Whatcha Been Playing?

[kappisun]

Just in case anyone worrying I'm now back on track (no pun intended) in metro. Yay!

[Todinho]

Great! Metro has a few dips here and there but it's all around a great game.

Still playing Crimson Shroud not much to say other than I really like it the item system is really interesting and the battle are really fun,the story is kinda boring so far but the table-top aesthethic is keeping me interested.

Also I played the Lords of Shadow 2 demo on steam,after giving up on the first one thanks to it's terrible fixed camera and boring beginning I wasnt really interested in the second but after hearing the podcast on LoS I decided to give the demo a go,and it's pretty good combat can be fun now that I can control the camera it's still like god of war but it has some interesting stuff mixed in,the music really got my attention though it's really epic I gotta say to be honest the entire sequence of the demo is really cool,however there's 2 problems I cant get over the first one is that the game seems to think Im a complete idiot and has to point out each objective in the most anoying way possible because they werent obvious enough to begin with,the other is one Im having with several hack/slash lately now look it's great that I can control the camera now but you know what else would be great? A lock-on button! The lack of it in some titles like DMC and Killer is Dead drive me crazy c'mon even if you think your camera is great is it really too much to ask to have a dedicated button to lock-on?Hell LoS2 doesnt even use all the buttons of the gamepad(in the demo at least)this made the fight with that angel guy much harder than it had to be,im not saying the game is unplayable without it but the inclusion of it would make the game much better.

[DomsBeard]

Been playing Gears Of War Judgement, it's more Gears Of War which if you're a fan is no bad thing. It's more score attack focused now with you getting "stars" after each level. You can also take penalties in game to help get more points and therefore more stars quicker. For example you can only use a certain weapon on a section or wretches become Lambent wretches and my favourite so far is the level becomes dusty so visibility is minimal. I've had a few rounds on the MP too and deathmatch is still fun (I put far too many hours into 3's before discovering Battlefield 3). If you've not played it and you've enjoyed Gears then pick it up.

[The Sonic Mole]

I've got a few things on the go before I push everything to one side for Dark Souls II.

Mainly I've been working my way through the bloated self-indulgence of Metal Gear Solid 4... And am loving it! Say what you like about Kojima's work but the production values are sumptuous and they are instilled with a distinct personality. I love it.

To alleviate the "heaviness" of the above I've been replaying the wonderful Mr. Moskeeto. There's so much sadistic pleasure to be had driving that poor family to madness.

Elsewhere I've been carving my way through Bravely Default, although I've hit my first real difficulty spike at 35 hours in.

And over the last week I've discovered the excellent Castlevania Puzzle on iOS. It's a match 3 puzzle game with solid RPG elements, all wrapped up in the camp gothic threads of Castlevania. Top stuff.

[CapinGreen]

Here, Bayonetta's good isn't it? It's all I've played over the last lot of days and it might be the best action game ever.

[Alex79]

I'm going through a bit of a dry patch lately. Nothing seems to be taking my fancy. Just finished Bioshock Infinite which was ok, but I'm not a huge fan of the series, and I'm looking around and just not finding anything I want to play! Looking forward to Dark Souls 2 very much, but I think I'm going to just revisit some old favourites for a few weeks until that's out. Falling back in love Shadow Of The Collosus at the moment.

[Christoph84]

I got a Vita for Christmas (already a PS+ member) so frankly I'm swamped at the moment, in a good way!

I'm 55 hrs in to P4 Golden, which I'm developing something of an obsession with at present. Other than that, currently in to Spelunky, DMC, Tearaway, Hotline Miami. Terraria, MGS 1.

[Todinho]

Well I've been stuck on the same waterway of Crimson Shroud for days now and I have no idea how to progress I looked up and your supposed to get an item from some skeletons in a certain order but I cant do it no matter how much I try the item never drops and nothing changes im almost giving up.

I downloaded the tekken revolution thing too it's a free tekken game and it's ok,free to play elements aside, it's been fun especially because I havent played tekken since Dark ressurection,having fun with Lars his character design is horrible,he looks like a bad cosplayer, but im really liking his moveset.

[AndyKurosaki]

Boomerang kindly sent me two god-awful games at once. First was Call Of Duty Vita. An absolute abomination. Seem to remember the developer quit "mainstream" and went to mobile only games after this. Good.

Next up was Fast and Furious Showdown. Which looks like a PS2 game. A launch one at that. As well as looking laughably bad, it has terrible collision physics. Ram a car, and it flies off up into the sky, like it's off to heaven or something.

After that gash-fest, it was good to fire up One Piece Pirate Warriors 2, which remains brilliant. Lots to do as well by the look of it.

[Scrustle]

Since Rockstar are having a sale on PSN right now (for the US at least, but that's easy to get around), I went and bought Midnight Club 2 and 3 Remix for cheap, so I've been playing a little of those today. I already own the original version of 3 on PS2, and I used to own 2 on Xbox years ago, so these games aren't exactly new to me.

3 managed to pull me back in again fairly easily, and I'm enjoying the Remix stuff so far. Not that I've been able to see that much of it yet. There's an extra car that you can start with now (a Scion tC), which I picked, but I think everything else is locked right now. That is, apart from the Tokyo map, which for some reason is separated from the rest of career mode in the menus, even though your progress is consistent between both. So yeah, it's cool to have a different city added in to the game which I can access at any point, instead of just being stuck in the same place for the start of the career. It's also cool to see a location that isn't in the US, even if the city itself is lifted right out of MC2.

Speaking of which, I only played a little of 2. That game feels kind of old now. 3 has aged somewhat too, but still feels fun and well put together. 2 has production values that feel very indicative of the time it came out. Not a bad game though. Handling is similar to MC3, although not quite as good, so it is playable still, but it's just got that feeling to it. Can't really put it in to words, but it's that feeling when you realise "Oh yeah, this is what games used to be like in 2003". It still has a certain game-y arcadey charm though, which MC3 doesn't have since it's all licenced cars and upgrades etc. It also has cities from all around the world (L.A, Paris, and the aforementioned Tokyo), so it feels more "global" than 3.

The games don't run brilliantly though. So far it only seems to be a minor issue, certainly not game breaking, but you do relatively frequently see some frame drops, and the occasional slight slow-down. The smoothing of the PS3 makes them a lot less pixelated though, which I really appreciate. I think it adds a lot to these older games. It may still look kind of muddy, but it looks far better than the original.

I've been thinking of getting Strider too, but I think I'm going to wait a little bit for that one. For one I just got these Midnight Club games, but I also thought I should at least finish Dust before getting in to another 2D Metroidvania. I also have some games coming to me soon that will probably take up my entire attention too. Don't want to start Strider, just to drop it because I'm starting LoS2, and another game which I ordered today...

[Alex79]

Just about to replay the Mass Effect trilogy. I've been wanting to replay it since the second I finished the third game shortly after release. I have been trying to hold off but I need to go back! I loved that universe so much, cannot wait. Even now just loading up the first game, that intro music on the menu screen, sends a tingle down your spine!

[Alex79]

Ah it's still soooooo good! I was worried it would be awfully clunky and barely playable going back to the first one but it's so not. Sure they refined the pretty bad and pointless inventory system, and the cover system is very hit and miss, but tiny quibbles they are.

[Bakers_12]

Started Batman Arkham origins this week, after playing the opening section I was thinking this Arkham game was going to be a pale imitation of the previous games. The game is missing some of the spit and polish of the first two games but once the game opens up and you have access to Gotham the few shortcomings don't seam as bad. The new crime scene investigation scanner where you use detective mode to recreate a crime is very cool.
The side missions feel a lot more rounded then the ones in city, the content is the same but they are bookended better so they feel like they fit into the event of the game better.

Spoiler: show

So far I have only had two boss fights one of witch is the most annoying and hard battle with a boss I have had in years, and I have played Dark Souls!!! FU Deathstroke!!!!

[Flabyo]

Still playing Hearthstone. Like, a lot.

[Feirsteax]

Still playing A Link Between Worlds
Just found the item upgrades. This game is fantastic.

I love the open nature of it too, makes it feel so much more fast-paced and still retains the sense of exploration

[ratsoalbion]

Playing this (ALBW) myself, just a couple of dungeons to go.

[Cass]

Having just finished Bravely Default (and loving it) I'm playing through ALBW and definitely enjoying the freedom of choice. Have just got to Lorule and finished the Thieves' Lair. Lots left to discover I assume?

[Feirsteax]

Aye. Loads of cool little secrets. I thought having most items readily available at any time would reduce the fun of exploring dungeons, but that's wrong. The dungeons are amazing fun anyway, and (light spoilers)

Spoiler: show

many dungeons have treasures of their own to discover (being vague on purpose, i don't just mean the occasional silver rupee)

so it's just as good, if not better.

It's great. I'm also on the last few dungeons, think I've about 2 or 3 to go.

[DomsBeard]

Started Batman Arkham Origins...

Spoiler: show

So far I have only had two boss fights one of witch is the most annoying and hard battle with a boss I have had in years, and I have played Dark Souls!!! FU Deathstroke!!!!

I loved that Boss fight, it reminded me of a Boss fight in Shenmue 2. Yeah Origins is fab though.

[countstex]

Farming Simulator. On off on 360 we finally caved. Just come from playing 4 hours straight. I may have a problem.