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My African Safari Adventure, an Afrika play diary. Image-heavy.
- Thread starter Stumpokapow
- Start date
Just thinking about this! Would love to get stuff like this on Project Morpheus, stuff that moves away from the more traditional games. It's a bit of a shame that this never hot the PSN Store as Aquanaut's Holiday did eventually.
Raven77
Member
Oh...oh my...that would just be amazing. Especially in Aquanauts if you could control the direction of the submarine with the direction your looking, etc.
TheJollyCorner
Member
whelp... now I'm going to dust my English-Korean "Hakuna Matata" off and replay, thanks to Stump.
I got this and Aquanaut's in an amazing sale at the time ($20 for each; full English) and love both.
I hope Sony commits to more of these kinds of games for the new gen. I know ArtDink was listed on the PS4-support list, but even though they aren't a AAA developer they still made a phenomenal AH game for PS3.
The poster that recommended a Jurassic Park-like AFRIKA game has the right idea. That would be fucking amazing.
I got this and Aquanaut's in an amazing sale at the time ($20 for each; full English) and love both.
I hope Sony commits to more of these kinds of games for the new gen. I know ArtDink was listed on the PS4-support list, but even though they aren't a AAA developer they still made a phenomenal AH game for PS3.
The poster that recommended a Jurassic Park-like AFRIKA game has the right idea. That would be fucking amazing.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
Awesome thanks guys! Now I gotta consider if I wanna drop 50 mangos on this thing, since that seems to be the going rate for the import copy.
I don't quite mind lack of trophy support but it is a bummer that it isn't there, but definitely not something worth paying 50 extra over (seriously the only US copy I saw on ebay was fucking 108 dollars)
Guess I won't be getting the OST then, as I can't even find it online ;_:
Kyleripman
Member
Great thread. I've always loved this game.
Actually I helped create a PDF mission guide with a couple of others on Gamefaqs back when it first came out. If anybody in this thread who was tempted to buy it gets stuck, I'd be happy to share it, just send me a PM.
Edit: And yeah, that IGN review was awful.
Actually I helped create a PDF mission guide with a couple of others on Gamefaqs back when it first came out. If anybody in this thread who was tempted to buy it gets stuck, I'd be happy to share it, just send me a PM.
Edit: And yeah, that IGN review was awful.
metsallica
Member
I imported the Korean versions of this (Hakuna Matata) and Aquanaut's Holiday as a game-starved PS3 owner back in 2009 and of course played neither. Amazing thread, Stump. While you may not get me to actually play this game (I have... problems), you've at least got me thinking about it and wanting to.
Great travelogue Stump. I'm currently working my way through my PS3 backlog with Valkyria Chronicles and this will be my next game for sure. I remember playing the first hour or so and enjoying it but something shiny and new got me off track. Please, if you've got the time I would love to read more of these long form LTTP threads from you.
Kyleripman
Member
Might as well throw in a couple of my shots:
I used to amuse myself by setting up the TrapCam, hiding and waiting for the pygmy hippo to come out, and then sprinting up to it to get a picture with it before it ran away.
I used to amuse myself by setting up the TrapCam, hiding and waiting for the pygmy hippo to come out, and then sprinting up to it to get a picture with it before it ran away.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Pygmy Hippo is a right bastard, because you can't even chase him when he runs into the deep swamp and the trap cam's range is terrible so if you do scare him, it's basically impossible to get far enough away that he'll come back without being out of range of the trap cam. You can hide in those bushes near the trap site but it doesn't give you good visibility for your timing. That pic is awesome, amazed you managed to dash that close to him!
Your baboon picture reminds me of this RC Cam Baboon shot I got:
Your baboon picture reminds me of this RC Cam Baboon shot I got:
Valkyr Junkie
Member
My first 2 platinums.
astroturfing
Member
totally. for some reason i love seeing this game resurfacing, even though i've never played my copy
i will.. some day. i did play Aquanaut's Holiday though. did not like it very much.. it was just very odd. it's got a goofy new-age vibe going on that just doesn't work for me.it's really sad that we're probably not getting these types of games anymore
i still remember those first trailers for Afrika (it was supposed to look like THIS, dammit) and Aquanaut's Holiday, they looked fucking incredible... the massive downgrade really hurt me, even more than the Motorstorm and Killzone 2 fake trailers. yea i'm still a bit bitter.SpacePirate Ridley
Member
Stumpokapow, the first post reminds me a lot of the good ol days in the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 official forums where a lot of people did a diary of construction of their parks, telling stories as if the were the managers of the parks, usually the best ones were small family ones that get bigger as years passed.
From what I see this game is similar to Endless Ocean no?
From what I see this game is similar to Endless Ocean no?
Kyleripman
Member
Pygmy Hippo is a right bastard, because you can't even chase him when he runs into the deep swamp and the trap cam's range is terrible so if you do scare him, it's basically impossible to get far enough away that he'll come back without being out of range of the trap cam. You can hide in those bushes near the trap site but it doesn't give you good visibility for your timing. That pic is awesome, amazed you managed to dash that close to him!
Your baboon picture reminds me of this RC Cam Baboon shot I got:
Ah nice, IIRC that's in the fever tree area of Kiboko...I remember not realizing that the baboons would suddenly appear there. The game is full of little surprises like that; animals moving between areas and such.
I got lucky with the pygmy hippo, you're right, by far the most skittish animal!
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
The two have a similar appeal--calm, reflective, exploratory, loosely structured, serene--although the way they're implemented is quite different. Afrika's photography elements are really quite deep compared to Endless Ocean's, while Endless Ocean has more interaction with the marine life directly. I know EO2 has more photography stuff, but still not quite like this.
I loved how Lake Heroe would have flamingos some days and not others, how missions impacted the distribution of animals, and how some animals were only available early in the morning, requiring you to camp out in the areas. I actually loved the way the world was put together. Starting at home base every morning, going down that hill, deciding if I was going left or right, scheduling my objectives for the day, having to go through the Baboon area to get the Suzuki around Mount Hakunamatata. I feel like I know the layout of this game far better than the vast majority I've played because of that "routine". Y2Kev made a thread like 3 years ago on "games with a sense of 'home'" and I think Afrika would be a great candidate for that.
it's really sad that we're probably not getting these types of games anymore
Looking at this trailer, the major downgrades appear to be:
- Density of grass and vegetation
- Quality of surface textures
- Fluidity of idle animations in animals, along with removal of most animal walking sounds and most dust or impact type particle effects when they walk
- Size of hordes (in the finished game you can get maybe 50 or 60 animals in a wildebeest horde; more in the flamingo flocks, but they're mostly non-interactive)
- IQ
The actual animal models and textures seem pretty similar in the final game. I'd say the Wild Dogs actually look better in the finished game.
This is such a great concept for a game, I really wish Sony or someone else would have the balls to announce something similar on current-gen, maybe on a smaller scale and free to play. A huge part of the appeal of nature documentaries is the beauty it depicts, so this is a case where actually being able to have better vegetation, lighting and 3D models would tremendously increase the quality of the game.
SpacePirate Ridley
Member
Interesting, thanks for the info!
BroggieDoge
Member
Looks like it's time to add another game to my backlog.
Audioboxer
Member
If Sony wasn't Sony they'd put this and Aquanaut's Holiday on PSN. Easy money from the small hardcore audience that wants them.
Pretty hard to find the US version of this (it has trophies). I want both but have neither.
Pretty hard to find the US version of this (it has trophies). I want both but have neither.
semiconscious
Member
would be nice (own & love both, btw). but would've been even nicer if they'd just localized both initially. 2 gorgeous, showpiece, non-violent family games...
i can almost/sorta understand sony passing on demon's souls (tho not really
). but these 2 games? what in the fuck were they thinking?...Valkyr Junkie
Member
I think the save file is actually even larger. It's a set size regardless of the number of photos you save in your in-game album; it just reserves the space anyway.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
387mb
John Kowalski
Banned
I don't know how this game has eluded me for so long. It's so fucking expensive nowadays...
Anyway, i should make a thread about my photojournalistic travels in Bully. Probably my favorite, if not the best camera mode of all time.
Anyway, i should make a thread about my photojournalistic travels in Bully. Probably my favorite, if not the best camera mode of all time.
Kyleripman
Member
Yeah that would really fit in. I probably spent most of my time in Kiwanja Plain because I was addicted to those wide open vistas, and Duma Steppe primarily because cheetah & hyenas are two of my favorites. I remember the first time I stumbled across hyenas in the area I thought I had fully explored already. It really felt like a living environment sometimes.
I would even say that most of the animals look better when compared with the reveal trailer, in both animation and texture.
A potential next-gen Afrika that included the lush grass from the reveal along with random real-time animal interactions (as opposed to hunting only happening during scripted sequences) would be great.
It looks like you can get a used copy for ~30 USD on Amazon, if that helps.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
I got this game for $10 at a pawn shop and haven't touched it.
It's said to be somewhat rare, is that true at all?
It's said to be somewhat rare, is that true at all?
firehawk12
Subete no aware
This is a game that I wish they would make a HD remake for. Of course, I think the whole "photography-exploration" game thing is pretty much dead now. Well, unless you like to take car shots in a driving game I guess.
CountAntonius
Member
Nice marmot.
ProfessorMoran
Member
Great read, wonder if I should pick this up.
Roland1979
Junior Member
How i wish this game was on PC.
Some of the animal postures look really natural.
mods
my biggest surprise from this past generation was finding I enjoyed this type of game. Afrika was really fun if you got past some of the jankiness. Endless Ocean was another game which I enjoyed that was sort of 'going out into the wild and locate and catalogue wildlife' thing to it. It's just something that really creatively exploits the strengths of our medium whilst allowing someone with a passing interest in these subjects to learn something.