The Gaming Thread

[NightAngel]

LOTRO is basically WoW with an actual storyline. Its a solid game but its so by the numbers that it'll be remarkably familiar for any WoW player.

If you want slow leveling, no content and hours of suffering on end try Aion. =p

Horrible waste of a game. Stunning graphics, beautiful animation.....annnnd absolutely awful game beneath it. Such a waste. =/

I like LOTRO- it's a good looking game, good gameplay, fun. My leveling group fizzled out over the holidays (understandable) and I just sort of wandered off after that. I normally play solo so I don't know why the loss of group effected me. I don't think it actually had anything to do with the game itself.

I tried Aion in beta also- it didn't grab me either. I hear the issues that people have with it and realize I probably would have regretted trying to play it long term anyway.

So, my DK and I will be rampaging across Azeroth until either SW:TOR or The Secret World come out at least.

[Jetfire]

I think it was mentioned around here somewhere, but since I read about it, I've been playing Champions Online on Tuesdays when WoW is down.

You can play for free up till level 15, and can only have 2 characters at a time, but I figure it's enough to figure out all the different archtypes and get a good feeling for the game overall.

So far, it's a superhero game. I haven't seen anything terribly different than City of Heroes/City of Villains.


Eric the Grey

I love Champs Online. It's my away game when I don't feel like playing EQ for a bit (EQ is still my primary game). I've got a lifetime sub to it too so I'm all set with that.

I'm also in the STO beta, and honestly at the moment, it isn't grabbing me as much as I expected it to. I love Star Trek and would love a Sci Fi MMO, but STO feels more like it's 6 months from release, and not the 1 month to release it actually is.

Outside of SOE and Cryptic's games, I haven't really done much gaming. EQ, EQII and CO are enough for me I think. (ok and occasional time in Free Realms )

[lordlundar]

So far, it's a superhero game. I haven't seen anything terribly different than City of Heroes/City of Villains.

That's because of it's background. Jack Emmeret was the lead designer of both CoH and Champions Online. When he left CoH (some feel to avoid the lynch mob that was coming) he claimed he was going to make a superhero themed game that was going to be far superior to CoH. He left halfway through the development but gave strict guidelines to be obeyed so his "vision" would be realized. The result was Champions online, a weird mashup between CoH and WoW, with some unique features that don't work quite right.

[LewisLegion]

18 days until Mass Effect 2

(Yes, I'm counting down. I can't wait!)

And my ME2 Comic should be delivered tonight!

[Eric the Grey]

I like LOTRO- it's a good looking game, good gameplay, fun. My leveling group fizzled out over the holidays (understandable) and I just sort of wandered off after that. I normally play solo so I don't know why the loss of group effected me. I don't think it actually had anything to do with the game itself.

That's because LOTRO was designed around grouping, not solo players, which was the biggest turn-off to me when I played it.

See, I tended to play when there wasn't a lot of people on, or at least, not at my level, so I tended to be stuck a lot with nothing I could complete except for grinding, which I hate with a passion.

Although, Once I got to the point where I could do monster play, the grouping problem seemed to go away for the most part, although there were still times where I could not find a group to do anything with.


Eric the Grey

[Gravekeeper]

That's because LOTRO was designed around grouping, not solo players, which was the biggest turn-off to me when I played it.

Yeah, that kinda ran me off in the end too. I'm a big soloer and all but LOTRO isn't a solo game. You *can* solo fairly easily, but the content provided for solo'n is pretty much "go to x and kill/get y of z" until the end of time.

Also if you're coming off another mmo, like we were, LOTRO does absolutely nothing to stand out in the crowd. Yes its a solid game with lots of features and really not many overt flaws, but like I said its such a by the numbers mmo design that it feels like everything else you've ever played. Makes no real attempt to stand out in any way.

[Jack T. Chance]

Right now, I am completely and totally hooked on Borderlands for the Xbox 360! It's the most addictive game I've played in years!

[Broomjockey]

It's the most addictive game I've played in years!

Heh. I've got it for PC, and despite a massive laundry list of complaints, issues, glitches, and annoyances, I've got 3 characters above lvl 40 (one at 50, the cap), and 2 at around level 5 (just wanted to try the class really quick). I'd say that speaks well that despite everything, I've played it that much.


My chief complaint about the game though, is that there's no patch notes for the PC version after the first, and I know there's been at least 3. Thanks, I like to know what they've actually fixed.

[Broomjockey]

Finished Deus Ex, contemplating self-torture by playing Tomb Raider: Legend and Underworld. May also see if I can give Bayonetta a rent.

[Cazzi]

I've just found this thread!

I'm a bit of a mixed bag, I mostly play FPS on the PC.. nothing better than a PC to play those on

Current favorites are L4D 1 & 2, Fallout 3 & Serious Sam HD, but I also keep going back to the HL series (old & new), Doom series, and I LOVE Unreal Tournament My son is trying to get me into Borderlands at the moment!

I started playing online in the latter half of the 90s with Star Trek Elite Force ... was fun being mistaken for a teenage boy all the time

I still have some games I haven't yet installed as I keep getting sidetracked by the above!

Oh, & the mixed bag bit..... I also love the Sims 2 & peggle & a lot of the little Popcap games

Oh, and I play a few things on the Wii too... but I tell myself that's my keep fit regime

[gunsage]

I played and beat Bayonetta. Easily one of the most fun action titles I've played in the last 5 years. Deus Ex rocks, but I've also been doing Uplink on and off. Overlord 2 was some good fun on the 360 as well. I rented FFCC Crystal Bearers for the Wii...yeah, I'm not impressed. This is especially annoying because apparently there will be no true FFs after 13 either.

[Zellie Crescent]

I can't believe I found this thread only now. The first game I ever played was Metroid II. I'm a total zelda fanatic, but I also play a lot of Final Fantasy and Mario.

[LewisLegion]

I'm playing Silent Hill right now to fill in the time because...

Mass Effect comes out in 15 days!!

[Ringtail Z28]

I love Champs Online. It's my away game when I don't feel like playing EQ for a bit (EQ is still my primary game). I love Star Trek and would love a Sci Fi MMO, but STO feels more like it's 6 months from release, and not the 1 month to release it actually is.)

EVE Online is a really big Sci Fi MMO, but it doesn't have all that much in common with Star Trek and it's open PVP.

Only other games I've played online are Skyrates and Earth Eternal.

[ApolloSZ]

Haven't really gotten into the online games.
Did try Tribal Wars for a bit, but that was meh.

360 is my current poison. When Gears Of War II came out, Al and I tried to clock Horde in one session. Yeah.. didn't happen.

Although we clocked Halo III in two player campaign in like 4 hours straight.

GoWII is brilliant for stress releif. I was in a particularly foul mood after training, so al suggested we try tagging* a grub** with grenades simutaneously. I couldn't resist the challenge

* - In GoWII you can stick grenades to walls for proximity mines.... or stick them directly to the enemies.
** - Grub - Was a "Butcher" - A big mofo, with a giant cleaver, who normally takes alot of bullets.