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PC Gaming Suggestions for Console-like Fun?
jayminer writes "We are a relatively newly married young couple who enjoy spending our spare time at home. We don't own a console but have a gaming laptop with DVI output to play games on our TV. My wife is also a CS major so she's computer literate enough. She does not like strategy games, MMORG or any other role-playing game. Apart from "Find the Sausage" jokes, we need quality gaming advice, preferably games which we can play with a single laptop connected to a single large screen, with two gamepads, a console-like experience. What are your suggestions?"
Just buy a console.
If you are wanting to play on your television opposed to a monitor, you probably have a pretty nice TV. Chances are your laptop cannot run at a resolution where you would even enjoy this experience.
The 360 and the Wii cost less than the original NES did if you count in inflation. Do some research in game libraries and pick one. Well worth the investment.
In terms of games, Guitar Hero is addicting.
Get some old-school console emulators and play some of the great classics.
I'm sure that what constitutes a "classic" will vary here on /., but I prefer some of the older Super NES games... Tetris Attack is awesome.
You didn't hear that from me, though...
Proudly supporting the Libertarian Party.
Don't mean to be presumptuous, but I would recommend you spend your spare time outside of your house exploring the world. You will have plenty of time to stay in the house if/when you decide to have children.
Wii.
Much simpler- fewer wires.
http://blog.grcm.net/
Comment removed based on user account deletion
In all seriousness, the total hardware cost of two gamepads, a TV out connector and a laptop graphics card needed to run the latest games will more than likely overrun the cost of just buying a PS2 or a Wii, Your spouse's tastes scream console gaming. No strategy games or RPGs? What does that leave? FPSes? Good luck finding a co-op FPS title.
For Co-op play, console is King. There are a myriad of two player titles out there to cater for all tastes, and co-op is something that even gets included in some one player titles, owing to its popularity.
PCs are not designed for what you're looking for. Consoles are, and they are cheaper, faster, easier and offer a better selection of titles. Just buy the damn Wii.
May the Maths Be with you!
So what part of "No 'Find the Sausage' jokes" did you not understand?
And what illiterate dickhead modded you Insightful?
(God, I hate teenagers.)
J.
You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
I recommend members of the general public relax and be cool. You're more likely to be hit by an asteroid than sued for sharing SNES roms.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I've got a second hand Dreamcast at home for 50 euro's (roughly 75 US$) with a bunch of games. Consoles of around this generation (N64, PS, GC) onwards have all the types of games you'd want for a fraction of the cost of modern consoles.
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You Don't Know Jack ;)
This game is the BEST multiplayer experience you will find on a PC without playing a console game through a ROM. You won't find any other multiplayer experience that both of you can play on the same screen.
In fact, almost ANY trivia game will fit this bill, but You Don't Know Jack is just the most fun of them all. Brings a whole new meaning to "screwing your wife".
Chippy
Most MythTV distributions include a MAME emulator, as well as a SNES emulator, and support for several others you can optionally download, install and configure in their menus.
The nice thing about this is, it gives you a good excuse to dedicate an entire PC to your TV set, since it works as a very capable DVR, gives you a set-top web browser, and other goodies.
The downside? At least from all the knoppmyth distros I've used, I've always had some hassle getting MAME working well with it. (EG. You can purchase wireless gamepad type controllers from Logitech that use USB dongles and are detected just fine in Linux. But you'll have to do some creative stuff with the xmame config file so you have all their buttons assigned in a sensible manner. If you don't assign one to simulate dropping coins in, for example, you'll never be able to get a new game to start from your controller.)
Pressing a button to put in a quarter is my favorite part.
When I think of the number of times my weekly allowance was ALMOST enough money to beat Double Dragon... now it's "Hahahah, fuck you Willy. Click, click, click, click..."
Petty I know. But very satisfying.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
That's debatable, and I'm not saying you're wrong. The GG...GP asked a specific question though, and that was whether you could do it _without_ breaking the law.
Mr. Period: Nine is the one that's right by ten!
Nine: One day I will kill him. Then, I will be Ten.
If you want to actually follow the law, you won't get out the door in the morning. It's almost inevitable that you will break some law today - fail to fix a minor building code violation in your house, use a pesticide or disinfectant in a manner contrary to its labeling, break a minor traffic law...there are so many laws that no one can hope to be compliant with them all.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
and you never cited any to the contrary. Do you have any evidence that a rom nintendo claimed copyright on doesn't actually belong to them or are you just trolling?
We can all sit around and spout theories all day, but since you proposed this line of thought why don't you provide some actual leg work?