Games you're playing right now, and my freetime's demise

[[Q]]

NFSUG was an awesome game. Loved the street racing aspect with shortcuts and the "pimping" of cars which definitely fit in during the era of F&F and pimp my ride

That game + Live 06 introduced me to Lupe fiasco

[Lamrock]

I put more time into NFS and getting close to the end. Less pleased with it the more I play it. The sense of progression is lacking, the story is terrible and the rubber band AI is pretty lame. It's a competent racer and is just the kind of game I was missing this generation, but midnight club la is superior in every way except graphics.

6/10

[Cpt(K)]

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen -- I've just finished leveling all vocations to maximum for both my Arisen, and his main pawn. Then I actually completed the game and post-game, and have entered new game plus. Tonight I've just finished clearing bitterblack isle for Daimon's first form, and am working on clearing it again for his second form.

I edited the appearance of my Arisen and main pawn for a more adolescent look. The way the game is designed I could've had him start from child stature and then grow steadily until the end. Both of my Arisen and his main pawn are infinitely leveled already -- could've been more immersing if I used character edit more frequently while leveling up.

When the game hits PC in January (hopefully without delay) I'm definitely buying it with hopes of a good port, and a willing mod community (*cough* nexusmods) to pick it up. Literally the most underrated game I've played (besides PSN exclusive StarHawk).

Currently no multi-player functions, but a "companion-exchange" where you can hire other player's companions (main pawns) as support (support pawns). With seeing what's developed with Fallout 3/NV on PC - perhaps cooperative play won't be too far off. After all there's a spin off simply titled "Dragon's Dogma: Online," which is currently in beta.

If you're interested in hiring my main pawn -- Arisen: Biorr (Mystic Knight) Main Pawn: Astraea (Strider) PSN ID: Capt_Keith (needed for pawn search)

[deihatein]

Last month or so I tried to beat Strider(which I got from the sweet Humble Capcom Bundle), but got delayed due to personal reasons then kind of forgotten about it, then I tried Resident Evil 4 but that too got backlogged (that only got played for like 30 minutes). Last week I tried again to beat Strider again but it got delayed again due to Binding of Issac. Then this week I got a New 3DS XL and I'm playing Pokemon Y and Monster Hunter on it. I also have Final Fantasy X and Soul Sacrifice Delta for the Vita on the sideline while still playing NBA 2K15 casually.

Seriously am I not going to beat a game again? The last time I played and manage to finish a game was Sly Cooper 1 for the Vita and that was like 3 months ago. I don't know why I even bother playing games right now knowing I'm going to stop halfway through. What the fuck.

[[Q]]

I bought Until Dawn on sale at Gamestop for $30 on their pre-BF sale. I am a big fan of the Quantic Dream games (Beyond: Two Souls & Heavy Rain). Love the idea that games are basically $60 movies and they shouldn't pretend like they're not movies even though all you're doing is moving the game along to the next cutscene. I love how Quantic Dream creates true multiple endings (not like Telltale games' "your actions will be remembered" bullshit) so that not every player's experience will be the same. You are in control of your experience.

I had heard that Until Dawn is a game that's done the same way... I got it yesterday, was instantly hooked and finished today in about 8-9 hours of total gameplay. I fucked up a few times, so I actually plan on replaying the whole game again since it wasn't that long. I might "share play" it with my friend and have him play on my screen. The Quantic Dream games were so great, but I didn't wind up replaying them because they were much longer. Until Dawn was overall a great game. Very intense and a mind-fuck at times. Overall very well-done and very entertaining. It's a bit different from Heavy Rain & Beyond as those were very story-driven and you're extremely emotionally invested in the characters, while in Until Dawn there's 8 characters that you switch around on so and as a horror type game, there's just a lot going on.

2 thumbs up for this game for sure

[JaoSming]

Just Cause 3 is fucking amazing

https://youtu.be/5EdhtHC34m4

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[Cpt(K)]

Definitely looks like fun. I have the second game on PC and PS3. Played them a whole lot. I really like just attracting enemies (heat), and then blowing everything up. Grappling planes with the hook and trying to sort-of juggle yourself is also entertaining. I haven't attached two planes together with the hook yet though . . . will you accept the challenge?

[Phil89]

After putting too many hours into the dreadful phone NFS, I was excited to rent the new one. My favorite games in the series were the first three black box ones (UG1, UG2, MW) and this looked like a return to that.

The driving is arcadey with some rubber banding and it doesn't take long to afford a car that smokes the competition (3 hours in I have a Nissan gtr). Always online is a drag and there is like no traffic on the road. Still, it's fun. I like the modding, the graphics are beautiful and it's pretty addictive. Probably not a purchase despite promises of free dlc but is the funnest racer I've played since forza horizon.

I got it on PS4 for Christmas. It's pretty fun and I like that they somewhat returned to the NFS:Underground vibe with all the customisation options and street racing.

You're right about the driving physics. It took me a while to figure out how to drift properly on this game. Now that I have though all the drift events are too easy (apart from the train ones where the AI drivers speed off into the distance so your score doesn't count).

And yeah, once you get a good car it is pretty easy to win events. I saved up for the Aventador and it's been pretty simple since I bought it.

Pros:
- the graphics are really nice
- using live action cut-scenes is an interesting idea (even if the dialogue is cringeworthy at times. Too much fist-bumping and energy drinks)
- the livery editor is cool (you can create some really detailed designs if you have the time and patience)

Cons:
- the limited car selection (there are only like 50 and a lot of them are crappy or boring)
- garage limit of 5 cars (not that you would have the money to buy and upgrade more than 5 cars without grinding events relentlessly, but 5 cars is a small number to own)
- the lack of customisable parts on the cars (There are only 2-3 options per part maybe. Some cars don't even have options on certain parts)


I've got a fully upgraded Aventador for speed races and a fully upgraded Supra for drift events, but my favourite car is my 1200 hp Mustang (even if it handles like the Titanic )

[Cpt(K)]

I've started up on one of FromSoftware's Souls games again. Dark Souls II was fun on the PS3, but I've had leagues more fun on the PS4 release of Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin. I'm ashamed to share what I've accomplished in little more than a week.



Why so many? I'm trying out different setups, and I'm waiting on a couple of my real-life friends to pick the game up - if I progress too much the game won't allow us to cooperatively play.



Bloodborne has some dlc that was released in November, and so That interests me as well. I haven't yet purchased it, however, many features are available despite this. The game maintains a sense of humor . . .

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Lastly there is Star Wars Battlefront, which I started only recently. Purchased the game below the list price at $40. Had a lot of fun.

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I have too many Youtube channels that I've forgotten.

[Lamrock]

Trying to finish up my games before school starts up again. I got closure in my Madden 16 franchise with Marshawn Lynch retiring after a 19-0 season to fulfill a three-peat. Fun game but it got way too easy to cheese the CPU and I'm too antisocial to play online.

Also beat Fallout 4. Solid game but underwhelming. I loved it at first, but was ready for it to be over by the end. Hopefully Obsidian get to make one.

I also played through Until Dawn. Beat it in like two days. Loved that game. If I had time, I would play through it again to try and have more than 2 characters survive...

Never did beat Witcher 3. Was soooo close, but even though it's a really good game, I just never got engaged with the story enough to finish it. Same with MGS 5, which I was really excited about, but just couldn't get into.

[Cpt(K)]

I just started Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen on PC, or more accurately I converted a save from my Playstation 3 play-through with a nifty tool and guide from the PC modding community.

Although the game is still very new there are mods already circulating, and this is without official mod support apparently. I anticipate great improvements. I really wish Capcom would've went all-out on the PC release though, um, mod support is sort-of a great necessity.

I don't say it often, but in this case . . .



Edit: I started a new game and am just about to begin hauling the head of a hydra to Gran Soren, which I may appreciate more with the added aesthetics that the PC release is more capable of. I'm using a regular logitech dual action controller, which was recognized correctly by the game - another great aspect of the game.



This Arisen isn't the same from my PS3 save, I actually backed up that save after converting and playing around a little - I was yearning to experience the game again as a fresh start. I think I'll character edit the appearance of my Arisen and his Main Pawn progressively throughout the story - making them age as they go along is actually a great way to immerse yourself more.

[Lamrock]

Undertale is a neat little game. I think some would find it boring, but I really dug the characters and story. Worth the $10.

[Kenny]

I'm really enjoying Life is Strange at the moment. I haven't particularly liked games with such a structured story in the last few years, but LIS has an array of choices, so it doesn't feel like you're locked in.

[[Q]]

Played through Until Dawn for the second time. completely fucked up on the first try and tried to save my favorite characters this time but accidentally let others die and i managed to see a few things that I didn't get to see the first time around

[el badman]

I'm really enjoying Life is Strange at the moment. I haven't particularly liked games with such a structured story in the last few years, but LIS has an array of choices, so it doesn't feel like you're locked in.

Really enjoyed that season too (I think they're planning for more). Very refreshing and original.

[[Q]]

I tried the demo when it first came out and although it was cool, I didn't like it enough to justify a purchase

[Kenny]

Was the demo just the first episode? The biggest payoff in Life is Strange is seeing the long term implications of the decisions you make, so it'd be hard to see how a demo could do that justice.

They have announced a second season, which I can't wait for.

[[Q]]

You play the beginning and I tihnk you go to the bathroom and it sends soon after that

I don't see how they can make long-term decisions in an episodic series. In Until Dawn, it's all one game, so it was planned for and was executed well. But I'm thiking this is more like Telltale games Walking Dead where there's certain parts where the game splits into 2 possibilities but then comes back together soon after so they won't have to make 2 separate stories

[Cpt(K)]

I recently decided to give the Old Hunters DLC a try. I'm not disappointed.

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My initial thought was "Wow, what great boss design," but then 30 tries later "what, he he just homed in on me from the ceiling again . . ."
Well, I've finally moved on from that wretched area. This hunter (Vinland, which is my second of three) is capping at level 60 for the first play through.

[Dommy73]

So I got back to Witcher 3 (PC), wanted to do some stuff differently, so I decided against picking up old save games from backup and start anew.

Also Black Ops 3 on PS4 (because of the much larger playerbase) and I'm currently toying with the idea of getting The Division as well, but I think I'll wait for the reviews (and maybe I'll be moving in the meantime).

[[Q]]

Battlefield hardline was really fun, but I dunno why people stopped playing it.

Been playing a lot of helldivers which we got free last month and also street fighter v

[Andrew]

I'm still playing NBA Live 16, NBA 2K16, Fallout 4, and a bit of Mortal Kombat X, though I also recently installed GTA V PC at long last. Having picked it up through Green Man Gaming rather than Steam, I had to use Rockstar's digital distribution service, and man, it sucks. Not only was the download consistently failing after ten minutes or so, it'd actually kill my entire connection in the process, forcing me to power cycle my router. Fortunately I found a workaround that forces the Rockstar Social service to download everything at once instead of in parts which are then verified as they're being downloaded, and that did the trick. Happy to say, it's looking great and working fine on my new rig.

However, over the weekend, I found myself playing some GTA III and Vice City on PC. They're great games and still hold up despite the graphics obviously looking dated, but it's funny that I'd get the urge to play them in the midst of having some far newer releases to entertain myself with. One of those odd situations where I read some articles about the GTA III era games, and felt like picking them up again out of the blue.

[Dommy73]

However, over the weekend, I found myself playing some GTA III and Vice City on PC. They're great games and still hold up despite the graphics obviously looking dated, but it's funny that I'd get the urge to play them in the midst of having some far newer releases to entertain myself with. One of those odd situations where I read some articles about the GTA III era games, and felt like picking them up again out of the blue.

Somewhat relevant (we all want this to happen, right?):

[Andrew]

No objections here, though I've yet to finish the first Vice City game...or a couple of others including V, for that matter.

[Cpt(K)]

One of my friends returned bloodborne, except he called it bloodybutthole. He coined this from a goofy metaphor that resembles a Japanese man screwing people up the arse. He complained that is impossible solo, and then conversely the easiest thing around with coop. Of course, both of those aren't true. So I dedicated this video to him.

I had started a third hunter, because new friend of mine picked it up. So I have been cooperating (successfully) with him, and this other guy through the game. The video features the new hunter of mine in a chalice dungeon, well, the first one you get after defeating the bloodstarved beast in Old Yharnam. The hunter (Xavier, SKL based build)remained level 20 up until a particular boss, which I can't remember-- I got frustrated and leveled up some more. I'm trying to complete the game with my second hunter, who I'm trying to cap at level 60 (Vinland, STR and SKL).

Behold the fight I entered, with few blood vials, and few quick silver bullets, I even had to use the emergency ones.

phpBB [video]

[Cpt(K)]

Dark Souls III now has my utmost attention, obviously. I've . . . become such a sadistic person these few days since the North American release (April 12th).

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My mic was off, but I promise you I was laughing (maniacally) out loud.

This kind of laughter:

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I did redeem myself from the horrible act, and made my intentions clear in my next encounter:

phpBB [video]

[[Q]]

Played in a Street Fighter 4 competition down the street from my house. Didn't do as well as I would've hoped (haven't plated the game regularly in years) so i signed up for the Street Fighter 5 tournament tomorrow

[Lamrock]

I think The Crew is an extremely underrated game. I picked up the Wild Run edition, and despite a couple major flaws, I love it. It's awesome that the map is the entire United States (obviously <1% of the size and missing key cities like Philly, Denver and Portland) - really has a nice road trip vibe driving from region to region with free-roam challenges littered everywhere to keep things interesting. Though there is a currency system, the RPG-style way cars are upgraded is a nice break from nearly 20 years of Gran Turismo-style economy structures. Also, the weekly contests are pretty fun.

Unfortunately, many of the cars can only be unlocked with real currency or with the $60 complete version. I'm probably 15 hours in and only own two cars. Also, the driving mechanics are a bit wonky, and the crashes rather tame. The story is by no means good, but I don't mind it - the missions are fun and the cutscenes skippable.

While I wish the driving were a little better and cars easier to unlock, there's a lot to like here. It's not a PS4 Midnight Club, but it's the next best thing.

[Cpt(K)]

Lamrock, what a coincidence, I actually just purchased The Crew: Wild Run Edition a few days ago. I haven't really put any time into it though. I own a few of the Midnight Club (3 and Los Angeles) games, which are awesome.

[el badman]

I personally have more games than usual on the back-burner right now:

- Waiting for itsDLCs, I still hadn't finished Fallout 4 after 250 hours or so in it, but I guess I'll go and finish it regardless before I lose more interest. The Automatron was a pretty good new feature though
- In the middle of Far Cry Primal, which isn't bad and is a ballsy different take on the series' backbone I guess, but unfortunately for me they chose to go with the gameplay features that I enjoyed the least in Far Cry3/4 (hunting and melee), while leaving out the parts I liked the most (the shooter mechanisms). Doesn't look like the story will be anything to write home about either...
- Just finished Ep 2 of The Walking Dead: Michonne, waiting for the 3rd one to finish that game. Pretty good so far, but more action-based than the first 2 seasons of TWD, and o how I hate those QTE...
- Just finished Assassin's Creed: Unity which was a huge waste of potential as expected, and about to start Assassin's Creed: Syndicate that I got for free, and which shouldn't be any better I'm sure
- After the above-mentioned games I still have Firewatch (which I can't wait to play) and SOMA, as well as the last episode of Dreamfall: Chapters when it'll be available
- Anxiously waiting for the last DLC of the Witcher 3, which already looks fucking incredible
- Haven't' played NBA 2K16 in ages, I was more or less enjoying myCareer mode, but well, Fallout 4 took care of that for me...

[[Q]]

I think The Crew is an extremely underrated game. I picked up the Wild Run edition, and despite a couple major flaws, I love it. It's awesome that the map is the entire United States (obviously <1% of the size and missing key cities like Philly, Denver and Portland) - really has a nice road trip vibe driving from region to region with free-roam challenges littered everywhere to keep things interesting. Though there is a currency system, the RPG-style way cars are upgraded is a nice break from nearly 20 years of Gran Turismo-style economy structures. Also, the weekly contests are pretty fun.

Unfortunately, many of the cars can only be unlocked with real currency or with the $60 complete version. I'm probably 15 hours in and only own two cars. Also, the driving mechanics are a bit wonky, and the crashes rather tame. The story is by no means good, but I don't mind it - the missions are fun and the cutscenes skippable.

While I wish the driving were a little better and cars easier to unlock, there's a lot to like here. It's not a PS4 Midnight Club, but it's the next best thing.

Do they have realistic tracks for different cities? Do they have LA?? I miss Cruisin' USA

Also, was this the free one or was that Driveclub? I get those 2 confused

[Lamrock]

Depends on the city. Some, like Raleigh and Nashville, are depicted as small towns with a couple tall buildings. The major cities, like New York and Miami are a pretty decent size. Haven't been to LA, but it looks to be about the size of NY. Seattle is fairly accurate geographically, with the neighborhoods where they should be, but obviously is a very small version of it.

[Lamrock]

The first Watch Dogs was decent, but pretty boring. However, I gave the second one a try since they had that 3 hour free trial on PSN, and I gotta say - this one is way better! Ended up ordering it off Amazon, and I've been pretty hooked. The gameplay is similar to the first one, but the drones add more diversity and the story is a lot less serious. San Francisco is beautifully rendered, and the game overall has a lot more personality than the first.

It's not as good as GTAV, but I'd recommend trying the free trial.

[NovU]

I am waiting for Watch Dogs 2 to go on sale. After playing GTA V, I just don't think too many open world games these days deserve full price from me. Perhaps Red Dead tho.

I been playing Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4 for last month or two now. I am happy I went Xbone S with 4k tv over PS4. Though GOW4 is meh, Forza is another story. I think Forza Horizon 3 is the best game in the world right. And I am not really a racing game fan. It's just so fun to be racing, modding, selling designs, auctioning cars, trying new cars, etc. A lot to do.

[Lamrock]

I liked the first Horizon a fair bit. The Forza series alone makes me regret going PS4 over Xbox somewhat. I love racing games, and Xbox has the only good one this gen.

[[Q]]

Just got Yakuza 0 yesterday, stayed up way later than I should have. Waiting for disc based Hitman next week as well as the new double dragon game

Yeah I'm really disappointed with the direction of gran turismo. Even after trying it out and the VR version, I know I still won't like it if it's not like the other GT games

[el badman]

I am waiting for Watch Dogs 2 to go on sale. After playing GTA V, I just don't think too many open world games these days deserve full price from me. Perhaps Red Dead tho.

I've had WD2 for a few weeks now, and while I certainly agree that it's much much better than its predecessor, I gotta say it mainly made me want to go back to GTA V to play in 1st person and to try the now famous Redux mod, so that's what I did...

[Lean]

I bought a New Nintendo 3DS XL last October and finished Ocarina of Time and Pokemon Sun there, I'm currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles and Metal Gear Solid 3 on that.

I have created a character on Dragonball Xenoverse 2 but I haven't really started on anything yet.

[JaoSming]

Breath of the Wild is amazing. Watched a few streams of the entire game and just finished the first part myself with the pro HUD.

Will probably be one of my GOAT games, just because it is doing problem-solving and openness so well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EvbqxBUG_c

phpBB [video]

....this is my first Zelda game too.

[Andrew]

A little jelly. Not being able to play any Zelda or Mario games is the one thing I regret about moving away from Nintendo following the N64.

[[Q]]

Bought Overwatch since I am planning on applying to Blizzard. 16 gigs of updates before I can play. Haven't played too many FPS games in a while so we'll see how this goes

[Lean]

Breath of the Wild is amazing. Watched a few streams of the entire game and just finished the first part myself with the pro HUD.

Will probably be one of my GOAT games, just because it is doing problem-solving and openness so well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EvbqxBUG_c

phpBB [video]

....this is my first Zelda game too.

Man, I'm itching to get this with the Switch. The problem is that while the console itself is at a higher price point, they even raised the prices here in the Philippines. And they don't sell the Switch with just Zelda included as a bundle, they also include 1-2 Switch as part of the bundle which raises the price higher. Damn it.

But I am excited to get my hands on this, as I also watched gameplay videos of this on YouTube and see how different Breath of the Wild is compared to previous titles. And I've played a fair share of Zelda games myself (A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Minish Cap and Twilight Princess).

EDIT: I've read on Kotaku that some speedrunner finished the game in 58 minutes.

[el badman]

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands is pretty damn cool on PC, been playing that a lot. It's not as deep in its mechanics as many would like it to be, but for me playing solo in this gigantic open world is a lot of fun.
Also caught up with Battlefield 1 and the campaign is certainly miles away from any of the crap that Call of Duty has been putting out in the last few years.. After that, I'll give For Honor a shot since I got it for free with my new GPU, and of course Mass Effect will probably take every free moment I have after that.

[Jackal]

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands is pretty damn cool on PC, been playing that a lot. It's not as deep in its mechanics as many would like it to be, but for me playing solo in this gigantic open world is a lot of fun.

I recently picked up a PS4 and got NBA 2K17 and that game. It's GTA meets Hitman for me and I love every moment of it. I don't game that much but I spend hours doing random shit in that game.

Any more games like that besides GTA?

[Pdub]

I think the latest Just Cause might be like that from the footage that I have seen, but I never played it so someone else would have to verify it.

[[Q]]

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands is pretty damn cool on PC, been playing that a lot. It's not as deep in its mechanics as many would like it to be, but for me playing solo in this gigantic open world is a lot of fun.

I recently picked up a PS4 and got NBA 2K17 and that game. It's GTA meets Hitman for me and I love every moment of it. I don't game that much but I spend hours doing random shit in that game.

Any more games like that besides GTA?

Yakuza

[Lamrock]

Horizon: Zero Dawn was amazing. Super fun gameplay, beautiful graphics and I really enjoyed the story. I think its my favorite PS4 game.

[Pdub]

I messed up again and bit the bullet on an early access title. It's battlegrounds. Why do I think I messed up? Because it's DayZ without zombies or crafting, but a timed playable area that shrinks over time.

I can see the similarities of the functional parts of the game, good and bad. It's wrapped in the unreal engine, but it still has the same issues as DayZ when it came out.

I'm still going to play it and try to get my money's worth out of it. By the time they fix things, people will have moved on, probably.

[Kenny]

After initially decrying the game for being too hard, I now absolutely love Bloodborne. I'm late to the party, but yeah, it's fantastic. It goes against my button mashing tendencies, but now I'm slightly competent at it, I've gotten a lot more enjoyment out of it.

[Cpt(K)]

Bloodborne is by far the most difficult game in FromSoftware's "Dark Souls" franchise. It is a PS4 exclusive, locked at 30 frames-- but the fast-paced, quick-thinking combat is to die for (see what I did there . . . okay slap me).

With The Old Hunters dlc, the already amazing soundtrack has raised the bar quite high in my opinion. I really would like a second game for Bloodborne, although the director apparently doesn't like to develop sequels, I think it'd be a nice addition to the different direction that Bloodborne provided in terms of combat.

Edit: I recently got Ghost Recon: Wildlands, I was hoping they'd give it more of a Splinter Cell vibe, but instead they only included minimum effort for stealth infiltrations. Sure, there's climbing onto surfaces, and scaling obstacles like fences, but no death-from-above or other feats you'd expect in a game like this. Especially since there's no wall climbing . . . bummer.