mikeszekely

I think going from a 6GB PC game to a 20GB console game is quite a stretch. I don't doubt that games will get bigger, especially if they have a lot of pre-rendered cut scenes and high-def video. But I'll point out again that 99.9% of the games being released on the current hardware do not extend beyond a DVD-5. Even some of the biggest games you can think of, like San Andreas, come on DVD-5s. X-Men Legends II (PS2) doesn't even reach 2GB (throw it in a DVD-ROM and have DVDecrypter take a peek at it). I'll even point out that some games, like Lego Star Wars (PS2) are still shipping on CD-ROMs. If the average current-gen console game is around 3GB, then the average game size can TRIPLE and still fit on a DVD-9. Sure a few games will wind up being two discs, just like a few current gen games spill on to DVD-9s. But there will be plenty that have room to spare, too. And, while I respect a lot of Mark Rein's opinions, especially about the pricing of games and how used game sales can have a negative impact on the industry, I sincerely doubt that console games will hit 20GB any time soon. As JB0 point out earlier, just rendering a cut-scene in-engine instead of using a high-def prerendered video can reduce the size of a game.

Weak. I want the new ships and bonus track (even if they are based on Stealth), but have ZERO interest in the movie. I wonder if they'll make it downloadable content in the near future...?

Gotta disagree with you there. As a fan of the F-22, I always want to play with it as fast as most of you want to play with the F-14. One of the things I hated about the Airforce Delta was all the obscure and outdated Israeli/Indian/African/Chinese etc fighters they stick you with at the beginning, and the fact that the game was half over before I got any planes I actually wanted to fly. Maybe, as a compromise, have all the fighters unlocked by 2/3's of the way through, but keep the best weapons for it locked until closer to the end.

I'm pumped. Saw a preview on G4, and it looks like more fun than the first. I'd be more pumped if I could pry myself away from Burnout Revenge long enough to go to the store and pick it up... I don't know about the DS, but a PSP version was announced at the TGS. I wonder how i'll work with just one analog stick?

Actually, I think "story's all over the place" is the best explaination I've heard. The story is an irrelevant vehicle to deliver pure and simple fanservice.

It's definately 512mb. And I really think that angle is going to work for them. I've already plunked money down on the 360, and I expect it to be my system of choice for the next two years or so. If the PS3 launches at the expected $500, that's simply too rich for my blood (when half the games being developed, including RE 5, will be multiplatform anyway). But the Revolution, on the other hand, has just enough hooks that if it launches at $200 or less, I'd probably buy one as a second system.

The problem, though, is that trying to change the way games are played often leads to gimmicky games reguardless (Yoshi's Touch & Go), games that don't really take advantage of the new technology (Splinter Cell DS), or games that try to shoe-horn the new tech in with disastrous results (Tiger Woods DS). As long as they do release an attachment that is like a real controller, I'm willing to give it a shot, though.

Let's face it... the movie could have been called Final Fantasy VII: Fan Service. Yes, the movie looked amazing. Yes, it was cool to see all those characters again, with much greater detail (I've gained a totally new respect for Rude and Reno). Yes the fights were awesome. And yes, Sephiroth is in it. However, since I wasn't a huge fan of the original, it's really easy for me to rip the movie a new one, too. The plot hardly made any sense. I mean, where'd those Kadaj and the other two actually come from? Were they created like Sephiroth? And what's the whole Geostigma about? Why do all those kids have it? And frankly, Sephiroth-loving fanboys and girls aside, I actually think it was retarded to have Sephiroth in the movie. Cloud kicked his ass two years ago, and a little Jenova juice is just supposed to up and turn Kadaj into Sephiroth (complete with the outfit and sword)? All-in-all, fans of Final Fantasy VII should enjoy it for the trip down memory lane that it stirs. But if your looking for a true sequel with any substance, you'll going to have to wait a little longer.

I'd be more excited, save for two things... first off, the PSP version of Dynasty Warriors wasn't all that hot. Second, Samurai Warriors, while an excellent idea, would up being my least favorite Warriors game. Stupid timed indoor levels combined with a moronic ally AI (it took me forever to beat the level where you have to defend Nobunaga until he'd leave simply because he wouldn't leave before time ran out) crippled the game. Still, after the PSP's long dry spell, it's good to see so many games coming out for it.

And all in all, would that be such a bad thing?

I've used them all too... and always wound up going back to conventional controllers. 20+ years of gaming, and that's just what I'm used to. That's not to say that the controller is a wholly bad idea. Like I said, a sequel to Duck Hunt would be great with that thing. But as the primary controller for all types of games? I'm not so sure about that. Apparently, neither is Nintendo. But that's just fine. That's just what I wanted to hear. It winds up being like the DS... innovative controls for innovative type games (Feel the Magic), conventional controls for more conventional type games (Castlevania). I do have a bad feeling that, again like the DS, you're going to get 5 pieces of gimmicky crap for every one truly innovative game.

Keep in mind that the modular nature of the controller is via a cord, so you're holding half a controller in one hand and the Revolution remote in the other, rather than holding one piece two handed. Revolutionary? Sure. A step in the right direction? I somehow doubt it. Nintendo's got some nice ideas, and while moving the controller itself to move something in a game might seem intuitive to non-gamers, gamers have been training themselves for 25+ years on a controller/joystick. The one saving grace, and the one thing that might motivate me to buy a Revolution, will be a chance at a real Duck Hunt sequel.

Ah, a prequel to Ace Combat 5. Nice. Well, any Ace Combat game is gold to me. Except maybe Air Combat (one of those games that was amazing at the time, but is nigh unplayable today) or Ace Combat Advance. Has the platform been announced? I'm kinda hoping PS2, since Xbox 360 just seems unlikely, and I'd hate to break down and buy the PS3 so fast just for Ace Combat Zero.

My district manager. Mike Deithorn, if you're out there, piss off.

I'm surprised there isn't more emo mentioned on MW than just your post. I haven't read completely through this thread in a while, but from what I can recall there isn't that much representation among the favoured bands of most MW members. Emo is so much like J-pop (IMO), but I suppose the lack of mainstream exposure may have somthing to do with it. 328062[/snapback] I think the irony there is that I was never really into emo to begin with. But the Juliana Theory is from my hometown (they say Latrobe, because everyone knows Latrobe because of Arnold Palmer and Rolling Rock, but we're actually from Greensburg, about 20 minutes west of Latrobe). In fact, I remember when they were all in different bands, and the Juliana Theory was a side deal. I'd gone to a show at St. Vincent College to see Pensive (Brett and Chad's other band at the time), and it turned out the be the Juliana Theory's first show. I've been hooked on them ever since. It's kinda wild to go from buying a demo cassette recorded in Brett's basement at a small show in a hole-in-the-wall club to being able to pick up their studio-recorded CDs at your local Target.

The new Juliana Theory album, Deadbeat Sweetheart, hits stores today. The first pressing comes with a bonus DVD with four bonus songs... which I conveniently ripped from the DVD, then reburned onto a new CD with the rest of the album. Anyone else need those four songs in mp3 form, drop me a PM.

And I've got a lot more than that sitting on my hard drive... Did you change the backpic.bmp in the ISOMISC folder? BTW, Burnout Legends = home consoles dusty from lack of use.

I'm sorry, I'd characterize backward compatibility as a new system being able to play games from an older one, not a very-slightly-modified-but-mostly-the-same-damn-thing system being able to play software from the older version. That is, Gameboy/Gameboy Pocket/Gameboy Color are really the same thing. You might as well give kudos for the PStwo being able to play all the software that the PS2 could run. (Except that, without HDD support, it can't... let's call that one a downgrade then.) Or, maybe switching to Windows XP SP2 will be like upgrading to a brand new PC!

Sure... nowadays. But remember that, at the time of the Dreamcast, backwards compatibility really hadn't been done before. It was the PS2 that set that standard, with the GBA (and later the DS) following, and soon all three new consoles, to follow that trend. You can't really knock on the Dreamcast because Sega didn't think of it first.

Sorta. I pulled both versions by checking the drivers in the device manager. The updated driver, though, was downloaded from nVidia's site. I believe nVidia just leaves out some of the decimals, as you noted, and write it as 78.01. Other way around. The card manufacturer drivers are based off nVidia's reference drivers. Some of them keep the nVidia numbering scheme, some add decimals, some pull totally new #s out of their ass. The large version # is because the detonator drivers have been going for quite a while. Started back on the TNT1(hence the driver name). 327690[/snapback] I stand corrected, and the driver stands at 78.01 then.

This forum never ceases to amaze me by how much JB0 knows what's up. One of these days, I'm going to have to disagree with him simply to match wits with him. That'd be Cannon Spike... although I remember it more as the game where you could play as Megaman and ran around shooting stuff. Well, the thing is, Nintendo has their dedicated fans, and while Microsoft and Sony both have games on their consoles that appeal to hardcore gamers, they also have a ton of commercial crap to appeal to their mass-market audience. The Dreamcast was the last system that really felt like it was specifically for the hardcore gamer. They're still my favorite.

More or less. I used an option to trim the edges a little, but I still have a tiny bit offscreen. Oh well. Some of the fonts look weird too. Sorta. I pulled both versions by checking the drivers in the device manager. The updated driver, though, was downloaded from nVidia's site. I believe nVidia just leaves out some of the decimals, as you noted, and write it as 78.01. Well, two things. First, the trouble never seemed to be the cable (it's not really an adaptor at all, just a 6' cable with a male DVI on one end and a male HDMI on the other end). I've determined the majority of the issue to be the drivers, and the rest to simply be the videocard. Second, a DVI to VGA adaptor wouldn't do me much good. My TV doesn't have VGA inputs, just HDMI, component, s-video, and coaxial. If it had a VGA input, I could have just gone VGA to VGA, since my videocard has both VGA and DVI out. The only thing that concerns me now is that my motherboard takes AGP. Although, if I do wind up buying a new videocard, my next motherboard will wind up being AGP. Unless, of course, I buy the motherboard first... then the new videocard will be picked to fit it instead. Ah, let's not be too hard on our fellows. I may only be a hardcore console gamer, but that doesn't mean I never try out PC games. Besides, games or not, I do like to tinker with things. Who's to say that I won't play with other applications that will wind up being demanding on the videocard? In any case, since I'm not a hardcore PC gamer, I certainly won't shell out $400+ for a knock-your-socks-off videocard. But if I set a budget, I am more likely to go right up to the limit and get the best card at the max of my budget rather than play it frugal and only buy what I need.

Well, I will probably still shop around for a new video card, but nemesis and JB0's suggestion to update the driver seems to have worked. I went to 7.8.0.1 (8-2-05), and I'm given A LOT more choices to work with. And although a shade from each edge of my desktop is still offscreen, I can see all my icons, my Start Menu, and my taskbar again. Still doesn't quite look as good as I'd hoped, but I'm going to play around with the settings some more. Thanks for your time, guys, and mods, feel free to close this one.

Or you could right-click on your desktop, then select properties. Anyways, that's where I've been, and I saw what you were talking about. And like I said, it's blanked out (but it's not checked anyway). Well, I suppose that updating my drivers would be cheaper than buying a new video card. Of course, updating my drivers might solve the problem, which would eliminate the excuse to go out and buy a new video card... *takes peak at driver info* 4.3.0.3. Dated 3-3-2003. Well, I'm off to look to see if I can find an updated driver. But please keep the video card reccomendations coming in the mean time.

Well, JB0's point about using in-engine cutscenes instead of pre-rendered is valid. More so than ever if next-gen in-engine graphics are going to be everything Microsoft and Sony are hyping them to be. And then there's your point about HD-DVD supporters jumping ship because of falling Blu-Ray costs. Microsoft definately made the right move going with standard DVD. It's no use waiting for the format wars to be settled, and running with one or the other seems a bit premature at the moment. If Microsoft would have decided to go with HD-DVD, they'd be kicking themselves just on the delay, let alone the setback in the format wars. Likewise, if something unforseen sets back Blu-Ray or gives an unexpected boost to HD-DVD, then Sony will have shot themselves in the foot.