Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

[Icemage]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Explain this to me please. From a balance perspective sure, it's rewarding the player for actively blocking an attack as opposed to just standing there hiding behind their shield (which is kinda the point of the damn thing but anyway) but from a technical standpoint, wouldn't that actually cause more damage from the force of your thrust in addition to the enemy's attack?

Not that you need logic very much with magical shields in a fantasy game, but there's good reasons for this.

"Proper" shield usage isn't just hiding behind your shield. That's a good way to get your shield broken (and maybe your arm with it). Correct technique actually deflects the attack. If you try to absorb the energy of the attack, the shield takes a lot more punishment.

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Back on topic:

Patapon on PSP should also be relatively cheap (sub-$10), and is also a great game (as are the sequels, which also shouldn't cost that much since they retailed for $20). Patapon 2 might be tricky to find, since it's actually just a digital download only (even the "boxed copies" just contain a PSN voucher).


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Zelda's not only game to make you push back with a shield. To by knowledge Skyrim and a few other games encourage it as well. The objective is to deflect the blow and throw your enemy off-balance so you can get an opening to strike. Without a shield for that, its much more difficult to mount a reliable defense against blunt or heavy weapons. A one-handed sword is not much defense against a heavy club. There are advantages and disadvantages to any weapon, but its nice that some games give thought to a light degree of realism.

[Raydeus]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Edit > This reminds me of "The Mirror" book in Skyrim. XD

But yeah in Skyrim not only can you time your hit to deflect and stun the oponent with it's own force, but a well placed shield bash has a chance to knock the weapon from the enemy's hand (Edit 2 > With the proper perk)

Not that you need logic very much with magical shields in a fantasy game, but there's good reasons for this.

"Proper" shield usage isn't just hiding behind your shield. That's a good way to get your shield broken (and maybe your arm with it). Correct technique actually deflects the attack. If you try to absorb the energy of the attack, the shield takes a lot more punishment.

This is also why blunt weapons work better against armor and shields. Swords have a very small area of contact and are easily deflected even by the angles in the target's armor alone.

[Malacite]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

It's not so much the area of contact as the direction of the force. A mace is a much thicker, heavier item and hits with a hell of a lot more PSI. You can cover just as much if not more surface area with a slashing motion (as opposed to a thrust) with a sword, but you won't cause nearly as much trauma. Maces are also purposely weighted at the ends to deliver more impact.

Lances & Spears function on a similar principle, only all that force is directed at a single tip which is why a lot of armies (even the Samurai by the way) favored spears over swords because they deliver much more devastating blows.

And actually now that I think about it, I think IM's right - IIRC, there was an episode of Mythbusters that surprised the hell out of them where they tested two cars crashing into a wall, crashing into each other with 1 not moving and again with both moving towards each other and strangely enough, the two opposing forces of kinetic energy seemed to lower the damage done compared to the other 2 situations when all logic seemed to imply just the opposite.

I'm sure there's a complicated physics-based explanation for that, it just seems so damn bizarre.

[Armando]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

A mace is a much thicker, heavier item and hits with a hell of a lot more PSI.

PSI is a messure of pressure, not force. A blunt instrument, by definition, exerts less pressure with the same amount of force than a sharp instrument, because the blunt object has a higher contact area.

You can cover just as much if not more surface area with a slashing motion (as opposed to a thrust) with a sword

It's the surface area at the time of contact that matters. A sword will only make contact with a few millimeters of the edge at any given point in time. Like Raydeus said, though, a sword will only exert its force properly against plate if it lands perfectly perpendicular to the armor surface. Otherwise it slides off.

Lances & Spears function on a similar principle, only all that force is directed at a single tip which is why a lot of armies (even the Samurai by the way) favored spears over swords because they deliver much more devastating blows.

It's more the fact that spears are much, much easier and cheaper to both produce and use, and can be made extra long for pike formations. Having a sword doesn't help when the opposing army is hiding behind wall of 20 foot pointed sticks. Only wealthy people could afford swords, the common footman could reasonably afford a pointed stick of some sort.

The concept of deflecting instead of opposing a blow is pretty universal - it's widely used in martial arts and parrying with bladed weapons. Banging blade against blade looks nice in theater and film but its a quick way to ruin a sword's edge.

And actually now that I think about it, I think IM's right - IIRC, there was an episode of Mythbusters that surprised the hell out of them where they tested two cars crashing into a wall, crashing into each other with 1 not moving and again with both moving towards each other and strangely enough, the two opposing forces of kinetic energy seemed to lower the damage done compared to the other 2 situations when all logic seemed to imply just the opposite.

Did they collide against the wall at twice the speed that each car was moving when they collided two cars? Two cars colliding at 70 mph is more or less equivalent to a car colliding with an idle object at 140 mph.

[Gobo]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Thanks all for the suggestions. I was able to pick up both P3P and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for just over $40 (had a couple of singles from buying a red duct tape and a princess crown for a class I TA for and the instructor payed me back).

I do have Okami. Can't believe I forgot about it. Since I got what I wanted out of the thread, you can resume your talk about...whatever it was you were talking about.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I got carded buying P3P. I have full stubble and a fair bit of muscle. Seemed weird to me. (and quite amusing since the photo in my ID looks like I am 16. I'm 25)

[Raydeus]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Must be the umbrella on your head. o_O

[Gobo]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

I've had it so long, I forget I have that.

[Rostum]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

I thought looked a bit cartoony in all honesty - like a blend of TP and WW that just didn't pan out right. Zelda for one, looks hideous. At least with WW, it looked like that on purpose and everything fitted together.

It's not a mix, it's called impressionism (which Miyamoto stated was a huge fan of) and it all fitted together really nicely. I had no problem at all the look of Zelda, I thought she looked incredibly cute.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

EDIT: Oh yeah, I got carded buying P3P. I have full stubble and a fair bit of muscle. Seemed weird to me. (and quite amusing since the photo in my ID looks like I am 16. I'm 25)

You'll be stunned to find out that the game fully earns its M rating, but in the sense that the characters can be really mature at times when they're not really being teenagers. If you enjoy that one do look out for Persona 4 on PS2 as P3P actually inherited its better gameplay. Also, Radiant Historia from my earlier suggestion was made partly by the Persona 3 team as well as part of the people that made Radiata Stories.

[Malacite]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

It's not a mix, it's called impressionism (which Miyamoto stated was a huge fan of) and it all fitted together really nicely. I had no problem at all the look of Zelda, I thought she looked incredibly cute.

Sure looked like a blend of the two styles to me (and a number of review sites). And she was pretty hard to look at with that terrible haircut - she looks like Moe with hair extensions o _ o

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Sure looked like a blend of the two styles to me (and a number of review sites). And she was pretty hard to look at with that terrible haircut - she looks like Moe with hair extensions o _ o

She's not a Disney Princess, we get it, Mal.

I thought she was an huge step forward - not just for the Zelda character, but for how Nintendo has presented their female leads. Sure, Zelda has had her tomboy moments in Shiek and Tetra but nowhere has she been so fleshed out and human as she has been in Skyward Sword. And I think the character is rather pretty in a flawed, nerdy kind of way. Cute, but she has a funny nose and you want to poke it. And the flaws are interesting considering some of the revelations regarding the character within the story.

Taking her the tomboy route again wouldn't have been interesting, nor would making her spoiled and extremely self-centered as she was in Spirit Tracks (though that provided much comic relief).

[Rostum]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

Sure looked like a blend of the two styles to me (and a number of review sites).

I guess my professional opinion doesn't count for anything, but whatever; I'm pretty sure it came straight from the mouth of Nintendo itself that it was based (obviously) on impressionism. I also vaguely remember review sites stating it as such too, not that I think they know what they're talking about.

And she was pretty hard to look at with that terrible haircut - she looks like Moe with hair extensions o _ o

If you say so. I had no trouble at all with how she looked.

I thought she was an huge step forward - not just for the Zelda character, but for how Nintendo has presented their female leads.

This is a really interesting point. In the game's industry there's still the issue of how female characters are represented, and it was very interesting with how they delt with Zelda in this game. Also just in general the characterisation of Link and Zelda is by far the best in the series.

Anyways, sorry for the slight derail. I've got Legend of Zelda on my mind lately.

As for the topic, well why not try the two Star Ocean games that came out for PSP? They are really cool and I doubt they cost too much. But, I just saw you got your games. Golden Sun is a great pick, good luck!

[ShepardG]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

I meant to chime in earlier:

Ico/SoTC combo pack for the ps3, is 40$ i think.... and those games are both amazing in so many ways.

[Absentia]

Re: Got $40, need a game. Got any recommendations?

I meant to chime in earlier:

Ico/SoTC combo pack for the ps3, is 40$ i think.... and those games are both amazing in so many ways.

As good as they are, Gobo already stated his systems, and the PS3 wasn't one of them.