Daeval

And your cosplay thread is a good christian missionary expedition, right? Hehe.. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Man where have you been Daeval? Have not seen you on aim in a long time. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I guess he had a date with real life for a change.... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I did... First we went on vacation, and did all kinds of fun things everyday. Just recently, we've started school together, which I thought would mean I would have less time to post, but it's looking like the opposite because I'm more willing to procrastinate about school.

As others have said, it sounds like a heating situation. But then, if you've got to jury-rig your power supply to make it stay on, you could very well have a problem there too.

Heh, a reclutant hero stranded in an island *gasp* with terrorists and some mutants. But yeah, everything that Uwe Boll touches turns into a pile of crap. Even things that *could* have potential. Sort of. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I haven't beaten it yet, and I don't suppose this is any sort of trend in the game, but to be fair, I didn't expect the minor plot twist that happens when you finally do get the girl. Of course, it was entirely because I had resigned myself to a shooter of the most absolutely mindless kind. And they should title bloodrayne: Bloodrayne: Milla Jovovich Was Too Expensive I never played the game 'cause it looked like a lame ride-the-wave-of-pubescence kind of game, but the cover art screamed "This is that 5th Element Girl" to me.

And your cosplay thread is a good christian missionary expedition, right? Hehe..

They won't, because the property is dead as far as the owners (Wizards of the Coast) are concerned, but if they ever gave anything with the word "Planescape" in it to this man, I would personally ensure that heads would roll. On the one hand, I can't feel too bad about Far Cry because, as it is, it's really set up to be a crappy just-for-fun action movie, maybe starring a younger Kurt Russel. On the other hand, I'm sure this guy could make even THAT too stupid to bear watching.

I'm not entirely sure, but you might start experiment with something like CLRMame, or maybe seeing if you can print-screen from your "have" list.

What sub group? I usually wait for Anbu/AOne, but if there's someone else as good I'll give it a shot..

Michelle Rodriguez is kind of hot, but I can't imagine that would make up for the tragedy that Bloodrayne looks to be. That said, I can't imagine anything based on that "franchise" being anything but trash with boobs. Ironically, the girl cast as the main character is rather ugly. Interesting find at IMDB though, Michelle Rodriguez has done voices for a number of video games, including Resident Evil and Halo 2.

You specifically left out MMORPGs the first time, which are (with a few exceptions) PC territory. That made it sound like the rest of the PC world was fair game. You'll have a harder time with console RPGs. Western-style RPGs have typically appealed more to PC gamers.

how is japan the best country in the world? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've heard this attitude a lot, and my only explanation for it is that the grass is always greener on the other side. Most americans don't know a hell of a lot about Japan, except for ninjas and bushido and video games, so it's easy to idealize it as some exotic wonderland where everything is cool. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I know about that, and I think it looks cool too. But I meant like..the stuff about their economy and recessions and shiit like that <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The conversation has moved on, but just to clear things up - I meant about what Drake said. People tend to think that Japan (or other countries for that matter) are amazing when they are really just longing for their own ideal version. Basically, I was agreeing with you, Weird, but going into detail.

how is japan the best country in the world? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've heard this attitude a lot, and my only explanation for it is that the grass is always greener on the other side. Most americans don't know a hell of a lot about Japan, except for ninjas and bushido and video games, so it's easy to idealize it as some exotic wonderland where everything is cool.

The Minibosses are an old school video game music cover band. They do NES tunes in a punk/rock style on guitar, bass, and drums. In the past year or two, they've gained a sort of underground following on the net through links from the likes of penny-arcade and other big names. I got a chance to see them live last week, in a tiny little downtown club, and they were pretty damn good. The Mega Man 2 medley was by far the highlight of their short set. Info and music samples can be had on their site, here: http://minibosses.com/

FF:CC is great if you've got a few GBAs and a friend or two willing to play it regularly. It's kind of so-so as a single player game. PAC MAN VS. is the sheezie. I nabbed mine for free when it was a promo game, but if you can score it for less than 10 bucks or so with another game, it's probably worth it..

*ka-ching* there's that magic word! All Mana games rule. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Amen, Secret of Mana was awesome. Chrono Trigger can bite my nuts though. Time-travelling in video games is almost inevitably episodic and gimmicky. Making it the central theme of a game that is supposed to be story based = smothered in weak sauce. I realize I am probably alone in my bitter corner with this opinion. And while we're on the subject of American RPGs, it would be a good time to point out that they are apparently being selectively bred to kick ass. Some very smart man was able to stud one of the best original american rpg universes, Fallout, with the studio behind at least one of the best-excecuted open-ended rpgs in existence, Bethesda Softworks. Ultrasound images here: http://www.bethsoft.com/news/pressrelease_071204.htm

If you're talking about the old 1st/2nd edition stuff - yeah, it really defined a genre. It's outdated and everything now, but it definately did its fair share of good. 3rd Edition is not bad, and it works well for a video-game port, but it's only "better than most" as far as pen and paper games go. I prefer the Exalted rules when it comes to actual roleplay as opposed to dungeon romping. (white wolf's fantasy RPG Exalted, not the extreme-good-aligned D&D 3E rules that were dubiously named the same thing) Also, the whole "open source" thing for the D20 system was really good for wizards of the coast, and it made a lot of stuff available for players (most of which is complete crap that rode in on the wave), but it sure stifled creativity in pen and paper games for a while. Thankfully, companies are starting to break away from it now.

Stupid double-post time-out crap.

Morrowind - Easily one of, if not the, best original american RPGs in recent memory. Fallout would be a very close second, and it barely even got a nod in this thread. The D&D games are good, but are based off of well-established pen and paper stuff, as someone else pointed out. Planescape: Torment was my personal favorite, mostly because I already loved the Planescape setting.

I don't have the patience to do that anymore. I can't even play the greatest games for that long anymore. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yeah, I have to be in a certain, very rare, mood to play a game that long anymore.

That's the OTHER reason to keep water near you : Hydration. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hydration lead to motion sickness as well ? I never feel like I need a drink, for some reason, it never bothers me when I'm dirsty on the inside, but I can't sense that on the outside. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hydration is a good thing, it basically means having enough water. Hence, when you are dried out, you are de-hydrated. THAT is what you want to avoid. Dehydration leads to all kind of not-fun things. I said "other" to reiterate my earlier point. Drinking a lot of water keeps you hydrated, but it also makes you get up to pee once in a while. That forces you to step away from the computer, which is good for your eyes and your back, which suffer from sitting in a chair and staring at a screen for long periods of time.

That's the OTHER reason to keep water near you : Hydration.

I don't mind when a team does something different, but I'm not going to let good experiences from the past smooth over specific changes that I feel are for the worst, especially in the same genre. I welcome change in gameplay (La Pucelle Tactics, Disgaea, and Phatom Brave being a good series of examples), but when helpful features are just missing for no good reason, that's a different kind of different. As far as the story goes, I really liked FFT's because it was more of a traditional fantasy story than the then contemporary Final Fantasy releases, but was told with a distinctly Final Fantasy flaire. The relationships and images were easier to identify with because they revolved around characters who were far more real than the walking sword with amnesia who was the main character in FF7. Pardon my blasphemy, all ye fanboys. I couldn't really get into FFTA's story, but I'll be the first to admit it was because the system was so clunky. Talk about a third wall.

That's a flocked up sentence. But yes, I couldn't help comparing FFTA to the PSX FFT, seeing as it is essentially a non-story sequel / spinoff. There were things from FFT that were mysteriously missing in FFTA (like the godsend "try on" option in shops), and most of the new things in FFTA were just kind of lame or overcomplicated. The race/class thing was an interesting idea, but horrible in excecution, for example.

Like most of the others here, the only time I've ever actually felt physical effects from playing a game is when I've played it for far too long (or sat in a stupid position). I've heard of a lot of people getting motion sickness from FPS games, but I've never experienced such a thing. One trick I learned a Sony, which works well in desk jobs as well as marathon gaming, is to keep a massive glass/bottle of ice water next to you at all times. Aside from providing essential hydration, water makes you have to pee. This forces you to get off your ass once in a while and to stop looking at the screen for at least the minute or two it takes to run to the batthroom. Just make sure your games (or boss!) don't have such a tyrranical reign over your natural instincts that you neglect to get up when you have to.

Eh, it's a blurry line, IMO, though I will agree that there is definately a line there. There's obviously no stat-building or item gathering in AW, but once you're in a battle it's not THAT much different. Fire Emblem is kinda the missing link between the two. I would say that with confidence, excluding Onimusha since I've never played it.

Also, Fire Emblem > Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Advance Wars 2 > Final Fantasy Tactics Advance I haven't played Onimusha Tactics, but I've heard it's really dumbed down.