Nightmare Before Christmas wasn't directed by Burton, he wrote it. Henry Selick (Coraline) directed it.

One of my favorite movies of all times.

I don't get all the new-CATCF hate, but then again, I never saw the original until recently. I guess its one of those "You ruined my childhood" things that I never understand. If you don't like it, just stay clear? It shouldn't ruin your childhood experiences,and you are most certainly (probably?) free to have your children watch the edition you want.

I'm a huge fan of Johnny Depp, and I think he did it splendidly. For all its fun and games, there is a huge undercurrent of danger in the movie. I also haven't read the original book though, so I'm unsure whether that was there as well? I'm actually unsure whether there is any truth to the whole Michael Jackson look-alike thing that Depp and Burton has been accused of, but it certainly adds another dimension to the movie.

I guess what I'm trying to add to the conversation, is that live and let live is a good rule to live by.

Damn...right when I'm in Italy...! Oh well, I guess it IS good that they take their time with the game.

Cool, thanks for the update.

If I could find it on my attic, we should play Children of the Sun while we wait :-)

How sad is it that MS has made so many mistakes that Raz would even THINK this could be true.  (He may be slow, but I give him more credit than that on a normal day  )

Dammit! I wish I could go back in time...well, for more than one reason, actually!

Well, what about them 49'ers, eh? What a game last night!

Well, Id say the big difference is, that it is not countries we are talking about, here several states, in the Homeland of Xbox, that it won't launch in. Its fine that there are countries that won't have access to it from the start, thats to be expected - But states in the US? Thats a shocker - to me at least!

You realize that's a joke, right?

Eh..well...have a nice day everyone! I'm off again!!

Or just go to the official site.  There's a ton of both videos and screenshots there.

Thanks! It did confirm my fears, so thanks for that :-)







And finally, the over the top combat :-D



Gorgeous looking game, though!

Squeeeeee....

Anyways - I can tell that I'm probably the only one who saw a ton of commentary on the USA in this movie? Drone killings (The torpedos), moral ambiguity in missions, use of lethal force, secret agencies and secret prisons where you just store people without a trial? I can't believe that wasn't on purpose?

Yes, and that is classic Star Trek. TOS was as topical and moralistic as any network TV show could be in its day and I was impressed that Abrams kept the new movie relevant to contemporary controversies. That's really the heart and soul of Star Trek. I was worried that it was going to be a shallow, straight-ahead action movie with a ST theme. Some of the fight scenes went on longer than they should have but the groundlings eat that stuff up, so that's ok.

Thank you! That was also my take on the old StarTrek, but since no-one mentioned it, I wasn't sure if I was going crazy or just seeing things.

[Razgon]

bwuh?  I've been fairly level headed, even making fun of MS because it's fun.  Honestly, outside some humorous attempts at discussion I probably care more about what Syrians think of my new crocs (they are quite fabulous) than what people think about the Xbone around here.

now Razgon, well I'd be careful with him because he may send a poisoned pastry your way, and we all know you cannot say know to flaky pastry goodness.

Well Raz is Danish, a Danish is a cake (pastry) so I'm sure all Danish people can make them, probably experts in the art of pastry making,  

Raz is cool, he just passionate about his gaming and he knows what he likes and sometimes he deserves a wind up or trolling just because

You British Bastard, you! ;-)

Its all good, but yeah - I get heated at time, like the rest of you guys - you are no better than me! Well, except Ceekay, but he's a robot, so he doesnt count!

Does anyone else find it suspicious that both Razgon and Ryse start with an R? I think Raz may be some long implanted Danish pastry slinging Microsoft spy.    

lynch Razgon!

I stay away for one day, and this happens! Blasted Americans!

Funny stuff follows:

The Xbox One will work in 21 states only at launch, and full launch in 2015. Thats not normal, is it? I love the solutions to not being able to activate games

“If you live in one of the states that unfortunately will not receive Xbox One support at launch, here are a few suggestions on what you can do,” said the representative, “You can relocate to a state that has Xbox One support, you can purchase an Xbox 360 which has no location restrictions, or you can wait patiently until support arrives at your state by 2015 or later.”

 :-D

http://www.p4rgaming.com/microsoft-confirms-xbox-one-will-only-work-in-21-states-in-the-us-at-launch/

Hi Yellowking - long time no see! :-)

Man, with all the positive stuff I've written about this game, I feel kinda bad that they pushed out this bad a patch. Especially when Microsoft takes so long to test the patches. I wonder why, when they don't catch anything after all?

Anyways - The game worked fine before the patch for me at least - 15 hours playtime of pure fun.

Man, I am sorry to hear that! I hope it will become an opportunity for you over time, leading to better things, instead of a bad thing. Here's hoping the next gig will be tons better!!

Is there a realistic chance of finding another job in IBM?

I'm intrigued by the Knights of Pen & Paper +1 but man I've spent too much money on gaming lately.

Hah! I would *love* a pc version. Last I heard unfortunately, is that they had one guy converting it, which is why it will take a long time. Imagine the modding that could be done with this one.

Spent a couple hours with this yesterday, played around in a zone I hadn't seen yet.  A couple thoughts:

- This is easily the most beautiful MMO I've ever seen.  Graphics whores are going to love it.
- It just feels like a Final Fantasy game.  The monsters, the locales (Ul'Dan feels just like running around Ivalice in XII), the art style...it all feels very familiar (in a good way)
- Combat feels pretty simplistic to start with, but looks like it will have significant flexibility down the road.  You start as a single class, and you can then switch classes by changing weapons after hitting level 10.  Each class has their own skills and abilities, so there is an endless number of builds and combos that you can choose from.  Very reminiscent of the Job System found in previous FF games, and it'll be fun to see how they all interconnect. Some skills have "combo" modifiers when used in a chain with others (i.e. bonus damage, etc.), and I can see those getting very powerful at high levels.
-  I haven't run any dungeons (60 minutes of uninterrupted gaming time is not exactly doable with newborn twins in the house), but the PvE storyline is very fun and easy to understand.  The quest dialog is actually interesting and while it still amounts to lots of fetch and "kill X" quests, I find myself actually reading it nearly every time.  
-  The music is absolutely wonderful.  It's entirely an Uematsu score, from what I understand, and he did a bang-up job.

It's actually pretty impressive that they took a game that was an utter trainwreck and salavaged it into something that is very fun.  The ridiculous and needless complexity is gone, and we're left with something very streamlined and easy to understand.  I was pretty skeptical entering the beta, but am 100% sold on playing it on release.  I'm not sure if non-FF fans will be as interested and they're going to struggle with a P2P model in a F2P world, but I'd certainly encourage fans of both FF and MMO's to give it a look come August.

Sounds good -  Can you tell me if it has the usual Final fantasy thing with kids being the heroes, too big swords, and over the top graphical flashy effects for everything? I know it sounds like I'm being snarky, but I just don't like that asian style, but some of the games lately have been more "westernized" if thats a word :-)

i sent an email to square Enix support on Saturday evening asking if i was to get a code(playing a tad dumb as well)

just got an email with my two codes,so i have registered and entered my code into PSN and i am currently downloading the beta

I have missed this weekends(just gone) PS3 beta,but i can at least have it downloaded by the time the beta goes up again this coming weekend

Awesome! I'm glad you got it :-)

And you are sounding like a broken record as well with the room for both things, and so what ? This is about me trying out the game, and commenting on my experiences? Why are you so mad about me or others not liking the game? Go for the ball, not the man. Its getting ugly.

Actually, if you read what I wrote, its nothing like my initial complaints before I got the game, but hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess.

edit: I also did not write anything about the game here, if you'll notice. I don't write as if I expect people to read my posts on both forums either.

Not really, you stated you would not be buying this game,  said thanks to Tom for his review and you agreed with it, and yet you still bought it and its exactly as it was said to be and you dont like it. Which generally is fine, but you already said you werent buying because of the issues with fighting etc etc and still bought it. IMO you lose the bitching card because you knew it all ahead of buying it.

I mean did you think your copy was going to be magically different, maybe you were getting the State of Decay version of The Last of Us, lol

No really i am just winding you up, and you deserve it for buying it you muppet, you knew you wouldn't like it but couldn't help yourself

I think you are reading what you want to read, and not what I actually write, for some reason.

1) My initial concerns, which I detailed here: Linear Shooter with an emphasis on story.
2) My actual concerns after playing the game - Gameplay isn't very well realized (Although Tilt disagree), uncanny valley effects in how good some things look, and how bad others looks. I do end the post on a positive note, that if you like Uncharted you'll probably like this.

These two are not identical, but two different opinions where one is based on reviews/hearsay , the other on actual experiences thus making a transition from believing something to be, into knowing how something is.

Now, if the forum police thinks that only one of the two kinds of posts should be here, then so be it, but I find my views just as valid as everyone elses in this respect.

This is as clear as I am able to convey it in Queens English.

And you are sounding like a broken record as well with the room for both things, and so what ? This is about me trying out the game, and commenting on my experiences? Why are you so mad about me or others not liking the game? Go for the ball, not the man. Its getting ugly.

Actually, if you read what I wrote, its nothing like my initial complaints before I got the game, but hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess.

edit: I also did not write anything about the game here, if you'll notice. I don't write as if I expect people to read my posts on both forums either.

Well damn - I got interested in this due to these posts and fired up a subscription and am having a ton of fun again. I can't even remember why I quit the first time :-)

this is spot-on!

I was about to sugges that Kato was being silly with him feeling that GT had console wars, but man - Can we tone it down just a notch? The rhetoric is getting ugly and its really between just a few select people and its not pretty.

Edit: To clarify briefly - Its getting too personal.

First 15 minutes of this game were pretty good and rather fun - Or rather, best opening I've seen in a game until now. Then the actual gameplay started, and it all went rapidly downhill from there.

As others have noted, the combat is horrible - And please dont start about its just us not understanding the game or playing it correctly. Its not very well implemented, and frankly, is somewhat boring. So far the brick is the ultimate weapon and bottles means instant stealth is my experience. I think that Turtle is right though, in that its engine limitations. The details and the environment are very nicely done and probably some of the most interesting I've seen.

The game feels more like a Hollywood set though, than a real world for some reason - Perhaps its the uncanny valley effect? We are getting closer to real life so that one notices how unreal it looks?

All in all, I don't have much fun with the game but thats probably more me than the game. I don't understand all the 100's and 95's though - The game has a lot of issues, but the more I think about it, the more its probably because how good it looks, meaning errors are looking more out of place.

I cannt help though but sneak in a little advertising that State of Decay features gameplay that I like a LOT more, but of course a lot uglier, and it just got an update ;-)

Anyways - I'm sure if you liked the Uncharted games, this will be right up your alley!

Stupid tapatalk that does not hide spoilers :-(

It is a great story, and the old version just isn't interesting to kids anymore, due to how the times of cinematography has changed. Making a new version this many years later, allows the young generation to experience the story.

My kids loved it so no, Gene Wilder is wrong. (Funnily enough, I read that he died in 2005 last night...wierd)

Honestly, the game looked awful and not like anything I'd expect from a next-gen game.

Even if you take away the prolific quicktime events you're not impressed?  I was drooling over the game demo prolifically until I saw how the combat gameplay was.

Well, I guess it was the package. A game like The Division impressed me because of gameplay and graphics - The graphics of RYSE looked advanced, but also lacking. It had a plastic look to me all over, and the combat was...very very bad yes.

I would have LOVED a game about being a Roman Commander, but this did not look like it at all.

MO - I got a code, but if isn't tied to my email account, I'd be happy to send it to you, since you seem a lot more interested in it than I am.  Do you think that would work?

That would be great Raz,is it for PS3?,as i can't use it if its for PC

My guess would be that it should be a 12 digit code(3x4)which is the norm usually for PS3 codes

with both of us being in Europe I suppose that should be fine as well

unfortunately, its for pc and a 20 digit code - Sorry MO!! :-(

Honestly, the game looked awful and not like anything I'd expect from a next-gen game.

BTW, is Purge ok? I haven't seen any posts from him since E3.  I hope he didn't do anything drastic when Sony announced "No DRM and $399!"

I had the same thought - well, not about Sony but in general!

MO - I got a code, but if isn't tied to my email account, I'd be happy to send it to you, since you seem a lot more interested in it than I am.  Do you think that would work?

new trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-RSDaRttpzk

A friend of mine wrote a letter to the danish division of the Salvation Army,  "Frelsens Hær", and here is the reply.

The links mentioned that you link to, I can only on my own and Salvation Army behalf condemn. This reflects the rhetoric and attitude that does not belong anywhere at home - not in a religious community, which is and can be differentiated approach to the issue of homosexuality. Salvation Army in Australia and internationally took indeed distance from the statements in the link above. They are not adequate for the Salvation Army's faith. I am attaching the opinion of Australia, where the case originated. It is approx. a year ago that the statements came.

The Salvation Army must reject any persecution of people regardless of race, religion or sexuality.
It belongs to the Salvation Army's beliefs and values ​​that everyone must meet and be treated with dignity, respect and non-discrimination.
The Salvation Army has many people and different opinions about life, sexuality and being human.
Homosexuality is a subject that in church circles is controversial and still talk. Salvation Army official international position is that you do not support the right to marriage of homosexuals. This position will be members of the Salvation Army, who agree, and there are also others who disagree with the official position. But regardless of position on this issue, one must eschew any kind of hateful attacks or expressions that tarnishes human dignity.

So, its not universal, and the Danish Salvation Army does very fine work.

The Heroes was very, very cool - I love how character driven his books are. Red Country did not impress me unfortunately.

I've asked around and from what it seems, Microsoft is not trying to sell the console to US, the gamers, because we're going to buy it anyway.  They're trying to sell it to the nongamer who wants a fancy box in their living room so Microsoft can "own the living room."  This sort of makes sense since they used to own the office and don't own that anymore, so they've gotta try dominating at something.

The problem for them is that they forgot they have a real strong competitor in Sony and that the assumption that we're 'going to buy it anyway' was probably a shitty one.

That's interesting because back in 2001 or 2002 when the first Xbox was in development, I was a Microsoft employee in the old WebTV group in the SF Bay Area. I remember going to an internal group meeting/presentation where Xbox was unveiled (there wasn't even a prototype ready yet)  and even back then, over 10 years ago, it was made pretty clear during the presentation that the Xbox would be the first step in a long range goal of putting an entertainment hub in everyone's living room. Xbone sounds like the final iteration of that goal.

I remember back when Bill Gates was in charge, and he stated several times that the goal was exactly this - Get his products that will become a major hub of the household into every single household. He was talking about landline phones with video and an entertainment unit all rolled into one back then, so yeah, they have always as far as I can tell, been about this.

Why did they do that? Is that normal practice?

Struggling with finding something to read.

Buying book 1 now!

You are in for a treat, sir! Enjoy!

.......

Does Tom Chick like anything?  He's like the Mikey of games.

Edit: Not that this is a barometer, but there is not one negative review on metacritic.  Seems like Tommy just likes lavishing himself in contrarian robes.

He likes State of Decay, the wonderful Xbox exclusive game :-) (And plenty others as well)


31 5 star reviews at Qt3 so yeah, he likes stuff.

You need punctuation dammit! I can't read like that ;-)

I really look forward to hearing what you think about it though, but, probably like in the UK games are rather expensive here, around 100 dollars for one new console game, and I'd rather spend my money on a game I know I'll love, than what I've slowly come to realize, isn't for me. And I *think* I wrote this to you somewhere else as well, but I have nothing against the game, its just not what I want. I'd rather play a game where I make the story (Like you say, State of Decay), than play a game where I see someone elses story.

Its the same reason, well one of the major reasons, I really didn't like Tomb Raider.

Our review is live: http://gamingtrend.com/game_reviews/the-last-of-us/

Thanks for the review!

Would it be fair to say, that this is the same kind of game as Uncharted and Tomb Raider? As in great story, lots of action, but very scripted all the way through?

Well, after seeing Tom's review at Qt3 and reading about the game a few other places, I can tell this is just a carrousel ride and the game itself features very little of what I want. Its a linear shooter with a great story and annoying gamebits. I'd be a lot more interested in gameplay, as in how State of Decay does things, than this. I'm out!