James

[b]Name:[/b] Karu [b]Age:[/b] 12 [b]Height:[/b] 5'5" (how tall is an average/short 12 year old? lol) [b]Race:[/b] Elf [b]Class:[/b] Red Mage [b]Weapons:[/b] [b]Dagger of Thorodor:[/b] The Dagger of Thorodor was given to Karu by his father when he was merely ten years old. It is a family heirloom which has been passed down through more than twenty generations. It features a carved wooden handle (which contains his family crest - a white pheonix with golden tailfeathers) as well as a titanium blade, carved by Elfin blacksmiths. [b]Slingshot:[/b] Karu received a slingshot from his best friend, Calya (another elf in his village), on his 12th birthday. Karu uses small nuts as ammo, which grow on the trees in his village. [b]Armour/Clothes:[/b] Karu wears a dark grey cloak around his neck (held together by a clasp his mother gave him). Underneath, he wears a black tunic with a white undershirt and dark grey boots. [b]Description:[/b] Karu was born with pure white hair -- he has no idea why. He has deep green eyes and spiked hair. [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=220269[/IMG] [b]Bio/History:[/b] Karu lives in the elfin city of Glorethroth, with his mother. His father died just after his tenth birthday, under mysterious circumstances. To this day, neither Karu nor his mother know exactly what happened. Karu's house is near a mysterious temple called "The Church of Time". The Church of Time is a place where Karu has never ventured, despite his natural curiosity and love of exploration. The villagers of Glorethroth are not allowed to enter the Church of Time either; it is said to be the place where Father Time himself dwells. Karu has also always wondered about his Dagger and specifically, the name of the Dagger...as it relates to a place called Thorodor, where Karu has never been. He has promised himself that he'll visit Thorodor one day. In terms of personality, Karu is inquisitive and bright for his age. He is also intensly curious -- a trait which often lands him in trouble. However, this curiosity and desire for understanding and knowledge has also given him the opportunity to practice his magic capabilities. He comes from a long line of red mages and when he was very young, his mother and father began teaching him the secret powers of the red mage. Karu is a fairly trusting individual. While this aspect can also sometimes get the better of him, it also makes him an approachable person; a person who is easy to get along with. He has many friends his age in his home village, but he desires adventure -- he's never been outside his own village.

[color=coral]There are 16 chapters of the Shenmue story. And the first game included Chapter 1: Yokosuka. However, some games will include three or four chapters. :) This is where the number 16 comes from. In reality, it will probably be about five or six actual games.[/color]

[color=coral]HyperShadow...please try to improve your post quality. That includes capital letters, spaces and correct puncutation. :) I know you're young, but it is a requirement on our site that post quality is of a good standard. :)[/color]

[color=coral]People who instantly say "WW3 is coming" annoy the hell out of me. It's like you [i]want[/i] WWIII to come. India and Pakistan are both very short sited countries. Their Governments are too busy considering who gets Kashmir, rather than what the actual people in Kashmir want. Many in Kashmir apparently want the territory to become an independant country...with neither Pakistan nor India controlling it. I think this is the best option. If either side can't work out who should have the territory...then nobody should...[/color]

[color=coral]Yeah...FFX International is on shelves here in Australia right now. I picked up the package yesterday. It also includes a bonus disc with interviews of the directors and art galleries etc etc...[/color]

[color=coral]I'm really looking forward to this game -- the original Mario Kart demo on GameCube looked utterly amazing...and I can't wait to see what Mr. Miyamoto has planned for the new version. The N64 version of the game was a major dissappointment, so I really hope that Nintendo are spending some significant time on this new title (which, by all indications, they are).[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Smoky Joe [/i] [B] I [B]love[/B] GTA III, and I believe it's Rockstar best effort yet, but I also love SOE. However, I'll admit that it could've been better if they had taken a few more months to add some more mechanics. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]What they needed to do, was add more to the control scheme (it needed to be more intuitive), improve in-game objectives and missions (add some more variety, challenge and uniqueness) and just generally put more emphasis on the gameplay. GTAIII was developed by DMA and not Rockstar (Rockstar is nothing but a publishing label)...and SoE was made by a different developer. This is why GTAIII is so much better. :)[/color]

[color=coral]I just feel that if Z-Axis were serious about this game, they'd drop a lot of the "cheap sales" stuff. Why not spend time developing a great control system and awesome gameplay, rather than focusing on toilet humor and such?[/color]

[color=coral]Eh, but the controller scheme is usually better on console...much more accessable/easy to use/less cumbersome. The only thing I'm interested in with PC is possible online play.[/color]

[color=coral]It all depends who is actually developing this game. Rockstar is publishing, but it doesn't mention a developer here. Being a spin-off, this could end up being developed by someone other than DMA Design...and thus, could end up to be [i]worse[/i] than GTAIII. But if DMA are handling it...then it could be good. To me, it sounds like a traditional case of "milking the franchise". But if it is a serious attempt by DMA, then I'm sure it will be fine.[/color]

[color=coral]This console won't affect the current generation of systems already out there. We've seen so many systems come and go...remember the "Nuon"? And the Panasonic 3DO? These systems are made by companies who, more often than not, don't have any understanding of the game business. And these consoles always lack some good exclusive first party support. But you just never know -- Sony took everyone by surprise in the last generation. You never know what will happen...[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Harlequin [/i] [B]The Dalai Lama's visist itself is not the point, more the fact that John Howard immediately ran over to China to placate their government. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]Of course. Had he visited with the Llama, he would have lost face with China...and thus, the lucrative resources deal between Australia and China would have been scrapped once and for all.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Harlequin [/i] [B]Anything in particular you want me to clarify? That last line was a cynical joke about some of our Prime Minister's recent actions, such as how he handled the Dali Lama's visist... [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]Erm, no...I don't want you rewriting most of the post. Heheh. But yes...I agree with you regarding the Dalai Lama. Having said that, it's not exactly a major piece of "forgein policy"...and there were infact Government ministers who met with the Lama. So yeah, maybe I took that last line too literally, but it can be very difficult to detect sarcasm on the Internet. ;)[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Harlequin [/i] [B] Nationaly policy, when the country is independant, is not dictated by foreign nations, aside from in Australia... [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]I don't know what you mean by that specifically (your post was kind of difficult to decipher at certain points), but Australia's foreign policy is certainly not dictated by any other nation. [/color]

[color=coral]I loved NFS1 and 3. 2 was pretty terrible...and the less said about 4, the better. I think NFS3: Hot Pursuit got it just right. And I'm very happy that they're making a Hot Pursuit 2. :) CWB: The cel-shading in Zelda is being used in completely new ways; not just to achieve a visual style, but to actually change the properties of the physical environment (as Nintendo has actually mentioned recently). Games like JSR, for example, create a basic gameplay structure and then layer the cel-shaded visuals over the top. In Zelda, the cel-shading is actually a [i]part[/i] of the gameplay. Therefore, post-GameCube Zelda is likely to either be cel-shaded...or somewhere in between the N64 versions and the cel-shaded version, in terms of visual representation.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Saiyangohan2002 [/i] [B] Thats exactly the point I was trying to make. You can't say that anyone who wishes to end their life is of sound mind. The patient has been through so much suffering and pain that they are choosing to end this great gift of life, I personally think they're insane [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]And this proves that you have never been in a situation (or never seen a situation) where someone who is completely sound of mind chooses to end their life via euthanasia. If you are old, going through inexplicable pain and are suffering from a degenerative terminal illness...and you [i]know[/i] that you are going to die in a few years (or a few months) anyway...then I don't see the problem with saying "please turn off my life support, I want to die with dignity with my family around me". There is a minor percentage of cases where this kind of practice would be acceptable...and as I mentioned, I wouldn't have the heart to turn to someone like that and say "you're insane...you are going to have to just lay there and die slowly and painfully". If you put yourself in that situation, the ideas behind this concept become more clear.[/color]

[color=coral]Exactly, CWB hit the nail on the head. The comparisons between SoE and GTAIII are [i]completely[/i] fair and reasonable; the two games set out to achieve the same goal (a free-roaming interactive environment with similar "thug" objectives). The difference is that GTAIII successfully blends the more violent/extreme aspects with a truly strong mission-based game system. Whereas SoE is just a mess of people running around with no real solid gameplay involved. It's simply a matter of running around and tapping buttons - it gets old after five minutes. I can see why younger kids would enjoy it (the violence factor and the no-brainer gameplay), but people who enjoyed the slightly more challenging/interactive GTAIII can only be dissappointed by this game.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Smoky Joe [/i] [B]James (and people with a similar opinion), when did you become a puritan? If there wasn't any M-Rated stuff, you would be okay with it; but since there's nudity and sexual situations, you quickly take out the torch and bash the game without even trying it. Z-Axis has proven themselves already with the previous games, and they are wise when it comes to gameplay. Sorry if this sounds like a flame, but I just can't stand people who bash M-Rated games without even trying them (the same goes for E-Rating bashers). [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]You're missing the point. I like M-Rated games as much as the next person...I'm certainly not a "puritan". That's not the issue. The issue is that game companies produce a mediocre product and simply think that lacing it with sex/violence will make the actual game better. And basically, it won't. This sounds to me like a classic example of a game company who has run out of gameplay ideas and concepts -- so they are now resorting to tittilation in order to sell the game. And I hate that...because it proves a lack of imagination and effort on the part of the developer. Any idiot can create toilet humor...but only a truly good game company can make an innovative game.[/color]

[color=coral]State of Emergency is horrible. I played it a while ago (I rented it and [i]attempted[/i] to enjoy it)...but really, it's one of the most simplistic and pointless games out there. Problem is, a game like GTAIII comes along...which manages to merge the aspects of a free roaming environment with a fairly strong objective-based gameplay...and everyone wants to copy. And the problem there is, people aren't copying the aspects of GTAIII that made it great. They're copying the whole "mass violence in a real world" idea. And that doesn't work if the underlying video game is poor...and in this case, it was very poor. The designers didn't seem to have any real objective with this game. Many of the goals are arbitrary in nature and don't seem to have any real point. Plus, the character is so limited when it comes to interaction and movement -- in GTAIII, you could interact with almost any object in the game, but in SoE, the game creates an [i]illusion[/i] of deep interaction, whilst actually being a highly superficial experience. I wish people wouldn't buy games like this just because they're published by Rockstar and include aspects which might seem similar to GTAIII... By doing so, we are only sending a message to developers that we are quite happy to accept spoon-fed crap. And frankly, I'd rather not accept such games. I really hope that this isn't the start of a growing trend in gaming...I hope more companies take a lead from developers such as Amusement Vision, Nintendo EAD and Maxis; let's encourage some innovation and new ideas...rather than this rehashed rubbish, wrapped up in a glossy package.[/color]

[color=coral]This topic is indeed going around in circles... If euthanasia were legalized, I'm sure we all understand that there are strong ethical boundaries that would need to be drawn. It must also be understood that euthanasia is [i]not[/i] the practice of someone else deciding to "cut off life support" for a terminally ill patient. Euthanasia is a practice whereby a patient (with full mental "clarity"), who is suffering from a terminal and painfull physical illness, can choose to have their palliative care removed (thus allowing them to die). I think a lot of people are agreeing or disagreeing without fully understanding what the subject is about. We're not talking about mass suicides or doctors being able to choose who dies and who doesn't...that's not what it's about. We're talking about in incredibly [i]small[/i] number of people in the community who would wish to end any sort of palliative care, if they are suffering from terminal physical illness. Anyway...I think everyone has just about provided their points of view on the subject...[/color]

[color=coral]Dave Mirra XXX...what a load of crap. Here are some possible reasons for this thread: 1) You made this up yourself. 2) You've read something fake on a site and taken it as though it is real (do you REALLY think they're going to have a REAL model stripping naked in a video game? And what on Earth does that have to do with BMX?) 3) If this is infact real (and much of it already sounds pretty suspect...), this would be just another example of a lousy, mediocre developer trying to make up for their absolute [i]lack[/i] of talent by including some tittilation. What an utter waste of time...maybe the 14 year old fanboys will appreciate any garbage that is thrown at them...but the day gamers at large actually embrace a game like this (if it's true), will be the day I totally lose faith in gaming altogether.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Elite DBZ [/i] [B][B]I don't think that anyone will be able to fully replace Hiroshi Yamauchi, he was a fantastic president of Nintendo. [i]Some facts about him:[/i] 2. He never wanted to become President of Nintendo after his father, he ran away but came back to adhere to his fathers wishes. [/B] [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]That's not [i]quite[/i] true. :) It was actually his grandfather (Fusajiro Yamauchi) who wanted him to take the reigns of the company. However, Yamauchi didn't want to run the company unless some of his demands were met, including: no other family members were allowed to be at the company (this resulted in the firing of Hiroshi's cousin) and he was to be given 100% control of the business. Fusajiro Yamauchi reluctantly accepted, just before dying. And the rest is history; Nintendo is the most successful game company on Earth. :)[/color]

[i]The black Sith Infiltrator broke through the clouds of Coruscant. It passed silently over the many networks of air traffic below. Vin-Mar was at the controls of the ship. And sitting behind him in a chair slightly raised from the floor of the vessel, was Palpatine.[/i] [b]Palpatine:[/b] Ahh yes. There are already conflicts underway here. Three Jedi somewhere nearby... [b]Vin-Mar:[/b][color=red] Should I change our course, my lord?[/color] [b]Palpatine:[/b] No. Continue on your present course. We are under no threat. [i]Vin-Mar nodded and guided the Sith Infiltrator to a small landing pad on top of a tall skyscraper, which was only a few blocks from the Jedi Council Building. As the ship touched down on the landing pad, its engines whirred softly, cooling down after a long flight in space. The front hatch opened and Vin-Mar stepped out, followed by Palpatine. The pair walked side-by-side along the landing pad, towards a small entryway on the roof. The building itself was actually the supposed headquarters of a hyperspace engine manufacturer. However, the tower had now become the base of operations for Palpatine and his apprentice, Vin-Mar Sune...[/i]

[color=coral]Well, once again, you can't really call it a FPS...nor can you compare it to FPS games. To do so would be unfair on all FPS games lol...Metroid Prime is [i]that[/i] good. When you actually play the game, you'll notice the core differences...even if screenshots and video don't really relay those differences.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Harlequin [/i] [B]I know you never said that, I was asking if you were really so hidebound on it only being applied to those with an incurable illness. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=coral]I see. I don't think I'd support it in the case of depression. Why? Because when you are in a depressed state, you're much more likely to authorize your own euthanasia. Depression as a mental illness can be cured in some cases (and treated in most cases). You have to remember that euthanasia is a very serious issue. If you are depressed or if you are facing any other (even slight) mental instability, then you are perhaps not in the absolute best position to judge whether or not you're ready for something like that. But if you are 100% sound of mind...yet are in tremendous physical pain due to an incurable physical illness...then certainly, that's a different story.[/color]