The Video Game Thread - what are you playing?

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 10 Apr 2005, 19:24

Just bought Halo 2 Limited Edition (Tin package) yesterday for 30 euros, and played it online a lil bit last night when my girl was in the shower.
It was pretty fun, I noticed no lag whatsoever and I got my ass handed to me on several occasions, which is always fun...

The first match went pretty well btw: getting in 6 or 7 kills before the nr 1 reached his 25 kills to end the match. 2nd and 3rd match I got shot about every 3 seconds and really didnt have much of a chance...
Ow... in the first match, I started right alongside a flying purple thingy, so that was a nice start

Anyway, not sure how long I can keepmyself away from Pro Evo to really give Halo 2 a chance... plus I'll be ordering JADE EMPIRE today or tomorrow cause it's fucking AWESOME. It's got a 9.9 score at IGN, and my own mag has also given it a mark in that area...

So that's going to be the 3rd game I'll be paying full price for (Xbox). with the first being GTA DP (actually got it from my girlfriend, and we only paid 50€ for it...) and the 2nd being Pro Evo 4 (also only 50€)
Jade Empire LE will cost me about 56€ so also not really all that expensive for such a great game...

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 23 Apr 2005, 13:19

Hey,

Read about a cool sounding Sonic type game... this could be interesting. Its' called Shadow The Hedgehog.

Review (from Play.com):

Shadow The Hedgehog allows players to collect an arsenal of weapons, vehicles, and objects to rocket through more than 50 unique missions. In his feature debut, Shadow is tormented by a dark past, struggling to discover his true identity. He is caught in a complex battle between aliens, the G.U.N. army, and Dr. Eggman, and discovers that he may be the very element that will tip the scales between good and evil forever.

Is he an android created by Dr. Eggman? Is he the original Shadow simply suffering from amnesia? Or is there an even more sinister explanation? Now, gamers will decide in a race against time by choosing between any number of routes by which to unveil the secrets of his past. Multiple endings will reflect critical decisions at every stage of the game. Gamers have ultimate control over Shadow's past, with the potential to rewrite his history time and time again.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 24 Apr 2005, 04:52

JADE EMPIRE!!!

I just finished this, and it is the BEST single player RPG i've ever played.

-Very good well written story.
-Great characters.
-Great voice acting.
-Awesome fight system that is really fun.
-Terrific soundtrack that fits whatever is happening perfectly.
-Tons of subquests to do.
-Lots of choices that WILL effect the outcome of the game, as well as relationships with other characters.
-Many different unique fighting styles, ranging from martial arts, to weapons, magic, or physical transformation.
-The way the player behaves during the game shapes their character, and the path he/she follows.

If you enjoy RPGs and have a xbox, do yourself a favor and buy Jade Empire.
Really a fantastic experiance.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 24 Apr 2005, 23:22

Playing Jade Empire as well at the moment. Not finished it yet though. Still at Tien's Landing...

Really enjoying the game so far. Also really taking my time for it, by having chosen the highest difficulty level for the fighting and just talking to each and every single person in the fucking game...

I'm being a good 2-shoes btw... always righteous etc...
probably gonna play it again being an evil bastard, although I doubt it will really make a HUGE differemce in the story...

Anyway, I'm very addicted to it now, and I hate having to work all day tomorrow, cause I'd much rather stay at home and play all day...

There are a few bad points about the game though, like the long loading times, and the 'fake' asian language/jibberish .... but other then that it's great fun to play.
(The basic fighting combo's are getting a bit boring as well btw... plus I just spend 4250 silver coins on some acrobat style or whatever, but really dont experience much of a difference, let alone any way to actually use it...)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 04 May 2005, 14:12

Whats the cheapest price for Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat on Gamecube?

Most reviews I've read like the game and say its great fun BUT one of the things that makes it fun is the bongo controller, the USP of the game. Take them away (its possible to play with the standard Cube controller) and its not as good.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 06 May 2005, 05:31

Well, I just finished Jade Empire for the 3rd time, and I'd just like to confirm that it is the best RPG ever. I cannot sufficiently express in words how much I love this game

Yi-Long...it is deffinetly worth going through again playing evil. I much prefer being the hero in games like this, but towards the end of the game they REALLY let you be the true villain, and that's fun also :evil2:

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 May 2005, 11:18

Anyone?

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 06 May 2005, 17:42

Sorry grim I did not mean to ignore you...I think its called "Donkey Konga" over here in the States, and its $50 US. From what i've seen, its not worth playing without the bongo controller.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 May 2005, 18:09

Thats OK ReconFive.

No prob

I thought Donkey Konga was a different game? (Thats out in the UK as well). Konga is a rhythm action game (similar to Samba de Amigo or something like that) and Jungle Beat is a platformer (using the bongos). I agree with you I dont think it would be good without them

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 06 May 2005, 18:31

Currently playing:

- Project Gotham Racing 2
- Pariah
- Unreal Championship 2

all on my XBox.

tpr007 · Post by **tpr007** » 19 May 2005, 08:52

Currently playing:

PSP: Lumines/Ridge Racer

DS: Zoo Keeper

PS2: Psi-Ops

XBox: Pro Evo 4

Cube: nothing! (until my new cube arrives with resi 4)

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 19 May 2005, 13:22

TPR: do you also play Pro Evo online!? Its fucking addictive

I tried playing Top Spin online but I seemed to have some lag, even though I was hosting, which was pretty weird. (I had the lag with the service, where I couldnt stop the moving bar where I wanted it to stop...)

Right now I'm still playing Jade Empire, mixing it up with Pro Evo.
I'm a little stuck with Jade. Not story-wise cause that's easy, but I'm doing all the fights at the highest difficulty-level so sometimes I'm a bit fed up with it...
I'm in the arena, getting all the former opponents thrown at me at once... evil bastards.

tpr007 · Post by **tpr007** » 20 May 2005, 01:49

I do occasionally play pro evo online, but prefer to play Master League.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 22 Jun 2005, 21:08

ReconFive wrote:JADE EMPIRE!!!

I just finished this, and it is the BEST single player RPG i've ever played.

-Very good well written story.
-Great characters.
-Great voice acting.
-Awesome fight system that is really fun.
-Terrific soundtrack that fits whatever is happening perfectly.
-Tons of subquests to do.
-Lots of choices that WILL effect the outcome of the game, as well as relationships with other characters.
-Many different unique fighting styles, ranging from martial arts, to weapons, magic, or physical transformation.
-The way the player behaves during the game shapes their character, and the path he/she follows.

If you enjoy RPGs and have a xbox, do yourself a favor and buy Jade Empire.
Really a fantastic experiance.

I'm playing that on my brothers X-Box and really enjoying it so far (only just started it though).
My brother has finished it - now I'm playing as a good guy, next time I will be EVIL! :twisted:

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 22 Jun 2005, 23:20

- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
- Unreal Championship 2
- Doom III
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

All on my XBox.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 12 Jul 2005, 06:31

Battlefield II

This game kicks major ass. I loved 1942 and Vietnam, but this is 100 times better! Without a doubt the best realism based combat-sim FPS ever.

Grim, glad to hear your playing Jade Empire :thumbright: It is an unbelievable game, and i hope you enjoy the rest of it. Let me know your thoughts

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 12 Jul 2005, 09:31

Thanks. I'll ask my brother if I can have a bash again (its' his game, not mine)

But I'm also playing Paper Mario on the 'Cube - a superb game IMO. Jungle Beat is fun also.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 12 Jul 2005, 10:25

I played the demo of Jade Empire but I couldn't really get into it.

Right now, I'm playing through Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and loving it. This is definitely the best stealth game I've ever played! I can't wait for Splinter Cell 4!

I've also recently finished TimeSplitters: Future Perfect - a very quirky and fun game...

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 12 Jul 2005, 13:12

Still mainly playing Pro Evo 4. Blasted a volley just over the crossbar last night... :'(
Should finish Jade Empire but been busy with internship (which is finished now) and ofcourse having a girlfriend doesnt help...

On the verge of buying a modded Xbox. Really hope all the emulators work well...
I'll the xbox I have now for Xbox Live, but I'm affraid my dvd-drive won't have much life in it for much longer (some dvd's he has trouble with playing the extra's), so better off buying a new modded one...
Only problem being that I'm off to HK next week, so can't really find the time to go and get one, as it's (the place I'm planning on getting my modded xbox from) on the other side of the country ...

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 12 Jul 2005, 14:33

I wouldn't even go near a modded XBox now. There has been a few cases of people getting caught out recently and having to pay fines.

Why not just be honest and either buy a second legal XBox to replace your existing one with the failing DVD drive (is it a Thomson drive?), or replace the DVD drive?

Apparantly it is fiarly easy to replace the DVD drive, but you have to find one which will work with the XBox - it's not like a PC where you can just put any old drive in and it will work.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 13 Jul 2005, 17:06

Yeah it's a Thompson. hasnt really given me much trouble otherwise (even seems to read dvd-roms) but it's crapped when I tried watching some special features on some discs... which worked fine on my normal dvd player (which is shite for another reason.

But I prefer a modded Xbox for several reasons. First of all my normal dvd-player was very expensive, but is crap now (massive color-bleeding or something...).
I wanna be able to play those emulators, cause I used to have a SNES (gave it away to my nephews) and a Megadrive (cable is broken) and just wanna play some of my old favourites again (and on a console in front of a TV, and not on my PC).
Some xbox games I would never buy, but I'd like to be able to play them, or my girlfriend can play them, like Dance Dance Revolution or other girly games.
There are also some games that didnt get released here that I'm interested in, like Yourself! Fitness. Plus Ninja Gaiden, which I have, is censored here in Europe, so I want to play the USA version.
More reasons, like being able to play AVI's and other mediafiles on my TV (Anime!) and being able to crank up the resolution, have all helped make up my mind. I don't think I'll risk being arrested cause under Dutch law, it's still legal to 'mod' your own stuff, be it a car or a PC or whatever. I'm not planning on selling/sharing illegal games or whatever.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 13 Jul 2005, 19:53

BTW: Bought Tigerwoods 2005 today, and it's gameface-feature, where you make ur own player, is pretty awesome. Also quite like the gameplay. Just gone a few rounds against a native american guy... Lost... but only just...

It only cost me 10 euro, so it was a bargain. Might also be able to pick up Chronickles of Riddick for the same price, but they didnt have it today...

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 14 Jul 2005, 11:48

Still playing Paper Mario 2 - marvellous

Its' very addictive - I'm on Chapter 7 out of 8 now (Mario shoots the Moon).
When are you supposed to do the Pit of 100 Trials bit?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 19 Jul 2005, 18:29

I'm on Chapter 8 now (The Thousand Year Door).

One of the most enjoyable games I've played for quite a while.
I'm on Chapter 8 now so will be kinda sad when its over

The game is hilarious

I love the Demon Seed-like parody where the computer falls in love with Princess Peach and tries to catch a glimpse of her in the shower (no really)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 Jul 2005, 18:47

Still on Chapter 8 - the bosses are reeeeaaaaly hard as I havent got many badge points :x