Metaplanar Babel

Podz recently mentioned an article about game replayability that I found interesting. It seems everyone has such different ideas of the kinds of games that can be played over and over again, though there were certainly some titles that kept showing up in the comments. Anyway, I felt like a bit of a stroll down memory lane, so here is a list, in no particular order, of games that I can play over and over again.

Suikoden I & II (definitively not III)

I love these games. I’m a little sad that the series went in the directions it did with III and what I’ve heard of IV, but the first two are definitive keepers. Even though I’ve maxxed out characters/castles in both games, I can still go back and play through over and over again for the story and characters.

Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Who doesn’t love the Zelda series? Seriously. OoT just happens to be the best of those currently available (though I await Twilight Princess with much much anticipation). Link is so lovable, especially as a little boy. This game has it all: great story and characters, puzzles that are fun and challenging, and the ability to ride a horse!

Soul Calibur 3

You would not believe the time I spent playing this game. Easily my favorite of the fighter games, though Tekken has its merits for unarmed combat. The new character creation system has certainly added a bit of replayability for me, but I always come back to some of the base characters anyway.

Jade Empire

This one is purely speculative, but I think it’s going to be a winner for me. I had a whole lot of fun playing through the first time, and while I’m not quite up for a replay just yet, I feel certain that I will be at some point. Great story, great setting.. if only it had been a little longer (only about 11 hours of playtime, which is low for an RPG).

Planescape: Torment

The computer RPG. So many options for character class, alignment, etc, that you could probably play this one over 10 times and never quite play the same game. Just found my discs the other day while looking for something else, so this may be my next non-WoW timesink.

It’s really hard to find games these days that are worth replaying. I do usually play through Final Fantasy games a couple times, but after that I often can’t bring myself to play again. That’s often the case with others as well. Once upon a time, I could play through Quest For Glory (I, II, III, or IV) over and over again, but I can’t seem to locate my disks for those any more (much to my dismay). Honestly, though, these days I’m just happy to have a game that’s worth playing through once, much less multiple times.

This painting is one of the best pieces of Warcraft fanart I’ve seen yet. Just.. wow. I really want to use it as a desktop wallpaper, but I suspect my coworkers would think I was some sort of Satanist or something. *grumble*

I’m not sure why, but I especially love the swoosh of Arthas’s cloak and Illidan’s ponytail. Hee. <^_^;

Wow. I only wish I had this much free time.

I’ve been playing this awesome game the past few days, after a recent turn in our roleplaying got me re-interested in the whole vampire mythos. After previously (like 6 months ago) getting stuck somewhere in the second “chapter”, I managed to start a new character (Tremere, this time) and blow through most of the game in a weekend. I haven’t finished the end game yet, because FIRE ARCHERS suck *cough*, but it’s been fun. I wish the game had expanded on the non-combative elements a bit, though. In the beginning, you think that you can talk your way through any situation, because those possibilities actually exist. However, once you hit Downtown, you suddenly start hitting many situations where there are no creative ways to use persuasion. Why, I have to ask, why does a Toreador have to fight or sneak through a museum, when she could just as easily lie and convince the guard that she’s the local scientist’s assistant? But no, there’s no option for that; the bloody guards shoot first and ask questions never.

The game has so much potential, but it just got kind of.. washed out. I don’t like FPS games. Bloodlines at least has a decent (and appropriately convoluted) story, and I have to say that the “twist” near the end has been amusing (though not entirely unexpected, mind you). The controls are a little wonky, the graphics are glitchy, and the game runs like it needed to go through another beta test. Despite all that, it’s fun. That kind of story strength is pretty rare in the PC game market these days. It brings to mind the fun that could be had from Planescape: Torment, except PT was longer, less glitchy, and usually let you play your character archtype instead of forcing everyone into a fighter/sneaker. I guess I need to just break down and buy Jade Empire, since it seems to be in a similar vein. Where are all the games with great story? I can forgive a lot of gameplay issues, if the story is good enough, but the best gameplay and graphics in the world can’t save a game with a shoddy plot.

Anyway, I’m just rambling now; forgive the incoherence, please. (@_@)

An amusing ad for D&D that bashes the MMO genre a bit. (cruinh says this is a real ad!)

Suikoden V - I want this game now. Watch the trailer, it’s awesome!

Jon and I watched a fansub version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent’s Children tonight. We’re both pretty huge FF fans, so we’ve been waiting for this movie for several years now. Having now seen it, I’m happy to say that we weren’t disappointed. Tycho over at Penny Arcade summed it up pretty well:

It should have a warning of some kind on it, when it hits retail. Something like:

Fanboy Warning

This film contains scenes that may be totally fucking awesome. Your favorite characters may be rendered in extreme detail as they take part in mind-blowing battles set in familiar locales. Futuristic scabbard/motorcycles might be depicted in a way that makes them appear sweet.

That about covers it. Oh, and three words: dual-wielding buster swords! Oh, yes, it can be done. Fortunately Jon has no problems with me swooning over the bishie boys, cause AC was full of them.

Seriously, this movie was so freakin smooth and awesome that I’m almost beyond words. We sat here for about 5 minutes just saying, “Wow..” over and over again. The animation was just phenomenal, the fanservice was brilliant, and the music was just..wow.. The story was kinda weird, but that’s pretty standard for a FF plot. And Cloud and Vincent and Sephiroth (with the fire and burning and the…*twitch*) and Aeris and everyone.. freakin incredible. Seriously. FF VII: AC is the path that rawks.

Finally,another Age of Empires game! Check out the screenshots - this thing looks faboo. For some reason, I couldn’t get into Rise of Nations; hopefully this one will be more akin to the old AoE games.

Conqueror in a War of Virtual Worlds - New York Times
“It may continue to grow in China,” Mr. Pachter added, “but not in Europe or the U.S. We don’t need the imaginary outlet to feel a sense of accomplishment here. It just doesn’t work in the U.S. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

The above quote comes from an article speculating whether World of Warcraft is helping or hurting the game industry and refers to the sheer number of gamers who play WoW. My big beef with the quote is the idea that Americans are somehow so successful as a people that they don’t need games anymore. We’ll ignore the trend towards more work for less money, fewer promotions, fewer jobs at all.. We’ll ignore the concept that many jobs are little more than data entry or monotonous factory work, where little sense of accomplishment can be found - no matter how hard you work to diminsh the pile of forms to enter or pieces to sew, the pile magically grows back overnight. Americas are amongst the most stressed people in the world, yet they have no need for an imaginary outlet where they can actually accomplish something in an evening? Am I just missing something here?

Zelda Online for Halo CE - Nifty