Looking for a game inspiration

[Decado]

I've get about a week and a half of pure not having to go to workness next week and I'm looking for a good PS2/PC game to help entertain me... Problem is I can't find anything that really takes my fancy.

Therefore I'm looking for some inspiration. Let me know what games you recommend I should get and why - genre doesn't really matter (although don't bother with sports games). Oh yes, I'm in the UK so PAL releases please.

Thanking you in advance.
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[Thor McOdin]

Well, Decado, let me see if I can help.

I could ask what genre you prefer, but where the hell is the fun in that? Anyway, here are some games that always seem to inspire/entertain me.

Dragon Quest VIII: I was telling people in Gaien that this game--for whatever reason--reminds me of Shining Force II. The two couldn't be further apart from one another (gameplay, battles, etc.). And yet the presentation feels oddly similar. In any case, DQ lifts my spirits whenever I play it with its addicting gameplay, nice characters, gorgeous landscapes, and beautiful music. I just wish that damn mole would stop kicking my ass and forcing me to restart. I am not sure if it is PAL, though (probably?), and I am actually assuming that you have already played it.

SSX 3: If you like snowboarding games, look no further. Hell, this was a sleeper series for me. I browsed some websites looking for something new, and this appeared out of the blue (and this installment in 4 years old). Basically, it is the best snowboarding game that I have ever played, and it is loaded with customization. If you want an snowboarding game that is in a sense free-roaming, check this out.

However, this game does prove that I always do pick the Japanese schoolgirl character.

Tekken V: Probably the best fighting game on the PS2. Still, after a few days, you will probably be tired of playing nothing but Tekken.

The Movies (PC): Like The Sims, but in a Hollywood film studio. This game is a blast (granted you are into simulated games). Basically, you start in 1920 and work your way up from there. For three days straight, I played this game into the wee hours of the morning. There are several flaws with the game, but if you can look past these, you will also have a blast.

Wild Arms 3: Have you already played this? If not, it is a very strong RPG that always puts me in a good mood. Not extraordinarly difficult and quite unique, WA3 is probably the best of the series.

Hope these suggestions help.
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Not all ninja codes are brewed equally. Here at Shinobi, we use the choicest Bavarian hops that are ripened to perfection. One sip and we will have you saying...nothing.

[Overdose]

I back Thor's reccomendation of Wild Arms 3, infact I reccomend them all as I've owned or still own each of those games.

here are a few I really like:

Guilty Gear X2: #Reload: It is perhaps my favourite ever 2D beatem up, the music rocks, the characters are original and the game itself can be challenging as hell. If you like beatem ups this is the one GG game you should own as in my oppinion its the best with One Hit Kills, Two (rather unbalanced but cool) Hidden Characters with multiple character forms (EX etc) so plenty to unlock.


Kengo-Master of Bushido: This you will find very cheap in the UK, I find it somewhat addictive as samurai games go. Basically you are a travelling samurai who makes his name for himself by beating other gyms and winning imperial tornaments. The swordplay is fun and can get quite challenging with multiple styles which may I add are customisable. Increase your max stats with trainning mini games such as Helm Splitting, Striking Post, Zen Meditation etc. Then fight to build up your skills themselves. Reminds me of bushido blade somewhat.


Kessen 3: This is the last game i played through properly and completed, it was really good fun. I love the story and portrayal of Nobunaga Oda, he is good rather than all AARRGH Im the Demon King. Multiple Generals to recruit and some are hidden with hidden requirements including the Legendary Musashi Miyamoto and Jubei (Muneyori) Yagyu. I reccomend it.
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"In the rain, I'm calling you dear, find my way, can't you see me standing right here" ~ I.V - X Japan

FOREVER X!!!

[Ujitsuna]

Wild Arms 3 is pretty good, especially if you played any of the other titles - it'll keep you busy for a while, although towards the end I lost a lot of motivation to continue playing through the game.

[AA]

hmm let's see...

Dragon Quest might keep you entertained for a while, but if your looking for a newer game i might have to point you towards Wild Arms 4, it can be an ass at times and you have to play a certain part in NTSC mode or it freezes, but it can be a fun game.

Also try out FFXII if you haven't already (cant remember) it will pass some hours and is kinda fun playing around with Gambits and such.

Other than that i would suggest Atelier Iris series or maybe even Disgaea to pass away those boring hours of sitting in your old man chair :P

[Falcon Critical]

Yeh Disgaea is a good one if you want to play something that's just really amusing, I love the story in the first one - the second is 'meh' in comparison, you just feel so ebil in the first game.

The game that really pulled me out of my WoW-fad was Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria but I'm not sure that got a PAL release...
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[Vincent Chase]

Those are some damn excellent choices there, Thor. I especially like SSX 3 and all of the SSX games, they just keep getting better and are the best boarding games around. As for DQ8, I really can't say enough good things about it, but if you have only a week and a half I doubt that you'll be able to finish it. The game took me about 115 hours, and it took me over 2 weeks to do 90 hours on it, but it's very excellent. What really got me about it was how many pure cliches there are in the game, but how it never feels like they're going through the motions with anything.

As I mentioned somewhere in another thread, Dark Cloud 2 is pretty sweet. Same cel-sading as DQ8 (Level 5) and a pretty cool story, but also a more streamlined georama feature and fighting element make this game much more enjoyable than its predecessor. Lord of the Rings: Third Age is also pretty cool as an RPG if you want to do some of tyhe stuff that happened behind the scenes in the movies, good stuff, but its pretty old. You can probably find both of these games for $19-29, they're both old and therefore cheap.

Or, you could try to do some of the more zany shit you can do in some games you've beaten, like low level challenges and the like. My favorite is the 3-heart challenge in Ocarina of Time, its how you know you're hardcore. Sometims that kind of stuff is pretty insane to try.

[eXistence of Fly]

DQ8 got a PAL release, April of last year in the UK, Oceania got it a little bit later.
Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria has not yet been released on PAL, it's dated for sometime during September, tentatively I might add. And just as a precaution for anyone who might state this, Rogue Galaxy has also not been released on PAL, it's being constantly pushed back to also mid September tentatively.

There's a somewhat current PAL release list for Europe here so needless to say any games released around the same time or after that you'd be questioning if they're released or not.

As far as suggestions go I've got none to give.
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[Archy]

I second that Dark Cloud 2 suggestion. Awesome game, lots of variety and the Georama feature is fun.
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[Onimaru]

I don't know if you have a gamecube, if you do - then go get Harvest Moon Magical Melody. I bought a gamecube recently and was totally dissapointed with the variety of RPG titles for it. BUT, I did rent HMMM a few months ago and again tonight and found it rather addictive and time consuming. worth checking out, I know there are harvest moon games for the PS and PS2 but I don't know if they are as good.
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[Sailor Sexy]

Onimaru, there is but one RPG that you ever need to play for the Gamecube, and that's Skies of Arcadia Legends. Even if you've played the Dreamcast version, the Gamecube version has things unique to it. Not only is it the best Gamecube RPG, but it's in my top 5 for ANY RPG. It's that kind of good.

Decado, have you played either of the Knights of the Old Republic games? You can get them for PC, and they are easily among the best Star Wars games ever made. The first one is rock solid, with a twist in it that even if you suspect it's coming, you'll still find really cool. The second one starts out great, tons of potential, but is bothered by a rushed ending and not enough debugging. Still, what you do get is still great fun. I'd certainly recommend either of them if you are at all a Star Wars fan.
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~Uguu!~

[Decado]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do own and have completed DQ VIII and is probably one of my favourite games ever.

Suggestions that have caught my interest are:

FFXII (although most people I know of got really bored with this).
Wild Arms 3
Disgaea
Lord of the Rings: Third Age
Atelier Iris
Knights of the Old Republic

I could go and buy a Gamecube - I can probably pick one up for around £20 complete with controllers and game but I'm reluctant to buy yet another redundant Nintendo console when I could eventually buy a Wii and use the back catalogue thingamajig.

I was also thinking of Champions of Norrath for some mind-numbing hack'n'slash or even Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (although Generals was disappointingly short). It might even be fun to actually finish some games I've started but trailed off on such as MGS 3 or Majora's Mask.
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[Onimaru]

Oh you want mind numbing, go buy Oblivion...you'll be hooked or hours/days/weeks/months..
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[eXistence of Fly]

[Decado]

Nah - I got bored of Morrowind so I don't think Oblivion will do much for me.

[EDIT] I heard Tiberium Wars is a bit buggy - can anyone confirm/refute this?
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