Any videogamers?

[simplygriff]

So this is a huge weekend in videogames... PS3 and Wii launches and all.

Any gamers?

Personally I'm going with the Wii. Picking it up tonight at midnight. Can't wait!

Anyone else getting a new toy or like to play with the old ones? I like those too, everything from Atari 2600 to current.

Discuss!
-G

[MidnightDave]

I'm not a gamer and I'm old school...no literally, I owned Pong and you hooked it to your TV, can't remember if it was Atari or what, I just know we thought it was a big deal when you were so good you shrunk the paddle size! ;-)

Played Space Invaders too, at an arcade, when I wasn't playing Foosball, and I think at people's houses, too?

I also remember a war game years later that I thought was so advanced and had what I considered great graphics, it was called Frankenstien maybe?

Enough about my lack of gaming skills, they're running a spot on the news about some poor guy who camped three days for a PS3 then somebody followed him home and stole it at shotgunpoint! Now THAT sucks!

Going to google to find Wii now! ;-)

[oznogonzo]

I too have been around since the days of pong, and have been gaming for the last 30 years or so. Personally I don't like consoles that much. I prefer to build my own high end gaming rigs (I could blow 10k easily on a machine... if I had 10 k hehe). It amazes me the lengths people will go to to get the latest consoles.

The media hype combined with intentional shortages of units only makes the feeding frenzy for gamers with money to spend all that more entertaining to watch... plus I'm saving for a Borla :D The one thing that does not sit well with me however are the people that get units just to turn around and sell for tremendous profit... It only hurts the average gamer by jacking up prices.

[simplygriff]

...

The media hype combined with intentional shortages of units only makes the feeding frenzy for gamers with money to spend all that more entertaining to watch... plus I'm saving for a Borla :D The one thing that does not sit well with me however are the people that get units just to turn around and sell for tremendous profit... It only hurts the average gamer by jacking up prices.

I wholeheartedly agree. It's been quite an entertaining couple days. And it does piss me off that the gamer who actually wants to play games on a PS3 is left out in the cold. At this point I'm quite happy with the Wii and will wait for the dust to settle between the 360 and PS3. I'm quite the opposite form you it sounds like. I love consoles and can't seem to get into PC games other than Unreel Tournament. Guess that's what makes the world go round. :D
-G

[oznogonzo]

I would like to give the new consoles a try for a bit, I the Wii looks fun... heh it might even help get people exorcise. They just need a good mini racing game. :D

[simplygriff]

If you wanna exercise you gotta bust out the Dance Dance Revolution. I've lost more weight playing that than I ever did with my gym membership. :D

And yes some kind of Mini racing game is totally necessary. Even if it's just being able to select a Mini amongst gobs of other cars.
-G

[HPUdrew]

I thought you could get a MINI on Gran Turismo 4.... I'm not much of a gamer, but I do plan on buying a PS2, nice steering wheel, and GT4 one of these days. I have an Integra GS-R drivers seat that is begging to be built into a real driving chair. :)

Drew

[oznogonzo]

I thought you could get a MINI on Gran Turismo 4.... I'm not much of a gamer, but I do plan on buying a PS2, nice steering wheel, and GT4 one of these days. I have an Integra GS-R drivers seat that is begging to be built into a real driving chair. :)

Drew

I have one of the leather Momo ones I use for pretty much every racing game I have... got it way back when I was plaing Motor City Online. I can't race without a wheel, and it's a pretty good match feel-wise for my 2 spoke in the MINI... just a little smaller and with 9 buttons and 2 paddles. Hmm gives me an idea for a mod :D

[simplygriff]

GT4 does have a Mini and so does some crappy drifting game I saw out there... http://www.simplygriff.com/Images/Emoticons/lame.gif

The one in GT4 is the only one I know of but unfortunately the only roof colors on the S's are white... Boo! :P

I have the Force Feedback Logitech wheel from GT3 that suffices for now. I'm not buying another wheel til I can get a working shifter and pedal set, which is available but I can't afford it. :D That and I may wait for GT5.
-G

[Lou777]

GRIFF!

I gotta know how the Wii is treating you, do you love it? Is it hard to adapt to the new controls? I am so ready for that system I can taste it! I've still got my GameCube and N64 on my desk and play one of them almost daily.

My husband built an arcade cabinet with the carpentry help of a friend of ours, and he put a computer with every old school game out there. He put in all the controllers and a pinball mechanism so that even pinball games feel real.

Here's the top of the beast.
http://www.toudle.org/images/MINI/arcade_side.jpg

And the control panel/coin door/pinball thingy
http://www.toudle.org/images/MINI/arcade_lwrfrnt.jpg

and here's the wiring on one half of the control panel
http://www.toudle.org/images/MINI/arcade_ctrlpnl.jpg


video games are cool - excellent thread!

Amy

[oznogonzo]

Hey now, that arcade cabinet is cool... brings back memories of hanging out in arcades spending quarters hehe :cool:

Scott

[simplygriff]

GRIFF!

I gotta know how the Wii is treating you, do you love it? Is it hard to adapt to the new controls? I am so ready for that system I can taste it! I've still got my GameCube and N64 on my desk and play one of them almost daily.

My husband built an arcade cabinet with the carpentry help of a friend of ours, and he put a computer with every old school game out there. He put in all the controllers and a pinball mechanism so that even pinball games feel real.
...

video games are cool - excellent thread![/CENTER]

Amy

Nice cab! I actually started my own arcade machine running MAME too. Here's my Control Panel...
http://www.simplygriff.com/Images/thumbs/CP_full.jpg

Unfortunately I got it working with the PC and all so I started playing games and never got around to finishing the design of the cabinet. :D Oh well... It sits all set up on a table in the back of the living room as of now. I'm a big fan of the early 90's fighters, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat 1&2, Samurai Shodown 1&2, etc. I also have my controls and monitor hooked up to my first PS2 as well so I can play more modern games too such as Virtua Fighter 4: EVO, Soul Calibur II & III, Tekken 5, Street Fighter III, etc.

As far as the Wii goes, I think it is exactly what the video game industry needed. I was starting to get bored with it all, hadn't seen a new game other than Okami (PS2) come out in about 6 months or so that I really wanted. The only system I was really playing was my DS. The Wii on the other hand is so much fun and innovative. The games are so intuitive. We can't stop playing Wii Sports Tennis and bowling. And Zelda is a blast to play though. It is very reminiscent of Ocarina of Time not that that's a bad thing. I highly recommend the Wii for hardcore gamers and casual gamers alike. Now I just gotta get my hands on a driving game... :D
-G

[FTGT101]

I have an upright Mrs. Pacman that recently went on the blink. I have to find someone that can fix it. Has been in the family since I was about 13 years old and my mom asked if I wanted it about six months ago.

[simplygriff]

Sounds cool. I love me some Pac-Man or it's variations. :D

If you want to try to fix it yourself there is probably someone at this site who can help you. They build the new ones and can fix old ones.

www.arcadecontrols.com

-G

[FTGT101]

Thanks for the link.

[Silver_Phoenix]

*Sigh*


You can call me a junkie.... but I have evolved from the tv-style video games to the PC computer games....

Here are the systems I own and in order from oldest to newest:

Atari <-- still works with boo-coo games
Nintendo<-- still works, numerous games, with the track pad and duck hunt gun

Sega Genesis, didnt like this console as much, have 3 games for it
Super Nintendo
Sega Dreamcast <-- namely played this console for the "Soul Calliber" games
Playstation
Playstation II

I use my PsII as a DVD player more than anything, I do however own 2 games for it, but it rarely gets played.

I have been hooked into the PC game called World of Warcraft and I love that game. Its SO funny to go out into public, or just chat with a group of friends who play on the same game and someone who doesnt have a clue to what your talking about walks up and looks at you strange when they hear you talking about " did you hear about that massive fight down at Camp T last night? They must have slain 50 or better!" Etc Etc...

Anyways... Thats where Im off to now. I refer to World of Warcraft as "The other side" so if you ever hear me say "Im going to the other side" then you know where Im headed.

P.S. if anyone in the club plays world of warcraft, I am a level 37 Tauren Druid on the Twisting Nether server. My charachters name is Mandelia. Look me up!

[simplygriff]

I haven't found many PC games I like to play. Unreal Tournament was the last one I played a lot and that was years ago. I have a personality that gets addicted to stuff far too easily to get into WoW. I easily spent over a hundred hours playing Animal Crossing on the DS. I can't imagine what WoW would do to my life. :D Now if it was on a portable... ;)
-G

[HotRodPilot]

I play Driver 3 and GT4 every couple of months or so. I used to play video games a lot, but now I can just go for a drive:D

[UN4G1VN]

I game on the 360 and online alot, there are a few games that are alot of fun. COD and Rainbow Six Vegas. My Xbox Live gamertag is also UN4G1VN. If anyone does live look me up.

[CooperSKart]

I'm not a console gamer, but I'm into the race car simulation type games for PC. I have to admit they are pretty addictive & with steering wheel & pedals they can be pretty intense. My current favorites are Rfactor and GT Legends. Rfactor is supposedly very realistic physics-wise and cool since people can develop their own cars and submit them for use in Rfactor (they have all types from NASCAR to F1 - the one I've really been enjoying recently is the open wheel "Formula BMW" series which is based on a real race series done by BMW with little open wheel cars that look like F1 cars but are powered by a BMW 140 HP motorcycle engine (they weigh about 1100 pounds so they're still pretty quick). They have many different tracks also, including VIR. I did some parade laps on VIR once in the MINI and I actually felt like I knew the track reasonably well since I had driven on it in cyperspace.

[Lou777]

Reviving this thread

Just got a Wii on Sunday and I'm dying to trade Miis - any takers??

My console number is:

4033.6152.2769.3827

[Silver_Phoenix]

Ok, pardon my stupidity.... but what in the heck is a Mii? I have owned everything from an Atari up... (and stopping at a PS2) and have never heard of a Mii....

Enlighten us.

[Lou777]

It's the "person" extension of a Nintendo Wii - you build a Mii to look like you or someone you know and you can share them across an internet connection on the Wii.

[simplygriff]

Glad you got one! What games did you get? Oh and I'll add you next time I get on.

Here's mine
2302 3034 0818 1137

-G

[Lou777]

Thanks Griff!

I bought Sonic when I got the console, next day we went back for another remote because we are addicted to the bowling and tennis on Wii Sports. Bought the remote w/ the Wii Play pack and have played pool into the wii hours of the morning.

Fun times!

[simplygriff]

Cool. How's Sonic compare to old school Sonic? I think the last one I played was Sonic & Tails.

Is there anything in Wii Play other than pool worth playing into the wee hours of the morning?
-G

[Lou777]

Compared to the ones I had for the GC, I'm not sure. It appears to have unlimited lives for each mission which is nice, but it's on auto-pilot moving forward, so there's no exploring the different screens outside of the track that you are on, and you have to push a button to stop. Not bad so much as different.

I think it will get better once I get more control over the remote, I'm sure I'm over exaggerating a lot of moves...Can't wait for Mario Galaxy!

Wii Play - meh, not so much. It's more rudimentary than Wii Sports to teach the control of the remote. There's an air hockey type game, shooting game, and a course where you're riding on the back of a bull and you have to take out scarecrows and jump over obstacles. If you need the extra remote, the laughs cover the extra 10 you'll pay for the game, but I wouldn't say it's a must have.

[simplygriff]

Cool. That all sounds like what I've heard before. Just wanted to hear another perspective. Might wait for Sonic to go on clearance. I'm itching for Super Paper Mario, just haven't had time to play anything so I haven't picked it up yet. Also been getting a couple virtual console games lately. Punch-Out FTW! :D
-G

[BlimeyCabrio]

Games with SWORDS rock on the Wii. We have Red Steel and just got Prince of Persia Rival Swords. Love the wiimote swordplay... My ten year old and me are hooked... but not enough hours in a day... (for me anyway, oh, to be ten again... but then I wouldn't be able to drive... that would be sad...)

[simplygriff]

Oh please tell me you played Zelda then... The sword play doesn't get any better than that.:D
-G

[BlimeyCabrio]

Oh yeah - Twilight Princess was the first Wii game we got... my 10 year old has played A LOT - I've watched him some but really haven't had time to get into it. We've been playing other stuff lately... I just asked him why he stopped and he said "there's this dungeon I have go to into that really creeps me out..."
:)

[simplygriff]

Oh thank goodness. That game was so great. Not my favorite Zelda but definitely #2. There was a little too much too it.

Hear that Lou777! You gotta get Zelda! :D
-G

[Lou777]

I'm all about the Zelda - I never played it until they brought Ocarina of Time to the GC - put that series into the top 3 for me. Saw it on Saturday, with the Wii stuff, but the box said it was a GC title...I know they released TP for both but didn't want to lay down 45 bucks to find out if that title was for both.

Very cool stuff ahead in the next few weeks!!

[Eepers]

Oh hey, gamers on here as well, swank! Griff, if you have any of the recent UT games, check the credits for yours truly. I did a bunch of art, level, and vehicle design for the last 3 UT games.

If any of you have an Xbox 360 you should check out TestDrive Unlimited, it's fantastic. They basically made a giant digital version of Maui, and you free roam around it doing events as you go, it's eerily like "mall madness" for car people, haha. Plus all the cars and motorcyles (loads of real life cars) all have interiors that are spot on. Driving around in the first person view is just a hoot.

[simplygriff]

Lou, it was released for both platforms. 2 different boxes, black and white. 2 totally different controls too. Definitely get the Wii one. If you only had a GC I'd say get it but since you've got a Wii, it's so much fun to literally slash through enemies and point to shoot arrows and stuff. You will LOVE it!

And Eepers, The only UT I played was UT. The first one on the Mac. Unfortunately I can't play it on my new MacBook cause they don't include Classic OS9 anymore. :( Also unfortunate is my motion sickness from FPS's. :( I really strongly looked at the 360 primarily for Gears but in the end decided to get a new camera instead. I'll let some more dust settle in the console war before I decide. It feels so weird for me though since I've been getting new systems at launch since the SNES.
-G

[oznogonzo]

Oh hey, gamers on here as well, swank! Griff, if you have any of the recent UT games, check the credits for yours truly. I did a bunch of art, level, and vehicle design for the last 3 UT games.

If any of you have an Xbox 360 you should check out TestDrive Unlimited, it's fantastic. They basically made a giant digital version of Maui, and you free roam around it doing events as you go, it's eerily like "mall madness" for car people, haha. Plus all the cars and motorcyles (loads of real life cars) all have interiors that are spot on. Driving around in the first person view is just a hoot.

Sweet... I always have been and always will be a huge fan of the Unreal series. I got Unreal the day it came out in 98 hehe and I still play all the UT games to this day. I always thought it was pretty neat that some of that stuff was developed here in NC. Excellent work!

[Eepers]

Glad you dig it! The next UT is looking just damn fine, even after Gears I still look at some of the stuff being done on it and just think "Good lord that's gorgeous!". I think people will love it and hope it finds a new home on the consoles as well.

Forza 2 for the 360 is also including a MINI Cooper S in the car lineup. For anyone who didn't try the first one on Xbox 1, it has a ton of car customization options including a staggeringly cool system for applying decals and customizing paint out that you can play online with. If it was available in a convertible in-game that would be the ultimate place to try on new striping options and color choices.

http://forzamotorsport.net/news/announcements/carlist.htm

[Eepers]

Forza 2 is out for the 360, and there's a ton of cool MINIs online people have been custom painting.

Here's a personal fav, what with being my game's logo, haha...

http://forza.game-host.org/up/main.cgi?mode=thr&no=1527

random other paintjobs:

http://forza.game-host.org/up/index.html

[Eepers]

Some custom car paint pics and racing (smashed up) pics of my in-game mini in Forza 2
http://www.tarheelminis.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=71&stc=1&d=1180735319
http://www.tarheelminis.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=72&stc=1&d=1180735319
http://www.tarheelminis.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=74&stc=1&d=1184865180
http://www.tarheelminis.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=75&stc=1&d=1184865180

[HPUdrew]

That is awesome!!! What is this game available on? I'm no gamer, I'd like to get this and GT4 on PS2 though if they are both available for it.

Drew

[Eepers]

This is on the Xbox 360, as is PGR3, Test Drive Unlimited, Need for Speed Underground, Ridge Racer (bleh), DiRT, and the super swanky wireless force feedback racing wheel peripheral.

The catalog of awesome games for the 360 is WAY beyond what the PS3 is offering, and it's less expensive (not to mention just better IMO unless watching Blu-Ray HD movies is a huge thing to you). And the online racing with Xbox live is fantastic.

Forza is like Gran Turismo on crack :) It's got car damage insane customization stuff, ability to just save out screenshots to the net, etc...

[BlimeyCabrio]

OMG I love the rotors in the racing / smash up scene. :cool:

[simplygriff]

This game could be a system seller for me... Don't have the money right now, but the customization is simply ridiculous in Forza.
-G

[TWISTER]

Picked up a Wii today! Stay tuned for my code

[Lou777]

AHHH! Excellent!!! Finally, a Mii Parade since Griff totally forgot about me - and all my friends up here are too busy doing things that have nothing to do with MINIs or Wiis :confused:

My code is 4033-6152-2769-3827 :cool:

[Mrs. UN4G1VN]

I just bought an X-Box 360 so that I could see my husband UN4G1VN who loves his X-Box 360. I have played Rainbow 6 and it is very fun killing people. Steph

[simplygriff]

AHHH! Excellent!!! Finally, a Mii Parade since Griff totally forgot about me - and all my friends up here are too busy doing things that have nothing to do with MINIs or Wiis :confused:

My code is 4033-6152-2769-3827 :cool:

I apologize.:o I haven't really messed with the friend codes on the Wii since we can't play against each other or anything. I'll add you and the little stack I have of other people next time I play.:)
-G

[TWISTER]

7348-6177-8739-9715

[Lou777]

I apologize.:o I haven't really messed with the friend codes on the Wii since we can't play against each other or anything. I'll add you and the little stack I have of other people next time I play.:)
-G

It's all good, Griff - but I couldn't let it go by without razzing you a bit. ;) We have built people that look like our friends...but they don't parade...which is the thing I want to see.

They've gotta be coming up with some game to use all the Miis and some online gaming...don't ya think?? They just can't do it fast enough for me.

[MidnightDave]

Okay, I'll kick this off and I'm sure Jason will jump in. Yesterday, I went to his house to play Gran Turismo 4. I'd heard of this, but never seen these modern vid' games. (I'm old school and played games when they had flippers and balls and foosball was nearby. ;-0 )

It is awesome, he's got the flat screen, surround sound, and the graphics and sounds are SO realistic! The cars even behave as the real ones. Maybe this is all rote to you guys, but I was overwhelmed. I really want a Subie WRX now! ;-)

As for the racing--well, it was more like, Jason racing and Dave bouncing off walls, fences, spectators, buildings, driving the wrong way on the course, driving in reverse the right way on the course, doing brake stands as I pressed the brake/throttle at the same time, etc.

Final results, for several tracks and street courses, if I remember correctly: Jason wins a couple, wait, was it, yeah it was ALL of them,

driving, a) matched Cooper S, b) matched Justacoopers, c) a '70 Chevelle against my '67 Camaro,
prepare to laugh, this is when we leveled the playing field and went to the rally races...
d) a Sienna Minivan against my WRX type Toyota Rally car, e) a Honda Element against my Chevy NASCAR type race car...

I think I quit looking at the screen after that and just concentrated on hitting the triangle and the X at the same time or however the heck you get in reverse to get off this d@mn <insert immovable object> here!

I won't say I'm hooked, but I will say I'm now shopping for one of those steering wheels, driving left thumbed with a plus sign is just beyond me!

[simplygriff]

I have this wheel.
http://images.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/normal/589/Logitech_GT_Force_Wheel_and_pedals_set__5433589.jpg

It's not the latest or greatest but it gets the job done in both GT3 and 4. You can probably find it on the cheap these days. It was about $100 new, over 5 years ago.

Here's hoping I can afford a PS3 and new wheel when GT5 comes out. :D
-G

[jdavidson]

I'm a pc gamer myself. As far as racing games go, I've been playing Live For Speed (http://www.lfs.net/) and R-Factor (http://www.rfactor.net/), both are really good sims. I have a TSW Wheel (http://www.thomas-superwheel.com/).

I also play some Half-life 2 and F.E.A.R from time to time.

[MidnightDave]

TSW is WAY over my head, I'm thinking I'll buy Griff's hand me down when he upgrades, something like that...gaming is like golf to me, I just don't have time to put into it to make it fun. (hmm, maybe if I got off these car boards? ;-0)

You guys probably know all this already, it's news to me, and pretty ingenious. I like the idea of leapfrogging technologies, it's why a lot of third world countries skipped land lines for cellular...seems like these guys had the same thing in mind. It'll be interesting to see who comes out with the next one, like a glove or glasses that read your vision, like the fighter pilots use...

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/nintendo-revolution1.htm

[BlimeyCabrio]

If anyone cares, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on the Wii ROCKS. :cool:

The degree to which they use the motion controls in both the wiimote and the nunchuk for a variety of actions and weapons is fantastic. And they got the frame rate up to 60 fps so the panning/aiming with the wiimote is completely smooth. Really pulls you into the game for a first person shooter - takes a little getting used to but it's addictive...

So maybe I'll have a Mod and Metroid party on the 29th... :D