Magus

Wow, big cliffhanger. Isshin's got some explaining to do. Ichigo go find your father now. I'm also curious about how Ichigo's shinigami powers are going to be regained from that form. Are we going to see the shinigami-look again or not? That getup looks nice and all. Wonder if it'll be black and white when it gets animated? Seem like it's been forever since we've seen a plot twist in Bleach.

Now that E3 is officially over I gotta say I wasn't really impressed with the event. There were way too many early announcements/leaks with gameplay footage and in the end it made E3 a bit boring for me. Games like [b]Asura's Wrath[/b] and [b]Uncharted 3[/b] should've blew me away, but because I've seen a ton of videos of Uncharted and the same trailer for Asura's Wrath earlier this year it took away that exciting feel. I was kinda hoping to see Metal Gear Rising but I'm glad Konami didn't show it, especially if they had nothing new to show for it. Don't get me wrong, though, there was a nice amount of games I just wish the developers would keep a lid on somethings otherwise this may cause an end to E3.

You're not the only one thinking that, Gavin. As a matter of fact there are quite a few folks that're calling Bleach a poor version of Yu Yu Hakusho, and while I tend to ignore stuff like that even I have to admit that the similarities are there. New chapter is out and I gotta to say this chapter for some reason had a negative impact on me. A part of me just wanted to roll my eyes at Ginjo when he said that he was holding back. This only makes me want to see how a fullbringer deal with a shinigami of captain class even more now (And I'm not talking about Toshiro or Komamura either).

So I tried watching the first episode of [b]Tiger and Bunny[/b] and unfortunately this one's not for me. I just couldn't get into it. I want to say it was because of the Tiger guy himself but at the same time the premise of it being a reality type thing don't sit well with me either. I may try it out again later on down the line, but right now I'm passing on it.

Awww, I'd like to see more of Raikage vs Minato. I bet that fight would be pretty epic. Anyway, despite how similar Bee and Naruto were back in Bee's kiddy days I actually don't have a problem with him as a child, yet I hate Naruto. Other than that I don't have much to say about the chapter other than it was pretty good for a flashback chapter.

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1307475992' post='707883'] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]And Microsoft's conference...let's just say that I don't think the Microsoft fanboys have the right to call Nintendo a bunch of baby easy kiddie games any more, after what all the Kinect was showing. It's a shame, too - they're finally utilizing the potential of that thing, but they're wasting it on dancing and flailing. [/font][/color] [/quote] I know right? I've never cared about innovation (in terms of how I play my games) but the games they were showing was, well, a waste of my time. They're focusing way too much time with Kinect (from what I saw of that Microsoft Spotlight thing today)

Surprised no one made a thread. Truth be told I wasn't going to make one since I thought I wouldn't be able to catch it (started working 11-hour shifts and don't get off till 5:30am) Anyway, I decided to skip the console conferences since last years were so boring and no one showed anything that piqued my interest, so someone will probably have to update me on that. However I did manage to catch a bit of Nintendo's and like always I'm not fond of it, although I will admit that some of their games on the Wii U (really?) looked mighty impressive in terms of graphic quality. Anywho, this is what I'm excited about so far: [b]Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition[/b] - I was trying to hold on from buying my copy of SS4 for the PS3 but couldn't make it [b]Uncharted: Golden Abyss[/b] - I'm not much of a fan when it comes to portables but I'm fairly curious about this one. [b]Assassin's Creed: Revelation[/b] - I'm not even done with AC2 but this game looks awesome. I mean it still looks like it's doing the same thing I've seen in AC2 (from what I've played of AC2) but I don't mind that one bit, which is kind of ironic since I was just talking to a friend of mine about how I wanted something new to JRPGs when it comes to gameplay instead of pushing 1 button all the time. [b]Mass Effect 3[/b] - Epic [b]Halo 4[/b] - I'm not real big on FPSs but I'm a fan of Halo. [b]Gears of War 3[/b] - Again not big on shooters but I'm a fan of this. (both Gears and Halo got a nice single player campaign for me) [b]Uncharted: Drake's Deception[/b] - Epic to the fullest Street Fighter x Tekken I'm iffy about [b]Ninja Gaiden 3[/b] and [b]Batman: Arkham City[/b]. I didn't really enjoy Arkham Asylum that much and it's made me real skeptical about AC.

[quote name='James' timestamp='1307206454' post='707846'] [font=palatino linotype]I'm not really sure what you mean by "practically different". The game is definitely turn-based, but I would just say that it's a lot more streamlined than previous Final Fantasy games. It feels like a Final Fantasy that is designed for almost anyone to enjoy, even if they are not regular RPG players. In some respects it's a step forward - and I like the battle system - but the story is a convoluted and uninspired mess and Vanille is incredibly annoying. For me personally, it was mostly enjoyable for the battles and the beautiful graphics. It didn't feel nearly as interesting as XII, but I am aware that a lot of hardcore Final Fantasy players didn't like XII. So, who knows. It's worth playing though, at any rate. :)[/font] [/quote] Hmm.. Lemme see. I guess I'm looking for a new way to play JRPGs. The only way I can really explain it is how I felt after playing Mass Effect. I can't say I've played RPGs for a long time (Final Fantasy 8 was my first and that was back in 2005), but considering the games that I've actually experienced playing from then to now I'd say those games followed the same basic formula in terms of combat. Now during that time I've always turned a blind eye towards WRPGs so when I finally decided to try out ME1 earlier this year I felt that it threw something new at me entirely. There we go, a different way to play these games in terms of combat (I'm terrible lol. Took a paragraph to come with that 1 statement). I remember a thread I made a while back (I think it was Star Ocean: Last Hope) a member (don't remember who) was expressing their tiredness (I think?) of seeing JRPGs having the main character fight with a sword or something of that nature and other members (myself included) disagreed. I can understand where that member is coming from now. I guess after seeing the same formula used over and over again it wore me out. Now I don't care about weapons and whatnot, but I suppose I'm looking for more variety in terms of gameplay when it comes to JRPGs. Do something different with turn-based combat. Going by your words they seem to be stepping in that direction hence why I'm still a bit curious about FFXIII.

[quote name='James' timestamp='1307200477' post='707841'] [font=palatino linotype] Magus, one game I just started playing tonight is Halo 3: ODST. I picked it up really cheap at EB Games the other day (along with NFS: Hot Pursuit and Portal 2). I only played for about an hour tonight, but so far I'm really enjoying it. ODST has a very different feel to the "main" Halo series. But it's a pretty interesting diversion, at least so far.[/font] [/quote] I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about it. Most of the negative reviews I remember seemed to have come from some of the hardcore fans while I think folks like IGN and Xplay gave it high praise. "shrugs" Either way I hope I'll enjoy it like I've enjoyed the previous titles. But right now I'm going to let my brother be my test subject and have him test it out for me since I let him borrow my Xbox. Oh, as far as FFXIII goes, it's the only game I hear that does something practically different even though it's turn-based (or is it?)

[quote name='James' timestamp='1306886786' post='707733'] [font=palatino linotype]Is Tales of the Abyss any good? [/font] [/quote] I gotta chime in on this. Hopefully you're nowhere like me who has a low tolerance for annoying characters. If you do then you may want to skip this one and go to Tales of Vesperia. Then again I'd still rank the game pretty high despite my irritation with the main character. My thing with the Tales games (JRPGs in general at the moment) is that they wore me out. I'm looking for something that feels new (I really should try out FFXIII). I'm tired of the same turn-based combat or button mashing (ala Tales) mechanics. Anyway, I don't want to turn you away from the game if you're interested, it's just that if you're anywhere near like me I figured I should warn you ahead of time (before I went on rambling) I'm still going back and forth between games. Halo 3: ODST, Reach, Tales of Vesperia (I know, I was just talking about this), Gears of War triple pack, and Super Street Fighter 4 (PS3) just arrived yesterday.

After there performance against the espada I'd rather not seen them either but I'd rather see them over these new folks. Anyway I agree with Gavin, but at the same time I have to admit that I did chuckle at Orihime's reactions for the donuts.

Pretty good chapter I suppose. If you know me by now you know I'm backing the Raikage 100%. No matter how irrational it is, anything involving the death of Naruto will have my gratitude :D. Now that that's outta the way I will admit that the Raikage did cross the line talking about Minato like that. Anyway, I'm ready for more of the war. Edit: [quote]Even if Madara did manage to capture Bee he would still be left with only 8/9th of what he needs. [/quote] Don't forget that Madara already has "some" of the ninetails chakra. But for the most part I agree with you.

Gotta say I expected the Kenny vs Kenny fight to be longer than it was, but at the same time for someone that don't really use defense I can understand why the fight wouldn't go as long (swordsmen should never have a long drawn out duel in the first place). In the end I still thought it was a nice fight though (because I definately didn't care for his fight against Nnoitra). Some corniness, but still nice. The fight between Ukitake and Shunsui vs Yama is turning out to be a little disappointing though. I suppose I can't expect much given that we've still seen very little of what any of those 3 are really capable of. The only one I'd expect to see a lot from is Shunsui. The same can be said about Unohana. As a matter of fact I don't have any high expectations for that fight because we've seen nothing from her. I don't know if Kubo have a hand in this filler or not but, he really messed up by not having her fight. And then next week we have Byakuya vs Hitsugaya. I'm kinda excited but given how Hitsugaya win his fights through fan power really has me iffy on how this fight is going to turn out.

Not much to say about the latest episode. Kon did irritate me though. I think this is the first time where I was disappointed in the animation for this filler. It wasn't bad but the fights left something to be desired. I would've liked to have seen Ichigo fight off every one of those reigai's (sp?) instead of a Chad + Renji teammup, but "shrugs".

I did try to play [b]Infamous[/b] yesterday. Can't say I liked it either. I probably should give it a fairer chance but at the same time I just don't like the combat in it. I guess it's more of an acquired taste. Anyway, I went back to [b]Devil May Cry 4[/b] (I really enjoy this game). Right now I'm just doing a lot of orb collecting/gathering so I can upgrade Nero's abilities before proceeding onto chapter 4.

I swear ever since this mysterious shinigami popped up I don't care about what else is going on. I'm not convinced that this Tsukishima guy is that great to be the big threat (If you ask me, Aizen would make short work of him), and I can't say I'm impressed with Ginjo or the rest of these fullbringers either. People are giving a lot of credit to Orihime for standing up to him and forcing him away and to be honest that don't impress me. Not trying to take anything away from Orihime but I don't consider Ginjo to be strong. I mean all we have to go on is what we've see and when I compare Ginjo and his group to the espada (and the vizards) I don't see them doing much, at least not against #6 to #1. I'd like to see how they would fair against a shinigami of captain class before I consider them to be strong. Decent chapter, but like I said, now that Isshin, Urahara and this mysterious shinigami popped up I lost interest in everything else because there's no doubt in my mind that the plot is revolved around them 3 right now and I want answers.

[size=1]The only reason I even turn to adult swim is to keep up with FMA: Brotherhood. Other than that I don't watch CN/AS. I've tried watching Kekkaishi but that, while I won't say is bad, it's not for me. I think we already know how I feel about that channel as a whole though lol.[/size] [url="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-28/durarara-to-run-on-u.s-adult-swim-network-in-june"]Durarara to air on adult swim.[/url] It seems like it's been forever since anything was announced to air on [AS]. Gotta say I was not expecting that one though considering everything they've been showing shonen material as of late. Anyway, I'm unfamiliar with Durarara but I hear lots of good things about it. I tried watching Baccano but couldn't really get into it but if time allows it I'll try this one out.

[quote name='Midget Ninja' timestamp='1306481200' post='707611'] also does anyone know what could cause a lower eye-lid to start pulsating/twitching? because this has been happening to me all day [/quote] I hear it's usually because someone's gonna piss you off or something like that. Next week I'm back to work at 6am but now I'm on 10 hrs and then the week after that I'm on either 3rd shift for the lab (10pm to 6am) or C-shift for production (Friday and Saturday mornings and Sunday and Monday nights)... I hope the folks in the lab call me soon because I don't want that weekend stuff.

[quote]The successor to the PlayStation 3 is currently in development, Sony confirmed during the company's investor meeting today. Executive vice president and chief financial officer Masaru Kato was asked to explain the rising research and development costs for the company's fiscal year. "In the game segment, we have the NGP to launch later this year. So we have development expenses to be incurred for this product," he explained. "For the home console, the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform - when we will introduce the product I cannot discuss - but development work is underway, so the costs are incurred there." [/quote] Courtesy of IGN. Do we really need a new console from sony right now?

[quote name='chibi-master' timestamp='1306082027' post='707539'] What the hell, weather?! It was 80 degrees and cloudless yesterday and now all of the sudden you've decided to be 60 and rainy?! Unless I get a thunderstorm out of this, I'm going to be some kind of furious. [/quote] It's 85 here in Detroit and icky, but we're also under a severe thunderstorm watch as well.

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1305933557' post='707502'] I'm probably one of the last gamers in the world to play [b]Portal[/b][/quote] You can put me in that category as well. I still haven't played it. Can't say that I'm convinced to get it though, either. Anyway, I've been toying around with [b]Darksiders[/b], and it's not a bad game, but I can't say it's good either. The way you're collecting items/powerups and whatnot, I can see a little similarities to Zelda. Right now I'm not feeling this game because I like to mix up my attacks instead of seeing the same hits one after another. I guess this is another reason why I'm not into the Zelda games anymore. I was hoping to find weapons instead of having to save up souls/orbs/money to buy them. I will end up selling this game as well. Next up [b]Infamous[/b]. Probably let you know how this is next weekend.

I have issues with it because it makes the lieutenants seem even less competant than lower ranked officers. Granted just about everyone in SS don't have a brain but still, this rubs me the wrong way.

Err... Now I'm really wondering how strong do they think Rukia is. Regai or not I do not like the idea of her being able to take out 2 vice captains. Whether they're caught opened for an attack or not. This is the kind of stuff that makes me stop watching filler. Knowing full and well that one, if not both of them should've been able to slip by her attack.