Having used my Playstation 2 for little more than a DVD player since I got it several years ago, I decided that since a Game Stop store opened in the neighborhood, that I join the legions of unwashed middle-school boys that clog up the place every time I walk by.
I strolled in with Michael once or twice. He grokked immediately that games were sold here, but it took some convincing that some were xBox and some were PS2 and you couldn't choose both at once. This is understandable since he's only 4.
I picked up Risk and Xenosaga. Risk is an electronic version of the board game. Xenosaga had a cool anime style chick on front and the subtitle Der Wille zur Macht. My rusty german gave me the impression that this sentence fragment meant something like "the will to do" or "the will to mightiness" or something like that. It sounded good, so I bought it. Both were used, so they didn't break the bank. In fact, the majority of the games in this store are used PS2 games, which is great - they buy them back as well as sell them.
So, Xenosaga follows the format that seems to be common on PS2. You get a long movie that introduces the plot. You play for a while in either quest/explore mode, with combat interspersed whenever you careen into a bad guy, and then more quest, treasure enjoyment, and vignettes that move the plot along.
The opening scene was quite reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The plot is wonderfully close to most manga. You just go along with it, and it makes sense. However, if I tried to explain it by using actual words, it would sound lame. But, it's not! Really. I had fun. I did the tutorial, beat up on some bad guys, and then started the game.
Problem. I don't have a memory card. I will need one, since in this game you level, and I don't want to start over any more often than I have to. So, I will be back to the closet-sized game store in the Rubio's shopping center to get a memory card for my PS2.
Any other game suggestions, send them my way. If you know of any games for little kids that don't suck too bad (4-5 years old) then let me know. Michael loves Grand Turismo and Crash Bandicoot.
2 comments:
For the kids:
Katamari Damacy. The concept sounds incredibly dumb. Roll a big ball around to pick up larer and larger items that stick to it until the ball grows to the required size. But it has an immense satisfaction not unlike that of eating all the dots on a PAc Man screen. COntrols are super simple, two analog sticks in tank like fashion. And the graphic are whimsically hilarious. Kids will love it.
If Michael is into Star Wars - check out Lego Star Wars. It's equally as fun for kids and adults, you never die and it's a great parent/kid play together game.
--*Rob
Oh and I forgot to mention a great site: http://www.gamerdad.com
It's for parents to find out and exchange info on video games, movies, TV shows and board games for kids. REally great site.
--*Rob
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