Messages

101

General Gaming / Re: Civ 5

« on: September 26, 2010, 08:56:48 PM »

The changes to the combat system really make the game so much better (as do some smaller changes, like every unit being able to embark upon the high seas without the need for transport)...but unfortunately the AI can't really handle it.  In previous Civ games the AI problems were masked by the "stacks of doom" but now that actual tactics are involved it's obvious that the computer just doesn't know wtf it's doing.  Also diplomacy is completely opaque and rather baffling at times.

Despite some serious flaws however it's still more fun to me than Civ IV and that's mostly due to the hex system and tactical combat.  Also Japan is a military powerhouse that cannot be stopped.

102

TalkBack / Re: Win Sid Meier's Pirates! for Wii

« on: September 23, 2010, 01:10:29 AM »

Karlie shot me an email this afternoon asking about my shipping address so make sure to check for that.  If somehow the email got lost in the ether I'm sure you could just PM a mod.

103

TalkBack / Re: Win Sid Meier's Pirates! for Wii

« on: September 22, 2010, 09:49:54 PM »

Victory is mine! And just for kicks here were my submissions for the other two images:

Image 1: How appropriate, you fight like a cow!
Image 2: It's called "the sprinkler" and all the cool pirates are doing it!

104

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: September 21, 2010, 01:58:58 PM »

Metroid Hunters deserves an 8 because it was a portable shooter with great controls and online multiplayer.

105

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

« on: September 13, 2010, 11:05:52 PM »

Twilight Princess would have been much better if Link could have shorted various Hyrule markets by driving their stock prices down with the introduction of each new Malo Mart.  If there's one thing the Zelda forumla is lacking at the moment it's insider trading.

106

General Chat / Re: Podcast Recommendations

« on: September 13, 2010, 09:32:33 PM »

Radiolab
This American Life
A Life Well Wasted
The Moth
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

I'll have to give these a listen since I already listen to / like the others.  Thanks for the recomendation.

It should be noted that there are only a handful of episodes of A Life Well Wasted...so I guess I can't call it one of my "regulars."  Don't listen to them all in a row!

107

General Chat / Re: Podcast Recommendations

« on: September 12, 2010, 08:29:21 PM »

Radiolab
This American Life
A Life Well Wasted
The Moth
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

Those are my usuals.  I cannot recommend Radiolab enough; it is by far my favorite out of the bunch.  It might be shallow science but it appeals in the same way that Mythbusters does (or did in the earlier seasons...); it is interesting and extremely accessible (if not exactly rigorous).  The editing and soundscape are simply amazing as well. 

This American Life and A Life Well Wasted are both similar in style to Radiolab (a series of well produced, investigative vignettes all converging towards an overall theme) just about different topics.  The Moth is all about live storytelling and is almost like a portion of any of the aforementioned shows...if you put together a few related Moth stories and threw in a touch of narrative between them you would essentially have an episode of This American Life. 

Last but not least, Wait Wait Don't Tell me is a weekly NPR news quiz that occasionally has some very funny moments (although perhaps it's only funny to the stereotypical NPR crowd, in which case it would simply be agonizing to the average listener).  It should be noted that most weeks they have a "Listener Limerick Challenge" which is introduced to the audience with a pun that gets worse and worse every week...if you think that sounds like a good idea, you might like the show.

108

General Chat / Re: Star Wars (temp)

« on: September 04, 2010, 01:24:12 AM »

You guys are a bunch of nerds.

109

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: September 02, 2010, 02:17:48 AM »

I'm really having a blast with this game but the entire time I'm only thinking about how much better it would be on the 3DS...there are very few games in which I have had trouble judging depth but this is certainly one of the worst for me.  Am I the only one with this problem?  I finding jumping in and out of the screen somewhat difficult to judge on occasion. 

In sweet, delicious 3D this game would be so sweet....and delicious.

Other than that I think this game is really fun.   The controls and first-person aspect actually feel pretty good to me, and as I've said before I really enjoy a more Fusion-like linearity once in a while.  The voice acting (or direction, whatever) and story are not the greatest but honestly I think some people here are taking their video games a little too seriously.  There's always this desire by fans to keep certain Nintendo franchises "pure" in a sense (which explains why everyone freaked out over Metroid Prime Pinball or Tetra's Trackers) but to me experiments like Other M will always be worth it.

In truth I love the atmosphere and composition of past Metroid games more than Other M, but as a breath of fresh air and an indicator of the potential the series holds I think it's just great.

110

Nintendo Gaming / Re: New Wii Zelda

« on: September 01, 2010, 02:15:11 PM »

Looks like SOMEBODY didn't collect enough seashells in Link's Awakening...

111

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: August 31, 2010, 11:35:24 AM »

You know what's strange?  That Other M is considered sexist but rewarding players with a shot of Samus in her underwear at the end of every game up until Prime (and even then the Zero suit is pretty revealing) is ignored.  Apparently Other M ruins the Metroid tradition of respecting its female protagonist

In other news Amazon fucked up my release date delivery and I'm pissed.

112

TalkBack / Re: Metroid: Other M Review

« on: August 31, 2010, 01:36:07 AM »

Sounds perfect for me.  There's about ten hours of action-oriented narrative-driven game play followed by free exploration and an apparently fantastic second ending.  Even if the writing and voice acting is terrible it's not like I have to sit through sixty hours of it, and afterwards I'll still have enough energy and interest in the game to actually explore postgame content (which honestly rarely happens).  I don't think I'll be bothered with any changes to the "traditional" Metroid formula seeing as how Fusion is my favorite after Super Metroid.  This game might not be what most people expected but honestly it sounds pretty fun.

That said it is still disappointing that the story and voice acting turned out to be so poor.  Perhaps next time they'll get it right.

113

Movies & TV / Re: Rate the last movie you've seen

« on: August 31, 2010, 12:21:50 AM »

I agree with almost everything nickmitch said about V for Vendetta...that said, if I'm being honest with myself I still think the movie is better.  I was not the biggest fan of the graphic novel, although I think a lot of that had to do with the art style.  Not my cup of tea.

On the subject of HBO series, I really hope they do George RR Martin justice with Game of Thrones.  I know nothing about the show other than that it is being made but the book is just fantastic.

114

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Metroid Other M

« on: August 27, 2010, 05:41:50 PM »

For most people Metroid games mean isolation and exploration, while Samus as a character isn't really more than a silent suit of power armor.  While I definitely think that those characteristics were very important aspects in the series so far, I'm not going to naively think that the franchise will never try anything new.  Some people might be satisfied with a few new worlds to explore in the traditional Metroid fashion, but personally I find nothing wrong with Nintendo trying to take the series in a slightly new direction.

If you want to be alone on an alien planet with nothing more than your Gravity Suit then you have Metroid, Metroid II, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, and Metroid Prime 3.  To a lesser extent you even have Metroid Fusion (which I personally loved; I have yet to find a more atmospheric game on a handheld console.  Some of those SA-X segments were terrifying). In any case the release of Other M in no way reduces the quality of those seven games (just like how Metroid Prime Pinball didn't destroy the series either); it is simply trying to flesh out the story and the character a little more.  Honestly, what else could they do with the franchise?  Where else could they have gone?  They been doing the isolation thing for decades.

Besides, many of the people playing Metroid today (in fact, I'm willing to bet that MOST of the people playing Metroid today) don't share the same expectations as you guys do.  I'm one of them.  I don't think giving Samus a voice is a bad idea.  I WANT her to be an actual character because Mario and Link already play the silent protagonist. Samus actually has the potential to be a little more interesting.

People are always complaining that Nintendo never does anything new, and yet when they do people bitch some more.  I understand if you legitimately dislike the story or the dialogue, but to complain simply because story and dialogue exist AT ALL is pointless.  If you don't like it, ignore it.  Don't play it.  Problem solved.

PS. Sorry for the wall of text! It should also be noted that I have not yet played the game and I could end up hating it too My rant is probably a little too late since most people have moved on to complaining about other aspects of the game like the controls.  I just started typing and couldn't stop myself...

115

General Gaming / Re: What last gen system should I buy?

« on: August 15, 2010, 12:21:13 AM »

I'm just going to list every game I own for the PS2 and what I think of them...I don't really have too many.  My experience with the PS2 has honestly been underwhelming and for all the praise it got I had over 9000 times more fun with my gamecube...

Shadow of the Colossus: definitely my favorite PS2 game, though to me it didn't QUITE live up to the hype that surrounded it.  The terrible controls/textures/camera/framerate detract from what could have been a really amazing experience.  Plus I personally found the barren wasteland more lazy than artistic, although maybe it was simply due to technical limitations...

Ico:  Very atmospheric puzzle/platformer by the same guys as SotC and to me just as good.  Check it out.

Final Fantasy X: Couldn't get past the future-pop atmosphere and boy band characters.  Only played the introduction!

Final Fantasy XII: Got about 14 hours into this one before putting it away.  Interesting but ultimately kind of boring battle system and pretty bad plot/characters.

Dragon Quest VII: Never played it.  I don't have it in me to play this game.

Burnout 3: AWESOME GAME.  The best of the entire series.

Gran Turismo 4: Self-proclaimed driving simulator that paradoxically has no vehicle damage whatsoever.  Someday I'll learn how to steer those damn cars...

Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal: Reasonably satisfying third person shooter/platformer.  I never played any of the other games in the series and I'm not particularly interested in ever getting around to them but I would recommend trying the series out.

Katamari Damacy: Biggest WTF game ever.  Pretty funny, awesome music, really fun for a while...but I never really got comfortable with the controls and eventually the repetition got to me.  I bust this game out every once in a while but never for too long.

Metal Gear Solid 3: I don't understand how anyone can like this series but to each their own.

116

General Gaming / Re: The Starcraft mega thread - Rising from the ashes.

« on: August 13, 2010, 11:31:15 PM »

Oh hey guys.  Starcraft 2 is basically the most fun game that's ever made me want to give up gaming forever.  So if you want to rape me with your god damn cannon rushes you can just add me to your friends list.  Here's everything you need to know:

OccamsRazer (319)
Bronze League (lol)
US Region
Protoss mainly...er, always.

Shorty- I lost the trial card thing but I swear when I find it I'll give you the key.  I AM A MAN OF MY WORD DAMMIT.

117

General Chat / Re: Futurama to pull a Family Guy?

« on: August 13, 2010, 08:02:05 PM »

Just saw the episode where the gang witnesses robots evolve on another planet.  You know, the most recent one.  It was terrible, and made worse by the fact that it was an interesting concept that could have worked back when the writers were actually good.

118

Nintendo Gaming / Re: How many other people here have had DS hardware issues?

« on: August 12, 2010, 11:45:30 PM »

The R button on my Phat broke.  I now no longer own a DS with two functioning shoulder buttons.  Am I doing something wrong?  Are my fingers just naturally SUPER STRONG?

119

General Chat / Re: Futurama to pull a Family Guy?

« on: August 11, 2010, 01:39:43 PM »

I can forgive the whole awkward Fry/Leela relationship because they wrote themselves into that whole thing when they weren't sure if they would ever make any more episodes.  Things like the fucking singing boyle are just plain awful, however.

Out of curiosity, you do know who Susan Boyle is though right?

I do know who she is and it doesn't really make the joke any less horrible Futurama has always had pop culture references in it but usually they don't slap you across the face with them.  Not only that but it was completely...I don't know...inappropriate I guess would be the right word.  The episode about the Eye Phone was also a little too blatant for me but at least it made sense in that it was futuristic technology.  The whole Susan Boyle thing was stupid enough when it was happening in real life; it really didn't need to be forced into the show.  Susan Boyle seems more like the type of person South Park should target, not Futurama.

120

General Chat / Re: Futurama to pull a Family Guy?

« on: August 11, 2010, 09:59:28 AM »

I can forgive the whole awkward Fry/Leela relationship because they wrote themselves into that whole thing when they weren't sure if they would ever make any more episodes.  Things like the fucking singing boyle are just plain awful, however.

So far this season the only episode I've really liked was the time travel one because it seemed like it was one of the old episodes (and maybe the one where Leela and Zap "save the world").  Sure there have been a few gags that I've laughed at in the other episodes but overall I think the jokes are shallow, the (comic) deliveries are poor, and the situations are mediocre.  The Futurama movies were pretty bad as well (Bender's Game in particular is atrocious).

The old Futurama is by far my favorite television show.  The new Futurama is merely entertaining enough to get me to watch it online after I forget about it on TV.

121

TalkBack / Re: Jam with the Band Online Service Restored

« on: August 10, 2010, 12:13:41 PM »

So my copy from Karlie came in the other day and despite a high occurrence of connection errors I was able to download a couple of songs (the James Bond theme and the Ghostbusters theme).  Seeing as how you can't delete any downloaded songs I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for high quality challenging songs.  Especially any good video game music because most of the VGM in this version is the same as in the original japanese version...I can handle any difficulty level so the harder the better!  It seems the safest bet is to just download the official Nintendo and GB Music songs because the user-made ones can be hit or miss.

122

TalkBack / Re: Metroid: Other M Impressions

« on: August 09, 2010, 12:45:59 AM »

I find your opinions difficult to accept including your choice of basketball team.

123

Nintendo Gaming / Re: How many other people here have had DS hardware issues?

« on: August 03, 2010, 02:01:36 PM »

Now my R button doesn't work.  Blowing into the button is a pretty good temporary solution but if it works anything like blowing on a cartridge it will only further damage the contacts over time.  Oh well, between my phat and my lite I'll be able to last until the 3DS comes out.

124

General Gaming / Re: The Starcraft mega thread - Rising from the ashes.

« on: July 30, 2010, 10:35:35 AM »

Well I'm not really looking for a guide, I simply want a description of the races/buildings/units and stuff like that.  Stuff that should be (and in the past always has been) included in the manual.  The problem is the only way to get that kind of thing in hard copy is to buy a full guide...

...and no there is no list of hotkeys anywhere.  It's inexcusably lazy (or greedy...) for a developer as highly regarded as Blizzard to omit these things.  The $60 standard edition of this game comes with the disc in a cardboard sleeve, a 25 page EULA, two SC2 guest passes, and two WoW guest passes.  By weight the damn thing is 50% advertising.  How come when I bought WCIII I got a 150 page manual and a jewel case for my disc?

The more I think about this the angrier I get.  I'm already raging over SC2 and I haven't even played the multiplayer yet.

125

General Gaming / Re: The Starcraft mega thread - Rising from the ashes.

« on: July 30, 2010, 02:05:53 AM »

I need some help!  But I doubt any of you will be able to

I want to learn more about this game, and while there are a lot of great SC2 guides online I am looking for something I can read when I go on an extended road trip later this summer where I won't have access to a computer.  Apparently the guide that comes with the game is NOTHING like previous Blizzard guides and contains no useful information (not even a list of hotkeys!).  The pdf is available online and it's literally 25 pages of story and EULA.

I don't really want to spend much on buying a guide, especially since the game will change so much through expansions/patches/tweaks that it will quickly become outdated.  Plus there's the simple fact that I don't want to shell out another $20 on something that should have come with the game in the first place.

Fortunately I will have my Kindle when I go on this trip, so I was wondering if there were any online guides (preferably in pdf form or something else the kindle can read) that could help me out with the basics.  I'd want stuff like race overviews, unit and building descriptions, helpful unit counters, and hotkeys.  I've been looking myself but I couldn't find anything besides the Shokz online guide which is $40...=\