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Maxus
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Video Games

Post by Maxus »

The discussion on Starcraft as it compares to other RTS game made me wonder what the video game preferences are for the Gaming Den.

So now we have a thread to discuss our favorite or least favorite games and systems and despair of each other's tastes.

I'll start off:

I own a Gamecube and haven't upgraded to a next-gen system because I've been saving all my money for summer college classes. But right now I'm borrowing a Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Paper Mario.

My current games for the Gamecube include, in no particular order:

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Paper Mario: TTYD
LoZ: Twilight Princess
Wind Waker
That Ocarina of Time Master Quest bonus-thinger I got from preordering Wind Waker
The four-in-one Zelda Bonus disc with OoT, Majora's Mask, and Zelda I & II on it
Sonic Mega Collection
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Super Smash Bros. Melee

But the list at one time included both Metroid Prime games, Tales of Symphonia, and Eternal Darkness. Those were mailed to a friend for her Christmas present back in December, however. I'd played the hell out of it.

Oh, and I also have a Gameboy SP, a Gameboy Player for the Gamecube, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and a bunch of Pokemon games I don't touch much these days, ever since I found out the Silver version lost its save file (on which I'd gotten just about everything and actually caught two Shinies besides the Gyarados and had once had a fairly intensive breeding program going for use on Stadium 2.)

I'm pretty open-minded about systems and games, though.
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Post by the_taken »

I have access to a circle that regularily trades video games, and pirates abondonware. I've been concentrating on playing Fallout1&2, where being a passivist is possible. Sweet!
I had a signature here once but I've since lost it.

My current project: http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=56456
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Post by SunTzuWarmaster »

Alpha Centauri and Smash Brothers (all) are the games that I can play forever without getting tired of them.
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Post by PhoneLobster »

OK, I got a list of kick ass PC games that stretches back into the mists of time.

XCOM 1 and 2
First one is the Best game ever, I got the first one in its first release under the rare alternate title, and I think I've purchased it again twice and downloaded about 3 times. The second one is basically the first one again, so it is ALSO the best game ever.

Samurai
For a game with the option to play with CGA or EGA graphics this was spectacular. You controlled a Samurai and his decedents scaling the feudal ladder, you had an economy to run, RTS battles with rebels and rivals, action sequences pitting yourself against bandits, ninjas and the guards of your rivals (when sneaking into their place to plant evidence, assasinate or kidnap), one on one sword fighting duels with other samurai, and manipulation of your marraige alliances and heir production.

Battle Zone 1 and 2
Technically these are not actually the first and second battle zone games, those were zany vector graphics action arcade games. THESE were really just a mutant remake by Activision to show case some of the earlier generations of 3D graphics acceleration hardware. You were more likely to get the first one bundled with a graphics card than off the shelf on its own. Its a first person action shooter RTS with hover tanks, giant robotic walkers snipering enemy pilots and stealing their ride and recycling alien super metal resources. Better yet the first one is set DURING the cold war space race as a funky alternate history where the moon landing is all fake because really the Russians and Americans are launching alien super technology to duke it out on Mars and Beyond. The second one had a less cool story line but it was even better game play and the graphics were so nice they ALMOST hold up to this day.

Sacrifice
Another first person RTS, a little less action and a little more constant resource management and hectic running the hell towards or away from stuff. But cool enough. Shallower than battlezone but with such exceptionally cool super surreal character design and art that I'll forgive it almost anything because you just plain don't see stuff like that EVER.

The Bridge Builder series
A bunch of reiterations of the same simple shareware game. You build bridges then see if they survive use by cars and trains and stuff. Its far more hilarious than it sounds.

Master Of Orion 1 and 2
THE games in their genre, especially 2 which rocked and looked great while it did it. Modern alternatives, such as the exceptionally CRAP Galactic Civilizations still haven't caught up with it EITHER in looks or game play. Rule the universe one planet at a time. It's great.

Frontier
I'm not naming the first one because I think the second was the best. Another game that defined its genre and has never been adequately replaced. Become a space bum, travel the galaxy, buy and upgrade your wide variety of starships, hunt pirates, be a pirate, join the army, join other armies, become a trader, a miner, fly through space, drop through the atmosphere and buzz major cities. And then somewhere out there in the free ranging galaxy there are plot based missions...

Serious Sam 1, the second encounter and 2
You see the GOOD FPS games, the old school ones like DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D they weren't about small numbers of opponents that took multiple shots to drop. They were about hoards of weak ass bastards being mown down in numbers, secret doors would drop and a whole mob jumps out and you take them down in 5 frantic seconds with one shot or less of the shot gun per target. That was cool. Serious Sam is probably the only modern franchise that really maintains, and develops that style. Massive rooms, massive bosses, massive numbers of mooks, massive amounts of ammunition and remarkably good graphics and engine with remarkably good performance. Set yourself up with some friends for the cooperative campaign hold down the fire button and prepare not to let go until everyone gets bored 4 hours and 4000 kills (each) later. When I got serious sam 2 I KNEW it was a real serious sam game when early on after killing a fifty meter tall giant acid spitting robotic spider level boss EIGHT MORE burst out of the ground.

The NEW Prince Of Persia
OK so the original prince of persia games were OK, and no one ever even noticed Prince of Persia 3D. But the new trilogy, starting with prince of persia sands of time are the very best swashbuckling sword fighting platformers EVER. The second one has the best combat, what with sword throwing and variable off hand weapons, the third one has the best platforming what with chain antics but the first one was the still the best because it proved it could be done and was so artfully constructed that it was by far the most immersive and entertaining.

Total War
The total war series rocks. Someone figured out that if modern graphics cards can render numerous thousand polygon models they could render COUNTLESS sprites. And so suddenly there were hoards of infantry and cavalry going to battle. Bring on the Rome edition and its doing the same thing, better than ever with beautiful full 3D. Watch infantry fly through the air when hit by a cavalry charge, watch celts get mauled by dogs, rampage elephants through Roman legionaries, ride around on flimsy useless chariots and set fire to pigs. If only the bandits in the strategy phase weren't so bloody annoying. Check it out if you haven't already but don't get the new one, Rome is still the sparkling gem in the crown by a long shot.

Anyway, I could name others but those are some of the best games ever with some emphasis on a number of games that people seem to miss. (oddly even though the prince of persia trilogy has won countless game of the year awards a great deal of gamers apparently have never even seen it)
Last edited by PhoneLobster on Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Username17 »

I never tire of Dominions 3.

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Post by Koumei »

Every now and then I get the urge to play Castle of the Winds (nostaliga - I played it as a kid), Nethack or Dungeon Crawl. But that's usually short lived.

For the PS2, I enjoy RPGs (Suikoden, Final Fantasy, Shadow Heart, Atelier Iris), and I'll even admit to being quite happy with "Just tell me a story and let me press buttons every now and then." That being said, the Nippon Ichi tactical games (Makai Kingdom, Disgaea) are pretty awesome.

On my DS I have:
Pokemon Diamond. I like this one, but am currently finding it a bit frustrating because I'm caring too much about trying to see each Pokemon once (meaning annoying little "check again every 12 hours!" side quests, force-evolving things I'll never again use and the like) instead of just running up and beating the Elite four.

Pokemon Sapphire: I really need to get around to continuing.

Pokemon Fire Red: My newest one. Really enjoying it.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue: It's fun, but I've taken a break.

GrimDark 40K Squad Command: This is really hard at times. As in "You have a scout, 2 marines, 2 Terminators and a dreadnought. They have the equivalent of 20-30 marines, 3 dreadnoughts, a tank and 10 terminators." But I still managed to beat it. It's pretty good, if sometimes frustrating.

Drawn to Life: Shame about the weird-ass difficulty curve, and it's not a good travel game, as travelling involves bumpy roads often, which hurts your drawing skills. But I like to draw, and am too lazy to actually learn to code my own games just to enjoy my graphical take on things, so this was a nice one - your character, weapons, random useful items... you get to draw it all.

So at the end of the day, my choice in video games goes to "Ones which are easy enough for me to beat, or at least aren't frustrating when they are difficult, particularly offering the option to bore yourself power-levelling so as to make it easier" and "Fairly simple RPGs".

Breaking out Dynasty Warriors from time to time never hurts though, and I used to be such a fan of sprite-based fighters (Guilty Gear, King of Fighters, Street Fighter etc.) that I even bought a huge Capcom arcade deck for the PS2.
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Post by Calibron »

Don't do much gaming these days, but I've got PS2, Xbox, and N64 consoles, IMO the last gen was Nintendo's weakest, as well as a few PC games.

For the PC I have Civilization 4, Fallout 1 and 2, and Total Annihilation. For Xbox I have Psychonauts, Elder Scrolls 3 GotY edition, Fable(I was tricked!), and Gun. For PS2 I have a number of games including Metal Gear Solid 3, Starwars:KoToR, Armored Core 4, Dragonball Z Budokai 3, Breath of Fire 3, 4, and 5(Dragon Quarter) and Final Fantasy Tactics. For N64 I have quite a few games including Zelda: OoT, Super Smash Brothers, Harvest Moon 64, Ogre Battle 64, Super Mario 64, Jet Force Gemini, and Star Fox 64.
Last edited by Calibron on Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Crissa »

I just got addicted to King Mania; I'm using a free 10-day from my friend on WoW again...; and I play Space Empires V like constantly with Sammi.

I'm a big fan of the Harvest Moon games, but so far my favorite is Save the Homeland because it had the most different ways to 'win', but I also liked Rune Factory, even though its crafting system was pointless.

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Post by PhoneLobster »

Wow, someone plays space empires V.

Its not that its bad, its pretty cool actually, way better than current competition. But its a little too shamelessly messy and complex, I'd still prefer MOO2 over it any day.

And the AI totally pisses me off, I imagine I'd play it more if I had some masochistic human opponents...

If you like Space Empires have you tried Sword Of The Stars, it looks like it rocks as a multiplayer (and for multiplayer appropriately paced) version of that genre. Its not too bad single player either.

The best in its genre currently as far as I can tell.
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Post by JonSetanta »

I'll have to get back to you on this topic.
Got to sum up a list of what I've played in the last few years.

Most recently:
Halo 3 (brute chopper bike! yussss. It's my girlfriend's game on XPlox 360.)
TimeSplitters 2
Battlefront 2
Smash Brothers Brawl (1 friend's; tried it, love it)
Smash Brothers Melee (many friends have Gamecube, I only have a PC, Sega Genesis, and PS2.)
ChronoTrigger
FF3 (aka "Final Fantasy VI" in Japan) continued from 5 years ago when I put it on hold, and while I have played FF2 (Japanese FF IV), FF Tactics, FF7, FF8, FF9, and FF X in the past I have no interest to play them again (for now). Out of all the FFs, I like 3(6), 7, and 9 the most. 8 had fun moments and style but was a drag when combat came. X can kiss my Gaelic ass. Tactics needs a serious rebalancing, but has some perks in battle ( and story was lame in most parts)
Travian (U.S.)
Flyff, though I somewhat quit a year ago when it went shit(tier). Still check in a few times a year to see if the Korean programmers changed the game for the better.
Sonic Racers or some shit. My youngest bro's game. Fun, but hurts the eyes.
Samurai Warriors 2 (library rental, can't buy it locally, must mail order.)
Dynasty Warriors 3.. getting rid of that shit for a newer one. Been playing this edition for, oh, 4 years +. Sick of it.
StarCraft: Broodwars (and then it exploded in the drive last summer, ruined the player too. Ah, it was a good long run.)
Warcraft 3, or rather MicroCraft 3, the game for micromanager Korean-style lose-one-unit-you-are-screwed. I hate those fucking heroes. (on lend to me, returning it soon. yuck.)
Call Of Duty 2
Cyborg Justice (but that's grown too easy over the course of 13 years.. rip off an arm, rip off the torso, it's over.)
Soul Calibur 2 (abusing that game whenever possible)
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
NeverWinter Nights (but pissed off with the in-game limitations lately.)
Icewind Dale 2 (stuck in a haunted forest somewhere. game is like a novel forced down my throat, and I don't like it. Baldur's Gate was better, even if it was AD&D.)
Battletoads (ah, nostalgia. play it now at http://www.virtualnes.com/play/play.php?id=AF33&s=9)
Metroid, for GBA (emu) I think.

More than that, I know it. Can't remember right now.

Getting into oldschool 1v1 fighting games such as Samurai Showdown, open to suggestions. And no, I don't care much for Street Fighter or Mortal Combat. Never have, really.
Considering getting back into XCOM: Apocalypse. Maybe, maybe not.

edit: correction on the FF series. More added.
Last edited by JonSetanta on Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SphereOfFeetMan »

My preferred game systems are Snes, Ps 1, Ps 2, and Pc.

My all time favorite game is Final Fantasy Tactics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Tactics

I enjoy a variety of different game types. Here are a list of my favorite games:

Rpgs: Final Fantasy 7 (Ps 1), Zelda: A Link to the Past (Snes), Summoner (Ps 2), Drakan The Ancients Gates (Ps 2)

Strategy games: Final Fantasy Tactics (Ps 1), Warcraft 3 (Pc).

Racing: Jetmoto (Ps 1), Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 1 and 2 (Ps 1, Ps 2),

Shooters: Unreal Tournament 2004 (Pc), Team Fortress 2 (Pc), Half Life 2 (Pc)

Action/Adventure: Shadow of the Colossus (Ps 2), God of War (Ps 2)

Misc: Twisted Metal Black (Ps 2), Armored Core 2/Nexus (Ps 2), Super Smash Brothers (N 64).
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Post by Surgo »

I'm about to enter the world of professional Smash with Super Smash Bros. Brawl; that line of games is by far my favorite, though I only started playing them over winter break this year.

Other than that, lots of Pokemon. I came up with a number of ideas and strategies that defined the early competitive game in the Diamond/Pearl generation. There's something about those games that keeps me coming back.

I don't really play video games outside of those, and the occasional F-Zero race with my friends.
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Post by Crissa »

I'll admit, SEV sucks without appropriate AI modding.

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Post by Draco_Argentum »

Heres my favorite games.

I loved Fragile Allegiance, a mid 90's MoO style game.

Shooters: Heretic, Hexan, Hexan 2 and the old school Doom games are all really fun. Played them recently too.

Painkiller is a more modern run & gun shooter and is also awesome. I played heaps of that getting 100% completion. Currently playing the sequel, which is less good.

The two Max Payne games are awesome, only third person games that are any good.

RTSs: I played heaps of TA, SC and Dark Reign. All of them are great in their own ways. Dawn of War and Company of Heros are the only modern ones I've liked.

More of a squad combat game but Mechcommander is probably my favorite game of all time.

Mechwarrior 3, I liked that so much I could design valid mechs in my head with no reference material.

RPGs: Balder's Gate Series, Diablo series and WoW. Fallout Tactics competes with Mechcommander for best game ever and Fallout 2 was awesome.

And heres one probably not many people have played, Magic Carpet. The first game I was ever really hooked on.
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Post by Count Arioch the 28th »

I don't see how anyone can play Final Fantasy Tactics. When I played, I had to save every time I moved, because I would get mercilessly thrashed by chocobos if they showed their damned feathery faces in a random encounter.

Fucking birds.
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Post by Maxus »

Count_Arioch_the_28th wrote:I don't see how anyone can play Final Fantasy Tactics. When I played, I had to save every time I moved, because I would get mercilessly thrashed by chocobos if they showed their damned feathery faces in a random encounter.

Fucking birds.
I haven't ever played Tactics, but I still do this and that on Tactics Advance.

FFTA's system gives you an enormous amount of leeway in how you build up your clan. There's a lot of reasons to give someone some Fighter abilities, and then some Thief or Ninja or Archer abilities. The downside is you have to fight a lot of non-storyline fights to really get the best abilities, and by then your people are so scary that you breeze through any story missions.
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Post by JonSetanta »

In FFT there's this horrible glitch wherein if you use the blonde main character too much, the enemies all levelup a the same rate, leaving all other party members behind (since they level up at their own feeble pace).
I made the mistake of using the protagonist for everything, since he's a Summoner (and Summoners are cool) while in retrospect he should have been support healing or some kind of defensive knight.
Or Square could have just fixed the glitch.
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Post by Count Arioch the 28th »

That would explain it, I always used the main character. I guess I could have had him run around not fighting things instead of helping.
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Post by josephbt »

Fallout 1 2 tactics, Enemy Territory, Incubation(best tactical game ever), Starcraft and KOTOR. Bioshock 2 also.

I do have the hardware for any new game, but I mostly don't play them b/c I get a review DVD from a guy i know, play the game once or halfway through and get pissed off with bad gameplay or shitty interface or buggy game. World in Conflict is all of the above.
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Post by Draco_Argentum »

You mean System Shock 2 right joseph? I acquired a copy recently and will play it for the first time ever on a rig the runs CoD4 on max settings sometime soon. I'm hoping the graphics redo some fans did will scale it up to my current monitor. The only problem with old games is they run in tiny resolutions and look horrible when blown up onto a big screen.
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Post by josephbt »

Damn, that was so freudian. Yeah, i ment SS2. I played Bioshock recently and the game stuck in my mind. Too many paralels.

I've got to add Portal and Minesweeper. Both are waaaaaay fun, although Portal hasn't got the replayability of Minesweeper. I got 79 sec on expert.
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Post by Maxus »

josephbt wrote:Damn, that was so freudian. Yeah, i ment SS2. I played Bioshock recently and the game stuck in my mind. Too many paralels.

I've got to add Portal and Minesweeper. Both are waaaaaay fun, although Portal hasn't got the replayability of Minesweeper. I got 79 sec on expert.
Sorta random jump, but is anyone here familiar with the Zero Punctuation reviews by Yahtzee?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/article ... unctuation
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Post by Fwib »

Yes. Yahtzee Croshaw very good, IMO :)
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Post by Maxus »

I don't agree with him on the odd point here and there, but he's hilarious. I'm impressed by how he makes the little cartoons convey so much emotion and action.
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Post by Koumei »

ZeroPunctuation more or less consists of 100% of the video game reviews I see.
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