mikeszekely

Explain 322652[/snapback] I don't know about Agent ONE, but I don't like them either because they are union. Not that you can avoid it much. IIRC, UPS had a good thing going awhile back. They held lots of contracts with companies across the US for shipping. In 1997, UPS (Teamsters) union decided that the employees were "overworked" and demanded that UPS management hire many new employees (meaning more money in the Teamsters' coffers, BTW). UPS management said something along the lines of, "Go do something anatomically impossible to yourselves." On August 4, 1997, UPS Teamsters union went on strike, sending 185,000 people home nationwide. During the 16-day strike, UPS lost all those fat contracts due to no manpower to handle the workload. UPS management capitulates and hires new employees, but with no workload for them to handle anymore due to the lost contracts. The CEO lost his job over the whole thing. Two years later, UPS goes publicly traded. No, I don't like unions. The state of Maryland forced me into a union once and I got to watch my hard earned dollars go to line someone else's pockets. Bad enough that the Fed's and the the state tax me, why should a union tax me too? 322826[/snapback] Unions served a purpose when they helped underpaid workers doing dangerous jobs to get their employers to pay fair wages, provide workman's comp, etc. Today, the only workers they help are the lazy and incompetent... they help them keep their jobs LONG after they should have been canned. Meanwhile the laziest of them all fund themselves by taking money from paychecks of employees who actually work. That said, I've never dealt with DHL, but I've dealt with the other three. My experiences have always been good with USPS. Yes, postal employees can be a little cranky at times, but they get the job done. I've ordered things (from inside the US) and chose regular USPS shipping, and had it arrive within two days... not to mention that the shipping rates are pretty good. I bought a game for my friend and wanted to mail it to him while he was teaching English in Taiwan... I think it cost like $6 for Global Priority, and it got to him in about two weeks. As for FedEx, on the few occasions when I've used them, they've been friendly and reliable, but slow as all get out. I ordered from the same store (I think animeniacs.net), but for orders over a certain size, they automatically use FedEx instead of USPS. Turnaround time goes from 2 days to 11. They also tend to be a bit on the expensive side. And then there's UPS... as slow as FedEx, nearly as expensive, and totally incompetent. I ordered the Macross PS2 game from a certain online retailer, and they only use UPS. It was almost two weeks before the package was due to be delivered. I was out the first day, but my day off was the second. I spent the whole day waiting around for it, periodically checking the tracking. Imagine my suprise, then, when I checked it around 7:00pm, and noticed it was marked "second delivery attempt made." Of course, the driver never bothered to stop by, and didn't even put any kind of note on the door. I was on the phone complaining to several different people, demanding that my package be delivered and the driver terminated. And you know what? I STILL wound up having to drive out to the UPS center to pick it up myself, because even after my first tirade, they were STILL unable to get the package to my door. Bottom line: I will NEVER ship via UPS, nor will I do any business with company/indivdual that only uses UPS for shipping. I reccomend you guys do the same.

Gundam Battle Tactics comes out near the end of September. Lucky for me, I have a friend who'll be in Japan all month next month, so I'll try to have him pick it up for me.

No prob... except that Skull Leader has inspired me, so "cereal piss" will be my substitute cuss word. Cereal piss on the whole cereal-pissing next-gen cereal piss. Heh heh... I'm learning that myself. At least a bunch of the original Xbox game support 420p, 16:9 widescreen, and Dolby Digital 5.1 with that advanced A/V pack and a optical cable. I'd been playing my PS2 a ton lately, but since I got my new TV, I see myself spending a lot more time with my Xbox until the 360 comes out. Is it really a good deal, though? Yeah, in the sense that Microsoft will still be selling the things at a loss, and yes in the sense that it'll be bundled with a bunch of stuff that would cost a lot more to buy seperately. But it's not a good deal when you consider that Microsoft had been telling us since May that the Xbox 360 would come with a hard drive and a wireless controller, and that it would be around $300. I, and I'm sure most people, took that to mean that we'd get a 360 for around $300 with a hard drive and wireless controller, not that I'd have the option to get a 360 for around $300 OR get a 360 with a hard drive and a wireless controller. Couple of quotes from Tycho at PA... The $300 is nothing but PR. It exists so Microsoft can proudly proclaim that the Xbox 360 launches at $300. But NO ONE actually wants it. $300 for console with wire controller+ $40 so I can save my games, or $400 for console with wireless controller, headset, and HD for both saving games, saving Live content, and playing my old Xbox games... it's a no brainer. I'll bet any money that my store gets 40 or so $400 360s during the month of November, and maybe two $300 units. And the only reason those two units will sell is because there will be those desperate holiday buyers who will take what they can get after the reserves and early birds are gone. And that's really the crux of it. Am I happy about the 360's dual-sku price scam? Hells no. Am I going to piss in someone's cereal over it? Probably. But when push comes to shove, am I going to shell out the extra hundred bucks. You betcha. Bottom line: I want my 360, especially since I got my HDTV. And I'm not the only one who'll be making their disgruntled purchase come November. Microsoft knows it, too.

The problem with Titus (and several other shows mentioned in the first episode of season 4 of Family Guy, including Firefly and of course Family Guy itself) is that Fox has a unique talent for taking a really good show, and then running it into the ground by giving it a crappy time slot, chaning the day of the week for no discernable reason, moving it around it's time slot to accomodate whatever football/baseball/NASCAR/redneck games happen to be on that day, and generally crapping on it. Titus was an awesome show.

321488[/snapback] Everybody is cereal-pissing. The next-gen sucks.

Cheer up. X-Men Legends II is coming, and it's supposed to have everything from the console versions PLUS extra flashback missions. Not to mention Burnout Legends. The mechanic of crashing your car to see how much dollar damage you can do is ideally suited to quick goes on a portable. And maybe I'm alone here, but I'm looking forward to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006... Don't give a damn about the firmware update. Maybe I'll care more when I tire of homebrew.

It's a little of both, I think. It's really him, AFAIK, and in a lot people, that'd make for a jerk. A1 plays it off more as amusing, most of the time, as long as you don't take him too seriously. And about the whole collecting thing, everyone has something they like. For a lot of people on these boards, that includes toys that I would NEVER dream of spending so much on. For some, it's functional weapons, for others, it's merely display weapons. Myself, it's electronics (of which I just added a 52" Toshiba HD DLP TV... ). It doesn't really matter if you get why someone else would spend money of those kinds of things... the bottom line is that, somehow, those things give some measure of comfort and happiness to their owners. If they're putting in their 40 hours a week, you really can't begrudge them that.

Sorry for the late reply. I'd like to believe (although I'm probably delusional on this one) that the regulars in this topic were curious to see what insight I'd offer. As an unbiased owner of all three current-gen consoles (not to mention a Dreamcast, GBA, DS, and PSP... I sold off anything older than that), I'd said plenty of times that the 360 was shaping up to be an early favorite for me. Kutaragi's arrogant comments, the lackluster lineup of commercial sequels, their stubborn insistance on using the prohibitively expenisve Blu-Ray format when DVD-9s should be plenty big enough and have faster access speeds, Apple's public dissapointment with the Cell, and the fact that the console itself was likely to be on the expensive side has me turned off on the PS3. And as for the Revolution, the big draw seems to be the ability to download and play older games... something I've been doing for years on my PC, Dreamcast, PS2, and currently on my PSP. Only, unlike my PC, PS2, DC, and PSP, I'll have to pay for it on the Revolution. Other than that, I don't know enough to be interested in the Revolution... although I do know that it's a bummer that it doesn't support HD. If it turns out to be anything like GC, it'll probably be a relatively inexpensive console that I might buy to compliment my first choice for some of fun 1st party games, but I won't be able to live on the Revolution alone. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 was supposed to offer everything I wanted. HD support, a comfortable 1st-party wireless controller, excellent online service, a hard drive, some kind of backwards compatibility, and games I'm actually excited to play, like Perfect Dark Zero. And the best part was, they were hinting that I'd be able to get one for around $300. Then they went and pulled what is, essentially, the equivalent of kicking their (potential) customers in the nuts. Yes, you can get an Xbox 360 for $300... but that deal is a joke. Even if you don't want the hard drive for backwards compatibility, figure that you're going to want to save your games... $100 for a 20GB HD, or $40 for a crappy 64mb memory card? I'll take the hard drive, thanks... especially since, if I buy it bundled with the system, I get the wireless controller instead of the wired one, and the headset, and (since I'm in the first batch), the remote control. In other words, I (and just about everyone else who wants a 360 at launch) will pay $400. The $300 "core set" is a joke. It's a slight-of-hand so that Microsoft can say that the Xbox 360 costs $300 even when everyone's buying the $400 deal. And as long as I'm ranting, Microsoft's pricing on peripherals sucks even worse. $40 for a memory card? People complained that Sony's were too much at $25. $100 for that piece of crap wireless network adaptor (that is, essentially, a USB wi-fi adaptor that'd sell for maybe $40 for a PC)? I'll stick with the ethernet cable, thanks (fortunately, the router is by the modem, which is by where the cable comes out of the wall, which is by the TV, which is where the consoles go anyway). $40 for the WIRED controller? Again, everyone else is charging under $30. (I'll forgive the $50 wireless, since that's the MSRP for the Logitech controller for the current Xbox). The A/V cables are all at least $20 overpriced (all the more reason to buy the bundle since I'm going to want the component cables at the minimum), while I'm at it... and I don't see any HDMI! Over-priced consoles, over-priced accessories, over-priced games... the next-gen SUCKS.

Semi-on topic. Zelda: Twilight Princess delayed to March I'm an advocate of taking your time and releasing a game when it's ready, not according to any kind of schedule. But now, the biggest games for Gamecube's holiday would be Mario Party 7 and Pokemon XD. I think the only saving grace for them is that at Gamestop, we're probably cutting off the 360 reserves soon.

Have you played any of the following? Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II Champions of Norrath Champions Return to Arms X-Men Legends Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel If you have, you've pretty much got the gist of Untold Legend's gameplay (it's actually the closest to the Champions games... although the classes are different, they use the same stats system). Combat is on the hack and slash side, although you get experience points for quests completed and enemies killed. Get enough, and you level up. When you level up, you can add to your basic stats (Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Stamina), plus you get points to add to your skill tree (again, straight out of the Champions games). You have a hub level that will always include a store and a portal, and you spend most of your time exploring dungeons in search of gold, magic weapons and armor, and of course, the actual bosses you need to kill to move along what little story there is. The only real departure from Champions is that you can only save at save points in Champions, but with gaming on the go in mind for the PSP, you can save anywhere in Untold Legends. All-in-all, the game was whipped up in just six months, and it shows. However, if you enjoyed any of the titles I listed above, you'll probably get some enjoyment out of Untold Legends (at least enough to tide you over until the PSP release of X-Men Legends II), as I actually found it to be more entertaining that Snowblind's mind-numbing Champions Return to Arms.

ACE is a 3rd person action game. I personally found it rather stale to my liking. ZOE2 beats the crap out of it anyday. 319627[/snapback] For straight up action, yeah, ZOE is fast-paced, pretty, and an all-around good time. But both ZOE games were extremely short (I finished ZOE 2 in my first play through in just over two hours)... and ACE has the Nu Gundam.

Too bad I didn't play the first one, as my importer of choice never bothered with that one. Oh well, my buddy is going to Japan next month. Maybe the ACE will make the "PlayStation the Best" series by then, and I can have him pick that (and the new Gundam game for PSP) for me, and then maybe my importer will pick up ACE 2. BTW, Graham, I think it's action.

That's awesome news! If only I could get my import store to carry the first one... Oh well. My friend is going to Japan to get married next month, I'll just have him pick it up in Japan (and pray it makes the "PlayStation the Best" series before hand), along with that new Gundam game that's coming out for PSP.

Kaifun is Minmay's cousin in the tv series, and recasted as her brother in DYRL. This is to simplify the love triangle for a 1-1/2 hour movie. 318868[/snapback] actually, according to the Macross Compendium : Fallacy: "Kaifun is Minmay's brother." Explanation: Kaifun is Minmay's cousin (with no blood relations between them). Minmay says Kaifun is a "cousin who is like a brother" to her in his debut during the first series. Source of fallacy: Assumption based on Minmay's name for Kaifun ("Kaifun-niichan"), an affectionate name for a brotherly figure. 319153[/snapback] Actually, the Compendium is referring specifically to the TV-series relationship, i.e. Kaifun-nii-chan. The DYRL-relationship is brother-sister, however, i.e. Minmay specifically referred to him as nii-san. Therefore, nhyone is correct. 319174[/snapback] As far as I know, nii-san and nii-chan are the same thing. Nii is the actually word meaning brother, and -san and -chan are both honorifics. Nii-chan/Onii-chan are more familiar, affectionate terms, while nii-san/onii-san are more respectful or formal. However, refering to someone as "brother, (onii-san)" "sister (onee-san)," "grandpa (oji-san)," "grandma (oba-san)," etc doesn't necessarily indicate a familial relationship. People may refer to close friends as brother or sister, and (with a respectful honorific) is often used to address a stranger who's name is unknown to the speaker.

jackpeace@comcast.net

Oh, come on! I probably play more games than most of the people on this board, but even I remember to take breaks to eat (or, if the game is less action intensive, eat while playing), go to the bathroom, and go to bed for at least four hours a night. Having said that, there have been days (like when the first KOTOR came out) where I seriously did wake up, start playing, break to eat and go to the bathroom, quit around 3:00am, get up at 9:00, and start over...

The dude that played Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat movie? Seriously, a better question would be who else would WANT to drop into the splits just to bitch-smack a fat guy in the junk? I liked Bloodsport, but I liked it for the true-story premise and the non-nonsense fights. And a good no-nonsense fight should NOT involve the splits. It's gay crap like that that makes me wish we could go back in time and replace Van Damme with, oh, I don't know, one of the guys in "The Best of the Best."

Is that like Bright, in Gundam? Until the White Base got to Jaburo, wasn't he actually an Ensign? Come to think of it, he never held the official rank of Captain through the entire One Year War, although I do remember hearing him called "Bright-taisa" in Z or ZZ.

But don't make the mistake of thinking that, since Bloodsport was awesome, that Van Damme must be as well. Bloodsport would be awesome without Van Damme. Hell, Bloodsport would have been MORE awesome without Van Damme.

Seriously, dude, you posted a link to this news in the original Hot Coffee topic. Don't start a new Hot Coffee topic just because no one gives a damn anymore and the original topic is on page 2 (if it'd been back several pages, I could understand, but seriously, page 2?!). Someone get a mod over here to close or delete this nonsense.

Hmm, those e-mails have a certain familiar tone... ...MGREXX, are you really Jack Thompson?

Are things always that expensive in Europe? 318292[/snapback] As I understand things, the prices in Europe tend to be set in a make-believe world where 1 pound/Euro = 1 US Dollar. So, at least for video games, yes. 318296[/snapback] I was gonna say! I mean, there is no way that the Xbox 360 is going to be that expensive when in launches in the States. I'm still fairly confident that it'll make the $299.9x sweet spot.

Are things always that expensive in Europe?

No, it's not the truth. I know for a fact that I check ID. And I also know that my employees do, too. In fact, we get a certain perverse satisfaction in turning the little brats away (and saving ourselves a transaction to boot... Gamestop might care about how much money we make, I only care how our percentages turn out). What's more, the guys in my store play these games. If a mom comes in wanting to buy Halo for her teenager, we're not going to make a fuss about it. But we spend a lot of time trying to talk parents out of buying games like God of War, BMX XXX, GTA, Manhunt, Leisure Suit Larry, etc for minor. I've said it in the Hot Coffee thread, and I'll say it again: the problem is NOT retailer compliance. Hillary can make selling M-rated games to minors a federal offense, but the kids are still going to get them, as long as the parents are going to keep buying them. You used Playboy and R-rated movies in your example, but I think you're missing something. Parents know that Playboy is softcore porn, so they're more active in keeping it out of their kids' hands. As for movies, parents seem more flexible about letting their kids watch them... again, because they're more likely to know what kind of content will be in the movie. That's a valid point, and I agree with it. But that's why the games have ESRB ratings, complete with content descriptors on the back of the game. It's also why we try to discourage parents from buying some games for their kids... we assume they don't realize how bad it is, and they'll change their minds if they do. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. The bottom line is, even with ratings, and even with education on what the ratings mean, some parents just don't care.

Right. Obviously GTA is stupid or it wouldn't sell very well. See, if I had to play Haro Genki whateveryoucallit, I'd probably shoot myself. See, that's the great thing about this country (supposedly), I can play games where I kill people and you can play games where a magical elephant chases evil monkeys in balloons while collecting enough silver buttplugs to free the magical princess. If you don't like the games Rockstar puts out - don't buy them, folks. The point is that you have a choice. Nothing bothers me more than when people give up their right to choose things simply because it doesn't affect them. Yet. You either have the right to buy whatever kind of game you want or you have it chosen for you. Personally, the idea of giving up that freedom to an 80 year old fat white guy serving his 20th term in Congress doesn't really sound like freedom to me. Edited to ADD: I mean, honestly - does anybody want to support a group that protests a game that isn't even out... and refers to themselves as the Peaceoholics? If you say, "well I don't like Rockstar games, so I don't care" then you might as well join up. Peaceoholics Assemble! 317749[/snapback] Can't say I agree with your taste, but you've definately hit the point of the matter. I don't like GTA. Yet in the Hot Coffee topic, I'd been one if it's most ardent defenders. And no, Bully doesn't appeal to me either. I agree with most of the comments that go along the lines of, "that game looks stupid." This isn't about whether or not the game will be any fun, though. This isn't even about whether the game is in good taste or not. This is about the developers' rights to make games the way they want, be they violent, glorify criminal behavior, are done in bad taste, etc. And it's about the consumer having the power to judge for themselves whether such games are worth or even should be purchased. Again, Bully doesn't interest me. But Ghadrack and Sundown have both expressed mild interest in the game. I might choose not to buy it, but I don't oppose Ghardrack and Sundown's right to buy it if they should feel inclinded to do so. I don't agree, then, with the Peaceholics' ideas that censorship in the media is okay, or that videogame retailers, developers, or publishers should serve as a scapegoat whenever minors commit violent crimes. (I'm a big fan of personal responsibility... as in parents should be responsible to teach their children basic morals that include not going out and commiting violent crimes, and that when a violent crime is commited, the perpatrator is the one responsible, not the videogames/TV/movies/comic books/Twinkies he or she consumes.) And, I'm wholeheartedly opposed to the idea that the government should step in to enforce any kind of censorship on any kind of media. Should ratings like the ESRB's be used? Sure. Should retailers be held accountable if they don't enforce the ESRB's ratings and sell M-rated games to minors? Sure. Should the retailers or publishers be held accountable when the kid's parents buy the game for them anyway? No. Should the government just ban sex and violence in videogames because many parents today can't be bothered to monitor what there kids are playing? Definately not. Seconded.