Please recommend games for a friend

[Cirrus]

I have a buddy at work, a 50 year old guy, who has a PS2 and a PC. He loves the Ratchet and Clank series so much, so I thought I'd recommend Jak & Daxter, but he had a ton of trouble with it, and gave up. I couldn't figure it out, because they have similar difficulty (as far as I'm concerned), and they both seem to have the same appeal.

It seems that the troubles are that, with J&D:
1.) He gets lost.
2.) It's too hard. (Some of the jumping parts, I guess.)
3.) The goals are somewhat unclear.

He absolutely loves GTA: Vice City, although I imagine that the unclear goals would be a problem.

I also gave him Burnout 3, thinking that it was a simple racer that he could enjoy, but the delicate analog movements are, quite simply, too difficult for him at his age. We grew up with these things, he just started.

It's not that he's terrible, either. He is on his third playthrough of R&C 1,2, and 3.

Here are my ideas, please add some, and why:

Spyro 1/2/3. I figure these are also by Insomniac, and they make great games. Similar challenge level (very hard at times), and great games.

Twisted Metal: Black. Less important to use the fine motor skills turning gently, etc... Just blow stuff up.

Soul Calibur 2. He thought that one on one fighting games are cool, and this one seems simplistic yet flashy.

GTA III. Makes sense, he loves Vice City. He thinks that San Andreas is too raunchy. ("Too much F this, F that," he said.)

I also considered the Crash Bandicoot games, but those can also get pretty unforgiving. I think Spyro just lets you retry if you die, and the goals are scattered over a large level. Crash might be a bit too straightforward... once he reaches a part he can't handle... he will have to quit. Spyro offers a little more freedom.

Let me know, guys. Thanks. :

[Kroogah]

Does he like golf? Like, at all? If so, he must get Tiger Woods '04 or '05. I was really addicted to that game for weeks, and yet my dad was even more addicted than I was.

[poloplayr]

some Rayman games?

Sly Racoon? Similar to R&C

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Yeah, I was thinking Sly Cooper as well.

Another game he might like on the PC is 'American McGee's Scrapland' because its kind of like Ratchet and Clank and GTA in a way. You can get that for pretty cheap on eBay, it didn't sell very well, but I liked it. He can download a demo of it online first to see if we wants to buy it.

[Cirrus]

I thought Sly Cooper, too, but I think that's way too hard for him. I even showed him how it played, and he was pretty confused. I mean, the guy's really smart, but it's just like trying to teach an adult how to play a violin when they never learned as a kid.

What's nice about Ratchet and Clank is that it's got a good story, you can kill things from a distance (silly, but true), and you don't have to start over if you die. Jak & Daxter is good that way, but Bob needs levels he can go back and do anytime, and Jak can't shoot big explosives. That's what made me think Spyro.

I have to check out Scrapland. It seemed pretty neat, and I'll see if it's a game for my friend. Also, Psychonauts just came to mind, (what a great frigging game), but again, I wonder if the game is segmented enough.

Keep it coming, and thanks to those who recommended some stuff.

[evil_genius]

I was in a clan with a 50+ year old Vietnam War veteran. He had 200 something kills and 1200 deaths.

[Neil Koch]

GTA3 is just about as raunchy as Vice City ("that's not a massager").

I haven't played Rathet & Clank or Jax & Daxter, but he'd probably like Simpsons Hit and Run if he's into free-roaming stuff but doesn't like "adult" content.

True Crime is another good one -- there is some swearing and mildly sexual bits, but it's not too bad compared with the GTA series.

Mercenaries is good too -- it's rated T and the objectives are pretty straight foward (basically blow shit up).

Rygar might be good also. It's not totally-free roaming, but it's a pretty fun platformer that is on the easy side.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

How 'bout one of the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games. I'll admit Maybe They're not the best games in the world, but both the games in the series are under 20 dollars new and atleast worth a look if you're into platform type games.

[classicb]

How about Katamari Damacy I got my mom to play it which by my moms standards means anyone can play it. At first she got frustrated getting stuck behind things but as soon as figured out how to use the analog sticks she was away and rolling. I think the music helped too.

[tritium]

Definately recommend the spyro series. Also Rayman series is very good, particularly Rayman 2.

[Nirvana]

If he likes GTA VC, then he should like GTA III. They don't swear as un-necssary as they do in Vice and Andreas.

[RetroYoungen]

I would second Katamari Damacy, easy to pick up and addicting through simplicity. Rayman's always a good bet, and Spyro is always fun.