NEON MERCURY's ++ ps360ii Lite ++ thread -weaning you off WoW since 07

Started by NEON MERCURY, November 09, 2003, 08:52:13 PM

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SHAFTR

Neon,
Give Beyond Good & Evil a try.



It is an underrated game.  It's about a 15-20 hr adventure/RPG.  Very smart, fun game.
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

NEON MERCURY

JB, i think you're right about fallout. i think its maybe old enough to run on my pc.  it will be my first pc rpg experience since the old "oregon trail" game :yabbse-grin:  bu tjust to make sure and to give you an idea on how shitty my pc is.

example: a week or so ago i bought that american mgee's alice game and i couldn't run that...it was slow/choppy ..but only $20...


SHAFTR, i have been eyeing that game actaully but i havent heard much word-of-mouth and now i will definately seek out.  thanks.

Sleuth

I like to hug dogs

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

1) Last I knew you could get Fallout/Fallout 2 in a 2 pack for $9.99 which is insane!  And if it's too fast for your computer, you should seriously consider getting a faster computer.

2) PC Gamers are the worst?  Every console gamer has this complex of being the best.  "XBox has Halo, man!" "PS2.. can... play PS1 games, too!" "Gamecube will show potential soon!"   PC Gamers just upgrade their system and are ready to kick ass.
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

SHAFTR

Quote from: Walrus the Pretentious1) Last I knew you could get Fallout/Fallout 2 in a 2 pack for $9.99 which is insane!  And if it's too fast for your computer, you should seriously consider getting a faster computer.

2) PC Gamers are the worst?  Every console gamer has this complex of being the best.  "XBox has Halo, man!" "PS2.. can... play PS1 games, too!" "Gamecube will show potential soon!"   PC Gamers just upgrade their system and are ready to kick ass.

Well, think about the year the 3 consoles came out, 2001.  Think about what games were on the PC in 2001.  The PC-ports of these console games cannot play on PCs from 2001.  Consoles allow for someone to play great games for 3-4 years without a need for an upgrade.  When it's time for a new console, the price is much less then that of a new computer.
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

GodDamnImDaMan

I'm not a big PC gamer either...

To be honest I fucking hate PC games.
Aclockworkjj:  I have like broncitious or something
Aclockworkjj:  sucks, when i cough, if feels like i am dying
Aclockworkjj:  i can barely smoke

http://www.shitzu.biz

Jeremy Blackman

Why all the PC game hate? PC games generally have more complexity and longevity than console games. Why is Starcraft still popular? That game is 8 years old.

Pubrick

Quote from: Jeremy BlackmanThat game is 8 years old.
8 years boring.
under the paving stones.

Jeremy Blackman

Think of the indispensible PC games more than 5 years old that could never be played on a console (and which remain insanely popular)... Diablo II, Fallout, Fallout 2, Starcraft, Warcraft 2, Baldur's Gate... and so on...

I do agree that most new PC games (especially the FPSs) are better suited to consoles on a practical hardware level... But the console controller will never match the mouse/keyboard setup, especially for FPSs.

It's also true that PC games have a serious weakness in the racing and match fighting departments. Consoles are good with games that don't require complex controls but do require tons of hardware.

SHAFTR

Quote from: Jeremy BlackmanThink of the indispensible PC games more than 5 years old that could never be played on a console (and which remain insanely popular)... Diablo II, Fallout, Fallout 2, Starcraft, Warcraft 2, Baldur's Gate... and so on...

I do agree that most new PC games (especially the FPSs) are better suited to consoles on a practical hardware level... But the console controller will never match the mouse/keyboard setup, especially for FPSs.

It's also true that PC games have a serious weakness in the racing and match fighting departments. Consoles are good with games that don't require complex controls but do require tons of hardware.

Also open source skins, levels, & patches are fun.
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

Sleuth

Quote from: Pubrick
Quote from: Jeremy BlackmanThat game is 8 years old.
8 years boring.

3 years awesome, 5 years boring

I was a StarCraft dork :oops:
I like to hug dogs

Raikus

PC games have huuuuge longevity. Who here doesn't whip out Rogue every month or so and [q]uaff a few [p]otions after shooting some [a]rrows into a [k]estral on their search to find the Amulet of Yendor?

Who, I say, who?
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, let me forget about today until tomorrow.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

I can't lie, I still play Starcraft.

Warcraft was fun but the humans and the orcs mirrored each other.  So there little complexity.  In Starcraft there are 3 unique races with many unique winnign strategies on top of that.  Warcraft III has a lot of units and abilities I'm completely unfamiliar with, so I'll stick with Starcraft.
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye

ono

PC games really suck.  I've never gotten into them, but my brother loves 'em.  When he was a little kid he played Graal, then moved on to StarCraft and Ragnarok Online.  Now he's really into World of Warcraft, I think.  Only game I was really ever interested in on PC was Worms.  Hah.  Oh, and Sim City -- double-hah.

And so starts ono's epic RPG post...

Back to RPGs, got some beefs with NEON's list.  Cross isn't better than Trigger.  It was an awful follow-up with a weak story, and weak characters spread too thin.  I tried to play it a second time, and couldn't get through it again.  I admit, once I got later into the game, end of disc 1, disc 2, I was intrigued.  I loved the nostalgia, the appearances of old characters.   But any game that makes you play multiple times to see everything isn't very economical or fair.  They also neutered what made Trigger's battle system so great.

My list, upside down for those who easily succumb to vertigo:

Honorable mention: Super Mario RPG & FFX and FFX-2.
SMRPG is just a fun game to throw in when you're bored.  It's really funny, too.  I still chuckle when I remember that boss late in the game who kinda has her breasts hanging out of her outfit and they shake when you hit her.  I don't know what they were thinking -- probably that kids wouldn't get that far.  I have some complaints with the battle system, but still, it's a good move for Mario.

FFX had some great characters, great ideas, though there were a lot of things I wasn't too wild about.  Sphere grid was a nice idea, but Kimahri was pretty useless because he wasn't able to access his abilities all the time.  Good music here, too -- a staple of FF games.  Good story, and Auron is one of the most badass characters ever.  Still, there was something missing that kept it from being great.  And those Cloister of Trials puzzles were ANNOYING, hurting the fun in replays.

FFX-2 is a great follow-up to FFX because it was so fun to play.  Talking battle system here.  It was annoying trying to get 100% to see everything, and some of the dialogue was pretty bad, but sometimes having a game that's fun to play is all I need.

#10 - Xenogears
XG is storytelling bliss, even more than one of my all-time favorites, the Suikoden series.  Problem is, it got short changed on the second disc and the battle system is so horribly repetitive.  The encounter rate sucks, too.  So close to being a perfect game yet so far away.  Some of the ending sequences are some of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen, so cinematic, so poignant, and the incredible soundtrack only helps matters.

#9 - Suikoden III
Not as good as the first two, but beautiful music, a great improvement on the battle system in some ways (and a step backwards in others), and an innovative way of telling a story make this worth checking out.

#8 - Final Fantasy VII
Atmosphere.  This game made RPGs cool, but Chrono Trigger paved the way.  There are some holes in the story, and the materia system could've been better, but I can't think of another game so heavy in atmosphere that it sucks you in so well and makes you care for the characters.

#7 - Final Fantasy VIII
This game is much maligned among FF fans, but I love it.  The characters are all fully-realized, even if the heavy customization makes them pretty much interchangeable except for their Desperation Attacks.    But again, it's about atmosphere.  There are just so many picture perfect scenes here that though there are a few cringeworthy ones, it's hard to write the game off.

#6 - EarthBound
RPGs that don't take themselves too serious, are self-conscious, and make fun of themselves, are great.  And this one is just so fun to play, so hilarious.  There's just too much to say about how hilarious and surreal this game is.  And the music is great, but that goes for every RPG on this list.

#5 - Chrono Trigger
This RPG paved the way in so many ways.  It gives you six (or seven) unique characters, and allows you to choose how you want to play.  Lots of strategy, lots of replay value, a good difficulty factor, and an amazing storyline.

#4 - Final Fantasy IX
Atmosphere.  It's the word I keep coming back to in the FF series.  It's what Square's done so well since FFVII.  Here you have a villain you truly love to hate, and 8 main characters who are all incredibly useful to you in different ways.  The battle system is near perfect.  Settings all boost the atmosphere immensely, showing you truly have never seen before.  And though the game is guilty of apeing a lot of other RPGs, it usually improves on the ideas previously established.

#3 - Suikoden II
A better battle system than the first Suikoden, and though the story has some flaws, there are very few RPGs that are more moving.  The three main characters have the most beautiful, deep relationship, especially for their age.  No RPG has really captured the futility of war in the way this one does.

#2 - Suikoden
Anyone who hasn't played Suikoden and likes RPGs should.  They're pure storytelling bliss, and the battle system is really unique.  Suikoden III and IV are less great, though, and II is very rare, so be warned about that.  This game really changed things for Sony.  It was the first RPG for the PS1.  I read about it in Gamefan magazine back in 1996, I think it was.  Thought I'd check it out.  Four levels of magic, characters with unite attacks, war battles, 108 character to recruit, including yourself, a story that is well-integrated into the battle system and is truly well-written and moving.

#1 - Final Fantasy Tactics
The best game ever made.  It was really overlooked when it first game out just a few months after FFVII, but since then it has maintained a cult following and a re-release (finally) as a Greatest Hit.  It has a perfect story, a perfect battle system, and great characters.  Only weakness is that once characters join you they tend to drop out of the storyline, and the translation is really bad, but never have I had so much fun in an RPG.

As for FFVI, FFV, and FFIV, FFIV just missed the list, and FFVI is vastly overrated.  I tried playing FFI once and couldn't get into it.  Never finished FFV so I guess you could say the same there.  The music, though on FFV and FFVI (the soundtrack that came with Anthology) is great.

Unlike most people here, I love the PS2 (mostly because I loved the PS1 so much), because I mostly play RPGs.  XBox is a shit system -- I have yet to see one game on it I've been interested in playing, and if so, I could play it on PS2 as well.  Plus, I hate Microsoft anyway.  Gamecube is fun, but their new Mario games lack the fun factor of Super Mario World and Mario 64.  Sunshine was really just tedious.  I couldn't get into it.

I don't have nearly as much time to play games as when I was a teen.  So I mostly stick to one RPG at a time these days anyway.  Since October, I played through the Suikoden series again, starting with I, then II, then III over winter break, in anticipation for Suikoden IV's January release.  IV was a disappointment.  The hero was lifeless and had no reason for being involved in the conflict at hand.  But the bad thing is, the series still could probably get worse.  So there's a point now where I don't know if anymore great RPGs will be made.

I view RPGs/video games in general in the way I do movies.  XBox is the Hollywood, the Academy of video game systems.  All flash, no substance.  Gamecube, the Sundance -- started out as a renaissance, but has lost its zing.  SNES and PS1, plays host to the fringe, indie, come here for a good story group, as well as more mainstream fare -- the Cannes.

I do like the occasional fighter or puzzle game, or anything with that Mario/Banjo-Kazooie exploration feel (though no one else has really done that right).  The FF series has gone really wrong with an online game.  I'm sure they're making big bucks with it online, but I couldn't be less interested in it.  Hoping XII will bring back some of the magic of 7-9.  Since it's based in Ivalice as Tactics was, that's a good start.

ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ

I agree with most of your list, but there's no way that FF8 was better than FF7.

Earthbound and SMRPG were some nice calls, too.
"As a matter of fact I only work with the feeling of something magical, something seemingly significant. And to keep it magical I don't want to know the story involved, I just want the hypnotic effect of it somehow seeming significant without knowing why." - Len Lye