Objectivists and Individualism

[Michelle]

I used to go there but I left because it became a haven of bitter PC-fundamentalist (i.e. "any game that isn't on the PC exclusively is dumbed down for console!" )

Ugh. I can't stand the PC-only crowd ("If the PC was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me")

The PC primarily appeals to people who like certain types of games (complex 'tycoon'-esque games; MMOs; FPSers; RTSs; civilization-building games; etc.)

Same with consoles.

Can't we all learn to get along and admit that both have their strengths?

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool console gamer, myself, but on occasion their have been games on the PC which have given me great joy (my favorites being Alpha Centauri, Diablo, and Starcraft)

Edited June 11, 2009 by Michelle R

[kiaer.ts]

On Bioshock at Radicals for Happiness.

[Michelle]

So am I the only one who killed some of the little girls and got that lame ending where you turn into the demon spawn of Hitler and Satan at the end?

[studiodekadent]

Ugh. I can't stand the PC-only crowd ("If the PC was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me")

The PC primarily appeals to people who like certain types of games (complex 'tycoon'-esque games; MMOs; FPSers; RTSs; civilization-building games; etc.)

Same with consoles.

Can't we all learn to get along and admit that both have their strengths?

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool console gamer, myself, but on occasion their have been games on the PC which have given me great joy (my favorites being Alpha Centauri, Diablo, and Starcraft)

I used to be a PC-only gamer, but I expanded to multiplatform a while ago. Its been a great move for my gaming life. I still love my PC and play most of my favorite games on it (and System Shock 2, my favorite game of all time, is PC only). However, some wonderful games are console-centric. The Silent Hill and Fatal Frame/Project Zero series, for one.

My favorite games besides System Shock 2 are BioShock, Mass Effect, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, the Fatal Frame/Project Zero series and the Silent Hill series. May I ask what your favorite games are, Michelle?

As for my play through BioShock the first time... I went half-and-half because I expected the game to be much more brutal than it was. Killed half the little sisters, rescued half, but after "the big plot twist" I saved them all. I got the bad ending too. I think that I was probably under the influence of expecting another System Shock 2 (which is unforgivingly difficult). Still, yeah, I killed a few Sisters the first time (I'm a bad, bad man).

[Michelle]

May I ask what your favorite games are, Michelle?

Hm

1) Contra 4 (DS) - Contra 4 is twitch gaming at its finest. On one level, it is a superb tribute to the Contra series (REAL Contra; not that 3D crap which followed Hard Corps), with bosses and stages that evoke memories of past games. On another level, it's a superb and original Contra game in its own right, and perhaps the craziest in the series. It's also a superb example of the difference between challenging and difficult games - the difference being that challenging games dare you to rise to a challenge, and you improve as you play them more, whereas difficult games are just... difficult. Since Contra games force you to memorize patterns and improve upon your reflexes, the more you play them, the more you will inevitably improve.

The thing I like most about Contra games is that they make you do real work to beat them. Most games these days will make you dip your toes into the water first to make sure you don't experience any shocks, and then, giving you a pair of floaties, help you paddle along to the other end of the pool, where they proceed to pat you on the head and give you a cookie. Contra games, on the other hand, hurl you headfirst into the deep end of the pool and tell you to either swim or sink. It can be frustrating, exhausting, and jarring, but when you reach the other side, you know that it is an achievement. In the case of Contra 4, if you start on Easy mode, it mocks you when you beat it. Beat the game on Normal or Hard mode, though, and it rewards you with an even tougher gameplay mode. Beat that Challenge mode, and you get all kinds of cool extras and bonuses, like soundtracks, commentaries, a scanned comic book (some Japanese artist apparently penned a manga version of Contra III), and two expert emulations of the first two NES Contra games (which are masterpieces in their own right).

2) Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (PC version is the best, but it is also available for all of the modern consoles) - This game has been called: "Bejeweled for Nerds," but I prefer calling it: "Bejeweled that doesn't get boring after ten minutes." Basically, it is a combination of the match-three gem swapping action of Bejeweled with RPG elements such as quests, spells, leveling-up, gaining money, battles, etc. It is quite possibly the most addictive game ever made.

Too bad its follow up, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, sucked so badly.

3) Mario Kart DS (DS) - Much as I dislike most of the games in the Mario series, THIS is brilliant. By far the best version of Mario Kart to ever be released.

4) Monster Rancher 2 (PS1) - Forget the cartoony anime look of it and you'll realize that this is actually a surprisingly deep game, and my personal favorite of the Monster Rancher series. It's still heartrending when a critter I've raised since infancy (usually two weeks in real world time, but who's counting?) grows old and then dies in the barn one night.

5) Silent Hill (PS1) - The greatest horror game ever made. The visuals are grainy, grimy, and stark, making it more effective visually than its more polished sequels. The soundtrack is the best aspect of it, mixing industrial "music," creepy chanting and whispering, and eerily haunting yet simplistic tunes (if you don't know what I mean by this, think of the opening theme to Halloween... same type of thing: simple yet scary pieces of music), resulting in what is quite possibly some of the most frightening music ever made. The voice acting is odd and... off, somehow, which adds another disturbing touch to it (you know what I mean by this if you've ever seen some of the acting in a David Lynch movie; some of the performances are deliberately off). Ammo is scarce, so you feel vulnerable throughout the entire game. The whole thing is designed to make the player want to put down her remote and go hide in a corner somewhere.

6) Intelligent Qube (PS1) - AWESOME puzzle game where you have to dynamite huge cubes to avoid being crushed by them.

7) Final Fantasy XII (PS2) - Have 125 hours logged in my save file for this one, and only about 50 of those hours were spent completing the main storyline. The extra stuff, like hunting marks, finding ultimate weapons, defeating hidden bosses, was the meat of the game for me. What's so brilliant about this game is the inclusion of the gambit system (although I'm apparently the only person who liked it), which allows you to customize complex algorithms for your characters, making them perform certain actions based upon certain in-game conditions. This is confusing at first, but once you start, you see how useful they are, as they allow you to mow down dozens of enemies in real time. Also: no random battles. This was a huge plus for me. I hate being ripped out of the flow of the game every two steps to fight another random battle.

8) Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PS1 remake of Sega Saturn game) - Cute, endearing, and engaging role-playing game. The story of Lucia learning to become human is brilliant, and it only makes the end that much more heartbreaking.

9) Final Fantasy VII (PS1) - I LOVE this game. I got it as a present when it was first released in 1997, and it was my first real RPG. Great childhood memories from this thing. The nostalgic factor for this game is huge, but it is still a solid game in its own right. The characters, music, and storyline are still the best in the Final Fantasy series. The magic system was incredibly innovative for its time. And boy was that game trippy. Good stuff.

10) Metroid Prime (GC) - Best 2D-to-3D transition ever. The entire Metroid series is great, but this, in particular, is a real gem. I love being able to explore an entirely new world freely without being directed everywhere (I never really got into sequence breaking, however).

If you like psychological horror games, let me recommend Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem[.b] on the Gamecube. It's inspired by Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, and has this great feature where your character's sanity is constantly dropping. Keep the sanity meter high and you're fine, but let it get too low and all sorts of weird shit starts to happen. The two most memorable low-sanity events were:

- my character's head suddenly popped up and blooded started spurting everywhere. She didn't die, though. I just kept walking around for a while with a ton of blood spurting in geysers out of the stump on the neck until eventually the head returned.

My sanity meter was still low, and so, after her head returned...

- my TV screen turned blue and a message appeared informing me that my memory card save file was corrupted. This was alarming, naturally, but it went back to the game and other weird things kept happening until I got my sanity meter up.

I thought this blue screen might be a game error, but no, I checked online, and this is one of the game's deliberate attempts to mess with your head.

The remake of the first Resident Evil game on the Gamecube isn't too shabby either. It's dark, intense, and stylish. Too bad they took out the awful yet hilarious dialogue from the original game ("Jill Sandwich," "Master of Unlocking," etc.).

Edited June 11, 2009 by Michelle R

[studiodekadent]

I have played Silent Hill. I don't think its the greatest horror game of all time, and I don't think that the grainy graphics necessarily make it better. But I still love it for its demented atmosphere and buckets of blood all over the place in the Otherworld. It focusses a lot on bizzare rather than all-out terror but the atmosphere of the game is amazing, I agree. The newest Silent Hill... Silent Hill Homecoming, is also VERY good. I found the plot really riveting, the game feels like SH2 meets SH3. Silent Hill 0rigins is also very good... SH1 meets SH2. And damn I love the soundtracks to the Silent Hill games. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is also coming soon, I'm buying it immediately.

I have also played Eternal Darkness. It was a very good game, I agree. Not as scary as I'd hoped, but it was extremely fun.

I am not sure I could do a top ten, myself... but lets see.

1) System Shock 2. Scariest game ever, Cyberpunk Survival Horror FPS/RPG hybrid with a terrifying plot, brilliant villains and amazingly deep gameplay. No game has ever scared me this much.

2) Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Also known as virtual cocaine. I love roller coasters and being able to ride them in 3D first person is FUN.

3) BioShock. Brilliant plot and setting, excellent gameplay, and amazing aesthetics of the gameworld.

4) Mass Effect. Sci-Fi space opera RPG that allows tons of flexibility. Excellent story, very good gameplay, deep gameworld, some great characters too.

5) Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Excellent gameplay, phenomenal plot, incredible flexibility and an amazing gameworld. The ability to seduce people into giving you their blood is very fun.

6) Silent Hill series. Bizzare and unsettling survival horror games with amazing soundtracks.

7) GTA Vice City. This is how crime sims should be. Fun, lighthearted and full of 80's music and decadence. I don't want 'gritty crime drama,' I want fun.

8) Fatal Frame/Project Zero series. These are the only games I know that are almost as scary as System Shock 2. Survival Horror with FPS and RPG elements.

9) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow Of Chernobyl. This is one of the most atmospheric shooters I have ever played. The feeling of desolation and isolation is amazing.

10) Its a tie between Clive Barker's Undying and Metal Gear Solid 2. Undying is a very underrated shooter but the game is Gothic/Lovecraftian horror done very well, with very good gameplay. And MGS2 is not that good as a pure game, but the mind-screwy plot that just makes fun of how people related to MGS1, combined with some great characters, and its demented, confusing ending, make this game really stick out.

[Michelle]

I have played Silent Hill. I don't think its the greatest horror game of all time, and I don't think that the grainy graphics necessarily make it better. But I still love it for its demented atmosphere and buckets of blood all over the place in the Otherworld. It focusses a lot on bizzare rather than all-out terror but the atmosphere of the game is amazing, I agree. The newest Silent Hill... Silent Hill Homecoming, is also VERY good. I found the plot really riveting, the game feels like SH2 meets SH3. Silent Hill 0rigins is also very good... SH1 meets SH2. And damn I love the soundtracks to the Silent Hill games. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is also coming soon, I'm buying it immediately.

I have also played Eternal Darkness. It was a very good game, I agree. Not as scary as I'd hoped, but it was extremely fun.

I am not sure I could do a top ten, myself... but lets see.

1) System Shock 2. Scariest game ever, Cyberpunk Survival Horror FPS/RPG hybrid with a terrifying plot, brilliant villains and amazingly deep gameplay. No game has ever scared me this much.

2) Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Also known as virtual cocaine. I love roller coasters and being able to ride them in 3D first person is FUN.

3) BioShock. Brilliant plot and setting, excellent gameplay, and amazing aesthetics of the gameworld.

4) Mass Effect. Sci-Fi space opera RPG that allows tons of flexibility. Excellent story, very good gameplay, deep gameworld, some great characters too.

5) Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Excellent gameplay, phenomenal plot, incredible flexibility and an amazing gameworld. The ability to seduce people into giving you their blood is very fun.

6) Silent Hill series. Bizzare and unsettling survival horror games with amazing soundtracks.

7) GTA Vice City. This is how crime sims should be. Fun, lighthearted and full of 80's music and decadence. I don't want 'gritty crime drama,' I want fun.

8) Fatal Frame/Project Zero series. These are the only games I know that are almost as scary as System Shock 2. Survival Horror with FPS and RPG elements.

9) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow Of Chernobyl. This is one of the most atmospheric shooters I have ever played. The feeling of desolation and isolation is amazing.

10) Its a tie between Clive Barker's Undying and Metal Gear Solid 2. Undying is a very underrated shooter but the game is Gothic/Lovecraftian horror done very well, with very good gameplay. And MGS2 is not that good as a pure game, but the mind-screwy plot that just makes fun of how people related to MGS1, combined with some great characters, and its demented, confusing ending, make this game really stick out.

Mass Effect is hard for me. It's very addictive and I love the dialogue branching, but the combat is kinda broken and exploring planets isn't as fun as it could be. Why does every optional planet have to be the same brown wasteland?

Bioshock has AMAZING atmosphere/story/ambiance/etc. but there are too many bugs in it for my taste (at least in the 360 version), and the game's "morality system" has nothing to it. Kill one little girl and you're unable to get the 'good' ending. Kill one or more little girls and you get the 'bad' ending.

I always preferred San Andreas to Vice City. People complained that SA was too large, but I liked all of the forests/deserted roads/other fairly uneventful areas (Vice City felt too cramped). They gave balance to the game's larger city environments. The colors were generally muted (the bright colors in Vice City gave me a headache). I very much enjoyed the 'neo-pets' aspects of the game, such as being able to gain/lose weight/muscle. The extra options such as home invasion mode and the gang system were well-integrated. And, let's face it, CJ is way more likeable than any of the other GTA characters.

Fatal Frame. I don't know. Something about the premise always amused me. I never found them very scary or interesting, however.

The original Clock Tower on PS1 is fun, in its own primitive way. Horror silliness at its very best.

[Michelle]

Oh, and MGS1 is my favorite game in that series. Didn't care for the second one. The third is awesome, but I don't like how often the camera lingers on that big-boobed bimbo who seduces Naked Snake (quite a codename, isn't it?)

[studiodekadent]

Oh, and MGS1 is my favorite game in that series. Didn't care for the second one. The third is awesome, but I don't like how often the camera lingers on that big-boobed bimbo who seduces Naked Snake (quite a codename, isn't it?)

I like MGS1 (as a film, not a game), but MGS2 (again, as a film) really did it for me. I have no interest in playing any more MGS games. Kojima really loves using the camera to fixate on the assets of the characters (not that I mind!). I mean, everyone's butt and (where applicable) rack are on full display, even in Alaska you have Sniper Wolf (and damn I love her) wearing a Jennifer-Lopez V-neck. And of course, Snake's insanely tight sneaking suit. Kojima openly admits the games are a giant exercise in buttocks fixation.

I agree Mass Effect has some problems, but Mass Effect 2 will be making the combat much more fluid, at least.

Edited June 11, 2009 by studiodekadent