Video Game Lover's Lair

Podo2005 · #1 Aug 15, '05, 6:13 pm

Hey y'all,
Any video game dude's out there? If so, what are your favourite consoles,games, CHEATS(

) etc. The Xbox rocks!!

Podo

AsStAnselmPrays · #2 Aug 15, '05, 7:05 pm

I enjoy playing some Halo 2 Frag-Fests with my friends and brothers. It is a time to defend the earth, compete against each other, and grow closer in a more defeat-the-evil-Covenant sort of way.

MEP · #3 Aug 15, '05, 8:41 pm

Nintendo consistently produces the best first party titles. The cool thing about their games is that they can be fun and challenging for adults, but are also suitable for kids. That's not to say the the GameCube is a "kiddie" system as so many people try to paint it. I think the latest Resident Evil games will atest to that (though I personally think survival horror is about as enjoyable as watching paint dry).

The Xbox was the best hardware of this generation, but fat lot of good it did them in the end. Their online support was the highest quality as well, but again, it didn't matter much. I'd say Halo rocks but then I'd have to be living in 1997 before Deathmatch gameplay was driven into the dirt for that to be true (Tribes rocks, Counter Strike used to rock (when it was still beta, man I sound typical), Half Life boogied, Quake could halfstep when required, Halo just kind of sways a little). Xbox has some great titles though (Splinter Cell, KOTOR, Psychonauts), just not many that are produced by MS first party studios (Links was great though and that Crimson Skies game was a ton of fun over Live).

Then there's Sony. I can picture the board meeting in mid 2000: "Hey guys, let's follow up our succesful Playstation line by producing poorly designed consoles with an abnormally high defect rate, lie about it's capabilities for the year preceding it's launch and release a lousy line up of games for the first year after it's launch. We'll make millions hand over fist." And they did. *sigh* And this is why the Dreamcast died, stupid Final Fantasy fanboys. I guess I have to give the PS2 some credit for ICO and the Shadow Hearts series (and Katamari Damacy). Too bad most of it's lineup is garbage and the controller is primitive (no analog triggers is the only reason why I refuse to play the new Gran Turismo games) and the PS2 eats game discs due to drive defects and a litany of other flaws that just shouldn't be tolerated in any market.

Does anybody else miss the Dreamcast? Finest game console design since the SNES and some of the most innovative and enjoyable games in the history of the industry -- Chu Chu Rocket, Jet Set Radio, the 2k sports games which finally challenged the EA sequal machine and Shenmue (in Japanese, the English translation was just awful). Again, fat a lot of good it did Sega, poor Sega.

The most frustrating thing about videogames as a hobby is that the lowest common denominator always wins in the marketplace. Some examples of this in action: the Playstation 2, Electronic Arts sports titles (inferior to Sega's almost every year since the 2k series started), Bloodrayne, Rumble Roses, Grand Theft Auto and Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball. At least Akklaim finally got what was coming to them after the BMXXX debacle.

I'm kind of hoping for the predicted crash of the industry that many analysts expect in the next generation. Maybe it will shake the industry out of the rut that it's sunk into lately, force them to start innovating again instead of producing dozens of sequels and "me too" titles.

silverwings · #4 Aug 15, '05, 9:17 pm

I like my NES the best, but I also have an N64.
~K~

Dandelion_Wine · #5 Aug 16, '05, 7:44 am

Does Intellivision and Atari count?

Let's see, the most RECENT system I have is N64. Before that was Super Nintendo and then Nintendo.

wabrams · #6 Aug 16, '05, 8:02 am

My favorite is the PC. Can't beat the graphics and sound. I haven't bought anything recently. Last game I picked up was Brothers In Arms.

Shiann · #7 Aug 16, '05, 8:22 am

PC gaming really is the best, but second to that would be Xbox. I already have my Xbox 360 on hold... can not WAIT!

Awesome titles include:
Elderscrolls
EA Games- Return of the King was a fun game to play
Prince of Persia
Knights of the Old Republic titles ROCK
Halo- Duh!
...man I can't think... there are so many!

PC Game titles on my computer right now:
Mafia
Ultima Online
Warcraft
Half Life 2- Counter Strike
I kinda dig the "Myst" series of games too
...again too many to mention...

Just got my daughter Nintendo DS- which is great too. Kinda wished that I waited to get the PSP, but I didn't know what kind of "young" games they would have. I know Nintendo puts out some fun kid titles-

Can't beat playing Mario and Yoshi on the DS like I played it on Nintendo and N64 when I was a kid!

alterserver_07 · #8 Aug 16, '05, 2:22 pm

Can't beat X-box, graphics are to good. There game selection will catch up too. Halo and Halo 2 I think are the best games for them, especically when you play your friends.

wabrams · #9 Aug 16, '05, 2:48 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiann

Knights of the Old Republic titles ROCK

I've got that on the PC. Easily one of the best games ever made. I'm waiting for the used price of KOTOR II to drop so I can pick that up.

Shiann · #10 Aug 17, '05, 1:32 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by wabrams

I've got that on the PC. Easily one of the best games ever made. I'm waiting for the used price of KOTOR II to drop so I can pick that up.

I'll pray it drops soon

MonicaPA · #11 Aug 17, '05, 5:17 pm

I am not a video game player myself but my son wanted me to put in a vote for X-BOX.

He wishes he could play Halo 2 but the answer is "NO WAY" along with all of the other "M" rated games. He wanted me to say he feels this way about that

Oh well, motherhood is not a popularity contest!

Podo2005 · #12 Aug 17, '05, 6:43 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonicaPA

I am not a video game player myself but my son wanted me to put in a vote for X-BOX.

He wishes he could play Halo 2 but the answer is "NO WAY" along with all of the other "M" rated games. He wanted me to say he feels this way about that

Oh well, motherhood is not a popularity contest!

Sounds like a person I know... can't play alot of rated M games 'cause his too young! Thank God for moms though... keeps us in line

.

(Message to your son)
I've played Halo 2, It's fun, but There are many other games that are fun ( you could play) that aren't rated M.

Podo

MEP · #13 Aug 17, '05, 8:48 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonicaPA

I am not a video game player myself but my son wanted me to put in a vote for X-BOX.

He wishes he could play Halo 2 but the answer is "NO WAY" along with all of the other "M" rated games. He wanted me to say he feels this way about that

Oh well, motherhood is not a popularity contest!

Tell your son that Halo 2 is vastly overrated. As someone who has played more videogames than any person rightfully should, I'm confident in that assessment. Unfortunately, all the games of the same genre that beat it hands down are "M" too. Oh well.

Might I recommend Ultimate Spiderman instead? Heroic main character. Massive 3D Manhattan Island to run around in. Spectacular cell-shaded visuals. Fun gameplay. Makes me forget all about First Person Shooters personally (a genre which ran it's full course about 4 years ago).

Shiann · #14 Aug 18, '05, 8:38 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MEP

Tell your son that Halo 2 is vastly overrated.

I agree. It is no more fun than any other more appropriately rated game.

Quote:

As someone who has played more videogames than any person rightfully should...

Ack... You too!?

Quote:

Unfortunately, all the games of the same genre that beat it hands down are "M" too. Oh well.

::nodding:: Although Knights of the Old Republic has a "T" teen rating if that is more age appropriate for him.

Quote:

Might I recommend Ultimate Spiderman instead? Heroic main character. Massive 3D Manhattan Island to run around in. Spectacular cell-shaded visuals. Fun gameplay. Makes me forget all about First Person Shooters personally (a genre which ran it's full course about 4 years ago).

Actually, now that I think about it, console, first person shooters have peetered out recently... but PC first person shooters are still a riot... Half Life: Counter Strike is my fave.

MEP · #15 Aug 18, '05, 9:55 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiann

Actually, now that I think about it, console, first person shooters have peetered out recently... but PC first person shooters are still a riot... Half Life: Counter Strike is my fave.

Bah! I remember CS back in the Beta 4 days (ran a pretty popular server actually (on a T1 line no less) -- I was one of the freaks who sniped with a Sig (the Swiss assault rifle) rather than with either of the sniper rifles -- used to drive people nuts (of course I had a mercilessly low ping seeing as the server was in the room just next to where I was playing)). Beta 7 is where CS really started to slide downhill when they drastically altered the aiming mechanics and the 1.0 release was almost tragic. Personally, I think Rainbow Six 3 provides a better tactical multiplayer experience than CS does (and Urban Terror for Quake III was another one that showed a lot of potential... I wonder how that worked out).

Tribes 2 all the way. I used to play that game with some friends of mine. I was an excellent flag runner (I refused to die, just drove people nuts), tail gunner and sapper (I'd set up a supply station in the enemy's base and just mine the place after knocking out their generators -- man they hated me in that game).

That's my primary problem with Halo though. When Bungie was still developing it for the PC before MS bought them, they kept going on and on about their multiplayer support, how it would "rival Tribes in it's complexity and strategy". It was labeled the Tribes killer and everyone was excited about the possiblities from the demos that were shown. Then over a year later, they release a non-networked bare bones DeathMatch and CTF multiplayer FPS whose primary focus is on a single player mode that frankly doesn't stack up to what Quake 1 accomplished in it's day. The CoOp mode was cool, but Serious Sam was better for mindless CoOp chaos. The level design in Halo is awful as well. I've done better work than the Bungie level designers (and that's saying something because I'm not really that good).

Then Halo 2 comes out and we get all excited that maybe it will be better than Halo was. Nope. You can wield two guns now. Big deal. Everything else is just more of the same. Honestly, Halo's popularity makes no sense to me at all.