Topic: Video Game Marathon

[Rogmeister]

Introduction--First off, I wasn't sure where to put this thread since there is no official video game section so I decided to just stick it in the marathon forum since this another ongoing marathon kind of thing.  And I was thinking of calling it "Roger's Vintage Gaming" or something like that but decided not to put my name on it.  This way, if anyone else wants to add their own reviews in this thread, they can feel free to do so.  So off we go...


This game is currently available at Amazon.com for $19.99.  MVP Baseball 2005 is currently priced at about $44 there, despite the fact the game is 5 years old now.  This game is available on the Xbox and PS2 as well as the GameCube.

EA Sports had been putting out editions of Triple Play Baseball on the original Playstation.  They did one more edition of that game for the next series of consoles and I had that last edition on Xbox.  Despite the fact Bob Costas did play by play, that was a pretty poor game.  They went back to the drawing board and redid everything for MVP Baseball.  This is still one of my favorite baseball games.  There were 3 editions...for 2003, 2004 and 2005.  The GameCube only got the 2004 and 2005 versions while the Xbox got all 3 versions.  I'm not sure if the PS2 got the 2003 edition or not.

This game utilizes power meters, similar to how many golf games in the past have been used.  You push a button...then when it gets to the power you want, you release it and then hit the button again when the rotating power knob (or whatever it's called) comes into your target area.  The more accurate you are, the better your pitches.  If you're off, your pitch goes way out of the strike zone...or you serve up a nice fat pitch.  Your fielders also use power meters for their throws.

There are some slight differences between the 2004 and 2005 editions (at least on the GameCube).  In the 2004 edition, when a home player hits a home run, you often see the fans in the stands jumping up and down.  Those animations were dropped for the 2005 edition as the fans stay shock-still when the home player hits a homer.  But on the other hand, the close-ups of the players as they come up to bat look even more realistic than they do in 2004.  The announcers are okay though, as happens in all such video games, they are limited in the number of things they say so you get a lot of repeated phrases.  But for some reason, that has never bothered me.  As the season goes along, I like to see my players stats go up though my guys do tend to hit too many home runs.  In my last season, I think I had two guys hit over 60 home runs which is not very realistic. 

This game has all the real players...well, almost.  Barry Bonds refused to let his likeness be used in video games so instead of him, the San Francisco Giants' roster has an imaginary player made up...a white guy named Jon Dowd.  But he slams the ball like Barry would.  If you like baseball games and have an older system (like the Xbox, GameCube or Playstation 2), I would definitely recommend MVP Baseball 2004 or MVP Baseball 2005.  Of course, the rosters are now totally out of date and most players in this game are now either retired or off playing on other teams now.  But you can wax nostalgiac as you control Greg Maddux or someone else.

After the MVP Baseball 2005 edition came out, another company got exclusive rights to the MLB franchises so EA Sports did continue MVP Baseball for a couple more years...but as a college baseball title.  It just wasn't the same...

[Rogmeister]

Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?: Game Time

This is a popular game show that began as a primetime game show on the Fox network in the U.S.  It later was also converted into a half-hour syndicated version.  And now there are several video game editions...the Nintendo DS has 3 different editions.  I got the o ne subtitled "Game Time".  The show is hosted by southern stand-up comedian Jeff Foxworthy.  Like some other primetime game shows, you get "lifelines" though here they are called "cheats".  As you play the game, there are 5 fifth-graders there answering the same questions and you can cheat off them if you get stuck on a question.

I figured this wouldn't be a super-great game but I enjoy trivia games like this and decided to take a chance with it.  The game plays pretty much like the TV show and you do hear Jeff as he describes the game and makes a few wisecracks (You look like someone just gave you a wedgie) though Jeff doesn't read off the questions and you have to read them.  I guess there waswn't room on the cartridge for that much human speech.  I've played several games so far and enjoyed myself and have only had one question show up twice so far (which is the main complaint I always hear about these video game versions of TV game shows).  I've gotten to the top "Million Dollar" question 3 times so far...and got it wrong all three times.  Yes, Roger is not smarter than a fifth grader...

Maybe I'll get 1 Vs. 100 next...

[Rogmeister]

1 VS 100
Nintendo DS

I don't know if there were international editions of this...or if the U.S. version starring Bob Saget...ever aired abroad but I used to like this show though it only ran for 2 short seasons, I think.  It was a one-hour primetime glitzy game show (obviously trying to copy the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?).  It copied the show to the extent that it had 3 lifelines...though they were called "helps" here.  The main player was playing against a "mob" of 100 other players and earned money based on how many of the mob were eliminated.  However, if the main player got one question wrong, he or she was eliminated and the remaining members of the mob split whatever winnings the main player had accumulated.

This game plays pretty much like the TV show (there are also a few different versions where you bet money on how you think you'll do) and I do enjoy playing it.  The main problem (and this appears to be the main problem with all video game versions of TV game shows) is there's only so many questions they can fit into a cartridge.  Play a handful of games and then certain questions start repeating.  In fact, I just played one game where the exact same question came up two times in a row.  Not surprisingly, no one got it wrong the second time!  I'll enjoy playing this...but after a few days it'll probably be time to give it a rest for awhile and move on to something else...until I forget the answers to all the questions that keep repeating...

[samuelrichardscott]

The Xbox 360 has live versions of 100-1 where prizes have included cars and TV's. Some of the times I played there were 100000+ players and only 1 gets to be the main player whilst 100 are chosen for the mob. The rest also answer the questions to win sweepstke entries.

[Critter]

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
(Playstation 3)

I have been a fan of the 'Naughty Dog' gaming studios since playing their Crash Bandicoot series when I was younger on the original Playstation, and then on Playstation 2. The Uncharted series has been their first offering for the Playstation 3 console and it has definitely not disappointed. In fact, Naughty Dog do seem to be topping themselves with each new game which is a very exciting prospect for the future of the company.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was the predecessor to 'Among Thieves' and was actually the first game I ever played, and completed on my PS3, and what a way to introduce yourself to such a fantastic console, with such an enthralling and visually stunning game. The sequel to this story has managed to even top the last, the visuals are flawlessly beautiful, presented often in a very cinematic way which heightens the excitement of the game, and the gameplay is natural and very easy to use. Among Thieves is first and foremost a game which is heavily based on story, so if the game had a dull story then the single-player just wouldn't work. The plot itself is quite a typical one which is very reminiscent of films such as Tomb Raider, The Mummy franchise and even Disney's National Treasure. Despite the fact that this story feels somewhat familiar, it is brought to life in fine style throughout the game by exceptional characters.

Among Thieves reunites us with all of the characters we grew to love during the first installment, but also introduces us to some exciting new additions to the team. These new characters add even more depth to the story as we suddenly have more people to care about, and even to fear throughout the story. One thing that Uncharted is fantastic at is just pure excitement. I have played action games, racing games, shooting games all in the past before, but few of them really leave me on the edge of my seat, almost holding my breath in excitement as much as this did. My only small complaint and it is very minor is the inclusion of a few ‘puzzle’ sections throughout the game. Most of the time is spent exploring through visually stunning environments, battling against enemies etc and all of this feels very right for the pacing of the game. Then two of three times you get stuck in a room, with some cryptic and frustrating puzzle you have to solve to proceed. This seems to slow down the pace of the game a little for me, but in the larger scale of things it is a very minor issue and did not diminish my enjoyment of the game altogether.

Uncharted is now my favourite gaming series on the Playstation and I am eagerly awaiting news of whether or not an ‘Uncharted 3’ is in the works. If it is, you can be sure that I will be first in line for my copy.

5/5

Trailer:

[Achim]

Uncharted 2 is a great game. I did have some reservations against the final boss fight though, it seemed a bit strange regarding gameplay and the required approach how to defeat him should have been clearer.

As previously discussed elsewhere, the puzzles and slow bits are there for a purpose; other than Naughty Dog being able to say their game is not just about shooting. If they weren't there, the shooting mechanic would possibly grow old much quicker, the player cannot run around killings NPC for 15 hours without break. The puzzles however give them some room to breathe.

[Critter]

I found the times that gave me room to breathe were the times between the shoot outs etc when there was just exploring, such as the climbing parts of the game etc. The parts where we really just had time to have a look around our environment were fantastic. I wish those were longer. The puzzles did give us time to relax but almost too much. If I am stuck at a puzzle for too long my excitment of the game starts to wear thin and I can feel myself becomming less enthused to continue playing. Each time I completed a puzzle though I must say the feeling was good  

[Achim]

Each time I completed a puzzle though I must say the feeling was good  

There you go!

[Critter]

Batman: Arkham Asylum
(Playstation 3)

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the first Batman video game that I have ever played. My experience with gaming is that usually when games are based off films or comics etc they are often subpar to their original gaming counterparts. Arkham Asylum however offered me a truly exciting gaming experience that I was hooked into from the very first cutscene.

The story of this game is just as good, if not better than many Batman films I have seen, and with just the right amount of cutscenes throughout the single player gameplay you do almost feel as if you are watching part of a Batman film. The setting of this game is of course the mental hospital/prison of Gotham itself which is Arkham Asylum. This is a setting that can be both endearing and frightening throughout the game and is often brought a live by the games fantastic use of sound. A lot of detail was put into the sound design for this game and it was worth it, the sound effects are sometimes eerie and add layers of atmosphere to certain areas. An example of this is one part of the game where Batman is walking down a corridor and a woman’s voice is reading out notices on the loudspeaker, only for her voice to become distorted and slowly turn into Joker- controlled laughter.

The gameplay is quite easy to pick up on after the very unique opening level/ tutorial and remains easy to use throughout the game. The fighting is especially easy to pick up on, although it can be hard when trying to take out attackers in stealth. The detective mode in the game was highly addictive and I often found myself using it even when there weren’t any enemies near. Throughout the game Batman has to try and decode a series of riddles left around Arkham by The Riddler. Some of these are as easy as just searching down question mark shaped trophies, but others are a lot harder. I had a lot of difficulty figuring out many of the riddles that were in certain areas because really, I didn’t figure out how to actually solve them until I was close to finishing the game. I really think it should have been explained more clearly at the start how were supposed to solve the riddles.

Also, as far as ways that the game could be improved I also believe that it would benefit from having a small on-screen map. I often got frustrated having to click ‘select’ every few seconds to see if I was going in the right direction as it was very time consuming when you had places to be.

Overall though this was a fantastic game and the positives far outweigh the negatives. With all the extra riddles and the challenges for Batman to tackle then this is a game that you can really continue to play for a long time, and one which I believe has a very high replay value.

4.5/5

[Dragonfire]

I've heard that this is a good game.

[RossRoy]

Red Dead Redemption Xbox 360 Version

WHAT THEY SAY

Red Dead Redemption is a third-person action-adventure game set a fictional open-world American Wild West environment for players to explore. Gameplay area types include frontier towns, rolling prairies teaming with wildlife, and perilous mountain passes - each packed with an endless flow of varied distractions. Along the way, players will experience the heat of gunfights and battles, meet a host of unique characters, struggle against the elements and animals of one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses, and ultimately pick their own precarious path through an epic story about the death of the Wild West and the gunslingers that inhabited it. In their travels throughout the territories of the gameworld players partake in a morality system built on honor and fame, where they gain or lose points in each area based on their actions. The game features an easy to use cover system, a variety of mounts and period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, a lasso and more. Western themed mini-games are also available, including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. Key Game Features Expansive open-world gameplay set in the final years of the American Wild West. Massive play area made up 3 unique regions composed of towns and outposts filled with characters with varying looks, accents, etc. Morality system based on honor and fame generated by the players actions throughout the game. Loads of unique non-player characters to interact with. Western themed mini-games including showdowns, gambling, hunting bounties, cattle herding and five finger fillet. An assortment of period specific weapons including a cattleman revolver, a mauser pistol, a repeater rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a throwing knife, lasso and more. The Dead Eye targeting mechanic, allowing the player to slow down time for shot accuracy. Ridable horses and more than 40 kinds of animals that you can hunt or be hunted by.

MY THOUGHTS

I found Red Dead Redemption to be a fantastic game. As you may already know, I like games that are open ended, but that still have a driving narrative. Red Dead Redemption dumps you into the game world, literally But right off the bat, you have an in-game character taking you in charge and giving you information and stuff to do. You are free to do it or not, but that character, and many subsequent, are always around should you decide to advance the story. The first few missions are a glorified tutorial. You learn how to ride horses, hunt and shoot, lasso and tame wild horses, etc. Once this part is done, things start getting really interesting and the hunt is on. The game world is just awesome. The light effects of sunrise and sunset are particularly breathtaking. There's a whole lot a little details, like when there's rain, puddle will form here and there. Animals are pretty much everywhere, and they are all killable / huntable. Actually, there's challenges that call for you to kill this or that animal for bonuses. But the real star, visually, are the horses. They are absolutely gorgeous. You can see the muscles flex while they run. The amount of detail in them is astounding. They even have a mind of their own, especially when you have a new horse that doesn't trust you yet - they'll veer off cliff no matter how you want them to go towards them, they'll throw you off their back if you fire a weapon, etc. They are really magnificent. The story of the game is also good. I have my reservations about the ending - it fits the story, but it's so frustrating as a player. I highly recommend you give the game a spin. It's well worth the hype.

RATING

[Critter]

I am eagerly waiting the price of this game to drop on PS3 so that I can have a go at it, I have heard only good things.

[Achim]

The story of the game is also good. I have my reservations about the ending - it fits the story, but it's so frustrating as a player.

(click to show/hide)

So you're in that camp, are you. Then again, I guess you're not, because most people who don't like Jack say that they hate the ending. You seem to at least appreciate the fact how they ended the story; it was inevitable, really.

Sophie, it's indeed a good game with lots of replay potential, without necessarily creating a new game (you can replay all missions later on and get scored for how you do). I am currently enjoying the multiplayer.

[Rogmeister]

I'd get Red Dead Redemption since I have heard nothing but good things about it...except I don't have a PS3 or Xbox 360.  They didn't make a PS2 version, I don't think.  Is that Batman game available for the PS2?  Probably not that one either 

[snowcat]

Sorry Roger just available on the 360 and PS3 :/