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Egomaniac
Mar 23, 2006

A lot of you guys may want to play the Shin Megami Tensei games, although I imagine many of you have already. They're by far the most strategy-based standard JRPGs around. Buffs, debuffs and skill selection are everything in them, and Nocturne (the third one) adds a system for determining move order that you absolutely must make use of to get anywhere in the game.

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Barudak
May 7, 2007

Egomaniac posted:

A lot of you guys may want to play the Shin Megami Tensei games, although I imagine many of you have already. They're by far the most strategy-based standard JRPGs around. Buffs, debuffs and skill selection are everything in them, and Nocturne (the third one) adds a system for determining move order that you absolutely must make use of to get anywhere in the game.

You have to keep in mind outside of the Persona/Digital Devil series plot isn't the games strong suit. Being a bastard about your Main Character dies = Game Over is another constant, and hiding information from the player about fusions is another. Don't forget often requiring XP and Money grinding.

They're right fun games, you just have to be looking for them.

Egomaniac
Mar 23, 2006

That was mostly directed at Evil Eagle and Honda Civet, who seemed to be looking for that kind of thing. You're right that they can be pretty brutal and a bit unfair, but I assume someone who laments the lack of strategy in most JRPGs is looking for that, else the strategy wouldn't matter.

HondaCivet
Oct 16, 2005

And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know


Barudak posted:

Not even the same world. The only thing that carries over is the idea of "A Great Rift" and a bunch of spell names and such. No plot, character, area, setting, or any other thing carries over between the games.

I meant in terms of play mechanics I guess. I can't think of a specific example right now but you know how sometimes a sequel will fix all the bad/broken things about a game while leaving the good things? Just wondering if that happens in Grandia.


RE Egomaniac: I'm playing Persona 3 Portable right now. Tartarus is a little boring to be honest but I'm still in the beginning of the game so the personas and enemies aren't particularly cool yet. I'm glad to hear you recommend the series though.

Captain Matchbox
Sep 22, 2008

BOP THE STOATS
Looking for some recommendations guys. I just got a new PC and am wondering what I've missed in like the last 3-4 years or so that wasn't released on a console.

Think the last games I was playing on my old PC were Stalker, C&C3, Sim City 4 and the Orange Box stuff (which I re-installed Steam for again).

Was thinking of having a look at Crysis, Supreme Commander and maybe even Torchlight.

MisterFreshman
Aug 30, 2008
Just bought my first console since SNES, a 360 slim. After playing mostly PC multiplayers (CS, WoW, CoD: MW2, APB) for almost 10 years I've grown tired of the frustrations and poo poo associated with multiplayer games, and been having tons of fun doing some single players to wind down at night.

What I've played so far (since about August of last year):

Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2 - loving loved it
Fable II
Dragon Age
Red Dead Redemption
GTA IV
Far Cry 2
Fallout 3
Red Faction Geurilla
Just Cause 2

I enjoyed most of these, especially ME2 which I played through 3 times. Now I'm out of ideas and looking for some good immersive games. I seem to really like the RPG-ish single players if that helps.

AG3
Feb 4, 2004

Ask me about spending hundreds of dollars on Mass Effect 2 emoticons and Avatars.

Oven Wrangler

MisterFreshman posted:

Just bought my first console since SNES, a 360 slim. After playing mostly PC multiplayers (CS, WoW, CoD: MW2, APB) for almost 10 years I've grown tired of the frustrations and poo poo associated with multiplayer games, and been having tons of fun doing some single players to wind down at night.

What I've played so far (since about August of last year):

Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2 - loving loved it
Fable II
Dragon Age
Red Dead Redemption
GTA IV
Far Cry 2
Fallout 3
Red Faction Geurilla
Just Cause 2

I enjoyed most of these, especially ME2 which I played through 3 times. Now I'm out of ideas and looking for some good immersive games. I seem to really like the RPG-ish single players if that helps.

Alpha Protocol is sort of a Mass Effect light, set in the current age world. It's got some technical issues, but nothing really worse than what Mass Effect 1 had. Of course, ME1 is a couple of years old now. You'll see some pretty polarised reviews for it, mostly the game being panned in the US for sub-par shooting segments and good reviews in Europe for having decent RPG content and great dialogue. It's no Mass Effect 2, but I thought it was pretty fun despite it's shortcomings, and the consensus in the Alpha Protocol thread here seems to be the same.

Egomaniac
Mar 23, 2006

Also Morrowind (original Xbox) and Oblivion, since you said you liked Fallout 3.

TroubledWaters
Aug 9, 2007

Some kind of...
oil trap!
Looking for a good PC beat 'em up. I've already played every Dynasty Warriors iteration to death, but something in that vein would be amazing. Sometimes I've just gotta hit things.

Red Robin Hood
Jun 24, 2008


Buglord

TroubledWaters posted:

Looking for a good PC beat 'em up. I've already played every Dynasty Warriors iteration to death, but something in that vein would be amazing. Sometimes I've just gotta hit things.

Darksiders is coming out really soon for the PC and that game is loving awesome. I wouldn't say it's beat-em-up on the scale of DW because it's a little closer to God of War style, but it's got an awesome storyline and some pretty sweet gameplay. Keep and eye out for it on Steam in September!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/50600/

Dominic White
Nov 1, 2005

TroubledWaters posted:

Looking for a good PC beat 'em up. I've already played every Dynasty Warriors iteration to death, but something in that vein would be amazing. Sometimes I've just gotta hit things.

If you have a 360 controller or equivalent, the PC has a very good port (better graphics, some new playmodes, generally more polished) of Devil May Cry 4. It's up on Steam as well, I believe.

Barudak
May 7, 2007

HondaCivet posted:

I meant in terms of play mechanics I guess. I can't think of a specific example right now but you know how sometimes a sequel will fix all the bad/broken things about a game while leaving the good things? Just wondering if that happens in Grandia.


RE Egomaniac: I'm playing Persona 3 Portable right now. Tartarus is a little boring to be honest but I'm still in the beginning of the game so the personas and enemies aren't particularly cool yet. I'm glad to hear you recommend the series though.

Grandia II is basically just subtle improvements on the first. Same thing goes for III. Its basically some moves lengths, mastering time, cancel effects and other stuff was slightly modified for better balance.

V for Vegas
Sep 1, 2004

THUNDERDOME LOSER

Cable posted:

I feel like playing a RTS/City Building game. I've played the poo poo out Rise of Nations, so anything similar to it will be ok. RoN had something that made me play it for hours straight, not like AoE2. I really wonder what is that "something", since objectively they seem quite similar. difficulty ramp maybe?

City building: I enjoy Caesar 3, but the fact that i can't minimize it is quite annoying (i can't play it for more than 30 minutes). I found SimCity 4 too difficult back in the day tho (well i was 15), and when i tried tropico 3 i didnt find it cool enough.

Anno 1404? Anno 1701? Settlers?

About the graphics, I don't mind if they are 2d-ish (in fact, if they have AWESOME 2d graphics they'll gain extra points), but don't want lovely simple cubes for houses or too heavy 3ds that will make my laptop melt. wow i'm so demanding.

Imperium Romanum is a Caesar 3 clone which isn't too demanding on your system and is pretty fun. It has a sequel, Grand Ages Rome which is basically the same game at a higher price point.

Dawn of Discovery is awesome, but much more graphics heavy. I couldn't run it on my old laptop (Core 2 Duo with 128MB geforce go).

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Yeah, none of the grandia games try to reinvent the wheel. Each iteration is just an improvement upon the previous one.

As for P3P Tartarus... I dunno, I'm not very far into Portable, but it seems like the removal of getting tired while inside tartarus actually makes it slightly more tedious, as you're never given any indication as to when you should stop until you reach the end of your current segment, so people are more prone to just marathoning every segment. Not a bad strategy, just kind of tedious. People got annoyed by getting tired in P3 and P3 FES, but really it forced a certain amount of pacing on you that actually made it more bearable.

Puppy
Jan 29, 2009

I do not belong here.

Barudak posted:

You have to keep in mind outside of the Persona/Digital Devil series plot isn't the games strong suit. Being a bastard about your Main Character dies = Game Over is another constant, and hiding information from the player about fusions is another. Don't forget often requiring XP and Money grinding.
Or the absurdly high random encounter rate.

The SMT series is definitely fantastic if you're the right kind of person, but I would not recommend it liberally to just anyone. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend it to all RPG fans. I mean, I loved literally everything Digital Devil Saga - battle system, story, visual style, music - everything except for its random encounter rate, which was so maddening that I just couldn't finish the game.

Barudak
May 7, 2007

Puppy posted:

Or the absurdly high random encounter rate.

The SMT series is definitely fantastic if you're the right kind of person, but I would not recommend it liberally to just anyone. I mean, I loved literally everything Digital Devil Saga - battle system, story, visual style, music - everything except for its random encounter rate, which was so maddening that I just couldn't finish the game.

Your completely right. I can't believe I blanked on that, its why I almost didn't finish Devil Summoner. You know what I love? Really high encounter rates, IN TOWN!

Colin Mockery
Jun 24, 2007
Rawr



Me and two of my friends want a new game to play. We used to play Heroes of Newerth, but we've been doing that basically two hours a day for months now, and it's getting kind of boring. Any recommendations for new games we could play together would be great.

What we're looking for:
1. Not a huge time commitment -- we generally play for a couple hours a day, late at night. No 4-hour-long raids, or waiting 3 hours to get a party, or any of that stuff. That's where HoN was great, since each game was a 45-minute time chunk.
2. It'd be nice if it supports linux, but it doesn't have to. We have a Mac, Windows, and Linux machine; the linux and mac boxes can boot under Windows if necessary.
3. Multiplayer, with cooperative play. Doesn't have to be online though; we can LAN it up.
4. MMOs are okay, but we'd prefer one that's free if possible, and one where we can enjoy most of the game with just the three of us, without having to join up with a bunch of other people. One of them's not really into MMOs, though, and we don't have the time to progress in a grindfest.
5. One mediocre/bad player can't completely drag down the rest of the team -- we had this problem in HoN sometimes, when playing with more of our friends, and it was always really frustrating to lose because a buddy kept running into ambushes or something. So no RTSes.

Things that Would be Nice:
1. Decent Graphics
2. Some potential for griefing/trolling other players.


We were thinking something like Neverwinter Nights or Guild Wars might be interesting. Any other suggestions?

Red Robin Hood
Jun 24, 2008


Buglord

Colbear posted:

blah-dee blah

It sounds like Guild Wars is really something you and your buddies should try out. I think you would all find something you enjoy!

TroubledWaters
Aug 9, 2007

Some kind of...
oil trap!
Darksiders and DMC4 look both like good ideas. Thanks!

On a completely different note, how is Risen? I am thinking of picking this up.

Lets Fuck Bro
Apr 14, 2009
Risen was a pretty great game. If you liked Morrowind/Gothic 2 you will like Risen.

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

Have you considered Mount and Blade? The hack and slash combat is great, and it's really fun to lead around a roaming band of madmen.

TroubledWaters
Aug 9, 2007

Some kind of...
oil trap!
Yeah, I am loving Mount and Blade. Me and my Huscarl army are tearing it up.

Risen looks pretty cool from what I am reading.

A good boy
Apr 9, 2010

by Ozma
Toy Soldiers and Scrap Metal on xboxlive is pretty rad. Highly reccomended.

Rollersnake
May 9, 2005

Please, please don't let me end up in a threesome with the lunch lady and a gay pirate. That would hit a little too close to home.
Unlockable Ben
I'm looking for a strategy RPG, but I'm really picky. For perspective, Tactics Ogre and the original Final Fantasy Tactics are both among my favorite games of all time. I really like Yasumi Matsuno's political dramas, and I love the gameplay of those titles. I also kind of liked the original Arc the Lad games, despite the overly simplistic gameplay and dull story. Suikoden Tactics was decent. Final Fantasy Advance lost me because of the judge gimmick and having to learn skills through equipped items, and I never played A2.

I've disliked every SRPG with separate player/enemy phases that I've ever played. That includes the Shining Force series, Front Mission 3, Kartia, and Nippon Ichi games (Disgaea, La Pucelle, Makai Kingdom).

What it comes down to is that I've played many games in this genre and only really loved two of them. I honestly don't know if there's a single other SRPG out there I'd enjoy. I'm hoping someone can prove me wrong, and that I won't have to wait for the Tactics Ogre remake for my next fix.

Athropos
May 4, 2004

"Skeletons are Number One! Flesh just slows you down."
Shining Force does not have player/enemy phases. All turns are dependant on character speeds. It might "look" like there are two different phases sometimes when you get to move your own team first at the start of a battle because the enemy has lovely speed, but it's not the case.

Rollersnake
May 9, 2005

Please, please don't let me end up in a threesome with the lunch lady and a gay pirate. That would hit a little too close to home.
Unlockable Ben

Athropos posted:

Shining Force does not have player/enemy phases. All turns are dependant on character speeds. It might "look" like there are two different phases sometimes when you get to move your own team first at the start of a battle because the enemy has lovely speed, but it's not the case.

Are you loving serious? I swear to God I played the first few battles in Shining Force 1 and 2, and I remember it having phases, but that was years ago. If that's not the case, I guess that's what I'll be playing next.

Edit: I think I may have melded the Shining Force games in my memory with Mystaria, a mediocre Saturn SRPG that DID have phases, and was really heavily influenced by Shining Force.

Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 08:57 on Jul 29, 2010

Lets Fuck Bro
Apr 14, 2009
Looking for a pc game I can play with my kids (10 year old boys) but that I would probably enjoy too. I mostly play indie/free games. They loved World of Goo, Trine, Spelunky, Torchlight, and especially Machinarium. Nothing too hard, they're not very good at the twitchy stuff (most of Spelunky was them watching me play and laughing uproariously whenever I died to something stupid). And of course adult themes at a minimum. Something marginally educational would be kind of cool (World of Goo does a great job of teaching basic architectural physics, for example).

Lets Fuck Bro fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jul 30, 2010

Red Robin Hood
Jun 24, 2008


Buglord

Lets gently caress Bro posted:

Looking for a pc game I can play with my kids (10 year old boys) but that I would probably enjoy too. I mostly play indie/free games. They loved World of Goo, Trine, Spelunky, Torchlight, and especially Machinarium. Nothing too hard, they're not very good at the twitchy stuff (most of Spelunky was them watching me play and laughing uproariously whenever I died to something stupid). And of course adult themes at a minimum. Something marginally educational would be kind of cool (World of Goo does a great job of teaching basic architectural physics, for example).

I can see them really enjoying Gish. You should check it out!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/9500/

There's a demo, too, if 10$ busts your bank.

e: you're username scares me.

Red Robin Hood fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Jul 30, 2010

vulgey
Aug 2, 2004

Covered in blood and without any clothes. Where is my mother?
I'm about to move house and it looks like I'm going to be without an internet connection for at least a month, maybe more. So I need recommendations on PC games to burn away the hours I would usually spend on WoW and various other games that require actual internet. I have other hobbies that I enjoy doing and I'm sure a lot of my time will be poured into getting the new place sorted but I love my PC gaming time.

I will play (almost), anything and probably enjoy it. I don't care if a game is "old" or the graphics are "outdated", good solid gameplay OR a lot of fun is what I'm looking for.

Games I played recently and loved:

Dragon Age
Singularity
Bad Company 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Mass Effect 2
Dwarf Fortress
Saboteur
Arkham Asylum

Also played a lot of the major games from the past couple of years like Bioshock, Oblivion, Civ 4, Fallout 3, the Total War games, Mirrors Edge, Modern Warfare etc.

I've played all the old(er) classics like Deus Ex, Fallout 1 & 2, Thief, X-Com games, Baldur's Gate etc.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

vulgey fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Jul 30, 2010

Corridor
Oct 19, 2006

Lets gently caress Bro posted:

Looking for a pc game I can play with my kids (10 year old boys) but that I would probably enjoy too. I mostly play indie/free games. They loved World of Goo, Trine, Spelunky, Torchlight, and especially Machinarium. Nothing too hard, they're not very good at the twitchy stuff (most of Spelunky was them watching me play and laughing uproariously whenever I died to something stupid). And of course adult themes at a minimum. Something marginally educational would be kind of cool (World of Goo does a great job of teaching basic architectural physics, for example).

Aquaria, maybe? It's kinda girly and Enya-riffic but it's a solid game. I really don't get the need for kids' stuff to be 'educational' and poo poo, but it has a ton of real-world sea life featured in it so if you don't really care what your kid learns so long as they're learning, you could justify that I guess.

And this isn't so much 'indie' as 'old as hell' but some of my absolute best childhood memories are from when I was 9/10, playing Monkey Island with my dad. It's epic and sarcastic and ridiculous, designed to hit all the right buttons for a ten-year-old nerd. It's actually been remade recently, I don't know if it's available on PC... I've avoided it because of my nostalgia associated with the original. It has a moderate amount of reading involved, so it might depend on their/your willingness to go through that (although I assume the new one has voices).

It teaches about pirates.

Dr. Video Games 0031
Jul 17, 2004

vulgey posted:

I'm about to move house and it looks like I'm going to be without an internet connection for at least a month, maybe more. So I need recommendations on PC games to burn away the hours I would usually spend on WoW and various other games that require actual internet. I have other hobbies that I enjoy doing and I'm sure a lot of my time will be poured into getting the new place sorted but I love my PC gaming time.

I will play (almost), anything and probably enjoy it. I don't care if a game is "old" or the graphics are "outdated", good solid gameplay OR a lot of fun is what I'm looking for.

Games I played recently and loved:

Dragon Age
Singularity
Bad Company 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Mass Effect 2
Dwarf Fortress
Saboteur
Arkham Asylum

Also played a lot of the major games from the past couple of years like Bioshock, Oblivion, Civ 4, Fallout 3, the Total War games, Mirrors Edge, Modern Warfare etc.

I've played all the old(er) classics like Deus Ex, Fallout 1 & 2, Thief, X-Com games, Baldur's Gate etc.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I was just about to suggest Civ 4 before I saw you mentioned it. Such an awesome game that will eat away your time.

I will suggest Dawn of Discovery Gold. It's seriously one of the best city builder games every made. You'll start wondering where your nights are going as you build some of the most elaborate and beautiful cities. Get it, it's awesome.

You've played other strategy games, and complexity doesn't seem to daunt you, so maybe you should consider looking into Paradox's suite of strategy games. I'll suggest Europa Universalis 3 in particular. It's not very complex, but I love it.

Nastyman
Jul 11, 2007

There they sit
at the foot of the mountain
Taking hits
of the sacred smoke
Fire rips at their lungs
Holy mountain take us away
I won't have any internet access at my new apartment until next wednesday, so until I can get my online gaming fix again I need some entertainment.

I'm looking primarily for smaller games, abandonware, indie or freeware stuff, but anything I can download in an afternoon at work is fine.

I can play just about anything that's not an RTS or racing game, but I prefer RPGs, Tower Defense or puzzle games. Favorites include

Fallout
Elder Scrolls
Diablo and Diablo clones like Myth or Torchlight
Bejeweled (or hell, just about anything popcap has ever made)
Legend of Princess
Neverwinter Nights
We <3 Katamari
Worms

It doesn't have to have fancy graphics, unless it's Nethack type simplistic. I just couldn't get into that style.

Oh, and I love to pile on as many mods as possible. It's what I love so much about Fallout/Oblivion/Morrowind, so moddable games are a plus.

Nastyman fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jul 30, 2010

Contra Calculus
Nov 6, 2009

Gravy Boat 2k
Can someone recommend me the Mega Man game that would best suit someone who is new to the series? It doesn't necessarily have to be a Mega Man game either, it can be a similar game to that series.

MMAgCh
Aug 15, 2001
I am the poet,
The prophet of the pit
Like a hollow-point bullet
Straight to the head
I never missed...you

Nastyman posted:

I won't have any internet access at my new apartment until next wednesday, so until I can get my online gaming fix again I need some entertainment.

I'm looking primarily for smaller games, abandonware, indie or freeware stuff, but anything I can download in an afternoon at work is fine.

I can play just about anything that's not an RTS or racing game, but I prefer RPGs, Tower Defense or puzzle games.
Could give Desktop Dungeons a try. While it may appear to be a rogue-like on the surface, it's closer to a puzzle game in many respects, with relatively little being left up to the whims of the pRNG. Somewhat challenging to get into (some classes more so than others), but quite satisfying when you do.

Nastyman
Jul 11, 2007

There they sit
at the foot of the mountain
Taking hits
of the sacred smoke
Fire rips at their lungs
Holy mountain take us away

MMAgCh posted:

Could give Desktop Dungeons a try. While it may appear to be a rogue-like on the surface, it's closer to a puzzle game in many respects, with relatively little being left up to the whims of the pRNG. Somewhat challenging to get into (some classes more so than others), but quite satisfying when you do.

Sounds perfect. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks

Switched.on
Apr 25, 2008

Egomaniac posted:

A lot of you guys may want to play the Shin Megami Tensei games, although I imagine many of you have already. They're by far the most strategy-based standard JRPGs around. Buffs, debuffs and skill selection are everything in them, and Nocturne (the third one) adds a system for determining move order that you absolutely must make use of to get anywhere in the game.

If I wanted to get into these games, where would be the best place to start?
Would I be missing out if I started with the more recent additions to the series?
What's the best one, in your opinion?

Barudak
May 7, 2007

Switched.on posted:

If I wanted to get into these games, where would be the best place to start?
Would I be missing out if I started with the more recent additions to the series?
What's the best one, in your opinion?

If you want a story, socializing and dungeons Persona 3:FES or Persona 4. People say Persona 3:FES has a better story, but Persona 4 giving you total party control makes it a lot less frustrating.

If you just want non-stop battle action, Nocturne on PS2 or Strange Journey on DS are the ones for you. If you want non-stop battle and some plot Digital Devil Saga. Not that its often called Digital Devil Saga 1/2 but they are literally each one half of a game.

If you want some SRPG action; Devil Survivor for DS fits the bill. If you want 1910 noir demon battles with realtime combat, Devil Summoner.

The others, such as Shin Megami Tensei 1/2, the GBC game, and the GBA game are either so repetitious or outdated as to be worth skipping. Note that the plot for all these games are unconnected or at best, passingly reference in one or two sentences.

Egomaniac
Mar 23, 2006

Switched.on posted:

If I wanted to get into these games, where would be the best place to start?
Would I be missing out if I started with the more recent additions to the series?
What's the best one, in your opinion?

There's kind of four series (not including whatever GBA or DS games are out since I never had either machine and have no idea):

Shin Megami Tensei (main series)
The original two SNES games, Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II share a direct prequel/sequel relationship. The only other game in the main series is Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne on PS2, which shares nothing storywise with the previous two, although the themes are the same. The first game was a bit confusing figuring out where to go and probably the most unforgiving difficulty-wise, but the second SNES game is, I think, the best in the entire franchise, with Nocturne a close second. That first pair also have by far the best and most engrossing storyline Atlus has ever produced. However, if you just can't handle old-school graphics from the SNES era, you'll have to skip to Nocturne. I just read the LP of the first game and played the second and third (Nocturne) myself.

Digital Devil Saga
The Digital Devil Saga games are not that great - tons of random encounters, weak storyline, pretty linear. They're not bad games, but really don't have anything that's superior to the main series. Expect to grind.

Devil Summoner
Devil Summoner and Devil Summoner 2. I haven't played either, but they look pretty fun. Something like Yakuza with demons from what I can tell.

Persona
Persona is easier all around than the main series and is more dialogue-heavy. It's probably the series most like a traditional JRPG, but still more difficult than Final Fantasy. The first two games were on the PSX and were nothing more than Shin Megami Tensei lite, both in story and gameplay. The third and fourth are where they got really heavy on the characterization and social link mechanics.

A lot of people recommend starting with Persona as the easiest to get into and most forgiving for unfamiliar players. For me, the main series is where it's at. I played along with the LP of Shin Megami Tensei, then played Shin Megami Tensei II followed by Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne myself. This was just a few years ago, so my image of the SNES games isn't tainted by nostalgia, and I think they hold up really well today. I didn't play the other series until later, so it's totally possible to get into the games right at the beginning. Of course, this only applies if you're looking for a challenge since "MegaTen" games are known for their battles actually being strategic. You won't be able to brute force your way through and grinding won't really help you.


EDIT: Okay, a simple ranking if you don't want to read my wall of words:

1. Shin Megami Tensei II (SNES) - but do yourself a favor and at least read the LP of the original game (linked above) before diving in.
2. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2)
3. Persona 3: FES (PS2)
4. Persona 4 (PS2) - although admittedly I never finished it so I can't make a complete judgment.

Egomaniac fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Jul 31, 2010

Rollersnake
May 9, 2005

Please, please don't let me end up in a threesome with the lunch lady and a gay pirate. That would hit a little too close to home.
Unlockable Ben

Contra Calculus posted:

Can someone recommend me the Mega Man game that would best suit someone who is new to the series? It doesn't necessarily have to be a Mega Man game either, it can be a similar game to that series.

Mega Man 2 has an easy mode, and is usually regarded as the best in the series (I don't disagree), so I'd start there.

I'd also recommend Mega Man 6, as it's the second-easiest of the main series, has the added powers like the slide (which debuted in MM3) and charge shot (MM4), and has some fun innovations like secret routes in stages and the Jet Suit, which is basically the best power-up in the series except for maybe Mega Man 2's omnidirectional Metal Blade.

As for games inspired by Mega Man, the best I can think of is the NES game Shatterhand. One of the best action platformers of its era, but it's always been relatively obscure.

Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jul 31, 2010

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Leper Residue
Sep 28, 2003

To where no dog has gone before.

vulgey posted:

I'm about to move house and it looks like I'm going to be without an internet connection for at least a month, maybe more. So I need recommendations on PC games to burn away the hours I would usually spend on WoW and various other games that require actual internet. I have other hobbies that I enjoy doing and I'm sure a lot of my time will be poured into getting the new place sorted but I love my PC gaming time.

I will play (almost), anything and probably enjoy it. I don't care if a game is "old" or the graphics are "outdated", good solid gameplay OR a lot of fun is what I'm looking for.

Games I played recently and loved:

Dragon Age
Singularity
Bad Company 2
Assassin's Creed 2
Mass Effect 2
Dwarf Fortress
Saboteur
Arkham Asylum

Also played a lot of the major games from the past couple of years like Bioshock, Oblivion, Civ 4, Fallout 3, the Total War games, Mirrors Edge, Modern Warfare etc.

I've played all the old(er) classics like Deus Ex, Fallout 1 & 2, Thief, X-Com games, Baldur's Gate etc.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I was in the same boat as you not so long ago (about three months ago) and was desperate for games to play.

Some I didn't see mentioned, but should really help with the PC time:

Just Cause 2. There's a thread for this, it's awesome, you basically run around an island blowing up every god damned thing and you've got a grappling hook. If you've still got internet for the time being, download the parachute dlc and the mod for it, and holy hell, you will have fun.

Stalker Call of Pripyat. I'm not a big fan of these games, but walking around a nuclear wasteland looking for artifacts and enemies can be pretty drat fun.

Metro 2033 is another russian nuclear wasteland game, but much more linear. It's a good solid 10 hours of fun, and has some great atmosphere.

Risen is another game I try to recommend anytime I can. It's an RPG from the guys who did Gothic 1 and 2, and is great. The combat is hard, but very rewarding. Only worth playing through the first half though (about 20 some hours). But you can play through that part again and see things you never did the first time.

Dead Space if you haven't played that is a great survival horror game. But if you get it for the pc, for the love of god, TURN OFF VSYNC. The game was unplayable with vsync on for me, and I had no idea why until I stumbled on the PA thread for the game. It's a great game once you turn that off.

Almost Last: Mount & Blade - Holy hell, it's like Pirates but on land. Build an army, set up trade routes, take over towns and nations, fight for kings and lords, I spent way too many hours on this game when I first got it. I think though it might have a problem if you download it steam because it connects to an online server to authenticate. If there's a way around it, you can spend your entire month on this game easily. I suggest you download the natural mod (I think that's what it is called) for it though. Haven't played Warband yet.

Others: Torchlight - A diablo 2 clone. World of Goo - A physics puzzle game. Both of which should be really cheap.

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