armana

I suggest Shadow of the Colossus. The only things you might not like about it are the HUGE areas (you say you have a short attention span) and the puzzles which seem to stump a lot of people (though nothing a quick glance at gameFAQs won't fix). I'd estimate its length, if you didn't already know what to do, at maybe 10-12 hours on the compulsory stuff. That's excluding the huge world you can explore. The Colossi battles are amazingly fun (and also quite simple, once you work out how to get on them) and the graphics are breathtaking - this is the best looking game I've seen this generation. It truly feels epic to play. So if you like awesome graphics and some short bursts of heart-pounding action, go for Colossus. The music rocks too.

[QUOTE=Mimminx][FONT=Tahoma] =) Out of curiosity, armana and Grave Yard, what could the game have done differently to keep your interest longer? [/FONT][/QUOTE] Ok, don't get me wrong. I'm all for games like Nintendogs - games with no real goal, where you get as much out of it as you're willing to put in. However, for me, Nintendogs simply doesn't have the same long-lasting appeal as other games similar to it. What could it have done differently? For starters, variety. The only real way to make money to buy more stuff in the game (besides from selling items) is via the three contests. The only one which I kept going back to was the disc throwing competition, as it was the only thing that I found held any enjoyment. The agility trials just didn't interest me and the obedience trials i hardly bothered with due to the little interest i have in the microphone technology. On top of all this, every single time I enter a contest I have to sit through Ted and Archie saying one of only a few randomised conversations. Seeing the same text repeated over and over again isn't my idea of fun. As well as this: items. Yes, there are many exciting items, such as [SPOILER]the awesome RC helicopter.[/spoiler] But the amount of other stuff you have to go through before you get to these good items just doesn't seem worth it. Sticks. Dog photos. Those damn. Broken. Disposable. Cameras. And to get these items? You take your dog for a walk, which is enjoyable. Except for the encounters with other dogs. The idea behind these encounters is all well and good: building relationships with other dogs and trainers in the neighbourhood. Except my dog didn't seem to be building any relationships with anyone. One day Spot and my dog Takkun are best friends, the next day 'Takkun doesn't seem to like Spot very much'. There are three ways in which the dogs can feel about eachother after an encounter: curious, happy or pissed off. Always the same. Never changing. I want to be able to build an emotional connection with the characters and dogs I meet but they're all so one-sided, and they never seem to change. [QUOTE=Mimminx][FONT=Tahoma] Simple pleasures are enough to keep my attention [/FONT][/QUOTE] And I'd say the same thing about myself, Mimminx. Take, for example, Electroplankton, which I imported from Japan. Many of my friends tried this game and wondered why the hell I even bothered to buy it when they played it, but I knew exactly what I was getting. A game with no end goal; where all you do is make tunes and sit back and listen to them. And I find Electroplankton compelling because there's always something different to do. While there are only ten types of plankton to play around with, there's always a different piece of music to come up with, and as such it doesn't become repetitive. As well as Electroplankton, there's the simply stunning Animal Crossing Wild World, one of the most compelling games I have ever played. The above problems that I mentioned, which are the major ones that stood out for me in Nintendogs, are all completely non-existent in Wild World. There's variety: There always seems to be something to do, the animals always have something interesting to say; there are hundreds of items to collect and deck out your house with; and, most importantly, you really become attatched to the animals, moreso than even in the GameCube Animal Crossing, in ways which I don't want to talk about in case anybody hasn't experienced them yet ^_^ Nintendogs just doesn't have this same appeal to me. I feel like I've seen all there is to see already. At its core, there is a great game within Nintendogs. The graphics are excellent, the stylus/touchscreen dog interactions are intuitive and the game just has an overall nice feel about it. But I the few major hurdles I mentioned above keep this game only in the enjoyable range, at least for me. I certainly don't regret buying the game but, out of the seven games on my DS collection, it's definitely my least favourite. I know I've criticised it a fair bit in this post but I do think it is a worthwhile game to play, just not all that it could have been. However, I'm glad that the game has proven to be so enjoyable for you, Mimminx :animesmil

I bought this game the day before it came out. To start with I loved it - taking my dog (Takkun the miniature dachshund) for walks, entering it in competitions, etc. The main driving force behind the game for me, I found, was the items aspect. Anyway, it was good for about 3 weeks, and I played it pretty much everyday. Then suddenly, I lost ALL interest in it, and I haven't touched it since. There didn't seem to be many items to get (I can only take finding a certain amount of broken disposable cameras before I get a bit tired of it) and doing the same competitions over and over started to become boring, and I didn't even bother with the obedience competitions because I don't like having to talk aloud to my DS. So yeah, a good game, but I think it depends on the type of person you are as to how much gameplay you'll actually get out of this. I can see some people lasting for ages with it, while others, like myself, will get tired of it after a while. However I don't regret buying it because I'd estimate I did get a good 15 hours out of it, which is a pretty moderate amount for a handheld title. And the dogs are cute, hehe.

Ok, false alarm. It's started snowing. Looks like they haven't localised the seasons for the Southern Hemisphere afterall. However, it doesn't really dissapoint me that much. Animal Crossing Community is allways decked out in the theme of the current AC season, so it would have felt weird being out of sync with that. And the sight of clouds floating across a starlit sky coupled with snow drifting to the ground is very nice indeed. This game rocks. However, my apologies for the incorrect information.

Picked it up yesterday at EB, one day before the official Australian release date hehe. And I'm impressed. Animal Crossing works so much better on the DS. They keyboard, the menus, the pick-up-and-playness. It's just a more complete experience. And the new gameplay perspective is awesome :D Initially I was worried with how similar everything was to the GameCube version. Like Des mentioned, Nook's tasks are pretty much all the same, among other things. However, it feels just as fresh and involving as the GameCube version, which is good. It's definitely my favourite game on DS thusfar. One final thing - as we Aussies are in the Southern Hemisphere, it's summer for us right now, and it also seems to be summer in Wild World. In the GameCube game the seasons were the same as in the Northern Hemisphere. A nice touch, I think.

Just saw the movie today and I must say it was absolutely excellent. The Goblet of Fire is my favourite book in the series and I think they did an amazing job in staying true to the book. In fact, the only thing that let me down would be the way the world cup was shown only briefly. I'm actually quite shocked as to what's being said about Michael Gambon's portrayal of Dumbledore. I think he is doing an excellent job. In my mind, I never saw Dumbledore as 'calm and collected'. In fact, I thought that Richard Harris played the role too flatly. Gambon is an excellent Dumbledore - he brings a sense of safety and security to the character and, even though he did seem to be getting kind of stressed out in some scenes, he always seemed to be in control - exactly as I read his character in the books. The first two Harry Potter films were enjoyable, but too generic in my mind. Chris Columbus is doing a great job now as a producer, but I just don't think he cuts it as a director. Hogwarts looked like just another old castle. I love what that Alfonso dude did with The Prisoner of Azkaban - the re-designed castle; the authentic English weather. From a creative point of view, I'm loving how new directors are being sought for each movie now, and how each one is actually coming across as a film, instead of just a screen adaption of the books. Frankly, I think the Potter franchise is in extremely capable hands cinema-wise. 2007 can't come soon enough.

[QUOTE=Lady Katana][color=darkblue] As for the comment about the animation... I honestly don't see what you mean. The anime cut scenes were beautiful in my opinion. True, it was a bit sad to see the[/color] [spoiler]CG-rendered Tower of Salvation in more than a few of them, but on the whole, they were beatuifully done.[/spoiler][/QUOTE] I said real-time cut scenes; the scenes running from the in-game engine. The anime cut scenes were indeed awesome, as were the CG ones. My previous post sounded a bit negative so I'd just like to recap: Tales is one of my all-time favourite games, and certainyl one of the best I've played on GameCube.

Oh... duh, of course. Ha, I thought it may have been someone else. Yeah, that death mountain cut scene is another of my favourites too! Here's some more: -The sages/triforce introduction cutscenes told by the Great Deku Tree and Zelda. Very beautiful, and I loved the music in these scenes. -King Dodongo's introduction! That scared the crap out of me when I was 11. -The scene where you and Epona escape Lon Lon Ranch. -The credits shots - OoT has one of my favourite video game credits sequences, along with Pikmin 2. Of course, there are many others, such as the logo screen one and without a doubt the ending clips, but these are the few that stood out for me. ^_^ I'd also like to add that OoT has some of the most cinematic real-time cutscenes I've seen in a game to date. The camera angles and shot composition is just awesome in many places. Yet another area of the game that Nintendo excelled in. All this OoT talk just makes me wanna sit back down and play it again...

[quote name='Bombu][color=darkred']I heard that they're getting rid of events like Christmas and Halloween and replacing them with made up special events and occasions, just so people from other ethnic groups who play the game don't get offended that their holy days or whatever weren't included.[/color][/quote] There wasn't a Christmas holiday in the game, at least in the Australian version. We had Toy Day instead. At any rate, I really think that it's important to respect other people's beliefs. I enjoyed the made up holidays, as they helped me suspend reality. I mean come on, your village is, sans yourself, entirely populated by animals. Nuff said. And on the subject of suspending reality, it really annoyed me how you got letters from your family in the game. I wanted to feel as if my character was basically me in the gameworld, yet I kept recieving letters from my 'mother'. To bad if I didn't actually have a mother - I kept thinking of the motherless kids who would recive those letters. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I think that if I didn't have a mother this'd upset me. Whatever the case it's going to be awesome and I can't wait to buy it.

[quote name='Monkeyfeet63']And for where I got the idea of the sages dieing, was from a gamefaqs article. Where one guy said "Impa then runs of to the shadow temple, and is killed then awakened as sage, jut like the others" I tought this was plasible, as there still from these boards is no plausible evidence that says there alive or dead. Everyones "facts" still are based on abstract ideas that were left open by the game. Which are fantastic when it comes to creating a conversation piece."[/quote] Ahh, that's right. Kakariko village was on fire, and you met up with Impa when the shadow thing flew out of the well. I guess this COULD imply she died. I can't actually remember exactly what happened in that scene, except that it was one of my favourites in the game. So cinematic, heh. But yes, the game is way to open-ended to draw any solid conclusions. These conversations are always interesting though - the game's storyline is complete enough to leave us satisfied, yet it also leaves us free to have discussions like this. And therein lies another awesome aspect of the Zelda series.

[quote name='Monkeyfeet63']True, you would not see them in the end of the game if they did that. But the temple of light is within the sacred realm, so its a possibility tehy could not escape. especially if they were dead.[/quote] Why would they not be able to escape? Link was in the same chamber, and he was able to escape from it. Surely the sages would be able to move freely between the sacred realm and wherever else at their will. Ganon was SEALED in the realm by the sages and, therefore, he cannot escape. The sages weren't sealed anywhere by anyone so naturally they would be able to move in and out of the sacred realm as they please. Yes, of course it is possible that the sages could not escape, and it's also possible that they were dead. But these assumptions aren't backed up by any evidence from the game whatsoever. Storyline speculation is fine, but in this case it seems as if you've just come up with some random idea regarding the plot of OoT. You need some solid factual information to back up your claims. This discussion seems to be going round and round in circles, by the way.

[quote name='Monkeyfeet63']Well you also see that ruto as full grown adult in the end. Now why would that be?[/quote] By 'in the end' you're refering to the scene where the five temple sages are standing on death mountain, right? This happens around the the same time as the celebration scene, which I always assumed happened directly after Ganondorf was killed, not back when Link was a boy again. That's why Ruto's grown up. Remember, it's after this scene when Link reappears in the temple of time in his original timeline. Why would everybody be celebrating something that hadn't happened yet? When Link returns to his original timeline, everything else is as it was. Nothing is said about the sages dying so I think it's safe to assume that they didn't.

I just borrowed this from a friend - it's a game that I've really been looking forward too, especially after Tales of Symphonia. I'm not that far into it but, from what I've seen so far, sadly, I'm unimpressed. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but there are a few points that have so far kept me from doing so. The English dub is horrendous. Fair enough, you can turn it off, but the fact that the opening cut scene and battle sequences still retain the voice artistry means that you can never be completely void of them while playing. I also have a problem with the battle sequence. The randomness really annoys me. I'm thinking that this aspect of the game would either be something that you love or hate. It'd be ok if the cards were random within their type (for example, your attack cards are randomly sorted and then distributed to you, likewise with defense cards), but the fact that when I'm almost out of HP and I'm dealt sheilds and green bananas instead of swords and healing items means that I'm about to be killed and there's nothing I can do about it. While traditional RPGs have always had a sense of the outcome being out of your control, it just seems to have been overly implemented in this title. I did find positives within the title however - the music is excellent, as are the pre-rendered backgrounds (though the in-game graphics, such as in the battle scenes, don't quite cut it for me). The narrative is interesting, but so far nothing special, however, since I'm not very far into the game I'll reserve my judgement on it for now. I am excited that Baten Kaitos 2l has been announced - perhaps I'll like it better than the original and, because it's a prequel, it should make things interesting.

I saw this game on a leaked list that showed what Nintendo was showcasing at E3. I remember Twilight Princess was also on the list, before the name had officially been announced, so I just assumed it was a load of bull****. Then TP was revealed as the official title for Zelda and I began to wonder; in the end, however, I just decided that it was another name for pinball or hunters or something. Anyway, if it is real, I really don't know how they'd impliment the DS' capabilities. Bombu, I'd have to agree with your morphball theory - the main aspects of the game would be 2D (perhaps sprites on a 3D background?) with the morphball elements allowing for 3D movement. Maybe it'll be fully 2D, but incorporate the 2 screens throughout the entire game, resulting in a tall viewing area, ala Yoshi Touch & Go. Apart from that, who knows, but here's hoping that this game really is in development - the more metroid the better.

Another one of my many reasons to buy a PS2. This game looks absolutely breathtakingly amazing. If there's one thing I like about gaming it's atmosphere, and this title seems to have ****loads of it. Some of the clips I have seen of it have me speechless, such as the one where the main character leaps onto one of the colossus' swords and begin to climb it. Awesome stuff. ICO, unless I'm mistaken, wasn't released here in Australia, which is anther reason I can't wait to play this game. If I am mistaken please tell me.

The other sages died? Is this fact or just your theory? I just assumed that, when all the characters who turned out to be sages were awakened, they just ran off to the sacred realm to go about there business. But you're saying the all died in the process? Anyhow, whether this truly is a plot problem or not, it was cool to see Link and Zeldameet up in the courtyard again, no? That's the brilliant thing about Nintendo; their storylines are left open enough so that we can all go around wondering about this kind of stuff ^_^

As for the [spoiler] giant tree theories, I think he named it Symphonia.[/spoiler] I really enjoyed this game - it'd have to be one of my favourites on GameCube. As for my favourite characters, I'd have to say that Raine wins out overall. I hated her at the start, as I didn't see any real use for her, both battlewise and plotwise, but after about 10 hours or so into it she really grew on me. Zelos is also one of my favourites. There were a few things that annoyed me about ToS: first and foremost, the HORRIBLE character animations in the real-time cut scenes. Holy crap did some of that stuff suck. The battle animations were superb so it's beyond me why such a half-assed job was done on the cut scenes - another reason why the lack of more anime cut scenes hurt. Also, I found some of the voice acting to be pretty average. Kratos and Colette annoyed me the most, as well as some of the random NPCs. Kratos kept reminding me of of one of my old teachers who I hated and Colette just sounded too selfish. Overall though, I thought the voice acting was pretty good, especially now that I've played Baten Kaitos and heard what terrible voice acting really is. Errghh. Personally, I can't wait for Tales of Legendia. I wish it wasn't PS2 exclusive but, having said that, I now have another reason to buy a PS2 . As for the whole cooking thing, I never really bothered with it either.

Absolutely no question. Zelda GCN. I'm convinced that this game will finally live up to my Ocarina of Time expectations. However, I'm also rather looking forward to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles DS. I feel the GameCube version was underated, as well as unnaproriately realised on that platform. The DS has the whole two-screens thing already worked out, so that problem is already fixed, and quick and easy wireless multiplayer will also add to the package. However, the game has barely even been announced, so here's hoping we get some solid info on it at E3.

I'd go for the DS. Yes, the PSP looks more appealing, has better technical capabilities, and is overall undeniably cooler, but to me it just seems like a PS2 on with a TV taped onto it, albiet quite a bit smaller. Is it really cost effective for a developer to develop a game that is up to the standards of the current generation consoles exclusively for a handheld system? How many exclusives will we actually see on the system? Are gamers really going to want to buy a handheld system that's more expensive than a PS2 to play GT4 on a smaller screen? Yes, I'm not overlooking the original titles for release on Sony's handheld. But, right now, there's nothing that really wows me about the system's line-up of software. It just seems like I could find similar and better titles elsewhere. However, my biggest concern about the PSP is the battery life. I'm not going to want to recharge every four hours, and simply keeping it plugged into the wall defeats the handheld purpose. The DS, on the other hand, seems to embody what a handheld should be. Handhelds shouldn't need to have current generation technical capabilities - for the reasons stated above, and for the fact that detail will be lost on a portable console's screen. The DS has good 3D capabilities, but not so good that it would take a lot of effort on the developer's party to develop solely for a handheld system. The afformentioned battery life - in the DS' case, around the 15 hour mark - is crucial. Finally, we have variety - I play handhelds to get a different experience than from playing a home console. The GBA took me back to the SNES era, and the DS looks set to transport me back to my 64 days - and then some. However, the DS' launch titles haven't impressed me all that much, as far as third party support goes anyway. We're seeing software titles that don't seem to try to work much with the prospects that the system offers. But that's probably because of the relatively short development cycle that current DS games were produced in. I hold high hopes that, in time, we'll see some really impressive stuff on the DS. I'm not writing off the PSP - I'm actually pretty excited about it, to see whether or not it will break away from the PS2 in terms of software support. I may even purchase one in the future. But, right now, the DS seems to offer more of what I'm looking for.

Ahh... well it's already happened. I went to a 'party' at a friend's place. Nine people turned up, heh, not much of a party. But still, it was alright. And I got to get closer with her, so that was good. The thing was, I felt kind of guilty, considering the tsunami disaster and everything. My mindset was, what right did I have to be spending $20 on alcohol when at least 150,000 people have died and a few million more are without food or accomodation? I'm getting a bit off topic here, sorry. What I'm trying to say is, my night's enjoyment was ultimately subdued by thoughts like these. Still, an enjoyable evening.

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. It's just that with two players, confined in a small circle, with a huge boss constantly attacking you, it's hard to protect one another. But yes, it does promote teamwork - I can see how it would work with more players. The same could be said for the maps. The game is still very fun, and worth the effort of lugging around GBAs and batteries (the DS must be heaven) and cables and everything else you need to fully enjoy the experience. I'm looking forward to the DS version, if it ever comes about, as it seems like the perfect home for a game of Crystal Chronicles' type. On another note, I found the story to be quite interesting. Many reviewers have spoken about how there's hardly any story to speak of, but I'd have to disagree with that statement. There's nothing really epic about it, but still, it does a good job of pulling things together.

Just an update on my experiences with the game. I played my first multiplayer session today with Ganon6d9. Yeah, the game is much better in multiplayer mode. But this mode also highlights the GBA controller issues even more. Our first problem was actually getting G6d9's GBA to work, as his batteries kept running out, so my dvd and tv remotes ended up battery-less. Two controllers that cost more than the game itself, each with only six buttons (excluding the D-pad), that require batteries. All I can say is, "What?" The only thing that the GBAs do to increase the level of gameplay is the secret objectives, but even they seemed pretty worthless. I never used the map in single player mode, and not being able to pause the action while you're setting up your command list is a real death trap. It's actually possible to play with the 'Cube controller in multiplayer mode (but you can't access the status screen or participate in most of the game's activities, walking is about the only thing you can do). It was then that I realised just how comfortable the GameCube's controller is. The GBA's D-pad was actually giving me thumb cramps. So apart from this exremely dissapointing aspect of the game, I'd have to say that FFCC is by no means a bad title. It's actually one of my GameCube favourites. The multiplayer mode is definately the way to go, even if using a GBA does slightly hurt the overall experience. Even then, I'd probably still have bought the game for its single player mode.

Favourite boss battle, eh? That's a hard one. I can't really pick an overall favourite, but the most memorable for me would have to be the final boss in Star Fox Adventures. Yeah, strange choice I know, but to me it had the perfect difficulty level. It's probably the most memorable for me though because it's the most recent boss battle I've been really impressed with. Now that I think about it, the boss battles in Yoshi's Island were all pretty sweet. They weren't very difficult, but they were fun. So many bubbles... Ocarina of Time's boss battles were also pretty damn good, come to think of it. King Dodongo rocked, even though he was too easy. His intro was just so cool though. Barinade was awesome too, so much stuff to do. Yep, OoT had lots of variation in its boss battles, unlike some other games. I won't mention any names. Finally, I'd like to mention the final battle of Super Mario Sunshine. It was such a dissapointment it was fun. Hell, it had an FMV intro, so I have to forgive it.

Yes, FFCC is by no means a perfect product. The game seems to have been prevented from reaching its full potential by someone's idea of 'marketing genius'. The whole GBA controller thing is a complete mess. I do like the character designs though, and the pow races had me in hysterics. But I never want to have to sit through one again...

Well, I've finally been able to get my hands on FFCC, so now I can comment in this thread. I really like the game. I can also see why many people don't like it - No epic storyline, no dramatic FMVs, no turn-based fighting. I can see why some people would look at this and say "No, it's no good, it's not Final Fantasy," purely because it doesn't have any of those previously mentioned points. But I decided to consider what the game IS, not what it ISN'T, and I placed the disc in my GameCube in that state of mind. What I found was a game with beautiful graphics, soothing music and something that most games nowdays don't have: a heart. The game never really sets out to impress anyone, it's just what it is. I think it's fun, if slightly repetitive, and I can't wait to try it out with some friends. And 24's about to start, so I better get going. But that's my opinion. For those of you thinking of picking up the game, I think it's a try before you buy situation. Not everyone will like it.