DefJam101
Arcane
I'm not a fan of consoles at all, really. I much prefer PC games both in style and functionality. However, I think that certain consoles do have their merits, and when games are made that utilize those advantages, consoles can hold their own. So, this is a thread about console games. Either forgotten gems, ridiculously old games that run on a household microwave with -5bit graphics, or just plain fun games that can be found on consoles of any type. Try to stay away from the more obvious ones like Psychonauts or games that have good PC ports. Genre doesn't matter, and this is in no particular order:
Panzer Dragoon Series
A tough and somewhat strange rail shooter series (there is also an RPG but that's harder to find than the holy grail these days so forget it) that I always used to enjoy. The entirety of the gameplay consists of piloting a massive flying dragon through increasingly fuckisane levels while the wapanese stereotype girl riding shotgun blasts the shit out of everything with a massive handheld laser. Not very light on plot, but everything is presented in that ambiguous Half Life 1 manner that I know everyone loves so very much. Although the earlier games are restricted by primitive graphics engines, the series is rocking some seriously cool art design at points. Lots of unlockable content, difficulty modes, and branching paths give the series a large amount of replay value for a rail shooter.
G Darius
I've been told that this game is part of an entire series of games and I've repeatedly told those people to go fuck themselves. This is probably the only 'shoot-em-up' game I've ever liked and if you only play one in your entire life make damn well sure that it's this one. It's like those crazy arcade games you used to see in pizza hut where there is one tiny jet fighter on screen versus a hundred thousand flying jellyfish things that shoot homing nuclear missiles out of their tentacles. This game is just flat out better than those games for several reasons:
1. Cool and varying level design with branching paths, some of which are wildly different (I.E. you might be fighting underwater or through an abandoned city).
2. An interesting mechanic where you can capture foes in weird little energy ball things, and then use them against bigger enemies.
3. Another interesting mechanic where your primary weapon--charged using captured minor enemies, btw--is the 'opposite' of every bosses' weapon. If you fire your weapon at theirs, you can steal their energy and fire it right back at the boss. Often this is the only way to defeat bosses on harder difficulty levels.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Easily my favorite game on the XBox. You play as a little robot soldier guy on a planet populated by robots. A very funny, very tight, and very fun game. Not much else to say, buy this if you see it lying in a bargain bin.
Panzer Dragoon Series
A tough and somewhat strange rail shooter series (there is also an RPG but that's harder to find than the holy grail these days so forget it) that I always used to enjoy. The entirety of the gameplay consists of piloting a massive flying dragon through increasingly fuckisane levels while the wapanese stereotype girl riding shotgun blasts the shit out of everything with a massive handheld laser. Not very light on plot, but everything is presented in that ambiguous Half Life 1 manner that I know everyone loves so very much. Although the earlier games are restricted by primitive graphics engines, the series is rocking some seriously cool art design at points. Lots of unlockable content, difficulty modes, and branching paths give the series a large amount of replay value for a rail shooter.
G Darius
I've been told that this game is part of an entire series of games and I've repeatedly told those people to go fuck themselves. This is probably the only 'shoot-em-up' game I've ever liked and if you only play one in your entire life make damn well sure that it's this one. It's like those crazy arcade games you used to see in pizza hut where there is one tiny jet fighter on screen versus a hundred thousand flying jellyfish things that shoot homing nuclear missiles out of their tentacles. This game is just flat out better than those games for several reasons:
1. Cool and varying level design with branching paths, some of which are wildly different (I.E. you might be fighting underwater or through an abandoned city).
2. An interesting mechanic where you can capture foes in weird little energy ball things, and then use them against bigger enemies.
3. Another interesting mechanic where your primary weapon--charged using captured minor enemies, btw--is the 'opposite' of every bosses' weapon. If you fire your weapon at theirs, you can steal their energy and fire it right back at the boss. Often this is the only way to defeat bosses on harder difficulty levels.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Easily my favorite game on the XBox. You play as a little robot soldier guy on a planet populated by robots. A very funny, very tight, and very fun game. Not much else to say, buy this if you see it lying in a bargain bin.
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