What are you playing?

[Ap2000]

STALKER - Call of Pripyat



No matter how many games they're going to make,

no matter how many times they're going to re-use old models and textures,

I will always gladly come back,

fight some bandits and hunt some mutants,

in the zone.

[Zounder]

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is so much fun in multiplayer. It's pure mayhem with 4 people. It actually gets harder with more players, because if you don't cooperate you keep bouncing off each other and into enemies and holes. Cool to see the Koopa Kids again too!

[YunkuShiraishi]

Left4Dead2!



Wow that was the most amount of fun i had playing versus, we crushed them! Remember you are supposed to stick together! wow did they keep wondering away from another. I got coach all to myself.



Quick note: I'm ArisaGold on Xbox live so i'm an easy find. (though i don't play anything but Left4Dead and L4D2!)

[neshcom]

Gyromancer is my new fling. It's like Bejeweled Twist with Square Enix graphics. It's a little off-putting at first, but you don't need to grind or read the story. It definitely reminds me of Puzzle Quest (at least the mobile one I played), but it's a lot more serious. Everybody looks like

[Geof]

Star Trek D-A-C finally came to PSN, so I got that & it's pretty good. I like dual-stick shooters & this one takes the classic Space War concept & dresses it up with Star Trek (2009 version) graphics & ships. Though I'm not seeing a whole lot of point in playing as the larger ships like the Enterprise or it's Romulan counterpart, as the small Fighter class ships are so much faster & seem to take out the larger/more powerful ships pretty easily. At $10, it's probably only worth it to you if you're a fan or really liked this year's movie, but I would've been much happier paying $5 for this.

[al kusanagi]

[quote name='ArisaElizabethGold' post='71957' date='Nov 22 2009, 03:42 AM']Left4Dead2!



Wow that was the most amount of fun i had playing versus, we crushed them! Remember you are supposed to stick together! wow did they keep wondering away from another. I got coach all to myself.



Quick note: I'm ArisaGold on Xbox live so i'm an easy find. (though i don't play anything but Left4Dead and L4D2!)[/quote]



I'll add you. I've been looking for people to play L4D2 with. It seems everyone's just playing Modern Warfare 2 online at the moment.



Just finished Assassin's Creed 2. It's really good. They improved on the first in pretty much every way and removed all the annoying things and repetitiveness. Plus, you get to dress like a pimp and hang around with Leonardo DaVinchi.

[michikodesu]

My husband is trying to get me to play Plants vs. Zombies on his steam account....but I don't know. It looks cute (and the song is cute too) but I'm not big into playing PC games. I'm hoping to get Muramasa for Christmas and hopefully a gift card so that I can get Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers the day after.....other than that, I'm still trying to beat The Conduit for the wii (I'm not too good with FPSs <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... sniper.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> )

[neshcom]

I've always had a secret flame for point-n-click adventure games and apparently the Spaniards and Europans love them as well. A new game called Runaway: A Twist of Fate came out very recently and I beat it today after about two days of solid playing. The game's hint system was a nice help, but I did a lot of thinking too! Apparently, the Fracoises have made two games before it. I'd like to play the series backwards now knowing I'm at the "end" maybe. It is not far off from games like Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People or Monkey Island. Almost everything makes sense and having a tooltip explain what each item combo will do is a great idea from the crumpet-eaters.

[vanillacat]

Totally random, but Personal Trainer: Cooking.



I bought it for my brother about a year ago, after seeing an advertisement for it on the Wii Nintendo Channel, and today we finally got around to really trying it out.



It's actually a nifty little game, chock-full of recipes and helpful options for managing the cooking of said recipes (a grocery list option, cooking glossary, timers, lots of information like how many calories and how long it takes to make, and more).

It's got a big international focus too, so there's lots of Asian cuisine options that I'll have to persuade him to make for me.



I managed to bully him into making us Italian Tomato Bruschetta (note: go lightly on the garlic!), a German Potato and Bacon Soup, and a German dish referred to as a coulis. It was like a cross between a sauce and a thick fruity jelly. We didn't strain it like the Wikipedia name would suggest, so it was like... chunky... fruit... soup. Delicious.



All in all, a full meal cost maybe $30 (we had several of the ingredients already in Mom's kitchen), and it was really damn good. Nothing tastes better than the result of your blood, sweat, and tears! To think we were just gonna order pizza.



For an experienced cook, it probably would be pretty useless, as the recipes aren't particularly challenging or original, but for my 14-year-old brother and my culinary-challenged-self, it was a fun (albeit slightly stressful) challenge. It's probably pretty cheap these days, so I'd totally recommend it.

[Ap2000]

Serious Sam HD - The First Encounter

It's pretty much 1:1 TFE just in a new graphics engine. They didn't even change the sound for most things.

They should have done more with it to justify the 20€ price tag.

I'd rather buy Serious Sam 2 for 10€ and have a longer and far more entertaining game in nearly every aspect.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad and I always liked the Serious Sam games, but it's just... old.

[aine]

I always liked this man. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wub:' />



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3CPIMtXzZ8





Also, playing Fallout 3 intertwined with STALKER - Shadow of Chernobyl. The latter is much superior, but I'm playing the former considerably more - because it's more flashy and I'm just too excited with finally having a machine capable of decently running recent games. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':omgwtf:' /> And it's a funny feeling playing an FPP shooter loosely based on the best RPGs ever. Kind of akin to playing Doom Roguelike. I am impressed with the ragdoll physics (my first time playing a game with real ragdolls, k?) and lipsyncing. I am not impressed with the HDR graphics which closely imitate the look of HDR photos, which generally look like puke. Or maybe it was the other way round, but as a grumpy old film photographer I don't care and just wish the HDR concept disappeared from the face of Earth.



I got less to say about STALKER, because so far it's perfect on almost every account. Just to put a cherry on top of my multi-level trolling in the paragraph above, let me say that STALKER feels like it belongs to the Fallout universe much more than F3 does. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /dance.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[surasshu]

I couldn't agree more about F3. What always pissed me off about F3 is that it's supposed to be set in this post-apocalyptic world or whatever, but every 4 inch you come across people. They don't leave you the fuck alone, I felt more desolate in Morrowind for fuck's sake. Worst post-apocalyptic setting ever.

[Ap2000]

I loved Fallout 3.



But (as I said in that "poem" above) the Stalker games have a very special place in my heart, because they're just so damn unique and I love them even with all the bugs especially the first one and the second during it's release time had. (Call of Pripyat runs nearly perfect even with the release version)



Overall, Fallout 3 is clearly the more polished one, but the atmosphere is even better in Stalker.

[Ap2000]

I just played Samidare and Radiant Silvergun today.

Both seem very interesting and Radiant Silvergun has weapon mechanics that are pretty damn complex. I'm intrigues to play these two even more now.

[surasshu]

[quote name='Ap2000' post='72491' date='Dec 3 2009, 06:16 PM']I just played Samidare and Radiant Silvergun today.

Both seem very interesting and Radiant Silvergun has weapon mechanics that are pretty damn complex. I'm intrigues to play these two even more now.[/quote]

Radiant Silvergun is one of the best shmups ever made, well worth playing! Speaking of awesome shmups, Mushihimesama Futari is on its way here, hope it gets here... like, NOW. Been playing Mushihimesama in the meantime, which is surprisingly playable even for a nincompoop like me. It's very well set up, a nice smooth difficulty curve, unlike some other Cave shmups which are more like cliff faces. (ESPGaluda, I'm looking at you...)

[Ap2000]

[quote name='///' post='72494' date='Dec 3 2009, 06:33 PM'][quote name='Ap2000' post='72491' date='Dec 3 2009, 06:16 PM']I just played Samidare and Radiant Silvergun today.

Both seem very interesting and Radiant Silvergun has weapon mechanics that are pretty damn complex. I'm intrigues to play these two even more now.[/quote]

Radiant Silvergun is one of the best shmups ever made, well worth playing! Speaking of awesome shmups, Mushihimesama Futari is on its way here, hope it gets here... like, NOW. Been playing Mushihimesama in the meantime, which is surprisingly playable even for a nincompoop like me. It's very well set up, a nice smooth difficulty curve, unlike some other Cave shmups which are more like cliff faces. (ESPGaluda, I'm looking at you...)

[/quote]



haha, well, I'm not too much into shumps (yet), I kinda always liked Gradius (3 ?) for the SNES and Ikaruga on the GameCube, so I decided to look for some other ones and I've heard so much about Radiant Silvergun that I just had to try it. The polygon sword is so fucking cool.



As for your game, Mushihimesama, I probably will stay away from it because it looks like that toho stuff and I have a very strong hate against it. (even if your game might be very delicious)



EDIT:

Oh and looking at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nscP9QpXoFM Video makes my brain hurt, so I will probably never even try it.

I like it challenging, but I hate when there's so much shit flying around that I hate to press my head against my monitor just to make out my spaceship.



2.EDIT:

First level of Samidare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk0iMxJv6nw&fmt=18

It's on the PC and only ~120MB.

[neshcom]

The Saboteur is my current gaming conquest. Take GTA's driving and Mercenaries' destruction and Assassin's Creed's climb fucking ANYTHING, add one part Nazis to two parts Saturation/Hue and you've got The Saboteur. I like the use of color to describe regional "inspiration" or "morale" or whatever, but there really isn't any a) gradiation or <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sideways:' /> personal stake in it. The re-colorings come from beating story missions, but you are still encouraged to destroy smaller Nazi objects on your own. Also, the actual transition from color to black and white is kinda small and quick. Not only that, but France save the country-side, is pretty much yellow and brown. It's European grim-dark. Still, I like the usage of color in the black and white sections and there are some genuinely spooky environments that the color concept supplements greatly.

[Ap2000]

I think I just found the best shmup ever:

http://www.tatsuya-koyama.com/software/pac...etos_080810.zip



It's a tribute to shumps themselves.

At first you play Space Invaders and the game transforms itself to all the different stages of the genre, it's goddamn beautiful.

[surasshu]

[quote name='Ap2000' post='72498' date='Dec 3 2009, 07:38 PM']As for your game, Mushihimesama, I probably will stay away from it because it looks like that toho stuff and I have a very strong hate against it. (even if your game might be very delicious)



EDIT:

Oh and looking at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nscP9QpXoFM Video makes my brain hurt, so I will probably never even try it.

I like it challenging, but I hate when there's so much shit flying around that I hate to press my head against my monitor just to make out my spaceship.[/quote]

Mushihimesama IS a manic shooter, but it's by cave which means it's 1) incredibly beautiful and 2) a lot more polished and balanced than the "fireworks being sick" of Touhou. But you definitely shouldn't judge it by the final boss in Ultra mode, that's a mode that's basically just meant to be absurdly difficult. Of course, the Internet being as it is, it's impossible to find someone playing the normal mode, they're all playing Ultra or Arrange. D:



I have to admit, it does help that I can flip my TV sideways.



Definitely gonna grab those two you mentioned. I love shmups!

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='///' post='72392' date='Dec 1 2009, 01:10 PM']I couldn't agree more about F3. What always pissed me off about F3 is that it's supposed to be set in this post-apocalyptic world or whatever, but every 4 inch you come across people. They don't leave you the fuck alone, I felt more desolate in Morrowind for fuck's sake. Worst post-apocalyptic setting ever.[/quote]

Fallout 3 is kind of a different story, because no one ever claims that the apocalypse happened, just a bad disaster/war that destroyed all of the Washington D.C. area, kinda more like World War 3, not really apocalypse. Its not like Earth exploded in the middle of everyone's day, we just got the fuck bombed out of ourselves and they already knew it was coming and had already built the vaults many years prior, so there's plenty a good reason for there to be a lot of people still left out there in the wasteland.





[quote name='///' post='72494' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:33 AM'][quote name='Ap2000' post='72491' date='Dec 3 2009, 06:16 PM']I just played Samidare and Radiant Silvergun today.

Both seem very interesting and Radiant Silvergun has weapon mechanics that are pretty damn complex. I'm intrigues to play these two even more now.[/quote]

Radiant Silvergun is one of the best shmups ever made, well worth playing! Speaking of awesome shmups, Mushihimesama Futari is on its way here, hope it gets here... like, NOW. Been playing Mushihimesama in the meantime, which is surprisingly playable even for a nincompoop like me. It's very well set up, a nice smooth difficulty curve, unlike some other Cave shmups which are more like cliff faces. (ESPGaluda, I'm looking at you...)

[/quote]

My copy of Mushihimesama should be here tomorrow, if the mail doesn't pull their usual shit. Did they confirm that it works on PAL systems? I know its region-free, but I don't know if PAL/NTSC makes a difference anymore in the era of HD gaming. Its kinda interesting they made the game region-free, but one thing to keep in mind is any DLC content is not going to be available for the people from overseas who did buy it. In the case of past CAVE games on 360, the DLC is fucking phenomenal (DeathSmiles, mainly) so that may be a bummer to a lot of the overseas audience. Seriously, the DeathSmiles DLC adds a lot of extra features and hours more gameplay, I'm so glad I got it. Overseas Mushihimesama fans are already missing out on the fucking AWESOME premium dashboard theme they have up on the JP marketplace. The thing is stunningly beautiful.



And as a side note, they need to hurry the fuck up with porting Radiant Silvergun to Xbox Live Arcade, they've been talking about it for years. But oh well, we have Perfect Dark and RayStorm HD coming towards the beginning of 2010, that's plenty awesome to me.

[surasshu]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='72520' date='Dec 4 2009, 01:22 AM']My copy of Mushihimesama should be here tomorrow, if the mail doesn't pull their usual shit. Did they confirm that it works on PAL systems? I know its region-free, but I don't know if PAL/NTSC makes a difference anymore in the era of HD gaming. Its kinda interesting they made the game region-free, but one thing to keep in mind is any DLC content is not going to be available for the people from overseas who did buy it. In the case of past CAVE games on 360, the DLC is fucking phenomenal (DeathSmiles, mainly) so that may be a bummer to a lot of the overseas audience. Seriously, the DeathSmiles DLC adds a lot of extra features and hours more gameplay, I'm so glad I got it. Overseas Mushihimesama fans are already missing out on the fucking AWESOME premium dashboard theme they have up on the JP marketplace. The thing is stunningly beautiful.[/quote]

I wonder if that's true about DLC... I do have a Japanese XBL account, after all. But it's not impossible that they won't sell to someone with a non-JP IP address. Anyway, I have heard no real confirmation that it works on PAL systems. the NTSC thing won't matter, BUT it's happened before that a game was supposedly "region-free", when what they really meant was "Japan and USA". Obviously if that's true I'm buying a Japanese 360, that'll just be the final straw. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />

[eri]

I got animal crossing in Japanese. Yessss.

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='///' post='72532' date='Dec 3 2009, 09:08 PM'][quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='72520' date='Dec 4 2009, 01:22 AM']My copy of Mushihimesama should be here tomorrow, if the mail doesn't pull their usual shit. Did they confirm that it works on PAL systems? I know its region-free, but I don't know if PAL/NTSC makes a difference anymore in the era of HD gaming. Its kinda interesting they made the game region-free, but one thing to keep in mind is any DLC content is not going to be available for the people from overseas who did buy it. In the case of past CAVE games on 360, the DLC is fucking phenomenal (DeathSmiles, mainly) so that may be a bummer to a lot of the overseas audience. Seriously, the DeathSmiles DLC adds a lot of extra features and hours more gameplay, I'm so glad I got it. Overseas Mushihimesama fans are already missing out on the fucking AWESOME premium dashboard theme they have up on the JP marketplace. The thing is stunningly beautiful.[/quote]

I wonder if that's true about DLC... I do have a Japanese XBL account, after all. But it's not impossible that they won't sell to someone with a non-JP IP address. Anyway, I have heard no real confirmation that it works on PAL systems. the NTSC thing won't matter, BUT it's happened before that a game was supposedly "region-free", when what they really meant was "Japan and USA". Obviously if that's true I'm buying a Japanese 360, that'll just be the final straw. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />

[/quote]

Its not that you can't GET the DLC for it, there's only a very small percentage of Japanese DLC that tracks your IP address and denies you if its not a Japanese one, but the issue is that the only way you can get the content is to actually buy physical MS point cards from an import site and pay a huge premium price on it. You can't purchase MS points for a Japanese XBL account without a Japanese credit card with a Japanese billing address. I got a Japanese point card for 3500 MS points and it cost about $65 after shipping. With the cheap, slow shipping, at that. That many points in the US would be about $40 and the process of getting it requires going pretty far out of your way to do so, which would turn off most people who were dedicated enough to getting Japanese games to buy a Japanese system so they can buy content for other games as well.



Also, just 1CC'd DeathSmiles! Accomplishment of the year! Now for the other 4 characters! The game is harder to 1CC than it seems <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... iggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[surasshu]

Ahh the Japanese credit card thing, that makes sense. I might be able to get a friend in Tokyo to send me some gamerpoints, it's worth considering at least.

[ShinUkyo]

[quote name='Geof' post='68830' date='Sep 12 2009, 06:27 PM']TMNT Turtles In Time Re-Shelled came to PSN this week, so I got the demo, then bought the full game after beating Baxter. Oh how I wish they'd do this to those Simpsons & X-Men arcade games that used this same format.[/quote]

Amen to that, brother. Those two games have been at the top of my most-wanted remakes on Live Arcade for years now. The two TMNT Arcade games used to be up there, too, but thankfully those wishes have been fulfilled. I'm gleeful at the idea of playing that six-player X-Men game online. And the dual monitor format it used could very easily be translated into one screen, now that widescreen format is standard. The only thing I would definitely ask for, in the case of remakes, is access to the original versions as well. I was upset that they didn't include the original arcade port along with the release of ReShelled. Most every major Live Arcade remake title has included the original/classic version as a playable mode of some sort. After the money and time spent on the remake, it seems a no-brainer to include the original. As that requires such minimal effort, by comparison, I mean.



[quote name='///' post='69535' date='Sep 29 2009, 07:09 AM']For me right now I have to decide if I'm gonna do that or get a PS3--and it depends a little bit on what job I'm getting soon... It's certainly worthwhile to get the Japanese 360 considering the games, but I don't want to get 2 consoles at the moment.[/quote]

It all depends on which features you're looking for. My own choice would be clear, but, I'll give you an objective look at things. At least you already have your (western) Xbox 360, which means you currently have access to all the multi-platform titles. So that part won't have an influence on the decision; it all comes down to exclusive titles and exclusive console features. If you're a movie fan, and don't have a stand-alone player for Blu-Ray movies, then that's a major selling point for PS3. There are also quite a few nice media features that only PS3 offers (for viewing and sharing photos, music, etc). And PSN has a decent amount of really fun exclusive downloadable games. Not as many as Live Arcade, of course, but quite a good amount still. So for most people who already have a US/EU Xbox 360, like you do, getting a PS3 would be the most sensible choice as a followup system. Whereas for me, someone who doesn't use their game consoles for any sort of non-gaming media or movies, it wouldn't be as much of a draw.



When it comes to exclusive retail/disc games, the Japanese 360 has at least as many as PS3 does. Since you're a fan of Shmups, like Steve said, there's a boatload of Japan-only games already out (and more coming with regularity). Ones that won't ever be coming to America or Europe. People could argue that, "Hey, the Japanese 360 only has maybe a dozen games at best that are unique to its region (and unavailable for play on your US/EU system)." But at the same time, the PS3 has no more than a dozen exclusive retail titles that are must-haves. Plus the Japanese 360 can be had, brand new, for less than $200us. The arcade model, I mean, which is all you'd need since you already have your HDD and any extra controllers or accessories. Whereas a PS3 would run you $300us, before any extra accessories you might want. So it all depends on whether you're into the Japanese-style games (Shmups and whatnot) that won't ever come here. In the end, I love those games, and so my own choice in this matter would be the Japanese 360.



[quote name='Ap2000' post='69566' date='Sep 29 2009, 03:55 PM']I too plan to buy a PS3 in Q1 next year, as I would never ever buy a microsoft console.[/quote]

See but, even after reading later posts with your reasoning behind this, you still don't have a valid reason to hate Microsoft's game systems. And if you refuse to buy any console that Microsoft releases, simply because it comes from them, then you're being even more childish than Steve/AEUG was being. Sure, he goes way too far sometimes... in his passion for 360 (and why he thinks the other two consoles are inferior choices). But at least, in his case, the core foundation of his argument was based on what the console could actually offer him. He went with, from what he saw: the console that offers the greatest number of must-have exclusive titles, the best online experience, the most tangible rewards for single-player accomplishments, etc. Those were things that, in his opinion, made the system worth owning. It has nothing to do with how he feels about Microsoft. If anything, like most people, he has a general distaste for them. On a similar note, he has nothing against Sony. He has a PSP, which he loves... similarly to how he loves his PS2. His gripe with PS3 is based only on that console itself. And again, even though he goes a bit too far, he's basing the dislike for PS3 on actual evidence he's seen.



Your hatred for Microsoft reminds me of something. Back when Sony announced they were getting into the console market, six years before Microsoft did, people had very similar concerns. They noted how Sony was a super-rich and evil corporation, and how they didn't deserve to get into the gaming market. They said things like, "Leave the gaming market to companies who specialize in games. People like Nintendo, Sega, and Atari." But before too long, Sony proved themselves... and they produced some great consoles and games. And in the end, like many people said, it's about the actual games you're playing. Letting petty feelings for the developers influence your decision just means you're gonna miss out on some of the best exclusive game titles that come out. I've always been a firm believer that, if you can afford it, you should eventually buy all of the available consoles from a particular generation. But if you have to be choosy, due to lack of funds, then put some thought into it. In this current generation, since I only had enough money for one, I made the choice of 360. But if I had to make the same choice in the last generation, I likely would have gone with PS2.



[quote name='aine' post='70448' date='Oct 20 2009, 06:19 PM']Also started playing The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. First time really playing any Zelda game for real. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /ph34r.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> It's a fun but rather undemanding and childish game that you could probably finish during one day if you cared enough (without attempting a speedrun). From the looks of it I'm already past the half of the main story. Obviously a Zelda game on a DS had to have touchscreen controls, but the lack of button controls annoy me a bit. I think the touchsceen controls in this game are the most gimmicky of all DS games I've played and are there just because they could be. Problem is that save for a few neat features (drawing on maps, using a boomerang) they could very well not be there. However I really loved the idea for pressing two maps against each other to transfer the symbols. For the longest while after figuring it out I could stop giggling at how clever it was. Now, if only the whole game was awesome like that...[/quote]

That was what I was worried about, that the cheesy touch-screen centered stuff would make the game less enjoyable. I still wanna try it out someday, though, when I have the time. But if it's your first Zelda game, don't let it ruin the series for you. The original, Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time are on many people's top ten lists (and for good reason). All of the past Zelda titles are among my favorite games of all-time, really. The only exceptions are the couple that I haven't played yet, on which I can't comment. Never tried Phantom Hourglass obviously, and I've never tried Twilight Princess either (even though I own the GameCube version of it, and will get to it someday).



[quote name='///' post='71212' date='Nov 5 2009, 10:32 AM'](since online multiplayer is a horrible invention that must die)[/quote]

Wait, what? Online multiplayer is one of the reasons that I came back to gaming in the first place. Don't get me wrong, it's always better to do multiplayer gaming in-person with friends. And I still do that as often as I'm able. But the demands of life have drastically reduced the amount of time I can devote to such things. And heck, I used to think online console gaming was a stupid, gimmicky idea too (back in the days when it didn't work so well). Things like X-Band, Sega Channel, Matching Service, and even PS2 or the original Xbox's online features. But the 360 was the console that finally did it right. A majority of the fun times I've had with my 360 have been playing stuff online with friends. UNO, Bomberman, Halo, SFIV, whatever. There are certain titles where their online mode is ruined by lag and such. But the majority of games, thankfully, tend to run really well. Not just simplistic Live Arcade titles, but even some of the more-sophisticated fighting games, FPS titles, and etc. And then the fact you can chat with friends, just by wearing the headset, anytime you're on your console. So if you're playing a single-player game that doesn't require precise concentration, you can talk with buddies at the same time. It allows you to play along with friends from all over the world, without leaving your home.



[quote name='Geof' post='71980' date='Nov 22 2009, 04:00 PM']Star Trek D-A-C finally came to PSN, so I got that & it's pretty good. I like dual-stick shooters & this one takes the classic Space War concept & dresses it up with Star Trek (2009 version) graphics & ships. Though I'm not seeing a whole lot of point in playing as the larger ships like the Enterprise or it's Romulan counterpart, as the small Fighter class ships are so much faster & seem to take out the larger/more powerful ships pretty easily. At $10, it's probably only worth it to you if you're a fan or really liked this year's movie, but I would've been much happier paying $5 for this.[/quote]

I've always been curious about that game, as I've never seen a demo or anything. And I haven't had access to my own 360 for the past six months or so. Does it play, to some degree, like a Shmup? Like where you basically destroy everything to win, and have to use precision timing and such to succeed? If so, that's kinda cool. For some reason, when the game was originally announced, I thought it was something strategy/sim related. That's what I get for not reading up on it haha.

[surasshu]

Yeah, I ended up going for neither jp.360 nor PS3 in the end. I can't think of more than two or three games I'd really want to play on the PS3, and while I can think of 6 titles I want for the 360, I just ended up saving some money and buying the PS2 cave shmups I didn't have instead. Additional benefit: the 4:3 TV I have hooked my PS2 to can actually be put on its side! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />



Regarding multiplayer, Yahtzee wrote an article with a pretty good list of reasons why multiplayer is altogether a dreadful experience, relating to Modern Warfare 2 but it generally applies (although I don't agree with all his points, and I have no qualms with local multiplayer, although I don't think he does either, since he does mention playing the quite fun local multiplayer element of MW2 in his video review).



I wouldn't quite call it a gimmick, or broken, but I think it's a fundamentally inferior and unpleasant way of consuming games, and one that is ruining single-player somewhat, and the local multiplayer experience almost completely. It's useless to even hope that games will return to the beautiful time when multiplayer gaming was not yet shit, but the least I can do is not participate in it. Saves me a bit of money too, can buy half a game a month for that money!

[neshcom]

I don't know who said what, but here's my schtick: I don't really like online multiplayer. I don't have a next-gen, online system (still rockin my PS2 <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />), and I can't say I've had a noticeably positive experience with multiplayer on PC, not that it's been bad either. It's just nothing special. I don't get any sort of close relationship and I don't really play with anyone consistently. Small fish, big pond I guess, but I can see someone not really caring and just wanting human opponents. I'm much more in favor of local multiplayer and, in my eyes, if a game doesn't have that, regardless of online, it doesn't really have multiplayer. And of course, some online games don't even HAVE local which just astounds me. I don't want to play with some random people and I think that's kind of the reason for the whole MW2 no dedicated servers dealie. I'd rather play against a smaller pool of people of my choosing and have a constant place to do so at.



On multiplayer as a whole, I remember the time when multiplayer wasn't this huge selling point or necessary feature. If a game doesn't fit having multiplayer, it should have it. (I haven't played the mp on this, but this is from an outsiders' viewpoint) Uncharted 2 is really fun, greatly executed, and an all around great single-player game and I can't understand why it needed a multiplayer aspect. I play it and I don't think, "I wish I was playing with the guy next to me." I don't. I don't think Super Mario Brothers needed multiplayer and, my experiences on the DS remake fully understand that feeling: because it doesn't work as a gameplay mechanic. Going from linear adventure platform to 2D Balloon Fight with not balloons is just bad and I feel sorry for my friend who I naively coerced into playing with me. I haven't played it either, but I don't have any hope for the Wii's version either.



<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /words.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[Ap2000]

wow... the console/microsoft discussion came to an end two months and nobody wanted to write about it anymore. There was really no point in reviving that topic since I made my point clear and there was nothing to add from either side.









I just finished Call of Pripyat and they have a wonderful function that you can just continue playing even when the main story is over, so you can get al the different achievements which alter the outro. Now I'm thinking about going back to Clear Sky and finally finish it, I've stopped playing it after 2/3 or 3/4 of the main story, though I don't know why exactly, I just kinda forgot to continue playing or something. lol

[Sabaku Ika]

My 360 finally died. It was a launch model, which are famously error-prone, so I'm impressed that it lasted this long. I do intend to get it fixed eventually, but I'm also going to get a PS3 (80GB fat-type), which I was planning on doing sooner or later anyway.

What PS3-exclusives do you recommend? I am definitely getting Little Big Planet, Infamous, and Valkyria Chronicles, but not all at once.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Sabaku Ika' post='72769' date='Dec 8 2009, 06:01 PM']What PS3-exclusives do you recommend? I am definitely getting Little Big Planet, Infamous, and Valkyria Chronicles, but not all at once.[/quote]



Beautiful Katamari above all.



Other than that, just go through this list and look at what's appealing to you. Since everybody has a different taste, it's hard to recommend stuff.