What VIDEO GAME(s) have you been playing?

I remember when Nintendo said Smash would have no DLC characters lol.

It's more of an issue in this case because it's based off an arcade game in Japan. The arcade game seems to be flopping because it's too generous with play time; maybe Nintendo will have flexibility to add a few more characters and update the arcade rigs with a new edition that charges quarters more traditionally (do arcade machines even use quarters anymore? Maybe like 1 buck now, idk).

More likely it will be ignored for DLC because it's a niche game compared to Smash, and adding new fighters is a bit of a pain in the ass.

I just remembered that I need to pick up the latest round of DLC on Smash Bros.

Several weeks ago I picked up the complete Civilization V on a Steam sale, continuing my tradition of mostly playing games that are 5+ years old. My exposure to the Civ games up until now has been limited to about 20 hours total with Civilization IV, but my friend told me I'd like V a lot more. He wasn't kidding. It's been about six weeks, and Civ V has basically killed every other video game I own. I've had to limit my games to weekends, or else I'd basically be playing all the time.

^It really helps to play it with expansions. Civ V when it first came out was a little bare.

I'm almost done with year 1 of Stardew Valley. I'm at 30 hours. I could have definitely played more efficiently, but it's nice to just go at your own pace.

Also spent some time with Borderlands on xbox since it was free. I am having a lot of fun with it but my aim with a controller still sucks.

Gary Sax wrote: ^It really helps to play it with expansions. Civ V when it first came out was a little bare.

I've heard this from many people, and I can definitely understand that. Civ IV in its final form is an enormous game, and going to a vanilla version of V after that would be a big come-down. That said, I really like the addition of no unit stacking, because the combat in Civ IV was such that I'd just as soon not bother. That alone probably would have changed my mind. Even with the expansions, I find the game way more intuitive. Maybe it's just the interface, which is much cleaner.

But yeah, the expansions do add tourism and religions, without which I could not imagine this game. It'd feel pretty thin without those elements.

Stardew Valley looks pretty fun. I'd be playing it already if it wasn't on my PC, I spend a lot more time in my living room when it comes to doing sort of vacant stuff like farming simulator or whatever.

Just finished Far Cry 4.

37 hours, 27 minutes.

Good game. Hard but not too hard, and the .50 sniper with explosive rounds is utterly satisfying.

100%'d MGSV ground zeroes, getting S rank on all missions and stuff. It was fun and super stressful. Emily would hide under the blankets when I'd trigger an alert, it was cute. It's just a small game and I can't imagine playing a full game around these mechanics, like in Phantom Pain. Wouldn't it get old and repetitive ?

Surprisingly hooked on a daily dose of Battle Islands. With better options now for navy and air force, it's more tactically satisfying.

Magic Duels just released a double expansion and it's sooo buggy. Like you are no longer able to cast instants if you don't have a sorcery speed spell to cast because it doesn't hold priority. Game breaking. Also the in game purchasing of coins seems busted and lots of people spent real money to get nothing. So stainless released a platform wide message saying to not spend money in the game. In decades of console gaming, I've never seen that. Disaster.

Also started playing The Wolf Among Us which I'm liking. I was shocked by the end of Chapter one. Telltale has done it to me again

I've been hooked on the new MLB: The Show. It's about as good a baseball sim as you can hope for, as it has been for years. This year tweaked the RTTS mode where you create a player and run them through the minors circuit then the major leagues. The twerks added little superpowers for your character that can be optioned into the game OR bullet-time, which can create some nice customization for a few critical moments of the game. Importantly, this game mode just seems more polished and the transition to the Major Leagues seems smoother in difficulty curve. The last part of this is important, as this game can be almost unforgiving to those either new to the sport or the game series. Road to the Show offers possibly the best tutorial to the series I've seen. I'd suggest new players create both a field player and a pitcher to get a feel for the various mechanics.

Like it always has, MLB 16 feels like baseball. Fielding decisions need to be quick and accurate. Hitting perfectly represents the mental duel between pitcher and batter - the pitch types are very slightly exaggerated to condition a player to wait for the right pitch and settle into zone hitting rather than wildly swinging at every damn pitch as in many other baseball games. Fouling or even striking out is preferable to grounding a low breaker with ducks in the pond. The game consistantly rewards patience and learning the patterns of a pitcher; exhausting their arm by extending the duels to open up big hits, shake their confidence, and force a sub. Few other MLB games have nailed this strategic aspect of the sport so perfectly.

I'll likely be hooked on this for many more months before baseball winds down and basketball starts up, then back to NBA: 2K. These two games make every other sports game on the market look like a fucking amateur design.

Go Jays!

Except Football Manager which is also excellent.

ThirstyMan wrote: Except Football Manager which is also excellent.

Yeah, different type of game but it's definitely great!

Black Barney wrote: 100%'d MGSV ground zeroes, getting S rank on all missions and stuff. It was fun and super stressful. Emily would hide under the blankets when I'd trigger an alert, it was cute. It's just a small game and I can't imagine playing a full game around these mechanics, like in Phantom Pain. Wouldn't it get old and repetitive ?

Surprisingly hooked on a daily dose of Battle Islands. With better options now for navy and air force, it's more tactically satisfying.

Magic Duels just released a double expansion and it's sooo buggy. Like you are no longer able to cast instants if you don't have a sorcery speed spell to cast because it doesn't hold priority. Game breaking. Also the in game purchasing of coins seems busted and lots of people spent real money to get nothing. So stainless released a platform wide message saying to not spend money in the game. In decades of console gaming, I've never seen that. Disaster.

Also started playing The Wolf Among Us which I'm liking. I was shocked by the end of Chapter one. Telltale has done it to me again

I finished Wolf Among Us. It was fantastic, so much so that I just bought volume 1 of the trade paperback.

Phantom Pain is many times greater than Ground Zeroes. It doesn't get old because only parts of the game are similar to Ground Zeroes. There is a ton of variety in the missions. If you like Ground Zeroes you would love Phantom Pain.

I picked up the new Ratchet and Clank on PS4. Easily one of the best games the system has to offer.

Certainly not a straight remaster, and "remake" doesn't quite do it justice either. It's more a reimagining of the original PS2 title, and I'm willing to say it's quite superior. They added some of the advancements they made with the later games in the series, a few more modern flourishes, and whole lot more heart. The lighthearted humor and colorful characters are still there, and I'm actually surprised how much sticks to the original's story (particularly since the beginning of the game makes it look like it's going in some different directions). The platforming and gadgets are as rock solid as the series has ever been. The upgrade system is simple but really fun and gives you quite a bit control as to how you customize your gear. Oh, and it's one of the looking games on the system.

Cannot recommend it enough to PS4 owners. This could end up being the best game in an already well respected series.

Hopefully, I'm nearing the completion of Earthbound. The kids are still loving it, but I'm about sick of it. _This_ is why I never got into the Final Fantasy or JRPGs...I tire of the menu based combat. Especially with random encounters. *press*, *press*, *press*, *press*...in the hopes to finish the battles quickly...

Shame too as the story and characters are a lot of fun.

I played the first mission (solo) of the Battleborn beta last night on PC. I liked it, and will likely pick this one up at some point in the future. The character advancement is really cool, and it has that light-hearted tone of Borderlands, while actually being more kid-friendly, so I'll probably be playing co-op with my boys. I don't let them play Borderlands, yet.