The Gaming Thread

[Kara]

*cough* ZELDA 2 AND MAJORA'S MASK *cough*. Hmm.

Zelda II was one of the first games I got for my NES back in '89. It took me like 6 years, but I beat it. Now I can beat it whenever I want. I know it's the underdog of the series, but I LOVE it. There were so many innovations that were not repeated. At it wasn't until Ocarina of Time that fighting enemies actually felt like a "fight" as opposed to just, run around and whack them in the back.

[Broomjockey]

There were so many innovations that were not repeated.

You probably know this, but that's because it wasn't originally a Zelda game. They just repackaged it, and reprogrammed some stuff and called it Zelda, because they weren't sure what to do with it.

[gunsage]

Honestly, I enjoyed Zelda 2 also, but mostly because it DID have RPG qualities. BTW, I just got back from vacation...yay. Also, I switched over to first shift, which is quite a shock, because it's actually proven much easier thus far. I'm also finishing up my Network+, then it's on to Security+. BUT, this thread isn't about that!

I honestly didn't know what to play on my vacation, so I let my wife choose. First, she chose Wizardry for the PS2. Fun stuff, but it gets a bit tedious. Why? Well, there's certainly some interesting qualities here like morale, allied actions, quests, etc., but there are very few shortcuts in the game and you never truly get access to a full map unless you use a spell...meh. Why mention the lack of shortcuts? Well, each time you leave the labyrinth...YOU START ALL THE WAY OVER FROM THE BEGINNING.

Anyway, I had fun just grinding and quest bashing for a while on that, then I got bored. Then she did something absolutely brilliant. She picked off the shelf...Nocturne. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, to be specific. As a basic recap, Nocturne is part of the "MegaTen" series, which encompasses Shin Megami Tensei, Digital Devil Saga, Persona, and a few others. Most of these titles deal with demons, negotiation, HEAVY RPG characteristics, and, well, the occult.

The reason I say it was brilliant she chose Nocturne is I started over on hard mode. Yeah...die within 10 minutes of starting? HARD MODE. Make one minor mistake in battle which completely snowballs what little "strategy" you may have left? HARD MODE. Got into a battle with 8 enemies that you just HAPPEN not to have the spell they're weak against? You get the picture.

Fun stuff, but even more fun is that it got me back into playing the MegaTen series, so I also started back up with Digital Devil Saga. Don't know if I'll be playing Persona 3 again anytime soon, but most likely. And while we're at it...

Digital Devil Saga kicks ass.

So does Nocturne.

Shameless plugs AHOY!

Edit: I also picked up a couple of games since I was on vacation and made some sales. I picked up episodes 2 and 3 of .hack, but I'm sure finding the 4th will be a bitch. I also replaced the missing copy of Disgaea for wifey, though I was more looking for the PSP version which I guess has new stuff. Beyond that, I also picked up Total Overdose (crazy shooting frenzy at its finest) and Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence (which I promptly beat). I don't really care about the online mode, but the secret theater was hilarious and the translated versions of MG1 and 2 for the MSX? Freakin' nice.

[Chanlin]

If you liked anything from Shin Megami Tensei then Persona 3 should be right up your alley.

As for games in my current play and or recently finished list in no particular order:

Blue Dragon
Valkyrie Profile 2
Puzzle Quest
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Twilight Princess
Persona 1, 2, and 3
Assassins Creed
Halo 3
Atelier Iris 1 and 2
Wild Arms 4 and 5
.hack// Quarantine and GU 1 and 2

[Gravekeeper]

An anime series of Persona just began airing. First episode was promising. I shall persist in beholding it. -.-

[gunsage]

If you liked anything from Shin Megami Tensei then Persona 3 should be right up your alley.

Pssst. I have it. Actually, I may be wrong here, but I have almost all of them. Here's what I still have after my sales...

- Digital Devil Saga 1 (PS2)
- Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)
- Persona 3 (PS2)
- Devil Summoner (PS2)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2)

Those that aren't mentioned that I have played and/or previously owned:

- Persona 1 (PS1)
- Persona 2 (PS1)
- Digital Devil Saga 1 (SNES)
- Digital Devil Saga 2 (SNES)
- Revelations: The Demon Slayer (GBC)

I know there were two versions of Persona 2 (only played American version), supposedly a NES game, another PS1 game called "Soul Hackers," Stella Deus for the PS2, some GBA titles, and also, though slightly unrelated, there's Jewel Summoner for the PSP. And yes, Persona 3 kicks major ass. Anyway, I'm back where I initially ran out of steam in Digital Devil Saga...the supposedly impenetrable fortress with plenty o pitfalls...ugh.

As far as Nocturne, and keep in mind I'm playing the hard mode, I'm a bit stuck in the Amala Network for the first time. I say I'm a bit stuck because often you'll make one minor mistake (or something completely unpreventable like missing), and you're screwed...BIG TIME. I just kinda hang out near the save and healing points constantly grinding. Really, that's all I can do at the moment...I guess.

In any case, I also dropped in yesterday at my local Gamecrazy and picked up, oh, 6 PS1 titles and Psi-Ops for the PS2. The awesome part is that the games I picked up for the PS1 really aren't bad, per se, either...

- Missile Command
- Alien Trilogy
- Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012
- 007 Tomorrow Never Dies

And, uh...well, two others whose names evade me currently. In any case, they have a sale going where you can pick up two for $5. Pretty sweet deal, especially considering I can probably go and turn these over for at least double the price online. Psi-Ops is also kinda cool, but having forced tutorials is really crappy. It's mostly fun because of the Havok engine. Why? Well...

- Telekinetically throwing someone off a high platform is great.
- I personally enjoy constantly crotch kicking someone about after they've died.
- Even if I'm fully strapped, I love tossing random objects (and dead bodies) at enemies.
- Tossing people into fireplaces. Mwahahahaahaa.

Besides that, though, the game's plot is okay, the saving is kinda crap, and ultimately, it has a number of other flaws...but Havok saves the day.

[DarthRetard]

Just picked up Ninjabread Man for the Wii as a joke, it's pretty hilarious. Terrible, but hilarious.

[gunsage]

Don't think I've heard of Ninjabreadman...but it sounds hilarious. Anyway, I remembered the other games...

- Blaster Master (PS1)
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssey (PS1)

Blaster Master has that cheezy, T.R.A.G. sort of wanting to be serious, but failing miserably...kinda like a B movie or something. And really, thus far, it's not a "bad" game...just cheezy. Oh so cheezy. Of all the games I got, I could really only sell Abe and Rogue. Here's the funny part...those games only cost me $15 total and yet, if I sell both of those titles, I'll make over $20.

Just further proof that it's worth bargain bin diving every so often. In any case, yesterday I picked up a couple of PS2 titles...

- Unlimited SaGa
- Megaman X: Command Mission
- Suffering: Ties that Bind
- Maximo: Ghosts to Glory

...And here's why. Yes, I'm on the podium for this one. I'd never gotten a chance to try Unlimited SaGa. Ditto for Suffering 2, but this is especially relevant for SaGa. Besides The Bouncer, it was one of the WORST Squaresoft titles ever, according to everyone and their brother. In any case, I stayed way the hell away from it while still sorta wanting to try it anyway. It was the same way with The Bouncer...when I saw previews for it, it looked kinda neat and I really wanted to try it...then I did...ugh.

Thus far, SaGa isn't that bad. The combat system is a bit funky, but manageable. And really, in comparison to other SaGa games, this is what I kinda expected. As far as Command Mission and Maximo, these were both titles I had played and liked, but were WAY too expensive to warrant a purchase at the time. I managed to get each for less than $10. Unfortunately, the Maximo copy is just about roached...but I have free coupons for disc scrubbing at Game Crazy.

And finally, I loved The Suffering. Great game. And each time I kept finding the sequel, I would often put it down and get something else. NOT THIS TIME, BUCKO. And yes, it's quite awesome. Beyond that, I've pretty much neglected my DS and plan to make a return to SMT soon. That's about it.

[lordlundar]

With MMX:CM, take final fantasy 10, put cell shading in, and that about covers it.

It is a very solid game, with a decent plot, but nothing that really sets itself apart from any other RPG. (but when you get Xs second hyper mode...)

I managed to snag a tough one last week. Ar Tonelico. A typical anime-ish RPG with a solid story. I just started it and I'm hooked. This is a perfect example of my fave type of game. Not the best looking thing in the world, but great story, well thought out characters and solid gameplay.

[Geek King]

I managed to snag a tough one last week. Ar Tonelico. A typical anime-ish RPG with a solid story. I just started it and I'm hooked. This is a perfect example of my fave type of game. Not the best looking thing in the world, but great story, well thought out characters and solid gameplay.

I loved Ar Tonellico! You know, the sequal is due out soon...

In fact, just about anything that Atlus has translated for the US has been good. I've picked up more than one game just because it had their name on it.

I also keep waiting on Dark Cloud 3 to come out. I recommend Dark Cloud 2 (PS2) to anyone who likes action RPGs.

[gunsage]

Yeah, Ar Tonelico's not bad. Have you gotten to diving in it yet? Also, if you like that one, you ought to give Gust's other titles a shot: Atelier Iris 1 - 3. I really liked the second AI, but the others are good too. BTW, you missed one thing with the CM...add bad loading algorithms. There you go. Seriously, ANYTIME you have to go into battle, it loads about as much as Xenosaga 2 does...which is a little much for RPGs IMO.

Ar Tonelico's not bad (there I go repeating myself), but it gets a little tedious because if you're really serious about diving, it's up to you to find all these little conversation points and such. It gets a little annoying because you'll often miss one and then be seriously hampered until you find enough to proceed further. Diving is very cool, though...it almost reminds me of a more involved version of Thousand Arms' dating minigames.

[aniwahya]

Yaay a week where someone has a DDS icon and someone else mentions <3ing Betrayal at Krondor is a GOOD week imo.

EverQuest and Anarchy Online player here, though i'm thinking about switching back to FFXI, if I ever get time to play.

Otherwise I'm rotating between Vampire: The Masquerade and F.E.A.R. on the PC, and the Jak and Daxter games on ps2. My psp is getting the most use of any of my game machines though. Tales of Eternia is so worth importing ^^. Ooh, Pariah and Breakdown are quite alot of fun for Xbox gamers too. Lack of attention span is at least good for introducing variety into my gaming lifestyle!

[Gravekeeper]

Yaay a week where someone has a DDS icon and someone else mentions <3ing Betrayal at Krondor is a GOOD week imo.

EverQuest and Anarchy Online player here, though i'm thinking about switching back to FFXI, if I ever get time to play.

Otherwise I'm rotating between Vampire: The Masquerade and F.E.A.R. on the PC, and the Jak and Daxter games on ps2. My psp is getting the most use of any of my game machines though. Tales of Eternia is so worth importing ^^. Ooh, Pariah and Breakdown are quite alot of fun for Xbox gamers too. Lack of attention span is at least good for introducing variety into my gaming lifestyle!

Finish Vampire a little while ago. They need more games like that. The Witcher was fantastic too for a real gritty, mature kind of rpg.

I tried EQ2 for a couple months....its really impressive for sheer content but its also really easy and no pvp. Well, there's PVP servers but the game just wasn't built with it in mind so its pretty meh. Still, it took them what? 2 years to make it a half decent game? Sony Online is like the touch of death when it comes to MMOs. ><

That and the character models are hideous. The alternates are ok. But still pretty bad. -.-

Final Fantasy Online I never really bothered with. It sounded way to grindy.

I'm stuck back in WoW again now. >< I had high hopes for Pirates of the Crimson Sea then I got into the beta. Ugh, awful game. Again, Sony Online's Touch of Death(tm). Find a promising mmo developer, scoop them up then force them to release the game 6-12 months before its actually done. ( *cough* Vanguard ).

[Greenday]

Rainbow Six Las Vegas is AWESOME! It's not easy by any standard, and I've only played on normal mode, not realistic. Even playing with co-op is pretty sweet. Definitely a game worth picking up if you like shooting things and it takes some skill with tactics.

[gunsage]

Working bottom up here...I had only played the original and didn't really like it much, but as I stated before, the original Splinter Cell was kinda also like that, but the further Clancy gets in his series, they seem to get better tenfold. I'll have to check it out. I also need to get back into Vampire as well. I only played it for a little while, but I liked what it was presenting. Betrayal at Krondor was an AWESOME game.

Too bad Antara and Return to Krondor didn't live up to it. That's a game I haven't played in a LOOOOONG time, but now I'll probably end up returning to it. Never tried Pariah, but Breakdown was kinda fun for the little time I played it. The nice part is both of those should be bargain bin'd, so I should be able to find them relatively easy. And now, here's my WTF for the bargain bin for the day...

Voodoo Vince - X Box

Really? Really? For a while, this game got kinda rare. It's not the best platformer ever, but it's pretty sarcastic and kinda reminds me of a "lighter" version of Conker's Bad Fur Day. Honestly, I'd love to see a sequel to that one, but then I'm not really quite sure what Rare's doing these days. Also, I don't think I caught this last time...there's supposed to be another Dark Cloud and Ar Tonelico?!

Man, it just keeps getting better and better! What I wonder is what system they'll come out for and what they'll update on them. Oh, and a final comment on FFX ripoffs...Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Tried this one yet? Yeah, basically it's Lord of the Rings minus any relevant characters from the story plus FFX battles. It's not a bad game actually, if a bit tedious. I really ought to return to that one soon too.