mikeszekely

What about Generations? Next Gen blew up the Enterprise AND killed Kirk. Killed him twice, no less. I think the more theatrical flair of the original generation movies has more to do with the cast. Kirk is just a much better movie captain than Picard is. Jean-Luc is just too reserved to be a particularly strong movie character. Not a real flaw with the character, he just doesn't lend himself well to the theatrical expectations. I'll give you that... Generations was a lot more like a real movie than an episode of TNG. But, because the plot tied in heavily with the original Trek characters, I wasn't really counting it. Besides, a lot of the TNG stuff in Generations, like the sailing in the holodeck, still could have been ripped from the TV show. And in any case, I think you're absolutely right. Picard was a much deeper and often more subtle character than Kirk, which made him the absolute best TV captain in the history of Trek. But Kirk has a certain "action-hero"-ness to his character that lends itself well to the movies. Picard leads his crew with dignity and wisdom that plays out over the entire series; Kirk wails on the villain and gets the girl at the end of the movie. Even the older fatter Kirk is more believable in a fist fight with a Klingon than Picard.

I can agree with that. I also prefer my racing games on the PS2. Like what? Seriously, suggest to me a good platformer/adventure game exclusive to the Cube that's NOT a Mario or Zelda game (of which, as of writing, there's only 3, counting Luigi's Mansion). The PS2 has Jak and Ratchet & Clank (each of which has two), plus pretty much all the systems seem to be getting the Rayman games, plus they all got Sonic Heroes (and hopefully Shadow the Hedgehog). Since January 1st, how many killer titles have come out for the Cube? Resident Evil 4 (which is also PS2 bound) and Starfox Armada. For Xbox and PS2? Mercenaries, Devil May Cry 3, Star Wars Republic Commando, Gran Turismo 4, Xenosaga Episode II... (and that's overlooking quality games like Brothers In Arms, Tekken 5, or Project Snowblind). I'd hardly call those vaporware, and I'd hardly say that the Cube gets a similar number of quality games as the other consoles. In fact, even games that aren't exclusives, like Mercenaries, still don't show up on the Cube. PC gamers are often stunned to hear it, but there are a lot of people (a majority, actually) who aren't really into PC gaming, for whatever reason, myself included. Personally, as someone who grew up playing console games (I was in high school before my parents bought their first real PC), a keyboard and mouse just don't feel as natural as a controller, I don't feel like spending money to upgrade to play high-end titles like Doom 3, and I really don't feel like sitting at my desk and playing on a 17" screen with tinny speakers when I can sit on the couch with the 32" TV and surround sound. For people like me, the Xbox is actually the best of both worlds. A lot of games overlap PC and Xbox, like KOTOR or Republic Commando, with a lot more on the way (Doom 3, Farcry, Sid Meier's Pirates, etc). The Xbox is easily the best non-PC for FPS... which reminds me, yeah, Halo isn't exactly anything special. It's a solid FPS, and while there are other great FPS, it doesn't change the fact that Halo is also a great FPS.

*Sources: Gamespot, IGN. Backwards compatibility with the Lamecube is hardly a selling point. Satoru Iwata has demonstrated over the last several months that Nintendo's got its head up its ass. They're seriously out of touch with what consumers actually want, and I, for one, am done. I bought the N64, and I only liked maybe four games total. I got the Gamecube, and I'm yet to find a game that justified that purchase. I got a DS, and I don't even own any DS games! I'm playing my GBA games one it, which is still a waste because I have an SP. Three strikes, and your're out. I'm not falling for this again... I have ZERO intention of getting a Revolution when it comes out. Frankly, I hope both the DS and the Revolution turn out to be collossal failures. I want Nintendo out of the hardware market. I like a lot of their games, but I'm not buying anymore crap systems to play them. I want them to do like Sega and become a third party developer. Super Smash Bros... meets Xbox Live. And before you go on about how weird that'd be, we thought it'd be just as weird to see Sega games on a Sony or Nintendo system. And we're all pretty much used to it now.

For 99 bucks, I would say yes. Am I the only one that's going to dissent? Granted, I didn't like any of the 3D Zeldas (only the 2D... 2D Zelda rocks... call me old school)... or the 3D Marios. I bought a Cube when it first came out because of Perfect Dark Zero (which eventually moved to Xbox, now to Xbox Next). In all that time, I think I've played through... um... Super Smash Bros. Melee and Megaman Network Transmission. Started Metroid Prime, but never finished it, and I have no interest in the sequel. As for Resident Evil 4, which everyone says is amazing, it's coming out for the PS2... I'll just wait for that one. The only thing that's holding me back from selling the Cube is that it's pretty much worthless. I don't know what consoles you do have, Agent, but look at it this way. God of War (PS2): $50. Doom III (Xbox): $50. Half-Life 2 Collector's Edition: $50 (It's on sale at Gamestop). Zelda + Gamecube to play it on + Memory Card to save it: $170. You could justify that you're paying $120 more to play Zelda by telling yourself you'll play other Cube games, but there's a ton of other great games coming for the other systems. And aside from Zelda, all the Cube's getting from now until the Revolution is a handful of 1st party games. Yeah, Nintendo makes good games... but I'm through wasting money to buy an extra crappy console to play them. I wish Nintendo would just pull a Sega already...

Not necessary...that's when Haro^2 fansubs appear (gee i wonder where they came from ) when Destiny becomes licensed. It happened for Seed....it will happen again. Who's Haro^2? Okay, now normally, I don't dl licensed stuff, and if I have a series dled, and I like it, I'll buy it on DVD when it comes out. In this case, though, I'm 20 episodes into Destiny (A-Kingdom & AonE). Now, even though I'm sure I'll pick up the DVDs, does anyone know if any groups out there are going to finish fansubbing Desinty? Naturally, I'd prefer to finish out with AK&A1, but something tells me they're dropping it. How about SEED Fansubs?

That you did. Apparently, with it's believable screenshot, it generated enough buzz to get a lot of people asking about it at work (I work for Gamestop). Corporate sent us an e-mail yesterday confirming that it's not true.

I got why I thought there was only nine... in my mind, "Nemesis" and "Insurrection" kinda blurred together. In any case, I don't really feel that either of the movies were bad, per se... it's just that the original series Trek movies set themselves apart from the series. Stuff like killing off Spock (and ressurrecting him), blowing up the Enterprise... stuff they'd never have considered doing on TV. Meanwhile, the TNG movies played out like episodes from the TNG show. Make them two parters... hell, do some editing, and cram them down to an hour. Aside from Jon Frakes attempts to work more action into the movies, there really wasn't anything special about them. Speaking of Frakes... I think it's a little sad that, aside from his Trek movies, all he's directed was Clockstoppers and Thunderbirds? Maybe he should just stick to acting...

Actually, it looks to me like they took out all the crap that made me hate Ocarina (Hyrule town, Lon Lon ranch, stupid dialogue, Kokiri, etc) and finally made a 3D Zelda that captures the spirit of the original NES Zelda.

Why would they make a Trek movie that covers ground that they basically covered already in the second TNG movie? Jendresen: "Hey, wasn't First Contact a kick-ass movie?" Paramount: "Sure was." J: "Wouldn't it be cool if we made another movie that was like it, but we took out the Borg, the Enterprise, Picard and crew... everything except that drunk guy launching rockets?" P: "You mean everything that made the movie cool?" J: "Yeah." P: "Hell yeah! Let's bankrole that sumbitch!" One other thing I don't get... they're talking about Star Trek XI? What about X? Last I checked, there's only nine (six original Trek movies, and three TNG).

Agree.

Be that as it may, I still think we have a surplus of them.

IGN has a list of what's on the UMD demo that comes with the PSP. Suffice to say, I'm not impressed.

See, I didn't even like the LOTOR movies. Fantasy and the silver screen just don't mix for me.

I say give him some lawn darts and let darwinism take over See, I don't think that'll work. I was channel surfing awhile back, and I saw this video show. On the video show, some guy got his quad up onto the roof of his two story house (how is a mystery), then tried to jump the quad off the roof and into the pool, which was several feet away from the roof. Well... he didn't make the pool. But after a trip to the hospital, they had him back on his feet in a few days. Face it... health care in the US is just too good. The idiots are surving natural selection's attempts to do away with them.

Not Reign of Fire. There really was a movie called Dungeons & Dragons. And yes, it was as bad as everyone else is saying.

What's the largest capacity memory stick available? How hard is it to convert all my existing video files to mpeg4? SanDisk is supposedly working on a 2GB Memory Stick. It might be time consuming, but I don't think converting other video files to MPEG-4 should be overly difficult. And Zentrandude, there were more changes than just the CEO. Kaz Hirai was forced to step down from his position as deputy vice president, and another deputy VP was promoted to VP (or possibly president, I don't remember). Hirai will still be the head of SCEI, though. (My guess is that he didn't get promoted because he was badmouthing Sony a few months ago for not doing more to promote the PSP.) Anyway, as for the new CEO, he already stated publicly that he wants Sony to stop focusing on new technology and hardware, because while Sony was once the industry leader, many other companies are making high quality products that cost less, most noteably rival Matsushita (Panasonic's parent company) and Korean hot-shot Samsung. Instead, the new CEO wants Sony to focus more on content. I think it's also worth mentioning that the new CEO is an American, so he should hopefully bring a different mindset to the company than the previous and more traditional Japanese CEOs. On can only hope, with a new content-driven mindset, that Sony will stop playing games with proprietary technologies (like Memory Stick, Magic Gate, or Hi-MD). Of course, I could just be getting my hopes up for nothing.

Absolutely, that is why I am kind of frustrated with them. I love the MD format by the way, I would jump on the new Hi-MD if I didn't know they will make it patently difficult to utilize to it's full potential. If they would just allow people to use the damn machines they make to their full capability we would have some spectacular stuff, but Sony and their different divisions spend so much time trying to limit the functions of their stuff so as not to interfere with the sales arms of their other wings, riht now they could be selling a handheld device in the form of the PSP that is your Cell phone, Digital Camera, Walkman, PDA, Portable Game System, Portable movie player (With miniRCA jacks so you could use it for your home or travel theatre) and psuedo-laptop. blehhhhh Well, again, there's some major changes going on in Sony's brass, so perhaps such trends will begin to change as Sony focuses less on hardware (since Sony is no longer dominating that field) and more on content.

To be truthful, I don't mind a high-end portable gaming system that can do other things, but I've come to the conclusion that cell phone is not one of the things I want it to do. I have a decent cell phone, it's just the right size, so no matter what I have it on me. I don't even have a home phone. Now, my PSP is going to go places with me, but not everywhere. It's just the right size for a game deck/video player, but too large for a cell phone. Plus, if the N-Gage has taught us anything, you choices of carriers would be limited anyway. Frankly, why pay for features you know you're NEVER going to use. I mean, with the UMD movies, there's a slim chance that I'll see something cool on UMD at a bargain price that I'd pick up.

You do realize that you've pretty much described Sony's newer Hi-MD players? Hi-MD player 1GB Hi-MD disc

Its not if they can its if they want. theres lots of technology that isnt made for the public. For sony is it worth to lose some companies from making psp games if they release a burner and blanks, is it worth it being they could be fined by riaa/miaa/diarrhea or what ever group they are. And speaking of Sony, they're going through some major changes. Anything is possible from them at this point.

Maybe it'll be about Delta Squad. If that's the case, that'd kick ass. Personally, I'm tired of Jedi and crap.

Except that Malak isn't the big boss. (And Malak isn't Nihilus, either, if that's what you're thinking.) Hell, while I'm at it... SPOILERS! Nihilus isn't the big boss either. In fact, he's almost like a waste of space. He's on the cover, there's cut scenes in the game that make him seem like a huge threat, etc, but you fight him and kill him pretty quick. The actual big boss in the game is Kreia, that old Jedi hag who's with you for most of the game.

Actually, IM software for the PSP (real IM software, not the DS's Pictochat crap) wouldn't be so farfetched. The PSP's wireless functions are built on 802.11b... in theory, it should be able to communicate wirelessly (for games, but why not for messaging?) over the net with other PSPs, provided that you're in a wireless hotspot, or you have a wireless router at home. Don't forget that the DS has both Wi-Fi (802.11b) and blue tooth. The picocat is really nice especially when it comes with it. The DS has the advantage over the PSP with IM because of the touch screen. Typing on those tiny keyboard really blows ( I have problems typing on Laptop keyboards let alone a tiny one ) Nintendo is using their Wi-fi at stores now "Nintendo has started the Nintendo DS download service in Japan on February 26, at major game retailers across Japan. Users can bring in their Nintendo DS to download new content. Available downloads are playable demos of Chokkan Hitofude and Meteos; plus 6 bonus songs for Daigassou! Band Bros" Which would be fine, except Nintendo hasn't set up the DS to communicate with another DS via a network (believe me, if it could, me and my bro in DC would be using it) for Pictochat, only with other DS's within 50 or so feet. Fine for friends riding the Shinkansen in Japan, useless outside of major metro areas in the US. Not to mention the fact that four months after launch, and the DS's strongest title is Warioware. For me, if I'm going to buy a handheld system, games have to be top priority, since gaming is pretty much my thing. The only reasons I'm not selling my DS is Castlevania, Pokemon, and Final Fantasy III. Meanwhile, I'm picking up six launch games (maybe 7, if Ape Escape turns out pretty good... I never played the original, so it's new to me, but I loved Ape Escape 2) for the PSP. Having already established that the PSP looks like a solid gaming device, I'm curious to see what else it can do. Oh, and BTW, I think the Sony Rep that visits our store said that, like the newer PS2s, the PSP will have a full year warranty, instead of just 90 days, if that helps allieviate QC conncerns. I'll let you guys know for sure later, though.

Sony is supposed to be making both free and for sale software to do just that, and I wouldn't be suprised to see other people start turning out freeware for it. If puzzle games are your thing, check out Lumines or Mercury. The PSP is also going to get Puyo Pop Fever. (For more info on that, check out the Gamecube version.) If you want a solid 2D fighting game, how about Darkstalkers Chronicle, from the people who brought you Street Fighter? A couple of companies have started making regular Memory Sticks, but the Memory Stick Duo that the PSP uses is smaller than a regular Memory Stick. As far as I know, only Sony and SanDisk make them at the moment. If the PSP helps the format catch on, I wouldn't be suprised to see other companies start making them.

I have an Australian/Euro SCPH-39002 PS2 with a DMS3 modchip installed. I have yet to find a PS, PS2 or DVD media that it can't run. It runs my original import R2 DVDs, PS and PS2 backups, JP original games etc. I highly recommend this method of modding. Using a HD sounds intriguing because I use my PS2 for everything! I don't own a stand alone DVD player and I'm worried I'll wear my PS2 out soon enough with all this talk about shoddy manufacturing Andy, it is true that PS2 online will block you if you have a modchip installed (It can detect it in your system). However the DMS3 is so awesome it even has a stealth mode to avoid this detection when playing online (the system will revert to its original capabilities). The stealth feature is also useful when installing utilitilies like the DVD player disc etc. which won't install on a normal modded system. Wait, you have a PAL PS2, and it plays NTSC games/DVDs? I also have a DMS3, but an NTSC unit... I wonder if I can play PAL games? Lame as it sounds, I kind of wanted the Knight Rider games for PS2...