Tough Crowd

[StanJr]

Ok, kids. Here's a challenge:

 

Aimee (and I) is enamored with the new Elder Scrolls game and it looks like that is going to result in our first purchase of an XBOX. Here's the problem, I don't know if there are any other XBOX games that I am going to like. Here's why:

 

I have no interest in HALO or games like HALO

I have no interest in Call of Duty or games like Call of Duty

I have no interest in MMORPG's or any other online gaming.

I rarely like FPS.

I do not like racing games that are overly complicated.

I do not like GTA or games like GTA.

I am not willing to sit through 30 minutes of story in order to get to the action, I prefer to get into the action as soon as possible.

I prefer great game play over awesome graphics.

I like games like The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Lost in Shadow, Shadow of Colossus, Final Fantasy (up to 9), ChronoTrigger, strategy games like LEGO Battles or Heroes of Might and Magic, RPG's like Might and Magic or Wizardry, Tomb Raider (all of the PSX ones, anyway), games that are quirky or odd like Katamari or Pikmin or Cooking Mama Cook-Off and so forth.

 

An XBOX game that I have seen that appeals to me is Viva Pinata.

 

I think Assassin's Creed looks interesting, and that Dragon Age game sounded kind of cool.

 

Are there going to be games for me to play?

[NE146]

I like games like The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Lost in Shadow, Shadow of Colossus, Final Fantasy (up to 9), ChronoTrigger, strategy games like LEGO Battles or Heroes of Might and Magic, RPG's like Might and Magic or Wizardry, Tomb Raider (all of the PSX ones, anyway), games that are quirky or odd like Katamari or Pikmin or Cooking Mama Cook-Off and so forth.

 

No challenge at all Man the Xbox Live Arcade is full of games like that, and sounds to me like that's where you'll get a lot of stuff. No secret there either.. simply download demos of any game you want, and purchase the full versions of the ones you like. Not to mention the indie games and there's really no shortage of games to check out.

 

I mean.. Megaman, BIonic Commando, Shadow Complex (a Metroidvania clone), Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, Banjo Kazooie, Guardian Heroes, the list goes on and on and on....

 

And in regards to full blown disc games. there's plenty of those too, even katamari.

Edited November 21, 2011 by NE146

[keilbaca]

If you like Gradius games, Otomedius Excellent just came out... its basically Gradius with anime girls.

 

Bullet hell shooters are there on the system as well, both as import and domestic. Deathsmiles is on disc, Deathsmiles 2 is only as a download. Imports that work on the US 360 include DoDonPachi Resurrection (This game will rape you... just a fair warning, I am good at shmups and this thing hands me my ass), Espgaluda 2, Mushihimesama Futari 1.5 (Best one out of this list IMO, can be had now on PlayAsia for $30), and Muchi Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets.

 

As stated, there's a ton of stuff on the Xbox live arcade. I have bought a lot of games on the arcade, for this very reason. Pinball FX 2 is brilliant and is the closest to real physics that you are going to get in a pinball game.

[+Cafeman]

Stan Jr,

 

You can buy inexpensive ($15, $10 etc) downloadable games from Xbox Live such as:

 

Hydro Thunder Hurricane (did you enjoy Hydro Thunder on DC? You'll like this too then). My rating: 8

Afterburner Climax (do you like SEGA's Afterburner? This is a worthy an pretty update) My rating: 8

Earthworm Jim HD (basically Sega CD version of EJ w/multiplayer modes, in HD). My rating: 7 (cause I've played it before)

 

You are a comics fan, so you may enjoy the comics-based games. Here are 2 I've enjoyed):

 

Incredible Hulk (based on the Marvel movie - pretty fun to trash NYC buildings (huge map) and find hidden comic books and beat up tanks and Hulk busters, for a while. (my rating: 7). Then when you get bored, start to progress the storyline. Repeat.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (and its sequel Arkham City which I don't have yet). My rating: at least a 9, possibly a 10 if you are really into the animated series and the comics.

 

 

Plus you can download free demos of practically every X360 game. If you don't have Xbox live then disregard this. (you have to pay like $40 a year for a membership).

[chrisbid]

not a long list but this is what i own that may qualify in your list

 

beautiful katamari - the 360 controller isnt the best for katamari games, but this is still worthwhile if you can find it

 

blue dragon

lost odyssey - decent older style jrpgs

 

you dont know jack + "big button" controllers = party

 

deathsmiles

raiden fighter aces

raiden iv - schmups

 

and you should invest in either of the geometry wars games.

[iswitt]

Okay, here are a few games that I played (non-arcade) that were "off the beaten path" and just pretty awesome.

 

- Vampire Rain: Dirt cheap stealth title with a nice, long campaign. Instant action.

 

- Prey: This is a FPS, but it's a really inexpensive and awesome one

 

- de Blob games are great platformers

 

- The CSI series is great if you like point and click puzzle games

 

- Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper is an odd first-person perspective puzzle game that was great fun

 

- Deadly Premonition is probably my favorite game ever. It is horror-survival, is a sandbox style world and the weirdest story ever. It retailed new at 20 dollars and was one of the best purchases I made for my 360. Highly recommended.

 

Hope that helps!

[Austin]

The XBOX 360 is the RPG-haven of this generation.

[Red 5]

For quirky games like Katamari or Pikimin, I played and loved Catherine. A brilliant unique game. Like a thinking man's Q*Bert from hell with a great story to boot. A must have.

For RPG's the Dragon Age series is great, but Skyrim seems to have set a new bar. If you like Skyrim, Bethesda's Fallout games are amazing and I played both of them to death.

Both Batman games are really stunningly good. Great puzzles, great action, unbelievably beautiful graphics. If you like Castlevania / Zelda then you will like these games. Not the same, but not too different from those.

For old school J-RPG games, Eternal Sonata was pretty cool. A bit on rails, but definitely like a modern day FF7.

The Portal games are the best games ever made... really... If you like quirky puzzle games, Portal is the best ever ever ever ever ever ever ever.... really... ever...

Child of Eden is a sleeper that was great... a lot like Zelda.

 

Well, that should keep you busy for a while. I love the Assassin's Creed games too, but I don't know how you would feel about those. If you haven't played Portal 1 and 2 you NEED to start there.

[stjames88]

I see no one has mentioned any racing games. Both Blur & Burnout Paradise are easy racers that are non-commital. You can play for 1/2 hour or all night. Easy to pick up, fun to play and hard to put down. Blur especially is cool....think Mario Kart w/real cars, cool track designs & pretty graphics.

[HammR25]

The Need for Speed racing games aren't that hard to drive unless you get Shift or Shift 2. There are mario kart clone racing games like Sonic All-star racing. There are also games like Daytona USA and Outrun Online Arcade in the Xbox Live Arcade store.

 

Heck there are even quirky dirt cheap RPGs in the Indie game section for a dollar or three depending on who made them.

 

Plus you can download free demos of practically every X360 game. If you don't have Xbox live then disregard this. (you have to pay like $40 a year for a membership).

 

A person can download trials and demos regardless of whether they pay $40 for a gold account. They just need a free silver account to buy things or download demos and trials in the store.

[Austin]

Stan, several original XBOX titles are backwards compatible as well. That adds more options to your choices.

[StanJr]

Aimee has expressed interest in the Portal games. Sounds like that is a winner.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. What a relief, I was afraid that there weren't going to be games for me to play. From the list you people are generating, it sounds like I have plenty to play!

[moycon]

My two cents

 

I'm going to give you my list of games that I myself had a lot of fun playing and that sound right up your alley StanJr

 

Tornado Outbreak : Similar to Katamari, this game is about sucking up things in with your tornado. It's colorful, fun and overlooked.

 

Kameo : Another beautiful game. In my opinion one of the best launch titles ever.

 

Eternal Sonata : An old school RPG with a serious upgrade to graphics. This game is like playing a cartoon. I played through twice! Also check out Tales of Vesperia.

 

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. A super long quest. This game gets kudo's for some wacky levels (trapped in Pitfall!) and the fact you can play 2 to 4 way co-op through the whole game.

 

Lost Odyssey : Another RPG with old school mechanics, this one isn't cartoony at all but it is awesome and has a great story.

[NE146]

I guess I should have posted this 2 days ago but If you were in the market I hope you took advantage of the sales where the 250 gig new 360 model with Halo Reach & Fable, and 3 months of Xbox Live was being sold for a mere $199

 

Even without the 2 games, the 250 gig 360 Slim for $199 was a great deal ($100 off)

[Video]

Sounds like you should go with a Wii, but the XLA does have a lot of old school style games (and some actual old school games) if you like to play games of yesteryear. Also, look up compilations, like Activision Anthology, and Atari and such as that. There's a lot of those..of course, those are multiplatform if you'd prefer a different system.

 

You do have to pay for live to use it though, just keep that in mind, it averages out to $5 a month, but some people see that as a problem. PSN is free (and whatever the Wii version is called) but first hand, the Wii online isn't as good, and I've heard the PSN isn't as either, kind of a "you get what you pay for" type of thing.

 

Anyhow, Actiony games, get Plants vs Zombies, it's a favorite of mine for quiet a few months

[xg4bx]

My two cents

 

I'm going to give you my list of games that I myself had a lot of fun playing and that sound right up your alley StanJr

 

Tornado Outbreak : Similar to Katamari, this game is about sucking up things in with your tornado. It's colorful, fun and overlooked.

 

Kameo : Another beautiful game. In my opinion one of the best launch titles ever.

 

Eternal Sonata : An old school RPG with a serious upgrade to graphics. This game is like playing a cartoon. I played through twice! Also check out Tales of Vesperia.

 

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. A super long quest. This game gets kudo's for some wacky levels (trapped in Pitfall!) and the fact you can play 2 to 4 way co-op through the whole game.

 

Lost Odyssey : Another RPG with old school mechanics, this one isn't cartoony at all but it is awesome and has a great story.

 

 

+1 on tornado outbreak, i thought i was the only person who had played that. its only $9 new on amazon.

 

 

theres also:

 

Monster Madness which is kind of a modern zombies ate my neighbors.

 

Mini Ninjas, a fun and super charming action platformer. massively underrated.

 

De Blob, an action platformer where you play as a blob of paint and have to add color to a black& white world

 

Enslaved, a gorgeous zelda-ish action game.

Edited November 27, 2011 by xg4bx

[NE146]

You do have to pay for live to use it though, just keep that in mind, it averages out to $5 a month,

 

While most of the time it's available for $50/year, even at full price of $60 (which no one pays) it comes out to $4.50 a month.

 

As most people buy 12 months on sale for $30-$40 it's probably more accurate to say it costs about $3.33 monthly or less.

[onlysublime]

Sounds like you should go with a Wii, but the XLA does have a lot of old school style games (and some actual old school games) if you like to play games of yesteryear. Also, look up compilations, like Activision Anthology, and Atari and such as that. There's a lot of those..of course, those are multiplatform if you'd prefer a different system.

 

You do have to pay for live to use it though, just keep that in mind, it averages out to $5 a month, but some people see that as a problem. PSN is free (and whatever the Wii version is called) but first hand, the Wii online isn't as good, and I've heard the PSN isn't as either, kind of a "you get what you pay for" type of thing.

 

You do not need Xbox Live Gold for most things. If all you are looking for is playing some games, watching some videos, game chat, downloading demos, etc., Xbox Live Free is more than good enough. You still have full access to the Marketplace. You can still buy games. You can still download demos to the games. You still can buy the $1-3 games at the Indie marketplace. You still have full rights to everything. There are also free weekends when you have access to online multiplayer, Netflix, etc.

 

That said, Xbox Live Gold is more than worth it.

 

 

If you really like gaming and you really like the communal aspect, Xbox Live Gold is worth it (Xbox Live Free is available for free to anyone, by the way). Just the party chat feature alone is worth it. All your friends can be doing different things and still be able to chat with each other. One person can be watching Netflix, another can be playing Modern Warfare 3, another can be playing Gears of War 3, etc. and everyone can talk to each other. Even within the same game, it's worth it. Let's say you and your friends are playing Gears of War 2. Because of the party chat feature, you can talk the entire time you are at the dashboard or at the menus of the game, so you can discuss what game mode you can play, what map to play, etc. Other game systems only allow in-game chatting. So even something as simple as choosing what level to play requires that you send text messages to each other or calling via cell phone. I know PS3 gamers who use Skype in order to chat. The PS3 itself should allow chatting! And you have full control over chatting. You control who you want to listen to, who can listen to you, you can mute on an individual basis or on a global scale. No more dealing with 12 year old kids acting like 12 year old kids. Just listen and chat with your friends.

 

There are so many reasons why Xbox Live Gold is worth it outside of the multiplayer gaming. Even the Netflix viewing parties is totally worth it. My friends and I used to have movie night or do viewing marathons when we were in college. But post-college, we got scattered across the country. But with Netflix and Xbox, we can recreate movie night. We can watch the same thing together automatically and chat together if we choose to. Sure, you can fake the Netflix experience on other systems (by timing when you hit play for the movie simultaneously and use something like Skype), but it's so cumbersome.

 

In fact, multiplayer gaming is near the bottom of my list (party chat is the top). Other ecosystems tout that they have the same features but the features on Xbox Live are more polished, more fleshed out, and more consistent.

 

And seriously, if you're paying full MSRP for Xbox Live Gold, you're not looking for deals. there are always deals and sales around. I fully expect to pay between $35 and $50 for a year's worth of Xbox Live Gold. there's the $1/month deals. the $7.99 for 3 months deals, etc. etc. And for how much you get for XBL Gold, and at a price cheaper than a Starbucks drink, it's not a bad deal.

[VertigoProcess]

Ug this is gonna be a ps3 vs. 360 thread isn't it?... so tired of this argument... I even have a side Im very strongly on... but I just don't care anymore at this point...

[moycon]

Ug this is gonna be a ps3 vs. 360 thread isn't it?

 

Don't know why it would. StanJr didn't even mention the PS3.

You could help it not be by posting a valid response in regards to the original post!

Surely you can name at least one 360 game you would recommend to someone else?

[2600Lives]

Both Dead Space games. Cutscenes are short and to the point, there aren't very many, and it's one of the scariest, most tense games you'll ever play. I've never played a game that made me more paranoid.

 

Both Bioshock games. Incredible experiences. These aren't FPS games they're FPA, first-person adventures. Amazing story, amazing setting.

 

Alan Wake. Great action oriented game with a twisting, bizarre story.

 

Ghostbusters. I utterly loved ever second of this game. Atmospheric, and it truly captures everything you love about Ghostbusters.

 

Any Bioware RPG. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, etc. If it has the name Bioware on it, it's a good bet that it's going to be awesome.

[StanJr]

Lots of great stuff here people! Thank you and keep it coming.

 

I saw Kameo when the XBOX360 launched and thought it looked awesome, that is definitely one I want to check out.

 

I have so little interest in online gaming, I seriously doubt I could justify paying M$ for access to online stuff. If there is a free version, then I will take a look.

 

I already have a Wii (and love it).

 

How different is the Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the XBOX from the one for Wii?

 

I know the second one features a LOT more unlockables, so I am going to get that one for sure.

[Video]

At the local game store, you got the $50 cards and the $60 cards, and as they no longer make the $50 ones, I'd say the $60 is accurate. Though to be honest, if you buy many games at all, you'll rack up many months of live anyways so...

 

I would NEVER EVER recommend handing microsoft a credit card number though (which is how you get the deals, and why microsoft offers them) A few years ago my brain fell out and I did just that. Mainly, I thought the $25 for a year subscription was an awesome deal, so I bought two. Come the end of the year Microsoft announces they'd "charge" me for the next year of live service and it ended up costing me $80 a year buying it that way.

 

Yeah, never again. The $50-$60 cards may seem like a lot....until microsoft decides to reach into your pocket and steal from you and you have to do the whole several months shit with your credit card trying to get your money back.

 

If youreally think it's a great deal or something you can't pass up, go to a local store and get a throwaway credit card and just use that. You'll pay slightly more for it, but it's worth it not giving them a direct link to your money.

[onlysublime]

At the local game store, you got the $50 cards and the $60 cards, and as they no longer make the $50 ones, I'd say the $60 is accurate. Though to be honest, if you buy many games at all, you'll rack up many months of live anyways so...

 

I'd advise you at least shop for the cards at Amazon as they are on sale somewhat regularly for around $35-50. Some other regular sellers for cheap cards are Buy.com through their Ebay store and some Ebay retailers. Some places to check as well are slickdeals and cheapassgamer. You shouldn't be spending $60 for a year of Gold.

 

A few months ago, I picked up the Xbox Live Gold messenger kit for $50 which was 1 year of Xbox Live gold, a chatpad, 400 Microsoft points, and a headset through Amazon. But Newegg sold the same thing for the same price at a different time as well.

 

and again, you do not need Xbox Live Gold to browse the Marketplace and buy games or download demos.

 

And I wouldn't hand over my credit card to anyone, but if you do so now, you can easily turn off the autorenewal option through Xbox.com now. The old days of having to call or going through the "hidden" Microsoft Live page to remove the option are gone.

Edited November 29, 2011 by onlysublime

[rxd]

I see no one has mentioned any racing games. Both Blur & Burnout Paradise are easy racers that are non-commital. You can play for 1/2 hour or all night. Easy to pick up, fun to play and hard to put down. Blur especially is cool....think Mario Kart w/real cars, cool track designs & pretty graphics.

 

I highly recommend Blur and Split/Second. Great arcade racing games!