Latest "what are you playing" thread - http://www.mmcafe.com/ Forums


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Ishmael
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"Latest "what are you playing" thread" , posted Thu 22 Mar 23:53post reply

Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?






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Oroch
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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 00:18:post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?



Company of Heroes and Resistance: Fall of Man


imagine if this World War 2 stuff wasn't a videogame and really happened!!!! but not like that crappy movie schindlers list, that was total shit, no action at all





[this message was edited by Oroch on Fri 23 Mar 01:00]

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"Re(2):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 00:50post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?


Company of Heroes and Resistance: Fall of Man


imagine if this World War 2 stuff wasn't a videogame and really happened!!!!



Resistance is fun.
But right now it's about SMT: Nocturne. Wow





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 00:55post reply

Castlevania Portrait of Ruin! Follows the exact same formula of the latest Castlevanias, but it's still lots of fun. some may argue it's repetitive, but with this kind of repetitive fun, I don't want innovative boredom.

Also, God Hand, replaying it on normal again with all the extra moves, plus doing all the arena challenges. So far I only have two left to unlock arena challenge 51.





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 00:58post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?



Streets of Rage Remake.

It's fun and yet they still have a lot of work to do. Zan, for example, kicks serious ass compared to everyone else. This is especially funny considering that I never played him in SOR3. The difficulty is also ludicrous, with no major differences between levels. Unlocking stuff is a pain too.





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"Re(2):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 01:08post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?


Streets of Rage Remake.

It's fun and yet they still have a lot of work to do. Zan, for example, kicks serious ass compared to everyone else. This is especially funny considering that I never played him in SOR3. The difficulty is also ludicrous, with no major differences between levels. Unlocking stuff is a pain too.



Oh yeah! I'm playing that too! I found Normal to be really, really hard. I agree that there are a lot of things that need to be worked on such as the final boss battle, but it's fun.







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"Re(3):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 02:10post reply

Puyo Pop Fever for the DS.

I was addicted to it last summer, so every once and awhile I pop it back into my DS to get my fix.





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"Re(4):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 02:17post reply

puzzle quest! it's nice!

here's something I wrote somewhere else: "it's like bejeweled, but when you match three or four or whatever of a given color, you get 'mana' points for that color. you have spells which require certain numbers of points. you do damage to the enemy by matching skulls. matching four gets you an extra turn. The story is ok, kind of dumb, but a fun thread for the battles, and the weapons armor and such give you better stats, as does leveling up, which gives you points to dedicate to certain attributes. If you're the kind of person that has a PSP and is willing to play it, the PSP version looks a lot nicer, and has (I believe) less buggy sound than the DS version. The DS version has some pops and random crap."

I was playing trioncube for a while, but got a bit bored.





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"Re(5):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 04:34post reply

TRF 2 and Megaten. And ST.





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 04:37post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?




Shinsengumi Gunrouden

Musou Orochi

God Of War 2


I wasent really dissapointed with Shinsengumi it's a pretty fun game and it has a high replay value for me. Musou Orochi Rocks and well God Of War 2 is amazing really.





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"Re(6):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 04:44post reply

quote:
TRF 2



in an arcade, or did you buy the board? I'm sure you must've said, but I can't recall.





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"Re(7):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 06:30post reply

Resident Evil 4 Mercenaries
Ninja Gaiden Black
King of Fighters XI





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"Re(7):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 08:08post reply

quote:
TRF 2


in an arcade, or did you buy the board? I'm sure you must've said, but I can't recall.

I have the board. I've been dragging it to C3 (local tourney) every month, ha ha.





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Pollyanna
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"Re(6):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 10:41post reply

quote:
TRF 2 and Megaten. And ST.



Which Megaten? Normally I would assume SMT3, but since there's translated roms for all the old ones....





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"Re(7):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 11:46post reply

Tales of the Abyss for me, along with the original first and third Dracula/CV games for some reason. Those were better days, harder days, we appreciated what we had...





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"Re(8):cross guard" , posted Fri 23 Mar 13:00post reply

I ordered a whole buncha games a while back, so I've been playing lots of different stuff. I had an unofficial spring break, so that's been helping.

(This looks like an essay, but I'd rather it be a discussion.)

I'm Playing...

Soul Cradle


While it doesn't suffer from the usual Nippon-1 cheesiness and repetition of lines, the plot is sloppily pieced together. The concepts are nice, but the continuity is poor and the characters don't reach their potential. I'm on map 40 right now, so I think I'm close to the end. How things wrap up are going to decide if I like the game or not in the end. I probably would have stopped playing a while ago if it wasn't for Yord.

The battle system is neat (a mix between something like Ogre Battle, Venus and Braves and La Pucelle, I guess?), but I feel like it's a bit sloppy. Similarly, the presentation is all over the place. Sometimes you see the characters on a representational map, sometimes in a scene itself, sometimes with tiny dialogue pictures, sometimes with very large ones. The soundtrack goes between excellent (all the Sekai o Kurau Mono themes) to irritating (shop theme), but I'm looking forward to an arranged CD all the same.

Maybe it'll all make sense in the end, but the flashback scenes with Gig are driving me nuts. Usually I don't have problems understanding Japanese, but I'm not getting what I want out of them. If anyone else is playing the game, I'd love some info on the backstory, even if it's full of spoilers.

Guitar Freaks/DrumMania Gold

Same old same old...no retarded unlocking system this time, though. The downside is, I've unlocked tons and tons of things, but very few SONGS, which is all I care about. Still, the song list is good and with a little bit of Monkey Magic, everything'll be all right.

Lumines Live

I was won over by the demo, but the game hurts my eyes.

Senko no Ronde

Very good game! Good presentation, wonderful art (and plenty to unlock), great concept with great execution. If it looks like you might like it, you probably will. Also...Mika is frustratingly sexy.

Not playing so much any more...

DOAX2

The loading times are irritating for so many of the games being so short, especially when half of them are just based on luck. There's also a tremendous lack of freedom in what you can do for a game that should be about relaxing and having fun.

I got so caught up in frustrating game elements that I forgot that it was supposed to be sexy. Speaking of sexy...while independently moving breasts are OK, breasts that move independently of their owner are not.

So yeah, I still enjoy the game, but I think it missed the point in a lot of ways. Like so many games these days, it isn't considerate enough to the player.

Bleach DS 2nd

No challenge mode ruins the game for me, along with a mostly time-wasting occasionally fun story mode. It's also a bit annoying that they seemed to favor gimping characters to making weaker ones stronger to improve balance. Still, if you haven't played the first, or have friends to play with, it's still pretty good.


Megaten Online


I didn't stop playing this because I dislike it, but because it's an MMORPG in beta. That makes it a double waste of time.

Still, it's really fun, and there's a definite element of skill required, rather than just clicking on things until you level up so that you can click on more things to level up more.

However, the lack of character customization options in a series as fashion-conscious as Megaten is unforgivable.

Trio the Punch

Made my friends play it....made my friends angry...laughed at my friends. I was happy to see that the characters actually have names.

I'm thinking about playing...

Armored Core 4 and Musou Orochi (which I call Musou Musou). The AC4 demo seemed promising, and everything I read about Musou Orochi sounds good as well. I'm not a fan of the Musou games in general, but this one seems like a good improvement. If it was on 360, I'd probably pick it up.





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"Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits" , posted Fri 23 Mar 13:20post reply

Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits, it's simple fun and challenging, but when you lose you always know why.





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 16:42post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?


currently playing Resident Evil. i loaded a game i started years ago and i destroyed puzzles i couldn't even approach back then. but then i hit a dead end, so i started over, and that makes me angry

gonna buy the Devil May Cry collection tomorrow and kill me some demons. that excites me





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"Re(2):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 18:04post reply

First I was playing the Movies, cheating in sandbox mode to make a 5 min movie about two half-sister bankrobbers who beat up / shoot people for fun and profit. Then I picked up Crackdown cheap, and now I've been shooting / beating up gangsters for fun and experience points. The game has the best designed enviroment ever seen, but it doesn't do quite enough with it. The freeform nature allows shortcuts that make the game go by too fast, but if you don't take them, you'll be mired in enemies.

Next up is Armored Core 4 (free copy!) and EDF 2017, with Guitar Hero II already on the horizon.





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"Re(3):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 20:28post reply

I have been playing only DS games these days.
* Starfox Command: I can't believe I've only beaten 6 out of the 9 endings so far. Still hooked on the game though!
* Castlevania PoR: 4 portraits beaten + Death beaten once. No idea how far into the game I am.
* Mario vs DK 2: I love this puzzler. I am not playing any next level until I get a gold star. This way, the game is damn hard and very gratifying: you must find a way to get all the Minis exit the level at the same time AND without ever asking one to stop! This is how the game plays best and was really designed for I think. I'm on the later levels (Jungle floor).





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Fri 23 Mar 20:40post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?



Recently pretty much the only thing I play with is my body. As for my impressions, I must say I'm quite impressive, indeed.

Hmmm, I probably should cut the crap and get a DS once for all, so I could spend some quality time on the train everyday...






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"Re(2):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 02:07post reply

I'm always playing online on Street Fighter Anniversary Edition for XBox. I am always on Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and I'm one of the few Ibuki players online.

I am also playing Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow right now. I finally have time to play the game and I'm more than halfway done. After this, it's time to hit Portrait of Ruin.

I also bought TMNT for GBA recently, and so far it's okay. I only had time to play the first level... so I can't judge on the game yet. I also bought Racing Gears Advance for GBA and plan to play that very soon. Also currently searching for Final Fantasy VI Advance for GBA.

But yeah... all I have been playing consistently for the past 2 years is 3rd Strike online. That game hasn't gotten old with me, and shockingly I'm still learning new things about the game every time.





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"Re(3):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 02:54post reply

Bullet Witch - LOL mass destruction. If I had more to say I'd say it in the BW thread

Rogue Galaxy - The systems are nowhere near as fun as Dark Cloud's photography/inventing and town building, and the skill-learning system practically screams Final Fantasy, but it's okay. I'm starting to get tired of Level-5's tendency towards useless items though.





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"Re(4):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 03:52post reply

quote:
* Starfox Command: I can't believe I've only beaten 6 out of the 9 endings so far. Still hooked on the game though!


How well does the game handle? The unique control scheme interests me but it looks like the sort of thing that could either be very original or a total pain.

Around here I found a cheap copy of Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked recently. While I never expect much out of licensed games I was hoping for gameplay like the goofy mini games and less of the lazy button bashing of the main engine. It's not a great game but it's better than a kick in the pants, I suppose.

I also recently picked up GoW2. I'm certain I'll have more to say about it later but so far it seems as if the programmers did a good job of ironing out a lot of the nagging little problems that were in the first game. Amusingly, Kratos now also seems to have no redeeming qualities to him whatsoever. If you're going to make an anti-hero you might as well go all the way.





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"Re(5):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 04:52post reply

quote:
Amusingly, Kratos now also seems to have no redeeming qualities to him whatsoever. If you're going to make an anti-hero you might as well go all the way.

Then he isn't an anti-HERO, is he? Just a villain, ha ha ha. I also find the game's lack of mythological knowledge/respect for the source materials disappointing. Gaia isn't a titan, damnit... most of the titans weren't punished or were fine with the gods, damnit... and you know, if Kratos were to mess with the Moirae sisters like that (and where is Nyx?) he would cause serious damage to.. well, reality itself. Nobody would be able to die after he beat Atropos. I know I'm being a nit-picky bastard, but I strongly disliked the series for various reasons anyway (one of them being the aforementioned "he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever") so I feel obligated to be dickly.

Oh, and Pollyanna, you know I'm against romming and piracy, ha ha. Just doing regular ol' SMT. I want to get Megami Tensei for the Famicom as a novelty item, heh heh, but it's surprisingly difficult to find.





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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 05:15:post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you!



WHAT? OH OK

Samurai Warriors 2 Empires. I never played any of the other empires games, so i found this to be a nice combination of Risk with the polished mindless combat of Samurai Warriors. And Keiji Maeda the surfer dude doing cheap 1k hit combos.

Earth Defense Force ended up being ptetty cool. Its like someone made a screaming zombie with parts of Contra, Star Ship Troopers, and Godzilla movies. Zombies are good.

and

RUMBLE
ROSES





ok

[this message was edited by jUAN on Sat 24 Mar 05:16]

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"Re(3):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 06:23post reply

quote:
First I was playing the Movies, cheating in sandbox mode to make a 5 min movie about two half-sister bankrobbers who beat up / shoot people for fun and profit.
That game was a lot of fun... I've got my zombie epic and 80's slasher films exported. The only complaint about that game is that any movie you make that has a reasonable amount of shots in it takes a million years to finish... well, and it's really tough to hire on enough non-acting staff for entourages and groundskeepers and so forth.

As for what I'm playing, I'm trying to finish up some games people have loaned me so I can give them back. Right now I'm running through Need for Speed: Most Wanted... it's way too much Fast and the Furious retardation for me, but the pursuit stuff is fun. And I'm happy to have finally noticed how to make normal-looking tires... I don't much care for the gigantor rims with a thin strip of rubber for the tire. The story plays out like that episode of South Park where Stan had to ski against the snotty rich guy that called him DEEEAAAAAAARRRSCH... The main villain kicked sand in my face for no reason and threatened to take my girl to the big dance, so I guess that means I have to beat him in the big race on Friday. Bleh. BUT HEY ITS 350 ACHIEVEMENT POINTS





Pollyanna
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"Re(6):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 06:36post reply

quote:
I also find the game's lack of mythological knowledge/respect for the source materials disappointing. Gaia isn't a titan, damnit... most of the titans weren't punished or were fine with the gods, damnit... and you know, if Kratos were to mess with the Moirae sisters like that (and where is Nyx?) he would cause serious damage to.. well, reality itself. Nobody would be able to die after he beat Atropos. I know I'm being a nit-picky bastard, but I strongly disliked the series for various reasons anyway (one of them being the aforementioned "he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever") so I feel obligated to be dickly.

Oh, and Pollyanna, you know I'm against romming and piracy, ha ha. Just doing regular ol' SMT. I want to get Megami Tensei for the Famicom as a novelty item, heh heh, but it's surprisingly difficult to find.



Yeah, I totally agree about God of War. I may be missing out on a good game as a result, but I'm afraid if I play it, I'm just going to resent its popularity.

I've picked up most of the Megaten games as "novelties" myself (well sort of novelties...I've played most of them), but I didn't think to hunt down the Famicom ones when I was in Japan. (Actually, I've never even played them)

I wish the Eternal Punishment LE wasn't so incredibly lame, because I'd like to have that, too. The different kinds of LEs for Persona 3 are frustrating, too...but I'm not that crazy about the game anyway.

Speaking of Megaten and mythological inconsistencies, it annoys me to no end that Michael has a spear and Raphael has a sword (in addition to the fact that their designs are dated and tacky). I'm dying to see redesigns of them, but I think most Megaten fans appreciate the "retro" quality. I guess heaven is stuck in the 80s/early 90s.





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"Re(7):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 07:41post reply

quote:
Raphael has a sword



raphael has sais
leonardo has the sword

lolz

also to juan: the voice acting in EDF is terrible/great. the equiv of "I AM SHOOTING HIM WITH MY BULLETS OH NO HE GOT ME WHEN HE ATTACKED"





Juan
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"Re(8):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 07:58post reply

quote:
also to juan: the voice acting in EDF is terrible/great. the equiv of "I AM SHOOTING HIM WITH MY BULLETS OH NO HE GOT ME WHEN HE ATTACKED"



It helps a lot with the feeling of the game. It reminds me of the voice acting they had on the giant robot game RAD.

I also noticed that on the Japanese trailers of the game a lot of the monsters had red blood. No big deal, as it makes more sense for monters to spew out green goop when they get shot.

LETS GO SOLDIERS!!! YES SIR!!! YAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!
EEEE DEEEEEE EFFFFFF! EEEE DEEEEEE EFFFFFF!





ok

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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 08:37post reply

Now playing:
PS1: FFIX
Dreamcast: MSR
PS2: Final Fight Streetwise

I am trying to find Godhand for cheap and having no chances of finding it yet.





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exodus
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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 09:06post reply

quote:

It helps a lot with the feeling of the game. It reminds me of the voice acting they had on the giant robot game RAD.



yah, it's quite nice. it's one of those occasions where bad voice acting is a draw rather than a turn-off. adds to the whole ridiculous nature of the game.

RAD was developed by sandlot too, so!





Red Falcon
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"Re(7):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 10:13:post reply

quote:
I also find the game's lack of mythological knowledge/respect for the source materials disappointing. Gaia isn't a titan, damnit... most of the titans weren't punished or were fine with the gods, damnit... and you know, if Kratos were to mess with the Moirae sisters like that (and where is Nyx?) he would cause serious damage to.. well, reality itself. Nobody would be able to die after he beat Atropos. I know I'm being a nit-picky bastard, but I strongly disliked the series for various reasons anyway (one of them being the aforementioned "he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever") so I feel obligated to be dickly.

Oh, and Pollyanna, you know I'm against romming and piracy, ha ha. Just doing regular ol' SMT. I want to get Megami Tensei for the Famicom as a novelty item, heh heh, but it's surprisingly difficult to find.


Yeah, I totally agree about God of War. I may be missing out on a good game as a result, but I'm afraid if I play it, I'm just going to resent its popularity.

I've picked up most of the Megaten games as "novelties" myself (well sort of novelties...I've played most of them), but I didn't think to hunt down the Famicom ones when I was in Japan. (Actually, I've never even played them)

I wish the Eternal Punishment LE wasn't so incredibly lame, because I'd like to have that, too. The different kinds of LEs for Persona 3 are frustrating, too...but I'm not that crazy about the game anyway.

Speaking of Megaten and mythological inconsistencies, it annoys me to no end that Michael has a spear and Raphael has a sword (in addition to the fact that their designs are dated and tacky).

Both designs are based off of famous statues (one is on top of a Cathedral in France, I'll.. remember the name sooner or later. Michael is frequently depicted with a spear as a side note, For example, here. Megaten is actually pretty good in that many of their designs are based off of real artwork or statuary of the involved creatures (Most of the daemons of the Ars Goetia come to mind, too.) Of course, not all of them are, like the abysmally designed Odin or the excellently designed Scathach, but overall I find it's quite well done (and I like most of their own "designs" anyway! ^^) And 80s designs in terms of Japanese stuff = superior, ho ho. Dancougar vs. Dancougar Nova is a good concurrent example of this, IMO (anime designs have become too homogenized as compared to the 70s and 80s..) But in truth this is off topic.
Back on topic, Jason Vorhees (under the name "Friday") is in the first Megami Tensei game, ha ha. I wonder what myth cycle HE'S from?

Edit: Also, to expand the off-topicness, I'm very out of the loop as in what games are comin' out in Japan these days. Anything that looks non-crappy?





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[this message was edited by Red Falcon on Sat 24 Mar 10:27]

Pollyanna
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"Re(8):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 10:56post reply

quote:
And 80s designs in terms of Japanese stuff = superior, ho ho. Dancougar vs. Dancougar Nova is a good concurrent example of this, IMO (anime designs have become too homogenized as compared to the 70s and 80s..) But in truth this is off topic.



Hahaha...yeah, the new Dancougar designs are horrifically bad, but I don't know if I can credit the original designs for being especially good. I love retro designs, but at the 80's moved along, I think designs more or less got worse.

That statue of Michael is a good find and I'd love to see the Raphael one if you happen to find it again. So if I'm complaining about Raphael having a sword instead of a staff (or book?) I should complain to the French, not Kaneko, huh?

Rghhh...I really want the Soul Hackers Loki design back.

As for import games...if it's decent, I usually talk about it, but I don't know what kind of games you like other than 2D fighters (or how much Japanese you know), so it's hard to recommend anything. Actually, I don't know what a lot of people here like (in terms of types of games, what they look for in games, favorite games etc.)...maybe that should be a topic.





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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Sat 24 Mar 11:50:post reply

quote:


As for import games...if it's decent, I usually talk about it, but I don't know what kind of games you like other than 2D fighters (or how much Japanese you know), so it's hard to recommend anything. Actually, I don't know what a lot of people here like (in terms of types of games, what they look for in games, favorite games etc.)...maybe that should be a topic.

I can speak/understand enough to get by there for various periods of time and/or watch T.V. without subtitles and understand the majority (I.E., to understand most of SRWA3, if you remember us discussing it on the BBS here some time back) although I have admittedly gotten a bit rusty in recent years. I am, however, totally out of touch with what is out right now, and I will play pretty much anything barring racers or sports games. I'm just pretty damn bored currently, as life continues to grind my long-broken spirit in to the ground, and feel like picking up some random games for some new variety.

Edit: I'm open to suggestions from anyone, by the way.





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[this message was edited by Red Falcon on Sat 24 Mar 11:50]

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"Re(1):Latest" , posted Sun 25 Mar 03:30post reply

quote:
Hey you! Yeah, you! What game or games are you playing and what are your impressions of them?



I've been playing Metal Slug Anthology on my PSP. It's good to have all Slug games in one package for on-the-go Slugging, though I am a little peeved that the game suffers from Dreamcast MOTW sound sync issues. Plus, the pad seems a bit uncomfortable but it might be me. I'm thinking of picking the game up also for the PS2 since it's due next week.

I've also been playing Megaman 2 (through the PS2 MM Collection and the occasional Outrun 2k6 race. My PS2 needs more love, especially since I still have God of War and Megaman X8 sitting unopened. Then theres SMT Nocturne...





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HAYATO
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"Re(2):Latest PS2 games I've played" , posted Sun 25 Mar 03:48post reply

I just finished "Castlevania : Lament of Innocence", and I am currently unlocking stuff (beating the optional boss, messing with Rinaldo's music box...).

I must say it has surprised me greatly : albeit a bit old (the character modeling looks very, very wrong compared with today's standards), the story was quite enlightening and somewhat touching. I never thought a 3D CV would ever be worth playing...


Oh, and last week I finished Drakengard 1 & 2. After playing both games in a row, I have to say the story is superb and perhaps the best one of al the Square-Enix joint projects so far, besides "VP:Ssimeria", that is...





Pollyanna
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"Re(10):Latest" , posted Sun 25 Mar 07:23post reply

quote:

I can speak/understand enough to get by there for various periods of time and/or watch T.V. without subtitles and understand the majority (I.E., to understand most of SRWA3, if you remember us discussing it on the BBS here some time back) although I have admittedly gotten a bit rusty in recent years. I am, however, totally out of touch with what is out right now, and I will play pretty much anything barring racers or sports games. I'm just pretty damn bored currently, as life continues to grind my long-broken spirit in to the ground, and feel like picking up some random games for some new variety.



I'm sorry, I forgot that was you I was talking to about SRW. Anyway...uhm...I tend to forget which games are coming to America, but I can give you a rundown of all the decent Japanese games I've been playing.

As I mentioned earlier, Senko no Ronde is highly recommended, as is Bleach 2nd if you haven't played the first (or loved it to death). Any of the new Guitar Freaks releases are fantastic if you're into that (I would say V2 is the best, though).

They aren't new, but I still recommend Monster Hunter 2 and Sengoku Basara 2. I highly recommend Basara 2 if you like beat' em ups at all and haven't played the first (or liked the first a lot).

Speaking of beat 'em ups, I just played Musou Orochi. I only played it a few hours and I don't own it, so it may somehow get irritating later, but it made a very positive impression on me. For those who haven't played a Musou game, or haven't played one in years, it's fantastic. The system is much better than previous games in almost every way. The extras are a bit lacking (as in, you probably won't be playing it for 200 hours, but you'll still get a lot out of it) and there's a lot of recycled stuff, but it's still a lot of fun.

The Tales of Destiny remake is really nice, even if you didn't like the original. I'm still irked by the mediocre plot, but everything else was brilliantly improved upon (the plot was only somewhat improved upon).

Then there's Mother 3, but that's old news I guess. Still, an outstanding game.

I think everything else has a US date planned (like Blue Dragon).

You could sign up for the Megaten Online Beta, if they're still doing that (I haven't logged on in a while). It's pretty fun, especially in the dungeons.

I haven't played Ys Origin yet (it didn't come with any cool stuff, so I initially passed), but if it's anything like Felghana, it should be good.

I wonder if I'm forgetting anything...





nobinobita
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"Re(7):Latest" , posted Mon 26 Mar 00:08post reply

quote:
I also find the game's lack of mythological knowledge/respect for the source materials disappointing.


Yeah. I wish American designers would do a little thing called "research" when they chose to base their material off of a real life culture. Actual Greek art is so awesome! I'd find the game much more novel if it looked a bit more like real historical greek stuff, as opposed to following the generic conceptart.org fantasy conventions with tons of straps and segmented platemail that looks like no culture in particular.

But then again, I despise Kratos with all my heart. They really couldn't have made a more unpalateable character to me. Does anyone else notice that he acts like a teenage girl the whole game? Basically every line of dialogue he has can be simplified to "i do what i want!!!"

But i digress... The game has much nicer colors and controlled lighting than the last one. And the Gryphon level is genuinely awesome.

quote:

Speaking of Megaten and mythological inconsistencies, it annoys me to no end that Michael has a spear and Raphael has a sword (in addition to the fact that their designs are dated and tacky). I'm dying to see redesigns of them, but I think most Megaten fans appreciate the "retro" quality. I guess heaven is stuck in the 80s/early 90s.



Michael is often depicted with a spear (as well as a sword):

http://www.talariaenterprises.com/products_lg/4427.html

I like those designs. They're like vestigial character designs that link Kaneko to his humble origins as a Tetsuo Hara fan.

Anyway, as far as what game's I'm playing goes, I've been playing Gunstar Heroes and Mean Bean Machine on the Wii. I somehow managed to miss out on both of them in my childhood and they are both rocking my world. Gunstar Heroes is everybit as good as i've heard, and Mean Bean Machine is great fun, although those gummy things fall too fast!!





Samson
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"Re(8):Latest" , posted Mon 26 Mar 20:34post reply

I'm currently playing

- Monster Hunter Portable 2 (PSP)
A nice upgrade, if not a totally new game. I'm a little bit disappointed it's not more like MH2, but it's a great game nonetheless.

- Test Drive Unlimited (X360)
Best driving game I've ever played, perfect mix of arcade/realism.The online "mode" is gold (free roaming with real people).





Ishmael
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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Tue 27 Mar 01:54post reply

Yes, I'm just rambling on this one:

My relationship with GoW1 was complicated since I enjoyed a lot of what the game was doing but I was stuck with a main character whom I could not respect or take seriously. For all his attempts at being an angry, wounded man poor Kratos ended up being as annoying as DMC3 era Dante. Then GoW2 came along. I don't think I'm enjoying GoW2 for reasons that the programmers intended but since art is open to individual interpretation I don't think that matters.

Judged simply on game play GoW2 is very impressive. It's amazing how many other games GoW2's game play invokes. Sometimes it's like Soul Reaver except with better stage design and layout, other times it's the 3D sequel that Bionic Commando never had and then at other points it's like Guardian Heroes with its out of control juggling and even more out of control plot. But no matter how good a game plays it still can be helped or hindered by it's story, look and general presentation. This is where I feel that GoW2 truly explodes. I'm not sure whether that explosion is good or bad but it certainly is something.

Personally, I don't really care that the only reference material for Greek mythology that GoW2 used seems to have been old Ray Harryhausen movies and the occasional Spawn toy. GoW2 is not a game that is trying to prove how smart it is. It aggressively goes out of its way to prove it isn't smart, really. While GoW2 seems content to not venture much further beyond something like the half-assed references to Japanese mythology that KoF will occasionally make Kratos and company are at least honest enough to admit to what they are. Besides, from what I understand the point of mythology wasn't to create strict continuity, it was to entertain and perhaps explain something about the society and people that created the stories. Unwittingly, GoW2 succeeds under that definition of mythology. I suspect this was accidental on the part of game programmers and that's the only reason it works. Those who have read a few books by Joseph Campbell and believe that there is some sort of outline for the heroic cycle usually only manage to create stilted, boring crap. By not doing their homework and not even thinking about what they were doing the programmers inadvertently created something far more interesting.

Then there's Kratos. Freed from the necessity of explaining his back story, any attempts at humanizing him or the basic concepts or right or wrong, Kratos thunders through the game without a second thought -or even first thought- about what what he is doing. Normally I don't enjoy games where you are expected to be evil but Kratos is so big and dumb this time out that I don't mind the fuming cue ball. But it's his quest this time out that is what actually is selling me on Kratos' current exploits. Having gotten in trouble for doing the whole god of war thing too well Kratos gets demoted and dead. Naturally this annoys him so Kratos sets out to destroy the gods. There are many reasons that videogame characters go out and do what they do but Kratos is the only one I can think of that is out to destroy organized religion, the foundations of Western civilization, and anything else that gets in his way. Whether it's Lear deliriously making himself the king of the forest or Ahab impotently fuming against the whale, most tragic characters can only watch in horror as the suffering and injustice that is inherent in life overwhelms them. Not only is Kratos blindly battling against that injustice but the GoW series is so bat-shit crazy that it's entirely possible that he is going to succeed. The absurdity of this impossible vendetta is what really sells me on GoW2. I suspect that the programmers are only concerned with making a game that is cool, violent and working in on that warlord of Barsoom sort of level. If they had put any thought into the monstrosity that Kratos' quest actually is it wouldn't work. Since there is no structure or thought going into the theme that fascinates me the whole thing could easily collapse at any point but at the moment I find it hysterical.





shindekudasai
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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Tue 27 Mar 01:57post reply

I got a DS 2 weeks ago and have been catching up on the craze ... Final Fantasy III, Viewtiful Joe, Yoshi's Island, and both Castlevanias; at least I was, until my game playing came to a screeching halt 2 days ago when I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel :(





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shooo-rook
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"Re(10):Latest" , posted Wed 28 Mar 04:58:post reply

quote:
I got a DS



I purchased Final Fantasy III yesterday, and played the puzzlequest demo.

Edit: Sorry for the Carpal Tunnel. Take those anti-flammatory's!





Are you slave to the blade?

[this message was edited by shooo-rook on Wed 28 Mar 04:59]

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"Re(2):Re(10):Latest" , posted Wed 28 Mar 05:38:post reply

I played through most of Cooking Mama: Cook Off on Wii on Sunday and it was pretty fun. Not a whole lot to do after you unlock everything though. I wish it had a combine feature like the DS version. The Japanese friend is a cheating WHORE. Actually a lot of the CPU opponents are a wee bit too good at some of the actions.

EDIT: I just wrote a review. Here it is.

Cooking Mama: Cook Off on the Wii is a pretty good game. I only say pretty good.

The recipes are now organized by their country of origin. Sometimes you unlock new ones through only doing a certain type of cuisine, but recipes are also unlocked through making similar types of food sometimes (like cakes). Once you unlock all the recipes there's not much else to do, unlike in the DS game, where you can at least combine different recipes. There are CPU and 2-player versus modes but those boil down to being able to do the tasks faster than the other player. Whoop de doo.

Still, the way they implemented the Wiimote was done really well aside from it sometimes not responding quite as fast as you want it to (thinking of in particular of shredding where you have to tap down a lot of times just to get it to work). If some of the cooking tasks were more responsive and not as ridiculously hard (usually due to the lack of responsiveness) it would be a lot better.

The graphics got an upgrade. They're bright and shiny but not anything that will make your face explode. They get the job done. Everything's mostly 3-D now so some tasks look a lot better compared to the DS game's representations.

Also, Mama's voiceover alone makes the game worth playing at least a little. They could've gotten someone who actually speaks English, but no no, they saw it fit to have a Japanese woman do it. The results are hilarious.

"Wandahurr!" (Wonderful)
"Blabbo!" (Bravo)
"Betta zen Mama!" (Better than Mama)

It's even better when she tries to do a longer sentence, like when you unlock things from playing against the CPU opponents. Speaking of which, the computer opponents are sometimes ridiculously good at doing things and other times retarded. One fun thing about facing off against them is that the music changes to represent their country of origin. The music's pretty decent overall, but mostly just remixes of the music heard in the DS game.

I like that they made the recipes less based around Chinese and Japanese food, but some countries were REALLY lacking. There's way more to Indian cuisine than two varieties of curry. There were like a million French recipes and yet only two to four from some other countries. It was really imbalanced. Why did they even include American cuisine if the only things you can make are hot dogs, hamburgers and popcorn? Lame. Thanks for making us look like fatties as usual, Japan.

In conclusion, it's done well and different enough from the first game but could have been so much more awesome. Maybe they'll do another one and take some of the problems found in this one into consideration. Either way I need to stop being lazy and start cooking more real food. Thanks, video games that simulate the act of cooking for me. You are an inspiration.





ワンダフル! ビューティフル! エキサイティング!

[this message was edited by Nate on Wed 28 Mar 06:08]

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"Re(8):Latest" , posted Wed 28 Mar 09:04:post reply

quote:
and Mean Bean Machine is great fun, although those gummy things fall too fast!!

Good choice on Mean Bean/Puyo Puyo, nobi, though if you're going for vintage stuff I think the Super Nintendo version may be better, either as Puyo Puyo or I guess Kirby's Avalanche...if you're going to throw random liscenced characters into a Puyo Puyo game, might as well be goofy Kirby stuff instead of ugly American cartoon versions of Eggman, but hey. Either way, it's big fun, still playing it to this day, kinda like Bomberman 2.

edit: on that note, I find myself playing puzzle games at friends' houses now where I never used to touch the genre. Lumines is too wonderful, flOw online (or on PS3 for the two people here who have one) is pretty mesmerizing, Geometry Wars on 360 is the first and most fun way I have seen math made into a puzzle/shooter, and there was some other 360 downlaod game called Mutant Force or something like that that was like a more psychedelic version of Geometry Wars, too.





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Wed 28 Mar 09:07]

nobinobita
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"Re(9):Latest" , posted Fri 30 Mar 17:52post reply

quote:
...if you're going to throw random liscenced characters into a Puyo Puyo game, might as well be goofy Kirby stuff instead of ugly American cartoon versions of Eggman.


Haha that's why i never played it when i was younger. Also the reason i've still not played Sonic Spinball to this day.

quote:

edit: on that note, I find myself playing puzzle games at friends' houses now where I never used to touch the genre.



Yeah, I've been playing alot more Puzzle Games too. Bean Machine was so good that it inspired my roomate to get Puyopop fever, which I didn't even know was released in the states. That game's incredible. It seems to be easier to get people to play puzzle games than fighting games nowadays.

Or at least it was until Hokuto No Ken finally came out!!! Now that's all anyone at my place has time to play now.





Maou
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"Wild Arms Vth Vangard, Gensou Suikoden 2, 3" , posted Sat 31 Mar 14:02post reply

Don't worry, that's not the only reason never to play Sonic Spinball.

Anyway, I remember having my eye on Wild Arms the Vth Vangard after hearing the scenario was written by a serious novelist...has anyone checked it out yet? I played only the first Wild Arms, and was intrigued by the (under-used) Wild West motif, though unimpressed by the gameplay (stolen from Estpolis/Lufia) and the story (stolen from Lunar and Final Fantasy), so I never played another one. I admit that the irritating 16-year-old cast syndrome is a strike against it, despite my excitement to hear it would have this writer, but I'm still curious.

And meanwhile, Gensou Suikoden 2 and 3 keep popping up in front of me lately...I know the early games in this series were popular, but I never played them for some reason despite a Shining Force-bred natural affinity for them. Are either of the stories and mechanics of these two good enough to warrant playing creaky old games?





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

Pollyanna
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"Re(1):Wild Arms Vth Vangard, Gensou Suikoden" , posted Sat 31 Mar 16:47post reply

quote:

And meanwhile, Gensou Suikoden 2 and 3 keep popping up in front of me lately...I know the early games in this series were popular, but I never played them for some reason despite a Shining Force-bred natural affinity for them. Are either of the stories and mechanics of these two good enough to warrant playing creaky old games?



Mechanics...no. Suikoden 2 has simplistic old-school mechanics that are perfectly acceptable, but nothing especially enjoyable. 3 has a number of systems, most of them poorly implemented in a game that (in my opinion) was not designed to be played by anyone...or at the very least, not created with the player in mind.

However, I love the plot and characters in both games (though I wouldn't recommend Suiko 2 so much without playing the first). Although it fell apart in the end, the first half (or more) of Suiko 3 had an excellent story with some of the best storytelling I've ever seen in an RPG.

So I guess the idea is that if you don't mind dated gameplay Suiko 2 is great, and if you don't mind mediocre/bad gameplay (and graphics) Suiko 3 is outstanding.





Maou
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"Re(2):Wild Arms Vth Vangard, Gensou Suikoden" , posted Sun 1 Apr 02:14:post reply

Interesting, and thanks! Heh, that's a pretty stark good/awful mix. Quite the challenge you've set up...I don't think a game has put me through as much punishment to enjoy a good story since Xenogears, from what it sounds like. Maybe I'll pick up 500Y copies one day and see how much I dig it.

No word on Vth Vangard?


PS: Abyss continues to be the first Tales game since Phantasia that's grabbed me...and this much more so than Phantasia, even. It's nice to see the now-insufferably-common teenage RPG protagonist act. I'd been looking forward to it ever since your helpful description of it a year ago.





人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...

[this message was edited by Maou on Sun 1 Apr 02:19]

HAYATO
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"God of War $$" , posted Sun 1 Apr 17:43:post reply

quote:
Normally I don't enjoy games where you are expected to be evil but Kratos is so big and dumb this time out that I don't mind the fuming cue ball. But it's his quest this time out that is what actually is selling me on Kratos' current exploits. Having gotten in trouble for doing the whole god of war thing too well Kratos gets demoted and dead. Naturally this annoys him so Kratos sets out to destroy the gods. There are many reasons that videogame characters go out and do what they do but Kratos is the only one I can think of that is out to destroy organized religion, the foundations of Western civilization, and anything else that gets in his way. Whether it's Lear deliriously making himself the king of the forest or Ahab impotently fuming against the whale, most tragic characters can only watch in horror as the suffering and injustice that is inherent in life overwhelms them. Not only is Kratos blindly battling against that injustice but the GoW series is so bat-shit crazy that it's entirely possible that he is going to succeed. The absurdity of this impossible vendetta is what really sells me on GoW2. I suspect that the programmers are only concerned with making a game that is cool, violent and working in on that warlord of Barsoom sort of level. If they had put any thought into the monstrosity that Kratos' quest actually is it wouldn't work. Since there is no structure or thought going into the theme that fascinates me the whole thing could easily collapse at any point but at the moment I find it hysterical.



Well, I got the game 4 days ago and beat it yesterday morning... for those who haven't finished it yet, don't expect a normal ending. In fact, it's such an open one that SCEA decided to put "The End Begins" instead of "The End" after the final secuence/credits. That clearly shows that Sony knows how to sell PS3s, I just hope they don't milk poor Kratos too hard...

Oh, and the game is made out of pure love. One of the best action beat'em ups ever. Getting back to "Castlevania : Curse of Darkness" is going to be a pain...





[this message was edited by HAYATO on Sun 1 Apr 17:46]