What are you playing?

2 weeks no DA: I itch.

Some day I guess.

Prolly after they fix their shitty Q/A isssues.

BTW DA : I MP feels completely soulless.

A pale comparison compared to the awesomeness of ME3 MP.

Nothing beats reviving Bowie 50 times per match.
 
Fables: A Wolf Among Us

FUCK I love this game, it has a great noir story, accurate designs to the comic, AWESOME monster designs, and the quick time events were a nice change up from most Telltale games I've played. Not saying I hate point and clicks of course, but still.

CRITICISMS: I always pictured Snow White with more of an accent. Other than that, nothing!
 
Last edited:
With Christmas so close, I don't want to start a replay of anything lengthy, so I feel like I'm in gaming limbo for now. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (now I'll actually have to specify the FF bit thanks to the scheduled Dragon Quest one) I play daily, more to help me wake up in the morning on the way to work.

Decided to retread a couple shorter games in the meantime though. I forgot how much fun Steamworld Dig is--simple, but effective. Might do Shovel Knight a third go, but I was really hoping to put it off until one of the content patches.
 
With Christmas so close, I don't want to start a replay of anything lengthy, so I feel like I'm in gaming limbo for now. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (now I'll actually have to specify the FF bit thanks to the scheduled Dragon Quest one) I play daily, more to help me wake up in the morning on the way to work.

Decided to retread a couple shorter games in the meantime though. I forgot how much fun Steamworld Dig is--simple, but effective. Might do Shovel Knight a third go, but I was really hoping to put it off until one of the content patches.
Steamworld Dig bored me to tears. Just could not get into it.
 
Steamworld Dig bored me to tears. Just could not get into it.
It's good in 10 minute bursts. We'll see if I feel the same when I get further in.

But screw Steamworld for now--I totally forgot I still own four Mega Man games I haven't even started. Time for Mega Man Zero 2! :D
 
2 weeks no DA: I itch.

Some day I guess.

Prolly after they fix their shitty Q/A isssues.

BTW DA : I MP feels completely soulless.

A pale comparison compared to the awesomeness of ME3 MP.

Nothing beats reviving Bowie 50 times per match.
Hey, I warned you going in that I sucked, and was at, like level 0 for all my classes :p

As far as what I'm playing right now, I totally forgot that I had picked up Enslaved: Odyssey to the West during a steam sale for a couple of bucks.

Besides the graphics being a little dated and some wonky controls, this game is beautiful.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jay
Hey, I warned you going in that I sucked, and was at, like level 0 for all my classes :p

As far as what I'm playing right now, I totally forgot that I had picked up Enslaved: Odyssey to the West during a steam sale for a couple of bucks.

Besides the graphics being a little dated and some wonky controls, this game is beautiful.
Enslaved was a nice surprise for me when I played through it. I think you'll enjoy it.
 
Here I thought I was done suffering from being graded when I finished school.

But nope! Here comes Mega Man Zero 2 to say "hey, you know how you love acquiring boss powers? Well, if you don't get an A or A+, go fuck yourself!"

-_- I'll play through the game with just the weapons if I can, but I really hope this trend doesn't continue for the whole Zero series or the collection is going to be one rare-used cartridge.
 
The new gaming rig arrived today. I've installed a couple of games so far to try it out and OH. MY. GOD. I'm just drooling at everything. For example:

The Sims 3, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2

I've never been able to play any of these on high details. Now? Even with all the graphic options maxed, they run smooth as silk. And they are GORGEOUS. Even the dated graphics like Half-Life 2 never looked better to me. And with this 27" monitor, everything looks MASSIVE. I'd swear the Heavy's gun now looks almost exact size to what you'd see in real life. Just...wow.

I mostly installed these just to compare to what I was used to before. Though I think HL2 and its episodes will get another play through now at some point.

Skyrim

This was the first thing I installed and tried out. Definitely worth it. Gorgeous game and I'm slowing getting into it. I have to admit, though, the colours are all very bland with a lot of browns and greys. Apparently, there are mods you can install that made everything even prettier? Still, I'm really enjoying it.
 
Regarding Skyrim's colors, thematically it's supposed to be a harsh, frozen land, so having bland colors makes sense. And when you encounter events and locations that have brighter colors (and they do happen), it's like a burst of "Oh my god that's BEAUTIFUL!!"

Having said that, though, yes there are mods that make things prettier. Heck, there's one called Tropical Skyrim, which does exactly what you'd think it does.
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum

And one last thing to look at before I go to bed. HOLY SHIT, this game looks amazing in high definition. I mean, it was in high definition when I played it on PS3, but not like this. Not like this.

Oh yeah, I'm never leaving the PC Master Race now.
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum

And one last thing to look at before I go to bed. HOLY SHIT, this game looks amazing in high definition. I mean, it was in high definition when I played it on PS3, but not like this. Not like this.

Oh yeah, I'm never leaving the PC Master Race now.
Welcome home, brother.
 
DC Universe Online

Blech. What a limited game. Just to try it out, I created 'ol Doug the Troll from my City of Heroes days. Only the power sets are so limited that I was forced to take basically plant powers because there was really nothing else to take. Why couldn't I just be a smashing brute, relying on fists and such?

Anyway, I played through the tutorial and played a little bit in the city. The gameplay is pretty fast paced and the visuals and character design are fun enough (love the look of the attacking gorillas on behalf of Grodd). But it still felt all very ho-hum. Not to mention that in order to use any upgrades, you must place them on your character like armour. Which defeats the purpose of character creation, does it not?

So much for a replacement for City of Heroes. Uninstalled.
 
Last edited:
DC Universe Online

Blech. What a limited game. Just to try it out, I created 'ol Doug the Troll from my City of Heroes days. Only the power sets are so limited that I was forced to take basically plant powers because there was really nothing else to take. Why couldn't I just be a smashing brute, relying on fists and such?

Anyway, I played through the tutorial and played a little bit in the city. The gameplay is pretty fast paced and the visuals and character design are fun enough (love the look of the attacking gorillas on behalf of Grodd). But it still felt all very ho-hum.

So much for a replacement for City of Heroes. Deleted.
The only fun I really had in that game was when they had the ring wars, and my gadgets character was able to work it into his storyline that he became a green lantern (complete with new ring powers!).

Outside of that... yeah, it got old.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I liked collecting costume pieces. And the "appeareance" of your character can be kept separate from the actual gear you're wearing, so you can look like how you generated from the start forever, if you want.
 
I've been listening to a lot of the Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines soundtrack, so you know, of course I've reinstalled it.
 
If you can get far enough to be able to summon help, it should be easier this time.
I summoned help against one of the Undead Church bosses last time.

What killed the game for me was that I kept getting invaded one my way to one boss. Now, I realize the mature thing to do would've been to stop playing for an hour, or a day, whatever, and come back to it when I was less likely to be invaded, but I got pissed and gave up.

Regardless of hiatus, I'm glad I started over. Just in doing so, I'm learning things I didn't even grasp when I was further in the game last time.

So, who's takin' bets on how long before he ragequits? I got two days.
It's going to be slow-going. Between work overtime, my wife playing Dragon Age Inquisition, and hopefully getting stuff for Christmas, I plan to take my time and play it over a long while, as opposed to trying to play nightly to get to the end. Hopefully that patient approach will lessen frustration.

... will I be able to stick to that plan? I have no clue :p. Already tonight it was time to get off, but I refused to break for the night until I beat the Black Knight in the Undead Burg.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
I've been playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Which is pretty good, but only after I applied an FoV fix. How did anyone play this with the default field of view settings? I was getting nauseous, not to mention having trouble spotting enemies during fights.

I've barely scratched the surface of the game though. I think I've been in like two areas that weren't in the demo. It's got a lot of minor flaws I could nit-pick, but nothing that's annoying me enough that it's harming my enjoyment.
 
Bioware should be fucking ashamed at how poorly DA:I runs on PCs when MGS:GZ runs at a buttery smooth 60 fps with nearly all options maxed and looks as much better as it does.
 
Bioware should be fucking ashamed at how poorly DA:I runs on PCs when MGS:GZ runs at a buttery smooth 60 fps with nearly all options maxed and looks as much better as it does.
MGS:GZ still looks like a shitty demo to me, but I have to give credit that the PC port is spectacular.
 
Dark Souls: Having a hard time with the Bell Gargoyles. Unlike last time I played, I know that I can successfully block them, but that second bastard keeps spewing fire in every direction. I know I could make this easier if I called in for help, but even that NPC knight gets killed. I can't remember how I beat them before, but I feel like I cheated somehow. I don't want to do that this time. I want to genuinely learn how to deal with a boss instead of hiding up and down a ladder like I did with the Taurus demon.
 
Dark Souls: Having a hard time with the Bell Gargoyles. Unlike last time I played, I know that I can successfully block them, but that second bastard keeps spewing fire in every direction. I know I could make this easier if I called in for help, but even that NPC knight gets killed. I can't remember how I beat them before, but I feel like I cheated somehow. I don't want to do that this time. I want to genuinely learn how to deal with a boss instead of hiding up and down a ladder like I did with the Taurus demon.
Which NPC knight? Solaire or the other guy? Because Solaire can take these guys on by himself or at least take out one by himself if he doesn't get rushed.

As for tips on Bell Gargoyles:

- Removing the tails limits their ability to hurt you while you are behind them. This goes for ANY boss with a tail. Cut it off first, if you can. You also get a reward for doing it... in this case you get the Gargoyle Great Axe.
- Always try to get behind the boss.
- Alway focus on one boss as a time if there is more than one.
- Is your shield blocking 100% physical? If not, get one that does. You could buy the heater from the Undead Merchant, get the Knight's Shield in the area you are in (look for a dead end with a Baldur Knight and a corpse).
- Only keep your shield up when you need to block. Always lower it when you aren't being attacked. This helps with Stamina loss.

- If you need better equipment, the Baldur Knights and Hollows sometimes drop Titanite shards, which the nearby blacksmith (follow the path directly across from the elevators to Firelink) can use to upgrade your equipment to +4 or 5.
- The Baldur Knights drop some good dex weapons in the Rapier (which backstabs well) and Baldur Side Sword (which is one of the best dex swords in the game). Their armor and shields aren't too bad ether.
- The Halberd near the key to the Undead Burg is another fantastic weapon.
 
Which NPC knight? Solaire or the other guy? Because Solaire can take these guys on by himself or at least take out one by himself if he doesn't get rushed.

As for tips on Bell Gargoyles:

- Removing the tails limits their ability to hurt you while you are behind them. This goes for ANY boss with a tail. Cut it off first, if you can. You also get a reward for doing it... in this case you get the Gargoyle Great Axe.
- Always try to get behind the boss.
- Alway focus on one boss as a time if there is more than one.
- Is your shield blocking 100% physical? If not, get one that does. You could buy the heater from the Undead Merchant, get the Knight's Shield in the area you are in (look for a dead end with a Baldur Knight and a corpse).
- Only keep your shield up when you need to block. Always lower it when you aren't being attacked. This helps with Stamina loss.

- If you need better equipment, the Baldur Knights and Hollows sometimes drop Titanite shards, which the nearby blacksmith (follow the path directly across from the elevators to Firelink) can use to upgrade your equipment to +4 or 5.
- The Baldur Knights drop some good dex weapons in the Rapier (which backstabs well) and Baldur Side Sword (which is one of the best dex swords in the game). Their armor and shields aren't too bad ether.
- The Halberd near the key to the Undead Burg is another fantastic weapon.
It's Solaire, and they kill him. He almost killed the second one--if I can help him do that, I can take the last one alone even if Solaire goes down. I got one of the tail axes (but I feel like it sucks). Shield is blocking 100%.

Didn't know about the blacksmith--that should help a lot. I've got about 10 Titanite shards. I also have the Halberd; I thought it wasn't as good as the Battle Axe I got, but it does have better reach. Should I bother trying to get the Drake Sword?
 
It's Solaire, and they kill him. He almost killed the second one--if I can help him do that, I can take the last one alone even if Solaire goes down. I got one of the tail axes (but I feel like it sucks). Shield is blocking 100%.

Didn't know about the blacksmith--that should help a lot. I've got about 10 Titanite shards. I also have the Halberd; I thought it wasn't as good as the Battle Axe I got, but it does have better reach. Should I bother trying to get the Drake Sword?
Don't get the Drake Sword. It's a crutch for early game players and being able to use it now won't teach you to be a good player. It'll just carry you until it's too late to learn how to be one. As for the Halberd... yeah, it COULD carry you the entire game but I personally have ones I like better.

Str-
Man Serpent Greatsword
Greatsword
Demon Greataxe
Zweihander

Dex-
Uchigatana
Iato
Great Scyth
Balder Side Sword

However, if you want a good all around weapon that will carry you till the end of the game on many builds... I humbly suggest the Claymore. You'll find it on the bridge past the Drake. What you do is run from the stairs that lead to the bonfire to the other side of the bridge and wait behind the wall. The drake will fire it's flame at you, but it'll miss and you need to keep waiting. Eventually it'll fly down onto the bridge. When it starts flying down, you want to run past the drake and get to the bonfire behind. Sit and rest... then trigger the switch to open the shortcut to the Undead Church. Once you've done that, look at the bridge where the Drake usually is... you'll see three items. One of those is the claymore.

When you upgrade stuff, always upgrade your weapons first. You get more return out of upgrading weapons than upgrading armor, so you always want to do it first. Also, if you are going to focus on melee, you need to decide NOW what kind of weapons you want to use, Str (hits hard but is slow) or Dex (Hits fast but is usually weaker). If you are focusing on Sorcery, this doesn't matter as much because you can turn your weapon into a magic or enchanted one later to take advantage of your int... same with faith for divine casting builds. Pyromancers don't get a stat, so your build should focus on a dex or str weapon in that case.
 
Arkham Asylum & Arkham City

It's a bit fitting that these are the first things I'm replaying through on the new gaming rig. After all, the prime reason for the upgrade was for the upcoming Arkham Knight. And...

They're still amazing games. They look absolutely gorgeous with even smoother models than the PS3. Personally, I still prefer City to Asylum, largely because I love sandbox games with lots of fun, interesting things to do. It's one of those "I'll quit the game any second..." kind of games because GOD DAMMIT, ZSASZ, quit ringing the phone so I can quit this game! Oh, but then this opened up. And there's a Riddler trophy that'll just take a second to nab. And when then hell did it turn into 3:00 AM? It's also a great sequel since they improve upon everything from the fighting to the travel to gadgets. It's not just a quick sequel. It's a proper sequel that plays off the first, but improves upon it vastly. Asylum still has the better overall story of the two, though.

It was a bit frustrating to play Asylum with the keyboard and mouse. I don't know if any of you have tried it with such, but I was frustratingly confused when I tried to use the sequencer gadget for the first time. I didn't know you didn't have to hold onto the buttons like you do in the console/controller version. And the fighting was constantly awkward, to be honest. Either way, I did beat it with just mouse and keyboard. But now that I picked up an Xbox One controller and playing City, it's much more comfortable. I don't know how many games automatically change the onscreen prompts to controller, though, but fortunately, City does and the controller is automatically mapped for me. Is that common for most modern games?

Once I'm done City, it's onto Arkham Origins, which I've yet to play and a little nervous, since I've not heard great things about it. I heard it's good, but it's rather bugged and not as overall pleasing as the first two.

After I'm done the Bat-games, I think I'll move onto the Saints Row series.
 
Top