What games are you currently playing?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I told you guys Last Story was overrated.

No, European players told it wasn't that great. I didn't find it overrated, just not my style at all. Both games assimilated some western design into them, but Xenoblade did it way better while still feeling like a proper evolution of the JRPG, like it took what FFXII and Dragon Quest VIII did and vastly improved on the scope and scale of what a JRPG could be.

I'm still looking to snag a copy of Xenoblade damn it.

Amazon Canada seems a touch expensive with it., but US gamestop.com seems to have plenty at the average retail price of $50. Seems like the best option at this point.

[Jarre]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

waiting for star ocean last hope to be delivered

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So were you living in a cave the whole people were heaping praise on the game or ?


Because really, it wasn't THAT good. It was much more of an action-game than an RPG with a mediocre combat system (Sorry but it really wasn't that much fun and far too easy - I died ONCE, by accident, from start to finish) and overall a rather lackluster plot. However, the voice cast was absolutely terrific and is pretty much what kept me from losing interest. I did genuinely like the entire cast & loved the voice work, but the experience overall was just average at best. 7.5/10 honestly. The music was top-notch as well.

[Melody]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I didn't like the game all that much. The combat system was "meh" at best. Felt too linear.

[cidbahamut]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I finished Duke Nukem Forever last night.

That game is so silly, and honestly not very good. That said, I'm thrilled that it finally came out and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I remember playing Duke Nukem back when it was a sidescroller, so seeing the whole evolution over the past twenty years or so has been a very interesting experience. In many ways I think Duke embodies both the best and worst that America has to offer. He tries to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons and he's kind of a dick, but you can't help but love him for his over the top personality. It probably doesn't hurt that Jon St. John has an amazing voice to lend to the character.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So were you living in a cave the whole people were heaping praise on the game or ?

I buy most of my games on the premise that they are games I'm going to like. Oddly enough, this ends up working out for me much of the time. There are flaws in my system, of course, and I'm working them out. Liking something doesn't exactly mean a game is a keeper and I've had to install filters that tell me things like "Dishonored, Deus Ex and Metroid Prime are keepers, but 99% of all SRPGs I buy I never finish, so maybe just rent those instead or demo them first."

What I don't do is buy a game to determine whether its overrated or not. That's really decided by the test of time and where its ambition was for its time.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Who does?

I picked it up because I'd heard nothing but great things, and the people behind it are all renowned. I'm not sorry I bought it, my expectations were maybe a little too high however - especially from what I've seen (though not played yet sadly) of Xenoblade.

[Icemage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

The Last Story didn't grab me at all. I played it for 2 hours and shelved it in favor of other games. I'm not particularly sorry I bought it, but it ranks low on my list of best games of 2012. There's some interesting game mechanics there, but the execution and game balance seemed like they needed some work, and the control scheme took some getting used to, even with a classic controller.


Icemage

[Melody]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I recently began to replay Doukutsu Monogatari. (Cave Story) and I am doing it with Curly Brace. Hard Mode. 3 Hearts. No Upgrades on Health. Yeah this is going to be fun.

[Ketaru]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Xenoblade did it way better while still feeling like a proper evolution of the JRPG, like it took what FFXII and Dragon Quest VIII did and vastly improved on the scope and scale

Clearly, I picked the wrong console (not Wii).

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

The Last Story didn't grab me at all. I played it for 2 hours and shelved it in favor of other games. I'm not particularly sorry I bought it, but it ranks low on my list of best games of 2012. There's some interesting game mechanics there, but the execution and game balance seemed like they needed some work, and the control scheme took some getting used to, even with a classic controller.


Icemage

Yeah, I mostly finished it because I hate leaving stories unfinished (except The 3rd Birthday - I just couldn't bring myself to play it anymore and traded it back in. WTF was SE thinking....)


Picked up Dishonored, though I JUST missed the 1-week timing to get the trade-in deal they have going. But it's OK, because I can still trade it in for $30 when I'm done towards Halo 4. Also dropped orders for Black Ops 2 and Assassin's Creed 3 - AC3 I'll likely play for a week, get sick of and then trade it in for my money back -$7 and with Black Ops it depends. If it's really good, my bro and I will split on it and keep it (especially since they just axed the free for Elite, though they still have a season pass so wtf Activision?) and if not, play it for a bit and then same deal - trade it back and put that credit towards my next purchase (which will likely be Heart of the Swarm).

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Clearly, I picked the wrong console (not Wii).

What makes you say that? Or maybe I just read this the wrong way.

JRPGs haven't really made a lot of headway in the HD generation. PS3 got a few decent ones here and there and Lost Odyssey was OK on 360, but nothing that really followed up on some of PS2's best RPGs. DS and PSP picked up where PS2 left on, but didn't really exceed PS2 in any way. Aside from assimilating Monster Hunter and maintaining the strength of franchises like DQ and Pokemon, much of what was left were fairly good throwbacks to prior generations. Most of what hits PS3 seems content with the status quo while Square-Enix scrambles to find something, anything that catches the interest of both Japan and the western market.

I don't think continuing FFXIII and scaling the party down to just Lightning is the way to do it, though. The solo character RPG is very western, but part of what makes a Final Fantasy is a diverse, playable cast unless its a spin-off like Crisis Core.

I wouldn't say Xenoblade is a revolution, but its got a lot of ambition and and evolves the JRPG formula in all the right ways. It maintains a certain level of linear play, but the zones are so massive that you don't feel like you're being herded in a particular direction. The narrative is kept tight, characters are likable, tutorials are are short and to the point and travel from zone to zone is kept reasonably fast once you've visited new areas. It really does feel like a pocket FFXI, but does right all the things FFXII tried to do with gambits and world design.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So Dishonored is pretty awesome so far (I'm still on the 1st mission). I'm digging the stealth and the multiple avenues to approach situations.

Honestly, I think what I really love most so far is that for once, there is no difficulty-related achievement, thank God. I can do my no kills/alarms run on easy mode and just have fun enjoying the game and the plot without pulling my hair out over doing a perfect run like I did in DX:HR. I'm probably going to have to do multiple playthroughs as well (including 1 where I just frag everyone :D ) so yay!

Also, beware the rats. Dear God, BEWARE THE RATS!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

DXHR wasn't really that much harder on Give Me DX mode. Then again, if you're all run-and-gun on Normal DXHR is actually kinda hard.

I do have to say I wish Dishonored did take on the third person stealth elements DXHR had just to help give you a better idea of where enemies are or where they're going to, but when you start unlocking powers after the first mission there's pretty much an answer for that.

[cidbahamut]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So Dishonored is pretty awesome so far (I'm still on the 1st mission). I'm digging the stealth and the multiple avenues to approach situations.

Honestly, I think what I really love most so far is that for once, there is no difficulty-related achievement, thank God. I can do my no kills/alarms run on easy mode and just have fun enjoying the game and the plot without pulling my hair out over doing a perfect run like I did in DX:HR. I'm probably going to have to do multiple playthroughs as well (including 1 where I just frag everyone :D ) so yay!

Also, beware the rats. Dear God, BEWARE THE RATS!

You know you can accomplish the same thing in other games by just ignoring achievements, right? Why would you go out of your way to do something in a game that you find frustrating? It just doesn't make any sense to me.