What are you currently playing?

[Axm]

To be fair, the villains are really weak in Peace Walker. I mean, Hot Coldman? Really?

[Axm]

I liked PW. Its far from a favorite, but its a great for getting the metal gear fix on the go.

[Kenny]

I also don't understand why you say the story sucks, Kenny.
What' so bad, in your opinion, regarding the script?

I just don't find it interesting or engaging. I don't really care about the new characters for one. That might still change since I haven't beaten it yet but as of right now I'm not impressed.

[OL]

Part of my opinion of it came from the fact that it was a portable game. And at the time, it really was goddamn impressive for that fact. When I replay it in HD, I'll likely retain my "good" opinion of it, having been exposed to it already.
But I think if I were first introduced to it on consoles, then yeah, I might not have been very keen on it either. Compared to other MG games, it probably does lack a certain level of "soul" to it.

[Kenny]

Yeah I figured that was the case. I was thinking it'd be more impressive on a handheld, but the game itself plays just fine. My beef was with the tactical aspect of it.

Having spent more time with it now, I'm starting to get the hang of it more. Once I unlocked the Outer Ops section, I started replaying missions just to get more tanks and soldiers. Still on the fence about the story, don't like the fact they threw another Emmerich in there cause it feels like they only did that to make it seem more like the original MGS. An equivalent would've been fine like Sokolov but c'mon, I hate this "small world, everyone must connect to everyone" bullshit.

[Thief]

^ Kojima certainly has that problem -- always so self referential and every little character has to connect to everything. I thought Peace Walker was just ok, certainly better than portable ops but not by a whole lot.

[Kenny]

Yeah it's really lame, it's a security blanket that makes it scream out "hey remember the original Solid? Here's more of the same!"

MGS1 was great because it was its own thing. And MGS3 got it right by not having to shoe-horn every past and future character, sans Ocelot. But Ocelot was fine because Kojima reinvented him as a clumsy showoff who had a complex relationship with BB, far cry from the deviant mastermind he was to later become which made for a very interesting backstory. So he got a free pass.

Then MGS4 came along and shoved all that retconned "we're all next door neighbors" crap down our throats. That's the reason why I didn't want to play anything past MGS4 because I had a feeling the story was gonna be run to the ground with stuff like this. Though inevitably, I'll probably pick up MGS5 because I am intrigued with it with all the controversy and gimmicks surrounding it.

[OL]

Borderlands 2 was free on Playstation Plus, so I grabbed that and played for about an hour. Surprised at how much fun I had. Really need to get the goty edition of the first game sometime.

[Henry Spencer]

Evergrace is one frigging weird game. In a good way. I think From Software fans will like it, since you can see some of the stuff that carried over into the Souls series here, like the stamina bar (which shares both your attacks and run). Plus, some of the enemies are downright odd, as are most of the NPCs.

One old guy with the beard is saying [this is almost word for word]: "What's the point? We're all going to die anyway, we're all doomed, we should just jump off a bridge. Yeah, that actually would make sense for us to do that" then later changes his tune entirely saying "have you seen that dog? I like that dog" and if you ask him again what he's talking about he just says "the dog, you know?" all the while I'm completely perplexed at this. I later figured out that you have to go search for a dog in the forest. Then again, it isn't unlike something you'd hear in Dark Souls, for example. From Software definitely have a running theme throughout their games with their NPCs; they're mad as a hatter and/or make very little sense.

And don't get me even started on the music. Hot damn, is it weird. It's so fragmented and schizophrenic. It isn't a pleasant to listen to outside the game, but it really does create such a unique atmosphere for the game. It does give across a sense of "this world has gone mad" feel to it. It's definitely the weirdest game music I've ever heard.

Seriously, just listen to this clusterfuck:

phpBB [video]

phpBB [video]

The gameplay is almost entirely the same as the Souls series, I'm almost seeing it as an experiment they made before going all in on the third person action RPG route (think of it like the prototype/experimental version; full of flaws, but still incredibly interesting); third person unlike King's Field, shared stamina bar, strong in the atmosphere (not "dark" like the Souls series, has a different feeling entirely, but very atmospheric, all the same), deranged NPCs galore, weird cults/religions, creepy undertone, giant boss enemies (again, not "epic" in feel as Souls, but definitely still formidable foes), combat system where you have to time your attacks and defend perfectly, change equipment/weapons often since different enemies have various weaknesses, annoying status effects that don't go until you find the right item to heal yourself with, getting knocked off platforms is also common.

Also playing Zelda Wind Waker HD, which is ace; Batman: Arkham Origins which is excellent (that Deathstroke boss battle, wow!) and Legacy of Kain: Defiance (surprised by how different from the previous games it is, but it's still good, going to be sad to finish this series).

Then MGS4 came along and shoved all that retconned "we're all next door neighbors" crap down our throats. That's the reason why I didn't want to play anything past MGS4 because I had a feeling the story was gonna be run to the ground with stuff like this.

[OL]

^^Been wanting Evergrace forever now. Need to grab it sometime, especially after hearing your thoughts on it.

[OL]

Thief II. Finished the first two levels very thoroughly. I've just been kind of game-hopping lately, just popping in anything that sounds fun at a given moment, but I think I'm actually settling into Thief II to the end. Never finished it all those years ago, and I'm having a blast getting back into it.

Also slowly moving along in Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. Fantastic game, as is the standard for R&C. Excellent introduction sequence/level. Finished the first planet so far and played some of the obligatory arena. Great fun, as always.

[Kenny]

^The New Thief is coming out next month. Hope it's good at least.

Played a little of The Saboteur. I dunno, maybe I don't feel like playing it or something, but I didn't bother finishing the first mission. Was getting too bored.

[OL]

Yeah, I hope the new Thief is good. I mean, I know not to just expect the same old style of the first three (it may not have been Looking Glass, but I still really liked Deadly Shadows). I know it's going to have fancy new-age features and all, which invariably will make it feel a lot different from the others. I just hope I'm able to find something in there that shines for me the same way the old ones did. Most of the trailers point in a slightly opposite direction and have a different feel to the aesthetics... but I'm hoping anyway. I really want to like it.

And yeah, the Saboteur is a bit slow to start. The controls also feel a little odd playing it nowadays too (popped it in a few months ago).
But once you get further and start setting your own objectives, going into the map and marking the next place you want to bomb... it picks up. Might not have been in the right mood now, but if you feel like having some explode-y stealth action later on, it's worth getting a little further into. It especially helps if you're in a 40s/WWII mood, but don't want just another battlefield shooter. Listening to Ella Fitzgerald while running over Nazis is a pretty special feeling.

[Kenny]

I'd be really surprised if it plays like the original two games. I'm expecting something different but hopefully enjoyable.

Listening to Ella Fitzgerald while running over Nazis is a pretty special feeling.

I'll give it another shot later. I know there was a game I returned before but not because I thought it was bad, I was just not in the mood to play it.

[Axm]

My fiance's christmas gift to me finally came in the mail (apparently UPS really fucked things up over the holiday season, so it came this late, even though she paid for 2-day shipping). The Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection. Been looking forward to this.
And good god, Peace Walker looks great in HD. Sure, it's just PSP graphics smoothed out and upscaled, but it looks great regardless. A testament to how to how good it looked on its original system to begin with.
And yeah, I know it might not seem like a terribly great game to those playing it for the first time on the PS3, but having trudged through the PSP iteration before, it's shocking how much better it feels to play, just with the simple inclusion of a second analog stick and two more shoulder buttons. This is how it ought to have been to begin with.