do young people REALLY not know the history of video games????:-\
Yes. As far as the majority of gamers are concerned, the SNES vs Genesis war was either nothing more than a blip in their real lives or they were too young to even realize it. Some modern gamers, at least the more vocal ones, tend to be whiny 13 year olds who think the PS2 is the greatest thing since their parents bought a HDTV and let them play games on it. I wouldn't be surprised if some gamers didn't even know that Atari was once a big competitor in the video game industry or simply know about E3 (E3 is basicly a media show, without the internet it'd be nothing but a marking of the month we get a momentary glut of gaming news in magazines.)
There are only 6 official maps and they get boring, very quickly. Why? Close quarters and open areas along with the ability to call in airstrikes/artillery and panzerfausts (for some reason the Allies use them too) means just two or three field ops or soldiers can bottleneck an entire team. Oh and I wouldn't recommend you stand around in your spawn for too long. Most players have figured out exactly where and at what angle to fire mortars into opposing spawn areas. Hopefully we'll see some more mods and maps which steer players away from this kind of spawn killing.
If 'captchas' are being cracked, then it means its time for a new technique. What do you think will be used next? The old, crude method of 'look at X line in Y paragraph and enter the word?' Or something geared towards countering this crack such as a randomly generated list of instructions requiring the user to scramble the 'captcha'?
"three different Battlefield titles are in the works, one each for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC", each online-enabled and "built around a modern warfare setting instead of the historical settings of Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam."
I don't find it too hard to believe that EA will try to market modern settings in games these days, what with WWII being insanely overdone. But I find it hard to believe that they will try to make three different games, with three different settings. After all, what would they pick while retaining Battlefield's coolness factor of easy to use vehicles? Somolia? No/few tanks. Desert Storm? No contest, and no real terrain to use. Operation Enduring Freedom? Even less of the same. So whats left?
Personally, I hope they make a game for all three systems which will be cross compatable. A game where Xbox, PS2, and PC gamers will be able to finally duke it out head to head in a truely chaotic game. I can see it now, Xbox and PS2 gamers vs PC gamers in Console Gamers vs PC Gamers. Or Xbox gamers vs PS2 gamers. Stuff like that would be hella interesting to see, especially the leagues.
That may be true, but I'm just saying that in Warcraft III and the Frozen Throne, theres never an event that resembles this. The last you hear about the rouge Undead is how they're setting up in Lordaeron's ruins. You never play as them and meet any Orcs, which is probably a condition to be called 'the Horde', nor do see a cutscene/intermission or cinematic.
Savage Max Payne 2 Final Fantasy XI Warcraft III Frozen Throne Knights of the Old Republic (yes it came out on Xbox first, but I don't mind the extra wait)
Lowlights:
A cheap attempt to save C&C:Generals from EA Games with an expansion of what it should've been. (Read up on the reports before the original came out)) MOO 3 sucked, went back to playing MOO 2. Halo PC's multiplayer is insanely laggy even with all broadband players. No news about future RTS games I should get excited about. Half-Life 2 delay. End of list.
Those are very good questions considering what happened at the end of Warcraft 3, the Frozen Throne (the expansion), and the 'Bonus Campaign.' Heres a quick lesson for those who haven't played through it all (or simply want a refresher).
There's a rogue group of Undead who broke away from Arthas (the former prince of Lordaeron who became a death knight) and set up a base in Lordaeron's ruins (which you invade and destroy in the Frozen Throne). Now keep in mind that this same group of Undead tried to kill Arthas (who emerges in the end as two of the big bad guys) so you can see how and why the Undead would be fighting, well, Undead.
As for the Blood Elves not being in the game, thats unanswerable at this point. What IS known is that the Blood Elf leader, Prince Kael, swore alliegence to Illidan (the demon hunter you released and left at the end of WC3). You also see the Blood Elves in the last mission of the last campaign but it is not required for the player to kill them off. Hence you're left with only a few alternatives. 1. The Blood Elves (or most of them) were killed off and are now too few to play as. 2. The Blood Elves are in hiding and will be released in an expansion pack, logical but doesn't explain everything without word from Blizzard. 3. The Blood Elves managed to retreat and remain largely in the Nether World (long story).
As for the Bonus Campaign, theres nothing in it which explain where, when, or why the Undead allied with the Horde (you don't even fight the Undead in it.) I'm assuming that the Undead you play in WoW is allied with a different splinter of the Horde.
2006 it just 2 years away, and it's not really likely that Nintendo and Microsoft can get some new hardware out and make a real breakthrough in a such relatively short time.
Ever think that maybe Microsoft and Nintendo are simply holding off until E3 to announce their next-gen systems?
As for comparing online console gaming subscribers to the number of systems sold, thats not a case of different leagues, its a case of different games. Sony can sell 70 millions PS2s, but if 40 million have broke or were simply tossed out, thats a serious difference from what they advertise. Out of the original half million PS2 units sold in the U.S., how many units do you think are still used?
I'd certainly call it morally wrong, but on the other hand most people don't seem to care. Witness the lack of uproar over pro sports drug scandals, despite considerably hype by the press and several major (ex-)athletes.
And the fact that you are bring this fact up means that there is still a considerable amount of fallout still existing from those scandals. If major league baseball players started using 'aimbots' to hit the ball and guarantee a homerun every time, you can bet that they'd be out of the league forever. Its the same thing with PC online games, if you're caught cheating for a moderator you're banned for LIFE off the server. In a real life case, there usually isn't 'other servers' you can go off to.
Games are made with rules. Once rules are broken, heads start rolling.
When you complete the tasks to become a Jedi, it unlocks an extra character slot in your account, in which you are permitted to create a completely new character, who is a Jedi. The character you used to unlock the slot is unaffected.
So in otherwords, if you screw up your Jedi character because you showed off one too many times, you still have a badass built up character to fall back on. Again, considering the fact that you're the most unique character in the game I'd have to say 'Woo hoo! Bring it on punks!' and taunt random players on the forums to try and figure out who I am so they can try and kill me. As interesting as it'd be to the most uber-Jedi in the game, I think it'd be more fun playing hide-and-go-seek with Jedi hunters. It'd be like a RPG in itself. Which is what a MMORPG encourages players to do. I'd play the role of a cocky/arrogant Jedi gone insane without actually going to the Dark side.
While I'm at it, I'd form a guild! It'd be an anti-Jedi hunters guild! Where most of the players are speed/ambushed focused characters who form parties with insane Jedis like me whos goal is to attract as many Jedi hunters as they can and fight them off! It'd be like a guerrila war! The few Jedis and the guild, versus the no-doubt far outnumbering Jedi hunters! That is, IF I actually played the game.
Building up a character is nice in MMORPGs, but the whole point is to role play, which is where and why some gamers don't like MMORPGs; because they devolve mostly into l3wt hunting games or 'get to level 50 and sell character on eBay' scenarios.
I think its fair statement to say that the GBA will probably be home to the 'next-generation' of turn based strategy games. The successes are hard to deny; Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and now Fire Emblem (Zero for long time fans). All of the previous games having been originally developed on much older and weaker systems (read the link, the first game was the NES/Famicom and any reader here knows the GBA blows the NES/Famicom out of the water in terms of hardware power).
With this in mind, where do you think Nintendo would tell Intelligent Systems to re-release the older games? A 10-in-1 game for the Gamecube or 10 seperate games on the insanely installed Gameboy fanbase which is already going rabid over the fact that it missed so many good games over the past 10 years?
Currently they are much harder since they suffer from permadeath.
Thats why you build up another class before venturing into it. Thats like trying to learn how to drive a tank through a warzone before learning how to drive a car downtown.
The use of the term 'wizard' is not a fair argument since 'wizard' is a general term and has already been done in games. How about the term 'Dark Knight'? (From FFXI)
If becoming a Dark Knight was easy to obtain, say 1 month work for a non-hardcore gamer, then why the hell would you play a game where you're already the number one force (no pun intended) in the game?
Guess what? This works. Just because its a game doesn't mean you're always gonna get things served to you on a silver plater. YOU may want to run around town lobbing heads off left and right with a double bladed lightsaber, but when you play with other people you play by the same set of rules and restrictions. The whole point of a RPG is to build up and develop a character, not to have a watered down game where your role is too similar to someone else because its too accessable.
Their vision was that hardcore gamers, being the insanely clever people they are, would unlock the Jedi slot within the first 3 months of release. Considering the fact that there are people who have fully mastered over 3 different classes on one character in the game at this moment of posting, the idea of SOMEONE SOMEHOW stumbling upon the secret beforehand is not outrageous.
The one class that is even remotely special, the one class every wants to play, is an accomplishment in itself just if you can actually even try to play that class.
Isn't that the whole point? Why would you want to play as a class with unique skills, unique abilities, unique weapons, unique RULES; if so many other people could unlock it easily? Unless the majority of SWG players are looking for ego trips, if the Jedi slot was easy to open I'd rather play as a bounty hunter turned Jedi hunter. My character would certainly be more interesting than your "Good Jedi" "Bad Jedi" character.
If becoming a Jedi was easy to obtain, say 1 month work for a non-hardcore gamer, then why the hell would you play a game where you're already the number one force (no pun intended) in the game?
To reach the highest level? Big deal, you can do that in any MMORPG game. To get 'phat l3wt'? Its the Star Wars universe, the phatest l3wt is Jedi status. To master all the skills and proclaim yourself the biggest loser in the game? You already got Jedi status, maxing out the other skills can't be that hard.
... too many people complained about the amount of effort needed to becoming the demi-gods of the Star Wars universe.
They're Jedis, people! Lightsaber welding, Force power using, elite people. I know everyone wants to be the ultra badass in any game, but it comes to a point where sometimes you just can't have it without some work. The developers are just doing this because players couldn't figure out the secret.
I know in Japan they also have musical games similar to this which uses keyboards (musical keyboards) and guitars. Do you think they'd have any chance of reaching the U.S., assuming Namco's Taiko drumming games do well?
The problem with this is the new players and non-hardcore players. This is an obvious problem, new players won't/can't kill as much as the older players, so you'll might reach level 10 but still be using a rusty sword and have less than 100 gold in your pocket.
Same thing with non-hardcore players, (lets say you've played for a LONG time) you could have a level 50 hero with 30000 gold and you look at some badass item for 10000 gold but you decide to wait because its late. You log off for the week and come back and find the item has jumped to 15000 gold, not a fun thing.
Theres other problems as well. High numbers of players starting the game/leaving the game, holidays/vacation time, and new areas being opened/expansions. All these have typically caused a large number of players to log on at any given period of time.
Corporations don't give a rat's ass when it comes to "shielding" our lives. Its the public opinion that they care about.
If id Software sold Quake with the subtitle called "Kill All Freaks" and it made trillions of dollars, do you really think they'd care that you, Joe Average, complained about the terminlogy? Hell no, they tell you to fuck off. If you're the CEO of, say, EA Games; would you publish a WWII FPS sim called 'The Battle of Stalinrad' or 'The Slaughter of Russians at Stalinrad'?
As for the hammer analogy, thats like saying requiring driver licenses should be abolished because the driver can use it for what it was intended. Or he/she can start running over random pedestrians on the sidewalk because he/she is too ignorant enough to stay in the road lanes. That doesn't mean we should stop making cars or put a speed cap on all cars preventing them from going over 5 mph.
What about info regarding the games? All we know so far is that it has two screens, we know it has two processors and what they are, and it has a front-lit screen. Thats all we know, what I want to know, however, is information that regards to the games.
How are the two screens going to work? How much battery life does it have? Is it going to stick with the standard D-pad or use a joystick? Will it be backward capable with the older Gameboy games? Will it be something that will work on the Gamecube2 or will it become an expensive paperweight? What colors are going to be available?
Shareware implies that you are getting a small part of the game for free to serve as an example for the rest of the game (such as the shareware copy of Doom). Shareware which you have to pay for is not shareware. The whole point of the term shareware is that the partial version is free and can hence be distributed by individuals at will.
Theres one thing that has always bothered me about CS which has both flashbangs and sniper rifles. You can stare right at a flashbang through a sniper scope and have your vision return to you perfectly normal in about 3-5 seconds. I'm no expert at sniper scopes, flashbangs, or the physics of light but; if you're looking at a bright like being flashed in your eye at 2x or higher magnification, I expect to caught rolling on the ground grasping my nearly burnt eye groaning in pain.
Yes, but the argument for modding the Xbox was more justified thanks to its hardware. With this attempt it seems silly and a waste of time. Unless the price difference is that important to someone or the Gamecube Linux somehow proves to be faster than Xbox Linux, it'd be far, far easier just going with the already established Xbox Linus work.
(1) Whoever goes to the moon next - should find the flag left behind the astronauts (right?)
Right, but at the same time you bring up the 'extremist' part as well. If the U.S. was to go up there and have the astronauts start doing handstands, write their initials in the dirt, and start playing Moon Baseball all on live broadcast, you'd still have people who believe that its all fake. Even if China or Russia (yeah, RIGHT) were to go to the moon and come back with an American flag, you'll STILL have people who think its a fake.
As for the space real estate, as much as us Americans would hate it, the decision would probably fall in the hands of the U.N. or whatever future version of it that comes along.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes. As far as the majority of gamers are concerned, the SNES vs Genesis war was either nothing more than a blip in their real lives or they were too young to even realize it. Some modern gamers, at least the more vocal ones, tend to be whiny 13 year olds who think the PS2 is the greatest thing since their parents bought a HDTV and let them play games on it. I wouldn't be surprised if some gamers didn't even know that Atari was once a big competitor in the video game industry or simply know about E3 (E3 is basicly a media show, without the internet it'd be nothing but a marking of the month we get a momentary glut of gaming news in magazines.)
There are only 6 official maps and they get boring, very quickly. Why? Close quarters and open areas along with the ability to call in airstrikes/artillery and panzerfausts (for some reason the Allies use them too) means just two or three field ops or soldiers can bottleneck an entire team. Oh and I wouldn't recommend you stand around in your spawn for too long. Most players have figured out exactly where and at what angle to fire mortars into opposing spawn areas. Hopefully we'll see some more mods and maps which steer players away from this kind of spawn killing.
If 'captchas' are being cracked, then it means its time for a new technique. What do you think will be used next? The old, crude method of 'look at X line in Y paragraph and enter the word?' Or something geared towards countering this crack such as a randomly generated list of instructions requiring the user to scramble the 'captcha'?
No, but I remember the Game and Watch gallery handheld games.
I don't find it too hard to believe that EA will try to market modern settings in games these days, what with WWII being insanely overdone. But I find it hard to believe that they will try to make three different games, with three different settings. After all, what would they pick while retaining Battlefield's coolness factor of easy to use vehicles? Somolia? No/few tanks. Desert Storm? No contest, and no real terrain to use. Operation Enduring Freedom? Even less of the same. So whats left?
Personally, I hope they make a game for all three systems which will be cross compatable. A game where Xbox, PS2, and PC gamers will be able to finally duke it out head to head in a truely chaotic game. I can see it now, Xbox and PS2 gamers vs PC gamers in Console Gamers vs PC Gamers. Or Xbox gamers vs PS2 gamers. Stuff like that would be hella interesting to see, especially the leagues.
That may be true, but I'm just saying that in Warcraft III and the Frozen Throne, theres never an event that resembles this. The last you hear about the rouge Undead is how they're setting up in Lordaeron's ruins. You never play as them and meet any Orcs, which is probably a condition to be called 'the Horde', nor do see a cutscene/intermission or cinematic.
Savage
Max Payne 2
Final Fantasy XI
Warcraft III Frozen Throne
Knights of the Old Republic (yes it came out on Xbox first, but I don't mind the extra wait)
Lowlights :
A cheap attempt to save C&C:Generals from EA Games with an expansion of what it should've been. (Read up on the reports before the original came out))
MOO 3 sucked, went back to playing MOO 2.
Halo PC's multiplayer is insanely laggy even with all broadband players.
No news about future RTS games I should get excited about.
Half-Life 2 delay. End of list.
There's a rogue group of Undead who broke away from Arthas (the former prince of Lordaeron who became a death knight) and set up a base in Lordaeron's ruins (which you invade and destroy in the Frozen Throne). Now keep in mind that this same group of Undead tried to kill Arthas (who emerges in the end as two of the big bad guys) so you can see how and why the Undead would be fighting, well, Undead.
As for the Blood Elves not being in the game, thats unanswerable at this point. What IS known is that the Blood Elf leader, Prince Kael, swore alliegence to Illidan (the demon hunter you released and left at the end of WC3). You also see the Blood Elves in the last mission of the last campaign but it is not required for the player to kill them off. Hence you're left with only a few alternatives. 1. The Blood Elves (or most of them) were killed off and are now too few to play as. 2. The Blood Elves are in hiding and will be released in an expansion pack, logical but doesn't explain everything without word from Blizzard. 3. The Blood Elves managed to retreat and remain largely in the Nether World (long story).
As for the Bonus Campaign, theres nothing in it which explain where, when, or why the Undead allied with the Horde (you don't even fight the Undead in it.) I'm assuming that the Undead you play in WoW is allied with a different splinter of the Horde.
Ever think that maybe Microsoft and Nintendo are simply holding off until E3 to announce their next-gen systems?
As for comparing online console gaming subscribers to the number of systems sold, thats not a case of different leagues, its a case of different games. Sony can sell 70 millions PS2s, but if 40 million have broke or were simply tossed out, thats a serious difference from what they advertise. Out of the original half million PS2 units sold in the U.S., how many units do you think are still used?
And the fact that you are bring this fact up means that there is still a considerable amount of fallout still existing from those scandals. If major league baseball players started using 'aimbots' to hit the ball and guarantee a homerun every time, you can bet that they'd be out of the league forever. Its the same thing with PC online games, if you're caught cheating for a moderator you're banned for LIFE off the server. In a real life case, there usually isn't 'other servers' you can go off to.
Games are made with rules. Once rules are broken, heads start rolling.
What type of games fall under the catagories 'family entertainment' and 'shooter games'?
So in otherwords, if you screw up your Jedi character because you showed off one too many times, you still have a badass built up character to fall back on. Again, considering the fact that you're the most unique character in the game I'd have to say 'Woo hoo! Bring it on punks!' and taunt random players on the forums to try and figure out who I am so they can try and kill me. As interesting as it'd be to the most uber-Jedi in the game, I think it'd be more fun playing hide-and-go-seek with Jedi hunters. It'd be like a RPG in itself. Which is what a MMORPG encourages players to do. I'd play the role of a cocky/arrogant Jedi gone insane without actually going to the Dark side.
While I'm at it, I'd form a guild! It'd be an anti-Jedi hunters guild! Where most of the players are speed/ambushed focused characters who form parties with insane Jedis like me whos goal is to attract as many Jedi hunters as they can and fight them off! It'd be like a guerrila war! The few Jedis and the guild, versus the no-doubt far outnumbering Jedi hunters!
That is, IF I actually played the game.
Building up a character is nice in MMORPGs, but the whole point is to role play, which is where and why some gamers don't like MMORPGs; because they devolve mostly into l3wt hunting games or 'get to level 50 and sell character on eBay' scenarios.
With this in mind, where do you think Nintendo would tell Intelligent Systems to re-release the older games? A 10-in-1 game for the Gamecube or 10 seperate games on the insanely installed Gameboy fanbase which is already going rabid over the fact that it missed so many good games over the past 10 years?
Thats why you build up another class before venturing into it. Thats like trying to learn how to drive a tank through a warzone before learning how to drive a car downtown.
The use of the term 'wizard' is not a fair argument since 'wizard' is a general term and has already been done in games. How about the term 'Dark Knight'? (From FFXI)
If becoming a Dark Knight was easy to obtain, say 1 month work for a non-hardcore gamer, then why the hell would you play a game where you're already the number one force (no pun intended) in the game?
Guess what? This works. Just because its a game doesn't mean you're always gonna get things served to you on a silver plater. YOU may want to run around town lobbing heads off left and right with a double bladed lightsaber, but when you play with other people you play by the same set of rules and restrictions. The whole point of a RPG is to build up and develop a character, not to have a watered down game where your role is too similar to someone else because its too accessable.
Their vision was that hardcore gamers, being the insanely clever people they are, would unlock the Jedi slot within the first 3 months of release. Considering the fact that there are people who have fully mastered over 3 different classes on one character in the game at this moment of posting, the idea of SOMEONE SOMEHOW stumbling upon the secret beforehand is not outrageous.
The one class that is even remotely special, the one class every wants to play, is an accomplishment in itself just if you can actually even try to play that class.
Isn't that the whole point? Why would you want to play as a class with unique skills, unique abilities, unique weapons, unique RULES; if so many other people could unlock it easily? Unless the majority of SWG players are looking for ego trips, if the Jedi slot was easy to open I'd rather play as a bounty hunter turned Jedi hunter. My character would certainly be more interesting than your "Good Jedi" "Bad Jedi" character.
If becoming a Jedi was easy to obtain, say 1 month work for a non-hardcore gamer, then why the hell would you play a game where you're already the number one force (no pun intended) in the game?
To reach the highest level? Big deal, you can do that in any MMORPG game. To get 'phat l3wt'? Its the Star Wars universe, the phatest l3wt is Jedi status. To master all the skills and proclaim yourself the biggest loser in the game? You already got Jedi status, maxing out the other skills can't be that hard.
They're Jedis, people! Lightsaber welding, Force power using, elite people. I know everyone wants to be the ultra badass in any game, but it comes to a point where sometimes you just can't have it without some work. The developers are just doing this because players couldn't figure out the secret.
I know in Japan they also have musical games similar to this which uses keyboards (musical keyboards) and guitars. Do you think they'd have any chance of reaching the U.S., assuming Namco's Taiko drumming games do well?
Same thing with non-hardcore players, (lets say you've played for a LONG time) you could have a level 50 hero with 30000 gold and you look at some badass item for 10000 gold but you decide to wait because its late. You log off for the week and come back and find the item has jumped to 15000 gold, not a fun thing.
Theres other problems as well. High numbers of players starting the game/leaving the game, holidays/vacation time, and new areas being opened/expansions. All these have typically caused a large number of players to log on at any given period of time.
If id Software sold Quake with the subtitle called "Kill All Freaks" and it made trillions of dollars, do you really think they'd care that you, Joe Average, complained about the terminlogy? Hell no, they tell you to fuck off. If you're the CEO of, say, EA Games; would you publish a WWII FPS sim called 'The Battle of Stalinrad' or 'The Slaughter of Russians at Stalinrad'?
As for the hammer analogy, thats like saying requiring driver licenses should be abolished because the driver can use it for what it was intended. Or he/she can start running over random pedestrians on the sidewalk because he/she is too ignorant enough to stay in the road lanes. That doesn't mean we should stop making cars or put a speed cap on all cars preventing them from going over 5 mph.
How are the two screens going to work?
How much battery life does it have?
Is it going to stick with the standard D-pad or use a joystick?
Will it be backward capable with the older Gameboy games?
Will it be something that will work on the Gamecube2 or will it become an expensive paperweight?
What colors are going to be available?
Shareware implies that you are getting a small part of the game for free to serve as an example for the rest of the game (such as the shareware copy of Doom). Shareware which you have to pay for is not shareware. The whole point of the term shareware is that the partial version is free and can hence be distributed by individuals at will.
Theres one thing that has always bothered me about CS which has both flashbangs and sniper rifles. You can stare right at a flashbang through a sniper scope and have your vision return to you perfectly normal in about 3-5 seconds. I'm no expert at sniper scopes, flashbangs, or the physics of light but; if you're looking at a bright like being flashed in your eye at 2x or higher magnification, I expect to caught rolling on the ground grasping my nearly burnt eye groaning in pain.
Yes, but the argument for modding the Xbox was more justified thanks to its hardware. With this attempt it seems silly and a waste of time. Unless the price difference is that important to someone or the Gamecube Linux somehow proves to be faster than Xbox Linux, it'd be far, far easier just going with the already established Xbox Linus work.
Spawn more Overlords. - Zerg voice when you try to go over your supply limit.. Usually when you try to build too many drones.
Right, but at the same time you bring up the 'extremist' part as well. If the U.S. was to go up there and have the astronauts start doing handstands, write their initials in the dirt, and start playing Moon Baseball all on live broadcast, you'd still have people who believe that its all fake. Even if China or Russia (yeah, RIGHT) were to go to the moon and come back with an American flag, you'll STILL have people who think its a fake.
As for the space real estate, as much as us Americans would hate it, the decision would probably fall in the hands of the U.N. or whatever future version of it that comes along.