Basic video games for olds
May 3, 2017 7:56 PM Subscribe
How do I video game? I have a TV, a Playstation 2 with only one working controller, and a very old Mac with Steam.
I would like to spend only a little money but I can buy a couple things, and I would like to be able to easily play a video game some evenings without getting really irritated with plugging things in and being unable to use my keyboard and trackpad to control the game. Basically, I want to buy a thing or two used (controller for my laptop? New (used) gaming console of some kind?) and then just be able to easily play a video game now and then.
I absolutely don't care in any way about having the latest stuff. But right now video games feel too hard to play on my computer (because of using the keyboard mostly, also slowness from old computer), and I'm not sure if I should start shopping for used Playstation 2 games or just buy some slightly less used other system?
I like puzzles, brainy type games, not shooting or having to have super fast reaction times, if that matters to this question.
I would like to spend only a little money but I can buy a couple things, and I would like to be able to easily play a video game some evenings without getting really irritated with plugging things in and being unable to use my keyboard and trackpad to control the game. Basically, I want to buy a thing or two used (controller for my laptop? New (used) gaming console of some kind?) and then just be able to easily play a video game now and then.
I absolutely don't care in any way about having the latest stuff. But right now video games feel too hard to play on my computer (because of using the keyboard mostly, also slowness from old computer), and I'm not sure if I should start shopping for used Playstation 2 games or just buy some slightly less used other system?
I like puzzles, brainy type games, not shooting or having to have super fast reaction times, if that matters to this question.
Your PS2 is going to be very good for you! Just hook it up to your TV, and figure out which input on your TV corresponds to your PS2. Then just switch over to that input when you want to play something. You're pretty much set. The PS2 has a fine library of games, and it will also play any PS1 game. Look for strategy games or RPGs if you don't want to deal with fast reaction times. I'm slowly playing through Final Fantasy Tactics right now...
posted by panhopticon at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2017
posted by panhopticon at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2017
The old Mac isn't a great gaming platform so I'd go with the console.
PS2 games are probably your best bet as they're cheap as chips and the best are amazing. I'll let someone else suggest the best ones, but IIRC it was pretty good for big open world games like GTA and platformers like Jak and Daxter.
A PS3 slim with games is probably a couple hundy on craigslist, and would double as a great media/tv hub (e.g. you can run netflix and spotify through it, store your photos and music on it etc).
posted by Sebmojo at 8:10 PM on May 3, 2017
PS2 games are probably your best bet as they're cheap as chips and the best are amazing. I'll let someone else suggest the best ones, but IIRC it was pretty good for big open world games like GTA and platformers like Jak and Daxter.
A PS3 slim with games is probably a couple hundy on craigslist, and would double as a great media/tv hub (e.g. you can run netflix and spotify through it, store your photos and music on it etc).
posted by Sebmojo at 8:10 PM on May 3, 2017
Response by poster: On PS2, look for Katamari Damacy.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:07 PM on May 3 [mark as best answer] [+] [!]
Katamari is the single game we own! (:
So I should just go on Ebay and look for PS2 games and a replacement controller?
posted by latkes at 8:13 PM on May 3, 2017
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:07 PM on May 3 [mark as best answer] [+] [!]
Katamari is the single game we own! (:
So I should just go on Ebay and look for PS2 games and a replacement controller?
posted by latkes at 8:13 PM on May 3, 2017
PS3 with games, $150.
^ yeah, maybe do a little googling for 'best ps2 puzzle and strategy games'. Final Fantasy Tactics is a good puzzly one, the fire emblem games are great. Vagrant Story is a classic, the Final Fantasy games are well-loved.
posted by Sebmojo at 8:16 PM on May 3, 2017
^ yeah, maybe do a little googling for 'best ps2 puzzle and strategy games'. Final Fantasy Tactics is a good puzzly one, the fire emblem games are great. Vagrant Story is a classic, the Final Fantasy games are well-loved.
posted by Sebmojo at 8:16 PM on May 3, 2017
I still like many of the PS2 games the best!
You may enjoy Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper. They're all series with a couplefew games for each title.
posted by mochapickle at 8:49 PM on May 3, 2017
You may enjoy Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper. They're all series with a couplefew games for each title.
posted by mochapickle at 8:49 PM on May 3, 2017
I wouldn't describe myself as having fast reaction times, and I don't enjoy sports or skateboarding or whatnot, but the PS2 game I spent the most time on was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. I wish it had the silly theming of Katamari Damacy, but my feeling is that what makes its gameplay fun is not too dissimilar--timed attempts on goals that engage your kinaesthetic sense and whirl you around in a world that's not too competitive or violent.
There's a THPS4 Let's Play series that illustrates some things about it: how it feels like you're zooming along, how you can just free skate until you decide to work on a quest, how OK it is to hit combos pretty randomly, etc. That free skate time between attempts on goals is what distinguishes it from earlier games, but the goals have only one difficulty mode, so THPS4 might not be the ideal starting point, even though it exemplifies the best things about the series and has little else glommed onto it.
Tony Hawk's Underground gets slightly cruftier with a lame connecting story between zones, goals that sometimes take you out of the usual action, etc., but it also has a beginner setting, and it's still an excellent game with plenty of free skating and fun goals to attempt. A Let's Play series for TH Underground shows more of what it's like. Incidentally, the soundtrack for it, while not reflecting the music I normally enjoy, was generally a positive--extensive, varied, etc.
Anyway, I think you can have a blast with that PS2, and you might try browsing Game Rankings for other options that you can sample via Let's Play videos.
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:40 PM on May 3, 2017
There's a THPS4 Let's Play series that illustrates some things about it: how it feels like you're zooming along, how you can just free skate until you decide to work on a quest, how OK it is to hit combos pretty randomly, etc. That free skate time between attempts on goals is what distinguishes it from earlier games, but the goals have only one difficulty mode, so THPS4 might not be the ideal starting point, even though it exemplifies the best things about the series and has little else glommed onto it.
Tony Hawk's Underground gets slightly cruftier with a lame connecting story between zones, goals that sometimes take you out of the usual action, etc., but it also has a beginner setting, and it's still an excellent game with plenty of free skating and fun goals to attempt. A Let's Play series for TH Underground shows more of what it's like. Incidentally, the soundtrack for it, while not reflecting the music I normally enjoy, was generally a positive--extensive, varied, etc.
Anyway, I think you can have a blast with that PS2, and you might try browsing Game Rankings for other options that you can sample via Let's Play videos.
posted by Wobbuffet at 11:40 PM on May 3, 2017
There's tons of great PS2 games for cheap, and you can pick up a Gamecube, Dreamcast, or even an original Xbox for next to nothing, as well as games for them. I know because that's pretty much the only things I play. Quick, easy, no one gets hurt.
I recently set up a new Xbox One to play some games and said "no freakin way" to buying one of those. It was an amazing amount of work just to get it going and the whole experience was awful. Xbox 360 is not too bad, and the original Xbox is fine.
Look up old reviews for older consoles and find the best games for them.
posted by bongo_x at 11:51 PM on May 3, 2017
I recently set up a new Xbox One to play some games and said "no freakin way" to buying one of those. It was an amazing amount of work just to get it going and the whole experience was awful. Xbox 360 is not too bad, and the original Xbox is fine.
Look up old reviews for older consoles and find the best games for them.
posted by bongo_x at 11:51 PM on May 3, 2017
Hook up the PS2 and see if you can find a copy of PaRappa the Rapper. It's fabulous.
posted by ZipRibbons at 11:52 PM on May 3, 2017
posted by ZipRibbons at 11:52 PM on May 3, 2017
Does it have to be a console or PC experience? If you have a smartphone a whole WORLD of possibilities opens up, especially for the type of games you say you like.
posted by dondiego87 at 1:45 AM on May 4, 2017
posted by dondiego87 at 1:45 AM on May 4, 2017
Dragon Quest VIII is a wonderful RPG for Playstation 2. It's got fun character design and some of the nicest music any video game ever had. The combat is turn-based and you control an array of characters with very different abilities that are required according to the situation, so it is sort of puzzly. There's also an alchemy pot that lets you combine items into new items. I replay it pretty regularly. No knowledge of previous Dragon Quests is needed.
posted by heatvision at 3:57 AM on May 4, 2017
posted by heatvision at 3:57 AM on May 4, 2017
Best answer: I think I still have a big stack of PS2 games somewhere, and if you want to MeMail me your mailing address, I'll pop a bunch in the mail to you.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:39 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Rock Steady at 6:39 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you can find copies, some great PS1 games will play on your PS2, things like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Bushido Blade, Einhander, Ikaruga.
There is "We (Heart sign) Katamari" for PS2, which IMO is better than the original. Also Odin Sphere is very pretty and will run on PS2.
Oh, also PUZZLE QUEST: it's like an RPG where instead of rolling virtual dice, you play a little game of bejewelled. Spent many hours on that series, I think the original is the best, maybe puzzle kingdoms.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:01 AM on May 4, 2017
There is "We (Heart sign) Katamari" for PS2, which IMO is better than the original. Also Odin Sphere is very pretty and will run on PS2.
Oh, also PUZZLE QUEST: it's like an RPG where instead of rolling virtual dice, you play a little game of bejewelled. Spent many hours on that series, I think the original is the best, maybe puzzle kingdoms.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:01 AM on May 4, 2017
When my son was younger and I still played video games, my favorite was SSX Tricky, a very realistic snowboarding game. Maybe you can find it used.
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:36 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:36 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Guitar Hero and Rock Band! They are fun and a good way to enjoy "playing" music.
posted by jillithd at 7:42 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by jillithd at 7:42 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
So I should just go on Ebay and look for PS2 games and a replacement controller?
Yes. Or if you live somewhere with an active Facebook groups, see if there is a buy/sell group. I have a PS2 and it's fun getting weird old games for it. We have an Atari Arcade bundle of games, Katamari, Monkeyball and a few other rando games. We don't play much but it's dumb relaxing fun and we got a GIANT beanbag that we can both site on while we play.
posted by jessamyn at 7:44 AM on May 4, 2017
Yes. Or if you live somewhere with an active Facebook groups, see if there is a buy/sell group. I have a PS2 and it's fun getting weird old games for it. We have an Atari Arcade bundle of games, Katamari, Monkeyball and a few other rando games. We don't play much but it's dumb relaxing fun and we got a GIANT beanbag that we can both site on while we play.
posted by jessamyn at 7:44 AM on May 4, 2017
For PS2, look for the series of Lego games. They have Batman, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc. Very fun.
posted by CathyG at 8:55 AM on May 4, 2017
posted by CathyG at 8:55 AM on May 4, 2017
Psychonauts was released for PS2. It is a platformer but it is not super challenging, it's more of a story driven experience.
posted by wolfr at 9:29 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by wolfr at 9:29 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Okami, one of the finest video games ever made, was originally a PS2 release. If you spring for a more recent console though the subsequent revamps have much refined controls and the art is so gorgeous that it is really improved by HD. It is still very fun, pretty and playable on PS2 though. It does demand some quick reflexes but it builds up slowly and there are hours and hours of gameplay that are just exploring at your own pace. I am absolutely terrible at games and I only had trouble with the very last two bosses.
If you get a PS3, which is I think your best bet in terms of simplicity/options/durability, there is a wealth of downloadable puzzle games, and more are often being released even now. You might like Toki Tori and its sequel, Puzzle Quest (but not its sequel which was bad), Stacking (which is adoooorable), and actually Tetris ultimate which I found to be a very solid and expansive member of the subgenre (I was pretty much raised on Tetris so I have opinions.) A lot of games are also on Steam, but maybe not for Mac, so you can scope them out and the reviews and more detailed info on your computer but then get them for your PS3 or other network capable console.
posted by Mizu at 9:55 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you get a PS3, which is I think your best bet in terms of simplicity/options/durability, there is a wealth of downloadable puzzle games, and more are often being released even now. You might like Toki Tori and its sequel, Puzzle Quest (but not its sequel which was bad), Stacking (which is adoooorable), and actually Tetris ultimate which I found to be a very solid and expansive member of the subgenre (I was pretty much raised on Tetris so I have opinions.) A lot of games are also on Steam, but maybe not for Mac, so you can scope them out and the reviews and more detailed info on your computer but then get them for your PS3 or other network capable console.
posted by Mizu at 9:55 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: OK, thanks folks! I just ordered a new controller for the PS2. I'll consider a used PS3 if I end up actually playing this one a lot and feel like I want more.
I also appreciate the specific game recommendations!
posted by latkes at 9:57 AM on May 5, 2017
I also appreciate the specific game recommendations!
posted by latkes at 9:57 AM on May 5, 2017
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On PS2, look for Katamari Damacy.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2017 [1 favorite]