Gaming What Are You Playing?

[RedJ]

[color=#ff0000]I've mostly been playing [b]Tales of Graces [i]f[/i][/b]. I'm close to halfway through the game now, and...well, it's pretty much the basic Tales fanfare, aside from the new battle system, which unlike the previous games, don't use TP- ToG uses CC, which...isn't really explained all that well in game (nor are any of themechanics themselves). It splits artes into two different attack styles- A and B[/color] [color=#ff0000]artes. A artes, or Assault artes, are the physical artes. You use them simply by comboing your enemies with normal attacks and pressing the left thumbstick at the right moment, and they are automatically set in the A Artes tree- you get no control over them aside from when you use them in battle. B artes, or Burst artes, are the usual special attacks (Demon Fang, spells, etc.) and are pretty much the same as in other Tales games- you set them to a certain slot and activate them by pressing Circle and the left thumbstick in a particular direction.[/color]

[color=#FF0000]CC also makes comboing easier- while you can't just spam attacks, [/color][color=#ff0000]you don't have an awkward pause in between[/color] [color=#ff0000]artes anymore, unless you switch between A Artes and B artes during battle. The only thing I dislike about CC is that using Free Run drains CC as well .-.[/color]

[color=#ff0000]I haven't found a character that I particularly hate yet, which is new for a Tales game. Not saying that I neccesarily like all of them, either. The voice acting is pretty solid, too, save for maaaaybe David Vincent as Richard- he's good, but some of his lines sound so monotonous they lose their impact.[/color]

[color=#ff0000]Annnd I'm going to stop my little mini-review here >>;;[/color] Edited March 21, 2012 by Anise

[Lyndy]

Found a group server on Left 4 Dead 2. I frickin' love it. Already have a group of guys that tease the **** out of me for sucking at L4D2 so badly. > >; Example: "Watching you is hurting me.... It's hurting me..." (lol video to come soon hopefully) Edited March 25, 2012 by Lyndy

[Shinmaru]

So I'm still going through [b]Mass Effect 3[/b] while the Internet is EXPLODING WITH CONTROVERSY over the game's ending. I finished the Dreadnought mission last time I played, and from what people have told me, I'm around the 2/3 point of the game. I'm definitely enjoying it a lot right now, though there are some issues I have with it ...

First off, the N7 missions are straight-up boring. They're multiplayer missions repackaged for single-player and take out basically every element I enjoy about the [b]Mass Effect[/b] missions. The battling is fine, but it's the battling working in combination with character interaction and story development that makes the [b]Mass Effect[/b] missions fun. I'm doing the N7 stuff mostly to build-up my War Assets and to get the achievement for beating them all.

I'm also mixed on the integration of the [b]Mass Effect 2[/b] cast. I get [i]why[/i] they're incorporated the way they are -- BioWare wrote themselves into a corner with the suicide mission, and they wanted to keep the missions they had planned for the third game, but they also realized it would make no sense to have some doppelganger join you as a temporary squadmate if the character appearing in the mission died. Thus, the compromise you see in [b]Mass Effect 3[/b]. However, that doesn't mean it isn't lame to a certain degree. I wish there were a way to fight alongside those characters again. That said, I do think most of their appearances are appropriate. I especially enjoyed seeing [spoiler]Jack[/spoiler] during the Grissom Academy mission.

Lastly, at least up to this point in the game, I think Paragon and Renegade choices have mattered very little. The points in the game where I've actually had to make some sort of Paragon or Renegade choice have felt minor, and because of that, there's been a bit less choice than before. It makes me not really care about the Paragon and Reputation points I've been collecting throughout the game. If they don't [i]do[/i] anything with them, then what's the point beyond gathering a few more War Assets?

Again, though, I am liking the game a lot. It's been a solid challenge -- definitely tougher than the first two games. The action in the main missions has been a lot of fun, and I think the characters and story have been handled really well. I especially enjoy the alone time on the Citadel you get with your crewmates. Garrus' has been my favorite so far. He is still the greatest. And though I am ehhhhhhh on [spoiler]EDI becoming a squadmate[/spoiler], I can't deny that she is useful for me on the battlefield, particularly since I'm an Adept. Having a squadmate with Overload and Incinerate is pretty damn great.

I'll probably finish within the next couple of weeks. All the rage has made me curious about the ending, but even if it ends in the shittiest way possible, I'll still like the game a lot overall and love the series. Whatever problems the trilogy may have, it has to be admitted that the sheer act of building this story somewhat coherently is a [i]huge[/i] accomplishment considering the sheer complexity of the project. It's mind-boggling.

[Petie]

[color=#0000ff]Just wanted to chime in and say that, after beating Skyward Sword (I'll re-write that post eventually...), I finally picked up Skyrim since the collector's edition price came down to $80 (from $150) and it's pretty much all I'm playing now. I'm on the last quest of Act I of the main quest line and it's been really good so far. Once I finish that, I plan to do what I normally do and go become the master of every guild and maybe the Thane of every hold.[/color]

[color=#0000ff]One thing worth nothing is that I'm making much more frequent use of magic than I did in Oblivion. I have a feeling this is primarily due to the dual-wielding abilities in this game, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I never really used magic outside of the occasionally healing spell in Oblivion so it's nice to be able to integrate it into combat now. That said, I think anyone would agree that it's fun to simultaneously torch and slash your opponent ^_^[/color]

[color="#0000ff"]Also, the game feels truly substantial. Every line of dialogue is spoken, the map is huge, and quests generally take a decent amount of time to complete. This is especially true if you're like me and won't leave a dungeon until it's been ransacked. I very much enjoy this aspect of the game though - it gives things a bigger sense of accomplishment in the end. For example (although not related to ransacking a dungeon), on a recent quest which I will avoid spoiling, I got killed by a Snowy Sabre Cat 20 or so times. This was likely because my character's level was higher than expected at the time so they spawned harder enemies. This wasn't as frustrating as expected though - it just made me re-think my approach and I wound up tricking the thing down the mountain and then just walked on by (it killed me in two hits and had a tendency to back off if it couldn't reach me) so there was very little chance of defeating it). It made it feel like an actual journey up this mountain and not just another staircase to climb which is something that the Elder Scrolls series has been pretty good about doing with their quest writing.[/color]

[color=#0000ff]Anyway, more details to come as I slowly start to take over the world![/color]

[Boo]

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1332431129' post='710865'][stuff]
[/quote]Totally. [spoiler]Jack[/spoiler] was/is my love interest, and the dialogue resulting from that was great. Though she was the one character you didn't get to go all hanky-panky with. Garrus was definitely my favourite character again, especially after his squad mate quality time moment at the Citadel.

The N7 missions I agree on were boring, but basically they took me 4 minutes or so to finish, so I wasn't too bothered by them. But the Paragon/Renegade I was really kind of let down by. The special P/R moments are more like QTEs now, where you have to quickly be Renegade for a second, or something bad will happen, instead of it just being an option to change the course of the game. Mostly I had no idea what Shepard could possibly have planned for the person in front of him, the moment I actually have to press a mouse button. Luckily the game has such brilliant and epic moments, I cannot get myself to complain much, except about the stupid bugs (especially in multi-player). Also, [spoiler]Mordin :'([/spoiler].

[Magus]

I've been bouncing back and forth between [b]Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition[/b] and [b]Street Fighter x Tekken[/b]. For SSF4: AE, I'm basically still just trying to find out what character I want to main and have as my backup. Even though they were nerfed, I decided to go back to trying to learn Yun and Yang. I still think they're fun characters, and the character I'm going to use that people consider high tier is Fei Long. But because I decided to try to learn the arcade stick again, I decided to take a break from AE. Which brings me to SF x T.

While I haven't really dove into the game the way I want, I've basically been watching quite a few videos, and tried training mode for myself once, and my conclusion is that this could indeed be Capcom's best fighting game yet. It's just too bad that the DLC issues people are having with this game is getting in the way because this game is really fantastic. I dare say it's on the same level of 3rd Strike (going by what I've heard of the game) in terms of costly mistakes will cost you big time. Some will say it's for beginners but my thing with that is, is that really a problem? There are people out there that're trying to get into the fighting scene and haven't used an arcade stick in God knows how long, but consider SSF4 far too in-depth to even bother with trying to learn stick. FADC is definately a tough technique to get down especially if one is trying it out on an arcade stick for the 1st time. X Tekken just may be that game that newcomers can learn how to use the stick and then transfer what they learned from X Tekken back to SSF4 (at least that's my plan anyway). And even then, the "pros" are really digging this game. That has to speak for something.

Enough about that though, from what I've seen of videos, almost everyone seems to be picking up Ryu, Ken, Rolento, Jin, Kazuya, Nina, Raven and Hugo. Personally, I don't care what character people picks, but my only beef is with 1 character (I plan to pick Hwoarang, Jin, Juri, and possibly Ryu, at least until the DLC is released) and that's Hugo. My goodness, this guy is dishing out 60% of damage with one full combo. I don't know if people here watch streamed tournies of footage from youtube of the tournies, and I don't know if anyone knows about Mike Ross and Gootecks (Team Complexity Cross Counter), but they held a special invite for other "pros". To make a long story short, the guy who was playing Hugo, basically bodied Mike Ross and Gootecks with Hugo while the other guy on his team was just there observing. Skill, yes, but that damage output is insane. Almost everybody that was watching the fight felt salty for Mike Ross and Gootecks. I was salty. I HATE HUGO. But still I like what I'm seeing from the game. Like I said, it's just too bad people are taking out their frustrations of the DLC on the actual match; saying that they're boring when these fights are indeed good, real good.

The only flaw I've seen with this game besides the DLC stuff is the fact that if you don't use the gems you risk the chance of having more Timeouts than usual (Personally, I turn the timer off in all of my fighting games)

My main team will either be Hwoarang and Juri, or Hwoarang and Jin with Ryu and Kazuya probably acting as my backup team. Hwoarang just looks far too fun to not pick up. Honestly, I didn't think the Tekken characters would fit in all that well, but the whole wave step/dash (I think that's what they're calling it) makes up for it since they go through fireballs.

But yes, I wish people would give this game a try even though I understand why people wouldn't considering Capcom is full of #### right now. Why do I do it? Right now I just find myself enjoying fighting games once again. SSF4:AE has renewed my love for fighting games (I also have King of Fighters 13 and I plan on buying BlazBlue Extend along with Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3). It's the 3D fighters that I don't find myself ever buying again.

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1332468722' post='710888']
Totally. [spoiler]Jack[/spoiler] was/is my love interest, and the dialogue resulting from that was great. Though she was the one character you didn't get to go all hanky-panky with. Garrus was definitely my favourite character again, especially after his squad mate quality time moment at the Citadel.
[/quote]

Ooh, yeah, that's something I should have mentioned -- the writers did an [i]excellent[/i] job of integrating the player's past choices into the dialogue. For instance, I had Wrex with me when I confronted the Rachni Queen in [b]Mass Effect[/b], and he brought that up when I talked to him in [b]Mass Effect 3[/b]. And during the Grissom Academy mission, [spoiler]Jack brought up that she had been the one to hold up the biotic force field during the seeker swarm portion of the suicide mission.[/spoiler] None of this stuff is forced at all, either; it's just nice, subtle inclusions of continuity that makes the world feel that much more alive, and it's something that [b]Mass Effect 3[/b] does a lot better than [b]Mass Effect 2[/b]. It's a touch I really appreciate from the writers.

And, yes, [spoiler]Mordin. :( :( :([/spoiler]

[Boo]

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1332516669' post='710900']
Ooh, yeah, that's something I should have mentioned -- the writers did an [i]excellent[/i] job of integrating the player's past choices into the dialogue. For instance, I had Wrex with me when I confronted the Rachni Queen in [b]Mass Effect[/b], and he brought that up when I talked to him in [b]Mass Effect 3[/b]. And during the Grissom Academy mission, [spoiler]Jack brought up that she had been the one to hold up the biotic force field during the seeker swarm portion of the suicide mission.[/spoiler] None of this stuff is forced at all, either; it's just nice, subtle inclusions of continuity that makes the world feel that much more alive, and it's something that [b]Mass Effect 3[/b] does a lot better than [b]Mass Effect 2[/b]. It's a touch I really appreciate from the writers.

And, yes, [spoiler]Mordin. :( :( :([/spoiler]
[/quote]qft.

Also, I probably cried, though I'll never admit it.

[James]

[font=palatino linotype]I haven't had too much time for games lately (my brother has been on my Steam account more than I have, for example). But I did recently pick up Mass Effect 3 and I've been having a go at that.

I'm probably around about 2/3 of the way through. So far, I've been enjoying it, but I'm finding it to be no better than Mass Effect 2. Yes, there's a tiny bit more customisation (in terms of weapons, for example). So that's a bit of a crowd-pleaser I guess. But the locales are generally not as varied or interesting as ME2, I'd say (with a couple of key exceptions).

I am obviously not yet at the ending so I don't know how I'll react to it, but I suspect that I probably won't react with as much vitriol as many others have - and the main reason is because my expectations about player choice have always been very different. I have a feeling this is one aspect of the problem.

In any case, I haven't finished the game but I'm a bit sad that it's the "last Mass Effect" game. The story has never been particularly great, but I've become fond of the characters and the game world itself. This is one franchise where I'd be quite happy to see a second trilogy, I think.[/font]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='James' timestamp='1332833572' post='711046']
[font=palatino linotype]In any case, I haven't finished the game but I'm a bit sad that it's the "last Mass Effect" game. The story has never been particularly great, but I've become fond of the characters and the game world itself. This is one franchise where I'd be quite happy to see a second trilogy, I think.[/font]
[/quote]

Yeah, I'm not at the end yet, either (I'm going to continue playing again today, finally), but this is one reason why I don't see myself reacting as harshly as most to the ending, too. I don't think the story of either [b]Mass Effect[/b] (or this game) is great ... definitely good for video games, because the pacing (other than the first Citadel visit in the first game) is such that it makes you want to keep playing, but the plots are built on many familiar science-fiction beats. It's the characters and the superiority of the world building that draw me into the fiction, and that's (likely) something a bad ending can't ruin.

[Boo]

[quote name='James' timestamp='1332833572' post='711046']
[font=palatino linotype]I'm probably around about 2/3 of the way through. So far, I've been enjoying it, but I'm finding it to be no better than Mass Effect 2. Yes, there's a tiny bit more customisation (in terms of weapons, for example). So that's a bit of a crowd-pleaser I guess. But the locales are generally not as varied or interesting as ME2, I'd say (with a couple of key exceptions).[/font][/quote]I thought it was much better than ME2, partly because the combat system has evolved since, but mostly because of some kick-ass dialogue for players who played the first two games. They really involved the previous games a [i]lot[/i] more than ME 2 involved the original.

[Gavin]

[quote name='James' timestamp='1332833572' post='711046'][font=palatino linotype][...] I've become fond of the characters and the game world itself. This is one franchise where I'd be quite happy to see a second trilogy, I think.[/font]
[/quote]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]Agreed, depending on how the ending issues are ultimately resolved I think there's plenty of potential to go on and tell another compelling story without the need for an overall "big bad" in the Reapers. I'm certain I'm not alone in being very intrigued to see how the galaxy would deal with the aftermath of the Reaper invasion, and the home truths learned from it. The only major issue I could see cropping up would be the necessity to set a concrete canon for major choice events in the ME universe (I haven't read the novels so I'm not sure if they do that already) as personally, the vanilla/non-imported stories in ME2 and ME3 are nowhere near Paragon enough for my tastes.[/font]

[Silver Mech]

Damn. Lots to read hear, and my iPad won't lent me see past the black bars. Anywhoo, I just got Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Legend of Legaia. With any luck, I'll be able to play them a bit.

Also, on the topic of Mass Effect. I was talking with some friends on some other forums, and we agree on how the ending can be improved. The Fallout series does a good job at giving you an idea of what your actions can lead to, without going into detail. If Bioware can "appropriate" that for the Mass Effect 3 ending, there might be better feelings about the ending.

Also! Also. [spoiler]What's up with the old man and kid at the very end? Why couldn't they do something with the device Liara made to record everything about the Reaper war and Shephard?[/spoiler]

[color=#4B0082]Added spoiler tags. - Desbreko[/color]

[James]

[quote name='Silver Mech' timestamp='1332887727' post='711073']
Also! Also. [spoiler]What's up with the old man and kid at the very end? Why couldn't they do something with the device Liara made to record everything about the Reaper war and Shephard?[/spoiler]
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]Dude, please... spoilers! >_<

Several of us haven't reached the ending yet.[/font]

[Silver Mech]

Oh! Sorry, sorry. Still trying to figure out how things work with my iPad.

[Boo]

[quote name='James' timestamp='1332887958' post='711074']
[font=palatino linotype]Dude, please... spoilers! >_<

Several of us haven't reached the ending yet.[/font]
[/quote]Haha, he was lying anyway. There's no[spoiler] old man and child [/spoiler]at the end. No sir-ee. Someone was being naughty and spreading untruths. ^_^

Silver Mech: [spoiler]Though I thought it funny how they made Shepard sound like Jesus. And "could you tell another story of the Shepard, grandpa?" "Have you bought the DLC, kiddo?" "No, not y-" "THEN NO! GTFO"[/spoiler] Edited March 28, 2012 by Boo

[James]

[quote name='Silver Mech' timestamp='1332891110' post='711078']
Oh! Sorry, sorry. Still trying to figure out how things work with my iPad.
[/quote]

[font=palatino linotype]No worries! iPads can be a bit tricky when using forums and stuff. Thanks for fixing it. :D[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I have read so many things about the ending (as in, the reactions rather than direct analysis) so I'm very keen to see it for myself. When I do, I'll definitely post my thoughts here.[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]It's interesting to note that Bioware have already basically apologised and said that they may be addressing this in future DLC to some extent, which is a little scary. Haha.[/font]

[Silver Mech]

Which brings me to the point that Bioware should follow Bethesda's lead with the Fallout series way of showing your impact at the end of the game.

Also, Boo. [spoiler]Did you edit my post for me? Thanks if you did![/spoiler] Edited March 28, 2012 by Silver Mech

[Gavin]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1332895422' post='711087']Silver Mech: [spoiler]Though I thought it funny how they made Shepard sound like Jesus. And "could you tell another story of the Shepard, grandpa?" "Have you bought the DLC, kiddo?" "No, not y-" "THEN NO! GTFO"[/spoiler]
[/quote]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif]Gotta love how unsubtly that statement was included in the game. [/font]

[Shinmaru]

Wow, I still think the final assault on the Collector base in [b]Mass Effect 2[/b] is the most fun mission in terms of pure thrill (I loved sticking it to them with a superpowered group of badasses), but the mission on [spoiler]Rannoch[/spoiler], which I just finished last night, might be the best in terms of pure emotion. The feeling of going to that planet is crazy, the choice at the end is excruciating (I legit spent five minutes pondering over it), and the aftermath is insane to think about. Holy **** did I ever suck at fighting [spoiler]the Reaper[/spoiler], though.

I went all the way through [spoiler]Thessia[/spoiler] and am bitterly cursing the name of Cerberus. I am looking forward to finally killing that Kai Leng asshole, and at some point I expect to confront the Illusive Man in person, and you can bet I will give him what for, that bastard. Edited March 28, 2012 by Shinmaru

[Boo]

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1332951203' post='711100']
Wow, I still think the final assault on the Collector base in [b]Mass Effect 2[/b] is the most fun mission in terms of pure thrill (I loved sticking it to them with a superpowered group of badasses, but the mission on [spoiler]Rannoch[/spoiler], which I just finished last night, might be the best in terms of pure emotion. The feeling of going to that planet is crazy, the choice at the end is excruciating (I legit spent five minutes pondering over it), and the aftermath is insane to think about. Holy **** did I ever suck at fighting [spoiler]the Reaper[/spoiler], though.

I went all the way through [spoiler]Thessia[/spoiler] and am bitterly cursing the name of Cerberus. I am looking forward to finally killing that Kai Leng asshole, and at some point I expect to confront the Illusive Man in person, and you can bet I will give him what for, that bastard.
[/quote]See?! The emotional engagement building up to and in this game is insane. This was the first of the three games where I was really, passionately hating characters (except for ****ing Zaeed, that incredible ****) or almost crying about other stuff. :'( Shinmaru: [spoiler]I was really happy with the Ranoch outcome I had. What did you choose? (I'll extra spoiler alert the next part in case James accidentally reads this)[/spoiler] Extra MASS SPOILER: [spoilerblock]I wouldn't have been able to bear finishing the game if I had Tali jump off a cliff in case you let Legon upload and the Fleet attack them. [/spoilerblock] Edited March 28, 2012 by Boo

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1332953517' post='711104']
See?! The emotional engagement building up to and in this game is insane. This was the first of the three games where I was really, passionately hating characters (except for ****ing Zaeed, that incredible ****) or almost crying about other stuff. :'( Shinmaru: [spoiler]I was really happy with the Ranoch outcome I had. What did you choose? (I'll extra spoiler alert the next part in case James accidentally reads this)[/spoiler] Extra MASS SPOILER: [spoilerblock]I wouldn't have been able to bear finishing the game if I had Tali jump off a cliff in case you let Legon upload and the Fleet attack them. [/spoilerblock]
[/quote]

HUGE [B]MASS EFFECT[/B] SPOILERS FOR SERIOUS: [spoiler]I thought [i]really[/i] hard about it ... I'd been supporting the geth's right to get a second chance and become a positive, contributing group the entire game, and I trusted that I would have the option to make things right and let Legion upload. Thankfully, this is the first point in the game where all the Reputation points I earned came in handy, because I was able to convince the quarian fleet to back off and not attack the geth. I was SO ******* RELIEVED that I was able to get through that without dooming either race to extinction. Also LEGIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON *salutes*[/spoiler]

[Boo]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]Didn't we have an ME thread once?

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1332954884' post='711108']
HUGE [b]MASS EFFECT[/b] SPOILERS FOR SERIOUS: La cucaracha [spoiler]Also LEGIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON *salutes*[/spoiler]
[/quote][SPOILER]*SALUTE* Also: Legion galore! *confetti* But I was really happy with my decisions too. Afterwards I read the forums and I saw people who made like one wrong choice in the dialogue and completely got either one killed. :( [/SPOILER] Also! [Spoiler]I just found out how to save Mordin. Next playthrough! "Mordin can be saved during the mission if Wrex isn't alive, Maelon's data was not saved, which leads to Eve's death, and the genophage cure is sabotaged. If Mordin is saved, and the genophage cure is sabotaged as a result, the salarians will offer their support as well as krogan support under Urdnot Wreav, as the krogan will be unaware of the sabotage, with Mordin helping out as well." So basically if you do everything... wrong.[/spoiler][/size][/font] Edited March 28, 2012 by Boo

[Gavin]

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1332962343' post='711109']
Didn't we have an ME thread once?

[SPOILER]*SALUTE* Also: Legion galore! *confetti* But I was really happy with my decisions too. Afterwards I read the forums and I saw people who made like one wrong choice in the dialogue and completely got either one killed. :( [/SPOILER]
[/quote]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][b]MORE BIG SPOILERS[/b] [spoiler]It's actually impossible to get the good ending if you don't import an ME2 save where Tali wasn't exiled and you settled Legion and Tali's argument. I think how you resolve Legion's loyalty mission also have an effect, not sure which is the right choice though, I rewrote the Heretics rather than destroy them and still managed to establish a peace. You also need to disable the Geth fighters and save Admiral Koris.[/spoiler][/font]

[font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][u][b]MASSIVE SPOILER[/b][/u] [spoiler]I became rather choked up when Legion realised he had to sacrifice himself to give the other Geth true intelligence and the dialogue that followed between himself, Shepard and Tali. Like Shepard for a brief second I thought he'd just downloaded into a new body before that hope too was cruelly dashed. [/spoiler][/font]

[Silver Mech]

Bioware did a good job at pulling our emotional hamstrings. Edited March 28, 2012 by Silver Mech