What are you playing?

[HeyCreepy]

hahaha...Great pictures! Was anyone watching you? I went to an arcade where they were having an impromptu championship with a rather large audience. It is really crazy when people use the bars on either side and defy gravity to hit the arrows. I think the game is a blast, but I can't get past light mode.

DDR? You mean like Dance Dance Revolution? I've played it a few times. But I really, really suck at it. I think it's due to my complete lack of rhythm

I lack a little thing called coordination, but its all good.

[Der Germ]

I own the home version (well, one of them) and there's an arcade down the street I just found out has it. I love the game, it's so fun and I was actually starting to get pretty good at it. But then I had surgery, and I'm out of commision for a long while (don't ask what kind of surger, it's embaressing.)

[gregslagel]

I loves that crap, whenever I get the chance to play it. Which is infrequently, at best. I rock it old school.

[Hucklebubba]

I think the fact that DDR doesn't have "What is Love?" as one of the selectables is the only thing keeping it from being the game that saves the world. Someday, perhaps. Until then, "The Reflex" will just have to do.

[Head Mutant]

In honor of a lock-in we're having this weekend, I got the X-Box DDR Ultramix with two floor pads for the kids. It's absolutely insane how good some of them are -- personally, I've always had a trouble with translating visual directions into body movement, so I can only really do it with slower kids on some of the slower songs.

It was funny, we had it set up in our little youth house, which is a pretty old house. And instead of just doing dance steps, all of the kids playing were jumping like bouncing Terriers, plus the other teens watching who were also bouncing in step. All that simultaneous jumping was shuddering through the entire house, causing me to be kind of concerned that they were going to punch a hole through the floor -- so I decreed that only the kids actually playing it could jump.

[PoolMan]

HeyCreepy said:

hahaha...Great pictures! Was anyone watching you?

Not really, I don't think. If anyone was, it was probably more because two grown men were taking pictures of each other engaged in this activity, as opposed to just sucking at it and leaving. But me and J, we rarely do things to seem normal.

Head said:

In honor of a lock-in we're having this weekend, I got the X-Box DDR Ultramix with two floor pads for the kids.

Damn man, I may just have to join your church. Between this and the in-house ice cream sundae bar you told me you were bringing in the other day (I'm not making that up, folks!), I think I could fairly LIVE in the White House.

[Head Mutant]

What I am playing right now (all PC games):

* Dungeon Siege (seeing if I can beat it with just four characters instead of 8)
* Startopia (picked it up for 5 bucks)
* Beyond Good & Evil

I was about to pick up Gothic 2, I've heard both good and middling things, but I'm going to do some research before deciding.

[Al]

I realize that sports are not big on this forum (outside of the occasional martial artist) but I'm halfway through a rental of NFL Street, and my brother and I absolutely love it. It's fast paced and uncomplicated arcade football, which is a nice change of pace from Madden and the like that I feel have become stat-driven almost to a fault. The computer is tough but not overwhelmingly so, and the fields range from parks to beaches to junkyards, each with their owns hazards and obstacles. It honestly reminds me of playing football with friends on the playground back in the day, which I guess means the game did it's job (although I'm sure we didn't look quite that cool). Check it out sports fans.

Al

[Der Germ]

I thought I'd mentioned my love for NBA Street 2 before. Well if I haven't, let me proclaim mine love. I'm not a fanatic, but it's a really fun game I must say. Not a fan of the basic genre, but this puts style in there with the usual 'dribble-dodge-shoot-steal' aspect of the other ones.

But NFL Street doesn't look good to me. I can see how you could do street with basketball, but football? I'll have to play it to see how it works.

[Al]

Well the pace obviously isn't quite the same, but 'style' is included in much the same manner. By holding the 'style' trigger while doing anything (passing, catching, tackling, running, etc) you amass style points, but run a much higher risk of fumbling or missing your target.

Like NBA Street, enough style points will win you a Gamebreaker, which will make you nigh invincible for the duration of the current possession possesion, and (to quote the instruction manual) 'break the game wide open, yo'. An offensive gamebreaker almost guarantees a touchdown and a defensive one will almost guarantee a fumble-cum-turnover.

Style also allows you to use the terrain to your advantage. In EA Field, one of the initial two fields available, one sideline is no more than a wall. While stylin', a tackle into the wall will not necessarily mean you go down, you may just bounce off and keep running. An evasive juke while at the wall may result in you using one foot to bounce yourself away and five yards ahead as the defender eats concrete, as opposed to simply moving right or left.

The two games are different animals, make no mistake, but I think it lives up to it's namesake in it's own way.

Al

[Der Germ]

I guess I ought to try it out, eh? If NBA Street can bring a non-basketball fan into the game, maybe NFL Street can do the same.

[bladestarr]

I just got GTA Vice City for the PC, and all I can say is WOW. This game is so atmospheric, it really brings me into the world of Miami Vice, the 80s, and all that good stuff. ESPECIALLY the radio stations, although I must admit I pretty much keep my radio set to the "Emotions" station. Take me away Fernando! ;D

[Der Germ]

The radio is pretty much the only saving quality I could find in GTA:VC, aside from all the jumps. I admit it has great spread and all that, but the game itself annoys me.

[PoolMan]

With what little time I have between rehearsals (the play opens this Friday! Yikes!), I've been playing a little Prince of Persia on the Cube. I know I mentioned it, but it deserves another little plug, the game is awesome. And I found out that deal I mentioned where you get Splinter Cell for free is apparently available at most electonics retailers until the end of January (all platforms), so you may want to have a look NOW if it interests you.

I sold off the last remaining chunks of my N64 collection this weekend. (I installed a big new stereo in my place, which led to having to store the old one, which led to having to rearrange the storage area in our apartment, which led to a full-Saturday cleaning of our storage area, which led to the aforementioned selling of my previous game system. I sold it under the table to a clerk who works in the local EB, who must have shook my hand about 6 times, so thrilled was he to have it, and in such pristine condition (I take excessively good care of my videogames, I'm a little weird that way). I shed a little tear, but the truth is I hadn't even looked at it in two years, it may as well have some fun in someone else's care.

And I used the tradein value on some other stuff I sold off to buy Star Wars KOTOR. Man, I'm looking forward to being able to open the box (after the play).

[mutantclare]

I got The Simpsons: Hit and Run for X-mas this year and it completely sucked me in for about a month. I'm really bad a video games in general, so I'm pretty sure it's much easier to play than it was for me since I don't really know how to do anything video game related. But it's got TONS of inside jokes and gags and on every level if you wander around enough you can find characters to talk to. Plus, you can put different outfits on the character you're playing that are all episode specific. So far my favorite has been running around picking up chickens dressed as Lisa in her Floreda costume.

This weekend we're having a huge video game insanity party at our house. My husband is getting two big rear screen projectors from work, plus we'll have I think 3 or 4 TV's set up and we're going to have 2 (or more?) PS2's, two (or more) X-boxes and Gamecubes and about 20 million games to choose from. We've never done this before, but I imagine it's going to be ridiculously fun.