What Are You Playing?
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005 - 12:20am
Tonight, two different people have asked me what I've been playing lately so I figured a general role call was in order.
Here is my list O' games in order of time sunk so far:
Baldur's Gate 2
It's kicking my ass so hard right now, I'm sure I've put 20 hours into it and I'm still in the second chapter and having a blast. The balance of challenge, story and quests is hard to pass up for long and it is invading my thoughts during the day when I'm trying to work. Sign of a good game!
Swat 4 (Single and Multi)
Multiplayer is an absolute riot, highly recommended and with random enemy placement, superbly cluttered and realistic level design and all sorts of mods you can make to the experience I think it's going to have some legs. This is the spiritual successor to Raven Shield for me.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
I'm pretty sure the Merc vs. Spy multiplayer isn't for me, I've had some great fun with it but coop and the single player have been much better for me. Maybe Reaper will have some more stories of our exploits soon 
ESPN Football, Baseball & Hockey
Only multiplayer and only with GWJers, always a good time!
Jade Empire
I'm picking it up tomorrow and since it's Bioware and I hear the story is good I have reasonable hope that I'll have a good time with it.
Rome: Total War
I got far into a new campaign and I had to format, losing my saves. I plan to play again once the latest mod is done.
That's all at the moment I think! It's nice to have some quality games on the go.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
SInce it''s exam time I don''t have any room for more than one game.
McChuck wrote:
MLB 2K5
Fantasy Baseball
Backyard Baseball on Gameboy
Football when I have to.
I may have to get Jade Empire eventually.
Swat 4
Silent Hunter 3
and the rare bit of EQ2 (getting less all the time)
SWAT 4 (I do need to do the review, after all)
X2: The Threat
Tie Fighter
Alpha Centauri (PBEM)
Freelancer
Jumpgate (of course)
Swat 4
Ditto pretty much everything Certis said about the game being awesome. I''m still extremely impressed that they got the element cameras to work in multiplayer. This game''s coolness knows no bounds. Also.. what other games could possibly let me do anything as fun as tasering KrazyTaco?
Act of War: Direct Action
Command & Conquer style RTS, done very well. That''s something I''ve been missing a lot, mostly because C&C was the first PC game I ever actually bought for myself. I''m loving Act of War so far when I find time to play it.
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
This one seems cool so far, but it isn''t the second coming of World War 2 games as some seemed to expect it to be. It''s fun in it''s own right, and it''s definitely good to play something different than the usual Medal of Honor clone.
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
)
Great game. I''m going to agree with Certis again on the multiplayer and say that I have a much better time with Co-Op than I do in the versus mode. The versus maps are just too complicated for little old me to spend enough time learning them. On the other hand, the co-op works great, and it''s a blast to play. The singleplayer is also a huge improvement over the previous two games. Sure, it''s missing Dennis Haysbert, but most of us don''t care about that. (Hi *Legion*
Full Spectrum Warrior
I''ve actually already played this entire game, but I did have a lot of fun with it. I ordered it again when Swampy posted a thread about going through it co-op, but we''ve yet to do it. I''m a little ways into the game singleplayer, but I don''t have the time to put into the game right now to really get through it. Swampy, we really need to find some time to get through this game in Co-Op. It''s fun!
ESPN NFL2k5
Generally I just play my league games, but this has been one of the most surprising timesinks I''ve bought in the last couple of years. I usually go by my ""Every other year"" pattern with football and football games as well, but the idea of playing with the GWJ bunch suckered me in. I have like 70 hours into the game right now and I still love playing it. It''s even fun when I lose, which is not something I can say about a lot of other games. I''m still glad I gave in to all the talk about football around here and joined in. Great times.
XBLive: Thin J
PSN: Thin_J
I don't imagine master craftsmen leaping away from completed projects and shouting "Done, motherf*ckers! - 1Dgaf
LOTR: Third Age
It''s a fun, minimal turn-based RPG. Although the uruk-hai are pissing me off mightily, and I might end up returning the game sooner rather than later.
Sims 2
I''m trying to manage a family consisting of a mom and three kids of different ages. It''s really difficult. Who thought being a single mom would be so hard?
Halo 2
I forgot how bad my aim was on console shooters. Where''s the mouse when you need it!
PSO (XBox) (Yes, I broke down, beat the first boss tonight!)
Phantom Dust (fun, but can''t do too much in one sitting)
XCom (*old-school drool*)
NHL 2K5 and Halo2 with the GWJers
Steam Id
Twitter
Mixol on XBL, couldn't recover my old account, sorry!
Swat4 (Single & Multi)
Joint Ops (mostly Reaslim, but also JO and Escalation)
CounterStrike Source
Neverwinter Nights Platinum.
Blog: GameFinance
Twitter: justinmwhitaker
Spinter Cell: Chaos Theory
I really don''t enjoy Spinter Cell games, offline. The coop is fun as hell, just be virtue of being coop, and I have a really good time with vs, when I know what the hell is going on. I need to take the time to learn the maps. The dynamic of speed and versatility vs out-and-out firepower is very cool.
Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf
I''m a sucker for anything ''mech.'' I''m pretty impressed with it, because I really hated the original Mechassault. This one is way more fun. Not really all that amazing, though. After the rental period, I doubt I''ll feel the urge to play again. I''d heard the voice acting was terrible, but it''s not bad, really. Hearing Papa Roach during a boss battle made me want to kill, though. And not the boss.
Jade Empire
Picking it up tomorrow. Along with...
Phantom Dust
I''ve been meaning to grab this for a while.
Psychonaughts
Just thought I''d throw this on, since it''s the only other game on my radar. I will almost certainly be grabbing this as soon as its available.
"PEACE ON EARTH. GOOD WILL TO MEN. PUBLIC SHELTER. ADMISSION 50¢"
I''m playing Baldur''s Gate and nothing but, as I try to worm my way through all the Infinity engine games. It''s pretty cool, because everyone can envy me and pity me all at once!
The market has much to answer for as to why gaming is NOT an art. -- illum
World of Warcraft
Bard''s Tale (Xbox version)
Jade Empire
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:50% infentry (multiplayer top down shooter)
49% everquest 2
1% continuum (multiplayer top down shooter)
rather limited isn''t it .
I installed diablo 2 on the laptop but that''s my girlfriend''s computer (the graphic also looked so old).
looking foward to : UFO:aftershock , Guild Wars , maybe heros 5. but not itching to get a new game.
World of Warcraft
MVP Baseball
Brothers in Arms
Dai Senryaku
(WAR) Snaek - Black Orc -- Iron Rock
(WAR) Whyppet - Magus -- Iron Rock
(WAR) Snaekolf - Engineer -- Badlands
Glad to see that Subspace lives on!
The market has much to answer for as to why gaming is NOT an art. -- illum
Current games:
MLB 2k5
X-COM
Civ 3 PBEM
Get the girl I''m dating to take her pants off
Morrolan wrote:
Swat 4
Loving it, although I do wish I could be around for the MP. The missions are tough, but actually getting through one right is a glorious feeling.
Football Manager 2005
My inexplicable addiction. Pipping Juventus for the Scudetto never stops being fun. Writing a journal-style story about it keeps it from turning tepid and boring.
Star Wars: Republic Commando
While tough in spots, i''ve had a lot of fun playing it so far, and the immersion factor is absolutely through the roof, which is an easy way to score extra points with me.
Winning Eleven 8
Like most sports games, I find myself frustrated by this. Unlike most sports games, I keep on coming back to play another match.
Quote:
XBL Tag: Prederick
<smacks forehead>
I have completely abandoned my FM2005 game. I''d finally pulled Cambridge up to League One. Championship, here I come.
Morrolan wrote:
I have a serious CM/FM problem. While I enjoy Out of the Park Baseball, and i''m interested in the EHM demo that''s out, I literally cannot stop playing FM. It''s a shame that the game isn''y playable for 3-6 months after its released with all the bugs it usually has.
Quote:
XBL Tag: Prederick
been playing trench wars zone for 5+ years streight... lately i''m tired of the ""newbies"" and team killers. i''m playing infentry instead and having a blast. I''m not that good at it but still most game objectives are 95% killing other people in various ways.
I''d like to add a real old''n to my list.
A freind and I spent about 5 hours straight, today, playing Turok: Rage Wars. That''s right, that''s the one and only Turok game that was any good. This was the multiplayer arena shooter for the N64. What a gem. The level design and, more importantly, the weapon design, was borderline brilliant. The bots wre amazingly smart, in their day, and still hold their own against today''s high standards. Even as someone whose expectations for shooters have gone up exponentially in the past few years, I can say that I had a ton of fun with this one. We mostly played 2 v 2 games, with various objectives, the two of us versus two bots. Very fun.
As far as I''m concerned, this game is in a three-way tie with Goldeneye and Smash Bros for the best multiplayer experience on the N64.
"PEACE ON EARTH. GOOD WILL TO MEN. PUBLIC SHELTER. ADMISSION 50¢"
Where to begin? Mine is a tale of unfulfilled promise.
WoW
Play or check in each evening. I haven''t had a long run in a while, but even so it''s taking time from other games.
Half Life 2:
Couple of hours in. Lack of a decent CPU to push objects around is lessening the experience.
Darwinia
Ten minutes (barely into tutortial)
Wario Ware
75% done stopped playing for
Advance Wars 2
About three lessons in. Hard to find time to play.
Res 4
About four hours in.
Brothers In Arms (Xbox)
Couple of hours in
Rez (PS2)
On to third level
Ring of Red (PS2)
Clicked through the trianing section (had a mate over). Don''t know when I''ll go back to it.
Phantom Brave (PS2)
Just started, about 1/2 hour in.
Halo 2
Xbox Live once a week.
WoW is the problem. That and buying too many games.
HatchetJob.com - a netcast about more than videogames.
Swat4- The Coop is a blast. I don''t plan on playing through the single player campaign however.
Halo2- Wednesday night Zombie fest baby.
I haven''t really been much of a gamer over the last couple months. So this list is about all I''ve been gaming.
"Thanks, KrazyTaco, thanks. I'd put it in your pooper too." -Mex
"Krazy, I love the fact that you exist." -Vector
"Oh, KrazyTaco, you fulfill all my wishes." -pneuman
xboxlive= KrazyTacoFO
Morrowind
Because of my pseudo-OCD nature, I plan to finish this game and both expansions. I''ll give a status check next year.
Lego Star Wars
Really fun game so far. I''ll keep making posts in the thread I''ve started, renumerating the good and bad.
Halo
Yes, I''m late to the game. Had it for the PC, but it ran really slow. Recently purchased for the Xbox. Great fun!
Mercenaries
Got it when it came out; I am now on the Ace card of Diamonds (or the second suit of four, if it''s not diamonds). A lot of fun, but was really getting repetitive.
NFL2K5
Taking the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl! 14-1 on the season, as of now, my only loss from the first game of the season against the Tennessee Titans.
Other games in rotation, but played less than an hour in the last two weeks--if at all:
The Hobbit
Star Wars Battleground
Fable
Although I''ve finished it, Freedom Force vs The Third Reich still sucks up all my time. I''m having fun finding characters on the net, and setting up conflicts in the rumble room. I can''t wait for the MODS to start coming down the pipe for this.
Veloxi - since you''re still playing Freelancer, I assume your into the modding of it. Do you have any recommendations on which mods are the best (especially for single player)?
WoW
I think I''m getting Jade Empire on Friday (my birthday)
Half-life 2 in a few days when a friend loans it to me as he''s beaten it now.
WOW: Bounce
For the first time in my life I''m actually single gaming it. I''ve played WoW exclusively since I got it. Perhaps it''s because it''s my first MMORPG it''s still very fresh and VERY addicting.
I''m waiting on the uber patch for Pacific Fighters then I might have to recalibrate my HOTAS.
Silent Hunter has now appeared on my radar but I''m pretty sure WoW will keep me happy until BF2 comes out.
Recently readdicted to WoW
Ridge Racer on the PSP
ESPN NFL2K5
Getting Jade Empire today, probablt SWAT 4 as well
Splinter Cell (Co-op) is an absolute riot
Ghost Recon 2 - any chance to shoot Swampy is a good one
Act of War - great RTS
EQ2 sparingly
XBL Gamertag
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM "IF YOU SEEK PEACE... PREPARE FOR WAR"
PUBLIUS RENATUS, 390 AD
<sniff> No more SAWS for you! You make me look calm and professional by comparison!
XBox Live: SwampYankee68
STEAM: SwampYankee
Rome:Total War
CS: Source
My game time has been limited to about an hour a day lately and for a few months the majority of that has been sucked up by R:TW. I recently installed the Total Realism patch and am having fun with that.
All this talk of Bioware has me thinking about reinstalling Baldurs Gate. I''ve been itchin for a good RPG lately and never finished it the first time around.