So we have one series you watch more than you play, and another which you read more than you play?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a good plot, but FF has long since become a mockery of itself and while I enjoyed the first MGS well enough, I can only take so many hour-long radio conversations before I say "screw this" and pop in something more interactive.
If those two games are what they consider "compelling," well...I'll be over here if you need me, playing Nintendo.
It would take more games like Shadow of the Colossus (for the visuals and uniqueness), Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne (for the heavily gameplay-oriented approach and its higher-than-usual challenge), or Silent Hill (for scaring the piss out of me without cheap jump-scares) to make me consider a PS3.
I used to like Squaresoft, back in the Xenogears days. They cranked out some fun and unique titles in the '97-'00 era. Parasite Eve, Brave Fencer Musashi, Einhander, Xenogears... Once they decided they could pander to "old-school" gamers (FF9's nostalgia trip) and teenage girls (holy god is that a man or a woman?), they went steadily downhill and have yet to recover. I hope they do at some point. Old FF was fun to some extent. New FF is "watch our shiny FMVs with the most androgynous carbon-based lifeforms you've ever seen."
As for Metal Gear...I know it has a fanatical following, and I'm sure there's a lot to like about MGS, but I've just never been one for either stealth games or secret-government-operative plots. Aside from that, please, shorten the radio conversations. There are more creative and effective ways to develop plot and characters than with interminable dialogue sequences.
It's going to take more than name recognition to get people to shell out the kind of coin Sony is asking for their magic box. MGS4/FF13 are still going to be just the same old gameplay in a prettier shell with better AI/puzzles/fight scenes/whatever. Same progression we've seen from PS1-->PS2 and SNES-->N64-->GC, and while that's enough to get some of the diehards on board, people are going to be wondering what the new box will do differently or remarkably better than what came before. I can play good RPGs on just about any system that's ever been released. I'm sure that there will be good games on PS3, but I don't know that they're going to be really memorable like what the Wii has to offer.
In the way of handhelds, s/PS3/PSP/g, s/Wii/DS/g. And I'm a DV guy, not a sysadmin. Leave my scripts alone.:p
Re:Dual layer DVD burners are still hard to come b
on
360 Hacked To Play Backups
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· Score: 3, Informative
$300? Where have you been shopping? NewEgg has NEC, Lite-On, Plextor, and other drives for about $40. TigerDirect has a good selection too.
I have two dual-layer burners that, with enclosures and shipping, probably cost me $200 max.
If they're going for the short-and-catchy, they should call it the Nintendo Unf.
Can you imagine the possibilities? "My girlfriend came over, and we played unf for 3 hours!" "What'll it be, then? 360, PS3, or unf?" "Unf me." "Surely, but pick out your game system first."
Then those shareholders shouldn't have invested in a company with substandard security practices. If you smack the shareholders around for the money to pay the fine, that forces them to re-evaluate who they're investing in, which in turn puts more pressure on the company to have good security practices.
I'm not entirely certain, and anyone who knows for sure please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the US retail version, redubbed "Indigo Prophecy," had these scenes cut out, at least in the console version. I've played and finished both Playstation2 Indigo Prophecy (US) and PC Fahrenheit (EU), and PC Fahrenheit had the "naughty" bits while PS2 IP did not.
Of course, PS2 IP had all the violence and death, proving yet again that of course, sex and love are wrong and sinful and make the baby Jesus cry, whilst violence and destruction are good old-fashioned American family values.
Pardon my cynicism, it's late and I haven't taken my happy pills.
It's alright. I clicked it and it really is a picture of the C64 joystick. Doesn't change the fact that it's ugly as hell, as well as being a pain to use (I had all but forgotten that thing), but it's not pr0n.
For a recent-generation game, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne has been an absolute joy to play from start to finish. Movie scenes are few and far between, and all dialogue is textual, meaning it's 4.4GB of pure gameplay.
After Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts 2, and the recent Final Fantasies, I wanted a gameplay-oriented RPG I could really sink my teeth into, and this provided beyond my wildest dreams: a challenging, involved game that had an uncompromisingly dark style and was devoid of the usual cliches found in Japanese RPGs. The demon-recruitment and demon-fusion aspects offer so many combinations and possibilities it's near impossible to get them all, and the ability to actually seriously impact the outcome of the game makes the player feel like s/he has some real control over in-game events. On a related note, the questions asked to the player to influence the creation of the new world are surprisingly deep and some had me thinking and examining my personal philosophy for a good long while before I answered.
Anyway, as far as keeping me coming back, it's mostly for the Demonic Compendium-the index of all the demons you've recruited and/or fused. You keep your demons when you start a new game, so you can keep replaying for different outcomes and paths, as well as build up your collection at the same time.
And unlike the latest pixel-fest from Squaresoft, the visual style stands out without exploiting every graphical trick in the book. The demons you interact with are all unique and interesting to look at, and environments, while some are plain, frequently leave a lasting impression, with particular regard to the optional dungeon. I think Kazuma Koneko is a twisted bastard, but creativity and talent are two things he has in spades. Playing is kind of like walking through an art gallery from Hell.
Much of this is personal bias, of course (though that's the point of the article), but Nocturne just impressed the hell out of me at every turn. If you're a fan, try the Digital Devil Saga games as well. Stylistically similar, same gameplay engine, new plot and characters, lots of fun.
Too frequently, policies are overlooked as a solution to security concerns. The old adage about being unable to apply a technical solution to a social problem fits like a glove.
Draft a policy about laptop use, run it by whatever department heads or HR people you need, and mandate that anyone using a company laptop read and sign it.
Hopefully just the act of having read this will hammer home the point that these are not personal property, and for those remaining cases of abuse, you have your own ass covered by their signature on the dotted line.
Deep Freeze, anti-virus software, firewalls, VPNs, and Spybot are only half the solution. The other half lies outside the realm of technology altogether.
Good policies + good enforcement = huge step toward good security.
Am I the only one who thinks it would be great if even just one of these manufacturers built a system that could save games to a USB flash drive? More and more people are buying them, they're based on a decade-old standard that's been, for all intents and purposes, perfected, and they could potentially open up new worlds of fan-modding for console games (trading maps, custom characters, saves, etc.) If they're that concerned about piracy, all I can say is that I've yet to see a 50GB USB drive.
I know it can be done since the Codebreaker allows the updating of codes via the PS2's USB ports. So how's 'bout game saves? Hmm? Anyone? Bueller?
What I find interesting about this is that Blockbuster themselves stocks DVD-R and DVD+R media.
The only thing I can think of as to their motive for doing this is cashing in on the sales for all possible purposes. I'd think they'd get sued to hell and back for it, but...who knows? I can't seem to make much sense out of why they have the things...
Though it doesn't use StarForce, this same issue befell me with System Shock 2. Ever try to get this running on a Win2K/WinXP system? I'll give you a hint, the -lgntforce parameter is NOT the end-all be-all of running this game on an NT system.
3 days of playing musical OSs later, and I finally get the thing running using a cracked EXE on a pure install of XP-no patches, no DX9, no SP1, just the core OS. Of course, I can't install any of my other utilities because I'm paranoid they're going to screw up SS2's delicate copy protection scheme.
And yes, I did buy the game.
Re:"Digitally Remastered Footage"
on
Star Wars on DVD
·
· Score: 1
Are you saying that you want to see a sex scene involving Jabba?
Oh, that's okay. It doesn't matter if I delete a message-my friendly BOFH keeps our entire employment history's worth of E-mail messages on backup tape...whether we all want him to or not.
Suffice it to say, it's more for his own reasons than reasons of secur...oh my god, here he comes! I have to go, right &NO CARRIER
This from Real, the company who, not even 5 years ago, had a player so bogged down with spyware and other junk that it had become a four-letter word to practically the entire tech community? Real, the company whose player had auto-starts and other background automation that was nigh impossible to disable?
I think they need to examine their own products before they accuse Apple of denying choice and quality to the customer, in so many words.
Would Inignokt and Err have a five-thousand-D-accelerated video card?
I mean, you'd think they of all people would know their stuff when it comes to video games-just look at them!
I remember not too long ago someone posted a comment about there only being no cracks for WMA because there are alternative file formats, and that once WMA had no better alternatives, a crack would soon be developed.
Well, we still have OGG, MP3, and their brethren, but...maybe it's high time someone developed a crack for WMA DRM, considering it's being rammed down these kids' throats? Hell, it'd even make for a great senior project for these students. Remember what one enterprising college-student-slash-nobody did just for kicks that turned into a worldwide phenomenon? That's right, Linux. A crack for WMA DRM wouldn't be as revolutionary, but it'd certainly ruin a few RIAA execs' day, and all things considered, I'd say those execs would be getting their just desserts.
RIAA-lackey uni official: "Here, now that you've paid your fee, download all the DRM-chained music you want."
Student: "I dunno...can't do much with it..."
Programmer down the hall: "Psst, see me later for a solution to that..."
Slashdot Mirror
So we have one series you watch more than you play, and another which you read more than you play?
:p
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a good plot, but FF has long since become a mockery of itself and while I enjoyed the first MGS well enough, I can only take so many hour-long radio conversations before I say "screw this" and pop in something more interactive.
If those two games are what they consider "compelling," well...I'll be over here if you need me, playing Nintendo.
It would take more games like Shadow of the Colossus (for the visuals and uniqueness), Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne (for the heavily gameplay-oriented approach and its higher-than-usual challenge), or Silent Hill (for scaring the piss out of me without cheap jump-scares) to make me consider a PS3.
I used to like Squaresoft, back in the Xenogears days. They cranked out some fun and unique titles in the '97-'00 era. Parasite Eve, Brave Fencer Musashi, Einhander, Xenogears... Once they decided they could pander to "old-school" gamers (FF9's nostalgia trip) and teenage girls (holy god is that a man or a woman?), they went steadily downhill and have yet to recover. I hope they do at some point. Old FF was fun to some extent. New FF is "watch our shiny FMVs with the most androgynous carbon-based lifeforms you've ever seen."
As for Metal Gear...I know it has a fanatical following, and I'm sure there's a lot to like about MGS, but I've just never been one for either stealth games or secret-government-operative plots. Aside from that, please, shorten the radio conversations. There are more creative and effective ways to develop plot and characters than with interminable dialogue sequences.
It's going to take more than name recognition to get people to shell out the kind of coin Sony is asking for their magic box. MGS4/FF13 are still going to be just the same old gameplay in a prettier shell with better AI/puzzles/fight scenes/whatever. Same progression we've seen from PS1-->PS2 and SNES-->N64-->GC, and while that's enough to get some of the diehards on board, people are going to be wondering what the new box will do differently or remarkably better than what came before. I can play good RPGs on just about any system that's ever been released. I'm sure that there will be good games on PS3, but I don't know that they're going to be really memorable like what the Wii has to offer.
In the way of handhelds, s/PS3/PSP/g, s/Wii/DS/g. And I'm a DV guy, not a sysadmin. Leave my scripts alone.
$300? Where have you been shopping? NewEgg has NEC, Lite-On, Plextor, and other drives for about $40. TigerDirect has a good selection too.
2 E16827152059
I have two dual-layer burners that, with enclosures and shipping, probably cost me $200 max.
Might as well get 'em while they're hot. Here, linkage: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N8
How did that man manage to become a lawyer?
of course he's only talking out of his rear end without bothering to do any research
Um, dude, I think you answered your own question without realizing it.
If they're going for the short-and-catchy, they should call it the Nintendo Unf.
Can you imagine the possibilities?
"My girlfriend came over, and we played unf for 3 hours!"
"What'll it be, then? 360, PS3, or unf?" "Unf me." "Surely, but pick out your game system first."
The list goes on and on...
Then those shareholders shouldn't have invested in a company with substandard security practices. If you smack the shareholders around for the money to pay the fine, that forces them to re-evaluate who they're investing in, which in turn puts more pressure on the company to have good security practices.
I'm not entirely certain, and anyone who knows for sure please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but the US retail version, redubbed "Indigo Prophecy," had these scenes cut out, at least in the console version. I've played and finished both Playstation2 Indigo Prophecy (US) and PC Fahrenheit (EU), and PC Fahrenheit had the "naughty" bits while PS2 IP did not.
Of course, PS2 IP had all the violence and death, proving yet again that of course, sex and love are wrong and sinful and make the baby Jesus cry, whilst violence and destruction are good old-fashioned American family values.
Pardon my cynicism, it's late and I haven't taken my happy pills.
I always argued for "Defective Restricted Media" myself. Gets the point across loud and clear.
Simple. Lucas played way too much Parasite Eve. ;-)
It's alright. I clicked it and it really is a picture of the C64 joystick. Doesn't change the fact that it's ugly as hell, as well as being a pain to use (I had all but forgotten that thing), but it's not pr0n.
For a recent-generation game, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne has been an absolute joy to play from start to finish. Movie scenes are few and far between, and all dialogue is textual, meaning it's 4.4GB of pure gameplay.
After Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts 2, and the recent Final Fantasies, I wanted a gameplay-oriented RPG I could really sink my teeth into, and this provided beyond my wildest dreams: a challenging, involved game that had an uncompromisingly dark style and was devoid of the usual cliches found in Japanese RPGs. The demon-recruitment and demon-fusion aspects offer so many combinations and possibilities it's near impossible to get them all, and the ability to actually seriously impact the outcome of the game makes the player feel like s/he has some real control over in-game events. On a related note, the questions asked to the player to influence the creation of the new world are surprisingly deep and some had me thinking and examining my personal philosophy for a good long while before I answered.
Anyway, as far as keeping me coming back, it's mostly for the Demonic Compendium-the index of all the demons you've recruited and/or fused. You keep your demons when you start a new game, so you can keep replaying for different outcomes and paths, as well as build up your collection at the same time.
And unlike the latest pixel-fest from Squaresoft, the visual style stands out without exploiting every graphical trick in the book. The demons you interact with are all unique and interesting to look at, and environments, while some are plain, frequently leave a lasting impression, with particular regard to the optional dungeon. I think Kazuma Koneko is a twisted bastard, but creativity and talent are two things he has in spades. Playing is kind of like walking through an art gallery from Hell.
Much of this is personal bias, of course (though that's the point of the article), but Nocturne just impressed the hell out of me at every turn. If you're a fan, try the Digital Devil Saga games as well. Stylistically similar, same gameplay engine, new plot and characters, lots of fun.
People actually READ Microsoft's EULAs?
If I had points, I'd mod you up.
Too frequently, policies are overlooked as a solution to security concerns. The old adage about being unable to apply a technical solution to a social problem fits like a glove.
Draft a policy about laptop use, run it by whatever department heads or HR people you need, and mandate that anyone using a company laptop read and sign it.
Hopefully just the act of having read this will hammer home the point that these are not personal property, and for those remaining cases of abuse, you have your own ass covered by their signature on the dotted line.
Deep Freeze, anti-virus software, firewalls, VPNs, and Spybot are only half the solution. The other half lies outside the realm of technology altogether.
Good policies + good enforcement = huge step toward good security.
Am I the only one who thinks it would be great if even just one of these manufacturers built a system that could save games to a USB flash drive? More and more people are buying them, they're based on a decade-old standard that's been, for all intents and purposes, perfected, and they could potentially open up new worlds of fan-modding for console games (trading maps, custom characters, saves, etc.) If they're that concerned about piracy, all I can say is that I've yet to see a 50GB USB drive.
I know it can be done since the Codebreaker allows the updating of codes via the PS2's USB ports. So how's 'bout game saves? Hmm? Anyone? Bueller?
SHAAAAANNNNEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes? What do you want?
(La, la la, random parenthetical nonsense, lameness filter circumvention is fun)
You don't want anything to do with that, though. In that version, Jar-Jar shoots first.
It begs the question, "what are some other instances wherein 'ironic' is the proper word to use." Can you hear the begging?
What I find interesting about this is that Blockbuster themselves stocks DVD-R and DVD+R media. The only thing I can think of as to their motive for doing this is cashing in on the sales for all possible purposes. I'd think they'd get sued to hell and back for it, but...who knows? I can't seem to make much sense out of why they have the things...
Though it doesn't use StarForce, this same issue befell me with System Shock 2. Ever try to get this running on a Win2K/WinXP system? I'll give you a hint, the -lgntforce parameter is NOT the end-all be-all of running this game on an NT system. 3 days of playing musical OSs later, and I finally get the thing running using a cracked EXE on a pure install of XP-no patches, no DX9, no SP1, just the core OS. Of course, I can't install any of my other utilities because I'm paranoid they're going to screw up SS2's delicate copy protection scheme. And yes, I did buy the game.
Are you saying that you want to see a sex scene involving Jabba?
No, that's for the adults-only anime version.
Oh, that's okay. It doesn't matter if I delete a message-my friendly BOFH keeps our entire employment history's worth of E-mail messages on backup tape...whether we all want him to or not.
Suffice it to say, it's more for his own reasons than reasons of secur...oh my god, here he comes! I have to go, right &NO CARRIER
True, and you have a good point. Kinda hard, though, for them to get up on a soapbox about it when they...well...did what they did not too long ago.
This from Real, the company who, not even 5 years ago, had a player so bogged down with spyware and other junk that it had become a four-letter word to practically the entire tech community? Real, the company whose player had auto-starts and other background automation that was nigh impossible to disable?
I think they need to examine their own products before they accuse Apple of denying choice and quality to the customer, in so many words.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Would Inignokt and Err have a five-thousand-D-accelerated video card? I mean, you'd think they of all people would know their stuff when it comes to video games-just look at them!
I remember not too long ago someone posted a comment about there only being no cracks for WMA because there are alternative file formats, and that once WMA had no better alternatives, a crack would soon be developed.
Well, we still have OGG, MP3, and their brethren, but...maybe it's high time someone developed a crack for WMA DRM, considering it's being rammed down these kids' throats? Hell, it'd even make for a great senior project for these students. Remember what one enterprising college-student-slash-nobody did just for kicks that turned into a worldwide phenomenon? That's right, Linux. A crack for WMA DRM wouldn't be as revolutionary, but it'd certainly ruin a few RIAA execs' day, and all things considered, I'd say those execs would be getting their just desserts.
RIAA-lackey uni official: "Here, now that you've paid your fee, download all the DRM-chained music you want."
Student: "I dunno...can't do much with it..."
Programmer down the hall: "Psst, see me later for a solution to that..."
Student: "Rock."
a robust anti-piracy encryption scheme...
Okay...so what do we give this one, 3 weeks? 4? I'm taking bets, winner gets my Natalie Portman picture collection.