BlackKnight

The 'arcade' marked boxes available down under have HDMI apparently.

See this is the thing, I also hate CoD and love UT. Not that I was expecting things to be as frantic as in UT, but I don't find the shooting in Bioshock satisfying at all. I got the demo from ausgamers.com. So yeh it was only that fast because it was a local mirror. It didn't cut out on me though.

For me, the Core is costing me $399 AUD, whereas the Pro will cost $559 and lord only knows how much the Elite will be. Even if I get the Core first and get a HDD later on I dont think I will be taking such a big hit.

I reckon the use of MagicGate in this exploit is bs. The authors might just say that it is encrypted with an individual Memory Card's MagicGate ID, so that you'd have to buy a card off them, and not just download the ELF and copy it to your own. From what I've heard, the PS2 does check Memory Cards for updates at startup. I don't know how true this is though since as far as I know there are no firmware updates for the PS2- updated DVD players etc still run from the card itself.

Can I go on a limb and say the combat in this game, from what I've seen in the demo, is boring? Anyone agree? But before you go and argue this point with me by talking up some of Bioshock's other strengths, make sure to tell me why those things necessarily mean the action needs to be bland. Whenever throwing fire from my hands isn't fun I know something is wrong.

Can you get a 'core' 360 and put the 120GB HDD in it later on? The 'core' was recently retitled 'arcade' over here and dropped to the same price as a Wii. It also comes with a 256MB memory card and 6 Live Arcade Games. If I have the option to add the HDD later on, I would totally go out and drop the money on the system tomorrow. The unit comes with a HDMI port and everything. Btw are there any other important features being dispensed with in the core or is everything else, HDD included, available as an accessory?

Hehe leaked. I'm getting it now at 700KB/s. That might not be much to many of you, but this is easily record-breaking stuff for my connection . 1.9GB in less than an hour ftw.

I think it could be possible if only because similar Memory Card exploits work already. Right now you still need a pressed disc and cogswap to load a backup with the Independence exploit - maybe this VAST thing has found a way around that?

Just to answer my own question, yes it looks to be. The graphics are easily on par with any of the PS2 games but seems to run at incredibly smooth rate - something I can't say for the console games. Music is also as good as anything in the last installments. The combat system in particular stands out though- it is far more fluid and simple to control, wiht the silky framerate sweetening the deal. To say the least, I'm impressed.

People should note that altered versions of the M33 installer have appeared on certain sites. Apparently any minor alteration of the eboot will cause the installation to result in a brick, and has done for a lot of users. I strongly recommend if you are going to update to this firmware you should use the PSPUpdates @ QJ.net link provided. Any less reliable source could put your PSP unit in jeopardy. Reports suggest that after a successful installation the CFW has no bugs, but, given these instances of bricking, I'm in no rush to update and confirm any of it.

Okay so here are the facts- a 'demo' version of Silent Hill Origins has appeared on the internets. It is a very very large 'demo' because it is most likely not an intended demo at all, but a beta build shown off at a certain convention this month. The ripped ISO is loaded with assets you never access in the brief run and it is buggy as all hell. Not that I would condone a ghastly thing like piracy, but if you're at all interested you should hunt down some screenshots and details. I can't say much about it, since I haven't played it - bloody uni today - but what does anyone who has think about it? Is it a worthy successor the questionable Silent Hill legacy?

M33 has made an interesting update to their PSP Custom Firmware, 3.52 M33-3. That interesting part has to do with loading UMD Video ISOs. For now you still need a UMD (any UMD- not just a video one) in for it to work, but ISO loading from the XMB sounds good to me. As always exercise caution as flashing of Custom Firmwares always involves a minor risk of bricking your PSP. [Download] Source: PSPUpdates.

Well they've had DVD quality video from day 1 with apparently no intention to offer TV-out at the time. Honestly what were they thinking? Dedicated UMD movie players?

Not that I liked HL as much as most people, I admit it was a flockn good game. Wow... so this is the best FPS you've ever played aye Magnis? Sh!te. I feel like going and getting that 360 I've been wanting and picking up the game this week rather than next.

On the one hand, UMD videos have full DVD-res clips and upto 5.1 audio. On the other, they're clunky, have no special features, and currently only play in a PSP (which has no TV-out atm and a screen less than DVD res). See the problem? Anyway what are people's thoughts on this? Own a bunch of UMD films or think they're a waste of time? I ask because Team M33 is going to release a new version of their CFW in the next days that supports memory stick / ISO loading of these discs- it has never been possible before. I personally don't give a damn but it seems to be a point of heavy contention for a lot of people. So yeh, what do you all think?

All I can say is, yeh I want to play it, but this game should not have been called Guilty Gear 2.

I cannot believe this was the right way to deal with a bite like that...

There is really no way you'll get any Gamecube game to run even close to a playable speed. GC emulators are in their infancy. Sorry.

Yeh but I mean how many of them play it enough to give a decent review. I imagine a lot of them play through the first 20 minutes, decide Bioshock is awesome, and write their 10/10 review because they figure 'hey, everyone is doing it'. They'll probably go and play more afterward but the review is written and the score is out, whether the game gets better or worse after the first 20 mins. Why are you taking this personally? I only asked how you can say no doubt this game deserves a 10 when all you had to say was the water effects 'kick ass'. Stop being so touchy. I can see how you can get so riled up. If I followed every little detail of a game all throughout its development I wouldn't want to even think that it might disappoint either. And lol about getting that shoe out of my ass... its funny someone from Palestine is telling me not to be tightly wound.

How do you figure? I'm waiting to play Bioshock just like the next guy but I can't stand it when there is this wave of 10/10 reviews. How do you even know without playing it? Because of the water effects?? Wtf? As for the pro reviews, how can so many have had the game for long enough to make a fair assessment about it? I doubt any have. I'd bet everyone just jumps on the 'full marks' bandwagon because it seems to be the cool thing to do regarding a much-anticipated game like this. And because it will get them traffic by giving a puff piece to an already popular game. Sickens me. Although I'd love for this game to be great, I'd enjoy the backlash in a few weeks time if it turned out to not be the bee's knees after all. Just to stick it to all the hyped up morons out there.

Some people have it but my *erm local game shop does not yet. I'll have to keep checking.

Devia Eleven has made a mark in the Reviews & Rants Forum with some great reviews for... Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 ...and most recently... Pokemon: Emerald Version Read them all and let the author know what you think in the Reviews & Rants Forum.

Pretty good review- I agree anyone should pick it up unless they've run Ruby or Sapphire into the ground. Just one part I had a grievance with- if you were going to list all the Pokemon types you missed out a fair few; Electric, Grass, Bug and Flying. Also the Dragon type wasn't introduced in Gold / Silver- Red / Blue had Dragon Pokemon. Dratini, Dragonair and Dragonite were all Type 1 Dragons, and Gyarados' Type 3 was Dragon.

Yeh I wouldve liked to have seen a review for the overpriced HRAP3 SE instead, but I figure reviews for those sticks will be all over the place. This is probably less for the hardcore fighter and more for the sake of general emulation- it has a strange enough layout and enough buttons to be useful for more exotic titles than your average 6/8 button stick would. That said, this is quite an ugly piece of hardware.

To bring things back on topic, Sagat is one of my favourite SF characters, but I still think MI is a better series than EX. With MI Regulation A, they have a pretty good line up too. Now that Ash is in there, I can consider the roster 'complete' to some extent- when he was missing something just felt wrong. Like how K' was never in CvS. Just a bit of a ramble there ^ .