Weekend gaming(1/29/10)- What are YOU playing? [Archive]

Purple Santa

01-29-2010, 05:09 AM

The shedding begins as we round out another weekend, the first month of the year falls. Another weekend, another thread another chance to overuse a youtube video to bring a sense to my chaotic nonsensical way of stating “it’s the weekend” thought. This weekend thread is brought to you by classic movie channels everywhere:

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A tough tight race, huffing puffing, bodies crawling to that end of the week to the weekday’s finish so to all that have made it the finish line called the weekend. To the winners, a snowy evergreen crown but the real prize is the weekend itself. Rest the body and mind (and a soul if you still have one) it’s the weekend so party up.

My weekend partying will include working on two of the minor projects for my last semester. I’m attempting to begin early and finish early so I can eventually study for a license test and with any luck look for employment. But those are weekends ahead, this one I’ll be back to peck peck peck at the keyboard however I’ll be resting my souless body with these:

Dreamfall: The longest Journey- Inspired by looking through my Steam list of games, then bought the Xbox original version since I couldn’t play the PC version. It’s sad to know there are no more “Dreamfalls” after this one.

Silent Hill:Shattered Memories- Another game I need to be playing.

Silent Hill:Origins (PSP)- Second play through with my new “gloves”.

GTA:CTW- I’ve given up on the delusion that I will ever get 100% in a GTA game. Back to loving the missions. Helicopters + molotovs= LOVE

Others- Since I don't have a "main" game holding my attention at the moment, I feel a bit lost what to play "obsessively". I think some Rock Band will be in the mix, try to play the last DLC with Lara and/or find more feathers in AC2.

A little bit of work with a lot of hope for lots of play. How does your weekend look? More play than work? If playing, what are YOU playing?

Kelegacy

01-29-2010, 05:32 AM

I beat Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition last night (still a great game) and I'm going to need another game to play now. I have been contemplating restarting Mass Effect 1 for the third time, because I have yet to get pulled into it despite everyone else's love of the game. I also have been thinking about putting Tomb Raider Underworld in and starting that.

I have a bunch of games on PS3 I would like to play, so if I decide to unhook it from the main tv and play it on my private screen, I might be able to play some MotorStorm, Demon's Souls or Resistance 2. But I don't know.

I also have a very important job interview on Monday. I'm a pessimist, but I'm trying to be positive. It would undoubtedly mean more pay and better benefits, and I need to get out of the quagmire of an office I'm in now. I need to buy a new interview suit this weekend to make a great impression.

So basically, I'll be a nervous wreck all weekend long because of the interview on Monday. I'll try not to think about it much, much like the stance I took with my wedding, and perhaps I won't be nervous at all.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 05:55 AM

Good luck on the interview Kel. Hopefully things go well. I don't envy you though. I was enough of a wreck interviewing for the promotion that I was basically all but ensured I was going to get. I haven't had to interview for something tenuous in so long that I think my head would explode from the stress if I had do it now.

And Purps, I thought you'd have this clip instead of Eric's Theme.

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I'm off this weekend! And surprisingly not committed to driving here nor there nor everywhere. I'll be buying some renovation supplies to get the reciepts in before the cut-off for the tax credit, but otherwise I'm not planning on doing anything more strenuous than swimming in the pool with my daughter at her swimming lesson and replacing a lightbulb.

On the gaming front, I'm could be rhyming off a list of a stack of games that I know I'll never get around to, but we all know it's going to boil down to one game and one game only:

Plants Vs. Zombies (PC) - I can't stop playing this! My Zen Garden is getting full and I have some survival modes and the Last Stand minigame to work on, amongst other things. I wish I could stop playing it so I could get back to work on...

Mass Effect 2 (PC) - Must... finish... reading... codex...

Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) - Must... finish.. fire... realm...

And probably a few other things as well.

Commissar Rob

01-29-2010, 05:55 AM

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/721836648_AeP4n-L.jpg

I've got to get my sister and my mother (Madonna...but not the creepy one) out of Florence.

Plus I plan on logging some Gears 2 time and doing a little achievement hunting in L4D2 with me boy. Father and son bonding with lancers...it's so beautiful. *sniff*

Kel - good luck with the interview! I'm sure you'll do great. Just remember to stay positive and upbeat, it makes a difference in how you present yourself to your potential employers, imho.

menage

01-29-2010, 06:10 AM

MASS EFFECT 2

That's it

Gorvi

01-29-2010, 06:33 AM

Grand Theft Auto IV This is what's tiding me over until White Knight Chronicles hits next week. I picked up the game that I had started last year, I think I'm about 5 hours in or so. I don't think I'm going to have a problem putting this down next week, while it's still entertaining in short bursts it's still just GTA, the same formula I've played in 4 games since GTA3. And I know I've said it before, but the humor just seems so much more forced in this game than in previous games, it's lacking some of the clever writing that was in past games.

Final Fantasy Tactics With the Wiegraf battle behind me I'm finally feeling better about actually continuing with the game. I'm only a few battles past that, I'd like to make some significant progress this weekend.

Braid I caved and bought this with it being on sale just to see what all the fuss was about. For $7.50, why not? I can see that the game has charm (I've done all the puzzle pieces on levels 2, 3, and 4 so far), but the game got a lot more praise than it deserved. It's a good game, without a doubt, but not the amazing thing it was sold as. Portal this is not.

Final Fantasy XI As with every weekend I'd love to get in some FFXI time and make some more progress with some quests and my Red Mage, but I have no idea if I'll even have a chance to log on.

frederec

01-29-2010, 07:00 AM

Plants Vs. Zombies (PC) - I can't stop playing this! My Zen Garden is getting full and I have some survival modes and the Last Stand minigame to work on, amongst other things. I wish I could stop playing it so I could get back to work on...

I don't even count this any more. I've got one of every plant in the Zen Garden, my money's maxed out, and my highest record in Vasebreaker Endless is like 40. Yet I keep playing it between classes and in spare moments. I don't remember the last time I've wanted a sequel or expansion as much as for this game.

Other than that, I've been sick lately, so the gaming will largely be confined to bed. If I get out, I'm going to play Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. I'm a few chapters in, and while I can't quite judge yet how good it is compared to the other three, I'm enjoying it. The fan translation hack has some oddities, but all things considered, it's an amazing experience.

But while I'm in bed, I'll be working on Persona for the PSP. I put it down a while back, but since a new MegaTen game is coming out soon, I figured I need to work on finishing some of the ones I've neglected. Next I need to try to finish Devil Survivor, and maybe one of the Persona 2's. Devil Summoner 2 needs to be finished to, but since I lost the save file (after being pretty far along), I don't see myself getting back to it any time soon.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 07:32 AM

I don't even count this any more. I've got one of every plant in the Zen Garden, my money's maxed out, and my highest record in Vasebreaker Endless is like 40. Yet I keep playing it between classes and in spare moments. I don't remember the last time I've wanted a sequel or expansion as much as for this game.I was just thinking about how bad it would be if they actually introduced a sequel to the game. I'd die.

That said, it's one of the few games that I have to fight with my son to play. If I happen to have it running and get up to make supper or something, he's in there in a flash, messing up my garden, doing some Zombowling, etc.

The problem is that I'll sit down in the evening, having fantasized about playing Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age or some such for most of the day, and like someone suffering from Phantom Hand Syndrome, I'm clicking on the launch icon for PvsZ, you know, just to see if I needed to water my Zen Garden... or play some Whack A Zombie or Beghouled Twist or something... and then it's 2 hours later and I'm tired and mad because I wasted my evening playing Plants Vs Zombies and didn't touch the bigger, 'real' games at all :P

If I get out, I'm going to play Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. I'm a few chapters in, and while I can't quite judge yet how good it is compared to the other three, I'm enjoying it. The fan translation hack has some oddities, but all things considered, it's an amazing experience.I still have to play through FF3. I have it but haven't spent any time with it. How does Fatal Frame IV stack up against the pinnacle of creepy games, Fatal Frame 2? I'm still ticked that they aren't localizing it.

Ravenlock

01-29-2010, 08:35 AM

Mass Effect... 1 - I am positively embarrassed by how long it took me to get into this and realize how great it is, but I'm in it now. I suppose I should be grateful that now I'll get to experience it with all its flaws and then move directly into the sequel which apparently fixes almost all of them.

Darksiders - This is coming from Gamefly today, and I've been looking forward to getting some time with it, so that's exciting.

Zelda: Spirit Tracks - I fell off the wagon with this one, and I should get back on. It's worth finishing.

That might be all the time I have, sadly, though hopefully I'll get the Battlefield Bad Company 2 PC beta working well enough to get some time in with that as well.

nixpayn

01-29-2010, 08:38 AM

Ummm.. Mass Effect 2 most likely, with a little side of Mass Effect 2, and then some more Mass Effect 2, and if i have time... Mass Effect 2.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 08:50 AM

Darksiders - This is coming from Gamefly today, and I've been looking forward to getting some time with it, so that's exciting.I actually took some time away from not playing ME2 last night to play Darksiders. I'm at the Silithia fight and really, really, REALLY hate her. So I gave up and went back to not playing ME2.

Ravenlock

01-29-2010, 09:02 AM

I'll keep the name in mind and let you know what I think whenever I get to that part of the game. How far in?

Kelegacy

01-29-2010, 09:16 AM

menage

01-29-2010, 09:19 AM

Yeah, dash like a motherfucker with that spider. It's doable if you know when to get the hell out of there.

Kelegacy

01-29-2010, 09:26 AM

And Spigot, you should use the abyssal chain as well to get in close and fast. Then get out of there.

Karak

01-29-2010, 09:47 AM

Dreamfall: The longest Journey- Inspired by looking through my Steam list of games, then bought the Xbox original version since I couldn’t play the PC version. It’s sad to know there are no more “Dreamfalls” after this one.

First of all, I hate you for having that song in your post. It is my bane. Long story but horrid memories.

However I am also playing Longest Journey but on the PC. Amazing amazing game and just handled so well with some really mature content.

And Mass Effect 2 2nd playthrough. Excited to see what kind of character I will end up playing with the metarules. My first playthough was insane.

Karak

01-29-2010, 09:50 AM

So basically, I'll be a nervous wreck all weekend long because of the interview on Monday. I'll try not to think about it much, much like the stance I took with my wedding, and perhaps I won't be nervous at all.

Well if you have current job you can go into the interview from a position of strength since you are not losing out if you don't get it. Go at it from a positiion of seeing if THEY are right for you, not the other way around.
And good luck.

Kelegacy

01-29-2010, 10:04 AM

Well if you have current job you can go into the interview from a position of strength since you are not losing out if you don't get it. Go at it from a positiion of seeing if THEY are right for you, not the other way around.
And good luck.

That's a good point. My current job security is sky high. I'll try to think that way. I'm trying to have a "fuck it" attitude. If I get it, great, if not fuck it.

frederec

01-29-2010, 10:13 AM

I still have to play through FF3. I have it but haven't spent any time with it. How does Fatal Frame IV stack up against the pinnacle of creepy games, Fatal Frame 2? I'm still ticked that they aren't localizing it.

I still think Fatal Frame 2 is probably the best of the series. But I'm enjoying this one. One thing that I find a little frustrating about this (and I think 3 had this issue too) is that it has quite a few chapters. So you're getting into exploring as one person, something dramatic happens, and the chapter ends. And suddenly you've got to remember what was going on with this other person you hadn't controlled in a while.

But it doesn't have the big complaint I had with Fatal Frame 3, which broke up chapters with safe sections in your house. Story-wise, it made sense. But I felt like it broke the tension of the game, and diminished the creepiness.

Regardless, I still have enjoyed every entry in the series, and am enjoying this one a fair amount. And I'd buy it if it ever got officially localized, if only to have a professional translation and a potential fix for the couple of glitches in the game.

That having been said, don't ever expect an official localization. It was released in Japan in July of 2008. Nintendo owns the rights to bring it over, but have expressed no interest in doing so. I figure the only way we'd get it is if it got ported to other consoles (like 1 and 2 were ported to the xbox). But I've heard no signs of that happening.

Karak

01-29-2010, 10:26 AM

That's a good point. My current job security is sky high. I'll try to think that way. I'm trying to have a "fuck it" attitude. If I get it, great, if not fuck it.

It should work. I have gone into my jobs with a "do they fit me" versus "do I fit them" mentality. If you have confidence in your skillset than you are trying to find a place where it works. Go into it with the confidence of a person who works well and had skills to offer.

I usually end up in hiring circles at my jobs and I already hear the same thing from my coworkers/bosses, that I aced the interview to the point of not even interviewing anymore.
Confidence in your skills
Communication about your skills
Two incredibly important things many people forget. Confidence is an intangible feeling that goes to others and is almost viral.

Cavalier

01-29-2010, 10:44 AM

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta, mourning the loss of anti-tank, support and spec-ops, but making do. I hope the 10m xp to unlock the acog scope is just a display glitch :)

Mass Effect 2, wow the off duty uniform choices are horrible, sticking with the default. Spending ages downloading all the DLC now.

Karak

01-29-2010, 10:47 AM

Mass Effect 2, wow the off duty uniform choices are horrible, sticking with the default. Spending ages downloading all the DLC now.

For me they were awesome. As a Robotech fan I enjoyed the connection.

Ten19

01-29-2010, 10:57 AM

Star Trek: Online: Decided at the last minute to pre-order, and the head start opens up today.

Bayonetta: Should be arriving from GF, looking forward to giving it a whirl (and maybe a Keep!)

Darksiders: Still can't seem to stick with it, something about it makes me have to force myself to play, but I'm going to try.

Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts: This game is still awesome and a lot of fun. Can't seem to stop coming back to it. Will be sad when I find all the Jiggies.

Xydarc

01-29-2010, 10:59 AM

I'm headed to my parents this weekend, so:

LittleBigPlanet: My nieces will be there, so it'll be Sackboy/Sackgirl fun times.:) When we're not playing LBP, I'm sure we'll be playing dress-up, jump rope, hide-and-seek, coloring...I love playing with those girls.:D

Do My Taxes: Hoping for a decent refund to help me afford all the gaming goodness this Q1.

Mass Effect 2:I'll be trying to recruit Tali, the Justicar, and the Assassin when I get home on Sunday. I also need to do some probing...of planets.;) The latest round of upgrades has left me short on resources.

Evil Avnovice

01-29-2010, 11:23 AM

I finally completed The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, so I'm starting The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

I bought Nostalgia as well, and having tasted both this and Sands of Destruction, I want to make Nostalgia a first priority.

Commissar Rob

01-29-2010, 11:33 AM

Star Trek: Online: Decided at the last minute to pre-order, and the head start opens up today.

Really? Have they made some improvements? Judging by James' reaction on the last podcast (and granting that James hates most things by his very nature) it seemed like the game had fallen short. What about it caught your imagination enough for a buy?

Maskatron

01-29-2010, 11:47 AM

BFBC2 Beta on the PC, Company of Heroes picked up from the Steam sale last week (late to the party), and I may start another run through Freedom Force 2 (Steam has both on sale right now for $2). I already own both FFs, but having a cheap Steam backup for both is worth it to me.

Dukefrukem

01-29-2010, 12:07 PM

Mass Effect 2 - I don't plan on finishing it, but I plan on making significant progress.

I'm also getting tattooed on Sat for 5 hours... gonna cut into my video game time. :-\

Karak

01-29-2010, 12:08 PM

Really? Have they made some improvements? Judging by James' reaction on the last podcast (and granting that James hates most things by his very nature) it seemed like the game had fallen short. What about it caught your imagination enough for a buy?
If someone...who hates everything hates something...ya well maybe not the best to listen to.
There are some great things about STO and some not so great things. Your ONLY 100% way of knowing is to try a free demo account which they most assuredly will have.
In my opinion, it is more than good enough to buy. But you really have to try this yourself.

LarsenNET

01-29-2010, 12:10 PM

More Dragon Age, starting Orzammar tonight. I think that is a long one.

Gorvi

01-29-2010, 12:11 PM

I'm also getting tattooed on Sat for 5 hours... gonna cut into my video game time. :-\
That's an acceptable excuse, so you're good.

Dukefrukem

01-29-2010, 12:14 PM

That's an acceptable excuse, so you're good.

Gotta buckle down and finish this sleeve. I hate it being unfinished. :mad:

Gorvi

01-29-2010, 12:17 PM

Gotta buckle down and finish this sleeve. I hate it being unfinished. :mad:
Yeah, that would suck. Just find a good album or podcast to listen to and it'll go by quicker than you think.

I have a design all planned out for my back, but the cost and multiple 4-5 hour sessions are what's keeping me from doing it. I just need to get the smaller design I wanted on my left shoulder and be happy with that for now.

Dukefrukem

01-29-2010, 12:19 PM

Yeah, that would suck. Just find a good album or podcast to listen to and it'll go by quicker than you think.

I have a design all planned out for my back, but the cost and multiple 4-5 hour sessions are what's keeping me from doing it. I just need to get the smaller design I wanted on my left shoulder and be happy with that for now.

Totally. If you get a back piece, you BETTER get a real back piece... that includes the ass. Don't half ass it. (pun intended)

A good back piece, is EASILY 25 hours of work.

Gorvi

01-29-2010, 12:32 PM

Totally. If you get a back piece, you BETTER get a real back piece... that includes the ass. Don't half ass it. (pun intended)

A good back piece, is EASILY 25 hours of work.
No ass for me, thanks.

That sounds really weird, even in context. :p Nah, the piece I was looking at (it's been a couple of years) would have gone from my shoulders to to lower back. I'd still like to do it eventually, but the quotes I was getting were $1k or more, and there's no way I can justify that on any leisure expense at the moment.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 01:05 PM

I beat Darksiders on the hardest mode and I did die a couple times on Silitha. It's a patterned fight, so once you get it down you can avoid her quite a bit. When I finally did beat her I didn't realize how easy it was. I thought there might be a second part to the fight...but no.

Also, Sam and Max season 1 for PC is $5 at Telltale's website until the end of the month. In case anyone is interested. I haven't played the games, so I might have to bite the bullet tonight.

And Spigot, you should use the abyssal chain as well to get in close and fast. Then get out of there.Yeah, I figured that. My mistake was cuing chaos mode before the latter part of the fight started. Sigh.

I quite like what I've played of Sam & Max Season 1. I've got the disc version of it and just haven't gotten around to installing it on my new rig. I still have about 3-4 eps to play of it, then I can get to work on Season 2.

I was out at the store with one of the guys today and picked up NMH2. I'm not sure if I'm going to manage to finish the first one because whenever I play it, the penultimate fight kicks my ass. At least I hear that the sequel is even awesomer than the first one... and yes, in No More Heroes' case, awesomer IS a word :)

Cyndair

01-29-2010, 01:19 PM

Heading down to a friend's place with the family for the weekend. There are going to be three kids running around so I'm not sure how much gaming will get done with the circus in town. I would like to play:

Serious Sam: HD: My buddy and I grabbed this during the Steam sale with the intent of playing some co-op. This weekend seems like a good a time as any. Lets get serious.

Darksiders: I'm going to take this along with me and see if I can get a bit further on the side. Good fun!

Convince My Wife It's Time To Upgrade the PC: Look At The Pretty bonus Check Edition: I just got my yearly bonus check from work and it's a beautiful thing. I would like to use a portion of it to upgrade my PC. If I can get the other half on board then I'm sure I'll be spending a nice portion of the weekend doing research and speccing out some new hardware. Mass Effect 2 will most likely be the first game I take for a spin on the new rig so I'm holding off a bit longer. I could play it on my current hardware but why play something that's pretty when you can play something that's extra pretty?

Kelegacy

01-29-2010, 01:19 PM

Yeah, I figured that. My mistake was cuing chaos mode before the latter part of the fight started. Sigh.

Yeah, I tried to "cheat" my way through the fight with Chaos Mode, but I had no luck. I actually was able to beat her faster without it. For some reason Chaos doesn't have much of an affect on her. But playing on the hardest mode doesn't show her life bar, so I had no idea I had beat her until I did it.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 02:11 PM

I'm playing on normal and don't have a life bar either. At least then I'd have a clue if I was hurting her.

Widgetcraft

01-29-2010, 02:14 PM

Well, I've mostly been playing Burnout Paradise. A couple of nights ago I got my Burnout License, so now I'm working towards my Elite License, but I've slowed down a bit on that. A few hours ago I went ahead and bought Psychonaughts on Steam for $2.00, and that should be done downloading soon. I'm considering picking up Aliens vs Predator 2000, since it is only $5 (I loves being cheap) and they've implemented multiplayer.

That's about it for me. I've also got a stack of B-movies I need to work through. Watched Yor: The Hunter from the Future (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doS-sxtlNfU) last night, and while it was bad, it wasn't bad by bad movie standards, surprisingly.

National Kato

01-29-2010, 02:53 PM

Mass Effect 2 - this will be most of my playtime, but I'll try to take a break here and there to get some Bad Company 2 beta in. Nah, probably just Mass Effect 2. :D

EternalGamer

01-29-2010, 03:19 PM

Wraith

01-29-2010, 04:15 PM

I have been contemplating restarting Mass Effect 1 for the third time, because I have yet to get pulled into it despite everyone else's love of the game.Mass Effect... 1 - I am positively embarrassed by how long it took me to get into this and realize how great it is, but I'm in it now. I suppose I should be grateful that now I'll get to experience it with all its flaws and then move directly into the sequel which apparently fixes almost all of them.I fired up Mass Effect (1) last night. (Since launch, I'd started off in the game three times with a new character, and hadn't gotten terribly far in these attempts.) New game, female Shepard, Earthborn, War Hero, Engineer. Played all the way to the point where you're about to leave the citadel for the first time. Finished most of the on-citadel quests that were available. Explored most of the dialog options (though this can be a bit tiring at times). Found all of those keepers. About 6.5 - 7 hours.

jpublic

01-29-2010, 05:42 PM

Mass Effect 2

Maybe with a side of Marvel UA2.

Ravenlock

01-29-2010, 05:44 PM

Is there a reason to find all of those keepers? I'm rolling through ME1 for the first time now, and wasn't sure whether I should bother.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 05:58 PM

Mass Effect 2 is fantastic, a large improvement over the first game. Even though I've only played around 10 hours, I can already say it will be one of my favorite games this generation. Which is funny because, with this and Darksiders, there have been TWO games of that caliber in the month of January.

And then Heavy Rain, Bioshock 2, and Final Fantasy XIII are all just a matter of weeks away. THis really is unprecedented in terms of the quantity of very high quality games in such a short period of time. Even more unexpected that it is happening in the first quarter of the year. This lineup is far better than what came out 4th quarter last year.It sure is. Last fall was nice with AC2 but if you weren't a huge shooter fan, it wasn't that splendiferous. This Q1 blitz is much nicer if you want games with some meat on their bones. I'm incredibly excited for Heavy Rain and FFXIII and look forward to WKC with games like ME2, Darksiders and NMH2 keeping me busy in the interim. Bioshock 2 is probably the only big title coming in the next while that I'm not excited about but that is because I'm having the same hesitations most have yammered about. I'm hoping that it is good but I'm going to wait until I hear impressions from around these parts.

And EG, have you seen the Xplay review of Darksiders? It's like they were playing a completely different game than I was. At least the Zero Punctuation 'review' is supposed to be hyperbolic and negative. This was just silly.

I'm getting really sick of reviewers that demand innovation for innovation's sake who then go on to praise a game like MW2 to the high heaven's despite its utter lack of innovation, strawberry jam filter aside.

/end rant

Oh, I have to say that I was sorely tempted today when I was at the store getting No More Heroes 2. They had a used DJ Hero set for the 360 on sale for $70. It was all I could do not to bite and get it. Here's hoping that as used copies go on the market over the next year, I'll eventually be able to snag one for $40 or so. I'd love it if something like Best Buy remaindered it for the same ludicrous prices that they were dumping sets of Guitar Hero games.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 05:59 PM

Is there a reason to find all of those keepers? I'm rolling through ME1 for the first time now, and wasn't sure whether I should bother.It's nice for getting the completionist trophy but that's about it. I'm still miffed that a few of my NPC companions in my 360 playthrough didn't get their achievements because I had done too many sidequests early in the game.

Arphahat

01-29-2010, 06:00 PM

I wasn't planning on it till reading this thread, but I bought Mass Effect 1 during the Holiday sale and am suddenly itching to see what all the excitement is about.

I've been playing Burnout Paradise for the PC almost non-stop since I tried it out a couple of weeks ago. There is something addictive about driving around and smashing other cars.

Bought Psychonaught for $2 this week and will probably look at that for a bit. Also, Freedom Force and Tropico 3 were just purchased today and I'll probably give them a play through.

pomeroy

01-29-2010, 06:01 PM

Purple Santa

01-29-2010, 06:34 PM

I have a bunch of games on PS3 I would like to play, so if I decide to unhook it from the main tv and play it on my private screen, I might be able to play some MotorStorm, Demon's Souls or Resistance 2. But I don't know.

I'm going to give you the same advice you gave me back in '08 when you convinced me to buy a monitor to put my PS3 on. Do it! If it means more gaming without causing stress in the relationship...do it. I'm still thanking you for telling me to buy a monitor for my PS3.
I

Other than that, I've been sick lately, so the gaming will largely be confined to bed. If I get out, I'm going to play Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. I'm a few chapters in, and while I can't quite judge yet how good it is compared to the other three, I'm enjoying it. The fan translation hack has some oddities, but all things considered, it's an amazing experience.

I only briefly played the first Fatal Frame then bought the first two for ADDGirl because I thought she wanted them. She has no interest in playing a game that is that creepy. So now I have them sitting in my backlog. I need to try to play them again. It's to bad we won't see a proper FF 4.

And welcome back to the thread. I was hoping you would eventually come back.

Also, Sam and Max season 1 for PC is $5 at Telltale's website until the end of the month. In case anyone is interested. I haven't played the games, so I might have to bite the bullet tonight.
I know I should pick it up for that price and I love games like that. I just hate to buy another game to sit on my computer though.
First of all, I hate you for having that song in your post. It is my bane. Long story but horrid memories.

I'd love to hear the long story. Your stories long or short are awesome!

@Spigot: I had that clip originally for the OP but decided to go just with music. In my head I just pictured the music. It's a very odd process how these threads are created. If it's possible to "picture" music in one's head..well that is what I saw :p

Did some time in SH and now wandering around a forest. I'm "lost" at the moment so taking a break. While I was taking said break I picked up papijump to play. I can't say this enough: itouch/phone games are like crack! I wanted to play one quick game...which led to a few games that I didn't want to stop until I beat my high score. For a change of pace, I might fire up the plastic guitar to play some Beatles tunes.

Pale Ale

01-29-2010, 06:52 PM

Games I will play this weekend *

No More Heroes 2: Pacing myself because there is simply too much awesome. No only is this the greatest game ever, but it might be the greatest anything ever made by human hands.

BlazBleu: I'm going to give this one another shot during the weekend. However I'm beginning to think I've aged out of fighting games. :(

Find Where I Put The Damn DS because it still has Spirit Tracks in it

and last but not least,

Mass Effect The original, not that nice new one. Serendipitously found a Shepperd I'd abandoned last time I got pissed at the game. Yay not having to fart around through Citadel again,

*If I don't flake out and play Sins: Diplomacy instead.

EternalGamer

01-29-2010, 06:59 PM

Gorvi

01-29-2010, 07:15 PM

I'm playing GTA4, too. I think I'm liking it better than you, though. I don't have as many problems with the writing because I pretty much ignore everything that isn't in a cutscene. The radio stations are annoying as hell and very trite.

I'm about halfway through and have about 15 hours sunk into it.
Oh, I'm enjoying it for what it is, a solid GTA with current gen graphics, but that's about it. Maybe I'm just remembering things differently, but the overall tone just seems like it's really lacking something. I know the low brow humor has always been there, but it always came off as parody before, it was more entertaining, now it's like they're just trying to see how much they can say just for the hell of it.

Xydarc

01-29-2010, 07:21 PM

You stupid motherfucking piece of shit!
My company uses a sub-contractor (a local guy who knows the vice-prez of the company) for server maintenance; basically he logs into the server late at night and defrags, chkdsk, etc. So we get a panicked call yesterday morning from one of our accountant firm clients, they can't log into their terminal sessions. Their terminal server is running a virtualized instance of Win Server 2k3 through VMWare ESXI 3.5. Up until now, this setup has been solid as a rock.

My supervisor attempts to login via vpn and rdp. Cannot connect to remote computer. So he logs into their file server and runs the infrastructure client: no virtual machines found. The server isn't even on. My supervisor checks his e-mails, and yup, dumbass e-mailed him saying the server was down. E-mail was sent at 2 a.m. No phone call, no voicemail. Apparently, dumbass started fucking around with the virtual machine snapshots because he was getting a "no space" error when trying to run disk cleanup.

Dumbass fubar'd the virtual machine so much, that after 2 solid days of trying to restore, my supervisor just said "fuck it" (not really, he's a Christian so he probably said "for-diddily-get it") and now he gets to spend the entire weekend rebuilding the virtual machine, since the accountants need it for the start of tax season, their busiest time of year.

So what am I doing? I'm creating half-a-dozen individual profiles on workstations so all of the various employees of this accountant firm can work on any one workstation and not have to be tied to just one. Not only that, I have to perform software installs on each individual workstation.:mad: So I'm stuck here instead of playing LittleBigPlanet with my nieces. At least I can see them for a bit tomorrow, but I'm not sure if the PS3 is going with me.

My only consolation is that dumbass will no longer be performing any work for us, ever.

frederec

01-29-2010, 07:38 PM

I only briefly played the first Fatal Frame then bought the first two for ADDGirl because I thought she wanted them. She has no interest in playing a game that is that creepy. So now I have them sitting in my backlog. I need to try to play them again. It's to bad we won't see a proper FF 4.

And welcome back to the thread. I was hoping you would eventually come back.

I haven't been participating because what I've been playing hasn't been interesting in a while. For quite some time it was either nothing or Demon's Souls.

But I'm so excited about Fatal Frame translation, expense and flaws and all, I just had to share. My wife generally hates horror, but she can't help but hang around while I'm playing Fatal Frame, the story draws her in.

Spigot

01-29-2010, 08:34 PM

I haven't been participating because what I've been playing hasn't been interesting in a while. For quite some time it was either nothing or Demon's Souls.You're so humble for someone who HAS GOTTEN A PLATINUM IN DEMON'S SOULS!

I feel kind of cheap, but I am just watching the finale of No More Heroes on Youtube so that I can play the sequel. I just watched the final fight(s) and while it would have been nice to do that myself, I also tried it about 300 times back before I gave up and just watching the fight on Youtube made me annoyed with it. Thankfully I hear that there is little that reaches that level of annoyance in the sequel.

I think that's the first time I've Youtubed the end of a game... Sigh. But it wasn't for lack of trying on my part!

Widgetcraft

01-29-2010, 08:55 PM

Damn, Psychonauts is some good stuff. It took me a little while to get my PS3 controller to cooperate with the game, but once I figured out I could set up custom profiles in Motionjoy, it was all cake from there.

I've spent most of my time running around the camp trying to find all of the secrets. Entered what I think to be the second level, and I'm gonna stop for a bit (I'm about two and a half hours in). I gavae the game a try back on Gametap when I didn't have a proper dual analog controller, and that just didn't cut it; with a proper gamepad the PC version is awesome. Raz's model and textures still look great today, though some of the other characters look a bit iffy.

frederec

01-29-2010, 10:44 PM

You're so humble for someone who HAS GOTTEN A PLATINUM IN DEMON'S SOULS!

Thanks, but I wouldn't say that took skill, just persistence. You'll notice that none of the trophies for Demon's Souls required any PvP. If they did, I'd have had no hope of getting them all. I'm generally worthless at multiplayer games.

If you looked at my trophy collection, you'd see it consists of a scattering of trophies here and there, and a full collection of trophies for Fallout 3 and Demon's Souls. Common element: trophies that can be obtained without requiring me to be better than someone else.

Purple Santa

01-30-2010, 05:04 AM

For those of you trying to get into Mass Effect 1, my advice is just to get the hell off the Citadel as fast as possible. Don't let the anal retentive bug get to you and make you think you have to explore every conversation there. Besides, you can always go back and do any of those quests later if you want. If you just go do what you need, you can be off the Citadel in under 30 minutes easily.

I have read a few times about skipping the Citadel...whatever that is :). Seriously, I started the game twice and I still didn't remember that is where it all begins (ok, I have crap for a memory...that is part of it). I will though give ME1 another try. I do tend to be anal and like to listen to all the conversations but i'll post this on my Xbox: EG ADVISES GET THE HELL OUT OF THE CITADEL. That will help. I have way to much coming up to consider finding a copy but now i'm tempted. I am so easily tempted.
Oh, I'm enjoying it for what it is, a solid GTA with current gen graphics, but that's about it. Maybe I'm just remembering things differently, but the overall tone just seems like it's really lacking something. I know the low brow humor has always been there, but it always came off as parody before, it was more entertaining, now it's like they're just trying to see how much they can say just for the hell of it.
Well i'm sure you know this GTA they tried to go all "serious" which reading from many of the comments on the humor in this GTA, fell flat for many. I think R* got the tone down what they were going for by the DLC The Ballad of Gay Tony. A bit over the top humor but still from a more serious tone. I recommend both DLC if you ever get the urge to buy them. Even Kelegacy thought The Lost and Damned was worth it.
Xydarc rants about...
What I learned from Xydarc's rant: I know nothing about what he does at work. A new better way to say fuck it. His supervisor made a virtual machine and kept it all to himself. I want a virtual machine.
I haven't been participating because what I've been playing hasn't been interesting in a while. For quite some time it was either nothing or Demon's Souls.

But I'm so excited about Fatal Frame translation, expense and flaws and all, I just had to share. My wife generally hates horror, but she can't help but hang around while I'm playing Fatal Frame, the story draws her in.
We don't require interesting or playing new games for post around here. Hell, if interesting was needed I wouldn't be allowed to create these threads. Seriously, you were missed. Even if you dropped by and said, yeah still playing same X game...just so we know you are alive :) Besides we can always talk about Atlus games and drive MagGnome further into posting how he feels left out:cool:
You're so humble for someone who HAS GOTTEN A PLATINUM IN DEMON'S SOULS!
Talk about having no ego. I haven't even played the game and know he should be bowed to when entering a forum. Should we kiss his GL ring too?

I feel kind of cheap, but I am just watching the finale of No More Heroes on Youtube so that I can play the sequel. I just watched the final fight(s) and while it would have been nice to do that myself, I also tried it about 300 times back before I gave up and just watching the fight on Youtube made me annoyed with it. Thankfully I hear that there is little that reaches that level of annoyance in the sequel.

I think that's the first time I've Youtubed the end of a game... Sigh. But it wasn't for lack of trying on my part!

I wouldn't be to hard on yourself. If you have you tubed an ending before I haven't read about in a long time. I actually note you have the patience and persistence to finish some games that probably might be better off not being finished. As for this time around...we aren't 16 anymore with all the time in the world. Sometimes you do need to move on. I know I move on to quickly with many games and to each person it's an individual knowing of oneself but i'm a big believer in knowing when just to say it's not worth it anymore. Now go out and buy NMH2 :)

Spigot

01-30-2010, 07:36 AM

Thanks, but I wouldn't say that took skill, just persistence. You'll notice that none of the trophies for Demon's Souls required any PvP. If they did, I'd have had no hope of getting them all. I'm generally worthless at multiplayer games.

If you looked at my trophy collection, you'd see it consists of a scattering of trophies here and there, and a full collection of trophies for Fallout 3 and Demon's Souls. Common element: trophies that can be obtained without requiring me to be better than someone else.But in Demon's Souls case, you were better than the people who designed it, who are some of the most sadistic fuckers ever to walk the planet. I take that as a much higher accomplishment than beating "IMARACIST838" at multiplayer game X.

I have read a few times about skipping the Citadel...whatever that is :). I know I'm in the minority, but I liked poking around in the Citadel. I found all of the keepers and chatted with everyone before finally venturing out into the stars. Whether I would have bothered with that on a second playthrough, I'm not 100% sure.

What I learned from Xydarc's rant: I know nothing about what he does at work. A new better way to say fuck it. His supervisor made a virtual machine and kept it all to himself. I want a virtual machine.
I've got a virtual machine... I paid for it with virtual money that I made at my virtual job that I go to after kissing my virtual wife and virtual kids goodbye. I'm afraid to turn it off because then my virtual reality might disappear.

I wouldn't be to hard on yourself. If you have you tubed an ending before I haven't read about in a long time. I actually note you have the patience and persistence to finish some games that probably might be better off not being finished. As for this time around...we aren't 16 anymore with all the time in the world. Sometimes you do need to move on. I know I move on to quickly with many games and to each person it's an individual knowing of oneself but i'm a big believer in knowing when just to say it's not worth it anymore. Now go out and buy NMH2 :)Yeah. And it's not like I didn't try to beat that particular (penultimate) boss over and over again. And I wasn't playing on Sweet difficulty... no no... Mild all the way for this bad boy. At this point in time, esp. with the sequel out, there wasn't really any need to subject myself to that kind of stress and annoyance any more.

I did buy NMH2 yesterday (which is why I was Youtubing the ending of NMH1) and basically did the introduction and one of the sidejob minigames yesterday. Man, I love how they've kept all of the things that made NMH so awesome but in fixing the parts that weren't, they've made the game even more awesomer (there's that word again). I'm definately planning on consuming this game in chunks over the next few weeks around the meatier RPGs I have on my plate, but Suda51 has done it again.

I feel bad that my ME2 playtime last night was solely spent on reading all of the codex entries... and I feel like I accomplished something. Sigh.

Spigot

01-30-2010, 07:39 AM

Oh, and I played some more PvsZ.

0N1_0SUGlDQ

menage

01-30-2010, 07:48 AM

Xydarc

01-30-2010, 08:08 AM

I apologize for the rant, it was either vent or my head explode. Anyone who works in IT should have an inkling of what I was talking about.

It looks like I'll be taking the PS3 to my parents regardless. My mom already told them I was bringing it down, so Uncle Dave has to deliver the LBP goodness. Can't disappoint the nieces.:D

I agree with menage, the hacking/bypass mini-games in ME 2 are much more fun that the one in ME 1. I'm really glad I found the hack and bypass tools early on, it's nice to have double the time for some of those.

Spigot

01-30-2010, 08:55 AM

The planetscaning sure does away with useless annoying driving.
I agree, though I kind of miss the Mako in all its floaty, stupid glory. I spent so much time driving around fractal landscapes that I couldn't help but set up the memorial in front of it when I went back to the crash zone.

menage

01-30-2010, 10:01 AM

I agree, though I kind of miss the Mako in all its floaty, stupid glory. I spent so much time driving around fractal landscapes that ...

I didn't mind if it was a few times. I liked the idea of a moonbuggy. But in the end it ended up a huge timesink, especially without a good autosave.

EternalGamer

01-30-2010, 10:19 AM

I didn't mind if it was a few times. I liked the idea of a moonbuggy. But in the end it ended up a huge timesink, especially without a good autosave.

Well, it was a huge timesink if you insisted on doing all those cut and paste side missions, which I admittedly made the mistake of doing my first play through. I think the biggest difference between ME 1 and ME 2 (although admitted 2 is drastically improved in almost every way) is that ME1 is a great game that has a bunch of very mediocre filler material piled on top of it. You can avoid it if you choose to, but most gamers' impulses is to eat whatever is put in front of them. Meanwhile even ME2's side stuff is interesting and fun and much of it actually compliments and enriches the main narrative. In short, ME1 is like a crappy buffet that has two or three great items (but, again, thankfully you don't have to eat anything but those) whereas ME2 is a smorgasbord of totally awesome all around.

menage

01-30-2010, 10:21 AM

Well, it was a huge timesink if you insisted on doing all those cut and paste side missions, which I admittedly made the mistake of doing my first play through. I think the biggest difference between ME 1 and ME 2 (although admitted 2 is drastically improved in almost every way) is that ME1 is a great game that has a bunch of very mediocre filler material piled on top of it. You can avoid it if you choose to, but most gamers' impulses is to eat whatever is put in front of them. Meanwhile even ME2's side stuff is interesting and fun and much of it actually compliments and enriches the main narrative. In short, ME1 is like a crappy buffet that has two or three great items (but, again, thankfully you don't have to eat anything but those) whereas ME2 is a smorgasbord of totally awesome all around.

True, I just wanted to pad out the buffet because I didn't want it to end. Which resulted in overeating.

Oh and it's nigh on impossible to really hit level 60 without it I think.

Wraith

01-30-2010, 11:08 AM

Last night, on Mass Effect (1): finished a couple things on the citadel and headed out. Visited a couple side planets, one with a stronghold to clear out. Found planet Knossos, remembered that was where I stopped in my first attempted playthrough, and headed to Feros system instead. Started the mission on planet Feros, got pretty close to what seems like the end of the mission before shutting down for the night. Was using Garrus (who gets stuck a lot) and Kaiden.

Wraith

01-30-2010, 11:32 AM

Oh, and I've been putting quite a few points into Overload, with my Engineer Shepard, which is quite useful with these Geth.

Purple Santa

01-30-2010, 01:26 PM

I apologize for the rant, it was either vent or my head explode. Anyone who works in IT should have an inkling of what I was talking about.

Never apologize for anything written in these threads. Please, some of the crap we can write...besides I like the rant. I'm fascinated by IT stuff despite me not understanding a word of it. If I were a younger man, I would do a tech career. Now I just get to work with people which...well that should scare future employers :p

No gaming so far today. Did manage to work on my professional dilemma presentation and worked on drafting my genogram. Now I get to play. Which before I do, I ask the obscure gamers around here...anyone playing Shadow of Destiny? It's a PSP game where you are investigating your own murder before it happens. This is why I love Gamefly. I get to check out games like this :D

Gorvi

01-30-2010, 01:34 PM

Which before I do, I ask the obscure gamers around here...anyone playing Shadow of Destiny? It's a PSP game where you are investigating your own murder before it happens. This is why I love Gamefly. I get to check out games like this :D
I played it on PS2 a long time ago when it first came out, I still have it sitting on my shelf. It's a good little game from what I remember, but it's rather short. If you really get into it there's multiple endings.

I'm slowly warming to GTA4 the more I play it. It's still no Vice City (for it's time), but it's bothering me less, so that's good. I've been sticking to the main story kinda close, to stay as spoiler free as possible (if that's even necessary almost 2 years later) I just got my first mission from Roman's girlfriend, Malory I think.

Kelegacy

01-30-2010, 01:39 PM

EternalGamer

01-30-2010, 01:54 PM

I started ME last night and am just on the first area (Eden Prime) and I already feel that I'm going through the motions. Probably because this is the third time in the area, as it's my third time trying to get into the game.

What I find myself itching for, instead, is playing some more old-school adventure games. I might take my broken PC apart today and toy with it. I don't want to game on my laptop.

That's like trying to reading the first 3 pages of a 400 page novel on four different occasions and deciding that the novel isn't for you. I willingly admit that taste is subjective, but if you haven't even gotten into any of the plot scenarios after you left the Citadel then you haven't really played the game. Like many things that are new, there is a bit of delayed gratification required. The games rewards aren't the normal ones from traditional genres of adventure or FPS games. It doesn't have that same instant gratification.

I certainly understand enjoying games as "dumb entertainment": popcorn FPS games, mindlessly grinding RPGs while downing a few beers, or nostalgic throwbacks to your youth, but ME is one of the few games that is rewarding on its own terms outside of that realm of instant gratification. It's even great sober. I know I certainly had to give it a second chance a few months later before I stuck with it long enough for it to click. There is a really good reason it is so universally acclaimed and that the sequel is one of the highest rated 360 game on metacritic. It's unfortunate that you seem to already have your mind made up with it though for whatever reason (console centric games = dumbed down, not like the Bioware games of my rose tinted youth, linearity = inferiority, etc.). As someone who majored in English, I think you'd appreciate the way the game handles the subtly of some of its thematic elements and its economy of language. That is, you'd appreicate it if you were ever able to get past the aformentioned hangups. The game develops characters and narratives in a way that, frankly, is far superior to any other videogame series. Bah, your loss not mine, though. Sorry you can't find your entry point.

pomeroy

01-30-2010, 02:15 PM

I'm slowly warming to GTA4 the more I play it. It's still no Vice City (for it's time), but it's bothering me less, so that's good. I've been sticking to the main story kinda close, to stay as spoiler free as possible (if that's even necessary almost 2 years later) I just got my first mission from Roman's girlfriend, Malory I think.

Yeah, I like the main storyline. I ended up doing some of the side stuff (deliveries, Brucie's exotics, working on the races), but I try to stick with the missions which are usually pretty good.

I am getting a bit sick of making sure everyone's happy with me (seriously...getting all mad at me because I don't wanna go to the stipclub is stupid, Packie), but it's not as annoying as everyone said.

Spigot

01-30-2010, 02:25 PM

No gaming so far today. Did manage to work on my professional dilemma presentation and worked on drafting my genogram. Now I get to play. Which before I do, I ask the obscure gamers around here...anyone playing Shadow of Destiny? It's a PSP game where you are investigating your own murder before it happens. This is why I love Gamefly. I get to check out games like this :DYou mean THIS (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/blog.php?b=132) Shadow Of Destiny?

I didn't realize it was out on PSP already. I'll definately be grabbing it eventually.

So I went out this morning to buy a lightbulb and possibly the Blu-Ray of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. I did get both of those, but I also ended up coming home with my very first cell phone. Did I forget to mention that rather than the crappy Pay As You Go phone I was originally looking at, I ended up with a shiny new 16GB iPhone 3GS? Yeah, because that's what I have. So I might be foregoing most of the other gaming shenanigans that I was planning on engaging this evening in order to fully abase myself before the shrine of Apple. Sigh.

My kids both got shiny new demo phones too from the nice guy at the wireless store. And my wife seems surprisingly at peace with me having just dropped $350 on the bloody thing (phone, warranty, case, etc.), which is definately not like her. Of course, she was also already bugging me to put the Facebook app on it so that she can use it while we're on trips... and I'm staunchly anti-Facebook :)

Kelegacy

01-30-2010, 04:31 PM

That's like trying to reading the first 3 pages of a 400 page novel on four different occasions and deciding that the novel isn't for you. I willingly admit that taste is subjective, but if you haven't even gotten into any of the plot scenarios after you left the Citadel then you haven't really played the game. Like many things that are new, there is a bit of delayed gratification required. The games rewards aren't the normal ones from traditional genres of adventure or FPS games. It doesn't have that same instant gratification.

I certainly understand enjoying games as "dumb entertainment": popcorn FPS games, mindlessly grinding RPGs while downing a few beers, or nostalgic throwbacks to your youth, but ME is one of the few games that is rewarding on its own terms outside of that realm of instant gratification. It's even great sober. I know I certainly had to give it a second chance a few months later before I stuck with it long enough for it to click. There is a really good reason it is so universally acclaimed and that the sequel is one of the highest rated 360 game on metacritic. It's unfortunate that you seem to already have your mind made up with it though for whatever reason (console centric games = dumbed down, not like the Bioware games of my rose tinted youth, linearity = inferiority, etc.). As someone who majored in English, I think you'd appreciate the way the game handles the subtly of some of its thematic elements and its economy of language. That is, you'd appreicate it if you were ever able to get past the aformentioned hangups. The game develops characters and narratives in a way that, frankly, is far superior to any other videogame series. Bah, your loss not mine, though. Sorry you can't find your entry point.

I once got past the Citadel and played one or two planets, can't remember, and finally I just threw it down. I tried again over the summer and didn't get off Eden Prime. Last night I was really tired and just saved after Jenkins died (which is like 5 minutes into the game). So it wasn't that I was bored, I was just tired as fuck. I'm glad the gunplay-gameplay is light years better in the sequel, because I found that part of the game as entertaining as a bargain bin game.

Don't take it personally if I can't get into it. I might, but I invested about 11-13 hours into it the first time through before just giving up, so I don't know. I REALLY want to get into the game because people rave about it. And we both didn't like the game the first time through, so if you wound up enjoying it after restarting months later I think I might be able to as well.

I think we share a taste in games, and I usually like the games you do, though you don't always like the games I enjoy. But I think a lot of my alternate interests stem from a chunk of years as a PC gamer.

Purple Santa

01-30-2010, 04:55 PM

I played it on PS2 a long time ago when it first came out, I still have it sitting on my shelf. It's a good little game from what I remember, but it's rather short. If you really get into it there's multiple endings.

*Sigh*. I thought the name sounded familiar but everything sounds familiar with me so I thought it was just me. Guess i'll see if I actually played it before.

What I find myself itching for, instead, is playing some more old-school adventure games. I might take my broken PC apart today and toy with it. I don't want to game on my laptop.
Your laptop that bad or you just don't like gaming on a laptop?
You mean THIS (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/blog.php?b=132) Shadow Of Destiny?

I didn't realize it was out on PSP already. I'll definately be grabbing it eventually.
Should of known it was a TTS too.

So I went out this morning to buy a lightbulb and possibly the Blu-Ray of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. I did get both of those, but I also ended up coming home with my very first cell phone. Did I forget to mention that rather than the crappy Pay As You Go phone I was originally looking at, I ended up with a shiny new 16GB iPhone 3GS? Yeah, because that's what I have. So I might be foregoing most of the other gaming shenanigans that I was planning on engaging this evening in order to fully abase myself before the shrine of Apple. Sigh.

My kids both got shiny new demo phones too from the nice guy at the wireless store. And my wife seems surprisingly at peace with me having just dropped $350 on the bloody thing (phone, warranty, case, etc.), which is definately not like her. Of course, she was also already bugging me to put the Facebook app on it so that she can use it while we're on trips... and I'm staunchly anti-Facebook :)
You go out to buy a lightbulb and movie and come back with an iPhone. How does your wife let you out of the house with any money/credit cards? Well now that you have one, go to Rein's thread in Bargain forum. He's got a free app everyday in there. Lots of fun free apps to kill time with. You truly are in trouble.

Spigot

01-30-2010, 05:17 PM

You go out to buy a lightbulb and movie and come back with an iPhone. How does your wife let you out of the house with any money/credit cards? Well now that you have one, go to Rein's thread in Bargain forum. He's got a free app everyday in there. Lots of fun free apps to kill time with. You truly are in trouble.Well, to be fair, I've been looking for a phone for ages and finally gave up on work buying me one. And for the price they were selling the phone for (with the plan), it was within my budget. And she was standing right there when I got the thing and was pretty much encouraging me to get it. It's all her fault :)

I've loaded a bunch of games on it already and bought a few that I've heard or seen reviews for over the past year or so. I think the thing is almost finished charging up...

rein

01-30-2010, 05:25 PM

You mean THIS (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/blog.php?b=132) Shadow Of Destiny?

I didn't realize it was out on PSP already. I'll definately be grabbing it eventually.

So I went out this morning to buy a lightbulb and possibly the Blu-Ray of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. I did get both of those, but I also ended up coming home with my very first cell phone. Did I forget to mention that rather than the crappy Pay As You Go phone I was originally looking at, I ended up with a shiny new 16GB iPhone 3GS? Yeah, because that's what I have. So I might be foregoing most of the other gaming shenanigans that I was planning on engaging this evening in order to fully abase myself before the shrine of Apple. Sigh.

My kids both got shiny new demo phones too from the nice guy at the wireless store. And my wife seems surprisingly at peace with me having just dropped $350 on the bloody thing (phone, warranty, case, etc.), which is definately not like her. Of course, she was also already bugging me to put the Facebook app on it so that she can use it while we're on trips... and I'm staunchly anti-Facebook :)
I thought you had enough temptations at work with the DS. You will never get any work done now. I think I am addicted to my iPhone because these damn things are with you all of the time tempting you to pick it up and play with it. I even downloaded the kindle app and a few free books this weekend to see how poorly it works for reading. Bad news, it's actually pretty good. I wouldn't use it to replace physical books but it will definitely come in handy when I am out and about and want to read.

You go out to buy a lightbulb and movie and come back with an iPhone. How does your wife let you out of the house with any money/credit cards? Well now that you have one, go to Rein's thread in Bargain forum. He's got a free app everyday in there. Lots of fun free apps to kill time with. You truly are in trouble.His wife must be very understanding... ...or Spigot is hung like a horse and she is willing to put up with his shenanigans to keep him around. :p

One thing about the free apps. Most of them are of the $.99 app store variety which usually means simple phone-like time killers. They will not provide a console experience. Still, there are some gems in there. Today's app is pretty good.

jCwePeG2pp0

For the meatier games, I recommend waiting for sales. It seems that most good games hit a sale sooner or later.

And thanks for the heads up on Shadow of Destiny. I didn't realize it was already out. Now if the ice on the roads will clear up enough tomorrow for me to make it to town.

Purple Santa

01-30-2010, 05:26 PM

Well, to be fair, I've been looking for a phone for ages and finally gave up on work buying me one. And for the price they were selling the phone for (with the plan), it was within my budget. And she was standing right there when I got the thing and was pretty much encouraging me to get it. It's all her fault :)

I've loaded a bunch of games on it already and bought a few that I've heard or seen reviews for over the past year or so. I think the thing is almost finished charging up...

Of course, you buy one with a plan and the phone is "like" free. I'd love a iPhone but I can't stand AT&T service down here. ADD and I are hoping the exclusive contract is going to end someday.

I forgot to mention the place i'm addicted to for apps: Appshopper.com. The site is amazing. Right now i'm playing papijumper. I dare you to try to put it down. Simple, silly...but dammit if I can't stop playing to top my score. And i'm tired of getting "D's" for a grade :o

Spigot

01-30-2010, 05:39 PM

rein

01-30-2010, 05:46 PM

rein: I actually haven't played the DS at work in months, overnight shifts aside. I bring it with me all the time but have been so busy that it hasn't had time to come out and play. At least with the iPhone I can check my e-mail and see where I am :)See what that promotion got you? :)

That is one great thing about playing on a phone. It just looks like your checking messages if anybody walks up. Just remember to mute the sound. Congratulations on the new toy. I've enjoyed having mine much more than I expected I would.

Purple Santa

01-30-2010, 08:45 PM

I thought you had enough temptations at work with the DS. You will never get any work done now. I think I am addicted to my iPhone because these damn things are with you all of the time tempting you to pick it up and play with it. I even downloaded the kindle app and a few free books this weekend to see how poorly it works for reading. Bad news, it's actually pretty good. I wouldn't use it to replace physical books but it will definitely come in handy when I am out and about and want to read.
A Kindle app? I have to check that out.

His wife must be very understanding... ...or Spigot is hung like a horse and she is willing to put up with his shenanigans to keep him around. :p
:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: :eek:

One thing about the free apps. Most of them are of the $.99 app store variety which usually means simple phone-like time killers. They will not provide a console experience. Still, there are some gems in there. Today's app is pretty good.
I love those free apps! Don't be such a downer on your own thread ;)

And thanks for the heads up on Shadow of Destiny. I didn't realize it was already out. Now if the ice on the roads will clear up enough tomorrow for me to make it to town.
Well i'm glad someone appreciated the heads up :p

Spigot

01-30-2010, 09:48 PM

See what that promotion got you? :)

That is one great thing about playing on a phone. It just looks like your checking messages if anybody walks up. Just remember to mute the sound. Congratulations on the new toy. I've enjoyed having mine much more than I expected I would.I tell ya, that thing is EVIL! I spent a pile of time playing around with it tonight and then I read that review of Color Cross, so there goes my sanity. My wife did say that she hopes that I use it for more than just playing games on because, well, that would be a waste of money.

Sigh.

Can you use a stylus on the iPhone screen? A few games would work so much better if I didn't have to use my meaty fingers.

rein

01-30-2010, 10:11 PM

A Kindle app? I have to check that out.For a quick read it's been great. There are a few options for font and background color so that helps. I downloaded a few free books to give it a try. (here (http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Tribe-Precipice-ebook/dp/B002B9MGIM/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2), here (http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Tribe-Skyborn-ebook/dp/B002HJV7B8/ref=cm_lmf_tit_3), and here (http://www.amazon.com/Already-Dead-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B000XUBCZO/ref=cm_lmf_tit_7)) You can usually find a few lists (http://www.amazon.com/Free-Kindle-Books/lm/R3R4QDJZA9RLTA)of available free books.

I tell ya, that thing is EVIL! I spent a pile of time playing around with it tonight and then I read that review of Color Cross, so there goes my sanity. My wife did say that she hopes that I use it for more than just playing games on because, well, that would be a waste of money.

Sigh.

Can you use a stylus on the iPhone screen? A few games would work so much better if I didn't have to use my meaty fingers.You can use a stylus but they have to be designed for the capacitive touch screen. This (http://www.amazon.com/Designs-Stylus-Silver-iPhone-Touch/dp/B001PLUFEE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264913906&sr=8-6)seems to be a popular one but you can find them cheaper. I started to order one but I have gotten so used to using my finger I doubt I would ever use it.

When I first got my iPhone I was worried that it was getting really bad battery life compared to my old MDA phone. Then I realized I was using this thing a lot more than I was my old phone. A lot more!

awww.... ...I'm watching Modern Marvels on the History channel and they have this little machine that they hang chicks on this little conveyor that trims their beak and then shoots them out into a carrier. They just said all the males are all killed off because these are being raised for egg production.

Karak

01-30-2010, 11:04 PM

It's nice for getting the completionist trophy but that's about it. I'm still miffed that a few of my NPC companions in my 360 playthrough didn't get their achievements because I had done too many sidequests early in the game.

In addition ME2 mentions it in a couple discussions with NPC's and some mentions in Shepards personal logs and emails.

Karak

01-30-2010, 11:06 PM

Mass Effect 2 is goddamn awesome.

I've been fiddling away for at least 8-10 hours now and I only found 2 crew members from the list yet. Archangel was a great find, and I love the Doctor with ADHD. I like the new puzzle and hacking sections way better than the quicktime crap from last time, and the planetscaning sure does away with useless annoying driving.

Also, the club on Omega wins the best-dancing establishment award in a videogame. Great little sidequest with the bartender.

Best thing though, the combat is probably the best combat ever in an RPG. It's like playing Lost Planet/Gears with the depth of a Bioware game. If this game doesn't end up being my favorite game this year, well, then we have some incredible game ahead.
I agree. Despite a couple issues, what game doesn't have some, I think any game this year will be almost impossibly pressed to beat it out for my game of the year.

And not only is Omega nightclub a fun couple of side missions it slams home the difference in performance with tons of unique people doing things, the dancers just everything.

Mass Effect 2 is seriously fucking polished and then rubbed down with awesome.

menage

01-31-2010, 05:32 AM

And not only is Omega nightclub a fun couple of side missions it slams
home the difference in performance with tons of unique people doing things, the dancers just
everything.

Yeah, the difference between ME1 and ME2 is illustrated by the diferences in the club alone.
ME could feel empty and forced a lot, you believed the locales cause you had to. ME2 is just
like actually being there without having to let my imagination run wild at all (for a
videogame off course).

I had a marathon session yesterday evenig. 5-6 hours of non stop goodness. I really haven't
been bored 1 second. And the combat really hits home once you start using your team more
effectivly. The NPC AI is pretty decent for a game like this.

I enlarged my crew roster with 4 extra. The missions are masterpieces. Well written,
thoughtful, and sometimes spectacular. Some stuff that just pops up like Keegan or the
tank-Krogan are handled so well I will miss stuff like that in any shooter form now one. The
pacing is impeccable. I landed at the Asari city and called it a day. Too much pretty to soak up all at once.

Minor niggles. I'm annoyed you can't switch your shoulderview when aiming sometimes.
Sometimes I want to nail someone only to end up facing a wall.
I had a really weird audioglitch when battling the final Krogan mission battle.
And my Sheppard has a tendecy to move to the left when she's not supossed to. I had similar
problems in games like that. Maybe it's my joypad, but other games don't have the same
problem. Like my stick is edged to the left just to much to have a slight movement.

Oh and I hate my old ME1 Sheppards haircut. I hope there's a salon somehwhere. I also have no clue on what to do with the credit chit mission.

Spigot

01-31-2010, 06:00 AM

Totally derailing a thread... There's an app for that :)

EternalGamer

01-31-2010, 10:21 AM

Credit chit mission: go to the electronics store behind the arguing pair.

I would write a response to Kel's post, but I'm too busy playing ME2 to care. The game certainly deserves the universal acclaim its getting. It's definitely the most well written and well presented videogame narrative I've ever seen. I agree completely about the side missions. Some of them can get a bit schlocky, but for the most part, they do an excellent job of fleshing out your relationship to the characters on your crew and present some great scenarios. I'm also loving how they mix up the fighting scenarios. The floating platforms on the ghost ship and the sun damage in the Turian mission are excellent examples.

Kelegacy

01-31-2010, 10:43 AM

I've spent all morning playing Beneath A Steel Sky. Free on GoG, along with a few other adventure games. I probably won't play anything else all weekend. I also have to prepare for that interview tomorrow. Studying up on some of those stupid fucking HR questions.

pomeroy

01-31-2010, 11:34 AM

Kel - I love your avatar pictures. Your boy is just a cutie. I'm assuming your wife is, therefore, stunningly beautiful to counteract the negative genes that went into making him (I'm saying you're ugly).

Anyway, more GTA4. I'm finding the balance between missions and friendships a bit more tedious since I have more friends in the game, but whatever. I love the narrative. I really like Niko.

Purple Santa

01-31-2010, 11:53 AM

Totally derailing a thread... There's an app for that :)
We have that app. It's called MagGnome :D Or is that the killer thread app. :cool:
I've spent all morning playing Beneath A Steel Sky. Free on GoG, along with a few other adventure games. I probably won't play anything else all weekend. I also have to prepare for that interview tomorrow. Studying up on some of those stupid fucking HR questions.
Your kid should be rennamed humongo. Damn that kid is...big. You and your wife giants or orcs or something?

Anyway, more GTA4. I'm finding the balance between missions and friendships a bit more tedious since I have more friends in the game, but whatever. I love the narrative. I really like Niko.
The friend stuff is annoying. Especially if you try for the achievements which I was trying to do. I turned them off though if I was doing a mission. You know you can turn them off right?

I too liked Niko's story. I know some of the old "humor" was gone, but I liked the direction R* took with GTAIV. The more "mature" storyline meshed with the gritty looking Liberty City. I thought the game meshed really well. If you end up liking the narrative for this, then you will want the DLC at a later time. The Lost and Damned had a tight (but short) story. I barely touched The Ballad of Gay Tony but what I have seen, it's a nice blend of old GTA and new GTA.

Spent a few hours in my favorite resort town, Silent Hill. As usual, the deeper you go with a SH game the more disturbing it becomes. I'm at the nightclub now but...did I take a picture of my ...geez, i feel sleezy typing this...daughter in the lockerroom shower? I am not sure I want to know the answer. And trying to take those pictures during a nightmare...nice way to keep the gameplay interesting. I was fine with it staying "static" :)

Spigot

01-31-2010, 12:17 PM

Purple Santa

01-31-2010, 02:45 PM

Can't stop playing with my new phone. Flight Control is evil.

It was fun to watch my wife playing with the phone on the way to church this morning. She went from dismissive to admitting that if I let her play around with the thing much longer, she's going to end up wanting one. Just watching the real-time GPS tracking as we drove and doing the pinchy-pinch zooming in and out kept her entertained for the drive :)

And Purps, just keep plugging away at Shattered Memories. If you think taking pictures of your daughter doing dirty deeds with her teacher and in the shower was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet. I loved the one summation of the Silent Hill series that was put out there by someone. It's not about horror, per se. It's all about betraying your trust on a variety of levels.

I vote for getting the wife an iPhone. Then she will understand the addiction to games. Even if they are "casual" games. Games are games to me.

I used to have a link to someone summing up the SH series. If you have it let me know. I'll save it and read it after i'm done. I read the SH interpretation from someone, connecting all the stories including SH:origins. It was pretty creepy. I agree the horror or the real horror of the series aren't the lovely things that chase you through the games. It's more the people, their motives and much of their very bizarre thinking that begins the descent into some demented behavior.

Camel

01-31-2010, 02:50 PM

Played nothing but Mass Effect 2 this weekend, and I'll play even more tomorrow since we just found out we have a snow day tomorrow!

I just fought off the Collector's for the first time, and now have a whole new roster of teammates to go after. I like all of my team so far except for Jack, who I think I will leave on the ship for the rest of the game. Very unappealing character overall, in pretty much every way to me. I am kind of disappointed with Grunt, too (which stinks because Wrex was my favorite in ME1), although he has said a few things thus far that have made me laugh.

Spigot

01-31-2010, 02:58 PM

I vote for getting the wife an iPhone. Then she will understand the addiction to games. Even if they are "casual" games. Games are games to me.She's addicted enough as it is to that stupid cafe game in Facebook. I wish the iPhone didn't suck down battery life like a drunken hooker vampire at a bloodbank in Amsterdam. One of these days I will have to actually make a phone call on it...

I used to have a link to someone summing up the SH series. If you have it let me know. I'll save it and read it after i'm done. I read the SH interpretation from someone, connecting all the stories including SH:origins. It was pretty creepy. I agree the horror or the real horror of the series aren't the lovely things that chase you through the games. It's more the people, their motives and much of their very bizarre thinking that begins the descent into some demented behavior.The upside of Shattered Memories is that it DOESN'T tie into the usual Silent Hill chronology at all. It hits a lot of the same notes but it doesn't technically have anything to do with what has come before.

That said, Silent Hill Origins, 1 and 3 are all telling one tale between them all (of Alyssa, Dhalia and the cultists) while SH2 is all about James' inner demons.

Banacek

01-31-2010, 03:02 PM

Just picked up ME2, along with pre-ordering FFXIII, Heavy Rain and Bioshock 2. I wish they summed up a bit of what you did in ME1. The last time I played it was in 2007. The only thing I remember is that my lesbian Space Captain is a total badass :)

Gorvi

01-31-2010, 04:01 PM

I finally got around to playing some Critter Crunch, which was just as good as I remember it from the demo. It's a game I'm sure I'll be going back to for a while.

I played some more LittleBigPlanet this morning at my son's request, going through the last PotC level then moving on to some user levels. I think we may have exhausted the number of decent, playable Wall-E and Thomas the Tank Engine levels out there.

I've again gotten a little further in GTAIV, right now all I have available to me is missions from Brucie and Playboy X. I've already had spoiled for me that I'm going to have to decide between the two but already I know which I'd choose I think.

I caved and added a game to my shrinking backlog this morning (current gen it's down to 3 games, well, 4 now): while out food shopping I saw IL 2 Sturmovik on sale for $20 and picked it up. I'm a sucker for games with good flight in them and I really enjoyed the demo when it came out late last year. It reviewed well, so when I do get around to playing it I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

pomeroy

01-31-2010, 04:18 PM

I've again gotten a little further in GTAIV, right now all I have available to me is missions from Brucie and Playboy X. I've already had spoiled for me that I'm going to have to decide between the two but already I know which I'd choose I think.

You pick between Dwayne and Playboy, Brucie doesn't factor in (although, honestly, you'd think someone would kill that dude just for being him).

frederec

01-31-2010, 05:25 PM

Spent a few hours in my favorite resort town, Silent Hill. As usual, the deeper you go with a SH game the more disturbing it becomes. I'm at the nightclub now but...did I take a picture of my ...geez, i feel sleezy typing this...daughter in the lockerroom shower? I am not sure I want to know the answer. And trying to take those pictures during a nightmare...nice way to keep the gameplay interesting. I was fine with it staying "static" :)

Glad to see I'm not the only one playing horror this weekend. I've got the first four Silent Hill games, never beaten any of them. Need to remedy that. And from what I've heard, Shattered Memories is the first worthwhile entry to come out in a while.

I did beat both Fatal Frame IV and Dead Space today. Fatal Frame was a good continuation of the series. It hurts me that this is an unofficial localization, and the last one that came out stateside came out about four years ago. I'd love to have a cleaned up version, especially if it fixed the glitches in the Japanese version (making it impossible to finish the ghost list).

On the other hand, I'm really glad I picked up Dead Space for just $15. It was an amusing action game, but it was never scary. It seemed like someone who had seen a few horror movies (especially Aliens, Event Horizon, and The Thing) tried to make a horror game without really understanding what makes something scary. There was no sense of subtlety or setting the appropriate tone and atmosphere. To be fair, it startled me once or twice when things jumped out behind me, but it never scared me.

Whereas Fatal Frame (and this goes for the whole series) can be scary when I'm walking down an empty hallway. Most of the scariest moments in those games occur when you're not being attacked. Playing Fatal Frame IV rekindles the urge to revisit the other games in the series. But since I've played them all multiple times, I should probably resist and go for one of the Silent Hill games if I still want horror.

Gorvi

01-31-2010, 06:04 PM

You pick between Dwayne and Playboy, Brucie doesn't factor in (although, honestly, you'd think someone would kill that dude just for being him).
Ah, ok, for some reason I thought it was Brucie. I haven't met Dwayne yet.

Ravenlock

01-31-2010, 09:27 PM

Having now put a few hours into Darksiders, I felt compelled to write about it (http://bit.ly/diHBJx), a bit, if anybody wants to go read it.

TL;DR version: it's Zelda. From a gameplay perspective, that's fine, I love Zelda. From a story perspective, it damn near ruins the whole thing.

Lance Uppercut

01-31-2010, 10:19 PM

I've been working on MGS 4 this weekend. So many cutscenes...

Xydarc

01-31-2010, 11:29 PM

The Justicar and her Biotic cleavage are now a part of my crew. Jacob and Jack's loyalty missions are next, then Tali's recruitment quest.

Purple Santa

02-01-2010, 03:40 AM

Glad to see I'm not the only one playing horror this weekend. I've got the first four Silent Hill games, never beaten any of them. Need to remedy that. And from what I've heard, Shattered Memories is the first worthwhile entry to come out in a while.
******
Whereas Fatal Frame (and this goes for the whole series) can be scary when I'm walking down an empty hallway. Most of the scariest moments in those games occur when you're not being attacked. Playing Fatal Frame IV rekindles the urge to revisit the other games in the series. But since I've played them all multiple times, I should probably resist and go for one of the Silent Hill games if I still want horror.
The "no combat" really works in Shattered Memories. I think for those who have played through the other Silent Hill games, the nice change of pace to really explore not having to worry about fleeing every two minutes however what you find exploring is much more disturbing than the old scares of SH. My suggestion if you start up a SH marathon begin with the best, SH 2. Then play 1,3 and Origins. It's not meant to be a trilogy, but if you play them that way you will see many not so loose connections. The Room...less said the better. Homecoming, combat heavy but I really like what the story added to the mythology of SH. Story wise, Origins is still the most disturbing. I think Shattered Memories will replace that once i'm done.
The Justicar and her Biotic cleavage are now a part of my crew.
Why does that name and description sound like an an old DC comic merged with an Image comic ;)

I better go create the new WeekDay thread so Mags can look forward to killing that one...