[Cyan]

Originally Posted by RenegadeRocks

Deus Ex : spentthe better part of the day unsuccesffully trying to get into the morgue from the roof entrance only to realise just now that I could just talk to the guy at reception and get in

I am currently playing Red Dead Redemption, which I love to death, Williams Pinball Classics and FIFA 11 while I wait for FIFA 13 to come out. I am also playing Battlefield 3 from time to time, it's quite fun.

Like Arwin I have always been more of a Rock Band guy so to say, but I have so many unfinished games to play and miss Rock Band 2 online so much -the system in RB3 is okay, but not as good as it was- that I barely play it nowadays.

[Arwin]

I bought Rockband Blitz, and played it for an evening. Enjoyed it quite a bit actually - it's a fun way to enjoy your favorite songs. Hope some of you guys pick it up as I need some guys for some score chasing. The Coin system isn't as annoying as I thought initially. The middle power-up seems mostly enough for me, and if you have enough songs to play you can play a new game and achieve goals for quite a long time - each new song nets you double coin bonus, so you build up a decent number of coins quite fast. And focussing on multiple powerups is just too stressful. So all in all I think I can recommend it - it starts up quick, it's enjoyable to play, and at 10 euro it is actually quite good value for adding some 20 songs to your Rockband 3 collection too.

Today Zen Pinball 2 came out for PS3 and Vita, and it is great, pretty much perfect. The Vita version is quite flawless so far, and the PS3 version has 3D support which actually looks stellar, I'd put it up there with Super Stardust, maybe even better. Of course it does lag a bit more unfortunately, especially compared to the lag-free Vita version (that system with its OLED is really great for Pinball games). But the 3D is spectacular, the menus are completely 3D and very well done.

Highly recommended. If you've previously bought Pinball DLC, then don't bother scanning for existing content, but just start the table you already own, wait for a short while, and it will detect you own the table, the UI will change and offer you to download and play.

I also downloaded Red Dead (may still be downloading) which I'll probably try over the weekend, and I downloaded that Vita freebee Treasure Park, but haven't tried it yet.

[Sigfried1977]

Vita version of ZP2 is indeed stellar. Bummer I bought the first Marvel pack with my NA account. Guess I have to buy them all over again now. Blade is worth it, though.

I'm really digging the Plants vs Zombies table as well. That has to be the most charming and well produced table of them all so far. I was never a huge fan of the cheap looking Marvel characters which adorn many of the Zen tables, but the Zombies are positively adorable. Great music, bright and lovely table art, and nice voice acting as well. Very easy game, though. A bit too easy in fact. Usually you have to work hard for extra balls. In PvZ you'd have to deliberately avoid them.

Also, and I kinda hate to say it, but The Pinball Arcade looks a bit like crap by comparison. (not to mention Europe is now 6 tables behind. Go Farsight Studios!)

[Arwin]

I bought all 26 tables, and it's an embarrassment of riches. Hard to get bored with any one table now, and even the ones I've already played before still play better, both in 3D and portable.

If you like the Plants vs Zombies table, then you definitely should get Epic Quest, and you may like Sorcerer's Lair as well.

Best pinball game of the forever now. I was looking at the Pro Pinball kickstarter, and all I could think of was just make those tables for Zen Pinball 2 as DLC instead.

And Pinball in 3D is, well, still dreamy. Not over it in the least! But 2D is great as well, and so is the Vita version.

Ah, bliss!

And yeah, Pinball Arcade is looking a bit poor in comparison. Of course I still really appreciate what they're doing.

[Sigfried1977]

I already have them all, and Sorcerer's Lair is probably my favorite. I really like that you don't have to complete every goal flawlessly to reach the table's wizard mode. If you do good on missions, your wizard multiplier will go through the roof. If you don't, you're still at least making progress. I think the design philosophy behind most of the other tables is a bit too cruel and punishing. I mean some of the missions are incredibly hard (even activating some of the missions is. That rotating cube on Paranormal gives me the impressions that Zen studios are trolling me), and if your time runs out when you've completed 9 out of 10 tough shots, you still get a big fat generous nothing. I think that's quite frustrating, and it's actually not at all like real Pinball tables operate. (you never have to complete missions on real tables. You can even lose balls during missions)

I just got close to 700 million points on Sorcerer's Lair. Quite respectable if I dare say so myself. I also "befriended" around 20 people on gamefaqs to get some more competition.

[Arwin]

Ah, that only real pro-score competitor I have on my list was you, I'd forgotten! Yes I see you have 653 million now, crazy! I'm still stuck at 21 million, finding it very easy to die on that table. I guess I have to learn to shake the table or just play better!

Not all tables are this harsh with goals I think (Mars comes to mind), but similarly I think a lot of real tables also actually don't give you any real points until you complete them? Not sure. But Sorcerer's Lair certainly has fun goals, and while I don't think the table is very pretty, the ghosts certainly look nice in 3D

[Kameradschaft]

Originally Posted by Billy Idol

I also finished Darksiders 2 yesterday. I liked it more than DS1. Overall for me it was much better (and longer). Although the bugs are scary!!!

I'm the opposite, I gave up on the game at the second world...got bored and those 18hrs that I played felt like 100, biggest disappointment this year by far IMO.

Back on topic I continue playing Dark Souls and I'm at the end of NG+, I've already played ~210hrs and I still haven't invested any time on PvP yet...I see myself playing this until the DLC comes out - at this point the game has gone into legendary status in my mind, easily GOTG and one of the top 5 games I've ever played.

Other than that I'm planning to start Mark of the Ninja tonight which looks pretty awesome and probably continue my Trine 2 co-op playthrough which is also very good thus far.

Next game I'm starting is Sleeping Dogs or The Witcher 2...still haven't decide.

[Sigfried1977]

Originally Posted by Arwin

Ah, that only real pro-score competitor I have on my list was you, I'd forgotten! Yes I see you have 653 million now, crazy! I'm still stuck at 21 million, finding it very easy to die on that table. I guess I have to learn to shake the table or just play better!

Not all tables are this harsh with goals I think (Mars comes to mind), but similarly I think a lot of real tables also actually don't give you any real points until you complete them? Not sure. But Sorcerer's Lair certainly has fun goals, and while I don't think the table is very pretty, the ghosts certainly look nice in 3D

It does look a little garish for sure. On the other hand it has a nice layout that's easy to wrap your head around. It also guides the player well (unlike, let's say, World War Hulk with its bajillion flashing lights). I'm still pretty poor at nudging myself, but I did save my ball from certain death during that run at least once. (nudged a ball that went through an outline back onto the field between the two flippers).
I actually lost my last ball thanks to what I'd consider a glitch. I completed the Cauldron Multiball, the game did a cinematic camera movement towards the Sorcerer, and all the balls drained off-screen. I was actually close to reaching Wizard mode for a third time, and that would have been worth at least another 300 million points.

[Cyan]

Originally Posted by poopypoo

It's ironic to transition from a story-centric game like HR with its peerless acting and production values, to a player-centric game like RDR, with its emphasis on character building and world exploration, and say that RDR is the better story, but that's what I have to do. RDR may be the best story ever told through video games, and that despite distinctly mediocre voice acting and quite poor plot pacing (a plot over which you have almost no control). Despite all that, I've rarely been so impassioned about a video game story, and the gameplay was topnotch, to boot. I only wish it had been a PC game, and possibly have a difficulty slider. Also, way way way more variety to the horses, and maybe PONIES *_* ...heh, it was a really great game and I just found it a little easy and low on variety at times. Compared to a GTA world it's quite sparse and repetitive. Some of the very best missions were ones like herding cattle and rustling horses, and I wish you could have done them more often. The honor system seemed a little hastily implemented, too, with not a lot of advantage to playing as a thief, no trains to rob, boring safecracking, and no cattle rustling or other obvious ideas. I nitpick, though, the game was Very Good, and again, shockingly, the story was Peerless. The storytelling could have been a lot better, though. Marsden's voice actor makes him come across as some sort of wild west BroShep, completely disengaged from the conversations he's in and All Swagger. He finally gets a few moments of humanity in the last act, but he was extremely disappointing. Also, the main quest had a bit more filler than I thought was necessary. Stick with real intensity and less bullshit, and save more of the kookier missions for the side quests (many of which were outstanding). Sound and art were out of this world, and the real reason I want RDR on PC is so I can take better screenshots of the Mexican desert. One of the best games of all-time.

I agree with you that the Mexican landscape looks amazing.

I never managed to memorize the map though, while in the New Austin area I can travel pretty quickly without having to use the highlighted line telling you where to go.

On a different note, now that you mention it, for those with the GOTY edition there is the hardcore difficulty level added, btw.

In regards to the voice acting, I truly loved John Marston voice, it suits the character really well and it sounds humanly convincing. I agree with you though that some voice acting is poor, especially the Mexican characters.

Spanish is not my mother's tongue, but it is my second language and I speak it perfectly, and I find the voice acting to be quite poor when they speak Spanish. Yes, some sentences sound very mexican, the accent, the tone, everything, when it comes to random people.

But most of the main Mexican characters in the story who speak Spanish and English, don't get it right. Allende, Luisa, Reyes, etc, speak in an accent that sounds islander, from Cuba, to me. They don't certainly sound very Mexican. De Santa sounds slightly better though, but not that much.

Other than that, I still have to complete the game but I got to the West Elizabeth area and I found the American Standardbred. He runs like the devil, and now I have broken the best three horse breeds in the game.

[poopypoo]

Cyan, glad to hear RDR is working out for you. I loved it a lot; I only nitpick because I thiught John and Bonnie ruined some scenes by trying too hard to sound tough. It all pales in the face of the brilliant rendering of Mexico though. What a loving job! I've never seen anything quite like it in video games.

All I've been playing lately is a little Borderlands 1. My wife is getting into it, how fun! I guess I have to thank Mass Effect 3 for being her gateway drug to proper shooters.

[Arwin]

Just to let you guys know in this thread (I posted already in the RDR thread) that I've started to play RDR now too (download from PSN installed and finished). Liking it a lot so far.

[RenegadeRocks]

PLaying Deus Ex HR and I am getting a feeling I am getting close to the first Boss. Can the boss, Berett I think, be taken out with non lethal weapons? Cos all I have got is the tranquiliser gun, the crossbow (I think) and the combat rifle. I have never used the rifle or the crossbow before.

[poopypoo]

Cool, Arwin, let us know what ya think...

[BoardBonobo]

Currently Dragons Dogma - I've maxed out my Strider and have just swapped to Ranger.
I'm also addicted to Stardust on the Vita - I will get the highest score in Endless!!

[Sigfried1977]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
I skipped Tekken 6, so I'm both unfamiliar with the new characters and with the "bound system". It's a tough game to get into, but it sure as hell feels great. Tekken was always my favorite fighting game series, and TTT2 is certainly a damn good Tekken game.

[Prophecy2k]

Originally Posted by Sigfried1977

Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
I skipped Tekken 6, so I'm both unfamiliar with the new characters and with the "bound system". It's a tough game to get into, but it sure as hell feels great. Tekken was always my favorite fighting game series, and TTT2 is certainly a damn good Tekken game.

Ooh, you're tempting me to pick this one up too

How does it compare to Tekken 5 or DR?

[Sigfried1977]

Save for the bound system (which is similar to Virtua FIghter's Bounce system) and the Tag mechanics there's not an awful lot of difference between Tekken 5 and TTT2. Couple of moves changed, a couple were added, and others were axed. I'm having a lot of fun with it, but as far as I'm concerned Tekken is in desperate need to get back to the drawing board. At this point the move lists have simply become pointlessly excessive. Most of them are completely unsafe and don't really have any useful applications outside of lengthy juggles.

By the way, thanks Namco for having leaked all the pre-order dlc on PSN a couple weeks back.

[Arwin]

The Tag mechanics are interesting though ...

Tekken gameplay remains great, but yeah, I would love a completely new reinvention of the genre.

That said, this is a good version to have. Also, this one is the first one to have great online (netcode). Fuck the end-boss though - don't hate her as much as some of them, but still don't like that I have so much trouble beating her even on Easy.

Also still playing Rockband Blitz (remains enjoyable, though I need more people in my friend's list playing this), and Zen Pinball 2, which imho is the greatest pinball game of all time. I have all 26 tables and nearly all of them are excellent (I love many of the Marvel tables a lot).

Of course it helps that it is also a perfect Vita game where it has a flawless framerate and extremely low latencies (OLED helps too). You can also switch to portrait mode at any time just by turning your Vita, and it is one of the best portrait modes so far, though I still prefer the regular mode (I prefer playing with shoulder buttons and the analog stick for nudging the table in any direction).

And being able to stop mid-game, go play another table or two, or even a completely different game, and then return to that table and be asked if I want to resume, that's just brilliant, especially for easier tables or when you're getting really good at those tables and the sessions can get long.

It's a near perfect game. 10/10 from me.

Red Dead is going to be a long while before I finish it, but I think I will keep on playing it.

[Sigfried1977]

Tried the RE6 demo yesterday. God, what a mess that was. At this point it's basically a shooter, and as a shooter it's just really, really bad. Aiming, cover-mechanics, movement - everything feels sluggish, unfinished and kinda stuck between two worlds. There's still a wee bit of traditional RE DNA left in the game, but given the path RE is headed down, the old mechanics simply feel redundant. It doesn't even look particularly good.

I have yet to try the third campaign snippet, but at this point, Dead Space 3 doesn't look quite as appalling anymore.

I don't really mind the end boss in Tekken Tag 2 that much, by the way. Certainly preferable to the likes of Azazel (or whatever that thing in T6 was called) Love the music during that battle (loving the music of the game in general)

[Gerry]

The RE6 demo was certainly dark. The brightness adjustment tool wanted me to adjust the brightness down to a level where I could barely see a thing.

At least you can shuffle and shoot at the same time now, which makes it feel slightly less archaic than RE5.

[RudeCurve]

I tried the RE6 demo and thought the player animation was too jerky. Also the area graphics look kinda lame.

[Arwin]

LittleBigPlanet Vita! First impressions: very awesome.

[Tap In]

F1 2012

[Sigfried1977]

Originally Posted by Arwin

LittleBigPlanet Vita! First impressions: very awesome.

Me too. Very awesome indeed.

Also bought Tekken Hybrid. Mostly for the Tekken CGI movie though (Hybrid is basically the only option if you want the movie on Blu Ray, at least in Europe). I didn't even know it came with an HD version Tekken Tag 1. That game remains surprisingly playable. It also high-lights just how little the series has really evolved.

[Nesh]

Originally Posted by Sigfried1977

Me too. Very awesome indeed.

Also bought Tekken Hybrid. Mostly for the Tekken CGI movie though (Hybrid is basically the only option if you want the movie on Blu Ray, at least in Europe). I didn't even know it came with an HD version Tekken Tag 1. That game remains surprisingly playable. It also high-lights just how little the series has really evolved.

The fact that TTT1 is still very playable shows how well made it was for its time rather than how little it has evolved. Otherwise people would have grown tired of Tekken 6 and TTT2
Tekken has evolved as it should. Too many changes or introductions and you immediately start ruining the formula.
Tekken 4 for example was one of those games were it tried to blend successful ideas from Soul Calibur (like the free roaming mechanics) and partly some of Virtua Fighter's feel, while bringing its own wall damage mechanics and made juggles a more skillful feat to perform. T4 I think was an attempt to mimic VF's depth. It got its applauses and its complaints for that. For some it is considered the weakest (many complaining that it didnt feel like Tekken anymore) and for others the best, similarly to how people accepted Virtua Fighter 3 (some complaining it ruined the feel of VF2 while others welcoming its new strategy approach).
After learning the in and outs and depth of the game, it is understood that Tekken has evolved, especially with Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
If we take other fighting games, and compare how much they evolved next to the Tekken series, Tekken has seen improvements and changes were it needed and in some occasions more than the majority of fighting games out there.
If familiarity is missing with the game's depth the changes are less noticeable.