Whatcha been playing lately?

[DLH]

currently playing Oblivion and Persona 3 FES. occasionally guitar hero, but I don't seem to be making much progress.

[Nav]

I've been travelling a lot recently so I've been playing flOw and Patapon for the PSP. Patapon is brilliant, it's a kind of rhythm game where the four playstation buttons correspond to different drums and you beat the drums in time to the game's beat to control your tribe of little creatures, with different combinations issuing different commands.

It's a charming little game, in a similar vein to Loco Roco, and is actually quite difficult to master as I find it very difficult to get the rhythm right when my Patapons start to struggle during the fight, which makes the situation even worse!

[Queeaqueg]

FlOw got boring after awhile, nothing more than a screensaver.

I going back to the glorish years of RPGs and playing Final Fantasy 4 & 5.

[Nav]

I enjoy it, but I don't imagine it offers so much once you've unlocked all of the creatures.

[CovenantJr]

Just acquired Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. So far, interesting game. Pretty hard in places, though.

[Wyldewode]

Chronicles of Narnia. I borrowed it from my bro's game store.

[CovenantJr]

Is it a work of art?

[Worm of Despite]

No, but it is a Christian allegory. Zing!

[Nav]

Just acquired Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. So far, interesting game. Pretty hard in places, though.

That game was great, I never finished it though. I think I was stuck down in the mines and couldn't work out what I had to do next. Vin Diesel made his own development studio to make it and I think it shows, it looks fantastic and has a really unique take on how first person and stealth games can play. I don't even mind the clunky Ret Con because the Riddick movie was quite disappointing anyway!

[CovenantJr]

Just acquired Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. So far, interesting game. Pretty hard in places, though.

That game was great, I never finished it though. I think I was stuck down in the mines and couldn't work out what I had to do next. Vin Diesel made his own development studio to make it and I think it shows, it looks fantastic and has a really unique take on how first person and stealth games can play. I don't even mind the clunky Ret Con because the Riddick movie was quite disappointing anyway!

Enjoyed it, but got stuck.

Now playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on DS. The best portable Zelda in years; much better than the by-the-numbers Oracle pair.

[Cagliostro]

Playing Zelda: Twilight Princess.

This would be my first 3D Zelda. Played the one on SNES and one of the Oracle games on GBA, and digging this. However, I notice huge similarities with Okage. And honestly, I'd rather be riding the horse throughout the game than some little jerkass riding me as a wolf. I'm always ready to switch back when I am the wolf, but whenever I'm Link, I want the Sense feature to work, as well as Dig.

[Menolly]

Playing Zelda: Twilight Princess.

This would be my first 3D Zelda. Played the one on SNES and one of the Oracle games on GBA, and digging this.

[Worm of Despite]

I've beaten Metal Gear Solid 4 twice so far. My addiction can't be quelled, so I just bought the MGS Essential Collection, which is the first three games. I never beat MGS1, much to my shame, so I must conquer it now...

I've also never played 2, so I'd like to see if all the complaints about Raiden/Rose are true. 3 is still my favorite (or tied with 4, at least; I just love its jungle setting, and I think it had the best bosses and the best final act).

[Nav]

The com dialogue between Raiden and Rose gets pretty ridiculous towards the end of the game, but hey, it's MGS. I found myself mashing 'X' through the majority of it. I thought the gameplay was best in MGS2, I never got to grips with 3. I just don't think the game mechanic works without the scanner.

[Worm of Despite]

I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there. The lack of a scanner in 3 makes you rely on your environment and naked eyesight. It really got me in the sneaking mood. You have to actually wait and consider things, move slowly or go prone, whereas in 1 and 2 there were moments where I just looked at the radar, ran around like an idiot, and still got undetected.

Interesting note: the Japanese had a hard time adjusting to the Splinter Cell/full-3D camera in 4. Most Japanese keep their thumbs as far from the right analogue stick as possible. By extension, they play slowly and methodically, whereas Americans run-and-gun and want full control of their camera. It was definitely a delicate balance of pleasing two separate audiences.

[Nav]

I just found that without the scanner, I became acutely aware that the camera was very rarely in the position I needed it to be. I think it was the way (I think, It's a long time since I played) that it forced you into first person whenever you were prone that ruined it for me, since you needed to stay prone a lot.

I didn't find there was a way to be slow and methodical, it was more like blind luck. I just got sick of waiting for a guard's footsteps to come and go away again, emerging from my hiding place and then getting shot because it was a different guard on a much longer patrol route and I had no way of knowing that until I stuck my head out.

It's a shame, because they introduced so many great aspects to the game, like food, first aid and camouflage, but in comparison to MGS 1&2 the actual gameplay was clunky and frustrating. In MGS2, once you were good at it, you could practically flow through the Big Shell but I never once felt like that in Snake Eater. Even going back through an area I'd passed through four or five times was just as slow and frustrating as it had been the first time.

[Worm of Despite]

Yeah, the fixed camera without a scanner was a flaw, but they fixed that in the Subsistence form of MGS3 by adding the 3D camera, which makes the slow sneaking so much more easier, as the field of view is realistic.

[CovenantJr]

Finished Phantom Hourglass last night and New Super Mario Bros today. More or less run out of DS games. When I'm able to access my PS2 again, I shall commence Disgaea (since it's been recommended to me, and sounds odd enough to be interesting).

I long for Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

[Wyldewode]

Guitar Hero II for the PS2. A friend just bought the Aerosmith edition, so I imagine that I'll play that with her pretty soon.

[Worm of Despite]

When I'm able to access my PS2 again, I shall commence Disgaea (since it's been recommended to me, and sounds odd enough to be interesting).

Cov, please PM or post your impressions of Disgaea, because I've always wanted to get that game (plus, Disgaea 3 is coming out on PS3).

On my front, I just beat MGS2. I didn't find Raiden annoying or the storyline confusing. Very far from it. It's pretty clear to me, but that may be because I have the foresight of MGS4, which I've beat three times (and will probably beat 10 more times before 2009).