General Gaming Megathread: What are you playing?

[lewis]

shadow warrior and xcom terror from the deep, my computer cant handle nothing from this year.

 

[Ravager69]

Concerning Dead Space - I know I may offend someone, but this is my opinion on the game - you like it, fine, I don't care.

Anyway, after spending an hour with it, I must say I am utterly dissappointed. Aiming is *awful*. It's like "oohhh noooooo eeevilll aaaaliens Iiiii haaaave toooo shooot theeeeemmm buuuuut theeee graaaavity fieeeeeeld iiiisss soooo stroooong aaand maaakes aaaaaiming taaaake yeeeears. Plus, I walk like I'm a model on a fashion show, completly relaxed and with speed of a 4 year old". Furthermore, the game is horribly scripted and forces you to watch events on which you have no impact. AND the main hero is a mute. AGAIN. It is getting tiresome to play a game where your characters calmly watches as his friend gets sneak-attacked by some monster, without saying a word, hell, he won't even wave his hand. What he should be doing is screaming "WATCH THE FUCK OUT!!! BEHIND YOU!!".

I remember playing the Suffering (which basically owns Dead Space in terms of atmosphere, though shares some of it's faults), where after having some visions Torque breathed rapidly, fighting unique monsters with a *background*, the characters like Hector and being soaked in blood every 2 minutes.

As for what I am playing - CoD5 on multi and am having a blast with it, providing I find some normal people to play with. Also, I finished A vampyre story (pretty decent oldschool adventure game) and VtM:Bloodlines. Man I love Bloodlines.

 

[Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude]

Did you have vsync on? The aiming is extremely responsive once you disable vsync and crank up the sensitivity.

 

[Iridium L]

while I can see some logic in that, I would assume that also means you get less drops of ammo that you actually need. when I only had the Plasma Cutter and Flamethrower I had A LOT of ammo for both, especially the Plasma Cutter. now that I have bought two more weapons my ammo drops are very spread out and I'm always tight on ammo for every weapon.

True, but you really don't need that much ammo if you upgrade your weapons, and drops are plentiful: enemies, crates, lockers plus some stuff just lying around. Most Necromorphs go down with 2-3 well aimed shots from almost any weapon, except the black kind. Come to think of it, I only need one Ripper blade (full damage and duration) to take out one of those black humanlike creatures most of the time. I'm playing on medium difficulty and its almost too easy despite my poor twitch skills.

also, for me money hasn't been an issue at all. I think I have close to 80k credits at the moment and I have bought both armor upgrades and three weapons, along with some extra ammo.

Money isn't really an issue, but becomes one if you want to buy Power Nodes at 10000cr a piece. You don't find all that much, and if you want to upgrade more than one weapon and your RIG you'll have to buy them.

Furthermore, the game is horribly scripted and forces you to watch events on which you have no impact. AND the main hero is a mute. AGAIN. It is getting tiresome to play a game where your characters calmly watches as his friend gets sneak-attacked by some monster, without saying a word, hell, he won't even wave his hand. What he should be doing is screaming "WATCH THE FUCK OUT!!! BEHIND YOU!!".

This is one of my major gripes with the game, it gets even more ridiculous in chapter 7 when Isaac [spoiler:dbe73975a4]meets up with Nicole - the girlfriend whose fate was uncertain - and the following monologue occurs:

Nicole: "Isaac, is that really you?"
Isaac: ......
Nicole: "It is really you, I'm so glad you are here! I can help you, follow me."
Isaac: ......
[...]
Nicole: "I love you Isaac! Maybe this will help you get through this."
Isaac: ......[/spoiler:dbe73975a4]

Why do game developers assume, the less character a protagonist possesses, the easier people can identify with him/her? It's bullshit.

 

[marko2te]

Just downloaded Restoration Project for KOTOR2 its still in beta but gonna try it anyway.

 

[Serge 13]

Just started playing Call Of Duty: World at War.
It's ok but it ain't as good as Call of Duty 4.

 

[TorontoReign]

I'm not playing any and it's driving me crazy. There are no good games out. Suggestions for old RPG's that are abandonware and very good?

 

[mulaalia]

I'm not playing any and it's driving me crazy. There are no good games out. Suggestions for old RPG's that are abandonware and very good?

Sword of the Samurai is a very good game, as for RPG i would go for Albion although its not old school.

 

[failout]

I bought Far Cry 2 (PC) last night, and it sucks enormous amounts of cock. Perhaps even more than Fallout 3, which could be the worst game I've ever played.

My main gripe is that it takes absurd amounts of bullets to kill enemy soldiers, whereas they can kill the player very quickly. There isn't even any point in flanking enemies or doing some other clever shit because that just means they can kill you even faster because you're closer to them. It really doesn't help that you're given almost zero ammunition to work with, like four pistol rounds and one assault rifle magazine (and when you pick up a shotgun from an enemy it has a grand total of three shells in it). If the enemies had a realistic amount of health it wouldn't be a problem, but they take preposterous amounts of damage. The ceaseless tutorial popups get on my nerves too, and it was really cool to have the tutorial automatically demonstrate gun jamming in the middle of a firefight in which I participated with a Makarov that had four bullets in it. I did not win. I went looking for a mod that would modify weapon damage, but it appears that the game isn't even intended to be modded by anyone, and thus far nobody has gotten mods to work. Did the development team timewarp here from the eighties or something? Because I can't understand why they have never heard of modding.

Overrall the game just gives me a really mediocre vibe. The gunplay doesn't feel right and everything is just really half-assed. Like, why are you normally a floating pair of arms but can see your body during certain actions, like in the beginning when you're riding in the car? Why can't you go prone? Why isn't the mouse wheel supported at all? Why is using binocs such a chore when in Far Cry and Crysis you just push one button? Why does the game have superficial elements of realism without actually being realistic at all? Why doesn't stealth work properly? Why does choosing from an extensive list of characters only determine the appearance of your arms?

I'm not too happy about continuing to waste money on shitty games that the reviewers assure me are solid gold. Perhaps in the future I should completely ignore "professional" reviews and concentrate on user scores. They seem a hell of a lot more accurate (e.g a metascore of 5.6 for FC2). A PC Gamer reviewer wrote "after playing Far Cry 2, I'm simply unable to go back to straight and simple first-person shooters." But what the fuck is he talking about? FC2 is a straight and simple FPS. It certainly doesn't do anything new or interesting. It's nowhere near as good as the first game or Crysis.

 

[aenemic]

I bought Far Cry 2 (PC) last night, and it sucks enormous amounts of cock. Perhaps even more than Fallout 3, which could be the worst game I've ever played.

My main gripe is that it takes absurd amounts of bullets to kill enemy soldiers, whereas they can kill the player very quickly. There isn't even any point in flanking enemies or doing some other clever shit because that just means they can kill you even faster because you're closer to them. It really doesn't help that you're given almost zero ammunition to work with, like four pistol rounds and one assault rifle magazine (and when you pick up a shotgun from an enemy it has a grand total of three shells in it). If the enemies had a realistic amount of health it wouldn't be a problem, but they take preposterous amounts of damage. The ceaseless tutorial popups get on my nerves too, and it was really cool to have the tutorial automatically demonstrate gun jamming in the middle of a firefight in which I participated with a Makarov that had four bullets in it. I did not win. I went looking for a mod that would modify weapon damage, but it appears that the game isn't even intended to be modded by anyone, and thus far nobody has gotten mods to work. Did the development team timewarp here from the eighties or something? Because I can't understand why they have never heard of modding.

Overrall the game just gives me a really mediocre vibe. The gunplay doesn't feel right and everything is just really half-assed. Like, why are you normally a floating pair of arms but can see your body during certain actions, like in the beginning when you're riding in the car? Why can't you go prone? Why isn't the mouse wheel supported at all? Why is using binocs such a chore when in Far Cry and Crysis you just push one button? Why does the game have superficial elements of realism without actually being realistic at all? Why doesn't stealth work properly? Why does choosing from an extensive list of characters only determine the appearance of your arms?

I'm not too happy about continuing to waste money on shitty games that the reviewers assure me are solid gold. Perhaps in the future I should completely ignore "professional" reviews and concentrate on user scores. They seem a hell of a lot more accurate (e.g a metascore of 5.6 for FC2). A PC Gamer reviewer wrote "after playing Far Cry 2, I'm simply unable to go back to straight and simple first-person shooters." But what the fuck is he talking about? FC2 is a straight and simple FPS. It certainly doesn't do anything new or interesting. It's nowhere near as good as the first game or Crysis.

I don't really want to defend Far Cry 2 in any way because I wasn't too impressed by it either, but I think you made some unfair attacks against it here.

first of all, ammo is plenty and while enemies might take a bit too many bullets before they drop, it's not like they made me run out of ammo constantly. aim for the head and make sure you pick up all ammo you find, which is quite a lot.

flanking and such does help but of course you're not going to get supportive fire or anything considering you're on your own. I had problems sneaking up on enemies and unfortunately stealthy kills don't really seem to be an option here, but tactical maneuvers are valid if you just learn how to do them. it's a game though, you can't expect 100% human behavior from enemies.

as for the tutorial making the weapon jam on purpose... not likely. your weapon jammed for the first time and a pop-up appeared. that's how it works in all games, including Far Cry 2.

and finally, you can't complain about the game not being more than an fps when it's never ever claimed to be more than that.

that said, I agree completely that the game feels really half-assed and gunplay doesn't feel right. I'll stick to Crysis for fps goodness.

oh, one more thing, regarding mods: sure, mod tools and mods in general have become pretty common. but I can assure you most developers probably don't want people messing with their games. it's their copyrighted products. expecting mod tools would be like expecting you being able to go in and screw around with songs a band has written and recorded.

 

[Scowl]

I'm currently playing Ikariam (browser game) and Jagged Alliance 2; Wildfire.

I'm not playing any and it's driving me crazy. There are no good games out. Suggestions for old RPG's that are abandonware and very good?

I have very fond memories of Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire, but it's been over a decade since I've played it so it might just be due to nostalgia.

You've probably already played Wasteland and Fountain of Dreams, right? There's also Bad Blood.

 

[MrBumble]

Dead Space and System Shock 2. Can't handle their awesomeness...

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

I bought Far Cry 2 (PC) last night, and it sucks enormous amounts of cock. Perhaps even more than Fallout 3, which could be the worst game I've ever played.

I've just picked up Far Cry 2 and Clear Sky and so far I'm loving FC2 but even though I'm a Stalker addict Clear Sky is more than a bit meh. I think FC2 has plenty of issues but not those you've listed. What difficulty are you playing on? There's plenty of ammo around if you bother to look. The tutorial stage doesn't last long and if you buy a shotgun and it's pretty much one shot kills from then on. Personally I've found the gun play good enough for me, much better than the first game. In fact so far I'd rate Far Cry 2 over Far Cry any day. Actually I'd probably rate anything over Far Cry, the original definately gets a place in my top ten of worst video games.

Back on topic, currently playing FC2, Stalker Clear Sky and Need for Speed Undercover.

 

[failout]

I don't really want to defend Far Cry 2 in any way because I wasn't too impressed by it either, but I think you made some unfair attacks against it here.

first of all, ammo is plenty and while enemies might take a bit too many bullets before they drop, it's not like they made me run out of ammo constantly. aim for the head and make sure you pick up all ammo you find, which is quite a lot.

I really didn't find any ammo. When I got to the second outpost (where you have to rescue some guy) all I had was an assault rifle with one magazine and a pistol with four bullets. Picking up weapons from dead enemies yielded almost no ammo. Aiming for the head really shouldn't be necessary when you have an assault rifle.

flanking and such does help but of course you're not going to get supportive fire or anything considering you're on your own. I had problems sneaking up on enemies and unfortunately stealthy kills don't really seem to be an option here, but tactical maneuvers are valid if you just learn how to do them. it's a game though, you can't expect 100% human behavior from enemies.

I know how to get behind enemies and all that, but it just doesn't help because they still take such idiotic amounts of damage that being close to them just makes you die faster because they have an easier time hitting you.

as for the tutorial making the weapon jam on purpose... not likely. your weapon jammed for the first time and a pop-up appeared. that's how it works in all games, including Far Cry 2.

It always happened right after I had engaged the enemy in the second mission. It was clearly automatically triggered for tutorial purposes. Not all games use exactly the same tutorial methods.

and finally, you can't complain about the game not being more than an fps when it's never ever claimed to be more than that.

I was quoting a reviewer who seemed to think that FC2 is more than a dumb shooter, and I never said that FC2 was supposed to have been more than a shooter. But considering all the superficial realism I was expecting the game mechanics to be equally realistic.

oh, one more thing, regarding mods: sure, mod tools and mods in general have become pretty common. but I can assure you most developers probably don't want people messing with their games. it's their copyrighted products. expecting mod tools would be like expecting you being able to go in and screw around with songs a band has written and recorded.

What? Developers like Epic, id and Valve go out of their way to make sure that people can mod their games (and BioWare essentially made Neverwinter Nights for the sole purpose of allowing people to make their own content for it). They provide SDKs for free. Valve runs its own wiki for people who work with their SDK.

Modding increases the lifespan and popularity of a game, and may provide an easy way for developers to find new talent and games. Valve has hired several mod teams (Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress all started out as mods made by amateurs), and Epic hired a guy who made a bot for Quake (he's still programming AI for them). Even when developers don't intend their game to be modded, they don't care if people do it anyway.

Modding has been a staple of FPS games since Doom, and there's no excuse for Far Cry 2 not supporting it.

I think FC2 has plenty of issues but not those you've listed. What difficulty are you playing on? There's plenty of ammo around if you bother to look. The tutorial stage doesn't last long and if you buy a shotgun and it's pretty much one shot kills from then on.

I'm playing on the hardest difficulty. The problem with the tutorial is that it deliberately jams your weapon in the middle of a firefight, which is like the game saying "fuck you" to the player. I hit a guy three times with a shotgun at medium range and it had no effect on him, but I guess I'll take your word for it.

 

[taag]

I'm playing Drakensang's English (finally) demo.

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

I'm playing on the hardest difficulty.

Right so you've just got the game, started playing on the hardest difficulty straight away and are now complaining because you are running into problems?

I know how to get behind enemies and all that, but it just doesn't help because they still take such idiotic amounts of damage that being close to them just makes you die faster because they have an easier time hitting you.

That pretty much describes the hardest difficulty on any game.

It always happened right after I had engaged the enemy in the second mission. It was clearly automatically triggered for tutorial purposes. Not all games use exactly the same tutorial methods.

Have you considered it might be happening in the same place because you might just be using the same weapon in the same condition each time?

The problem with the tutorial is that it deliberately jams your weapon in the middle of a firefight, which is like the game saying "fuck you" to the player. I hit a guy three times with a shotgun at medium range and it had no effect on him, but I guess I'll take your word for it.

No the game doesn't deliberately jam your weapon in the tutorial. I've got two characters on the go and one didn't have a jam until the fifth or sixth mission and the other has had a jam yet. Don't use the dropped weapons unless you are really desperate, buy a couple of guns upgrade them. Once you've bought a weapon you've got an unlimited supply from the storage next to the weapon shop so whenever you are near a shop exchange your weapon for a fresh one, if you save up for a storage crate or two and then you can grab a fresh weapon from any unlocked safe house as well. Ammo is plentyful just look for the glowing boxes, you can get ammo from dropped guns by walking over them but as you've found out not much.

Modding has been a staple of FPS games since Doom, and there's no excuse for Far Cry 2 not supporting it.

Perhaps because it is a console port. Modding support is nice but don't expect it from every game. The number of games that are moddable are probably in the minority, there are plenty of great games (not saying FC2 is great) that haven't supported modding.

 

[TheRatKing]

That pretty much describes the hardest difficulty on any game.

I would disagree on some cases. Deus Ex and similar "realistic" games have the enemies HP set and the difficulties only affecting the player's health, among other things.

 

[failout]

Right so you've just got the game, started playing on the hardest difficulty straight away and are now complaining because you are running into problems?

I started Crysis on the hardest difficulty and ran into no problems (other than the right kind of problems, i.e. gameplay challenges). This isn't about the level of difficulty, this is about poor game design.

That pretty much describes the hardest difficulty on any game.

Er, no it doesn't. Not all games have the same damage system. Opponents in R6 Vegas and Call of Duty 4, for instance, are much less resistant to gunfire (and so is the player).

Have you considered it might be happening in the same place because you might just be using the same weapon in the same condition each time?

I tried the first mission several times and no weapon ever jammed on me. When I started fighting in the second mission my weapon always jammed, like clockwork. There is absolutely no doubt that it happens by design.

Don't use the dropped weapons unless you are really desperate, buy a couple of guns upgrade them.

Buy them where? The game has not yet mentioned the possibility of purchasing weapons, and as far as I know it requires diamonds, which I don't have. Since I have almost no ammo at all, I have no choice but to use dropped weapons.

Perhaps because it is a console port. Modding support is nice but don't expect it from every game. The number of games that are moddable are probably in the minority, there are plenty of great games (not saying FC2 is great) that haven't supported modding.

Again, it's a FPS. And it is exactly the kind of game that people are going to assume will support modding. Then there's the fact that it comes with a level editor which tends to correlate with modding support. Many games that don't officially support modding are possible to mod anyway, but so far nobody has managed to do anything with FC2.

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

I started Crysis on the hardest difficulty and ran into no problems (other than the right kind of problems, i.e. gameplay challenges). This isn't about the level of difficulty, this is about poor game design.

It isn't poor design, it's just difficult, as you point out not all games have the same systems. Crysis had the super suit with automatically recharging armour and health, a stealth mode and super strength/speed, COD games have regenerating health. Far Cry 2 doesn't have armour (at least not at the start), or regenerating health (well only one bar at least) that's not poor design, that's just the type of game it is. There are some fps games that don't have any 'in mission' healing at all. Just because you managed to play one game on it's most difficult level doesn't mean you can expect to play all games straight away on their toughest levels with the same ease.

Er, no it doesn't. Not all games have the same damage system. Opponents in R6 Vegas and Call of Duty 4, for instance, are much less resistant to gunfire (and so is the player).

Most games increase the damage done to you and decrease the damage done by you as the difficulty level increases. You can't take much damage in RS6Vegas but you can take even less on realistic.

I would disagree on some cases. Deus Ex and similar "realistic" games have the enemies HP set and the difficulties only affecting the player's health, among other things.

The expression 'pretty much' isn't an absolute. But difficulty levels usually either affect amount of damage taken, or amount of damage given. You have less health and they have more, or you do less damage and they do more amongst other things.

I tried the first mission several times and no weapon ever jammed on me. When I started fighting in the second mission my weapon always jammed, like clockwork. There is absolutely no doubt that it happens by design.

Yeah maybe because in the first mission the gun is still in fairly good condition and by the second mission it's started to degrade. Again how is it by design if it didn't happen to me at that point?

Buy them where? The game has not yet mentioned the possibility of purchasing weapons, and as far as I know it requires diamonds, which I don't have. Since I have almost no ammo at all, I have no choice but to use dropped weapons.

After the second mission is complete you'll get paid and a shop is marked on your map, you can't complete the tutorial section without buying a new gun, the game won't let you proceed until you have done so. Just stick with the starting guns until then don't swap them for dropped guns unless you really really need to.

Again, it's a FPS. And it is exactly the kind of game that people are going to assume will support modding.

Well you know what they say about assuming anything don't you.

 

[Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude]

After a year of being clean, I've been roped into WoW again by my friends.