CaidKean (174) on 9/28/2014 6:36 PM · Permalink · Report

Playing through Shadowrun Dragonfall: Director's Cut on the PC and Fantasy Life on the 3DS, thoroughly enjoying both.

Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 9/29/2014 1:40 AM · Permalink · Report

Just realized how wonderful King's Quest games were. All of them. Even when they are bad, they are quirky and charming. Can't believe I dismissed them during my adventure craze 15 or so years ago.

Killing Time: a killing FPS ahead of its time. Sorry for the awful pun.

Replayed Return to Zork after 12 or so years. It's much better than I thought it was.

Cavalary (11448) on 10/3/2014 9:04 AM · Permalink · Report

After nothing for a month and a half, got back to KoDP to pick up from that chaos monster attack where I left off, and with gathering up all I could I got rid of it on the 2nd try. But then a terrible drought hit and I couldn't break it and it was a vicious cycle that got me from top reputation and decent wealth and good army that easily took any horsemen or troll raids and pummeled my one remaining enemy clan (try to be nice usually and solve disputes) till they kept coming with tributes to a ragged bunch of starving people unable to defend themselves or produce enough for anything and eventually, well, this at the start of the 19th year:

The clan approached the ring to voice their fears. Everyone told the ring that since we lacked enough wealth, it was time to disband the clan. Everyone quickly packed up, said their farewells, and left. Many farmers had kin nearby, and so obtained entry into the neighboring clans. The weaponthanes and crafters quickly found work among the many clans. Some of the hunters joined other clans, some melted into the wildlands. A few families decided to return to Heortland. A few of these even became loyal followers of the Pharaoh, to the sorrow of those who had known and liked them here. Farad spent a few seasons with the Lhankor Mhy worshippers of the Gorinds, and was later adopted into the clan. Hengall told the Red Foxes that he had better ways with animals than with people. They were happy to adopt him Yaransor learned to brew a passable ale for the Hillhavens. Barngradus offered his trading skills to the Oak Tree clan, and soon gathered riches for himself and his clan ring. As the last clan members left the tula, one of our more poetic carls gazed back at the empty steads, ruined fortifications, and weed-encroached fields. Before turning away for the last time, he uttered our final words: “We will not be remembered as a great clan. Or even an adequate clan. If the sagas mention us at all, they will recall our terrible mistakes. We acted when we should have listened, failed to act when we should have done great deeds, and made enemies where we should have made friends. Our people are dispersed, our ring disgraced, our tula abandoned. Thus ends our sorry tale, the tale of clan Rangdani.”

Now wondering if I'll feel like starting over these days or try to get back to The Witcher or finally install KB: AP Gold.

Then again, already finished 4 proper games this year, and have a total of 6 listed, and usually 5 means a pretty good year for me, so meh, may just write off these 2 days and get back to nothing for who knows how long again.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 10/4/2014 5:08 AM · Permalink · Report

Started playing Dungeon Siege in my eternal quest to finish all the games I've started when I was just a kid. Originally I haven't played it that much back in the 2000s (half an hour maybe), but still. It seems that will be a fun hack and slash experience. The dungeons, which I hate in RPGs in 90% of the cases, are well designed, and more interesting than in other titles. This is based on the first ones I've encountered.

It is also more lighthearted than I remember, similar in design to Fable I guess.

vedder (71122) on 10/4/2014 8:21 AM · Permalink · Report

I played through Perspective. Which isn't in the database I see. Its freeware and a cool gimmicky game where you control both a character in 3D space with a first person view and a 2D character that's projected in that same space but only moves through 2 dimensions. In the end the amount of puzzles you can create with it seemed a bit limited though, but I liked the whole idea behind it.

During my vacation I removed the dust from my DS and played some Puzzle Quest. I've been playing that game on-and-off for 5 years and I still haven't reached the end.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 10/4/2014 8:49 AM · Permalink · Report

Yesterday I finished both the game and game entry for Crimes & Punishments: Sherlock Holmes. It is excellent, one of the few game series which constantly improve. They more or less ditched the last remains of Myst-puzzles and concentrate on the most important of Sherlock Holmes: deductions. While I like this generally better, I think the mini games have become too simple - they can be skipped anyway, so no reason to be dead easy. The only difficulty comes from poor explanations.

The game shines in graphics (especially the environments and faces have been greatly improved), dialogue and deductions. It also helps that I am a sucker for detective games without supernatural elements.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 10/4/2014 7:59 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I'm on my third replay of Alpha Protocol, this time as aggressive, homicidal asshole Thorton. I love it so much.

I still get a bit angry at the bad reviews it got. The game is obviously unpolished, totally unbalanced and there are numerous flaws you could bash it for, but "it should be more reactive, like Mass Effect", "the pistol is underpowered" and "it is an RPG and I want a shooter" are laughable complaints.

GTramp (81961) on 10/5/2014 1:32 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Playing Walking Dead Season Two, now in the final, fifth episode. Well, it doesn't really click with me. Guess the novelty of the first game just wore off. I don't really like the group Clem is stuck with, the game mechanics (where's the limited exploration from the first game?). It's also quite weird that anyone gives a shit about Clementine's opinion - she's nothing more than a 10-11 year old kid. Now that I started final episode, I - as a father of two - am going quite crazy about how the fuck are they feeding the baby? How do they even manage to handle the baby without - you know clean cloths of something? Also when speaking of babies, what the fuck happened to Christa's baby in the beginning? Why didn't the show anything? It just said "16 months later", which means there was a whole damn year that we didn't see, or maybe I got it wrong? All in all, quite poor direction and script, and gameplay is virtually non-existent. But it's alright while it lasts, I guess. Sorry for profanity.

Adzuken (836) on 10/8/2014 7:17 PM · Permalink · Report

I've been slowly chipping away at Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. I've learned two things: I've really been hurting for a new high seas pirate game, and Ubisoft can make anything feel like a chore. I was done with Assassin's Creed after getting frustrated with Revelations, and the only reason I'm back with the series is because of my affection for pirates and the naval subject matter, but I'm deeply regretting it. There's no challenge to these games and everything feels so inorganic. It's like wandering around an amusement park, collecting autographs from the smiling mascots. At least the sea shanties are well done.

On the other hand, Alien: Isolation feels very organic. It feels a lot like Bioshock did, with its isolated, crumbling environment filled with hostile scavengers. Even the mission design and scavenging aspect feels a lot like Bioshock. Where it diverges is with its unpredictable AI and, specifically, the alien. Having to hunt down a key or power up a generator while trying to avoid an indestructible monster is incredibly stressful, and I honestly can't think of another game that pulls it off as well. It's a pretty surprising game to see come from a big publisher, based on a big license since it's so mainstream unfriendly. Love the retro-futuristic vibe.

chirinea (47507) on 10/10/2014 3:29 AM · Permalink · Report

Finished The Walking Dead recently. I don't care if some people don't think it is a game, the story and the choices you have to make turn this game into the wonderful thing it is.

Right now I'm playing Wing Commander III. Man, what a frustrating game! I'm at the sixth mission (the one where you first fly the Excalibur) and I just keep dying and dying. I'm playing on the default difficulty and I'm probably missing something, because this game can't be this hard. After a dozen of trials I finally beat the level, only to crash on landing and having to play it all over again. GRRRR!

Fred VT (25949) on 10/10/2014 12:21 PM · Permalink · Report

Just got Skylanders: Trap Team and Hyrule Warriors.

Trap Team is not bad, but a Skylanders game on day one isn't such a good idea for someone who likes completing as much as possible in the first playthrough. With only two Trap Masters (the only one who can open the elemental gates), with several elements missing (including "Unknown" elements), I can't do much and the figures from the previous game aren't too useful. Hearing the capture villain from the Portal is quite funny though, and the game itself has kept its humor too. Good for casual gaming.

Hyrule Warriors is great for a fan of both Koei and Zelda games. The Legend mode is pretty much a puzzle-less Zelda game with more attack variety , a lot of enemies, and multiple characters. The collecting is interesting too, with enemies dropping loots and each characters having heart containers hidden in the levels. The other modes seem to add a lot of hours to the game. The Adventure mode (I thinks it's the name) is probably where I'll spend the most hours...

GTramp (81961) on 10/12/2014 9:57 AM · Permalink · Report

Playing Alien: Isolation. Looks promising so far. One thing for sure - the atmosphere of late 70-s sci-fi is incredible; and audio is unbelievably immersive.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 10/22/2014 8:07 AM · Permalink · Report

Anyone playing Vanishing of Ethan Carter? Is it any good?

I'm playing Assassin Creeds at the moment. You know, these characters are really self-righteous douchebags. What is it that makes Templars "evil" in this world anyway, if assassins kill a lot more people than templars ever do? But... it's so fun, have to admit that.

Waiting for Unity too, that looks like a really good game.

Donatello (466) on 10/23/2014 6:15 AM · Permalink · Report

I got a Last of Us PS3 bundle recently, so I've started catching up with modern games somewhat, starting with The Last of Us.

I think I'm near the end now, and I must admit, it is certainly worth all the praise it gets. Phenomenal game so far.

On the topic of Assassin's Creed, I just hope that they cover the October Revolution at some point. Even if the core gameplay is the same old doodle-doo, I would gladly pay 60 dollars on day one to see a big budget recreation of the setting.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 10/25/2014 6:23 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Watching videos of the new Gabriel Knight remake. They've changed some of the dialogues. And the new voices.... they suck!!! There's only one GK1 Gabriel Knight and his name is Tim Curry. The way he said "What do you know about... voodoo?" as if making a sexual move on you.... it was absolutely fantastic and without it this game will never be a true recreation of the GK1 experience. The new guy just seems so colourless.

The Remake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np4jnFt4QKA

For comparison's sake, here is how the one and only true Gabriel Knight - Tim Curry - reads those lines - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he80BWSVpg0

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 10/25/2014 6:45 PM · Permalink · Report

I've finished Dungeon Siege. It was a really fun action RPG that goes above Diablo by allowing an entire party of characters, one of them can even be a mule that would carry all your junk until the next shop. I would've liked a more robust control for individual characters in group fights and more involvement in developing your character's skills. The selection of monsters is also amazing, I have rarely seen so many original designs, like goblin robots with flamethrowers.

Right now I've started The Raven: Legacy of the Master Thief, a detective adventure game that manages to capture the 60s as I imagine them, with a pretty interesting plot and locations. I have a feeling that is not completely linear, since I remember ignoring an objective because I didn't know how to approach it puzzle-wise, and focused on the main storyline; it turns out the game simply skipped it. Interesting. The plot and the looks are great, the gameplay mechanics/controls feel like a step back compared to more intuitive adventure games, unfortunately. There are also technical problems, like an axe protruding the protagonist's hand even though he dropped it on the floor, and characters getting stuck.

vedder (71122) on 11/5/2014 5:50 PM · Permalink · Report

Playing Fract OSC. It took a while getting into it, but now I'm in its flow I really like it! There is still quite a bit of wondering around completely lost, but once you get a few of the puzzles slowly the rest starts making sense as well. The puzzles are generally also really fun to solve as they are usually less complex or at least more forgiving than they initially appear. And the audio is awesome of course, which is to be expected in a game that's all about synthesizers.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 11/12/2014 11:18 AM · Permalink · Report

So Assassin's Creed Rogue is better than Assassin's Creed Unity? Did not see that coming.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 11/13/2014 8:26 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

Do you want to ride the bull? :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiJYrtbTYMY

Bioware's writing has definitely gotten... uhm... peculiar lately. It's like fan slash fiction writers took over.

vedder (71122) on 11/15/2014 12:00 AM · Permalink · Report

Playing The Last of Us: Remastered Edition.

The production values are really fantastic. The acting, the graphics, audio is all great. But the game has serious issues just letting me play. Often it is too busy trying to be a film and it forgets I'm there. Also, quicktime events. After playing a bit I was afraid the whole game would be one huge linear corridor, but luckily it appears to give some more idea of choice now. But for what it tries to be (an interactive movie of sorts) it does it really well.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 12/2/2014 5:08 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Currently playing Witcher 2. Amazing game, there aren't many with such a unique personality, especially among RPGs. I think the skill system deserves special praise, since the changes I made worked just like I imagined they would. Also noteworthy are choice-based role-playing and managing to make failed quests feel complete. Minor grievances: the game has cartoony cutscenes, movie-like cutscenes and in-game cutscenes, all in one package; the inventory is small, but I guess they were aiming for realism (the amount of junk I carry would disagree though); Geralt is a well-known person, as such he travels in the company of well-known people - it feels a bit over the top overall.

A while back, I've played Memoria, the second Dark Eye adventure game from Daedalic, and they didn't disappoint. Couldn't think of a better adaptation of a pen and paper RPG world.

yenruoj_tsegnol_eht (!!ihsoy) (2597) on 12/3/2014 4:23 AM · Permalink · Report

After about, hmm, 27 years of (very discontinuous: after all, there often was another game to play and stand, that of life) gaming career on arcades and home consoles, last week I completed the build of my first computer ever, which worked since the very start in spite of my total lack of experience (passion can do more than knowledge). (All my contribution to Moby has been by a smartphone.)

I always resorted to books and cinematography for deep content, and to games to amuse myself. Also, when rarely I wanted something deep, consoles had it. Ico, killer7, Super Mario and Zelda games who were otherworldy good until Nintendo stopped making games (it's already 10 years..), an handful of superb RPGs for SNES PS1 and PS2...

But well, now I am old (certainly) and wise (perhaps), I really had to move to PC.

The first thing I did was to scrutinise GOG and Steam looking for all games I had fixed in my memory when occasionally reading about, in last 20 years. Now I have the 2 first Monkey Island, King's Quest and Space Quest and Police Quest collections, System Shock 2, The Fate of Atlantis, Myst Masterpiece Edition, The Longest Journey, X-COM (of course the real old one), To The Moon, 2 Gabriel Knight games, Ultima games from I to VII, the real Sam & Max, Quest for Glory from 1 to 5. And Civilization IV (not V... marketing managers held much more power already, when the V was made)

I started with Civilization IV, and... it's more than the most I ever imagined; and The Longest Journey, which seems to suggest designers knew Sciere and believed all players had similar wits, that is not the case at all unfortunately. Still, I'll do anything to never use a FAQ and, well, fak those brainteasers by my own.

Starbuck the Third (22601) on 12/4/2014 12:34 AM · Permalink · Report

Got another couple of games a week ago, Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Assassins Creed III, the final AC game in my 360 purchase backlog before I switch to a next gen console, whenever that'll be.

Anyway, Warfighter's a decent FPS. This is actually the third time I started it, the first when a friend spent the evening over mine and we started playing the first few missions, and the second when another friend lent me his copy. It's not quite good enough compared to Call of Duty, not really as good for me, but a fun game never the less.

As for Assassins Creed III, I'm not enjoying it as much as the last few AC games. Characters are not interesting for me. Connor isn't very engaging, and the 'im pissed and want revenge' thing was already done with Ezio, and done better, not to mention cliched. Everyone else just doesn't interest me. Gameplay wise, combat is worse. A lot worse, to the point were my default strategy is to, basically, run away. Countering doesn't seemingly work any more, and when you just plain attack, I can hack away and cause little damage, even when I'm landing blows with my blades.
On the plus side though, there as been a fair bit more present day gameplay with Desmond, something I've found lacking in previous games. Whether it will hold out throughout the game, I'll see.Also enjoying the Naval bits of the game. A very fun addition.

On the whole, though I'm not sure if I'm going to bother with any more AC after this, considering 2 through Revelations were pretty much carbon copies of 2, and now 3, I'm finding my enthusiasm for Assassins Creed pretty much at the point of no return.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 12/18/2014 11:01 AM · Permalink · Report

I played through Full Throttle. It was quite cool.

Currently playing through Longest Journey series, because of Dreamfall Chapters. I really liked Dreamfall and I do think that Ragnar Tornquist is a brilliant writer.

I just think he really didn't quite have a grasp on it when he did Longest Journey. For every moment of brilliance, there comes one or two of utter boredom.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 12/24/2014 8:09 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Just finished the tutorial for Praetorians. Why is this game so hard, damit?!

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 12/30/2014 7:34 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

I just played through the whole Mass Effect trilogy. Great series, no doubt.

Mass Effect is proof that a game is more than the sum of its part. I enjoyed it, but every aspect is very flawed: the cloned environments are worse than in Dragon Age II, the Mako stuff is bad. The RPG aspect is unnecessary, I did not use the special abilities once. They may be needed for higher difficulties, but when such a big aspect of a game is useless in normal difficulty, the balance is completely off. The only thing holding the game together is the writing and even that is not that great, especially the romances are cringeworthy.

Mass Effect 2 is an improvement in every aspect. They basically removed all RPG elements and the game is better off. The story is very basic, but the focus is on the characters. And those are great.

Mass Effect 3 tacked on some RPG elements again, but the gameplay itself shifts even more towards action game. The combat is, at least in part, no longer static whack-the-mole and more interesting enemy types are introduced. Especially the banshees are both creepy and challenging. The writing, and especially the influence of choices, show Bioware's attention to detail - they even took the time to retcon a bug in Mass Effect 2. It is not only an illusion of choice like in newer Telltale games. I love how they handle dead persons from previous games - yes, they are replaced by similar characters which do basically the same stuff, but they did not only change the names. If I have to name one thing I did not like, I'd choose the completely linear progression of main quests.

Mass Effect 3 DLC review:
From Ashes: It is outrageous that this is sold as DLC. I have no problem with the basic concept of DLC, add-ons to enhance the game with new quests etc., but this is clearly deliberately cut out from the main game. Javik is a very important character for the game and its plot. Mass Effect 3 is a lesser game when playing without this DLC.

I enjoyed Leviathan. It switches between calm moments and fairly challenging action parts and gives some nice background information.

Omega is a rip-off. It is nothing more than a collection of many linear corridors to fight through, It is no longer than Leviathan but costs more. Not worth the money.

Citadel should be renamed to Fanservice: The DLC. It is a welcome diversion to the darker tone of the main game. Its story is silly and tongue-in-cheek. The second half consists of a meet-and-greet with all current and past crew members. Recommended!

vedder (71122) on 12/30/2014 1:30 PM · Permalink · Report

Tower Wars, while an interesting tower defence game, I feel that the economy is too complex. There are two currencies, but instead of one being for offensive actions and the other for defensive actions, most actions cost both, making it hard to keep track of what to spend. The mazing aspect is pretty cool and the game looks nice, even though the interface is pretty bad.

ORION: Prelude excels in being mediocre in pretty much any aspect. While it can be entertaining for a bit with a bunch of friends on a LAN, the repetitiveness quickly makes you lose interest. It's too bad the only thing the dinosaurs do is run straight at you. They don't feel like dinosaurs at all. If you enjoyed the game mode in Unreal Tournament 2004 where all the waves of enemies from Unreal spawned. You might enjoy this for a while though for the 75 cents or so that it costs in the sales.

Geometry Wars 3 looks fantastic and it's fun to play. I'm not very good at it yet though. Currently blocked in the campaign progress because I need to earn one more star on any previous level before I can unlock the next. Need to get a bit more skilled in this!

Shadow of Mordor remains really cool. It gets better and better the more you play it with all the new abilities you unlock. At the start the game tends to be a bit overwhelming, but I'm finally nearing the point where I feel master over the game. Now about 75% done and having fun with branding. At time frustratingly difficult though. Although I did manage to kill a warchief which was immune to both stealth, combat and ranged, but I had to resort to some googling of how to go about it.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 1/7/2015 9:46 PM · Permalink · Report

I just finished Dragon Age: Origins. Again. My last playthrough was four years ago and the game is even better than I remembered. Without question the second-best RPG Bioware ever made. I can't think of any major complaints, just the Deep Roads section drags on a bit too long (but still much better than the orc caves in Neverwinter Nights 2...), the overhead view is too limited and the companion quests are too minor. I'm also not too hot on the gift mechanics, but this is negligible.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 1/10/2015 4:41 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I'm halfway through Broken Sword 5 and it doesn't disappoint. I'm always up for more ritual killings and theological mysteries. So far, this reminds me the most of the atmosphere in Circle of Blood and Beneath a Steel Sky, although I wasn't particularly looking for it, since I was ok with the format of later BS games. A bit on the safe side though, with some pretty formulaic characters. Still really great. Even the old voice actor for George is back!

Starbuck the Third (22601) on 1/14/2015 5:53 PM · Permalink · Report

After having got bored of Assassins Creed several weeks ago, I've decided to delete my save games and do a complete re-run of Skyrim. Haven't played it at all since my first playthrough over a couple of years or so ago.

vedder (71122) on 1/16/2015 10:20 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

So, Alien: Isolation...

Does it pick up later in the game? It's been a rather mixed and ultimately mediocre experience for me so far. The game reminds me a lot of System Shock 2, BioShock and Amnesia, which are all considered some of my favourite games of all time. But so far it's put to shame by all three of them - except maybe the hallways are prettier.

The first thing that made me cringe was the voice acting. Unless there's going to be a plot twist that ALL the characters in the games are androids, I'm going to be very disappointed! Perhaps The Last of Us spoiled me, but this is just really bad and why make the worst voice actor of the bunch your lead character?

But O.K. I continue, I also managed to endure Symphony of the Night. I can take this.

The beginning is your typical linear tutorial of the basics. The walk speed is tremendously slow compared to any other first person game I've played, but I guess it helps with the horror so I can dig. Stranger is the peeking mechanics which allow me to see about 3 pixels more than I did before. And why is the mouse sensitivity suddenly 10 times higher when I'm operating a console? And why is activating a flare the same button as closing an interface, having me accidentally waste pretty much half the flares I've come across.

Why are the protagonists feet glued to the floor? There's an area with 30cm high obstacles that you have to find your way around because just stepping over them obviously isn't an option...

The tutorial ends with me dying, because apparently the way to make the transit system work is to press use into the void, not with the button I was frantically looking as an alien charged at me - instadeath 1.

So after redoing that section - I must admit, having skippable cutscenes is quite impressive even in this day and age. You score points here Alien: Isolation! - I end up in a new open area. And hey this promises to be really cool! Exploring the ship feels very Metroid with all those doors waiting to be opened, hinting at the goodies behind. Another one of my favourite games so I can't complain. And I have my first fun encounter as I sneak past some dudes into another transit system after exploring all the areas that have opened up.

Then the saving system. Aside from having wonky controls. (Do you really need to show an ugly pop-up that takes me out of the game every time? Which also has the less used option selected by default...) It's also very unreliable with it sometimes flat-out refusing to save even though I haven't saved in 5 minutes or more. Way to stretch out your content I guess. Again, I guess I'm spoiled, because Shadow of Mordor has such a sublime saving system.

But just as I thought I had ended up with something of a love child between System Shock 2, Amnesia and Metroid, I end up in a scenario that feels more like Space Quest. I'm at a point in the game where I am apparently supposed to solve a puzzle, but every wrong solution resolves in instadeath. The puzzle being 4 guys with guns and a door they guard vs. an unarmed me. Actually Groundhog Day would be a more appropriate comparison after dying 5 times.

I was under the impression that there was an understanding between gamers and game designers that in stealth games there should be some reaction time between being seen and enemies actually turning hostile. While I've just returned from Shadow of Mordor, where that reaction time is incredibly lenient, games like Dishonoured and Deus Ex: HR had it nailed down pretty well. Here there are already 2 caps in Ripley's head before they can finish saying "is tha-". There's probably some "solution" to this encounter that I just didn't see, but really is that the type of game you want to be?

While with only 3 hours played so far I can't really say I didn't like it at all. I will play it again. I liked the open area where it let me explore even into areas I absolutely wasn't supposed to go just yet. I liked one enemy encounter where I did manage to actually use stealth. Everything feels just so unpolished and the rules for stealth are completely unclear, unbalanced and unfair. I really hope it will pick up later, if I ever get past this dreadful encounter...

Adzuken (836) on 1/22/2015 12:41 AM · Permalink · Report

I've mostly been going back through my cartridge collection and playing some of the games that I didn't give much time to when I first bought them. I've made some good progress and played through a bunch of titles, such as Metal Gear, Cocoron, and Kid Niki: Radical Ninja. Some of them I'll likely review, but for others, I don't think I have much to say.

I've been playing Kerbal Space Program pretty solidly for the past few months. Last night I finally managed to pull off a round trip to Duna, the game's version of Mars. It feels like I've cleared a really big hurdle in the game and can now get down to the exploration side of things. It's just too bad that currently, outside of locating some of the easter eggs hidden in the environment, there isn't much reason to continue making trips to different planets. This may come later in the game's development, but for now, just being able to get to other worlds and back will likely be a huge time investment for most people.

Cavalary (11448) on 2/5/2015 2:02 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

Just finished The Witcher, as in the first one. Notes say "Started Jun 2013, abandoned same month, brief attempts to continue in Jul and Aug, abandoned almost immediately. Restarted and temporarily abandoned again Oct 2014, continued Nov 2014, finished evening of Feb 4 2015, not long before midnight."

Now those 2 additional scenarios to go through, and also to just install Witcher 2 and import the save from this one to make sure it works, then just make one there right at the start with this imported and keep it for when I'll have a computer that'd deal better with it.

Anyway, good game, despite quite a list of things to nitpick about and a few major issues (crashes, even system freezes, still some bugs, annoying guesswork in a few places... and why the hell can't I just leave the damn brat with one and go with the other myself and say good riddance? (admittedly, would have quite ruined the plot, but...)). Pretty well-made world, as much as possible, decisions having an impact later (too much of one at times, making for that feeling of fearing to do anything thinking I'd break several others, why I gave up all that time), some characters to care for, some interesting story elements (and nods to the books... if perhaps too much and in some wrong ways a few times... come on, pluck some pillow talk between Geralt and Yen right out of one of the books and shove it basically word for word into the game as between him and Triss? - though at the same time a few other things seem odd in themselves if you come at it from the perspective of the books), nice flowing combat (bar kill moves on humans and humanoids...), nice how they made the journal work... And quite amazing what they managed with that old engine.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 2/6/2015 7:31 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I recently finished Saints Row: Gat out of Hell and I'm not quite sure what to think of it. It is based on the most fun open world game I have ever played, so of course I enjoyed just walking around the (at least not Steelport again) city and doing random stuff. Unfortunately that is all there is to the game - few cutscenes, no proper story missions.

Sure, it is half-price, but I still wished for a bit more stuff do do. According to my savegame, I played a bit over eight hours and already did everything (except challenges, because fuck those). My Saints Row itch is not satisfied, so I started with Saints Row 2 again. At least this time I found an unofficial patch to undo the awful changes of the German version.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 2/7/2015 1:41 PM · Permalink · Report

Right now I'm playing through Two Worlds. It seems to me like the lightest RPG around, where death has no consequence except more time spent walking. Right now I'm exploring the north so the world looks like your standard early medieval fantasy fare. The game is very similar to Gothic 3, but the music is not as engaging and it's not as beautiful graphic-wise. I found it quite easy to gain levels and buy overpowered armor and weapons. I like to stick to one zone usually in RPGs until I have explored everything 100%, so it's a bit disappointing that the fauna isn't much of a challenge.

Still, I like the skill and alchemy systems. The world is interesting to explore, so I guess I will try to finish it.

chirinea (47507) on 2/11/2015 1:41 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

So I've just finished System Shock 2 after 26 hours of gameplay (or so Steam says). Wow, I mean, wow. I've played Bioshock not so long ago and I remember not being that impressed with it. I understand it is some kind of spiritual successor of the System Shock games, and I can clearly see the inspiration. But this one seems so much better than Bioshock. The atmosphere is awesome, claustrophobic. The soundtrack matches some moments perfectly. The only problem I saw with it is maybe that it is a bit too long. Near the end it seemed that they just kept adding more and more stages when it could've ended already.

It is weird that I only came to know about this game from you guys some 10 years ago, as everyone here and their dog love this game. And your're absolutely right. =)

click here to win an iPhone9SSSS (2261) on 3/11/2015 9:57 AM · Permalink · Report

Sleeping Beauty is a freeware game surely worth knowing, just like much of Stephen Lavelle's work (www.increpare.com) is.

Hoped it'd get some visibility if screenshots entered yesterday ended on the home page, but the Judges judged those as not deserving to...

vedder (71122) on 3/12/2015 11:56 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

Hooked on Cities: Skylines now. It's pretty much SimCity 4 with curved roads and even bigger maps, but in the end that's all I ever wanted.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 3/14/2015 10:46 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I have played a few games lately:

• Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: I could not even get through the first episode because I did not enjoy the humor at all.
• The Book of Unwritten Tales: Fantastic adventure game with (mostly) logical and intuitive puzzles and great humour. Also one of the few adventures I played which gets the difficulty curve right, even if it is pretty easy overall.
• The Walking Dead, Episode 4 and 5: OK, but I'm pretty sick of zombies.
• Jazzpunk: This is basically just a random gag reel. Very hit and miss.
• Hate Plus: Wonderfully written story, but only barely qualifies as game.
• Murdered: Soul Suspect: So much wasted potential. The story and the clue searching gameplay was enjoyable, but the action stuff is just bad.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 3/18/2015 8:46 PM · Permalink · Report

Playing Sid Meier's Railroads. A fun game, but I remember enjoying looking at trains going around on the tracks in the past. Now the pace is too fast. I should look for an option that slows the passing of time, hmmm...

There are also some recurring bugs (derailing trains?), and the game feels a bit too crowded sometimes.

Slug Camargo (583) on 3/21/2015 6:31 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

After a pretty extended hiatus, I sort of came back to gaming. First off, finishing both Dark Souls II playthroughs that I left about a year ago. That, interspersed with regular visits to the first one. Because really, I love a lot of the sequel's tweaks and additions, but when it comes to monster design, level layout, colour palette, general atmosphere, and -very especially- characters' animation; the original is way, way better. Basically, changing the engine for this new one was a huge, terrible mistake.

Still, if From Software were to pull an Activision and just kept releasing iterations of this series yearly, that would be fine and dandy with me for the next decade or so. And by the way, fuck Sony exclusives ಠ___ಠ


I also bought a bunch of new-ish games (Shadow of Mordor, The Evil Within, MGR: Revengeance, Outlast, Wasteland 2, Dead State and some others I don't even remember now), but I barely paid any of them any mind. It's all about the Souls for me.


I am however pretty hooked with The Banner Saga, because it's the only recent game I could get running back at work and it turned out pretty good to kill those slow office hours. It's drop dead gorgeous too, and very dynamic and fun to play. A bit too heavy on the exposition and quite linear, though, which I'm afraid might kill any replayability value, but still.



EDIT: Dead State is not in the database? Or is the search acting up? o_0

click here to win an iPhone9SSSS (2261) on 3/26/2015 5:25 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

mind bending

(full version)

To be played in single-player mode

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 3/27/2015 3:29 PM · Permalink · Report

Probably to no one's surprise, I am playing Pillars of Eternity. Of course I can't say anything substantial after three hours, but it already has a big plus compared to Original Sin: the UI is not shit.

The Cliffe (1552) on 3/27/2015 4:26 PM · Permalink · Report

Having a go with Assassins Creed IV - Now With Pirates! Real fun stuff, even if the combat feels a bit odd and the stealthy bits are as clunky as ever (or, more likely, I'm just bad at them). Harpooning whales and not getting arrested by the Coast Guard is pretty sweet!

I really want to cut the Abstergo real-world content out of AC series, even though they make for a unique narrative perspective, and I can applaud that objectively. The trouble is that whatever's going on in the "simulated" world is way more interesting than the bland characters and tropes in the real world. At least in past titles you sometimes got to do something interesting, like evade your persuers or clamber around in a giant warehouse, but this time around you're delegated random administrative tasks and literally walked through an office orientation session. Doubly painful because in performing these tasks, Ubisoft is cutting into time that I should be spending BEING A PIRATE.

GTramp (81961) on 3/28/2015 1:28 AM · Permalink · Report

Playing Devil May Cry 4 on devil hunter difficulty. Oh my god, it is so designed to frustrate! Sometimes I'm almost throwing my controller at the wall. And the camera angles - oh camera angles! Who ever thought it's a good idea to not let you see who you're hitting or where you're jumping? The story is ridiculous, but this is expected. Battle music is also getting on my nerves. But for what it is and as a fourth game in the series, it's a solid title.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 3/30/2015 1:23 PM · Permalink · Report

I just played Wolf Amongst Us. Did not expect to, but I fahking loved it. I am the Big Bad Wolf... grrr, grrrr!

I want more Bigby. Should I buy Fable comics?

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 4/18/2015 7:04 PM · Permalink · Report

Playing Thief II: The Metal Age. Clearly the best of the Thief series, but damn the last level is insanely huge.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 4/24/2015 3:53 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I played through Wolfenstein: The New Order which is surprisingly good. I like the level design, both regarding layout (relatively linear, but still open enough to allow different approaches) and graphics. The atmosphere is great and hey, you get to visit a Nazi moon base - does not get better than that. The story and cutscenes are hilariously over the top, but the game still manages to give a feel for the cruelty of war without cheap sensationalism. The only bummer is that I was forced to play the German version, but fortunately the voice acting is mostly competent and it really does not matter if call Nazis by a slightly different name. I also don't think the people who created the standard keyboard layout ever tried to play the game that way.

I also played Valiant Hearts. The storytelling is fantastic (the game does a great job of conveying emotions without many words), but the story itself is stupid (why exactly did we need a mustache-twirling villain?) even if it picks up in the last chapter and has a good ending. The gameplay is garbage, especially the action sequences.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 4/26/2015 4:47 PM · Permalink · Report

Currently I am trying to avoid getting hyped for The Witcher 3 (I fail) and bought Grand Theft Auto V to bridge the gap. There is no question that I'll like it, but the big question is: Can it beat Saints Row IV?

vedder (71122) on 4/27/2015 7:41 PM · Permalink · Report

Haven't played much lately. A bit of Hearthstone here and there which continues to entertain for short bursts of fun. Unfortunately it doesn't quite run so well on my Android phone so I'll have to stick with the PC version.

I've also been playing bits of Pillars of Eternity here and there but haven't progressed very far yet. It's a great game and everything it promised to be. Which makes me happy and optimistic about Torment. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not enjoying it as much as Baldur's Gate 1/2 I think. Perhaps because everything is a bit too familiar or maybe my memories of those games make them look better even than they were.

I've also been playing a lot of the game called 'online dating'. It had a rather rocky start. At many times it seemed to pick up, but then throw some curve ball at me that made me lose all interest in the game. The current level seemingly goes on forever, but that's fine, because it has great narrative and visuals too. Now preparing for a sub-level-boss called: meeting-her-parents. Better stock up on charisma boosting potions and spells with charm effects!

Adzuken (836) on 4/27/2015 10:19 PM · Permalink · Report

While a buddy was visiting, the conversation somehow meandered its way onto the topic of Superman for the N64. He brought to my attention that it actually features a multiplayer mode that I wasn't aware of when I wrote my review of the game. I'm sure he immediately regretted bringing it to my attention, because I then plucked it off my shelf and forced him to play a few rounds with me. It's awful. There's two modes, race and battle, and we couldn't really figure race out. In both modes you pick a villain who rides around in a hover chair and blast each other. However, in race, one of the chairs poops rings and, I don't know, maybe the other person is supposed to follow them for some reason. We ended up just shooting eachother for a few rounds of this floaty, fog filled deathmatch before we stopped and I decided to demonstrate to him how proficient I was at flying through rings in the single player.

Aside from that diversion, I played through Bloodborne, which then made me turn to the rest of the Souls series. I finally finished Demon's Souls after all these years. I've been playing through Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, which is competent but dry compared to the rest of them. I'm also replaying Bloodborne and turning my focus to the procedurally generated dungeons, since they include gear and bosses not found in the main game.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 4/29/2015 4:48 PM · Permalink · Report

Well I'm playing Chaos on Deponia and honestly I'm a bit disappointed. It has its brilliant moments, for example the platypus puzzle or some of its funnier scenes, but the game is generally a mixed bag. The writing has many blunders, most of the jokes are not funny, especially when characters break the 4th wall, while a lot of the puzzles are incomprehensible. In one of them you need to lower the volume in the game settings, for example...

Rola (8482) on 5/5/2015 3:11 AM · Permalink · Report

I didn't know where to put this Fair Play Crew sketch about 8-bit fighting games

The Fabulous King (1332) on 5/9/2015 3:23 PM · Permalink · Report

Guys, is Of Orcs and Men a good game? I saw it at sale for 5 euros in a local store, it had a witty title, caught my eye.

Adzuken (836) on 5/10/2015 2:24 AM · Permalink · Report

I finally fulfilled a teenage fantasy of mine and got my hands on the original Steel Battalion. I'm not sure how the developers expect you to play with such a boner-inducing controller in your lap. I'm actually struggling quite a bit with it and have yet to complete even the fourth mission. A big part of the difficulty is that if you fail to eject before your mech explodes, your pilot dies and it wipes your save data. You're given plenty of warning, so it's not hard to eject, but then you have to buy a new mech. If you run out of money, the game calls you a loser and kicks you out of the military. Starting over and replaying then first handful of missions gets old, so I haven't been playing it as extensively as I would be if I was making progress, but it's still hard to not have fun with such an unique controller.

I managed to play a bit of the Splatoon beta/demo/stress test that was on this weekend. The game is basically what I was expecting it to be, and I had a lot of fun. I imagine I'll enjoy it even more when there's a progression system and I can dress up my squid person.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 5/16/2015 6:12 PM · Permalink · Report

Just finished Dragon Age II. Not as bad as I imagined it would be. The biggest problems it has are the repetitive locations and terrible choices at the end of the game. I didn't expect the ending though.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 5/19/2015 8:43 PM · Permalink · Report

I played three or four hours of The Witcher III today. So far everything is splendid, except that I already have one of those collection quests without ending in my journal. I hate those.

Slug Camargo (583) on 5/20/2015 3:17 AM · Permalink · Report

Still on Dark Souls 2. I'm taking it slowly so I'll hopefully figure a way to somehow buy Scholar of the First Sin by the time I finish it.

I like the game, there's a lot of good stuff about it, but man, it's fucking ugly. I'm not usually one to complain about graphics, mind, and the first one wasn't exactly a looker; but the design was all kinds of inspired. Even with the not-quite-high poly count and the bad textures, the locations in DkS1 not only looked quite good, more often than not they were downright breathtaking, all by pure artistic merit. Every now and then I play it again and I'm still amazed at the amount of details in the world, or at how much of it you can actually see from pretty much every high spot --and you're always seeing the actual world you've just been/you'll soon be at, there's nary a single pixel of random filling.

DS2 keeps crushing my suspension of disbelief with bland architecture, nonsensical geography and plain ugly visuals. The elevator that goes up for miles and ends up at a lava castle was appalling, I was aching to be done with that area just to forget about the whole mess. There are some pillars at The Gutter that are comprised of what can only be a bunch of garbage textures they threw in expecting that no one would notice (link), there's no other explanation. Drangleic Castle should've been a beautiful, majestic location and instead it's a bunch of uninspired square rooms with so much texture tiling it makes your eyes bleed.

Now I'm at Shrine of Amana, and at least the early bits look rather pretty and atmospheric (if a little too familiar, like a mixture of Lower Blighttown and the Ash Lake). We'll see what's up next.

Also, either I got really good at Souls games, or the bosses are way easier in this one.

Cavalary (11448) on 6/20/2015 2:03 PM · Permalink · Report

Still with the oldies for me, as usual, and back to the first Age of Wonders now, since I picked it up when it was free on GOG. Initially started it in or around 2003 but gave up quite quickly from what I remember, but after playing AoW2 in 2013-2014 and liking it said might as well.
Currently accidentally finished the 4th scenario of the campaign last night (brought an eagle rider from the previous scenario and it was stuck exploring the surface while the heroes were expanding underground... and it reached the city you're supposed to get to win), then reloaded and trying to do it the long way now, taking it mostly as training run in defense as AI is fighting back and my AoW2 city defense tactics definitely don't work in this one.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 6/27/2015 11:30 AM · Permalink · Report

So I am playing Ultima VIII: Pagan, and this is my first Ultima, if my memory serves me well. I find it a bit disappointing in all aspects; incredibly simplistic, it has the very core mechanics of a typical action RPG, with almost no way to develop your character. The world feels like a compromise (I always hated the quests in pen&paper where players are forced into some alternate/pocket dimension world), and the characters--stereotypical.

I am still curious to see how the level design progresses, so I will likely play this game until the end. Thanks to the simple combat system, it's an easy game to get into. The biggest detriment would be the lack of a journal and an in-game map, shops accepting junk would be great as well. :)

CaidKean (174) on 7/2/2015 10:11 AM · Permalink · Report

Just recently finished Mega Man Legends and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. Both really enjoyable games in my opinion. Going to be playing Mega Man Legends 2 soon, I hope I enjoy it like I did the others.

Real shame Capcom didn't give Keiji Inafune the chance to actually finish Mega Man Legends 3. Here's hoping he might try to do a kickstarter for a spiritual successor after Mighty No. 9 comes out.

Oh, and on the note of Kickstarter I couldn't help but back Yu Suzuki's Shenmue 3 kickstarter. Even if 3 turns out to be a disaster I'll still be happy I helped give Suzuki a chance to make it happen.

Adzuken (836) on 7/4/2015 8:57 PM · Permalink · Report

I'm currently playing Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;birth1, which I bought during the Steam summer sale to help satisfy a craving for something blatantly Japanese along with somewhere around a half-dozen visual novels. I can't say I like the game. The voice acting struck me as awful, so I switched it to Japanese, thinking it was just due to a low localization budget, but it seems to be just as bad. The worst part is the annoyingly high-pitched, bubbly character voices, which is the audio equivalent to having glass jammed under my finger nails. The game luckily gives a great deal of control over choosing your party members, so I've been exclusively selecting the ones that have the most tolerable voices. I'm not sure I even live on the same world as this game's intended audience, yet I'm still playing, so either it's doing something right that I haven't figured out yet, or it provides some form of digital nutrition that I've been long deprived of.

To counter this, I'm continuing my playthrough of Persona 3: FES, an RPG that I actually do enjoy. I like the in-game calendar and the visual novel elements that are tied to the dungeon crawling gameplay. Even though there's little to actually do in the game world aside from talking to people, buying stuff, and leveling up your non-combat stats, it's a great framework to the actual game. I played Persona 4 first, and while I like the darker style and more offbeat characters presented here, I'm frustrated with the fact that I can't directly control them in battle. There've been far to many "What the hell were you thinking" moments that have caused me to straight out lose boss battles. The main dungeon, Tartarus, also feels like it might as well be called "The Tower of Grind" since its relation to the main plot has thus far been discounted. I'm sure there's going to be some twist later on that ties it in better, but going to it night after night just to level up my party has really caused the game to drag.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 7/5/2015 1:45 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

After finishing The Witcher III (so good!) I started playing Final Fantasy XIII. To be honest, after two hours I am bored. I understand the desire to make a tutorial and not to introduce all gameplay mechanics at once, but does it need to have the pacing of a snail? I am already sick of walking through linear corridors which make the average Call of Duty level look like an open world experience.

And when a game has waaaaaaay too many cutscenes, it is weak when some characters' motivations still have to explained in the section recaps (and then over and over and over and over again). I hope I won't regret that wish when the characters actually start talking to each other.

I really hope this is only the fault of a too long tutorial and and the game soon introduces interesting stuff like character development or combat mechanics which require (or at least offer) more than bashing the auto-attack button until the enemy dies. Of course it is unfair to pass judgement after two hours (I have played the first few character switches in chapter two) but it really needs to pick the pace up.

Slug Camargo (583) on 7/9/2015 12:06 AM · Permalink · Report

I just bought a 360 gamepad. The last time I had one of these it was like 7 years ago, and it was a generic PS2-copycat thing whose sticks broke down in like a week. This one took some getting used to, what with so much time having used the mouse exclusively plus the weird position of the sticks, but now I'm definitively loving it. This kind of gamepad might very well be the best invention mankind has ever come up with, I'm sure it'll all be downhill from here. It can't possibly get any better than this.

Anyway, I've replayed a bit of the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider trilogy, had a lot of fun with that (looking back, the new one is REALLY missing some good puzzling and platforming). Played a bit of the Prince of Persia trilogy, I didn't even remember how incredibly fun those games were --and I love The Two Thrones, and yes, I am including the chariot races when I say that, and I don't care what anyone says.

Aaaaand now I'm playing a new character in Dark Souls, because of course I am. After almost 300 hours, I'm finally playing this game the way it was meant to be played, and what do you know, it's even more awesome this way.

Still couldn't get my hands on Scholar of the First Sin, and that makes me a bit of a sad bunny. If I could find anyone willing to give me a virtual hand turning real money into internet money so I could buy it, that would be SO amazing...

The Fabulous King (1332) on 7/16/2015 9:53 PM · Permalink · Report

The Stanley Parable :D

Slug Camargo (583) on 7/22/2015 12:23 AM · Permalink · Report

I finally got my paws on an international debit card, so I'm back in the game buying game! Yippeeee!

First up, of course, Scholar of the First Sin. And that will probably be that. At least until Dark Souls III comes out [T]/

Scholar is pretty much everything everyone says it is. It is a notable improvement over Dark Souls II in every aspect you can think of, but it doesn't so much feel as an enhanced version, as it rather makes the DX9 version feel as a paid beta test. And a completely unnecessary game to own.

Anyway, the visuals surprised me more than I expected: just a dash of depth of field and subtle improvements to the lighting go an incredibly long way. As for the game proper, I've only played for 6 hours and I just cleared the Forest of the Fallen Giants, but so far I'm enjoying it a lot. The level design is still crap and the layout of the world still makes no sense, but I'm loving the new enemy placement. Even though the geography itself is garbage, the locations the enemies inhabit now makes much more sense. And there's something to be said about replaying a game you know by heart, but having everything moved around. Good times.

I think I'm experiencing it from the best perspective: being the owner of the original but not having played the DLC. This way, it's like I'm getting a Director's Cut edition for the price of a season pass. That way looking, I don't feel so bad for paying again for it. Still, while I love From as I rarely every loved any company ever, the whole deal is bordering a flat-out scam, especially for the people who purchased the DLC for the DX9 version.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 8/7/2015 4:35 PM · Permalink · Report

I suddenly had the urge to play Neverwinter Nights. Despite some big general flaws, it turns out the game system is relatively solid if you ignore the original campaign. Currently I'm playing Hordes of the Underdark, the second official expansion, which is excellent.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 8/22/2015 8:09 PM · Permalink · Report

I've been playing Dungeon Siege 2 for the last month or so and I'm almost at the end. Very long game, as expected, Steam says a played it for 55 hours, out of which probably 5 it was idle.

The story and lore really grabbed me, however the monster designs were more inspired in the first Dungeon Siege, I must admit. The mechanics are solid, although I find the skill tree a bit lacking--I would love to have more options. You can build parties of four (five at Veteran, six at Elite) and one of the things that annoys me is that some companion-specific quests involve a lot of backtracking around the world (I hate repetition), and I didn't care much about most of the companions. Having a smaller party available on the Mercenary difficulty means that this time around I avoided having any pets, which is sad (I played most of the original Dungeon Siege with a mule in my party) but unavoidable. It might be worth keeping one at higher difficulties, but they must be unlocked first.

So far, considering how much enjoyment I got out of point and click action RPGs, I'm placing both Dungeon Sieges, Titan Quest and the Divinity games ahead of the first two Diablos.

Slug Camargo (583) on 8/29/2015 4:44 PM · Permalink · Report

I downloaded the Dying Light demo because I was mildly interested in the whole first-person parkour/melee thing, but it turned out to run like crap on my PC: I'm getting constant one-second freezes every time I turn, so I got as far as getting out of the room the game starts in, fiddled a bit with the settings, googled and tried a bunch of fixes; and when noting worked I just went back to Scholar of the First Sin.

Oh, well. Keep on praising the sun, I say.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 9/5/2015 5:05 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

I just finished Shadowrun: Hong Kong. It is very good, even better than Dragonfall. I especially loved the improved level design and the whole atmosphere and graphical style completely strikes my chord anyway. The new matrix sucks, though. The new screen when picking up an item is also awful and almost makes me glad that there are almost no item drops anymore.

I hope Harebrained Schemes continues to make new campaigns for all eternity.

vedder (71122) on 9/8/2015 8:04 PM · Permalink · Report

After six years I've finally finished puzzle quest on the DS! I only play on the device when on vacation so hence the long duration.

By the way. This thread is nearly 1 year old. Isn't it time for a new one?

vedder (71122) on 9/21/2015 6:19 PM · Permalink · Report

Playing Jouney on the PS4. It's magical!

Are there any other games on the PS3 games on the PS4 I shouldn't miss (I never had a PS3)? I already spotted God of War 3 Remastered and the Uncharted collection.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 9/27/2015 6:18 AM · Permalink · Report

I'm currently playing Mass Effect the first. I have 36 hours registered and I feel I have done very little plotwise, even though the game is trying very hard to tell me that the end is approaching. One big reason is the lack of fully developed hubs (colonies, Earth, alien megalopolises) that I could explore outside of the main story line. The planets I get to visit are rather barren--they have their charm, but I want more. What I want is more locations like Noveria and Feros, which I must admit impressed me.

Another reason are the companions. The first problem is that you meet almost all of them at the beginning of the game and they're only a handful. The second problem is that their backstories are not really interesting, with one exception maybe. And the third is, this is pretty subjective, nobody really clicked with me. The one I like the most is Tali.

It seems to me that Bioware departed from a traditional RPG design, and as a result the game had to suffer. I would still recommend it, however. The interesting parts are worth it.

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 10/22/2015 4:57 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I just finished the Hearts of Stone expansion for The Witcher III. It is just as good as the main game. Did not like the boss fights, though.

And now I can't decide if I should buy Sword Coast Legends or not. I get some mixed signals, but the main complaints seem to be that it makes significant changes to the D&D system (which I am not specifically opposed to because I only know D&D from computer games and many aspects just don't work well; I also know nothing about D&D5) and that the editor/multiplayer sucks (which I could not care less about).

vedder (71122) on 11/2/2015 11:23 AM · Permalink · Report

I've finished part two of Broken Age. While I like the artistic style of the game and the puzzles have its moments, there are just too many "game designer logic" puzzles that ruin the mood.

Now playing Sam & Max Season 03. More of the same obviously, but Sam & Max don't get old. Their dry sense of humour has always been right up my alley!

Rola (8482) on 11/3/2015 4:27 PM · Permalink · Report

Right now I'm playing a free browser game called Star Runner: Genesis that despite its problems with mechanics deserves some attention. It tries to follow the tradition of Elite & Privateer (space trading & combat), has artsy illustrations similar in style of 1980s sci-fi comics (do I need to add it's a French game?), your ship has full customization (want a new paint job?).

Patrick Bregger (303246) on 11/10/2015 8:52 PM · Permalink · Report

I broke one of the most important rules of video gaming: never buy a Bethesda game before a mod fixes the godawful user interface. Damn.

chirinea (47507) on 11/11/2015 1:22 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

I'm playing Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition. It hurts, but it hurts so good! The game is terribly addictive, but why is it so ugly? I understand theres a fix for having higher resolutions, but the main menu natively allows me to change to 1920 x 1080, which is the highest I can get, but the game still looks blurry and opaque.

Tracy Poff (2095) on 11/11/2015 1:33 AM · Permalink · Report

Over the course of a couple of weeks, I 100% completed Yoshi's Woolly World in co-op. The game wasn't bad, but collecting all the hidden stuff was kind of annoying.

YWW does, unfortunately, suffer from the same problems as Nintendo's other simultaneous-play platformers: too easy to get in the other player's way, getting killed in vertical sections due to the camera following the upper player (even when you're supped to be falling), getting stuck behind obstacles if you're too far apart... it's a shame. I really like playing games in co-op, and I really like Nintendo's platformers, but they just feel unpolished in co-op.

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 11/11/2015 4:10 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I have finished the main campaign of Revenge of the Titans. I haven't been on the edge of my seat like this for a while--so many close victories! At least half of the missions I've finished on Maximum difficulty, which is surprising, with most of the others on high. Very good tower defense game. One of the best parts is how the characters talk: "Blabla Blablabla Bla"--very funny.

And now it's time for Mass Effect 3

GTramp (81961) on 11/24/2015 1:19 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I just finished SOMA, a new game by Frictional Games, and what seems their best game so far. Well, here's a studio that's constantly evolving - from trying their hand at 2D horror Fiend - to Penumbra trilogy - to excellent Amnesia and DLC Justine and finally to this game.

It's less scary than Amnesia, but way more varied and engaging (at least that's how I felt). It tells quite a complex story that's very interesting to follow. It also looks great, finally up to modern standards.

The Fabulous King (1332) on 11/24/2015 6:35 PM · Permalink · Report

Hey guys! How's Fallout 4? Anyone playing it?

CalaisianMindthief (8172) on 11/26/2015 8:26 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

I finished Mass Effect 3 and my only disappointments are the skill system, which is simple and uninteresting, and the beginning of the game, which fails to sell it properly. For the first scenes I was thinking "Oh no, where am I?" Everything was so grim and dull compared to the cheery atmosphere from the first two MEs and KOTOR. Thankfully, while the palette remained pretty dark and washed out, the game regained its composure after Shepard could start exploring the galaxy.

Some minor hiccups here and there, but as a whole the series is a classic.

Right now I noticed I had Sega Mega Drive Collection in my Steam library, so I proceeded to install it. Out of the bunch, I've already played Gain Ground and Golden Axe before, so I'm not playing those and I'm skipping Shinobi III because they didn't include the previous ones. This week I already managed to finish Altered Beast and Comix Zone (thanks save slots). Altered Beast is terrible; it's cheesy and stupid, that's one thing, but more importantly the controls feel very wrong. Comix Zone is brilliant however, this is the kind of game I expect to find in a Genesis collection. Also, Roadkill is probably one of the best pets in gaming.

chirinea (47507) on 12/9/2015 2:22 AM · Permalink · Report

Still playing Dark Souls. Just now I accidentally killed an NPC (Ingward). It seems some people kill the guy on purpose to get a key he drops. I killed him because this game makes you afraid of everything you find, you just don't give a chance for anything to get the first hit, so I hit him and I killed him, and now I feel terrible.