Invader_dag

so the innovation that Sony is bringing to the handheld market is... better graphics? i love the GBA, becuase it has a good "old school" feel to it, but there are alot of fun games on it. I haven't played a game in many years that, except Half-Life 2 because of the great cinematic moments, that i would call innovative. and it certainly has come from Sony, who is content to push whatever is popular as long as it sells their hardware.

Yeah, the beginning of Mario Sunshine has ALOT of talking in it. But after you go to the first stage, it's all about jumping on stuff and punching bad guys. I've seen WarioWorld around here for $20, is it worth it? And is it that you don't like RPGs and such because they are slow? or just not when it's related to Mario?

Developers aren`t just begining press the limits of the X-box, they already have. it`s reached it's limit in terms of graphics. please, correct me if i'm wrong X-Box tech knowing people, but the box has a 700 mhz processor running in it, and a modified nVidia Gforce 3(or is it 4?). in both instances, the hardware is old, even for when it was first released, it wasn't blazing fast compared to even mid range PCs. Doom 3 isn't going to be near as pretty as it was on PC, and neither will Half-Life 2. We all saw the graphical flaws in Halo 2, do you think that came from an under-developed product? i personally thought it looked it awful in the cutscenes, and alright in the outdoor envirmoents. I think that 5 years between the release of new hardware is a good timespan. It could actually due to be a little shorter to keep the technology up to date, but the prices wouldn't work. I sound like a hypocrite talking about technology and graphics when all i want is good gameplay. but i was just referring to graphical capabilities this whole time, since thats what it seems the industry is worried about nowadays

could someone tell me any other way the mario formula from the NES and SNES days could be translated into 3d? and how much different would it be then Mario 64 or Mario Sunshine? it`s still a platformer, you still jump on things, you still get different abilities. the only thing different is that instead of running from point A to B, you collect things along the way. but that isn't even all that different, you had to collect things in Yoshi's Island. I fail to see how someone can have a problem with a series growing, typically, people would complain that it doesn't. I am a die hard Nintendo fan. not only because they released great games all through my childhood. It is because they are to this day releasing great games. I own a GBA, GC, N64, SNES, NES and even a Virtual Boy. I've also owned every version of Gameboy. if you add up the price of all of that, it comes out to about $1,000, over the course of almost 20 years. I'd say that isn't to bad of an investment, considering everthing works perfect, and all the games i had for the Gameboy and Gameboy Color still work on my GBA, i think that is a very good price for the use i got out of everything. I will stop loving Nintendo when they stop making fun games. But in my opinion, they haven't done anything to make me think they will any time soon

don't get me wrong, i think the PS2 has some good games, that are really tempting me to get one. but i have yet to see an example of a game that appeals to me as much as the first party games on GameCube. and there is no way i'm going to willingly spend as much money as i did on an X-Box, for a technically inferior piece of hardware. and the X-Box opens up emulation options since it has more than enough power.

the moving parts failing is an accepted problem with mechanical things. I work at a computer/IT company, and i have encountered over a hundred, in less than a year, of broken floppy drives, hard drives, and cd-cdr-dvd drives, all of which were screwed inside a case that didn't move much and wasn't dropped(most of them atleast), or had liquids spilled on them(most of them atleast), or anyother things that would affect usage. but they still die, and quite frequently. Iomega Zip drives were notorius for dying, and some blamed it on the movement speed for the writing head. and Zip drives have only been around about 8 or 9 years now. It's just like how a car, without appropiate service being done, would quit working after awhile. unless you are taking apart your console and oiling all the little things the move, making sure none of the contacts are corroded and removing all the dust, then it is going to fail at some point. why do you think PC hardware list's it service hours? true it may be in the thousands of hours range, but it still means that sooner or later, it'll die. I think it's unacceptable of sony to use obvisouly inferior products, and then when a problem arises, simply rebuild the unit, sell it in a newbox, and let the warranty claims roll in. if it hadn't happened with the PSX and PS2, then i wouldn't think anything of the PSP having flaws.

I wasn't refering to any of their ports being original. or launch titles for that matter. I was meaning that i think the PSP will suffer from the biggest problem of the PS2 IMHO. Too many crappy games that are just clones of an older game that was praised originally. The reason why i'm not nuts about the PSP is because i haven't used one yet. and because of that, the things i have read is the only thing i`m going on. And i don't like what i've heard. But there is basically no game for either portable i can`t live with out. but the DS does have some coming in the future that i would like to get, whereas the PSP seems just like a toned down, portable PS2, minus the good controller. and there is still no killer app for it. I still may be won over by the PSP, but right now, i'm not leaning towards it, or anything for that matter

my problems with Sony stem from the experiance of owning the one thing of theirs that i do; the PSX. i got mine in 98, which was a red box or whatever they were calling the new model back then. and it still died 2 years later. completely died. only system i've ever had die on me before. But i also tend to believe that it is not their product, but just the fact that with all those moving parts, something is probably going to go bad at some point. I personally am not quite sure about either the DS or PSP. I'm leaning towards DS because it plays GBA games, has Nintendo made games, and i think will have some more innovative software. and the battery life is much better. I read on IGN(I hate them, i really do) that their battery tests for the PSP came out to be about 2 1/2 hours play time with brightness turned up decently high, and multiplayer running. It was also said that battery life was about 5 or maybe 6 hours for low light, regular gaming. I may have got those numbers completely wrong, but if anyone is interested, i'll find a link to it.

Noob Smoke is unlockable, and a couple more characters, but i didn't think they were as cool. you can get the original MK arcade version in the collectors edition for X-Box(maybe PS2 also, dunno though). you get better stuff playing through thte god awful Konquest mode..... when will there be good voice acting... when?

@ClassicBoy: They should have all the kinks worked out after about 4 revisions, which is standard for a Sony platform. Sorry, but i had to say that. What games are you guys interested in? i haven`t been keeping up, and the only one i`ve seen that i know is Metal Gear

Don't bother with the X-Box version, the GG games are really awful. the only good one is Sonic Chaos, and it isn't fantastic. The unlockables on all the versions are Ristar, The Ooze, Comix Zone, Blue Sphere(Same thing if you put anygame on top of sonic and knuckles), flicky, and sonic 3 and knuckles, and sonic two with knuckles. ht enon-sonic games are there because Sonic Team(before it was called Sonic Team), or other integral members worked on those games. No complaints there though, as Ristar, The Ooze and Comix Zone are some of the best Genesis games ever. and there is no possible way it was a size issue with Sonic CD, because all in all, the games there only took up MAYBE 15 mB. and Sonic cd would only be about 300 mB i think, because it didn't have a 75-80 minute full sound track on it, and the game was probably only 20 mB or so with out the music. Sega just strongly dislikes the Sega CD i feel. but even if it was a space issue, making a second disc is not expensive, considering we can buy DVD's at consumer level for much less then a dollar a piece. On the X-Box version you can save in all the games using save states. i don't know if it's different on the PS2 or GC. Do a search on Gamefaqs.com to find the requirements to unlock which ever game you are trying to. From what i have seen, it is not possible to unlock Comix Zone on the X-Box version inside Mega Collection. You MUST have a save file from Sonic Heroes present on your X-Box hard drive. @Shep: It really bothered me to play MMAC with the controls reversed too, until after about 30 minutes, and it feels completely natural now, i can even play the original way and not miss a beat, and go back and be fine. I've been playing MegaMan games since i was 4 too

both of the Metroid titles are excellent, and as thegamezmaster said, all three Castlevania games are very good too. If you've never played Zelda: Link to the Past, pick up the port, or even if you just aren`t sick of it yet. And check out Zelda: The Minish Cap which is coming out next monday. The Megaman Zero series is great, and a pretty good challenge, some say it is insanely hard but i've never had a problem with it. Metal Slug Advance is a fun game too, but very hard to start off in. even if you have an aversion to Mario, try Yoshi's Island or Warioland 4. both are great games and aren't tied to the Mario formula really. The Sonic Adavance series is also good, but Sonic Adavance 2 has some insane requirements if you want to unlock everything.

Mario Advance 2 (Mario World) or maybe Mario Advance 3(Yoshi's Island), would be my suggestions. They are very good games, and aren`t as difficult as Mario Adavance 4 can be.

Mario one was released as Super Mario Bros. DX for the Gameboy color. And if daughter likes the Disney cartoon Kim Possible, you may want to check out Kim Possible 2. not the first one though, i heard it was really bad. but the second is a very solid game.

i`ve noticed alot of people around here trading in their PS2 old styles for the new ones cause they think there is something different about them techinically. And what i meant about $150 being to high for the old model is due to the lack of the network adapter, and also being an older revision. There really is not lack of any console around here (north Alabama), just the DS really. There are alot of PS2s that have been in the used game stores, and i know the owner of one of them, so maybe they won`t rip me off on and give me a bad console.

actually, i was planning on going the used route anyhow. have you seen anywhere for about $100 with a controller and a/v and power cables? Or is it really a bad idea to get a used one? i`ve heard alot of stories about DRE's being a big problem on PS2s

Are the original design of PS2's being sold anywhere for a lower price? I'm interested in getting one, but I don't really like the new slim ones, and $150 i think for the older model is a bit high. has anyone seen any for discounted prices? thanks for any replies!

ouch, thats a good bit more than i plan on paying. thanks for the info though!

hey everyone, been awhile since i posted in the classic gaming forums. I just got into Castlevania recently, and have been playing every iteration i can get my hands on. but one that i have really enjoyed is the Japanese Turbo CD exclusive Rondo of Blood. I.. "have" the game, and would like to play it on a real system. So i was wondering if there is a regional lock that would prevent you from playing it. And, the biggest question, how much would a good working system with hookups and controllers cost me? Thanks for any help!

Correction: no sonic 2 for gamegear, sonic labyrinth

i was pissed about that too, i chose the X-Box version of Sonic Mega Collection over the GC one cause it said it had six extra gamegear games. I was thinking, awww sweet!! finally get to play triple trouble on a big screen! got it home, and it`s the craptacular Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine(Which they already had the Genesis version on the disc), Sonic Drift(Bleh), Sonic 1 and 2(Which are ok), Sonic Blast (GOD AWFUL), and Sonic Chaos (just about the best for gamegear). They completely missed the Tails games, Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix, and probably some more. I that some of the other games are included in Sonic Adventure DX though, so that may be worth a purchase. All in all, it was worth 20 bucks, even though they could have made it more complete and made it really something, but with the slick menus and extras, it still is pretty good

grrr, no edit, i meant to say citAdel all those times...

!!!SPOILERS!!! I get the feeling Alyx isn`t dead. Or maybe City 17 isn`t exactly what you thought it was. Someone pointed out that the landscape around the citidel at the end was just a picture of new york or seattle that they used as a texture cause they were in a hurry. i really don`t think thats it. In the book, raising the bar, it had a concept drawing of the citidel, and it was clear that the city below looks the same as the finished game. Maybe City 17 isn't on earth? myabe Earth has been rebuilt, and the combine are letting the humans think that they have to live here. remember how the trains are always coming but never leaving? and the trains running through the citidel? Also, in the level Water Hazard, there is a hidden vortigaunt(One eyed creatures that can use electricity freely), that tells you some very interesting things. He mentions the your defeating the Nihilanth(sp) in the first Half-Life, and how they knew that if the lesser master was destroyed, the greater would be destroyed in time. He also go's on to say that they were sleeping in the void as you were, and that they are the same. I think thats how he puts it, can`t quite remember. If you want to see that part for yourself, it`s right after you fight the helicopter(that drops a ton of mines) in the airboat, you go and open the gate, get back in the airboat, and head straight. You'll see a concrete structure, with two grates covering two large drain pipes on your left. Go through the one on your left, it's slightly ajar, you'll have to leap from the beach to get up there. there is toxic sludge on the ground here, so you'll have to either have close to full health, or do leaps to get through. the pipe will be broken towards the end, on the left side, go through and you'll see him. Turn on subtitles if they aren't already, he is hard to understand at times. And continue pressing the use key every time he stops speaking. he says about 30 unique things. Some very interesting stuff. And about waiting another 6 years... I remember gabe saying in an interview that he doesn't think games will progress any farther on current hardware, that there will have to be a huge revolutionary step forward before you see something with more realism or immersion. And also i heard that they plan to use the source engine to do HL3. Which, HL2 on was in developement for about 2 years, the rest was building the engine and laying out the story. And they even had a couple more projects they were working on at the same time. I'm thinking it'll probably take the 2 years atleast, 3 at most. Anyway, HL2 Deathmatch is going to make the wait alot easier... no to mention the mods

@Radio F Software: It`s actually microsoft's fault, the never made drivers past win 9x for the gameport version of the sidewinder pad. I was hoping to find some user made, but didn`t. I always hated the d-pad on it, just like with the early X-Box controllers. @goatdan: Yeah, Compgeeks is great!! my boss ordered some server parts from them a few months back and it was at a really good price. That is also really cheap for CD storage. I`m slowly starting to think a usb converter would be the best way to go... Is there a gamecube to usb adapter that works pretty well? I was thinking about getting one of those SNES style Hori(sp) Gamecube pads for MegaMan AC and the Gameboy player, and this would only make it better. I found some usb adapters for old SNES controllers, but all my SNES controllers just about don't work anymore...

i just don`t care for any of the current console's controller d-pads. I thought about using one of the converted SNES controllers, but i would rather just have a dedicated PC pad