Warmaker

On an extremely rare note for me, I bought a game for my PS3 I got Demon's Souls, despite the employee warning me that it's a tough game. The game is merciless in regards to mistakes, and new players better get used to dying oftenly. Really liking the weapon animations, even the variety of wielding a weapon with 1 or 2 hands, with or without shield, etc. The funny thing is that the game has a western style of artwork / theme, but it's made by a japanese development team.

FPS - Never had a problem being the guy with the AT rocket ambushing that passing by Tank or packed up APC As far as server rules, the main ones are right there on the browser when you click on that server before you even commit to jumping in. Check the rules, like 'em, join up. If not, check another one. Options, baby. We don't like being forced / funneled down inescapable paths as a gamer on the PC. Side comment: Not fond of the FPS bunny hopping thing, which originated out of Half Life / Counterstrike When I first tried CS in the late 90s, I saw that, saw it was actually effective, and promptly left it for good. Back to Rainbow 6 for me in those days. Mods - You may not like mods, but that doesn't stop plenty of console users asking if they can use certain mods (crossplatform releases like Oblivion) on the 360 or PS3. Some mods will have varying degrees of technical issues. But mods, especially those quality ones that are developed as a labor of love by fans (for no pay) extend, improve, or even completely alter gameplay. More guns for your FPS? Sure. You want realism / historical accuracy for your game? Mods cover that, too. More characters for that RPG? Been doing that since the 90s. Making that PC RPG gameplay more faithful to a pen & paper / tabletop game it originated from? There too. The options are there as far as PC gaming goes. I play things out with original versions on the game on release, but mods extend that game's life tremendously. They add new things and prevent things from getting stale. As far as flight games go, the arcade ones have their home on the console. But you guys there are completely static unless the developers keep adding stuff. But if you want realism / simulations and extensive campaigns (dynamic or not), the PC is where it's at. Not to mention those mods that you really hate that add more aircraft, refine the flight physics, add campaigns, etc The major eras of flight are painstakingly covered on the PC: WWII (alot), Korea, Vietnam, and over into modern eras. You want a lighter experience without having to worry about trim, propeller settings, etc.? No probs. Change it under the options. Again on flight games go, I do find IL-2 Birds of Prey an interesting release on the consoles. First flight game having the options for far more harder / realistic settings. Back on Dragon Age: I was browsing around the voice actor list for it and was also surprised with some of the names on there too. Like alot of Bioware games, lots of voicework.

I'm having a hard time getting favor with Alistair and Sten. Maybe my PC is too "busy" with Morrigan I got some favor with Alistair but everything just "stops" with him. Sten is hard to figure out.

The Revenant in the Mage Tower is a BEAST (and looks the part) if you rely on getting up in someone's face to do damage. It's attacks are close range AOE and they hurt. Best bet is getting your best melee defense / tank up on him. Have dedicated healer on him, and the rest of the team stand back and hit from afar. The Revenant resists quite a bunch of magical attacks, FYI, and is weak against physical damage. But if your physical damage dealing is mostly done via melee, your healer(s) will have a tough time keeping the melee'ers alive. It's a really nasty beast and I can't imagine having to fight that thing with any enemy helpers around. I tried it a few times when I did my original run through the Mage Tower (2H warrior PC, Alistair, Morrigan, Wynn). I was around Lv10 or something. I went back later on as Lv12 and the thing still hurts (2H Warrior PC, Sten 2H, Morrigan, Leiliana Bard). I should've had an easier time the first time around with a Wynn and Morrigan around, but one hit and they were almost dead. It didn't help that my Melee guys were getting chopped up in less than a handful of swings each. I'd also been slogging through the tower using up alot of potions. The Fade portion for the Tower was annoying. A few neat things but overall I wasn't fond of that part of the story. Regarding Sten: He's nice to have along in a group to hear his comments. He sees things at a different light and is extremely blunt. Also, Wynn's interaction with the dog is funny. I think she's the only one the dog is actually fearful of. Oh, I know game developers have long since jumped on the console bandwagon for years now. Still, there are alot of aspects in gaming that consoles will never go (or I don't see any movement towards) and the PC crowd has the advantage of: FPS - I hear of guys talk about multiplayer on a console with a dozen or so, maybe 20 or so players, and is fun. I break the news to them that PC FPS has been doing better on that for years. BF2, BF2142 for example, with 64 players in a session is remarkably fun and keeps you on your toes, especially with larger maps to account for those players. I then talk about vehicles (gunships, jets, jeeps/FAVs, tanks, APCs, etc, and oftenly having multi crews). BF2 is old, but you might be surprised knowing how active it is still, especially after the 1.5 patch. Not to mention that the FPS genre originated here, on the PC. Don't want to mess with all those tanks blowing your sniper away in that building? Fine, filter the servers for "Infantry Only" ones. All the cutting edge stuff started out on the PC, and will continue, with help from developers and the mod community. Speaking of the mod community... Mods - One of the biggest advantages of playing on a PC are the use of mods. PC gamers expect a decent to a great degree of moddability from PC games. Mods bring the potential of tweaking a game to certain playstyles. They can be small tweaks or the all encompassing "total conversions" where the original game is essentially changed to something else entirely (Star Wars First Strike for BF2142, for example). Mods potentially bring alot of new life in a game, since they can change quite a bit from the original "vanilla" version. So many genres are affected by Mods on the PC. Everything from RTS, FPS, RPGs, Strategy, and even MMORPGs (to very limited extents). When I get on forums discussing mods to such games as Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc., that have cross platform versions, there's usually someone asking if the mod can be used on the PS3/360. Sorry man, you can't. The developers won't allow it, or are extremely reluctant to even try on the consoles. But mods are expected on the PC, and when a new game comes out, half the fun is wondering what kind of mods will be possible from the community, especially when the original developers release mod tools for the community to use. RTS - Consoles can do this also, but the controls are something to be desired. RTS is far more friendly with a mouse and keyboard. Wargames / Strategy Games - If you're really into this genre, the PC is the home for these games. From the lighter stuff like Civ games, to the hardcore wargames that are closer to board games ("Korsun Pocket" for WWII Eastern Front level of calamity; "Combat Mission" series of games). Simulations - I'm talking about sims like IL-2, Falcon 4.0, T-34 vs Tiger, MS Flight Simulator, etc. The PC is the bonafide home to sims. Home to the lighter stuff and of course the hardcore simulations, and it's been that way for a long time, at least since I jumped into the PC gaming scene in 1997. The wide variety of accessories are there. The market for Sims is small now, not like the glory days of the 90s. But the dedication of the community and mod support keeps alot of titles still going. That is why people still play an old game like Falcon 4.0 which by now is fixed, heavily modified, etc. compared to it's original release version in 1998. Are there any console games still that old still being played (and drastically improved upon) on the same platform? MMO's - The PC reigns supreme here. All the big name MMOs are on the PC, all the upcoming MMOs that are taking that shot for #1 MMO are coming out for the PC. 'Nuff said on that. Not bagging the consoles. Heck, I of course started my video gaming there and was hardcore into my rigs for a long time (ended with my Saturn & PS1) until I toyed with PC gaming on my friend's computer in '97 and haven't had enough of it since. There's some games / franchises on the consoles that are outstanding in their own right (fighting games, which I still love... just don't come off right on the PC. Only SFIV made great moves towards the PC crowd, and I'm enjoying it). But the options across more genres, mods, and multiplaying for me are just better on the PC. The numbers and dollars are in the consoles, but the variety, multiplaying, and mods are on the PC.

LOL! Just LOL!! The best part is that someone had to pitch this to gain approval for their corrosion control shop to paint it like that. Even better, the guy that approved it thought it was a great idea. Maybe even told the CO about it and got consent there too?

Yeah. I prefer my FPS on the PC having features, especially sequels where you're supposed to build upon and improve from previous versions. I enjoyed MW on the PC and was looking forward to MW2 and it's PC version. But Activision's arrogance and dumbing down of the sequel turned me away from it. What was funny was seeing MW2 at Fry's Electronics. For the console versions, they were essentially out. For the PC versions, there were stacks upon stacks of them on the shelves, untouched and will be collecting dust. The PC FPS crowd is not impressed The sad part is that the COD franchise found it's initial success and chances for followups because of the PC gaming crowd. But I guess Activision hates us now. As far as MW's hype goes, yeah it's out of scale to what it actually does, especially on the PC where FPS games really shine. It's a good game, but compared to some other great FPS'ers on the PC, it's not all that. Same thing with Halo.

The Warden's Keep DLC is a mixed bag. On a negative note, after completing that DLC's main quest, you're locked out of the keep. That really pissed me off, since I was expecting to use it along the lines of those keeps in Suikoden. I went through that entire time clearing that keep, hoping we I can use it as a new place to secretly rebuild the Grey Wardens. But I can't even use it. I'm stuck with leaving my guys around a small campfire in the middle of nowhere. The nice thing about the DLC is the short story / background behind the keep and some loot. The heavy armor looks fabulous, and a few weapons in there are worthwhile. My main is being played as a goodie-two-shoes but I got him trying to get into Morrigan's pants Opposites attract and all that.

I've been playing alot of Dragon Age: Origins on the PC. The storyline is great so far, made even better due to the different starting story arcs for each race / class. I'm in the LONG process of securing the tower. Looking forward on getting Wynn as part of the group permanently. What my usual party mix before the tower were: Main PC: Warrior (2hander) Alistair: (1H+Shield) Leliana (Rogue, namely for range and lockpicking) Morrigan (damage and some debuffing) Other than for non-combat utility, I'm finding it very hard to justify a Rogue's presence in the party. I mean, I'd LOVE to use them but in combat, they just don't hit hard enough or bring meaningful utility in anything. Once Wynn is freed up, I see myself doing 2 Warriors + 2 Mages, which IMO would be utterly boring, but a necessity, especially how badly outnumbered you'll be sometimes. Warriors for staying power, Mages for healing and damage spikes / frontloading. Rolling into the tower, I have my PC Warrior, Alistair, Morrigan, and Wynn (plot required). With that group, I can take on larger groups of NPCs and handle more powerful bosses better. The real reason why are the 2 mages that can seemlessly switch between offensive or defensive abilities.

So they still haven't put out the longer version of Wrath of Khan on BD? That's what I want, until then, my trusty old DVD will soldier on.

Yeah, I hope Hasegawa continues the tradition they later took with the 1/72 VF-1 kits, where you had all the parts you need in one kit to do all the variants, i.e. Battroid A/J/S kits.

To be honest, I was surprised the YF-19 came out in 1/48 injection molded kits before the VF-1. Not that I'm complaining. Still, considering the ONLY choice for a 1/48 VF-1 is the Club-M resin kit from eons ago, this is a godsend. I hope Hasegawa releases this beauty jam packed with FAST / STRIKE Packs and the arsenal of ordnance. It would be nice to have a 1/48 VF-1 STRIKE in jet mode without breaking the bank. If the YF-19 is selling good, this kit is a guaranteed success. We've been looking for a large scale VF-1 kit for ages.

A nice reminder of a time when the military called the San Francisco Bay Area home.

I'm in. Never can have enough of the Tomcats.

Indeed! ONE Predator movie. TWO Alien movies. No crossovers! They never happened.

It'd be nice if they actually made a Terminator movie showing more Terminators, especially for one actually set in the future war. Terminator Salvation showed very, very few Terminators if you really pay attention. There are more humans running around than the unstoppable mechanized juggernaut that is supposed to be Skynet's forces... AFTER a supposed nuclear exchange. The few flashbacks from Terminator and T2 did a far better job in promoting a dark, desperate feel to the fighting. Salvation didn't have any of that. Heck, the Resistance was so lavishly equipped that it had untouched airfields, entire flightlines filled with military aircraft, enough helos to do a full scale heliborne assault. That initial scene alone with the heliborne assault, how many Resistance helos were there filled to the brim with troops? How many machines (not just T-600's) were there defending on the ground? This was a Terminator movie? No wonder it failed... As for the TV series... I didn't want to see it go. Interesting take, and I really did like the future scenes. The franchise has a future. It's just the right people need to make it happen. Star Trek had been hurting for years, and the recent movie did good enough to bring some life back.

The novel is MONSTROUS As far as Koei and the Three Kingdoms, I think it's what put them on the map. The first Koei game I played was "Destiny of an Emperor" when a friend rented it on his NES, and it's based off the ROTK (with liberties, of course). Then he later got the strategy game that Koei has relied upon for so long as a series, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." I've played that series off and on ever since then. Later, came across another jewel that came to the states, "Nobunaga's Ambition." Those 8 & 16 bit days were quite fun.

A new Romance of the Three Kingdoms series? I'm down. I've long been a sucker for this since playing those Koei games on the 8 & 16 bit console days.

A Rambo movie set in his Vietnam War days would actually be pretty cool if they do it right.

His likeness in CGI form made it in Salvation, but not the actor himself.

I've been a fan of arcade flight games as well as the hardcore sims. I like a good arcade game like Ace Combat 6 and hardcore sims like Jane's Longbow, Falcon 4.0, and European Air War (90s goodness). I do have to say though that the hardcore sims have been on very lean times after the 90s. IL-2 on the PC is the only sim that really took off for the genre, and it ran it's course years ago. Still, with the console versioin of IL-2 out there with "realistic" settings available, it is nice. Not for me, since I never play my sims on a console, but hopefully the challenge of realistic flight sims would entice newer players to dive into this niche genre. Times have been tough for flight sims for almost a decade. And it needs new blood really bad As far as WWII sims, my favorites depending on the theater: Western Europe (Allies): P-51 Mustang- Speed, power, and lots of .50 cal rounds. A bit flimsy, especially for me coming off Fw-190s on several sims. German (Western & Eastern Fronts): Fw-190 - In general my favorite mount when flying as a member of the Luftwaffe ever since I tried European Air War (esp. with "Enemy Coast Ahead" mod). I'd pick the '262 but that's like cheating. The '190 has a wonderful blend of handling, survivability, and tremendous firepower. I used to be a hardcore flyer for a '109, but the '190 to me surpasses it in every possible way. A good short burst from the 20mm cannons will disintegrate most targets short of multi-engined aircraft / bombers. Specifically I've put more time in the A4 variant than in anything else for the Luftwaffe. Pacific Theater: F4U - Ever since watching the "Black Sheep Squadron" on TV reruns, I've long been a fan of the very unique look of this bird. I've never had the chance to fly a Corsair in any sim until Pacific Fighters came out.

They could turn the next F4 movie into porn. At least it'll be amusing

Star Trek got my vote. It surpassed my expectations of a remake of something that I've long been a fan of. Some things could've been better, but I walked out feeling entertained and not feeling Star Trek "canon" being overtly raped. The only other sci-fi flick I've seen on that list is Terminator Salvation. I really wanted to give that movie a chance but Salvation's take of the future war was not what I imagined it would be. I wasn't expecting to see organized, fully manned air cavalry units, large numbers of humans surviving after a supposed nuclear holocaust, only to face a "machine menace" that are so few in numbers that it is Spaceballs Ludicrous. If you saw anything like 3 active T-600s on screen then congrats. That was probably the only time you'll see that many. There are so few Terminators, HKs and such that it was a disappointment. I was really expecting to see a future war in Salvation that Kyle Reese talked about in Terminator with dread. I was expecting some of this: . Not some random movie with a bunch of dudes with M-16s with a few cameo appearances of a Terminator here and there.

WORD, MY BROTHER!

Clarinet FTW!

It still amazes me how LucasArts allowed one of it's most successful lineups to languish for 10 years plus. That organization has been down the s**ters since 1999.