The Whatever The Heck You're Playing At The Moment Thread

[isfet]

Demon's Souls arrived today. So far, it's a bit of a bitch to have to start over from the beginning of the level after dying, but I'm having a great time. Need... more... souls...

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've had this for almost forever and have yet to give it a spin! I guess now that I'm done with MGS4, I've got no excuse...

oh man, Demon Souls is out???  crap, i gotta get that as soon as i get paid.

how did MGS4 go for you, Matt?

[FortNinety]

Sorry, but Ryan and I are talking about our press copies. The retail version hits... early October I think?

[dmauro]

Just got platinum medals (and the top friend leaderboard score) for each of the Shadow Complex challenge stages. They are really good despite a bug that forces you to wait until after you start to hold the run button down.

[FortNinety]

how did MGS4 go for you, Matt?

As already explained last night to Joe in person, I absolutely LOVED MGS4. Sorry if that makes me look like a Kojima mark, but it was a damn near perfect gaming experience to me, with enough flash and genuine substance to totally justify my PS3 purchase. I suppose I wouldn't feel as strongly if I wasn't such a Metal Gear fan boy, and as a result, stuff like the REX vs RAY fight made me feel like a kid in a candy store.

Also, Old Snake is easily the greatest video game character of all time, period. And that final fight scene, with two old guys trying to beat the shit out of each other? Fine comedy at its best.

[isfet]

man, Contra Rebirth is just so unengaging

it just misses the point so bad.  and it's such a shame, considering how good Gradius Rebirth was.

i guess i'll just go replay Neo Contra and Shattered Soldier

or Hard Corps

[dhex]

finally finished prototype. big ups to the devs for including a post-game free running, clean up your unfinished business mode. there's a new game + which i might consider if i'm in the market for some beat em up time in the future. (note: there will be no such market)

[isfet]

so i bought Muramasa on Wii last night, even though Matt said he was kind of "meh" about it.  i was actually sort of feeling bad i'd spent the money, since i wasn't really sure what i was getting myself into.

anyway, i actually like it quite a bit!  i agree with Matt's assertions on a few points, like the fact that there are times when you just travel through empty screens.  but what tends to make up for this is that you move relatively quickly and the game looks reaallllly pretty, so it kind of doesn't matter?

things i like:  the food/cooking aspect of the game.  i really, unnecessarily enjoy eating virtual versions of the food i eat at Kenka.  that's...really, stupid i know, but what can i say.  i'm also a big fan of the combat in this game.  this is probably because i'm playing in "shura" mode as opposed to "muso."  quick:  " Muso Mode focuses on character leveling as opposed to action, whereas Shura Mode is more action-based, recommended for skilled players." 

the combat system is actually a lot of fun and i can't even begin to imagine how boring it would be if the enemies didn't fight back as hard as they have been. 

and, as mentioned above, the game is exceptionally nice to look at.  it also has that certain Japanese aesthetic that i really love.  it's not anime, it just heavily draws on actual Japanese mythology and aesthetics, which is something i've always enjoyed.  there are no anime cliches or stupid facial expressions or sweat droplets running down the back of someone's head.

[dhex]

so instead of playing some bound in blood last night i loaded up diablo 2.

oh god.

[FortNinety]

Have actually been meaning to mention how I've been playing Muramasa for a couple days now, and as Joe noted, my initial impression was basically "this is fucking retarded". Since then, I've warmed up to it, but every time I'm ready to go "okay, this game is pretty awesome after-all", I get severely annoyed by one of its many quirks and get pissed again.

Let's start with the cooking, which is pretty cute. Yet despite also enjoying unnecessary stuff, I can't be bothered in this instance, due to the annoying menu system. Which doesn't break the game but is just so poorly laid out.

The whole thing is a bit of a mess. It's a GORGEOUS (like one of the prettiest 2D games ever made, seriously) game trapped in an overly complicated package, which in turn makes the combat even more boring that it truly is. I personally find Shura mode just as much of a button masher as the easier setting, but that's mostly thanks to the completely idiotic decision to not have a jump button. Any degree of precision that the game deserves has already been thrown out the window from the get so, imho, so perhaps I'm not allowing myself to really get into the right state of mind.

Also, I'm so fucking sick of the mission objectives, which are "meet [long ass Japanese name] at [long ass Japanese name] by taking a short-cut through [long ass Japanese name]" with zero context.

[isfet]

I think having a jump button would have made more sense at times, but some of the simplified controls allow for more precision. Being able to hold down the attack button and then slash around the screen by just hitting a direction is great.

Also, the "missions" are silly, yes, but I think the emphasis is more on combat than on exploration, so it's not necessarily as important. Every enemy has a different way to defeat it, so i see the story as mainly a way to give some simple meaning as to why you're killing people.

[scratchmonkey]

so instead of playing some bound in blood last night i loaded up diablo 2.

oh god.

Welcome to the Terrordome. I have probably lost more man-hours to Diablo 2 than any other game.

[isfet]

I never got to play Diablo 2. I loved the first game, but something about 2 turned me
off at the time. Maybe because it seemed so big?  I mean, the first one was essentially
one small town and a very deep church.

I liked how you revisited the first game's areas though (nostalgia trip)

[scratchmonkey]

Yeah, the first game is almost certainly better; Diablo 2 has a more robust network setup though, so it's easier to play with multiple people at the same time, which I find horribly addicting.

[dhex]

so in short what makes 1 better than 2? i have spent very little time in the first one.

[scratchmonkey]

Diablo 2 overcooks the formula, it becomes "too much" for me in that you're fighting through waves and waves of often the same enemies over and over again and it winds up dulling the brain. It's as if the same experience of your character getting stronger, getting the phattest lewt and defeating various bosses takes place in both games, only it takes place over a much longer span of time in the sequel, possibly three to four times as long.