My current queue of games:
1) Reviewing: The Path. I have two more posts left to round out the list of girls. I might have one more wrap-up post after that.
2) Reviewing: FUEL. I’m pretty much done with the game, but it has brought a lot to mind on procedural content, how it’s done, and where it can go from here. I’m looking at FUEL the way some might look at the original Doom: Regardless of what you think of the game, this is an important piece of technology. I also have a few comments on racing games in general.
3) Playing: Still playing Team Fortress 2 in fits and starts. I think the new king of the hill kind of watered down the game for me. I can’t point to any specific fault in it. The only thing wrong with KotH is that it isn’t Payload. It’s not that I dislike the other game modes, it’s just that I like Payload so much better. I thought I’d eventually get tired of Payload and want to explore the other modes, but after more than 100 hours of TF2 I still feel a pang of disappointment when a non-payload map pops up.
4) Ahem: Champions Online. Thanks so much to everyone who offered their thoughts in the earlier thread. Clearly the consensus is that the game needs another month to bloom if I want to get the most out of it. So, I signed up last night. Yes, I solicited your advice, and then disregarded it. Wisdom check fail. First thing I did was attempt to re-create Detective Grimm. I was not impressed. No matter what I did, he always looked like a young guy with a fake beard. Sunlight shines through the main part of his hat, but not the brim, casting a shadow that ends up looking like tribal facepaint or something. Boo. Man, it’s almost as if I should have waited a bit before signing up…
5) Playing: Left 4 Dead. I added a could of bonus campaigns to the server, and have been enjoying them on occasion. Soon the new campaign will be out, which will most likely increase the time I spend with the game.
6) Watching: Borderlands looks very, very interesting. Also looking forward to Left 4 Dead 2.
7) Played: Evil Genius: I played the everlovin’ crap out of this last weekend, and pretty much finished it. It’s old and considered a classic, but it was new to me. I might do a single post on it if I have anything interesting to say.
8) Shelved: Velvet Assassin: A shame, really. The game isn’t horrible, it’s just pervasively bland and peppered with poor gameplay decisions. This is another game that could have been much, much better with a few basic changes. For the same investment of time and money, they could have made a much better game.
Open thread: What are you playing these days?
Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.