Currently Playing ...

[fluffy]

Took you two days to come up with that, eh?

[ujnhunter]

upgrading from what? colecovision? I played the demo of Civilization Revolution for the Xbox 360 yesterday for a couple hours... pretty fun game. I need to keep my eye out for a cheap copy of that game...

[JonPorobil]

Yeah, I like making of fun of people for not being able to afford expensive new electronic gear too. If you can't afford a PS3, you totally have it coming.

[fluffy]

I agree; the PS2 is still a worthwhile purchase if you don't already have one (especially since the current PS3 models don't have any form of backwards compatibility for PS2, although they can still play PS1 games). There are many great games for the PS2 which are still very worthwhile, such as:

- Ico
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Beyond Good & Evil (if you don't already have the Gamecube version which has slightly better graphics IMO)
- Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (again, if you don't have the Gamecube version)
- Beatmania (which won't work right even on the PS3s with backwards compatibility, due to using a custom controller which doesn't work with any of the gamepad adapters)
- Katamari Damacy

There's also a lot of great and often-overlooked bargain-bin puzzle games for it; for example, the PS2 version of Super Bust-A-Move is IMO the best Bust-A-Move game ever (although the story mode is a little silly).

I would of course *prefer* people to get a PS3 if only for purposes of ego, but the PS2 is still a decent gaming system.

[ujnhunter]

i wasn't making fun of anyone about the PS2... just found it odd that someone who posts in the video game section of the forums is "upgrading" to a PS2... which must mean he doesn't own an original Xbox, Dreamcast or a Gamecube...

now would be the best time to buy a PS2 however as you can still find all the best games cheap used and the system is cheap...

[fluffy]

Eh, the Gamecube really isn't that much better than the PS2. It has sharper-looking graphics, sure, but IMO the PS2's game library is much better (and the better-looking PS2 games actually play to the PS2's graphical disadvantages to give them a better look that you can't really get on the GC). The only two must-gave games for the Gamecube both have "Zelda" in the title, and one of them is better on the Wii. (And actually all Gamecube games potentially look better on the Wii since the Wii is the only way to get progressive scan output, unless you somehow manage to get one of the original GCs and find a component cable for it.)

Also, the PS2 is technically capable of putting out HD (720p/1080i) although very few games supported it, and for the ones that do you're usually better off running them in 480p and then using your TV's scaler (since many of them just ran at 480p and then did a crappy upconversion).

[john m]

The only two must-gave games for the Gamecube both have "Zelda" in the title

I have to disagree. I'm not going to take the time to make a full list, but I am disappointed you don't remember how fucking awesome Tales of Symphonia was.

[fluffy]

I haven't played that. Is that an RPG? It sounds very RPGy from the title.

[fluffy]

actually I did order it from Amazon but the order got canceled since they couldn't find a copy in stock.

[Reist]

- Ico
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Beyond Good & Evil (if you don't already have the Gamecube version which has slightly better graphics IMO)
- Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (again, if you don't have the Gamecube version)

I've considered all of those, just checking around. Gran Turismo 4 looks cool too ... I always love getting the impossibly good graphics in those racing games. They're definitely a good time for a few days.

And ujnhunter - I'm not going to pay 300-500 dollars for a ps3. It's too pricey, and I can't think of even 5 games for it that would justify a purchase (at least for my personal taste). The ps2 seems to have a good enough lineup for me (at least for now).

ps - I picked up the ps2 on Saturday with a few games for 60 bucks. Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank are my faves so far.

[fluffy]

The PS3 Ratchet & Clank game is my favorite PS3 game so far. Also a lot of the downloadables are worth playing (Super Stardust HD and Pixeljunk Monsters in particular). But yeah I wouldn't really suggest the PS3 for just casual gaming unless you also want a Blu-Ray player or something.

Although, the 80GB PS3 is "only" $400 now, and also makes a great media center system and so on thanks to its excellent DivX playback (and unlike a certain competing system, it's actually DivX certified, meaning it guarantees compatibility with all the various variants of DivX which are out there, and also it's got complete MPEG-4 and AVCHD profiles). Plus, as a DVD and CD player it's also quite excellent.

I do have to admit that I use my PS3 way more for media stuff than gaming, though.

[Adam!]

I had truly no interest in the current gen of consoles (not counting the Wii, which really is just a gamecube with a fancy controller), seeing as I couldn't name a single must-play game and I already had a media-PC in an adorable little case. But it was loud and it didn't handle HD content very gracefully, whereas the newest PS3s are whisper quiet, don't take forever to boot my OS of choice, and play nearly everything. So when the price dropped I pretty much had to get one, and I can honestly say I am very happy with it. I probably use it 90% of the time to stream media from a DLNA server and 5% as a DVD/BluRay player.

Rockband is a plus.

[john m]

I haven't played that. Is that an RPG? It sounds very RPGy from the title.

Yep, it's part of the Tales series (you know, "Tales of..." Phantasia / the Abyss / Legendia / etc), and it's great. There are more great GC games in my opinion, but Symphonia struck me as the worst omission.

[ujnhunter]

I never stated that anyone should buy a PS3... if I was going to tell someone to buy a console I would tell them to buy a 360... also it was mostly a joke about the whole "upgrade" comment, saying that a PS2 is not "upgrade" from a Gamecube, Xbox or Dreamcast... which it isn't really but it was a JOKE. I own a PS2... I own more than 60 games for it... I was kidding.

[JonPorobil]

Fair enough. It's just that

1.) I'm another guy who loves video games, but is currently flat-broke and doesn't own any current-gen consoles or handhelds. The newest console game I own is for the original XBox. Doesn't mean that I can't post in here. I still love video games and play them whenever or however I can.

and

2.) Making fun of people for not having stuff is currently #1 on my list of pet peeves. And we as a culture are so terrible about it. I.e. have you ever made fun of someone for having a crappy car?

ANYWAY. Back on topic.

I'm still stuck in Prince of Persia, so I'm switching over to Knights of the Old Republic. I'm a bit surprised, though. I didn't realize it was so... D&D.

[The Weakest Suit]

The only two must-gave games for the Gamecube both have "Zelda" in the title

I have to disagree. I'm not going to take the time to make a full list, but I am disappointed you don't remember how fucking awesome Tales of Symphonia was.

i really enjoyed the pikmin games myself (more than the wind wanker anyway). eternal darkness was a gem of a game that was mostly overlooked. also, i've played resident evil 4 on both gamecube and ps2, and i've found that the shoulder triggers on the gamecube controller make the game much more fun than playing on a ps2. also, i think i may be one of the only people who really enjoyed super mario sunshine. i like it much more than galaxy. the huge memorable levels and hard difficulty made it my favortie of the 3d mario games (yes, more than mario 64).

[fluffy]

Oh yeah, I bought a copy of Eternal Darkness a while ago but never got around to trying it. I guess I really should play it someday, since I've heard wonderful things about it.

[JonPorobil]

I never played Eternal Darkness, but I watched my neighbor play it, and it did a great job of making us freak out.

Same with Killer 7.

[Sober]

Paper Mario. The first one, on N64. Man this game is awesome.

I'm playing it on emulator, using the ps3 controller.

Btw, the best mapping config for N64 > ps3 controller is to make the C buttons the right joystick, and make Z R2.

Another killer thing is that you can really get crazy with assignments to give yourself a COD4 setup with Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, which was impossible/unpractical with one joystick.

[john m]

Goldeneye/Perfect Dark was impossible/unpractical with one joystick.

Perhaps you didn't play it enough. I was extremely good at both, and I'm far from the only one I know.

[JonPorobil]

Yeah, I much prefer moving with the C-buttons and looking with the left joystick. I can't even play most modern console shooters with the two-stick setup. It's infuriating.

[john m]

You liked Turok controls? Wow. That's extremely rare.

Remember how the N64 controller was said to have three different positions, Left / Center / Right, depending on where you put your hands? I always thought there was a hole in the market for a good tank game using the Left setup, since 1. no games used the Left setup (left hand on left side of controller, right hand on center prong), and 2. there were no great tank games for N64. (BattleTanx was a really fun concept and worked okay with friends, but it lagged so badly in four-player split-screen that the experience was marred.)