What games are you playing now?

After my run through all the God of War games on PS3 (simple button mashing fun) I've started playing Demon's Souls for a complete contrast in fighting games. Thinking about taking a Thief as my starting class, I like the idea of speed and agility to roll around some of these lumbering enemies, although I suspect I will miss having a big metal shield. I've heard Demon's Souls is a little easier than Dark Souls so it might help me prepare for Dark Souls PC.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Have you previously finished Stalker unmodded? I was about to reinstall Stalker myself, and I was thinking installing the Complete mod as well. I've never played very far into Stalker though, and I was debating if I should play it with just a bugfix patch first.

I finished Stalker few times unmoded.Complete edition mod pack have my full recommendation.It fixes all bugs puts new textures and weapons sounds,AI of enemies and friends is better,also lot of minor things like added sleeping bag.Basically same game just far more polished.

Originally Posted by coaster
I've heard Demon's Souls is a little easier than Dark Souls so it might help me prepare for Dark Souls PC.

If that's the case, I probably won't bother with Dark Souls. I like a good challenge, but Demon's Souls was a little over the top for me.

Originally Posted by Nameless one
I finished Stalker few times unmoded.Complete edition mod pack have my full recommendation.It fixes all bugs puts new textures and weapons sounds,AI of enemies and friends is better,also lot of minor things like added sleeping bag.Basically same game just far more polished.

Thanks for the feedback. JonNik also said basically the same thing about it. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything by never finishing the game unmodded. I've seen a few people on the Stalker boards who claim they thought it changed too many things from the vanilla game. I'll probably install it later today.

Demon Souls or Demon Stone? Easy to get those two mixed up.

Now you're starting to sound like Alrik.

Uh oh, time for a senescent treatment.

Working through my backlog of RPGs I have arrived at Deus Ex Human Revolution. I originally meant to replay Deus Ex and Invisible War but after getting a few levels of Deus Ex done I ran out of steam and realized that nostalgia does play quite a role with these classic games. Back in the day Deus Ex was all about getting immersed into the great setting but the immersion factor just isn't there anymore with the very -by today's standards- "naked", barebone level design. If you have gotten used to a certain level of realism in games and a certain object density then Deus Ex just doesn't cut it no more.
Also, with a backlog like mine I'd rather focus on finishing games I haven't played than replaying games I have finished before which in case of Deus Ex I actually haven't because when presented with the three ending choices I simply quit because I didn't like any of the possible endings but anyway…

… here we are playing DXHR and liking it pretty well so far. I originally bought the special edition that came with some extra goodies and I also got The Missing Link DLC installed.
The extra goodies (some silenced sniper rifle and explosives) will probably not do me any good since I have decided on a non-lethal, stealthy approach. We'll see if I will be able to pull it off throughout the entire game. I managed a non-lethal playthrough with Alpha Protocol and I'm hoping to repeat the experience here but I'm not hell-bent on it. If it gets too annoying, too time consuming or too difficult at some point then the lead is gonna start a-flying .

After finishing the first mission and now exploring the town my only real gripe so far is the voice (actor) they chose for the main protagonist. Sounds really annoying to me. I don't know if they intentionally distorted the voice to emphasize the augmentation characteristics but to me the guy sounds like a 50 year old bodybuilder who has been on 'roids for 30 years. So I'm trying my best to ignore the spoken text and just read the dialogues.
It's not just the main protagonist though. There's also some other pretty average voices and some atrociously bad (digital) acting performed by some of the game's characters.
Sheesh. I'm coming from The Witcher 2 as my last finished game and this is a drop in quality like spending one night at the Ritz Carlton and the next one at a motel 66.

The gameplay is fun though. My self-imposed non-lethal stealth approach is reasonably challenging. I naturally don't have any augs to make things easier yet but I'm looking forward to acquiring some cloaking and silent elimination skills/augs.
What I'm slightly concerned about is how long it will take me to finish the game with this approach. If every level works like the first level where you reach the end and then if you wish to get the most out of the game you need to backtrack through the entire level once it is cleared of enemies to pick up the loot you could not pick up earlier because of evasion tactics then I think that I'm looking at some pretty crazy mileage here.
A minor annoyance with regard to the gameplay is the interface which suffers from some consolitis as in most crossplatform titles these days. It is once again very obvious that controller friendliness was the no. 1 concern here.

Other than that I'm really looking forward to exploring the levels, the town hub(s) and the story of this promising title. As far as the story goes, I wouldn't be too surprised if Dr. Megan Reed is not as dead as she pretends to be . There's gotta be a reason why they didn't explicitly show her death in the cinematic. They could have boosted the player's emotional investment x-fold by showing Dr. Reed's demise in cruel detail from all kinds of angles but they didn't so… why? Are we some kind of prototype that is remotely controlled and supervised by Dr. Reed? Is she in on some kind of conspiracy, forced or voluntarily? Are we a living experiment?
Don't tell - no spoilers, please, but those are the thoughts currently crossing my mind in these early stages of the game .

And back to 2027 we go…

I hope you enjoy the looting of cubicles. There's LOTS of them,

I played how you are suggesting and only with the bossfights did I go lethal (or maybe one other time). It's very fun. And yes bactracking through levels to loot is tiresome. Do it as you go as much as possible. Non-lethal takedowns remove the tedium.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Now you're starting to sound like Alrik.

Originally Posted by Moriendor
after getting a few levels of Deus Ex done I ran out of steam and realized that nostalgia does play quite a role with these classic games. Back in the day Deus Ex was all about getting immersed into the great setting but the immersion factor just isn't there anymore with the very -by today's standards- "naked", barebone level design. If you have gotten used to a certain level of realism in games and a certain object density then Deus Ex just doesn't cut it no more.

I wouldn't get my expectations too high about DX:HR then if I were you. Most of the levels are more linear than the original Deus Ex, and there isn't as much variety. I started out really loving the game, but by the time I was about 1/2 through I started to see through the illusion of the world and how large it actually was.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good game. I just don't think it's anywhere near the masterpiece that the original game was for its time.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Don't get me wrong, it's a good game. I just don't think it's anywhere near the masterpiece that the original game was for its time.

Well, yes, I think I do have realistic expectations here. I'm not expecting a masterpiece. Just some solid entertainment and a nice change of setting (SciFi RPG instead of fantasy) and pace (stealth/non-lethal rather than hacking and slashing everything to shreds).
The last games I finished were Risen 2 and The Witcher 2 so DXHR suits me pretty well as a diversion now before next up I think I'm going to tackle the beast that is Dragon Age.
I originally only played through all of the Origin stories and only a little into the main story and then got distracted or decided to wait for some DLC or the expansion… I don't remember.
It is overdue though and I think that once I got DA out of the way I will finally be seeing a glimmer of light at the end of my RPG backlog tunnel at least .
My general gaming backlog is still completely hopeless but at least as far as RPGs are concerned, I'm nearing a point where I can see the "end".

Originally Posted by JDR13
I wouldn't get my expectations too high about DX:HR then if I were you. Most of the levels are more linear than the original Deus Ex, and there isn't as much variety. I started out really loving the game, but by the time I was about 1/2 through I started to see through the illusion of the world and how large it actually was.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good game. I just don't think it's anywhere near the masterpiece that the original game was for its time.

It really is all about expectations … I was just hoping it would be a staggering disappointment like Invisible War, so I was thrilled that it was a pretty decent game - better than most we get these days from AAA studios.

I made a discovery in my early 20'ies and that was to constantly put myself as the lowers expectations possible whenever I begin a game or see a movie. I have learned that it usually allow me to appreciate the game or movie better. Like when I play Crysis 2 and have a blast. Had I expected the free-roaming qualities of the first game I am sure I would have been disappointed, but it still surpasses most linear shooters on the market.

Originally Posted by JemyM
I made a discovery in my early 20'ies and that was to constantly put myself as the lowers expectations possible whenever I begin a game or see a movie.

Since a few years I more or less follow this mechanic, too.

Played a bit more of PST. And I'm very much enjoying what I'm seeing.

I started playing Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land. It's the PC version, and I purchased it from GamersGate. You don't need the Intel AppUp client to play their version.

I'm really enjoying it so far. The AI is solid, and character customization is deeper than I expected. The story is nothing extraordinary, but it's good enough, and there are references to people and events from Lovecraft stories. I'm not a big fan of strategy-RPGs, but just being a Lovecraft fan was enough to make the purchase worthwhile.

The only downside is that you can only have one campaign going at any time. If you start a new game, it will erase any game that's already in progress. You also can't replay a mission once you've completed it, and any non-essential party member who died during a completed mission is lost forever and has to be replaced by a new recruit.

For the price, it's a great little game. I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Lovecraft and/or strategy-RPGs.

Well, I'm about done with Diablo 3 - and now I don't quite know what to play.

I've gotten back into DDO (with friends) - and it's a nice relaxing experience, but not too exciting.

I tried The Secret World beta - and I found it to be relatively interesting. Might try that one.

Other than that, though, I'm not really playing much. Still in sort of a drought - and I don't see too many interesting games on the horizon.

I like Path of Exile quite a bit, but I'll wait until open beta in mid-august. Torchlight 2 might be great as well, though I'm not sure it's really enough.

Then we have a game like X-Com in October (if it's not delayed) - and I think that's the most interesting title coming this year.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I've never played very far into Stalker though, and I was debating if I should play it with just a bugfix patch first.

I think I might finally attempt to play more than a few hours of Stalker as well. Are there any other bugfixing/enhancing mods I should be aware of apart from Complete which I'm probably going to install?

Originally Posted by Kostaz
I think I might finally attempt to play more than a few hours of Stalker as well. Are there any other bugfixing/enhancing mods I should be aware of apart from Complete which I'm probably going to install?

Nope.Complete edition is already compilation of best mods.There might be additional content mods but if you haven't played original game I advise you to go for complete edition only since it doesn't add any content just enhances original game.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I started playing Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land. It's the PC version, and I purchased it from GamersGate. You don't need the Intel AppUp client to play their version.

For the price, it's a great little game. I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of Lovecraft and/or strategy-RPGs.

I agree - I have fiddled around on the iPad version but never finished it yet, and think it is quite a decent bit of fun and challenging as well.

Hey - JDR, just noticed location of Florida … did I miss you moving? For some reason my brain has you in Michigan?