Robert finally joins the seventh generation

General Chatter
1

Meh, it was going to happen eventually. :anjou_sigh:

Ever since the sad, tragic and traumatic demise of the much-abused and sorely-underrated Dreamcast (requiescat in pace, princeps magnificus), I haven’t bought a new computer game (beyond a couple of PC titles) - all of my purchases for three years have been old preowned titles picked from the Retro shelf at the local Gamestation.

However, my sense of dislocation from new Sega games has driven me to invest in an Xbox this Christmas.

Now I can FINALLY enjoy Panzer Dragoon Orta (I’ll post a review about it when I’ve finished it), and so finish that article on dragonriders that’s been moping about on my hard drive for months. But also I can sample the experience of decidely more dubious merit of having to pay the full ?40 for games for the first time in over two years… :anjou_sad:

However, it also enabled me to sample one of Microsoft’s flagship titles, Halo 2… and I certainly can see why such an elaboreate marketing campaign was orchestrated for it. Having booted up a new profile on the Heroic difficulty setting, I can definitely say that this game is absolutely stunning!

From the first moment when you witness the grand city of High Charity splayed out beneath the smouldering shoulder of ash that is the despoiled Halo, you can tell that Halo 2 is going to be a game of some great magnitude. The aesthetics of both of the belligerent empires - humanity and the Covenant - are extremely impressive, and have created one of the most beautiful titles I’ve seen since Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. This palpable sense of atmopshere is matched by the excellent music, authentic effects and the emotive voice acting (always a welcome rare flower in any game). The story won’t win the Man Booker Prize, but it is executed well and still is something more engrossing than the simple Doom-fest of many FPSes. The fact that humans evolve into a global monarchy is cherished. :anjou_love:

   At Heroic, the game provides quite a furious and unrelenting challenge and each stage requires several attempts to accomplish. However, the game is so well-crafted it provides an absolutely compelling "Just one more go!" factor. There's also a certain macabre relish in smashing down the L and R triggers and reorganising a Covenanter's digestive tract with a torrent of dual-wielded plasma rifle action at point-blank range (and then burning off the Master Chief's hands when they overheat). Aspects such as this left me up at half-past-two in the morning on the 26th, still ducking behind crates every other moment and wishing my shield would recharge faster.

Halo 2 is certainly a worthy game - now, if you’d excuse, me, I have an irresistable urge to die - again - on the “100,000 Years’ War” level… :anjou_happy:

2

Hi! I’m not one for first person shooters, but I’m after an XBox myself, basically just so I can play Orta.

As well as that, I’m thinking that buying an XBox will get me properly into gaming, as my current experience has been pretty much limited to Sonic, NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon!

I was actually blown away when I saw the graphical quality of the XBox, as my PC has a sub-standard graphics card and can’t really do much. But I see Microsoft are up to their usual business and are ready to drop yet another product, XBox 2, on the gaming community, while they’re still enjoying the current one.

Thanks to your recommendation, as well as many others, I may well pick up a copy of Halo 2, despite my general boredom at shooting games. It’s about time I start seeing for myself whether or not I can believe the hype!

So, is Orta any good? If you have it yet, that is.

That’s being putting me off too; games are so expensive and I’m so skint! :anjou_sad:

Haha! You never know, you might just complete it. :anjou_happy:

3

Make sure you buy all those Xbox games that can’t be found anywhere else… such as Ninja Gaiden and Fable.

4

And buy Legacy of Kain :Defiance!

5

JSRF is a must.

6

Legendary on Halo 2 is just not fair…

Oh man, Ninja Gaiden kicks arse, get it…get it now O.O

7

Orta sucks. Halo 2 rocks. Halo rocks more. Morrowind will eat your life.

8

X-Boxes have now slipped below the ?100 mark in the UK in Argos. Damn, it’s tempting, but I have other things to pay for. Maybe when I get my weekend job.

9

A moderator from a PD fan communitty shouldn’t talk like that :anjou_sigh:

10

Shut up or he’ll ban your ass. :anjou_happy:

11

Y’know, I’ve never really understood everyones distaste with Orta. To me, the game was a natural extension of the storyline and the gameplay and it looked incredible to boot. Sure, it had a different artstyle, but I would think people on a PD fan forum would be able to recognize that deep down it’s still very much a PD game.

The only thing that dissapointed me when it came out was when I learned it wasn’t an RPG like Azel, but that fear quickly disappeared when I actually took flight on a dragon once more. Meh…

12

I think a lot of people distinguish Panzer Dragoon by its art style more than anything else. Also the fact that it was a step backwards in many aspects didn’t help. I personally loved it though.

Some Xbox games that I’d recommend:

Halo 1 and 2 (why do you think the first one is better, Shadow?)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (of course)
Fable (not for the story, but for the game world)
Soul Calibur II (great music, visuals, and gameplay)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (although, the PC version is a bit better)
Ninja Gaiden (I’ve only played the demo, but it’s definitely the king of its genre)

Also, possibly Morrowind …try before you buy. It’s a game you’ll either love or hate.

13

How was it a step backwards? Certainly not in it’s graphics or it’s gameplay. What else is there to judge?

14

I mean, the fact that is was a shooter rather than an RPG. If you compare the game to Panzer Dragoon Saga, it’s much shorter, has less developed characters and story, no towns, etc. Also although PDO’s battle system was much more fluid, you couldn’t use items or do as large of a variety of beserk attacks.

15

Ah, I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

16

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I’ll be sure to keep them in mind when scouting out future purchases. For those interested, this is how my X-Box library currently stands…

-Halo: Combat Evolved
-Halo 2
-Headhunter Redemption*
-Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
-Myst III: Exile
-Panzer Dragoon Orta*

*= Sega game, w00t!

Now, I know this sounds pathetic, but I hope no-one will mind if I now cast myself down before the venerable alumni of the X-Box communion and plea for assistance in the pathetic manner that only novices can. In the original Halo, I’m currently more stuck than a bottle of araldite smothered in treacle and wrapped up in fly paper in the middle of a box of Pritt Sticks. At an early section of the game, when you first take control of the Warthog jeep, I travel into an underground cavern whose architect evidently decided that black was the new black this year. There is a bridge over your usual abyssal chasm, but it’s been retracted and I must find some form of control to extend the link again. The only problem is that I cannot find this panel anywhere! I can just about distinguish something green and flashing on one far wall over the chasm, but that’s the only lead I have - and I can’t find any way to jump up to it no matter how many times I use the Warthog’s bonnet as a trampoline. Could Shadow (who probably knows how to recite Halo in machine code backwards) or anyone else show me where to go? Thanks.

17

I bow to your Myst III Exile choice.A Myst fan perhaps? :anjou_happy:

18

When you enter the area, go to the right side. There’s a small entrance there guarded by several elites.

19

[quote=“Solo Wing Dragon”]Halo 1 and 2 (why do you think the first one is better, Shadow?)
[/quote]

Personally, I thought Halo 2 had no sense of completion, which was annoying.
I liked the first because I was introduced to it at Legendary (very harsh) amd have never actually played any other level of difficulty on Halo1, while on Halo 2 I’ve played all the difficulties (cept easy).
This may have made a difference or not, I really dunno.

20

Dear Lord… looking at it now, it was blindingly obvious. I can’t believe I missed it. :anjou_embarassed: ), howled along the bridge - and then went flipping over the edge…

“Woooooohaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!” :anjou_angry:

The latest illustration of my general incompetence at games was in the entrance chamber aboard the Truth and Reconciliation. I seemed to be faring well, cutting bloody swathes through the scampering packs of Grunts with liberal applications of assault rifle rounds, and laughing as you do at how they run about like headless chickens when a plasma grenade is stuck to them. Then I heard cries of “Whuuuagh!” “Yugndukunt!” “Giiiiairenh!” and variations thereof behind me. I assumed that this was my fellow Marines joking because the fight was going so swmmingly, mocking the helpless death-screams of the alien foe. So, I continued merrily on my way, stoving in Jackals’ skulls with the butt of my assault rifle, completley oblivious to the fact that they were real death-screams and my comrades were being hacked apart by cloaked Elites, one of which was hustling up behind me… :anjou_wow: