whatchu playing now

I (and, ostensibly, my girlfriend, who mostly only plays the pinball stuff I bought for her) just bought a PS3 a couple of months ago, which I'm completely new to aside from crashing helicopters into gas stations in GTA IV at my brother's. So I've been excitedly hoarding games, since this seems to be the sweet spot between when previous-gen system come way down in price and when they go out of print and skyrocket. But I'm trying to be restrictive in my playing so that I don't play eight million things at once and fail to fully appreciate the varied experiences.

Althought I was completely put-off by it at first (complicated tutorials maybe shouldn't take place in the middle of combat under cover of darkness), probably 75% of my game playing time of late has been devoted to Just Cause 2. So much addictive fun, and great for brief, post-work mayhem sessions. Strangely haven't read or heard a whole lot about it outside of ILG threads, so thanks for that, y'all. Prior to that, I was mostly sucked into Skyrim, which initially impressed and then subsequently overwhelmed me with its breadth. I mean, I'm level 25-ish and realized recently that I'd completed somewhere pretty far south of 10% of the core game, so it feels like a thing that could just go on forever. I'll return to it someday when I'm ready to really dig in.

Other stuff in my current rotation:
Fez (not hugely into platformers but I'm really digging it; music and design and use of color are aces)
Minecraft (kinda don't know exactly what to do with it yet, but it's cool to mess around with)
Arkham Asylum (not crazy about the combat, but maybe I'm just not used to it yet; the beginning of the Scarecrow encounter was amazing)
Where Is My Heart? (cute, cool concept, good for short bursts)
Portal (just started this...the rest of the Orange Box is backburnered for the time being)
Deadly Premonition (not terribly far into it; definitely bizarre as hell but I'm undecided just yet as to whether it's my kind of bizarre)
Prototype (love it to bits; I think I'm near the end so I've been sitting on it for a little while to prolong the love...although I do already have the sequel)
Resident Evil 3 (revisiting after 15 years; controls are for shit but I'm building up anticipation to RE4)
Walking Dead (only played the first episode thus far but it was great and I'm looking forward to more)

I also have a ton of stuff that I've played <15 minutes of (The Saboteur, Tomb Raider reboot, Marvel Ultimate Alliance) that I'm looking forward to jumping into more fully soon.

Kinda want to make a (sadly & ridiculously long) list of the stuff I've acquired and get recommendations of what to tackle next.

MPQ and GTA5, exclusively, for ages now. Very very reluctant to start a new game atm

rotation of dark souls 2 on ps3 and might & magic X and magic online on the laptop. nearly done with mmx and think i am going to finally play monaco. nearly done with ds2 but just going to keep playing it anyway.

diablo 3 on pc! oh nooo

I thought of something else I played recently: WSOP Full House Pro poker on xbla.

I am in a bad place. ;-)

GTA5 in the evenings, still searching for those hidden items
Or Lego City Undercover on occasions.

Any other time I struggle to find time or energy to play anything else right now, I'm trying to design and develop my own games and I find that a struggle in itself.

Games that I *should* be playing anyway...

Pinball FX, really really should fire this up more often
Rayman, not even installed this yet
Red Dead Redemption (still not bothered to attempt the final mission)
Fallout3, embarrassingly never finished this either
Fuel, after having to purchase new PS3 I'll have to start all over again.
Just Cause 2, dropped off the radar a bit, dip into every now and again to get that 100% status
Minecraft/FTB, my only reason for not playing this more often is its just too daunting. In terms of time wasting goes this is the mother of all. FTB packs have basically kicked this game into mind blowing status imo.

(With the exceptions of Pinball and Rayman you might notice a distinct pattern in the games I like)

picked up gta 5 again just to round off the epsilon missions. i was convinced there would be a big heist at the end of all of it, because ripping off the scientologists seemed to make sense and how else would i ever get the cash to buy the golf course etc. so the only one getting ripped off was me :( officially done with this game.

also just finished xcom enemy unknown which i loved to bits. besides it was just long enough to keep my interest through the whole thing.

not really sure what to go with next. ps+ gave me lots of options. i'll probably get going on tomb raider, as soon as i stop struggling to like pes2014.

dayZ and nothing but dayZ. the slow small little updates that come out every couple of weeks just make it that little bit more appealing every day. i try not to think that's there's no real goal or 'end' to it.

Dude, FRACT OSC is out. It's fun, but giving me a lot of flashbacks to Myst, due to heavy puzzles with occasional symbolic language hints. You're exploring this long abandoned machine world and you restoring operation to a giant synthesizer that you wander around in.

SMT4, the soundtrack for this game is so good, running around a post-apocalyptic Tokyo to synthy krautrock <3 http://youtu.be/SG_gB4kb2oA

Oh, FRACT sounds great, might have to grab that.

The only thing I'm playing at the moment is Letter Quest on my ipod. It's quite good but nothing mindblowing.

portal 2 (3rd time), ni no kuni, assassins creed 4, dork souls

FTL and could be on this for a while now that I feel like I finally understand how to play it

im obsessed

so many ships still to unlock and haven't even touched advanced mode...

I've been playing Kingdom Of Amalur, a game that apparently lost the taxpayers of Rhode Island $75m, recently. I kind of hate myself as it's another massive Skyrim-style time sink, but it's quite good fun.

what IS advanced mode

i havent even begun boarding as a tactic yet

sorry "advanced edition"

As a reminder, FTL: Advanced Edition is a free content expansion for FTL. All current (and future) customers will receive this update regardless of where they purchased it. Prior to release, we will post detailed instructions on how to get the update from whatever digital vendor you originally purchased FTL.

http://www.ftlgame.com/?page_id=106

New systems (clone bay??), new race, new ships, just lots more stuff, and it was released as a free sort of patch. It's a toggle option when you start a game, you can choose standard or advanced.

I've been playing Kingdom Of Amalur, a game that apparently lost the taxpayers of Rhode Island $75m
― Yuri Bashment (ShariVari), Thursday, April 24, 2014 3:45 PM

ah yes the curt schilling rpg

oh yeah i'm playing dragon's dogma. i've given up on it twice before so i'm determined to finish it this time. the controls are lacking but it has some of the best gfx i've seen in an rpg. makes dark souls 2 look like shit by comparison anyway.

http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/266639-curt-shilling.jpg

dragon's dogma was good fun, at its best early before everything becomes too easy, so i encourage you to not progress the story at all until you have been everywhere. one of the best and most unique things it has are the giant wandering monsters that really felt like epic fights, at least until my gang quickly got OP'd. helps if you resist the temptation of the broken pawns that are available early.

infinity wars + starbound

helps if you resist the temptation of the broken pawns that are available early.
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, April 24, 2014 4:29 PM

what are the broken pawns. i've just been using the free low level ones and trading them in every so often. groups of bandits on the roads are still kicking my butt

i got one real early with an ordinary woman's name, Karen i am fairly sure, and her owner had limited her level but she had maxed-out, late game rare gear and was a total powerhouse

whatever the fighter class is. i got another midway thru with a more forgettable fantasyish name, also a female fighter.

Dammit, Fract really _is_ like myst. I can't find the symbolic to detangle the tune I'm supposed to play to solve the final puzzle in one of the areas.

Final Fantasy - NES
Assassin's Creed IV - PC
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX - PC
Castlevania: Rond of Blood - T16
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PSX
Metal Gear Solid - PSX
Metal Gear Rising Revengeance - PC
Metal Gear Solid 2 - PC

you livin' the life, Adam, respect

finished saints row 4
tried diablo 3 again - meh so spammy
maybe back to metro 2033

"Finished" Portal and Fez, loved both. Seems like there's still aftergame stuff for me to do, which is cool.

I'm a good way into the first God of War, and I can't be sure but I think I might kinda hate it. The brutal waves of super tough enemies are awesome, and some of the puzzles are pretty good, but creating Indiana Jones-esque deathtraps with a shitty camera and sketchy controls was the fucking worst idea ever. I've wasted so much of my playtime on failing to kill everything onscreen within a set time before falling to my death or being crushed or sliced up by shit that I can barely see in front of me that it's kinda become a chore for me to continue. I might just be hating the PS2-ness of it, though.

I've been surprisingly digging a lot of arcade-y stuff that I've gotten cheap from PSN recently. Super Stardust and Wipeout took me a little while to get used to but they're amazing once I'm in the zone. Just got Retro/Grade, which I haven't played much but which has an awesome conceit (basically a rhythm game disguised as a shooter that runs in reverse). The Space Invaders update also seems like good value.

This weekend, I hit 50% completion and the 100 hour mark near-simultaneously on Just Cause 2. Clearing a few areas in the game has become such a reliably perfect way to decompress at the end of the day.

kotor + bg2

getting myself psyched + ready for pillars of eternity i guess

xps I played GoW 1 for the first time... a year ago? Maybe two? Felt some of the same frustrations as you, but I'm still planning to truck on through to the others at some point. I can see how it all would've been far more impressive back in 2006, but some of those levels and dungeons are awfully designed.

What build you going for in KOTOR, Mordy?

i guess soldier guardian. tbh i'm kinda more interested in my bg2 half-elf cleric/ranger build (so OP apparently it's ppl's fave for soloing the game). (thought about playing a wild mage too.)

Streets of Rage 3
Bare Knuckle III

So BKIII is the Japanese version of SOR3 and it is WAY easier. This does not mean it is easy though, it only means it is possible to get through stage 1 without using a continue. American version of Streets of Rage 3 is one of the more difficult games I've ever played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VWsJPJ19DA

That level with the bulldozer is all-time unfair.

all that and he's beat by a girder

i love the energy meter for 'wall'.

i guess i only played Streets of Rage 1 & 2.

man why doesn't axel just jump over the damn walls

sor3 is weird. it seems like it admits to tactics then it doesn't really.

I think after you get past the stage where you are fighting kangaroos and evil dominatrix clowns they just figured they could get away w that.

Played 2-player Hyperstone Heist for the Genesis last night. Got to Super Shredder and then we died and we were out of continues! The music in that game is incredible. Orchestrated speed metal.

i'm still playing bg2.

eu4 always with the eu4. genovese colonial empire.

wish i could get into eu. each time i load it up there are like 300 tutorials

if it helps you still won't know what the fuck is going on if you sit thru the tutorials

unfortunate timing for it to release so close to hades 2

Anyone playing Baby Steps? I'm surprised I haven't heard much about it since it came out, seems extremely unique.

I've watched a bunch of streams of it but have no interest in playing it myself.

i got enough bennett foddy for a lifetime from his previous one with the guy in the pot

Minishoot' Adventures - twin stick shooter x 2d zelda hybrid. enjoying it so far, the genre blend works pretty seamlessly though it does mean the dungeons are more combat rooms and less puzzles than zelda

also I finished all the dlc scenarios for rise of the golden idol, those continue to be best-in-class detective gaming. hope they make a 3rd game someday

the final dlc was great. it even had an homage to obra dinn.

I ended up downloading absolum - it has a minor pacing issue where the early game feels a bit stilted and restricted. 6 hours in now though and it’s percolating nicely…

SOMA is pretty good fwiw, I played for a few hours last weekend and enjoyed for the first time in a while being immersed in it's setting. Helped that I had no clue what the game was going to be about or anything.

It's not a challenging game, and plays pretty more like a interactive movie experience but the story is interesting and the art design I really love.

recommended if you want good spooky sci fi chill vibe. Although I did get it on discount for about a fiver, it's now $20.00 and mmm not sure about that.

Any interesting demos on steam nextfest? Some ones I've found:

RITA - platformer where you collect letters to solve crosswords, where the words add elements to the platformer world.
Tingus Goose - incremental game with WTF artwork

Tried Long Drive North in the next fest, RV survival etc. Bit crap

I initially wrote Cocoon off as yet another Journey-a-like. But no, wait, it's really really great. Especially for me, who enjoyed BOTW but found the open world elements a bit tedious compared to the Shrine puzzle sections

Has anyone actually nailed the "driving down a creepy darkened road at night" genre yet? I see examples occasionally and think "Now I'd like to play that", but when I watch the gameplay it looks like an opportunity missed

haven't played it yet but i've heard good things about Pacific Drive

I've played a bit of Pacific Drive and it's cool, but very focused on crafting mechanics which may or may not be your cup of tea

Cocoon rules, definitely a tight puzzle game rather than an exploration game. Every screen matters, it's constantly iterating on its basic mechanics and giving you new little twists to figure out.

got my first clear in absolum (13h played) - pretty tough game. fun though

Has anyone actually nailed the "driving down a creepy darkened road at night" genre yet?

"Beware" was the best I've seen at it, but it was never fully released only as a demo (still playable though) and heck knows if you can trust any site that has it downloadable now.

Picked up Luigi’s Mansion 3 on a whim. Wanted something chill and spooky for October and I’d never messed with this series so was curious.

Man… kinda loving this? Bullseye for me. A lot to recommend, but the core mechanic of “vacuum up everything in the room that’s not nailed down” is fundamentally, pleasantly satisfying in a way I didn’t expect. Fun physics to it. Vibes, puzzles, mechanics, whole package is a good autumn brain soother.

No Switch 2 upgrade patch (yet?) but a real stunner graphically too.

All of that is true about Luigi's Mansion 3, excellent game

yeah that game is great and a technical marvel with what it gets out of the og switch

Yep agree about Luigi’s Mansion. The first two are great as well.

Yep agree about Luigi’s Mansion. The first two are great as well.

I really enjoyed it and retried each level to get full marks - except for the last one, I don't fancy doing all of the very memory-based running even a second time to be honest.

Been having fun with BALL x PIT - one of the best post-Vampire Survivors games I've seen, very addicting gameplay loop

^have been addicted to this all week :-/

xxp my six year old daughter loves this game too, once she got over one of the ghost jump-scares which freaked her out for a bit!

Anyone try Ninja Gaiden 4 yet? Itching to give it a spin, maybe tonight. Platinum + Team Ninja sounds like a good time.

I started Dead Island 2 because it looks like dumb fun, and at least very early in the game, it's dumb fun.

Anyone try Ninja Gaiden 4 yet? Itching to give it a spin, maybe tonight. Platinum + Team Ninja sounds like a good time.

didn't realize this was out! curious how this goes without itagaki (rip)

Did the good versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 ever get rereleased?

2 re-master happened earlier this year. Is good.

My experience with nu-Gaiden doesn’t extend beyond that and some version of 1 and some version of 2 a zillion years ago, so can’t speak to the obsessives’ take on the combat nuances, but 4 so far unabashedly faithful to those games’ disinterest in everything but funneling you from zone of dudes to zone of dudes you gruesomely dismember with an arsenal of 10,000 moves you can’t possibly entirely keep track of.

Maybe too much for my brain these days, but enjoying it so far. Admirably obscene.

Some appreciated leg-up’s with difficulty. Story really is tedious, been pounding the skip button for most cutscenes out the gate.

got a cheap usb controller, playing various 2D fighters on a Dreamcast emulator + shenmue

Finishing up on SOMA, which to be honest just became a bit of a repetitive slog after halfway, same old going into stations and avoiding the same monster, finding the trigger etc. Shame as it started off quite interesting.

couldn't get into FF Tactics. people swear by it but I was bored stiff by the first few hours, and those tiny isometric maps are awful to navigate
now playing the HD remake of Suikoden and this is much more my sort of thing

Did the good versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 ever get rereleased?

― adamt (abanana), Wednesday, 22 October 2025 22:54 bookmarkflaglink

nope, unless you count xbone/series backwards compatibility a rerelease, which in NG2's case it might as well be since the game now locks to 60fps, unlike the 360 version

https://stinger-magazine.com/side-stories/ninja-gaiden-versions-a-comprehensive-guide/

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black remake for modern consoles that came out this past year not count?

Just finished Enslaved : Odyssey to the West on the 360 and enjoyed it. Read there were plans to continue, but sales of the game nixed that. Enjoyable mix of story, platforming, and environments, including a ‘Cloud’ hoverboard that was cool to race around on. Cinematically, was fun to have Andy Serkis playing the Monkey character (enslaved with a headband by female protagonist Trip for aid and eventual love interest). Wonder if it was simply the title that turned people off?

xp that's just Sigma 2 with minor gameplay tweaks and a new coat of paint, i think 360 NG2 is doomed to exclusivity due to rights issues, every time they rerelease it it's always based on the sigma versions

Word. Have read it addressed some of the issues ppl had with Sigma, not a 1-to-1 remake. It’s good and worth playing imo.

Digging 4 the more I get into it. Combat flow starting to stick.

I'm playing Look Outside, a relentlessly surprising, twisted and characterful pixel horror rpg set in a Montreal apartment block

i liked that one, though i fucked up one of the main objectives (the painting) and got a bad ending

Ball x Pit definitely getting its claws into my brain, not sure why? Core gameplay doesn’t feel as fun as Vampire Survivors was, and everything else is pretty much a retread. I’m still finding it just as sticky though.

breakout is more fun than asteroids

Haha, hard disagree but yeah that does hit the nail on the head.

100%

i’m kinda enjoying the between sesh basebuilding thing too - not sure if that was in vampire survivors (i “beat” an early version of the game, haven’t played it since so i’m not sure it got built out with other features and stuff. VS always seemed great as a super simple game imo)

nah VS is still what it was, just with more maps and characters and weapons and such

I finally got into Stardew Valley, may god have mercy on my soul