What are you playing? (Redux)

[fhdz]

I'm practically stroking myself waiting for Luftrausers.

MAH PENIS

Well I hope it doesn't fall off!

[Grey Fox]

Latest Humble Bundle has Scribblenauts Unlimited. I have being playing that, it's pretty fun. Also challenges constantly my grasp of English.

[Razgovory]

I played a Scribblenauts game for my Kindle.  It did help with the boredom of Illinois.

[fhdz]

I got Gentlemen! on sale. The kids love them some local multiplayer, and so do I. It's like...Victorian Smash Bros.

[Syt]

WWE 2k14 is fucking awesome (but then the last wrestling console game I played was Smackdown vs. Raw in 2009(?)). I'm looking forward to the nWo DLC.

I just wish it had a career mode, but the WWE Universe booker mode is also not too bad. For a proper career sim I guess I'll wait for Wrestling Spirit 3 from the guy who does TEW2013 and which comes out at the end of the month.

[katmai]

WWE 2k14 is fucking awesome (but then the last wrestling console game I played was Smackdown vs. Raw in 2009(?)). I'm looking forward to the nWo DLC.

I just wish it had a career mode, but the WWE Universe booker mode is also not too bad. For a proper career sim I guess I'll wait for Wrestling Spirit 3 from the guy who does TEW2013 and which comes out at the end of the month.

1st line
2nd line means no purchase from me.

[Syt]

Yeah, huge disappointment. Still, the universe mode is decent enough. You can either let the AI book the shows and feuds, or you can edit/control them yourself. You have pretty good control there. You can also chose to play out just one rivalry (I think, haven't tried yet) and there might might be a mode buried somewhere that lets you play just one dude.

[Syt]

Also, the Wrestlemania throwbacks are pretty fun. Down to imitating the title cards and having different TV filters (80s, early 90s, late 90s and modern).

I don't know how much of a rehash it is of the previously released Wrestlemania Legends. In total it has 45 matches of the past 30 years. Each match has a main goal (usually: win), and additional goals (e.g. bodyslam Andre the Giant).

Also, there's an Undertaker Streak mode, but defending the streak means defeating as many opponents as possible in a gauntlet match as 'taker. I got to 25 before I got pinned by Brodus Clay. Then the game crashed.

[fhdz]

Anybody playing Prison Architect? It's half price on the Humble Bundle store today.

https://www.humblebundle.com/store

[Syt]

Bought it a while ago and follow the alpha release videos, but I hold off playing till it's feature complete.

[Syt]

A few more thoughts on WWE 2k14: the commentary becomes a bit repetitive/annoying after a while, so I guess I'll switch that off soon. The AI also glitches occasionally where it gets stuck (e.g. throwing you into the ring, with the head outside, then setting up an elbow to the throat or similar - if you get up during that, the AI gets stuck, but you can unstick it by going back outside again). And some of the transitions between animations could be smoother.

Still damn fun game. I downloaded a chockful of user content yesterday. There's recreated WWF and WCW arenas and logos and of course tons of wrestlers, current (the Wyatt family, the Usos) and classic (Vader, Chris Benoit, Ludvig Borga, Adam Bomb, Hillbilly Jim, Stan Hansen, Paul Orndorff, plus the early 90s tag team scene: the Rockers, LoD, Natural Disasters, Nasty Boys ....). Too bad you can't add custom music/Titantron movies. So in my universe there's the usual Raw/SmackDown stuff (with a few added characters), plus a seperate classic league in an old WWF arena with 1990s film grain. I also moved a bunch of retro characters in there (Diesel, Razor Ramon, pre-DX Shawn Michaels ...).

EDIT: Research suggests you can add entrance music from your XBox library. Something to look into tonight ...

[Queequeg]

Arcanum   So flawed, but still so great.

[grumbler]

Arcanum   So flawed, but still so great.

Indeed.  I played the gunpowder path maybe a year ago, and, crap graphics and all, it was still great fun.

[Caliga]

Troika's failure was one of the great tragedies in gaming history.

[derspiess]

I dunno, we've seen this model of MP "dynamic campaign" attempt before, and it never, ever works.

And there won't be a single destroyer player in the game.  ZOMG EVERYBODYS A ROGUE GNOME

Actually, you can only be a German u-boat.  I haven't done a multiplayer wolfpack mission yet but they sound kinda fun.  And as long as you contribute by hitting a target with something (even a single deck gun shell hitting an enemy ship) you get the full exp if the mission is successful.

Anywho, a few observations, keeping in mind it's still in beta:

-You're stuck with the Type II boats for quite a while before you can get your hands on a VII.  This is an annoyance (Type II's are slow, have just 3 tubes and can only carry 5 torpedoes total, plus no deck gun) until you realize how stealthy Type II boats are in the game.  A fully upgraded Type IID is a friggin stealth sub, and a nimble one at that.  As long as you're not foolish enough to let a destroyer get within 500m of you, you can effectively disappear under the water.  Biggest downside is you have to return to port way too often to load up on torpedoes.

-So far the only boats in the game are the main Type II and VII variants.  I'm guessing Type IX and the elektro boats will come later on.  You can have up to 3 boats, or up to 6 if you unlock with 'gold' (which is accumulated as you progress but you can also purchase).

-I'm level 23 (out of 35 (?)) and VII still seems sort of a luxury.  I crashed my VIIA into a sinking but apparently not quite yet fully sunk merchant while pursuing another merchant with my deck gun.  And I haven't accumulated enough points to spend on building another, so I'm farting around the North Sea with my Type IIC and Type IID until I can get my VIIA built and get out into the North Atlantic.

-You don't get to aim the deck gun or AA gun-- you can only send the gun crew out and order it to fire or cease fire.  You can't even see aircraft-- you hear them and they appear on your map.  The single 20mm flak gun you're stuck with for a while is nearly useless, so while it's always good to have your flak crew manning the gun, if you get attacked it's always best just to dive.  Deck gun is pretty effective-- I've even heard of guys duking it out with destroyers on the surface, as little sense as that makes.

All in all it's a decent game.  They've had to water some aspects down from the SH series to make it fit into an online multiplayer game, but it's cool to fire up a browser anywhere you are and play a few missions.