The Bill's Now Playing Video Game Thread (Now with Bames)

[The Schwartz]

After giving up I'm back to playing MG 4. I think I "get it" again now that I just played Metal Gear Solid for fun and remembered how you're supposed to play these games. Still undecided on the MG collection.

speaking of MGS 4

if anyone has a copy they might want to swap in a trade I'd surely be interested

[valgalder]

I ended up choosing Star Tropics...

not a bad choice.. I would have picked Faxanadu though.

[Friendly Goatus]

I would have gone with Strider or Mega Man. Star Tropics was pretty cool though.

[Cryptoplasty]

Star Tropics would be my vote.

[The Bill]

I have a bunch of NES games on the Wii, but on my large ass HDTV they all look like pixelated shit. What's the best NES emulator now a days? Is ZNES till the best SNES one?

I think I'll go with SIN as the next PC game to play along side Skyriim, and tonight is the night to continue my journey, as long as no shenanigans befall me.

[james]

I have a bunch of NES games on the Wii, but on my large ass HDTV they all look like pixelated shit. What's the best NES emulator now a days? Is ZNES till the best SNES one?

I think I'll go with SIN as the next PC game to play along side Skyriim, and tonight is the night to continue my journey, as long as no shenanigans befall me.

ZSNES will always get my vote for SNES, can't top the features it has if you're playing with a usb pad. FCEUX for NES no maybe.

[frost]

The Witcher 2 question, so how do I beat Letho in the first chapter, didnt even get the chance to drink some potions...

[Wang Mandu]

The Witcher 2 question, so how do I beat Letho in the first chapter, didnt even get the chance to drink some potions...

Use Quen at all times and/or use Aard to help take down his shield. Throw bombs, roll away constantly and get one to two sword slashes in here or there. Don't bother with multiple hit combos, stick and move.

[right over there]

just hit 90 hours on dragon quest ix

[spacehamster]

STOP SAYING "WAR ECONOMY"!!!!

I think I've played through this game three or four times now, and everytime I promise myself I'm just going to skip all the cutscenes. But there's something about it that makes you feel obligated to at least watch most of that shit. Are you at the Big Mama one aka The Great Exposition Massacre of 2008 yet? That's got to be the worst one. 10 or 15 minutes of just talking and talking over a slideshow of character sketches.

[spacehamster]

I couldn't fucking BELIEVE how long the cut scene was after the Rage Vulture or whatever her name is boss fight. Seriously like 40 minutes.

Don't forget every one of those bossfights is also endcapped by 10 minutes of that annoying fuck telling you the same fucking backstory with different animals every time, accompanied by absolutely nothing happening on screen.

MGS4 was one of the first games I bought when I got my PS3 after roughly 10 years of no exposure to new videogames at all, so I had never played, say, HL2 and thought this was just how you told a story in a game. The more I play newer games, the more intolerable I find Kojima's approach to storytelling. I think the first time I realized how antiquated it really is was when I played Dead Space.

Of course that takes nothing away from the fact that on the rare occasion that MGS4 begrudgingly gives you control of Snake and actually lets you play it for a bit, it's fucking amazing.

[triple clutcher v2.5b]

this morning, I found Train Simulator 2012 on sale for $3. Easily one of my better impulse purchases.

[Krieg]

I couldn't fucking BELIEVE how long the cut scene was after the Rage Vulture or whatever her name is boss fight. Seriously like 40 minutes.

Don't forget every one of those bossfights is also endcapped by 10 minutes of that annoying fuck telling you the same fucking backstory with different animals every time, accompanied by absolutely nothing happening on screen.

MGS4 was one of the first games I bought when I got my PS3 after roughly 10 years of no exposure to new videogames at all, so I had never played, say, HL2 and thought this was just how you told a story in a game. The more I play newer games, the more intolerable I find Kojima's approach to storytelling. I think the first time I realized how antiquated it really is was when I played Dead Space.

Of course that takes nothing away from the fact that on the rare occasion that MGS4 begrudgingly gives you control of Snake and actually lets you play it for a bit, it's fucking amazing.

Didn't you quit Dead Space after chapter 3 because it was "too repetitive" and then started your Dead Space bitching campaign? And now you are here telling us Dead Space has good storytelling?

[spacehamster]

Didn't you quit Dead Space after chapter 3 because it was "too repetitive" and then started your Dead Space bitching campaign? And now you are here telling us Dead Space has good storytelling?

I quit Dead Space because of its repetitive gameplay, not because of the story or the way it's told.

[Krieg]

You mean you have to keep shooting and shooting and shooting ... and shooting? Then all games are repetitive but I am not going to have this discussion again.

[spacehamster]

No, let's.

[The Dark Priestess]

NES Games

Castlevania 1/2/3
Ninja Gaiden 1/2/3
Double Dragon 1/2
Mega Man 2/3
Metal Gear/Snake's Revenge
SMB 1/2/3
Contra
Life Force
Stinger
Strider
P.O.W.
MLB
Tecmo Bowl
NES Play Action Football
Double Dribble
Blades Of Steel
World Cup Soccer
Super Spike V-Ball
Camerica 4 Quattro Sports 
TMNT 2
To The Earth
Dynowarz
Star Tropics
Dragon Warrior
Bad Dudes
Trog
Gyromite
Amagon
Galaxy 5000
Win Lose Or Draw
Rygar
Excitebike
Roadrunner
Jackal
Lunar Pool
River City Ransom
Skate Or Die
Abadox (box/book)
Faxanadu (box/book)


Can't decide what to play.someone pick for me...and don't pick Dragon Warrior because it went tits up on me the other day.bupkis...

You probably have to change the battery on DW. I just picked up a copy a couple days ago complete with the box (I'm anal like that about games, I like them complete) and all the original manuals and maps (It has extras because it was originally a Nintendo Power subscription special). I still have to hook up the NES to see if the game works. For that matter, I have to see if the NES still works (I have 2 I bought at garage sales years ago. Not top loaders. ). Back in the day, this was my 2nd favorite NES game after Crystalis. The store had a complete copy of Zoda's Revenge (Star Tropics II) too but it was more expensive so I passed but I've seen it sitting there for a long, long time so it'll probably still be there if I change my mind at later date... and if not, oh well.

So yeah, play suggestions: Star Tropics, Faxanadu, Castlevania (I'm the odd one out who liked Castlevania 2 better than 1 & 3).

I bought some other retro game stuff too. Flashback for Genesis at the game store & on eBay a SNES that came with a copy of Brainlord (Used to have it but never got around to playing it), and a couple old favorites, Populous and Gods, plus the Zelda Oracle games for GB Color and Minish Cap for GB Advance.

[fallbacktostone]

i watched a good portion of dead space 1 and was really blown away by the overall aesthetic and presentation for something that is such a completely ironed out genre, but the combat wasn't something that appealed to me in the slightest. i didn't think it was repetitive exactly but it just seemed too exhausting and strenuous when the game could been more about the environments, exploration and puzzles.

[guardianoftheblind]

i watched a good portion of dead space 1 and was really blown away by the overall aesthetic and presentation for something that is such a completely ironed out genre, but the combat wasn't something that appealed to me in the slightest. i didn't think it was repetitive exactly but it just seemed too exhausting and strenuous when the game could been more about the environments, exploration and puzzles.

they're both good. play them

[copstache]

in all fairness, the first one did kind of repeat itself, even though it was good all the way through. the second one has a little more variety.

if you see them for less than $20 there's really no reason to not pick them up

[Wang Mandu]

Best HUD design in any game ever and the level of gore is . They do get repetitive by the end but they're still totally worth playing. I like the first one more because it really came out of nowhere. The second one was great too except for..

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

the stupid girlfriend flashbacks.

[Blair]

Is Dead Island worth $25?

I got it for the Warden for christmas (cue Marge Simpson's Bowling Ball gift youtube clip); I'll chime in with my opinion once she takes a break from watching reality TV and breaks that fucking packaging seal that kept me from playing it for the past few weeks...

[Wang Mandu]

Is Dead Island worth $25?

Yes. Only for the simple fact that it has the melee system Bethesda should have implemented in Skyrim. If you don't mind Euro jank in your game (terrible voice acting, rough edges here and there, etc.) then don't bother. It's not Saints Row styled "here's a huge map go fuck around" open world but three (possibly four?) hub areas that are quite large and will take you time to traverse. Great atmosphere to boot and once I started feeling overpowered, I made it to the next area and felt that tension of possibly getting overwhelmed at any time. I've played it around 13 hours or so and just got to the second area. I imagine co-op with a buddy or four would be excellent but I'm a lone wolf.

[copstache]

if you can play co-op with friends it's totally worth $25. it gets a little dull otherwise

[The Bill]

Went drinking with a friend yesterday from noon until 7 and then got home and tried to play dead island (I got that and resistance 3).

I don't really remember what I thought of it

Except... WHO DO YOU VOODOO, BITCH!!!

Dead Island became tedious to me, and it didn't take long for that to happen. I don't know. I'm just so sick of zombies now and I felt the game got too damn boring and repetitive too fast. I also didn't care for some design choices. Not my cup of tea, but I'll say it was a good attempt by the developers.

So, Friday night I didn't spend any time with my wife so that I could try to get married in Skyriim