What are you playing now?

[Nonek]

Playing Soul Reaver on keyboard because I haven't got a gamepad, i'm sure i'll have Thatcher fist by the end of the game, still enjoying it all in all.

[Bartimaeus]

Again, to me it seems like logical character progression.  In 2033 he's being cryptic and "hands off" because he wants Artyom to find out the truth and to come to the correct decision on his own because of some kind of philosophical young padawan must find things out for himself bull****.  When Artyom doesn't come to the correct decision on his own and nukes the Dark Ones instead, Khan decides he needs to be more direct and hands on because, well, look where being hands off got him and the dark ones.  His change in character seems very appropriate to me.  Yes, his demeanor is different, but it seems natural to me given the events of 2033.  I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

I guess so! Maybe it's the fact that there's no actual transition: we never, after the events of 2033, see him go, "holy crap artyom, what were you thinking, I didn't save you from the bandits and follow you the entire way to the ranger station just for you to blow everyone up anyways. what the heck, man".  Instead, he's just sort of...there in LL, telling you what to do, and acting so completely contrary to how he was before. Without any transition, it just doesn't work for me.

[GhostofAnakin]

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited(PS4). I am not much into MMO's and such but this is quite fun. A lot of the quests are similar to the quests in your average single-player Elder Scrolls RPG, you even get to make choices every once in awhile. It's also fun to see people suddenly join you on your battle out of nowhere, it makes the most basic quests feel unique and memorable since you can also hear the players. I still haven't teamed up with a buddy but I can imagine that it would only add to the fun.  The graphics look pretty dated but all of the characters are voiced(which is pretty well done for a game this massive) and the world feels alive. There are also raids and large scale pvp battles but I still haven't tried any of those. 

 

In short, the only complaint I've had with this game so far has been the graphics, the rest is superbly done. Compared to a game like Destiny, it has a lot more to offer whether you're playing solo or with a friend.

 

Isn't there a monthly fee to play this?

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Finished Metro 2033 tonight.  That ending ... ummm ... yeah.  I think I've found a contender to Mass Effect 3 in terms of a "what the eff did I just play through to end the game?" moment.  Seriously, WTF was that?

You mean the tripping balls sequence at the end?  Yeah, that was... something.  Did you get the bad ending

nuke em

or the good ending

don't nuke em

?  Regardless of which ending you get in 2033, the bad ending is canon in Last Light.  Thankfully, Last Light has a more satisfying less WTF ending, plus it's just overall a better game to boot.

 

 

I got the bad ending.  I was never given the option for a good ending, even though, as far as I can recall, I wasn't a jerk throughout the game and did some saintly stuff (gave the poor kid money, didn't take the bullets from the chick, etc.).

[Bartimaeus]

Yeah, you need a requisite amount of the "good" flashes to be able to do the good ending. You get most of them by simply exploring all the levels fully and listening to enemies talk to each other with their random stories rather than actually doing anything good. You can even murder those enemies you let talk right after and it still counts.

[GhostofAnakin]

That likely contributed to me not getting the good ending.  I didn't play much stealth, either, so I just butchered enemies I came across.

[Bartimaeus]

I've played through 2033 a few times: I always play throwing knives or Helsing only (depending on how masochistic I'm feeling), so I stealth my entire way through the game, so I always get enough. I also always stealth murder everyone in the game, even after hearing their sad little sob stories, but the game doesn't care.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[GhostofAnakin]

Just started Last Light.  A lot easier to get into the story when I know what's going on.

[GhostofAnakin]

A lot more human enemies in combat this time around (so far) compared to Metro 2033.

 

I still suck at the whole sneaking thing.  Seems like I can kill one or two enemies with stealth, but inevitably get spotted soon after that and turn the map into a free-for-all shooting gallery.

[spellbound99]

I am going to replay for the nth time Disciples 2. A few recent games brought back memories of this gem and I can't resist. 

[GhostofAnakin]

Some of these boss fights in Metro Last Light, they're bullet sponges.  I'll unload most of my clip from all three guns, as well as tossing my inventory of grenades, just to take one down.

[Oerwinde]

Giving the DA:I trial a go. The controls are terrible, and the gameplay sucks. I wish the girl who wanted an option to skip combat still worked there, this game needed that option.

 

Edit: Turned on my gamepad and its not nearly as painful.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Oerwinde

[Bartimaeus]

Some of these boss fights in Metro Last Light, they're bullet sponges.  I'll unload most of my clip from all three guns, as well as tossing my inventory of grenades, just to take one down.

I'm having difficulty remembering any of the bosses...was there something in a swampy-like area that was a boss? I just can't remember anymore... Yeesh, I can remember 2033 from like front to back, but I only have fragments of the areas from LL...

[GhostofAnakin]

 

Some of these boss fights in Metro Last Light, they're bullet sponges.  I'll unload most of my clip from all three guns, as well as tossing my inventory of grenades, just to take one down.

I'm having difficulty remembering any of the bosses...was there something in a swampy-like area that was a boss? I just can't remember anymore... Yeesh, I can remember 2033 from like front to back, but I only have fragments of the areas from LL...

 

 

Yeah, there was like a swampy thing that just didn't seem to want to die, even when my Ranger teammates were helping take shots at it.  It wasn't difficult, per se, because I could easily dodge/run away from it.  It just took a million shots to kill.

[213374U]

Time for my annual BG saga playthrough! I'm excited. The twist this time is that I'll be playing the EEs instead of my usual flavor of BGT.

 

I'm trying party and class compositions I haven't before, so I'm going F/M multiclass (bows) with Baeloth, Dorn, Kagain, Faldorn and Safana for BGEE. Thinking of giving Faldorn a kit — SCS supposedly balances Shapeshifter for low level play so I might try that.

 

One advantage of an EE installation is that it's easier to set up than BGT/TuTu. We'll see if the supposed abundance of bugs offsets the ease of use, but from the GOG comments, most should have been ironed out by now.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Time for my annual BG saga playthrough! I'm excited. The twist this time is that I'll be playing the EEs instead of my usual flavor of BGT.

 

I'm trying party and class compositions I haven't before, so I'm going F/M multiclass (bows) with Baeloth, Dorn, Kagain, Faldorn and Safana for BGEE. Thinking of giving Faldorn a kit — SCS supposedly balances Shapeshifter for low level play so I might try that.

 

One advantage of an EE installation is that it's easier to set up than BGT/TuTu. We'll see if the supposed abundance of bugs offsets the ease of use, but from the GOG comments, most should have been ironed out by now.

AFAIK vanilla EE works fairly smoothly, but EE introduced kits are pretty OP and Ascension can only be done using BP(which seems to cause issues with SCS). Considering doing a BG saga myself, but probably going to go BGT for older mods and Ascension.

[Oerwinde]

Wow, went through that 6 hour trial in like 3 and a half hours. Effing EA.

[marelooke]

Finally made it to chapter 2 in The Witcher 2 (only took me 4 years...), the definitely improved combat (and general movement) compared to release though I still prefer Witcher 1's combat.

 

 

Inbetween I've also been working on my backlog of games I backed on Kickstarter but didn't get around to really spend time with, first up was Unrest. It is RPG-ish game set bleak India-inspired universe and it's all about choice en consequence of your (= the player's) actions. It's actually one of the first games with C&C where I really wonder what would happen if I'd handle certain situations differently and since it's a very short game (assuming you only play through once, my first playthrough was ~2hours, but I might have rushed things a bit to see how things would turn out...)

 

For those who don't know you play through different "chapters" with various characters (sometimes on opposing sides of the central divide), the actions of each of them influence the fate of the nation, though what's best for the nation isn't necessarily best for that specific character... There is no combat to speak of, pretty much everything happens through dialogue. I'd say it's definitely worth picking up in a sale if you like a good interactive story with C&C though the ending exposition could have been better (eg. the fates of the different characters you get to play are mostly not touched on, which makes sense given who some of them are, but not everybody will like this)

 

 

I somehow also manged to get a craving for EQ2 (which I quit playing around 2011-ish, I think), seems it's now run as some F2P thing. Going to be interesting if any of the new stuff is actually any good or the whole game has devolved into the usual F2P nickel-and-diming... Guess I'll find out once the download finishes

Edited July 18, 2015 by marelooke

[Keyrock]

Some of these boss fights in Metro Last Light, they're bullet sponges.  I'll unload most of my clip from all three guns, as well as tossing my inventory of grenades, just to take one down.

Young grasshoper, one must not always stand and fight... okay, you do have to kill it once.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Keyrock

[Katphood]

Played some more TESO: Tamriel Unlimited on the PS4. Man, this game rocks! I am not much into MMO's and such but aside from the graphics, everything in this game is done so great that you rarely feel lost or bored. It reminds me a lot of The Secret World, but the combat in TESO is a lot of fun, unlike the combat in The Secret World which was just a pain in the butt.  

[GhostofAnakin]

Finished Metro Last Light.  The ending fight was a lot better than Metro 2033's bizarre ending.

 

I'm a bit lost about how Anna got back to safety though.  I didn't come across her during my travels.  I didn't get all the diary entries, so maybe there was something there?

[GhostofAnakin]

Wow, brainfart.  I remember now the part about Anna.  I don't know why I even forgot. 

[Bartimaeus]

*still has no idea how the game ended, so cannot comment, *

(e): Although I am slightly disappointed that, according to you, she did somehow make it back to safety...I would've preferred that the game ended with everybody dying.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Bartimaeus

[GhostofAnakin]

Then you'd love the ending I got.

 

Incidentally, I keep getting the "bad" endings in these games.  Apparently even when I try and be nice, I'm still too much of a murderous psychopath.

[Malcador]

Still in The Guild 2, family is being ravaged with the plague outbreaks constantly, but luckily one lady I control is avoiding that so far so am using her to pump out kids while the others keep having spouses die

 

Crafts is a lot more micro intensive than being a rogue, but isn't all that hard with trade routes. I had heard they were making a third Guild game, hope it comes to be.