What video games have you been playing

[AlbertV]

I started on Call of Duty: Black Ops II this past weekend for XBox 360.

[DiP]

Currently addicted to Sleeping Dogs. Can't believe I'm almost 3 years late. It's basically a modern Grand Theft Auto (or True Crime from hearsay and reading info) meets Shenmue, with the addition of it paying a big homage to Hong Kong action cinema with its' open world design as well as the overall cast (fun seeing some recognizable names associated with HK films). Incredibly fun so far, and I can't wait to go through more.

[Asmo]

Currently addicted to Sleeping Dogs. Can't believe I'm almost 3 years late. It's basically a modern Grand Theft Auto (or True Crime from hearsay and reading info) meets Shenmue, with the addition of it paying a big homage to Hong Kong action cinema with its' open world design as well as the overall cast (fun seeing some recognizable names associated with HK films). Incredibly fun so far, and I can't wait to go through more.

Interestingly, when that title was still going to be True Crime: Hong Kong, one of the voices was recorded by Sammo Hung.

Mortal Kombat X.

[DiP]

Wow, Sammo was involved? Nice trivia!

[Asmo]

Wow, Sammo was involved? Nice trivia!

It's a shame he wasn't used in Sleeping Dogs.

[Noelle Shadow Kick]

I love Sleeping Dogs! They always say they're working on a sequel, but I really hope they make that ASAP. Such a great game.

I've been playing Mortal Kombat X on the Xbox One. I've only dabbled so far, I played the first 3 chapters of Story Mode. The bastards made me play a Johnny Cage first and then Kotal Khan. KOTAL KHAN'S MOVES DO NOTHING. SO HARD. Chapter 3 was at least Sub-Zero though, so I got some ninja time in

[thekfc]

I recently played WII Sports Resort.....does that count?

I haven't turn on my XBox or Playstation since sometime last year.

[Asmo]

I love Sleeping Dogs! They always say they're working on a sequel, but I really hope they make that ASAP. Such a great game.

I've been playing Mortal Kombat X on the Xbox One. I've only dabbled so far, I played the first 3 chapters of Story Mode. The bastards made me play a Johnny Cage first and then Kotal Khan. KOTAL KHAN'S MOVES DO NOTHING. SO HARD. Chapter 3 was at least Sub-Zero though, so I got some ninja time in

The sequel turned out to be Triad Wars, a triad based mmorpg set in the same universe. I have some beta keys but I haven't checked it out yet.

[Mugen]

Ive been being tons of mortal kombat x,that is an awesome game.

[DiP]

Alien: Isolation (2014) (PC) Played it before but never finished it because I had to remove it from my old gaming PC due to bug problems which was very annoying. I remember having difficulty with nervousness playing it on medium mode but on hard mode it's truly a scarier experience now. I love it!!!

Edited October 6, 2015 by DiP

[SMK]

For many years, may main way of taking a break from working, was playing the latest Call of Duty, Multiplayer on the Xbox 360. A lot of that time was spent playing Zombies as well.

 

As big of a fan I am of (Nazi) Zombies on Call of Duty, I finally went ahead and bought Call of Duty: World at War for the PC, as this is the version that allows you to play CUSTOM ZOMBIES! I have literally downloaded TONS of custom zombies maps, needless to say, I am now set for life . So whenever I want to take a break from working on the forum, site, making ads, videos, images, etc. I now play CUSTOM ZOMBIES, and am having a blast doing so. 

 

Thanks to the community of map makers, there is no shortage of maps to play. 

[Keung]

I'm back into gaming after a year-long hiatus. Got myself an Xbox One in June in anticipation of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, but these past few weeks I've mostly been hammering Grand Theft Auto V – the first GTA game I've played since San Andreas! Never was a big fan of the series, but I'm loving this one. Trevor is a hoot! 

[DiP]

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014) (PC) - Didn't expect the main story to be extremely short since it continues with MGS: The Phanton Pain released just last month. But at least it comes with separate missions which I haven't gotten to yet. Overall, I'm really enjoying the game and can see the hype behind the whole franchise (this is the very first MGS game I'm playing btw).

[AlbertV]

@DiP: I'm actually going to play it this week. I have the XBox Gold membership and from October 1-15, Metal Gear Solid V is free to download and I already have downloaded it. 

[DiP]

Have fun with the game. Still enjoying it thoroughly.

[Secret Executioner]

Been playing (and finished) Goblins Quest 3 (AKA Goblins 3) lately - an adventure game from 1993 I used to play back when I was a kid, but I don't think I finished it 20 years ago.

 

 

It's a pretty funny game with nice graphics, a creative universe, cool music and a lot of funny stuff - especially involving the werewolf form of the main character. Yeah, cause the main character can turn into a werewolf following being nearly killed by a wolf after the second level (the third level takes place in the after-life as you must bring color back so that the character can resurrect). The opposition between Blount (that's the hero's name) and his werewolf form is similar to that between the two main characters of the previous Goblins game* - one is polite, nice and rather hesitant about doing certain things, the other is rude, brutish and a bit of a daredevil in that he does all the crazy and most dangerous stuff. 

 

Several nods to Gobliins 2 and to the first Gobliiins title** can be found in this 3rd game, including a graffiti in the after-life level (a nod to the last level in G2TPB), portraits of the heroes of the first two titles in some levels and the very ending of GQ3 reveals another link between the last two games of the trilogy. 

Interestingly, the titles of the games reflect how many leads you have: 3 in Gobliiins, 2 in Gobliins 2 and 1 in Goblins 3 (though you get sidekicks like a pretty funny snake and the character gets splitted with the werewolf thing).

 

Footnote:

* Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon, a 1992 adventure game where the goal is to rescue a kid kidnapped by a demon. Once the kid freed though you have some more stuff to do cause he keeps causing/getting in more trouble. This game is pretty funny and has very creative stuff (two levels are mushroom-induced hallucinations, which leads to bizarre and colorful designs) and the music and characters are great, but I find it a nod below the third one.

** Gobliiins which I'm not too familiar with as I only had a demo that stopped after the fourth level, but I can tell you the gameplay was very different with characters only able to do certain tasks (one can take objects and talk, another one is a muscle and the third is a magician), a life bar and a password system. The second and third Goblins games had main characters able to do all the things themselves (the two heroes in G2 and Blount in GQ3 can interact with other characters and take and use items), there's no more life bar (make as many mistakes as you want, though sometimes getting hit or something can be useful in the game) and you have a standard saving system (click save or load in a menu).

Edited October 20, 2015 by Secret Executioner
Adding the "map" of Goblins 3

[Grasshopper Sage]

I've also been playing some 90's games lately. CS 1.6, StarCraft 1, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition, Crazy Taxi, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, The King of Fighters '98, Worms Armageddon, the 7th Guest, DOOM, Myst, System Shock 2, Deus Ex Revision, Shadow Warrior, Morrowind, Thief, Freespace. Etc.

I was on a roll collecting old favorites & ones I never got around to playing when I was younger but somewhere along the way I was distracted by 2D women, so now I'm playing plenty visual novels & usually other Japanese titles. Right now I'm playing through Sakura Spirit, Nekopara Vol. 1, HuniePop, etc. Trying to get Vanguard Princess working for me but it's proving to be rather difficult.

Feel free to add me on Steam if you're also into PC games.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Grasshopper Sage
Added Steam page

[Keung]

My pre-order of the new Guitar Hero should be here tomorrow, so I'll probably be playing that until my fingers bleed.

[Secret Executioner]

 

I've also been playing some 90's games lately. CS 1.6, StarCraft 1, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition, Crazy Taxi, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, The King of Fighters '98, Worms Armageddon, the 7th Guest, DOOM, Myst, System Shock 2, Deus Ex Revision, Shadow Warrior, Morrowind, Thief, Freespace. Etc.

I was on a roll collecting old favorites & ones I never got around to playing when I was younger but somewhere along the way I was distracted by 2D women, so now I'm playing plenty visual novels & usually other Japanese titles. Right now I'm playing through Sakura Spirit, Nekopara Vol. 1, HuniePop, etc. Trying to get Vanguard Princess working for me but it's proving to be rather difficult.

Feel free to add me on Steam if you're also into PC games.

Nice to see another oldware fan.

 

 

Mentionning it earlier made me want to play Gobliins 2, and overall it seemed easier (and somewhat funnier, as well as more enjoyable due to a IMO better soundtrack) than its sequel Goblins Quest 3 - in spite of some stuff that may be a bit difficult to figure out if you're new to the game, which I wasn't having played it as a kid (though I admit the underwater part and the part where you get the kidnapped Prince back were a bit hard to get through). And then I reached the second mushroom-induced level...

. 

What the hell ?! This level is actually pretty hard to get through (the aim here is to get the Prince Buffoon out of the bubble thing, so you must climb up there, make the guy blow a bubble and poke it to release the Prince), even the last couple of levels in the sequel aren't as messed up as this. And you have a fun soundtrack to go along with that - the tune is called "Well" because it's used in the earlier level of the same name (a level you can see in the video):

[Shaolivevil]

Another old ware/ old school gamer here! 

 

I've been playing some martial arts themed game titles for the NES. over the past few weeks, Kung Fu Heroes and Phantom Fighter.  I already finished Phantom Fighter but Kung Fu Heroes has frustrated me to the point where I've had to take a break from it for a while. I also started a new game on Final Fantasy with the Thief, Black Belt, Black Mage, and White Mage as my team.

[Secret Executioner]

Been playing (and finished) Goblins Quest 3 (AKA Goblins 3) lately - an adventure game from 1993 I used to play back when I was a kid, but I don't think I finished it 20 years ago.

 

 

It's a pretty funny game with nice graphics, a creative universe, cool music and a lot of funny stuff - especially involving the werewolf form of the main character. Yeah, cause the main character can turn into a werewolf following being nearly killed by a wolf after the second level (the third level takes place in the after-life as you must bring color back so that the character can resurrect). The opposition between Blount (that's the hero's name) and his werewolf form is similar to that between the two main characters of the previous Goblins game* - one is polite, nice and rather hesitant about doing certain things, the other is rude, brutish and a bit of a daredevil in that he does all the crazy and most dangerous stuff. 

 

Several nods to Gobliins 2 and to the first Gobliiins title** can be found in this 3rd game, including a graffiti in the after-life level (a nod to the last level in G2TPB), portraits of the heroes of the first two titles in some levels and the very ending of GQ3 reveals another link between the last two games of the trilogy. 

Interestingly, the titles of the games reflect how many leads you have: 3 in Gobliiins, 2 in Gobliins 2 and 1 in Goblins 3 (though you get sidekicks like a pretty funny snake and the character gets splitted with the werewolf thing).

 

Footnote:

* Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon, a 1992 adventure game where the goal is to rescue a kid kidnapped by a demon. Once the kid freed though you have some more stuff to do cause he keeps causing/getting in more trouble. This game is pretty funny and has very creative stuff (two levels are mushroom-induced hallucinations, which leads to bizarre and colorful designs) and the music and characters are great, but I find it a nod below the third one.

** Gobliiins which I'm not too familiar with as I only had a demo that stopped after the fourth level, but I can tell you the gameplay was very different with characters only able to do certain tasks (one can take objects and talk, another one is a muscle and the third is a magician), a life bar and a password system. The second and third Goblins games had main characters able to do all the things themselves (the two heroes in G2 and Blount in GQ3 can interact with other characters and take and use items), there's no more life bar (make as many mistakes as you want, though sometimes getting hit or something can be useful in the game) and you have a standard saving system (click save or load in a menu).

 

Failed to mention that the visually creative after-life level (the set changes a bit for each color you can have, very fun to try out every possibility) has one of the best tunes from the game:

 

Though to be fair, the game has some really fun and catchy tunes overall.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Secret Executioner

[FieryReign]

As a retrogamer-person myself, modern games don't impress me much. Fancy graphics are exactly that; fancy graphics with little character. Yet I have been playing the Vita an awful lot, underrated portable.

 

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the last game I finished and yes, I felt the need to 100% the game. That's what I usually do with these action-adventure deals. But you get NOTHING in return for this accolade, not even a somewhat dif ending. Tacked on gimmick controls will piss off even further. As an adventure game for Vita, it might be fine. But this disappointed me overall.

 

Especially when Vita wants to flake out by having a few drips of sweat on your fingers.

[Grasshopper Sage]

Last game I fully completed was actually Steins;Gate for the PS Vita. Plenty of different endings & alternate story lines. Fun visual novel (a bit interactive using your phone) & overall great series of anime.

[Secret Executioner]

Been on a Sierra kick lately (thank you ScummVM for allowing me to keep playing those and the Goblins games I mentionned before under Windows 8).

 

I replayed Mixed-up Fairy Tales. This VGA point-and-click adventure game is actually an educational child-oriented game.

Here, you are a young kid (that can be a boy or a girl and be either white with blond hair, black or Asian, you pick your kid at the beginning) who meets a dragon called Bookwÿrm that comes out of a book in a library. The dragon needs the kid to put order back in a bunch of fairy tales that have been messed up with by some monster whose name escapes me ATM. 

While the dragon (who's supposed to be this world's keeper) is relaxing, you wander through the country bumping into characters (who somehow know you and sometimes seem to know they're part of a story) and items, and having to put the stories back together (as well as properly identifying them in the list you have). You have 5 classic stories to put back together, and you will easily find yourself having a couple of them going on in parallel (Jack and the Beanstalk/Cinderella/Beauty and the Beast at the same time, then I got Snow White and finally Town Musicians of Bremen).  

The game has a bad guy who's trying to ruin the fairy tales for a stupid reason you learn in the end, and that you sometimes bump into as he tries to sabotage your efforts by stealing items (Cinderella's shoe) or scaring characters (the animals from Town Musicians of Bremen).

 

I may sound harsh, but while a lot of stuff is very silly (the premise itself, the villain's motivation...) and the re-telling of the fairy tales is very simplified (eg Snow White goes: you help Snow White find the dwarves/Snow White eats poisoned apple and dies/you help the Prince find her so he kisses her and brings her back to life), the game still is great fun to play with enjoyable characters, very nice sets (with a lot of details) and a great soundtrack made up of classical music (stuff by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and even Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries) that you can listen to on their own courtesy of Bookwÿrm's record player (clicking the name of a tune in a book is more like it really).

 

 

I also managed to find roms of the first three King's Quest games (Sierra's medieval/fantasy adventure games that went along with the sci-fi Space Quest, adult Leisure Suit Larry and crime Police Quest game series) in their glorious EGA version for MS-Dos - with basic designs in 16 colors and a gameplay based on moving the character with the keyboard pad and typing instructions when you want to pick up items or look at stuff - on a website called My Abandonware.

 

The first one is known as either King's Quest, King's Quest I or King's Quest: Quest for the Crown. I can't say much about it as I've never played this game. It's about a guy called Graham whom you apparently help become king of his country or something.

 

The second one (King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne) picks up some time after the end of the first one, with Graham as a king. In this one, our king goes out to seek a woman held in some castle in a faraway country (a magic mirror gave him the tip after he's sought the right woman everywhere) and whom he'll marry.

I've finished this one a couple of times in the past (like 8 or so years ago), it's not too hard and very fun. The simple graphics and the "typing instructions" thing aren't too annoying (except when you have to tell your character to swim or you'll drawn), and a lot of strange and/or funny stuff happens (usually very randomly, and sometimes it gets in the way like when you enter Grandma's house and you find the wolf instead or when you can't catch Little Red Riding Hood).

I find it really enjoyable on a lot of points: the universe is nice (lots of characters and things to see), a lot of fun stuff is going on (I've never caught them but it seems the game contains referrences to other Sierra games - I think Graham can see and get weirded out by a Space Quest trailer in a tree hole or something), there's a lot of stuff to do but it's not too hard to figure out what you are to do, you don't die stupid deaths (except for the drawning or when you get too close to the obviously poisonned lake) and the music is okay. 

 

Finally, we have King's Quest III: to heir is human. Now this one marks a departure in that the series would no longer be focusing on Graham. Here, the main character is a 17 years old boy called Gwydion who's been the servant of some evil wizard named Manannan and who dreams of escaping for he knows a great destiny awaits him out there. 

I initially wanted to try it because of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards as the moose head seen in Lefty's bar was described an "antique, left over from King's Quest 3" - I had no idea the series existed and got KQ2 while I was at it, but I haven't been able to go very far in this one (unlike in KQ2).

Now this game adds a little element (that I've never seen in other Sierra games like that) in the game play: a time counter. And depending on when you do something, it can get very wrong. The major memory from playing this is how tense the beginning is. The wizard keeps randomly appearing for no reason, and until he leaves (usually around 5 minutes in), you can't do much for fear he'd show up to punish you (sometimes you can keep going after the punishment, but sometimes it can lead to a game over). Eventually, you end up killing him by poisining him with a potion (cooked in his lab while he was gone) in his soup after he returns (25-30 minutes in). The game still has some fun elements, like the house near the bottom of the mountain on top of which the wizard leaves (good luck going down without falling to your death BTW) being that of the Bear family so you sometimes have a little video of them leaving or returning (you enter the screen where the house is located and here you see them with an animation of them and some music as well as a text block commenting the situation). It is a really hard one - a major step above KQ2 in terms of difficulty - and the odds are much higher that you may do stuff wrong and/or die than in KQ2, but it's creative and I like the universe it uses - also, the theme music is great and I like the opening credits with that angry wizard throwing lightning bolts that make the credits appear. I've read that it ends with a twist linking Gwydion to Graham from the first two games, so I guess it's still well worth keeping.

[paimeifist]

I've been playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.. I can barely put it down, fantastic game, with a playstyle more similar to A Link the the Past than any other recent games from the series.

 

Those Goblin games look like they would melt my brain.

Edited November 15, 2015 by paimeifist