Best Game You Got This Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Like many of you out there, Santa left a game system in my stocking this year (an xbox to be exact). I was wondering what was the best game you got this Holiday season.

I would have to say mine was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. :shock: I know it sounds stupid, but if you have an Xbox you really should check it out.

[Shieldwolf]

I too have to agree that buffy is a very awesome game for the xbox. :shock:

Tony Hawk 4 or Halo for me

[Murph]

I didn't exactly get a game for Christmas, but I did get some Christmas money, with which I bought Morrowind -- which is great -- and Phantasy Star Collection for the GBA, which is also great.

[rhett]

Didn't get anything for Christmas (went to Maui for our gift-my mother didn't want to stay home as my grandfather just passed away from cancer :( )

[Rorschach]

Steel Battalion was the best game I got this holiday season.

[Michael Butt]

Splinter Cell!

(and an Xbox)

[Tyjenks]

I think we already went through this (http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1722&start=0). :)

[Robert Sharp]

Sort of. In that thread, it was jsut stuff we got. This time, it's stuff we liked. I am still liking Metroid Prime, but Animal Crossing is taking up much more of my time. It has replaced Vice City as the game my wife wants to play every day. AC is sinister in the way that it compels you to check in every day to make sure you haven't missed out on anything. Hell, I celebrated New Years Eve IN THE GAME!!! We saw the clock turn over and everything. And then went to the party! We then met a ghost in the woods, who apparently only shows up between midnight and 4am, when we would NEVER normally be playing. Now I want to get on even at that time to make sure nothing is happening. It's silliness! And it's brilliant!

[Anti-Bunny]

Fallout 1 and 2. I could never get into an RPG, until I played this one. Now if only someone could make a sequel for GBA.

[wumpus]

It's silliness! And it's brilliant!
And vaguely depressing.

[Dave Long]

And vaguely depressing.

Maybe to miserable wumpus like you...but for a lot of us, it's relaxing and entertaining.

--Dave

[Anonymous]

If celebrating new year's eve in a video game isn't vaguely depressing, what is? Note: this is a rhetorical question if you married your wife in a MMORPG of any kind.

-wumpus

[Rob O'Boston]

I think you're being extremely kind when you say "vaguely".

[sellthekids]

Splinter Cell.

i was waiting to pronounce judegment, but since i am half-way through, i can't see that the game is going to take a nosedive in the 2nd half. it really is fun. i am totally impressed with the control schema and how well everything works. i have serious reservations as to if they truly will put 'save anywhere' in the PC version...it plays very, very balanced. can't imagine them spending all that development time to make the game so balanced, to have them change it all up for the PC. of course, they could do some new stuff....never know.

off to go call my brother and thank him yet again for what is a great xmas gift. :D

[Robert Sharp]

Actually, I tend not to party much anymore. I discovered I don't really like it. I don't drink, and that seems to be the point of most New Years parties anyway. I just hang out with my wife and we watch the New Year come in together.

We did have sex first though, so I am not completely lost to the world ;).

[Anonymous]

We did have sex first though, so I am not completely lost to the world .

Okay, that's it, you go into the Overshare Bin with Bub and Murph.

[Robert Sharp]

Heh...sorry about that!

[Dave Long]

I'm still wading through what I got. I had all the big titles before the Holidays so I'm mainly playing older stuff.

Devil May Cry is unbelieveably cool. I'm in love with the action. I can't wait to play the sequel and to see P.N.03 on Gamecube from Mikami. He'll always go down in history for Resident Evil, but I'm beginning to think he's going to do something really big one of these days to put him in the same league as a Suzuki or Miyamoto. Devil May Cry is just tremendously well-done.

Other stuff on my Christmas play pile includes the superb Castlevania: Circle of the Moon on GBA. Mmmm...Konami 2D vampire action. We really need a 2D Castlevania on current consoles. I really hope that PS2 game happens.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the GBA is my other indulgence lately. It's almost pixel perfect to the SNES version which just means I'm playing the masterpiece anywhere I want to instead of in front of the TV. It's a timeless classic and a great way to gear up for the Ocarina of Time disc in February and Wind Waker in March.

The best thing is my birthday is in January so I'm not done with the gifts yet! :)

--Dave

[Jupiter Jones]

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

I know, it's a dreaded "action RPG", but it is so enjoyable it reminds me of the old Epyx game "Gateway To Apshai" which I could not be pulled away from 17(or so) years ago...

[Doug Erickson]

DMC wasn't directed by Mikami, it was directed by Hideki Kamiya (whose next title is Viewtiful Joe).

I didn't care for DMC, although I really dug Rygar which ain't that much different. I think it was DMC's awful repeating boss fights and arbitrary mission structure that made be sell it back after the first time through.

Post-SNES era non-arcade Capcom games always have this gimmicky feel that really bugs me, like they're more concerned with ambience than gameplay, ala Resident Evil. I blame Mikami, who I think is a blustering hack - sort of the Tetsuya Nomura of Capcom. Kamiya's DMC is better, but it still feels gimmicky, like they created a character and some cool animation and then tried to fit a game around him, rather than vice versa. THe lousy level design and mission structure mixed with the recycled bosses sure would indicate so, never you mind how underutilized the additional weapons and combo system is in terms of gameplay progression. Screw these survival-horror and "cool hero" games, Capcom; give me Darkstalkers 4 and a new Street Fighter 3 installment! Dead Phoenix is a step in the right direction, at least.

[Anonymous]

I'd have to somewhat disagree with the setiment that some of these recent action extravaganzas are simply 'all style and little substance'.

Even if you simply strip all the art files and coded bits of "injected cool" that are slapped into these game engines, what you are still left with are the underlying control, puzzles, fluidity, combat formulas, and all the technobabble that makes up the game code, the various inputs and outputs our brains respond to when manipulating a virtual character on screen. All of the obstacles, traps, tricks, puzzles, and patterns, complexity in combat generally remains quite balanced and well conceived as far as my experience with DMC is concerned. The same conclusion can be said of the recent Zelda title which I happen to be experiencing on Cube right now.

Certainly the artsyle is unique and eye-catching(love it or hate it, anyone with an interest in this industry or hobby has likely made some conclusion as to how they perceive the 'new Link') but when it comes down to it, the look doesn't really attribute that much to the experience other than distancing itself stylistically from it's predecessors in appearance moreso than anything the design code really tosses at the gamer. The fluidity of the engine, puzzles, dungeon, combat, control and whatnot are sound enough that even under a completely different namebrand and stylistic schemata, the game itself would be just as strong I would argue. Certainly Nintendo opted with a specialized look, and they go to great lengths to make it appear as whimsical, animated, or lively as possible, but really that is all it seems to be providing for the title.

So while DMC did have it's inconsistencies here and there(camera woes, somewhat mixed mission design creativity) the combat, patterns, abilities, pacing, enemy balancing, and manufactured action scenarios still were crafted with great care and revolve largely about the control sheme and player input. It was a visceral ride, and it certainly wasn't a red leathery overcoat and a couple of gaudy flip moves that kept the controller in my hands.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and as far as my gaming plate is concerned. While I have had the luxury of experiencing the recent new Zelda game, and several other gems across many platforms this past holiday, it really was last year's Smash Bros. Melee that I have found provided the most surprisingly euphoric gaming experience these past couple months. Especially since I passed the original N64 game off as a shallow attempt at marketing and taking advantage of consumer interests.(I didn't much love the first game)

The sequel which I only recently gave a chance has really blown my balls off. So simple, yet quite a bit of depth to the on screen chaos. Often I can't help but feel that many of these matches have just as many mindgames and trickery in their flow as that of the VF4 bouts I enjoyed earlier this year. If only there were more Event Challenges... This is the best game I have played yet on the Cube.

[Robert Sharp]

So if I haven't gotten the first game, should I just wait for the sequel?

[Dave Long]

Super Smash Brothers Melee? Just get it. It's doubtful there will be a sequel to it in 2003. The game is superb. Easily one of the best on Gamecube. We've had a number of go rounds on the excellence of it.

Kirby forever! :wink:

--Dave

[TomChick]

Kirby forever!

Unless Supertanker stops calling him "the uterus", I can never play Kirby again.

Last week, I had my little brother -- as in the Big Brother/Big Sister program -- over to my house to play video games. He's nine years old, so I carefully culled the T-rated and M-rated stuff from my collection and put them in the closet (although one of his first questions was 'I thought you said you had Vice City?').

One of his picks was Super Smash Brothers Melee and we had a great time with it. But he kept choosing Kirby and I kept having to bite my tongue to keep from taunting him for being "the uterus". Not so much because I didn't want to hurt his feelings -- after all, he had no compunction about giving me a hard time for being Princess Peach -- but because I'm not quite prepared to respond to a 9-year-old asking me what a uterus is.

-Tom

[wumpus]

I had to play video games all by myself. I can only wish I had an older, wiser adult to guide me in the fine art of destroying my future.

http://wise-ebusiness.com/audio/vg

[TomChick]

I can only wish I had an older, wiser adult to guide me in the fine art of destroying my future.

I presume you're joking, but on the off chance that you're not (I have no idea why you linked to a bunch of mp3s), I should point out that I'm very careful about steering him away from gaming. I've been Deymond's big brother for about six months now and I've steadfastly refused to hang out and play games with him. He's knows what I do for a living and he's constantly asking if I have such-and-such a game or if I've played this or that. I know what's he getting at -- 'can we go to your house and play Vice City?' is the subtext for most of these questions -- and I've made a point to avoid that.

Until last week. We were supposed to go to this cool remote control airplane airport where guys fly these big RC airplanes they've built. But it was raining, which it's never supposed to do in LA. So I censored my collection of objectionable M- and T-rated titles and we spent an hour and a half videogaming. A little Super Smash Brothers, a bit of Tony Hawk 4 and SSX, and some Smuggler's Run 2 (I had to dance around the question 'what's contraband?' without bringing up drugs).

Then the rain cleared up, so we got lunch and made it to the RC airport after all, where some old man waiting his turn on the RC tarmac kept bending our ears with geezer pilot maxims like 'Every take off is optional but every landing is mandatory'.

Of course, my little brother has since dropped out of third grade to play EverQuest full time, but it's not my fault...

-Tom

[wumpus]

I have no idea why you linked to a bunch of mp3s
Perhaps if you actually listened to them?

Can anyone name what commercial (game) product these sound files are from?