Interesting to note that Nintendo is not going to allow Manhunt 2 to be released on the Nintendo Wii. Their argument is that they do not allow games rated AO.
Considering all the levels are just made up places, and that I'm sure each major party has literally hundreds of people on their payroll across the country doing exactly this, it's probably not necessary.
I'm pretty sure my company was on the list last year... but not this year. Too bad, we got free ice cream and an hour out in the sun. Yep, in the 50's last year... dang you ComputerWorld for taking away my ice cream!!!
The physical media movie industry is not dying because you haven't bought a DVD/VHS/Betamax in the last couple of years. You are undoubtedly part of the small crowd that believes absolutely everything coming out of Hollywood (or any other location on Earth) is pure crap and that you will have no part of it, because you are above such drivel. You will dance around yelling about how you haven't bought a movie in years and so obviously, no one else is, and thus, the industry is dying. You may be able to make the argument about the physical media music industry at the moment but definitely not movies.
Or maybe you're the guy who downloads everything you watch, whether it's legal or not, I could care less, but it's already been discussed ad nauseum in this topic and every other Hollywood topic that the infrastructure is just not there to support everyone downloading 720p versions of the latest blockbuster. You may be ahead of the curve, and heck, I hope you are, but don't act all pretentious that you are somehow the Nostradamus of the entertainment industry and will declare when and where it fall.
Blockbuster Online has had both formats for a while and I assume will continue to offer both. I am surprisingly familiar with this considering I don't own either type of players, I blame my wife, who will often add a new movie in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD format instead of DVD. Sometimes, she'll even add the same movie twice to the queue, once for DVD and another for Blu-Ray. Look hon, I don't want to watch R.V. once, let alone in high definition.
Keyboards are so cheap I wouldn't think twice sticking it in the dishwasher if I felt like it. Heck, mine is so nasty I probably should, but I don't really feel like air drying it for a week... might as well buy another 15 dollar Logitech keyboard at that point.
You sure seem qualified to determine whether a game will suck or not even though you've never played a Fallout game in your life. But I would guess you read a lot of Slashdot comments, especially the +5 Insightful "Fallout 3 will suck no matter what" comments.
Actually, Curse of Monkey Island is a really great game. The voice acting is superb and the animation is top notch. It's a wonderful game. Escape is a travesty though, which makes me almost a little happy that this rumor is false.
I'll take this generation by generation, as it's much easier to compare...
First, I'll have to choose the NES and SNES controllers. The NES controller isn't very comfortable nowadays, but it did what it needed to do back then. And the SNES controller is just great, maybe my favorite, definitely my favorite no-joystick controller. It's small but it's comfortable, it has plenty of buttons, but nothing confusing. The Genesis controller just felt plasticky and I never really liked the three button setup.
For the Saturn/N64/PSX generation, this is kind of a toss up. None of them were all that great, they all had their faults, at least to me. I didn't like the original Saturn controller, but I did like the analog one they released with Nights. It was huge though. I probably used the N64 one the most this generation, but the three pronged design just didn't work. I really liked the Z button though, that was pretty innovative, but necessary as a replacement for the left shoulder. The N64 controller used a button setup similar to the Saturn controller, but it worked better because the A and B buttons were larger than the C buttons, immediately allowing your fingers to know where they are located on the pad. The original PS1 controller was just a SNES ripoff, but I hated the D-Pad, still do. The Dual-Shock was much better, and it's my emulator controller on my PC, and I love it. It's not the most comfortable but it's very functional.
Next up, Gamecube/PS2/Xbox. Gamecube was great, but the second joystick seemed worthless at times. It was just a little nub instead of the joystick on the left, which made it feel awkward, why they never fixed this, I don't know. The Wavebird was a classic controller though, simply for the wireless that was perfect. PS2 controller was just a black Dual-Shock with analog buttons, whatever, still good. Xbox Fatty was hilariously bad, at least for me. The face buttons were almost sharp and pointed, and the buttons were arranged in an odd fashion. The controller was simply too big for me, probably what kept me away from the Xbox for a few years. The S-Controller though was awesome. Definitely one of my all time favorites. Very comfortable and everything is laid out nicely, except for the black and white buttons (I never could remember which one was which).
Finally, this generation. I like the Wii controller, if only the Numchuck was wireless. The cord between them is sometimes awkward and intrusive. The Wiimote itself feels nice, but is limited on buttons, but I guess that's the point. We'll see how it does down the road. I love the accelerometers but the built in speaker is incredibly tinny and loud. When I played through Zelda I had to turn the stupid thing down all the way because Midna was so incredibly loud. Xbox 360 controller probably is the best one out there. Does everything the original S-controller did plus moved those dang black and white buttons to the bumpers where they're comfortable and make sense. I have never played a PS3, but from what I hear, the controller is very light without the rumble. Don't know if this is good or bad until I play it.
All in all, my favorites are the SNES, Dual-Shock, and Xbox 360.
I was going to say the same thing. $600,000 may be more appropriate for the amount of actual work the guy put towards it, but I know nothing about it so I really shouldn't comment specifically on it.
If anything, this will probably just hinder broadband growth across the United States. There are a lot of areas where broadband is currently not available for one reason or another, and this will just be another reason for Verizon, etc. to say, well, we can't feasibly support 2Mbs out here in the boondocks, we're just not going to bother any more than we did before.
I pretty much agree with you. Twilight Princess probably is one of the best 3D Zeldas, but now I'm playing Okami, and I honestly think that it is a better game. Okami was obviously inspired by the Zelda series, some may say cloned, but it does some things better than Zelda (and some things worse). Anyways, the genius thing about Okami is the brush strokes you use to fight enemies or overcome obstacles instead of the typical Zelda tool chest of items. This actually makes the game much more seamless in my opinion because if you need the Okami equivalent of the Zelda hookshot, you just hold R1 and draw a line from the target to you, and off you go towards it. No need to press start and equip the item, or remember what button you assigned it to, and then aim and fire. Both ways work but the Okami way works better because it doesn't remove you from the action like pressing start in Zelda can. All your actions are available to you anytime at the stroke of a brush.
Anyways, even though TP was great, Nintendo needs to hire some decent writers. The game's plot fell apart at the end after an inspired beginning. Basically the plot went from interesting and original, to formulaic and unsurprising fairly quickly. This was unfortunate because it left a bad taste in my gaming mouth after I finished it.
I may also be in the minority about this, but Zelda (and any Okami sequels that will never be made) could do very well from excellent voice acting. Both Okami and Zelda have silent protagonists, and I am totally fine with keeping it that way. I don't really want to hear Link talk, but the supporting cast could really use it. The opening of Zelda is your friend talking to Link when he's fishing or something, and it just drones on and on while you press A. It's boring and very uninspired, and that has nothing to do with the fishing! There's also long conversations with the bad guys and Midna, that could have potentially been awesome with voice acting, but instead were dull and felt way too long and drawn out. Even the cutscene where the game tells the Hyrule Creation story; you're still pressing A while the text narrator slowly crawls about some crap that would have been memorable with an excellent narrator. Zelda (and Okami) just feel awkward with squeaky sound effects that are supposed to be people talking. This doesn't diminish from the rest of the game, but I just can't raise these games to the highest plateau in my mind that they potentially could have.
The Zelda series has a lot to learn from the other games in its genres. Stop spending so many programming and design hours doing the new fishing game that people are so excited about before the game comes out and then finds out how boring it is actually doing it, and use your imagination about what gamers really want! Please Zelda team, play Okami! Port Okami to the Wii by the way while you're at it, it was made for it! Play God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Fallout, Oblivion, Half-Life, etc. All of these games do things right and wrong, recognize these and try to improve and be inspired.
A friend of mine at work stayed home yesterday. He was pretty upset about it being delayed and his download arrived at quarter to 12 last night. By that time he was too tired to play and is now at work, probably reading about Halo.
How do we know that within those 34 games, there isn't a "Super Paper Mario"-equivalent for either you or some other older gamer? Everyone has different tastes, some people like specific genres, some people will play something from every genre. I've grown out of the stage where I must own the latest and greatest right now and I really only have time for a couple of new games a year, yet I can still find those games across platforms and appreciate them, even though they're not Mario. Right now I'm playing Okami, Guitar Hero, Puzzle Quest DS, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Now that may sound like a lot but considering I only have a few hours a week, those will last me a long time. I only have time for games that are worth playing, I don't try to hold every game I play up to Chrono Trigger, but I'm not so elitist towards game companies or platforms that I don't even consider them.
Looking at the Guideworks website, it looks like the same crap that was part of the reason I dropped Comcast months ago. This really isn't a big deal as the Microsoft switch affects a relatively small portion of people compared to how many Comcast serves. The thing is, Guideworks software is a pile of crap, the UI is absolutely horrible, and I had mandatory updates to it remove useful functionality and even lose some of the shows I had saved on the box's hard drive. But really, the user interface is as bad as it gets. It's unresponsive, randomly locking up for seconds and sometimes even a full minute on end, and then all of a sudden all the buttons you pressed during the lockup (thinking maybe you just didn't press that remote button hard enough...) queue up and are executed immediately causing even more problems.
Comcast was supposedly talking to Tivo about replacing their Comcast/Guideworks software with the much loved Tivo software. Where is that?
The thing is, developers don't always make good testers and testers don't always make good developers. Of course, if you're a tester you'll probably want to seek a higher goal, and there's really no where to go on your ladder except for lead tester/middle manager, or to the development side. And it's probably a whole lot easier to move up within testing than it is to jump over to development. Anyways, if you want to do development, you'd better actually know how to develop and design, the barrier of entry is significantly different between testing and development. If you're a tester and want to switch sides, think about how you would get the job if you were an outside hire: demos, website, etc. But since you're already in the company, you no doubt have a few connections that will make the initial "hey, look at me and my game!" a whole lot easier.
I haven't owned a landline in almost five years now. Even now that my wife and I live in another state, we still have our original cell phone numbers , which is a little awkward when giving our phone numbers to businesses as we have totally different area codes, but I don't think twice about it when giving my number out to a friend or coworker. The only reason I can see us getting a landline is for when we have kids and they have a 911 emergency or something. I know 911 cell phone calls are advanced, but I would just feel better knowing it was being placed by a landline.
Star Ocean 1 and 2 are amazing games. The first one was never released in the US as it came at the end of the SNES's life and was an absolutely huge game relative to everything else that had been released (something like a 48 megabit cartridge when most games were between 8 and 32Mb). Anyways, it was never released in the West because of the amount of text and how it came so late in the game. There is a very good fan translation that you can apply to the ROM and it's worth playing.
Star Ocean 2 is also very fun and very funny. The voice acting is so horrendously bad, they provide you a sound test to listen to all the voices any time you want! Anyways, SO2 was released in the US on the PSX and is well worth seeking out. Combat in both games is high paced and entertaining.
I'll be surprised if the SO1 remake makes it way over here, simply because it hasn't been officially translated, but they have done it before so you never know.
I don't think remake is the right word for the new FFXII release. Many Square games have been re-released with changes in the Japanese and European markets (but generally for the European release it's the first release).
For example, FFX was re-released in Japan as "Final Fantasy X International". For the re-release they added some extra bosses, a secret ending, and the coolest thing was the new sphere grid. This is basically what they're doing with the new license boards in FFXII, so I'm honestly not surprised that they're doing this. This FFX International was the only game that PAL territories got.
They also did a FF7 International because for the American release of the game, they added some more bosses (I think Ruby Weapon and another super boss). So then they re-released the game in Japan again with these new enemies and maybe some other changes.
Anyways, I don't think we'll see this game in the U.S., or in Europe as they've already gotten the original game. With the Western releases they added 16x9 widescreen which is something TFA is touting as new. The only real new thing is the new license boards, which are basically used for leveling up your characters and giving them abilities and magic.
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting to note that Nintendo is not going to allow Manhunt 2 to be released on the Nintendo Wii. Their argument is that they do not allow games rated AO.
a o-manhunt-270741.php
http://kotaku.com/gaming/original/nintendo-nixes-
It's a good thing I can filter out who my ISP is. For now.
Considering all the levels are just made up places, and that I'm sure each major party has literally hundreds of people on their payroll across the country doing exactly this, it's probably not necessary.
I'm pretty sure my company was on the list last year... but not this year. Too bad, we got free ice cream and an hour out in the sun. Yep, in the 50's last year... dang you ComputerWorld for taking away my ice cream!!!
The physical media movie industry is not dying because you haven't bought a DVD/VHS/Betamax in the last couple of years. You are undoubtedly part of the small crowd that believes absolutely everything coming out of Hollywood (or any other location on Earth) is pure crap and that you will have no part of it, because you are above such drivel. You will dance around yelling about how you haven't bought a movie in years and so obviously, no one else is, and thus, the industry is dying. You may be able to make the argument about the physical media music industry at the moment but definitely not movies.
Or maybe you're the guy who downloads everything you watch, whether it's legal or not, I could care less, but it's already been discussed ad nauseum in this topic and every other Hollywood topic that the infrastructure is just not there to support everyone downloading 720p versions of the latest blockbuster. You may be ahead of the curve, and heck, I hope you are, but don't act all pretentious that you are somehow the Nostradamus of the entertainment industry and will declare when and where it fall.
Blockbuster Online has had both formats for a while and I assume will continue to offer both. I am surprisingly familiar with this considering I don't own either type of players, I blame my wife, who will often add a new movie in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD format instead of DVD. Sometimes, she'll even add the same movie twice to the queue, once for DVD and another for Blu-Ray. Look hon, I don't want to watch R.V. once, let alone in high definition.
Keyboards are so cheap I wouldn't think twice sticking it in the dishwasher if I felt like it. Heck, mine is so nasty I probably should, but I don't really feel like air drying it for a week... might as well buy another 15 dollar Logitech keyboard at that point.
You sure seem qualified to determine whether a game will suck or not even though you've never played a Fallout game in your life. But I would guess you read a lot of Slashdot comments, especially the +5 Insightful "Fallout 3 will suck no matter what" comments.
Actually, Curse of Monkey Island is a really great game. The voice acting is superb and the animation is top notch. It's a wonderful game. Escape is a travesty though, which makes me almost a little happy that this rumor is false.
http://www.myopenx.com/home.htm
I've broken scissors too. Never again! Never again!
I'll take this generation by generation, as it's much easier to compare...
First, I'll have to choose the NES and SNES controllers. The NES controller isn't very comfortable nowadays, but it did what it needed to do back then. And the SNES controller is just great, maybe my favorite, definitely my favorite no-joystick controller. It's small but it's comfortable, it has plenty of buttons, but nothing confusing. The Genesis controller just felt plasticky and I never really liked the three button setup.
For the Saturn/N64/PSX generation, this is kind of a toss up. None of them were all that great, they all had their faults, at least to me. I didn't like the original Saturn controller, but I did like the analog one they released with Nights. It was huge though. I probably used the N64 one the most this generation, but the three pronged design just didn't work. I really liked the Z button though, that was pretty innovative, but necessary as a replacement for the left shoulder. The N64 controller used a button setup similar to the Saturn controller, but it worked better because the A and B buttons were larger than the C buttons, immediately allowing your fingers to know where they are located on the pad. The original PS1 controller was just a SNES ripoff, but I hated the D-Pad, still do. The Dual-Shock was much better, and it's my emulator controller on my PC, and I love it. It's not the most comfortable but it's very functional.
Next up, Gamecube/PS2/Xbox. Gamecube was great, but the second joystick seemed worthless at times. It was just a little nub instead of the joystick on the left, which made it feel awkward, why they never fixed this, I don't know. The Wavebird was a classic controller though, simply for the wireless that was perfect. PS2 controller was just a black Dual-Shock with analog buttons, whatever, still good. Xbox Fatty was hilariously bad, at least for me. The face buttons were almost sharp and pointed, and the buttons were arranged in an odd fashion. The controller was simply too big for me, probably what kept me away from the Xbox for a few years. The S-Controller though was awesome. Definitely one of my all time favorites. Very comfortable and everything is laid out nicely, except for the black and white buttons (I never could remember which one was which).
Finally, this generation. I like the Wii controller, if only the Numchuck was wireless. The cord between them is sometimes awkward and intrusive. The Wiimote itself feels nice, but is limited on buttons, but I guess that's the point. We'll see how it does down the road. I love the accelerometers but the built in speaker is incredibly tinny and loud. When I played through Zelda I had to turn the stupid thing down all the way because Midna was so incredibly loud. Xbox 360 controller probably is the best one out there. Does everything the original S-controller did plus moved those dang black and white buttons to the bumpers where they're comfortable and make sense. I have never played a PS3, but from what I hear, the controller is very light without the rumble. Don't know if this is good or bad until I play it.
All in all, my favorites are the SNES, Dual-Shock, and Xbox 360.
I was going to say the same thing. $600,000 may be more appropriate for the amount of actual work the guy put towards it, but I know nothing about it so I really shouldn't comment specifically on it.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AQNT&t=5d&l=on&z=m &q=l&c=
Not a bad jump.
If anything, this will probably just hinder broadband growth across the United States. There are a lot of areas where broadband is currently not available for one reason or another, and this will just be another reason for Verizon, etc. to say, well, we can't feasibly support 2Mbs out here in the boondocks, we're just not going to bother any more than we did before.
I pretty much agree with you. Twilight Princess probably is one of the best 3D Zeldas, but now I'm playing Okami, and I honestly think that it is a better game. Okami was obviously inspired by the Zelda series, some may say cloned, but it does some things better than Zelda (and some things worse). Anyways, the genius thing about Okami is the brush strokes you use to fight enemies or overcome obstacles instead of the typical Zelda tool chest of items. This actually makes the game much more seamless in my opinion because if you need the Okami equivalent of the Zelda hookshot, you just hold R1 and draw a line from the target to you, and off you go towards it. No need to press start and equip the item, or remember what button you assigned it to, and then aim and fire. Both ways work but the Okami way works better because it doesn't remove you from the action like pressing start in Zelda can. All your actions are available to you anytime at the stroke of a brush.
Anyways, even though TP was great, Nintendo needs to hire some decent writers. The game's plot fell apart at the end after an inspired beginning. Basically the plot went from interesting and original, to formulaic and unsurprising fairly quickly. This was unfortunate because it left a bad taste in my gaming mouth after I finished it.
I may also be in the minority about this, but Zelda (and any Okami sequels that will never be made) could do very well from excellent voice acting. Both Okami and Zelda have silent protagonists, and I am totally fine with keeping it that way. I don't really want to hear Link talk, but the supporting cast could really use it. The opening of Zelda is your friend talking to Link when he's fishing or something, and it just drones on and on while you press A. It's boring and very uninspired, and that has nothing to do with the fishing! There's also long conversations with the bad guys and Midna, that could have potentially been awesome with voice acting, but instead were dull and felt way too long and drawn out. Even the cutscene where the game tells the Hyrule Creation story; you're still pressing A while the text narrator slowly crawls about some crap that would have been memorable with an excellent narrator. Zelda (and Okami) just feel awkward with squeaky sound effects that are supposed to be people talking. This doesn't diminish from the rest of the game, but I just can't raise these games to the highest plateau in my mind that they potentially could have.
The Zelda series has a lot to learn from the other games in its genres. Stop spending so many programming and design hours doing the new fishing game that people are so excited about before the game comes out and then finds out how boring it is actually doing it, and use your imagination about what gamers really want! Please Zelda team, play Okami! Port Okami to the Wii by the way while you're at it, it was made for it! Play God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Fallout, Oblivion, Half-Life, etc. All of these games do things right and wrong, recognize these and try to improve and be inspired.
A friend of mine at work stayed home yesterday. He was pretty upset about it being delayed and his download arrived at quarter to 12 last night. By that time he was too tired to play and is now at work, probably reading about Halo.
How do we know that within those 34 games, there isn't a "Super Paper Mario"-equivalent for either you or some other older gamer? Everyone has different tastes, some people like specific genres, some people will play something from every genre. I've grown out of the stage where I must own the latest and greatest right now and I really only have time for a couple of new games a year, yet I can still find those games across platforms and appreciate them, even though they're not Mario. Right now I'm playing Okami, Guitar Hero, Puzzle Quest DS, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Now that may sound like a lot but considering I only have a few hours a week, those will last me a long time. I only have time for games that are worth playing, I don't try to hold every game I play up to Chrono Trigger, but I'm not so elitist towards game companies or platforms that I don't even consider them.
Agreed, if I had to see an ad, I'd must rather see an ad related to something I like than something completely unrelated to my tastes.
Few questions for using your Tivo 3 with Comcast...
Do you get ESPN HD? Can you record it? Is there a way to get ESPN HD and other HD channels that are not OTA without the Comcast cable box?
Honestly, the initial price for a Tivo Series 3 is very high for me, and is simply not worth it for the amount I watch.
Looking at the Guideworks website, it looks like the same crap that was part of the reason I dropped Comcast months ago. This really isn't a big deal as the Microsoft switch affects a relatively small portion of people compared to how many Comcast serves. The thing is, Guideworks software is a pile of crap, the UI is absolutely horrible, and I had mandatory updates to it remove useful functionality and even lose some of the shows I had saved on the box's hard drive. But really, the user interface is as bad as it gets. It's unresponsive, randomly locking up for seconds and sometimes even a full minute on end, and then all of a sudden all the buttons you pressed during the lockup (thinking maybe you just didn't press that remote button hard enough...) queue up and are executed immediately causing even more problems.
Comcast was supposedly talking to Tivo about replacing their Comcast/Guideworks software with the much loved Tivo software. Where is that?
The thing is, developers don't always make good testers and testers don't always make good developers. Of course, if you're a tester you'll probably want to seek a higher goal, and there's really no where to go on your ladder except for lead tester/middle manager, or to the development side. And it's probably a whole lot easier to move up within testing than it is to jump over to development. Anyways, if you want to do development, you'd better actually know how to develop and design, the barrier of entry is significantly different between testing and development. If you're a tester and want to switch sides, think about how you would get the job if you were an outside hire: demos, website, etc. But since you're already in the company, you no doubt have a few connections that will make the initial "hey, look at me and my game!" a whole lot easier.
I haven't owned a landline in almost five years now. Even now that my wife and I live in another state, we still have our original cell phone numbers , which is a little awkward when giving our phone numbers to businesses as we have totally different area codes, but I don't think twice about it when giving my number out to a friend or coworker. The only reason I can see us getting a landline is for when we have kids and they have a 911 emergency or something. I know 911 cell phone calls are advanced, but I would just feel better knowing it was being placed by a landline.
Unless your hot idea is time traveling.
Star Ocean 1 and 2 are amazing games. The first one was never released in the US as it came at the end of the SNES's life and was an absolutely huge game relative to everything else that had been released (something like a 48 megabit cartridge when most games were between 8 and 32Mb). Anyways, it was never released in the West because of the amount of text and how it came so late in the game. There is a very good fan translation that you can apply to the ROM and it's worth playing.
Star Ocean 2 is also very fun and very funny. The voice acting is so horrendously bad, they provide you a sound test to listen to all the voices any time you want! Anyways, SO2 was released in the US on the PSX and is well worth seeking out. Combat in both games is high paced and entertaining.
I'll be surprised if the SO1 remake makes it way over here, simply because it hasn't been officially translated, but they have done it before so you never know.
I don't think remake is the right word for the new FFXII release. Many Square games have been re-released with changes in the Japanese and European markets (but generally for the European release it's the first release).
For example, FFX was re-released in Japan as "Final Fantasy X International". For the re-release they added some extra bosses, a secret ending, and the coolest thing was the new sphere grid. This is basically what they're doing with the new license boards in FFXII, so I'm honestly not surprised that they're doing this. This FFX International was the only game that PAL territories got.
They also did a FF7 International because for the American release of the game, they added some more bosses (I think Ruby Weapon and another super boss). So then they re-released the game in Japan again with these new enemies and maybe some other changes.
Anyways, I don't think we'll see this game in the U.S., or in Europe as they've already gotten the original game. With the Western releases they added 16x9 widescreen which is something TFA is touting as new. The only real new thing is the new license boards, which are basically used for leveling up your characters and giving them abilities and magic.