I've been thinking a lot about a couple of things. Namely time and the shear number of video games I own. I would love to completely play them all but realistically it's not possible. So how do I decide which ones to play all the way through and which ones I play whenever with no expectation of finishing them.
I've been looking through my list of games and based on the influence a game has had on the industry and my experiences with it I've come up with a list of games that I own that I feel are a "must play" game. Meaning, this is a game that I want to tell everyone "I played that and finished it". I'm going through this one system at a time so some lists will be shorter or longer than others depending on how many games I own for that system. Maybe some day I'll make a list of must play games for games that I don't own (but will probably own them some day - I just can't stop buying them). But right now this is based on games that I OWN. Keep that in mind as you read this list. I've made some comments on some of them just because I can.
Playstation (original)
Abe's Oddysee
The beginning of the Oddworld games and their wonder irreverent style of gameplay. Farting and burping have never been as fun . . . or productive in video games.
Chrono Cross
Some people would say Chrono Trigger but I started playing this game first and I love the shear number of characters you can recruit and have in your party. It adds some strategy to what seems like a typical RPG. And the enemies can really mess with your strategy.
Crash Bandicoot
This mascot has been in quite a number of games. It should be interesting to see the game that started it all.
Descent
A Doom clone but this time you're in a ship. The game has true 6 axis movement which blew my mind when I played it for the first time. I don't know why I struggle to play the original Doom games but don't really have any problems navigating this game. It's the first game that made me think of games in a real three dimensional environment.
Final Fantasy Tactics
I have this game for my PSP and I actually like playing it more on that system than on the Playstation. I'm not sure why. But I first started playing it on this system and I love the amount of customization that you can do for your group as a whole and each individual character in your party. This is a game that I love to sit and just do random battles and not advance the story because I love it so much.
Final Fantasy VII
Everyone says this is the best Final Fantasy game. I disagree but you can read about that below. It has had such an influence on gamers and is being remade so it's definitely one that every games should play.
Final Fantasy IX
This is my favorite Final Fantasy games. Ever. The only one that comes close is Final Fantasy X and that isn't close to over take IX. I got so close to finishing this game before my stuff was robbed that I was heartbroken to have all that progress lost . . . until I realized that it meant I had to play it again and I was happy. One of the few games I was willing to say that about.
Grandia
This is an epic RPG that showed Final Fantasy didn't have a corner on the market for RPG games. And it spawned a couple of sequels in the franchise.
Legend of Dragoon
This is the first solo campaign that finished and got to the end credits. It was simply beautiful. And I cried. And it deserves a sequel more so than any other game I can think of. Somebody please make that happen.
Legend of Legaia
Discovering all the hidden special moves made this game really fun. It's so satisfying to see that you unlocked something just by pushing random button combinations. It helps give you a different take on combat too.
Metal Gear Solid
This is a game everyone should play. You can't deny how much of an impact it has had on the industry. But someone please explain to me the whole Metal Gear lore. I'm lost and clueless about it.
Rayman
Another mascot that has spawned several games. One of those games I'm playing and capturing now and it's killing me. Literally. Still fun. Another one where it's nice to see where everything started. And I remember when it came out and everyone was upset that he didn't have any legs or arms, but had hands and feet. Weird.
Spyro the Dragon
Another franchise game. Fun. Simple. I just wish the camera controls were better.
Threads of Fate
I think this is the first game that I played that switched between 2 main characters. I found it innovated. Probably wasn't the first game to do this, but it was the first for me that I remember.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Not the first Tomb Raider game but it's the first one I played. The controls have gotten much better since this one. It was nice to have a female protagonist instead them always being the damsel in distress, even if her boobs are unrealistically too large (this was before the age that plastic surgery and boob enhancements went wild). That girl must have so many back problems.
The only one on the list that I've actually finished is Legend of Dragoon. The rest are on my wish list to capture and post to me YouTube channel . . . some day. I might even replay Legend of Dragoon. It's that good of a game even if it doesn't hold up graphically very well these days.
What are the original Playstation games that you would say are "must play"? Maybe our lists have a couple duplicates. Tell me in the comments and why I should play them. Maybe if you're convincing enough I might go out and try to find a copy and play it. Influence me. I dare you.
Showing posts with label Grandia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grandia. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Must play games for Playstation (original) (that I own)
I've been thinking a lot about a couple of things. Namely time and the shear number of video games I own. I would love to completely play them all but realistically it's not possible. So how do I decide which ones to play all the way through and which ones I play whenever with no expectation of finishing them.
I've been looking through my list of games and based on the influence a game has had on the industry and my experiences with it I've come up with a list of games that I own that I feel are a "must play" game. Meaning, this is a game that I want to tell everyone "I played that and finished it". I'm going through this one system at a time so some lists will be shorter or longer than others depending on how many games I own for that system. Maybe some day I'll make a list of must play games for games that I don't own (but will probably own them some day - I can't stop buying). But right now this this is based on games that I OWN. Keep that in mind as you read this list. I've made some comments on some of them just because I can.
Playstation (original)
Abe's Oddysee
The beginning of the Oddworld games and their wonder irreverent style of gameplay. Farting and burping have never been as fun . . . or productive in video games.
Chrono Cross
Some people would say Chrono Trigger but I started playing this game first and I love the shear number of characters you can recruit and have in your party. It adds some strategy to what seems like a typical RPG. And the enemies can really mess with your strategy.
Crash Bandicoot
This mascot has been in quite a number of games. It should be interesting to see the game that started it all.
Descent
A Doom clone but this time you're in a ship. The game has true 6 axis movement which blew my mind when I played it for the first time. I don't know why I struggle to play the original Doom games but don't really have any problems navigating this game. It's the first game that made me think of games in a real three dimensional environment.
Final Fantasy Tactics
I have this game for my PSP and I actually like playing it more on that system than on the Playstation. I'm not sure why. But I first started playing it on this system and I love the amount of customization that you can do for your group as a whole and each individual character in your party. This is a game that I love to sit and just do random battles and not advance the story because I love it so much.
Final Fantasy VII
Everyone says this is the best Final Fantasy game. I disagree but you can read about that below. It has had such an influence on gamers and is being remade so it's definitely one that every games should play.
Final Fantasy IX
This is my favorite Final Fantasy games. Ever. The only one that comes close is Final Fantasy X and that isn't close to over take IX. I got so close to finishing this game before my stuff was robbed that I was heartbroken to have all that progress lost . . . until I realized that it meant I had to play it again and I was happy. One of the few games I was willing to say that about.
Grandia
This is an epic RPG that showed Final Fantasy didn't have a corner on the market for RPG games. And it spawned a couple of sequels in the franchise.
Legend of Dragoon
This is the first solo campaign that finished and got to the end credits. It was simply beautiful. And I cried. And it deserves a sequel more so than any other game I can think of. Somebody please make that happen.
Legend of Legaia
Discovering all the hidden special moves made this game really fun. It's so satisfying to see that you unlocked something just by pushing random button combinations. It helps give you a different take on combat too.
Metal Gear Solid
This is a game everyone should play. You can't deny how much of an impact it has had on the industry. But someone please explain to me the whole Metal Gear lore. I'm lost and clueless about it.
Rayman
Another mascot that has spawned several games. One of those games I'm playing and capturing now and it's killing me. Literally. Still fun. Another one where it's nice to see where everything started. And I remember when it came out and everyone was upset that he didn't have any legs or arms, but had hands and feet. Weird.
Spyro the Dragon
Another franchise game. Fun. Simple. I just wish the camera controls were better.
Threads of Fate
I think this is the first game that I played that switched between 2 main characters. I found it innovated. Probably wasn't the first game to do this, but it was the first for me that I remember.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Not the first Tomb Raider game but it's the first one I played. The controls have gotten much better since this one. It was nice to have a female protagonist instead them always being the damsel in distress, even if her boobs are unrealistically too large (this was before the age that plastic surgery and boob enhancements went wild). That girl must have so many back problems.
The only one on the list that I've actually finished is Legend of Dragoon. The rest are on my wish list to capture and post to me YouTube channel . . . some day. I might even replay Legend of Dragoon. It's that good of a game even if it doesn't hold up graphically very well these days.
What are the original Playstation games that you would say are "must play"? Maybe our lists have a couple duplicates. Tell me in the comments and why I should play them. Maybe if you're convincing enough I might go out and try to find a copy and play it. Influence me. I dare you.
I've been looking through my list of games and based on the influence a game has had on the industry and my experiences with it I've come up with a list of games that I own that I feel are a "must play" game. Meaning, this is a game that I want to tell everyone "I played that and finished it". I'm going through this one system at a time so some lists will be shorter or longer than others depending on how many games I own for that system. Maybe some day I'll make a list of must play games for games that I don't own (but will probably own them some day - I can't stop buying). But right now this this is based on games that I OWN. Keep that in mind as you read this list. I've made some comments on some of them just because I can.
Playstation (original)
Abe's Oddysee
The beginning of the Oddworld games and their wonder irreverent style of gameplay. Farting and burping have never been as fun . . . or productive in video games.
Chrono Cross
Some people would say Chrono Trigger but I started playing this game first and I love the shear number of characters you can recruit and have in your party. It adds some strategy to what seems like a typical RPG. And the enemies can really mess with your strategy.
Crash Bandicoot
This mascot has been in quite a number of games. It should be interesting to see the game that started it all.
Descent
A Doom clone but this time you're in a ship. The game has true 6 axis movement which blew my mind when I played it for the first time. I don't know why I struggle to play the original Doom games but don't really have any problems navigating this game. It's the first game that made me think of games in a real three dimensional environment.
Final Fantasy Tactics
I have this game for my PSP and I actually like playing it more on that system than on the Playstation. I'm not sure why. But I first started playing it on this system and I love the amount of customization that you can do for your group as a whole and each individual character in your party. This is a game that I love to sit and just do random battles and not advance the story because I love it so much.
Final Fantasy VII
Everyone says this is the best Final Fantasy game. I disagree but you can read about that below. It has had such an influence on gamers and is being remade so it's definitely one that every games should play.
Final Fantasy IX
This is my favorite Final Fantasy games. Ever. The only one that comes close is Final Fantasy X and that isn't close to over take IX. I got so close to finishing this game before my stuff was robbed that I was heartbroken to have all that progress lost . . . until I realized that it meant I had to play it again and I was happy. One of the few games I was willing to say that about.
Grandia
This is an epic RPG that showed Final Fantasy didn't have a corner on the market for RPG games. And it spawned a couple of sequels in the franchise.
Legend of Dragoon
This is the first solo campaign that finished and got to the end credits. It was simply beautiful. And I cried. And it deserves a sequel more so than any other game I can think of. Somebody please make that happen.
Legend of Legaia
Discovering all the hidden special moves made this game really fun. It's so satisfying to see that you unlocked something just by pushing random button combinations. It helps give you a different take on combat too.
Metal Gear Solid
This is a game everyone should play. You can't deny how much of an impact it has had on the industry. But someone please explain to me the whole Metal Gear lore. I'm lost and clueless about it.
Rayman
Another mascot that has spawned several games. One of those games I'm playing and capturing now and it's killing me. Literally. Still fun. Another one where it's nice to see where everything started. And I remember when it came out and everyone was upset that he didn't have any legs or arms, but had hands and feet. Weird.
Spyro the Dragon
Another franchise game. Fun. Simple. I just wish the camera controls were better.
Threads of Fate
I think this is the first game that I played that switched between 2 main characters. I found it innovated. Probably wasn't the first game to do this, but it was the first for me that I remember.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Not the first Tomb Raider game but it's the first one I played. The controls have gotten much better since this one. It was nice to have a female protagonist instead them always being the damsel in distress, even if her boobs are unrealistically too large (this was before the age that plastic surgery and boob enhancements went wild). That girl must have so many back problems.
The only one on the list that I've actually finished is Legend of Dragoon. The rest are on my wish list to capture and post to me YouTube channel . . . some day. I might even replay Legend of Dragoon. It's that good of a game even if it doesn't hold up graphically very well these days.
What are the original Playstation games that you would say are "must play"? Maybe our lists have a couple duplicates. Tell me in the comments and why I should play them. Maybe if you're convincing enough I might go out and try to find a copy and play it. Influence me. I dare you.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Day 3 and beyond of Xbox 360 Purgatory
So, my first couple of days didn't go so well back on the PS2. It's certainly not the consoles fault. I'm just a little rusty with the system. Everything will go much better now. Right?
Not exactly. I gave up on Half-Life. I just wasn't in the mood to replay the opening part again for at least the 4th time. Time for a new game. So I put in SSX Tricky. If there's any game that could get me out of this funk that would be the game to do it.
Except I couldn't get my controller to activate. No matter what buttons I pushed or how many times I plugged the controller in and out it just wouldn't do anything in the game. So I took the game out and put in another one. After all the controller worked during Half-Life so that couldn't be the problem. Right?
I put in TimeSplitters. If SSX Tricky couldn't do anything for me TimeSplitters should be able to pick up the slack. When the game booted up my controller wouldn't work in that game either.
Maybe there's nothing wrong with the game, but something is wrong with my controller.
So I now I had to figure out where my extra Playstation controllers were kept. I still have boxes I haven't unpacked, could they be in one of them? Or maybe there in a box or plastic crate that I have opened up, but just haven't done anything with. And then it hit me. I unpacked a bag of extra controllers for all my systems, along with extra cords of all kinds, and placed it behind the TV. After pulling out the bag and rummaging around for a Playstation controller I finally found one and plugged it in. I was ready to play. And it worked.
I played through the first mission in the story mode of TimeSplitters before I got bored (it's just not the same playing by yourself) and then went back to SSX Tricky. I picked the character Zoe (because of my dog) and headed down the first mountain as a refresher course. I was starting to hang of it so I started the second race. That was when the real Zoe decided the only place she wanted to be right then was sitting on my lap. And the only thing she wanted to be doing was licking my hands. I couldn't get her to stop. And I couldn't play while she did it. So I turned the system off, turned the TV on, and let my dog get comfortable in my lap. Twenty minutes later she was off to play with her Wubbie, but I was too tired of hassling with things just to play a video game that I didn't bother turning the system back on.
The next day, after work when I had a chance to play again, I decided I was going to play an RPG. And old RPG. The kind of game that got me hooked as a gamer in the first place. So I took some time and flipped through my book of games trying to decide which game to play.
I wanted a game to get lost in the story. If it was something I had already started I didn't want to be too far along in the game because I either wouldn't know what was going on or I would have to restart it and play through parts I had already done. That left a lot of the Final Fantasy games.
I also didn't want to play a game that was on 4 disks. I wanted something quick and not something that would take months to play through. That left out .dot Hack, the Final Fantasy games (again), Xenosaga (even through their multiple "games" it's still one story line to me) and number of other games as well. I also eliminated the Grandia series even though their not 4 disks in length. If I played the first one I might very well want to move on to the later ones as well and then when would I play my 360 when I get it back?
After a couple of other elimination rounds I had it narrowed down to my two Arc the Lad games or Chrono Trigger (and then Chrono Cross if my system was out that long). On the one had I had played through Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits and I think I got to the end but I couldn't beat the final boss. I didn't have the right armor or weapons and I was caught in an area that wouldn't let me leave to go find them. So I had restarted the game (see, I'm always restarting games) making sure I keep the required weapons/armor for that final boss. And then stopped about a quarter of the way through the game. I didn't want to start from scratch again, but since I've already played the game it didn't have that much appeal for me this time.
On the other hand I really wanted to play Chrono Cross, but that's a game I've started at least 3 times that I can remember. I love that game. But I have a problem with that game. I'm a completionist at heart so I want to collect every single playable character there is in the game. But once I have them in my party I have a hard time managing all their skills and growth. I get overwhelmed. Find out I missed picking up another characters. So I restart the game with a specific game play in place for when I pick up new characters. I love working with the battle system and field effects. But I have a hard time picking the right characters for the right battles. If I played this game I know I'd want to start all over again, but the first 2-3 hours of that game are boring because I've played them so many times.
So after looking at all the pros and cons I decided on playing Chrono Trigger. It's a game I don't think I've played (although the first 10 minutes looked a little familiar, but maybe I just watched dain play the game) and I didn't have a saved game file for. I could start fresh. Yeah!
I put the disk in, played for 41 minutes (according to the save file) before I got to a good stopping point before going to bed. But before I went to bed I remembered I had the strategy guide for this book and I should probably get it out to have handy just in case I get stuck. Once I got it out I started flipping through it and found out that I had missed exploring half of the opening area, missed out on half of the mini-games at the fair, and didn't do one of the things I would need to do later on in the game. Great. Re-start anyone?
I went to bed debating whether I should re-start the game (great, another re-start) or just make do with what I've done so far. One of the things I failed to do (win a clone of yourself) I could do later on in the game but would be harder to get. Plus I had spent all my meager gil on items that I didn't have enough to fully equip myself when I set out. If I had explored the other areas mentioned in the book I would have had the money to get everything I wanted and I would be better prepared for battles to come. What to do?
After a long day at work I decided I would re-start the game, explore all the areas available to me, have a hand at all the mini-games in the fair and win myself a clone. Like I said I'm a completionist at heart. When I got to the same point where I had saved before it had only added 20+ minutes to my game, but it was well worth it. I had enough gil to buy anything and everything I wanted and I had mastered two Techs, whereas the book recommended one. And every since then that is all I have been playing. When I get further into it I might post a review.
I should have my 360 back by this weekend, if not sooner. Until then I'll keep playing Chrono Trigger and maybe I can finish it. And maybe I'll just keep my PS2 out so I can play other games. Every now and then.
Not exactly. I gave up on Half-Life. I just wasn't in the mood to replay the opening part again for at least the 4th time. Time for a new game. So I put in SSX Tricky. If there's any game that could get me out of this funk that would be the game to do it.
Except I couldn't get my controller to activate. No matter what buttons I pushed or how many times I plugged the controller in and out it just wouldn't do anything in the game. So I took the game out and put in another one. After all the controller worked during Half-Life so that couldn't be the problem. Right?
I put in TimeSplitters. If SSX Tricky couldn't do anything for me TimeSplitters should be able to pick up the slack. When the game booted up my controller wouldn't work in that game either.
Maybe there's nothing wrong with the game, but something is wrong with my controller.
So I now I had to figure out where my extra Playstation controllers were kept. I still have boxes I haven't unpacked, could they be in one of them? Or maybe there in a box or plastic crate that I have opened up, but just haven't done anything with. And then it hit me. I unpacked a bag of extra controllers for all my systems, along with extra cords of all kinds, and placed it behind the TV. After pulling out the bag and rummaging around for a Playstation controller I finally found one and plugged it in. I was ready to play. And it worked.
I played through the first mission in the story mode of TimeSplitters before I got bored (it's just not the same playing by yourself) and then went back to SSX Tricky. I picked the character Zoe (because of my dog) and headed down the first mountain as a refresher course. I was starting to hang of it so I started the second race. That was when the real Zoe decided the only place she wanted to be right then was sitting on my lap. And the only thing she wanted to be doing was licking my hands. I couldn't get her to stop. And I couldn't play while she did it. So I turned the system off, turned the TV on, and let my dog get comfortable in my lap. Twenty minutes later she was off to play with her Wubbie, but I was too tired of hassling with things just to play a video game that I didn't bother turning the system back on.
The next day, after work when I had a chance to play again, I decided I was going to play an RPG. And old RPG. The kind of game that got me hooked as a gamer in the first place. So I took some time and flipped through my book of games trying to decide which game to play.
I wanted a game to get lost in the story. If it was something I had already started I didn't want to be too far along in the game because I either wouldn't know what was going on or I would have to restart it and play through parts I had already done. That left a lot of the Final Fantasy games.
I also didn't want to play a game that was on 4 disks. I wanted something quick and not something that would take months to play through. That left out .dot Hack, the Final Fantasy games (again), Xenosaga (even through their multiple "games" it's still one story line to me) and number of other games as well. I also eliminated the Grandia series even though their not 4 disks in length. If I played the first one I might very well want to move on to the later ones as well and then when would I play my 360 when I get it back?
After a couple of other elimination rounds I had it narrowed down to my two Arc the Lad games or Chrono Trigger (and then Chrono Cross if my system was out that long). On the one had I had played through Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits and I think I got to the end but I couldn't beat the final boss. I didn't have the right armor or weapons and I was caught in an area that wouldn't let me leave to go find them. So I had restarted the game (see, I'm always restarting games) making sure I keep the required weapons/armor for that final boss. And then stopped about a quarter of the way through the game. I didn't want to start from scratch again, but since I've already played the game it didn't have that much appeal for me this time.
On the other hand I really wanted to play Chrono Cross, but that's a game I've started at least 3 times that I can remember. I love that game. But I have a problem with that game. I'm a completionist at heart so I want to collect every single playable character there is in the game. But once I have them in my party I have a hard time managing all their skills and growth. I get overwhelmed. Find out I missed picking up another characters. So I restart the game with a specific game play in place for when I pick up new characters. I love working with the battle system and field effects. But I have a hard time picking the right characters for the right battles. If I played this game I know I'd want to start all over again, but the first 2-3 hours of that game are boring because I've played them so many times.
So after looking at all the pros and cons I decided on playing Chrono Trigger. It's a game I don't think I've played (although the first 10 minutes looked a little familiar, but maybe I just watched dain play the game) and I didn't have a saved game file for. I could start fresh. Yeah!
I put the disk in, played for 41 minutes (according to the save file) before I got to a good stopping point before going to bed. But before I went to bed I remembered I had the strategy guide for this book and I should probably get it out to have handy just in case I get stuck. Once I got it out I started flipping through it and found out that I had missed exploring half of the opening area, missed out on half of the mini-games at the fair, and didn't do one of the things I would need to do later on in the game. Great. Re-start anyone?
I went to bed debating whether I should re-start the game (great, another re-start) or just make do with what I've done so far. One of the things I failed to do (win a clone of yourself) I could do later on in the game but would be harder to get. Plus I had spent all my meager gil on items that I didn't have enough to fully equip myself when I set out. If I had explored the other areas mentioned in the book I would have had the money to get everything I wanted and I would be better prepared for battles to come. What to do?
After a long day at work I decided I would re-start the game, explore all the areas available to me, have a hand at all the mini-games in the fair and win myself a clone. Like I said I'm a completionist at heart. When I got to the same point where I had saved before it had only added 20+ minutes to my game, but it was well worth it. I had enough gil to buy anything and everything I wanted and I had mastered two Techs, whereas the book recommended one. And every since then that is all I have been playing. When I get further into it I might post a review.
I should have my 360 back by this weekend, if not sooner. Until then I'll keep playing Chrono Trigger and maybe I can finish it. And maybe I'll just keep my PS2 out so I can play other games. Every now and then.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Games I own, but haven't played
Until someone decides to pay me for doing nothing so I can stay home and play video games all day and not have to go to work, I think I'll always own some games that I've never played.
I'm not just talking about sequels I haven't played because I haven't finished playing the original, but other games. Games like Tomb Raider: Legend, Mass Effect and Enchanted Arms for Xbox 360; Doom 3, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and Stranger's Wrath for Xbox; Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for PSP; Deux Ex: The Conspiracy, Half-Life and Onimusha for PS2; Chrono Trigger, Dragon Warrior VII, Grandia and Medal of Honor: Underground for PS. I have dabbled a little bit in all my Game Cube games but I think that's only because I don't have that many to begin with.
I made the mistake of admitting to some friends that I owned Mass Effect but haven't played it yet and boy did they rip me up and down for that. Okay, I get it and I'm sorry. That game is going to take some time to play instead of 20-30 minutes here and there. Right now that seems to be all the attention span I can handle for any one game. And then there are my friends who keep sending me invites to Call of Duty 4. I suck at the game. My deaths are 2x or 3x my kills, but I still enjoy playing with my friends and finally figuring some of the maps out.
So someday I need to just sit down and pick a game or two and start playing it. You would think the weekends would be perfect for that, but they're not. There's laundry to do, bathrooms to clean and dishes to wash. It's just as much work sometimes at home as it is in the office.
Eventually I will play those games and they can go from "owned, but not played" to "owned, but not finished". That's not much better but it's the best I can do.
I'm not just talking about sequels I haven't played because I haven't finished playing the original, but other games. Games like Tomb Raider: Legend, Mass Effect and Enchanted Arms for Xbox 360; Doom 3, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and Stranger's Wrath for Xbox; Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for PSP; Deux Ex: The Conspiracy, Half-Life and Onimusha for PS2; Chrono Trigger, Dragon Warrior VII, Grandia and Medal of Honor: Underground for PS. I have dabbled a little bit in all my Game Cube games but I think that's only because I don't have that many to begin with.
I made the mistake of admitting to some friends that I owned Mass Effect but haven't played it yet and boy did they rip me up and down for that. Okay, I get it and I'm sorry. That game is going to take some time to play instead of 20-30 minutes here and there. Right now that seems to be all the attention span I can handle for any one game. And then there are my friends who keep sending me invites to Call of Duty 4. I suck at the game. My deaths are 2x or 3x my kills, but I still enjoy playing with my friends and finally figuring some of the maps out.
So someday I need to just sit down and pick a game or two and start playing it. You would think the weekends would be perfect for that, but they're not. There's laundry to do, bathrooms to clean and dishes to wash. It's just as much work sometimes at home as it is in the office.
Eventually I will play those games and they can go from "owned, but not played" to "owned, but not finished". That's not much better but it's the best I can do.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
When do you play a sequel?
So you play a game and like it. Maybe a year or two later a sequel to the game comes out. You buy it intending to play it as soon as you get home only to realize that you haven't finished playing the first game. What do you do?
Do you put the game in and play it anyway even though you don't know how things ended with the first one? Or are you like me and just tuck it away in a game case for that time when you know you'll (maybe) get around to finishing the first game?
I don't like it when the ending of things (movies, books, games) gets ruined for me. It takes that emotional punch away after all your hard work to see things through until the end. I watched my brother finish Final Fantasy X. I was fascinated with how the story was unfolding, but I wasn't close to finishing the game myself. By the time I got to the end it was still great but it didn't have that "blow me away" factor. Been there; done that.
I can trace this aversion to spoilers to a specific incident all the way back to when I was seven years old. Star Wars had come out and me and my older siblings wanted desperately to go see the movie. Unfortunately my mother couldn't take us when it first came out because she was pregnant with my youngest brother. After he was born she still couldn't take us because she had a new baby. My older sister (13 years old) concocted a plan for her, my older brother (10 years old) and myself to take the bus to the movie theater. We had everything planned out when we presented it to my mother. She agreed. We were thrilled we were finally going to see what everyone had been talking about all summer.
What we didn't figure on was that the bus schedule we used was out dated. When we got to the spot where we needed to transfer routes there was no bus to be seen. We waited for 20 minutes. Still no bus. So we started walking in the direction of the theater. We paused at each bus stop along the way but still no bus. When we were half-way between 2 stops a bus drove by. We waved our arms, screamed and ran after it but it wouldn't stop. We ended up walking the whole way there (I learned later about 2.5 miles). When we finally got to the theater and bought our tickets the girl said the movie just started.
She lied.
We crept in and sat down and started watching the movie in the middle of the cantina scene. Now if you've seen the movie you will know that the cantina scene is NOT at the beginning of the movie. It's about 30 minutes in. I didn't know who any of the people were on the screen. Who were the bad guys? Who were the good guys? Why should I care?
By the end of the movie I couldn't figure out why everyone liked the movie so much because I didn't know what was going on. My sister called my mom from a payphone (yes they did have payphones back in those days) and told her about the buses. Because we had missed a bunch of the movie we were all crying. My mom suggested we talk to the manager to see if he could let us stay to watch the part of the movie that we had missed. I guess looking into the faces of 3 crying children was enough for him because he agreed. We ended up staying for the whole thing. And now that I had seen the WHOLE movie, from beginning to end, I knew why everyone liked it so much.
But when the movie started I also knew a lot of other things as well. I knew what would happen to Obi-Wan by the end of the movie from the moment he walked out. I knew to fear Dark Vader and the Empire even before that Star Destroyer crawls across the top of the screen. I knew Luke was more than a whinny farm boy and that they would save the princess and Han wouldn't do it for the money. I knew the ending. Before I had seen the beginning. Because of that Obi-Wan has always been my favorite character. But since then I've never liked to know how things end before I had seen how things started.
I have video game sequels to Ape Escape, Halo, Dark Cloud, Grandia, Legend of Legaia, Xenosaga, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, Jak & Daxter, Rachet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many other games. And I haven't finish any one of them. Their sequels sit in my large disk chase just waiting for me to play . . . the originals. I have enough games to play a new one every day of the year but that's not going to help finish any of them. And I couldn't play some of them because their sequels.
So when do you play a sequel? I wait to play mine.
Do you put the game in and play it anyway even though you don't know how things ended with the first one? Or are you like me and just tuck it away in a game case for that time when you know you'll (maybe) get around to finishing the first game?
I don't like it when the ending of things (movies, books, games) gets ruined for me. It takes that emotional punch away after all your hard work to see things through until the end. I watched my brother finish Final Fantasy X. I was fascinated with how the story was unfolding, but I wasn't close to finishing the game myself. By the time I got to the end it was still great but it didn't have that "blow me away" factor. Been there; done that.
I can trace this aversion to spoilers to a specific incident all the way back to when I was seven years old. Star Wars had come out and me and my older siblings wanted desperately to go see the movie. Unfortunately my mother couldn't take us when it first came out because she was pregnant with my youngest brother. After he was born she still couldn't take us because she had a new baby. My older sister (13 years old) concocted a plan for her, my older brother (10 years old) and myself to take the bus to the movie theater. We had everything planned out when we presented it to my mother. She agreed. We were thrilled we were finally going to see what everyone had been talking about all summer.
What we didn't figure on was that the bus schedule we used was out dated. When we got to the spot where we needed to transfer routes there was no bus to be seen. We waited for 20 minutes. Still no bus. So we started walking in the direction of the theater. We paused at each bus stop along the way but still no bus. When we were half-way between 2 stops a bus drove by. We waved our arms, screamed and ran after it but it wouldn't stop. We ended up walking the whole way there (I learned later about 2.5 miles). When we finally got to the theater and bought our tickets the girl said the movie just started.
She lied.
We crept in and sat down and started watching the movie in the middle of the cantina scene. Now if you've seen the movie you will know that the cantina scene is NOT at the beginning of the movie. It's about 30 minutes in. I didn't know who any of the people were on the screen. Who were the bad guys? Who were the good guys? Why should I care?
By the end of the movie I couldn't figure out why everyone liked the movie so much because I didn't know what was going on. My sister called my mom from a payphone (yes they did have payphones back in those days) and told her about the buses. Because we had missed a bunch of the movie we were all crying. My mom suggested we talk to the manager to see if he could let us stay to watch the part of the movie that we had missed. I guess looking into the faces of 3 crying children was enough for him because he agreed. We ended up staying for the whole thing. And now that I had seen the WHOLE movie, from beginning to end, I knew why everyone liked it so much.
But when the movie started I also knew a lot of other things as well. I knew what would happen to Obi-Wan by the end of the movie from the moment he walked out. I knew to fear Dark Vader and the Empire even before that Star Destroyer crawls across the top of the screen. I knew Luke was more than a whinny farm boy and that they would save the princess and Han wouldn't do it for the money. I knew the ending. Before I had seen the beginning. Because of that Obi-Wan has always been my favorite character. But since then I've never liked to know how things end before I had seen how things started.
I have video game sequels to Ape Escape, Halo, Dark Cloud, Grandia, Legend of Legaia, Xenosaga, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, Jak & Daxter, Rachet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Wild Arms, Suikoden and many other games. And I haven't finish any one of them. Their sequels sit in my large disk chase just waiting for me to play . . . the originals. I have enough games to play a new one every day of the year but that's not going to help finish any of them. And I couldn't play some of them because their sequels.
So when do you play a sequel? I wait to play mine.
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