What are you playing?

[archie4208]

I beat Metal Gear Solid 2

[magus]

I beat Metal Gear Solid 2

[magus]

i've been dicking even more with retro achievements some more and got to over >2000 and this is what i got so far

Megaman 3 - not as good as 2, lot of weapons that just shoot straights, music is not as cool, easier (i guess that also means less frustating) to boot, top man is stupid

Castlevania - i always had an hard time playing this, the control are sooooooo awfull, even without mentioning the fact that you can't change your jump direction mid-air, swinging your whip takes forever and it's not uncommon to be hit by the very enemy you are trying to hit, everytime i tried playing this i always got stuck at the stage 3 but this time i decided to soldier on FOR THE GAMERSCORE and somehow reached stage 5...

...then the game crashed

1942 - i tought playing a score-based shooter made from capcom would be fun with achievements involved but this is so fucking boring, i know this was an arcade port but even the original looks boring

Super Mario World - still the best super mario game, for me it's all the secret entrance that really make it good, some of them are just so well hidden like the one that's actualy behind another exit which you have to dodge by flying below it or the one in the ghost house where the game trick you by having 2 rooms that look the same but are actualy different, some of the later stages are also harder than what i remember and of course the music is so catchy

[Cindi Mayweather]

Mega man 3 has better music, is harder, and is better than Mega man 2. I like 2 more tho.

[Atramental]

FINALLY playing Dark Souls after not having the time to actually sit down and play a game for about 2 years.

And seeing how limited (or rather sporadic) my free time is nowadays I think I might get myself a 2DS just so that I can play on the go or while waiting for someone to get back to me on a work related task via email.

[brob]

Mega man 3 has better music, is harder, and is better than Mega man 2. I like 2 more tho.

There is also an awkward momentum to the controls in Megaman 1 and 2 that was removed (read: fixed) in 3 and onwards. So generally I prefer to play 3 than 2 almost for that alone.

[Cindi Mayweather]

The slide alone makes 3 better than 2. It completely transforms boss fights and makes them far more palpable and interesting to fight since you have more options.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

3 is the perfect Mega Man. Awesome levels and bosses, perfect music,  improved jump physics, slide and no dumb charge attack.

[cool breeze]

Yakuza 3 / 4 / 5 demo ( ).  These game might be repetitive on their own but felt so fresh and enjoyable as something different from most modern games (as if games from 5/4 years ago are modern)

Yakuza 3
first off, why is the battle camera stuck on Kazuma's ass? every other game in the series gives you a wider view of the battle without having to manage the camera.  anyway, the orphanage stuff was surprisingly entertaining but I can see how new players might be turned off.  It was one part seeing Kazuma in a peaceful situation and knowing that shit will start happening soon enough.  It does a decent enough job with the prologue telling you that shit will happen and it's all connected before you spend hours dealing with the kids.  The only bummer is that it all felt a bit too saccharine and I was hoping it would be more kindergarten cop or GTO with Kazuma treating the orphanage like the mafia.  really not much to say about the actual game since it's more Yakuza 2.  uh, QTEs are obnoxious and have no rhythm.  the story is nuts and on its own didn't seem to matter, but parts of it continue into yakuza 4 (in some weird ways).

Yakuza 4
the battle camera is pulled back! the leveling up system is changed for the better! playing this new Akiyama dude...yakuza 4 felt like it took longer to have its hook than yakuza 3.  first few hours were about a new character, dealing with other new characters, dealing with a mysterious new woman character, etc.  there's a cutscene linking some events to the tojo clan but most of it is intrigue about Arai or Lily or Akiyama himself.  thumbs up for making a cross dressing bar integral to the storyline? things eventually come together (not really, the story is confusing) with the other characters.  I liked how each character had their own section, perspective, and unique fighting style.  And they did a great job making each fighting style feel different.  Akiyama and Tanimura are both too cool for school characters and that can be annoying.  And talking more about the characters and story will get into spoilers, so

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Akiyama's section ends by introducing another intrigue thread with Majima, then you immediately cut to Saejima's section.  Saejima is voiced by the same guy who voices Takamura in Hajime no Ippo, so I liked him.  His fighting style takes some time to get used to with all the charging but when you do he might be the strongest in the game.  Hamazaki (who was arrested for stabbing kazuma?) makes you do a weird fetch quest, you escape prison, there's a weird bit with Haruka, fight Kazuma, you go to Kamurocho, stuff happens, you fight Majima.  So, a dude cuts out Majima's eye and what? eventually he's let go and Majima never takes revenge? we've seen Majima through three games by now and he's more than a little unhinged.  The game does this a lot.  Scenes start or end abruptly and don't make sense.  Now you're with Tanimura and his broken L1 counter.  The plot seems to be coming together at this point.  You (think you) learn about all the big bad guys.  Tanimura's section ends with an old guy inexplicably killing himself instead of like testifying against Munakata or running away or something.

Finally, you play as Kazuma!! why? what's his role in this game? he's an outsider in this story.  jumping ahead, his final boss is Daigo, and the conversation goes something like--

Kazuma:  Daigo, I'll punch some sense into you.
Daigo: Kazuma, I appreciate the opportunity to fight again.
Kazuma: STRIP!

jumping back.  somehow Hamazaki is alive.  Kazuma and Yasuko go to Kamurocho.  Date is tending to New Serena (so they can avoid answering whether or not Date married the owner?).  Kazuma sees Majima getting arrested ().  Kazuma kicks Tanimura and Akiyama around (awesome).  Everyone meets up top of Kamurocho Hills and Kido is a double spy or something.  Saejima smacks Katsuragi around but leaves this gun next to him and Yasuko get shot.  Oh, and rubber bullets so Saejima isn't a killer wtf.

The final section has all four characters meet up.  There's only a single side mission of interaction involving a baby.  Everyone marches towards millennium tower and shit happens.  Akiyama vs Arai? makes sense.  Tanimura vs Munakata? makes sense.  Kazuma vs Daigo? uh.  Saejima vs Kido? why.  Everyone wins.  They leave a gun next to the bad guy, he shoots Akiyama in the fat stacks.  they still leave the gun next to the bad guy and he does himself in.  I don't know.  In the epilogue Date is back with the police, Saejima is given his own mafia family, Majima is out of jail, and it feels like it's implied that Kazuma would come back to the Tojo.

I really enjoyed it.  I think Kazuma's section should've been restricted to Okinawa.  Majima should've been saved for Saejima's last boss.  Story could've been simplified where Arai defects to Tojo and takes it upon himself to save the clan.

[close]

Yakuza 5 demo
Assumptions based on the trailer.  If anyone played it, feel free to provide semi-spoilery answers because I don't think this game is ever coming out here.  About the gameplay, it largely still more of the same, now with quicker transitions into battle.  And Virtua Fighter in the arcades 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

-Kazuma is a taxi driver in Osaka (looks like it's the same bridge from 2)? he's not part of Tojo or the orphanage?
-Haruka is an idol on TV and people were talking shit about her at the restaurant?
-Saejima shaved his head and is still in jail? uh
 

[close]

[Rahxephon91]

So what you're saying is there is a chance Yakuza 5 is coming to America.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Don't care about 5 so much. What about Ishin?

[Huff]

Are you saying that atlus usa rumor has some merit?

because didnt you say thatd be a dumb idea

[fistfulofmetal]

started playing 10000000 on my phone


hand held gaming is not dead

[Mr. Gundam]

RGG5 isn't terrible, but isn't anything new. The cutscenes are LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG.

I sure did.

It probably still is a dumb business move, but hey, the miniscule fanbase would be thrilled.

As long as they buy it. At full price. And not just bitch and moan and refuse to buy it for some stupid ass reason.

And if they are going to localize RGG5, I can't see Ishin coming until after 5 is finished and released.

[cool breeze]

yeah, yakuza 5 is one of the only games I'd buy at full price if it came out at retail.  that and drakengard 3, which is only sold on the square enix website or something like that.  I enjoy the yakuza games enough that more of the same is still entertaining.  If anything I wish they'd pull away from Kazuma and Tojo.  how can the same shit happen to the same guy five times?

[Cindi Mayweather]

Drakengard 3 is being sold at gamestop iirc

It's a Xenoblade like dealio.

[tiesto]

I beat Tearaway the other day... got all the trophies except no-miss clears on "Between The Pages" and "The Tear". Didn't want to deal with the imprecise platforming crossed with long levels... The game did have a really awesome and clever ending. Even though the core 3D platforming mechanic was beguiled with problems, and the game was the definition of 'gimmicky', it's full of charm and definitely original; 2 things that do count for a lot for me.

[Rahxephon91]

I don't believe Drakengard 3 is being sold at Gamestop. Nothing has indicated it would be. All the videos say otherwise. I'll get it, but I do believe the game looks pretty bad.

I'd also buy Yakuza 5 in English. I already have the Japanese release, but obviously it would be easier to play in English.

[StealthFan]

I don't believe Drakengard 3 is being sold at Gamestop. Nothing has indicated it would be. All the videos say otherwise. I'll get it, but I do believe the game looks pretty bad.

I'd also buy Yakuza 5 in English. I already have the Japanese release, but obviously it would be easier to play in English.

[The Sceneman]

so funnily enough I've been playing more or less nothing but Dead Island. Its actually a really great game. It's janky, highly derivative and humourless, but it's very satisfying to play and brings a few new ideas to the games it's based on.

[Rahxephon91]

I don't believe Drakengard 3 is being sold at Gamestop. Nothing has indicated it would be. All the videos say otherwise. I'll get it, but I do believe the game looks pretty bad.

I'd also buy Yakuza 5 in English. I already have the Japanese release, but obviously it would be easier to play in English.

What?

Is it the fact that I'd buy a game that I think looks bad? I'm not going to miss a Drakengard game. I love the first two games.

Is it the fact that I said the game looks bad, because well it does. From the stupid look character to the bad graphics that can't even run well. The entire game sounds questionable.

[CatsCatsCats]

Nabbed Dead Island while its still free, seems pretty fun!

[Fifstar]

Civ 5 is so crazy. 4 hours gone like it's nothing. Compared with sometthing like Crysis where I have to force myself to play for more than 30 minutes (and I kinda like Crysis).

[Yulwei]

whole lot of right now ITT

MGS3 trip report: still awesome. this game has some of my favorite boss fights ever. I am taking it veeery slow cause I don't want it to end

fixed camera haters annihilated. Have you gotten to fight The End, yet? Seriously one of the greatest video game bosses of all time.

sorry for late reply but Yup! That ladder section 

[The Sceneman]

There's a lot of fun to be had with it, especially early on. But it's too repetitive for it's own good.

yeah it's pretty repetitive alright, but as soon as a sweet weapon drops it's always exciting to go and pimp it out and see how much better you can waste zombies with it. I shelled out for the Bloodbath Arena DLC because why not. It's arena DLC, but the arenas are pretty interesting and challenging, and you can get some great loot.

[Beezy]

Civ 5 is so crazy. 4 hours gone like it's nothing. Compared with sometthing like Crysis where I have to force myself to play for more than 30 minutes (and I kinda like Crysis).

I'm honestly afraid to install it.

[StealthFan]

Shadow Of Rome

The first chapter tho Too much of Octavianus. I'm moving up the gladiator ladder now tho in Chapter 2.

[Bebpo]

You know, I like FFXIII-2 outside of the bits with shitty encounter rates.  I don't care about the nonsense plot, but the music and art's good, the battles are quick and fun and time traveling through the areas unlocking new locations and finding hidden treasures is good fun.  But since I went back to the game there's already been a couple of areas where the encounter rates are like every-10-steps the-worst-of-old-school style and those are pretty tedious to get through.  Also the framerate is lolz, but that lol + story lol = just relax and take it all in stride.

[Fifstar]

Civ 5 is so crazy. 4 hours gone like it's nothing. Compared with sometthing like Crysis where I have to force myself to play for more than 30 minutes (and I kinda like Crysis).

Yep. The crazy thing is that the first like hour of ecery game is shit but then you hit the medieval era and it just gets so fucking interesting, especially with Gods and Kings or BNW going. The worst feeling is playing a game and scouting around for future power moves only to realize there arent good options that give you a combination of luxury/strategic resources and food. The worst. WORST.

It's my first Civ game since 2. Beginning felt similar to the old games, but the deeper I get into the game the more new mechanics come up and it's a bit overwhelming but superinteresting at the same time. I'm on my first game and just got the abilitiy to cross the ocean and so many more possibilities appear. My starting position was on a small continent with no other nations, just two city states so now that I have contact with other nations it feels like the game is starting a second time. Also, I did so many things ineffectively, I'm already thinking about how I will play the next one differently.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Heavy Rain is such garbage jesus. Problem with trying to be so realistic in graphics is that everything else that isnt done well stands out, plot, gameplay, controls. All these pointless QTE things you have to do ugh ugh ugh. Game would have been better of with just some normal puzzles.

Had to stop playing and am going to try my luck in Demon Souls.

Games I recently finished:
DMC - very fun, last bossfight was a bit stupid though, best boss was the succubus
Skulls of the Shogun - good, but frustratring controls on the phone, could have used a bit more thought out scenarios cause I breezed through it
Badlands ´- nice iOS title that has a good flow to it, good for short bursts

[chronovore]

Monaco: pretty tight. It's like Pac-Man, redesigned for replay-ability and multiplayer, with a plot.

Skulls of the Shogun - good, but frustratring controls on the phone, could have used a bit more thought out scenarios cause I breezed through it

I found Skulls is pretty hard to finesse; did you manage to complete the scenarios without losing troops? How about collecting golden skulls by fulfilling win conditions? If not, you're playing on Easy, then complaining about it being too easy.

[Cindi Mayweather]

Now playing FFVII, Jak 2, and Spelunky.

Jak 2 still got it. I don't. My skills are paltry compared to when I first played this game. What happened to me?

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Monaco's co-op is fanfuckingtastic.

[Bebpo]

FFXIII-2 is surprisingly a cool game.  It's just so gameplay focused with dozens of optional areas and sidequests and hidden stuff.  Academia 400 is SO GODDAMN AWFUL and wastes a good 3 hours of your life, but otherwise I'm digging this a lot more than I thought.  Makes me kind of excited for playing Lightning Returns assuming it's just as gameplay-orientated.  Almost at the end of the XIII-2 main story, so planning on getting to the final boss then going area by area and finding all the secrets that I missed first time around before watching the ending.

[demi]

You have to beat the game once to get all the fragments, afaik.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Started to play Demon Souls, before I knew it it was three hours later.  So far Im liking the structure more then Dark Souls.

Played some Dungeon Hunter 4 too, the iap doesnt slap you in the face until you have to use potions.... which can cost real money hmmmm. Boss fight around an hour in seems to beg you to spend some cash too (warmages).

I found Skulls is pretty hard to finesse; did you manage to complete the scenarios without losing troops? How about collecting golden skulls by fulfilling win conditions? If not, you're playing on Easy, then complaining about it being too easy.

Got quite a few golden skulls yeah. Dont get me wrong the game is nice and funny and scratches that tactical itch. I like the different monks etc.  Just felt there could be a bit more battles where you had to solve a puzzle so to speak.

Id def play a sequel if Sho nuff can make one 

[Rahxephon91]

Played the Lords of Shadow 2 demo. I don't know anything about Castlevannia and don't really care. This is just a GoW clone with some cool visuals, art design, and great music. That's kind of all I want. The first one was fun enough, I'm not sure how the 2nd one can be worse.

[Fifstar]

Won my first game in Civ 5. Played only chieftain so I crushed the other nations in 1750. Still kinda lost when it comes to culture, religion and the specialists. Gonna play prince next and will go for a non violent victory

[archie4208]

I'm playing Pokemon on Twitch. 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

I'm playing Pokemon on Twitch.  (Image removed from quote.)

I look forward to checking in on this through the day.

[Rufus]

Dragon Quest IX
So boring. I've finished the Wight Knights quest. No desire whatsoever to go back. I assume it's a lot better in MP?

[Cindi Mayweather]

No, it's not. And I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it.

[Rufus]

No, it's not. And I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it.

What made people go crazy for this? Just grinding cool items?

[demi]

9 is pretty decent, actually. It starts off pretty slow, which I assume since the Wight Knight is one of the first bosses...

[Cindi Mayweather]

No, it's not. And I'm sorry you aren't enjoying it.

What made people go crazy for this? Just grinding cool items?

The charm, the adventure, the cute DQ vignettes, the amount of content. It's a great game. Maybe DQ just isn't for you.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Beat the Tower Knight last night in Demon Souls.

He was pretty easy but I have a feeling game will get a lot harder now.

[archnemesis]

Tower Knight is one of the easier bosses since he is slow with very obvious tells. I personally only find the 2-2 and the 1-5 bosses really hard.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Im a caster, where would you suggest I go to next?

[archnemesis]

Just keep pushing forward. The only thing you need to keep in mind is to save the end of world 1 (Boletaria) for last.

[Cerveza mas fina]

How so? Super hard?

[magus]

dragon quest 9 is allright but i don't think there is anything that sticks out and elevate it out of other DS rpg, it's just kinda solid and bland and full of dumb puns... the beginning of the game is also quite easy, i didn't realize you could hire new character at the bar, went solo for quite a while and still was able to play through a big portion of the game before having to make a party

if there is an awfull bit that comes with the postgame, there is a lot of postgame content but it's all hidden in a way that it make reaching it super annoying, first of all it comes into the form of free DLC quest, now that the game is super old you can download all of the quest in a single swoop but back in the day they would be drip-feed to the player to ensure nobody would dare to sell it's copy...

most of these DLC quest involve using the random dungeon feature, at a certain point of the game you'll get a map indicating a location in the world map and going there give you access to a randomly created dungeon which comes with enemies not found in the normal game and of course the stuff you need to clear the DLC quest but of course what you get into a random dungeon is random so if you don't find what you are looking for you have to finish the random dungeon you created so you can create a new dungeon and it's so annoying

you can actualy trade random dungeons with other players but good luck finding one! if you are playing on a flashcart or emu i think someone wrote a program where you can actualy build your own random dungeon which at least spares a lot of pain...

...then comes legacy bosses, for some reason DQ9 has all of the final bosses from the previous DQ, that fat pink guy from DQ8? he's here, the final boss from the original game? he's here too... now all of these bosses have unique equipment to drop but the drop rates sucks ball, so everytime you defeat one of them their level goes up one, and they become a little stronger and their drop rates improve a little and this too is a huge and annoying waste of time

[magus]

I could see that being annoying for an OCD sperglord for sure

some OCD sperglord are special and rule over common OCD sperglord

[tiesto]

DQ isn't for everyone, though.  It's kind of meant for kids and parents, and if you fall in between that gap, you're probably better off playing Final Fantasy or something.

I'm neither a kid or parent but I prefer DQ to FF... 9 was probably the weakest one since 2 though, and I haven't played 10 yet.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Beat the Spider boss in Stonefang tunnel.

Another super easy boss.

[fistfulofmetal]

I'm at the final boss archstone for DeSo. Getting by the dragon is a bitch.

[Rufus]

The charm, the adventure, the cute DQ vignettes, the amount of content. It's a great game. Maybe DQ just isn't for you.

I enjoyed DQ8 for what it's worth. Played it twice, second time was a 100% run using the official guide, which I actually bought. It had become a daily ritual for me.
I remember arguing with Aena on GAF over wether or not you had to grind in the game and my sticking point was that the first dungeon/boss would be impossible without some extra fights on the way. I was kind of a dick to her, haha.

The only other one I played is 4 on the DS. That was OK. I tried to go back to the first one, but I just couldn't do it.
Maybe I should try 5 instead. It seems to be the most beloved in the series.

9 is pretty decent, actually. It starts off pretty slow, which I assume since the Wight Knight is one of the first bosses...

I finished his entire quest, i.e. lifted his curse by defeating that demon woman. Granted, it's not much further...

tl;dr

Sounds like Torchlight 2's and PoE's map system. I'm not going to take it that far, for sure, but that's a pretty cool way to extend RPGs specifically.

[magus]

yeah DQ5 is really cool, the plot is pretty original especialy considering we are talking about a series where the plot half of the time is "the demon lord is evil and thou need to slay him" (well not that DQ5 doesn't end that way...)

spoiler (click to show/hide)

basicaly as the game progress you witness all of the life story of the hero as he grows up,gets laid and has a family of kickass demon slayers

[close]

there is also no job system too, you just recruit monster instead so it translates into less guide checking, wrong choice picking and battle fought just so that someone can learn new skills

[Cerveza mas fina]

I'm at the final boss archstone for DeSo. Getting by the dragon is a bitch.

Dont crush my dreams, I have a strong urge to at least finish one of the Souls games.

How many hours did you play so far?

[fistfulofmetal]

little over 10

but i pretty much know exactly what to do. what weapons to get. how to upgrade them, where to get resources.

[Trent Dole]

Where the hell is the international version of DQ 10 anyway? The same limbo hell as PSO2 it'd seem...