The Gaming Thread

[lordlundar]

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Let it install the control, then pick the game. It compares your system with the listed requirements/recommended and offers suggestions if you don't meet one or the other. It's not perfect (a few games I have that run well on mid to high settings it says I barely meet the required for) but it's a good guideline.

[gunsage]

Does anyone know what the basic system specs or relevant comparison would be for Portal? I was under the assumption it should just work since it's using the Half-Life 2 engine. And actually, HL2 ran very well on my PC. I am thinking of upgrading my RAM soon, but I'm wondering if that will be enough. What I REALLY want to play is Bioshock.

[Shangri-laschild]

Update on Portal

So I got portal like you guys recommended. I played up till level 15 at which point I gave my friend's brother a chance and he finished in about 3 hours or so. I loved the game though I'm kind of nervous to finish it myself. Most of it I got through by pure luck of fucking around and beating the level without knowing how I did it. I very much see why everyone recommended it though!

[gunsage]

I concur with staying away from Dragon Song. Atelier Iris 1 and 2 were good, but 3's a little odd. Okay, for starters...dungeons are timed. When time runs out, you're warped out. The alchemy is still nice in this one AND you level up in alchemy. The battles are pretty cool, too. Besides that, though, it's just a standard RPG, which is kind of annoying.

It's good to know they're making a sequel to Ar Tonelico. The actual game itself (battles, voice acting, exploration, etc.) was just okay, but yeah, diving is what really intrigued me. Also, if you like that, definitely check out Thousand Arms. I say that because in that one you play a blacksmith who goes on dates to become more intimate with women in his party to forge better weapons. Yeah.

Odin Sphere was also cool, but there were two problems and unfortunately, these problems were also present in Grim Grimoire, the other Vanillaware title.

- Lots of slowdown issues.
- VERY repetitive.

I should probably develop a little more on what I mean by repetitive. I don't mean repetitive in that it's a button masher. No big deal there. It's repetitive in that it's ONE background per level and that's it. Meh. Granted, the artwork, overall style, plots, cooking, etc. were GREAT...but yeah, that aspect of it, at least, gets a bit old. Grim gets the short end of the stick especially, though, because I'm not a big RTS buff and I was really hoping it'd be something special. Ah well.

[lordlundar]

--Ar Tonellico, a wierd one to be sure, but the psychic diving parts were really great storytelling moments. This one came in under the radar, but they're making a sequel already. I really reccommend this one to anyone famillier with Lunar, as it has a similar vibe story-wise.

I concur, especially if you're into Shin Megami Tensai , as there's two companies that makes games like those: Atlus and NiS. They have similar setups with their games. Odin Sphere is a good choice for a more action oriented setup.

Not an RPG, but if story is a big one for you, then get the Legacy of Kain series, all but Blood Omen 2. You will not regret it.

[Geek King]

That's all I've got. Anyone else care to interject here?

--I'll add Lunar to the list, just stay far away from the DS one. More anime goodness, and full video cutscenes. Beutiful.
--The Atilier Iris games are good, if standard RPGs based around alchemy. Havn't played 3 yet.
--Ar Tonellico, a wierd one to be sure, but the psychic diving parts were really great storytelling moments. This one came in under the radar, but they're making a sequel already. I really reccommend this one to anyone famillier with Lunar, as it has a similar vibe story-wise.

[gunsage]

Well, since I've been playing Devil Summoner lately, I decided to change my avvie to the Raidou. I'm going to say this...if you like RPGs and you haven't jumped on the Shin Megami Tensei bandwagon, YOU'RE MISSING OUT. On the topic of RPG bandwagons, here's some others to jump on (some obvious, some not)...

- Final Fantasy. Sure, things got a little shaky after the jump to the PS2, but the majority of series are hits.
- Dragon Warrior/Quest. In my opinion, 8 is the best, however, most of these are excellent titles overall and must haves for classic RPG gaming.
- Xenogears/saga. Okay, not all of these are great, but that's besides the point. The stories are amazing and massive. The combat in each is interesting as well and with nice subtle changes from standard turn-based combat.
- Mario RPG/Paper Mario. It would appear that Paper Mario has now drifted into a standard action/platformer, but the first three RPGs with Mario were GREAT. Haven't tried Super Paper Mario yet, but it looks nice.
- Phantasy Star. Screw the new ones...I'm talking about 1 - 4. Booyah. Anime RPGs.
- Disgaea/Makai. This one's a bit weird to explain. Just about any NIS only game is related in some way. Examples include Rhapsody, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, Disgaea, Disgaea 2, Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, etc. Not all of them are hits, but if you're looking for strategy/RPGs with a healthy dose of humor and style, this takes the cake.
- Front Mission. A lot of people say the 4th was the worst, but I beg to differ. Yes, the battles can take an hour or two, but then, in my opinion, THAT'S A DAMN GOOD BATTLE when you're talking about strategy/RPGs! Definitely worth checking out if you like giant robot battles.

That's all I've got. Anyone else care to interject here?

[gunsage]

Well, I cranked away on Puzzle Quest ALL yesterday. Fun game, that. After wifey got home, I got her hooked on it then decided to hit the consoles for a while. I grinded a little bit on Baten Kaitos, then started again on Devil Summoner. You guys might know what BK is, but DS is a little more obscure. Let's put it this way, it was the first AND LAST (that I know of) action-oriented Shin Megami Tensei game in English.

I believe this one also came out just before Persona 3 as well. It's not a bad game, per se, but it's a little offputting from the series. I might up and write a review about it later. Also, I earnestly believed that Far Cry was more on stealth than action until, well...mweeeheheheeee.

[Chanlin]

I actually am really enjoying STALKER. The open endedness makes it feel more realistic to me. Not to mention the AI is insanely tough AND its a game that emphasizes stealth over the guns blazin approach.

[drunkenwildmage]

"Extremely modified" how? I hate Nascar, but I'm still interested because of the description.

The original Game came with 1 class of cars, around 20 race tracks, and about 50 IA cars. With all Mods that I installed that are around in the internet, I now have 9 class of cars, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 IA cars or so, and over 100 race tracks. More of less a shell or the original game.

[gunsage]

For some reason, and perhaps it was just made this way, I could never get Simon the Sorceror to move at a decent speed. Can't say why. Actually the adventure games I've been going through lately are...

- Various Sam & Max episodes. Fun stuff, but yeah, a little short.
- Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. Very cool game, but puzzles are a little obscure.
- Clock Tower (SNES)

Not really a whole lot other than what I've mentioned, basically. And the sad part is with games like Indigo Prophecy, we know it's possible for developers to make more adventure games, but...won't. I guess the Phoenix Wright games count, but not really. It's an entirely different style and relatively straightforward. Speaking of which, I finally knocked out the second episode on Apollo Justice. This is looking to be an awesome one.

[PCGameGuy]

Yeah, they've all gone to Europe it seems. I still have a lot of classics unfinished, so when I need a fix I can get it. Picked up the Elvira and Simon the Sorcerer games a while back, and am always on the lookout for the later Sierra games, like Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist.

[gunsage]

F.E.A.R. was definitely bad ass, but a little short. Seriously, I've yet to finish either Half-Life...but F.E.A.R. was fairly quick. Quake 4's okay and I definitely need to try Stalker, assuming it works on my PC. Honestly, beyond what I've already stated, I've been going back to playing various Visual Pinball stuffs and King's Quest 1-3 VGA. That, and various other AGS titles. I also need to open that back up and try to create some stuff. Not enough good adventure games out there anymore in my opinion.

[PCGameGuy]

Stalker lost me, I think it was just to open ended for me maybe. I like my shooters on rails, so I can enjoy killin' and not worry about where to go to do the kilin' FEAR, on the other hand, had me jumping out of my chair! Last game to scare the bejeebers out of my like this was Thief, and I loved every minute of it The expansions are MOTS, but I am looking forward to the Monolith 'sequel' Project Origin.

[RichS]

I really enjoyed the original Lego Star Wars and I'm happy the second is just as good as the first. If you haven't tried them, you ought to for a quick, fun, easy romp through the Star Wars universe packed with humor. That's about it for now.

I second that - I played through them both, now I can't wait for the other 2 compilations of the Lego games, Batman and Indiana Jones.

What I'm playing right now? Nothing, but I'm getting ready to - I have to blow off some steam with all that's going on right now (I won't go into that on a thread that's supposed to be about fun, I've got a separate post up). So, I got a GeForce 9600 GT for my computer.

Doubled my 3DMark scores, I'm able to run Quake 4 on Ultra, and other games are a lot smoother now. I have Beyond Good & Evil (underrated - go buy it if you don't have it!), Quake 4, FEAR, and Stalker - Shadow of Chernobyl ready to go once my semester is over.