What are you playing right now?

[TStodden]

Updated my Backloggery list... I finished Torchlight & moved onto Torchlight II (PC)

[soloist]

Congratulations on completing Torchlight, TStodden!
Hopefully, you've made good progress in its s-
equel by now. I've heard of Torchlight a-
nd was aware that there was a se-
quel, but I've never checked
to see what it was abo-
ut. I'll have to res-
earch it after
the roun-
ds he-
re.

(for now, I'm just playing Puzzle Swap... on the 3DS)

[Roemello]

Went back to playing Oblivion. Since I've done everything possible in Skyrim and found everything, nothing more I can really do with it (not a fan of radiant quests) So now I'm back to Oblivion. I kinda rushed through it the first time around despite clocking up 240 hours... I was on an achievement mission with it and once done, didn't bother to do anything else. Maybe now I'll finally get around to playing the Knights of the Nine quest as well. It's age shows playing now after Skyrim, but still fun!

[KenseidenXL]

SOCOM: Combined Assault. I have to rebuild my save file. 100% complete on Campaign and just about 50% complete on Instant Action. Unfortunately, I can't regain my Fireteam Bravo 2 sync data since I can't go online with this game anymore.

[TStodden]

I'm currently on the 2nd half of Act II of Torchlight II. I've also been playing Antichamber off & on for a while as well.


The Torchlight series, to butcher it down to it's core, it's like a low-budget version of the Diablo series... a GOOD budget version. Swap Diablo for a more generic villain, change magic (& gems) to Ember, throw in a crazy guy for good measure & you've got the basis of Torchlight I.

Torchlight II is similar to Diablo II's storyline. The Alchemist from the previous game gets corrupted & tries to take the energy from all the guardians for some foolish (& faulty) reason & it's up to you to stop him before he destroys the world. They made improvements from the previous game & added multiplayer support (both LAN & online), so you can play with friends... if you want.

Torchlight I is $15 (Online & Retail), while Torchlight II is $20 (Online only)... so you can pick up both games for the same price as Diablo III with some money to spare. The game requirements are very reasonable as well. Pretty much any computer running Windows 7 at recommended minimums & a reasonable graphics card (256 MB / 0.25 GB, which integrated cards can handle) will run it. The only performance issue I'm having with Torchlight II is the audio is choppy during the cutscenes, which seems to be a known issue with integrated audio cards... but it's a minor deal as you can find the cutscenes online & the audio in-game works without problems.

[KenseidenXL]

Finally started playing Star Ocean Till the End of Time. I've reached Petery and I am about to head for Aquarios. Not bad for 10 hours work.

[soloist]

Whoa! Roemello, you've gone back to Oblivion? A determined soul you are (laughs). Actually, I
wanted to return to Oblivion myself to complete the very quest that has your attention. K-
nights of the Nine is the only DLC quest that I have yet to complete (or actually play i-
n this case). Have you encountered that bug in Skyrim that prevents players from
completing the Dragonborn DLC since the player absorbs that dragon's soul ins-
tead of Miraak. My brother encountered this and is impatiently awaiting a
patch (laughs). I'm sure Oblivion would look dated by now when compa-
red to Skyrim, but imagine how dated Morrowind looks now (ugh) e-
specially with those loading times. I'm sorry to hear that you can-
not regain your save in SOCOM, Kenseiden, but at least you w-
ere able to rebuild the save. Good luck with your progress i-
n Star Ocean! I own the game but never played it since I
favored Dragon Warrior series and didn't give too ma-
ny other RPG's a chance. So I missed out on many
quality RPG's including Phantasy Star series, C-
hrono Trigger (ducks) and even Final Fanta-
sy III (SNES). I've read of Torchlight II b-
eing mentioned as an unofficial clon-
e (good one) of Diablo II (not III).
Diablo II was considered as a
better game than its sequ-
el from my understandi-
ng. Will you get a ne-
w sound card at a-
ll, TStodden? Cu-
rrently, I'm pl-
aying and j-
ust com-
plete-
d:

-WWE 13 (Wii)

R-
ather,
I unlocke-
d all the char-
acters. Why the
Wii version and no-
t the 360 version? Well,
two of my nephews have a-
nd play the Wii edition and wa-
nted to obtain all of the characters.
Of course they depend of me to expand
the default roster, so I just managed to do
so a few days ago. Aside from that, I'm spend-
ing a good deal of time (which isn't much these da-
ys... laughs) on Pinball Hall of Fame: Gottlieb on the Wii.

[soloist]

Dragon's Dogma, Dragon's
Dogma, Dragon's Dog-
ma, Dragon's Dog-
ma, Dragon's D-
ogma, Dra-
gon's D-
ogm-
a!

(I'm addicted!)



M-
ore o-
n this lat-
er on this we-
ek when I return.

[KenseidenXL]

SoulCalibur II (PS2)

[Roemello]

And now thanks to your addicted excitement Soloist, I'm hooked into Dragon's Dogma, too First game I've gotten in a long while and I'm sure it'll last me a long while, too... just started and got my arse kicked going in areas I shouldn't have Fun so far, though!

[soloist]

I hope you're enjoying Soul Calibur II, Kenseiden! The only version of SC II that I was able to
appreciate was the Gamecube version thanks to its inclusion of Link from Zelda. Actual-
ly, this was the VERY reason why I invested in the GC version over the PS2 and origin-
nal Xbox editions (Spawn, I would have liked better if he had as cape. Heihachi I-
s a character that I wasn't fond of in a weapon's-based game... well, at the ti-
me anyway... laughs). Oh, and yes, Roemello, I'm REALLY excited about D-
ragon's Dogma! After trying it out, I've become completely immersed I-
n its gameplay from the ability to grapple onto enemies to the fran-
tic dialog of the pawns during battle - this game reminds me of a
Lord of the Rings movie moment where all heck breaks loose a-
nd everyone is just trying to survive the odds while working
together. It tends to get THAT intense at times! And yes,
you will get your butt served to you... and quite ofte-
n I might add (laughs). Also, the decisions you ma-
ke can have long lasting effects, so you'd be wi-
se to think twice about certain actions (unle-
ss you consult with an online guide or FAQ
before-hand). I haven't even gotten int-
o Dark Arisen yet. I did defeat the d-
ragon (which is not the end thoug-
h one may think that it would b-
e). I started out as a Fighter
but only recently decided
to change vocations an-
d became a Mystic Ar-
cher. I'm at level 85
and for the mom-
ent, I'm just co-
llecting more
items at a
certain
locat-
ion
before
moving on
to advance th-
e game any furth-
er story-wise. I'll spe-
ak more of this later wh-
en given the time, but I am
REALLY enjoying my time with
this game... though I wish I had m-
ore time to play it uninterrupted (lau-
ghs). Maybe during the weekend... I hope.

[Roemello]

No guides or faqs for me... I'm just winging it and playing as I go, but it is a unique and interesting game! The battles definitely tend to be a true fight for survival... especially when getting ambushed! S'ok, though... teaches ya the value of saving often and sort out a strategy that works for the tough battles.

[soloist]

Just wait until you get deeper into the game.
Actually, even after completing it, the-
re's still more that it has to offer.
I don't want to spoil the story
so I'll just say that this is
the kind of game tha-
t make sense to r-
eplay numero-
us times af-
ter comp-
leting
it.



T-
he P-
awns gr-
ow to be a
part of you a-
nd you feel bad
to let them go or if
you lose them. Choosi-
ng the right Pawns can de-
termine the direction of the b-
attles you experience. The wrong
combination could make a standard b-
attle near impossible (without healing ite-
ms). There are strategies for taking on the op-
ponents that you face since they all have weaken-
sses that need to exploited if you plan to best them in
the quickest manner possible since some creatures will ca-
ll for or conjure up others, and though early on in the game, t-
his might not be too much of an issue, but later on... it will become
a MAJOR issue (laughs). By the way, which class of character did you select?

[Roemello]

The one thing that would prevent me from doing a lot of playthroughs in this is the fact there's no fast travel... having to traverse the full length of the land back and forth all the time is monotonous as hell. I started out as a Strider, but upgraded to Ranger. I wanted to have the option of a ranged attack along with a good melee attack. Right now I'm being driven insane with Ogres in the quarry

[soloist]

The Ranger does indeed have a good balance of distance
and close range attacks, but so does the Mystic Arch-
er (which I'm using now). And since the projectil-
es that this character use are magic-based, i-
t is not possible to run out of ammo... jus-
t out of stamina (though I have items t-
o prevent this). Actually, there is a
fast travel system in this game,
though it's not as accessible
immediately as the one i-
n Skyrim. As you prog-
ress in the game, y-
ou'll learn of it.
Also, when
you ma-
ke m-
ore pro-
gress, you
will also see
what I mean w-
hen I mention abo-
ut multiple playthrou-
ghs. This is the spoiler fr-
ee edition (laughs). After le-
arning the Ogre's weakness and
having Pawns that are familiar with
it at your disposal, those Ogres shouldn't
be too much of a problem. Just make sure t-
hat your Pawns are knowledgeable of defeating
Ogres. The same goes for quests that seem difficult
to complete. Having a Pawn how knows of the quest wi-
ll provide you with hints or help you complete the quest wi-
th their information. It's also a good idea to have Pawns that ar-
e at least a few levels above your current one if you have enough R-
ift Crystals to do so. I started out as a Fighter but had difficulty defeati-
ng ranged enemies. No longer is this the case with my Mystic Archer. By the
way, the Pawn's behavior means a lot here too, because if your Pawn is a healer,
it probably won't be a good idea to have that Pawn be without restoratives. If your P-
awns aren't helping in battle, make sure to get more aggressive Pawns to help out. It's c-
alled inclinations. Below are what the various forms of behaviors or inclinations will mean:



Scather: Enter battles with enemies as they appear.
Medicant: Prioritize safety by healing your hero or removing their status ailments, using the 'Come' order during battle also helps.
Mitigator: Bring down weak targets first.
Challenger: Focus on long-range attackers and enemies with support abilities.
Utilitarian: Use support skills and enchantments.
Guardian: Use the 'Help' and 'Come' commands often, avoid using 'Go'.
Nexus: Quickly heal your pawns and remove their status ailments.
Pioneer: Use the 'Go' command when you're not in combat.
Acquisitor: Pick up items.