And if so, you know how important the HDD is. Do you think that they would just take that functionality out- without replacing it with something equally as good- or better?
In the past 3 months (December, January, February) I think I've gotten 7 new games.
This is actually a huge number of games, when my goal is to 'finish' each of them. Of those 7, I think I've finished 2, gotten a good way through 2 others, and barely touched the other 3.
AND- I've got some other big games coming soon (namely Splinter Cell 2 this month, Rallisport Challenge in May).
When you add in Xbox live, and XSN replayability- the games each have far more playability than ever before. Pretty soon I'll need to quit my job just to keep up with the new game releases.
Well, I'm glad that someone else who knows how to use Outlook saw the flaws in the article.
I e-mailed the author, and pointed out some of the more obvious problems with his review.
Yet another case of the the anti-Microsoft world spreading their own version of FUD. And because they are not part of the legitimate media establishment, they can do a really shoddy job of journalism, and never print a retraction, or correction. In fact, their readership would be disappointed if they ever did correct their mistakes, because their readership does NOT want to hear anything positive about a Microsoft product.
That constant loading was the most annoying part. Because that completely ruined the 'pacing' of the game for me. I never felt that things flowed, and I was afraid to go through certain doors, elevators, etc because I knew it would hit a load point.
Splinter Cell controls are awesome- probably the best camera I have seen in a third-person game.
It uses most of the buttons on the controller (except the pushing down of the joysticks and maybe the 'back' button) and puts all of them to good use. Even the much-maligned black and white buttons get used.
And this game IS hard.
Not hard in the same sense of Robotron 2024 was hard. That game had your blood pressure up by about level 5- which was about 2 minutes after putting your quarter in the machine.
But, in Splinter Cell, you need to think..a lot. I spend half the game sitting in a dark corner, trying to figure out what to do. The 'action' is only about 1/20th of the game- but it still ends up being a great, fun, and very hard game.
I can't imagine what it would be like if there was wave after wave of idiotic enemy swarming towards me. But then again, I don't have a laser with unlimited ammo...
If anyone out there is looking for one of the harder games that are out right now- go with Metal Arms. This game is great, and very hard. It's also got an 'insane' mode called Nuts of Steel. Just 2 or 3 of these strange grass-hopper looking robots from beyond-the-grave is like a crazy onslaught from games of yore. But these are smarter, faster, and a lot more frightening.
First of all- it's really tough. Second of all, about 30 minutes after I decide not to jerk off anymore, I am wildly horny.
After a few days (if it ever gets that far) my dog starts to look really, really good.
I don't think I've ever gone beyond a few days. If for no other reason...why put myself through it?
So yes- I really do think masturbation is a catharsis.
Okay, here is the standard flimsy statement where I try to get you to believe I am not a total loser...but since nobody knows me, no point in really trying:
Yes, I have intercourse with a female on a very regular basis. I still masturbate, because I enjoy it.
And to stay on-topic...Umm...videogames don't make people violent- violent people make videogames.
Actually, I said the exact opposite of what you are inferring.
I said that Masturbation will only take them so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire. (Which you kindly quoted)
So- they need an ADDITIONAL outlet for those urges. Masturbation does NOT cover those areas.
That is where videogames comes in.
So- you pretty much supported my statements- masturbation will relieve *some* of their frustrations, for they can use games for some of the others.
Videogames can be a catharsis for a lot of kids. Teenage boys just NATURALLY have a lot of anger, and frustration. Videogames can be an outlet for that.
The woman who leads a group of mothers against videogames doesn't understand that these kids need an outlet. Masturbation will only take these boys so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire.
Give them a good game, and a magazine to spank to- and a few hours later he'll come out of his room calm, and ready to cooperate.
Splinter Cell is NOT a 'shoot-em-up'. Hell, you will run out of bullets way too quick for that.
At least you admitted to not really playing it, up until a few hours ago...you know, a lot of video game reviewers base their opinions on even LESS than an hour or so on a demo, so I can't really fault you there...if the professionals can get paid to write an article based on their cursory glance at a game (ooowww...sweet box art!), then I guess everyone else can become an expert just as quickly.
The first Deus Ex was cool, and one reason was that you only HAD to kill one person. Well...taa dum...you can do the same exact thing in Splinter Cell. Here is a link to the video of a 'one-kill run'.
If you are running around shooting everyone, then you are a much, much better player than I am- because I am spending a lot of time avoiding cameras...waiting until the enemy is alone, so I can take them out one by one, etc. etc.
Well, maybe you are looking for something else in the game than I am. If you really like conversing with the NPCs, then you are different from me, and that is okay. I personally thought it was painful to sit through the 'Greys' long speeches down in Antarctica. I also thought that *most* of the information gleaned from computers/e-mails, etc. in both Splinter Cell and Deus Ex was fairly boring.
I can handle the idea that we differ on which type of games we prefer- but when someone comes out and says that Splinter Cell is 'just another generic FPS' I do like to respond- because it is just another case of someone spouting out things that are absolutely untrue- and doing so in a way that attempts to disparage my original comments. Of course the irony of being 'corrected' by someone who had obviously never even SEEN the game was quite amusing. But then again, this is Slashdot...
Hmm...obviously I don't know good textures from bad textures.
When I was playing the game, and noticed in the first 1/2 hour that the levels (load areas) were very, very small. I started to wonder "where the hell did all of the memory go?"
I figured it had to have been textures, or something like that.
Possibly I was very wrong then.
In that case...Where did all of the memory go? Yes, they had to fit it into the 64mb of the Xbox, but a lot of other games have larger load areas than this.
To me, the worst part of the game was knowing that I had to run from point A to point B, and there were 3 loads in between.
I'd like to reiterate what Mr. AC said, in response to the same post...because some people won't respond to AC's...
Have you played Splinter Cell? It is far from a 'generic first person shooter'.
98% of the game isn't even first person- so I'm pretty sure you know nothing about it. And the 3rd person perspective is awesome for a stealth game- your character is much more than just a hand holding a gun- you get to see everything, know exactly where you are. In the light? Shadows? And as much complaint there was about the 'unified ammunition' in DE:IW, Splinter Cell gets it right- the ammo you go in with, is generally all the ammo you get. And how many guns could these guys REALLY carry?
The game goes so far beyond DE:IW, it is amazing. But, it does embody the spirit of what Deus Ex was about: Stealth, decision-making, a great story, you don't have to kill everybody...(besides, smacking them in the back of the head is even MORE rewarding than shooting them!) And annoying dialogue...tell me how many times you had to hear the bit about 'disabling your weapons' every time you went into a bar, in Invisible War? You can't tell me that kind of crap wasn't annoying..
So...'Puh-lease' at least have some knowledge of the game I was referring to, before you say I didn't get the point. I've played all 3 games, Deus Ex, Deus Ex:Invisible War, and Splinter Cell. My original post was to say that Splinter Cell would have been a much, much better successor to Deus Ex than that crappy Invisible War was.
I don't know if 'Just so they can put in on Xbox' is the reason that Deus Ex was 'dumbed down'.
First- I am a big Xbox fan, so don't get me wrong, I might be biased.
Second, I was a HUGE fan of the first Deus Ex. That game was incredible.
So, when I found out that Deus Ex: Invisible War was 'designed for the Xbox'. Wow- best of both worlds?
Wrong...DX:IW was a piece of crap. I still haven't finished it, but I will eventually, just because I feel compelled. I also originally thought that it was just suffering from the Xbox-idice...dumbing down for a console.
Well, about 3 weeks ago, I bought the Prince of Persia/Splinter Cell combo pack- mainly for Prince of Persia. I played PoP a few times, but I've got other stuff I am 'working on' right now (Like Links 2004), so I haven't spent too much time getting into it.
Yesterday I finally started playing Splinter Cell.
HOLY FUCKING PASSION OF CHRIST!
This game is nearly everything that Deus Ex: IW *should* have been. Add in a little bit of character building, and some annoying dialogue, and this would have been the perfect Deus Ex game.
So I don't really think that the downfall of DE:IW was that it was designed to be on the Xbox. I think that some really, really bad decisions were made, and we suffered because they thought it would be great to make a 'high concept' game, with nice textures, and the ability to choose the sex of your character, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
Once I saw what Ubisoft did with Splinter Cell- I knew that Warren Specter had just lost it. DX:IW was just reminded me of some crappy huge spectacle, like a Celine Dion concert, or Riverdance. Like a Siegfried and Roy show- without the tigers- just two confirmed bachelors, on stage, in tights.
I did something similar (xbox through a projector) and on any game that was reasonable fast moving, I would get dizzy.
If the image fills most of your field of vision, the movement on screen will trick your brain into thinking it is actually happening. Without the corresponding movement in your body, things can get very weird.
I ended up having to shrink the image, and moving back. The cinematic Halo experience was not for me.
It ended up being a lot like seeing the 'rollercoaster' IMAX. That made me sick too...
That is because computers are mired in that swamp called 'backward compatibility'. Get rid of backward compatibility, and EVERYTHING becomes easier, and frequently better.
I would rather move forward, than push for backward compability. It would suck if we were still using Atari joysticks with one button.
The black and white buttons on the Xbox controller are good in Halo...
But you also mentioned Top Spin. The buttons are used to 'give attitude' after a point. And for this reason they are good buttons- they are not part of the GAME, but just some additional buttons to do extra stuff.
I find it makes sense that there are buttons that won't usually make your character move or take action, but affect the game play.
For instance in Links, they change you to the 'fly around' mode. In Deus Ex, they bring the menus. Not for gameplay, but for sending commands to the system. It's just nice to have extra buttons laying around for that kind of stuff.
Actually the Xbox controller is my favorite by far. The 's' version at least.
I also have a Mad Catz controller, that is much smaller (MicroCon?)- total piece of crap.
The black and white buttons are used on a lot of Microsoft games- especially the XSN games. Once you get used to them, they are nice. But I do notice that when other people come over to play, those are the buttons they have the most problems with.
time shifting sex is a great idea. I guess you could synchronize when you felt horny, and everything would be peaches n' cream.
On the other hand, I've gone through a great time-shifing system myself. I got rid of any sort of TV reception. That all by itself has given me hours each day where I am free, instead of flipping through channels waiting for that ONE episode of Seinfeld I somehow missed.
I'm not a 'Kill your television' fanatic, but I do think it is a big huge timesink. And- it will make you fat! Just ask the people at Yahoo! Health
Slashdot Mirror
Did you buy the first Xbox?
And if so, you know how important the HDD is. Do you think that they would just take that functionality out- without replacing it with something equally as good- or better?
Why not get a Passport signon? It's not like you can't lie...
Played Top Spin yet? Does not lick donkey ass..
In the past 3 months (December, January, February) I think I've gotten 7 new games.
This is actually a huge number of games, when my goal is to 'finish' each of them. Of those 7, I think I've finished 2, gotten a good way through 2 others, and barely touched the other 3.
AND- I've got some other big games coming soon (namely Splinter Cell 2 this month, Rallisport Challenge in May).
When you add in Xbox live, and XSN replayability- the games each have far more playability than ever before. Pretty soon I'll need to quit my job just to keep up with the new game releases.
In that case- I grossly under-estimated the legitimacy of the author, and his intentions.
Well, I'm glad that someone else who knows how to use Outlook saw the flaws in the article.
I e-mailed the author, and pointed out some of the more obvious problems with his review.
Yet another case of the the anti-Microsoft world spreading their own version of FUD. And because they are not part of the legitimate media establishment, they can do a really shoddy job of journalism, and never print a retraction, or correction. In fact, their readership would be disappointed if they ever did correct their mistakes, because their readership does NOT want to hear anything positive about a Microsoft product.
YES-
That constant loading was the most annoying part. Because that completely ruined the 'pacing' of the game for me. I never felt that things flowed, and I was afraid to go through certain doors, elevators, etc because I knew it would hit a load point.
Splinter Cell controls are awesome- probably the best camera I have seen in a third-person game.
It uses most of the buttons on the controller (except the pushing down of the joysticks and maybe the 'back' button) and puts all of them to good use. Even the much-maligned black and white buttons get used.
And this game IS hard.
Not hard in the same sense of Robotron 2024 was hard. That game had your blood pressure up by about level 5- which was about 2 minutes after putting your quarter in the machine.
But, in Splinter Cell, you need to think..a lot. I spend half the game sitting in a dark corner, trying to figure out what to do. The 'action' is only about 1/20th of the game- but it still ends up being a great, fun, and very hard game.
I can't imagine what it would be like if there was wave after wave of idiotic enemy swarming towards me. But then again, I don't have a laser with unlimited ammo...
If anyone out there is looking for one of the harder games that are out right now- go with Metal Arms. This game is great, and very hard. It's also got an 'insane' mode called Nuts of Steel. Just 2 or 3 of these strange grass-hopper looking robots from beyond-the-grave is like a crazy onslaught from games of yore. But these are smarter, faster, and a lot more frightening.
OCCASIONALLY the joystick 'buttons' get used in a way that makes sense.
The best use I have seen, is when the joystick that controls movement, also makes your player crouch when pushed. That just makes sense.
Have you ever tried NOT jerking off?
First of all- it's really tough. Second of all, about 30 minutes after I decide not to jerk off anymore, I am wildly horny.
After a few days (if it ever gets that far) my dog starts to look really, really good.
I don't think I've ever gone beyond a few days. If for no other reason...why put myself through it?
So yes- I really do think masturbation is a catharsis.
Okay, here is the standard flimsy statement where I try to get you to believe I am not a total loser...but since nobody knows me, no point in really trying:
Yes, I have intercourse with a female on a very regular basis. I still masturbate, because I enjoy it.
And to stay on-topic...Umm...videogames don't make people violent- violent people make videogames.
Actually, I said the exact opposite of what you are inferring.
I said that Masturbation will only take them so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire. (Which you kindly quoted)
So- they need an ADDITIONAL outlet for those urges. Masturbation does NOT cover those areas.
That is where videogames comes in.
So- you pretty much supported my statements- masturbation will relieve *some* of their frustrations, for they can use games for some of the others.
Videogames can be a catharsis for a lot of kids. Teenage boys just NATURALLY have a lot of anger, and frustration. Videogames can be an outlet for that.
The woman who leads a group of mothers against videogames doesn't understand that these kids need an outlet. Masturbation will only take these boys so far, and they need some way to get out their anger, frustration, and desire to set things on fire.
Give them a good game, and a magazine to spank to- and a few hours later he'll come out of his room calm, and ready to cooperate.
Actually...I'm serious...
Splinter Cell is NOT a 'shoot-em-up'. Hell, you will run out of bullets way too quick for that.
At least you admitted to not really playing it, up until a few hours ago...you know, a lot of video game reviewers base their opinions on even LESS than an hour or so on a demo, so I can't really fault you there...if the professionals can get paid to write an article based on their cursory glance at a game (ooowww...sweet box art!), then I guess everyone else can become an expert just as quickly.
The first Deus Ex was cool, and one reason was that you only HAD to kill one person. Well...taa dum...you can do the same exact thing in Splinter Cell. Here is a link to the video of a 'one-kill run'.
If you are running around shooting everyone, then you are a much, much better player than I am- because I am spending a lot of time avoiding cameras...waiting until the enemy is alone, so I can take them out one by one, etc. etc.
Well, maybe you are looking for something else in the game than I am. If you really like conversing with the NPCs, then you are different from me, and that is okay. I personally thought it was painful to sit through the 'Greys' long speeches down in Antarctica. I also thought that *most* of the information gleaned from computers/e-mails, etc. in both Splinter Cell and Deus Ex was fairly boring.
I can handle the idea that we differ on which type of games we prefer- but when someone comes out and says that Splinter Cell is 'just another generic FPS' I do like to respond- because it is just another case of someone spouting out things that are absolutely untrue- and doing so in a way that attempts to disparage my original comments. Of course the irony of being 'corrected' by someone who had obviously never even SEEN the game was quite amusing. But then again, this is Slashdot...
Hmm...obviously I don't know good textures from bad textures.
When I was playing the game, and noticed in the first 1/2 hour that the levels (load areas) were very, very small. I started to wonder "where the hell did all of the memory go?"
I figured it had to have been textures, or something like that.
Possibly I was very wrong then.
In that case...Where did all of the memory go? Yes, they had to fit it into the 64mb of the Xbox, but a lot of other games have larger load areas than this.
To me, the worst part of the game was knowing that I had to run from point A to point B, and there were 3 loads in between.
I'd like to reiterate what Mr. AC said, in response to the same post...because some people won't respond to AC's...
Have you played Splinter Cell? It is far from a 'generic first person shooter'.
98% of the game isn't even first person- so I'm pretty sure you know nothing about it. And the 3rd person perspective is awesome for a stealth game- your character is much more than just a hand holding a gun- you get to see everything, know exactly where you are. In the light? Shadows? And as much complaint there was about the 'unified ammunition' in DE:IW, Splinter Cell gets it right- the ammo you go in with, is generally all the ammo you get. And how many guns could these guys REALLY carry?
The game goes so far beyond DE:IW, it is amazing. But, it does embody the spirit of what Deus Ex was about: Stealth, decision-making, a great story, you don't have to kill everybody...(besides, smacking them in the back of the head is even MORE rewarding than shooting them!) And annoying dialogue...tell me how many times you had to hear the bit about 'disabling your weapons' every time you went into a bar, in Invisible War? You can't tell me that kind of crap wasn't annoying..
So...'Puh-lease' at least have some knowledge of the game I was referring to, before you say I didn't get the point. I've played all 3 games, Deus Ex, Deus Ex:Invisible War, and Splinter Cell. My original post was to say that Splinter Cell would have been a much, much better successor to Deus Ex than that crappy Invisible War was.
I don't understand Beyond Good and Evil.
I've heard it was great- but looking at the screenshots I can't figure out what is going on.
The main character looks like a heroine from a recent Disney cartoon. There is that warthog (as in a pig, not a jeep, or airplane derivative).
Can anyone shed some light on what the game is about? The official site doesn't tell me anything.
Is it like a third person shooter? A platformer? An RPG?
Yeah yeah yeah...offtopic, but I am at least responding to the previous post.
I don't know if 'Just so they can put in on Xbox' is the reason that Deus Ex was 'dumbed down'.
First- I am a big Xbox fan, so don't get me wrong, I might be biased.
Second, I was a HUGE fan of the first Deus Ex. That game was incredible.
So, when I found out that Deus Ex: Invisible War was 'designed for the Xbox'. Wow- best of both worlds?
Wrong...DX:IW was a piece of crap. I still haven't finished it, but I will eventually, just because I feel compelled. I also originally thought that it was just suffering from the Xbox-idice...dumbing down for a console.
Well, about 3 weeks ago, I bought the Prince of Persia/Splinter Cell combo pack- mainly for Prince of Persia. I played PoP a few times, but I've got other stuff I am 'working on' right now (Like Links 2004), so I haven't spent too much time getting into it.
Yesterday I finally started playing Splinter Cell.
HOLY FUCKING PASSION OF CHRIST!
This game is nearly everything that Deus Ex: IW *should* have been. Add in a little bit of character building, and some annoying dialogue, and this would have been the perfect Deus Ex game.
So I don't really think that the downfall of DE:IW was that it was designed to be on the Xbox. I think that some really, really bad decisions were made, and we suffered because they thought it would be great to make a 'high concept' game, with nice textures, and the ability to choose the sex of your character, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
Once I saw what Ubisoft did with Splinter Cell- I knew that Warren Specter had just lost it. DX:IW was just reminded me of some crappy huge spectacle, like a Celine Dion concert, or Riverdance. Like a Siegfried and Roy show- without the tigers- just two confirmed bachelors, on stage, in tights.
I did something similar (xbox through a projector) and on any game that was reasonable fast moving, I would get dizzy.
If the image fills most of your field of vision, the movement on screen will trick your brain into thinking it is actually happening. Without the corresponding movement in your body, things can get very weird.
I ended up having to shrink the image, and moving back. The cinematic Halo experience was not for me.
It ended up being a lot like seeing the 'rollercoaster' IMAX. That made me sick too...
That is because computers are mired in that swamp called 'backward compatibility'. Get rid of backward compatibility, and EVERYTHING becomes easier, and frequently better.
I would rather move forward, than push for backward compability. It would suck if we were still using Atari joysticks with one button.
The black and white buttons on the Xbox controller are good in Halo...
But you also mentioned Top Spin. The buttons are used to 'give attitude' after a point. And for this reason they are good buttons- they are not part of the GAME, but just some additional buttons to do extra stuff.
I find it makes sense that there are buttons that won't usually make your character move or take action, but affect the game play.
For instance in Links, they change you to the 'fly around' mode. In Deus Ex, they bring the menus. Not for gameplay, but for sending commands to the system. It's just nice to have extra buttons laying around for that kind of stuff.
Yes...as a gas pedal. Use it all the time, rather than the push-release-push-release-push-release method of controlling my speed.
Actually the Xbox controller is my favorite by far. The 's' version at least.
I also have a Mad Catz controller, that is much smaller (MicroCon?)- total piece of crap.
The black and white buttons are used on a lot of Microsoft games- especially the XSN games. Once you get used to them, they are nice. But I do notice that when other people come over to play, those are the buttons they have the most problems with.
time shifting sex is a great idea. I guess you could synchronize when you felt horny, and everything would be peaches n' cream.
On the other hand, I've gone through a great time-shifing system myself. I got rid of any sort of TV reception. That all by itself has given me hours each day where I am free, instead of flipping through channels waiting for that ONE episode of Seinfeld I somehow missed.
I'm not a 'Kill your television' fanatic, but I do think it is a big huge timesink. And- it will make you fat! Just ask the people at Yahoo! Health
Because fools like me who had never played a FPS before actually thought that was the best way to play it.
50+ hours of frustration later, I finally dumped the joystick, and used the keyboard...oh my god, what a difference!
(Not to be confused with the keyboard/console controller difference...where the games are designed for the controller from beginning.)
NBA Street II is awesome. A fantastic basketball games with a lot of depth. Far more than just a roster update.
The SNES/Genesis days may have been your shining hour, but the games are getting better and better.
If he was on my friends list, that might be a really funny message.