Slow Forum? Post your memories!

[Sport73]

Someone in another thread noted that this forum is a little 'slow' lately; people just aren't posting as often. Come to think of it, most of us aren't gaming as often either. It's as if some sort of virus is going around that is turning everyone off gaming. It's been spontaneous, and uncoordinated, but there is a peculiar echo in many posts that goes something like: "I haven't been on Xbox in weeks..."

Maybe it's just a lull in good games for the summer; maybe we're all fired up for the next generation and 'tired' of this one; or maybe,just maybe, we've all caught some sort of disease that kills the cells in the brain that lust for videogames.

In any case, I decided to start a thread for 2 reasons:

1. Confirm the suspicion that nearly everyone is on a gaming hiatus of sorts.

2. Try to revive the dead brain cells by soliciting everyone's favorite or 'epiphany' moments of online gaming.

I'll go first:

My online gaming 'epiphany' (when I realized that it would soon take a big place in my recreational life) was when I played NHL hockey online (via direct IP connections) against a couple strangers in Canada on a few consecutive nights (must have been sometime in 1998?). I 'got to know' these guys, while quietly laughing at their accents: eh. I was blown away playing against people that I knew were thousands of miles away, and even more blown away that they became 'real' people to me over a short period of time. Suddenly, it seemed like the world was a little bit smaller. Just sort of cool.

My second favorite moment of online gaming isn't a specific instance, per se, but more of a collection of memories surrounding the original Ghost Recon in Xbox Live. There were a few nights, when my (now 3 year old) daughter was an infant, and my wife was working nights as a nurse, that I fell into captivating games with guys from this board (Back before this board was this board: SR). PK, Spooky... my online hetero life-mate: RallyMonkey, and a few others. I remember tension awaiting the bullets Spooky used to regularly put into my head, and laughter. It's when the community aspect of online gaming came alive for me; when I realized that in today's world of busy lifestyles and moving around the country (as I have) the one thing that I knew I could/would take with me was XBL and DSP.

Here's hoping Xbox 360 creates new memories in a few months.

Now, dry those eyes as I know I've touched your heart, and post something FUNNY or COOL. Are you taking time off from gaming? When did it 'come alive' for you? This place is too damn quiet lately. It's like the last days of SR without the name-calling.

[matthewk]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but time-wise my gaming has stayed about the same. Ever since I've had kids I'v relegated my gaming time until after everyone's in bed, so the summer doesn't affect it much. I have watched a lot less TV and spent a lot less time online. I usually only visit DSP at work to take a quick break now and then.

My gaming has been drifting more towards games like Battlefront and X-Men Legends than sports. I still love the games I have, and maybe that's another reason why I don't post as frequently. The games I play are not new, so there's nothing to really talk about, other than adding my 2 cents when I see the MVP season thread rear it's head every once in a while.

I've been thinking the same thing about the forums being slow. I for one am making a concious(sp?) decision to stay away from the PC as much as possible when I'm at home. The Little League thread is a perfect example,of why I'm spending less time here. It's fun for a littel while to read the battles that go on, but too often I can't help but post in one and get all riled up. I'd really like to see more constructive threads here.

I know it's a slow time for games, but we could use some positive gaming threads like how to make use of ESPN NFK 2k5 for this upcoming season for those who don't want to be limited to Madden.

To end this on a positive note, I am really loving the rediscovery of my gamind collection. I've played Links, Battlefront, NFL 2k5, Moto GP2, and Splashdown within the past few weeks and realized what great games these are. I have no urge for a next gen system, which surprises me, but I'm enjoying the ride.

[Sport73]

Damn you BASTARDS!

I come here seeking a little group love and only one reply!

Where are your souls?

"What if you need a favor from me one day, then where will you be? You heartless wench?"

[dbdynsty25]

I've been lagging a bit lately on my gaming. I definitely have migrated over to the PC for the most part. I've been playing a lot of GTA SA, PES4 and GTR. If I do turn on my Xbox, it's only to test my wireless bridge I just got, lol...or to play some MVP which still is just an awesome and fresh game. 130 games into the season (simmed 10 or so)...the game still is as fresh as the day I opened the celophane. I have never played a baseabll game as much as I have this year. I picked up ESPN Baseball just in case I start to get the itch for another game...I just pop that in and play a game or two and then I'm happy as hell to go back to MVP because it's just not a good game. It does it's job though...

My online gaming experiences all started with Quake 3 about 4 years ago. That game was so freakin' awesome. I had a group of about 10 guys that I regularly played with and nothing was more fun. Every night at 11pm we'd hop online for some fragging. At 1am, it was time to shut it down. I was in college at the time so it was a nice distraction from all of the school work and whatnot. Everyone just got out all of their frustrations and stress in a common place and it was sweet.

I still have yet to match those brawls we had in terms of sheer fun, but the Xbox is definitely going in the right direction. There just hasn't been that killer app for me that makes me go back to online gaming exclusively. I can just imagine how awesome Quake 3 would have been with voices...maybe Quake 4 will revive those great memories (assuming it ever comes out).

Happy Sport?

[Spooky]

From the PSP thread:

My gaming is definitely at a lull right now (even with a brand new 55" LCD HDTV) but I ALWAYS go through highs and lows with my gaming time. This is no different from last year or the year before. I also seem to recall these types of threads over the years too so I think we tend to forget that our gaming habits go in spurts (for most of us).

To liven up my gaming lull I actually just picked up 2 Gamecube games as I have felt bad for my lonely Gamecube but cannot justify selling it or trading it in. I got DK Jungle Beat and Mario Party 6 (fun for the whole family). I have had an absolute blast playing both of those the last couple days and have not even thought about my X-Box. DK Jungle Beat is so innovative and fun as hell (even if the game is a rather short experience).

It also makes things a bit more difficult when you work a 2nd job at EBGames and stare at a shelf of shiney new games at 4 hour streches. I actually cannot tell if that hurts or spurts my gaming. Sometimes I think it makes me not want to game, then other times I think it makes me game more. There are some days I go in there and think all the games on the shelves are a complete waste of time. Then there are other days when the all look good and I end up bringing one or two home (like with these Gamecube games).

It is also nice to play games there when it is slow. I have had some of the most amazing MVP and Fight Night experiences with my co-workers at EB. Hot Shots has also be quite fun on PSP when working there.

[TheTruth]

Most of my gaming time has alos gone back to the PC after the Forza release. I have been playing CoH and BF2 demo (my copy will be delivered today) on the PC. I just recently built a new PC so that is the major reason why I have switched back to the PC.

I got hooked to online gaming when I started playing Redstorm's Rainbow Six and it expansion packs Rogue Spear, and The sum of all Fears back in '99 or 2000. I then found Half-Life and downloaded Counter Strike and got hooked on it as well. I also played PGA Championship golf 2000 online for a while. That game still has a big following I believe. I then got my bro inlaw and his buddy into PC fps games and we played the crap out of Ghost Recon even doing a tourny or two. We have stuck together playing Rainbow Six 3, Battlefield and Call of Duty. Now it's BF2's turn and then Ghost Recon 3 after that.

[Dave]

My first online gaming experiences were the original Need for Speed and Papyrus' classic IndyCar Racing II. A friend and I used the direct link dial-up, giving us a chance to race against each other.

I look at that now, with our 12-person Toca races, and realize just how bland it was to race against only one other car. Toca was the epiphany moment for me. Blasting around the track with some of you bastards is a sh*tload of fun--it really adds some personality to the racing experience.

[Zeppo]

I am in a bit of a lull, but not really. I still like to get in some communal XBL gaming most nights, and WE with the ML is my current RPG-type thing that has colonized my brain.

It's the new games that haven't been getting me interested, not so much the whole of gaming. WE is tremendous, and I keep plugging away with my ML team. I just can't play against the CPU in any other sports game for more than half a game, but somehow WE keeps me going and going and going. . . . I have gameflied a few games recently that I hardly even touched, notably Snowblind, which by all accounts is a game I should be able to get into. Whatever it was, something was lacking, and I just couldn't get past the early stages. Online gaming is more of a draw. I was pretty into Jade Empire for a while there, took a week-long break or so (was out of town), and just haven't had any desire to put that one back in the machine. WE however, has no trouble finding its way into the disc tray. God, I wish we could play that game online . . . (Jaime, that's your cue). I still have Psychonauts from gamefly, but I just don't play it. And gamefly takes sooooo long to turn games over for me, that I'm sure there are games I would try if I felt I could get them in a reasonable time.

As to online experiences, my first real online experience was Quake3. Being a Mac guy through and through, I had to wait. There was a time when Macs were by far the best game machines, and some really neat and innovative games were on the Mac. Those days are so long gone, it's hard for some to believe it was ever true, but it was. Anyway, once I finally got the Mac version of Quake3, I played it for some time, getting my butt kicked left and right, but just geeking out on the idea of being in a big virtual room with 20 or more other idiots. At the time, X-wing and then Tie-fighter had dominated my gaming. I wish they would make updated versions of those games, they were so darn good.

After having played Dreamcast 2K football and a little hoops with the dialup, I remember heading to the local Best Buy (was brand new in the City at the time) to get the PS2 network adapter the day it arrived with great anticipation. I played several online games of Madden that first day, and innumerable ones after that. I also got involved in an NCAA league run by Pacuca over at SR. Actually, I had been a long-time lurker here and at SR, but only really started making my presence known beacuse of that league. Blublub put together a tremendous web page for that league, and I had the opportunity to get my butt kicked by such legendary characters as BKrich and others with my 'no defensive tackles' Wash. U. team (great QB, though!), and to this day that league, and its follow up 'die hard' league, are among my highlights of online sports gaming.

But my absolute best online time bar none had to be one Saturday afternoon with NHL Rivals. To this day, as many will attest, I pine for true multiplayer sports gaming, and what makes it hurt so much is that Rivals, while perhaps not very good as a pure hockey video game, was brilliant in its execution of online play for a sports game. Forever (OK, since the SNES), my favorite gaming has been 2 on 2 in sports games; ANY kind of sports games, even football, but especially hockey and soccer. But once I wasn't living with a bunch of other idiots, those blissful days of multiplayer sports gaming seemed long gone.

That one afternoon, I played a few games of 3 on 3 pond hockey with some guys on my friends list I only knew from that 3 on 3 game mode. But later on I ended up playing game after game of 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 NHL style hockey with Rob81lakes and others. Game after game I say! After game! We just couldn't get enough! The teamwork, the competition, the sheer joy of making that well-anticipated cut to the net and receiving the perfect pass, or working a wordless give-and-go with a real human teammate, the feeling of getting to know my teammates just through their behavior on the ice, the ease in Rivals of sending a puck in deep along the boards, watching my teammate chase it into the corner, and myself sliding into the high slot to await the perfectly weighted one-timer setup, all those things worked together so well. I have no idea how many games we played, or how long we were on, but I'm sure it's some sort of a record.

I enjoy head-to-head gaming online in sports games. It can be a lot of fun, especially if the opponents are well matched. And it's nice to know that the result is ultiamtely up to me, that there is no teammate to make a foolish mistake, or to blame me for a bad play. But for my money, nothing compares with the experience of working with a teammate in a sports game against human opponents. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to try it online in Rivals, but it just kills me that it's not even an afterthough for today's games. The recent trend in sports game exclusivity doesn't bode well for the future, especially since it's EA in charge of the NFL license, EA who has proven they have little to no interest in pushing the envelope of online sports gaming beyond finding every nook and cranny to squeeze more money out of customers.

BTW I still have Rivals just in case. . . Would it be worth trying to get together a Rivals night sometime, for old times' sake?

[Slumberland]

I would re-purchase Rivals in a hot minute if we can get some guys to commit to playing it online some night.

[pk500]

I would re-purchase Rivals in a hot minute if we can get some guys to commit to playing it online some night.

So would I. It's $4.99 used at EB.

Plus I would think using the right stick for passing instead of hitting a button would be easier on my creaking appendages these days.

As for online gaming, I first did it with the Dreamcast. Quite fun. But online gaming didn't come alive for me until I loaded the Xbox Live Beta disk and Moto GP in October 2002. That was a true epiphany, a holy sh*t! moment.

I still have fond memories of that night. Ranks right up there with the first night I ever browsed the Web, in 1994. A real, "Wow, this is going to change the way I spend my free time" kind of moment.

There are only four instances I can think of in the last 15 years that have caused that kind of reaction:

1. First time I browsed the Web
2. First time I used Xbox Live
3. First time I downloaded MP3's
4. First time I used a DVR

Well, having three kids also has that effect, too.

Take care,
PK

[Spooky]

PK, Spooky... my online hetero life-mate: RallyMonkey, and a few others. I remember tension awaiting the bullets Spooky used to regularly put into my head, and laughter. It's when the community aspect of online gaming came alive for me; when I realized that in today's world of busy lifestyles and moving around the country (as I have) the one thing that I knew I could/would take with me was XBL and DSP.

LOL! Those were some great games Sport! GR1 for X-Box LIVE was some of the MOST fun I have ever had multiplayer gaming (probably a close 2nd to Mario Kart). The only reason I was so good at that game was that I played it almost non-stop from the day it came out and stuck exclusively to the sniper riffle. Eventually other people from here began to catch up to me in skill and as the new games and maps came out I did not dedicate nearly as much time so I eventually fell behind.

I always loved trying to make that 100% accuracy rating though...one shot, one kill. That was alwasy my goal.

[pk500]

I always loved trying to make that 100% accuracy rating though...one shot, one kill. That was alwasy my goal.

I feared you in that game, Spooky. I really did. You were lethal. It wasn't a matter of if I would be hit by you; it always was a matter of when. And that created insane suspense.

Take care,
PK

[OmflShark]

I would re-purchase Rivals in a hot minute if we can get some guys to commit to playing it online some night.

If anyone is interested. I have a brand new copy still factory sealed that I would sell for $7 shipped w/ delivery confirmation.

[Sport73]

Great point about RIVALS. While I agree that it didn't set the world on fire in terms of realism or overall gameplay, it was the most innovative online sports title yet released. I remember thinking (they'll all be like this soon: Madden, NBA etc.; we'll be able to play 5 on 5). Sadly, that still hasn't come to pass.

I'm picking up Rivals next week and will look to hop on if everyone follows through with that plan...

[Zeppo]

I'm picking up Rivals next week and will look to hop on if everyone follows through with that plan...

Looks like this thing is starting to snowball!

Tomorrow is the big NBA Game 7, and then the weekend follows. So, next week maybe I will start a thread and see if we can get 4 or 6 guys together for some Rivals action (assuming it is still supported on XBL. . . ).

Get your copies and keep your eyes open for that thread.

[marino]

I was just playing rivals last week on live.

No game yet has captured the fun like rivals pond hockey on live did.

[TheTruth]

I would be willing to repurchase Rivals as well. Pond hockey was a blast.

[WillHunting]

I recently got WE8 for PS2, great game, so I am having alot of fun with it (currently in a league as the Real Madrid at 3 star difficulty). Not much to discuss, since I am late (as usual) to the camp.

My friend is going to get me Forza so I will have something else to play. Besides that, I recently finished Digital Devil Saga and currently about 60% done in FFX-2. My gaming habits are all over the place, to be honest. I like sports games, RPGs, shoot'em ups, and the occasional FPS, and love music/rhythm games. I basically have too many games to play so I just try to finish one at a time.

[Brando70]

My first online experience was playing Counterstrike on a dial-up connection. I was predictably terrible, but played a pretty fair amount for about six months.

I actually don't play online much outside of DSP-theme nights. But the most fun I have had was the DSP-Blog NFL 2k5 league. I know some guys had bad experiences (e.g. Danimal) but every single person I played was really cool. The three that stand out the most were Bill Abner stuffing me on a crucial 4th and 1 as I was driving down the field; the undefeated Sully grinding out a tough win against my pesky Bears team; and Rob Varak and I making three attempts to play our playoff game. (Bill and I also played one hell of an Ohio-Indiana College Hoops tourney game).

However, the most amazing thing I ever saw online was teal going 1-on-7 in a Siege game of Ghost Recon 2. Our whole squad got eliminated almost immediately, save for teal and his sniper rifle. He proceeded to sneak and shoot his way to the Siege base, confusing the other team so badly that I think there were a couple of friendly kills. All of us were in the Afterlife Lobby cheering as he crawled into the enemy base to win the game.

[pk500]

However, the most amazing thing I ever saw online was teal going 1-on-7 in a Siege game of Ghost Recon 2. Our whole squad got eliminated almost immediately, save for teal and his sniper rifle. He proceeded to sneak and shoot his way to the Siege base, confusing the other team so badly that I think there were a couple of friendly kills. All of us were in the Afterlife Lobby cheering as he crawled into the enemy base to win the game.

That was EPIC. Totally forgot about that. Amazing performance.

Take care,
PK

[GROGtheNailer]

I have not played another game in months besides World of Warcraft, i need an intervention....help me....FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELP ME !!!

[Gangrel]

I hypnotize you......

every time you play WoW......


you see.....

Rosanne Barr naked.





There.

[Jayhawker]

It was all about the original Quake for me. I still think the single player gameplay for it was the best. But playing it on dial-up was incredible! Long before there were differnt modes of play, it was just gib or be gibbed. Quake basically forced me sell my SNES, and I didn't play another console gme until a picked upa Dreamcast after Sega had discontinued it. PC gaming was just better.

I split my time with Quake, and then FBPro98. Once we started getting great rosters and plays from the likes of the Kang brothers and Jim Henley, the league play was fantastic. Of course we spent hours upon hours figuring out how to avoid the dreaded out-of-sync errors. With better plays, and better ratings for the players, league games could be a blast, whether head-to-head, or profile vs. profile. ICQ was our best friend as we passed our files around. Those days were the closest thing to Xbox Live I ever had on PC gaming. The PNFL is still going strong. One of the few things I still miss now that I am using a Mac.

Edit: I almost forgot to mention the programs Virstual stadium and NetScoreboard that allowed others to view the games as it was being played in realtime or later. In the PNFL, the commish would run the logs at the end of each week on Sunday Night, while the rest of us would chat on ICQ or in a chat function withion the program as the games developed.

The logs FBPro generated produced so much info, it is a shame current games do not offer something similar. Being able to review the logs would reveal strategies teams used, so it wassimilar to scouting gametapes. It also exposed money plays. It was such a great tool, and third party guys would develop all kinds of great software that took advantage of them.

Xbox Live has really made online gaming something you need on the console. When I first started racing on PGR2, it was such a blast to hear the other racers laugh, and taunt each other. Thgen, as a group gets to know each other, guys would start passing on tips and other info. It changed the landscape of of online gaming forever.

[ddtrane]

Rivals and Live, match made in heaven.

[RobVarak]

I have not played another game in months besides World of Warcraft, i need an intervention....help me....FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELP ME !!!

Ditto. Sad. Just sad. But damn it's fun