What Game Are You Playing At The Moment?

[ThisIsMyUserName]

I just attempted to play Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I give it a 0 out of 10,000 stars. Do not buy this game. Especially if you were a fan of the classic NFS III (my favorite)

I don't know how it's getting high 80's-90's by the media. I guess once again the consolization of games is fucking us all.

First, every car feels like a tank and it's way too easy to slide out all-the-time. Since the control is so terrible, I played as cops after just a few races as...racers. The whole point of the game is to pick the side you want. Racers play to drive and dodge the cops. Cops play to chase them and stop them with their backup. In the old NFS games, these were actually fun and distinct sides.

For some reason now, the racers also have spike strips, an additional turbo on top of nitro boost, a "jammer", and some other stupid thing I don't remember. Can't have the 12 year olds whining that they can't do absolutely everything the other team can do, so they just threw the whole concept of the game out the window.

On the cop side, you now drop the spike strip behind you instead of having your backup deploy it ahead. The old way meant the racer ran over the spikes and was done. They tried their best to avoid it, and steering them into it was part of the fun. Now, the racers just get minor overall car damage and keep on racing. This method makes no sense unless the car is already in the red, and 1 more hit will end it. Otherwise you have to slow down and wait for it to catch up to you so you can hit it again.
But, we can't have the kids raging because they drove over something designed to stop them, and they stopped. Everyone needs 500 chances to win.

Same thing with roadblocks. Managing to stop a car used to be the end. Now the racer's car literally disappears from a stopped position, and reappears next to/ahead of you already going about 60mph. On several occasions I came to a stop or tried to turn around to ram them, only to find they had magically respawned ahead of me and I had to reset the track. There was no hope of catching up.

There is absolutely no satisfaction in either hitting, or getting someone else to hit roadblocks, spikes, or an EMP. They just keep going like nothing happened. Oh, their "life bar" changes color. Fucking life bars...

I almost forgot, you're blocked from advancing in the police events until you complete random time trials where you just drive to a goal. Ya know, like the racers do? No one to chase, nothing to do. On top of that, any traffic you hit along the way, or bumps into scenery, cost you big. Pretty hard to avoid, when it feels like every car is a 1994 Dodge van filled with cement.
Oddly enough, car destroying crashes don't seem to have any penalties.

There's a free run mode, which for cops should be you stopping random cars you see speeding/racing, with all the cool stuff you've unlocked so far, right?
Nope! You just drive around aimlessly with a siren on the open roads. Again, with nothing to do.
I suppose that's fun if you have ADD and can't keep track of mission goals like "stop that guy".

Finally, I think we all know by now that EA/Activision don't care about quality. This game is blatant advertising for the cars. Each one has a little tag line and spoken sales pitch. They put more effort into showcasing cars no one can afford, than making the game fun. And since everyone that plays games now is apparently retarded, you're forced to sit through all these tip screens and several minutes of tutorials on the menu system when you first start up. I almost shut the game off right there.

It's a shame this is what NFS has become. It now joins the ranks of Madden and COD.

[fluxquanta]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMyUserName

For some reason now, the racers also have spike strips, an additional turbo on top of nitro boost, a "jammer", and some other stupid thing I don't remember. Can't have the 12 year olds whining that they can't do absolutely everything the other team can do, so they just threw the whole concept of the game out the window.

I think that's the part that pisses me off the most about what you said. Reminds me of how people whined about cops in APB having stun weapons and being able to arrest, while criminals couldn't. But then criminals could loot stores, mug people, and trash the living world (hit mailboxes and people and shit) with no consequences. If the two sides are exactly equal there is no incentive to play one side over the other, so in the case of a cops vs. criminals game like APB, there would have been way more criminals.

I still hope the game comes back

Edit: Looks like it will be coming back soon: http://www.gamersfirst.com/apb/

[Cretaceous Bob]

Super Meat Boy and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. I get to dispense death in one with the same savage rapidity that I receive it in the other.

[Rawn]

Addicted to HoN (Heroes of Newerth) again. I stay up late playing with stupid pubs and wake up early to play with mates, can't seem to get enough!

Otherwise I've also got Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands on the go and when I can afford to, I'd love to pick up Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

[standardman]

You guys, the Batman: The Brave and the Bold game is everything my heart and fists could ask for. Completed it twice so far, once taking turns on single player and a celebration co-op lap when we found the second nunchuck.

It's a game where you can play as Batman and punch gorillas and robots in a team up with the new Blue Beetle and call in Aquaman or a giant robot played by Adam West for help. It's basically a series of playable episodes made by the guys who did Contra 4 and A Boy and His Blob. YEAH!

Only downside is I now want more.

[jneed]

Just picked up AC Brotherhood. If it's half as much fun as AC2 I will be happy. I also hear it's a longer game than AC2 which is great. I managed to get 100% in AC2 hoping to do the same with Brotherhood. Anyone tried the multiplayer yet?

[bluecrucial]

I used the free 800 MS Points I got from getting games last month to buy Pacman Championship Edition.

It looks amazing and I love the music especially. Totally awesome to get it all for "free".

[Malcolm Is Moore]

I'm going oldschool again. I found an old copy of Baldur's Gate in our little cubbyhole of random software.

So far, I still suck, but once I get a hold of the controls I think I'll really enjoy it.

[sagzy]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMyUserName

I just attempted to play Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I give it a 0 out of 10,000 stars. Do not buy this game. Especially if you were a fan of the classic NFS III (my favorite)
It's a shame this is what NFS has become. It now joins the ranks of Madden and COD.

I really liked NFS; Most Wanted. But after that I have not really been thrilled by any of the new ones. I thought this one would get back to that formula and alas that is not the case. I watched the gamespot review and even though they rated it high I just couldn't see anything great about it. Looks like its not even worth a rental.

[Gibeault]

I don't know about any of you guys, but I'm chomping at the bit to pick up my pre-order of GranTurismo 5. It looks unreal, and with the multi-player features its bringing to the table it has the potential to be great.