What games are you playing now?

My limited game playing time are currently spend with the Witcher. Did start MotB after finally finishing NWN2 but will delay this till later. It's kinda of difficult with all the new releases coming out to stay focused. I'm a little hesitant on picking up Hellgate: London until I read the reviews but I'm certainly getting Crysis.
 
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I got Lionheart at budget price after the recommendations in the cooperative multiplayer thread, and decided to give it a whirl while my gf was away on a course this week. It should be vastly more interesting in MP, as the post-Barcelona game feels like soloing Icewind Dale, which really isnt my cup of tea:p
 
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I took a short break from school (after having a cold) and I spent some time with Final Fantasy XII. Im doing the Hunter Missions at the moment and this quest is humongous. I estimate it take yet another day at least.
 
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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.

I'm at the On A Rail (har har) mission right now. And I do keep playing it despite it irritating me! I think I just want to finish it.

I got Lionheart at budget price after the recommendations in the cooperative multiplayer thread, and decided to give it a whirl while my gf was away on a course this week. It should be vastly more interesting in MP, as the post-Barcelona game feels like soloing Icewind Dale, which really isnt my cup of tea:p

Lionheart played MP might make the game better. Post-Barcelona isn't anywhere near as interesting as Icewind Dale. IWD had a story that carried through to the end at least. Lionheart just becomes a slog fest through baddies. The game is seriously un-finished, the developer ran out of time and resources. I remember the BIS discussion boards while the game was in development. Lots of people were warning the devs about the perils they were clearly walking into and the devs saying "nah, it's all good, we know what we're doing" and so on. Last I checked Reflexive were back to budget breakout arcade games.
It's a shame, too. The early part of Lionheart was really good, so somebody on the team knew how to create a story and RPG adventure, but did it ever fall apart.
Lionheart is a great example of the "coulda been" game.
 
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We couldnt resist multiplayer Lionheart, so we put Dungeon Lords on hold for a few weeks. The game is however a bit on the easy side in MP, as you not only both get 100% experience from everything except picklocking, but there is more experience to be had as the amount of non-boss enemies is doubled (and since the enemies arent any stronger as individuals you might gain armour class faster than they learn to hit you).

Lionheart played MP might make the game better. Post-Barcelona isn't anywhere near as interesting as Icewind Dale. IWD had a story that carried through to the end at least. Lionheart just becomes a slog fest through baddies. The game is seriously un-finished, the developer ran out of time and resources. I remember the BIS discussion boards while the game was in development. Lots of people were warning the devs about the perils they were clearly walking into and the devs saying "nah, it's all good, we know what we're doing" and so on. Last I checked Reflexive were back to budget breakout arcade games.
It's a shame, too. The early part of Lionheart was really good, so somebody on the team knew how to create a story and RPG adventure, but did it ever fall apart.
Lionheart is a great example of the "coulda been" game.

I found the Icewind Dale story rather underwhelming, and that the game's life blood was the tactical combat and the stuff you could pull off by building a balanced party (somehow I find it hard to make single character turn based combat nearly as tactical), and that this tactical aspect REALLY shines in multiplayer:) Your analysis of Lionheart is of course spot on. But the thing is that a mildly tactical cooperative slogfest might work better than dialogue-heavy roleplaying in multiplayer, since it keeps both players busy all the time. This is also why Baldurs Gate, while a much better SP game than Icewind Dale, IMHO is soundly beaten in the multiplayer department.

EDIT: I should say that I as a history buff find the Lionheart setting much more interesting than anything from the Forgotten Realms (which is the least inspiring AD&D setting I've encountered), even if the storyline gets "sparse" in the late game. This admittedly colours my comparison:p
 
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feeling like a sucker for not playing the witcher...been perusing a bunch of unplayed games but so far the only one that's seeming to stick is no one lives forever. a very humourous game. shooters aren't really my thing which is why i always passed this one by, but its got a bunch of cool gadgets, and some really witty writing. i'm enjoying it which is pretty rare for a shooter that doesn't have good stealth and or non-lethal combat options. i'm really suprised they haven't made a movie about the game. maybe if they didn't make all those dreadful austin powers sequels there would be a market for it...
 
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PuzzleQuestPuzzleQuestPuzzleQuest...
 
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Good gravy, will it *ever* let up?!?

PC:
- The Witcher - really good, with Gothic 3-style load times for much smaller areas ...
- Escape from Paradise City (RPG / RTS) - there is a good game ... if only the devs knew which one it was ...
- Sam & Max Ice Station Santa ... still under embargo, can't speak yet ;)
- Guild Wars: Eye of the North - not bad, but they never touch the level 20 cap, yet the content requires level 20 for starters. Not too bad in the end.
- Puzzle Quest - just like the PSP & DS ... which is a very good thing.

DS:
- Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - wonderful game! Still fiddling around with it!
- Naruto: Path of the Ninja - plays like a crappy 3-year old GBA port ... oh, wait - it *IS* a crappy 3 year old GBA port!
- Just in: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga - now with 100% less suck than the original DS game!

PSP:
- Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - good, but somewhat disappointing.
- Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness - I like this better than FFT.

Whew ... I dunno how many hours I've dumped just into the PSP games, they are 100+ hour epics each ...
 
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feeling like a sucker for not playing the witcher...been perusing a bunch of unplayed games but so far the only one that's seeming to stick is no one lives forever. a very humourous game. shooters aren't really my thing which is why i always passed this one by, but its got a bunch of cool gadgets, and some really witty writing. i'm enjoying it which is pretty rare for a shooter that doesn't have good stealth and or non-lethal combat options. i'm really suprised they haven't made a movie about the game. maybe if they didn't make all those dreadful austin powers sequels there would be a market for it...

NOLF really looked like it was intended from the get-go to be adapted into a movie, but it just never happened.
It's not a bad series, but I find it very much over-hyped and reviewed more positively than is perhaps warranted. The setting is great, the characterisations excellet and the tone wonderful, but the gameplay of both NOLF games leaves a lot to be desired, very much for the reasons you point out. In addition to the lack of good stealth mechanics (NOLF2 tried somewhat to alleviate this, but didn't do that great a job) and non-lethal combat options, the complete lack of freedom to use terrain and areas to your advantage is a major drawback. All the levels are in essence corridors, even when dressed up as outdoor locations - you have no options to move around that much.

I recently re-installed Thief 3 and Medieval Total War with the Viking Invasion. Liking the latter more than I did initially, and still failing to find Thief 3 anywhere near as good as the first two games.
 
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update from me: I am still playing World of Warcraft and EVE Online. I am anticipating Darkfall Online next year along with a couple other MMOs. Life is good.
 
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PuzzleQuestPuzzleQuestPuzzleQuest...

LOL ! :D

And I've got the Demo now, too ! :D

Right now, I'm trying out Baldur's Gate again, and was quite disappointed to learn that The Westerner had some serious problems. :(
 
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I pretty much have to study up to 10 december, with only 3 days between every essay/exam I have to write. I allowed myself to spend two hours last saturday fishing in FFXII. I am starting to build up quite a list of games to play once I have time to do so, but it feels that I have to start to be more selective of what I play or not. Using http://www.gamerankings.com to check medium score and then skip games that scored less than 8.5 or so might be a good idea even if I wont skip games like NWN2:MotB.

I just upgraded my computer to Intel Quad 6600, 2x8800GTX, 2gb ram, 2tb hd which I intend to use as much as possible before spring.
 
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Started The Treasure Planet yesterday - the stragegy game that looks & feels very much like Homeworld: Cataclysm (no wonder, since it's been made by the same developing company), and so far it's quite some fun. :)

Actually, it's so far only 2D - the third dimension seemingly isn't there. The "starships" are "sailing" along a single plane, without going up or down.

The overall touch of Disney (it's kind of a sequel to The Treasure Planet by Disney) looks a but odd, or rather: unfamiliar, but it's imho a nice touch. :)

I like it. :)

Apart from that I'm playing Baldur's Gate again - in compatibility mode (look here : http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3182 ). So far it works - apart from the fact that I can't seem to get past that Assassin on the stairs of the Friendly Arm (I'm fresh into the game, still).
 
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That assassin can give you a hard time. The trick is to keep hitting him so his spells are interrupted. If you can hold him with some magic as well that's a good approach. Or silence him if you've got the spell (it's been so long since I've played I forget which spells are at which level).

The first time I played BG that bugger gave me a super hard time.

So I'm still playing Medieval Total War, though my interest is waning. I want more than just expand expand expand. I love the look of the game, and the music and sounds are phenomenal, so I think that plays a role in keeping me engaged for the time being.

Utterly failed to keep my interest in Thief 3. Again.

I was sorting my games yesterday, putting unplayed ones back into boxes and shelving them and all of that, and pulled out a couple of older titles for consideration. Currently pondering over Caesar III, Pharaoh, Sims and BG2.
 
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I'm back to Dungeon Lords with the gf.

Alrik:
I hate that assassin, but he is only a pain because one likely is level 1 when facing him, and thus only have so few hitpoints that one can be insta-killed. Since I hate dying in one hit I usually use Gatekeeper to start with 2000 XP, which is enough to get you to level 2 without unbalancing the post-Friendly Arm Inn game much at all... That aside the battle with the assassin is there to show the true quality of my Zhentarim "friends"..
 
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Ah, thanks for your tips. :) They are really appreciated. :)

Currently pondering over Caesar III, Pharaoh, Sims and BG2.


You could take a look at The Settlers - which differ *very much* in their looks before and after version 5.

The Settlers 5 is rather strategy-oriented, whereas The Settlers 6 is turning back towards the roots. And there's also the The Settlers 2 Remake.
And not to forget the similar game "Cultures".
 
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The new Settlers game runs really sluggishly on my computer. And I don't really like the story-based approach, with a central "hero" figure being at the core of the game. I like my city builders to be just that, a city builder with certain scenario requirements that satisfy various social, economic or military goals. No character-driven stuff.

Cultures I haven't heard of, I may check it out.
 
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I didn't know that the Settlers 6 has story in it ... But whatever, I guess you can play an "endless game" with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_VI

What I actually found interesting is this quote from Wikipedia:

While most reviews have praised for its graphics and animations,[7] the disappointments were due to its over-simplistic gameplay compared to its predecessor.

Huh ? Here in Germany, the stronger real-time strategy aspect of The Settlers 5 was quite disliked, overall. The main call was for a game that should go rather back to the roots again. Which the Settlers II Remake and the Settlers 6 did.
Maybe internationally this was seen differently, I think.
Nevertheless, the Settlers 5 sold 2 add-ons. I've got the "Gold" edition of it which contains all of the add-ons, a soundtrack-CD, and a figurine.
 
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I didn't know that the Settlers 6 has story in it ... But whatever, I guess you can play an "endless game" with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers_VI

Well, the impression I got from the demo was that it had some sort of hero character centred theme going on. In that demo, I had to take a knight character to a location to build a town and along the way he encountered chatty locals and after the town was established I had to send him here and there to find this and that. It was really distracting. Added to the fact that I was playing on what I'm sure is a bottom-end of system requirements machine so it was sluggish and laggy, thus the whole experience was underwhelming.
It sure looked nice though, and I've been wanting a good medieval city builder, but I don't want hero characters and whatnot to get in the way.

Huh ? Here in Germany, the stronger real-time strategy aspect of The Settlers 5 was quite disliked, overall. The main call was for a game that should go rather back to the roots again. Which the Settlers II Remake and the Settlers 6 did.
Maybe internationally this was seen differently, I think.

No, I think Settlers 5 was generally disliked in North America too, for going RTS over city builder.

So I took a look at that Cultures game you mentioned and I'm quite intrigued. I just downloaded a demo for Cultures 2, so I'll give that a go.
 
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I have Settlers 5, and was just put off by how damn long the game takes to play. I sorta enjoyed it, but the resource gathering was so unbelievably slow....

Build, sit, wait....... and wait til you have enough stuff. I think there may be a good game under there, and I do like it's personality, I love the little detailed stuff reminding me of all the little people in their trades like Stronghold.

When I care enough, I'm going to go dig around in config files or something and try and see if I cant increase the gather a bit somehow. There is literally zero community here in NA for this game, so it aint easy w/ a game like this
 
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