Topic: What game(s) have you been playing lately?

[Ratty]

Super Metroid has a ghost ship that's 8,000,000 times more spooky than anything SOTN musters up. :p There are lots of moments of horror in that game (bosses Spore Spawn, Crocomire, Kraid).

I dunno, SM is oozing with horror atmosphere right from the get-go. I'm not really sure how you're not seeing it, instead equating it to some "guns and aliens" thing or something. It tells me you weren't really paying attention and didn't give the game any chance at all.

Nah it's just my tastes again. SM is probably scarier than SOTN sure, because it's more serious, almost oppressively so from what I saw.
I usually enjoy spooky, ocassionally goofy fun over hardline horror. Take Alien and The Bride of Frankenstein, one of these is obviously scarier than the other inspite of a somewhat futuristic science fiction setting, and they're both really good movies. But I'll always favor the latter because it's in many ways a goofy fantasy that appeals more to my personal tastes. I like science fiction to, but it's not quite as close to my heart. And again I didn't play any Metroids until I was an adult, I'll never have the same tie with that series like I do with Castlevania.

The gameplay seemed more refined in SOTN. I seem to recall not caring much for how Samus controlled compared to the CV metroidvania protagonists, but it's been several years since I tried it. I freely admit I didn't play it for very long so I can't speak accurately in comparison to their level design. Also aside from the gameplay Konami was able to make the environments and characters much more detailed with the power of the PSX than could be done on the SNES, to say nothing of one of the greatest soundtracks in gaming. But even if you're right and SM is every bit as good as SOTN, I'll still prefer SOTN.

Like I previously mentioned "De gustibus non est disputandum."

[Neobelmont]

Been playing some samurai action with Onimusha Warlords

[Ratty]

Played some Legend of Dragoon. The story is as I'd heard a lot better than FF7 so far but I'm not really feeling the control scheme, maybe if I fish out my dual shock 1 with the not-so-pressure-sensitive buttons it would be better. Hmm

[Nail_Bombed]

Still on the new Binding Of Isaac expansion Wrath Of The Lamb. They've been doing updates and it seems they've sorted out the difficulty a lot - the game is now 120% more hard, yet doesn't beat you over the head with just how hard it is... unless you play as Samson, then it gets INSANE.

[Neobelmont]

Palying onimusha 3 now afterwards Dawn of Dreams.

[Ratty]

Palying onimusha 3 now afterwards Dawn of Dreams.

I played a little of the original Onimusha and it seemed really good, though being restricted to dpad movement on a PS2 game is odd.
As a fan of the series you might enjoy "Soul of the Samurai", a similarly themed title Konami put out at the end of the PS1's lifecycle.

[RichterB]

Lost in Shadow for Wii, Hudson's last release before getting axed by Konami. It's innovative and artistic, but I find it's atmosphere depressing. Hard to play for long periods. The combat is a little clunky, too, so far.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I love that game, but it's not a 'combat' game per se.  Often you're hack hack RUN AWAY and repeat.

[PFG9000]

It's funny that the discussion turned to Super Metroid.  That's another game I've been playing lately.  I played up to Maridia, my favorite part, and haven't had a chance to get back to it since then.

Ratty, of course you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, but Super Metroid and SotN really do have tons in common.  If you enjoyed SotN, you really owe it to yourself to give Super Metroid a fair shake.  Even if you play through it and hate it, which is extremely unlikely, you'll understand the roots of SotN and you'll have the experience to truly judge the Metroid series.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Speaking about Metroid, I'm playing another hack I helped with:

[shelverton.]

I'm playing Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (ps2) for the millionth tume. This time I'm determined to beat it. Dunno why I always quit playing at some point, but not this time. Beat the Ruins of Amnesia tonight and is heading towards Windseeker Heights next (I think). Or maybe Limewater Cave. Dunno. The game doesn't always tell you where you need to go, at least not like in typical modern RPGs where you're always being pointed in the right direction. Thankfully the game doesn't seem that large so I'm just walking around, stumbling upon the next objective most of the time.

After Napishtim I'm gonna play Oath in Felghana. I am pretty new to the Ys series but I'm finding myself getting more and more obsessed. Now, if I could only find a cooy of Y I & II Chronicles for the PSP...

[Ratty]

It's funny that the discussion turned to Super Metroid.  That's another game I've been playing lately.  I played up to Maridia, my favorite part, and haven't had a chance to get back to it since then.

Ratty, of course you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, but Super Metroid and SotN really do have tons in common.  If you enjoyed SotN, you really owe it to yourself to give Super Metroid a fair shake.  Even if you play through it and hate it, which is extremely unlikely, you'll understand the roots of SotN and you'll have the experience to truly judge the Metroid series.

This is true. I'll probably give it a proper go at some point. Just probably not any time soon since I'm still stinging from the last time I made myself play a game almost entirely for historical perspective (FF7) though like I said I don't dislike Metroid/SM, it just has never grabbed me particularly.

I'm playing Ys: The Ark of Napishtim (ps2) for the millionth tume. This time I'm determined to beat it. Dunno why I always quit playing at some point, but not this time. Beat the Ruins of Amnesia tonight and is heading towards Windseeker Heights next (I think). Or maybe Limewater Cave. Dunno. The game doesn't always tell you where you need to go, at least not like in typical modern RPGs where you're always being pointed in the right direction. Thankfully the game doesn't seem that large so I'm just walking around, stumbling upon the next objective most of the time.

After Napishtim I'm gonna play Oath in Felghana. I am pretty new to the Ys series but I'm finding myself getting more and more obsessed. Now, if I could only find a cooy of Y I & II Chronicles for the PSP...

Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles was released on Steam recently if I'm recalling correctly. My SO played Oath in Felghana recently and adored it. I'm going to have to give the series a spin.

[Aridale]

Ys Origin is out now on Steam as well

[Ratty]

Ys Origin is out now on Steam as well

D'oh. Yeah that's what I meant. Guess I assumed that was the PC version of the latest in the long series of remakes of the first  2 games.
Think I'll put Legend of Dragoon away until I can get a controller with non-pressure sensitive buttons. Haven't played much of anything in the last several days.

[e105beta]

Been playing Symphony of the Night and Dota 2.

Waiting on Paper Mario and KH:DDD to come  out summer.