What we’ve been playing: Week of 20/3/2011

Yo homies, it’s that thing again. And this week I’m very happy to present this weeks instalment of what we’ve been playing as it is in 2D again!

That’s right, in-case you couldn’t see right because last week’s installment of this was in eye watering 3D, you don’t have to worry because now it’s all better! And it has more colour! And it’s not overrated shit like 3D actually is! Hooray! Anyway enough of that shit, hit the jump to read what me and the other Sega Addicts did last week.

Stevie Grant- Writer of Top 10 Worst and Boss Attack:
I got Pokemon Black and have been playing that a fuck ton. Also more Sam and Max.

John Doherty- Writer of Take Cover:
I just started to get into Dragon Age Origins. I know I’m really late to the party on that one. I figured before I get into D. A. 2 I should play 1 and see what’s going on.

I’m still playing a huge amount of League of Legends. I haven’t been this addicted to a game for awhile. I love that it’s a class based game where I can change my class whenever I want. My biggest problem with WoW type games is that you put hours into developing a character but what happens if you stop liking it? You start over from level 1 and all that time was wasted.

Monday Night Combat was free all weekend on Steam so I gave it a shot. It’s pretty fun. It’s a 3rd person Team Fortress 2 style tower defence game. Sold yet? Great art style and a really cool world sell it even more for me. Will definitely be picking it up.

Alexander Sargeant- Writer of Retro Reviews:
Yakuza 4, which I’ve only finished the first part of. Crazy that there are four playable characters, I feel like I could’ve happily played as Akiyama alone for the whole game. As Alex Riggen said, it’s really interesting seeing the world from everyone elses point of view. I’m also playing Mahjong now, and the entire anime of Saki suddenly makes a lot more sense.

Also Dragon Age 2, which I really liked but am terribly conflicted on. I loved the focus on characters, and the story eventually peaked pretty incredibly. On the other hand, there’s a farcically tiny number of places you actually get to go, the new conversation system is that Mass Effect style ridiculous “Say the same thing but more jokingly/more angrily”, and I don’t really like a lot of the changes from the original DA in general. They nailed a lot of the action elements though, and I had a great time as a sassy Rogue firing arrows every which way imaginable. It’s just too different from the source material.

Pink Sweets & Muchi Muchi Pork (CAVE SHOOTERS!) which are both outstanding. I’m not great at either, pampered by Deathsmiles, but they’re incredibly gorgeous and it’s always a blast to get to grips with a new shmup.

GODS EATER BURST, which I’m still a little uncertain of. It’s brilliantly fun, very fast and pretty compelling. So far the monsters aren’t quite as intimidating as anything in the Monster Hunter Series, which is a little disappointing, and I’m currently not dressed like the MISAKA sisters from Index, which I would love rectified. Other than that though, it’s a damn solid portable title.

Josh Newey – Writer of With Great Power Comes Great Games and Underappreciated Gems:
I’ve been playing a bunch of Madworld, and I’m beginning to see why some of it grates the average gamer’s nerves. The repetition never really bothered me, but some of the collision detection is a little clunky at times (especially when there are a ton of enemies to interact with), and this has really started to drive me up the wall as of late. I’m still loving the game’s tongue in cheek grittiness and Sin City motif, though.

I’ve also been playing Ivy the Kiwi?, after picking it up on Gamefly a few weeks back for a mere nine bucks. It’s a very solid marriage of the sensibilities of Yuji Naka and the advantages of Wii gaming. I’m found myself hooked pretty damn quickly. The simple mechanics allow for a good amount of strategy, even if directing Ivy can be a little aggravating at times. The fact that she is constantly moving can leave you screaming at the TV as you struggle just to keep her out of harm’s way.

Lastly, I’ve been drawn in by the iPhone’s latest 99 cent juggernaut, Tiny Wings. Next to Super Mega Worm, I can say that this is the most addicted I’ve ever been to an original iPhone title. The flow of increasing momentum and the constant draw of increasing your multiplier makes this game insanely addictive. It’s perfect for a 3 minute game, though I keep finding myself sitting down with it for a nearly an hour at a time. Definitely well worth a buck.

Pat Reddick- Community Manager/ Writer of Forum News and Not-so Classics:
I’ve been playing Total War: Shogun 2 for review, so I can’t really say too much about it yet other than keep checking the site around mid-week next week for the review. I’m actually pretty excited to talk about it because there is a lot of stuff to say about this game. Hopefully that’s ambiguous enough so that it’s not clear whether I mean that positively or negatively.

I’ve also been playing Radiant Historia for like 30 or so minutes per day whenever I have time to kill. It’s a good game, but some points are ridiculously story heavy, like MGS4 cutscene-style, but other times you kind of have to aimlessly walk around trying to figure out what to do. Also there are no maps for some stupid reason. Thankfully the areas are fairly hard to get lost in, but it’s weird to not have a map at all. It’s a good game though, I enjoy it.

Tom Kyzivat- Artist and Podcast Co-host:
‘Sup, homes? Ah, shit, son! Uh, that is to say, just more Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for me, with the added DLC characters Jill and Shuma Gorath! Jill is pretty cool–plays like a combination of X-23 and Wesker, with some really odd moves. She’s based on a version of Jill from a Resident Evil game that I don’t know anything about, but apparently she’s got the same power Wesker does. Or something. Shuma Gorath plays a lot like he did in MvC2, with the addition of a “Mystic Ray” move that shoots a beam in an arc up the screen, which is really cool. His translation to 3D is pretty impressive, right down to his shape-shifting, though his textures seem a little off. They also re-did his voice, and it’s not even half as cool as it was MvC2. A minor complaint, but I’m a dork for that kind of stuff. I would have liked to see them do something a little flashier with his level-3 super “Chaos Dimension”, seeing as how other characters get little “cut scenes” for their elaborate moves. But overall Shuma’s really cool, and it makes me excited to think of what other MvC vets could show up as future DLC downloads (fingers crossed for Venom!).

Alex Riggen- Editor in Chief and Podcast Host:
I’ve been switching back and forth between Yakuza 4 and Homefront. Yakuza 4 is everything I hoped it would be and is quickly becoming my favorite game in the series and probably my favorite PS3 exclusive overall. I was sceptical about the four playable characters thing but its nice to see the world of Yakuza from a different perspective than Kazuma. I’m not even halfway through the game yet but I already can’t wait to see what the unannounced Yakuza 5 turns out to be.

As for Homefront, it’s decent but not as revolutionary as I’d hoped. The setting and some moments are moving but the overall story and gameplay are a little lacking. There’s a little too much handholding and the scripting is way too obvious sometimes. I still recommend it as the singleplayer campaign is much for engaging than many Call of Duty’s and Medal of Honor’s but don’t expect quite the production values.

Ah ha ha ha ha! What a fun time! Now go away and tell me what you’ve been playing before I call the feds.