Troll Lord Games

Yes I am an avid video gamer as well though I am not very well enamored with some of the current selections out there. However I have recently had a thought on it that has actually spiced up my enjoyment of the hobby and made my gaming more enjoyable.

I eliminated the two problems I saw with gaming and have been happier. These two things is what seperated the early Nintendo generation from the newer blood gamers. Not that I am belittling them but something I would dare them to try.

The two problems for me was the rampant proliferation of cheatcodes and cheat devices and the almighty Strategy guide. When I first saw them I thought they were neat additions to a tougher game. Now everygame has to have them and the guides have become tourbooks to see the game not play it.

I'm not satisfied anymore with finding X item because a guide told me where it was. I am more satisfied finding X item following in game hints and my own explorations. No, I may not speed run through a game anymore but beating it is very satisfying now.

I am currently playing Metroid Prime 1&2, Shadow of Colossis, LOTR the Third Age, Zelda the Windwaker, and some others all without resorting to any outside help. I am happy with the results and the fun I have had playing them. The last game I beat without outside help was FF7 when it came out. So it's been nice to return to a style that flexes my gamer muscle and greymatter.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

I'm going to have to let my kids read this. I don't let them buy "Strategy/Cheat Guides", nor do I let them search for cheat codes on the internet. Not until they have "beat" it.

Then they can play it again, getting any of the "cool" stuff they may have missed, and use cool cheats. Because, by this time, the cheats and the "guides" are all throughly talked about, revealed, and even listed, on various "cheat" sites.

Of course they got to rag on some older teenagers at our Christmas party for being "whimps" and needing to cheat in order to win games they have won without "cheating". So they know that kind of "satisfaction".

the new rainbow six : vegas game for the 360 is great... should give it a whirl for co-op mayhem.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

The Metroid series on Gamecube are the best for that kind of "I-figured-it-out satisfaction." One great big puzzle. Windwaker is the same way. Enjoy.

I'm not a big video game player and have not really played since I was a kid. I finally broke down and bught a PS2 today (yeah, a bit late considering the PS3 is out) and I feel like a dummy.

You need a degree in engineering to figure out the controllers with the ungodly amount of buttons they have these days.

Only cheats or guides I'll likely look at are the ones that might mystically unlock my knowledge of how to work a controller.

Don't feel bad about that Ddwarf. I gotta PS2 for the holidays and when I told people at work they laughed at me. Honestly, I've been playin Sim City on SNES lately and can't put it down. Aww the good old days.

Not new games, but I've been having lots of fun with Wild ARMS 3 and Wild ARMS Alter Code F (a platform conversion of the original game) for the PS2. Something nifty about Wild West RPGing. I like that its got puzzle-solving and interactive subgames, in addition to letting you blow bad guys up with shotguns and sniper rifles.

I don't play console games, personally. I'm more of a PC gamer. And if you want to see the absolute BEST rpg for the PC ever made (in my not-so-humble opinion), you owe it to yourself to check out The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This game is a bit hefty in the system requirements, but *damn* it's cool. Seriously, check it out!!

Ink
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Check out Inkpot's C&C Downloads: http://www.cncplayer.net/inkpot/index.htm

C&C: Blissfully devoid of gestalt neko-hin rogue/fighter/mages!!

I worked at a game store for a year-and-a-half and I still don't own a PS2. I do plan on getting one in the near future, however, and I'll then have a nice selection of games to choose from (and cheap too!). I had a gamecube and now we're waiting on a Wii to come in at our FLVGS . If you're looking for a good rpg for the cube then give Baten Kaitos a shot.

Orpheus wrote:
I worked at a game store for a year-and-a-half and I still don't own a PS2. I do plan on getting one in the near future, however, and I'll then have a nice selection of games to choose from (and cheap too!). I had a gamecube and now we're waiting on a Wii to come in at our FLVGS . If you're looking for a good rpg for the cube then give Baten Kaitos a shot.

So far I haven't seen anything that the new PS has that makes me want one. In fact the more I learn about it the less I want one. Too much push into online gaming and I'm not so sure that the system will work for more than 90 days.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

I prob wouldn't get a PS3 right now. But that's just my biased opinion. Not real big titles to speak of.

Besides I'm not a fan of jap games. Ambiguous male leads kinda turn me off from jap games. lol...

All kidding aside, jap RPGs just dont do it for me. Imho there is quite a different "style" between NA and Jap RPG games. When I play a Jap RPG, I feel like i rather be watching a movie of the story than playing the game.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

The last good video game was Baldur's Gate 2. There will not be another until they ditch the concept of 3d altogether. 3d may be okay someday down the road when we all have 68 inch monitors. 3d games give the perspective of being in a closet. I can see 2 feet due to the size of the blocky, ugly, 3d thingamabobs on the screen. Is that an orc or a ferrari? Hell if I can tell.
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You face 99 beserkers, 99 beserkers, 99 beserkers, and 99 beserkers.

Will your stalwart band choose to Fight, Advance, or Run?

On the rpg side I want more games like the original Zelda or even the 16 bit dungeon crawlers. These story based RPGs with androginous (sp?) leads and no real game to them are getting tiresome. I emntions once before I have gave up on Final Fantasy since there is no fantasy or game to the series anymore.

3d doesn't bother me I take it as a sign of the times but Castlevania:sotn showed 2d sprites can still be viable. I'd love to see a 3d dungeon crawling game with no story one of these days.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

Julian Grimm wrote:
I'd love to see a 3d dungeon crawling game with no story one of these days.

There are a few on the market. Usually for discount. As they tend to be a little boring after a while. Maybe what you meant was a "party based" dungeon crawl.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

That would be it. A Swords and Serpents remake would rock.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

Like Inkpot, I'm strictly a PC gamer (although I am sorely tempted to get a PS2). I am currently playing (still) Civ4. Can't get enough of this game. It eases my craving for control!

But ... a bit of a rant. I want to play Oblivion and NW2 so badly I can taste them (I even bought Oblivion already ....). But the g-d system requirements are so high that I will need to buy a new system before I can get them to work. While I understand progress, it pisses me off that these games are pitched at a tech level beyond ... well, beyond me!!! (And my system is hardly primitive (Pentium 4 , 2 Mghz, 768 ram, but weak graphics card)
Sigh. Maybe later this year I'll convince Mrs Geleg that we need a new computer for work purposes
Geleg

Geleg wrote:
Like Inkpot, I'm strictly a PC gamer (although I am sorely tempted to get a PS2). I am currently playing (still) Civ4. Can't get enough of this game. It eases my craving for control!

But ... a bit of a rant. I want to play Oblivion and NW2 so badly I can taste them (I even bought Oblivion already ....). But the g-d system requirements are so high that I will need to buy a new system before I can get them to work. While I understand progress, it pisses me off that these games are pitched at a tech level beyond ... well, beyond me!!! (And my system is hardly primitive (Pentium 4 , 2 Mghz, 768 ram, but weak graphics card)
Sigh. Maybe later this year I'll convince Mrs Geleg that we need a new computer for work purposes
Geleg

I fully understand. The rapid advances in PC games are one of the reasons I bought a PS2. I refuse to do an overhaul on my PC again just to play the newest games.

Word 'dat, Danger Dwarf. This is EXACTLY why I'm starting to look at console systems ...

Geleg

Hmm, haven't seen the latest PS2 price, but I gotta believe it's a good one, now that the next edition gaming consoles are coming out. We still use ours a lot and I'm seeing so many titles for great prices. I even bought some recently for my daughter.

The new consoles seem very overpriced, particulary the Xbox. Even after getting a basic unit, one needs to shell out lots more cash to get all the features and online abilities.

On the other hand, to play some of the latest PC games, you need the latest high speed compter (4.2 mghz for Quake IV!!!).
Heh, those companies know what the hell they are doing!
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Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Well, PCs drive technology, and what drives them are the games created. So, all the ramped up stuff that's happened in the last 20 years for computers is owed to people like Steve Jobs (created Breakout) and the Russian dude who made Tetris. I don't like PC games so much, as I feel they're all the same (one shooter is the same as another, and the RPGs are very similar... and I hate "real time gaming.") but on consoles, I get the stories I want, the play I expect, and the "coolness" I deserve.

The good news is that PCs are so cheap these days...time to get a new one methinks!

Remember the 2gigs of ram is the std these days! (I know it sounds ridiculous, but even with a sub-par system, 2.6ghz & 6800 i can run NWN2 and oblivion with 2gigs.)
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

Geleg wrote:
Word 'dat, Danger Dwarf. This is EXACTLY why I'm starting to look at console systems ...

Geleg

Well, I can say that console gaming is winning me over. I picked up the PS2 at a decent price and after doing some bargain shopping I picked up a number of games.

All I can say is, Wow.

I was never a console game fan, figuring that gaming on my PC was good enough. Well, today is day two with the PS2 and after skimming through my game purchases and testing them out I'm amazed.

Even my wife was impressed and she doesn't care for video games. I was trying out a western game called Gun while she was doing some reading. As the game got going a little bit she interrupted me with:

"Can you pause it for a minute? I've got to go make coffee."

Heh, seems it peaked her interest as well.

I'm glad I finally caved in and bought one.

too right, Angelius. The standard for gaming is pretty high now. I guess it's only me who thinks my system isn't a dinosaur. When I bought it (what, can it be 4 years ago?!), it seemed like a screamer. Alas.

G

I liked Doom, Diablo, the Baldur's Gate engine games, and TOEE. Beyond that I'm not big on the PC games.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

Geleg wrote:
too right, Angelius. The standard for gaming is pretty high now. I guess it's only me who thinks my system isn't a dinosaur. When I bought it (what, can it be 4 years ago?!), it seemed like a screamer. Alas.

G

alas... Moore's "Law"
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

DangerDwarf wrote:
Well, I can say that console gaming is winning me over. I picked up the PS2 at a decent price and after doing some bargain shopping I picked up a number of games.

All I can say is, Wow.

I was never a console game fan, figuring that gaming on my PC was good enough. Well, today is day two with the PS2 and after skimming through my game purchases and testing them out I'm amazed.

Even my wife was impressed and she doesn't care for video games. I was trying out a western game called Gun while she was doing some reading. As the game got going a little bit she interrupted me with:

"Can you pause it for a minute? I've got to go make coffee."

Heh, seems it peaked her interest as well.

I'm glad I finally caved in and bought one.

Sounds like my wife when I am playing LOTR:the Third Age. Worth checking out on your new PS2 DD!
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

angelius wrote:
There are a few on the market. Usually for discount. As they tend to be a little boring after a while. Maybe what you meant was a "party based" dungeon crawl.

I'm tellin' ya....Dungeons & Dragons Online is a total "party based dungeon crawl." The other members of the party can be real people too. Seriously though, I really enjoy that game (especially when I group with my friends and the dungeons are treated as old AD&D modules) and have a blast playing it in moderation. I did have a regular Monday night group and it was like having a regular gaming group, especially when we were doing a new dungeon together. My wife (bless her) can't get into the character creation and skill selection aspects of it (well...it does use 3.5 rules after all, so it's not all her fault) and it does require a lot of grouping, which I really like but she doesn't. So she picked up Warcraft to play with two of our friends so I put the 10 day trial in to give it another whirl (I've tried it before ). Verdict: Boring! All you do is go kill stuff and the "dungeon" that we did with our friends (and said friends' brother whose residence seems to be Azeroth) was just a maze to kill stuff with no puzzles, riddles, secret areas, traps to be disarmed. The quests all go like this: "Go and kill 12 of these and 12 of those and bring me back some of the items they occasionally drop." It is very simple (there can be challenges yes, but the basic style-of-play is very....uh, basic) Everyone says that there is so much content in WoW, but it just seems like a bunch of busy work and traveling. A lot of people slam DDO, but for someone who doesn't enjoy the mindless grind of a lot of MMO's the dungeons which remind me of the old mod's are better than most give it credit for. It's kind of like having a nice new issue of "Online Dungeon Crawl" delivered fresh to my doorstep every month.

I liked DDO as well (beta-tested it). But it did lack some of the more flambouyant aspects of WoW.

As boring as WoW can be, it had polish which DDO failed to deliver imho.

I'm far more looking forward to Conan: MMORPG.
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Big Iron Vault Your friendly neighbourhood gaming magazine. Check out our new webcomic, The Heindrich Project!

MMORPG's and such is where I drop out. I think they are a scam and rip-off and won't be a part of it.
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The Lord of Ravens
My blog

I agree completely. Once I've paid for a game, I want to be able to play it, whenever I want, for as long as I want. Paying to play on a continual basis is a skewed business... where the consumer gets AOLed.