mikeszekely

My list.

I didn't get anything for Christmas per se, more like I skipped Christmas on account of my wife and I bought a lot of not-entirely-necessary-but-expensive things that include all of the following: A gig of RAM for this computer. An external 120GB hard drive for ease of sharing files between this computer, my laptop, and my wife's computer. A Toshiba 52" widescreen DLP HDTV, and a nice stand to put it on. A Microsoft Cordless Desktop Elite, which makes using said TV as a monitor much easier. An Xbox 360, and plenty of games to play with. A Logitech Harmony remote (the one that's compatible with Xbox 360). Family Guy: Volume 3 om DVD, as well as Family Guy: Volume 1 on UMD. A 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer ES with just 32,000 miles. And of course, none of that factors in that I'll probably be buying one of those expensive system selectors with multiple digital audio and component video outs and the LCD fronts, plus this computer is in dire need of a new video card.

I don't think the truck looks that bad. It's not like this is some binaltech redesign that's supposed to look amazing in vehicle mode and passable in robot mode... it's supposed to look bad-ass in robot mode, and passable in vehicle mode. The windshield does gotta go, though. Is that really a Kawamori design? The lineart is fantastic. I'd love to see his takes on more of the classic G1 characters.

If I had to make a guess? Because normally, Best Buy sells "open box" items cheaper, but they figure they can easily sell an Xbox 360 without any box at all at full price.

I would very much agree. Backwards compatibility with DVD will have to be a mandatory feature of all next generation formats if they want people to buy into new technology this quickly. 354277[/snapback] I'm half and half. Since I bought an HDTV, the idea of having movies in HD to watch sound good to me. On the flip side, though, I just spend the last five years collecting movies on DVD, and I'm not about to set it all curbside and start over just to have a collection of HD movies. I'm gonna say that I feel pretty good about this date, though. The game's been done; they've just been tweaking the online aspects. I think this last delay is just to set the American release to coincide with the Japanese release, instead of having them a week apart.

And perhaps the 1.5x minimum for video is one of the reasons why they're having so much trouble getting BluRay (and for all I know, HD-DVD) launched? Perhaps, in an effort to get the PS3 out on time, Sony will use a 1x BD-ROM for software an forego playback of BluRay movies. Until definate specs are released and Sony solidifies their plans, a 1x BD-ROM is still a possibility, and a more likely one than a 3x or a 4x, and my math still stands. I'll concede, though, that Sony will probaby go with a 2x. The drive speeds for other mediums border on irrelevant. To maintain stability, CD-ROM speed will be limited to the PSone's max for PSone games and the PS2's max for PS2 games, as well as the PS2's DVD-ROM speed for PS2 games. With Sony pushing BluRay like it's some kind of wonder-tech and their open criticism of Microsoft's decision to stick wtih DVD-ROM for the Xbox 360, new PS3 software on DVD seems highly unlikely. Last I checked, it was pushed to the 29th...

I'm not stupid, thanks. I know what I'm talking about. BluRay faq. 1x DVD speed = 11.08mbps, and the 360 uses a 12x DVD drive. 12x 11.08 = 132.96mbps. 1x BluRay = 36.0mbps. IGN is reporting that they expect the PS3's BluRay drive to be 1x, but other sources have guessed 2x. The fact is, as BluRay is still in its infancy and the PS3 is one of the first announced devices to use BluRay technology, you're simply not going to see anything faster than 2x. If the PS3 uses a 1x player, then the Xbox 360 would be able to load to its cache 3.7 times faster. If they manage to get a 2x in there, that would certainly help, but the 360 would still be filling up it's cache nearly twice as fast. Those numbers, by the way, are megabits per second, not megabytes. 1 byte = 8 bits, and 1 megabyte = 8 megabits. So, a 1x BluRay would read at 4.5 megabytes per second, and 2x would be 9. And a 12x DVD would be 16.62. Let's assume a level caches 256mb (only to the RAM... we'll assume, since the PS3 won't ship with a hard drive, that a multiplatform game like RE4 won't cache on the 360's hard drive). You're looking at a load time of almost 57 seconds if the PS3 uses a 1x BluRay drive. A 2x drive cuts that to a more bearable 28 and a half seconds. On the Xbox 360, it'd be just a little over 15 seconds. Now, when I was looking at games like Ninja Gaiden, DoA Ultimate, or Doom III, I was thinking that I was pretty happen with graphics where they were at, and remarked to a friend that I'd prefer shorter load times as a next-gen improvement. The Xbox 360 might not be an improvement (bigger and more detailed levels and more room to work with counterbalance gains in read rate), but the PS3's almost looking like a step backward in that department. And for what? More space on a single disc than most developers will know what to do with. If that's the trade off, I'd rather have the occasional two-disc game. It didn't bother me much on the PSone, or more recently, the Gamecube. I'm not intentionally trying to sound fanboyish. I'll be the first to criticize Microsoft's gross mishandling of the 360's launch, and have even suggested elsewhere that certain folks (who were promoted, of all things) should have been fired for it. But at the end of the day, I'll admit, I'm pretty happy with the Xbox 360 for a number of reasons, and skeptical of the PS3 for a number of other reasons. If it makes you feel any better, I am planning on getting a PS3 (and a Revolution for that matter), and have already been looking at home theater arrangements that will accomodate them.

I know I didn't. To this day, I try to avoid things like sunshine and fresh air.

The first game was alright, but they may as well have stopped beating around the bush and called it a Gundam game. Your home/ship is the Ra Calium, complete with captain Bright Noa. And it seems like if you add all the mecha from all the other shows combined, you'd probably fall short of the number of mecha from various Gundam shows.

I'm not saying that SEED isn't without it's merits. There's a reason why Pokemon to this day brings in the big bucks, and it takes money to make new Gundam series. As amazing as Turn A was, I doubt it enjoyed the same level of toy/model sales as Wing or SEED. SEED is even mildly entertaining at times, even if the first half of the series is pretty much a carbon copy of the original Gundam (and even elements of Destiny, with the Destroy Gundam, are very derivative of Z Gundam). But it doesn't change the fact that it still has more pretty boys and super robots than Wing with a plot that's possibly more mediocre.

I don't know if I'd say it's the best, per se. I mean, to mean, the story of Gundam is Gundam-Z Gundam-Gundam ZZ-Char's Counterattack. Taken as one entity, without the OVAs or that later UC stuff like F-91 and Victory, and that's my favorite. My second favorite is Turn A, though. The fact that you look at the mecha without seeing the series and are so put off, then you actually watch the series and see how truly amazing it is, makes it stand out all the more. Comparing it to SEED is like comparing Schindler's List with Pokemon. One's a powerful, moving, classic piece of art, and the other is flashy, colorful, and made to sell toys.

Looks like it's time to upgrade the old video card... Man, I almost totally forgot about Dark Sun! It doesn't matter which one was around longer. Ford would be the oldest automobile manufacturer in the world, but you still wouldn't catch me driving one. It's more about what they did. Greyhawk gave players a more cohesive setting for their D&D campaigns that simply having the DM make stuff up all the time. Dragonlance (specifically Weis and Hickman) showed that novels written about a D&D campaign setting can actually be epic fantasy instead of cheesy schlock. And Forgotten Realms made D&D an empire.

Dude, nobody plays Greyhawk. You might as well be saying, "Piss on CDs, real music fans listen to 8-track!" Forgotten Realms = D&D.

That would just reek of awesomeitude. DO IT. 352813[/snapback] I think Sony beat him to it.

Yes, it really wouldn't be smart. Microsoft would run the risk of alienating early adopters. Developers would be forced to release the games on DVD-ROM anyway. Besides, like I said before, DVD = better load times than Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. It won't be an issue for movies, since they'll playback at 1x anyway. But to load a level from a disc to the RAM, speed matters. As it stands, what loads in 10 seconds from a DVD on the 360 would take 40+ seconds to load from the Blu-Ray drive planned for the PS3. Space really shouldn't be an issue. Even current-gen games as massive as GTA San Andreas fit neatly onto a single-layer DVD. I'm tired of hearing about how one developer has already filled four dual-layer discs... use in-engine cut scenes instead of pre-renders! We're currently thinking 12-23 for DoA4.

Actually, if the experiences of most married men hold true in your case, then it's more like 'Welcome to the LACK of suck." That's the one job that women give up after they've shackled you. Remember, one ring to rule them all..... 352291[/snapback] Seriously. What's the one food that's been scientifically proven to kill 90% of woman's sex drive? Wedding cake. Congrats, though.

Recolors already?

I can't see how it'd only be for movies. It's MS we're talking about here; they know their computers (360 is just a bleeding edge PC, like the PS3 will be). They're trying to promote High-Def. here; I can't imagine them limiting their systems like that. You don't see them limiting their OSs from being able to use all the new high-tech gadgets, that'd hurt their business. 352248[/snapback] No, it's true, and it's good business sense. If you have multiple formats, then you have to release the games in multiple formats for the people who bought an Xbox 360. The games are already in HD anyway, it's only movies that are lacking (and there are actually some DVDs in HD... mostly Discovery channel specials and stuff). And frankly, the read rates on these brand new players will be atrociously slow. While you don't need a fast one for movies, and you can upgrade your computer's drives, you're stuck with the slow ones (like the 2x that's supposed to be in the PS3). Games have better load times for being on DVD. Not to mention that they're still working out the bugs on both formats, and no clear winner has been decided yet.

Here's one to ponder. Why'd the crappy live action Tick series get a DVD release, but the awesome cartoon never has? Likewise, Fox's awesome 90's X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons. Episode collections have turned up (I picked up the Venom Saga for Spider-Man), but no seasons.

Doesn't look like you'll have long to wait. IGN reports that it'll be out in January.

There was an Evil Bad Guy. He made giant monsters. The robot smashed the monsters and saved humanity. And in the US, it was Tranzor Z. 350576[/snapback] Yeah, see, I don't remember the Evil Bad Guy. Nor the giant monsters. Maybe it has something to do with the short attention span of a child not yet in elementary school, but for all I remember, the show could have been about a guy flying his jet thing, parking it in the robot's head, the robot strikes a pose, and everyone agrees that the the robot is cool. Actually, something tells me that I'm not too far off with that...

In a move that suprises no one, Uwe Boll cranks out another videogame adaptation that sucks. Little children are crying, kittens are murdered, videogame fans die a little more inside, and Satan is pleased with himself. Still, Bloodrayne is looking hella better than the craptastic DoA movie...

Yeah, looking over a quick article on Super Robot Anime, I'm inclined to agree. Mazinger Z looks really damn familiar... in fact, I remember having the toy. I don't remember any of the plot details, but damn that robot kicked ass.

Okay, here's the thing. I definately had a favorite super robot show growing up. However, I was so little at the time, I barely remember it! I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it was called (and not knowing what it was called, I couldn't even begin to guess at Japanese titles). I do remember a few key points, though... The main character was definately a young man, who hung out with a young girl, and I believe and older fellow. This guy hopped into some kind of little jet, which parked in the top of the robot's head. The robot's main attack involved shooting its fist off at the enemy. Anyone want to help me reclaim a piece of my childhood and take a stab at what show I'm remembering? Edit: Nevermind, I'm pretty sure it was Mazinger Z.

I wanna wait until I see more of Beast to make a judgement. I mean, that one picture doesn't really show you enough. I'm gonna say they deserve some credit for getting even that much out of Frasier.