Whatcha been playing lately?

[Nav]

To be honest they never seem to change very much, they just get slightly more refined every time. I can still barely tell the difference between 4 and 5.

We're having a tournament tonight. They call me the Nullifier, because I always sit back and soak up pressure then strike on the break!

[Worm of Despite]

Been playing GalCiv II mostly, with a little Civilization sprinkled in.

I think you'd really like GalCiv, Lore. It's not as polished or intuitive as Civ, but I find it much more fun and rewarding, once you get over the learning curve. It probably helps that I like the sci-fi/space setting more than Civ's historical one.

Plus, you can build your own ships to an insane level of detail (and add cool upgrades/weapons/shields as you research more technologies).

The developers of GalCiv have a digital distribution tool, called Stardock Central. It's similiar to Steam, but I find it a lot more streamlined and user-friendly (for instance, you have to have an Internet connection to play Steam games, whereas with Stardock you only run it if you want to install or patch a game). The expansion is coming this February, and it's going to have as much (or more) content than a sequel. Try the demo!

[Nav]

I got GalCiv II last month. I was totally addicted to my first game but I haven't started a second yet. I think what puts me off is that I know I'm too much of a perfectionist and I spend way too long designing and redesigning all of my ships.

I love that you can make them look really menacing, even if they're actual armament is pitiful!

[Worm of Despite]

I got GalCiv II last month. I was totally addicted to my first game but I haven't started a second yet. I think what puts me off is that I know I'm too much of a perfectionist and I spend way too long designing and redesigning all of my ships.

That's funny. I just quickly slap on the latest upgrades and whatever else strikes my fancy. Usually name the ship whatever it looks like (I think I named one monstrosity "Crablegs" or something).

[Trapper]

I'd been playing a lot of Civ III over the last fortnight. I'd just started to realise how my Civ II playing-style had been holding me back. I'd started to realise what a great game Civ III is.

Then my CD and DVD drives decided to have their periodic conniptions simultaneously. Then I made the mistake of thinking that uninstalling would fix the problem.

Now I'm thinking I'll just have to wait until I can buy a new computer and get Civ IV.

[Loredoctor]

Starting playing Neverwinter Nights 2 last night. Received it in the mail yesterday. The problem is I cant decide on what class to play - druid, thief or mage.

[Wyldewode]

Started playing Diablo II again. . . it's been years since i played. Playing it on battlenet with friends, so it's a little different experience than before.

Other than that, I have these games going: On the GameCube: LOTR: Return of the King; Crystal Chronicles; Soul Caliber II; Final Fantasy IX; and Siberia on my laptop.

I'm kinda bad about starting something and then drifting away from it before finishing it. I must change that.

~Lyr

[Loredoctor]

Medieval Total War II.

[Xar]

Last week I started playing NWN2. Three days ago, I gave up in disgust. The game is just full of such idiocy that playing through it becomes a pain, rather than fun.

For starters, I played the warlock class, which should be really cool (and it is in PnP D&D), but which within NWN2 feels like a last-minute addition: I reached level 7, and I still had to find any warlock-specific items (while i had already found items specific for other classes). Additionally, the warlock gets very few class-specific feats to choose from, and the game even misses the two most critical ones which every warlock should take, so playing the warlock becomes a relatively crappy experience.

The story seems to be relatively clichè so far, although I may withhold judgment until such a time as I continue playing and find twists in it; the NPCs are mostly clichè though (whoa, a dwarf fighter? Ok, it has an interesting twist, but I never saw that before! And what about the tiefling rogue? or the elven druid?). Additionally, they feel rather wooden - they don't speak with each other very much (if at all), for example.

Then we have the technical aspects. For example, your interaction with the NPCs is regulated by the influence system: the more you do things they like, the more open they become to you. Except that the system doesn't count something: your natural skills. According to the system, you may be the rudest, uncivilized, ugly brute of the world, but if you do good deeds, you'll crack open the defenses of a certain NPC just like the most educated, charismatic, handsome and diplomatic character would. We have combat modes which cannot be activated in combat but only when you are NOT in combat, and which on top of it all turn themselves off randomly; autosaving between areas of the city but no autosaving between levels of the dungeon; and so on. Finally, while the graphics are nice, they're nothing special if you compare them to the requirements the game asks of your computer. NWN1 had better cloaks, for instance.

[Loredoctor]

The story seems to be relatively clichè so far, although I may withhold judgment until such a time as I continue playing and find twists in it; the NPCs are mostly clichè though (whoa, a dwarf fighter? Ok, it has an interesting twist, but I never saw that before! And what about the tiefling rogue? or the elven druid?). Additionally, they feel rather wooden - they don't speak with each other very much (if at all), for example.

The bold point raises a problem I have. The characters are annoying as hell. A scottish dwarf! jeez. And that Tiefling acts more like a spoiled teenager than some figure form fantasy. The druid annoys me . . . .

I also cant stand the linear gameplay. Makes me want to go back to Oblivion.

Oh, and I cant stand that even I use diplomacy to get out of a violent battle (and Im playing an evil character) why is my alignment shifted to good?

[Xar]

The story seems to be relatively clichè so far, although I may withhold judgment until such a time as I continue playing and find twists in it; the NPCs are mostly clichè though (whoa, a dwarf fighter? Ok, it has an interesting twist, but I never saw that before! And what about the tiefling rogue? or the elven druid?). Additionally, they feel rather wooden - they don't speak with each other very much (if at all), for example.

The bold point raises a problem I have. The characters are annoying as hell. A scottish dwarf! jeez. And that Tiefling acts more like a spoiled teenager than some figure form fantasy. The druid annoys me . . . .

I also cant stand the linear gameplay. Makes me want to go back to Oblivion.

Oh, and I cant stand that even I use diplomacy to get out of a violent battle (and Im playing an evil character) why is my alignment shifted to good?

And don't you find also that the NPCs don't really feel "alive" like they used to do in NWN1? I mean, perhaps part of the reason is because in NWN2 you can actually control them, while in NWN1 you couldn't, but nevertheless, NPCs almost never have lines, if you talk to them they always say the same things, the influence system is a pain... I'm trying to play a roleplaying game here, not an adventure game.

The more I look at NWN2, the more I feel like the put together pieces from Baldur's Gate, NWN1 and Knights of the Old Republic II, glued them together, and said "it's a new game". They even recycled the sounds of NWN1! This game doesn't have its own identity. It shows this even in the manual: it doesn't have any description of classes, how the rules system works, and so on, because it assumes you either know D&D, or you played NWN2. The poor guy who has never done either finds himself with no clue of what he should expect.

The linear storyline is also annoying, I agree. "do this, then you'll do that, then that, and finally you'll get where you want to go". Geez, how original. Not to mention the

Spoiler

"Oh yes, go recover the shards of the old sword. Can you guess who your final enemy will be? Perhaps the big black giant in the intro? Given that he's hinted at about 10 times per hour?"

.

I had the same feeling you had - I'd much rather go back to Oblivion than continue NWN2 as it is. Did you know that the DM client is a beta release? It's not the final one. And did you know that the toolset they provide you with the game (supposedly a stable toolset, since they claim it's the one they used to make the game with) crashes whenever you try to open the help files?

Apparently, according to Obsidian, if you're an evil thief and know you can't survive a bloody battle, so you try to wriggle your way out without shedding blood, for purely selfish reasons, you're still good. Obsidian seems to believe that "evil=senselessly violent".

[Loredoctor]

Great post, Xar.

My kingdom for a good RPG.

[CovenantJr]

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Rogue Leader

One is easy and more fun than I remember it being; the other is exactly as I remember it: kind of fun, but needlessly, insanely difficult.

[Warmark]

Ah good, i was going to suggest the Star Wars games for the Cube.

[TIC TAC]

Heroes of the Pacific, Need For Speed: Underground, Super Smash Bros. and of course online Quake III and classic Halflife
Looking forward to getting Marvel Ultimate Alliance

[CovenantJr]

Ah good, i was going to suggest the Star Wars games for the Cube.

The only Cube games in my possession are Smash Bros, Rogue Leader and the one that came with the console, Waverace. But Eternal Darkness should be arriving today.

[Loredoctor]

I think you'd really like GalCiv, Lore. It's not as polished or intuitive as Civ, but I find it much more fun and rewarding, once you get over the learning curve. It probably helps that I like the sci-fi/space setting more than Civ's historical one.

I'll probably buy the game online and download the full version. The game sounds amazing, but some of the alien races are a bit weak (i.e. Drengin). However, the expansion allows you to create your own races and ships, so I can create my own universe (well, use my sci-fi setting).

[Loredoctor]

This game doesn't have its own identity. It shows this even in the manual: it doesn't have any description of classes, how the rules system works, and so on, because it assumes you either know D&D, or you played NWN2. The poor guy who has never done either finds himself with no clue of what he should expect.

The problem is that any D&D game has become a parody of D&D - or that the system has become a parody of itself. It seems to cater more to the crowd who want the 'official rules' than a decent rpg. And that's a major fault. Why is it in combat you see this:
PC strikes Giant Spider 13+4 (Hit!)
Giant spider dodges 12+5 . . .
Since when has combat, and magic, been all about rules. I'd rather it to be like reality - no numbers flashing about! Honestly, I think most D&Ders would be shocked if there was a war and they shot a soldier and they couldn't see numbers float above the enemy's head when wounded. Focus on the world, characters and plot (dialogue) not recreating rules for system's sake.

[Sunbaneglasses]

Yoshis Island,Killer Instinct, and Madden 96 on my new (old) Super NES.

[kevinswatch]

Sweet, Yoshi's Island. That game is awesome.-jay