Well I was getting a ton of false starts when I did fake snaps. Maybe I shouldn't do like 3 or 4 in a row? 

Yes, that's the easy way to rack up penalty yards!

Using Bill's sliders I started a franchise and got clobbered 45-21 (Panthers over Eagles).  Deangelo Williams was a beast and I was going crazy trying to figure out a defense to stop him.  Also my punt returner fumbled twice (he got stripped both times) and the fumbles were returned for TDs.  Add in a 90 yard INT return, it's clear I need to improve!    

I liked the highlight show at the end of the first week in franchise mode.  I thought it was very done.

I am loving the slowest speed setting (very slow).  Maybe I'm getting old, but I like to be able to see each play develop.  It still seems 'fast enough' to me.

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA   

There are 5 options - Very Slow, Slow, Normal, Fast, and Very Fast.

Very Slow = 13% less than last year (I actually like playing on this mode sometimes...it's SO much easier when you have time to pick a hole or find a WR)
Slow = 9% less than last year (default offline setting out of the box)
Normal = 5% less than last year (default online setting)
Fast = Same as last year (and the same as NCAA 10)
Very Fast = 5% faster than NCAA 10 / Madden 09

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football/339268-madden-10-game-speed-options.html

I’ve played quite a bit of Madden this weekend (PS3 version) and I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the solid gameplay I’ve experienced.
For my games versus the CPU, I played two default games before switching to Bill Abner’s sliders which are quite solid. Now I eagerly await Bill Harris’ sliders to come out today. 
Overall the sliders help a lot in making the game more ‘realistic’ – the offensive running game and the pass defense seem especially improved.

Playing online is somewhat frustrating from a realism standpoint in that everyone uses the default setup which means it’s too pass-heavy as it’s just too difficult to establish any kind of running game.  Of course the nice thing about playing online is the challenge of the human component which has been relatively cheese-free so far (except for one guy I played who ran screen pass after screen pass until I figured out how to shut that down).  I haven’t seen any quitters yet and I’ve only had to play against the Patriots once so far – and their passing game does seem devastating.

I am waiting until the next roster update until I start a franchise as I think the rosters a bit too ‘raw’ right now.  I’ll probably re-roll my franchise again once Week 1 rosters are set.

If anyone is looking for a PS3 game online, look me up anytime after 10PM (EST)! It’s been long time since I’ve enjoyed a Madden game as much as this one.

As an Eagles fan, I'm interested to see what this means on the field.  I don't think Vick will be a threat at all to McNabb.  I can envision several packages where they are both on the field at the same time.  Vick would be dangerous running reverses or some form of wildcat offense. 

I think this move says a lot more about what the Eagles think about Kevin Kolb than anyone else.  Apparently he's had a poor training camp and now that he's injured I think his future in Philly is far from certain.

I guess at the end of the day if signing one of the most explosive players ever to set foot on a football field improves the Eagles chances of winning a super bowl, then I'm all for this move.

As for the dog fighting stuff, I've always been in the camp saying that if a man paid his dues to society then he has a right to earn a living.  If he can be a positive force speaking out against dog fighting in Philadelphia, then all the better.

slacker_joe

Great weather = April/May, Oct/Nov
Decent weather = March, Sept

Flying into Tokyo (Narita) is the right airport.

If you want to see a lot of coutry, definitely invest in a rail pass. <http://www.japanrailpass.net/>

Besides Tokyo, Kyoto is a must-see destination in Japan.  Other cities such as Osaka, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Nagoya merit at least a one/two day stop-over.

It's a great place to visit.  Enjoy.

I'm interested.

My preferred team is the Philadelphia Eagles.

[Stormbringer]

I met a woman through my job who's last name is Stormbringer.  I told her I thought that it was the coolest last name I had ever heard.  She was perplexed and asked why.  I said that would be an awesome name for a spell casting character in a game.  She got a curious look on her face and said that was the first time she had ever heard something like that.  Some people just don't realize the potential of their names, I guess.

Since then I always use the name Stormbringer when playing a magic class in a game.

Nice deal.  I'm in.

If I don't ever have to buy another non-steam again, I wouldn't mind that one bit.

I'd like a student or two who I could train to be a deadly fighter. 

http://slackerjoe.mybrute.com/

Or you can just kick my ass, either way is fine.

[Initial test: 14Level of intensity: Rank 2]

Initial test: 14
Level of intensity: Rank 2

WEEK DAY 1st/target 2nd/target 3rd/target 4th/target last/target one one 10/10 10/10 8/8 6/6 7/7 two 12/12 12/12 10/10 10/10 9/10 three 15/15 13/13 10/10 10/10 11/15 one (repeat) one 10/10 10/10 8/8 6/6 15/7 two 12/12 12/12 10/10 10/10 10/10 three 15/15 13/13 10/10 10/10 18/15 two one --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- two --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- three --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- Exhaustion Test 2: -- three one --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- two --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- three --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- four one --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- two --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- three --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- five one --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- two --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- three --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- six one --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- two --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- three --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- --/-- Week 1, Day 1: I think I'm going puke.  Haven't exerted myself physically like that in a long time.  Having serious doubts about Day 2. Week 1, Day 2: Failure is me!  The last set was absolutely brutal.  In fact, I was still sore from Day 1, so I'm pretty amazed I did as well as I did.  Oh well, on to Day 3. Week 1, Day 3: 15 on the last set? No f'ing way.  It just doesn't seem possible, though I tried my hardest.  On to Week 2! Week 1, Day 1 (repeat): No problem at all today. I want to repeat Week 1 and pass it before moving on.  Day 1 after a weekend of rest went extremely well. Week 1, Day 2 (repeat): Had to skip a day because of work - but barely got through.  Day 3 is going to be a challenge! Week 1, Day 3 (repeat): Not as much of a problem as I was expecting. (Had an extra day off in between though.) On to the real Week 2!

[ROBOTRON]

Name your coolest old school arcade game. 

ROBOTRON

What makes it the best?

TWO JOYSTICKS - ONE FOR MOVING, ONE FOR SHOOTING STUFF!

Name your coolest Console or PC title (post 2000).

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS (PS2)

What makes it the best?

THE GIANTS!
(And the horse, of course)

Got it! Thanks, Freezer.

Is it possible to buy Civ4:BTS from Steam if I didn't buy Civ4 via Steam?  I have a DVD (perhaps Australia?) version (it's a long story) and as far as I know it never had an "Activation Key".

I haven't used Steam very much but I'd like to pick up BTS for this price.

I'm looking to pick up these today.  They have digital audio inputs.  I'll let you know how they work.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2217094

I just picked up a PS3 and I'm going to need some headphones so that I don't disturb anyone while I play. 

Can anyone recommend a good headset (with microphone) that works well with the PS3?

Thanks.

I'm such a slacker that I have my company file my taxes for me.   Overseas assignments ftw. 

Slackerjoe, where in Hawaii are you?

That was last September/October on holiday on the island of Kauai.  I've been to 4 of the Hawaiian islands so far (Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai) and by far Kauai is my favorite.  Incredible and varied natural beauty, nice beaches, and small enough so that you can get around the whole place during a one/two week vacation.

Here's me and Noah.

And here's one of the whole family.

Let's say I had a full season ticket plan and I only wanted to use half the tickets.

Could I sell all the rest of the tickets at one time to a ticket broker?
Assuming these are good seats (10 rows behind the dugout), could I make a profit on selling half these tickets?

I'd like to do this kind of transaction all at once, instead of selling one game at a time.  I don't have time to deal with selling individual tickets.

Has anyone had any experience with a situation like this?

[or]

It's been 7 years since my last total rebuild so I'm well overdue for a new system.  Overall budget is $1500-2000.

Here's what I've specced out so far and some of my remaining questions.

Monitor: I'm looking at a 24" monitor, probably Dell. Not sure if I'll have the budget for an UltraSharp or if an E248WFP is good enough.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 X 4MB L2 Cache

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP53C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Ultra Durable-II

Memory: Either 2GB of name brand DDR3 (price too high now for 4GB, upgrade later the remaining 2GB) or 4GB of DDR2

Video Card  Is the 8800GT still the best choice for a new system?  The 9-series seems to fall short in most benchmarks.

Case: I have no idea what's regarded as the top case now.  I see a lot of stylish ones on newegg.  Please recommend a cool mid-tower!

Power Supply: SILVERSTONE DECATHLON DA650 ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 650W

Hard Disk Drive: I'm thinking to go with 2 in a RAID-0 array. 
One - 150GB Western Digital 10,000 RPM 16MB CACHE SATA 1.5Gb/S
Two - 500GB Seagate 7,500 RPM 32MB CACHE SATA 3.0Gb/s

Operating System: This is the hardest choice for me.  XP or Vista.  I've read a lot about the decision to go with one over the other and I'm still torn.

Thanks!

I love the first Ouendan!  My favorite song is Linda, Linda by The Blue Hearts which my 3 year old loves to sing with me now.

I need to pick up the sequel soon.

I did enjoy Elite Beat Agents a lot, but Ouendan! was a bit quirkier and more fun for me.

I finally want a PS3! 

I keep hoping they'll bring the Lucas Arts Monkey Island adventure games to the DS.  That would seriously kick ass.

And why not the new Sam & Max games for the DS while we're at it?

[Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!]

Better than Elite Beat Agents (which is awesome) is Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!  If you can imagine it, the theme (Japanese male cheerleaders) fits a lot better than the Elite Beat Agents theme.

Some really great Japanese songs in that game

They've come out with a sequel recently (Osu Tatakae Ouendan 2) which I haven't picked up yet, but I most certainly will.

Hi there.
I live in Tokyo and would enjoy getting together for a beer somewhere.  Maybe we could do a meet-up somewhere with Canuck? 

As far as planning what to do, first and foremost, get a Japan rail pass.  This will give you the flexibility to see anything you want and you'll save a ton of money over buying tickets individually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_rail_pass

For planning your trip, I would recommend searching the following Japan forum which is a good resource for travel:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=509
Lots of itineraries and ideas for travellers of all kinds.

Some not to miss sights from my experience over here:
1. Take a day and go visit, Himeji Castle - http://wikitravel.org/en/Himeji
2. Kyoto has about a week's worth of temples/shrines to see; some fantastic stuff - http://wikitravel.org/en/Kyoto
3. As any self-respecting geek knows, you must pay homage at Akihabara in Tokyo - http://wikitravel.org/en/Akihabara
4. If the timing works out (which it doesn't seem to), then checking out a Sumo tournament live and in-person is an unforgettable experience.

There are lots of other great things to see and do, but it does really depend on what your interests are. 

[Spoiler]

Thanks for the tips!

Spoiler for Hiden:

Yes, the guy who killed me was the boss from the Temple of Water.  I'm about to enter the Sewers in this new continent.

Dark Knight just opened up as a job option, so I think I'll go with that one for more front line firepower.
I guess I'll stick with my boring White Mage for now, waiting for Devout to open up. 
Dragoon doesn't seem that interesting to me, so I think I'll wait for Ninja to open up and then change my Geomancer over to Ninja. 

Sorry to revive this old thread but I was wondering how many people finished FF III on the DS?

• How many hours total did you have when you finished?
• What were the main 4 jobs that you ended up using as your primary set up?
• What level were you entering the final dungeon?
• Any job/class tips for someone who's party is around lvl 21 right now? 

I'm about 18 hours in and I just lost my first boss battle (the octopus looking dude) and had to re-do an entire dungeon.  Wasted about an hour going back through it and I am slightly annoyed.  It was partially my fault for changing jobs shortly before going into the dungeon so that I had a gimped Red Mage instead of my regular White Mage with me who could have helped with better healing during the boss battle.  (Also stupid Geomancer kept casting whirlpool too many damn times- "Hey, resisted again, Refia - maybe you can whip out an actual DAMAGE DEALING SPELL next time, ya think?")

I'm planning to finish the game because I do enjoy the mindless random battles in a zen-like sort of way of gaming.  I just want to make sure that I don't waste too much more time re-doing dungeons.

[Eagles-Cowboys Sunday Night]

Eagles-Cowboys Sunday Night

Everything else on Sunday leading up to it is just an appetizer before the main course. 

Eagles need to win this game.  Plain and simple their season is on the line.
I've got a good feeling that McNabb will carve up the Dallas D (just any decent QB has done this season) and the Eagles D will finally make some big plays and get some picks against Romo.  Dawkins coming back should be a huge emotional lift for the defense and I'm banking on another Lito Sheppard INT-return TD vs Dallas.

Playing in groups with all Japanese players were some of my best MMORPG experiences ever.
We would chain high level mobs continuously like a well oiled machine.  It was amazing - perfect teamwork with everyone doing their job perfectly.  Of course, I can speak Japanese which made it somewhat easier to get a group.

Unfortunately as soon as I hit lvl 50 with my White Mage, the time to wait to get into a group was just too long.  I played for a year and it was a definitely a fun, well polished game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_football

I'm currently playing through Dragon Quest VIII which is a ton of fun if you like RPGs.  I love the art style, like the story and characters, and enjoy the turn based battle system.

It's a long game (I'm 65 hours in and maybe 2/3 finished?), but there's something nostalgic about it that I really enjoy.

I'll also recommend MLB 06: The Show if you like baseball.  There's an '07 version, but I haven't gotten that yet.  I suspect you can pick up the '06 for next to nothing these days and it plays a great game of baseball.

I'm going in for a Lasik consultation this weekend so I was wondering how Ron would evaluate his Lasik experience 9 months later.

• How's your vision now?
• Did you have more complications after the first week?
• If you had it to do all over again, would you make the same choices?

Are there any decent Football/Baseball/Basketball/Hockey games for the DS?

Did anyone pickup up MLB 2007?  How about the latest Madden? 

I will definitely look to pick one of the soccer games.

Oh, and before I forget, the first touchdown I scored with OJ, I SWEAR he made the "cut the throat" gesture. I tried to look at it on replay to make sure that's what happen and it wasn't just a bad angle, but the replay cut off before the celebration. Anyway, it gave me a nice laugh.

That is classic.

Many great suggestions.

I've started off getting screen protectors and the New Super Mario Brothers.  I'll definitely be picking up more Japan-only stuff (I saw the Ouendan ame in the store and it looks crazy) in the next few weeks and I'll get the US-version games (Puzzle Quest!) when I visit the US in August.

I bought my DS primarily for 漢字そのままDS楽引辞典.  But you're probably far beyond needing that. 

I could definitely use more practice writing kanji by hand.  I'm fine with reading and writing using a computer, but I haven't written by hand since I left school!

I'll check those out, thanks.

My wife and I were strolling around Akihabara today when we found a store that actually had DS Lites in stock.  This is a minor miracle in Japan.

My wife has been wanting one for some time for all of the educational type software available for it in Japan (brain training, language study, recipes, etc).  So we bought a blue one for her (no pink ones in stock), and thus I have a new handheld system in the house for the first time since the original Gameboy more than 15 years ago. 

Some questions:

1. What are the must-have titles?  I'm specifically interested in a) RPGs, b) Strategy games, and c) Sports games.  (I'm checking some old threads for ideas, but maybe there are some newer must-have titles too?)

2. Are the any great games available in Japan only that have not or will not get a translation into English? I'd be interested to pick those up.

3. Are there any must-have accessories that I should know about?

4. Where do people buy their DS games in the US?  I'll be visiting in August and I'd like to be able to pick up all of the recommended US games in one place if possible.

Thanks.

Finally finished! 

107 hours. 
Party members were 3 @ 63 and 3 @ 59.  36 hunts completed.  I was a bit too overpowered for the final fights, but it was still an incredible finish, so I didn't mind at all.

What a fantastic game experience this was from beginning to end.  Story, music, battle system, rpg elements - all top notch.  I can't believe a game held my attention for this long, but it did all the way through.

Well done, Square Enix.  Well done.