What are you playing?

[Sho Nuff]

This weekend I FINALLY fuckin' finished Persona 3 (55 hours, Easy Mode) and played through all of Sleeping Dogs in about 14 hours according to my Steam clock. Persona's ending was kind of meh and the final boss took forever, while in Sleeping Dogs

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I threw that fucker into an ice chipper

[close]

[Bebpo]

Played a couple hours of Sleeping Dogs this weekend.  I really like kicking dudes in the face.  The combat feels a lot like RGG/Yakuza combat but with better lock-on and Batman's counter system.  Jump kicking dudes, running with people down markets and throwing guys off ledges is excellent. 

The rest of the game is ok so far.  The foot chases are fun, though they feel pretty scripted and the rest of the game just feels like Saint Row 3 but not as awesome as SR3.  I think SR3 has kind of spoiled me on GTA-type games. 

The city kind of struggles with that SR3 problem of everywhere looking the same.  I'm still in the first area though.

Since the combat is so satisfying and since I haven't played a polished game with an actual budget in like half a year, I'm planning on sticking with it.

[Bebpo]

Oh, and I started playing Bulletstorm.  I like it a lot, but is the whole game just grabbing and kicking people?  Seems like it'd get boring after a few levels.  I like the over the top cutscene direction and really fast movement + cool set pieces.

[tiesto]

I finally had an hour to just sit down and chill, but my systems aren't all hooked up yet... so I was playing To The Moon on PC. Its got some nice music, but I would've preferred if it was more of an RPG, with battles and shit, not just an adventure game in 16-bit RPG clothing.

[archnemesis]

To the Moon was pretty great, but it's not much of a game. The puzzle sections are all really easy and it's instead focused on telling a story.

[demi]

Oh, and I started playing Bulletstorm.  I like it a lot, but is the whole game just grabbing and kicking people?  Seems like it'd get boring after a few levels.  I like the over the top cutscene direction and really fast movement + cool set pieces.

Its not meant to be played like a FPS... you have to run up and basically go ballistic with the combos. But its very counterintuitive. I had no fun with this game.

[Stoney Mason]

I beat Dungeon Siege 3 co-op recently. Very average game that was only really tolerable because I played it co-op. And god damn did that game have too much fucking story for what is essentially a loot crawl. Oh Obsidian.

[cool breeze]

Oh, and I started playing Bulletstorm.  I like it a lot, but is the whole game just grabbing and kicking people?  Seems like it'd get boring after a few levels.  I like the over the top cutscene direction and really fast movement + cool set pieces.

off what demi said, there's a challenge list of different stunts to complete for different weapons/stage hazards.  Stuff like kick a dude in the air and shoot a rocket up his butt and have him fly into a man-eating plant. 

At least that's how I played.  I don't know how much fun it would be playing it as a straight shooter.  Difficulty is such that you're free to work towards big combos without dying from enemy attacks.

[Tucah]

-Another playthrough of Dishonored, going for no kills/unseen
-Borderlands 2 pirate DLC
-But mostly, lots and lots and lots of XCOM. GOTY

ACIII next week though

[Bebpo]

So I'm generally liking Sleeping Dogs, but I can't help but feel it's Yakuza-lite GTA.  They rip so much from the Yakuza games yet sometimes there's stuff they don't rip and you're like ??!?

An example is I just did the mission at the Bam Bam club.  Your fighting tons of dudes at a CLUB filled with BOTTLES and CHAIRS and TABLES everywhere and you can't pick up a single item in the entire club as a weapon, except the one knife from a guy who attacks you with a knife.  Like why are objects not pickup-friendly in this game to use as beatdown devices?  I love how in Yakuza games you just grab anything on the floor and beat the crap out of some dude with it.  Not letting you do that and forcing you to just do your standard punch/kick combos and grabs/throws grabs/environmental attacks just limits the combat variety a bit.


My other complaint is that I don't feel like I'm playing a game in HK so far.  It just feels like any other GTA game in terms of the city.  This doesn't give a Shenmue feel of being in a foreign location and exploring around.  Even Yakuza has more of a foreign feel to it.  I'm not sure what it is, but so far in the 1st quadrant of the city it just feels like I'm playing GTA with neon signs and fist combat.  Was hoping for something more foreign like how exploring old European cities in the Assassin Creed games feels really unique and different than GTA's Liberty City.

Otherwise it's pretty cool.  Combat is very solid and the story/acting is entertaining.  Driving is eh, but still better than driving in GTAIV.

[Eric P]

My other complaint is that I don't feel like I'm playing a game in HK so far.

what

[Bebpo]

I'm saying, nothing about the city feels unique besides the neon signs and driving on the other side of the street.  It just feels like driving around and interacting in any GTA or Saints Row city.  I'm not sure what's missing myself, but there's something about it that lacks what Assassin's Creed, Infamous, or Batman or Yakuza or Shenmue's cities have that differentiate them from those types of cities.  I mean even when I played The Saboteur, driving, walking, climbing around WWII Paris felt far removed from the cities of GTA.  I'm not sure why Sleeping Dogs still feels so much like those GTA cities.  Maybe it's because there's not much to do in them and they just seem like static backgrounds that you pass by as you go from mission spot to mission spot.

Maybe if I could climb up to any rooftop and do my own non-scripted rooftop run and then leap off a rooftop and jump kick a dude a story down or something.  Just give me something besides being able to slide across & melee combat tables to make it feel more unique.

Then again, I'm still early in.  Only around 3 hours now.  Still first city area.  Maybe the city usage gets more interesting as it goes along.

[Eric P]

if it had the ability to make your room oppressively hot and humid to the point where you wanted to die, then it would probably be a bit more accurate.

[chronovore]

Someone here was posting that they played Sleepeh Dawgs while their SO watched, and commented how accurate the feel of HK was to the real deal; not just general, but showing distinct personality in each district and neighborhood.

If it's not working for you 3 hrs in, Bebs, you aren't going to be into it 6 or 15 hours in.

[fistfulofmetal]

bought Halo Reach the other day just cuz. continued my legendary playthrough from last year. I'm at the part where I have to take over a Covenant Corvette and the crew I have to kill is ALL elite. and there's only 1 entry point. i picked up the energy shield and shotgun before the space shooting section so I'm basically FUCKED.

[Positive Touch]

solo legendary playthru of reach = pure ass

that & the "jump off the cliff and assassinate the elite" were the only cheevs i couldnt get iirc. fuck them both

[The Sceneman]

the cliff assassination cheev took me like 4 hours to get. It's horrible

[cool breeze]

The Darkness 2 is rad.  It's a straight forward (kinda mindless) shooter but the feel of everything is brutal.  The shotgun is one of those FEAR/Doom style shotguns.  Also digging the visual style, however you'd classify it.  Heavily stylized with a touch of that cel shaded look (I don't know if the technique is cel shading here).

[Big Barry Jazz]

Dustforce is absolutely kicking my arse but for some reason I can't stop playing. I won't be surprised if it'll be responsible for me killing a controller at some point.

(I don't know if the technique is cel shading here).

I think it's the same thing as Borderlands; stylised textures with thick black lines around everything. Thought it was a bit too easy besides some boss fights, but otherwise it was pretty fun. Vendettas was a good attempt to get multiplayer into the game, unlike that PvP crap they'd clearly had to shoehorn into the first one.

[Verdigris Murder]

I'm playing Torchlight 2 with a dual-wielding pistoleros on hard and its honestly about as much fun as dying a fuck ton, and having to choose between losing gold or not. The loot so far has been shiiiiiiit, and configurations when you want to maybe move some keys around is too complicated, and then the help functions aren't much help.

It's still really moreish though. I'll restart on normal, or maybe use hacks.

[demi]

I finished Binary Domain... not really seeing the hype for this one.

[Freyj]

Seems my capacity for gloriousnippon games is low at the moment. Yet again putting an EO game aside in the middle of the third / fourth stratum due to a Planescape: Torment replay and now finally getting around to playing New Vegas.

Apparently I didn't pull the trigger on any DLC during whatever Steam sale I bought this in. Wish I could just upgrade to the new Ultimate Edition.

[Great Rumbler]

Seems my capacity for gloriousnippon games is low at the moment. Yet again putting an EO game aside in the middle of the third / fourth stratum due to a Planescape: Torment replay and now finally getting around to playing New Vegas.

[archnemesis]

I finished Binary Domain... not really seeing the hype for this one.

Being able to target different body parts depending on the situation and having more interesting characters than most shooters makes it a pretty good game. It's not a masterpiece or anything. Are you a fan of the Yakuza games?

[iconoclast]

The good news: I got 5.2 billion in Futari God Mode (and the western record, tho I don't really care about that).
The bad news: I still died on the final boss.

Now I'll have to beat that score and clear the game to be satisfied...


I'm also 5~ hours into La-Mulana. I won't be surprised if it winds up being my favorite Metroid style game once I'm finished. It's pretty great.

[demi]

I finished Binary Domain... not really seeing the hype for this one.

Being able to target different body parts depending on the situation and having more interesting characters than most shooters makes it a pretty good game. It's not a masterpiece or anything. Are you a fan of the Yakuza games?

I've only played the first Yakuza. I played on Survivor difficulty, and all the enemies were bullet sponges. Honestly the only body part that mattered was the head, since it caused them to shoot the enemies. The AI getting in my way was annoying. The "trust" system was pretty tacked on. Lots of "moving parts" meant frustration when trying to shoot.

Story doesnt go anywhere, and they leave the "twist" for the last 30 minutes of the game. Even then it felt rushed. After the revelation, suddenly everyone is like U LUV ROBOTS EWWWWWWWW and they hate me, and hate my partner. It felt very Japanese, though, with Dan's mannerisms.

[archnemesis]

I played on normal and in many cases it was most effective to shoot robots below the knee cap. It would render them immobile and vulnerable. Headshots are good for distracting enemies and force their attention on other targets than yourself.

[tiesto]

Beat To the Moon. A bit sappy but I liked it a helluva lot better than the other visual novel-esque steam indie game I played, Dear Esther. At least this game's story was coherent and not a disjointed parable about kidney stones.

[tiesto]

Tokyo Jungle OMG OMG OMG this game is fucking AMAZING!!!!!

[iconoclast]

I'm about 75% of the way through La-Mulana and I think I'm going to drop it. I really enjoyed the game for I guess 7-8 hours, but at some point you start getting stronger weapons, items, and abilities that makes combat against the basic enemies completely trivial. So at that point most of the challenge comes from solving a bunch of obtuse puzzles that are far more tedious than fun. I do like the boss battles, but they are few and far between (there are also some minibosses in each area, they're cool too).

I really thought this game was going to be great at first, but now it's just boring me to death.


I finished episode 1 of The Walking Dead too, which was alright. It's kinda like Heavy Rain with better writing. I hope Duck dies though. edit: eh, he doesn't seem so bad in episode 2. I was thinking he'd be even worse than Carl from the TV series.

[The Sceneman]

Getting paid to play Deus Ex tonight 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Playing PID. Pretty nifty.

[The Sceneman]

Got stonewalled on the 5th sector boss in SMT Strange Journey and cant be fucked grinding. Will probably just use the creature codes in the faq and spend my macca on those demons. In the meantime I've just been playing through the final world in Giana Sisters DS. Great game, with some fantastic music:

[Huff]

I finished Binary Domain... not really seeing the hype for this one.

Yeah game sucked. didn't even bother to finish

[Huff]

Starting AC3 after not having played any of the 2 trilogy. This should be interesting

[demi]

Well the only thing linked is Desmond... the entire Connor section has nothing to do with the rest.

[Don Flamenco]

I'm playing Parasite Eve for the first time.  Good shit.

[tiesto]

Beat Radical Dreamers, nice little game that ties together CT and CC a bit more. Great music.

[archnemesis]

I'm playing Parasite Eve for the first time.  Good shit.

It's great. Don't forget to play the less appreciated sequel!

[Don Flamenco]

I'm playing Parasite Eve for the first time.  Good shit.

It's great. Don't forget to play the less appreciated sequel!

I'm actually looking forward to that the most!  I was surprised to find out, after years of seeing "PE2 sucks so bad and it raped my sister," that it's just a RE clone with RPG elements...which sounds fucking awesome to me.

[archnemesis]

It is a really good game, but I understand if people who expected a turn-based RPG ended up being disappointed.

[Big Barry Jazz]

It took a ridiculous amount of time and ruined a thumbstick, but I finally got that damn dustforce achievement. Also started playing Rage. It must have some of the best presentation I've yet seen in a game, accompanied by some tragically dull gameplay. I wish I could comment on the multiplayer but it looks like no one plays it. I've put up with worse so I'll probably play it to the end, but it feels like there was a chance it could have been a classic but id fluffed it.

[Purple Filth]

Played some Bulletstorm and it was alright.

Serrano was  all the way through

[Bebpo]

Got to the 2nd city (Central) in Sleeping Dogs.  About 6-7 hours in now and really enjoying the game.  It's not very creative as everything is just pulled from other games.  But by taking fun/good ideas from a bunch of other games and mixing them all together into a good controlling, good looking GTA game with competent writing and actually likeable characters...success!  This is definitely getting up there with Saints Row 3 and Assassin's Creed 2 as the best sandbox games.

[chronovore]

In fairness, much of what is "borrowed" in Sleeping Dogs is being put there by people who put it into other games. There are peeps at UFG from EA's Godfather series, and a wealth of people who worked on BULLY.

At worst, it's like complaining that the tech design in a recent movie looks great but too similar to earlier movies, when the same concept crew was working on them.

[cool breeze]

I downloaded RE5 Gold Edition to play the DLC since it's "free" for PS Plus members.  I couldn't find either of the DLC episodes in the menus, so I look it up online.  You gotta finish the game to unlock them 

 

 
 

And it's saved locked, so I can't just download one with 

[The Sceneman]

I'm playing Deus Ex as I was employed to get some gameplay footage for an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand.

Pretty funny game and enjoyable too, although a little dated by todays standards. I imagine this shit would have been pretty revolutionary back in 2000 though

[Great Rumbler]

I'm playing Deus Ex as I was employed to get some gameplay footage for an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand.

Pretty funny game and enjoyable too, although a little dated by todays standards. I imagine this shit would have been pretty revolutionary back in 2000 though

[Bebpo]

In fairness, much of what is "borrowed" in Sleeping Dogs is being put there by people who put it into other games. There are peeps at UFG from EA's Godfather series, and a wealth of people who worked on BULLY.

At worst, it's like complaining that the tech design in a recent movie looks great but too similar to earlier movies, when the same concept crew was working on them.

I don't think we're thinking of the same thing here

To me:
The melee combat is taken from the Yakuza/RGG game.  Especially when it comes to environmental kills out of grab holds.
The jump hijack cars is taken from the Just Cause games.
The gun combat (slow motion dive shooting) is taken from Max Payne/Stranglehold
The running and sliding over tables, jumping over things is taken from Stranglehold
The chases are a mix of Assassin's Creed, Stranglehold, and Mirror's Edge
The story is a mix of GTA x Yakuza

They're all good systems and putting them all together into one game makes for a very fun title.  It's just that I can't think of a single original thing in the entire game that it brings to the sandbox gta genre besides setting. 

[chronovore]

Well, actually BULLY had environment finishers from grabs, from trash can stuffing to toilet swirlies. I guess if it was in the first RGG, which wiki shows as 2005, it's possible that BULLY crammed them in at the last minute, but it seems more likely a concurrent choice.

You're egregiously overselling the on-foot chase sequences in Sleeping Dogs; they have nowhere near the navigational complexity of Mirror's Edge, or even AC.

Max Payne is a maybe... but, again, British Columbian developer; it would not surprise me if some of Remedy's guys made it to UFG.

My point wasn't that any of it was original, but that the people who had brought the good stuff to earlier games are at UFG bringing good stuff to Sleeping Dogs.

[Don Flamenco]

I downloaded RE5 Gold Edition to play the DLC since it's "free" for PS Plus members.  I couldn't find either of the DLC episodes in the menus, so I look it up online.  You gotta finish the game to unlock them 

 

 
 

And it's saved locked, so I can't just download one with 

Same with mercenaries.  pretty rough stuff....er, i guess it wouldn't be too rough if the bonus content/dlc wasn't so much better than the main game.

[Joe Molotov]

Played a bit of Prototype 2. Seems pretty cool so far; flying around, climbing buildings, eating people and stuff.

[Don Flamenco]

been trying to resist buying a Vita of all things.  wouldn't mind a PS1+PSP+UMVC3 machine...but i already own one called a PS3.  and I wouldn't take it anywhere except on the one vacation I go on a year.  this makes no sense.

[archnemesis]

The Vita lacks unique games, but otherwise it's a pretty cool device. Games like WipEout, Lumines, and Hot Shots Golf are great, but also very similar to their predecessors.

[Don Flamenco]

looks like Bestbuy has a $199 bundle with BLOPS2, which probably means everyone else will have bundles at that price also.  would rather get that instead of a used one with nothing (so I can sell the extras.)   

it'll be nice on the vacation I guess!

[demi]

Vita is a waste of money. It will go cheaper.

[ferrarimanf355]

I'm strangely addicted to Need for Speed World. It's the only free-to-play game I play regularly.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Vita is a waste of money. It will go cheaper.

Yep, just wait until it goes on a fire sale for < $100 next year.  The writing is on the wall for this turkey.

[cool breeze]

I downloaded RE5 Gold Edition to play the DLC since it's "free" for PS Plus members.  I couldn't find either of the DLC episodes in the menus, so I look it up online.  You gotta finish the game to unlock them 

 

 
 

And it's saved locked, so I can't just download one with 

Same with mercenaries.  pretty rough stuff....er, i guess it wouldn't be too rough if the bonus content/dlc wasn't so much better than the main game.

yeah, that's what bugs me.

It's this backwards Japanese way of handling unlocks.  Hard mode? beat the game! super hard mode? beat the game on hard mode! Unrelated DLC? beat the game! costumes?! beat the game four times!  At least learn from Rock Band and unlock everything at the cost of achievements or w/e.

[Don Flamenco]

unlocking difficulties is very annoying.  I guess unlockables in general are a case-by-case basis...RE5 being a bad one. 


played Metal Gear 1 MSX last night for a couple hours...this holds up pretty well.  Very playable without a FAQ up until this one part where you had to have found an item behind an unmarked secret wall in an area you last visit about a half hour before you need the item.   

it sounds like Metal Gear 2 is even better, excite