Weekend gaming(7/17/09)- What are YOU playing?

[Purple Santa]

Ah the glorious melting weather summer days (or coming winter days for those on the other side of the equator). The days did less passing as more of melting away, where all attempts to stay cool is a challenging one. Refuge from the heat is upon us, the weekend to be used to hide in a pool, an a/c’d building, or maybe you are someone who flocks to the sun rollicking in the sandy beaches. The weekend, summertime, temperatures are arising where will the gaming time be spent?

The dedicated loony tune game I am, my weekend will be filled with personal scientific experiments involving how much heat can a human withstand as temperatures in an attic hovel approach 115 degrees. No fans, just open windows, me myself and my gaming consoles. All for the furthering of gaming science. As I am melting my skin off these will accompany me:

Lost Odyssey- Continuing my quest to attempt and finish any epic games that I have in my backlog. I tried this last summer but LO didn’t quite grab me. It has now. Let’s hope I can finish this before classes start. Taking bets if this is under/over my Persona 3 playing time.

Tomb Raider Underworld:Under the ashes- The TR thread about the reboot of Lara reminded me I still hadn’t played this. I loved TRU, the DLC is even better. It saddens me there is a reboot at all for LC, I could keep playing TRU like Tomb Raiders until they kill off the franchise. Unfortunately, the legion of TR faithful only cannot keep the TR franchise afloat it seems.

Persona 3:The Answer- It’s a dungeon crawler with none of the charm of what made the main game so much fun. Yet it has the storyline that I wish to know more about. So I am lured to the dungeon, endless grinding to find out the fate from the main game. Cruel and evil you are Atlus.

XIII- When I get tired of grinding I’ll go here. I guess I can take my frustrations out assassinating people.

Yakuza 2- another distraction from P3 until it pulls me possibly away totally from playing P3:TA at all.

Tiger Woods ’10- Won an actual tournament then preceded to believe the great press and finished out of the top 20 in my next first day tournament. Pebble Beach is not my friend.

I will attempt to escape the heat with a visit to a pool, so I ask, how will you escape the heat (or possible snow flurries if that is what is going on where you are)? Escape somehow and then let us know what are YOU playing.

[Widgetcraft]

Moar Fallout 3!

I finished the three DLC packs I bought, but I still have a few sidequests in the main game that I need to do on the character I started last week. Started a new character this morning, with my intent to be amoral this time around. I'll just do whatever sounds like the most fun when faced with a decision instead of trying to stick strictly to the "good" decision. I don't intend to be evil all the way through, as evil in this game consists of being a dick most of the time (just like in every other game with a "morality" system).

[Wilkz07]

This weekend... its busy one:

360:
Army of Two - trying to finish
Battlefield 1943
Prototype - play a few more missions
Secret of Monkey Island

PC:
Fallout 3

well, that doesn't seem like too much.

[Cavalier]

Tales of Vesperia - Continuing my futile quest of hunting Superstars for star gems so I can make a certain sword for Yuri. Especially tedious due to the gems being rare drops. Maybe I should just get on with the story line :)

[menage]

Moar Fallout 3!

I finished the three DLC packs I bought, but I still have a few sidequests in the main game that I need to do on the character

Kinda my idea of the weekend:P
Need to finish the Pitt and BS though.

Also, Monkey Island on XBLA. Great version, cheap and still fun.

Have friend coming over tonight. So fighters galore as well.

[Spigot]

My games, let me show you them.

Tales Of Vesperia (360) - Spurred on by some totally inappropriate Blue Dragon love in the Weekday thread, I have committed myself to this game. Which means I've now replayed the chunk at the beginning and am exactly where I was the last time I played the game in September. I LOVE the look of this game and the battle system is the usual fun and fast Tales combat, so I expect a fun little romp over the next 40-60 hours.

Secret Of Monkey Island SE (360) - I have a shameful secret... I have never actually played through the first two Monkey Island games. I've played them, but not for much past the starting section of the games. I decided to rectify this oversight by downloading the remake of Secret last night and have thoroughly enjoyed it, esp. with Dominic Amato doing Guybrush's voice. Now if only I could find my copy of Curse again. Damn, I love that game to death.

Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - When I'm not fighting zombie pirates or trying to prove why Tales games are actually worth playing, I wouldn't mind trying to beat this over the weekend. I've got a stack of 'reports' to work through (and grind up my squad with) and then I'll get back to my final fight (hopefully) with Selvaria.

Treasure World (DS) - Must... Find... More... Hotspots...

Flower, Sun & Rain (DS) - I fired this up again last night and then turned it right back off. I was just too tired to parse the insanity. I need to play this game when I'm fully conscious in order for it to start making sense.

SMT: Devil Survivor (DS) - I hadn't played this much over the past week so I took it for a spin last night and promptly lost. I'm starting to really hate the missions where you have to keep one or two NPCs alive. It wouldn't be so bad if they would stop charging headlong into the fray. I guess I'll have to do a bit of grinding to boost my demons a bit.

I think that's about it. I might also play LOOM or The Dig, but the aforementioned games will more than satisfy my weekend play time.

My son has been trying to work his way through my DS collection over this week. He was having fun with Rhythm Heaven, so I decided to show him Elite Beat Agents, which is just too difficult for him right now. He did like Metroid Pinball but his surprise favourite 'game' is Electroplankton. He spent a good 45 minutes just fiddling with it last night, which was cool.

[Spigot]

Oh, I forgot that I'm also playing "The Inlaws Are Visiting" game tonight. The worst part is that they're not staying long enough to actually look after the kids and give us a break so we can go to a movie or anything. Sigh.

[LarsenNET]

I will be playing as much Bionic Commando as I can. Really good game and it gets better as you go.

[Cyndair]

I'm honestly not sure what I'll be playing this weekend. We are having friends in from out of town and they are bringing their two boys. We'll probably spend most of the time entertaining them as well as my son. If we do get to game a bit in the evenings, I imagine it will be:

Aion: My buddy is a MMO nut and I'm sure he will want to see this. This weekend is one of the beta events so we'll probably log on and check it out a bit. I'm sure he will just tell me that WoW is better after a few minutes of playing. *sigh*

Tiger Woods 10: Wii Motion Plus is used to great effect in this game and I've really enjoyed what I've played so far. It's a blast multiplayer so I'm sure we will spend some time whacking a few balls around.

FFXI: If I find some spare time Sunday I'll be playing FFXI. Need to keep working at my campaign rank so I can eventually get the Iron Ram armor set for it's +magic defense stats. I didn't really "get" it until last night when we attempted a battle where magic def would have really come in handy. I'll also be attempting said battle again either Sunday night or Monday night. Revenge will be mine. Right after I climb a 12 floor tower collecting key items that I need to enter the battlefield again, that is. Stupid pre-reqs.

[Rakael]

I think that I'll be playing some more Sims 3 this weekend when I actually have time to game. I'll also throw in a bit of TF2.

[jpublic]

GRID (PC) - Picked this up on the sale, and it's not bad. I'm getting pretty frustrated with it, though. I just don't have the same feeling of control I do with PGR3/4 on my x360.

Far Cry 2 (PC) - Still working on this. The second area is just missing the charm of the first, though. It's like they designed it to be more irritating. Best example - in the first region, you could get to the antennas/shops/bar easily via the busses, while in the second? Not so much.

Random Game (PC) - Maybe something else will catch my attention.

Xenosaga 2 (PS2) - Working on finishing this and getting to 3.

Devil Survivor (DS) - Damn this is a fun game.

[hunterx280]

Aion: My buddy is a MMO nut and I'm sure he will want to see this. This weekend is one of the beta events so we'll probably log on and check it out a bit. I'm sure he will just tell me that WoW is better after a few minutes of playing. *sigh*

I thought Aion was still in closed beta. How did you manage to get in? I have a buddy who is really wanting to play this game.

As for me, SpcialK and I will be hanging out on Saturday. We are going to see Moon and play some Street Fighter IV. On Sunday I'll probably dig something out of my backlog to get it out of the way. Maybe CoD4 single-player. I also saw XIII mentioned on here. I have that but have never played it. Maybe I'll give that a go.

[Camel]

Parents are visiting this weekend, so I probably won't be gaming much. When I do, I plan on having it be P3. I've reached the "top" of Tartarus (level 164) and am just doing my thing until the next full moon mission.

I am slightly worried that I am not going to have enough time to finish all my social links, but there's no way in hell I can start over at this point to make sure I do things better. I'll just have to do a little better when I start P4!

[Kelegacy]

Sleeping little from the new baby so I don't know if I'll be able to game. But if I can squeeze in a couple hours.

Secret of Monkey Island XBLA - played the demo and was sold all over again. I loved this game back in the day.

N+

Bionic Commando

And maybe Ikaruga since I bought that last night since I noticed it on sale for $5 on XBLA.

Oh who am I kidding? I'll be spending any free time I have trying to squeeze in sleep here and there.

[rein]

I'm going to try something new this weekend. I'm going to be honest and say I don't know.

[Gorvi]

FFXI: If I find some spare time Sunday I'll be playing FFXI. Need to keep working at my campaign rank so I can eventually get the Iron Ram armor set for it's +magic defense stats. I didn't really "get" it until last night when we attempted a battle where magic def would have really come in handy. I'll also be attempting said battle again either Sunday night or Monday night. Revenge will be mine. Right after I climb a 12 floor tower collecting key items that I need to enter the battlefield again, that is. Stupid pre-reqs.
I'll be right there with ya. Hopefully we can get this done, I'd really like that body armor for nuking on SCH. And that pretty much covers my FFXI plans, other than maybe doing some farming and random quests I'd like to get done. If any of the people who re-subbed that are on Lakshmi want a hand with pretty much anything just post here and I'll do my best to be on to help. :)

Mirror's Edge or Dead Space I need to start a new game, so it's between these two right now. I guess it all depends on my mood tonight which one I start, or even if it's either of them if I just jump on XI. I've been looking forward to playing both.

Crimson Gem Saga Still working my way through this, I'm in an incredibly annoying maze-like dungeon at the beginning of Chapter 3 just wandering around, hopefully I can at the very least get past that.

That's about it. Insanity may strike me and I could possibly start up Persona 4, but I'm not sure how likely that is.

[Spigot]

Xenosaga 2 (PS2) - Working on finishing this and getting to 3.

Devil Survivor (DS) - Damn this is a fun game.How far are you in Devil Survivor? I'm still on the tail end of Day 2, trying to protect the 50 people who are slated to die. Grr...

And it's nice to see some Xenosaga love around these parts. It's definately worth soldiering through 2 in order to get to 3. If nothing else, the nearly broken game design in Xenosaga 2 makes the awesome design of 3 feel that much more awesome!

I am slightly worried that I am not going to have enough time to finish all my social links, but there's no way in hell I can start over at this point to make sure I do things better. I'll just have to do a little better when I start P4!Welcome to the world of Persona. I already know I will have unfinished social links by the time I finish up Persona 3, just like with P4. It's a shame, as there were some I would have really enjoyed seeing through to completion but I've made my peace with it. If you want to see it all, you pretty much have to run through with a guide but I just find that makes things feel wrong. The organic nature of the game and social links don't feel right when you're going at it intentionally.

Sleeping little from the new baby so I don't know if I'll be able to game. But if I can squeeze in a couple hours. Oh who am I kidding? I'll be spending any free time I have trying to squeeze in sleep here and there.That's a very wise move, my friend. If you have a portable system, that would be better during these trying times, as you can fall asleep in bed with a DS a little easier.

But get as much sleep as possible. It does start to get a little better once the little nippers get their day/night cycle sorted out. You know, when they head off to college.

[National Kato]

Far Cry 2 (PC) - Still working on this. The second area is just missing the charm of the first, though. It's like they designed it to be more irritating. Best example - in the first region, you could get to the antennas/shops/bar easily via the busses, while in the second? Not so much.

Yeah, it's definitely harder to just concentrate on single missions without running into patrols/guard posts. Plus, the enemies now have mortars and grenade launchers, so you gotta keep on your toes.

This weekend, for me, is another home improvement weekend. Need to hang some drapes, construct a nice little bench for my back porch and clean out my gutter guards. The girlfriend and I also will be considering a small vacation soon. I don't expect much gaming this weekend...

[Ravenlock]

Honestly, probably not that much, but here's what I'd like to do:

Finish Indiana Jones & the Staff of Kings. This is not a good game, and you should not buy it. But I have it out from Gamefly and I have a perverse need to see how it ends. Luckily, it isn't a hard game, just a badly designed and occasionally super-frustrating one.

Finish The Conduit. I'd like to wrap up the single-player game so that the only reason it'll go back in the Wii in the future is for multiplayer.

Play More Battlefield 1943. I really wish I was playing this excellent title on the PC, and when it shows up there I will. For now, though, it's a solid $15 purchase on 360.

Play Trine. Love this game. For me, Trine is this year's Portal. I only hope the now-infamous last level doesn't change my mind. Maybe I'll just quit before that.

That'll probably eat up all my time, which is okay since my shiny new Steam copies of Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis and The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition can both wait to be played on my laptop when I go to Florida at the end of next week. ;)

[EternalGamer]

Punch Out - I've been playing it exclusively with the balance board and motion controls and doing at least one fight a night until I win. It usually takes at least 30 minutes and I work up a good sweat. It's a good warm up for exercising. Tonight is Soda Popinski (I HATED that dude on the NES). Really enjoying this game with the motion controls. First game I've played where I wouldn't want to play it the traditional way.

I also might meet up with my brothers and friends from St. Louis for some online co-op gaming. Haven't played anything on the 360 in several weeks. So maybe some Magic, Castle Crashers, N+, and/or Sacred 2.

[Ravenlock]

Good on ya, EternalGamer. I balance board'ed with Punch-Out up to the World Circuit, but then switched to traditional NES controls because they guys just got too fast. I'll go back to doing it with the balance board one day, though, I swear I will. It really does control quite well with it - it's just fucking HARD. ;)

[Spigot]

If you end up beating Punch Out using the motion controls and balance board, my estimation of you will rise to heights unknowable, EG. It might even cancel out my utter contempt for your Blue Dragon love :)

What I would love to do this weekend is find my bloody copy of Curse Of Monkey Island. Playing the Secret remake has me jonesing for Murray... and the singing pirates, of course.

[jpublic]

How far are you in Devil Survivor? I'm still on the tail end of Day 2, trying to protect the 50 people who are slated to die. Grr...


I'm on Day 2, in the major event just before that (I think). I'm at the part where you make the choice to help the police or to save the citizens.


And it's nice to see some Xenosaga love around these parts. It's definately worth soldiering through 2 in order to get to 3. If nothing else, the nearly broken game design in Xenosaga 2 makes the awesome design of 3 feel that much more awesome!


Actually, once I figured out the whole combat mechanic again (use the Break Combo and Air/Down opponents to do massive damage) I've ben enjoying it more. Although my wife and I both agree they used the cheap voice acting in Xeno2, they're horrible and low-fi as compared to Xeno1.

[Spigot]

I'm on Day 2, in the major event just before that (I think). I'm at the part where you make the choice to help the police or to save the citizens.Urg. I didn't like that one either. YOu basically have to have your party equipped with things to let them zip over to the fight and get between the civvies and the demons or it's game over.
Actually, once I figured out the whole combat mechanic again (use the Break Combo and Air/Down opponents to do massive damage) I've ben enjoying it more. Although my wife and I both agree they used the cheap voice acting in Xeno2, they're horrible and low-fi as compared to Xeno1.Yeah. They got a lot of the original voice actors back for Xenosaga 3, so it sounds nicer. Plus they have that delightful encyclopedia that explains everything!

I actually learned to love the battle system in Xenosaga 2 by the time the game was over but it was nice to get back to the more streamlined system in Xenosaga 3.

[astranoir]

I'll be hosting 5 family members this weekend (:eek:)! Just tonight and tomorrow, so I might have some time to game. I purchased Monkey Island and Peggle yesterday, and am still enjoying Blue Dragon (sorry, guys :p), so if I do some gaming, I'll have more than enough from which to choose!

[Bad Buddha]

I'm playing a bunch of older games on my new laptop. AoE2, Rise of Nations and I'm going to try to get into Sins Of A Solar Empire this weekend if I get some free time (probably not!).

I got Overlord 2 for my birthday but I don't think it will run on the laptop.

Our house is being renovated and we're living in an apartment for the next couple of months. I didn't want the deal with hauling the SuperNova (My gaming PC) to the apt. so I finally picked up a laptop. I'm a Network/Systems Admin and I was the last one in our family to get a laptop; go figure!

We'll probably spend the weekend boxing up stuff in the house so that the ceilings can be ripped out and replaced - due to the water damage from the rainstorm while the roof is being replaced.

It gets better - Tuesday I get to go in for an MRI so my surgeon can see if I need surgery on the torn meniscus in my left knee joint. Last year it was shoulder surgery! Always during motorcycle season!

[Cyndair]

I'll be right there with ya. Hopefully we can get this done, I'd really like that body armor for nuking on SCH. And that pretty much covers my FFXI plans, other than maybe doing some farming and random quests I'd like to get done. If any of the people who re-subbed that are on Lakshmi want a hand with pretty much anything just post here and I'll do my best to be on to help. :)

Gah... that was really frustrating last night. OK, I'm going to start speaking FFXI greek, sorry guys.

We had it. I think I would have been less upset if we got smoked but we had the darn thing down to 1/4 of its health when we wiped. It was a combination of things. I looked back at the log. I took 571 dmg from Waterga 3 and the immediately another 777 dmg from Seed of Judgement.

1) I could have had more Magic Defense gear to help mitigate that dmg. I'm toying with the idea of going /whm next time but I'm still not sold on that just yet. Provoke was allowing me to keep very solid hate throughout most of the fight. We were taking that thing down quick as a result. (I think the RNG only pulled hate one time before I got charmed and I was able to quickly get the Crystal back on me again). That just wouldn't be possible on /whm.

2) You missed the stun. When we go again the RNG needs to be on Seed Thrall duty. It's too much to expect you to nuke all the thralls and stun every single -ga. It just takes too long to cast spells and there isn't enough time to interrupt a T3 nuke and then get a stun off. The RNG can save his TP and just slug shot those suckers dead as soon as they spawn and you can be ever vigilant with the stunning.

3) My HP needs to be full, always once the Crystal reaches 50% and it starts spamming Seed of Judgement. Granted I took 1,348 dmg in a very short period of time. However, I did have 1,654 HP to work with. If I was topped off I would have had a solid 300 HP left. There was a lot of time before that huge hit where I was barely taking any damage at all. (little 30 dmg pecks here and there) We just need to stress to the WHM that she needs to over-cure me for the second half of the battle. She had the MP to spare. I was helping out a lot myself but it is really hard to do that consistently when constantly being drawn in. The one time I stopped and just cured myself instead of instantly running away I ended up getting charmed.

[Gorvi]

Gah... that was really frustrating last night. OK, I'm going to start speaking FFXI greek, sorry guys.

We had it. I think I would have been less upset if we got smoked but we had the darn thing down to 1/4 of its health when we wiped. It was a combination of things. I looked back at the log. I took 571 dmg from Waterga 3 and the immediately another 777 dmg from Seed of Judgement.

1) I could have had more Magic Defense gear to help mitigate that dmg. I'm toying with the idea of going /whm next time but I'm still not sold on that just yet. Provoke was allowing me to keep very solid hate throughout most of the fight. We were taking that thing down quick as a result. (I think the RNG only pulled hate one time before I got charmed and I was able to quickly get the Crystal back on me again). That just wouldn't be possible on /whm.

2) You missed the stun. When we go again the RNG needs to be on Seed Thrall duty. It's too much to expect you to nuke all the thralls and stun every single -ga. It just takes too long to cast spells and there isn't enough time to interrupt a T3 nuke and then get a stun off. The RNG can save his TP and just slug shot those suckers dead as soon as they spawn and you can be ever vigilant with the stunning.

3) My HP needs to be full, always once the Crystal reaches 50% and it starts spamming Seed of Judgement. Granted I took 1,348 dmg in a very short period of time. However, I did have 1,654 HP to work with. If I was topped off I would have had a solid 300 HP left. There was a lot of time before that huge hit where I was barely taking any damage at all. (little 30 dmg pecks here and there) We just need to stress to the WHM that she needs to over-cure me for the second half of the battle. She had the MP to spare. I was helping out a lot myself but it is really hard to do that consistently when constantly being drawn in. The one time I stopped and just cured myself instead of instantly running away I ended up getting charmed.
Yeah, that was frustrating. I knew a -ga would be coming up soon, but when I saw a seed spawn I had to make sure I killed it ASAP since we kinda had a problem with multiple seeds spawning a little earlier and they really beat on that SMN. At least now we know that the damage setup we had was good enough, I almost wish I had DRK leveled so that I could go SCH/DRK instead of BLM/RDM, that way I could help out with healing more. Oh well, we'll get it Sunday or Monday.

[Cyndair]

Yeah, that was frustrating. I knew a -ga would be coming up soon, but when I saw a seed spawn I had to make sure I killed it ASAP since we kinda had a problem with multiple seeds spawning a little earlier and they really beat on that SMN. At least now we know that the damage setup we had was good enough, I almost wish I had DRK leveled so that I could go SCH/DRK instead of BLM/RDM, that way I could help out with healing more. Oh well, we'll get it Sunday or Monday.

Yeah, I think we can get it nailed down on a second attempt. If we had done any one of the 3 things that I mentioned we would have won. We should be able to fix all three. I think I can get ahold of an Iron Ram lance before Sunday (I see one up on the AH right now, just need to get home and grab it quick). That's a straight 10% dmg reduction. Might have been the difference.

[Gorvi]

Yeah, I think we can get it nailed down on a second attempt. If we had done any one of the 3 things that I mentioned we would have won. We should be able to fix all three. I think I can get ahold of an Iron Ram lance before Sunday (I see one up on the AH right now, just need to get home and grab it quick). That's a straight 10% dmg reduction. Might have been the difference.
Yeah, that would have helped some for sure. Too bad there's no Magic Def + food available, I made sure to look yesterday.

[crazyD]

I'll probably play a bit of The Dig, and might pick up SoMI, although I did just play through it fairly recently. It's great to see so much Lucasarts adventure game love in here, though!

I will also play some Lost and Damned; downloaded it last night but haven't tried it yet.

I'm looking forward to Comiccon next week. Tim Schafer's going to be there! Wonder if he will remember me...

[Mortis]

Some 1 vs 100, X-men Origins: Wolverine, Fight Night Round 4 (just bought it), and probably some L4D. A little bit of Skate 2 will get tossed in as well, really missed it so I have been hopping in to cut a vid or two for the past couple of days.

[Evil Avnovice]

I've been in a gaming funk most of the week, so I didn't end up and most likely won't end up playing much. I did complete Knights in the Nightmare on Normal, and Hard Mode sounds nasty! (Enemies have more HP, do more damage, and two lines of KILL markers are required:eek:)

On the side, I was briefly fooling around with Heavenly Sword and Genji: Days of the Blade.

And, I have/would like to start on Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire.

[EternalGamer]

Good on ya, EternalGamer. I balance board'ed with Punch-Out up to the World Circuit, but then switched to traditional NES controls because they guys just got too fast. I'll go back to doing it with the balance board one day, though, I swear I will. It really does control quite well with it - it's just fucking HARD. ;)

It has certainly got more challenging, but I've managed to TKO every character so far. The real trick is to learn to lean without pushing off your opposite foot first. I've not found a character whose fury of punches I can't successfully dodge with a little practice, but I find that figuring out when to counterpunch is much more important. It seems that you can almost counterpunch nearly every special move in the game if you figure out the timing.

However, I will say that it is much more challenging to coordinate your arms and legs with punching an dodging than it is to just use your thumbs. I imagine I woudl breeze through this game with the normal controls, but the balance board and motion controls add just the right level of challenge. As I said, I'm making steady progress of taking down an opponent a night, which is a rewarding pace. But I doubt I will try those crazy challenges with the motion controls anytime soon, but we'll see after I finish the main game.

Now to go pummel that Russian with an affinity for carbonated beverages. This will be revenge for the 10 year old in me that could never beat the bastard consistently in the 80's.

[Purple Santa]

My games, let me show you them.

Secret Of Monkey Island SE (360) - I have a shameful secret... I have never actually played through the first two Monkey Island games. I've played them, but not for much past the starting section of the games. I decided to rectify this oversight by downloading the remake of Secret last night and have thoroughly enjoyed it, esp. with Dominic Amato doing Guybrush's voice. Now if only I could find my copy of Curse again. Damn, I love that game to death.
And you call yourself a PC gamer. For shame. Hand over your PC geek card. No PC cred for you! :p
Flower, Sun & Rain[/B] (DS) - I fired this up again last night and then turned it right back off. I was just too tired to parse the insanity. I need to play this game when I'm fully conscious in order for it to start making sense.
Insanity in the game as well as the insane people who actually play this game. I haven't gone back since unlocking something when I walked 1000 steps. Eventually i'll be motivated again to play this...

Parents are visiting this weekend, so I probably won't be gaming much. When I do, I plan on having it be P3. I've reached the "top" of Tartarus (level 164) and am just doing my thing until the next full moon mission.

I am slightly worried that I am not going to have enough time to finish all my social links, but there's no way in hell I can start over at this point to make sure I do things better. I'll just have to do a little better when I start P4!
I couldn't finish two social links that I know fleshed out the story a bit more and I was so close to finishing. Of course, that is what Youtube is for :). If you do go for the end game, make sure you have a few hours. The ending cut scenes are long.


Mirror's Edge or Dead Space I need to start a new game, so it's between these two right now. I guess it all depends on my mood tonight which one I start, or even if it's either of them if I just jump on XI. I've been looking forward to playing both.

That's about it. Insanity may strike me and I could possibly start up Persona 4, but I'm not sure how likely that is.
I vote for Dead Space.



What I would love to do this weekend is find my bloody copy of Curse Of Monkey Island. Playing the Secret remake has me jonesing for Murray... and the singing pirates, of course.
Singing pirates? Bah. I think I need to fire up the copy Camel let me borrow now....
I'll be hosting 5 family members this weekend (:eek:)! Just tonight and tomorrow, so I might have some time to game. I purchased Monkey Island and Peggle yesterday, and am still enjoying Blue Dragon (sorry, guys :p), so if I do some gaming, I'll have more than enough from which to choose!
Glad you are STILL enjoying BD :). I never did get around to answer you on XBL how I am liking Lost Odyssey. I'm still early in the game but i'm really liking it. I haven't played around with "dressing up" the characters like you were asking :D

[EternalGamer]

Soda Popinski TKO-ed in 1st round. The bastard had me yelling at the TV long enough before hand, though. Up next, Bald Bull, and then only one more fight before I finish the game exclusively with motion controls.

Now it's off to that slave driver that is EA Sports Active. I swear, if that fucker makes me do lunges all damn day like it did last time, my house will be filled with the sounds of explicatives.

[Purple Santa]

Now it's off to that slave driver that is EA Sports Active. I swear, if that fucker makes me do lunges all damn day like it did last time, my house will be filled with the sounds of explicatives.

This. Funniest read all day. I do love this thread...

[Spigot]

And you call yourself a PC gamer. For shame. Hand over your PC geek card. No PC cred for you! :pHey, I was a Sierra adventure gamer back in the day. None of this hand-holding adventure games where puzzles made sense and you couldn't die. Pshaw.
Singing pirates? Bah. I think I need to fire up the copy Camel let me borrow now....Ask and ye shall receive.

AawQvD8L_h4

Glad you are STILL enjoying BD :). I never did get around to answer you on XBL how I am liking Lost Odyssey. I'm still early in the game but i'm really liking it. I haven't played around with "dressing up" the characters like you were asking :DPut the cat ears on Kaim and watch him do something epic and emotional in a cutscene. It's goofy.

[Troggles]

Persona 4 is going down tonight. I'm at the save point in front of the final boss for the true ending, and I'm level 77. Just need to do a little bit of grinding to get the Personas I want for the fight and the bitch is going down.

[Purple Santa]

Hey, I was a Sierra adventure gamer back in the day. None of this hand-holding adventure games where puzzles made sense and you couldn't die. Pshaw.
I'll double Pshaw you. How about the text adventures? Talk about easy deaths, no hand holding, and bizarre puzzles? Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Leather Goddess of Phobos etc etc. I missed out on the Monkey Island and Sierra adventure games unfortunately. I did play most Infocom adventures though. Now those were games...*sigh*...

Ask and ye shall receive.

*funny Youtube video*
That was hilarious. Was Tim Schafer part of this or did he move on by then..or wrong game?

Put the cat ears on Kaim and watch him do something epic and emotional in a cutscene. It's goofy.
Oh I need to do this. Thanks!

I've done absolutely no gaming today. I'll rectify that right now and enter my greenhouse living quarters and go play P3:TA (Juvenile that I am...I want to put an & between those letters...)

[Spigot]

Persona 4 is going down tonight. I'm at the save point in front of the final boss for the true ending, and I'm level 77. Just need to do a little bit of grinding to get the Personas I want for the fight and the bitch is going down.Good luck! I had to do that fight twice as I got wiped out during the first encounter on a lucky hit, but the second try was long but satisfying. And the ending was definately worth it, though I actually enjoyed all three endings equally.

Pshaw.
I'll double Pshaw you. How about the text adventures? Talk about easy deaths, no hand holding, and bizarre puzzles? Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Leather Goddess of Phobos etc etc. I missed out on the Monkey Island and Sierra adventure games unfortunately. I did play most Infocom adventures though. Now those were games...*sigh*...Yeah, I don't know if I ever actually FINISHED an Infocom game, but I've played a lot of them and love them to death. Hell, one of my earliest gaming memories is of playing Adventure (http://www.mobygames.com/game/pirate-adventure/cover-art/gameCoverId,91271/) on the TI 99/4a. That's where I learned about cobras, mongoose and the meanings of the words flotsam and jetsam.
That was hilarious. Was Tim Schafer part of this or did he move on by then..or wrong game? You're thinking of Ron Gilbert and no, he was gone by the time Curse hit. The fact that I loved it so much and think of it as the definitive Monkey Island game just goes to show either a) that the crew that took over was more than capable of doing the series justice or
b) that there is no accounting for taste.

Schafer was involved in the Maniac Mansion/Grim Fandango/Full Throttle games. Hmm. It seems he was involved with the Monkey Island games too, but not as prominently as he was in those aforementioned games, though it seems that he wrote a lot of the dialogue in the MI games. (gooo wikipedia!)

[Xydarc]

Here's what I'd like to play:

Atlantica Online: Now it's the grind push to 100. I'm almost 96. I really really want to unlock Maniac.

inFAMOUS: I'm still on the last island, and I'd like to finish my Good Guy game.

Wolverine: Still need to beat Deadpool and finish this one.

Earth 2160: Just bought this off of GoG.com. I've heard it's a good RTS, and I've never played it before.

Crimson Gem Saga: I'd like to finish Chapter 4 this weekend. I think I may be getting close to the end.

Class of Heroes: I've neglected this one and want to give it a lil love.

Random Act of Gaming: Who knows, I may get the bug to pull out and play Civ 4, Neverwinter Nights 2, Ar Tonelico 2, Devil Summoner 2, Final Fantasy 12, Brave Story: New Traveller.

Games I refuse to start until the backlog is lighter: Anything with PERSONA in the title.:p

[crazyD]

Schafer was involved in the Maniac Mansion/Grim Fandango/Full Throttle games. Hmm. It seems he was involved with the Monkey Island games too, but not as prominently as he was in those aforementioned games, though it seems that he wrote a lot of the dialogue in the MI games. (gooo wikipedia!)

Well, he coded and wrote for Monkey Island 1 and 2, not the later ones.

[Dark Acre Jack]

Pre-ordered Aion and got a pass into the closed beta, just finished up a 6-hour session.

Was just about to get my wings when they shut down the server, but the time I'd spent grinding was pretty good. I'm not sure I'd want to do it again, and it looks like the only way to get variety out of the noob area is to switch faction. But so far I'm happy.

[jpublic]

Jack - how is Aion for a solo-player? Is it solo-except-for-main-story-bits, PvP (or RvR) focussed, groups-to-get-anywhere, or solo-friendly?

[zarathstra]

I'll be playing Going Out of Town to Visit the Girlfriend this weekend, hopefully with the Sex minigame thrown in there somewhere.

Otherwise, I probably won't be doing much gaming.

[EternalGamer]

Has anyone played Dragon Quest: Swords? Almost picked it up today for around $20. I remember it looked appealing in previews before it came out, but I ignored it because was in the pre-Punch Out era when the Wii still sucked.

[Dark Acre Jack]

@jpublic I can't figure out how to get into a group, or turn on the general chat, so as for solo play it's pretty much all I've done. There's been nothing that's required a second player so far, and I'm almost level 12.

So, solo-friendly thus far.

Edit: Apparently the general chat is disabled for the beta, which would explain that issue.

[Spigot]

Has anyone played Dragon Quest: Swords? Almost picked it up today for around $20. I remember it looked appealing in previews before it came out, but I ignored it because was in the pre-Punch Out era when the Wii still sucked.I've heard not terribly kind things about it, though it's not supposed to be awful. For $20, it's probably a worthy purchase.

Who has two thumbs and just won Braid as a member of The Mob in 1 vs. 100? THIS GUY!

Sorry, for some reason I started doing that "who has two thumbs and...." schtick with my kids tonight and can't stop it. I need to go play some Monkey Island.

[EternalGamer]

Awesome that you won Braid, more people need to play it.

I read some reviews on Dragon Quest: Swords and now I'm on the fence. I was thinking of picking it up as a part of Gamestop's Buy 2 Get 1 sale. I was thinking of getting Dragon Quest Swords, Pikmin: New Play Control, and Mario Tennis: New Play Control, all for around $45. I only played a little of Pikmin 2 on the Gamecube and I think my partner might dig it with the new play controls.

Then again, I could just wait to next week and pick up Wii Sports Resort. Might be a better value and I don't need to start a vault of unplayed Wii Games.

[Spigot]

I'd probably stick with Wii Sports Resort, DQ: Swords and Pikmin, unless you really love Mario Tennis.

And alas, I already own Braid (hell, I think the 'soundtrack' to the game was the first batch of music I bought in iTunes) but it looks like they'll send me a code, so I'll be giving it away to some lucky schlub.

[Troggles]

Woo! Done with P4! As much as I didn't want it to end, it also felt like a burden on me. Now I'm free to start any other game I want. Oh the freedom!

[Ravenlock]

I Gamefly'd DQ:Swords shortly after it came out. It's not awful, but it's RPG lite-lite-lite. You have a town where you upgrade stuff, buy stuff, get quests, the usual, but then when you go out into dungeons it's literally on-rails.

Like, imagine a light-gun shooter, except it's an RPG. You encounter four slimes, you kill the slimes, it auto-walks you down a corridor, you kill 3 slimes and a dracky, it asks if you want to go left or right, you choose, you kill more stuff, repeat until boss.

So for the basics of RPG combat and XP gain with some kind of clever IR pointer stuff (slashing across multiple enemies to do more damage, holding up your shield to defend, etc), it's alright. As an exploration-based RPG in the usual style of Dragon Quest, it simply isn't, so don't expect that.

[Gorvi]

Woo! Done with P4! As much as I didn't want it to end, it also felt like a burden on me. Now I'm free to start any other game I want. Oh the freedom!
Congrats! I can remember that feeling when finishing P3, it was great. Now go play through a few 10 hour games, they'll feel like nothing. :p

[Purple Santa]

Has anyone played Dragon Quest: Swords? Almost picked it up today for around $20. I remember it looked appealing in previews before it came out, but I ignored it because was in the pre-Punch Out era when the Wii still sucked.
pre-punch out era? Didn't this game just come out two months ago? You make it seem it was 2 YEARS ;). I'd love to try Punch-Out like you did, with the balance board. Except, with the lack of room where my hovel is...well, if I were to try PO with a balance board, I'd fall out a window that's two stories up :eek:. There is a window, my tv and some small space between it and the futon. It would make a great Youtube video though of a man falling out of window holding a Wiimote.


Who has two thumbs and just won Braid as a member of The Mob in 1 vs. 100? THIS GUY!

Didn't you play Braid? And apparently reading a later response you did. I was hoping for some help if you were actually playing. I could of bugged you in a party on Live :cool:
Awesome that you won Braid, more people need to play it.

I love Braid. It just makes me feel dumb each and every time I can't solve one of the seemingly obvious puzzles :p.
Congrats! I can remember that feeling when finishing P3, it was great. Now go play through a few 10 hour games, they'll feel like nothing. :p
I think I finished Yakuza after P3 which was a nice feeling. Then I went and played Fallout 3. So i'm not so bright :eek:. I need to stop attempting these marathon games back to back to back.

Well I gave P3:TA more chances last night and...i'm with those who decided not to play it. In the end, I didn't mind it being "just a dungeon crawler". I missed the social links and all but I was hooked on the story so if I had to dungeon crawl to get to the ending...well, i've played weirder games for such reasons (Theresia comes to mind). However, the lack of XP gained when winning battles with so little health items and the healing partners not healing like they did in the main game...this made it more trouble than it was worth. I'm not a strategy person when it comes to JRPGs. I know there is always which element against another element, concoct the correct magic/persona etc to beat the enemies. I'm much more of a simpler gamer. I find some resources taht work and carry that most of the game. That and LOTS of health items. No access to BUY health items? Well PS makes a quick exit of a game. I watched the ending after reading the plot summary on Wikipedia. I did like where the story went, and I might try to see some of the earlier cutscenes in the game before the ending...but i'm glad I didn't bang my head against my PS3 to try to attempt to play this. If I was able to keep my characters alive a bit more and not have them die so easily it might of worked for me. But it seemed every other battle I was the lone survivor, and not being able to "warp" out of the dungeon to at least save my progression in xp gained...pfffft to that. I am thinking about starting Persona 4 though.

[Spigot]

Woo! Done with P4! As much as I didn't want it to end, it also felt like a burden on me. Now I'm free to start any other game I want. Oh the freedom!You mean the freedom to flail about wildly, not knowing what to play after such an epic quest? Ah, that freedom. But seriously, congrats. P4 is probably the most satisfying game I have completed in years. I can understand starting to feel the drag near the end. I loved it to death but I could have done with a little less dungeon crawling.

Congrats! I can remember that feeling when finishing P3, it was great. Now go play through a few 10 hour games, they'll feel like nothing. :pHeh. That is ALSO true.

I fired up Class Of Heroes again last night just before bed. I haven't spent enough time in there to really get into a rhythm of play that these games demand in order to really hook you, but at least my party didn't get wiped like the last time I played!

I was tempted to grab Holy Invasion Of Privacy Badman! while farting around on the PSP last night, but as tempting as the aesthetics are, I just didn't feel the love when I tried the demo out a while ago. Maybe I'll download the demo again and see if it grabs me. That said, I am perfectly fine not buying anything this week.

Anyway, I'm off for a morning of garage sales and treasure hunting. Nothing like having a valid excuse to wander around town with my DS in my pocket, hunting for wi-fi hotspots in every nook and cranny.

[Spigot]

I just got home from my latest tromp around the neighbourhood and found another 50 or so hotspots when I went walking as opposed to driving. Also found another 81 hotspots in the town down the road, but I didn't really hang around near the residential area. Gooo Treasure World addiction! And Purps, you'd be happy to know that I picked up Deadly Creatures on the Wii for $25. I couldn't pass it up for that deal.

And if I happen to die in the next day or two, I blame the stick of 20 year old gum I nibbled on today. My son bought two packages of Ghostbusters 2 trading cards at a garage sale that were sealed with the gum still inside. I had to at least try the gum. I mean, how often do you get presented with the opportunity to munch on candy that is 2 decades old?

Note to self: There's a reason you don't get presented with said opportunity.

[LarsenNET]

I finished Bionic Commando this morning. I got all of the collectibles & challenges in one play through. Now I'm going to start Final Fantasy XII.

[Banacek]

It's good to see that we're all buying Secret of Monkey Island. Maybe we will breathe life into adventure games.

[EternalGamer]

Went to Gamestop today looking for Pikmin Wii, Mario Tennis Wii, and Dragon Quest Swords to take advantage of their "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" but none of the three stores in my area had all three (but all of them had two of the three annoying enough).

However, I'm glad I ended up not finding it because I came home and found much better deals online. I got DQ: Swords used from Amazon for $12. And Mario Tennis and Pikmin for $25 each brand new from Amazon with free shipping. Total price is only about $2 more than the trade in deal would have been and Mario Tennis and Pikmin are brand new instead of used.

I threw a bunch of stuff up to trade to pay for it. Sending Amazon $50 worth of trade in stuff (mostly last gen games for the Gamecube and original Xbox). They have a deal right now where you get a "half off any game" coupon when you trade in $50 worth of stuff, which should come in handy (might use it for "My Life As A King" next week).

I also put up Street Fighter 4 and Pikmin 2 on half.com. All told, I'll actually come out ahead considerably regardless of the fact that I just bought 3 new games. I'll end up at around +$30 and a 1/2 any future game coupon. Trading in games usually leave you feeling mugged but this time I made out pretty good.

Now, it's time to go take down Bald Bull and torture myself with EA Active...

[Purple Santa]

And Purps, you'd be happy to know that I picked up Deadly Creatures on the Wii for $25. I couldn't pass it up for that deal.
Once you play it, it will I almost guarantee be a TTS column. After Lost Winds, I am glad I own a Wii for that game. Great pickup.

And if I happen to die in the next day or two, I blame the stick of 20 year old gum I nibbled on today. My son bought two packages of Ghostbusters 2 trading cards at a garage sale that were sealed with the gum still inside. I had to at least try the gum. I mean, how often do you get presented with the opportunity to munch on candy that is 2 decades old?

Note to self: There's a reason you don't get presented with said opportunity.
I would of eaten the gum too. To much nostalgia to not try the gum. Hope you are still alive...cause you really need to enjoy Deadly Creatures:p
It's good to see that we're all buying Secret of Monkey Island. Maybe we will breathe life into adventure games.
I am hoping just to see the rest of the games released on XBL/Steam. But I agree it would be great if we saw more adventure games. I mean really..with all the talk of the "casual" gamer, adventure games are perfect.

Haven given up on P3:T&A, with so many choices I could choose...like play Yakuza 2...XIII...both good choices, what do I do? I decide after playing Lost Odyssey and am in the mood for "grinding", I go put in P4. WTF is wrong with me?? I have made it only to the first day of school...

Speaking of Lost Odyssey..that damn flying boss (whatever the name) is still kicking my ass! :confused:. I've leveled up and conceded in having to read a FAQ (three actually) to see what I am doing wrong. It seems i'm not doing anything wrong..except I can't keep the person who is healing alive. I guess i'm not sexist so putting Seth as the healing one was the wrong way to go. Bah. I'll try that next...

Edit: Finally! I'm not sure what I did right this time. Maybe having the playboy cast magic (I guess he is useful), and making Kaim a fire ring (so so damage) and the level up for Seth made the boss go down easy.

[EternalGamer]

Bald Bull defeated. Only two more contenders to go.

[Spigot]

I would of eaten the gum too. To much nostalgia to not try the gum. Hope you are still alive...cause you really need to enjoy Deadly Creatures:pHad to go put out some brush fires at work but my son is already demanding that we play "Snake Vs. Tarantula" after he has his bath.

I am hoping just to see the rest of the games released on XBL/Steam. But I agree it would be great if we saw more adventure games. I mean really..with all the talk of the "casual" gamer, adventure games are perfect. No kidding, esp. the Lucasarts one. Curse Of Monkey Island would be the best as it requires nothing more than tweaking the graphics to be HD, a la many other 2D HD revamps. God help them if they do some kind of stupid 3D revamp.

Speaking of Lost Odyssey..that damn flying boss (whatever the name) is still kicking my ass! :confused:.

Edit: Finally! I'm not sure what I did right this time. Maybe having the playboy cast magic (I guess he is useful), and making Kaim a fire ring (so so damage) and the level up for Seth made the boss go down easy.
Yay! The early bosses are all just a matter of having the right equipment and skills to both soak damage and deal pain. Once you get past the tower boss, things are much easier.
Bald Bull defeated. Only two more contenders to go.You are truly a god amongst men.

I had a few extra Wii points on my Wii so I bought Bit Boy!. I'm pretty much finished with it after about a 30-45 minute play session, but it was amusing and concidering I dropped $4.50 on coffee and a bun this morning, $6 for this game is an ok investment in my book. The best thing is the list of 'improvements' from generation to generation. One of the features of the 32-bit era is "Lengthy Load Times From CD"... and they actually have long load screens between levels :)

[maharahaj]

GRID (PC) - Picked this up on the sale, and it's not bad. I'm getting pretty frustrated with it, though. I just don't have the same feeling of control I do with PGR3/4 on my x360.

I'm the opposite of this. I like the Project Gotham games but get frustrated by the controls and hit a wall with the game's difficulty. GRID was in my top 5 of last year. I loved the controls, graphics and tiered racing system. The only event I didn't finish is the final one, where one fuck up screws you for the entire race. It kept me busy for two solid months.

Edit: I've been playing inFamous this weekend. I've gotten to a point in my life where I can only concentrate on one game at a time. I've also been pre-occupied since I signed an agreement of sale for a house this week. I've spent the last couple days shopping out mortgage lenders, home insurance companies and home inspection agencies.

[jpublic]

I'm the opposite of this. I like the Project Gotham games but get frustrated by the controls and hit a wall with the game's difficulty. GRID was in my top 5 of last year. I loved the controls, graphics and tiered racing system. The only event I didn't finish is the final one, where one fuck up screws you for the entire race. It kept me busy for two solid months.


Oddly enough, after attempting the same race (beginner USA muscle car race) and failing it again, I managed to pick up enough cash that I could get an Ebay Cuda alongside the starter Mustang. Little more grip, little less top speed. It made that race *simple*.

Bizzare.

[Spigot]

Snake Vs. Tarantula, er, Deadly Creatures is pretty interesting. It's definately a game that is worth $25 but that I would have probably felt mad about if I spent top dollar on it a few months back.

My son's liking it too. We've been trading off controls for the first two levels. He wanders around the levels, killing and eating crickets and the like and I get to fight the boss lizards and snakes.

[maharahaj]

Oddly enough, after attempting the same race (beginner USA muscle car race) and failing it again, I managed to pick up enough cash that I could get an Ebay Cuda alongside the starter Mustang. Little more grip, little less top speed. It made that race *simple*.

Bizzare.

The cars do have a different feel and driving style compared to one another. I had to switch up cars for the few events where you race 1 on 1 down hill in Japan and most of the spin out to generate points events.

[Jason]

Being playing Halo 3's campaign again and hope to finish it sometime tomorrow. Also I think I'm gonna play Guilty Gear X2 again since I can't find a copy of BlazBlue in my town.

[jpublic]

The cars do have a different feel and driving style compared to one another. I had to switch up cars for the few events where you race 1 on 1 down hill in Japan and most of the spin out to generate points events.

You got a recommended car for that Japan hill race? It's the one I'm stuck on.

I just did the American Demo Derby Rookie race, and my word that was fun. I think only 3 cars finished the second race. :D

Edit: Picked up a Skyline Z-Tune, and almost won it. I need to remember to burn my flashbacks better. This game is completely one of those ones (like PGR, to be honest) where having a higher-spec car really helps.

[Rakael]

Decided to bite on that AoC reevaluation trial. I'm installing everything now and just reactivated my account. I will post my impressions on the new AoC thread.

[Spigot]

I really like the hint system in the Monkey Island SE. I had one or two instances last night where I had a pretty good idea about what I needed to do, but NO idea how to do it. A little nudge with the hints set me back on track instead of running to a FAQ.

Also: Playing Monkey Island with half a bottle of Bristol Cream sherry in your belly = awesome.

[maharahaj]

You got a recommended car for that Japan hill race? It's the one I'm stuck on.

I just did the American Demo Derby Rookie race, and my word that was fun. I think only 3 cars finished the second race. :D

Edit: Picked up a Skyline Z-Tune, and almost won it. I need to remember to burn my flashbacks better. This game is completely one of those ones (like PGR, to be honest) where having a higher-spec car really helps.

Oh man, its been a year or so since I've played. I forget what I used for the Japan downhill events. It will get to the point where you are swimming in money so you'll be able to buy all the cars and test each model until you find the best one. That process is not needed for most event types though, fortunately.

There's also only 3 or 4 of those event types and only one Demolition Derby type in the entire tiered circuit. The Downhill events are the only event I didn't really care for, so I was relived of that. One thing that is fun though is when you are the car that has to pass from the bottom of the hill on the second run....get a good jump on the other car, get in front of him and brake check him like crazy to add up those 2 second penalties on his end. So, if/when he does overtake you, you'll have a nice coushin of time.

Edit: I just loaded up the game to see if it lists the car that you won the Touge events with. It doesn't. But, it does show that one event took me 7 tries to beat once and another one took 5 tries to pass. Also, the Le Mans shows its face, like every 5th race or so. Skip them until you have a high powered car towards the end. I never did beat the Le Mans (as my achievements will indicate). Its too long a track for me to not goof up at least once. Man, this game's interface is so slick. Also, keep up with rotating sponsers on your car. They rack up sweet bank.

[Purple Santa]

Snake Vs. Tarantula, er, Deadly Creatures is pretty interesting. It's definately a game that is worth $25 but that I would have probably felt mad about if I spent top dollar on it a few months back.

My son's liking it too. We've been trading off controls for the first two levels. He wanders around the levels, killing and eating crickets and the like and I get to fight the boss lizards and snakes.

The game was only $40 when it came out (I know it was probably $60 in the cold tundra up there) but although I was raving about it I didn't think anyone would want to spend that for a "short" game. I would of had I could, just to support the developer. Some of the scenery gets really interesting and some great details what gets buried in the desert. I loved walking around just to see what items were lost in the desert. Albeit a short game, there was a lot of care to details in the game that I really appreciated. I really hope there is a sequel, or at least more games from this developer.

More on why I love TW '10. I was 7 strokes back with only 9 holes left. Even in virtual golf, this was a steep obstacle to overcome if at all possible to challenge for the lead. I had pretty much settled on finishing in the top 10. I then channeled some TW in my game, ran off 7 birdies in a row. I'm only two strokes back with two holes to play. This tournament will be mine!

[Spigot]

The game was only $40 when it came out (I know it was probably $60 in the cold tundra up there) but although I was raving about it I didn't think anyone would want to spend that for a "short" game. I would of had I could, just to support the developer. Some of the scenery gets really interesting and some great details what gets buried in the desert. I loved walking around just to see what items were lost in the desert. Albeit a short game, there was a lot of care to details in the game that I really appreciated. I really hope there is a sequel, or at least more games from this developer.Well, it IS Rainbow Studios. I just hope they keep making more games like this instead of rehashing more ATV Offroad Fury spinoffs.

You're absolutely correct on the cool stuff underground. I'm on the third chapter now (I'll have to redo the second since that's the one I let my son play almost exclusively) and it was interesting crawling through gas masks, skeletons and other stuff. I just wish that some of the dialogue between Thorton and Hopper wasn't as muffled as it is, though it makes sense.

I've spent an inordinate amount of time this weekend with Class Of Heroes on the PSP. I wasn't even intending to play it but since my DS is still in full-bore Treasure World mode, I decided to fire up CoH and since I'm not dying at ever turn, it's actually becoming quite fun. I've pretty much mapped the entirety of one sector of the Novice Road... Go me!

Now to get to work on this week's TTS write-up.

[Purple Santa]

Well, it IS Rainbow Studios. I just hope they keep making more games like this instead of rehashing more ATV Offroad Fury spinoffs.

You're absolutely correct on the cool stuff underground. I'm on the third chapter now (I'll have to redo the second since that's the one I let my son play almost exclusively) and it was interesting crawling through gas masks, skeletons and other stuff. I just wish that some of the dialogue between Thorton and Hopper wasn't as muffled as it is, though it makes sense.

Now to get to work on this week's TTS write-up.
I forgot this was a project that was tried to add to their stable of games. Well, not sure if we will see a sequel if they have sources tied up in ATV. I'm not sure it sold enough ...

I like the muffled dialogue. It added to the "realism" if you were actually able to hear them and understand them, voices muffled as you went out of range. The game does get better as you pick up more moves. There is one in particular that when acquired...made the game for me.

[Spigot]

The game does get better as you pick up more moves. There is one in particular that when acquired...made the game for me.I really like the tarantula uppercut. It's one of the early combos but it's just silly enough and effective enough to make me want to do it all day long.

The web-shooter, on the other hand, is useless.

[Banacek]

I was playing a game called Helping the Wife Clean the House, and I found Professor Layton, which I thought was lost in a move. I can't think of a better reward.

Well, it IS Rainbow Studios. I just hope they keep making more games like this instead of rehashing more ATV Offroad Fury spinoffs.

Everyone should buy more Rainbow Studio games. Those guys were always willing to help out my Alma Mater. In fact, they sponsored a Capstone project in one of my classes. Pretty awesome of them.

[Hotcod]

empire total war is making me feel like a dumb ass

[JayK47]

I am just playing Persona 4. I plan to play it non-stop until I finish it.

[Spigot]

I am just playing Persona 4. I plan to play it non-stop until I finish it.I hope you're on vacation for the next week.

[EternalGamer]

Super Macho Man is TKO'ed. Tomorrow the finale.

[Purple Santa]

I hope you're on vacation for the next week.
Only a week? I thought a good month...
Super Macho Man is TKO'ed. Tomorrow the finale.

Should we have some Rocky theme music blaring for you?

[Troggles]

I am just playing Persona 4. I plan to play it non-stop until I finish it.

Good luck. It took me 75 hours to get the end with the true ending.

[Doogie2K]

I had a couple of folks over this weekend with their computers. You could even say we had a LAN party, but then people don't have those anymore, so I won't. ;)

Friend Fixes My Shit; I Buy Him Pizza (RL): Yay, WPA security and power supply cables that don't cover my video card fan. Always a positive.

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC): Just a little because the first guy arrived at 9 PM Friday night. Fucking Chinese, starting a city on my turf...

Guitar Hero: World Tour (360): My friend got a free copy from his ex when her drums broke and she had to buy a new copy to get the new drums. He doesn't have a 360 yet, so he let me borrow it. Mostly just played the stuff that comes unlocked, but also downloaded all the free stuff I'll probably never play by people I've never heard of.

Supreme Commander (PC): I don't know why I don't care for this, because it mostly follows the structure of every other RTS ever, but there's just something about it that rubs me the wrong way. On the other hand, building experimental artillery to destroy a Commander from across the map by blasting the power generators? Awesome.

Unreal Tournament 3 (PC): Now that I have my new hardware and I no longer need fear overheating, I got a bit of graphics-intensive FPSing in. It's an older game, now, but considering it ran like freeze-dried ass on everything else I've used it on, it's nice to finally have the rig to blow the game out of the water. Next stop? BioShock, the game I played more as a PowerPoint presentation than a game.

Traffic Department 2192 (PC): DOSBox is being a whore and not accepting my backslash key in Vista, after working just fine in XP, but after getting around that, I re-downloaded the game and got a couple of missions in. The dialogue is more terrible than I remember it, but I may be more sympathetic to the protagonist now than I was before. Of course, it's early, but I also don't have two previous games of her being a bitch fresh in my mind, so that's probably it.

I also suggested Worms 2: Armaggedon (XBLA), but we never got around to that. Too bad, it looks like fun. :( Anyway, I think after a weekend of overstimulation, I'm going to go read a book or something, and enjoy the quiet.

[Spigot]

Only a week? I thought a good month...

Good luck. It took me 75 hours to get the end with the true ending.I did go for all 3 endings, so that might have explained why my clock was in the 105-110 hour range. I think he could beat the game in a week if he doesn't stop to eat, sleep or poop.

Only 3 days left until my summer vacation starts! I think I'm going to be very busy over the next three days though. Sigh.

[Purple Santa]

Only 3 days left until my summer vacation starts! I think I'm going to be very busy over the next three days though. Sigh.

Do you do any gaming over your summer vacation since it's spent running after your kids i'm sure :p. You can answer in the Weekday thread. It's now open (or will be in 5 minutes :D).

[astranoir]

Glad you are STILL enjoying BD :). I never did get around to answer you on XBL how I am liking Lost Odyssey. I'm still early in the game but i'm really liking it. I haven't played around with "dressing up" the characters like you were asking :D

Lol, I thought you just didn't want to talk to me :p (I guess serves me right for not checking CoG all weekend). I'm glad you're liking the game. Listen to people and stick with it through the first couple bosses; it does get easier.

[Purple Santa]

Lol, I thought you just didn't want to talk to me :p (I guess serves me right for not checking CoG all weekend). I'm glad you're liking the game. Listen to people and stick with it through the first couple bosses; it does get easier.

Me? Not wanting to talk to someone? Have you checked my post count:p I'm just terrible with returning messages on Live. I need to hook up the wireless keyboard I have that's not being used. Otherwise typing with the controller is...well it's just plain awful for me.

[JayK47]

I hope you're on vacation for the next week.

I'd need a month;) I don't have it. So yeah, Persona 4 will be hogging my free time for weeks if not months. Gaming slumps are great for getting to your gaming queue.

[JayK47]

Good luck. It took me 75 hours to get the end with the true ending.

I would have been better off not knowing there is more than one ending. I hate that in LONG RPGs. Fine for a game you can blast through in 20 or so hours. But I'm already at 30 hours and I feel like I have just started. I do not have the time to play through several endings. Damn. I can guess some main character dies unless you get the good ending. And I don't want to play for 100 hours for a depressing jRPG ending. But Persona 3 was depressing, so why not?

[Troggles]

I would have been better off not knowing there is more than one ending. I hate that in LONG RPGs. Fine for a game you can blast through in 20 or so hours. But I'm already at 30 hours and I feel like I have just started. I do not have the time to play through several endings. Damn. I can guess some main character dies unless you get the good ending. And I don't want to play for 100 hours for a depressing jRPG ending. But Persona 3 was depressing, so why not?

Don't worry, you can get all the endings in your one playthrough. You can't save past any point of no return.

[Spigot]

I would have been better off not knowing there is more than one ending. I hate that in LONG RPGs. Fine for a game you can blast through in 20 or so hours. But I'm already at 30 hours and I feel like I have just started. I do not have the time to play through several endings. Damn. I can guess some main character dies unless you get the good ending. And I don't want to play for 100 hours for a depressing jRPG ending. But Persona 3 was depressing, so why not?

Don't worry, you can get all the endings in your one playthrough. You can't save past any point of no return.Troggles speaks the truth. I was paranoid that I'd end up making some kind of decision or need to grind a Gold Chocobo to get the best ending, but there are definite spots where the endings diverge and you'll never save past the wrong one.

I basically messed up and got the bad ending, didn't mess up the second time and got to move on to the good ending and lastly did the right sequence of events and got the true ending. The awesome thing is just how right each ending feels. None of them feel incomplete and I would have been fine with any of them being the only ending, though the TRUE ending is definately the best.

And 30 hours definately does feel like the start of the game. I think I was still unlocking new mechanics and recruiting new characters well into the 50+ hour mark.

[Purple Santa]

Troggles speaks the truth. I was paranoid that I'd end up making some kind of decision or need to grind a Gold Chocobo to get the best ending, but there are definite spots where the endings diverge and you'll never save past the wrong one.

I basically messed up and got the bad ending, didn't mess up the second time and got to move on to the good ending and lastly did the right sequence of events and got the true ending. The awesome thing is just how right each ending feels. None of them feel incomplete and I would have been fine with any of them being the only ending, though the TRUE ending is definately the best.

And 30 hours definately does feel like the start of the game. I think I was still unlocking new mechanics and recruiting new characters well into the 50+ hour mark.

I know this thread really needs to just end already but...is there a FF game you grind for a Gold Chocobo? Or were you just using a colorful example?

[Troggles]

I know this thread really needs to just end already but...is there a FF game you grind for a Gold Chocobo? Or were you just using a colorful example?

That would be FF7, but of course there's only one ending in that game anyway :P

[Purple Santa]

That would be FF7, but of course there's only one ending in that game anyway :P

A gold Chocobo in FF7? oooooo. Might have to play that just for that. And that's the ending where everyone LIVES happily ever after right. Right?? ;)

[Troggles]

A gold Chocobo in FF7? oooooo. Might have to play that just for that. And that's the ending where everyone LIVES happily ever after right. Right?? ;)

Depends on who you're rooting for.

[Spigot]

That would be FF7, but of course there's only one ending in that game anyway :PThat damned Gold Chocobo kept me from beating FF7 about 10 years ago. I got stuck on Sephiroth during the last fight (dude, stop dropping comets on me!) and decided that I should get that Knights Of The Round that all the cool kids keep talking about.

Well...

Suffice it to say that animal husbandry was never my strong suit, esp. when it depends more on winning races than getting it on with giant chickens.

Some day I'll beat the game. And some day I'll get a gold chocobo. I'm just glad I didn't have to do something so utterly annoying and frustrating to see the True ending of P4.

[Troggles]

That damned Gold Chocobo kept me from beating FF7 about 10 years ago. I got stuck on Sephiroth during the last fight (dude, stop dropping comets on me!) and decided that I should get that Knights Of The Round that all the cool kids keep talking about.

Well...

Suffice it to say that animal husbandry was never my strong suit, esp. when it depends more on winning races than getting it on with giant chickens.

Some day I'll beat the game. And some day I'll get a gold chocobo. I'm just glad I didn't have to do something so utterly annoying and frustrating to see the True ending of P4.

I know how you feel. At least for the true ending of the game all you had to do was...really keep playing the game as it progresses even further. Perfect way to do it, imo.

[Spigot]

I know how you feel. At least for the true ending of the game all you had to do was...really keep playing the game as it progresses even further. Perfect way to do it, imo.You do have to jump through a hoop or two in P4 but it wasn't anything as esoteric as getting Knights Of The Round...

[Troggles]

You do have to jump through a hoop or two in P4 but it wasn't anything as esoteric as getting Knights Of The Round...

I never noticed a time when I had to do something unrelated to the gameplay/story in order to get the best stuff in the game in P4. Then again, maybe I don't notice that sort of thing since I did do the gold chocobo grind.

[Spigot]

I never noticed a time when I had to do something unrelated to the gameplay/story in order to get the best stuff in the game in P4. Then again, maybe I don't notice that sort of thing since I did do the gold chocobo grind.There's a point where you can make a decision that gives you the Good ending. I did that (after having seen the Bad ending which happens much earlier). Getting the chance for the True ending isn't that tricky. It's basically a matter of making a different decision near the end and engaging in an extra conversation which kicks off the final plunge towards the True ending.

Again, nothing terribly complex or obtuse. But it's not like there's a giant sign that says, "TRUE ENDING THIS WAY" when the time arises.

[crazyD]

The secret to getting a gold chocobo - Use a controller with a turbo button.

[Troggles]

The secret to getting a gold chocobo - Use a controller with a turbo button.

And hold all of the shoulder buttons. Infinite stamina!

[Ravenlock]

Traffic Department 2192 (PC): DOSBox is being a whore and not accepting my backslash key in Vista, after working just fine in XP, but after getting around that, I re-downloaded the game and got a couple of missions in. The dialogue is more terrible than I remember it, but I may be more sympathetic to the protagonist now than I was before. Of course, it's early, but I also don't have two previous games of her being a bitch fresh in my mind, so that's probably it.

Oh man, memories. I don't think I ever beat TD2192, but I have very clear memories of playing it as a high schooler and thinking "WTF? That guy just called me Sugar Tits." :D

Ludicrous dialogue aside, it was a pretty solid pre-GTA city driving / shooting game, as I remember it.

[crazyD]

And hold all of the shoulder buttons. Infinite stamina!

It's still a bitch, but less of one.

[Doogie2K]

Oh man, memories. I don't think I ever beat TD2192, but I have very clear memories of playing it as a high schooler and thinking "WTF? That guy just called me Sugar Tits." :D

Ludicrous dialogue aside, it was a pretty solid pre-GTA city driving / shooting game, as I remember it.

Holy shit, someone else who's played this game. I'd say it's a Canada thing, but then Spigot hadn't heard of it until I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, and obscure is his thing. We can finish it together, now that it's freeware. ;)

I'm not well-versed in GTA before it blew up on the PS2, so I've always just thought of TD2192 as a top-down shooter, since all you do is drive around, blow shit up, and go back to base to call someone else a terrible masturbator or something.

[Ravenlock]

Well, in the era in which it came out, it pretty much was just a top-down shooter, but in retrospect of what the top-down GTA games ended up being, it does feel a little bit like top-down GTA. If you take away the on-foot parts, set it in the future, and add laser guns to your cars, that is. ;)

Patrolling the city to get to waypoints on a map, tracking down and eliminating other cars, escorting vehicles from place to place, going back to your base to save and progress the story - all things that felt pretty unique in the PC gaming world when I played TD2192, but are now pretty common to the "open world vehicle" genre.

Some of the gameplay seemed kind of ahead of its time to me, I guess is what I'm saying. Which didn't really make up for its absolutely terrible plot delivery, but what're ya gonna do. :p

[Doogie2K]

Well, in the era in which it came out, it pretty much was just a top-down shooter, but in retrospect of what the top-down GTA games ended up being, it does feel a little bit like top-down GTA. If you take away the on-foot parts, set it in the future, and add laser guns to your cars, that is. ;)

Patrolling the city to get to waypoints on a map, tracking down and eliminating other cars, escorting vehicles from place to place, going back to your base to save and progress the story - all things that felt pretty unique in the PC gaming world when I played TD2192, but are now pretty common to the "open world vehicle" genre.

Alright, that makes sense. (As an aside, I would love to see more cars with laser guns on them, as a general rule. Didn't one of the Twisted Metal games do that?)

Some of the gameplay seemed kind of ahead of its time to me, I guess is what I'm saying. Which didn't really make up for its absolutely terrible plot delivery, but what're ya gonna do. :p

The sad thing is, I think there's an interesting plot in there, it's just that the delivery is high-school edgy meets direct-to-video 80s sci-fi. :D

[jpublic]

Gents, if you're going to talk about a game with obscure requirements to get the good ending, I have the grand winner of that category:

Valkyrie Profile.

In order to get the good ending, you have to do certain tasks at certain points in the game, including a series of actions that bring you within a hair's breadth of losing the game!

[Spigot]

Yeah, I remember my brother complaining A LOT about some of the strange things required to get a decent ending in Valkyrie Profile. I never got far enough to get frustrated but I could see that being a real annoyance.