The Mad Dog Zone: Favorite F:AT Video Game System

lj1983 wrote:

I miss my RTS and other strategy games...but I got tired of investing time/money into the computer.

I currently playing through C&C 3 over Live with a friend and we're having a great time. There's definitely a learning curve with the controller, but in about 1.5 hours I felt very comfortable with it (able to assign groups quickly and such). The co-op play is great and you can find it new for about $20. A lot of my friends liked Halo Wars as well.

yeah, i've tried the various RTS games on the 360. battle for middle earth 2, C&C. haven't tried Red alert. just didn't do it for me. maybe if I played co-op with another person it would be worth the time.

Xbox 360. Because Live! is worth paying for and better than the weak free service from Sony, its exclusives have been better overall, and it's 1000 times better than the weakly supported experiment the wii has turned out to be for core gamers like myself.

PC games are so doomed...I remember when they were the vanguard of high-end video gaming, now they're struggling to play catch-up with the consoles.

I miss good RTS games too, but the weird thing about that genre is that you kind of figure out the one or two you really like and that's the end of the line. I still play STARCRAFT, DAWN OF WAR, and AGE OF MYTHOLOGY. And I really have no desire to play any others.

Lagduf wrote:

But, then again, I could just download the ROM and play on my PC. I know there is merit to paying developers for their work and the ease of using a gamepad and playing on your tv is something that can not be denied.

I wouldn't have played that many old SNES if it wasn't for the fast forward function most emulators implement, which lets the game run faster. This is an especially valuable feature when playing the many great but occasionally protracted RPGs.

I agree, it would be a sensible thing to do paying off the developer, but then again none of the original people working on the game will see a penny of this money, and I doubt that the developers assumed they could still sell the game 20 years from when it was produced.

Mad Dog wrote:

At this point I think I'm waiting for the next next generation of consoles.

Playstation4

XBOX420

Nintendo Dick

You're correct on Playstation 4, but the others will be called XBox 540 and Nintendo Doe.

Michael Barnes wrote:

PC games are so doomed...I remember when they were the vanguard of high-end video gaming, now they're struggling to play catch-up with the consoles.

This is true, many video games nowadays are published for the consoles first and only after a while appear on the PC. Prominent examples: GT4 and RE4. Still, awesome games like Max Payne 2 or Nethack were never released for consoles.

Michael Barnes wrote:

PC games are so doomed...I remember when they were the vanguard of high-end video gaming, now they're struggling to play catch-up with the consoles.

Interestingly, PC games might not be dead. Just taking a different form in the future:

arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/09/clou...t-mit-conference.ars

Vote: Xbox 360

I really enjoyed my Wii for the first 2 years we had it, but this past year and a half has just been blah. I loved Twilight Princess and Fire Emblem. Metroid Prime was fun and so is Mario Galaxy but I didn't finish either.

Wii Sports, Mario Kart, Boom Blox and WarioWare are all great party games offering experiences you can't get on any other system. I've wanted to get Wii Sports Resort but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $50 for the game and an extra $60 so all my controllers can have Motion Plus.

Punch Out is pretty awesome, too, I shouldn't forget to add that to my holiday wish list.

But the Xbox 360 is pretty awesome, but maybe its because I just got it. Live is great, yeah you have to pay for it, but if you get a year subscription for $40 you're paying a little over $3 a month for awesome multiplayer service. Also it's got Netflix which is awesome. Really awesome. I only hope the networks will had more TV shows to Netflix's watch instantly.

Live Arcade games are way better than the majority of the crap that comes out on WiiWare. And you can demo them! And demo lots of retail games.

I haven't really played the PS3, but none of its exclusives have looked very intriguing, except Valkyria Chronicles.

I think the PC will rule the RTS, turn based strategy, FPS, and MMORPG genres for the foreseeable future.

Of course, consoles are big on FPS's too, but many people prefer the mouse to a gamepad.

I don't think PC's are doomed. They maybe doomed to the hardcore gamer market but I think they will continue to dominate for the casual crowd. Plus, I think they will still dominate for the flight sim and other sim crowds. There are some things that are much better on the PC than a console.

My console history, so you know how fucking smart I am:
Atari VCS
Odyssey^2
Atari 5200
NES
SNES
Gameboy Color
PS2
Gameboy Micro
Nintendo DS
Wii
...and a big finale at the end.

Still in active use: PS2, Nintendo DS, and Wii.

As you can see, I'm a big Nintendo whore. Deservedly so, though--they made some fucking awesome consoles. No one can deny that NES and SNES are two of the best consoles of all time. The mark they set for first-party titles is impressive. I would say the single-player experience on the Wii is great. The difference between developers and the time they commit to leveraging the controls is the key to a successful title. Lots of people took a shit on the Wii with their games, and folks that played them are understandably pissed--those games suck. When you play a game that gets it right though? It's fucking awesome.

I refer the reader to: SUPER MARIO GALAXY, METROID PRIME 3: CORRUPTION, THE CONDUIT, RESIDENT EVIL 4:WII EDITION, WII SPORTS (BOWLING), HOUSE OF THE DEAD:OVERKILL (with Nyko Perfect Shot), MARIO KART:WII, PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008: WII, WORLD OF GOO

So, on that list, you've got these genres: arcade, platformer, FPS, 3rdPS, sports, driving, rail shooter. And honestly, some of the best controls in game ever. Dynamite stuff, period. Especially for console.

Virtual Console is insanely great.

The big huge dramatic mega downside to Wii? The online play is a fucking pain in the ass. Hey Barnes! Want to race me in Mario Kart? Send me your Wii Friend Code (it's nestled in the System preferences) and then send me your individual MARIO KART Friend Code (just 16 letters and numbers!) and then maybe we can play! It makes me want to claw my eyes out. The Wii hops on my wireless network no problem. The Wii even -transmits- wireless demos to my DS without issue. But God forbid I want to play with someone without becoming blood brothers first. This is dumb. It's great that my kids won't be called C0CKf4GZ, but it's less fun for me.

...and that's why I'm going with the XBox 360. Given the recent price break on the Elite, the upgarde to the Jasper chipset, and the even -more- recent $50 rebate, it's a good fit for me. The irony is, I don't anticipate buying any actual physical media--the XBLA experience is what I'm after, and it's dynamite. My little dude can find your little dude and we can play, and that fucking rocks.

Also, the XBLA games are shit hot compared to the current WiiWare offerings. WORLD OF GOO excepted, I am not really captivated by anything in WiiWare (that CONTRA title may yet wrest some points from me though). I went to a friends house and we played GEOMETRY WARS, IKARUGA, and SUPER STREET FIGHTER 2 TURBO HD REMIX. I was pretty much sold right there. The d-pad is a piece of shit, but I'll commit to a stick before long.

The downsides of the Xbox? The hardware is fucking untrustworthy. You can drop a DS in the toilet and it's none the worse for wear. If you look at an Xbox wrong your daughter gets pregnant. I know they have "fixed" it, but cripes. I'm still not impressed--it breaks -much less- than it used to! Also, two words: WIRELESS DONGLE. Fuck me, it's 2009. Put the fucking wireless card in the box, assholes. I'm not a huge fan of subscribing either, but it's worth paying for, as noted by others.

Keep gaming!

jeb wrote:

You can drop a DS in the toilet and it's none the worse for wear. If you look at an Xbox wrong your daughter gets pregnant. I know they have "fixed" it, but cripes. I'm still not impressed--it breaks -much less- than it used to! Also, two words: WIRELESS DONGLE. Fuck me, it's 2009. Put the fucking wireless card in the box, assholes.

Keep gaming!

lol, this totally sums up the only problems with the 360. I HATE the wireless accessory. It's expensive and wastes a slot.

i loved the soundbite about looking at a 360 wrong

I'm surprised that none of you Wii owners have been playing Cursed Mountain. It looks pretty cool.

Console histories now, huh?

Here's mine:

Atari 2600 (not that crappy Sears VGS either)
Intellivision
Commodore 64
Colecovision (anybody remember VENTURE?)
NES (the big box with R.O.B. and the zapper, right and proper)
Sega Master System (just kidding, nobody actually owned one of those)
Amiga 500 (got in exchange for a typewriter)
PC (EGA graphics FTW)
Gameboy (actually stole it from my nephew who never missed it)
TurboGrafx-16 (I _loved_ this system)
Sega Genesis
Atari Jaguar (It's true, I'm so ashamed, I actually had FIGHT FOR LIFE)
Playstation
Dreamcast (dang, I wish I still had that one)
Xbox
Wii
DS

Various LCD handhelds/Game and Watches, "tabletop" arcade games, some Battlestar Galactica game where you a Viper represented by a red light, the little D&D LCD game...

MIA- SNES (I know...), PS2, Sega Saturn, 360, PS3, PSP, 3DO, Philips CD-I, Oddysey, Vectrex...

So see, one of you guys should really take pity on me and go pick up one of those hot $299+$50 rebate 360s and trade it to me for BLACK OPS...you'd make a good profit on it if you didn't want the game!

Michael Barnes wrote:

blah blah

MIA- SNES (I know...), PS2,

What the hell, Barnes?

SNES and PS2 are it. If I never had another console, I could be happy with what I get from SNES and PS2. SNES is covered by DS and Wii. eBay your fucking Black Ops and go get a PS2. Done and done. A brand new PS2 slim + component cable + memory card (the WIRELESS DONGLE of PS2) + new SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS, + new GOD OF WAR + GTA compilation and you'd have change left over.

Did that PS2 ever get traded in the last arms trade? I wouldn't mind picking one up.

SNES, I'm good on. At this point, I've played the best games on it, and they are in fact some of the best games of all time.