What game are you playing?

[NovaMan XP]

One of these days I'll have to finish AAI2... only played through the first case a couple months ago so far but it was pretty good.

Also been playing Mario Kart 8 and Diablo III lately.

[Mikero]

Shovel Knight and Portal 2.
Having a whale of a time.

Also Batman Arkham Origins.
Bo-ring.



Edit: On the mentions of Mario Kart.

I haven't like a single one I've played since the SNES game (which I devoured)... Until now. I've only played Mario Kart 8 for one session with friends but it easily and effortlessly blew the hype-train out of MK64 station to me.

64 always fell slow and clunky to me, especially when compared with 1) the original game and 2) Diddy Kong Racing, which was pound for pound the better 64 go-kart racer in my eyes. I even liked Crash Team Racing more than MK64.

I thought Double-Dash was either a horrid mess the result of some Nintendo Corp. nepotism hire OR the extended covert lampoon of the world's most secret and greatest comedian/ienne.

But Mario Kart 8 is fantastic. It brought the whole back to what was good about it in the first place, but without sacrificing a bit. You can jump right into the fun, it never feels too slow-Even when you're new and you don't have the drift dynamics down. And you can now really change up your play style to keep the fun going.

I love being able to say "Good job, Nintendo" without any sarcasm again.

[Majikn]

I like the additions to Mario Kart 8, but to say that it sacrificed nothing feels wrong to me. Ever since Mario Kart Wii, the battle mode was changed to be suitable for online play, without allowing the option to play local multiplayer the old way. Mario Kart 8 goes further with this by stripping the game down to bare bones racing and time trials. The battle mode acts as if it was a half-assed new idea tacked on rather than something that was actually a core part of the game in previous titles, and actually fun to play in quite a few of them. It doesn't even have dedicated arenas anymore—I don't understand how levels designed for racing in would be considered balanced for free roaming?

This game just feels like it was rushed. What's in the game is great, but I would have waited longer for what is absent. It's Mario Kart, not Mario Kart Racing, and I feel like every game should have as many options as Smash Bros. does for both battle and racing.

And... does anyone care about Mario Kart TV? I certainly don't.

It doesn't surprise me that Origins is boring and that's why I skipped it. I just don't see what that series can really do to grow, except to literally keep making the map bigger.

[Speed Racer]

I've been playing The Simpsons: Tapped Out on my iPhone. It's a free-to-play game...pretty much just SimCity but with the Simpsons. It's fun, and doesn't require much effort or time.

[Mikero]

I have that too, Speed's on my list. But I haven't played in a while. My phone got too full.

I like the additions to Mario Kart 8, but to say that it sacrificed nothing feels wrong to me. Ever since Mario Kart Wii, the battle mode was changed to be suitable for online play, without allowing the option to play local multiplayer the old way. Mario Kart 8 goes further with this by stripping the game down to bare bones racing and time trials. The battle mode acts as if it was a half-assed new idea tacked on rather than something that was actually a core part of the game in previous titles, and actually fun to play in quite a few of them. It doesn't even have dedicated arenas anymore—I don't understand how levels designed for racing in would be considered balanced for free roaming?

This game just feels like it was rushed. What's in the game is great, but I would have waited longer for what is absent. It's Mario Kart, not Mario Kart Racing, and I feel like every game should have as many options as Smash Bros. does for both battle and racing.

And... does anyone care about Mario Kart TV? I certainly don't.

Fair point. Really my focus in that statement was about jumping into the action and not really needing a bunch of tutorials or pictures of controls. That was something past Mario Karts didn't have for me. Admittedly I don't own Mario Kart 8, and I've actually played only a few of the series, but I clocked so many hours into the original that it's hard for any other MK game to compare.

Since posting that, I've had a chance to try out the battle mode. Indeed, it's not very good. It would a fine battle mode of the regular style one still existed along with it, but on it's own it's just kind of stupid. Especially for people that don't own the game, so they don't know when a particular turn in a particular track has a big hole in it waiting to eat up one of their balloons.

It doesn't surprise me that Origins is boring and that's why I skipped it. I just don't see what that series can really do to grow, except to literally keep making the map bigger.

I'm almost done now. It's more than boring, it's uninspired. It's badly programmed. It's poorly written.

Also, making the map bigger only served to make you fast travel more, instead of having fun roaming the city. They added a long ass bridge in the middle of everything that's a chore to get across.

Over half of the city is lifted straight out of the Arkham City. That makes sense, right? Wrong. This is meant to happen way before the other games yet everything is so samey and so completely unedited that the same style of EVENTS will happen in certain buildings, with barely any cosmetic changes even. For example, near the very beginning of Arkham City you enter the courthouse and fight a bunch of Two-Face's cronies. At one point in Arkham Origins you enter that same courthouse and have the same fight except this time they are Anarky's men. But every element is the same, they use the same tactics, throw the same conveniently places milk crates (which are in a courthouse?). 90% of the game is just that kind of rehash.

Gadget-wise there's mostly everything from the other games, or slightly edited versions of them. In lieu of freeze bombs there's glue grenades, that type of "edit". Same exact function. BUT there is one thing that is new: At one point Bruce (shh!) gets some new gloves, and those gloves are insanely powerful and let you cheap out some of the tougher thugs. But that creates a whole other problem of "Why would Batman ever get rid of these, then?"

The whole thing is unpolished too. Most of the time (and I mean MOST of the time) before you even get a look at a puzzle, Batman actually says the solution out loud. Moreover, the dialogue will be like "Haha Batman I've got Vicki Vale tied up at the bridge!" and then Batman will think to himself (you) "I've got to get to that bridge" and then ALFRED will talk about it over a mic telling you not to go, and Batman will reaffirm he has to get there, and then the HUD will tell you to go the bridge.

It holds your hand so damn hard that even when you "investigate" a crime scene you scan a dead body or whatever, then Batman out loud says "I should look for signs of <maguffin>" and then instead of you looking around and scanning stuff trying to figure it out, there's a marker right over the next thing to scan. Everything's so lit up for you it might as well be a cutscene.

The programming is random. Sometime when you're gliding around the game freezes to load mid-flight. SOMEtimes enemies will just spot you even though you shouldn't be able to be spotted.You're completely away from everyone in the room they suddenly switch the music and the game has registered that you've been seen. And so the game acts like it, and changes your exp bonus accordingly. So sometimes you get a real "what's the point" vibe when sneaking.

Another time (today) I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out where to jump to. Here's the scenario: Bamman walks out of a door and there's a ledge, it's the only thing you can grapple on to. I grapple to that thing and walk around on the ledge. I try to jump to the next one and fall to into the water, which Batman is allergic to in this game as well. So I try other jumps, same result. I try every gadget there is. Nothing. Turns out there was some script that apparently hinged on me not even going to the ledge, but just jumping in the air and gliding around to my death. That was the only way to trigger forward motion in the game, after that some off-screen SFX and dialogue happened and I was able to leap up onto that ledge again but actually progress and jump where I ATTEMPTED TO JUMP THE FIRST TIME.

Also, and this makes me laugh everytime, sometimes when you're outside Batman's breath (because it's Christmas Eve) will backwards through his neck and costume instead of forward out of his mouth.

It's really just terrible and I'm a fan of the other two.


EDIT: And under an hour after that post I finished the game. Nothing was rectified, obviously.

Also I forgot to mention this game is still in the winter, so they didn't have to refresh any of the buildings for a different season, and they could still use the same animations for random thugs being cold. Lazy.

[Speed Racer]

Currently going through my Xbox 360 games, deciding what I want to keep and what to sell. Replaying Wet and Hitman: Absolution, loving the hell out of both.

[TheRedPriest]

Sell?  SELL?!  Are you INSANE?!  You don't sell stuff.  What if you want to play it again later?  It will cost you out the tits to buy it back.  Plus emulation is crap.  And, AND, digital re-releases are often hit or miss with cut content (copyright #####) or up or down (copyright #####).

No, you NEVER sell your games stuff.  NEVER.

[Speed Racer]

Have to. Bills to pay and a son who has the longest damn baby legs of all time.

[TheRedPriest]

Well, I can see that, but you get virtually nothing for them it just seems awful to sell them, since they'll cost you 10x what you get out of them to get them back later.

[Mikero]

Sorry to hear that Speed. Though honestly, I think a lot of 3D era games don't age too well so I'm sure a lot of 360 library is binnable anyway. Keep the greats, though.

Posted on: 27 August 2015, 12:31:34

Hey hey, anyone playing Splatoon or Mario Maker right now? Absolutely addicted to both.

[Majikn]

I was all over the hype for Mario Maker when it came out. It clearly does look amazing. I don't have either game. I know I should get them; I really want to, but it's a matter of cost + me not feeling the need to play them immediately. All the creativity I had invested in Mario Maker at the moment, I've channeled into SMBX instead and you can do a lot more in SMBX than in Mario Maker. Mario Maker is obviously a much easier tool and has its own pros, like all the different interactive enemy/powerup/environment combinations you can have. I guess I just already have a means of scratching that itch.

I dunno if any of you saw Chaos' level. He shared it with me on facebook. We watched someone on twitch try to figure out how to beat it for 3 hours, so that was fun. You had to do some pretty esoteric things to beat it, which stumped a lot of people. I also saw Alec's level featured on YouTube though I didn't even know it was his level until he posted about it.

I love the Mario Paint nostalgia and theming around that, and it feels almost like we haven't seen that kind of Nintendo quirkiness since Game Boy Camera.

As for Splatoon, I'm just not sure how effective my wireless connection would be for a competitive game like that. I imagine it's a lot more interactive than Mario Kart, where you can get away with some connectivity issues. I would have more incentive to give it a try if I had people to play with though. The thing is, I'm just not a very competitive person and I'd rather just play for fun so I don't know how well that'll fit in with the crowd there.

I'm absolutely going to get both of these games, but it's more just a matter of when I guess.

[Mikero]

I don't know much about SMBX, honestly. But I was kind of attracted to Mario Maker because it was official. There's been fan-made level editors for ages and stuff, and I don't know if they all work well/seamlessly. Sounds like SMBX doesn't have many issues, I've just noticed in the past that stuff like that accomplishes everything except game feel.

Haven't seen any of Chaos' levels yet (if it's Mario Maker, I've only played it a bit). Alec has some great levels. I have a lot to learn, the ones I have up now are just garbage but people have a tough time beating them-Which doesn't mean they're any good.


For Splatoon, I bought a LAN adaptor and a long ethernet cable. It didn't end up being as cheap as I'd have liked but at least I'd gotten the game as a gift. That fixed 95% of my issues (and gaming on wireless is almost always crappy I hear), with my theory being that the other 5% is a combo of other users and Nintendo.

Disconnects are the main issue. It's not a big deal in turf war but for ranked it's a problem - Disconnects count as a loss. Lag happens either way, especially since it seems to be all one big server and having a game of North Americans and Japanese players can be a bit laggy. Lag is fairly annoying since the game can be very accuracy based, and you can ending up killing someone and then dying after because they shot you a ton of times and it didn't register til later. But when it's going good it's insanely fun.

You don't have to be super competitive. In the normal turf war stuff it's basically meaningless whether you win or lose, you just get a little more cash and xp. The competitive stuff is in ranked mode, which has a bunch of different game modes (tower control, etc.). Either way, you can't actually talk to anybody in a match except for 2 phrases: "Booyah!" and "C'mon!". That's it, and it only seems to actually go out to people in your region, so you don't really have to worry about it feeling like usual online play.

If I were you I'd go with Splatoon first since you have a decent Mario Maker facsimile, and I'll jump in and play with ya anytime if you want.

[Majikn]

Yeah, Nathan's level was/is in Mario Maker. He made a bunch apparently. I'd post a code for it but he's probably going to change it to add checkpoints to all his levels soon anyway.

I wouldn't have liked SMBX if it didn't feel and play as much like a Mario game should as it actually does. For example Super Mario 63 and Super Mario Flash didn't do it for me at all. But when I played and downloaded SMBX, it very quickly felt like a real Mario game. When you play the episode it's packaged with, The Invasion 2, it feels almost like it could have been Super Mario World's core successor (except for the occasional Super Metroid and Zelda II-based level). Luigi, Toad, Peach, and Link are playable and all have different playstyles and each match exactly how I would expect them to feel.

Its issues are mainly how the sound works and how audio looping is impossible in the engine, and a few complexities in figuring out stuff that isn't already hard-coded into the engine (like unique bosses or gameplay gimmicks) without having to deal with weird errors (which are still pretty rare).

I'll let you know when I get either. I'm just sticking with SMBX for the moment because I actually feel like I've been doing something creative with it, with my time, and while it's not necessarily the best use of my time it's more than just browsing the internet/playing games and that's very motivating. Actually finishing something in it seems daunting but rewarding in the sense of knowing I can actually get something done that isn't a part of the daily grind of my work life, which might or might not translate into other more worthy endeavours. I'm happy with what I've made so far and definitely want to finish it, which is more than I can say for a lot of things I've started.

[TheRedPriest]

I've been playing a lot of Super Mario Maker.  It has a lot of missing pieces and I'd like more control on screen movement (freezing vertical scrolling of fixing screen position for single screen "rooms"), and adding some boss options like Boom Boom or Reznor or the Koopa Kids would be awesome.  Also, straight up vertical levels would be awesome, and the ability to mix/match horizontal/vertical sub areas.

I'm excited for the addition of check points and conditional power ups though.  I'll have to post some of my level codes up here for folks.

[Majikn]

Oh man, yes to all of those.

It's unfortunate when you realize Super Mario World has so much more camera functionality than Mario Maker. I wonder how they'd implement that to make easy for designers to use, without causing people to troll the player by giving them terrible viewpoints the whole way through. Perhaps player-side camera options between "use default" and "use level settings" that can be switched back and forth.
But then the meta could have people forcing players to use that setting back and forth in order to figure out what they need to do, as like a gimmick probably.
I dunno. I guess people will find ways to troll players no matter what, so maybe I'm overthinking this.

I've seen a lot of gameplay instances where players would screw something up, and they'd survive, but they wouldn't be able to continue the level and Mario just sort of stares off into the distance blankly before committing suicide. I don't know if I find that more amusing than I should.

[Mikero]

Yeah I agree with Rez. I'm still hoping that they'll add more of that kind of functionality in the future but they very well could just wait for Mario Maker 2 and get my cash again.

[Speed Racer]

I got to play Star Wars: Battlefront at my friend's house. Fun, but there's no way in hell I'm paying more than $30 for this thing (and I'm talking the complete version with all DLC) brand-new.

Deadpool was fun. Got through the first chapter or two.

Rocket Narwhal is a #####load of fun if you've got 3 other people playing with you. Fast, frantic action that is very simple and easy to pick up. Definitely recommend it.

[Xero]

DOOM 2016 for PS4 & Super Mario Odyssey for Switch.

[TheRedPriest]

I actually just finished the Sexy Brutale on PS4.  Damn fine game.  I hope Limited Run games does a retail on Switch, as I'd love to own in there as well.

[Johncarllos]

Played and beat Breath of the Wild, amazing game.

Played and beat Hollow Knight, spectacular experience.

Playing Destiny 2 because my friend wanted to play it with me so badly that he paid for half of my copy.

[Majikn]

We really need to bring back the Pokemon troll effect for this new Nintendo era. Like, "Guys I just found the 901st Korok and unlocked the Loftwing!"

Gah, maybe people are too cynical.

I can't be bothered to buy Super Mario Odyssey even though I really want it because I'm still trudging through Master Mode in Breath of the Wild. It's taken so long partly because I put it down for a while to continue Bloodborne and finish the DLC. There's an orphan who wields his placenta that works halfway between a club and a Yo-Yo that hits me extremely hard and is annoying to predict and I keep trying to beat this orphan to death with my Buster Sword Ludwig's Holy Blade +10 and the whole thing is all so poetic probably. I never thought I'd fight a boss tougher than Ludwig himself after I fought that disgusting creature, but here we are so soon after. It's perhaps unfortunate that I like these games so much, because I'm really not very good at them. I miss boss fights from Demon's/Dark Souls, where you don't have to be a literal god at dodging and can actually just outsmart many of the bosses.

[TheRedPriest]

Yeah, Mario Odyssey sounds leagues better than that.

[Speed Racer]

I bought COD: MW 1 and 3 and Halo anniversary edition at a flea market for $10 all together.

[TheRedPriest]

If nothing else, it's a good price.

[Speed Racer]

Playing the anniversary edition of Halo is bizarre, as I have to keep switching between the original and new graphics because I keep getting lost. Once I find my way, I switch back to the new graphics.

I also have Game Dev Tycoon and Catan Stories to review for my friend's podcast.

[Mikero]

Mario Odyssey was fantastic. I'm working on the post-story stuff, they give a good amount of incentive to continue.

I did all the shrines in BOTW and then just haven't finished the actual story for whatever reason. I'll get to it soon, I just wanted to upgrade my gear even though there's likely very little point considering how buff Link is now.

I have to keep switching between the original and new graphics because I keep getting lost. Once I find my way, I switch back to the new graphics.

INCREDIBLE game design! What a mechanic!

[Snare]

There's no way in Toad's hell I can currently afford a Switch but I feel like I'm missing out on something awesome with Odyssey.

I started playing this new game outside called tag. It's okay but the playing field had a slight incline which made my legs hurt and forced me to really push my lung capacity. Needless to say after 38 seconds of this grueling sport I got really dizzy and passed out. I woke up in a hospital and the nice nurse lady gave me an orange sucker and pushed me around on a wheelchair I give it a C+

[Mikero]

Is this some kind of VR game?

[Snare]

I think so but I was told the headset was optional. I kept it on because it made me feel like a police cop

[TheRedPriest]

You're playing Second Life, Snare.

[Speed Racer]

Started playing COD4: MW because I never actually finished the game after first starting it back in 2008. 9 years later, earned an achievement. Not really a fan of the game, so I'm pretty sure I'll be trading it in at some point.

[TheRedPriest]

Was the achievement actually playing that POS?  Ah ha ha ha!  I kid, I kid.  But seriously, at least it didn't have loot crates.

[Speed Racer]

Killed five people at once in a helicopter mission. I beat the game. The airplane mission after the game is done is more fun than most of the game. I don't see any reason to return to this unless a friend wants to do co-op. Is there a co-op mode? Back into the box this goes.

[Majikn]

I did all the shrines in BOTW and then just haven't finished the actual story for whatever reason. I'll get to it soon, I just wanted to upgrade my gear even though there's likely very little point considering how buff Link is now.

I'm having a similar problem. Well not really a "problem" that I enjoy a game so much that I don't want to finish it. I switched to Master Mode so I have more of a reason to use Wolf Link and I redid a lot of stuff. I still haven't finished the game and I most just want to keep roaming and collecting.

And yeah I'm also playing Odyssey now. I'm not far in and it's pretty much matching my expectations after playing Zelda which is a hard act to follow for me. It almost makes Odyssey seem underwhelming even though it's so far beyond what I ever expected the next Mario game to be before seeing the trailer.

[Mikero]

^^^

YUP.

It's been a good year. Kinda spoiled by the Nintendo polish.

[TheRedPriest]

Breath of the Wild has a LOT of stuff I'm not fond of and I still love it.  I'm hoping to get Odyssey this month.

[Mikero]

I think Mighty Gunvolt Burst is pretty fun, I like how you customize the guns on the fly.

I really love Floor Kids as a hip hop guy and animator.

[Johncarllos]

Played the crap out of Doki Doki Literature Club. Free game on steam. Looks like a typical visual novel/dating sim but is actually a horror game.

[NovaMan XP]

I started that, but I haven't gotten far in it. I do want to keep playing at some point though, just need to find some free time...

[Mikero]

Some guy at my work who is almost assuredly a racist keeps watching Pewdiepie (wonder what they have in common) play that so the visuals make me sick.

[TheRedPriest]

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator is actually pretty damn fun.  And has an amazing soundtrack.

[Johncarllos]

I started that, but I haven't gotten far in it. I do want to keep playing at some point though, just need to find some free time...

It gets really hard to put down at about the 90-120 minute mark, it also helps that I played with my girlfriend and we narrated the characters.

[Snare]

Some guy at my work who is almost assuredly a racist keeps watching Pewdiepie (wonder what they have in common) play that so the visuals make me sick.

Murder is being legalized in Canada in April I think. Throwing that out there.

[Majikn]

When in April? Is it a one day thing like The Purge? Should I wear hockey pads?

[Snare]

Once this law is in place it's permanent. The piece of paper I left for Mr. Trudeau detailing the whole act just says April. No specifics. Anyway, if you are a good person and have few enemies you should be safe. If you're a nozzle then you're really toying with fate.

Those loonies up in that fancy parliament hut might smudge it up by vetoing the whole thing but they have yet to say anything against it soooooo

[Mikero]

The problem with loonies up in parliament is that they have a lot of loonies, and loonies make the world go round. And toonies... are even better.

[Snare]

I'm playing that open source remake of Star Control II. I'm really bad at the combat aspect. I like the giant octogonal space probes. They look like big red gushers.

[Speed Racer]

So after Christmas, Target had a crazy-ass deal on 500 GB Xbox Ones - after all of the discounts it came to $160. I've been trying to get one for a while, and my wife told me that she'd be willing to put some of our anniversary money towards getting one because my copy of Mass Effect: Andromeda has been sitting there since it arrived and I got super excited about Mega Man 11. Like, tears in my eyes excited because my son will be old enough to try the game with me when it arrives later this year.

ANYWAY, I went with the Minecraft one because that's all that they had left. I've already filled up the harddrive with my games that I've received through the Games with Gold program, plus a couple of other things. Right now I've been mostly playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, but I also dabbled in Disney Infinity because my buddy and I scored a ton of this ##### for dirt cheap right as it was being announced that the game was going under.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is pretty fun, but you can tell where development just grinded to a halt with the game. The dialogue is fairly crappy at points and occasionally the animation sucks, but I'm enjoying it.

Disney Infinity 3.0 isn't that bad (I like the sculpt for the Han Solo figurine btw), but with the online servers being off there isn't a lot to do. Thankfully I got my hands on some of the Star Wars packs, but the Battle of Hoth section is killing me so far.

[TheRedPriest]

Even I might have picked up an XB1 new for $160, that's a hell of a deal.  I keep hoping we'll hear something about a retail version of Cuphead.

[Mikero]

I didn't finish it (yet) but I thought Mass Effect: Andromeda was pretty unfairly lambasted. Yooka-Laylee too. People have their reasons but they're still both a lot of fun.

I'm playing way too much NBA2K18 lately considering how frustrating it is.