What are you playing?

[PoolMan]

I never thought the day might come where I'd shed a tear that I didn't live in Texas, but here we are.

That sounds awesome.

[Der Germ]

I wanna go! *sob* I mean, that's really cool, have fun...

Just wait until I crash that party, bwah ha ha ha...

[Hucklebubba]

So, anybody who can get down there is welcome, right? I don't need to know your address. The games call to me...

[mutantclare]

Yeah man. Come on down!
It's funny because it started as a really low key, just a few people kind of thing...
and as of right now we've got about 30 people confirmed attending.

[Der Germ]

You should be making money off of this! Pass out the pacifiers, flicker the lights on and off, and call it a rave! The brightly colored TV screens will give the only 'electronic music' those kids need anyway.

[Head Mutant]

As long as no one's gonna sing... I watched the Houston auditions of American Idol last night, scary, scary stuff.

[jamus34]

Back on topic...

Picked up a copy of Disgaea : Hour of Darkness.

Great SRPG...Not long by any means, however this is a game that wasn't built for it's stellar story and awesome graphics.

No, this game was made for 1 reason and 1 reason only...Massive leveling...

We're not talking no lowly FF level 99 ceiling here kiddies. We're talking a max level of 9999. We're talking stat's into the MILLIONS.

To put it mildly, I'm on the 4th chapter (of 12 or 13 I think) mid powered (can probably finish this level with few problems, but after this going to have to spend some time leveling up) and have hardly scratched the surface. BTW I've already clocked about 16 hours. You can pretty much play as short or long as you want...most battles I've been in are less than 5 min. Great for a quick 30 min time-killer.

It was brought here by Atlus, so it might be a little tough to find. If you're a fan of SRPG's then I strongly suggest you pick this up.

[PoolMan]

Help me out here... what's the 'S' in 'SRPG'? Strategy?

Hm. Powering up into the thousands of levels. Sounds rather Dragonball Z to me...

"What's this? Jamus' power level is off my scanner! He must be a Super Saiyan!"

"Exactly. Now let's talk for 20 minutes before throwing out high intensity blasts that cancel each other out!"

"Great!"

[Hucklebubba]

jamus34 said:

We're talking a max level of 9999.

Which was directly preceded by...

Not long by any means

By the twiddling of my thumbs, something not-adding-up this way comes.

[jamus34]

Yeowch...lotta hatred here...

Just stating that it's a game that isn't afraid to be something different.

And while you can level up insanely, the game does have optional areas to keep pace.

I think one of the main things is the battles go a lot quicker than FFT or Tactics Ogre. Just trying to broaden some horizons.

[Hucklebubba]

jamus34 said:

Yeowch...lotta hatred here...

Not at all. I love everyone, I'm just wondering how a game with such a ridiculously high level ceiling could possibly be not long. You'd about have to level up with every battle, by my reckoning.

See, I want it to be long. Freaky long. I like games that have to be deathbedly bequeathed to one's children in order to be completed.

[PoolMan]

Yeah, don't worry, Jamus, we ain't hatin'! As Justin will attest to, I can't pass up a chance to mock. But I do it for love... and comedy!

Consider my horizons broadened. Although you still haven't answered my question... What's an SRPG?

[jamus34]

Sorry about that, yes by SRPG I mean strategy role playing game.

It's battle systems is very similar to FFT (I'd assume FFTA also, but I haven't played it) and Tactics Ogre.

The main storyline isn't long so to speak...most of the people I've talked to have said you can run through it from 30-40 hours...however once you start getting into the extra stuff (like the item world) you can blow hours there easily.

It has more (and more subtle) humor than most other games out there.

And yes depending on the strength of a character you can run through a board solo and level up a number of times.

[Genetic Mishap]

The game I've been playing since Tuesday is Lupin III: Treasure of the Sorceror King. It's not anything groundbreaking (anime characters without nasty normal anime faces, that's what's groundbreaking), it's just good, clean, messed-up-camera-angle-and-controls fun.

[PoolMan]

Well, I'm (surprise, surprise) well on my way into yet another Metroid game. Metroid Zero Mission, to be exact. If you're not already familiar, it's a "retelling" of the story from the original NES Metroid, so that the storyline fits in better with the modern Metroid plotlines. I've already noticed huge differences in the maps, weapons, and the relationship between Samus and the Chozos. Oh, and if you're into Metroid lore, apparently now Zebes is Samus' homeworld.

Interesting cut scenes here and there flesh out the story in a very new way. When Samus takes her first elevator down into Norfair from Brinstar, there's a cut scene of Mother Brain observing her from inside the jar on a monitor... pretty cool.

Still, it's pretty familiar ground. Plays a lot like Fusion, without the X-virus absorbing stuff. So far, I'd recommend it.