The Hot Topic Returns

[HandsomeDead]

1 hour ago, DANGERMAN said:

I think the general consensus is that I'm wrong tbf 😅

 

I know I rented it back then because I thought it looked cool but it's one of those games that left zero impression on me, I can't say either way.

[Sly Reflex]

I think it was Toobin on the hit squad label. Will have cost me a few quid. 

[Nag]

Delving back in to the archives today...

 

 

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As Sony announces it is to finally stop making the PlayStation 2, GameCentral readers write in with their memories of the console and its games.

 

The discussion point for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by the news that, after 12 years, Sony has finally stopped making the PlayStation 2. Given that means that it’s now officially a retro console we wanted to hear about your experiences and memories of the format.

 

Although there were a few negative responses the vast majority of readers had nothing but fond memories for Sony’s second console, which is now confirmed as the most successful home console of all-time. You can probably guess the favourite games yourself but most people attributed the console’s success to the sheer range of titles, across every genre.

 

[Maf]

I think the PS2 has not only one of the widest ranges but also greatest growths of any console. Thinking about how it started with like Jack & Daxter for example, but then ends with God of War 2 or Shadow of the Colossus, etc. Not just the variety of all these games but the growth in ambition in that library as well is insane

 

Shame Sony aren’t like that today

[OCH]

Probably the last multiplayer games I remember getting involved with too. Things like Buzz, Singstar, Guitar/Rock/Hero/Band etc Legit multiplayer, with people beside you. The Tekkens, Time Splitters etc, etc

Considering my preference for one player only games. It speaks to the console itself that this is the first thing that comes to mind.

[Metroid66]

That console is a feckin legend. I'm glad it was my introduction to gaming - Resi 4, San Andreas, Ico, Shadow of the colossus, Prince of Persia, Ratchet, FF 10, 12, God of War, Jak, Okami...

 

List goes on and on. 

[OCH]

We had both the Fat PS2 and I later bought the Slim for myself. Oddly enough, never played/owned a Rachet, Sly or Jak game.

[DANGERMAN]

I'm not sure if it was inherent to the PS2 itself, or just the time period, because you could say the same about the DS, and to a lesser extent the Dreamcast, although not to the same volume, but you could find anything on it. It had the likes of GTA, Gran Turismo, Medal of Honour back when that was the console fps the Lynx wearers played, but it also had ports of Metal Slug, 2d fighters, shmups, jrpgs, survival horror, sports games, puzzle games, licensed games (some of them were even really good), you had Okami, Yakuza, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, insane stuff like Freak Out and Katamari, Fahrenheit. By rights Ico and Shadow of the Colossus shouldn't exist, but they do, and they wouldn't have appeared on another console, they couldn't have done

 

Maybe it's because it was easy and cheap to develop for, with an insanely huge market, and that market bought games, but it seemed like the perfect storm to get the sort of variety we've never seen before, or since really. The PS4 is probably the closest we've come since

[OCH]

They all grew too comfortable. Sony took risks with PSOne and 2 to make a name for themselves. From PS3 onwards, they didn't need to push the envelope anymore. Especially when their direct competitor was similarly playing it safe. Sega and Nintendo treated each other like rivals. Pushing each other to innovate. No one is like that now. 

[Nag]

I remember when I first got one I was unduly pissed off after being used to 60hz fullscreen Dreamcast games and then having to go to 50hz letterbox format with the PS2... I got over it eventually though.😂

[OCH]

I didn't even acknowledge stuff like that until fairly recent times. Listening to YouTube videos of people referencing i-frames, bit rates, slow down etc I just used to play the game, however it was presented.

[one-armed dwarf]

3 minutes ago, OCH said:

I didn't even acknowledge stuff like that until fairly recent times. Listening to YouTube videos of people referencing i-frames, bit rates, slow down etc I just used to play the game, however it was presented.

The other day tho you were posting images of how Castlevania 'should be' played. They were fucking us over for years with way slower versions of games with fucked up aspect ratios. Tekken slowed down by 16.6 percent, we also got a terrible version of Devil May Cry

 

Good and bad with this generation of games. I think I prefer playing PS2 games now than back then, cause I can work around all that bullshit at least and get the proper version.

 

(vid comparing 50 and 60hz)

Spoiler

 

[OCH]

7 minutes ago, one-armed dwarf said:

The other day tho you were posting images of how Castlevania 'should be' played viewed.

Like I said, it's something I didn't pay attention to well into owning a PS3. Being informed of it retroactively. There is a moment (or two) in the Classic Mega Man games. Wherein too many enemies/sprites on the screen causes slow down. I just assumed back then, that was what was supposed to be happening.

 

I do still remember all that PAL vs. NTSC shite they fed us for years. Chiefly because it was deemed as an excuse for more than a few games not being released here.

[Nag]

Archives to the rescue...

 

 

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GameCentral readers discuss their favourite, and least favourite mini-games, from lock-picking and hacking to Blitzball.

 

The discussion point for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Purple Ranger. In this context mini-game means any part of a larger game that has completely different gameplay to the rest of it. So it also includes shore-horned in stealth sections and unlockable extra games that are otherwise completely separate.

 

Although the consensus was slightly against mini-games in general, particularly hacking, most people could name a favourite or two, with Final Fantasy X’s Blitzball and Beyond Good & Evil’s hovercraft sections being particularly popular.

 

[Maf]

This one

 

[one-armed dwarf]

Queen's Blood in Rebirth is great. I slightly prefer Triple Triad in FFVIII though as you can refine the cards into items and spells and power yourself up with it and/or upgrade weapons. It's a super satisfying progression mechanic in its own right. QB didn't have that for some reason, they kept the rewards entirely separate from the main game, which is disappointing

 

In terms of stuff that sucks, I'll mention Rebirth again and that shitty Nibelheim chocobo wrangling section. It's a testament to how good the rest of the game is that something so abominably awful exists in a game which I still might consider a 9/10, nearly a 10. But that section was pure choco-smeg

[shinymcshine]

Favourite mini games:

 

Probably just the entirety of Ape Escape (PS1) or Project Rub (aka Feel the Magic) on DS.

[Maryokutai]

There's been a lot of cool card minigames in RPGs, my favourite is probably Gwent from Witcher 3, but I also kind of liked the Triple Triad clone from Bravely Default II (though I did not like how it was mandatory to unlock a certain class, forcing you to engage with it on its terms instead of your own).

 

There have been a lot of bad ones but I can't think of too many right now. I think No More Heroes 2 overdid it and I'll never understand how Blitzball got so popular, for me the part where you're forced to play it is easily the worst one of the game.

[Maf]

6 minutes ago, Maryokutai said:

Blitzball got so popular, for me the part where you're forced to play it is easily the worst one of the game.

I thought FFX was pretty boring up until that point but making me play Blitzball made me quit the game and I never went back 

[HandsomeDead]

Blitzball is so badly tutorialised is the problem.  I am willing to believe there is a good mini-game in there but good luck figuring it out.  It kinda looks like it should operate like the battle system but it doesn't and it teaches you with a ton of text that is hard to apply to the game.  I don't think there is one that fails so hard.

 

I think the only ones I remember playing a lot are the battle arena mode from Mario Kart 64 and those mini-games from Pokémon Stadium; the Lickitung one especially.