What are you playing?

[Vipershark]

Borderlands for the PC.

I hated it.

...
Well, I suppose hate is a bit too strong.

I didn't enjoy it. Let's put it that way.

My friend recently got Borderlands 2 and kept nagging me to get it to play it with him, but I told him that I wouldn't play it unless I played and beat the first one first. I had no intention of actually playing the game (any time soon?) (...even though I own, uh... three copies...) because it just looked really boring to me even with all of the great reviews it had been getting and I just had no desire to play it. Long story short my friend nagged me enough so I gave in and gave it a try.

Honestly I think Borderlands (and the concept of the RPS in the first place) is a really cool concept, but the game just suffers from terrible execution.

It has quite possibly the worst inventory system I've ever seen.
Buying and selling items (which you do a lot of) is really annoying to do. One of the things you buy the most often is ammo, but there is no option to either fill your ammo or buy as much as you can in one button press. You can ONLY buy things ONE AT A TIME and buying it in small amounts (with large maximum capacities) means that you have to sit there and repeatedly hammer the buy item button over and over for every type of ammo for every gun. Buying health works the same way and it's really dumb.
Comparing weapons in your inventory and in shops is so badly done that it's not worth bothering with.
Having a terrible inventory system in a loot-based game where the main focus is adding things to your inventory is kind of a huge problem.

Speaking of loot, looting drops is flat awful. There is no autoloot whatsoever so you have to press the E (or use, whatever) key to pick up each individual item on the ground. Items drop in groups and it's possible to hold the E key to pick up things in a group but if there's a gun in that drop you better not do it because holding the E key is also (very in)conveniently the button that you use to drop your current gun and switch it with the one on the ground. Meaning that every time you accidentally try to pick up some stuff and there's a gun there or hold that E key just a little too long, you drop your gun and have to pause the game to open the menu to unequip the gun and equip your old one.

The map system is just jarring.
The game is large and sprawling and maze-like but there's no minimap so there's no way to quickly see what's around you. The only way to access your map is to hold down the Tab key for a second or two which immediately stops the game and goes to a map screen. (Yes, you can press the M key to do this as well but the game teaches you to do it through tab)
The compass.... kinda works I guess but not that well so the lack of a minimap means that to even know where you are you have to completely stop what you're doing to pause the game to open the map. Every time. This is really jarring, especially in the middle of fast-paced combat. The game is rather fast paced but having to actually pause the game to open the menu to do anything at all from change guns to look at the map completely kills any kind of flow that you've got going and pretty much forcibly rips away any immersion.

The sprint mechanic is kind of odd and takes some getting used to when used to hold-to-sprint systems but it's not too bad except for when it randomly decides that you aren't sprinting anymore for whatever reason even though you never stop running.

As far as the actual gameplay, it's okay, I guess. We got up to around level 20 and the game got really hard. I wish crits were a bit easier to pull off and weapons in shops were better (or at least weapons were upgradeable) but whatever, it wasn't too bad.
If anything, it was just kind of repetitive and I felt that my turret skill was completely useless (I was playing the Soldier class) since it had a really long cooldown time and did a tiny amount of damage but I guess that might get better as time goes on.
It started to feel a bit forced-difficulty during the last quest we did because there was an enemy in a stationary turret surrounded by 20 to 30 other enemies. Getting hit twice by shots from the turret left you with just enough health to be one-hit by the other enemies meaning that you had to fight all of them off while dodging the turret and trying to shoot the turret at the same time as it shoots as you and the other 30 guys shoot at you, and, well, dying over and over for 30 minutes gets old quick. It got to the point where I couldn't tell if I was bad at the game or the game was flat out cheating considering that you get hit by the turret as soon as you enter the area leaving you open to be immediately killed.

In short, the game was almost a chore to play.
I played for about 5 hours, but I never really had any fun during that time. I mean, I didn't necessarily lose interest (if you could call it that) but it was more, like...
Borderlands kept me engaged, but not entertained.
And that's a problem.

[Sevenstitch]

I'd have to say I feel the exact same way about Borderlands. All of the right elements for a good game were there,
they just weren't executed properly.

I've only played the Xbox360 version of it, but the split-screen co-op is what killed it for me. It's set up vertical style, not horizontal;
seems like a panorama view would help.

Also, the almost useless menus become even more useless in multiplayer because the developers didn't bother redesigning them
for the split screens, meaning you have to actually scroll the menu around with the camera in order to see it,
so part of your menu is always off-screen, and that part is usually the part you need to see.

This game is just too hampered with poor design choices for me to enjoy.

[Goemar]

split screens, meaning you have to actually scroll the menu around with the camera in order to see it

That sounds really shitty. But well, at least it has split-screen. I'm still utterly gutted over the new SSX not having split-screen, as that was one of the games me and friends played a LOT (though nothing compared to the hours spent on Conker's BFD multiplayer and Perfect Dark).

As for me, finished Splosion Man, playing through co-op with the misses but as for single player probably going to start Limbo. Splosion Man Hardcore just isn't fun.

[Gwen]

If it means anything, split screen for 2 is horizontal and not vertical. You guys really should give B2 a try, they took the few things wrong with the first and either improved them or threw them out the window and implemented something better.

[Goemar]

Borderlands 2 is on my to get list. But well, just so much stuff to get through first...

[Rai]

I enjoy old RPGs because they are pretty much a book and calculator combined. I get to read a story, and to break up the
reading bits, there is the simple pleasure of grinding your characters levels until they are way stronger than the next area
boss.

Oh, haha. Those are exactly the kinds of RPG's I hate. ^^;

Yeah, I'm not the one you wanna ask then.

The Ultima Underworld titles may pique your interest, then (they're text-heavy when you talk to someone, and the combat revolves more around numbers than gameplay), although admittedly I have this very particular dislike for Richard Garriott. Might be the whole "I'll put myself into the game as an indestructible god-creature" thing.

[NICKtendo DS]

Been playing the recently released Gold Mushroom pack and Coin Challenge B pack for NSMB2. I've got to say, those two packs opened my eyes a bit: The first 3 DLC packs are so focussed on coin farming/leaderboards/difficulty, the level design suffers from that.

-Gold Rush made collecting 30000 coins ridiculously easy, I could get enough coins in the first level alone, making the other stages largely redundant if it wasn't for the multipliers.
-Coin Challenge A lost its flavor since someone found an exploit which ends up stuffing the boards with 30000's. The levels aren't that interesting, except for maybe Course 3.
-Nerve-Wrack is exactly as its name implies, nervewrecking. It forces precision every second. It's not that bad in the first two courses. Heck, I even like Course 2. But the cheap deaths Course 3 is extremely willing to provide really pumps your rage after the hard time perfecting the previous two stages for a great score. Challenging is one thing, but the difficulty here is cheap, especially near the end.

7,50 put to waste, I spent 5,- on the next batch. Why? Probably because I'm a naive fool, but I'm glad I did. I played the two packs and it really gave me that e-World feeling a had just watching the YouTube videos (I live in stinkin' Europe, so I never got to play it myself). They at least tried to innovate, mostly in the Coin Challenge B pack.

-Gold Mushroom, like Gold Rush, is hard focussed on getting 30000 coins. Not that it matters to me, because I already capped my total. However, after a good run, I still was coins short on Course 2 and even 3 (though it's possible to get enough at the end of 2 not counting the necisary multipliers). Ironically, with the White Raccoon Suit, it's possible to get around 20.000-25.000 coins, unlike the Gold Rush pack which relies on Gold Flowers and super easy combos. There is a decent amount of exploration possible, with the first level that takes advantage of the Raccoon Suit (flying is actually useful here o_0) and the second level with two layers where knowing when to go up or down helps you getting that 30000 target, and that actually matters as you might come short. To summarize, getting 30000 is easy, but it takes effort in all 3 (or first 2 in a good run) stages.
-Coin Challenge B does something I did not expect after the first batch: Add new elements. Though not in a scale as big as the Cape Feather in SMB3, it's something that absolutely did not appear in the original content, or packs prior to this for that matter. Remember the rhythm blocks from 3D Land? Though not 'on beat', it's an idea that comes back in Course 1, the Ghost House. It uses the same blue block sprites as the blocks that appear after hitting a !-Switch, but after the first room, in sets of 3, they are visible 2/3 of the time and disappear 1/3 of the time without any !-Switch involved. It's as new as the Hit that Switch!!-wannabe level from Nerve-Wrack? Nope. Coins turn into bricks when the P-Switch is triggered, no matter where, so that doesn't count. Why is this new? It's the first feature that has a rhythm, namely 3/3. The tempo varies per room.
The other new thing is not-horizontal Bullet Bills. Bullet Bills already exist, but they didn't fly up, down or diagonally until CCB's Course 2, which by the way is another course where the Raccoon Suit is useful other than getting the top of the flag. The third course isn't that special, but it's the second level with raining debris of which it is the first that doesn't force you to wait for slow ass red blocks to appear.

I can imagine the third bundle to be even better. Sad part is, I already spent 12,50 of my 15,- on the previous bundles. I'll have to hope its a single, super awesome pack, or I'm forced to choose, or if financially possible, I'll have to buy another 15,- card.

I secretly hope Nintendo rewards me for putting over 10,- into NSMB2's DLC alone. Not that I'm not sceptical about it, because I'm well aware that might never happen, but it would be nice. After all, I hit the cap, so collecting coins is meaningless.

[Woppet*]

Just finished Dark Souls.

On to Shadow of the Colossus HD.

[Phaze]

Minecraft again with friends.

Reached Demigoddesshood within a day, was borderline invincible until I AFK'd like an idiot for a single minute with my sound muted because I hate the new sounds. I haven't attained full godhood yet, but it won't take long.

Then I'll stop playing again ¦D

[Previous]

Kirby Mass Attack's Kirby controls and I will never be friends. The flicking gets annoying really fast, too :<

[tykel]

Kid Icarus (NES). Ughhhh.

Why the "ugh"? Is it that hard?

It is.

It really is.


Though it's because of the imprecise jumping over gaps, overly-priced items right at the start and having to backtrack the entire dungeon if you were unlucky enough to face against an Eggplaint Wizard.

It's a good game though, I've enjoyed it despite all this.

That's spot on. I barely managed to finish the first level (never mind the first world) because you have to be very, very careful to get the jump just right and avoid getting hit by enemies. It would be easier using save states as the levels tend to be quite long, but I don't want to.

That description makes sense.
It reminds me of an episode of GameCenter CX where Arino struggles with some RPG, where you play as a family (?), funnily enough.

[Vipershark]

Hotline Miami.

This game is insane.
basically it's a hyperviolent bloodbath game where you have to enter gang hideouts and kill everyone inside
...except you die in one hit and it gets HARD.

You have to think on your feet and have really good twitch skills and every level... no, every kill has an extreme amount of tension.

It's $9.99 on steam and if you can handle the subject matter (it's a really dark game) then I definitely reccomend it. Be ready for a challenge.

[Gwen]

I found the style to be very offputting. Not really about the content matter, just the style itself. If it goes down in price I might give 'er a try at some point.

[Vipershark]

What do you mean? The heavily 80s theme or the topdown gameplay, or what?

From what I've heard the later levels apparently start throwing new things into the mix by having the screen distort and move as your character begins to take harder and harder drugs which makes the already hard levels even harder since you can't see clearly

[Omegajak]

I don't like Dragon Quest games.

That said, got past the first region in DQ9 and am NOW loving the shit out of this game. My only gripe is: Are the NPC's speaking like a made up slurred Irish? Cause sometimes I get really confused by some of the things they say. Anyway, gonna go try and beat Leviathan again and see if I can find the priest who helps you change jobs, because I really need a change.