What are you playing?

[showraniy]

AAAH, I WANT IT! ;__;
 
I've been looking forward to Xillia for so long, but I just cannot justify the purchase. Without my brother, I don't have a PS3 to play it on either, lol. Please let me live vicariously through you guys!! I really loved Graces f even though the storyline was horrible, so I anticipate good things from this one.
 
As far as what I'm recently into, I'm just now finishing up From Dust, and Skyrim has taken over all of my gaming. It was kind of boring at first because I played my brother's copy of it a long time ago and had already done the early missions before, but after getting past that it's started to be fun again. I guess I really hate doing things twice...

[al kusanagi]

Xillia and Dragon's Crown should be arriving for me tomorrow. Yay!

[Ap2000]

The Oculus Rift actually seems to work quite well, surprisingly:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQ0OXJC ... aE&t=1m</a>

[aine]

I hate how Humble Bundle bundles different games under one Steam key. This will be the third copy of Metro 2033 that I'll waste, because it's under one key with two other games that I don't yet have. I might have cared less if it was another title, but Metro 2033 is just such a fine game that I want to share with everyone. :|

I'm also kicking myself in the head for not getting the Doom bundle on Steam the other day. I have the Doom Collector's Edition box already and my "no double-dipping" instinct kicked in, but now I realised they're probably not even Windows 7 ready. Not that it's a technical obstacle, but it would be just nice to have it under one-click convenience on Steam. And id games hardly ever go on sale.

[Ap2000]

Bought Journey during the PSN summer sale this week and it is truly special.
It's very strange when another person comes into your game and you have no way of communicating, except for a simple note (or "charging up" that note to make it louder).
I probably wouldn't have bought it for full price, but
 
Also got Gran Turismo 5 academy edition from a local reseller for 15,30€, which is a good price, especially considering the DLC code wasn't used yet.
Man, I just love the music Polyphony puts into their games. They're so relaxing and chill.
My favourite song so far is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7KB-GbziZg">PNAU - Baby (Breakbot Remix)</a>, which immediately seemed very familiar, but I'm not sure where I've heard it before.
 
 
[quote="aine"]
I hate how Humble Bundle bundles different games under one Steam key.
[/quote]
 
They don't always do that, though. So I guess it might also be a publisher/dev thing, how much they care about it or if they still have some spare keys laying around.

[Melon]

I got Dragon's Crown and Tales of Xillia in~
 
I played a bit of both. Dragon's Crown reminds me of the old school brawlers. It's pretty fun so far, but I've only played about an hour.
 
Tales of Xillia-
 
No joke that I'm a huge fan of the Tales games. I play on Hard, so this is my impression for that difficulty -
 
1. The battle system isn't as fun as Graces so far. I don't like the TP system since it "punishes" you for skills. (No, I probably just got used to spamming skills in Graces hahaha)
For the first dungeon, it's good for hand holding because you don't really have to do much. You honestly could stand there and let Millia do all the work. In fact, that's what I did for the first boss. Dodging is kind of fun, but really, you can just sit there and spam attack, wait a second, spam attack and not have to worry about timing for dodging. It's great when you actually do he auto transports behind the enemy so you can get a crit or two. In other words, even on hard I wasn't really breaking a sweat challenge-wise, I can only imagine how easy it is on normal mode.
 
1b. The "Link" system. I only got to mess a bit with it last night. It's an interesting mechanic, but I think it makes an easy battle even easier. Especially teamed with Millia and she "binds" the monster or draws him so you can do back attacks. It's fun, but it takes the free battle aspect away imo. You do get to dodge a bit more, but then he doesn't do his little back thing since Millia is in the way. :/ The link special attack is kinda overpowered in how you can spam it too.
 
2. I don't know what sort of run I'll do. Last time I did a no item/no death run. I will probably try for another no death run, but that may be difficult in the later bosses. In Graces I ended up having to grind at the end stages of the game to continue a no death/no item run on hard (and...sob, do a boss on normal) so I dunno if I want to give up the items for this time. No death is usually a challenging enough run.
 
3. Characters: So far I've met three. I am playing as Jude because Millia's voice annoyed me. Jude is a cool dude. I like him initially as much as I liked Yuri from Vesperia. He's calm and easy-going and not a whiner.  His voice isn't offensive. He's...okay to play in battles, I may end up switching around once we get the other people to see if I like playing as them more. I usually like the speedier characters in Tales, but it seems one of the "nodes" bumps up movement speed? Millia as a character isn't bad so far. She's the standard "not human" type, but she's written way better than Sophie was in Graces. The third character, Alvinis totes kakkoii sugoi ikeman probs gonna by my oshi by the end of the game. Err, he's the "rogue with a heart of gold" stereotype, which of course I go nuts for like any other other hot blooded woman.
 
4. Leveling up: If you've played FFX, FF13-2 then you know the "sphere" system that takes you around the world to get stats. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of that. There's an "auto" feature you can use, but eeeehhhhhhhhhhh....... I'll wait until I'm around 20 or so before I give a verdict on whether or not it's good.
 
5. Stores= THIS SYSTEM IS BULLSHIT AND STUPID. There's no uniqueness. You sell your loot or pay to level up the stores and get new items. Every store everywhere is the same. No more going to a new area and being all excited "I wonder what new weapons I'll get!?" BORING!!!!!!!!!!!! If you're going to do that, then make it the FFXII method and have the loot just go directly into things, but still give us the excitement of YAY NEW STUFFS. Now you have to balance leveling up the shops and if you're not going into one enough OH WELL I GUESS YOU GET SHIT EQUIPMENT.
 
6. Graphics are the usual Tales. Expect that and you'll be happy. I like the character designs of all the characters seen from the intro, but they're usually good on that front anyway.
 
edit - I got the CE edition that comes with a 1/6 Millia figure. It's okay, Alter's is better, but then again Alter is the God among figure producers imo. It does make me want a Jude so they can be paired, but to have a super nice Jude against that Millia would bother me and no way in hell am I paying 80 or 90K for a Millia Alter version. If they ever make an Alvin I may have to splurge.... jk jk, I don't really buy non-action figure figurines. The only one I own is Momohime, which is an effing beautiful sculpture.

[al kusanagi]

Amazon lost my copy of Xillia, so my copy didn't arrive until today. I'm loving Dragon's Crown on my Vita though.
 
<a href="http://www.twitch.tv/dota2ti">The Dota2 world championships, The International 2013,</a> is going on right now, and I've been watching the hell out of while playing Dragons Crown.

[Ap2000]

[quote="Ap2000"]
Bought Journey during the PSN summer sale this week and it is truly special.
It's very strange when another person comes into your game and you have no way of communicating, except for a simple note (or "charging up" that note to make it louder).
I probably wouldn't have bought it for full price, but
[/quote]
 

I forgot to finish that sentence "but it was on sale for 6,50€".
 
There are many things I could tell you about my Journey, but I'll just say amazing.
If you have a PS3, then you absolutely need to buy it and play it.
And if you don't have a PS3, you absolutely need to rent one and get Journey with it.
You have never played anything like this before and it is a perfect example of why games are such a special medium.

[aine]

<a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/">Russians enjoying their real life Metro 2033</a>

I'm jealous, kind of. I never had anyone to do urbex with, and I have too much common sense not to go solo.

Photos 5 and 6 in <a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/ ... js=1">this set</a> defy any explanation.

[Ap2000]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="160181" data-time="1376238302"><a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/">Russians enjoying their real life Metro 2033</a>

I'm jealous, kind of. I never had anyone to do urbex with, and I have too much common sense not to go solo.

Photos 5 and 6 in <a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/ ... js=1">this set</a> defy any explanation.</blockquote>
One day, the two of us shall make a trip to Pripyat together.


Do you know what the captions for those money shots say ?

[aine]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Ap2000" data-cid="160184" data-time="1376239839"><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="160181" data-time="1376238302"><a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/">Russians enjoying their real life Metro 2033</a>

I'm jealous, kind of. I never had anyone to do urbex with, and I have too much common sense not to go solo.

Photos 5 and 6 in <a href="http://undergroundfoto.livejournal.com/ ... js=1">this set</a> defy any explanation.</blockquote>
One day, the two of us shall make a trip to Pripyat together.


Do you know what the captions for those money shots say ?</blockquote>
Careful, I'm 100% serious about visiting Pripyat. Hopefully in not too far a future, before they cover everything with that fug new shelter.

I don't know what the captions say, beyond that g translate said.

[Ap2000]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="160206" data-time="1376259637">Careful, I'm 100% serious about visiting Pripyat. Hopefully in not too far a future, before they cover everything with that fug new shelter.

I don't know what the captions say, beyond that g translate said.</blockquote>
I'd never joke about Pripyat and I would most certainly answer your call, if you were clear about it, to go watch the Pripyatian sky together.

[neshcom]

Finished off Yakuza 4. I was really enjoying the story until act 4 when (I'm assuming) all sorts of shit from the previous games came into play. I was stupid into completing the mini games after the story, but I keep freezing when I win a fight in the coliseum, so fuck it. And I spent so damn long making #1 hostesses and everything!


I also picked up the Early Access game Mercenary Kings the other day and it's pretty good. Sidescrolling shooting with a lot of customization. I am definitely picking it up when it hits PS4.


iPad side, I've been enjoying Fairway Solitaire. Still the same game it's ever been, but with microtransactions, which is a shame because it's neither free nor a universal app.


I also picked up rymdkapsel, a unique RTS/arcade game. The music is great and the gameplay is fantastic as a short game, but it begs for a longer, more permanent game. It also lacks some of the finer control you get with a direct RTS.


I just got Hitman Absolution, Max Payne 3, and Hots Shots Golf: World Invitational on the PSN earlier this morning, so they should be done installing in a few hours.

[star]

So at last night's gaming party I learned that I dominate at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injustice: ... >Injustice: Gods Among Us</a> using Harley Quinn

[Sabaku Ika]

Open beta for Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 begins tomorrow (or the day after if you were not in previous beta phases). I recommend making your character on the Excalibur server because that's where I will be.

[al kusanagi]

I got Ni no Kuni for 20 bucks yesterday. No idea when I'll get to it, but yay for cheap games!

[Melon]

[quote="Sabaku Ika"]
Open beta for Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 begins tomorrow (or the day after if you were not in previous beta phases). I recommend making your character on the Excalibur server because that's where I will be.
[/quote]
 

Em-El and I are going to be on Balmung server. :(

[Ap2000]

GfWL is DEAD DEAD DEAD
<a href="http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2013/08/gam ... wn.html</a>
 
Of course this is very joyous news, however, this will probably also mean games like Dark Souls, that rely on the "service" will not feature any online anymore...

[neshcom]

Gamescom is upon us! As I type this, reporters, devs, and gamers are converging on Cologne for one of Europe's biggest gaming things. We know Sony will be announcing their release information, Microsoft will try its best to scoot by under the radar, and Nintendo is there too?


If you missed it, Microsoft announced it's dropping 8 mostly-European countries from its original 21 country 2013 launch. As a part of the delay, existing preorders will get a free pack-in game TBA, but rumors are flying that Microsoft will be announcing a new bundle tomorrow just for Europe that packs in FIFA 14 at regular launch price. An earlier rumor said the game would have been an exclusive third-party game, but MCV is confident it will be the multipllat fubol series. How this compounds previously announced existing preorder packin is to be determined, but it could undermine the already placated delayed masses.


We will also likely hear of a Vita price drop and/or remodel. Retailers have already dropped the 3G model and reduced inventory to $200. Sony is holding a livestreamed presentation tomorrow and is expected to announce more of their 30-some first-year PS4 games along with finalized release details. More than a few outlets are confident we will see a late October release for the PS4.


Get hype because we're reaching a pinnacle in the Megaton Wars of 2013.

[Ap2000]

I was at Gamescom with a friend in 2011. It's pretty cool, but insanely overcrowded (and we didn't even go on Sat/Sun, but Thu/Fri).
We mainly went there for Battlefield 3 and then we barely were allowed to play it and we had to watch some boring presentation before that, consisting of some videos we've already seen before.
A lot of weird looking/acting/costume'd people there, but I guess that also has to do with there being some 300k people over the course of 3~4 days.

[neshcom]

Microsoft's announcements are in! Here's the skinny:
 
- Microsoft's X1 launch line-up:
[spoiler2]•Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
•Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts) 

•Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)

•Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)

•Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)

•FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)

•Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)

•Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)

•Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)

•Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)

•LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive) 

•Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)

•Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)

•NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)

•NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)

•Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts) 

•Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)

•Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)

•Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)

•Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)

•Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)

•Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)

•Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)

<a href="http://news.xbox.com/2013/08/gamescom-l ... -launch</a>
[/spoiler2]
 
In other announcements, Fable Legends was announced. It will be a 4-player online-only co-op game. Players will be able to pick between different classes and can potentially be a villain? Short of info, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vl53LHtIO8">but here's a CG trailer</a>.
 
Gamers who pre-order X1 in Europe (specific markets TBA) will automatically get a free digital copy of FIFA 14 packed-in with their X1. It is being implied this may only be for 2013 day one European countries, which makes sense because the rest of the markets would get a 6 month old game of a yearly series. The bundle promotion is only for pre-orders and will be "until supplies last." [edit] <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/20/46393 ... ders">This Verge article</a> confirms the promotion is only for "Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom." These are indeed the "tier one" European countries that were not a part of last week's delay. There will also be a 360 FIFA 14 bundle.
 
Also announced was exclusive FIFA 14 Ultimate Team content called "Legends" which will only be available on X1/360. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKW4qE1bjgg">This short trailer</a> just looks like it's classic big-name players?
 
The X1 self-publishing platform was <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013- ... ">detailed partially</a>. The program, ID@Xbox gives "each registered developer will receive two development kits at no cost, and developers will have access to the full power of the console, cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox Live toolset, which includes Xbox SmartGlass, multiplayer, Achievements and Gamerscore, among other things.[...] Crucially, there are no application fees, and as with Xbox 360, there are no fees for certification or title updates." This is similar to Sony's indie approach of passing out dev units "like candy." <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/developers/id">Registration has already begun at this page</a>. [edit] <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/20/46393 ... -one">This Verge article</a> states Microsoft is looking for devs with a proven track record who can produce games quickly and will expand the service out from that. The X1s-as-dev-kits upgrade/update is still to be detailed, but is confirmed to be post-launch.
 
Lastly on the Microsoft side, Killer Instinct, the resurrected free-to-play fighting game, <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2013/08/gamescom-ki">had it's pricing announced</a>. The game comes free with one character. The total roster available will be 8: 6 at launch, 2 downloadable post-launch. Each individual character is $5. A pack of all 8 is $20 and you will receive the 2 post-launch characters before the official release. Finally, an "ultra edition" pack includes all 8 plus character accessories, costumes, and a copy of the original Killer Instinct arcade game.
 
Finally, since this is all Microsoft news anyway, the Mojang/Oxeye collaboration/published title <a href="https://mojang.com/2011/08/introducing- ... >Cobalt</a> will be getting an X1/360 port. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_(vi ... arently</a>, an alpha and beta have already been available on PC. 
 
Sony is holding a presentation at 6p local (1pET) and we should have another info dump then. Don't touch that knob! It's poison, fair MacBeth.

[al kusanagi]

Third Street Saints represent!

[al kusanagi]

DAIBUKIKKU!!!!!

[Sabaku Ika]

[quote="Petit Melon"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Sabaku Ika" data-cid="160525" data-time="1376582220">
<div>
Open beta for Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 begins tomorrow (or the day after if you were not in previous beta phases). I recommend making your character on the Excalibur server because that's where I will be.
[/quote]
 
Em-El and I are going to be on Balmung server. :(
 
</div>
</blockquote>
I just noticed that subscriptions to the game don't say 1 character, but 1 character per server (up to eight), so I will probably bal some mungs with you two as well as Excalibur. Unless I get sick of the game in general... Not likely soon.
 
What classes are you playing? It will help me decide on mine.

[Ap2000]

[quote="Al Kusanagi"]
I got Ni no Kuni for 20 bucks yesterday. No idea when I'll get to it, but yay for cheap games!
[/quote]
 

It's on sale right now on the PSN at 20€/18€ (for PS+), which is a good deal, since retail it's still 30€ or more here, even if I'd import it from UK.

[neshcom]

New games!


The new Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational PS3 port really pisses me off. The graphics are a step down from Out of Bunds, the caddies are ridiculous, and the control scheme was fucked up again for no reason. There are some pluses: the shop system works well, the character customization is really nice, the always spot-on physics are still intact, and non-3D graphics and camera work are stepped up. If you can't get OOB (always a tough find for disc), World Invitational is decent for your golfing needs.


Worms 3 is out now for iOS and it's a Worms game. It's kind of sluggish to respond to the touch controls and the mini dpad feels inaccurate. Still, Worms on iPad.


Knights of Pen and Paper (iOS) is the epitome of old school RPG. Great writing, addictive gameplay, and decently planned out. It's not very accommodating to newbies, but it isn't much of a departure from any classic RPG. Not much in the way of character development, but you can spend more time leveling fewer abilities.


Got Guacamelee, Bit Trip Runner 2, and Dive Kick on PSN recently, but haven't spent much time in any one yet. They're all pretty good, though Dive Kick is especially frustrating.


After the Sony Gamescom presser, I've been eyeballing the Vita, especially since I've gotten a bunch of Vita games on PS+. You can get refurbs and used ones pretty cheap, I think, and the remote play and cross buy stuff is an enticing future. Plus, there's a talking dog game coming out for Vita soon, so I need to get on that.

[Kalle]

I got Animal Crossing this past Thursday as an early birthday gift! * u * I finally got access to the Happy Home Showcase and the island. BELLS AHOY.
 
I also picked up Soul Hackers as a treat to myself but haven't gotten to it yet.

[yuzuriha]

Welcome to the dark side. <3

[Ap2000]

I thought about buying Animal Crossing for my niece, but it's stil pretty expensive (for a handheld game, at least) over here.
But if i find it used for a good price, I'd buy it.
 
 
[quote="Ap2000"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Al Kusanagi" data-cid="160526" data-time="1376582376">
<div>
I got Ni no Kuni for 20 bucks yesterday. No idea when I'll get to it, but yay for cheap games!
[/quote]
 
It's on sale right now on the PSN at 20€/18€ (for PS+), which is a good deal, since retail it's still 30€ or more here, even if I'd import it from UK.
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Five hours in, totally loving it.
The overworld map is absolutely gorgeous.

[Melon]

I will beat Tale's before I get sucked into FF. D: