What are you playing now

[Orogun01]

I've been playing Warlock 2 and boy do I have trouble putting it down. It has gotten to the point that I won't even start to play without clearing a few hours for free time.
 

I gotta say, Expeditions: Conquistador is a rather frustrating game.  There's a lot to like.  I love the premise, the combat is decent, the choices and non-combat skills are fairly well done.  However, the game is bogged down by a lot of mechanics that I guess are there to increase challenge and add depth and realism, but, in practice, what they achieve, more than anything else, is adding a lot of tedium to the game.  I guess what I'm saying is, the game has fun moments, but overall, it's a chore to play, which is a shame.  I'm generally against streamlining, as it usually boils down to dumbing down, but this is one game that could have greatly benefited from streamlining.

IMO, they should had switched from CRPG mechanics and more into SRPG or Grand Strategy type of mechanics. Also combat is broken, I get it that they want me to feel as if i'm in an expedition but when the enemies seem to have unlimited members that are always fresh and relaxed it creates a pretty disparate double standard. Plus, they expect me to believe that a guy clad in armor has trouble running through a savage in a loincloth?

[BruceVC]

I finished F.E.A.R  last night and its a very simple but thoroughly enjoyable FPS. Its deserves nothing less than a very well deserved  68/100 on the much respected "BruceVC gaming barometer rating system"

 

As mentioned previously the AI is very impressive. I would have preferred more scary moments and they didn't elaborate enough around Alma, the primary antagonist, but I imagine that will come in the sequels.

 

I highly recommend it to people who enjoy there FPS

[Bendu]

Finished the second episode of Bioshock Infinite's Burial at Sea some days ago. It was quite a letdown. Actually the level design and the visuals are quite good and the story was ok until the very end. But my biggest problem was Elisabeths character. She was whining to much through the whole episode, I couldn't really sympathise with her.

Also finished the main campaign of Borderlands 2. It didn't impress me very much. The loot hunting was boring, story very medicore. Not sure if I will play the four DLC campaigns.

Now I'm playing Diablo 3. I enjoyed the fith act despite the cheesy lore and story . Great visuals and a nice soundtrack. But what makes the game really great is the adventure mode. Rifts are so much fun and can be very spectacular. Also the loot hunting is much more satisfying. I even started to level up my older characters.

[Drowsy Emperor]

I totally gave up on BS: Infinite. Its my opinion that its a very mediocre shooter covered up with high production values.

[marelooke]

I finished F.E.A.R  last night and its a very simple but thoroughly enjoyable FPS. Its deserves nothing less than a very well deserved  68/100 on the much respected "BruceVC gaming barometer rating system"

 

As mentioned previously the AI is very impressive. I would have preferred more scary moments and they didn't elaborate enough around Alma, the primary antagonist, but I imagine that will come in the sequels.

 

I highly recommend it to people who enjoy there FPS

I dunno, I thought the good pacing of scary moments added a lot to the atmosphere. Actually being able to go around in a situation you know is totally messed up for quite some time without anything extraordinary happening builds up a lot of "Omg omg, it's been too long since **** went down"-pressure for me (Dead Space 1 also managed this fairly well). Most games just go overboard with rubbing it in your face (Dead Space 2 and FEAR2 both fail in my book in this respect, so don't get your hopes up too much about FEAR2, I'd say. The first one is the best one, by miles)

 

I'm not sure how much you learn about Alma in the first one, I thought it was quite a bit if you were as OCD as me about finding all the telephones in the office buildings, and, of course, the mystery obviously also adds to the atmosphere...

 

(btw, did you play the DLC? They're worth it imho, just keep in mind that most things that happen in the DLC get retconned in FEAR2)

 

 

Personally still going strong in Diablo 3, added Adria to my list of bosses my Wizard took down on Torment 1 difficulty (so far Belial and Urzael were the hardest two by far, haven't tried Malthael yet though, putting that off for later, much later)

Edited April 15, 2014 by marelooke

[BruceVC]

 

I finished F.E.A.R  last night and its a very simple but thoroughly enjoyable FPS. Its deserves nothing less than a very well deserved  68/100 on the much respected "BruceVC gaming barometer rating system"

 

As mentioned previously the AI is very impressive. I would have preferred more scary moments and they didn't elaborate enough around Alma, the primary antagonist, but I imagine that will come in the sequels.

 

I highly recommend it to people who enjoy there FPS

I dunno, I thought the good pacing of scary moments added a lot to the atmosphere. Actually being able to go around in a situation you know is totally messed up for quite some time without anything extraordinary happening builds up a lot of "Omg omg, it's been too long since **** went down"-pressure for me (Dead Space 1 also managed this fairly well). Most games just go overboard with rubbing it in your face (Dead Space 2 and FEAR2 both fail in my book in this respect, so don't get your hopes up too much about FEAR2, I'd say. The first one is the best one, by miles)

 

I'm not sure how much you learn about Alma in the first one, I thought it was quite a bit if you were as OCD as me about finding all the telephones in the office buildings, and, of course, the mystery obviously also adds to the atmosphere...

 

(btw, did you play the DLC? They're worth it imho, just keep in mind that most things that happen in the DLC get retconned in FEAR2)

 

 

Personally still going strong in Diablo 3, added Adria to my list of bosses my Wizard took down on Torment 1 difficulty (so far Belial and Urzael were the hardest two by far, haven't tried Malthael yet though, putting that off for later, much later)

 

You have raised some good points around F.E.A.R, don't get me wrong I did get scared in several situations and now that you mention it I agree that too many scary scenes would have made the impact less significant. I did listen to as many phone messages as I could but I still didn't enough information around Alma. But I have subsequently done some research on the story so now it all makes sense

 

This is my first F.E.A.R game so I haven't played any DLC yet, I think I'll move onto it next when I'm ready for another F.E.A.R episode

[Monte Carlo]

My son is playing 'Stonefall,' a deeply clever Minecraft plug-in that mirrors Titanfall. Even to the extent that your 'pilot' shoots out of doomed 'titans' (which are MC golems). Really cool.

[Labadal]

Beat Dragonfall. Went back and made all the choices you could make at a certain place close to the end. An improvement over Dead Man's Switch in every way. I wonder what they will come up with next.

[melkathi]

Tried being clever in Dominion 4. Made a Carrion Lord my Prophet. Forgot the Carrion Lord was undead and as a result mute. Now I have a prophet who can't preach to the unbelievers...

[HoonDing]

Binary Domain is better than Mass Effect in every way.

[Starwars]

 

Playing Baldur's Gate. Had fun with it though I do find myself getting bored with it, and it's around the same time where the boredom usually sets in for me. Right before heading into the Cloakwood mines. Guess we'll see if I can keep my interest going this time around. I can barely remember playing through Baldur's Gate (the city I mean) since I always quit around this time.

 

Yes, I've always found that BG1 drags on a bit through the Cloakwood portion, especially if you spend the time to clear some of the optional wilderness areas.  The last time I replayed it, I really rushed to the City as quickly as I could, which helped-- I could space out the "compulsively mowing the fog-of-war off this unimportant wilderness map" so that it isn't all concentrated at the start of the game.

 

 

I've done some mucking about in CK2 lately, but it's fairly half-hearted.  Gaming time is tough to come by with an infant in the house, and CK2 really requires some longer-attention-span playtimes to really get those satisfying "3-generation plan that finally comes together" moments.  I'm considering grabbing M&M X to scratch the Old-Skool CRPG itch I'm starting to feel in my fingers.  (M&M I was the very first CRPG I played.) 

 

 

Pushed through the Cloakwood bit. Ugh, the mines are just boring in my opinion... Navigating tight corridors in that engine is just not... fun. But but, now I'm inside Baldur's Gate. Feels fresh, can barely remember anything at all from this point on.

[Keyrock]

So, this morning (I had a half hour to kill before going to work) I discovered that if you hold down the Y button in Guacamelee! you stick to surfaces instead of sliding down them.  I must have missed that bit when it was explained (either that or it wasn't explained).  Suddenly, all that ludicrously difficult platforming became decidedly easier.  That whole trip up the Tule Tree that borderline gave me blisters could have been much simpler and  taken me 1/4 of the time to complete.

 

 

I'm going to try finishing up the game when I get home (assuming I make it home through the torrential downpours, thunderstorms, and heavy winds we're currently getting) then see about scratching that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. itch I've been developing.

[Amentep]

Adding to the soothing blowpiping of enemies in SACRED 2, I've also taken to JP grinding in Bravely Default.

[BruceVC]

I'm about to play Deus Ex :HR, it looks good. I'm excited

[Nepenthe]

I'm about to play Deus Ex :HR, it looks good. I'm excited

Its better than it looks, you have the director's cut, I take it?

[BruceVC]

 

I'm about to play Deus Ex :HR, it looks good. I'm excited

Its better than it looks, you have the director's cut, I take it?

 

 

I do indeed, any advice without spoiling the story?

Edited April 15, 2014 by BruceVC

[Undecaf]

Hacking gets you a long way in every direction, keep that in mind when investing your praxis.

[melkathi]

 

 

I do indeed, any advice without spoiling the story?

 

 

Don't trust the skull.

[Labadal]

Picked up where a left off in Yakuza 4. I don't even remember how long ago it was I played the game. Didn't have any problem putting down the first boss after my comeback. However, I'm now controlling a new character that is much slower. One particular boss fight made me sream like a madman. People ran to the livingroom to see if something was wrong, haven't happened in years. The game has awoken my passion for games once more.

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

I do indeed, any advice without spoiling the story?

 

 

Don't trust the skull.

 

 

[Gromnir]

 

 

Playing Baldur's Gate. Had fun with it though I do find myself getting bored with it, and it's around the same time where the boredom usually sets in for me. Right before heading into the Cloakwood mines. Guess we'll see if I can keep my interest going this time around. I can barely remember playing through Baldur's Gate (the city I mean) since I always quit around this time.

 

Yes, I've always found that BG1 drags on a bit through the Cloakwood portion, especially if you spend the time to clear some of the optional wilderness areas.  The last time I replayed it, I really rushed to the City as quickly as I could, which helped-- I could space out the "compulsively mowing the fog-of-war off this unimportant wilderness map" so that it isn't all concentrated at the start of the game.

 

 

I've done some mucking about in CK2 lately, but it's fairly half-hearted.  Gaming time is tough to come by with an infant in the house, and CK2 really requires some longer-attention-span playtimes to really get those satisfying "3-generation plan that finally comes together" moments.  I'm considering grabbing M&M X to scratch the Old-Skool CRPG itch I'm starting to feel in my fingers.  (M&M I was the very first CRPG I played.) 

 

 

Pushed through the Cloakwood bit. Ugh, the mines are just boring in my opinion... Navigating tight corridors in that engine is just not... fun. But but, now I'm inside Baldur's Gate. Feels fresh, can barely remember anything at all from this point on.

 

 

back when bio were developing bg2, one of the developers confided to Gromnir via email that the only way he could play bg were to do a lightning run up to the cloakwood conclusion. the game effectively started for him when he entered the city of baldur's gate.  given how much grief bio got regarding the mindless mowing o' wilderness maps in bg1, am thinking the developers mighta' been a tad surprised by how much grief they got after the release of bg2-- many posters were angry 'cause wilderness maps were gone. am thinking it were a valuable lesson... albeit a perplexing lesson.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Drowsy Emperor]

I enjoyed all the wandering through the maps. But I was 13 and it was my first RPG.

[Drowsy Emperor]

On topic: I'm playing Tomb Raider.

 

(the reboot)

 

I'm sort of torn over this game. The audio-visual experience is extremely polished, the story delivery is very fluid and natural, the controls are the best they've ever been in a TR game... but the game commits every "modern game sin" one could think of. Obnoxious QTE, linear and railroading the player excessively, grimdark obsession with violence , a lot of pointless scavenger hunts to bump game length... even "evil russians" of all things... to top it all some token feminism thrown in for good measure.

 

The old Lara was essentially a comic book type badass character. You could, in a comic book way, believe she could do back flips and fire dual pistols on a tiger at the same time. The new Lara is a "vulnerable girl" "oh its so hard, I'm falling apart"...traumatized murder machine. What she supposedly is and what she does doesn't really connect.

 

If they lighten up the tone and bring back the focus on exploration of exotic locales instead of playing "lord of the flies" it would be great.

[GhostofAnakin]

Finished an old replay of Fallout 3, then went on to finish a replay of Fallout New Vegas.

[Gromnir]

On topic: I'm playing Tomb Raider.

 

(the reboot)

 

I'm sort of torn over this game. The audio-visual experience is extremely polished, the story delivery is very fluid and natural, the controls are the best they've ever been in a TR game... but the game commits every "modern game sin" one could think of. Obnoxious QTE, linear and railroading the player excessively, grimdark obsession with violence , a lot of pointless scavenger hunts to bump game length... even "evil russians" of all things... to top it all some token feminism thrown in for good measure.

 

The old Lara was essentially a comic book type badass character. You could, in a comic book way, believe she could do back flips and fire dual pistols on a tiger at the same time. The new Lara is a "vulnerable girl" "oh its so hard, I'm falling apart"...traumatized murder machine. What she supposedly is and what she does doesn't really connect.

 

If they lighten up the tone and bring back the focus on exploration of exotic locales instead of playing "lord of the flies" it would be great.

is odd, but we have never played a tomb raider game. am thinking the avatar turned us off 'cause it seemed too ridiculous... unnecessary pandering.  am gonna concede the inherent hypocrisy as we did play games with "comic book type badass"  toons who, male or female, were drawn no less provocative or silly. am actually not certain why superheroes is ok for us, but final fantasy Giant swords, lineage 2 warrior girls in stiletto heels, and lara croft b00b avatar sets our teeth on edge. that being said, is not as if we is ok with all superhero stuff-- is still a fuzzy line which we has difficulty crossing. odd.

 

HA! Good Fun!