Weekend Gamer - What are you playing?

[Jetherik]

The weekend here with Christmas and Chanukkah fast approaching. It will be a busy time for the Jetherik household as we finish baking and cooking for all the feasts! How much time there will be for gaming remains to be seen but I hope to get in some WoW and CoH. Come Christmas day - well, we shall see what happens. What are you going to be playing this weekend? What are your plans? What are you waiting for most?

[Taco]

Still have no functioning computer thanks to FedEx sucking.

May or may not get a DS for Christmas. Which would be my first portable since the original(and I do mean the original) Gameboy.

[Heretic Machine]

I'm playing Jedi Academy while I wait to recieve the ubar amount of Star Wars DVD's I'm getting for Christmas o.o Also, watching episodes of Clone Wars on Starwars.com

Shaak-Ti is a bad-ass.

[netcraazzy]

I'll be playing my new Priest alt in WoW and we'll have to see what games are waiting for me on Christmas day.

[rein]

Bought my daughter Guitar Hero... ...we will both be playing this one a lot. That, a tiny bit of WoW to try a warrior and DQVIII.

[EGO]

Finishing off some games, like Kameo, Sly 3, NFS:MW. I would be playing the schmuck out of DOA4 on my 360, but tha damn'd thing got delayed till AFTER Xmas! WTF?!?

[Heretic Machine]

By the way, if anyone is interested in watching/downloading episodes of Clone Wars then you can go here: http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/moviefone/movies/2004/lucasfilm/hyperspace/chapter25_320_dl.mov

Just rename them in the logical way (that links to episode 25, the last episode) and you should be able to access them all. Or you can go to Star Wars.com and check them out there under the Clone Wars section of the expanded universe. But I would recommend every Star Wars fan pick up the DVD's, they are some of the best Star Wars you'll ever see.

[Syl]

I started playing Civ IV again....

Though i do expect to get some games for christmas.

[Cha-Ka]

I'll be working on my 2nd level 40 in City of Villains.

[Metal Jesus]

Half-Life 2 (XBOX)
Legend of Heroes (PSP)
SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo (PSP)

[XxSATANxX]

Need for Speed MOST WANTED. Webster is getting his ass kicked! That'll put me in the top 5 on Blacklist. Maybe I got a game for X-mas????

[Heretic Machine]

I'll be working on my 2nd level 40 in City of Villains.

Is City of Villains easier to level than CoH has been made into? Because if it is, I may use some X-mas $$$ to pick up a copy. I just don't want another grind-fest like CoH was turned into.

[Kelegacy]

I...don't...know. Since I beat Dragon Quest VIII on Monday, I've been lost. I installed the Painkiller: Battle out of Hell expansion last night but I can't take it seriously right now (though I loved the original game). I really want to play a PC game but I can't pick one out of my ten million titles. Something action-oriented after the random battles of Dragon Quest would be nice. And FEAR probably wouldnt run on my computer. :(

After that, maybe Tales of Symphonia for Gamecube. I usually play in cycles. Slow, fast, mindless, slow, fast, mindless, wash, repeat.

[Lekon]

Is City of Villains easier to level than CoH has been made into? Because if it is, I may use some X-mas $$$ to pick up a copy. I just don't want another grind-fest like CoH was turned into.


For most of the levels, yeah, COV seems a bit easier to level up in, the teams seem a bit better, and the AT's are all able to solo pretty well, even the worst solo'ers (Dominators) have decent attacks.

[Dr Quincy]

More EVE. Lots and lots of festive EVE.

[Captain Awesome]

My genitals, for the second time today.

[Bydo_Empire]

I finally started playing Ninja Gaiden (a few years late), and some MK DS - still need to beat the reverse courses and unlock ROB. I'm pretty sure my wife got me Guitar Heroes and Animal Crossing (DS) for Xmas, so that's pretty much it for my weekend.

[UnderHero5]

Probably DoD:Source and Guitar Hero still.
I still can't beat the last 3 songs in expert!
Oh, can't forget about Animal Crossing: WW too.

Other than those, just lots of food hopefully, hehe.

[NoName]

Grining away at DQ VIII still and loving it.

[bapenguin]

Finishing up King Kong on the 360. Hopefully Civ 4 will come today and I can play that this weekend. OTherwise...it's family visiting time.

[Adam Blue]

Act of War, SST. Thinking of installing Winter Assault. Also, I might be getting an LCD monitor for Christmas. My parents asked if I needed anything, and I(more jokingly than anything) said an LCD monitor. Well, I go to the house a few days later and see a big box under the tree. That will hopefully improve my gaming.

[chloroformcologne]

still stuck on guitar hero...

[dojoteef]

Happy Christmahanukkwanzaa!

Oh and it's Guitar Hero ALL THE WAY! I got my present a little early this year. In two days I've almost beaten the second set on hard. If I can keep up the momentum maybe I can have expert beat in a week. :)

Yeah right. Here's for dreaming.

[JRR006]

Resident Evil 4 for the PS2, and Trauma Center - finally making headway in that game after a few weeks of shelving it, and I'd like to defeat that Mercury level sometime before the end of the year. Other than that - my plans involve sitting at my grandmother's, as I have an uncle who needs constant care and she went into the hospital yesterday... and they scheduled me to work Christmas Eve *again*! Every freaking year. Enough out of me - Happy Holidays, all! :)

[Stormeh]

CoD2

Also, I've recently been tempted to reinstall WoW. Guys, I need moral support...I don't want to go back, but feel drawn to it... =D

[Taco]

I'm taking off all next week. 1st time since my post high school joblessness that I'll have a full week off.

[jacktion]

I have a delicious dichotomy of games to entertain myself.
Animal Crossing DS and Battlefield 2 PC

[thecrazyd]

I have this thing where, when I have to many games to play, I end up dicking around indecisively, and do not end up playing anything. I have a feeling that that will happen again this weekend. I want to play some FEAR and CoD2, and I have been itching to play Psychonauts again, and I haven't played Deus Ex in a while... also, Trauma Center on the go, playing through SotC on hard mode, playing some CS:Source (bot zombie) with my bro, and the occasional Guitar Hero showdown with my room mate. Sprinkle in a bit of We <3 Katamari. I may actually play two of those games.

Also, working on issue 2 of my comic! It is awesome having a roommate who is an artist.

[Cha-Ka]

Is City of Villains easier to level than CoH has been made into? Because if it is, I may use some X-mas $$$ to pick up a copy. I just don't want another grind-fest like CoH was turned into.

Well, there are a couple answers I want to give. First - CoV doesn't level faster than CoH in any noticable way. Masterminds are the AT with the highest concentration of new powers and game play, but they also get pretty overpowered once you get Single Origin enhancers slotted. If the non-mastermind villain Archetypes seem a bit stale to you at first glance...give them each a closer look before passing judgement. After playing a bit of each I think they distinguish themselves nicely from the 5 Hero ATs. Corruptors and Stalkers are way fun in my book.

My other answer: you get from CoV (or any other MMO) more or less what you put into it. If you approach CoV with power-levelling/grinding (i.e. doing only the most profitable missions over and over for maximum progress) then it will be very grind like. If you approach CoV looking to try a variety of story arcs, strike forces (evil version of CoH's task forces), and open-zone PvP then I think you'll get more than your money's worth. Me? I'm mainly a PvEer who makes lots of characters and levels them up to see what different Archetypes and builds are like and that's kept me pretty entertained. Base Raids simply aren't happening yet on any wide scale due to the excessive requirements to participate in them. Check back on that in 6 months to see if it's as stillborn as the PvP in CoH has been.

[president_fred]

Finishing off some games
I read that as "Flashing off some girls", I need to put the crack-pipe down

Edit: I am playing the writing a mini dissertation for my bloody tutor over christmas, hohoho.
If I can squeeze any gaming in it will probably be something on the DS, any recomendations?

[Kelegacy]

I have this thing where, when I have to many games to play, I end up dicking around indecisively, and do not end up playing anything. I have a feeling that that will happen again this weekend.


Oh my God. I have the exact same problem, the EXACT same problem. I did that all this week, actually, after DQ8. I even went through games I had bought in college and never played, opened up old boxes of them, flipped through DVD binders, old CD towers...and though I have multiple dozens of games I want to play, I ended up undecided and moped around for awhile, doing nothing.

[Lekon]

Well, if you approach it like a grind (i.e. doing only the most profitable missions over and over) then it will be very grind like. If you approach CoV looking to try a variety of story arcs, strike forces (evil version of CoH's task forces), and open-zone PvP then I think you'll get more than your money's worth. Me? I'm mainly a PvEer who makes lots of characters and levels them up to see what different Archetypes and builds are like and that's kept me pretty entertained. Base Raids simply aren't happening yet on any wide scale due to the excessive requirements to participate in them. Check back on that in 6 months to see if it's as stillborn as the PvP in CoH has been.


Ill agree there, if you just try different characters, different arcs, you find all sorts of strange temporary powers and badges, and odd little stories. (The Slot machine is priceless.) Theres even a few unlockable contacts as well, such as Doc Buzzsaw who is a 30-35 contact who only talks to you if you have the Bling Badge (1 million infamy.)

Lotta nice touches, but I've found just by doing all the different stories, not only do you get neat quests, but you level up quite fast just on arc bonuses alone.

[VoodooKarma]

After almost 75 hours I finally finished DQ8, I haven't put that kind of time in a game in a long while. Now it's on to play some Kameo.

[Abash Alarmist]

Bought my brothers Guitar Hero, Dragon Quest VIII, and also Soul Caliber 3....Ironically, those are all games that I wouldn't mind playing myself, hehe.

[Syrinx]

Hmm.. what won't I be playing this weekend..

EQ2
NBA 2K6
PGR3
Robotron
Geometry Wars
PD:0
Hopefully Kameo after Sunday

[Snoy Cracken]

My brother gave me Guitar Hero for christmas today, so i'll be playing a lot of that. oh, and there will be the occasional ninja attack with the other gift (http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/750a/) he got me. :p

[TheWookieeHasNoPants]

I'm going home for Christmas, so all I'll have is my GBA and a copy of FFTA.

[score]

Mario Kart DS. I bought a DS for this baby and I haven't been disappointed.

[Citizen Philip]

I am hoping for world peace, followed up by my subjugation of planet earth.

Maybe next year. Until then, I'll settle for some CiV4, maybe some WoW.

[Felonous]

Merry Christmas to all EA readers.

I will have a 3 day weekend that starts tomorrow and I plan to log some serious hours on the new 360 and 37" LCD. I have PGR3, COD2, Criminal Origins and PDZ. After playing the demo for Kameo, I might pick it up as a present for someone else (so that I get to play it too!).

[ezzkmo]

Enjoying the weekend with my family, who I am long due to spend some time with.

[Borys]

Still Baten Kaitos.

I'm leaving Anuenue right now. That last boss fight was awesome! I always suspected that Lyude was a traitor and, BAM!, surprise! (hint: he wasn't!).

Baten Kaitos should be called Final Fantasy 7 - 2.

It's goddamn great and it deserves the Final Fantasy title 100 times more than that 20-hours short Crystal Chronicles crap.

[NeuroMan42]

WOW, Temple of Elemental Evil, finishing Stubbs the Zombie. Spending a wonderful XMas with my family.

Happy Holidays to the Evil Avatar family. ;)

[Zanzibar]

Hmm. Well, I WON'T be playing my X360 - getting on a plane, and don't trust myself to bring it up there, envisioning all my nephews' grubby mitts all over my pristine controllers. Bought a few Mario games for my kids on their GBA which I have no doubt I'll wind up playing after they go to bed.

Sucks, too. Just got my Activision company orders for my X360 games: CoD2, Quake IV, and Gun. Still haven't finished Kameo or PDZ.

Oh, by the way, I downloaded trial version of Wik last night on XBLive Arcade and had a BLAST. Highly recommended. Gonna buy it after I get back.

[mightbe]

DQVIII on my blue slime controller.

Bitches.

[GoblinToe]

Playing Jagged Alliance 2 with the awesome v1.13 mod! Man, what a totally polished and complete game JA2 is. I highly recommend this mod btw. It adds a ton of new features that remove some of the tedium out of the game (like selling weapons for cash, etc.) and also makes the game harder with enhanced AI (they now flank you and use rooftops more as an example). Pure gaming goodness!

Since the PC market has not provided me with anything entertaining in a long time, I've been having a blast going retro. BG2, JA2, System Shock 2, PS:T, all the awesome classics. I've gotta say that you really can tell the difference from the quality and attention to detail that devs put into games from 5 years ago compared to today. It's a whole different gaming experience.

The JA v.13 Mod for anyone interested...
http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=42

[endrom]

project gotham racing 3, perfect dark zero, and cal of duty 2, thank that magical cuban santa i call dad

[mos]

Every Christmas I travel a thousand miles to chill with my siblings at my parent's place out in the middle of nowhere. Last year, I brought Mario Tennis for the GC and it was a huge hit. This year, it'll be Mario Soccer.

[Kelegacy]

Still Baten Kaitos.

I'm leaving Anuenue right now. That last boss fight was awesome! I always suspected that Lyude was a traitor and, BAM!, surprise! (hint: he wasn't!).

Baten Kaitos should be called Final Fantasy 7 - 2.

It's goddamn great and it deserves the Final Fantasy title 100 times more than that 20-hours short Crystal Chronicles crap.
Well, now you have me intrigued. I own the game but have never played it. Are the random battle tedious? I'm thinking I might play Tales of Symphonia before this, but you have me excited either way.

[president_fred]

Still Baten Kaitos
Borys I crave a story driven RPG at the moment I think I've explored the ones I am most interested in on the PS2, have you tried Tales of Symphonia and if so which do you recommend Baten Kaitos or ToS. I am pretty open minded about combat systems.
thank that magical cuban santa i call dad
*Grumble* Stupid normal, boring ol' caucasian santa bringing me gifts.

[i aint yer pa]

I plan on a little Animal Crossing WW, a little Metroid Prime Pinball, I just picked up Mr. Driller as well, so I'll be spending this weekend with the DS and a little Guild Wars to pick up the Christmas goodies.

Hopefully Santa will be bringing the Pa household a 360 but I'm not holding my breath.

[Spigot]

I...don't...know. Since I beat Dragon Quest VIII on Monday, I've been lost. I installed the Painkiller: Battle out of Hell expansion last night but I can't take it seriously right now (though I loved the original game). I really want to play a PC game but I can't pick one out of my ten million titles. Something action-oriented after the random battles of Dragon Quest would be nice. And FEAR probably wouldnt run on my computer. :(

After that, maybe Tales of Symphonia for Gamecube. I usually play in cycles. Slow, fast, mindless, slow, fast, mindless, wash, repeat.

Tales was a blast. I really enjoyed it and all of the plot twists made what was really a rather generic story into something that I couldn't put down.

As for the PC, I still think you should try out Darwinia. It's actiony but also involves a lot of strategy. Plus it oozes style like those cysts on your back... er...

As for Baten Kaitos, I don't know. I had it for a while before I actually busted it out last spring and while I loved the visual style and some of the things in it intrigued me, I just couldn't really get into it enough to hold my attention (and this was after spending upwards of 20 hours on it). I ended up trading in my copy for either SotC or Guitar Hero... I forget. Beautiful graphics though..

Anyway, as for this weekend, my dreams of playing WoW and/or EVE when the TV was being used here at my in-laws have been dashed due to my in-laws having a non-Hardware T&L enabled vid card. Stupid crappy computer.

I've got a stack of PS2 games to play while I'm here though. DQVIII is first on the list (Dark Ruins, here I come!)
I'm going to start working on Hard mode in Guitar Hero.
I've also got Blood Will Tell, ZOE 2, Ratchet & Clank 3 and Fatal Frame 3 to work on.

As for the portables, I have Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories and Final Fantasy IV to play on the GBA and Trauma Center & Phoenix Wright to play on the DS... if I get a DS for Christmas. If I don't, well, I'm getting one on Boxing Day.

Of course most of the games will be played in the week I have off after Christmas. The next few days are mostly going to be family things.

If anyone can find a copy, I recommend reading the book, The Claus Effect by Dave Nickle & Karl Schroeder. It's a great book about a Santa Claus who is not only nigh-indestructible but also insane. He likes to fulfill the wishes of little girls and boys, especially the ones involving mass destruction :) It's a great little read.

On that note, have a very Evil Christmas and an Avatary New Year...

[Com_Gaunt]

Civilization 4, Earth 2160 and Space Rangers 2.
Also going to try to finish up Mercenaries on the Xbox.

[Schnoogs]

Going to beat Resident Evil 4 and then start on GTA San Andreas. Yes I'm a year behind but I just beat like 5 PC games in a row so I figured it was time to DUST off the consoles.

[Nite_Moogle]

Civ 4, WoW, Final Fantasy IV Advance (which is a great conversion btw), and Mario Kart DS.

[nesmercal]

Since I am traveling, it will be primarily a DS weekend. I just finished Mario and Luigi (great game, btw) so my time will be split between Metroid Prime Pinball and Mario Kart. I also picked up Feel the Magic and Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits on the cheap, so I will be giving those a spin. If I get what I put on my list, I hope to have one or more of the following before the weekend is out: Castlevania DS, Meteos, Advanced Wars and/or Wario Ware Touched. My Christmas list also includes the PC titles Civilization IV and F.E.A.R. I hope to get one of those as I am in the mood for a good PC game.

Nesmercal

[VoodooKarma]

As for Baten Kaitos, I don't know. I had it for a while before I actually busted it out last spring and while I loved the visual style and some of the things in it intrigued me, I just couldn't really get into it enough to hold my attention (and this was after spending upwards of 20 hours on it). I ended up trading in my copy for either SotC or Guitar Hero... I forget. Beautiful graphics though..




I had the same experience with Baiten Kaitos, I played it for almost 20 hours as well before getting bored with it. The graphics were gorgeous and it had a pretty cool card based battle system but the story and voice acting were so bad that I lost interest after a while. Playing a game like DQ8 reminded me that it's not near as important for an RPG to have a crazy plot twisting story as it is for a RPG to have a well done story with charm and character. And even if you have a well crafted story in a RPG, bad voice acting will ruin the experience every time.

[Troggles]

Finishing up Kameo
Final Fantasy IV (not the port, the snes version. With the port being released I've been feeling the itch for it)
Anything I get for christmas.

[Dirty Harry]

probally some more call of duty, and probally finish off postal 2 apoc weekend.

[The Iron Weasel]

Shadow Of The Colossus.

[Everlost_MI]

Working on my Indy Colts franchise in Madden 06, 9-0 baby! And starting on CoD2 for the 360 before Sunday when family time begins here and in the Great White North! Take off you, hoser!

And a beeeer in a tree!

[Borys]

(Note: I'm already past the 20-hours mark, left Anuenue, past that arcade sequence in the Void and arrived on the bizarre-illusion island with my Mizuti man!)

OK GUYS HERE'S THE BATEN KAITOS DEAL

1) There are NO random battles. Enemies are always on screen and you can navigate side them a la Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu style (IIR those game correctly). Boss battles are obligatory, though.

2) The combat is turn based BUT timed. After 30 secs, your turn is up. There are two... half-turns each turn - one for attacking and one for defending. You do both by using cards. The card system is pretty complicated, too complicated to explain here (combos, light&dark or fire&water annihilation etc.) but it is way, way better than the one used in KH: Chain of memories. You can attack/ defend N times per round - N goes up with your level of course. The cards at your disposal are randomized each turn from a deck that you can customize at any time when not in battle:

let's say you have 100 cards but your deck capacity is 30 cards.
So you choose 30 cards from 100 to be used in upcoming battles (let's say 10 attack, 10 defens, 10 magic cards). Now when i battle you can only have N cards at hand (3-7) that means each turn CPU picks random N cards from your deck. With 3 cards at hand it takes 10 turn to deplete the deck - it then gets shuffled and the procedure repeats.

Healing spells are cards as well. There is MUCH strategy in building your deck before boss battles - you'll get fucked up really fast without at least few healing cards in a deck, and still with bad luck you can get killed BEFORE they get chosen to your "hand".

In short two words: the battle system FUCKING ROCKS.

3) Graphics and music are TOP notch. If you wondered how would a PSX-style Final Fantasy game (3D chars on 2D backgrounds) look on a current-gen console get Baten Kaitos. It's amazingly beautiful, each location, each island is 2D drawn and breathtaking.

The music... let's just say that this is the best OST since FF8, and that's saying A LOT.

4) Voiceovers are the worst part of the game, UGH. Turn them off as soon as you can!

5) Plot is your standard jRPG fare - one guy assembles a party to fight the evil empire. There are castles, soldiers, mechanical beasts, villages, caves etc. everything taken straight from a Final Fantasy fanboi (ie. me) dream. You get to fight the "bad guys" very early in the game, but alas, they always chicken out and run away (haven't seen that before, :rollseyes:). Of course your main char is "special" and "chosen one" etc. etc.

6) This IS a Final Fantasy game. There's so much Fantasy in it that it really puts Crystal Chronicles to shame. I *hated* that "Secret of Crystal Chronicles" crap. Baten Kaitos is what FF for the Cube should have been - a beautiful, classic jRPG with amazing artistic values in the GFX and Music departments.

8) The cast is superb. Mizuti is Vivi 2! VIVI, man. Can you believe it?

9) The CG intro is the best CG intro since FF8. I must have watched it 20 times already. Even better than FE: Path of Radiance's!

10) Baten Kaitos II launch date is December 2005! I wonder will it ever launch outside Japan :(

[president_fred]

Thanks for that I may very well pick Baten Kaitos up tomorrow when I go to get some fresh bread for my lobster, crab, langoustine, prawn and seared mussles sandwich with home made salsa and aoli which I shall be enjoying on christmas eve (it will be the best sandwich ever I would have like pan-fried oysters but they weren't fresh), and turkey christmas day baby. Sorry for going off on a tangent but food is the best part of Xmas.
Edit: 400 posts :p

[Heretic Machine]

Well, there are a couple answers I want to give. First - CoV doesn't level faster than CoH in any noticable way. Masterminds are the AT with the highest concentration of new powers and game play, but they also get pretty overpowered once you get Single Origin enhancers slotted. If the non-mastermind villain Archetypes seem a bit stale to you at first glance...give them each a closer look before passing judgement. After playing a bit of each I think they distinguish themselves nicely from the 5 Hero ATs. Corruptors and Stalkers are way fun in my book.

My other answer: you get from CoV (or any other MMO) more or less what you put into it. If you approach CoV with power-levelling/grinding (i.e. doing only the most profitable missions over and over for maximum progress) then it will be very grind like. If you approach CoV looking to try a variety of story arcs, strike forces (evil version of CoH's task forces), and open-zone PvP then I think you'll get more than your money's worth. Me? I'm mainly a PvEer who makes lots of characters and levels them up to see what different Archetypes and builds are like and that's kept me pretty entertained. Base Raids simply aren't happening yet on any wide scale due to the excessive requirements to participate in them. Check back on that in 6 months to see if it's as stillborn as the PvP in CoH has been.

Well, I enjoyed CoH for the first six months... but eventually I realized that I wasn't progressing at a reasonable rate, and that I was NOT enjoying having to get on and wait for an hour or more to get on a team. So being able to solo would be a really big thing for me.

Keep in mind, I enjoy grouping, but I don't want to have to wait for the group when I just want to play.

[maharahaj]

NHL2K6
PGR3
PD0
(all on my new 360..its going to be a great 11 days off of work, with today being day 1)

[PIPBoy3000]

I'm playing Resident Evil 4 when I can kick the boy off the Gamecube (it's his present, after all). I played a little Metroid Prime, wishing save stations were a little closer together. PC gaming has spoiled me. Dying after a boss battle on the way to a save station isn't exciting, it's just damn frustrating.

[Troggles]

Once you get the hang of Metroid Prime, you don't die, and you figure out the fastest way to each save station is.

Of course, this comes from someone who has beaten the game about 6 times.

[Sensei-X]

For like the 45th weekend in a row it's WoW for the next 72 hours. Gotta get that 2nd alt to 60. Also finally picked up FF IV after being down for the count with the flu for almost a week, so that's gonna get played too. Of course I would be playing my Xbox 360, but as luck would have it, those asshats at GameStop still don't have mine in.

[Spigot]

3) Graphics and music are TOP notch. If you wondered how would a PSX-style Final Fantasy game (3D chars on 2D backgrounds) look on a current-gen console get Baten Kaitos. It's amazingly beautiful, each location, each island is 2D drawn and breathtaking. The music... let's just say that this is the best OST since FF8, and that's saying A LOT.

4) Voiceovers are the worst part of the game, UGH. Turn them off as soon as you can!

5) Plot is your standard jRPG fare - one guy assembles a party to fight the evil empire. There are castles, soldiers, mechanical beasts, villages, caves etc. everything taken straight from a Final Fantasy fanboi (ie. me) dream. You get to fight the "bad guys" very early in the game, but alas, they always chicken out and run away (haven't seen that before, :rollseyes:). Of course your main char is "special" and "chosen one" etc. etc.

10) Baten Kaitos II launch date is December 2005! I wonder will it ever launch outside Japan :(

Not to turn this into a Baten Kaitos thread, but if a game hasn't hit its stride in 20 hours of play, well, there's something wrong there. I do agree that the graphics were gorgeous and some of the various plot elements and the dreamy lands were quite impressive. I also don't have a problem with the various Final Fantasy elements as I, too, am quite the FF fan (I seem to be with you as one of the few people to enjoy FF8).

That said, I might just have an aversion to card-based battle systems. I have yet to play a card based RPG that has really been enjoyable. I also found that the pace of the game, at least in those first 20 hours, was rather slow. And I've played and enjoyed Radiata Stories, so I know about slow openings to games...

I do have to say that after reading your glowing praise of the game I'm quite tempted to pick it up again or at least give it another rent and try it again. I just never found it to be as satisfying as I'd hoped it to be.

And yes, the voiceovers are by far the worst voiceovers in almost any game ever made. I liked that they had the characters talk to you, the player, directly, but between the horrid voiceacting and the strange kind of muffled filter they put to show that you're viewing things from outside of their reality... well, it just didn't work...

I'll definately try the sequel if it hits North America. I'd love to see a less generic plot and better voiceacting used in a world as luscious as the Baten Kaitos world. I'll just give it a rent first...

[Cha-Ka]

Keep in mind, I enjoy grouping, but I don't want to have to wait for the group when I just want to play.

Understandable. Playing with a regular group that communicates over Teamsppeak is the way I enjoy MMOs. Typing is too cumbersome. Pickup teams are too unpredictable. I guess this isn't terribly 'social' but I firmly believe it is up to players to determine how they best enjoy games.

[Spigot]

Originally Posted by Perigon
Keep in mind, I enjoy grouping, but I don't want to have to wait for the group when I just want to play.
That's what killed FFXI for me. I'd spend more time standing around than I did playing and that, coupled with the XP penalty on death, really killed the momentum of the game. Ah well. Along came WoW and at least you keep moving up, even with the waits for instances.

[Phanto]

I love christmas and i don;t saying this because of the present because i already got mine :D but i said it because almost everyone is in a really great mood online, real life e.c.t thats what i call a christmas spirit.


I Wish to everybody a VERY HAPPY MERRY CHRISTMAS HERE AND TO YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!

i HOPE EVERYBODY HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND WITH YOUR FAMILY AND I HOPE YOU GET FROM "SANTA CLAUS" WHAT YOU WERE HOPING FOR :) :) :) :)

btw i going to finish PoP:WW i'm at the final boss but i can't fight with it yet :mad: , i have to find the last Life upgrade so i can get the Water sword so i can fight the Dahaka.
And then i will be starting PoP: TT (Two Thrones)

[Atepsflame]

Working on FFIV for GBA right now and got Minish Cap from a friend today. Got three X-Box games and a copy of Magna Carte coming for Christmas too. I am literally awash in games. It's almost too much...

[saneman]

playing Super Mario Advance 2 (SMW), raising a rogue on Kalecgos in WoW, and possibly getting either Mario Kart or Animal Crossing (or neither!) for Xmas.

Fun times.

[Bumbuliuz]

Amepd3, Comdemed, Gotham3, Nfs-Most Wanted and King Kong. It´s a Xbox 360 playtime for me.

[Adam Blue]

Oh my God. I have the exact same problem, the EXACT same problem. I did that all this week, actually, after DQ8. I even went through games I had bought in college and never played, opened up old boxes of them, flipped through DVD binders, old CD towers...and though I have multiple dozens of games I want to play, I ended up undecided and moped around for awhile, doing nothing.

Ha....so more people do the same. It's like some OCD. Like you two, I will literally sit there looking at all my games, just thinking what to play. I go mad. For instance, I want to finish Warrior Within, and get some more drive time in Forza...I think about it....but do nothing.

[LarsenNET]

Eternal Darkness, Project Gotham 3, Geometry Wars.

[HALO 32]

we started christmas this year early, since my sister showed up, so im playing Mario Kart DS

[Emabulator]

I've been playing Counter-Strike: Source and Neverwinter Nights (just got NwN Diamond).

P.S. Still no CTF in NwN Phil ;)

[TrackZero]

Finally picked up Battlefield 2, having a riot.

Edit: Oh yeah, and probably continuing with FF IV, I'm about 19 hours in so far.

[score]

Well, now you have me intrigued. I own the game but have never played it. Are the random battle tedious? I'm thinking I might play Tales of Symphonia before this, but you have me excited either way.

There is no contest.

If I had a choice between the two I would go for Tales everytime. You will enjoy it much more.

Not to say that Baten is a bad game. I sunk alot of hours into it but didn't have the stamina to finish. While the card battle system is cool there is too much of an element of luck involved. Early on in the game it doesn't matter much but when you're quite far along and getting involved in fights with three bosses one after another with no saves in between (think of a 2 hour boss fight!) getting your ass handed to you because the luck of the cards drawn sucked just isn't right.

To be honest, I didn't like the character design either, just couldn't build up an affinity with them. Had no such problems with Tales.

Also, dear god. Turn off the spoken voices. You'll thank me for that.

[Balthasar]

Just picked up Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. Pretty impressed with it so far. Really great artistic presentation.

[NGage]

Im probably just gonna try and beat Guitar Hero on hard and try and wrap up COD 2 on my 360. I will also be trying to beat my pitiful 249000 hi score on giomatry wars evo.

In other news Dragon Quest 8 is glareing at me as I write this and by the look on its unopened face, it hates me......

[DeadPixel]

CoV
Hammer & Sickle (just pick this up today, loved Silent Storm)
Silent Hunter III

[Spigot]

Also, dear god. Turn off the spoken voices. You'll thank me for that.
I hope you were referring to Baten Kaitos for this. The voicework in Tales was excellent.

Not DQ8 excellent, but better than most.

[bobbler]

Played Genji and beat it yesterday (pretty entertaining, not the best game -- Yoshitsune is pretty badass though!), and now I'm playing Psychonauts. And if I need a break from it I'll go back to DQ8.

Psychonauts is wonderful so far.

[The Iron Weasel]

6 collosi down, 10 to go! This game is soooooo good. Alone worth the purchase of the PS2.

[mister_slim]

I'm playing with my shiny new console, an Atari Flashback 2. Some of the games just haven't aged well, but a few are still great fun. Lunar Lander sucks me in for hours, and I don't know why. I think I'm going to have to track down the Paddle Games version, cause I miss paddle controls. There's just no way to emulate them with a stick. Also playing Mario & Luigi, Mario Kart, Magna Carta (though I not sure if I'm going to stick with it. The story-telling is annoying me.), possibly some other stuff.

OK GUYS HERE'S THE BATEN KAITOS DEAL

10) Baten Kaitos II launch date is December 2005! I wonder will it ever launch outside Japan :(
Well said. I really hope II comes to America (and Europe, for your sake). I'm more excited about the DS version though.

[The Iron Weasel]

Ah damn Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance has taken me away from SoTC for the moment.

[Kelegacy]

Ah damn Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance has taken me away from SoTC for the moment.
Just beat SotC and then you can go game elsewhere. It shouldn't take you much longer and Fire Emblem will take up loads of your time.

[The Iron Weasel]

Just beat SotC and then you can go game elsewhere. It shouldn't take you much longer and Fire Emblem will take up loads of your time.

Yeah, I remember you said earlier that I should probably play something big and long after SoTC.

[Kelegacy]

Yeah, I remember you said earlier that I should probably play something big and long after SoTC.
That's why I was masturbating for a week after.

[The Iron Weasel]

That's why I was masturbating for a week after.

Ahhh....that explains your strange absence!