The useless what-I-am-playing thread

[Tebonas]

I guess its like lying to those poor aliens in Galaxy Quest, eh? I can't imagine how I could survive without sarcasm. Are there no customer related jobs in Korea?

[Yegolev]

Sarchasm?

Quite possibly.  I latched onto "Ninja Gaiden 2" too strongly, even though I got the punchline.  Either your setup was too strong or I am too sick to understand comedy right now.

Ahem.
Atelier Iris 3, only.  Very sick.

[Signe]

What is wrong with you?  You get sick too much.  Stop it.  Are you sure you're not being poisoned?

[Rasix]

Played Grim Grimoire last night.  It may be hard to put this one down.  Episodic presentation just kicks all kind of ass.

[Yegolev]

What is wrong with you?  You get sick too much.  Stop it.  Are you sure you're not being poisoned?

Do I really get sick a lot?  I should stop it, indeed.  It's not poison exactly, it's that I'm living above my stress-line.

[Sky]

Edit:  Also, DATH'REMAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, that's more than enough of that shit.

[rk47]

transformers the game is a piece of shit.
They need to release a demo or something, cause my cousin just bought a really crappy game that tried to do robot+driving mini game that failed at both.

[JWIV]

transformers the game is a piece of shit.
They need to release a demo or something, cause my cousin just bought a really crappy game that tried to do robot+driving mini game that failed at both.

Movie License=Piece of shit game

Never too late to learn that lesson.

[Yegolev]

Thirty-something hours into Atelier Iris 3, I get my first Mana.  It's awesome.

[schild]

Thirty-something hours into Atelier Iris 3, I get my first Mana.  It's awesome.

I assume you mean blades? I got my first one about 12 hours in, are you playing with your feet?

[Yegolev]

I don't rush the end-zone when I play, I meander.  In this case, I spent a lot of time dicking around in the newbie forest area trying to harvest three nuts.  Still haven't gotten them!  Those "skill points" that were apparently borrowed from Ratchet & Clank are insidious.  I spend more time at the alchemy pot than I should.  When I got the fishing pole, that added some padding as well.

Got a surprise one when I did not check the map once on a visit to Posporia.  I was very satisfied.

[schild]

Yes, the hidden stuff is awesome. For stuff like "did not look at map" you just have to hit 10 different rooms without looking. There's simply a whole bunch of shit in AI3. I'm in the next to last area, I should really finish it (at about 40 hours on the clock atm).

[WindupAtheist]

I dusted off the SNES and plunked my old FF3 cartridge into it for a nostalgia trip.  I fired up a saved game that started just after Kefka blew up the world, except I must have been cheating like a motherfucker somehow when last I played this years ago, because Celes and every party member I met thereafter was level 99 and I was loaded with items and gold.

Oh well, whatever.  It was fun for a little while, but the random battles were just fucking infuriating.  Being interrupted to kill the same space buffalo and two pyramid-shaped bugs every three steps was just intolerable, even when they were all one-shot kills.  It literally got me to shut the game off, pleased as I was with the rest of it.  There's just no going back to some things.

[Sky]

Still playing Gothic 3. Those games really deliver imo. Nice change-up in location, I'm doing the desert area. Nice thematic change, music and npc accents and whatnot. I was planning on sticking to paladin type the first playthrough, but I've beat the tar out of so much stuff I think I'll be taking on mage skills since I have the learning points. Then hunter/assassin/thief when I play through again later.

Got the urge to reinstall Thief 3 as I never finished it. Played more Gothic instead.

I don't buy many games because it takes me so long to play them. But that's how I like it, saves a ton of dough!

[Yegolev]

Atelier Iris 3
Oblivion (360 flavor)
Arx Fatalis (working Steam version)

I really like Arx Fatalis because I can cast spells that are not in my spellbook.  Example, I substituted the poison rune for the fire rune in the Fireball spell, and cast a ranged poison spell.  Doesn't appear anywhere in my spellbook.  I will have to write this stuff down before I forget the working combinations.

I mentioned Arx Fatalis' differences from Oblivion to my wife, and when I said I could make my own apple pies she asked "Why would you want to do that?"  I frowned.  Just when she said that, her Oblivion guy was attacked by a goblin.  "Why would you want to beat some goblins to death?"  I asked.  She ignored me.

Celes and every party member I met thereafter was level 99 and I was loaded with items and gold.

Are you the fucker that stole my cartridge?

Oh well, whatever.  It was fun for a little while, but the random battles were just fucking infuriating.  Being interrupted to kill the same space buffalo and two pyramid-shaped bugs every three steps was just intolerable, even when they were all one-shot kills.  It literally got me to shut the game off, pleased as I was with the rest of it.  There's just no going back to some things.

I agree.  Get a PS2 and play FFXII.  It fixes those complaints.

[Sky]

Arx Fatalis was a great game. I should go back and finish it.

[HaemishM]

I picked back up my Madden 2007 (Wii) season and finished it out, then got sucked into the off season free agent signings, drafts and such. I played like 5 or 6 hours yesterday just plowing through the offseason and training camp, playing the College All-Star game and then busting through training camp to play my first preseason game for the 2008 Packers. Favre retired, and Aaron Rodgers did not impress. Despite the typical Madden flaws (too many INT's due to my sucking, too easy for the opposing offense to break a big one at least twice a game), I'm enjoying it immensely. I'm breaking it up with liberal doses of FIFA 07 for the Gamecube and some smattering of WoW and Zelda when the mood strikes.

[Rasix]

Splinter Cell: DA for the 360 is what I've been playing lately with a little bit of Grim Grimoire (fun!) and Shadow Hearts: From the New World (doesn't look like this one is getting finished). 

I really like the NSA v. terrorist decisions you have to make in this Splinter Cell and I wish there were more of them.  Nothing like allowing a cruise ship to explode because your love interest would likely get shot if you stopped it.  Maybe I'm just less observant than I've been in the past, but I don't see quite as many viable routes through a level in this one as I have in the past.  This may be to some fairly restrictive level concepts, but there's also somewhat of a lack of creativity with what they're doing with the designs.  Of course, maybe they're just being more subtle, and I'm too thick headed to notice. 

Still, it's one of the few stealth games I enjoy and don't completely suck at (I'm sure I spend more time on levels and reload more than most people).  Easy as pie gamer points too.

Edit: And yah, Pip Boy gamer pic ftw.  Only pic package I've ever wanted to buy.

[bhodi]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma kicks ass, and it's not hard so don't even start with that. NG1 for the NES was hard. This is cake. Normal mode is the perfect difficulty. If you want to be cheesy, Itzuma drop is an autokill and you're invincible while doing it.. how easier can you get?

[Yegolev]

I couldn't seem to get that to work on the Abrams tank.

[bhodi]

Stand behind the box of afxs(?) cores on the left and pelt him, the tank shells will hit the front of the box and you won't take damage. He'll eventually start swinging around to hit you, but If you're playing on normal, all you have to do is dump arrows into him until the turret swivels to face you, wait a second, then roll to avoid the shell. Ignore the machine gun, it doesn't do enough damage to matter and it doesn't even spoil your aim. For the second tank, he fires twice, so just dodge both. It did take me a few tries, but it wasn't too bad. Remember after that, when you go up the  elevator, to use the save point on your right.

It's probably the most annoying fight in the game, I'll admit that some of the bosses are tricky.

[Yoru]

Finished Shadow of the Colossus over the week.

Started Katamari Damacy over the weekend.

Other than that, still have FFXII, Bully and Eve on slow burn.

Thinking of picking up SimCity DS, as I've heard good things about it, but GHE:80s comes out next week...

[MrHat]

Is SimCity DS out for US?

[Yoru]

Is SimCity DS out for US?

Indeed it is. Several folks around the office have picked it up here and have been busily trying to convince me to take the plunge as well.

[schild]

I got pretty bored with SimCity DS. Kinda.

Mostly because there's better stuff out...

[Fabricated]

Speaking of Arx Fatalis.

http://it-he.org/

This man knows how to play a game right. His Deus Ex unwalkthrough is the best thing ever written.

[Yegolev]

Went back to Okami in order to test whether it is actually Atelier Iris 3 that is locking up my Sixaxis.  So far no lockup but I need more time.

Also a little GalCiv II: Dark Avatar.

[murdoc]

All I have time for lately is playing demos from XBL. Last night it was 'The Bigs' and I quite liked it even though I don't really like baseball.

[Sky]

Hey, guess what I'm (still) playing? 

Actually starting to get a little burned out on it and seeing some flaws. I should write a review, but who would care at this point. Gamers are so of-the-moment.

Don't like the random-item chests, lots of place to explore with no rewards (the previous two always gave you something for being a good explorer). Just about 2/3rds of the way through now.

Just got in the PCG demo disc with Overlord, Lost Planet, Tomb Raider remake, and some other crap (GRAW2, Civ4 expansion, Skillground). So I'll probably do some demo stuff.

[Signe]

I am about to set up the Malaysian version of Perfect World or proxy myself into the Filipino version.  I haven't decided yet.

[voodoolily]

Holy shit why is Lost in Blue 2 so much harder than 1? And why is playing in Girl Mode the same as playing in God Mode? 

[Sky]

Just got in the PCG demo disc with Overlord, Lost Planet, Tomb Raider remake, and some other crap (GRAW2, Civ4 expansion, Skillground). So I'll probably do some demo stuff.

Lost Planet: meh. Seems ok, don't know that I'd waste my money on it, though. Crashed partway through. Nice demo loop, though.

Tomb Raider: Nicely done. Really captured the feel of the original, felt really action/jumpy while maintaining the feel of a puzzle game overall. Might have to put this one on the purchase list.

GRAW2: multiplayer-only demo. No interest.

Civ4 exp: It's only 75 turns of a campaign, I didn't waste time playing the demo since I'll be buying it anyway.

Overlord: Now this was a fun little demo. I normally cringe at AI-based games, but this was pretty well done. Hated when my pumpkin-headed guy with a sword and leather armor bit it. Nice graphics and sound. This one goes on the purchase list, much to my surprise.

[Yegolev]

Bought Catan on XBLA, won two games.

[Ironwood]

Speaking of Arx Fatalis.

http://it-he.org/

This man knows how to play a game right. His Deus Ex unwalkthrough is the best thing ever written.

That guys System Shock walkthrough cracks me up every time I read it.

[rk47]

http://nigoro.jp/game/rosecamellia/rosecamellia.php

Needs a Wii port.