Semjaza

I'm not really getting much out of what you actually feel about the idea of a divorce besides the monetary value it indirectly puts on your marriage. Do you actually want to be with this guy anymore? I honestly can't tell one way or another from what you've written here (I'm sorry if it's been explained before, I don't usually keep up on these types of threads). He's obviously going to try his best to go through with an uncontested divorce for obvious reasons. If I was in your situation, I'd make it all as difficult as possible for him. You've been waiting around for him to return and then he drops that? I think that's pretty scummy. He should have realized more about what he was getting into beforehand because something such as "I want my life back" is a thought that obviously does not involve any of the remote best interests of a wife and child. It's incredibly selfish, really. I suppose it depends on any other problems going on, though, which I have no idea about.

I only have two real plans: school and the Intonation Festival. There's also Lollapalooza, but I can't afford that. Intonation sounds awesome though. I already have my tickets ($22 for two days if you got in on the pre-sale). There's some good stuff there: Tortoise Death From Above 1979 The Go! Team Broken Social Scene Four Tet Magnolia Electric Company AC Newman The M?s Head of Femur The Decemberists Les Savy Fav The Wrens Deerhoof Andrew Bird Out Hud Xiu Xiu Dungen There's a couple there I don't recognize (Head of Femur?), but there's also some more recognizable ones like Death From Above 1979, The Decemberists and The Wrens. The line-up is pretty fantastic, I think.

Earthbound gets my mention. [spoiler]Giygas is something that is really built up to be the ultimate evil throughout the entire game. He's of such power that you can't even go to where he's located in your actual flesh and bone body; your spirit is placed inside a robot. Before you even get to battle him, you have to walk through this small area that is just full of difficult enemies. When you finally get there, there's a pretty challenging battle with Pokey who now rides around in some crazy spider robot. Giygas is literally impossible to defeat by conventional means. His HP is insane. I think the fact that the game uses an unconventional method (praying) as a key to his defeat is really interesting and was pulled off well. It's really a great battle and everything surrounding it is great too.[/spoiler] Lavos was a *****. I had such trouble with him my first time through. Strangely, I was able to beat him with only one character on another time through in New Game +. Maybe they lower his HP, I don't know.

[quote name='Silpheed][COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1]While I understand that the PS3, 360, and Revolutions grpahics are supposed to be top notch and all but what about in the later years of its realease when game companies start getting lazy and we start seeing games that look like they should be on the PS2, X-Box, or Gamecube? Then we'll be back to square one with reviews and playablitiy...Yeah..[/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] I know in many cases, textures and models are made at high detail and then scaled back for the powers of the console. In a review for the GTA: San Andreas for Xbox they had mentioned how they always do high resolution textures and then scale them back to be used on the PS2. I imagine it's the same for many companies. It's not much work to scale back a good model, but it's a lot of work the other way around. Still, I am not expecting games to look like the pre-rendered PS3 Killzone footage next generation; not right away at least. Making a video with tools you know and saying something is capable of this or that is really quite different from actually getting it to run within the bottlenecks the PS3 obviously will have (you can see that much from its specs). While I'm not saying games like that won't appear eventually, I'm not just expecting it right away. I don't think anyone should. That doesn't mean they won't look amazing by today's standards or improve dramatically over time. I don't think it makes any sense for companies to get "lazy", though. I don't know of any major ones that have done this this generation. Games just continue to improve on the current systems. The only "poor" looking games tend to be from much smaller developers. And really, I imagine with the obvious cost involved with making a PS3 game, that's going to be phased out to some extent. The PS3, if capable of all that right away, is going to push out a lot of smaller developers who either can't afford or just can't make games that look like that. Xbox 360 will probably have this issue to a lesser extent; I imagine it won't be quite as expensive or difficult. Nintendo claims they're trying to make a system that will make those developers (and the major ones) happy. We'll see how that works out. They've mentioned in recent interviews that they're going after companies and games they've lacked this generation (GTA was cited), so who knows.

[quote name='Dragon Warrior'] (being an actor myself I can relate). Oh well...[/quote] You're an actor, but couldn't pick up on the poor acting in this film? :animeknow [quote name='Justin']Super Shadiow of supershadow.com: Does anyone else, besides me, think this guy is full of crap? If you're not familiar with him, check his site out. If he's lying, he's not very good at it. If he's not, then he's not very good at telling the truth either.[/quote] It's pretty much indisputable that the guy is a hack based on things I've read from both sides of that. Anyway, it seems like most of this thread has gotten deeply into things I don't care to know, lol. I'll be on my way.

Photoshop will do this for you automatically if you set it to. You need to record an action. If you don't know how to... open up one of the files you want to resize and then open up the Actions Menu. Make a new action and press the play button. Resize the image how you want (I'd recommend using percentages if they're all different sizes... but if they're the same, just do the values you want normally). Go through this all the way to saving. Stop the action. Then go under the File menu (I think) and choose the option that's something like "batch operation". You should be able to specify an entire folder of images and use that action you just made and apply it to everything inside of there. Just make sure you're putting it into a NEW folder and not the original one incase you mess something up. It might take a few tries to get it right. I always find I mess up a setting or something along the way.

I believe it was Appleseed. Before I really cared about Western comics I really got into the work of Masamune Shirow in particular. I wound up getting the trades of Appleseend and the data book. If you've only seen that old animated version, don't hold it against the series. I really loved the characters and the situations. It really feels completely different in so many ways; even more than one might expect from an adaptation (even one that came while the series was still getting new issues). I've still not seen that new CG version, but that's another story.

[quote name='ForgottenRaider']I knew many of the people on the first beta of GW and even then the graphics were stunning. I am kind of disappointed as the world could have been just that more detailed but as they have dropped the requirements back to people with 32meg graphics cards those using the latest grunt don't really get much. Though that might just be me. [/quote] It does depend on the area, but the game looks pretty damn amazing in general. I have a Radeon 9600 and can run it at 1280x1024 with max settings flawlessly. I can't think of a comparable looking game that runs that well. The areas, really, look very nice. There's a section of game where everything seems to look like a wasteland, but you get past that after a few missions. The game has a few weird textures now and then, but overall I have to say it's one of the better looking games I've played in terms of character models and areas... particularly for an online RPG. A lot of it has to do with the rounded art style, I imagine. Anyway, I think the game looks really nice in this shot (it's huge, so keep that in mind): [URL=http://img209.echo.cx/my.php?image=gw0694ro.jpg][IMG]http://img209.echo.cx/img209/9746/gw0694ro.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[quote name='ThatOneOddDude']PC: I think that over the next year and the year after that the PC will completely die. There are a LOT of diehard nerds that only play PC games complaining that consols are inadequite, but with the rise of casual gamers, the rise of graphics on consoles, and the rise of great console games, the PC's future is looking pretty bleak. Not to sound stupid but, I kind of hope the PC dies. Im not even sure why, but something tells me the death of the PC, if handled intellegently, will turn out well. ![/quote] Do you know anything about the PC gaming sector? lol Some of the best selling games ever are on computer. Many titles continue to sell extremely well, such as the Sims series. As long as people use computers, people will play games on them. To expect PC gaming to die off is bizarre, but to actually [i]want[/i] it to is right out ridiculous. If you don't want to play it, then don't. As for capabilities... Computers are always ahead in the graphics department. As soon as the console sector shows something impressive, the PC surpasses it. There's a reason all the future console's GPUs are being designed by companies like ATI and nVIDIA - they rule the PC market and know what they're doing. PCs will always catch up and surpass, just as they have in every generation.

Nintendo really has no reason to say much about the Revolution yet, really. It doesn't come out till 2006. They plan on showing it off this year and there's also next E3 as well. Blowing their load now would be pointless. I think people overestimate how many gamers know about E3 in general. The news of it actually travels pretty damn slowly and a lot of it gets twisted around in the process. I don't think the reaction of people on the internet is really going to affect the launches of any of these consoles as much as timing would. And really, I think that's the main issue here. The Xbox 360 is coming out really early. As an Xbox owner, I feel burned by this. They didn't even attempt to show a single thing about their current system at their press conference, despite the fact that it's younger than the other systems are on a worldwide release scale. I can't think of a situation where the first console launch did the best in quite some time. Saturn beat PSX and N64. DC beat PS2, GCN and Xbox. I don't know that that's necessarily in their favor, especially with almost all of the momentum behind Sony thanks to insane PS2 sales. Nintendo always has other stuff to fall back on, even assuming Revolution is a failure... which it likely won't be from a profit standpoint; that's all Nintendo cares about in terms of marketshare anyway.

I hope that image is just super compressed... I'm not liking what happened with the cape design lol. I've been having fun with the game, although I don't play as much as some of the members here do. I've not really had the time or interest in general. Played a bit today, obviously, which was enjoyable. Later in the game you get to have 6 characters in a party, which should be cool in the future. Unfortunately, not all of us are at that point yet so it's not completely usable. Here's a shot of Sennen, Annie and myself: [CENTER][IMG]http://img239.echo.cx/img239/6274/group2ne.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER]

That would be amazing. I recently picked up Volume 3 at Best Buy (it was only $30, unlike the $40 it was marked) and as I watched it I came to the realization that this is really my favorite show ever. There's not a single bad episode, even including the ones with weird, disheartening endings. I don't know if you ever played the Futurama video game (it's on Xbox, maybe PS2), but that contains what's basically a full, un-aired episode. The game is decent, not great, but I think you would like it. If you've not played it already, anyway.

I would get Office Space. It's like $7.99 on DVD most of the time, although there is a special edition coming out soon. It's probably my favorite comedy ever. It's by the guy responisble for Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill. Otherwise, I'd get This Is Spinal Tap. I could watch it every day, but I guess it's not for everyone.

Nintendo Power has actually improved dramatically in recent months. They seem to be far more objective and are making an effort to attract older gamers. Their letter of the month a couple months ago, for example, was basically all about how Nintendo relies way too much on exisiting franchises in their games. That's certainly not something the old Nintendo Power would have printed. At E3 they made a big deal about how they were revamping and redesigning the magazine. Their site offered me a free 3 month trial so I took them up on that. There's a Beck interview in there (I assume about the Hell Yes remixes) that I'm looking forward to. Otherwise, I don't care about gaming magazines. They all get news late, they're often headed by people with bizarre ego trips and generally have a horrid sense of humor. With the internet there's no reason for that stuff anymore. The worst magazine I can think of, however, is probably Game Informer. Why they brag about sales numbers when 90% of them are probably from Gamestop forcing them on people, I have no idea.

[quote name='The Monster']First time gamers will be incredibly frustrated by ICO (Like I was) because of poor AI shown by the Princess. I remember an Old Penny Arcade strip which poked fun at how stupid the girl was. I cannot find the link to strip right now but when I can I'll edit this post.[/quote] I don't know. She wasn't smart, but she wasn't supposed to be. It's your job to properly guide her because she doesn't know any better. Aside from expected sections of her being captured by enemies, I had no real issues, personally. She comes when called and jumps when she should. First time gamers would have trouble with things far more simple than that nature, probably... but I can't imagine it would take them long to adjust to.

The easy thing would be to say I want a music store. However, more specifically it gets more complicated. A lot of it more or less revolves around the same things Peter Gibbons wants in Office Space: nothing. Not nothing in the sense of a vast emptiness or the living equivalent of death, but just to be comfortable and to like what you're doing. Having no general worries. Sometimes I think being a hermit or something would be doable. I could do without electronics and such if I had to, honestly. Some don't believe that, but I know I could. Of course, problems and tribulations are a part of life, so that idea goes nowhere.

The Ramones are just a fun band that capitalized on what they did best. Sure, a lot of their songs sound very similar due to the chord patterns, but's it not like they ever denied that. It's part of what they are and I enjoy it. The Ramones were a major catalyst in many ways; they more or less finalized the genre of punk rock when they came out. There were predecessors that set up the stage for them and following bands pushed it around all over the place, but the Ramones were the ones that finished it. Regardless of whether one likes them or not, they're important and deserve some amount of respect. Certainly far more so than a lot of the more recent pop punk groups that seem to exist for no discernable reason. There's really never going to be a point where they aren't of importance, regardless of whether or not the general populace pays attention any longer. Marks in culture made like that by groups such as the Ramones are pretty much irreversible. Taste is always subjective, but I don't see why there needs to be an idea of "this is old, I only listen to new stuff!" from some people. If one just doesn't like them, then that's fine with me lol. Who is this "he" that said they were outdated anyway?

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']Personally, I think the Cloud/Zack cutscene would've fit better as another mandatory part of the Lifestream sequence. It ties right in to the other events you see during that part, and is nearly as important.[/color][/quote] Definitely. The way the game puts it in there now, it's given the importance of something like the story of Cloud and a cat when he was a kid. This was extremely poor judgement on Square's part. Luckily we all know about it now, so it worked out eventually lol.

The main point he's making is that the Zack subplot is in no way pushed onto you like it should be. I would say a vast majority of people didn't even realize it existed. The game doesn't hint at it, really, and it requires you to go to a place you've been done with for quite some time. He's not saying that the Zack subplot was confusing once you found it. Regardless, I think the story was a mess. It's not that the basic idea didn't make sense, but I felt it wasn't developed or explained very well. It's more than understandable that someone wouldn't quite grasp what in the world it's trying to say considering how muddy the whole thing is (particularly their motivations).

The strange thing about Genesis is that I would say a vast majority of people don't even realize the difference between the decades. Obviously those who have posted so far do, but really, very few people I know even realize Genesis has a huge progressive rock background. Collins really managed to run it into the ground, in that aspect... I think, anyway. It's weird how that turned out. Genesis did The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, so they win as far as I'm concerned lol

[quote name='Bloodseeker']"Speak for yourself" is another way of saying that I disagree. I didn't mean to imply that he thought that he was speaking for all of us. (seeing as how he disagreed with somebody else here, that kind of disqualifies him for that) Don't tell me that you've never heard that phrase used like that before![/quote] I know. I was just playing with the words so I had more to write. There's not much to do at this hour... lol Anyway, more games so I don't get in trouble for a short, junky post: Phantom Dust: An excellent action RPG for Xbox. Only $20! I think if a DBZ game were done in this way (fully destructable environments) it would be pretty kickass. As it is, this game does the job and it does it well. Very recommended. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter: I don't think this one did too well. It's likely not what BoF fans were expecting from the fifth title in the series. It's pretty much just strictly dungeon crawling with a really interesting battle system. The game actually expects you to die and restart (with your stats) in order to properly progress. I liked it, once I got used to it. Resident Evil 4: Definite must own if you have a GameCube. Best game in the series and I recommend it to even people who aren't into the previous games. Has something for everyone. Lego Star Wars: This is only worth a rent, I think, but it's a lot of fun. It's the type of Star Wars game I would have expected to have seen more of. You basically just run around beating the crap out of stuff. Both licenses are used really well.

I'll give it a rent on my Xbox. I've been obsessed with Forza and Rallisport Challenge 2 as of late, so I figure it's a good time to give other racers a chance. I'm not into the whole "street" scene with cars, but it sounds decent regardless.

[quote name='Bloodseeker]Speak for yourself. Storylines and length are [i]the[/i'] selling points when it comes to turn-based RPGs.[/quote] He did speak for himself. So are you. Neither of you are saying something true for everyone. Not everyone is into how movie-esque RPGs have become, honestly. It really depends on the set-up of the game in as well. I've always been a fan of dungeon hacking type games. They don't always have the greatest stories (although some do), but I can still manage to enjoy them and consider them very good games. It's very subjective. Anyway, games I'd recommend: Forza Motorsport (Xbox): It's strange to say this, but I think this game has usurped Gran Turismo as my favorite racing simulator title. It has a better sense of speed, it feels more realistic and it's just less tedious and more fun where it counts. I really recommend this one. Rallisport Challenge 2: Along with this and Forza, Xbox is the best racing console there is, in my opinion. This one is far more arcadey than Forza or GT, but it still requires some braking at proper points and such. I'm a sucker for rally racing games. Doesn't hurt that this one is absolutely gorgeous either. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath: I never thought I'd care about an Oddworld title. Strange that when Lorne Lanning shuts the hell up his company finally puts out a great game. It's an action title that can be played from first or third person depending on the situation. It's in an Old West setting (with Oddworld creatures, obviously) and mostly has you getting bounties in the form of missions. I suppose it is a bit repetitive, but it's well done and has some cool ideas. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne: This is my favorite RPG on the PS2, personally. It's not for everyone and isn't set up like many RPGs of today. It's very heavy on leveling and dungeon hacking, but it's also incredibly interesting and well done. Story and characterization are a bit different than most may be used to in that a vast majority of it comes from NPCs and not from your own character. You make a lot of decisions, however, that can affect the course of the game and the ending. Despite that "setback", I found it a hell of a lot more interesting than stuff with supposedly "epic" storylines. You can also try out Digital Devil Saga. It's a spin-off and not directly related to Nocturne. It's not as difficult or long, but it's still packed with dungeons and such. Keep in mind that it directly ties into its sequel (coming this Summer) which contains a majority of the storyline. That's all that comes to mind right now.

Regardless of stereotypes containing true or false information, the fact that people actually sit and think up what they believe each one consists of is really digusting to me. There is no difinitive stereotype; it's an impossible thing. The last time we had a thread like this I spent a lot of time adamantly defending American people as whole and how a good amount of them really didn't buy into such things. I guess I was completely wrong. Otherwise, my post above contains the rest of my feelings on things like this. I assume it'll be deleted eventually.

Geez, that was overblown. I guess all threads should be contained within a vaccuum so answers will directly comply with what the original poster wanted. Conversation goes where it wants to. Why someone would get worked up over that is beyond me. Maybe some people just don't think there is a definitive one... what's wrong with that? Anyway, I'll go with England. They have David Bowie. Then again, the guy basically localized himself into the US, so who knows what he should count as anymore.