[:plant:] The GFF Game Club [Now Playing: Max Payne] Now with less spoiler tags

I already played through Ico a long time ago, but hey... I'm in. It is always a pleasure to revisit a game as delightful as Ico. I hope the next game will be something I didn't complete yet, but the chance to hear what some players new to the game have to say about it will be great.

Plus... I honestly don't remember some of the middle parts of the game that well. The opening few scenes and the ending are utterly unforgettable, but the various puzzles have blurred a bit in the time since I last played.

Many of those posting here in this thread are already on my friend list for the Backloggery, but here goes with a link to http://backloggery.com/main.php?user=soluzar. I only just realised yesterday I never got around to adding most of my PC games, but I'll do that ASAP.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I thought we were going to choose based on what was already in the backlog of a decent number of members. Incidentally, I didn't realise we were supposed to have already started discussing Ico, I thought we were going to wait until the closing date before that started. Not like I mind, having played it already, though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Shin

Apologies to OP etc if I'm talking out of turn here and in fact you did want to wait for February to start talking about the game.

My primary concern is that maybe all the good discussions will be done if I wait any longer to replay the game. Since it's hardly more than a handful of hours when you already know how things go, I was planning to play it during the last week or so, but that's when I thought we'd hold back discussion until then.

Quote:

I suggested Crackdown as it's suitably faster paced than Ico, I assumed a bunch of people had it, it's dead cheap if people want to pick it up, it's fucking awesome and frankly, I just felt like playing it.

I know nothing about it, it isn't something I'd normally think to play, which maybe makes it a good choice as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I know it's got shooting and a kind of open world thing going on, which is fine by me... I'll keep an open mind.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Terminus

It could be anything, but we're taking the PS2 into consideration because majority of GFFers have a PS2.

Don't most of us have a circlebox by now, at least those of us who would be interested in this game club? It's pretty cheap by now. I think we'd be fairly safe selecting that as a platform. Not that I have any objections to the PS2...

As for me, I have to admit I kinda forgot about this but I can get Ico played by tomorrow without any problem. It's a short but sweet game, and having played it once before really helps.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Finished this today. It stands up reasonably well to the test of time. The only aspects which could stand significant improvement are technical. I mean, you could say the constant fog is an artistic style, but it irritates me. I'd like to see a clearer, sharper version of the game. I'm hoping they decide to make a "Team ICO" collection for PS3 akin to the God of War collection.

The combat is definitely the least entertaining part of this game. Completely frustrating. I don't find it detracts from the rest of the game too much, but it definitely isn't a highlight. I don't know if I'd want to see it improved though, because it adds to the feel of two helpless kids trapped in the giant castle...

The main thing I want to see some discussion about is the basic premise.

Spoiler:

It's obvious from the opening scene that the idea of imprisoning horned youths in this castle is a tradition which has been practised for generations. There are dozens of sarcophagi (if I may call them that) around the room in which our protagonist begins his explorations. I feel compelled to ask why, although I don't think it is possible to come up with a definitive answer. The best I can do is to suggest that the life force of horned boys is drained to provide the queen (if I can call her that) with energy to extend her own life and provide her with power for manifesting her magical abilities. It is unclear why Yorda exists, too. Does it seem that the queen engages in procreation? Doesn't seem likely to me, she appears to be a magical creature. I don't doubt that she could easily create Yorda, but... for what purpose?

Anyway... I enjoyed that, and I enjoyed reading what you folks new to the game thought. Hope we can keep the discussion lively for a while. I'll be away this weekend, but should still be able to get on the internet at times.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Shin

Spoiler:

I think the basic plot premise is a little clearer once you take Shadow of the Colossus into account. At the end of that, the hero goes all demonic, the bird comes back to life and you see her with a kid with horns (If memory serves), implying that Ico is in some way descended from the SotC kids. One would assume therefore that kids with horns are direct descendents of the SotC people and therefore, have some magnitude of that demonic power.

Yeah, I think you're right about that. It's clear enough, and if memory serves a developer actually game out and said it in an interview after the game was released. It's cool how the two stories minimal though they are tie together in that way.

I just wonder if the next game, The Last Guardian, will have a similar link anywhere buried deep within.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Shin

From what little I've seen of it, it looks like it'll be similarly ambiguous. You play a small kid who meets a big kitten-bird thing and that's about it. They'd be silly to shift from a working model and heavy exposition ain't their style.

True... but then they wouldn't have to change the model to include a subtle link as was the case in SotC. That's something we have no way to know about until the finished product is with us. It could be connected, or it could be a completely new idea with no links to past work.

Most amazing jew boots

Cool! A game I own, but haven't started. That's fine by me! I always did think this one would be worth a look some day soon. I assume the PS2 version is decent enough? I notice you're linking to the Steam version, but unless it sucks hard on PS2 I will stick with what I've got.

I notice the title is the same as the English name for one of Nietzsche's books. I always wondered if that's significant to the story of the game in any way. I'm genuinely pleased by this selection, I would probably have looked to this game soon anyway.

How ya doing, buddy?

I started a few days ago.

Spoiler:

I'm not that keen on cute anthropomorphic animals as characters, in general. I give Ratchet & Clank a pass because cats and creatures similar to cats are an exception to many rules. Including such characters in a game is a sure-fire way to make me cautious about it. That said, BG&E doesn't seem to suffer too much from their inclusion. The pig sidekick isn't particularly engaging for me, but he also isn't bothering me much. On the whole, the setting does feel like it is trying excessively hard to be cute, and the best I can say is that I don't mind too much.

Thing is, the 3D platform-action genre is probably my favourite. I love the 3D Zelda and Mario games, I love Ratchet and Clank, I love anything that exhibits a degree of similarity to them. So... regardless of the slightly questionable setting, BG&E gets a massive boost for me just by nature of the mechanics. It is a lot of fun so far, it controls reasonably well and the levels are designed nicely. I had fun in the hovercraft battle, I'm having fun with the platforming. The only thing that really is bothering me so far is that sometimes the camera just won't seem to do what I need.

So... I can't really say much more than that. The setting isn't doing much for me, the story hasn't really opened up yet, but the mechanics are bundles of fun and I'm enjoying it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

How did people get on? Did anyone start and not finish it? Anyone consider starting and not bother?

I made an effort to start with, got distracted by social events then gave it another go just recently. I can honestly say I'll be completing the game eventually, but the timing was off.

I didn't like the setting of the game that much, to be honest. To get the positive out of the way first, I thought it was a lot of fun to play. The 3D platform action is always a favourite of mine, and I enjoyed this a lot. Fighting with a staff is cool. I also kind of enjoyed the vehicular fun, although not quite so much. What I didn't really care for was the cutesy anthropomorphic animals. I'm more than willing to overlook that for what is basically a good game, but it does dilute my enthusiasm somewhat. I don't always mind it, but something about the way it was done here just rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm definitely not saying it spoiled the game for me, though. Overall I think it is a really fun game with a good storyline. Given another week I could maybe have put it to bed. Feel free to keep the time windows short though, as far as I'm concerned. Just gives me more incentive to play faster next time. I totally admit that I did lose focus and play other things a bit more than I should.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I can already say that there's NO WAY that I can complete Ikaruga. I have it for Gamecube, have done for years. I love the first three stages, ya know?

I've given it quite sufficient playing time in the past to talk about the good and... I was going to say "good and bad points", but why lie, it doesn't have any bad points other than being difficult. Whatever. I'll join in chatting, and hey I might even give it another go.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

With regards to Ikaruga, I still can't play this game any better than I ever could. It's great, but somehow my brain doesn't work that way. Some people see the bullet and colour patterns and they can adapt to them without thinking about it, but for me it is a conscious process and that means that I'm slower than I should be. Past a certain point I just get to the point where my brain just can't process it fast enough.

I've been working hard to clear up my backlog recently, so I'm kind of glad that there wasn't much pressure from the selected game. I like variety, just like the next man. I prefer to be playing several good games at once so that I don't get bored. Recently it has become a bit out of control though. If I actually listed everything I've started but not finished, it would be a long and scary list. I've buckled down and started taking one game at a time to the finish line. I don't mind playing three or four games at once, but I draw the line about the same point I run out of fingers and toes to count them on.

For the next game, well... Yakuza 2 is a game I want to play anyway. I started up that one as well as the first one to take a look and see what they had to offer a while back. As luck would have it I just recently started seriously playing the first one, so depending how long that is, the timing might be perfect. Max Payne is a game I already completed and loved. I'd be happy to join in with the discussions, and I really do think there's more to discuss there than with the previous titles we played. The storyline is simply excellent. The other three look fine, but I can't say I know anything about 'em other than what was mentioned in this thread.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Qwarky

I'll repeat it here, it's ok to discuss your votes I guess? But everyone needs to PM their votes to OP or we can't count them.

Oh. I beg your pardon for not really reading all of the post. I'll make sure to send the PM soon.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by Pangalin

X-Com suffers from the same problem as Ikaruga: it's massively unwelcoming to neophytes. I mean, how many repetitions of "I entered my first battle and everyone on my squad died before I could even determine where the aliens were" can you take?

Is it really considered that hard? I mean, I can't take on the highest difficulty, but I don't recall it being so incredibly punishing. Actually, I take it all back, I just started up the game and I forgot that your guys can't shoot for crap to start with.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Does anyone have a piano transcription of

Morricone's Nocturne from The Lady Caliph

or

Rota's Theme from La Strada?

THANKS!!

Additional Spam:
Does anyone have a piano transcription of

Morricone's Nocturne from The Lady Caliph

or

Rota's Theme from La Strada?

THANKS!!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?