The 2-Player Game
| Though there is a certain amount of satisfaction from building your own collection, there is nothing more rewarding than doing it as a team. Doubling your efforts not only increases the time spent on finding the things you need to complete that perfect library of games, but having two eyes in two different places greatly increases your chances of not missing any important finds or deals! The hardest part of collecting as a couple is garnering interest from your significant other. To begin the quest together you have to get them interested in the hobby. I’ve enlisted the aid of female uber-collector Jaime Moreau to flush out some of the games guaranteed to get your mate interested in collecting with you. He says: Let’s start with the Metal Gear Solid series for PlayStation and PS2. There are few games as “manly” as this one. In this game you get to stalk your enemy, use guns, smoke cigarettes and make the world safe for the good guys. The fact that Snake is such a tough guy really helps, I can identify with this kind of character, like being Clint Eastwood or Arnold Schwarzenegger in a game. She says: While the actual game play is impressive, girls will probably be turned off by the setting. I don’t usually feel any inclination to sneak up behind people and strangle them, nor am I much for gun combat. It reminds me too much of those terrible Rambo movies. Instead, how about…
He says: I’m not surprised at all! “Button mashing beat ‘em ups” are my wife’s favorite kind of game. It seems like no matter how studious I am with learning the best techniques, her timing ultimately beats me anyway. I’d put DOA3 very high on my list as well, and I think this style makes for the best “couple” games around. When we’re not playing as a couple though, I look for a game like…
She says: Yikes. I liked the previous versions of this game better, when it wasn't quite so "in your face". Everyone - man or woman - gets a touch of road rage at some point, so you really do get a release running down pedestrians, plowing through traffic, and of course you get to drive any car you want. But this version is almost too realistic with the perspective change. I'll stick with the original, maybe because it seems more like a game. Anyway, I prefer something a little more light-hearted...
He says: I was much more interested in the mature aspects of this game than the gameplay itself. I’d much rather run freely about blasting things in my path than have to carefully navigate a level and solve puzzles to move further into the game. Conker is fun but if there were never another game made in this genre I don’t think I’d even notice. Give me something a little meatier… Madden 2002. Ah, football. Throughout the ages, men have been drawn not only to the actual sport but also to the simulation thereof on their game consoles. There have been dozens of great football videogames over the years, but the Madden series has always been my favorite. Something about hearing the commentary by Madden and Sommerall that makes it feel like Sunday afternoon, game day. Ah, bliss. She says: Football... how many hours of my life have been wasted on this? Personally, the only time I like sports is when I'm actually at the game. I can't (nor do I want to) figure out playbook options on a game like this, and it’s just too much work in general for a video game. When I play, I just want to relax! Definitely not a game for all girls. I’d much rather spend my time with a game I can just pick up and play without an instruction manual…
He says: the classics appeal to just about everybody - male, female, young and old alike. Although Q*bert’s control scheme is a bit out of the ordinary, it requires nothing more than four directions on a joystick, so it’s very easy to pick up and play. I couldn’t agree more with Jaime on the remade version, which is simply a Q*bert lover’s dream come true! Maybe it’s just the letter Q, because another favorite among my buddies is… Quake. Enjoying a game like this is akin to the reasons I stated on Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto III: guns, carnage, and chaos. However, a good first-person shooter strikes home on another level: competition. I believe that competition is much more prevalent in men, almost to the point of a disease in some of us. A game like this, played with 2 players going head to head (or more if you’re playing any of the online versions) creates an adrenaline rush that can only be duplicated in a real life bar fight. And I do try to avoid those, I have to protect my pretty face. She says: Violence. I never really got into the "mission" version of the game, although I did have some fun with the online version because of the wonderful competition it provides. Unfortunately, there are so many hardcore players out there who've mastered this game that I'm out of my league and fragged two seconds after I materialize! You can send messages to other players which can be a riot when people really start getting into the game (since I spend most of my time getting killed anyway, I have plenty of time to type)! Girls, you might like this game in the versus mode more than the story mode, but I’ll almost guarantee a game you’ll like better… Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. I bought the PlayStation version of THPS2 for a guy friend last Christmas, and liked it so much that I ended up getting the Dreamcast version for myself. Another great button-mashing game! He's tried to teach me the trick combos so I can get higher scores, but having to hit them at just the right time frustrated me too much. I only play to have fun, and hey, if I happen to complete a goal, even better! My best girl friend rated this game as one of her favorites too because it's so easy to play. He says: she’s button-mashing again! And I’ll betcha anything she’d beat me with that technique. I’ve always had the Tony Hawk series pegged “ for guys”, which just goes to show that a great game can appeal to anyone. Okay, here’s one I’m pretty sure appeals much more to guys than gals…
She says: The gals will probably find this one fun as a time killer. Not something I’d feel really driven to play to the end, although the game play is fairly straightforward and doesn’t require much studying. This kind of game reminds me of Super Mario style games (beat the levels to reach the boss & grab the power ups along the way, avoiding the various enemies) with the speed turned up a few notches. I’d rather the speed turned back down… Golden Sun for Game Boy Advance. I usually don't go for the turn-based RPG games, but I'm hooked through the nose on this one. A lot of my girlfriends really got into the Pokemon game for the regular Game Boy, and this has a lot of similarities. There's a story behind your mission, you battle with monsters to gain experience, levels, and money, join forces with others to gain more power, and collect djinns, which are remarkably similar to the Pokemon themselves! Oh, and no scantily clad women bouncing around the scenes, either. He says: If you try to put anything even remotely resembling a Pokemon game in front of me there’s going to be trouble. How about instead…
She says: … except the players who ARE girls! I’d prefer getting the man (preferably a rich one) as a reward! I do like the Final Fantasy games very much because I really enjoy a good role-playing game. It’s one of the few genres that typically feature female characters. I agree this one is a great escape, and almost guaranteed to hold anyone - male or female - in its grasp. |
Dead or Alive 3 for X-Box: Women prefer "cerebral" challenges, but not exclusively so. My affinity for this game proves that! Okay, admittedly, most of us girls aren't sitting around figuring out the button combos for the super punches and kicks in this game. I know I just hit as many buttons as I can as fast as I can! I seem to have the button-mashing pattern down pretty well, because I can kick my boyfriend’s butt on this game four out of five times. Since you don't actually *have* to have knowledge of what buttons to push, girls can reach for that controller and probably have as much a chance of winning as the next guy in line. 
Grand Theft Auto III for PS2. It’s not that I want to commit the brutal crimes you see in this game, but it sure is a release from the daily stresses of real life. Driving to work I could only WISH to plow straight through traffic and leave my burning heap behind to explode. I could only WISH to have the police chase me and fend them off with a well-timed rocket. I could only WISH that the bad girls out there thought I was the “go to guy”. Think about it. Isn’t it this very kind of wishing -
Conker’s Bad Fur Day for N64. This is one of the problem solving games that most girls will enjoy. I'm still immature enough to enjoy the humor in this one, not to mention the kick I get out of figuring what to do next while my “better half” is spewing out more obscenities than the game! You really do need a girl's advanced mental capabilities to get past these stages.
Q*bert. This will always be one of my favorites. You're racing to turn all the blocks the same color while avoiding the "bad guys" but no head to head fighting. All the frantic action without the bloody carnage. Q*Bert is adorable, and he swears when he gets bonked on the head! The Hasbro/Atari remade version developed for PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC is great too, with more levels to clear plus an adventure type game thrown in for variety. 
Blazing Lazers for the Turbografx-16. I’m not a hardcore shooter fan, but I do enjoy a good one over short periods of time. This genre is the definition of the “MTV Generation”: short attention spans, fast action. There are some days that I fit that mold and just need to get my gaming “fix”. I certainly do get bored easily. My favorite game in this genre is Blazing Lazers, a fabulous vertical shooter for the Turbografx-16. It’s not all about lasers, either. There are bullets, guided missiles and bombs, too. Me like bombs.
The Final Fantasy series. This probably doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of my choices, but in many ways it defines the overall concept of gaming for me. A good role-playing game is the ULTIMATE escape. You take on the role of another person, usually in a far-off place and time, and perform various heroic acts which typically include killing lots of stuff and getting the girl. I don’t know a guy on this planet who can’t relate to that.