My kids and I have been having a blast with Crunchyroll.

When I was in college, no one thought anything of copying game files off of gopher servers, but that was a long time ago.

I'm strictly against piracy of any kind and think there's a special circle in Hell for people who think they have the right to take something for free because it "costs too much". People like to act like stealing music/movies/books/games is a victimless crime, but that's a load of horseshit.

Dude, Kingturn is HARD. I'm playing on the default difficulty and the first optional mission in the cave is kicking my ass. Needless to say, everyone remotely interested in Fire Emblem-ish TBS should get this immediately.

DH4 is gorgeous. I wish they'd make a non-IAP-based game that looked like that.

I got rank 1 earlier, and I'm not sure why,but it didn't make me test for it.

Meanwhile, Oscuros can't get past the tutorial. When he chooses a warframe it just starts at the beginning (same thing happens if he skips it).

So there are still some kinks to work out.

I have a hard time keeping up with my so and his friends, but it is a neat game. Currently playing as Mag. I'm thinking of using some platinum and grabbing Rhino when I hit rank 2.

Curious if you think the game has legs.

Anybody playing this? I'm not great at shooters, so it is taking a bit of getting used to. The style of play is a bit more run and gun than Borderlands (at least how I play). It isn't Halo or TF2, but the pace feels a bit more amped.

and whatever happened to Walter Steele?,Hopefully he will be found before the end of this series,unless i have missed something

I imagine they'll bring him back at the end of the season, but it does seem like he has been forgotten.

Isn't he presumed to be under lock and key somewhere? Moire made Malcolm promise not to hurt him. He was too close to figuring out what was going on.

I'm tired of all the BS.
I'm tired of wingnuts.
I'm tired of all the self-interest and greed that drives everything in politics.
I'm tired of constantly poking our noses into the affairs of the rest of the world when we have plenty of problems here at home.
Sometimes, I'm really tired of our government as a whole.
But I don't know a better one.

As for Obama, I think his predecessor left him with a hideous situation and he kept us from sliding completely off the cliff.

I finally got AirPlay working again today, but now I am suffering from intermittent drops in audio. I usually can only fix that by installing an older version of iTunes.

Yeah, we have issues with audio dropping out on AirPlay as well. I have a couple of different airplay devices that we've tried and the behavior is the same. In our case, the wifi in the house is handled by a couple of airport base stations, which I think are the problem.

I'd love to know what you're doing to level so much more quickly!

Sounds like you aren't using gems to level. With the red gem unlock (which I don't have) you should get....what...3k by the time you hit Forest 2? (Not counting monster xp). So, that's three trips, tops. Hit the little green +* button.

So I don't know if I missed something but what is the bar for under each character in the character select menu?  Is that some sort of xp bar?  If so, seems like you need to kill a ton of monsters to get it to move. I've purchased the 1 star upgrade for all the characters unlocked thus far.

Yes, it's the XP needed for the next star level.  1-star is easy, anything past that takes a TON of grinding or paying for gems.

Actually, getting the second level only takes 3-4 runs per character once you get a little better (you can get past Depths I).

Really?  I'm apparently doing something very wrong then.

Here's a chart of monsters per level:
1. Forest 1: 15 (15 enemies)
2. Graveyard 1: 45 (30 enemies)
3. Sewer 1: 90 (45 enemies)
4. Courtyard 1: 150 (60 enemies)
5. Castle 1: 225 (75 enemies)
6. Dungeon 1: 315 (90 enemies)
7. Depths 1: 420 (105 enemies)

1. Forest 2: 540 (120 enemies)
2. Graveyard 2 : 675 (135 enemies)
3. Sewer 2: 825 (150 enemies)
4. Courtyard 2: 990 (165 enemies)
5. Castle 2: 1170 (180 enemies)
6. Dungeon 2: 1365 (195 enemies)
7. Depths 2: 1575 (210 enemies)

Once you are getting into Forest/graveyard 2 you are killing 500+ enemies per run. Assuming you are leading with the character you are trying to level, that's 1000+ XP per run (2 per kill) and 1500-2000 gems (without red gems unlocked). If you are getting a bit further, say Courtyard 2, it is probably three runs. I actually love Forest 2 and Graveyard 2. They are just insanely fun to me. By the time you get to Courtyard 2, the difficulty really picks back up.

I broke 300 in the arena for the first time today, which was pretty awesome.

So I don't know if I missed something but what is the bar for under each character in the character select menu?  Is that some sort of xp bar?  If so, seems like you need to kill a ton of monsters to get it to move. I've purchased the 1 star upgrade for all the characters unlocked thus far.

Yes, it's the XP needed for the next star level.  1-star is easy, anything past that takes a TON of grinding or paying for gems.

Actually, getting the second level only takes 3-4 runs per character once you get a little better (you can get past Depths I).

I'm an editor for one of the largest romance publishers in the US.

So you're the blame for all these damn 50 shades of grey type of books?

I wish, seeing as I'm paid on commission.

I'm an editor for one of the largest romance publishers in the US.

Yeah, there's a lot of AoE damage on Depths I, so running through the middle of packs will get you killed. 

I like this Tensei IV thread better than that other wankers Tensei 4 thread 

Seriously, that dude....

I was just coming to see if you had posted about this. I was worried you might be incapacitated or something (since I'd yet to hear about it).

Gratch, once you beat Depths I, Forest II and Graveyard II (and even Sewers II) should be pretty doable. Things get tough again on Courtyard II in my experience.

Don't the new 360s take standard laptop drives? Got a spare sitting around?

No, that would be the PS3. 

No, seriously. They dont use the funky enclosure on the slim models, right?

Don't the new 360s take standard laptop drives? Got a spare sitting around?

Haven't been playing ANYTHING on my 3DS. I got started with Layton when it came out. Think I got a couple of hours into it...

I haven't unlocked the red gems, but they should heal 2x blue. Oscuros unlocked them and said they have saved his bacon a couple of times.

I like it but unfortunately I suck at it.  And I can't tell if any of the IAP would alleviate my suckitude.

I can't stop playing this damned game, lol.
The only thing I have bought is I unlocked Hydra prematurely for a buck. That was while I was stuck on Depths I, and helped me get over that hump. Now I'm trying to figure out how to conquer Courtyard II.

NimbleBit's new game is out this week, but I got an early code and have been playing since Friday. This game is stuper addictive and I can't stop playing it.

Basically, the game is like classic snake, except that the "snake" is made up of little adventurer guys that have different attacks and you run around the field in a conga line and your guys automatically attack the various kinds of monsters. Just like in snake, if you run your lead character into a wall or an enemy, it is game over. If you hit another one of your characters, they will be lost.

Some of the characters are fairly similar, others differ dramatically. Some are ranged, others melee. The different types help keep the gameplay from getting stale to some extent, but you'll either like this or not, I suspect.

Controls are simple swipes, and the degree of control is much better than you might think. Even fairly small swipes work perfectly, a misinterpreted command has been extremely rare in my time with it. I love that the game plays in portrait or landscape.

As you complete the different levels, you unlock new characters (which means the snake can be longer as well). This is a free to play game with two types of currency, both of which can be earned in game. Each character has three upgrade levels. The first is very easy to get. The second takes a bit of effort. The third is a long haul, even after you get pretty good at the game. One of the currencies is used to upgrade powerups (things like shields, attack speed, magnets for picking up gems, etc) and also level characters more quickly. The other is used for continues, and also for "boost" items that last for a single game (these can be really useful if you are having a hard time getting past a certain level).

I've managed to complete 13 of the 20 levels. Happy to answer questions if anyone has them. Definitely check this out. When it hits the App Store Wednesday night.

Oooh? That must mean they own the word "judo" too! *rolleyes*

Your description is off a bit.

Skills ARE gems in PoE. Any class can use any skill gem, but some have stat requirements that might make them impractical. There are also support gems which modify skills, say splitting your flaming arrow into multiple shots or giving your minions more life.

To use a support gem with one or more skills, you have to have an item with sockets that are linked together, and the sockets have to match. The color of the gem (red-strength, green-dex, or blue- Int). As an example, I have a witch character I'm playing right now. I have both Summon Zombies and Summon Skeletons in an item with three linked blue sockets, along with a blue support gem (minion life) which increases the health of minions for  both skills.

There is also a MASSIVE passive skill tree. All characters share the same tree, but class determines your starting location. Many of the nodes on the tree are simple things like stat boosts, but there are game changers around the fringes, things like making your attacks always hit but never do criticals, or giving you increased damage at point blank range but reducing your overall range, making minions explode at low health, making your skills use health instead of mana, etc.

The coolest thing about the game, though, is the item fabrication. There are a bunch of different crafting items called orbs in the game. These modify items in various ways, like randomizing the number or color of sockets an item has, making a white item magical or even rare, adding additional properties to items, randomizing the properties of items etc.

One of the neat side effects of this is that white base items (that you never want to see in diablo past level two) can be extremely valuable. Find a good quality white item with the sockets you need? Excellent! Drop an orb on it and make it rare? Don't like the results? Use a different orb to re-roll the item.

I don't have any high-level characters, but even at low levels, I've messed with this a bit, and it's rather cool.

Hey mashakos,

Wouldn't it be the case that the rest of the body would need drastically less in terms of the geometry and processing, though?

As a lover of match-3 RPGs I shall write a new game about dogs needing to find new places to lift their legs.

And we shall call it:

PUDDLE QUEST!

Wouldn't that be Piddle Quest?

Even better!

As a lover of match-3 RPGs I shall write a new game about dogs needing to find new places to lift their legs.

And we shall call it:

PUDDLE QUEST!

The world did really need one more match 3 game.  

You betcha!

Keep in mind that if they aren't loaning you money, they aren't making any, so it isn't like this benefitted them, in some way. Unless you are doing a cash purchase, the main point of the appraisal is to assure the bank that they can get most of their money back out if need be.

Sorry, I understand the mechanics of it, I just don't see why everyone likes it so much.

People are raving about this game being so awesome over at TA, but I completely don't get it.

Little Inferno and Mechwarrior: Tactical Command are both a dollar.

I have a Salamander grill currently, which I've had for a few years.
What I really want is a pellet smoker.

@AdamSchefter: As @RavensInsider insider reported, WR Anquan Boldin traded to 49ers for a sixth-round pick. WRs piling up in NFC West.

 

Holy hell.  Wonder who has the dirty pictures of someone in the Baltimore front office.

No, it makes sense, because they were going to wind up getting nothing.

I can't believe the Seahwaks are trading for Harvin, though, wow. Between Bevell and Carroll (who recruited him at USC), they know a lot about him. Also remembering that at one time Marshawn's rep was as problem child in Buffalo, if Harvin is on board with being part of a team, this could be one scary offense.

I wonder, though, if this means the end of Sidney Rice (former Harvin teammate)...how much money can they afford to tie up in WRs and TEs?

I think they make used games need a fee to play them. Taking the concept of the online MP pass some titles use now applied to the whole game to throw a bone to the publishers.

Been saying for years that this is the right approach. Publishers and devs make a little money on every used sale with no further manufacturing cost. Even a dollar a game would have a significant impact over the long term.

Poltergeist taught me the ability to estimate lightening distance by counting between the flash and the thunder. It also taught me to never build a house on an Indian burial ground. Both very important lessons.

You forgot about running to the light.

Compared to CRPG Kickstarter projects like Torment and Project Eternity, this looks absolutely 'meh'.  Then again, I have no history with the Ultima games...maybe nostalgic gamers will be more receptive.

Yup, other than Garriott being attached to it, this seems to have nothing in particular going for it, yet they have raised 400k already.

fwiw, Nathan Fillion is playing Dogberry (a detective, if I recall), that Keaton got some grief for playing very broadly in Branagh's film. Keaton at times seemed to be acting in an entirely different movie. 

You guys are crazy. I loved Keaton as Dogberry. Then again, I loved him as Batman. And Beetlejuice. And Billy Caufield. And Johnny Kelly. Ok, so maybe I'm biased.

Whedonite, and i like most of the actors, but don't think that trailer really did the movie any favors.

I've never played a rogue-like where enemies didn't move.

Me neither. It really doesn't seem like one at all, yet it feels like it while playing. If the monsters were more distinct (which the dev has already indicated an interest in doing) and there were more loot diversity, that would contribute to the feeling even more.