Whatcha Been Playing?

[Roy42]

I always meant to pick that up. Which platforms did it end up coming out on?

[ratsoalbion]

PS3 & 360 I believe.

[NokkonWud]

I stated El Shaddai last night and the visuals are the reason i'll be going back for more. It might sound vein but it really looks that spectacular! The combats a bit wonky and the story seems good but I literally gasped when I started Chapter 2.

I couldn't stand the combat, the music was irritating (that horrific droning in Chapter 2) and I was completely unimpressed by the visuals (the horrible bittiness to the snow looked awful in Chapter 1). Yeah, didn't take me long to stop playing that. Will go back but I'm really not short on superior games to play.

[Scrustle]

I stated El Shaddai last night and the visuals are the reason i'll be going back for more. It might sound vein but it really looks that spectacular! The combats a bit wonky and the story seems good but I literally gasped when I started Chapter 2.

I couldn't stand the combat, the music was irritating (that horrific droning in Chapter 2) and I was completely unimpressed by the visuals (the horrible bittiness to the snow looked awful in Chapter 1). Yeah, didn't take me long to stop playing that. Will go back but I'm really not short on superior games to play.

Well I though the game looked amazing. Really unique look to it too. It's like playing an acid trip, there's nothing quite like it. Pictures and videos don't do it justice.

I never had a problem with the music either. I can't bring any particular part of it to my memory right now, but I remember it being also pretty unique. But not bad or annoying in any way.

I'm not such a fan of the combat though. It's not bad, just kind of boring. There's hardly any weapons, and although that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, the range of moves is very limited too. That is a problem. Despite the rock/paper/scissors nature of the weapons they were pretty boring to use. When that's your main mechanic of your game, that's a pretty big problem.

The only other mechanic of the game isn't any better. The platforming is kind of frustrating because of the visual style. It's really hard to judge distances, and even whether you can actually land on a surface when everything is an abstract mass of colours. The 2D sections aren't as bad, but the jump arc is still really not suited to that type of gameplay. It's designed for mid-air combat, not precision platforming.

But I like the game overall. I haven't played it in a while and never got far in it because I got bored, but playing it wasn't a displeasing experience. On a gameplay level it's serviceable at best. But on an aesthetic level it's mind blowing.

As for what I'm playing, that'd be DmC! It came in the post today surprisingly early. I've done the first three levels so far and it's actually really good. Combat is really responsive and flows really well. The frame rate isn't an issue in the slightest. Dante is even less of a dick than the demo made him look. He's still a dick, but he's at least not actively making me hate him so far. But Vergil does wear a fedora. It doesn't look good.

[Buckled Kipper]

Persona 4 Golden arrived in the post today (a late Xmas present to myself). I'm now a very happy man.

[Pitwar]

Currently working through a few games:

Resident Evil 6 - PS3

I avoided picking this up for a while due to all the bad press I had read but I think it gets an unfair shake. So far I've finished the Leon campaign which I enjoyed. Now working through the Chris missions and while not overly Resident Evil, they are a nice change of pace and so far so good.

Assassins Creed 3: Liberation - PSV

Very much a toned down Assassins Creed game but at the same time seems good so far. About half way through and while it doesn't set the world alight it's a very good starting point to show what can be done in a Creed game on the Vita.

Anarchy Reigns - PS3

Picked this up Friday and have played through a few of the main story missions and had a quick bash online. Really good fun and ideal for a quick go for something a little different.

Mass Effect - PS3

Due to only owning Sony consoles I didn't get a chance to Play Mass Effect 1 when it came out on the 360 and instead had to jump in at 2 when that was released on PS3.

Playing the first after completing both 2 and 3 feels a little rough but at the same time it's good to see where the series started.

[Scrustle]

Been playing DMC 3 today because of the new game and the podcast. Managed to get past Cerberus with actually not much trouble. Took me a few tries but I went at it smarter this time and it wasn't so much of a problem. Played up until Agni & Rudra, the two headless bosses who fight with swords. Had a decent number of goes at it, much more than I usually do in a row. I still couldn't get past it though, but I got reasonably close. I managed to kill one but then the other destroyed me pretty quickly after that. Tried a few more times afterwards but I couldn't get as far.

[DomsBeard]

Currently working through a few games:

Resident Evil 6 - PS3

I avoided picking this up for a while due to all the bad press I had read but I think it gets an unfair shake. So far I've finished the Leon campaign which I enjoyed. Now working through the Chris missions and while not overly Resident Evil, they are a nice change of pace and so far so good.

Wait till you start Jakes campaign.......

[Roy42]

I played through two levels of Mark of the Ninja last night (think I've got one more to go now), and was enjoying it, right up until it made the second of the two levels I played basically impossible to clear with zero kills.

Because the enemies are apparently stupid on the verge of total brain death, they will walk right into a spike trap in spite of being NINJAS; and since the game doesn't know how to handle an enemy killing itself when it's not even onscreen and I'm avoiding them altogether, it just gives me an indirect kill.

All the game has are gameplay and environment graphics to be pleased with, and now it's even trying to make me take the gameplay away from it. It's not that I think the game's wholly bad, by any means, and at its worst point (which it currently is now) it's still better than a significant chunk of games; it's just been heading on a steady downward slope from about the fourth or fifth level onwards.

[NokkonWud]

Only been playing DmC, found it hard to put down and have had little to no inclination to play anything else.

[The Sonic Mole]

I stated El Shaddai last night and the visuals are the reason i'll be going back for more. It might sound vein but it really looks that spectacular! The combats a bit wonky and the story seems good but I literally gasped when I started Chapter 2.

I couldn't stand the combat, the music was irritating (that horrific droning in Chapter 2) and I was completely unimpressed by the visuals (the horrible bittiness to the snow looked awful in Chapter 1). Yeah, didn't take me long to stop playing that. Will go back but I'm really not short on superior games to play.

I enjoyed playing through El Shaddai. However, it did suffer from repetitive combat and frustrating (due to depth perception issues) platforming sections. Despite these gripes it's still a memorable experience, both visually and from a narrative point of view.

[NokkonWud]

I stated El Shaddai last night and the visuals are the reason i'll be going back for more. It might sound vein but it really looks that spectacular! The combats a bit wonky and the story seems good but I literally gasped when I started Chapter 2.

I couldn't stand the combat, the music was irritating (that horrific droning in Chapter 2) and I was completely unimpressed by the visuals (the horrible bittiness to the snow looked awful in Chapter 1). Yeah, didn't take me long to stop playing that. Will go back but I'm really not short on superior games to play.

I enjoyed playing through El Shaddai. However, it did suffer from repetitive combat and frustrating (due to depth perception issues) platforming sections. Despite these gripes it's still a memorable experience, both visually and from a narrative point of view.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it from an artistic point of view, it just doesn't appeal to me. I did like the 2D sections I'd played.

I stopped playing at the time with a hope to go back at a later date rather than play frustrated. Hopefully when I go back I enjoy it.

[delb2k]

Currently on the playlist:

Mark of the Ninja

Around halfway through this and enjoying it, albeit it it has become a little too trial and error for me. I suspect that is down to my lack of imagination however and I am already looking forward to the new game plus where I should have all the tools at my disposal to confuse the guards. Great art style however and just the right size to sit down and do a few levels at a time without getting too worn out.

Sonic & Sega Transformed

By far the best kart racer I have ever played by a country mile. Really close to the end and a game that demands some real skill to beat opponents on hard and it is fast, properly properly fast. Mario Kart irritated me with its sedate pace whereas this will throw you along at a cracking speed and demands some quick reflexes. The fan service is also tremendous and the way the circuits evolve across the course of a race is very impressive. This was probably buried at the end of last year under everything else but is a real gem and worth hunting out if you like a good skillful racing game.

Personna 4: Golden

Great characters and a genuinely intriguing story is what is keeping me going so far. I am still trying to get to grips with the balance of grinding and social and I suspect made a few mistakes last time out by using items I should have kept for a boss that I was never going to reach during that dungeon crawl. That still slightly confuses me, when going to rescue a person in the TV can that only be done at certain times or anytime before the limit is up? Either way this is very compelling and one I hope to finish before the end of the year.

[RoboticMonk3y]

Happy wars on Xbox live
I was honestly thinking that because it was a free to play game that you would be rinsed for microtransactions at every turn, but it turns out that you don't really get pressured into spending any points at all, nor do you really need to spend any points.
It's good fun, and given that it's free, I'd recommend checking it out, especially if you can party up with a few people

[dezm0nd]

Rented DmC and I'm about 3 hours in. It's absolutely amazing! Absolutely loving the bat shit mental level design.

I thought El Shaddai was zany, which it is, but this hands a lot more appeal for my tastes. Seeing real world style locations flipped on its arse is a joy to behold.

Oh, and it plays well, too.

[DomsBeard]

Spent several hours building my home in Skyrim. Very enjoyable if you like that sort of thing. Had to break my fast travel rule though as getting materials would take a 30 minute round trip each time.

[Roy42]

Currently on the playlist:

Mark of the Ninja

Around halfway through this and enjoying it, albeit it it has become a little too trial and error for me.

How are you playing the game?

[Sean]

Randomly decided to buy DmC last night rather than rent it, and, holy shit, this game is awesome.

Only 2 chapters in, but, man...

[mikeleddy83]

Started playing Sleeping Dogs, kind of held off on it as I love Hong Kong and didn't want to see it misrepresented but the gameworld really is something special, loving the soundtrack too.

A little surprised I haven't seen a single MTR stop so far (or even one of the huge number of shopping malls associated with key stops) and that I'm using cash instead of an octopus card but this game is the one that I'll not only crash multiple times from holding the camera up to see the skyline but where thanks to the people driving on the correct side of the road I'm actually inclined to move the camera about to look for traffic openings (something I don't even remember the last time I did). Some of the links between areas of the map give vivid flashbacks to the amazing landscapes of HK and I can't fault it for it's attempt to recreate what I'd deem the unrecreatable (hoping there's a Victoria peak-like place, I'd be impressed beyond words if so).

I'm ashamed I held off playing it for so long, easily the best gta clone I've played by a huge margin not to mention it's near enough £20 everywhere.


Shenmue 2 was responsible for making me afraid of the game representation of HK, whilst Sleeping Dogs is as close an approximation as I could hope for without being actually modelled on it at least it doesn't look like a spanish variation of Blackpool. The chinese people in Sleeping Dogs actually look and sound like human beings too which is a bonus (these characters are frequently bi-lingual which might shock Yu Suzuki but likely not many others).

Anybody interested in seeing the real HK should check out this vid I did of pics from my first visit to HK:

[ratsoalbion]

Ah nice, that will be good reference for my Shenmue II play-through as well.