Sol-Blade

[SIZE=-3]Well, it definitely is a matter of taste. That is a given. What I may find attractive, someone else may not. It's really quite simple when you think about it but yet so complicated for some people to grasp the concept. This doesn't apply to only someone else's appearence, it can be about artwork, or your favorite flavor, etc... I mean how many times have you tried something, say a new kind of drink, and you didn't like it but your friends are constantly saying "How can you not like this drink? It rules!" and so on and so forth. It may not hit them right away, but you know it kinda is comforting to know that someone else has the same interests as you so I can see how that would make sense. Some people just can't take the fact that people don't like something they do. It's sort of unnerving sometimes and can feel a little hostile even. This can be seen in everything from music to food to even favorite colors and things like that. You know for example, "You don't like Nirvana? They begun a revolution!", well to some they didn't. But on a different scale, our appearence can be taken a different way. I mean some people will love denim, so can't stand it. Does that make the people who don't wear denim ugly? Of course not, but yet I know back in school "fashion" was everything and if you weren't into whatever was "in" at the time, you were NOT "cool" so to speak. But yes, I do believe the media plays a part in affecting what is "beautiful" and what is not. Bigger than most people might take it for, but as like I said, it's really a matter of tastes (Or in this case: opinions) of each and every person in here.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-3][I]NOTE: I usually don't write in small text...but it became apparent that this was a REALLY long post. So...enjoy. EDIT: I started writing this at 9:30, I posted around 11:30 PST, USA. Wow...I've impressed myself![/I] Let me reiterate on my feelings on this subject. I am a guy and yes, this will be my point of view ([U]Not up for discussion[/U]) on it. Hopefully, not what you expected. Do all girls think they are fat? I certainly hope not. Do some? Yes, I have come across that dreaded question, I am sure both man and woman alike have been asked the horrible no-win question "Do I look fat to you?" at least once or twice in their life. I honestly believe there is no answer you can give without offending them somehow, I really don't. I try to give an honest answer and be as respectful as I can about it, but it never seems to work. If I say yes, they may say I am a horrible person! If I say no, they may say I am lying! What gives? My current girlfriend is slim (No, not trying to be a suck up here, she really is THIN...) and she doesn't ask me that kind of question. And you know what? I really do love her, and if she were to gain pounds on the spot I would still feel as passionate about her as I do now. And you what else? I honestly, down to earth, MEAN that. I was not attracted to her by looks, me and her are almost exactly alike, we get along very well. So I don't care about her cosmetic apperance, and I know she feels the same way. :D Anyways, back on topic. When I was in high school, I ran across many girls who thought they were fat and were literally...skin and bones. I was usually at a loss of words when I heard this. What makes you think that you are fat? Seriously. I can't stand to see this girls starve and deprive themselves of food so they can be, "pretty", for who? I would LOVE to shake the hands of whoever thinks [i]that[/i] is pretty. Which brings me to my next topic. Media. Lets see here: Movies, TV sitcoms, Reality Shows, Game Shows, Super Models, and even cartoons (Admit it, no girl or guy will EVER look like the ones you see in anime). What do they all have in common? Unusually good looking people. Why don't we analyze this further...shall we? Lets start with...Movies. [B]Movie Actors-[/B] Powerful, Rich, Famous, and [i]Beautiful[/i]. Who DOESN'T want that? When people (Mostly young people but still all ages none-the-less) see them, they drool over them, they gaze, they follow, and they even idolize some of them. Now see, this is the thing. Money, looks, all of that never really means that they are HAPPY. Look at some of them, you DON'T know what really goes on in their life, and I'm sure if you did, you wouldn't exactly look at them in the same way. Not every famous person is enjoying their life. Remember that. Also, don't ever idolize someone. If that person suddenly hits rock bottom...some idol huh? [B]Reality shows-[/B] Here a little side rant from me...I don't believe there is anything [i]Real[/i] about a[i]Real[/i]ity show. It just all seems...too...FAKE. First off, why is it...that only the exceptionally "Hot" guys and gals get on shows like [U]Survivor[/U], [U]The Real World[/U], and [U]Big Brother[/U]? Coincidence? I think not. Maybe they think it will be a ratings boost if the girls look sexy and the guys are handsome. Maybe they think sex appeal is the way to go in today's world. Maybe reality shows need to DIE. Entertainment? No, more like "Slap in the face!" to all the people in envy out there. They are not examples of the "Real" life you and me experience. Well then again, maybe one of you does have to live out everyday choosing a girl to eliminate till you get to one that you will marry. Kudos to you big man. [B]Game Shows-[/B] Yeah, I think game shows are corrupt also. Why? Well let me run down my little deduction here...anyone remember the good old days of the really early [U]The Newly-Weds Show[/U]? Now that, was good TV. Ted and Barbera, a struggling accountist and a former waitress now married living out a great life. Awesome. That, was back [i]then[/i]...today it goes a little something like Angela and Hank, a supermodel gone lawyer and the muscle builder on the cover of Muscle Fitness got hitched...yeah okay. Did that happen? Of course not, not ACTUALLY I am just trying to prove a point here (And poke at some fun while I am at it). Come on, would [U]Wheel of Fortune[/U] done as well if Vanna White was not so fit? It's not like they had some guy with glasses up there turning the letters... [B]TV Sitcoms-[/B] Now actually, I feel sort of split here. Some actually do make me laugh and make me reflect on actual things that happened to me that happened on the show. Raymond's mom on [U]Everybody Loves Raymond[/U] is SO like my mom. :love: So yeah, that one is really a hit or miss with me. So I won't really touch on it. [B]Super Models-[/B] Whoa there, stop the bandwagon! We hit jackpot here. Start dishing out the low self-esteem here, we got enough for everyone. This has to be the #1 reason of girls (And some guys...) starving themselves of food and other needs. Why o' why did we make super-model a career? Why? Can you not feel anymore down on yourself? All these magazines have ads featuring super-models wearing their clothing or other products (Like perfume or hair dye and so on) and are almost screaming "Be like me to be cool!" in the faces. What surprises me? People fall for that crap. Go to any high school, find that "popular" group of kids, compare them to a Gap ad or Nike ad...they look almost THE SAME. What...the hell? Times have changed. And besides, Super-models are by far the most bulimic (Sp?) girls I know, and they are shown all over the world and praised. Why [i]wouldn't[/i] girls want to be like that? I mean the models have everything they want! Everything! Except, maybe...I don't know...happiness? But hey, who am I to judge? Not going to change the world here... [B]Anime-[/B] Yeah, they DO look good don't they? Yeah you [I]bet[/I] they do. You know I was going to have alot to say...seriously...but I am laughing so hard I don't think I can go through with it. Maybe later. But honestly, think about. They can be misleading...LOL Lastly, I want to touch upon plastic surgery. Which, sorry if it already has been mentioned, I sort of skimmed over the other posts. Less wrinkles, flatter stomach, bigger breasts, smaller (Or bigger) rear...what is going on with society today? People are becoming more and more...FAKE!!! Seriously, I can't tell what's real or not anymore! LOL and believe me I've been there. My girl? Nothing "augmented" about her. I would leave her if she even [i]considered[/i] anything of the sort. She knows where I stand on it, and I tell her that she is perfect the way she is, no reason to change it. Thank god she feels the same way! Back on track, yes, I really don't understand what is so "Beautiful!" about bigger breasts or anything for that matter. I probably never will. But honestly, can a female please inform me of why bigger attributes is so important to you? Please? I am lost, and rightly so. Now I am not a religous fanatic, but I believe you should stay the way you were born. If you had black hair...live with it. Don't dye it. If you had blue eyes...but wanted green don't get colored contacts JUST to change colors. I mean if you have bad vision, well more power to you! But do you see my point? The real only USE I see for plastic surgery is maybe a burn victim or some kind of patient that has undergone extreme physical trauma. But even then, this urge to feel..."normal"...is ridiculous. Nobody knows what normal is. Nobody defines what normal is. Nobody is NORMAL. EVER. Everyone is born unique, why be like someone else? It's kinda like that one bumper sticker: "You all laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at you because you're all the same!" Just the honest opinions of a your average joe.[/SIZE]

No seriously, think about it. [spoiler]Master Chief's name and #=John 117, 7 Halos, Covenant, Arks, Flood.[/spoiler] There is a theme. It all really fits together when you think about it. I am going to delve further into this, I'll let you know if I come across any other interesting facts. I pretty much sumed up everything in that other (Kinda large...:D) post of mine.

[SIZE=-3][CENTER][B]~Must-Read for those of you who are interested in the story!~[/B][/CENTER] This is for those of you who didn't quite understand the story. This is my basic summary of it. If you got the Limited Edition (It was like an extra $5...lol) lots o' story cleared up. Also, if you didn't catch "The secret that would change the Galaxy...forever", I'll tell you much about that. Anyways, obvious spoilers... [spoiler]Okay, for one, yeah the ending was a bit confusing. Yes, some of the dialogue in the game was hard to hear/understand. But after going over some of the boards at Bungie this is what the game was basically about. First off, you are wondering why the Covenent came to Earth with so little a force? I mean, (If you read the books...which are great by the way) they attacked Reach with over 300 ships, completely overwhelming it. Here, they only deploy 30 or 40 to assault Earth. Well, the reason the Covenent even CAME to Earth is not because they were looking to destory the rest of humanity. There is a deeper reason...They did not expect us the even be near Earth, and are rightly pissed that we are. The Covenant are not focused on destroying all life in the Galaxy. They simply wish to fulfill their religous "Journey" but the Humans have gotten in their way. How? Well every race the Covenant has come across as succumbed to the might of their military forces. But the Humans, no matter how many losses, no matter how many battles, no matter how many "glassed" planets...have continued to fight the Covenant and will not give in. This makes them angry that a race inferior (In their eyes) to them is so stubborn. Second, Halo [i]is[/i] an ancient artifact. All of them, infact if you finish the storyline you can confirm at least 7 of them. 343 Guilty Spark (The monitor of Installation 04) mentions quite hundreds of them scattered throughout the galaxy. Anyways, what happens in the last mission is that Installation 05 (The new ring in Halo II) IS activated and IS ready to fire but at the last minute, Miranda pulls the index out at the very last second. This throws Installation 05 into chaos. It fires something, not the almighty shockwave that would have taken out life but a beacon. A beacon to call for help from other Halos. All the Halos are now active and ready to fire, no index required. 343 Guilty Spark tells the Arbiter, Miranda, and Johnson that all the Halos can be [i]remotely fired[/i] from a single location, a location that is safe from the Halos destructive power. This is where we learn of the Ark and it's location. The Ark, as it is called, is a Forerunner (The race that built all the Halos and whose technology the Covenant base their technology on) facilty where the Forerunners planned to fire the Halos from to starve the Flood successfully. Well, you learn (From books and various stories in the LE) that the Forerunners never achieved this dream. They detonated one as a last resort against the Flood, taking them in the process. Forerunners were decimated by their own weapon. 343 Guilty Spark mentions this himself, he says "After exhausting every strategic option, the Forerunners actived the installations." The Flood was consuming them and they had no choice. The very one that killed them is now the ring you find in the second game. 2401 Pentinent Tangent (The monitor of Installation 05) mentions that this Halo has a service record. He says, "This station has an activation service record one trillion times simulated and one actual". So Installation 05 WAS fired before, where as all the other Halos were not. Now the Ark, the only thing left unanswered, lies somewhere...waiting. You want to know where it is? Do ya? The Ark, the Ark of the Forerunners...their mightest achievement...is located on Earth. Yep, you read that right. EARTH. Very few Forerunners actually made it back to this facility, and lived their lives out on Earth. Meaning, the Humans, are in a sense, decendents of the Forerunners. This can also be proven when the Monitor(S) refer to Master Chief as a reclaimer. Now it was speculated that his armor resembled the Forerunners, but the monitor also called Captain Keyes a reclaimer. So in turn, the humans actually do resemble the Forerunners. Also, the monitor talks to Master Chief like he was an old friend on Two Betrayals back on Installation 04 (The first ring). He said, "You always asked me what I would do if I could do things differently. Well I've come up with several theories and..." he is cut off there. Furthering that idea. The Covenent look at Earth as a Holy place, and are enraged to find us humans [i]living[/i] there. If you think about it, this Ark could be what the Covenent was looking for, making it the...Ark of the Covenant? Interesting... Now onto this Ark, which you now know is located on Earth (Actually, some people think that the Forerunner ship Master Chief is on at the end of the game is the Ark). Well, if you look at it from a religous perspective, it can actually go pretty deep (It also blows away any of my other theories but be open-minded). This shall go on for awhile: Thinking about the Ark, I'm debating with myself about what the Ark is. Planet Earth makes sense as it is a home and safe haven away from the flood (or after the flood, in the biblical sense) that was taken up by Noah's descendants i.e. Human beings as we are. The religious parallel Bungie has drawn here is quite intriguing. Nothing really mind blowing, but definitely thought provoking. If the ship that Truth and the Chief were on is the Ark, that makes even more sense: the vessel which brought the descendants of Noah (and in this case the Forerunner) to their salvation. Let's consider some religious anecdotes for a second (and by no means am I imposing any religious beliefs on anyone. This is for sake of parallels). The Forerunner, due to the way the Monitors react to the the Chief and any other humans, would appear to be human in appearance at least. Let's consider this: In the bible, Adam (the first man) while very human, had an incredibly long lifespan (he lived to be 900 years old). His son Cain also lived quite long and I believe his son founded the first civilization. It's also been believed that Adam could use the full 100% of his brain power/capacity. With an accelerated rate of intelligence, who is to how much they could have built in that time before our time? This seems far fetched, but... [B]The whole Noah herding the people and animals onto his Ark to save them from the Flood thing is pretty eminent.[/B] Noah is one of Adam's descendants. Human beings are all of Noah's descendants. It is quite possible, that the blood of the Forerunner dwindled over time, but the shape and nature of humans never changed. They find a land of salvation after the Flood. Who's to say that mankind, their reclaimers, weren't brought to a place with no technology, to start over? The covenant of course, were on the other side of the galaxy and had a much accelerated technology than the humans on earth. Of course they would find the rings and find devices to help enhance their own technology. In that, they would also interpret the Forerunner as gods, and humans as their bastard children, a heresy. Hence the attacks on various human structures while trying to locate the remaining Forerunner artifacts. As for the Forerunner taking their lives? Their descendants and genetics were passed on? What use was left for them? Take their own lives to attone for their sins and to be certain no one has to make this mistake again. Unfortunately, time has a funny way of working out. Also, consider the fact that Gravemind (The Flood King/Overmind) was hell-bent on boarding High Charity. He obviously has plans of his own, and can be seen interrogatating Cortana in the final cutscene. He tricked Master Chief and the Arbiter by telling them to search different places. That may sound harmless, but inturn he was able to manifest himself on the the Human Cruiser (Sorry, I never could catch the name of it) to take him off the ring. Now what do the Flood use this new found source of transportation for? They crash right into High Charity. The quickly infest all availible vehicles and assault the remaining Covenant alive in the City. What they were after? Who knows...my guess is that Gravemind knew Cortana was there and was after her. Lastly, if you didn't quite understand why the Covenant was falling apart...it's actually quite interesting. I found it adding a whole new level to the storyline. Anyways, after the destruction of Installation 04, the Elite in charge of the Covenant presence there was to be persecuted for his failure to protect the Holy Ring. Because of this, the Prophets lose their faith in the Elite's ability to protect the causes of the Covenant. Also, the Brutes see this as their chance to step up, and they do. Replacing the Elites as the main footsoliders in the army. Now this throws the army into dissention. The Covenant is pitted against one another. Those still loyal (And blinded) to the Prophets, and those who see the truth and are rebelling. The army is split like so: The rebels: You have the Elites, Hunters and Grunts. And on the Loyal Army: You have the Brutes, Jackals, Prophets and Drones. The Prophet of Truth is the main leader of the Covenant. He is the only Prophet left standing at the end of the game. He boards the same Forerunner ship that Master Chief is on. The other two Prophets, Regret and Mercy are killed. Regret is killed by Master Chief, and is later infested by Gravemind. Mercy is following Truth when a Flood Infection Form leeches onto him and kills him. Truth leaves him to die, stating that he was blind to the cause anyways.[/spoiler] I really, [i]really[/i] enjoyed the story. But as for what all of this will envelop to, we shall have to wait until Halo III. :D[/SIZE]

I really LOVE Halo II. No really, I think it is quite possibly one of the best games I have ever played. And I really wasn't a big fan of the first one either. Halo: Combat Evolved was a great game, but the story was sort of lacking and the multiplayer was a blast but was missing something. No not online play, Live wasn't out then. I can't explain it but multiplayer felt imcomplete. Anyways, Halo II is by far superior in every aspect. Better gameplay mechanics to start off. Hijacking people is the best and funnest new addition. It's a real sense of accomplishment when you get near that guy in a Wraith, break the hatch open, and lob a grenade in, then jump off and walk away. Easy frag. Or when that guy in the Ghost is running you down, and you do a little jumpkick to knock him right out of the driver seat, then running him down with his own Ghost. Lots of fun. Dual weilding is no gimmick either. It adds a whole new level of gameplay. At first glance, it may seem like just more firepower. Which, yes it is. But granted, if you look past that there is a strategic use to dual weilding. Considering how hard it now is to take down an opponent's shields, mixing of a plasma weapon with a human projectile weapon is a deadly combination. My personal favorite combo is a SMG in my left hand, with a plasma pistol in my right. Easy, easy, easy kills. :D One thing you might either like or not is the vehicluar combat. There is lots more of it, single player and multiplayer. Some missions are focused just on vehicles so get used to it fast or you'll have a hard time. The controls stayed the same for most of the vehicles. But what is really neat is the fact that all vehicles are now damageable and even destructable. You will see all vehicles taking damage and will see them fall apart (Literally) in front of your eyes. It's really neat. Now im sure you've seen all the reviews state that this is the best Live experence you'll ever see. They ain't lying! Online play is amazing! I can't stop playing it...but this is coming from someone who plays Unreal Tournament religously. So I love online matches. But Halo II's online play is unlimited in the amount of fun you'll have. By far, the maps are all made for more than 4 players. So if you don't have Live, you'll be missing out on some fun. You might even feel robbed, since 4 players on some of the maps can be more of a pain. Well, if you haven't heard already...there is no bot support of offline play. So you can't be playing offline with bots for your enjoyment purposes...sorry. Now the singleplayer campaign. Let me state this, I give Halo II a 10 out of 10 over all...but the campaign gets a 6 out of 10. Why? Well for one, it's way too short. Way...too...short. Not only that, but the ending...that damn ending... All I can say is that...biggest...disappointment...ever. :( The ending: You will either love it, or hate it. Nothing inbetween. Period. One thing is for sure, there WILL be a Halo III.

Oh sorry. To clarify that up: There [i]were[/i] witnesses to the beating, but only one or two actually spoke up about it. So they didn't really have alot to go off of...since the cops are being uptight about it, even to their superiors. Anyways, maybe I wouldn't really know how many corrupt cops there really are out there, I haven't had a single meeting with a cop. Ever. So yeah, maybe 1 out of 1000 is off, but it was just a general estimate anyways.

Okay, I just saw this story on the local news here and I was wondering what you would all think about this. Please note: It's not one about racial profiling or any crap like that. Anyways, to sum up the headline: Two officers responded to a Disturbance in Public call outside a local bar. There was a man, drunk, apparently yelling and screaming about how he lost everything in a bet (But apparently could still afford some drinks...:D...anyways) and had nothing else to lose and so on. Well the officers approached him and asked him to calm down, and he did. The man sat down on a bench while the one officer went to question local bystanders. Apparently, the drunken man muttered some words that offended the officer really, [i]really[/i], badly because next thing you know...according to everyone at the scene...the officer jabbed the man in the jaw, literally knocking him off the bench then tasing him with a taser for a very long period of time. The man begged for him to stop, so the officer began to shove his firearm in his mouth threating to blow his, quote-unquote: "F-ing head off!" if he didn't apologize. The man just began to sob apparently so the officer, apparently insulted by his cries of pain, broke out his club/nightstick and took the broad end and repeatedly shoved it into the man's stomach. The drunk, unable to resist, was still paralyzed by the taser before. By now, the other officer had run over and subdued his partner and told him to cool off. He then (The officer who was watching) went over to check on the man, who was now lying dead. Witnesses said that, the body of the man was so twisted, curled up in ball from the electricity, and lying in a pretty deep pool of blood. The officer could not say anything really and just called for an ambulance. Anyways, later that night the officer who beat the man was asked WHAT exactly the man had said to him that set him off. He actually said, "None of your business..." and was thus suspended from the force until further notice. The investagation has no where to go really, since there is no footage of the event and witnesses are few and far. The other officer is also being questioned, dunno how that turned out yet. Now my point is this...how the hell can they let this happen? I mean what would drive someone to do such a thing? You would figure they would not let people like this "Protect the community" but whatever...now I know the odds of a power-abusing cop are around 1 out of 1000 or even 1 out of 10000, but there are corrupt cops out there, and they need to do more to try and crack down on this in my honest opinion. Anyone else heard about this? I think it made CNN. Care to comment?

Yeah, Supply Lines was a real arse-kicker! Took me at least 4 or 5 attempts to beat the mission...but I completed it and let me say perfection is needed. Also, I found that the $5000 reward is ironic. :D Here is what I did, in case it might help: -First, don't target the van directly in front of you, make a hard left and kill the guy on the sanchez before he leaves the stoplight. -Then fly over the building directly to your right and intercept the van you orginally saw. Hit the van a couple times and the driver will step out, shoot him. Try to do it on only one fly-by. What I mean is try not to miss, if you have to turn around again to shoot him you aren't going to beat the mission. Every bit of fuel counts. -Now this next part involves some serious timing on your part, the next van is heading down hill. You HAVE to intercept it before it makes a turn (Sometimes right, mostly left). Keep shooting this van as this driver will not get out. The whole point of him not turning is so you can constantly lay down gunfire on him. ~By this point, you should have 3 down with barely any fuel gone. Literally, it should be around {[=====]_}. Any more and you aren't going to finish~ -Now you have to quickly fly over to the other two. Try to fly over building instead of following the streets (What I did the first couple times...) -I went after the closest guy, who should be cruising around downtown. It's like 1 or 2 guys on a sanchez heading west. They move quite fast but still stop at stoplights. Try not to fly straight towards them but instead fly to a point ahead of them then turn and attack them head on. They will usually get off and shoot you making this an easy kill(s). NOTE:Not sure how many there is...but I think 2. -Finally, you have to get the last van cruising around the docks. At this point, it will either be heading south on the road (What you want...) or north on the road (What you don't want...) If he is heading north just give up/restart/whatever because you aren't going to be able to catch him and [i]still[/i] have enough fuel left. If he does head south do the same thing with the last sanchez, fly to a point ahead of him and shoot him. Another problem though, sometimes he will get out (Again, what you want...) or he will stay in the van (A little problematic...) but at this point depending on how good a shot you are, either situation could still be easy for you. It's obviously easy if he gets out he can only take a couple of bullets before going down. -As SOON as you see him go down flip around and make a beeline right for Zero's roof. You need as much fuel as possible at this point. ~I had just gotten the half a tank warning right after encountering the last van. I said ENCOUNTER not killed. If you get it after you kill him you will be more than fine on the way back. Nail the landing and you are done. If you get it just before killing him (Like me...) you will be cutting it close but will still make it if you don't mess up~ -Once you reach Zero's roof land the thing on his roof and this ridiculously hard mission is finally over. I made with with almost NOTHING left. About {[]____________} was what I saw. Pat yourself on the back after beating this, you deserve it. Thank god his next (And last mission...) is a cake-walk after this. It's actually quite fun. Plus I got my all time favorite CJ quote from it: "Damn! Y'all take this **** seriously!"

Yep, definitely tags for this one. I won't try to reveal any story though. [spoiler]As far as I know, you are stuck in San Fierro until you get a mission icon in Tierra Robada (That little plateau east San Fierro and the desert of Las Venturas. It's marked on your map that came with the game). Once there, you are still taking missions in San Fierro BUT you can drive all the way to Las Venturas, and explore it to your heart's content. Take note though, that now that the map has fully opened up plane crashes will now occur. Sometimes when you hear a plane over head it won't be flying by, it will be heading towards the ground in a fireball of fury. Just a warning, these CAN and WILL kill you at random if you aren't careful. They can also ruin some missions unexpectedly. Anyways...don't worry about Las Venturas being the end of the game. It's not. After Las Venturas and yet another city not IN San Andreas (Yes, you fly off to another city briefly. You will find out where...it will exceed all expectations.), let's just say now that you are a bit more settled...and it is now time to go reclaim what you once lost.[/spoiler] Hope I didn't give too much away. :D

Well, no real need for spoiler tags but the answer for that problem James: Unlike the Los Santos Airport, where the Dodo and Shamal are unlocked, the planes at the San Fierro Airport are locked until you get your Pilot's License [I]legally[/I] later on in the game in flight school. And what I mean by that was this... TAKE NOTE: If you aquire your license via flying around before Flight School (Hoping the gate in Los Santos and flying the Dodo or Shamal until your flying skill is high enough and rewards you a pilot's license) the game WILL NOT recognize it as an actual license and the planes at San Fierro will stay locked (And probably Las Venturas too, but I don't know since I had mine by then) and you will not earn one from Flight School as you have one already and will be unable to advance the storyline. I have seen this happen to at least 6 people already who had to restart their game over because they were unable to attain another license. So...don't try and beat the system! Flight School isn't that hard anyways...the last test will blow your mind away. In a good way. Besides that, there are much more aircraft to discover beyond what you saw at San Fierro's airport. :D *cough*cough*...Hydra...*cough*

Well I just finished the main storyline, and I must say it was one hell of a ride. :D Not to give away any spoilers right away, but you definitely feel satisfied in the end. Everything wronged was made right again. Only problem was that the last mission was a breeze. As long as you have health and your favorite weapon (Me, M4 Carbine) skill maxed out you will be a-okay. Now I could rave on and on about everything I experenced, since I have almost seen it all (I am at 89%). But I knew this game reached new heights when I reached Verdant Meadows (The abandoned airstrip). This really wowed me: [spoiler]The Hydra. Plain n' simple. If you don't know what that is, when you find out you will fall deeply...deeply in love with it. It's a Harrier Jet Fighter, im sure you have seen them around they intercept you in the air if your wanted level is 5 or higher. They come complete with the VTOL ability, which really makes this plane shine brighter than the Rustler (WWII Plane) and the Stuntplane. You can lock on to other vehicles: air, land, sea...it doesn't matter. And landing it is easier than any other plane due to the VTOL ability. Just hover slowly and set her down nicely. Through the storyline mission "Vertical Bird" you get to keep the Hydra at your Airstrip for good. It will always spawn there for your destructive needs. Oh yeah, since I mentioned it I might as well go into it. As part of the storyline, you are required to buy Verdant Meadows for $80000. Which is nothing to you once you are this far in the storyline. You complete flight school to advance the storyline. What really took me by surprise is the fact that you can go...wait for it...Sky-Diving. Yes, you can freefall from the games insanely high "roof" all the way to the ground. Of course you have a parachute and there are all new controls of safely landing CJ on the ground. If you bail out of a plane you are automatically given one so now a burning plane no longer means instant death. Another great thing about the airstrip...the airplane garage. Yep, their is a hanger where you can store up to four aircraft of your choice. Well any vehicle really, but it IS meant for airplanes. Also, another goodie was the JetPack. That, was reinvented the way I traveled. Forget bikes, forget the Hydra and Hunter...this was the only way to fly. And you could shoot a one-handed weapon also. Another suprise? The AT-400. Say it with me, A.T.400. What is it? Why nothing short of a fully fledged airliner. Not the smaller private jets, which are called the Shamal(s). This one is HUGE! The largest vehicle in the game in fact. By no means can you enter it by conventional means, you have to use a ramp to get into it and if you get out, you can't get back in. But it is definitely a BLAST to fly. Also a challenge. You can find it ONLY in the huge hangar in the lower east corner of the Las Venturas Airport.[/spoiler] [CENTER][B]~MAJOR SPOILER ALERT~[/B][/CENTER] [CENTER]-=Don't read this next spoiler if you don't want to know about the end of the storyline, I will discuss it in manner that assumes if you are reading it, you have compeleted most of the story=-[/CENTER] [spoiler]Alas, I want to talk about the last mission. It really was quite the ending, I must admit. Mainly, because all hell is breaking loose in Los Santos. Tenpenny is put on trial but has all charges later dropped and the entire "hood" riots. Gunfire rings out and people go on total killing sprees. From there until you beat the last mission, you cannot leave Los Santos as the city is under blockcade by the SWAT tanks. Inside the city, everyone is fighting. The buildings are burning, and people are being killed everywhere. You can see random people now fight each other and sometimes even come after you. Cars will now spawn half-destroyed and some will blowup for no reason at all. The police now fire at you on site. Wanted level or no, you are just another rioter. Sweet calls during all this and decides that it was time to take down Smoke. Thus, you begin the last mission "End of the Line". Frankly, I thought it was quite sad when CJ finally confronts Smoke. Smoke calls CJ his homie and CJ tells him him(Smoke) that he doesn't deserve to even consider CJ a homie anymore and to ******* off. Smoke finally agrees to end this and a gunfight ensues. Smoke wears a bulletproof vest and cannot be harmed using auto-aim since he is impervious to all chest-fire. You must shoot at his head or legs. After that fight, Tenpenny shows up and demands that Carl stuffs his suitcase with Smoke's money (From a nearby safe). Tenpenny then leaves the building but not before lighting it on fire causing it to nearly collapse. CJ now has to get out before it actually does. Only problem is that the Ballas and Vagos have reoccupied the building and are making it much harder for CJ to escape. Now while dodging their gunfire CJ has to put out the flames around him in total darkness. Once outside, Tenpenny takes off in a Firetruck and Sweet (Who had been waiting outside this entire time) manages to jump on the back ladder. Hanging on for dear life, Sweet yells to CJ to follow. You have to follow closely while Tenpenny makes his way across the hell that is now Los Santos. The rioters are really going at it now, throwing molotov's everywhere lighting everything on fire. Sweet almost loses his grip when CJ catches him in his car. Now Sweet and CJ exchange places. CJ now has to constanly fend off rioters while Sweet drives after Tenpenny. It's total chaos in the neighboorhood, no one is safe. The police and rioters are now out to kill, gunfire is exchanged across the whole map. All the while, CJ and Sweet try to hunt down the cause of all this, Tenpenny. After a really, really lengthy chase. Tenpenny finally crashes and dies. CJ is about to put a bullet in Tenpenny's head when Sweet convinces him otherwise and they head home. The riots are later subdued that night, and CJ returns to life as normal.[/spoiler] Whoo, what a trip. :D

Well I personally can't say that I can judge a japanese actor (Voice-over...whatever) because I don't know the language. Not a single word, so I perfer the english dubs over the subs. I don't mind reading subtitles, but the Japanese language can be..."distracting" at times. Not to offend the culture, since I admit that I don't understand Japanese but only knowing English and no other language, foreign sounds are rather annoying to me. Again, I am not trying to sound ignorant, it's just personal peference. But that's not to say that the english dubs are excellent. By all means...they are far from that. The problem that I see, is that some english voice-over are, in layman's terms; [i]horrible[/i]. I can look at a character, and sort of imagine what he/she will sound like...just to have that image shattered by a piercing noise that sends chills down my spine. Face it, some people just don't fit the part. They can try, but they almost ruin it entirely. I almost want to mute the TV sometimes! But some can pull it off rather convincingly. Now rather off-topic, but I actually do perfer OST's in their orginal form (In Japanese), because if you haven't noticed a recent trend of some OST's being re-released in English...they don't really sound as good. Not talking about bad singer's, I am talking about the mood or feeling the song gives off. I recently heard an English version of one of my favorite songs, ever. [b]Hemisphere[/b] sung by Maaya Sakamoto from RahXephon. Now the english version didn't quite sound as catchy or as exciting as the orginal did. Who sung the new version, I don't know/care. Basically to sum my thought's up, [I]If it ain't broke, don't fix it.[/I] :D

[quote name='iggypopD]I guess you can describe [spoiler]Eric Sparrow[/spoiler'] from "Tony Hawk's Underground" to be a boss battle, but it isn't challenging (for me at least) until you're on Sick mode. Then, it's harder than a mo'fo. He goes super-fast and you can hardly keep up with him. :flaming:[/quote] Heh, personally I like the second ending...where you don't even have to race him you just [spoiler]knock his lights out and take the tape back.[/spoiler] But technically, Tony Hawk and Boss Fights are two concepts that don't really fit together. :D I would have to say that another memorable boss fight, was probably from the orginal Freespace. It might not be considered an actual "boss fight", but you did have to take the Lucifer down in under 7-8 minutes while your wingmen were shredded to pieces by the enemy fighters. It was all up to you. It was so cool because it was the only mission where you actually fought inside of subspace, so all around you is this swirling blue vortex. No music either, just the sound of gunfire which infact actually tenses up the whole "Nothing left to lose..." mood even more!

I made this for a friend of mine and I was wondering what you guys would recommend since I don't feel it is finished/optimzed yet. Please note, that it is for a Unreal Tournament 2004 clan, and our tag+screennames are mentioned in his banner, in-case you were wondering...:D Anyways, it's supposed to be like a comic-book with it's flipping pages and bubbled text. If you are still confused...it supposed to tell a story about our fight against cheaters in L3eT speak...bear with me. [CENTER][IMG]http://img100.exs.cx/img100/64/InvalidSiggy.gif[/IMG][/CENTER] Does it flip too fast? Can you read the text in time? I am trying to make it so that it is fast enough to get to the point but slow enough so that you can read it. I was trying to compress the file as small as I could by using as little frames as possible...I think the size is okay but what do you think? One thing I will improve for sure is the first page...you can't read the name. It says [COLOR=Green]kush![/COLOR][COLOR=Red]Invalid[/COLOR].

[quote name='James][color=#707875']but wen u typ leik diz itzvrry h@rd 4 ppl 2 ndrstand u~!!!!!!:):):):)[/color][/quote] Ban him. :D Seriously though, I feel that the rules here at OB are perfectly acceptable. I am actually able to have some serious, in-depth discussions with posters whose posts actually...wait for it...MAKE SENSE. Oh gary, lock the room down! This place is much better than say, well not to make any accusations...the [adult swim] boards. That place runs the forum from HELL. Half the people can't even spell right, another half can't even stay on topic because most of them BS what they are saying anyways. Apparently, once you lose the title of "SwimShady" (What you are when you first join...) you are considered an Anime Guru and can say whatever you want and people will go along with you. It's hard to talk about...anything really...before someone sticks their head and and posts: "OmFG I LUV INUYAShA TaHt SHOW IS TEh ROXXORS!!!!!!!!!11!1" ...in a thread about, lets say Dogs or something. It really is out of control over there, tis why I stopped posting there. Got tired of people saying "oh TAHTs NoT trU...U arE JUsT @ SwIMMSHADy you DoNTT knOW whaT you ARe TaLKinggg abouT!". Enough is enough...lol. I for one am glad that threads here can actually STAY on topic. It's amazing. Now I for one think that the closing of threads is a pretty harshly-enforced rule, but it IS necessary. I can understand having one topic per game or show. The search feature is a widely under-used feature in my honest opinion. I think I may have linked to this awhile back but it is a video from another forum that pretty much lays down the basics. It's also pretty funny I recommend that you take a look. It's rated PG don't sweat it...lol. [url=http://users.adelphia.net/~kamel/Posting.html]Posting and You[/url]~Link

Ah, the ending. I've been waiting...how long for this? Anyways, this is what I thought of it: [spoiler]For one, it was really in a sense...beautiful. Well the whole series is really great, i've said that so many times already but I mean this ending sort of reminded me of the way NGE ended. Now granted, I did not understand the last part. I admit it that I didn't get it, and im not going to even try and come up with some crazy idea of what happened...lol. Considering I've watched the series since the very beginning, that's quite amazing. Now I remember being surprised when they first killed ofToboe, but as soon as everyone else started perishing...I became confused. Very confused... Then last night's episode, everyone died. Everyone basically. The world practically ended, then restarted. BUT: As to why you don't get to see Cher, Hub, or even "Pops" in the last part, the artist could have just left them out...or maybe there actually is a reason? o_O all these conspiracy theories entering my mind!!! =) Anyways, I thought that Darcia was really, [i]really[/i], a menancing antigonist. There was just really something...for lack of a better word...(Insert F word here)'ed up about him. Something really twisted and evil that really made me like him as a villain. Heh, It was just really great though watching him and Kiba go at it, explaining the whole synopsis of everything at the same time. I was satisfied with the ending. I knew from the beginning (Not from spoilers or anything, just general assumption) that the ending was going to be not only a real twist, but more so on a psychological level as well.[/spoiler] Maybe im just looking into it too deeply. It probably has no deeper meaning...what the hell was I thinking? :D Just my thoughts on it.

Easy. Go download the phpBB Basic Forum for a starter. It's a great, easy to run forum that requires almost NO work at all. Well, there is alot of work involved, but not one on a grand scale. Best of all, it's free. [url=http://www.phpbb.com]phpBB Communties[/url][B]-Link[/B] Anyways, once you get get it downloaded, you can basically configure it offline how you want, then actually host the program almost like a webpage with it's own domain name. You can also download several skins (If you are willing to put forth the effort, you can make your own...) and language packs. You can be the Admin of your own forums and even appoint others as moderaters if you wish, or you can do it all yourself. You can even upload your own pack of emoticon if you wish, make announcements and stickys. The only real thing you have to download are more tags. It comes with the basic [url] tags and [img] tags but for things like [code] or even [spoiler] those are add-ons. Other features are self created titles, and even word filters. But let me tell you right now, nobody wants a power-hungry freak in charge. If you want to manage your own forum just to be in control, it's going to fail. Miserably. So hopefully, you have other intentions. Other than that, it's wise to spread the power around. Get trustworthy friends to be moderaters and even make another friend admin so if you aren't there, he can handle the problems. If you want a great example to go off of, check my site out. It's in my profile if you want the link, I run a UT2004 clan and am an Admin of our forums there. You can see how the phpBB forums look, work, and run. Go to our homepage then click on forums at the top. No offense to anyone, but if you really don't have anything UT related, don't bother registering as that's all we are about basically. Like I was saying though, I spread the power around and we have at least 4 Admins/Moderaters of our forums. Not to brag, but it's been very successful. [B]~I have to warn you though, I do allow those 4-letter words on my forums and they are said quite frequently so if those kinds of things offend you, you were warned~[/B]

Hmm, think I already mentioned my experience in another thread but if you haven't heard it already... I'll admit it. I've dressed up once, and [I]ONLY[/I] once. It was three years ago, me and my girlfriend wanted to go to this anime convention that came to town (The name escapes me at the moment...) and she had this, bright idea that we should dress up! Right... Anyways, I couldn't say NO to her so I went along with it. She wanted to go as some kind of couple so needless to say, we dressed up as.....[I]Gene and Melfina from Outlaw Star[/I]. She was really into the show back then. I ain't even going into details with the costumes... But if there was ever a time when I questioned my sanity...lol. Anyways, that night we both dressed up in our respective parts (I am the MALE if you haven't figured it out already), and we left for the convention. Needless to say, we had a great time though. We weren't the worst looking people there but hey, what can I say? I knew it meant alot to her that I went along with it, so there I was. I'd like to think the reason we are still together is because of it! :D Anyways, if I ever find the pictures we took that night, I'll ask her if we can post them. Don't laugh [I]too[/I] hard though...

No, It's pretty ordinary in my opinion to have remixes of the songs on the soundtracks. Those don't bother me. Im talking about while during the shows, little things annoy me like having a fight scene where the music picks up...but it's just the main theme sped up or something. That's kinda weak to say the least. I have heard the 3 versions of the Gundam theme I mentioned all in one episode once. I almost laughed my arse off when I heard it over and over again. Good thing though, I only know of one or two shows that have done this. ;)

Though I have to add, if there is one thing I absolutely hate about music...it's when they have 3 or 4 versions of the same song in the show. Like they are fooling anyone... :p Example: [b]Gundam Seed[/b] The opening theme (You really don't get to hear all of it on CN...) Invoke. There are four, yes [I]four[/I] of the same song. They aren't bad, but it gets annoying. Like they lost their creativity along the way lol. There might be more, but so far the soundtracks I have list these songs: [U]Invoke - by - T.M.Revolution[/U]: That might be the CD's name or the band's...I can't read Japanese...lol [U]Invoke (Phase Shift)[/U]: A techno remix of the song. Twice as long, half the lyrics. [U]Invoke (Karaoke)[/U]: Nothing karaoke about it. That's for sure. Just a different singer, female now. [U]Invoke (TV Version)[/U]: Well this shouldn't really be on here, just the shortened version of the song edited for TV. Time that is...not explict lyrics. :D

Yeah, forgetting to add the [img] code is pretty easy mistake to do, I forget it myself sometimes. It's easy to fix though. If that's not the problem, it could be that your banner is too large. Did you get a message saying that it was too large? Try previewing your sig while messing around with the size of it. Just some thoughts. If I remember correctly, the maximum spec's are 500 x 100. That should help you out.

[QUOTE=ScirosDarkblade]Since to me this is a battle of "alien vs predator" (i.e. whoever wins, I lose, lol), I'll moderate it. Hah. I promise I'm not biased, seriously. Do I get to pose questions? Or topics?[/QUOTE] Heh, actually it's more of a... [IMG]http://img78.exs.cx/img78/2830/KVBfinal.jpg[/IMG] No, it's not my opinion. I just thought it was funny (And really fit ScirosDarkblade's comment :D) and should lighten the mood up. We are all civil and mature here, no need to take other's opinions as personal attacks.

Heh, I haven't trick or treated in at least two years now. I might take it up again. Funny thing though...I wouldn't say dressing up as an anime character would get you hurt...but it definitely will turn heads. More power to you if you do, you got courage. I've only done it once...and only [I]once[/I] and that was to attend this anime convention 3 years ago with my girl. We both dressed up as (Wait for it...wait for it...almost...) [I]Gene and Melfina from Outlaw Star[/I]. :laugh: What could I say? She made me promise I would do it and I couldn't say no. It was her favorite show at the time. Ah well, it was fun though. We dressed up respectively and we had a great time at the convention. Least we weren't the worst looking people there...I won't mention names. But I must admit, she did get her hair to almost fit the part exactly. In case you were wondering, we are still together. A girl like that is a keeper. :D

Well, I back when I was living with my parents I used to password my stuff all the time. But you know what? Before I did, I even told them. I told them what I was passwording (Not in detail, but nothing dirty mind you...stuff like my artwork, documents and music files) and why I felt it was...in layman's terms...none of their business. They were actually kinda surprised by me telling them first, that they said they didn't mind/care. Now whether or not that would work with your parents, I wouldn't know. My parents were the cool, open-minded type. I mean come on, my dad watches anime and plays Unreal Tournament with me. I love my parents. :D Anyways, final note being as long as you aren't hiding anything you shouldn't be...you should be allowed to do it.

Hmm...interesting. I am a really big fan of the book The Count of Monte Cristo, and the movie was so-so... But it really sounds intriguing. I have to check this out. Im not really to familar with GONZO's work, so this is new to me. Who knows? Maybe I'll find a new favorite. :D