Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura - Troika's second RPG and one of the few steampunk RPGs ever. It suffers from many of the same problems that have plagued both post-Black Isle devs, in that it's a bit rough around the edge and has various glitches and bugs. Fortunately, there's a dedicated fanbase that has plugged most the holes with fan patches and other mods. Also, it's a deep, well-written RPG that allows a great deal of choice and freedom, which certainly doesn't hurt.
Tomb Raider: Underworld - Actually the only Tomb Raider game that I've ever purchased or played for more than five minutes. I'm not sure why, but the series has never really done much for me, however I really like Underworld. It looks great, for one thing, and it's got a big focus on puzzles and platforming over Gears of War-esque gunplay against waves of enemies.
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines - On several occasions I've made a valiant attempt to complete what I consider to be one of the best Western RPGs of the past ten years, but the greatness of the first two-thirds fades quickly in the final stretch and I'm left with little desire to continue. As with Arcanum, there are numerous problems here, many of which are fixed by the fans but far from all, that are thankfully overshadowed by greatness elsewhere. It's also probably one of the best pieces of vampire fiction this side of Bram Stoker.
Atelier Annie - An entry in Gusts long-running alchemy-based RPG series that focuses on resources gathering, sidequests, and item creation, more than anything else. There's combat and "dungeons", but neither are anything special and really only exist to give resources-gathering even the most minor degree of difficulty. There's also a metric ton of dialog scenes between characters, most of which are meant to be amusing rather than dramatic or insightful.
What a bunch of pussies , Who wouldn't want to drink out of a glass skull? Hell I'd drink out of a real one if it was legal!!
Don't those morons in the LCBO realize that liquor is sold to adults and not children!! What do you folks have against death? Its the natural end of life...and your not going to get far ahead in life by dissing Death himself!!
I knew he had cancer for a while and was on his way out. They only just recently gave him a Hollywood walk star of fame. And now Dennis Hopper, 74, best know for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Bowser in the smash hit "Super Mario Brothers," (1990) has passed away. He joins Gary Coleman in Heaven.
Found this music video written by none other than Shigesato Itoi, a name you'll recognize if you've played Earthbound. It gives off the same sort of feeling as that game to me, is what I just typed.
I thought you may be interested, and then I thought of posting it. I ended up reading some news articles and while putting something together noticed I still had this in my clipboard.
I'm sorry, was that an overly detailed explanation?
Awesome news... the first Shogun really was a fantastic game, like a sequel to Lords of the Realm with better battles but a simpler, less interesting overworld/strategic map aspect. The great 3d battles are great though, and the series has obviously done really well since then. The series has changed since Rome, though, which really redid the whole strategic map side, and not really for the better... but unfortunately, Shogun and Medieval don't really work on most modern PCs. I can't run Medieval at all on this computer, sadly, and Shogun runs terribly (software mode only, it's miserable!).
But anyway, they did do a Medieval II to sort of make up for one of those, but they hadn't gone back to the first game in the series yet... until now. This game hasn't been officially announced yet, but this information sure sounds convincing.
Shogun was a great game, it's on a smaller scale than games like Medieval or Rome so you have a more focused campaign that is much less overwhelming in scope. I like that really, there's still a lot to do and many options, but the victory goals and scope are just so much easier to understand when the campaign is in a restricted area.
Anyway, this is pretty cool news. The Total War series definitely isn't perfect, but it's pretty good, and definitely one of the prominent PC strategy game series of the past decade.
Quote:Title: Shogun 2: Total War
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: The Creative Assembly
Format: PC DVD
Players: 1 - 8
Ratings: ESRB Teen, PEGI 16, OFLC M, USK 12 – All provisional
Release Date: 2011
In 2000, the Creative Assembly re-invented the strategy genre with Shogun: Total War, an unprecedented blend of 3D real-time battles and turn-based management game and the first offering in the multi-award winning series. With over 7 million units sold and universal acclaim from the press and community, Total War has consistently been at the cutting edge of the genre and is today one of the most successful PC franchises of all time.
In 2011, the makers of Rome and Empire: Total War will release the sequel to the game that started it all. Shogun 2: Total War will take long-time veterans and newcomers alike to the next level of strategy gaming on PC. Based on 10 years of experience in making Total War, Shogun 2 is the perfection of the series with a new Artificial Intelligence (AI), revolutionary multiplayer modes, brand new campaign map options and epic 3D real-time battles.
It is the middle of the 16th century in Medieval Japan. The country, once ruled by a unified government, is now split into many warring clans. The player takes on the role of one Daimyo – the clan leader – and will use military engagements, economics and diplomacy to achieve the ultimate goal: re-unite Japan under his supreme command and become the new Shogun – the undisputed ruler of Japan.
Set during the golden age of Samurai warfare, Shogun 2 brings to life the most turbulent period of Japanese history.
Key Features:
Total War Redefined: Shogun 2 is the ultimate refinement of the original formula with a new, cutting-edge AI, more polish and online functionality than ever before. The result is the perfect mix of real-time and turn-based strategy gaming that invites both veterans of Total War and new players to experience the enjoyment and depth of the series.
New Character Progression: Choose from 9 different clans and compete on and offline for the undisputed supremacy of Medieval Japan. Gain experience to level up your own character-warlord as well as your generals and agents.
A Complete Single And Multiplayer Offering: Play through the Main Campaign in single player or invite a friend online to play competitively or cooperatively in Campaign Multiplayer mode. Join 8-player multiplayer battles with your own upgradable avatar and climb the online Leaderboard to show the world who reigns supreme. Also including exciting new modes of team play for clans, a first in the Total War series.
New Generation AI System: Developed according to Sun Tzu’s principles in the Art of War, the Artificial Intelligence constantly analyses its situation and reacts to your every move with greater precision and variety.
Improved Land And Naval Battle Gameplay: Land battles never felt so realistic with new multi-staged castle sieges and terrain features changing according to the weather and time of the day – turning each engagement into a tactical challenge. Set buildings on fire to force garrisoned troops out and use your units’ special abilities to turn the tide of the battle.
Naval combat also offers more variety with the addition of coastal battles. Islands can work as effective cover for your ships, while sand bars and reefs can be used as traps against an enemy fleet.
Accessible And In-Depth Empire-Building Gameplay: A streamlined User Interface makes management of your kingdom much easier. Build and govern cities, recruit and train troops, conduct diplomacy and manage your agents – each feature is now introduced with comprehensive tutorials, gradually revealing the depth of the Shogun 2 campaign map – the heart and soul of the Total War experience.
So as I've probably mentioned at some point, I have a bunch of damaged Gamecube games. How they got scratched I have no idea, but at some point a year or two ago it got bad enough that I finally noticed, as some games had stopped working.
I tried getting them resurfaced, but oddly enough, even though the scratches were removed, more often than not the discs still did not work.
Skies of Arcadia Legends and Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO were fixed, and perhaps another one or two that I can't remember at the moment (Wave Race Blue Storm maybe? I forget if that one was damaged...), but four others were not -- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (crashes when you try to start a level), SSBM (initially it only crashed most of the way through the single player game, but after resurfacing now it crashes at initial boot), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (crashes when you try to get to the main menu by hitting Start at the title screen), and Soul Calibur II (if you select certain characters the game crashes). None of the four discs have visible scratches, but they don't work anyway. It's very frustrating and odd, certainly...
But that's not why I made this thread. So, I tried the games on my Wii since I now have one. FE, SCII, and SSBM do the same thing they do on my Gamecube, but Paper Mario TTYD, oddly enough... works perfectly on the Wii, no problems. What the heck? Why would the thing crash like that when you try to go to the main menu 99 times out of 100 on the GC, but not at all on the Wii? That's nice, I can play the game again, but... it's so odd...
I tried the game several times in both systems right now, worked every time in the Wii, not at all in the GC.
Yup... as of last Thursday night. I've been pretty busy this past week (cousin's college graduation we had to go to, etc), and didn't get to making a thread then, but I am now...
As anyone following the 'bought' thread (hah, as if) I started getting Wii games a bit over a month ago, because I saw some for decent prices and though I'd pick them up because I was sure to get a system in not too long. So I already had three games. Then I got two cheap ones with the system, the two that come in the box, and then got three download titles. However, with the exceptions of two titles, I really haven't played most of them much at all, just an hour or less for the rest pretty much. Too busy with other stuff, and other games... and Fire Emblem...
Anyway, the system. I've played Wii games before, so I'm familiar with it. The black system is awesome looking though, and getting a Motion+ (and Wii Sports Resort I guess) free is great. I really did want the black system more, it looks so much cooler than the white one... I'm sure it'll become a massive dust magnet, but oh well. :)
Disc games
--
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn -- Wow, on Normal this game is HARD! It's about as hard as Path of Radiance on Hard really, I think. I'm only on mission four, but keep losing... very tough, this is a lot harder than any previous US title on Normal. I'd say that perhaps this game wasn't made easier for US audiences? If true that's awesome. Fantastic game of course, and it'll take a long time to finish for sure at this pace. Then I'll have to try it on Hard... I love Fire Emblem games. :) I'll be playing this for months, minimum. I mean, I'm still replaying the GBA FE games, and I've owned those for years and beaten both of them several times...
Mario Kart Wii (disc only, so no wheel) -- Great game, I'll need to play it more. Very frustrating, but that's Mario Kart (both why I like it and why I hate it...).
Metroid Prime Trilogy -- beat MP1's intro stage, that's it so far.
Wii Sports -- I haven't bothered to play this copy yet.
Wii Sports Resort -- same as above.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies -- Got when I got the system, for $12. A pretty good enhanced version of the great arena shooter. Played it a little, it was worth getting.
MadWorld -- Got when I got the system, for $4. Got because it was so cheap. Only played for half an hour so far. Seems alright. Very violent, obviously.
Download
--
Gradius Galaxies - Fantastic game! It is too bad that it has only five levels and is one player only, but other than that, it's just great. Great 16-bit graphics and sound, good challenge in the later levels (the first two levels on loop 1 Normal are easy, but level 3 gets harder), awesome Gradius gameplay... Gradius is my favorite shmup series, and this game's a very good new title in the series. Highly recommended!
Mega Man 9 -- The game I've played the most so far, along with Fire Emblem. I absolutely love the NES Mega Man games of course, and this one is every bit as great as reviews said. It is really hard, indeed, but it's possible with practice so far, with the help from items in the shop. It's such a great game... I'll get Mega Man 10 eventually for sure, after I've played more of this one and hopefully beaten it. :) At first I had a really hard time getting even halfway in any of the levels, but now I've beaten six or seven of the robot masters... I'm sure the Wily levels will be a nightmare though. :) This game is really so amazing though... a new NES Mega Man game. Who would have thought we'd ever see it? Sure, it's much harder than any NES Mega Man game, but considering that I have actually beaten most of the stages, it's not the hardest Mega Man game I've ever played -- I never even got this far in MM Zero 1, MM&B, or MMX6, to name a few of the hardest Mega Man games I have tried. This game is harder than the NES games, but easier than those three, perhaps in part because of how well they emulate the 8-bit MM games, which, as I said, are easier than the series later became. MM9 requires a lot of precision, but is doable as you learn it. So yes, I, at least, think that going with a NES style for MM9 was a fantastic, fantastic idea. :)
Eduardo the Samurai Toaster -- Had to get it of course... it's good. Has some flaws (a scoring system of some kind would be great, a few other things), but it is good.
... My PC's still the most powerful system I own though, the Wii doesn't come even close to a GeForce 8800...
It's really hard to go back to reading regular newspaper comics after this. They just don't have the same flavor, if you will. Not that reading them before CC wasn't an excruciating pain anyway, of course.
![[Image: cheating-death.jpg]](http://www.maniacworld.com/cheating-death.jpg)
![[Image: crystal-head-vodka.jpg]](http://materialist.netikuller.ee/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/crystal-head-vodka.jpg)
