What games are you playing now?

Universe Sandbox. Bought it on steam for around 10 euros. (http://universesandbox.com/)

It's a universe simulator. You can do whatever you want with it. I can't tell how accurate the physics is, but it seems solid to me.

I'm not sure if it really qualifies as a game, since there isn't any goals or achievments, no resources to mine, no prioduction, no research trees. No enemies. It's about exploring and manipulating stars and planets from a distance, and then lean back to see what happens. Which to some of us (me) is satisfying in itself. I had great fun watching how the solar system got shredded by increasing the mass of Jupiter to 0.5 solar masses.

Now, back to reading the phone directory.
 
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
I forgot how much fun military squad tactical sim things are, this game's a blast. Still, it's not as… comprehensive as the Ghost Recon games, where for example you can literally control every member of your team, customize weapon load-outs, switch to 3rd person views, peek around corners, all that. It's tactical army man lite, but still fun tho. I can drink beer while I play this one

Playing it on the 360 too, so aiming w/ the stick isnt as good as the old mouse/keyboard combo. Shooters are not one of the console's strong points
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
Playing The First Templar, enjoying it immensely. Bought it as a consolation prize while I wait for The Witcher 2 to be patched up. TFT is a lot of fun for me. It can be criticized to death no doubt, but if you are just wanting an entertaining little romp then it delivers.

Pros:
Simple yet entertaining characters
Easy to learn combat
Many combat moves to unlock and execute
Not a "looting" game, but many treasure chests to find each level
Good level design
Great variety of locations
Puzzles and traps to contend with
Graphics are adequate and convey mood, downright pretty at times
Limited dialogue is witty
Supports Xbox 360 controller
Split screen co-op with a friend (doesn't have to be online)
Decent length

Cons:
A bit easy on "normal" difficulty
Too much hand-holding, with instruction boxes popping up well into the game
Some traps pointless because they are too identified for you (hand-holding)
Music adequate, but jarringly poor looping on some levels
Some animations non-existent (drawing weapon, pulling lever, etc..)
Graphics not state of the art
Controller sensitivity is wonky - difficult to control precisely

Overall I'd give it a 6/10. I play almost everything in 3D now, so that improves the graphics of any game tenfold. I'm playing on "Ultra" settings, but 3D or not, I certainly wouldn't call them bad by any means, especially for a small company. If the same graphics were used in an RPG with a epic story the game would still be called a classic. As it is, if you buy this game expecting a nice little adventure you will be pleased. It has a little Assassin's Creed and Indiana Jones flavor mixed in. Contrary to what some reviews say, you can switch between your characters, it's just that the game doesn't tell you this until you're in Chapter 5! In that chapter it is necessary to play both characters to get through some puzzles. I just finished chapter 5, and I've been playing approximately 5 hours. It seems there is quite a bit of game left judging by the amount of items still left to unlock.
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Messages
1,081
Location
Midwest, USA
Started playing Borderlands last night, and I'm having fun with it so far. At least more fun than my original attempt to play it when it was released, but I went in with vastly lower expectations this time around.

My biggest complaint so far is the characters. I just don't really like any of the protagonists you get to choose from. I ended up playing three different characters up to level 5 before choosing to stick with Lilith. I almost never choose to play as a female protagonist, so that should give you an idea of what I thought about the other choices.

I've always liked the art direction in Borderlands, even though I'm not a fan of cel-shaded graphics, and the BGM is great. The amount of loot is ridiculous though, and the NPCs are a little too over the top for me.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,017
Location
Florida, US
Back on Mount & Blade (MB). Have been playing it on and off for years now. Amazing value for money. I'm now playing with Expanded Gameplay III mod.

The modding community is amazing.

I would recommend the game to everyone !!!
 
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
9,175
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Started Bioshock 2. Very early, but appears to have the ambience that made the first one so enjoyable for me. Running on easy, which makes it much less stressful for the FPS-challenged such as me.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
13,533
Location
Illinois, USA
After beating Dragon Age: Origins and all its DLC and Awakening, then Dragon Age II I tried my hand at Mass Effect again. I tried before but never got past the Citadel. This time, I got past the Citadel. Just barely, I'm on my first planetary mission and I can't stand the gameplay. I'm incredibly bad at the game, which may be part of it…

After that, I put it aside and tried The Witcher (the first one), since 2 is a direct sequel and I figured I should play the first through… first. Bought it from GoG for 5 bux, kinda liked it at the very start but the chapter 1 slog wore me down until I quit. Many animals die from plague. Many players die from boredom. :(

Now I'm playing Baldur's Gate I (I installed BGT) and am enjoying it (a tiny bit) more than I did in the 90's. I was that guy back then who bought it and never got into it. It took me until PS:T to get into the infinity engine. Anyhow. I'm still not liking it all that much, though. Apparently I prefer dumbed down modern RPGs where people stand up at the end of combat after they get knocked down. When my main guy got killed in an encounter and the game gave me a "game over" screen, I was seriously unimpressed. I totally forgot this game did that. I mean, if Jaheira or Khalid got killed in combat, I'd drag 'em back to town and raise their asses. It's not like it's expensive. But if I get killed, they won't? Gosh, some family friends!

I played about 10 hours of Terraria in the past week too. It needs more content, desperately. But it's kinda fun.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
Messages
837
Started Deus Ex with a bunch of mods. I've been wanting to replay it forever - and since DE:HR is coming up in a few months, it seemed a good time.

Damn, it still holds up. Sure, the levels look incredibly bland by todays standards - but the gameplay is intact. I've found that there are only a few "gameplay paradigms" that really "do it" for me, and the stuff pioneered with games like DE is definitely one of them.

The freedom to approach levels and challenges as you see fit, with a decent variety of tools - is just the kind of thing for me.

After The Witcher 2, a fantastic game in its own right, I was really ready for a more free experience with a less linear structure. Great stuff :)

I considered playing Alpha Protocol as well, as all the good stuff in that game was taken directly from Deus Ex - but the thought of horrid boss fights and needlessly cryptic/awkward dialogue dissuaded me.
 
I played some demos for adventure games. Secret Files: Tunguska and Secret Files 2. I really liked Secret Files one and its a game that goes on my to buy list. I didn't like Secret Files 2 though. Another demo I played was Alpha Polaris, a new company to adventure games. It was a very short demo, but did seem interesting. Its set in a antarctic like snow setting and has references to horror movies such as "The Thing". You can check it out at http://www.turmoilgames.com/

The main game I am still playing at the moment is Eschalon Book 2. Slowly but surely playing to the conclusion. Its a good old school game, but the story could have been made more interesting, its a little generic.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2009
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Pacific NorthWest, USA!
Tunguska received a LOT of awards from the German gaming press !
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,893
Location
Old Europe
Still playing ME2. *Finally* decided on an armor color scheme I like …
 

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Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
Still playing ME2. *Finally* decided on an armor color scheme I like …

I used red speckles on purple.

characterme2.jpg


I think ME2 offers plenty of roleplaying opportunities.

me2jacob.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
6,027
Hmmmm, not sure if I like the red-on-purple. It clashes with your Shepard's hair. But perhaps I'll get used to it.

I tried yellow and black, orange, white and red, sky blue and white, black and neon green and umpteen other combinations of colors and patterns, but the Milka cow camo is the first pattern/color combo that actually matches my Shepard's eyes. Besides, it's funny. I like funny.

Jacob, eh? Well, I (as a guy) had a hard time deciding which one to, er, you know what. There were times when I felt slightly offended by some gals' advances, so finally I picked Jack because she was pretty much the only one who didn't badger me all the time.

My gal Shepard had no such problems ^^; she and Garrus were a fine match pretty much from the start.
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
3,754
I keep meaning to finish U6 :p or get farther than an hour or two into Arcanum, but both require at least several hour sittings at a time, and I just don't have that time right now.

So, I've been playing the original Wing Commander again! Even went to Best Buy and bought a joystick. Good fun and I can play in short bursts.
 
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
4,353
Location
Austin, TX
Still playing ME2. *Finally* decided on an armor color scheme I like …

:lol: You made my day ! :lol:

GREAT ! :lol:
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,893
Location
Old Europe
Still cranking along in Borderlands. I'm level 26 now and still finding it entertaining enough to play. Although it's definitely not the type of game that gives me that "just one more hour" type of enjoyment.

At this point I've invested enough time to want to finish it. I just wish there was more variety to the gameplay.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,017
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Florida, US
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