Entertainment/Gaming Consoles - Page 25

perth · 07-08-2003, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vsp
(Arcade games are found at www.mame.dk; register to enable downloading.)

when did they re-enable downloading?

vsp · 07-08-2003, 03:05 PM

GBA ROMs are generally in filename.gba format. (Most emulators allow you to keep them zipped to save space, which is good, as a complete zipped collection is still a couple of gigs.)

See if your local news feed carries the alt.binaries.emulators.* hierarchy, with a.b.e.gameboy.advance being your most likely target in this case. Several systems have their own newsgroups, and a.b.e.misc is the home for the rest.

Elspode · 07-09-2003, 02:14 AM

I have had some success in obtaining some ROMS, and I'm fairly impressed with the quality of the gaming experience. I think a GBA is in our family future, here. I am also quite intrigued with the ROM devices which allow you to load multiple games into a single cartridge...

vsp · 07-09-2003, 08:14 AM

Visual Boy Advance is a sweet little emulator.

One of these days, I'm going to break down and buy a <a href="http://www.gbax.com/">Flash cartridge</a> for my wife's GBA, but not so I can put multiple GBA games on one cartridge...

...rather, so that I can put hundreds of <a href="http://www.pocketnes.org/">NES games</a> on one cartridge.

Then again, it's hard to justify spending the money for a GBA flash cartridge, when for not that much more I could get my hands on a <a href="http://www.gbax.com/gp32review.html">GamePark GP32</a> and play NES, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, TurboGrafx/PC-Engine, Sega Master System, Game Gear, Super Nintendo, Atari ST, Spectrum, MSX, LucasArts SCUMMV, some arcade games, some Id Software ports, DivX movies, AVIs, MPEGs, MP3s, and assorted other open-source projects on it.

SteveDallas · 07-09-2003, 09:18 AM

That's cool stuff... and just right for somebody like me who likes older, simpler video games. I'm also intrigued by the capability of taking movies along. I wonder how much you can cram on with divx? The last long trip I went on I lugged a laptop and a cd carrier full of DVDs so I wouldn't get bored silly... which was a pain.... but ripping the DVDs beforehand would also be a pain.....hmmmm.

vsp · 07-09-2003, 10:00 AM

You're limited by the size of your SmartMedia card (which is what the GP32 reads from). Hence, any movie files will require major compression to fit -- it's more of a "Hey, it's neat that it can do that" feature than a major selling point.

Tobiasly · 07-10-2003, 02:08 PM

I would just like to say that I recently joined the 21st century and played my first game of Halo on XBox. My whole platoon is quickly becoming addicted. They sell XBoxen, Halo, and TV's on base here (we're back in Kuwait, if I haven't mentioned that), and all these young, single enlisted guys with all this money saved up because they've been in the desert for months have nothing better to spend their money on.

So we have 4 networked consoles with 4 players each, and stay up until 3 or 4 a.m. each night playing team games (Team Slayer at first, now mostly CTF). But 3 of the TV's are only 14", so split that 4 ways and it doesn't leave you much real estate. Man, war is hell.

SteveDallas · 07-10-2003, 02:21 PM

I'm guessing DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball would be considered contraband?

Tobiasly · 07-11-2003, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SteveDallas
I'm guessing DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball would be considered contraband?

Well, they do sell Maxim, Ramp, and FHM in the PX, so I think it would be OK. Unless there's cheat codes to completely remove the clothes. In which case you could just label the CD "family photo album" or something and you'll be OK!

OnyxCougar · 07-11-2003, 09:20 PM

I like the Playstation and Playstation2, but only because I love the Final Fantasy series and the other rpg's like Legend of Dragoon and Chrono Cross. Other than that, I'll stick to PC games. I'd go nuts without DAoC, Warcraft, Starcraft and Unreal Tournament.

vsp · 07-18-2003, 12:17 PM

I'm surprising myself by how much I want to go out and get PS2 <a href="http://ps2.ign.com/articles/425/425633p1.html">Magic Pengel: The Quest For Color</a>.

Looks like an unholy blend of Monster Rancher and Seventh Cross Evolution. The former is well and truly celebrated, while I'm about one of six people on Earth who enjoyed the latter. Best Buy has it for cheap.

Then again, since I _still_ haven't gotten around to starting Kingdom Hearts...

vsp · 08-15-2003, 11:44 AM

Latest addiction: Dynasty Warriors 3.

I'd been eyeing this series for a while, and decided on part three for a couple of reasons: a lot of diehard reviewers liked it better than DW4 (or at least felt that DW4 wasn't a big enough upgrade), it was half the price of DW4, and it had many of the same features (elephants, for instance).

The gameplay is repetitive, but still lots of fun (think Final Fight 3D in ancient China, with hundreds of friends and foes battling all around you). The levels are somewhat static (as compared to the reportedly-better AI in DW4), but it still can be a challenge to make your way around the huge battlefields, reach imperiled allies in the nick of time and keep everybody's morale boosted.

There are tons of powerups and items, 40+ reasonably different characters (many of them unlockable), four weapons per character and three difficulty levels. Two players can play either head-to-head or co-op, adding to the fun. Joe Bob sez check it out.

(holding off on VF4: Evolution -- my wife has Silent Hill 3, I have DW3, so we're _already_ fighting over control of the PS2)

10-13-2003, 06:36 AM

Okay!

Since the fire, current console list (working) is as follows:

- 2 Xbox
- 2 GameCubes
- 1 PS2
- 1 GameGear
- 1 Dreamcast
- 1 PSOne
- 1 PlayStation
- 1 GameBoy Advance SP
- 1 GameBoy Advance
- 1 GameBoy Player (for big-screen Metroid Fusion-y goodness!)

I have way too many games to list, and when I retire, I will finally have time to play them.

I'm looking to pick up the following:

- Another GameGear, since they're so cheap
- 1 Sega Nomad
- 1 Neo Geo Pocket Color + some good games

I know vsp will be able to help me with that last part. Puzzle games, anything you think will be interesting.

I have been spending an awful lot of time with Soul Calibur II lately. I have it for all 3 consoles. I am totally done with the Xbox version, having everything unlocked. The PS2 version was what I got first, and I'm about 70% done that (have one character to unlock yet plus a boatload of weapons), but now it's almost unplayable because of load times and because it looks so fugly. I just got the GC version last night (have to buy games for insurance!) and I haven't even put it in the console. I'll probably get to work on that some time this week.

I picked up TimeSplitters 2 for Xbox, because it was only $20 and Paul and I played it when he was over. It's definitely pretty cool for a console-based FPS. I liked the idea of it, and I want to play through it single-player.

I need to put more time in on Halo. I tried to beat it on Legendary (the highest difficulty), and it kicked my ass. I need to start easy and go from there.

I need to pick up Stuart Little 2 for PSone, because Jenni wants to play it.

How about that GameCube at $100? It ain't getting much cheaper, folks. Go buy one and make yourself happy.

Alright vsp, educate me on the ways of the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

vsp · 10-13-2003, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dave
Alright vsp, educate me on the ways of the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Like many others, it tried to take down the Game Boy Empire.

"They tried and failed?" "They tried and died." (ObDune)

It had superior specs when compared to the Game Boy Color, but it was seriously outmatched by the GBC's game library and Nintendo's marketing, so it croaked. I grabbed three for $20 apiece from my local EB outlet, along with an assortment of games, and I've gotten some pretty serious mileage out of it.

The system has very good battery life -- way into double-digit hours on an average set of two AA's. Its screen is fine in average roomlight, but you'll squint without a good light source, and (unfortunately) the only light I know of isn't a straight plug-in like the GBC's. I have a Worm Light knockoff that plugs into a special rechargeable battery pack, which adds slightly to the bulk of the system.

There is no territorial lockout, much like the GBs; Japanese games work fine.

As for the games:

* Puzzle games include Bust-a-Move Pocket (not bad, though touchy on the small screen), Magical Drop Pocket (similar to the NeoGeo versions), Puzzle Link 2 (just different enough from Magical Drop to be interesting) and Puyo Pop (typical Puyo Puyo blob-dropping fun). I have BaM and PL2, and both are decent.

* There are some surprisingly decent SNK fighters for the system -- King of Fighters, Last Blade, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown 1 and 2, Gals' Fighters, SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millenium. If you can get around the two-button controls, they're not bad.

* Crush Roller and Pac-Man are classic maze games, but hard to control.

* Shanghai Mini is very nice, if you can find it.

* Sonic is exactly what you'd expect from a Sonic game.

* Metal Slug: 1st Mission and 2nd Mission are spot-on arcade ports. VERY nice for being on a small screen.

* BioMotor Unitron is a primitive RPG that's reasonably entertaining. It's about the only RPG on the system worth noting.

* The shining jewel of the lineup is SNK vs. Capcom: Cardfighter's Clash. There are two editions (SNK and Capcom); the core games are the same, but each plays slightly differently in places, and you'd need access to both editions to get certain cards.

It's a deceptively simple card-battle game; there aren't a ton of strategic nuances, but just enough that you'll keep fine-tuning your deck in small increments once you get to know your opponents. You'll spend lots of time battling the same opponents over and over to build up cards (wins earn you 3-5 random cards, depending on the opponent), but it didn't get old for me -- to this day, I can spend ungodly amounts of time playing it, trying to beat my record for winning the game (just over four hours in total speed mode, with some luck). There are also lots of cards that can't be won until AFTER you've beaten the game, along with a new mixed-deck mode.

There isn't much of a story mode to it -- in other words, you won't be wandering the countryside, hunting down the Holy Fondue Fork that the Temple Adept needs before he'll give you the Magic Wobble Orb necessary to defeat the Fudge Dragon, or anything like that. Apart from a few set events, it's straight-up card battling, and what you get is what you earn in matches.

More notes on request.

vsp · 10-13-2003, 11:39 AM

I have my GameCube (I got mine for $89 months ago, used). I bought Metroid Prime, but have been too busy with other games to try it out. My wife's been playing Eternal Darkness and the Resident Evils on it, so it's not as if it was a wasted purchase.

My sleeper of the month is <a href="http://ps2.ign.com/articles/435/435365p1.html">Disgaea: Hour of Darkness</a> for the PS2. I picked it up on Saturday, and the rest of the weekend is a blur. Think Final Fantasy Tactics with anime stylings, English translation/voice acting that's actually GOOD (and very funny at times), insane combos and leveling options, random-dungeon side-quests, and some elements borrowed from Persona 2 (also by Atlas, also recommended). AND you get exploding penguins on your team in the first five minutes. How can you go wrong?

07-09-2003, 02:14 AM	#363
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	I have had some success in obtaining some ROMS, and I'm fairly impressed with the quality of the gaming experience. I think a GBA is in our family future, here. I am also quite intrigued with the ROM devices which allow you to load multiple games into a single cartridge... __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

07-09-2003, 09:18 AM	#365
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	That's cool stuff... and just right for somebody like me who likes older, simpler video games. I'm also intrigued by the capability of taking movies along. I wonder how much you can cram on with divx? The last long trip I went on I lugged a laptop and a cd carrier full of DVDs so I wouldn't get bored silly... which was a pain.... but ripping the DVDs beforehand would also be a pain.....hmmmm. Last edited by SteveDallas; 07-09-2003 at 09:21 AM.

07-11-2003, 09:20 PM	#370
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I like the Playstation and Playstation2, but only because I love the Final Fantasy series and the other rpg's like Legend of Dragoon and Chrono Cross. Other than that, I'll stick to PC games. I'd go nuts without DAoC, Warcraft, Starcraft and Unreal Tournament. __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

10-13-2003, 11:39 AM	#375
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Other stuff I have my GameCube (I got mine for $89 months ago, used). I bought Metroid Prime, but have been too busy with other games to try it out. My wife's been playing Eternal Darkness and the Resident Evils on it, so it's not as if it was a wasted purchase. My sleeper of the month is <a href="http://ps2.ign.com/articles/435/435365p1.html">Disgaea: Hour of Darkness</a> for the PS2. I picked it up on Saturday, and the rest of the weekend is a blur. Think Final Fantasy Tactics with anime stylings, English translation/voice acting that's actually GOOD (and very funny at times), insane combos and leveling options, random-dungeon side-quests, and some elements borrowed from Persona 2 (also by Atlas, also recommended). AND you get exploding penguins on your team in the first five minutes. How can you go wrong?

07-08-2003, 03:05 PM	#362
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	GBA ROMs are generally in filename.gba format. (Most emulators allow you to keep them zipped to save space, which is good, as a complete zipped collection is still a couple of gigs.) See if your local news feed carries the alt.binaries.emulators.* hierarchy, with a.b.e.gameboy.advance being your most likely target in this case. Several systems have their own newsgroups, and a.b.e.misc is the home for the rest.

07-09-2003, 08:14 AM	#364
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Visual Boy Advance is a sweet little emulator. One of these days, I'm going to break down and buy a <a href="http://www.gbax.com/">Flash cartridge</a> for my wife's GBA, but not so I can put multiple GBA games on one cartridge... ...rather, so that I can put hundreds of <a href="http://www.pocketnes.org/">NES games</a> on one cartridge. Then again, it's hard to justify spending the money for a GBA flash cartridge, when for not that much more I could get my hands on a <a href="http://www.gbax.com/gp32review.html">GamePark GP32</a> and play NES, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, TurboGrafx/PC-Engine, Sega Master System, Game Gear, Super Nintendo, Atari ST, Spectrum, MSX, LucasArts SCUMMV, some arcade games, some Id Software ports, DivX movies, AVIs, MPEGs, MP3s, and assorted other open-source projects on it.

07-09-2003, 10:00 AM	#366
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	You're limited by the size of your SmartMedia card (which is what the GP32 reads from). Hence, any movie files will require major compression to fit -- it's more of a "Hey, it's neat that it can do that" feature than a major selling point.

07-10-2003, 02:08 PM	#367
Tobiasly hot Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Jeffersonville, IN (near Louisville) Posts: 892	I would just like to say that I recently joined the 21st century and played my first game of Halo on XBox. My whole platoon is quickly becoming addicted. They sell XBoxen, Halo, and TV's on base here (we're back in Kuwait, if I haven't mentioned that), and all these young, single enlisted guys with all this money saved up because they've been in the desert for months have nothing better to spend their money on. So we have 4 networked consoles with 4 players each, and stay up until 3 or 4 a.m. each night playing team games (Team Slayer at first, now mostly CTF). But 3 of the TV's are only 14", so split that 4 ways and it doesn't leave you much real estate. Man, war is hell.

07-10-2003, 02:21 PM	#368
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	I'm guessing DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball would be considered contraband?

07-18-2003, 12:17 PM	#371
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	I'm surprising myself by how much I want to go out and get PS2 <a href="http://ps2.ign.com/articles/425/425633p1.html">Magic Pengel: The Quest For Color</a>. Looks like an unholy blend of Monster Rancher and Seventh Cross Evolution. The former is well and truly celebrated, while I'm about one of six people on Earth who enjoyed the latter. Best Buy has it for cheap. Then again, since I _still_ haven't gotten around to starting Kingdom Hearts...

08-15-2003, 11:44 AM	#372
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Latest addiction: Dynasty Warriors 3. I'd been eyeing this series for a while, and decided on part three for a couple of reasons: a lot of diehard reviewers liked it better than DW4 (or at least felt that DW4 wasn't a big enough upgrade), it was half the price of DW4, and it had many of the same features (elephants, for instance). The gameplay is repetitive, but still lots of fun (think Final Fight 3D in ancient China, with hundreds of friends and foes battling all around you). The levels are somewhat static (as compared to the reportedly-better AI in DW4), but it still can be a challenge to make your way around the huge battlefields, reach imperiled allies in the nick of time and keep everybody's morale boosted. There are tons of powerups and items, 40+ reasonably different characters (many of them unlockable), four weapons per character and three difficulty levels. Two players can play either head-to-head or co-op, adding to the fun. Joe Bob sez check it out. (holding off on VF4: Evolution -- my wife has Silent Hill 3, I have DW3, so we're _already_ fighting over control of the PS2)

10-13-2003, 06:36 AM	#373
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Okay! Since the fire, current console list (working) is as follows: - 2 Xbox - 2 GameCubes - 1 PS2 - 1 GameGear - 1 Dreamcast - 1 PSOne - 1 PlayStation - 1 GameBoy Advance SP - 1 GameBoy Advance - 1 GameBoy Player (for big-screen Metroid Fusion-y goodness!) I have way too many games to list, and when I retire, I will finally have time to play them. I'm looking to pick up the following: - Another GameGear, since they're so cheap - 1 Sega Nomad - 1 Neo Geo Pocket Color + some good games I know vsp will be able to help me with that last part. Puzzle games, anything you think will be interesting. I have been spending an awful lot of time with Soul Calibur II lately. I have it for all 3 consoles. I am totally done with the Xbox version, having everything unlocked. The PS2 version was what I got first, and I'm about 70% done that (have one character to unlock yet plus a boatload of weapons), but now it's almost unplayable because of load times and because it looks so fugly. I just got the GC version last night (have to buy games for insurance!) and I haven't even put it in the console. I'll probably get to work on that some time this week. I picked up TimeSplitters 2 for Xbox, because it was only $20 and Paul and I played it when he was over. It's definitely pretty cool for a console-based FPS. I liked the idea of it, and I want to play through it single-player. I need to put more time in on Halo. I tried to beat it on Legendary (the highest difficulty), and it kicked my ass. I need to start easy and go from there. I need to pick up Stuart Little 2 for PSone, because Jenni wants to play it. How about that GameCube at $100? It ain't getting much cheaper, folks. Go buy one and make yourself happy. Alright vsp, educate me on the ways of the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

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