Playing any games?

[Azrael Strife]

Have you guys played any interesting/crappy games recently?

 

About a week ago I started playing Civilization IV again, hadn't played since I got it as my graphics card was kinda choking with all the 3d, I was slightly annoyed by it, but after giving it another spin with my new card I have to say I was impressed by it I enjoy the combat animations a lot (they remind me of Combat Chess!), the music is perfect for the atmosphere of the game, varying from age to age (can't remember if CivIII was like that, prob was), and the overall graphics are less distracting than I thought they would be (I prefer simpler graphics when dealing with strategy games), Firaxis handled them pretty good.

Building wonders seems to take A LOT less than it used to in CivIII, at least I'm building them by the dozens, not sure that is good or not, but I'm ok with it, I prefer without wonders anyway, not that I can turn them off... The civics was greatly enhanced! allowing to change from economic model to religion, not just government, that was very nice!

 

Another game I started playing a bit today was Hospital Tycoon, I HAD to check it out since it seemed to follow Theme Hospital's path, a game I absolutely love. After a few minutes of gameplay I have to say the game looks impressively enjoyable, but more testing is needed!

 

About Afterlight... the game becomes very stale for me after researching all technologies I could, seems I can't do anything else but to fend off attacks and continue conquering territories; I was expecting something to happen after taking out the Reticulan base, but alas nothing happened...

[FullAuto]

Excite Truck for the Wii. A sort-of racing game I thought would be average at best turned out to be really good, finely balanced controls, nice sense of speed.

 

Hotel Dusk for the DS pissed me off something chronic. Adventure game, interesting graphical style, coupled with a structure that makes it seem like the game isn't linear but actually is. Hours of boredom and frustration guaranteed. Seemed good to begin with, too.

 

Super Paper Mario for the Wii. Excellent RPG, even better than the first one I think.

 

Armageddon Empires for the PC. Rather good turn-based strategy game in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, four different playable factions, basic graphics but a deep, solid game that looks simple but is quite complex. https://www.crypticcomet.com

 

Fire Emblem for the jolly old GameCube. Fantasy turn-based strategy, enough said. I love it.

 

Chibi Robo for GC. Very unusual little platformer, excellent environment, gets better the further you go.

 

Ace Attorney 2 - Justice for all, for the DS. A sort of lawyer sim, interrogate witnesses, look for evidence, contains no actual legal knowledge at all. Funny, in a mental over-the-top Japanese fashion and surprisingly good to play.

[Bomb Bloke]

Super Mario 64 DS. Bought it with the DS itself sometime over a year ago, only just got around to making myself play it (frustrating game at times, camera has an annoying tendancy to go behind walls just when you don't want it to, but I'm on a mission to finish "classics" and it's fun enough).

 

Zelda: Minish Cap for the GBA (also played on my DS, granted). Better then I expected (which is saying something where Zelda is concerned), but not overly challenging.

 

Tales of Symphonia for the GC. RPG with real time team based battles. Granted my memory card died along with all my GC saves years ago and I haven't touched the game since, but as far as I'm concerned I'll repair it one day and continue where I left off...

 

Anything and everything on my X-Box. Finally found a cheap Doom 3 disc so I'll probably be paying that attention sooner or later. In the meantime I'm still trying to finish the challenges in NFS Most Wanted (in between playing with various emulators, and attempting to solder more RAM into the thing).

 

Oddly most of my time in front of a computer screen isn't spent playing games any more. I upgraded my video card a little while back in an attempt to show willing, but PC gaming just isn't the same any more. If I was to mention an "interesting" game it'd be Crimsonland, a top down shooter where you kill for that almighty high score.

 

Hey, it beats Minesweeper.

[NKF]

A couple of console games from me that I've played recently. Mostly RPG-ish. Man there's lots of great titles out there. I'm hindered only by the millions of great consoles and my lack of cash.

 

Sigma Star Saga for the Gameboy Advance. Sort of an odd combination of a run-around and do stuff adventure game with a very poorly executed sidescrolling shooter. It wasn't entirely uninteresting, but side the scrolling shooter part had little variation and became pretty dull very quickly. It had a good story attached to it though, which kept me through it. Basically one of those promising games that could've done better. Got it cheap too, so shouldn't complain!

 

The rest are for the PS2.

 

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness - a tactical rpg-ish game that's basically a stat-pumper (any tactical RPG, basically) that has consumed far too much of my life. That's not even counting the amount of time I've spent on its related titles like La Pucelle, Phantom Brave and its sequel Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories. Has a light but fun story and enough things to do to keep you playing it well past watching the many different ending variations. Granted, most of it is to just deploy your characters and wipe out any of the opposition on the field... sort of like X-Com. Guess that's part of the appeal. Only real gripe is my copy's complete lack of voiceover language selection. Not anti-localisation or anything, but the whole personality of some of the characters seemed to have changed. And it misses out on some of the original music tracks. Oh well, can't have everything.

 

Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm - the 8th title in the Atelier series, and a great game to play. Sort of your typical run-around a map RPG and fight monsters in a priority queued turn based menu combat thingy. Refreshingly enough, the battles aren't random. You run around the world and you can see blobs that signify an encounter, which you can skip by running around them or wiping them out with one swing (if they're really weak enemies). They respawn when you re-enter the dungeons. A more interesting take on encounters compared to the traditional random encounter which you cannot avoid.

 

If you've played the last two titles, Eternal Mana or Azoth of Destiny, you might feel slightly disappointed as a lot of elements that were strong in the last two titles were left out, like the element extraction and a larger role played by the Mana. But that said, you cannot expect every game to be the same as the last. A new take is always welcome. The story does feel short, but short enough to consume on average 30+ hours or so.

 

- NKF

[Space Voyager]

Only playing Born of Blood.

 

I hope I'll have the time for Afterlight and Extraterrestrials in the semi-near future.

[Tifi]

Starships Unlimited

 

A really simple take on the space-empire-building things, sort of like the 'special' child of Master of Orion and Civ.

Despite being puddle deep, its *really* fun

 

Pardus

 

A browser MMO thingy which has dredged bits of inspiration from just about every space-game ever.

Complicated but oddly rewarding, and quite compelling once you get established.

[Azrael Strife]

Super Paper Mario for the Wii. Excellent RPG, even better than the first one I think.

Super Paper Mario is also available for the Gamecube, right? I didn't enjoy the first one that much but I can't resist a mario RPG, have you played "Super Mario RPG"? that old thing is truly a jewel of the Super Nintendo, still one of my favourite RPGs...

 

Tales of Symphonia for the GC. RPG with real time team based battles. Granted my memory card died along with all my GC saves years ago and I haven't touched the game since, but as far as I'm concerned I'll repair it one day and continue where I left off...

Ah, thanks for reminding me, I heard that it was pretty nice I'll get it in the future...

Oddly most of my time in front of a computer screen isn't spent playing games any more. I upgraded my video card a little while back in an attempt to show willing, but PC gaming just isn't the same any more.

Indeed! that's the reason I purchased a console, I just can't find any decent games anymore, most of them are mighty flashy, great graphics, but zero reasons to fire it up the next day...

 

Starships Unlimited

 

A really simple take on the space-empire-building things, sort of like the 'special' child of Master of Orion and Civ.

Despite being puddle deep, its *really* fun

 

Pardus

 

A browser MMO thingy which has dredged bits of inspiration from just about every space-game ever.

Complicated but oddly rewarding, and quite compelling once you get established.

I used to play Pardus, great game, too bad many of my buddies got banned, and after I asked why they were banned, I was banned myself Not really a bad thing since it was sucking all my free time, I couldn't stop playing! and it got me and my banned friends to start working on our own game, so it's all good

[FullAuto]

Super Paper Mario is also available for the Gamecube, right? I didn't enjoy the first one that much but I can't resist a mario RPG, have you played "Super Mario RPG"? that old thing is truly a jewel of the Super Nintendo, still one of my favourite RPGs...

 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is the one for the GC, SPM is the one for the Wii. They're both good. I did play the SMRPG, and that was excellent. The SNES got a load of good Mario games. I always had three or four of them in my SNES collection.

 

I still enjoy beating my friends at StreetFighter 2...sad man that I am.

[Azrael Strife]

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is the one for the GC, SPM is the one for the Wii. They're both good. I did play the SMRPG, and that was excellent. The SNES got a load of good Mario games. I always had three or four of them in my SNES collection.

 

I still enjoy beating my friends at StreetFighter 2...sad man that I am.

Ah, right you are, is The Thousand Year Door better than Paper Mario for the N64?

 

I still don't understand the paper theme, I think a new Mario RPG for the cube or wii would have been memorable

[FullAuto]

Ah, right you are, is The Thousand Year Door better than Paper Mario for the N64?

 

Mmmm, maybe by a little bit. I prefer TTYD, but not by much. They're very similar, both in gameplay and graphical style. The turn-based battle system in TTYD is obviously pretty much the same as in Paper Mario, still has the badge system, etc, but I think TTYD makes better use of the whole 'paper' idea.

 

I still don't understand the paper theme, I think a new Mario RPG for the cube or wii would have been memorable

 

We can but hope. I quite liked Luigi's Mansion, but Mario is starting to get on my nerves...

[Kernel]

Right now most of my game playing time is spent on Lord of the Rings Online, but I've also been playing Bioshock on the PC and Overlord on the XBox 360.

 

Probably going to get all three Halo's for the 360 soon. I've played Halo 1 on the PC but I've yet to play Halo 2 and I don't really want to play Halo 3 until I've completed 2. Torn between spending

[Azrael Strife]

How's Bioshock? I was considering getting it but when I saw the minimum requirements... no thanks! The odds are it's a crappy FPS anyway, superb in looks but completely hollow, that's the way 90% of the games I've seen recently have turned up to be, despite how great they looked...

 

I'm playing and enjoying Metroid Prime quite a bit, very nicely done, being the great Metroid fan I am this game is simply stunning!

[Kernel]

Bioshock is actualy pretty good, it's not just another FPS. It doesn't quite live up to System Shock 2 but it definatly comes close.

Hey, you have to play it just to see the Big Daddy, one moment perfectly calm, you can walk up to them with no problems, but the moment you fire at them or the little sister they guard, they're in your face in seconds, even if they started over 100 feet away. It's got to be the only bad guy in a game that I've seen that goes from calm and caring, to absolutly phyco in the blink of an eye.

[Bomb Bloke]

Metroid Prime II has an annoying habit of crashing on my GC (especially if I go too long without hitting a save point). I preferred the original (I posted a speed run from a now defunct website onto SpikedHumor a little while back, now that I think about it... The guy completed the game in 1:05).

 

As has been mentioned in a certain other thread, neither of the Prime games are as difficult as the 2D versions can be. Good fun though. Just a tip, upgrades make a certain noise when they're nearby...

 

Halo 2 was a decent game but lacked a decent ending. Upon finishing it you knew full well Microsoft expected you to go out an buy the nextgen console so you could, well, finish the fight. I never worked out the health system either...

 

I'd love to have a go at BioShock, but I've decided to stop buying consoles (my collection is bloated enough as it is), and I've little inclination to try out the PC version with it's horrific copy protection system (putting aside the fact that my machine would need an overhaul as well).

[NKF]

Halo 2 might start off with the Master Chief, but seems to be more focused on the Arbiter's story, which starts part way through. They seemed to just let it run on a bit longer that it should've, and it resulted in a cliffhangar.

 

I'd very much like to see how it ends, but buying an incredibly expensive console for one game seems a little silly to me.

 

- NKF

[Kernel]

The 3 reasons I bought the XBox 360... Dead rising, Gears of War and Crackdown. Now though Gears of War is coming to PC with added extras but I didn't know that at the time.

 

Mass Effect looks good too and should be coming out soon, also said to be coming on PC at some point. Not sure which version I'll get yet.

[FullAuto]

I don't think Super Metroid will ever be topped.

 

Quite liked Metroid Prime and MP2: Echoes. I did worry when I first started playing them about the FP view, but no, it is still about the exploration. Only had a quick go on Corruption but that was good too, nice controls.

[LordFu]

I picked up Front Mission for DS, and it's cool. SRPG mecha goodness. I'm hoping they bring the newly announced Front Mission 2089 to the U.S.

 

I just finished Luminous Arc for DS. It's your typical SRPG from Atlus. The story was lame, but the gameplay was tight.

[Strong Bob]

Currently playing Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion and Halo 3. The former is a decent upgrade from the original, and Halo 3's ending left my heart warm for the first time in about a year.

 

Tried playing Bioshock... But... Ah, I think I already posted my thoughts about that game somewhere on this forum.

[Space Voyager]

Playing FarCry for relaxation between strategy games. Great game. Probably best shooter my comp can chew.

[Schuesseled]

Currently playing Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion and Halo 3. The former is a decent upgrade from the original, and Halo 3's ending left my heart warm for the first time in about a year.

 

Tried playing Bioshock... But... Ah, I think I already posted my thoughts about that game somewhere on this forum.

 

Doesnt that addiction to souls in nwn2:mob jsut annoy the hell out of you, if i wanted to be an addict i'd take crack. Id rather play through an interesting story line, trying out epic level characters, and not worrying out overdosing on sipirits and going cold turkey in the middle of the fight. Bit of a let down.

[Kernel]

Currently playing Mass Effect on 360. Probably the best game I've played all year!

 

Due out on PC sometime next year I believe and I'll probably get that version too. Yes I'm crazy like that.

 

I bought NWN2 a while back but I could never get into it. Not played it for a few months, might have to have another go once I get more time. Pretty busy at the moment.

[Strong Bob]

Doesnt that addiction to souls in nwn2:mob jsut annoy the hell out of you, if i wanted to be an addict i'd take crack. Id rather play through an interesting story line, trying out epic level characters, and not worrying out overdosing on sipirits and going cold turkey in the middle of the fight. Bit of a let down.

Nope, I thought it was a pretty cool twist compared to the norm of most modern games. If you didn't like it, using the "suppress" ability would allow you to ignore it for a long period of time.

 

Have fun with crack. I prefer the souls from a fantasy game.

 

Currently playing Mass Effect on 360. Probably the best game I've played all year!

 

Having recently just sampled Mass Effect, I agree. Best new game of the year. Although I am finding myself wish it was more interactive... I still consider Bioware's past creations superior.

[NKF]

Thought I'd take a break from the PS2 and replay something on the PC for a change. Couldn't get Battlezone 2 to run on my laptop (oh the Mortar Hoverbike...), so I thought I'd give Homeworld a spin again.

 

Epic space battles that often look like a bunch of fighting ants, small teams of salvage ships swooping in from above/below and capturing super capital ship class ships (enemy carriers are great prizes), huge maps that take ages to traverse and a mothership that is for all intents and purposes nothing more than a flying banana (assuming you didn't select the ship set from the considerably cooler enemy ships). Much fun, although requires a lot of patience, since a lot of time is spent travelling.

 

- NKF

[Bomb Bloke]

I tried to play BZII a year or so ago, and found it crashed whenever I tried to fire certain weapons... Went online and lo and behold! After many years the devs had released an unofficial patch (within about a month of my checking). Fixed me right up.

 

Also makes the AI decent, has added OS support, fixes the infinite hover bug and does a number of other things. Seems another one has been released since then, I'll have to give it a go some time.