Gaming What Are You Playing?

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Alot of stuff on my gaming plate per se.

Been messing around on the Orange Box of late. I've gotten my Portal beating time down to less than an hour. Not bothering with Half-Life really and Team Fortress is okay at best to me.

I'm still finishing up FF12. I hated it at first, then started to like it immensely, now that the plot has turned I dislike it again. Oh well. I didn't get 50 hours in just to quit.

I'm playing Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions also. For all you younguns out there, it was the quintessential Turn-based RPG back in the day and it got a rather poor port to the PSP. Oh well. Tactics is still Tactics which makes it great in its own regards.

I'm also playing Crisis Core for the PSP. Its all in japo so it's slow going while I find translations for plot, dialog, menus, and other things. Slow going but the game itself has impressed me thus far.
The battle system is weird. Kinda like an amalgam of action and RPG rolled into a slot machine. You'd have to play it to understand.
It is, easily, the best looking game on the PSP even making Tekken and Killzone: Liberation pale.
Amazing what Squeenix can do when they put their minds to it.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[BlueYoshi]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]I'm playing Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions also. For all you younguns out there, it was the quintessential Turn-based RPG back in the day and it got a rather poor port to the PSP. Oh well. Tactics is still Tactics which makes it great in its own regards.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[color=darkred]What don't you like specifically? I'm interested to know. I heard it had poor reception in Japan but was really praised in the US.[/color]

[silpheedpilot]

[quote name='BlueYoshi'][color=darkred]What don't you like specifically? I'm interested to know. I heard it had poor reception in Japan but was really praised in the US.[/color][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Personally, the slowdown is unforgivable. A PS1 port should not slow down as much as it does because the coding can't be that hard. I'm not a fan of the new translation; It's way too olde English making it slightly hard to read if you're trying to brisk through the talking scenes. I dislike the fact they took out the little sayings your units yells when he casts a spell, uses an item, or does a skill.

However, I do like how much easier it is for non-combat classes to gain XP and JP. In the original Tactics throwing a potion yielded no JP unless it healed someone but now it does regardless of what potion you toss. Makes Chemists easier to keep up with your awesome Two-sword Monks and other not-used Combat jobs.

It's not a BAD port, I guess, just not an excellent port.
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[BlueYoshi]

[color=darkred]I see. I'm at uni and in between lectures there is absolutely nothing to do, so would you recommed purchasing it, overall?[/color]

[Korey]

Yeah, I would, if you liked FF:Tactics and FF: Tactics Advance. It's more of the same thing, espcecially since it's a port. But here's the thing, the PS1 ports of most RPG's (including FF:Tactics and Valkeryie Profile:Lenneth) on the PSP just don't live up to the original luster of the game that they are porting. I've played Lenneth, and while the cutscenes and stuff are fantastic looking on my PSP, the in-game experience just looks glazed over and kind of awful, considering the power this machine has. FF:Tactics is great, but as Silpheed Pilot mentioned, it suffers from major slowdown. Which is weird, because not a lot of things are going on to make it slowdown like that. I would be shocked if a game like Disgaea or Makai Kingdom made its way onto the PSP because of the crazyness that goes on in those games.

[B]Jeanne D'Arc [/B]is pretty awesome though. But zom of zee kharactahs tawk wit owtrageouz Fronch achtenz. (say that out loud) I would suggest that one though. Pretty good tactical RPG.

[silpheedpilot]

[quote name='BlueYoshi'][color=darkred]I see. I'm at uni and in between lectures there is absolutely nothing to do, so would you recommed purchasing it, overall?[/color][/QUOTE]
[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Overall? Yeah, sure, if you liked Final Fantasy Tactics to begin with. I'm not saying it's not something new and sorta neat in it's own kind of way it's just lackluster at a technical standpoint.
By all means pick this game up. Why play Jeanne D'Arc when you can play the BEST instead?
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Korey]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]
By all means pick this game up. Why play Jeanne D'Arc when you can play the BEST instead?
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

for zee outragejouse fronch achsentz?

[silpheedpilot]

[quote name='Korey']for zee outragejouse fronch achsentz?[/QUOTE]
[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Only in the real world would Colet be awesome.

Actually, nah, pick this game up if you like your basic, essential Turn-based RPG. It is good, don't get me wrong but it's also pretty basic aside from the Skill Stones you can use to beef your characters up with. Everyone is specialized, everyone is a story central character, and the worst part? No Balthier.

Technically the game is very profound. Looks good, sounds good, and the the anime cutscenes are an amazing thing to watch but comparing this to FFT would be like comparing a Honda CRX to a Honda S2000.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Tombstone'][COLOR="Navy"]In any case, I beat [b]Jade Empire[/b] last night. I'm playing it again, this time I'm going to see how it is taking the Closed Fist.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Good to see I'm not the only one playing Bioware's latest gem. Did you play though Open Palm or Closed Fist ?[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Good to see I'm not the only one playing Bioware's latest gem. Did you play though Open Palm or Closed Fist ?[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Navy"]Open Palm with Furious Ming. Almost all these games where you choose your own path, I normally start off with the hero route first. It's a habit :).

One thing about my last play through is that I totally underestimated how good the Heavenly Wave technique is. Mainly because I didn't understand what a harmonic combo was, nor did I know how to initiate one so I just said forget that thing altogether. When that old hippy kept using focus in combination with Heavenly Wave my mouth dropped. Never again will I underestimate the elderly lol.

I've been watching my brother play [b]The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker[/b] lately. I don't really have much of an opinion about it yet because he's still at the beginning stages.... or something.
[/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Tombstone'][COLOR="Navy"]Open Palm with Furious Ming. Almost all these games where you choose your own path, I normally start off with the hero route first. It's a habit :).[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Nice choice, I used a modified Tiger Shen in my first game, but I slowly came to love the Thousand Cuts style because it suited my focus and chi powered attacks so well. Juken FTW. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[quote name='Tombstone'][COLOR="Navy"]One thing about my last play through is that I totally underestimated how good the Heavenly Wave technique is. Mainly because I didn't understand what a harmonic combo was, nor did I know how to initiate one so I just said forget that thing altogether. When that old hippy kept using focus in combination with Heavenly Wave my mouth dropped. Never again will I underestimate the elderly lol.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]I suppose I was lucky, I picked up on using Harmonic Combos pretty early in the game, I think I just got lucky with one once and after seeing the result thought, I'm definitely using this more often.[/SIZE]

[Magus]

[COLOR="Navy"]Got some new chords and whatnot. I pulled the old and dusty (probably broken) Nintendo 64 today and played a bit of [b]Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[/b].

Trying to adapt to the N64's controller feels funny, especially after being so used to 2 analog sticks. After getting reacquainted with the game, it turned out that I didn't lose much of my touch. Although I could've sworn there use to be a jump button...

I have another playstation on the way along with Final Fantasy 8 again. (Going to put myself through that torcher again lol.)

I'm pretty certain I already know the answer, but are those older Final Fantasies (those remakes) worth getting?[/COLOR]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]I'm playing[B][COLOR="Navy"] Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3[/COLOR][/B] (hence all the [COLOR="navy"]BURY MY DREAD[/COLOR] in my sig) and it's absolutely amazing. The battle system is fun, the plot is engaging, the options are actually meaningful and every little thing you do weighs heavily on all outcomes. The artstyle is simply ****ing beautiful, the anime cutscenes are wonderful, the whole Lain-esque feel drove me to even name my character "Iwakura Lain" the sountrack is probably my favirite in any game, period. J-rap techno? Hell yes. It's one of the VERY few games that I play with the sound on.

Adding onto all that, though, is that it's a frightening representation of my real life. You see, right now I have a cold. It probably happened becasue I kept pulling late nighters to do homework and watch anime, and I got sick.

Today, in P3, I stayed up one night studying and was farigued the next day. Despite that I went to fight in tartarus and got a cold. I slept the next night to heal myself up. then afterward I realized OH MY GOD I JUST DID THAT IN REAL LIFE!!! I relived 3 days in 45 minutes!!!![/COLOR]

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Well, I just got a Playstation 3 so I've been playing one and only one game...

Warhawk

Its so amazing. It reminds me of everything that was good in Battlefield 2 for the PC but builds on the negativity of piloting craft such as helicopters and planes by giving you the Warhawk, a versatile flying machine capable of hovering in place to provide air support or the ability to fly with aerial acrobatics to show your air superiority.

I also enjoy the ground section. The characters move really nice such as hopping backwards when you back-pedal rather than having a goofy backwards run.
Another thing that really has me liking the game as a whole is that not one thing can dominate the battlefield. If a Warhawk comes in fast and low to sweep the area in hover mode I can step out from behind the corner and launch homing rockets on it to take it out. Likewise for vehicles, but in a different manner, I can toss mines to stop it dead in it's tracks, so even on foot you never feel totally helpless. And, of course, in a tank you're a beast but not invincible because a Warhawk would ruin your day easily or a crafty couple of soldiers will make short work of you. You also have 4X4 Jeeps that travel quickly and have an MG on the back for soft targets and various homing rockets, flak cannon, and other mounted guns to use against enemy units.

The game types are your run of the mill kind such as CTF, TDM, and a King of the Hill like match called Zones but it's in the level design and execution that really make them stand out. Not only are there multiple ways to take a flag from point A to point B or to capture Zone 3 or whatever there are many variables to take into consideration. Did you not expect the enemy Warhawk to come bearing down on you? What about that mine placed near the flag?

The game is really amazing and seeing how it's only multiplayer I can see expansions and extra content coming out for it in the future. Maybe new weapons, new factions, new Warhawks, new maps and so on so forth.

This is what I'm playing and it's worth all $500 the PS3 cost. Ya dig?
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Sangome]

[size=1]Phoenix Wright: Justice for All.

I have the first one, and played it through, and got this one last night. Holy heck, I love this series far too much. I wanna marry it. Dunno why, there's just something about it. I've become particularly attached to the characters [Pearl's adorable and I'm a sucker for Edgeworth, just like 99.9999999999 of the female PW players], and the idea of trying to figure out "WHODUNIT" keeps me enamored...provided I haven't accidentally spoiled it for myself.

So yes. People have recommended it like mad. LISTEN TO THEM.[/size]

[silpheedpilot]

[quote name='Deus ex Machina'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]I'm playing[B][COLOR="Navy"] Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3[/COLOR][/B] (hence all the [COLOR="navy"]BURY MY DREAD[/COLOR] in my sig) and it's absolutely amazing. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]
[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]
Isn't it Burn My Dread? I'm pretty sure it's Burn My Dread not Bury My Dread, remember; Burn My Dread.

Whatever, either way, since reading your post I decided to put Warhawk down for a sec and pick Persona 3 up once more only to be discouraged by having to press X for an hour in the beginning of the game again so I dropped it, although how good it is, and started playing Warhawk again.
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[Korey]

[FONT="Times New Roman"]I borrowed a copy of [B]In the Groove 2[/B] for PS2 from my friend. I've got to say, as far as dancing rythym games go, that one has to be the hardest one of them all. Some of those songs on expert are just torture to play. What's fun about the game is that it is so hard, ironcally. DDR doesn't have you avoiding touching mines or doing handplants on the machine. So ITG has a lot of fun elements to it that make it an awesome game. I would put up some ITG videos of me, but sadly my girlfriend has yet to give me the videos.

I'm also working on [B]Virtua Fighter 5[/B] right now. The game just got a whole lot more complicated with this edition and I am currently re learning how to play as Goh, one of the hardest people to use effectively. His striking is much improved , but his game still has too many holes in it that can be exploited for big damage. Especially by people who play as Lau or Shun Di:animesigh[/FONT]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]
Isn't it Burn My Dread? I'm pretty sure it's Burn My Dread not Bury My Dread, remember; Burn My Dread.

Whatever, either way, since reading your post I decided to put Warhawk down for a sec and pick Persona 3 up once more only to be discouraged by having to press X for an hour in the beginning of the game again so I dropped it, although how good it is, and started playing Warhawk again.
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Song title "Bury my Dread" song lyrics "Burn my Dread"[/COLOR]

[Korey]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]
Whatever, I decided to put Warhawk down for a sec and pick Persona 3 up once more only to be discouraged by having to press X for an hour in the beginning of the game again so I dropped it, although how good it is, and started playing Warhawk again.
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

That's exactly my problem with slow moving RPGs, like [B]Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time[/B]. They take too much time to wind up and by the time you finish the game and start on your second save file, it's like "Ugh, do I really want to slog through the beginning again?" That's what makes me put down RPGs faster than any other type of game.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Currently I'm playing [B]The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass[/B] for the DS. I'm enjoying it since I really like the cel-shaded look from The Wind Waker so it's nice to have a game in that format again. I'm still getting use to only using the stylus instead of buttons to get around but it works pretty good and a lot of the puzzles and dungeons are geared to take advantage of the DS's capabilities, making it a fun game. The only thing I don't care for is how the sailing is done. But the rest of the game is turning out to be a lot of fun. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Doublehex]

I bought [B]Tales of Symphonia[/B] a week ago, and I must say I am ashamed for not getting it sooner, especially since I've had Gamecube since the Christmas the year it was released. The action gameplay is really addicting - I feel like its the type of style that FF XII was going for. The story was kinda meh until I reached the Tower of Salvation, and things have improved at a high rate.

And then there is Zelos. =D

Now, like the ninja fanboy that I am, I am absolutely loving Sheena. She was kinda bad at first, but now, she's awesome. She's great in combat - sorta like a Rogue in WoW. Keep her healthy, and she can do a great amount of damage.

Zelos, on the other hand, is more of a replacement for [spoiler]Kratos[/spoiler] than anything. I kinda feel that the developers ran out of ideas on what role Zelos would play in combat.

But hey, who dosen't love a War Mage? =)

[Dagger]

What I've been playing since I last posted here--

[b]Saya no Uta[/b]: A brilliant & disturbing gem of a VN. When you start a new game, you get to choose from different censorship options (since there's a lot of gore). I chose no censorship, and for the most part I don't regret it, but there was one CG that made me wish I hadn't eaten pastrami for lunch... :animedepr

[b]Jingai Makyou[/b]: Also known as the game that spawned a thousand [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/makyou2.jpg][u]Ignis[/u][/url] figures (and once you look at her character design, it's easy to see why). I got all thirty-four endings, most of which involve the main character dying violently, but I'm missing one random CG. That's going to nag at me. Fun story, though.

[b]Messiah[/b]: I swore to god I wouldn't play any more BL games, but I'm glad I crumbled. Messiah is fantastically awesome. I particularly like the fact that the female characters are well-developed & important. Now I have to play Core's other BL game (Fanatica); I'll be happy if it's even half as great.

~Dagger~

[2010DigitalBoy]

[quote name='Matt']I bought [B]Tales of Symphonia[/B] a week ago, and I must say I am ashamed for not getting it sooner, especially since I've had Gamecube since the Christmas the year it was released. The action gameplay is really addicting - I feel like its the type of style that FF XII was going for. The story was kinda meh until I reached the Tower of Salvation, and things have improved at a high rate.

And then there is Zelos. =D

Now, like the ninja fanboy that I am, I am absolutely loving Sheena. She was kinda bad at first, but now, she's awesome. She's great in combat - sorta like a Rogue in WoW. Keep her healthy, and she can do a great amount of damage.

Zelos, on the other hand, is more of a replacement for [spoiler]Kratos[/spoiler] than anything. I kinda feel that the developers ran out of ideas on what role Zelos would play in combat.

But hey, who dosen't love a War Mage? =)[/QUOTE]
[COLOR="DarkOrange"]
ToS is one of my favorite games of all time, though mostly lives on in fond memories. Back then the characters and story were THE **** but these days I'd hate both XD Still, the battle system is great and only got boring during the most severe of grinds, which made it cool.

Yes, it's true, Sheena was the awesome tsundere and Zelos the fun playboy, though I rarely played as either (I always played Lloyd >_> what can I say? I mapped his attacks and liked to keep things that way) this is one of the only games I played twice (stopped halfway on round 2, though, XD) I doubt I'd play it these days, but I don't have to because TOS 2 IS COMING SOON!!![/COLOR]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Deus ex Machina'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]TOS 2 IS COMING SOON!!![/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Thanks for reminding me!

Knight of Rattatosk is gonna be great. Also, Soulcaliber Legends is going to include Lloyd Irving himself as a guest character.

Onto the topic. I just recently picked up The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker again. I haven't played in a while, so it feels fresh and new, but I still remember enough so it's not frustrating (I still can't remember where the fourth bottle is, though.) I'm at the Earth Temple. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is that pain-in-the-butt Triforce quest again (What kind of inhuman monster decided to force you to talk to Tingle?!)

Edit:
[quote name='Deus ex Machina'][COLOR="DarkOrange"](I always played Lloyd >_> what can I say? I mapped his attacks and liked to keep things that way)[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Try Regal sometime. He's not very hard-hitting, but if you know how to use him, you can cook up an unbreaking combo string.

[Magus]

[COLOR="Navy"]Got this small looking PSX hooked up... I really didn't expect that thing to be so small. A DS is about the size of this thing.... I think. (Never seen a DS up close)

In any case, I've been playing [b]Final Fantasy 8[/b] yet again. It is my favorite of the series... Atleast of what I've played so far. (fF7 as well as FF10) I'm following the no level up walkthrough again, so, more card playing torture lol. I'm still on disc 1. Just getting out of the Tomb of the Unknown King. Taking frequent breaks hear and there so I won't get so tired of rpg's.

I'm tempted to buy Final Fantasy Chronciles next. That or Anthology... Not exactly sure which one I want more. I want to try out Chrono Trigger as well as Final Fantasy 6.... "shrugs" We'll see.[/COLOR]