Time to make the most of my summer vacation.

[Carl the Llama]

Yeah... I've actually seen all five endings. I had a friend who really likes the series and made me watch him play sometimes. I'm mostly talking about the main twist about the truth behind the way his wife died and what Silent Hill really is to him.

Its still a great game to play... I love the noise things make when you hit them with the crow bar, even when dead you can still hit them again and again... good times xD

[Shaibana]

Im just gonna stick with the consoles i have
i hardly know any of those games (a)
but for PSP i would recommend: Final Fantasy Crisis core and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep..
i know theyre not on yr list

and from PS3:
Assassins creed, beautiful (long) game!!

[Flying Arrow]

WK, I'm looking over your original post and I completely missed Phantasy Star (in my defense, I see the word Wii and my brain automatically shuts down).

Definitely play Phantasy Star. Excellent game. As far as early JRPGs go, I'll take PS1 over both FF1 and DW1 (which is actually just anyway). And like was said a few posts ago, don't look at maps and don't look up answers. Make sure you have a notebook and pencil with you.

[Wolf Kanno]

Im just gonna stick with the consoles i have
i hardly know any of those games (a)
but for PSP i would recommend: Final Fantasy Crisis core and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep..
i know theyre not on yr list

and from PS3:
Assassins creed, beautiful (long) game!!

I've already played and beaten Crisis Core (which I didn't really like) and Birth By Sleep (which I loved) so I'm good on those fronts.

I'll take the vote for Assassins Creed.

WK, I'm looking over your original post and I completely missed Phantasy Star (in my defense, I see the word Wii and my brain automatically shuts down).

Definitely play Phantasy Star. Excellent game. As far as early JRPGs go, I'll take PS1 over both FF1 and DW1 (which is actually just anyway). And like was said a few posts ago, don't look at maps and don't look up answers. Make sure you have a notebook and pencil with you.

Don't build my expectations up Flying Arrow, I will spam your Mognet account with arguments on the contrary if it doesn't live up.

[Flying Arrow]

Allow me to temper my comment then:

You may like it more than Final Fantasy I, but I can't remember your feelings on that one.

You will like it more than Dragon Warrior I, because no mentally healthy individual actually enjoyed playing Dragon Warrior I.

PS is part JRPG, part first-person dungeon-crawler (the dungeons are great, really), and part adventure game (each planet is basically a giant puzzle of who gets what and what goes where). The weakest aspect - easily - is the combat. This is probably the major area that may turn you off.

[black orb]

>>> Mystic Quest.. Im glad I was able to play it before I turned into a jaded gamer..

[Bolivar]

I keep hearing Peace Walker has one of the best stories in the series, but I had trouble really getting into it personally. I bought it near the day it came out and played it for a while. I got pretty close to the end if I understand correctly, but then stopped playing and haven't touched it sense. That game is one I personally plan on playing through this summer.

OH. MY. GOD. Summer of EoFF Peace Walker Ad-Hoc Party Friendship Co-Ops RPG!!!!!!!!!!! We should do this! Do you got a PS3? Hit me and Wolf up on PSN, LET'S DO THIS!!!!!!

Back to topic:

Dragon Quest IV - depends where you're at, I personally love the game, but if the magic of the Dragon Quest adventure just doesn't do it for you, there's no shame in skipping it. Personally I just started V on the DS and these games are so well done and so incredible with everything they do, I just recommend them no matter what.

Tactics Ogre - You'll want to go with the PSP version. As far as "if it's as good as everyone says it is," it depends on what you think is good. And if you think FF Tactics is good, you'll think this game is great. It's a better game, hands down.

White Knight Chronicles - I can't say this game gets better as it goes on, but it's an easy and decent JRPG playthrough and if nothing else I'd love to play more of the multiplayer, so let me know if you jump on it.

Valkyria Chronicles - it's really up to you whether or not this game deserves to have a special place in your heart, no big deal if it doesn't. Personally I'm with Vivi22, it's one of the most innovative SRPGs in the last few years.

Assassin's Creed - you should beat it to say you played it and also to play its excellent sequel. It's repetitive, but luckily you can use that repetition to get really good at 1-3 side missions in order to unlock and speed through the story bosses and beat the game fairly quickly. Not a long play and a very satisfying one at the end.

Vice City -you mentioned playing it for story, and IMO GTA is one of the best examples of satire in video games. But that's just me.

[Jessweeee♪]

Assassin's Creed. Like you said, just plow through it, because the sequels are so much better gameplay wise and you'll be glad!

[Jiro]

I'm just pissed at your library's sized you jerk

[Loony BoB]

I'm unsure if there is any reason to not like Batman Arkham Asylum. I think you'll enjoy it. It's expertly paced, there are a bunch of things to do and numerous ways to go about them.

[Shaibana]

Assassin's Creed. Like you said, just plow through it, because the sequels are so much better gameplay wise and you'll be glad!

ya, but skip the first one it was ok, i played the whole game out but to be honest... i didnt get the story at all xD (mostly becuas there were no subtitles)
AC1 was alright, but like they said: to much repeat.

as for the 2nd: i found this the best one. to me it was totaly balanced

Brotherhood: it was a cool game. in the 2nd i wanted to ride horses in town, but in Brotherhood i 'regret' that. the horse in the city makes it to simple (plus the fact that u cant just run ppl over without conciquences >.<)..
But it kind of ruined it for me the moment u make the Brotherhood, and can 'summon' assassins to do the job for you... it made the game just to easy :S
p.s i really loved the multyplayer, its really one of a kind!!

p.s. other good games i would recommend:
Uncharted
resident evil 5
naruto ultimate ninja storm 2 (only if u watch the anime, haha!!)

[Polnareff]

I'm unsure if there is any reason to not like Batman Arkham Asylum. I think you'll enjoy it. It's expertly paced, there are a bunch of things to do and numerous ways to go about them.

There is one thing. One thing I dislike about Arkham Asylum, and that's how closed-in it is. Batman by nature goes around town all the time, so to play the game and have it be almost totally restricted kinda sucked. But they're fixing that in Arkham City, so Arkham City should be damn near perfect.

I don't even like Batman and I love Arkham Asylum. That's how good it is.

[Wolf Kanno]

Allow me to temper my comment then:

You may like it more than Final Fantasy I, but I can't remember your feelings on that one.

You will like it more than Dragon Warrior I, because no mentally healthy individual actually enjoyed playing Dragon Warrior I.

I actually happen to like DQ1 Its kind of hard to fault a game when it was the first of its kind.

[/quote]PS is part JRPG, part first-person dungeon-crawler (the dungeons are great, really), and part adventure game (each planet is basically a giant puzzle of who gets what and what goes where). The weakest aspect - easily - is the combat. This is probably the major area that may turn you off.[/QUOTE]

I've played a little of it, I'm actually surprised how little it uses the Sci-Fi setting beyond the storm trooper enemies. It uses more fantasy mythos than I was expecting. Dungeons are fun but I'm use to them cause of the MegaTen games which use the same exact format.

>>> Mystic Quest.. I'm glad I was able to play it before I turned into a jaded gamer..

I'm not going into the game expecting much, I may spend most of my time laughing actually.

I keep hearing Peace Walker has one of the best stories in the series, but I had trouble really getting into it personally. I bought it near the day it came out and played it for a while. I got pretty close to the end if I understand correctly, but then stopped playing and haven't touched it sense. That game is one I personally plan on playing through this summer.

OH. MY. GOD. Summer of EoFF Peace Walker Ad-Hoc Party Friendship Co-Ops RPG!!!!!!!!!!! We should do this! Do you got a PS3? Hit me and Wolf up on PSN, LET'S DO THIS!!!!!!

Crap man, I'll have to start getting to work on Peace Walker.

Dragon Quest IV - depends where you're at, I personally love the game, but if the magic of the Dragon Quest adventure just doesn't do it for you, there's no shame in skipping it. Personally I just started V on the DS and these games are so well done and so incredible with everything they do, I just recommend them no matter what.

I've reached the point where everyone is together and I'm looking for the Zenithia Gear. Basically, I've reached the point where it became a traditional DQ game. I'll get back to it eventually, the chapter set-up was interesting if a bit tedious since I had to effectively start the game from scratch like 5 times. I'm mostly sad cause Torneko's chapter was easily the best out of the bunch since it offered the most variety. I may have to see if I can track down that rare PS1 game they made about him.

Tactics Ogre - You'll want to go with the PSP version. As far as "if it's as good as everyone says it is," it depends on what you think is good. And if you think FF Tactics is good, you'll think this game is great. It's a better game, hands down.

I goofed, it isn't Tactics Ogre I picked up, its actually Ogre Battle and I have been playing through this game and its surprisingly very good. I just wish class changing wasn't so difficult due to every little thing affecting Alignment.

White Knight Chronicles - I can't say this game gets better as it goes on, but it's an easy and decent JRPG playthrough and if nothing else I'd love to play more of the multiplayer, so let me know if you jump on it.

Its not a bad game, its just a title where every story element so far seems like its been used before. I really feel like I'm playing a crossover between an old school RPG and Vision of Escaflowne (not that this is a bad thing). Combat is fun, but the combo system is seriously where its at. I just wish it wasn't so limited when it comes to using magic in combos.

I do need to utilize multiplayer more. I'm still really early in the game but my personal character is higher than my story party thanks to the missions only allowing him to participate. I may have tot take you up on the offer.

Valkyria Chronicles - it's really up to you whether or not this game deserves to have a special place in your heart, no big deal if it doesn't. Personally I'm with Vivi22, it's one of the most innovative SRPGs in the last few years.

Gameplay is fun, I ain't knocking that. I just kind of had the story ruined for me so its hard to get excited when you know what is going to happen next. There are some interface issues I have with the game but I can get over it and just try to enjoy the gameplay. Its nice to see that someone at Sega knows how to make a game again.

Assassin's Creed - you should beat it to say you played it and also to play its excellent sequel. It's repetitive, but luckily you can use that repetition to get really good at 1-3 side missions in order to unlock and speed through the story bosses and beat the game fairly quickly. Not a long play and a very satisfying one at the end.

The tediousness gets on my nerves and once I got the counter ability, combat pretty much stopped being fun cause Altair became unstoppable. This all goes back to my issue about it is impossible to make a great stealth game when your character is overly competent in combat, argument. I've really enjoyed the story so far so I may just plow through it since it sounds like it may be the shortest game so far.

Vice City -you mentioned playing it for story, and IMO GTA is one of the best examples of satire in video games. But that's just me.

Oddly enough, I picked the game up more for the soundtrack (I love the 80s ) and the silly senseless violence.

I'm just pissed at your library's sized you jerk

I'm unsure if there is any reason to not like Batman Arkham Asylum. I think you'll enjoy it. It's expertly paced, there are a bunch of things to do and numerous ways to go about them.

I played the hell out of the demo, so I know its good to some extent. My only beef with the game is the fugly character designs. Its like half the cast is either using steroids and the other is smoking crack.

Assassin's Creed. Like you said, just plow through it, because the sequels are so much better gameplay wise and you'll be glad!

ya, but skip the first one it was ok, i played the whole game out but to be honest... i didnt get the story at all xD (mostly becuas there were no subtitles)
AC1 was alright, but like they said: to much repeat.

as for the 2nd: i found this the best one. to me it was totaly balanced

Brotherhood: it was a cool game. in the 2nd i wanted to ride horses in town, but in Brotherhood i 'regret' that. the horse in the city makes it to simple (plus the fact that u cant just run ppl over without conciquences >.<)..
But it kind of ruined it for me the moment u make the Brotherhood, and can 'summon' assassins to do the job for you... it made the game just to easy :S
p.s i really loved the multyplayer, its really one of a kind!!

I'm trying to get through AC1 so I can get to the better sequels cause I've read they fixed some of my bigger issues.

p.s. other good games i would recommend:
Uncharted
resident evil 5
naruto ultimate ninja storm 2 (only if u watch the anime, haha!!)

I've been meaning to play through Uncharted, I've had the demo on my PS3 for a year now and still haven't gotten around to it yet to see if it is something I would like.

I've played RE5 and don't mind it, I've never been a big RE fan (I don't care for zombies) but I must say I agree with some people that its a better game when you play it co-op with another friend.

As for Naruto, I have actually played the demo. I'm impressed with what they did with the combat system and fighting arenas though I'm not big on 3D fighters. I've heard they finally put Pein into one of the console releases...

************************************************************
I've found a few other games I completely forgot to mention.


Yakuza 1
Okage: The Shadow King
Okami - I'm halfway through with this game.
Skies of Arcadia

[Shlup]

I am now taking donations for the Get Wolfie a Prostitute Fund. PM me your donations.

Please, his very life is clearly at risk here.

[Jessweeee♪]

I've only played AC1 and AC2 so far, and the improvement between the two is pretty amazing. They've completely done away with the whole repetitive check in/gather information/check in again/kill thing. The cities are much much bigger and brighter and more beautiful (Venice!), and Ezio is a much more interesting protagonist than Altair, and he can swim. Yes it's silly that he can swim with all of that junk he's carrying, but it's so much better than drowning in a knee deep fountain. Seriously! I think you have to die by falling off of a tall building into the fountain, but instead of Altair being all "ouch I fell" he starts freaking out because he's in water. And thank goodness they changed that, because instantly dying from touching water when the game is set in Italy would just be awful. AC2 is just better...everything. I think my favorite addition is the glyph puzzles. Had to look quite a few of them up though. I love Assassin's Creed's story, but I just can't play through the first one again because it's just so hard to deal with after enjoying AC2.