What games are you playing now?

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Have to agree that the kicking is overpowered. Fair enough. But just don't use it.

The problem is that EVERY area of the game is DESIGNED to be a kick-fest. Not kicking is very much like playing a Jedi Knight game and not using the lightsaber. Sure you can do it … but the game is clearly designed around it.

But as I admit … despite being poorly designed and balanced, kicking IS fun. Sort of like in Jedi Academy when you get to the gas platform level and have possibly taken higher level Force Grip and can grab stormtroopers and toss them over the edge …

It's not like you have to use it, txa. In fact I played most of the game without doing it. Having one overpowered approach for the challenged is OK. It's not like you are competing against one another in the single player game.

In multi-player I imagine kicking would ruin the balance . But I don't really care about multi-player.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
It's not like you have to use it, txa. In fact I played most of the game without doing it. Having one overpowered approach for the challenged is OK. It's not like you are competing against one another in the single player game.

This is why a critical review isn't necessarily an indicator of how much fun you'll have. The stuff I point out in the review are all signs of fundamental and significant design flaws, but they have little to do with 'fun factor'. If something is poorly designed and you don't care … it really doesn't matter!

However, as I said before time tends to gloss stuff over. Paying $5 for a game lowers expectations compared to a $50 'AAA' game from the Arx studio. Buying a game at release that breaks during the tutorial for the overwhelming majority of players is a serious problem, as were the amount of bugs and problems and crashes and … well, you get my point.

Certainly. I still had massive problems during installation. Especially the part with connecting to Steam when it no longer supports it. But otherwise, fairly bug free.

FWIW, I remember playing the game as a stealthy rogue kind of character. Not sure if it's a class, as it's been too long, but I used bow and dual blades or whatever.

Never kicked much, and never felt compelled to kick much. I think I just didn't see it as a particularly attractive approach to combat, and never really needed the aid of kicking.

So, it's probably one of those things that aren't bad unless you notice it and focus on it. Sort of like when you suddenly notice your partner making an annoying noise, even though you've been next to her for hours

So … is anybody else playing games?

I just tried the demo of Galactrix I discovered on my HDD. I had DLed it during my Linux time when I couldn't play it. Rather entertaining IMO - too bad it crashes at a certain point.

Galactrix wasn't too bad, although most folks think they strayed too far from the formula that made Puzzle Quest so enjoyable. I don't remember any crashes with the full game, so maybe your bug is just in the demo.

I just started Uncharted 3. So far, it's exactly what you'd expect with epic Indiana Jones style scenes and just a big adventure feeling. Awesome!

Yeah, but it's unepic because it isn't available for the PC !

still burning time in Zombie Shooter 2 whilst I wait for Shogun TW2 to Dl and install. Zombie shooter is actually kinda fun, and I like the post apocalyptic graphics. Lots of zombies to plow thru, great tension breaker.

Originally Posted by dteowner
I don't remember any crashes with the full game, so maybe your bug is just in the demo.

I'm pretty sure it's just in the demo. Now I think I should search my HDDs for other forgotten treasures.

I'm still on Amnesia. I finally today found the time (and the courage) to make some real progress. (During the week I wanted to play something that would actually be relaxing and wouldn't make me want to cower in a corner and cry so I stuck with M&B Warband instead.)

As it turns out, what I expected happened: the persistent intensity of the game finally numbed me and I now feel quite comfortable in it. The monsters are not as intimidating now that I've actually encountered them - hear roar, hide in a corner, wait for the drums to stop beating, resume exploration… I often feel it would be more convenient to just let the monster butcher me really quickly, since it often just disappears after reloading, so that I can speed things up.

Then again it might still prove to be slow burning - like Scratches with just stuck with me and caused me to lose my sleep the day after I finished it! I'm really enjoying it regardless. In a way I find that the game it resembles the most is Portal 2 (single player): Not much to do, no serious challenge to be found but the ride is awesome!

I've been feeling the urge to play BG for almost a year now… I just finally bought it on GOG. Downloading now. There goes my weekend…

I finished my second playthrough of DMoMM as a warrior. It was a lot easier than a mage, especially the final battle.

Started Elven Legacy. Nice turn-based fun. Though it's pretty hard, even on normal difficulty, especially if you try for the all the gold medals.

Hey Thrasher, I'm not sure how you feel about the turn limit structure of Elven Legacy, but I personally really don't like such things. There is a relatively easy way to disable this if you're interested, unless you think it would "break" the game too much by removing it.

This is my second week of Dark Souls: so far I've almost finished it, I'm collecting some materials to upgrade weapons just before the last boss fight (and achieving trophies of course), but I think I'll go with NG+ much later.
I've just bought the Geneforge saga, and it seems very interesting…

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
Hey Thrasher, I'm not sure how you feel about the turn limit structure of Elven Legacy, but I personally really don't like such things. There is a relatively easy way to disable this if you're interested, unless you think it would "break" the game too much by removing it.

Thanks for the offer. But I actually prefer turn-based.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Thanks for the offer. But I actually prefer turn-based.

Oops… that's not what I meant…There's no way to remove turn-based combat (and why on Earth would I want to do that?!! ). I meant the limit of turns (or "time") required to complete objectives. As in: "You must complete this level in 16 turns to receive a gold rating." You can remove this limit in order to not get "punished" for exploring the maps at your own pace. I prefer to play tactical games of this nature with no time restrictions, but an argument could be made that time limits are part of the challenge. Hope I was a bit more clear about what I meant this time!

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
Oops… that's not what I meant…There's no way to remove turn-based combat (and why on Earth would I want to do that?!! ). I meant the limit of turns (or "time") required to complete objectives. As in: "You must complete this level in 16 turns to receive a gold rating." You can remove this limit in order to not get "punished" for exploring the maps at your own pace. I prefer to play tactical games of this nature with no time restrictions, but an argument could be made that time limits are part of the challenge. Hope I was a bit more clear about what I meant this time!

Those limits made things brutal in some areas, but I tended to suck it up and realize that I just wouldn't always get a gold rating. One time I missed it by what amounted to a single hit by one unit … frustrating …

Originally Posted by txa1265
Those limits made things brutal in some areas, but I tended to suck it up and realize that I just wouldn't always get a gold rating. One time I missed it by what amounted to a single hit by one unit … frustrating …

Ouch…been there before . I also had multiple situations occur where I missed a gold rating by just a hair. Nice sense of accomplishment when you get it, maddeningly frustrating when you come so close and miss it. I realize this is part of the challenge of the game, and perhaps it is best to leave the time limit in place, but for me I enjoyed the game a lot more without it. That's just my personal preference though - I always like to be meticulous and progress slowly through a mission in turn-based strategy games, as well as explore the full map.