Our national anthem never even mentions superiority in any way. It is mostly about the beauty of the Norwegian coastline, and how we managed to overcome German occupation in WWII ( though, by the hand of God, not by help from British, American and Soviet soldiers.)
I think it depends more on the person than the game/subject matter. Some vets have severe PTSD which means a slamming door, a whooshing sound (like a rocket) or anything like that can set them off. Others need something more concrete (like a game). Your friend might have been set off, simply by walking through said house, maybe in the dark, without any threat whatsoever (real or virtual).
Interesting though, that he is serbian. I always thought that the serbs were the ones during that conflict that only had army and paramilitary involved, while the rest of the population stayed safe. But then, the West's view on that particular conflict is always vehemently anti-Serb, as I came to find after doing some research on the conflict.
You make excellent points. Sadly I didnt spend my mod points last time round and so they werent renewed today:(
I would like to reference the Soldier of Fortune series of games. If you remember, they caused much controversy because they tried to depict actual gun wounds and realistic death sequences. (The first one was a bit too early to get decent graphics so it was all pixels anyway, but the second one was pretty good). A shotgun slug to the stomach meant guts would spill out. 7.62mm to the face...well it took a good chunk of face right off. Explosives meant severed limbs.
People were up in arms about it (no pun intended) because it was too realistic, and all kinds of restrictions were imposed on it. Personally, I thought surely this realism is a good thing. Why sugar-coat what combat is like? It didnt make the game any less fun, but more poignant. I took the time to realise that "thank god this is just a game", and that I dont have to do this in real life.
Then there's games like Modern Warfare 2 where Russians are portrayed as bad guys. The entertainment industry alone is a big propaganda machine. It's quite boring how one-sided it always is.
Not just that, but there are two types of russians; loyalists and ultranationalists. And both are bad in some respect but the ultras are "baddest". They even get their politics completely confused between the two MW games. Some are loyalists (this is supposed to be either actual Russian government forces, or so-called loyalists to the government, who fight along side them.) and ultranationalists, who are either supposed to be some kind of neo-nazi group, OR depending on where you read on the internet, they are the ones who wish to return to being the Soviet USSR. And still as far as I can tell they are both wearing hammer-and-sickle hats, despite neither of them should rightfully be wearing them (loyalists because that is not the current regime, and ultras because if you are such a right-wing extremist how could you embrace communism?). That and the guy who helps you in the first one has a hammer-and-sickle insignia, and he is referred to as loyalist. Confusing.
Well, no there is no Patriot Act because here in the UK they don't care about telling people new amendments to the law. We do, however, have more CCTV than anywhere in the world even though statistics show almost no petty crimes ever witnessed on these cameras ever go to court. So even though there is no Patriot Act, I would say the UK is just as caught up in post-9/11 (or rather, post 7/7) paranoia as the US is.
House 1: I was on their fibre network, had the 20mb package, everything went as it should, always had between 16-20 down speed. Line attenuation was acceptable, usually under 70ms ping. Customer support, when needed, was wank. Truly awful.
House 2: Again, on their fibre network, but in a "high-density area" (they just let wayyy too many people on for the network to handle). Still got the full 20mb, but line attenuation was awful. Unless I wanted to stay up til 2am, my pings were 300-1000ms to any given server. This meant the line was fine for downloading stuff, but the speed was not reflected in my browsing (pages load faster on my current 1mbps line) and gaming...forget it. I would wake up early before work and get an hour in before it went to shit. Calling to complain about this, all they could say was "Are you getting your 20 meg?" I was, so they just said "We don't support [upload/ping/jitter/any other problem you might encounter]". Arguing with them for 5 months we finally managed to get a 50% discount since the product did not do what it was advertised to do (the 20meg line specifically says "perfect for gaming").
House 3: Checked their postcode checker before moving in, and yes fibre net was available. Get there, having already signed the contract (we did it in a bit of a hurry since we were running out of time to find a new place) and find the fibre actually stops 3 houses down. They only laid the cables halfway down my street. Virgin won't put in more cable unless it's less than 4 metres because it isnt economically viable for them... So I say fine, I will try your ADSL service. I get to speak to an engineer, who asks me my internet habits etc. to establish what package would be best. I tell him I want the biggest, XL, because I don't want capped downloads. The speed of the package is 20 meg but I stop him and ask him for a no-BS assessment, how fast is the typical speed gonna be. He says typically around 8mb. I say fine, that will do, you got a deal. To this day I have never seen it go above 1mbps in any speed test.
The one redeeming thing is that I now have personal phone numbers for both an engineer and a sales person, who both live locally, to help me out without going through BS call centres.
Like I said, it is love/hate. But mostly hate.
Remember the original Call of Duty? Fairly low key developer, but it was a bad-ass game, free demos were available online, the game received glowing reviews and gained a fan-base. There were dedicated servers, mods, etc. Then as it went mainstream, my personal opinion is that the quality went down. No dedicated servers. Rehashes of old maps being piece-mealed off ala the Sims series, and other blatant abuses of their mainstream status.
In all fairness to the various companies that have worked on the CoD franchise over the years, the only one that was all locked up and annoying was MW2. All the releases prior to that (to my knowledge) had dedicated servers, mods and all that stuff. Right up to World at War. After that came MW2 and things went to shit. We have Black Ops approaching this fall, so we will see if they go back to their roots. I WILL NOT buy this game if it turns out to be as draconian as MW2.
If you volunteer for the military then you are not being oppressed because you chose to enter into a contract wherein superiors tell you what to do and you are punished if you don't. You might say young men were oppressed during the Vietnam War because there was a draft and they were forced to join, and I would have to agree with you, but as it stands I hardly think it qualifies as oppression.
Oh wow....It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how blatantly obviously you make sarcasm, still people don't get it. I even tried to write my phrase as "southern" and "redneck" as possible. Nerd baiting is too easy!
In simpler terms, for the 5 (possibly up to 8) people who replied: **WHOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**
For clarification, "The Netherlands" is the whole country, "Holland" is a region, but often used to denote the whole of The Netherlands. Not to be confused with "nether lands" or any variation as such. "The Netherlands" is an english "translation" of Nederland, just as many other languages translate some placenames, even if they are proper nouns. Examples: Spanish for London is Londres, England is Inglaterra. Norwegian for Russia is "Russland", Belarus is "Hviterussland" (literally "white russia" which is what belarus really means). In English, a German town exists by the name of Cologne (like what you put on after shaving) when the "real" name for the town is Köln.
Yes, but at the same time, Hitler famously disliked the christian religion. He would often say how it made the people weak, because priests taught compassion and empathy, something he thought should not belong in the Reich, and certainly not on the battlefield. It is clear he much preferred the Norse ideology, as you can see in many of the symbols he used, from the Swastika (looks like a Norse Sun wheel), the wolf's hook, the 'sig' rune (used as the SS symbol), the life rune, the odal rune, etc.
Whether this was just because he also idolised the race of people descended from the Norsemen, or if he truly believed this "religion" or ideology to be superior, is another matter.
That was from my local Game game store here in the UK, a national chain, and they constantly have similar pricing offers on.
Now, by that do you mean the generic term "game store" or do you mean the chain of stores called GAME? Because I have always found that GAME is ridiculously overpriced. When MW2 came out I had a look round at whom was cheapest. GAME was selling it for £35 (earlier on it was £39.99), but I picked it up at Tesco for £29.99
@bigtomrodney, moridin
I think we're both a bit confused. The part of my comment you quoted there I was simply pointing out that you mention a simple remove and replace action by the "hand", but I point out that, in the game, using the FAL has a special "fun/cheeky/whatever" reload manoeuvre that means he takes a new magazine and uses it to knock out the current one in one swift move. I read somewhere that this little "easter egg", if you like, was originally planned for the AK. Later on I go on to comment the fact that, were the magazine empty, he pulls the bolt all the way back, rather than simply clicking it back into place (I realise my terminology is a bit off, I was never officially taught).
As a side note, using the FAL, the mag that is dispelled - regardless of whether you emptied it or not - is seen to still have rounds in it as it flies off.
Even cursory investigation would tell you that changing mags before empty requires no recocking and changing on an empty mag only requires a flick of the bolt-locking device to allow the breach to move forward; only a first load would require recocking.
Still, the fact that they differentiate between the two is a good start, and not common in most FPS's.
Of course come the last round being fired the character slowly changed magazine and recocked the rifle.
Oh come on, the FN FAL (SLR) is the only one in the game that DOESNT reload like that. He (you) take a new magazine and use it to knock the eject mechanism to remove the spent magazine. The FN FAL is the only rifle in the game that does this (despite the AK having a similar eject mechanism, making it possible. In fact, this nonchalant reloading was originally going to be used on the AK, not the FAL).
On top of that the recoil was vastly understated and I can guarantee you that after putting two 7.62mm NATO rounds through someone they will not still be firing or running at you
Which is why I stopped playing regular TDM and started only playing Hardcore. One round from the FAL knocks them down, almost guaranteed.
Slashdot Mirror
Our national anthem never even mentions superiority in any way. It is mostly about the beauty of the Norwegian coastline, and how we managed to overcome German occupation in WWII ( though, by the hand of God, not by help from British, American and Soviet soldiers.)
And in some countries, like the UK, what you are doing is worse than what the mugger is doing, and you will do time whereas the mugger will not.
I think it depends more on the person than the game/subject matter. Some vets have severe PTSD which means a slamming door, a whooshing sound (like a rocket) or anything like that can set them off. Others need something more concrete (like a game). Your friend might have been set off, simply by walking through said house, maybe in the dark, without any threat whatsoever (real or virtual).
Interesting though, that he is serbian. I always thought that the serbs were the ones during that conflict that only had army and paramilitary involved, while the rest of the population stayed safe. But then, the West's view on that particular conflict is always vehemently anti-Serb, as I came to find after doing some research on the conflict.
I thought that too...moronic.
You make excellent points. Sadly I didnt spend my mod points last time round and so they werent renewed today :(
I would like to reference the Soldier of Fortune series of games. If you remember, they caused much controversy because they tried to depict actual gun wounds and realistic death sequences. (The first one was a bit too early to get decent graphics so it was all pixels anyway, but the second one was pretty good). A shotgun slug to the stomach meant guts would spill out. 7.62mm to the face...well it took a good chunk of face right off. Explosives meant severed limbs.
People were up in arms about it (no pun intended) because it was too realistic, and all kinds of restrictions were imposed on it. Personally, I thought surely this realism is a good thing. Why sugar-coat what combat is like? It didnt make the game any less fun, but more poignant. I took the time to realise that "thank god this is just a game", and that I dont have to do this in real life.
Buy him CoD: Black Ops for christmas. That might hit a little closer to home.
That was the first one. Second one is all-out war with all of Russia.
Then there's games like Modern Warfare 2 where Russians are portrayed as bad guys. The entertainment industry alone is a big propaganda machine. It's quite boring how one-sided it always is.
Not just that, but there are two types of russians; loyalists and ultranationalists. And both are bad in some respect but the ultras are "baddest". They even get their politics completely confused between the two MW games. Some are loyalists (this is supposed to be either actual Russian government forces, or so-called loyalists to the government, who fight along side them.) and ultranationalists, who are either supposed to be some kind of neo-nazi group, OR depending on where you read on the internet, they are the ones who wish to return to being the Soviet USSR. And still as far as I can tell they are both wearing hammer-and-sickle hats, despite neither of them should rightfully be wearing them (loyalists because that is not the current regime, and ultras because if you are such a right-wing extremist how could you embrace communism?). That and the guy who helps you in the first one has a hammer-and-sickle insignia, and he is referred to as loyalist. Confusing.
Well, no there is no Patriot Act because here in the UK they don't care about telling people new amendments to the law. We do, however, have more CCTV than anywhere in the world even though statistics show almost no petty crimes ever witnessed on these cameras ever go to court. So even though there is no Patriot Act, I would say the UK is just as caught up in post-9/11 (or rather, post 7/7) paranoia as the US is.
My relationship with Virgin is love/hate.
House 1: I was on their fibre network, had the 20mb package, everything went as it should, always had between 16-20 down speed. Line attenuation was acceptable, usually under 70ms ping. Customer support, when needed, was wank. Truly awful.
House 2: Again, on their fibre network, but in a "high-density area" (they just let wayyy too many people on for the network to handle). Still got the full 20mb, but line attenuation was awful. Unless I wanted to stay up til 2am, my pings were 300-1000ms to any given server. This meant the line was fine for downloading stuff, but the speed was not reflected in my browsing (pages load faster on my current 1mbps line) and gaming...forget it. I would wake up early before work and get an hour in before it went to shit. Calling to complain about this, all they could say was "Are you getting your 20 meg?" I was, so they just said "We don't support [upload/ping/jitter/any other problem you might encounter]". Arguing with them for 5 months we finally managed to get a 50% discount since the product did not do what it was advertised to do (the 20meg line specifically says "perfect for gaming").
House 3: Checked their postcode checker before moving in, and yes fibre net was available. Get there, having already signed the contract (we did it in a bit of a hurry since we were running out of time to find a new place) and find the fibre actually stops 3 houses down. They only laid the cables halfway down my street. Virgin won't put in more cable unless it's less than 4 metres because it isnt economically viable for them... So I say fine, I will try your ADSL service. I get to speak to an engineer, who asks me my internet habits etc. to establish what package would be best. I tell him I want the biggest, XL, because I don't want capped downloads. The speed of the package is 20 meg but I stop him and ask him for a no-BS assessment, how fast is the typical speed gonna be. He says typically around 8mb. I say fine, that will do, you got a deal. To this day I have never seen it go above 1mbps in any speed test.
The one redeeming thing is that I now have personal phone numbers for both an engineer and a sales person, who both live locally, to help me out without going through BS call centres.
Like I said, it is love/hate. But mostly hate.
...to their sub-1mbps service. So kudos to them, I guess..
Remember the original Call of Duty? Fairly low key developer, but it was a bad-ass game, free demos were available online, the game received glowing reviews and gained a fan-base. There were dedicated servers, mods, etc. Then as it went mainstream, my personal opinion is that the quality went down. No dedicated servers. Rehashes of old maps being piece-mealed off ala the Sims series, and other blatant abuses of their mainstream status.
In all fairness to the various companies that have worked on the CoD franchise over the years, the only one that was all locked up and annoying was MW2. All the releases prior to that (to my knowledge) had dedicated servers, mods and all that stuff. Right up to World at War. After that came MW2 and things went to shit. We have Black Ops approaching this fall, so we will see if they go back to their roots. I WILL NOT buy this game if it turns out to be as draconian as MW2.
If you volunteer for the military then you are not being oppressed because you chose to enter into a contract wherein superiors tell you what to do and you are punished if you don't. You might say young men were oppressed during the Vietnam War because there was a draft and they were forced to join, and I would have to agree with you, but as it stands I hardly think it qualifies as oppression.
Does anyone else think "Windows Phone 7" sounds really clunky and weird?
Why not "Windows7 Phone", or "Mobile7" or something? "Windows Phone 7" just seems like a tonguetwister, or a haiku at best:
Windows Phone 7
Why do I even bother?
I am not impressed.
Oh wow....It never ceases to amaze me, no matter how blatantly obviously you make sarcasm, still people don't get it. I even tried to write my phrase as "southern" and "redneck" as possible. Nerd baiting is too easy!
In simpler terms, for the 5 (possibly up to 8) people who replied: **WHOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**
Allright mister science man, if we all evolved from monkeys, then why come there still monkeys?
For clarification, "The Netherlands" is the whole country, "Holland" is a region, but often used to denote the whole of The Netherlands. Not to be confused with "nether lands" or any variation as such. "The Netherlands" is an english "translation" of Nederland, just as many other languages translate some placenames, even if they are proper nouns. Examples: Spanish for London is Londres, England is Inglaterra. Norwegian for Russia is "Russland", Belarus is "Hviterussland" (literally "white russia" which is what belarus really means). In English, a German town exists by the name of Cologne (like what you put on after shaving) when the "real" name for the town is Köln.
Yes, but at the same time, Hitler famously disliked the christian religion. He would often say how it made the people weak, because priests taught compassion and empathy, something he thought should not belong in the Reich, and certainly not on the battlefield. It is clear he much preferred the Norse ideology, as you can see in many of the symbols he used, from the Swastika (looks like a Norse Sun wheel), the wolf's hook, the 'sig' rune (used as the SS symbol), the life rune, the odal rune, etc.
Whether this was just because he also idolised the race of people descended from the Norsemen, or if he truly believed this "religion" or ideology to be superior, is another matter.
That was from my local Game game store here in the UK, a national chain, and they constantly have similar pricing offers on.
Now, by that do you mean the generic term "game store" or do you mean the chain of stores called GAME? Because I have always found that GAME is ridiculously overpriced. When MW2 came out I had a look round at whom was cheapest. GAME was selling it for £35 (earlier on it was £39.99), but I picked it up at Tesco for £29.99
Sounds almost as bad as SS Doomtrooper
Seriously, read the review, it is accurate.
*ahem* WHOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!
We we're missing a proper ww2 tank movie :/. Most ww2 hollywood tank portrayals pre-"saving private ryan" are horrendous.
Dude, Kelly's Heroes...soooo good!
@bigtomrodney, moridin I think we're both a bit confused. The part of my comment you quoted there I was simply pointing out that you mention a simple remove and replace action by the "hand", but I point out that, in the game, using the FAL has a special "fun/cheeky/whatever" reload manoeuvre that means he takes a new magazine and uses it to knock out the current one in one swift move. I read somewhere that this little "easter egg", if you like, was originally planned for the AK. Later on I go on to comment the fact that, were the magazine empty, he pulls the bolt all the way back, rather than simply clicking it back into place (I realise my terminology is a bit off, I was never officially taught).
As a side note, using the FAL, the mag that is dispelled - regardless of whether you emptied it or not - is seen to still have rounds in it as it flies off.
I dont care what you all day, my KF-7 Soviet is a real gun, I have seen them on TV.
Even cursory investigation would tell you that changing mags before empty requires no recocking and changing on an empty mag only requires a flick of the bolt-locking device to allow the breach to move forward; only a first load would require recocking.
Still, the fact that they differentiate between the two is a good start, and not common in most FPS's.
Of course come the last round being fired the character slowly changed magazine and recocked the rifle.
Oh come on, the FN FAL (SLR) is the only one in the game that DOESNT reload like that. He (you) take a new magazine and use it to knock the eject mechanism to remove the spent magazine. The FN FAL is the only rifle in the game that does this (despite the AK having a similar eject mechanism, making it possible. In fact, this nonchalant reloading was originally going to be used on the AK, not the FAL).
On top of that the recoil was vastly understated and I can guarantee you that after putting two 7.62mm NATO rounds through someone they will not still be firing or running at you
Which is why I stopped playing regular TDM and started only playing Hardcore. One round from the FAL knocks them down, almost guaranteed.