Play.

Forza 2 (360) Just some time trials on Arcade for about half an hour on 
Saturday. Didn't get anywhere near the times I wanted so tinkered for a 
while and then gave up. The wine I drank at lunchtime probably didn't help.

Mass Effect (360) I've had this for about six weeks now and felt in the 
mood for a little lethargic character/story development on Sunday 
afternoon as I was feeling the effects of massive alcohol consumption 
the night before. I like it so far, the story has me intrigued, the 
combat system seems to be making sense though I think I may do a bit of 
reading up on guides and faqs as I'm not very practiced at RPGs in any 
shape or fashion. Still, I have two weeks of uninterrupted access to the 
TV starting Wednesday night, so I should be able to get through this, at 
the very least.



Want.

Can't think of any games I want as I have Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect, 
Sega Rally, MotorStorm, PGR4 all barely started, with Assassin's Creed, 
Tomb Raider Anniv, GTAIV, Fight Night Round 3, NHL 2K7 in various states 
of incompletion, as well as Oblivion, Okami and Super Mario Galaxy.

Don't think 2 weeks is going to be long enough. Having written all those 
games down, and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my 
head, I really think I should make a concerted effort to stop buying 
anything new until the end of the year now.


Bin.

The buying:playing ratio

In article ,
DBSnappa   wrote:
>Play.

Etrian Odyssey (DS) - Holy crap! Boss monsters respawn! I don't mind the 
experience point bump, but it was quite the unexpected thrill to run into 
the tiger thing again whilst bumping around the higher floors.

Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.

>Want.

A PSP - I now own five games, after picking up a splendidly discounted 
copy of Aedis Eclipse. I get that the hardware is newly revised and newly 
inexpensive, but something tells me that there's a further discount to be 
had. The piles of unloved UMD movies lying around every retail store 
doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

 <snip extraordinarily long list of games>
>Don't think 2 weeks is going to be long enough. Having written all those 
>games down, and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my 
>head, I really think I should make a concerted effort to stop buying 
>anything new until the end of the year now.
>
>Bin.
>
>The buying:playing ratio

But there's so much wonderful stuff coming out between now and December. 
You might miss out. You might miss out!

Seriously, no reliable discount shelves where you shop? The buy/play ratio 
feels much more reasonable when you get five games for your fifty 
smackers, as opposed to just one game.

-KKC, who uses 'smackers' to refer interchangeably to dollars or pounds as 
appropriately needed.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, Kendrick Kerwin Chua
 got it all completely wrong and wrote:

Play:

>Etrian Odyssey (DS) - Holy crap! Boss monsters respawn! I don't mind the 
>experience point bump, but it was quite the unexpected thrill to run into 
>the tiger thing again whilst bumping around the higher floors.

This. Ventured forth into the 9th floor, and it's quite easy at the
moment. Grinding for a bit definitely helps, hehe. Although some of
the boss monsters, combined with tough luck, still are quite hard
sometimes. Depending on the weather, I'll probably finish the second
stratum this week.

Super Mario World. God, it's been a really long time since I last
played this properly. We're now in the 7th level, and it starts
getting annoyingly tricky.


Want:

Fable 2, Pikmin 3, Spore 1 and...I think that's it.

Bin:

I can't think of anything to bin. Hooray!

DBSnappa wrote:
> Play.

Halo 3 (360)
I want to cry and die and shoot myself in the face. A bit of online play 
saw my EXP go from 17 to 22. I was promoted to Sergeant, and got my 
Spartan Pin. And... the achievement didn't unlock. So I played some 
more, and it still didn't unlock. So it seems I will forever have a 
glitched achievement. It's not fair.

Beijing 2008 (360)
I have a massive hole in my hand. I was rotating my thumbstick quickly 
to do the cycling, couldn't go fast enough so switched to using the palm 
of my hand to rotate it. After about 2 of 16 laps it started to hurt, 
but I put it down to friction burn. Afterwards I realised I had ripped 
off a circular, analogue-stick sized piece of skin from my hand and bled 
all over the controller. Nice.

Gears Of War (360)
Finished Act 3 on Insane. It's hard, even with two of you. The bits 
where you split up and if one dies you both die are very, very frustrating.

GRID (360)
Got the Global license. Trying to do the Pro Touge cheat-y thing to get 
the block of achievements but seemingly can't. It's hard.

Rock Band (360)
Good multiplayer session on Saturday night with a full band. And I broke 
my GG&HT record, got to 91%.

Call Of Duty 4 (360)
An hour or two trying to do Mile High Club. Still no joy.

Soul Calibur (360)
Got the Ring Out achievement. Just the 25 extra survival to go.

Wii Sports (Wii)
Multiplayer fun. As Saturday night progressed, I discovered that the 
more stoned you get, the better this game becomes.

> Want.

My UNSC Spartan Achievement.

FIFA 09, SoCal4, Rock Band 2, Gears 2, VP2, Fable 2, Resistance 2.

> Bin.

Halo Fucking 3 Fucking Achievements Fuckers.

E3 2008.

-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

Nils Tanner wrote:

> Want:
> 
> Pikmin 3

Has this actually been announced? Any links?


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> DBSnappa   wrote:
>> Play.
> 
> Etrian Odyssey (DS) - Holy crap! Boss monsters respawn! I don't mind the 
> experience point bump, but it was quite the unexpected thrill to run into 
> the tiger thing again whilst bumping around the higher floors.
> 
> Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
> if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
> must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
> that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
> our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.

You say this....[1]
> 
>> Want.
> 
> A PSP - I now own five games, after picking up a splendidly discounted 
> copy of Aedis Eclipse. I get that the hardware is newly revised and newly 
> inexpensive, but something tells me that there's a further discount to be 
> had. The piles of unloved UMD movies lying around every retail store 
> doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
> 
>  <snip extraordinarily long list of games>
>> Don't think 2 weeks is going to be long enough. Having written all those 
>> games down, and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my 
>> head, I really think I should make a concerted effort to stop buying 
>> anything new until the end of the year now.
>>
>> Bin.
>>
>> The buying:playing ratio
> 
> But there's so much wonderful stuff coming out between now and December. 
> You might miss out. You might miss out!

[1] And then you say this!?!?!? What gives, man?
> 
> Seriously, no reliable discount shelves where you shop? The buy/play ratio 
> feels much more reasonable when you get five games for your fifty 
> smackers, as opposed to just one game.

I'm rarely if ever anywhere near a large game store and my local ones 
are laughably expensive for even their second hand titles. The fact is, 
as you damn well know, the games will still be there several months down 
the line and they will be cheaper. However, it isn't the cost, more the 
lack of time to play them, and I can't see that ratio improving any time 
soon, so the solution would appear to employ a better quality metric 
with regard to what I buy - or to put it more simply, to make sure my 
bloody brain is engaged before clicking "buy now"
> 
> -KKC, who uses 'smackers' to refer interchangeably to dollars or pounds as 
> appropriately needed.

spondoolies is another universal one.

Zomoniac wrote:
> Nils Tanner wrote:
> 
>> Want:
>>
>> Pikmin 3
> 
> Has this actually been announced? Any links?
> 
> 
I've definitely read somewhere that he mentioned it in an interview, as 
in definitely stating that it was in production right now. Google 
Miyamoto we're making pikmin and you'll get a gazillion hits.

On 2008-07-21, DBSnappa  wrote:
> Play.

The Wonderful End Of The World (PC) - So, I downloaded the demo of this, and
it turned out to be an utterly shameless ripoff of Katamari Damacy for the PC,
for a fiver. So I bought it, and it's hard to say much more about it than
that - it's a bit less polished than Katamari, and there's some annoying
control/collision issues which mean that getting the highest grades on some
levels can be more a matter of luck than judgement, but it's mainly well put
together and very good value for a fiver. Buy it now before Namco slap them
with a lawsuit, though.

Bioshock (PC) - Found the special edition of this in the Game sale in Norwich
for 15quid, so bought it despite already having the X360 version. I now have
a Big Daddy sat on my desk at work, yay. Also, I'm still an astonishing wuss -
even though I know where all the splicers are going to jump out from and try
and eat my face, I still get scared and it still makes me jump and panic every
time one runs screaming towards me. Brilliantly atmospheric.

> Want.

A kite. It was gloriously sunny and windy all weekend, and I had very little to
do other than look for a new fridge/freezer and make curry, but all my kites
are up in Manchester. It turns out that Kellers in Norwich has devoted its
upper floor to one of the biggest kite stores in the country, but I only found
this out on Sunday, when they were closed. Bah.

> Bin.

Insomnia. A commute of 1hr 15 in each direction is bad enough, it's even worse
when you have to do it after 4 hours sleep :(

Chris
-- 
Gamertag: parm                               * BRING BACK BLUE SKY IN GAMES *

  "Back when I was young, we had to travel back in time to put the tape in so
the game would load before we died."

In article , 
davidjREMOVEMEboughton@REMOVEMEhotmail.com says...
> Play.

Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning (PC) - [Closed Beta NDA]

> Want.

More time to play/beta test Warhammer Online (PC) as well as Burnout 
Paradise (360), Rock Band (360), Lego Indiana Jones (PS3)

> Bin.

NDAs

EVE Online (PC) - too many better games to play


-- 
Mario Kart WFC:  3866 8174 8169 - WFC: 3806 6029 8649 8813
XBLA/PSN/Steam: merseymal - Xfire/Quake Wars: malkomm

DBSnappa wrote:
> Play.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS) - Just this. Only this. Nothing else. I'm 
half-way through the story now, I think. But the story missions are a tiny 
percentage of the game. Actually, missions are a tiny percentage of the 
game. I think I spend most of my time in the Unit Info and Shop screens.

> Want.

Soul Calibur IV (PS3/360) - I'd settled on the 360 version, but am now 
having second thoughts. Not that I should get either, but I want it. It's a 
fighting game, with added Star Wars. Yay.

Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii) - If I'm going to buy a game I should probably 
get this, as it's ten quid cheaper than Soul Calibur IV. But it's not NEW.

Viva Pinata 2 (360) - Can't remember the subtitle. Trouble in Paradise? 
Anyway, somehow I'm going to have to find a way to get this on launch day.

Animal Crossing (Wii) - It's exactly the same game I've bought twice before. 
Must have!

> Bin.

Um... nothing I can think of right now.

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> DBSnappa   wrote:
>> Play.
> 
> Etrian Odyssey (DS) - Holy crap! Boss monsters respawn! I don't mind the 
> experience point bump, but it was quite the unexpected thrill to run into 
> the tiger thing again whilst bumping around the higher floors.
> 
> Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
> if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
> must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
> that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
> our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.

Perhaps if you stopped playing shite like Project Sylpheed because you 
have fond memories of a same-titled MegaCD game and played some good 
games you wouldn't feel this way!

Last year was insane for great 360 releases, and I am still nowhere near 
getting through the September to November pile from 2007. This year 
isn't looking quite as good (which, in many ways, is a good thing), but 
after 2.5 years I've never been as spoilt for choice of great games as I 
am now. You either have very effective rose-tinted glasses or have a 
very funny taste in games. Or are playing the wrong ones.


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

Zomoniac wrote:
> 
> Rock Band (360)
> Good multiplayer session on Saturday night with a full band. And I broke 
> my GG&HT record, got to 91%.
> 
I'm still totally stuck on the last tier of songs on expert guitar :(

But some things that cheered me up:
I managed to 100% a song on expert!
I have managed to do 4 of the songs I couldn't do on GHIII because of 
all the rock band play!
I have a programmable drum kit for the PC now thanks to the rock band 
drum kit USB connection!

-- 
Gamertag: Hakk
R Tape loading error, 0:1

Hakk wrote:
> Zomoniac wrote:
>>
>> Rock Band (360)
>> Good multiplayer session on Saturday night with a full band. And I 
>> broke my GG&HT record, got to 91%.
>>
> I'm still totally stuck on the last tier of songs on expert guitar :(

You haven't done ANY of them?

RTTH is easier than a lot of what went before it, as long as you can gallop.

-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

Zomoniac wrote:
> Hakk wrote:
>> Zomoniac wrote:
>>>
>>> Rock Band (360)
>>> Good multiplayer session on Saturday night with a full band. And I 
>>> broke my GG&HT record, got to 91%.
>>>
>> I'm still totally stuck on the last tier of songs on expert guitar :(
> 
> You haven't done ANY of them?
> 
> RTTH is easier than a lot of what went before it, as long as you can 
> gallop.
> 
As soon as I hit the guitar solo, my eyes and hands act like they're not 
on speaking terms.

-- 
Gamertag: Hakk
R Tape loading error, 0:1

"Zomoniac"  wrote in message
news:6ej1gmF7bksdU1@mid.individual.net...
> DBSnappa wrote:
> > Play.
>
> Halo 3 (360)
> I want to cry and die and shoot myself in the face. A bit of online play
> saw my EXP go from 17 to 22. I was promoted to Sergeant, and got my
> Spartan Pin. And... the achievement didn't unlock. So I played some
> more, and it still didn't unlock. So it seems I will forever have a
> glitched achievement. It's not fair.

Some claim that getting the officer achievement will fix this but I have
seen a gamertag where they had the officer achievement but no UNSC Spartan.

Hakk wrote:
> Zomoniac wrote:
>> Hakk wrote:
>>> Zomoniac wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Rock Band (360)
>>>> Good multiplayer session on Saturday night with a full band. And I 
>>>> broke my GG&HT record, got to 91%.
>>>>
>>> I'm still totally stuck on the last tier of songs on expert guitar :(
>>
>> You haven't done ANY of them?
>>
>> RTTH is easier than a lot of what went before it, as long as you can 
>> gallop.
>>
> As soon as I hit the guitar solo, my eyes and hands act like they're not 
> on speaking terms.

But the solo is only hard for around 6 seconds. Just save your star 
power on full for then and just spazz out and randomly hit stuff.



-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

Deano wrote:
> "Zomoniac"  wrote in message
> news:6ej1gmF7bksdU1@mid.individual.net...
>> DBSnappa wrote:
>>> Play.
>> Halo 3 (360)
>> I want to cry and die and shoot myself in the face. A bit of online play
>> saw my EXP go from 17 to 22. I was promoted to Sergeant, and got my
>> Spartan Pin. And... the achievement didn't unlock. So I played some
>> more, and it still didn't unlock. So it seems I will forever have a
>> glitched achievement. It's not fair.
> 
> Some claim that getting the officer achievement will fix this but I have
> seen a gamertag where they had the officer achievement but no UNSC Spartan.

It had better do. But still, I'm 48EXP shy of the officer one.



-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

In article , 
spampit@btinternet.com says...

> Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning (PC) - [Closed Beta NDA]

oh looking at beta forums - according the English community manager

"You can say you're enjoying (or not enjoying) the WAR beta, you just 
can't say why"

So

I am enjoying the WAR beta, but I can't say why!


-- 
WFC: 3806 6029 8649 8813
XBLA/PSN/Steam: merseymal
Xfire/Quake Wars: malkomm

DBSnappa wrote:
> Play.
> 

Okami (Wii):  This is really, really nice.  And really, really slow to 
get going, especially seeing as I redid the start bit.  I'm only at the 
first village bit, and I need to find a washing pole for some old woman.
One thing though, is Amaterasu permanently a bit out of focus?  It's 
doing funny things with my eyes.

Beautiful Katamari (360):  I'm not getting into this easily, it's a bit 
frustrating early on and I'm having difficulty with controlling exactly 
where I want to be going (or even knowing where I want to be going!).  I 
think I want to be getting 100 points for each level far too easily, 
rather than just moving on.  Had a brief go online, and it was laggy as 
chuff but still amusing.

R-Type (PC Engine via Wii VC):  I love R-Type, I don't know why but I 
can just play it over and over and over. Apart from the tiny bit of 
vertical scrolling present here, it's still one of the best home 
versions.  Got to Level 4, and recalled that I rarely get that far and 
so I've not learnt it nearly as well as those prior.  So I always die 
really fast.

Super Mario 64 (N64 via Wii VC):  Once I was told I can go back and do 
levels for new stars a la Galaxy, this became a bit less frustrating 
(did Sunshine do the same?).  I don't always like the camera, usually 
when I have to do a fast platformy bit but it's mostly not a problem. 
Need to play more now.

Lylat Wars (N64 via Wii VC):  Needs a bigger draw distance.  I used to 
be good at Starwing on SNES, I'm crap at this.  I'm rubbish at shooting 
stuff down, and I'm rubbish at getting out of the way of things.  But 
it's still a good laugh to play, so I will continue to see if I can get 
past level 2, and work out how to get down some other routes.

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party (Wii):  How to fuck up a perfectly 
decent game:  Add shitty new pointless non-optional features!  I like 
"basic" DDR, I don't like frozen arrows that need double taps, I don't 
like floating spikey things that penalise you for stepping on them out 
of time, and I certainly don't like FUCKING MOTION CONTROLS!  This is so 
badly implemented it's not even funny, it's enough work getting your 
legs to work without having to worry about your arms.  Anyway, rather 
than the usual DDR "empty arrows" that you can tell exactly when they're 
lined up and need stepping on, the "shake" icons are squares.  So, you 
can't tell /exactly/ when you're supposed to shake, and even timing to 
the beat seems a bit dicey at best.  I'm very worried for Samba De Amigo 
Wii in light of this.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii):  Amusing, 'til you realise all the 
minigames are just tiny variation of the same thing and boredom sets in.

Boogie (Wii):  This appears to be "broken Singstar lite", and it's 
fucking dross.

Cricket (RL):  Friday at Headingley, it was much fun and much drinking 
occurred.  I thought cricket would be utterly boring, but the sun came 
out in the afternoon and it was as much fun watching the crowd as 
watching the game to be honest.  The matadors we were sat next to were a 
bit boring despite the flamboyant dress, and one of the rugby lads sat 
in front of us stopped being funny after the 5th hour or so but he got 
chucked out then anyway.

> 
> Want.

To stop being hungover all weekend.

> Bin.
> 

Shite Wii games, but fortunately they're someone elses.

-- 
[ste]
gamertag: stefcha

Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, Zomoniac
 got it all completely wrong and wrote:

>> Want:
>> 
>> Pikmin 3
>
>Has this actually been announced? Any links?


Not an announcement per se, but:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=188888

> Play.

Lego Indiana Jones (360) - I finished off the story mode on saturday
afternoon, and can't really say I enjoyed much of the last half of the
game. The experience never changes, and I think that's the last lego
game I'm going to bother with unless they seriously update the
experience.

Buzz (PS3) - Played sofa vs sofa against a few mates last night. What
level of laziness is required for you to create such a wanky online
mode? Any of the fastest finger first rounds and the finale of the
quiz where you have to beat people to the right answer are gone, you
just play 3 or 4 rounds of questions and the person with the most
points wins - boo. I can't even think of a single technical reason for
not just making the game work the same as the offline version.

Bourne (360) - I have all of the achievements on this bar the one for
playing so terribly that you score less that 10% for shooting
accuracy. I refuse to get this one on two grounds: the first being
that I'm not prepared to play badly just for an achivement, the second
being that High Moon studios need a lesson in the mathematics involved
in computing percentages - some of the achievements are for getting
over 90% accuracy diring a mission, except that you can shoot 15
people without missing and be on 100%, then miss once and go down to
80%, it takes about another 10 perfect kills to get back up to 90%,
and a single miss will have you down to 75%...wtf?

> Want.

That there prince of persia game that they showed at E3, Fallout 3, SC
IV, LBP and lots besides...basically nothing that's likely to be seen
much before a few months from now when I'll be a dad and won't have
the time to play them...does a human being actually _have_ to sleep,
or is there some kind of supplement I can take? ;o)

> Bin.

The fact that logitech harmony remotes arent mocha-proof.

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Mon, 21 Jul
2008 09:41:56 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk DBSnappa
 fornis do marikano es bono tan
el:

>Play.

I made time for retro stuff. Yay!

Virus (Speccy)
It's a bit bloody hard, yes?

Qix (Atari 400)
Excellent, even if the Qix (that's the multi-line baddie in the middle, yes?)
seemed to move at random rather than bounce off things.

River Raid (Atari 400)
Pretty good, although difficult to control.

Munchkin (Videopac)
It's Pac-man, only with just 8 normal and 4 special dots on the screen. And
they move. And the maze is different. But not bad, actually.

Space Monster (Videopac)
Space Invaders, only the bottom row of invaders act as shields, the mothership
replacement swoops down (like in Phoenix) and when you get shot you're still
alive, only have to use a base as your new ship.

Renegade (Master System)
I only bought this recently. It's rubbish.

Shanghai (Master System)
Like all good Shanghai games, it's a good Shanghai game. It has the standard
tile layout, and doesn't mess with the rules.

Hang-On (Master System)
Built-in on the console I tried (I have about 5 Master Systems). I'd never
realised previously how this is just the same game as World Grand Prix, only
with three gears not two, bikes instead of cars, and no track editor. Even the
sound effects are identical.

Mario's Super Picross (Wii)
Part way through level 9 now.

Yoshi's Story (Wii)
Compamapleted! Yay!

Simon the Sorcerer (Wii)
This was all going lovely until it appears that loading a saved game makes
SCUMMVM crash. Gah!

I also set up, but didn't play any games on, my C64, BBC Micro and ZX81. And
my Aquarius, but it was dead :(

>Want.

My Play Asia stuff to arrive. It has Apollo Justice in it, don't you know.

>Bin.

Being unwell. I had some stomach bug last weekend, then, after a week of
getting very drunk almost every night, I had a bloody cold and throat
infection all weekend. FFS.

SCUMMVM on the Wii.

deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

DBSnappa wrote:
> Play.

Lots of Halo 3, with Griffball the main order of play.  Y'see, it was 
the Griffball DoubleExpWeekend, and I loves me my Griffball.  Played 
with various randoms, along with people from this august 'froup when 
they weren't busy doing other things.  I scored plenty of goals, but the 
most impressive achievement goes to my wife - who got not one, but 
/multiple/ Killimanjaro medals along with several Extermination medals. 
  I haven't even got Killtrocity yet, I think.

It's a bit of a shock when you're levelling up, though - I've got to go 
from 70 experience to 150 in order to hit the next level.  Well, either 
that or get to 10 TrueSkill in a ranked playlist - and that's unlikely.


> Want.

I played the PS3 demo of Armoured Core 4 this weekend, and as I remember 
my local Morrisons doing the Xbox 360 version for around a tenner I 
might pick it up.  I recall Saints Row at the same price, so I may get 
that too.

> Bin.

Nothing, really.  Oh, maybe Alone In The Dark.  I /want/ to like it, but 
it doesn't make it easy.

-- 
Gareth Halfacree
http://gareth.halfacree.co.uk

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:41:56 +0100, DBSnappa
 wrote:

>Play.
>
FM Live.

Damn you, SEGA.

FFVII on PSP - still amazing.

Overlord (360) - Surprisingly entertaining.
>
>
>
>Want.
>
A leftback for my FML team, since some belgian prick stole my best one
last night as the game hadn't even warned me his contract was up :(

My cheque to come from Sega for playing FML!
>
>
>Bin.
>
SEGA for taking a month to put a cheque in the post! :)
-- 

http://bykerblog.wordpress.com/ - My thrilling new blog
XBL Tag: Chrisflynnuk

In article , 
spampit@btinternet.com says...

> > Bin.
> 
> NDAs
> 
> EVE Online (PC) - too many better games to play

and

being stuck in work today and missing the Tall Ships leaving Liverpool 
today which would have been nice to photograph


-- 
Mario Kart WFC:  3866 8174 8169 - WFC: 3806 6029 8649 8813
XBLA/PSN/Steam: merseymal - Xfire/Quake Wars: malkomm
ugv* gamer code lists @ http://www.speccies.org/drupal/

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Mon, 21 Jul
2008 11:19:28 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk "[ste parker]"
 fornis do marikano es bono tan el:

>Super Mario 64 (N64 via Wii VC):  Once I was told I can go back and do 
>levels for new stars a la Galaxy, this became a bit less frustrating 
>(did Sunshine do the same?).

Yes, and so did Super Mario World.



deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

On Jul 21, 11:14 am, Mal F  wrote:
> In article ,
> spam...@btinternet.com says...
>
> > Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning (PC) - [Closed Beta NDA]
>
> oh looking at beta forums - according the English community manager
>
> "You can say you're enjoying (or not enjoying) the WAR beta, you just
> can't say why"
>
> So
>
> I am enjoying the WAR beta, but I can't say why!

I assume you are enjoying it cause it's good? Or are you not allowed
to say that? ^_^

PS I'm jealous! had to reactive my WoW account while I wait.

In article ,
DBSnappa   wrote:
>Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>> In article ,
>> DBSnappa   wrote:
>>> Play.
>> 
>> Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
>> if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
>> must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
>> that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
>> our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.
>
>You say this....[1]
>> 
>>> Bin.
>>>
>>> The buying:playing ratio
>> 
>> But there's so much wonderful stuff coming out between now and December. 
>> You might miss out. You might miss out!
>
>[1] And then you say this!?!?!? What gives, man?

Forgive me, for I neglected to append a smiley to the end of that second 
statement. :) To be clear, I don't think there have been any must-have 
titles in the 360/PS3 era, and Pac Man CE doesn't justify anything.

>> Seriously, no reliable discount shelves where you shop? The buy/play ratio 
>> feels much more reasonable when you get five games for your fifty 
>> smackers, as opposed to just one game.
>
>I'm rarely if ever anywhere near a large game store and my local ones 
>are laughably expensive for even their second hand titles. The fact is, 
>as you damn well know, the games will still be there several months down 
>the line and they will be cheaper. However, it isn't the cost, more the 
>lack of time to play them, and I can't see that ratio improving any time 
>soon, so the solution would appear to employ a better quality metric 
>with regard to what I buy - or to put it more simply, to make sure my 
>bloody brain is engaged before clicking "buy now"

Ah, herein lies the distinction. You buy the majority of your games 
online? Most of mine are bought in real stores, where I can fondle the 
package and watch a demo and haggle over the price. Also, the pthalate 
chemicals leeching out of the plastic cases probably affects my judgement 
to the point where I don't care as much about owning games I haven't 
played yet. :) It's easier to feel buyer's remorse if there's a lag 
between when you decide to buy and when you actually own something.

-KKC, whose writing assignment is greatly simplified by the omission of 
Windows Server 2008 domain controller setup.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

In article ,
The Rev   wrote:
>DBSnappa wrote:
>
>> Want.
>
>Animal Crossing (Wii) - It's exactly the same game I've bought twice before. 
>Must have!

Didn't the subtitle of the game imply that the new Animal Crossing would 
have a somewhat more modern, urban setting? The full title was Animal 
Crossing: City Folk or something like that, wasn't it? Unless by 'urban' 
Nintendo meant that one was expected to play loud music, steal cars and 
kill prostitutes.

-KKC, who should pick up a copy of the DS version. You know, so I can not 
play it and further annoy DBSnappa. :)
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

In article <ae5dee9c-5feb-4e57-950d-1a6387f25516@
2g2000hsn.googlegroups.com>, bombaymix@altavista.co.uk says...
> 
> I assume you are enjoying it cause it's good? Or are you not allowed
> to say that? ^_^

Probably not ;-)

> PS I'm jealous! had to reactive my WoW account while I wait.

I had to play EVE while I waited :-P

-- 
Mario Kart WFC:  3866 8174 8169 - WFC: 3806 6029 8649 8813
XBLA/PSN/Steam: merseymal - Xfire/Quake Wars: malkomm
ugv* gamer code lists @ http://www.speccies.org/drupal/

On 2008-07-21, Kendrick Kerwin Chua  wrote:
> In article ,
> The Rev   wrote:
>>DBSnappa wrote:
>>
>>> Want.
>>
>>Animal Crossing (Wii) - It's exactly the same game I've bought twice before. 
>>Must have!
>
> Didn't the subtitle of the game imply that the new Animal Crossing would 
> have a somewhat more modern, urban setting? The full title was Animal 
> Crossing: City Folk or something like that, wasn't it? Unless by 'urban' 
> Nintendo meant that one was expected to play loud music, steal cars and 
> kill prostitutes.

No, it means it's the same game all over again, except with a few more shops.

Chris
-- 
Gamertag: parm                               * BRING BACK BLUE SKY IN GAMES *

  "Back when I was young, we had to travel back in time to put the tape in so
the game would load before we died."

In article ,
Zomoniac   wrote:
>Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>> In article ,
>> DBSnappa   wrote:
>>> Play.
>> 
>> Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
>> if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
>> must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
>> that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
>> our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.
>
>Perhaps if you stopped playing shite like Project Sylpheed because you 
>have fond memories of a same-titled MegaCD game and played some good 
>games you wouldn't feel this way!

I cite two years' worth of PWB posts to indicate that I've had no problem 
enjoying many of the games I've played. However, I like to believe that 
I'm willing to take chances with games that others don't like or have 
rejected out of hand. That occasionally leads to gold.

>Last year was insane for great 360 releases, and I am still nowhere near 
>getting through the September to November pile from 2007. This year 
>isn't looking quite as good (which, in many ways, is a good thing), but 
>after 2.5 years I've never been as spoilt for choice of great games as I 
>am now. You either have very effective rose-tinted glasses or have a 
>very funny taste in games. Or are playing the wrong ones.

I don't think I'm playing the wrong games, but I'll concede that my taste 
in games differs greatly from the majority's. On the other hand, you 
didn't like Oblivion, so the evidence indicating that *you* are playing 
the wrong games is much, much stronger. :)

Seriously though, at the same point in its lifetime, how many Xbox games 
were must-play titles compared to the current XBox 360 library? After two 
years the original Xbox had three times as many RPGs, bizarrely better 
JPN-region support and a broad offering of niche titles that has no 
current counterpart. The comparison gets worse when you compare the PS2 
and the PS3, since the former catered to every gaming taste and the latter 
is tied down by repetitive, mainstream titles. I'm cheerfully leaving out 
handhelds and the Wii, all of which are rather sideways on the chart and 
don't bear direct comparison to a progenitor for various reasons.

But yes, I have funny taste in games. The last twelve months may have 
produced an excellent game market, but I didn't buy Halo 3 or GTA 4 or the 
latest Madden or anything that was a movie tie-in. No offence intended, 
but you don't get to tell me what I should be playing and neither does 
anybody else. That's doubly true for advertising companies and marketing 
departments, who probably don't realise how much hype turns some people 
off.

-KKC, who put too much oil in his rice.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

deKay wrote:
> Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Mon, 21 Jul
> 2008 11:19:28 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
> uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk "[ste parker]"
>  fornis do marikano es bono tan el:
> 
>> Super Mario 64 (N64 via Wii VC):  Once I was told I can go back and do 
>> levels for new stars a la Galaxy, this became a bit less frustrating 
>> (did Sunshine do the same?).
> 
> Yes, and so did Super Mario World.
> 

I wouldn't say that some levels having multiple exits is the same thing. 
  Plus, you could tell which levels those were before entering anyway.

-- 
[ste]
gamertag: stefcha

deKay wrote:
> Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Mon, 21 Jul
> 2008 09:41:56 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
> uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk DBSnappa
>  fornis do marikano es bono tan
> el:
> 
>> Play.
> 
> I made time for retro stuff. Yay!
> 
> Virus (Speccy)
> It's a bit bloody hard, yes?
> 

I gave this a try after seeing it on budget and recalled it had been 
raved about.  Hard?  It's not possible to the point that if it were a 
time limited 30 second thing I'd never be any the wiser.

-- 
[ste]
gamertag: stefcha

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>> I'm rarely if ever anywhere near a large game store and my local ones 
>> are laughably expensive for even their second hand titles. The fact is, 
>> as you damn well know, the games will still be there several months down 
>> the line and they will be cheaper. However, it isn't the cost, more the 
>> lack of time to play them, and I can't see that ratio improving any time 
>> soon, so the solution would appear to employ a better quality metric 
>> with regard to what I buy - or to put it more simply, to make sure my 
>> bloody brain is engaged before clicking "buy now"
> 
> Ah, herein lies the distinction. You buy the majority of your games 
> online? 

I do indeed.


Most of mine are bought in real stores, where I can fondle the
> package and watch a demo and haggle over the price. Also, the pthalate 
> chemicals leeching out of the plastic cases probably affects my judgement 
> to the point where I don't care as much about owning games I haven't 
> played yet. :) It's easier to feel buyer's remorse if there's a lag 
> between when you decide to buy and when you actually own something.

I'd argue it's easier to suffer buyer's remorse if you walk out the 
store with a bunch of stuff you shouldn't have.
>

[ste parker] wrote:
> DBSnappa wrote:
>> Play.
>>
> 
> Okami (Wii):  This is really, really nice.  And really, really slow to 
> get going, especially seeing as I redid the start bit.  I'm only at the 
> first village bit, and I need to find a washing pole for some old woman.
> One thing though, is Amaterasu permanently a bit out of focus?  It's 
> doing funny things with my eyes.
> 
I have this and haven't started it on the Wii, but I also have it on the 
PS2 and I did play for about 20 hours before inexplicably leaving it for 
no good reason. You are right, it does take quite a while to get going, 
not helped by the fact that the first 40 mins appears to be largely 
cutscenes, but once it gets going it is a beautiful fun game. I shall be 
giving this a crack over the next fortnight or so, hopefully  - and more 
importantly I aim to finish this version.

Although I've not played this version, the PS2 version always felt a 
little soft and more annoyingly the default perspective felt a little 
too close to the action and the next camera move too far away.

In article ,
DBSnappa   wrote:
>Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>
>Most of mine are bought in real stores, where I can fondle the
>> package and watch a demo and haggle over the price. Also, the pthalate 
>> chemicals leeching out of the plastic cases probably affects my judgement 
>> to the point where I don't care as much about owning games I haven't 
>> played yet. :) It's easier to feel buyer's remorse if there's a lag 
>> between when you decide to buy and when you actually own something.
>
>I'd argue it's easier to suffer buyer's remorse if you walk out the 
>store with a bunch of stuff you shouldn't have.

Is it not also easier to avoid that state? Online, you click and (most 
likely) have no way to act on regret until after delivery a week later. In 
a store, you'll walk around for a while with that copy of Dead or Alive 
Xtreme Beath Volleyball 2 in your hand as a theatrical internal dialogue 
proceeds. "Do I really want to play this? Would I be better served by a 
rental? Is this something I'll be able to resell later? Why are people 
looking at me with such fear and revulsion? I've thought about this for an 
hour and the Vienetta is starting to melt, so maybe I should put the game 
back."

I will admit that obsessive organisation of game purchase receipts and a 
detailed knowledge of return policies and schedules helps with the buyer's 
remorse too. :)

-KKC, making plans to visit the military surplus store again.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> Zomoniac   wrote:
>> Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>>> In article ,
>>> DBSnappa   wrote:
>>>> Play.
>>> Project Sylpheed (360) - I played through the tutorial, and it's a lovely 
>>> if unremarkable space shooter. I'm starting to think that there aren't any 
>>> must-have titles for the current generation of game consoles, in the way 
>>> that so many original Xbox and PS2 titles impressed us. Either that, or 
>>> our expectations have been shaped unfairly by the Dreamcast era.
>> Perhaps if you stopped playing shite like Project Sylpheed because you 
>> have fond memories of a same-titled MegaCD game and played some good 
>> games you wouldn't feel this way!
> 
> I cite two years' worth of PWB posts to indicate that I've had no problem 
> enjoying many of the games I've played. However, I like to believe that 
> I'm willing to take chances with games that others don't like or have 
> rejected out of hand. That occasionally leads to gold.
> 
>> Last year was insane for great 360 releases, and I am still nowhere near 
>> getting through the September to November pile from 2007. This year 
>> isn't looking quite as good (which, in many ways, is a good thing), but 
>> after 2.5 years I've never been as spoilt for choice of great games as I 
>> am now. You either have very effective rose-tinted glasses or have a 
>> very funny taste in games. Or are playing the wrong ones.
> 
> I don't think I'm playing the wrong games, but I'll concede that my taste 
> in games differs greatly from the majority's. On the other hand, you 
> didn't like Oblivion, so the evidence indicating that *you* are playing 
> the wrong games is much, much stronger. :)
> 
> Seriously though, at the same point in its lifetime, how many Xbox games 
> were must-play titles compared to the current XBox 360 library? After two 
> years the original Xbox had three times as many RPGs, bizarrely better 
> JPN-region support and a broad offering of niche titles that has no 
> current counterpart. The comparison gets worse when you compare the PS2 
> and the PS3, since the former catered to every gaming taste and the latter 
> is tied down by repetitive, mainstream titles. I'm cheerfully leaving out 
> handhelds and the Wii, all of which are rather sideways on the chart and 
> don't bear direct comparison to a progenitor for various reasons.
> 
> But yes, I have funny taste in games. The last twelve months may have 
> produced an excellent game market, but I didn't buy Halo 3 or GTA 4 or the 
> latest Madden or anything that was a movie tie-in. No offence intended, 
> but you don't get to tell me what I should be playing and neither does 
> anybody else. That's doubly true for advertising companies and marketing 
> departments, who probably don't realise how much hype turns some people 
> off.
> 
> -KKC, who put too much oil in his rice.

I wasn't in any way telling you what you should or shouldn't be playing. 
Far from it. And yes, my taste might be strange in that I detest RPGs, 
especially anything turn-based as it just feels unnatural and illogical, 
and I won't get into my feelings on turn-based battles.

But my point was that completely disregarding all the 90+ averaging 
games and instead playing stacks of 50-something averaging games in the 
hopes of finding a 'rare gem' and then saying there's nothing good just 
sounds silly. How do you know H3 and GTA4 aren't masterpieces having not 
played them just to make a stand about marketing hype, or something?


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

In article ,
Zomoniac   wrote:
>Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>
>> But yes, I have funny taste in games. The last twelve months may have 
>> produced an excellent game market, but I didn't buy Halo 3 or GTA 4 or the 
>> latest Madden or anything that was a movie tie-in. No offence intended, 
>> but you don't get to tell me what I should be playing and neither does 
>> anybody else. That's doubly true for advertising companies and marketing 
>> departments, who probably don't realise how much hype turns some people 
>> off.
>
>I wasn't in any way telling you what you should or shouldn't be playing. 
>Far from it. And yes, my taste might be strange in that I detest RPGs, 
>especially anything turn-based as it just feels unnatural and illogical, 
>and I won't get into my feelings on turn-based battles.

Fair enough. Just to piss you off, I'm going to render the GTA3 world 
using the RPG Maker 2 engine and make all the fights turn-based a la Final 
Fantasy. :)

>But my point was that completely disregarding all the 90+ averaging 
>games and instead playing stacks of 50-something averaging games in the 
>hopes of finding a 'rare gem' and then saying there's nothing good just 
>sounds silly. How do you know H3 and GTA4 aren't masterpieces having not 
>played them just to make a stand about marketing hype, or something?

Either I'm unclear or you misinterpret. I'm not saying there's nothing 
good, I'm saying there's nothing that I could do without in this 
generation. Oblivion was fun, Virtua Fighter 5 continues to be oustanding, 
my whole 360 library has been reasonably entertaining. But none of those 
games stands out to me as something I would have regretted not playing. 
I've needled newbies about trying God of War, I've pushed my peers into 
playing Yakuza, from across the Atlantic I make vigorous and glowing 
recommendations of Dreamcast and PS2 games I've found fulfilling and 
memorable. I'm not strongly motivated to do the same for anything in the 
current generation just yet.

-KKC, who is being roped into shopping for Gamecube games over lunch.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

In article ,
Kendrick Kerwin Chua   wrote:
>
>Either I'm unclear or you misinterpret. I'm not saying there's nothing 
>good, I'm saying there's nothing that I could do without in this 
>generation.                                 ^^^

Correction. Nothing I couldn't do without? Meaning everything is something 
I can do without? Right, that's what I meant to type. Too many negative 
modifiers make Jack lose his original signal voltage polarity. 

-KKC, having component-level logic gate construction flashbacks.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> Zomoniac   wrote:
>> Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>>
>>> But yes, I have funny taste in games. The last twelve months may have 
>>> produced an excellent game market, but I didn't buy Halo 3 or GTA 4 or the 
>>> latest Madden or anything that was a movie tie-in. No offence intended, 
>>> but you don't get to tell me what I should be playing and neither does 
>>> anybody else. That's doubly true for advertising companies and marketing 
>>> departments, who probably don't realise how much hype turns some people 
>>> off.
>> I wasn't in any way telling you what you should or shouldn't be playing. 
>> Far from it. And yes, my taste might be strange in that I detest RPGs, 
>> especially anything turn-based as it just feels unnatural and illogical, 
>> and I won't get into my feelings on turn-based battles.
> 
> Fair enough. Just to piss you off, I'm going to render the GTA3 world 
> using the RPG Maker 2 engine and make all the fights turn-based a la Final 
> Fantasy. :)
> 
>> But my point was that completely disregarding all the 90+ averaging 
>> games and instead playing stacks of 50-something averaging games in the 
>> hopes of finding a 'rare gem' and then saying there's nothing good just 
>> sounds silly. How do you know H3 and GTA4 aren't masterpieces having not 
>> played them just to make a stand about marketing hype, or something?
> 
> Either I'm unclear or you misinterpret. I'm not saying there's nothing 
> good, I'm saying there's nothing that I could do without in this 
> generation. Oblivion was fun, Virtua Fighter 5 continues to be oustanding, 
> my whole 360 library has been reasonably entertaining. But none of those 
> games stands out to me as something I would have regretted not playing. 
> I've needled newbies about trying God of War, I've pushed my peers into 
> playing Yakuza, from across the Atlantic I make vigorous and glowing 
> recommendations of Dreamcast and PS2 games I've found fulfilling and 
> memorable. I'm not strongly motivated to do the same for anything in the 
> current generation just yet.
> 
> -KKC, who is being roped into shopping for Gamecube games over lunch.

It's more that a game you can't do without is, unless it's a sequel to a 
game you loved, a game you don't know you can't do without until you 
play it. If you played through GTA4, perhaps you couldn't do without 
GTA5. If you don't play through GTA4, then 5 will pass you by just as 4 
has done.

A game you can't do without is all about what you hype up in your head, 
not necessarily the games you would enjoy if you play them. Maybe the 
fact that you try to resist hype, and in this day of vastly increasing 
marketing budgets, PR stunts and pushy marketing, every high-scoring 
game is marketed to buggery and back, means you are resisting them for 
you feel you will be giving in to the machine, or something.

Whilst I hate the direction things are going with endless sequels and 
few new brands, just about all my "can't do without" games end in a 
number, just because I know from enjoying the last one that I want the 
next one, so for you your "can't live without" games will be J-RPG sequels.


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

"Gareth Robert Halfacree"  wrote in message
news:6ej7h9F7cl4hU1@mid.individual.net...
> DBSnappa wrote:
> > Play.
>
> Lots of Halo 3, with Griffball the main order of play.  Y'see, it was
> the Griffball DoubleExpWeekend, and I loves me my Griffball.  Played
> with various randoms, along with people from this august 'froup when
> they weren't busy doing other things.  I scored plenty of goals, but the
> most impressive achievement goes to my wife - who got not one, but
> /multiple/ Killimanjaro medals along with several Extermination medals.
>   I haven't even got Killtrocity yet, I think.

I'd love to get Killionaire.

The latency issue on hammers/swords is something that annoys me but I did
have fun on Grifball while we were winning.  If you play Halo 3 a bit you
might notice the odd situation when someone lunges and kills you but clearly
(from your point of view) didn't make contact.
Ultimately though these aren't weapons I'm any good with and the spawn
killing can get insane.

In article ,
Zomoniac   wrote:
>
>A game you can't do without is all about what you hype up in your head, 
>not necessarily the games you would enjoy if you play them. Maybe the 
 <snip for brevity>
>Whilst I hate the direction things are going with endless sequels and 
>few new brands, just about all my "can't do without" games end in a 
>number, just because I know from enjoying the last one that I want the 
>next one, so for you your "can't live without" games will be J-RPG sequels.

Am I misreading you, or are you applying this metric to games before 
they're played? When I say I can't do without the game, I'm talking about 
a game that I've played and am likely to play some more, as opposed to 
something that I'm anticipating. I don't think I can make that sort of 
judgement fairly for games I haven't played at all, which leads me to 
further amend the original statement: Of those *I have played* for the 
current generation of consoles, none are as compelling and uniquely fun as 
what we saw in the PS2/Dreamcast era.

-KKC, wandering around Zo-world, where night is day, black is white, and 
everything is covered in hair.
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> Zomoniac   wrote:
>> A game you can't do without is all about what you hype up in your head, 
>> not necessarily the games you would enjoy if you play them. Maybe the 
>  <snip for brevity>
>> Whilst I hate the direction things are going with endless sequels and 
>> few new brands, just about all my "can't do without" games end in a 
>> number, just because I know from enjoying the last one that I want the 
>> next one, so for you your "can't live without" games will be J-RPG sequels.
> 
> Am I misreading you, or are you applying this metric to games before 
> they're played? When I say I can't do without the game, I'm talking about 
> a game that I've played and am likely to play some more, as opposed to 
> something that I'm anticipating. I don't think I can make that sort of 
> judgement fairly for games I haven't played at all, which leads me to 
> further amend the original statement: Of those *I have played* for the 
> current generation of consoles, none are as compelling and uniquely fun as 
> what we saw in the PS2/Dreamcast era.

In which case everything I said becomes invalid.

> -KKC, wandering around Zo-world, where night is day, black is white, and 
> everything is covered in hair.

I'm hairless dude.


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

In article ,
Zomoniac   wrote:
>Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>
>> -KKC, wandering around Zo-world, where night is day, black is white, and 
>> everything is covered in hair.
>
>I'm hairless dude.

Shh! Don't give away your secret identity. Once everyone knows who 
Hairless Dude and Shaven Boy are, no wig in the world will keep you safe 
from the criminals who seek revenge.

-KKC, who imagines a whole league of these people now. Razor Girl? 
Depilitory Deputy? Wax Wizard? Thunder Tweezer? Accidental Zipper Catch 
Man?
-- 
-- Home of the amphibious hybrids! Buy your next car from  | kendrick
 Innsmouth Auto, on Highway 128 just before the old pier.  | @ io.com
 Where our goal is to sell you a 'Dagon' good automobile!  |

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> In article ,
> Zomoniac   wrote:
>> Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
>>
>>> -KKC, wandering around Zo-world, where night is day, black is white, and 
>>> everything is covered in hair.
>> I'm hairless dude.
> 
> Shh! Don't give away your secret identity. Once everyone knows who 
> Hairless Dude and Shaven Boy are, no wig in the world will keep you safe 
> from the criminals who seek revenge.
> 
> -KKC, who imagines a whole league of these people now. Razor Girl? 
> Depilitory Deputy? Wax Wizard? Thunder Tweezer? Accidental Zipper Catch 
> Man?

Bah. I'm hairless, dude.


-- 

Zo
Gamerscore whore and proud (and not very good at it)

In article , 
kendrick@nospam.io says...
> In article ,
> DBSnappa   wrote:
> >Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> >
> >Most of mine are bought in real stores, where I can fondle the
> >> package and watch a demo and haggle over the price. Also, the pthalate 
> >> chemicals leeching out of the plastic cases probably affects my judgement 
> >> to the point where I don't care as much about owning games I haven't 
> >> played yet. :) It's easier to feel buyer's remorse if there's a lag 
> >> between when you decide to buy and when you actually own something.
> >
> >I'd argue it's easier to suffer buyer's remorse if you walk out the 
> >store with a bunch of stuff you shouldn't have.
> 
> Is it not also easier to avoid that state? Online, you click and (most 
> likely) have no way to act on regret until after delivery a week later. In 
> a store, you'll walk around for a while with that copy of Dead or Alive 
> Xtreme Beath Volleyball 2 in your hand as a theatrical internal dialogue 
> proceeds. "Do I really want to play this? Would I be better served by a 
> rental? Is this something I'll be able to resell later? Why are people 
> looking at me with such fear and revulsion? I've thought about this for an 
> hour and the Vienetta...

Brought up in the cold 
Ice climbers 2, bet they don't
Like Vienetta

T. <Just don't mention Pandas* ok?>

*Cue target reference.

> Play.
Sin (PC)
This was my contribution to Retro Week. It's a Quake2 engine FPS from
about 1998. It's also really good. Somewhere recently, video game
developers saw fit to make their games realistic and it's refreshing
to go back to 1998 where a shotgun can completely disassemble the top
half of a grunt, triggering a voice sample of the protagonist shouting
"Holy Sh*t!". The other FPSs I'm playing at the moment (see below)
portray you as a victim, short on ammo, creeping around terrified. Sin
portrays you as a muscle-bound duke-nukem-style hero. It's great fun.

This game also has higher levels of interactivity than most FPSes
available today.

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (PC)
Way, way more imagination in this than in Doom 3. It's still not
great, but at least they're trying some new things, where Doom 3 was
nothing but a corridor shooter.

F.E.A.R. (PC)
Only played the first level but the amount of polish applied to this
reminded me of when I played Half Life for the first time. Very
impressive intro.

Mario Kart Wii
Entering competitions. Missed the sunday night meetup, sorry.

Zack and Liki (Wii)
Did a level with a dragon skeleton, lava, and some Utterly
Skin-Crawling Spiders. Continues to be excellent.

> Want.
Sonic Core to release Platform 5 so I can stop using these £5
multimedia speakers and connect up my monitors. Mind you, Doom 3 RoE
is much more playable when played back on poor hardware. It becomes
less realistic, and thusly less terrifying.

> Bin.
Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.


-- 
-Toby
Add the word afiduluminag to the subject to circumvent my email filters.

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:00:01 +0100, Toby Newman 
wrote:

>> Play.
>Sin (PC)
>This was my contribution to Retro Week. It's a Quake2 engine FPS from
>about 1998. It's also really good. Somewhere recently, video game
>developers saw fit to make their games realistic and it's refreshing
>to go back to 1998 where a shotgun can completely disassemble the top
>half of a grunt, triggering a voice sample of the protagonist shouting
>"Holy Sh*t!". The other FPSs I'm playing at the moment (see below)
>portray you as a victim, short on ammo, creeping around terrified. Sin
>portrays you as a muscle-bound duke-nukem-style hero. It's great fun.
>
>This game also has higher levels of interactivity than most FPSes
>available today.
>
i remember when that first came out, it was hyped up to high heaven,
but kinda failed cos it launched around the same time as Half Life,
and was buggier than an anthill.

might have to give it a go as i never played it back then.
-- 

http://bykerblog.wordpress.com/ - My thrilling new blog
XBL Tag: Chrisflynnuk

On 2008-07-21, Chris F  wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:00:01 +0100, Toby Newman 
> wrote:
>
>>> Play.
>>Sin (PC)
>>This was my contribution to Retro Week. It's a Quake2 engine FPS from
>>about 1998. It's also really good. Somewhere recently, video game
>>developers saw fit to make their games realistic and it's refreshing
>>to go back to 1998 where a shotgun can completely disassemble the top
>>half of a grunt, triggering a voice sample of the protagonist shouting
>>"Holy Sh*t!". The other FPSs I'm playing at the moment (see below)
>>portray you as a victim, short on ammo, creeping around terrified. Sin
>>portrays you as a muscle-bound duke-nukem-style hero. It's great fun.
>>
>>This game also has higher levels of interactivity than most FPSes
>>available today.
>>
> i remember when that first came out, it was hyped up to high heaven,
> but kinda failed cos it launched around the same time as Half Life,
> and was buggier than an anthill.
>
> might have to give it a go as i never played it back then.

It's surprisingly good. You can walk up to computer terminals and
interact with them (they all seem to run on DOS). You can change
directories and search for password files and c:\>type them and so
forth.

If you find a telephone box, you can't use it, unless you find a
quarter first.

Lots of little things like that.

-- 
-Toby
Add the word afiduluminag to the subject to circumvent my email filters.

Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, Toby Newman
 got it all completely wrong and wrote:

>> Bin.
>Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
>then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.

Ah, so I'm not alone. I didn't even mention all my retro-game-playing
in my PWB post, just because...

[ste parker] wrote:
> I wouldn't say that some levels having multiple exits is the same thing. 

No, but I see it as the beginning of the trend.

Actually, the original SMB had warps, so you could argue it started there...

deKay
-- 
  Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
  Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
  Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog
  My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Mon, 21 Jul
2008 18:00:01 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk Toby Newman 
fornis do marikano es bono tan el:

>> Bin.
>Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
>then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.

Not disbanded - extended!

deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

On 2008-07-21, [ste parker]  wrote:
> R-Type (PC Engine via Wii VC):  I love R-Type, I don't know why but I 
> can just play it over and over and over. Apart from the tiny bit of 
> vertical scrolling present here, it's still one of the best home 
> versions.  Got to Level 4, and recalled that I rarely get that far and 
> so I've not learnt it nearly as well as those prior.  So I always die 
> really fast.

Don't know if you have a PS3 or not, but the PS1 versions of R-Types and 
R-Type Delta are available from the PSN. Cheap on the Hong Kong store.

Nils Tanner wrote:
> Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, Toby Newman
>  got it all completely wrong and wrote:
> 
>>> Bin.
>> Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
>> then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.
> 
> Ah, so I'm not alone. I didn't even mention all my retro-game-playing
> in my PWB post, just because...


Why on earth not? Just because ubergruppenhausfrau deKay failed to play 
any this week doesn't mean you can't mention what you played. There is 
not statute of limitations on the era of the games played in PWB threads 
are there? And if they are, feel free to ignore them :)

Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, DBSnappa
 got it all completely
wrong and wrote:


>>>> Bin.
>>> Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
>>> then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.
>> 
>> Ah, so I'm not alone. I didn't even mention all my retro-game-playing
>> in my PWB post, just because...
>
>
>Why on earth not? Just because ubergruppenhausfrau deKay failed to play 
>any this week doesn't mean you can't mention what you played. There is 
>not statute of limitations on the era of the games played in PWB threads 
>are there? And if they are, feel free to ignore them :)

Basically because I played about 178 different games for about 37
seconds each.

Nils Tanner wrote:
> Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, DBSnappa
>  got it all completely
> wrong and wrote:
> 
> 
>>>>> Bin.
>>>> Playing nothing but retro games for the first half of the week and
>>>> then reading that Retro Week had been disbanded.
>>> Ah, so I'm not alone. I didn't even mention all my retro-game-playing
>>> in my PWB post, just because...
>>
>> Why on earth not? Just because ubergruppenhausfrau deKay failed to play 
>> any this week doesn't mean you can't mention what you played. There is 
>> not statute of limitations on the era of the games played in PWB threads 
>> are there? And if they are, feel free to ignore them :)
> 
> Basically because I played about 178 different games for about 37
> seconds each. 

Ah :D

In which case, thanks for keeping it to yourself :p

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue, 22 Jul
2008 10:09:22 +0200, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk Nils Tanner 
fornis do marikano es bono tan el:

>Basically because I played about 178 different games for about 37
>seconds each. 

Then tell!

deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, deKay
 got it all completely wrong and wrote:


>>Basically because I played about 178 different games for about 37
>>seconds each. 
>
>Then tell!

They were all good! Very good indeed! Except for the one game which
wasn't very good at all.

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue, 22 Jul
2008 10:24:23 +0200, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk Nils Tanner 
fornis do marikano es bono tan el:

>Why is a mushroom called mushroom? As usual, deKay
> got it all completely wrong and wrote:
>
>
>>>Basically because I played about 178 different games for about 37
>>>seconds each. 
>>
>>Then tell!
>
>They were all good! Very good indeed! Except for the one game which
>wasn't very good at all.

Fascinating.

deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that

On 2008-07-21 10:00:00 +0100, Zomoniac  said:

> DBSnappa wrote:
>> Play.
> 
> Halo 3 (360)
> I want to cry and die and shoot myself in the face. A bit of online 
> play saw my EXP go from 17 to 22. I was promoted to Sergeant, and got 
> my Spartan Pin. And... the achievement didn't unlock. So I played some 
> more, and it still didn't unlock. So it seems I will forever have a 
> glitched achievement. It's not fair.

WOOHOO! It unlocked randomly yesterday, third time I'd played it since 
getting it, just unlocked on boot up last night. Thank fuck.

-- 

Zo

On Jul 21, 8:41 am, DBSnappa
 wrote:

> Play.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP) - Completed... and it was great,
but the ending made me very sad. :(

Etrian Odyssey (DS) - Finally started playing this.  Registered some
guild members and organised a party... then stopped because I was too
tired. :P  Will play some more later this week.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) - I fought 'The End' yesterday,
and it was AMAZING.  Best boss battle ever, without any hyperbole. :)

> Want.

Final Fantasy IV (DS) - Should be shipping from VG real soon, woohoo!

Civilisation Revolution (DS) - Because it's Civ!

> Bin.

Lack of scientific progress towards achieving immortality, principally
as a means of extending gaming time.  Also, lack of being rich (and
consequently having to work), for the same reason.

(This is my first ever PWB, hopefully I am doing it right!)

PLAY:

Final Fantasy III (DS):
Took me a while to get into the swing of this, particularly with all
the different jobs but I think I am rocking now. Converted my black
mage to a red mage and all going good! In particular had a most
exciting boss battle where it was only my white mage left standing,
and managed to take the boss down with a bomb fragment item! Extra
tension was added by the fact I hadn't saved for ages.

Uncharted (PS3):
Just finished this last night. I liked it, short and sweet. (Though
despite all the developer's crowing about the expressiveness of their
characters, they still all have cold dead eyes and scary teeth
covering an endless dark void.)

Final Fantasy XII (PS2):
Loving this, and it really takes RPGs forward, though is it just me or
is the difficulty curve all over the place? I guess it must have been
hard to balance with the new system. Still, it's basically great,
taking much of what is good about MMOs and leaving out the bad stuff
(i.e. the other people)

WANT:
Some more "friends" on the PSN. Why does no-one I know seem to own a
PS3? (Apart from price and availability of good games, hoho).

BIN:
Losing all progress in RPGs due to death! The latest Dragon Quest had
this sussed, just dumped you to the nearest church, but with exp
intact.

On 2008-07-22 12:18:46 +0100, SozzlyJoe  said:

> (This is my first ever PWB, hopefully I am doing it right!)

Hello! Yes, you did. Although you should reply to the original post in 
the thread, not the bottom one.

> WANT:
> Some more "friends" on the PSN. Why does no-one I know seem to own a
> PS3? (Apart from price and availability of good games, hoho).

My PSN is Zomoniac, feel free to add me.


-- 

Zo

"Zomoniac"  wrote in message
news:6ellu4F7lg5iU1@mid.individual.net...
> On 2008-07-21 10:00:00 +0100, Zomoniac  said:

>
> WOOHOO! It unlocked randomly yesterday, third time I'd played it since
> getting it, just unlocked on boot up last night. Thank fuck.

Nice one!  Perhaps the Achievement Server is just catching up :)

DBSnappa  wrote:

> Play.

Mario's Super Picross (Wii VC) - I think this must be the first
non-handheld picross game Nintendo have made available over here, so
it's a bit strange that they didn't bother translating it. Still, most
of the menus are in English so it's not too confusing (especially if
you read the "Operations Guide"), and it's a solid enough picross
game. Shame you can't use the Wii remote though.

Super Mario Bros. (Wii VC) - I had a few more old stars codes from GC
and GBA games I hadn't entered so I thought I'd get those converted,
and got this yesterday. Not much to say really, but it's still a good
platformer, and I'm still not good enough at it to finish all 32
levels without needing a continue or six. :-) It also has the same
annoying little context-saving problem as the GBA version, in that you
need to delete the save if you've finished it previously but don't
want to play the "new quest". This PAL version is a bit strange too,
the music is faster than normal and it feels like Mario might be
moving faster as well, but the sound effects are clearly running
slower and the attract mode looks broken.

San Francisco Rush: The Rock (Xbox Midway Arcade Treasures 3) - this
is the upgraded version of the original which added more tracks and
cars; I hadn't played either version before, not even the PS1 or N64
ports. I ended up playing this a lot, so much so that I eventually
managed to win on all the tracks. It did take a while to get used to
the very floaty/wobbly physics and the remarkably garish (or arguably
just plain ugly) graphics, but if you can look past all that this is a
surprisingly great arcade racer with appropriately mad jumps and a
decent number of tracks, and it has loads of shortcuts with a good
risk/reward balance so you'll sometimes want to vary your route rather
than just taking a single optimal one all the time. This version is
also a better emulation/port/whatever than it first seems, as the
blank white skies on three of the tracks were apparently there in the
arcade too. (!) The only problems really are quite twitchy steering
and for some reason, very different music than it seems to have had in
the arcade (though from what I've heard it's largely an improvement).

Hydro Thunder (Xbox MAT3) - boost-based jump-heavy boat racer; I'd
already played this on the Dreamcast, and it seems rather tougher than
it was on that. Having to get all the boost items is as contrived as
it ever was, but it works well enough once you get into it. For a
particularly silly arcade racer it's still good-ish, though this
version is really just a bit too hard.

Super Off-Road (Xbox MAT3) - a nice variation on Super Sprint's
race-around-a-screen approach, with bumpy tracks and boosts. I played
the hell out of this at the time on the excellent Speccy port, then
even more a year or two later on the virtually perfect PC one. In some
ways it's held up quite well, even if it does get tedious very
quickly.

> Want.

Dead Rising (Wii) - it sounds like this version will be a bit less
unforgiving, which would suit me I think. The screenshots do make it
look suspiciously like a candidate for retro week though. :-)

Excite Truck (Wii) to arrive, and the way it tilts the camera down
when you jump not to be as vomit-inducing as it looks.

> Bin.

Race Drivin' (Xbox MAT3) - I'd played Hard Drivin' before but I think
this one's new to me, certainly my reaction on seeing the Super Stunt
Track's thin double sideways loop suggested as much. I was never a fan
of the original game though, and this is just more of the same.

STUN Runner (Xbox MAT3) - weirdly you don't have any accelerate or
brake controls in this, it's a kind of futuristic-bobsleigh-racing
shooter thing. It's... interesting, but I didn't think much of it.

Badlands (Xbox MAT3) - Super Sprint with guns, which is at least as
lazy and rubbish as it sounds IMHO.

Offroad Thunder (Xbox MAT3) - I thought this might be a renamed
version of the rather annoying 4 Wheel Thunder I had on the DC, but
apparently not. This one looks cruder than that did, seems even more
directly based on the Hydro Thunder formula, and is generally pretty
mediocre and too hard.

San Francisco Rush 2049 (Xbox MAT3) - I played this a fair bit on the
DC, but it's really hard to go back to this having played San
Francisco Rush: The Rock which is just so much better somehow.

SFR:TR not doing anything even slightly different when you win a race.
It doesn't even mention your position on the high-score tables.

MAT3 trashing the saved data for *all* its games when I tried to play
2049 a second time (it refused to even start). Apparently this is a
common problem with the Xbox version, but I'd thought that this just
corrupted 2049's data rather than all of it. :-(

-Rus.

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Tue, 22 Jul
2008 12:31:14 +0100, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.games.video.misc, yawatina tan reek esk "Deano" 
fornis do marikano es bono tan el:


>Nice one!  Perhaps the Achievement Server is just catching up :)

Skate is bloody odd for achievements.  This happened to me:

"I beat all the remaining Pros at S.K.A.T.E. Bloody hell was that hard. You
have to hope each messes up, so you get a chance to set the tricks rather than
them, and then it's a waiting game. It's entirely random if they bail or not
(although it seems each successive Pro is less likely to), and which trick (or
even how difficult the trick is) is totally irrelevant. They appear to bail as
often trying a simple Ollie 360 as they do attempting a Nollie 360 Flip 360.

Once they'd been beaten, I'd done all the challenges (Achievement!) and all
the milestones (Achievement!), but then something odd happened - I instantly
unlocked another 6 achievements, and they're all online ones. I got one for
playing 50 online games, one for winning 6 games in a row, and I've reached
Pro and Icon Trickster status (but not Amateur for some reason). I'm not
complaining at the 225 extra gamerpoints, I'm just very confused..."

deKay
-- 
 Lofi Gaming - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk
 Gaming Diary - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/diary
 Blog - http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog     
 My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that