leXX Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 I thought I'd start a thread where everyone can post some recommendations for books, films, games etc, that you think people should check out. I'll start the ball rolling with 3 things that have totally occupied my time for the last few days. 1. Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code (book) I read this book in 2 days flat. I simply could not put it down. If you are looking for a highly intelligent thriller which educates you at the same time, then read this. It involves so many things and yet is extremely easy to read and keeps you turning those pages as every chapter ends in a cliffhanger. Cryptography, religion, art, hidden meanings, anagrams, excitement and suspense are just a few of the words that can be used to describe this utterly brilliant novel. You will never look at The Last Supper the same way again. I loved this book so much, I have ordered all of his others. 2. Metroid Zero Mission (GBA) Being a Samus fan, I was looking forward to this game emensly, and I'm happy to say it didn't dissapoint. It is an updated version of the original NES Metroid. It is relatively short, taking me only 5 hours to complete the first time round, but this doesn't detract from the game at all, because the game play is wonderful. I thought I had found a lot of secrets, but found out after I completed it that I had only unlocked 49% of them, so that in itselft makes you want to play it again, so you can find all those hidden items. The original NES Metroid is unlocked upon completion, but to be quite frank, that is pretty crap, although it is a good little feature for retro fans like me. This game is what the GBA was made for. 3. Beyond Good & Evil (PC) I own the PC version of this game, although it is available on all formats. I haven't actually completed this game yet, but I'm going to sum up why I simply love it so far. You are on the planet Hyllis which is being invaded by aliens. You play Jade, a master of martial arts and an action reporter, and armed with a camera and dai-jo staff, you set out to find the truth behind the war. Now, this may sound boring, a camera and a staff? Believe me, it's wonderful. You go around taking pictures of all the animals on Hyllis to catalogue for Science, and believe it or not, this is really fun. You strive for the perfect picture, and it's very satifying getting that good shot. You have a zoom lens to help you, and this increases with a power up. Along the way you come across many enemies which you dispatch wonderfully, sometimes with the help of your uncle, a pig named Pey'j. The combat system is symple and effective. Depending on which direction your facing, you do a combination of different moves, and sometimes the action slows down into slow motion, which looks great. Jade looks smooth while fighting, and it's great fun learning all her different moves. Pey'j comes in handy and helps you by doing different things, and some of the things he says are very funny. The settings are sublime. I simply cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful your surrounding are, and how brilliantly the developers have engrossed you in this beautiful world. Every corner you turn, you are in awe, and simply just have to stand there admiring it all. The NPC's are cute beyond words, especially your little adopted children in your lighthouse home. Jade's character animation is brilliantly done, as well as everyone elses. The main jist of the game is puzzle solving, evidence gathering with your camera and finding pearls. Pearls and money are used to buy certain items that help you along your way and all the while, you are interacting in a totally realistic way with the great creatures you encounter. Add to this the absolutely great foot tapping soundtrack, and you have a refreshingly excellent game. It is like an interactive film with a top rate storyline. I highly, highly recommend you buy this, or at least download the demo and check it out for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZBomber Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Now.... how good are you at Metroid and GBA games? I'm getting it for vacation, how long do you think it will last for an average gamer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leXX Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 I'd say I'm pretty good at GBA games, but with Metroid Zero Mission, I did have the added advantage of playing Metroid Fusion first, so to me, it was pretty easy. A first time Metroider would probably take around 7-8 hours to complete it. If you want to find all the hidden items, add a good few hours on to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Hi lexxy ! I'll just write what I'm up to at the moment.... Books: *Tatooine Ghost - surprisingly good. Leia finds out about her dad when he was still little Ani.... PC : *NWN - HoTU *ST - Elite Force II(still havent finished it....) *KOTOR - Darkside campaign.... halfway through PS2 : *Baldurs Gate - Dark Alliance I & II ! Cool Hack n Slash RPG ! *FFx-2 ...I do love it but dont have much time left to play it at the moment ! GC : *Rebel Strike - Mainly MP mode *FF : Crystal Chronicles - FF fresh and spunky cubestyle ! Great MP mode if you can get your hands on a cpl of GBAs GBA : *Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ...man this game goes on and on ! *Golden Sun - Im stuck in some desert ! But great game ! *Tiger woods 2004 ! moral of the story ! Need more time ! mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Homer Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Well, let's see, I'm reading LOTR right now, but we all know what that is and how utterly amazing it is...hoping to get into the City of Heroes beta (online roleplaying game where you are a comic book style super hero), I'll report on that if/when I get in and play a bit. What else? Oh yes! Ninja Gaiden!! If you own an xbox and don't have Ninja Gaiden, why do you own the xbox?? Seriously, I have played it through 3 times already and working on a fourth. To put that in perspective, I played through Halo 3 times & KOTOR 8 times. It is can be hard, but when you go back through the second time you just can't imagine how the first level guys ever gave you trouble. Very cool and takes a while to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RpTheHotrod Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 btw lexx...there are 2 "challenges" that are pretty cool on the main website. I finished the original a few months ago...was a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leXX Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Yeah, I'm stuck on the last question. The dolphin and the anchor (but no sea) one. Maybe you can help me out? And Homer, I'll definately be buying Ninja Gaiden. Been looking forward to it for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Books: Anything by Greg Bear, David Brin, and Gregory Benford. They are hard sci-fi writers, as good as they come. Be sure the check out Earth by David Brin. The Uplift series is also excellent, including Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War. The is also a new uplift trilogy, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore, and Heaven's Reach. Games: KotOR. NWN. Both excellent. Yeah, I'm stuck on the last question. The dolphin and the anchor (but no sea) one. Maybe you can help me out? Don't bother. I figured it out a while back and it was a major letdown - it turned out it was just an ad for his book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe© Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 I look forward to nothing but getting my 9800 pro in the mail on thursday, and buying a new mother board on wensday (I hope) I'm reading the X-wing books, but you have to live under a rock on mars if you don't know how good they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Fisher Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Yeah, right now I'm in the middle of reading Survivor's Quest Its pretty good so far.. On chapter 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MennoniteHobbit Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Books: 1) The Green Mile (steven king) 2) Eyes of the Dragon (steven King) 3) Hunt for Red October (tom clancy) 4) Robert Ludlum books Games: 1) Splinter Cell 2) Rise Of Nations or Empires Dawn of the Modern World Steven King books are really good, and have a lot of action. You've probably seen the movie the Green Mile, it's a good book, Eyes of the Dragon is set in medieval times. Hunt for Red October was also made into a movie with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. All Robert Ludlum books I have heard of are really good spy books. Again, some books of his were made into movies (i.e. the Bourne Identity) And you've probably heard of all of the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZBomber Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 I got to Nightmare in Metroid Fusion, so it will probably take me like 6 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuRaSaMuNe Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 MOVIES: Equilibrium: Its a great movie and it didn't recieve the praise it should have gotten. The Last Samurai: This movie surprised me, I wasn't expecting much but it delivered well. It comes out on DVD in may I think. PC: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. MP is VERY fun and addicting.... learning curve is pretty steap though. Not something you can grab, hop online and expect to beat everyone in right away. Unreal Tournament 2004: Get it, now. That is all. KOTOR: Of course.... Morrowind: Huge game, huge map, TONS AND TONS of gameplay.... it'll last you a while and its got pretty nice graphics and weather effects (sandstorms, rain etc) as well. NWN, NWN:SoU, NWN:HotU: Another great MP game, HotU's sp is also very good. I wasn't a very big fan of SoU's and the original NWN's sp though, too many FedEX missions. PS2: GTA Series: Great fun. ANY FF Game: They are just awesome, really.... Devil May Cry: Fun game, pretty challenging on the harder difficulties. It's also pretty fun when you... unlock the Legendary Dark Knight mode and kick ass as Sparda. Time Splitters 2: This is a fun 4 player shooter. It has loads of unlockable characters, lots of game modes, nice maps, lots of music, lots of customization in multiplayer matches, it has player stats, you can play as a monkey, you can add a bunch of bots to play with you as well and the assault mode/virus mode are very fun. Graphics are kinda cartooney but I don't mind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 I love books! By Timothy Zhan -The Icarus Hunt -The Conquerors Trilogy -Thrawn Trilogy Orson Scott Card -Enders Game -Enders Shadow Michael Crichton -Timeline -Jurrasic Park -Prey Those are some of my favorite books of all time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Windu Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Books count of monte cristo Watership Down Night-Eli Weisel Cold Sassy Tree The Hiding Place Animal Farm Movies The count of monte cristo Blade 2 Hellboy Pearl Harbor We Were Soldiers A Few Good Men The Lion King The Emperor's new Groove Finding Nemo(you have to see this movie) Pirates of the Caribbean Games Kingdom Hearts(a must) Final Fantasy whatever Super Smash Brothers Star Fox 64 The Sims Starcraft and Starcraft Brood War ESPN NBA Basketball NBA Street one and 2 NFL Street That should keep you busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Books: Mary Shelly's Frankenstien. A bit long winded, but a good book. Games: Violent ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcd1234 Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by ET Warrior I love books! By Timothy Zhan -The Icarus Hunt -The Conquerors Trilogy -Thrawn Trilogy Orson Scott Card -Enders Game -Enders Shadow Michael Crichton -Timeline -Jurrasic Park -Prey Those are some of my favorite books of all time! Crichton is AWESOME. I think he might be my favorite author and I woud suggest everyone read his books. I have wanted to read Card but never have gotten to it, maybe over the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narfblat Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by MuRaSaMuNe Morrowind: Huge game, huge map, TONS AND TONS of gameplay.... it'll last you a while and its got pretty nice graphics and weather effects (sandstorms, rain etc) as well. I am addicted too. The "Tribunal" expansion makes the game even better. It puts items in better order and has an addition to the journal that makes it easier to know what you need to do. It removes an error that allows you to repeatedly get a reward for getting vengeance for a Telvanni's death though.(Note: This error will only work before you join a house.) Warning: Don't get Morrowind if you want to have a social life or if you have school or work obligations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiE23 Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 PC: Morrowind and UT 2003 (Yah, I still don't have UT2004) XBOX: Metal Arms (Just finished getting all of the secret chips), Burnout 2 (Beat 30 Burnout chain! Proof Pic ), and SSX Tricky Book: Star Wars (Bought it used for $3.00) and MechWarrior Dark Age: Ghost War Movie: School of Rock DVD and Star Wars movie (Watch it again damn it!) TiE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabretooth Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Games (My only passion other than LF): UT2004 (The Ultimate Battleground for anyone who likes FPS) Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire (Diffrent from other games. Definetly the best Pkmn game) Super Mario World 2/3/4 (THE BEST MARIO GAMES) Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (U like SW, you'll love JK:JA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Originally posted by ET Warrior I love books! By Timothy Zhan -The Icarus Hunt -The Conquerors Trilogy -Thrawn Trilogy Orson Scott Card -Enders Game -Enders Shadow Michael Crichton -Timeline -Jurrasic Park -Prey Those are some of my favorite books of all time! I liked Zahn's The Icarus Hunt quite well, also his Triplet and Spinneret. His SW books are excellent too: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future, and most recently, Survivor's Quest. Orson Scott Card is also a great author. I bought the entire first quartet (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. His later book Ender's Shadow I liked quite a lot also. I don't like many of Chrichton's books, but the Jurrasic Park series was OK, and I especially liked The Andromedra Strain. That one was pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pnut_Man Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Books: The Legends of Dune Trilogy -Butlerian Jihad http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765340771/qid=1082605444/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-0986331-8074445?v=glance&s=books&n= -The Machine Crusade http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/076530158X/qid=1082605444/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl14/002-0986331-8074445?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 -Battle of Corrin (TBR in September) If you have any interest in reading one helluva sci-fi series (and need a break from Star Wars) this is the series for you! Written by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, so it's got a spice (no pun intended) of Star Wars picked into its core. Insanely realistic outlook on the fate of the human race and the errors of unleashing AI upon the universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Originally posted by leXX 1. Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code (book) I read this book in 2 days flat. I simply could not put it down. If you are looking for a highly intelligent thriller which educates you at the same time, then read this. It involves so many things and yet is extremely easy to read and keeps you turning those pages as every chapter ends in a cliffhanger. Cryptography, religion, art, hidden meanings, anagrams, excitement and suspense are just a few of the words that can be used to describe this utterly brilliant novel. You will never look at The Last Supper the same way again. I loved this book so much, I have ordered all of his others. I'd really recommend that book too- it's one of the few that really made me want to read through it, it's easily better than any Harry Potter book. By the way LeXX, did ya pick up the sequel(or prequel, forgot which, still has Robert Langdon) Angels and Demons? My mom just bought the book, and I'm itching to read it too. Mary Magdalene! Mary Magdalene! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leXX Posted April 22, 2004 Author Share Posted April 22, 2004 Yes, I've bought Angels & Demons and Deception Point, and I'll be buying Digital Fortress as soon as it's released over here. I'm in the middle of Deception Point atm, and so far it's as good, if not better than The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown is fast turning into my favourite author. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Dravis Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Insanely realistic outlook on the fate of the human race and the errors of unleashing AI upon the universe.Well, actually it was about foolish people that, in trying to obtain power, gave the machines far more control than would have normally been the case. They learned from their mistake. But yeah, those were pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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