What games(s) r u playing, and what new release do you want?

[Alison]

I finished the Syberias; also Darkfall 1&2; never got around to playing Doom 3. I dug out the old Blair Witch games, and I've been playing the first one.  Interesting graphics, for an old game, but I intensely dislike having to learn new keyboard commands.  

I am waiting for Obscure/Dreamcatcher, Wik&the Fable Of Souls/Mumbo Jumbo, Origin of the Species/Nu Generation, Area 51/Midway, Call of Cthulhu/Bethesda, Dragonshard/Atari, Bards Tale/Vivendi, Dreamfall:the Longest Journey 2/Funcom, Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion/Bethesda, and Neverwinter Nights 2/Atari. That list will go till next Christmas. After that, I'll probably need a new computer to play the newer games.

It's just an addiction  :wink: I won't have any more time to play these, than I do to play the ones that are stacked up next to my computer, now.
Well, gee, I still have Escape from Monkey Island on my older machine, and never finished it. :lol:

[Fancia]

I'm in the middle of Final Fantasy Tactics and Inherit the Earth at the moment; I'm not really looking forward to anything just now, unless Half-Life 2 comes out for Mac. :b

[Marten]

Actually, I just bought a new computer, and am hoping to finally sit down and start up World of Warcraft (which I bought back in December)...

[Jan]

My computer isn't powerful enough to handle newer games (heck, even the Project Joe demo doesn't like it), though I'd like to be able to play Half-Life 2, Settlers: Heritage of Kings, The Battle for Middle Earth, American McGee's Scrapland (though I heard McGee himself only put the finishing touches on it), The Westerner, World of Warcraft and many, many more. I checked out Grim Fandango again not too long ago; doesn't get old . Don't really have time for games lately... .

[laxdragon]

I'm still working on Star Wars Nights of the Old Republic. I'm also trying to quickly finish off Splinter Cell: Pandora Directive before the new Splinter Cell Chaos Therory comes out. I seem to always finish games shortly after thier sequel comes out.  :roll:

For the classics, I'm replaying all the old Gabiel Knight games. I finsihed number 1, and am now working on the Beast Within. Thanks the the guy (sorry I forget who right now) who made a patch to put the game onto 1 DVD.

[Tom]

I'm working on QFG2VGA and Al Emmo And The Lost Dutchman's Mine.

[Rimo]

I'm currently playing Persona 2, on the PlayStation. The game I'm looking forward to is Middle-Earth Online (however, it's mainly to hear the music).

[Frank M]

I've just finished playing Metal Gear Solid 3 - Snake Eater for Playstation 2. I've also been playing all the Castlevania games including Akumajou Dracula for X68000.

[Jan]

Tom: I didn't know Al Emmo is already available! I'll have to start looking for it right away, although I seriously doubt it'll be in Polish stores...Maybe I'll order it via Internet...

[laxdragon]

I've also been playing all the Castlevania games including Akumajou Dracula for X68000.

Frank M, I've been on a bit of a CastleVania kick myself. I recently picked up Dracula X Rondo of Blood for the PC Engine and am attempting to finish it on   MagicEngine (PC Engine Emulator). I'm still slow there as well. I've been playing Circle of the Moon (GBA) on and off again the last 2 years and still haven't finished it.

[Tom]

Tom: I didn't know Al Emmo is already available! I'll have to start looking for it right away, although I seriously doubt it'll be in Polish stores...Maybe I'll order it via Internet...

It's not available to the public.  I'm playing an alpha release of a demo while I work on its soundtrack.

[Alistair]

Started playing Police Quest 3 for only the second time last night.. also playing Conquests of Camelot. Apart from that, every so often I'll continue my latest QFG1 character or boot up Diablo II..

- Alistair

[DrJ]

Help!!! I dont have a life anymore after starting World of Warcraft.
This game is running my life!! BEWARE BEWARE!!!



Okay so much for the warning.. To be honest WoW is the only thing I'm playing at the moment. It helps to have a girlfriend who also is into the game at the same time. Running my own guild on the Europe servers aswell..

I'm looking forward to Middle Earth online and maybe the Star Trek online game that's being developed. As well as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

Oh I'm also looking forward to something called summer Maybe I'll be able to stop playing enough to go out and enjoy the nice weather.

[Tom]

Grand Theft Auto

This one just blows me away.  I can't fathon -- not even remotely understand -- why anyone would want to play this game.  I've only seen parts of it and have never been put off so much by what the industry labels, 'entertainment'.
Sorry.  I'm now climbing down off my high-horse.

[Marten]

Grand Theft Auto

This one just blows me away.  I can't fathon -- not even remotely understand -- why anyone would want to play this game.  I've only seen parts of it and have never been put off so much by what the industry labels, 'entertainment'.
Sorry.  I'm now climbing down off my high-horse.

Heh!  Well, let me wax philosophical...

Why do people romanticize vampires, or pirates, or bandits?  Why does any child want to play the thief in "cops & robbers?"  Any of these roles would be termed unsavory even as a euphemism.  Yet something appeals to people's sense of fantasy, to be the bad guy, to rebel against the society we're in.  Video games provide an outlet for these fantasies without causing any real harm to society.  I don't believe for a minute that video games cause or inspire violence; I rather suspect that, by providing this "safe" opportunity for people to vent frustration, they are far more likely to prevent it.

Getting away from that angle and focusing more on "does it shine as a game" ... well, I find the controls in GTA3 to be far easier (less frustrating) than Super Mario Sunshine.  I'm able to complete most missions in only a few tries.  I spouted more vulgarities playing Mario than GTA3.

I only finished Super Mario Sunshine because I became so angry at it that I was determined not to let it have the last laugh at me, and games like Silpheed or R-Type bore me these days because I view them as nothing more than pattern memorization games.  I have no interest in struggling to figure out the right sequence to win each level, and then methodically repeating the sequence to reach the end of the game.  Yawn!

World of Warcraft is still on hold for me, alas; the video card for my new computer was defective on arrival, and I have to ship it back for replacement.

[Disneysweeper]

I gotta agree with Marten here, it's sometimes fun to play the bad guy or root for the bad guy.  Anyway, right now, I am playing Brothers In Arms on the PC and ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5 on Xbox.  As for what I'm looking forward to, Conker: Live and Reloaded and GTA: San Andreas for Xbox.

[Tom]

Yet something appeals to people's sense of fantasy, to be the bad guy, to rebel against the society we're in

Oh.  I didn't know that.  Honest!  I'm not being sarcastic -- I really can't imagine wanting to "pretend" to abuse women and other innocents as 'fun' or entertaining.  When I recently saw the 60 Minutes broadcast which showed various scenes from the game, it really appalled me when the character dragged a young woman out of her car and started stomping on her.  Even stretching my limits as far as I possibly can, I found this extremely disturbing -- and in no way conected to an enjoyable, harmless passtime.  (Maybe if the woman in the car was shooting at the character it would be different?)

But that's just me...and I believe in the Freedoms we have and would never speak against allowing a game like this being available to others.  I just find it very distasteful.

[Marten]

Oh.  I didn't know that.  Honest!  I'm not being sarcastic -- I really can't imagine wanting to "pretend" to abuse women and other innocents as 'fun' or entertaining.  When I recently saw the 60 Minutes broadcast which showed various scenes from the game, it really appalled me when the character dragged a young woman out of her car and started stomping on her.  Even stretching my limits as far as I possibly can, I found this extremely disturbing -- and in no way conected to an enjoyable, harmless passtime.  (Maybe if the woman in the car was shooting at the character it would be different?)

But that's just me...and I believe in the Freedoms we have and would never speak against allowing a game like this being available to others.  I just find it very distasteful.

It is absolutely distasteful.  I won't disagree with that.  But that doesn't make it unfun.

Let me tell you... I live in the greater SF Bay Area.  There are a lot of different cultures mixing here, and none of them quite drive the same way as the next, and when you combine that with the population density:  traffic is terrible!

After I've been cut off one too many times on my commute home by someone in an SUV chatting on their cell phone or putting on makeup or whatever, it's frustrating that I can't take it out on them however monkeysphered they may be.  If I had just one axe to grind in the world, it's that I refuse to believe that people can't alter their "sphere" dynamically so they could pay attention to the people immediately around them.  Schools teach people they should drive "defensively," and so Americans drive like they're on the defensive side of a football team when really we should be teaching people to drive considerately.  So playing a game like GTA3, I must admit it's nice to take out a little aggression in a harmless way.

News stories often trim the facts to spin the story the way they want you to read it.  The "best" news stories are the ones that upset people - because when people get upset about something, they want to know more about it, they want to do something about it, and that creates ratings.  The actions the characters take in GTA3 are beyond reprehensible, yes, but the media won't dilute the impact of their story by telling you how GTA3 doesn't take itself seriously.  There's a lot of political and social mockery in the series.

The SUV in GTA3?  The Maibatsu Monstrosity.  The radio commercials for it in-game feature individuals gleefully explaining how the vehicle is so big, they lost one of their children in it for a while, or how it satisifies their insecurities.

From the "Chatterbox" script:

Maibatasu Monstrosity 2 (commercial)

Woman: "Phil and I just had another kid. So of course we need a bigger
       SUV. Being a mom is hard, with soccer, football and lacrosse
       practice, so we bought the new Maibatsu Monstrosity. It's so
       big...we lost little Joey in the back and couldn't find him for an
       hour! When I'm rushing to the mall, or talking on my cell phone,
       I know me and my family are safe. The Maibatsu Monstrosity has 4-
       wheel drive, and in amphibious mode...it can cross rivers. So far
       I've only hit a few puddles, but it's good to know it's there.
       With the time I save taking shortcuts through the strip-mall
       parking lot I can focus on the important things. Like gazing
       longingly at the pool boy or...buying more exercise equipment off
       the TV. So what if it gets 3 miles to the gallon!? I'm a mom, not
       a conservationist!"
Woman Voice: "The new Maibatsu Monstrosity...mine's bigger!!"

The GTA series is full of stuff like that - satirizing dot coms, new age celebrities, the military, and yes, even violent video games.

"GTA: Vice City", the sequel to GTA3, lambasts Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is parodied as the personality Alex Shrub on one of the in-game radio talk shows.

Perhaps none of this necessarily forgives the abhorrent actions of the main character in the GTA games, but playing GTA is a lot like watching Michael Douglas in Falling Down.  Yes, you're playing the bad guy, but there is more than one "message" you can read from the story.

[Ghost_Rider]

Grand Theft Auto, even the very first one, raised many eyebrows.  They have made them more brutal each time.  I have Vice City, but that's as far as I've gotten into them.  Rockstar is definitely one of the "bad boy" game makers.  Another game that is pretty scary is Manhunt.  Ever see that one?  You can sneak around, and crack people's heads open with a baseball bat.  You get in really close, and you can choose the level of intensity in which you want to break their head open.  You can strangle them with wire, or, on high intensity, use it to slowly cut their head off.  The sound and graphics are pretty disturbing.  Oh yeah.. you can also kill them with a plastic bag, and watch them gasp for air.  It is INSANE.  Grand Theft Auto is bad... Manhunt is even worse.   :shock:

Right now I'm playing an old Rockstar game (which you can download for free from their website), called Wild Metal Country.  In the game you are in a robotic tank, fighting other robots and vehicles.  It has a science fiction feel to it... one of Rockstars less controversial games.   :wink:

So yes... Wild Metal Country, and on the modern side it's Half Life 2!

[Jan]

Well, another example of an extremely controversial game is Postal (and its sequel). The entire point of the game is to run around town, slicing inhabitants' heads off with shovels or pouring gasoline over them, then tossing a match at them. Of course, the player has dozens of lethal weapons at his disposal, as well as some "special attacks"...but I have no idea how this can seem even remotely interesting after more than five minutes. Believe me, I tried the demo...it's most definitely less than charming. I've heard that the add-on is basically the same, except that - how wildly creative - the enemies are mainly zombies this time around, and you can throw scissors at them.

Fun. :roll: