Whadaya playin?

[Adam]

Thanks chris! I was thinking about picking up S. Sword, but I think I will wait till it's super cheep now.

@eric: I got:
-A new full size atx case
-An ASRock mobo that can utilize the sandy bridge architecture, as well as the Ivy bridge when it comes out, and PCI express 3.0, USB 3.0, all that jazz.
-an Intel core i7-2600k Sandy Bridge 3.4 GHz quad core
-16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 RAM by Corsair.

I figure in another 2 or 3 years I'm going to want to upgrade again, and this mobo will let me do that for once without having to buy new everything. PCI Express 3.0 video card? ready. Ivy Bridge processor? Ready. 32 gigs of DDR3 2133 ram? ready.

Man, I am so excited, I may actually get the parts tomorrow (tuesaday), but by wednesday for sure!

[Ann]

Haven't been playing anything new recently, but I got Civilization 5 for christmas so I'm really excited to play it. Also, Wakfu is in open beta now, does anyone want to try it out with me?
www.wakfu.com/na/mmorpg

[Chris]

YEA, Wakfu.

[Chris]

So, about a month ago I picked up a Half-Life 2 total conversion called "Gstring." Don't ask me why it's called "Gstring." It's got NOTHING to do with g-strings. It was apparently done by a single modder over the course of a few years, and it shows. It's a solid production. All new assets(enemies, weapons, textures, levels, everything), and very lengthy for a one-man show.

This mod tickles what I like to call "the rusty part of my brain." The story follows a korean girl in a dystopian future.

I mean, REALLY dystopian.

Earth is quickly becoming inhospitable. When you look up, it's impossible to tell if the smog is in the way, or if that's what's left of the sky. The air is unbreathable, and the water is acidic. The handful of people who couldn't afford to move off world are literally the property of corporations who work them until they are dead. The citizens all have cybernetic implants which allow them to not die immediately in the toxic air. Most of these implants appear to be cheap knock offs, or homebrewed, and barely functional. Thusly, the people you meet in the game who aren't the cops trying to kill you are few and unpleasant to the eye. The ones who actually speak to you only convey that they wish they weren't alive anymore. But, most of them don't even speak to you. I get the feeling that they aren't capable anymore. Occasionally you will see the corpse of someone who collapsed alone in the ruins of an abandoned apartment building, and has long since decomposed until there was nothing left but rusty cybernetics.

If that last paragraph makes it sound incredibly depressing, then I did a good job describing how I feel when I play Gstring. Although you shouldn't get the wrong idea. The whole thing is just beautiful in how ugly it is.

Basically, this girl(Myo) wakes up one day to learn that she has telekinetic ability. Shortly after that, she mercy kills her undeserving father who is dying painfully from cancer, and decides she's going to get whatever revenge she can from her corporate masters. Along the way, she learns that several others have begun to gain similar abilities, and have started a resistance movement.

Gameplay-wise, it's pretty solid. I would bitch about some problems I have with the interface, but according to things I've learned as I've been typing this, all those problems have been addressed in the latest patch. You have a handful of basic weapon you collect from the police officers, plus the ability to move objects telepathically, and create fire.

Interestingly, the level design is not very straightforward. It reminds me of the first time I played Jedi Knight, and thought to myself "Really? That's where I'm supposed to go?" It hasn't given me a lot of trouble, but I have heard of people getting stuck in places, unable to figure out where to go next. If you do need help, it isn't hard to find on Youtube.

I haven't finished it yet, as it is LONG, and I have to pace myself to keep from getting too depressed. People on the forums are saying 20 hours, which is DAMN long for any mod. I'm enjoying it thoroughly, though. If there are rusty parts of your brain that need tickling, I can highly recommend it.

Linky poo:

www.moddb.com/mods/g-string

[Kevin]

It turns out that I won one of the 3rd place draws in the Steam Epic Holiday Giveaway, and got the Valve Complete Pack for free.

Pretty awesome.

So, that G-String mod? Totally gonna play it now, since I didn't own HL2 before.

[Chris]

Yea to both of those things.

[Chris]

So, I just started playing Final Fantasy 9, and I'm impressed as FUCK. This was truly Sakaguchi's swan song.

[Chris]

So, not something I'm playing per se, but just a heads up.

There's a an indie-developed giant robot combat game in the works right now, very much in the same vein as Mechwarrior. It's not slated to come out until a year from now, but beta sign ups have begun. If you guys want in, just click the link.

playhawken.com/?ref=zp8gfzdy

[Adam]

Quick, everyone go here:
I pledged $30 myself, looking forward to the sound track!

[Adam]

I got RAGE when it was on sale on steam, and started playing it tonight. I'm happy to report that it doesn't seem to make me motion sick, despite have quite alot of side to side and up and down movement when you move. I can also say that it looks damn pretty on max settings, and it makes me rather proud of my computer that max settings are an option. It's been pretty fun so far, (became about 10 times more fun once I got the wing stick) and I'm looking forward to playing through it.

But yeah, best way to describe it is as a standard first person shooter, with a borderlands inspired backdrop, that takes itself pretty seriously. So far the cinematic jump scares have been pretty meh, but there was one point in the regular game where I killed a mutant, and then went to look around the room for loot, not realizing that there was a second mutant, and boy howdy did mutant number 2 want to eat my face. That scared the hell out of me, made me jump, adrenaline rush, the whole deal.

The one really frustrating thing for me right now though, is that despite that fact that this game has huge, FANTASTIC vistas, you constantly feel very penned in. Invisible walls abound, and it kills the experience. When I'm playing a game, I'm not super goal oriented, I like to wander and explore every nook and cranny. To play a game that is choked with visual nooks and crannies that it doesn't let you explore is maddening.

Despite that, RAGE has so far been streets ahead, and i'm looking forward to playing through it's notoriously short story.

[Adam]

I've been playing Saint's Row the Third quite a bit lately, picked up when it was half off on steam. It's been really fun! But I will say that I'm glad that I got it half off, because that has been my experience. I feel like I am playing a beta of game that is not ready to be released. Not because of bugs or problems, but just the whole thing feels incomplete. Stores feel very limited in their selection, I feel like the whole city only has about 15 cars in it, and within the first 25 minutes of the game I owned and upgraded the car, bike, and weapons that I have been using throughout the entire game. Cut scenes feel cut off, like there was more story there that was left out because they were worried that gamers would lose interest if they had to go more than 15 seconds without killing someone. Maybe if I purchased all the DLC, the game would feel more complete, but I feel like I bought a car and then the dealer was like "you want a windshield? extra. hubcaps? extra. Gas cap? extra. tires? extra. headlights? extra. seat belts? extra. oh, and you are probably going to want to get some seats to attach those belts to." And that would be fine if the core game was like $15, but it's not, it's $50. Even buying it at $25 I feel like I got ripped off, and thats not a good way to build a costumer base. But most of all, the thing that makes me want to throw the game out the window, is that Johnny Gatt is one of my favorite characters ever, and I was looking forward to blasting my way through another game with him at my side, and they kill him off in the first 15 minutes. Why couldn't they have killed off Shaundi? She annoy's the shit out of me.

[Chris]

Gotta couple things on my plate at the moment.

Vessel: A really awesome puzzle platformer that uses the manipulation of liquids as a game mechanic. Highly recommend.

Arkham City: What can I say that J hasn't already said. Twice. At least. I've beaten it, but I keep returning to try a challenge level on occasion. The new characters keep things interesting.

Assassin's Creed Revelations:

Playing ACR before playing Arkham City: Assassin's Creed game! Yay!

Playing ACR after playing Arkham City: These controls are a FUCKING MESS.

I kid, though. I still love the series, and I'm enjoying this one. Except for the totally-not-optional tower defense game they shoehorned in. Also, It will be sad to see Ezio go after this game.


Finally, you know what I'm NOT playing right now?

Mass Effect 3: Cuz FUCK Origin.

[Chris]

So, real quick. When I started this thread in October of 2010, I was playing La Mulana, one of the single hardest games I've ever played. Today, I completed it, finally. My ending time of 23 hours and change isn't indicative of the time I've actually spent playing it. I've had a lot of sessions that ended in miserable failure and didn't count towards that time. All in all, I've been working on the game on and off for about 3 years, so I consider it a massive accomplishment. It's been a huge weight on my shoulders, and I'm happy to finally be done with it.

[Chris]

So, Serious Sam 3 is awesome. A worthy successor.

[Chris]

Gary bought me Dustforce(thanks, dude). It's fun as hell. It's essentially a game about bushido janitors. Think Super Meat Boy, but less frustrating, and you get to fight dust demons.