What are you currently playing? Rate it.

[Solitaire U.]

Alright, I didn't find a similar thread on the first two pages of this forum, so I'm throwing this up.

Currently: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Type: Stealth-themed FPS

Pros: Sneaking around is a lot more fun/challenging than indiscriminately blasting away. The computer hacking component, receiving bonuses for exploration and non-lethal takedowns, and augmentation enhancements are unique (for me anyway) and great fun. Maps are well-laid out and the environments are nicely detailed, though a tad repetitive. Graphics fall short of awesome, but are entirely acceptable (and my computer doesn't do 'awesome' anyway).

Cons: Not really a con, as I realize the developers intended this as a stealth game, but more of a personal complaint. The game is filled with bitchen, modifiable weapons, but finding ammo for them involves major amounts of exploration. Also, every time you opt to use weapons versus non-lethal measures, the game penalizes you (less experience points earned versus non-lethal stealth takedowns). I've been playing for around 20 hours now, and have so far only faced one encounter where resorting to weapons was the only option (the first boss fight). Also, it takes a lot of patience to stay hidden long enough to observe your enemies movement patterns so you can eliminate them without being detected. A lot of trial and error involved. Save/load save/load, rinse, repeat.

At first, I didn't understand the stealth concept of this game. I thought "Ok, I have my guns, I'm supposed to run around and kill enemies. Didn't work. Kept running out of ammo and getting wasted. Then I ran up behind a guy and saw two screen icons pop up: "Press Q for stealth takedown" and "Hold Q for stealth kill". Ahhhh. Started over, sneaking up behind and silently eliminating everyone. Success! The more I play, the more I appreciate the stealth aspects of this game, but I wonder if it's even possible to play through the entire thing Rambo-style.

So far, I'm giving this game an 8/10. Highly recommended.

 

[Cognisant]

The more I play, the more I appreciate the stealth aspects of this game, but I wonder if it's even possible to play through the entire thing Rambo-style.

It is, but use cover a lot and don't stay in one place unless there's a bottleneck between you and them, also go for headshots to conserve ammo and practice that SWAT roll maneuver, it will save your life.

For a real challenge play on the hardest difficulty level and don't use any augs

 

[Dr. Freeman]

It is, but use cover a lot and don't stay in one place unless there's a bottleneck between you and them, also go for headshots to conserve ammo and practice that SWAT roll maneuver, it will save your life.

For a real challenge play on the hardest difficulty level and don't use any augs

Just get the quantum tunneling, laser sight, and silencer mods for the pistol. Head shots become instant kills on anyone except for boss enemies, it's perfectly accurate, and is silenced.

 

[The Gopher]

Well I just finished theif the deadly shadows... now if you want stealth games the theif series is perfect.

Pros: actual stealth (the guards will slaughter you{yes this is a pro}) kinda fun.

Con's: story a little strange if you haven't played the other games, has a horror style level that probably inspired amnesia that is unplayable past midnight with the lights off and window open in this area of australia... (this is only the second game that I couldn't play for more than 10 min at a time{and I have played a fair few horror games})

Someone wrote like a 11 page break down of this level... but besides from that it's ok.

No good with rating but if you want an actual stealth game I would recomend it.

 

[DreamMancer]

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I got a used copy last month and have played through the main quest and many of the major side quests with several different characters.

Overall rating: 7/10

Pros: An enormous open world to explore, with varied terrain types and thousands of minor quests and missions. The lack of a rigid class system means you can play who you want, as you want - the freedom of choice you have is extremely exciting, or at least it was for me when I first started playing. You can out and slay dragons, delve into ancient ruins from a vanished civilization, join a mafia (Thieves Guild), pick a side in a civil war, join a viking frathouse, become an assassin, run through fields picking flowers, craft equipment, and more. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game before and was blown away by the sheer detail and scope of the world.

Cons: After sinking many hours into the game, many quests start to feel a bit repetitive. Some aspects of gameplay are insanely overpowered or underpowered in ways that do not feel realistic. It's easy to create a character who's kicking ass at low levels, but becomes weak and easy pickings at higher levels. Many of the choices you make don't seem to come with commensurate consequences, leaving you wondering what the point was. Other decisions you have to make seem to be arbitrary, or to be lacking in depth; you are sometimes asked to choose between two bad options, even if there seem to be many other choices you could have made that would be better than either of the two that are presented to you.

A more minor con: There are not enough voice actors for all of the characters in the game, and a lot of voices are "recycled". This can be distracting sometimes. And the annoying dialogue from guards, townspeople, etc, has of course generated a whole sub-genre of internet memes.

Overall: In spite of some shortcomings, I am still getting gameplay out of Skyrim, and would it recommend it any RPG fan. I have not played the DLC Dawnguard.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Title: SCP: Containment Breach

It's free and can be found here.

Pros: It's the first time I have been genuinely scared by any media for years. It was very enjoyable.

Cons: The graphics show their age.

 

[Solitaire U.]

Borderlands (1) and its expansion packs.

Been playing for a week now. I especially like the zombie expansion. The randomized weapon system is great. I understand there are over 17,000,000 different possibilities.

Overall awesome game. 9/10

 

[TheScornedReflex]

Civilization 5

A game I'm yet to get bored with. Its a turned based strategy which put me off playing it for awhile. But once I got into it i couldn't stop.

Pros: never get the same map unless you save the generated map. Eight difficulty settings. Four different roads to victory: Domination, Cultural, Scientific, and Democracy. No cons!

 

[TriflinThomas]

Pokemon FireRed: 1000/10 . Thank god for emulators...

 

[Chuuz]

Ohhhh I just finished my first playthrew of Human Revolution! If you didn't know stealth was a major tenant of the game right of the bat I'm assuming you never played the original. Pretty outdated at this point, but easily torrented and will run on any pc(disregard the 2nd title as it was crap) Be prepared for even more black trench coat-y redonculousness! Also the main character is even more of a hardass than Jenson lol. full of hilariously outdated one liners that game is!

Anyway right now I'm playing Grand Theft Auto IV. Rating? Six stars son

 

[joal0503]

if you have a ps3, and crave something much different than the popular genres that have seemingly diluted teh gaming industry over the years...download Journey and play it now.

why are you waiting?

go...

on........

 

[Automaton]

Pokemon FireRed: 1000/10 . Thank god for emulators...

I'm in 20's but I still have a Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance with working Pokemon Blue/Silver/Ruby cartridges. They all did require an internal battery replacement to be able to save and I can still find myself playing them in bed, late into the night.

LoL is patching at the moment so I'm queuing for DoTA right now. Have been reliving Portal as well, just for the fun of it.

 

[eagor]

i have recently purchased kotor 2 and fallout nv

kotor 2 is a starwars based rpg using the d20 system

i'll admit i played this as a kid but i now have it for the pc and modded it to include the cut content, as a whole 8.5/10

fallout new vegas is a post apocolyptic rpg

with all the dlc's and project nevada (with the cybernetics deactivated) i would give this a 9/10

 

[Lot]

I just recently got finished playing through Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, again.

DAO was such a fun game. It had an enjoyable story and a cast of fun interesting characters. Some parts were very cliche, but I really liked how you got to make decisions about every main event in the game. I know a lot of console gamers complained about the combat, but I'm a PC gamer, mostly, so I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Baulders Gate, Which I never beat, and Neverwinter Nights 2.

DA2, on the other hand, was a super disappointment. The characters weren't the most likable, and the plot was boring. There were some high points, and the combat system very mildly made up for the short comings, so I could keep playing. The game is filled with plot points that you have the illusion of control over. When you play through again and act differently, you get mostly the same out come. The most disappointing part was that my save from the previous game was almost completely ignored, minus 3 or 4 cameos. It's as if the creative team had big plans for DAO and then DA2 just kinda happened. Like an unexpected pregnancy. I can only pray that the creative team is actually reading the complaints on their forum. And the romance in the game. Talk about shallow and thoughtless. It was like an after thought. And making every character bisexual, give me a break. Mass Effect 2 did a much better job at the relationship options in it.

The writing of DAO wasn't always the best, but the story and characters were engaging. With the sequel, I got very little of that. Just very shallow 2d characters, and an annoying protagonist, I couldn't get into. I wasn't that character, I was just playing as that character. Which is fine for some games, but this is an RPG, you need to be able to play the roll of the main character.

I guess I'll cash my pay check and get Mass Effect 3 finally.

 

[redbaron]

Dark Souls - 9.7/10 - there's a minor control/delay/glitchiness with controls at times. Like a delayed input type thing. Happens rarely, but annoying in PvP sometimes. But the game wasn't really built around that, and the game was amazing. I can't wait for 2.

Currently playing NBA 2k13 on 'MyCareer' - I have a weakness for basketball games, loving this one so far. 9.1/10.

DAO was such a fun game.

DA2, on the other hand, was a super disappointment.

Amen. Although in DA2, the release date was rushed with the success of DA:O by EA's publishing. I can't blame Bioware. The first game took 6 years in the making, and was the best RPG since the Baldur's Gate series - and I'd say still better than any RPG in the last 2-3 years.

 

[crippli]

I am single minded when it comes to games. I play HOMM3. It's always been a favorite, I still play a few rounds a day. I have little interest in new games, Sometimes I read reviews, but that's it.

To get variation I will play chess, some random flash game occasionally, or some card games.

Not sure what this say about me, if someone have a diagnoses I would be interested to hear it.

 

[TriflinThomas]

I'm in 20's but I still have a Gameboy Colour and Gameboy Advance with working Pokemon Blue/Silver/Ruby cartridges. They all did require an internal battery replacement to be able to save and I can still find myself playing them in bed, late into the night.

I'm jelly. Touch buttons are no match for physical buttons (obviously), but it is super easy to put in cheats now

 

[TheScornedReflex]

Mexxi!!! Dice game that results in increased drunkenness.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I'm playing hitman absolution. Its an INTPs dreamscape. Fellow agents understand. 10/10

 

[Orson]

Pokemon FireRed: 1000/10 . Thank god for emulators...

I used to have blue, red, yellow, gold and silver... Alas, I am reduced to only blue nowadays.

That hasn't prevented me from reliving one of my favourite cartoons / games of my lifetime... Over and over and over

More on topic however, I've just picked up the first Assassin's Creed game (not sure why it took me this long to do so), and I'm satisfied so far. 6/10.

The best thing about being so late in taking interest in the series is that I won't have much of a wait as I reach the end of each of the game

Regards,

Orson.

 

[Nezaros]

Just finished Dishonored. Steampunk stealth-action game, highly reminiscent of Thief.

Pros: Stealth is an important aspect, which is something I don't see enough. Many, many, many ways to take down enemies, from setting them on fire to hurling them through doors to just plain stabbing. Also, hand crossbow. I really like the setting as well, very dark and again, highly reminiscent of Thief.

Cons: The plot was extremely predictable, though I didn't really have much of a problem with it until the end, and that was more because I felt like the gameplay was cut short in lieu of a stupid voiceover cinematic to explain the ending. And some of the characters / ideas introduced end up either unexplained or wasted or both (Probably my biggest gripe). There were a few gameplay inconsistencies as well, but that can be said for just about any other game. All the magical powers were cool but I feel like they could have been expanded further. Also, a wee bit short, but at least I didn't pay for it.

All in all, pretty good, maybe 7/10. I definitely recommend if you're a fan of the genre, but don't expect anything like unadulterated awesome.

 

[Lot]

I finally got around to playing Mass Effect 3. It was so freaking awesome.... until the ending. I literally lost sleep last night over how upset about the ending. I was dreaming about how the game could have ended, but the dream kept turning into a nightmare.

ME1 was good. ME2 was awesome, and totally put the first one to shame. The third one was really just a dumbed down version of the second game. It did make it a bit more action oriented, but that's not why I play RPGs. They turned a perfectly fine RPG into a third person shooter. Stand alone the game was a good game with a shitty ending. But, in the whole context of the series, it was the worst of the games. That freaken ending!

The multiplayer is fun. Maybe one of the best features. Although, I hated the fact that you needed to play it to get a full ending. I'm playing on PC, so there aren't many people playing multiplayer this long after the launch of the game.

Bioware fails me again. And I hear they are trying to make an other installment to the series. I feel a little more dead inside after hearing this news.

5/10 in the series, 7/10 stand alone. Jimmies are still rustled.

 

[Amagi82]

Kerbal Space Program. It's still in alpha, but it's one of the most engaging, enjoyable, and surprisingly involved games out there. You take command of the space program of an alien race, and it's all sandbox style- you build your rockets from the ground up, stage them however you wish, travel to different planets, land on them, whatever you want. Best of all, it's almost 100% faithful to real physics (the only major limiting factor being intentional due to computing limitations- it only models gravity of one body at a time due to the n-body problem). It's a seriously addictive game like few I've ever played.

Here's a fan-made mission video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLLk5VuK0Eg

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Recently finished CoD: Black Ops II.

Very poor overall plot presentation from condensing two storylines into one game. It also abandoned the CIA plot / elements of the first game which I wanted to see continued.

However, the gameplay for the 2025 storyline deserves praise, with all the futuristic military technology. And the level where your team visits the club in the Cayman Islands was pretty awesome.


It's an okay game, kind of worth it, at least for the 2025 parts.

*I didn't mention multiplayer; I don't care for it ever since the first Modern Warfare / switching to the Battlefield series.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Game: Eve Online
Genre: Spaceship Sandbox MMO

Review: Tis be awesome! I'm 1337!!!???!!!

 

[Nezaros]

Kerbal Space Program. It's still in alpha, but it's one of the most engaging, enjoyable, and surprisingly involved games out there. You take command of the space program of an alien race, and it's all sandbox style- you build your rockets from the ground up, stage them however you wish, travel to different planets, land on them, whatever you want. Best of all, it's almost 100% faithful to real physics (the only major limiting factor being intentional due to computing limitations- it only models gravity of one body at a time due to the n-body problem). It's a seriously addictive game like few I've ever played.

I have to see this. Right now.

 

[TheScornedReflex]

Far cry 3. Let me ask you a question. Do you know the definition of insanity?

 

[Amagi82]

I have to see this. Right now.

https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php

And the forums:
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum.php

It's well worth the $23.

 

[duke of new york]

Tropico 4 (PC). Heck of a fun strategy game, if kind of easy. Gameplay is sort of like goal-oriented SimCity with political elements. More SimCity than Civilization, but almost as addictive as the latter. 8/10 in comparison to other strategy games.

I just finished the (original) Black Ops campaign (PS3). Missions up until the last two or three were really good, especially the Vietnam ones and the Nazi Germany one. The obvious "twist" at the end of the storyline was lame and hurt the game's appeal for me. Multiplayer is OK, but Zombie mode is not that fun. The only CoD's multiplayer and zombie features that I've every liked much was World at War, though. At least Black Ops has cool historical weapons (I don't care for the modern stuff, too fancy). 6/10 in comparison to other first-person shooters.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Uncharted 3.

The controls are wonky and the gameplay is repetitive but the overall story and graphics / settings make up for it; seriously, I think it's good enough to have been a movie(it definitely feels like one). It has a theme I'm attracted to which is history, mystery, and mythology all rolled into one; including gameplay, it's somewhat similar to Assassin's Creed which I also liked.

I rate it 4(.5) / 5; it's great and worth it but it could be much better.

 

[joal0503]

...

14.99 ...

goooooooooo playyyyyy

 

[INeedToPee]

im not a serious gamer but i think this game is awesome

 

[joal0503]

im not a serious gamer but i think this game is awesome

because it IS awesome.

 

[TheScornedReflex]

because it IS awesome.

Fucking awesome.

 

[Solitaire U.]

^ Playing it now. It is indeed the awesomeist awesome that ever awesomed.

 

[A22]

I'll give Borderlands a try, seems nice. How many hours did you guys put into the game before finishing it / stop enjoying it?


I`m currently playing Unreal Tournament 3. It's a 2007 Arena FPS.

The singleplayer campaign is kind of boring, but the multiplayer is awesome, even 6 years after the release of the game there's still a decent amount of players 24/7.

And Galcon Flash, a very simple and fucking awesome flash RTS.
http://www.galcon.com/flash/

 

[Solitaire U.]

Have played Borderlands 1 multiple times to try out all the characters. All the side missions and 4 expansion packs has yielded untold hours of gaming, and I'm still not bored.

I've only been playing Borderlands 2 for a week, but already it feels like a much larger game than its predecessor. Haven't touched the expansion packs yet.

Overall, I'd say both titles offer extremely high value for the buck.

 

[Kenny]

Prototype 2

8/10, it's a great game.

 

[Solitaire U.]

*Warning, possible spoilers*

The Walking Dead Episodes 1 through 5

Somehow got sucked into this 'game', although I don't know if it can even be called a game in the strictest sense of the word...more like a choose your own adventure story with a lot of 'frantically mash a single button as fast as you can' events thrown in to simulate actual gameplay.

Pros: I really liked the animation. Good voice-acting for the most part. Lee was a solid character, so much so that I was inclined to verbally apologize to him every time my half-hearted button mashing allowed him to be killed.

Cons: There were too many instances when the decision-making process was a let-down due to the fact that whatever decision I made, the outcome would still be the same. Also, the fact that all the other characters with the exception of puppy-dog Clementine were basically self-serving shitheads/potential threats made it somewhat of a grueling effort to pander to their demands. There were moments when it was hard to resist the "FUCK YOU, KENNY!" option, and there was at least one instance where allowing a character to fall to his death when it would have been just as easy to save him was actually satisfying. I highly suspect that it would have been more enjoyable to simply be an asshole to everyone/cut them loose and journey through the story alone. Unfortunately, I can't bear the idea of dredging through the entire thing all over again just to experience that. If it would change the depressingly eventual outcome, I might be inclined to do so, but it wouldn't (read: 0 replay value).

To sum it up: too little interaction, too many depressing outcomes that I was powerless to alter, and a shittily unsatisfying ending.

 

[Felan]

I've been playing Aurora, it's a free 4x space game. The downside to it is that it is written in vb6, access, steep learning curve, and it's UI is a clunky. The upside is the amazing level of complexity to the game.

There is no you have 4 weapon slots and 3 other slots. You can add as much stuff as you want and the weight of the ship that keeps going up. Your shipyards each have their tonnage limits and you can add tonnage to existing shipyards. If you build a new shipyard (you'll need many with different tonnages) it starts at 1000 tonnes. You have to tool a shipyard to each class of ships, but if there are several ships that are close to the same cost as the ship its tooled for you can build them on that shipyard. A shipyard can have multiple slips, which allows you build multiple ships of the same class (or a close class) at the same time.

You also have to design and research many of your components. Just improved your thermal sensor, well the upgrade isn't automatic. You have to design one or more different thermal sensors and then research them. Then you have design a ship to use them, can copy an existing ship design and swap out the parts and obsolete the old design. Then you have to refit your existing ships to the new design.

You can build individual ship components: drives, weapons, sensors, shields, and so on; such that if the components are there before you start construction it will speed up the build time for ships.

Missiles are essentially the most powerful weapon in the game and you have to design your own and build them. The game allows multiple stage missiles which allows you to create things like mines that have active/passive sensors and if it detects an enemy will launch a secondary missile (or even a mirv) at an enemy ship(s). You can design anti missile missiles or anti ship missiles or missiles with radiation that mess up planets and make them uninhabitable.

The training of your crew has an impact on how well your ships work individually and as a group, and the training seems to be measured differently for each.

A number of people write roleplayed stories of their game play that are entertaining to read. Here is a snippet from one current story (being written by the guy developing the game) here :

18th June 1905
Taizhou and nine Imperial war cruisers rendezvous with Xiamen and Xiangtan at the Shandong - Fuchou jump point then, under the overall command of Zhong Xiao Yu You Yuan, all twelve ships enter Fuchou in search of vengeance. After checking the area around the jump point is clear of alien ships, they head for the wreck of Yantai. Forty-one hours after entering the system, twenty 800 ton contacts are detected closing from the rear at 10,000 km/s. Martian tactical computers assign them the designation of Jolochoi class. The Jolochois are three point five million kilometres away so the Martian ships lock their weapons and wait for the alien vessels to move within range of their 20cm Ultraviolet Lasers. The Kaifeng class Imperial war cruiser is equipped with six lasers and a single fire control system, so each cruiser targets a different alien ship.

Zhong Xiao Yu is well aware that this will be the first combat engagement for the Imperial Fleet since the time of the An Shi rebellion, more than a thousand years ago. He is concerned about the overall level of training for his crews as the Imperial Fleet relies more on Martian racial and technological superiority than regular battle drills. Yu has argued in the past that the Imperial Fleet should engage in same type of fleet training exercises as the human ships but the reaction of the vast majority of the Martian officer corps was predictable. Let the barbarians play their wargames in their toy ships. They were no match for the might of the Imperial Fleet. With that in mind, Yu is content to keep his ships on the same course and let the aliens do the manoeuvring.

The Martian ships open fire at 245,000 kilometres, although at that range there is only a minimal chance of a hit. Three
Jolochois suffer a single strength-1 hit each. Fifteen seconds later, with the range at 170,000km, a second volley is fired. A total of nine strength-2 hits are scored across five different alien ships. Jolochoi Twelve, struck three times and left drifting in space, begins streaming fluid from its hull. Normally a damaged ship would stream atmosphere so the source of the fluid is a mystery. The Imperial war cruiser Zhengzhou changes targets to Jolochoi Thirteen. The third Martian volley, at 95,000 kilometres, is much more effective. Seventeen lasers score strength-4 hits on seven different ships, five of which begin streaming fluid as well. Three of those five are crippled and cannot maintain their pursuit. It appears the alien ships may be using some form of fluid in the same way as the Martian ships use air, perhaps indicating a race that evolved underwater.

The alien ships open fire at 60,000 kilometres with a weapon that ignores the armour belt of the Imperial war cruisers and inflicts internal damage. Shijiazhuang suffers seven strength-1 hits, losing a laser and her ECM system and taking severe damage to her fuel storage, which sends all of her fuel spilling into space and shuts down her engines. The single fuel storage module appears to be a significant weakness. Five seconds later the Imperial war cruisers respond, destroying two of the alien fast attack craft, one of which is destroyed by Shijiazhuang, and damaging several more. The Jolochois hold position 60,000 kilometres from the wounded war cruiser and fire again, destroying two of her lasers and a reactor, while the other war cruisers open the range. Zhong Xiao Yu orders his ships to reverse course in an attempt to save Shijiazhuang. Confusion reigns as the fleet tries to maintain close formation while changing direction and for the moment the range to the main body of the alien force remains constant at 109,000km.

Both sides fire their next volley simultaneously. Six Jolochois are blown to pieces by the massed laser fire of the Imperial war cruisers. Shijiazhuang suffers damage to an engine, triggering a cataclysmic strength-80 secondary explosion that completely obliterates the ship. Zhong Xiao Yu orders another course change away from the alien force, even though the first was not completed. Nine Jolochois remain mobile. Three are crippled and unmoving. Ten seconds after the destruction of Shijiazhuang, Jiangnan is hit once by what the Martian tactical computers have now decided is some form of meson-based weapon. The war cruisers complete their fifteen second recharge cycle and fire again. Five Jolochois die, included three that blew apart due to large secondary explosions. Return fire is ineffective as almost all of the surviving alien FAC have internal damage. All five Jolochois within 100,000 of the war cruisers are annihilated by the next Martian volley, leaving a pair of cripples that are picked off at long range.

Twenty alien craft have been destroyed for the loss of Shijiazhuang. No wreckage remains from the alien ships, which is unexpected. However, traces of organic debris are detected in the battle area, leading to the startling conclusion that the ships might have been living creatures rather than spacecraft. The eleven remaining Martian ships head for the only real estate in the system; three terrestrial planets orbiting Fuchou-B. Twelve hours after the battle, Taizhou's EM sensor detects active sensor emissions over a billion kilometres away on the far side of the primary. The Martian ships change course and head for the new threat. The alien ship maintains a reciprocal course at 1100 km/s.

At 575 million kilometres, Taizhou detects emissions that indicate the alien has strength-600 shields. Even Martian self-confidence is slightly deflated by this development as the shields of the Jianghu class battlecruisers are only strength-150. Nevertheless, Zhong Xiao Yu keeps his fleet on course. He has ten Imperial war cruisers under his command, with a total of sixty 20cm lasers. At the very least he intends to move within active sensor range and determine what he is facing. Once within three hundred million kilometres the size of the alien vessel is confirmed as 60,000 tons, almost twice the size of a Jianghu and nearly the same mass as his entire fleet. The tactical computers designate it as Bolchoi class. Well aware that no reinforcements will be forthcoming any time soon and loathe to leave the system, Yu decides to press on. The Bolchoi is apparently slow-moving so he believes that if it has similar weapons to the small attack craft his own ships will be able to attack it from outside it's weapon range. If it is missile-armed however, then his ships could be in severe difficulty. He makes a note to recommend some form of anti-missile escort should be designed to accompany the war cruisers.

As the Martian fleet moves within one hundred and fifty million kilometres of the Bolchoi, nine new ships are detected. Designated as Mozlir class, they are 5700 tons and following fifty million kilometres astern of the Bolchoi at 1542 km/s. The Martian force is now significantly out-massed but maintains its course. Zhong Xiao Yu sees an opportunity to defeat the enemy in detail before the faster second force catches up with the leading 60,000 ton vessel. To avoid any more confusion over course changes, Yu gives his a crews a simple order. Follow the alien vessel at a range of 200,000 kilometres. This is within the weapon range of his own ships but well outside the weapon range of the Jolochoi class fast attack craft. Until he sees what he type of weapons are carried by the huge alien ship, he intends to proceed carefully.

There is no missile attack as the Imperial war cruisers close the range and they move to within 200,000 kilometres. Unfortunately, due to the high ECM of the Bolchoi the Martian beam fire control cannot achieve a good enough solution for accurate weapon fire. Well aware of the confusion that is about to ensue but unable to see any other course of action, Zhong Xiao Yu orders his ships to move to a range of 120,000 kilometres. The confusion will be heightened by the serious overcrowding on Jiujiang, which picked up the survivors from Shijiazhuang and is already suffering problems with its life support, so he orders that ship to move independently. Taizhou, Xiamen and Xiangtan are also reacting a little slower than normal as they have been out in space nearly fourteen months and the Taizhou and Kaifeng classes are intended for deployments of less than a year.

The Martian ships are all slow to respond to the change in orders. The crews are not used to being in a combat situation, especially so close to a behemoth of unknown strength, and are not trained for manoeuvres as a fleet. Ships come to a halt as they try to coordinate and the alien battleship closes in. As the range drops to 177,000 kilometres, Zhengzhou gets a lock and opens fire. One of her six lasers scores a strength-2 hit. Moments later, twenty Jolochoi appear on sensors en route from the alien ship. The Bolchoi was apparently carrying them in a hangar bay. Zhong Xiao Yu orders his ships to concentrate fire on the Jolochois. Trying to change fleet movement orders will just confuse things even more so he leaves in place the order to move to within 120,000 kilometres of the Bolchoi. The Imperial war cruisers will fight the Jolochois at a range of the enemy's choosing.

Chaos reigns as the two sides open fire. Kaifeng blasts a Jolochoi out of the sky, followed a few second later by Wuhan. Fire from the Jolochois concentrates on Jiangnan. She loses her active sensor and a reactor but two lasers and both engines survive hits. Jiangnan retaliates by destroying one of her attackers, then Xiamen and Lanzhou score simultaneous kills. Jiangnan continues to take fire. Despite surviving three more engine hits without loss of power, one of her lasers is damaged, her fire control is knocked out and critically her fuel storage is destroyed, rendering her unable to move. Jinan and Zhengzhou each destroy a Jolochoi. The fast attack craft are holding at 60,000km, a range at which the 20cm lasers of the Imperial war cruisers inflict strength-6 hits. Jishou scores her first kill then Wuhan her second. The Jolochoi are being massacred but the survivors continue to attack. Jiangnan is hit four times but only one causes damage, wrecking part of the crew accommodation. Two more FACs die.

The eight remaining Jolochoi suddenly switch targets to Taizhou, the only jump-capable ship in the Imperial force. Her jump drive is hit but remains operational. Both engines are struck by meson detonations and one is destroyed, creating a small secondary explosion. Taizhou is at half speed so Zhong Xiao Yu orders her to run for the jump point. It will take time to respond though and the Bolchoi has already closed to within 114,000 km of Taizhou, Jiujiang, Jiangnan, Xiamen and Xiangtan. The other six war cruisers have responded to orders and are maintaining a 120,000 km separation.

Four FACs are destroyed in quick succession and Jiujiang, Xiamen and Xiangtan get underway and join their sister ships. only two of the last four Jolochoi have active engines and they don't appears to be firing. Instead, they run for it, passing the approaching Bolchoi. They don't get far. The Bolchoi continues to bear down on Taizhou, which has still not got underway, and Jiangnan, which is unable to run due to the loss of its fuel. All the Kaifeng class war cruisers, with the exception of Jiangnan, which has lost her fire control as well as her fuel, open fire on the Bolchoi.

The Bolchoi opens fire on Taizhou at a range of 59,000km, inflicting six meson hits. Taizhou loses her jump drive but more importantly her fuel storage, leaving her dead in space. The fuel storage on the Imperial ships is proving to be a serious design flaw. A second volley from the Bolchoi arrives five seconds later and Taizhou explodes. Jiangnan only survives for another fifteen seconds. The meson weapons on the Bolchoi appear to be faster firing but shorter ranged than on the Jolochoi. Zhong Xiao Yu theorises that they may be some form of point defence weapon.

The nine surviving war cruisers continue firing from 120,000 kilometres. The Bolchoi shields are regenerating almost as fast as they are being damaged but they are very gradually reducing. Yu considers trying to get his ships closer so they may increase their accuracy and inflict more damage per shot but he is seriously concerned that a failure to react quickly to orders could result in his ships ending up within weapon range of the Bolchoi. After over an hour of constant fire, the powerful shields go down and the great ship begin streaming fluid as more and more hits penetrate the interior. Finally, Xiangtan strikes the fatal blow and it vanishes from sensors.

After picking up the survivors from Taizhou and Jiangnan, the Imperial war cruisers had for the nine Mozlir class ships, now thirty-six million kilometres away. Without a jump ship they cannot get home, although they could retreat through the jump gate to Shandong, so Zhong Xiao Yu is determined to complete the destruction of the alien forces in Fuchou. Even if a jump ship was available, they could not get home without help as fuel levels are at 36%. The war cruisers were designed to operate within Sol and their lack of range is a significant problem for interstellar exploration.

Since the destruction of the Bolchoi the Mozlirs have held their position, not attempting to either attack or withdraw. They finally start moving when the Imperial ships move within three million kilometres, perhaps indicating weak sensors. At 90,000 kilometres the war cruisers carry out a pre-planned course reversal and open fire. The Mozlirs appear to have minimal armour, slowing down and vanishing from sensors after only a few hits. The battle is over in less than a minute. Zhong Xiao Yu orders his ships to head for the three planets orbiting Fuchou-B to look for any more signs of an alien presence. They find nothing. Leaving the wrecks of two Imperial war cruisers and an Imperial war cruiser leader in their wake, the nine ships head for the Shandong jump point.

 

[TheScornedReflex]

Spec Ops: The line.

Insane game. Just finished it. 10/10

 

[Mia]

Elsword 4.5/10

I can't play 3d with camera pans, get dizzy >.>

 

[Tony3d]

Civilization 5

A game I'm yet to get bored with. Its a turned based strategy which put me off playing it for awhile. But once I got into it i couldn't stop.

Pros: never get the same map unless you save the generated map. Eight difficulty settings. Four different roads to victory: Domination, Cultural, Scientific, and Democracy. No cons!

That is what I am playing now...

Biggest con...

There is absolutly no reward for winning, there is no satisfaction from winning this game.



Other than that, it is great. Could use some better interactions with the NPCs, you interaction with your fellow world leaders is quite limited.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Dota 2: 8/10
Dust 514: 6/10
Eve Online: 7/10

Dota 2 is a reasonably fun time sink.

Dust 514 has terrible graphics. The game can be improved by simply adding color and more detailed textures.

Eve Online is internetz space ships.

 

[joal0503]

Spec Ops: The line.

Insane game. Just finished it. 10/10

i heard that story line (for a military game) is just dark and grim...i want to check it out, but the gameplay just looks too i dunno...vanilla?

...if you find yourself enjoying open worlds...and you havent already...

FAR CRY 3.

seriously. satisfying.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Hearts of Iron 3. Quickly ascended to be one of my favourite strategy games of all time.
9/10.

 

[ABdrew]

Point Blank, it's ok 6/10 but nothing compares the old counter strike feeling though

 

[PmjPmj]

DriveClub on the PS4.


It's basically the epitome of mediocre - until you take it online, at which point everything becomes 500% more fun. The races are ballistic and more often than not have me belly-laughing to such an extent that I lose control of my car. The banter between drivers always delivers and there's a real sense of achievement to be derived from winning a race, because holy shit are there some good players out there.

I wouldn't recommend it, though. The online is great fun, but only for short bursts. Meanwhile, the single player is devoid of any character and all in all, pretty pointless.

The main issue I have, though, is the fact that there are so many sodding cars. They handle in wildly different manners, so you can be just about getting used to one and then, the very next race, find yourself in something which handles so differently you can't control it for shit.

Finally, everyone seems to bang on about how amazing the graphics are. Meanwhile on the PC in 2007...

3/10.

 

[RandomGeneratedName]

Last game I played through was Alien: Isolation.

It wasn't bad at all. Certainly better than Colonial Marines

Lost the edge for me though, a level or two before I got the flame thrower. (yes I did play in the dark). Ending was kinda a lacklustre. Worth playing though.

-------------------
Can't believe i'm seeing people who say they enjoyed the new Deus Ex.
I thought it was horrible!
If you've played the first Deus Ex though, you're bound to be disappointed with the latest.

 

[TheManBeyond]

i wish i could put my hands in Bloodborne, looks so damn awesome, not gonna pay 399.99€ for it tho