Daeval

Well.. except for the potentially superior graphics, mouse + keyboard control, and unsurpassed level of additional user-made content, including TC mods that amount to free online games. Granted, the graphics may not be a big deal for you, and you may not prefer a mouse + keyboard (which is crazy talk, but to each his own), or you may have a mouse + keyboard for the XBox. But, you can't dispute the extra content, except to make an extremely generalized "it all sucks" statement, which would just be stubborn. Both PC and consoles have their ups and downs, but neither is entirely eclipsed by the other. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "Potentially" is the key word on graphics. I do prefer a mouse and keyboard, which IS available, if you really want one. And the extra content all sucks. No, some of the extra content is good. The biggest problems with PC games is the amount and cost of the equipment required to run them. An XBox, the game, a controller, and a 12 month LIVE subscription kit, costs about 300 dollars. A reasonably usable gaming PC costs at least 400. Which is what I paid for mine. But then, it was missing a monitor, windows software, speakers, a mouse & keyboard...and I STILL haven't gotten it working, because getting them working requires knowledge the masses don't have. Computers are too variable to find a good tutorial on how to get one running, and most forums tend to overwhelm new users. I'd try asking here, but I don't even know what I'd need to ask. And thanks for the Voxel info. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Right, part of the balance between consoles and computers is the "bang for your buck" factor. For someone who has neither, a console is much cheaper than a top-of-the-line, or even a "good enough to last you a few years," gaming PC. If all you want to do is play some games, consoles are an easier choice. However, things balance out when you factor in all of the hojillions of other things you can do with a PC. In the end, it comes down to what I said originally: They each have their ups and downs. As for the knowledge needed to get a computer running.. That's the downside to having a set of standards that runs on any number of fully customizable systems. The solution, aside from having a nerdy friend do it for you, is to buy a pre-built system with tech support. It's the PC equivalent of the console mindset - A box with everything you need already in it, just plug in the wires and go. You sacrifice customizability for ease-of-use, just as with consoles. As far as good user-made content goes, check out Red Orchestra, Air Buccaneers, and the officially released custom content packs for UT2004, Day of Defeat, Natural Selection, or CounterStrike (Yes, CS is user-made content, Valve just bought up the users ) for Half-Life, Desert Combat for Battlefield 1942, etc etc. And that's just limited to FPS games.

One more reason to hate AOL, as if the rest of the internet needs anymore. Anyone else remember when they bought up the best damn instant messenger on the net, Mirabilis' ICQ? It wasn't long before that was destroyed also. An interesting quote: Winamp was getting bloaty in its later forms, maybe it was time for it to go. The question now is, what's next? Someone with enough programming experience will be angry at its demise. We can only hope.

Just go here to get the latest Flash and Shockwave players. Click the green puzzle pieces and FireFox will basically handle the rest. Cake, I say. http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/welcome/

Well.. except for the potentially superior graphics, mouse + keyboard control, and unsurpassed level of additional user-made content, including TC mods that amount to free online games. Granted, the graphics may not be a big deal for you, and you may not prefer a mouse + keyboard (which is crazy talk, but to each his own), or you may have a mouse + keyboard for the XBox. But, you can't dispute the extra content, except to make an extremely generalized "it all sucks" statement, which would just be stubborn. Both PC and consoles have their ups and downs, but neither is entirely eclipsed by the other.

I'm sure some of these people are either overreacting or flat out lying. I doubt even MS would bother including the processes required to tell if you'd swapped out your DVD-Rom for a different brand.

I can. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, I know why people do it, but that doesn't make it right. It's one thing to say "This series has been really good, so this game, which I have never experienced, is probably very good" and another thing entirely to say "This game, which I have never experienced, is among the best." The former is a strong inductive argument. The latter is an unwarranted assumption, a hasty conclusion, or an appeal to authority, your pick.

The disk is coated with a resin that is "too hard for teeth" or however they put it. It should be just as tough as the plastic on CDs and DVDs.

I don't think they ever suggested them for practical everyday use. They're more for sensetive information that needs to be temporarily made available on disk and then destroyed. I never realized how cool that site was for news. This is awesome: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041018/brain.html

I'm not a huge shooter fan (mostly because I've always sucked at them for some reason), but this review was excellent. You: - Included just enough history to warm things up without waxing irrelevant. - Made it clear that we were looking at a niche game, and where your stance was on that. It's important to know where the reviewer is coming from: is he a fan of the genre or is this his first experience with this style? - Had no overbearing opinions. The other side of the previous coin: can the reviewer enjoy the genre and remain objective? You established this balance nicely. - Were extremely informative exactly where it counts: the various aspects of the gameplay experience. Not just the usual graphics and sound, but down to the "'Methodical' vs 'Frantic'" shooter scale. To top it off, you kept all this information very concise. Easily one of the best user-reviews I've read anywhere, and more informative than most proffessional reviews. Keep it up!

Microsoft owns Halo and even its developer Bungie. Furthermore, Halo is the lynchpin in the success of Microsoft's XBox. Whether it should or even if it could, Halo isn't going anywhere.

I suppose if Valve doesn't, someone will.. *Sigh* perhaps it's the silver pack for me.

The levels are redesigned and upgraded, so are the character and weapons models. The gameplay is still basically the same though since it won't change much anyway. But you can burn the GCF files on CD or DVD if you want a hardcopy. I was all into wanting a hard copy but I just didn't care anymore. It'll be scratched and unreadable in 5 years when I go back to play it again. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can usually keep my media in decent condition for that long. My question is, what happens to all the steam pre-loaders when steam eventually dies? Their purchases just go defunkt with the system? At least I can still play Half-Life 1 off the CD if I find the old patches. I couldn't tell you how to use a.gcf without a Steam account though...

Are Counterstrike:Source and Day of Defeat:Source new games, or are they just the old games ported to Source with no changes to gameplay? I don't like the way they're distributing HL2. Steam is a nice idea, but if I'm spending 50 bucks on a game I want a hard copy, damnit. And I'd prefer that hard copy in DVD format, but that means buying an extra twenty-five bucks worth of crap I don't need or want.

http://www.cheapass.com/Merchant2/merchant...uct_Code=CAG034

http://www.wantedfonts.com Used to have some good copy fonts, like Coca Cola, GTAIII, etc.

The zero games are ridiculously hard.. fun, but insane.. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have to agree with you on that. Whether those be the NES, SNES, PSX or GBA ones. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Haha.. megaman I can usually deal with, but the Megaman: Zero games for GBA are that much harder.

The zero games are ridiculously hard.. fun, but insane..

Basically what everyone else said.. You gotta take some risks and try something new, to find something you like. Take up paintball or a martial art, or drawing, or programming, or etc etc. Or get a job that sounds interesting if you don't already have one. Even if you end up not liking it, it's better than nothing and the money will help you find something you do like. Making up that list, I guess I've realized that three basic things motivate me: Heavy physical exertion, comraderie/helping others (in judo, I'm an assistant and student where I train), and creating things. A little meditiation helps me now and then too, but that works best along with one of the other things.

If you have the right codecs, you can probably use Virtual Dub. Not sure about real format though.

I will never understand how people can wholeheartedly advocate something they haven't played.

This is microsoft we're talking about... They like to shove a product down as many throats as they can.

Nah I Dun Think Its 128mb Cuz There Are 128Mb Carts. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They're 128 megaBITS, not bytes, at least as far as I know. They're considerably smaller.

The old movies were cool because of the storytelling and the "philosophy," if you will, not the fight scenes so much. The new movies have basically just been hollywood (say it fast enough and it sounds like hollowed) action movies, casting aside what was there for the latest in-thing. Signs of lameness: The "this will sell video games" pod race scene, Jar-Jar, and the way subtitled alien languages have been replaced with exaggerated real-world accents. The most meaningful personal connection has been "The young guy wants to do Natalie Portman." Who doesn't? And the most hideous offense: The force is biological? Bleh. Maybe since Campbell died Lucas has fallen to the dark side, as it were.

I think the fuss comes from that fact that it uses the tried and true formula PERFECTLY. It mastered what it was and thus made it spectacular. I am not a Halo junkie by any means, but I do enjoy the serious for being a perfect, albeit simple, FPS. Anon. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's the argument I hear a lot, but even Halo junkies will admit that it's not quite. The weapons are rather imbalanced, even though there's not very many of them. There's only 1 or 2 maps anyone likes in a given gametype, etc. I've always blamed it on a combination of two things: First, console gamers don't have many options as far as FPS games go. There are some good ones, but few have the combination of really nice graphics, decent gameplay, and the Gargantuan Microsoft Hype Machine. Those three things got Halo more mass appeal in the huge and untapped console market than any FPS before it. It's worth noting that people who had a decent PC for the 2 or 3 years prior to Halo's release usually didn't think much of Halo (at least, after Microsoft bought it for their console anyway). So reason 1: Mass Appeal in a virgin market. Second, never before had it been so easy for more than 4 likeminded console gamers to throw down. The "Halo Party" is essentially the same idea as the "traditional" FPSers Lan Party. The Difference: 4 drunken fratboys can setup a 16 player Halo Party in no time, assuming each comes equipped with an xbox and a case of beer. Even within the console market, this is relatively untapped ground, and Halo fits perfectly on the plot. Reason 2: It hits the same beer-and-pretzels crowd as Madden, while maintaining its appeal to the rest of consoledom, by including simple-fun multiplayer and making the new and exciting LAN party easily accessable for larger parties.

That, or find "Quicktime Alternative" - That's actually what it's called. It works for quicktime movies and comes with a working plugin for firefox. As an added bonus, it doesn't shove all that itunes crap down your throat.