Gaming Galeanthropy

[Rickford]

I figure we haven't seen a games thread for a little while, and I wanted to talk about some recent aquisitions without resurrecting dead one. I'm a big fan of the Wii lately, and have been taking advantage of its (I must say, rather endearing) catalogue of downloadable games. Even more so, once I realised that the code that comes inside every single nintendo game I've bought for the last 6 years or so can in fact be converted into Wii Points, the online currency used to buy downloads of Wiiware or Virtual Console titles. This can be done via Nintendo's website if you're in England, I'm not sure what the system is if you're in the US. I had no code in one of my import games, so it might work differently.

Anyway, with all my newfound Wii Points I just bought Lostwinds, Bomberman Blast and Super Street Fighter II, in addition to the TV Show King and Super Mario Bros that I already had. I'm fast running out of storage space on my Wii :|

Super Street Fighter II. As a child I was not allowed to play this game, as my mother deemed it "Too violent". It was for this very same reason that I wasn't allowed to watch Power Rangers. Seeing my chance, I finally downloaded and have been playing it today. It's much, much harder than I would have suspected. So far I seem completely incapable of winning a match, although probably I just need to learn how the moves work.

LostWinds is a brilliant little find. From what I hear, it's quite a short game, but what I've played of it so far is gold. It's a very original control scheme, but I picked it up straight away, and it feels natural, much in the same way that the Portal Gun in portal felt natural straight away. I'm looking forward to getting a few more abilities in this one.

Bomberman Blast seems a little shallow, but for a freebie I'm not going to complain. It's Bomberman, and any attempt to give it more depth would just result in another silly bomberman RPG that is awful. As it is, it's good classic multiplayer action, with the added bonus of online play, taunts, and the ability to play as your Mii (Which needs to be unlocked through play, apparently). I haven't really got round to that yet, but I suspect that when I do, I'm going to be hideously savaged. Anyone else playing this one? It's only just been released and I don't think it's been released anywhere but Europe yet.

[Killbert-Robby]

I've been playing Fable. It may not be as liberating as Oblivion in the sense that its all very walled it (What, I can't go between those rocks? Bollocks)
But for the rest, it is indeed a VERY free form game. There's real sense of "what do I do what do I do what do I do" at the big decisions, and the customization is so fine, that you don't even realize its happening, til you see someone else play and realize its a totally different game for them. I've also been playing Full Spectrum Warrior Ten Hammers.
I'm a fan of the first, thought I'd give it a whirl.

[Joel Fagin]

I finally sat down and sorted out my old Lucasfilm games and got them working in ScummVM. It's boring and old fashioned of me, but I'm playing those. Mostly in class on my laptop.*

Full Throttle at the moment.

"I don't walk." Heh, heh.

- Joel Fagin

* Ahem. I mean, I'm demonstrating a virtual machine to the students.

[Tynan]

Went back and played some disgaea had just as wonderful time as when first I bought it. *back then it was a hard to get item..and I had no idea*
Played through Odin sphere for the first time and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it...and also by how much recent games have taken from norse mythology.
gonna go down on friday and rent me some mercs 2 because it just looks fun.

[K-Dawg]

Argh I forgot about that. I was suppose to steal that Disgaea off you!

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I've become freakin' addicted to World of Warcraft. I'm currently working on getting my Dranei paladin up to level 70. (I average about a level a day when I play, so I'll be there in a month or so.) When I got the game, I broke down and got the Burning Crusade expansion (thank the Light.)
In other games, I've been playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (gameboy advance.) Also addicting, but the ability/class system is rather difficult to work with, and dispatch missions seem rather pointless.

[SergeXIII]

I've been playing Disgaea 3 as of recent and just got into the meat of the game: post game. This game has one of the best leveling spots in the franchise and a whole lot of stuff to keep me playing like a slew of returning characters from Disgaea, Phantom Brave, and some more headed our way via DLC. It rocks.

I haven't touched my Wii in ages because, well, I'm a core gamer and that demographic is not at the heart of the Wii's line up as epitomised by Nintendo's E3 showing this year. I also haven't touched the Virtual Console in ages too as my expectations for DLC has become higher with the advancements of XBox Live Arcade and PSN with gems like Bionic Commando Rearmed allowing me to relive some retro moments without paying for the same thing twice (or more). I also haven't touched a thing from the Wii ware selection for similar reasons, it just isn't quality material. Give me something like Braid or Castle Crashers, not a virtual Aquarium (for close to the same price).

I've also been playing a lot of Guild Wars before bed. I'm working on an Elementalist named Lymslia Sorenson and am trying to get her to max level ASAP now that I know the game better. Of course this will all change come late September with Silent Hill 5 and mid October when Eternal Sonata hits the PS3.

[Levi-chan]

I played Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries all night.

There's something about the crunching sound of your Puma's PPC lasers hitting the leg joints of a hugeass Daishi that makes me go a big, rubbery one.

[Tynan]

ew?

[SergeXIII]

Oh, I've also been playing a ton of Tetris.

SNES Tetris < NES Tetris

Why Serge? How could you make that judgement about something as simple as Tetris.

Heres why.

7 Squares in a row.
7.
Consecutively.
Thats a crime in 47 states.

[[AlmightyPyro]]

I've been playing more Starsiege: Tribes recently (AKA Tribes 1). Great replay value! It's free too, so if you like intense FPS games, go download it. (You'll need the patch and if you're on Vista you have to hunt down the Tribes Vista Hack.)

Also: If European Wii's can get wii points from games and Americans can't I'm calling international Shinanigans. That's not fair.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I played Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries all night.

There's something about the crunching sound of your Puma's PPC lasers hitting the leg joints of a hugeass Daishi that makes me go a big, rubbery one.

Hey, you ever play Battletech: Firestorm, the cockpit-sim version of Mechwarrior? Good times. Like taking a Daishi Prime and destroying anything in a single blast (and then overheating ) In the group I play with, the Daishi Prime (mod of the regular Daishi) is nicknamed "Kaisho." Let's see... I think it has 6 large lasers, 2 ppcs, 4 autocannons...
BTW, kudos if you know what "Kaisho" means.

[KWill]

Downloaded (legally, interestingly enough) the original Red Alert and played it through, recently. Despite its outdated graphics and the abysmal unit design (compared to the new one), it's still an incredibly fun game.

[Phact0rri]

Sly2: band of thieves <3

[Cope]

I've been playing a lot of Mario Kart DS while waiting in queues and hallways. It's a bit weird, 'cuz I thought I didn't like racing games.

[War]

You think you're a cat?

[Killbert-Robby]

I've been playing more Starsiege: Tribes recently (AKA Tribes 1). Great replay value!

Indeed, I still play on and off. Every server is like a new game. If you're not a graphics whore, you can enjoy this game for years.

[Joel Fagin]

Painkiller, now. Any Mac users about should take note - the DirectX support in the new version of VMWare Fusion is exceptional. I can play Painkiller in a virtual machine with everything turned up and it's as smooth as molten chocolate.

Well... So far, anyway.

- Joel Fagin

[Dreamaniaccomic]

Sly2: band of thieves <3

Sly 3: Honor among Thieves also <3
It's like a furry Ocean's Eleven!

[MixedMyth]

Argh I forgot about that. I was suppose to steal that Disgaea off you!

Yes, you were! Steal Disgaea off of him!

Actually...I still have to finish Disgaea 2.

Lately, though, I've been playing Guild Wars. Assassins are pretty cool. So are dervishes.
Especially when they're pink and have pet attack flamingos.