What are you currently playing?

[Panfoot]

Finally picked up the rest of the Hitman episodes (Bangkok,Colorado, Hakkaido, bonus episodes) and played through them each once, though definitely plan to replay them and do more of the opportunities and challenges. I would have to say in order of preference for these maps for me it would probably go... Sapienza > Hakkaido > Colorado > Paris > Bangkok > Marrekesh. Sapienza is easily one of my favorite Hitman levels overall (up there with A New Life from Blood Money), and Hakkaido reminded me of the mountainside xmas party level from Blood Money while adding in a neat twist with the disguises having keycards embedded in them. The only one I didn't really like was Marrekesh, the embassy area is okay but while the bazaar and protest are cool visuals there isn't much to really do with those portions, and I hate the command post area where the military target hangs out. Looking forward to season 2.

[JCAll]

Currently playing Stella Glow, a really good tactics RPG on the 3DS. In fact, I may not have played one I enjoy this much since Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the GBA. The interface is good, the combat is good, it doesn't rely on terrible comedy or waifus to hold your attention; the AI is kinda stupid but all the enemies hit like trucks so it sort of evens out.

The story...has a plot twist. It hasn't happened yet, bit the writing isn't clever enough to cover it up. I can just feel it, and it's going to be very anime and cliched. I hate when that happens.

[gearsofcrabs]

Deus Ex Mankind Divided.

[JCAll]

Currently playing Stella Glow, a really good tactics RPG on the 3DS. In fact, I may not have played one I enjoy this much since Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the GBA. The interface is good, the combat is good, it doesn't rely on terrible comedy or waifus to hold your attention; the AI is kinda stupid but all the enemies hit like trucks so it sort of evens out.

The story...has a plot twist. It hasn't happened yet, bit the writing isn't clever enough to cover it up. I can just feel it, and it's going to be very anime and cliched. I hate when that happens.

Still on this, and the twist just went off. Time to bitch about it. Even though it was a pretty good twist all things considered. Still, the writing is pretty awful, and getting worse. The entire plot basically comes apart if anyone just explained anything at any point. The villain is asked multiple times to explain why they're killing so many people and just continuing to say "You wouldn't understand". But then the reveal happens, and it's the simplest thing in the world to understand. Then after the shit hits the fan you get berated for not understanding the things that no one will explain, and when asking someone point blank to explain it anyway you get another "I don't need to explain anything to you". Talk to people! The world is ending because nobody is talking to eachother! This is the worst writing, I hate this cliche.

The game is so good, I want to keep playing, but I have to sit through the rest of this writing. Damn.

[The Drunkard Kid]

Still on this, and the twist just went off. Time to bitch about it. Even though it was a pretty good twist all things considered. Still, the writing is pretty awful, and getting worse. The entire plot basically comes apart if anyone just explained anything at any point. The villain is asked multiple times to explain why they're killing so many people and just continuing to say "You wouldn't understand". But then the reveal happens, and it's the simplest thing in the world to understand. Then after the shit hits the fan you get berated for not understanding the things that no one will explain, and when asking someone point blank to explain it anyway you get another "I don't need to explain anything to you". Talk to people! The world is ending because nobody is talking to eachother! This is the worst writing, I hate this cliche.

The game is so good, I want to keep playing, but I have to sit through the rest of this writing. Damn.

Not Stella Glow, but...

[JCAll]

Not Stella Glow, but...

Ha, yeah, Awkward Zombie is great.

[MarvelMaster616]

Well I got myself a PS4 Pro for Christmas this year. Now it's just a matter of waiting until Mass Effect: Andromeda comes out. That's the game I'm most excited about. Until them, I'll probably alternate between Dragon Age Inquisition or Marvel Heroes. I'm hoping Mass Effect has some robust online play. Mass Effect 3 was great, but it did get kind of bland after a while. I hope the next game finds new ways to make it interesting.

[REDemption2017]

Hehe...I am still chipping away at DEAD RISING 3 and BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT. With 4 kids and 3 jobs, I am lucky if I get to touch a console once a month.

[FluffySheep]

I started Rise of the Tomb Raider yesterday. It's my first Tomb Raider game since Tomb Raider II. Liking it so far.

[CraigTheCylon]

Getting a PS4 for Christmas means it's time to start working through the backlog of shooters that's built up while I was ignoring this generation. First to fall is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which parks itself neatly in line with the previous Infinity Ward titles, despite the change in developer. I'm almost always more in favour of the Black Ops subseries, World at War included, and this one doesn't change that. The story is fluff carried on the back of explosions and a twist so signposted even a blind man would see it coming, and the many new gadgets wheeled out to make it feel 'futuristic' are single-use only and don't do anything to cover up the familiar duck-and-cover or make things more Advanced than Modern. But it's okay. These CODs are the gaming equivalent of late '80s/early '90s action flicks, where the sense of familiarity is just part of the appeal for those who 'get' it, and Advanced Warfare excites in much the same way as its predecessors. There are occasional good ideas in here, mind you. The threat grenades, which highlight all enemies as coloured silhouettes even if they're obscured by scenery or smoke, are a genuinely useful addition to your arsenal. And there are a few levels later in the game where you're gifted a Batman-ish grapple line, which gives the level design a welcome sense of verticality the earlier boost jump spectacularly fails to help with. Kinda wish the grapple had been there from the start. Oh, and however gimmicky Kevin Spacey's presence feels, he does a good voice job (even when his digital face doesn't mirror the nuance of the performance) and you get to give him the Hans Gruber death from Die Hard, which is awesome. A fun waste of 3 hours or so.

[deadboy80]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U edition!!! Great game, lots of fun!!

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Final Fantasy II
I'm enjoying this more than the first so far, even with the patience thinning upgrade system.

[Little Boots]

KOF 14: It's the first King of Fighters game I've played in years, and I'm having fun with it. Now...if only I could find someone to play online....

[BaneBreaker]

Playing the Bioshock collection for the One. Bioshock is probably one of my all time favorite games.

[CraigTheCylon]

Finished with The Order 1886. Such a weird-feeling game to play. Y'know those 'demos' that get shown at a new console's launch, the ones where you can tell just by looking at them aren't real games yet, just speculative FMV dressed up to look like gameplay? I think the PS3 had a Killzone one that looked far snazzier than the eventual Killzone 2 we got, plus that 8 Days one that never amounted to anything. The Order feels like one of those, except it somehow became a full-fledged game...sort of. It's set in London, 1886, and casts you as part of the latter-day Knights of the Round Table, who have settled into a role as the nation's secret police, forever on the watch for trouble, be it from anti-monarchy rebellion...or werewolves. Mechanically it's pretty standard third-person fare, with a cover system that's only a little annoying, stealth kills that need good timing so they're not too simple, and retro-tech spins on modern firearms plus the occasional wacky tech - my favourite being the Thermite Gun, which spreads a thick cloud of flammable dust to be ignited afterward with a flare shot. Progress is very, very linear; there's only ever one way to progress through each area, and little benefit in exploring off the beaten path. You'll also find yourself delayed by cutscenes to an almost maddening degree - the playing-to-watching ratio is almost on a par with the Metal Gear series. At the very least what you're watching is usually interesting; a lot of effort has clearly gone into the game's worldbuilding, the characters are given room to breathe and assisted by across-the-board great voice acting, and the graphics...my goodness are they lovely. It really is one of the most beautiful games I've ever known. But there's a stiffness to the whole thing, and the limited ways in which you can interact with your surroundings forever make you feel less like a gallant Knight engaged in supernatural skullduggery and more like being led through an art gallery filled with amazing toys while being told repeatedly not to touch any of it. I don't know, it's definitely worth a go but there's very little shelf life here.