Messages

26

General Gaming / Re: Banjo-Kazooie is back & now on XBox 360

« on: November 03, 2008, 07:51:11 PM »

19" screen

There's you're problem. You, and KDR_11k are better off connecting your 360 to a PC monitor because it supports higher resolutions that these games are supposed to be played on.

Argh, there's YOUR problem.  Bad grammar!   

Thankfully the 19" TV is just temporary.  I ordered a new 32" Samsung HDTV online last week, and I prematurely sold my old TV, so I've been playing on a 19" for the past few days.  I've actually been staying away from most games outside of Rock Band and arcade games because everything looks like crap on it.

Fun fact: I've never played a Banjo Kazooie game.  I may download the original when it makes it to XBLA, but we'll see.

27

Nintendo Gaming / Re: De Blob

« on: November 01, 2008, 11:52:16 AM »

I rented this a few weeks ago, got about halfway through the game.  I thought it was good, but a few things kept me from finishing it.

First thing was level length.  Some of the levels in the game are pretty large, and there is no way to save inside of a level.  It's either all or nothing.  Maybe it was a technical limitation, or maybe it was inexperience on the part of the design team, but there's really no excuse for that.  This is not a 'pick up and play' game.  You need to budget 45 minutes to 1 hour for each level of the game.

The controls were the second thing.  Well, just the jumping controls.  Since this game is on the Wii, you have basic controls being implemented arbitrarily through various motions.  Fantastic.  I just love having to shake something when I could much more easily press a button to accomplish the same thing.  Contrary to the above poster, I feel that this game doesn't utilize the Wii's abilities at all—it's just another example of a developer using waggle for its own sake.

Third was the camera, but this is a 3D platformer, so I was willing to forgive most of the camera problems.

I really wanted to like this game.  The presentation was fantastic.  The movies before each level were extremely well done and were actually funny.  The concept for the game was great too, though the levels became a bit repetitive.  There were just some gameplay design choices that kept me from loving it and ultimately finishing it.

28

General Gaming / Re: Banjo-Kazooie is back & now on XBox 360

« on: November 01, 2008, 11:39:39 AM »

Wow, I could not play this demo.  At all.  The text was infuriatingly small, especially as I'm temporarily playing on a 19" screen.  I also don't like Rare's idiotic practice of unskippable cutscenes.  I didn't even get to any actual gameplay before I deleted it.  Presentation has become really important to me this generation, for some reason, and I really can't tolerate poor presentation anymore.

29

General Gaming / Re: Mirror's Edge

« on: November 01, 2008, 11:35:59 AM »

The demo was fun, but I'm not sold on this game yet. I'm worried it might either be too short or get old quick.

I feel the same way.  The demo was pretty fun, though a bit short.  The time trials seem like they'll be an interesting feature, because some of the jumps require a lot of precision (like where you have to jump onto a pipe on the side of a building).  Overall though, I can't see myself playing this over and over when the developers have said that combat mostly consists of disarming enemies.  It doesn't seem deep enough.  Oh, and all the jaggies certainly didn't help any.

30

Nintendo Gaming / Re: No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle

« on: October 09, 2008, 12:27:53 AM »

Regardless of when it comes out, this'll be my first Day 1 purchase since Smash Bros.  (I can't see myself purchasing anything on Day 1 in the next year.)  I can't believe how excited a 45-second trailer made me.  So awesome.

A couple Kotaku commenters mentioned the subtitle having the initials DS.  If it turns out NOT to be a coincidence, I'll be very upset.  I mean, I love my DS, but shaking my Wii remote around made the game so much more fun.  I feel like continuing my aborted second playthrough right now!

31

General Chat / Re: Aspirations in life. What are yours?

« on: September 20, 2008, 12:00:03 AM »

I only really want a modest living.  Also long I can pay my bills and still have just a little cash left over, i'll be happy.

Same here.  I used to be really ambitious and have such high aspirations, but I'm over that now.  I think I could very comfortably live on $35,000/year (ie - nice apartment, car, vacations, etc.), considering I save most of my money.

Right now I just really want to get my degree and get out of school.  I'm so sick of it.  This is my 6th year in college.  I've taken 2 semesters off and changed my major twice, but I'm finally going to finish in May and get that ridiculously expensive piece of paper that says, "Hi, I'm employable."

After that, I want to live on my own, which is harder than it sounds.  New Jersey is so damn expensive.  My county is relatively cheap (meaning a 1 bedroom apartment costs ~$800/month), but there are absolutely no jobs here outside of the healthcare and service industries.  If I live near where I go to school, which is more technology and science oriented, that's gonna be at least $1000/month for an apartment.  And this is if I can find a job in a state where unemployment just reached 6%.  My sister-in-law can get me a job at News Corp. in New York once I have my degree, but I don't know how I can live in or near Manhattan on an entry level salary.

So, yeah.  Finish school, get a job, get an apartment.  Not very lofty goals, but they're not exactly going to come by easily.

32

General Gaming / Re: Spore

« on: September 13, 2008, 12:17:33 PM »

The last part, maybe. The first part was simple logic. I don't even know what NeoGAF is.

I thought Spore was going to be more simulation than RTS, like The Sims or Viva Piñata or something.

But more importantly, how do you not know what NeoGAF is?  I think you'd fit in perfectly with all the monomaniacal assholes there.

33

General Gaming / Re: XBLA: Which Game Should I Get Next?

« on: September 12, 2008, 09:00:45 PM »

If you're looking for something that is potentially thought-provoking and could change the way you look at storytelling in video games, go for Braid.  The key word there is "potentially," though.  A lot of people think the story is crap and the puzzles are too hard.  I thought it was a beautiful game that I wish I could play for the first time over and over.

34

General Gaming / Re: Spore

« on: September 12, 2008, 08:57:41 PM »

First game I've ever pirated.  Thanks SecuROM!

I don't really like it so far.  The creature stage lasted way too long, and the tribal stage is too hard.  I hate RTS games.  I couldn't even play Pikmin.  I haven't gotten farther than Tribal, and I'm not sure if I will.

I can't believe I upgraded my OS to Leopard just for this game.  What a waste of a birthday gift.

Well it's pretty obvious you didn't bother to find out anything about this game before getting all excited about it, so I can't say you weren't asking to be disappointed.

Also, I spent all of a couple hours in creature stage max, and tribal is easy as hell. Suck less.

Wow.  That was unprovoked.  This isn't NeoGAF, you know.

35

General Chat / Re: I am in Las Vegas

« on: September 10, 2008, 12:08:19 PM »

I love gambling.  One night at the Casino Royale (the one in Vegas, not the one in Montenegro), I won $255 playing Blackjack.  It was awesome.  I think I could become addicted to it though, so I'm careful about how much I play whenever I go to Atlantic City.

Anyway, don't go to Madame Tussaud's wax museum.  The celebrities are crappy, and the admission is way too high.

36

General Gaming / Re: Spore

« on: September 09, 2008, 09:55:25 PM »

First game I've ever pirated.  Thanks SecuROM!

I don't really like it so far.  The creature stage lasted way too long, and the tribal stage is too hard.  I hate RTS games.  I couldn't even play Pikmin.  I haven't gotten farther than Tribal, and I'm not sure if I will.

I can't believe I upgraded my OS to Leopard just for this game.  What a waste of a birthday gift.

37

General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 03, 2008, 11:25:19 PM »

Well, I'm giving my presentation in less than 12 hours.  Here are the games I'm featuring:
Gauntlet, Contra, Quake/Team Fortress, Diablo, Ultima Online, Zelda: Four Swords, Mario Galaxy
Then I'm also mentioning Little Big Planet, Fable II, Animal Crossing, World of Warcraft, and Gears of War in some way.

I'm hoping that my Sackboy image bumps my grade up a few points.  You can't look at him without smiling!

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General Chat / Re: Other Languages

« on: September 03, 2008, 03:14:21 PM »

Napoleon did

I chuckled.

39

General Chat / Re: Other Languages

« on: September 02, 2008, 10:44:53 PM »

I took French through middle school and high school, then minored in it at college.  I'd say I have a pretty good command of the language, but I'm not fluent.  I've only been to France for one week, so I wasn't really immersed in the language long enough to improve my skills very much.

I'd like to learn Italian and Japanese, but I don't know when I'll get around to that.

40

General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 02, 2008, 04:53:54 PM »

There are no beat-em-ups in that list.  Beat-em-ups are the quintessential co-op game.  Honestly I feel that excluding them would make the entire presentation invalid.

As mentioned before, I'm not looking to do a comprehensive, genre-spanning history of cooperative video games.  I only need to talk for 15 minutes or so, and that includes the time I spend showing gameplay videos.  I appreciate your concern for the validity of my work, though.  Really.

I wouldn't include Super Mario Galaxy.  The "co-op" in that game is weak as hell.  It has no substance at all.  It would be one of the first games I would cut from that list.

That's part of the reason I'm including it.  It's not necessarily a great step forward in co-op play, but it does something different than every other game out there.  It's the same reason I want to mention Animal Crossing.  They were sidesteps, if you will, in the realm of video game co-op.  Plus, they actually relate more to my own project idea, since the game I have in mind is not a traditional co-op game.

41

General Chat / Re: Chicken Discussion

« on: September 02, 2008, 10:17:38 AM »

ugh, no one here has a sense of humor.






(which still makes me a better person.)

42

General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 01, 2008, 08:49:57 PM »

Stop it!  I have to draw the arbitrary line somewhere, otherwise I'll never get this done.

43

General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 01, 2008, 07:40:54 PM »

All right, here's my updated list of games to cover:

- Gauntlet (1985), Arcade
- Contra (1987), Arcade, NES
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Genesis*
- Quake/Team Fortress mod (1996), PC
- Diablo series (1997), PC, Mac*
- Ultima Online (1997), PC
- Animal Crossing (2003), Gamecube*
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (2004), Gamecube*
- Super Mario Galaxy (2007), Wii

*these may not make it into the presentation

I'm not too concerned about having every game genre on my list.  I'm just concerned with games that have done something different with co-op gameplay.  It doesn't necessarily need to be a comprehensive history.
 

"Present a thorough overview of the current and previous research in an area of interactive multimedia....  What work is being done in this area?...  Finally, consider what has yet to be figured out.  End your presentation by posting a series of questions inspired by your research, questions you hope to investigate and answer over the course of the semester."

In addition to talking about these games, I need to extrapolate my own idea from it.  (I've already done that, by the way.  I'm kind of working backwards here.)  The background on co-op games is just a means to convey my idea to the class and to try to get people to work on my project with me.  It's an idea for a game that I've had for a while, and I've finally realized what I want to do with it.  Homer Simpson voice: Patent pending!

44

General Gaming / Re: The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 01, 2008, 04:08:24 PM »

These are some great suggestions so far.  Thanks, guys.

I considered doing an MMO in my presentation, but I've never played one and have no knowledge of the gameplay mechanics at all.  I guess they're too important not to cover, though, so I'll have to add one in.  After a tiny bit of research, I think I'll use Ultima Online.  It wasn't the first graphic MMORPG, but it seems to have set the standard of future games in the genre more so than the ones that came before it.

Gears of War is a good suggestion, too.  I'll have to look into the different vantage points that bustin mentioned.  Is there anything else that's unique about it?

Sonic 2 also sounds like a good choice with on-the-fly co-op.  My list only has one game from the '90s, so it'll be good to have another one.

I think my limited gaming experience is a problem here.  I was a Nintendo-only gamer till early 2001.  Plus, I've mostly played single player games all my life, so I'm not too familiar with co-op games, particularly of this generation.

45

General Chat / Re: Chicken Discussion

« on: September 01, 2008, 02:53:57 PM »

Morningstar Farms makes really good fake chicken products.  They have nuggets, strips, patties, and buffalo wings.  You really can't tell the difference between real and fake chicken.  It's also got a lot less cholesterol and saturated fat, not to mention pesticides out the ass.

Fixed.

Do you know that for sure?

46

General Chat / Re: Chicken Discussion

« on: September 01, 2008, 02:48:07 PM »

I don't trust vegetarians. Its like they've got some sort of motive which is obvious and subtle at the same time.

My motive in being a vegetarian is not to get cancer from eating tortured dead animals who've been injected with growth hormones and other disgusting chemicals to make them meatier and/or tastier.  Also, I like the sense of moral superiority it gives me.  (I truly believe I'm a better person than those who eat meat.)

Morningstar Farms makes really good fake chicken products.  They have nuggets, strips, patties, and buffalo wings.  You really can't tell the difference between real and fake chicken.  It's also got a lot less cholesterol and saturated fat, not to mention there is no cruelty involved whatsoever.

47

General Gaming / The Best Cooperative Games

« on: September 01, 2008, 02:41:05 PM »

I'm doing a presentation about cooperative games for one of my classes on Thursday.  It's going to cover the history and trends of co-op gaming, using examples of different play mechanics.  Here's what I have so far:

• Gauntlet - the first(?) 4-player arcade game
• Contra - a difficult game made manageable with 2 players
• Diablo II - online co-op through battle.net
• Animal Crossing - non-simultaneous multiplayer
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures - GBA connectivity, gimmicky co-op
• Super Mario Galaxy - player assistance

I think I'm off to a good start, but I figured it can't hurt to ask the opinion of everyone here.  I'd like my list to be as varied as possible, so if there's something that can possibly replace a Nintendo game, I'd be interested in hearing about it.  What games are better in co-op than in single player?  What games have offered unique co-op experiences?  (Also, like Animal Crossing, it doesn't have to be simultaneous co-op, either.)

I'm off to find gameplay footage on Youtube now.  Is there a way to put a Youtube video in a Powerpoint presentation?  That'd be great.

48

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Dead Rising coming to Wii!

« on: August 27, 2008, 09:18:21 AM »

ugh, I didn't know this was one of those time limit games, and I really can't stand them.[..]  I wasted $40 on the craptacular The World Ends with You.

You realize TWEWY doesn't actually give you a time limit? The timer is purely for plot purposes.

Oh yeah, I know that.  I just lumped that game in with Dead Rising, because they're both games I've bought in the last month that have underwhelmed me.  And they're both games that Gamefly never sent me despite being #'s 2 & 3 on my game queue.  (I also never got game #1.)

49

General Chat / Re: Watching movies you already own on TV?

« on: August 26, 2008, 09:00:42 PM »

I do that all the time, but like nitsu said, it's only if I'm already familiar enough with the movie that I don't need to watch it from beginning to end.  I did this with Edward Scissorhands a few weeks ago.

I find that I do it more often with comedies, where the story doesn't really matter as much as dramas or thrillers.  Then there are other movies that you just can't jump into without seeing it from the beginning, like Memento or Fight Club.  I have to plan to watch movies like those.

50

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Dead Rising coming to Wii!

« on: August 26, 2008, 08:55:20 PM »

ugh, I didn't know this was one of those time limit games, and I really can't stand them.  I end up getting so nervous about doing everything in time that I can't enjoy anything.  It's too nerve wracking for me.  I play games to relax, not to freak out about missing things because I ran out of time.

At least I only wasted $20 on this.  I wasted $40 on the craptacular The World Ends with You.  Thanks a lot Gamefly for never sending me the games that were on the top of my queue and for costing me $60 after I stopped your shitty service.

To make this on topic: using motion controls for the melee weapons on the Wii version sounds fun.