mikeszekely

If you're talking about the 3000GT in NFSU2, that's a Mitsubishi, not a Suzuki.

Actually, if you're driving an SUV, you can race in some SUV only events. That's useful for someone like me who loves the sprints, circuits, and URLs, but really doesn't care for drift and drag. Anyway, regular NFS, NFSU, and GT all have their own merits. The arcade-style of racing in NFS and NFSU might not be realistic (according to the in-game stats in NFSU2, even after I put all the available mods on it, my Celica still outperformed the Supra), but it allows for straight-up fun regardless of the car you've chosen. NFS lets you play as cars you're not likely to see outside of SoCal or an autoshow, and NFSU lets you play with a car you might actually own. Meanwhile, GT has that ultra realism that forces me to play with my brake balance and VCS until I can get my 900HP 3000GT to turn the way I want... GT isn't just about the competition, but the sheer pleasure of test driving different cars and then working on the ones you want to keep. I think (and I'm looking at you, ~Duo~Trenten) that if you ignore games like NFS(U) just because the car stats and physics aren't perfectly realistic, you're doing yourself a disservice. Hell, if you overlook any solid racing game just because you like a different one, you're doing yourself a disservice. There's no law that says that you can't have fun with NFSU just because you liked Midnight Club II. Only time you really ought to pass on a game is if it's just plain boring, ala SRS.

Actually, according to what I read on IGN, they're just phasing out the current models of PSX, and they're likely to have newer models later. Well, the PSX wouldn't have been a bad idea... except for the fact that you can buy a PS2, a TV tuner card, and a DVD+/-RW drive for a hell of a lot less.

Gotta part company with you on this one, Mike. While the titles you mentioned are good, Ninja Gaiden deserves to be at the top of that list. Granted, the game is hard. But who wants to spend good money on a game with an overused engine (Dynasty/Samurai Warriors) or a title the can beat in practically one sitting (Demon Stone)? ps Fable would be a close second, followed by the Onimusha remix for the XBox. I'd rather spend the money on a game I'd beat in a day or that's wicked fun despite its over-used engine than spend money on game, plus money on multiple controllers, for a game that makes we swear at my TV until the neighbors call the cops because I'm stuck on the same boss for a week. A challenge is fun, but Ninja Gaiden isn't really challenging... it's hard for the sake of being hard. Too hard to actually be fun, in my opinion.

Dynasty Warriors 3 Dynasty Warriors 4 Samurai Warriors Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II Fable The Bard's Tale: Song of the Bard Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Demon Stone I'm going to vote against Ninja Gaiden. I'll give it all the credit in the world for the stunning visuals and incredible production values, but who the hell came up with hard = old school = fun, and therefore, the harder a game is, the more fun it must be? Don't get me wrong, I like a challenge, but Ninja Gaiden was a game where the regular enemies were on equal footing as you, they outnumbered you like 8 to 1 most of the time, and the bosses were ridiculously hard. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I'd go as far as to say that Ninja Gaiden was too hard to be fun. Oh, and Sudeki fits the genre of fantasy hack'n'slash, I suppose, but it sucked. And they're making a new Gauntlet.

Which is still quite a bit, considering that 1GB CF and SD go for around $60 nowadays. Isn't proprietary media grand? Don't worry, there's always 3rd party support. Er, or not. The problem with the Sony Memory Sticks is that Sony (as far as I know) is the only company that makes them, meaning that they'll always be more expensive. Okay, let's not make stuff up just to bash Sony. PNY Compact Flash 1GB - $179.99 SanDisk CF 1GB - $109.99 SanDisk SD 1GB - $109.99 And while Sony is often the seen as the driving force behind the Memory Stick... it's actually SanDisk's baby. SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo - $149.99. So, CF and SD look to run anywhere from $110-$180 for a GB, not $60. And that puts $149.99 in the same ballpark for a 1GB Memory Stick Duo. And yes, I am pretty sure that you could, if you search, find SD or CF cheaper, but you'd probably find Memory Sticks cheaper at the same store/website. I just picked for my links big retailers where your average Joe-Schmoe might go to buy their stuff. And while we're at it, I'd point out that DVDs weren't really taking off, especially in Japan, until Sony decided to use it for the PS2. If the PSP takes off, it'll give the Memory Stick a slight edge in the flash media format wars, increase the demand, and likely bring prices down further. umm think they said the psp can only use duo mem sticks and not anything else. Yes, but the point of my post wasn't to show alternatives to Memory Stick Duo, but to show that the prices between Memory Stick Duo and other popular formats like CF and SD are comparable. And akt_m, I'd already mentioned that you could probably find cheaper cards online... not just for SD, but for CF and Memory Stick too. But 99% of the people going out to buy memory for their cameras (and later, their PSPs) aren't going to shop for the cheapest deals online, they're going to go to their local Gamestop, EB, Best Buy, Fry's, Wal-Mart, etc. I'll admit that Memory Stick Duo cards are usually slighty more than CF or SD, but not a ridiculous $80 gap that you get by comparing a generic SD card you see on the net and a name brand Memory Stick PRO Duo from a retail store. Gunbuster, according to Gamespot, the square button problem only deals with PSPs manufactured in 2004 and shouldn't affect the US launch. I'd say they rushed the Japanese units, and hopefully the first US batch will be of higher quality in general.

Which is still quite a bit, considering that 1GB CF and SD go for around $60 nowadays. Isn't proprietary media grand? Don't worry, there's always 3rd party support. Er, or not. The problem with the Sony Memory Sticks is that Sony (as far as I know) is the only company that makes them, meaning that they'll always be more expensive. Okay, let's not make stuff up just to bash Sony. PNY Compact Flash 1GB - $179.99 SanDisk CF 1GB - $109.99 SanDisk SD 1GB - $109.99 And while Sony is often the seen as the driving force behind the Memory Stick... it's actually SanDisk's baby. SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo - $149.99. So, CF and SD look to run anywhere from $110-$180 for a GB, not $60. And that puts $149.99 in the same ballpark for a 1GB Memory Stick Duo. And yes, I am pretty sure that you could, if you search, find SD or CF cheaper, but you'd probably find Memory Sticks cheaper at the same store/website. I just picked for my links big retailers where your average Joe-Schmoe might go to buy their stuff. And while we're at it, I'd point out that DVDs weren't really taking off, especially in Japan, until Sony decided to use it for the PS2. If the PSP takes off, it'll give the Memory Stick a slight edge in the flash media format wars, increase the demand, and likely bring prices down further.

If Sony follows through with what they've been saying, and games aren't region coded, I'm sure that even if they don't get released Stateside, there will be a ton of mecha games out to import later.

Ideally, I think Sony would have been better off approaching UMD the way they did with mini-discs... make them blank, and sell the software/hardware to take video you already have (like DVD or even avi etc) and put it on a UMD to watch on a PSP later. Of course, since the PSP is likely to increase demand and lower the cost of Memory Stick Duo, you'd kind of have to wonder why they'd even bother with movies on UMD at all. The PSP already supports the playback of MPEG-4 off the Memory Stick... why not just take all the fansubbed anime we've been getting via bittorrent, change it over to MPEG-4, and watch it on our lunch breaks at work instead of being chained to our computer desks? When the PSP first comes out, a 1GB Memory Stick Duo Pro will go for around $150. A UMD can only hold a gig and a half, anyway.

I just got the ANBU and AOne fansubs via bittorrent, then I used a some software to turn the avi files into MPEG-2, then create a DVD image with them. All five episodes on one disc, good sound (but not as good as the DVDs), and good video (in some instances, better than the MI DVDs). Total cost to me? I think blank DVDs are down to around $1 a disc.

She is trying to get out of the hospital not go to the Special Olympics. Actually, she's trying to stay in the hospital, because (unlike an apartment) the hospital hasn't evicted her for not paying her bills.

A shame, but I really think UMD is going to flop as a medium for anything besides games. The UMD doesn't store enough data for movies to have DVD quality video or sound, the PSP's battery life is only about 2 hours when playing a movie, due to the fact that it's constantly accessing the disc, and if nothing else, I really don't see anyone shelling out $20 to buy a movie on UMB that they already shelled out $20 for on DVD. As psyched as I am for the PSP as a gaming unit, even I have to admit that Sony is out of their minds with the whole movies on UMD thing.

They're trying to kick her out of the hospital.

I dunno about that... the ISDs in Star Wars always seem to miss an awful lot (My personal gripe on Sci-Fi: In an age of shields, ion propulsion, and laser cannons, nobody has the brains to invent a slightly better targeting system???) Perhaps, in the future, it's not that targeting systems suck... perhaps the targets' ECM or ability not to be targeted has just advanced that much... In any case, most realistic mecha? Jr. Mobile Suit.

I'm going to throw one in for subs, too. Far too many people today, and I mean adults, not just young people, will say that they don't like to read. This includes subtitles, but some people I know are baffled by the fact that I consider reading a novel to be a form of entertainment. The sooner you get your kids to realize that reading is easy and can be fun, the better off they'll be in life.

Well, I'll confess to not reading Hellblazer (or any of DC/Vertigo's comics), and frankly, I think Alan Moore is ridiculously overrated (the bastard ruined Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S). So, while Keanu might not fit the part, I'm sure as hell glad not to see another wise-ass Englishman. Fun fact: only movie I've seen in the last three years where the characters spoke with an English accent that I actually enjoyed was Shaun of the Dead.

There is absolutely no way I'd ever consider buying anything to eat or drink at the theater. Again, it's a perfect example of businesses ignoring the law of supply and demand... they assume that, just because they forbid you to bring outside food or drinks into the theater, that they're forced the demand up to the point where they can charge as much as they want, instead of finding that nice point on the graph where profits are actually maximized. I mean, inisde the movie theater, a large drink is over $4. Outside, I could go to McDonald's and get value meal large-sized for $4. Inside the theater, bottled water is $3.25. Outside, I could get a case of bottled water for that price. Um...you do realise the MPAA has NOTHING to do with the food prices at theaters. Film companies like Tri-Star, Dreamworks, etc...foot the bill to get the movie made, they also foot the bill for TV advertiseing, as well as the costs of produceing the thousands of film prints to show in theaters... the ticket sales at theaters pay for leaseing the film print from the distributer, as well as insurance premiums for the print in case it gets damaged...That means theaters make all thier money...money to pay the big film projection equipment electric bills, for heating, airconditioning, property taxes, employee wages and salaries, local advertiseing in newspapers and radio, buisness insurance, maintiance to the projectors and sound equipment...that comes from consession sales... Yeah, I know that those prices have nothing to do with the MPAA. But justvinnie mentioned that he'd bought popcorn and drinks, and I didn't realize there was anyone left willing to pay more for their drink than their ticket. And I decided to rant, since the concession prices and the MPAA's willingness to sue instead of giving better quality/lower prices both show the same lack of good business sense.

I'm not going to go all out and say anything like "Gundam is the greatest show ever!' or anything like that. I've never really been an "otaku" about anything. I didn't grow up on either Star Wars or Gundam... I grew up on Transformers, He-Man, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, none of which I really follow at all now. Sure, I'd seen Star Wars as a kid, then went outside with a wiffle bat and started wailing on my little brother, pretending it was a lightsaber. But damned if I actually remembered the plot. As for Gundam, I'd actually just discovered Gundam recently. As an adult, and without the nostalgia that a lot of fans feel... I enjoy both stories. (I can watch Star Trek and be entertained, too, BTW.) Both stories are entertaining, both stories have memorable characters and technology. Both stories spark my imagination. But neither story, to me at least, is worth being an obsessive Comic Book Guy-ish fanboy over. Push comes to shove, I just like Gundam better. It's like the Apple Jacks commercial... I can't really explain why, I just do. But I still have both the Gundam movie trilogy and the classic Star Wars trilogy in my DVD collection. (Technically, aside from the movie versions of the 08th MS and Stardust Memory, as well as the Turn A and Gundam SEED Destiny series, I have all the Gundam series and movies on DVD, and I have Episode I and II of Star Wars also.)

Keanu's not great, but he's tolerable, and a decent story or supporting cast could make up for it. I'd definately rather watch Keanu than Nicholas Cage.

There is absolutely no way I'd ever consider buying anything to eat or drink at the theater. Again, it's a perfect example of businesses ignoring the law of supply and demand... they assume that, just because they forbid you to bring outside food or drinks into the theater, that they're forced the demand up to the point where they can charge as much as they want, instead of finding that nice point on the graph where profits are actually maximized. I mean, inisde the movie theater, a large drink is over $4. Outside, I could go to McDonald's and get value meal large-sized for $4. Inside the theater, bottled water is $3.25. Outside, I could get a case of bottled water for that price.

I'm probably going to check it out. I mean, I'm sure it's not going to be the best movie I'll see this year. Hell, it might be the worst movie I see this year. But, it's not like there's anything else playing. I mean, I hadn't seen a movie in the theater since 'The Grudge', so I finally broke down and went to see 'Hitch.' And let's not even mention crap like 'The Boogeyman.'

I find your lack of faith disturbing... Hey, I'm with Gui... I'd rather watch, at the least, Gundam TV, Z Gundam, and Gundam ZZ to Star Wars any day.

Another white RX-78 comes from the Mobile Suits Variations, the RX-78-3. Supposedly, it was built from the remains of the two RX-78-2s the Zeons blew up at the very beginning of Gundam, and it was used to test the magnetic coating that the RX-78-2 would get much later in the series. RX-78-2

Yeah, but what's the Force compared to transforming space battleships armed with mega particle cannons and pop divas?

It makes you wonder if anyone out there running any of these corporations took any basic economics classes. I mean, doesn't anyone remember supply and demand? It used to be that if you wanted to maximize profits, you'd figure out how much it cost to produce, then how many you could sell at each price. You didn't sell the prodcuct for outrageously high prices (CDs, if I recall, only started to go down recently. They debuted around $15, then peaked at almost $20). You also didn't oversaturate the market, either (if I see another underage pop starlet/actress come out with another album, I swear I'm gonna puke). Nowadays, instead of finding that point where profits are maximized, it's almost like they want to cram subpar crap down our throats, charge us a premium for it, and sue us if we even contemplate trying to get it from an alternative source. They've already encrpytped movies on DVD, and started suing software manufactures who make software that can decrypt the DVD. They're suing file distributors on the internet. What's next? They sue Blockbuster for allowing people to borrow the few copies of a movie they paid for (and worse, for profiting from it)? Sue HBO for broadcasting the movies on TV? Start suing people who own TVs, and who have ever watched a movie on TV? I don't think this is really that file sharers are cheap. I'm not saying that downloading movies is right, but I think that it's about the value of a dollar. People have a limited ammount of money to spend on things like movies, and the sad fact is that too many of the big corporate movie makers want too much for too little. People just aren't willing to pay it. File sharing could totally come to an end, movies could be released on a new uncopyable format, and retal stores could go out of business, and I still don't think that the MPAA members are going to find that they're getting all that much more money.