The console gaming thread

So there's been threads that have kinda gone this direction in the past, but none really dedicated to the subject... I've been getting a lot more into console gaming lately, and I'm just curious how many of you fall into that category. What systems do you own? What games have you played that really stick out? What do you see down the road as must-get?

I got my first console of my life over Christmas, a GameCube, and absolutely love the thing. I have a decent game collection for it already, but the two I've played the most are Beyond Good and Evil and Viewtiful Joe, with Metroid Prime a distant (and regrettable) third. Beyond Good and Evil is simply the best game I have ever played. Such a beautiful stylized setting with relaxing gameplay and a fantastic enjoyable story. Love it. Viewtiful Joe is a real fun one, though I really really suck at it. The time adjusting maneuvers are implemented very well, as they just don't get old and are a genuine way to play the game rather than a cheap unecessary gimmick.

An X-Box is on my must-buy list now with the new price drop, and I'm looking forward to Halo 2, StarCraft: Ghost, and the recently announced Unreal Championship 2. Looks like a really neat twist on the Unreal series that should be great for the console style of play. Ghost I could get on the GameCube when it comes out, but it'll look better on the X-Box. :smile: I'll probably get Beyond Good and Evil for this system as well once I get it, heh.... For $20 on any system, it's worth buying for all of them! :smile:

I also snagged a Dreamcast on E-Bay and picked up the original Soul Calibur as well... good times from that one. My friend has also supplied a NES and SNES emulator, adding something like 1000 games total to the collection, and giving Maggie plenty to do when I'm busy with other tasks. :smile:

Off the top of my head, the best games i've played on consoles (that I can remember)...

GB - Mario Land, Zelda: Link's Awakening
SNES - Zelda III, The Firemen, Super Mario World
DC - Shenmue I & II, Headhunter, Skies Of Arcadia
PS2 - Ico, Ghosthunter, Eyetoy, GTA:VC
GC - Zelda: Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine
GBA - Kuru Kuru Kururin, Metroid (I forget the suffux)

There are more but I don't remember as i'm at work....far far away from my games shelf :wink:

I've got a PS2, and I love the thing.

Recently, I've been playing Disgaea and Silent Hill 3 (which I'm still not sure if I like...). Overall favorite game for the system is Devil May Cry (the original, the sequel doesn't hold a candle to the first).

DMC is one of the best fighting/hack-slash games I've ever played- the control setup is just perfect, the camera only pissed me off one or two times, and the enemies are pretty clever.

The thing I like most about it is the fact that it actually takes different tactics to kill different enemies- whereas in most fighting games, getting the best weapon is key. But in DMC, EVERY weapon has a specialized function, and works best against different creatures/bosses.

I've also got a GBA, and that thing is pretty nice. I bought Final Fantasy Tactics for it, and was pretty disappointed. It's a nice game, but isn't nearly as fun to play as the original for PSX. The Castlevania series fot it is pretty nice, too. Aria of Sorrow being the top of those.

I still can't kill that big-arsed camp spider near the start of Devil May Cry :sad: Though Devil May Cry 2 is really easy...go figure

Hmm, I haven't bought a console game for a long time...though recently, I did complete MGS: 2 again, as I had forgotten how the whole thing turned out. I still love that damn game to bits, and although the plot made little sense on the first run through (everything was just moving too fast), playing through a few other times really helps you to understand everything. I think there's only one thing that I don't yet understand, and I beleive this is left vague and unexplained for a reason.

And the suprise twist at the end of the credits doesn't count :razz:

Really, the only other console games I was really looking forward to were the new Legacy of Kain and Jak 2. The PS2 fails to excite me as much anymore. Bring on MGS 3. :biggrin: I have been considering getting a GameCube however, as a lot of the exclusives just look so damned yummy (hell, I'd get it simply for Resident Evil 4 next year). And with the price continually dropping, I may end up getting one during the summer. I refuse to obtain an X-Box though, because I fail to see what's so special about it.

Harvest Moon on Gameboy. Genius!

AND A NEW ONE SOON! :biggrin:

Golden Sun and Golden Sun book 2 were my favs on GBA

My Gamecube collection:
Eternal Darkness, Beyond Good and Evil, Mario Sunshine, Rebel Strike, Smuggler's Run Warzones, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil, Lost Kingdoms, Lost Kingdoms II, Timesplitters 2, F-Zero GX, PSO Ep. 1 and 2, Bomberman Generations, Animal Crossing, Super Monkey Ball, Godzilla: DAMM, Pikmin, and Luigi's Mansion.

Damn I love this console.

TBH though, Im getting rid of my consoles, including GBA, 'cept for the original Nintendo. Old school! :biggrin:

I dont have the money for consoles, having to change them every 3 years or so. Whereas computers, all you have to do is upgrade parts. Of course, though, lately there have been fairly larger upgrades, SATA hard drives and the AMD 64bit chips.. And soon to come, so I've heard, are SATA optical drives, some sort of PCI2 slot, and a new type of 3D video card?

Anyways, that was a lil off topic. Sorry.

Hmm, well KFS, you'll probably be sorry you asked but ... here we go (Good games, a.k.a. most memorable, are yellow)

Nintendo:
Mario Brothers
Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt
Super Mario Brothers 3
Metriod
River City Ransom
The Legend of Zelda
TMNT2
Dragon Warrior I
Dragon Warrior II
Nightmare on Elm Street
Batman
Donkey Kong
720
Final Fantasy
Metal Gear

SNES:
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2
Super Metroid
Donkey Kong Country
Super Catslevania IV
Maximum Carnage
Mortal Kombat 2
Ultimate MK 3
A Link to the Past
Mario Paint
Chrono Trigger

Sega Genesis:
Taz-mania
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Batman: Revenge of the Joker
Primal Rage
Sonic
Sonic 2
Sonic 3D Blast
Mortal Kombat
MK 3
Golden Axe II
Altered Beast
Street Fighter II Champion's Edition
X-Men
X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Phantasy Star III

N64:
Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend Of Zelda: Majoras Mask
Super Smash Brothers
Goldeneye
MK Trilogy
Mario 64

Saturn:
D
Astal
Area 51
BUG!

Dreamcast:
Shemnu
Sonic Adventure 2
Grandia II
D2
Skies of Arcadia

Playstation:
Lunar
Lunar 2
Arc The Lad I-III
Metal Gear Solid
Xenogears
Chrono Cross
FFVII
FFIX
FFAnthology
FFChronicals
Dragon Warrior VII
Silent Hill
Tales of Destiny
Wild Arms
Wild Arms 2
Suikoden

Many many more RPGs and some action games.

PS2:
Onimusha
Onimusha 2
Ratchet and Clank
Sly Cooper
Suikoden III
Tekken 4
Devil May Cry
Xenosaga
Castlvania: Lament of Innocence
Simpsons: Hit and Run
ICO
Kengo
Klonoa 2
Soul Reaver 2
Summoner

GameCube:
Viewtiful Joe
Super Smash Brothers Melee
Metroid Prime
Lugies Mansion
Super Mario Sunshine
Legend Of Zelda: The Windwaker

GBA:
Lunar Legends
Fire Emblem
Sword of Mana
Metroid Fusion
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Whew, that's most of them ....

I'm looking forward to Onimusha 3, that will be awesome. Other then that and Kengo 2, I really don't care about other things that are coming out besides on computer.

Wild Card said:
Golden Sun and Golden Sun book 2 were my favs on GBA

Amen.

eh, the current generation of consoles do not interest me too much. They all have their moments, but they just can't handle my kinds of games (FPS, turn-based strategy, RTS). If I wanted to play a platform game I would fire up my NES and play Mario 3, and if there was a real game I would want to play I would wait until the port (GTA3, VC). But I must say, the Nin64 rules all!

I am however tempted to buy Xbox, just so I could have Halo2 and the ability to replay Halo on legendary whenever I felt like it.

The only current system I have at home is my brother's Gamecube with:
Mario Kart DD -- A total waste. The series devolved back into the Super Nintendo version instead of building on the 64 one. Plus more gimmicks please, I don't think we have enough here!
Animal Crossing -- Pure brilliance. Oh Olivia, why won't you fall in love with young Yak?
Metroid Prime -- Hey I played this game, it's called Super Metroid. I know it's got the same items, the same introduction, the same areas, the same puzzles (oh, another wrecked spaceship that's underwater, requires you to get the Gravity Suit before you can do anything, and is out of power requiring you to start up the generator? ORIGINAL!), the same everything, but its in 3D! Don't you understand? 3D! And to make sure you get it, we're going to hold your hand the whole way by pointing out exactly where to go and how to get there.
Zelda: The Wind Waker -- Oh boy, the cel-shading revolution. :rolleyes: Let's take the most entertaining part of Zelda games (wandering around the countryside exploring) and remove it by adding water everywhere. Everyone loves water!
SSBM -- Kick ass. Dr. Mario and Mr. Game and Watch will triumph over all.
Luigi's Mansion -- Sorry, I never touched it.
Super Mario Sunshine -- After the horribly bitter taste of Mario 64 still on my mind I had to pass. Why get indigestion twice?
Rogue Squadron -- Star Wars used to be cool, and this game harkens back to such a time. Too bad it's basically the same as the 64 one.
Madden 2003 -- Football's good.
NFL Blitz -- Football's good, I guess?

Actually, now that I think about it, the Gameboy may just be the best system there is. The best Metroid game, the best Zelda game, Tetris, Kirby, portability, crazy and cool colors... damnit, games were better when I was a kid.

GOLDENEYE!!!

The only console FPS I've enjoyed playing. My sister has a PS2, plays harry potter games pretty much all the time she's using it. PS2 games here consist of various racing games (V8 supercars, WRC etc.) harry potter (bleh) and a James Bond one. I played the Bond one (not sure what its called) to see what its like, I sort-of got into it but not nearly to the extent of Goldeneye (I think the N64 controls are better for FPS).

I prefer PCs, mainly because I prefer FPS games, and I like to be able to upgrade (same reason I dont like macs).

Adam Hawkins said:
I still can't kill that big-arsed camp spider near the start of Devil May Cry :sad: Though Devil May Cry 2 is really easy...go figure

I used all 4 of my yellow ords (the extra life type things) on him, and then beat him on my last try and saved. I am so bloody stupid :sad: That level is so short I'd have been better just reloading each time I failed! My flatmate beat him first time after me telling him it was a tricky boss :biggrin: Funny thin is, he decided not to save as he then missed out a bouns mission, and now he can't seem to beat the thing!

Anyways, I'm sure most of you have heard me gloat about my console setup in my flat, but if not, here goes again!

Xbox
20+ Games
Rigged up to the 28" TV

Game Highlights
Jet Set Radio Future
Project Gotham Racing 1 & 2
Soul Calibur 2
Amped 1 & 2
KOTOR
Burnout 2
Rallisport Challenge
Otogi
Halo
Conflict Desert Storm 2 (in 4 player co-op, great fun)
Splinter Cell 1 & 2
Crimson Skies
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Dynasty Warriors 3

To be honest, pretty much my whole collection, this is my favourite console by a huge margin.

PS2
20 Games?
Rigged up to 28" TV

Game Highlights
ICO
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Wishes it was ICO though :wink: )
Grandia 2
Chaos Legion (So hard it can be tear inducing, but better than DMC imo)
FFX-2 (most people would prefer X, but for some reason I don't)

I'm having trouble thinking of others actually, most of the games I've bought have been disappointing :sad: ICO has given me hope though, its just so damn good. I was frequently awe-striken by the attention to detail in the graphics. For example, when running across the huge pipes near the bottom of the castle, the way the water can be seen running over its surface. This effect is only used in one place and most games wouldn't bother with if for such a select area, but they did, and its fabulous. GET THIS GAME.

Gamecube
10 Games
Rigged to 28" TV

Game Highlights
Mario Kart DD (AMAZING in 4 player! Damn Choch and his double monkey team, giant bananas everywhere!!!)
Super Smash Brothers Melee (Not great, but a good laugh in 4 player)
Resident Evil (Impressive remake)
Resident Evil 0 (Not finished it, but its a nice twist on RE)

As the GC is my flatmates as opposed to mine, I've not really bothered playing too many games. Viewtiful Joe looks like fun but apparently its uber-hard, and Zelda - The Wind Waker looked great and my flatmate loved it, but I saw the thing from start to end already. I'm going to buy P.N.03 somtime, what do people think of it?

Dreamcast
30ish Games
Rigged up to 28" TV

Game Highlights
Jet Set Radio
Metropolis Street Racer
Shenmue 1 & 2
Powerstone 2 (superior to SSBM imo, not to my flatmates :sad: )
Soul Calibur

Quite a few other great games but I forget them at the moment, been a while since I've played most of them.

PS1
40 Games
Rigged to 14" TV

Game Highlights
Final Fantasy VII, VIII & IX
Vagrant Story (One of the best games ever, imo)
Front Mission 3
Parasite Eve 2
Resident Evil series
V-Rally 2 (fun multiplayer)

Bit long in the tooth but still perhaps my favourite console of all time, mostly due to Squaresoft's contributions. Vagrant Story, Front Mission 3, and Final Fantasy VII as 3 of the best games ever as far as I'm concerned, and while FFVIII and FFIX weren't as good, they were still great games.

N64
10 Games
Rigged to 14" TV

Game Highlights
Goldeneye
1080 Snowboarding
Zelda - Ocarina Of Time
Zelda - Majora's Mask

Never been a huge N64 fan personally, but my flatmate brought on in anyway and its a welcome addition I guess. Goldeneye is a masterpiece, but most of the other games I've enjoyed on the console in the past he doesn't own.

Megadrive
15 Games
Rigged to 14" TV

Game Highlights
Sonic series
Streets of Rage?

Not a retro person really, so I don't much care for the megadrive anymore. It was great in its day but people who don't think games have moved on in gameplay are kidding themselves. My flatmate has a columns addiction for some reason though :S

Anyway, thats the lot I think. Choch should be adding a SNES to the collection reasonably soon, and I'm tempted to get a Saturn (only about ?5 on ebay!). Sorry for the length of this, got a bit excessive!

i confess, i had nintendo thumb once..

hmz ... let's see.

Goldeneye was good, Mario Kart (also 64) provided great fun, the Crash Bandicoot series, Metal Gear Solid, Mortal Combat (button bashing), Syphon Filter (especially multiplayer thingy), Halo ...

First games I can remember :smile:

Super Mario Sunshine -- After the horribly bitter taste of Mario 64 still on my mind I had to pass. Why get indigestion twice?

This might surprise you, or not. But Mario Sunshine is incredibly fun. It's basically what mario 64 should have been. And I think Mario 64 was a pretty big hunk of crap, I mean it has it's moments ... but they're few and far between. Mario Sunshine (as most GameCube games) are getting back to 'hard-core' gammers. I think the Dreamcast started that up again. With games like Mario Sunshine (try to get 100% ... HARD) and Ikaruga, the system is developing nicely.

As for overall I'd say I love my GBA the most at the moment (besides my computer, duh), just because it has what I loved about video games in the first place. Fun games with decent graphics ... They don't usually impress me. I love the simplicity of most GBA games and how they usually turn out to not be very simple. (Same reason why I like ICO so much.)

Mmmm... Ikaruga. Mmmm... Never played the dreamcast version, but the GC version is pure pain. And I love it!

Finally picked up Super Smash Bros. Melee today, as well as a Wavebird and an Indigo controller for Maggie. :smile: She got herself Finding Nemo as well, how cute. :smile:

Dreamcast version was only in Japan ... and only in Japanese :sad:

I still need to buy it, but damn I've never had my ass kicked so fast in a game before ... on easy. What a great game :smile:

Oh man, I loved Syphon FIlter. I need to get the 3rd one. Must know what happens!

I hate it when a plot doesn't neatly conclude in a game, like Syphon FIlter or Legacy Of Kain. Gah.

Or XIII - sodding awful ending....ooh wait...we didn't have time to finish the game so we'll cut it short and make you buy the second half (at full price) next year :wink:

did i mention, i had nintendo thumb once? :heee:

/runs giggling