Oooh, oooh, KotOR 2 is out on Friday (11/02/04).  Anyone else anticipating this?

Alright, so I must know... what are the thoughts of forumites about Odama?  For those of you who don't remember/know, it's the military pin ball game.  I'm skeptical, but open to new ideas...  this one could be great or horrible (as is the case with every game of course, save Devil May Cry 3 and Viewtiful Joe 3) but I'm intrigued.  Your thoughts?

And while on the subject of odd Nintendo games that may or may not be worth any salt, what of Geist?

It's amazing what they're doing with the limited power of the PS2 (as opposed to say, the Gamecube or XBox)

Nopes Commie.  It's like a computer...  the systems have measurable power.

I kept on forgetting to add this one:

I'm looking forward to Red Ninja: End of honour. Admittedly It Does Have: A Dramatic Two Part Title, but I can forgive this because it looks like it might actually be really fun. It has the potential to be like a cross between Tenchu and Prince of Persia. If it manages it then it could really be something special. It's actually had a good few months longer preparation time than it was going to have originally (due to publisher problems) and it sounds like the time has helped it become really polished. I have high hopes!

As is Red Ninja, Mata.  I've seen nothing but poo about that game.

I think you're just biased against ninja games because they always involve a third person perspective and don't generally feature sixteen-level deep menus.

Yes, I am mindful of the reduced power of the PS2, but I've eventually come to the conclusion that I really don't like the GC controller. I may buy RE4 for the GC, but if I do it will partially be because it's about time I had a game on there that convinced me it was worth buying the GC to play!

I've never been as into the Soul Cal games as the Tekken ones, but I've not really had people to play against when I've owned SC2, whereas I did when I first got Tekken, and those type of games are all about the competition.

God Of War does look like it could be really fun. Then again, I had high hopes for 'Stolen' and that's apparently pretty average. Oh well.

God Of War does look like it could be really fun.

God of War is absolutely, unapologetically depraved.

I'm serious. It is as though every base urge has been codified in the game, to the extent that you may sate yourself on dark fantasies. These indulgences usually come in the form of masterfully animated custom moves - "fatalities," to delve into parlance - which are unique for each enemy type and almost endlessly entertaining. Imagine that there is a Harpy swooping overhead, and that you have become perplexed by said harpy. Let me break it down for you:

Other games: Hit harpy with weapon.

God of War: Grab each leathery wingtip, yanking the creature out of the sky. Place your boot on the back of the neck and pull off the Goddamn wings with a strong upward motion.

That's just one guy. I could pack the entire post dense with the desecrations one is capable of, and it would not convey the power of it. The new attacks and ability progression all feel like "cream," because straight out the gate your capacity to dispense raw damage is unparalleled. They're like the courses you might take evenings at the Community College, the "Extended Learning" programs which focus on calligraphy or mesmerism.

Put simply you are fully engaged at every moment, fully complicit in each heroic feat - legendary boss battles have fully interactive elements that would be cinemas in any other game. Your utter complicity in each heinous act will enrage Watchdog Groups, provided they ever realize there are videogames produced by companies other than Rockstar or id. There was a Public Service Announcement I saw recently from the group Mediawise, where a young boy relates his experiences in Grand Theft Auto in the first person. Harrowing. That said, GTA doesn't feature a "Sex With Two Women" minigame or superhot Oracles who are ready to nurse at a moment's notice.

The only issue one could reasonably submit - outside of the vexing moral ones - is that God of War just asks too much from the poor machine sometimes. Not often enough to really grate on a person, just every now and then, so you get the impression that the developer is saying "Come on little PS2, you can do it" and the PS2 replies "I am an ancient and decrepit thing, a tangle of bones and hair just as one might find in a crypt."

My current lack of finances has pushed me into going back to old games to play through them again.

ROFFLE! So true. Sooo true. You know, I've tried so hard to like 3rd person games. Even good third person games. I've tried playing Ico, and it not only fails to interest me, it's positively bores me. I can't even bring myself to put Onimusha 2 into the PS2 to give that a whirl. First person though, I find way more involving, oddly, without an avatar, I feel more connection to the character. I've been rediscovering my love of action games recently with Halo 2 (with big TV + chunky headphones). I regularly get admonished by the wife for shouting and yelling abuse at the telly - totally unconscious of it meself, but there you go).

If I have enemies, then by god I want to be able to summon down a giant dragon to smote those bitchazz!

Oh!  Katamari Damacy 2 is coming out.  That makes me happy.  The first was good fun, but I didn't think as much as the media whored it to be.

Or blast three dozen of them to shreds with a flak cannon, in quick succession

Neverwinter Nights 2

At least the first one was actually released in your country.

Pfft. You bloody yank gamers don't know how good you have it. *shakes fist*


Incidentally, any feedback on Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath yet? I'm interested.....

It's always greener on the other side of the fence, ain't it?

You have fences on your side?

Luxury!

This post was sponsored by the Yes-Mata-Spams-Occasionally-Too Educational Trust.