The problem is that fundamentalist Christians take the Bible as the untainted, infallible word of God. According to them, we're made of dirt and the planet is about 6000 years old.
It's ironic that crazy religious zealots prefer to believe in magic over science.
The entire left vs. right spectrum is an oversimplification of political beliefs. Everyone has been led to believe that you either have to be a liberal or conservative. There's a big difference between Bush's neo-conservatism and traditional conservatism. There's also a big difference between the present day liberals, who are a stone's throw away from being socialists, and the classic liberals.
I honestly don't see it being as bad as people are claiming it to be. The battle system is by far more interesting and strategy oriented than WoW. The only complaint that I can understand is that since it is party-based, if one person is a moron and screws up, everyone suffers. That is the frustrating part.
If you really wanted to solo on FFXI, though, you'd play a BST (beastmaster). They are the only job in the game that solo quite effectively.
I have to say, this might be the best thing Square Enix ever did for this game. I was around a couple of years back, and the inflation was absolutely terrible. I'll give a simple example.
The whole crafting system is based around the use of crystals, which drop from mobs if you've gotten your nation's signet cast upon you. The going rate for crystals was about 1000-2000 gil per stack of 12. I remember, within a span of about 2 weeks on my server, the price of fire crystals going from 2000 to 7000 gil. It was outrageously bad! I was a newbie, and there was no way I could afford good equipment or spells because of the massive inflation of everything. Items that used to cost 100,000 gil went up to a million or more. The list could go on and on.
I recently came back to the game, and I am very happy with what has happened to the economy. Crystals are down to 700-1500 per stack, and other things that were once ridiculously expensive - even low level gear - went down to more normal prices, meaning you didn't have to spend a week farming to get one piece of EQ.
The economy's fix, coupled with the introduction of items that make leveling a bit faster, makes this game a bit easier. To anyone who's looking to take a break from WoW or another MMO should check this game out. Be warned - it is very top-heavy, with most of the players already at 75, so finding people to group with may be difficult during non-peak times. However, due to the ability to change jobs at anytime, and the advent of the new expansion, I think there won't be a shortage of potential party members when WotG comes out.
It doesn't matter if Microsoft is losing money on the 360. The money is really in the games, anyway. Microsoft has enough money to throw away in the short term, if they think it's going to profit them in the long run by cornering the console market, which they have pretty much done. Microsoft and the 360 have done very well this generation, and they have realized the mistakes of the last Xbox. The 360, an American console, has more Japanese RPGs than the Japanese consoles do! Not to mention, they have solid, well made games coming out at the same time as they cut their hardware prices. They're looking at winning in the long run.
Maybe they're so sensitive about violence because of WWII? And they're afraid of not looking like they're doing enough to make Germany a peaceful country?
If I had mod points, you would have earned them. I enjoy Linux as much as the next/.er, but people are making a dangerous assumption that using Windows means you are automatically ignorant of an alternative. Perhaps a candidate who happens to be using Windows is perfectly aware of open source alternatives, but they make a conscious decision to buy Microsoft? Probably not, but the fact remains that you don't know and therefore cannot assume. I'm glad there is a viable, solid alternative and people are using it. That's what I love about Linux. It means competition, and competition can only benefit the consumer in the end.
Back in the day, I had high hopes for the PSP. My wife was a staunch supporter of it, and laughed at me when I told her that the DS was going to do better than the PSP. I realized long before she did that Sony's proprietary format, high cost and low flexibility was going to murder the PSP. Our PSP still gets a fair amount of use (only to play ports of classic PS RPGs, ie Valkarie Profile, and FFT when it comes out), but we never go anywhere for an extended period of time without our DSes.
An affordable system, affordable games, excellent library (GBA backwards compatibility helps), long battery life, and innovative features have helped the DS achieve something that many thought 3 years ago would be impossible - complete dominance over the PSP.
Way way back in the day, I bought Pokemon Blue for my Gameboy (yes, the big clunky one that ate up 4 AA batteries). I was lots of fun and everyone at my school played, battled, and traded. Even kids that didn't consider themselves nerds had a copy and were willing to trade or battle if you asked. It was the most revolutionary game for a portable system since Tetris.
I didn't play another Pokemon game since.
It's been 9 years now - I'm married, going to college, and working. When I heard about Diamond and Pearl, I was quick to reserve them both. I'm glad I did.
One of the major things that makes playing Pokemon Diamond/Pearl more enjoyable is the DS's built-in wireless. This might not seem like a big deal, but not every kid on the school yard kept a cable with them for Pokemon trading. Also, of course, the Wi-fi element of the game is very exciting. The voice chat is surprisingly well done, and makes the otherwise long battles (6 vs. 6 is quite a grueling battle) a little more enjoyable.
There was enough nostalgia to make me happy, but at the same time there were many new elements to me (I know most of these things were added in previous versions, but I know I'm not the only one who hasn't played since Blue). My wife, a first-timer at any Pokemon game, received it with enthusiasm and has been playing it every free moment she gets.
It's true that there's not much innovation to be found here. Even so, this is a solid game that was very well done. It remains a solid, lengthy RPG for the DS and will end up as one of the top games of the year.
It seems to me that this just might be the closest thing to an MMO that the DS is going to get... I personally plan on buying them (my wife will play one of them too). One thing that set the Pokemon games apart was the strong multi-player aspect of it - you HAD to find others to collect all the Pokemon.
Yeah... that doesn't jive with me either. Oblivion is a western RPG, and those are almost always (and purposefully) different from J-RPGs. Not to say that Oblivion isn't a good game, but... it probably needs to stay in a seperate genre from Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy/Secret of Mana....
The game Xenogears made extensive use of the unbeatable boss. At the top of my head, I can think of about 5 times that you can't win a battle, and there are probably more. Of course, I doubt that the game would have been able to give the player as much drama without them... I personally enjoyed having my ass handed to me, especially when it advanced the story, which is the whole purpose to an RPG. No story, no game.
I don't know about a gigantic pile, but keep in mind that as a manufacturer of something you WANT there to be product sitting on a shelf. People can't buy it if it's not sitting on a shelf. What's happening with the Wii is bad and shows a big mistake on Nintendo's part. People want to give Nintendo money but Nintendo can't give them product, and many of them are no doubt buying 360s or PSPs instead. This is costing Nintendo possibly millions of dollars. I call BS. Sony hasn't produced near as many PS3s as Nintendo has produced Wiis. So, the fact that even though Sony hasn't made that many consoles and they're sitting on the shelves means that demand isn't as high as it was anticipated. Nintendo is making tons of Wiis still and yet they keep selling out... that is probably more demand than they initially expected. Everyone who wants a Wii is waiting for a Wii.
FF8's storyline was trumped up and a little hokey. "Oh, imagine that, we all happen to be orphans that lived at the same orphanage, and the sorceress was our caretaker. Gee, that's inconvenient. GFs make us lose our memory, but even at endgame when we have all of them equipped, we seem to be able to remember things just fine."
FF8 wasn't a horrible game, but there are much better ones out there. FFVI, VII, Tactics, and XII FTW.
No, Old Testament + New Testament = Christianity No, really? Golly gee, that must be why The Bible has both!
I'm tired of people quoting OT, as if it effectively debunks Christianity, especially when the tidbit of OT they quote is either no longer relevant and/or contradicted by Christ's words.
Slashdot Mirror
As far as I know, it started out as "We owned other team." Anyone else have a differing idea about its origin?
Am I the only one here that read "BLU" and their first thought was "Blue Mage" from FFXI?
I just knew that Ron Paul was one of the "no" votes as soon as I read the summary. Makes me proud.
The problem is that fundamentalist Christians take the Bible as the untainted, infallible word of God. According to them, we're made of dirt and the planet is about 6000 years old.
It's ironic that crazy religious zealots prefer to believe in magic over science.
The entire left vs. right spectrum is an oversimplification of political beliefs. Everyone has been led to believe that you either have to be a liberal or conservative. There's a big difference between Bush's neo-conservatism and traditional conservatism. There's also a big difference between the present day liberals, who are a stone's throw away from being socialists, and the classic liberals.
I honestly don't see it being as bad as people are claiming it to be. The battle system is by far more interesting and strategy oriented than WoW. The only complaint that I can understand is that since it is party-based, if one person is a moron and screws up, everyone suffers. That is the frustrating part.
If you really wanted to solo on FFXI, though, you'd play a BST (beastmaster). They are the only job in the game that solo quite effectively.
I have to say, this might be the best thing Square Enix ever did for this game. I was around a couple of years back, and the inflation was absolutely terrible. I'll give a simple example.
The whole crafting system is based around the use of crystals, which drop from mobs if you've gotten your nation's signet cast upon you. The going rate for crystals was about 1000-2000 gil per stack of 12. I remember, within a span of about 2 weeks on my server, the price of fire crystals going from 2000 to 7000 gil. It was outrageously bad! I was a newbie, and there was no way I could afford good equipment or spells because of the massive inflation of everything. Items that used to cost 100,000 gil went up to a million or more. The list could go on and on.
I recently came back to the game, and I am very happy with what has happened to the economy. Crystals are down to 700-1500 per stack, and other things that were once ridiculously expensive - even low level gear - went down to more normal prices, meaning you didn't have to spend a week farming to get one piece of EQ.
The economy's fix, coupled with the introduction of items that make leveling a bit faster, makes this game a bit easier. To anyone who's looking to take a break from WoW or another MMO should check this game out. Be warned - it is very top-heavy, with most of the players already at 75, so finding people to group with may be difficult during non-peak times. However, due to the ability to change jobs at anytime, and the advent of the new expansion, I think there won't be a shortage of potential party members when WotG comes out.
It doesn't matter if Microsoft is losing money on the 360. The money is really in the games, anyway. Microsoft has enough money to throw away in the short term, if they think it's going to profit them in the long run by cornering the console market, which they have pretty much done. Microsoft and the 360 have done very well this generation, and they have realized the mistakes of the last Xbox. The 360, an American console, has more Japanese RPGs than the Japanese consoles do! Not to mention, they have solid, well made games coming out at the same time as they cut their hardware prices. They're looking at winning in the long run.
Dude... the only person who says "Japs" anymore is my grandmother, because she's still made about Pearl Harbor.
Maybe they're so sensitive about violence because of WWII? And they're afraid of not looking like they're doing enough to make Germany a peaceful country?
Just speculation on my part.
If I had mod points, you would have earned them. I enjoy Linux as much as the next /.er, but people are making a dangerous assumption that using Windows means you are automatically ignorant of an alternative. Perhaps a candidate who happens to be using Windows is perfectly aware of open source alternatives, but they make a conscious decision to buy Microsoft? Probably not, but the fact remains that you don't know and therefore cannot assume. I'm glad there is a viable, solid alternative and people are using it. That's what I love about Linux. It means competition, and competition can only benefit the consumer in the end.
Back in the day, I had high hopes for the PSP. My wife was a staunch supporter of it, and laughed at me when I told her that the DS was going to do better than the PSP. I realized long before she did that Sony's proprietary format, high cost and low flexibility was going to murder the PSP. Our PSP still gets a fair amount of use (only to play ports of classic PS RPGs, ie Valkarie Profile, and FFT when it comes out), but we never go anywhere for an extended period of time without our DSes.
An affordable system, affordable games, excellent library (GBA backwards compatibility helps), long battery life, and innovative features have helped the DS achieve something that many thought 3 years ago would be impossible - complete dominance over the PSP.
Way way back in the day, I bought Pokemon Blue for my Gameboy (yes, the big clunky one that ate up 4 AA batteries). I was lots of fun and everyone at my school played, battled, and traded. Even kids that didn't consider themselves nerds had a copy and were willing to trade or battle if you asked. It was the most revolutionary game for a portable system since Tetris.
I didn't play another Pokemon game since.
It's been 9 years now - I'm married, going to college, and working. When I heard about Diamond and Pearl, I was quick to reserve them both. I'm glad I did.
One of the major things that makes playing Pokemon Diamond/Pearl more enjoyable is the DS's built-in wireless. This might not seem like a big deal, but not every kid on the school yard kept a cable with them for Pokemon trading. Also, of course, the Wi-fi element of the game is very exciting. The voice chat is surprisingly well done, and makes the otherwise long battles (6 vs. 6 is quite a grueling battle) a little more enjoyable.
There was enough nostalgia to make me happy, but at the same time there were many new elements to me (I know most of these things were added in previous versions, but I know I'm not the only one who hasn't played since Blue). My wife, a first-timer at any Pokemon game, received it with enthusiasm and has been playing it every free moment she gets.
It's true that there's not much innovation to be found here. Even so, this is a solid game that was very well done. It remains a solid, lengthy RPG for the DS and will end up as one of the top games of the year.
It seems to me that this just might be the closest thing to an MMO that the DS is going to get... I personally plan on buying them (my wife will play one of them too). One thing that set the Pokemon games apart was the strong multi-player aspect of it - you HAD to find others to collect all the Pokemon.
"The product will launch on FlipStart.com in the not too distant future."
Fixed.
Yeah... that doesn't jive with me either. Oblivion is a western RPG, and those are almost always (and purposefully) different from J-RPGs. Not to say that Oblivion isn't a good game, but... it probably needs to stay in a seperate genre from Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy/Secret of Mana....
Better yet, SEED cadets in Final Fantasy VIII...
The game Xenogears made extensive use of the unbeatable boss. At the top of my head, I can think of about 5 times that you can't win a battle, and there are probably more. Of course, I doubt that the game would have been able to give the player as much drama without them... I personally enjoyed having my ass handed to me, especially when it advanced the story, which is the whole purpose to an RPG. No story, no game.
Since the tax will be in Canadian money, it will only be around a $.05 USD tax... that isn't so bad.
FF8's storyline was trumped up and a little hokey. "Oh, imagine that, we all happen to be orphans that lived at the same orphanage, and the sorceress was our caretaker. Gee, that's inconvenient. GFs make us lose our memory, but even at endgame when we have all of them equipped, we seem to be able to remember things just fine."
FF8 wasn't a horrible game, but there are much better ones out there. FFVI, VII, Tactics, and XII FTW.
Final Fantasy XI used a USB keyboard. Because typing with the softkeyboard on the controller sucked.
The only truly cross-platform game, in which Xbox360, PS2, and PC can play at the same time together, is FFXI.
Why did this piece of crap get modded insightful?
I'm tired of people quoting OT, as if it effectively debunks Christianity, especially when the tidbit of OT they quote is either no longer relevant and/or contradicted by Christ's words.