Hey Owen, do you still find time for gaming?

[cobblestone]

Video gaming, that is.

If you do, I'd be interested to know what you've been playing recently. I just bought Ico today, which I've heard is a favorite of yours, and I've also been playing Shadow of the Colossus these past few days.

I'd like to know what the community here has been playing lately, too. Or if I'm the only one. I've never actually seen a thread about games here before.

[vestenet]

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are two of my favorites. Beautiful games and beautiful experiences.

I'm currently playing Final Fantasy IX, which I've never actually finished before. I think when I was younger, I was dismayed by its dissimilarity to VII and VIII, but I'm having a really fun time playing it now. It's just wholly charming.

Of course, without the Final Fantasy series, I don't know if I'd be on this forum right now.

[sen1138]

Will I have committed a deadly sin if I say that I prefer Kingdom Hearts to Final Fantasy?

[Owen from Final Fantasy]

I don't know that band!



Not usually, I don't play games that often. But this past year I've been getting back into games. I've been cutting back on my drinking and it's been good to stay in and play a game instead of go out and see live music and have some sparkling wine and come home with the hiccups.

Last summer I broke the seal and played Skyrim in the evenings. I was working all day on film scoring so it was a nice way to take a break. I completed a lot of it. Pretty great game, I thought, though the loading times were ~unacceptable~ so I wouldn't actually recommend it to an adult.

I replayed GTA3 while on vacation last summer.

Last fall I didn't do any gaming. At Christmas I decided I might finally play Baldur's Gate but I didn't take to it. I started instead to play ADOM again, which had added some new things. I completed it for the third time but it has such a dull endgame that I probably won't play it again.

I played FTL for about a week until I won it.

I started played Metal Gear Solid 4 last week but it's really really dumb and bad. I downloaded Metal Gear Solid (the first one) to compare and it is awesome and great.

Then on a whim, seeing as I really rarely play games when they're brand new, I decided to download The Last Of Us and I've been playing through it for a couple hours before bed. It's great.

That's all for me. Games for me are like mini-vacations, I have a selfish relationship to them. I don't get excited about them. I just play them when I need a break but don't want to go out. I am excited about Capy's new game, Below.

[cobblestone]

Skyrim is wonderful, I'm sure, but I haven't played it. I still haven't completed the main quest in either Morrowind or Oblivion, so I feel obligated to spend more time with those games before I move on.

Only GTA I've played is San Andreas which was great. Once again, I feel like I should "complete" Morrowind or Oblivion before I spring for another open world sandbox game. Speaking of which, I bought a Dreamcast and played Shenmue quite some time ago (didn't finish that either), and really dug the atmosphere.

I'm also in the middle of the first Metal Gear Solid (man I am so bad at finishing games) and I agree. I should really make completing that one of my top priorities.

My friend has been playing FTL recently too so I'm sure he'll be happily surprised to hear you played it.

I haven't played that many roguelikes but I have played another Capy game, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP, which I adored, so I might give that a try when it comes out.


As for liking Kingdom Hearts more than Final Fantasy, I'm not sure I agree, but I do generally prefer action RPGs over the alternative (I like the Tales series more than Final Fantasy) and enjoyed KH 1 and 2 quite a bit. I also probably like the Final Fantasy Tactics series more than any Final Fantasy game. I've only played FFIII, V, and VI, though, so I can't say for sure.

[Carlo]

For awhile I was really into Skyrim and the Mass Effect games (I would recommend the Mass Effects to anyone with time on their hands. They're brilliant.) I thought Bioshock Infinite was a brilliant game, but others don't think so (apparently the other games in the series were much better)

Recently I've been playing through the Witcher 2 and I'm sort of into it.

[vestenet]

The first Bioshock is really fun and just a well-designed game overall. I also recently finally got to download and play its spiritual predecessor, System Shock 2. I liked it a little more, but I think that's because I enjoy space horror more than underwater horror.

I got through Metal Solid 1-3 earlier this year. They were each great, but I was surprised by how much I loved 2. It just kept getting more and more bonkers, and it really roped me along the whole way.

[sen1138]

Jun 23, 2013 19:41:57 GMT -5 cobblestone said:

I also probably like the Final Fantasy Tactics series more than any Final Fantasy game. I've only played FFIII, V, and VI, though, so I can't say for sure.

I loved FF Tactics but always seem to become bored by the rest of the series, besides as a student I don't have that much time on my hands to actually sit down and play through the whole series.


I've recently been replaying all my old PS2 games and am now enamored by Silent Hill 2 - one my all time favorites.

[lulu]

I just revisited Final Fantasy II (V in Japan?). I thought maybe I had lost my love of old Final Fantasy games, but I then returned to III (VI in Japan?) and realize that it is as great as I remember.

Also, if you haven't played Cave Story, it is a cool old fashioned game well worth a try.

[haydendavenport]

I have been debating making a video game related thread here. But I never committed, so you beat me to it.

You're definitely not the only gamer here. Since I have completely run out of compelling new music to listen to, I'm generally either writing music with my band, or playing video games. (Mostly the latter.)

I'm mostly an indie gamer and arguably an ex-nintendo fanboy. I play PC games mostly these days.

Here are games I really enjoy and would recommend:

First-Person Shooters:
Team Fortress 2 ***
Portal *
Portal 2 *

Adventure:
Majora's Mask ***

Fighting:
Project M ***

Platformers:
Cave Story+ *
Super Meat Boy *
Dustforce
Fez *
Old Megaman Games on the NES and SNES
Super Metroid
Braid *
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Tooie

Rougelike:
The Binding of Isaac *
Spelunky

Puzzle:
World of Goo *

Strategy:
Final Fantasy Tactics (Also, see the mod Final Fantasy Tactics: Rebirth)

Other:
Super Hexagon
Minecraft

Unreleased games that look like they might be good or even really good:
- Mew-Genics * (Pokemon meets animal crossing meets yet designed for casual and hardcore games)
- Below (Rougelike)
- Axiom Verge (Very Super Metroid inspired)
- A Hat in Time (Collect-a-thon like Banjo-Kazooie)
- BaraBariBall
- The Witness
- The Bind of Isaac: Rebirth

* = highly recommended
*** = REALLY REALLY highly recommend

[Owen from Final Fantasy]

Yeah, basically the same taste as me.

I like Treasure games, too. Contra 3, Bangai-O, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Gradius V and both Sin & Punishments. Great stuff, it's like Illustrated Galaga-- all the geometric appeal of Galaga but with exposition.

These days though I'm playing a lot of chess

[Alyssa!]

Anybody for online chess sometime? My handle on FICS is lyskoi.

[cobblestone]

haydendavenport, you and I have very similar taste as well. I think I've played and enjoyed every game you mentioned except Fez, Super Hexagon, and Dustforce (all of which I would probably enjoy if I played), and Majora's Mask is pretty much my favorite game ever.

I am also very excited about Mew-Genics and A Hat in Time, and I'm interested in Below now. I'll have to check out the other ones you mentioned.

[haydendavenport]

Ugh.. I just typed a lot and accidentally hit the back button--all was lost.

I guess I will make it more brief this time.

Majora's Mask is also pretty much my favorite game ever. (It is definitely my favorite single player experience ever.) I love the themes that the game presents, I love the depth of some of the side quests, and I love all that the masks bring to the game. The music is also top notch and the entire game creeps me out in a way I'll never understand. Great stuff!

To address Owen's post, I definitely need to play more games like the ones mentioned. I keep hearing good things about them lately. I really have only played Galaga and Jamestown. Jamestown was short and easy, so I wouldn't really recommend it. I really like the idea behind Ikaruga. I played it once and I was remarkably bad. It's definitely a genre I need to play more of before I can develop an opinion.

Fez has some very interesting puzzles, and the visuals are always appealing. I think the platforming gets a bit stale if you're trying to 100% the game, but the other qualities of the game certainly make up for it.

Dustforce is similar to Super Meat Boy. The mechanics are more complicated than Super Meat Boy, but that doesn't necessarily make the game better. (I prefer the simplicity and faster pace of Super Meat Boy.) I wouldn't call the soundtrack excellent, but it fits the game quite well, and I would say it adds to the experience.

Super Hexagon is a very simple game, but it's nice for a while. In fact, there were some times where it got really fun. But it's definitely not a game I would play consistently for a long period of time. Fortunately it's very cheap. I would say that you could probably get it for $1 (maybe even less) during the Steam Summer Sale which should start pretty soon. I'd pick it up then.

I just remembered that forgot to mention that I also like Portal and Portal 2. I also can't believe I forgot to include The Witness. I really like Jonathan Blow's stance on video games, so I'd be very excited for anything he puts out. (The same goes for Team Meat.. And Owen Pallett for that matter.) There is also Super Meat Boy: The Game which will come out on iOS one day. But it's probably a ways out.

Oh! And The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is going to come out. It's is a "demake" of The Binding of Isaac. Seems a bit strange that they are already remaking the game, but after listening to some interviews of Edmund McMillen commenting on it, I'm quite excited for it. (The game will now use a much more efficient programming language.) He also mentioned that if you own the previous version of the game, he will offer a discount if possible.

Finally, I'll comment on BaraBariBall. If you like the Super Smash Bros. series, then you'll probably like it. It's a game that requires other people to play, but it looks fun, balanced, and very well designed.
You can see gameplay from one of the newest builds here on the front page: barabariball.com/

Finally finally, if you play Project M at all, there will probably be some updates coming on their blog within the next week or two: projectm.dantarion.com

EDIT: Just kidding. I just went to the site right as I submitted the post and it's already updated!

[skuldchan]

I'm pretty surprised that nobody's mentioned Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch so far. I haven't played any new Japanese RPGs in ages, but when this finally came out for the American market, I had to give it a go.

The character and visual designs are done by Studio Ghibli (the famous animation studio) and the music scored by their veteran composer, Joe Hisashi. It's a solid Japanese RPGs in the old style, very reminiscent of the good old days of Squaresoft and Nintendo games.

I would highly recommend this to anybody who grew up with JRPG's.