Games: What games are you currently playing? [OT!]

[Cataferal]

Playing my 360 [img]smile.gif[/img] I got the following games with it:

Table Tennis
Oblivion
Gears of War
Crackdown

I havent given any of these games enough time to justify proper reviews, but i will say that Table Tennis and Gears of War deserve tentative 9/10's so far. Ive just left the first dungeon in Oblivion, and im really appreciative of the effort Bethesda put into this port. Even working with the limitations of the 360, they did a great job of maintaining the visual quality of the PC version, and all at a solid frame rate. Not touched Crackdown yet though; multiplayer in Table Tennis has stolen a lot of my 360 time.

Overall, im very pleased with the console. The HD visuals shine through beautifully on my CRT monitor, i love its multitasking capabilies (being able to simultaneously download demos, play a custom soundtrack and play a game doesnt seem to trouble it at all), and the online service is just as polished as i remember. I do occasionally tilt and wave the controller around out of habit now, but i know where to go if im in that sort of mood; i bought this console with a completely different set of expectations, and as far as im concerned they've all been satisfied.

My gamertag is Cladeus, by the way.

[mrwiseman]

Great, I hope you enjoy it!


I'm 46% through Enchanted Arms. This game is long! It's about the only cRPG we have for the Xbox 360. After the ugly first two hours of idiotic characters and sub-par art, I came to enjoy the game and take it very seriously. I'm playing Enchanted Arms almost exclusively, and I'm going to finish it. Here are more comments so far:

- The story is very good. As good as any Final Fantasy. Characters are not the best, but they are good enough for the story. It has LOTS of dialogue, which is good. All storyline text is fully voiced in English and Japanese. Most scenes are implemented like they would in a hentai game, with big characters in front of you, as seen here:
http://www.lovefilm.com/lovefilm/ima...86-4-large.jpg

- The battle and levelling system is lots of fun. Definitely above average, and better than anything I've seen in a Final Fantasy or Xeno game. I'd say it's the best cRPG combat system after that of Grandias. All this despite having random battles (only major enemies can be seen). I've found myself wanting to level up to learn some skill and walking around, cursing that enemies weren't coming too frequently.

- Artistically, the game follows this design concept:
http://web.madritel.es/personales1/cmpm/gamedesign.jpg

I don't think the artists were bad, but the budget was low and they wanted to make a very long game. You can feel they wanted to do something great, but minimized costs with copypasta in scenarios and music (character models and voices do not suffer from this). Individual objects (e.g. statues) are good, but they are used over and over. Castles expose great paterns, but they use them over and over and over, to create very long hallways that make the game longer. The stages themselves aren't repetitive though, it's just architecture what's repetitive and simplistic. Nature is not animated. To still rank as "current generation", they got pretty good shaders, exaggerated HDR lighting, and awesome textures with awesome normal mapping, running smoothly in 1360?768. If it weren't for this, the game visuals would suck. Now I've got used to them. Playing through Enchanted Arms isn't the visual delight playing other cRPGs is, but the visuals are good enough to support the story.

- Music is mediocre. It exhibits the same problem: it's made of very short pieces repeated over and over. In dungeons, music is often more like environmental sound. I barely remember two good tracks, the rest is rather mediocre (but none is terrible).

Overall I think Enchanted Arms is worth playing.

[phaq]

well, i know you're a xenowhore so heres something for ya: http://alcahest.club.fr/XG2.0/xg2.0.html

not sure if you'll care, i don't see the necessity of it myself. basically they have a patch to turn everything but the text in xenogears to it's original japanese counterpart.

[mrwiseman]

Thanks for the link, I'll use that for my second time through Xenogears.

I'd love to see more of Xenogears, but considering how retarded the gaming industry is, this is just five times too good to become a reality. Not a chance.

[Cataferal]

Interesting. It'd be nice to see the cut-scenes synchronized properly with the original japanese voices; they scarcely bothered to match those up with the english dub.

I miss the Xeno franchise. Im hoping it makes a valiant return, in some form or another.

Currently playing Halo 2 (for the 2 new maps), and Table Tennis through Xbox Live.

[Nevan]

IRT Wiseman: Okay, I was just wanting to make sure. At the moment I am a bit disappointed with the online play achievements but that is my only gripe about it.

IRT Cat: As far as shooters go right now, the 360 is generic. I've mostly been playing Crackdown (Not FPS, however it is third and a lot of fun), and Call of Duty 3. I enjoy COD3's multiplayer a lot, but that novelty may wear off, since it is nowhere near as functional as Halo's. I would say stick it out because there are some promising things on the horizon. Such as Bioshock, The Darkness, Half-Life 2 (big ass bundle with 5 games; HL2, Episode 1, Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2 and I think Valve is being cool and releasing all five games for only $60), and Lost Planet looks promising at the moment, however I have yet to play the full version (will be renting next week if I have time), so I can't accurately describe it.

Of course there are two promising WWII shooters on the rise, Hour of Victory and the new Brothers in Arms game. I believe the new Unreal is also on the horizon, however, I question how great it will be. Gears 2 will be coming out eventually although I am unsure of when.

EDIT: Forgot about one, check out Prey, it's graphic but the physics are amazing. Although it is short. Of course now you can get it for a mere $30.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ April 19, 2007 10:41 PM: Message edited by: Nevan ]</font>

[Cataferal]

Just finished Gears of War on Hardcore difficulty. I decided to skip Casual because i heard from other players it didnt encourage you to use the duck/cover strategy as much as it should. Im very glad i took that advice; i enjoyed the challenge of having to plan my actions carefully in advance, and it definitely added tension to the game. I'll review the game in a bit...

IRT N: Cool. I decided to throw Crackdown in with the 360 bundle deal i got (included 2 games, the other being GoW), although ive only played it for an hour or two so far. For me, i'd summarize it as GTA meets Elite Beat Agents via Mexico, and im liking the "Supercop" idea. I might start playing it seriously soon. Do you reckon it'd be worth going co-op on this sometime?

Ive been playing the 360 solidly over the last week, and ive finally built up my resolve to write out a review for it:

Pros:
+Stylish white console design, which goes well with the Wii.
+No 50Hz nonsense; everything here is in 60Hz, with support for 480p, 720p, and 1080i. VGA monitors are also supported with many more resolution settings (which is my ticket to the world of HD).
+Surprisingly capable graphical output for the price: matches a mid-level 2006 PC.
+Very stable multi-tasking functionality, which includes downloading demos and playing custom soundtracks.
+Backwards compatibility encompasses most of the better original Xbox titles (which now includes Panzer Dragoon Orta!)
+Improved, and very well utilized Xbox Live service, with lots of community options.

Cons:
-Liable to overheat, if your not careful.
-Too few games with single console 4 player support.
-20Gb HD will be quite limiting.
-No Wifi.
-Some backwards compatible Xbox games can be extremely buggy and riddled with slow-down (especially KOTOR).
-Xbox side-menu browser always lags, and suffers from a lack of v-sync.

Conclusion so far:
For all its virtues in online online play and high definition visuals, it complements the Wii's humble, innovative qualities perfectly. Microsoft may not have made the ultimate console here, but at the very least its technology is well compromised with its price, which certainly defies Sony's logic in this generation. Additionally, and much to the belated PS3's further discredit, thanks to its early release we're now just about to hit the high point in the 360's arc, with major titles such as Halo 3, Blue Dragon and Mass Effect out within the year. For these reasons, and with particular respect to its HD capabilities, at this point i'd consider this the best value for money out of all the current-gen consoles.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ April 23, 2007 09:50 PM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>

[Cataferal]

Aaaand, here's a mini-review for Gears of War:

Story: 7/10
Its a fairly generic "defend the planet from aliens" scenario, although its well structured, and keeps you hooked throughout thanks to the frequent background dialogue. The gruntish, macho attitude of the main characters can be a bit excessive at times, but that also lends a lot to its humour, and it never feels forced. Generally though, the game might be too short for its own good when you consider its narrative scope: hopefully they can flesh out the details of the story (ie. why they're fighting in the first place) in a sequel or two. However, whats here is solid, and facilitates the other components of the game perfectly.

Graphics: 10/10
The locations are stunning and varied, and definitely rival Valve's recent efforts. Some of the visual highlights include its beautiful water effects, the shadows and use of HDR lighting in interiors, lush colours and foliage (especially in the Conservatory section), impressive architectural designs, and highly detailed facial expressions. You can easily appreciate the artistic direction that went into the visual style, and how all the areas were carefully designed to flow into each other. Save for some extremely minor frame rate issues, the graphics are absolutely flawless, with no clipping or other glitches to note. A real high point for this game.

Gameplay (single player): 9/10
The most original part of the game is its emphasis on using walls and objects for cover, and then return fire. The rest of the game's charm rests on its polished controls and attention to level design and balance. The weapons on offer here are all very unique and distinctive, ranging from the Lancer AR, a full-automatic-chainsaw combo, to the Hammer of Dawn, a satellite laser targeting device. I recommend playing on higher difficulty than Casual for your first play-through; it forces you to appreciate this level design, and use all your moves and weapons strategically.

Gameplay (online multiplayer): 8/10
The one-shot kill format makes it extremely unforgiving to beginners, although its never as bad as Counter-strike. Having a good team strategy is definitely the key to staying alive the longest, and getting the most out of the online experience, but getting a group of reliable players through Optimatch is easier said than done.

Sound: 10/10
The music is beautifully composed, integrates perfectly with the action, and typically concludes with the use of a low gong-esque drone to denote the end of a skirmish. Good psychology. It never intrudes on the gameplay experience, or out-volumes the (above average) voice-acting either.

Replay Value: 10/10
There's Campaign co-op, which also uses Xbox Live. This works perfectly with the game design, as most levels force you to temporarily branch off from the other player, to the end of using your different positions, and good communication, to an advantage. This level design also gives the single player reason to replay the game. There are three difficulties as well, each of which reward you with Achievement points upon completion.

Overall: 9/10
Not to be dismissed as yet another totem to masculine gaming; this is a credible challenge, and offers a very refined shooter experience. I'd reccommend this to almost anyone with at least a mild interest in action games. Heres waiting for a sequel that will match this game's savoir-faire in gameplay design and visual direction with an equally substancial story and sense of character development.

<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ April 24, 2007 10:32 AM: Message edited by: Cataferal ]</font>

[mrwiseman]

IRT Cataferal:

+Surprisingly capable graphical output for the price: matches a mid-level 2006 PC.

Yes, I'm pretty impressed with how powerful is it despite being two years old. It indeed matches a mid-level 2006 PC (I'd say low-end in some aspects such as generic processing power or memory, and high-end in graphics acceleration; only very expensive PC graphics cards can outdo it). And this means the technical quality of games will be that of 2008+ PC games, because PC games rarely exploit the platform (for several reasons, developers not always to blame). And if we actually got Japanese games, it'd easily outdo most PC games from any year. That's what I like about Japanese games; even simple Japanese PS2 games look better (to me) than most of today's PC games because they aren't necessarily great technically-wise, but they are beautiful. A colourful 8-sided pyramid pretending to be a cone and rendered in low resolution always looks better than a gray 10000-side pyramid rendered in 2048?1536.

-Liable to overheat, if your not careful.

Ah, yes, it's hot and not in a nice way. Be sure to keep 10 cm to each side and at least 20 cm behind. Don't play if the room is too hot (if it's too hot for you, it burns for the console). And this machine will cut your heating costs in winter, but it'll tax your A/C costs in summer. Even my room got considerably hotter than the rest of the house when playing with the window and door closed.

-Some backwards compatible Xbox games can be extremely buggy and riddled with slow-down (especially KOTOR).

Check out the update just a few days ago, it may fix something.

-Xbox side-menu browser always lags, and suffers from a lack of v-sync.

I believe it's so slow during a game because it runs without hardware graphics acceleration to avoid interfering with the game.


My own opinion of the Xbox 360 after 4 months is:

+ Very powerful hardware, perfectly up to the much newer PS3.
+ Good price for the hardware you're getting, and much better than the PS3.
+ A few very good games to play; indeed far better than anything the PS3 has to offer, although there are very few new games each month and out of them very few may interest you.
+ Good online services.
+ Good control pad, one of the best I've used if not the best.
+ It's not Sony.

- Lacks Japanese RPGs.
- Regional locking and discrimination.
- "Weak" hardware (easily overheats, front easily broken).
- Lacks extra software. Linux would have been great because it'd mean you could do anything with it, even replacing a PC, but then would Microsoft want to do that? No, they want you to pay for their crappy OSes; there's no money to be made if you offer a superior operating system that also happens to be free as in libre. (Besides, any form of freedom is against Microsoft policy.)
- It's Microsoft, and this means you're their last priority (ordered: monopolies, predatory business practices, law abuse and lobbying, media corporations, other corporations and companies, customer interest and convenience).

[melfice]

hehe... since i got me the PS2 and i have money each month in the bank, i've been playing and getting like mad a lot of games, but mainly:

Final Fantasy XII -&gt; excellent visuals, and IT IS NOT LIKE ANY OTHER FF! ^o^

Xenosaga 2 -&gt; Still there... and although it has improved, still, the best is the DVD with the movies of the first part.

Soul Calibur III.-&gt; trying to get over that campaign mode, Pretty nice, and best of all, it improves over the first Soul Calibur, unlike the 2nd.

And a lot of more games, which i play randomly as follows: KoF MI, Metal Gear Solid II, Final Fantasy X, Tekken 5, R racing, Magna Carta, Trapt, Saint Seiya The Hades and Ryudo plays PSU (offline, though, but PSU), the last Dragon Quest and Shadow the hedgehog.