A quick hello from Richard Hobbes.

[Richard Hobbes]

Everyone,

This is just a quick message to let everyone know that I'm still visiting the VGR board. I've been very busy with year-end work so video gaming has not been on the top of my priority list. That's why I've not posted in a long while.

With the time I do have for gaming, I've been playing Jak II (the sequel to Jak and Daxter). Wow. Jak II is a gorgeous game, but it is also a very difficult and frustrating game. No matter what kind of gaming ninja you may be, Jak II will hand your butt to you on a platter many times.

While I love the overall feeling of Jak II, the missions have definitely been tweaked so that they are barely doable under the constraints given. This feels very cheap to me. You must replay almost every mission many, many times before obtaining success. Even missions where the odds seem stacked in your favor (such when you've got long range, auto-firing machine guns) will take you down with bad guys surrounding you in front, behind, and from overhead. Some of the missions are rewarding, but the game never levels off. You bang your head making over 300 attempts to complete a single mission and the game throws another zinger at you immediately afterwards.

My advice to others about Jak II is to know what you're getting into before you start playing. If you don't like extremely difficult games where victory is continuously robbed from you seconds before you're about to finish a mission, I say avoid Jak II. If you can muster insane levels of patience, Jak II can be rewarding, but the cost in frustration may not be worth the reward. (Case in point, I'm now on my second copy of the game. I snapped my first Jak II disc in half out of sheer frustration. That's how frustrating the game can get.)

The next game I'm really looking forward to is Final Fantasy X-2. I've been waiting for this game all year so I hope it turns out to be at least on par with previous games in the series. And hey, I'd be a liar if I didn't say a game that features three gorgeous FF female characters didn't raise my anticipation a wee bit.

I just finished playing the demo for the PC game Uru. Uru is the next game in the Myst series. I'm not a fan of the Myst games, but Uru seems a bit different. The game now has a full 3D engine that supports both first person and third person views. Characters in the game are now interactive and the puzzles seem much less pedantic than Myst games of the past. I may well buy this game when it is released.

Well, that's it for now. Work calls once again. A special hello to Chris, Lara, E.T., Robert-The-Rambler, The Game, Tappy, Slade, Gadfly, Renzatic Gear, Bob The Fish, GF78, Whaxx, Massimodo, Spastic Colon Powell, Tashi, Furious Zangoose (if she's still around), and a few others. (Sorry if I mistakenly left you off the list.)

RH.

PS-1: You can read my latest review of Jak II at Epinions. I posted under the pen name Jordinfixes, but you'll all recognize it as me. Here is the URL: http://www.epinions.com/content_117429472900

PS-2: Chris, thanks for fixing my account. I can now log in again!

[mass]

Well, hello, back there, young feller. You snapped your jak II disc in half and then rebought it? You're not into that whole sadomasochistic thing, are you, ala kevin bacon in Animal House, "Yes, sir, may I have another, (whack across the bottom) yes, sir, may I have another."

I played some of Jak II, the difficulty wasn't too bad at that point, but I was early on. Have you tried out Ratchet and Clank, Going Commando? Sony really owns this particular category. I look at the RC series and Jak and Daxter and wonder what the hell is nintendo thinking. These are the style of games nintendo should be making, especially with R&C and aren't. I'm sorry, stuff like Billy Hatcher from sega are just not going to fill the gap. Nintendo should have made certain to have at least one major platform title for the holidays, and they haven't. Instead, gc owners will get Pokemon Channel on Dec.2, where you can watch your favorite furry electrified rat shake that tail to the exercise channel. Shake that tail, Pika. Xbox owners get to choose from a somewhat larger assortment of fare, like Deus Ex 2, Max Payne 2(also for ps2), and Armed and Dangerous.

[E.T.]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Everyone,

This is just a quick message to let everyone know that I'm still visiting the VGR board. I've been very busy with year-end work so video gaming has not been on the top of my priority list. That's why I've not posted in a long while.
A special hello to Chris, Lara, E.T., Robert-The-Rambler, The Game, Tappy, Slade, Gadfly, Renzatic Gear, Bob The Fish, GF78, Whaxx, Massimodo, Spastic Colon Powell, Tashi, Furious Zangoose (if she's still around), and a few others. (Sorry if I mistakenly left you off the list.)

RH.
</div>

Hello back!
Post positive, post often.
E.T.

[T.Tashi]

What up Hobbes? :D

And I agree with Mass. I don't say it much, 'cause Mario has the rep and I am a PS2 fanboy afterall, but with Sly Cooper, J&D 1 and 2, and R&C1 and 2 I feel Sony really owns the platform genre hands down.

Pikachu is a rat? I always thought he was like... a possum or something.

[Renzatic Gear]

Welcome back, Hobbes. It's nice seeing ya around again, I was wondering where you ran off to these last few months.

[Whaxx]

Hey, Hobbes, nice seeing you around, good to hear from ya, and I too was wondering where you were off to, its good to have a person posting who's actually impartial.

[Richard Hobbes]

Mass, E.T. , Tashi, Renzatic Gear, Whaxx;

Okay. I'm taking the quick route here (because time is of the essence) by replying to everyone in this single post. Firstly, thanks for the warm wishes I received. While its not fun being away for so long, its really nice that everyone is still so welcoming. Now... on to the juice.

Missimodo wrote:
"Well, hello, back there, young feller. You snapped your jak II disc in half and then rebought it? You're not into that whole sadomasochistic thing, are you, ala kevin bacon in Animal House, "Yes, sir, may I have another, (whack across the bottom) yes, sir, may I have another."

Hmmm. Well, after playing Jak II for a while I was beginning to wonder if "old" Kevin and I don't have a thing or two in common! While there are parts of the game that you can get through pretty easily, there are many parts of the game that will have you questioning why you're still playing. When the difficulty ramps up, it ramps up hard and fast. I'm honestly not much of a fan of games that use "beat up the gamer" play mechanics. A little bit of artificial replay value is okay, but Jak II goes way over acceptable limits.

"Have you tried out Ratchet and Clank, Going Commando? Sony really owns this particular category."

I've not played Going Commando yet, but I own the first game and plan on buying the second. Sony certainly does seem to be leading the platform genre presently.


E.T. wrote:
"Hello back! Post positive, post often."

Thems good words of advice!


Tashi wrote:
"What up Hobbes? ...with Sly Cooper, J&D 1 and 2, and R&C1 and 2 I feel Sony really owns the platform genre hands down."

Yup. I must say I'm not too enamored by the fact that platform games are one of the PS2's strongest genres. In general, I hate platform games because they tend to feature tired, outdated, reaction-based play mechanics that punish gamers for even the slightest of mistakes. That said, Sony's got such graphically gorgeous and technically stunning library of the suckers that its hard not to take notice!


Renzatic wrote:
"Welcome back, Hobbes. It's nice seeing ya around again, I was wondering where you ran off to these last few months."

I may have to do a bit more "running" before I can become a forum regular again. My work has got quite backed up and I need to finish off some projects before year end. So... unfortunately work takes precedence over gaming. But geesh. Why did Final Fantasy X-2 have to come out before year end? That may be too tough a (gaming) lure to ignore!


Whaxx wrote:
"Hey, Hobbes, nice seeing you around, good to hear from ya, and I too was wondering where you were off to, its good to have a person posting who's actually impartial."

Impartial? Who... Me? Well I try, but I've got my biases like everyone else. Despite the great outcry I know the following statement will receive, I'm *still* not playing my Xbox much. With a PS2, GameCube, and PC there is not much that the Xbox offers me. I was very disappointed by Morrowind Game Of The Year edition on Xbox. On Xbox, Morrowind GOTY does not implement the journal and quest management improvements of the PC version of GOTY. This (for me) makes the PC version a must over the Xbox version. I'm waiting for Sudeki, BC, and Fable, but meanwhile my Xbox is sitting pretty lifeless. I guess what it comes down to is that I've got so many games on the PS2 there is really no reason for me to switch to the Xbox. Sure, the Xbox has better graphics, but I'm still going to buy games like SSX 3 for my PS2 because I've got all the previous games on PS2. I'm not saying the Xbox is a bad system. Heck, if I hadn't bought a PS1 and then a PS2 first, I'd probably never look at Sony's stuff because Microsoft's hardware is so technically superior. That said, its the games on PS2 that keep me coming back (with the odd excursion to play exceptional games on my PC).

Thanks to everyone who replied.

RH.

[shogun]

Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the city were varied and fun, but pretty much anything that happens in that massive "hub" level, is overly difficuly and pointless filler. For me it seemed like, playing a 5-10 minute level outside the city was my "reward" for trudging through a half hour race or fetch quest using those obnoxious hover cars.

blah. Most overrated game ever.

I thought it was kinda funny that your standard platformer fare like Ratchet and Clank and Jak 2, are the types of games Mass wants Nintendo to make. Just goes to show that Nintendo could make the most boring rehash ever, and as long as the franchise characters aren't touched, no-one would notice.

[Richard Hobbes]

Shogun,

--- Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the
--- city were varied and fun, but pretty much anything that
--- happens in that massive "hub" level, is overly difficulty
--- and pointless filler. For me it seemed like, playing a
--- 5-10 minute level outside the city was my "reward" for
--- trudging through a half hour race or fetch quest using
--- those obnoxious hover cars.

Yes, I'd agree, but... that's just my problem with the game. Some of Jak II works incredibly well, while other parts seem "broken". In general, the entire game could have been improved simply by decreasing the difficulty level, and adding a save anywhere feature. And why are there so many timed missions? Haven't game developers yet figured out that most gamers hate timed missions?

--- I thought it was kinda funny that your standard platformer
--- fare like Ratchet and Clank and Jak 2, are the types of
--- games Mass wants Nintendo to make.

Well, I see where Massimodo is gong with that. Nintendo has traditionally produced strong platform games, but now Sony seems to own the space. That said, excepting Conker's Bad Fur Day, I'm not sure if Nintendo would make a game (ala Jak II) that features a drunk squirrel staring at hot, elfin girlie's breasts.

Thanks for the reply Shogun.

RH.

[mass]

Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the city were varied and fun, but pretty much anything that happens in that massive &quot;hub&quot; level, is overly difficuly and pointless filler. For me it seemed like, playing a 5-10 minute level outside the city was my &quot;reward&quot; for trudging through a half hour race or fetch quest using those obnoxious hover cars.

blah. Most overrated game ever.

I thought it was kinda funny that your standard platformer fare like Ratchet and Clank and Jak 2, are the types of games Mass wants Nintendo to make. Just goes to show that Nintendo could make the most boring rehash ever, and as long as the franchise characters aren't touched, no-one would notice.

Nintendo already makes the most boring rehashes ever. You don't like Jak 2, well, big effin' deal. Why don't you proofread your posts. You contradict yourself. "Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the city were varied and fun." Hello, which is it, clueless meister. You can't have it both ways. Most overrated game ever, hardly.

[T.Tashi]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the city were varied and fun, but pretty much anything that happens in that massive "hub" level, is overly difficuly and pointless filler. For me it seemed like, playing a 5-10 minute level outside the city was my "reward" for trudging through a half hour race or fetch quest using those obnoxious hover cars.

blah. Most overrated game ever.

I thought it was kinda funny that your standard platformer fare like Ratchet and Clank and Jak 2, are the types of games Mass wants Nintendo to make. Just goes to show that Nintendo could make the most boring rehash ever, and as long as the franchise characters aren't touched, no-one would notice.</div>

Well I keep most of this stuff to myself but Metroid Prime gets my vote for most overrated game. Not saying it's not good. The expansive level design is among the best I've seen. But the exploration but me to sleep, the music is good but overused. It could've benefited from less music and more ambience, and the odd controls had me cursing the otherwise very comfortable controller. It's a FPS that's not a FPS. :p Jak 2 has some imbalances for sure, but I didn't think it rathered enough hype to be really over rated.

[shogun]

"Why don't you proofread your posts. You contradict yourself. "Jak 2 was horribly boring. The missions outside the city were varied and fun." Hello, which is it, clueless meister. You can't have it both ways. Most overrated game ever, hardly."

It's hardly a contradiction. It's just thinking on a higher level than you're used to. Multiple adjectives can be used to describe a game...and yes, sometimes those adjectives are polar opposites.

I'll dumb it down for you: Yes there was the rare time when I had fun with Jak II, but those times were bright spots in a game that I felt was boring overall. Mario Sunshine and even the first Jak and Daxter were better games than this tripe.

[Whaxx]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Mass, E.T. , Tashi, Renzatic Gear, Whaxx;

Okay. I'm taking the quick route here (because time is of the essence) by replying to everyone in this single post. Firstly, thanks for the warm wishes I received. While its not fun being away for so long, its really nice that everyone is still so welcoming. Now... on to the juice.

Missimodo wrote:
"Well, hello, back there, young feller. You snapped your jak II disc in half and then rebought it? You're not into that whole sadomasochistic thing, are you, ala kevin bacon in Animal House, "Yes, sir, may I have another, (whack across the bottom) yes, sir, may I have another."

Hmmm. Well, after playing Jak II for a while I was beginning to wonder if "old" Kevin and I don't have a thing or two in common! While there are parts of the game that you can get through pretty easily, there are many parts of the game that will have you questioning why you're still playing. When the difficulty ramps up, it ramps up hard and fast. I'm honestly not much of a fan of games that use "beat up the gamer" play mechanics. A little bit of artificial replay value is okay, but Jak II goes way over acceptable limits.

"Have you tried out Ratchet and Clank, Going Commando? Sony really owns this particular category."

I've not played Going Commando yet, but I own the first game and plan on buying the second. Sony certainly does seem to be leading the platform genre presently.


E.T. wrote:
"Hello back! Post positive, post often."

Thems good words of advice!


Tashi wrote:
"What up Hobbes? ...with Sly Cooper, J&D 1 and 2, and R&C1 and 2 I feel Sony really owns the platform genre hands down."

Yup. I must say I'm not too enamored by the fact that platform games are one of the PS2's strongest genres. In general, I hate platform games because they tend to feature tired, outdated, reaction-based play mechanics that punish gamers for even the slightest of mistakes. That said, Sony's got such graphically gorgeous and technically stunning library of the suckers that its hard not to take notice!


Renzatic wrote:
"Welcome back, Hobbes. It's nice seeing ya around again, I was wondering where you ran off to these last few months."

I may have to do a bit more "running" before I can become a forum regular again. My work has got quite backed up and I need to finish off some projects before year end. So... unfortunately work takes precedence over gaming. But geesh. Why did Final Fantasy X-2 have to come out before year end? That may be too tough a (gaming) lure to ignore!


Whaxx wrote:
"Hey, Hobbes, nice seeing you around, good to hear from ya, and I too was wondering where you were off to, its good to have a person posting who's actually impartial."

Impartial? Who... Me? Well I try, but I've got my biases like everyone else. Despite the great outcry I know the following statement will receive, I'm *still* not playing my Xbox much. With a PS2, GameCube, and PC there is not much that the Xbox offers me. I was very disappointed by Morrowind Game Of The Year edition on Xbox. On Xbox, Morrowind GOTY does not implement the journal and quest management improvements of the PC version of GOTY. This (for me) makes the PC version a must over the Xbox version. I'm waiting for Sudeki, BC, and Fable, but meanwhile my Xbox is sitting pretty lifeless. I guess what it comes down to is that I've got so many games on the PS2 there is really no reason for me to switch to the Xbox. Sure, the Xbox has better graphics, but I'm still going to buy games like SSX 3 for my PS2 because I've got all the previous games on PS2. I'm not saying the Xbox is a bad system. Heck, if I hadn't bought a PS1 and then a PS2 first, I'd probably never look at Sony's stuff because Microsoft's hardware is so technically superior. That said, its the games on PS2 that keep me coming back (with the odd excursion to play exceptional games on my PC).

Thanks to everyone who replied.

RH.</div>

Well your definatley one of the mose impartial ones here, you play ALL the systems and say what you honestly think of them, yeah, I'd say thats impartial, which is a good thing BTW.

["The Game"Evolution]

These boards arent the same without you R.H.Welcome back.

[The Buzz]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Everyone,

This is just a quick message to let everyone know that I'm still visiting the VGR board. I've been very busy with year-end work so video gaming has not been on the top of my priority list. That's why I've not posted in a long while.

With the time I do have for gaming, I've been playing Jak II (the sequel to Jak and Daxter). Wow. Jak II is a gorgeous game, but it is also a very difficult and frustrating game. No matter what kind of gaming ninja you may be, Jak II will hand your butt to you on a platter many times.

While I love the overall feeling of Jak II, the missions have definitely been tweaked so that they are barely doable under the constraints given. This feels very cheap to me. You must replay almost every mission many, many times before obtaining success. Even missions where the odds seem stacked in your favor (such when you've got long range, auto-firing machine guns) will take you down with bad guys surrounding you in front, behind, and from overhead. Some of the missions are rewarding, but the game never levels off. You bang your head making over 300 attempts to complete a single mission and the game throws another zinger at you immediately afterwards.

My advice to others about Jak II is to know what you're getting into before you start playing. If you don't like extremely difficult games where victory is continuously robbed from you seconds before you're about to finish a mission, I say avoid Jak II. If you can muster insane levels of patience, Jak II can be rewarding, but the cost in frustration may not be worth the reward. (Case in point, I'm now on my second copy of the game. I snapped my first Jak II disc in half out of sheer frustration. That's how frustrating the game can get.)

The next game I'm really looking forward to is Final Fantasy X-2. I've been waiting for this game all year so I hope it turns out to be at least on par with previous games in the series. And hey, I'd be a liar if I didn't say a game that features three gorgeous FF female characters didn't raise my anticipation a wee bit.

I just finished playing the demo for the PC game Uru. Uru is the next game in the Myst series. I'm not a fan of the Myst games, but Uru seems a bit different. The game now has a full 3D engine that supports both first person and third person views. Characters in the game are now interactive and the puzzles seem much less pedantic than Myst games of the past. I may well buy this game when it is released.

Well, that's it for now. Work calls once again. A special hello to Chris, Lara, E.T., Robert-The-Rambler, The Game, Tappy, Slade, Gadfly, Renzatic Gear, Bob The Fish, GF78, Whaxx, Massimodo, Spastic Colon Powell, Tashi, Furious Zangoose (if she's still around), and a few others. (Sorry if I mistakenly left you off the list.)

RH.

PS-1: You can read my latest review of Jak II at Epinions. I posted under the pen name Jordinfixes, but you'll all recognize it as me. Here is the URL: http://www.epinions.com/content_117429472900

PS-2: Chris, thanks for fixing my account. I can now log in again!</div>

Hobbes...I just finished FFX last night, watched the making of FFX2, Eternal Calm, and played a bit of the demo. I have FFX2 ordered and on the way via USPS. NICE!

I know...better late than never. I played FFX last year, defeated Yunalesca, but stopped there and after I accidently erased the save for the game, then traded it in. I didn't think I'd have the desire to finish it but it "called" me back and now I know how it ended. Looking forward to FFX2. Nice to have me back...he thinks to himself...

[Richard Hobbes]

The Game Evolution, The Buzz;

Hey... The Game... The Buzz... all this "The" stuff has quite the "ring" to it. Perhaps I'll be "The Hobbes". Nah. That sounds to geeky. Besides, if I remember correctly, I'm still "Badass Hobbes"!


TGR wrote:
"These boards aren't the same without you R.H. Welcome back."

Howdy partner. Good to be back. Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate much here at VGR until the new year - work (duty) calls. Wow. I noticed the post about the new Japanese Xbox bundle. That's quite the deal. Two controllers. A DVD Remote. Halo. PGR2. All in the box for less than $200? Microsoft must really see the Japanese market as being key. I don't think (as others do) that Microsoft doesn't know what they are doing. Microsoft knows *exactly* what they are doing or they wouldn't be doing it! It will be interesting to see if the new bundle has much effect on the Japanese market.


The Buzz wrote:
"I just finished FFX last night, watched the making of FFX2, Eternal Calm, and played a bit of the demo. I have FFX2 ordered and on the way via UPS. NICE!"

Here in Canada EB says you can't buy FFX2 in-store until next year. All EB's copies are on reserve for the next two shipments up to year-end. Ah what the heck. I hate shopping at EB anyway. I'm hoping to find FFX2 at Toys R Us or Future Shop (Best Buy) on the weekend. Glad to hear you pre-ordered. I probably should have pre-ordered too, but I'll still find a copy - it may just take a bit of work.

RH.

[mass]

Here in Canada EB says you can't buy FFX2 in-store until next year. All EB's copies are on reserve for the next two shipments up to year-end. Ah what the heck. I hate shopping at EB anyway. I'm hoping to find FFX2 at Toys R Us or Future Shop (Best Buy) on the weekend. Glad to hear you pre-ordered. I probably should have pre-ordered too, but I'll still find a copy - it may just take a bit of work.

RH.

Not where I'm at, tons of copies at EB, about the only thing you might have trouble finding is the limited edition strategy guide/art book. I think you might have mistaken the situation for what's occuring with pc version of FFXI online.