Xeryus Weapon

Full Spectrum Warrior, a game originally developed as a tactical simulator by the US army in order to keep its troops in tip-top condition under urban warfare - but not if THQ had anything to do with it. THQ bought the publishing rights and produced this tactical Xbox action game. Apparently, FSW will still be used in the US army as a training program, so THQ were left to change many aspects of the game in order to make it more suitable for many gamers alike. What really gets my hopes up about this tactical shoot 'em up, more than any other, is the outstanding realism sustained within missions, as well as the extremely tight tactics accessible to players. Real life encounters and ambushes have been added to the game along with enemy AI to show how dangerous urban warfare can be. The good folks over at Gamespy seem to tell us that FSW will launch an online multiplayer game where you are most likely to undertake typical multiplayer tasks. [QUOTE]One point that's extremely exciting to note is that Full Spectrum Warrior will support full online play through Microsoft's Xbox Live service. I imagine that squads of nine soldiers comprised of individual real-life players might be stretching it a little bit, but certainly there will be gamers going head-to-head with their own digital teams in all kinds of different gameplay modes. Full Spectrum Warrior is also slated to support system link multiplayer support. Details at this stage regarding the types of online play are unknown, but it's a safe bet to expect mission-based objectives, capture the flag, and deathmatch-style environments.[/QUOTE] As you can see from the scans below (courtesy of Gamespy), the graphics seem crisp and the detail is stunning, but will the tactical mind involved fit in? [IMG]http://archive.gamespy.com/previews/june03/fullspectrumwarriorxbox/03s.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://archive.gamespy.com/previews/june03/fullspectrumwarriorxbox/04s.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://archive.gamespy.com/previews/june03/fullspectrumwarriorxbox/05s.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://archive.gamespy.com/previews/june03/fullspectrumwarriorxbox/07s.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://archive.gamespy.com/previews/june03/fullspectrumwarriorxbox/10s.jpg[/IMG] Overall the game looks impressive and is set for a June 2004 release, though I'm most eager to see how well it does against the likes of Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid.

The original on the Dreamcast was just plain old [I]Skies of Arcadia[/I], and the [I]Legends[/I] signifies that improvements have been made to the port. I was a big fan of the Dreamcast version as I had finished the game several times, but unfortunately never had the chance to play Legends. I was always thought that Skies of Arcadia bared some sort of resemblance to the Wind Waker or Crystal Chronicles, as it tends to have that cartoony style to it, though the game is very serious at hand. New additions to Legends include new wanted battles, ultimate weapons, side quests. One thing I am interested in seeing in Legends is the new battle system which I read about. Apparently it's made to be less frustrating than the original, with less random encounters, and receiving more experience points for each fight (practically making up for the less battles, lol). The battles them selves are now faster, which I think is great, as I'm a very impatient person. If anything, I'd say that Legends is more or less a Director's Cut of the Dreamcast release, and makes a great change if you're fed up of the old Final Fantasy series, lol.

New updates from Nintendo Insider claim that there will be much more puzzles to take place from the third person view, meaning more and more of those morph ball mazes. Judging from those scans, even at an early stage, the graphics on Metroid Prime 2 seem the same or hold some kind of resemblance to the first adventure, while the environments remain dark and dreary, but non the less still very impressive to my likings I'm compelled by the new generation of Nintendo's games, but I can only hope that new environments, areas, and a multiplayer mode aren't the only new additions to the Metroid franchise.

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]I don't want to build on this thread anymore than needs doing but just a piece of advice: If you still are keen on fighting to get it repaired by Sony for free, then don't touch the insides at all as it will be regarded as a fault of your own and you will definately end up having to pay for it. Plus, if you have any sort of added chip inside your PS2 then your chances are doomed, so be careful in the process.[/COLOR] ;)

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Ranma 1/2 is undoubtedly one of my favourite animes to this day. There are well over 100 episodes, 6 OVAs, and 2 movies, and a huge cast of characters each with a past, and future, as remarkable as the other. It is impressive how Rumiko Takahashi manages to link the storylines amongst them together. Arguably, seasons one and two are unique from the rest of the series because it introduces the twists and turns of each character, but just becomes more and more repetitve as the show goes on. -___- Each character is just as bizarre as the next, from different backgrounds and fighting styles, but have all come to achieve the same goal - eliminate Ranma for one reason or the other. My favourite character is Mousse, especially when duoed with Cologne. He is always mistaking her, or something, for Shampoo when hes's not wearing those thick glasses, and his style of fighting is hilarious, "Master of hidden weapons", just one swing of his arms then a horde of chains, shurikens, kunai, knives come flying at you from his over-extended sleeve. ^__^ I enjoyed the scene when Mousse lost his glasses and grabbed Cologne whilst screaming out: "Shampoo!!!", and realises Cologne's wrinkly old skin and asks: "Shampoo? Did you pickle yourself overnight?" and gets hit over the head by her staff. There is the occasional love scene as well as all the comedy though, which gives it a nice little mixed genre, yet again it is rare and usually occurs of Ranma "accidentally" saying something nice about Akane and then blows it off by critisicing her almost immediately afterwards, lol. Ranma 1/2 [i]is[/i] a classic and one of a kind anime, there are similar versions of it such as Love Hina, but they hardly step up to the compelling uniqueness of Takahashi's work.[/COLOR]

There are no good and bad martial arts, some are different than each other, like Tai Chi is calm and soothing, while Muay Thai is aggresive and rough. I agree with Shiguru completely, the human body is the best weapon, but unfortunately for us small folk it's much harder to make full and effective use of it :(. It's also a question of weather your dedicated enough to practice, and even though I don't study any forms of martial arts, I will occasionally slip on my gloves and shadow box for a good hour, or go jogging around the block to maintain my fitness. On the Sword side of things, Kenjutsu is "how to kill", while Kendo is more of a sport. Kenjutsu students practise with Bokken, where Kendo students practice with a Shinai and spar with armour. Where I live there is only one dojo that teaches Kenjutsu, focusing on the Niten Ichi Ryu, the style of two swords. It is a popular style as it is the one that martial arts legend Miyamoto Musashi used and founded.

I can only hope that this sequel is as good as the first, as most are dissapointing. Viewtiful Joe 2 will sustain the original cel shaded graphics style as before in the first adventure, and will let you play as Sylvia as mentioned previously by Charles. The game will be displayed in brand new environments and settings, along with more new difficult puzzles, and introducing the Replay function. Joe is able to perform the Replay ability allowing you to "go back" to help defeat enemies and or revitalise your health bar. For example, throwing a punch and replaying it three times inflicts three times the damage, healing yourself and replaying it three times gives you three times the energy. It will be interesting to see how techniques influenced by Bullet Time (such as going back in time in Prince of Persia) would adapt to a cel shaded engine, it could be the start to something new ;). Not only are there new abilities too, it seems Joe's fighting style has also improved, he can now grab and hold enemies to swing and throw them around, which can be useful in over-crowded environments. In conlcusion, Viewtiful Joe 2 is the sequel to a very creative game, I can only hope that it proves as creative as its predecessor.

Cool? Uh-huh! Martial arts are like the centre of all young people's fantasies! Don't you ever get the odd day dream that a cute girl is getting harrased by some no-good gang members and she is begging for mercy, where you step in with a corny line like "leave her alone" or "she's with me" and then beat the crap out of all of them, to get the girl or a "kiss" as a reward? That is so like the life for me. Martial Arts, keep it real. :cool:

A question for the students of Tae Kwon Doe Are you trained to actually physically fight, or is it a form of mental rest and fitness training? Yes you are right Panda, it is a good idea to stick with it even if you are no good at all, it gives you the chance to hang on to something through old age and even something to pass on to those willing to learn. Sciros - The more the merrier... :D

Does anyone on the OB study any form of martial arts? I'd like to hear about it if you do :). I have beem interested in Kenjutsu (the art of the sword) for so long, but have never been able to go and practice it. School these days... -___-' Seriously though, I own quite a few sets of Japanese swords, Tanto, Wakizashi, and full length Katanas. Apparently to buy the training gear you need a "license", but it's okay to buy the real thing - laws these days, honestly... I'm also interested in Boxing and Muay Thai since they are two of the best styles in terms of ruthlessness and combat, but won't be doing them for a while because I'm skimt enough as it is.

The name Xeryus comes from an aftershave made by Givenchy. Why would I name myself after a bottle of expensive aftershave? I'll tell you. About two years ago I was a hardcore gamer and would attend tournies to all sorts of beat 'em ups, 3D and 2D, but I needed like a nickname to post on the forums, so I grabbed the closest thing next to me, which happened to be the bottle of aftershave, and copied it down. The name kinda stuck amongst all my friends and rarely do I get called by my real name these days :(. The "Weapon" part comes from Final Fantasy VII, after Ultimate, Ruby, Emmerald, and Diamond Weapon. It just sounds cool (don't it?).

I'm not suggesting changing anything at all, it would just be good to see more functions within Samus's suit, which could be achieved by applying more uses to each button (or combination) on the controller. In Metroid Fusion, Samus could get a speed boost which allowed her to run extremely fast through enemies etc, now obviously using this in the FPS mode would make the game ridiclously easy as you'll see all in front of you, but simple solutions such as a stamina bar or so could limit the use of it and allow it to recover over time.

True. Rumour has it that the next SSB game to be released will be on the next Nintendo console and is to be the first, or one of the first, games to be released with it. Frankly though, doesn't SSB seem just like a franchise? That Nintendo must release at least one game per console, kind of like the Mario games? Just a thought really, because one type of SSB game was enough for me, as I got the kind of "played one played them all" attitude since there wasn't really much of an improvement between SSB and Melee except for the BIG boost in selectable characters.

For me Metroid Prime was a first-class game and one of the best on the Gamecube so far. However, certain areas of the first release need improving. For example, the whole plot of the game or storyline. I had no idea at all that the goal of Metroid prime was to recover the artifacts to access the final lair until reading upon it on the internet in a spoilers thread (d'oh). Graphics wise, the game was always impressive so to me, improvising here would be a waste of time, seeing as other aspects need attending to, like the slow turning, plus the game can be run on the Metroid Prime engine. The concept does feel a little too basic though, Samus has a robotic thingy majig suit that is capable of many things, like different visors, beams, gravity boots, but don't you think it is capable of so much more? An overdrive mode or something would fill in when energy is running low or a beam sword similar to a Star Wars lightsaber would really help spice up those aliens she's up against. The actual Gamecube controller is capable of achieveing this too, for example, Splinter Cell takes full advantage of the X-box's control pad with many functions accessing different abilities for Sam Fisher. As for multiplayer, I sure hope deathmatches aren't all there is up for offer, a capture the flag would be nice, or maybe even something funny or less serious than Metroid actually is, like mini games - just a thought :D.