General Gaming Megathread: What are you playing?

[SnapSlav]

From guy who enjoyed collecting achievements I consider it a compliment. To each his own!

Whoever said I enjoyed collecting achievements? I said your complaints about achievements were pointless and I said that collectibles are in ALL kinds of games, not just console titles.

It might have been difficult but I think it would have been more interesting if the player in OWB actually started out as a brain in a jar with his/her body missing, in order to find it the player has to 'remote control' other bodies, each with their own SPECIAL points and skills.
And perhaps at the end of the DLC the player would run into his/her own body now occupied by a member of the Think Tank, with the player having to take it back.

Now THAT'S a brilliant idea. It immediately reminds me of how the Courier is stripped of all their belongings at the start of DM thus weakening them, and a very different manner would accomplish similar by doing this sugestion. OWB suffered from unreasonable "difficulty" because it was designed with an overpowered Courier in mind, whereas DM was designed with smooth scaling because of the "reset" Courier mechanic, so not being able to use your own body would have cleverly solved this dilemma in OWB. The most important thing, though, is that it would have addressed the ridiculous absurdity of a brainless body somehow articulating thoughts (from where?) and freely moving on its own in a quest to regain its brain.

 

[Atomkilla]

I think the whole brain problem is a reference to some old SF film, if I'm not wrong. In any case, the whole OWB is essentially filled with these references to 50's pulp SF and so on, and that quest was supposed to fit the whole "wacky science" theme that was going on, aside from (potentially) being an omage to some particular work.
I do agree tho, it was silly. I personally didn't like OWB all that much. It was more of a lootfest than anything else. It's just that it has plenty of content and some great locations that made it stand above HH and LR for the most apart - otherwise, it would be a very boring DLC.

 

[valcik]

.. a brainless body somehow articulating thoughts (from where?)

From his brain, connected with the body through some kind of coils acting as transmitters, as it's explained right on start.

.. freely moving on its own in a quest to regain its brain.

Y-17 Trauma overriding harnesses are much better example of absurdity IMO. Fully mechanized autonomic suits, moving on its own with a dead body trapped inside? Excellent stuff and very original, if you ask me. Much more funny than "oh noes, I suffer with amnesia caused by head injury!" wanna-be serious yet boring cliche, used in Witcher and dozens of other games before.

I think the whole brain problem is a reference to some old SF film, if I'm not wrong.

It reminded me somewhat of Professor Dowell's Head; which is Russian sci-fi novel from 1925. I strongly recommend it for anyone!

Spoiler

Professor Dowell and his assistant surgeon Dr. Kern are working on medical problems including life support in separated body parts. Dr. Kern kills Dowell (in a set up car / asthma accident). Professor Dowell's head is now kept alive and used by Dr. Kern for extraction of scientific secrets. Continuing his experiments, Dr. Kern obtains a head of a young woman, which he keeps in a similar setup for a while before transplanting it to a new body.

 

[Atomkilla]

Y-17 Trauma overriding harnesses are much better example of absurdity IMO. Fully mechanized autonomic suits, moving on its own with a dead body trapped inside? Excellent stuff and very original, if you ask me. Much more funny than "oh noes, I suffer with amnesia caused by head injury!" wanna-be serious yet boring cliche, used in Witcher and dozens of other games before.

I think it was also explained how those suits work... better check on the Vault.

I'm not sure why you're comparing it with the whole amnesia cliche tho. And as far as it goes, it is a cliche, for sure, but nonetheless a useful plot element for establishing in medias res. If it's done right.
As for The Witcher, that game at least acknowledges that the character has actual amnesia and has memory slowly returning (and the character acknowledges that himself, numerous times), and that amnesia is caused by something far greater than "simple" head injury, though I guess you need to read the books to know that. It doesn't simply give a blank state of the character like many other games, all the while pretending that "it's not amnesia" and using it as an excuse for complete freedom in character creation. Geralt is, in a way, an already formed character, the likes of which can be traced through his dialogue and actions, as well as past references. What is left to the player is to, basically, fill in the blanks, though the game does sometimes make a faint, but nonetheless, existent pointer to a right direction (right as in "this is what old Geralt would've done").
Characters from his past and dialogues with them matter, but it's peculiar that Geralt never asked more about his history some of his (ex-)companions like Dandelion, who is asserted to be his best friend. I'm talking The Witcher only, the first game, and not the sequel. I still haven't tried the second game, so no spoilers, please.


That book sounds interesting. Some basic outlines give me The Re-Animator vibe. I suppose because of the whole head-business going on...

 

[valcik]

I think it was also explained how those suits work... better check on the Vault.

Yes, I do remember it from game - this suit's AI was designed to take control of muscular system and walk to the nearest base, in case its "inhabitant" is heavily wounded or unconscious. It looks to me like there's no muscular system on those dead bodies in OWB though, they're nothing but skeletons.

 

[Atomkilla]

I think it was also explained how those suits work... better check on the Vault.

Yes, I do remember it from game - this suit's AI was designed to take control of muscular system and walk to the nearest base, in case its "inhabitant" is heavily wounded or unconscious. It looks to me like there's no muscular system on those dead bodies in OWB though, they're nothing but skeletons.

Maybe the suits possess some sort of internal servo-motors which are capable of moving it.
But yeah, it doesn't make much sense. It's a great idea, essentially, having a zombie power armor roaming freely, but it is silly in many ways. However, the whole of OWB is.

 

[valcik]

.. yup, it's self-propelled, according to wiki:

It is a miracle of research, employing intelligent fibers and artificial muscle, rather than the crude hydraulics that dominated military technology back in 2077.

I have a soft spot for any sci-fi stuff, silly or not. Big MT fit my taste better than cowboy-themed Mojave, I find NCR and Legion unbearably boring.

 

[Atomkilla]

Dunno, I thought Mojave was a highly varied setting that could've been even better, given more time. But I do agree with you, Legion was very boring - no thanks to short development - but I thought NCR was really well-done. They were a greatly envisioned, and realized, joinable faction that was, simply put, grey and felt very real, with plenty of unique characters. However, lots of its qualities were lost since it was pitted against the godawful, tragically underdeveloped Legion which just prevented NCR to shine its brightest.
People often complain about the whole cowboy-theme as being bad or even repulsive - but I personally liked it. It might have been forced too much upon the player at certain points in game, but I don't think it was bad. In general I like the whole post-apoc + Wild West combo a lot though.

Big MT had great design and locations, but, to quote Yamu from some other thread, or rather paraphrase, it had almost no real story except for those two huge dialogue blocks at the very beginning and end of the DLC. I thought that was a shame. Big MT's history is revealed in an interesting way on several occasion and in several locations, but it doesn't change the fact that the main quest of the DLC was just poorly constructed.
The toaster and the other characters are really good, though. Very original.

 

[Wastewander]

Tried playing Dragon Age: Origins recently, and I swear I couldn't be bothered to spend more than 10 minutes playing. I played it a few times when it came out, and thought it was decent enough. Bland plot, and as much I can appreciate their attempt to gray out their C&C, it all still felt obvious. Not very taken on the combat either, and I would most certainly blame this on my background of action games and whatnot, but I did enjoy games like Fallout, and KotOR. It's certainly functional, and tactical so the sequel's divergence from that does deserve the flak that it gets.

Speaking of, started playing DAII, and what's a shame is that there was potential in this that could've justified some of the things they did. The smaller location could've worked well had you had a greater influence on the story. Certain things I've thought about might be too ambitious, but if through some quests you could influence the Templars to start easing up on Mages , or to continue cracking down on them even harder and increasing tensions between both groups? Even just that could've led to, y'know, better ending(s) instead of that big "Fuck You" where you fight everyone regardless of choice.

But it fails to live up to any potential it might've had. The idea to span the game over many years becomes heavily underutilized.

Can't stress how much I dislike Act 1. Reminds me of Radiata Stories where at a certain point in the game you do nothing, but side-quests, just waiting for something to happen in the plot. Except in this case you just do it till you have enough money.

 

[Emperor]

Remeber that I was playing XCOM? Well it looks like I was doing well because the aliens fried my computer last thursday

Now I'm with my old laptop, the poor thing can not even run New Vegas and maybe Xenonauts and Underrail are the best that it can run. Now it's only old games for me until I fix my main computer, I think its time to another Fallout 1 run or maybe Ultima Underworld

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

I just gave the Simpsons games (Bart vs the Space Mutants, Bart vs the World, and Bartman meets Radioactive Man) a try on the NES and the Game Gear.
There are actually games in these but what kills them is the stiff controls, had those been better worked out I could see these games doing better even though they have little with the Simpsons license in common.

Regarding the Fallout New Vegas discussion earlier, I think the post apoc + cowboy vibe works very well for it, and someone please correct me if I am mistaken but I think it was like that from the start.
Fallout 3 with its faux drama regarding clean water felt like a very unfocused sandbox world, people talked about lack of clean water but did little about it themselves, there were barely any NPCs or factions going through the ruins of Washington and surrounding settlements looking for stuff, and the world was basically waiting for someone like the player to come by to fix up stuff as certainly no one else was going to do so.
Even the apocalypse did not feel much like an apocalypse, it just made the world very messy on the East Coast.

 

[Censor]

Currently playing a lot of Armed Assault 3. Did not dig the 2035 setting at first, but it is still a one of a kind game and I find the setting good enough now. Campaign is a bit short and lacks helicopter/jet/tank missions, but maybe some of those will be released in the future. Most multiplayer servers are not my cup of tea, but the few that are do host really good coops and pvp scenarios.

 

[SnapSlav]

Well, I know that last I mentioned my current gaming plans, I'd gotten the itch to replay the Doom series, from start to finish. So.....

I managed to find MOST of my game discs, with the tragic exception of my Doom II CD. I looked in every "old stuff" box I could find, and couldn't find any Doom II CDs... =( That being said, I did get the others, Ultimate Doom (Full original game + expansion episode), Final Doom (both episodes), Doom 3, and Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. Alas, I came to find that I was unable to play the original games without installing some emulators, and the amount of time I spent looking for the right ones wasn't enough, at which point I just gave up. Which is a real pity, because it's been almost 2 decades since the last time I played any of the ORIGINAL Doom games, and I'd really, really, reeeeeeally like to have another go at them, again. But since they were recent enough, I had no trouble installing Doom 3 + expansion and playing it again.

. . . . . Not sure what I was expecting. It still startles me, and I recognize that as a survival horror game goes its jump scares are among the best in the business, but I'm "too experienced" for this, anymore. My habit of meticulously analyzing games and breaking them down has left me approaching each hallway, each doorway, and each button in a very systematic manner, and that just cuts out any of the worry, fear, or even the mild startles. The game shows its age, but it's far from terrible in that regard. Just, something's missing. The experience hasn't been all that engrossing. Though perhaps that'll change when I beat it (yet again) and unlock Nightmare difficulty and try it out on that setting? We shall see...

 

[mobucks]

What about GZDoom or Zandronum for the originals? Very easy to get up and playing in minutes with those emulators. just drag and drop the DOOM.WAD file onto the program icon for GZDoom.

Personally Brutal Doom is so good I would not be able to play keyboard only for more than a few levels.

 

[Emperor]

So...Steam Summer Sale.... I bought a few games.

I'm at gaming impediment, I don't know what to play, there so few options. Had to drop my Ultima Underworld run because I accidentaly drinked something that I shouldn't drink and now I can't get a certain item that would help me in the lower levels, without it I die all the time, making my progress impossible.

I'm thinking to play to Deus Ex (the first one) or Anachonox (I think that I wrote right) or Jagged Alliance 2 or ... ''goes counting his fingers, each one a game, then to his toes then he goes to next person to count her fingers and so on''

Thank any divinity that I like older games, only 2-3games from my game library don't run in my veteran laptop.

 

[SnapSlav]

Thank any divinity that I like older games, only 2-3games from my game library don't run in my veteran laptop.

Wish I could simply use an older system. But just about all of em die when I'm through with em, thus why I've gotta try getting my older games to work on my latest specs. Even my Sega Nomad (the handheld Genesis) was untouched for a number of years, and it was working perfectly the last time I touched it, but when I tried to fire it up again, it just wouldn't work. Had to settle with playing Sonic 2 on one of the classics collections on my PS2 and PS3, and even then, the buttons and controls just aren't as solid as they were on my Nomad.

*sigh* First world problems.

 

[Emperor]

Wish I could simply use an older system. But just about all of em die when I'm through with em, thus why I've gotta try getting my older games to work on my latest specs. Even my Sega Nomad (the handheld Genesis) was untouched for a number of years, and it was working perfectly the last time I touched it, but when I tried to fire it up again, it just wouldn't work. Had to settle with playing Sonic 2 on one of the classics collections on my PS2 and PS3, and even then, the buttons and controls just aren't as solid as they were on my Nomad.

*sigh* First world problems.

I'm in a similair situation, I have found my Super Nintendo,PS1 and PS2, last time I remember they had no problems before I boxed them, now the video cable of the SNES doesn't work in any tv (not even in the older ones) and the power cable from the PS1 is missing and my PS2 doesn't work anymore. *sigh* I was killing the nostalgia on emulators on my now-fried computer but it's not the same thing with the console working. At least my Game Boy Color still works, shame that I only have one of those 99 in 1 cartridges.

Also, I have found that Anachronox freezes my laptop to the point of needing a hard reset, Deus Ex 1 doesn't open and Gothic gives me a access violation. I think that the best is to wait my main computer get fixed but it will take a while.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Bought Divinity: Original Sin at the Steam Sale. I never buy Early Access titles, but this one's supposed to release in like a week, so I said, why not.

Well damn, it's the best thing since stringed cheese. Was going to take a brief look, and ended up playing until 4 a.m. The game still got a few bugs here and there, but other than that it's completely stable, beautiful, expansive, interesting, and fiddly. It's like the exploration aspect of Divine Divinity combined with the wacky humor of Divinity 2 and tactical combat of Arcanum or ToEE.

The multiplayer aspect feels a bit forced, but it's still quite playable in single player, Beyond-Divinity style, so that's OK I guess. I expect that I'll be playing the game a LOT, especially post-release. Highly recommended to any and all traditional RPG fans.

 

[IYouI]

Fallout New Vegas UE (Ultimate Edition, includes all DLCs)

Just started new character

 

[zegh8578]

Re-re-replaying Oblivion. Bugged piece of goddamn garbage, official patch, unofficial patch = an ocean of bugs. But, I still love it.
I have finished the painting quest in Chorrol, I am the Hero of Everything, I just saved Chorrol from an Oblivion gate - but the countess hates me. Oh, Oblivion, I'll never understand you.