The automatic felony status, fine, and maximum prison sentence proposed in the bill (and, for that matter, the activity that it's intended to curtail in the first place) don't seem that different from the warnings regarding copyright infringement and illegal distribution that we've been seeing for years when we pop a tape into the VCR or watch a DVD. Doesn't it make sense for similar laws to exist in the "new" medium? Of course, I would predict that enforcement is likely to be just as lax.
For for it's worth, my dentist swears that baking soda and peroxide toothpastes are the worst thing in the world for your teeth and gums. Maybe he's just the one out of five dentists that never agrees with anything, though.
For what it's worth, there's also a new Sam and Max game on the way. And it looks pretty spiffy, too. Also, let's not forget the classic Monkey Island series. And Grim Fandango.
Can we plz change the picture that is associated with sci fi? Everytime I see that weird looking face, I get a little freaked out.
Would you prefer that they went with a picture of Clint Howard, the actor who played Balok (in a roundabout way)? He's at least twice as creepy as the puppet.
Where, oh where, is a revival of Tecmo's classic American football series? If they could reproduce the simple arcade approach and spot-on gameplay of the original Tecmo Bowl games, it might actually challenge the dominance of more complicated football sims like the Madden series.
Actually, on older versions of IE (I'm thinking maybe 2.0), the desktop icon label defaulted to "The Internet." I'm not sure when Microsoft discontinued this practice--or even if they did entirely.
Of course, hapless users were complaining to IT people that their Internet crashed long before that, and they'll most likely continue to do so.
I generally tend to stick with default names whenever possible in RPGs. For some reason, seeing text like "Superd00d hits the rat for 12 points of damange" pop up on the screen really takes me out of the game. Plus, I assume that designers must have chosen the default names for some reason, so I just stick with their artistic vision. Of course, I got a kick out of the fact that in Sierra's classic Quest for Glory I, not choosing a name resulted in being referred to as "The Unknown Hero" throughout the game.;)
When forced to choose, I've always had a tendency to choose "Longshot"--espeically if I'm a thief or rogue. I have no idea why.
In non-RPG games, I'm typically "decafjedi," "Dei," or--on rare occasion--"El Scorcho." Meh.
I'm not sure if a lack of pads or helmets necessarily implies violence (at least not any more violence than American football inherently implies). After all, NBA Street isn't a violent game--certainly not as violent as Midway's NBA Jams series (and its various spin-offs), where defense consisted almost entirely of shoving other players to the ground.
Based on the titles it has released so far, "EA Big" seems to be more about "attitude" (ugh) than violence. Of course, that's far from the norm in an era of Chessmaster X-TREME!!!
If nothing else, Anachronox deserves another chance to shine. I realize that ION Storm tends to rate a fair amount of ridicule in most circles (and rightfully so when you consider Daikatana), but Anachronox was--at least in my opinion--an amazing game. I'm not a diehard CRPG player by any stretch of the imagination, but of all the CRPGs that I have played, Anachronox was by far the most immersive. I guess it was just one of those odd games that got the critics behind it, but never managed to rate much attention from the game-buying public (see also: System Shock).
I don't know a lot about the production history of Anachronox, but one gets the impression from playing it that the designers had quite a bit more planned for the game than was actually packed into the final product (and they packed quite a bit in already). I can only imagine what the game would have been like if ION Storm wasn't collapsing around the design team's ears while they were trying to finish production.
Either way, Anachronox deserves any extra attention it can get--even if it can't be a sequel to pick up on the original's "to be continued..." ending.
Just as disappointing as the exit of such series-defining elements as Cate Archer and the groovy '60s vibe (at least to me) is the shift toward "more action and less stealth." Surely the "first-person sneaker" subgenre isn't already going the way of the dodo! I would argue that the increasing emphasis on stealth in FPS games was one of the few worthwhile innovations in the genre in recent years (if you don't count that whole multiplayer fad).;)
Personally, I'm holding out for the Sims Online expansion pack that will allow me to spend all day roaming around the local countryside killing rats with my +2 Decorative Lamp of Smiting in an ongoing quest to level-up my mage/accountant.
Apparently, D.M. Dinwiddie was illustrated by former Sierra On-Line artist Rich Powell and animated by Lucasarts artist Karin Nestor. Heck, that alone means that it has a better design team than the average DreamCatcher adventure.;)
For what it's worth, D.M. Dinwiddie at least boasts some quality adventure gaming credentials. It was designed and written by Josh Mandel--best known for his work on Space Quest 6, Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, and numerous other games.
I guess it's not exactly a conventional gig, but at least the company bothered to hire someone who knows what he's doing when it comes to making an adventure game.
Slashdot Mirror
DecafJedi
DecafJedi
Theatrical release: Mar 7, 2003
Video release: Jun 10, 2003
You'd practically have to go direct-to-video to beat that.
DecafJedi
DecafJedi
For what it's worth, there's also a new Sam and Max game on the way. And it looks pretty spiffy, too. Also, let's not forget the classic Monkey Island series. And Grim Fandango.
DecafJedi
DecafJedi
Of course, hapless users were complaining to IT people that their Internet crashed long before that, and they'll most likely continue to do so.
DecafJedi
When forced to choose, I've always had a tendency to choose "Longshot"--espeically if I'm a thief or rogue. I have no idea why.
In non-RPG games, I'm typically "decafjedi," "Dei," or--on rare occasion--"El Scorcho." Meh.
Decaffeinated Jedi
Based on the titles it has released so far, "EA Big" seems to be more about "attitude" (ugh) than violence. Of course, that's far from the norm in an era of Chessmaster X-TREME!!!
DecafJedi
I don't know a lot about the production history of Anachronox, but one gets the impression from playing it that the designers had quite a bit more planned for the game than was actually packed into the final product (and they packed quite a bit in already). I can only imagine what the game would have been like if ION Storm wasn't collapsing around the design team's ears while they were trying to finish production.
Either way, Anachronox deserves any extra attention it can get--even if it can't be a sequel to pick up on the original's "to be continued..." ending.
DecafJedi
Ah...
DecafJedi
Personally, I'm holding out for the Sims Online expansion pack that will allow me to spend all day roaming around the local countryside killing rats with my +2 Decorative Lamp of Smiting in an ongoing quest to level-up my mage/accountant.
DecafJedi
Apparently, D.M. Dinwiddie was illustrated by former Sierra On-Line artist Rich Powell and animated by Lucasarts artist Karin Nestor. Heck, that alone means that it has a better design team than the average DreamCatcher adventure. ;)
I guess it's not exactly a conventional gig, but at least the company bothered to hire someone who knows what he's doing when it comes to making an adventure game.
DecafJedi