What are you playing?

[Positive Touch]

So I know Mass Effect 3 sucks, but I want to play it anyhow and it's the right price I'm willing to pay for it now at Origin.  Do I go for the standard version at $15 or the Deluxe one at $20?  Are the "From the Ashes" DLC & Mechadog companion worth $5?

if you like the series and enjoy the setting, then yeah go for it. the dlc character is one of my favorites from the series.

[fistfulofmetal]

I would almost argue that if you like the series and enjoy the setting, ME3 is not the game for you. Considering it goes to great lengths in poisoning the entire world.

[AdmiralViscen]

Mark of the Ninja is awesome

[AdmiralViscen]

So I know Mass Effect 3 sucks, but I want to play it anyhow and it's the right price I'm willing to pay for it now at Origin.  Do I go for the standard version at $15 or the Deluxe one at $20?  Are the "From the Ashes" DLC & Mechadog companion worth $5?

This game is not just bad, it shits on the others, like the star wars prequels. However any redeeming value in the stock package comes from From Ashes. I'd say you should buy Leviathon too if you are going to bother at all.

[Joe Molotov]

You need "From Ashes", Bebpo. Bioware straight ripped that shit out of the game and sold it as DLC, and then tried to be all coy about it like "Oh but you don't have to buy the DLC, it's just something nice for the fans, it's not essential to the game which is why we sold it as DLC" which is flat out bullshit as you will see if/when you buy it.

[The Sceneman]

and it added extra achievements at launch, which is a kick in the pants for us completionists.

Theres lots of free multiplayer DLC and the multiplayer is very cool and worth getting into.

[The Sceneman]

6 hours into FFXIII-2 and so far: FFXIII-2 > Radiant Historia (as far as I can tell the central narrative conceit is the same)

I am starting to hate the moogle though.

Looking forward to riding the crazy chocobo rodeo

[fistfulofmetal]

You need "From Ashes", Bebpo. Bioware straight ripped that shit out of the game and sold it as DLC, and then tried to be all coy about it like "Oh but you don't have to buy the DLC, it's just something nice for the fans, it's not essential to the game which is why we sold it as DLC" which is flat out bullshit as you will see if/when you buy it.

I've decided that I will not be suckered into that bullshit and haven't touched any of the ME3 DLC and I won't. They will not get any of my money going forward.

[fistfulofmetal]

Lego Lord of the Rings it a totally competent game.

Makes me sad there has never been a truly good single player LOTR action RPG game...

[demi]

Deadlight is sweet as fuck. At least my first 15 minutes are sweet as fuck.

[Positive Touch]

I would almost argue that if you like the series and enjoy the setting, ME3 is not the game for you. Considering it goes to great lengths in poisoning the entire world.

This game is not just bad, it shits on the others, like the star wars prequels. However any redeeming value in the stock package comes from From Ashes. I'd say you should buy Leviathon too if you are going to bother at all.

you guys take your nerd shit waaaay too seriously

[Great Rumbler]

ME3's ending did pretty much kill any interest I had in playing any DLC stuff.

[Joe Molotov]

Deadlight is sweet as fuck. At least my first 15 minutes are sweet as fuck.

Deadlight was pretty cool, but the story and the writing were lol. And you can beat it in about 3 hours, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Freyj]

6 hours into FFXIII-2 and so far: FFXIII-2 > Radiant Historia (as far as I can tell the central narrative conceit is the same)

I am starting to hate the moogle though.

Looking forward to riding the crazy chocobo rodeo

I really enjoyed XIII-2 far more than I thought I would. I think after being decidedly put off by Final Fantasy with XIII and waiting until XIII-2 was cheap enough that I didn't give much of a fuck, I was pleasantly surprised. There's a degree of freedom with how you make your way through the timeline and I enjoyed that a lot.

Historia was good, but I had too many people telling me how good it was and the gameplay never fully clicked with me. The strategic aspect of it got really samey after a few hours.

[Himu]

Sounds good.

Surprised you're down for so much exploration and side content. That's more my type of game. You're more of a contained game environment sorta guy. While past Yakuza's had exploration, they didn't have so much  you could practically drown in it like say Skyrim.

[iconoclast]

Speaking of Christmas miracles, I just beat my Lei score in Death Smiles II:




Ranked #3 with Casper now and #5 overall

[chronovore]

Mark of the Ninja is awesome

Hell yes. I gotta get back to that game.

Lego Lord of the Rings it a totally competent game.

Makes me sad there has never been a truly good single player LOTR action RPG game...

Isn't it just like all the other Lego games? Or are they doing something different with it this time?

[fistfulofmetal]

It follows the events of the movies and has actual voice acting from them. Gameplay wise it probably does a lot of the same but you're going through events of the movie.

[Don Flamenco]

Speaking of Christmas miracles, I just beat my Lei score in Death Smiles II:




Ranked #3 with Casper now and #5 overall
(Image removed from quote.)

icono, you are a beast.  are you just naturally amazing at games or do you practice a lot?! 

[Joe Molotov]

It follows the events of the movies and has actual voice acting from them. Gameplay wise it probably does a lot of the same but you're going through events of the movie.

On the other hand, Lego Batman 2 has this:



Basically a lot of nerd boner material to be had in either title.

[Sho Nuff]

What the FUCK that looks god damned amazing

[Momo]

Holy shit that looks great

[Don Flamenco]

i booted up Tomb Raider 1 for PC, the original.  Obviously ugly as shit, but it still plays great...after a few minutes of "LOL PS1 3d platformer on a keyboard," I actually got the controls down smooth.  Lack of things to shoot popping out every 5 minutes is refreshing.  It's just you, the tombs, Ebony+Ivory, and some animals that are really bad at fighting. 

[demi]

I made some good progress so far. I need to go on Vacaction more often.

- 1000 Black Ops 2
- Need to finish Spartan Ops / misc. achievements for Halo 4 for 1000
- 1000 Sleeping Dogs
- 400 Deadlight
- 3/4 done wit Paper Mario Sticker Star
- Decided to start Far Cry 3, which I should have just picked an older game but fuck it

[iconoclast]

icono, you are a beast.  are you just naturally amazing at games or do you practice a lot?!

  I am not that great. There are people who are way better than me in every game, but I like variety so I tend to bounce around.

But I dunno, I don't think I practice a whole lot on average (at least compared to some people). It just depends on how motivated I am; if I don't really care, I might only play for an hour or two each day (or not at all), but when I get obsessed with something I can sink nearly all of my free time into it.

[Raban]

Merry Christmas, me

[Bebpo]

How's the DLC for Arkham City?  I bought the standard game on Origin last year, still haven't played it.  Now it's $7.50 on Steam w/all DLC.  If the DLC is good, I should probably just get that so I'll have the complete experience when I do play it hopefully soonish.

[demi]

Licks butt

[AdmiralViscen]

Lego LOTR is a full on open world game with a party of characters that can equip shit.

I would almost argue that if you like the series and enjoy the setting, ME3 is not the game for you. Considering it goes to great lengths in poisoning the entire world.

This game is not just bad, it shits on the others, like the star wars prequels. However any redeeming value in the stock package comes from From Ashes. I'd say you should buy Leviathon too if you are going to bother at all.

you guys take your nerd shit waaaay too seriously

I didn't like the gameplay either, but he was asking about the relevence of DLC. I can answer a question seriously without taking the topic too seriously.

[Himu]

Sims 3 Supernatural and Seasons own fucking hard

goddamn

i made a vegan werewolf, a gay fairy, a sadistic wizard girl, an evil ghost who hates children (this will be fun), and a punker vampire slob.

[Powerslave]

Finished playing Lego Batman 2 on the PSV. It's a really nice game, keeps you playing. And because I'm a grinder, it was a joy to collect studs and buy upgrades.  The crapload of characters are mostly unnecessary but there are quite a few nice ones inbetween. Graphics are really nice, it's like playing a PS3 game. Oh and I LOVE the humour in this game, it's absolutely killing me.

[Huff]

Are the lego games actually good? I've always dismissed them as kiddy garbage

[Powerslave]

I immediately liked them at first try a few years back on the PS3. First of all, it looks really cool and has pretty graphics. The way the levels are set up is simply fun, and it's awesome that you need different power-ups to advance further, this can be even more fun when you play co-op. You're dependant on each other. You always play with 2 characters (even in single player mode), they complement each other. Though I don't know if all Lego games are like this.
 
The game focuses a lot on the puzzling aspect and finding ways to reach or break open extra passages. Although it is a little bit simplistic, that doesn't take away from the fun and certainly doesn't feel too easy. I just wished it would be a bit more difficult. I wish the overall game required a little more thought, as in it would be great if there were really hard to find hidden passages and stuff. Most of it is straight forward. But again, there are quite a few of them which are indeed a bit hard to figure out.
I'm basically wishing they would make these games also for an older age demographic.

All in all, they're definitely worth playing, and I'll gladly play more of these games.

[iconoclast]

I've been playing Technika Tune and Super Mario 3D Land over the last few days.

Technika is fantastic; my Vita purchase is now 100% justified. My wrist starts to hurt after playing for a while though. It uses the back touch pad for certain notes, so you have to hold the system a little awkwardly in order to hit both screens simultaneously. It's fun though.

Mario is pretty fun too. I'm up to world 4 I think, collecting most of the special coins along the way. The levels are short, but I think it suits the game if you only want to play in short bursts. I think that's what killed my enjoyment of the Galaxy games - they were fun at first, but I got bored after an hour or two each time and eventually lost interest. With 3D Land, it's easier to play one or two levels at a time and put the system to sleep.

[benjipwns]

I thought the first two LEGO Star Wars games were clever enough with the puzzles and pretty good. Not really complex or difficult but fun and good usage of the source material in the levels and cutscenes. What I played of Indiana Jones and the first Batman seemed kinda formulaic and that they were just churning them out souring interest a little. But I hear the recent games add a bit more new stuff and improve the old mechanics.

For the five bucks or so I thought the Star Wars Complete Saga was a pretty good time, fun little romp and collect-a-thon through the Star Wars movies. Superman video is making me think I'll have to pick up Batman 2.

PC versions are pretty good too. 360 pad support, etc.

[Van Cruncheon]

i enjoyed playing the lego harry potter games with the brat. oscar pretty much nailed it.

[benjipwns]

They're quite well paced in terms of how you're always getting a new unlock or close to some higher level goal than just romping through the levels to the end. (Similar to that Mature product that's made billions for Activision.) And I like how when you go back into the stages they expand outwards from the original level based on what new characters you have and the new abilities they bring in.

[treythemovie]

Is supreme commander 2 (or 1?) worth about 7 dollars?

[Himu]

The Sims 3

[chronovore]

I thought the first two LEGO Star Wars games were clever enough with the puzzles and pretty good. Not really complex or difficult but fun and good usage of the source material in the levels and cutscenes. What I played of Indiana Jones and the first Batman seemed kinda formulaic and that they were just churning them out souring interest a little. But I hear the recent games add a bit more new stuff and improve the old mechanics.

For the five bucks or so I thought the Star Wars Complete Saga was a pretty good time, fun little romp and collect-a-thon through the Star Wars movies. Superman video is making me think I'll have to pick up Batman 2.

PC versions are pretty good too. 360 pad support, etc.

i enjoyed playing the lego harry potter games with the brat. oscar pretty much nailed it.

I've played the Star Wars ones separately, and again with the Complete Saga edition, which is to say I've played WAY TOO MUCH OF IT. And I'm probably just a couple hours short of finishing Complete Saga to 1000/1000. There is a major flaw in the local co-op camera, where one player would move, dragging the camera with it, and it could push/pull the other player as the camera dragged to follow the moving player. In a game where players are cooperating, this rarely crops up; when playing with a 6 or 7 year old, it crops up ALL THE TIME. The Lego Harry Potter games solve this by initiating a split-screen when the player characters sufficiently separate.

The first Lego Batman game is pretty fun, but doesn't feel tremendously different than the Star Wars games. The Lego Indiana Jones demo felt just like the LSW games, so I passed. I am pretty curious about Lego Batman 2: DC Heroes' open-world aspects though.

And now I'm curious about the LotR game... 

How's the DLC for Arkham City?  I bought the standard game on Origin last year, still haven't played it.  Now it's $7.50 on Steam w/all DLC.  If the DLC is good, I should probably just get that so I'll have the complete experience when I do play it hopefully soonish.

The Catwoman DLC is a lot of fun. The additional, mid-game missions are good, she has a different movement method, and it's fun to watch her move around the screen.

The Harley Quinn stuff is new content, new maps, new powers, and that's pretty neat -- but it's short! Probably only an extra hour of gameplay.

The other stuff is costumes and Predator/Combat trials with Robin and Nightwing, isn't it?

[Himu]

Uncharted 1 is average and forgettable beyond graphics. Uncharted 2 is one if the best games of the generation. Shame you can't play the multi since it is prolly dead now but uncha 3 multi should still be kicking.

[demi]

Uncha multi blows goats, he's good

[Himu]

Uncha multi blows goats, he's good

No it owns. Pistols and nades sniper rifles only

[SantaC]

playing Tales of Legendia and since I had no expectations I actually found it fun. I thought the game was total garbage after all.

[Bebpo]

Uncharted 2 multi with himuro, y2kev and duckroll was really fun back in the day.  Never really tried U3 multi since the SP pissed me off so much.

[The Sceneman]

I'm about 2/3'rds the way through FFXIII-2 now. The story is getting pretty good but man is it easy to over-level in this game (or the game is just easy?) I'm 5 starring boss fights with no trouble and I didn't grind or anything. Hm. I'm looking forward to the post game and collecting all dem Fragments.

Also playing this has spoiled the whole FFXIII story for me so I may just skip playing that and wait for Lightning Returns.

[fistfulofmetal]

I started up Skyrim: Dongguard

i forgot i had installed like a bajillion mods last time I played so the game was kind of royally fucked. took about an hour to fully remove all the junk i put in.

then i proceeded to install a bunch of NEW mods!

and I forgotten how awkward Skyrim is. the vampire stuff is just really weird to play since its in 3rd person. i dont see a reason why i cant toggle 1st person for it. i dont care about your stupid new character model.

seems OK. Skyrim lost its charm when i ran out of things to discover.

[treythemovie]

playing Tales of Legendia and since I had no expectations I actually found it fun. I thought the game was total garbage after all.

It doesn't end very well though the character stories are great. Have you gotten to the part where they forgot to localize half the game?

[Don Flamenco]

I'm about 2/3'rds the way through FFXIII-2 now. The story is getting pretty good but man is it easy to over-level in this game (or the game is just easy?) I'm 5 starring boss fights with no trouble and I didn't grind or anything. Hm. I'm looking forward to the post game and collecting all dem Fragments.

Also playing this has spoiled the whole FFXIII story for me so I may just skip playing that and wait for Lightning Returns.

I hear taking the monster out of your party increases the difficulty a bit?   but yeah, that was my big problem with the game...incredibly easy to over level. 

[Powerslave]

I bought the Spyro the Dragon Trilogy from the PSN store. Currently going through part 2. I am a big fan of the first game and played it several times but never got around to play the sequels. First thing I notice is the descrease in level design quality. Whereas in the original the levels were wide and open, the sequel feels way too claustrophobic. I wouldn't be surprised if a few members of the team who worked on the original weren't part of this game. The tone is a bit off, not quite as a fun setting as the first one.

[demi]

No need to be prepared. Just get Chichu.

[Shaka Khan]

I just finished playing 999 and VLR back to back. What a wacky ride that's full of fuck.

I'm now trying to decide what backlogged game to play next, I might need recommendations...

DS/3DS:
- Radiant Historia
- Kirby Mass Attack
- Devil Survivor Overclocked
- (Continue) KH3D
- (Continue) Kid Icarus

PSP/Vita:
- Uncharted GA
- Jet Set Radio
- Retro City Rampage
- Hexyz Force
- Persona 1
- Persona 2 IS
- Persona 3 P (or should I experience it as FES later on PS3?)
- Dissidia Dyodummik
- Legend of Heroes
- Ys 7

My criteria are: accessing the FUN parts fast (I don't feel like waiting 40 hours), and it should be a game that doesn't overstay its welcome.

[demi]

FES is crap. Just play the Persona in order. P3P also lets you control each character like 4. Superior game.


I'm playing KH3D, play with me~

[Shaka Khan]

Yeah, continuing KH3D seems to be the safest choice.

[iconoclast]

The only time you get to control your character in P3P is in the dungeons; the entire city got cut and replaced with images to fit the game onto a UMD. If that doesn't bother you, then go with P3P. "The Answer" portion of P3 FES is complete garbage anyway, so you're probably better off skipping it.

[Purple Filth]

Playing Arkham Asylum and its such a good game.

And it might be relatively simple but i love that damn combat system.

[chronovore]

I grew to love it over the course of Arkham City; I played through all of Asylum as a button masher. I am looking forward to replaying Asylum now that I can Gold Medal the combat challenges.

[Don Flamenco]

My criteria are: accessing the FUN parts fast (I don't feel like waiting 40 hours), and it should be a game that doesn't overstay its welcome.

Persona 3 + 4 pick up pretty fast.  4 has an hour + 30 before you get full control but it goes by fast.  P1 + P2 are slower to get going. 

but all 4 are long as shit.  i tend to drop them around 30 hours or so.  but it's a good 30 hours.

[demi]

1 and 2 are short compared to the filler filled padded dating sims that is 3 and 4

[demi]

Better games too