Current Events > Post a game you like and if I've played it I'll talk about it

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brain_soiled posted...

Contra 3: The Alien Wars
Asura's Wrath
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Ah, Contra 3, AKA the game that broke a friendship.

Okay not really but young Yaridovich got into a lot of fights over this game with my friend. Seriously, how hard is it not to die, bro? Just focus! Goddamn...oops, I died. This just about sums up my experience with Contra 3. Great game, though. Contra at its best. A lot more fun to play as an adult than a kiddo. Is it gonna be on the SNES Classic? I think so. Good choice if it is.

I fucking loved Asura's Wrath. It was every hot-blooded, over the top explosion anime I'd ever seen but as a video game and so much fun.Fuck Capcom for locking the ending behind DLC, but it was worth it. I felt physically tired after play sessions.

Also, "Extend arm" is the best moment in the whole fucking game. Is this game out on PC? Fuck, it's not. Goddamn it, Capcom! Or whoever. I think Capcom.

ItsVinceRusso posted...

Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

Haven't played these, sorry.

DonaldClinton posted...

Soma

I know I'm a big pussy but first-person horror is too much for me. It's scary. :/


M_Live posted...

Kingdom Hearts
Little Nightmares
Horizon: Zero Dawn

See above for Kingdom Hearts. Haven't played the others.
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More tomorrow.
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Fallout 2
Silent Hill 2
Um Jammer Lammy
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SamsungGearS2 posted...

Mario and Luigi Partners in Time
Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012
the Professor Layton series

I haven't played Partners in Time, but I've played all the others in the series. I dunno why.

My sister was a big fan of Need for Speed 2012. Lemme talk to her and I'll get back to you.

Again, sorry, I know, I feel bad but I haven't played any layton games.
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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
killer7
Any Dragon Quest game
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The Last of Us
Red Dead Redemption
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Yaridovich posted...

SamsungGearS2 posted...

Mario and Luigi Partners in Time
Need for Speed Most Wanted 2012
the Professor Layton series

I haven't played Partners in Time, but I've played all the others in the series. I dunno why.

My sister was a big fan of Need for Speed 2012. Lemme talk to her and I'll get back to you.

Again, sorry, I know, I feel bad but I haven't played any layton games.

Your thoughts on the other 4 games?
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Yaridovich posted...

I haven't played Partners in Time, but I've played all the others in the series. I dunno why.

Partners in Time tends to get a bit more hate than the others and it doesn't make sense.

It's a great game.
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Kircheis posted...

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Eternal Sonata (PS3 version, even if only for the gameplay and music)
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

I played Symphony of the Night wa~ay after it came out. In 2003, I think. Long enough that the general chatter around me and the industry press I read spoiled me on the biggest parts. That didn't stop me at all from enjoying it, but I know I missed on that initial magic that made the game so popular to begin with--but I still played through it at least a dozen times in the past 10 years.

The highest percentage I ever got for map completion was I think 90-97%. Full completion never really interested me. My goal for whenever I play is to get all the cool weapons I like and explore enough for Alucard to get at least 900 HP. Or round a bout that. I did one (1) play through as Richter and that was enough for me forever. He's so stiff and not really suited to all the bananas stuff the game throws at you. Still glad I experienced it. Maybe one day, in a far-off land with angels singing and world peace achieved I'll sit down and try an Axe Armor run.

I wish the final boss was tougher. I wish the game was a little harder overall, but it's really fine as-is. I wish the space between dying and restarting at your last save wasn't so long, as I usually find it quicker to just reset the system instead of waiting.

The Cross is my baby all the way, with either throw gem or holy water as my second. That wafer one is lame as fuck, but maybe it has a use I'm not aware of.

I give Castlevania Symphony of the Night an 8/10

I only played the demo of Eternal Sonata and while I did enjoy the gameplay, the demo alone was enough to point me to the soundtrack and I still go to it every now and then. I don't know much about the game and I know that before I admonished Sakuraba's music, the big Chopin influence on this one really helped it appeal to me more.

Speaking of graphics...this was a Namco-Bandai joint, right? I wonder why they stopped trying to 1:1 emulate anime like they were doing in this generation. Vesperia did a fairly good job at it as well. I dunno.

I also haven't played too much Eternal Sonata and can't really score it. Just like I haven't played 999 despite having a copy of it. I buy a lot of games I don't play, unfortunately. The perils of adulthood, I suppose.
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NeoBowser posted...

My Sims Kingdom
Alice in Wonderland

I haven't played either of these, sorry. Garioshi posted...

Tales of the Abyss
Resident Evil 4
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

I have a wide collection of PS2 JRPGs (they're my favorite genre and era) and Abyss is in that stack. I played I think a little more than halfway through it a few years ago then life got in the way and every time I think about going back to it, I falter because I know I'd have to restart to really get fully into it. I do remember it being a fun time, but also slightly annoyed with something about the battle system, like you had to stand in the right place to execute powerful moves, I don't remember.

I DO remember that a lot of people didn't much care for Luke, but I didn't really find him any kind of offensive. I did also have a crushy on Tear, still kinda do. I can't remember much about the rest of the cast, though. I do remember that the game looked pretty good, but suffered from that same problem I complained about in my Symphonia talk, which is that everything is kind of stiff, save for one key fight scene.

I'm sure it's not a bad game and as far as Tales games go this one got a lot of attention, just about as much as Vesperia, with an anime and a 3DS remake. I can't fault its popularity and maybe someday, like I usually say, I'll get back to playing it. I can't really score it as is, though.

Resident Evil 4 is one of the six or so games I've played so much that I don't think I can every play it again. Hundreds of hours going through it and mercenaries. Playing through on Normal, then professional and then normal knife-only (best I could) and professional the same way and so on and on and on. I've played this game so much I could be thrown into any part of it and muscle memory would let me clear it.

I know a lot of people knock it for 'ruining Resident Evil' and while I can't deny that it set a new, unfortunate trend, Resident Evil 4 is still a really good game. I'd probably call it the last great Resident Evil. It really a perfect storm of ridiculousness. Great environments, fun enemies and weapons, a story so bananas with writing so crazy that it turns around and becomes charming as fuck and everything melts together to make a really wonderful experience.

Not perfect, though. I wish you could swap to grenades without opening the menu, I dunno. Put the map in the menu and make Z / R1 the dedicated grenade button that you equip grenades to. People always talked about how you should have been able to strafe, but I disagree. The game is built around being aware of your surroundings in a very specific way but a quick back-hop option would have been nice. Nothing too drastic, just back + A or something to make Leon do a quick two step back hop would have helped, but it's fine without.

Speaking of Leon, he's amazing. He's written so well. People might scoff at that, but look at the consistency of his character. It's fluent through the entire game and his goofy "I'm a badass" nature extends to every other appearance of him in upcoming movies and games (except Vendetta but that movie was awful overall). There are so many memorable lines and moments and I love every one.

My favorite is when Saddler says he sending "you know who" after Leon and Leon accuses him of having a 'senior moment' and Saddler laughs like "Oh-ho-ho you got me!" I fucking lose it, it's great. I also like the Blacktail much more than the Red9, come at me nerds.

Despite being forever burnt out on Resident Evil 4, I will give it a 9/10. I really do love it.

Paper Mario in the next post.
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Paper Mario and The Thousand Year Door is a great game...that I've only played twice.

The writing is so goddamn good. There's a part where Bowser gets tossed into the ocean only to wash up I think in town or somewhere and when asked by Kamek (I think) if he's okay, he proclaims loudly that he swallowed a blooper and I found that so goddamn funny. It's really a game I have to excuse not to play again, given how it's on the e-shop. I'm very sorry, I don't remember too much about it. Except that I had a hard time with the final boss and I got very frustrated with the optional dungeon (though that might have been Paper Mario 1).

It's also a great looking game. The paper aesthetic is really wonderful.
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Yaridovich posted...

I only played the demo of Eternal Sonata and while I did enjoy the gameplay, the demo alone was enough to point me to the soundtrack and I still go to it every now and then. I don't know much about the game and I know that before I admonished Sakuraba's music, the big Chopin influence on this one really helped it appeal to me more.

Speaking of graphics...this was a Namco-Bandai joint, right? I wonder why they stopped trying to 1:1 emulate anime like they were doing in this generation. Vesperia did a fairly good job at it as well. I dunno.

I also haven't played too much Eternal Sonata and can't really score it. Just like I haven't played 999 despite having a copy of it. I buy a lot of games I don't play, unfortunately. The perils of adulthood, I suppose.

I'll be honest, if you haven't fully played Eternal Sonata by now you probably won't lose too much sleep over skipping it. Tbh the dungeons are kinda poorly designed; the only ones that might serve as a major roadblock are the surprisingly complex Fort Fermata, and Xylophone Tower, where at one point you're expected to identify notes by ear. Which is great if you can, but I can't, therefore it's a horrible puzzle. The in-between dungeon bits make Final Fantasy X look like a wide open field. And even the expanded/additional scenes don't save the "famous music composer's dying dream" premise from the clutches of a generic JRPG plot. As said, I only liked it for the music and gameplay (specifically combat).

That's a shame about not having time for 999 though. I'm thoroughly convinced it's impossible to dislike any of the characters up until a certain major reveal, which is more than I can say for the sequels I tell you what.
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LinksLiege posted...

Myst (either that one single game or the whole series if you want)

I used to play Myst a lot in high school, as it was the only game installed on the computers there. I think I got a total of maybe...four pages? I wasn't that bright back then or maybe I didn't have the right mindset for Myst. I do know that it's a real relaxing game to play, despite all the thinkin'. I wonder what it would be like to play today. Actually, since I know so little about it (I never really looked up and solutions or anything) it would be like playing it brand new again.I see that it might be on mobile, but what a disservice to the game. I'll just get in on Steam or GOG, both of which I'm positive have it.

Uncle_Drew posted...

Looked over at my shelf with all my games, first 3 I glanced at

Borderlands 2
Fallout 4
Assasins Creed 4 Black Flag

Borderlands 2 is part of the aforementioned six or so games that I played so much I'll never play them again.

There's something about the game that just hooked me. I got every character to max level and with a great assortment of guns. I cheesed my way through every raid boss, I farmed the Warrior and Terramorphous hundreds of times. I got the Conference Call back before it was nerfed. I did all the DLC six times each because I'm crazy. And I had so much fun doing all of it. I really do like the world of Borderlands.

I think I liked Axton the best, min-maxing be damned. His turrent(s) helped me a lot in Ultimate True Vault Hunter Mode. My least favorite is probably Gaige, as I hated that a key part of her power was keeping as few bullets in your clips as possible. I like having lots of bullets available all the time.

The game has a great sense of humor and a great look, too. I watched a key not speech by Gearbox's lead bro about how new technology will made Borderlands 3 look even better and I can't wait. Couple of things for Borderlands 3:

1. Make it so when I make a new character, I can skip all the introduction garbage. How many times did I have to suffer through Claptrap and the snow drifts in the beginning of B2, seriously. If I've done it once, just drop my new character at some determined checkpoint in the main hub.

2. Focus higher difficulties on better AI and no just insane hit points. When I have to pour thousands of bullets into a sludged plain-Jane bandit, something's wrong. It actually gets kind of boring after a while.

3. Give character development to the character I'm playing as, please? Borderlands 2 might as well be called "Handsome Jack and some friends". The world gets a lot of press, Jack gets a lot of press but the peeps you play as just get...put there. Maybe it's a self-insert thing but in the Pre-Sequel your characters talked so idfk.

I doubt I'll ever play it again, but Borderlands 2 gets an 8 out of 10 from me. Maybe a 7.

I played an hour of Fallout 4 and it's just not for me. I liked New Vegas a lot, but 4 didn't do it for me.

Same with Black Flag. I like Ass Creed 2 and even 3, but 4 didn't do much for me.
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Final Fantasy Tactics
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Mass Effect main trilogy (and Andromeda, if you want)
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Ozarhok posted...

Fallout 2
Silent Hill 2
Um Jammer Lammy

I beat Fallout 1, 3 and New Vegas, but never 2. Can't say why. I'd probably like it.

Same with Um-Jammer Lammy. I beat Parappa but never Lammy. Man, remember the good old days, though? Back before the industry imploded and creativity became wayside? We'd never get a game like Lammy from a big studio today, it would indie and even then probs without the heart. Oh well. Old man time is over.

Silent Hill 2, though, is a great game. Best in the series, followed by 3 than 1 than 4 and that's all the Silent Hill games, there are no more.

Seriously though, I love Silent Hill 2. It has such an amazing atmosphere. So many memorable scenes and characters. Refer back to my Final Fantasy X and Eternal Darkness talks to learn about my friend's house that too is where I first played this. Silent Hill 2 was the first horror game I ever sat down and played with the intention to beat. It scared me. A lot. I was...17? Yeah, I just turned 17. The mood was something I'd never experienced before. It did such a good job at making me feel like I was both somewhere familiar yet foreign all at the same time. I will always remember approaching that barred-off hallway in the apartment building and seeing Pyramid Head standing on the other side. Or how me and my friend hollered like idiots when you get knocked off the hospital roof (we also woke his mom up hah).

I think my favorite part of the game is in the hotel, after James 'remembers' what he did to Mary and it starts raining inside the hotel. It is so atmosphere and spooky and I just love it. The slowest part of the game for me is that area where you have to rotate the head and then deal with those noose puzzles. The game just kinda takes a break then. I also just love that you find a Can of Light Bulbs in service of a puzzle. It's so random yet somehow perfectly in tune with the rest of the game.

And let's not forget poor Angela's farewell. It's such a great scene.

"It's hot as hell in here."

"You feel it too? For me, it's always like this."

The music is fantastic. Theme of Laura, Promise and Promise (reprise), that song that plays in the 'elevator' and even the classic Silent Hill main theme during the credits. I love Silent Hill 2 a lot. Even the Dog Ending which I just can't get enough of.

Too bad the remaster is damn awful. Too bad Team Silent went wayward.

Too bad about Silent Hills. :/

Whatever. Let's just remember Silent Hill at its finest and it's here.
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Yeah Axton was my favorite too, his turrets were awesome. I hate the characters abilities were you get stacks of stuff, I don't like the concept of it. Hope they don't put as much of those abilities in 3.
And 100000% agree with you about higher difficulty levels, the amount of health and crap regular enemies got was just insane to the point of not being very fun, but overall for me Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite all time game
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I don't mind stacks as long as they're just passive, but any stack I have to actively maintain no thanks.
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Lost Odyssey
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Fable I, II and III
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Bump. I'm on my phone right now but I'd like to keep this active.
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Yaridovich posted...

I used to play Myst a lot in high school, as it was the only game installed on the computers there. I think I got a total of maybe...four pages? I wasn't that bright back then or maybe I didn't have the right mindset for Myst. I do know that it's a real relaxing game to play, despite all the thinkin'. I wonder what it would be like to play today. Actually, since I know so little about it (I never really looked up and solutions or anything) it would be like playing it brand new again.I see that it might be on mobile, but what a disservice to the game. I'll just get in on Steam or GOG, both of which I'm positive have it.

I didn't think I'd inadvertently get you to try it again. That's awesome - it's one of my favorite series.

Most of the series is on Steam for cheap, as is Obduction (which is basically Myst VI). The only advice I'd offer is this: take notes.
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Yaridovich posted...

Ugh, Dark Souls. Look, I love Bloodborn and I liked what I played of Dark Souls III, but I cannot get into Dark Souls. I don't know why. I've tried a lot of times and I do not have fun at all with it. I get incrementally further each time, but it's always so blaah and I can't make myself play anymore. I really don't like it and I can't pinpoint why, exactly. I don't hate the formula, like I said I loved Bloodborne and DSIII (the little I played) but I just don't know. I doubt I'll ever play it again. Sorry.

Did you play Bloodborne before playing Dark Souls? Just wondering.
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Rise to Honor
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Monkhood posted...

Yaridovich posted...

Ugh, Dark Souls. Look, I love Bloodborn and I liked what I played of Dark Souls III, but I cannot get into Dark Souls. I don't know why. I've tried a lot of times and I do not have fun at all with it. I get incrementally further each time, but it's always so blaah and I can't make myself play anymore. I really don't like it and I can't pinpoint why, exactly. I don't hate the formula, like I said I loved Bloodborne and DSIII (the little I played) but I just don't know. I doubt I'll ever play it again. Sorry.

Did you play Bloodborne before playing Dark Souls? Just wondering.

I did. My friends are big fans of Dark Souls so they bought it at launch and I played it with them and on and off since then.

It's why I was hesitant to play bloodborne at first but eventually it came on sale and the general look of it won out and I really had a wonderful time with it.
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Skyrim
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Call of Duty 3. The release title for Xbox 360.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage
Uniracers
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Final Fantasy Tactics
Fallout 1
GTA IV

Shadowplay posted...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
killer7
Any Dragon Quest game

I haven't played Vampire: The Masquerade.

I rented Killer7 just a few weeks after it came out and was so bamboozled by it. It really caught me off guard. I'd never really seen anything like it. Since then, I'd at least played a little of Suda51's games, but the first time is the one you remember most.

I didn't really like it too much when I first played it. Yet--I still got fairly far. I can't remember how far or anything really plot-wise, but the visuals and tone of the game will stick with me forever. It really is abstract art, in a way and so bizarre yet somehow works. I can't say I was a fan of the on-rails shooting, but it was a clear case of it being so unique I had to keep trying to see what came next.

It's too bad it's only Gamecube, else I'd be more inclined to play it. Oh well. If I ever see it in the wild I'll be sure to pick it up.

The only Dragon Quest game I've played to completion is the first one. I've played a little of VI, VII and VIII but haven't ever really sank my teeth into them as I feel I should. They're always a lot of fun and looking at the SNES ones it's easy to see that the production values, on at least the gameplay, were always matching the current Final Fantasy. One of these days, which is becoming a common phrase, I'll sit down and play through all of them.

I enjoyed Dragon Warrior 1, by the way. It's an amazing grind but satisfying as nuts to actually achieve things and eventually beat it. Get bent Star Wyverns!

Gamer99z posted...

The Last of Us
Red Dead Redemption

I played the Last of Us for the first time on the Remaster.

It was good. Like most Naughty Dog games, I feel like the parts are greater than the whole. There were a lot of scenes in the game that were really striking, such as Joel and Elly looking at giraffes and the gameplay was pretty fun--but in the end it was like Heavy Rain in that due to it's cinematic nature, I doubt I'll ever play it again. I did really enjoy my time with it, but once was enough. I didn't like it -that- much and I already know everything that's going to happen. I know that sounds pedantic especially since that's the nature of all video games, but The Last of Us relies a lot of it's storytelling, almost just as much as it does the gameplay--the latter of which I only liked enough to get through the former.

Joel is an...well...my initial response to his actions was that he's kind of an asshole, and while that may be the case, the fact of the matter is that he acted out of passion. It's kind of apparent that nobody discussed with Ellie whether or not she'd accept the operation, and there was no assurance it would even work. I can debate back and forth whether or not Joel was 'right' for what he did, but the fact that Ellie was left without a choice in the matter either way annoys me and makes me side with Joel just a little more.

Will I play the sequel? Hell yeah. Do I think it'sa good game? Of course. But nothing to me worth going back to, at least not for the foreseeable future.

Red Dead next post
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Red Dead Redemption kind of surprised me. I, like I'm sure everybody else did, thought the game was just gonna be GTA 4 in 1911. It was, in a way, but the differences are plenty enough to make it its own thing. The biggest difference is John Marston himself. He was exactly the kind of protagonist that the game needed. He had a real personality, real ambitions and morals obligations--he understood that his past wasn't to be taken lightly.

The game had a lot of great scenes in it. Marston drinking with Landon Ricketts, the prelude to 'The Mexican Wagon Train' mission is one I always go back to. Or when Dutch comes back in the bank robbery, that scene was so tense. And of course, the ending. Honestly, it's the best story Rockstar's ever told. Leagues better than any GTA, but then again, that isn't the point of GTA.

The gameplay is fun as fuck too. Sure, it's a modified GTA 4 shoot-em-up, but it's so damn satisfying to pop a hombre in the head or hogtie a guy. Finally claiming a bounty alive after a hard fight was damn fun. So was hunting animals. I loved how the challenge log worked and made it feel like I was a part of the world. I did mostly everything, I was having such a blast. Got damn near 100%, but that challenge to take so many enemy strongholds in one day got me. I really want Rockstar to release this game on PC.

Hell, even the Zombie DLC was fantastic! It really is how DLC should be. Fully-fledged, with great rewards and zaniness that wouldn't have a place in the main game. Totally worth the ten bucks. Can't speak much for the multiplayer. I didn't feel like it was the kind of game that really needed it, but...you know...video games.

Overall I give Red Dead Redemption a solid 8/10.
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Yaridovich posted...

Joel is an...well...my initial response to his actions was that he's kind of an asshole, and while that may be the case, the fact of the matter is that he acted out of passion. It's kind of apparent that nobody discussed with Ellie whether or not she'd accept the operation, and there was no assurance it would even work. I can debate back and forth whether or not Joel was 'right' for what he did, but the fact that Ellie was left without a choice in the matter either way annoys me and makes me side with Joel just a little more.

I am pretty sure Ellis did agree.

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene
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slipknirvana posted...

Yaridovich posted...

Joel is an...well...my initial response to his actions was that he's kind of an asshole, and while that may be the case, the fact of the matter is that he acted out of passion. It's kind of apparent that nobody discussed with Ellie whether or not she'd accept the operation, and there was no assurance it would even work. I can debate back and forth whether or not Joel was 'right' for what he did, but the fact that Ellie was left without a choice in the matter either way annoys me and makes me side with Joel just a little more.

I am pretty sure Ellis did agree.

If I remember right, the chain of events was Tunnel > firefly base > escape and in that time we don't see anything concering Ellie outside of what Joel learns. It's possible that the Fireflies lies to her about the severity of the situation or maybe she did agree, knowing that her life would maybe end the epidemic. Hmmm....I guess that does make sense, considering how much doubt she showed in responding to Joel at the end...

Okay, maybe I DO need to play it again...
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bluezero posted...

Final Fantasy Tactics

Let's talk about the music, firstly: it's great. Of course it is. You'd be hard-pressed to find anybody who disagrees. That opening movie music always sends chills down my spine. It's atmospheric all on its own, easily invoking imagery of knights and magic and wars over ancient artifacts and so on. It's also very well composed and I guess it'd have to be considering that you hear so much of on repeat it due to the nature of the game.

All that said

It's not something I go out of my way to listen to. I don't hate it, but I feel like for me it's much better listened to in the game and I find I lose interest in it outside.

Let's move on. The game is the PSOne pinnacle of Strategy RPGs. Using the Final Fantasy franchise to full effect while also creating Ivalice, one of my favorite video game worlds, it really hit the nail on the head. Boy, though, I sucked HARD at this game when I first played it. I was just awful. I got to the the Brigands' Den and lost time and again against the Corpse Brigade. I had three Knights (why) and Ramza was an archer (why) and I just got slaughtered. My friend at the time, who was a big Tactics fan, laughed cruelly at me (as he should). I was just too dumb at the time, I couldn't get my head around playing as defensively as the game wanted and relied on items too much--I sucked.

Cut to five years later and I found a used copy at a flea market. Tried it again, really liked it. I don't love the game, but I do really enjoy it. I'll never min-max or grind out my whole squad to max jobs, but every time I spend time with it I always at least go over 50 hours just beating the story and dicking around. I think my favorite job is probably just a juiced-up Squire for Ramza with 2-weapons. Chop Chop you're dead! Something like that. I also like Ninjas.

Thunder God Cid is, as you probably know, broken. He's the Aizen of Final Fantasy Tactics with attacks that reach far and hit hard. I used him quite a bit when I first played through, but now fancy putting my own members into play. I love that little scream sound when you gank a bitch, too. I should make that my text alert noise. I only ever beat the Deep Dungeon once, back in 2005-ish and, get this, didn't learn Zodiac. I was just happy to have cleared it.

Let's discuss War of the Lions, too. I actually prefer it over vanilla Tactics, slow down be damned. I think the new cutscenes are very well done and I very much like the scene between Delita and Ovelia where Delita declares his intentions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05xZWPtXgIE sorry for the popping

The new translation is good too, but c'mon, it's not hard to overtake that old one. I've never seen such a messy localization before. The tutorial is a literal disaster zone. The best thing about War of the Lions was its portability, and I bought a PSP specifically for this and Crisis Core. I hear that the mobile versions of the game are without slowdown, so maybe I'll look into them.

Let's end with a funny story:

The year was 2005 and by this point I was a seasoned adventurer in Ivalice. One of my friends at the time wasn't too big into SRPGs, but I talked him into trying Tactics and lent him my copy. I went over to his house a week or so later and he got into a random encounter at that hill stage (you know the one. Ol' Wyvern Hill, we call it) and was having a tough time. Hunched over in his chair, he watched as his Chemist named Strawberry died. Her body began to fade. On the third turn, just a turn before she would become a crystal, my friend muttered softly "I'm not going to lose another one."

Alas, there was nothing to be done. Strawberry turned into a crystal. My friend stood up, wiped his brow and left the room. Later I asked why he took it so seriously.

"I lost six men today." he said.

God bless.
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WalkingWiki posted...

Mass Effect main trilogy (and Andromeda, if you want)

I haven't played Andromeda, but I have gone through the OG trilogy. Let's break it down.

Mass Effect 1 is soooo boooring. It's just a snoozefest for me now. It was exciting when I first played it, but now I dread going through it (which is unfortunate due to the nature of the series. I hate playing 2 without a good 1 save and the space between playthroughs is usually long enough that I want to refresh myself with 1). The story plods, the Mako is god's mistake, combat is okay but Biotics rule everything, the textures pop around like it's an episode of Bleach (I know I reference this a lot), the dialogue is interesting, as the world and characters are great, but also it's stiff I feel and there's a lot I don't care about.

I like Mass Effect but I also really don't like Mass Effect. Also, when you first get the Citadel and Anderson greets you at the dock, why does the game give you a grenade as a reward for that conversation? And why isn't Ashley dead to begin with? Fuck her.

Mass Effect 2 was really good, though. It took all my issues and fixed them! They murdered the Mako (fuck the Mako), streamlined combat, made the game look so much better, added great new loyalty missions and really pulled the story together with a great final encounter and rush. I really enjoy Mass Effect 2. I personally think it's the best in the series. Jack's missions were my favorite and she was a mainstay in my party. Garrus, of course, my bro, was the third. Love that guy. During the suicide mission, my first time, Miranda died. Oops.. Maybe one day I'll get over my weird hang-up with having to beat Mass Effect 1 before 2 and play through 2 again proper. Maybe.

Mass Effect 3 I liked, still better than one and had a lot of really fantastic moments, when Conrad died in my arms asking if he had helped I legit let out a tear. I felt so fucking bad. Worse than when Mordan died.. Fighting the sand worm thing was awesome, heading into the Geth Mainframe or avenging Thane in that awesome little QTE. It did a great job in tying up loose ends, too bad the actual ending was such a wash. For as impactful your choices were literally everywhere else, the ending had hardly any impact at all. But...whatever. I'm willing to forgive it, because I liked the series so much.

How, uh...how is Andromeda? In comparison, I guess. My friend says the gameplay is top notch but the story is only so-so.
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Muffinz0rz posted...

Lost Odyssey

The farthest I got in Lost Odyssey was when the twins mom died. I have no reason for not continuing. I wish it got a PC port. The best part of the game, hands-down (for at least how far I got) were the 1000 year tale memories. Those little short stories were so well-written and captivating. Also, the battle theme is just wonderful. Listen--Square started to flounder when they traded Sakaguchi for fucking goddamn Tetsuya Nomura. Sakaguchi, at least, knows how to tell an interesting story.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, Lost Odyssey. I really enjoyed what I played. Sorry I didn't get further. Maybe one day. It really is quite a good RPG and on a system that was lacking in them.
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Zone of the Enders 2
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Yaridovich posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

Lost Odyssey

The farthest I got in Lost Odyssey was when the twins mom died. I have no reason for not continuing. I wish it got a PC port. The best part of the game, hands-down (for at least how far I got) were the 1000 year tale memories. Those little short stories were so well-written and captivating. Also, the battle theme is just wonderful. Listen--Square started to flounder when they traded Sakaguchi for fucking goddamn Tetsuya Nomura. Sakaguchi, at least, knows how to tell an interesting story.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, Lost Odyssey. I really enjoyed what I played. Sorry I didn't get further. Maybe one day. It really is quite a good RPG and on a system that was lacking in them.

Time to dust off that Xbox
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DevsBro posted...

Rise to Honor

I have never played it but remember that Jet Li movie with Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman? I really liked that movie but can't remember the name. The last big fight scene was pretty damn cool.

Slayerblade11 posted...

Final Fantasy Tactics
Fallout 1
GTA IV

I've already covered Tactics.

I played Fallout 1 a long time ago. It took a long time for me to get used to the interface, movement and combat enough to start enjoying myself, but when I did, I did. The writing is pretty good, enough to make the world vibrant (as much as it can be, given the setting) despite the simple graphics. I don't remember much about...anything...other than I went mostly speech and tried to avoid combat. I also died a lot. A lot.

Man, it's kinda too bad games like this died such a natural death. There seems to be a nice place for them in the tablet world now, if the industry would allow it---but then again, games like Shadowrun and Pillars of Eternity are kinda proving me wrong so I dunno.

Grand Theft Auto IV is just fine. The city is fine, the story is fine, the driving is awful and I really didn't like the 'buddy' system. If you stick with it and nurture your friendships apparently you get a ton of really cool perks and items but I hated being called all the time. Also, there was something wonky about the shooting that games like Red Dead Redemption did better. I don't have any real problems with GTA IV, but I enjoy V better and like the wide variety of San Andreas even more. IV seemed more to me like a big-budget proof-of-concept, like Rockstar saying "Look how awesome we can be" years before giving us GTA V.

I dunno. Liberty City never captivated me as much as San Andreas or even Vice City. What I like about San Andreas and V's Los Santos is that alongside the city there's also a lot of backwoods. San Andreas had a ton of backwoods. Maybe too much. That kind of neighboring geography really helped make the world a better place.

Oh! The Lost and Damned was really great. I really enjoyed my time with that. My friend also vouches a lot for The Ballad of Gay Tony, so maybe the DLC did GTA IV better than GTA IV did.
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ItsVinceRusso posted...

Skyrim

I'm going out of order, sorry.

Anyway, SKYRIM! I got caught up hard in the hype surrounding Skyrim's release and preordered it despite only liking Oblivion somewhat and finding Morrowind boring. I played a lot of Skyrim despite it. It's fun to run around and do...whatever. But oh glory was that initial release a mess. I mean, it's pretty standard Bethesda fair, but those first few weeks of Skyrim were something else. I had an NPC lady tell me to meet her at some dungeon entrance, only then watch her walk away and plummet through the earth like she fell through a manhole cover. Or have my sword animation freeze mid-swing.

I still had fun with it, though. Getting weapons, raising skills, exploring--that was my favorite part. Exploring mindlessly was great. Finding a new dungeon and killing everything in it, emerging that much richer and powerful only to strike out towards unknown territory and do it again, it was pretty rewarding. I didn't much care for the story and to this day haven't ever completed the main quest, but it's to Skyrim's credit that my 200+ combined hours have allowed me to not touch it.

I never got any of the DLC. My time with the game is vanilla as vanilla gets.I made a sneaky Kajhit (spelled wrong) and became the sneakiest mothercatter you ever saw. With the right gear I could literally walk in front of people and pickpocket them. I loved it. Sneak attacks for days. When people ask what the appeal of Skyrim is, I tell them that the sense of freedom is what. You can just give the story a big middle finger and do whatever. You could kill everybody in the game (that the game lets you kill) or live a domestic life (as well as the game lets you).

Alright, so there are a lot of mechanical restrictions and also a lot of things that constantly remind me that I'm not in the open world of Skyrim, but just a computer in a computer land. Near the end of my time with the game, I felt less and less like an adventurer and more just like a small computer bug exploring a landscape made by sentient AI. This feeling passed on to Fallout and then eventually nullified any interest I had in Bethesda open-world games.

That said, I had a lot of fun with Skyrim. I still quote it from time to time (namely that bro is Whiterun that asks if you've been to the Cloud District) and me and my friends share our stories all the time about our hijinks. In that way, Skyrim is probably the best Social Game ever made. A game I doubt I'll ever play again.
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slipknirvana posted...

Call of Duty 3. The release title for Xbox 360.

I didn't get a 360 blaze it until way into its life cycle and since I don't really play FPS games anyway...sorry...

Ryven posted...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage
Uniracers

I have some damn good memories with Turtles in Time. I played the SNES one a lot. So much I could beat it in maybe an hour or so on hard (when I was 9) What a great game. Honestly, it's probably the best beat-em-up ever made, I think. There's such a variety of moves, enemies, locations and bosses it never gets boring. So many key elements from the show appear and the music is great too. I guess a downside is the SNES version is only two-player but I only had one friend into it anyway so it worked out.

I had a birthday party at an arcade once when I was 8 and put so many tokens into it (Dream Machine, Maine Mall used be a killer arcade before...you know...). I could only make it to Leatherhead in the arcade. Remember arcade beat-em-ups, though? I think Turtles in Time was one of those games that had the two-screen setup and was so damn cool (X-Men had it too).

Donatello is my boi. His reach is great and c'mon, he's Donatello. I know people like Raph a lot because he's snarky but come on, Donny does Machines. What does Mikey even do besides smoke pot and order disgusting pizza? Leo is too busy sucking Splinter's rat dick to even thing about having fun. Whatever.

Actually, Leonardo was a good choice in Turtles in Time too, given his reach. That move where you grab a foot soldier and slam them back and forth was so much fun and really helpful due to the invincibility frames. Did you know you could baseball back shurikens? The music for Neon Night Riders was so chill and a perfect example of what the SNES 'sound' was.

Gosh, I think I'm going to go buy a TMNT IV arcade cabinet now. To the bank!

But not before talking about Maximum Carnage.

It's like the opposite of Turtles in Time for me. It was so silly hard, but I liked the look and gameplay. It was fun to hit dudes, but jesus was it tough. I never beat it, I think the furthest I got was the Central Park level where bitches are throwing boulders at you. I really dug the music, though. I also like playing as Venom. I don't really have much else to say about it. There are apparently hidden areas in each stage with extra lives and whatever? I only ever found one by an ATM in a late Venom stage.

Man, some of those bosses...the whole game got me so frustrated as a kid.

I played Uniracers only once and while it was fun, it also got kinda old. Not bad
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clash at demonhead
vagrant story
flying dragon (n64)
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EyeWontBeFooled posted...

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene

I find it pretty interesting how the simple concept of Space Invaders gets taken and twisted to fit whatever the current era of gaming is. Infinity Gene is such an interesting take on it. Almost not even recognizable as Space Invaders, but retains enough of the classic imagery and style that its roots are apparents.

Fun game, though. Worth the five bucks I just paid for it on Android. Seems like a good way to kill some time on breaks at work or while pooping.

DevsBro posted...

Zone of the Enders 2

Zone of the Enders 1 was a fun game with a ham-fisted story and awesome mech battles.

Zone of the Enders 2 was a fun game with a ham-fisted story and amazing mech battles and probably the best fucking graphics on the Playstation 2. I don't know what kind of black magic Kojima used but holy god. It's so good. It's a low-res PS3 game. My jaw dropped when I first saw it.

It's also a fairly difficult game? I haven't played it in a while. I have a sealed copy, if you can believe it, alongside a loose disc copy in a CD book somewhere. I really liked the presentation (if you can't already tell). I liked the new animated 'codec' calls and how smooth combat was. There's a steep learning curve to git gud but is the reward worth is? I honestly don't know, I never beat it. I still think it's a great game regardless.
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Xeno14 posted...

clash at demonhead
vagrant story
flying dragon (n64)

I didn't play Clash at Demonhead until I watched a Youtube video talking about it. I enjoyed my time with it, though. It has such a wacky nature about it, with such a cool vibe throughout. It doesn't take itself seriously but also kinda does....I dunno. Fun to explore, though and if you keep persistent notes it's very rewarding to get through. I never beat it, but think about it from time to time, as though it were a star-crossed lover. For an NES game, it was pretty ambitious and for the most part succeeded in its dreams.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Clashatdemonhead.jpg

Also the cover art is a perfect time capsule of the time in which it was released.

Vagrant Story is another one of those games that really outdid the system it was released on. It also helps it was a decent game, too. The story was just okay, but I much prefered the setting and atmosphere. The game required a lot of forethought and understand of the somewhat clunky weapons system. Sometimes it really felt like a chore to get through. But the game looked good! Those character models were really something else.

I got so close to the end, but then fucked up somehow with weapon types and boned myself against a dragon boss,so I got real frustrated and rage quit. It's on my Vita so there's a strong chance of getting back it but sheesh.

Never played Flying Dragon.
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I think I'm all caught up! If I missed one let me know.

Maybe this topic will die now? Let's see what happens.
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Bump
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Thank you everybody this has been a great topic. I had a lot of fun
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