Video Games What video games are you currently playing?

[chim]

Stalker is buggy as hell but it sure has its moments. First encounter with a radiation storm/blowout was pretty awesome.

 

there's this huge mod/total makeover for Stalker 1... i cant remember the name, Paradise Lost or something?

 

played thru that twice and still reckon it's the best singleplayer fps ever made.

 

this one?

 

I'm playing the OGSE mod. there's a crazy number of mods for Stalker out there.

 

those blowouts or "emissions" or whatever they're called are really something. best game scare I've had in a while. a simple but effective concept of terrifying a player with the fearsome nature of the world itself, as opposed to some contrived gameplay mechanism or whatever. being caught out in this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tJXesjCKxA

 

without knowing what's happening is scary as fuck, especially if you're running around in the rain and murk to begin with.

 

I tried the OGSE mod for a bit. I start without a gun and I can't see a thing since it's raining at a very early morning. I try to enter the camp next to the trader guy and they want to shoot me... also, now all speech except the dialogs seem to be in russian which only adds to the disorientation... I'm for a challenge but is it supposed to be like this?

 

yeah, that was my experience as well. I've been playing for about two days. some tips:

 

- the stalkers in the camp near trader guy are neutral, they shouldn't shoot if you don't aggro them.

 

- speech appears to be mostly Russian without subs/translation except for key dialogue and mission stuff which is in English. it's inconsistent and annoying at times but you get used to it. there are a lot of inconsistencies and bugs you get used to (quick-save's your friend)

 

- I got my first weapons by accident. I went exploring a bit further south down the main road and was spotted by the military near their outpost. they sent a death squad after me which followed me back to the camp and massacred everyone while I hid in the bushes. I crawled out a couple of hours later and scavenged amongst the bodies for loot, found some good stuff by pure luck.

 

- the map/objective/location system is really spotty. some missions you can set markers for, some you can't and just have to seek out by exploring. I dunno if this is deliberate or just a bug.

 

- one of the first missions the trader guy gives you is to collect an artifact from the ravine near the camp (though the trader asks you to do a rescue mission first). I found the ravine after some blundering around, it's basically directly to the North. turn left as soon as you emerge from the trader's underground bunker and when you reach the fence, follow it around.

 

it should get easier as you level up. it's a lot like Fallout in that sense, but it has some really cool ideas that Fallout doesn't. also some of the survival mechanics are quite similar to what I've seen of Day Z. btw if you don't feel safe venturing out (e.g. in the initial rain, with poor visibility), don't. use your sleeping bag and sleep some time off, the weather will clear and it'll be easier going. travelling at night is not recommended to start with (it's fucking terrifying). I'm trying to find NVGs to help with that.

 

edit: and remember the emissions they usually happen at least once every 24 hours, if you get caught out in one you're toast. you usually get a few minutes' warning on the network but it's easy to miss it since it's just a text update scrolling by silently.

 

Wicked, another OGSE player! I've been playing for a bit longer and have these tips:

 

When emissions happen, if you are around a building, on your radar there will likely pop up one or a few blue-ish bubbles. Not right at the outset of the warning, but as things start to heat up. These bubbles are safe areas. So you don't have to go underground, you just need to find a "bubble".

 

Everything is fucked up from the start, the point of the mod is that nobody trusts you so you are completely on your own. But you can use this to your advantage. Mutants and random happenings can turn the tables to your favor. Even the military aren't safe from mutants. Near the bridge there will likely be a dead soldier from mutant charges, if you don't anger the soldiers you can walk right up, pick up his gun and snipe his buddies.

 

If you have the guts, you can use your newly found soldier weapon to attack the starter village and loot everyone's stuff, then sell what you don't need for the ammo type you need. Eventually, if you want to get back on "good" terms with the Loners, it will set you back 40k. But you will get 40K to waste sooner than you think, and right at the start the stuff they're carrying can really help you out.

 

There's a drivable APC in the south military base by the starter village. An APC with a cannon!

 

Once you find medium to long-range rifle you will be golden, like an AK74 with a scope. Hide, hide, hide, keep your distance. Quicksave alot, because the enemies throw grenades and can ruin your day with a headshot. They are also really good at flanking you. But once you get the hang of it it will be extremely fun, simply because you find how rewarding it is to be tactical. Think outside the box and be a ruthless, sneaky bastard.

 

Everything is really expensive so don't waste your ammo (i.e never full-auto firing) nor money on stuff except bare essentials; ammo, medkits and bandages. Loot good quality armor and guns and then sell everything but the stuff you actually use. Before you get to the Bar, taking a long trek back to trader Sid with a backpack full of stuff once in a while can set you up real good. After a while, Sid will get neat stuff like mine detector, GPS beacons, anomaly detector.

 

Anomalies will destroy animals, mutants and people and turn them into pricey artifacts. Lure the aggressive ones into a nearby anomaly and you've got a great source of income.

 

Stalker suits and military armor have night vision, absolutely imperative for night ops. Don't stock up on more food than the bare minimum you need, because it turns foul quickly. Sooner than you think you'll be a one man army.. until chimeras and other nasty things show up, but that's going to be a while.

[chim]

When emissions happen, if you are around a building, on your radar there will likely pop up one or a few blue-ish bubbles. Not right at the outset of the warning, but as things start to heat up. These bubbles are safe areas. So you don't have to go underground, you just need to find a "bubble".

 

I don't get those bubbles on my radar at all. do they appear later or something? maybe I just panic too much to notice, lol. whenever an emission is imminent I just shit my pants and run madly for the nearest shelter. my panic is doubled if I'm carrying excess weight and tire quickly.

 

It could be that the trader's shelter is the only safe zone in Cordon. They should happen after that, when you run into some proper buildings, like in Agropom and the Bar.

 

There's a drivable APC in the south military base by the starter village. An APC with a cannon!

 

I have to get my hands on this. I've just been giving the south base a wide berth since they sent that death squad after me.

 

Those soldiers are antsy fucks and will not hesitate to send everything they have. Which, after a few fights, means that their base is left unattended. Just beware of two automatic turrets. They are lethal as hell but a few shots from safe distance, or a grenade, will take care of them.

 

luckily the scoped AK74 was one of the first weapons I found when looting the corpse of a soldier after the camp massacre. it's saved my ass a few times.

 

Yeah, I still use that one and the AK74 assault version, which is like a holographic sight but uses different ammo. I tend to vary between those two and an automatic shotgun for monsters. It's actually a quest item but I don't want to lose it, ha.

[foresense]

wow ok I will have to retry this some time.

 

playing too much Tribes now though.. really getting into it. sometimes. other times I suck horribly. lvl20 now. playing mostly Soldier or Sentinel.

[eugene]

yeah, tribes man..

i've tried playing sentinel for a bit but it was incredibly difficult and frustrating so i got back to my combat-jug, lmg+mirv+4 spinfusor discs can murder pretty much anything, especially if my aim with the lmg is steady. the only class that can be a pain in the ass is raider with whatever smg and a shield.

[foresense]

I like playing sentinel sort of close quarters, I don't like standing around so much but found that hiding behind hills and standing in off spots around the map sniping enemy as they slide past can work pretty well.. phase rifle + falcon + energy recharge obviously.

[mcbpete]

Reading your post I thought for a second they'd done (another) update to this:

 

 

Currently having a coronary playing Super Meat Boy, I've not been so stressed about a game since those Shadow Mario levels on Super Mario Sunshine.

[Guest Adam]

I like playing sentinel sort of close quarters, I don't like standing around so much but found that hiding behind hills and standing in off spots around the map sniping enemy as they slide past can work pretty well.. phase rifle + falcon + energy recharge obviously.

 

Have you tried the phase rifle with the new improved rage perk? It's ridiculous.

[foresense]

I like playing sentinel sort of close quarters, I don't like standing around so much but found that hiding behind hills and standing in off spots around the map sniping enemy as they slide past can work pretty well.. phase rifle + falcon + energy recharge obviously.

 

Have you tried the phase rifle with the new improved rage perk? It's ridiculous.

 

ahh will do that sounds good

 

was playing soldier before with spinfusor, egocentric and reach which was interesting, mostly chasing flag carriers and an occasional grab.

[Guest jasondonervan]

Great DayZ session this weekend. Found myself in a watchtower on the outskirts of Elektro with a sniper rifle on my back and oh what's that? A semi-auto on the ground? Thankyou very much! I inspected the town rooftops, and saw two bandits mooching around on a roof. I took both out with methodical headshots (cue enraged chat text). About 10mins later, still in my perch, I start hearing gunfire. I hit the deck, reticule pointed at the stairwell. Silence... then a head quickly poked up the stairs! Another bandit. Fired a shot, missed, foolishly went near the stairs and we exchanged gunfire. I lost, he gained all my shit. Just another crazy day in DayZ...

[Bubba69]

Binding of isaac: wrath of the lamb just came out. Mac version seems to be absent though.

[Guest Fishtank]

I've successfully dumped 70 hours into Orcs Must Die trying to 5 skull every level

can't wait for the sequel

[sneaksta303]

DARK SOULS

[Friendly Foil]

I borrowed my friend's copy of halo reach. pretty shit so far.

[SR4]

Batman: Arkham Asylum

 

 

So far its an 8/10 for me, possibly even a 9. Fucking awesome Batman game, probably the first one since Return of the Joker for NES. Its got a perfect blend of Metal Gear Solid, Assassins Creed, and even Metroid fucking Prime.

 

Im moving on to Arkham City as soon as im finished with this one...Im worried that the expansive maps will ruin the Metal Gear/infiltration thing for me....should I not worry? Ive seen nothing but glowing reviews about Asylum's successor.

[murve33]

Binding of isaac: wrath of the lamb just came out. Mac version seems to be absent though.

Been playing this on Windows all day. It's extremely hard.

[747Music]

Batman: Arkham Asylum

 

 

So far its an 8/10 for me, possibly even a 9. Fucking awesome Batman game, probably the first one since Return of the Joker for NES. Its got a perfect blend of Metal Gear Solid, Assassins Creed, and even Metroid fucking Prime.

 

Im moving on to Arkham City as soon as im finished with this one...Im worried that the expansive maps will ruin the Metal Gear/infiltration thing for me....should I not worry? Ive seen nothing but glowing reviews about Asylum's successor.

 

 

Both are fantastic games. You can't go wrong with either.

 

 

Man, Dragons Dogma is awesome! I'm really really enjoying this game. It does have some things that could be better, like the facial animation and some minor graphics flaws, but I'm not that picky. One thing though that is really unforgivable is that you can only have one save file. That's it. You can't even make a new character without saving over your first one. So yeah, just one save file. it's bullshit. Awesome game though...

[cloud capture]

[Guest mafted]

finally beat Far Cry and still can't believe it considering how long of a game it is.. play it on veteran and you'll see what i mean.

 

picked up Kingdoms of Amalur (Reckoning) much to the delight of the demo which hooked me in.. best action and gameplay in an RPG that i've seen, tho i haven't seen much other than the Diablos, Rage and Skyrim. Skyrim just seemed awkward with both melee and using the menus.. Diablo got old after the 30th hord of enemies (Rage now seems a lot better than it did when it came out). KoA is the best of all these worlds with McFarlane's artwork.. i recommend!

[acid1]

picked up Kingdoms of Amalur (Reckoning) much to the delight of the demo which hooked me in.. best action and gameplay in an RPG that i've seen

Please check out Dark Souls before you make a decision.

[FLA FUR BIS FLE]

thinking about peeping Dragon's Dogma. any one play it? heard it is pretty good, if a bit buggy.

[Jur]

thinking about peeping Dragon's Dogma. any one play it? heard it is pretty good, if a bit buggy.

 

Yeah, it's a bit buggy, but good. Starts kind of slow, I recommend you rent it.

[Guest futuregirlfriend]

Stalker is buggy as hell but it sure has its moments. First encounter with a radiation storm/blowout was pretty awesome.

 

there's this huge mod/total makeover for Stalker 1... i cant remember the name, Paradise Lost or something?

 

played thru that twice and still reckon it's the best singleplayer fps ever made.

 

I've been feeling the urge to play either the first or third again but since I've completed them both a few times I know that it'd start to feel like a chore during some parts. Just looked up the status of Stalker 2 and they've cancelled it? The studio is no more? They've regrouped and are making an MMO? Ok.

 

[data]

cd project (the people who made the witcher series) is about to announce their new cyberpunk project live right now.

 

 

http://www.thewitcher.com/ (live stream)

 

as a total cyberpunk nerd im quite excited.

[data]

meh, site went down from too much traffic grrr!

[Ego]

http://youtu.be/KK5qvys_Jz4

Skip to 11:25. Very exciting indeed!

 

I'm finishing up on Alan Wake. Glad I gave it another chance. Getting a bit repetitive but the writing is better than I thought. Is American Nightmare any good? Or just more of the same?

 

Preloading Max Payne 3 PC for tonight. 30GB