Apr 26, 2020 9:29:02 GMT Rogue said:

We aren't doing steals, are we?

You know it! Each winner has to steal a game and drop one of their own.

Apr 26, 2020 20:55:09 GMT cig said:

Apr 26, 2020 9:29:02 GMT Rogue said:

We aren't doing steals, are we?

You know it! Each winner has to steal a game and drop one of their own.

Has to? What is all the loser's games are worse than all mine?

Small explanation on this one, way back in the ancient times of 2004, I really wasn't big on first person games. I played the hell out of Duke Nukem, casually played the Dooms, others just really didn't grab me, not a thing I tended to enjoy. But much like Bloodborne finally saw the Soulslike click for me and become of my favorites, so did Escape from Butcher Bay for 1st person games. Really an underrated title, doesn't get the love it deserves. Better Pitch Black expansion than the Chronicles of Riddick movie.

Really expected  Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver to be honest, been meaning to jump into that series. I remember you really liked that series.

That was Amy Hennig's frst real big break way before the Uncharted series.

Apr 27, 2020 0:41:16 GMT RagnarokMike said:

Small explanation on this one, way back in the ancient times of 2004, I really wasn't big on first person games. I played the hell out of Duke Nukem, casually played the Dooms, others just really didn't grab me, not a thing I tended to enjoy. But much like Bloodborne finally saw the Soulslike click for me and become of my favorites, so did Escape from Butcher Bay for 1st person games. Really an underrated title, doesn't get the love it deserves. Better Pitch Black expansion than the Chronicles of Riddick movie.

Yep you were right definitely won't have called that one.

Apr 27, 2020 0:47:02 GMT Blindy said:

Really expected  Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver to be honest, been meaning to jump into that series. I remember you really liked that series.

That was Amy Hennig's frst real big break way before the Uncharted series.

Would have been a good bet with my love for that series, but they kind of hurt my feelings by never finishing the story, so I guess I sort of pushed it to the back of my mind, hadn't even considered it.

Apr 26, 2020 23:50:20 GMT 🤯 said:

Apr 26, 2020 20:55:09 GMT cig said:

You know it! Each winner has to steal a game and drop one of their own.

Has to? What is all the loser's games are worse than all mine?

Consider it a sacrifice to your personal God of choice. 

And the matches are...

Nighty-CM Punk'd
pi-Ness
RT-System
Lony-X-Zero 
Emperor-RagnarokMike 
Lionheart-sandylea
Blindy-Rogue 
CIG-G/B 

Will start soonish. Probably. 

I was wondering if you were going to do a second randomization for the next stage. Well that kills part of my master plan.

Here are the games that didn't make the cut:

Tomb Raider - I was angling for one of the original trilogy
Civilisation - Kinda surprised nobody else grabbed one of these games, but I didn't either, so who am I to talk?
Spyro - Didn't want both Crash and Spyro, so I went for Crash.
Golden Sun - One of the best handheld exclusive games ever made.
Guitar Hero - Fun casual party game, but wasn't convinced it would land me any extra votes.

My didn't make the cut list due to other things or I thought people haven't played/heard of them.

Zone of the Enders: Second Runner: Probably everything I wanted for a Gundam game I am never going to get. It was almost picked a few times.
Dragon Age 3 or 1: I even had my post read to go for 1 but decided at the last minute to use something else. Though I think I actually favored 3 more.

RPGs
Suikoden 2 which is definitely FF7 tier for anyone who played it. Thing is not many have played it.
Legend of Dragoon another one of the cult favorite rpgs.
Chrono Cross because people would compare it against Trigger. As a stand alone game one of the best rpg experiences I had. One of the best OST on PSX to me.
Shadow Hearts because the main character acted like an adult and felt different from the typical rpg bunch.
Tales of Berseria. Not many have played the Tales of series even less this one. But I think Velvet may be my favorite female protagonist in a video game ever.

Fighting
Soul Calibur series probably 1 or 2
Dead or Alive Series probably 3 or 4 if I had to pick one.
Bloody Roar series probably 3 or 2.
Killer Instinct 1 or 2
Rumble Roses XX because there is depth under this perv wrestling game. It had custom music support before SvR series. Had moves that you couldn't do in WWE main series like the Canadian Destroyer before everybody and their momma was doing the move. And moves that seem impossible but cool looking like a double rotation moonsault. Though a lot of their impossible looking moves now are done by some people. Thought I have yet to see anyone do a triple 619.

Star Fox 64 was on my short list, as was STAR FOX ADVENTURES. But I ended up not selecting either of them.

Also on my short list was my favorite game of all time, Final Fantasy Tactics.

I did not select it for some reason because I thought Jet Set Radio Future would get wider appeal. Perhaps a fatal mistake. Time will tell.

My only regret was not taking Gone Home with me when I could.

Games I've heard of, played or at least seen game footage of, AND enjoyed playing or have some interest in trying out...

RagnarokMike
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Blindy
- Star Fox 64

X-zero
- Portal 2

Lionheart
- Final Fantasy 7
- Diablo 2
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- Metroid Prime
- Super Smash Bros Melee
- Warcraft 3
- Halo 2
- Metal Gear Solid

System
- World of Warcraft
- Anthony Hawk's Professional Skateboarder Three
- Street Fighter 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Doom
- Space Invaders
- Pong

G/B
- Half Life 2
- Pokemon Red and Blue
- LA Noire
- Tekken 5

CM Punk'd
- Super Mario Brothers 3
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- Resident Evil 2
- Tetris
- Perfect Dark
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Harvest Moon
- F-Zero

@nighty
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Firewatch

RT
- Goldeneye 007
- NBA Jam
- Days Gone
- Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!
- Pac-Man
- NHL 94
- 1080 Snowboarding
- Super Mario Brothers 2

@ness
- Superman 64
- Super Smash Bros.

Lony
- Super Mario World
- Conker's Bad Fur Day
- Donkey Kong Country
- Extreme Warfare Revenge

sandylea
- Mario Party 2

cig
- Grand Theft Auto 3
- Super Metroid
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- Red Dead Redemption
- Rock Band
- Twisted Metal 2
- Tecmo Super Bowl

Rogue
- Tomb Raider

Emperor
- Super Mario 64
- Portal
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Streets of Rage 2
- Rocket League
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
- Sonic and Knuckles

Apr 27, 2020 16:13:22 GMT X-zero said:

RPGs
Suikoden 2 which is definitely FF7 tier for anyone who played it. Thing is not many have played it.
Legend of Dragoon another one of the cult favorite rpgs.
Shadow Hearts because the main character acted like an adult and felt different from the typical rpg bunch.
Tales of Berseria. Not many have played the Tales of series even less this one. But I think Velvet may be my favorite female protagonist in a video game ever.

Suikoden 2 and Legend of Dragoon are among the mythical rare Playstation games that you have to shell out a few hundred pounds to buy. Too much for me. I suppose I could emulate them. I have three Shadow Hearts games for the PS2, yet to play any of them. I also have too many JRPGs in my life to start with the Tales series, which contains seemingly infinite entries.

Apr 27, 2020 17:06:38 GMT 🤯 said:

Games I've heard of, played or at least seen game footage of, AND enjoyed playing or have some interest in trying out...

RagnarokMike
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Blindy
- Star Fox 64

X-zero
- Portal 2

Lionheart
- Final Fantasy 7
- Diablo 2
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- Metroid Prime
- Super Smash Bros Melee
- Warcraft 3
- Halo 2
- Metal Gear Solid

System
- World of Warcraft
- Anthony Hawk's Professional Skateboarder Three
- Street Fighter 2
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Doom
- Space Invaders
- Pong

G/B
- Half Life 2
- Pokemon Red and Blue
- LA Noire
- Tekken 5

CM Punk'd
- Super Mario Brothers 3
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- Resident Evil 2
- Tetris
- Perfect Dark
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Harvest Moon
- F-Zero

@nighty
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Firewatch

RT
- Goldeneye 007
- NBA Jam
- Days Gone
- Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!
- Pac-Man
- NHL 94
- 1080 Snowboarding
- Super Mario Brothers 2

@ness
- Superman 64
- Super Smash Bros.

Lony
- Super Mario World
- Conker's Bad Fur Day
- Donkey Kong Country
- Extreme Warfare Revenge

sandylea
- Mario Party 2

cig
- Grand Theft Auto 3
- Super Metroid
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- Red Dead Redemption
- Rock Band
- Twisted Metal 2
- Tecmo Super Bowl

Rogue
- Tomb Raider

Emperor
- Super Mario 64
- Portal
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Streets of Rage 2
- Rocket League
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
- Sonic and Knuckles

Pi likes a ton of things here, but my list isn't one them.

Apr 27, 2020 18:28:36 GMT Emperor said:

Apr 27, 2020 16:13:22 GMT X-zero said:

RPGs
Suikoden 2 which is definitely FF7 tier for anyone who played it. Thing is not many have played it.
Legend of Dragoon another one of the cult favorite rpgs.
Shadow Hearts because the main character acted like an adult and felt different from the typical rpg bunch.
Tales of Berseria. Not many have played the Tales of series even less this one. But I think Velvet may be my favorite female protagonist in a video game ever.

Suikoden 2 and Legend of Dragoon are among the mythical rare Playstation games that you have to shell out a few hundred pounds to buy. Too much for me. I suppose I could emulate them. I have three Shadow Hearts games for the PS2, yet to play any of them. I also have too many JRPGs in my life to start with the Tales series, which contains seemingly infinite entries.

They are worth emulating. But Suikoden 2 and Legend of Dragoon were on PSN store for PS3, Vita, and PSP I believe. Not sure about PS4. But yeah if you wanted a original physical copy you will have to pay a lot. I know Suikoden 2 was like $200 when PS2 was still out. I never priced checked Legend of Dragoon since I owned it since the PSX days.

Two? TWO?!?!

I'll copy 🤯 and expose myself as a video gamer who doesn't play any games.

Here are all the games I have played, even if it's just an hour or two.

RagnarokMike
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
4. Persona 5
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
9. Dead Space
10. Jak and Daxter

Blindy
1. Resident Evil 4
3. Final Fantasy 6
4. Banjo-Kazooie
5. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
6. Kingdom Hearts
8. South Park: The Stick of Truth (technically I've only played it for an hour tops. It didn't grab me, but I'll go back to it)
10. Doom (2016)
12. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

X-Zero
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
3. Portal 2
4. Bioshock
5. Pokemon X/Y
6. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
8. Marvel vs Capcom 2

Lionheart
1. Final Fantasy 7
2. Diablo 2
3. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
8. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
11. Metal Gear Solid
15. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

System
2. Anthony Hawk's Professional Skateboarder Three
5. Street Fighter 2
10. Doom
11. Space Invaders
12. Pong
16. Final Fantasy 8

G/B
1. Half Life 2
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Pokemon Red and Blue
4. Super Mario RPG
5. WWE Smackdown - Here Comes The Pain
7. Silent Hill 2

CM Punk'd
1. Super Mario Brothers 3
5. Tetris
7. Perfect Dark
9. Mortal Kombat 2
13. F-Zero


Nighty

RT
1. Goldeneye 007
2. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
13. Pac-Man
16. Super Mario Brothers 2

Ness
13. Mega Man 2

Lony
1. Super Mario World
3. Batman: Arkham City
4. Chrono Trigger
6. Conker's Bad Fur Day
8. Donkey Kong Country
9. Cuphead
11. Pokemon Go
14. Altered Beast
15. Golden Axe

sandylea
4. God of War
7. The Sims 2


pi
1. WWF No Mercy
11. Mario Golf - There's a Mario Golf for the original Game Boy that I have played - is it that one?
13. Contra
15. Roller Coaster Tycoon

CIG
2. Persona 4
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Grand Theft Auto 3
5. Super Metroid
9. Rock Band
15. God of War 2

Rogue
1. Final Fantasy X
2. Batman: Arkham Asylum
5. Tomb Raider
8. WWF Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role
10. Onimusha: Warlords
11. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Emperor
1. Super Mario 64
3. Final Fantasy 9
4. Portal
7. Streets of Rage 2
8. Rocket League
9. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
10. Dead Space 2
11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
12. Shovel Knight
13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
14. Undertale
15. Persona 3

Well, I haven't played all of my games, but at least I've played more of mine than anyone else :lol:

Better than Nighty at least.

You've only heard of, played or at least seen game footage of, AND enjoyed playing or have some interest in trying out TWO of my games?

Uncultured swine.

Apr 28, 2020 0:51:38 GMT RagnarokMike said:

You've only heard of, played or at least seen game footage of, AND enjoyed playing or have some interest in trying out TWO of my games?

Uncultured swine.

Sell me on the rest before you're matchup goes live.

2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night-The gold standard of sidescrolling platforming semi-open RPG action games, I mean, that's a lot of words to try to describe all the game has to offer. Offers a holy fuck ton of weapons and armors and spells and tranformations and familiars. Castle Dracula is an all time great setting, and the upside down castle was an amazing twist that forces you to look upon this thing you just spent dozens of hours familiarizing yourself with in a completely different way. Only real negative for me, is other than your cape, armors aren't actually aesthetic and just change your stats.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater-This one's a bit more difficult, as it seems you've never played a Metal Gear solid game. But it's top of the line in both stealth and action, amazing score, one of the best espionage games with great twists, and one of the most poignant final boss moments of all time. Where most games would have this as part of a cutscene after winning the fight, with the connection between your character and this boss, forces you to personally pull the trigger and end it. Lingering as long as the player does without a finish.

4.Persona 5-As a person, I'm not much for turn based strategy games, but this game is just amazing. Combat is addictive and the story is expansive and winding and a ton of fun. I've only play this once so I can't describe it as well, but the fact I drafted a turn based games speaks volumes.

6. Ninja Gaiden-Holy hell are these first 2 amazing. Back before Dark Souls was a twinkle in FromSoftware's eye, Ninja Gaiden was kicking ass and taking names in tough as nails difficulty. But the combat was the real star, fast, frenetic, and brutal. Just so much depth between all the various weapons and combos, hacking limbs off left and right while keeping constantly alert as to not have your world quickly fucked up by a single misstep.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask-the most unique of all the Zelda games, this one has always been my favorite. The 3 day cycle and all there is to discover in the world during that time is something special, so many little stories and moments to discover before jumping back to continue trying to save the world. Also, you get to play as several mainstay Zelda creatures, which is awesome.


8. Borderlands 2-I mean, you have a shit ton of guns and get to murder things in the face, hard sell to explain, but a ton of fun start to finish. And Handsome Jack is a riot of an antagonist, just the worst.

9. Dead Space-When RE4 changed the RE formula and led it down a more action oriented route, Dead Space took that gameplay and put it in a proper survival horror. Scares about and combat is ever tense with trying to manage the hordes of monstrosities, hacking off limbs to slow them down and hope your ammo holds out.

10. Jak and Daxter- Naughty Dog cut their platforming teeth with Crash Bandicoot, with Jak and Daxter they took everything they learned and made quite possibly the most perfect 3D platform collect-a-thon of all time. Not a wasted moment in the game for my money, each little challenge is rewarding, and it's just a joy start to finish.

11. NFL Street 2-Arcade football has been sorely lacking for some time, this is the last truly great one I can recall. And this is one of the best ever, stuff like running up walls to catch a pass or juke over an opposing player, just so satisfying to hit a gamebreaker and flip a player upside down and strip the ball and leap in for a TD.

12. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction-If you've played the likes of Spider-Man PS4 or even Spider-Man 2 back in the day, this was the Hulk's outing...and until said Spider-Man PS4, was really the best of it's sort. Took what Spider-Man 2 started and smoothed out some of the edges and fluff, to this day there hasn't been a better Hulk experience in gaming. Not in Ultimate Alliance, not in Lego, see if the upcoming Avengers game can change that. Between ripping a car into boxing gloves, sliding down the street on a bus, or punting an enemy into the stratosphere, just so satisfying to smash.


13. The Punisher-Much like Ultimate Destruction for Hulk, this is the absolute best Punisher experience. A 3rd person shooter where you mow down endless mobsters and gangsters, with some great level kills. Between shoving an enemy face first into an acid bath, or tossing him into a wood chipper, you truly feel like Frank Castle waging his war on crime.

14. Super Mario Sunshine-Admittedly, wouldn't be the first Mario I'd take, but still a really underrated game, and fairly unique with it's water cannon mechanic. Kind of hard to explain past that, it's Mario, it's great.


15. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning-This is one of those games that gets hyped to high hell, but actually lives up to the hype. A great open world RPG action game. Almost universally acclaimed, but it was so under the radar when it first hit, that it failed to catch on commercially, but since is commonly hailed as one of the best (even if not the most sharpened).

16. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay-From the first moments of being marched into Butcher Bay (a max security prison), this game was truly something to behold, at the time, was little else like it. Even now stands out among its peers to me, starting off with nothing but your two hands and fighting your way through until you start building your arsenal on your way out...just keeps you pushing and doesn't let up. Assault on Dark Athena is a decent follow-up, but Escape from Butcher Bay has a special place in my heart.

For the record, I only noted games that I have played, even if it's only for an hour or two, although most of the games I have played substantially. I didn't include games that I have heard of, seen trailers of, etc, but not played. That would be almost every game picked.

RagnarokMike, you've sold me on most of those.

I didn't list Sunshine because I have played it, and it was/is TERRIBLE. Fucking hate that shit. Unless I'm misremembering and confusing it with something else. Was there a GameCube Mario game dedicated to Luigi? Maybe I'm conflating the two. But pretty sure I hated both.

Freshen my memory, didn't you buy a GameCube close to launch only to sell it a few months later and wash your hands of the entire deal?

Apr 28, 2020 14:10:13 GMT 🤯 said:

RagnarokMike , you've sold me on most of those.

I didn't list Sunshine because I have played it, and it was/is TERRIBLE. Fucking hate that shit. Unless I'm misremembering and confusing it with something else. Was there a GameCube Mario game dedicated to Luigi? Maybe I'm conflating the two. But pretty sure I hated both.

Luigi's Mansion?

Apr 28, 2020 14:35:06 GMT Big Pete said:

Freshen my memory, didn't you buy a GameCube close to launch only to sell it a few months later and wash your hands of the entire deal?

Reverse.

Bought an Xbox around the time of its launch. Had Max Payne, whatever the first XBox Madden game was, and also WWF RAW (praying it would be the spiritual successor to No Mercy... since I hated the arcade-y SmackDown! games). The games sucked in reverse order of how I just listed. Max Payne DIDN'T suck. In fact, it became my de factor favorite game and only one I'd play... until being to stumped/scared to continue. I loved the customization aspects of the Madden game, but hated the complexity and boring nature of the actual gameplay (comparing to Blitz)... so it was only good/interesting for a limited shelf life. WWF RAW was so far removed from being No Mercy's spiritual successor, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Xbox altogether.

I traded in my Xbox and games for a GameCube and I think WrestleMania X8 after reading something in a magazine about WrestleMania X8 supposedly being the truer spiritual successor to No Mercy. It wasn't, but it was much closer than WWF RAW was. It was good enough that I stuck with the GameCube for a bit. I think I dabbled with some of the Mario games (Sunshine, the Luigi thing I conflate with Sunshine, maybe the latest Smash and Kart and a Party or two) and also gave a James Bond game a shot in the hopes that it'd be the spiritual successor to GoldenEye/Perfect Dark... it wasn't. WrestleMania XIX came along, and I recall it improving a bit on WrestleMania X8... but still, nothing was coming close to matching No Mercy much less surpassing it. So what was the point of these NextGen consoles!?

I forget what broke the camel's back for GameCube. Honestly, might've been nothing. Might've just been letting it sit and collect dust and playing Dreamcast and PlayStation at friends' houses. I think exposure to Medal of Honor and Call of Duty led to me picking up the GameCube version of whichever game was available to me. It had a Normandy invasion opening level similar to Saving Private Ryan. That became my favorite GameCube game, and was the only thing that kept me interested in the console. But the writing was on the wall. Nintendo was moving away from violence while simultaneously fucking up the Mario stuff I liked (at least IMO). I think I just straight up donated my GameCube away since I'd picked up a PS2 along the way for playing things like GTA, Tony Hawk, etc.

I never bothered staying "current" with new platforms ever since the botched foray into the XBox/GameCube scene. I'd eventually move on to a PS3 from the PS2 once prices came down. Even though there were no good wrestling games, COD filled the void in super addictive fashion. I'd still occasionally dabble with a lesser wrestling game, GTA, or Madden... but COD was more or less 99% of my gaming time. Then, when my PS3 broke and I couldn't repair it (read: broke it worse by attempting to repair it myself), PS4 was coming out but was too new and too expensive. Even buying another PS3 at that point was a no-go for whatever reason. So that's when the N64 came back out and served me for another good decade or so probably (probably a few years shy of that mark) until I finally got a PS4 at the end of 2018.

PREQUEL EPILOGUE: First ever platform was a NES. Had the original Mario and Duck Hunt, Paper Boy, some Olympics game with a floor mat controller to stomp on like a proto Dance Dance Revolution, then eventually Mario 3, Final Fantasy, and maybe a handul of other games I'm forgetting... missed out on SNES, which I wanted sooo bad. Kept plugging away on my NES begrudingly, but started spending way more time in friends' basements playing on their SNES and Sega systems until I finally broke my parents down and ended up with an N64 more or less right when it launched in the US. Not sure what idiots opted for Wings or Wave Race. I was either smart or lucky in opting for Mario 64.

The reason I asked is because I wanted to get some context. I thought you may have been one of those diehards lining up on these cold streets camping overnight taking a piss in bottles only to get your GameCube and play through Luigi's Mansion in an hour and play Melee to death because there was nothing else for the console. Then when Sunshine finally comes out, it isn't the greatest thing since slice bread and turns out to be nothing more than community service where your cleaning areas up all the time.

Instead we probably bought it around the same time, and we had pretty similar experiences. I played through all those games, except I had Agent Under Fire for the PS2. Unfortunately you and I had it both wrong and the spiritual successor was TimeSplitters 2 and 3. Both games were pretty amazing, or atleast from the brief moments I played of them - you could design your own maps and there were all these ideas online and in magazines.

I came to appreciate Luigi's Mansion over time. I don't think it was strong enough to be a launch game, they really needed to find their own version of Super Mario 64 and Luigi's Mansion wasn't it. It's more like a niche game, something you appreciate because there's nothing like it in it's genre and it's choc full of personality and well thought out level design.

The only blemish really is that it's lacking that killer wrestling game. The Wrestlemania/DOR games were good, but just paled in comparison to HCTP.

Have you ever played HCTP?

Apr 28, 2020 16:57:37 GMT Big Pete said:

The reason I asked is because I wanted to get some context. I thought you may have been one of those diehards lining up on these cold streets camping overnight taking a piss in bottles only to get your GameCube and play through Luigi's Mansion in an hour and play Melee to death because there was nothing else for the console. Then when Sunshine finally comes out, it isn't the greatest thing since slice bread and turns out to be nothing more than community service where your cleaning areas up all the time.

Instead we probably bought it around the same time, and we had pretty similar experiences. I played through all those games, except I had Agent Under Fire for the PS2. Unfortunately you and I had it both wrong and the spiritual successor was TimeSplitters 2 and 3. Both games were pretty amazing, or atleast from the brief moments I played of them - you could design your own maps and there were all these ideas online and in magazines.

I came to appreciate Luigi's Mansion over time. I don't think it was strong enough to be a launch game, they really needed to find their own version of Super Mario 64 and Luigi's Mansion wasn't it. It's more like a niche game, something you appreciate because there's nothing like it in it's genre and it's choc full of personality and well thought out level design.

The only blemish really is that it's lacking that killer wrestling game. The Wrestlemania/DOR games were good, but just paled in comparison to HCTP.

Have you ever played HCTP?

I honestly can't really distinguish the SmackDown! games. I've played at least one or two, I think? But no idea which ones. What order did they go in? SmackDown!, SmackDown! 2, SmackDown! Know Your Role, SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain... then SmackDown! vs. RAW started?

You're just missing SmackDown Shut Your Mouth which was the 2002 release.

SmackDown 1 & 2 came out for the PS1. The first one was like a beta, and KYR came out eight months later. It was a pretty impressive game for it's time with a lot of match types and a full season mode.

Just Bring It was the first game on the PS2 and was a massive disappointment. They barely made any improvements over the original and a lot of the new gimmicks were horribly disappointing. It also ate up half your memory card.

Shut Your Mouth was much improved with better models, better commentary, a proper season mode that referenced a lot of major storylines and a bigger roster size. Also has one of the GOAT credit sequences.

It really picks up at about 3:30

Here Comes The Pain overhauled the grappling system, included the body part system from AKI games and fixed a lot of matches to make them more like their real life counter-parts. The Cells were actually proportionate to their real life size, tag matches had better AI and submissions were fixed. The lighting system was fantastic and it was pretty much close to perfect.

It also had the best rendition of Brock Lesnar in any video game period. And that includes Crush Hour. Everybody sold each move like death so it has that satisfying crunch of an AKI game.

The only thing the game really missed was the momentum system of AKI games. It's the one thing none of these games have gotten right, except Fire Pro.

Apr 28, 2020 18:15:39 GMT Big Pete said:

You're just missing SmackDown Shut Your Mouth which was the 2002 release.

SmackDown 1 & 2 came out for the PS1. The first one was like a beta, and KYR came out eight months later. It was a pretty impressive game for it's time with a lot of match types and a full season mode.

Just Bring It was the first game on the PS2 and was a massive disappointment. They barely made any improvements over the original and a lot of the new gimmicks were horribly disappointing. It also ate up half your memory card.

Shut Your Mouth was much improved with better models, better commentary, a proper season mode that referenced a lot of major storylines and a bigger roster size. Also has one of the GOAT credit sequences.

It really picks up at about 3:30

Here Comes The Pain overhauled the grappling system, included the body part system from AKI games and fixed a lot of matches to make them more like their real life counter-parts. The Cells were actually proportionate to their real life size, tag matches had better AI and submissions were fixed. The lighting system was fantastic and it was pretty much close to perfect.

It also had the best rendition of Brock Lesnar in any video game period. And that includes Crush Hour. Everybody sold each move like death so it has that satisfying crunch of an AKI game.

The only thing the game really missed was the momentum system of AKI games. It's the one thing none of these games have gotten right, except Fire Pro.

Shit, now you have me intrigued to find a version of HTCP to play since I'm not 100% convinced I actually ever played it or some other SD! game then. I always had the impression that SD! games went from too "arcade-y" in that all moves were instantly no sold, too complicated to hit the good stuff, and punches/kicks were difficult to connect... until SD! overhauled and went in the opposite over-simulation direction, where you had to manipulate the controller in a way resembling how you'd apply a hammerlock in real life. And if you punched but didn't connect, it would EXHAUST your wrestler. Not sure if this is what you mean by the momentum system or body part system? But NO game has ever hit the game play aspect just right like AKI/THQ with No Mercy.