VIDEO GAME DRAFT - Discussion - Page 21

How about this for obscure sports game suggestions:

Dustin Diamond's Softball (Where you could pick a witch and she would use her broom to hit softballs)
Ken Griffey Baseball for the SNES

I was reminded this week-end of Super Dodge Ball. God I played this thing.

Hunter picked a great one with Die Hard arcade. Only game I could think of that had an anti-tank rifle in the bathroom.

Of course those bosses were a bitch and a half.

I too was surprised at the exclusion of Strider. Not only was it an amazingly faithful port for the Genesis (I almost pissed myself when I first played it at home. It was the first time I truly said, out loud, I am so glad I got this system!) it's just a classic game. Love the way the music changes throughout... It's so fast paced and exciting. It never gets boring.

I almost picked it. But favoritism won out. Flashback was closer to my heart in the end.

Also... GTA III (or did I miss out on someone picking that?) How do you NOT pick it. Yes, the series made even more improvements. And playing through it recently I was shocked at just how primitive it was in comparison to the later entries...

But don't tell me you weren't blown away that first time you popped it into your PS2. I couldn't believe it. It was like I was playing the game of my dreams. A game where you could jack a car, cruise the town, kill people, do missions... ride the subway... fuck around... kill hookers... drive a cab... Do WHATEVER YOU WANTED. It was unprecedented and changed the face of gaming.

And, as much as the series improved, III is really the only truly non-linear experience of the modern incarnation of the series. Remember the Chunky Lee Chong mission? Where you have to pop the guy at the noodle stand? And he gets away in his car? Well... I used to take his car over to 8-Ball's, have a bomb installed and then drive it back... so when he tried to drive away, BOOM!

The later entries had very scripted missions where you had to follow a set path. I missed that kind of seat of the pants creativity. They improved the graphics at the cost of a truly free experience.

Corrupted file in some mediocre games (ie Final Fantasy VIII, which I didn't pick up for years)

Impossible to beat (Ninja Gaiden 1 for NES. I knew that I was never beating it so I gave up)

Wow, none of the Might and Magic games went, either the roleplaying or the "Heroes of" strategy titles. I killed more hours playing Heroes of Might and Magic III and IV than were probably good for me.

Also, no Master of Orion or Master of Magic.

No edutainment games. Not a single Carmen Sandiego game.

Was that the bug that would fuck your memory card up? I remember putting 80 hours into that game, only to have the memory card bug out on me somewhere during the last disc. There were lots of swears.

Well, I remember when I still had only tapedeck on my C64. There was a game, 'The Movie Monster Game' by Epix, which covered the entire two sides of a tape. I had the misgiving to buy it.
Loading up the intro animation (which lasted about 5 sec) took about 5 min. Then loading the selection screen took another 10 min or so. Then you could select a monster, city, and mission. When your selection was done, the game would search THE ENTIRE REST OF THE TAPE to load the sections you selected (which were probably stored in sequence). This could take up to half an hour or so. When you finally started playing, you'd move around your Godzilla or whatever at a snail pace around the (barely recognisable) city, mostly helpless against a horde of soldiers, tanks and combat heli's that completely destroyed you within 2 minutes.
That meant game over, and you had to turn and rewind the tape to load the selection screen again.
I did this about 3 times, then I returned the game back to the store.

In more recent news: I really enjoyed playing Call of Chtulhu DCotE, until the shooter action starts and you realize that the AI does not only suck, it then proceeds to switch from suck to blow and propel all the crap it just sucked right in your face. I lasted another couple of levels, then shut that fucker down, uninstalled it, and locked away the disk in a ghastly dimension.

Follow Up Question #1: (repeated from before) At what point have you given up on a game? What was the final straw that made you go FUCK IT and uninstall a game because it just wasn't worth it anymore?

Follow Up Question #2: What is the worst game that you've ever played? What game promised something on the cover that it utterly and completely failed to deliver?

eta: sorry, while typing this, some of you have provided answers already.

My last pick was Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. And I almost took Mario teaches Typing.

There are tons of awful games out there, but they're really easy to avoid. I could say that the worst game I've ever played is "Bassmasters: Legendary Lunkers," but it wouldn't really matter. There are a lot of overrated games, which are a far more interesting topic (Halo, for Example), and then there are decent ones with game-breaking "Fuck this game" moments. For example, in Gears of War: "Damn, that's a lot of Juice!"

I loathe Gears of War.

Maybe...but I do remember a ton of swearing.

The exclusion of Carmen Sandiego was interesting... But, as far as edutainment goes, I always had a preference for Agent USA. Remember that one? It was similar to Sandiego in the geography learning department... But there was actual action involved.

I have never heard of Agent USA.

I guess I'm referring to the decent games that have those game-breaking 'Fuck this game' moments that cause you to abandon them.

Comix Zone was unique but that game a bitch.

Ah 1993. That was the pinnacle of my gaming life. I had three game systems (And subscribed to three gaming magazines) and would just rent (My parents never really bought games) game after game after game. Did I have a social life? Nope.

I can think of several games that made me say "Fuck This!" at several instances... But one of my biggest love/hate things was with Superman for the Genesis. A pretty decent Sunsoft game and probably the best 16-Bit game of that character. Fun. With decent gameplay variety and a lot more satisfying than Taito's disappointingly repetitive coin-op.

I became quite good at the game. You only had one life and you had to earn more continues... With my friends we used to say it should just be called "Man." Anyway, got very good at it and could get all the way to the very last board without dying once... To the very end, at which point you fight Braniac. First in this vehicle thing that shoots rays at you that is pretty hard because it has no set pattern... Then after you have already been weakened, you have to chase him some more and fight just him and that's also hard because of all the cheap shots.

Long story short... I never beat the game. I was an ace for the whole thing. But could never beat that final boss... Many Fuck Yous were shouted in my room... One time I got so angry I pulled the game out of the system without shutting it off, put it in its case and flung the case out my window... Then I went down to retrieve it.

Many years later... On an emulator on my computer, I finally beat the game.

Not too cool an ending.

Shit.

Justin: Graham beat you to the T2 pinball machine.

Yeah, just noticed. It's fixed. Fits better with the pinball machine now, I think.

My biggest 'fuck you' moments:

Guitar Hero III, trying to beat Lou in that final guitar battle.
Rock Band, trying to beat GG&HT on Expert.

Ah Sonic CD. That had some awesome Time travel elements.

Nemo sucks. Well, unless you are a child molester.

Damnation! This is what I get for ignoring all the pinball machines in my local arcade!

It'll be fixed soon.

GREAT pinball machines that have yet to be drafted:
'High Speed'
'Pin-Bot'
'KISS'

Elaborate, Cassady. Time's been way kind to that game, even though it's still a bitch to beat.

I owned Nemo. It was certainly fanciful but insanely difficult.

A mildly difficult silly little platformer, that was cute to little kids, but ultimately lame. Feeding candy to animals? Using it to defeat enemies? Silly. It offered nothing over Hudson or any of the thousand NES platformers that came out during that time.

Actually, I think it was a movie tie-in.

It was and it wasn't. That movie came out a few years after the game.

And "Mildly difficult"? Surely you jest.

I don't remember it being difficult at all. I beat it in an afternoon.

*Jaw drop*

Okay then.

I had a shitload of games that I didn't draft. Some I haven't seen mentioned anywhere (as) yet:

PLAYSTATION 2:

Ratchet & Clank 3: Yeah, another one of those 'kiddie' platformers for the PS2. Except this is liquid fun in a crack vial. Didn't draft it because objectively speaking, there really are better games out there, but in terms of gaming joy, it has a special place in my heart.
Okami: damn, surprised and now somewhat disappointed I didn't draft this. It should have gone in place of Jak3, I realize now. It's beautifully crafted, and one of the rare truly 'epic' scenario's I've gamed my way through. Once you're finished with this, Oriental mythical lore has no secrets for you anymore.
Midnight Club 3: I'm not a big racer fan, but this one has an insane cokehead quality that drew me in from the word go. Completely bonkers racing, and the soundtrack is killer- it even has some great oldschool Underground Resistance techno in place. There may be other racers of its ilk on the current gen, but haven't seen anything like this yet.
Herdy Gerdy: obscure platform/puzzler, completely forgotten but I enjoyed it immensely. It actually has you herding creatures, and the animation, while very early gen (it came out around GTA3D time), has a Disney quality to it. Check out the gameplay vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP24_EYuKJE
Bully: Seriously, why was this really never mentioned? I almost feel like doing this draft all over again. I thought it was vastly superior to the GTA series in story, gameplay and execution. Like taking part in a John Hughes adaptation of Billy Bunter.

DREAMCAST:
Jet Grind Radio: Maybe the only game that truly captures hiphop culture. Line skating, spraying graffiti, running from the cops, booming japhop tracks... all in glorious cellshade graphics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh4HfzId72o
Powerstone Batshit crazy one-on-one fighting action with constantly changing environment & tons of cartoon weapons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZsQE-jthQs

PS1: Just beginning to scratch the surface for this machine, but already a couple of favorites:
Oddworld
Vib Ribbon Can't begin to describe this, you'll have to check the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbHO1ZYhtLk

Also, while 99% of the C64 gaming output sucked donkeynuts, there's a couple I still enjoy playing in an emu from time to time. Here's a couple of favourites:
Creatures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShsWXH6RaBg
Impossible Mission http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5p15NoBKmo
Forbidden Forest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyCJX3Ey9qs
Bruce Lee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMPa046Ni4

Okay, that was the final geekout for me!

EDIT when I noticed how stupid the smileys looked.

I always liked the first DRIVER. It was a good driving game. Loved being the cop car.

Speaking of driving games.

Cruisin N' USA. Forget the N64 version.

Jet Grind Radio was one of my potential second day picks. God, I love that game.

Personally, though, I regret not finding a place for one of the Panzer Dragoon games.

Justin: I totally would have gotten behind an 'Oddworld' pick. The first one was a totally unique game that was quite fun and challenging.

Another one that I thought of: 'Lemmings'. Anyone else remember that particular PC game?

I remember Lemmings. It was on the console also. It was alright. Didn't think much of it.

I really wanted to draft Bushido Blade but just couldn't fit it in anywhere

Yeah... Lemmings was fun and all. But what about The Lost Vikings? It was similar in some ways and provided more action and a storyline to go with the puzzles. I thought it was pretty good.

Agreed, that one was great fun, as well as the sequel.

Guardian Heroes on Saturn > Lost Vikings

I would have gone for DOA 3, Animal Crossing, Burnout 3, Loom, and Dungeon Keeper if I wasn't doing the shooter thing. There is truly an amazing amount of games out there, we hardly scratched the surface.

I really, really want to play Shadowrun again now, but I seem to have lost my SNES cartridge. Damn it all.

Problem with that, as I recall, was that they sanitized it too much for the SNES. Graphically, though, it was a superior port than the Genesis. Still... I would say that probably the PC version was the way to go.

Whoa, whoa... we're talking three entirely different beasts here, fellas.

SNES version was basically a point'n'click adventure, with slight RPG touches. But a linear affair. As I recall it was a murder mystery set in the Shadowrun world.
The Genesis game was actually a precursor to GTA, with a sandbox world to play in, and RPG style character building, where you could earn money & experience by running jobs for the underground- it was more or less an adaptation of the tabletop RPG.
Both these came out in the early nineties. The PC & XBox game was actually a FPS with a Shadowrun theme. Other than the name, it had little or nothing to do with both precursors. Also don't know if the game is any good.

And re:Nexus, I take it you don't play on emulators?

I thought about it for arcade, but once you learn the ropes it's stupidly easy. All in all, it's a pretty beautiful retarded game.

Also, while I picked TIE Fighter, my backup was the excellent Decent: Freespace 2.