What We're NOT Playing - Volume 2

Last week, we launched our regular feature "What We're NOT Playing."

In this feature, we discuss new releases, and instead of talking about all the games that we are playing (booo-ring), we talk about the titles we're avoiding. Whether it's because of things we've heard, hapless neglect or just plain personal tastes, some games -- both good and bad -- go untouched for whatever serious and/or strange reasons. Here, we try to find out why.

This week, in the "No Girls Allowed" edition (I wasn't able to participate due to a meeting), the boys get tough on flight sims, ponder playing prequels before sequels and argue over the cuteness of games (wish I was there for that one -- oh well, next time). Here's an excerpt:

JasonCipriano: I'm skippin' right over "Dewy's Adventure" this week
StephenTotilo: why? you don't believe in supporting 3rd party originals for the Wii?
GeraldFlannory: too cute for you Cip?
JasonCipriano: a - I still haven't beaten "Elebits"
JasonCipriano: 2 - yeah this one might actually be too cutesy
StephenTotilo: a... 2??? nice counting
JasonCipriano: YOU WILL APPRECIATE MY COUNTING SKILLZ

Make the jump for more mayhem.

Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

StephenTotilo: Hey guys, let's talk about what we're NOT playing (which means I can't talk about "Halo 3").
StephenTotilo: I was thinking about what I was avoiding and realized that something's kind of been avoiding me: the DS
StephenTotilo: I spent the first 6 months of the year playing that system almost constantly
StephenTotilo: then after "Picross" came out it's been just about dormant. I tried "DK Jungle Climber," but that game feels like a big collect-a-thon
JasonCipriano: "DK Jungle" is pretty annoying
JasonCipriano: like ya just wanna go faster
JasonCipriano: but you can’t
StephenTotilo: and then I noticed that I've been barely seen anyone playing the DS on the subway
JasonCipriano: i saw 2 in the last 2 days … take that, stock report
JasonMitchell: you need some "Sonic Rush"
GeraldFlannory: I'm playing that game right now
GeraldFlannory: and love it
GeraldFlannory: sonic on crack!
JasonMitchell: mario doesn't stand a chance in the olympics
JasonCipriano: yeah … you loved the first one though
GeraldFlannory: yup
StephenTotilo: so I'm the only one who's DS playing has dropped off a ton?
JasonCipriano: I'm still playing "Picross," "Brain Age 2" and "DK" -- so no
GeraldFlannory: I'm going to pass on "Blazing Angels 2" this go round
StephenTotilo: why?
JasonCipriano: you love flight sims
JasonCipriano: ... didn’t you put your reserve down on "Ace Combat 6" like 4 months ago?
GeraldFlannory: i like flight sims, but this game seems to look like "Blazing Angels 1.5"
StephenTotilo: the first one drove me a little crazy. it was so slow-paced.
GeraldFlannory: well it's slow because of the planes themselves
GeraldFlannory: they aren't jets or anything
JasonCipriano: well "Blazing Angels 1" was more like "Blazing Angels 0.5"
StephenTotilo: so what would make the game "Blazing Angels 2"? Does it need Saved Films?
JasonCipriano: no game "needs" saved films
JasonMitchell: i had that problem with "Mafia" if i remember correctly, the cars were so slow, i got bored sometimes
GeraldFlannory: i would love if that game really caught the visceral feeling of aerial battles from world war 2
StephenTotilo: G, you're not helping Ubi's developers.
StephenTotilo: give them specifics
GeraldFlannory: for instance
GeraldFlannory: arial pilots had done a lot of tricks and things to take down certain german and japanese airplanes
GeraldFlannory: because each plane always outclassed each other in one way or form
StephenTotilo: so you wanted tricks in "BA2"?
JasonCipriano: maybe you need some motion-controlled flying
StephenTotilo: my problem with the first is just that the AI wasn't very good. and it was slow. now I'm not the "Lair" hater other people are, but between those games and that Konami Wii flying game, the whole airborne genre is not doing well
GeraldFlannory: take this for example
GeraldFlannory: you know how in racing games
GeraldFlannory: you can do a power slide
GeraldFlannory: well during WW2
JasonCipriano: oh boy
JasonCipriano: here we go
JasonCipriano: G was actually a consultant on Ken Burn's 'The War' ... so this should be good
GeraldFlannory: american pilots did a certain trick where they would literally do a power slide in the air
GeraldFlannory: with their planes
StephenTotilo: G, are you watching that PBS show?
GeraldFlannory: ha
GeraldFlannory: anyway you get my point
StephenTotilo: Multiplayer readers don't realize that Gerald is 95 years old. he was quite the fighter ace back during The Big One
GeraldFlannory: they always talk about how they do all this research for their games
GeraldFlannory: but it's always the standard, airplane model, sound effects, etc...
StephenTotilo: Hey Jason Mitchell. step right up. is there anything that you're NOT playing?
StephenTotilo: I bet you're avoiding "Halo 3"
JasonMitchell: well i may not be playing "Halo 3" ... gasp.
JasonMitchell: at least not right away
JasonCipriano: ::gasp::
StephenTotilo: why not? don't you have it yet?
JasonMitchell: only because i haven't played the first two and i kind of want to play them first
JasonCipriano: yeah ... but you're never going to do that
JasonCipriano: just read totilo's article and move on
StephenTotilo: a ha! interesting. is this a standard you keep for lots of sequels?
GeraldFlannory: i see no one is interested in WW2 flight sims, but I don't blame you guys for being done with the whole WW 2 genre anyway!
StephenTotilo: G, the best WW2 flight sim was the Snoopy one, right?
JasonMitchell: yeah, i'm kind of a completist

JasonMitchell: i like to get the whole story
JasonMitchell: but if i don’t play right now i feel like i'm going to miss out on a lot of nerdy conversations
GeraldFlannory: well Jason Mitchell, you ain't missing much!
JasonCipriano: ok … but what was the last game you "couldn't play"
JasonCipriano: until you beat the first ones
StephenTotilo: so are there other sequels that you've tackled only after catching up on the earlier ones?
JasonMitchell: "Jak and Daxter" was the last one i remember, the second one was out and looked fun so i went back and played the first then the second
StephenTotilo: I'm impressed.
GeraldFlannory: those games were pretty tight
JasonCipriano: so this is going back like 5 years
StephenTotilo: Anyone else do that? Or is Mitchell one of a kind?
StephenTotilo: I did with "Halo 3" myself, of course
GeraldFlannory: not me
GeraldFlannory: i'll play them as they come out
JasonCipriano: i'll skip ahead
JasonCipriano: too much work
JasonCipriano: unless the original was on the NES
GeraldFlannory: old school!
JasonCipriano: then i'm in
JasonCipriano: beyond the NES it just gets to be too much work
JasonMitchell: old school games took skill, new games take time

JasonCipriano: (i'd totally play it if "Dewy" was a wad of meat – "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am" will be the last PS2 game I buy)
JasonMitchell: you love mario, but the dude lives in a mushroom kingdom!?!
JasonCipriano: i've never really been into "Kirby" -- plus "Kirby" is first-party – can't hate on first-party (self-admitted fanboy alert)
GeraldFlannory: people seem to have a certain tolerance for cuteness
JasonCipriano: "Dewy" just seems like it would be painful to get through
StephenTotilo: so draw the line for me. give me one gaming thing that's OK with you and one cute thing that's too cutesy
GeraldFlannory: i'll check out "Dewy" for sure
JasonCipriano: as tired as i am getting of shooting things
JasonCipriano: i don’t think thats the direction I want to go next
GeraldFlannory: i think I am getting tired of point, shoot, repeat
StephenTotilo: yeah, you want point, shoot, powerslide
JasonCipriano: OK- "Lego Star Wars"
JasonCipriano: too cute – "Dewy's Adventure"? i thought i established that
StephenTotilo: any closing thoughts? or should we all just get back to not playing things?
GeraldFlannory: yeah, man
JasonCipriano: i'd totally give "Ninjabread Man" a shot though
GeraldFlannory: gotta change things up a bit
JasonMitchell: you also love kittens
JasonCipriano: I DO LOVE KITTENS
JasonMitchell: they are cuter than "Dewy"
JasonCipriano: that seems cutesy - but it's a ninja gingerbread thing
JasonCipriano: which is pure awesomeness
StephenTotilo: ok. that's a wrap
StephenTotilo: that was good! lots of interesting issues here that hopefully we get a following for and will be discussed in the comments
JasonMitchell: no it's not a wrap, this is just getting good
JasonCipriano: yeah
GeraldFlannory: man, you went there!
StephenTotilo: (awkward silence)
GeraldFlannory: what about you
GeraldFlannory: Totilo
StephenTotilo: yes?
GeraldFlannory: why aren't you playing DS?
StephenTotilo: because the avalanche of interesting games just stopped rolling all of a sudden
GeraldFlannory: or PSP for that matter
GeraldFlannory: i think it's just the summer lull
JasonMitchell: I haven't played my PSP in like 6 months, we can edit this out if we're still going

GeraldFlannory: "Professor Layton" is on the horizon!
StephenTotilo: I played a ton of DS games this year: "Wario: Master of Disguise" (not so good), "Ouendan 2," "Picross," "Planet Puzzle League," "Hotel Dusk," and a bunch more. and now there's just nothing.
StephenTotilo: lull or not, G, I'm not playing the system now
GeraldFlannory: i see that
GeraldFlannory: as much games as you play
GeraldFlannory: do you ever feel like not playing anything for just a bit?
GeraldFlannory: you know, sorta take a hiatus from gaming
StephenTotilo: no. I always love playing stuff.
StephenTotilo: nah. I'm sure my wife wishes I would
JasonCipriano: ok this has been done for a while
StephenTotilo: I never get tired of it. when you're lucky enough to get all the games I get sent, there's always something interesting to try. there are at least 15 console games I want to play through that are coming out between now and the end of the year
StephenTotilo: Cip, that fat lady's singing?
JasonCipriano: yeah – it's a good end of the year
StephenTotilo: let's continue this next week
GeraldFlannory: for sure
JasonCipriano: well mitch isn’t even in the room
JasonCipriano: and i gotta run to a meeting
GeraldFlannory: every holiday season is a good year for gamers
StephenTotilo: huh? he's the one who scolded me for trying to end this five minutes ago!
JasonCipriano: i know i think he took that as the actual end though
JasonCipriano: gotta run to this meeting!