Rangerland Forum Information

[Rocha]

So, why not, it would probably be a good idea to have an all-in-one video game thread since there are usually a lot of smaller game threads scattered about.

Also, this is a good time for a video game thread since most of the better games of the year get released between September and December. From January to August, I play video games pretty casually. From September to December when all the good shit comes out, I play a lot.

A lot of stickied threads in Anything Goes, so I think I might unstick the book thread. Just not much action there. Or I'll unstick this one in time if it doesn't get a lot of posts.


Lately been playing NHL 09 (360), which has its own thread in the hockey forum.
Finished Mercenaries 2 (360) last week, which has some issues but is crazy fun, blowing up every building in the game with C4 and airstrikes. Probably put 50-60 hours into this game.
Spore (PC), which really kind of sucks so far, but supposedly gets better later in the game.
And today Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (360) came out and I'm really enjoying it. A very tactical, strategic shooter with a lot of blood and cursing. Not a lot of fast action, more like crouching behind a wall for 10 minutes at a time as you and your allies chip away at enemy positions. I like games like that, though.

Nerrrrrrrds. What you playin'? Any games you're looking forward to the rest of the year?

[Beamer]

I am dying to play NHL and Mercenaries 2, but I'm sans xbox and will be that way for a while.
Only a Wii here, which kind of sucks. Plenty of people to play with, but not much to play. Then again, time is so crunched that we usually only get half an hour or so, which is what the Wii works best with. Lots of Wii Sports and WarioWare.

Spore being crap is one of those things people should have seen coming.

If DN3D on XBLA had split-screen I'd probably buy a 360 again.

[HDH]

NHL 09 (ps3)

I'm addicted to the "Be a Pro" mode. This is one of the few times ever I have been so involved in a sub-game within as sports game. Usually I stick to season mode.

[RedHerring]

Well, awhile ago I beat Metal Gear Solid 4, which was the best video game I've ever played in my entire life.

Now, I'm on to Battlefield: Bad Company which has awesome multiplayer.

My next purchase will probably be FIFA09. I'd get NHL09 too but I really don't have $120 to drop on games.

[Alitaki]

I've been stuck on the Lego series lately. Trying to get to 100% on the Indy game just started replaying Star Wars and I picked up Batman but I wanna finish the other two before I get caught up in that one.

Also popping GRAW 2 in to finish that up every now and then.

[HDH]

What the story on this "Force Unleashed" game that was recently released? I'm a Star Wars homer, so I was thinking of getting it.

[RufusTFirefly]

I've been stuck on the Lego series lately. Trying to get to 100% on the Indy game just started replaying Star Wars and I picked up Batman but I wanna finish the other two before I get caught up in that one.

Also popping GRAW 2 in to finish that up every now and then.

I just got to 100% on Indy and I am thinking of picking up Batman. Have you played it yet? Is it any good?

The past few days, I have been playing the old Sierra On-line game, Quest For Glory 1 through the Dosbox emulator. It is pretty fun. A bunch of gamers just released a VGA version of Quest For Glory 2 and I figured I would replay the first one before I played that.

[Alitaki]

I just got to 100% on Indy and I am thinking of picking up Batman. Have you played it yet? Is it any good?

The past few days, I have been playing the old Sierra On-line game, Quest For Glory 1 through the Dosbox emulator. It is pretty fun. A bunch of gamers just released a VGA version of Quest For Glory 2 and I figured I would replay the first one before I played that.

I played the first two chapters in Batman. Its fun as hell. If you like the other Lego games you'll like this one.

[VerdDogg]

I have been rotating between Force Unleashed and NHL 09. We all know the deal on NHL, but Force Unleashed is ALOT of fun. Its a rather quick game, so I suggest playing it on Sith Lord(Difficulties are Sith Apprentice, Sith Warrior, Sith Lord and unlockable Sith Master).

[Nilan 666]

Got Knights of the Old Republic 2 going again, and at the end of October, Red Alert 3. Oh hell yeah.

[LeNea]

I've been playing an embarrassing amount of Dr. Mario. I'm also working on finishing up Super Paper Mario. There's nothing like a good platformer.

[hoser]

Team Fortress 2 (PC) mostly. Bought Bioshock for the PC last week and have only played it a little.
Some Wii Mario Kart and Wii Fit.

[Rhino]

Had a birthday about a month ago so I had some money to burn. I picked up Heatseekers and Ghost Squad for Wii. Heatseekers is an arcade flying game with a bunch of modern jets. It's fun, but a little repetitive. Ghost Squad is an arcade shooter (like time crisis) and it's good, but it's way way way too short.

Conclusion: I need to get some better games.

[Zaylenz]

Been playing my way through Rock Band 2 a bunch lately.... big surprise there. Other than that I was playing Spore, but got bored of it rather quickly. I disagree at it getting better later in the game as I find the Space portion rather boring. Recently got a PC RPG called The Witcher and have been playing through that when not playing RB2.

[Rocha]

Recently got a PC RPG called The Witcher and have been playing through that when not playing RB2.

I've been meaning to get that. How is it? Is it one of those massive open world type RPGs like Oblivion? I like those. I don't care for the linear story-based RPGs like Final Fantasy.

[RedHerring]

I've been meaning to get that. How is it? Is it one of those massive open world type RPGs like Oblivion? I like those. I don't care for the linear story-based RPGs like Final Fantasy.

I heard it's really awesome. I think you have to get the UK version in order to get the nudity, blood and swears though.

[Zaylenz]

I heard it's really awesome. I think you have to get the UK version in order to get the nudity, blood and swears though.

The blood and swears are in there, but some of the dialog was changed from my understanding. You do need the European version to get the nudity, but I don't consider that a huge deal. If you want to see the nudie cards, just use Google.

It's not completely open world like Oblivion. It's more like the DnD games like Neverwinter Nights or Icewind Dale. The game has a main plotline, and there are sidequests you can do to make money, experience, etc. The combat is in realtime, and you can link combos by clicking at the correct time, nothing too hard, just a wrinkle. There's also some magic and alchemy to make potions. I'm enjoying it so far. They released an Enhanced Edition that's now on Steam as well as in stores for $40. They added some quests, a new expansion story, and actually redid a bunch of the dialog, while fixing bugs and other problems. Enhanced edition also comes with the soundtrack and Making Of videos.

[leedsy99]

Last night I played Guitar Hero 2. Why kick it old school, you ask? Because my fucking kickass LCD up and died on me the other day. POOF! No more picture. Best part? It's all covered under warranty, but only through the manufacturer because I didn't opt for the lets-gouge-the-consumer in-store warranty that would have allowed me to return this thing to awful Circuit City, no questions asked. So now I have no TV for about a week while the repair person orders parts, which I know isn't going to go well because he didn't even look at it or diagnose it. Ugh.

[hoser]

Last night I played Guitar Hero 2. Why kick it old school, you ask? Because my fucking kickass LCD up and died on me the other day. POOF! No more picture. Best part? It's all covered under warranty, but only through the manufacturer because I didn't opt for the lets-gouge-the-consumer in-store warranty that would have allowed me to return this thing to awful Circuit City, no questions asked. So now I have no TV for about a week while the repair person orders parts, which I know isn't going to go well because he didn't even look at it or diagnose it. Ugh.

Why buy Rock Band when you could just buy this tshirt and play along with Guitar Hero.



http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/illuminated/ac0b/

[Pymonte]

An especially interesting game given the hindsight in which I view it. I remembered it as a strategic masterpiece, with the ability to create a near-endless amount of fighting squad possibilities and a lot of side quests. I forgot the plot, which is nothing short of engrossing. It's one of the few video games that really delves deeply into philosophy and politics (both of which were way over my head the first times) with a satisfying plot surrounding it. I'm especially a fan of how closely the church in the game mirrors the Catholic church, and the religious implications in the plot, with a theme of "think for yourself, choose what you think is right, and things will work out." I hope that the upcoming games set in Ivalice will live up to the standard that's been set.




Alas. My level 89 shock Zealot expired. Time to start a new one with Fanaticism/Conviction flashing and Zeal.

This post has been edited by Pymonte: Sep 30 2008, 12:08 AM

[Rhino]

Lost Winds for the Wii. It's pretty simple and relaxing. Just click and drag the cursor to toss your character across the screen. Kind of a puzzle platformer, but, like I said, pretty easy. It's nice.

[RufusTFirefly]

An especially interesting game given the hindsight in which I view it. I remembered it as a strategic masterpiece, with the ability to create a near-endless amount of fighting squad possibilities and a lot of side quests. I forgot the plot, which is nothing short of engrossing. It's one of the few video games that really delves deeply into philosophy and politics (both of which were way over my head the first times) with a satisfying plot surrounding it. I'm especially a fan of how closely the church in the game mirrors the Catholic church, and the religious implications in the plot, with a theme of "think for yourself, choose what you think is right, and things will work out." I hope that the upcoming games set in Ivalice will live up to the standard that's been set.

Alas. My level 89 shock Zealot expired. Time to start a new one with Fanaticism/Conviction flashing and Zeal.

I have been playing this as well but on PSP. I also own the PS1 version which I played through when it first came out but the PSP version has a much better translation. I forgot how difficult this game was if you do not go around leveling up like crazy. I got to the part where my main character (a monk) fights a holy knight by himself and I continually get my ass kicked.

This post has been edited by RufusTFirefly: Sep 29 2008, 10:04 AM

[Pymonte]

I have been playing this as well but on PSP. I also own the PS1 version which I played through when it first came out but the PSP version has a much better translation. I forgot how difficult this game was if you do not go around leveling up like crazy. I got to the part where my main character (a monk) fights a holy knight by himself and I continually get my ass kicked.

Yup. The Wiegraf fight is a monster. Some say it's the hardest boss fight in any game ever.

The trick is to exploit a bug in the AI that permits a cycle; Ramza's first move should be to the tile directly SOUTH the steps to the southeast (where north is the top of the room). Wiegraf will move to a position northeast of the torch, into the water; Ramza's next move should be one tile WEST; Wiegraf will move in lock-step, attacking with Earth Slash each time. In this manner, Ramza can cycle back and forth as much as necessary to Yell up to SP 50 and Accumulate up to AT 40 or so; from that point on, the battle is trivial, since at AT 40 and 6.5 turns to his one, you can kill Wiegraf in one attack and kill Velius in at most 3...

[Levitate]

The blood and swears are in there, but some of the dialog was changed from my understanding. You do need the European version to get the nudity, but I don't consider that a huge deal. If you want to see the nudie cards, just use Google.

It's not completely open world like Oblivion. It's more like the DnD games like Neverwinter Nights or Icewind Dale. The game has a main plotline, and there are sidequests you can do to make money, experience, etc. The combat is in realtime, and you can link combos by clicking at the correct time, nothing too hard, just a wrinkle. There's also some magic and alchemy to make potions. I'm enjoying it so far. They released an Enhanced Edition that's now on Steam as well as in stores for $40. They added some quests, a new expansion story, and actually redid a bunch of the dialog, while fixing bugs and other problems. Enhanced edition also comes with the soundtrack and Making Of videos.

Yeah I'm kind of playing this off and on too. I actually really do like the game, but I got distracted while finishing Bioshock, I'm about to be distracted again when I get S.T.A.L.K.E.R. installed today, and will be distracted once more when Fallout 3 comes out.

But it's a good game so far. One big thing is that the tutorial/first area kind of sucks, and might turn you off to the game, but it starts getting a lot better once you finish that. My biggest complaints are that some of the dialogue is a bit wonky, some of the transitions from fighting to cutscenes are abrupt, and sometimes the quests can get a little mixed up if you do things in a weird order. Nothing gamebreaking. It just lacks a bit of polish. Considering it's a first effort by a new company, it's real good. One thing I like a lot is that decisions you have to make in certain places have real effects in other places. Like if you do something in act 1, then maybe someone dies in act 2 and you can't complete a certain quest, or have to find an alternate way to do things. So it's not just a "do good and get good karma points! do evil and get evil karma points!"

[Zaylenz]

Yeah I'm kind of playing this off and on too. I actually really do like the game, but I got distracted while finishing Bioshock, I'm about to be distracted again when I get S.T.A.L.K.E.R. installed today, and will be distracted once more when Fallout 3 comes out.

But it's a good game so far. One big thing is that the tutorial/first area kind of sucks, and might turn you off to the game, but it starts getting a lot better once you finish that. My biggest complaints are that some of the dialogue is a bit wonky, some of the transitions from fighting to cutscenes are abrupt, and sometimes the quests can get a little mixed up if you do things in a weird order. Nothing gamebreaking. It just lacks a bit of polish. Considering it's a first effort by a new company, it's real good. One thing I like a lot is that decisions you have to make in certain places have real effects in other places. Like if you do something in act 1, then maybe someone dies in act 2 and you can't complete a certain quest, or have to find an alternate way to do things. So it's not just a "do good and get good karma points! do evil and get evil karma points!"

Let me know how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky is once you get it installed. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but there were so many bugs it made it very frustrating to play at times. I'll probably end up getting Clear Sky in a few months as I've been spending enough money on games lately as it is.

[Levitate]

Let me know how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky is once you get it installed. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but there were so many bugs it made it very frustrating to play at times. I'll probably end up getting Clear Sky in a few months as I've been spending enough money on games lately as it is.

I'm actually just getting the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R., not Clear Sky. I didn't have the computer to run it when it first came out, so now I'm catching up a bit. I'm hoping the more recent patches have helped with some of the buggy-ness, but we'll see. It sounds really cool...I'll just hope it doesn't give me a ton of problems.

[Muno]

A co-worker sent me a free trial of World of Warcraft.


Sigh....it's great. Where do I turn in my cool kids shirt?

[Levitate]

Well, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was supposed to arrive yesterday or today, but the Postal Service fucking sucks when it comes to delivering shit to this building, I swear to god. It says delivered, but someone fucked up and I'm betting it's them

[Zaylenz]

Well, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was supposed to arrive yesterday or today, but the Postal Service fucking sucks when it comes to delivering shit to this building, I swear to god. It says delivered, but someone fucked up and I'm betting it's them

Should have gotten it on Steam. Yay for download delivery. Also, I'd recommend you look for some mods for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. They have simple stuff that just fixes some translation issues to those that completely revamp the gameplay and graphics.

Also be warned the early weapons really, really, really, really suck, especially accuracy wise. Have fun exploring the nuclear wasteland.

[Nilan 666]

They made a sequel to that piece of shit?

[Levitate]

Should have gotten it on Steam. Yay for download delivery. Also, I'd recommend you look for some mods for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. They have simple stuff that just fixes some translation issues to those that completely revamp the gameplay and graphics.

Also be warned the early weapons really, really, really, really suck, especially accuracy wise. Have fun exploring the nuclear wasteland.

meh, something about the idea of downloaded games doesn't appeal to me. I'm old fashioned and like having the DVD.

I got a few mods for the first playthrough, but it's just the weather overhaul with darker nights, and a mod that changes the sidequest timer to 10 days instead of 1

[RufusTFirefly]

I am currently downloading Mega Man 9 off of X-Box Live Arcade. All of the reviews have been positive so far and the game has 8 bit graphics!

That's right ... the graphics harken back to Mega Man 2 on the NES. The difficulty is supposedly similar to the old Mega Man games too. Definitely looking forward to playing this!

[Levitate]

Every once and awhile I got back to old NES games. I tried playing Ninja Turtles the other week, and still can't get past that fucking dam level. The electic seaweed gets me every time

edit: Stalker up and running and pretty cool so far. It was suggested that I try the weather overhaul with darker nights, and goddamn, the nights really are freaking dark. Will be interesting to see how that goes along.

This post has been edited by Levitate: Oct 1 2008, 10:52 PM

[Fuzz]

I've been playing a lot of Call of duty 3. Killing Nazi's is always fun, especially online when they're 15. I used to play a lot more COD 4 but they have some super Marine ninja's playing
that shit online, needed to change the pace. got sick of dying every 2 seconds.

[SorryaboutthatWh...]

Every once and awhile I got back to old NES games. I tried playing Ninja Turtles the other week, and still can't get past that fucking dam level. The electic seaweed gets me every time

From someone who has beaten the dam level, The rest of that game isn't real all that good and doesnt live up to the first 2 levels. The next board has a part that you have to magically figure out how to use something that isnt mentioned in the instruction booklet or anywhere for that matter and the game gets ridiculously hard to impossible.

[Bavoo]

A co-worker sent me a free trial of World of Warcraft.
Sigh....it's great. Where do I turn in my cool kids shirt?

Yeah...me too. I'm officially hooked. There is a lot about the game I'm still geting used to like skills and professions. I had no idea the game was so deep.

I'm a human warrior lvl 16 getting my ass kicked in Westfall.

I'm a geek

[Levitate]

From someone who has beaten the dam level, The rest of that game isn't real all that good and doesnt live up to the first 2 levels. The next board has a part that you have to magically figure out how to use something that isnt mentioned in the instruction booklet or anywhere for that matter and the game gets ridiculously hard to impossible.

Yeah, I've heard that even if you get to the Technodome, it's unbelievably hard

So then I tried Battletoads, and it's still a fucking pain in the ass too! Goddamn, NES games used to be crazy. At least with enough practice, I was pretty good at Ninja Gaiden a few years ago

[Kusand]

Mega Man 9 is pretty old school. And its on XBLA.

[Rhino]

Mega Man 9 is pretty old school. And its on XBLA.

WiiWare, too. I may have to pick it up for old times sake.

[RufusTFirefly]

Mega Man 9 is pretty old school. And its on XBLA.

It is really, really hard. If you die, they start you at the beginning of the level.

Apparently alot of the old NES games were really hard. I never really noticed it as a kid though. I was able to beat all the Ninja Gaiden games though unable to beat TMNT 1.

I am having a bunch of fun with the old school sound and graphics on Mega Man 9. It would be cool if they were able to release a NES cart for it. My NES is still working and set up in my bedroom.

[jburns]

I haven't read this whole thread, but has anyone played Spore? I think it's lame. Don't waste the money.

[Rocha]

I haven't read this whole thread, but has anyone played Spore? I think it's lame. Don't waste the money.

First post, G.

Spore (PC), which really kind of sucks so far, but supposedly gets better later in the game.

*high fives Burns*

[Rhino]

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I had this game years ago and I didn't like it all that much. I picked it up again recently and am giving it another chance. I still find the "sailing around the ocean" parts pretty boring, but I am gaining a new appreciation for the cel-shading. Sure, it's not what I'm used to, but it does make for a beautiful game from an artistic standpoint.

[Beamer]

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I had this game years ago and I didn't like it all that much. I picked it up again recently and am giving it another chance. I still find the "sailing around the ocean" parts pretty boring, but I am gaining a new appreciation for the cel-shading. Sure, it's not what I'm used to, but it does make for a beautiful game from an artistic standpoint.

The sailing killed it for me. It was never-ending. Then I'd pick the game up 5 or 6 months later and spend a day or two just trying to regain my bearings and lose interest all over again. Being able to warp wasn't much better as I grew really tired of the cut-scene.

The Zelda on the Wii was worse for me, though. I missed the N64 ones, so I can't speak on them, but the Wii Zelda was just the Wind Waker with the sailing and cell shading removed. No other difference. Same sound effects. Same animations. Same gameplay. It was deja vu. Did not like it at all. It had zero innovation.

Kind of pains me to say I did not like a Zelda game, as I consider A Link to the Past to be one of the few flawless games made (along with Super Mario World, X-COM, Jagged Alliance 2, Half Life, and a small select group of others.)

[Alitaki]

Kind of pains me to say I did not like a Zelda game, as I consider A Link to the Past to be one of the few flawless games made (along with Super Mario World, X-COM, Jagged Alliance 2, Half Life, and a small select group of others.)

Jagged Alliance 2 is probably one of the best games ever. A little cheesy with the writing and voice acting but for game play it doesn't get much better. I actually loaded it up last week and have been playing it after work while waiting for the wife. Awesome game.

X-COM rocks too. Am I correct in thinking that it is freeware now? I remember PC Gamer released a full copy of it on one of their CD's. I used to have it and now can't find it. Was it made freeware or was that a special license for the magazine readers?

[RedHerring]

I'm thinking of getting Metal Gear Solid 3 (which includes MGS 1 and 2) for PS2 to play in my PS3. I bought MGS4, which was probably the best video game I've ever played in my entire life, despite the fact that much of the story went over my head because I never played the first 3. I can pick it up used for 25 bucks at Gamestop. Worth it?

Also, I'm very excited for FIFA09, which comes out Oct. 15th. PES2009 isn't doing it for me this year.

[Zaylenz]

I'm thinking of getting Metal Gear Solid 3 (which includes MGS 1 and 2) for PS2 to play in my PS3. I bought MGS4, which was probably the best video game I've ever played in my entire life, despite the fact that much of the story went over my head because I never played the first 3. I can pick it up used for 25 bucks at Gamestop. Worth it?

Also, I'm very excited for FIFA09, which comes out Oct. 15th. PES2009 isn't doing it for me this year.

I'd say it's worth it. Play them in order as MGS1 has less features and options than MGS 2 and 3, so it'd be hard to play 1 after playing 2 & 3, though you might have that problem anyways having played 4 first. I'd also say MGS 1 has the strongest story, as far as MGS stories go at least. I really enjoyed #3, beat it multiple times, including a few times without killing a single enemy soldier, except those the storyline force me to. The boss fight versus The End was especially epic in that one.

[Pymonte]

Jagged Alliance 2 is probably one of the best games ever. A little cheesy with the writing and voice acting but for game play it doesn't get much better. I actually loaded it up last week and have been playing it after work while waiting for the wife. Awesome game.

X-COM rocks too. Am I correct in thinking that it is freeware now? I remember PC Gamer released a full copy of it on one of their CD's. I used to have it and now can't find it. Was it made freeware or was that a special license for the magazine readers?

Remember the game site that Rocha had in that thread of "super awesome sites?" It's called "The Underdogs," or something like that. It's on there for free, as well as X-Com 2 and Apocalypse.

How do I know? Because I just beat X-Com for the first time a year or so ago.

[Levitate]

Gotta say I'm enjoying STALKER a lot. Much more fun and challenging than a typical FPS, despite some of its flaws.

[rightbug]

Happy days are here again. If anyone wants to get a guild going, just let me know.