So, what're you playing?

[Lucas]

I'm playing way too much Diablo 3, plus Football Manager 2015 and PES 2016.

Yesterday I finally bought two (of the many) Artifex Mundi's "hidden object" games (Nightmare from the Deep: The Cursed Heart and Clockwork Tales, for a grand total of €3); they're a cute and relaxing experience for rainy days while you sip a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

[Yegolev]

My son has been playing Super Mario Maker as hard as possible given his schedule (sixth grade is a bitch).  There is a lot more to it than I originally thought, and for better or worse, more than it would initially appear.  I asked him how unlocks work and he believes they are random and time-based.  He also thinks Tobuscus songs are great, so he can't really be trusted.

My shitfilter friends wanted to go back to Original Flavor Borderlands 2, so we did that instead of the Australian Flavor BL2.  Stayed up too late twice this week and I'm hurting.  I do really, really enjoy BL2 but I want to complete Moonerlands 2 at least once.  Also I still laugh at Fragtrap's comments.  Especially after I agonize over equipment selection and he shouts "What's the difference?!"  Which is even funnier since equipment selection is more important for him/her/it.

The best is playing Fragtrap in a group, though.

[Lucas]

Just finished "To The Moon".

I think I need several hugs.

[Jeff Kelly]

I'm playing the Uncharted Collection. The gameplay hasn't aged well.

[Kail]

My computer is right on the edge of some kind of catastrophic failure, I suspect, so I'm trying to knock out whatever games will run on it as it dies so I won't have to re-download them on the replacement PC.

FINALLY finished my run of Styx: Master of Shadows like a year after starting it.  First time through, I kind of petered out halfway through, but this time I managed to finish it.  Probably starting on the hardest difficulty was a mistake, since the last levels are complete bullshit but whatever.  The story turned out surprisingly interesting, after a pretty weak first half.  Gameplay was really solid, too, I thought, and is one of the few cases where weird gameplay mechanics like magic powers actually added to both the story and the gameplay.

Also ran through the new DLC for Shovel Knight, Plague of Shadows, which adds a new playable character (Plague Knight).  It's interesting in that Plague Knight has different movement mechanics from Shovel Knight but the levels they have to traverse are mostly the same so a lot of the challenge is in looking at the same obstacles from a different point of view.  Levels tend to be a lot trickier than with Shovel Knight but bosses are generally easier.  Probably not as fun as the base game, and the writing was definitely a lot less charming, but for a free DLC it was still better than most full 2D platformers.

[Jeff Kelly]

I've played a few more hours of the Uncharted Collection yesterday.

The graphical upgrade is decent and the higher resolution and upgraded textures coupled with the increased draw distance make the shooting parts of the games much better. I've played all three games on PS3 and some of the action setpieces _ specially in later acts of the game - were incredibly hard due to the enmies being increasingly more bullet spongy and your inability to hit them at distance. There are a few parts in Drakes Fortune especially (the end in the German submarine base) which were not much fun on PS3 but gave me not that much difficulty on PS4 due to the better fidelity (and better controller). I guess it's easier when you can actually see where you are shooting at. Also the frame rate is solid and not as wonky as on the PS3 versions of the game.

The visual upgrade makes the first one look really weird though at times. Think daytime soap opera visuals weird.

One has aged the less great out of all the three, two and three actually play quite well with the visual upgrades though. They've kept most of the bullshit trophies (minus the multiplayer ones) and all of the bullshit diffculty levels (Crushing and Brutal) though. At least you won't have to unlock the harder diffculty levels by playing the game on easier difficulty settings as you had to in the original games.

They haven't - for better or worse - cleaned up any of the actual gameplay or set pieces though. They - as far as I can see - have harmonized the control scheme between all games but that's about the only actual modification of gameplay. This means that all of the bullshit setpieces are still bullshit. (second jet ski sequence in One for example).

The biggest enemy in Uncharted is still the camera and the bad collision detection. Enemies' shots can still clip through cover and hit you. (Which makes some of the bigger action set pieces 'fun' to play) and I've probably died the most due to the wonkyness of the third person camera.

[Xanthippe]

D3. It has grabbed me again.

[Ironwood]

It does that, the bastarding thing.

It also kills Marvel Heroes for you while it does that, until the eggtimer upends and the opposite happens.

 

[Rasix]

D3 on the PC and Heroes Charge on the iphone. 

For D3, I seem to now be able to manage my arm pain issues.  I don't know if it's a better ergonomic setup and how I'm holding the mouse, or my arm just decided to man up. It's interesting, because I start to lose interest when all I get are infrequent, terrible drops and then all of the sudden it starts raining pieces I was looking for.  Enjoying the exploding palm monk, but may try a seasonal wizard, barb or WD soon. Monk has hit somewhat of a gear cliff, where Torment 4 is comfortable but anything approaching 5 and up starts dropping me hard and my DPS seems awful.

Also started "This War of Mine".  I should have probably looked at the actual gameplay specifics before buying this, as it's not really something I would normally enjoy.  Although, I'm not sure why I'd expect anything different.  Visual style is at least very interesting and the overall mood is perfect.  Predictably depressing.

[Ard]

I was going to ask if you if you really hadn't learned your lesson after Spec Ops and forgot, guess that answers my question 

[apocrypha]

I fired up Prison Architect the other day since I saw that it'd gone to 1.0, and I'd bought it ages ago in a sale. The tutorial started off by asking me to build an execution chamber for a high-profile prisoner and I decided I didn't really want to play and went back to Minecraft and made a woodland on the moon instead.

[Yegolev]

But what if he kills again?

I'm not playing anything now since life sucks and I'm apparently an adult or something.  I did tag a lot of people on my 3DS while in WDW and Universal for 3 days.

[apocrypha]

Shit, if I wanted to have to make decisions like that I'd have a real job or something. 

[Falconeer]

I fired up Prison Architect the other day since I saw that it'd gone to 1.0, and I'd bought it ages ago in a sale. The tutorial started off by asking me to build an execution chamber for a high-profile prisoner and I decided I didn't really want to play

Same. Not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not to play Executioner Simulator as a tutorial. Fuck execution chambers.

[Malakili]

That's one of the things that turned me off that game too.  I like the game mechanics, more or less, but I'd be happier if the game was something like Hotel simulator. 

[cironian]

You can skip the tutorial and head for the good parts (Sandbox mode) right away. There, you can build anything from white collar resort prison to murder hellhole gitmo.

[Yegolev]

I managed to play some Path of Exile and Diablo 3 recently!

[HaemishM]

I've been grinding the shit out of the Hex arena so I can open all the goddamn chests I have, but I did manage to finish my second season as Liverpool manager in Football Manager 2015. AND I WON THE PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE! Yay for me! HISTORY IS MADE OF WIN!

I started on Shadowrun: Dragonfall though I'm probably only an hour into it.

[Paelos]

I'm playing a good bit of HOTS against the AI in coop with friends. It's pretty fun.

[Nebu]

I'm playing a good bit of HOTS against the AI in coop with friends. It's pretty fun.

I'm on HotS a lot as Neboo.  Feel free to look me up if you need someone for QM or HL.

[Merusk]

I'm playing a good bit of HOTS against the AI in coop with friends. It's pretty fun.

IMO this is the only way to play HOTS. I'm not interested in PvP or vs. matches at all.

[Nebu]

IMO this is the only way to play HOTS. I'm not interested in PvP or vs. matches at all.

Hero league is quite good and very intense with constant action.  I hope that you'll give it a try sometime. 

Quick match, on the other hand, is a hot mess and should be avoided.

[Rasix]

MOBA vs  bots.  OK.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Yah, people are cretins, but bots fail to become anything interesting beyond learning mechanics.  These are PVP games.  It's like playing something like Unreal tournament against shitty AI. It's wrong. 

[Merusk]

Don't care, want fun. It's fun. 

[Paelos]

MOBA vs  bots.  OK.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Yah, people are cretins, but bots fail to become anything interesting beyond learning mechanics.  These are PVP games.  It's like playing something like Unreal tournament against shitty AI. It's wrong. 

It's more fun than you think. Plus, I don't want to pvp in these things. Too much stress for no reason.

[koro]

Unreal Tournament vs. bots was fantastic, thank you very much.

[Arinon]

Playing a lot of HOTS as well.  Quick Matches are basically stress-free provided I leave all forms of chat off.  Pings seem to serve well enough for basic communication.  Unlocked the drafting mode or whatever the other day.  Unless you are rolling with a 5-man crew I don't see the appeal over QM.

[Nebu]

Playing a lot of HOTS as well.  Quick Matches are basically stress-free provided I leave all forms of chat off.  Pings seem to serve well enough for basic communication.  Unlocked the drafting mode or whatever the other day.  Unless you are rolling with a 5-man crew I don't see the appeal over QM.

Hero League is for solo/duo only and the draft allows you to both build teams with synergy and also choose counters to the enemy.  The ranking system also helps it be much more likely that you play against people of similar skill.  I prefer Hero league if only for the draft and the fact each hero can only be used once.

[Sophismata]

I'm playing a good bit of HOTS against the AI in coop with friends. It's pretty fun.

IMO this is the only way to play HOTS. I'm not interested in PvP or vs. matches at all.

The problem is that the bots are terrible. They suck at strategy and their tactical skill is laughable. You can 1v3 them with an Illidan, Sonya, Butcher or Valla. Sylvanus can walk right past the enemy gate and start destroying forts and keeps at level 1. They can't deal with Sgt Hammer, Leroic, Raynor and a bunch of other heroes. On Haunted Mines the game will end with the very first objective (before even level 10 is reached).

I've accidentally ended up in 2-3 AI games (usually because friend didn't change game modes) and all of them were boring.

[Arinon]

Playing a lot of HOTS as well.  Quick Matches are basically stress-free provided I leave all forms of chat off.  Pings seem to serve well enough for basic communication.  Unlocked the drafting mode or whatever the other day.  Unless you are rolling with a 5-man crew I don't see the appeal over QM.

Hero League is for solo/duo only and the draft allows you to both build teams with synergy and also choose counters to the enemy.  The ranking system also helps it be much more likely that you play against people of similar skill.  I prefer Hero league if only for the draft and the fact each hero can only be used once.

Hmm, if two is the highest party size they let queue then that's much more appealing.  Have yet to assemble a stable of chars yet though.

[Merusk]

I'm playing a good bit of HOTS against the AI in coop with friends. It's pretty fun.

IMO this is the only way to play HOTS. I'm not interested in PvP or vs. matches at all.

The problem is that the bots are terrible. They suck at strategy and their tactical skill is laughable. You can 1v3 them with an Illidan, Sonya, Butcher or Valla. Sylvanus can walk right past the enemy gate and start destroying forts and keeps at level 1. They can't deal with Sgt Hammer, Leroic, Raynor and a bunch of other heroes. On Haunted Mines the game will end with the very first objective (before even level 10 is reached).

I've accidentally ended up in 2-3 AI games (usually because friend didn't change game modes) and all of them were boring.

You and I play games for different reasons. I spend all day analyzing, reverse-engineering, trouble-shooting and getting inside of the heads of other people to figure out what the fuck went on to create their problems. In addition to analyzing process, think about new directions for process and people critically and herd cats. I want mindless, boring nonsense when I get home, not another 3-4 hours of exercising those same skills.

At the same time I don't want to sit there passively consuming television content. So: Games where I don't have to think too hard and can enjoy myself at my pace. Usually single-player but sometimes I want multiplayer and I find Co-Op far, FAR more enjoyable than vs. modes. United against an AI there's a lot fewer assholes who think that the game is anything more than passing time and not some reflection on their value as a person.

[Paelos]

Man Merusk and I are the exact same type of player. Scary!  

EDIT: I like something relatively low key to play while I watch sports.

[Rendakor]

Disgaea 5 is awesome. Lots of new mechanics, most of which are pretty good. Haven't finished the story yet (too busy Item Worlding), so I can't give a fair review, but if you like Disgaea you won't be disappointed.

[Falconeer]

I am playing Shadowrun Dragonfall (Director's Cut) and Wasteland 2 (Director's Cut!). I am liking them both a lot, to the point I feel like saying I haven't had this much fun with cRPGs in many years. They have a lot in common, but they are different enough that it doesn't feel like they overlap and I am not just talking about the setting.

What surprises me is how the Shadowrun games are so well regarded by the masses, while Wasteland 2 seems to be much more divisive. The writing of Shadowrun is more consistent and inspired, but the characters (Shadowrun Returns plus what I've seen of Dragonfall so far) aren't explored that much anyway and the plots don't seem like anything worth writing home, full with all the expected and somewhat fitting cliches of the genre. But the game(s) itself feels like a very rpg-lite experience. Everyrthing is pretty straightforward, there aren't many enemies, nor many weapons. Puzzles are scarce and obvious, and the environment is nice to look at but it has never felt more dead or like a movie set than here. Finally, the skill system serves the engine well but it's once again very barebone. This is not to say that I didn't like the Shadowruns, in fact I love them, but they almost feel like a "mobile" version of a cRPG. Considering the budget they did a great job, but I am surprised so many people are not whining about the utter simplicity of it all. And the combat is OK, the kind of OK that "works" but it's not X-Com nor Jagged Alliance.

Wasteland 2 on the other hand is so full of content that they can afford to force you on a path leaving some stuff for additonal playthroughs. More importantly, the RPG systems are way more developed. There is a ton of skills which truly give your characters a specific shape and a role, and will open up different ways to solve challenges as you go ahead. There's weapon customization and more complexity when it comes to everything, there are party members and followers and they have more personality and autonomy (they actually sometimes defy yout leadership and go on with their own intentions during a fight) than the average Shadowrun pawns you bring along or hire. The graphics are less painted but definitely more interactive, with tons of environmental items you can interact with or at least get a novelized description of (like in the original, I'd say). Also, true 3D so you can zoom in and out and rotate which doesn't hurt. There are harsher decisions to make, and overall we are talking about a game that is the opposite of "lite". The writing is uneven and full of jokes but in my opinion it reflects very well the spirit of RPGs from the 80s and 90s, including Fallout which is the primordial Wasteland 2. And the combat is equally OK. It still works, but it still is not X-Com or Jagged Alliance.

Yeah, I've been unreasonably long. But I feel that these two games capture the spirit of 90s cRPGs almost perfectly, and even with their rough edges they manage to do a great job in bringing back the Old School of Western cRPGs, to the point of being unmissable if you grew up with this kind of stuff. What really surprises me is how differently these two projects have been received, even around here.

[Falconeer]

Disgaea 5 is awesome. Lots of new mechanics, most of which are pretty good. Haven't finished the story yet (too busy Item Worlding), so I can't give a fair review, but if you like Disgaea you won't be disappointed.

WTF?!?!? I just complained yesterday with a friend that D5 had been postponed indefinitely and I was waiting on this game like nothing else. And it came out 7 months ago?! Disgaea is probably my favourite series of games ever with the *Souls and the Wasteland/Fallout! My head is spinning, it almost feels like someone stole my last 7 months and replaced them with artificial memories...