Games of all Kinds

Sorry, not big on the fighting games. Only one I ever played that I totally was addicted to for like 2 days was Killer Instinct back on the Super NES system. Which the only other game for the Super NES that I totally dug was FFIII. So, while I'd like to help you. I can't really. I do suggest a few sites that you can go to for cheats. I'm thinking I can't post them here on this board so I'll send them via PM.


M

Suikoden III

Dwayne got beat down like a rented mule by a colorfully decorated set of 7 truly demented if not blissfully happy rabid lawn gnomes. I'm still laughing. Anyway, I'm almost finished with the game maybe 10 hours left and I'm going to say it's the best game I've played since FFX. If you haven't picked it up and have time to waste. I highly recommend it without reservation.

I'm still reserving any final evaluation until I'm finished. However, it's got an amazing story and that is always a good thing in any game.


M

I'm sorry, I haven't been paying very close attention. Is Suikoden a fighting game or a RPG?

It's an RPG.

Feh.

I'm having Gamecube problems.

Last week friday I tried to turn on my Gamecube and the power wouldn't come on. I consulted the troubleshooting section of the Nintendo website. They suggesting unplugging it for a couple minutes and then plugging it back in again. The AC adaptor has some sort of built in surge protector that will click the power off if there's surge. To reset it you just uplug everything for a minute or two. So, I do that and then my Gamecube starts right up. Great! Problem solved, so I think. I note that the AC adaptor port on the Gamecube feels a bit loose. Hmmmmmm.

Saturday morning the same thing happens, it won't turn on unless I unplug it for a little while first. Very odd, it shouldn't have been getting any power surges since it was plugged into a power strip. The cube starts up I play some Metroid. After about a half hour the power cuts out. Grrr... Again I consult the Nintendo website. Possible problems include faulty power supply, internal Gamecube problems, and overheating. The console feels warm to the touch, but not hot.

I vacuumed out the vents and relocated the cube further off the floor to an area with more ventilation. I turned it on, 5 minutes later it turns itself off. I vacuum out the vents once more, this time with a more powerful vacuum and turn it on again. I check to make sure the case fan is turning, it is. It turns itself off again within a minute. Gah!

I unpluged everything and let it sit all week. Last night I decided to give it one more shot, just in case the console has miraculously healed itself during the week. Yeah, *ahem* because electronics can heal themselves. Anyway, it lasted a whole hour and a half before doing the spontaneous shutdown. Long enough for me to get out of the firey cavern in Metroid Prime and into the big snowy valley. Wow, what a sight!

So, it seems I need to get my Gamecube fixed. I was a dummy and didn't send in my warranty / registration card. I searched throughout the apartment for it in vain, no card. Looks like I'll be doing the repairs on my own nickel. According to the Nintendo website there are a couple places in town that fix Gamecubes, this is good. If there wasn't, then my only other alternative would be to send it in for factory repair which according to the website is a flat $75 fee. Half the price of a new cube! So, I'll be taking my cube in to get fixed this weekend. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.


The moral of this long winded story? Register your game consoles!

Did you try a new adapter? Those things are prone to go way faster than the cube itself. You might want to give that a whirl first. Who knows? It's what I'd do anyway.


M

I didn't think of that. I'll pick up a new one after work and see if that helps.

Our gamecube shut down a few weeks ago while playing Metroid as well. To best avoid overheating, keep it in an open space and not on rug or carpet, something like wood or metal is better. Other than that, not sure what to do to avoid overheating. I would agree with Marcy's suggestion to try replacing the power pack first.

Dwayne

I actually keep mine on top of my GameCube box. Keeps it off the carpet and well-ventilated.

Well, I broke down and bought a gamecube from Best Buy last week. Lucky for me I didn't open it, so now I can return it and re-purchase it at Circuit City, which has it ten bucks cheaper plus a free game (which wll be Metroid Prime). But now Dawn has me worried. I refuse to purchase any sort of store-provided warranty (I have had terrible experiences with these warranties). Would the factory warranty cover such problems? Need I be so concerned? What's the consensus?

Jason

As a rule, I know that through all the game systems we've purchased (and I mean all from SNES, Dreamcast, N64, XBOX, PS, PS2, GBA so I really do mean all) we've never purchased a warranty and (knocking on wood) we've never had a problem so I guess I wouldn't worry too much about it. Up until now, I haven't really heard that Dawn's problem was a major defect. BTW Dawn, did you try out a new cord?

However, I'd like to remind you that Knights of the Old Republic is coming out for Xbox and that game is going to be the bomb. I'm assuming the purchase was to get your hands on Rogue Leader and Bounty Hunter which are both very fine games as well.

Here's another thing we were talking about at the uh usual place. Most of us purchase games however, sometimes like just recently there was a virtual buffet of games out there, so many that it's impossible to keep up with the titles. Maybe folks would be interested in doing some lending/borrowing so that we can play games without having to purchase EVERYTHING.

Just a thought.

M

No, I couldn't find a power supply yesterday, but I only checked the local videogame store, the KMart next to it, and Record Head. I'll hit the malls tonight to see what I can find. If all else fails I can always order one from the Nintendo website.

I wouldn't worry about power issues with the Gamecube Jason, I just looked at the Nintendo website and the warranty is good for a year. It seems to cover everything. The full text is here: Gamecube Warranty

I do think that my problem is a bit unusual. I did several searches of the net and couldn't find anything about any widespread Gamecube power problems. What I did run into was complaint after complaint about XBox and PS2 problems. However, no one I know has ever had any real significant problems with those consoles. It's probably like anything else, a few bad ones get through, parts can fail. As long as you register your console you should be fine.

Whew! Thanks, guys!

Okay, Suikoden III...we finished the game. After almost 80 hours of play and collection of 108 characters we've finished. This game is not for everyone, it's for die hard RPG fans. It's amazingly deep with a phenomenal method of story telling called the Trinity system. Anyway, I've probably mentioned it a few times in this thread. I loved this game. Loved it completely except the map weirdness which I finally got over. Anyway, I'll let Dwayne rate this beast...

For anyone that played Suikoden II, you'll notice a few things. First, you can load your S II data if you still have it, this will affect a few minor things, but adds a nice touch (or so I've read, Marcy and I deleted our data years ago). The second thing is that some of the funnier things, like the cook off, Iron-chef parody, are gone. I liked that part, mostly because pudding was an unstoppable culinary delight apparently. The third major difference is that although additional shops and things will appear around the castle, the castle itself does not get larger, and it never seems to get repaired.

But as Marcy mentioned, the trinity system was added allowing you to play different characters: three main characters, one goofy character you play when you like, one minor character that has more "fun" adventures than serious and the final character upon completion of the main game. Through playing the three main ones, you realize that not everything is as the original character you played saw it. Later in this game this system isn't as dominating, but still entertaining.

The main thing to note in this review is that we played it for almost eighty hours. That means two things: it's a long game and it's worth playing for that long.

It's not a Final Fantasy game in terms of graphics, plot depth or mini games, but with the side quest of gathering all the stars, land battles and duels, it's got a lot to offer. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a good long RPG.

Graphics: 8 (good lighting effects, nice cartoony style characters and cute donkeys)

Plot: 9 (mostly because of the trinity system. While the plot isn't as complicated as an FF one, this might be a good thing)

Playability: 8 (The system is pretty smooth, especially with things like being able to train, arm and tutor characters in your castle that aren't in your current party. Points lost for the somewhat irritating map system)

Overall: 9

Dwayne

Gamecube update: It's working! I got a new AC adapter and that seemed to fix it. I played metroid for three hours tonight with no problems. Thanks for the advice on that!

Very cool. Glad to hear it. And Metroid Prime is a darned good way to spend three hours.

M


Meanwhile, I've broken down and purchased Skies of Arcadia Legends and pre-sells for Legend of Zelda Windwalker (plus the bonus Ocarina of time hoot!), and Final Fantasy Orgins. A moment of irresponsibility means hours and hours of playtime...

Now I just have to trade in to get Black Stone.

I believe I've become an EQ widow. I once was deliriously happy with the perfect mate for my weird a$$ self. Yet I believe I'll be finding that the game has shattered my happy little life...

Alright, I'm kidding. Dwayne picked up Everquest for PS2 and is playing online. From what I can tell it's extremely addicting considering that he must have played for at least 8-9 hours and while he kept saying, "Are you sure you don't want to do anything else?" There was a hopeful tone in his voice that in fact I wasn't interested in doing anything else. And I wasn't for the record but he likes it. I figure if anyone else is in for the questing/leveling stuff this is probably something to check out. It's like $10.00 bucks a month to play. I imagine just as soon as something else comes out he'll set it aside, I just figured I'd post.


M

Xenosaga...it's got some beautiful graphics. I can't tell you about playability because someone here is addicted to Evercrack.


*sigh*

M

Marcy, I heard that some of the cutscenes are around 30 minutes long in that. I've gotta finish up FFX before even thinking about picking that one up though.

I picked a Gameboy Advance SP last night. One of the Platinum ones. I am very pleased with my purchase! Apparently the official release date isn't till Sunday, but most places seem to be selling them as soon as they're getting them.

This is a portable game system I can actually see myself taking with me when I go places. I was suprised at how tiny the thing is. One could quite easily fold it up and put it in a shirt pocket. The screen is the same size though as the previous Gameboy Advance. And the light! Sweet beautiful lighted screen! The first thing I did when I fired it up was turn off the lights in the apartment. You can play it in total darkness, no problem.

One interesting thing to note is that the when you turn off the internal light that the screen appears to be even darker than the previous GBA. So I don't think I'll ever be playing it without the light on.

So far it seems, at least for me, to be more ergonomic than the other Gameboy Advance. The wide shape of the other one was causing me to bend my wrists at an odd angle. The SP's overall shape and button placement is much like previous Gameboys, and I find it to be more comfortable. That is to say that after a couple hours of play my hands were only feeling cramped, rather than starting to go numb like they would with the regular advance.

So yeah, if you're into the whole Gameboy thing, pick one up. It's good. It's what the previous GBA should have been.

I've got mine reserved and should be getting it next week. That and Zelda.

I may be sick next Tuesday. *cough* *sniffle*

Lately I have been playing Metriod Prime, Zelda Master Quest, and Resident Evil. All of them being extremely good games, and I highly reccomend them. Any way, I'm super addicted to Metriod Prime and Fusion, its good to see Metriod back in the game after a very long absence. I am planning to purchase The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, I have been a diehard Zelda fan for a long time, but I am still skeptical on the cel shaded look to it. I have played it at E B and Toys R us, dont get me wrong its a great addition to the Zelda series, and the story sounds great, but I think I will never totally get over the stupid cel shadedness. Well never the less I need a good Zelda fix, so I cant wait till I get it.

Well thats what I have to say,

Forcebewitya!

I bought Jedi Outcast for xbox and loved it. I've never really liked other star wars games that have been out but this one was great.
I am playing Splinter cell right now, which is another great game.

Got my hands on Zelda:The Wind Waker tonight and from what little of it I've seen thus far, it is danged cool. From the 10 minutes I've played, I've found the control is decent. Graphics look good. Sound is clear. Camera maneuvering can be done and appears to be handy.

I'll let you know more when I've played longer.

So, how do you all like the WindWaker? I got my copy today, and I am loving it. Its a great game, and it defintly is worth sitting in front of the TV to play. I'm guessing you all are also glued to the TV. anyway tell me what you think of it. I still say that Majoras Mask and Ocarina of Time will always be the best, but WindWaker is proving to be better than expected.

Forcebewitya!