whatchu playing now

GTA5 in the evenings, still searching for those hidden items
Or Lego City Undercover on occasions.

Any other time I struggle to find time or energy to play anything else right now, I'm trying to design and develop my own games and I find that a struggle in itself.

Games that I *should* be playing anyway...

Pinball FX, really really should fire this up more often
Rayman, not even installed this yet
Red Dead Redemption (still not bothered to attempt the final mission)
Fallout3, embarrassingly never finished this either
Fuel, after having to purchase new PS3 I'll have to start all over again.
Just Cause 2, dropped off the radar a bit, dip into every now and again to get that 100% status
Minecraft/FTB, my only reason for not playing this more often is its just too daunting. In terms of time wasting goes this is the mother of all. FTB packs have basically kicked this game into mind blowing status imo.

(With the exceptions of Pinball and Rayman you might notice a distinct pattern in the games I like)

picked up gta 5 again just to round off the epsilon missions. i was convinced there would be a big heist at the end of all of it, because ripping off the scientologists seemed to make sense and how else would i ever get the cash to buy the golf course etc. so the only one getting ripped off was me :( officially done with this game.

also just finished xcom enemy unknown which i loved to bits. besides it was just long enough to keep my interest through the whole thing.

not really sure what to go with next. ps+ gave me lots of options. i'll probably get going on tomb raider, as soon as i stop struggling to like pes2014.

dayZ and nothing but dayZ. the slow small little updates that come out every couple of weeks just make it that little bit more appealing every day. i try not to think that's there's no real goal or 'end' to it.

Dude, FRACT OSC is out. It's fun, but giving me a lot of flashbacks to Myst, due to heavy puzzles with occasional symbolic language hints. You're exploring this long abandoned machine world and you restoring operation to a giant synthesizer that you wander around in.

SMT4, the soundtrack for this game is so good, running around a post-apocalyptic Tokyo to synthy krautrock <3 http://youtu.be/SG_gB4kb2oA

Oh, FRACT sounds great, might have to grab that.

The only thing I'm playing at the moment is Letter Quest on my ipod. It's quite good but nothing mindblowing.

portal 2 (3rd time), ni no kuni, assassins creed 4, dork souls

FTL and could be on this for a while now that I feel like I finally understand how to play it

im obsessed

so many ships still to unlock and haven't even touched advanced mode...

I've been playing Kingdom Of Amalur, a game that apparently lost the taxpayers of Rhode Island $75m, recently. I kind of hate myself as it's another massive Skyrim-style time sink, but it's quite good fun.

what IS advanced mode

i havent even begun boarding as a tactic yet

sorry "advanced edition"

As a reminder, FTL: Advanced Edition is a free content expansion for FTL. All current (and future) customers will receive this update regardless of where they purchased it. Prior to release, we will post detailed instructions on how to get the update from whatever digital vendor you originally purchased FTL.

http://www.ftlgame.com/?page_id=106

New systems (clone bay??), new race, new ships, just lots more stuff, and it was released as a free sort of patch. It's a toggle option when you start a game, you can choose standard or advanced.

I've been playing Kingdom Of Amalur, a game that apparently lost the taxpayers of Rhode Island $75m
― Yuri Bashment (ShariVari), Thursday, April 24, 2014 3:45 PM

ah yes the curt schilling rpg

oh yeah i'm playing dragon's dogma. i've given up on it twice before so i'm determined to finish it this time. the controls are lacking but it has some of the best gfx i've seen in an rpg. makes dark souls 2 look like shit by comparison anyway.

http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/266639-curt-shilling.jpg

dragon's dogma was good fun, at its best early before everything becomes too easy, so i encourage you to not progress the story at all until you have been everywhere. one of the best and most unique things it has are the giant wandering monsters that really felt like epic fights, at least until my gang quickly got OP'd. helps if you resist the temptation of the broken pawns that are available early.

infinity wars + starbound

helps if you resist the temptation of the broken pawns that are available early.
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, April 24, 2014 4:29 PM

what are the broken pawns. i've just been using the free low level ones and trading them in every so often. groups of bandits on the roads are still kicking my butt

i got one real early with an ordinary woman's name, Karen i am fairly sure, and her owner had limited her level but she had maxed-out, late game rare gear and was a total powerhouse

whatever the fighter class is. i got another midway thru with a more forgettable fantasyish name, also a female fighter.

Dammit, Fract really _is_ like myst. I can't find the symbolic to detangle the tune I'm supposed to play to solve the final puzzle in one of the areas.

Final Fantasy - NES
Assassin's Creed IV - PC
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX - PC
Castlevania: Rond of Blood - T16
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PSX
Metal Gear Solid - PSX
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance - PC
Metal Gear Solid 2 - PC

you livin' the life, Adam, respect

finished saints row 4
tried diablo 3 again - meh so spammy
maybe back to metro 2033

"Finished" Portal and Fez, loved both. Seems like there's still aftergame stuff for me to do, which is cool.

I'm a good way into the first God of War, and I can't be sure but I think I might kinda hate it. The brutal waves of super tough enemies are awesome, and some of the puzzles are pretty good, but creating Indiana Jones-esque deathtraps with a shitty camera and sketchy controls was the fucking worst idea ever. I've wasted so much of my playtime on failing to kill everything onscreen within a set time before falling to my death or being crushed or sliced up by shit that I can barely see in front of me that it's kinda become a chore for me to continue. I might just be hating the PS2-ness of it, though.

I've been surprisingly digging a lot of arcade-y stuff that I've gotten cheap from PSN recently. Super Stardust and Wipeout took me a little while to get used to but they're amazing once I'm in the zone. Just got Retro/Grade, which I haven't played much but which has an awesome conceit (basically a rhythm game disguised as a shooter that runs in reverse). The Space Invaders update also seems like good value.

This weekend, I hit 50% completion and the 100 hour mark near-simultaneously on Just Cause 2. Clearing a few areas in the game has become such a reliably perfect way to decompress at the end of the day.

kotor + bg2

getting myself psyched + ready for pillars of eternity i guess

xps I played GoW 1 for the first time... a year ago? Maybe two? Felt some of the same frustrations as you, but I'm still planning to truck on through to the others at some point. I can see how it all would've been far more impressive back in 2006, but some of those levels and dungeons are awfully designed.

What build you going for in KOTOR, Mordy?

i guess soldier guardian. tbh i'm kinda more interested in my bg2 half-elf cleric/ranger build (so OP apparently it's ppl's fave for soloing the game). (thought about playing a wild mage too.)

Streets of Rage 3
Bare Knuckle III

So BKIII is the Japanese version of SOR3 and it is WAY easier. This does not mean it is easy though, it only means it is possible to get through stage 1 without using a continue. American version of Streets of Rage 3 is one of the more difficult games I've ever played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VWsJPJ19DA

That level with the bulldozer is all-time unfair.

all that and he's beat by a girder

i love the energy meter for 'wall'.

i guess i only played Streets of Rage 1 & 2.

man why doesn't axel just jump over the damn walls

sor3 is weird. it seems like it admits to tactics then it doesn't really.

I think after you get past the stage where you are fighting kangaroos and evil dominatrix clowns they just figured they could get away w that.

Played 2-player Hyperstone Heist for the Genesis last night. Got to Super Shredder and then we died and we were out of continues! The music in that game is incredible. Orchestrated speed metal.

i'm still playing bg2.

eu4 always with the eu4. genovese colonial empire.

wish i could get into eu. each time i load it up there are like 300 tutorials

if it helps you still won't know what the fuck is going on if you sit thru the tutorials

Sadly not as into Mirror's Edge as I'd hoped (hinges way too much on barely-disguised quick time events, which fuck that). Surprisingly way more into the first Metal Gear Solid than I expected (tough but mostly fair, cutscenes and dialogue that are reasonably well-written and not totally perfunctory, generous with the game saving, and the controls and camera, while occasionally obnoxious, are better than those on a lot of the PS2 games I've played). I still haven't been able to get past the first boss yet, though, so we'll see how long my admiration lasts.

is there some kind of amazing online tutorial that will teach me how to play?

there is a lot of user and wiki content so possibly but i'm not aware of anything myself. i think you just need to start playing it with the expectation that you won't know what you're doing for a long time. start with france: raise a big army and start some beef. you can go a long way with them without having to worry about some of the more arcane stuff for a while and you will pick up a good foundation in manpower/supply, tech advancement, diplomacy, religion. you can dip your toe into trade and colonies if you want but you'll still be able to do plenty without. and you'll have the immediate objective of unifying france to get your teeth into, which definitely helps the transition into the sandbox. you'll always have something to do with them and that is certainly not always the case elsewhere.

have any of you played crusader kings 2 and can you take the same approach there? tried to get into it but get caught up on figuring out how levies work and what a demesne is and somehow the game had me entering into an affair with my own wife

ftl

I had just finished filing you under "good poster" and then I had to read your last sentence

To each their own. I'm loving Alan wake 2 haven completely forgotten the 1st which I played on release and never touching control. I think with that added context you'll find it a real treat. It's an absolutely stunning game too, especially if you have a decent PC to make the most of all the path tracing bells and whistles.

― H.P, Monday, February 12, 2024 2:59 PM (one month ago)

Ha! Yeah - wrt to DS1 here's what I wrote to a hardcore Soulsborne friend of mine: "I also am giving Dark Souls 1 a try and am disappointed by it. The atmospherics are massively lacking, even for an older remastered game, and the extra steps necessary to even have a baseline of functionality compared with Elden Ring (buying the infinite item box to hold stuff, humanity after dying) is ... very annoying."

I also got it for the Switch which only plays it at 30fps. I got to Undead Burg, lost my humanity, realized what was necessary to have the baseline of ability I took for granted in ER (and what it would take to get it) and kinda gave up playing. Also the lack of music for much of the game so far really turned me off too. Is DS3 more immersive and atmospheric? Do you at least keep all things save souls when you die in it? Maybe I should start there instead of DS1. Elden Ring also punched me in the face and I had to revisit it again to truly get into it, but at least the game loop was predictable and world incredibly immersive and beguiling.

I'm also playing Alan Wake 2 now and it's incredible! Playing AW1 and Control deeply enrich the world and gaming experience. It's fine to play without it, but there's so many connections throughout that really bring some Lynchian level intrigue to the experience. Also how about that full on 20+ minute film near the end of the game? JFC the effort and vision put into this is insane. How many games use the same actors for the voice and face models so they can add filmed bits mixed in with the game?! Becoming of huge fan of Remedy, and I hear they're working on Control 2. Sign me up.

My friends insisted I join them on Helldivers 2, so much so that one of them kindly just bought me the game. So I had my first go this evening. It's really fun! I'm still working out where to go and how to play, but it's definitely good craic

Hey octobeard, I'd say keep at Dark Souls if you can bear. No it's not Elden Ring, but nothing is. I found it very disconcerting at first (you can't warp between bonfires?!) But it all makes sense after a while.

You don't need humanity really, not unless you're desperate to play PVP. I played the whole game pretty much hollowed.

Not sure what you mean about the infinite item box though? I don't think I saw that.

HD2 is big right now, my coop buddy has even abandoned me to go play with his diver owning friends lately.

Meanwhile I'm still rocking minecraft and farming sim 17, never say die.

black deck is kicking my be hind

black stake*

Venba free update includes a cookbook now!

Not sure what you mean about the infinite item box though? I don't think I saw that.

Some dude in Undead Burg sells one for like 20000 souls or some shit. Did not want to farm for it. It's an item that allows you to carry infinite stuff, basically the default in Elden Ring. Did you not ever use it?

You don't need it at all, there's no limit to your normal inventory. It's just for organization, like if you don't want a ton of unnecessary stuff in your regular inventory list. And I think it's only like 1k souls but I wouldn't worry about it.

The repair box is useful though!

my coworkers were trying to recruit me to the helldivers 2 family, but I fear one of them has already maxed out all their stats

my brother and i *loved* the original helldivers for couch play. this looks like its too sophisticated for us (fps, fancy graphics, no top down view where you can go “did you pick up the briefcase” “no i thought you had”

HD2 is 3rd person.

octobeard, I don't think I even knew it existed. In Demon's Souls there's a limit to how much you can carry, which is a pain, but in Dark Souls the only reason you'd want to get rid of stuff is if you've got, say, 6 crappy swords you don't want, in which you can drop them or recycle them via an NPC who shows up

Note to self: don't play Balatro before bed. (I reached the last boss blind in I think my 4th run but my deck relied heavily on Joker synergies which of course the boss does not care about).

Also buying that and another deck builder (Cobalt Core) when I'm still up to my eyes in BG3 campaigns is probably a bad idea.

I've beaten Balatro twice now, both times with flush builds, think that's an effective strategy.

my first win was straights with the joker that lets straights have gaps

my fav strat now is to try to make insanely high value stone cards and win without playing real hands at all

I started with flushes and straights, have been gravitating toward hands with fewer cards (3 of a kind, pair, or high card)

I started with flushes and straights, have been gravitating toward hands with fewer cards (3 of a kind, pair, or high card)

I started

I

...BALATRO

(multiplier sounds)

I haven't won with the black deck, and only have one win on the red difficulty.

Make sure to go into settings and speed up the game once you've gotten the hang of things.

Omg thank you I didn't know you could do that!

why is slay the spire so hard

Any of you playing "Dragon's Dogma 2"? Seems similar to something like "Baldur's Gate 3," but ... goofier? More accessible? I haven't played either, but I am kind of intrigued that both of those games are optimized for single player, yet feature a sort of custom campaign crew that follows you around. "BG3" seems a bit much to me, but from what I've seen online I could imagine one day getting to "DD2."

I have it but haven't got that far in, I probably shouldn't reaaaally have bought it while still buried in FF7 rebirth, but needed a little palate cleanser

DD is hard to describe tbh, it's not like BG3, it's a real time third person combat thing. It's superficially similar to Souls games but actually more emergent/systems-based. You get cool stuff like climbing onto the back of some huge monster that's lurched out of a canopy to whale on its head while your mage sets your sword on fire and your rogue starts doing gnarly stuff with traps and bombs.

There's way less variety in terms of enemies and weapon styles than a Souls like, but more in terms of customising useful followers and sharing them with other users, and more action game/MMO style cool abilities you can unlock with XP.

Not totally sure how the console versions are faring, but it seems to be one of the most absurdly CPU-bound games ever made, to the point where people with high end PC rigs were/are barely getting 30fps in the crowded areas. They had to patch it so that NPCs will just pop into existence a foot away from you like GTA3. I find it alright with a variable refresh rate TV though really, and the lighting in picturesque outside areas is really nice looking

The thing I keep reading which seems like a blast is that there are all sorts of random encounters and events that can happen. Often in these open world games some of my favorite parts are when you come across NPCs fighting monsters (or the reverse) and you can kind of decide if you want to get involved or just watch and/or avoid.

I've heard that DD2 is poorly optimized out of the gate. Might be worth it to wait a bit and let them iron a few more bugs out.

The first one is usually very cheap and has a big cult following. Might be a good option in the meantime. No one is saying the new one is a breakthrough in graphics.

the thing that really struck me about dragon's dogma was that i looked forward to going from place to place and the random encounters along the way, stretches that in other games are typically a slog. i really wanna play DD2 but yeah, it needs fixing, and i don't have a ps5 yet or a PC capable of running it so i'm forced to wait anyway

that and the day/night cycle was dramatic and impactful, which i think i've mentioned itt or elsewhere before

I only know of it from Carbot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lwSXSOzRjk

I put about a good 20-25 hours into Dragon’s Dogma 2 and have some things to say, haha.

Played a few hours of the 1st one a few months ago. Thought it had the bones of a really cool game, but it very much felt like a PS3 game, so seemed like a sequel that took its ideas to the next level sounded perfect. Set it aside knowing 2 was around the corner.

DD2 starts out kinda boring, then opens up and gets interesting, and then unfortunately gets boring again. It doesn’t feel like a significantly updated iteration of the first one. I’m totally down with fast travel being not something you can rely on, but I quickly found my journeys across the map to be repetitive. Same cycle of goblin camps every 30 yards, occasional big monster, some caves to explore that typically aren’t that interesting, treasure chests that are always “hidden” in the same types of areas. After Elden Ring, that kind of open world feels ancient.

Quests are dull and rote. The “emergent” gameplay scenarios that are played up aren’t exactly filled with variety. You kinda see the same sorta stuff happen pretty regularly. Not a lot of enemy variety either.

It gets very easy once you get your character’s class high enough. Game more than subtly suggests to try out new classes, but after spending a lot of loot on upgrading class specific gear I’m not too keen on starting fresh every few hours. And I think having to constantly change your class to keep the game interesting is kind of a cop out of game design.

So IDK, I put it down for now. A lot of the potentially-alienating-to-casuals features aren’t really the problem for me. I’m a From guy, so that’s what made me interested.

Played it on PS5. 30 fps, which is disappointing, but performance problems haven’t been much of a problem.

Two point and click games: strangeland and the excavation of hob's barrow. Strangeland is directly inspired by i have no mouth and i must scream, and does it well. Hob's barrow is a slow burn paranormal investigation sort of like gabriel knight. It's let down by an ending where the player character does a dumb thing that you can't control. These games both scratched an itch but i'd like to find some more innovative games in the genre.

we talked about 'hob's barrow' last year, enjoyed that and the similar (style wise anyway) 'the case of the golden idol'

will checkout strangeland

Hobs Barrow stars Karlach! I haven't played it yet but the comparison to Golden Idol has piqued my interest.

Hob's Barrow has cutscenes that look like rotoscoped footage into pixel art. I liked those. Its gameplay is very different from deduction games.

helldivers 2 is fantastically dumb fun, 'live service' done right. i recall bouncing off of destiny 2 after about 15 minutes. surprisingly nontoxic and friendly atmosphere among players for the most part also

finally got sick of hades, just in time for hades 2 early access (i think)

Venba is a real heartfelt treat. If I'm a little teary while playing, it's because of all the onoins I have to chop

Finished Venda in a few sittings. Lovely lovely lovely game

It's actually my favorite game from last year, and they also released the cook book as DLC recently.