What are You playing now?

[LadyCrimson]

Hubby tried Borderlands on the TV, using the xbox pc-gamepad. Which made me have to try it, of course.

 

Borderlands still = a B+ game, but using a gamepad = huge annoyance. I don't know how you console people do it.

[Starwars]

How is it? Would you mind doing a more in depth review? My rig is busted at the moment so I can't try it myself, but I've been kind of intrigued by the whole thing.

 

There are a few kinks to be worked out, functionality wise. Lack of tooltips, no "autorun" toggle (have to doubleclick to run), occasionally confusing text (saying it scores a critical hit when you didn't) in the message window, but I think they're planning on fixing a lot of them. At least for the final game. Many people have crashing problems and so forth, but a hotfix was released that helped a lot of them. They're working on squashing bugs I think and will release a patched version of the demo if I understand things correctly (they've got a list of issues fixed so far at least). Personally I've not had huge problems. I've had two crashes, both of which occured after I had re-loaded my game about a million times. I also got a bug where the characters start attacking themselves instead of opponents, but that was fixed by a reload.

 

So yeah, personally I've not had any huge technical problems, but quite a few people do. The game looks pretty good for being a Torque engine game (it's not the new version of the engine). Sound effects and music are very well done. Animations are mostly good, they vary a bit in quality. Most of them have pretty good weight behind them, it's very satisfying to knock someone down with a 2 handed hammer for example.

 

I had expected that I would enjoy the combat on the same level as Fallout. That is to say, I would feel it to be pretty OK but not particularly great. But I'm having a *lot* of fun with the combat system. It's not rewarding for jack-of-all-trades I think, but the different builds feel very different from one another to play which is awesome. My sword and shield, heavy armor guy felt completely different than my sledgehammer guy (with focus on dodging), and I'm now doing a character focusing on spear, shield (though in some battles it turned out to be better to use a 2-handed spear) and armor which again, feels very different. I've read about some other cool builds that have beaten the demo, including a character focused on throwing and critical hits for example All guys I've played have had very different experiences in which battle in the arena was the toughest for them.

 

It's clear that there's a lot of thought gone into the combat system, it really shows. They're still tweaking some things based on the feedback off the demo though. I mean, this is the most fun I've had doing combat in a RPG in a pretty long time, aside from Knights of the Chalice (but that game is pretty much geared completely towards combat). I didn't expect it to be this strong since, in the full game, combat will be but one of many ways to play through.

 

So yep, definitely worth a try if you ask me. Might be worth to wait for a patched version to be released but the download isn't that huge anyways.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Tried out MW2 online. This is addictive. Sooo addictive.

 

Also Uncharted 2 is great.

[Pope]

I've finally (nearly) finished SoZ. I had it lying around for months, but never really got the urge to start it until recently. I thought it was fun, aside from the things that most people have already mentioned, such as the simple plot and lack of bigger dungeons. The trade system was pretty awesome, although I felt I only fully reaped the rewards a bit too late in the game.

 

I say I've nearly finished it, since I'm getting completely hammered at the end fight. Seriously, my party is dead in less than 20 seconds, no matter how much I buff. I get this feeling that this battle was meant for a 6-character party. Mine only consists of my own 4 characters, as I never needed any help from the companions. I have an aasimar favored soul6/stormlord10, an earth genasi fighter6/frenzied berserker10, an air genasi ranger8/rogue8, and a fire genasi bard16. All of them have kicked considerable ass up until now. I also wasn't able to defeat the vampire lords at the top of the tower in Chult.

 

So is going back and getting some companions the only way to finish this? I had most of them devoured by One of Many already...

 

Anyway, I'm sort of sad it's (almost) over. I'm probably one of the few people who actually likes the NWN2 engine. If you take some time to configure the right camera settings and character behavior, all the issues I hear people complaining about can be easily overcome.

[Starwars]

My parties of 6 are usually around level 16/17 (depending on ECL) around the time I get to the final boss, and I usually barely manage the fight. So beating it with 4 people of that level sounds like it could be a real challenge. There might have been some stuff you missed that would've squeezed out an extra level or two for the party, it's pretty easy to miss some stuff on the first playthrough.

 

But yeah, if nothing else works then I'd head back to grab a few cohorts (don't forget to level them up at the adventurers guild if you do that). But that ending battle is really hard.

 

I also like the NWN2 engine. It doesn't run as well as it should, but it can look really awesome in capable area designing hands (which is the case with MotB and SoZ) and it plays pretty good once you've got it configured to your liking.

[Azure79]

I've finally (nearly) finished SoZ. I had it lying around for months, but never really got the urge to start it until recently. I thought it was fun, aside from the things that most people have already mentioned, such as the simple plot and lack of bigger dungeons. The trade system was pretty awesome, although I felt I only fully reaped the rewards a bit too late in the game.

 

I say I've nearly finished it, since I'm getting completely hammered at the end fight. Seriously, my party is dead in less than 20 seconds, no matter how much I buff. I get this feeling that this battle was meant for a 6-character party. Mine only consists of my own 4 characters, as I never needed any help from the companions. I have an aasimar favored soul6/stormlord10, an earth genasi fighter6/frenzied berserker10, an air genasi ranger8/rogue8, and a fire genasi bard16. All of them have kicked considerable ass up until now. I also wasn't able to defeat the vampire lords at the top of the tower in Chult.

 

So is going back and getting some companions the only way to finish this? I had most of them devoured by One of Many already...

 

Anyway, I'm sort of sad it's (almost) over. I'm probably one of the few people who actually likes the NWN2 engine. If you take some time to configure the right camera settings and character behavior, all the issues I hear people complaining about can be easily overcome.

 

Have you been setting up trade routes? I had the same problem at the end game, with my party of 4. I had a weapon master, mage, ranger/rogue and spirit shaman I think.

 

After dying too many times to count, I noticed I had a lot of money from the trade routes. So I went to the store, had my mage stock up on all the high level spell scrolls that were available and went back. A couple of Wail of the Banshee and Greater Missile Storms later, everything was dead.

 

A cheap way to win, but I really couldn't figure out a pure strategic way with my party composition and was getting frustrated with the whole thing.

[HoonDing]

Grease & Bigby spells made the end fight of SoZ relatively easy for me. I had also loaded up the Ranger & Rogue recruit with a boat load of +4 arrows before the battle, so maybe that helped too. Only played & finished it once, though, so maybe I was lucky.

[Pope]

Have you been setting up trade routes? I had the same problem at the end game, with my party of 4. I had a weapon master, mage, ranger/rogue and spirit shaman I think.

 

After dying too many times to count, I noticed I had a lot of money from the trade routes. So I went to the store, had my mage stock up on all the high level spell scrolls that were available and went back. A couple of Wail of the Banshee and Greater Missile Storms later, everything was dead.

Yeah I think I have most of the trade routes upgraded to the max. I spent most of the money earned this way on leveling the cohorts so they would produce lots of xp after letting One of Many devour them.

 

I believe Ribsmasher is still alive, so I'll go get him. Also, somehow I can't get Septimund to join me again. He always leaves Port Llast, no matter what I say.

[Kelverin]

Going through ToEE again. Gonna solo with this build I found.

 

 

Human Sorcerer Chaotic Neutral

Spell Craft and Concentration to max every level. Take some points into Tumble, Hide, Move Silently if you have the points.

 

Spells level 0: Read Magic, Disrupt Undead, Open/Close, Resistance

 

Spells level 1: Sleep, Mage Armor

Combat Reflexes, martial weapon profiency Glaive

 

level 3 shield, Spell Focus Evocation

 

level 4 Web

 

level 5 Detect Secret Doors Eagles Splender

 

level 6 Fireball, Greater Spell Focus Evocation

 

Level 7 Magic Missle or Mirror Image

 

Level 8 Stone Skin Or Ice Storm

 

Level 9 Stone Skin Or Ice Storm Protection From Energy, Knock,

feat Empower Spell

 

Level 10 Cone Of Cold

 

Not sure after level 10

[entrerix]

im currently playing:

 

left 4 dead 2

brutal legend

torchlight

borderlands

defense grid

plants v zombies

fifa 2010

 

... and i've got a stack of ten more that im itching to get to. i need to take a week off just to catch up on my gaming...

[mkreku]

I bought Modern Warfare 2 for my mom's husband and since I'm staying at their place over Christmas, that's what I've been playing. Even though it's nauseatingly US patriotic and the dialogue and the ultra generic soldier characters are dumber than you'd ever believe, it's still kind of enjoyable. There's absolutely no brain required, everything is served on a platter and all you have to concentrate on is surviving. Also, it looks great on my mom's husbands rig.

 

More games should involve high speed snowmobile chases. Fact.

[Raithe]

More games should involve high speed snowmobile chases. Fact.

 

But they just never match up to the one in NOLF...

[Krookie]

Even though it's nauseatingly US patriotic

 

Not really...

the guy who betrays you and ultimately winds up the bad guy is the American leader. If anything it's UK patriotism

 

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Still playing MW2 online. I just need to get to level 26 and get that damn Colt Anaconda. No, I don't care if it's not effective, revolvers just look cool.

[Hurlshort]

I bought Star Wars: The Force Unlaced for the the PS3 to occupy me during my leg healing. I haven't loaded it up yet, but I think it will be a fun diversion and the price was good.

[Kor Qel Droma]

Still playing MW2 online. I just need to get to level 26 and get that damn Colt Anaconda. No, I don't care if it's not effective, revolvers just look cool.

 

You don't need a revolver, you want a rocket launcher. And the cold blooded perk.

 

I'm going to prestige soon, but I want my 500 headshots with the ACR ( I need less than a hundred). Plus I need another 22 kills with the FMJ attachment. I wonder which I'll hit first.

[Enoch]

Star Wars: The Force Unlaced

What a fantastic typo. I'm not big on non-RPG Star Wars games, but I would totally buy a game called "The Force Unlaced."

 

 

 

In spite of my fears based on tales of weak gameplay and thematic misogyny, I caved and bought The Witcher from the Steam holiday sale (for about $13.50). Just spent an hour running around the prologue getting used to the controls.

[Bokishi]

mgs4 and uncharted 2 and mw2

[GreasyDogMeat]

Even though it's nauseatingly US patriotic and the dialogue and the ultra generic soldier characters are dumber than you'd ever believe, it's still kind of enjoyable.

Did we play the same game? Because the game I played wasn't patriotic at all...

[trulez]

Mechwarrior: Living Legends BETA

[Nepenthe]

Trying to get through ME 1 some more.

 

Hate to say it, but this game is boring the ever-living snot out of me. Yet, I'm looking forward to the sequel.

+1

 

Also, playing Drakensang: River of Time demo & replaying Venetica/Divinity 2.

 

I was in the correct mental state, so I gave my favourite, original character 2 run-throughs of Mass Effect to unlock the final two 'chievos I had left and get a character I actually like on some level prepped for part two.

 

Plus, especially after grinding through all the uncharted worlds, I seriously doubt I'm going to go back to this game for a long while. I seriously hope they've learned from ME1... Dragon Age did show something along those lines, most of the side quests were pretty quick and sweet with a minimum of trudging around. OTOH, some of the main quests felt reaally stretched outi... :/

 

So, just finished basically 4 days of non-stop Mass Effect, currently recuperating a bit and then maybe some DAO or MW2 special ops...

[Kelverin]

Continuing TOEE

 

Rolled these stats, took me about 10 rolls, went CN

S 15

D 16

Con 18

Int 15

Wis 12

Ch 18

 

Finished up the inane quests in Hommlet , reached 5th level, got married journeyed to the moathouse, sad to say I lost my first wife to a pack of random ghouls fought some giant frogs went back to Hommlet and picked up another wife with one heck of a dowry, might keep her and her dowry until she annoys me. Might specialize with the sword and pick up some creating feats after 10th level or sell it for 8,000+ gps. Chose a snake as a familiar who hides in most battles, but when it

Edited December 30, 2009 by Kelverin

[Oner]

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a pulse

Just got past the first boss (

disco dance battle against the police chief

), so far it's awesome.

 

Also finished (the first round of) Mass Effect yesterday, the Mako is a major pain in the ...toe, the cover based combat isn't cover based and the end of Bring down the Sky was craptastic (courtesy of Bioware Chronic Cutscene Retardedness - OTOH that was the only example in this game).

[GreasyDogMeat]

Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel without a pulse

Just got past the first boss (

disco dance battle against the police chief

), so far it's awesome.

 

Also finished (the first round of) Mass Effect yesterday, the Mako is a major pain in the ...toe, the cover based combat isn't cover based and the end of Bring down the Sky was craptastic (courtesy of Bioware Chronic Cutscene Retardedness - OTOH that was the only example in this game).

Normally I hate quick-time events, but that one was so funny/awesome it was worth it.

 

Also, what is this Bioware Chronic Cutscene Retardedness? Is that the tendency for their games to end a cutscene with the entire Imperial army and a Death Star aiming at you, their quivering fingers ready to fire the moment the cutscene is over?

[Oner]

Also, what is this Bioware Chronic Cutscene Retardedness? Is that the tendency for their games to end a cutscene with the entire Imperial army and a Death Star aiming at you, their quivering fingers ready to fire the moment the cutscene is over?

In Dragon Age yes, but in ME it's like this:

 

SPOILAH

 

 

Terrorist: You will let me go.

You: Why would I?

T: Because I have planted a bomb next to the hostages!

Y (renegade answer): No way I'm letting you go.

*PC patiently waits for terrorist to push some buttons*

*Terrorist says something Bond Villain-ish*

*PC patiently waits for terrorist to push some more buttons - an energy field appears between them*

Then the terrorist, keeping his promise, runs to the other side to the map to the exit, and shoots you from there.

 

AND there wouldn't be nothing keeping him from blowing the bomb up when you go to disarm it instead of chasing him.

AND disabling a few "thrusters" won't make an asteroid in frictionless space stop.

Edited December 30, 2009 by Oner