I read somewhere, don't remember, about someone speaking favorably of that game Xtal.  Vague enough for ya?

I'm playing Mark of the Ninja.  It's very well done.  Great presentation.  Enjoying it so far.

Gregg: The Walking Dead. Gory, bleak, and kinda heartrending, but fantastic even for people who don't generally get along with adventures.

Has Hailey tried any of the older turn-based isometric RPGs, like Fallout or Baldur's Gate?

What I'm playing: not a damned thing right now. Trying to get work done!

Demon's Souls is now free for Playstation Plus subscribers.  If you haven't checked it out yet, it's a heck of a game.  Dark Souls improves on it in pretty much every way IMHO, but still, some prefer it.  Great atmosphere, great mechanics.

I played through the first two hours of the new Tomb Raider.  It's quite unlike any other game I've ever played.  I'm still not sure what to think of it, and I'm not sure I've actually played anything yet.  So far it bears absolutely no resemblance to the Tomb Raider I know, although I only ever played the original.

To be fair, it's still introducing mechanics, but it's got this whole leveling system and collectible stuff and whatnot that I'm not sure adds anything, other than to make you run around every corner of the map looking for scrap and ammo and who knows what else.  It's the sort of klepto-gaming that tends to put me off.  We'll see how annoying it becomes.

What I don't miss from the old Tomb Raider was the combat, especially with the wildlife.  There is some of that here, but it's not nearly as monotonous.  What little platforming I've done seems largely perfunctory.  That may change, and I hope it does.  That was a highlight of the original.  Other mechanics seem well done, such as cover, but I'm still getting used to Lara's movements.  I'm playing on the PC with a controller, which I prefer for third person.  K/M seems like it would be clunky, sort of like trying to play Dark Souls, but my years of console gaming have turned me off to playing games with a keyboard.

The story is the strongest part so far.  There's a mystery to be solved, and I'm eager to engage it.  I'm still confused about who all the characters are though - it throws a bunch of them at you at once without much introduction.

I'm still fiddling with the graphical settings.  Frankly, I can't tell the difference between normal, ultra, helmet hair, rendered hair, etc.  That's one thing I've never much cared for with PC gaming.  I just want to play a game, and I don't rightly know what anisotropic filtering is or why I should care.

I'll thank you to keep your dither levels out of my parallax distortions, sirrah!

Deadly Premonition.  My Xbox copy is sitting there, taunting me, all cracked skin and broken teeth.  It's just so painful to even turn that crappy 360 on these days.  Am I the only one for whom the dialogue and visuals in the cutscenes were so woefully out of sync as to be un-watchable?

Tomb Raider is growing on me.  It's an extremely polished game, but that's not why.  The looting and collecting, while more useful for some things than others, is largely optional.  But the rewards are tangible and I'm liking the whole thing more and more.  Even things which don't directly affect your bottom line as it were, are interesting.  All of them contribute to your experience, which allows for purchasing skill improvements.

Some are simply relics, and those are the most easily ignored.  Others are sort of like journal entries of people from various times and they help to flesh out the story, sometimes significantly.  It was sort of a bold move, to leave what seem to be important story bits scattered about to be found or ignored.  I kind of like it.  For those who only want non-stop adventure, they don't get in the way.  What I like is that you can go back to earlier areas quickly and leisurely hunt for stuff, or not.  So it creates a nice rhythm of playing through the dramatic parts of an area, without having to be in full-on klepto mode, then coming back later as a sort of downtime.

There's a strong Lost-like vibe about the story, which is fine with me because I adored Lost.  And now that I'm understanding more about Laura's companions (this information is doled out, flashback style, as you work your way through the plot) I'm even more engaged.

Also, stealth-killing baddies with an arrow through the throat is extremely satisfying.  You can even sneak up behind them and apply an ammunition-free put down.  It requires some suspension of disbelief, as a slight young woman like Lara would be no physical match for a full-grown man, but no matter.  It's fun and gives you the feeling of being a hunter of men - vulnerable, yet lethal.

It's an expensive-looking game, and as was discussed in a different thread, Square Enix's expectations were completely unrealistic.  It would be a shame if things end here.  Crystal Dynamics went off in a thoroughly different direction here.  It's much more than simply a "reboot", and while it may not payoff financially, it's made a believer out of me.

If you two could record your voices reacting to Deadly Premonition in real time - especially if xtal hasn't played it before - it would be worth cash money.

No. It would be priceless.