James

[quote name='Boo' timestamp='1332584891' post='710935'] So... Now that you don't work here anymore... [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I was thinking about this RPG recently. I'm still interested in doing a re-interpretation of Evangelion, but... in some respects I think the original setup here isn't right. I don't think it works. If I were to do anything with this, I'd need to make really big changes to it. The setting, for one thing. I've been considering working with this, or maybe looking at another Almagest RPG. Not sure.[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I haven't had too much time for games lately (my brother has been on my Steam account more than I have, for example). But I did recently pick up Mass Effect 3 and I've been having a go at that. I'm probably around about 2/3 of the way through. So far, I've been enjoying it, but I'm finding it to be no better than Mass Effect 2. Yes, there's a tiny bit more customisation (in terms of weapons, for example). So that's a bit of a crowd-pleaser I guess. But the locales are generally not as varied or interesting as ME2, I'd say (with a couple of key exceptions). I am obviously not yet at the ending so I don't know how I'll react to it, but I suspect that I probably won't react with as much vitriol as many others have - and the main reason is because my expectations about player choice have always been very different. I have a feeling this is one aspect of the problem. In any case, I haven't finished the game but I'm a bit sad that it's the "last Mass Effect" game. The story has never been particularly great, but I've become fond of the characters and the game world itself. This is one franchise where I'd be quite happy to see a second trilogy, I think.[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]Well done, Petie. This new software looks great. And thankfully Adam and co. were prepared in so far as back-ups go; it's a relief to know that we only lost a couple of months' data, rather than years and years of data. So I think it's going to be time soon to start a new RPG! ;P[/font]

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1324340224' post='710659'] I am not much of a car person, but I don't think there was anything too awkward looking about my cousins Prius. I have seen some small looking cars, but i have no idea weather that is necisary for it to run, or just better for good gas mileage. I also think there are a ton of odd looking cars out there with normal engines, like scions for example. To get back to the point... I think the only thing that makes those cars weird is the fact that not everyone drives them. If 90% of people drove a hybrid, the people with generic cars would then look strange. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I think that the second-generation Prius isn't bad, at least compared to the first. Although I think it is unfortunately true that Toyota tends to make their cars look like whitegoods on wheels, with a few notable exceptions. I still think that if you looked at the demographics you would be likely to find that most people are buying a Prius purely (or largely) to save money and help the environment - that is to say, I can't see anyone saying "Wow, this car looks great and has awesome features and is fun to drive, so I'll buy it - the hybrid stuff is a bonus!" Maybe those people exist, but I can't imagine that they make up a big chunk of the buyers. And so long as that's the case, I think that hybrids will tend to sit on the margins a little. It usually seems to be true that a company needs a real break-out product with strong general appeal in order to really get a large sales volume happening. But I'm sure that will happen. More and more companies are making hybrids now. Just takes time. Also, on the original point about the solar panels... I don't know what the general rule is, but in Australia, most panels are pretty unobtrusive - they don't cover an entire roof or anything. I'm not sure that they are designed to always power an entire house, but probably they take up [i]most[/i] of the house's power needs.[/font]

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1324263916' post='710646'] I bet there would be ways to improve how they look, but they are already so expensive that any extra money spent on aesthetics just seems pointless. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I don't think a change in body shape is going to make much difference to cost. But while we're on the subject, I do think that hybrids are a bit of an awkward halfway point between internal combustion and fuel cell engines. I know there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome with the latter, but there also seem to be some relatively big issues with hybrids (particularly the cost and the batteries, as I mentioned earlier).[/font]

[quote name='IIISTARSCREAMERIII' timestamp='1323872271' post='710584'] [font="Comic Sans MS"][size="4"][color="#9932CC"]Don't you think they kind of look a bit goofy also?[/color][/size][/font] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]This is one reason why marketing and design can be so important. I think that the take-up of hybrids might be bigger if car manufacturers tried to create more appealing products. It's a valid point. Having said that, if you actually look at the emissions involved in creating the electric batteries for hybrids as well as the emissions involved in disposing of them every few years (I'm pretty sure you need to change the battery every ten years or something), it all adds up. [/font]

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1324034183' post='710617'] The campaign isn't so bad in that game... but I can't stand those Flood missions... I am so glad they were left out of Halo Reach. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Oh yes. That brings back (horrible) memories. I absolutely loved [i]Halo 3[/i], but those Flood missions were really un-fun. I didn't enjoy them at all, even though they had some creative touches. I managed to get a couple of hours in with [i]Uncharted 3[/i] over the weekend, too. I hadn't yet finished the second game, so I had to finish that first. I quite liked it, but I started to get a little bored of the constantly-repeated environments. I'm finding that [i]Uncharted 3[/i] definitely avoids this problem. Not only is there huge variety, but the environments themselves just look so incredible. This is easily the best looking game I've ever seen on a console, and I think it's probably the best game I've seen [i]at all[/i] - including stuff on PC. It's just so expressive and lifelike, but not necessarily in a raw photorealistic way. There's still a fair degree of repetition in the gameplay, but the character movement is so lifelike and there are so many incidental actions incorporated into the gameplay that everything just feels...[i]alive[/i]. I've been thoroughly impressed at every step of the way, and I'm not very far in! Even things like voice acting and character animation are utterly brilliant. This game really proves that Naughty Dog is one of the top-tier developers in the world at this point. Has anyone else played [i]Uncharted 3[/i] yet?[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]Well, I just swapped [i]Battlefield 3[/i] for my brother's copy of [i]Uncharted 3[/i]. I was mostly interested in [i]Battlefield 3[/i] for the campaign aspect. Multiplayer is great, but I don't play it that often. And my brother was looking at returning [i]Uncharted 3[/i] because he really didn't enjoy it. So I haven't yet played it (I'm trying to finish [i]Uncharted 2[/i] first!), but I'm hoping it's as good as the reviews suggest.[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I only just ordered [i]Evangelion 2.0[/i] on Blu-ray. So I guess I'm not [i]yet[/i] watching it, but I'm really looking forward to it. I loved the first rebuild film, and I've heard that the second is even better (as well as being even more divergent from the TV series).[/font]

[quote name='Petie' timestamp='1323264133' post='710523'] [color="#0000ff"]Well they are supposedly touring. I know the launch concert was in California but they had a Dallas date posted not long after so this could be a possibility. I know I'd be there in an instant if they came anywhere near here.[/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I have no idea if they will ever make it to Australia, though. I was lucky enough to see the [i]Game On[/i] concert at the Sydney Opera House in 2009 - that was awesome, and that had some classic Nintendo stuff. But the Zelda symphony just seems amazing, especially based on the CD that comes with Skyward Sword. Here's hoping.[/font]

[quote name='Petie' timestamp='1323228271' post='710517'] [color="#0000ff"]Just looked it up on YouTube to be sure I remembered it correctly. It really is an incredible piece. Here it is, for those interested: [youtube]cCpAFkdy9Ls[/youtube][/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Yep, that's the one. Absolutely amazing track. And there are quite a few flute pieces throughout Skyward Sword that are equally impressive. It makes me want to see the live symphony performances.[/font]

[quote name='Petie' timestamp='1323177987' post='710514'] [color="#0000ff"]Out of curiousity, which track was it you wanted specifically? I have always enjoyed the Zelda soundtracks but I agree that having a real orchestra behind it really makes for some incredible music.[/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I don't know what the name of it is, but it's the piece that plays when you first meet [i]Fi[/i]. It is one of the most haunting and beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard in a video game. For me, it's already very memorable. I think it's right up there with Zelda's best. If you can find it, give it a listen outside the game itself. It's incredibly beautiful.[/font]

[quote=Brasil]Haven't yet, but will...some time. Remember, I could barely get through TP's opening without wanting to kick a kitten into an electric fan. And I loathe trying to play SMG1 on account of its horribly-paced opening. If I can't get into the action quickly...I get cranky, and fast. Especially moreso these days. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Yeah, I'm the same - long, dragged-out openings frustrate me a lot. Part of the reason is that I don't have the time to dedicate to games like I used to, so I tend to want to get in on the action quickly. Having said that, I hope the lengthy intro to Super Mario Galaxy didn't stop you playing it outright; it is a brilliant game. The two SMG games are among the very best of this generation, I think. They really represent Nintendo at its most exceptional. On a totally unrelated note, I downloaded some of the ripped soundtrack from Skyward Sword yesterday because there was a particular track I wanted to get. This is pretty much unheard of for me - I don't tend to listen to video game music outside the game. But I'm starting to think that Skyward Sword has one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game. The fact that it's a complete orchestral soundtrack no doubt helps a lot, too. The more I listen, the more impressed I am. It's amazing how these newer, fully-orchestral soundtracks are shining an even bigger light on Koji Kondo's talent as a composer.[/font]

[quote=Desbreko]SS is as close to 1:1 as I'd want for a game like Zelda, really. While it's pretty close, being exactly 1:1 would make hitting enemies that require precisely angled slashes a huge pain, not to mention the headache that would come from trying to swing at such angles while the camera is facing Link from some odd diagonal and the sword control is still relative to the direction Link is facing. (That happens a lot while targeting because you wouldn't be able to see the baddie if it centered perfectly behind you.) The idea of perfect 1:1 control is cool and all, but the more precise you require the input to be, the harder it becomes to make Link do exactly what you want â?? and no one wants to play a game when they feel like they're fighting against the controls more than the actual enemies. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I largely agree with this. The more I think about it, the more I think that [i]perfect[/i] 1:1 control is probably unnecessary. The bigger issue I have with [i]Skyward Sword[/i] is really just the need to continually re-center the controller. And as I said before, you wouldn't need "pointer-based aiming" - just "pointer-based re-centering". I'm wondering whether or not Nintendo will do something about this in the future. But to get back to the point, I think that to some extent it's better for Zelda to [i]closely approximate[/i] your gestures in some cases. One thing I was a bit worried about was that I might need to make huge arm movements to directly prompt what Link does in-game - I don't want to have to do that. It would be tiring and unnecessary, and would make long play sessions tedious. So in that sense, the game has to be able to accommodate the fact that a) different players will have different gesture sizes and b) that not everybody wants to stand there and flail for hours on end. The only [i]slight[/i] problem I've encountered with sword control - and it's a minor complaint - is that when you have to move fast, the response time is a little too noticeable sometimes. But generally this is not an issue, and when it arises, it's not really an impediment to gameplay.[/font] [quote=Brasil]Though, there IS something incredibly awesome and oh-so-wrong about playing MM, naturally rendered at 720p, with a 360 controller mapped out to mimic GCN. haha[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I need to try this. I got MM on Virtual Console and, yeah... it's okay. Unfortunately I'm playing it on a TV that [i]clearly[/i] isn't its natural habitat, haha.[/font] [quote=Brasil]But now I'm kind of glad I held off on it. Sounds like the opening would drive me absolutely mad. And...sounds like the controls are...strange? I have a feeling that overall, I'm kind of done with most Nintendo stuff for this generation. Eh, no. I'm done with most motion controls this generation.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]It sounds like you haven't played it, heh. You [i]have[/i] to play it. The opening of the game [i]is[/i] frustrating. And you've seen my criticisms of the re-centering. But despite these two annoyances, the game is really unfolding brilliantly. The first boss alone is a revelation - and I mean, a revelation for gaming in general. The experience is quite special and it'll definitely make you smile. There are quite a few moments like this in [i]Skyward Sword[/i]. It's one game you definitely can't miss, despite the flaws.[/font] [quote=Brasil]I guess the biggest challenge with SS is the same kind of challenge every company's been trying to figure out: how to reconcile motion controls with "standard" gameplay. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]The beautiful thing about [i]Skyward Sword[/i] is that it doesn't feel like a compromise between two disparate systems. It doesn't even feel like a marriage of two different concepts. It feels like a motion controlled game for hardcore players, really. It is probably the best example yet of how significant motion control can be when placed in the hands of the right developer. In that sense I'm glad that Wii U will also use the Wii Remote - [i]Skyward Sword[/i] demonstrates that many previous games were only scratching the surface of what is possible. It has taken this long to start seeing the true potential of the technology emerge. I think there is the potential for us to be very happy and surprised with what comes around in the future.[/font] [quote=Brasil]Maybe it's just as well. I'm trying to play through Deus Ex HR, DC Universe Online (you should play it, seriously), plus all the stuff I got for free on Black Friday. Amazon Rewards Points love me. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I totally understand, haha. I'm trying to balance between [i]Skyward Sword[/i], [i]Skyrim[/i] and [i]Battlefield 3[/i]. It's a tough juggling act![/font]

[quote=Desbreko]The problem with that is you'd still be stuck only being able to aim while pointing at the screen because that's the only place it would center on. I much prefer being able to aim from any odd position I want as it's much easier without having to bring my arm up from its usual position down by my leg. It's especially nice when I'm having to quickly switch between sword control and aiming while fighting baddies.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Yeah, you're right - that would be a limitation. On the other hand, the screen tends to be in front of you...so, for the most part I think this would be OK. It would also possibly be a little better if the sensor was [i]only[/i] used for centering, so that you can still move "beyond" the limits of your TV screen to aim around the world. [/font] [quote=Desbreko]I view having to recenter the cursor (and really, you only have to recenter it if you change position after starting to aim) the same way I view camera control. Sure, having to do it manually is more effort, but it provides much more freedom than any automatic way of doing it. See: Mario Sunshine's fully manual camera, which I love, vs. Mario Galaxy's fully automatic camera, which I hate.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Yeah, I don't really view it like camera control as such. I think the reason is partly because centering your view is more of a controller problem with MotionPlus rather than just being a viewing angle problem specifically. That is to say, it [i]feels[/i] - however vaguely - like the controller isn't quite working as sharply as it should. And I think that has the effect of slightly affecting that suspension of disbelief. At least when you move around in Mario and you click a button to center the camera, it pretty much "just works". With MotionPlus, you might not be thinking about centering and you go to aim at a point on the screen...but Link lurches wildly to the left or right because you have to re-center. It just has the slight effect of feeling a little broken at times. But maybe this is not really a widespread feeling. I just wonder what those more "casual" players think.[/font] [quote=Desbreko]I tend to take full advantage of any abilities the game gives me in abusing the AI, so yeah, this occurred to me pretty early on when I was getting annoyed at having to fight so many Bokoblins one-on-one. :p[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Haha, fair enough. I like being surrounded by enemies, it just increases the tension. Although the Bokoblins can get a little repetitive at times, admittedly. [/font] [quote=Desbreko]By the way, another good use for skyward strikes is cutting large amounts of grass at once. A horizontal one really mows it down. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Awesome! I need to check that out. New grass cutting methods in Zelda are always worthwhile. ~_^ On a totally unrelated note, it's good to have a [i]real[/i] gaming discussion here at the moment... there have been a few good ones lately, but I find myself missing the days when our gaming forums were full of discussions and debates. *sigh*[/font]

[quote=Desbreko]About the motion+, you're never going to get away from the need to recenter the cursor. When you go into a pointing view, it takes wherever the remote is currently pointing as center and goes from there for any movement. But then if you move your arm to some other position to get better range of motion or something, you need to recenter to take into account the new positioning because the game has no way of telling that you're just shifting position instead of aiming.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Yeah, that's absolutely right. I know [i]why[/i] there's a need for re-centering, but that doesn't make re-centering okay as far as I'm concerned. I just think it feels sloppy. To some extent, it goes against Nintendo's own design principles. So, to answer your following point, I would much prefer if MotionPlus incorporated the sensor bar in its design. I'm sure there's a middle-ground to be had here - rather than using the sensor bar exclusively to aim, perhaps the sensor bar could simply automatically re-center the controller every time you point at the screen (and then the controller disengages from it once centered). This [i]might[/i] be an elegant way of solving the problem, at least in part. Although I'm sure Nintendo's thought of that, at any rate.[/font] [quote=Desbreko]Having to recalibrate the motion+ every now and then is annoying, though. Mainly, it's because it can be hard to tell when you need to do it. I sat at the second dungeon boss door for, like, two minutes trying to get the stupid key to rotate the right way before I thought to recalibrate, and then I got it immediately. I found a pretty good way to tell when it's gotten off and needs recalibration, though. Just open up the item circle by holding B and move the cursor around the circle; if you can't get to each item slot easily, or if getting to one side of the circle is harder than the others, you need to recalibrate.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Good tip there. But yes, the re-calibration is also annoying. It somehow feels like I'm doing the work that should be done invisibly behind the scenes by the hardware and software. So in a sense, I feel like MotionPlus has some advantages, but it also feels like a troublesome compromise. And if it frustrates me - a so-called "core gamer" - I can imagine it being extremely irritating for the "non-gamer" market that Nintendo is aiming for. (Where's Alex when you need him - he might not believe that I actually have a critical word to say about Nintendo, haha).[/font] [quote=Desbreko]I wonder if the new remotes with the motion+ built in are any better about this. [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Nope, they are no better - at least, they very much fit your description as well as mine. I got the gold Wii Remote with Skyward Sword, which has MotionPlus built in...and yeah, no better unfortunately. -_-[/font] [quote=Desbreko]Basically, against anything that doesn't block constantly or require something special, like flipping over Skulltulas, keeping your distance while firing off skyward strikes makes for an easy victory.[/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Interesting. The funny thing is, this whole scenario simply never occurred to me. I guess that's why I haven't included it as a criticism of the game in my own comments - it simply hasn't occurred to me to try to snipe enemies from afar using the skyward strike. Even so, it just seems like a really un-fun way to play the game. I can see why you'd want to avoid it, mostly.[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I don't own a house, so this is a non-starter for me. But should I ever own one, I'd definitely consider this option. Unfortunately, solar panels are highly expensive unless a government rebate is involved (something we had until recently in Australia). I think it makes a lot of sense to offer rebates for solar panel installation, not just for environmental reasons, but also because it takes pressure of ageing energy infrastructure generally.[/font]

[quote name='CaNz' timestamp='1320312267' post='710102'] What is your take on this case? Do you think the judge should be held to a higher standard because of his position? Did the crime fit the punishment? [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I didn't watch the video (I don't think I really need to do that), so I will just base my answer on your description of him beating his daughter with a belt. I'm sure my imagination will suffice. I doubt that any sane person would advocate hitting a child with a belt for downloading music illegally. In fact, there are probably very few things a child could do (if any) to warrant such a reaction, especially from a supposedly loving parent. The father is obviously just striking out physically, without considering that he is entirely missing the point. Rather than beat your daughter with a belt (in the process, teaching her what, exactly?), a better course of action may have been to sit down and explain [i]why[/i] illegally downloading music is wrong and what it actually means. And maybe banning her access to the PC for a little while could be done for good measure. Clearly the crime did not fit the punishment, and clearly this is a case of bad parenting. In terms of the judge being held to a higher standard... I'm not sure why a judge should be held to a different standard than anyone else, in terms of the abuse of his child. Shouldn't we all be held to a high standard? If a criminal conviction were to result from this action, then sure, I'd expect him to lose his job (and to never be able to fulfil his role as a judge in the future). But I wouldn't necessarily say that there should be different standards for people based on their rank in society, as such.[/font]

[quote name='Desbreko' timestamp='1322478610' post='710381'] [color=#4B0082]So, anyone else finding that skyward strikes are incredibly easy to abuse? I beat the third dungeon boss without getting hit earlier, and while I did avoid a few attacks with nicely timed dodges, I mostly just spammed skyward strikes for the first part of the fight. Not only do they let you keep your distance, they're also a lot easier to hit with when you need to swing in those tricky diagonal angles. [/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]I'm not very far in, but I haven't really found that I can abuse skyward strikes very much. When used on most enemies, they are simply blocked. I find that, generally, even regular enemies require a degree of patience that negates "spamming" (although I know that it's still possible to "spam" an enemy if you really want to). But playing the game that way is just not fun (and ironically requires more effort in some sense) for me. I say "more effort" because you have to pause and wait for the strike to ready itself. Doing that frequently would really irritate me - I'm too impatient, haha. Having said that, I've only just fought the second boss. I really enjoyed that boss, even though it was pretty easy to beat. I think what I enjoyed most was that the overall design of the fight was somewhat unique by Zelda standards (although [spoiler]a boss taking a deep breath and then Link promptly throwing a bomb into its mouth is not exactly a new idea[/spoiler]). I think as time goes on I'm enjoying [i]Skyward Sword[/i] more and more. It definitely has this way of gradually unfolding in front of you, and it seems to become increasingly interesting as time goes by. And I know I haven't yet encountered all the truly interesting stuff! I'm kind of hoping that Nintendo do something to improve MotionPlus in the future though. This need to re-calibrate and re-center just doesn't feel right. I'm not sure what they can feasibly do, but it would be great if they introduced a new Wii Remote alongside the Wii U or something. [/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I picked this up on Friday and I've had the chance to play a little bit over the weekend. I only just reached the Earth Temple. It's hard to really draw any major conclusions at this point, but I kind of feel like Nintendo achieved a better puzzle/combat balance with this Zelda. That is to say, the puzzles seem to be a bit less obtuse (and less difficult/frustrating as a result), but they are still challenging and logical. And they are generally pretty good fun, which was not always the case with puzzles in previous Zeldas, I think. And on the other side of the coin, I'm really pleased with the combat, in the sense that it's much more front-and-center in this game than in previous Zeldas. I read somewhere that the combat is not [i]difficult[/i] but it is [i]challenging[/i]. I agree with this. It's not so much that you lose lives fighting (it took me a while to beat the first boss, for example, but thanks to the abundance of hearts in jars I never died). But although I didn't die, I still found the fight challenging and stimulating - it kept me on my toes, I had to really pay attention, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout. So there's this whole sense of added nuance with the combat that I am really apprecating. I definitely think it feels better than the combat in any previous Zelda game. I really have to agree with Des about the game's opening, though. Honestly, it felt a little torturous at times, haha. It just lasts way, way too long. And there are giant mountains of text to flick through. I've never been someone who cares either way about voice acting in a Zelda game, but the mountains upon mountains of texts and prompts at the beginning of [i]Skyward Sword[/i] are painful. I get the feeling that all this text exists in part to ease in people who are new to Zelda, but honestly, I think it could end up turning new players away. For those of us who know how awesome Zelda can be, we tend to be prepared to wade through it to get to the good stuff - but if you've never played a Zelda game in your life, I can't imagine you'll bother putting up with it all (unless you're somehow really engrossed by the early story, which I can't imagine being the case for many people). Luckily things really do pick up after that (thank god), but I do find [b]Fi's[/b] constant interjections and pearls of "wisdom" to be pretty irritating. Even if you ask for advice, you tend to get only the most broad and generic comments, which relate to things you already know. I don't feel that the system works terribly well, at least so far. Having said that, [spoiler]I adore the moment where you first meet Fi and you have to follow her at night - the music is wonderful[/spoiler]. That was really the first moment in the game where I felt like something special was in store. In general, I'm loving the very different world layout, too. Although there are still defined start and end points for temples, I'm enjoying the fact that the areas surrounding the temples are themselves rich with puzzles and exploration. For me this is one of the most refreshing things about [i]Skyward Sword's[/i] approach. I'd be lying if I said that it was not a little jarring to go from [i]Skyrim[/i] on a nice big, HD screen to [i]Skyward Sword[/i] - it did take a moment to adjust. But I have to admit that I'm developing a real affection for the art style. Skyloft is much more interesting than Clock Town was, I think (although I can't say that it beats Hyrule proper), but the surface areas are pretty awesome generally. I really loved the art style in the first temple, as well (and so far, the Earth Temple is looking pretty striking, too). In some ways, I think this really feels like the most accomplished art direction for a Zelda game. I'm enjoying it much, much more than the relatively drab palette of [i]Twilight Princess[/i]. Despite its increased vividness, it still has moments of darkness and mystery - it just works really well I think. I have to say, my biggest overall gripe with [i]Skyward Sword[/i] has nothing to do with the game itself - it's that damn Wii MotionPlus! I mean, it generally works beautifully - I really do love the sword control - but I'm finding that I need to re-center the controller relatively often. That I have to re-center it at all is sort of annoying. It's not a game-breaker or anything - I can live with it - but it feels a little unpolished in that sense. A little un-Nintendo. It's sort of mildly disappointing. Anyway, now that I'm just a little further in, I'm really loving the game more and more. Some parts of it feel a tad archaic (especially the overall story presentation, at least so far), but I am really thoroughly enjoying the overall experience. At the very least, I'm already enjoying [i]Skyward Sword[/i] more than [i]Twilight Princess[/i] I think. We'll see whether or not it'll become my favourite 3D Zelda (which is a pretty big call, thanks to [i]Majora's Mask[/i]).[/font]

[quote name='Petie' timestamp='1322194042' post='710340'] [color="#0000ff"]I sort of alternate between sitting and standing but for the most part, use somewhat smaller motions regardless. So yes, it's entirely possible to play the game from a sitting position using small flicks instead of full out swings. That said, I find it a bit easier to handle some of the more intricate stuff while standing (though I'm still not flailing the controllers).[/color] [/quote] [font=palatino linotype]Cool. That sounds good. I have a feeling that when I fight bosses, I'm going to be standing... haha. My other problem is that I just moved my TV and it's now in an akward spot... it's kind of a bit too high if I'm sitting down - just slightly too high. Should be OK, but I definitely want to have the best experience possible. Life is going to get very insular soon. Between [i]Skyrim[/i] and [i]Skyward Sword[/i], I'm going to be in trouble. And I'm trying not to even think about [i]Super Mario 3D Land[/i] just yet...[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I've been following what you guys have been saying really closely. I'm [i]hopefully[/i] going to be picking up Zelda today, if the store where I preordered is open long enough! We shall see. It does sound like the initial stages of the game are going to be a bit of a chore, but I'm hoping that once it's over, the rest of the game is actually reasonably large. I'm also very curious to know something specific about [i]Skyward Sword:[/i] do you guys find that it's uncomfortable to play for too long or anything? Basically I'm thinking about this because some comments from players around the 'net have sort of suggested that it can be a bit tiring to keep having to wave your arm around all the time, for long periods. With something like [i]Wii Sports[/i], you might only play for half an hour - but obviously with [i]Skyward Sword[/i], longer play sessions are likely. Is this a game where you can comfortably sit down and do smaller wrist movements? Or does it really work better if you're behaving as though you're actually holding the sword? I'm very curious about that. [/font]

[font=palatino linotype]Okay, so I know that we've got the [b]What Are You Playing Now?[/b] topic, but I know a few people have [i]Skyward Sword[/i] already... I'm dying to read some detailed impressions from you guys! [/font]

[font=palatino linotype]I've become so engrossed in [i]Skyrim[/i] lately that I'm wondering how much time I'll have for Zelda when I get it. I think the combination of the two is going to make me a complete hermit...[/font]

[font=palatino linotype]Welcome to OB, monado and Remii. I hope you guys enjoy the place. Let me know if you need any help with anything. ^_^[/font]