Charles

Go to [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=32250]this thread[/URL]. It accomplishes what you hope to with this topic. Welcome to OtakuBoards and "Go Chiefs!" ^_^ You may also want to read over our rules in the OtakuBoards Information Center. Thus far your post quality hasn't been what we expect here at OtakuBoards.

It's not going to happen. Any further personal quarrels will be handled via private message or instant message. And, to further secure that, I want to encourage people to private message me if a signature is too long instead of specifically naming people within this thread for everyone to see. I've noticed that a couple times in here and I don't think it's really necessary. Recognizing the point of the thread and doing something about it until version seven arrives is the important issue, I think. The message of this thread should remain a friendly reminder to the general public as opposed to a "witch hunt" that targets individual members and puts the spotlight on them. That hasn't happened yet, but I'd like to keep it that way. [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Desbreko [/i] [B][color=indigo]I think people need to learn how to be concise when it comes to signatures. I think they also need to learn the magic of free web hosting and the [u[i][/i]rl] tag. If something's going to make your sig long, slap it on a web page and just put a link to it instead of using twenty lines for an AIM quote or whatever.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] :rolleyes:

I'm wearing a grimace. This thread doesn't possess the quality we encourage in Otaku Lounge. It's rather pointless. In fact, it's reminiscent of those creepy phone calls faceless killers make, asking unwitting blondes irrelevant questions. Can't you imagine it? The scratchy voice saying "What are you wearing?" No? Okay. But, you'll notice that we don't have many serial killers on OtakuBoards. And it's quite obvious why. Their threads would be closed immediately. So, I must be hitting something here. If it's any consolation you're free to discuss what you wear, the thread entitled "You" should accommodate you nicely. ^^;;

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B]But what disappoints me about Xbox, lack of FPS. The only one I'd play is Timesplitters 2, but I have it for cube. Any FPS suggestions? It doesn't have to be revolutionary or ground-breaking, but it has to be fun, possibly in keeping with the lunatic multiplayer excitement of KFC or Deathrow. [/B][/QUOTE] Return to Castle Wolfenstein immediately comes to mind. I would suggest a rental though. The single player mode is solid--but fairly basic. If you've never played Medal of Honor: Frontline for the GameCube, then it might behoove you to try that first. It's quite an exciting game despite lacking the supernatural zombie gimmick found in Wolfenstein.

I was tempted to create a thread dedicated to this game, so it's good that someone else got around to it. Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain is a truly wonderful game. Wrestling titles, in most cases, are enjoyable albeit disappointing. The genre enjoyed its renaissance on the Nintendo 64--domestically speaking. Prior to AKI's foray in developing wrestling games, fans were hard-pressed to get their hands on a quality game that captured the pageantry and athleticism of the business. Acclaim's console offerings were gimmicky and marred by poor button-mashing mechanics. Admittedly, their stabs at simulation style grappling were refreshing. The WWF Warzone and WWF Attitude games set a new standard in what fans came to expect from create-a-wresler modes. I'd like to think they're where Yukes drew their inspiration from in regards to the front-end of the SmackDown titles. What Acclaim's titles brought to the table in terms of presentation value, was largely diminished by their ineptitude at coding a tolerable gameplay engine. That's where AKi came in. I enjoyed WCW vs. The World, for the original Playstation. Of course, that's an understatement though, considering I bought a Nintendo 64 largely because of Aki's wrestling releases. WCW/nWo World Tour sold me on it. It wasn't as pretty as Attitude or Warzone--but the animation was fluid, the engine was solid--and [i]it was fun to play![/i] Later releases on the N64 were simply evolutions of the same successful formula that manages to draw praise to this very day. In fact, the eventual pinnacle of their N64 development, WWF No Mercy is still highly regarded as the best wrestling game on the market. Let's put this into perspective: It released years ago on a system that can't even touch what's on the market today in terms of technical capabilities. Yet, No Mercy had many features that are [i]still[/i] lacking in today's crop of wrestling games and that HCTP is just now introducing. Blood, location specific damage, sixteen front grapples, wrestling editing, and weight detection are all found in this year's SmackDown--but it took them five games to do it. lol Games like Wrestlemania XIX and Raw 2 lack not only most of those features--but backstage fighting as well. The point of this rant is--that although no wrestling release is at the standard it could be, the genre has finally caught up to Aki's benchmark (on the Playstation 2, that is). WWE SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain is the first wrestling title [i]really[/i] worth buying in quite a while--as it's the first to top a three year old game. I'll now try to address the points of your post directly. --I was a bit disappointed that commentary was removed because it was taking a step backward. In comparison to other sports games, the commentary in SmackDown products was pitiful but it was improving. I'd have liked to see that improvement every year instead of seeing it entirely removed. It's as if Yukes just decided to give up instead of making it better. That's hardly the answer. --The old themes are due to licensing problems. It's not laziness on the part of the developer--it's just something you have to put up with. I loved ripping tracks in Raw 2 and keeping my wrestlers up-to-date, but the characters have so much personality (something Raw is void of in comparison) that it's not such a big loss for me. --The Create-A-Wrestler mode is a slight disappointment. It offers little over last year's edition and some things were omitted. There really wasn't much to improve upon. I don't mind taking the time to get the characters right. It's only because of the amazing amount of customization at your disposal. I've managed to create a fairly perfect replica of Hogan. It took me quite a while but I'm satisfied with the results. I could post the formula if you're interested. I just hope that next year's improves the quality of the textures and clothing on the created wrestlers. As the actual in-game models improve, the created versions begin to appear more and more ridiculous. The textures are low resolution and clothing is pasted on. Plus, they don't even have teeth. Hopefully this will all be addressed next year. --The season mode is very similar to last year's. The writing isn't great and there are a lot of typos. Plus, the wrestlers rarely speak as they would on television unless you encounter them backstage. It also seems like many of the angles (such as the milk truck) were recycled. Still, it's enjoyable. I've completed one season and it's apparent that, while you'll encounter variations in the angles here and there, you're largely going to experience the same season every year. I'll most likely earn all the points I need to unlock everything and never touch that mode again. lol It might be different as a created wrestler though, so who knows. As a side note, the roster was slightly lacking. The list of legends is paltry and questionable. Where are Bret and Owen Hart? Jake Roberts? Classy Freddie Blassie? Bob Backlund? The British Bulldog? Yokozuna? Dynamite Kid? Randy Savage? And, the ones that are there don't even have authentic entrances due to the lack of theme music and animation. I would have much preferred the inclusion of more present-day talent. Most of the major players in the women's division are missing in action, as is Billy Kidman, Spike Dudley, La Resistance, The FBI, Shannon Moore, etc. Overall, I'm very happy with the game, though. The AI is the best I've ever seen in a wrestling game and the matches actually look like real matches. The reworking of the grappling system was sorely needed, as was the tweaking of the submission system. You know, since submissions were virtually useless before. They only lasted two seconds and rarely made anyone quit. Because of these enhancements and wrestlers selling moves properly, this year's SmackDown feels like a simulation-based grappler instead of an arcadey mess. Now, I hope they just being to release this game on every system instead of offering lesser products to GameCube and Xbox owners. I don't see the logic with how they do things now.

I didn't like [I] Scary Movie 3[/i] very much. It was interesting that this film placed a greater emphasis on satirizing popular culture instead of simply limiting itself to the horror genre and ghetto humor. Unfortunately, despite the broader range of source material, most of the jokes seemed forced or flat. Zucker working with somehing that only focuses on two or three popular horror movies probably attributed to that. Now, I'm not an elitist in the theater by a long shot and I'm generally an easy target for laughter. Granted, because of that, I did laugh during [i]Scary Movie 3[/i] a certain points--but not at the same frequency as I did during the first two. The [i]Scary Movie[/i] series has, next to the [i]Austin Powers[/i] films, always excelled because the films parody their targets in a clever way. But, when you resort to [spoiler]blasting a hole through a portrait of Mother Teresa's face with a shotgun as a gag--you're going in the complete opposite direction.[/spoiler] I also felt the movie relied too much on its main characters bumping their heads than setting up interesting scenerios. Perhaps if I hadn't seen a good portion of what this film had to offer in the trailer, I would have enjoyed it more. As it stands now, I doubt I'll complete my set by buying the DVD when it comes out. I got all the fun I'm going to get from it at the movies. heh

I wouldn't call trick-or-treating immature; it's refreshing in a sense. As time goes on, it seems like the adults have tried to take Halloween from the kids by putting an emphasis on drinking parties. Furthermore, neighborhood residents don't interact with one another on the same level as they once did. Back in the day, people would keep an eye on one another's children. There was a tight-knit network of parenting in neighborhoods. Most older people will tell you this. Now, society has changed and people have more of a personal, "mind your own business and I'll mind mine" sort of attitude. So, it's refreshing to see the interaction that comes along with Halloween. Parents and children walk the neighborhood and the community enjoys a friendly, upbeat atmosphere. I'm glad that all the paranoia ranging from kidnapping to terrorist attacks hasn't put a permanent damper on that. Despite my fondness of the holiday, I wouldn't even consider trick-or-treating, though. Being twenty-two years of age, that time has passed for me. I continued participating into my late teens, so I did well. It made me feel special when I was very young. Like, I could escape and be my greatest heroes for a day. They're memories that I'll always cherish but I had to move on at some point. If I were to continue trick-or-treating, I would feel as if I imposing--taking candy away from the kids. It's their time now. I'd feel more content just handing out candy. ^_^;; I still wouldn't mind dressing up; I didn't this year only because of time issues. That's the only reason. When I have kids someday, you can be sure that I'll take them around. It's something I'm greatly looking forward to. Those are times I'll treasure. I don't know how anyone could stain such an activity by calling it immature.

Well, like any freedom, the freedom of speech is capable of being abused; it's relatively easy for ignorant people to spread hateful or disagreeable messages. In a sense, it's up to us to recognize when one group of people is needlessly attacking another and counteract it through peaceful means (although such demonstrations aren't always capable of being resolved respectfully and maturely by a long shot). Generally, abusive rhetoric is baseless and easily dismissed as rubbish though, so it doesn't accomplish much. Nothing particularly harmful in the lyrics for "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" jumped out at me. It didn't seem like it was isolating and debasing the Islamic religion. Personally speaking, I feel it's just another run-of-the-mill attempt to capitalize on lingering emotions and fears dating back to the terrorist attacks by using poorly-written patriotic rhetoric. If there's any controversy here, it lies in the fact that so-called musical artists are [i]still[/i] stirring up attention by relying on played out source material. It's pathetic and uninspired. As far as freedom of speech in general goes, Rockstar Haruko was on the money. There is a time and a place for freedom of speech. School isn't one of those places because it isn't a democracy. It's an institution that has to operate under its own set of guidelines. In a sense, freedom of speech does exist in the school environment--but it's limited for the purpose of preserving order.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Pex [/i] [B]Aww man, what memories. I have to say my favorite toy was Ninja Turtles. I was obessed. I had all the charcters, plus the foot and Shredder. I had the van(heehee, sorry James). I even had the Ninja Turtles Blimp, yeah I was obessed. [/B][/QUOTE] Wow, I almost forgot about that. I was a huge TMNT fanatic. At one point, I had every figure and playset. The quality of the figures was disappointing though. Did you ever notice that the quality was lesser than that of the models pictured on the packaging? What was up with the brown weapon accessories and lack of color on the turtles? Perhaps paint was an expensive commodity. The sewer playset was nice, as was the driller, van, and flying car, but the Technodrome was a terrible pain. The pieces didn't fit together properly so it was always coming apart. :rolleyes: I had the same problem with the brain character. He would never fit into his body properly. The plastic window would always pop out. Curse the Ninja Turtles for reaching into my wallet and then into my chest to break my heart!

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KarmaOfChaos [/i] [B][color=deeppink] I was torn away from beautiful, snowy, northern home where I had grown up speaking the New Jersey accent(yes dahling, we spaek like tis), [/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Not in South Jersey. Mos' of us ain't speak with no accent like that. We smoov. You can specifically tell that North Jersey is nothing like South Jersey when you used the word beautiful to describe it. But, maybe that's because I live so close to Philadelphia. Or should I say Smelladelphia? No? South Filthy? You know, the only place where a mayor can rise in the polls after and only after the Philadelphia police discover an FBI bug in his office? Okay. ^_^;; Let it be known to all, Charles lives in "Anytown" USA. Because, really, that's what Pennsuaken is. To its credit, it is a much more desirable place to live than neighboring Cinnaminson, though.

I'm sorry to reply after this thread has been closed, but I have to step in and agree with Sara. I'm very surprised here. Staff members are supposed to [i]enforce[/i] the rules--not be completely apathetic and [i]encourage[/i] annoying behavior that we've discouraged members from doing since I can remember. It's a serious problem when our staff members not only consciously ignore a rule but then go around telling others who do not know any better to follow suit because "they don't care." I can't believe you don't see a problem with that. We're supposed to set a good example here. When we catch members uploading erroneous images there are warnings and, in some cases, consequences involved. We can hardly take action when the problem begins with our staff. This isn't meant to sound harsh and I'm not trying to pick on anyone. It's certainly not personal either. But, as a staff member please try to put on a good example. You know better than this.

Well, what can I say? You're basically engaging in a personal agreement with other members in one way or another in the examples you've provided. What can we do about it? It is the creator of an RPG that must decide who participates or not. Although we discourage members from signing up for RPGs they do not plan to commit to--it happens. That's why it's important for creators of said RPGs to be careful about who they allow into the final game or not. Suffice to say, such ventures require a bit of responsibility on both sides. It's not something we can actually control. I'd like to imagine that someone who signs up for RPGs and never fulfills their commitments will earn a poor reputation and be denied access to future games. The same advice could apply to requesting images. Don't commit yourself to one person. Keep the field open and hope for the best. You?re asking people for favors in this respect--to take their own time and dedicate it to completing a project for you. I?m sure everyone has their fair share of responsibilities. Sometimes creating a banner or an avatar isn?t a top priority. I can't see us trying to enforce rules on a personal network of unfulfilled relationships on the boards if they're not directly interfering with anything. That would be a bit much. These would be trivial things to pursue when there are so many more important things we have to deal with.

What are you talking about? I see a banner in your signature. If you have questions regarding this problem yet still, you may private message myself or another staff member. I'd like to see everyone do that for simple questions that require simple answers. Questions such as these are neither suggestions nor feedback. They're easily answered and pointless to dedicate a thread to. Considering you do have a banner in your signature, I do not see a need to keep this open. I tip my hat to you now, sir.

I just want to jump in here and say this: Shinobi1827, please don't post in here again unless you actually know what you're talking about. I'm afraid you're going to drive Semjaza insane at this rate. lol You're running yourself up against people who actually know what they're talking about. So, you can't expect to enter a discussion like this and not get called on incorrect information. [quote][b]Oh, and just so you know the PS1 is over 8 years old and they still make games for that. Just so you know.[/b][/quote] Who are [i]they[/i]? lol Your statement is invalid in the context of this discussion. You haven't effectively responded to Shinmaru's point. Sony no longer lends first party support to the original Playstation. All new releases are either third party sports games or low-grade bargain bin fodder. Use common logic as well. Do you honestly believe that Sony would put a five year warrantee on a console as physically unreliable as the Playstation 2? Come on now. More directly to the point, the PSX is a collectors item. A first stab at offering an entertainment system to hardcore fans or gadget junkies. With its price tag, I would hardly say it?s targeted toward the general masses as opposed to the Playstation 3 (which might be upgradable features wise to keep costs down). It offers no improvement over the core Playstation 2 gaming hardware. Call it a glorified Playstation 2, call it a set top entertainment system, but don't refer to it as Playstation 3-lite.

My favorite toy when I was young was a yellow bear chew toy; I still have it. ^^;; I don't actually chew it, mind you, I just know where it's at. Hee! I also know where my wrestling figures are stored. Yes, they're [i]action figures[/i]--not dolls! Because we all know action figures and dolls are [i]completely[/i] different from one another. If my life was on videotape and you [i]really[/i] had a morbid fascination with what I played with as a youngster, you'd find that I was very fond of dinosaurs. I knew their names and everything. I even went as far as to build a skeleton model out of chicken bones. It didn't work out so well though.

I don't understand how this movie was "thought provoking." The only thought it provoked from me was how mediocre it turned out to be. I'm sorry. lol That's not to say it didn't have its positive qualities. The first portion of the movie was disturbing and eerie. It achieved a thoroughly unsettling ambiance that just pulled me into the film. The desperation, the animalistic survival--I loved it. And all captured through what seemed to be a handheld camcorder. [spoiler]You realize how deprived of human emotion the survivors are. There's no room for compassion or companionship. They operate like a pack and don't hesitate to violently sever anyone who falls behind.[/spoiler] That's enough to create a feeling of uneasiness because it's behavior so foreign to us--the lack of value for human life outside of its use for one's own safety. Unfortunately, the film fell apart for me when [spoiler]they reached the military outpost. I understand the theme of man killing man but this portion of the film deviated too far from zombie horror for my liking. I wanted to see the characters constantly fleeing in desperation. Locking them into one location chilled the excitement.[/spoiler]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by destro53 [/i] [B]Halo is of course a neccesary XBob commodity. You can't have XBox without Halo. Just a fact of life. [/B][/QUOTE] Halo was a must-have a little under two years ago. It's quite outdated now. Especially with Halo 2's eventual release beginning to peak over the horizon. If it's still coming out in March, that is. Off the top of my head, I recommend the Grand Theft Auto bundle pack and Otogi:Myth of Demons. But, it might prove useful if you would provide us with a specific genre of games you?re interested in. That way I?ll able to narrow down my suggestions and save myself the time of describing titles you might not even have the faintest interest in.

People have the right to be happy. It's that simple and it's what this entire discussion boils down to. No matter what I believe or anyone else believes, the subject of one's body is intimate and unquestionably personal. If an [adult] individual is suffering from gender identity dysphoria and they feel the need to alter their body so they can fully express themselves--then so be it. That decision isn't hurting me regardless of whether or not I support it. Because, I?m willing to entertain how terrifying it must be to feel trapped within one?s own body. Personally, I feel that we're all free to be who we want to be as long as we're true to ourselves on the inside. The genuine self cannot be found through outter appearance or gender; it's something more than superficiality. Something the human eye can't see. The freedom to choose who we really are and what we really want to be is already there. If someone convinces themselves that an operation is needed for them realize their true identity, they could be potentially making a critical mistake. People need to learn to love themselves a little. lol With that being said, I'm not going to sit here and deny someone's dream or pursuit of happiness. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest and folks who undergo gender altering surgery most certainly suffer enough intolerance and prejudice without me sitting here on a message board persecuting them for their personal choices.

No. I hadn't heard of that. But, thanks for telling me. As long as Sony's definition of "remake" doesn't relate to converting the gameplay mechanics into a Wild Arms 3 reminiscent catastrophe, I'll be pleased. The horrific world map system comes to mind immediately. Otherwise, they're going into this with a terrific cast of villains and an above average storyline. Woohoo. Other than that, the Earthbound comment was only meant to rib you. ^_^;; I probably would enjoy it seeing as how I was able to give strange things like Secret of Evermore (sp) a chance. heh

Charles picked up the television remote that was chained to the night table and began surfing through the six-station programming. He could almost distinguish figures behind the thick blanket of snow buzzing on-screen. He peeled his formerly white tank top from his sweaty, filth-streaked body and tossed it onto the bed. It was now tinged grayish brown. He ran his fingers through his hair; it had become sharp and dagger-like, hanging over his face in rigid jawline-length wisps. His eyes spread out like the wings of a hawk, and a frightful shiver overwhelmed his limbs. He slumped onto the mattress and practically gnawed a hole through his bottom lip. That's when D'Ann let herself in. She just shook her head angrily. She stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut with a resounding thud. Charles closed his eyes and finished collapsing on the archaic bed. Once again, he threaded his fingers through his hair. He reached into a small refrigerator and sifted through the contents (which largely consisted of empty beer cans) until his hands found a full can. "Bingo," he said. A scream suddenly pierced the air, catapulting him off the bed and to the closed bathroom door. "D'Ann?" he called, rapping his knuckles on the wooden surface. "What's the--" In response the door flew open and D'Ann hurried out nearly bowling him over. "There are roaches all over the place," she hissed, a tremble rippling through her body. She shivered before turning petulant eyes on him. "First I drive across the country," she said. "You sure did," Charles said, "And I'm [i]so[/i] glad you could make it to my suite. Almost like a honeymoon without the wedding." "--Then I go to the police station," she said, "to pick up your sorry ***--" "And might I say they're very nice people," Charles said, "They were kind enough to offer me a room, even." "Only to find out that there was a processing error and you weren't even there," D'Ann said. At that point he realized that no one had read his first role-play in its entirety. Charles just clenched the muscles in his jaw and returned to the bed yet again. He grabbed a small plastic pail resting on the foldable table. "Go get us some ice," Charles said.

As I told you on AIM, I enjoyed reading this exercise very much--although it did remind me a bit of [i]The Underworld[/i]. This peice has a nice voice. My suggestions are few. First of all: [quote][b][strike]Dark Rounds. Jake was so f-----g screwed.[/strike] The bullets were imbedded in his chest, spreading toxins and disease into his bloodstream. His left arm was already numb and turning gray. Sores and blisters warped the skin into a putrid mass of pus and discharge.[/b][/quote] That's your beginning. We don't need you to tell us Jake is screwed because we know it. It's there. The opening paragraphs describe it to a good effect. I also prefer saving the "Dark Rounds" information until later on. Secondly, you might want to limit the use of the f-word; using it too often subtracts from its impact. It's used too freely here so it's not quite as powerful as it could be. Lastly, I would consider playing with the characters' names. Personally speaking, I find it a bit confusing when everyone's name begins with a "J" in a scene that throws around names quite often. Thanks for giving it to me; it made sitting in that class somewhat bearable. ^_^;;

Reporting the post would have been sufficient. There's no need to create useless topics [i]about[/i] useless topics. Because in the end, a thread like the one he posted is going to get deleted anyway. And that's exactly what happened. Plus, it was fairly obvious from his thread title that it was pornography related. ~_^

If you've seen your fair share of horror films--it'll be painfully apparent that this movie offers nothing new to the genre. It's incredibly outdated by today's standards. Go see the blood bath that is [i]Kill Bill[/i]. Witness the [spoiler]ninety plus murders[/spoiler] in that film and tell me if TCM is [i]really[/i] a massacre. It's almost laughable considering only a handful of people are killed--and none in a particularly explicit or horrifying way. The camera work often cut away from the deaths before they could become disturbing or anything. And, I think the most important thing is that a man chasing teens with a chainsaw just isn't as scary as it was in 1974. But, whatever. The movie just struck me as conventional. You've seen this a million times whether you know it or not.

You've got that right; I loved Skies of Arcadia. It's been quite a while since I've played it, since I originally experienced it on the DreamCast, but I instantly loved it. I don't understand how people could compare it to Grandia II. Fundamentally, there was [i]no[/i] comparison. SOA is probably a more sound game than Final Fantasy X. The characters all interact splendidly and it's very touching. The plot isn't bogged down by bothersome love triangles. You play as a few kids on the cusp of adulthood exploring the world and making a mark for themselves. The themes of friendship and fun are refreshing. The visuals are lush. To be sure, the game isn't pushing a record number of polygons--but the sheer scope is incredible. It must bee seen to be believed. Skies of Arcadia definitely has a home in my favorite RPG list. It's much better than crap like Earthbound! lol Other than that, I enjoyed Knights of the Old Republic, the Suikoden series, and some of the Final Fantasy games. The orginal Wild Arms also brings back wonderful memories.

I agree with most of what you said PoisonTongue. The extent to which our opinions mirror one another is scary regarding this movie. And it's a shame because--if you sift through the convoluted mess that is [i]Reloaded[/i], there are some rich ideas that [i]should[/i] have and could have provided an immersive plot. Unfortunately, a plethora of films--ranging from comedies to action movies have reproduced the effects from the original [i]Matrix[/i] to the point where much of its trademark sequences have become cliché and run-of-the-mill by today's standards. In my opinion, it seemed that the Wachowskis realized this and tried to compensate by making everything bigger. You know, they expanded on what captivated people in the first film. Which, in turn convoluted the plot and placed style over substance. That's what happened I'm afraid. Whilst whoring out the property left and right, and subscribing to the belief that "bigger is better" they failed to bring the worthwhile elements together. [quote][b]The dialogue took a turn for the worse. It was just sloppy and long-winded for the sake of being long-winded. I am now fully convinced the Wachowskis wrote The Matrix Trilogy for 14 year old boys, writing the series in a way that those 14 year old boys could feel intelligent and superior to their classmates/peers.[/b][/quote] This is perhaps one of my biggest complaints. The dialogue was remarkably forced; composed in such a way that you could see they were trying too hard to make it sound profound. It wasn't natural at all. The excerpt from the Architect scene is a word-for-word documentation of what I would have posted. It reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 2's final encounter (you jumped right into my head for that one as well). The entire series up to that point built up to the encounter with the Architect; they tried to wow the audience with what they believed to be some incredible revelation that would just leave everyone in absolute awe. Hardly outstanding. The basic message was intriguing. Nevertheless, the scene was executed so poorly, it stifled whatever interest it could have provoked. Dragging out what can be summed up in a few brief moments and complicating the dialogue to an unnecessary extent is egotistical and only serves to confuse audiences. At the conclusion of the film, so many twists and turns are thrown at the audience at once, it pulls one out instead of drawing one in. Each element of the plot begins to detract from the other making them seem unimportant or frivolous. [quote][b]Neo. Is it just me, or was he doing a ?Batman? thing the entire time? Scowling, plodding about. Being all mopey? And he wasn?t even doing the Batman thing well. And this isn?t due to Keanu Reeves?s supposed sub-par acting ability. He can electrify the screen with characters. Ted, Jack (Speed), and even Neo (M1). M2 though, he was flat.[/b][/quote] This is one point I disagree with. Neo is obviously a very different character than Ted. Come on. lol The setting in [i]The Matrix[/i] films is post apocalyptic. The human world is devastated and enslaved. Very bleak stuff. And here he is playing a man who must carry the burden of filling the role of a messiah whose love interest [spoiler]will most certainly die and he can do nothing to prevent it from happening despite knowing exactly how it will happen.[/spoiler] I hardly think he should be charismatic and electrifying in the sense that you're suggesting. Somber is about right here. ~_^ Anyway, other scenes like the rave scene interspersed with sex pulled me out of the movie. The entire sequence was overly long and cheesy. It was also the point where I knew the movie was going to suffer from its share of problems. In addition to that, the orgasm scene was simply meant to excite teenagers. Very pointless. Overall, I did enjoy the movie; I didn't come away necessarily hating it. Yet, I have to acknowledge that it was just mediocre in every sense of the word. I probably enjoyed [i]The Animatrix[/i] more than I enjoyed [i]Reloaded[/i]. And, to be honest, we shouldn't have needed an expansion of the franchise in order to understand what was going on. From my perspective, it's simply milking the property. It would have been nice if ?The Second Renaissance? was included in [i]Reloaded[/i] instead of the multitude of useless and drawn out scenes (including the fighting scenes) we had to suffer through.