mikeszekely

The act of being a prequel and a sequel at the same time is an interesting concept, but doesn't guarantee greatness. And having potential isn't the same as living up to the potential. Now if T4 has the same director as T3, I'm going to have to pass on account of how much I hated T3. If James Cameron gets back on board though, I'll probably see it in the theater. I'm not the kind of person who's going to sit here and compain about lack of original ideas. I'm not predicting that T4 will suck or that T4 will be great. All I am saying is that T3 was an abomination.

Outside of Nintendo first party, I've found the GC to be lacking. Even though you don't care for fighting games, I'd still go with Super Smash Bros Melee, and definately grab a copy of Super Monkey Ball 2. Even if you find the main game kind of boring, the mini and party games are a blast. I think Monkey Billiards is actually the best console billiard game out there, including the stand alone billiard games. GC was lousy for RPGs. The only good one that I can think of is Skies of Arcadia.

Yes... the Compendium is considered the source for Macross information, but no pics. And while I do have a lot of respect for Dave's old site, I'd say that www.mahq.net has a better blend of the canon info and pictures. Check these out: VF-11B VF-11C VF-11D Custom Jamming Bird VF-11MAXL Custom Sound Force Type VF-X-11

Because it was. Not only was it an embarrassment to the Termintor name with the gay jokes and horrible visual gags, the story was weak, the acting was dire and the action was terrible, neutered to almost PG-13 levels. Yes! That's exactly what I've been trying to say! That was the only movie I went to the theater to see and wanted my money back. And I saw Sweet November at the theater! Don't worry, Agent, I'm not faulting Arnold. I am, however, faulting the director, the guy that wrote the lame script, and the actor that played John Connor.

Thanks for the info, but it seems the old forums are down until an IP issue is resolved.

I was bored at work today and I was looking through the PC stuff (I'm more of a console gamer). Anyways, I'm seeing all these packages you can buy to add planes and scenery and new paint jobs and stuff to Microsoft Flight Simulator. They all seemed to be designed for 2002 and 2004. That got me wondering... are there any places to get Macross stuff that I can add to Flight Simulator? And if so, what versions would they be compatible with? I mean, a friend of mine gave me Flight Simulator 98... is that enough, or should I pick up a newer version?

For every 48 people here that like it, 51 love it. Check out this old thread. With Macross, like many other works in life, IMHO, it's best to at least view all the parts of the set, and then decide for yourself which parts you liked and which parts you didn't. The tone of Macross 7 is very different, though, and even the people who love it best admit that it takes a few eps to get into. Well, in other words, I reccommend everything you don't have. You should go to Best Buy and get Macross Plus and Macross II. Then poke around on the internet for the DVDs that haven't been commercially released here (I get a lot of my DVDs at Animeniacs.net, but I'm not sure what Macross stuff they have). Those ones would be DYRL, Flashback 2012, Macross 7 (I do know they have the complete FX set, which includes the movie, encore, OVAs, and Macross 7 Plus bits), and volumes 1 and 2 of Macross Zero. Volume 3 should be out pretty soon. And there's that 20th Anniversary DVD out, too... get that if you're feeling really hardcore.

Why does everyone keep saying that T3 was going back to or reminicent of the first Terminator movie? The first one was not full of cheesy bits like Arnold putting on the girly sunglasses or that whole "talk to the hand" bit. T1 was gritty, for the day. T2 was so gritty that it's still gritty today. T3 was just corny.

I love those designs. But I thought that those designs were around the Macross 7-era (unless my knowledge has been poluted by crappy RPG sites...). Sort of. The only thing we know definatively is that the SW-XA1 was developed after the VF-17, to create a fighter that retained the stealth of the VF-17 but had higher atmospheric performance, so they started the Stealth Wing eXperiment with the basic design of the VF-1, because they had loads of combat data on it. And even then, that backstory is not considered canon. Does it matter if it's around Macross 7's time period? There was a lot more going on then than just what was happing to the Macross 7 fleet. As long as the story is good, I don't care when it takes place or if it overlaps with another story.

Does the special edition include a new version of the movie that didn't suck? I mean, I loved T2, but T3 was the only time I went to see a movie and actually wanted my money back. Not only was it a mediocre action flick full of lame pop-culture cliches and a vet who's tougher than the guy who's supposed to lead the human resistance, but an ending that was a 180 from the theme of the first two films and an insult to the fans who saw them. I'd poke myself in the eyes with a fork before I see another Terminator movie done by the director of T3.

I'm a console gamer too, and while that keeps me from building my own system, I don't use that as an excuse not to have a good computer. My main system is: Sony VAIO PCV-RZ32G 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading Technology 512 MB of RAM 80 GB hard drive Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 nVidia GeForce MX 440 with AGP8X 1 cable (TV cable) input 2 S-Video inputs 1 i.LINK S400 input 8 USB 2.0 inputs A floppy drive A Memory Stick Drive (convenient, since I have a Sony Cyber-Shot digital camera) A Sony DRU-510A DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW burner An LG GCC-4480B CD-R/RW DVD-ROM Giga Pocket Sony 17" LCD monitor. Being that I spend a lot of time on this machine, but my wife likes to play Solitaire, I wound up buying a second cheap machine just for her to play with. It's: eMachines 2.5 GHz Intel Celeron 40GB hard drive 256MB RAM a generic CD-RW drive A floppy drive 6 USB ports Some kind of bulky eMachinese monitor. And that's really all I know about it, since I never use it. If you want to know what printers, the eMachinese has the Lexmark that came with it, but I tossed the crappy HP printer that came with the VAIO and replaced it with an Epson Stylus CX3200 printer/scanner/copier.

Why not use those cool SW-XA series in the next series? I really liked both of those, and maybe Kawamori could cook up an SW-XAIII for it.

OK, so the machines are capable of love/anger/fear/jealousy/etcetera, but they are somehow incapable of lying? uh-huh. I don't think it's that they're incapable of lying. I think it's more that the Architect considers himself above humanity, and thinks of lying as petty human behavior.

Remember how they said that once a mind is a certain age, it's very dangerous to try and free it? I doubt they're going to tell the entire world that they're living in a fantasy world and supplying machines with energy. Hopefully the Matrix online MORPG will explain what really is going to happen since it takes place after Revolutions. I would assume that they'd just do away with the Agents. That is, someone realizes that something isn't right can figure it out and get out. Or maybe people from Zion will still jack in and free minds. But I don't think that the machines will actively tell people that they're living in the Matrix. I'm still suprised that they conceded so much already. As far as I'm concerned, the machines are still holding all the cards.

I just want to point out that the only console that I've ever owned that ever broke or quit working was my original NES. When I first bought a PlayStation (old one, when they still had a parallel I/O on the back), it was defective and I had to take it back. But only my old NES worked, and then broke/quit working. I've had a PS2 since the day they came out, and I never had a problem with it.

Er... who was GC hating? None of the Gundam games are very good mecha sims I think, although Federation vs. Zeon is a fun arcade game with mecha, that you'd probably enjoy. Eh, I might be, but I don't go around advertising it. I haven't decided. I mean, it has some games that I really love, like Megaman Transmission and Sonic Adventure. My problem is that I haven't really cared for Nintendo's first party stuff since the SNES. I guess I just like my Mario and my Zelda in 2D (just like my Megaman, Capcom! So knock it off!). And once you take away the first party stuff, the GC's library is pretty slim pickings compared to the PS2's. As for multi-platform games, I usually go for the Xbox version, since the Xbox has the hard drive and Dolby Digital support. So while I have probably about 20 PS2 games and 15 Xbox games, I only have seven GC games... and I'll probably trade-in Viewtiful Joe after I beat it (I consider the games I currently own on the PS2 and Xbox to be keepers). $20 for the Freeloader? Rip off. It's $9.99 at Gamestop, and you can just go into the store and buy it, and save the hassle of ordering it from the net. On a side note, the GC version of Action Replay has the Freeloader software included, and that runs around $40. Now if only I could find a Gamecube game that I actually would want to import...

I agree with 99% of what you said! The film did feel rushed, and probably would have been better as one long movie than two. While Trinity wasn't too bad in the first movie, she looks like she's in her 60s now, and is kind of discusting. Props for killing her off. And yes, the game was referenced a lot. I'm not sure how bad of an idea it was. I have no idea what the percentage of people who saw the movie was, but I do know that despite horrible reviews, Enter the Matrix actually set records for videogame sales. The Animatrix was probably referenced a bit, too. The ending was a bit of a let down, too. I mean, if you think about it, the decision to make sequels to the orignal, and then to do it as a massive two-part film with animation and videogame tie-ins, they were setting up something huge. Instead, Neo goes to the head machine honchos and says "peace," and the machines just go for it, for some inexplicable reason. It may have worked for the story, but it was still kind of weak. I also side with those who say Smith had knowledge of the fight because he absorbed the Oracle, not because it was the nth time that he fought with the One. And like Keith, I don't believe that each version of the One was Neo. Speaking of Keith, at the end of the film, the Architect says something to the Oracle along the lines of "Those who want to will be released," implying that those that want to can also stay inside the Matrix. 99% sure on that.

Since Journey to Jaburo outright sucked, I've resolved to rent any new Gundam games before I buy them, and EiS is no exception. The exception would be AEUG vs. Titans, though. Zeta Gundam is my favorite Gundam series with most of my favorite mobile suits, Capcom is my favorite game developer/publisher, and even if the space battles were less fun, I loved Federation vs. Zeon, and would gladly take a Zeta game even if they didn't improve the engine at all.

The good news about this game is that it stands a chance of a US release... Nintendo Power has had it listed for a US release for a while now. Can't get enough of the One Year War. Eh... I'm tired of the One Year War. Don't get me wrong, First Gundam is one of my all-time favorite shows. But 90% of the Gundam games out there are One Year War, 85% of those sucked, and even the ones that didn't (Federation Vs. Zeon) don't have enough bitchin' mobile suits. I'm with yellowlightman... I want AEUG vs. Titans. IMHO, Zeta Gundam has some of the best mobile suits, and was probably the only Gundam series that was better than the original. And while Federation vs. Zeon had its flaws, even if they don't improve the engine for AEUG vs. Titans, it's still good enough that I know I'll enjoy it. Besides, I heard Quebeley is going to be in it.

Well, it's either that, or the debates we had in those 19 vs 21/22 polls awhile back. A few people will admit that they convereted to the 21/22 after that thread.

I remember last time the VF-1 dominated, too. People tend to like what they saw first, grew up with, or consider to be "classic." Just like there are people who think the NES is still the best for videogames or have a fondness of 60's and 70's muscle cars. Personally, though, I'm always looking forward to the next new thing, and I went with the VF-22. (I lean toward PS2 for my current game system of choice, although I play everything, and my ideal car was a 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT. Hope the rumor that they might bring them back in 2005 is true...)

Well, that would depend. And let's say I made a movie instead of wrote a book, to keep more in line with our discussion of Lucas. Okay, if I made a movie that was the way I wanted it, and I was satisfied, I should have no reason to alter it. Maybe to prequels or sequels if I felt the need to expand on the story, but if the film captured my vision, then it should be fine. I think going back and altering a character so that he'd seem more of a good guy, or to try to incorporate more mass-market appeal is selling out your artistic vision. On the other hand, if technology limited what I could and couldn't do, then I might have to settle. When technology advances to the point where I could do what I wanted originally, it might be tempting to re-do some things. For example, maybe I intended to have a scene on the moon. It's not feasible to actually do a shoot on the moon, but 20 years from now, it might be. Or perhaps I simply wasn't faithful to my artistic vision. Perhaps the original version was where I sold out, trying to create fame and fortune for myself. Having succeded, I decide that it's safe for me to take my original film(s), and change a few things to make it closer to the idea that I originally had. Would that piss off some people? Sure, but it'd probably make me happy. Now, which of those three scenarios applies to Lucas? I really don't have any idea. But at the end of the day, what it comes down to is that I don't really care, either. Whatever version comes out on DVD is probably the version I'll get, and that'll be good enough for me, and perhaps the simply majority as well. If you really need DVDs of the trilogy in it's original form, well I know on eBay they're selling the trilogy on DVD already. I'd assume that they're region 0's. Perhaps they might be in the original form. Or, although this option will limit the quality, burn your own DVDs from your VHS or laserdiscs. Just a few things you'll need: 1 - A way to capture the video from the source to your computer. Personally, I have S-Video inputs on the front and back of my PC, plus a cable in. 2 - Some kind of software to author a DVD from the video you just captured. Again, my computer came with Click to DVD and Windows Movie Maker. 3 - A DVD burner. They've come down in price a lot, too. You can get burners that just do one type for around $100. Or, at $275, go for the best and get a Sony DRU-510A, which can burn onto all types. When shopping for a burner, do some research and figure out what kind of media your players can read, either DVD+ or DVD-. For the record, both the PS2 and the Xbox will read both, as will most of the newer players. Then you can either buy a cheaper burner that burns what your players can play, or if they play both, buy an expensive burner that burns both formats, and then buy whatever blank DVDs are on sale.

First, if you don't see anything wrong with him only caring about he wants (if that is indeed the case), then I can't help you. Why you seem to think it's laudable that he doesn't take the fans wishes into his consideration is beyond me. I sure as hell don't see anything wrong with an artist caring about only what he wants. When I was in college, I took a clase on writing fiction. Often, the assignment was to write a short story. That's it, no rules, no topics, not boundaries, just write a short story. And yet, for an assignment with no rules or boundaries, I constantly had the teacher (a pompous fellow who acted as if he truly believed himself to be an expert, simply because he was lucky enough to get one of his cheap horror schlock books published as an obscure paperback under a pseudonym) coming back to me and telling me that I should re-write parts of my stories to take into consideration any number of groups who may have found something to complain about (for example, I shouldn't have any kidnapped girls in my story, because I might offend feminists... or victims of kidnappings). He kept telling me to consider my target audience. Well, feminists and victims of kidnappings probably weren't my target audience, but thing I always thought is that I was telling a story because I had a story in my head. I wasn't telling a story to make John Smith happy. And I certainly saw no reason to alter the story that I wanted to tell just to make it more palatable to Mr. Smith. If Lucas thinks the SE versions are the versions that truly tell the story the way he wants, props to him for doing it that way, even some people are going to gripe. On the other hand, if he changed them to make them appeal to a larger crowd, then sure, he may have compromised artistic integrity in favor profit. Which is the case is for you guys to decided, as I personally don't care. What I do care about, though, is an artist's right to create the art the way he or she wants, being forced to compromise his or her original vision for the sake of mass-market appeal.

Okay... slowly but surely, I've been trying to assimilate the various Gundam stories. Now I've seen Gundam Wing, First Gundam, and Zeta Gundam, as the 08th MS Team, 0080, and 0083. All very entertaining stuff, so I decided to start checking out the side stories (less interested in the comic adaptations). So, I picked up Blue Destiny and, um... I forget the crappy English name for it, but the official US release of G-Unit. Sadly, that's about all we have in America. Sure, we have the first Gundam, G Gundam, and Gundam Wing adaptations, as well as the Gundam Wing stories Blind Target, Episode Zero, and Battlefield of Pacifists, but I really an more interested in in the novels and comics that actually advance the UC universe, like Crossbone Gundam and Hathaway's Flash. While info on the mobile suits is plentiful, I can't so much as find a summary of the stories. Which brings me to my question. Does anyone know where I can find summaries or fan translations or the novels or mangas that haven't been commercially released in the States?

Either that, or some kind of "destroy the evidence" failsafe. From Sara's visions, were given to assume that at some point, the AFOS is going to "wake up" and go on a destructive rampage. If AFOS were purely a defensive unit, and it was supposed to protect the Protoculture's experiment (if it was to protect the Protoculture themselves, they wouldn't leave it behind), you'd have to wonder why it goes nuts on them later. Here's something to ponder, though. If the Protoculture landed on Earth and made humans a sub-Protoculture race... and did the same thing to the Zolans on Zola... did they also leave an AFOS somewhere on Zola?