What are you currently playing?

[a3quit4s | 4,098]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

You're both right.

I no longer have to try and camp out at my computer at 8AM on release days, knowing I might not get a copy.

Instead it's replaced with the countdown of the preorder end, where I have to make a decision.

"Should I get Moonrider and Steel Assault with Powerslave?  Is it worth dropping $70 on games that take 3 hours to beat?  Will I regret it?  Or will I regret not adding them to the collection?"

I still haven't decided by the way.

I never thought I would miss the days of standing in line at midnight for releases but it’s sure better than getting beaten out by shitty resellers and bots

[avatar! | 1,811]

7 hours ago, Sumez said:

You'll be missing out if you *don't* preorder them though! Even though it's an open preorder, they still only print that number of copies, so it's buy it there or take the chance with marked up second hand prices. It's very much a fomo model. 

From that perspective, I agree. There is a certain FOMO in the model. At the same time, I don't fault them because they have done all they can to minimize it. Their whole business model is publishing games that typically don't get a physical release. As @Reed Rothchild noted, you then ask yourself is it worth dropping $70 for a collector's edition of a game you will beat in a few hours? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, and of course if you decide you want the game later, and hey we've all been there, you're likely to pay a premium later. Still, at the end of the day, I think they care more than Nintendo

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

As of right now, I have my flight book and loft reserved for six weeks. So I am planning to just play Final Fantasy VII between now and the time I have to respond to anything here. Or post something. Or whatever.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

2 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

I never thought I would miss the days of standing in line at midnight for releases but it’s sure better than getting beaten out by shitty resellers and bots

Yeah, there was always a certain amount of camaraderie among all the people waiting outside for a midnight drop.  Even if the folks there wouldn't ever get along if matched together when playing online, everyone in line was always more than happy to chat back and forth, cut up, etc., while in line.  Depending on what games you were into, it got to the point where there would be "reunions" every year or two when you'd be in line for a new game and spot some of the same people you'd bumped into previously.

[Sumez | 2,951]

8 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

"Should I get Moonrider and Steel Assault with Powerslave?

I know this was mostly hypothetical, but... no one should pass up on Steel Assault, it's one of the best games released in years in my opinion.  Also, beating arcade mode took me a week! If you can do that in three hours, I tip my hat to you.

Moonrider is just a distro thing for them, not an LRG release, so you don't really need to buy it from them.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

I am currently playing this Zelda like game:

 

[rdrunner | 422]

The Tail of Beta Lyrae for Atari 8-bit computers.  Revisiting one of my all-time favorites and just reached a new personal best (388,354), including a rather elusive milestone (beat Loop 4)!

Small miracle, but for the first time in ages, I recorded and published a video, making good on an informal promise to post a complete run of the game, which is something I couldn't do the last time since I didn't keep all of the footage.

Video can be found here.  Hope you enjoy!

Edited March 6, 2023 by rdrunner

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

Still plugging away at Lufia 2, and got hit with this little gem. Overall the game, while pretty fun, has been kinda over the top stuffy and serious in tone. Then this...

Out of nowhere I get attacked by a giant frog smoking a pipe! Now what the heck could be in that pipe!

[Sumez | 2,951]

2 hours ago, Kguillemette said:

Out of nowhere I get attacked by a giant frog smoking a pipe! Now what the heck could be in that pipe!

Not sure where that comes from, but it seems to be a common image in pop culture relying on classic Japanese myths and stuff.

Here's a similar boss from Nioh:

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Still whittling away at The Witcher 3. I'm currently in Novigrad (the second major set of quests). The game is fantastic and I really like the story content. I'm focusing on the mainline stuff, important character side quests, Witcher contracts, and Treasure Hunts. I'm sure I'm missing out on a ton of good additional stuff, but I just don't have time in my life to 100% a massive game like this. I want to play other games too! I'm guessing the ending map will look a lot like when I played Ghost of Tsushima, that is to say, about 50% filled in, which is totally fine for me.

[avatar! | 1,811]

10 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

Still whittling away at The Witcher 3. I'm currently in Novigrad (the second major set of quests). The game is fantastic and I really like the story content. I'm focusing on the mainline stuff, important character side quests, Witcher contracts, and Treasure Hunts. I'm sure I'm missing out on a ton of good additional stuff, but I just don't have time in my life to 100% a massive game like this. I want to play other games too! I'm guessing the ending map will look a lot like when I played Ghost of Tsushima, that is to say, about 50% filled in, which is totally fine for me.

I played all the Witcher games (including the first one on PC). I have to say in my mind, the main plot of Witcher 3 is good. However, it's not as good as Witcher 2 nor the original in my opinion. Hearts of Stone on the other hand, is arguably a masterpiece. The second DLC is also superb. So in short, the DLCs are the best part of Witcher 3  

[Sumez | 2,951]

3 hours ago, avatar! said:

However, it's not as good as Witcher 2 nor the original in my opinion.

Witcher 2 is just a cornerstone in storytelling in modern western RPGs IMO. Going open world for the next game made sense, but in many ways it does feel like a downgrade. In 2 I want to talk to every single NPC and hear what they had to say, it's very rare than any other modern game makes me feel like that - usually if I do it, it's just out of some sense of obligation.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

9 hours ago, avatar! said:

I played all the Witcher games (including the first one on PC). I have to say in my mind, the main plot of Witcher 3 is good. However, it's not as good as Witcher 2 nor the original in my opinion. Hearts of Stone on the other hand, is arguably a masterpiece. The second DLC is also superb. So in short, the DLCs are the best part of Witcher 3  

I enjoyed the first two games, but I'm finding this one to be the most complete package by far. The story in 2 was pretty strong, but the pacing was really bad and the combat was actually a step down from the first game. I think they made a huge mistake by forcing you to choose between two major areas with no way to see the other one without a second playthrough. Most people who play a game don't finish it once, let alone twice. Also, the final chapter was so constrained and full of exposition that it was pretty clear they ran out of time and money.

I just feel like 3 (so far) absolutely nails the pacing. Even if you completely remove all the side content, the main plot flows nicely and you don't really need to take a break from it. The rest of the world is great and exploring is fun, but I'm just blown away by how good the main story is. I've heard from some other people that the DLC is amazing so I'm pretty excited for that too.

I don't think it will crack my list of top 3 open world games of all-time, but it's probably number one when it comes to pure storytelling.

[DarkTone | 984]

Gonna start some game called hollow knight. 

[BitsAndGlory | 15]

Rerolling an Elden Ring character on PS5. Unfortunately on Thanksgiving night, my PS5 decided to basically die (it has since been revived) but I lost all my save data... so RIP my original character. I have a character on PC at Level 1 for my challenge run when the DLC drops, but I am eager to dive back in. I played at launch and haven't see many of the patches in action.

[koifish | 556]

made huge gains on my swordless run of Zelda 1. I cleared dungeon 7 and got the red candle, so now I'm good to clear almost every other dungeon. After spending so much on arrows and bombs over the game, it is so satisfying to burninate my enemies with the cleansing power of fire Biggest problem is I don't remember where the magic rod is, and I need it to clear level 6. Unfortunately I already did 7 and part of 8, and based on my findings, the rod is probably *in* 6 and so I'll just have to run the wizzrobe gauntlet to find it x_x. I'm going to go finish the remainder of the dungeons (cleared 1, 2, 3, 5, 7) so I'm going back to do 4 and maybe 8 too before I come back to the awful 6.

 

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Still working on The Witcher 3. I am astounded at the amount of quality content in this game. The main storyline is fantastic, but even the optional stuff is heads and shoulders above the story content in most open world games. It's crazy that so many of the side quests lead on huge quest lines with new characters, interesting set pieces, and unique bosses and enemies. I'm loving playing it and could actually see going back every few months after I finish just to explore. I still think the combat is the weak point of the game, but at least it allows for some interesting strategy based on monster type, time of day, weather, and other variables.

I think I'll be stuck on this one for quite a while even though there is a ton of other new stuff I'd like to play (Pentiment, Hi Fi Rush, Wo Long, etc).

Edited March 13, 2023 by DoctorEncore

[koifish | 556]

8 hours ago, koifish said:

made huge gains on my swordless run of Zelda 1. I cleared dungeon 7 and got the red candle, so now I'm good to clear almost every other dungeon. After spending so much on arrows and bombs over the game, it is so satisfying to burninate my enemies with the cleansing power of fire Biggest problem is I don't remember where the magic rod is, and I need it to clear level 6. Unfortunately I already did 7 and part of 8, and based on my findings, the rod is probably *in* 6 and so I'll just have to run the wizzrobe gauntlet to find it x_x. I'm going to go finish the remainder of the dungeons (cleared 1, 2, 3, 5, 7) so I'm going back to do 4 and maybe 8 too before I come back to the awful 6.

 

 

I'm up against it on this run. My situation is thus:

all but 3 hearts

missing these items:

• magical rod (in level 6? not sure where)
• magic key (in level 8, not sure where)
• silver arrows (in level 9, cannot reach them)
• red ring (in level 9, cannot reach it)

I have all blue ring, all bomb upgrades, red candle, bow, and a steady stock of rupees.

problem dungeons:

• level 4 - final boss is a gleeok that I can't damage
• level 6 - there's a 3-head gleeok that I can't damage
• level 8 - too many darknut locks even for 16 bombs (more practice might resolve but not sure)

right now my only hope is to clear level 8, and even then I don't think I can make it past the other gleeoks because I don't have the rod, and nothing else seems to damage them. Not sure what else to do on this playthrough.

[rdrunner | 422]

@koifish not sure if you're looking for hints, but here are a couple if you want them.

Hint #1:

Spoiler

You need the magical rod next.

 

Hint #2:

Spoiler

In Level 6, the Gleeok room can be skipped.

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by rdrunner

[koifish | 556]

@rdrunner Thanks, I'll use them if I run out of ideas. For now I have a normal second file that's roughly parallel, so I'll use that to explore 6 and 8 to see if I can figure out next steps.

[Aguy | 772]

I finished DQ IX last night and am moving on to Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I think this year I'll be focusing on using my 3DS XL to catch up on a lot of both DS and 3DS games.

[Tabonga | 2,318]

This is a really fun puzzle game I downloaded from the Nintendo eshop on the cheap.  Kinda like the old boardgame Khet.

 

[a3quit4s | 4,098]

Finally popped in my Alwas Awakening that I got from LRG I don’t even know how long ago. Really well done, the movement is on point, it’s fun, and has like Metroid or Hollow Knight vibes. No, I’m not using that overhyped word to describe its genre lol

[a3quit4s | 4,098]

Resident Evil 4 on PS5. Omg the modern controls are so much better. I don’t think I played it for more than 20 minutes on GameCube and tank controls. 

[Gloves | 11,779]

1 hour ago, a3quit4s said:

Resident Evil 4 on PS5. Omg the modern controls are so much better. I don’t think I played it for more than 20 minutes on GameCube and tank controls. 

I love tank controls.