fun! but Team Fortress 2 is gold, man I love the cartoony/silly theme of the game - It's much better than the original imho.

 

Battlefield 2142 is a bit dissapointing - but that's my own fault - I expected more teamwork.