Game Advice Needed - PS2
Hey guys, hopefully this is the right place for this. Otherwise, fire me.
Anyway, this XMas, the wife and I got a PS2(finally, I know) and bought NASCAR Thunder 2004(way too hard with the controller) and The Simpsons Hit & Run(a complete blast, my favorite game in a long time).
My wife doesn't do well with the car driving challenges but enjoys the exploring and finding stuff as long as the camera behaves, which is most of the time with the Simpsons.
So I'd like to know if there are any PS2 games out there with the same sort of light-hearted, leisurely exploration action with a camera that behaves and (preferably) with a not-so-painful save-point system as many games seem to have - the Simpsons is on the verge of too annoying in that respect, but mostly with the driving challenges, which I tend to do to get her past the annoyance stage.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
ducki
P.S. Light-hearted, remember. No Resident Evil - her Ick Factor is pretty low and doesn't enjoy "adrenaline rush" entertainment. Thanks!
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
How about Escape from Monkey Island? Maybe the Crash Bandicoot games or Jak and Daxter.
For the kind of stuff she likes you might be better off with a Gamecube.
Yeah, chuck the PS2 and get the ''Cube.
Might wanna suggest what games he can get on the Cube then, right?
Sly Cooper on the PS2 sounds like it''s right up her alley. Platformer, cutsey and really fun.
"If I was Obama I'd have made a joke about that. Then again, if I was Obama I'd have f*cked up my own campaign long ago by making c*ck jokes." - 1Dgaf
"Poor Achmed, only three days away from retirement ... from Jihad." - Mike Nelson
Ico would be a good one, too; it''s an at-your-own-pace puzzle platformer, though at times it gets fast paced when the shadow guys show up and try to kidnap the girl.
Beyond Good and Evil is a superb adventure game, fairly light-hearted (although sometimes kinda dark), memorable characters, fun gameplay, good camera with a fairly forgiving save point system. My girlfriend digs it.
Morrolan wrote:
I though about Ico, but the camera was sometimes a hassle in that game, and the jumping puzzles near the end were pretty far from leisurely.
Wow, I thought you guys had jobs!
Great feedback already.
Re: the gamecube, that''s not really an option. There was a lot of reasoning and research that went into which console to go with. In the end, the PS2 won and we don''t have the time/money/inclination for multiple consoles. In fact, I need to take my old PS1 down to blockbuster and trade it in for some games.
AnyWAY, I''m a horrible rambler. I''ll go check out reviews for the suggestions so far. Mucus grasses.
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
Be sure and hang on to your PS1 memory cards since you will need them if you want to play PS1 games on PS2.
Also I think PS2 has some games you (by which I mean she) will like; I was just thinking the Gamecube tends to specialize in that style.
Gorack''s totally right about the dearth of chick-friendly games on the PS2 relative to the GC, but don''t underestimate the powers of Gran Turismo 3 to addict people of all ages and genders. Another thought, sports games in general are usually winners. I had a soccer-playing girlfriend who loved Winning Eleven soccer. Go with stuff she digs in real life.
Morrolan wrote:
Yeah, and I appreciate the info. It''s just that _after_ getting the PS2, we''ve learned a bit about her gameplay preferences. The only console history we had to work with were two games she really liked/loved - Tony Hawk(the first) on PS1 and some crazy old-school space RPG on the Sega Genesis - Buck Rogers something or the other. Really old-school. Thing Wizardry or Bard''s Tale, but isometric. Or Diablo/NWN, but turn-based and with a ""party"" of characters.
Anyway, the ''cube probably would have been a better choice, but until I get rich, we''ll have to stick with the PS2 and probably ""Greatest Hits"" instead of the $50 overpriced-overhyped-greatest-new-thing-of-the-week.
I think my cynicism is showing, so keep the suggestions coming. I''ll shut up and listen now.
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
If she liked Tony Hawk and exploring, then try a copy of Tony Hawk Underground. Rent it if you''re wary, but it is down to $29.99 new.
I second the nomination of Sly Cooper, and suggest the first Ratchet & Clank, too (in the Greatest Hits now). It has more action than she might like, but again try renting first. You might also give Prince of Persia a rental, which has zombies in it, but they are sand-based so they don''t have any goo. My girls like PoP because you can rewind mistakes & try again.
"Raise high the black flags, my children."
-- Gebhard von Blucher.
Now I''m sorry I even mentioned the ''cube. I don''t think it has a lock on lighthearted titles. There are plenty of games on PS2 that should meet your qualifications, they just aren''t the games I have much experience with.
I think all my recommendations should be greatest hits priced by now.
Another idea:
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy - A pretty fun multiplayer game. I''ve played two characters at once, so I would say it isn''t too intense.
We do, we''re just not doing them.
Nah, I wouldn''t want to do that, because then that would be HELPFUL.
Supermonkey ball
Mario! (Chicks dig Mario)
Zelda
Pikmin
Beyond Good & Evil
etc...
Ratchet and Clank, first or second are both good. Lighthearted, fun, occasionally pretty funny.
Sly Cooper is good as someone else mentioned. My girl also has an unhealthy obsession with Rayman 2 and 3 although the camera can be annoying sometimes in those. She also liked Jack and Daxter for a while. One of her favorite games to play against others is Super Bust a Move which really is a chick magnet in my experience. I have yet to meet a girl who doesn''t enjoy a good game of bust a move. Other than that if you want to try a change of genres you could go with a couple of square RPG''s like Final Fantasy X-2 or Kingdom Hearts. Monkey Island is another one mentioned above that is real fun if you are into adventure games and humor.
Oh and just for reference my girlfriend loves Simpsons Hit & Run. I have also been thinking about buying her that Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights.
PSN ID: Stric9
One more I thought of. My girlfriend likes to play Soul Calibur II or pretty much any fighting game for that matter. Although when we play those I just get a bunch of whinning about how I never let her win.
PSN ID: Stric9
I second on the Rayman series, girls love the style.
The man wears a bucket of KFC on his head. I wouldn't expect anything less. - Pred
How about the PS2 version of ""The Sims""? The sequel, ""The Sims: Bustin'' Out"" even has cooperative multiplayer, so you can go through the game together (Gamespot review here).
As always, ""Baldur''s Gate: Dark Alliance"" is highly recommended. It''s a fairly easy (but very fun) game (on the Normal difficulty mode, at least) that can be found in the bargain bin and will take quite a while to finish in the co-op multiplayer mode. It''s got a very forgiving savepoint system (the other player can just run back to the last save point to resurrect the fallen one).
If you''re looking for a decent platformer, you can find ""Ty the Tasmanian Tiger"" in the discount bin. It''s a cute game that''s gotten decent reviews.
The Eyetoy perhipheral/game also seems to be a hit with many female gamers.
Everything can be debated, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's debatable.
--Chuck Klosterman, Fargo Rock City
I''d like to second(or third, or fourth) Beyond Good & Evil. I just got it monday and it is FANTASTIC for sure. It''s so good I was tempted to take today off so I could play it(something I haven''t felt since KOTOR).
Baulder''s Gate is also an excellent one.. my fiance and I have been playing it off and on(mostly off as the wedding approaches) and it''s alot of fun together(plus you can move charachters from single player to multi so you can twink her, especially since items don''t seem to have level restrictions).
My wife really likes the SSX series - we played the first two to death. Haven''t picked up the third yet, as she''s on a Frogger kick. Also, Zapper (Frogger game with a cricket instead cuz they couldn''t get the license...) is pretty good, for a straight platformer.
MechaSlinky wrote:
-on L4DAnother vote for Beyond Good & Evil here. It''s really, really excellent. And it has rastafarian rhinos. How could you possibly resist?
"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all."
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. My wife''s favorite.
You can both be on screen at same time. It''s hack and slash and blast, but no gore. Very arcade like since...it''s basically the arcade game. And there are coin levels where if you collect all coins you can unlock new characters....And it''s kind of campy and funny in its own way. Also something like 8 worlds * 6 levels each, plus you can replay them.
Highly recommend it.
Thanks for all the great info, y''all.
For now, we went with Prince of Persia, partly because when I made out my list of potentials, I forgot to put it on, but she mentioned being interested.
So far, so good. I had to do the first big battle with the sand zombies and will likely do most of the fight scenes, but she''s really enjoying the quality - graphics, motion, narration, etc. The save-point system - any of them - suck. Just in general. Especially with a 17-month-old.
Also, I picked up a used copy of Tony Hawk 4. I just felt that we''d enjoy that more than the ""story-focused"" nature of Underground.
If PoP gets too hard, we may fall back on one of the easier platformers, but for now PoP is doing the trick. Gracias, and I''ll keep this list in mind for the future.
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit
Escape From Monkey Island is great. My non-game playing girlfriend loves it and wants it to be a weekend tradition where we play it. Apparently I AM Guybrush Threepwood though. Also my sister really likes the game too. I would also add ""Jak and Daxter"". I know both of these have already been said but I own a PS2 and am pretty avid about keeping it and not shelling out money for another system. Also the Grand Theft Auto games are pretty good for this sorta thing.
All this is just incase you decide to get another game duckilama.
McChuck wrote:
That''s why I liked PoP, I very rarely died because I could always rewind. I didn''t have to do any bullsh*t worrying about save points.
"If I was Obama I'd have made a joke about that. Then again, if I was Obama I'd have f*cked up my own campaign long ago by making c*ck jokes." - 1Dgaf
"Poor Achmed, only three days away from retirement ... from Jihad." - Mike Nelson
Doesn''t your wife want to play the game herself? Or is the gaming relationship you have one where you''ll help her when things get tough, building up her confidence by saying ""OK, why don''t you have a go at it now?"", so she''ll eventually refuse your help?
At the monment It sounds like games are something for you to do as a couple, rather than, for her, an individual past-time.
Being a single guy it''s hard for me to think of games like that.
Hatchet Job - intelligent and irrevent gaming discussion.
@1Dgaf - She''s good at the exploring and finding stuff and non-confrontational bits. She gets really frustrated with the ""adrenaline"" bits - big fight scenes, the race challenges in the Simpsons, etc.
She plays, when she gets frustrated/stuck, she''ll ask for advice. If that doesn''t work, she gets me to get her past the tough bit. It works out really well, because I still get to work my brain and eye-hand coord. on the hard bits, but she gets to enjoy the story and the parts of the gameplay that are actually _fun_ for her.
So yeah, generally, games she plays are games we have to spend time together. At least on the PS2. On her PC, she knows what sorts of games she likes and plays those with no help or input unless she hits some crazy ""puzzle"" the designer put in because he though was clever instead of the testers saying ""WTF? This is out of place."" As a coder/longtime gamer, I can put myself in the designer''s head and figure out what he wants you to think and move the story along. Any game that has puzzles where you have to think ""I bet the designer was thinking ''X'',"" is a poorly designed puzzle.
Anyway, she actually got through the second fightscene on her own. I''ve only had to help a couple of times. 1 fight and 1 or two jumps.
It works for us.
"And my son, too, thinks everything is a launchpad, every bug a meal, and every sunny day a reason to take all your clothes off and roll around in the grass." - rabbit