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You might say the joke's on me..
I am unabashedly a gamer. I love games. Gaming itself is an integral part of my life, and it loves me back. Well, the game companies must love me back,s ince I've probably sent some of their kids to ******** college. So, does that make my opinion anymore worthwhile? Not really. But, I'm going to give it to you anyways, because it's free. So, here's my little list of games that I think kick a**. Games that have kept me happy for extended periods of time, and why. If you're a gamer, I'd say these are worth checking out, at the very least.
I'll probably do this in installments, since I tend to wax poetic about games, and generally type/talk too much. Just ask my friend Ryan. We're both sickenengly addicted gamers. The discussions we have are epic and frightful.
(Edit)Erg.. After doing the RPG section, this is becoming massive, so I'll split it up into chunks for your reading ease.
RPG's: Role playing games didn't used to be my bread and water, but the last few years, they have become my basic gaming staple. I just can't get enough of good RPG's. The big downside is the time commitment, which is why I've got a few rpg's on my shelf that have never been finished. Eventually, I'll do that. Until then, they don't get on my list. In fact, even after they are completed, they prolly won't make my list, simply because the ones on my list are the ones that gripped me so well I couldn't stop playing until I'd beaten them.
Best RPG of all time: Planescape: Torment (PC).
An oldie, but quite frankly, still the best damn RPG I've ever played. The storyline of an immortal amnesiac in a twisted world of planes is ******** good. It reads like a superb novel. The combat and level up systems are nowhere near conventional, and that gives them an unmistakable charm. The world has a life of its' own, and the possibilites just on the level of dialogue and interaction are massive and varied. The PC requirements are easy since it was made for penium 200's. If you can find a copy, buy the ******** thing. Don't debate, squabble, or think. just slap the cash down, and you'll be happy. If you can find it, expect to pay less than 20$ and be entertained for days, if not weeks. It begs for multiple plays, and will suck your time like an experienced whore.
The KOTOR series. (Knights of the old republic, PC Versions!)
I love this series, and hope like ******** there's at least two more. Graphically intense, marvelous storylines, and fast combat. The first one, in my opinion, has the better storyline, but the second one has more features that keep you coming back for more. I've played through both games at least 3 times. In fact, I played through both games twice in a row, just to see the light/dark difference. If you've got a good machine, you can make the game look like heaven. Sadly, they both have issues with ATI cards, but.. there are solutions. Don't let that stop you from working on it, and getting these games playable. Will not disappoint, at all.
I'm a conformist, but still kickass: Final Fantasy 7, (PS1).
I know, I know, everyone loves it. Cloud's a jackass, sephiroth's a pretty boy. Get over it anyways. The magic system allows some truly unique customizations and combos. It appeals strongly to the item-collecting whores out there, people liek me who keep and find all the weapons for the hell of it. I even like the storyline. There's so mant hidden things, you can spend half your game time actually beating it, and the other half unlocking everything.
Final fantasy X, (PS2).
Like 7, if you haven't played it, you've probably been living in a cave, under a rock, or both. Wipe the mold off your a**, and pick up this game. Like all final fantasy games, well.. the main character is an idiot. I got sick of Tidus's whining after 10 minutes. He's got daddy issues, and he needs to shut the ******** up. oh well. That aside... The game is truly great. Do not set goals like, oh, I dunno "cover the sphere grid with tidus and auron". Trust me. I've done it. It's not right. When the game stops counting the time you've spent playing it.. you need to quit. This game should come with a 12 step program.
Suikoden 2 (ps1)
Sadly, you should play this, but you most likely can't. Copies online are upwards of 100$. It's very, very hard to find. It was released with a minimum amount of copies, and was very little-known. That sucks, because now you can't get one. Collection whores will love snagging 108 characters, a large portion of which are palyable. You build a castle, stock shops, and generally create your own little town. Not to mention a pretty compelling storyline, 6 charcter battles, a combo-combat system, and one of the hardest endgames I've seen in ages.
Disgaea (ps2)
If you like strategy Rpg's like final fantasy tactics, try this out. Some FFT hardcores hate its' simplified nature. Quite frankly, I prefer it over FFT. This game literally took a month of my time, and I still want to play it. It's ******** astounding. Good luck finding a copy for under 45$, though. I can't say too many good things about it. It's just wonderful.
Latest good time: Fable: The lost Chapters. (pc)
It's funny, quirky, and it has a brothel. What more do you want? It's a bit quick, you'll top out at around 25-30 hours of play, which isn't bad.. but after 35 hours or so, you've done pretty much everything you can. It does warrant 2 playthroughs, so that's like double your game for free. I found most of it to be pretty easy, but it still kept my interest. Worthy of purchase, fun to play. Just don't expect to boot it up 3 years from now.
games I haven't beaten but still kicked butt:
Chrono trigger: Just haven't been able to invest the time in this one. Got about 3/5ths through it, and had great fun. You can snag it for SNES if you're lucky, or find it on a PS1 cd at a used game store, sicne it was released as a promotional item only. (Edit) Sephirothgal informs me that you can pick it up in a bundle with ff4.. Sounds different than my copy, but.. I have weird things. smile So, good luck grabbing that. Both games are kickass.
Final fantasy tactics: I always get stuck at one or two fights, then lose my interest. Then, after 6 months or so, i give it another shot and get enraptured all over again. It almsot requires a strategy guide if you're not the best at the "tactics" of it. I tend to get my a** kicked on one out of every 10 battles or so. Maybe I just suck at it. Hence why I prefer disgaea. I kick a** at that.
Secret of Mana: Same deal with chrono trigger. Snes classic I have a copy of for Ps1. (same disc, actually.) Never got around to finishing it, but still great fun. A bit long winded in some parts, though.
Final fantasy 4/6. 4 in the US. 6 in Japan. I finally got a copy for Snes, so it will be my rainy day game around christmastime, when I dust off my snes and play some more. I got 90% through the game on emulator, but lost it all in a HDD crash a few years ago, and havent had the time to go through again. A lot of charcters, a great story, and it just keeps going. When you think you're done, you find out you're only halfway through. And that's a good thing.
Shadow Hearts: covenant; Cool russian mythology story, interesting charcters, creepy design. I got sidetracked by other games, and didn't go back to finish it off. I really should, though.
Suikoden 4: Once again, collection whores are in bliss. 108 charcters to collect, nifty storyline. If only the travel system didn't suck a**. It's akin to Legend of Zelda: Windwaker.. Lots of aimless boating about, fighting s**t every 5 seconds. It gets annoying.
Final Fantasy 9: If it wasn't for that goddamn hidden artists shop, I might have completed it. Nifty in all aspects, but I got sick of it, and haven't touched it since. Standard final fantasy quality. Better than 8, not as good as seven, six, or ten. Very middle line, par for the course.
 Twistex · Sat Oct 22, 2005 @ 05:05pm · 10 Comments |
