What games are you playing now?

not really it was made for both simultaneously just like bioshock, or summoner.
 
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Maybe I'll give it a try someday if I have time, although the average review of the game isn't very high.

Obscure 2 doesn't seem to have been released over here yet.

Back on topic-

I just reinstalled Gothic 3 with the new 1.5 patch. I plan on fully conquering Myrtana this time!
 
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Just started Dungeon Lords with my gf last night. It's fun to run around and whack things, but the group dynamics are pretty crappy and I would have been pissed at paying more than budget price for this title.

When she isnt around I play some Railroad Tycoon 3 or Medieval 2 Total War.
 
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I'm with you JDR, I'm gonna install this G3 patch and start over. I sure hope they can smooth out the engine performance even just a little. - After getting my new GFX 8800 installed I barely noticed any performance change. Sad, huh?
 
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Well I can definitely confirm that there is no change to the poor performance, horrible AI, lame combat, and clipping problems.

Despite all of that, I'm having a blast so far. :)
 
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Finally completed Bioshock. Enjoyable game, although playing on "easy" made the game pretty, well, easy. I wish I had spent a little more time looking around. I ended up skipping the 5 story apartment complex (I thought the story would bring me back) and didn't do any exploring while I was doing the escort run at the end (she made it to the end with a sliver of life left). I don't really do immersion since I only get short gaming sessions these days, but I was really impressed with the Bioshock world. Fun game.

Next up would have been Puzzle Quest, but they delayed the ship date on the box. Not sure what to tackle next.
 
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Playing The Witcher. It's everything Gothic 3 should have been, only more so.
 
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Playing Half Life. A friend had a copy that he didn't want anymore so I took it. What was the big to-do over this game? It seems like a pretty standard run-and-gun shooter to me. It's more advanced than Doom or Quake, but it's still a very basic on-rails shooter.
Oddly though, I keep playing. It's not terribly interesting in plot, the gameplay isn't anything compelling, and it's frustratingly hard at times. So what am I missing that garnered such universal praise and accolades for this game?
I recall trying the demo for HL2 and being underwhelmed, too.
 
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Playing Half Life. A friend had a copy that he didn't want anymore so I took it. What was the big to-do over this game?
I am not a huge HL fan in general, but understand the perspective - it did things in a different way than had been done in terms of no cutscenes and whatnot. Remember it is ~9 years old now in a genre that is very tech-centric. That said, I'm just polishing Jedi Knight for a 10th Anniversary article and it is still brilliant ...
 
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I am not a huge HL fan in general, but understand the perspective - it did things in a different way than had been done in terms of no cutscenes and whatnot. Remember it is ~9 years old now in a genre that is very tech-centric. That said, I'm just polishing Jedi Knight for a 10th Anniversary article and it is still brilliant ...

I'm just not seeing it doing anything that I hadn't played before in my (albeit limited) FPS playing history. Lots of corridors, shooting stuff, the usual. I guess the more interactive environments and reliance on puzzles more than firepower to defeat main baddies was the revolutionary turning point, but that's all I can really come up with.
Graphically it's pretty amazing for a game of it's age, too. Which, as you said, in a tech-centric genre, would be a colossal selling point.
 
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Just picked up MotB, so guess what I'm doing!! :)
 
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Playing the Witcher... duh!
 
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I'm just not seeing it doing anything that I hadn't played before in my (albeit limited) FPS playing history. Lots of corridors, shooting stuff, the usual. I guess the more interactive environments and reliance on puzzles more than firepower to defeat main baddies was the revolutionary turning point, but that's all I can really come up with.
Graphically it's pretty amazing for a game of it's age, too. Which, as you said, in a tech-centric genre, would be a colossal selling point.





You need to keep in mind that 9 years is a very long time in the world of gaming, I think your opinion would be a little different if you had played it when it first came out.

The plot also gets better as you get further, especially in the expansions and in HL2.
 
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You need to keep in mind that 9 years is a very long time in the world of gaming, I think your opinion would be a little different if you had played it when it first came out.

I still didn't think it was the world-shaking game that many attribute to it, even back then. Good shooter, bit different than most others at the time, but not totally different or a 180 turn or whatever else is attributed to it ...
 
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I still didn't think it was the world-shaking game that many attribute to it, even back then. Good shooter, bit different than most others at the time, but not totally different or a 180 turn or whatever else is attributed to it ...

See that's what I'm thinking right now. Yes, it did improve the genre but I'm not seeing radical departures, shocking innovations and complete overhauls of the shooter game.

I'm not sure if my opinion would be any different if I played it when it came out. I'm not a total stranger to shooters, and Half Life isn't really that different, 9 years ago or now. System Shock came out, what, 1994-95, and I think did a far better job of re-defining the genre than Half Life did. Thief: The Dark Project was also a 1998 release and was more innovative than HL as well.

I more suspect that the response to Half Life was a response to hype and OMG graphics than real innovation.
 
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Getting to that nutso time of the year ...

PC:
- The Witcher - just got it from Atari! Early on it looks, feels and plays very nicely!
- Escape from Paradise City (RPG / RTS) - I'm not sure how this is going to go ...
- NWN2: MotB - nice start, need time to dig in.
- Sam & Max ... yep, the one coming soon for you ;)
- Jedi Knight (10th anniversary replay) - just finishing up with Jerec!
- Guild Wars: Eye of the North - just now getting my character to the point of doing new content. Not very impressed.
- Thrillville Off The Rails - so far this reeks of 'lazy console port' ... but the core game seems decent.

DS:
- Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - finally done ... my younger son kept taking my copy :D
- Flipper Critters (crappy pinball) - glad *that* is over!
- Rhythm & Notes - cool musical training.
- Naruto: Path of the Ninja - anime RPG, who knew ;)

PSP:
- Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - good, but somewhat disappointing.
- SEGA Rally Revo - off-road rally racing that is pretty fun, but the controls and surfaces don't seem to make sense so far ... maybe I need to unlock a better car.
- Warhammer PSP demo ... cool fun blowin' stuff up!
- still playing Star Wars Renegage Squadron ... the joys of 2 PSP's!
 
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I'm not sure if my opinion would be any different if I played it when it came out. I'm not a total stranger to shooters, and Half Life isn't really that different, 9 years ago or now. System Shock came out, what, 1994-95, and I think did a far better job of re-defining the genre than Half Life did. Thief: The Dark Project was also a 1998 release and was more innovative than HL as well.
.

Those are somewhat poor choices for comparison considering that neither of those games are shooters, although I agree with you about them being more innovative. Half-Life was innovative in the way they did the AI, it was the first game where enemies effectively communicated with each other in a manner to show teamwork. The way the marines used cover and attempted to run from genades, as well as warning each other when they were about to use one, was unique for the time.

Besides that, the game was just damn great. It won over 50 Game of the Year awards and is the highest selling pc shooter of all time. It didn't accomplish that on hype or graphics alone.

Anyways, I'm still playing Gothic 3 with the 1.5 community patch and loving it. It's been quite a while since I've played a game that has me constantly thinking about it when I'm not playing it.
 
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The Witcher--and it's definitely going to put MotB on hold. It's been awhile since I've felt this involved in a game from the opening--similar to how I felt starting maybe Gothic, or PS:T. or something from the best of Black Isle.

Not that it's particularly like those games, just that it has that same kind of draw. Also it's visually stunning, stable(so far) and has no bloody irritating camera issues. We'll see how it holds up, since I'm famous for not finishing games, but it looks pretty good at the moment. :)
 
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Half-Life was innovative in the way they did the AI, it was the first game where enemies effectively communicated with each other in a manner to show teamwork. The way the marines used cover and attempted to run from genades, as well as warning each other when they were about to use one, was unique for the time.

Ok, I'll give you that. Though on a critical level, the AI is sometimes ridiculously omniscient. I wish I could see through walls the way enemies can!

Besides that, the game was just damn great. It won over 50 Game of the Year awards and is the highest selling pc shooter of all time. It didn't accomplish that on hype or graphics alone.

But this I am not getting. How is it damn great? Scientific experiment goes awry, bringing other-dimensional aliens into the high-security base, and scientist-turned-army-grunt has to save the day? Where's the greatness? It's a bland story with rote shooter gameplay, AI notwithstanding.
 
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But this I am not getting. How is it damn great? Scientific experiment goes awry, bringing other-dimensional aliens into the high-security base, and scientist-turned-army-grunt has to save the day? Where's the greatness? It's a bland story with rote shooter gameplay, AI notwithstanding.

I honestly think you're going by todays standards when judging HL.

Just keep playing, it doesn't sound like you're very far in the game.
 
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