Advice on buying games for a guy who doesn't buy many games

staticrodent

I hate asking for advice right after joining a place, but when my wallet's at stake hopefully it's not seen as being so bad.

Note, the title reads a guy who doesn't buy a lot of games, I usually end up playing my old games a lot because I can't afford new ones. But I've recently found myself in an opportunity to very probably buy an Xbox 360 and maybe a small sum of games for it. However, seeing as I don't get to buy games very often I don't keep my finger on the pulse of everything new that comes out and am quite in the dark as to good games to invest in. This is complicated further by the fact I never had a standard Xbox and would like to get some games from that generation sooner or later.

I've kept up with Tycho's news posts and have gleaned some valuable bits of knowledge from it (right now I'm looking forward to a day I can play Dead Space), but I'd like as much information as I can get before putting my money down. I usually enjoy adventure games best and have a few ideas of where to start. I've heard great things about Mass Effect and loved KotOR, so I was thinking I'd probably get that and maybe Jade Empire. I also heard great things about Ninja Gaiden back when it came out and was thinking of getting that (I'm not as big of an action fan, but I did like God of War well enough). I've played some Halo with friends and it's enjoyable, but I'm unsure about the single player, so I don't know if I want to just keep doing the multi-player thing with them. Oh yeah, and GTA4 seems like a must.

As for games I know I like. I love the Metroid and Zelda series (but who doesn't). I also loved Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil 4, and if anyone remembers it Jet Force Gemini (just to show how old of games I still play regularly). If anyone can point me in the right direction, even giving me some good review sites I can check out as well it would be very much appreciated.

august

Uh... I'm gonna stay start with the best-reviewed and most popular stuff, then figure out where your tastes lie and get back to us.

august

oh and www.metacritic.com

Beck

Xbox Live Arcade has a couple real gems. Braid and Mega Man 9 are both worth picking up, and you won't pay much for either. Ninja Gaiden you might like, but keep in mind it's a bit hard at times.

I would recommend looking into Fallout 3, it's out in a couple weeks and should be great. A Gory and (hopefully) funny RPG. Gears of War is another game you should look into though, the sequel will be here in a few months if you want to wait for that. For right now, Viva Piñata 2 might be something you'll really enjoy, my understanding is a demo's coming (though it may already be out). Check out the Bioshock demo, too.

1up.com is probably my favorite place to check out game reviews if you're into that.

Erios

Mass Effect and Dead Space might be a bit too much future-in-dire-need for one man, but they both seem to line up well with your tastes. Dead Space seems to be a bit like the older metroids, in that it really exposes you to a sense of isolation in a hostile environment.

Olivaw

Mass Effect rules

The PC version rules a bit more than the 360 version, but it still rules and you should play it

Shadowfire

If you consider GTA4 a must buy, and just like the whole "sandbox-guns-and-cars-and-being-an-asshole" genre, Crackdown is great, and will stretch your budget a bit more than GTA4.

If you like Ninja Gaiden, but are worried about difficulty, Devil May Cry 4 was excellent, and not as ass-raping difficult as NG. Good stuff.

You want a good FPS, but you aren't sure about Halo's single-player? Call of Duty 4 will give you amazing amounts of gameplay. The single-player campaign is awesome, and the multi-player is really engaging. You might also consider Rainbow Six: Vegas, which can be had pretty cheap now, and for a straight up single player game, I just picked up Dark Sector for $20, and it's a blast.

Other than that, I'd like to throw Overlord out there for your consideration. It's kind of an action-RPG game, with moral choices like Fable. Except you choose to be "I save your people and steal your gold" evil, or "I burn your crops and slaughter your livestock while murdering your neighbors" evil. Also includes a wicked sense of humor.

staticrodent

Thanks for the advice everyone. I suppose my tastes are a bit more wide ranging than I'd thought, but thinking about it I guess I tend to like getting the best in a variety of genres (not much for sports or racing games though). I'll certainly check out the site's people have listed and get more in depth reviews on anything you guys mention. Keep the suggestions coming as long as you dare, and thanks again

Fatty McBeardo

If you don't play games that often why corner yourself into buying a few titles when you can rent a dozen titles and catch up on what you've missed, find out what your tastes are, etc?

staticrodent

Fatty McBeardo wrote: »

If you don't play games that often why corner yourself into buying a few titles when you can rent a dozen titles and catch up on what you've missed, find out what your tastes are, etc?

I play games as often as I can get away with, but with my unpredictable schedule I don't know when I'd be able to get my money's worth from renting games. And when I play a game I want to finish it. Playing a game without being able to finish it seems to me like having sex and leaving before you bust a nut. Likewise rushing through a game just to finish it can be given a likewise analogy. I'd do the Gamefly thing, but my income in even less predictable than my schedule right now.