Calling All VGR "LIVE" Gamers [Archive]

ThaMaskedGamer

04-07-2005, 12:11 PM

With so many great LIVE games out now, we really need to try and get this VGR gamer's night thing started in some way.

We've got Chaos Theory, Doom3, Brother's In Arms, and now Close Combat is out. Methadone, Unlucky, DTM, and hopefully some others, we should try once again to get the ball rolling.

I am going to be online tonight at around 9pm until about 1am. So anyone who can make it is welcome to look for me.

Just some of my opinions on the games so far. Chaos Theory is just a brilliant game, every bit deserving of its high ranking, I haven't even played the online modes yet, but the single player campaign was incredible. There was only one mission I didn't like, I don't want to give away the map, but let's just say it was near the end, and they changed the way the enemy AI behaves and turned them into freakin' supermen, on top of that, you had no idea you would be facing such fire power, and I went in with a stealth setup, and then at the very end, there was certain timed obstacles that really kind of sucked. But that was the only mission I didn't appreciate, and it was only at the end of that mission. I played the game on Expert, so it may not have been a big deal on the other settings.

Doom3 so far, i've only played the first mission, and i'm not done yet. I have to say the game looks incredible, but i'm not blown away yet. But, again, i'm barely into the first mission.

Today, I will be buying CC First To Fight. So no impressions yet. The game is only 39.99 so that is cool.

Brothers In Arms is just an incredible game. Methadone and I played online, and despite a host with a slow connection and audio problems, it was still a blast. This game is right up there with SC:CT in terms of ranking in my mind. But, I would give SC:CT the nod simply because it has tons more replay value and game modes. I wish Brothers In Arms was twice as long as it ended up being for the single player.

Anyway. Hope to see you guys on LIVE.

Glockstar

04-07-2005, 04:36 PM

Calling All VGR "LIVE" Gamers

Yes yes?

.
With so many great LIVE games out now, we really need to try and get this VGR gamer's night thing started in some way.

We've got Chaos Theory, Doom3, Brother's In Arms, and now Close Combat is out. Methadone, Unlucky, DTM, and hopefully some others, we should try once again to get the ball rolling.

Yes!

.
I am going to be online tonight at around 9pm until about 1am. So anyone who can make it is welcome to look for me.

I'll be playing D3 until 9 then. Whatever you want to play, we'll play it. 'Cept, uh, I don't have BIA (yet). Maybe Chaos Theory?! ;)

Here's my list of Live games (again):
* Halo 2
* Crash-n-Burn
* MechAssault 2
* MotoGP2
* Project Gotham Racing 2
* Colin McRae Rally '05
* Pandora Tomorrow
* Chaos Theory
* Doom 3
* Wolfenstein
* Links
* Crimson Skies
* Tetris Worlds/SW: Clone Wars
* Indy Car Series 2005
* Mortal Kombat: Deception
* ESPN NFL 2K5
* Outlaw Volleyball
* Steel Battalion: LOC

.
Anyway. Hope to see you guys on LIVE.

YEAH!

Darwin

04-08-2005, 06:51 AM

Then we should try some Chaos Theory online tonight. We can even do some of the new maps, that way we all have a (kind-of) "level playing field". The Splinter Cell multiplayer has a steep learning curve. It's always best to start playing it with friends and others who are not familiar with the maps yet.

I see several of my friends online in Chaos Theory. With Unlucky, Havok, and me, we should easily be able to get a 4-player room.

Havok and I tried the Chaos Theory coop last night. The gameplay is very cool. Unfortunately, we lost connection twice. THe Ubisoft message boards are filled with people reporting connection and framerate issues with the coop online play. So I am afraid we will need to wait for a patch before attempting coop.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-08-2005, 08:29 AM

Hey guys, sorry we missed you last night Glock. Looks like you were having too much fun with Doom3 anyway. I played a lot more of Doom and I like it, but so far i'm not blown away.

Well Darwin I promised I'd give you the scoop on Close Combat. Technically it is a great game. It looks very nice, well polished. It has all the control options. For example, you can control your entire squad as a group, or issue each man individual commands. You can use local assets such as gun mounts on enemy pick-ups or BMPs, or machine gun nests. In addition, you can order one of your team to use the mounted weapons also. So, you have a bit more control over your squad in this game, than BIA. Some of the commands you get are Suppress an area, Cover an area, move to an area. You can breach doors with two different kinds of "Takedown" commands. One the team uses a grenade, the other they just file into the room. The Ready Team Fire & Assist movements take getting use to, but they actually work, when you learn to not look over your shoulder.

The game gives you a tutorial explaining this. But basically you don't babysit your guys. You are the Team leader so your focus is forward, and each guy has an area to cover. If you concern yourself with a teammates area, you will invariably get popped by something dead ahead. One of the tricky parts is issuing orders when under fire, cause you have to have the reticule on the target, but if you can see the target they can see you. The enemy here shows no signs of unintelligence. If they get the drop on you, you are dead. Its not like Rainbow6, where the enemies are standing around, walking around, here the enemies spot you, raise up and blast at you.

Going real slow, slower than any other game is the key. Supression fire is pretty different than FSW and BIA. Basically you can order one, two or your whole team to suppress. You select your target with the reticule. Your guys will move to an angle where they can suppress. When they start, for about 10 seconds they just unload. So you have that time frame to move. When moving, the team plays their part. If you are in an open road, the team automatically splits up, and uses double column formation on each side of the road. Still each covering their own area.

You get all the goodies, except, a secondary weapon. In fact, you don't get to choose anything in terms of weapons. You get an M16/203, frags, and smokes. The other two guys carry normal M16s and your Fire guy carries the M249. You switch between burst fire and single fire. The weapon sounds are not impressive at all, which is a stark contrast from BIA and also SC:CT. In addition to your direct weapons, you also have access to the whole MAGTF assets, which include marine snipers, gunships, and mortar teams, etc. So, when you start an area, you will hear, "Marine Snipers are in the area, etc." So you can utilize these assets to take out hard targets. So far, I called in a Gunship against a machine gun nest. I couldn't look though because I woulda got blasted. So I never saw the Gunship deliver its ordinance.

Like I said, Technically, the game is good. But, I said 'technically' for a reason. The only thing the game seems to be lacking, is soul. Basically you move from area to area, and engage the enemy when you see them. There is no story at all. There is no dialogue, aside from some standard military jargon from your team, and orders over your comm. The enemies have no character, you hear them speaking Lebanese, but even that seems to be canned, as they repeat the same phrases. There are some high value targets you need to get, but I haven't come across them yet. FSW and BIA had more soul and character, than this game. But this game seems to combine a lot of the technical things from both of those games, that each lacked individually. For example, BIA won't allow you to use smokes, won't allow you to order teammates to use gun mounts. FSW is more strategic and not FPS.

The last thing is LIVE play. I haven't done it yet. But I know that you can play cooperatively. Also, you must elect a team leader, who issues orders just like in the single player game. I don't know how long the single player or online game is, in terms of replay value. Technically, thus far, I'd say the game is just as good as FSW and BIA, aside from sound, the sound is lacking. But, in terms of character, the game has even less than Rainbow6 or Ghost Recon.

Anyway, i'll be online tonight, I know you will also Meth. Hopefully, Glock can catch up with us, hell if we can get Tap or DTM, then we can do some VERSUS mode in SC:CT. Otherwise, we can just grab someone from LIVE, or actually one of our other buddies, everyone is playing this game and has been since it released.

Glockstar

04-08-2005, 09:58 AM

:mad:

I was there guys. Ready and willing... but unfortunately (somehow) unable. :(

I was having problems with my internet connection all night. I had problems with everything XBL related - including problems getting my XBL-Message to you, Havok (did you get that, btw?) - I even had problems getting my VGR posts of earlier thru. I tried to get back on the internet to post here at VGR to apologize and try to explain why I wasn't showing up, but I could not get a connection.

It was weird tho', because I could see you guys on the XBox dashboard - but everytime I tried to send a message or go online with a game it would say "connection/sign-on failed". It was frustrating.

I think the problem is either with my router or with my modem. But I'm not sure.

I'm going out tonite so I won't be able to catch up with you guys (anyways)... and I don't know about this weekend either. I want to - you know I do - but there's this little thing called The Masters that may prevent me from gaming at all this weekend. It's a tough call for me because I was really hoping to have the single-player portions of (both) SC:CT and D3 done before Jade Empire Tuesday. I'm dilemma-fied here. Dang it. I hate it when that happens.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-08-2005, 04:19 PM

Okay Meth, maybe I spoke too soon. You will definitely want to pick up this game. I'm further into it, and it is pretty damned good. Nothing has changed as far as the character develop and story. But the combat aspects are damned fine. The details are amazing. When you switch to the M203, your guy actually flips up a secondary range finder on the weapon and holds it so it fires at a slight arc.

You can pick up enemy weapons within a mission. When one of your guys is injured you can administer first aid. However if a guy is critically injured, he falls and you have so many seconds to call in a medical evac, or else he will die. A marine medic will come out and secure the wounded guy, taking him away, reducing your squad. You have a good amount of first aid packs, that you share with the whole squad. BTW there are several difficulty levels, simulation is the hardest and of course, that is what i'm playing on.

When you shoot the enemy, they don't just stand there either. When they take the round they react, either immediately moving away from fire, to just limping badly completely turning around as if in shock. The damage to the enemy and your squad is shown effectively, your squad will limp for example when hit in the leg.

The enemies appear all over the place. You have to watch the roofs of buildings. Not only that, you can go up on the roofs, so its cool, you can go inside shops too. The best thing is fighting the enemy when they have a Technical Vehicle, these guys go nuts,and if you take down the guy on the mount, another Tango with hop back there on the technical. Plus , sometimes they drive the damn technical right at you. Fighting their BMPs is also tough, you basically have to pop smoke in front of it, and call in an airstrike or a mortar strike.

I disagree with the IGN review on one aspect also, they basically say the maps leave something to be desired, I disagree. The maps are very good, they have u going from street fighting to indoor fighting, to fighting on the roof, all intertwined very well.

If you get this game today, we gotta play it tonight. Peace.

Darwin

04-08-2005, 11:06 PM

It's a tough call for me because I was really hoping to have the single-player portions of (both) SC:CT and D3 done before Jade Empire Tuesday. I'm dilemma-fied here. Dang it. I hate it when that happens.

Did you see IGN's review of Jade Empire? 9.9. Now granted, IGN does tend to overate, but that makes it the highest rated Xbox game for them.

Which also brings up a dilemma for me. I have a habit of getting VERY addicted to single player RPG's. I did it with all the Final Fantasies, Grandia 2, both the KOTOR's, and especially Morrowind. I will not do ANYTHING else until I finish these games (once I start them). I have even forgotten to eat dinner while playing these games. And when I get into these games, you won't even see me on Live.

With the new Chaos Theory and now Close Combat ... I'm gonna opt to skip out on Jade Empire for now. In fact, I may need to skip it for quite some time. I've recently come off my KOTOR 2 addiction, and I don't need to be starting that up again with another RPG.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-09-2005, 09:47 AM

Did you see IGN's review of Jade Empire? 9.9. Now granted, IGN does tend to overate, but that makes it the highest rated Xbox game for them.

Which also brings up a dilemma for me. I have a habit of getting VERY addicted to single player RPG's. I did it with all the Final Fantasies, Grandia 2, both the KOTOR's, and especially Morrowind. I will not do ANYTHING else until I finish these games (once I start them). I have even forgotten to eat dinner while playing these games. And when I get into these games, you won't even see me on Live.

With the new Chaos Theory and now Close Combat ... I'm gonna opt to skip out on Jade Empire for now. In fact, I may need to skip it for quite some time. I've recently come off my KOTOR 2 addiction, and I don't need to be starting that up again with another RPG.

Yeah, I decided also to delay Jade Empire because I really don't feel like playing an rpg right now in the middle of spring. Especially a good one, i'll be too engrossed. I may buy it to help support the devs and the title, but not open it until Fall. I've still yet to play KOTORII for the same reason.

I sped through SC:CT, I don't want to do that with Jade Empire.

Fivespot

04-09-2005, 02:43 PM

Glockstar

04-09-2005, 02:54 PM

Did you see IGN's review of Jade Empire? 9.9. Now granted, IGN does tend to overate, but that makes it the highest rated Xbox game for them.

No I didn't. Thanks.

Yeah, IGN has a tendency to score high, but at least they're consistent. (Unlike GameStop; that site, man... some of their editors/reviewers need to slapped.) I mean, it's all relative, you know? Btw, did you see where the second reviewer (Hilary Goldstein) said that the primary reviewer (David Clayman) may have under-rated the game? :eek:

I've got to admit, the 9.9 surprises me. I was not all that impressed with the demo. And I was thinking that the game would average scores in the low 8's. But I was still, definitely, going to get it. If it's going to (professionally) rate higher than KOTOR than I think it's just about a must-have no-brainer. And besides, IGN says that the game is around 22 hours in length. So it can't take too much time away from Chaos Theory, right?

What I think I'm going to do is not collect on my GameStop pre-order, and instead trade in two more games to GameRush and get it from them. That should buy me another day or two (with SC:CT and D3). :p So if all goes right, I won't be getting the game on day 1 either.

.
Is this month out of control, or what?! The week after JE comes out, I gotta get Psychonauts. Then the week after that, Raze's Hell. Ntm there's: Unreal 2, Midnight Club III, Dead To Rights II, Area 51, and Predator Concrete Jungle. This is crazy! It makes me want to say, Whaaaat is going on?! This month could well be remembered as the greatest month in Xbox history. (Supplanting May 2003; that month we saw: Enter the Matrix, Wolfenstein, MotoGP 2, and Brute Force).

Glockstar

04-09-2005, 03:06 PM

I haven't yet played Spliter Cell Chaos Theory and to be honest, I haven't played any of 'em.

Chaos Theory is the place to start.

Because of the (new) quicksave, the game is made easier - and more enjoyable (or at least, less frustrating) - than the other two. The way I see it now, Splinter Cell and Pandora Tomorrow will make for great plays after. Learn with CT; challenge myself with SC and PT.

Rogue Bounty Hunter

04-09-2005, 06:10 PM

No I didn't. Thanks.

Yeah, IGN has a tendency to score high, but at least they're consistent. (Unlike GameStop; that site, man... some of their editors/reviewers need to slapped.) I mean, it's all relative, you know? Btw, did you see where the second reviewer (Hilary Goldstein) said that the primary reviewer (David Clayman) may have under-rated the game? :eek:

I've got to admit, the 9.9 surprises me. I was not all that impressed with the demo. And I was thinking that the game would average scores in the low 8's. But I was still, definitely, going to get it. If it's going to (professionally) rate higher than KOTOR than I think it's just about a must-have no-brainer. And besides, IGN says that the game is around 22 hours in length. So it can't take too much time away from Chaos Theory, right?

What I think I'm going to do is not collect on my GameStop pre-order, and instead trade in two more games to GameRush and get it from them. That should buy me another day or two (with SC:CT and D3). :p So if all goes right, I won't be getting the game on day 1 either.

.
Is this month out of control, or what?! The week after JE comes out, I gotta get Psychonauts. Then the week after that, Raze's Hell. Ntm there's: Unreal 2, Midnight Club III, Dead To Rights II, Area 51, and Predator Concrete Jungle. This is crazy! It makes me want to say, Whaaaat is going on?! This month could well be remembered as the greatest month in Xbox history. (Supplanting May 2003; that month we saw: Enter the Matrix, Wolfenstein, MotoGP 2, and Brute Force).

I see you can't get GameRush out of your system, either. The only thing about getting JE at GameRush: they may or may not have the limited edition to sale, depending on when their pre-order is cut off (their's is different than EB since EB lets you pre-order up until the shipping day). If you can't get it pre-order, the deal will still let you buy it in store for the same price as a pre-order, but it may not the the Limited Edition.

I played through the demo a couple more times. I'm still impressed, though the part of the demo is said to be later on in the game....so by the time gamers get there, they will have better combat skills than the ones in the demo. Though it was said in an interview that Jade was made to be shorter than Bioware's usual RPGs, I have a feeling there's more than 22 hours of play (this is coming from the guy who put over 50 hrs on both KOTORs and plugged 27 hrs in Fable). I have a feeling it should be at least 30 for me, maybe even longer w/o trying. I may or may not post impressions of JE, though. Since I'm biased towards Western RPGs, I may end up making it sound like the greatest thing ever on a DVD-ROM.

I haven't heard anyone else mention the Predator game. From the previews, it sounds like it could be a playable game (if it is, I'll still wait on a price drop). If Wrestlemania XXI turns out as good as I hope it does, there's another game to add to the April list (it's also playable on Live).

Darwin

04-09-2005, 11:13 PM

Okay Meth, maybe I spoke too soon. You will definitely want to pick up this game.

Done. Got it today. Freakin hard as hell on the Simulation difficulty. Almost too hard to be enjoyable. I got through the first 3 or 4 "scenes" with the simulation difficulty, and then restarted another game on the "gunny" (the next step down difficulty). Either I have not learned how to properly play the game or the simulation difficulty is best left to 4 human players in co-op.

Pretty good so far, although there does seem to be some trial and error method to getting past some of the checkpoints. Also, I had to stop after an hour of play because I got motion sickness. I replayed it later on and didn't get sick the second time. I hope it was just a fluke.

I wish they would allow me to assign the lean function to a face button or left trigger. Holding in the left analogue stick is tricky and sometimes you aren't leaning.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-10-2005, 06:22 AM

Done. Got it today. Freakin hard as hell on the Simulation difficulty. Almost too hard to be enjoyable. I got through the first 3 or 4 "scenes" with the simulation difficulty, and then restarted another game on the "gunny" (the next step down difficulty). Either I have not learned how to properly play the game or the simulation difficulty is best left to 4 human players in co-op.

Pretty good so far, although there does seem to be some trial and error method to getting past some of the checkpoints. Also, I had to stop after an hour of play because I got motion sickness. I replayed it later on and didn't get sick the second time. I hope it was just a fluke.

I wish they would allow me to assign the lean function to a face button or left trigger. Holding in the left analogue stick is tricky and sometimes you aren't leaning.

You will get the hang of it, it has a different feel than GR and R6. What I've started doing is "setting up" my men in like a diamond formation, and i'll have them hold. This solves the problem of squad mates creeping ahead of you, which I hate. It seems to only happen at corners. So I set them up and I creep forward, engage the enemy, then pull back. They get a lot more done that way. Also, i'm using grenades, smoke and laying prone a lot more. Once I layed prone and took down about three guys with leg shots.

The missions are getting more interesting, I won't give away all the details. But the streets are filled with civilians, more Technicals, etc. It is pretty sweet, I threw a grenade into an apartment room and killed two guys, but from all the dust you could hear the third guy in there coughing, it was nice little touch. I'm stuck right now, a technical has my squad pinned down, and I can't call in an airstrike. I popped smoke and killed the guy on the mounted gun, but others keep taking his place. I'm actually happy about it though, this AI is tough. Also, i'm down a man, I had to evac a guy who got blasted on a staircase.

Tried playing online yesterday but no one was playing full simulation. Speaking of that are you healing your men? It really helps, plus you can pick up extra first aid kits at various location thoughout the map. I'm gonna be online this afternoon sometime, i'll look for you. I actually think it will be harder playing online, because everyone is gonna want to look forward, rush out, and split up. Just like in GR2, you can't do that in this game. That is one thing about GR2, the enemy will just keep pouring in from one or two directions, all lined up like ducks, and they don't really take cover.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-10-2005, 06:29 AM

I'm down w/VGR's night on XBOX live.

Send me a friend invite - FIVEski.

Live titles include:

Ghost Recon 2
Doom 3
Halo 2
Fifa 2005
Fight Night Rd 2
Madden 2005
Toca 2 (just picked this one up)
PGR2
ESPN Major League Baseball 2k5
Crimson Skies
Dead or Alive Ultimate
Top Spin

I haven't yet played Spliter Cell Chaos Theory and to be honest, I haven't played any of 'em. I feel a bit left out since its what everyone is talking about lately.

Will add you this afternoon. Don't know if we will be playing any of the games you have though, it is kinda hard to go back to the old games so close to the new games being launched. Don't get me wrong though, we always end up going back to games like GR2 and especially TOCA2, but these new games have all my attention at the moment. If you can swing it, i'd do the SC:CT thing, or also Close Combat. Close Combat is not making a lot of noise, but I think as word spreads this title is going to be on LIVE big. But SC:CT is a must grab for online, even if you don't like or feel like playing the single player.

Fivespot

04-11-2005, 07:08 AM

Glockstar

04-11-2005, 07:54 PM

Don't know if we will be playing any of the games you have though, it is kinda hard to go back to the old games so close to the new games being launched. Don't get me wrong though, we always end up going back to games like GR2 and especially TOCA2, but these new games have all my attention at the moment.

Don't know if you guys remember SlipperyRC51 (or if you still have him on your friends list?) but I've been seeing him playing MGP2 a lot lately. I want to see about joining him (don't know if he's running in a league or not) - bad - but I just can't break away from D3 and/or CT.

(Though I did for a little while last nite. :p But that was only to give XIII one last spin before trading it in today.)

ThaMaskedGamer

04-11-2005, 10:35 PM

Uh-oh.

I bought my wife Animal Crossing and we fired that up last night. Looks like we'll both be hooked for awhile.

Thanks for the advice, I'll pick up SC CT soon. You have any Live games on reserve that you'll be playing soon?

I've got Forza & Conker pre-ordered. How about UC2, anyone plan on picking that up next week and taking 'er online? By the way, how is GR2 online? I'm still playing through the single player campaign although Doom 3 is taking all my time right now causing GR2 to be put aside temporarily.

I never reserve games. But I will be picking up Forza day 1, and expect it to occupy most of the summer LIVE sessions. Won't be getting UC2, can't do the fragfest thing anymore.

About GR2, if you woulda asked me last week, I woulda said its awesome. But now after playing Close Combat, it makes the Clancy games seem kinda weak. I mean this game and Brothers In Arms have tremendous combat. But Close Combat feels a lot better because of its modern day setting and because of the online coop mode, which BIA does not have. I'm just really impressed with the enemy AI, the maps and environments and the gun play is extreme. But, yes GR2 was good and we had a ball with it online, and a lot of guys are still playing it online, so whenever you finish the single player you should have no probs finding a game.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-11-2005, 10:51 PM

Don't know if you guys remember SlipperyRC51 (or if you still have him on your friends list?) but I've been seeing him playing MGP2 a lot lately. I want to see about joining him (don't know if he's running in a league or not) - bad - but I just can't break away from D3 and/or CT.

(Though I did for a little while last nite. :p But that was only to give XIII one last spin before trading it in today.)

No I don't recall that name, but there wuz sooo many guys I played that game with, i'm sure he was probably one of 'em. Have you been playing CT online? Meth and I played online coop and versus mode. Both were pretty good. We actually did well in versus mode, played against some guys who were green just like we are.

So did you like the way things went down in Augusta? I didn't watch a lot of it, when DiMarco had the 4 stroke lead, I woke up Sunday astonished that Tiger had overcame that and pulled ahead by a few strokes. And I just assummed Tiger would go on to finish with an easy win. Then I played Close Combat all afternoon w/Darwin, turned on the TV afterward and caught the Masters right as they finished up the 17th hole. I was shocked to see Tiger up by only 1 stroke. Then he blew it on the last hole. Then finally capped it off on the play-off. The boy knows drama. And yes Tiger is back. But really the story is DiMarco, which nobody is talking about, I mean he just folded under the pressure, not on the final round, but the third round, to fold up and let Tiger overcome 4 strokes and then go up by three is just sad. But, at least he came back.

Anyway, you and Fiveski should get together for some Doom3, that is all I ever see either of you playing. Where is DTM and Tappy? We should be able to get a 4 man SC:CT game going with VGR vets, this is insane people.

And I can't believe you guys like Doom3 so much. I just can't get into it, its boring the hell out of me. I turn out the lights, crank up the system, got the HD action going, and I find myself thinking about SC or CC, and I play for about 30 minutes and take it out for one of those games. I did manage to get to the part where you fight with the Sentry robot thingy. I'm gonna be nibbling on this game for a looooooong time, and I may not finish it. Even with the extra spiffy graphics on the PC, this game can't hold a candle to Halo2, and its not even the graphics that are boring me, its the combat, it is LAAAAAAAAAME! I hope Half-life is better. Well, I know Half-life is better, hell the first Half-life had better combat than this.

Darwin

04-11-2005, 11:25 PM

And I can't believe you guys like Doom3 so much. I just can't get into it, its boring the hell out of me.

I can't play Doom3 for too long because I find the game to be almost too intense. I have to pace myself and play it in spurts. In order to enjoy Doom 3, you have to think of it like a survival horror game, not a combat game. It's the environment, the suspense, and not knowing when the next demon will pop out at you. Yeah, the tactics are kinda cheap, but it works pretty well on some people. I guess I get into the atmosphere of games more than most people.

Glockstar

04-12-2005, 09:00 AM

ThaMaskedGamer

04-14-2005, 11:37 AM

That's just it. I mean, yeah, it has to be considered a FPS because it is a remake of one of the genres founding forefathers. But really, it is a survival-horror game.

The shooting action is very simple. It pretty much just involves surviving enemy surprise attacks. Albeit in darkened, tight, corridors. The spaces do not open up much in this game. And the demons don't display any kind of intelligence in their attacks either - they just come right at you. All of them. So no, there's no strategy to this game. (Other than planning on which weapon to wield or take into the room.)

Instead of enemy A.I. there's puzzles.

And there's horror. As I said before, this... is... horror. And it's not just just the jump-out-at-you shock treatments either. The whole thing is a trip. The things that go bump in the night... the screaming... the blood reds and the pitch blacks. The game is over the top in this regard, really. ID knows horror. Wes Craven, Steven King, George Romero... you name 'em... ID puts 'em all to shame.

If you're going to play it, this is how you should look at it. And I hope - for your sake - that you continue to, TMG. The presentation is top-notch. And I don't mean that in the general sense either; I mean that this game is at the tippiest of tippy-tops.

And if you played played or liked the original Doom, then I think the game is just about a must-play. It's like going from a pop-up book of the Lord of the Rings story to the Peter Jackson films.

The game was put together to well to be missed, imo. But heck, I'd just like for you to play it further so that you can see for yourself how great the game really looks. :p

I hear you, and I understand where Id was trying to go with the game. It is just not convincing to me. They fell a little short. I'm not saying the game is junk, just short of my expectations. I would judge this game in the low 80's. I'm not disappointed with the graphics, it looks fine. The story isn't as good as I thought it was going to be. The whole PDA storytelling aspect, I thought would be a little more spooky and creepy, reading those PDAs is just boring me. The monsters are boring, thus far, I thought you'd see people getting their guts ripped out, more gore. And I thought you'd be doing more running for your life. The toughest and scariest enemy to me, is those damn hell soldiers with the machine guns and shotguns, they pop outta nowhere and rip up my health. The dodging fireballs trick is old hat, I mean fireballs! The game also needs more NPCs, way more. I liked the way it started, I was really into it. But now every damn body is dead. At least show us some of these guys getting eaten, and fighting for their lives. I'll finish the game, i'm not saying it is that bad. I would stop short of calling this a AAA game. It is just a good game in my book. And i'll certainly finish it.

But speaking of AAA. Damn, I just found out last night that SC:CT as a Merc you can change your primary weapon to either a shotgun or a submachine gun, in addition to the Assault rifle. There were some other details I never noticed before last night. I guess I need to start reading instruction manuals.

And Meth if you are reading this. I found the best way to play Close Combat. Instead of having a pool of 10 lives, that get eaten up by one person, a la SPICFURY using 7 lives. You can setup the game so that each person gets 1 or 2 extra lives, it works a hell of a lot better, and people really slow down and get more serious with the game.

There are just too many good games out, not enought time. I'll be online tonight again in either SC:CT or CC. Come on Glock I know you love Doom3, but jeeze take a night off, SC:CT man.

Glockstar

04-14-2005, 02:48 PM

Oh yeah, now that I've (finally) beaten Doom 3 it's back to SC:CT. And I've been dying to finally get into online Splinter Cell, so... ;)

It's kind of funny, now in hindsight, that I chose D3 to plug away at and try to finish first... because I'm pretty sure that I was a lot closer to finishing Chaos Theory then I was D3. :o I really underestimated that game.

I don't think I've ever seen Fiveski online playing D3. At first I liked that suggestion of getting together with him and playing the game co-op, but now... I don't know. And if you're reading this, Five, know that I mean no offense. I mean first things first, I had[i/] to go thru it solo to experience it for myself, the way it was meant, you know? But now that I [i]have gone thru it, I'm starting to wonder if that co-op thing is really the big plus that we Xbots made it out to be. I mean, I don't know if I want another guy to hear me screaming. :p Seriously tho', probably either have to agree beforehand to forgive all the swearing and yelling and screaming that's about to follow - or play the game on "mute". ;)

.
The monsters are boring, thus far, I thought you'd see people getting their guts ripped out, more gore. And I thought you'd be doing more running for your life. The toughest and scariest enemy to me, is those damn hell soldiers with the machine guns and shotguns, they pop outta nowhere and rip up my health. The dodging fireballs trick is old hat, I mean fireballs! The game also needs more NPCs, way more. I liked the way it started, I was really into it. But now every damn body is dead. At least show us some of these guys getting eaten, and fighting for their lives.

I'm curious to know where you're at it the game, Phaze. Because I think it has all those things you're looking for.

Okay, there's only a few scenes where you see NPCs biting it, but I think there's enough Night-of-the-Living Dead-like feasting-type scenes to tide a fellow over. There's certainly a lot of gore. I say, Dayum! There are some downright nasty scenes and areas, man. Some so gross - and with the graphics being so awesomely realistic - that I could smell them. I just about pulled my shirt up over my nose and mouth because of the "smell" a couple of times!

And there are some baaaad enemies coming up for you. Wait till you come to the #@$%ing Hellknights. After them I think the those nasty little fly-babies are the worst. I hate those #@$%ers. Those gun-toting helmet-wearing Rambo-wannabe demons are definitely right up there too tho'. They're one of the only ones that don't always run right at you; more often than not they'll be content to just continue shooting at you from afar.

I don't want to spoil anything for you so I won't tell you what to look out for, but I do so want to hear what you think about a few scenes/areas in particular. Some are truly standouts, imo. Among the finest of any game. Ever. When we hook up online in Chaos Theory we'll talk and you can give me updates, 'kay? :D

Fivespot

04-16-2005, 01:27 PM

Glock, I've seen you online playing Doom 3 a few times but I'm not out there all too much (damn busy life of mine). Oh well, I agree with your comments though. Its been a fun single player romp but online would probably be strange. Co-op might not be too bad but deathmatch wouldn't be that great due to the boards being too small w/tight corridors and all. Probably should give it a try however just to see - you never know.

How about some Halo2 for VGR's night on LIVE? I know we all have this title, right? Hopefully we'll hook up some day playing something in common....

Fivespot

04-16-2005, 06:14 PM

Glockstar

04-16-2005, 06:49 PM

Probably should give it a try however just to see - you never know.

I'm all for that. But again, I got a feeling that I'm going to curse a lot. :o

.
How about some Halo2 for VGR's night on LIVE? I know we all have this title, right? Hopefully we'll hook up some day playing something in common....

YES!

Anytime you see me playing Halo 2 multi-player online you are welcome to join. Shoot a message over and then we'll form a party.

Glockstar

04-16-2005, 07:28 PM

Oh yeah, with regards to Chaos Theory...

Don't sweat the single-player. Just watch the training the videos and read your instruction booklet and you'll get it, and know what the meters and icons represent on your game screen. I guess my only advice would be to take advantage of the new quicksave and save early and often.

Just one thing, in SCCT you have complete control over the camera. But it might take a while to get used to. At first, it might seem like it's effed up. Like it's got a mind of its own. Thing is, it kind of does. It's best to think of it as positioning more than controlling. The camera will "settle in" - or slightly (but optimally) reposition itself - after you're done moving.it. Thing is it seems to, like, wait a second for you to be all done moving it. Like I said, this might seem weird - or stupid - at first, but once you get the hang of it it's great.

As far as the multi-player goes... know that I'm a newbie too. I still haven't played this one (nor Pandorra Tomorrow) online. But I'm pretty sure that playing the single-player is not a pre-requisite for playing the multi-player. And anyways, don't worry, if you get into a game with Darwin and TMG they'll be patient, I'm sure. They're both cool as hell.

Fivespot

04-16-2005, 09:21 PM

As far as the multi-player goes... know that I'm a newbie too. I still haven't played this one (nor Pandorra Tomorrow) online. But I'm pretty sure that playing the single-player is not a pre-requisite for playing the multi-player. And anyways, don't worry, if you get into a game with Darwin and TMG they'll be patient, I'm sure. They're both cool as hell.

Awesome. I'll start playing and eventually we should all hook-up online. I've always wanted to give that spy vs. merc thing a go. Pandora Tomorrow was praised for its online multiplayer and I obviously never even played it. Hopefully its as fun as everyone claims.

Anyone play any online sports games around here besides driving games? No one really talks about those. I know its taboo to play/buy/support EA but I still play Madden and Fight Night. Fight Night Rd. 2 is pretty damn intense online (at least against my buddies it is). I was careful to buy the used copy of Fight Night Rd. 2 however as to not give EA any added $$. I'll still also buy Madden 2006 since they will be the only one holding the NFL license. That's a shame since ESPN NFL was a better game than Madden IMO.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-17-2005, 05:34 AM

I had some Gamestop credit, so I stopped on my way home from work tonight and picked up Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

This is my first time playing a Splinter Cell title so it will probably take me a little while before I'm ready to go online (either that or I accept a thorough butt kicking).

Any tips from you Splinter Cell vets? Any tips specific to this title?

Yeah don't confuse the single player game and the online games. They are totally different. Different maps, different weapons and gadgets, different gameplay styles. What works offline is totally different than online. This is why you can play the single player game at your own leisure and not be at a disadvantage online.

I won't comment about single player, except to say it is excellent. Online, I'd say just practice. The great thing is you can practice offline. Its great because if you walk through the maps offline, the game will take you on a pathway of all the objectives in the game. Also, it will explain all the gadgets' uses. Just try and take it slow and play with guys who give you a break as a rookie. There are some guys online who revel in beating rookies, and others who have no patience for playing with rookies. Focus on one map at a time for a while too. If you try and tackle all of them at once, it will be too daunting. I would start with the Federal Bank, it is fairly small, yet still popular.

Darwin

04-17-2005, 12:44 PM

Any tips from you Splinter Cell vets? Any tips specific to this title?

For single player: play the game the way you would like. Chaos Theory is much more open as far as how you deal with enemies. However, keep this in mind: Sam is not very effective going toe-to-toe, straight gun-fighting with enemies. His advantage lies in his ability to attack from the dark. With the exception of one level in this game, Stealth always beats out assault. I'm not saying you shouldn't use your gun. Just do it when you clearly have the advantage.

For Multiplayer spies vs. mercs: learn the maps. If you are serious about getting into this on Live, learn the maps. That is half the battle.

Darwin

04-17-2005, 01:25 PM

I know its taboo to play/buy/support EA

Ha! That seemed to be more of a fleeting moment in gaming time. If I look on my friend's list, at any given moment there are at least 5 guys playing some kind of EA game: Madden, NBA, Hockey, Nascar, Baseball ...

I personally cannot get into the traditional sports games (except baseball) because there is a bit of a learning curve for me. I have no idea what those formations mean nor when to use what.

I think that many of the regular Live Xbots around here don't play the traditional sports games. I don't think it has anything to do with EA.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-20-2005, 05:25 AM

Last night I saw FiveSki and Unlucky playing SC:CT, cool, nice to see you guys logging some time with the game. Meth and I were playing Close Combat. But if you guys are going to be online tonight lets try and all catch up in some SC:CT.

BTW sorry 'bout shutting down the room last night Meth, we lost comms again and I was trying to tell you that was the last mission. We played that game so long last night I think I got burned out the last half-hour.

BTW have you guys did the map walkthroughs? They are very good, they essentially show you all the keys to successfully completing the maps. A false pathway through the entire map leads you to all of the mission objectives. It doesn't go over all the shortcuts, but it covers the essentials of each map.

Glockstar

04-20-2005, 07:29 AM

Sorry Phaze, still (just) playing the 1P. I gotta think I'm almost done tho'. I thought it was over last nite. I'm pretty danged sure I just played thru that area that Darwin was talking about tho' at least. (If that gives you a hint of where I am in the game.)

Saw you and Meth playing CC again last nite when I turned my Xbox on. But didn't hear Fiveski come in. (Coulda been a lot of reasons for that tho'.) I didn't really have time to game on Live last nite anyways - only had time for about an hour-and-a-half before my show came on (Big Break III: Ladies Only*), and then about an hour-and-a-half after.

Can't do it tonite either. That bowling league I got into is over now, but we all had a great time - everybody had tons-o-fun and got along great - so we're having a kind of bowling outing reunion-thing tonite. :D

Maybe tomorrow?

* Bringing this up reminds me - I never did make that reply to you, TMG, about the Masters. Oops. Soory. But yeah, I thought that the was the best Masters EVAR!!!

I normally don't root for Tiger (two sports I hate dynasty/domination in are racing and golf) but I was the last two days. Well, for awhile at least. The whole reason I wanted Tiger to win it was so that his... remarkable... first-day would be remembered forever. (He hit a tree and went backwards!? He putted the ball into the water!? PUTTED! Man, he looked like me out there! :D ) But when it became apparent that this was going to be a tight one, and one that would be remembered for a long time no matter what, I went back to rooting for DiMarco. In fact, next day, I was pretty dejected. I treally thought DiMarco played his azz off - played better than Tiger - and deserved it. He lost it by a quarter-of-an-inch! That one extra half-rotation on Tigers amazing chipshot was the thing that decided the match. It doesn't fall, DiMarco wins. But also, Chris had a whole bunch of near misses that whole last round. He could just as easily have finished -8 on the front nine as -2. Or was it -1?... it's been awhile now. :p

Fivespot

04-20-2005, 10:29 AM

Great - I should be online again tonight continuing my journey through the single player campaign.

I haven't had a chance to review the multiplayer maps yet but plan to ASAP. I'm trying to finish the one player but are only on the third mission. Please keep in mind this is my first time playing a Splinter Cell title so its taking me a little while to learn the controls, AI, etc...

I'm also going to pick-up my copy of Psychonauts tonight but will continue playing Splinter Cell as well.

If we cannot get a game of SC CT going this evening - lets try again tomorrow or sometime soon. I'm game whenever you are ready.

ThaMaskedGamer

04-20-2005, 11:56 AM

I'm not gonna be the one to ask you guys to stop playing the solo campaign, especially since I couldn't tear myself away from it. So I completely understand. LIVE will be here when you guys finish. But i'll definitely do a little bit of versus tonight. I think i'm all Closed Combated out for a few days at least. Its so nice to have this kind of flexibility online. I just have a feeling though, we might not EVAR get a chance to play SC:CT. I mean in 2 weeks its all gonna be about Forza, I mean ALLLLLLLL Forza. I'll definitely be clearing my plate, by ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Which only means if i'm not done with Doom3, i'll be trading her in(I just can't get into this game for more than 30 minutes).

Yeah Glock, about the Masters. I felt bad for DiMarco, but he's played well before and he definitely has the stuff to be a new competitor. He had his wife and daughter there and for a minute it looked like he was going to do it. When he forced the play-off, I thought Tiger was done. But a lot of people talk about Tiger's miracle shot. DiMarco had a miracle put, if it wasn't for the damn flag, he woulda been outta there in a green blazer. I mean, come on, how ridiculously heartbreaking did that have to be, right into the hole, but bounces off the stick. You know he had to feel soooooo bad. Then, he turns around and puts the ball in the exact same position on the playoff hole, and was pretty darn close with that putt. These guys are phenomenal. Whenever I see them studying their position, like Tiger did for like 5 minutes. I think to myself, just putt the ball, quit acting like you guys know where the ball is going to go. I always think on those long puts, there is no way its going in, just putt it, get it close, and tap it in. And then these guys just amaze you, and they really do know what they are doing. But that is why they are pros, they know these courses better than most guys know their girlfriends backsides. I mean Tiger's miracle shot, he meant to do that!!!! Maybe he didn't mean for it to fall in on a breath, but he was trying to make it, as if! Myself, I woulda just tried to get it close.

Darwin

04-20-2005, 01:44 PM

You'll see me online every night this week, 8pm - midnight Eastern time. And I can play even later on Friday night. If you see me in another game, just send me an invite.

My Gamertag is Methadone Man

Spies verses Mercs has a pretty steep learning curve and it's best if you play it with friends.

Yes, when Forza arrives, I will probably be playing that exclusively for a long time. I tend to do that with sim-based racing games.

Fivespot

04-20-2005, 06:28 PM

I also plan on playing lots of Forza and will still be playing SC CT at that point as well (if my short attention span doesn't get the better of me). The steep learning curve comment has me even more interested in taking this one online.

XBL - FIVEski

Glockstar

04-27-2005, 10:08 AM

Fivespot

04-27-2005, 04:28 PM

Who's up for a little Chaos Theory tonite?! ;)

I've got pretty much all-nite!

I'll definitely be playing on my Xbox tonite - but don't know what yet. I want to let you guys know this - if you're interested in hooking up - because I might be playing a game that is not Xbox Live Aware... like Ultimate Doom. (The Classic Doom games - of the Doom 3 LCE - are not XBL enabled at all.)

Or... I might be checking out Raze's Hell - which I hope to pick up tonite. :D
I know the game is XBL enabled for Live play, but don't want to assume that it's XBL "Aware".

Next gen XBOX should have it mandatory that all games be XBOX live aware. I hate that when you buy a game or are thinking about picking something up, it rarely states on the packaging if the title is Live aware or not. I prefer Live aware titles but so few actually support this feature.

I'll be playing Halo2 later tonight as I haven't tried it yet with the new patch released 4/24. I'm also up for Fight Night Rd. 2 but I'm not sure if anyone has that one. If only Psychonauts was live aware - I'll be playing that for the first few hours this evening.

Glockstar

04-27-2005, 05:48 PM

Next gen XBOX should have it mandatory that all games be XBOX live aware. ...

Well you're in luck Fiver, because I'm pretty sure that's exactly the way things are going to be.

-
I'll be playing Halo2 later tonight as I haven't tried it yet with the new patch released 4/24. ...

Yeah, just remembered that on my way home from work tonite. And that's what I'm about to do right now! See ya! :D

ThaMaskedGamer

04-28-2005, 06:07 AM

Damn I coulda gamed yesterday too. But I just ended up messing around with my guitar, I was thinking about coming online too. I'll be online today though. I gotta finish off Close Combat. I've given up on Doom3, there is no way i'll be able to finish it before next Tuesday I'm just not lovin' this game.

I been having second thoughts about this Fanatec Steering Wheel. I read the preview at IGN, then I looked again at what the wheel was capable of, and I don't know if they did all they could do to setup the force shock properly. Plus, it is a great wheel they were just complaining about the force feedback. There are two force shock settings and going by what I read, don't feel like explaining it all, you should be able to set the normal amount of latent resistence, then adjust the other effect you get when you crash into things to your liking. That way you get the road resistance and then the impact resistance if you crash. Plus there are a lot of things to adjust.

This may very well be my last XBOX game. So i'll be trading in just about everthing from Brother's In Arms to Doom3 and anything in between, including Halo2. So, I really don't care about the high cost of the wheel. Thing is summer is here and I won't be gaming much, when I do it will be Forza. So I may as well make it one hell of an experience. Plus, I figure XBOX 360 won't have a good racer at launch, PGR3 doesn't count. So i'll be playing Forza even after I get XBOX 360.

Anyway, two games i'll be keeping are SC:CT and Close Combat. So, i'll definitely be up for some SC:CT some time today. Sound off if you guys are gonna be online.

Fivespot

04-28-2005, 07:10 AM

ThaMaskedGamer

04-28-2005, 10:14 AM

Masked- Ironic, I also stopped playing last night to allow some guitar time.

What kind of guitar do you have? I'm a strat man myself.

Don't you find that guitar playing and video games have a lot in common? I've heard that most musicians game due to the huge similaritites.

Well i'm on acoustic right now, i'm on Ovation man, we have two in the house right now, my daughter uses the Balladeer I think it is, and I have the Ovation Legend 1771, I use the Marshall AS100D amp with it also. But its funny you mention Fender, I've been thinking of getting a Stratocaster, but then I saw this Ibanez, the Steve Vai version in a guitar mag the other day. But man I find gaming and music DO NOT go together. They are both competing interest for me and my limited time, and whenever I start one, I never get to the other. I'm headed more and more toward music and away from gaming. Especially now that I got this Korg Triton 88 workstation, I put my headphones on and play with that thing all night till about 2 or 3 am.

In fact, i'm about to go play right now after I eat this sandwich, lol. What kind of music do you play and how long you been playing?

Fivespot

04-28-2005, 10:55 AM

Well i'm on acoustic right now, i'm on Ovation man, we have two in the house right now, my daughter uses the Balladeer I think it is, and I have the Ovation Legend 1771, I use the Marshall AS100D amp with it also. But its funny you mention Fender, I've been thinking of getting a Stratocaster, but then I saw this Ibanez, the Steve Vai version in a guitar mag the other day. But man I find gaming and music DO NOT go together. They are both competing interest for me and my limited time, and whenever I start one, I never get to the other. I'm headed more and more toward music and away from gaming. Especially now that I got this Korg Triton 88 workstation, I put my headphones on and play with that thing all night till about 2 or 3 am.

In fact, i'm about to go play right now after I eat this sandwich, lol. What kind of music do you play and how long you been playing?

I also play acoustic and own a Seagull (handmade in Canada - great acoustic guitar). Its a little hard to care for considering varying humidity and temps but its well worth it in my opinion. You won't have that kind of concern w/an Ovation as the finishes are dratically different.

As far as competing interests are concerned - you are correct, gaming and music do not mix. I think the two are similar when you look at fingering, dexterity, & memorizing specific patterns (scales, chords, etc). I've been playing for 15+ years and have many musician friends who agree with me - the two are very similar.

I've even seen a few articles in music magazines about the musician-gamer situation and how prevelant it is now a days. Many artists take their gaming rigs on the road w/them while touring.

My band is currently transitioning from acoustic to electric but I have some acoustic music available on the net if you'd like to hear it. Check out myspace.com or soundclick.com and look up Waxing Gibbous - my band. Please share any feedback!!!

By the way - you wouldn't be disappointed picking up a strat. Its a very versatile guitar while also being comfortable and easy to use (for the most part). Ultimately, it boils down to what type of music you play.

How about you?

ThaMaskedGamer

04-29-2005, 09:59 AM

I also play acoustic and own a Seagull (handmade in Canada - great acoustic guitar). Its a little hard to care for considering varying humidity and temps but its well worth it in my opinion. You won't have that kind of concern w/an Ovation as the finishes are dratically different.

As far as competing interests are concerned - you are correct, gaming and music do not mix. I think the two are similar when you look at fingering, dexterity, & memorizing specific patterns (scales, chords, etc). I've been playing for 15+ years and have many musician friends who agree with me - the two are very similar.

I've even seen a few articles in music magazines about the musician-gamer situation and how prevelant it is now a days. Many artists take their gaming rigs on the road w/them while touring.

My band is currently transitioning from acoustic to electric but I have some acoustic music available on the net if you'd like to hear it. Check out myspace.com or soundclick.com and look up Waxing Gibbous - my band. Please share any feedback!!!

By the way - you wouldn't be disappointed picking up a strat. Its a very versatile guitar while also being comfortable and easy to use (for the most part). Ultimately, it boils down to what type of music you play.

How about you?

Yes I agree with you from that stand point. Your manual dexterity improves in both activities, hand eye coordination which is also important for some musicians, especially if your sight reading/playing. I was only thinking about from the time aspect.

When I get a chance i'll check out your music, i'm assuming you guys are a rock band. I don't play with a band. Probably never will, but who knows. I'm more interested in doing my own music. So i'm looking forward to getting a multi-track recorder, using my Korg for drum and percussion tracks, keys/piano, horns, and what ever other sounds I want. Then adding in my guitar tracks. My problem is bass, I don't like the way the bass sounds on my Korg, so i'm thinking about picking up bass and learning that. I been looking at a few 20-24 track recorders. But that is further down the road. Right now i'm still focused on improving my guitar and keyboard technique. I feel I can play a decent rhythm guitar, but I also want to play great as a soloist. I'm also very interested in latin guitar and flamenco guitar, and i'll likey end up buying a classical or flamenco guitar. Right now i'm working on fingerpicking techniques with the guitar, and playing classical music on the piano. My Korg has a 16 track recorder, mixer, sequencer built in, so i've already come up with some nasty grooves. But I can't put in any vocals or guitar. Its a hobby though, I don't have any dreams of playing before audiences, too late for me. But my daughter she wants to do all of that.

Fivespot

04-29-2005, 10:09 PM

Yes I agree with you from that stand point. Your manual dexterity improves in both activities, hand eye coordination which is also important for some musicians, especially if your sight reading/playing. I was only thinking about from the time aspect.

When I get a chance i'll check out your music, i'm assuming you guys are a rock band. I don't play with a band. Probably never will, but who knows. I'm more interested in doing my own music. So i'm looking forward to getting a multi-track recorder, using my Korg for drum and percussion tracks, keys/piano, horns, and what ever other sounds I want. Then adding in my guitar tracks. My problem is bass, I don't like the way the bass sounds on my Korg, so i'm thinking about picking up bass and learning that. I been looking at a few 20-24 track recorders. But that is further down the road. Right now i'm still focused on improving my guitar and keyboard technique. I feel I can play a decent rhythm guitar, but I also want to play great as a soloist. I'm also very interested in latin guitar and flamenco guitar, and i'll likey end up buying a classical or flamenco guitar. Right now i'm working on fingerpicking techniques with the guitar, and playing classical music on the piano. My Korg has a 16 track recorder, mixer, sequencer built in, so i've already come up with some nasty grooves. But I can't put in any vocals or guitar. Its a hobby though, I don't have any dreams of playing before audiences, too late for me. But my daughter she wants to do all of that.

Wow, sounds like you are into alot of different aspects of music. Flamenco guitar would be awesome to know kudos for thinking about learning to play some of that stuff. It ain't easy!

I hear you on the whole hobby thing. I'm pretty grounded myself and only do this as an outlet and to create original music. Being creative is an important need and music satisfies that for me, but I'm realistic to always remember that this is just for fun.

Is that Korg a digital recorder/mixer? Our band is looking at picking up a 12 track digital Korg recorder. Plus, we have a 16 channel studio Yamaha board w/mass effects and processing. Between the two and some nice mics, we should be able to do our own recording.

If and when I have children, I've always told my wife that they would be playing guitar. Nice one getting your daughter jammin'.

I hope you eventually pick up a multi-track recorder to write and record some original tunes. With all the equipment you have including keyboard, drum processing, etc.., you have everything you'll need to capture some tunes.