Looking for game suggestions for titles I might like

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dark
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Looking for game suggestions for titles I might like

Post by dark » Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:55 am

Well, this is a fairly open ended question, but I'm about to try and narrow the focus a bit.

Even though I'm interested in getting a 3DO, I have to say that I'm not really a big fan of FMV centric games (at least, where FMV is part of the core gameplay). Rather I enjoy sprite based games (fighters, side scrollers, etc) and games with early polygon graphics or pre-rendered 3d as sprites (3d driving games, flight sims, starfox-like shooters, etc)

I guess my interests are mostly in action/arcade type games that give some instant enjoyment and are easy to play for 20 or 30 minutes at a time, rather than strategy or rpg games that involve grinding, leveling up, or trying to build something slowly from virtually nothing. This seems to take out well regarded 3DO games like Theme Park, Wing Commander, and Star Control II.

I'm also not really into doom and doom clones these days either, so that takes out another small chunk of the library. - Doom, Wolf3d, Po'ed, D&D games, etc

Not really into team sports games at all either, so that eliminates football games and the like.

It seems to me that out of the ~200 titles on the 3DO, there are actually only a moderate amount of titles that might fit into the category of games I want to play these days. And of these, maybe a smaller amount that are objectively fun to play for a non-collector. At the end of the day, I'm calling on your expert knowledge to help me think of titles to look at, and titles i may have overlooked. :)


Here are some titles that fit my metrics that I think seem worthwhile for me to check out. I've read reviews and watched youtube videos of most of them in action. A few of them I enjoyed on the PC at the time. Most of them seem to be Crystal Dynamics titles ;)

-Crash n Burn
-Flashback (never played this on any system, but I love the old Prince of Persia games and Blackthorne, and this seems to be very much like those)
-Out of this World
-Offworld Interceptor
-Road Rash
-Need for Speed
-Gex
-Total Eclipse
-Star Fighter
-SSF2T
-Samurai Shodown
-Soccer Kid
-Lemmings

(I think this list alone is enough of a reason for me to splurge on a 3DO, although looking at it, Crash n Burn might be the only true exclusive, nearly all of these titles were available on other systems of the time ;) )



Titles that could fit into my metrics, but look a little dubious from my research:

-Captain Quazar (just not really into the character and graphic style)
-Quarantine (looks difficult to play, and like it might be a doom clone masquerading as a car based game)
-Tokio Autobahn (interesting 3d graphics, but doesn't look like the cars control well)
-VR Stalker (flight sims can be neat, but this game just looks very plain in terms of the featureless ground and sky. Are there any other good flightsims besides perhaps Star Fighter?)
-Way of the Warrior (this is really a product of its time as an MK clone, but it looks like a really bad one, along the lines of Kasumi Ninja, which I used to own and found no enjoyment with)

Anonymous

Post by Anonymous » Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:35 pm

Well first off, the FMV centric games dominating the titles on the 3DO is a common misconception. Sure there are plenty of them, and many have FMV cutscenes, but really the library is much larger and you mention several great titles in your list that dont really use much if any FMV at all.

The list alone warrants a 3DO purchase from you in my opinion. Even though most of them are as you say available on other consoles, if you dont already have all or most of them on various other consoles, these are more often than not superior to other ports.

I cant really give much advice on other games you might like, but again, that list warrants a purchase by itself. Just shop right and find the cheapest bundle you can find. Keep it to a FZ-10 or FZ-1 and you'll be fine (keep in mind anything can happen to 20 odd years old cdrom hardware, that said, my fz1 and fz10 works fine where my original playstation has issues with the laser system).

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dark
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Post by dark » Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:24 pm

Thanks for the advice!

I'm planning on going for an FZ-1. In fact, I'm somewhat hoping to find a broken FZ-1 as I have some good experiences with fixing cd based consoles, it will give me an excuse to open it up and get more familiar with the hardware, and hopefully I can increase the overall number of working 3DOs out in the world. Also it seems that a lot of the time an FZ-1 is determined to be broken, it is a simple fix such as adjusting the CD tray mechanism so it slides more easily on the track, or pushing a gear back in place, or adjusting the pot.

As for the games I listed - it will definitely be nice to have a one-stop console for them. And if they are improved by the port to 3DO, such as more detailed BGs in Out of This World, so much the better in my opinion :D

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Post by 3DOKid » Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:58 pm

I agree with Grimm.

Most of the games ported from the 3DO are better on the 3DO. Total Eclipse and NFS and Road Rash. (Although i haven't played Road Rash on anything but 3DO)

Another World / Out of this World is pretty much the same game as the ST/Amiga but it was tuned for 3DOs 24bit graphics. So it plays the same, but looks better.

Offworld Interceptor is not as good as Total Eclipse. Not by a long chalk. Take it off the the list if i'm honest put Shock Wave on with the expansion disk and the sequel: Shock Wave 2.

Way of the Warrior is better than Kasumi Ninja but not by much. There is some innovation. Try and get Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. It's an import but it doesn't matter.

VR Stalker is awful. Avoid at all costs.

Captain Quazar is a marmite game. Some love it, others hate it.

Your opinions on Autobahn Tokio are valid. it's ropy.

Give Novastorm, Burning Soldier and Starblade the benefit of the doubt. They are cheap.

I read what you said at the start, but Space Hulk is worth the effort. Also, Wing Commander III is the greatest interactive movie ever made.

Snowjob? D? Strahl? Alone in the Dark? I'd put these on the list too.

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Re: Looking for game suggestions for titles I might like

Post by Trev » Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:30 pm

dark wrote:
Here are some titles that fit my metrics that I think seem worthwhile for me to check out. I've read reviews and watched youtube videos of most of them in action. A few of them I enjoyed on the PC at the time. Most of them seem to be Crystal Dynamics titles ;)

-Crash n Burn
-Flashback (never played this on any system, but I love the old Prince of Persia games and Blackthorne, and this seems to be very much like those)
-Out of this World
-Offworld Interceptor
-Road Rash
-Need for Speed
-Gex
-Total Eclipse
-Star Fighter
-SSF2T
-Samurai Shodown
-Soccer Kid
-Lemmings

(I think this list alone is enough of a reason for me to splurge on a 3DO, although looking at it, Crash n Burn might be the only true exclusive, nearly all of these titles were available on other systems of the time ;) )
Most of your choices are pretty good, if not great. Just a heads up, both Flashback & Starfighter could easily suck up more than 20-30 mins at a time. I'm a big fan of both, but the levels aren't always designed for quick play. Level 2 of Flashback for instance is quite long, and it doesn't allow for a mid level save. Still wonderful games, and you'll have a lot of fun with them.

I agree with 3DOKid, take OWI off your list. The game is really only fun if you plan on playing in 2 player modes.

If you do plan on picking Lemmings, consider the mouse accessory a must have ... the later levels play poorly with just a standard controller.

Even though most of the games had later ports as you mentioned, the 3DO version are not just better more often than not, but they also are different enough. NFS on 3DO should be considered an exclusive imo ... it has so many radical differences form the other 32-bit ports, they hardly feel like the same game.
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

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Post by Trev » Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:37 pm

Here are some other great games that you could enjoy in short bursts ...

Battle sport
Bust a move
Icebreaker
Pataank
Return fire
Starblade

I recommend all of these games highly ... each one is among my personal favorites! :)
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

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Martin III
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Re: Looking for game suggestions for titles I might like

Post by Martin III » Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:16 am

My comments on those games you've listed which I feel qualified to comment on:

Gex has its annoyances (most prominently, it uses vertical scrolling but lacks the ability to look up or down), but it's a very strong, very challenging platformer made all the more excellent by the title character's unique abilities. Be forewarned, though: You can only save your progress every two or three levels, and the levels are not short.

Total Eclipse disappointed me, I must say. The level design seems haphazard, and even ignoring the high difficulty, the game is simply too long to lack a save/password function. That said, I am the sort of gamer who is driven to beat games; if you're not, you'll probably enjoy Total Eclipse a lot more than I have.

I've never played Quarantine, but from everything I've heard, it's a cross between Crazy Taxi and Doom, leaning considerably more towards the Crazy Taxi side. The Saturn and PlayStation versions indeed seem to be worse than the 3DO version.

I second 3DOKid's recommendation of Burning Soldier. It does use FMV graphics and lots of short FMV cutscenes, but it definitely has an arcade flavor to it and is very intense. As cheap as it is, it's worth a try. I doubt you'll like Strahl or D, though. Strahl is typical of FMV-centric games (and given what you've said...), and to enjoy D you need to put in at least an hour with each playthrough, preferably longer.

I also second Trev's recommendation of Icebreaker. A simple joy with a good mix of easy and challenging levels - 150 of 'em, which can be played in any order. Definitely the best pick-up-and-play experience I've seen on the 3DO. And aside from the PC port, it's a 3DO exclusive!

Starblade is one I haven't played yet, but I hope to have a copy soon, so you should hear from me about that one.

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Post by sneth » Sun Mar 31, 2013 2:09 am

shockwave 2 is still one of my favorite to play. the missions are short, and the vehicles make it varied.

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Post by JohnnyDude » Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:39 am

Urg. Don't do Quarantine until you already have enough respect for 3do to ignore how unsettling it is.

Also, good call on Battlesport. That's a great addition.

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dark
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Post by dark » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:20 pm

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm definitely very interested in Flashback and will be picking that up for sure regardless of whether it requires hour long+ plays at a time.

Thanks also for reminding me of Icebreaker. I used to have a demo for win95 (and a pc demo of Quarantine, and the pc version of NFS) and I vaguely remember enjoying it - although don't quite remember how the game is played (hey it's been almost 20 years since I played it!). Also, I saw on these forums something about an Icebreaker 2? I'm assuming this is some kind of sequel that was shelved back in the day, but which has seen the light in recent years? Is it more of the same, to be enjoyed if I like icebreaker? Or is it more for collectors only a la my impression of Powerslide?

Battlesport looks good, but mostly as a multiplayer title. Does it hold up at all as a single player game?

Starblade looks fantastic!
If you do plan on picking Lemmings, consider the mouse accessory a must have
I was silently hoping that maybe the L and R buttons could switch between the lemming skillsets while I could keep the main cursor in the playing area. Maybe not? Also, how many levels does 3DO lemmings have anyway? I used to play the lemmings games on the pc and there seemed to be dozens, but that was also spread between a few different versions of lemmings. I was also terrible at this game as a kid so I never got so far, but I definitely have the patience and interest to check this title out again.

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Post by Trev » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:35 pm

Icebreaker 2 is very similar to the first game. If you've enjoyed first one, you'll likely enjoy part 2 (although the lack of music is a bummer)

Battlesport is fabulous in multiplayer, but it does hold up well playing solo ... very well in fact. You'll have a blast w/the variety of clever AI opponents! :)
More of my thoughts on this game can be found here ... http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1690

Not sure about Lemmings as it's been a while since I played it. I just remember thinking that the 3DO pad wasn't up to the precision that is needed beyond the initial batch of levels.
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5

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Post by Martin III » Mon Apr 01, 2013 2:43 am

According to the Wikipedia article comparing all the Lemmings ports, the 3DO version has 120 levels.

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