Search found 54 matches

by ashman86
February 3rd, 2021, 11:12 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Dragon Age II
Replies: 5
Views: 4398

Re: 458 - Dragon Age II

At E3 2004, BioWare revealed what was, at the time, just known as Dragon Age. They billed it as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate that would combine that game's tactical gameplay and storytelling with the exploration of Neverwinter Nights and the Xbox-era BioWare RPGs. To say I was excited is a...
by ashman86
January 7th, 2021, 9:26 pm
Forum: Videogame Music (VGM)
Topic: The videogame music thread
Replies: 1260
Views: 1577738

Re: The videogame music thread (also Sound of Play submissions)

When my friends and I would get together back in 2003, we tended to play Xbox games primarily with a healthy dose of PC and Gamecube thrown in to the mix. The PS2, however, was primarily a singleplayer machine for me. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven became an unlikely exception to that, however, when a budd...
by ashman86
August 4th, 2020, 11:07 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Halo 5: Guardians
Replies: 4
Views: 9871

Re: 435: Halo 5: Guardians

For a number of reasons, I wasn't really in a frame of mind at the time of launch to give Halo 5 a fair shake, despite rather enjoying Halo 4. I was turned off by the opening cinematic, which felt a little too Marvel Cinematic Universe to me, and I was especially irritated by the game's marketing, w...
by ashman86
July 28th, 2020, 10:14 pm
Forum: Videogame Music (VGM)
Topic: The videogame music thread
Replies: 1260
Views: 1577738

Re: The videogame music thread (also Sound of Play submissions)

UsdokY5VMNc I never actually got to play Revenant Wings, but Final Fantasy XII is my favorite game in the series, so I've recently been eying a copy of the largely forgotten direct sequel on the DS. The game features demakes of some of Final Fantasy XII's tracks, and the music, along with some of t...
by ashman86
June 25th, 2020, 5:30 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Xbox 360
Replies: 10
Views: 8220

Re: Console Special No. 8 (recording 3.7.20): Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 launched my sophomore year of college. I had a console pre-ordered at GameStop, but my friends and I (who'd all pre-ordered together) had learned that the store was only getting a handful of systems in at launch. Being young and impatient, I was frustrated that I'd have to wait who know...
by ashman86
June 2nd, 2020, 9:43 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Tetris Effect and Tetris 99
Replies: 20
Views: 19645

Re: 443: Tetris Effect / Tetris 99

I've not actually been much of a Tetris player in my 30 or so years of gaming. I never had a Game Boy as a kid, which is a platform I know that many directly associate with the game, and I didn't see the appeal of puzzle genre games as a younger player. My wife, however, is a huge Tetris fan despite...
by ashman86
May 12th, 2020, 5:43 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Return of the Obra Dinn
Replies: 9
Views: 13603

Re: 444: The Return of the Obra Dinn

Alex79uk wrote: April 4th, 2020, 12:39 am I wish I hadn't read that post :( My own fault, of course this thread is going to be full of spoilers.
I'm so sorry, Alex79UK! I just assumed spoilers were free game in these posts, but I should have tagged that.
by ashman86
April 4th, 2020, 12:03 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Return of the Obra Dinn
Replies: 9
Views: 13603

Re: 444: The Return of the Obra Dinn

I thought I had a good idea of what to expect heading into Return of the Obra Dinn. After hearing glowing reviews from friends and critics, I was fully committed and ready to dive into the game with the hilarious premise of playing an 18th century insurance adjuster. I solved the first few sailors' ...
by ashman86
February 26th, 2020, 12:22 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: The Curse of Monkey Island
Replies: 12
Views: 14782

Re: 427: The Curse of Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island is one of my earliest and most influential gaming memories. I credit it for my falling in love with both reading and video games, and it's naturally very near and dear to my heart. But it isn't my favorite game in the series. I think it might be heresy to most Monkey Isla...
by ashman86
August 8th, 2019, 6:46 pm
Forum: Videogame Music (VGM)
Topic: The videogame music thread
Replies: 1260
Views: 1577738

Re: The videogame music thread (also Sound of Play submissions)

While not actually from a video game, Saori Kobayashi's standalone album "Terra Magica" sounds like the offical soundtrack to a Panzer Dragoon game that never was. Kobayashi composed the music for Panzer Dragoons Saga and Orta as well as 2013's Crimson Dragon, Panzer Dragoon's ultimately d...
by ashman86
July 19th, 2019, 5:51 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Final Fantasy XV
Replies: 11
Views: 12397

Re: 400: Final Fantasy XV

E3 2006 felt like such a magical time. The Xbox 360 wasn't even a year old, and the PS3 and Wii just a few months away. I, like so many other Final Fantasy fans, was eager to see what this new generation of hardware would mean for the next entry in the series, and a trailer was all but assured for t...
by ashman86
July 18th, 2019, 12:05 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Replies: 21
Views: 19761

Re: 393: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid is one of my absolute most favorite series, and I rank MGS 3 as one of the most personally important games I've ever played. I have purchased entire consoles just to play the latest Metal Gear games: first the PSP for Portable Ops, which was touted as the first full-canon spinoff in...
by ashman86
July 16th, 2019, 6:04 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Final Fantasy XII
Replies: 16
Views: 11034

Re: Our next Final Fantasy podcast recording (10.8.19) - 382: Final Fantasy XII

I have purchased Final Fantasy XII four times. I literally just sat down to write this after having unwrapped a new copy of the Switch port of the game and booting it up for the first time. As excited as I was to start a new adventure in Ivalice, I was moved to write down my thoughts about why I lov...
by ashman86
May 14th, 2019, 9:01 pm
Forum: Sound of Play
Topic: Sound of Play: 192
Replies: 17
Views: 10966

Re: Sound of Play: 192

I'm getting caught up on a few episodes I missed, but I wanted to pop in here and thank InsrtCoins for another super-cool mix! Nice work!
by ashman86
May 3rd, 2019, 10:19 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Disney's Aladdin
Replies: 21
Views: 14855

Re: Our next-but-one podcast recording (11.5.19) - 369: Disney's Aladdin

Genesis player checking in here. As a kid, we rented a copy of Aladdin over one weekend, and I remember being struck by how great the game looked and just how well it--at least to my younger sensibilities and imagination--captured the look and feel of the motion picture, which was a favorite in our ...
by ashman86
April 18th, 2019, 9:23 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Final Fantasy X
Replies: 23
Views: 14533

Re: Our next Final Fantasy podcast recording (8.6.19) - 373: Final Fantasy X

Despite never having owned an SNES or PlayStation, I was a full-fledged fan of the series by the time Final Fantasy X was being prepped for launch thanks to the PC ports of FF 7 and 8. After years as a diehard Sega fan, I'd been liberated from console tribalism with the announcement that Sega was dr...
by ashman86
February 15th, 2019, 4:57 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Final Fantasy VIII
Replies: 35
Views: 24217

Re: Our next Final Fantasy podcast recording (16.2.19) - Issue 357: Final Fantasy VIII

I'll remember Final Fantasy VIII launched on September 9, 1999 in the U.S. because it was the same day the Sega Dreamcast launched. A lifetime Sega fanboy, I had my sights firmly set on their new console, and Square's latest entry was barely a blip on my radar. Well, that is, until I saw the intro c...
by ashman86
November 12th, 2018, 8:42 pm
Forum: Videogame Music (VGM)
Topic: The videogame music thread
Replies: 1260
Views: 1577738

Re: The videogame music thread (also Sound of Play submissions)

The Quest for Glory series of classic Sierra adventure games is one of my all-time favorites despite the fact that the first game launched when I was just three years old. Lori and Corey Cole, the married couple who led development on the series, combined the adventure game formula Sierra establishe...
by ashman86
August 9th, 2018, 11:14 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Final Fantasy VII
Replies: 37
Views: 27763

Re: 350: Final Fantasy VII

I felt the impact of Final Fantasy VII's existence long before I ever actually got to play it. As a kid, my dad and I would sometimes while away the time by browsing the Media Play (a now-defunct chain of retail stores here in the states) down the street. We typically didn't plan to buy anything, bu...
by ashman86
March 23rd, 2018, 8:12 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)
Replies: 15
Views: 9861

Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

I was a pre-teen when Resident Evils 1 and 2 launched and shamefully afraid of the series. I can remember a classmate in the sixth grade wearing a shirt emblazoned with the infamous face of the series' very first zombie, and when she asked if I'd played the game, I recall vainly attempting to hide m...