What are you currently playing? 4.0

[Lord Dalek]

Radiant Silvergun. Because it is awesome and I said so.

[gunswordfist]

I beat the feather face boss on the 2nd try today. It wasn't really that hard

[Foggle]

I finished Darkwatch last night. Pretty standard FPS length... about 6 hours long. Great game, totally worth $8. Certain elements felt a bit lackluster and the shotgun wasn't nearly powerful enough, but it was a pretty good blend of elements from Painkiller and Halo overall. I'd recommend playing it, but not for more than 10 bucks. The Xbox version has absolutely no issues running on the 360, btw (though it does not support widescreen).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'll definitely keep that title in mind. I had wanted to play it when it originally came out but for some reason I never ended up getting it. It looks pretty decent from what I can tell, though, so I'll give it a shot one of these days.

[gunswordfist]

I thought the demo was underwhelming but I'll give it a try

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I finally renewed my XBOX Live Gold subscription for 3 months to last me through the rest of the summer. I've been playing Halo: Reach online, and to be honest I haven't even been playing slayer on versus matches in general all that much. Playing through the campaign on 4-player co-op and going through endless rounds of Firefight mode is insanely addicting. Now the game has finally matched the value of its purchase (granted that I got it as a gift and didn't actually buy it myself, but now I feel its more like a complete package with this aspect of the online mode). Of course its fun and all to play competitively but really I find Halo's versus modes boring online, for the most part. Its only really a ton of fun when my friends and I are in the same room and we trash-talk and do all sorts of other fun stuff you just can't really emulate in an online environment.

Later on I'll finally try Gears of War 2's Horde mode.

I might try getting L4D2 if I get the chance if anyone else has it for the XBOX360 and would be willing to play it on co-op with me, but if not I may just pass on it. I can also borrow Resident Evil 5 from my brother if anyone's up for that.

Overall, though, I plan to occupy most of my online 2 with Firefight and Horde mode.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Daxdiv and I both have L4D2 and we have yet to play it together due to a lack of finding two others, but if you get it and want to play I'm sure he'd be eager to join.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Nice. I'll try to save up for it before I end up having to leave for Kentucky for a month (I can still play from there, but I don't think there are any game stores nearby where I'll be staying, so I'll need to get it before I leave to go there).

[gunswordfist]

Within the hour I finally got past a battle that I kept on losing since yesterday on Bayonetta. It was just 4 enemies in sets of two but they were a pain in the arse. Then I saved someone and stopped after the beginning of an escort mission right afterwards

[Rynnec]

Downloaded the God of War trial using PS Plus.

first off, here's the things I didn't like:

It appears that you can't skip cutscenes I don't know if this is just part of the trial or not, but if it is part of the trial, then that kinda blows since its only an hour long before the content expires. IF it's part of the full game then that's already a strike against it, becaus I'm personally not that interested in the story (and that's mainly because of Kratos' character, but I'll get to that in a sec.) and I'm against unskippable cutscenes in general. (outside of RPG's of course, and even then...)

The combat feels way to slow. After being spoiled by DMC3's speedy and intense combat system, this just feels bland by comparison. The game also doesn't seem to have the option to move the camera around, and instead has an evasion feature mapped to the second analog stick, while this may come in handy, it takes some time getting used to, as some of the camera angles are quite bad. (DMC had this problem as well.) Their also doesn't seem to be a targeting system, which I guess could have its advantages (the Ninja Gaiden games apparently don't have one either.) it more often than not comes off as an annoyance. The game has QTE's, while I didn't see alot in the segment I played, and they certaintly weren't that bad mind you, the fact that they're there (as boss finishers no less!) kinda puts a strike against it for me. And last but certaintly not least; Kratos is a ******bag and a prick. Granted, their's a reason for that, but I like my Ax Crazy Heroic Sociopaths to have at least some charisma and personality other than 'pissed off and/or angsty' (Seriously dude, put out a Slasher Smile, laugh and cackle lack a lunatic when you're killing people, do something).

As for things I do like. The throwing mechanic is awesome, I just love it, the way you can choose how to finish off your enemy once you have them in your grasp (I personally like the one you rip them in half from the waist the best.  ) Kratos' default weapons are pretty cool, as are some of the special magical moves you learn from the Gods. (At least Poseidons Wrath is.) I didn't get a feel for the bosses though, since I only fought one of them.

Overall, while it was enjoyable, it's probably not something I'd shell out to much money for.(and since the PS Plus trial ends in 30 days, combined with the fact that I'm busy with Persona 4 right now, it's unlikely that I'd be able to dedicate much time on the God of War games.) Right now, I'd rather play Bayonetta, Devil May Cry 4, or the Ninja Gaiden games to get my action game fix, as not only do they look more appealing, but their combat looks much more exciting and faster paced.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything you said. I never hated God of War, myself, but I could never get into those games, either. The QTEs were the least of my issues with it, BTW. I thought the combat felt a bit too slow compared to what I have played of DMC, Bayonetta, and Ninja Gaiden. In addition to that, while most of Kratos's weapons have decent move-sets, the combo system just doesn't feel that satisfying, as its not nearly as robust as what I've seen of DMC's combo system and its not nearly as fluid feeling as NG's combat system (plus its pretty easy to button-mash your way to victory, at least on the default difficulty setting). I didn't really have a problem with the camera from any segments of the game that I played, but to be honest I prefer having some manual control over the camera rather than having to rely on leaving it in a fixed position.

And I completely agree with you about Kratos. I don't care about the story in most action games as it is, and I care even less about it in God of War when the main character actively pisses me off. I don't think I'll ever understand what about Kratos people see as a bad-ass character. When you get down to it he's really just a big whiner at heart, though instead of whinging he shows a grizzly face and yells a lot but basically from what I've seen of the story he's a fucking hypocrite; he curses the Gods for having wronged him yet he acts like a total prick to mortals himself, whether they did anything to him in the past or not. That's not being bad-ass, that's just being an ass-hole (there's a difference that some people don't seem to see, for some reason....).

Dante may not have any real depth as a character but at least he's more fun to watch with his cocky attitude that's intentionally meant to be funny (well except for in the first game in which Kamiya designed him as a bit of a more serious character in tone), and his overall over-the-top demeanor. Hell, I'll even take Ryu over Kratos. Ryu has about as much personality as my toaster, but at least his lack of any real characterization makes him immune from being a dis-likeable prick.

Oh, and as for the targeting system thing, I don't actually mind that part. Ninja Gaiden doesn't have a targeting system either, but it works out in the game's favor. Most people won't really see it from just watching the gameplay, but Ninja Gaiden plays very differently from DMC and Bayonetta. Those games are designed with certain specific mechanics in mind that work for them, such as enemy targeting and on-the-fly weapon switching. Ninja Gaiden has a different design philosophy entirely, though. The game is a bit less combo-focused (though skilled players can chain together tons of cool combos after getting good with each weapon; which can't be changed on-the-fly, BTW), but instead has more agressive enemy AI so it primarily becomes a battle of using smarter tactics and strategies to take down tough groups of enemies (you can rely on pure skill and reflexes, but once again that's a lot harder to do than just adjusting your tactics). I personally like that style of gameplay, myself, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. From what I've seen, though, I know some DMC fans who quite liked Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma (though don't expect all too much from its combat system; its great and above average though not quite as robust as what you would find in DMC3+4 or Bayonetta, since its considerably older than either of those games), though Ninja Gaiden II or Sigma 2 may be bit harder to get into since that game was unfortunately rushed into release and holds some balance issues and glitches (its still a good game and aside from its nagging flaws it has an amazing combat system). Just don't play any NG games if you want a coherent story....because that series makes it clear that it doesn't give a shit about its story (which I'm of course 100% fine with ).

[Rynnec]

And I completely agree with you about Kratos. I don't care about the story in most action games as it is, and I care even less about it in God of War when the main character actively pisses me off. I don't think I'll ever understand what about Kratos people see as a bad-ass character. When you get down to it he's really just a big whiner at heart, though instead of whinging he shows a grizzly face and yells a lot but basically from what I've seen of the story he's a fucking hypocrite; he curses the Gods for having wronged him yet he acts like a total prick to mortals himself, whether they did anything to him in the past or not. That's not being bad-ass, that's just being an ass-hole (there's a difference that some people don't seem to see, for some reason....).

He honestly seems no different from characters like Sasuke from Naruto, just a whiny bitch. In-fact, I think the only reason Kratos is seen as more "badass" is because of his appearence. To the general western public, "Generic bald, battle-hardened warrrior" design>"Generic Emo-bishounen" design

I think this scene just made Kratos look like more of a dick than a badass, maybe if the guy he dropped was more of a smug jackass who had it coming to him, then it wouldn't have been so bad, but as it is? How does that make him a badass? (It definately doesn't help that Kratos didn't even lift a finger to save that guy a few minutes ago when he easily could have.)

Dante may not have any real depth as a character but at least he's more fun to watch with his cocky attitude that's intentionally meant to be funny (well except for in the first game in which Kamiya designed him as a bit of a more serious character in tone), and his overall over-the-top demeanor. Hell, I'll even take Ryu over Kratos. Ryu has about as much personality as my toaster, but at least his lack of any real characterization makes him immune from being a dis-likeable prick.

Quite honestly, if Kratos were more battle happy, and flexed out a few more smirks or something, then he wouldn't be so infuriating.

[

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, if he actually didn't act like such a hypocrite that the Gods treated him like shit, I would be OK with him....Either that or if the series just clearly stopped taking itself so seriously then I'd be OK with his overly-obnoxious attitude. But that's where the main problem lies....they actually expect you to take him seriously and sympathize with him.

[Foggle]

I think this scene just made Kratos look like more of a dick than a badass, maybe if the guy he dropped was more of a smug jackass who had it coming to him, then it wouldn't have been so bad, but as it is? How does that make him a badass? (It definately doesn't help that Kratos didn't even lift a finger to save that guy a few minutes ago when he easily could have.)

Ugh, that part makes me rage every time I see it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I remember the first time I saw that cutscene. My reaction was like: "Dude, you already had that guy in your hands, couldn't you just put him down instead of grudgingly going out of your way to drop him to his death just because he dared to say so much as 'thanks for the help, buddy'?"

So, yeah, Kratos is really just a whiny bitch in disguise as a bald muscular gray guy who acts like an ass-hole on a regular basis which people somehow mistake for a bad-ass.