It's more like a Caddy vs a Merc S-Class. The S-Class has a few more neat features, but costs about 2.5 times more even though it's not 2.5 times better in any way. You pay premium for the Mercedes badge, more than anything. An iPhone doesn't give you 6x the value of other smartphones at 6x the price; say what you will, but the premium is mostly for the Apple logo.
Dude seriously if Ninja Gaiden for XBox was so hard it honestly frustrated you, then just go play easier games and don't complain about it. Not all games need to be designed for people with poor coordination/reflexes. Yes it's harder than most other games out there. No that's not a bad thing. Plus there's a "ninja dog" level of difficulty for people who think "normal" is a "clusterfuck of difficulty" lol
Congress isn't using war/oil money to fund video games. And in any case it's taxpayer money. And if it was being spent on this game then it was being spent on rubbish, honestly.
The ghost pirahnas are pure evil, BUT YOU CAN FARM THEM FOR $$$$ so I forgive them and honestly they're a joke if you just do air attacks non-stop.
The most annoying enemies in the game are probably the cat warriors in Ninja Gaiden Black, and the Black Spider Clan ninjas in the original version with their explosive shurikens.
As far as tough bosses go, I'll submit Alma #1 and Doku #1 and #2 as the most difficult enemies, especially on the higher difficulty levels. On Master Ninja even the first boss is bad, heh.
There IS a story, but the gameplay is not story-driven. You can basically test this like so: ignore all of the story scenes and check if you know what to do next regardless. If you do, the gameplay isn't story-driven in the sense that I used the term. An example of story-driven gameplay would be Final Fantasy XII or Oblivion (among many others), where if you weren't exposed to the story you would not know how to proceed.
There's no clear line in all of this, of course, but that's what I meant when I said Ninja Gaiden isn't story-driven.
Ninja Gaiden is no more supposed to be an "open-ended, story-driven" game than Mario Kart is. It's not an Elder Scrolls game, after all ^_^ It's NINJA FREAKING GAIDEN, where you are a ninja that KILLS EVERYTHING.
The graphics are great. They're not as detailed and gritty as Gears, or as visually inspiring as Oblivion, but the action is fluid, the blood viscosity is noticeable (yay Itagaki and his "priorities" T_T), the ninpo effects are fantastic, and Hayabusa looks the way he's supposed to.
Glossy black suits and "china doll" faces doesn't mean ANYTHING about graphics, by the way. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children had plenty of both and looked fantastic.
Not sure how, as a NG fan, you'd be bored by NG2 footage, but whatevs. I've been paying attention mostly to enemy designs and Ryu's animations, and I'm happy with what I've seen.
Regarding the camera (being the article's main gripe)... it's a good freaking camera! I don't know why people had issues with it in the XBox game. Frankly I believe it's because they're n00bs. The game is astonishingly fast-paced and the "optimal viewing angle" changes several times PER SECOND, and I'd say the camera does a FAR better job of managing than any other game's camera system could ever hope to do. God of War's and DMC's cameras... they're jokes in comparison, but they don't have to be as good because they're not dealing with anything nearly as dynamic.
So, yeah. People that complain about NG's camera are IMO not worthy of playing the games in the first place. Ninja Gaiden is to other action games what Sasuke is to American Gladiators. Yes, that is elitist. And that's ok because NINJAS ARE ELITE, mofos!
Most games nowadays baby everyone. Old-school games were nigh-unbeatable. The NES Ninja Gaidens were ridiculously hard, far harder than the XBox Ninja Gaiden on anything but Ninja Master difficulty. It's a good thing the new Ninja Gaiden games aren't total pushovers like most every other game out there; we truly hardcore gamers are still out there.
Anyway, the XBox Ninja Gaiden was NOT impossible. Far from it. The two skeletal bosses were easier than some others in the game, anyway. I don't think NG2 will be any more difficult, either.
I mean, my God, it had everything you could ask for from Star Wars. It had cool battle scenes. That's what Star Wars is about! As an added bonus, it had an actual (interesting) PLOT, not the pile of shit that passed for a plot in the original Star Wars trilogy! Ok seriously George we know it's you, the screen name fools nobody. Your jedi mind tricks don't work on/.
To further clarify, in case I misunderstood your original question, figuring out that the supernova is 140 years old took a few years of observation and measurements. Given what we do know about supernovae, I suppose it's not that difficult to estimate the age of one based on its current state and how quickly it's changing.
o.O if it's 28,000 light years away that already implies that what we see now happened 28,000 years ago. It took 28,000 years for the light from that event to reach us.
So.. Hillary: pro (for now) Obama: against McCain: mysterious
I'm not one to really take any positivie promises from politicians at face value prior to an election, so the only response I take seriously there is Obama's... and I can't say I'm happy with it:-/
It's not a comparison, fool. The point is judging people based on their behavior over an arbitrary time period rather than in its entiredy is stupid and disingenuous.
Bin Laden has actually done LESS damage in the last ten years, than a single congresscritter in the same timespan. So has Stalin. So have criminals who've been incarcerated for the last 10 years. So, that point of yours is epic fail. But just that one.
Well, I for one can already decide between several providers here in central Ohio. Time-Warner, AT&T, WOW! Cable, etc. However, prices and service have both gotten worse across the board over time. In the end this choice hasn't benefitted me much, but you can bet that all three of those companies have increased their bottom line quite a bit.
What one would assume would lead to competition that's "good" for the consumer isn't always so good (from my experience). I see it with fuel prices, cell phones, cable TV and broadband, etc. Companies don't have to actually provide better and cheaper service than their competition. They just have to convince you that they suck less, and that's altogether different, and easier, and worse for the consumer.
If by "fine" you mean "good" then I can list a few books I consider good, sure. (If you mean "fine" as in meeting some arbitrary standard of objective quality, then I am both unqualified and in any case disinclined to make such judgments.)
This probably won't tell you much on its own. Anyway, in no particular order and off the top of my head:
1 - Lord of the Rings (not The Hobbit, however; I disliked Tolkien constantly breaking the immersion by referring to the reader directly) 2 - The Three Musketeers (my favorite of Dumas's works; found both sequels and The Count of Monte Cristo rather boring) 3 - Nearly all of Jules Verne's more famous works, and some not-so-famous such as The Children of Captain Grant 4 - Farewell to Arms (I like Hemingway's succinct, no-nonsense writing style, and basically appreciated the book for that alone after having suffered through some of Hesse's material) 5 - Shogun (probably my favorite book, along with Lord of the Rings; the subject matter appeals to me which is part of the reason. It's also well-written although the plot suffers towards the end somewhat.) 6 - Darwin's Ghost 7 - Dave Barry Does Japan (yep that's right, Dave Barry.) 8 - Timothy Zahn's Star Wars trilogy
I haven't read too much recently. Gave Murakami a try and picked up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but found it a bit unsettling in both subject matter and style. Worst of all, it went nowhere.
"Agreed" doesn't qualify as an argument in any sense of the word. Indeed I would advise you to seek me out for book reviews, but judging from your screen name it is far, far too late.
Oh, and none of the "I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes. "American super-heroes" is a redundant phrase unless you're going to tell me you're THAT big a fan of Ultraman. And the most iconic superheroes (Supes and Bats) don't fall into the 1960s "I am Stan Lee and I can't think of anything except radiation origins" bunch. You're just thinking the last few Marvel movies - Spiderman, Hulk, FF - since they do all have radiation origins which is indeed lame but whatever since with a name like the "Fantastic Four" you're guaranteed lame already.
There could be many reasons, anyway. In the US, sports are one of the proven ways to get scholarship money for college, and given that a lot of blacks live in poorer areas (so, worse schools) sports are easier to excel in than academics. Don't take my word for it but it makes sense to me.
After all, "athletic ability" is important in more than just basketball and American football. It helps in soccer, nearly all "winter sports," rowing, etc. So I can't agree that blacks are altogether "more athletic," though yes they are on average taller and have a better vertical jump. So, yeah maybe on average better built for a sport like basketball (as opposed to other sports).
professional athletes Depends on the sport. Hockey is predominately white, though that's largely due to regional culture (that goes for "winter sports" in general, I guess). Soccer seems to not favor the athletic tendencies of any particular race. Tiger Woods is like 100 races in one so golf's a wash. In Baseball, American Football, and Basketball there are many black athletes but it's not necessarily because of their physical advantages. Certainly the greater muscle mass, height, and high vertical jump mean a lot, especially for particular positions in football and basketball. But if you look at the MVPs in both sports lately, as well as how the US has fared in international competition (in Basketball, at least), physical ability isn't the only factor that determines performance. The fact that it's important to play intelligently above all else serves as something of an equalizer. Certainly when you mix playing smarts with uncanny physical talent, as we see in players like LeBron James, you can see that perhaps the "theoretically best" (for basketball, at least) player would be black for the sake of natural physical form/ability, but that theory isn't very useful in reality.
And if you look at trends, the NBA for instance is becoming much more international in terms of its player makeup. More players are coming from South America, Europe, and China than ever before, and I expect that to continue.
NOOOO stop bringing up BONZI BUDDY! What we thought would be an amusing evening of getting a purple gorilla to say things like "punch me in the testicles" and various "yo momma" jokes turned into a nightmare that can only be compared to when all the people in the beginning of Ghost Ship get cut in half by a cable and it looks really fake and lame but still gross. Only intead of a ship it was my computer, and instead of a cable, it was Bonzi. After much kung fu, I banished him from our dorm room, but he still haunts me in my dreams.
You provided evidence for an increase in CO2, not evidence for a prolonged warming trend BASED on an increase in CO2. It's the latter issue that is causing concern, and the question is whether it's warranted.
Slashdot Mirror
It's more like a Caddy vs a Merc S-Class. The S-Class has a few more neat features, but costs about 2.5 times more even though it's not 2.5 times better in any way. You pay premium for the Mercedes badge, more than anything. An iPhone doesn't give you 6x the value of other smartphones at 6x the price; say what you will, but the premium is mostly for the Apple logo.
Pylons need 100 minerals, zero vespene gas. ^^
Hmm probably a good point. Also I learned a new initialism from your post ^^
Dude seriously if Ninja Gaiden for XBox was so hard it honestly frustrated you, then just go play easier games and don't complain about it. Not all games need to be designed for people with poor coordination/reflexes. Yes it's harder than most other games out there. No that's not a bad thing. Plus there's a "ninja dog" level of difficulty for people who think "normal" is a "clusterfuck of difficulty" lol
Congress isn't using war/oil money to fund video games. And in any case it's taxpayer money. And if it was being spent on this game then it was being spent on rubbish, honestly.
The ghost pirahnas are pure evil, BUT YOU CAN FARM THEM FOR $$$$ so I forgive them and honestly they're a joke if you just do air attacks non-stop.
The most annoying enemies in the game are probably the cat warriors in Ninja Gaiden Black, and the Black Spider Clan ninjas in the original version with their explosive shurikens.
As far as tough bosses go, I'll submit Alma #1 and Doku #1 and #2 as the most difficult enemies, especially on the higher difficulty levels. On Master Ninja even the first boss is bad, heh.
There IS a story, but the gameplay is not story-driven. You can basically test this like so: ignore all of the story scenes and check if you know what to do next regardless. If you do, the gameplay isn't story-driven in the sense that I used the term. An example of story-driven gameplay would be Final Fantasy XII or Oblivion (among many others), where if you weren't exposed to the story you would not know how to proceed.
There's no clear line in all of this, of course, but that's what I meant when I said Ninja Gaiden isn't story-driven.
...what will it be tomorrow, guys? Earthquakes caused by fat people using WiiFit.Ninja Gaiden is no more supposed to be an "open-ended, story-driven" game than Mario Kart is. It's not an Elder Scrolls game, after all ^_^ It's NINJA FREAKING GAIDEN, where you are a ninja that KILLS EVERYTHING.
... they're jokes in comparison, but they don't have to be as good because they're not dealing with anything nearly as dynamic.
The graphics are great. They're not as detailed and gritty as Gears, or as visually inspiring as Oblivion, but the action is fluid, the blood viscosity is noticeable (yay Itagaki and his "priorities" T_T), the ninpo effects are fantastic, and Hayabusa looks the way he's supposed to.
Glossy black suits and "china doll" faces doesn't mean ANYTHING about graphics, by the way. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children had plenty of both and looked fantastic.
Not sure how, as a NG fan, you'd be bored by NG2 footage, but whatevs. I've been paying attention mostly to enemy designs and Ryu's animations, and I'm happy with what I've seen.
Regarding the camera (being the article's main gripe)... it's a good freaking camera! I don't know why people had issues with it in the XBox game. Frankly I believe it's because they're n00bs. The game is astonishingly fast-paced and the "optimal viewing angle" changes several times PER SECOND, and I'd say the camera does a FAR better job of managing than any other game's camera system could ever hope to do. God of War's and DMC's cameras
So, yeah. People that complain about NG's camera are IMO not worthy of playing the games in the first place. Ninja Gaiden is to other action games what Sasuke is to American Gladiators. Yes, that is elitist. And that's ok because NINJAS ARE ELITE, mofos!
Most games nowadays baby everyone. Old-school games were nigh-unbeatable. The NES Ninja Gaidens were ridiculously hard, far harder than the XBox Ninja Gaiden on anything but Ninja Master difficulty. It's a good thing the new Ninja Gaiden games aren't total pushovers like most every other game out there; we truly hardcore gamers are still out there.
Anyway, the XBox Ninja Gaiden was NOT impossible. Far from it. The two skeletal bosses were easier than some others in the game, anyway. I don't think NG2 will be any more difficult, either.
To further clarify, in case I misunderstood your original question, figuring out that the supernova is 140 years old took a few years of observation and measurements. Given what we do know about supernovae, I suppose it's not that difficult to estimate the age of one based on its current state and how quickly it's changing.
o.O if it's 28,000 light years away that already implies that what we see now happened 28,000 years ago. It took 28,000 years for the light from that event to reach us.
So..
:-/
Hillary: pro (for now)
Obama: against
McCain: mysterious
I'm not one to really take any positivie promises from politicians at face value prior to an election, so the only response I take seriously there is Obama's... and I can't say I'm happy with it
The Wii basically IS an "Apple-style" console already. Nintendo took a cue from Apple's aesthetic design with it.
It's not a comparison, fool. The point is judging people based on their behavior over an arbitrary time period rather than in its entiredy is stupid and disingenuous.
Well, I for one can already decide between several providers here in central Ohio. Time-Warner, AT&T, WOW! Cable, etc. However, prices and service have both gotten worse across the board over time. In the end this choice hasn't benefitted me much, but you can bet that all three of those companies have increased their bottom line quite a bit.
What one would assume would lead to competition that's "good" for the consumer isn't always so good (from my experience). I see it with fuel prices, cell phones, cable TV and broadband, etc. Companies don't have to actually provide better and cheaper service than their competition. They just have to convince you that they suck less, and that's altogether different, and easier, and worse for the consumer.
If by "fine" you mean "good" then I can list a few books I consider good, sure. (If you mean "fine" as in meeting some arbitrary standard of objective quality, then I am both unqualified and in any case disinclined to make such judgments.)
This probably won't tell you much on its own. Anyway, in no particular order and off the top of my head:
1 - Lord of the Rings (not The Hobbit, however; I disliked Tolkien constantly breaking the immersion by referring to the reader directly)
2 - The Three Musketeers (my favorite of Dumas's works; found both sequels and The Count of Monte Cristo rather boring)
3 - Nearly all of Jules Verne's more famous works, and some not-so-famous such as The Children of Captain Grant
4 - Farewell to Arms (I like Hemingway's succinct, no-nonsense writing style, and basically appreciated the book for that alone after having suffered through some of Hesse's material)
5 - Shogun (probably my favorite book, along with Lord of the Rings; the subject matter appeals to me which is part of the reason. It's also well-written although the plot suffers towards the end somewhat.)
6 - Darwin's Ghost
7 - Dave Barry Does Japan (yep that's right, Dave Barry.)
8 - Timothy Zahn's Star Wars trilogy
I haven't read too much recently. Gave Murakami a try and picked up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but found it a bit unsettling in both subject matter and style. Worst of all, it went nowhere.
"Agreed" doesn't qualify as an argument in any sense of the word. Indeed I would advise you to seek me out for book reviews, but judging from your screen name it is far, far too late.
Um, that they're American sports?
There could be many reasons, anyway. In the US, sports are one of the proven ways to get scholarship money for college, and given that a lot of blacks live in poorer areas (so, worse schools) sports are easier to excel in than academics. Don't take my word for it but it makes sense to me.
After all, "athletic ability" is important in more than just basketball and American football. It helps in soccer, nearly all "winter sports," rowing, etc. So I can't agree that blacks are altogether "more athletic," though yes they are on average taller and have a better vertical jump. So, yeah maybe on average better built for a sport like basketball (as opposed to other sports).
And if you look at trends, the NBA for instance is becoming much more international in terms of its player makeup. More players are coming from South America, Europe, and China than ever before, and I expect that to continue.
NOOOO stop bringing up BONZI BUDDY! What we thought would be an amusing evening of getting a purple gorilla to say things like "punch me in the testicles" and various "yo momma" jokes turned into a nightmare that can only be compared to when all the people in the beginning of Ghost Ship get cut in half by a cable and it looks really fake and lame but still gross. Only intead of a ship it was my computer, and instead of a cable, it was Bonzi. After much kung fu, I banished him from our dorm room, but he still haunts me in my dreams.
You provided evidence for an increase in CO2, not evidence for a prolonged warming trend BASED on an increase in CO2. It's the latter issue that is causing concern, and the question is whether it's warranted.