CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

An idea I came up with for a funish way of making suggestions to games you enjoyed.Basically, you post a small picture of a game cover of a game you've liked, and a few sentences of what it's about and why you enjoyed it so. Not exactly as a review, but an interesting perspective, to let others what games you've enjoyed. Similar to the a suggestion threads, like the anime/manga ones we have, but instead of just listing games, say WHY you liked it. Maybe someone will find a good new game to play, they might not have known about or thought about playing^^ Don't have to give it an out of 5 rating or anything, unless you feel like it. A couple mini rules though:

-Don't simple say 'I like it cause it's awsome!' etc, actually say a quick thing of what about it you liked

-Try not to negatively compare it to other similarish games. Maybe something like 'a bit more refreshing then ___ to me' etc, can work though. Trying to be more on the positive side, even if comments might say 'eh, I personally didn't find it that fun'.

-Doesn't have to be something you've completed all the way through. Even a starting impression for it can do.

-Please try not to spam with these 'picks'. Only 2 max to a reply, and if this does become a popularish topic, try not to post any others until a few others have had a turn. Also, please don't make the same pick that someone else has done. Just for a variety on different tastes^^ You can call them though if you want.

-Personally, I'd like to see more of the 'underdog' games. I don't mean the no-names, but just things concerning overrated games such as Halo, Pokemon etc. in which many people know are huge and most likely already played through a majority of people. You CAN though, but try and have a good point as to why you enjoyed it so^^

Alright, I'm starting up with Digimon World DS and Sonic Rush for PSP!



After stumbling upon into the Digital World and being asked by a Digimon to become a Tamer and tame Digimon, you embark on adventure of raising, training, and fighting with your own Digimon.

After playing many different versions of Pokemon, I felt that the new battling and evolution system is rather refreshing. Battling is turned based with your team, and is a rather different approach. Evolution is a more complex as well, with Digimon involving 3 evolution lines each, and many many monsters to find.

A nice little adventure game with many fun options to chose from^^




Eggman has created strange cards to trap your friends in, and it's time to go head to head with a familiar rival to catch up to him first!

With such negativity from many of the newer Sonic games, I found this one VERY fun. A side scroller, although in 3D at the same time, and nice quick pace, and an interesting objective of racing against an NPC (although there is a 2 player option).

It's a game of outwitting to get to the end, and I've already had a blast and hours of play working through the different levels and challenges this game has to offer^^ Looking forward to the sequel as well!

One of the best adventure games I've ever played. It frequently had me in tears of laughter. The puzzles are good; Not always easy, but never too hard, and they are (for the most part), completely logical. Telltale did a great job, and I anxiously await Season 2 (ComingthisfalltoGametap).



The only thing I can find to complain about in this game is that it is just too short. And...that it just went out of print. It is fun on every level and is now very CHEAP.

Oh, and Richard Horvitz (Zim) plays the main character. Tell me that's not awesome.

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Probably two of my favorite RPGs for GBA. the graphics are pretty darn good for GBA games, the story's pretty interesting, the music gives the game a nice epic feel, and the game's pretty long for a GBA game (unless compared to an FF title). i loved the gameplay, the battle system, and the puzzles. really fun games.

I never got around to beating the second one.

It's the kind of game where if you don't know exactly where you are in it, a walkthru doesn't help at all so I have no way of ever knowing what to do next.

Chrono Cross, my all-time favorite game. XD I love the characters, the storyline, the music, the art, and the nostalgia. Sure, it's got a few pitfalls (Guile should totally not just be Guile >_>), but they're small enough for me to be able to consider it as my all-time favorite. Additionally, it uses my personal favorite battle system. Elements are REALLY easy to learn and fun to use, and the battle system in and of itself runs pretty smoothly. The game also harbors my very favorite video game character ever, obviously so by my username. XD



Granted, not the original box art, but it works just the same. XD Chrono Trigger (to which Cross is the sequel) is a clooose second in my favorites. XD Awesome music, wonderful story, lovable characters, and a good battle system. I prefer being able to see my enemies before I fight them, and both Trigger and Cross offered that feature. Also, Trigger has Frog. Frog is the greatest.



My third favorite, Final Fantasy VIII. XD I enjoy it for the same reasons as the other two: great characters, story, art, music, etc. I also really loved the Junction system. XD Random battles are kind of for the lose, so it's not my most favorite game, but I still love it and play it every now and again. XD

Why? Well it's the highest reviewed game of this year. Features some of the most amazing environments, story, soundtrack, and themes out of any videogame ever created. Enough said. If you own a high-end PC or a 360, this is a must buy. Forget Halo 3 or possibly even Half-Life 2: Orange Box as being this year's top shooter. Bioshock is, without a doubt, going to surpass them. (At least Halo 3, lol) Game of the Year material? Oh most definitely.

Just...two...games?

*explodes*

Ah well, I might as well start with some of my favorite underdog games.

I'll start with... *drum roll*

MY RIVAL SYSTEM, THE PS2!

The first and second game I consider to be the best games for the PS2, and gaming overall.

First, ICO.



ICO is a very one of a kind game, but also one that's followed paths before it such as MYST and Zelda.

The story is about a 12 year old boy named ICO. The boy was born with horns on his head for an unknown reason, but the village treats these boys as a curse. And whenever one is born, they are taken to a castle to be sacrificed when they reach the age of 12. However, there is an accident when the sacrifice is being taken place, and ICO meets an angel like girl named Yordia, whom accompanies him to escape the castle. Why all these things are happening is known only to those who follow...

ICO is special to me because it's a very one of a kind game. The story is minimalistic but surprising, and many things are left unanswered for the gamer to make up themselves. The gameplay is mostly exploration with puzzles to solve with a little combat, but what makes this game so amazing is the atmosphere. Some have called it a love story, although I feel it's a game about close friendship.

The game is rare today so Ebay is the best, and possibly only, way to find it.

My second game is the prequel to ICO, Shadow of the Colossus.



Shadow is the prequal to ICO and answers a few questions about both games. But leaves more questions the answers. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Shadow of the Colossus was released in 2005 over 4 years after ICO (2001) for the PS2. The game was made by the same team who did ICO, so there are some similarities, but other then that, this is a completely different game.

The game introduces a young man named Wander, his horse Argo, and a girl named Mono, who is dead. Where they came from, and how these things came to be isn't completely certain, but one thing is: Wander loved this girl very much, so much that he went to the edge of the world to find, him.

It is said, in these lands, it is possible to bring back the souls of those who have died. Although to complete this task, 16 Colossi that wander the land must be slain. However, a heavy penalty will happen if all 16 are defeated...

Shadow of the Colossus, like ICO, is a very unique game. There are no towns except the central castle and a few abandoned stone built cities (who made them will never be known). There are no people except Mono and your horse Argo, there are no side quests, there are some unlock ables, but they come after you defeat the game. All there is is a vast land, and 16 Colossi to fight. And yes, that's it. There are no sub enemies, just the Colossi. But these Colossi, in my opinion, are the greatest boss fights in any game. They're size is immense, the biggest in any video game to date. And to make things even more amazing, all you have is a sword, a boy with arrows, and your horse. There aren't any upgrades except your health and strength to grip onto the Colossi. How you defeat them is simple in theory. You need to grab on to them, crawl around, and find their weaker points to do..massive..damage. *dies* But the size, atmosphere, music, and most of all, story, is what makes this one of the best PS2 games, and games, I have ever played.

Ico? Crazy I've never even HEARD of that game, especially being a sequel to Shadow (which I in fact, do own). It's a pretty awsome game. Maybe I'll check into Ico if I find it in EB.

Tenshi no Ai wrote:Ico? Crazy I've never even HEARD of that game, especially being a sequel to Shadow (which I in fact, do own). It's a pretty awsome game. Maybe I'll check into Ico if I find it in EB.

I'm not surprised. The game was launched as a sleeper-hit and became a cult following online like Katamari and Ouendan.

And yes, please buy it. Yorda begs you.

Beyond Good and Evil



Despite strong reviews and a strong female protagonist, this game sold poorly.

The goal of the game is to take photographs to use as proof for various plot related reasons. It's also out of print, so you can find a used copy of it at your local gamestore for cheap.



Xenogears



Precursor to Xenosage. This is one of my favorite RPGs, as it has a fantastic plot and an amazing battle engine. The battle engine is turn based, but still gives you the feel of interactivity from real time engines.

I also love the art. The sprites are very detailed, the environments are interesting. Highly recommended.

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:

Why? Well it's the highest reviewed game of this year. Features some of the most amazing environments, story, soundtrack, and themes out of any videogame ever created. Enough said. If you own a high-end PC or a 360, this is a must buy. Forget Halo 3 or possibly even Half-Life 2: Orange Box as being this year's top shooter. Bioshock is, without a doubt, going to surpass them. (At least Halo 3, lol) Game of the Year material? Oh most definitely.

I kinda wanted to look into getting this game on PC (since I don't want to buy an Xbox 360), but I've heard some bad things about the PC version, such as a letterboxed field of view (in widescreen it actually displays less vertical and more horizontal despite the company's promise that it would perform just the same in 16:9 ratio) as well as a limited number of installations and a required internet connection. Still looks like a great game, though, and I definitely want to play it.


In MSP's terms, this game is the Bioshock of 7 years ago. Deus Ex is hands down one of the best games I've ever played in my life. Its story is brilliantly written, the soundtrack is well-scored, and you don't want to put this game down for a second until you've finished it. It's that good. (Btw, this is already Game of the Year material and has been for 7 years ;p )

everdred12a wrote:but I've heard some bad things about the PC version, such as a letterboxed field of view (in widescreen it actually displays less vertical and more horizontal despite the company's promise that it would perform just the same in 16:9 ratio) as well as a limited number of installations and a required internet connection.

Just to clear up some misinformation...

The game was originally designed, from the ground up, for wide screen displays. Unfortunately, since there are people with letterbox displays, they either had to cut off the sides (which would ruin 75% of the game) or add some vertical FOV for letterbox. They chose the latter, as they did not want anyone's experience with the game to be tainted simply because they had a letterbox formatted screen.

Sorry for the interruption. Just wanted to clear up the misconception.

everdred12a wrote:I kinda wanted to look into getting this game on PC (since I don't want to buy an Xbox 360), but I've heard some bad things about the PC version, such as a letterboxed field of view (in widescreen it actually displays less vertical and more horizontal despite the company's promise that it would perform just the same in 16:9 ratio) as well as a limited number of installations and a required internet connection. Still looks like a great game, though, and I definitely want to play it.

The main issue for me was that the PC version doesn't work unless you have a card that supports Shader 3.0. I Guess 2k is trying to make Shader 3.0 the norm or something. I think it's pretty lame. D:

Tarnish wrote:Psychonauts

The only thing I can find to complain about in this game is that it is just too short. And...that it just went out of print. It is fun on every level and is now very CHEAP.

Oh, and Richard Horvitz (Zim) plays the main character. Tell me that's not awesome.

Quoted for emphasis. Psychonauts is an extremely enjoyable game, certainly one of the best released last generation.

If you have any love for story, characters, good humor, fun (remember fun?) or charming art direction, you will love Psychonauts.

It should also be noted that you can buy this game new at the developer's website or via the Steam network.