---

Bully - 73% - PS2
Started out with a story, then it was pretty much forgotten about right after the intro cutscene. Missions are disjointed and have no real connection to each other. A lot of missions are just variations involving you to go to x place, beat up y person , then return to z. Attending classes and having a curfew really limits what you can do each day. I know you don't have to attend classes after you passed them all and there is clothing that lets you stay up until 2am, but it's not even worth it. The game felt like one big grind just to finish it and I didn't enjoy it that much. You won't be missing anything if you don't play this game. When they start tossing a smoke grenade just to pick up the rifle is when you can start thrusting your pelvis.

Okami - 95% - PS2
Better than Zelda (haven't played Twilight Princess yet) and just plain fun to play. Not bullshitting when I say it will take you about 40 or more hours to beat the game. If you were to do everything there was to do, I would say it would take 60+, but I didn't try. The brush stroking surprisingly did not feel like a gimmick and if this came out for the Wii I would definitely get a Wii (even if there is nothing good coming out for it in the next century). Only problems I had were the voices which you can't turn off and the fact that the camera is restricted to the battle circle. A bit on the easy side, but a must have game for every PS2 owner.

God of War - 82% - PS2
I liked what little story they had in the game, but they could have done so much more considering they were dealing with greek mythology. There were only two boss fights that were incredibly awesome. A lot of the regular fights felt drawn out since monsters could survive multiple combos and the game would just keep spawning more of the bastards after you finish them one by one. SQUARE SQUARE TRIANGLE SQUARE SQUARE TRIANGLE SQUARE SQUARE TRIANGLE SQUARE SQUARE TRIANGLE. Some "puzzles" were just plain retarded (two spinning bladed towers) Ninja Gaiden is superior.

Gears of War - 93% - 360
Haven't played the single player because it made me physically sick with its eXtreme camera cinematics. Multiplayer is all sorts of awesome though. Kills are very satisfying, and rounds are like counter-strike except much faster (It takes about one minute for most of the fighting to take place.) Only problems with this game: the stupid mic bug where you can't hear new people that join the game; being a host feels like cheating because your shots occur instantly, conversely joining someone elses server means you will get schooled by the host in a close range fight with shotguns no matter what if the host is decent; a tendency for teams to be stacked when you join a game; grenade taggers can't be stopped or interrupted unless you down them. Sniping the would-be enemy sniper on Canals is the best shot in any game ever made because it can occur within 10 seconds of the round start and just totally rapes.

nem-x fucked around with this message on 12-03-2006 at 09:05 AM.

My first two games shipped the morning after I signed up to Gamefly and they came in three days (including the day they were shipped) and they both even had a 'Short Wait' availability.

When returning my first game, it took about six days for them to receive it, then it took three days for the next game to arrive. A USPS holiday was thrown in there and a Sunday. So an eleven day turn around and I was pretty sadface about this slowness.

The next three games I returned only took three days for them to receive it and three days for me to get a new game. Six day turnaround and it is much better. Send and receive a game in one weeks time.

Final Fantasy 12 is currently on it's way to me.
I will be renting MGS: Portable Ops and Twilight Princess on the GC when they come out. The gamefly subscription has already netted me about $200 in savings compared to purchasing the games. There is also a Keep It price that lets you buy the game and is a lot cheaper than getting it from a store. The games they send surprisingly have no scratches on them; even God of War had nothing but caked on dust that I just had to wipe off.

--
oh god how did this get here i am not good with computers

quote:

---

The game felt like one big grind just to finish it and I didn't enjoy it that much. You won't be missing anything if you don't play this game. When they start tossing a smoke grenade just to pick up the rifle is when you can start thrusting your pelvis.

---

nem-x fucked around with this message on 12-03-2006 at 09:31 AM.

Karnaj fucked around with this message on 12-03-2006 at 10:38 AM.

...

...

...

out of five.

quote:

---

Manticore obviously shouldn't have said:
Patty Cake - 74% - Hands
Starts out like your basic endurance/finess game. Story is lacking but the replay value is very high. Game is extremely short, try a minutes at best. Definetly a rental. The fingers are really just a gimic, and overall this is game is way too geared towards younger children with no real increased difficulty for the better players. Frankly, it leaves a lot to be desired.

---

If I was a mod I would ban you. Make it so Number Parcelan.

quote:

---

And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Karnaj was all like:
- Medieval 2: Total War - 85%. Fun, but incredibly buggy. Cavalry is horribly gimped, to the point where charges are almost pointless. The campaign AI is mercurial and quick to anger, prompting many betrayals. Once patches solve these problems, the game will be excellent. The variety of units on the campaign map means that you can solve your problems with means other than wholesale slaughter. Not that I would, because I love slaughter.

---

I guess I'll have to wait until a patch comes out to fix Cavalry then. It's nice to be able to steamroll your opponents from behind because they were too busy minding the pikemen advancing on them.

Incredibly fun as the Chaos army but it's slightly dumbed down. All you really have to do is mass-charge the enemy since it never comes at you as a whole army, it only ever attacks you one unit at a time. It's incredibly easy, even with the Skaven who are supposed to be cowards. I'm walking all over the "mighty" Empire with a tiny army.

Fun though. Pity the ease of play and repetative missions let it down. I enjoyed Warhammer Dark Omen a lot more.

quote:

---

nem-x got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
If I was a mod I would ban you. Make it so Number Parcelan.

---

I've broken no rules, and I dont post enough to be a constant annoyance.

I agree about Gods of War, as well. So much potential squandered. Of course, being a Greek mythology lover, perhaps my expectations were too high, but it still would've been nicer if the gods played a more active or at least better-written role than "Congrats on leveling, here's your new power."

Chrono Trigger - 97%
I'm sad I waited so long to play this game. Great story and gameplay as well as being the best jrpg I've ever played.

Fable: The Lost Chapters - 79%
Lack of depth, but fun for the first time through.

Medieval Total War 2 - ?%
I left it unopened at home so I'll study for exams

Neverwinter Nights 2 -?%
See above

quote:

---

Noxhil2 painfully thought these words up:

[b]Chrono Trigger - 97%
I'm sad I waited so long to play this game. Great story and gameplay as well as being the best jrpg I've ever played.

---

Yes, you are, but I would have to argue more in Xenogears favor. I loved CT, but I loved Xenogears more. Chrono Cross (the Playstation CT sequel) had a disappointing end, but very nice gameplay as well.

As to the topic, since my cable was down yesterday, I've been playing my King's Quest Collection. It's amazing how such simple games can be so fun to play, even when you're beating your head against the wall trying to get a random event to happen. I cut my gaming teeth on these old PC games.

I also picked up the Space Quest collection at the same time. That's next on the list. I have a whole week of vacation coming up and since semester is over, I don't plan to do shit during it.

If you enjoyed the first one, the second streamlines a LOT of stuff. It's a lot easier to upgrade gear, the missions are more amusing, too. There's no limit on psi-energy, for instance. You don't "Holo-Bob" anymore. You bodysnatch. There's a whole tasty mechanic for getting rid of unwanted military/police attention.

And of course, the game is worldwide. So yes you tangle with British spies, you go to Tokyo and fight this Godzilla thing, etc. Good stuff. Cities/zones are a LOT bigger, with a LOT more stuff to do...like starting cults to an alien sex god named Arkvoodle, which ultimately leads to you getting a weapon that summons Tremors-like worms.

Which brings us to weapons. The disintegrator is still the "Mars Attacks" gun (IE you reduce them to a glowing skeleton), there's still an anal probe (you use ejected brain stems to power some really nice psi-powers), there's still the lightning cannon shock-o-matic. But now there's also a woman that pulls meteors down (the one upgrade for it is called the "Deep Impact Aimer" and another one is like the "Armageddon Targetting Device") and other freaky powers.

You can also set off a shagadelic "Free Love" thing to cover your tracks. Everyone in the area gets down to a psychadelic beat.

Multiplayer...meh. The games you can play are fun. Telekinetic tennis bouncing hippies back and forth is fun. But it's not the major draw to the game.

Good game...I loved the original and this was more of the same with some additional tweaks. I'd give it an 85 or 90%

Drakenguard 2- 85%
One of those random games I decided to try out because the box art was pretty, difference being, it actually turned out to be a kickass game. The storyline is interesting, if a little contrived at first, the mechanics are fun once you figure them out, and flying on the dragon can be wicked fun. There are some headaches to be had in deciding which weapon to upgrade--very little information is provided on how they'll get stronger and how they actually function, I had to go on GameFAQs and read up on each before I made my decisions. But even just the fact that there -are- different weapons to choose from is nice, and it's also clever that the different playable characters have different fighting styles as well as different enemy types that they're strong or weak against. Voice acting ranges from passable to charming--the guy with the axe (I can't believe I forgot his name) is hilarious right off the bat.

It's odd how you find the beginning storyline somewhat detached from the game play, but as you progress further, you really get tied up in it. A bit too linear for my tastes, but still fun, I'd say the mechanics are best, followed by story, followed by art. Plenty of replay bonus, if only for upgrading different weapons and for the sheer entertainment value of blasting armies to oblivion with your fire breath from above.

Most of the reason I say 85% stems from the actual lack of dual screen usage. A vast majority of the game is played on the bottom screen, with the top screen doing absolutely nothing. Not even a quasi-screensaver like feature, such as the sky from Animal Crossing: Wild World. The only time the top screen ever sees any action are during crystal segments and other voice echoing moments, using the menu(the playing field goes to the top screen,) and using shops(The characters are standing around, with indicators of who can equip what being used.) As well as the touted WiFi usage being a glorified e-mail system.

The challenge is pretty high, to the point where I absolutely bitch slapped Doga and Unei, but completely wipe out in the dungeon afterwards. This happens at several points in the game. Such as the Water Crystal dungeon being completely easy, but it's boss, Kraken, being a hardass. Most of the actual gameplay modification is job balancing. Bard, for example, is no longer useless like the NES version. The Defense Song might as well make you invincible, and the offense song can do some awesome damage - and since they're used from an ability, they go off instantly before enemies get a chance to do anything.

Skaw fucked around with this message on 12-03-2006 at 10:29 PM.

Gears of War 94% - You know the train is a smooth ride, baby.

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos 45% - It's pretty. PRETTY LAME. Load times are fucking ridiculous and all over the place. How does the main menu manage to get a 10-15 second load screen?

Just Cause 75% - If you like to fuck around and pull off some pretty crazy stunts, this is the game for you. Don't come here for amazing storylines or a deep field of gameplay.

Dead Rising 90% - Tons of fun. Lots of minor annoyances. Desperately needs sequel.

edit - had to lower Mark of Chaos' score again

Blackened fucked around with this message on 12-04-2006 at 12:06 AM.

Fantastic game. Lots of humor, very engaging, and it makes you think. Some puzzle solutions are a bit obscure, and some seem unintuitive, but it's fantastic when everything just suddenly SNAPS into place, and you see what originally happened - up to that point, everything gets so convoluted and twisted you're always left wondering just what actually happened. It does have low replay value, which is why I marked it below 90%, but that's really its only failing. Because it's so story-intensive, once you complete it once and have seen all the twists and surprises, it loses much of that feeing.

Phoenix Wright - Justice for All - 87% - DS

Every bit as good as the original, just as engaging, just as interesting. Still marked down due to low replay value - once you complete it once, you've seen every surprise. Additionally, the first PW game had a fifth case that took advantage of the DS's microphone and touch screen to search for clues - the sequel doesn't have such a case, making it considerably shorter. Still a fantastic game with plenty of humor and enjoyment.

quote:

---

Blackened said:
Load times are fucking ridiculous and all over the place.

---

Yeah, that bothered me too.

quote:

---

So quoth Skaw:
Most of the reason I say 85% stems from the actual lack of dual screen usage. A vast majority of the game is played on the bottom screen, with the top screen doing absolutely nothing. Not even a quasi-screensaver like feature, such as the sky from Animal Crossing: Wild World. The only time the top screen ever sees any action are during crystal segments and other voice echoing moments, using the menu(the playing field goes to the top screen,) and using shops(The characters are standing around, with indicators of who can equip what being used.) As well as the touted WiFi usage being a glorified e-mail system.

---

That's been my problem with a lot of games brought onto the DS; the dual screen was the original reason I bought mine, but it's turned out to be pretty useless so far. I barely got into Lunar, mostly because of the featureless combat system, but the way they split the screen gave me vertigo. Then we have things like Kirby's Canvas Adventure where the upper screen has (if I remember correctly) the map and the health bar. Useful enough, but in most games, just hitting start will show it to you. I guess the best use I've found so far is what they did in Nintendogs, using it to show your offscreen dogs and some other stuff, but all in all, I could do without the dual screens...it's the touch pad and microphone that really set it apart. Although I swear my mic is broken >.<

So, you'd think that actually having a non-analogue stick aiming system in a console shooter would be a good thing.

You'd only be half right.

The first hour and a half of this game is a stock shooter. However, it suffers from very poor voice acting, poorly animated script sequences, and too many special effects. That said, the aiming system is nice.. if you don't move the wii-mote to the edge of the screen and turn endlessly up/right or something dumb while you try to get your bearings.

The swordfights are neat, but heavily scripted rock paper scissors kinds of things. The wiimote and nunchuck only pick up basic movements, and though there is some element of strategy (when to parry, when to dodge, etc), you can get by mostly by just waiting for your opponent to strike, dodging and breaking his sword.

The "Respect" system is allright, you get respect from sparing swordfighters' lives, disarming enemies and forcing them to surrender, and doing special moves with the katana. More respect nets you better moves and upgrades to your shooting abilities and (later on) access to more weapons to start missions with.

On the upside, the game is long. I'm about six hours in and the game says I'm 40% done. Though I'm not sure I wholly trust the percentages, there's at least four more "missions" to complete. The first one I took was actually quite long. I'm moderately impressed.

quote:

---

x--Delphi AegisO-('-'Q) :
The first hour and a half of this game is a stock shooter. However, it suffers from very poor voice acting, poorly animated script sequences, and too many special effects. That said, the aiming system is nice.. if you don't move the wii-mote to the edge of the screen and turn endlessly up/right or something dumb while you try to get your bearings.

The swordfights are neat, but heavily scripted rock paper scissors kinds of things. The wiimote and nunchuck only pick up basic movements, and though there is some element of strategy (when to parry, when to dodge, etc), you can get by mostly by just waiting for your opponent to strike, dodging and breaking his sword.

---

God damn am I tired of being absolutely right about everything, all the time.

quote:

---

Maradon! had this to say about Robocop:
God damn am I tired of being absolutely right about everything, all the time.

---

I KNEW WHAT YOUR POST WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT BEFORE I LOOKED

quote:

---

The logic train ran off the tracks when Maradon! said:
God damn am I tired of being absolutely right about everything, all the time.

---

For a first gen game, I'm genuinely impressed. The opening storyline (Your girlfriend is kidnapped, her father is killed) is actually the first hour and a half of actual play. What it lacks in control to some degree it makes up in length. And replay value.

quote:

---

How.... nem-x.... uughhhhhh:
I KNEW WHAT YOUR POST WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT BEFORE I LOOKED

---

Lottery numbers! Give me lottery numbers!

quote:

---

Inferno-Spirit said this, then charged the door while shouting "CHONGO LONGO!":
Lottery numbers! Give me lottery numbers!

---

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that nem-X knowing what Maradon was going to say doesn't necessarily mean he's Isaac Mendez.

quote:

---

Gunslinger Moogle had this to say about Optimus Prime:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that nem-X knowing what Maradon was going to say doesn't necessarily mean he's Isaac Mendez.

---

Psychic Azn Powers.

Final Fantasy XII - 90%
Still in progress with about 20-25 hours played; I think I'm about halfway through the main story. I can't say that I liked the whole combat system at first. You're given limited options in how you can autoprogram your dudes at the beginning and it was just not fun. It gets much better about midway during the game when your people can effectively handle things automatically due to being a lot stronger. I kind of wish there were more options in Gambits for how stealing works though. The license board shouldn't be a big unknown. The music is pretty bland and there hasn't been a song that made me actually want in mp3 form yet. The voices really really really got on my nerves; it sounded like they weren't in their environment at all and were just talking directly through the speakers. It still sounds that way, but it isn't as bad when you first hear it because you get used to it. The story so far hasn't really been that impressive yet (the only cool part was during the cinematic where the judges started arguing and going apeshit on each other). There is actually difficulty which is good since you can fight things that are much higher in level than you are, and it requires a lot of strategic choices. Vaan is gay and I wish he wasn't in the game at all.

quote:

---

I suppose the same could be said of all nem-xs...

Final Fantasy XII - 90%
The music is pretty bland and there hasn't been a song that made me actually want in mp3 form yet

---

That's due to a lack of Nobuo Uematsu.

Densetsu fucked around with this message on 12-11-2006 at 12:02 PM.

There's plenty of extra stuff to do for the collector, but it's not a game you want if you're looking for an epic 40-60 hour RPG or something. It's about 10 hours for a person new to the series and 6-7 if you're familiar with the usual Castlevania style of where you gotta go. If you have never played a Castlevania, but enjoy the sidescrolling Metroid series, this is a game you should pick up to see if you like it. The game series are both very similar.

DS | Kirby: Squeak Squad - 85-90% - Yaaaaay, a Kirby game with no downs gimmick included. Ignoring Canvas Curse, this game goes straight back to the sidescrolling, enemy-suckin Kirby games that are always such a joy. Resembling Nightmare in Dreamland far more than the last installment Magic Mirror, it uses a regular level system instead of one giant world map. I like this, but it leaves me feeling that the game will end up being shorter than I want it to be. Nightmare in Dreamland had that very same problem.

Fortunately, there are a lot of things to find in Squeak Squad and it's bound to have at least one or two cool extra modes. If they bring back Meta Knight mode, I shall bring this game's rating up past 90%. It's pending right now because I'm only on world 4 (of 8 supposedly).

PS2 | Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Game - 75% - Why did I play this? I'm not really too sure on this one, but I think it has something to do with hunger. In any event, it didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The game is actually a 2D sidescrolling game in a 3D environment. It has very crisp graphics and a soundtrack that is surprisingly not very irritating in the least. The voices of the game are pretty amusing, but they are from a cartoon for like 4 year old girls after all.

I thought at first that all you had to do was run around picking up seeds and keys and jumping over bad guys and I was going to be irritated. But as you progress in the game you get different powers like making giant fruit and getting butterfly wings to help you solve different puzzles to progress in the game. It's all fairly simple but when you beat it, you unlock the next difficulty level in the game. I don't know how difficult you can make it because there is no life count in the game, but whatever. I definitely recommend this for anybody with a little girl that wants a PS2 game for Christmas.

Great game for your PSP. Back to being a real MGS game instead of a card based game like Acid. Basic premise is to recruit squad members and go kicking some rebel FOX ass. You can get up to 100 soldiers in your unit. YOu have 4 sneaking squads of up to 4 people each you can use(the ones that actually do missions), you can send spys to scout out mission areas, tech units to develop you equipment, and a medical squad that decreases healing time.

Controls are nice once you get used to them. Hooray lack of buttons. Looks great, load times aren't too bad. Though the CODEC screen takes quite a while to jump up. Almost all the characters are acquirable for your squad. Even friend Ocelot!

Probably the biggest downside is that for the most part all the people you acquire play like a Snake clone. Just their individual weapon skills, HP, and stamina are different. Also the bosses are a cake walk. Easy patterns and level layouts. I took down a freaking Metal Gear with 4 packs of dynamite and a modified M-16.

Alaan fucked around with this message on 12-12-2006 at 01:31 PM.

nem-x fucked around with this message on 12-16-2006 at 05:02 PM.

And Link runs like a faggot.

nem-x fucked around with this message on 12-21-2006 at 02:08 PM.

quote:

---

So quoth Mr. Parcelan:
Why do you give high scores to games you hate?

---

Personal preference a game review does not make.

OMG the cuteness! Arghhhhhh!

Standard sim game with a twist: you're creating an ecosystem for wild pinata. You start out with a shovel and a patch of land, and turn it into a garden to attract critters. You get levels through increasing your gardening and breeding skills, and new levels open up new equipment and pinata options.

At first, you'll simply plant some grass, which will attract the most basic critters: whirlms. When you've got a couple, you can build a love shack and breed them.

Each pinata has a series of criteria for when you'll catch sight of them, when they'll visit your garden, when they'll become residents of your garden, when they'll be in the mood for romance, and when they'll evolve. It usually boils down to a combination of what plants you have growing and what other pinata live in your garden, though sometimes you'll have to feed one pinata to another.

There are various personages who roam around offering advice or you can even hire people from the town to water plants or harvest fruit if you'd like. Also, there are various sour pinata who will invade the garden and make your pinata sick. You whack them with your shovel, and they 'splode.

As you gain levels, your shovel is upgraded so you can create ponds or dig holes to make seeds grow better. You also gain access to more kinds of plants and accessories like fences and hedges to keep the carnivores away from their food. You sell pinata or fruit to make chocolate coins, which serve to buy upgrades and such.

Annoying things. The biggest annoying thing is that, while a rather complex game, they've decided (probably because of the theme), that little kids might be involved, so the narrative voices and confirmation screens are geared toward young kids. Meaning everything takes three or four "are you sure?" clicks before you can execute it, and selecting something requires a bit of a pause to let it take. Also, the "helpers" have a bad habit of leaving gates open, and you'll spend too much time putting food pinatas back in their pens--though I think there's a way to construct the garden to minimize the need for helpers to enter pens. Whenever two pinata decide to mate, there's an annoyingly simple minigame you have to play through, aimed squarely at 5-year-olds. These are the only gameplay issues I have, but it is a really, really, really big dose of cute and sugary and bright colors. Be warned.

Cool stuff. The way the ecosystem works is quite complex and interesting. Pinata can mutate and change color based on what you feed them, and these mutated species are important to the food chain of more valuable pinata. Also, when you breed a species for the first time, there is a cute cut-scene showing them dancing in their Certified Austin Powers Love Pad. Overall, the variety of what you can do is huge. There is a comprehensive journal feature which keeps track of every pinata you've seen, as well as stats on your garden. This makes planning much easier, since you don't have to remember everything.

Multiplayer. Doesn't seem to have one, though you can send pinata to your buddies via Live! You design your personalized tags for pinata you breed, so everyone knows it's from you.

Storyline. It's there, but it's another of the features aimed squarely at the very, very young. Nothing really worth bothering with.

Bottom line: I like it. It's surprisingly deep, but not at all serious.

Bloodsage fucked around with this message on 12-24-2006 at 03:16 PM.