What video games are you playing?

[Morrigan]

I got hooked on FFXII...the others I can't even try.

[crocoduck_hunter]

Twelve's real-time combat system appealed to me a lot more than the battle window the others did. Among other things, it meant that spells like Regenerate and the various durability and strength enhancers were more effective because you could go looking for more trouble before they wore off, instead of having to cast them again every time a fight started.

I just wish they hadn't made the kid the main character- his connection to the events was pretty much over by the time you rescued the princess and it really showed. After that point in the story he really didn't have any reason to stick around and having him still there felt increasingly forced. Also, sticking with the war between two countries plot instead of going for the villain who wants to destroy the world due to his unresolved angst issues would have been a refreshing change. But the game was still fun.

[Errata]

Originally Posted by Errata

I'm only in act 2 of nightmare, but so far no signs of them becoming useless there. I'm sure they're useless in inferno and of limited use in hell, but so far they're still very helpful in nightmare.

I am still using the dogs to good effect in Act 3 of Hell, contrary to all the conventional wisdom I've heard about the Witch Doctor class. So I'm pretty close to the end of normal gameplay and getting close to crazy insane endgame content.

I have to have a build that is designed with pets in mind, rather than just throw them in without any support, but it's much more workable than I'd been led to believe. I could perhaps be more powerful on paper with a Vision Quest/Zombie Bears based build instead of a pet based build, but I started playing the class for the pet based gameplay, and if I can make it through Hell solo with that playstyle then I'll be happy.

To support my pets survivability, my standard build is Leeching Beasts, with the passives Fierce Loyalty, Zombie Handler, and Jungle Fortitude. To get the most out of Fierce Loyalty, I have equipment that provides a total of 420 life regeneration per second and 216 Thorns. I also have a very high DPS which helps leeching beasts stay alive. For the Gargantuan, you have more options with the rune, since it will survive just fine, but when you unlock it Bruiser is nice because the chance of stun helps defend the pack against elites and does good damage against powerful single targets. I keep Big Bad Voodoo Ghost Trance ready as an "oh crap" button when elites show up, which helps keep myself and everyone else alive for a while. I occasionally swap out the powers during boss fights. Bad Medicine can be a good defensive option. Pierce the Veil is a nice option for pet builds sometimes since it makes your pets do more damage and the mana to cast them is irrelevant. Templar is a no-brainer as NPC since it's basically another pet tank.

[Il-Mari]

If You Buy Diablo III Online, You May Have To Wait 72 Hours To Play The Whole Game

As of patch 1.0.3, when purchasing a digital version of Diablo III through the online store or your Battle.net Account, players are restricted to the Starter Edition for the first 72 hours (sometimes less). Players on Starter Editions have the following restrictions:

Act I up to the Skeleton King is available
Level 13 cap
Matchmaking available only with other Starter Edition players
No Auction House access (Real Money or Gold)

http://kotaku.com/5920234/if-you-buy...the-whole-game

OK, at this point I'm pretty sure Blizzard is just checking to what extent they can screw with their customers before people start seriously complaining.

- Il-Mari

[Richard W]

On the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18532670

Player 'completes' Diablo III video game

Just over a month after the release of Diablo III, a pro player has managed to complete the game on its hardest setting.

(He completed it on the highest difficulty setting and in "hardcore" mode, where character death is permanent).

I'm posting it less for the achievement itself than that I'm amazed the BBC has a news story about somebody completing a computer game... I expect it's only because Diablo III has been in the news already for other reasons.

[Errata]

It's quite an impressive individual accomplishment to beat Inferno in hardcore mode. However, collectively out of all the millions of players it's inevitable that people will do it.

[Gavida]

After marching north and freeing North America from the Ottomane rule with my Japanese who are native to South America, I started to set sail westward and will free Southeast Asia from the oppressive Greeks. (No, I am not insane or geographically challenged, I play Civ V )

I started fooling around in "Fallen Earth" a F2P MMO. So far it is easy going, even with the real time fighting. It has quite a Fallout feeling to it and I imagine, this is what a Fallout:MMO would feel like. Although the UI is a bit clunky and sometimes it is a bit uncomfortable to play, for a F2P it is pretty much ok.

Then I blew the dust from my STO account and started to learn the Duty Officer system. Still have a lot to learn there, but since I like the game (would I have a lifetime sub otherwise? ) I will work my way into it by trail and error.

And this weekend is the TSW open Beta weekend, which I am looking forward to try out. (I still have two beta-keys, if anyone is interested, send me a PM. The Beta-Weekend starts today, though)

I need longer weekends to play!

[Darth Credence]

Splitting time between Civ V with the Gods and Kings expansion and LEGO Batman 2.

Gods and Kings is great. It has completely revitalized my Civ playing. The addition of Faith as a resource has really changed up the way that I play the game. I had kind of gotten into a rut, and had consequently stopped playing for a while. But with being able to establish the tenets of your religion makes it so that I don't necessarily play each civilization the same way. a lot of the religious bonuses are greatly dependent on the terrain - such as one that grants faith from every quarry controlled by the player. If you are exploring and find a bunch of stone near you, it may be a good idea to make that you initial pantheon - unless you have a bunch of plantation ready land, then you might have to decide if oral tradition is better because you get a culture boost.

They have also introduced a bunch of new civilizations, and done some work to re-balancing the game. I've only played with the Mayans so far, but I like them and will probably play with them more. Some of the policies have been updated. The biggest change to me is changing the order of policies in the liberty tree. Collective rule has been swapped with republic, meaning you need at least one extra policy to get a free settler. I was kind of bummed, because I almost always go directly for that, but I realized that was why they did it, and it really needed to be done.

LEGO Batman 2 is another great entry in the LEGO series. For the first time there is voice over work, and there is some pretty funny stuff. Clancy Brown is reprising his role as Luthor, although I think he is the only one from the DCAU to work on this. Not very far into the game yet, but having a good time to this point.

[Lost_Cavalier]

The Mass Effect III: Extended Cut will be released for download on Tuesday. It will be a massive 1.9GB download, and it will be free to anyone who purchased a retail version and registered their online pass.

There's been conflicting reports on which voice actors were brought back for additional scenes, although according to BioWare's FAQ, it will mostly be additional cut scenes near the ending, and a greatly expanded epilogue.

http://www.masseffect.com/about/extended_cut/

[Enchanting_eyes]

Still playing Diablo III. I have to say that I like my Monk much more then my Demon Hunter.

[Errata]

Quantum Conundrum. It's a puzzle platformer in very much the same style as Portal (and by a lead designer of that game). Instead of a portal gun, you can switch between 5 different "dimensions" with different physical properties (which are unlocked gradually and only a subset of which may be available for each puzzle). You are the only thing not affected by the different physics. You use this physics manipulation ability to move around objects and find ways to get around various puzzles, just like in Portal.

Besides the "normal" state, you can switch to:
Fluffy: makes everything light and soft, so you can pick up large objects and blow things around in the wind.
Heavy Metal: makes everything hard and dense, so normally light things press down hard on switches and don't get destroyed by lasers.
Slow Motion: slows everything way down, except you. So you can press a button and then go across the room before the electricity from the switch reaches its target, you can leap off falling things which are hanging in mid air like platforms, or accomplish feats that require otherwise impossibly precise timing.
Anti Gravity: things other than you fall up toward the ceiling.

A typical puzzle might involve standing on a sofa and switching on anti-gravity to launch yourself up into the air. Then switch to fluffy and grab a table flying near you and toss it sideways. Then quickly switch to slow motion and jump on the table you just threw and take a ride horizontally. Then switch to the heavy metal dimension once you're on the table so that it shatters through a glass wall.

It's a lot of fun. If you enjoyed Portal and want a new set of physics to play with, this is the game for you. It starts out with a more gradual learning curve and more child friendly atmosphere, so I was initially concerned that it might be too easy, but it really starts to ramp up nicely as it incorporates more and more elements into the puzzles.

[Tabbyclaw]

Quantum Conundrum is out? Awesome! I saw a preview of it months ago and have been dying to get my hands on it. 'Course, I should probably not even attempt to play it unless and until I shell out for a new computer.

-Tabby
the princess with claws

[Morrigan]

Played through 3 of the 4 new ME3 endings. Thought it was quite a bit better than the original. Especially the hidden ending.

[Errata]

And beat Quantum Conundrum already. Only about 6 hours of gameplay. Still worth getting though. I'd rather have 6 hours of high quality entertainment than a game that's padded out to feel longer. Also, it only cost $15, so it's a bargain.

Because of this comic, I was half expecting to run into some profoundly difficult and satisfying epic puzzle toward the end, but it seemed like a fairly steady linear increase in difficulty, and none really stood out among the rest that way. I suppose they meant "that" in the generic sense of whatever puzzle you personally get stuck at, rather than in a specific sense that everyone would know which one they meant. Some of the harder ones to accomplish were those that were fairly obvious but required some twitch skills to implement properly, which are a relief to succeed at, but not rewarding in the same way as a difficult mental challenge. The ending was kind of abrupt and anti-climactic, although there was a sequence leading up to it that was cool. I guess it's leaving itself open for the downloadable content.

[Lost_Cavalier]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

Played through 3 of the 4 new ME3 endings. Thought it was quite a bit better than the original. Especially the hidden ending.

I did the Paragon Control ending, after finally getting around to finishing the game on the Insanity difficulty level. I was very happy with it, and it's pretty to close what a friend and I had came up with when we were discussing how we would have written the endings, before they announced the Extended Cut.

[Notebook]

Well, I finally managed to get Mass Effect 2 [Alongside Tales of Graces f and Warriors Orochi 3]. I really like the fact that Shepard doesn't control like a drunk elephant from the start, and I can actually use sniper rifles at the start now. Kinda annoyed at how useless shotguns have become now.

[chillas]

I haven't replayed the new endings of Mass Effect 3, but I did find them online and watch them.

I have to say that I, personally, find them to be a vast improvement over the originals. All it took was fleshing them out, filling in some of the logic gaps, differentiating them, and adding an option to refuse to cooperate, to make them more palatable. I still feel the endgame was shockingly limited in scope compared to the rest of the games, but at least the endings now feel like a conclusion to the story rather than a tacked on, last minute bit.

For some reason I've started playing Lord of the Rings Online again. I actually played it for a while several years ago then left it. For whatever reason I decided to try it again, and this time I got recruited by a kinship, so that makes it a bit more fun. I still play most of my time solo, but it's nice having some people around if any of us need something.

[Notebook]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I really find Mass Effect 2's "critical health" alert to be annoying, mostly because it feels less like an alert and more like Shepard is about to be consumed by some Lovecraftian being.

[GenYus234]

I just finished Portal 2 and I have a question about the ending. When you try to hit the resolve switch, you trigger a booby trap and fall back under Wheatley. Then the ceiling falls apart and you see the moon. If you do as I do, you try to create a moon portal (which works). Since the moon is in vacuum, it begins to suck air from the other portal, which is under Wheatley. Now, one of the two open portals had to be under Wheatley as that was the only portalable surface you could reach. But the other portal was in a blocked room. The question: does the game make sure that the vacuum portal is under Wheatley even if you did it backwards? IOW, the blue portal is in the blocked room. The orange portal is under Wheatley. If you shoot the moon with the orange portal, does the game switch it to the blue portal to help you out? I ask because I had a history of using the wrong portal unless I stop to think about it. So I find it hard to believe that I got it right on a critical moment like that.

[chillas]

GenYus, there are a couple of point in the game where you have to shoot a portal quickly in order to not die. In both of those (the moon being one of them) the game does indeed switch the portals if you shoot the wrong color. They talk about it in the commentary, saying that it's an anti-frustration feature.