Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 2010 Purchase Thread!
- Thread starter Taustin Powers
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have no new purchases planned for 2010. Doesn't mean I won't buy anything. 
There is just nothing I'm pining over, except Star Wars:TOR which is not due out till next year and it's not even a console game.
There is just nothing I'm pining over, except Star Wars:TOR which is not due out till next year and it's not even a console game.
Someone on Eurogamer said he prefers it over FFVII, Tales of Symphonia and Chrono Trigger. When you hear that you have to pull the trigger.
Lol. You and your persona pushing. Swear to god it's like someone pushing crack. I'm still trundling my way through ps2 version, faced with prospect of a 90 hour psp game, I think I'll stick with persona 4.
Oh and Jimmy, prepare for hours of mindless addiction
Lol. You and your persona pushing. Swear to god it's like someone pushing crack. I'm still trundling my way through ps2 version, faced with prospect of a 90 hour psp game, I think I'll stick with persona 4.
Oh and Jimmy, prepare for hours of mindless addiction
Just spreading the good word brother MRU
And the PSP version is a lot quicker since there is no running around during the day. It's a 2D kinda of "map" where you move a cursor to talk to people etc. Only 3D roaming parts are in Tartarus (the 100+ floor dungeon)
WoW, I just checked out a Persona 3 Video on YouTube. It looks interesting and I do have a PS2. I suppose you think it's worth purchase??
Speaking of Persona 3 Portable, I also got it two weeks ago and I've played it for hours daily. It's Very Good.
I believe I still prefer Persona 4 story-wise but in P3P having the possibility to play as a girl makes it win. I also have FES for PS2 but the AI is just so incredibly dumb that I know I'll never play it again, not even for The Answer.
I believe I still prefer Persona 4 story-wise but in P3P having the possibility to play as a girl makes it win. I also have FES for PS2 but the AI is just so incredibly dumb that I know I'll never play it again, not even for The Answer.
While the AI can be annoying in P3, I still think FES is better than the PSP version if only because the static background, floating-portrait part of the game loses SO much charm that P3 and 4 had.
Arc System Works are porting Arcana Heart 3 to PlayStation/Xbox I suppose there is a half decent chance it might see a Western release, but I'll be getting the Japanese version for Xmas anyway. Huzzah.
I suppose there is a half decent chance it might see a Western release, but I'll be getting the Japanese version for Xmas anyway. Huzzah. 
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
So, the Demons souls Servers are going to be shut down somewhat shortly. SUCH a bummer, even though I rarely play anymore. I do wish that the game servers for all games sold on a console were required to be up for the life of the console, or at least allow others to create their own servers.
Yes and yes. I also think if something like this happens, that Sony or the publisher should step in and support the servers (or use their own). Demon's Souls was exceptional. A shame that newcomers won't be able to see the full game in all its glory.
Decided to pick up some new games over the weekend, without really knowing what's out recently/coming soon.
Picked up:
- Crackdown 2
- Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising
- The Darkness (came free with Crackdown 2)
Operation Flashpoint lasted about an hour. The graphics are meh, the environment too empty, the controls are too unwieldy for a console, and your allies AI is poor. I was really hoping to enjoy this, I like immersive games, and games with a big, open game world.. pity.
The Darkness since it came free I had VERY low expectations. But it's not bad. Quite linear, the plot is a bit weird, gameplay is fairly repetitive, but it's nicely put together, quite dark (funnily enough) and I'm playing through it just to see how it turns out.
Crackdown 2 is probably the biggest disappointment. The original was brainless but fun. This seems to be even more brainless, and slightly less fun. They seem to have changed all the good bits, and kept all the bad.
What they should have changed, but didn't:
- Same city. Part of the fun of a new game is exploring the new environment. This has the same city as the original, albeit in much worse shape.
- Targeting mechanism. Still flawed, you can be shooting a bad guy and when he dies the reticle switches to another behind a wall, or a civilian. Grrr.
- If you fail a race, there's no Replay option. You have to make your way all the way back again, often on foot.
What they should have kept, but didn't:
- Music. The soundtrack on the original was perfect for the mindless violence. The music on this one was very forgettable.
- The agent vehicles which upgraded as you did! Why did they go???????
- The stronghold missions. Sneaking into a base and killing a crime boss is fun! Killing endless faceless freaks and Cell soldiers, time and again, isn't.
And the ending was about as "meh" as you can get.
Guess it's time to head back to the store and try again.
Picked up:
- Crackdown 2
- Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising
- The Darkness (came free with Crackdown 2)
Operation Flashpoint lasted about an hour. The graphics are meh, the environment too empty, the controls are too unwieldy for a console, and your allies AI is poor. I was really hoping to enjoy this, I like immersive games, and games with a big, open game world.. pity.
The Darkness since it came free I had VERY low expectations. But it's not bad. Quite linear, the plot is a bit weird, gameplay is fairly repetitive, but it's nicely put together, quite dark (funnily enough) and I'm playing through it just to see how it turns out.
Crackdown 2 is probably the biggest disappointment. The original was brainless but fun. This seems to be even more brainless, and slightly less fun. They seem to have changed all the good bits, and kept all the bad.
What they should have changed, but didn't:
- Same city. Part of the fun of a new game is exploring the new environment. This has the same city as the original, albeit in much worse shape.
- Targeting mechanism. Still flawed, you can be shooting a bad guy and when he dies the reticle switches to another behind a wall, or a civilian. Grrr.
- If you fail a race, there's no Replay option. You have to make your way all the way back again, often on foot.
What they should have kept, but didn't:
- Music. The soundtrack on the original was perfect for the mindless violence. The music on this one was very forgettable.
- The agent vehicles which upgraded as you did! Why did they go???????
- The stronghold missions. Sneaking into a base and killing a crime boss is fun! Killing endless faceless freaks and Cell soldiers, time and again, isn't.
And the ending was about as "meh" as you can get.
Guess it's time to head back to the store and try again.
So, the free game ended up being the best?
IMO, yes. OF has unwieldy controls, high level of difficulty and poor AI; while C2 is just a bland, extremely repetitive button-masher.
The Darkness has its flaws, but fits in nicely in the middle between those two. Easy to pick up and play, has a story to follow, and some variety in the gameplay.
It's so disappointing to hear about Crackdown 2. The original, while janky and repetitive, just had something special about it.
It's so disappointing to hear about Crackdown 2. The original, while janky and repetitive, just had something special about it.
I didn't think I'd like the original Crackdown, too repetitive and lacking in any kind of story. But the sheer fun of the OTT abilities, being able to lift and throw almost anything, climb almost any building, leap from rooftop to rooftop.. really won me over.
If you liked it, you'll probably like the sequel, it's basically the same game, again. Same city, same gameplay. It's just a shame each of the changes they've made seem to be negative.
Another definite buy cropped up - http://store.steampowered.com/app/22600/. Not out for another month though.
Wait what? Already? This game was JUST released in Europe... I've always wanted to test it, but maybe it sounds strange, it's the only game that truly frightens me because of how people say it's brutally difficult and will tear your brains out.
Anyway, console games seem to lose online support so fast these days. Eye of Judgement servers went down, and when MGS 3 Subsistence was released the online mode was only available for a year.
About P3P's 2d-ness, I like it as it makes the game go much faster, but it's true you lose some scenes where it'd be important to actually see what's happening. Like umm, swimsuits at the beach...
I wouldn't mind if P3P had the same overworld engine as P3, just updated with the magical square button teleport.
I guess I'm a little different than you. I found CD2 to be much better than the first. I'm not saying it is a perfect game, by any means. But, in my opinion, it does everything the first one did, but more and better. I'll explain my reasoning with some of your list of complaints...
- Music
This one is a non-issue for me. The only time you really hear the music is when you are in a car, which if we're being honest, isn't often in this game. The game is meant to be played in the air, running and gliding from rooftop to rooftop. I hardly noticed the music in the first, and didn't in this one either.
- Morphing Cars
The fun part about the cars in the first game wasn't really the morphing, it was what they did when they were maxed out. In CD2, they just took out all the intermediary steps, and dropped you right into the maxed out version. It is the most fun version of each car, so I don't see the issue. I mean, are you really wishing that you had a level 2 SUV that did nothing much more than the level 1 version? Plus, they added a helicopter. Once you get access to that, the other vehicles become pointless, morphing or not.
- Same Pacific City
This one I'll half give you. While it is the same city, with the same layout, enough of it is different that I don't ever feel that bored with it. Almost all of the buildings are now different, so routes you may have previously taken to scale a building in CD1 no longer work in CD2. Plus, almost all of the orbs are in new locations, not to mention all the new ones as well. Would I have loved to see a new city? Sure, but I've yet to be bored so far in Pacific City in CD2.
- Targeting
Again, this is one that I will half give you. The targeting in the first was never that good, but this one is at least not worse. Yes, it can be very frustrating when there are 5 enemies in front of you, and the game wants to target a trash can. But, given the short development time these guys had, I'll take it. After all my hours in the game so far, I've learned all the quirks now, and can easily cope with the issues.
- Missions
This is one where I differ from you. You say you liked the stronghold missions in CD1. I didn't really find them any different than what we have in CD2. Sure, there was a "Boss" to kill at each of the locations in CD1, but those basically amounted to nothing more than 15sec of extra gunfire or rockets to kill. The "Cell" missions in CD2 were the same thing, minus the boring bosses. And with some of the bigger "Freak" enemies, CD2 finally has something that can, and will, chase you down and kick your ass. But, when you add up all the different types of missions (Cell Strongholds, Absorption Unit Activation, Beacon deployment, Freak Breaches), I thought the variety of missions was at least as good as CD1, if not better.
- Races
Boring and monotonous in CD1, and exactly the same in CD2. The only way to improve them, in my opinion, isn't to give you a "Retry" option. It would be to just get rid of them. I've never done any of them more than once, and never once cared how my times compared to my friends. If they found a way to make them more exciting, I might care about retrying them. But as is, they were a one-and-done thing for me.
Overall, I found the game to be really fun. Like I said, it does everything that the first one did, and more. More mission types, more enemy types, new abilities, new vehicles, etc. Sure, it has some problems, that is obvious. But, given the very short amount of time Ruffian had to work on this, I'm OK with the product that came out. Crackdown 1 was my favorite game of this generation up until this came out. But, given all the additions to CD2, it has now taken over that spot by default. The same game, but more stuff to do? Sign me up.