What games are you currently playing?

[Icemage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

GW2.

Guild Wars 2 is a platformer? That's news to me.

Also, your edit doesn't address BBQ's point that the platform is a mistake in design that, apparently, got a ham-fisted remedy. I don't see how you're not seeing what's wrong with that.

I'm still failing to see how not allowing a vastly simpler alternate route (by design or otherwise) is a mistake in design. That section is clearly set up for the complex path to the right. It's not hidden at all; there's a whole sequence of similar but slightly simpler platforms before that section to get you used to the idea. The fact that it might look like you can take the easy way out doesn't mean squat because the game does not ever imply that this is what you ought to be doing. The first time you fail at doing it should be enough of a warning to tell you to reevaluate your approach. Instead, BBQ instantly assumed - incorrectly - that there were invisible walls because his not-so-clever almost-cheat didn't work and didn't want to do it the obvious way.

Is that the fault of the designer, or is that faulty logic on the part of the player? I hold that it's the latter, not the former.


Icemage

[Taskmage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I went to a LAN party yesterday for the first time in about a decade, where we played Artemis, the starship bridge simulator. It was actually really rad. If you've played SpaceTeam, that game is like a sillier more frenetic version of Artemis. There are five stations (helm, weapons, science, comms, engineering) plus the captain, and each station provides information that one of the other players needs to do their job effectively. So there's a great deal of communication and coordination that needs to happen to make the ship run at its finest, and you fly around a map defending space stations, destroying invaders, completing rendezvous with other ships, and generally saving the day. We had an iPad in the group that output the main viewer onto a big screen TV, and stations set up in front of it like a "real" bridge. Pretty awesome. Can't wait to play again.

Here's the official page: ARTEMIS | Spaceship Bridge Simulator
It runs on damn near anything.
This is a pretty good video of some people playing it: 6-Player Starship Party Game! ARTEMIS! - YouTube

[Yellow Mage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

There was an Artemis demo at FWA this year, actually. Was too busy playing board games to care at the time, though, but it definitely sounded like an interesting (if somewhat impractical--as TM mentioned, it literally requires bringing LAN parties back in style) experience.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

I'm enjoying Thomas Was Alone so far. Amazing how much personality this bunch of platforming quadrilaterals was given. There's also a pleasant, hidden message in that narrative and game design that's never directly spoken, but it shouldn't have to be. I really dig the atmosphere the music adds - mellow, sleepy, melancholy - it adds a sense of isolation to each character within their own thoughts as they are among others, working together.

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Also got to watch a friend play through Injustice: Gods Among Us and I was very impressed with the quality of the story. Its certainly a huge treat for DC fans to get both a respectable fighter (for a change) and a story that fits right into to the DC multiverse with incredible ease. It certainly draws heavy influence from Grant Morrison's JLA; Earth Two (or Crisis on Two Earths if you like the animated stuff) and JLA: Rock of Ages. I'm not sure who filled in for Mark Hamill on The Joker, but he did a fine job and he's a worthy VO replacement. Bit deeper in pitch and not so happy-go-lucky as Hamill's version, but certainly fitting to recent comic incarnation of the character.

What is a little disappointing is how much of the roster got kicked to the curb when it came to the main story campaign. Green Arrow and Green Lantern get a stonger role in the story than most of the rest of the good guys. Its natural that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor and The Joker would take center stage with those two, Sinestro and The Flash not too far behind - even Aquaman get a real moment to shine, but a lot of characters just feel sort of there as roster padding. When you have hero-killers in the roster like Bane and Doomsday and they're just bit players that's kind of said. The same can be said of Catwoman, Nightwing, Shazam and a number of other characters.

Still, if WB wants to do a Justice League movie, here's where they need to be taking notes. With a few exceptions that are hard to swallow, this is a story that could have competed with The Avengers as a feature length movie. You's just need to focus on Barry and Hal being the comic relief on the hero side because Ollie's cynical nature isn't enough to carry it alone. The alternate reality version of Deathstroke also made me smile, as he harkens back to the more heroic version of Slade Wilson they explored in the 90's - the Deathstroke that transcended being a brooding knock-off of Deadpool. Its a shame he wasn't given more screen time, but at least they keep is villainous doppleganger to a bit part.

Burnt my right thumb bad over the weekend so actually playing the game was too difficult for me to get a fair handle on it. The feel is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat, but with a ton of ideas all its own. Between this and MK9, pretty much all of the bad memories of the incredibly forced MK vs. DCU are erased. This is a DC fighter done right and as a fan that means a lot.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Started up Darksiders finally. Really, really hate Mouse & KB for action games >_<

But in spite of that I am rather enjoying it - especially since it's got Mark Hamill, Liam O'Brian and Troy Barker ^_^

How the FUCK do you summon the watcher? I keep holding ~ like the game says but he never comes to me?

[Nestama]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Dark Souls and Okami HD.

"Okay! I'm gonna summon a buddy, fight the spider queen and then have all the joys I could ever want." Walks through the fog, instantly gets leapt on and then gets killed by a Fire Wave type move. 10 seconds. "Hm... I haven't played Okami HD in a while, I'll play that now."

[Firewind]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Papers, Please. It is a very fun Indie game that is currently available for free and is one of those games that manages to be seriously fun and covers serious subject matter and makes a good point with the messages it says. Basically you play a border control agent and have to approve or deny people entry to your country. Sounds boring but it is actually very fun.

TotalBiscuit does a very good review of the game and it manages to show off a number of mechanics that make the game extremely interesting.

You can also get the game for free from the creator's website: dukope.com

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Solved my Watcher problem;

Apparently Darksiders wasn't registering my Tilde key, I don't why since it clear works: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


So I re-bound it to right ctrl and all is well. Still a retarded problem though.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Well, that was over fast. Thomas Was Alone, I mean.

Unique game, great story, awesome soundtrack but for 100 levels, pretty short and nothing ever really gets that daunting in terms of platforming. I kinda kept waiting for a real test of platforming skill to happen and the game ended before I felt it really put me to the test. It is a nice game to cool off on after Guacamelee, but I kinda hoped it would really push for some real challenge. All that's really left to do is pixel-hunt the two in-game trophies they hide in two out of every ten levels and collect the Platinum.

[Icemage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

^ There's no platinum on Thomas Was Alone. And getting the level-specific trophies doesn't take long once you know what levels they're on (took me about 20 minutes total after finding a list of levels).

Soul Sacrifice comes out today, as does Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut. Gaming backlog continues to grow...


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

So they're having a PSN sale on various PSABR characters' games (probably the best thing to come of that dud), but leave it to Konami to screw it up somehow.

The individual HD versions of MGS2 and 3 are on sale for $10.49 on PSN, but still $20 a pop on PS Vita. Instead, the PS Vita version of the compilation (which is too memory-devouring to download at roughly 3.3 GB) is on sale for $17.99. The kicker is I'd rather not buy a physical copy of these games again (because I know I'll just sell it, then I'll get the itch to play MGS3 again and blah, blah, blah - let's just break the cycle) but I don't need both games clogging up my memory card, either. Had Konami just sold the more manageable Vita versions, they might have gotten a few more dollars out of Vita owners, most likely.

Oh, and MGS PSOne classic? Still not downloadable to PS Vita. Genius, just genius. Guess I'll just grab Peace Walker digitally this week.

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

There's actually an MGS bundle coming for PS3 that looks killer.

God damn it I can't find the link my friend gave me on FB sorry, but it comes with MGS 1~4 + Peacewalker and remakes of MG 1 and 2. The Resident Evil games are on sale again as well I think.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

There's actually an MGS bundle coming for PS3 that looks killer.

God damn it I can't find the link my friend gave me on FB sorry, but it comes with MGS 1~4 + Peacewalker and remakes of MG 1 and 2. The Resident Evil games are on sale again as well I think.

Yeah but given the majority of the saga is also portable now, I can just have those to go anywhere and worry about MGS4, Revengence and MGSV on PS3 whenever I get around to having one again. MGS3 is one of those games I just keep coming back to every year - kinda like Castlevania SOTN or Super Metroid.

The PS3 Collection would have to be really remarkable, like having MGS Integral in it, along with Director's commentary, digital art gallery and such for each game and the like for me to really jump at getting it.

[Icemage]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

^ That and you don't own a PS3 any more, yes?

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Soul Sacrifice is devouring my soul. It's not really Monster Hunter, even though it might look like it plays like MH stylistically. There's a more tactical element because virtually every ability has a limited number of uses. Enemies are hyper-aggressive and it's very easy to get overwhelmed and die in seconds from making a single mistake if you aren't watching what you're doing and prepare properly.

Interesting back story, TONS of really well-written and disturbing lore, and addictive action gameplay. Graphics are a little flaky (could be crisper and have a bit more flair), but the combat makes up for it in spades. Online/multiplayer mode works well and is pretty much required for some of the higher level battles.

This isn't the game that's going to make Vita fly off the shelves Pokemon-style, but it's really solid and a good example of how you can translate a game design born out of Japanese sensibilities and bring it West without compromising too much quality. Keiji Inafune may not have the next blockbuster on his hands, but the game design speaks volumes about how he feels about Japanese gaming tropes.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

That and if I still had a 360, MGS4 would have taken up seven DVDs - that's per Kojima - and MGS4's PS3 load times were bad enough. There's not really a good reason to go back and play MGS4 given how little game there was anyway. What's worth seeing I can YouTube if I need to. Peace Walker seems to have brought gameplay back to the forefront of the series and hopefully MGSV will continue that.

Also to say Soul Sacrifice is more tactical than Monster Hunter... eh, no. MH is so tactical its tedious to the point of boring. SS has a much shorter attention span it its overall structure, its more linear and doesn't consider environment and exploration in the same ways MH does -but its just as absurdly grindy and seems to like to undermine the whole "Sacrifice" idea by letting you mulligan parts of the story with those tears. It distinguishes itself from MH - and I honestly find MH hard to like, too - but it could stand to be just a touch more internally consistent and make choice matter.

If Inafune wants gamers to take him seriously about how bad Japanese game design is, he could at least start by disassociating himself from Compile Heart - which is the exact kind of Japanese developer he complains about.

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Had to call Sony about my $10 back voucher. The reason I couldn't get it was my fault, more or less I forgot my email password and started a new email because I coudn't crack it for the life of me. Sony sent the email two days before I started a new email address, but customer service was able to fish out the sent email and gave me the code, which was nice of them.

I ended up putting it toward Jet Set Radio, which is just as fun as it was on Dreamcast, but with a slightly more managable camera. Its lack of checkpoints isn't going to please those spoiled by them this generation, though. My only real complaint with it is that while I know not all the music could be relicensed, whoever handled the mixing in Hideki Naganuma's stead seriously needs to learn about transitioning from one song to the next. He should have just left things mostly alone. .

The new tracks that replace some of the old do seem to fit rather well, though, and there's some decent bonus material to be had. Blit did a good job on the HD conversion. I wouldn't mind seeing Shenmue and Panzer Dragoon Orta get similar treatments.