What are you playing today?

[j-man]

Informations:

Wii: 3823-8843-2428-6034
Brawl: 2879-1894-1051
TvC: 2107-4177-8164

Add away. MH3 doesn't have a code, so I guess we just meet up in-game?

[(No Imagination)]

My lady bought me TvC a little while back, but I keep getting my arse kicked. Any protips?

Don't get launched, do try to launch your opponent, do lots of baiting, conserve super bar for unexpected baroques, learn advancing guard, command grab the fuck out of everyone as Alex, play Megaman like you would play him in Rockman & Forte, use Tekkaman's assist a lot and watch out for Yatterman as he's kind of unfairly quick. Also, Ryu is not very good in this game, not even as a noob character. (If you're picking from SF cast, pick Chun instead - she's got triple jump and an air-grab.)

Um, that's about all I can think of. No online play for me though. =(

[j-man]

I understood like three words of that, but thanks. I think I need to set aside a bit of time to familiarize myself with everything. Then again, I've got Fallout 3 GOTY in the post, so that could be in like two years time.

[Arcade]

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile - PlayStation (1997)

Yeah my PlayStation still works!

[Farmer]

Getting back into TF2 after a hefty reinstall. Times such as these make me want to give sweet love to Valve.

[Crisis]

I've been playing Portal (again), mainly out of anticipation for the sequel. Man, I was skeptical about the idea of a Portal 2, but all the preview footage is making it look like the best thing Valve have ever made. I'm psyched.

[Crowbar]

I played through Megaman ZX over the course of the last few days. It's okay but has some serious flaws. I can't ignore the incredibly annoying contiguous overworld which you have to traverse on foot alot of the time while blindly searching for whatever arbitrarily named area your current mission actually takes place in. Apart from that, though, I'm just mystified by the direction they took with the selectable main characters. I was expecting that they'd both be active in the story and be interchangeable mid-game, or at the very least you select one at the beginning as your main and the other still appears as secondary. Instead, whichever one you pick is the only one that exists. Not only are they identical plotwise (I assume, I've played all the way through with Vent and am partway through with Aile on Hard mode), but also functionally. This just seems like a really strange choice: having two characters would allow for alot more breadth, especially with 5 forms each. It just seems obvious. I also felt like I wanted the forms to be more fleshed out with their abilities. They were okay as they were, but it would've been so awesome if they could have had the range of abilities present in, say, the Devil May Cry series. That would be a totally different scale of project, of course, but I feel the idea could have merited it.

I'm also bothered by how utterly limp the story was. I know the Zero series probably won't be remembered for its compelling narrative, but it did enough to at least keep me interested in what was happening to the characters, and the villains worked in their roles, too. ZX couldn't seem to manage that: Serpent has to be the biggest non-entity of a villain since Ultimecia (though I suppose he at least manages to show up a whole one time before the last boss fight). If he'd been present throughout the whole plot as a non-villain, with a big face-heel turn or reveal towards the end, it would've been better. It wouldn't even have mattered if it was totally obvious the whole time, it would still have made for a more satisfying finale. Elpizo from Zero 2 wasn't a fantastic character, but seeing him lose his shit made smacking him down in the end quite gratifying.

Now that I think of it, having Vent and Aile both be present could actually have helped alot with the story, as well. Two characters bouncing off eachother is generally more entertaining than one by himself. It's not like they couldn't just make up some excuse for two people to be able to fuse with the Biometals at once, that kind of shit doesn't matter.

Of course, for all this complaining, I'm still going to get ZX Advent when I get around to it. From what I hear it at least does away with the stupid overworld, which was the biggest annoyance.

[FlashTHD]

Of course, for all this complaining, I'm still going to get ZX Advent when I get around to it. From what I hear it at least does away with the stupid overworld, which was the biggest annoyance.

Nope, it's still there - but areas now have actual names and the overworld gimmick is rendered completely pointless with two-way/one-way teleport points plastered all over the place. Retarded game design as this is, you might find it less annoying. The english acting is also atrocious and cannot be shut off, and the plot only slightly less banal, but the game itself is a noticeable improvement. Relatively speaking. The two characters (who, again, do not both appear) are not quite Xeroxes like the previous two and play slightly differently.

I'll also warn you now that the final boss is another Elpizo-esque anticlimax. This guy is harder than that but not by much. Tiny spoiler: only two life gauges Maybe the best feature in the whole thing, actually, is it has a seperate boss rush minigame which includes everything but the intro boss, but you don't choose the order of the fights (all in one order, alas), and it is unbelievably difficult to clear because you only get the default size life gauge and two sub tanks.

[Crowbar]

Oh boy I am in for a treat.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

It's one thing to worry about which order to fight Robot Masters, but why'd they think wondering how to even find the bastards would make it more fun? I gave up on ZX after about two missions and haven't felt compelled to go back.

[Radrappy]

Man so I tried the Mass Effect 2 demo and you guys were totally right. I was so impressed by it that I bought a used copy online right away. It really is an exceptional game, the most impressive part being the living, fleshed out world. Sure, it's a bit inconsistent (visuals range from looking drop dead amazing to ugly PC game from 2004) and it will get buggy every now and then (In addition to audio regularly cutting out prematurely, I've gotten stuck on a table and had to reset the game. I can't remember the last time thats happened to me with a console game. I suppose for a long time PC developer, it comes with the territory.) but it really is a great experience so far. Im excited to play it when I get home from work and that is a real compliment. I am getting a little bored though with how easily it seems like party members will agree to join your ship. It's remarkably easy and ironically makes the whole thing feel linear. In conclusion, thanks!

PS. What the fuck happened with DA2?

[Delphine]

PS. What the fuck happened with DA2?

It's Madden for the RPG crowd. I'm actually... really pissed about what they're doing with the franchise, because I loved Origins, and this should have been so much better. There are parts that were so much better. It's like there's a good game in there, somewhere, but they needed another two or three years of development to draw it out.

[Brazillian Cara]

Speaking of NSMB, how's The Great Giana Sisters DS? I really think the style and music are a cut above NSMB, but how is the gameplay? I know it's been available in PAL territories for nearly two years now, so I assume at least one of you have played it. I ask 'cause it's apparently making its way here in the near future.

Thanks to the magic of flashcarts, I was able to download and play this otherwise unobtainable title; as you mentioned, both the soundtarck and general style have an undeniable charm - specially surprising, considering this originally started as (and is still a little bit) a blatant rip-off. As for the gameplay... I only finished the first world so far, so the game might actually become challenging later on. But I can mention the following:
-The controls work well enough - no noticiable traction problems or the like.
-The mushroom candy ball power-up also has the properties of a fire flower, but instead of bouncing on the ground, the fireballs follow a descending straight path - which would be kind of an improvement, if they didn't cover a much shorter distance. And I have no idea why the character becomes a punk girl.
-Maybe it's just because it's the first world, but the lack of a boss battle was a let down.
-The title is a misnomer; unless I'm missing something, there is clearly a single Giana sister.
So yeah. Not a big game by any means, but it's genuinely ok.

On the topic of games I'm playing through legitimate means, I've been constantly impressed by a lot of things in Pokemon Black - positively impressed. So I heard this game had a new director? He did a pretty darn fine job.

[Esrever]

It really seems like most of Dragon Age 2's problems could be explained by the rushed production schedule. It's clearly the product of great talents, but also tremendous and painfully obvious compromise. Kinda depressing, really.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

And I have no idea why the character becomes a punk girl.
[...]
-The title is a misnomer; unless I'm missing something, there is clearly a single Giana sister.

The punk thing is a holdover from the original, which came out at the time when the Punk subculture had caught on in a big way throughout Europe, including Germany, where it was developed.

Also brand-recognition.

[Radrappy]

It really seems like most of Dragon Age 2's problems could be explained by the rushed production schedule. It's clearly the product of great talents, but also tremendous and painfully obvious compromise. Kinda depressing, really.

Welp. This shouldn't be anything new to this community. Oh except for maybe the talent part.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

The Bio Force Ape ROM has been leaked on the Internet. It's glorious.

[Ritz]

Just about had my fill of Purikura Daisakusen, which is wonderful. Also finally got around to playing Three Dirty Dwarves. Mediocre, charming, full of great ideas. Partway through Bug Too!, which is a definite improvement over what little I played of the first. Legitimately challenging platformers are rare and precious, but the game is pretty stingy with checkpoints, and savestating my way through would be just as tedious! I'll probably put that one on hold and dive into Mr. Bones and Baku Baku after so I'll finally have cleared my plate of Saturn games with demos that I've been meaning to play for 15 years.

[Farmer]

Just about had my fill of Purikura Daisakusen, which is wonderful.

Looks like an absolute acid trip, but also not half bad. Japan only?

[Ritz]

Surprised? The Saturn is a proper modest Japanese console that doesn't want you to know about his good games.

[gr4yJ4Y]

I got a new laptop that is capable of gaming (5 core, ATI something whatsit dedicated graphics card). So far I've only used it to play the Sonic Fan Remix demo (the final game isn't out yet or something?) and Sonic Robo Blast 2. SRB2 is great and all, but for a game that tries to play like a 3D version of the Genesis games there sure is a lack of rolling hills. The camera could use some work too.

FlashTHD will be happy to know that I downloaded the Streets of Rage Remake too, but I haven't gotten around to trying it out yet.

Maybe I'll look for something that actually shows off this thing's power next.

[Farmer]

SRB2 is great and all, but for a game that tries to play like a 3D version of the Genesis games there sure is a lack of rolling hills.

I don't think the raycasting not-really-3D engine could handle it, sadly.

[Senbei]

Just started Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land. It's pretty good! My younger self wouldn't have enjoyed the hardcore, apologetically bland dungeon crawl it presents, but for some reason I'm really engaged now. It's got quite a bit going for it as far as role-playing goes. Tactics and strategy are greatly emphasized in combat, which I love. There are numerous classes that you can switch your character between, with prestige classes with high requirements to strive for. What's most interesting, though, are the actual role-playing bits, where you're confronted with a situation and have to make a moral choice. It's nothing so complex as Mass Effect, but your choices affect how your party members feel about you, which in turn strengthens or weakens your party as a whole. The whole thing is kinda goofy and clunky, but charming.

My major beef is that, since there is only the one multi-level dungeon, you have to make your way through the earlier levels to reach the later ones, fighting all the low-level monsters along the way. It's damn time-consuming, and I'm hoping there turn out to be shortcuts later on. Additionally, the only save point is in town, so if you make it deep into the dungeon and your party's suddenly wiped, you can lose hours of gameplay.

[FlashTHD]

SRB2 is great and all, but for a game that tries to play like a 3D version of the Genesis games there sure is a lack of rolling hills.

I don't think the raycasting not-really-3D engine could handle it, sadly.

Yep. The game is at a point of completion where the amount of re-programming work required to make real slopes is a laughable prospect. The game plays quite admirably without them. Ironic, no?

SRB2's single player is pretty alright for being half finished (and epic in the brutal final zone), but the multiplayer modes are all but done and if you find a decent server - which, unfortunately, is getting difficult of late - it is amazing, even in spite of the lag/netcode problems. To be more precise, it's the same degree of entertainment to which i'm happy to forgive most of SA1 and 2's issues. Of course, the problem of crappy servers can be sidestepped by either hosting a decent one yourself or playing a private game.

As for the camera modes, they're problematic, but adequate. The analog camera for single player isn't recommended, and is only left in the game because it's semi-functional and some folks prefer it. Try turning the camera off altogether and going first-person occasionally, it's very helpful in a few places. As are console command scripts, which are a cinch to make and add lots of flexibility.

[Ritz]

SRB2 is easily the best 3D platformer I've ever played, I'd never grow tired of it if there were any talent left in the modding community. I'm not even sure why I'm bothering with Bug Too right now when I'd have three times as much fun playing the same game over again. Goddammit.

And come on, man, SRB2 is finished. It's only missing one zone, two acts and a few bosses. Just pretend Mystic Realm is the lock-on sequel or something.