What game are you playing?

[Mirror Image]

I haven't played any video games in months. The last game I was excited about and that I beat was Luigi's Mansion 3. I loved this game. Right now, the only game that's coming out this year that excites me is Metroid Dread:



All I have to say is I'm so thankful it's a side-scroller like the original one and Super Metroid (plus many of the Gameboy games, which I never owned).

https://www.youtube.com/v/8BeZcMQpSXQ

[greg]

Metroid Dread should be good. If it's like the other sidescrolling ones, it'll be a challenge.

Kind of on a project collecting retro games and systems. Will be extremely expensive in the long run, but the price of old games only goes up and up so might as well get them now. Have probably bought over 50 so far now. Probably about half overall are Japanese versions, saves money. For people that can't read Japanese, I wouldn't recommend retro game collecting at all, unless it's certain systems (like original Xbox) or you just have a ton of money.

[Mirror Image]

Metroid Dread should be good. If it's like the other sidescrolling ones, it'll be a challenge.

Kind of on a project collecting retro games and systems. Will be extremely expensive in the long run, but the price of old games only goes up and up so might as well get them now. Have probably bought over 50 so far now. Probably about half overall are Japanese versions, saves money. For people that can't read Japanese, I wouldn't recommend retro game collecting at all, unless it's certain systems (like original Xbox) or you just have a ton of money.

Indeed. The oldest system I have in my possession in the Super NES, which I still consider the greatest console of all-time. As great as the NES was, the Super NES had even better games. Two of the reasons why I rate this system so highly is because of the first and second Donkey Kong Country games. These are two of my favorite games of all-time.

[relm1]

I just picked up Tim Schafer's Pyschonauts 2.

[DavidW]

I replayed a bunch of bioware games this summer.  Mass Effect Legendary edition was a great remaster because it didn't screw with what worked while doing a major much needed overhaul of the combat and controls of the first game.  I then replayed the Dragon Age games.  I don't see them remastering those games.  Origins would greatly benefit from a remaster in the same way that ME1 did.  But Dragon Age 2 has so many identical repeated dungeons that would need to be addressed and the combat needs an overhaul more so than any other Bioware game excepting Jade Empire.  Might be too much work, especially for such an unpopular game.  And then Inquisition doesn't really need anything except to get the pc textures and higher res on console.

[greg]

I just picked up Tim Schafer's Pyschonauts 2.

How is it?
I will almost certainly get this game in some time.
Haven't played the original, but is annoying that there is no physical release apart from the super expensive and rare Limited Run version for PS4.
I could settle for the original PS2 version, but since it will be quite a while before I even get into this series, I don't know if I should or not....   

[relm1]

How is it?
I will almost certainly get this game in some time.
Haven't played the original, but is annoying that there is no physical release apart from the super expensive and rare Limited Run version for PS4.
I could settle for the original PS2 version, but since it will be quite a while before I even get into this series, I don't know if I should or not....   

Extremely good reviews.  I didn't play the original one but this one gives you a brief animation at the start to catch up you so you have some idea of what's going on.  It has a lot of humor and heart and a very good story with a strong message but I got that from the reviews as I'm still very early in to my experience with it and about to switch computers so might be a few days before I can sink in to it.

[PaulR]

I replayed a bunch of bioware games this summer.  Mass Effect Legendary edition was a great remaster because it didn't screw with what worked while doing a major much needed overhaul of the combat and controls of the first game.  I then replayed the Dragon Age games.  I don't see them remastering those games.  Origins would greatly benefit from a remaster in the same way that ME1 did.  But Dragon Age 2 has so many identical repeated dungeons that would need to be addressed and the combat needs an overhaul more so than any other Bioware game excepting Jade Empire.  Might be too much work, especially for such an unpopular game.  And then Inquisition doesn't really need anything except to get the pc textures and higher res on console.

It's a shame with DAII.  I think the combat was fine, mostly.  It was better than DA:O in terms of combat (Though DA:O and Awakens had the best story), but EA forcing Bioware to release it really negatively impacted the game.  I would love for them to remake II and include at least the DLC legacy into the main story.

Is it going to happen?  No.  Would I trust them not to screw it up?  Also no (even after ME:LE)

I am currently playing Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

[greg]

Just finished Final Fantasy Type 0 HD (got PS platinum). It's an okay game but nothing super amazing. Very tragic story. Biggest strength might be the replay value (though I don't think I enjoyed it enough to replay it).

Currently replaying Half-Life 2, the PS3 Orange Box edition. Don't think I ever played Episode One and Two, so that may actually be new (originally played HL2 many years ago on PC).

Also was playing some Dead or Alive Extreme 3: Fortune (for PS4) during the weekend. It's only in Japanese, though... they never brought it to the West since they think it wouldn't sell, and also it was too controversial for leftist Twitter prudes, apparently.

But yeah, Nyotengu and Honoka especially, if I had to choose my two favorite... wow.  0:)

[DavidW]

It's a shame with DAII.  I think the combat was fine, mostly.  It was better than DA:O in terms of combat (Though DA:O and Awakens had the best story), but EA forcing Bioware to release it really negatively impacted the game.  I would love for them to remake II and include at least the DLC legacy into the main story.

Is it going to happen?  No.  Would I trust them not to screw it up?  Also no (even after ME:LE)

I am currently playing Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition

My problem with Origins combat is that it was trying to please the crpg crowd and the console crowd and doing neither well (my same problem with Witcher 2).  My problem with DA 2 combat is that the cooldown timers are too long, and the mobs are too large so that you're mashing the attack button way too much waiting for a chance to use a special ability.  I think Inquisition nailed it.  It had the fluidity of the second, but the strategic nature of the first and the cooldown timers were just right and the mob sizes were just right.

I really liked FF XV even though many disliked it.

[staxomega]

MGS 3 has my favorite ending to a video game  I was feeling nostalgic so I watched the ending in HD, I've only played it on PS2. The whole MGS series is probably my favorite, though I've only played the first three.

This isn't the ending, just a live, orchestrated version of the opening theme.

https://www.youtube.com/v/I8pg2XoQTlA

[DavidW]

I sold my ps4 and switch last weekend.  Since I sold my graphics cards earlier in the summer I'm now down to just my Xbox.

[Ganondorf]

Currently replaying Half-Life 2, the PS3 Orange Box edition. Don't think I ever played Episode One and Two, so that may actually be new (originally played HL2 many years ago on PC).

Interesting! I definitely recommend Episodes 1 and 2, in fact along with original half life 1, Episode 2 is my favorite half life game, better than half Life 2 and alyx. Episode 1 is probably worst of the bunch but still guaranteed Valve quality.

[greg]

Interesting! I definitely recommend Episodes 1 and 2, in fact along with original half life 1, Episode 2 is my favorite half life game, better than half Life 2 and alyx. Episode 1 is probably worst of the bunch but still guaranteed Valve quality.

I just finished everything and I like them all. Surprisingly, I wasn't spoiled from the ending of Episode 2 considering how long it's been and how often I'm online. 
But yeah, the selling point of the franchise is mainly the top-notch gameplay, though the atmosphere of the world is something I think is also pretty good.

Alyx is the only entry in the Half-Life series I have not played yet. Will have to dust off my Vive headset and get around to it sometime.


Currently playing the original Silent Hill game- originally I had played nearly half of the game a long time ago but never finished- just got to the point now, actually. Also interesting that the JP version has English voice acting.

[greg]

Well, for anyone who thinks having a motivated and highly determined personality is a great thing, just let me share with you that there's games like Silent Hill for PS1 which can give you really unreasonable expectations (normal difficulty) near the end of the game and then makes it almost impossible to complete without starting over the whole game. It's still possible, but not worth it. The experience is hours of completely miserable non-fun stress.

And I made it a mission to complete every game that I decide to finish, but now there's several games: Kya, Final Fantasy Tactics, Silent Hill, which I've just given up on. But the problem is, I'll always remember those games and will want to take revenge on them years later and complete them. Will probably give these games another shot in 5-10 years.


Anyways, moving on:


Played a couple of days and now that I've quit Silent Hill, this will be my main game for quite a while, perhaps for the next month or two.

First observations: very complicated control scheme, but to me that adds to the fun (being a musician, more complex finger movements are always welcome).

First Zelda game (apart from a few hours of Ocarina of Time) that I've played. Very relaxing, the exploration is really fun and the stuff you can do is really cool. Really enjoying it.

[Mirror Image]

Anyways, moving on:


Played a couple of days and now that I've quit Silent Hill, this will be my main game for quite a while, perhaps for the next month or two.

First observations: very complicated control scheme, but to me that adds to the fun (being a musician, more complex finger movements are always welcome).

First Zelda game (apart from a few hours of Ocarina of Time) that I've played. Very relaxing, the exploration is really fun and the stuff you can do is really cool. Really enjoying it.

I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it didn't quite feel like a "Zelda game" to me. For starters, there weren't any dungeons, which I've become accustomed to for every other Zelda game I've played. I also didn't like the fact that you couldn't do any deep underwater exploration. You only can swim on the surface and, to me, this removes me even further from the game. The lack of puzzles, especially those that are normally found in dungeons are absent to a large extent. I mean you have some puzzle-solving, but nothing quite like other games. I truly hope that the next installment that comes out (probably next year) will have these three curial factors. What I did like a lot is the exploration aspect of it and this is the first truly open-world Zelda game as all of the other games in this franchise up to this point were linear.

In other news, I'm currently obsessed with Metroid Dread:



This is an absolute masterpiece of a game. I don't hand out this type of prestige to many games, because it takes a lot to impress me, but being a Metroid fan since Super Metroid came out on Super Nintendo in the early 90s, I've been longing for a 2D platformer that does what Super Metroid did, but even better. On this front, Metroid Dread more than delivers. I won't get into specifics, but this is a challenging game and there have been many points where I was basically stuck and simply couldn't advance any further until I had no choice but to look up via Google how to get out of the trap I sat for myself. I don't like to do this, but I was getting frustrated. But, make no mistake, I have had many moments where I've grinned ear to ear in just the sheer excitement that this game gives me. I've played pretty much all day today with several needed breaks of course. Anyway, I haven't been this excited for a game in a long time, although I did rather like Luigi's Mansion 3. I may go back and replay that game after I complete Metroid Dread.

[TheGSMoeller]

In other news, I'm currently obsessed with Metroid Dread:



This is an absolute masterpiece of a game. I don't hand out this type of prestige to many games, because it takes a lot to impress me, but being a Metroid fan since Super Metroid came out on Super Nintendo in the early 90s, I've been longing for a 2D platformer that does what Super Metroid did, but even better. On this front, Metroid Dread more than delivers. I won't get into specifics, but this is a challenging game and there have been many points where I was basically stuck and simply couldn't advance any further until I had no choice but to look up via Google how to get out of the trap I sat for myself. I don't like to do this, but I was getting frustrated. But, make no mistake, I have had many moments where I've grinned ear to ear in just the sheer excitement that this game gives me. I've played pretty much all day today with several needed breaks of course. Anyway, I haven't been this excited for a game in a long time, although I did rather like Luigi's Mansion 3. I may go back and replay that game after I complete Metroid Dread.

Metroid Dread rocks! I've been playing it all weekend. And you're not alone in feeling challenged, John, I too had to look up where to go next and it turned out to be something as simple as shooting/breaking a wall to advance to the next room.

I also recently played through Portal 2, which was amazing. Highly recommended.

[Mirror Image]

Metroid Dread rocks! I've been playing it all weekend. And you're not alone in feeling challenged, John, I too had to look up where to go next and it turned out to be something as simple as shooting/breaking a wall to advance to the next room.

I also recently played through Portal 2, which was amazing. Highly recommended.

Glad you're enjoying Metroid Dread as well, Greg. I'd give this game a 10/10 in that I believe it's one of the best games I've played in the last 20 years. I'll probably avoid Portals 2 in that I'm not a fan of 1st person shooters. I know many who are, but I just don't like that particular viewpoint for a video game.

[DavidW]

I also recently played through Portal 2, which was amazing. Highly recommended.

Yeah that is one of my favorite games, I've played it through several times.

"All right, I've been thinking, when life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager!
Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man whose gonna burn your house down - with the lemons!"

[TheGSMoeller]

"All right, I've been thinking, when life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager!
Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man whose gonna burn your house down - with the lemons!"

Ha! They had quality writers on that game.