Author Topic: What Games Are We Playing  (Read 461539 times)

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Offline Eggz

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What Games Are We Playing
« on: April 03, 2008, 04:47:30 pm »
It's always interesting to see what other people in the circles you follow are playing at the time. So why not all share here and see where our interests are. And just the games you're playing for entertainment, mapping projects aside.



I myself haven't been playing too terribly much lately, exams and all looming. I finished Eternal Sonata a few weeks ago, and everything I have to say about the game is wonderful. Being on the 360, it's one of the few bright and colourful games for the system, and one of the only JRPGs for Xbox gamers. It deviates from the typical RPG style in the figting system, a mix of turn-based and action fighting, with special attacks dependant on whether your character is in the light or dark. A very enganging story and a weonderful score make it a wonderful game inside and out.



Before that chugged through Rock Band with a group of friends, mainly on vocals since I was unanimously voted the only one of the group who could hold a tune, heh. Typical rhythm game, but changes it up kind of how it incorporates karaoke too, and all band members depend on the others to get through the song. All different styles of music here, not just classic rock like Guitar Hero boasts. There's also a pretty sweet character creation option, and you can change the visual aspects of your band member as you go through the campaign, getting money at gigs to buy new clothes, haircuts, accessories, and even deck them out in tattoos. The guys always hated it when we girls would always "go shopping" after a few gigs. but it makes it also fun to just watch the game.



I've also been playing Prey on the 360 on and off for the last few months. Not too far into the game, so it's hard to give a true impression of it, but so far I like how it plays with gravity. Nowhere near how they do it in Portal, but it's fun nonetheless.

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Offline Maxim

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2008, 02:49:57 am »
Recently I've been playing Bully: Scholarship Edition on Wii. I actually find it more fun that GTA, even if it's mostly puerile nonsense.



Before that I've been lucky enough to be a beta tester for Soul Bubbles on DS, which is a really beautiful and fun game that everyone should buy. I've played it to 99.9% completion 3 times now and it's still fun.



Recently I've been back on Tetris DS's online multiplayer, realising how much I've lost my touch. I was ranking in the top hundreds but I've dropped to about 1500th now.

Offline TerraEsperZ

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2008, 08:53:54 am »
I've always lagged behind everyone else in terms of computer power, and I've never had the money to buy consoles and original games. As a result, most of the games I play are older games that I never got to play when they came out.



I've always been a big fan of graphical adventure game, a genre that has sadly mostly vanished from the world of gaming. That, and platformers, which is why I've always remained in love with the 8 and 16 bits consoles, since they have so many to choose from that I still haven't played.



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"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." [...] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard



Current projects: Sonic CD (Sega CD), Mega Man V (GB), Mega Man Zero (GBA), Battletoads (NES)
Current project that are on hold because job burnout :
-Drill Dozer (GBA)
-Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)
-Naya's Quest (PC)

Offline JonLeung

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2008, 12:25:06 pm »
While working on Zelda: Oracle of Hours these past few months, I kept away from games, and as I had finished that project past 11 PM on Mar. 31 (at least in my time zone), it's good that I didn't spend more time on playing games that I had!



I caved in to play some Super Smash Bros. Brawl and finished The Subspace Emissary (its adventure mode with an actual story of sorts).  I also unlocked a bunch of stuff for multiplayer (all characters, all stages, the extra rules, all assist trophies, and a lot of music), though it's a good thing my brother swore off video games this semester and my friends are kind of busy lately that I didn't play much multiplayer yet other than to fiddle around.  I played a few online matches, though.  I've never been the winner, except maybe once by a fluke.  There was a four-way Sudden Death one time, where I ended up being last for being smashed off first.  All modes are available, and I've played them all, but I still have lots of music, trophies, and stickers to collect.  I didn't use any of the sticker stat bonuses in The Subspace Emissary, but it's certainly a neat system that I will put to use when playing higher difficulty levels.  It would be neat if there were more Masterpieces (demos of classic games that are available on the VC)...then again, I played like ten seconds of Super Metroid when I first got the game and didn't go into the Masterpieces again other than to see them there after I unlocked them all.



I did manage to not cut back too much on my DS playing, though, since I usually play DS games well past when everyone else has gone to sleep.  So it didn't take away from any time I could've been at a computer working on my project.  That said, I recently finished Professor Layton And The Curious Village and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.  Both are recommended, especially for people like TerraEsperZ that like graphical adventure games, though Prof. Layton is really more about the puzzles (think The Island/Castle Of Dr. Brain) and Apollo Justice is of course like the other Phoenix Wright games.  I was surprised that it still managed to be epic, and eventually explains why Phoenix Wright isn't practicing law at the time of this game, seven years later.



Speaking of adventure games, I made time also to play some episodes of Sam & Max: Season Two on the PC.  I haven't played the most recent episode yet, though.  I liked the storyline in the first season better, but this current one certainly has had some fun moments.



Also on the PC, I'm playing Mega Man X 8.  I'm like halfway through, as I never got a chance to get serious on it, and I wonder if I should have tracked down Mega Man X 7 first...that's the only Mega Man X game I haven't played (if you don't count the Xtreme games).  But what's with the Mavericks?  Optic Sunflower?  o_0  Animals aren't enough now, I guess.  And while pandas are my favorite animals, I thought that Bamboo Pandemonium was kind of a weirdo with a space rocket fetish.  And Earthrock Trilobyte's stage was crappy.  Oh well, I shouldn't expect every game to be as good as Mega Man II or III...though I wish they were.  I'll finish X 8 soon.



Oh, yeah, and back to the DS...I've still got an active file on Pok?mon: Diamond Version, and I was planning to get all the Pok?mon before the one-year anniversary of playing, which I believe is April 28.  Yes, I am catching them again, even if they are available in past games.  Other than two of the three promotional ones, the remaining Pok?mon to catch are ones that appear with a 2% rate with Pok? Radar (Nidoran male, Miltank, and Trapinch).  I'm through with the ones that need skill in this game...I hate that I have to depend on luck.  Maybe I should just transfer those ones from Ruby/FireRed and move on to something else, as depending on luck is almost not worth the trouble.

Offline Eggz

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2008, 08:11:58 pm »
I must admit, I haven't played a Pokemon game since I got 100% completion on Pokemon Silver way back in the day. Not to say I dislike the series anymore, it sticks with the tried and true method that made it a hit in the first place, just adding new aspects to make it more interesting for returning players, but I was always a system behind the latest release, and when I finally did get around to getting myself a DS, I just kind of lost interest in it as a whole.



And really, there are just too many monsters now I find. And the creature design just keeps getting more aggressive.  I miss the days when they were actually cute and you could memorize all the names.

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Offline Revned

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2008, 10:15:07 pm »
I personally think the series is very lacking in depth and originality. I played the original way back in elementary school, but I was dismayed to find that hardly anything has changed in the last decade. They made the graphics better, added a few gimmicks, and added 300 new Pokemon, but not much more.



I've been playing a little Donkey Kong GB now and then, but most of my time has been occupied by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I made a new save file and installed a host of new mods, so I've had a lot to do. It and Morrowind are by far my favorite RPG games. Oh, and I'm still playing Smash Bros Brawl with my roommates pretty frequently.

Offline JonLeung

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2008, 10:36:20 pm »
Revned Said:
I personally think the series is very lacking in depth and originality. I played the original way back in elementary school, but I was dismayed to find that hardly anything has changed in the last decade. They made the graphics better, added a few gimmicks, and added 300 new Pokemon, but not much more.


The discrepancy in our age is evident when I started university the year Pok?mon came out in North America, and you say you played it in elementary.  o_0

Offline Rew

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2008, 10:39:50 pm »
Yeah, I mixed thoughts on MMX8. The stage design was absolutely deplorable, but everything else was pure gold--'tis unfortunate that level design is so fundamental. =P



I do highly recommend X7. It's not as good as many others in the X series, but if you made it through X6, you should have little problem with X7. The camera's a bit of a problem in some places (here's looking at you Wind Crowrang's stage), but not as bad as most make it out to be. The Sigma battles at the end of the game (c'mon, that's not really a spoiler, is it? ;) are among the best in the whole series IMO.



As for me, I have Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest coming up as soon as I finish a couple other things I have going on.



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Offline Eggz

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2008, 01:05:56 am »
JonLeung Said:
Revned Said:
I personally think the series is very lacking in depth and originality. I played the original way back in elementary school, but I was dismayed to find that hardly anything has changed in the last decade. They made the graphics better, added a few gimmicks, and added 300 new Pokemon, but not much more.


The discrepancy in our age is evident when I started university the year Pok?mon came out in North America, and you say you played it in elementary.  o_0

The discrepancy in our age is evident when I started university the year Pokémon came out in North America, and you say you played it in elementary. o_0

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Offline RT 55J

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2008, 01:21:01 pm »
I just started 2nd grade when Pokemon was released, but I honestly have never played a Pokemon game.



Anyways, I've been playing Brawl quite a bit, and it has been fun. The characters feel real balanced, and I can manage to beat my younger brother most of the time using Random. The only character I dislike is King Dedede. I also like how the single player mode is much more robust. SSE was quite enjoyable.



I've also been playing FF6A. I've never completed the original, but I find the game to be quite enjoyable for an RPG.

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Offline JonLeung

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2008, 02:42:35 pm »
I still consider Pok?mon a "new" Nintendo franchise because I was 18 when it first came out.  I turn 28 on Monday - it seems like the last ten years of my life have gone by too quickly, so anything in that time frame seems so recent.  After high school, life becomes a blur.



Super Smash Bros. Brawl's The Subspace Emissary is actually tedious in places...but in the past couple days I rushed through another file and got to 40% in a bit over two hours of game time.  The point of doing that was to unlock all the remaining videos by making different choices.  I actually didn't mind that too much, many of the cut scenes are awesome.



Thanks for reminding me about Final Fantasy VI Advance.  I don't usually put games on hold, but I had done that with that one.  I'm right before the end, but I stopped because I wanted to get all of Gau's Rages.  Of course, when I tried to get them all during the World of Balance, I wasted five hours just because the stupid Litwor Chickens wouldn't show up.  (I think it was the Litwor Chickens, even though they would still show up in the World of Ruin, but I wanted everything I could before the world changed...>_<)  My game has been on hold right before Kefka's Tower because I didn't want to go through another multiple-hour ordeal of wandering on the World Of Ruin's Veldt.  Like Pok?mon, it gets ridiculous to depend on pure luck.  Maybe I'll find a GameShark/Action Replay code for all of Gau's Rages so I can continue on.  I guess I need to finish the game to get to the second extra dungeon that wasn't in the original.



I did, however, have the patience to teach every character every spell.  Magic-wise, they're all the same now, so thankfully the characters have other unique skills in this game to make it interesting.



RT 55J Said:
I've also been playing FF6A. I've never completed the original, but I find the game to be quite enjoyable for an RPG.


I find this statement amusing since many people believe Final Fantasy VI to be the best RPG ever (at least if they don't say the overrated VII).  If you don't find FF VI enjoyable, it almost sounds like you wouldn't like any RPG...



Ultima and Final Fantasy are interesting cases...besides being groundbreaking RPG series, seems like both of their peaks were with VI and VII.  Most games don't even make it that far.  Also in both cases, there is some divisiveness on its VIIIth installment...

Offline JonLeung

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2008, 10:22:37 pm »
Well, I finally finished FF VI Advance a few minutes ago...but I still have to replay the new Dragon's Den to face the Omega Weapon and I have to play the other new dungeon, the Soul Shrine, which is like 128 battles (including bosses) in a row, or something.  o_0

Offline Rew

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2008, 10:25:42 pm »
I just started OoT: Master Quest today and made it all the way up to Jabu-Jabu's Belly. I have to say, as my first time through the MQ version, some of those dungeon rooms get pretty danged tough! We'll see how things continue tomorrow.



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"So this is what it's like..."

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From the Super Smash Bros. Brawl board on GameFAQs:
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The only Fox News we're interested in is breakthroughs in his metagame.

Offline JonLeung

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2008, 10:31:34 pm »
I thought the Master Quest version of the Water Temple was easier than the original Ocarina Of Time's version...or is it just me?

Offline Eggz

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RE: What Games Are We Playing
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2008, 10:36:56 pm »
My first time through that game, the Water Temple made me almost want to cry. I made the one mistake where I used the only key I had on the wrong door. There was no way to get another key, and I didn't realize my folly before I saved. I had to restart the game from the beginning entirely.



Admittedly, I found the final boss Morpha was surprisingly easy. It's almost as if they were apologizing to the player.

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