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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 4, 2006 11:13:07 GMT -5
^ Also, aside from typical RE and survival horror elements such as the awkward control, and limited items and save ability, the Resident Evil REmake reminds me a lot of a Metroid game. Seriously. There's a lot of exploration, you need to find keys to open up new areas, you gradually find stronger weapons, and there's also some backtracking involved.
Resident Evil 4 is a bit different, though. The control isn't a problem, items are a lot more plentiful, you can save as much as you want, and there's much less backtracking. It's still a little like Metroid, though.
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 6, 2006 22:14:45 GMT -5
Heh, cool thread. My favorite game of all time is Skies of Arcadia Legends, which I will post my glowing review below (which Corey will apparently follow up shortly ^^ ):
Skies of Arcadia began as a Dreamcast game. When it hit in 2000, the PS2 launch blitz made this title sneak underneath the mainstream radar. Shame really, for even I bought the DC SoA a few months after its release. And how I regretted that decision, for Skies was an amazing ride, one I didn't manage to finish (for my second disc started going screwy on me). So when I heard Sega was going to port SoA to Gamecube, I was excited. When I heard it was going to have new features, I was elated. And now, after nearly conquering everything within the Director's Cut of Skies of Arcadia (one more side quest to go!), I'm ready to share why this game is my favorite of all time. First off, the storyline. (Please note, there may be a mild spoiler in this paragraph - if you want nothing ruined, go to the next one) The game starts out with a girl getting kidnapped by a giant warship. The girl is Fina, and the warship is from Valua, the enemy empire in the game. The warship gets attacked by the Blue Rogues, pirates who fight against the Empire and its evil ways. Two board the ship, and they are the heroes you control - Vyse and Aika. They get to the commander; a brash, arrogant fool of a man named Alfonso, who has plans to use Fina as a tool to gain more power. Vyse and Aika foil his plot, rescue Fina, and travel back home to Pirate Isle. When they see a meteor crash into nearby Shrine Island, they decide to take a risk and go investigate. That's where 40-50 hours of excellence begins. And this is one game that really makes you feel like you're exploring something new and unexplored. As you sail along, you'll find new lands, meet exotic people, solve simple puzzles, conquer several bosses, fight the game's "gods", and so much more. As you can tell, you'll be spending plenty of time with this game. The story all the way through is stellar, and will keep you going from place to place wanting to find out more. The characters will quickly become likable and are very attachable. The cast in Skies is my favorite of all the games I have ever played. Vyse will have to make several decisions based on what you feel is right, and although you will be led to what he feels, sometimes you will make a different decision because of how you want him to act. Vyse's virtues of justice are strong, and make him a powerful lead character. Aika's feistiness and her very cute facial expressions will make you laugh, and as Fina's shy exterior begins to fade and her emotions come to the surface, you will feel for her confusion and attempts at understanding. All three form a core that will lead you through the well-crafted story and really make you feel for them as they deal with their ups and downs of the game's plot. The game has four modes of control. Two of them are standard: walking around and the battle system, but Skies also has ship traveling and ship battling, and all modes are well executed. Vyse runs at a good pace, so it doesn't take too long to get anywhere (unless you get bombarded by random battles). I do wish Overworks would have made ladder climbing not so long however - it takes forever to get places sometimes, and is my only gripe with the standard controls. The battle system is well done, with a Spirit meter dictating special moves and spell use (spells also have MP, but that's hardly a factor). Special moves also can be skipped by pressing Z (which is quite nice!). The combat system is pretty good, and other than a few times when enemies heal every turn, it's nothing too annoying or grating at all. The fact that the battles are random may make some people angry, but compared to the DC original it doesn't seem as bad. Ship control is excellent, and you can skip battles altogether once you get deep into the game and can rise above the sky. Ship battles are very cinematic, and although they can take a while, they are rather fun to set up. So the controls are almost perfect, in my eyes, other than a few small flaws. The graphics are seemingly the same as the DC original, which are still solid. The Ixa'tawa village and Yafutoma are still as jaw dropping as they were on DC. The models are well animated, and the game's worlds are well designed. The special effects are also awesome to view. So nothing wrong with the visual department. I've heard that the audio isn't as good as it was on DC, but I notice no difference. The music is pleasurable to the ears (I proudly own the soundtrack), and the sound effects are still as great as the original. The voice work also is well done, with no annoying lines or squeals of high pitched death. Skies probably would take 25 hours without any of the side quests to beat. But there's so much to do in this game that not doing the side quests halves the game's potential. In fact, it's pretty hard NOT to do them, with sirens blaring on two different side quests. And as a bonus, the nice folks at Sega and Overworks added several new ones to the GC rev. The discoveries are still there, with a new one that's really well hidden. With over 80 to find, that alone would be enough for most. But that's not all. There's also bounties (REALLY hard ones at that) to collect, moonfish to hunt for, chams to find for Fina's Cupil, hidden ship battles, ultimate weapons, helping rebuild a broken family, fighting the really tough Angel of Death, finding 22 crewmates for when you get your own ship...and I think I'm forgetting some. So like I said, there's so much to do in this game besides the main quest that it hurts the total experience not doing them. Replay is better than most RPG's, because of the above side quests. Most people won't find most of the game's discoveries the first time through. And it's fun leveling up your characters, too. I hope that the above review got you interested in Skies of Arcadia Legends. If you see it, have a GC, and like RPG's, you really do need to pick it up ASAP (I've seen it a few places for $20, and that's a steal). It will awe you with its size, make you fall in love with its cast, and cast its spell of exploration and discovery upon you in an instant. Games like this rarely get this second chance to shine, so if you missed out on the DC rev, you really shouldn't miss out twice...especially at its lower price.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 7, 2006 21:34:39 GMT -5
Wow, you guys are just killing this week's TPCGW. I couldn't say it any better than Wildcat. He's covered just about everything worth covering. I would, again, emphasize the strong sense of discovery the game provides. Even the game world, itself, is modeled after the Age of Discovery rather than the middle ages, as most traditional RPG's are. And you will become attached to the characters. My personal favorite is Gilder, who would've been at home in the movie "The Princess Bride." He also has my favorite special move. "Come on! Dance for me!" ;D Anyway, I'm glad to know someone likes this thread. I wanted to open people's eyes to Gamecube games they may have passed up, or not even considered in the first place (which seems to happen a lot to third party games on the console). I was wondering if anyone found my suggestions useful, or at least entertaining.
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Post by kirbychu on Apr 8, 2006 4:48:11 GMT -5
You had me at "Skies of Arcadia began as a Dreamcast game". ;D
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Post by Fryguy64 on Apr 8, 2006 5:34:33 GMT -5
I love (and thoroughly approve of) this topic. I wouldn't complain if there were more topics like this, especially for the other home consoles.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 8, 2006 12:28:22 GMT -5
I love (and thoroughly approve of) this topic. I wouldn't complain if there were more topics like this, especially for the other home consoles. Thanks, Fry! That really means a lot! I love doing info articles like this. (I really ought to try breaking into gaming journalism.) Anyway, I don't think any other Nintendo system has had as much hard luck with third parties as the Gamecube (except, maybe, the N64). Third party games were very plentiful on the NES and SNES. In fact, a lot of popular franchises started off as successful third party NES/SNES games. (Mega Man, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, etc.) And the portable systems very often have good third party support. I wouldn't mind doing a "Third Party Revolution Game of the Month" thread when the time comes, though.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 9, 2006 15:21:21 GMT -5
Third Party 'Cube Game of the Week: (wait for it... wait for it...) Skies of Arcadia Legendsfrom Sega Go read Wildcat's review again. He covered it all. And if you haven't been convinced to buy the game by now... well, I wouldn't know what to say about that. I'm only going to add one last thing. The Dreamcast was missing two things: EA and SquareSoft. Sega's answer to EA's lack of support was the 2K sports series. NFL 2K gave Madden Football a serious run for its money right up until EA bought NFL license exclusivity (and NFL 2K was probably the reason they did it). As for lacking a great Square RPG, I'll say this: Skies of Arcadia filled the Final Fantasy void in the same way NFL 2K filled the Madden Football void. I don't think I could give the game a higher compliment than that. Oh, and next week's TPCGW is going to stay a secret!
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 10, 2006 11:30:15 GMT -5
Thank you for the high priase, everyone. ^^ I can only hope that my review makes some of you interested in an excellent game you may not have been interested in before. If you like the art of the game, I host an Imagery of it on my website (which is in my signature). I love Skies. ^^ I'll try to chip in on any future games (and maybe do a reflective post of previous ones since I just discovered this thread ^^) when I can. ^^ I like this idea of spreading the word on games outside of Nintendo's people may have missed out on, so let's keep it going!
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 16, 2006 15:20:16 GMT -5
Third Party 'Cube Game of the Week: Beyond Good & Evil from Ubisoft
If you're a fan of adventure games like me, then there are three games on the 'Cube you absolutely must play: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Star Fox Adventures, and Beyond Good & Evil. Together, they form the Gamecube Triforce of Power! (Twilight Princess will probably mess that up, but I'm not complaining.)
Unlike many of the previous TPCGW's, Beyond Good & Evil is actually not a victim of Nintendo's Third Party Curse. No, it's much worse than that. It sold very poorly on every system if was released for, which also included the Playstation 2, X-Box and PC.
BG&E provides you with a very imaginative and fully realized world to explore, memorable characters, and a story that really takes itself seriously. It explodes with high production values, featuring technically and artistically excellent graphics, terrific sound effects, gorgeous music, and voice acting that's actually really good! (I think I heard one of the actors doing VO for a TV commercial the other day.)
The only real fault with the game is its short length. It can be finished in 10 hours or less. Maybe a little more if you decide to be really thorough. But that's not a big complaint since a great short game is often better than a long mediocre one.
The game was created by Ubisoft's Michel Ancel, who was recently given a French knighthood, and he managed to deliver a level of style that many other games could learn a thing or two from. Track this game down, and you'll find that it truly belonged in your Gamecube library.
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 20, 2006 13:29:30 GMT -5
Ah, I love Beyond Good & Evil. The game's design is amazingly well-crafted. The music is fantastic. It controls surprisingly tight, looks fantastic (one of the best multiplatform ports that I've seen) and has a delightful narrative driving it. I love the character design and offers a solid (but unfortunately short) quest for adventure game fans. I like it far more than Zelda: Wind Waker, myself. Highly recommended, and you can find it for cheap for any system ($10 for PS2...haven't seen any GC copies lately). Shame it sold so poorly...I got it a month or so after it came out and paid I believe $20 for it. For more praise, my Top 30 impressions of it can be read here: members.tripod.com/jf.wildcat/id847.htm
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 20, 2006 13:42:30 GMT -5
As promised, here's my reflective post on games previously covered by Mr. Woods:
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (LucasArts) Alas, I haven't played this. I played the N64 ones and found that flight shooter games outside of Starfox isn't really my cup of tea. I can see why people like these, though.
Resident Evil Zero (Capcom) I skipped RE0. I got tired of the tank-like controls and awkward camera angles of REmake after all of the other RE's, so I decided to pass on this one. RE4 I love very much, though.
SSX Tricky/SSX 3/SSX: On Tour (EA Sports BIG) I would probably agree that this is better than Avalanche. I haven't played one, but 1080's sequel failed to live up to the N64 original, much less SSX.
Ikaruga (Atari/Infogrames) I have no opinion. Haven't played it, and I tend to dislike top-down shooters.
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Konami) Here's one I proudly own. I really enjoyed my playthrough of this. I didn't get the chance to play MGS on the PS1, so while the reviewers griped that the new first person mode cheapened the experience from the original, I didn't mind it at all.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 23, 2006 16:48:32 GMT -5
TPCGW: TimeSplitters 2 from Eidos Interactive
I have to confess, this is somewhat of a "blind" recommendation since I have never played any of the TimeSplitters games. I'm not a fan of FPS's. (Metroid Prime is, for all intents and purposes, an adventure game disguised as a FPS) But the last couple of TPCGW's have been RPG's or adventures, so I thought it was time for some action. As far as I know, TimeSplitters 2 is considered the best pure FPS on the 'Cube.
It was developed by Free Radical Design which was founded by former Rare employees who had also worked on Goldeneye 007 on the N64. That's gotta count for something. In fact, TS2 even includes a "dam" level as an homage to Goldeneye.
The sequel, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (published by EA), also appeared on the Gamecube. Some consider it a better introduction to the series since it isn't as difficult as the previous games.
Anyway, the fact that I'm recommending a game I haven't played myself is, by means, no indication that I'm running out of ideas. This thread goes both ways, as I'm also reconsidering some third party games I initially passed on. Heck, even I feel like trying out the TimeSplitters games, now! However, if you think I should stick to games that I have personal experience with, just let me know, and I won't do this again.
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on Apr 23, 2006 19:30:06 GMT -5
I haven't said this for a little while, but TimeSplitters 2 is another game I was thinking about getting at some point. I'd forgetten about it, though, until I saw a copy in GameTraders for $25, and then I forgot about it again until I saw this thread.
What was the point of this? I can't remember.
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 26, 2006 10:10:03 GMT -5
I didn't like TS2 as much as its sequel, myself. TS2 was a fine game, but multiplayer drove me a bit batty (I hate how the bots jump around...too much Perfect Dark, I suppose). TS:FP isn't as hoppy, so I enjoy it more. The single player in TS2 also rubbed me the wrong way, but TS:FP has a solid story and was more enjoyable to play for me, so I would recommend it over TS2 (you'd probably find it easier, too...).
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Post by Nester the Lark on Apr 30, 2006 12:35:24 GMT -5
TPCGW: Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Deception from Midway
Feeling angry? Perhaps you heard some news this week that put you in a bad mood? Need to take your frustrations out on something? I've got a pair of games for you!
I like fighting games, but I've never really been much of a Mortal Kombat fan. While the first couple of games in the series had unparalleled levels of style and atmosphere, the gameplay was shallow and ultimately boring. A true case of style over substance. Deadly Alliance, however, was an attempt to increase the depth and amp up the gameplay value, and I think it admirably succeeded. It gave Mortal Kombat and good, violent kick in the direction of "legitimate fighting game."
Deception added a bunch of characters and features, such as interactive backgrounds, and extra modes like a puzzle game and chess. And both games are loaded with unlockables that'll keep you rippin' new ones for a long time to come.
Just keep a mop handy since both games retain the trademark MK violence. Even with the advancements in the gameplay department, they also managed to retain a lot of style. In fact, they probably even have the best atmosphere since MK2. And admit it, dismembering people's limbs and exploding heads are part of the fun anyway. Just try not to slip on any internal organs.
While it's no Soul Calibur II, the Gamecube MK's are solid yet cheesy fun. Lay down some newspaper and give 'em a go.
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