Semjaza

[quote name='Mugen][color=sienna][size=1] [B]"Seven"[/B] was also quite a scary expierience. Mostly due to the brutality of the murderes. When that [spoiler]when the guy representing Sloth just popped back to life, I nearly **** myself.[/spoiler] [/color'][/size][/quote] I think in that movie (and many others), the stuff they don't really explicitly show comes off worse. I think most people have better imaginations than what can realistically be displayed in a film... If certain things are tried with today's technology, it just winds up looking fake and then, laughable. [spoiler]Anyway, the one scene that comes to mind instantly from that film that fits within that is Lust. The image of what he had made and the fact that the man was forced to use it for an extended period on the woman is pretty damn horrifying.[/spoiler]

Gothika was absolutely terrible. Was that whole "let's try to spin this around into something more disturbing" random angle near the end even necessary? What a waste of a climax of a film. The new Amityville Horror is certainly not good, but it looks like a masterpiece in comparison to the original. Why they felt a need to remake that one, I have no idea. I can't comprehend why someone might like House of Wax but think Saw was awful (as much as it was Seven-lite)... but to each their own. Most of what's around nowadays is horrid. Boogeyman was one I saw recently and it was just outright awful. The Darkness was one of the most vague, unexplainably stupid films I have EVER seen. Land of the Dead, while damn good, didn't really do much to help "save" the genre. I liked Dead and Breakfast. It's advertised as a "zombie musical", but it only barely falls into that category. Still, it's overly cheesy and fun... it was enough to enjoy it. Worth a rent. I want to see this newer Australian zombie film called Undead, but I've not seen it to rent yet. Lion's Gate released it here, but there seemed to be zero buzz around it. With horror, you never know if that's a good or bad thing. As for something I actually enjoyed, I'd have to go with The Devil's Rejects. It's a follow-up to House of 1,000 Corpses, but it has an incredibly different feel to it. It's more of a thriller/serial-killer film than the normal monster-stupid horror that usually comes out (and would probably encapsulate House of 1,000 Corpses). The humor and drama and violence were just pulled off so much better this time around and I think Zombie has really come into his own. I have to admit the actress who plays Baby is pretty damn awful, though.

I enjoy Ludacris, largely because he lives up to his namesake. I like that he has fun, but still comes off as intelligent in his music. Chicken and Beer was really damn good and this year's release isn't so bad either. I've always been a fan of the more energetic rappers out there... a lot of that lazy stuff just doesn't do it for me. I've been into Outkast for a long while now. I don't really remember how I got into them, but I had ATLiens and Aquemini. To be honest, I still don't pay attention to who exactly fits into this genre, so I at the time I certainly never considered it anything aside from what it seemed to be: good hip-hop. I like their new material as well, but for different reasons... I don't know that it lives up to the earlier stuff, but songs like The Rooster still amaze me. Anyway, like I was saying, I don't really keep up on the differences between the subgenres, so it's all just "hip-hop" to me, for better or worse. Stuff like Handsome Boy Modeling School, Mf Doom (and his spin-offs), Diplo, Smif-n-Wessun, Cannibal Ox, Nas, Shadow Huntaz, Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy, Quasimodo... while I know for a fact many of these don't fit into crunk, I'm not really sure about all of them (not to mention some more I've not bothered to mention). I'm slightly ignorant as far as that all goes. As for 'Lil Jon, my only thought on him is "Why?"

The poster says they have 3D Studio Max and AutoCAD. In any case, the site pretty right out says on the download page that these are for some specific program (I guess called GDL?) and not for more popular formats like 3ds (3D Studio Max). They have a link to some program that will convert them ([url]http://www.graphisoft.com/products/archicad/object_technology/downloads/new_installexplorer.html[/url]).

The game also has something you can't even access until you complete the game once... so it has that going for it as well. I'm just posting because I thought of something. I'm thinking this whole "monster raising" idea has simply just been a lot of confusion on the internet and how things are worded. It seems to me that it's probably just a misunderstanding and that it's actually referring to Monster Teams. This isn't really a spoiler since it's a basic aspect of the game. I'm not going to say anything specific about where stuff is or how to do it.... but I'll block it out anyway. [spoiler]So basically, in the game, you're given a quest to find three monsters by Morrie. These are special monsters, stronger than normal ones and with specific names. You can see them running around on the field, they're not randomized like normal battles. After you get those three, Morrie unlocks his Monster Arena. From then on, whenever you find one of those special monsters and beat them, you can choose to have them join you. Obviously the goal is to have the strongest team and make it to the Championship.[/spoiler]

They both have some good qualities, but neither really scream at me like I feel something with this theme probably should. On first glance, Baron's seems more interesting... but it falters because the picture is simply a crop of a very easy to find image with some text laid over it; any alterations are so extremely minor that I wind up sitting and wondering if it's just the monitor I'm using or if something was actually done (even after comparing what you have shown, it looks like a couple increases in basic options...). I also don't really understand why one of the periods falls off the edge of the image after "Magic". I feel Retribution's could have gone over with some more color usage. Even Chicago's version of Broadway is bright and busy... I imagine that New York's is even moreso. I don't know that that's conveyed here. That's mostly just my taste, though, and not something I guess I can say is a "problem" in either of these. I don't know that simplicity was necessarily the way to go with this sort of theme, but again, this is how I'd approach it. I always hate when someone tells me to do something that's more of "Well, that's how I'd make it!" and not something actually objective... Hopefully I'm not doing that here lol. I guess, in the end, I'd go with Retribution.

It technically is true because I'm talking about general situations. It's not like we have stats to compare either of their albums and how large the fanbases really are. Muse's fanbase is likely growing all the time because every day new people will find out about them. I'm simply stating why you perhaps aren't noticing it and why it would seem that in every day life it has slowed down. It has. Brand New would likely be gaining far more interest right now if they had some brand new release as well, but they don't. That doesn't mean they're making much more headway than Muse all around the world. Brand New also has had singles and they're a comparitively newer band. They've also had music videos from both albums on MTV. They also have the benefit of being able to tour in the past with some immensely popular pop punk and emo groups, which in turn helps sales and interest... that's one of the biggest trends in music right now. I'm speaking of world wide interest and why it might have been affected. Muse doesn't seem any more or less popular around me, but I can't just include the general attitude for the band that I assume people have in Chicago... I have to gauge the interest I see every where. What I said before is what I feel is attributed to that.

This is a difficult one because they both have good qualities and portions that don't work quite as well. I find Doc's to be almost needlessly angsty, but maybe that's just me. I like the attempted film negative effect, but the jagginess of the circles detracts... They also don't seem to be well centered, so it ends funnily on the right side. The source images are good quality, however, which helps. I can see what Kitty was trying to do and I like the idea... Unfortunately, I think the use of the typefaces winds up really detracting from it; their placement and style, particularly in the definition segment, seems entirely too random. Typography doesn't simply involve placing words down, it involves placing them well; portions are too close together, others are too far apart. I'm not so sure I'm big on the blue overlay, either. I'm going to go with Doc.

[quote name='Inuyasha7271']There already is sex in video games we just don't get em people are you forgetting about the dating and sex sims in Japan. They have games that include nudity and sex we just don't get em cause of the FCC and parents who would blow a gasket.[/quote] Almost none of those appear on consoles because Sony and Nintendo and Microsoft want nothing to do with them. They're either PC only and sold on websites or go through some other random sales method. I don't really think they're in the same category as what is being discussed here... This isn't about strictly adult games as much as it's about mainstream releases with sexual situations.

People still don't realize that the problem about the GTA hot coffee issue was largely that it was in the game and the ESRB and hence every one else was never told about it. It wasn't taken into consideration on the rating whatsoever. That was the issue. It was being sold and advertised to a market that didn't take that hidden stuff into account... and by the very rules of the ESRB, that hidden stuff has to be shown regardless of whether or not it is normally accessed. We live in the world of modifcations and Game Sharks. It wouldn't have been rated M in that case at all and sales would have been affected if it wasn't removed. Politicians had been complaining about the game since the originals on PC and Playstation, honestly... but this was the first time anyone really paid any attention because it just wasn't taken into account ahead of time at all. It was the first time they had some really workable fodder as far as normal people would be considered. I also don't think people have SEEN it. It's rather beyond what is offered in any other game before it on consoles. Every time I see it brought up there seems to be some idea that it's almost on a Sims level of sex or something. Are people overreacting anyway? Perhaps... but it's definitely not comparable to the sex minigame in God of War or anything else people try to compare it to. I don't see sex as a problem in video games, but I honestly don't think it's really ever something necessary. In the games I've played that contain it I've never really felt it added much to the character or story that couldn't be added in some other way. In the European version of Indigo Prophecy (called Fahrenheit over there), for example, you can have sex with your girlfriend assuming you get back together. For some reason or another the game lets you move the mouse to perform the action. Why? I have no idea. Strangely, there's no nudity involved and it's all under the sheets. Maybe when I play something and feel it somehow really added to the characters development I'll see a point in it. Right now, I think it's almost always handled like love stories are in RPGs: very badly.

Beverly Hills is easily one of the worst, most superficial, poorly written songs Weezer has crapped out and I still can't figure out what is getting people about it. The whole album is pretty damn bad and while Beverly Hills is probably not the worst one on it, it definitely epitomizes the mess they've become. I've read this idea from the band of "We're older now and don't listen to or play the same stuff!!" Apparently where they are now includes writing stuff that sounds just like their old material with worse lyrics and poorly realized butt rock solos. I guess Rivers doing his "wooo-wooo" thing is all fans need anymore. Beverly Hills gets stuck in my head because it is damn awful and I think it's funny. When I saw them live, their new material has such a different vibe. I don't understand the attention. The band needs to get humble and Rivers needs to go nuts again so they can really put out some decent material, apparently. That said, I have a few, although they're not in any particular order. 1.) Super Furry Animals - Laser Beams: A great song boosted by two great b-sides. I'd think this band would be more popular considering all the material they've got out, but what can you do. 2.) M83 - Teen Angst: The anthem for OB! An absolutely amazing song with a great remix. Definitely worth a shot if you see it cheap and are not sure if you'd enjoy them. 3.) Redjetson - This, Everyday, For the Rest of Your Life - One of those more "prog" influenced rock groups out there, but without a ton of the pretention that usually goes along with it. A pretty solid single and I'd like to see where they go with it in the future. 4.) Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle 5.) Test Icicles - Boa vs. Python Both from the same band... I don't think they actually have an album yet. Insane is a pretty good description for these guys, I suppose. A great mix of genres that will work for some and probably seem obnoxious to nearly every one else. 6.) The Pipettes - Diry Mind: Pop with female vocals that's getting a good amount of hype behind it as far as dinky indie bands go. It's likely they'll be gaining some steam in the future and it's seems to be deserving. 7.) Tricky Nickson - Tricky Nickson EP: I assume EPs are allowed here. Reminds me of a lot of early 90s style alternative bands such as the Pixies or Nirvana. Definitely worth a listen and another one that has good potential to become popular in the next few years.... Not that I mean selling 5 million albums, but popular by indie standards. 8.) Art Brut - Good Weekend: I like Art Brut a lot. Their LP this year was amazing as far as I'm concerned. This single comes with some good b-sides that, while they don't really match the quality of the stuff on the album, are still damn good. That's all I can think of. I don't feel like writing about Yeti or Morning Runner... they're pretty standard, but still pretty good stuff I've come across this year. I pay far more attention to albums than singles.

I just really don't understand why this has to be a feature in the first place. I'm not entirely sure why it's allowed here at all aside from very particular circumstances. It's gotten to the point where members here just expect it and want it done all the time. Every time it is done, regardless of what's in the signature, it's jarring and weird. Some people, once you get used to their new name, change it yet again. Personally, I think you should just decide on a name and stick with it for awhile... once or twice is okay, but there are people here going on five, six or more. Allowing it every few months would allow some people to do it three or four times a year... enough is enough, I say.

The Blue Shell is really damn annoying, particularly offline. What good does it honestly do someone in 8th place? Instead you're just pushed back to 2nd or worse and they likely get up to 7th. It annoys me to no end. It's not so bad online assuming that every one is close to each other or someone is WAY far ahead.

The icon is a good idea, really. I wonder how many people look at that list at all.

I'm not sure if you mean Muse the British rock band or something else. If you mean Muse, Absolution came out two years ago and all the singles were released. Once a group stops putting out "new" material to the radio, they're going to begin to fade a bit. Muse hasn't sent anything new out to the radio in awhile... which makes sense, since the US release of Absolution was about a year after the original release. So , obviously, that will affect their overall popularity because most people are understandably fickle with music. It's likely that when a new album or single is released they'll be up there again... but who can really say. The nice thing about that album coming out here and doing well is that Origin of Symmetry finally came out here. For a long time, the only release of theirs that was easy to find in the US was Showbiz. Everything else was a $30 import. They're certainly more popular in their downtime now than they were back after Showbiz... because I don't remember any one that talked about them here at all back in 1999 or so lol.

I'm not exactly sure how complex the system is since I've not reached that point yet, but I do know you can catch monsters and use them on your team in some way.

Once per month is way, way, way too often. Honestly, I think once per year is enough. If people can't decide on a decent name, I don't really think every one else should have to try and figure out who they are every time.

Really, the only things I can say about this movie are: Why now after the animated series has basically faded into obscurity? and Why Theron, considering she looks tired half the time? Oh well, maybe it'll turn out. The previews don't have me very excited. The thing the original really had going for it was the style and that wouldn't really translate well to live action to begin with.

The FFXII demo is okay, but definitely not an insanely interesting bonus when it comes down to it. The Dragon Quest VIII game itself is infinitely more entertaining for obvious reasons. The game itself is great. I got it the day it came out and have been playing it when I have time (which has been about 5 hours so far). I don't really feel like writing a lot about it, but there are some things to touch upon so I'll do it in a bullet format: [list] [*]The game is absolutely gorgeous and captures Akira Toriyama's character designs well for the first time [*]A lot of people hated the first person battles of the previous titles. In this game, choices are made in first person, but the battle itself is fully animated in third person. Looks great. [*]TDungeons are large, but not needlessly mazelike. Their design makes more realworld sense than what is present in titles such as Shin Megami Tensei. [*]The battle system is very traditional, but fast paced. The addition of a new Skill system and the Psyche Up command add to the battles, as does the fact that enemy HP is slightly randomized. [*]The game has a full night/day cycle. It progresses at a slower rate than the past games, but you can stay at an Inn until evening if you wish. Some scenes, dialogue and so forth only occur at night. [*]In the US version, the music is fully orchestrated. [*]In the US version, major cutscenes have full voice overs. The Japanese version had none. The voices are great overall and suitably cartoony. [*]The menu system has been spruced up graphically and modernized for US release. [*]The game has an insane sense of scale and the world map and towns reflect this. In this sense, it's more reminiscent of Zelda than most other RPGs out there. [*]The main storyline is pretty basic fare, but the pacing is very good. The characters, in turn, are just fun and likable. They develop well over time. [/list] I think that's all there really is to mention right now. This is a very strong contender of best RPG on PS2 for me... fighting only SMT: Nocturne. I'm not sure which I'd give it to, but it's definitely the best RPG I've played this year. It's enough like the old titles to interest older players, but it's been added to and modernized to a degree that I think it will interest many new players as well. It sure as hell makes up for that Dragon Warrior VII mess.

It's definitely something that's a major objective for them. Already the Japanese support is surprisingly strong, especially considering how poorly the original did there. There's a good amount of traditional RPGs, among other things, announced for the area. I think the fact that the system is far more sleek will win some people over. The controller is smaller and lighter, which is always good. A big complaint I always read about the system for Japanese consumers was its size and so forth. Considering the PS3 is supposedly around the same size, I don't know that it will be as much of an issue. I don't think it's strictly that it's a major American-based company... Afterall, Microsoft was responsible for the MSX computers that did amazingly well in Japan and other markets. The MSX was designed by Microsoft Japan, but I doubt anyone really noticed when it came down to it considering MS is obviously based in the US. Hell, Metal Gear originated on it... It was basically Konami's playground as far as great titles go. So there's always a chance.

Changing the widths and such for other pages too much might make the site seem really disjointed, just be careful with that. Aside from that, I like the general idea and the color usage. I kind of echo the idea that the deteriorated look on the top really seems out of place to me. It doesn't really go with the more slick imagery used elsewhere. Overall, it's hard to say much about it when the main content area is largely empty, though.

My problem with the whole picking apart posts into several quotes thing is that oftentimes the point of the post overall is lost. Instead you wind up with a bunch of little responses to single bits and pieces. No one can ever respond well to that because then they suddenly have to re-explain everything that was questioned, regardless of whether or not the entire post as a whole contained answers to those questions or not. If that even makes sense... That's now how it always is, but it happens enough here and elsewhere lol. Honestly, a lot of what is considered a "fight" is not something that would bother people elsewhere. With the way this place is focused, disagreeing strongly is perceived as a "flaming" or whatever by a good deal of people here. Maybe this place is too sensitive, I don't know. I do know that I have to word some things better, myself. For some of the worst stuff, who knows. Maybe the people are just unhappy in general and take it out on others. Maybe they just get off on being mean. Maybe they just disagree so strongly that they don't check themselves at all. Maybe they don't mean to sound like that at all and it just comes off really badly. I suppose there's a million reasons.

I did a list of games that interested me awhile back... but most of them are strictly rentals. I already have the games I wanted most this year: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, Mario Kart DS and Dragon Warrior VIII. I was interested in Taito Legends as well, which I picked up. I'm still looking forward to Animal Crossing: Wild World for this year. I'm kind of considering Tony Hawk's Sk8land as well. Kirby's Canvas Curse, from what I've played, was great. It got great reviews here. I might pick it up eventually. I'm considering that GameCube Fire Emblem as well. I really enjoy the GBA ones and it has gotten some great scores despite the lackluster graphics. We'll see. The only for sure, then, is Animal Crossing. Oh, and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time... if that comes out this year. I'm looking forward to Electroplankton and Super Princess Peach in February as well.

Yeah, I think there needs to be some sort of penalty for disconnects... even just some sort of % that details full games versus disconnects or something. Right now when you see someone with a really lopsided record (such as 15 and 2) it's basically safe to assume they're going to disconnect the second they don't win a race. It took me a bit to get the starting boost under control too. The book does a poor job of explaining it and I quickly found the Double Dash method of pressing gas right when it says "GO!" does absolutely nothing. It's more like the MK64 method where you have to hold the gas down for a set period of time first. For those who haven't gotten it yet, the best boost you can get is if you press and hold gas right when the number 2 is getting biggest and starts disappearing. If you do it too early you'll spin out and if you do it too late the boost won't be as good.

Welcome to message boards. Christ, people are whiny here. You put up a thread, people are going to respond to it... whether you agree with them and their methods or not. As soon as you put something up here, people are going to question it, respond to it, agree with it or beat it into the ground. No one cares what you asked for because message boards are about conversation and conversation goes where ever it pleases, really. I don't think the original poster should be given that much control over their thread to begin with. If you want something verging on moderator abilities, I'd really just say that you should go open your own forums lol.