The 2009 Video Game Thread

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Crackdown 2 coming in late 2010.......

E3: Crackdown 2 trailer - Gamersyde

Can't wait!

New trailer for Demon Souls for PS3 (October U.S. release)......

YouTube - Atlus USA Trailer: Demon's Souls Visceral Action Trailer

Best PS3 game I've played this year.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Some reviews of Scribblenauts are starting to show up and wow are people blown away by this game. Here's a sample:

Scribblenauts | WiiNintendo

Only one more week, can't wait.

[MrDNA]

Geez, I've heard so much about Scribblenauts that I thought it's been out for months. Which, in turn, made me think this was a Wii port of it, which made me very exicted (don't have a DS, and I can't see me spending more money no matter how awesome this game is).

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Some reviews of Scribblenauts are starting to show up and wow are people blown away by this game. Here's a sample:

Scribblenauts | WiiNintendo

I'm probably way too excited for this game.

[RainMaker]

Just finished playing Ghostbusters on the 360. Pretty fun game and having the real voices and a nice storyline brought back some sweet nostalgia. The story mode was kind of short though and I didn't like having to do most of the battles in these alternate universes. There is something fun about catching ghosts in real world environments. I also prefered the ghosts you'd have to capture vs the ones you just blew up.

I'd love to see a Ghostbusters game modeled after GTA or inFamous. An open ended game that lets you drive around at your leisure in Ecto 1 and complete missions with some side ones thrown in.

Fun game though, but doesn't have a real long shelf life.

[whomario]

EA has put up the Demo for both NBA Live and FIFA if anyone´s interested. (only for Gold members for now though) .
Live´s perimeter movement is actually pretty nice ad the DNA scouting report looks very promising and is a potentially great feature, if it weren´t for the atrocious post play and collision engine or if i had money for 2 basketball games ...

FIFA feels great, player movement, ball physique both again improved. It seems that FIFA is the one sports series where they´ve really made a concerted effort moving to a more sim gameplay and FIFA 09 allready was imo better than PES (or is it "Winning Eleven" in the US ? ) and the demo has an awesome feel to it and actually does everything right that made PES great until they went a different course 2,3 editions back (changed movement drastically) .
It´s almost comical that FIFA now literally plays like PES from a few years back (with added things of course) while PES has been getting criticism for the same things people hated on FIFA a few years back.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by whomario

EA has put up the Demo for both NBA Live and FIFA if anyone´s interested. (only for Gold members for now though) .
Live´s perimeter movement is actually pretty nice ad the DNA scouting report looks very promising and is a potentially great feature, if it weren´t for the atrocious post play and collision engine or if i had money for 2 basketball games ...

FIFA feels great, player movement, ball physique both again improved. It seems that FIFA is the one sports series where they´ve really made a concerted effort moving to a more sim gameplay and FIFA 09 allready was imo better than PES (or is it "Winning Eleven" in the US ? ) and the demo has an awesome feel to it and actually does everything right that made PES great until they went a different course 2,3 editions back (changed movement drastically) .
It´s almost comical that FIFA now literally plays like PES from a few years back (with added things of course) while PES has been getting criticism for the same things people hated on FIFA a few years back.

I found the NBA Live demo but can't find the FIFA one.

Was disappointed by NBA Live. I know it's set to a lower level, but I was able to either get a layup or dunk with Kobe every trip down the floor. Liked the crowd reactions but thought some of the animations were slow and choppy. I was under the impression they stole one of the lead developers from 2K but it looks like it'll take some time before his ideas get put in.

[whomario]

just looked it up, FIFA demo won´t be until the 17th in the US. Sorry for teasing ...

[MJ4H]

Can anyone tell me how to make a new user for The Beatles Rock Band? I don't want to play under my wife's name and I can't find anything anywhere to fix this???

(dunno if Wii version will be different from others, but I'll take anything at this point)

[spleen1015]

Anyone else looking forward to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 coming out this week?

[Eaglesfan27]

I just finished Batman this morning and I'd definitely rank it in my top 5 games of all time for the 360. It is a bit on the short side, but the entire game is high quality. I really enjoyed the fighting system in particular, seemingly very simple, but so much fun.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by whomario

just looked it up, FIFA demo won´t be until the 17th in the US. Sorry for teasing ...

Crap. I can say with Madden sucking, I can't wait for this game to come out to get my sports kick.

[Oilers9911]

Any racing fans out there? Dirt 2 is out and I am looking forward to it since Dirt was one of the highly underrated games out there. Also, Need for Speed Shift and Forza Motorsport 3 are on the horizon.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

Any racing fans out there? Dirt 2 is out and I am looking forward to it since Dirt was one of the highly underrated games out there. Also, Need for Speed Shift and Forza Motorsport 3 are on the horizon.

Forget about Gran Turismo 5? It's just as big as before and now has what will apparently be the only NASCAR license on the market. Toss in damage modeling (finally!) and I'm not sure there's a better package for $60.

[Oilers9911]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Forget about Gran Turismo 5? It's just as big as before and now has what will apparently be the only NASCAR license on the market. Toss in damage modeling (finally!) and I'm not sure there's a better package for $60.

Nope. Didn't forget it. I don't have a PS3 which is why I didn't mention it.

[MJ4H]

Pre-ordered Scribblenauts and just got the call that it will be available tomorrow morning. Can't wait!

[sterlingice]

Going to TRU tomorrow to get Scribblenauts. If you get it on Tuesday for $30, you get a $15 gift card

SI

[MJ4H]

I planned on just buying the game and immediately typing 1 million dollars into it and heading to the bank.

foolproof imo

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Forget about Gran Turismo 5? It's just as big as before and now has what will apparently be the only NASCAR license on the market. Toss in damage modeling (finally!) and I'm not sure there's a better package for $60.

IF they toss in other cars that actually seem to be racing you, and an actual sense of speed, and they'll have something.

[Atocep]

I've seen mixed opinions on scribblenauts so I'll take a wait and see with it.

I've seen 2 places (game informer and IGN) say that it's a blast at first and then you realize that the vast majority of the items in the game don't work like you'd expect and you end up using the same small handful of objects to beat each level.

Then again, I've seen reviewers that think the game is simply amazing. Thus, the wait before I purchase.

[sterlingice]

For Scribblenauts, I feel like I've already spoiled myself by seeing some of the crazy stuff people have done and that's why I've stopped trying to read reviews and spoilers. I don't think it can possibly live up to the expectations created by the time machine-dinosaur-robot-zombie thing. That said, I'm definitely going to be getting it tomorrow, particularly with the deal at Toys R Us as that basically makes it a $15 game.

SI

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

For Scribblenauts, I feel like I've already spoiled myself by seeing some of the crazy stuff people have done and that's why I've stopped trying to read reviews and spoilers. I don't think it can possibly live up to the expectations created by the time machine-dinosaur-robot-zombie thing. That said, I'm definitely going to be getting it tomorrow, particularly with the deal at Toys R Us as that basically makes it a $15 game.

SI

Can you use the gift card right then and there to get the game for $15 or do you pay $30 for the game and get to use the gift card the next time you are in the store? It's a bit longer of a drive for me so I rarely shop there but if I can use the gift cards then and there it'd be worth it, I think they're doing a gift card for Mario and Luigi: BIS as well.

[Izulde]

Red Dead Revolver was pretty fun when I rented it, though my roommate at the time beat it and GUN in like 2 days, which sucked the enjoyment and desire to buy them out of me.

And am I the only one who gets pissed off when he sees Uncharted cuz i keep thinking it's a new Uncharted Waters game from KOEI and then it's not?

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Can you use the gift card right then and there to get the game for $15 or do you pay $30 for the game and get to use the gift card the next time you are in the store? It's a bit longer of a drive for me so I rarely shop there but if I can use the gift cards then and there it'd be worth it, I think they're doing a gift card for Mario and Luigi: BIS as well.

I called TRU and they told me the gift card doesn't activate for something like six hours after it's issued. Basically this deal does not make Scribblenauts a $15 game but rather is useful only if you know you'll return to TRU for a future purchase.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I called TRU and they told me the gift card doesn't activate for something like six hours after it's issued. Basically this deal does not make Scribblenauts a $15 game but rather is useful only if you know you'll return to TRU for a future purchase.

Yeah, been like that for a while. Bright side, you could use it to get the new Mario & Luigi for $20!

[MJ4H]

Picked up Scribblenauts today and have already laughed pretty hard though I've only played it for about 15 minutes. I did get a free hat like the kid in the game wears (kind of a rooster comb thing) with it.

[Big Fo]

The puzzles are pretty good so far, the difficulty has ramped up after some really easy levels which was one of my concerns going in.

I'm having too much fun with the sandbox mode, seeing what kinds of dinosaurs are best at fighting and then killing the winner with the help of a stealth bomber.

[Calis]

Played a couple hours of Scribblenauts. Overall I'm enjoying it, but it does have some major annoyances. The controls are pretty awful, and the auto-resetting of the camera back on Maxwell drives me INSANE. Extremely frustrating and I almost wonder if the game would be better served by not having an on screen protagonist.

It is an absolute blast coming up with words and testing them out and trying different interactions. I don't know how long the new shine will last, but it's made me laugh several times already. It's definitely a game I'd show off to people not into gaming either.

The advanced mode or whatever it's called on the challenges makes things a bit tougher and is fun. Makes you think outside the box a bit.

[MJ4H]

Seconded on the controls. I've been pretty frustrated several times. That's one I didn't see coming.

[Big Fo]

I wish you could just move Maxwell around with the d-pad and use L + the d-pad and/or the face buttons for the camera. That might not work with the menu for using objects being stylus controlled but d-pad and buttons could work for that too.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Seconded on the controls. I've been pretty frustrated several times. That's one I didn't see coming.

I'm having a blast with the game but will agree that the controls can be frustrating at times.

I just created a blowtorch to melt a block of ice, then created a tranquilizer gun to put a bear to sleep and then created a parachute to descend slowly to pick up a star on a ledge. While that level was a lot of fun it took two or three tries to get the taps just right to make sure I went right to the edge of the ledge and not right over. I keep pressing the arrow keys out of habit thinking that I might be able to have more control over Maxwell with them. The game is blast but the omission of any sort of non-touch control option seems a big one after just a few hours of play.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I'm having a blast with the game but will agree that the controls can be frustrating at times.

I just created a blowtorch to melt a block of ice, then created a tranquilizer gun to put a bear to sleep and then created a parachute to descend slowly to pick up a star on a ledge. While that level was a lot of fun it took two or three tries to get the taps just right to make sure I went right to the edge of the ledge and not right over. I keep pressing the arrow keys out of habit thinking that I might be able to have more control over Maxwell with them. The game is blast but the omission of any sort of non-touch control option seems a big one after just a few hours of play.

I got that one in two objects by using a flamethrower to melt the ice and attack the bear, knocking it off the cliff down to near the other bear who then killed him before parachuting down.

It's annoying when the character moves when you want to drag a small object over but you miss by a pixel.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Seconded on the controls. I've been pretty frustrated several times. That's one I didn't see coming.

I saw the review on IGN and that was their big complaint. Considering how much they absolutely love the game, they still gave it an 8.7, I think- and that 1.3 they lost is based almost solely on the controls.

SI

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I got that one in two objects by using a flamethrower to melt the ice and attack the bear, knocking it off the cliff down to near the other bear who then killed him before parachuting down.

It's annoying when the character moves when you want to drag a small object over but you miss by a pixel.

The level where that (and the controls) really started to annoy me was the ramp-bicycle level early on. Each time I missed by a little or Maxwell got off the bike or didn't quite get far enough or... whatever, I had to move the ramp, get him to jump just right to get back up that hill, and then start all over. And I had to do that at least 10 times.

That said, I absolutely love playing through some of the levels the extra 3 times to get the gold stars. For instance, on the farm animals one- I started out simple with like cow, pig, and chicken. And the next 3 were pretty easy, too- horse, dog, and cat or something. But then you start running out of the really obvious farm animals and before long you have a screen with an ox, a llama, an emu, a duck, a goose, a rabbit that the farmer gores with his pitchfork, and a host of other stuff because some of them count and some don't

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I know there's some fans of Final Fantasy Tactics on this board. Just wanted to mention that it was released on the Playstation Network yesterday for $9.99 and can be downloaded and played on the PSP or PS3. Really fun strategy game if you weren't lucky enough to play it.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Really fun strategy game if you weren't lucky enough to play it.

Dare I say one of the best stories in a video game ever.

[spleen1015]

Is it the original PS1 FFT?

[Ramzavail]

Originally Posted by Neon_Chaos

Dare I say one of the best stories in a video game ever.

Second that. Plus the jobs are awesome.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Is it the original PS1 FFT?

Yes it is. It's actually a good deal at $9.99. I believe the used copies sell for more than that due to the demand for it and the relatively low supply. They're pretty hard to find.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Ramzavail

Second that. Plus the jobs are awesome.

Thirded and seconded.

FFT on the PS3... Mmm.

[spleen1015]

I guess I know what I'm playing this weekend.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Thirded and seconded.

FFT on the PS3... Mmm.

I know what I'm playing on my PSP on the 2 hour drive to Columbia for the Mizzou football game.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

Any racing fans out there? Dirt 2 is out and I am looking forward to it since Dirt was one of the highly underrated games out there. Also, Need for Speed Shift and Forza Motorsport 3 are on the horizon.

Definitely plan on picking up Forza Motorsport 3 if it makes a good impression upon renting, loaned Forza 2 from a buddy multiple times and loved it.
It´s amazing how far racing games have come, although the variety and complexity at times is on the edge of too much.

[Oilers9911]

Originally Posted by whomario

Definitely plan on picking up Forza Motorsport 3 if it makes a good impression upon renting, loaned Forza 2 from a buddy multiple times and loved it.
It´s amazing how far racing games have come, although the variety and complexity at times is on the edge of too much.

Yeah, I love FM2. Looking forward to FM3. I rented Need for Speed: Shift and it's pretty good. The sound is excellent and you get a really awesome sense of speed and being on the edge of control while you're in cockpitview. However, the cars handling just seems a little....off to me. Nowhere near as smooth and realistic as Forza. Havingsaid that, Grid remains my favourite racing game. Not as realistic as Forza but just damn fun.

[Jughead Spock]

Picked up MUA2 on release day, being a big fan of MUA and XMLs. Pretty fun, very polished, but feels a little unfinished/rushed. And personally, I'm kinda bummed they basically eliminated the RPG elements.

You pick up 'bonuses' instead of gear, and can only equip 3 for the entire party. The thing keeps resetting you to 'auto-spend' on abilities, and sadly, after a while, you find yourself figuring you may as well leave it there. There's no opening of new abilities or assigning different abilities to different buttons. You have two to start, a third at level 5, a fourth at level 10. The fusions are kinda fun, but a bit unwieldy at times.

I'm also finding it gets a bit mind-numbingly button-mashing easy. I started on the hardest available difficulty, and I've basically quit saving because it's very rare/never that I lose a whole party. Think it's happened twice and I'm 75% through. Re-start from the checkpoint, which is rarely that long ago, and away ya go.

There were complaints about useless powers and weaker characters in previous versions, so they fixed that for sure. Feels pretty much exactly the same no matter which character you're using. The strategy of having a flyer, a tank, etc. is really of no use in this version. Just pick any four and they'll perform as well as any other four. Whether you think that's good or bad, well...

Not to bag on it entirely. It is fun, it is beautiful, and the story's pretty great. Choosing sides pretty much guarantees a replay, and of course, there's all sorts of achievements and things to find. For a Marvel geek like m'self, it's obviously worth owning. If I was just a big fan of XML/MUA, I wouldn't be dying to pick it up right away. Give it a price drop and some DLC, then it should be worthwhile.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Jughead Spock

Picked up MUA2 on release day, being a big fan of MUA and XMLs. Pretty fun, very polished, but feels a little unfinished/rushed. And personally, I'm kinda bummed they basically eliminated the RPG elements.

You pick up 'bonuses' instead of gear, and can only equip 3 for the entire party. The thing keeps resetting you to 'auto-spend' on abilities, and sadly, after a while, you find yourself figuring you may as well leave it there. There's no opening of new abilities or assigning different abilities to different buttons. You have two to start, a third at level 5, a fourth at level 10. The fusions are kinda fun, but a bit unwieldy at times.

I'm also finding it gets a bit mind-numbingly button-mashing easy. I started on the hardest available difficulty, and I've basically quit saving because it's very rare/never that I lose a whole party. Think it's happened twice and I'm 75% through. Re-start from the checkpoint, which is rarely that long ago, and away ya go.

There were complaints about useless powers and weaker characters in previous versions, so they fixed that for sure. Feels pretty much exactly the same no matter which character you're using. The strategy of having a flyer, a tank, etc. is really of no use in this version. Just pick any four and they'll perform as well as any other four. Whether you think that's good or bad, well...

Not to bag on it entirely. It is fun, it is beautiful, and the story's pretty great. Choosing sides pretty much guarantees a replay, and of course, there's all sorts of achievements and things to find. For a Marvel geek like m'self, it's obviously worth owning. If I was just a big fan of XML/MUA, I wouldn't be dying to pick it up right away. Give it a price drop and some DLC, then it should be worthwhile.

Agreed. For me personally, XML2 was the best game in this series of games. This game is fun, but there are quite a few things I would change.
Everybody just seems the same. I do enjoy using Deadpool's alternate costume and I'll play thru it again, but they really just keep oversimplifying these games.

Another knock on the game for me, maybe it's because I'm a casual comic book fan, is that there are too many people in the game I don't know at all.

[Cringer]

I have no idea what games you people are taling about. Though I do enjoy HDUWMNDHSWUYDTUYATWTSTD, fantastic game.

[ColtCrazy]

Since I ended up getting Madden someplace else, I switched my Madden reserve money to Lego Indiana Jones 2. My son loved the first one.

I'm not sure how different the levels will be for the first 3 movies, thought the Crystal Skull is in now.

The exciting thing is you are going to get to create your own levels. I think that will make it a lot of fun.

[gstelmack]

MUA = Marvel Ultimate Alliance
XML = X-Men something-or-other-that-starts-with-L

[spleen1015]

X-Men Legends