Platformers

[gunswordfist]

I remember playing a lot of Going Commando with an old friend of mine a few years ago back in high school. The game itself was a ton of fun from what I played, but the multiplayer was surprisingly addicting. I friend and I spent hours each day just playing that one game where you capture territories and try to defend them from each other, and that was just with 2 of us playing. I can't imagine how much more fun and chaotic it could become with 4 players.

Same here, except I didn't get to play a lot of the multiplayer. I still liked it. I wish he let me play more of Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal. I spent most of the time watching.

[Foggle]

It is weird how much the Ratchet games improved so much, while the Jak games split opinion and the Sly games got worse.

The Ratchet sequels refined the core concepts of the original game. The Jak sequels tried to add enough variety to have more gameplay elements than basically any other game on the market. Sly 3 was literally in a different genre from the first two.

Only the Ratchet sequels did what one would truly expect from a sequel. I love Jak 2 and 3 -- vastly prefer them to the first game, in fact -- but they really should have been part of a new IP instead of sequels to Jak And Daxter. Sly 3 was just... a mistake.

[gunswordfist]

I love it when sequels refine what their prequels did well. Too bad that's so rare these days.

[talonmalon333]

I always struggle with picking the best 2D franchise.

Mario has the most good games. But Donkey Kong has the best games.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm just really surprised at how much better UYA is. Most sequels in the PS2 era were downgrades to the original, IMO. For instance, Maximo Vs Zin is not as awesome as Ghosts To Glory, and Neo Contra is not as tight as Shattered Soldier. There are a few good sequels I can think of, but most games in that era's sequels were not quite as good as the originals.

I'm about 7:30 into the game, but most of the arena and got about 62 Sewer Crystals, and I'm enjoying every second. This will most definitely go on my top PS2 game list. 

[Foggle]

Deadlocked fits the bill there. The gameplay is definitely as tight as UYA's, but the level design is a serious downgrade. Little to no platforming, and what does exist is once again separated from the shooting. The splitscreen co-op is pretty sweet, though. It's a lot like Resident Evil 5; arguably the series' weakest game, but the co-op play kind of makes up for it.

Tools of Destruction and Crack In Time are also a bit below the standards of Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, but at least they're still high quality 3D platformers. Crack In Time is actually a lot better than I give it credit for, though. Probably the most platforming-heavy game in the series that's still undeniably excellent.

How far are you in the story? Like, what planet are you on?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm at a crossroads right now. I could go to Hollowstar or to the satellite, but I decided to take a break. I replayed a few of the older levels looking for secrets, too.

I heard a lot of great things about A Crack In Time, but not much on the other PS3 games other than from you. After I manage to get my hands on GC, then I'll probably try to seek that one out.

[Foggle]

Ah, so about halfway then.

Crack In Time is a direct sequel to Tools of Destruction, btw. It's not necessary to play ToD since (I believe) there's a recap of the previous games while you install CiT, but just know that you might be a bit confused at the game's outset if you don't play ToD first. And Tools isn't a bad game by any means, so you should definitely pick it up sometime if you can find a cheap copy.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's only halfway? It's already longer than most single player shooters this gen...

Yeah, I gotcha. Going Commando, Tools Of Destruction, and A Crack In Time are the ones to get.

[Foggle]

Well, you did do the entire arena, right? It's not nearly as long if you skip the optional content. But I don't know why anyone would.

Anyway, if I had to rank the games based on actual quality (not personal preference), it'd go like this:
Up Your Arsenal
Going Commando
A Crack In Time
Tools Of Destruction
Ratchet & Clank
Deadlocked
Quest For Booty
Size Matters
All 4 One
Secret Agent Clank

[Spark Of Spirit]

The only one I didn't do was the one for the disc gun (I don't have it yet) and the don't get hit one (because I suck), but I beat all the others. It was great.

Solid list. Looks like I'll be seeking out the top 4, then!

[Foggle]

As far as the ones under the top 4 go, I'd say Ratchet 1 is still a great game, but it's not really for everyone (as you know). Deadlocked can be fun under the right circumstances, but it's not really that good. Quest For Booty has its moments (everything before the cave is awesome), Size Matters is inoffensive but disposable, and All 4 One/Secret Agent Clank are garbage.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I beat all the Death Course/arenas short of the one requiring the rift inducer as I do not have it yet, but that was pretty intense. I ran out of ammo multiple times but thankfully I still managed to slip through several times. Now I have enough to purchase those other guns.

[gunswordfist]

EK, may I hear year comparison of the Jet Set/Grind Radio games? I only played a little bit of the first and the 2nd came with the Xbox. I remember the original let you hold onto the back on vehicles. I'm still confused as to way the sequel took that out. I just want to know how the first stacks up to the 2nd.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

To be honest its been a long time since I've played the first game, and to be even more honest I don't quite recall actually beating it all of the way through since I remember my copy stopped working since it got really scratched up at some point, but I can't remember if I had beat the game by then or not (if I hadn't, though, I would imagine I was pretty close to the end, anyways).

From what I remember, movement in JGR is a bit slower than in JSRF, but in that regard platforming was a bit more precise in the first game and easier to perform (not to say it was bad in the 2nd game, because it was still fine, but things just moved along a lot faster and smoother than before). Both games require you to complete certain objectives in different areas, mostly coming down to stuff like racing members of other gangs (and in some cases getting them to join your gang if you beat them), and spraying graffiti on different parts of the city. JGR's structure was a bit different than JSRF in this regard, but I don't quite remember how it went in the 1st game.

What I will say is that I felt that JSRF, while largely capitalizing on many of the same things that the first game got right (only refining them more), was the superior game for me since IMO it had much more creative level design. But, overall, you can't go wrong with either game. Formula-wise they play the same, but mechanically I feel that the 2nd game is more refined than the 1st one. The music in each game is hit or miss.