What Game Should I Buy Myself For My Birthday?

[Rogmeister]

My birthday is coming up (May 7) and no one buys me games...heck, no one buys me anything, so I am planning on buying myself a game for myself. What game should I get? Some things to consider...

I have all 3 current consoles but no current portable so it would have to be a GameCube, PS2 or Xbox titles.

Genres that appeal to me: FPS, platforms, adventure games (though not RPGs so much though I'll buy maybe one a year), fighting games and puzzle games. I also like some sports games, mostly baseball, but I already have MVP Baseball 2005 and will be going out to buy the Sega game as well once I send this out...so don't suggest that.

I buy very few games...my goal is to limit myself to no more than 20 games for the entire year which is one reason I really want to think about this...otherwise I'd just go out and get myself 3 or 4 with no thought about it. The only fairly recent games I've bought include Call of Duty, MVP Baseball 2005 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Among the games I'm considering:

Resident Evil 4
Doom 3
The latest Crash Bandicoot...I'm guessing that's not so good, though.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (I may actually have this...have to double-check on that)
Jak III

Any thoughts? By the way, is that new GameCube baseball title out yet? Not that I plan to get it, I was just wondering how good it was...

[Puppetmaster]

Tekken 5 was pretty good. Shining tears?

[digdug]

I love God Of War. It has a balanced blend of graphics, story with not too hard of puzzles.


Dig Dug

[Jibbajaba]

Well out of the games that you listed there, I would give a hearty thumbs up to Resident Evil 4. You won't be sorry if you buy it. I might also suggest Lego Star Wars.

Chris

[briskbc]

I would be torn between Doom 3 and RE4. I have never played them so I can't tell you which one to get. They both sound like fantastic games. You should go to you local EB and take both boxes to the front counter. When you get there put the boxes behind your back and tell the clerk to pick a hand. Keep it a suprise until the last second ;)

[Rogmeister]

Hah, funny. Actually, all the games you guys mentioned are also ones I've thought of but didn't mentioin. I've always enjoyed the Tekken series, too...

[Rogmeister]

I just thought of something I should probably have also mentioned. I'm a lone gamer...I never have friends over (I don't really have any friends who play games anymore) and don't do online gaming...so any game I get would have to be a good single-player experience.

[Stingray]

I've probably enjoyed Mercinaries more than any other game I've bought this year, and I've bought quite a few.

-S

[THATinkjar]

I've yet to pick up Res 4, but I will be. I haven't heard a bad word said against it yet. Quite a change for the series :)

But don't miss out on Tekken 5. I'll be picking this up when it hits the UK, if only for the emulated arcade modes of the original 3 games.

[BigGeorgeJohnson]

I would say "God of War" it's probably the most complete game to come out in awhile. They really got everything right with it. If you buy one game this year God of War will not dissapoint, if you buy two, then pick up RE4 also.

Pass on Doom 3, it's a piss poor game with pretty graphics at best.

[GrayFox]

Resident Evil 4.

Just get it, you will not regret it, ever.

[tholly]

I know as soon as im back to working in the summer i plan to pick up Doom 3 and Lego Star Wars for xbox....they both really interest me, so i recommend those (not that I've played them)

[Nesmaster]

I'd go with RE4

the game is so excellent. so excellent that after i beat it, i beat it again, then half finished it a third time before putting it away.... for now :P LOL

Edit: btw, i have never EVER replayed a game right after beating it, much less a third time :)

[Rogmeister]

I'm playing my first game of Major League Baseball 2K5 right now and I'm not sure I understand everything about it and the booklet isn't real specific. I understand there are special things you can do on hitting to get "locked in" but I haven't figured it out yet. I'll have to work on that. I just bought this game today as my "pre-birthday" gift...

[MuppetMaster]

I just picked up Jade Empire for the Xbox...AWSOME game! highly recommended :D

[Videogamerdaryll]

Doom 3 ...........

[Richter Belmount]

resident evil 4 collectors edition.

[klausien]

RE4 is probably your best bet considering what genres you like. Doom 3 Collector's Edition would also be an excellent choice, but I am going to go out on a limb and say Ys: The Ark of Napishtim for PS2. It is truly spectacular.

[BHvrd]

Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but the last hour kinda drops the ball. The game reverts to old standards towards the end and well the end "frankly" blows. So if you go in expecting a great 20+ hour game that has a fairly lame ending you can't go wrong.

Doom 3 is a game I bought recently and i'm enjoying it immensly. The atmosphere the graphics and the sound are all top notch with no slowdown. I'm not sure how long it is but it rocks so far hardcore. It also comes with Doom 1&2 if you buy the limited edition. One thing to keep in mind though is the kickback is multiplayer with xbox live, system link, and co-op, so as a single player experience i'm not sure how long it lasts, but don't underestimate it it's very cool.

Jade Empire, Metroid Prime 2, and Grand Theft Auto 3 might be ones to look into also as suggestions, but "sorry for above poster" don't buy Lego Star Wars unless you are a serious Star Wars fan, it's a great little game, but really short.

Good luck. :)

[Spartacus]

You couldn't go wrong with RE4 obviously, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest Oddworld. How often do you get to shoot critters AS ammo?

[Cauterize]

I will say Resident Evil 4 too...

My birthday is coming up too, on May 5th! And i ppan to buy the Resident Evil 4 Gamecube :-)

[Tron 2.0]

RE4 :evil:

[Rogmeister]

Looks like the recommendation battle is between Doom 3 and Resident Evil 4...with a few votes for God of War. I'll probably get one of those though I still haven't settled on which one yet...I still have over two weeks to decide, though. I really appreciate all the recommendations.

[SKVermin]

Forza Motorsport comes out on May 3rd. Personally, that's the one that's next on my to-buy list.

[Balloon Fight]

If you don't have Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal, kick yourself, then run down and get it. EASILY, imo, the best game of last year. (Not counting halo 2 because its basically only online.)

[dbiersdorf]

Nothing beats Resident Evil 4... I didn't even enjoy the other RE titles that much and RE4 is easily my favorite game of all time, tied with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Please, please, please you owe it to yourself to buy Resident Evil 4, there will never be another ground breaking game like this in a long time. I've already beat it 7 times, and every time it was amazing.

[jdc]

I just finished Doom 3 about a half hour ago and it's THE best shooter on the Xbox. Incredible detail in the environments and the game runs buttery smooth without any hiccups. It ISN'T scary. The reasoning behind that statement is that you quickly get VERY used to being jumped by monsters. Big loud weapons with piles of smoke and muzzle flash and clanking of spent cartridges and constant fast chamber reloads. Gore galore. And it IS one VERY long game by today's standards.

I would only recommend Lego Star Wars if you are in need of a very light-hearted game for your collection or if you are an immense Star Wars fan. One of my favorites of the year thus far and easily one of the best games that I've bought in recent years.

[Rogmeister]

Well, I do like light-hearted games. I was in a local K-Mart today and I saw they had Lego Star Wars, Resident Evil 4 and Doom 3...but the collector's editiion ($60?) but not the regular Doom 3. What do you get for your extra $10 or so? I think they had about 2 copies of Lego Star Wars. I may go out in a bit and check Wal-Mart. Maybe I'll even buy my gift games tonight...but I wouldn't play them until my birthday if I do get them tonight. But mainly I just want to go out for a bit...

[Rogmeister]

Well, I did it...I went out and bought my birthday presents to myself early. I won't let myself play them until my birthday, of course, or they because just other games I buy and not birthday presents...of course, this means I can't play them for a couple of weeks since that day isn't until May 7. Based on the conversations that's been going on in this thread, the games I bought shouldn't be too much of a surprise...

Resident Evil (GameCube)--I liked the previous installments and many consider this the best one yet. I think this is my first GC purchase of the year.

Doom 3 (XBox)--I do enjoy a good FPS game. I opted just for the "regular" game and not the limited edition one which cost another $10. What extra stuff does that bring you anyway?

Lego Star Wars (Xbox)--This was not one of the games I was originally planning to get but so it's gotten some good word on it that I decided to take a chance on it.

The only problem is that, on my birthday I will be working the dayshift and I work 12-hour shifts so the earliest I could begin gaming would be about 6PM. Perhaps I can spend on even hour on each of these games to see which I like most and would then concentrate on for the time being. In the meantime, I still have a relatively new baseball game to play...

[Simply Dave]

I'll put in another vote for Resident Evil 4.

[Toefur]

The Limited Edition of Doom 3 includes the original Ultimate Doom and Doom II.

I'm too late I guess but I would have thrown in my vote for God of War also. It has some of the coolest boss fights I've ever seen.

Also Jade Empire and Psychonauts would have been good bets as well, from what I've heard. I haven't cracked the seal on JE yet and won't be picking up Psycho until next week, but I've heard good things about both from trusted sources.

[Rogmeister]

Well, I could still get God of War at some time in the future. Of course, I seem to be averaging (apart from this) one game a month so competition for my gaming dollar will be fierce...

[CullJeff]

RE4 or God of War or Import the new Berserk game for PS2

[Rogmeister]

Earlier someone mentioned Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando...actually, I think I said I might have this but I wasn't sure. If I bought it, I put it away somewhere and haven't really gotten around to playing it much so far. Well, I took a look around and I do indeed have this game so it's one of those games you get and forget about for whatever reason. But I know it's a great game so I'll be playing it soon. It'll probably be the next PS2 game I get to.

[Rogmeister]

Speaking of Lego Star Wars, I saw on the G4 website (specifically on their page devoted to the TV schedule) that this game will be profiled on tonight's G4tv.com TV show so I definitely want to catch that. This also happens to be one of the few G4 shows I still try to watch fairly regularly. I can only imagine what Tommy Tallarico will say about it if they ever review this on Judgment Day!

[WanganRunner]

Gran Turismo turned me into a car guy.

I know that sounds silly, but I actually WORK in the auto industry now (albeit in the financial end of it), cars are my job and my hobby now, and I was never really into them until that game came along.

Point being?

Even if you're not really "in" to driving games, you need to buy Gran Turismo 4, preferably with the Driving Force Pro wheel, but it's not a neccesity.

It is an amazing game for an entirely different reason than most amazing games are....it just happens to be exceptionally effective at making you feel like you are doing a real-life thing that you are, in fact, not doing.

Whatever, I'm drunk at work (dont' ask), just go buy it. You won't regret the $50. I've probably put 1000+ hrs into GT3.