Kevin's Watch

Good to hear that G&K is good! I've been getting back into it too, after buying all of the non-G&K DLC civs, etc. for it (For $50? I'll have to hear some good things about it, or see it on special) and it seems to have made things at least a little more interesting, with more civ variety. I might need to check G&K out sometime though, by the sound of it!

I'm still wondering why they need an 'America' civilisation though, as it's not including the native Americans (the Iroquois, etc. are their own civs) and the English have their own too, so there isn't really much of a reason to have the US listed as a civilisation too.

Feeling like some old-style RPG, I picked up a cheap copy of Dragon Age: Origins.

It's not bad, but the combat system annoys me. I shall look forward to the new one with interest, now that they've had a chance to play things like Skyrim. Apparently they're going to be making DA 3 much more open-world.

--A

Still playing Quake III Arena at least once a week on Crom server (ctf.cromctf.com). You guys should join in and see if you can kick Min Donner's ass.

Granted, if you catch me after a bourbon or beer, you'll have a better chance. But I try not to play buzzed anymore. Even one beer slows me down. I can go from top ranking team member to the bottom of my team in the span of 40 minutes.

They just don't make them like this anymore. FPSs are too slow today. Q3A is lightning fast.

Haven't really played much Quake, but I take it you've tried the Serious Sam games? Their multiplayer (particularly the HD versions of the First and Second Encounters, and SS3:BFE, as they're the newest) seems to be fairly fast-paced, in comparison to most FPS' these days.

In other news, I finally got Civ5:G&K during a recent Steam sale, so I've just been enjoying that, lately. And just in time for a new culture+diplomacy expansion that's coming out at some point! Maybe I'll actually get this one closer to release, so I'm not constantly playing an 'out-dated' version of the game!

I like to wait a year so the bugs are ironed out and there are mods etc. available.

QIII was good and all, but our game of choice for FPS LANs was always QI.

--A

Fallout: New Vegas.

I'm enjoying it, but after Skyrim, the whole "point allocation" thing seems clunky, old fashioned and annoying.

I seriously hope that Skyrim's dynamic system becomes standard for RPG's. There really is no better way of doing it.

--A

Avatar wrote:Fallout: New Vegas.

I'm enjoying it, but after Skyrim, the whole "point allocation" thing seems clunky, old fashioned and annoying.

I seriously hope that Skyrim's dynamic system becomes standard for RPG's. There really is no better way of doing it.

--A

I was beginning to think I was the only Fallout player here.

I haven't played Skyrim but I concur--the Fallout SPECIAL system is a little old-fashioned but it is a staple of Fallout, just like the Vault Boy. It wouldn't feel like a proper Fallout without it.

You were until this weekend. A friend gave it to me after I mentioned I'd been looking for it. It's also the first Fallout game I've played.

Do yourself a favour, and try Skyrim. Think of it as a fantasy Fallout. (I think of FNV as a sci-fi Skyrim. )

But in Skyrim, you don't allocate points to certain skills, limiting you to them. Whatever you do builds the skill you're using.

If you hit somebody with a 1-handed weapon, your 1-handed skill goes up. If you block an attack, your block skill goes up. All you have to do is choose perks. That means that you can switch play styles half-way through and your character adapts.

Still, I am enjoying it. Just made it to New Vegas as a sniper type, with leanings toward the NCR, but probably going to stay independent.

--A

I've been playing Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Studio Ghibli and I think the studio that makes Dragon Warrior games (I've never played one, but have been wanting to). It's a fantastic game with a great story and characters that would be home in a Myazaki film, although one of his more kid-friendly ones. It has a fun Pokemon like battle system and loads of things to keep a short attention span person like me interested. And I'm having a lot of fun with it.

I finally finished Beyond Good and Evil, then immediately installed and started on the other game I bought at the same time (a year ago!), Mirror's Edge. ME is so far fun - fast paced first-person action platformer.

I finished Mirror's Edge very quickly. Fun game, though I wasn't keen on the combat parts. I had a go at some of the time trial runs today, and I think I gave myself heartburn out of frustration at some of them, ha.

I swear, these days if I'm not going to get a minimum of 40-50 hours of play, I don't even bother with the game.

--A

They've just announced Mirror's Edge 2, so I have something to look forward to.


I've now started playing Dishonored. Working my way through a list of games I've been meaning to get just as soon as I finished the ones I was already on. (From here the list goes: Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite. I think. I suspect I've forgotten something.)

The problem with games that give me a stealth option is I wind up playing far too over-cautiously, and then I still mess it up and have to fight my way through, badly. Dishonored is very slow going so far because I try to sneak and I'm not good at it.

Also noticing, oddly, that although I try to exclusively use Sleeping Darts and not kill people, they still seem to die a lot of the time. :/

Looks like an interesting game...I really prefer 3rd person to 1st person though.

--A

Not my favourite either, but it seems like the vast majority of big name games these days, excepting the shooters, are first person action games with RPG and stealth elements.

Yeah, although I think the best ones at least give you the option of whether you want a 1st/3rd person view.

Lack of it is probably the thing that's stopping me from playing Bioshock Infinite. Far Cry 3 as well.

--A

for father's day I am getting ...

batman : arkham asylum
the walking dead

Saints Row: The Third.

--A

The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.

The combat was pretty annoying until I got the hang of it, but enjoying it quite a bit actually.

--A