I played the EF2 demo and was completely turned off by what amounted to a phaser shotgun. At that point I realized I'd completely been drawn out of anything resembling immersion. Suddenly it dawned on me that the license was just a skin on an otherwise standard-fare first person shooter. Been there, done that, bored with it.
I totally agree with you though, about how X-Wing (and the followup, Tie Fighter) were GREAT games. They nailed Star Wars space combat down pat. Wing Commander was something of an oddity in my opinion. It's a FANTASTIC series of games, don't get me wrong there. But most game series' that aren't based on a license don't see the number of sequels as it had, and by far don't see the increase in production values it saw. Wing Commander games ended up being movies in and of themselves long before it actually hit theaters.
The fact the DVD's coming out so fast isn't surprising at all. Movies nowadays are edited digitally anyway, and are therefore already in a format ideal for mastering to DVD. The special content was produced while the film was being made anyway with the intent to be on the DVDs. There's no additional footage or anything like the Lord of the Rings releases, which even had additional score for new portions. Mastering and manufacturing are the longest part of the process in this case, since the content's all there.
Heh, there were dozens of points you could wire your own reset switch into the C-64. You could also do the same on any cartridge, not just the special one you could buy (although for most with no hardware mod ability that was the best choice). I remember taking my fastload cartridge, drilling it and wiring in a reset switch so I didn't need to have to remove it.
I still can't figure out how the hell the fastload cart actually helped load stuff off the disk faster... *shrug*
I think you nailed it on the point about a combo type box coming soon (who knows, maybe that's what the Phantom is, given that the site tells you fuck all about what the damn box is supposed to be really). I disagree about consoles going away though. Some people don't want to use their computers for gaming at all, they'd rather sit down and play a quick few levels of Mario or whatever. Not every gamer is a hardcore gamer, there are plenty of casual ones that can't be bothered with the intricacies of maintaining gaming capable PC's.
I agree that some first real attempts at convergence are coming, and probably SHOULD come (I'd love to play PC games on my widescreen TV with a real surround system), but it won't completely get rid of the console market. Not by far.
Only when we unleash the power of Open Source can we convince Matrox to decrease the retail price of the Parphelia
Unleash the power of your wallet then, by NOT buying their product. They'll either clue in and open their source and start selling product, or they won't and nobody will buy it and their company may suffer.
Re:.hack//SIGN and virtual lawlessness.
on
To Kill An Avatar
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· Score: 1
.hack touches on a lot of interesting issues, and I agree with you-- the players playing evil as a departure from their real life personalities is pretty interesting. Overall the show's a lot deeper than most suspect. Hell, for some of the "players" in the show, The World is not only the only social outlet they're confortable with existing in, but it's the only one they use at all. It's definitely one of my favorite anime, in that they could have done SUCH a crummy job with it. Just cover your eyes and ears when and if.hack//DUSK comes to N.A.... it's more of a slapstick and overly conventional anime.
Wow, you guys just took my posting and RAN with it, didn't you? I'll make this short. I'm not a fascist, I'm not an environmentalist, and I'm sure as hell not closed-minded. If you call me closed-minded for not falling in line with the cosmic ray theories, then the same scientists who are researching it are being closed-minded for not falling in with people who think fossil fuels are the problem.
All I was trying to get across in my post is that, as a species, we're doing a pretty darn good job of fucking the planet up the ass. Global warming might very well be caused by cosmic rays, but the fact is that using solar and wind power (among other renewable and alternative fuel sources) is a much better thing for the air quality overall. That's not being an "envirowhacko", that's common fucking sense.
That being said, my opinion is that we cna have a more apparent impact by researching ways to clean up our own act instead of worring about cosmic rays. That's only my opinion, and you can have yours. You don't have to call me unwarranted names or label me a fascist because I have one.
I really wish these researchers would stop trying to distract the world from the real problem and maybe put their brains to good use-- say finding a solution to the problem at hand. Cosmic rays, blah. The fact of the matter is we have four billion people on the earth that breathe, fart and drive cars that put out enough noxious gas to kill you in you in a closed garage in mere minutes. Time to take all these useless research papers and recycle them, and start putting forth a serious effort towards using renewable energy sources.
I agree, totally. The industry's not stupid, they've clued in a long time ago that we'll shell out money up front for a broken product. That, and in the case of MMORPGS, we'll continue to shell out money for a broken product. I can understand patches to fix things like balance issues and bugs, but what they did with SWG is appalling. It's half the game it should be; I mean come on, it's STAR WARS for pete's sake, where's my space ships? The starship combat? Coming in an expansion pack they say, when it should have been there in the first place. Let my voice of dissent against his crap be heard, with my wallet (or the lack thereof).
Showing a game off at E3 and having a gaming magazine do a preview of it is hardly hype. It's nowhere near the media bombardment you alluded to in your original post.
Really, what hype have you seen? Billboards advertising the game? Full page magazine ads? Ridiculously intrusive advertisements on webpages? I've seen none of those at all. At most I've seen advertisements from sellers offering preorders, but not much else other than people going to other games' message boards and saying how lame their game is going to look when SWG comes out. *snicker*
Oddly, "they" (LucasArts,SOE) haven't been hyping this game much at all. There's hardly any real advertising per se, it's mostly been word-of-mouth. Seems to be pretty effective, if you ask me.:)
Still, I won't touch this game in its current state, but I will keep an eye on it and see how it progresses and improves, if at all.
Actually that 130 dollar edition is the "collector's edition" if you can believe it. Possibly the lamest concept to hit gaming. Usually they include a map, a t-shirt, that kind of thing. No idea what's in the SWG though.
Neocron is definitely a very underrated MMORPG. It's not perfect (show me a MMORPG that is...) but for the price it's a metric fuckton of fun. The setting alone was unique, being a cyberpunk MMORFPRPG, and very well designed. Some balancing issues between classes, loot issues, but that's all standard fare for all these types of games. Dark Age of Camelot's my definite favorite, but Neocron's definitely second on my list.
I'd much rather have these games for my Gameboy Advance rather than for a sit-at-home console. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my PS2 and GC, but I'd rather have a cool collection of arcade games for a mobile form factor.
It IS annoying, yes. Seems that Ctrl-F shows the last search as long as you don't move off the page (go back, click link, whatever). Pretty horrible behavior, and that sidebar makes me utterly sick. Although you CAN change its default behavior somewhat.
How can you form an opinion of a game thats not finished ?
Because betas are meant to give you the basic gist of a game. I was in The Frozen Throne beta, and while there was a lot of it that was broken, that needed work, that needed tweaking, it wasn't a miserable experience. It was fun and I had a good time.
Um, no. Betas are NOT meant to give you a basic gist of a game. They're meant to test the game's client and server software, as well as play balancing, etc, etc, etc. The fact that you as a beta user get to play a game before retail is just gravy. Anyway, I'm sure this is what you meant.:P
That's the most common complaint about every MMORPG though. It's also a valid one, because studios know full well that even though you and I won't pay to play beta, hojillions of others out there will.
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I totally agree with you though, about how X-Wing (and the followup, Tie Fighter) were GREAT games. They nailed Star Wars space combat down pat. Wing Commander was something of an oddity in my opinion. It's a FANTASTIC series of games, don't get me wrong there. But most game series' that aren't based on a license don't see the number of sequels as it had, and by far don't see the increase in production values it saw. Wing Commander games ended up being movies in and of themselves long before it actually hit theaters.
Show them a real, live woman. That's their true weakness, and will send them a-runnin'.
The fact the DVD's coming out so fast isn't surprising at all. Movies nowadays are edited digitally anyway, and are therefore already in a format ideal for mastering to DVD. The special content was produced while the film was being made anyway with the intent to be on the DVDs. There's no additional footage or anything like the Lord of the Rings releases, which even had additional score for new portions. Mastering and manufacturing are the longest part of the process in this case, since the content's all there.
I still can't figure out how the hell the fastload cart actually helped load stuff off the disk faster... *shrug*
Of course you can't remember why you did it in retrospect. That's the beauty of electroshock therapy. :)
I agree that some first real attempts at convergence are coming, and probably SHOULD come (I'd love to play PC games on my widescreen TV with a real surround system), but it won't completely get rid of the console market. Not by far.
Just my 2c.
Unleash the power of your wallet then, by NOT buying their product. They'll either clue in and open their source and start selling product, or they won't and nobody will buy it and their company may suffer.
.hack touches on a lot of interesting issues, and I agree with you-- the players playing evil as a departure from their real life personalities is pretty interesting. Overall the show's a lot deeper than most suspect. Hell, for some of the "players" in the show, The World is not only the only social outlet they're confortable with existing in, but it's the only one they use at all. It's definitely one of my favorite anime, in that they could have done SUCH a crummy job with it. Just cover your eyes and ears when and if .hack//DUSK comes to N.A. ... it's more of a slapstick and overly conventional anime.
It might. But then most of the work is already done for you.
All I was trying to get across in my post is that, as a species, we're doing a pretty darn good job of fucking the planet up the ass. Global warming might very well be caused by cosmic rays, but the fact is that using solar and wind power (among other renewable and alternative fuel sources) is a much better thing for the air quality overall. That's not being an "envirowhacko", that's common fucking sense.
That being said, my opinion is that we cna have a more apparent impact by researching ways to clean up our own act instead of worring about cosmic rays. That's only my opinion, and you can have yours. You don't have to call me unwarranted names or label me a fascist because I have one.
I really wish these researchers would stop trying to distract the world from the real problem and maybe put their brains to good use-- say finding a solution to the problem at hand. Cosmic rays, blah. The fact of the matter is we have four billion people on the earth that breathe, fart and drive cars that put out enough noxious gas to kill you in you in a closed garage in mere minutes. Time to take all these useless research papers and recycle them, and start putting forth a serious effort towards using renewable energy sources.
I'm sorry, people actually read gaming magazines? Wait, let me rephrase: people actually read magazines?
I agree, totally. The industry's not stupid, they've clued in a long time ago that we'll shell out money up front for a broken product. That, and in the case of MMORPGS, we'll continue to shell out money for a broken product. I can understand patches to fix things like balance issues and bugs, but what they did with SWG is appalling. It's half the game it should be; I mean come on, it's STAR WARS for pete's sake, where's my space ships? The starship combat? Coming in an expansion pack they say, when it should have been there in the first place. Let my voice of dissent against his crap be heard, with my wallet (or the lack thereof).
Showing a game off at E3 and having a gaming magazine do a preview of it is hardly hype. It's nowhere near the media bombardment you alluded to in your original post.
Really, what hype have you seen? Billboards advertising the game? Full page magazine ads? Ridiculously intrusive advertisements on webpages? I've seen none of those at all. At most I've seen advertisements from sellers offering preorders, but not much else other than people going to other games' message boards and saying how lame their game is going to look when SWG comes out. *snicker*
Still, I won't touch this game in its current state, but I will keep an eye on it and see how it progresses and improves, if at all.
Actually that 130 dollar edition is the "collector's edition" if you can believe it. Possibly the lamest concept to hit gaming. Usually they include a map, a t-shirt, that kind of thing. No idea what's in the SWG though.
Neocron is definitely a very underrated MMORPG. It's not perfect (show me a MMORPG that is...) but for the price it's a metric fuckton of fun. The setting alone was unique, being a cyberpunk MMORFPRPG, and very well designed. Some balancing issues between classes, loot issues, but that's all standard fare for all these types of games. Dark Age of Camelot's my definite favorite, but Neocron's definitely second on my list.
I'd much rather have these games for my Gameboy Advance rather than for a sit-at-home console. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my PS2 and GC, but I'd rather have a cool collection of arcade games for a mobile form factor.
It IS annoying, yes. Seems that Ctrl-F shows the last search as long as you don't move off the page (go back, click link, whatever). Pretty horrible behavior, and that sidebar makes me utterly sick. Although you CAN change its default behavior somewhat.
Iirc, CSM's last name was Spender.
Yeah but this is 2003... Lucas would make it so the server smacked Han first.
That's the most common complaint about every MMORPG though. It's also a valid one, because studios know full well that even though you and I won't pay to play beta, hojillions of others out there will.
In that case I fully agree with you. :-D