What Video Games have you been playing II: Have you finished that backlog?

[Takhisis]

Thanks! Bookmarked.

 

[Phrossack]

Continuing Star Wars: Empire at War. I started a campaign as the Rebels in which my house rules are that the only units I may use are infantry, heroes, and starfighters. So far a vicious Ewok rebellion murdered the Imperial garrison on Endor, Corellian and Jabiim civilians liberated their homeworlds, and several other places have fallen to the waves of so-called "cannon fodder."

 

[cybrxkhan]

I got a skyrim mod that allows children followers.

Now my adopted daughters go around tropico skyrim with me, helping me gun down bandits, tigers, dragons, (hopefully stormcloaks soon) and other such menaces to society.

 

[Takhisis]

I'm getting acquainted with Widelands. Strange, slow game. Enjoyable.

 

[Ajidica]

XCOM again, and I'm loving it.
I've taken to renaming my soldiers after comedians, so my lead squad consists of Betty White (Assault class), Bob and Doug Mckenzie (both support), and Red Green (heavy, specializes at destroying mechanical enemies).
Unfortunately, I had to bring Bob and Doug up from my second squad after Sarah Millican and Jack Whitehall were killed.

 

[Takhisis]

What comedians are you using as cannon fodder?

admit it, there's always oen or two designated cannon fodder guys on every ship.

 

[Ajidica]

What comedians are you using as cannon fodder?

admit it, there's always oen or two designated cannon fodder guys on every ship.

I only name my soldiers once they get reach level 3 (when they get nicknames) or do something awesome (such as killing that darn floater at 45% chance when the rest of my squad missed at around 60% change). Keeps me from getting to attached to them when they die.
That said, I do try to keep my rookies alive. They may be rookies, but losing anywhere from 1/4 to 1/6 of a squad is relatively painful.

 

[Commodore]

What comedians are you using as cannon fodder?

admit it, there's always oen or two designated cannon fodder guys on every ship.

I actually try my hardest to bring everyone back alive. Not because I actually care about them, mind you, but because I am too damn cheap to want to pay to replace them. This is especially true in the early game when funds are better spent on equipment and base improvements.

 

[Takhisis]

Me too (damn those Sectoids, I love it if I beat them, love it!) but whenever there's no psi-users I just use one designated scout with good aim/reflexes and no other meaningful stats to pinpoint the eejit invaders for my jetpack troopers on the Avenger's roof. Either that or tanks.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Ah, nothing more cathartic than playing Fall of the Samurai and blowin' up some of those overrated samurai.

 

[Phrossack]

Ah, nothing more cathartic than playing Fall of the Samurai and blowin' up some of those overrated samurai.

They may be overrated (especially katanas, they're wee little sidearms that always were just backup for the glorious yari), but their armor and weaponry looked awesome and worked very well. I just love the yari, a fully kitted-out kabuto, and the okegawa and yukinoshita armor. Though the samurai armor was generally outclassed by Western European knightly armor, there's no shame in that, since most everyone's was after the 13th century. However, the ashigaru were generally well-equipped and had at least some armor; the same probably couldn't be said for many lower-level contemporary infantry around the world.

I'm having fun playing as a samurai in that Gekokujo mod. Right now one of my campaigns is as a virtual god of archery. I've spent huge amounts of precious Attribute and Skill points on STR and Power Draw just so I can draw the heaviest bow in the game, a Masterwork War Yumi. It was extremely hard to find and very expensive, as were the large bags of the heaviest arrows available, but the end result is that my character can punch through any armor and kill virtually anyone in a single hit at close range and can one-shot most enemies at 200+ meters. Since I've practiced a lot and my character has extremely high archery proficiency, most of my shots are hits and most of my hits are kills, and since my character carries 68 arrows, and can pick up more that are shot at him, that's a lot of dead enemies, especially since he shoots about 20+ arrows a minute and nobody in all of Japan uses a shield. A full suit of excellent armor and extreme physical toughness make my character amazingly hard to kill, and he's survived multiple arrows shot into his iron mask and helmet.

I'm very much looking forward to a chance to defend a castle against massive numbers.

 

[cybrxkhan]

[...]stuff about samurai[...]

To be honest if it weren't for the irrational idolization of katanas and what people think is traditional Japan and all that I probably wouldn't have as much an issue with them samurais. Though that aside to be honest I really don't like the older Japanese aesethic. Probably because when I was little I watched a horror movie that took place in early imperial Japan that scared the bejesus out of me. Tokugawa era onwards I'm cool with though, especially Meiji era stuff, I'm really interested in the Meiji era for a variety of reasons.

Anyways, that said, Japan did get much more interesting for me once I learned to properly ignore the idolization. My favorite part about the '"traditional' samurai culture were their schools teaching the art of shooting guns, man, some of the body positions they taught were really, really weird.

 

[Phrossack]

To be honest if it weren't for the irrational idolization of katanas and what people think is traditional Japan and all that I probably wouldn't have as much an issue with them samurais. Though that aside to be honest I really don't like the older Japanese aesethic. Probably because when I was little I watched a horror movie that took place in early imperial Japan that scared the bejesus out of me. Tokugawa era onwards I'm cool with though, especially Meiji era stuff, I'm really interested in the Meiji era for a variety of reasons.

Anyways, that said, Japan did get much more interesting for me once I learned to properly ignore the idolization. My favorite part about the '"traditional' samurai culture were their schools teaching the art of shooting guns, man, some of the body positions they taught were really, really weird.

Huh. Traditional Japanese art is alright by me, it's this weird modern kawaii obsession that weirds me out. Katanas are silly overrated little things, and only became important in times of relative peace when samurai identity became disconnected from actual military practice. Back in the Sengoku era, the yari and the arquebus were where it was all at.

 

[cybrxkhan]

So I started a new Oblivion playthrough.

Some quest got a little bugged when I killed someone I was supposed to kill, and the game thought it was a murder (and even then they attacked me first... but whatever). Anyways, so Lucien Lachance shows up, and I off that fella too, thus preventing me from joining the Dark Brotherhood ever. Not that I care, I never liked the Dark Brotherhood much and it's never appealed much to me. Hmm. Actually, now that I think about it, I probably should play Skyrim and make sure I destroy the Dark Brotherhood there, since you can do that.

Huh. Traditional Japanese art is alright by me, it's this weird modern kawaii obsession that weirds me out. Katanas are silly overrated little things, and only became important in times of relative peace when samurai identity became disconnected from actual military practice. Back in the Sengoku era, the yari and the arquebus were where it was all at.

I have mixed feelings about the kawaii thing, but I'll just leave it at that. As for other weapons, I definitely find them more interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn, in a Japanese history class I took, for instance, how the yari was used in a manner vaguely akin to the pike formations of then-contemporary Europe.

 

[Arakhor]

LL is not essential? Are you using a mod to change that?

 

[HannibalBarka]

Been playing Civ 4 Realism Invectus svn for some time now. My 10 years old son wants me to buy him TW, I don't know if
1. that is a good game for him? isn't too "violent"?
2. a good game for me ? is it all about war tactics or is there a "civ like" strategy?
3. which TW to take as it seems there are tons of versions: Rome, Shogun, Medieval, etc?

any help would be appreciated

 

[Arakhor]

Mediaeval II Total War is a classic, though the new Shogun is supposedly very decent as well. Give Total War: Rome II a very wide berth.

 

[Commodore]

Me too (damn those Sectoids, I love it if I beat them, love it!) but whenever there's no psi-users I just use one designated scout with good aim/reflexes and no other meaningful stats to pinpoint the eejit invaders for my jetpack troopers on the Avenger's roof. Either that or tanks.

Oh thanks for talking about XCOM, by the way. Now I have stopped playing Dawn of War 2 to lay the smackdown on those alien scumbags...again.

 

[cybrxkhan]

LL is not essential? Are you using a mod to change that?

Nope, don't have a mod that changes that. Right after he approaches you after you murder someone, it's possible to kill him if you're quick enough. There's even unique quest text stating your "failure" (or, for me, success).

Been playing Civ 4 Realism Invectus svn for some time now. My 10 years old son wants me to buy him TW, I don't know if
1. that is a good game for him? isn't too "violent"?
2. a good game for me ? is it all about war tactics or is there a "civ like" strategy?
3. which TW to take as it seems there are tons of versions: Rome, Shogun, Medieval, etc?

any help would be appreciated

1. It has it's issues but there aren't a lot of games like it, and it's one of the few games that can give you a good feel of what real battles must've felt like. As for whether it is too violent, YMMV. It's "less" violent than a shooter, sure, but again YMMV. Just watch some videos of the game in action to see what you think.
2. Both. The game is divided into two parts - the battle and campaign modes. In the campaign mode you move troops around on the map, have diplomacy with other factions, build your infrastructure, manage your dynasty, and so on. I generally find this part lacking compared to other classic strategy games because it's not the true focus. The true focus are the battles. While there are superficial similarities with your average RTS, it is much grander in scope for one thing and it also is more realistic (relatively speaking) - for instance attacking a bunch of archers or musketmen up on a hill would be difficult, or you have to time a cavalry charge right for maximum damage.
3. These aren't versions of the same game so much they are different games in a series that focus on different eras. The main games are:

Shogun: The original, outdated by today's standards but it's possible to enjoy it. According to older fans the best game of the series for its AI and difficulty. It's campaign mode is closest to risk compared to later installments. It had an expansion pack that focused on the Mongol invasions.
Medieval: Like Shogun, it's campaign mode is closer to Risk compared to late games. Also considered a solid addition for older fans. It's expansion focused on Viking-age Britain.
Rome: The game that really made TW popular. It's starting to show its age, but it has plenty of mods still around. In my opinion it's also the first "modern" TW game, as it introduced a campaign mode less like Risk, for instance. It has a few expansions, one that shifts the time period from the rise of Rome to its fall, and one that deals with Alexander the Great
Medieval II: At first glance it looks like a superficial re-dressing of Rome in a medieval setting, but it has it's differences and strengths. For some fans, this is the last true classic of the series. It's expansion pack adds in four new campaigns dealing with the Crusades, the northern Crusades, the British Isles, and the conquest of the Americas. It is the total war with the largest numbe of mods, I believe.
Empire: Taking place in the 18th century this was rather controversial at launch due to great ambition but arguably questionable execution, poor AI, bugs, and other issues. It's been more or less fixed since, but to me it's still a bit of a mess in some ways. Anyways, it included naval battles for the first time in the series. It has an expansion focused on North America, but it's pretty crappy in my opinion.
Napoleon: Though technically a "new" game, this is basically just Empire 2.0. It's what Empire should've been - better AI, sleeker gameplay, and so on. The focus on the Napoleonic Wars does make the setting more restricted, but more intimate and active at the same time. It has a small expansion that adds in a new campaign taking place during the Peninsular Wars.
Shogun II: I think this is a pretty good addition to the series. The AI isn't the greatest, but the main appeal of this is that they streamlined the series and focused on the basics. It had two expansions, the first, Rise of the Damurai, focused on the, well, Rise of the Samurai in the 12th century. I particularly enjoyed the second expansion, Fall of the Samurai, which basically is The Last Samurai except much more historical (relatively) - and it has Gatling guns and naval bombardment and explosions and other cool things.
Rome II: The newest installment of the series, at launch, it had crappy AI, many bugs, questionable features, and was seen as too ambitious (kinda like Empire). For some it's improved since, but for others this has finally began to tarnish the TW name. It features a number of DLC campaigns, but whatever.

Personally, my recommendations would be Medieval II and Shogun II. Get Empire, Napoleon, and Rome I if they're on sale, and for Rome II I suggest watching some videos to see if it suites you.

Hope that helps and did I just spend all that time typing this up.

 

[Takhisis]

Oh thanks for talking about XCOM, by the way. Now I have stopped playing Dawn of War 2 to lay the smackdown on those alien scumbags...again.

Fire up your DOSBox, man! Atttaaaaack! It's a pity that UFO: Enemy Unknown never had any flamethrowers available. Heavy Plasma-armed wall-busters were great for attackign grounded ships, although giving a sniper a Flying Suit and a Rifle guaranteed the death of those damned Sectoids. Die, brown devils, die!