[The video game thread]

[ganon578]

I always dissed the Gamecube for its tiny little discs and inability to play DVDs. Once I got our Wii, though, and tried some Gamecube titles that I picked up on the cheap, I promptly recanted all my years of ignorance. Great system, some great exclusive titles, and a very comfortable controller.

I got several copies of Flingsmash at Target this week for $19.99. It's an OK game, and the kids enjoy it, but a Motionplus controller for $20 can't be beat! Especially if I sell the games for even $5.

I supported the GC through the dark times of PS2 and XBox dominance. And yes, that controller is probably the most comfortable I have ever used, though my 360 controller is really close, if not better.

I've seen Flingsmash several times at Target, and at $20 it's a steal. Right now we are super tight on money so it's not even an option to pick up a couple. Plus I currently have no other games that support MotionPlus (until Skyward Sword ever comes out).

Yeah, the Wii has brought back all my Gamecube love. I do appreciate the extra attention to detail that goes into certain Nintendo games. So even though they may not be the toughest of challenges, or the most graphically fantastic... its all the little nuances I like.

Every so often I'd find something new in Mario Sunshine that I'd never realised I could do before, and it really was fun messing about in all the different levels.

That's not to say there aren't fun games on other systems. I had an X-Box, PS2 and Gamecube. I think I got the most value from the GC, although X-Box Halo, Outrun 2, Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta & Fable ran it close a few times.

I sold off my GC system to GameStop when the Wii was released strictly due to backwards compatibility. No need to keep both around when I can play either on one system. Every now and then I just have to bust out a GC game and rock it.

I had some good times on other systems too; I was a diehard NES fan though I absolutely fell in love with my Genesis and Streets of Rage 2. I owned a PSOne for a while, though I didn't have anything that really caught me. I enjoyed MK Trilogy, and Jedi Power Battles was a fun and yet frustrating game. Since those two non-Nintendo systems I've only had Nintendo products until recently. I picked up a 360 for the ability to play all the great HD games that just don't appear on the Wii...

[Auntie Slag]

Oh yeah, undoubtedly the 360 and PS3 are lovely machines. I'd love to have those too, but simple time constraints are the biggest factor for me, and after a dodgy day at work I do prefer the boundless flexibility & bright happy colours of a Mario game over a brooding third person actioner (I've done enough of those over the years).

Mind you, Locoroco and Gitaroo Man on the PSP are excellent. I wish those were Wii/Gamecube games too.

[ganon578]

I just got a huge haul from GameStop today, a mixed bag of happy Mario stuff and darker games too. I snagged Super Mario Sunshine (since this has recently come up and I was graced with the opportunity) and Goblin Commander (for only $5!) for the GC, and Mass Effect 2 and Street Fighter IV for the 360. I couldn't go wrong with the extra $10 on trade-in deals, and I had a Buy 2 get 1 Free Used Games coupon. Overall I got the 4 games and had $4 trade in credit still remaining. Not too bad!

I'm off to go shoot something with FLUDD!!!

[Auntie Slag]

There always appeared to be lots of complaints over the awkward handling of FLUDD, but I always found it a doddle. It was pretty intuitive & a really great addition to a Mario game.

I got Goblin Commander on GC for a niece a few years back, but I never played it. Was/it it any good? Any comparisons to Pikmin or Little Kings Story?

[ganon578]

There always appeared to be lots of complaints over the awkward handling of FLUDD, but I always found it a doddle. It was pretty intuitive & a really great addition to a Mario game.

I got Goblin Commander on GC for a niece a few years back, but I never played it. Was/it it any good? Any comparisons to Pikmin or Little Kings Story?

I haven't played it before, but I had been eyeing it several times over. It was always cost prohibitive in years past, but I couldn't pass it up for $5. Unfortunately we're going out of town tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to check it out until we get back. I'll be sure to post when I do though. It looks like a lot of fun.

I did boot up SFIV last night before going through a level of Mario Sunshine. It was a rockin' good time until my third match when I got my ass handed to me. I think once I really get the hang of it and unlock characters it will be grand fun, and the presentation makes it feel like I'm playing at an arcade.

Mass Effect 2 will have to wait until I finish a load of other games I haven't gotten to yet. I still need to finish RE5 and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Lots of gaming, and soooooo little time...

[Notabot]

"Finish" Elder Scrolls: Oblivion... That's funny!

That's a game that consumed many, many hours of my life. I finally decided that I had achieved enough and just had to complete the main quest. And even then, I felt an urge to go back and be the top in all the guilds and whatnot.

I'm up to one of the last fights in Metroid Prime: Echoes right now. Great game. I can see where some people would consider it boring, but it's my kind of first person: Think things through, take your time, but with a few helter-skelter fights here and there. Good stuff, especially with the Wii controls!

[ganon578]

"Finish" Elder Scrolls: Oblivion... That's funny!

That's a game that consumed many, many hours of my life. I finally decided that I had achieved enough and just had to complete the main quest. And even then, I felt an urge to go back and be the top in all the guilds and whatnot.

I'm up to one of the last fights in Metroid Prime: Echoes right now. Great game. I can see where some people would consider it boring, but it's my kind of first person: Think things through, take your time, but with a few helter-skelter fights here and there. Good stuff, especially with the Wii controls!

Well, 'finish' for me does involve strictly finishing the main quest in any game. All the extra stuff is just bonus to me, if I feel like getting back to it. For example, Mario Galaxy 2. I checked this one off as 'finished' though all I did was beat the game. I didn't get all the stars at all. Someday I will return to that one and make it more complete.

Oblivion will be such a timesink. I need to keep focused and not stray too much into side quests. I think that should help me finish it in a relatively acceptable time.

MP 2: Echoes is a great game. I don't think I like it quite as much as 1 or 3, but it still works well. I have the Prime Trilogy too, and I think those games are just stellar on the Wii with the pointer controls. It's just so much smoother to work with than two sticks, IMO. Actually, on my quest to go back and play through my existing games for a second time, I made it through MP1, got partway through MP2 and stopped. Someday I will get back to that one too.

[Ravage]

So it seems the new Transformer Dark Side of The Moon game is being done by High Noon Studios best know for Transformers War for Cybertron and the new game uses the War for Cybertron engine. All of a sudden I am far far more intersted in the game.

[Notabot]

The thing I really liked about Echoes was, oddly enough, the lack of metroids. They were not the main enemy, and just sort of tangentially there in about 4 rooms. It might be odd to have them so absent in a game called Metroid, but seriously, how many times can Samus destroy the last metroid?
I just finished Echoes tonight, but I can't roll right into Corruption. I'll probably switch over to Windwaker for my next lengthy game. I'm spoiled now, though, and I don't want to have to hook up the GC controller and memory card every time I play. I'm such a lazy pansy.

[mandymoore]

Mandy is my favourite! Isn't she just the most dreamy woman. I swear Miss mandy moore is an angel from God..

[Sixswitch]

Well, LA Noire = vastly overrated and a bit rubbish.

The cases feel disjointed in relation to each other, the investigation mechanic is simplistic, and the interview mechanic is dodgy.

On the plus side, the presentation is good - the city is really well done, voice acting excellent and the music sounds very appropriate for the period. Unfortunately, this is all window dressing really, and is unimportant compared to the gameplay, which is where the game falls flat.

Gutted I bought it for full price on release.

-Ss

[ganon578]

The thing I really liked about Echoes was, oddly enough, the lack of metroids. They were not the main enemy, and just sort of tangentially there in about 4 rooms. It might be odd to have them so absent in a game called Metroid, but seriously, how many times can Samus destroy the last metroid?
I just finished Echoes tonight, but I can't roll right into Corruption. I'll probably switch over to Windwaker for my next lengthy game. I'm spoiled now, though, and I don't want to have to hook up the GC controller and memory card every time I play. I'm such a lazy pansy.

Ah yes, Windwaker. Another great GC game. Whilst I was out of town on vacation I stopped off at GameStop to kill some time and looked for it, but all they had were two copies, each without the original box. Being the completionist I am, I couldn't bring myself to picking one up. So I decided on Animal Crossing instead. Never played AC before, but I'm looking forward to it and I'll enjoy unlocking old NES games on it too.

Now I just have to watch how many games pile up on me. My current list to get through the main game is:

Resident Evil 5
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
Super Mario Sunshine
Goblin Commander
Mass Effect 2

And all at the same time I will dabble in Animal Crossing and Street Fighter IV. And when I get to it, I will do a second run through of a few good ones like the Metroid Prime series and Transformers: WFC. Now I just hope I can squeeze some time in for all of this!!!

[Notabot]

I picked up Wii Goldeneye for $15 at Target today. I've heard mixed reviews, but for $15 you can't really go wrong.

I couldn't get into Animal Crossing. It looked neat, but it seemed like a lot of walking and micromanaging. Maybe I just didn't stick with it long enough.

I gave Starfox Adventures a shot instead of Windwaker, and it's a pretty good game. Fun gameplay, and it's just about impossible to lose all your health. At least so far.

[Auntie Slag]

Animal Crossing is neat, but its a very sedate, therapeutic game. Buying presents for a duck! Paying off your mortgage and getting a bigger house. Seeing characters come & go from your town, fishing etc.

It is nice, and its usually something I turn to when I don't want to play a 'game' game. But certainly it took me a little while to see what all the fuss was about!

[ganon578]

I picked up Wii Goldeneye for $15 at Target today. I've heard mixed reviews, but for $15 you can't really go wrong.

You just can't beat a decent game at $15. It may have had mixed reviews, but it's still Goldeneye. Not too shabby.

Animal Crossing is neat, but its a very sedate, therapeutic game. Buying presents for a duck! Paying off your mortgage and getting a bigger house. Seeing characters come & go from your town, fishing etc.

It is nice, and its usually something I turn to when I don't want to play a 'game' game. But certainly it took me a little while to see what all the fuss was about!

Yeah, I've found in the minimal time I played it that AC is going to be a nice relaxing game for when I just want to play something that's not high impact. I'm on Chapter 2 of RE5, but sometimes that game just gets a little too intense when I'm playing at 10 PM. Then I can't sleep after I turn it off cause I'm too pumped up!

[Notabot]

So with Goldeneye, is the zapper accessory worth it? Looks like they're fairly cheap on ebay, but I remember a thread a while back where people were saying it was really awkward. Any 3rd party suggestions, or is the game just fine with the nunchuck and remote setup?

[Auntie Slag]

As an aside I love the fact that the Wii U will utilise the Wii's Wiimote's. Good stuff, coz they're expensive little blighters.

They say it'll be backwards compatible with Wii games, I wonder if that means Gamecube games too? Guess they'd have to leave the GC emulator in there, then you've got a system with 10 years worth of games ready from the beginning.

I'd be quite happy playing Mario Sunshine, Pikmin & Luigi's Mansion alongside the latest Zelda on Wii U. And Sports Resort is always good for a laugh

[ganon578]

So with Goldeneye, is the zapper accessory worth it? Looks like they're fairly cheap on ebay, but I remember a thread a while back where people were saying it was really awkward. Any 3rd party suggestions, or is the game just fine with the nunchuck and remote setup?

I had a zapper at one point and got rid of it. I thought it was rather unwieldy as a tommy gun, and trying to use it as a straight pistol wasn't even useful. The main trouble I found was when using it for things other than Link's Crossbow Training. I tried using it with some of the Resident Evil 'light gun' games (Darkside Chronicles, Umbrella Chronicles) and there is not convenient way to hit the A, +, -, 1, or 2 buttons. GameStop has a thing called the DuoShot that has two triggers, one for the B button and one for the A button. I don't know how well it works, but that may be an option for you.

I have enough reward points through GameStop to get a DuoShot for free, so I've debated on trying it out. If I do, I will let you know how it works for the RE games, which may give an indication how it'll work with Goldeneye.

[ganon578]

As an aside I love the fact that the Wii U will utilise the Wii's Wiimote's. Good stuff, coz they're expensive little blighters.

They say it'll be backwards compatible with Wii games, I wonder if that means Gamecube games too? Guess they'd have to leave the GC emulator in there, then you've got a system with 10 years worth of games ready from the beginning.

I'd be quite happy playing Mario Sunshine, Pikmin & Luigi's Mansion alongside the latest Zelda on Wii U. And Sports Resort is always good for a laugh

To my knowledge, I don't think it's GC compatible. At least I hear that there aren't any ports for GC controllers on the machine itself, but maybe that will be taken care of with the fancy new controller. As for the memory cards, I don't know if there are ports for them or not.

I agree that having the Wii U, Wii, and GC software all bundled into one system would be awesome. It would be even better if all the VC stuff you've downloaded to the Wii can port over to the Wii U. I guess we'll just have to wait until official word is made on all this.

I'm glad it's not due until Q2 2012. That gives me time to save $$$. Oh, and if you think the WiiMotes are expensive, I can't imagine what a controller with a touch screen installed would run!!!

[HeavyArms]

I ordered Lego Star wars: The Complete Saga as well as The Clone Wars Lego game and got them both delivered during the week. I also have Portal 2 ordered and that should be in in the next couple of weeks. And I have recently picked up the Balls Of Steel edition of Duke Nukem Forever, after 12 years of frickin development, and will pick up Infamous 2 Special Edition tomorrow.