Consoles

[endre1952]

Of the currently supported consoles, I now own the following:

Playstation 2
Playstation 3
Playstation Portable
XBOX 360
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo DS

These are just the ones that are still being sold and supported. I do own working 16-bit and 8-bit vintage consoles as well, and play them often.

To save money, all of these were bought used, but all of them are working fine. The Blu-Ray lens of the PS3 required a cleaning, and the front screen cover of the PSP has been replaced once. No other issues.

Any game recommendations for the above-listed platforms? I'd appreciate them!

[MusicallyInspired]

For the PS3 the God of War games and Heavy Rain are top picks. Especially Heavy Rain, being an adventure fan. For the XBox 360......I really can't think of any. The Orange Box is ace which has 5 games (including Portal) and the Xbox port is tons better than PS3 port. The two Left 4 Dead games are also on there. I haven't seen any other retail 360 games I'm interested in. Maybe Oblivion and Fallout 3. Everything else I get through the XBL Arcade store and the PSN for the PS3. Of those, you can get most of the Telltale games between the two consoles. Deathspank was just recently released (new Ron Gilbert RPG game). The two Monkey Island Special Edition remakes there as well.

As for the Wii, you can get Tales of Monkey Island and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People on Wiiware. The first two seasons of Sam & Max are available in retail. Smash Bros Brawl is a classic on the Wii. The Metroid Prime series as well. I can't think of any others off the top of my head...the upcoming Goldeneye 007 reinterpretation is coming on the Wii soon. Zelda Twilight Princess is quite a treat. Also the new Zelda Skyward Sword is coming as well.

Can't really think of any DS titles at the moment...if you can find a flash cart for it you can throw ScummVM on there. That's always fun.

[endre1952]

Thanks for the suggestings! I do have a flash cart for the DS, and my PSP has custom firmware installed, it runs ScummVM fine, even Curse of Monkey Island.

[MusicallyInspired]

Excellent!

[Alistair]

In RPG-land:

For PSP, I would recommend the SNES Star Ocean remakes, very well done. Amazingly fun.

Also if you like dungeon-style (read: Diablo) RPG's Phantasy Star Portable and Dungeon Siege are very fun and long enough.

Good music in all of those, too.

PS3/Xbox- if you don't use your PC for gaming, definitely Dragon Age: Origins. A masterpiece.



DS, definitely Dragon Quest IV, V and VI, and also now IX for that matter. Assuming you like the SQ games of course!

If you like old school RPG's and aren't too fussed with graphics, you can get Black Sigil cheap, an excellent game also. Sort of Sierra-like in some ways.

I have a ton more DS games, I'll get back to you on those.




Incidentally, GameStop is giving 20% off all DS/PSP (including used) titles with code hand20 , BTW. Saved me a bundle when I picked up some games a couple weeks ago. Assuming you're in the US or Canada!

- Alistair

[BlueMax]

What about that Thexder remake? 

[MusicallyInspired]

Oh yes! Thexder Neo is available on PSN for both PSP and PS3. I still need to buy that, incidentally. I keep dying on the demo lol. It's fairly challenging. Seems like your energy runs down faster than in the original. Though, the demo might be taking place during a much later (and more challenging) level.

[endre1952]

I've played Thexder Neo. It's cool!

[Marten]

OK, I'll bite - belatedly.  Of the platforms listed, I have 4 of these, so I'll limit my suggestions to the area where I know things.

Playstation 2
Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas, and related titles - unless you have them on PC.  These were also on the original XBox but I don't know about compatibility with XBox 360.  GTA3 is one of the first real "sandbox" games and if you can get past the violent premise of the series, it's a lot of fun.    There are some spinoffs of this series on the PSP, some or all of which have been ported back to PS2.
Okami - avoid the Nintendo Wii port of this game, buy on the PS2, and be aware that some odd humor from the Japanese made it through to the US cut of this game
Ratchet & Clank - There are three R&C platform games (the original game w/o subtitle, R&C2 "Going Commando", and R&C3 "Up Your Arsenal").  I have these, and they're all excellent. (Note that I'm listing the US titles here, the game names varied in some international territories.)  Note also there is one additional title called "Ratchet: Deadlocked" - which is not a platform game and is missing "Clank" in the title.    There are some spinoffs of this series on the PSP as well, and at least one of the PSP games has been ported back to PS2.
The original Katamari Damacy and sequel, We <Heart> Katamari, are on PS2.  Sequels are on the PSP (Me & My Katamari), XBox 360 (Beautiful Katamari), and PS3 (Katamari Forever).
Kindgom Hearts, 1, 2, and Chain of Memories.  Various other additions to the series are on the PSP (Birth by Sleep), and Nintendo DS (see below).  There are even cell phone games in the series.
The original Burnout games were on PS2, I'm actually looking for an inexpensive copy of Burnout Anthology... these are lots of fun.
There was a special edition of Space Channel 5 for the PS2, you can get it for about $15.
If you did not get Psychonauts on the PC, you might find it for the PS2.  Edit: A friend tells me that the PS2 version has some "crippling bugs" so I'm guessing maaaaybe you'd be better off with the PC version.
ICO is the game that predated the highly rated Shadow of the Colossus, both on PS2... the third and final chapter in the series is slated to be released on the PS3.
The sequels to Xenogears, the Xenosaga series (3 games), were on PS2.
Finally, the PS2 also had all three Jak & Daxter platform games.  The 2nd and 3rd were a sharp and strange departure from the first game - the series goes from bright and colorful to dark and depressing.

Playstation 3
Grand Theft Auto IV - also available on PC and XBox 360
Ratchet & Clank Future - there are two retail titles ("Tools of Destruction" and "A Crack in Time"), and one PSN chapter in the middle, "Quest for Booty".  Tools of Destruction was an alright game but didn't seem as innovative as the original series on the PS2 - but you need to play through it for the story which leads into Quest for Booty and then Crack in Time, which is awesome.
The Rock Band series and Guitar Hero 3 and later are great on the PS3, although most people get these on their XBox 360 because more people have XBox 360s.  Rock Band: Green Day just came out recently, and Rock Band 3 is coming this winter.  Rock Band: The Beatles is a trip.
The Sly Collection is coming out on PS3 in November - so if you were wondering why I didn't mention the Sly Cooper series on the PS2, now you know why.
Little Big Planet - a sandbox platform game where you can create and share your own levels.  The sequel, Little Big Planet 2 is coming out in November and is supposed to be backwards compatible with the content from LBP.
Burnout Paradise is on PS3 and XBox360 and on the PC.
3D Dot Game Heroes is a wonderful tongue-in-cheek homage to the Legend of Zelda series, and is only available on the PS3.
Uncharted and Uncharted 2 are PS3 exclusives that are awesome if you like the Tomb Raider / Indiana Jones type of adventure/story/FPS games.  Great story and visuals, not to hard to play, and good (useful) unlock-able achievements.
The Last Guardian, the last chapter of the series with ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, is supposed to come out on the PS3.
Kingdom Hearts III is rumored to eventually come out on the PS3 (est. 2012).
Katamari Forver is in some ways a port of the original Katamari Damacy 1 and 2 games to the PS3 - in addition to some new levels, if you've played the original games you'll see many of their levels re-used here (and you can play with either 'classic' mode or with Forever's new mechanics, including the ability to jump).
The original God of War games (1+2) are updated and released as God of War Collection for the PS3, and God of War 3 is out now too.  This series is exclusive to the PS2/3; there are some cell phone and PSP games in the series as well.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game is now exclusively available on PSN and is supposed to come out for XBox Live for XBox 360 after few weeks.
Fat Princess is a PS3 PSN exclusive.
Thexder Neo, recently mentioned, is on the PS3 and I think PSP as well.
Heavy Rain is exclusive on the PS3 (some have compared it to Alan Wake which is exclusive to the XBox 360).
Remember that your PS3 (as well as your PS2) can play any original PSX titles.  So that will include many of the Final Fantasy series games, as well as Chrono Cross and Xenogears.

Nintendo Wii
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy and its recently released sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Zelda: Skyward Sword is coming out probably sometime next year.
Boom Blox and its sequels are fun.
Rayman: Raving Rabbids is silly and fun as well - it's a series of mini-games so you can play in short bursts.
Nights was resurrected on the Wii - the play control is not great but if you were fond of the original Saturn game, you might pick this up
I'd probably be shot if I didn't mention Mario Kart Wii.
Flips Twisted World is supposed to be a Super Mario Galaxy-like game from Majesco, it's coming out in September.
Epic Mickey is coming out for the Wii in November.
A trippy reworking of the original Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Bros. Wii, came out earlier this year.
Donkey Kong Country Returns has been announced for the Wii.
Wii Fit Plus - combine your video games with exercise.
Remember that your Wii can also play GameCube games, such as Zelda: Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, and the classic horror game (that you have to play through 4 times to reach the final ending), Eternal Darkness.
Don't forget that you can download (for a nominal fee) many classic SNES and Nintendo 64 titles for your Wii as well.

Nintendo DS
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
Professor Layton - two games are out in this series now, and the third (P.L. and the Unwound Future) ships in the US in September.  In Japan, there is even a full length feature film with Professor Layton.  Mind bending puzzles, and a great plot.
Chrono Trigger - in case you never played it on SNES or on the original Playstation.  (To play the sequel, Chrono Cross, you'll need to buy it in the PSX format and play it on your PS2 or PS3.)
Early next year, Okamiden, the sequel to Okami, will be coming out on the DS.
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is available only on the DS, and Kingdom Hearts: ReCoded is going to be released on the DS as well.
If you like the Mario+Luigi RPGs (which began back on the SNES with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, if I recall correctly), these continue on the DS with Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
Your Nintendo DS may also (depending on model) be able to play any Game Boy Advance cartridge, which would include Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, Metroid Fusion, and the GBA port of Zelda: A Link to the Past which expands the game with some additional content.

[Marten]

Now I will double-post in order to provide advice from same friend who warned me about the Pscyhonauts bug on the PS2 version.  Here are some of the things he told me (there may be some redundancy with my suggestions):

* On the Wii, I suggest No More Heroes 1 & 2, Super Paper Mario, House Of The Dead: Overkill, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Monster Lab, RE4Wii if you don't have it on another platform, New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Punch Out.   The Wii is 100% back compatible with the GameCube, which opens up a few dozen titles like Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door,
Metroid Prime 1/2, and Eternal Darkness.
* There are few Xbox Classic games you can't play on the 360.  Anything with a custom controller is right out, so no
Karaoke Revolution or Steel Battalion.
* Odin Sphere (PS2) is awesome.  Beyond Good & Evil, though the easiest port to find (GameCube) is pretty bad, but it's the only one that got re-issued.  I'm big into JRPGs that aren't Final Fantasy, so I have things like Suikoden III/IV/V, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, and Persona 3/4.

So if my post wasn't enough, there are some more options!

[endre1952]

That's plenty of recommendations, thanks!

[jpxdude]

Marten above has broken down the best recommendations already in my opinion

Of particular note:

PS3: God of War 1 & 2 (collection), Uncharted 1 & 2, and if you into older RPG's, you can download FF7, and FF9 through PS3, and link it with your PSP so you can play it on the go!

PSP: Patapon 1 & 2, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Locoroco, and emulators for older consoles (NES, SNES, GENESIS/MEGADRIVE) work best on the PSP!

Xbox 360: Gears of War 1 & 2, GTA4, Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 1 & 2, Rockband 2, Beatles: Rockband (If you like Beatles!)

Wii: Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Zelda twilight princess, Super Paper Mario, Mario Kart, Zack and Wiki, Trauma Hospital, New Super Mario Bros., Okami.

Nintendo DS: Phoenix Wright trilogy, Mario Kart, Zelda, Rhythm Heaven, Professor Layton, and looking forward to Ghost Trick!