I'm jament

Gots me some PGR.  Hopefully more games coming soon.

Me too!  

Gamer tag: jament

I've been completely and overwhelmingly sucking at PGR.  I'm looking forward to finding some of you PGR'ers on-line and having you stomp me senseless.

I'm not usually into fighters, but DOA4 looks amazing.  Too many games, too little money.  

The on-live portion of the 360 is freakin' amazing, though.  My wife (who is not normally a gamer) is even into it.  Unbelievably easy for anyone to jump on-line, play some arcade games, customize the system, look at photos.  Say what you want about MS' strategy, that portion of this console is kickin' ass.

Thanks from all of us Purge.  I appreciated the list that was stickied, too.  It was nice to have another ray of hope out there for those of us that were on the hunt.

Happy New Year

I like the destruction, but it was so... easy.  I like arcady racers, but it didn't even seem like driving.  There was no drag or resistance at all to slamming through light poles, tables, other cars, etc.  

I want to smash those things, sure, but I also want it to feel like I'm smashing those things.  I'm in the eh crowd.

I'm thinking about using Gamefly for XBox 360 games specifically (once I find a 360 that it) and was wondering who had used them and;
      -whether the service is worth the $22/month
      -whether games came too scratched to use or if they were ok
      -if the game turnaround time is pretty good.

Thanks for any feedback on the service.

Hey Calvin,

On the 20" Dell, it doesn't have component inputs, so you need to get the VGA cable to hook it up to the DSub input.  Then, yes, you will be seeing the image in HD resolution.  Here's a review on teamxbox.com of the VGA cables where they talk about hooking it to the Dell: http://hardware.teamxbox.com/reviews/xbox-360/40/Xbox-360-VGA-HD-AV-Cable/p2/


Sound - easiest way is to hook up to a surround system that has a digital input, since the VGA cables have digital inputs.  Barring that, you could hook the RCA-type red/white cables to an sound card input and run it through your PC, or use a female RCA to 1/8" headphone plug to run into a computer sound system.

Games - haven't played 'em yet, so I can't say.

Congrats Ken -

Great story and good news for a great guy.  I wish you and your fiance all the best.

Merry Christmas.

They got 1 in, my ass.

Most likely, they got at least 5 in.  It's just that the managers and employees scarfed all but the last 1 to scalp for themselves.

It's Revenge of the Retail Fuckers all over the place out there.

Baby Jesus is crying.

I got a good laugh out of that Llama video.  

OMG, teh XBox360 is defectIv3!  If you slap a CD in there, move the unit from vertical to horizontal to verticle and eject the disc.... it's scratched!!!

$tupid M$!!!!!!

duh.

You'll get one. Fuckin' A believe it.

STATUS : [FULFILLED]
I am in line for an Xbox360. I am located in Douglas, WY, USA and am willing to pay shipping and cost for :
( ) Core System
(1) Premium System
( ) Bundled Core System
( ) Bundled Premium System
( ) Other Accessories ________________________

[Edit 12/30/05 - Got a hot tip from a pal and snagged one from KMart.]

I think the timing of the computer coming to life for communication continues the trend of the characters being able to manifest things they're thinking about to become reality on the island.  This has happened several times -

Walt's reading the comic with the polar bear, then there's a polar bear in the jungle.

Kate's horse, seeing it in memories and then on the island.

The doctor's father.

Even the monsters/smoke things could be manifestations of someone's beliefs on what the "others" were.

So, Lock starts thinking about the computer being used to communicate and it starts communicating.  Michael's focused on talking to Walt.  He starts talking to Walt.  If everyone on the island could just focus on working together, who knows what could happen.

Not if you have one.  Or two.

Duh.

We did the same as th'Fool with our daughter (who is now 5) with great result.  She slept with us until she reached an independent stage around 2 where she wanted her own room and her own bed.  Since then, she sleeps in her own bed unless I'm gone (when she comes in to keep Mom company).  Never had a problem with her getting out of bed after being tucked in, crying at night (unless she's ill) or sleeping until morning.

Frankly, pediatricians and their "one size fits all" recommendations about parenting can kiss my ass.  Different kids have different needs.

No superstar mode, classic teams, create-a-player, but...

we get voices and head scans??

WTF are these EA morons doing??

I've never been a Madden fan, either, but damn this game's fun.

Likes:
Full Franchise, Training Camp modes, Practice!, graphics are amazing - sometimes I can't believe it's running on a handheld, good end of game AI, plays a good game of FB.

Dislikes:  Kicker bug - hit that a few times and had to call time outs to fix, sometimes at the end of a quarter, the bar a the top that tracks the drive will be showing time of possession (which is nice) instead of the clock - and the bottom shows the full play clock but not time left in the quarter, leaving you guessing as to how many seconds until the quarter end.

That's it - everything else is nice.  Easily the best portable football game ever released.  Say what you want, but with Madden 06, Winning Eleven 9, MLB, Virtua Tennis on the go sports gaming was never better.

Yeah, I want the better detail, too - but I really want a smart game of football.  Where's the post about the AI using 10x the CPU power of previous versions?  

Football that plays like.. uh... football, please.

Medievil is the same game as on the PS1.  I have the game for my PS1 and looking at the list of levels, they're the same.  Same movies, same levels.  I guess I'll enjoy being able to play it on the road, but I was really hoping for something new.  

We're getting some good games for the PSP - Burnout Legends, Virtua Tennis, etc - but they're still just rehashes of prior content right now.  I'm STILL waiting for the first original PSP title that uses that hardware to the best of its ability.

MAME's great on it, though.

Hey, you bordem, you broughtem.

And these numbers just really prove what we already know - it's the games that sell the systems.

You'll get early adopters (like most of us) that will buy at launch, but the majority of gamers will pick a system like the DS or PSP up when there are games they need to play on it.

I have a VisionTek NV999 card with that same stamp, and it's a NVidia TNT 16MB AGP card.  The revision number may have to do with the memory or something, since I think they also made 8MB versions.

Looks like this: http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Nvidia_STB_VisionTek_nVidia_16MB_AGP_Video_Card

When have you guys been playing?  Whenever I'm on Hark's server, I'm there waiting for 8 or 9 more to join.

jament for me.

I'm with you, Gwar - I can't find any sliders that make the game consistently fun.

Yet, I'm such a cheap whore - I keep playing.  Sigh.  It's maddening - for every 4 or 5 games where I'm rolling my eyes at the AI play and spewing curses across the room, there's that 1 game that plays great or moments where it seems like the game's going to be fun.

That's what sucks.  If the game was total trash, I'd throw it in the trade pile and be done with it.  But there's a good game in there somewhere - you can see it from here - you just can't get there.

You're right, though, that my time with the game won't be extended near as long as prior years.  I think my tolerance level's coming soon.

They look good.  Coaching on the fly, especially calling for help or net coverage is a great idea.  I'm not sure I can think fast enough to hit the D-Pad the right way to make it happen, but it's a great idea.  At least they're still innovating, unlike that OTHER sports games maker.

Yeah, as much as I wanted to love this game, it sucks.  The AI is just complete crap and hasn't improved an inch since 04 or 03.  This is just an example of what EA's going to jam down our throats with their "exclusive licenses."  Bah.  I'm telling you, there's a reason you can't save replays and share them over Live - because if you saw replays of some of this garbage, no one in their right mind would play this crap.  NCAA Grievances - playing on Heisman, default sliders:

1. The Lob.  I play as the Wyoming Cowboys.  My WR is an impact player and when he gets in the zone, forget about it.  I played a game against USC to see how much damage he could do.  I threw a lob on every play and beat them 77-34.  My WR had 10 touchdowns and set a new NCAA record for TDs and receiving with 900 and some yards.  The 11th touchdown was scored when the ball bounced off of my WR's hands and into my other receiver's hands for a TD.  This also works the other way - triple team an opposing WR and he'll still catch most lobs thrown his way.  This sucks.  So, I play with a new house rule - no lobs.  Bah.

2. Running.  This game would be great if you've never played ESPN's game and observed their running animations, where backs twist through holes and hits actually have effect on the runners.  I get so sick of watching my back run in place while backed up against blockers.  Or diving into a back being held up by other tacklers only to see my LB bounce to the ground.  Looks stupid, is stupid.  The ultimate in Tecmo-Bowl technology. Bah.

3. Brain Dead AI.  So, I'm playing against Air Force, who loves to run.  Fine.  I run a 5-2 defense and blitz the crap out of them.  By the end of the game, they rack up 12 yards total rushing, 211 passing.  Every time they pass they get a nice gain, but they're too stupid to do it more than occasionally.  So, I play Florida, who passes all damned day.  I run a Dime Max Zone package the whole game.  Rush 2, drop 9, and crush them.  6 INTs, they score 6 points on two field goals.  Every time they do run the ball, they gain 10-12 yards, but they're too stupid to do it more than a few times.  There is absolutely no AI here that will adjust to running the same play or offense or defense over and over.  It's dead, Jim.  Further, even when I'm in the Max Zone, half the time my DBs drop 8-10 yards, then stand there and watch while the QB scrambles and runs to them.  They never run forward to tackle him, even when there's no receiver in their zone.  It's idiotic.

4. Catch Up AI.  Holy crap, this sucks.  Sometimes, the game engine just decides you're going to lose a game, as posted above.  I was playing New  Mexico, and was up 21-7 with 2 minutes left.  I punt to them, they start their drive.  The RB, who has maybe 40 yards to this point, all of a sudden becomes untouchable.  Well, 8 or 9 of my guys touch him, but can't seem to tackle him.  On a 2nd and 3, we stack the line and blitz, he goes up the middle, gets knocked back by 3 linebackers who then all bounce off and fall down while he runs for a TD.  Ummmm. ok.   The replay was hilarious.  I get the kickoff, hand it up the middle, fumble, they recover.  I go to a Nickel, double the wide outs - the QB passes to a wide (!!) open WR for a TD.  I watch the replay - my two DBs who are doubling the WR don't move an inch while the WR runs by them on the fly, catches the ball 5 yards beyond them and scores.  I get the ball with :40 seconds left.  I'm pissed, so house rules off - I run the lob.  Lob to my WR, TD.  :30 seconds left.  I'm giving my TV the Double Bird Salute.  Take that, catch up AI bullshit.  I kick the ball deep.  Their guy catches it, breaks each and every tackle in my coverage wedge (on the replay, maybe 7 guys), and returns the kick for a TD.  Fuck me.  We go to OT.  I have the ball first - lob, TD.  They get the ball, against a 3-4, hand it up the middle, break 6 tackles and TD.  They get the ball, pass to a wide open wideout, TD.  I get the ball - lob, TD.  We have to go for 2 now.  I lob, TD.  On the 2 point conversion, my RB fumbles.  They run off-tackle, break 5 tackles, TD.  Convert the 2, they win.  A game that was a reasonable 21-7 with 2 minutes left turns into like a 55-57 game or something ridiculous.  I don't know WTF these programming idiots are doing.  Who do they think wants to play shit like this??

5. Presentation.  Half time dumps to a menu.  No recap, no stat sheet, not a damned thing.  Same as 2-3 years ago.  Can't we improve this thing a little?  The only improvement we get in presentation is the studio shot on televised games before going to the field.  Ugh.  Nice work.  And replays - holy crap, the replay system on ESPN is genius.  I can press the button and still see the replay while choosing my next play - it doesn't just go away.  Speeds the game up, but I can still see my big hits.  Man, I miss that when playing NCAA.

6. Commentary.  Turn that shit off.  Corso and his stooges have been saying the same damned things for what, 3 years now?  Enough, already.  Get out a 3 dollar mic and record some new lines.  

7. Sliders.  The lamest excuse for programming laziness.  Don't get me wrong, I like to tailor my gameplay experience, but any time some criticism gets thrown out there, some idiot says, "Dude, if you don't like it, just adjust the sliders."  Piss on that.  I turned my defensive awareness all the way up and my DBs still watch the QB and RBs go sauntering by.  They ain't aware of a damned thing.  Sliders are just a ruse to make us think that there's a Holy Grail of Sliderdom out there somewhere to fix this piece of crap.  I tinker for hours thinking maybe, just maybe, if I get the absolute amazing combination of slider heaven, my LBs will react to a roll out.  Or my DBs playing man coverage will... oh, I don't know.... cover their man, maybe?  It's bullshit.  A red herring.  But, if you've got a slider set that fixes all the above issues - y'know - feel free to, like, send it to me.

Damn, I love college football and the first time I saw my players on those SI covers in the game (02, 03?), I thought it was the best game I'd ever played.  But there's no improvement on any of the issues that really kill the game play.  Last year's game was terrible and after the early reviews I had such high hopes for this one.  But, it's the same old, tired shit.  If ESPN NFL could get it so right after only a couple seasons, WTF are these idiots doing ??  Every year, like a beat up, retarded lemming, I can't wait to buy this game and the last couple years, it's just been flat-out broke.

I can't believe that anyone would buy Madden this year - I just have absolutely no faith that any of the gameplay issues will be improved at all.  

Bummer.

Hey there,

I'll be in Philadelphia in the middle of June with some high school kids competing at a debate tournament.  We want to take a trip over to New York to catch a Broadway show but I'm not sure about the best way to get there.  I see that Amtrak has a line for $100 round trip, but there's got to be a cheaper way to do it.

Any of you city folk have advice on the best/cheapest way to go?

Thanks!

Hey Paul,

I live in Wyoming, though in the central part of the state a long ways from Yellowstone.  I have been there a dozen or so times, though.  Here's what I'd say:

Old Faithful, for sure.  Actually, there's a boardwalk that goes around Old Faithful and maybe 5 other geysers, as well as along the sulfer springs.  Two geysers I like along there are Castle and Daisy - each erupt on a semi-regular basis.  That area's called the Upper Geyser Basin.  Definitely need a stroller for the 2 year old - your 10 year old will enjoy the semi-tame ground squirrels and other wildlife that come into that boardwalk area.  The Old Faithful Inn is also a must see here.  If you get off the boardwalk, which is perfectly ok, you can see some of the more interesting geysers - including one that was tapped with a pipe in order to see if they could test some geothermal properties of the water.  So - make sure and get off the boardwalk - look around into other areas that aren't as clearly marked.  It'll take a little longer, but in my opinion, many of the really interesting things are a little bit off the main trail.  Few people in those areas also.

There's another loop for the Lower Geyser Basin, including the Fountain Paint Pot Trail.  Some great geologic things to see there - mud pools, hot pools, etc.  Maybe a 30-40 minute walk around the loop.

Tower Falls - you can see it from the road, so be sure and stop.  View from the bottom is great.  A short hike will take you to a better viewing area.

Yellowstone Grand Canyon - amazing colored walls, beautiful waterfalls.  Canyon Village has an information center with info about the canyon.  Upper Falls, Lower Falls and Crystal Falls are here, along with several picnic areas.

Mud Volcano - an area just north of Yellowstone Lake that has some really cool stuff.  When we took my 3 year old daughter, this and Old Faithful were her favorites.

One last tip:  Ok, so if you see some people trying to put their children on the back of the buffalo to take pictures, back away slowly.  Do not attempt to place your children on the wildlife.  I'm just saying.

Hope you enjoy your time in Wyoming - let me know if you have other questions or if I can help you in any way.

Also picked up a system with Lumines and Metal Gear: Acid.  The PSP is amazing - all of the worries I had about it; button placement, battery time, size, etc have proven to be unfounded.  

Lumines is amazing and - most amazingly - my wife, who has never been a gamer has logged more hours on it than I have.  She loves it and asked me to bring the PSP along on the Easter drive to visit my parents.  She played a couple hours that morning, most of the way there and back, then some more in the evening before the battery needed charged.  

I suck at MG: A, but it's a fun turn-based game.  The cards do add a lot of depth, even just deciding what card in your hand you have to burn to move some squares.  You can crawl and go slow, but burn through your cards more quickly, forcing you to run more than you normally would, I think.

Anyway, great system - you can't go wrong with Lumines or MG: A.

I love the PvP servers and think it makes you use talents you would otherwise probably never focus on or use.

Last night, I needed to do a run into Tarren Mill, which had been under attack by the Alliance all night.  I just wanted to fly in, talk to my guy to complete a quest and get out.  But, the Alliance had pushed into the town enough where Horde folks were abandoning it and awaiting for reinforcements.   When I land at the bat handler, there are battles going on 3 sides.  I run to the only open area, and start shooting casters to try and keep them off our higher level guys.  Another wave of humies comes out of the wood, and we retreat to the edge of town.  

About 10 of us mid-20 hordies are standing around the edge of town picking off alliance scum and trying to keep the group from pushing further south.  Luckily, the alliance raiders seemed satisfied with taking the Mill.  Another group of level 30 hordies flank the town from the south and keep the next wave of reinforcements from reaching town while the NPC guards respawn and rejoin the fight.

Finally, someone yells "Here they come!"  I turn around, and 3 or 4 Undead come riding their dead mounts into Tarren Mill.  It was an awesome sight.  We rally behind them, and end up pushing the enemy all the way to South Shore.  I return to Tarren Mill, talk to the NPC, and jump on a bat back to the Undercity.

I know the same thing could have happened on a PvE server, but if it had I probably would not have participated in the battle.  What makes a faction battle a BATTLE is that everyone in the area really has no choice to be involved.  If you don't want that palidan to come smoke your ass when he's done with that Tauren, you'd best lend a hand.  That makes the stakes higher, the sense of community tighter, and the rewards better.

I use CTMod and really like it.  Cosmos was ok but for some reason (I've heard it has something to do with the "Distance to Target" feature), it really killed my framerate.  I got lots of stutters.

CTMod = no stutters, lots of the same features.

Well.. it is a stress test.   I suppose, then, it's hard to be too surprised if the servers seemed ... stressed.

Give it time.  Initially, combat isn't that exciting.  Once you gain a few levels, though, and more skills, combat's a good time.  Also, try different characters.  I thought I wanted to be a caster, but that combat didn't really get me.  Rogue combat, though, sneaking behind mobs and knifing them in the back then executing combo point attacks - zowie.  Good time.

Hope you stick with it and find something that resonates with you.

In.

Alliance:
Night Elf Rogue

Horde:
Undead Warrior

I'm in with a Horde Character!  Ha!  So there you Alliance Bastages!!!

Ok, ok Alliance it is.  Sigh.

I would like to add a few thoughts about the characteristics I hope the Guild has:

1. Community.  Like this site, or what GG was, only in a game.  I want to be able to interact like we do here - laugh at what you guys are doing and saying - only while we're in the game, playing and chatting.  Eh.. i'm getting all verklempt.  To do this, though, I think we need:

2. No Requirements.  None of this - hey, group with us for a while and we'll test you out and if you're uber-stud or at least give us something to point and laugh at and you rub our Monkey Stain Chain Armor in awe then we'll let you in.  If someone's registered here and wants to be in the Guild - let 'em in!  If they besmirch us undutifully, kick 'em out later.

3. Solo Guilding.  Yeah.  Solo.  Ok, sometimes, I'm doing my thing and I'm either limited on time or trying to do something specific, and you know what - I don't want to group with anyone.  Yet, I still want to be in the guild.  I still want to read the chatter and the banter and what other guild guys are doing on Guild Chat, and maybe join up somewhere at some point.  But I want it to be ok to solo a bit without hurting feelings.  I need my space.

4.  No Responsibilities.  I want to play a game and hope it never becomes a chore.  I don't want to be required to bring X googles into the guild, or generate income, or be expected to produce Uber-Guns because I'm an engineer, or whatever.  Don't get me wrong, I'll contribute whatever I can, or will buy all the reagents I can afford  :roll: , but please, don't require it.  Don't shame me into feeling like I have to grind up the levels to support the guild.  I just wanna play.... and I just wanna pal around with some cool people while doing it.

5. The Putrid Scum.  The guild's gotta be called The Putrid Scum.  Seems obvious.

See you in the guild, I hope.

Test 11 (MST),
Croakr - 10 Undead Warrior
Horndull - 6 Tauren Shaman

Mo-Su - Evenings.

Abbie,

You didn't - I was paraphrasing.  

I'm not attacking you specifically, just the tone of the comments - that Blizzard has somehow slighted Closed Beta folks by treating them like everyone else at this phase (even though they've been treated better).

That's all - nothin' personal.  I'm just sayin.

Wow, my apologies.  I had no idea what a gruelling process this whole "beta testing" thing was.  Providing feedback, yeah.  

It would almost seem - and I know this is nutty - that playing the game for free would be compensation for the feedback you provided.  Especially since, presumably, you voluntarily entered into the closed beta process.  Given that, I'm at a loss to understand the expectation that, upon reaching the end of the closed beta process, Blizzard owes you some other "thanks".  They don't owe you the fruits of your labor, or free swag, or even a first shot at the stress test.  In fact, Blizzard clearly indicated the closed beta process was over.  Frankly, I'm tired of reading post after post on the WOW boards whining about how poorly Blizzard is treating the CB'ers.  I know it's hard for the Closed Beta folks to accept that they're just regular-old-people now, but.... it's over.  Let's move on.

Yeah, Blizzard, like, made me play their stupid game for like, completely free for like... months now.  And so now, I can't believe they're treating me like this... y'know, regular person, making me download bullshit and log in and get a key and all that.  This is Bullshit, man!  Don't they know who I am??  I'm like, sick of playing their game for free!!  This is how they repay me?  We need to rise up now!  Otherwise, next they'll be trying to get us to pay actual money to play this thing!!!   Who's with me???

I'm outraged!!!  (You can tell, see, because of the exclamation points).

I most often play sporting games and have an SP, but judging by lists of reviews around the internet, I've come to the conclusion that all sports games on the GBA suck.  Madden?  Sucks.  High Heat?  Sucks.  NBA Ball?  Sucks would be too good for it.

Has anyone found a satisfying sports game for the GBA?  Why isn't there a decent golf or baseball game?  

Aarghhh.