The Lounge: Gamers' Division

[FDLink]

Another question, JordAnime. How did you handle upgrading weapons? Did you just keep upgrading the first weapon you got for each character?

[JordAnime]

Did you just keep upgrading the first weapon you got for each character?

I got a mini-guide for pre-ordering it which shows which weapons for Lightning have the best stats.  I didn't fully understand that weapons could be transformed to more powerful weapons until like 50 hours in, and at that point I had already invested quite a bit in upgrading certain weapons.  I guess it comes down to personal preference and strategy.  Also, weapons and accessories apparently have hidden "classes" that allow for certain combined skills, but you don't know about it until you've figured it out...which is a bit obnoxious.  I think the whole weapon leveling system is by far the worst part of the game, it's just not very intuitive.  

Anyway I'm like 70 or so hours in and am nearing the end, I heard reports of reviewers completing it in a little over 60, I guess they must have really powered through cuz it's a long ass game, almost needlessly so, and it can go on even after you beat it, so...you definitely get your money's worth with respect to length.

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Incidentally, the final area is hella hard...

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The first form of the final boss made my jaw drop in shock, I'd say it's the most disturbing and out there final boss they've ever come up with, the obligatory final form is stupid though.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

Suda51 confirms No More Heroes 3 (platform unannounced) in his own unique style:

[The_Human_Cyborg]

Sounds promising...

[Rew]

Consider me pumped.

[Adam]

So my friends and I are bringing back the gen 1 Pokemon thing.  That means I'm carrying my Gameboy Color with me around campus for when I have free time between classes, and that's pretty bitchin'.

So out of curiosity, who do you folks like from the original 151?  I know I'm definitely rockin' Charizard, Gyarados, and Kadabra/Alakazam.  Considering maybe giving someone like Exeggcutor or Jynx or Lapras a shot as well.  We'll see how it goes.

Damn it's a fun game.

[Loki]

So my friends and I are bringing back the gen 1 Pokemon thing.  That means I'm carrying my Gameboy Color with me around campus for when I have free time between classes, and that's pretty bitchin'.

So out of curiosity, who do you folks like from the original 151?  I know I'm definitely rockin' Charizard, Gyarados, and Kadabra/Alakazam.  Considering maybe giving someone like Exeggcutor or Jynx or Lapras a shot as well.  We'll see how it goes.

Damn it's a fun game.

Why not go for FireRed or LeafGreen?


As for favorites, I really have no idea... lol

[Adam]

Mostly 'cause we all have Pokemon Red/Blue and at least a Gameboy Color, and none of us have FireRed/Leafgreen, and at least one person is short a GBA.

[Ezlo's Apprentice]

I'm frequently dubbed a Kanto-whore by Kayru, so thinking back to Red and Blue is always good. My preferred 'Mon include the obvious of Charizard and Gyarados, but I'm also a big fan of Nidoking (can learn a great type range of TMs) and the Hitmons (just generally badass). Victreebel will probably also go down as an unusual top choice.

[hisak]

the Hitmons (just generally badass)

Hitmonchan is useless. At least he was for the first three generations. One thing D/P did right was the physical/special rearrangement.

[Loki]

Mostly 'cause we all have Pokemon Red/Blue and at least a Gameboy Color, and none of us have FireRed/Leafgreen, and at least one person is short a GBA.

No DSs, either, I suppose?

But it does make sense to pick up the classic originals instead of tracking down and purchasing a new game which is just a remake of what you already have, just to have something a bit fancier.


Oh, and my favorite is Electabuzz in case no one got that.

[Geneaux486]

the Hitmons (just generally badass)

Hitmonchan is useless. At least he was for the first three generations. One thing D/P did right was the physical/special rearrangement.

Dude, Hitmonchan is a total badass in HG/SS.  They definetely improved the fighters on the DS gen games.

[hisak]

the Hitmons (just generally badass)

Hitmonchan is useless. At least he was for the first three generations. One thing D/P did right was the physical/special rearrangement.

Dude, Hitmonchan is a total badass in HG/SS.  They definetely improved the fighters on the DS gen games.

Hence, "one thing D/P did right."

[Geneaux486]

Yeah, I was agreeing with you, not correcting  ???

[hisak]

Bungie is officially the dumbest video game company currently operating.

[JordAnime]

I doubt it, I imagine the deal is highly lucrative for the people working at Bungie...unlike Infinity Ward which just sort of allowed itself to be consumed by Activision. 

The whole Infinity Ward thing never really sparked my interest, Modern Warfare is this generation's Halo, and Halo was the last generation's Goldeneye, and the whole FPS thing lost its appeal to me after Goldeneye. 

[The_Human_Cyborg]

You know what'd be great? If someone actually made a 007 game as good as goldeneye! That game had a HUGELY different feel from today's war-shooters, and I dug it. Something about sneaking around enemy bases and completing objective had a lot more appeal than moving forward for 20 hours.

[hisak]

I doubt it, I imagine the deal is highly lucrative for the people working at Bungie...unlike Infinity Ward which just sort of allowed itself to be consumed by Activision. 

As long as Bungie is okay with Activision having some other developer make games for their new IP every year until the brand is dead.

I am interested in seeing what Bungie's new IP is, though. They say they're considering all three consoles as possible platforms.

[JordAnime]

You know, the thing about Bungie is that they might put out quality titles on a regular business, but they only became hot shit when Microsoft threw a ton of money their way to make the "must have" game for the Xbox.  It's pretty obvious that without Halo, the original Xbox wouldn't have had a snow-ball's chance in hell.  It was a game of necessity; you know? 

What do I mean "game of necessity"?  It's a game that is a perfectly fine title on its own right, maybe it's a great game, but it's also a game that a console's life is depending on.  Games of necessity either go down as major bombs or fantastic successes, there's never a two way street about it.  I don't think Halo is by any margin one of the greatest games in history, it didn't do much that other shooters hadn't done before, but because it was a quality product, and a game of necessity, it spawned a franchise and boosted Bungie's reputation into the stratosphere. 

You can find games of necessity throughout history, Sonic the Hedgehog for-instance.  It wasn't anything all that ground breaking, but it was a good game that was highly marketable, and it was a game of necessity, it needed to be a hit, so it spun off and created a life outside of what it would have been if it had just been a third party game, or some game Sega decided to make to help bolster its reputation.  Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time all games of neessity.  I'm not saying games of necessity can't be great titles; Super Mario Bros. might be the original game of necessity and it's really one of the greatest games ever made, perhaps partially because it is a game of necessity.  But when you look at games like the original Tomb Raider and Crash Bandicoot, I don't think those stand up on the list of greats.

Also, look at what happens to developers when they no longer carry the weight of necessity, Sonic, I'd say in particular is a victim of this.  Talent left Sonic team, and eventually Sega stopped making consoles, it became a third party and as a result, Sonic just became a game meant to sell units on its own merits.  Sonic no longer had necessity for Sega's success.  If a Sonic game was great, it'd sell a lot of units and do well for Sega, but it wasn't pushing a game console.  Being a game of necessity is a phenomenon that is the result of strong development, hype, marketing, and unmeasurable factors, but usually it's something it is a game that a console's future is riding on.  Without this status, Sonic fell into mediocrity. 

Now that Bungie is no longer the key factor to Microsoft's success, I don't think that their games will hold the same weight.  It doesn't matter how great the intellectual property is, they just won't ever be able to recapture the success of Halo.  They won't be releasing a game of necessity. 

[Bidet to you sir]

On that point it could also be said that FFXIII is a game of necessity for the PS3,surprising considerring it's on two consoles.
Some of those games of necessity are fantastic though, some others would be the uncharted series for ps3, or mass effect on the xbox 360.
I think every console has a game of necessity every 6 months or so nowadays just to keep up interest in the console, and they don't even neccassarily have to be console specific, these games keep interest in the console you're playing, otherwise you could jump ship, which in todays market is an easy thing to do.