Messages

10126

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Old sayings that don't make sense today

« on: October 14, 2009, 06:41:21 PM »

"It's the cat's meow!"

"Nut Bunnies!" (of course, that was never meant to make sense)

10127

General Gaming / Re: PixlBit - Survival Horror Marathon for St. Jude

« on: October 14, 2009, 06:39:18 PM »

I especially appreciated the (many) stylistic nods to the Silent Hill movie, which I thought was very under-appreciated in the theaters.

Yet another time I agree with brood. I really like the Silent Hill movie. I may have to check Homecoming out.

If you didn't know already, you'll be happy to know that a sequel to the Silent Hill movie has been green-lit.  It's a little held up at the moment by the writer being in jail for pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter.  How appropriate for Silent Hill.  Sadly, Christopher Gans will not return (so far) in the Director's Chair.

10128

NWR Forums Discord / Re: How long can GoldenPhoenix stay sober? 9,574 days.

« on: October 14, 2009, 06:31:19 PM »

9, 574?  Bah, try 9,659 days and counting on this end.   

10129

General Gaming / Re: PixlBit - Survival Horror Marathon for St. Jude

« on: October 14, 2009, 06:06:03 PM »

GP, I actually sold Homecoming. It's very slow-moving and kind of dull. The boss fights are interesting, but the dodge mechanic is woefully unreliable in close-quarters fights. Whereas SH2 and SH3 kind of move you right along, Homecoming leaves you to wander aimlessly way too often. Creature design is okay, but not as mind-blowingly "wrong" as SH3...

Well, it looks like I have the entirely opposite opinion of Homecoming as Halbred.  From a gameplay standpoint, Homecoming is probably my favorite Silent Hill game.  It's fairly linear compared to the first game and Silent Hill 2, but considering there's practically nothing to find in exploring the town in any Silent Hill game outside some med packs and ammo that's fine by me.  I found the combat system quite enjoyable, thought the dodge roll is very unreliable and the game doesn't handle fights with multiple enemies very well.  The game's also hard as sin for the first 1/2 of the game unless you really go out of your way to find all those hidden items early on and you get a really good handle on not getting hit.  The environments are very nicely done, especially the Other World, and I found the story very good if not up to the standards of SH 2 and 4 (at least the story this time is fairly easy to understand without having to read plot analysis FAQs, unlike SH 4).  I especially appreciated the (many) stylistic nods to the Silent Hill movie, which I thought was very under-appreciated in the theaters.

So in general I recommend you check it out, especially since you can find it pretty cheap these days.

10130

Reader Reviews / Re: Rate The Last Game You Played

« on: October 14, 2009, 05:29:36 PM »

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 9/10 - I thought the original Uncharted was rather mediocre, so I was pleasantly surprised by Uncharted 2.  For the most part, they removed the things I hated and made the game faster; more exciting; and much more awesome in general.  Highly recommended, and (for me) possibly Game of the Year material (though it has strong competition from Batman).

10131

General Gaming / Re: PixlBit - Survival Horror Marathon for St. Jude

« on: October 14, 2009, 05:27:23 PM »

Nick, save yourself the torture of SH. If you want to play a worthwhile SH game, go with 2 or 3, seriously, SH is boarderline unplayable. I will definately watch the marathon, and try to chime in on Skype again. I wish you were playing RE5, 'cause I could jump in a play with you! :-D

I'd donate money, but for obvious reasons all my donation funds go the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation...

Wow, I see Halbred got around to seeing that I was right about the original Silent Hill, after all.  Yeah, dump that one and go with 2 or 3.  Hell, even Homecoming would be fine.

10132

General Gaming / Re: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

« on: October 14, 2009, 03:37:00 AM »

And that's one full playthrough for me on Normal.  Well, that was quite fun and it's obvious I'm going to be playing this game for a while still.  It looks like I got just shy of half of all the treasures, something I still find a little bizarre but they are hidden very well.  It looks like Naughty Dog fixed most of my complaints: there are only a handful of those obnoxious "goon arenas" this time, the goons are easier to kill, there are more puzzles (including one massive environmental puzzle that would make a certain Persian Prince faint), the game's intensity is pretty massive the whole game, and the game normally keeps you constantly moving to keep things exciting.  My only big problem with the game is that...once again...the game dips into the supernatural near the end, and while it's not as lame as it was in Uncharted 1 it still feels sillly.  The enemies also get pretty damn annoying near the end, with frequent sections where if you don't take out one hard-to-reach enemy first you will die quickly.  Thankfully, if you're good at stealth you can really minimize the monster closets.

Definitely a massive improvement on the original game, and I really want to see Uncharted 3 now.

10133

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 13, 2009, 08:55:53 PM »

Please support with facts, Ms. Phoenix.

The only time in the movie you see Ursula become a serious danger is when she takes the trident. That is also the only time she becomes huge as well. Please explain how she could combat a woman who has the power of multiple transformations, lightning and is able to call upon all of the powers of Hell to get her way? I'd like to see how Ursula stands any sort of chance.

She would drown her.

So we are assuming that this battle takes place with water nearby? What if there was no water. That is an outside element. Plus Maleficent's lightning attacks could cook Ursula in any water she hid in.

Wrong, Ursula would not be damaged by lightning.

Considering that Ursula dies through electrocution from the Trident after being stabbed by Eric, I find that unlikely.

10134

General Gaming / Re: Silent Hill for n00bs

« on: October 13, 2009, 08:54:31 PM »

Wait, I think I confused Laura with Angela. Which one's the crazy b*tch who dies in fire and is attacked by the Abstract Daddy? Whoever that is, that's who I was referring to.

The other girl is the little girl, right? SHE'S not real. She's a product of James' hell. I've heard theories that she represents Mary's ultimate innocence that was betrayed by James (that's why she's a snotty little brat the whole game). She could also represent a child never concieved, and is angry for having not been because of, again, James' killing of his wife. Both theories have merit, but I like the first one better. Goes more immediately with the central theme of the game.

No, the little girl's real, as she was a friend of Mary's at the hospital.  She hands James a key item late in the game that he wouldn't have had access to himself.  It's just a Silent Hill rule that children cannot be drawn into the SH darkside because they still have that "innocence", so they fall under the protection of Metatron.  That's why often you see her act like she can't even notice the things that James can.

10135

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 13, 2009, 08:14:33 PM »

"BTW, Maleficent is the best Disney villain, ever."

Pssh...Says YOU!

Scar would literally rip her head off.

I'd agree, except that Scar becomes a total loser (to use a forum-allowed term) once he gains power.  Maleficent has the honor of being I think the only Disney villain to summon the power of Hell itself (excluding Hades, of course).

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General Gaming / Re: Silent Hill for n00bs

« on: October 13, 2009, 08:06:19 PM »

Hope that helps, sir. I HIGHLY recommend SH3, although you need to know what all went down in SH first.

Well, not really.  I didn't play the original Silent Hill till just last month, and I had little problem following Silent Hill 3 years ago.  Besides, it's not like Silent Hill 1 made sense to begin with.

As for Angela, yes she was drawn there (along with Eddie) to confront her "sins" just like James.

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General Gaming / Re: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Official Best Single-Player Game Ever Thread

« on: October 13, 2009, 08:03:46 PM »

Had to get up to use the restroom, not sure if I'll be able to stop myself from finishing tonight.....

Same here.  This game is awesome.  I'm amazed at how few treasures I've found so far (I just got caught up with the present), and I have been really looking for them.  The gunplay is so much better this time, and hand-to-hand combat is borderline broken it's so effective.

10138

TalkBack / Re: European Developer Oxygen Games Declares Bankruptcy

« on: October 13, 2009, 03:36:30 PM »

Damn, now Greg will never see his dream realized of a sequel to Hurry-up Hedgehog!

10139

Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 164

« on: October 13, 2009, 02:19:24 PM »

The Jazz will always be good as long as they have Jerry Sloan.  Now, the L.A Clippers...

Indeed.  The Clippers have their completely incompetent management to thank for their total suckage.

10140

General Gaming / Re: Sony bad-mouths Nintendo yet again

« on: October 13, 2009, 06:34:11 AM »

I predict people who invested serious amount of money into Blu-ray drives and media are going to be pissed in a few years when better stuff appears and makes their stuff as obsolete as 8-track tapes...

Here's the thing, though: the market can't withstand multiple format shifts within a certain period of years.  No doubt we have better stuff on the horizon, but in the time we had VHS after it won the war against Betamax we had both Laserdisc and DivX.  Despite there being superior formats, though, the market didn't convert until DVD came along.  The market is starting to convert with Blu-Ray now, probably nowhere near as quickly as Sony would like but it is doing so.  I can't see the market adopting a replacement format for at least 5 years, maybe more depending on the adoption rate of HD-TVs.

10141

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 13, 2009, 05:08:40 AM »

I think they're more "teh kiddie" now than they used to be.

Eh. I think they're worried so you have to dig a little bit more to get at the darker stuff. And anytime anybody mentions Disney going downhill in any capacity, I just have to bring up Wall-E.

And anytime you bring up Wall-E, I have to bring up that that was not only a Pixar project but I believe one that was completed prior to their acquisition by Disney.

10142

Podcast Discussion / Re: Radio Free Nintendo: Episode 164

« on: October 12, 2009, 10:11:04 PM »

Wow.  Much respect to Greg for sticking with the Bill's since the early 90's all these years, and overseas at that!  Pretty sure I've never seen such loyalty here in the states.

Well, you have to realize that Bills fans have gone into hiding in recent years, so you aren't hearing from them at all.  They're out there, though.  Anybody that grew up in the early 90's has some sort of soft spot for the Bills (well, probably not Cowboys fans, but they're sub-human anyways).

I've always been a 49ers fan, and ever since Young left things haven't been that pleasant, but I've stuck with them.

Frankly, you guys don't know heartbreak till you've been a Jazz fan.  Consistently one of the top teams in the NBA since the early 90s and even went to the Finals twice with 2 future Hall of Famers in John Stockton and Karl Malone...and yet we've never won the prize, and all because of one guy from Chicago.  The rebuilding years between when Stockton/Malone retired and Deron Williams was drafted were particularly nasty, when there were probably college teams with more talent. 

10143

General Gaming / Re: Riddick and Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend gets a new home

« on: October 12, 2009, 09:39:33 PM »

So after all the drama the game is finally done.  Anyone picking it up?  I loved the demo.  I was ROFLing immediately.

In all seriousness though, I thought the demo was awesome.  Ooozing with soul.

I dunno.  I thought Psychonauts was spectacularly average, and I'm neither a Jack Black fan nor a Heavy Metal one.  Still, I played the PS3 demo and found it suitably amusing.  I am a little annoyed that the demo didn't include any of the RTS elements that would become a major part of the main game, as the demo made me think it was just a straight-up brawler.  I'll probably pick the game up sometime down the line when it drops in price and I've already picked up the batch of other games out already or soon that I already have on my hit list: Dead Space Extraction, A Boy and His Blob, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, and probably both Assassin's Creed games.

10144

General Gaming / Re: Silent Hill for n00bs

« on: October 12, 2009, 09:27:40 PM »

Okay, so I crossed the 8 hour mark in SH2 today (I took a break for a week or so while I was playing Brave for review), and god this game is really creeping me out.  This is hands down the most creepy game I'm playing but man I'm really sick of James having no reaction whatsoever to the creepy NPCs in this game.

I'm in the hotel at what I believe to be the end, and I've got the music box 66% put together.

Really looking forward to finishing this, because I want to know how the story ends, and also because I have Arkham Asylum coming in the mail in a few days and I anticipate playing the crap out of that.

I would keep on going because you are nearly at the end of the game, probably maybe 1 more hour left.  This is the best part of the game, so I'd keep going while you're still into it.

Incidentally, if you're playing the PC or Xbox version of the game you can unlock the "Born from a Wish" Maria bonus story mode for some extra play time after you beat the game.  That mode's only an hour or so long and is an interesting puzzle diversion.

10145

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 12, 2009, 07:27:57 PM »

Did you know that they are entertaining the idea of resurrecting the Roger Rabbit Sequel "Who Discovered Roger Rabbit"?

I can say with all confidence that that will never, ever happen.  Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, because we will never see Warner Bros. and Disney cooperating again like we did back then.  And a Roger Rabbit sequel with only the Disney characters is an empty shell.

10146

TalkBack / Re: How I Almost Played FF: CC: The Crystal Bearers

« on: October 12, 2009, 07:20:24 PM »

You and I did not play the same game it seems.

Oh well.

IMO, Yuna's story in Final Fantasy X is the best of all the numbered Final Fantasy games, and considering my fondness for FF6 that's saying something.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 12, 2009, 07:17:27 PM »

Aren't Disney movies "teh kiddie" and therefore inherently terrible and you all should be ashamed to watch them?

I think they're more "teh kiddie" now than they used to be.  The Lion King is still my favorite animated movie of all time (and when you get down to it, it's a dark movie), and Beauty & the Beast is up there as well alongside Great Mouse Detective; Oliver & Company; and the Rescuers Down Under.

10148

TalkBack / Re: How I Almost Played FF: CC: The Crystal Bearers

« on: October 12, 2009, 06:50:53 PM »

When did Square hire Hideo Kojima?

Long cutscenes are nothing new to Square, my friend. They have been whoring them since FFVII on the original Playstation. They become bearable when the plot and character development is decent/good. On the other hand: Final Fantasy X/X-2.

*draws his sword*

Did someone just badmouth Final fantasy X?  You can knock X-2 all you like, but X was actually pretty awesome outside some horrible English VA work (like the infamous "laughing" scene).

10149

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories coming October 13th

« on: October 12, 2009, 06:49:03 PM »

Good job Konami, you just gave October away to Ju-On: The Budget Grudge Flashlight Game, the new standard in Wii Flashlight Gaming.

Wasn't hard to surpass the standard set by BROKEN FRAME 4

Borked Frame 4 set its bar so low, it ran into it.  The current standard probably belongs to Luigi's Foreclosure, but not for long.

There's also Fragile and LIT as well.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Epic Mickey - Wii Exclusive

« on: October 12, 2009, 06:46:22 PM »

I command everyone to check out the Three Musketeers on DVD. Despite it being a direct to DVD release by Disney, it's hilarious. Donald and Goofy make the movie (and surprisingly, Mickey is a bit humorous).

You know, I've heard that too.  I've just never gotten around to actually watching it (mostly from an ingrained predisposition to assume that anything direct-to-video made by Disney will be crap).