Whatcha Been Playing?

[ThirdDrawing]

Has anyone played Stella Glow or 7th Dragon yet? I've had my eye on them for a while.

[Jobobonobo]

Another RPG I would recommend for the original DS is the World Ends with You. Unique setting, interesting system where your stats are affected depending on what clothes are most fashionable in certain districts and a completely unique battle system that is bewildering at first but becomes really fun as you get into the game. Hated the main character at first (very typical angsty teenager) but I kinda warmed up to him at the end however your mileage may vary. Thankfully it is the only real JRPG trope that is present in this title and it truly is a cracking little experience otherwise.

[Todinho]

Since you mentioned Shin Megami Tensei SMT IV is on 3DS and the sequel to it SMT IV:Apocalipse just released if Im not mistaken.

On my end I decided to try Shadow Warrior the 2013 game and it was all going well until I got to a loading screen on chapter 1 and I stayed there...The game didnt even crash it just stayed there loading forever I waited up to 20 minutes and the game wouldnt finnish loading,I went on steam forums and the only solution was to disable the checkpoints I did that and it didnt work so after I craked my head a little bit more I gave up and asked for a refund and went back to Overwatch,that Halloween update is nice and the horde mode is surprisingly engaging and pretty hard too.

I also started a game I've been wanting to play for awhile and that is Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator! I wanted to get Xrd since it came out just for art alone but I decided to wait for the edition that would've all the characters so when revelator went on sale on PSN I picked that up only to find out that there are still more DLC characters coming out for the game...That bummed me out but today I decided to give it a shot and I kinda love it,for starters the game is gorgeous there so much care put not only in graphics but the animations and backgrounds it's incredibly detailed which is almost a waste since there's so much going on screen at any given time that you barely have time to appreciate it. What takes the cake though is the tutorial,I've never seen such a detailed tutorial in a fighting game before It goes through all the basics and not only that but it also gives you a combo lab for you to learn combos and a Mission mode that teaches you how to use what you learn in a actual match it's really well put together,I stuck with Jack-O for the most part,because who wouldnt, but I still wanna try all the other characters and the story mode.

[PapaJupe13]

Lost Odysee on the 360 was a brilliant, often overlooked game.

You have to have a physical copy of the game to play this, correct?
You can not purchase it as a download of the Xbox store?

I owned this game when it was out, but somehow misplaced it. And I never finished.
It was great and I would love to get to play it again, all the way through.

[Flabyo]

They've tended to put digital versions of the 360 back compat games up on the XBO store, but with Lost Odyssey being multi-disc that might have thrown some sort of spanner in the works.

[Craig]

Just got a new laptop and while I didn't buy it for games, I'm hoping I can catch up on some indie games that I've missed out on. It's 2.3 Ghz processor with 4GB RAM, but I've been out of the loop for so long I'm not sure what that means in terms of games I can play.

I take it probably 2D indie games, but PS3 3D out of the question? Does Steam usually have a Halloween sale?

[Alex79]

What graphics card does it have? That'll be your main sticking point, I imagine.

[KissMammal]

The Switch buzz has given me a Nintendo bug, and finally got me to dig out my 3DSXL (which has been sitting in a drawer for the last 18+ months) to give Super Mario 3D Land another try. It's a game I've started and restarted multiple times, but never fully played to completion. I always liked it, but wrongly or rightly never considered it as a 'proper' Mario game. It's subjective I suppose, but while it's a perfectly fine game I think what turned me off it was that its very simplistic. The courses (by design) are extremely linear, and the game lacks all the parts that made previous entries shine; the dizzying, hair-raising challenge of Super Mario Bros. 3, the complex move-set of Yoshi's Island, the sense of wonder and exploration of Super Mario 64, or the addictive breadcrumb trail of secrets to uncover of Super Mario World. It's all just a bit.... bland?

For a seasoned Mario player, it's also extremely easy, at times bordering on patronising (such as when it gives you an invincibility tanooki suit if you die twice on a tricky section). The courses are, like those in Mario 3, very short, but unlike those in M3 they're also incredibly easy to traverse. I don't think I even had to play as small (non-Super) mario until the 5th world, and racked up 100+ lives in no time, rendering the lives system entirely redundant... It's also way too generous with power ups, to the point where having one never feels in any way special like it used to in the old games. I do remember hearing that the real challenge unlocks after you finish the main game, hoping that's the case.

[ratsoalbion]

I do remember hearing that the real challenge unlocks after you finish the main game, hoping that's the case.

This is absolutely the case. Although I thought the game was wonderful from start to finish so whether or not this will improve your overall opinion of it I don't know.

Mario's first outing on the original Game Boy was also extremely easy compared to other Mario titles of course.

[KissMammal]

Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to play, I even think the 3D is really great and immersive (when held at *exactly* the right angle, of course). It just feels like there's something missing. It feels like its calibrated wrong - for example by far the trickiest challenge the game sets you on initial playthrough (collecting the five red coins on a strict time limit) nets you a (utterly pointless) extra life. So why bother taking the risk?

I totally get it - it's Nintendo's attempt to make a 3D Mario game that is intuitive as the 2D ones (and one a wider audience can enjoy), but to me - at least so far - it's all just a bit lightweight. By making it so easy, they're kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater a bit... It seems to me that they could comfortably up the challenge a little so long as they were generous with checkpoints and did away with lives entirely.

[KissMammal]

I'm onto the extra levels now, and yeah - this is much more to my taste! I didn't realise that there was so much game after beating the final boss. I'm not sure why I didn't persevere with it before - I think I'd just got a bit bored with the lack of challenge at that point. But yeah - should have stuck with it. Loving it.

[eastmcduck]

I've had what I'll refer to as gaming ADD lately. Been mostly sticking to PC gaming since I upgraded my system, but I haven't been focused on any single game. I've been bouncing back and forth between Skyrim, Fallout 4, and The Witness mostly. I don't know if many of you have played The Witness, but if you like puzzle games, definitely considering checking it out. This is one of those games for people who enjoy mental exercise. There is no story or dialog to speak of. You just start on this island full of a variety of line puzzles with no real sort of direction or tutorial. You just dig in and start solving puzzles, which in turn unlocks more puzzles. That's pretty much the only sort of reward you get besides a sense of satisfaction in completing difficult puzzles. I really like the fact that you have to seek different perspectives in order to solve some of the puzzles. Some of the puzzles are pretty self explanatory, but others are more baffling. Like one of the areas had puzzles that required you to look at different angles until the sunlight reflected off them revealing scratch marks that emphasize the solution to the puzzle. In the same area, when you get to a lower area, you assume you will use the same method, but you actually end up having to look at the mirror image of the puzzle in the water below to see the solution. I don't think I'm anywhere close to finishing the game. This is one of those types of games that I'll play very casually while I'm watching TV or something in the background.

[Alex79]

The Witness is probably my game of the year. I finished it a couple of months ago, it was absolutely incredible from start to finish. I just loved it.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I have a PS3, PS4, a PSP and a 3DS at my disposal. I've been waffling on a Vita for ages, but with Danganronpa 1 & 2 announced for PS4, I've held off. Older titles are fine and there are still PS3 games I've been meaning to get to on my backlog. (Lost Dimension for example, which is a fairly under the radar Atlus title I've heard good things about.

I bought and played through Persona 3 FES via the PSN earlier this year... I guessing that may already be in your collection?!?

And personally, currently playing through Persona 4 Golden on the Vita... I've never gotten so much use out of that handheld than when I'm playing that game. It's so hard to put down!

[gallo_pinto]

I'm onto the extra levels now, and yeah - this is much more to my taste! I didn't realise that there was so much game after beating the final boss. I'm not sure why I didn't persevere with it before - I think I'd just got a bit bored with the lack of challenge at that point. But yeah - should have stuck with it. Loving it.

Whew! I'm glad you like it! It's one of my favorite games in years.

[gallo_pinto]

I bought and played through Persona 3 FES via the PSN earlier this year... I guessing that may already be in your collection?!?

And personally, currently playing through Persona 4 Golden on the Vita... I've never gotten so much use out of that handheld than when I'm playing that game. It's so hard to put down!

I really love my Vita and have put hundreds of hours into it the last four years. That being said, it would have been worth the price of admission if Persona 3 and 4 had been the only games I'd played. Genuinely feel it still would have been worth the money.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

I'm still having a blast with RIGS on PSVR.

I've just completed my first full season in the single player mode. I won the league and the Top Gun award (you get points based on your personal performance in matches). I've now been promoted to League 2 so am expecting to difficulty to ramp up as I face off against better teams.

One thing I didn't really realise before I bought the game is that aside from the basic deathmatch mode (Team Takedown), there are two other game types that cycle through the league season - Power Slam and Endzone - and they both take the game even more towards being a shooter/sports hybrid.

In Power Slam, nailing takedowns and assists and picking up power-ups takes you into Overdrive (you're faster and more deadly for a limited time), and when you're in that state you need to hot foot it to the centre of the arena and launch yourself through a hoop suspended in the air to score a goal. Most goals wins. It's a super fun mode as you go from being on the offensive to playing really evasively as you try to reach the goal without being destroyed first (when you enter Overdrive you're highlighted on the map and the opposition team make an instant beeline for your mech!).

Endzone is basically American Football with gun-wielding mechs. There's a virtual ball that starts in the centre of the arena and you have grab it before the other team does and carry it into their endzone to score. You can pass between your team mates, steal the ball through melee attacks, and the whole thing is really frantic fun. Again there's a nice shift in play styles throughout a match depending on whether you have ball, are defending a team mate with it, or are trying to take down and steal it from the opposition.

I've not gone online yet but plan to at some point soon, and I'll definitely be sticking with the single player to try and eventually get promoted to and win the top league.

[Jobobonobo]

I'm onto the extra levels now, and yeah - this is much more to my taste! I didn't realise that there was so much game after beating the final boss. I'm not sure why I didn't persevere with it before - I think I'd just got a bit bored with the lack of challenge at that point. But yeah - should have stuck with it. Loving it.

Oh, yeah Mario 3D Land gets considerably more challenging after you finish the story. That evil little cackle of Shadow Mario still haunts my dreams, horrible little bugger.

[Jobobonobo]

So I am a reasonably big fan of Batman but have never played the Arkham games. So I bought the Return to Arkham collection which has the first two games and am working through Asylum now. And I have to say, I should have checked this out a long time ago. Been loving it so far. The gameplay really makes you feel like Batman and the sections where you have to take down Joker's armed henchmen are so satisfying when you pull them off right, the challenge increasing in nice little increments throughout the game. Gadgets are fun to use and are used in interesting ways to solve problems. Joker is put to very good use as a constant threat throughout the entire game and the Scarecrow sections are great with the way they can twist your expectations. From what I have played so far I cannot wait to try out City. It is rare to get superheroes so right in videogames, hope Insomniac manage to pull it off for Spiderman.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

So I am a reasonably big fan of Batman but have never played the Arkham games. So I bought the Return to Arkham collection which has the first two games and am working through Asylum now. And I have to say, I should have checked this out a long time ago. Been loving it so far.

I'm glad you're enjoying those particular titles. A while ago I picked up Arkham Origins on PS3 for very, very cheap, and after giving it a fair shot I kinda stopped playing it. To put a positive spin on it, it made me appreciate the first two Arkham games a lot more.