Gamer in need of help!?!!

Magnolia_Fan

I've actually kind of grown out of video games....I haven't played a video game in over 3 months now and I've been playing them pretty much since I was 4 years old with the Atari,Commadore 64, Nintendo, Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn,Playstation, Playstation 2, X-Box, Gamecube. I was hoping people here can turn me on to games that will draw me back in, this past gaming year(Sept-Jan) I've bought Full Spectrum Warrior (PC), The Sims2(PC), Football Manager 2005 (PC), Pro Evolution 4 (PS2), Smackdown Vs Raw (PS2),Leisure Suit Larry (PS2), Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas (PS2).

Any Suggestions?

So far I've been told Rome Total War for the PC is the real gamers game this year

Swifty

Paper Mario 2, Metroid Prime 1+2 all on GC

Half-life 2 is worth a look too.

tman

Viewtiful Joe 2 (or 1)
Pikmin 2 (astoundingly original game)
Metroid Prime 1 & 2

get some life out of your cube ffs

Half-Life 2 is the last thing you want if you're going off games.

koneko

If you're not enjoying games anymore, don't play them. Don't force yourself.

Games I've enjoyed this year include Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines (though a lot of people didn't like this for some reason, and it was quite buggy), Rome Total War, Warhammer40k: Dawn Of War, HL2, and erm... can't remember the rest now.

/me potters off to get some coffee for her brain

the_syco

Bored of all the stupid bots? Get broadband, and play games online. Some games are nearly made for online only.

Also, try the C&C series (Generals, etc), or Dawn of War, online.

qz

Try Killzone (PS2) and Halo 2 (X-Box)

Azza

Yeah I can go threw phases where I'm just not in the mood for my hobbies games movies etcs. Can last for a while. But something usually catchs my eye and draws me back in.

I can recommend the follow PC games.
Far Cry my fav fps
Half Life 2 Good but a little overated.
Rome Total War always liked the total war series.
Warhammer 40,000 is good too wish I could play online maybe at the next lan. However its mean't to be rather unbalanced in multiplayer.

kaimera

burnout3 :: xbox.
far cry :: pc

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Captain Trips

Magnolia_Fan wrote:

I've actually kind of grown out of video games....I haven't played a video game in over 3 months now and I've been playing them pretty much since I was 4 years old with the Atari,Commadore 64, Nintendo, Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn,Playstation, Playstation 2, X-Box, Gamecube. I was hoping people here can turn me on to games that will draw me back in, this past gaming year(Sept-Jan) I've bought Full Spectrum Warrior (PC), The Sims2(PC), Football Manager 2005 (PC), Pro Evolution 4 (PS2), Smackdown Vs Raw (PS2),Leisure Suit Larry (PS2), Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas (PS2).

Any Suggestions?

So far I've been told Rome Total War for the PC is the real gamers game this year

Not to be smart, but there's nothing really new in any of the games you mentioned. In fact, most of the "hit" games this year are sequels - fancy graphics and surround sound but little real innovation ("Superb GFX! Advanced AI!", etc., ).

IMHO, GTA:SA was excellent, but I like playing the same game three times (GTAIII, GTA:VC). However, no real innovation. GTA3 was stunning when it came out however, and was genuinely innovative.

Rome TW is again a seuqel to a sequel. If strategy is your thing I'm sure you'd have already played the original and then the Medieval. Yes there are advancements but none compared to say the impact of Shogun, much like GTA3.

The current "phase" of game development is gone stagnant again, e.g., HL was excellent and innovative with the whole new concept of "AI" but since then we;'ve had it shoved up our arses so much that every new FPS has the same new "features" which is ridiculous.

No I'm not an old fogey - well yes I am but I am wondering when the next "level" will start. I've played through the PC 3D card generation of games and we've all seen them over the past 7 years or so get better and better.

Before that, it was dull dull dull as the innovative stuff was making awesome flight sims and RPGs (e.g., Ultima Underworld was a big step forward), and for a while until everyone got VGA cards, etc., it was the "latest". Now everyone has excelletn gfx cards, but I don't see the next "step".

Sorry for hijacking the post; I feel much the same as the original poster - GTA:SA was the last game I got and it's good but it's not the "generation making" genre GTA3 was in 2001. So where now? Outside? To the real world???

ambro25

Well, I know those symptoms... Stay away from franchises for a while & get a GBA with Wario Ware

koneko

qz wrote:

Try Killzone (PS2) and Halo 2 (X-Box)

They're probably two of the worst suggestions for someone that's tired of gaming. Halo 2 is just "meh", more of the same, rehash of Halo with little improvements. Killzone was just bad.

[CrimsonGhost]

tman wrote:

Pikmin 2 (astoundingly original game)

Yeah, not like Pikmin 1 at all.
That said, it outshines the original, and is superb.

The boys at eurogamer.net rate the cronicles of riddick really highly. Read their reviews of it and consider it.

You should try Go. Ancient chinese game 4000 years old. Play it online, or PM me for further for details of where people play. I play mainly online, but sometime in the city centre. It's the only game computers cannot play well strategically. A half decent player can beat the strongest computer program at it.
www.kiseido.com for details, introduction and even a 9x9 version you can start to play against. It takes a little bit of work to get into but you'll never know everything there is to know. Always learning.

tman

[CrimsonGhost] wrote:

Yeah, not like Pikmin 1 at all.
That said, it outshines the original, and is superb.

i was presuming he, like myself, hadn't played a pikmin game before...

Cunning Alias

Why not try something original like Planetside. Online only FPS, MMORPG. Huge amount of variety and highly addictive if you get into it.

MogwaiFearSatan

ghost recon 2 live (xbox) is giving ne the horn these days. Halo 2 ain't bad but it get a bit yawny after a few weeks.

Retr0gamer

Sometimes I get a little bored of games but there is always something that gets me interested again. 3 recent games that did this are Prince of Persia Sands of Time (not warrior within), Ico and Beyond Good and Evil. Its impossible not to like these games and far better than the rehashes you have bought this year.

Vikings

One game I always enjoy, even through replaying it is Knights of the Old Republic, its a great game! Rome total war is brilliant, cant get enough of it, hl2+cs:s are also superb.

monument

Captain Trips wrote:

Not to be smart, but there's nothing really new in any of the games you mentioned. In fact, most of the "hit" games this year are sequels - fancy graphics and surround sound but little real innovation ("Superb GFX! Advanced AI!", etc., ).

What’s “real innovation”?

Each of the last three GTA games has innovated at one scale or another. (If you want to use the word as described by the dictionary, not the most hyped thing in the games industry, “innovation”).

For example, ‘the Sims’ is seen as a massive “innovation” by some, but taking Sim City, Sim Tower etc it is only really natural progression. And it’s not worlds away from games like Theme Hospital.

Captain Trips wrote:

IMHO, GTA:SA was excellent, but I like playing the same game three times (GTAIII, GTA:VC).

They are three different games – or by innovation do you mean hardware (graphics, sound) type innovation? Or does every game have to an unique game engine???

Captain Trips wrote:

However, no real innovation. GTA3 was stunning when it came out however, and was genuinely innovative.

Because the game went from 2D to 3D? Is that “real innovation”?

CiDeRmAn

This game maybe a little unorthodox but everyone really should play Metal Arms, its the closest thing to a Halo killer on the console, a whole lot of fun with a great sense of humour and plenty of levels to get your teeth into, played it shortly afer its release and couldn't put it down, its on all the major formats, costing slightly less than a cheese and ham sandwich.
You should really go and play the odder games, the blockbusters of the world will be around forever but the little gems will gradually be snapped up by gamers never to be played again by the mainstream.
And if really disenchanted with the whole scene buy an N64 with Goldeneye and Super Mario 64 and remind yourself what makes gaming great.

Magnolia_Fan

yeah I had an N64 for a short while I loved it but lost the power lead and never replaced it...Wrestlemania 2000 and Goldeneye were great games. I love the gamecube to bits but games don't come out regularly enough so I tend to give it a miss...I love Mario Kart and Mario Party, I'll have to get Paper Mario alright is that just a normal platform Mario game?......Why haven't they released a new platform game of Donkey Kong!?

Ohhh and thanks for the suggestions..I have Halo 1 but I don't get what people see in it...its like Gotham Racing....whats the big deal?

I rented Burnout 3 and thought it was great however it seemed far too easy so I ended up not buying it.

Captain Trips

monument wrote:

What’s “real innovation”?

No I mean more like that feeling you get when you sit up and say that yes, this actually feels like a step forward, this is new (even though yes philosophically nothing is new really).

On PS2 it was when it was with GTA3. On PSX it was FF7, MGS, GT. On PC it was Half Life, it was Quake (moreso than Doom IMHO). This year besides gfx updates and "innovation" (in the marketing sense), there's been very little to sit up and take notice of, certainly nothing of the lines of the steps from say VGA games to 3Dfx era, or from there to the Radeons. No it isn't reliant on graphics but in PC land each big "jump" does push things forward. In console land it's with every new console generation.

Very few games this year are real steps forward, on PC at least because the PC needs a new technology like 3Dfx/3D cards to push it; it *needs* the generations that consoles go through by their very nature. There have been plnety of excellent games in the past year, like KOTOR, but again, is that something that truly pushes forward RPGs or gaming or is it simply a Jap RPG finally done properly by the west?

monument

Captain Trips wrote:

No it isn't reliant on graphics

What isn't? The “real innovation” in GTA3?

Retr0gamer

Paper Mario 2 is an RPG not a platform game. However don't let that put you off. Its not like any other RPG. Its a serious amount of fun. Its also a great game to get if you have become disillusioned about games. It really is a joy to play.

rainbow kirby

Magnolia_Fan wrote:

Why haven't they released a new platform game of Donkey Kong!?

There's a new Donkey Kong platformer coming out in February, using the Donkey Konga bongos to control it. Looks like a bit of fun. Also Mario Party 6 is coming out soon, with a microphone. :rolleyes: Also Resident Evil 4 on import (you gotta love the ease of importing for the GC).

steviec

Captain Trips wrote:

No I mean more like that feeling you get when you sit up and say that yes, this actually feels like a step forward, this is new (even though yes philosophically nothing is new really).

On PS2 it was when it was with GTA3. On PSX it was FF7, MGS, GT. On PC it was Half Life, it was Quake (moreso than Doom IMHO). This year besides gfx updates and "innovation" (in the marketing sense), there's been very little to sit up and take notice of, certainly nothing of the lines of the steps from say VGA games to 3Dfx era, or from there to the Radeons. No it isn't reliant on graphics but in PC land each big "jump" does push things forward. In console land it's with every new console generation.

Very few games this year are real steps forward, on PC at least because the PC needs a new technology like 3Dfx/3D cards to push it; it *needs* the generations that consoles go through by their very nature. There have been plnety of excellent games in the past year, like KOTOR, but again, is that something that truly pushes forward RPGs or gaming or is it simply a Jap RPG finally done properly by the west?

You need to try the DS

I know what you mean to an extent but I think this is the mature stage the industry is reaching, there's only so many ways left to 'innovate'.

Games have improved in leaps and bounds over the years but they're hitting a point where it's getting a lot harder to keep improving. In movies, the best film of 2005 isn't guaranteed to be better than the best of 2004. or 2003 or 2002 or even the best film 30 years ago... I think it's going to get to a stage where games are like that too a few years down the road, where there'll still be technical innovation(like improved movie special effects), but no more giant leaps(like, say, colour in movies!), and more important will be the 'art' of great gameplay.

Think about it, when people were playing GTA1 they were thinking 'Wow imagine this in a real lifelike 3d city', when people were playing Virtua Racing they were thinking 'imagine a game like this that had real cars and they looked like the real thing', when people were playing Mario on the NES they were wondering what it would be like to have unlimited freedom to take Mario anywhere..

But what are people left wondering now? We've got all three dimensions covered(I'm sure someday we'll see some marketing blurb about the first ever 4D game, maybe PoP:Sands of Time could lay claim!), we're getting ever closer to photo realism, and people can look out the window to see what photo realism looks like so it's not all that awe inspiring because we can see exactly whats ahead, not as awe inspiring as it was when the first polygonal game arrived or the first texture mapped game, or the first to use light and shadows or more than 16 colours or whatever.

I think the only places left to have big jumps are physics.. Half Life 2 being the obvious example, although I have to mention Flatout which featured a physics engine that could revolutionise car games if it was used in a better quality game. An then there's AI, there's still a huge gap between a computer controlled character and a human. Whether it's in their skills at shooting, or more importantly how they behave in dialogue and react in whatever weird situation you put them in in a freeform game like GTA. As these things gradually improve it will make for a more immersive experience but I don't see any massive jumps on the horizon.

Which takes me back to the DS, maybe Nintendo have a good idea with going back to basics like this. Products like the Eyetoy and Singstar have almost redefined gaming and introduced it to people who have never held a Joypad over the past year. The DS's touch pad and two screens provide for gameplay never possible before(although as of yet none of the software is quite great enough to make this a true breakthrough), all of these are simple ideas, not really technical breakthroughs, and I wonder if other ideas similar to these will lead to the next true breakthrough in gaming.

ambro25

Having just taken delivery of Super Mario 64 DS myself ( CiDerMan), I concur - forget my "GBA & WarioWare" recommendation to get you over your lull & follow the above advice: get a DS & SM64DS - it's like a rebirth!!!

edmund_f

talking of innovation, what of the addons that seem to becoming available for the ps2, real world steering wheels (by momo) the eye toy (childish at the moment, but with potential) and did i see some game in gamezone that had a pair of boxing gloves that you wore to play the game. Something more like more imagnative ways of improving the input interface besides a pad, and more from the output besides auto, visual (and for some reason vibration)

perhaps the future is not in ugrading what is already there, i.e. the console, the game whatever, but coming up with new things?

just a thought

Kristok

Sorry if im bringing this ontopic but......

Im coming out of a bit of a gaming slumber myself and am finding Outrun 2 on the xbox to be one of the best looking (honestly why did they bother making it look this good you go past so fast you only notice when you crash) but more importantly the most fun racing game ive played probably since mario kart. Only inovation in this game is the fact that it feels like a retro game on the gameplay front and that is by no means a bad thing.

CiDeRmAn

I tell you what you sholud do just forget all this commercial stuff, buy an Xbox, mod it, pop in a 20gb hard drive and pop on Mame (the greatest arcade emu ever made, you can play the original Outrun to your hearts content) and a few other choice emulators such ones for Snes, Genesis, Nes, Atari 2600, Spectrum, Amiga, C64, trawl the internet for rom dump dvds, And never worry about the gaming rat race ever again, My xbox is bursting with classics, every Snes and Genesis game Ever! 2500 arcade games, Pretty much the whole Neo Geo back catalogue! For a gamer its a lifetimes console and game collection in one box.
One downside is that its all ethically a litle dodgy, and unless you can switch the chip on and off you can't use xbox live, or play Steel Battalion for that matter. Until i got a little switch installed I sweated a bit that weekend I'll tell you!

CiDeRmAn

And as far as Outrun 2 goes, its fun'n all but wafer thin in content, Progect Gotham 2 is the best racing game I have played in recent years although Virtua Racing on my 32X and Need for Speed on my 3DO are the ones I will still be playing in 10 years time.