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Messages - jasonditz

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 82
1
General Gaming / RE: I want my $35
« on: November 11, 2007, 04:58:25 AM »
Who on earth is offended by the hypothetical titties other people might be able to see?  

2
General Gaming / RE: Better second console?
« on: November 10, 2007, 04:58:03 AM »
Thanks again for all the advice, everyone. I ended up going with the 20 GB 360. I also got Oblivion GOTY and Catan as I was planning, in addition to Perfect Dark Zero, which was only like $20.

3
General Gaming / RE: XBox Live Gamertag rollcall
« on: November 10, 2007, 04:55:57 AM »

4
General Gaming / RE: Better second console?
« on: October 24, 2007, 06:19:54 AM »
I've never really seen that "Heroes" show, but everybody sure seems to like it. The free HD DVDs by mail do seem to come with some movies I'd actually like to have (like Constantine).  

5
General Gaming / RE: Better second console?
« on: October 23, 2007, 05:26:48 PM »
Yeah, no gaming PC here, just a Mac Mini. I'm thinking the 360 is the way to go... now what about the difference between the Elite and the Premium? Is there a practical advantage to that dramatically bigger hard drive, or is it one of those things where 90% of the drive is going to be empty at any rate (like my PS2 hard drive)?

6
General Gaming / RE: Better second console?
« on: October 23, 2007, 06:59:18 AM »
Lack of BC isn't a deal breaker for me, I've already got a PS2. Though that is another plus for the 360, there are a handful of original Xbox titles (KOTOR 1 and 2, Morrowind, Shenmue 2) that I never got to play but could be had pretty cheap.

Also, I heard they added another heat sink or something on the HDMI 360's to cut down on the failure rate.

7
General Gaming / RE: Better second console?
« on: October 23, 2007, 05:54:12 AM »
I'd definitely like to do the PS3 Linux thing too, but much like with my elaborate homebrew kit that I spent months putting together for my Dreamcast, I'm not sure I'd ultimately use it for much. They've fixed the huge failure rate on 360's with the new HDMI versions, right?

8
General Gaming / Better second console?
« on: October 23, 2007, 04:08:13 AM »
So last week, my well worn 19" Magnavox CRT television finally bit the dust, and I replaced it with a 32" Element FLX-3210. The room its in is too crowded to really put the Wii in, so right now I've got my Playstation2 hooked up through one of the components. Its crystal clear that way, but at the same time the combination of a much bigger screen and a much clearer hookup makes the PS2 look really obsolete. So sometime in the next few weeks, I'm inclined to get one of the newer consoles so I can check it out in HD. Here's my quandry.

I'm considering four bundles:

1. The $400 PS3 40 GB bundle that comes with Spiderman blu-ray. Also get 5 blu-rays by mail, and while I'd probably watch them once or twice just to see the HD, none of them is really my type of movie.

2. The $500 PS3 80 GB bundle that comes with MotorStorm. Not really my type of game, either, but I'd probably play a game more than I'd watch a movie, and the 40 GB difference might come in handy in the long run. Likewise comes with the 5 blu-rays like 1.

3. The $350 Xbox 360 20 GB bundle with Forza2 and Marvel UA

4. The $450 Xbox 360 120 GB elite with Forza2 and Marvel UA.

Here's what I've noticed so far.

1. There is some question whether my TV supports HDCP over the HDMI. The manual doesn't say, nor does the manufacturer's website. This would make option 1 and 2 potentially unusable through HDMI, though since the TV  is 720p/1080i anyhow, the different between this and component may be trivial.

2. Hookups: Options 1 and 2 only come with composite cables, requiring an added purchase. 3 comes with composite and component, and 4 actually comes with the HDMI cable.

3. PS3s come with Blu-Ray... and that's a big plus (though the free ones don't look too great). OTOH, the HD-DVD attachment for the Xbox 360 seems to go on sale fairly often, and might be just as good an option.

and then there's the thing that really matters... games:

My first purchase for either system will be Oblivion GOTY. I've heard it looks better on a PS3. At the same time, that's about the only PS3 game that really interests me right now, whereas the Xbox 360 has several other games I'd love to get (particularly PC games that never came out for the Mac). Also, I'm really interested in Catan off Xbox Live.

So what do you guys think? Which will make a better second console alongside the Wii? Do I go Wii60, or PSWii? Is it stupid that I'm still considering the PS3 even though there's no exclusive content yet I really want?

9
Nintendo Gaming / RE: NBA Live 08
« on: October 02, 2007, 12:55:57 PM »
I checked the credits, and yeah, this was EA Canada's handiwork.

They really did do an impressive job on Madden... I know I complain a lot about the imperfections in Madden's motion controls but it really does feel like a huge step forward in football game playability that's just still a bit rough around the edges. Live feels like an enormous step back from the traditional control system.

I'm not going to totally shelve the title until I can get a few people together and try playing the party mode and the 4v4 online mode. While the game is really awful as a basketball title, it may not be totally worthless.

One other thing though that struck me funny: In the printed manual, Analog Stick - Move Player is listed under "Advanced Controls".

I haven't tried Tiger Woods DS... I was leary of EAsports DS titles after Madden 2005. I'll have to check it out though.


10
Nintendo Gaming / RE: NBA Live 08
« on: October 02, 2007, 09:11:19 AM »
Can I just say... eww?

I just got live 08 today, and for all the effort that went into Madden and Tiger Woods, I can see why EA didn't feel the need to advertise this one coming out. Its atrocious, not just bad... atrocious.

The visuals are smooth, that's the only good thing I can say about it. But they're ugly, ugly as the face of Satan himself... the players look cartoony, and they don't move anything like human beings. The game is played in an over-the-shoulder 3rd person view (sort of like World of Warcraft), and your Mii keeps appearing on the screen with tips like "Dunk now".

And the controls are majorly wonky, clearly designed for the "family play" experience. You go into a jump shot by tilting the Wiimote up, and release by tilting it back down. You pass the ball with A, or if you want to get really clever, directional pass the ball with the D-pad. Move with the joystick, crossover by tilting the nunchuck. I thought well... that's great, my dad could do that, then I spent 20 minutes in game looking for instructions on how to do advanced controls before I realized, to my horror, that this in fact was the advanced controls, and the sum total of what its possible to do in Live 08. The family style controls, near as I can tell from the half-screen tutorial, basically amounts to the game playing itself while you sit there and hold the wiimote. You might be able to call plays or something (not that there's any depth to the playbooks) but that's literally all the family mode player is doing.

And to make matters worse, EA managed to trim down their already anemic franchise mode offering. And when I say trimmed down, it would be more accurate to say "cut out", because there is literally no franchise mode left in the game. Instead you get a single season mode option, though to be honest I can't imagine playing 82 games of this monstrosity anyhow.

I'd get into what a joke the player rankings are (the Boston Celtics, one of the favorites in the eastern conference this year, are the worst ranked team in the entire game, even worse ranked than the national teams of crappy countries), but frankluy if you were looking to see if this would be a good sim, you probably stopped a long time ago.

I'm literally longing for the days of NBA Live 2003 for the Gamecube... hell, I'm longing for the days of Celtics versus Lakers in the NBA Playoffs for the Sega Genesis. Is this what almost two decades of work has left us with EA? Is this really the best you can do with basketball anymore?


11
Nintendo Gaming / RE: 2-3 times powerful
« on: October 02, 2007, 07:51:15 AM »
I'm just starting to get tired of the "PS2 port with motion control" premise that a lot of third parties seem to follow, that said I've loved some of those games, I'd just like to see more:

1. Original RPGs that don't feel the need to tack on a bazillion gestures to fit in with the wii library
2. Games that take the motion control idea to do something that wasn't possible before.

Of course, then I go out and buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance and NBA Live 08 today, so I guess I'm kind of a hypocrite too


12
Nintendo Gaming / RE: 2-3 times powerful
« on: October 01, 2007, 05:21:24 AM »
I don't know about you guys, but I can't even get the online version of Madden to register a kick half the time unless I swing my arm 90 degrees. Even then if its a slow-motion game winning kick half the time it won't register and I'll have to do it faster.

I used to be able to sit and play NCAA 2003 for the GC for 5-6 hours at a time, after about 45 minutes of Madden my wrist starts getting sore.

13
Nintendo Gaming / RE:2-3 times powerful
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:20:55 PM »
Quote

Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Quote

Originally posted by: jasonditz
Quote

Originally posted by: couchmonkey
They don't come right out and say it, but they imply it a lot, and in particular they bring up all of the old FUD arguments: Wii can't last very long, people will get tired of motion control, what will happen when HD becomes popular...etc.  I guess they're just so invested in high technology that they want to believe those tired old claims, but for a second there I was beginning to wonder if the article was sponsored by Sony or Microsoft.



I have to say, as far as what they're done with it so far, I am starting to get a little tired of motion control. Madden was neat in some parts but inexcusably sloppy in other parts (like its virtually impossible to rile up the crowd without accidentally calling defensive audibles)... ditto for Tiger Woods. A lot of the games use gestures that don't make any sense, and responsiveness isn't always all it could be.


Wait the examples you are giving are from EA games?


Yeah... they are the third party throwing the most support at the Wii, after all.

Anyhow, I don't mean to pick on EA... I'm just getting sick of the whole "gestures instead of buttons" idea.  

14
Nintendo Gaming / RE:2-3 times powerful
« on: September 30, 2007, 10:47:32 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: couchmonkey
They don't come right out and say it, but they imply it a lot, and in particular they bring up all of the old FUD arguments: Wii can't last very long, people will get tired of motion control, what will happen when HD becomes popular...etc.  I guess they're just so invested in high technology that they want to believe those tired old claims, but for a second there I was beginning to wonder if the article was sponsored by Sony or Microsoft.



I have to say, as far as what they're done with it so far, I am starting to get a little tired of motion control. Madden was neat in some parts but inexcusably sloppy in other parts (like its virtually impossible to rile up the crowd without accidentally calling defensive audibles)... ditto for Tiger Woods. A lot of the games use gestures that don't make any sense, and responsiveness isn't always all it could be.



15
Nintendo Gaming / RE: NBA Live 08
« on: September 30, 2007, 08:00:12 AM »
I agree, but there isn't going to be a Wii version of 2K8... or is there?


16
Nintendo Gaming / RE: NBA Live 08
« on: September 30, 2007, 06:06:48 AM »
We never did get a 07... but Gamestop/EB are listing the Wii version of NBA Live 08 as coming out this week with all the other versions.

What's weird is that the store ads for this week that I've seen don't list it... they only have the PS2, PS3, PSP and 360 versions. And the TV ad I saw didn't mention the Wii version either, though I think it may have been a Sony commercial because I didn't see a 360 version mentioned there either.

There seems to be next to no fanfare for this game, and I'm not sure why.  After the ad campaigns for Madden and Tiger Woods, you really had to have been following closely to even realize that the Wii is about to get its first basketball game.  

17
General Gaming / RE:Need help from Wrestling fans...
« on: August 27, 2007, 05:04:28 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: ShyGuy
Every Walmart I've been in has the game sorted by system then alphabetically. (?)


The Wal-Mart here in town started out alphabetically, but as they got new titles they just stuck them in wherever there was an opening. At this point there's no sorting involved.  

18
General Gaming / RE: Need help from Wrestling fans...
« on: August 26, 2007, 07:05:50 PM »
Personally I'd put them in with the fighting games.  

19
Lumped together as the alternative to pacifism, sure. We can say ham and apples are both not oranges without implying that the two are the same. Close enough, in some peoples' estimations, perhaps... but I bet we can still spot the difference between a ham and an apple if we look real hard.



20
Funding individuals and activist groups with "links to extremists" is not the same thing as launching a campaign of bombings against innocent people.  

21
Quote

Originally posted by: UncleBob
Quote

Originally posted by: jasonditz
I never said they were violent extremists, I said that they behave in much the same way PETA does, which is to say they've all got something for which either they are willing to use violence or for which they'd cheer someone else on in the use of violence.


You think 99% of the population behaves in the same way PETA does.... by planting explosives and killing innocent people because they disagree with them?


PETA has done no such thing. I think this bizarre consensus that has developed here that PETA is essentially al-Qaeda for vegetarians is a source of a lot of the disagreement here.

22
Quote

Originally posted by: Mashiro
And yet Jason still does not provide citation for his so called factual numbers.

Still waiting on some sources there buddy.


I'm too lazy to find online versions of all my sources, here's the sort of methodology used, however:

The are 300,000 Quakers on the planet, according to the Quakers themselves. They also say approximately 1/3 of them live in North America. This seems to agree with the claims of a University of Virginia study that said there are "fewer than 100,000 Quakers in the United States".

Quakers are typically a peace church... the bulk of its members would be pacifists. Since I'm interested in knowing the maximum number of pacifists there are in the United States, I'll give every member the benefit of the doubt. I'll also use 100,000 even though we know there's less. That's 100,000 people.

And then i go down the list of traditional peace churches in the United States. I get somewhere around 500,000 members of traditional peace churches.

Likewise, a cursory glance of pacifist discussions (many of which I've been a part of) reveals that the vast majority of pacifists in them are members of traditional peace churches. In my experience it's somewhere between 10:1 or 8:1 ratio. And this is without considering that a large number of those 500,000 peace church members are in churches that totally eschew modern technology and the outside world and therefore don't often engage in discussions. This suggests that there are likely far fewer than 50,000 pacifists in the united states that aren't members of traditional peace churches. The margin of error on this estimate is one of the biggest variables in my calculations though, and given the relatively small portion of pacifists I've run into in the antiwar movement and in other discussions... this is perhaps off by as much as 200,000.

My estimate of how many there most likely are is 400,000-500,000... my maximum, assuming all the margins of error are underestimations, would be around 750,000. This is 0.25% of the population of the United States. My minimum is 200,000, or less than 0.1% of the population of the United States.




23
General Gaming / RE: Speaking of Madden...
« on: August 26, 2007, 05:29:34 AM »
Incidentally, has anyone tried the Gamecube version? I'm wondering how the franchise mode stacks up to the Wii version, because I notice there are certain elements (create-a-team for instance) that were in the GC version of 07 but are absent in the Wii version of 08.

While the Wii version is a lot of fun to play, I might consider picking up the GC version for franchise simming if it still has that stuff.  

24
Quote

Originally posted by: UncleBob

Anywhoo, I think jason is being extremist when it comes to defining the nature of people.  Just because you're not a pacifist doesn't mean you're a violent extremist.  It's not an issue of black or white.


I never said they were violent extremists, I said that they behave in much the same way PETA does, which is to say they've all got something for which either they are willing to use violence or for which they'd cheer someone else on in the use of violence.


25
Quote

Originally posted by: UERD
But those statistics don't mean a thing. If anything, there were far more people adamant against any US war involvement on December 6, 1941, than on December 8, 1941 (a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor). Maybe 1% of the US population consists of dedicated pacifists, but out of that remaining 99% there is a big, big chunk that would only agree to the military using force for the purpose of defending the nation, or use of deadly force by police in situations where innocent life is at risk.

And while any use of violence is an unappetizing prospect, the prospect of doing nothing and just allowing one's livelihood or even life taken from them without any sort of resistance is even more unpalatable. So your '99%' assertion is a straw man, designed to conjure images of masked murderers and depraved felons willing to hurt the innocent. A defensive war entails 'violence', but it is the kind of 'violence' that most people are (rightfully) willing to tolerate.


Its perplexing that you would simultaneously argue that the distinction between pacifists and non-pacifists who only use violence for what is in your estimation good reasons is meaningless and toss out a tired rehashing of the "pacifists are bad" line.

Also, just because you like some forms of violence doesn't mean my pointing out that its still violence constitutes a straw man.  

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