What game are you currently playing?

[Mr Loopone]

For the past couple of days, played Singularity and sadly not enjoying the game very much towards the point of just stopped playing.

What I did like was the beginning of the game where it was the world building the game so yeah I did like the story with Russians finding a new element that can do allsorts of things on an island but something went wrong plus graphically and technically were quite good even though I did encounter a nasty glitch that I'll mention later. I liked the mechanic where you can alter states and cause people to disintergrate.

So what made me put down the game? Firstly are the weapons themselves, they aren't very satisfying to use and felt weak using them. Oh and the balance is way off, an enemy can kill you in 3 hits 4 if you're lucky while it takes more than that on especially on the revert enemies (the guards however had less of an issue) to kill them even if you're upgraded. I got killed fairly often, a couple of times got killed by the enemy because I was on the ladder animation without any way of attacking or moving. The mechanic where you alter states is the same puzzle whether it is repairing ladders or moving crates making the whole time thing not much to the advantage especially later on where it just becomes crush crate, move crate, repair crate. As for the disintergrate move, it takes too long to charge up and that revert move is pointless as it makes them tougher to defeat than just letting them stay as a guard. There's the health pack system, already outdated in a 2010 game and you have to use them like candy because of easy to get damage. At least a decent amount are given at some parts though. Then there's that tick level, that was badly designed where you took damage no matter what and just made it with 1 unit of health left after 5 health packs at full health. It really needed some extra polish in the level design that's for sure.

Remember me liking the story? Well that element seemed to have dropped when Dr. Barisov arrives at the tower and the story, world building and even E99 get dropped off. All them interactions with random objects and watching films? Well they're gone and the tape recordings just become press Left Bumper/L1 and play. Also a minor yet big issue is no subtitles so some of the dialogue I couldn't hear or hear properly which is bad for a modern game.

It just doesn't decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be an atmospheric first person adventure, a horror game with purposely bad mechanics, a puzzle based first person game or a standard first person shooter? All 4 have happened in the game and sort of like it when it was the first (the beginning) and the last (when shooting just the guards when going up the flights of stairs) even though it isn't a very good one.

[Salamander]

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict - a.k.a. the (widely considered to be inferior) European localisation of the game better-known as Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin.  With the 3DS slowly but surely on its way out, I figured I should pick up some of the last remaining DS hits that I hadn't played, and since I'd wondered for a long time if I would like the Advance Wars franchise (well, I enjoyed the Battalion games made in Flash, which were blatant Advance Wars knock-offs), I decided to pick this up.  I chose this game rather than the other DS title, Dual Strike, as I heard that this one was more accessible to newcomers; actually, I specifically ordered Days Of Ruin, but got sent Dark Conflict anyway, and as a European I suppose that's fair enough...

Like all strategy games, I found it extremely stressful to actually play but satisfying to win, and I enjoyed the way the story dictated the map design with asymmetric challenges, though I did occasionally feel as though I won because of AI stupidity rather than through pure skill.  I wasn't so bothered about the generally more symmetrical challenge maps, which seemed more like hard work; I prefer to play maps where both sides start in completely different circumstances - though I still gave most of the optional maps an honest try, at least where I thought I could sneak in a quick capture (and sometimes it worked!).  The plot had plenty of twists and turns accompanied by colourful characters, which kept me invested.  The graphics did the job, but were often a bit samey, with one level tending to look like the next, and some mechanics (like weather) seeming underutilised; I'm not interested in multiplayer challenges, so it would have been preferable if the story had showcased things a little more.  Overall, I enjoyed the game, enough that I might actually try and get Dual Strike - and from now on I'll definitely be crossing my fingers for a new mainline entry in the series; I certainly have some ideas for where I'd want the series to go from here.

Metroid: Samus Returns - I'll talk about this more in the MSR thread, but despite going into it with caution then I enjoyed the game tremendously; it was exactly what I wanted from a Metroid game and just the right length.  Can't recommend it enough.

Mighty Gunvolt Burst - what can I say, I actually enjoy this game - enough that I actually caved and brought the recent Call and Joule DLC characters to see the game from yet another gameplay perspective.  To balance out the fact that I know the non-character-specifics inside-out by now, I also decided to play on Hard Mode, which I hadn't touched before; enemies are definitely more aggressive this way, and it was pretty troublesome to start with, but the game becomes easy enough the moment you install Damage Reduction x0.25, so.  An additional feature of Hard Mode is that it gives you a whopping points bonus just for completing each level, the result being that Hard Mode hands out S-ranks like candy and I now have my first two 100% files as a result.

Call isn't too thrilling a character; basically a less flexible Beck, but she can pick up assistant robots called Patches during the level, which have varying kinds of shot but... two out of three kinds won't have kills which count towards Bursts, so they'll ruin your combo unless you only pick up the yellow Patches.  Joule, on the other hand, is just weird; she has a number of Bullet Types themed as songs, but each has incredibly limited customisation, locking off most options even once you acquire them - but her special ability is way overpowered; firing on enemies builds up a gauge which at 100% lets you trigger a mode which ignores CP limitations, so you craft a high-customisation-value weapon for those occasions and switch into it to kill bosses in seconds.  It's quite satisfying.    If they make another Mighty Gunvolt, they may want to rethink the Burst mechanic; it pretty much no-sells a lot of customisation options, because if you want Bursts you have to get close to enemies, so there's no point to stuff like Homing and Crawler.  Burst actually works against the game's nature as a shooty platformer, and that contradiction undermines the title's complexity.

Next up: It's back to hundred-hour RPGs with Etrian Odyssey V - a game which I'm so concerned about my potential playtime of that I actually went against my usual principles and bought the digital version, the physical version not being out in Europe for another fortnight (bizarrely).  I made a start through the demo - data carries forward from that and it's basically just the start of the game, which is a brilliant way of handling these titles - so I already have my party assembled; I hope they'll last.  I'm going to be in this one for the long haul...

[Gabz Girl]

Phew, haven’t posted here in a while. Since my return to SSMB, I have got both a Nintendo Switch and a PS4. I adore both consoles for different reasons; one for its portability and high quality Nintendo/indie games and the other for great graphics and an excellent variety in both first and third party console games. I’ll list most of the games that I’ve played this year but beware, there’s a LOT to get through. So, in no particular order...

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Finished this a few days ago. Bloody amazing, hands down one of the best Zelda games I’ve ever played. Despite minor complaints with parts of the story and weapon duration, I still had a great time with it. Can’t wait for the DLC!

Horizon: Zero Dawn: Another great  open world game by Guerrila Games. It’s crazy to think this is made by the same developer who did Killzone. I loved the story and the lore and the gameplay was fun. I can’t wait for this DLC as well. 

Ratchet & Clank: The movie sucks but the game is a lot of fun! Despite the flanderised characters and thin plot I still enjoyed the gameplay and the graphics were amazing. A solid 8/10 game.

Order 1886: I tried to like it, I really did. Nope, it’s exactly as I feared; a frustratingly boring cinematic third person shooter with jaw dropping visuals. Damn it, even the story sucked! Shame there probably won’t ever be a sequel but eh, that’s what you get for selling a mediocre $60 AAA title that you can beat in less than 8 hours with no replay value. 

Theres still a lot more, but I’ll stop here for now. Now for what I’m actually currently playing, it’s Firewatch. So far I’m enjoying it, mostly because the story and setting is so intriguing. Graphics are nice...yeah, that’s all I can say really. 

[blueblur98]

right now i'm replaying the original sly cooper trilogy, as my attached trophy card should suggest. currently at the tail end of sly 2. nothing against thieves in time btw, i just don't have it at the moment.

i also finished super mario 64 recently, and i probably need to finish SMRPG sometime in the next 80 years.

[Nicky Nicardo]

I'm really only playing Dragon Age Inquisition for Xbox One and The Sims 3 for Xbox 360 right now, while I wait for Sonic Forces to come out~

[Mr Loopone]

For the games that I've been currently playing:

Firstly it was Spider-Man 3. It was a shame, just a shame as there were a few things that I really liked but the rest is a big nope. I really liked the web swinging, it felt smooth and responsive. Best bit of the game easily as I felt like Spider-Man. Controlling felt fun and shows the strongest part of the game. Graphics weren't too bad for an open world game and it was pretty big plus it was really quick to load.

Now the downside, the game felt unfinished and really needed some extra time or a patch to fix the problems but none was made. The difficulty on a few parts was unfairly balanced with enemies taking you down in 3 or 4 hits while it takes for some 20 hits just to kill them especially if they have a weapon or a super soldier, bearing in mind that I couldn't get later into the game, read to find out more. The gang fight on the pier was really annoying and you could tell that Treyarch wasn't sure to put regenerative health or icons into the game that are rare, it really needed the former. The QTE segments have a tight narrow window that doesn't help that most TVs after 2007 had input lag so it wasn't tested and the part where you have to open a bank vault is pretty tough with the button bashing. Again the window was just too tight requiring luck rather than skill and Spidey often cancelled the action that was really annoying.

Constant bugs and glitches. While it is an open world game and normally am a bit more tolerable regarding this, it really did impact my enjoyment. On the Crime Fighting segments, enemies got stuck behind buildings so you couldn't attack them. It got towards the point where the game just stopped giving missions at all because of a bug so no more progress can be made. The disc looked fine with no scratches either and installed okay.

I got so fed up that I traded the game so I ended up getting more than what I paid for it and also caused me to put away my 360 for a while due to that it needed a clean and that have been struggling getting far on any 360 game that I have been play. Is quality control just lower on that console or something? Plus that I want to play on my Wii U again, speaking of which...

Next its The Simpsons Game (Wii version, as I also have the PS3 and the PSP versions of the game) and nearly fully completed the game with just a few cliches and tokens to find. The story while feeling Simpsons also feels gamey and the animation is better quality than most episodes being more closer to the movie, even on the Wii it looked nice with no macroblocking. Some parts of the game are still relevant today despite being 10 years old. The bashing of EA is there. People giving bribes to game companies is still there and will be for a good while. Madden references. The scene where games get destroyed and not caring about old games fits with the motto of EA perfectly. I'm actually surprised that they got away with it but I guess people weren't as anti-EA as they are later on? Not everything is relevant though since it had Jack Thompson jokes that was even getting old when it came out.

Spoiler

The part where Lisa says by the time that the "Xbox 720" and the PlayStation 4 comes out, this game is forgotten and irrelevant is dead on. So true, some people who have a PS4 or a Xbox One are young enough to not even know what this game is, plus being an EA licensed game there is no chance of a remaster.

Also I think EA knew that Spore was going to be a flop and wanted to get rid of Will Wright judging by its parody poster (Snore) and making Will Wright an enemy.

As for the levels. I'm really glad that much of the game is Homer and Bart, both are good to play. Lisa was okay and has a bit of different gameplay with the RTS parts. Marge didn't really fit into the game mold though and luckly she only has 3 levels. Most did fit with the characters with Homer having ones that are set with eating to Lisa being more environment focused or Marge leading mobs around town. For the Medal of Homer level, I'm surprised that it wasn't a first person level considering well the parody of the series and would have worked well regardless of console. One thing to notice though is that Grand Theft Scratchy doesn't feel like a GTA reference at all baring its box art. Actually it feels more like The Warriors, another Rockstar game both in its tone and parody.

As someone who knows my games, really did like the game references both mainstream and some less so. The posters parody various series from EA's own (Fight Night, Madden, Need for Speed) to ones where they were pretty close to its actual box art (Project Gotham Shelbyville Racing). Mario and Sonic were there and so was a corrupted Donkey Kong as well as a Koopa Troopa. Ryu and Ken, yep. Homer and Marge dressed up like Link and Zelda. Pokemon, Final Fantasy, God of War (that also got referenced in a Simpsons episode, where they go to E3) and maybe not directly but even Actraiser and Skies of Arcadia got referenced. Even a part of the game was like Gauntlet and I played as Homer during that part to making it even more like the game. They did seem to like Konami judging by a couple of references and gameplay parts. Not a gaming reference but I smiled when a certain character who has also appeared in The Simpsons a few times appeared.

Well I liked it but there were a couple of issues though. Firstly is that occasionally there were some graphical glitches especially on the last level where sometimes you got a texture to display in front of you then it cleared up. The camera could be a little bit better, not terrible like some games that I've played. Controls are okay but again could be better especially regarding jumps and the mini games but then again the developer normally does 3rd person shooters anyway. Both are still better than that Futurama game, that's for sure. Whether the PS3 version have these issues, I have to find out since EA did those directly (and the cutscenes reference the 360 version). Not spoiling the last part of the game but sometimes it annoying doesn't always recognise the button press making it harder than it should. Lastly the ending was rushed and references some obscure American drama, the end.

Right now I'm playing Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, the forgotten mid-part of the Cybertron games. It's a light gun cover shooter (ala Time Crisis) mixed with linear racing and Star Fox style flying segments. Rather like the Ghost Recon game done by the same developers, it controls fine and no complaints about that. In fact I think that it had a slightly better camera than that game. Weirdly enough it has better graphics than War for Cybertron despite being on a less powerful console.

[Heckboy]

Recently got a Switch and Mario Odyssey. Collected ~300 Moons so far, and I've beaten the main story. It's a fantastic game, easily my favorite Mayro since the Galaxy duology.

[blueblur98]

update, now i'm done with sly 2 (which i got 100% in), and i'm on to sly 3.

personally thought 3 was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than 2 first time around, and so far i still stand by that.

i also started playing rag doll kung fu: fists of plastic. definitely what i'd call a hidden gem, it's actually pretty good and the multiplayer had me laughing because of how ridiculous everything is, especially the dodgeball mode and custom characters. it's a hoot.

and i'm working on a cool, 4-level adventure in littlebigplanet 3.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Switching between Mario Odyssey and Forces. Odyssey is way better of course, but I'm having a blast trying to 100% both games.

Of course, with Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon less than a week away, that'll be a THIRD game thrown into the mix. And there are still several games on my radar I plan to pick up after those three are done. I love this time of year.

[Menace2Society]

Playing Super Mario Odyssey right now. Already beaten the main game, but I’m still have a lot of post-game stuff to do. I really like Odyssey a lot. It’s probably my new favorite Mario game now. Makes me super happy to get a Switch.

Also trying out an obscure SFC game called Holy Umbrella: Dondera no Mubou!! (I dare you to try and translate that last part), which looks like a neat platformer/RPG. When I first heard about this game on DYKG’s video on, I knew I had to try it out. Thank goodness there’s a English fan patch.

[Cobalt_Bolt]

Since I've been away for a while I'll give a brief update on what games I am working on or have completed in my library.

Forza Horizon 3: I've completed a great chunk of main events in that game and built up a 200+ car garage which made me quite pleased. Kinda reminded me of the older Need For Speed titles before they went through their "Dork-Age". I can say that this game is completed.

 

NeiR Automata: Completed the first major ending of the game in addition to some joke endings. Reminded me of the Megaman Zero series in some areas and the soundtrack was sublime that I ended up getting a digital download version of it.

 

Metroid: Samus Returns: After hearing of the mediocrity of Federation Force and the DMCA-ing of AM2R I was quite worried that the Metroid series would be put out to pasture. Thankfully the people at Mercury Steam knew what they were doing and combined with a good soundtrack I am enjoying the game so far.

 

Project CARS 2: With Slightly Mad Studios having obtained some manufacturer licenses that were notoriously difficult to obtain, improved A.I., Dynamic Weather that includes Snow, new tracks, Loot-Crate free gameplay (Looking at you EA and Turn 10) and a slew of other improvements underneath I'd say this game has my attention.

 

 

[Eternal EX]

Sonic Forces and Warframe. Something about Warframe constantly brought me back. Not sure what it was. I tried it years ago, could not get into it. Then tried again each year and still could not get deep in the game. Finally dove in early this year and I can't put it down. A F2P game with AAA quality? Count me in. And it releases free updates year long? Oh who could pass it up. The PVP is dead, but the PvE is great. Grindy sure but still a blast. I was going to go get Assassin's Creed instead of Forces (and I'm still debating on trading it in) but I needed a Sonic game. And this still does not quench my urge for a good one. Forces is literally everything I hated about Colors but with great music and HD quality visuals.

[Salamander]

Creeping Terror is a game I was conflicted about buying, partly as I wasn't really clear on what the game was actually going to be like.  Fortunately, I made the right choice, and ended up really enjoying it.  Now, I've never played a Clock Tower game, but I've seen enough to say that this seems like a pretty straightforward homage to that kind of gameplay.  You explore a sprawling, spooky 2D environment, monsters occasionally show up which you must run and hide from but which have ways of stalling them, there are lock-and-key puzzles, loads of files, supplies which you have to keep stocked-up on, and a branching plot with multiple endings.  Does it bring anything new to the table?  I doubt it.  But it does bring the formula to the 3DS, and I had a good enough couple of hours (three and a half on my first file, cutting nearer to two for my last) that I ended up going for all four endings - which are logically distinct and each explain a little bit more about the story.  Speaking of the story, while again it's nothing to write home about and seems to be pretty much a Resident Evil pastiche, the modern setting and international cast honestly felt more refreshing than I could have expected.  So far as difficulty is concerned, I found it moderately difficult on my first run-through and quite challenging in the final gauntlet, but once you've learnt it, it's much easier on repeated playthroughs - and the game has extremely generous saving.  I hope Creeping Terror is doing well for the developers, as I find myself unexpectedly wanting more; I would happily play a Creeping Terror 2.

After that interlude, it's back to my ongoing campaign on Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth, a game which I am enjoying but have somewhat mixed feelings about.  A lot of that comes from the fact that it is, essentially, a generic Etrian Odyssey.  Now, there's nothing wrong with that; the Strata so far are interesting, the third in particular I found refreshing for that stage of the game, there are interesting FOEs and mechanics and puzzles, the classes are highly distinct and it was tough to choose between them.  It's doing what it does well.  But I couldn't honestly say it's really bringing anything new to the table.  You can change your character portrait's hair, eye, and skin colour and pick from a range of voices, that's nice fluff; instead of subclassing, there are class specialisations which deepen rather than broaden your abilities, and I think that's a strong idea.  But it's pure refinement, nothing more.  They've even cut significant elements which I liked, like the overworld-map exploration from Etrian Odyssey IV, replacing them with nothing, so it's just a straight shot through the tree - so far, anyway; I've just beaten the 3rd Stratum boss, and while the game may very well surprise me then I don't expect any significant new mechanics.  I would have liked to see more from this title, and while I'll enjoy my time with it, I really hope Atlus will challenge themselves when thinking about where to take the series from here, with only Persona Q2 on the horizon before they relinquish the 3DS and have to approach a single-screen system.

[Thrippa]

Layton's Detective Agency on the 3DS, but I need to choose a game to finish to alternate with it.  (Just 100%ed Hey Pikmin.)  I've got Ultra Sun and Moon, but not starting them yet.  Will do the standard play one far enough to transfer the starter out and rest to get three new starters.

PS4, just simultaneously earned trophies for reaching the Center of the Galaxy in Permadeath (which I was playing) and Survival (apparently Permadeath is Survival with just one modification, so it counted for both).  I shall now take a break before I return to normal mode to finish the platinum; I have all the DLC trophies but still lack two golds from the base set.  I may play the Last Guardian first, or not.

Switch is overloaded.  I'm done with the story of Odyssey, but still have plenty of moons to collect.  I've also got Skyrim, Stardew Valley, and Sonic Forces and Mania, etc.  I just snagged a pair of Splatoon joycons for only $10 over the price of a US-available set; a lot better than the prices that were up earlier for European imports.  So I now have four different colored sections and a replacement for my release-day blue con, which doesn't always work properly.  (Not bad enough to return the unit, but sometimes if my leg or a dog gets between the control and the console, it won't read.  But sometimes it will.  So I'll be interested to see if the green one works more reliably.)  And I'll be picking up the DLC for Snipperclips, now that I have enough cons for a 4-player match with my brother and nieces.

[Meriem]

actually i became addicted to a red sonic game on my phone because of my little kid ^^

[Blusolyn]

Currently I've been playing Sonic Runners Adventure and Sonic Forces. I'm in the desert area in SRA. In SF story is completed and I've made more avatars to replay the stages. Both games are pretty good. :3

[Failinhearts]

The next game on my path to Platting is...

HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA: PRODUCING PERFECTION

Yes. One of my favorite RPG franchises... made a pop idol simulation game, and yes, they acknowledge how shameless they are for doing so.

It's.. an easy game, that's for sure. It all borders around what you decide to do on each day in order to raise specific stats for concerts and see cutscenes. That's basically the bulk of this game. Cutscenes. Just watching characters interact. It isn't like a visual novel either because the times where you actually have input on the scene themselves is very infrequent. It's mostly just seeing the CPUs... well, hang out.

...And considering one of the Neptunia series' strengths is the writing, that's not exactly a bad thing. It's a very leisurely experience, a little tedious regarding the multiple playthroughs... but it's alright.

[Lamperouge]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

 

[Irish David]

I got a Switch for Christmas so alternating between Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart and Sonic Mania. Just finished the main story of Odyssey and it is a fantastic game, really enjoyable and worth getting a Switch for. Mario Kart is great fun as is Mania even though I have it on the PS4. Being able to take all the games anywhere is just brilliant.

[PC the Hedgehog]

I have a huge group of games I want to play and not enough money to play 'em, so I've gone back to my millionth replay of the original Paper Mario. I can't get enough of that game.

[Cobalt_Bolt]

Still sinking some time into NeiR Automata and Project CARS 2 on the PC front. For the Switch I am working on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Breath of The Wild. Pretty hefty time sinks that I am working on for both fronts.

[Mr Loopone]

For the first time in a few months and the first proper game that I've played since November thanks to ill-health and setbacks, I've managed to play Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

The first game surprised me last year so I thought that I give its sequel a shot. While I don't think it is as good as the previous game, mainly because it is more linear and that you can't choose which side you want to do as well as a couple of smaller design differences (e.g. less transforming, more 3rd person shooting and stealth). It is still a pretty good game. It still has that smooth gameplay that I praised the original for. One thing that I've really glad that they improved were the graphics, War for Cybertron did look pretty bad and can get almost barf level sometimes, while this isn't super amazing it is a massive improvement.

[blueblur98]

recently, i've been playing playstation all-stars battle royale, another game i find to be very underrated. don't get me wrong, it's no SSB4, but it's certainly a ton of fun to play and a good alternative if you have a PS3 but don't have a nintendo console.

i've also been replaying littlebigplanet lately, which is an utterly fantastic game and any PS3 owner that hasn't checked it out is missing out on a spectacular series. heck, the second game in the series is by far the best video game i have ever played. ever.

[Salamander]

Mighty Gunvolt Burst - Ray, Copen, and Kurona DLC.  I don't even know who Kurona is, so I guess I must honestly quite like this game.  Well, more seriously, this is a game which is just simple but flexible enough to be a lot of fun to replay with characters with different ability sets - and in fact Ray and Copen, I think uniquely, have remixed enemy placement and even the odd bit of tweaked level design.  To review them each equally: Ray is probably my favourite character to be added to the game, and the most interesting.  Ray can use a normal shot and a more limited but cooler claw attack, has skills in the form of a melee combo and a massive charged laser, has an offensive air dash which automatically makes her the game's most useful character... and constantly draining health, regenerated by attacking enemies, which makes the game highly challenging during sequences without many enemies, or long periods of boss invulnerability.  But it also means she can go to town on bosses at point blank range, recovering more health than she loses.  Copen has three different bullet types, one of which is a highly limited gimmick while the others are more flexible; he can air dash diagonally, and has a support robot with powerful and elemental offensive capabilities.  Kurona, meanwhile, is similar yet different to Ekoro; same powerful hover move, and can charge up a power-up which lets her do more damage and shoot through shields - but her shots are weaker in general, and she also has a pogo attack (like Scrooge McDuck and Shovel Knight) which I could never remember existed and ended up turning off.  Oh, and all three have the usual minimalist stories of the DLC characters, with a start and an ending; Kurona's is hilarious, Copen's is weirdly metafictional, and Ray's unexpectedly tragic.

And with that diversion (along with all my Mighty Gunvolt Burst save slots) completed, it's back onto Pokemon Ultra Moon, which I've taken a hiatus from after reaching a route I remember being pretty boring in the original.  The new stuff isn't really worth it yet, but I'm enjoying, at least, using a different team this time around.

[Harkofthewaa]

Recently got back into DB Xenoverse 2 for a while for the Hero Colosseum.