VIDEO What are you currently playing?

Why? I thought the "indie" stigma died out a while ago. One could make a compelling case that the more exciting stuff in the industry is coming from that side rather than the AAA space. There are plenty of independently developed and published games that I've purchased for more than $10 and thoroughly enjoyed without an ounce of buyer's remorse (Rogue Legacy is one of my favorite games of this generation, Steamworld Dig 2 is one of my favorite games of 2017, I could go on). Plus Child of Light is an Ubisoft joint, so technically it doesn't even fit the bill.

 

I don't mean to demean the game by calling it "indie". I'll keep it on my radar; and I haven't deleted the demo after completing it anyhow.

 

I’m 33 hours into Origins now, and am currently level 29/40. Wow, this game is long. I just love spending time at each location doing all of the side quests, finding everything and taking photos. This may be the best open world I’ve ever seen. Like GTA V, it’s just so full of life, as there’s always stuff going on around you and the NPCs are all doing their own thing.

 

I beg to differ on the "best open world" statement.

 

What would you give that title to? (Edit: Sorry, your image isn’t loading for me)

My runner-ups are Horizon Zero Dawn, GTA V, Black Flag and Watch Dogs 2.

 

I bought Far Cry Classic (up-res'ed version of the first game) for £2 last week. Played half an hour of it today on medium difficulty. I remember reading so much at the time it came out about how the game offers multiple ways to tackle each confrontation and the option of using stealth. I assumed that this would also entail being able to sneak past areas completely undetected, but the game doesn't give you that opportunity. At least it hasn't yet. So far, its spiritual successor, Crysis, has left me with a much better impression. We'll see if my impression changes as I play further, but so far I'm underwhelmed. At the same time, when I think about it, I suppose it's easy from a modern perspective to underestimate what this game did differently at the time of its release.

 

It is HZD

 

Then that’s definitely understandable. Absolutely stunning looking game.

 

I was just playing Fortnite with a mate. I downloaded it to give it a try. It was quite fun and we didn’t do too badly, but I’d need to practice a lot more to get good at it.

 

All episodes of Tales from the Borderlands are currently free for XBL Gold members so I'm currently playing through that at the moment. Only done the first episode so far but it's funny.

 

I'm playing through Half Life 2 and it's sequels. I've played the game before but this time I plan on finishing it. Wonderful game so far. The puzzles make it so much more than a boring shooter, and the grav gun adds another level of gameplay. When I'm done I'm going to play through Halo as far as my PC will let me go.

 

I put aside my progress on HZD for the weekend to take advantage of the Free trial of Overwatch. One thing I found odd during the matches I played was that my level was actually higher than most, if not all, of the other players. It's strange because I don't own the game; I only have the chance to level up during the three that it's available for a free weekend. I wonder if it's just that the players that you're matched up with are also free trial players; and that the ones who actually own the game are on a different server or something.

 

Batman: The Enemy Within.

I'm on episode 2 and am pretty invested. Shame that Telltale isn't doing well financially, but their writing sure remains engrossing.

 

55 hours and counting on Origins. I’m just about to go back to Alexandria with Cleopatra, so I feel like the story might be coming to an end. But there’s still quite a few regions I haven’t been to yet, and there still seems like a lot to do.

 

Witcher III, including the DLCs. Yes, I am late to the party, but it's easily the best fantasy world made. Probably the best open world, along with the Watch_Dogs games (Chicago and San Francisco).

 

Been making my way through Assassin's Creed: Origins, and I am consistently impressed. I find myself repeatedly thinking "Man, this is a fun ******* video game." The world is meticulously designed and there is no shortage of things to do, but strangely enough none of it feels overwhelming the same way the Witcher 3 might have to some. The optional objectives are usually short, quick affairs, and you're moving on to your next destination before anything wears out its welcome. Sidequests are lengthier and more involved but none of them feel meaningless, and they all fit into the game's story and the main character's overall journey so that nothing ever feels like a waste of time. Bayek is a great character, a family man of honor and integrity, and watching him play hide and seek with some local children is just as fun as seeing him lay the beatdown on some nefarious political schemers with his equally badass wife, Aya. Plus, it's the first game I booted up on a 4K TV with the Xbox One X, and wow is it a jawdroppingly gorgeous game. I'm about 24 hours into the campaign and I still can't get enough of it.

 

Glad to hear that, because I just bought the game. Looking forward to playing it!

 

Just started playing Injustice 2 after purchasing it for $20 on PSN for Cyber Monday. It's a great game with incredible moves and graphics; but you really have to practice offline with AI opponents for awhile before jumping into the online matches. The problem is that the online opponents all have obtained gear that makes them stronger than your character from the get-go. I played a match featuring Harley vs. Harley and got my butt handed to me because my opponent was already many levels above me with gear attached. Like the original game, I'm just going to play through the entire story mode, practice offline for most of the time, and eventually I'll be more comfortable facing online opponents again.

 

I was looking for Injustice 2 on Xbox Live's sale, but it was only down to $50. Not much of a sale. But I did end up taking advantage of the Xbox Live sales for the Wonder Woman film ($10), Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy ($10), as mentioned above Telltale's Batman Season 2 (I think $14), and the Xbox Game Pass at $1 for the month. Almost did Battlefront 2 for $50 but figured I could just wait until it drops in price substantially.

I was tempted to also get Assassin's Creed Origins, since it was down to $40 on XBL, but I'm pretty sure my girlfriend got me the actual disc version as a Christmas gift on Black Friday (since Target had it on sale for like $35). I told her not to get me anything--especially not a video game since my limited time to play usually means that it takes me years to get around to them, and by then I can usually buy games for about half of their initial retail price or less.

The last game I bought brand new was Zelda Breath of the Wild on Wii U. Right now it's collecting dust, though I do plan on returning to it. It's definitely a great game, but I think I got turned around and frustrated with being lost or something. I don't remember. I haven't touched it since spring.

 

I can't speak for the Xbox sales since I don't have the console; but at least I could say the WW deal was a good one. I bought the Blu-Ray on the day it was released.

 

Overwatch, Jade Empire and Anno 1701.

 

Sniper Elite 3

 

I have mainly been playing Hearthstone, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Heroes of the Storm, and StarCraft II. I pretty much just do my daily quest in Hearthstone and save them up for three days in Legends and Heroes. I am looking forward to Kobolds and Catacombs in Hearthstone and just did Return to Clockwork City in Legends yesterday, though I haven't done the Master mode yet in either The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood or Return to Clockwork City. I am really far into Wings of Liberty, having finished Mar Sara with the Starter Edition a while back, and now all I have left is to finishing the Rebellion and Zeratul missions, and then the Artifact and Final missions. I haven't quite unlocked Ranked yet.

 

Persona 5. Absolutely love it.

 

I'm still playing the story mode of Injustice 2, and I've gotta say it's quite possibly the best offline campaign of its kind. And I thought I loved Harley in the original game, but jeez she's so adorable in this game with a more significant role. She's been my favorite DC character since she first appeared on the Batman Animated Series in the early 90s.