I started a new thread so I didn't derail the XBox Live Gamertag thread. I'm looking for a new game to play, problem is, I have no idea what kind of game to even start looking for.

The last games I tried were Fire Emblem (Wii), and didn't really get in to it. I have Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and should probably give that a go, just haven't gotten around to it. On the 360, Mass Effect was the most recent game, and the first I got in to since GRAW 1 (2 I didn't like, not sure why... interface maybe?). On the PS3 I absolutely loved Uncharted. After that was Rachet and Clank. I did play some Rock Band and GH3, but I can't play those for long because of finger/wrist pain - I don't experience that with any other games (except PC).

Now, I'm in a funk. Anybody have any recommendations?

Although it's from back in 2005, "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" was some of the most fun I've had in a driving game, ever. Because of its age, you could probably pick it up used for pretty cheap. I posted a thread about the demo when it came out, and I played the full game all the way through. This was on the PC, of course, but the 360 version should be nearly identical.

For other genres, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty 4 are getting high praise, so those are probably the ones I'm going to pick up next.

Tim and Tony,

RUN to the store and get COD4!!! It has been in my 360's tray for months and is the best game I've played on the console.

Can't heap enough praise on for that game.

PLUS, on April 3rd, 4 new maps are coming...

http://www.charlieoscardelta.com/sitrep.php?uid=15&b_id=MTI0Ng==&req=view (I think you need to register to see that)

- Jon

I've actually been deliberately holding off getting COD4 because I knew it was so good that it was going to be a time-sink. I had an album to finish, and now that I've finished it, I can grab the game after the convention + release party on the weekend of April 4th.

I'm hoping that CoD4 is still pretty popular once it comes out for my gaming platform of choice. I still can't stand FPS games on consoles, so I'm waiting on the OS X release at this point.

It's a shame more console games don't allow a keyboard and mouse. I've played UT3 on a PC and PS3, and the experience is nearly identical since the PS3 version supports a USB or Bluetooth keyboard/mouse. The only difference is that the PS3 version runs at a 10% slower rate, to allow people using a controller to deal with the normally very hectic gameplay UT offers. Unfortunately that change made it impossible to do PC-PS3 play though.

Assassin's Creed was fun for a bit, but got repetitive fast.

COD4 is great. I have it for the PC, since I fundamentally suck at FPS shooters on the console as a rule. I thought getting through GRAW 1 was going to kill me.

Could you supply some general info on what you're looking for? It's good that you mentioned your impressions of recently played games, but some basic info would be good to, like systems you own and genres you gravitate to.

I gather from your post that you have all three consoles and a decent PC, correct? And you seem to like platformers and some RPG stuff.

Have you played Super Mario Galaxy? I just beat that a couple days ago (I don't get around to playing very often), and I think it's the best gameplay I've experienced in a long time. The controls seemed perfectly honed, which reminded me of how the Prince of Persia controls felt.

Other than that, I'd definitely say "START PLAYING BRAWL!" You haven't started on that yet? That game is insanely fun and has more content than you can shake a stick at. Though I admit it's best as a party game (like alot on the Wii).

Oh, and as for games that are coming out soon, I'm really excited for Okami, which despite the Wii's graphical limitations is looking gorgeous in screenshots.

But the big kahuna, the game that's going to suck ALL of my time and entertain my friends and I for hours upon end, is the new Mario Kart game (just one month and a day to go). I can't tell you how many hours I've spent on that franchise. Hell, among our 4-person group, Mario Kart 64 was responsible for three or four failed mid-term exams in college due to all-night play sessions.

The problem is I don't really have a single genre that I really like. That was kind of the reason I posted the previous games. For example, on the PC the two games I'm playing most often (right now) is EQ2 and Puzzle Quest. Before Puzzle Quest you could have thrown Frontlines in there (that got kind of old quickly, though) and TF2 until the servers all went to some goofy non-standard map rotation. I do have all three 'current' consoles and a decent PC.

I guess PS2 recommendations would work also. The only PS2 games I've played were the God of Wars. I think the reason I really (and I mean really) liked Uncharted and the God of War series were the way they mixed history/mythology into a story with great gameplay.

The Blackhawks are on tonight, but maybe I'll record that and pester my roommate until he plays a few rounds of Brawl. Oh, and I agree about Mario Kart. I liked Super better than 64, but the amount of time I put into that series would probably make people sick to their stomachs.

Tim, 6 words.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Indiana Jones and Batman coming soon too! Yes, I am a big kid!

I also still play Gears of War but only with people I know. Too many annoying wee boys on Live.

Go to the marketplace and download some demo's. Rainbow 6 Vegas has just been released. PGR4 is lots of fun.

I haven't played COD4 on any console, but I spend way too much time playing it on PC. If you have me in your steam list, you can probably see me on it most days.

Super Mario Galaxy, SSBB, Guitar Hero 3. All great games.

As long as we're talking backwards-compatibility, would you entertain Gamecube suggestions? (I suppose you can see a bias in my recommendations)

If so, I can't recommend highly enough the following two games. They sold horribly as Gamecube exclusives, which is a shame, because they're some of the best games I've ever played period:

Eternal Darkness
Beyond Good and Evil

Those games are simply brilliant. Beyond Good and Evil is one of the extremely rare games that makes you care about the characters, and the gameplay is terrific. Eternal Darkness, on the other hand, will have you freaking out. It is to only be played in a dark room. Both of these games still hold up (they're only one generation old), and I play them regularly.

Beyond that, I've heard good things about Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. The Wiimote controls apparently make what was considered a great game even better.

I don't have a console, but my nephew does. I did a bunch of research to find a game that got excellent reviews that he wouldn't have heard of. I came up with Katamari Dynasty. It's a very odd little game that's fun as hell. There's a sequel called We Love Katamari, and it looks like they have another called Beautiful Katamari.

Check them out!

That's spelled Katamari Damacy. That's the original on the PS2. The sequel on the PS2 is We Love Katamari, and the third sequel, for the Xbox 360, is Beautiful Katamari.

I actually prefer the first one out of all three of them. They are all brilliant, but yeah.

And, for the 360, you can't go wrong with Orange Box either.

Actually, I think he'd better go with the PC version:

But it's a great suggestion. The best value of any game released last year. Most people would pay the price for Portal alone.

From my perspective consoles just don't match up to PCs for playing games. They just don't have the graphics capability.

That said:

PS3 - Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band
Wii - Mario Galaxy
360 - I suppose Halo

There are a couple of good driving games for the PS3 but these days I only use it for guitar games, and on the PC I am mostly playing COD4 (I'll have to look out for you l0ser) and Portal (there is a flourishing community developing much harder levels than the originals. See thinkingwithportals.com, myaperturelabs.com and portalmaps.net)

Overlord?

Not that I have played it but it looks like a fun game!

I have. It is pretty fun. It's not as funny as they'd have you believe (Dungeon Keeper 2 was far more hilarious), but the gameplay mechanic is unique and the graphics are good.

Remembers it well - off to dig it out and install on my new PC. <slap!>

Agreed. The PC version is seeing free updates with new maps and gameplay modes for Team Fortress 2, allows more players in deathmatch, and can be modded for Portal. Also, on the PC, people can just buy Portal if they aren't interested in the other games in the pack.

The Gamecube was the only console I had from the previous generation. I liked Beyond Good and Evil more than Eternal Darkness, but they are both just pure brilliance.

Super Mario Galaxy looked like it could be fun, but something about the motion of the camera makes me sick to my stomach while playing. That in itself is weird, I haven't felt motion sick from playing a game since the original Doom (and I figured out how to fend that off).

Please share! I have a terrible problem with this, but it takes far longer in third person games than first person. I'm able to play Mario Galaxy for a 2-3 hours before I feel bad, but I'm only able to play Half-Life 2 for five minutes before I have to lie flat on my back for half an hour.

I was at a LAN party once and there was a guy playing Quake in a tiny little 2 inch window on his screen. He said that was his way of keeping the motion sickness at bay. He kicked ass, too. And his frame rate was amazing. :-)

I made more of an effort of unfocusing on the game and focusing on the wall behind my monitor every chance I could get. I also tried moving back to get more 'static' images in my point of view.

I think the problem with Super Mario Galaxy is that now I'm playing it on a fairly large TV that tends to dominate the point of view. It wasn't just me that got sick from it, some friends were over before heading out one night and a few of them tried Galaxy. Three of the four people couldn't get past the part where you are on an asteroid that is fairly small with boulders rolling across it that you avoid without feeling ill.

I haven't had that problem with any other game in a really long time. Not even Portal on that TV (my roommate has it for the 360, I have it on the PC). I would say it was because of the way the camera/screen/world constantly flips and rotates or whatever, but Portal wasn't a problem. We have full 20' diameter dome simulators here, with a 180deg in azimuth and 100deg in elevation field of view (non-motion based) and haven't had any problems in there, either. It bums me out, because Galaxy looked like it was going to be an incredible game.

The only one that made me truly sick was a copy of Descent 3D that I bought with the lpt port 3d glasses. FAAR too realistic motion, and in all 3 directions. The thing I liked about that game is the mazes were so hard to learn. everything looks totally different depending on what angle you entered a room at.

Tim - I tend to find that watching other people play Super Mario Galaxy could make me feel a bit nauseous, but then I have the similar problem in a car or plane if I'm not controlling it. But I can play (or drive or fly) with stupid motion and never feel bad. Must be different brain wiring