Thanks for the tip.
I'll give you one in return
The Logi case IS out. I am very pleased with it.
Looks great. Feels solid. Reasonably priced, IMO.
It does add both some weight and bulk though. I could see that being a significant factor in long play sesssions, but I'm not liable to play for hours at a time.

Well, I have a new PSP...my first console since the Atari 2600.
It only took me 6 stores before I finally found one at Target.

Anyway, I picked up the Logitech polycarbonate case, which I really like a lot.
I got the Pelican screen protector (see PSP screen thread).
For games I got Wipeout Pure and used copies of Lumines and MGA.

I haven't had a chance to try MGA yet but have spent a few minutes wiith the other two. Visually, this thing is just breathtaking. If I had one niggle at this point it's that sound reproduction from the built-in speakkers leaves something to be desired. I haven't tried the headphones yet. The thing that has really left me dumbstruck is how challenging the games are.

I've read tons of threads about Lumines and seen where people talk about how fast it gets in certain level ranges. Silly me...I figured it started at a really sedate pace. Imagine my surprise when it starts off at a pretty decent clip. I made to the second skin on my third attempt and felt like I'd accomplished something.

Wipeout Pure looks amazing too, but wow, the controls are tricky. Not in the sense that they are unpredictable. They seem like they are well done in that respect. But I've yet to make a clean run around the easiest track with one fo the slowest racers. This is challenging. I haven't played it all that much yet, and haven't tried an actual race either, but it looks like a blast. Do people prefer the buttons or stick for this one?

Anyway, just wanted to chime in and say I broke down and did it. My son also had some money of his own saved up from various occasions (Tooth Faiiry, birthdays, etc) and he got himself a GBA SP. I treated him to a few games and found a great "used" (I'd swear it had never been touched by human hands) backpack/case for 5 bucks.

Hey gang. Whats the latest word on screen protection?

Like Ralph-Wiggum said in another thread, the Pelican screen ($5 bucks at Best Buy) applies easily enough but makes the screen look grainy. It isn't honestly all that noticeable when playing a game/movie but looks bad on static screens or with large areas of solid color.

I can certainly live with this, but if there's a better option I'm all ears.

Anybody know the employee discount for gamestop and what items it is/ is not good on? Apparently, even though they are no longer the same company, I can get the discount as a Barnes and Noble Employee.

I don't know. I've got a brand new store right next to where I work (Gamestop...there's also a brand new EB) and they've been quite nice to me so far. The sales guy put up with me for a good while yesterday. I'm thinking of getting a PSP there. They had the best selection of accessories and games I've seen of the stores I've been in.

Spill the beans, please. Where did you buy COH for 20 bucks?

Try Amazon.com...they've had the DVD edition for 20 bucks on their Friday sale multiple times.

No. Firewire is a totally different animal. PSP has USB 2.0. He's talking about one of the small USB connector ports like you find on cameras.

Gothic's controls weren't all that bad...the worst issue was a lack of documentation as to how they worked.

Anyway, back on track. I don't have a PSP (or any console). But there are several games out that have me interested in getting one. MGA is one of them and I have zero experience with the franchise. It looks like it ought to be a fun strategy game that you don't have to be a tactical genius to play.

I'm very much interested in Lumines, Smart Bomb, Wipeout Pure and some of the upcoming stuff (GT4P e.g.)

That does sound cool...very much like demos in City of Heroes.

*brief sound of feedback over loudspeaker*

-goda. I repeat, TCFH is Vigoda.
Thank you.

Pirates!

Really? From what I've seen in movies and such it looked like it was going to end up being fairly graphics intensive even though the base elements look like that.

Looks cool, but also looks like it has too much RTS in it for me.

Don, I was playing with a sidekicked Illusion/FF controller last night...made me a bit wistful.

Robbie, Don is correct. You can set one and only one power to autofire in the manner he indicated.

There have been many minor updates, but their primary method has been to group large amounts of new content into "Issues" (note the comic theme). They have added vast quantities of new content (new zones, raised the level cap, new character types, new powers, etc.) as well as freshened up much of the original content (something they continue to do by revamping missions) for no additional cost via the three issues.

later this week

Issue 3 is active now.
Free respecs, global chat, and the winter event should go live later this week.

Take that, Statue of Liberty!

So glad to hear this....I was just on the site...I think two days ago, and was disappointed to see there was nothing new posted.

Thanks for letting us know.

I've never even heard of that game...I was thinking of their sim offerings, including a couple of F1 titles.

DICE also made Rally Masters and 2 Swedish Touring Car Championship titles.

Odd that Ubi and Dice are both have a history with racing games.

CoH...GotY isn't good enough.

Walter, are you playing on Virtue? Love to have you playing with us.

I played this awhile back. Shadowlands was 5 bucks at Best Buy. It was fun for a few weeks because a good friend was playing. The novelty (my first MMORPG) wore off pretty quickly. The grind in this game is staggering.

No disrespect to Rob, but lists like this drive me nuts, because one gamer's trash is another's treasure.

Heck, I'd be very hard-pressed not to crown CoH as my favorite game of all time at this point, surpassing classics like Pirates!, Diablo II, NFS:Porsche, etc.

It is interesting to see how other people view things, though.

All I can see now is that spongebob commercial...

The control system in Gothic wasn't bad at all, IMO. The real problem is that there were important keys that were undocumented (like ctrl). Once I figured that out, it was fine. This was a game where (to me) the combat required a bit of skill, yet I wasn't overwhelmed by it and thought I improved as the game went on).

I'd go w/ Gothic 2, which has a much larger area to explore than Gothic. I couldn't really get into it for that reason, but since you liked Morrowind I think you probably would.

I don't know...I just couldn't get into the second one. It's too big for my tastes. I just feels overwhelming. I liked the first better from that standpoint.

You know...I should still have my cloth map from the original lying around here somewhere...

I've had the box set for months but haven't gotten around to watching it yet...mostly beause the wife and I both wanted to watch it and we haven't had the time lately.

Fair enough. I can certainly buy having something else new and shiny to play. I can also understand if someone doesn't get into the whole pirate thing. But that's a little different from thinking a game has no replay value because it is repetitive. All games are when you get down to it.

Pirates! (well, at least the original) is the kind of game you can play a career, leave it for a while, then come back and play again many times over. It is very open-ended and has huge replay value. Every game may have the same elements, but it won't ever be the same game twice.

That is what I would call incredible game design.

You know...it honestly baffles me when people say stuff like this.
How long did it take to see everything you could do in Tetris? Space Invaders? Centipede?

The best games in the world are simple and addictive, yet allow enough flexibility that a variety of siituations can arise from those simple elements.

Checkers, Backgammon, Chess (and the ultimate answer, which has to be Go). What the heck is it about modern video games (or is it modern video gamers) that is so different from classic video games or board/card games?

People have lodged this same complaint about City of Heroes, saying there is nothing to do. I honestlly can't figure out if I'm the one that doesn't get it or they are.

Their numbers on this one are simply staggering. Consider that CoH is a considered a big hit and it seems like WoW matched their number of accounts more or less overnight. I mean, obviously any Blizzard game is going to have a buzz about it, but I didn't realize the anticipation levels were THAT high.

Congrats to Blizzard.

Sheesh, I'm wrong again. Issue 3 was activated on test last night.

Looks like my earlier timeframe estimate was wrong.
Issue 3 becane available fro predownload onto the test server yesterday. What that means is that it should become active on the test server sometime next week, which I really didn't expect to happen. It'll be interesting to see that happen just so we can get more complete info about the new power pools and such.

Hit 37 last night. After running some missions and going to get my level 40 enhancements, A friend took me down into the abandoned sewer network, where, despite eating pavement once, I gained about a quarter level in what seemed like no time at all fighting Level 39-40 Hydra. I normally prefer doing missions to street hunting activities, but this was actually pretty fun.

It will have to go onto the test server first, and probably be there at least a couple of weeks, so my guess is 3-4 weeks minimum.

Hey gang, they posted new info on Kheldian ATs today.
Check this out

Some freaky stuff in there.

I'm no IP attorney, but the opposite side of this is that Marvel has an obligation to vigorously defend its IP assets. Again, I think it's kind of hard to make an argument for the Hulk, because no one single aspect of the character, in isolaton, is that distinctive. If CoH let you have a power ring that emitted a green beam, they'd never get away with it  IMO because it would be obvious that the power set was created to emulate a particular character. Are there other characters with pop out claws in comics? The more there are, the less unique they are to wolverine they are, and the weaker I think the argument gets, but I base that on thinking that criticizing the ability to make a character that kind of looks like a known hero won't hold up.

Shrug...but that's all just conjecture based on common sense, and sometimes the law and common sense don't see eye to eye all that well.

What is at issue here (I think) is not specific violations of trademarks by individuals playing the game (though no doubt they will be cited) but the presumption that the game gives players the ability to make clones of their favorite heroes, thereby allegedly weakening the demand for licensed products that let you do that.

Chain stores break street dates all the time. Breach of contract matters squat, because the publishers need their games in those stores more than the stores need an individual title.

The point of street dates, generally, is to try and get product into all the retail outlets at the same time, but in the end, in the vast majority of cases, they don't mean a bloody thing.

Yeah, I think there's a stronger case for Wolverine than for the Hulk. I read a comment in one of the articles about how you could make a character that looks just like the Hulk and has the same powers as the Hulk. What POWERS? You mean like being really strong and being able to jump real far? Wow, that's a real convincing argument, isn't it? I find claws/regen to be a more convincing case, personally. Heck, the most distinctive thing the hulk can do is change back and forth to Bruce Banner, which you can't do in CoH, currently (you can have different costumes, but you can't change the body type/height/bulk between them.

I think they have to be careful about building power sets around powers or devices dominantly associated with a single character. Shields seem like a bad idea for this reason, as would web-slinging. They plan to do a bow set and that seems a bit squirrly too.

If you decide to, look me up (Inspectre).

Yes, Ironwulf is frequently online as Polar Myst. We've grouped together on a number of occasions.

Well, they have taken steps to prevent this, though one might argue they haven't done enough. Designing heroes that look like copyrighted characters or naming them after such characters (this extends to supergroup names as well) are against the EULA and are dealt with. Moreover, it isn't like there's a "click me and make the hulk" button. Users have to go clearly out of their way to make a character that resembles any established character.

I think if they were going to have a preliminary session with a judge, I'd be inclined to have the judge sit down at the character creation and have them try and recreate a hero. There's a staggering number of options available.