The Escape Velocity series contains some of the best shareware games I've played, and they've made other good games outside of that. Unfortunately for the Mac, both Ambrosia and Spiderweb are porting games to the PC now (Spiderweb's been doing it for a long time, Ambrosia only recently).
Starsky and Hutch is another game that I thought wasn't that bad; it was on par with Knight Rider, incidentally. Anybody who thinks that arcade games are automatically bad should be referred to that thread from a few days ago that talked about how simple games can be better than complex ones.
...about their first Knight Rider game. I mean, sure, it wasn't the best driving game in the world, but I've played a lot worse. Maybe the fact that I play most of the games that come out for the PC gives me better perspective or something.
Just check eDonkey or BitTorrent. And it doesn't matter whether you get a pirated game online or from a friend, it's still going to require a crack unless the method you used to rip the CD image supports the copy protection (e.g. CloneCD).
However, Sony are staying out of allowing other kinds of software on the PSP, suggesting: "We feel very strongly that what the consumer wants is a dedicated gaming device."
Translation: Unlike Intel, Tapwave, and Nokia, we're not fucking stupid.
Read the reviews of the N-Gage. What do most people complain about beyond the ridiculous price? The thousands of buttons out of which only a few have any real gaming function. But thousands of buttons, as much as they make gaming next to impossible, are almost certainly required in any portable that wants to do much more than play games. The only other solution is selling optional accessories (a mini-keyboard, for instance), and that has almost as many problems.
Actually, there is one other possibility: Make the screen touch-sensitive a la PDAs. I'm not sure how practical this is for these types of portables, though.
Of course, even if Sony did make a portable that could do everything, it would probably still sell. This is Sony we're talking about here.
The importance of Japanese gaming to Western gamers is steadily decreasing. Take a look at how popular tactical shooters are on Xbox Live and PC gaming. Are most of those Japanese? Hell no... Western all the way.
I don't get the relevance of this. The fact that Western games are becoming more popular says nothing to the idea that Japanese games are getting less so. Yes, Prince of Persia was very popular this year, but so was Wind Waker. KOTOR was popular, but so was FFXI. I don't think the Japanese have anything to worry about yet (at least, no more worries than what the Western developers have).
emulate Computer Science. To imitate the function of (another system), as by modifications to hardware or software that allow the imitating system to accept the same data, execute the same programs, and achieve the same results as the imitated system.
So yes, WINE is an emulator. Unless you deny that the implementation of the Windows API counts as a modification.
You should try Wazzal, another game by the same author, if you haven't yet. It's kind of like Star Control 2, and has decent production values for a freeware game.
The best freeware game I've ever played is in much the same style, though there's also a first-person adventure element reminiscent of ICOM games (e.g. Deja Vu, Shadowgate). It's called Starfight VI: Gatekeepers, and the fact that such a small development group created it for free is nothing short of amazing.
1. Government intervention has made parents irresponsible with regards to what entertainment their children consume.
2. The best solution to this parental irresponsibility is government intervention.
Are you sure you've analyzed the situation properly?
BTW, the reason why movie theaters have enforced ratings is because children can watch movies in the theater, without their parents being able to do much about it. You basically have to bring video games home, on the other hand.
1. The first bill describes violent games as "games where the player can injure another human character 'in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.'" But what is a human character, and what is heinous, atrocious, and cruel? The wording is a bit vague, as is the case with most censorship laws.
2. Putting games in a special section away from other games costs money. Who do you think will ultimately pay those costs? Hint: Not the retailers who are moving the games.
3. The second bill doesn't seem to be effective anyway. No matter where you put the violent games, kids will still have to go through the cashier to buy them (and most likely get the money from his parents as well). And if the kid is shoplifting, there are far more important problems to worry about than the fact that he's going to play a violent video game.
I understand that Problem #2 is the only one that's relevant to you, but you asked a general question, so you got a general answer.
It's great to see that one of its games is a bestseller in Japan. I remember the days when Koei only made turn-based strategy games, and could only satisfy a niche market. Hopefully this recent success will allow them to make even more excellent games.
Dance Dance Revolution. Anything else doesn't involve athleticism, and thus would not be a sport. Certainly not MMORPGs, unless they made one with a Nerf sword you can swing that sends signals to your computer.
That said, I can understand why people might want to sanction MMORPGs under a sports authority (especially in China, where everything is bureaucratic). They just aren't sports.
"If anyone musically-oriented actually thought Uematsu was any good, don't you think he'd have moved on from composing goddamn video game music?" --Jonathan McArthur
This, of course, refers to actual video game music, not music that was just put into a video game.
Rob (waits patiently for VG music fans to mod this post down)
Those guys are probably the best authors IF has to offer right now, and they all worked together on one game. I know they say that too many cooks spoil the broth, but I won't be surprised if this game is an exception.
With regards to Christopher Byron's article "Give Back Take-Two" (December 29, 2003):
It is interesting that Mr. Byron rants about how Grand Theft Auto: Vice City causes crime, while at the same time mentioning that it has sold over five million copies to date. Has the media somehow missed those five million real-life cases of murder, assault, theft, and so forth that have been directly caused by this game? Furthermore, I bought one of those five million copies; have I become a criminal without my own knowledge?
Mr. Byron's allegation that the "Mature" rating for this game is arbitrary misses the point: Children, in general, are less able to distinguish fantasy from reality than adults. The fact that GTA: VC is a work of fantasy is also why Mr. Byron's claim that the game is worse than Michael Jackson's alleged crimes is completely absurd. He might as well say that it's better to rape a woman in a dark alley than to watch The Godfather, an argument which basically uses the same amount of logic.
In conclusion, Mr. Byron should just do what he's paid to do--report business news--and stop his off-base moralizing.
My guess is that it makes gay people look ridiculously stereotypical and one-dimensional, kind of like other shows that "feature" gay characters (e.g. Will & Grace).
I was confused for a moment when I saw that FFX-2 was rated Most Disappointing Game of 2003. I mean, most Americans know better than to have high expectations for a game that has a commercial with its main characters (all in ridiculous outfits) singing J-Pop in a concert, but the Japanese actually like that stuff.
That said, from what I've heard from friends who have played it, its gameplay actually sounds pretty interesting. A CRPG-style quest system would make a nice change from the usual FF model, and the quasi-real-time battles are a huge leap forward in my mind.
Rob
Pirating GC games is hardly more complicated
on
PSX Review At Lik-Sang
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
...now that someone has released a loader you can use with little technical knowledge. At the very most, pirating GC is as hard as pirating XBox is with the fonts exploit. And hell, you can't even pirate PS2 without a modchip (which requires either quite a bit of money or a decent amount of skill) or that semi-retarded "load the CD from the top" method.
No, the reason why GC isn't pirated quite as much is because the PSO/BBA exploit was only discovered a few months ago. The XBox fonts exploit has been around for at least a few months longer, and the modchips for both PS2 and XBox have been around for far longer than that. The PSO exploit also isn't quite perfect (since it relies on the BBA to transmit information to the GC) but I figure that will be fixed eventually.
Because proprietary media costs a lot more, tends to hold less, and is just about as pointless. Didn't you hear about how some pirates got around Nintendo's copy protection using Phantasy Star Online and a broadband adapter?
Well, everybody calls it a PSX, not a PS1. "PSX" has been the unofficial abbreviation for the original Playstation ever since it came out. It'll be very hard to change it to "PS1" or something like that now; the meme is too strong.
Slashdot Mirror
The Escape Velocity series contains some of the best shareware games I've played, and they've made other good games outside of that. Unfortunately for the Mac, both Ambrosia and Spiderweb are porting games to the PC now (Spiderweb's been doing it for a long time, Ambrosia only recently).
Rob
Starsky and Hutch is another game that I thought wasn't that bad; it was on par with Knight Rider, incidentally. Anybody who thinks that arcade games are automatically bad should be referred to that thread from a few days ago that talked about how simple games can be better than complex ones.
Rob
...about their first Knight Rider game. I mean, sure, it wasn't the best driving game in the world, but I've played a lot worse. Maybe the fact that I play most of the games that come out for the PC gives me better perspective or something.
Rob
Just check eDonkey or BitTorrent. And it doesn't matter whether you get a pirated game online or from a friend, it's still going to require a crack unless the method you used to rip the CD image supports the copy protection (e.g. CloneCD).
Rob
However, Sony are staying out of allowing other kinds of software on the PSP, suggesting: "We feel very strongly that what the consumer wants is a dedicated gaming device."
Translation: Unlike Intel, Tapwave, and Nokia, we're not fucking stupid.
Read the reviews of the N-Gage. What do most people complain about beyond the ridiculous price? The thousands of buttons out of which only a few have any real gaming function. But thousands of buttons, as much as they make gaming next to impossible, are almost certainly required in any portable that wants to do much more than play games. The only other solution is selling optional accessories (a mini-keyboard, for instance), and that has almost as many problems.
Actually, there is one other possibility: Make the screen touch-sensitive a la PDAs. I'm not sure how practical this is for these types of portables, though.
Of course, even if Sony did make a portable that could do everything, it would probably still sell. This is Sony we're talking about here.
Rob
Umm....us XBox owners living in Japan.
Well, that was a pretty dumb decision, don't you think?
Rob (I hope you at least got an American XBox)
The importance of Japanese gaming to Western gamers is steadily decreasing. Take a look at how popular tactical shooters are on Xbox Live and PC gaming. Are most of those Japanese? Hell no... Western all the way.
I don't get the relevance of this. The fact that Western games are becoming more popular says nothing to the idea that Japanese games are getting less so. Yes, Prince of Persia was very popular this year, but so was Wind Waker. KOTOR was popular, but so was FFXI. I don't think the Japanese have anything to worry about yet (at least, no more worries than what the Western developers have).
Rob
Did they ask the hentai game makers or something? I thought the Japanese stayed away from PC gaming on principle.
Rob
So yes, WINE is an emulator. Unless you deny that the implementation of the Windows API counts as a modification.
Rob (hates semantics)
You should try Wazzal, another game by the same author, if you haven't yet. It's kind of like Star Control 2, and has decent production values for a freeware game.
The best freeware game I've ever played is in much the same style, though there's also a first-person adventure element reminiscent of ICOM games (e.g. Deja Vu, Shadowgate). It's called Starfight VI: Gatekeepers, and the fact that such a small development group created it for free is nothing short of amazing.
Rob
I suggest you pick up Dynasty Tactics (1 or 2).
I have the first one. Not as good as Rot3K 8, but better than the Kessen series.
Rob
1. Government intervention has made parents irresponsible with regards to what entertainment their children consume.
2. The best solution to this parental irresponsibility is government intervention.
Are you sure you've analyzed the situation properly?
BTW, the reason why movie theaters have enforced ratings is because children can watch movies in the theater, without their parents being able to do much about it. You basically have to bring video games home, on the other hand.
Rob
How could this be a bad thing?
I can see a few problems:
1. The first bill describes violent games as "games where the player can injure another human character 'in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.'" But what is a human character, and what is heinous, atrocious, and cruel? The wording is a bit vague, as is the case with most censorship laws.
2. Putting games in a special section away from other games costs money. Who do you think will ultimately pay those costs? Hint: Not the retailers who are moving the games.
3. The second bill doesn't seem to be effective anyway. No matter where you put the violent games, kids will still have to go through the cashier to buy them (and most likely get the money from his parents as well). And if the kid is shoplifting, there are far more important problems to worry about than the fact that he's going to play a violent video game.
I understand that Problem #2 is the only one that's relevant to you, but you asked a general question, so you got a general answer.
Rob
It's great to see that one of its games is a bestseller in Japan. I remember the days when Koei only made turn-based strategy games, and could only satisfy a niche market. Hopefully this recent success will allow them to make even more excellent games.
Rob
Dance Dance Revolution. Anything else doesn't involve athleticism, and thus would not be a sport. Certainly not MMORPGs, unless they made one with a Nerf sword you can swing that sends signals to your computer.
That said, I can understand why people might want to sanction MMORPGs under a sports authority (especially in China, where everything is bureaucratic). They just aren't sports.
Rob
"If anyone musically-oriented actually thought Uematsu was any good, don't you think he'd have moved on from composing goddamn video game music?"
--Jonathan McArthur
This, of course, refers to actual video game music, not music that was just put into a video game.
Rob (waits patiently for VG music fans to mod this post down)
Those guys are probably the best authors IF has to offer right now, and they all worked together on one game. I know they say that too many cooks spoil the broth, but I won't be surprised if this game is an exception.
Rob
Since the 'letters to the editor' form requires you to be in the US
Look at the form again. There's a "Country" field.
Rob
With regards to Christopher Byron's article "Give Back Take-Two" (December 29, 2003):
It is interesting that Mr. Byron rants about how Grand Theft Auto: Vice City causes crime, while at the same time mentioning that it has sold over five million copies to date. Has the media somehow missed those five million real-life cases of murder, assault, theft, and so forth that have been directly caused by this game? Furthermore, I bought one of those five million copies; have I become a criminal without my own knowledge?
Mr. Byron's allegation that the "Mature" rating for this game is arbitrary misses the point: Children, in general, are less able to distinguish fantasy from reality than adults. The fact that GTA: VC is a work of fantasy is also why Mr. Byron's claim that the game is worse than Michael Jackson's alleged crimes is completely absurd. He might as well say that it's better to rape a woman in a dark alley than to watch The Godfather, an argument which basically uses the same amount of logic.
In conclusion, Mr. Byron should just do what he's paid to do--report business news--and stop his off-base moralizing.
My guess is that it makes gay people look ridiculously stereotypical and one-dimensional, kind of like other shows that "feature" gay characters (e.g. Will & Grace).
Rob
I was confused for a moment when I saw that FFX-2 was rated Most Disappointing Game of 2003. I mean, most Americans know better than to have high expectations for a game that has a commercial with its main characters (all in ridiculous outfits) singing J-Pop in a concert, but the Japanese actually like that stuff.
That said, from what I've heard from friends who have played it, its gameplay actually sounds pretty interesting. A CRPG-style quest system would make a nice change from the usual FF model, and the quasi-real-time battles are a huge leap forward in my mind.
Rob
...now that someone has released a loader you can use with little technical knowledge. At the very most, pirating GC is as hard as pirating XBox is with the fonts exploit. And hell, you can't even pirate PS2 without a modchip (which requires either quite a bit of money or a decent amount of skill) or that semi-retarded "load the CD from the top" method.
No, the reason why GC isn't pirated quite as much is because the PSO/BBA exploit was only discovered a few months ago. The XBox fonts exploit has been around for at least a few months longer, and the modchips for both PS2 and XBox have been around for far longer than that. The PSO exploit also isn't quite perfect (since it relies on the BBA to transmit information to the GC) but I figure that will be fixed eventually.
Rob
Because proprietary media costs a lot more, tends to hold less, and is just about as pointless. Didn't you hear about how some pirates got around Nintendo's copy protection using Phantasy Star Online and a broadband adapter?
Rob
OK, not everybody calls it the PSX, just like how more than "you and a few others" do call it the PSX. A lot more than that, actually.
Are you one of those people who take everything that others say literally? You guys are weird.
Rob (Uh oh, I better put "IMO" at the end of that last sentence lest you think that I'm calling you objectively weird)
Well, everybody calls it a PSX, not a PS1. "PSX" has been the unofficial abbreviation for the original Playstation ever since it came out. It'll be very hard to change it to "PS1" or something like that now; the meme is too strong.
Rob