Warning:
--------
So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
warned.

Intro:
------
Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
it completely different ;-)

Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
interests you! ;-)

2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.

The Games:
----------
* Half Life 2
Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
by itself. IMHO.

* Doom 3
This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
keep it from being as good as it could have been.

* Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.

* Viet Cong: Purple Rain
Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
it was this compilation where the game really started
to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.

* Onimusha 3
A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
opinion on console titles.

* The Suffering
I always thought of this game as something released
on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
are enough to carry it once the scares become
predictable. One of my favorites.

* Katamari Damacy
Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
one until years later... and then regretted how long it
took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.

* Battlefield Vietnam
BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
blasting 'Fortunate Son'!

* Farcry
Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
and a great technology demo.

* Red Dead Revolver
Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
its own, it's not that great to play these days except
to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.

* Thief Deadly Shadows
Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
went third-person and that it was designed for console
rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.

* Full Spectrum Warrior
FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
another favorite from that era.

* Myst Uru
"Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
frustratingly uninteresting as ever.

* Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
are overly large without much to see or do in them.
Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.

* Call of Duty United Offensive
My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
"Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
franchise were let-downs.

* WH40K Dawn of War
The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
"Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.

* Star Wars Battlefront
Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
was to come.

On 18/03/2024 02:23, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

> The Games:
> ----------
> * Half Life 2
> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
> by itself. IMHO.
>

I really liked it and every few years I tend to have a HL:2 + episodes
marathon. Was it as good as HL:1, no but then again FPS'es had moved on
quite a bit since then. Something that I think both it and HL:1 do
really well is each level has a different feel to it so it's almost like
you're playing a new game every hour or so. Is it scripted, hell yeh and
even more so than HL:1. Personally though I can't say it bothered me.

>
> * Farcry
> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
> and a great technology demo.
>

It was probably the first open-world game I played and I love it to
bits. Excellent visuals and level design. The mutants I didn't mind but
even so I kinda struggled with the last couple of hours. Shame the
franchise turned to shite after that!

> * Call of Duty United Offensive
> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
> franchise were let-downs.
>

I enjoyed both this and the original. Basically take MoH and do
everything better. The MP was rather fun as well before everything seem
to go down the must be competitive route. Cod:2 I liked but it already
felt that it was leaning more into a more cinematic style. CoD:MW I
thought was ok but it was the last of the franchise i played. I did
think about getting CoD:WWII but it honestly feels like the are still
taking the pee with the price after all these years.

> * Total War: Rome
> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
> really do too much new, but its solid production values
> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>
Unfortunately for me the cracks in the battles (the reason I liked the
game) had already become apparent in that it appears to be a tactical
wargame but scratch the surface and you realise there very little depth
to it, almost rock-paper-scissors, and often the best strategy is just
to get all your units and rush forward. My favourite of the series
though, the expansion TW:Viking Invasion probably because the campaign
map is pretty small and the focus is more on the battles.

> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>

I very much enjoyed it but yes, fairly buggy. Wasn't it someone on this
group who was a key to the fan made patch?

On 3/18/2024 3:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>
> Warning:
> --------
> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
> warned.
>
>
>
> Intro:
> ------
> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
> it completely different ;-)
>
> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
> interests you! ;-)
>
>
> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>
>
> The Games:
> ----------
> * Half Life 2
> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
> by itself. IMHO.
>
>
> * Doom 3
> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
> keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>
>
>
> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
> A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
> much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
> but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
> simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
> its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
> the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
> cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
> the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
> Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>
>
> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
> Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
> shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
> compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
> it was this compilation where the game really started
> to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
> I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
> it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
> day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
> to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
> the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>
>
> * Onimusha 3
> A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
> that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
> controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
> Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
> from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
> fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
> at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
> opinion on console titles.
>
>
> * The Suffering
> I always thought of this game as something released
> on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
> I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
> stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
> played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
> of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
> are enough to carry it once the scares become
> predictable. One of my favorites.
>
>
> * Katamari Damacy
> Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
> one until years later... and then regretted how long it
> took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
> simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>
>
> * Battlefield Vietnam
> BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
> favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
> I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
> captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
> it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
> rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
> There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
> blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>
>
> * Farcry
> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
> and a great technology demo.
>
>
> * Red Dead Revolver
> Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
> successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
> its own, it's not that great to play these days except
> to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>
>
> * Thief Deadly Shadows
> Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
> Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
> open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
> and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
> its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
> went third-person and that it was designed for console
> rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>
>
> * Full Spectrum Warrior
> FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
> like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
> of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
> to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
> figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
> to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
> of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
> another favorite from that era.
>
>
> * Myst Uru
> "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
> I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
> re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
> game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
> playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
> day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
> melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
> frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>
>
> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
> A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
> it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
> interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
> surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
> are overly large without much to see or do in them.
> Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
> the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>
>
> * Call of Duty United Offensive
> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
> franchise were let-downs.
>
>
> * WH40K Dawn of War
> The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
> there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
> "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
> was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
> fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
> with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
> game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>
>
> * Star Wars Battlefront
> Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
> but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
> Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
> than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
> Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
> bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
> original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
> was to come.
>
>
> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
> Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
> wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
> Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
> had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
> it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
> until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>
>
> * Total War: Rome
> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
> really do too much new, but its solid production values
> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>
>
> * Bards Tale
> I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
> was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
> felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
> its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
> foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
> those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
> stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
> own game?!?
>
>
> * Kill Zone
> Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
> until much later. That's probably for the best, because
> had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
> undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
> "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
> the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
> "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
> the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
> to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
> on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>
>
> * Halo 2
> Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
> "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
> arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
> but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
> story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
> Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>
>
> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>
>
> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>
>
> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
> "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
> so much cringe about this game, not least is the
> scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
> recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
> of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
> excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
> in the franchise.
>
>
> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
> always welcome.
>
>
> * Tribes: Vengeance
> a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
> campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
> but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
> the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
> more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
> not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
> more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
> be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
> killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
> a more polished sequel.
>
>
> * Unreal Tournament 2004
> Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
> Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
> will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
> and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
> solid game.
>
>
> * Second Sight
> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
> titles of 2004.
>
>
> * X-Men Legends
> Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
> bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
> It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
> too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
> but still a lot of fun.
>
>
> * Evil Genius
> James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
> that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
> secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
> Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
> was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
> the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
> being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
> could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>
>
> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
> RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
> of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
> be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
> world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
> nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
> horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
> flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>
>
>
> Also, some less-memorable games:
> --------------------------------
> These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
> none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
> to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
> to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
> to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
> feelings about most of these ;-)
>
> * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
> * Hitman 3 Contracts
> * Ace Combat 5
> * Jak 3
> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
> * Ground Control 2
> * Gran Turismo 4
> * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
> * Need for Speed: Underground 2
> * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
> * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
> * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
> * Syberia 2
>
>
> Final Words (and call to action)
> --------------------------------
> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>
> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>
> C'mon, discuss!
>
>

On 3/18/2024 1:10 PM, kyonshi wrote:
> On 3/18/2024 3:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>
>>
>> Warning:
>> --------
>> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
>> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
>> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
>> warned.
>>
>>
>>
>> Intro:
>> ------
>> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
>> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
>> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
>> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
>> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
>> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
>> it completely different ;-)
>>
>> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
>> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
>> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
>> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
>> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
>> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
>> interests you! ;-)
>>
>>
>> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
>> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>>
>>
>> The Games:
>> ----------
>> * Half Life 2
>>      Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
>>      and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
>>      concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
>>      seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
>>      lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
>>      gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
>>      of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
>>      Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
>>      by itself. IMHO.
>>
>>
>> * Doom 3
>>      This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
>>      although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
>>      have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
>>      games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
>>      even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
>>      notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
>>      keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>>
>>
>>
>> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
>>      A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
>>      much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
>>      but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
>>      simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
>>      its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
>>      the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
>>      cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
>>      the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
>>      Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>>
>>
>> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
>>      Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
>>      shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
>>      compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
>>      it was this compilation where the game really started
>>      to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
>>      I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
>>      it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
>>      day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
>>      to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
>>      the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>>
>>
>> * Onimusha 3
>>      A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
>>      that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
>>      controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
>>      Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
>>      from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
>>      fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
>>      at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
>>      opinion on console titles.
>>
>>
>> * The Suffering
>>      I always thought of this game as something released
>>      on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
>>      I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
>>      stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
>>      played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
>>      of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
>>      are enough to carry it once the scares become
>>      predictable. One of my favorites.
>>
>>
>> * Katamari Damacy
>>      Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
>>      one until years later... and then regretted how long it
>>      took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
>>      simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>>
>>
>> * Battlefield Vietnam
>>      BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
>>      favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
>>      I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
>>      captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
>>      it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
>>      rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
>>      There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
>>      blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>>
>>
>> * Farcry
>>      Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
>>      came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
>>      Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
>>      introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
>>      first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
>>      and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
>>      and a great technology demo.
>>
>>
>> * Red Dead Revolver
>>      Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
>>      successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
>>      its own, it's not that great to play these days except
>>      to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>>
>>
>> * Thief Deadly Shadows
>>      Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
>>      Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
>>      open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
>>      and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
>>      its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
>>      went third-person and that it was designed for console
>>      rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>>
>>
>> * Full Spectrum Warrior
>>      FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
>>      like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
>>      of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
>>      to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
>>      figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
>>      to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
>>      of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
>>      another favorite from that era.
>>
>>
>> * Myst Uru
>>      "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
>>      I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
>>      re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
>>      game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
>>      playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
>>      day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
>>      melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
>>      frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>>
>>
>> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
>>      A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
>>      it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
>>      interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
>>      surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
>>      are overly large without much to see or do in them.
>>      Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
>>      the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>>
>>
>> * Call of Duty United Offensive
>>      My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
>>      Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
>>      "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
>>      series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
>>      Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
>>      franchise were let-downs.
>>
>>
>> * WH40K Dawn of War
>>      The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
>>      there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
>>      "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
>>      was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
>>      fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
>>      with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
>>      game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars Battlefront
>>      Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
>>      but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
>>      Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
>>      than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
>>      Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
>>      bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
>>      original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
>>      was to come.
>>
>>
>> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
>>      Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
>>      wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
>>      Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
>>      had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
>>      it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
>>      until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>>
>>
>> * Total War: Rome
>>      The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
>>      really do too much new, but its solid production values
>>      and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
>>      combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
>>      (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
>>      Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>>
>>
>> * Bards Tale
>>      I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
>>      was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
>>      felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
>>      its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
>>      foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
>>      those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
>>      stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
>>      own game?!?
>>
>>
>> * Kill Zone
>>      Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
>>      until much later. That's probably for the best, because
>>      had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
>>      undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
>>      "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
>>      the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
>>      "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
>>      the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
>>      to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
>>      on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>>
>>
>> * Halo 2
>>      Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
>>      "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
>>      arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
>>      but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
>>      story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
>>      Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>>
>>
>> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
>>      A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
>>      space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
>>      but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
>>      the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
>>      gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
>>      spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
>>      loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
>>      bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>>
>>
>> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
>>      I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
>>      I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
>>      day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
>>      than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
>>      and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
>>      respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
>>      the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
>>      to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>>
>>
>> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
>>      "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
>>      so much cringe about this game, not least is the
>>      scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
>>      recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
>>      of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
>>      excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
>>      in the franchise.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
>>      Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
>>      overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
>>      schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
>>      but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
>>      clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
>>      made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
>>      always welcome.
>>
>>
>> * Tribes: Vengeance
>>      a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
>>      campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
>>      but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
>>      the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
>>      more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
>>      not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
>>      more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
>>      be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
>>      killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
>>      a more polished sequel.
>>
>>
>> * Unreal Tournament 2004
>>      Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
>>      Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
>>      will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
>>      and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
>>      solid game.
>>
>>
>> * Second Sight
>>      Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
>>      from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
>>      interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
>>      powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
>>      it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
>>      titles of 2004.
>>
>>
>> * X-Men Legends
>>      Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
>>      bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
>>      It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
>>      too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
>>      but still a  lot of fun.
>>
>>
>> * Evil Genius
>>      James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
>>      that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
>>      secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
>>      Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
>>      was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
>>      the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
>>      being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
>>      could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>>
>>
>> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
>>      RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
>>      of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
>>      be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
>>      world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
>>      nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
>>      horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
>>      flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, some less-memorable games:
>> --------------------------------
>>      These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
>>      none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
>>      to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
>>      to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
>>      to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
>>      feelings about most of these ;-)
>>
>>          * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
>>          * Hitman 3 Contracts
>>          * Ace Combat 5
>>          * Jak 3
>>          * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
>>          * Ground Control 2
>>          * Gran Turismo 4
>>          * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
>>          * Need for Speed: Underground 2
>>     * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
>>          * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
>>          * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
>>          * Syberia 2
>>
>>
>> Final Words (and call to action)
>> --------------------------------
>> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>>
>> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
>> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
>> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>>
>> C'mon, discuss!
>>
>>
>
> 2004 was one of my lost gaming years. I was busy finishing school and
> starting university, and I really didn't play as much as I did before
> (even less 2005 when I switched my computer to Linux and was now limited
> to open source games...).
> I have played a few afterwards, but outside of KOTOR2 nothing stuck in
> my mind too much.

On Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:23:59 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
>remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
>games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>
>C'mon, discuss!

I did not play or care about any of the games in your post. What I
think this means is that by 2004, I was already sticking to mostly
older titles.

On 3/17/2024 7:23 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>

> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>

Sadly almost nothing stands out here. Either I didn't play the games,
or I did and they didn't grab me. There's at least one though.

>
> The Games:
> ----------
> * Half Life 2

/agree - while HL was awesome, and I hated the bit where you could fall
off to your death, HL2 felt very underwhelming. I didn't care for the
other characters, and the levels felt far flatter, and I don't remember
much about it other than the gravity gun was interesting, and kind of
led the way toward Portal.

> * Doom 3

FPSs were never really my favorite, there's some standouts like the
original Doom, Redneck Rampage and Half Life and Counterstrike, but I
never got into Quake or anything else other than those mentioned.

> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2

I liked this better than the PC BG. Or maybe that was the original?
Good game, very 'console' and 'Diablo' but fun none-the-less.

> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
> * Onimusha 3
> * The Suffering
> * Katamari Damacy
> * Battlefield Vietnam
> * Thief Deadly Shadows
> * Full Spectrum Warrior
> * Myst Uru
> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
> * Call of Duty United Offensive
> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
> * Total War: Rome
> * Kill Zone
> * Halo 2
> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
> * Tribes: Vengeance
> * Unreal Tournament 2004

Never played and weren't on my radar, and don't look to be anything I'm
interested in.

> * Farcry

I really should try this one. The Farcry series has a better record
with me than AC, of which I've only completed Black Flag. Primal and
Blood Dragon were both great and I did complete them (though it took a
2nd attempt at BD months or even years after I tried it initially.) Was
it 3 or 4 that I found boring though?

> * Red Dead Revolver

Better than 2 IMHO, while I didn't complete it, I did get much further.

> * WH40K Dawn of War

I think this might actually be my favorite RTS. The units are so varied
and there are so many of them, and the backgrounds of them were great.
Sure TA & WC were great, but you only have 2 factions and the stories
and backgrounds with them were pretty average. SC had a good story and
at least 3 factions, which is the only contender I can think of.

I feel like I need to replay this at some point and get all the DLCs and
see if the sequel(s) are any good.

> * Star Wars Battlefront
Never played it at the time, but B2 was pretty fun not long ago.

> * Bards Tale
I liked this one better than DA, or really even the original on PC.
Much more character. I loved the trapfinder :) I wouldn't mind a sequel.

> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Amazing CRPG *IF* you have Werner's patch. Up there with other
legendary ones like SWKotOR. Too buggy and actually impossible to
complete if a certain bug takes effect without patches. Like many games,
it peters out by the end, feeling unfinished.

> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
Didn't get very far, while the original is legendary, what little I saw
felt like a game from 20 years before.

> * Second Sight
> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
> titles of 2004.

At least this one sounds like something I might like. I've got too much
to play still though so I just added it to my wishlist on steam. It's
on sale for $2.50 right now.

> * X-Men Legends

I missed this one, sounds like fun, too bad it's console only. If I do
go back to PS+ sub I'll try to remember this one.

> * Evil Genius

Dungeon Keeper for Bond villains. Unlike DK which I love, this one just
didn't grab me.

> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena

I'd always heard this and the first Riddick game were great. I loved
Pitch Black and always wanted to give them a a try (3rd movie was good,
2nd movie was tollerable.) Neither are available on Steam/Gog though, so
I assume they're console exclusives. Another to try to remember if I go
back to PS+. Really they're too old for me to bother just for those two
though.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 18/03/2024 14:57, Justisaur wrote:
>> * Farcry
>
> I really should try this one.  The Farcry series has a better record
> with me than AC, of which I've only completed Black Flag.  Primal and
> Blood Dragon were both great and I did complete them (though it took a
> 2nd attempt at BD months or even years after I tried it initially.) Was
> it 3 or 4 that I found boring though?

The only thing that FC:1 shares with the rest of the franchise is the
name. It's very much a different game, still worth trying though.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 02:23 this Monday (GMT):
>
>
> Warning:
> --------
> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
> warned.
>
>
>
> Intro:
> ------
> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
> it completely different ;-)
>
> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
> interests you! ;-)
>
>
> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>
>
> The Games:
> ----------
> * Half Life 2
> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
> by itself. IMHO.
>
>
> * Doom 3
> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
> keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>
>
>
> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
> A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
> much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
> but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
> simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
> its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
> the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
> cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
> the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
> Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>
>
> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
> Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
> shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
> compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
> it was this compilation where the game really started
> to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
> I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
> it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
> day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
> to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
> the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>
>
> * Onimusha 3
> A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
> that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
> controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
> Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
> from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
> fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
> at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
> opinion on console titles.
>
>
> * The Suffering
> I always thought of this game as something released
> on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
> I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
> stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
> played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
> of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
> are enough to carry it once the scares become
> predictable. One of my favorites.
>
>
> * Katamari Damacy
> Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
> one until years later... and then regretted how long it
> took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
> simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>
>
> * Battlefield Vietnam
> BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
> favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
> I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
> captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
> it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
> rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
> There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
> blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>
>
> * Farcry
> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
> and a great technology demo.
>
>
> * Red Dead Revolver
> Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
> successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
> its own, it's not that great to play these days except
> to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>
>
> * Thief Deadly Shadows
> Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
> Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
> open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
> and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
> its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
> went third-person and that it was designed for console
> rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>
>
> * Full Spectrum Warrior
> FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
> like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
> of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
> to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
> figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
> to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
> of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
> another favorite from that era.
>
>
> * Myst Uru
> "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
> I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
> re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
> game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
> playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
> day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
> melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
> frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>
>
> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
> A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
> it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
> interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
> surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
> are overly large without much to see or do in them.
> Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
> the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>
>
> * Call of Duty United Offensive
> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
> franchise were let-downs.
>
>
> * WH40K Dawn of War
> The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
> there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
> "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
> was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
> fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
> with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
> game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>
>
> * Star Wars Battlefront
> Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
> but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
> Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
> than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
> Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
> bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
> original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
> was to come.
>
>
> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
> Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
> wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
> Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
> had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
> it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
> until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>
>
> * Total War: Rome
> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
> really do too much new, but its solid production values
> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>
>
> * Bards Tale
> I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
> was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
> felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
> its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
> foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
> those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
> stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
> own game?!?
>
>
> * Kill Zone
> Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
> until much later. That's probably for the best, because
> had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
> undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
> "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
> the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
> "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
> the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
> to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
> on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>
>
> * Halo 2
> Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
> "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
> arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
> but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
> story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
> Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>
>
> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>
>
> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>
>
> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
> "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
> so much cringe about this game, not least is the
> scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
> recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
> of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
> excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
> in the franchise.
>
>
> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
> always welcome.
>
>
> * Tribes: Vengeance
> a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
> campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
> but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
> the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
> more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
> not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
> more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
> be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
> killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
> a more polished sequel.
>
>
> * Unreal Tournament 2004
> Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
> Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
> will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
> and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
> solid game.
>
>
> * Second Sight
> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
> titles of 2004.
>
>
> * X-Men Legends
> Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
> bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
> It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
> too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
> but still a lot of fun.
>
>
> * Evil Genius
> James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
> that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
> secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
> Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
> was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
> the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
> being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
> could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>
>
> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
> RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
> of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
> be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
> world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
> nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
> horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
> flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>
>
>
> Also, some less-memorable games:
> --------------------------------
> These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
> none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
> to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
> to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
> to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
> feelings about most of these ;-)
>
> * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
> * Hitman 3 Contracts
> * Ace Combat 5
> * Jak 3
> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
> * Ground Control 2
> * Gran Turismo 4
> * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
> * Need for Speed: Underground 2
> * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
> * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
> * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
> * Syberia 2
>
>
> Final Words (and call to action)
> --------------------------------
> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>
> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>
> C'mon, discuss!

Mike S <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote at 12:46 this Monday (GMT):
> On Sun, 17 Mar 2024 22:23:59 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
>>remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
>>games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>>
>>C'mon, discuss!
>
> I did not play or care about any of the games in your post. What I
> think this means is that by 2004, I was already sticking to mostly
> older titles.

Same, but I think I was just too young to remember it.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:57:35 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:
>On 3/17/2024 7:23 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>> * Farcry
>
>I really should try this one. The Farcry series has a better record
>with me than AC, of which I've only completed Black Flag. Primal and
>Blood Dragon were both great and I did complete them (though it took a
>2nd attempt at BD months or even years after I tried it initially.) Was
>it 3 or 4 that I found boring though?

The original FarCry is very different from its sequels. For one, it
wasn't an open-world game. It had very large maps, and to some degree
you could pick your path through the level, but it was still a very
linear experience. You couldn't revisit maps, the maps had a fixed
start and end, and usually were gated throughout. Farcry plays quite
differently from even "FarCry 2", much less the later iterations.

The obvious comparison for the original "Farcry" is "Crysis", not the
later Farcry games.

> > * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena

>I'd always heard this and the first Riddick game were great. I loved
>Pitch Black and always wanted to give them a a try (3rd movie was good,
>2nd movie was tollerable.) Neither are available on Steam/Gog though, so
>I assume they're console exclusives. Another to try to remember if I go
>back to PS+. Really they're too old for me to bother just for those two
>though.

The original "Chronicles of Riddick" was far, far better than it had
any reason to be, especially given its source material. I'm not quite
sure I'd classify it as great - its controls are a bit clunky, and it
gets a bit repetitive at times - and, while it's still playable, the
game feels old. Not so much in its visuals (which are chunky but
passable), but the other mechanics: the AI, the physics, etc.

I'm less sanguine about "Dark Athena". It was much more
action-oriented (especially the second half of the game), which is an
odd fit for stealthy anti-hero Riddick. Riddick works best when you're
flitting from shadow to shadow, shiving guards and shooting out the
lights. Too often in Dark Athena, you're forced into brightly lit
areas, running-n-gunning between conveniently placed cover as if you
were a Gears of War player. This, coupled with its slow controls, made
for a poorer experience than the original. (Also, its story just
wasn't very interesting, not having any real stakes to it).

Is it worth playing? For a fan of the Riddick franchise, almost
definitely. But otherwise I'm not sure it'll do anything that you
can't experience in other, more modern games that have the polish this
2004 classics lacks.

Both Riddick games came to PC, and - in fact - used to be offered by
GOG (and maybe Steam too). Unfortunately, licensing issues forced them
to delist the games. "Dark Athena" included the entirity of the first
game as well as the expansion, so if you're looking for a copy to buy,
that's the one to get (copies can be found on both Amazon and EBay, as
well as, I'm sure, more nefarious sites).

On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:30:12 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 02:23 this Monday (GMT):
>I've only played a few of those on the list (HL2, maybe Halo 2) but I
>did really like what I have played of HL2 (i never beat it on steam).
>I'm sure some of my favorite GBA/DS/GC era games were released in
>2004, but I don't feel like going through all of those right now.

Here, let's see if I can help!

I'm not big into the Nintendo scene (as you can probably guess from my
original list), but here's a selection of some of the more notable
titles released in 2004.

Nintendo Portable games (GBA/DS)
Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance; Crash Bandicoot Purple,
Final Fantasy I & II, Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones;
Grand theft Auto Advance; Legend of Zelda: Minish Cup;
Mario Golf Advance Tour, Mega Man Zero 3, Metroid: Zero
Mission; Pokeman Dash; Sonic Advance 3, Star Wars
Trilogy; Supar Mario 64 DS, Warrior War: Touched

Nintendo GameCube
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life; Legend of Zelda: Four
Swords; Mario Party 6; Mario Power Tennis; Metroid Prime
2 Echoes; Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door; Pikmin 2;
Tales of Symphonia; Viewtiful Joe 2

Now that you have an idea of the games, tell us which ones you played
and enjoyed (or played and hated, or didn't even play ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Warning:
> --------
> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
> warned.
>
>
>
> Intro:
> ------
> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
> it completely different ;-)
>
> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
> interests you! ;-)
>
>
> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>
>
> The Games:
> ----------
> * Half Life 2
> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
> by itself. IMHO.
>
>
> * Doom 3
> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
> keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>
>
>
> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
> A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
> much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
> but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
> simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
> its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
> the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
> cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
> the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
> Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>
>
> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
> Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
> shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
> compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
> it was this compilation where the game really started
> to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
> I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
> it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
> day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
> to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
> the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>
>
> * Onimusha 3
> A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
> that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
> controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
> Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
> from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
> fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
> at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
> opinion on console titles.
>
>
> * The Suffering
> I always thought of this game as something released
> on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
> I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
> stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
> played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
> of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
> are enough to carry it once the scares become
> predictable. One of my favorites.
>
>
> * Katamari Damacy
> Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
> one until years later... and then regretted how long it
> took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
> simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>
>
> * Battlefield Vietnam
> BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
> favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
> I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
> captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
> it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
> rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
> There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
> blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>
>
> * Farcry
> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
> and a great technology demo.
>
>
> * Red Dead Revolver
> Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
> successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
> its own, it's not that great to play these days except
> to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>
>
> * Thief Deadly Shadows
> Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
> Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
> open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
> and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
> its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
> went third-person and that it was designed for console
> rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>
>
> * Full Spectrum Warrior
> FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
> like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
> of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
> to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
> figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
> to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
> of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
> another favorite from that era.
>
>
> * Myst Uru
> "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
> I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
> re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
> game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
> playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
> day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
> melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
> frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>
>
> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
> A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
> it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
> interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
> surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
> are overly large without much to see or do in them.
> Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
> the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>
>
> * Call of Duty United Offensive
> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
> franchise were let-downs.
>
>
> * WH40K Dawn of War
> The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
> there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
> "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
> was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
> fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
> with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
> game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>
>
> * Star Wars Battlefront
> Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
> but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
> Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
> than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
> Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
> bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
> original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
> was to come.
>
>
> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
> Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
> wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
> Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
> had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
> it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
> until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>
>
> * Total War: Rome
> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
> really do too much new, but its solid production values
> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>
>
> * Bards Tale
> I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
> was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
> felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
> its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
> foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
> those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
> stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
> own game?!?
>
>
> * Kill Zone
> Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
> until much later. That's probably for the best, because
> had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
> undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
> "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
> the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
> "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
> the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
> to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
> on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>
>
> * Halo 2
> Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
> "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
> arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
> but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
> story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
> Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>
>
> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>
>
> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>
>
> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
> "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
> so much cringe about this game, not least is the
> scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
> recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
> of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
> excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
> in the franchise.
>
>
> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
> always welcome.
>
>
> * Tribes: Vengeance
> a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
> campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
> but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
> the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
> more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
> not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
> more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
> be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
> killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
> a more polished sequel.
>
>
> * Unreal Tournament 2004
> Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
> Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
> will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
> and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
> solid game.
>
>
> * Second Sight
> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
> titles of 2004.
>
>
> * X-Men Legends
> Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
> bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
> It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
> too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
> but still a lot of fun.
>
>
> * Evil Genius
> James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
> that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
> secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
> Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
> was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
> the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
> being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
> could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>
>
> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
> RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
> of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
> be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
> world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
> nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
> horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
> flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>
>
>
> Also, some less-memorable games:
> --------------------------------
> These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
> none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
> to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
> to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
> to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
> feelings about most of these ;-)
>
> * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
> * Hitman 3 Contracts
> * Ace Combat 5
> * Jak 3
> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
> * Ground Control 2
> * Gran Turismo 4
> * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
> * Need for Speed: Underground 2
> * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
> * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
> * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
> * Syberia 2
>
>
> Final Words (and call to action)
> --------------------------------
> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>
> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>
> C'mon, discuss!
>
>
All my memories goes to NFS U2.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 16:43 this Monday (GMT):
> On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:30:12 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>
>>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 02:23 this Monday (GMT):
>>I've only played a few of those on the list (HL2, maybe Halo 2) but I
>>did really like what I have played of HL2 (i never beat it on steam).
>>I'm sure some of my favorite GBA/DS/GC era games were released in
>>2004, but I don't feel like going through all of those right now.
>
> Here, let's see if I can help!
>
> I'm not big into the Nintendo scene (as you can probably guess from my
> original list), but here's a selection of some of the more notable
> titles released in 2004.
>
>
> Nintendo Portable games (GBA/DS)
> Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance; Crash Bandicoot Purple,
> Final Fantasy I & II, Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones;
> Grand theft Auto Advance; Legend of Zelda: Minish Cup;
> Mario Golf Advance Tour, Mega Man Zero 3, Metroid: Zero
> Mission; Pokeman Dash; Sonic Advance 3, Star Wars
> Trilogy; Supar Mario 64 DS, Warrior War: Touched
>
> Nintendo GameCube
> Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life; Legend of Zelda: Four
> Swords; Mario Party 6; Mario Power Tennis; Metroid Prime
> 2 Echoes; Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door; Pikmin 2;
> Tales of Symphonia; Viewtiful Joe 2
>
>
> Now that you have an idea of the games, tell us which ones you played
> and enjoyed (or played and hated, or didn't even play ;-)

oo cool!
hmm..

Definitely a lot more I've actually played here.
Minish Cap was I think my first Zelda game? I really liked that one.
Though, it could've been Four Swords Adventure DS..
I did really enjoy the Sonic Advance trilogy, tho I still haven't beaten
it..
SM64DS and WW:T I never played back in the day, but I'm actually playing
nowadays on my 3ds! They're prtty fun.

Four Swords I did play/beat on the DS.
I only really played MP4 on the GC, unfortunately.
TTYD was the BEST GAME EVER i have beaten it 3 TIMES NOW

The others i didnt play.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On 3/18/2024 1:21 PM, LucLan wrote:
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Warning:
>> --------
>> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
>> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
>> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
>> warned.
>>
>>
>>
>> Intro:
>> ------
>> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
>> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
>> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
>> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
>> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
>> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
>> it completely different ;-)
>>
>> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
>> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
>> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
>> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
>> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
>> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
>> interests you! ;-)
>>
>>
>> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
>> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>>
>>
>> The Games:
>> ----------
>> * Half Life 2
>> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
>> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
>> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
>> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
>> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
>> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
>> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
>> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
>> by itself. IMHO.
>>
>>
>> * Doom 3
>> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
>> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
>> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
>> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
>> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
>> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
>> keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>>
>>
>>
>> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
>> A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
>> much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
>> but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
>> simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
>> its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
>> the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
>> cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
>> the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
>> Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>>
>>
>> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
>> Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
>> shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
>> compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
>> it was this compilation where the game really started
>> to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
>> I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
>> it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
>> day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
>> to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
>> the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>>
>>
>> * Onimusha 3
>> A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
>> that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
>> controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
>> Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
>> from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
>> fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
>> at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
>> opinion on console titles.
>>
>>
>> * The Suffering
>> I always thought of this game as something released
>> on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
>> I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
>> stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
>> played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
>> of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
>> are enough to carry it once the scares become
>> predictable. One of my favorites.
>>
>>
>> * Katamari Damacy
>> Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
>> one until years later... and then regretted how long it
>> took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
>> simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>>
>>
>> * Battlefield Vietnam
>> BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
>> favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
>> I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
>> captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
>> it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
>> rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
>> There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
>> blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>>
>>
>> * Farcry
>> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
>> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
>> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
>> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
>> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
>> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
>> and a great technology demo.
>>
>>
>> * Red Dead Revolver
>> Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
>> successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
>> its own, it's not that great to play these days except
>> to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>>
>>
>> * Thief Deadly Shadows
>> Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
>> Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
>> open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
>> and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
>> its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
>> went third-person and that it was designed for console
>> rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>>
>>
>> * Full Spectrum Warrior
>> FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
>> like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
>> of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
>> to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
>> figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
>> to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
>> of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
>> another favorite from that era.
>>
>>
>> * Myst Uru
>> "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
>> I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
>> re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
>> game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
>> playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
>> day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
>> melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
>> frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>>
>>
>> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
>> A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
>> it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
>> interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
>> surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
>> are overly large without much to see or do in them.
>> Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
>> the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>>
>>
>> * Call of Duty United Offensive
>> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
>> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
>> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
>> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
>> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
>> franchise were let-downs.
>>
>>
>> * WH40K Dawn of War
>> The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
>> there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
>> "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
>> was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
>> fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
>> with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
>> game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars Battlefront
>> Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
>> but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
>> Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
>> than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
>> Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
>> bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
>> original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
>> was to come.
>>
>>
>> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
>> Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
>> wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
>> Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
>> had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
>> it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
>> until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>>
>>
>> * Total War: Rome
>> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
>> really do too much new, but its solid production values
>> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
>> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
>> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
>> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>>
>>
>> * Bards Tale
>> I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
>> was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
>> felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
>> its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
>> foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
>> those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
>> stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
>> own game?!?
>>
>>
>> * Kill Zone
>> Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
>> until much later. That's probably for the best, because
>> had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
>> undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
>> "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
>> the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
>> "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
>> the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
>> to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
>> on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>>
>>
>> * Halo 2
>> Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
>> "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
>> arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
>> but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
>> story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
>> Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>>
>>
>> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
>> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
>> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
>> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
>> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
>> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
>> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
>> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
>> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>>
>>
>> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
>> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
>> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
>> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
>> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
>> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
>> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
>> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
>> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>>
>>
>> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
>> "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
>> so much cringe about this game, not least is the
>> scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
>> recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
>> of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
>> excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
>> in the franchise.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
>> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
>> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
>> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
>> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
>> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
>> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
>> always welcome.
>>
>>
>> * Tribes: Vengeance
>> a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
>> campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
>> but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
>> the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
>> more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
>> not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
>> more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
>> be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
>> killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
>> a more polished sequel.
>>
>>
>> * Unreal Tournament 2004
>> Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
>> Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
>> will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
>> and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
>> solid game.
>>
>>
>> * Second Sight
>> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
>> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
>> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
>> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
>> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
>> titles of 2004.
>>
>>
>> * X-Men Legends
>> Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
>> bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
>> It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
>> too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
>> but still a lot of fun.
>>
>>
>> * Evil Genius
>> James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
>> that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
>> secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
>> Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
>> was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
>> the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
>> being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
>> could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>>
>>
>> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
>> RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
>> of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
>> be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
>> world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
>> nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
>> horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
>> flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, some less-memorable games:
>> --------------------------------
>> These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
>> none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
>> to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
>> to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
>> to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
>> feelings about most of these ;-)
>>
>> * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
>> * Hitman 3 Contracts
>> * Ace Combat 5
>> * Jak 3
>> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
>> * Ground Control 2
>> * Gran Turismo 4
>> * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
>> * Need for Speed: Underground 2
>> * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
>> * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
>> * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
>> * Syberia 2
>>
>>
>> Final Words (and call to action)
>> --------------------------------
>> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>>
>> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
>> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
>> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>>
>> C'mon, discuss!
>>
>>
> All my memories goes to NFS U2.
halo 2
killzone
the sims 2

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
>I did not play or care about any of the games in your post. What I
>think this means is that by 2004, I was already sticking to mostly
>older titles.

I played a few of them, but not in 2004. Rome: Total War was one of my
first purchases on Steam in 2009 and I got Evil Genius for cheap out of
a bargin bin around the same time. Farcry I played for the first time
a year or two ago.

--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
db //

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>Nintendo GameCube
> Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life; Legend of Zelda: Four
> Swords; Mario Party 6; Mario Power Tennis; Metroid Prime
> 2 Echoes; Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door; Pikmin 2;
> Tales of Symphonia; Viewtiful Joe 2

I can recommend both Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Tales of
Symphonia from this list. Both have Windows ports available on Steam.
Tales of Symphonia is a good entry point to the Tales of series if
you've never played, though the port's graphics appaear to be just the
GameCube graphics upresed. On the other hand, A Wonderful Life, called
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life on Steam, has remastered graphics
and looks pretty nice, but the game is a bit of outlier in the series,
with a slower pace that not everyone enjoyed.

Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door is also a good game, but no PC port,
so emulatoin would be the only way to play on PC.

--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
db //

Ross Ridge <rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca> wrote at 14:22 this Tuesday (GMT):
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>Nintendo GameCube
>> Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life; Legend of Zelda: Four
>> Swords; Mario Party 6; Mario Power Tennis; Metroid Prime
>> 2 Echoes; Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door; Pikmin 2;
>> Tales of Symphonia; Viewtiful Joe 2
>
> I can recommend both Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Tales of
> Symphonia from this list. Both have Windows ports available on Steam.
> Tales of Symphonia is a good entry point to the Tales of series if
> you've never played, though the port's graphics appaear to be just the
> GameCube graphics upresed. On the other hand, A Wonderful Life, called
> Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life on Steam, has remastered graphics
> and looks pretty nice, but the game is a bit of outlier in the series,
> with a slower pace that not everyone enjoyed.

Well, I liked Stardew Valley, so maybe I'll try Harvest Moon.

> Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door is also a good game, but no PC port,
> so emulatoin would be the only way to play on PC.

I actually did beat it on emulator the first time.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 17:21:30 -0000 (UTC), address@is.invalid (LucLan)
wrote:

>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>> * Need for Speed: Underground 2

>All my memories goes to NFS U2.

Honestly, I could have given this game its own section; I too have
fond memories playing it. Not so much for its atrocious 'too-cool'
street racer attitude or awful soundtrack... but for the awesome
pinball-racing mechanics, gorgeous neon-saturated visuals, and big
open-world; one of the first I encountered in a dedicated racing game.
While not quite as differentiated as we'd say in "NFS: Most Wanted",
the neighborhoods all had their own character which made the races
feel more varied. Upgrading the cars had real impact (even if too much
emphasis was given to cosmetics), giving the game a sense of
progression that earlier titles lacked. I preferred the 'circuit
races' but - too my surprise - found satisfaction in the other
race-types too (even drift races, which usually left me cold).

"Need for Speed: Underground 2" maintained a position on my hard-drive
many long years after it was released. It was finally only ousted by
the aforementioned "Most Wanted", which had more satisfying races...
if less stimulating aesthetics.

On Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:31:19 -0400, Joshua Allen
<josha12@googlemail.com> wrote:

>On 3/18/2024 1:21 PM, LucLan wrote:
>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>> All my memories goes to NFS U2.

>halo 2
>killzone
>the sims 2

Did "The Sims 2" come out in 2004? My god, you're right; it did! It
definitely deserves a mention.

I've never entirely warmed up to the entire Sims franchise and,
really, the only I actually /enjoyed/ playing - if even for a short
while - was "The Sims 3". Still, "The Sims 2" was notable because it
took the concepts created in the original game, gave it a good deal of
needed polish, and made it a game worth playing. It's a game I may not
like, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize it as a great game.

It was, probably, the best in the franchise... if only because EA
hadn't gone /completely/ mad with the idea of nickle-and-diming its
customers with endless expansions yet. The original "Sims 2" was a
complete game unto itself; the many expansions only added to the
experience. Starting with "The Sims 3", EA released base games that
offered /less/ than their predecesors and demanded players buy
expansions to make up the lack.

>* Doom 3
My favorite of the franchise. Treat it as a survival horror game: No
UI, hardest difficulty, original version (not BFG) and a tiny mod to enable
projectile dynamic lighting (I believe I still have this file around) and
you're good to go.

>* Viet Cong: Purple Rain
Unbelievably good. Unmatched player stance and weapon handling options,
wonderful AI, etc. I played the Defend The Hill level so many times just to
glory in it. Not sure if I still have the disc around, alas. Tried to play
the sequel but had stutter/pausing issues that I couldn't resolve and gave
up.

>* Farcry
>"Farcry" was a fun game and a great technology demo.
FC2 was more my jam, FC1 was decent.

>* Thief Deadly Shadows
>designed for console rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
console level size and controller limitations killed this and DX:IW

> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
When VinDiesel was on, he was great; his voice acting, the atmosphere and
menace in this title really stood out. I also played it through again with
Developer Commentary on, which was great. If you happened to snag the GoG
version before it was delisted, it includes the DC.

> * Syberia 2
I've said this before: All the cutscenes in the game are available from
the menu, and make a great story just by themselves watched in a row. I
enjoyed this game quite a bit for it's resolution of the search for the
mammoths

rms

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 16:08 this Tuesday (GMT):
> On Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:31:19 -0400, Joshua Allen
><josha12@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>>On 3/18/2024 1:21 PM, LucLan wrote:
>>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> All my memories goes to NFS U2.
>
>>halo 2
>>killzone
>>the sims 2
>
> Did "The Sims 2" come out in 2004? My god, you're right; it did! It
> definitely deserves a mention.
>
> I've never entirely warmed up to the entire Sims franchise and,
> really, the only I actually /enjoyed/ playing - if even for a short
> while - was "The Sims 3". Still, "The Sims 2" was notable because it
> took the concepts created in the original game, gave it a good deal of
> needed polish, and made it a game worth playing. It's a game I may not
> like, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize it as a great game.
>
> It was, probably, the best in the franchise... if only because EA
> hadn't gone /completely/ mad with the idea of nickle-and-diming its
> customers with endless expansions yet. The original "Sims 2" was a
> complete game unto itself; the many expansions only added to the
> experience. Starting with "The Sims 3", EA released base games that
> offered /less/ than their predecesors and demanded players buy
> expansions to make up the lack.

I /think/ I played SimCity 4 back in the day.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

> * Half Life 2
> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
> by itself. IMHO.

This I remember but played it late so probably not 2004. Didn't really
know what the what was and I thought it was because I never got into the
original Half Life. Kinda understood later my confusion was normal. Good
shooting, big set pieces, memorably difficult fight in the DLC with
lobbing sticky bombs with the gravity gun.

> * Doom 3
> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
> keep it from being as good as it could have been.

I mostly remember the Userfriendly strips about this, along the lines of
"did you really get a kickass GPU to run a game that mostly displays a
black screen?" Oh, and the clunky flashlight thingy.

> * Farcry
> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
> and a great technology demo.

Don't remember much. Jungle warfare. I think people were raving about
the physics, corpses and guns sliding down hills was a big thing.

> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.

I remember I played this a little, there may have been a demo? Not
sure. Didn't really get into it I think.

> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
> always welcome.

This I remember. I think I crammed something like 30 hours of game time
on this into a weekend. So it was captivating but I remember some parts
were kind of confusing along the lines of "why am I doing this here
now?" There was a sequence of controlling some unarmed flying drone and
just avoiding other armed drones since you had no guns... Somehow that
stands out in my mind as a non-connected part of the game.

And don't really remember much else. I think the fights went to munchkin
when you had "force storm" or something like that which usually took out
most of any mob attacking you. I actually remember at least the
highlights of the original KOTOR's plot but KOTOR2 is pretty much
faded. And I think I completely missed the mechanic where you could turn
some of your team members into Jedi and then found out mid game and then
had to walk some of those guys to their specific Jedi conversion trigger
spots.

> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>
> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?

I do wonder what I played in 2004. Sure I played the games mentioned
above but was it in 2004 or later, no idea.

On Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:34:52 +0200, Anssi Saari
<anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:

>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> * Half Life 2

>This I remember but played it late so probably not 2004. Didn't really
>know what the what was and I thought it was because I never got into the
>original Half Life. Kinda understood later my confusion was normal. Good
>shooting, big set pieces, memorably difficult fight in the DLC with
>lobbing sticky bombs with the gravity gun.

I don't think I played this game in 2004 either, and when I did
eventually play it, it was on a friend's PC. I did my best to avoid
Steam as much as I could in the early days. ;-)

>> * Farcry

>Don't remember much. Jungle warfare. I think people were raving about
>the physics, corpses and guns sliding down hills was a big thing.

That sounds more like "Crysis"; physics were a much bigger thing in
that game.

But "Farcry" is a hard sell for a modern gamer. So much of what it
introduced - what set it apart from other games - are run-of-the-mill
features, which makes its flaws only stand out the more. But in 2004,
"Farcry" really did seems incrediblt advanced. It wasn't so much the
size of the levels that were impressive; after all, by 2004 we'd
already seen games like "Delta Force" or "I.G.I" which boasted some
truly massive levels. But few games offered levels of that size with
such incredible amount of detail.

Even the fact that you could seamlessly drive vehicles felt novel
(even if games like "Shadow Warrior" or "Battlefield 1942" offered
similar features). But it still /felt/ new, especially with how
effortlessly Crytek made it work.

It really was a completely different era of gaming, 2004.

>> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident

>I remember I played this a little, there may have been a demo? Not
>sure. Didn't really get into it I think.

Quite honestly, outside of the interesting 'realistic' spaceships at
the game's beginning, there was very little that made "Nexus" stand
out from its competitors. It was quite obviously aping "Homeworld",
and - overall - wasn't doing that good a job at it. I loved the design
of the spaceships, but that's pretty much all I remember fondly about
the game.

(To which you might - quite fairly, I'd agree - retort, "Then why did
you put "Nexus" on this list, if it wasn't a memorable game?" Well,
because the spaceship designs made it memorable to me, even if not to
the public at large. And it's my list. Go make your own if you don't
like my selections ;-)

>> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2

>This I remember. I think I crammed something like 30 hours of game time
>on this into a weekend. So it was captivating but I remember some parts
>were kind of confusing along the lines of "why am I doing this here
>now?" There was a sequence of controlling some unarmed flying drone and
>just avoiding other armed drones since you had no guns... Somehow that
>stands out in my mind as a non-connected part of the game.

That's near the end-game, when your forced to guide Bao-Dur's Remote
to take down the 'evil' G0-T0 and to destroy the planet Malachor.
Being nothing but a tiny, nearly-featureless grey sphere, the combat
sequences were incredinly uninteresting. So was the level where,
largely comprised of grey rock formations.

Like much of KOTOR2, that sequence was underdeveloped and rushed. Even
the conclusion of the mission was disappointing; the villain (a large,
mostly featureless black orb) chats at your for a while, and then
ultimately gets defeated by somebody else.

It is absolutely a perfect exemplar of KOTOR2 in a nutshell. It is
also, unsurprisingly, one of my strongest memories of the game too.