Video Games What video games are you currently playing?

[YELLOW]

Can't stop playing Link's Awakening

[Bubba69]

Been bouncing back and forth between laura croft and guardian of light and binding of isaac wrath of the lamb expansion. Both fucking amazing games.

[chim]

So I've been trying Hat Fortress 2 out for the past 2 and a half weeks, clocking at 40 hours. I only play soldier on 2fort 30 player pub servers. I'm having a ton of fun and doing pretty well, by standards of shitty pubs. Here is my review and opinions about the balance of the game.

 

I have tried TF2 out in the past but never got hooked. As a cs 1.6 vet, my main gripe was that no class had The Gun. There's no AK47/m4a1. Everyone has its drawbacks and takes time to learn. The battles are absolutely crazy at first. What am I supposed to do in that inferno of a chokepoint? What has dawned on me lately is that under the hood of this crazy cartoonish shooter is a really solid deathmatch engine, reminiscent of Quake and UT. That's what TF Classic was, a class based Quake or HLDM, and this is a modern extension. The game is extremely well-balanced. Remember those early TF2 screenshots in the GoldSrc engine? This is WAY better.

 

As a fan of classic rocket duels, I very quickly got hooked with the soldier as I got used to the limitation of 4 rockets and slow move speed (and the unavailability of a railgun to switch to). That seems to be the idea of every class; the limitations are obvious, but as you ease into the idea of how it is SUPPOSED to be played, you can get good at it and break the rules. You can't rush in spamming fire as a pyro. You do hit and runs (or w+m1 with the phlog, sigh). As a soldier you're a slow one man army that brushes off most damage like flea bites, on par with the Demo and second only to the Heavy. The damage has to add up, by several players or a really good one before I'm done for. The rocket jumping is limited but that minor advantage becomes a massive one if you make good use of it.

 

I understand that the soldier is abit of a noob class because you can, as I did early, just stay near ammo replenishers and spam rockets wherever until people die. Which is BORING AS SHIT. The soldier is the crazy versatile class; roaming is fun as hell and you can quickly switch between acting as some sort of support in big fights, and a jumpy killer behind enemy lines. It's a good beginner class, but as skill ceilings come, the sky's the limit. I would've switched class quickly if I didn't realize that the more I anticipate enemy movement, the more I make use of jumps and corners, the more devastating this class gets. Every little battle is an exercise to hone that intuitive reaction, just like the good old days. That's what so awesome about this game. It's old fashioned team death match, a mix of twitchskills and item tactics. The hat thing I won't comment on. I don't care what you think of my puke-green Gibus. Just here to have fun.

 

I love dueling enemy soldiers, especially if they are much better than me. Every rocket counts, every strafe-jump. I have met some extremely good enemy soldiers on the servers I frequent, and their ingenuity is astounding. They'll escape my rockets and round a few corners, only to show up again when I least expect it. There's nothing more humiliating than having every rocket miss as you take rocket after rocket in the face.

 

I moved my way through the various rocket launchers until the black box, but have now returned to the vanilla. The black box is a hell of a lot of fun, but having 4 good rockets is soldier heaven.

 

Scouts: This class is mostly an annoyance but dangerous if you take the CTF seriously (which most shitty pub servers don't). Getting bonked in the head or circle-strafed and shotgunned is the only threat they pose, which is minor if they're alone. Mostly they'll just escape my rockets and be gone like the wind - "I'M A FREAKIN BLERR". I have noticed that some of them don't really make use of strafing and double-jumping, and just try to run straight at me (or straight away), and that's probably the only time I can make an easy scout kill. Other times it's mostly a matter of lucky timing. They tend to be opportunists, showing up to make the killing shot when I'm being stomped by many players at once.

 

Demoman: Mostly evenly matched but demoknights are fucking annoying. I would consider this guy a bigger threat if I didn't see the times I'm killed by a demo as due to a very obvious mistake on my part. Facing a demo, there is always a way to be more patient, more careful, more faggy with the rockets. Few things are more satisfying than placing a rocket right in a demo's face, and as the blast throws him in a direction that I can anticipate, I put another one where he will land. On a good roll I will do this to 5 or 6 enemies in a row. That's what soldiering is all about, maggots! But the demo will put up a serious fight when being chased in the enemy base. If I'm trying to do some enemy base roaming, it's always the demo that puts a stop to it. I can't get the hang of the equalizer except as a way to escape, so his melee outclasses me 9 times out of 10.

 

Engy: Good engies stay out of sight and let the turret do the talking. Bad ones seem to think their shotgun matters in any case except when I'm severely drained. Well placed turrets are hell.

 

Medic: This guy is like the scout, never showing up except when doing his thing with a heavy or another soldier.

 

Heavy: This guy is the grandaddy of damage dealers and eats up a load of rockets. Facing them head-on is absolutely futile. Most of them don't seem to notice when taking several rockets in the back. They also don't get the message when I make use of corners to stay out of sight while sending deliveries from Uncle Sam. If they back away a bit, I get greedy and run straight into their fire.

 

Snipers: Fuck this shit. Sneaky opportunists, the lot of them. The worst ones don't care if I'm rocket jumping, they'll just head shot me mid-air. Do this enough and I will only focus on catching you from behind. But then you've got the knives and piss...

 

..and the Spy. About the same nuisance for me as everybody else in the team. I can't spycheck worth a damn, so good ones are virtually untouchable. But they mostly focus on fellow Engies and snipers.

[Rubin Farr]

Look like Final Fantasy 7 is getting a reissue on PC with achievements, cloud saves, and the same 1997 graphics?

 

http://i.joystiq.com/2012/06/21/leak-reveals-final-fantasy-7-coming-back-to-pc-with-achievemen/

[Guest Frankie5fingers]

Look like Final Fantasy 7 is getting a reissue on PC with achievements, cloud saves, and the same 1997 graphics?

 

http://i.joystiq.com...ith-achievemen/

I say good. They shouldn't update the graphics. FF7 is one of those games that should never be touched with remastering or whatever bullshit that "Enhances" gameplay. if you don't like 7 cause the graphics aren't to your liking then you're a Fucking idiot (Not you Rubin lol. i mean people in general). look, i know there are people out there that only buy games based solely on Graphics but thats a generation that didn't play this game, and 7 shouldn't be pandered to them. Those people will never understand the feeling that someone like me, or anyone else that played it years ago, get when we play it.

[Bubba69]

far cry 2

[mcbpete]

Look like Final Fantasy 7 is getting a reissue on PC with achievements, cloud saves, and the same 1997 graphics?

 

http://i.joystiq.com/2012/06/21/leak-reveals-final-fantasy-7-coming-back-to-pc-with-achievemen/

Achievements - Surely the achievement is to get to the end of the game ?!

 

Anyways, just got the bad boy working perfectly on my phone from my original PSX discs -

 

[Rubin Farr]

FF7 is by far the best in series, and only one I tried to complete. I love the retro graphics, but you have to understand getting FF7 remade in HD is a japanese national obsession! Lol

[Guest Frankie5fingers]

thats so true. those japanese love their FF. and after several failures in the series i can understand why they would want to remake the best one over and over again.

[data]

games i've finished today:

 

another world / out of this world

dear esther

[skotosa]

Playing Max Payn first rock star game I actually am playing for the storyline and liking it.

[spratters]

Bought yesterday for PS3:

Homefront

Unchartered 3

Read Dead Redemption

 

Started on Homefront. Wasn't expecting very much but I remember wanting to get it when it came out. Quite an enjoyable shooter. Really like the gun noises.

[Ego]

Bought some new stuff on Steam.

 

Quantum Conundrum - Portal-esque puzzler by one of the lead game designers of the first Portal. Not as mind bending and seems to take ages to get going but pretty good. Nice art style too.

Splice - Relaxing little puzzle game.

Civilization V: Gods & Kings - Expansion adding religion, espionage and some gameplay & AI improvements. Endgame is still slow as hell, AI is still unchallenging, new UI bugs have been introduced and I think it's still lacking depth. Meh.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - Haven't played this much but seems pretty good.

Indie Game: The Movie - Pretty good non-glamorous look into the weird lives of a few indie developers. I started with disdain for that awkward Super Meat Boy coder and the troubled Fez guy but that changed when I saw the hard struggle these guys go through.

[Guest Enter a new display name]

I beat Batman: Arkham Asylum on hard difficulty a few days ago. I just started playing Batman: Arkham City but I am considering playing God Hand as well.

[Joyrex]

Look like Final Fantasy 7 is getting a reissue on PC with achievements, cloud saves, and the same 1997 graphics?

 

http://i.joystiq.com...ith-achievemen/

 

LOL @ "Cloud" saves

[Guest Frankie5fingers]

Bought some new stuff on Steam.

 

Quantum Conundrum - Portal-esque puzzler by one of the lead game designers of the first Portal. Not as mind bending and seems to take ages to get going but pretty good. Nice art style too.

Splice - Relaxing little puzzle game.

Civilization V: Gods & Kings - Expansion adding religion, espionage and some gameplay & AI improvements. Endgame is still slow as hell, AI is still unchallenging, new UI bugs have been introduced and I think it's still lacking depth. Meh.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion - Haven't played this much but seems pretty good.

Indie Game: The Movie - Pretty good non-glamorous look into the weird lives of a few indie developers. I started with disdain for that awkward Super Meat Boy coder and the troubled Fez guy but that changed when I saw the hard struggle these guys go through.

if you don't mind could you possibly give some more detail on Civ 5 and specifically Sins of Solar (or anyone else that knows). they were two games ive always been thinking of getting but never did. i loved Civ 4, A LOT. and i loved Homeworld 2, which i believe is the type of game Solar is. a space RTS, if im not mistaken.

i actually had Sins of Solar in my hand when it came out but never bought it cause i saw the X series games (hands down the best space game ever made).

[EnjoyableFog]

Dead Rising 2..I'm still playing it...although I almost said fuck it because of the limited save slots and not realizing that in a certain case, the time continues on to the next case. Luckily, I was able to load one of the saves and rush it with hopes I didn't get grabbed by zombies and killed too much by the "mini-boss".

 

I know I could continue on playing even if I "lost the truth" but the whole reason for me to play is the storyline in it.

[SR4]

FF7 is by far the best in series, and only one I tried to complete. I love the retro graphics, but you have to understand getting FF7 remade in HD is a japanese national obsession! Lol

 

im really, really close to agreeing with you on this...as FFIV is my nostalgic favorite but graphics are obviously dated/repetitive gameplay, etc.

 

Im very close to saying FFX is a close second...I know Tidus is a whiny boykid, but I liked the other characters for the most part, and the battle system was probably the best one yet..the soundtrack and the areas were gorgeous as well.

 

I think what clinches it for FFVII is the materia. Each stage of the game you revealed more plot, but also a new awesome spell/summon and animation to go with it. It made the level grind damn fun, and you could constantly interchange things with other characters. Combine FFVII's materia system with FFX's "switch" battle system, and you would have a close to perfect RPG setup in my eyes.

[sergeantk]

Why no love for FFIX? Severely underrated. I also really like XII but most people flame me for whatever reason, the story was okay but I loved the world, the hunts, and the awesome explorable areas late in the game.

[SR4]

Why no love for FFIX? Severely underrated. I also really like XII but most people flame me for whatever reason, the story was okay but I loved the world, the hunts, and the awesome explorable areas late in the game.

 

I loved FFXII up until you hit about lvl 70...the grinding became so damn tedious I eventually gave up...I still wonder if I could have beaten Omega Mark.

 

The whole idea of the entire world being one continuous landmass was amazingly well done...along with the realtime fights...

 

I haven't played FFXIII, but what the hell happened?

[sergeantk]

I didn't have that level of dedication. After I beat Gilgamesh and got most of the Espers I pretty much had had enough, although the game did give me a solid 120 hrs between 2 playthoughs and I'm sure I'll pick it up again.

 

And X might be my personal favorite. It has my favorite song in any game ever (if you havent heard it, i recommend listening, as a fan of music, not just FFX)

[747Music]

Nobuo Uematsu is unmatched in video game music. That's a part of the reason that the new FFs aren't as good as the old ones. They don't have that wonderful atmosphere created by his amazing music.

[sergeantk]

Unmatched besides Yamaoka of course (although it'd be hard to pick which composer I like more, I guess they're both on their own levels of genius)

 

[Jur]

Psychonauts, I don't know what happened 4 years ago that turned me off, but after playing this again on Steam something clicked.

[SR4]

im surprised that no one ever mentions this amazing masterpiece of a track by Yamaoka:

 

[youtubehd]h_1lU638EOs[/youtubehd]

 

That's fucking IDM if there ever was any. Ambient terror-hop?