Need recommendations for some good PS2 and Computer games since I’ve got the money but don’t really know what’s good these days. I was thinking maybe Max Payne 2 for PS2 but have no idea for the computer, so let’s hear it.
What sort of games do you like? GTA-VC and The Sims are both great games, but they tend not to appeal to the same demographic…
max payne 2 is REALLY good. unfortunatly it is also REALLY short. up to you if its worth it or not.
call of duty is another good FPS, and it has pretty good multiplayer too.
if you don’t have it already they released a new (free) multiplayer add-on for unreal2, combined with the single player and low price tag of $20 from amazon.com its hard to beat.
if you like RPGs, and star wars, Knights of the Old Republic is a must-buy. excellent game.
like darth nader said, grand theft auto: vice city is great too. if you don’t have the first one you can get both in a bundle for a good deal. (allthough that might only be for Xbox not sure).
hard to say more without knowing what types you like.
I recently rented Max Payne 2. It was ok, but there were a few annoyances to it. It seemed less of a mind-challenge than the first one. There were less “puzzles” and more “I hope I shoot all the bad guys before they shoot me” scenarios. Also, there’s no auto-save, so if you forget to save at the certain points in a level and you screw up … it’s all the way back to the beginning.
Another good Vice City/Max Payne type game is True Crime: Streets of LA. It isn’t a perfect game (in fact buy Vice City before you buy this) but it’s interesting in it’s fairly faithful render of Los Angeles. The missions can be a pain. Some of them are just there to further the story and seem tedious. Others are set up certain ways where if you take liberties in how to do them, the story no longer makes sense. E.g. - there was a mission where you have to chase down a van and shoot it till it blows up. At that point you go right into another mission (as a direct continuance of the previous mission) where you have to get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time. The only problem was I blew up the van near the Santa Monica airport, and the … {poof} … all of a sudden I was in downtown LA.
Also the fighting is really hard to do well. It’s a matter of hitting a lot of buttons really really fast, so it’s hard to learn technique.
It’s allure is that it’s a driving game and a fighting game and a shooting game, with each aspect paid the proper attention. Whether it’s spread itself too thin is a judgement call.
Some good stealth games are Splinter Cell and Hitman 2. These are welcome diversions from the Doom-type, run around and shoot everything, games. In Splinter Cell you’re a covert, Mission Impossible-type, agent off to divert a nuclear war beset upon the world by Russian terrorists. It’s a lot of sneaking, and climbing and grabbing people from behind, and finding the right route, and timing and … it’s really fun, and the graphics are excellent.
in Hitman 2, you are … duh … a Hit man. The story makes you somewhat noble (avenging some wrong doing) but essentially you just go around and kill people. But you have to be smart about it. You can knock someone out, and drag his body behind a tree, take his clothes and use that ruse to sneak in somewhere – things like that. Again, it’s a lot of sneaking and timing type things. Very fun, but damn maddening sometimes too.
I highly recommend Freedom Fighters. It’s a relatively jingoistic affair (you earn points in completing missions by raising Old Glory), but really fun to play. The premise is that NYC has been invaded by Russians (in an alternate history kind of thing) and you play a plumber who takes up arms as an insurgent agains the invading force. (Here is where I normally include an Iraq analogy, but today I shan’t – unless I just did, in which case … deal with it).
It’s a lot like the more complicated squad based combat games (SOCOM, Desert Storm) but the commands are a lot simpler and the story is a lot wilder. You build your team by earning “Leadership Points”. You do this by completing missions and healing civilians and other good deeds. The more leadership points you achive the more guys you get to order around.
It all looks and plays just realistically enough to be intriguing, but just cartoony enough to be fun.
I rented it a few months ago, and I’ve been saving up to buy it … stupid Christmas. But speaking of which … my daughter got Sponge Bob and the Battle for Bikini Bottom, which, while not really that much of a challenge, is incredibly fun to play.
Sorry this is so long – video games, I get on a roll sometimes.
CRPG’s: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights (and both expansion packs can be had for $60), Morrowind.
RTS: Medieval Total War, Warcraft III
FPS: Call of duty, Battlefield 1942, Max Payne (third person adventure/shooter).
Thanks for the advice everyone. I like just about all game types and technology isn’t an issue. Of those mentioned, I have GTA: Vice City, Warcraft III, Battlefield 1942, and just bought Hitman 2.
For those who have it, is SOCOM II better than the first?
I was thinking about Knights of the Old Republic, but I’m not really into Star Wars that much, is it still worth it? Also, can someone tell me more about Neverwinter Nights?
I don’t have it, but I have played it, and yes, SOCOM II is a lot better than the first - more weapons/equipment and longer levels, among a few more control improvements.
I can’t tell you about Knights of the Old Republic, but as for Neverwinter Nights, it’s a pretty good game, but once you are leveled up, it can get rather easy.
Another PC game I would recommend is a strategy game called Rise of Nations. Very addicting gameplay.
PS2:
Rez is an insanely psychadelic shootemup with awesome music that you help create as you play. Just awesome.
Ico is just… Uh… A game that leaves you lacking an explanation as to how this game could be as mind-bogglingly satisfying as it is.
Both games in the Jak and Daxter series are huge, fun, colourful platformers.
Can i hijack this thread to ask a quick question?
I’m a big PS1 Tomb Raider fan. Has anyone played the latest PS2 Tomb Raider game (i think it’s called Angel of Darkness?)? And is this game good enough to justify buying the PS2, which i don’t have yet?
Thanks.
I would recommend Knights of the Old Republic if you’re looking for an interactive cinematic experience. Unless you hated all of the Star Wars movies, in which case you should avoid it.
Do NOT get Max Payne 2 for PS2. It’s utter crap thanks to PS2’s “welcome to last decade” hardware.
mhendo: the general consensus regarding Tomb Raider: the Angel of Darkness is that it’s, well, utter crap. Avoid at all costs.
If you like platformers, check out Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. I like the R&C series better than Jak & Daxter.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is excellent too. It’s available for both PS2 and PC (and Xbox, GameCube, GBA).
Well, the .hack games may interest you, if you like that sort of game…
If you want hours of free online play, Diablo II is great but horribly addictive.
I only know computer games so here go some of my personal favorites.
Real-Time Strategy:
Age of Mythology. Great gameplay, very good graphics. not very fast-paced though, but that allows for more variety in units IMHO. Great in multi-play, also IMHO. Its expansion, The Titans, is a must-have.
Medieval: Total War:
Its both real-time and turn base, very epic battles but the graphics are a little chunky when you get up close to your units. In multi-play its only real-time. It has an expansion, Viking Invasion, but I’ve never played it so I can’t say.
Homeworld 2:
GREAT Graphics, Great gameplay, and a very intuitive interface; something very important when your’e controlling fleets of spaceships engaged in epic space battles that would put star trek/star wars/babylon 5 to shame.
Role-Playing Games:
Baldur’s Gate 2:
A classic of its genre. Every other RPG is measured by it. It has a great, memorable story; Lots of replayability due to the number of classes and NPCs; Its expansion pack, Throne of Bhaal, is just as good. Its old, though. you could probably buy it and its expansion pack for less than 30 bucks.
Neverwinter Nights:
Same as BG2 except it uses 3rd Edition AD&D rules. There’s a big mod community with this one so the replayability factor is huge. Its expantions, Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark, add more classes, and allow you to achieve Epic-level stature.
Diablo 2:
Its one of the Best-Selling computer games of all time, as its almost infinte thread in Cafe Society can attest. Infinte replayability, and so addictive you’d think it was developed in Colombia. Its Expansion pack, Lord of Destruction, is a must-have as well.
First-Person Shooters:
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault:
I’ve played very little of it myself but my Dad, who didn’t like games before it, swears by it. By what I’ve played, and what my dad unceasingly talks about, I can say that it’s cinematic in it’s gameplay, very addictive and great fun in multi-play.
Call of Duty:
There’s a car commercial on TV where a guy is walking down the street and drops an orange from his groceries. He kneels down to pick it up and puts one of his hands on a car for support;when he does, he gets a type of mental rush in which he sees himself driving the car down a mountain highway at super-speed; when he gets his hand of the car the orange is crushed in his other hand from the rush. This game is the PC equivalent of that car. Its is fast paced and furious. I just finished playing the solo campaigns and hear that the multi-play is amazing.
America’s Army:
This game was developed by the US Army and is free to download (www.americasarmy.com) or get at any army recruiting station. It is extraordinarilly well made and detailed. Its hard though. but well worth the effort of doing the solo training missions and get into its multi-play.
But when in doubt: www.pcgamer.com & www.gamespot.com
those websites are pretty good for knowing what’s hot and what’s not in games.