What have you been playing lately?

[Green Averine [deprecated]]

Well, I myself have been clocking in some triple-digit hours on Oblivion. (Just like some of the other people I've seen on this thread) I've found some non-cheat loopholes that make the magic so much more fun and useful.

I've also been juggling other games. One of them is Far Cry: Predator because of it's map-making feature. I think I've actually spent more time on this map editor than the one in Age of Empires III...and that's saying something.

I've also finally gotten around to buying Baten Kaitos after what I've heard about it. It feels good to use the Cube again after it's been collecting dust for a few months. I like the amount of control the game gives you over your cards, but using healing is a bit frantic at first. I haven't really progressed much in this game yet, though.

I wish Soul Calibur 3 wasn't just for the PS2, as that's the only platform I don't have access to. I can't see myself spending a good chunk of time on that as well. But I've been settling for SC2 against my friends. (Ivy dominates all!)

Well, I guess that about sums it up for me. I've basically been playing these to fill the gap between now and the time when the games come out that I REALLY want to play. (Like LoZ: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, and Too Human ) But until then, these aren't a bad fix at all.

 

[heavyfeul]

Been playing COD2 almost exclusively, but also F.E.A.R. (scary!!!), and just got Rome: Total War, so I will be getting aquainted with it this weekend.

 

[dhaelis]

I picked up 'Lego Star Wars II' yesterday and played a little bit on my 360: it's just as good (if not better) than the original. I'm thrilled that I now have a game which I can play with my 3 year old son on the 360 and not have to worry about mentally scarring him (something about killing zombies with blood and limbs flying everywhere just doesn't scream 'family' to me). Speaking of which, I've been playing some 'Dead Rising', trying to get that 'Zombie Genocider' achievement (I want the Mega Buster, dammit) and some 'Mario and Luigi - Partners in Time' on the DS.

Looking forward to playing: Guitar Hero II, Okami, CastleVania - Portrait of Ruin.

 

[Maruza]

Just finished F.E.A.R. and FarCry. Played a a lot of Oblivion, got bored and never finished the major quest line. Gave Quake 4 a try but turned to F.E.A.R. and FarCry and lost interest in it. Curryently playing Devil May Cry 3 for PC, still unlocking Dante's styles, even though I usually play as Virgil just cuz I occasionally feel like nailing @$$ to the wall. I think it serves as a substitute for WoW which I quit nearly a year ago; the MMO itch is getting stronger but I haven't seen anything that I think I would stick with.

 

[jlaakso]

I bought Kung Fu Chaos for the Xbox last week. It's really a blast.

However, most of my time's been eaten by Battlefield 2: MC on the 360. Fun stuff.

 

[zubin [deprecated]]

Currently playing: Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PC), Heroes of Might and Magic 5 (PC), Ancient Empires 2 on my Nokia 6600

NFS Most Wanted is easily the best Need for Speed game so far - it takes all the good things of Underground 2 and Hot Pursuit and blends them in a kickass, fun package. I'm no. 6 on the Blacklist, and I just got a Lamboghini Gallardo to play with

If anyone here loves turn based strategy, I recommend the Heroes of Might and magic series - Heroes 5 is the latest installment, and it's bloody brilliant. Ok maybe I'm a fan since I've been playing this series since Heroes 2, but the latest one is not only gorgeous to watch, it's also quite a lot of fun to play. Nothing beats watching an army of dragons and angels destroy everything in its path.

And for the phone, there aren't too many good strategy games out there - but Ancient Empires 2 is one of the best, IMO - interesting turn based gameplay, cute and fun maps, and dragons, of course Takes a little patience to play a 3 player game though.

 

[Slybok [deprecated]]

I'm working on the review copy of Contact for the site I write for. It is a very interesting game to say the least and manages to ace some elements and fail in other marks. I really have only played 6 and a half hours in so far, so I still need to formulate my opinion. After finishing the preview yesterday, my work should pick up and I'll be able to put more time in it.

I might also fire up my recently purchased copy of RTW:Barbarian Invasion to play a couple quick skirmishes to provide my barbarian-slaughtering entertainment.

 

[Russ Pitts]

I've been getting back into Guitar Hero. I think I may fire up Wind Waker today, too. I never got around to playing that.

 

[Goofonian]

I've been getting back into Guitar Hero. I think I may fire up Wind Waker today, too. I never got around to playing that.

How far through guitar hero have you managed to get? I have two songs left on expert then just the bonus songs that you have to buy with your hard earned cash.

I seem to have hit a wall at this point though, I don't think I can physically move my fingers fast enough to get through the last couple solos

I would like to see someone do it though. Would be like watching those crazy little asians on DDR at the arcade.

 

[te2rx [deprecated]]

I don't really get Guitar Hero. After a high school addiction with DDR back in the day, playing Guitar Hero is about as interesting to me as DDR on a computer keyboard. Press buttons with your fingers according to this graph. Then again I'm not into rock music at all.

I plowed through Perimeter, a slightly offbeat RTS game. The storytelling is really interesting since the campaign has you alternating between all 3 factions. In one mission, you might be the rebels trying to escape from the evil empire. Having succeeded, the next mission might have you playing as the evil empire tasked with destroying the same rebels you just helped escape in the previous mission. While it detaches you from the story a bit, in another way it makes the story more gripping because you become fearful of what consiquences your actions may have (not that the game provides choice, but still).

I also ran through Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I don't know why I keep playing these MGS games. The gameplay hasn't really advanced since 1990's Metal Gear 2 for the MSX [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_2] (mind-blowing game for the time btw)... only the controls have become more convoluted and the gameplay much more awkward with the addition of 3D. Doing simple things like aiming... shooting... spotting some bad guys... becomes a ridiculous challenge, and the game knows it because it makes entire boss fights out of those tasks, tasks which are easy as hell in any other game (read: Thief, Splinter Cell, etc). MGS in general needs a total design overhaul from its 1990 model of gameplay.

 

[Dom Camus]

Many thanks to Fletcher for the Armadillo Run link above. It's sucked up all my free time for the last two days and even now if I close my eyes I can see vibrating ropes and breaking panels ! (Fortunately now completed so I can have my life back !)

Definitely the game of the year for me. 10/10

 

[Russ Pitts]

Glad you liked it.

 

[Vrikk]

Neverwinter Nights 2 love here, baby. Oh yeah..

 

[luminousshadow11]

If I didn't have a ton of homework I'd be playing FFXII, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen (SNES version, I don't like the PS version).

I had to cut myself off or nothing would get done.

 

[te2rx [deprecated]]

I'm going to re-re-replay Jagged Alliance 2 since this HUGE fan-made patch/mod has been released [http://ja2v113.schtuff.com]. I saw the patch work at a friend's house and it's pretty impressive. The enemy AI is much smarter, more willing to flank and work in groups. It "unlocks" certain characters such as JA2:UB's Tex Colburn. It has a stormy weather effect which completely transforms combat at nighttime, as visibility turns to crap save for the occasional lighting strike which suddenly illuminates everything. You can train militia squads and have them aid you in capturing sectors. It adds tons of interesting new weapons and other misc gadgets and gameplay improvements without making them feel hacked-in or unbalanced.

FYI JA2 is the best turn-based tactics game ever made (better than xcom etc.), and really one of the most replayable single-player games I've ever played. The world is just so damned open, and there are so many different ways to approach situations. It's not just some set-in-stone mission-based game, it's this funky hybrid RPG full of weird quests and great characters, etc.

 

[sharp_as_a_cork]

Currently I'm playing NFS: carbon, and it's great fun with my MOMO wheel, it does crash to the desktop more than it should.
I've also clocked a few hours (read: 30) into Oblivion, but for some reason it just doesn't pull me inwith its story (that, and the fact that I die a lot), will wait for NWN2 to make its way in by post.

In the last few months I completed Prey, FEAR and, most recently, Company of Heroes. CoH has awsome RTS action, great graphics and tons of atmosphere.

Oh, and I almost forgot: the game that gets most of my attention on weekdays is Frets on Fire ([a]http://louhi.kempele.fi/~skyostil/uv/fretsonfire/[/a]), which is Guitar Hero for the PC. While holding the keyboard like a guitar is less comfortable than the GH controller, It's not bad enough to cause me to buy a PS2 and GH. In addition, you've got a killer feature: being able to download songs from the `net as well as add your own.

 

[ZacQuickSilver]

I've been playing two MMOs: Trickster online and Minions of Mirth. Both are pretty cool, although very different: Trickster is a childish game (a cooler version of the much more popular Maple Story, and without the broken charecter choice), while MoM is an Everquest-style (or more appropriately WoW style: look at the names MoM, WoW. I don't think it's a coincidence) that is slowly being developed.

I would play Oblivion, but the computer that can run it fried it's graphics card due to bad airflow, and I haven't gotten around to repairing it.

 

[runab0ut]

Playing Dawn of War (all three) - still pretty strong for me as an RTS.

Plus some dice rolling and sword swingin' with Neverwinter Nights 2 - A good game overall, even with its buggy AI, your companions still fireballs their way in to victory! Looking forward to the modules and the next patch!

Oblivion is another game that's still on my HD, never quite get too far with it yet.

 

[Slartibartfast [deprecated]]

Just finished Okami, beat the crap out of Godhand and now working on Psychonauts. Totally psyched for Portrait of Ruin.

 

[ReedRichards]

I've been playing Okami and Final Fantasy XII. And Beyond Good and Evil.