mikeszekely

I disagree. Not with your review, mind you... that was pretty much spot on. But I think the movie's claim to fame is less about the pre-release controversy and more about the popularity of the book, which managed to sell some 60 million or so copies to date. And the problem with adapting a book to a movie is that you have a smaller space to work with. Take Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, for example. There was a lot of complaints that some things were cut or slightly altered, but I think that the end result was a movie that moved along pretty well (my only real complaint was that things seem to be happening faster than the entire school year that the movie follows). Without going into a book review, I'll state for the record that I did very much enjoy all four of Dan Brown's books. So, how do you turn a good book into a dull movie? Apparently, you try to jam as much of the book into the movie as possible. As much as I can recall (it's been awhile since I'd read the book), most of the major events in the book are in the movie. But while the book plays out a little slower, presenting clues and providing more insights and background, and allowing more time to digest the info and to kind of play a long as the characters work through to solve the mystery, the movie plays out like a Reader's Digest version. The viewer isn't given much insight into the characters or their backgrounds, and no time to digest any info. Rather than being presented with a new clue when the characters are, the viewer sees that the characters have a clue, which they quickly solve and move on.

Sony's starting to remind of of the dumb kid in class who'd copy off other students' test papers. First they aped the 360's Xbox Live (right down to the achievements), and now they're talking about how innovative they are for ripping off the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers. And after ragging on Microsoft for having two 360 skus, they decided they'd rather copy that page from Microsoft's playbook, too. And if I wasn't too keen on the PS3 before, those price tags are definately going to have me content to pick up a Wii to complement my 360 as my only new hardware this fall. I mean, $100 more than the good 360 package gets me the shitty PS3 with no HDMI and no place to put my memory cards, or I can shell out six-freaking-hundred dollars for the good one. I mean, if you want any games with your PS3, you're going to have to take out a second mortgage... EDIT: I just noticed that Sony wasn't content enough to rip off the Wii with their controller, they had to put a guide button on it that, aside from the PlayStation logo instead of an X, is the Guide button off the 360 controller, and the R2 and L2 buttons are supposed to be more like Xbox or Dreamcast triggers. Thank god Sony has to compete with Microsoft AND Nintendo. If they only had one competitor, E3 would be all about how Sony innovated the PS3 by stealing a bunch of Microsoft/Nintendo hardware, rebranded it, and is selling it for double.

Well, it looks like the PS3 is official the Fanboy Console of Choice. Sony fanboys and FF fanboys (and girls)... unite! I guess I'm still waiting for the good E3 news. I mean, they showed FFXII at last year's E3 (if not earlier), and we're still waiting on it. Something tells me that buy the time FFXIII comes out, I might actually be interested.

IGN also reviewed it, giving it a 9.5 out of 10. Now the dilema... play NSMB when it comes out, since it's been 15 years since I played a classic 2D Mario and I can't hardly wait for the new one, or try to save it for another month so I can have a kick-ass game to play on the Lite when I pick it up...

Well, most of the time I'm all for smaller, but I agree that that alone wouldn't do it for me. Three main factors for me would be: 1) The screens. The DS had a noticeably better screen(s) than the original GBA SP. But then those new "better backlit screen" SPs came out, and next to them, the DS's screen looks like crap. Having a DS with screens as nice as the newer SPs are worth the price of admission (especially since they won't be more than the current DS). 2) The stylus. For all Nintendo's blustering about making games more accessible, and how everyone can play, they admitted designing the original DS for children... hence the hand-crampingly small stylus. The Lite will feature a longer stylus that slides into the side of the unit instead of the top. 3) The wife. She already usurped my regular DS, and she actually owns more games for it than I do (I'm down to Castlevania and Megaman, but she's got most of the puzzle games released for it so far). She's content to keep using it, I'm content to just let her have it and get the Lite for myself.

I think white is fine. It's like the same color as... well, all of Apple's electronics (nevermind that my iPod is black... it'll at least match my Mighty Mouse). But I've always kinda thought of the blue colors as making electronics look less like a high-tech gadget and more like a toy. I'll be reserving my Lite when I go in to work in a little bit...

Trust me, I hated the demo. But I wound up buying the game anyway, and it turned out to easily be my favorite of the launch games.

Not me, man. I'm all about white. I'm hoping we open the pre-orders at work, because I definately want one. The question is, can I hold off until June to play the new Super Mario Bros. on it?

I was going through my assault records, and I just noticed... one of the enemy aces I bagged goes on to work on Stonehenge. Nice tip of the hat to Ace Combat 4. Another thing... could Cypher be your pilot in Ace Combat 2 as well? It would kinda make sense... Scarface was, IIRC, a mercenary group. And AC2 is only 4 years after Zero. I'd think Cypher would still be flying. Plus, as Wizard 01 said in his interview, "There's always a war going on somewhere, I suppose. He'll always have a home." For that matter, although I suppose it's a bit more of a stretch, Cypher could be Mobius 01 as well. Cypher was refered to as young by someone in Zero, and it's only about nine years from Zero to 4. Cypher and Mobius 01 were both abnormally talented... PJ even described Cypher as "inhuman." And while Mobius 01 wasn't ever directly called a mercenary, it would explain why he didn't have squadron (until Megalith). Be they seperate or the same person, I wonder what Cypher and Mobius 01 were doing during 5? I suppose Osea might not have been an ISAF member, so Mobius 01 might not have a reason to be involved. But it seems like Cypher ought to have been involved somehow.

But QAAM's are nowhere near as godlike as they were in 4. But yeah... even though, gamewise, the stats on the F/A-22 are a bit better mobility, speed, stability, and air-to-air, I've been flying the YF-23 a bit, especially on Round Table missions. It's black with the Soldier paint, which seems appropriate for a Demon Lord...

I'm with March, this is it for me. I've been here long enough that I feel like I know a lot of you personally, so hanging out here, with our various quirks and all, just feels like hanging out with some friends. I've tried joining other boards for other interests, but for various reasons I just never felt as interested or as comfortable as I do here.

That might just be to show that the enemies fit into the same three ace types.

Haterist, according to the strategy guide for Ace Combat 4, you have to have an S on all the missions on at least normal to unlock the X-02, and on expert or higher to unlock the enemy version. In both scenarios, the X-02 won't unlock until your third time through. And Graham, Ace Combat 5 doesn't play like 4. In 4, you knew your time limit, and could do pretty much whatever you want as long as you completed the mission objectives before that time limit ran out. And that usually meant shooting all the targets. In 5, just because you see a timer doesn't mean whatever you're defending can't be destroyed before the timer runs out. And, it isn't always necessary to eliminate an enemy. As you said, when you try to stick close to the helicopter, attacking planes will draw you off if you want to down them. Simple solution... don't chase them. As long as you get them to break off from attacking the helicopter, you don't need to actually shoot the target.

Ace Combat timeline. In case anyone else was wondering how all the games fit together.

I know what you mean... the sunken part of Farbanti really stood out, and in several missions Sky Eye would let me know I'm flying over a crater. But scenery still didn't change the fact that a lot of the missions were just shoot crap til time runs out missions. As for the story, I liked the interview style in Zero. It was interesting to see how the different aces reacted to you, and what they were doing after the war, and the whole thing with Pixy drew me into the conflict more personally. The letter style was an interesting way to tell the story in 4, but aside from giving me insight to my rival, Yellow-13, it never seemed to relate to what I happened to be doing at the moment. Well, I guess that's a case of to each his own, right? But I think we can agree that 5 was the most story intensive. BTW, in Zero, in mission 13, Lying in Deceit, anyone else notice that that's the same area that's in Ace Combat 5's Closure mission? If you fly to the second to northmost cluster of enemy targets, you can even see the entrance to the mines were the nukes were being stored.

"Wanna come to my house and see my Wii? It's cool, up to four people can play with my Wii at once." "Be sure to take a break when playing with your Wii for long periods, as playing with your Wii can cause fatigue." "Use a soft cloth when cleaning your Wii." "My Wii is blue!" "Some people like their Wiis laying down, but I set my Wii erect." "Bring your Wii over, and we'll link our Wiis together for some two-player action."

Ustio is mentioned a lot too. But yeah, I was a little suprised that Yuktobania wasn't mentioned much, although we can assume they were part of the Alliance. Anyone notice that the Alliance emblem is kinda similar to ISAF's? Speaking of ISAF, Soldier color on the F/A-22 is Mobius-01, including the ribbon insignia.

I don't know about that. I somehow lost my memory card with my save files for 4 and 5, so I went back and replayed them to unlock the X-02 (and refresh myself on some of 5's story). 5 definately had the most story, but Zero crushes 4. I mean, at least in Zero, there are other characters besides yourself. In fact, my only gripe with Zero's story was that they really didn't do enough to tie it in with 5. I agree that Zero was a little lacking in mission variety at times, especially coming off 5... but at least Zero didn't have missions like Solitaire or Four Horsemen. And 4's stages memorable? Not really... Stonehenge Offensive kicked ass, and Breaking Arrows and Safe Return were different, if a little dull... but most of them were like Whiskey Corridor... shoot crap until time runs out. Actually, despite all the other controversy about it, Ace Combat 3 really had some of the best mission variety. I think I'll replay that one later...

Nintendo's pretty much emphasised that, despite the spelling (which is innovative, because the Wii is innovative), the word should be "we." As in, "We want a new Smash Bros." The Wii has fueled a ridiculous ammount of innuendo and toilet humor at work since they announced the name. It's good for that, at least.

David, when I played, I used the Draken almost exclusively until I could afford the Su-37. Once I had the Su-37, used that for every mission except the second to last one... it was just too big to manuever in the facility. And since I couldn't buy anything else at that point, I wound up beating that mission with the F-5, dying, then going back to the Su-37. And Phoenix, I suppose that mission could remind me of that, but it really reminds me of flying through the base in Ace Combat 3 more.

Yes, but not overtly. Hrtbreak 1 is one of the Allied aircraft in one of the missions. The carrier Kestrel is also in one of the earlier missions. Not exactly. Sony owns Poliphony Digital, hence GT games only on Sony consoles. Ace Combat is a Namco franchise. And Ridge Racer, another Namco franchise that launched with the PSX, recently made the jump to 360... In any case, who picked it up yet? I freaking love the game. It's like a subtle blending of 4 and 5. Like 5 - Controls, including wingman controls, the fact that you have wingman with names and what not, the setting, missions where you shoot things around castles. Like 4 - Computer briefing instead of fat guy, return line on some missions, Excalibur (think Stonehedge), return of the buying of special weapons, slightly less story than 5. My one gripe? While replaying the game to earn all the planes and medals will add length, there are only 18 missions. While that puts it at Ace Combat 4 length, five kinda spoiled me. On the other hand, while there were some truly awesome missions in 5, there were some crappy ones as well (both of the ones were you had to fly in between radar balls, the one where you had to hit the targets in sync with the wingmen, etc), and so far, I've enjoyed all the missions in Zero. I also like how this one gives you a little bit more in the way of choices. Like, in 4, you started with the F-4 and you liked it. In 5, you were flying the F-5 for awhile before you had the option to fly anything else. In Zero, you had three from the get-go, and I rather enjoyed flying the Draken for awhile. Of course, I unlocked the Su-37 WAY to quickly, and ever since the other planes just haven't been worth it.

No non-Shatner Kirk and no non-Nemoy Spock for the win.

Speaking of Riker and the Titan, that wouldn't be a bad angle to pursue. A few familiar faces augmenting a mostly new crew, new ship, and new adventures as they move away from the diplomatic missions, the goodwill missions, the Dominion War, etc, and get back to exploring the Final Frontier.

Associated Press story So which is it? Early Kirk and Spock, or no plot nailed down? Frankly, I'd rather not see anything with Kirk and Spock... especially Spock... because no one in my mind save Nimoy could BE Spock. But... yay Star Trek!

Woohoo! Next-gen power-sliding madness! 392403[/snapback] Only if it's better than Ridge Racer 6. And even then, not enough to sell me a system.