What are you currently playing?

[6740f5ceb1675icemann]

Thought this place could use a "What are you currently playing?" thread as pretty much every game related forum has one these days.

So I'll start off:

Was playing Syndicate (2012) which is a real mixed bag. Has some great combat, and the Dart mode (of slowed down movement and seeing the world digitally) is quite cool, plus the multiplayer co-op is excellent. On the negative end it's 100% linear and the story stuff shows that the devs had not played the earlier games. Despite the sucky bits, I'd recommend playing the game at least once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcNWbdvWoso

Currently moved onto Super Metroid which is a game I like to go back to every few years. It may not be the originator of the "Metroidvania" sub genre, but it's where that started for me. Love it. It is a hard game at points, but man the music's great and the controls are quite fluid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1qs3hlfIVM

Good game to just get lost in, searching every nook and cranny for secrets, power ups etc. The GBA sequels and AM2R followed what was great about it.

[6740f5ceb2001sarge945]

Recently been playing:

Diablo 2. The remaster reminded me how hollow and empty the game is. I mainly play it coop with my friend, but there's barely any gameplay there to speak of. Not recommended getting into if you don't have an obsessed friend, and even then you can do better. Play Diablo 1 instead if you want a structurally sound, well designed action RPG where the mechanics actually work.

Also been replying the Infinity Engine games. Some aspects of them are really really good. The story and role playing is decent, and I like the fact that you get to really manage a whole party and all their abilities. Others might hate that though. There are some negatives though, like the broken rest mechanics and some of the crustier parts of AD&D2 in general, but overall they are great RPGs.

Lastly, I've been getting into Factorio too. Very very fun game and well worth playing. Not for everyone, though. If you like optimisation, efficiency, and generally being a total nerd, it's for you.

[6740f5ceb2263Kolya]

I've been playing Spiritfarer with the neighbor's girl. She's crazy for that cat Daffodil.

For myself I played Metro 2033 Redux and Hardspace Shipbreaker.

But mainly me and my wife have been playing Gin Rummy since our last holiday. It's the first card game I ever managed to enjoy. We might try Texas Hold'em next.

[6740f5ceb23f6fox]

The last games I played through all the way way were Metro Exodus and Days Gone, both very good. Currently getting into Project Zomboid (again).

[6740f5ceb32b8icemann]

I've been playing Spiritfarer with the neighbor's girl. She's crazy for that cat Daffodil.

Interesting. Never heard of that one.

I've since moved onto Metroid Zero Mission for the GBA which I've only played through once. Much faster game to Super Metroid. Far more hidden passageways, secrets etc, which has the domino effect of more spots not knowing where in the hell to go next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPHpBlvIzus

[6740f5ceb36d7Kolya]

fox Metro Exodus was excellent. It got me to play the first game of the series, which is a good shooter with some nice details, but it stays in the tunnels, which isn't as fun or explorative as Exodus was. 

icemann Spiritfarer deals with loss, in the way Hayao Miyazaki might. Kind of light and deep at the same time.

[6740f5ceb3a08Ivan The Insect]

Oh boy... So ok let me explain first.

My PC is old, like a decade old by now, it was however for the time built quite powerful so I had no issue with newer games up to 2014-2015. At that time my gaming aspect of life was on hibernation and I barely played anything old or new until about 2017.
So why am I sharing all this? Because this year my GPU died quite violently and I had to replace it during a very tough time both financially and health concerned for me due to the whole no-zombies-yet situation we are all in for almost 2 years now. I had no idea about the whole tech crisis too so this GPU upgrade ended being a downgrade... On a decade old PC... Yes.
Now I am stuck to playing anything pre-2009, and yet I am happier than ever. This event caused me to finally sit down properly and actually live up to my "fame" as a retro gamer among my friends. I'm now tracking down and replaying EVERY game I remember from the past and many classics I never managed to even try. All and all it's the whole life gives you lemons situation.

Now for the actual list.

Right now I am playing or am going to in case of the sequels:

Thief Trilogy
Doom 3
Postal 2
KOTOR 1 and 2
The Thing
Gothic 1 and 2
Serious Sam 1 (TFE + TSE) and 2
Pathologic
Shadow Man
American McGee's Alice
The Entire Legacy of Kain franchise
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodline and Redemption
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
EYE Divine Cybermancy (as if you can finish this one)
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2
Anachronox
Command and Conquer Renegade
Star Trek Elite Force 1 and 2
No One Lives Forever 1 and 2
Shogo Mobile Armor Division (yes I do love pain)

And that's that I guess, if the list seems rather long it's because I play many games chaotically over a long period of time.

Oh and I'm only 31 (32 soon) in case someone's curious based on how most of the games I love to death are old. And also I tried to add my birth date into my profile on here but the system won't work for some odd reason 

[6740f5ceb3c22icemann]

That should keep you busy for QUITE some time . Nothing at all wrong with going retro.

Finished off Metroid Zero Mission - This was really damn good, though the lengthy stealth section at a certain point got very annoying.

Then moved onto Metroid Fusion which for a Metroidvania was quite linear with locked doors a plenty at numerous points. Currently playing the fan remake of Metroid 2 called AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) which is just great. Very catchy music (playlist worthy) and the gameplays solid. My 3rd play through of it. From memory the creator of it later on got games industry work, assisting with games like Ori and the Blind Forest. AM2R is easily the best fan remake that I've played, considering that it was developed from scratch over numerous years. If Nintendo had any smarts, they'd have got him to release it as an official game. At the same time though, by that stage the Nintendo DS remake of Metroid 2 was well underway, which diverged QUITE a bit from the original gameplay and was more 2.5D with 3D models rather than sprites.

Once I'm done with AM2R, the plan is to purchase Metroid Dread for the Switch. Not been that many games for the console/handheld that I felt the mega urge to actually get. So be good to have something besides Links Awakening and Odyssey to play on it.

[6740f5ceb4138Ivan The Insect]

That should keep you busy for QUITE some time . Nothing at all wrong with going retro.

Finished off Metroid Zero Mission - This was really damn good, though the lengthy stealth section at a certain point got very annoying.

Then moved onto Metroid Fusion which for a Metroidvania was quite linear with locked doors a plenty at numerous points. Currently playing the fan remake of Metroid 2 called AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) which is just great. Very catchy music (playlist worthy) and the gameplays solid. My 3rd play through of it. From memory the creator of it later on got games industry work, assisting with games like Ori and the Blind Forest. AM2R is easily the best fan remake that I've played, considering that it was developed from scratch over numerous years. If Nintendo had any smarts, they'd have got him to release it as an official game. At the same time though, by that stage the Nintendo DS remake of Metroid 2 was well underway, which diverged QUITE a bit from the original gameplay and was more 2.5D with 3D models rather than sprites.

Once I'm done with AM2R, the plan is to purchase Metroid Dread for the Switch. Not been that many games for the console/handheld that I felt the mega urge to actually get. So be good to have something besides Links Awakening and Odyssey to play on it.

Thank you!

I forgot to list Arx Fatalis as well! I still need to get into the flow of that game since it feels a lot like a fantasy SS2, and yes I know Ultima exists but I never had a crack at those games!
Also just finished Dark Messiah for the first time since 2006 and it was AMAZING! So amazing I'm now replaying it for the "evil ending"!
SS2, Deus Ex and Half-Life need not be mentioned as they are on a perpetual replay for me 
And of course Aliens vs Predator 2 online matches are now a midnight tradition for me ever since the fan patch brought back the multiplayer, as a kid that was my ultimate multiplayer game and a must each time me and my pals went to those gaming clubs of old.

I do need to get into Metroid... I mean I tried some time ago! I remember liking Fusion for the atmosphere and overall feel but that entry is apparently not that popular with the fans? 
It's not like I ever had the chance... When it comes to consoles I've only owned a NES, Genesis, PSP, DS and a 3DS.

[6740f5ceb423aicemann]

Well the PSP has a fair few great games on there. Depends on what your into. I played A LOT of Dungeon Maker plus the various GTA games.

[6740f5ceb461dKolya]

EYE Divine Cybermancy (as if you can finish this one)

Didn't keep me from trying several times. This game is so mysterious in its lore but also in its mechanics, I loved that. It's like its own world. You can feel in every detail the huge ambition and love the devs put into it. Not a lot of polishing though, it's a raw diamond.

[6740f5ceb4a81Ivan The Insect]

Well the PSP has a fair few great games on there. Depends on what your into. I played A LOT of Dungeon Maker plus the various GTA games.

My PSP is pretty much dead at the moment though... The battery become swollen to the point of cracking the whole thing open. I still have my collection of games, I think the game I played the most was Monster Hunter.

Didn't keep me from trying several times. This game is so mysterious in its lore but also in its mechanics, I loved that. It's like its own world. You can feel in every detail the huge ambition and love the devs put into it. Not a lot of polishing though, it's a raw diamond.

Absolutely! I beat the campaign once so far, need to beat it twice more for the "final" ending. But I meant you can't truly finish it because it's meant to be replayable to the absurd. In fact after beating it I'm now just playing solo custom missions just to try out what I can mess with and learn for my second playthrough, plus some grinding you know 

I'm more than sad I can't play Space Hulk or the most recent Hired Gun which are by the same devs but from what I know they're not exactly EYE 2. I've been into 40k for almost 10 years now even though I knew about it further back by researching the Tyranids (fictional insects and space bug swarms are kind of my thing) but I never dug into the lore proper. I might sound like a heretic but I actually find the setting a bit too rich if you know what I mean, I prefer smaller more consistent worlds that hide their lore and expansiveness.

[6740f5ceb4bb7icemann]

Once one gets into Warhammer, they never leave. I stopped collecting the miniatures for fantasy and 40k due to how expensive they were becoming plus ran out of room for them. Despite that, I've had a ongoing love for the universe in all it's forms, and still stop and look into Games Workshop stores / minature wargaming stores whenever I pass one.

[6740f5ceb4e24Ivan The Insect]

Once one gets into Warhammer, they never leave. I stopped collecting the miniatures for fantasy and 40k due to how expensive they were becoming plus ran out of room for them. Despite that, I've had a ongoing love for the universe in all it's forms, and still stop and look into Games Workshop stores / minature wargaming stores whenever I pass one.

I'm mostly in for the lore and art 

[6740f5ceb50fficemann]

Since AM2R played through Metroid - Samus Returns, which is the official remake by Nintendo of Metroid 2. Compared to AM2R, Nintendo went the 2.5D route with all 3D models and added a parry mechanic thats really annoying but you get the hang of it eventually. Very little in the way of memorable good music (unlike AM2R which did) as they went the atmospheric route for the most part. Though some remixes of classic tracks are present.

They majorly changed the controls, as you now must aim exactly where you want to shoot vs the fixed angles of earlier games. Plus you can't aim and shoot at the same time anymore. On the positive end, they went for a FAR longer game, some of the later boss battles are Dark Souls levels of hard, and the game despite its faults is excellent. Plus they added some great new abilities, and a map scan feature.

If your looking for Super Metroid style gameplay, this game aint that. Play AM2R for that. Where as if your looking for something new this is that, and great at it.

After completing Samus Returns moved to Metroid Dread on the Switch. This ones VERY MUCH in the same way as Returns went. Parry mechanic, 2.5D with 3d models, difficult boss battles, music you wont even notice most of the time and precise controls. The new EMMI robots make for a good change of pace.

My main negative with Dread so far, is that it goes for the Fusion route of locking off areas as you progress, which = no backtracking. Yet this is supposed to be a Metroidvania, where backtracking for power ups is a core part of it. Why they went that route - I dunno. Good game regardless, but I'd love to see this game done in proper 2D with sprites, and with better music.

I don't get at all why games companies feel compelled to move away from the traditional art styles (of sprites) and gameplay, in favor of 3D. We already have the Metroid Prime series for that. When you have the rare instance of the fan remake of Metroid 2 (with AM2R) and Samus Returns, you get the clear comparision to see and play of both styles. Give me classic Super Metroid gameplay and art atyle and I'll be as happy as a pig in mud.

[edit]
The closed off stuff with Metroid Dread appears to only be for a short chunk of the game. Once you get wide beam it opens up substantially. So disregard my earlier complaints regarding that.

[6740f5ceb52e9icemann]

Currently playing Terminator Resistance. Game is set completely within the "future war" that you got to see a few bits of in the first Terminator film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTnwu6YCF1c

Starting out had me nerding out big time, as I'd as a kid dreamed of what it would be like to be in the future war. Game has the sounds and setting down. Quite an excellent game all round really. Best Terminator game that I've played in a LONG time. It's at it's most fun when your left free to roam around at your leisure and just explore and take on what you choose. That said, even the linear levels are quite fun. When the T800's are first introduced in-game, that was great and quite stressing.

If your an old school Terminator fan (like me) of the first 2 films and grew up with them, then you owe it to yourself to play it. Been a blast so far.

[6740f5ceb57b2Kolya]

If your an old school Terminator fan (like me) of the first 2 films and grew up with them, then you owe it to yourself to play it. Been a blast so far.

This is relevant to me. Wishlisted, waiting for a deal.

I'm currently playing Alien Breed: Impact which is a direct descendant of an earlier Alien Breed game that I played in the 90s on Amiga, even by the same developer, Team 17. There is a trilogy of these games now, which I recently picked up for 5 EUR. Apparently I planned to play this 12 years ago and only now I'm getting around to it.

The first game in the trilogy is fine, albeit a bit slow paced and it requires miles of backtracking. The environments look great, but the fights with the aliens (that look like ticks now, probably for trademark reasons) lack some kinetic feedback. Shots fired pass over their heads and yet they die somehow. The missions are pretty ordinary activate this, destroy that stuff, but it's entertaining enough to keep me going.

Before that I replayed Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 as I do every few years. The routine is to update the mods and then start a new game, because in Jedi Knight changing the mods usually breaks your save games. It doesn't matter much because Jedi Knight was my first PC game and I still consider it the best by a long shot. It's level design and especially its use of space is unsurpassed.

[6740f5ceb58d1icemann]

I remember Alien Breed. Games like that made me want to get an Amiga back then. Amiga had a very unique feel to it. Art and sound wise. Played the first one a few times + some fan remakes of it. Never got very far in it, but loved the aliens inspired setting.

[6740f5ceb59dcsarge945]

I've been playing the absolute shit out of Subnautica recently. It's quite good, albeit with some issues. Because the entire game source code can be modded, maybe I should attempt to fix some of the more structural issues.

Overall though, I'd recommend it.

[6740f5ceb5ca2Kolya]

icemann Terminator Resistance is 50% off on Steam

[6740f5ceb5d8bfox]

Hm... I'm tempted too now.

[6740f5ceb5e6csarge945]

I am not sure whether to get it. It seems pretty raw in places from gameplay I have seen

[6740f5ceb6189icemann]

Well having now fully completed the game + the free Infiltrator Mode DLC:

The game is HEAVILY influenced by the first Terminator film. Much like how Alien Isolation is much more akin to "Alien" rather than "Aliens". So whilst it's action heavy sure, the sound, music and look is very "Terminator" rather than "Terminator 2" if that makes sense. It also has much more of a horror angle than pure action. I would recommend playing it on Hard difficulty to give a good challenge. On that I found the game to be quite difficult but not overly.

It's 100% set in the future war, so nothing in modern times or elsewhere. As per the first film, if you do encounter an infiltrator unit (aka a T800 with flesh/cybernetic stuff) then expect quite the challenge. It has some RPG elements of gaining XP via kills and completing quests, and you use those on skills. All of which have a use, and all are highly useful. Some of the levels are open world-ish, with you free to explore around, look for loot in houses etc, and have optional SKYNET bases you can take on. Use of stealth HIGHLY recommended for those.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AggWZrmzAuc

Video above shows a bit of the resistance base you return to a fair bit in the game, and of some of the open world-y gameplay.

Other levels go more the linear route, with you taking part in large scale attacks etc. Story is quite decent as well, and you do have some levels of choice in how you choose to respond to people which has knock on effects later on. If your like me and absolutely LOVE the first film, then this game should be a must play. However if Terminator 2 or the later films are more your thing, then you may not get the same level of enjoyment from it.

I absolutely loved it. Oh and the free "Infiltrator Mode" DLC has you in control of an infiltrator tasked with gaining access to a rebel base. It consists of 1 level, but you can't save at all and repair items are few and far between. So it is VERY hard. Kinda like the first Alien vs Predator game before gold edition (which added in manual saving). So if you die, your straight back to the start. The cool side to it, is seeing the world via Terminator vision, and your playing as the bad guy. Expect around 1-3 hours of gameplay depending on skill level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzl3GE4RUA

Video above is my play through of that DLC.

Just today a 2nd DLC (this one being a paid DLC) entitled "Annihilation Line" was released. I've not had a chance to play it yet, but it appears to be more of a linear style, from the gameplay trailer released.

[6740f5ceb62d8sarge945]

Regardless of how good the game itself is, I am glad someone actually tried to do something cool with some source material, rather than this being a cynical cash grab, so I am happy for their success.

That alone might be reason to buy it, even if it is raw