Topic: What were you playing 10 years ago?

Absolutely loved Bustin Out on GBA. Easily one of my favourite games of all time. Loved the music, the atmosphere and the silly, diverse range of characters. Not perfect by any stretch, but a great miniaturisation of The Sims with an adventure/RPG flavour to it. The GBA version, crazily, was never released in Australia. If it had been, I would have used whatever little pocket money I had at the time to buy a GBA in order to play this game. That's just how good it is IMO. I had to play it via "other means" at the time of its release, but I managed to track down a cheap used copy from eBay a few years ago and played it on my DS Lite (and I fell in love with the game all over again).

The Urbz (the core game is identical on both GBA and DS, however the DS version contains an exclusive set of missions, plus some new characters, mini-games and bizarre pets, including apes and unicorns) provided more of the same, however, the game provided you with more freedom as there are various possible apartments that you can move into (including a luxury two-storey penthouse), so you're not forced to live in any particular place, and you can continue playing even after the credits have rolled. I wasn't too thrilled with the shift in visual style (everyone's features are cartoonishly exaggerated compared to the more realistic still images that appear in dialogue sequences in Bustin' Out), and it isn't quite as fresh or memorable, but it's still a really good game with plenty to see and do and I would recommend it if you can track down a copy. Bustin' Out is byfar a superior experience, but functionally, The Urbz improves on its predecessor in almost every way, so it's hard to objectively say which game is better.

I was really excited about The Sims 2 on DS at the time, and it's one of the reasons (along with Urbz) why I had bought a DS very close to launch. I was a little disappointed with TS2 DS as the town was so ridiculously small and there wasn't a great deal to see or do (and the interactions with characters were nowhere near as engaging without any dialogue). Nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely and was glad to see some old faces from Bustin' Out and The Urbz (at least a couple of faces from The Sims 2 on PC also appear in the game).

The GBA version of The Sims 2 used the same engine as Bustin' Out and The Urbz, but it was poor. REALLY poor. It abandoned everything that made the first two games so engaging, and it ultimately felt like a rushed, phoned-in contractual obligation as opposed to a game of any substance whatsoever. It contains the same characters as the DS game, but in the GBA game, you're the star of a reality TV show in Strangetown. I bought this hoping for a spiritual successor to The Urbz, but that void was filled better by the DS version. There hasn't been a true sequel to the DS version since (and the less said about the utterly rubbish The Sims 2: Pets, the better).

Incidentally, I worked on a crime themed machinima series made with The Sims 2 on PC based on characters and locations from Bustin' Out and The Urbz 10 years ago. I wanted to produce a full 9 episode season, but the show was rested after only 5 episodes (a second season was also planned). It was absolute rubbish but I had such a blast working on it.

I'm myself trying to forget that The Sims 2: Pets DS exists. And that I paid money for it.

I loved Bustin' Out on the gba. I really wish I still had the cartridge. I may buy an used one online now that I remember it. It was a great rpg, as odd as that might sound.

And yeah, 2 really suffers from the lack of dialogue with the characters, but at least it has several little activities that made it worth playing daily. It wasn't as good as Bustin' out, but it was its own thing. I did try the gba version once. I didn't really like it either.

I finished the GBA version (just because), but I would not have missed anything by not playing it. I would like to see these games on the Wii U VC, but EA are dogs, so it'll never happen.

10 years ago, I wasn't gaming. 9 years ago, I got my first systems: Wii and DS, and I started out with TouchMaster on DS and Wii Sports, SpongeBob: Creature From the Krusty Krab and Cars on Wii. So I guess that.

Meh. There were still a lot of games, and renting games was more common. From my perspective, the only reason GCN looked like it lacked titles, was because PS2 was already the main focus.

All the sports games were there. Most of the stuff PS2 got that GCN didn't get, was either shovelware or obscure games that even Xbox didn't get. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Harry Potter, Pac-man, etc. and even Hitman was on GCN, and every console had their share of exclusives. GCN had most of the 3rd party games, even if they were being played with a PS2 controller, and the multiplatform games GCN had that PS2 had, pretty much always ran better on Xbox or GCN.

Take that back sir! I will not have you insulting dogs.

I was playing Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, Klonoa Beach Volleyball and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil on my original fat PS2.

To everyone saying KHII, it wasn't out 10 years ago (it didn't release until 2006, which was 9 years ago).

I know it's a small nitpick, but for some reason it's bothering me, lol.

Technically the Japanese version was out in very late 2005, but probably nobody here was playing it.
Still, RPGs is largely what the PS2 had in large numbers that GC and Xbox didn't, and the main reason I went with that console back then.

I didn't even care for PS2, except for mostly God of War 1 & 2. I bought the Jak and Dexter Collection on PS3, but it was obviously worse than freaking Croc on PS1, IMO. I'd rather play Glover than Jak & Dexter. I played some random monster RPG, a motor cycle game, and also played Starwars Battlefront 2, but every PS2 game I ever played was on someone elses PS2.

I never got to fully play the RE multiplayer games. Stuff like that and Metal Gear Solid 3 is why I wanted PS2, but I was stuck with GCN. I still got to play Gears and Bioshock on other peoples' Xbox 360s. Xbox 360 was too expensive, and Wii was around the corner for 2006, anyway. I saw the E3 for Wii and didn't give a s*** about Xbox Live or FCs, not to mention PS3 was $500-600, so 6th generation games were the bulk.

In September 2005 I think I was playing Kuru Kuru Kururin on the GBA. After that it would have been Meteos on the DS. Before that, not 100% sure, possibly Metal Slug Advance on GBA.

Dang, I was only around 8 at the time, so it's hard to remember. I know there was a lot of Star Wars: Battlefront 1&2 since I loved those games and my parents let me start playing it when I was 8. (On a side note - I can't wait for the new one.) There would be a lot of Sly 2 as well. I loved that game and would roam the world for hours on end. Otherwise, I can't really remember since I was so young. If I had to take a few potshot guesses, I'd say Gadget Racers, a ATV game I can't remember the name of, and maybe a little Hot Pursuit 2.

Looking at the release dates for that year, probably Sonic Gems Collection more than anything at this time 10 years ago. hard to tell what else. I was quite the Sonic fan for several years after getting into Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Adventure DX, so I got into Shadow the Hedgehog when it came out in November 2005 too. Not quite as hyped about the series nowadays.

I was only 13 going on 14 at the time; I used to do a paper round at the crack of a sparrows fart and saved all my money for a DS that was bundled with Project Rub (it was called Feel the Magic: XY/XX in the US of A) along with Super Mario 64 DS and WarioWare: Touched!

I appreciated it so much more knowing that I, all by myself, saved up for the DS and spent months and months playing those three games - I also picked up Zoo Keeper a few months later too. Unfortunately, as you get older, that sense of appreciation kind of fades away, seeing as money comes a lot easier than when we were kids.

They were good times.

this thread will be funny in a little over one year from now. everybody will say WiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWiiWii xD

Around this time? Probably digging into Pokemon Emerald on my GBA SP. I loved the game and its twist on bringing both teams Magma and Aqua into the fray, the clash of legendaries in Sootopolis, and the Battle Frontier; I had never really been fond of the Battle Tower, so I enjoyed the different ways of battling that were introduced.

Resident Evil 4 - GCN
Resident Evil 2 - N64
Driv3r - PS2
GTA: San Andreas - Ps2
Paper Mario: TTYD - GCN
and a few other games.

I dunno, if anyone else is like me, they couldn't even find one for like 4 months.

Eh, my original answer will always be applicable.

Wow, We're going waaay back! I would have just turned 6 years old a couple months before! I can't remember if that was the same birthday I got Super Mario Sunshine or if that was my seventh one. If it was, I think I got Melee the same year. If not, I was probably playing Luigi's Mansion or Wario World. And probably also some N64 or SNES games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World. I was a Mario kid alright. But I also played a few PS1/PS2 games with my older brother at probably around the same time, like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, and Jak and Daxter. Good times, good times...