What are you playing at the moment? [Archive] - Page 10

Streeteh

11-12-2009, 19:51

I've attempted to get into blue dragon but tbh i'm really struggling. The combat feels sluggish and uninteresting (surprisingly it's even slower than Lost Odyssey and i thought that was bad!). The characters are incredibly two dimensional, i don't even really understand why they've suddenly decided to hunt for this incredibly powerful nemesis who has easily overpowered them on several occasions. The worst point however, is the music, what the hell was Nobu thinking? If i'm honest i don't think his heart was in it, it's both shrill and dull at the same time. The worst offender is the boss music (usually Nobus' strong point), the lyrics are terrible; 'So i can show you what you can see' what the hell is that meant to mean?

Bad points aside, i really like the graphics despite the almost criminal slowdown in some battles. The Japanese voice acting is good, with some very familiar voices and they do a good job with what little they are given of the characters. The job system is interesting but ultimately restrictive, i've used worse.

I'll bare with it for a while longer, i'm not holding my hopes up. Tbh i've only played one game that's really grabbed me on the 360, Lost Odyssey, and even that had some rather large flaws.

Roll on Alan Wake.

Justsomebloke

11-12-2009, 21:07

I am playing at "Watching the Transfer bar go Down" :(
Finally got me Transfer disc from MSN & Yay it seems to have taken unlike the old one, Only trouble is that the bar shows 2 hours & 31 minutes & I leave for work in 1 hour & 23 minutes.
Lol EggFace :( + ;D;D;D

Creature

11-12-2009, 22:16

Blue Dragon stuffSadly for you the, LO and BD are two of the best 360 JRPGs, and I absolutely love them, just need to find more time to play them. Still, never know what may come down from the sky, UP ABOOOOOVE!

Streeteh

11-12-2009, 22:51

Sadly for you the, LO and BD are two of the best 360 JRPGs, and I absolutely love them, just need to find more time to play them. Still, never know what may come down from the sky, UP ABOOOOOVE!

Does it improve as time goes by? I read a review that said the first half of the game was meh but the rest was great and it's got me holding on. I'm 10 hours in and i'm yet to see even a single character trait that makes me feel for the protagonists. For me, JRPGs are about the storyline and characters as much as the gameplay, this seems to have got the majority of the latter right but none of the former. I really want to like it, i do.

Creature

11-12-2009, 23:49

10 hours? I didn't enjoy it at that point, i'm at 60 ish now and loving it.

_dogma_

12-12-2009, 00:42

Does it improve as time goes by? I read a review that said the first half of the game was meh but the rest was great and it's got me holding on. I'm 10 hours in and i'm yet to see even a single character trait that makes me feel for the protagonists. For me, JRPGs are about the storyline and characters as much as the gameplay, this seems to have got the majority of the latter right but none of the former. I really want to like it, i do.

It does improve, stick with it! :)

Think I've I've done 70 hours or so and just gonna start a 2nd play through. I found the characters pretty annoying but you get used to and start to like them.

Aboobie

14-12-2009, 08:06

Demon's Souls arrived today from VideoGamesPlus (great delivery time, only a week to get here from Canada), so that will likely dominate my game time for a while. Already discovered how hard it can be, dying sends you right back to the start of the level, with all the enemies back alive. You at least keep anything you pick up however, which is useful if you find better weapons during the level. I get the feeling the game is going to be awesome :)

Really really tempted to get myself a PS3 slim for xmas and it's Demon's Soul that's pushing me over the edge along, well Uncharted 2 as well. How are you still finding it?

I've still lots to play on the 360 and I think's it just new toy syndrome; but ya' know :)

Creature

14-12-2009, 09:55

Haly

14-12-2009, 11:41

Doesn't really bother me :p
I won't hit 100k this year I don't think. Enjoying slowly getting all the Dragon Age achievements too much.

New laptop's just arrived so will be playing more DiRT2 but certainly not going out of my way to scorewhore. Just doesn't interest me at the moment even with NBA Live 10 and GI Joe sitting there.

Jingo

14-12-2009, 12:14

All you 'pros' had better watch your backs - I'm probably going to be hitting the 3500 mark sometime this holiday season ;D

Aboobie

14-12-2009, 12:18

Aboobie

14-12-2009, 12:20

You're not getting anything new till you finish Star Ocean boyo.

Finally finished Lego: Batman last night (bloody mini-kits) which took me to 50 overall 100%'s. Could have done it with a better game, but maybe i'll save that for 50 1k's.

Oh, and Jen, 4 points ;)

I've talked myself out of it again. If anything I need to spend less time gaming next year and I've already more than enough to play.

Haly

14-12-2009, 12:21

What's Avatar like? I see Play.com have it for £16.99 already (this is probably telling of what it's like) and I'm slghtly intrigued.

So far it's rather dull and average. Just your regular 3rd person action adventure shooter really. It is rather pretty though in a bluey green sort of way.

Creature

14-12-2009, 12:34

I've talked myself out of it again. If anything I need to spend less time gaming next year and I've already more than enough to play.Coward :(

Pumpkinstew

14-12-2009, 14:24

All you 'pros' had better watch your backs - I'm probably going to be hitting the 3500 mark sometime this holiday season ;D

Race you to 5K? :cool:

I know I have a head start but I'm being distracted by Okami on the Wii.

Mark

14-12-2009, 22:20

Race you to 5K? :cool:

Best hurry up or I'll be after you. It took me six months to get from 585 to 660. :o :)

PS - I'm currently going after Abooie's Buko Sudoku score (only 2 million to go). :)

Jingo

14-12-2009, 23:10

;D ;D Well a race might be an idea, but i'm more of the tortoise competitor :p

Plus I'm going to try and not buy any more games until I have completed (or at least thoroughly played!) some of my previous purchases!

I've got Fallout 3, Fable 2 and Mass Effect all practically untouched! :eek:

Creature

15-12-2009, 00:23

Just finished playing UP. Great fun little game and would be brilliant if you had kids. It's a very short game, but it's made me now want to see the film, as it looked interesting.

Also played Terminator: Salvation, which is in the top 3 worst games i've played on the 360, along with Bulletwitch and Bioshock.......no, wait, Earth 2025.

Pumpkinstew

15-12-2009, 00:35

Best hurry up or I'll be after you. It took me six months to get from 585 to 660. :o :)

I'll send you Prince of Persia. I think you got about 400 just for putting the disc in on that one.:evil:

Mark

15-12-2009, 01:42

I'd best put the disc in then. :evil:

Aboobie

15-12-2009, 08:32

Just finished playing UP. Great fun little game and would be brilliant if you had kids. It's a very short game, but it's made me now want to see the film, as it looked interesting.

That's both you and Nokkon recommending it now so I've ordered it this morning.

Will be good over Christmas with the girls and will give me a break from Barbie Girl in Lips :thanks:

Davey_Pitch

15-12-2009, 10:04

Really really tempted to get myself a PS3 slim for xmas and it's Demon's Soul that's pushing me over the edge along, well Uncharted 2 as well. How are you still finding it?

I've still lots to play on the 360 and I think's it just new toy syndrome; but ya' know :)

The more I play Demon Souls the more I'm loving it. It's definitely not a game for the timid, as even the most basic enemies can kill you in a couple of hits if you're not careful. With no pausing and no ability to just save wherever you want, it's a game that really makes you feel like death can be around any corner if you're not careful. The combat is exceptional and no matter what class you start as you have the ability to become any kind of character you want (ranged, melée, magic, mixture). I love the way the game is so open as well. You can go through the worlds in any order after doing the first, so if you're having trouble with one you can try another to get more souls and upgrade your skills before going back to try it again. From the 10 hours or so I've put into it, it's feeling like it could easily become my GOTY.

Wyrdo

16-12-2009, 17:00

The more I hear about Demon Souls the moreI want to buy it, I think I'll have to treat myself :p

Zirax

17-12-2009, 22:48

I'm currently going for a bit of Retro with Quake and the original mission packs. I got it a while back when there was a steam offer where it was about £5 for all of them?

Gotta say, hooking it into a big sound system and then going all out with the boom stick is just awesome :cool:

Haly

01-01-2010, 03:04

No 100k gamerscore for me by New Year! 99k instead, damnit :p

Lately I've been flitting between so many different games.

Broken Sword: The Director's Cut on the Wii - love it. I adore Broken Sword and the additions aren't huge here but they add a few nice things to it. It's a good relaxing game to play too.

DiRT2 on the PC - Keep playing this in short bursts but this is the third time I've played it (once before on the 360 and a PC preview copy) and I still really enjoy it.

Lego Rock Band on the 360 - Only had one proper session with this but I'm enjoying it a lot more than The Beatles: Rock Band. Much better tour mode and feels more complete, and less like a gimmicky cash in. Most importantly at the moment, the fact I can turn auto kick pedal on for the drums means I can finally drum after not being able to since breaking my foot over 5 months ago :D

So many Steam games - So many great games to jump into thanks to the Popcap Collection and the excellent Torchlight.

Hopefully sometime over the weekend I'll finally get a chance to play MGS4 as well.

Then next week will be an MMO fest with Fallen Earth to review and Star Trek Online to preview.

Wossi

02-01-2010, 20:46

Completed Assassins Creed 2, so that's only the second game I've got 1000/1000 on. Need to finish off a few other games now.

Daz

02-01-2010, 20:48

Spent some time on MW2 with Leo last night - did well, 3 Spec Ops missions down, 3 to go :)

Playing Arkham Asylum on the 360 - quite enjoying it, well paced, satisfying combat, good character roster. Also playing MGS:4 on the PS3, only just started really, but enjoying the familiar mechanics, and the unfamiliar setting.

Streeteh

03-01-2010, 00:16

I'm very much enjoying the god of war collection on the PS3, i forgot how much of a fantastic hack and slash series it was (although i'm finding it a little easy, this is probably because i was playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 beforehand). Bring on GoW3!

Joe 90

03-01-2010, 00:38

i ordered Fifa 10 today for just shy of £25.

had some great fun on my brother's copy and started my own manager mode yesterday, love this version. Not owned a Fifa game in around 10 years! been on PES since about #6

NokkonWud

03-01-2010, 06:49

Ironically PES has sucked since 6 with 5 arguably being the last good one. Fifa got good at 08 and has kicked on since to become what is arguably the greatest serious football game ever made.

Let me know when you want some games online!

Daz

03-02-2010, 10:27

I started the first Uncharted last night, one of two games I bought back from NY, the other being Ghostbusters on 360 (CES two blocks from the hotel <3). Definitely feel the Tomb Raider in it but enjoyed the start, looking forward to carrying on :)

Not quite the PS3 showcase I was expecting mind, so far. It does look great, but there's a lot of noticeable texture loading and frame rate slowdowns in the prettier areas. Might just be my copy :dunno: It's not bad enough to get annoyed with, just noticeable. It does sound ace though. In fact both MGS4 and so far this have seemed to make better use of my surround setup than anything I can think of on the 360.

Creature

03-02-2010, 10:42

Not so much playing, but i've been testing a lot of songs for Rock Band. Great sense of achievement watching a song go from it's first build all the way to the final version to be used in game. Hard work though, but fun.

Wyrdo

03-02-2010, 10:50

Still playing MW2 here but not so much at the moment, finished up Army of Two 40th day which was a real letdown, especially with all the glitches and bugs, one of which included wiping all my money, guns, stats and progress so I had to start over.

Trying to fit in Mass Effect 2 but I want to get Battlefield Bad Company finished before the second one arrives.

I also have a stack of cheap games I bought from shopto.net over Christmas that I haven't even looked at yet!

leowyatt

03-02-2010, 11:18

Going through MW2 on Veteran and once that's done I'll move onto the Saboteur :)

Haly

03-02-2010, 11:51

Jingo

03-02-2010, 11:58

Completed MW2 on Veteran a few days ago and are looking to go for the 1000/1000 by completing Spec Ops - I've got quite a few stars to go but it's great co-op fun despite being bloody hard on 3*! :D

Anybody who fancies a bit of spec ops and sees me jump online - drop me an invite :)

NokkonWud

03-02-2010, 12:49

Haly

06-02-2010, 15:39

Completed Mass Effect 2 earlier and loved it :)
Still a few flaws there but it'd be nitpicking to really complain. Enjoyed it a lot more than the original thanks to its stronger storytelling.

Hopefully have a more leisurely second playthrough shortly.

Also won a collector's edition copy recently for the PC so I'll have to give that a shot too :D Be rude not to ;)

As an aside, completing ME2 gave me enough achievement points toll me over the 100k gamerscore mark. Perhaps not as big an accomplishment now that a few BDers have done it beforehand but still quite nice to see it. Even if I have completely lost the urge to scorewhore!

Now to move onto Bayonetta :D Been lucky with the review copies lately!

NokkonWud

07-02-2010, 08:49

Glad you enjoyed Mass Effect 2. I've just completed the first one and it was absolutely fantastic, easily the best game I've played since Fallout 3 and wiped the floor with everything released last year, mainly because of its story telling. If the second one is better then I'm in for a treat.

Well done on winning a collector's edition, GAME stores lost my pre-order (in-store, not online), and I'm still pretty bitter. I waited in store for 90 minutes for someone else to try and get their pre-order and buy it off them (no one wanted to), so I'm still quite bitter as I was going to send it to my mate and get it signed by the producer/director at BioWare.

About time you broke 100k. I wouldn't say I've stopped scorewhoring, I do find achievements a major reason for why Xbox360 is so much more fun to play than others but my methods have changed, it's all about the completions rather than the points. I hope your scorewhoring comes back, it's always nice when you do.

I really need to get back to Bayonetta, I meant to post it off to you weeks ago and forgot, I've not touched it in a month as I ended up playing other stuff (including a full playthrough of Mass Effect) and quite a lot of Darksiders,

Kreeeee

07-02-2010, 14:44

Still play competitive SFIV, attending as many events as I can.

Also been playing coop borderlands and mario bros with my girlfriend.

Psymonkee

07-02-2010, 16:00

Normal difficulty run of God of War 2 since I failed to complete it on Normal last time :(

Staring at ME2 box whilst finishing off my old ME1 game (unlikely to get lvl 60 so a bit annoyed :()

Got pretty mad though last night. Went all the way through Ilos and got to the Conduit. Mako bounces around unpredictably and gets stuck on the slope :( Not even using the jump jets made it move. The 40 second timer ran out, I failed and......back to the very start of Ilos :(

RAGE QUIT! :angry:

NokkonWud

07-02-2010, 16:15

It takes 2-3 playthroughs to hit Level 60. I'm Level 55 after 1.25 playthroughs and only on 420,000xp, you need 860,000 for Level 60.
I'm going for the Asari and Quarian ally achievements on this run-through, well on my way to Paragon too. Playing through on Hardcore, it's been rather easy so far with only the Mako sections being difficult. I found the big battle on Bringing Down the Sky to be rather simple, I actually found it much harder on Normal. I guess it's my level and weapons that made it a little easier.

Davey_Pitch

07-02-2010, 17:04

Mass Effect 2 has been dominating my play time for the past week. Not spent as much time on it as I thought I would, but still put nearly 30 hours into it, and getting really close to the end. Unfortunately there are some bits I find a little dull (scanning the planets for resources) and that's mainly what I have left to do before attempting the final section.

Also went through the Heavy Rain demo today, and it's just made me want the game more. Can't wait until it comes out in a few weeks, the full game should be awesome.

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 17:23

Davey where did you find the demo? I can't find it though I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking in the right place

NokkonWud

07-02-2010, 17:57

Davey where did you find the demo? I can't find it though I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking in the right place

I really can't understand the purpose of a demo of this game. If the game is delivering what has been promised then a demo should do nothing for it. I won't be touching the demo with a barge pole, when I'm playing it I want everything to be new. I know almost nothing about it and I'm happy that way.

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 18:00

Well it doesn't matter because I can't get it to download anyway :(

Davey_Pitch

07-02-2010, 18:30

Leo, you need to go to http://www.precinct52.com and complete the mini game there, and you'll get a code to use to download the demo. I used Google to find out what clues I needed to pick, can't find the link on my phone but it should be easy to find if you don't want to solve the puzzle yourself :)

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 18:33

I played the game using the google results but no luck :(

Zirax

07-02-2010, 18:35

I'm actually giving Company of Heroes a go for the first time. For whatever reason I never actually got around to playing it. Absolutely loving it so far. It plays pretty well on the laptop as well which is surprising.

I've had to limit the amount of games I play on the xbox while away though. I have a 17" CRT thing in the flat and driving & FPS are a nightmare, imagine trying to hit a 2mm high guy in the distance firing at you while you are sitting across the room on the sofa :( Still, when back in the home I shall be back to gaming properly :D

Davey_Pitch

07-02-2010, 18:39

The four pieces of evidence are:

• Short cigarette (117b)
• Origami bird
• Coffee shop C (it says “diner”)
• 117h (tire tracks).

Nokkon - the demo reveals no story whatsoever, just a couple of brief scenes that show how the gameplay will work, that's all. Not worth missing if you're only worried about spoiling the story :)

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 18:56

done that Davey still keep being told I've failed :(

Davey_Pitch

07-02-2010, 19:07

When you click on the cigarettes and the tires, you will have a couple of options to pick from. Make sure you pick the same ones mentioned in my post above :)

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 21:21

I have done still doesn't work :( I'd be more than happy to give you my login details for you to try for me I just can't get it to work :(

Daz

07-02-2010, 21:40

You picking the right tyre tracks? The labels aren't very clear there. I'd be happy to get you a code though if it's still giving you hassle :)

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 21:45

I've gone for;

The cigies on the right (b)
Origami on the far left (bird)
Diner
Tyre tracks far left

leowyatt

07-02-2010, 21:52

Here you are:

Ok never mind I didn't read Davey's post about the H right as all the other said pick f :( :o

Davey_Pitch

07-02-2010, 23:28

So are you all sorted now? What do you think of the demo?

Garp

07-02-2010, 23:35

I've been playing Dragons Age Origins... and loving it. Great to be playing an in-depth RPG again :)

Especially loving the film references that keep cropping up, adds a bit of nostalgia for Fallout 1 & 2.

"Aren't you a bit short to be a guard?"

leowyatt

08-02-2010, 08:09

So are you all sorted now? What do you think of the demo?

It hadn't finished downloading or installing by the time I went to bed so will probably have a crack at it tonight.

leowyatt

12-02-2010, 20:25

and that is my second COD game 1k'd :cool:

Haly

17-02-2010, 12:35

For the foreseeable future I will be playing Heavy Rain :D
My copy just arrived in the post :cool:

Daz

17-02-2010, 12:36

Eagerly awaiting opinions :)

leowyatt

17-02-2010, 12:37

Eagerly awaiting opinions :)

I've resisted watching the gametrailers review :D

Jingo

17-02-2010, 13:20

and that is my second COD game 1k'd :cool:

Nice one - I'm currently working through COD4 on Veteran and it's much harder than MW2 so far; I'm on that sodding sniper mission! :angry: ;D

Once I've gone through the achievements on this I'll head back to MW2 to try and get some more Spec Ops Stars :D

leowyatt

17-02-2010, 13:29

I'm on that sodding sniper mission! :angry: ;D

where are you stuck?

Haly

17-02-2010, 14:38

Creature

17-02-2010, 17:01

I've just finished Magna Carta 2 100% including DLC, and I have to say it's prbably my favourite RPG on the 360. It's the only one i've been able to stand watching all the cutscenes in as they normally bore me, but this one really sucked me in. I have to say, I wouldn't be dissapointed if I had to re-do it all again.

Now re-starting Mass Effect, going for two RPG completeions in a month, after not finishing one before =/

Rich_L

18-02-2010, 22:25

Phew just completed Borderlands (thanks MB!)

Great game, really enjoyed it and did every single quest but O.M.G. the ending is a let-down!! Still, a v enjoyable game with a good sense of humour, good graphics and good loot-gathering fun. 8/10 I'd give it I think.

Not sure what to do, won't be playing it online so haven't really got the stamina to start from scratch again on a '2nd' playthrough.

Might trade it though - anyone want to trade/part-exchange? Wouldn't mind giving another RPG a go.

Bit out of the loop on 360 games so not sure what's out there :)

Briggykins

19-02-2010, 10:53

Early impressions of Heavy Rain are pretty good :)

Control system takes a fair bit of getting used to and I'm not sure if it was the wisest of design choices, but the story is very compelling.

I'm a biiiiiiiig fan of strong storylines in games so I'll forgive the control quirks if the story continues to hook me. Some nice dramatic devices so far too.

I've got to stop for a bit now to get on with some more urgent work, bah :(

I enjoyed the control system in the demo, probably because I'm not well-versed with a console controller. It also seems like it might be a good way to learn where everything is. Thoroughly enjoyed the demo entirely, especially when I figured out that I was playing it with completely the wrong brightness setting :o Keep us informed - will be good to know how the whole game goes.

Streeteh

19-02-2010, 12:02

Bioshock 2

Meh

Haly

19-02-2010, 12:12

Bioshock 2

Meh

So far I entirely agree. Really having to force myself to play through it which is the exact opposite of how I felt with the original. Just feels like a regular FPS with great art deco backgrounds now :/

Decent enough FPS but suffers badly when compared to the first game imo.

Heavy Rain - still excellent, still slightly below par control system (although pleased it's stood you in good stead Briggykins :D), still very difficult to discuss. Just not sure what to say without spoiling it ;D Which will make writing the review interesting :p
Excellent story though.

Streeteh

19-02-2010, 12:15

Tbh i think i'm going off FPS' as a whole these days, though this one is obviously below par, even to someone not as interested in the genre as others may be.

On the heavy rain front:

Ruin the story for me and i will hunt you down! It's been my most anticipated game of 2010 (yes, even more so than FFXIII and GoW3) for a long time now. I just adored Fahrenheit despite the... questionable last quarter

Haly

19-02-2010, 12:21

No way am I ruining the story for anyone! I'd be furious if it happened to me. It's my most anticipated game of the year so far too.

Even my review will be spoiler free as it's just not fair on a game like this.

Streeteh

19-02-2010, 12:22

I never expected you to, just thought i'd get the warning out there so all knew the pain they would face :evil:

Haly

19-02-2010, 12:29

;D Sensible :D

Davey_Pitch

19-02-2010, 17:22

The butler did it. :p

Streeteh

19-02-2010, 18:08

Ok Bioshock is really beginning to bug me now, the AI is just pitiful. How did this game get such glowing reviews? Considering the big daddy you play as is meant to be a big lumbering beast you just don't feel it, you float around just like any other FPS (aside from Op Flash and Killzone 2; the only shooters i've ever played that made you feel 'heavy'). But then the aiming is rubbish, you're unable to tinker with the settings as much as i'd like so you're stuck with a strange form of mouse acceleration that adds to the 'skating on ice' feel and all the guns feel inaccurate and unfulfilling.

It's turned into, find big daddy, plant loads of spear gun traps, lure big daddy into them by shooting one bullet and running. If still alive, freeze, drill, done. Steal big sister.

Find vending machine, buy trap darts, proximity mines and mini turrets.

Find corpse, plant trap darts, proximity mines and turrets all around it.

Drop little sister.

Hang back and watch all of the splicers run to their doom.

If big sister arrives, complete the same tactic but instead surround yourself with traps, watch as she kills herself running for you.

It's just repetitive as hell. This is in normal with resurrection disabled (never needed it anyways). I guess Hard would be different but i'm not starting again. I'd hoped they would have fixed the combat issues that plagued my playthrough of Bioshock one, but if anything they're now more apparent as the game seems more combat orientated without any improvements to said combat. To add to this they've screwed up what made Bioshock so amazing; the atmosphere. As Haly said it's just like any other shooter now with a novelty skin applied to the levels.

Feek

19-02-2010, 18:55

Plants Vs. Zombies

Q) How much fun is this?

http://ocukroguesgallery.com/feek/temp/PvZ-20100219-175454.png

A) Lots.

Jingo

19-02-2010, 19:56

Plants Vs. Zombies

Q) How much fun is this?

A) Lots.

Damn right! :D Loves it! :D

Haly

19-02-2010, 21:19

To add to this they've screwed up what made Bioshock so amazing; the atmosphere. As Haly said it's just like any other shooter now with a novelty skin applied to the levels.

I'll repeat myself again by quoting this :D

Just completed Bioshock 2. Perfectly reasonable FPS but not a patch on the original which is such a shame. I had a PC review copy and was considering getting hold of a cheap 360 copy if the PR firm involved couldn't find me one, but I'm not so fussed now. At least it's saved me money I guess.

Oh and Plants vs Zombies rocks :D

NokkonWud

22-02-2010, 00:41

The more I hear about Heavy Rain the more I feel that I could wait longer for it, the only reason I'm getting it day one is so that I don't have it spoiled.
I'm sure you all know Alan Wake is my most anticipated game :p.

On BioShock 2... You're complaining about the monotony of planting traps, but the first game was absolutely no different, plant traps around Big Daddy and take sister... Why is that suddenly not good enough now?
The atmosphere isn't as good, but from a design perspective, many of the environments are actually 'better'. It was always obvious you wouldn't get the same thrill entering Rapture a second time, if you thought you would then you were kidding yourself.

For me BioShock is definitely the better of the two games, but there are things that BioShock 2 does better than its predecessor such as the hacking, research, game balance, sharper visuals, surround sound, secondary story delivery and it also takes some rather brilliant game direction, especially later in the game (which I won't spoil for anyone.) It also has multiplayer which I found great fun and actually delivered something for hitting level 40 which I really liked, as well as rewarding level advancement throughout via audio diaries for the characters which detail them spiralling out of control, from human to splicer which I felt was a great touch.

As for games that made you feel 'heavy' Streeteh, interesting choice with Killzone 2 as it's a game that required a patch to remove floaty movement. Did you mean Operation Flashpoint 2, or the original? Never played the first, but the second I turned off after 10 minutes due to the atrocious atrociousness of its atrocity.
I do agree that you should have felt heavier, but you're also the most nimble of Big Daddies that were made. If you were lumbering around levels then you'd have lost a lot of flow to it.

Belmit

22-02-2010, 02:15

I'm currently alternating between AvP and Bioshock 2. Both are great so far and I've only played as a marine/got to the part with the research camera (respectively)!

Much prefer the far less laborious hacking system in Bioshock 2 and am enjoying being a Big Daddy! Playing it on hard is making it fairly challenging. Would be good if there was more revisiting places from the first one, even if it was just looking in from the outside, but you can't have everything I guess. Maybe there will be a little of that later on but I'm not holding my breath. Reminds me a little of Opposing Force for Half Life in premise.

Aboobie

22-02-2010, 09:17

I've had a few weeks off. I think I was a bit burnt out and every time thought about playing I couldn't muster the energy to actually put anything on.

All quite natural I'd imagine and something you've all probably experienced.

Anyway, now that's over I've got right back into Mass Effect 2 again and what a game. I'm nearing the final quarter now I think and really looking forward to seeing
As my first game saves wouldn't import (due to me moving 360 and HD since finishing it!) I'll definately do a second run and I might as well have a go at Insanity difficulty. I think I'm looking forward to it.

Also dropping in and out of Dirt 2. This is probably the best looking game I've played; quite sublime and a great distraction.

I've put Borderlands on the back burner for now. I can't quite put my finger on why but it's not quite doing it for me and I do find it a bit of a chore to play.

Garp

22-02-2010, 09:22

I've been playing Dragons Age Origins... and loving it. Great to be playing an in-depth RPG again :)

The more I've been playing this the more I've been plagued by crazy long load times. Found a solution though, in steam, right click on the Dragons Age icon, select properties, go to launch options and add "-dx9".

You get dx9 only graphics, which are still damn good, plus <10 seconds load times on most maps compared to anywhere between 1 1/2 minutes and 3 that I've been suffering.

Admiral Huddy

22-02-2010, 11:55

BioShock 2 and MW2

MW2 is a bit too cinematic for my liking and the "follow me" makes a mockery of the whole thing. Good game though, stunning graphics on the PC.

Bioshock 2.. Only done the first level or so. The dual "weapon" controls are a little awkward but I know I'll enjoy this.

Streeteh

22-02-2010, 13:51

On BioShock 2... You're complaining about the monotony of planting traps, but the first game was absolutely no different, plant traps around Big Daddy and take sister... Why is that suddenly not good enough now?

It wasn't good enough then either, i've said many times i felt Bioshock had rubbish gameplay. What annoys me about Bioshock 2 is that they've taken away what made Bioshock and interesting title, the atmosphere etc.

The atmosphere isn't as good, but from a design perspective, many of the environments are actually 'better'. It was always obvious you wouldn't get the same thrill entering Rapture a second time, if you thought you would then you were kidding yourself.

The level design was abysmal imo, corridor after corridor and very little to distinguish one room from another. I found myself checking the map all the time to figure out where i'd actually been before. I never expected much from Bioshock 2 so i wasn't kidding myself, i just expected more than what i got.

For me BioShock is definitely the better of the two games, but there are things that BioShock 2 does better than its predecessor such as the hacking, research, game balance, sharper visuals, surround sound

I agree with all of those apart from visuals, on the PC they were actually inferior to Bioshock 1.

As for games that made you feel 'heavy' Streeteh, interesting choice with Killzone 2 as it's a game that required a patch to remove floaty movement. Did you mean Operation Flashpoint 2, or the original? Never played the first, but the second I turned off after 10 minutes due to the atrocious atrociousness of its atrocity.

Actually, they patched it to tone down the weightyness, not to make it less floaty. It was too weighty for the CoD4 lovers. The original op flash is what i was referring to, the second was horrendous.

Haly

22-02-2010, 21:46

Just completed Heavy Rain.
Loved every second of it :) As I was discussing with a workmate, there's bound to be loads of copies getting traded in because of people/teenagers moaning about the slow pace and the lack of action (as in action you can control through something other than QTEs) but I'll just want to call them shallow idiots :p

Brilliant story driven game that provokes so many great emotional connections with the characters. As someone who prefers a strong storyline over anything else in a game, I couldn't have asked for more.

Davey_Pitch

22-02-2010, 22:02

Like Jen, I finished Heavy Rain (last night) and also thought it was exceptional. There are so many choices in the game that you don't realise you're making, I'll definitely be going through it again to consciously change things and see what effect it has on the ending. I know there are several endings, and I definitely want to see all of them.

Aboobie

26-02-2010, 11:58

Creature

26-02-2010, 12:54

Have you thought about Resonance of Fate at all? Or maybe just wait till FFXIII :p

Wyrdo

26-02-2010, 17:04

That's Mass Effect 2 complete. 1015/1015, insanity run finished, done.

I cannot throw enough superlatives at it; I came out of my gaming hibernation only to become obsessed finishing my insanity run in a week. I'm really looking forward to the big free DLC dropping at the end of March now.

Next RPG... seriously thinking about Divinity 2...

I couldn't face going straight back through the game again after I finished it, I'll probably wait another week or two and then go back through on Insanity difficulty.

Currently working my way through the Borderlands DLC I bought ages ago and never touched! Finished the Zombie Island this morning which was rather good and now I'm onto Mad Moxxie's Underdome. Looks like I'm going to struggle trying to play that one on my own though.

Haly

27-02-2010, 15:48

A very eclectic mix of games to keep me busy this coming week: SOCOM and Half Minute Hero on the PSP, Darwinia and Guitar Hero Van Halen on the 360, Phantasy Star Zero for the DS and erm Disney Sing It Pop Hits and Astro Boy for the Wii.

Wonder if any of them will be as great as Heavy Rain......hmm no :p

Justsomebloke

27-02-2010, 16:07

Forza 3 Forza 3 & Nothing but Forza 3. :p

I've concentrated my time the last few weeks so that I could get my head around how the game implements Tuning/Handling & a few days ago I turned the corner.
I now have the facts & figures logged into my head so deep I remember them the minute I go to my garage. I use a tuning calculator to handle the Maths & feel to fine tune them & the results show in my lap times. :cool:
The game gives me Everything I want & is a Dream come true as far as Racing/Modding & tuning goes & as I've got deeper into it the game has been Much more rewarding than my usual sporadic sessions with other titles on the 360.

BF2 still gets played Obviously as that is My game when it comes to FPS but I've been getting into a bit of Company of Heroes lately as I am playing that on my 40 inch Sammy HD. :cool: The extra room on the screen helps loads with the claustrophobic feeling I get from the game played on my Benq. The viewing distance is just far to close for a small screen but it's sound on the forty.

Streeteh

27-02-2010, 16:18

Heavy Rain.

So far it has exceeded my expectations, it's better than Fahrenheit, i just hope it keeps the standards so high and doesn't have a poor ending like its predecessor. I really hope games of this style become more mainstream, i hate the thought of waiting as long as i did between Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain all over again.

Creature

27-02-2010, 17:09

Wonder if any of them will be as great as Heavy Rain......hmm no :pGood luck enjoying GH:VH, worst of all the gh's yet.

Haly

27-02-2010, 17:14

Wouldn't say worst from what I've seen so far, about on par with GH: Aerosmith really....which is pretty poor compared to the earlier GHs :p

Creature

27-02-2010, 17:24

GH:A is better purely as it's a proper GH game, i.e, not full band.

Briggykins

27-02-2010, 18:00

BF:BC2 out on Friday so I'm delaying Heavy Rain until I start getting tired of that (give it time to get cheap secondhand hopefully as well). Just hope I can avoid spoilers until then. Anyone else going to be on BC2 over the coming days? (Esp if you're on PC :) )

Aboobie

27-02-2010, 18:13

I really hope games of this style become more mainstream.

It's a game I'd love to play but this is a pipe dream. They signed an exclusivity deal with the most expensive console so mainstream is far from their focus....

Streeteh

27-02-2010, 18:27

It's a game I'd love to play but this is a pipe dream. They signed an exclusivity deal with the most expensive console so mainstream is far from their focus....

When i say mainstream i mean a reoccurring genre, one to join the RPGs, FPS', RTS' etc, i don't mean i want it to be played by every tom dick and harry on the Wii. It looks like Heavy Rain is proving to be a success in terms of early sales so hopefully it'll inspire other publishers/developers to investigate the genre themselves and maybe even bring it back to platforms other than the PS3 in their own way. To say the PS3 isn't a mainstream gaming platform when it's sat in millions of homes and is still selling well is a little... dubious imo, or have i misinterpreted your point?

Aboobie

28-02-2010, 09:56

When i say mainstream i mean a reoccurring genre, one to join the RPGs, FPS', RTS' etc, i don't mean i want it to be played by every tom dick and harry on the Wii. It looks like Heavy Rain is proving to be a success in terms of early sales so hopefully it'll inspire other publishers/developers to investigate the genre themselves and maybe even bring it back to platforms other than the PS3 in their own way. To say the PS3 isn't a mainstream gaming platform when it's sat in millions of homes and is still selling well is a little... dubious imo, or have i misinterpreted your point?

I would love to see more narrative driven games but I believe Quantic Dream's decision to allow Heavy Rain to be a PS3 exclusive won't do anything to further this cause.

And before you get your knickers in a twist I'd be arguing the same if it was a 360 exclusive; except it would probably also be on the PC and would also probably only be 'timed' ;)
Heavy Rain is a niche title that won't sell huge numbers. I've not seen any advertising for it and outside hardcore gaming forums I've not seen any mention of it.

Niche, small selling titles need as much exposure as possible. My worry is by being a PS3 exclusive it will fail to make much noise; my bet is it won't chart in the top 10 games in next months US NPDs and won't generate enough revenue to never mind make it's publisher lots of money but probably break even.

If it was on all the platforms, was played by tom, dick and harry on the Wii and did sell 1m+ publishers might look at Narrative only titles as a serious direction to invest and more people would be talking about it, but as it is it I fear it will be relagated to a niche title only seriously talked about by gaming enthusiasts.

leowyatt

28-02-2010, 10:09

There hass been quite a few TV adverts over here for it. I haven't seen any mind :/

Aboobie

28-02-2010, 10:15

Anyhoo....

I spent most of yesterday playing Lips: Party Classics.

It's, well, more Lips which you're either for or against :P

We had fanastic fun and there are some corking songs on it as well as a new feature which allows you to save your rendition after the song finishes. You then have the totally cringeworthy chance to play back your warbling with it removing the original vocal track.

Now I know it's only been out a day and there were only 1000 or so in the leaderboard but Jen (not Haly, mrs Abooie) and I managed to get a Diamand Trophy and the #1 spot for our rendition of Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer. On playback all I have to say it if we got #1 my ears would surely bleed if I heard any of other attempts... :D

Recommended!

Streeteh

28-02-2010, 11:55

Stuffs

I'm far from getting my knickers in a twist, i just don't agree with you.

I think the huge sums of money Sony have pumped into Quantic Dream played a massive part in their decision to go exclusive. Without that money i very much doubt they'd have been able to make a title of such high quality as they're a very small development studio (or were at least until they got all the funding for Heavy Rain). If they'd decided to go multiplat the quality of the game would have likely suffered, they wouldn't have been able to afford the same voice actors or achieve such impressive things with the hardware available to them. It was one or the other i bet, make a comparatively low budget game for multiple platforms, without much outside funding but with the hope of a greater return, or make a higher budget game for one platform with a guaranteed lump sum to get it to the shelves. Both have their downfalls when it comes to trying to push the title to the masses.

I doubt it will make much noise too, just like most other high quality PS3 exclusives (what ever happened to inFamous and LBP!?) but i don't think it needs to. It's a relatively new idea in terms of gaming and the new ideas always start small before other developers take interest and thus the idea grows (just look at games like Braid, a small, relatively unheard of low budget game that arguably single handedly revitalized the 2-D platforming genre, sparking the creation of things such as Shadow Complex, Trine, Splosion Man, etc). Developers such as EA have shown in the past couple of years that they have a deep interest in trying new IPs or even completely reinventing genres (Mirrors Edge would be my example). I don't view it as a unreasonable assumption that they've got their eye on Heavy Rain and would consider making their own multiplatform attempt.

Haly

28-02-2010, 12:35

Also seen lots of TV adverts for Heavy Rain :)

Plus last night in work it was sold out both for purchases and rental and we still had people asking for copies! Not actually seen/heard that before with any other game in the past year! Although obviously that's only a small sample.

Streeteh

28-02-2010, 13:00

It's also topped the 'top sellers' list on Shopto, again not an accurate representation of the market but it's not a small etailer these days so it goes some way to showing it's actually being noticed. Even Zavvi have a full-site advert for it, the sort of advertising a small developer couldn't afford without massive publisher backing.

Davey_Pitch

28-02-2010, 14:12

Belmit

28-02-2010, 14:20

Well I was playing Bioshock 2. Just started it up this morning and it can't find any of my save games. They exist on the hard drive under system settings but the game can't see them. Coincidentally, I had to install an update for the game when I started it up... Majorly pissed off as I was playing on hard and had progressed a fair way though.

Edit: Wow... just wow. My housemate used my Xbox while I was out last night..... and was playing the original Bioshock. I just hadn't spotted the disc had been changed. :o

NokkonWud

28-02-2010, 20:41

they wouldn't have been able to afford the same voice actors.

Are you praising the voice work?
The voice work is by far and away the very, very, very worst thing about this game. This game does so much absolutely brilliantly, but the voice work certainly isn't one of them and when compared to other major exclusives we've seen this generation like Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, BioShock et al, then this is positively third-rate.

Streeteh

28-02-2010, 21:04

Not necessarily praising the quality but more the sheer number of voice actors required; keep in mind they had to hire voice actors for loads of languages. Just think how much it would have cost to hire top quality voice actors for every single one. Without the budget they were given i imagine we'd only have had one or two spoken languages with everyone else having to put up with text. The way it is a huge proportion of languages are covered so most get to play without subtitles thus further extending its potential audience.

Also, i'd say the voice acting is far from poor, i'd say at least three of the main characters are actually pretty good. Certainly better than the dudes that do the voices for Snake and Otacon in MGS (forget their names). I can think of only two points where poor voice acting has ruined the immersion for me and they were both very minor characters.

cheets

01-03-2010, 00:25

Fifa 10 UT
The Club

Sold Borderlands, Forza 3, GTA LCS and Tiger Wood 2010 for £70

Going to get Mass Effect 2 me thinks

NokkonWud

01-03-2010, 01:00

Also, i'd say the voice acting is far from poor, i'd say at least three of the main characters are actually pretty good. Certainly better than the dudes that do the voices for Snake and Otacon in MGS (forget their names). I can think of only two points where poor voice acting has ruined the immersion for me and they were both very minor characters.

I was perhaps a little mean, not all of it is bad, it's more a mix between the voice acting and the editing of the voice audio that is my problem. Madison and Scott both have good voice work, it's the other two that I really (really!) don't like at all.
My problem with the editing is that all the voice work is so clearly done in a studio, never does it actually sound and feel like they're speaking in the environment they're in, and due to the nature of the game, actually feel very noticeably misplaced.

However, the game does do other stuff very well. Enjoying it muchly so far, though it's not a defining video game as I was hoping, nor a system defining game (though it's certainly another exclusive that adds credence to the PS3 alongside Uncharted), it's definitely something that, as I'm playing, I can totally enjoy for attempting to do something different (and do well.)

Undoubtedly the most impressive element of this game is the graphical quality of many of the environments and all of the main characters (bar Ethan), which are quite simply the best we've seen this generation by quite a distance.

I'd definitely recommend everyone play the game, that's for sure.

NokkonWud

01-03-2010, 01:01

Fifa 10 UT
The Club

What are your thoughts on this years Ultimate Team? I personally think it's gone backwards in many areas and I'm very, very disappointed. I certainly won't be sticking around, that's a fact.

NokkonWud

01-03-2010, 01:06

Considering virtually every PS3 owner I know is really interested in Heavy Rain, I think it will sell enough to make plenty of noise in the industry, along with the high review scores it's been getting. Whether it'll lead to an increase in narrative-driven games is a completely different thing though. I hope it does, it was an exceptional experience and one I hope to repeat again in different games soon.

It's also topped the 'top sellers' list on Shopto, again not an accurate representation of the market but it's not a small etailer these days so it goes some way to showing it's actually being noticed. Even Zavvi have a full-site advert for it, the sort of advertising a small developer couldn't afford without massive publisher backing.

I was talking with a group of friends after playing football on Wednesday, they're all pretty big gamers and buy games regularly. I mentioned whether any of them were getting Heavy Rain and only 1 person (excluding myself) from the 7 had heard of it.

As for the scores, I've seen a few numbers, not read any reviews for fear of spoiling, seen quite a number of 70%-ish scores, one from Edge, which put it behind BioShock 2 and Mass Effect 2 just for this month. I do however believe Edge have gotten the 7 score wrong, it should be higher by 1 or maybe even 2, but I'm not really that far into it having just started Chapter 3 (stage 4).

cheets

01-03-2010, 01:49

What are your thoughts on this years Ultimate Team? I personally think it's gone backwards in many areas and I'm very, very disappointed. I certainly won't be sticking around, that's a fact.

Seems the same, getting use to the setup, bidding is better for £4 its worth it.

Wellington

01-03-2010, 20:11

Currently playing
PC: FF IX
PC: King Arthur
PSP: Final Fantasy Dissidia

Considering starting up playing Disgara 3 on the PS3

NokkonWud

02-03-2010, 14:31

Finished Heavy Rain this morning, definitely an enjoyable game, not the video game defining title that will change the way games will be seen that I was hoping for, but as an experience it was, for the most part, hugely enjoyable.

What was a bit of a shame was that later in the game you're seemingly given less and less variable to do, the majority of which are essentially one available option, which is hidden behind it's control method (of holding a direction or action), when it's really no different to the majority of games utilising a 'press A to open' action, however the usage of Six-Axis actually benefits the game and works incredibly well, so yay, well done Sony.
I also know several people who have openly praised the control method of Heavy Rain (and rightly so, it's nice) but also commented rather negatively on something like Natal and how it could be integrated into games in the future.
Personally this is the kind of thing I'd like to do in Natal.

Too many clumsy things that stop it being a 9/10 out of 10 title in my eyes, but I'd definitely say it's the key title in Sony's Playstation 3 exclusive list. It's just a shame that a game like this, that is intending to change the way games are seen is being limited to the smallest third of the home console market, but it's definitely a killer app on the PS3, so these things happen.

There are some truly excellent chapters in the game, the vast majority of Madison's being the stand-outs for me. A thoroughly enjoyable experience and everyone should play it, that's for sure. The first real issue I've had is that my original thought was realised upon completion, I have no real urge to jump back in and play it again, although I'm sure they thought this to be the case when they announced the Chronicles additions, the first of which, Taxidermist, is really good.

I'd say that it's certainly the best 'new' game I've played this year, whether it'll better Mass Effect 2, God of War 3 or Alan Wake, I'd like to hope so given that it did try something different.

Belmit

02-03-2010, 16:45

Finished Bioshock 2. Obviously not as good as the first, and it would have benefitted from being able to revisit the occasional old location now in a more delapidated state... but anyway. MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Good:
- Hacking improved. Doesn't take half as long and you can do it at a distance. That's how you properly improve on a good idea.
- Water animations are spot on. The transition from above water to below water is awesome, especially in the airlocks when they drain and fill.
- Sound. Water dripping on my tin head? Very atmospheric.
- Good weapons. Drill, good. Speargun, good. Rivet gun, good. Launcher... OK. Shotgun and machine gun I could do without. Just too many upgrades available (see plasmids below).
- Traps. On hard difficulty these are a godsend in Teh Epic Battuls.
- Big Sisters. Hard as nails and genuinely difficult to kill. Plus a lot of them in the game appear at random so you have no time to set traps or to recover from the last battle you just won. And that scream scares the bejesus out of me.
- Research. Video camera > static camera and I found that there was a genuine difference in the difficulty of enemies as progression was made, as with the first game. This gives an organic feeling that the protagonist is learning to deal with enemies and spotting their weaknesses, almost subconciously.
- Story is solid but needed more of a twist like the first to really set it off nicely. A lot of buildup and not enough payoff.

Bad:
- Doesn't reference the first quite enough. Plenty of Andrew Ryan stuff but only one Frank Fontaine diary referencing Atlas. The old and new stories needed to be more integrated.
- Too many plasmid upgrades/tonics etc. I found myself becoming a jack of all trades, master of none until right near the end. It would be better if there was a distinct path to what you can and can't have e.g. if you have flame you can't use freeze and vice versa... at the expense of not being able to access specific hidden areas based on your choices.
- Too hard at the start (not a lot of health, can't carry a lot of first aid, little ammo and cash around) and too easy at the end (regularly unable to pick up the abundant ammo as I was constantly full, even with all launcher types, cash maxed out, rarely lost a lot of health or EVE). Without spoiling too much you also get the Bioshock equivalent of an atomic bomb towards the end which really puts the diffculty curve on the downturn.
- Research. Yeah, good and bad. Can't we just have a shoulder button or equivalent that turns the camera on and off? Selecting and starting the camera before you attack each enemy is just abysmally clunky.
- I'm a Big Daddy, yeah? Even on hard, how can a junky with a spanner take half my health off with a well-aimed swipe? This needed balancing better.

Nice continuation but it felt a bit like a Half-life 2 episode, or an Opposing Force. Not quite enough to be brilliant on its own but if it was one part of a story with more to come I would have been happier.

And almost no reference to the previous protagonist and saviour of Rapture except for somewhat indirectly when talking about mind control. Lame.

And I'm spent.

NokkonWud

02-03-2010, 20:57

- Research. Yeah, good and bad. Can't we just have a shoulder button or equivalent that turns the camera on and off? Selecting and starting the camera before you attack each enemy is just abysmally clunky.

This is by far the one change I'd have liked. It seemed such an obvious miss from the first game, for it not to be in the second was simply criminal.

Haly

03-03-2010, 17:16

I take it back Chris. I got some time with GH: Aerosmith again and realised just how awful GH: Van Halen is :p
Yeah it wins as the worst one.

Pumpkinstew

03-03-2010, 17:55

And almost no reference to the previous protagonist and saviour of Rapture except for somewhat indirectly when talking about mind control. Lame.

And I'm spent.

What about the multiplayer? I'm having a hard time enjoying it for some reason. Maybe it's because I totally suck at it.

They could have made more of Mark Meltzer, the guy from the website story who was looking for his little girl. I found his audio diary near the beginning and thought I'd find more as I went deeper into the game. It would have made the moment when you find out he's the last Big Daddy more emotional.
The level where you run around as a little sister was also terrific. Really brings home how ****ed in the head Suchong and Gil Alexander were to do that to little girls.

Creature

03-03-2010, 19:42

I take it back Chris. I got some time with GH: Aerosmith again and realised just how awful GH: Van Halen is :p
Yeah it wins as the worst one.Told you :p

Streeteh

04-03-2010, 20:50

Finished Heavy Rain. Awesome tbh and such a breath of fresh air after what was, imo, an incredibly generic Bioshock 2. Bring on FFXIII!

NokkonWud

04-03-2010, 20:56

Glad you enjoyed it. It was certainly a breath of fresh air (in places), but I wouldn't call it 'awesome', certainly not with the flaws in it. It's good, but there wasn't enough new and fresh things in it throughout for me.

I was hoping I'd want to go back to it, but I've no urge to play it again.

leowyatt

04-03-2010, 21:06

I'm currently working my way through bioshock 1 aiming for the brass balls achievement.

Briggykins

05-03-2010, 18:45

Bad Company 2. Excellent game, definitely a worthy successor to BF2. Already had two 'wow' moments in less than an hour's play. Loving it!

NokkonWud

05-03-2010, 20:18

Wouldn't Bad Company 2 be a successor to Bad Company 1? :p.
I think it's just a case that us console gamers let you have this one ;).

Zico

05-03-2010, 23:21

Haly...

Final Fantasy XII has been shipped already! :huh::shocked: Sent you a PM.

Wossi

07-03-2010, 12:31

Mass Effect. Never played much of it for some reason so have decided to give it another go. Still have no idea when it comes to RPG's but figure I have to at least try.

NokkonWud

09-03-2010, 15:43

Currently playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and oh my goodness, WHAT a game!

Not really touched the SP, from what I have, that too is very good, looks a little less open than that of the first game (which is a good thing) and all reports I've heard from those who have completed it all rate it really highly.

The multiplayer however, wow! I loved the first one, heck, I've loved all the Battlefields, even the widely forgotten about Modern Combat, but this one has a lot of polish, and other than the problems with the servers (which has now been sorted), there really isn't anything I can complain about and, as I'm sure you're aware, that doesn't sound like me. Heck, it even feels a little odd gushing over it like this without any criticisms.

I'll try to think of one...

Streeteh

09-03-2010, 18:04

I dunno about consoles but on the PC hardcore mode is ruined by snipers, that's a pretty big complaint from me.

NokkonWud

09-03-2010, 18:31

I dunno about consoles but on the PC hardcore mode is ruined by snipers, that's a pretty big complaint from me.

Hardcore mode was always going to be about the snipers. I expected it to be heavily favoured toward them, so I wouldn't complain about that.

cheets

09-03-2010, 20:17

I am liking it so far, been having a few laggy moment but that could be down to BT throttling, SP feels great.

Jingo

11-03-2010, 13:28

Toy Soldiers (XBLA) :D

Great fun for those who love gaming without having to commit to a heavy storyline, don't have a great deal of spare time or simply love the tower defence genres :)

The multiplayer has a lot of early kinks to iron out - primarily the lag making gaming near impossible, but I imagine/hope this is something that will be sorted shortly.

Keep your eyes peeled for the humour smattered throughout this WWI toy-themed-setting as well as taking in the pleasing envrionmental touches :)

Aboobie

11-03-2010, 13:41

Nope... the internet isn't broken:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2701/4424826438_1654b63fcc_o.jpg

Just returned from town :) Lol

Haly

11-03-2010, 14:20

Nice one :D

Enjoy :)

Daz

11-03-2010, 15:41

Looks good booie :D

I'm playing Duke Nukem because I'm not gaming a lot at the moment, and its good for small bursts.

NokkonWud

11-03-2010, 17:32

Holy crap, hell just froze over.

leowyatt

11-03-2010, 18:02

Holy crap, hell just froze over.

Duke Nukem Forever has been given a release date?

Aboobie

13-03-2010, 22:32

Just finished Uncharted.

Now. I'm going to be unkind.

The last 4 chapters from the introduction of you know what were fecking awful. There should have been a point in the design meeting when they were suggested, that someone should have shouted NO!

Now don't get me wrong. Up until this point I was really enjoying myself and whatever my complaints with the last few chapters I still got some enjoyment out of them and did like the game as a whole a lot.

However the game does look and play like a game that is a few years old. The animation of the main characters is superb but the over all look has been bettered significantly this last few years. The combat feels derivative and gamey; shoot 2 guys 6 times each, once dead 2 more appear, repeat... and the story is fun but a bit meh.

Anyway, that's enough criticism; it's really quite good despite all this and I'm really looking forward to starting #2 which I've just patched/installed etc etc....

Streeteh

14-03-2010, 00:29

NokkonWud

14-03-2010, 04:07

I found the first had much more of an impact on me, why that is I'm not sure, but with the second one I really struggled to get over the way it plays, its whole shooting mechanic really feels like it's taken out of a game from a generation ago, and not a good one at that, which is a shame, because in other ways it really is a fantastic game (although not even close to being my favourite last year.)

Hopefully you don't have the same issue I had Steven, if you do then it will blinker your experience, hopefully the fact it's your new toy will let you get over that, because if I had, then I'm certain it would have been an 8 or 9 out of 10 game for me.

NokkonWud

14-03-2010, 04:09

At the moment I'm playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 predominantly, and, after 24 hours of multiplayer I must say, on the topic of my original impressions is that they have not changed one little bit.

It's freakin' awesome. Hands down the best game of the year so far, for me, I don't see a better multiplayer game this year, but I do plan on giving Halo: Reach a real good going over when that's out.

This is just utterly brilliant, it's everything and more that I wanted and in not one single way is this game inferior to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Everyone I play MP games with have moved on from MW2 to this and none of them have looked back.

Aboobie

14-03-2010, 10:01

The last few chapters were indeed meh. The second game is far superior in every way imo, hopefully you'll feel the same way. The main reason i hold the previous game with such high regard is that it was the starting point of one of the most promising IPs i've seen in years, if it was a one off i wouldn't have been so excited by it, but for a first attempt it was fantastic.

I'm only an hour and a half into Uncharted 2 and what can I say. It's bloody superb and improved on the first in every way. As it stands I can't throw it enough superlatives; you're spot on, have a cookie!

Also if anyone fancies adding me on PSN I'm Abooie and I have no friends :(

Psymonkee

14-03-2010, 12:59

I'll add you :D

I'm playing nothing atthe moment though. Got lots of games, some in shrink wrap and no desire to play at all!? :(

Haly

14-03-2010, 13:03

I'm only an hour and a half into Uncharted 2 and what can I say. It's bloody superb and improved on the first in every way. As it stands I can't throw it enough superlatives; you're spot on, have a cookie!

Also if anyone fancies adding me on PSN I'm Abooie and I have no friends :(

I'll add you later on :D

Uncharted 2 is brilliant :) My game of the year last year. Loved the storyline and general emotional attachment you feel by the end of it.

Uncharted 1 is weaker in hindsight though but I did enjoy it the first time round. Tried replaying it over Christmas though and just kept wanting to play Uncharted 2 instead.

NokkonWud

14-03-2010, 13:36

Loved the storyline and general emotional attachment you feel by the end of it.

Yep me too, I absolutely adored all the cut-scenes, it was filled with great acting and lovely character nuances, sadly it was the pesky gameplay bits between them that annoyed me more than I'd have liked (and that it was overly long), but it's amazing how many games afterwards I've played that just lack the character of Uncharted 2's cut-scenes, which is a shame.

Streeteh

14-03-2010, 16:31

I actually welled up a little at the end of Uncharted 2, mainly because i knew i would have to wait at least a year before i could see their next adventure :(

Clowns.

Wossi

14-03-2010, 21:54

Psymonkee

15-03-2010, 01:39

but ME is the awesome! at least finish it on hard/no guns playthrough

NokkonWud

15-03-2010, 09:03

Decided to give Mirrors Edge an another go, still getting frustrated by it with some of the silly jumps you have to do. About halfway through now, as soon I've completed it once then I'll trade it in.

I adored Mirror's Edge, it's one of the finest games of the generation in my eyes, I loved the whole challenge of it, the speed runs and time-trials were truly marvelous and actually better than the story of the game. I managed a full 1000/1000 run of it.

Wossi

15-03-2010, 10:00

I am enjoying it but some parts of it are frustrating me when I'm not 100% sure which way I have to go.

NokkonWud

15-03-2010, 10:42

Always go towards red. There are a couple of places that might throw you, but that's the rule of thumb, it'll steer you right more often than not.

If you're still stuck, watch some Speed Run videos on YouTube, it will show you where to go (as well as how fast it can be done.)

Wossi

15-03-2010, 11:47

It's normally when I'm outside, the amount of times I've ran one way to suddenly realise that I should have gone another way, but I suppose it helps make it seem less linear.

Wossi

03-04-2010, 12:21

Just downloaded the demo for Torchlight and loving it. It also runs very well on my laptop which is nice :D so tempted to buy the full game now.

semi-pro waster

03-04-2010, 12:59

Currently playing Burnout Paradise on the 360 and very slowly playing through Unreal 2 on the PC as I never really got round to playing it at the time.

NokkonWud

03-04-2010, 21:58

It will be very slow plaing Unreal 2 because, hands down, that game has THE slowest walking speed of any game I can ever remember :p

semi-pro waster

03-04-2010, 22:10

Haha, true. I was prepared to put that down to it being slow due to my laptop but if other people have found that too maybe it's not just me. It's also not very interesting so far but I figure I might as well play it a bit more to see if it gets better.

Streeteh

03-04-2010, 23:56

Unreal 2 is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be, it's just a shadow of its former glory (Unreal). I enjoyed it and still remember the climax of the storyline to this day.

I've finished God of War 3, in terms of gameplay it was a fitting ending, the battle scenes were epic, the controls were polished to a near perfect sheen, the characters were as gruesome and unpleasant as usual. Sadly the storyline ending wasn't quite what i was hoping for however there's apparently a free epilogue in the works which i'm looking forward to.

I've also got stuck back into FFXIII, i thought i'd really give Pulse a good going over. I've completed nearly all of the missions but have hit a difficulty wall. To put it short, there's no way i can progress without grinding CP and Gil for hours on end now. The only way to beat the remaining enemies is to totally bulk out my characters, tactics aren't viable as they just spam incredibly powerful AOE attacks so i need more HP to survive and better weapons to chip away the stupid amounts of health they have. Tbh i'm not happy, i got through what many say are very difficult fights, even with high level characters, with a comparatively weak party because i used clever tactics. Now there's nothing left to do but either grind, or put the game back on the shelf, a good set of tactics won't get me anywhere as the enemies are just stupidly strong after the point i'm at. I hate grinding so the choice seems obvious. What also bugs me is that the best way to grind at the point i'm at is via lame tactics (spamming the Death spell on strong enemies and hoping they die before you do), surely tactics should be rewarded above perseverance?

Here's hoping for Final Fantasy VS XIII....

... oh and that resonance of fate looks good too.

loki

04-04-2010, 07:38

At the moment I am playing Bad Company 2 on PC and God of War III on PS3. Got to say that BC2 is a damn fine shooter. It really has got it nailed on for squad based play. There are some minor imbalances in that the grenades are really over powered. Other than that Game play wise it just keeps on giving and as long as there is a succession of new maps from either EA or the community, it will keep on giving.

God of War III is a great pick up and play game for half an hour here and there. Flight can be a challenge but I am loving that as well at the moment.

leowyatt

04-04-2010, 15:42

Still making my way through the God of War collection today and am now hunting sirens.

Psymonkee

04-04-2010, 23:17

desert?

If so you ain't seen nothing yet :D

Streeteh

04-04-2010, 23:39

Tbh the trilogy doesn't even get going until the final fight of GoW1, the game then gets into its paces in GoW2 and then goes into overdrive in the beginning of GoW3. I can't think of a set piece more impressive than the first level of GoW3.

Garp

05-04-2010, 05:04

Having fun with Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Plays well, nice and enjoyable. Fight sequences work perfectly. Was slightly worried that they'd end up being the unreal one-at-a-time style sequences a la Assassins creed: http://www.cad-comic.com/comics/cad/20100326.jpg

They've made them flow brilliantly. Apart from the quirk whereby middle click is rarely a good button to assign for any action (e.g. detonate gel, stun), and sticking the re-map options outside of the game itself, it's been pretty flawless. Graphically superb, a wonderful imaging of the universe, and Mark Hamil continues to excel as the Joker. His voice is just perfect for the character.

It's interesting but you can always tell Unreal engine games. I'm not sure quite what it is about them, just a particular look/feel to the graphical engine, and this game smacks of it.

Aboobie

05-04-2010, 09:27

Just finished Uncharted 2.

Over-all a great game, lots of content and some great locations that gave it a grand epic feel.
I wasn't sure I really liked the combat intensive final few chapters and the boss fight wasn't great but it's a great game.

I've also played about 2 hours of FFXIII and whilst I'm enjoying it, it's not hooked me yet. I think this will be a long slow burn game.

Just ordered Bioshock 2 for the 360; looking forward to playing this next week.

Also got Lips: I <heart> the 80's on Saturday. It's Lips, more of the same. What else can I say? :)

Haly

05-04-2010, 15:36

Abooie: I found the more time I've put into FFXIII, the more hooked I've become :) It's no 7/8/9/10 beater but it is better than many reviews have suggested. The cynic in me suspects that many of the more amateur reviews have been written by people who haven't actually completed it. I'm still working my way through and I've already rather stubbornly told my editor that the review will be done when it's done :p

I've got BioShock 2 currently on rental for the 360. Already played through it on the PC but it's fun to dip into, just no BioShock 1 for me. I'm doing a Boomerang rental package where I get one game per month for £3.49 which works nicely for me.

I rather impulsively bought Yakuza 3 last week after trading in some old games. Can't get into it though :( Tempted to trade it in at work for £25 as I paid less than that after trade ins anyway. Nothing that stands out for me that I want to buy though. God of War 3 looks great but more of a rental for me and I don't think I play online enough for Battlefield Bad Company 2.
If I do trade in Yakuza 3, I might save the credit for the God of War Collection instead.

I've got plenty to be getting on with anyway with Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the PS3 still untouched!

NokkonWud

06-04-2010, 13:07

I played the demo of Yakuza 3 with high hopes and it felt TERRIBLE. Was very disappointed, yet was still tempted to give the retail release a go, but I guess that's much the same.

Haly

06-04-2010, 14:15

It seems quite marmite-ish from things I've heard.

The problem for me is I just shouldn't have bought it :p Probably need to play something that isn't an RPG for a bit as all I've played for over a month now are RPGs ;D

Danny

07-04-2010, 10:47

At the minute I'm playing Age of Empires 2 campaigns again, which is really pushing my PC ;)

Theres literally nothing I want to play at the minute and I've not used my xbox much at all in the last month or two. It's weird because using it has become so habitual I sometimes go to turn it on even though I've got nothing to play ;D

Haly

07-04-2010, 13:53

Won a copy of Scribblenauts :D Rather handy as I've been interested by it for ages but could never quite justify the cost in case it was as disappointing as some reviews suggested.

Aboobie

07-04-2010, 15:26

Won a copy of Scribblenauts :D Rather handy as I've been interested by it for ages but could never quite justify the cost in case it was as disappointing as some reviews suggested.

It was my biggest disappointment of last year :( Hope you get on with it.

I got Pokemon HeartGold delivered earlier (got Creature to thank for talking me into this) and decided to pick a new DSi up to celebrate (old one going permanently to daughter #1).

Never played a Pokemon game before and no idea what I'm getting myself into.

Haly

07-04-2010, 15:28

Pokemon HeartGold is excellent :D

NokkonWud

07-04-2010, 16:46

Won a copy of Scribblenauts :D Rather handy as I've been interested by it for ages but could never quite justify the cost in case it was as disappointing as some reviews suggested.

Enjoy the GODAWFUL control system. It's great fun for about 30 minutes. Shame, it could have been something brilliant if they'd simply allowed character movement through the d-pad.

Glaucus

07-04-2010, 16:48

Just downloading settlers 7 from Game, I wasn't aware they did downloads :). I wish steam sold all games. Would prefer everything in one place but still.

Creature

07-04-2010, 19:38

It was my biggest disappointment of last year :( Hope you get on with it.

I got Pokemon HeartGold delivered earlier (got Creature to thank for talking me into this) and decided to pick a new DSi up to celebrate (old one going permanently to daughter #1).

Never played a Pokemon game before and no idea what I'm getting myself into.\o/ I'm awesome.

Pokemon HeartGold is excellent :DYes it is, it's awesome.

Awesome.

Aboobie

07-04-2010, 21:27

\o/ I'm awesome.

Yes it is, it's awesome.

Awesome.

You are. It is!

Haly

11-04-2010, 13:18

Just completed God of War 3. It's good but I wouldn't say 10/10 good.

Some spectacular set pieces but let down by some dodgy platforming. Plus in places I didn't think the graphics were quite as striking as they could have been.
Still, epic game that was enjoyable and I only paid £9 for it (after trading in Yakuza 3).

Did prefer Bayonetta though! Which I must send over to you soon Davey :o

I'll be trading in GoW3 soon so I can have £25 waiting for the next new release that takes my fancy :)

Oh and I've played about an hour of Scribblenauts. I like it so far but yeah the controls are very dodgy!

Davey_Pitch

11-04-2010, 13:35

No rush Jen, I've still got plenty of games here to play :)

Currently I'm bouncing between Fifa 10 (as usual) and Just Cause 2. Just Cause is great fun when I fancy some destructive fun, hijacking a helicopter and just randomly attacking a base and blowing stuff up. It makes me want to play Mercenaries 2 though, which I think does the whole destructive thing a little better with more vehicles and the addition of air strikes and what not.

_dogma_

11-04-2010, 15:03

Aboobie

11-04-2010, 17:54

Been playing Pokemon: Soul Silver all day. I forgot how much I love these games! Not used the pokewalker thing yet but it seems quite a cool concept. My only issue with these games is I never know who I should choose for my main team, there's too much choice!! :D

This has been my first pokemon game and I can't believe what I've missed...

I'm even seriously debating whether my goty so far is this or Mass Effect 2 :P

Anyway; I've got my first 3 badges, I've only actually lost 1 fight and I've asked Creature (Chris) so many questions over msn I'm quite surprised he's not blocked me.

My team of 6 is currently: Murkrow, Geodude, Quilava, Magnemite, MagiKarp & Abra (last 2 because I want to evolve them soon).

What's your team?

_dogma_

11-04-2010, 18:48

Aboobie

11-04-2010, 19:05

I've just arrived at Goldenrod city. All my 6 are level 16-18. I've got Quilava, Togepi, Flaafy, Sentret, Beedrill and Onyx. Not as balanced as I would like but I've not come up against any obstacles yet.

Can't believe you've missed these games, they're cracking games. Have you got
HG or SS?

I've got HG.

I had Togepi in for a while but swapped him out. I love how already we have very different teams. I haven't seen a Flaafy or Beedrill yet!

_dogma_

11-04-2010, 19:21

Aboobie

11-04-2010, 20:00

You won't get Beedrill unless you trade with someone else, they're evolved from Weedle/Kakuna which is only available in SS. Flaffy is evolved from Mareep, looks like an electric sheep :)

I would like a water pokemon in my team rather soon, I may swap in Magicarp but not actually sure who to get rid of just yet.

Got you. I had a Mareep in for a while but swapped in the Magnemite (picked up from the pokewalker) instead.

I've just got my 4th badge and my guys are all around level 21. My magicarp has evolved into a lovely Gyarados but the star of my show is definately my Murkrow. At level 21 he basically beat the 4th gym leader single handed :D

I get the feeling I'll need to grind a bit soon though. Such an addictive game.

Daz

11-04-2010, 20:47

Just going through Heavy Rain myself, and have picked up a drum set for Rock band so playing a little of that as well.

Oh, and Heart Gold of course!

Creature

11-04-2010, 20:47

I refuse to comment on what my current status is on HG. It's rather suprising, even for me.

Aboobie

12-04-2010, 17:02

More HG and nothing else. I've FFXIII mostly unplayed and the 360 hasn't been on for weeks except for Lips: I <heart> the 80s.

My dilemma in HG is now what to leave out.... it's hard work. I've now got a Dratini, a couple of Kadabras, a Gastly and others I really don't want exclude. It's tough!

Justsomebloke

12-04-2010, 17:09

Dirt2.
I really needed a new game to play so me mate talked me into getting this.
Cost me 19 quid & it was money well spent. In your face Arcade racing at it's best & I would recommend it for a twenty quidder.
I've only done single player so far but can imagine multi to be Carnage, Should be fun. :evil:

NokkonWud

12-04-2010, 19:20

Battlefield: Bad Company 2. That's all.
As you can see from my stats in my signature, I've played it a lot and it's phenomenally brilliant, hands down my game of the year.

Garp

12-04-2010, 19:31

Borderlands.

Good fun, brain off FPS. Love the visual style, slightly cartoon-esque. Lends itself well to the brand of humour in the game.

Davey_Pitch

12-04-2010, 23:44

NokkonWud

13-04-2010, 13:07

I may have made a life altering decision regarding my gaming - I've installed Football Manager 2010 on my laptop. If it grabs me as much as the previous games did, I may not play anything else for some time!

My Steam time was showing as 45 hours within the first 2 weeks on Football Manager 2010... It's the best FM yet IMO.

Dee

13-04-2010, 13:13

I came straight in from the gym last night and made Daz put Heavy Rain on.

I kinda like it.

Davey_Pitch

13-04-2010, 19:42

My Steam time was showing as 45 hours within the first 2 weeks on Football Manager 2010... It's the best FM yet IMO.

Is that all? I put 80 hours into Fallout 3 in a week :p

Garp

13-04-2010, 21:52

Apologies if this isn't relevant for you in the UK (not sure), but Direct2Drive is having a huge spring sale, got some very nice prices (e.g. Fallout 3 for $15):
http://www.direct2drive.com/

NokkonWud

13-04-2010, 22:13

Is that all? I put 80 hours into Fallout 3 in a week :p

I just didn't want to come off as being sad. It was less than a week, I lied :p.

Haly

13-04-2010, 22:14

Apologies if this isn't relevant for you in the UK (not sure), but Direct2Drive is having a huge spring sale, got some very nice prices (e.g. Fallout 3 for $15):
http://www.direct2drive.com/

Good sale that :) And yup it's in the UK too.

I just didn't want to come off as being sad. It was less than a week, I lied :p.

It was in 2 days wasn't it? :D

Princess Griff

13-04-2010, 23:24

I am playing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Xbox!!!
My first Xbox game!!! :D

NokkonWud

14-04-2010, 02:54

Good sale that :) And yup it's in the UK too.

It was in 2 days wasn't it? :D

It was quite close to 2 days, 4-5 days :p.

NokkonWud

16-04-2010, 12:15

Finished of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 last night and I have to say, this is easily my game of the year so far.

It's a combination of the best multiplayer game I've played this year (and this almost certainly won't change) and the best single player game I've played this year. It's almost flawless if I'm being honest and it even takes the king of the Battlefield multiplayer crown from Battlefield 2.

Amazing 5.1 audio (probably the best I've ever heard), stunning graphics, brilliant weapon balancing in multiplayer, entertaining story with some of the best characters in a game in single player, vehicles, massive weapons, unlocks, free downloadable content (maps will always be free too).

I'm rattling my brain to think of anything that I could really give as a negative toward the game and that's proving really difficult, and that's after 155 hours of playing time according to Raptr (http://raptr.com/NokkonWud).

Streeteh

16-04-2010, 15:30

I can think of one:

The weapons are horrifically imbalanced (this is very widely agreed upon)

The 40mm grenade launcher has an insane amount of splash damage, reloads quickly, has incredible accuracy and can be rearmed from the very ammo boxes the person using it can drop. You end up with people just camping in windows chucking grenade after grenade out onto the terrain, rearming themselves as they fire.

The Gustav rocket launcher is insanely powerful and with the extra ammo perk gets 8 rounds. That's enough to kill dozens of people without any real need for accuracy or a rearm.

The M60 machinegun has less kickback than the sub-machine guns, deals out incredible amounts of damage and has a 100-clip mag. If you end up in a face to face with someone carrying one of these you've just got to hope they have terrible aim as they're guaranteed kill you faster than you can kill them (more dps than any other machinegun) they can run about while shooting more accurately than you and you will run out of bullets before they do. Something's wrong when the best gun is given to a support class, not the assault class.

Other than that it's fantastic, but until these three weapons are looked at by DiCE i personally won't see it as flawless. After that, possibly.

NokkonWud

16-04-2010, 22:01

I've never experienced a single issue with the grenade launcher, splash damage seems no less than normal grenades. I've only encountered one person using the Gustav launcher a lot too, can't see I ever noticed it be any more devastating than the RPG-7 though (which is my Rocket Launcher of choice).

A lot of people DO use the M60 though and it is a ferocious weapon, perhaps it is a little overpowered, but I don't ever find myself saying "Goddamit, stupid freaking M60s", but from using it I do know how good it is.

The only gun I'd heard a lot of complaints about was the Abakan assault rifle being too powerful, which I found hilarious because I absolutely suck with it and after getting Gold stars on all weapons (bar last 2 assault rifles) I would say that it was hands down the weapon I was worst with.

There are so many great guns, I'm a big fan of all the Engineer guns, the Neostead shotgun and the GOL Sniper Rifle as well as the XM8 Prototype. Those are the real stars of the game for me.

Streeteh

17-04-2010, 10:12

What's the playercount limit on consoles? On PC it's 32 and it can get a little crowded hence the grenade spam being so preferable to those who lack skill. If the console limit is lower then that could explain why you didn't have that issue.

NokkonWud

17-04-2010, 13:42

Streeteh

17-04-2010, 14:24

24 on the consoles, which for the size of the maps feels absolutely spot on, personally I would have liked them a little bigger, but Bad Company is a Console game so I assume it was a case of making the maps and then just throwing in a PC gaming figure for the player limit, but that will have an impact on why it feels so crowded on PC.

Hmm, that's an extra squad per team which goes some way to explaining why it feels 'spammy' on the smaller maps. The game really comes together in the larger maps, just had a game now where i really felt like i was contributing a significant amount to the team (was part of a 4 man antitank squad, one of each class with me as the engineer, just went around hunting armour and the other guys supported me, ended up with 3 heavy tank kills, 4 light tank kills and a quadbike for good measure), but in smaller maps i just feel like i'm running around avoiding explosions.

NokkonWud

17-04-2010, 16:52

I love being in a good squad, but I only really play it if my friends are playing, so we're all in the same squad, chatting in party chat and having a real laugh, it's absolutely brilliant, for me this is now the best Battlefield game and the only game that holds its own with the Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942.

Haly

17-04-2010, 17:38

Just completed Final Fantasy XIII. Really enjoyed it despite its flaws. It's a real departure from recent FFs. Shame the pacing is so off making the early stages rather tedious in places.

Battle system and crystarium work very well once the game opens up a bit more and makes it much more interesting. Quite tactical too.

Probably one of the shorter FFs clocking in at around 40hrs although I haven't started the end game yet (such a weird concept for a FF!) so that should keep me busy.

If anyone's interested I'll let them know when my review goes up later in the week as I'll obviously discuss my thoughts a bit more :)

Also played some more of Battlefield Bad Company 2. Really enjoying the single player, more so than Modern Warfare 2.
Jumped into one multiplayer match and was mostly intimidated at figuring out where to go and how not to die :p But I'm sure I'll play more of it in the coming days/weeks.

Better start up Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the PS3 soon too as I promised a review of it once I finished FFXIII. Giving it a second chance after my time with the 360 one.

Justsomebloke

30-04-2010, 08:14

Dirt 2 + Forza 3.

I bought myself a 2nd hand wheel yesterday from my local Indi for 48 quids, There was one in Gamestation for 45 quids but it felt floppy where as the one I got for 48 is Mint.
I have been pondering a wheel purchase for about 3 weeks & finally bit the bullit.
What can I say, I should have got one when I got my X box as it's added so much as far as involvement & enjoyment to my Racing. I played for hours yesterday Happily trying to get my times back down to where they were with a controller, I failed.
I am quite a bit slower with the wheel at the mo but don't care at all as the feel & involvement is sublime. I honestly don't know why i am slower as holding your lines is a breeze with the wheel & I Know I am driving better with the wheel. I'll get there & I will enjoy every single minute of Track time.

A Happy Gamer. :cool:

Garp

30-04-2010, 10:16

Fallout 3

Loving it and hating it at the same time. Great game, but after patching it up from initial release patching it's become worse, not better. I know there are a number of game killing bugs that have been fixed so I'm soldiering on, but now having to put up with random crashes, jerky radio/music and the lack of ability to alt-tab away.

The game itself has some annoying things, like I'm able to be shot by things I can't see because they're too far away, when they're really not all that far away. Their horizon thing is so many kinds of screwed up. Seemingly random objects are and aren't visible at a long distance. I can walk up to a factory, see it's wide open to the world, even see in through the door, but then all of a sudden a door appears, and then not long after that some boards appear hammered across it.

NokkonWud

30-04-2010, 13:36

Hexic HD.
I ruddy love that game and I am determined to get the last achievement, the most challenging (but the enjoyable kind) one that I've sought. Thought I was going to get it twice over the last two days only to make a stupid error and wastefully collapse 4 stars into each other when I had 13 of them on-screen (you need 16 to make 5 black pearls) and wish the pearls made it would create a lot more space to build the last 6 stars and complete the game.

Zirax

09-05-2010, 00:00

Just playing Batman AA on the xbox. I really am impressed with this game. Good depth with all the side stuff to do and the setting is fantastic.

I'm a bit behind the times but I tend to wait till games are dirt cheap. I also have Blue Dragon coming (for £4) :D

Creature

09-05-2010, 00:59

Too. Much. Rock Band. Signed up for a testing group to get some songs published. 9 people, 2 songs each (not inc me), each song is about an hour to test minimum. My eyes are practically melting.

I haven't actually played a proper game in ages, it feels weird =/

Wossi

10-05-2010, 23:06

Civilization IV + expansions

Picked it up from Steam as it's only £6.25 and I have to say I'm loving it, wasn't sure how I was going to get on with a turn based game but I finally got the hang of it, managed to sink close to 20 hours into it so far and I'm only on my 4th game.

semi-pro waster

11-05-2010, 10:20

Still way behind the curve but now playing Project Gotham Racing 4 on the 360, very enjoyable for the most part so far. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed racing games on consoles as it has been years since I've properly played one.

Belmit

11-05-2010, 11:17

I'm replaying Splinter Cell: Double Agent at the moment. Personally I think it's the worst of the lot so far, which is putting me off getting the new one. Enemies are far too easily spooked while you're trying to creep around for one thing. Another is that you're given so little non-lethal ammo. What's the point in having two airfoil rounds if it takes both to knock someone out? The character often takes up too much room on the screen, or the camera is too close... whichever. The main gun is just incredibly unwieldy to use too...

Hopefully the new one goes back to basics.

NokkonWud

11-05-2010, 12:10

The new one doesn't go back to basics, it doesn't really go back to anything, as it doesn't feel like a Splinter Cell game.

It is however a very good game, but the serious stealth sections of past games are gone, replaced by a more in your face action style.

Davey_Pitch

11-05-2010, 20:26

Mainly playing Fallout 3 on my laptop (mainly in work when I should actually be doing work), and getting back into Trials HD on the Xbox. I'm waiting/hoping review copies of both Alan Wake and Skate 3 arrive in the next day or two as I've kinda fell away from the Xbox recently and I'm hoping one/both of them will grab me by the throat and keep hold of me for a while.

Haly

11-05-2010, 20:59

My copy of Alan Wake arrived today :D About time as it was posted Friday!
Typically I haven't had much chance to play it yet though :p So no opinion of it yet.

Been playing Nier the last few days and quite like it. Nothing amazing yet but considering it's had some considerable price drops, if it carries on it'd be worth £15.

Still need to play more of Bad Company 2 as I've still hardly touched it :o Hopefully once things settle down as I've currently got 6 different games to be writing about at the moment :eek:

Psymonkee

12-05-2010, 20:15

topped playing Just Cause 2 after getting to something crazy like 48.33% completion and not really touched the 360 since.

Since then I've fallen into the trap of playing Tiger Woods 2004. Again. Against my dad.

(we both suck at it)

Aboobie

13-05-2010, 11:10

Finished Splinter Cell: Conviction. Really enjoyed it and if it wasn't for a couple of small annoyances (like lasers) it would be a goty contender.
Final Fantasy XIII. Bored with it so it's being sold.
Dragon Age: Origins: Awakenings. Enjoying it so far but need some free time so I can give it a proper go.

Have Bioshock 2, Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake either on their way or coming very soon and looking forward to all immensely.

And I'll concede Nokkon, Creature et al. were all right. Now I've finished Uncharted 1 & 2 and Heavy Rain my PS3 is really just my fancy lounge Blu-Ray/iPlayer :P

Zirax

13-05-2010, 21:01

My copy of Alan Wake arrived today :D About time as it was posted Friday!
Typically I haven't had much chance to play it yet though :p So no opinion of it yet.

Hurry up! :p Been waiting for this for aaaages. Though there were concerns that a lot was stripped out in the end. I've seen the gametrailers review but I'll see what you have to say. Just seen this.... 8 hours gameplay??

Oh, and got Blue Dragon for £4 :D Not sure if it will be my type of game, but at that price it was worth a punt.

Haly

13-05-2010, 21:38

Lol :p

Only had a few hours with it and just reached the end of Episode 2. I reckon 8-10 hours will probably be correct assuming you don't spend ages collecting all the collectibles on your first playthrough.

It's decent so far but it's yet to be worthy of all the hype. The control system is a bit irritating (annoying camera and the run button is the same as the dodge button which gets annoying) and I'm not convinced I care much for Alan Wake himself. It does provide a good few jumps and scares though.

I've heard from some people that it improves hugely in later chapters, then again I've heard others say it gets repetitive, hmm :p

It does feel like a game that if it had been released a few years ago it would have been brilliant but now it's feeling a bit left behind.

Aiming to have it finished by the end of the weekend so will have a 'proper' opinion by then :)

NokkonWud

14-05-2010, 17:44

I'm playing Alan Wake and Lost Planet 2.

Jhadur

15-05-2010, 20:00

Bad Company 2 online when I get time. Have played through the single player and got all the achievements for that so working on the multi-player ones now.
The online game is very good but with some really annoying parts (like being shot from nearly half the map away by a guy with an SMG) and I can't get into it as easily as I did with CoD.
I will carry on though :) the levelling seems quite slow too but I'll get there. :)

Psymonkee

16-05-2010, 11:04

Haly

16-05-2010, 12:53

Funny, that's similar to how I feel about Alan Wake :D

Uncharted 2 certainly has its flaws but I forgave it because I loved the story so much :)

divine

16-05-2010, 13:23

I was watching my mate play through chapter 3 and 4 of Alan Wake yesterday, seemed very repetitive. He wasn't impressed at the end either, it actually really annoyed him :/

Haly

16-05-2010, 16:53

Yeah it is rather repetitive.

I've been mostly playing in short doses (half a chapter or one chapter at most at a time) and I've been finding that I enjoy it at first but the longer I play the more tedious it gets.

Joe 90

17-05-2010, 15:21

Got alan wake off of Boomerang today. Out of Ammo! Bad Times!

divine

17-05-2010, 15:49

How did you manage that? There is too much ammo available to carry, even on hard :p

Aboobie

17-05-2010, 16:51

Uncharted 2 - not enjoying it though. Seems like an annoying grind/repetitive lose your weapons, stealth kill a guard, kill a private army, push a button & repeat :(

Waaay too much combat, awful shooting, annoying cover system.....MEH! :|

I had a lot of ammo trouble in UC2 too; you couldn't carry much (enough) and had to constantly rely on getting ememy weapons which might not be easy to get to.

The game does go on too long as well and is certainly a tad too shooty for my liking but I can forgive it most of it's failings. Some great set pieces, a good epic storty and fantastic characterisation raises it well above the bar.

I managed to get another 40 or so minutes of Alan Wake in earlier (Ch. 2) and it's really hit a chord with me. Love the art style, the story, the music, the pacing and the combat. I can see how one would tire of it if they tried to power through it but at the right tempo it's all good.

Joe 90

17-05-2010, 18:46

How did you manage that? There is too much ammo available to carry, even on hard :p

it was at that stage where you get the page that talks about finding ammo... but i never found it! :(

Now it'd appear the bridge is rather good at killing me!

Streeteh

17-05-2010, 21:40

Super Street Fighter IV

I promised myself i'd never get into a fighter again after IV, but here i am with a new TE stick and blood pressure at a height that only Street Fighter is capable of causing.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Psymonkee

17-05-2010, 22:56

Think it's about time I started ME2 tbh...

Aboobie

18-05-2010, 07:02

Think it's about time I started ME2 tbh...

'bout bloody time... :P

Despite playing UC2, Heavy Rain, Pokemon HeartGold, Alan Wake, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Demon's Souls it's still my Goty. (Had to get this in before Red Dead gets here!)

Psymonkee

18-05-2010, 10:38

Didn't start it last night :p

Stayed up till 2am watching Penn & Teller instead for some reason! :D

Tonight then....

NokkonWud

18-05-2010, 13:06

Well, it turns out that Lost Planet 2 is pretty freakin' rad.

Davey_Pitch

19-05-2010, 10:46

I'm currently playing through Alan Wake and I have to say I'm finding it pretty enjoyable. I'm loving the story and really want to get to the end so I can find out exactly what the hell is going on. I don't like how close the camera is to Alan, so that when Taken attack me from behind I have no idea they're there, but other than that I'm finding it really intriguing, and I love the episodic way it's laid out. 3 chapters down, 3 to go, I'll definitely have it finished by tomorrow night so I can leave my entire weekend clear for Red Dead Redemption, which looks like a potential GOTY candidate.

Creature

19-05-2010, 11:21

I really need to get a new game of sorts as i'm sure at some point Rock Band will become boring. I have loads of other games to play as well, I just feel very 'meh' whenever I play them.

Problem is, I don't know what games are out that would work for me, and I have no money.

leowyatt

19-05-2010, 11:55

My first game in nearly 2 months is Alan Wake. Only played through Chapter 1 so far but really enjoying it.

Haly

19-05-2010, 12:12

I completed Alan Wake last night.

Didn't like Chapter 1 or 3 (particularly 3, ugh, repetitive), quite intrigued by Chapter 2. Then Chapter 4 and parts of Chapter 5 were hugely entertaining.
6 was all too brief though and unsatisfying.

So erm yeah. Got two scores in mind but still got to sum up what I think first anyway!

Trading in some stuff for Red Dead Redemption which looks excellent :D

Tysonator

02-06-2010, 14:39

I am trying to get into battlefield Bad Company 2 !
Though the graphics, sound, effects are truly amazing.
The game play is some difficult.
The key pad controls are different from previous BF games. You can not lay down, only prone position is the lowest you can have. Plus I can not see were the damn enemy are most of the time !
Perhaps I am just grap !

When I play BF2 I get reasonably high scores !

NokkonWud

02-06-2010, 14:51

You can't go prone in the Bad Company games, you couldn't in the first one, nor could you in 1943, it's to make it more action packed.

If you are unsure of enemies, flick the back button and they'll show up with a red triangle. Makes it much easier.

NokkonWud

02-06-2010, 14:53

Well I've recently completed Split/Second and Alan Wake to 1000/1000 and thoroughly enjoyed both. The latter was definitely my single player game of the year so far, truly awesome experience.

I am currently playing Red Dead Redemption and have recently purchased UFC Undisputed 2010, so I'm looking forward to giving those two a lot more time soon.

divine

02-06-2010, 17:57

I tried the demo of UFC, it's brilliant fun. It has a few odd clipping issues much like all fighting games of this type seem to but they're easily overlooked as knock someone out with a kick to the head.

Demo could have done with the tutorial mode though, first few matches I was constantly pausing to check the action list every time something different happened.

I also just got accepted to the beta of NFS World which i'll be interested to try out.

NokkonWud

02-06-2010, 19:52

UFC is outstanding, you can pick up 2009 for cheap but 2010 has a lot of changes. 2009 is still an outstanding game nonetheless. It is definitely overlooked, but in the recent review on NowGamer the reviewer stated that UFC 2010 could be the greatest fighting game ever, and that's a bold claim.

It's massively in-depth both in the stand-up and the ground game, and mastering both will take longer than the time between versions, but it's brilliant and it has a rather surprisingly good online game, I'm always dubious of such games when it comes to being online but this world stunningly. You could spend £40 in many worse ways than picking this up, that's a fact.