Nearing the end

Well, we're about 1 month away from the unveiling of the three new consoles, so I thought it might be fun to talk about the current ones a bit and what we've thought about them. Feel free to respond however, I'm just gonna talk in general a little bit and talk about a few games.

Dreamcast
It was kind of sad that the system didn't make it further than it did, but it was fun while it lasted. I can't remember exactly why I felt the need to import games at about $60 a pop, but it was the only system I ever did that for. Notable games I played through were Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally, Power Stone, Virtua Fighter 3tb, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and the endless plethora of Capcom fighting games. Seems my tastes have changed a little since then... :doubt:

Playstation 2
I saw the tech demos back in March of 99 and felt that Sony was blowing smoke. After watching them again tonight...yeah, they weren't. I held out for a while to get the system because I was still in my hardcore-nerd-gamer days where I felt some sort of hate towards Sony. Dumb, but oh well...live and learn. Notable games I played through were Virtua Fighter 4, Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet & Clank, Grand Theft Auto III, and Devil May Cry. The most surprising thing to me about the PS2 is just how diverse and strong Sony's 1st/2nd party development is getting. I probably had more fun with the first two Ratchet & Clank games (for example) than I did with either Mario or Sonic this gen.

Xbox
I'll be honest and say I thought this was gonna be a humongous, spectacular belly-flop of a flop. I had visions of 3DO and CD-i in my head. For some reason, though, I decided to wait in line the night before release to get the system. I had the box with the system in it and was looking at the games, and decided to take a chance with Halo even though I remembered everyone dogging it at E3. I think the rest is history. :lol: Notable games I played through were Halo, Halo 2, Mech Assault, Splinter Cell, Gunvalkyrie, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Rallisport Challenge. Xbox was a real surprise to me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. It seems like Microsoft is slowly creeping up on Sony in game development. They started out with trash like Azurik and Fusion Frenzy, but now the amount of good 1st and 2nd party games to trash is becoming very good.

Gamecube
I was equally surprised by the GC as I was the Xbox, but negatively. If we happen to have any Nintendo fans reading this, I know I'll get shot square in the nuts, but Nintendo this gen has been horrible. Outside of a few select games, Nintendo's been all about the rehash and exploitation this time around. A mediocre Mario game, Mario Tennis 2, Mario Golf 2, Mario Party 4/5/6, Mario Kart, etc etc. Everything looked so promising for them in the beginning, but I guess it just didn't pan out. It's definitely my least played system, and I wish I could have my $200 back... Notable games I played through were Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin, Metroid Prime, Zelda: Wind Waker, and Super Monkey Ball. I hope Nintendo really figures it out for the next gen...


And that's my ramble of a thread on the individual systems. I enjoyed the current gen quite a bit, and will still be playing games out now for quite a time to come. Can't go wrong with 3 games for $60. Now if God of War, Resident Evil 4, and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal would all just drop to $20... :p

I really like the idea of listing our truly notable games for each platform in this thread. Here's my first pass. Edits to follow I am sure. As a note, I listed games that were ported on their original system, even if the port was better.

Dreamcast
Jet Grind Radio, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Shenmue I & II, Street Fighter III: Third Strike

PlayStation 2
Devil May Cry, Fatal Frame, Grand Theft Auto III & Vice City, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Onimusha, Sly Cooper

GameCube
Pikmin 1 & 2, Resident Evil 0-4, Star Wars: Rogue Leader

Xbox
Jet Set Radio Future, Mercenaries, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II

Good thread.

Dreamcast
I also started the last gen off with the Dreamcast... got it the Christmas after it's launch in '99 with Sonic Adventure and Marvel vs. Capcom. I was so impressed with it that I KNEW Street Fighter 3 could finally be ported to a system, and I bought two of the official arcade sticks in preparation.

The Dreamcast ended up being a great little system. Notable games for me were Sonic Adventure, Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and 2, Street Fighter 3 DI and 3rd Strike, Power Stone, RE: Code Veronica and Mars Matrix.

Gamecube
Despite how lukewarm the N64, I expected the GC's switch to disc media to bring Nintendo back into the spotlight where they belonged. I waited on the PS2 and bought the GC as my 2nd next gen system. Luigi's Mansion was charming but hollow; Rogue Leader was great IMO, and Super Monkey Ball was fantastic.

I eventually got tired of waiting month after month for quality releases and realized that to survive in this generation you needed a PS2. I won't be making the same mistake next gen of picking the Nintendo system first. Notable GC games for me were Super Monkey Ball, Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Eternal Darkness, REmake, and F-Zero GX.

PS2
Even though I sided with the DC when they were bitter rivals, I eventually couldn't resist the PS2. I got it the last Christmas that it still cost $300 ('01 maybe?) along with MGS2, Devil May Cry, GTA3, and Stretch Panic. The PS2's game library really speaks for itself. If anyone tells you they don't have a PS2 because there are no games for it that they want, they're fucktard liars. My favorites were: Devil May Cry, GTA3 and San Andreas, Maximo, the DDR MAXes, and Jak and Daxter. I still have a large pile of shame for the PS2 than the other 3 systems combined.

Xbox
The biggest surprise for me, what I expected to be the biggest joke ended up being my favorite system. It may not have the sheer number of games that the PS2 has, but it has Xbox Live, which is one of the greatest things to happen to gaming since uh... ever. Notable games for me were JSRF, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Halo 2, PGR2, 3rd Strike, and Crimson Skies.

I don't really know when I get the next systems, probably a year after the first one releases at least. Right now I'm thinking the next Xbox will be my first purchase, but we'll have to see.

Dreamcast
I've got a little under 50 games but only a few that really made a big impression on me: Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Typing of the Dead, Samba De Amigo, Dead or Alive 2, and Jet Grind Radio

Playstation 2
Very very solid list of games for the PS2, the system has had a great list of releases in the past two years. My favorites on the PS2: Metal Gear Solid 3, Gitaroo-Man, and Disgaea.

Xbox
I'm glad I finally picked one of these up because Live is sooo much fun. Xbox favorites: Halo 2, Rallisport Challenge 2, ESPN NFL2K5, and Links 2004.

Gamecube
Other then a few third party titles, the GC was all about first party titles. Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, Tales of Symphonia, and Beyond Good & Evil.

I had a huge fucking post almost complete with my feelings and the games I liked for each system and TNL, like it always seems to do with larger posts, fucked me over. Good thread.

Dreamcast - failure
PS2 - best system
Xbox - Made leeway, but MS may let us down next gen by shovelling shit into their console we don't need/want. No HDD out of the box is already a huge mistake.
Gamecube - Nintendo made boneheaded decisions, console still has great games though, I commend Nintendo for holding down the fort almost exclusively by themselves.

Dreamcast - I got this on launch day, and it gave me many memories with Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Ecco the Dolphin, Giant Gram, Fire ProWrestling D, MSR, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, 18 Wheeler, Virtua Fighter 3 tb, Record of Lodoss War, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

PS2 - Another launch system, and I had a lot of fun with Katamari Damacy, Tekken Tag Tournament, Twisted Metal: Black, Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 4, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Disgaea, Klonoa, Fantavision, Firefighter F.D. 18, Winning Eleven 7, Devil May Cry, and DMC 2.

Xbox - I waiting until March of 2003 to get this, so this listing might pale in comparison to the others, but I still really enjoyed my time (and enjoy my time) with - Beyond Good and Evil, Shenmue II, Jedi Academy, Rallisport Challenge 2, Project Gotham Racing, Project Gotham Racing 2, Spikeout: Battle Street, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, OutRun 2, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Midway Arcade Treasures, Midway Arcade Treasures 2, and Crimson Skies. Xbox Live really made my Xbox shine, as this list shows.

GameCube - I got this in June of 2002 (five days before eye surgery), and missed out on playing it for a while. This list is probably going to be the least game intensive, but I have far fonder memories of some of these than most of the others - Animal Crossing (most notably), WWE WrestleMania XIX, WWE Day of Reckoning, WWE WrestleMania X8, Viewtiful Joe, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Legend of Zelda: Master Quest disc, Legend of Zelda collection disc, Space Raiders, F-Zero GX, Mega Man Network Transmission. Sonic Mega Collection, and Baten Kaitos.

That's not even counting the GB player, which would add Tetris DX, Super Mario Bros. DX, Fire Pro Wrestling, Fire Pro Wrestling 2, Tactics Ogre, Metroid Classic, Konami Arcade Collection, Activision Anthology, Mega Man Zero 2, Mega Man and Bass, and Sonic Advance to the list. Since so much of that is GBA stuff, that could count as a list for the GBA, which I got at launch, in one of those God-awful, overpriced bundles, just to finally play Fire Pro Wrestling. It was well worth the money.

Damn good generation of stuff. With the systems, I sort of wish the DC had lived longer, although it was one Hell of an amazing run while it lasted.

I'll list them in the order that I got them:

Dreamcast: Bought it in early 2001, when it hit $99. It was a quantum leap over what had come before, the difference between DC graphics and N64/PS1/Saturn graphics is likely the biggest step up between gens we'll ever see. Time will tell, but I think it'll be the first 3D system that age doesn't have a horrible effect on, i.e. framerates, loading times, and graphics will be somewhat dated, but never at the unplayable level that many 32/64 bit games have already matured past. The quick markdowns and budget pricing of games in it's twilight hours instilled in me the cheapness I carry to this day.
Notables: Crazy Taxi, SF3 3rd Strike, Power Stone, Jet Grind Radio, PSO, Project Justice, Mars Matrix, Shenmue

Game Boy Advance: "It's 2D, that's not last-gen!" STFU. It came out after the DC, it still has games coming out, so it's this gen. Bought after first price drop early 2002, $69 (stole an SP when it came out, though I bought one legit late last year). Not technically impressive, obviously, but has had some freaking fantastic games.
Notables: Advance Wars 1 & 2, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon & Aria of Sorrow, Fire Emblem, Mario & Luigi, Zelda: Minish Cap, Metroid Zero Mission, Wario Land 4, Wario Ware

Xbox: Bought early 2002, after drop to $199. I always had faith that MS would pull through over the course of this gen. It's really too bad it didn't get more exclusives and get more devs to take advantage of it's power. I own a lot of games for it, but despite that there's only a couple I'd really say stand out as superlatives of this generation; most of it's best games are merely good, not great, and not usually exclusive. Though there seem to be some upcoming ones that may help correct that (Stubbs the Zombie, Psychonauts, Forza) and of course, I should note as a disclaimer that I don't have Live (yet).
Notables: Halo, Ninja Gaiden, JSRF, Burnout 3, Project Gotham 2, SSX Tricky & 3

Gamecube: I don't actually own one, my dad bought one for himself when I was living at home, and my roommate owns one now. But had I paid for one, I certainly wouldn't feel cheated like everyone else seems to be. Now, it's true that I, like many, own a fraction of the number of games for GC as I do for other systems, but what I do have is very solid and some of the best stuff I've played this gen. Resident Evil 4 and Metroid Prime 1 & 2 are three of my top five games this gen. Comparitively, only one Xbox game would fall in my top 10.
Notables: Resident Evil & RE4, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Zelda: WW, Smash Bros Melee, Super Monkey Ball, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Soul Calibur 2

Playstation 2: I didn't buy one until this past fall for pretty much the same reasons as above, old roommates had one, my dad had one. Got it for $99 used. Best selection and highest number of worthwhile exclusive games of the three. Not much else to say, really.
Notables: ICO, Devil May Cry, MGS3, Onimusha 1 & 3, Silent Hill 2 & 3, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank series, God of War, Rez, SC5 collection, Disgaea, Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Dreamcast:

I didn't get a Dreamcast of my own until they dropped to rock bottom prices and flew off the shelves. This was my first next-gen console, and I won't even try to count up all the hours I played Soul Calibur on it. Aside from that landmark title, some of the other notable games I played on the system were; Grandia II, Jet Grind Radio, SF3: TS, and Border Down.


PlayStation 2:

Ironically this was the last next-gen console I got, so I've had a ball picking up some of the great titles I missed out on through its development cycle. While it clearly has begun to show its age, there are still a number of games on it that greatly impressed me; Silent Hill 3, MGS 3, Katamari Damacy, SMT: Nocturne, ICO, The Getaway, God of War, Shadow of Rome, Z.O.E. 2, ReZ, and several others I can't think of this second.


X-Box:

I was introduced to this gem of a console in the dank, darkened confines of a friend's basement. Out of this abyssal darkness the Xbox's shining emerald glow introduced to me some of the greatest experiences I'd have in gaming. After playing a punishing all night HALO LAN, I was filled with a calm certainty that I too must possess this beast of a gaming machine. In the years that followed I have not regretted my decision, and been rewarded with such notable titles as; HALO, HALO 2, Jade Empire, Prince of Persia (it should be noted here that in 9/10ths of all multi-platform situations I went with the Xbox version, and think myself better for it), Thief: Deadly Shadows, Burnout 2, Burnout 3, Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War, Crimson Skies, this list could go on forever. Suffice it to say that out of the 'big three' (or is it big two?) current gen consoles, I've gotten the most enjoyment from my Xbox.


GameCube:

This was my 'middle system' in terms of when I bought it chronologically. It's never seen as much play as my other systems, but odds are when I do sit down to play a GC game it's going to be a GREAT game. The list of notable titles for the system is pretty much standard across the board, I guess. My personal favorites would have to Eternal Darkness, MGS: Twin Snakes, and Resident Evil 4.

Dreamcast - I bought it mainly because of playing against Tain in VO:OT and grew to love the system with the exception of the short cords. While it's only Dial-Up capabilities greatly annoyed me, I got some good memories from the system.

Memorable games - VO:OT, Jet Grind Radio, PSO, Cosmic Smash, and Grandia II come straight to my mind.

Playstation 2 - I loved the playstation, and this was the first next gen system I got. Annoyed and loving FFX at the same time, I was hooked on the system and was loyal to Sony as ever. I still love Sony for the most part, but I think it could have been better.

Memorable games - FFX, FFX-2(Only because it's the first sequel of a Final Fantasy game), Shadow Hearts, Beatmania IIDX, SSX series, Virtua Fighter 4, and Disgaea are a few that come to mind.

GameCube - It was a beautiful system that was capable of many great things... and failed at many points.

Memorable games - Metroid Prime, Tales of Symphonia.

Xbox - This is the last system I got of the set, one I was reluctant to get because I hated it's orignal line up. And truthfully I only got it to play with TNLers on XBox live that's the only thing I think Xbox did that was substantially better than the other systems. Graphics are great but not by so big of a deal that It would be a selling point, the controller (orignal) was pure shit and even the S has problems.

Memorable games - Phantom Dust, Street Fighter Third Strike (Yeah that's on all of em I guess), Halo, Halo 2 come to mind. I haven't gotten much experiance with the Xbox yet so there are many games I have yet to try.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andrew

I had a huge fucking post almost complete with my feelings and the games I liked for each system and TNL, like it always seems to do with larger posts, fucked me over.

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From now on, after you're done typing, but before you hit "submit" just highlight all of your text, and copy it. That way if TNL eats it, you just have to paste it in, and try again.