Author Topic: The Currently Playing Thread / Recently Finished Thread  (Read 230069 times)

Offline Cobra951

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8,934
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #80 on: Sunday, November 12, 2006, 12:20:05 PM »
I forgot to mention I picked up New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. Classic 2D side scrolling Mario. It seems rather on the short side, as I'm already at World 8. Though there are 2 worlds I haven't found the secret entrances to, and I didn't unlock a lot of the side levels so I might not be judging it properly.

Only thing I don't like so far is the lack of save anywhere. This gets unlocked after you beat the game...but by then I don't really need it. You can only save after the little middle castles and the big castles. So if you get frustrated in between and shut off your system, you lose your progress. What I've found is there are side paths you unlock with the big coins you find, and after you spend the coins you get the option to save. So I have a bunch of those I can use to save my game.
That's the ticket.  Save the special locations for, uh, saves!  I liked the game, although it was over too soon.

  Finding the secret worlds:
(click to show/hide)

Offline Xessive

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9,918
    • XSV @ deviantART
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #81 on: Monday, November 20, 2006, 11:02:23 AM »
I was playing NWN2, but I decided to hold off until the new patch is released. After having a lot of role-playing I was in the mood for some action so now I have F.E.A.R. Extraction Point and I reinstalled Quake 4.

F.E.A.R. EP is not bad, though for some reason some areas perform horribly (like a slideshow) and I have to look at the floor or sky for the framerate to be tolerable. It was only in the outdoor areas, but the rest of it seems fine so far.

Quake 4's singleplayer campaign is pretty sweet so I felt like running through it again. This time I found GTX, which enhances the graphics of Quake 4 by adding bloom shader, reflections on metal (marine armour and weapons, strogg, hovertank, walker, etc.), and casts any object's shadow with the flashlight. Pretty cool, gives Q4 a nice refined look. It's also available for Doom 3.

Offline TheOtherBelmont

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,340
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #82 on: Monday, November 20, 2006, 12:11:54 PM »
I've been playing lots of Guitar Hero 2 lately in between my occasional Doom II play sessions.  Guitar Hero 2 is so much fun, playing Megadeth's "Hangar 18" is good times.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #83 on: Saturday, December 30, 2006, 11:05:43 AM »
I was playing NWN2, but I decided to hold off until the new patch is released. After having a lot of role-playing I was in the mood for some action so now I have F.E.A.R. Extraction Point and I reinstalled Quake 4.

F.E.A.R. EP is not bad, though for some reason some areas perform horribly (like a slideshow) and I have to look at the floor or sky for the framerate to be tolerable. It was only in the outdoor areas, but the rest of it seems fine so far.
I dunno' what it is, but 2006 on the PC seems like the year of "Games That Need MORE Patches."

GRAW PC is coming to mind, as I'm currently playing that. The game is pretty good so far, but to get it running decent while still looking good, I had to drop my res' down to 800x600. W/ everything turned off in 1024x768, the framerate is absolutely UNSTABLE -- jumping ALL over the place, from 8 to even 35 FPS. Turn everything on w/ 800x600, game runs better -- yet, it still looks good.

Oh -- Why on the GRAW PC version did they NOT allow and keep the third-person view they used the X360 version (which is also the only used viewpoint that is in the X360 version)???? I like the FPS view in GRAW PC, but it'd ALSO be nice to be able to switch b/t the two, if I so choosed to while on the fly, when in-game; like say Hitman series (since Hitman 2) have allowed and Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Next, enter Scarface: The World is Yours. Do I like the game? Yes, the voice-acting, cinematic qualities, and the game itself seems good, so far. The action itself: it is very good. But, what is holding me back from truly enjoying it??? Two things: ONE - The controls can't be configured to my very own liking. Sure, they're decent, but I'd like to be able to manipulate it to my own liking! TWO - The framerate is not always too stable.

Now, let's enter NWN2. Even w/ Patch 1.02, it ran also ALL over the place. Not until Patch 1.03 was the game really in any state to be very stable, while turning most graphical features. Performance still could be better, but it's better than what the hell it was.

I ain't played Gothic 3, but from what I heard, that game can also join the "I need more patches" club. I think Xessive can vouch for me on that one.

I'm getting tired of this trend that seems to be growing on the PC, of publishers and designers going the "let's let the alpha box/beta box out and release a patch sometime later" pathway. It's starting to get annoying.

I'm currently also playing Guild Wars: Nightfall. Now, if only as many games looked and ran as good as that game does, performance-wise. 

Quote
Quake 4's singleplayer campaign is pretty sweet so I felt like running through it again. This time I found GTX, which enhances the graphics of Quake 4 by adding bloom shader, reflections on metal (marine armour and weapons, strogg, hovertank, walker, etc.), and casts any object's shadow with the flashlight. Pretty cool, gives Q4 a nice refined look. It's also available for Doom 3.
Quake 4 rocks -- SP and MP.

Offline idolminds

  • ZOMG!
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 11,930
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #84 on: Saturday, December 30, 2006, 11:27:44 AM »
Gotta agree with the Guild Wars comment by D. I'm playing Prophecies (already wanting the expansions) and the game is simply gorgeous and runs amazingly well. These guys deserve a medal.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #85 on: Saturday, December 30, 2006, 12:01:46 PM »
Gotta agree with the Guild Wars comment by D. I'm playing Prophecies (already wanting the expansions) and the game is simply gorgeous and runs amazingly well. These guys deserve a medal.
Amen to that.

Wait until you try Nightfall, in which you have fully controllable henchmen, which are called "Heroes". It's like BG2 or NWN2, where you have full control over them, if you so like to.

One thing I also love about GW is their in-game interface. Very easy to use and learn. Every in-game window is a movable window, just about -- and you can move it anywhere on-screen; for your map, for your party members list, for your list of your skills, etc etc.



Offline Pugnate

  • What? You no like?
  • Global Moderator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 12,234
    • OW
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #86 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 02:24:35 PM »
I am still hooked on Oblivion.

On the PSP I've played a bit of Lumines, though am mostly hitting Virtua Tennis.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #87 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 04:18:03 PM »
I am still hooked on Oblivion.

On the PSP I've played a bit of Lumines, though am mostly hitting Virtua Tennis.

Holy shit!
Pug pulled a MyD!!!
He resurrected an old ass thread!!!
 :o :o :o

Me, I'm playing namely Shiv Isles and NWN2.

Offline iPPi

  • Senior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3,159
  • Roar!
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #88 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 04:27:32 PM »
Currently playing:

World of Warcraft + Burning Crusade
Hitman: Blood Money on pro
R6: Vegas and Gears of War on XBL.

Offline Jedi

  • Poster Child
  • ***
  • Posts: 664
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #89 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 05:29:03 PM »
Finished Vegas on X360 and currently playing C&C3 on the PC.
Oh and resisting WoW.. must resist!  ::)

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #90 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 06:06:08 PM »
Still playing Puzzle Quest.  Addictive as all get out but I've got a couple bugs.  Haven't heard them reported anywhere so don't know what the issue is.  But they happened both on my UMD and the ISO.  Nothing major enough to stop me from playing, but you're supposed to get 6 spells at once and I only get 5 because it refuses to let me select a 6th.  Odd.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Cobra951

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8,934
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #91 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 08:27:06 PM »
Test Drive Unlimited, heavily since I got it.  What can I say?  Virtual Hawaii, even if only for creatures of the 4-wheel variety.  Full escapism.  Plenty of flaws, some infuriating, but still indispensable.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #92 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 08:53:03 PM »
You know what's crazy?  Julia's actually been playing it even more than I have.  She's new to racing games in general (other than the Star Wars Pod Racer she had on her Mac back in the day before we burned that beast and urinated on the remains), but she's having a blast.  She's obviously got the driving assistance turned on and stuff, but she's doing quite well.  I'm surprised at how much she's taken to it.  She loves the fact that you can just drive around aimlessly in order to escape daily life, but also get into races and challenges whenever you feel like it.  For her that kind of thing is a godsend because she loves games that don't force you into constant intense exchanges but let you meander and then really get down to it when you so decide.  She's already got like 3 houses and a bunch of cars, it's funny.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline PyroMenace

  • Senior Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3,930
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #93 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 10:28:41 PM »
Shamefully I haven't played STALKER as nearly as much as I should. Right now I haven't been gaming all too much. I casually jam on some Guitar Hero every night or so. And every so slowly I am trying to finish Castlevania PoR.

Offline K-man

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,966
  • HOW'S IT FEEEEEL IDOL
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #94 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 10:41:27 PM »
Right now I'm playing the Saturn port of Symphony of the Night.  I just got the Crissaegrim, so Drac's pretty well fucked.  Been messing around with the marvel fighters that Pyro hooked me up with too.  I've been hitting up a lot of Excite Truck lately as well.  Really fun game, one of the few Gamespot scores i strongly disagree with.  Dead Rising is on the backburner for the moment, as is Twilight Princess and Okami.  If all goes well I'm going to start a game of Civ IV in a minute.  Oh yeah, and I'm about halfway through God of War 2

This is my problem.  I start way too many damn games at once and I never get them finished.  When I was a kid this wasn't a problem.  Course, back then I was lucky to get a new NES game every couple of months.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #95 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 11:28:12 PM »
Yeah, I never finish anything at all these days unless it's a short shooter or something.  Though I find that it isn't game length so much as it is I just burn out on games about 3 quarters through.  Like Elder Scrolls games (Oblivion, etc.) I never finish, but I play them for hundreds of hours.  And FFXII I didn't finish, but I got probably the same ratio through that as I did most of the others I dropped recently.  Same with Okami.  It's uncanny, and it bugs the hell out of me.

EDIT - Also, why are you playing the Saturn port of SotN?  Everyone says it's the most god-awful thing on the face of the earth.  I can't even remember why, oddly enough, but there you have it.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline TheOtherBelmont

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,340
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #96 on: Friday, April 20, 2007, 11:43:25 PM »
And FFXII I didn't finish, but I got probably the same ratio through that as I did most of the others I dropped recently.  Same with Okami.  It's uncanny, and it bugs the hell out of me.

This makes me sad, that's two great games you are missing out on.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #97 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 12:04:43 AM »
Well, I don't feel like I missed out.  I played through a good 3/4 of Okami and probably about the same for FFXII.  I was just taking it slow with FF because I was doing all the side missions and stuff, ended up not quite managing to finish before burning out.  I still want to go back, I just need a good free weekend to start in on it.And for Okami, I just sort of got out of the Japanese mood. 

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Pugnate

  • What? You no like?
  • Global Moderator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 12,234
    • OW
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #98 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 12:27:40 AM »
Test Drive Unlimited, heavily since I got it.  What can I say?  Virtual Hawaii, even if only for creatures of the 4-wheel variety.  Full escapism.  Plenty of flaws, some infuriating, but still indispensable.

I picked it up for my PC. I tried it for just a bit and it looks pretty decent.

And D, the reason this thread was resurrected was that out of curiosity I was viewing the threads the anonymous guests were. One of them was this, and is a good thread!

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #99 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 05:54:33 AM »

And D, the reason this thread was resurrected was that out of curiosity I was viewing the threads the anonymous guests were. One of them was this, and is a good thread!
Y'know, I love to do old thread resurrections! :)
And I like when others do it, too!

Damn right you picked a good thread to resurrect, bro!
Rock on!


Offline K-man

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,966
  • HOW'S IT FEEEEEL IDOL
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #100 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 07:44:36 AM »

EDIT - Also, why are you playing the Saturn port of SotN?  Everyone says it's the most god-awful thing on the face of the earth.  I can't even remember why, oddly enough, but there you have it.

Technically its far inferior to the PS1 iteration.  There is a lot of slowdown in places (especially huge boss fights) and the transparency effects are horrible.  However, there are two areas that were added to the Saturn version, as well as extra boss fights and items.  I figure since I've beaten the PS1 version every which way I know how the Saturn version was worth a play through.

Even with the slowdown I haven't been terribly disappointed.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #101 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 11:06:15 AM »
Well that's cool.  I didn't even know there was extra stuff there.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Cobra951

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8,934
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #102 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 01:09:30 PM »
I picked it up for my PC. I tried it for just a bit and it looks pretty decent.

TDU is for Vista only, isn't it?  I've thought of getting the, er, trial version.  After all, I did pay full price already.  But then I remembered the forced OS situation.

I can see why Julia would take to it, after hearing so much about her.  When the personal situation is difficult, a game which transports you to a beautiful big world you can roam at will is more than welcome.  I've invested way too much time into it, and there's still some more left to do.  It's far from perfect, though, and if racing realism is what matters most, then there are better games out there, even for the X360 (Project Gotham Racing 3, from personal experience).

Offline Pugnate

  • What? You no like?
  • Global Moderator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 12,234
    • OW
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #103 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 01:37:19 PM »
No I have it on XP.

Offline Cobra951

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8,934
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #104 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 03:47:48 PM »
Oh?  Super.  So I guess Microsoft doesn't have their tentacles too deep into Atari or Eden Games just yet.

Offline K-man

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,966
  • HOW'S IT FEEEEEL IDOL
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #105 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 04:49:35 PM »
Well that's cool.  I didn't even know there was extra stuff there.


Yeah, they're not huge areas though.  One of them just kinda ties two other areas together.  Would it be worth the 66 bucks I paid to other people?  Probably not.  However, since SoTN is probably in my personal top 5 games of all time I relish every bit of extra game I can get.  It's my original reasoning for even picking up a Saturn to begin with.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #106 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 10:16:01 PM »
NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon Saga would be mine, but yeah, I hear you.  SotN is definitely in my top 10 as well, and I'm pleased as punch to have it on my PSP now.  That's one of the holy grails to have portable for me.  It's just pure comfort.  One of those games you love that playing just instantly makes you feel better about life.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline Pugnate

  • What? You no like?
  • Global Moderator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 12,234
    • OW
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #107 on: Saturday, April 21, 2007, 10:39:43 PM »
Lumines is so awesome and so are handhelds. I was wrong.

Oblivion looks better after the new patch and seems to be playing smoother.

Offline Cobra951

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 8,934
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #108 on: Sunday, April 22, 2007, 09:37:24 AM »

Yeah, they're not huge areas though.  One of them just kinda ties two other areas together.  Would it be worth the 66 bucks I paid to other people?  Probably not.  However, since SoTN is probably in my personal top 5 games of all time I relish every bit of extra game I can get.  It's my original reasoning for even picking up a Saturn to begin with.

I found out about the extras when I played through SotN on the X360.  There's a 200.6% achievement that I just could not get.  So I looked at some full maps over at GameFAQs.  The Saturn-exclusive areas are highlighted in a different color.

Offline gpw11

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7,180
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #109 on: Sunday, April 22, 2007, 05:27:27 PM »
Shining Force 3 is the game I'd like to see ported over to a current system (with the two later scenarios translated).  I doubt it will happen though.

Anyways, just finished xenosaga episode 2.  Look forward to Ep. 3 and hope the battle system is a bit less tedious.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #110 on: Saturday, April 28, 2007, 02:07:02 PM »
Far Cry (PC).

FINALLY, got by the level that was driving me nuts that I'd try, here and there -- then give up on, due to frustration and lack of quicksaving.

FC is getting VERY enjoyable again, since I got by that hump in the road.


Offline wizall

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 257
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #111 on: Saturday, April 28, 2007, 04:03:33 PM »
Broke out GH2 on the 360 last night.  It's so dreamy.

Offline Quemaqua

  • 古い塩
  • Administrator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 16,498
  • パンダは触るな。
    • Bookruptcy
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #112 on: Saturday, April 28, 2007, 04:15:55 PM »
I want it really bad.  I mean, I play guitar, but those games are just fun.  But I can in no way even come close to affording that.

天才的な閃きと平均以下のテクニックやな。 課長有野

Offline wizall

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 257
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #113 on: Saturday, April 28, 2007, 05:15:31 PM »
Yeah, I hear ya, man.  The only reason I could afforid it is that a friend could get it for 20% off, but that's still $72.  Yikes...but the game isn't going anywhere, and who knows, the next iteration is due out in the fall with a wireless guitar, so it's probably worth holding off.

But in the meantime, I'm going to pretend I know how to play the guitar--it's a hell of a lot fun.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #114 on: Saturday, April 28, 2007, 07:00:53 PM »
Made my way to the Archives in Far Cry.

Offline Xessive

  • Gold Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9,918
    • XSV @ deviantART
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #115 on: Sunday, April 29, 2007, 04:13:50 AM »
Well, I've had very little game time lately but when I do play I stick to Shivering Isles! I'm really enjoying it!

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #116 on: Sunday, April 29, 2007, 06:38:51 AM »
Well, I've had very little game time lately but when I do play I stick to Shivering Isles! I'm really enjoying it!

Shivering is awesome. I spent about 15-20 hours into it.....

...Then, once the nasty bug was announced, it was break-time. I don't wanna lose my stored items in my homes over all of Tamriel! hehe.

Please, put out a final patch -- enuff w/ Beta Patches!

I'm ready to plung back into Shiv!

Anyways, I will keep pluggin' at Far Cry. I always loved Far Cry -- except, didn't really love the Sucky Checkpoint Save System.

Offline MysterD

  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 18,049
  • OWNet 4 Eternity & Beyond
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #117 on: Sunday, April 29, 2007, 02:42:35 PM »
I know Que will LOVE what shooter I decided to play some more of, since I never finished...
PAINKILLER!!!!!!

I'm in Chapter 2 -- I'm at The Town

Offline TheOtherBelmont

  • Post-aholic
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,340
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #118 on: Monday, April 30, 2007, 12:57:10 AM »
You're actually playing a game besides Oblivion or NWN 2?  Maybe I did see that pig fly today.

Offline Pugnate

  • What? You no like?
  • Global Moderator
  • Forum god
  • *
  • Posts: 12,234
    • OW
Re: The Currently Playing Thread
« Reply #119 on: Monday, April 30, 2007, 02:29:58 AM »
Actually I think he plays everything at once.