Your MUST-BUYS of the month

[lendelin]

I make updated monthly must-buy lists since the NES times in order to keep oversight of the good games so I won't misss any of them.

I know what I like, and I like what I know; as soon as I get my game mags and read the reviews of recently released or soon-to-be released games, I write the gems down.

If you're buying new released games or wait until they drop in price (like me), what are your must-buys of the month?

[SoulBlazer]

Well, I allready got two (Spider Man 2 and NCAA Football 2005) and I'll get another one (ESPN Football 2K5) next week.

Next month is Madden 2005 and Gradius V -- I THINK that is when that finally comes out. :roll:

[lendelin]

After reading the reviews in the recent GamePro and GI, here they are:

1. Pikmin 2 (GC); not much justification here. Great gameplay value, interesting concept harking back to Lemmings with refined gameplay and new twists, and a reminder of a more 'innocent' phase of gaming in which simple strategy, a good overview, and artificial little creatures delivered just plain fun.

2. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2). Another sequel of a great RPG. From the looks and description of gameplay, the game for me. I just love traditional RPGs with a pretty simple story, bright colors, and great battle systems. Dark futuristic overly complex RPGs? Nothing for me.

3. Spider-Man 2 (XBOX version). I loved the webslinging of the first one which opened interesting and innovative gameplay elements, and the sequel seems to deliver the same; moreover, the bigger areas to explore (geez, GTA is really one of the most influencing games of our time) seem to enhance the mission based structure. GI wrote that the XBox version is a tad better graphics-wise and plays more fluid...I trust the guys. :)

That's it for me this month. Tales of Symphonia was my #1 last month.

[junglehunter]

I don't know how Star Ocean: TtEoT can be considered a Must Buy of the Month when it isn't even out yet. :o :hmm:

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Tales and sudeki for me. :) Thats only this month though i got a ton of crap already pre-order.

[ECWSandmanECW]

This month it was NCAA Football 2005. Next month is Madden 2005.

[Crush Crawfish]

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who keeps updated lists of what games are coming out.

This month:
Tales of Symphonia-GCN
Sudeki- Xbox
Bujingai- PS2

Next Month:
Growlanser Generatons- PS2
Metal Slug Advance-GBA
Astro Boy: Omega Factor- GBA
Pikmin 2- GCN

September:
Star Ocean : Till the End of Time- PS2
Phantom Brave- PS2
Mega Man Anniversary Collection- GBA
Pokemon Fire Red & Leaf Green- GBA
Fable- Xbox
Gradius V- PS2
Sly 2: Band of Thieves- PS2
Mega Man X Command Mission- GCN
Blood Will Tell- PS2
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne- PS2
Bubble Bobble (?????)- GBA
SNK Vs. Capcom Chaos- Xbox

Ouch. I wish i could buy all that right away, but I'd be eating ramen for the rest of my life.

[Richter]

about time BB: Old and New is getting a US release

[Half Japanese]

I'm really wanting to try out Spiderman 2, but I can't bring myself to pay full price for it (its been months since I paid full price for a game). Hopefully my Blockbuster will get a copy in soon that I can do the trade-2-get-one-for-9.99 shuffle.

I would definitely agree about getting Xbox version though. 480p + in-game dolby digital makes that one the one to get for me!

[lendelin]

I don't know how Star Ocean: TtEoT can be considered a Must Buy of the Month when it isn't even out yet. :o :hmm:

Sorry about the confusion. I took as a measurement tab reviews in mags, not the actual release date of the games. I think Pikmin 2 and Star Ocean will be released in August, even late August if I remember correctly. Since I don't buy games right away and wait 6 to 12 months when they drop in price, the actual release date isn't so important for me anyway. :)

I thought it's a good idea to have such a thread. It's interesting what goes into the decision to buy games; individual preferences are a given, but more so players perspectives, collectors perspectives, bad review grades but nevertheless some fresh game ideas for games which have some flaws in execution.

This way we are in less danger to overlook some gems, I like to listen to guys with long-standing game experiences when it comes to buying games.

Just rant, reason, list, laugh or cry and speculate about gameplay value and about upcoming collector values when it comes to your picks of the months.

BTW, I also put PSI-OPS on my 'maybe-list' meaning I get them when they are really cheap.; the wide array of PSI powers is intriguing which means that there is more than one way to get through the same stages over and over, and that equals repetive gameplay with a hunch of variety like in Mega Man 2;

plus (and don't crucify me for that) I also put MALICE on the lsit for it's delayed and XBox-launching historical significance. :) (It's pathetic, I know)

[SoulBlazer]

Yeah, all of the three football games in my post along with SpiderMan 2 are the XBox version. (Only I can't get Dolby Digital to work properly for SM2 for me.)

I do plan to get Malice when it finally comes out, along with KOTOR II.

[Rogmeister]

I also don't pay full price for games anymore...I think the last one I did so for (and one of only a couple I've done that for this year) was MVP Baseball and I just didn't want to wait for that one. Thus, any games I'm interested in that are fairly new (Spider-Man 2 and Metal Slug 3) are ones I'm afraid I'll have to wait on. That's okay...I'm having too much fun right now unting down bargains and filling out my PS1 collection...

[le geek]

Man, I am so behind my backlog of games but I can see myself picking up at least one of the below GBA titles...

08/17/2004 Metal Slug Advance
09/??/2004 Guardian Heroes Advance
10/05/2004 Tron 2.0 Killer App


Actually they're spaced out quite nicely :D

Cheers,
Ben

[SoulBlazer]

I don't see what the problem is with buying a game full price. If the game is good, and I don't see it dropping in price anytime soon, and I KNOW I'll be playing it a lot, I'll happily pay for it.

Not that there are a lot of games I'll wait until it reaches GH status or I can get used -- but there are a lot of must buys in this list, and the games I mentioned myself are ones I WILL pay full price for. :)

[Half Japanese]

I don't know. $50 is a fair amount of money. With $50 I can get one new release or a plethora of older used (or new, as the case may be) titles. The older titles always seem to win out, especially with the current state of the game industry, where prices drop like pants at a swinger convention. Although I wouldn't consider myself overly patient, $50 games can almost always wait a few months. The only exception is online games, which I've found are generally more fun when you get them as a new release, that way you don't get outclassed from the get-go.

[SoulBlazer]

Of course $50 is a fair ammount of money, and I know that if I wait six months or so I can probaly get the game for half price.....but I look at it this way, if I play the game enough it's worth the money, perhaps even a better dollar to hour breakdown then crappy used games. ;) I only buy the games I really want full price anyway, which is about one or two a month. Actually, game prices have dropped in the last 25 years if you consider inflation.

[link1110]

Yeah, I almost never pay $50 for games ($30 gba games have spoiled me) but some of these recent games have even me willing to pay that. Tales of Symphonia, Star Ocean 3, Shin Megami Tensei 3, even Phantom Brave(Any rpg with a free soundtrack is a great deal.

[videogameking26]

ESPN NFL 2K5 next week for Xbox this month and for next month I'm getting Madden 2005 Collector's Edition for PS2(already paided in full :) :) ) & Sudeki for Xbox.

[Rogmeister]

Well, I'm not against paying full price for a game particularly, but I figure that a game that's fun at $50 will be even more fun at $20...the exception might be sports games where you want to get it while the rosters are still accurate though there's always those "Remember when Barry Bonds was a Pirate?" kind ofo nostalgiac memories :D I try to limit my game purchases to games I can get for $30 or less...I kind of gave a bit for Red Dead Revolver...I managed to get it for $33...$3 over my minimum...but shipping was free. I have one football game for my current systems, NFL 2K3 for the GameCube so now I am thinking about maybe getting a new edition of Madden...

[hezeuschrist]

Yeah, all of the three football games in my post along with SpiderMan 2 are the XBox version. (Only I can't get Dolby Digital to work properly for SM2 for me.)

I do plan to get Malice when it finally comes out, along with KOTOR II.

Malice is already out, and apparently it blows.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/malice/index.html?q=malice

The only games I really want are Tales and Sudeki, but I'm not paying full price for either. I've still got 3 SNES games to buy, and they ain't gonna be cheap.