Top 5 Xbox 360 Games
- Thread starter SgtFury
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elDiablo
Guest
I love Mass Effect for the 360. Not sure why, but I do. Also, I have Fallout 3 on it, so yay.
E
elDiablo
Guest
Man, the 4 DVDs worth of this bored me
I finished the first DVD after 2 billion hours and couldn't carry on. This makes me sad as it was pretty nice...
thatbloke
Junior Administrator
Man, the 4 DVDs worth of this bored me
You, sir, have no soul.
Tetsuo_Shima
In Cryo Sleep
I endorse this statement.
EDIT: Uh, I've just noticed the 'Top 5' thing, so I'll cut my list down:
1. Mass Effect - A western RPG with a cracking storyline? Well I nivvir! But it's true, and it's here, and this is it! Also has a handy option for cutting down on all that 'attribute point allocation' nonsense that I so despise in western RPGs.
2. Street Fighter IV - BEST FIGHTING GAME EVER. I wrote a full review on it in the Games Chat section.
3. Forza Motorsport 2 - Fantastic simulation racer with a great car selection and customisation.
4. Fifa 09 - About the only football game I can stomach to play, and I can offer no higher praise than that! Top quality.
5. Rez HD (Arcade) - Actually hard to recommend because of the polarity it produces in gamer's opinions, but I love it. A simple shooter, but with a huge difference. Try the demo and see if it takes your fancy.
VibroAxe
Junior Administrator
I loved mass effect. But if u don't like RPG then it definantly won't be for you.
Still my favourite goto game has to be Crackdown. It's pure fun, and great to play coop with. (net code used to be really buggy but of late it seems better!)
This is a bit of a marmite. Assasins creed. I really enjoyed it however it has a somewhat limited play through. Having said that, I recently picked it up again and really annoyed it!
Still my favourite goto game has to be Crackdown. It's pure fun, and great to play coop with. (net code used to be really buggy but of late it seems better!)
This is a bit of a marmite. Assasins creed. I really enjoyed it however it has a somewhat limited play through. Having said that, I recently picked it up again and really annoyed it!
decky101
In Cryo Sleep
5 games is sooooo not enough! There are so many great games for the 360, it is extremely difficult to limit my decision to just 5. First I had to go through a lengthy thought-process just to limit to these, but I will do it in sections so that it is easier to read. My shortlisted:-
Racing Games (In descending order)
3. Grid: Very nice racing game with some nifty features, such as the rewind time ability which allows you to rewind time back to the point before an accident, thus removing the frustration of having to suffer the rest of the race with a damaged car.
2. Midnight Club: Los Angeles: Very addictive racer with a nice combination of both motorbikes and cars, with nice customisation abilities, and a nice arcadey feel, there's nothing quite like flying through the LA sewer system at 230MPH.
1. Forza Motorsport 2: Tet's recommendation seconded, this is a great simulation game that has a lot of depth for both a purist racer and a casual player, although I must be honest and say the penalty system really annoys me, I mean when you go offroad, you're punished enough by the slowing down anyway, no need to penalize you for it, and it gets grating when another racer crashes into the back of you and you get a penalty for it. Nevertheless, for racers, this is the best offering out there on the 360.
May I also take a minute to mention RACE Pro, an ugly yet surprisingly addictive racer as the engine that runs it is really smooth and has a great feel to it, you can really pick it up and play, and if you can get over the unpolished graphics, this really is great fun to play.
RPGs
3. Lost Odyssey: Lovely Graphics, great gameplay and enjoyable all round, also with the heat system, there is an added intensity to the gameplay to make sure you don't run out of heat which helps make this a great game to play.
2. Fable 2: Very much for your casual RPGer, the first word that springs to mind when playing it is "Lovely" it just has a very homely feel to it, it's truly miles away from the grittiness of Fallout 3, but it is no less enjoyable and for me, as a casual RPGer, I found this a great play. My only criticism would be the lack of character customization, but apart from that, highly recommended.
(Also if you are into this genre of RPGs, but are looking for something a tad more mature, Oblivion is a very very very good alternative with lots to do, lots of customization and a lot of gameplay for your buck)
1. Mass Effect: Again following in the recommendations of others here, this is a truly amazing game, visually stunning, epic storyline, and truly vast aside from the main story, there are hundreds of things to be side-tracked (in a good way) by, and the overall feel of it is just great. Again, my one criticism would be that if you're a person who plays games with autosave too often and you forget to save, you'll find yourself really annoyed when you die and haven't saved in a couple of hours or the autosave in the game hasn't saved in hours either.
Action Adventure.
3. Crackdown: Very, very enjoyable game, being a superhero cop in a city is an exciting prospect, graphics (especially for explosions) are lovely and the gradual upgrades are a nice feature too.
2. Assassin's Creed: A brilliantly creative storyline, aside from the fact that the gameplay can sometimes feel a bit limited, and the fact that to escape from the guards you can simply sit on a bench once out of sight, this is a very enjoyable game, the swordplay is great and the ease with which you can jump from building to building and scale walls is fantastic.
1. Grand Theft Auto 4: Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, yes it is true that this is somewhat radical in that it ventures quite far from its arcadey roots, but the storyline, the voice acting, everything makes up for what is for a some a disappointment. There is no one part of this game that is boring, the aiming system has been further improved, my only criticism would be that the handling of the cars isn't great. Still, brilliant game, and furthermore, with the addition of the DLC: The Lost and the Damned (which is pretty much an entirely new game in itself) there's at least 50 hours of play out of this badboy.
(Also if you're into GTA style games, take a gander at Saints Row 2, which is also a very enjoyable game, but takes itself a lot less seriously than GTA)
Shooters.
Firstly, I will leave Halo 3 and Gears from this shortlist as you already have it.
3. Far Cry 2: Wonderfully vast, with so many things to see and do, it's the freedom of choice that really makes this game what it is. Do I run in with my grenade launcher and tear shit up? Or do I sleep in my local safehouse until midnight and then sneek in, picking off each man with my Dart Rifle and Silenced Pistol? Great game, aside from a not too great storyline, with lots of stuff to do, also very nice looking, and the map maker is great fun.
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Hugely popular because of it's online play, this is a must for those who are regular LIVE users, the progression and speed of play and really the sheer addictiveness of it is what has made it what it is today. Aside from the online play, the story is fantastic, if a tad short, and the post-Chernobyl mission in which you sneek through irradiated country has to be seen to be believed.
(Also if you like this, check out Rainbow Six Vegas, great story and great online play, just beaten out of this shortlist by Far Cry 2 as it has slightly more freedom of choice, but if you enjoy CoD, check this out)
1. Bioshock: Truly awesome game in every aspect, no other shooter for me, comes close. Visually stunning, with some of the best visuals you're likely to see on the 360 and a story to match, this game truly epitomises what is needed to be a great shooter, and the splicing adds an element of fun into the mix (Should I pick up this chair using telekinesis and bash the gene splicer over the head with it, or should I just burn him?) and with the ability to turn sentries into allies, no fan of shooters will be left dissappointed after playing this game.
Sports Games.
For me there are only 2 really worth mentioning:
2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09: If you're a golfing enthusiast, this is the best of the bunch, good visuals, enjoyable gameplay, and nice progression from newbie to champ.
1. FIFA '09: The only football game worth mentioning since Pro Evo became awful, all the licenses, all the teams, all the game modes, FIFA is now the daddy when it comes to footy sims. Gameplay is fluid, insanely easy to pick up and play and even a newbie to footy sims can score some absolute screamers if they put their mind to it. If you enjoy football, Get. This. Game.
The Best of the Rest.
3. Mirror's Edge: Innovative, addictive gameplay, very simplistic yet extremely enjoyable, this game will leave anybody who buys it happy, although the gunplay in it is abominable, if I'm honest.
2. Guitar Hero: World Tour: For any musician, this game offers the chance to guitar, drum and sing your way to the top. Great game for having a few mates around the muck about on, difficulty scales well and the drums aren't bad either. Lots of big songs in it and plenty to download if you so desire, a great game.
1. Rainbow Six HAWX: A recent addition to my game's library, this game is a riot. Story is fantastic (although it is set 15 years in the future, which leaves you wondering "why are they flying current day jets 15 years in the future?") the flying is easy to pick up, huge variety of jets in the game, and Assistance OFF mode is great and let's you pull off some truly awesome, and absolutely impossible mid-air feats.
So there you have it! My (hopefully comprehensive enough for you) shortlist of the best 360 games out there!
Racing Games (In descending order)
3. Grid: Very nice racing game with some nifty features, such as the rewind time ability which allows you to rewind time back to the point before an accident, thus removing the frustration of having to suffer the rest of the race with a damaged car.
2. Midnight Club: Los Angeles: Very addictive racer with a nice combination of both motorbikes and cars, with nice customisation abilities, and a nice arcadey feel, there's nothing quite like flying through the LA sewer system at 230MPH.
1. Forza Motorsport 2: Tet's recommendation seconded, this is a great simulation game that has a lot of depth for both a purist racer and a casual player, although I must be honest and say the penalty system really annoys me, I mean when you go offroad, you're punished enough by the slowing down anyway, no need to penalize you for it, and it gets grating when another racer crashes into the back of you and you get a penalty for it. Nevertheless, for racers, this is the best offering out there on the 360.
May I also take a minute to mention RACE Pro, an ugly yet surprisingly addictive racer as the engine that runs it is really smooth and has a great feel to it, you can really pick it up and play, and if you can get over the unpolished graphics, this really is great fun to play.
RPGs
3. Lost Odyssey: Lovely Graphics, great gameplay and enjoyable all round, also with the heat system, there is an added intensity to the gameplay to make sure you don't run out of heat which helps make this a great game to play.
2. Fable 2: Very much for your casual RPGer, the first word that springs to mind when playing it is "Lovely" it just has a very homely feel to it, it's truly miles away from the grittiness of Fallout 3, but it is no less enjoyable and for me, as a casual RPGer, I found this a great play. My only criticism would be the lack of character customization, but apart from that, highly recommended.
(Also if you are into this genre of RPGs, but are looking for something a tad more mature, Oblivion is a very very very good alternative with lots to do, lots of customization and a lot of gameplay for your buck)
1. Mass Effect: Again following in the recommendations of others here, this is a truly amazing game, visually stunning, epic storyline, and truly vast aside from the main story, there are hundreds of things to be side-tracked (in a good way) by, and the overall feel of it is just great. Again, my one criticism would be that if you're a person who plays games with autosave too often and you forget to save, you'll find yourself really annoyed when you die and haven't saved in a couple of hours or the autosave in the game hasn't saved in hours either.
Action Adventure.
3. Crackdown: Very, very enjoyable game, being a superhero cop in a city is an exciting prospect, graphics (especially for explosions) are lovely and the gradual upgrades are a nice feature too.
2. Assassin's Creed: A brilliantly creative storyline, aside from the fact that the gameplay can sometimes feel a bit limited, and the fact that to escape from the guards you can simply sit on a bench once out of sight, this is a very enjoyable game, the swordplay is great and the ease with which you can jump from building to building and scale walls is fantastic.
1. Grand Theft Auto 4: Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, yes it is true that this is somewhat radical in that it ventures quite far from its arcadey roots, but the storyline, the voice acting, everything makes up for what is for a some a disappointment. There is no one part of this game that is boring, the aiming system has been further improved, my only criticism would be that the handling of the cars isn't great. Still, brilliant game, and furthermore, with the addition of the DLC: The Lost and the Damned (which is pretty much an entirely new game in itself) there's at least 50 hours of play out of this badboy.
(Also if you're into GTA style games, take a gander at Saints Row 2, which is also a very enjoyable game, but takes itself a lot less seriously than GTA)
Shooters.
Firstly, I will leave Halo 3 and Gears from this shortlist as you already have it
.3. Far Cry 2: Wonderfully vast, with so many things to see and do, it's the freedom of choice that really makes this game what it is. Do I run in with my grenade launcher and tear shit up? Or do I sleep in my local safehouse until midnight and then sneek in, picking off each man with my Dart Rifle and Silenced Pistol? Great game, aside from a not too great storyline, with lots of stuff to do, also very nice looking, and the map maker is great fun.
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Hugely popular because of it's online play, this is a must for those who are regular LIVE users, the progression and speed of play and really the sheer addictiveness of it is what has made it what it is today. Aside from the online play, the story is fantastic, if a tad short, and the post-Chernobyl mission in which you sneek through irradiated country has to be seen to be believed.
(Also if you like this, check out Rainbow Six Vegas, great story and great online play, just beaten out of this shortlist by Far Cry 2 as it has slightly more freedom of choice, but if you enjoy CoD, check this out)
1. Bioshock: Truly awesome game in every aspect, no other shooter for me, comes close. Visually stunning, with some of the best visuals you're likely to see on the 360 and a story to match, this game truly epitomises what is needed to be a great shooter, and the splicing adds an element of fun into the mix (Should I pick up this chair using telekinesis and bash the gene splicer over the head with it, or should I just burn him?) and with the ability to turn sentries into allies, no fan of shooters will be left dissappointed after playing this game.
Sports Games.
For me there are only 2 really worth mentioning:
2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09: If you're a golfing enthusiast, this is the best of the bunch, good visuals, enjoyable gameplay, and nice progression from newbie to champ.
1. FIFA '09: The only football game worth mentioning since Pro Evo became awful, all the licenses, all the teams, all the game modes, FIFA is now the daddy when it comes to footy sims. Gameplay is fluid, insanely easy to pick up and play and even a newbie to footy sims can score some absolute screamers if they put their mind to it. If you enjoy football, Get. This. Game.
The Best of the Rest.
3. Mirror's Edge: Innovative, addictive gameplay, very simplistic yet extremely enjoyable, this game will leave anybody who buys it happy, although the gunplay in it is abominable, if I'm honest
.2. Guitar Hero: World Tour: For any musician, this game offers the chance to guitar, drum and sing your way to the top. Great game for having a few mates around the muck about on, difficulty scales well and the drums aren't bad either. Lots of big songs in it and plenty to download if you so desire, a great game.
1. Rainbow Six HAWX: A recent addition to my game's library, this game is a riot. Story is fantastic (although it is set 15 years in the future, which leaves you wondering "why are they flying current day jets 15 years in the future?") the flying is easy to pick up, huge variety of jets in the game, and Assistance OFF mode is great and let's you pull off some truly awesome, and absolutely impossible mid-air feats.
So there you have it! My (hopefully comprehensive enough for you) shortlist of the best 360 games out there!
If I really level with myself, the games that I have enjoyed on the X360 without peer are probably Guitar Hero 2 and Rock Band 1 and 2. Indeed, playing GH2 for the first time stands out as one of my favourite gaming moments ever.
However, perhaps because I've been corrupted by Rock Band, I didn't particularly enjoy Guitar Hero: World Tour; the set list didn't appeal and something about the game just didn't seem as much fun as Rock Band 2.
Another favourite was Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy) but that's an Xbox Original not specifically for the X360. Still, worth mentioning.
Aside, I've played a whole bunch of others but few have really stood out as games I'd want to keep as opposed to rent. Good ones included Grand Theft Auto 4, Gears of War (not played the second yet) and probably Halo 3. Skate was also pretty good. But I've found the X360 to be a platform with a bunch of good games but few that really make me keep coming back. Sure, I completed GoW and Halo 3 but then I promptly sold them on and I'm of the impression I could have had as much fun just renting them for a week or two.
However, perhaps because I've been corrupted by Rock Band, I didn't particularly enjoy Guitar Hero: World Tour; the set list didn't appeal and something about the game just didn't seem as much fun as Rock Band 2.
Another favourite was Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy) but that's an Xbox Original not specifically for the X360. Still, worth mentioning.
Aside, I've played a whole bunch of others but few have really stood out as games I'd want to keep as opposed to rent. Good ones included Grand Theft Auto 4, Gears of War (not played the second yet) and probably Halo 3. Skate was also pretty good. But I've found the X360 to be a platform with a bunch of good games but few that really make me keep coming back. Sure, I completed GoW and Halo 3 but then I promptly sold them on and I'm of the impression I could have had as much fun just renting them for a week or two.
Tetsuo_Shima
In Cryo Sleep
This is true; developers put more stock into churning out 'safe' sequels and retro games these days than the good old prospecting, high-risk but high-reward approach that gave the SNES, Playstations and N64 the lofty reputations they recieved and retain.
Yeah. Don't get me wrong; I love my X360, especially for RB2, and the games are good but few really make it to excellent and it's rare that I complete an X360 game except through bloodymindedness or it being quite short and sufficiently compelling. It's why I mention Fahrenheit; I stayed up extremely late about three nights on the trot just to see the end. Sure, the graphics were a bit ropey by today's standards but they were good enough and the story and tactile mechanism for play were exactly what I was wanting.
Without derailing Fury's "what games should I buy next" thread too much...
I feel it's because games are focusing too much on story or too much on world or too much on memorable characters and not enough on actual game, on the mechanics of play. In that regard, skate was a decent game because the mechanics of play were interesting and sufficiently tricky that it didn't come straight away, but also rewarding when you'd got the knack. Conversely, while GoW had quite memorable characters and a decent action movie plot the game mechanics were basically "hide behind big rock, shoot aliens". Now, that's pretty cool but it does, eventually, get thin.
On to my biggest disappointment as an X360 purchase: Fable 2. I loved Fable (on the PC) and I loved being a hero and fighting for truth, justice and all that. I was so looking forward to Fable 2. It even set itself up with a suitably evil bad guy and I was all raring to go kick his ass. And then, well, the game got in the way of me kicking bad guy ass. Who gives a flying monkey's testicle about owning a house or whether I can successfully date four women at once when there's an evil overlord out there that I need to oust? Sure, the mechanics were interesting after a fashion but they did nothing to create a cohesive game. All seemed like quite a waste. For some reason, Fable 2 still sits on my shelf asking me if I'd like to perhaps come back and defeat the evil overlord... maybe I should just accept that this one got away?
Without derailing Fury's "what games should I buy next" thread too much...
I feel it's because games are focusing too much on story or too much on world or too much on memorable characters and not enough on actual game, on the mechanics of play. In that regard, skate was a decent game because the mechanics of play were interesting and sufficiently tricky that it didn't come straight away, but also rewarding when you'd got the knack. Conversely, while GoW had quite memorable characters and a decent action movie plot the game mechanics were basically "hide behind big rock, shoot aliens". Now, that's pretty cool but it does, eventually, get thin.
On to my biggest disappointment as an X360 purchase: Fable 2. I loved Fable (on the PC) and I loved being a hero and fighting for truth, justice and all that. I was so looking forward to Fable 2. It even set itself up with a suitably evil bad guy and I was all raring to go kick his ass. And then, well, the game got in the way of me kicking bad guy ass. Who gives a flying monkey's testicle about owning a house or whether I can successfully date four women at once when there's an evil overlord out there that I need to oust? Sure, the mechanics were interesting after a fashion but they did nothing to create a cohesive game. All seemed like quite a waste. For some reason, Fable 2 still sits on my shelf asking me if I'd like to perhaps come back and defeat the evil overlord... maybe I should just accept that this one got away?
Tetsuo_Shima
In Cryo Sleep
Fable 2 was a big disappointment for me, also. It just lures you in with all that 'open-ended gameplay!' and 'sandbox!' and 'infinite customisability!' chat, and it all just ends up like one of those little bubblegum balls you get that look so tasty from the outside with all their juiciness and potential, and then you bite into it and you find out that the centre is hollow and you've been diddled by the confectionary company.
Fable 2 isn't the only game to play that tricksie false card, either: Fallout 3, Oblivion, GTA 4 (which you like, I know), Spore and all the rest of those culprits are also partners in crime, tempting you in with all that propaganda.
It's seems to be the way of it these days, that developers expect you to go out into their 'fully realised' worlds and make the story for yourself, about your own boring character you base upon yourself, making decisions you make yourself every day in your own nightmarish suburban hell, which is what you are trying to escape from by playing videogames in the first place. But that's crap! That's just developers shirking their jobs, shoring up flimsy holes in the patchy two-bit storyline with abysmal, five-hour-long explory sidequests to find pointless pieces of trash that leave you hollow inside. Like that bubblegum ball.
Thank goodness for Japan, who still make games like they used to, like they were supposed to be!
To bring this vaguely back on topic -
That, by the way, is why I think Mass Effect is more of a revolution than an evolution. The story was all there to be had, and a very interesting and involving one it was, too, but with a multitude of sidequests that supplemented your thrust through the plot rather than distracting you from it. Plus, the options to either play as the proper Cap'n Shepard (which I did) or your own confection, as well as whether you want complete control over your squad-members attributes or if you'd rather have it done automatically are fantastic.
Fable 2 isn't the only game to play that tricksie false card, either: Fallout 3, Oblivion, GTA 4 (which you like, I know), Spore and all the rest of those culprits are also partners in crime, tempting you in with all that propaganda.
It's seems to be the way of it these days, that developers expect you to go out into their 'fully realised' worlds and make the story for yourself, about your own boring character you base upon yourself, making decisions you make yourself every day in your own nightmarish suburban hell, which is what you are trying to escape from by playing videogames in the first place. But that's crap! That's just developers shirking their jobs, shoring up flimsy holes in the patchy two-bit storyline with abysmal, five-hour-long explory sidequests to find pointless pieces of trash that leave you hollow inside. Like that bubblegum ball.
Thank goodness for Japan, who still make games like they used to, like they were supposed to be!
To bring this vaguely back on topic -
That, by the way, is why I think Mass Effect is more of a revolution than an evolution. The story was all there to be had, and a very interesting and involving one it was, too, but with a multitude of sidequests that supplemented your thrust through the plot rather than distracting you from it. Plus, the options to either play as the proper Cap'n Shepard (which I did) or your own confection, as well as whether you want complete control over your squad-members attributes or if you'd rather have it done automatically are fantastic.
Tetsuo_Shima
In Cryo Sleep
Well now, this is interesting. I've never heard anything said about, nor have I ever personally encountered 'epically broken' gameplay throughout my experience of the game; would you care to elaborate on that at all? Links? Screenshots? Anything? Cup of tea? According to your gamercard, you've never even played it at all (lest you had a quick shot of it at a friends house), so from where did you derive your impression that something was far wrong with the game?
Also, that's a pretty common critique with JRPGs, that they're all so similar and don't really move on much. It's also a critique I disagree with (for the most part), because I don't see any other genre of game making particular headway either. In an FPS you still shoot things, in football games you still kick a synthetic pigs bladder, in (ahem, ahem, cough, how dare I) rhythm-based games you're still whapping the same multi-coloured buttons in time to beats. Why is that critical point always levelled at JRPGs when everyone still loves to grind out levels and build up an exotic weapons collection? At least the story changes (a little bit) ...
I motion for splitting this into a separate thread, this [strike]argument[/strike] discussion has potential ...
I'm not about to go pulling up every single review, but it's been discussed in many many places. Mass Effect has a great story, but the actual game portion tends to fall flat. Penny Arcade had a good summary of some of the issues.
Just because you're distilling every genre to total basics (you seriously think Doom is exactly the same as Halo because "you still shoot things?") doesn't make them stagnant. Shooters have made incredible advancements in the last five years. The scale, persistent stats, structured teamplay, and film-quality production values of recent shooters are all things that simply weren't possible or weren't deemed important in the past. Now they're pretty much staples of the genre, until the next big innovation comes along.
The rhythm genre was stagnant, mostly thanks to Konami, but Guitar Hero really launched some much needed life into it. Activision seems to be settling into Konami's pattern -- not making any notable changes to the game, just releasing iteration after iteration that is only really good for new music -- so it's possible the genre as a whole is heading for another period of dormancy.
The point-and-click adventure genre had this same thing happen, and it has only recently picked up again after some much needed innovation by the folks at Telltale and their properly episodic games.
With all those examples for other genres, though, I can only think of one JRPG from the last five (maybe ten?) years that matters. The World Ends with You for the DS. It excelled because it built on the strengths of its platform had and some genuinely new and interesting ideas regarding combat, leveling, and multiplayer interaction in a singleplayer environment. It is a shining light in the fog of sameness that JRPGs have become. It still had the 'moody kid with ridiculous hair sets out to fight some great evil that he doesn't know anything about' story, but so it goes I guess.
Just because you're distilling every genre to total basics (you seriously think Doom is exactly the same as Halo because "you still shoot things?") doesn't make them stagnant. Shooters have made incredible advancements in the last five years. The scale, persistent stats, structured teamplay, and film-quality production values of recent shooters are all things that simply weren't possible or weren't deemed important in the past. Now they're pretty much staples of the genre, until the next big innovation comes along.
The rhythm genre was stagnant, mostly thanks to Konami, but Guitar Hero really launched some much needed life into it. Activision seems to be settling into Konami's pattern -- not making any notable changes to the game, just releasing iteration after iteration that is only really good for new music -- so it's possible the genre as a whole is heading for another period of dormancy.
The point-and-click adventure genre had this same thing happen, and it has only recently picked up again after some much needed innovation by the folks at Telltale and their properly episodic games.
With all those examples for other genres, though, I can only think of one JRPG from the last five (maybe ten?) years that matters. The World Ends with You for the DS. It excelled because it built on the strengths of its platform had and some genuinely new and interesting ideas regarding combat, leveling, and multiplayer interaction in a singleplayer environment. It is a shining light in the fog of sameness that JRPGs have become. It still had the 'moody kid with ridiculous hair sets out to fight some great evil that he doesn't know anything about' story, but so it goes I guess.
I take back what I said about Activision (for the time being anyway) as Neversoft just revealed Party Play mode, which I'd say is the most important feature to hit band games thus far. Assuming they pull it off.
Silk
Well-Known Member
I haven't properly enjoyed a JRPG for years. I used to be able to sit and play from start to end in a week, but now I just lose interest. TWEWY was really frustrating, I hated the combat so didn't play it more than 2 hours. I recently re-played Phantasy Star 2 on a megadrive collection for a good 20 hours or so, which is longer than any other rpg has entertained me recently. Hmm might play it this weekend actually.
I keep trying Lost Oddessy - and it's good, but slow. And hard to get back into after a break.
I'm looking forwards to FFXIII but curses to MS and xbox for causing a ridiculously lengthy delay on it (why oh why can't it have remained a ps3 exclusive). Anyway it still won't be as good as FFIV or VI.. they never are.
thatbloke
Junior Administrator
Because they wouldn't make anywhere NEAR as much money on it.
And so people like me who bought a decent console rather than a bluray player with a games console attached can enjoy it too