Play Styles!

[Thylacine]

Real life: Football or ultimate frisbee. I like walking/running.

Paper: Sudoku. Occasionally, a word find or "Bridges" if those are available.

Fighters: Don't do so well in up-close endeavors. I try to get characters with distance on their side. These tend to be weaker characters in some regards, too, so it usually balances out. I am crappy at defending.

FPS: The rare ones I play (because I suck) usually result in me skulking around trying to find someone I can sneak up on and attack from behind. Unfortunately, everyone else seems to do that to me much faster. I'm not much of a grenade person because those always manage to bounce in the wrong direction (that is, toward my face). Shotguns aren't my cup of tea, because I always manage to hit everything EXCEPT my target with them (even at medium, "are the shot magnetic or something" range).

MMO and RTS (to a lesser extent): I'm a distance-attack person. I never do well in the fray, but I like having one or two tricks up my sleeve (a good/unexpected weapon, a "just in case" skill, etc.) in case someone comes in for the kill. Usually, I like being a healer, but after too many people "heal plz" me, it's not the most attractive job.

Shmups (or bullet hell): I usually listen to the music and follow that. Not kidding - my favorite game of all time is U.N. Squadron, and it's because the music is so easy to follow to. It's the perfect zone-out game. Playing these games on mute just wouldn't be fun.

General rule: I prefer male characters if given the option, with a few exceptions (Melee, situations where female has different advantages). I make sure to thoroughly explore any area I go to. I also am a perfectionist in other regards.

-If I'm charged with protecting people, I want to save them all - even in ridiculous circumstances where a sacrifice or two may be necessary or more desirable. (This is why I suck at Lemmings games.)

-I collect everything. I put in a good few days/weeks into Legend of Zelda games.

-If I can max out my skills in any way, even skills I don't use, I'll do it.

-I try to perfect-score all Mario Kart games I play, and feel like it is a defeat when I don't. (Easier once I learn item physics, but not possible in some circumstances - dang spiny shells.)

I don't really have a style. I just fear death enough to let my instincts kick in that way.

[Necrotic]

Fighting: Fast comboers or rhythmic characters. Sakura in SFA, Asuka/Jun in Tekken, DeeJay in HDR.

FPS: Methodical. Which is why I mainly play tactical shooters like Counter-Strike. I like to put a little more thought into my shooting than just running and gunning. Flushing people out with well placed grenades and flashbangs and stuff. I have a tendency to use well-balanced rifles that have an even mix of accuracy and power (accuracy preferred) because I like a rifle accurate enough that sniping or getting headshots at medium-long distances are consistently doable with a steady enough hand but with enough stopping power at close range that a dude with a shotgun won't have the edge. Bullet hoses like SMG's or shotguns aren't as much my thing because they lack versatility so I rarely touch them. Some people are fine sticking to confined spaces or going longer routes with more concealment to get the most out of those kinds of weapons but I like having options. I love to snipe too. Nothing is more rewarding on the giving end and frustrating on the receiving end than a skilled sniper.

NHL: Tight defensive checks. Keep the defense low on the blue line for as long as it needs to be safe, because I hate letting breakaways slip through even if it means I might struggle more offensively. Cycle the puck and overload with bombs from the point and one-timers or crash the net.

[RoadiePC]

Hmm...My "tactics" tend to involve symptoms of OCD.

I usually go with the method that ensures either an even field, or an advantage, no matter how small, before gameplay even begins.

what I mean is not cheating; just making a methodical setup, and capitalizing on it. For example, in FPS games I have an EluminX keyboard which feels like a laptop keyboard, the logic being the smaller travel-distance on the keys. That, or my Nostromo SpeedPad(which, when set up right, rocks).

I also use a Logitech MX Revolution mouse, which has, besides the usual X+Y axes, a whopping 13 inputs(5 buttons, 4-way mousewheel w/button, 3-position thumbwheel). This is extremely useful in both button-heavy games(Mechwarrior series) and more reflex-oriented games(Unreal Tournament series).

For example: I'm running around one of the many Deck 16 variants on UT2004, which I still play, with a Lightning Gun or Sniper Rifle, when I turn a corner and find myself face-to-face with a guy carrying a Rocket Launcher. He'd win, were it not for the Flak Cannon I have bound to one of my mouse buttons.

Truth is, I'm not a very skilled player, and I know that. I seldom play multiplayer games(counter-Strike and the like), and I tend to prefer singleplayer or bot-filled outings. when I DO play against other players, I tend to get spanked pretty good. I like learning and dismantling patterns and figuring out the psychology that bots and AI players use. I don't know why, really.

When it comes to Shooters, I'll always have a spot in my heart for Raiden Fighters Jet--my local arcade has one, and whenever I'm in the area, I drop in one credit, put my headphones on, and go into Zen mode.

Music is extremely important on shooters for me, if "Buried Alive" by Billy Idol comes into my playlist, everything else dies. Fast.

I usually play older games that I've had some time to learn, UT2004, Soul Caliber 1, MvC 1, etc. Maybe that makes me less of a "die-hard" gamer, but there's something to be said for settling into a game that i'm comfortable with. Anyone else get that way too, or am I just odd?

[K.B.]

-Games-

RTS: Rush

FPS: Rush

Shmups: Die

Fighters: Use speed and agility to get the drop. Land a hit or two then attempt to evade but fail miserably at wavedashing. Die.

RPGs: Do everything I'm not supposed to first. Reset to last save state as soon as I trigger a cutscene without investigating everything. Dead ends make me happy because they let me know I went the right way. I know, right?

-Real life-

Basketball: Drive

Football: Run into people

Paintball regeneration: Walk calmly and hip-shoot. Get lit up, walk calmly back, repeat. Do so with full knowledge that each person I manage to kill will be completely humiliated and will rightfully owe me a beer. And the knowledge that I'll always win the competition for most war wounds.

Laser tag: Run-sneak from cover to cover. Infiltrate. What can I say except the dark-room, covert vibe gets the best of me. Also, highest absolute score. Being red-green colorblind is fun!

[Gollgagh]

RPG: Do everything I'm not supposed to first. Reset to last save state as soon as I trigger a cutscene without investigating everything. Dead ends make me happy because they let me know I went the right way. I know, right?

holy crap this is me

if I don't hit a dead end after a few minutes after choosing a fork in a path, I go back to investigate the other route

[K.B.]

The worst is those games that string you along - the ones that have incidences of two long paths where only one is right one - and you go down one for a while and soon start saying "this must be the right way because it's so long", so you turn around and go the other way. But of course the other way is JUST AS LONG IF NOT LONGER.

Oh and those developers knew what they were doing. They knew people like us were out there. They didn't care. They thought they could make their coin and fuck with us all the same.

Those developers might be right, but screw their series into the ground. I'll fume on it and I'll never promote it.

[JJT]

My strategy in Starcraft, though varying slightly from scenario to scenario, generally takes the shape of:

1) Build Terran base

2) Quickly float burning, ruined base to the four corners of the globe

3) Go find Mountain Dew

[Cerrax]

Oh, and RTS:

I HATE micro, but as anyone on OCR has played me on Starcraft well knows, you don't need to micro to know how to set up a stunning Terran Base defence, nor do you need to be a military genius to remember the maxim "Strategic offence, tactical defence."

As well, I've yet to play someone who takes the tactical initiative from me, although I can lose. I am an exponent, however, of peace through superior firepower. The more things shooting at you, surely the more you die.

Didn't Patton say something like "Victory goes to the man with the biggest gun" or something?

[Harmonious Dissonance]

Fighting: In fighting games I prefer characters that fuck with your mind and/or have WIN aerial combos, Such as Yoshimitsu from Tekken 5

FPS: The only FPS game I've played is halo so yeah... But in halo I will do 1 of three things, Depending on what item I got. 1. Snipe you from the most remote place in the map, Hunt you with needlers, Or snipe snipers with a rocket launcher.

Racing: Finish two minutes behind everyone else.

[Schwaltzvald]

FPS: The only FPS game I've played is halo so yeah... But in halo I will do 1 of three things, Depending on what item I got. 1. Snipe you from the most remote place in the map, Hunt you with needlers, Or snipe snipers with a rocket launcher.

You weenie get DOOM or something that's actually worth the time of a FPS game. Get the Painkiller Triple Dose if you can't handle DOOM's delicious pixel masterpieces. Or get on Quake Live anything that's actually worth it.

Racing: Finish two minutes behind everyone else.

This is to lull the others into a false sense of security before you start winning all the time?

[K.B.]

This is to lull the others into a false sense of security before you start winning all the time?

Speaking of Patton: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054997/

[Dr.Flintlock]

Fighting games: I usually pick the strong brutish characters that are ridiculously slow but can beat the snot out of others without being all combo savvy. Kinda noobish, I know, but then I don't play fighters all that often. (except Powerstone, God I loved Powerstone)

Shmups: Mostly doujin, anything from Touhou up to obscure stuff like Samidare, and Flying Red Wine Barrel.

FPS: I'm a conservative, hording monsterfucker. I'm so stingy with my ammo, its disgusting. By the time I'd gotten to apollo suites in Bioshock, my ammunition was maxed out in every category. I was also particularly bad in borderlands, until I got a support gunner mod for ammo regen. When I used to cheat in video games (can you still?), infinite ammo was a necessity for me to enjoy my game more.

Boardgames: I've been teaching myself how to play Go lately and am developing quite a penchant for that. I'm also game for a Risk night any day, especially if there's alcohol involved.

Real life: I don't know about any of you, but I used to play a mean Four-Square back in my day. Cherry bombs for the win!

Also, in most games, I'm pretty chauvinist and refuse to play as female characters. Going back to borderlands, anyone played as the Siren class? You know what it sounds like when you get shot without a shield? That's why I don't play as chicks...