Is it worth the purchase? I'm itching for some new DS stuff, but I was just gonna wait till October for Zelda, and then November for all these other games. All the reviews have been saying although the whole drawing thing is cool, the game is too easy.

haha. buy a ds game. lol

http://www.modsupplier.com/catalog/r4-ds-p-208.html

and it was only fun for a little while, but i'm sort of hooked on Dragon Quest VIII right now.

Yeah my friend showed me one of these, but I fear if I just get every game I won't play them. Like my attention span for the DS will decrease, so I've held off buying one of those.

I beat Bioshock the night before last. Great game. While I played it, I realized my long-standing irritation of FPS games weren't over the games themselves (I have played through a few single player games, after all), but over the multiplayer aspect of them. It's pretty shallow to me. I'd rather take a decent single player story ala Bioshock over capping some 14-year-old in the head 23 times.

Now I'm just waiting until November when Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect get released before I buy any other 360 games. I might pick up The Orange Box next month, but we'll have to see. My friend has a bunch of 360 games that he says he'll let me borrow in the meantime.

my friend just got a 360 which makes a 360 purchase more compelling. and halo3 next week. hmmm. i have no interest in playing multiplayer in the public rooms because live=assholes, but playing with friends would be awesome. maybe i will get a 360.

As I mentioned somewhere up thread, I really want a 360 too, but I want it for its media extender capabilities...but even the core system is still too expensive to justify the purchase. Plus, I don't want to get used because of the red ring issue.

A Simple Mod of Original XBOX to Run Media Center

I'm not a modder at all . . . but these instructions actually look pretty esy.

Very cool, thanks. I have to do some research to see if that mod will work with Vista, but that may be a really cheap alternative.

XBOX Media Center/Vista Compatability

Home Page for XBOX Media Center Wiki

holyshitholyshitholyshitBioshock'sawesome.

hmm, interesting. I don't think i've ever been less interested in a game in my life, so you'd have to show me.

Yes. Yes it is.

Except for last night. I'm rushing through it a second time on "Hard" so I can get my final achievement before Halo 3 drops. I'm usually pretty good about saving progress, as the auto-save system in Bioshock is terrible.

But I just got in a groove for 2+ hours and decided to not bother w/ the auto-save. I figured I wasn't going to be turning it off any time soon, and w/ the vita-chamber system dying doesn't cost me anything that would justify repeated auto-saves.

And then my game froze. Sunavabitch. All that work lost. Never had a game freeze on me before.

Bioshock has the most compelling storyline and best design of any game I've played in a long while. I love the Ayn Rand/Libertarian nightmare story they cooked up. Some of the journal entries are so creepy and bizarre, yet at least somewhat realistic in the setting. I haven't felt this kind of tension in a game since I played the first Resident Evil. And the graphics, good lord, the graphics. The design of the city is amazing and the graphical execution is nearly flawless. I spent time just marveling at the water effects in the game.

For me, the gameplay has actually taken a backseat to soaking up this lush world they created for the game, but I don't mean to take anything away from the gameplay, it's excellent. The physic powers are fun as hell to use, and easy mode is quite easy enough for any non-first person gamer (me) to get into.

Anyone else playing Skate? I'm loving it, but I'm stuck on a couple of rough objectives on the single-player side. Been skating around finding all the Own the Spot locations and filling out the trick book.

i just got home from the store with this thing. getting ready to pop it in now.

What level are you currently playing?

I'll be there in mid-November.

it's not too bad kid...i'm sure you'll dig it.

i'm on my last couple of days though...monday is back to the grind.

Whatever the area is after you see that submarine. The game is at my family's house in the burbs, so I won't be playing it again for a while.

You are still in for some pretty fucking awesome surprises. Do your best to not get spoiled. How fucked up was Dr. Steinman and the creepy dentist in the surgical unit?

Apparently I'm the only one around here playing Jeanne D'Arc on the PSP.

Best SRPG in ages, if that is your thing.

Jesus fucking fuck. That was so awesome and creepy. I loved his demented yelling about having to be free from the tyranny of symmetry.

Oh cool, I was just playing that on Game Boy a few months back. Game still provides its challenges.

I was playing it... in July. Definitely a solid title, but I wasn't compelled to play more than a dozen hours or so.

BTW, I did an interesting interview with the developers last month. Here's the resulting preview: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3161765

i remember how easy it was when i used to play it back in the day, but now i can barely pass the first level.

i play it here:
http://nintendo8.com/

Pretty much all games of that era were unreasonably hard. Even a game that seemed easy back then is far too much to handle now. My thought has always been that the only way to squeeze replay value out of games back then was to make them hard enough to necessitate mind and muscle memorization.

Any Battlefield 2142 players here? Or CS:S, DOD, or HL2:DM

now that i've had this a couple of days...what spots/tricks are you having troubles on?

Since college football began, I've started a new dynasty in NCAA 2007 on the PS2 and man, I love this game. Graphics aren't spectacular and the animations are limited, but it's just a ton of fun. I've heard bad things about the 2008 version in terms of way too many INTs and fumbles, so I'm sticking with 2007. I decided that for a challenge, I'd take Kentucky and see if I could build it into a national powerhouse. I'm halfway through my first season with a record of 4-3, losing to Louisville, Florida, and LSU (like in real life). Since I moved up to All-American and messed with the sliders, I can't pass worth a shit, so I've turned them into a makeshift option offense until I can recruit a QB with speed, and I'm kicking ass. My RB is #1 in the nation in yards and TDs.

Good god sports games got complex in the 10 or so years I wasn't watching.

NCAA 2007 was actually my first arcade-style football game since the early 90s. I'd much rather play text sim-style sports games (you want to talk about complex?), but this one has stuck with me.

They've gotten complex, yes, but they still don't do the technical stuff very well. That's why, all things equal, I'd rather play GM/AD, build a team, and let the computer accurately simulate games than play them out as part of the action. But this game is fun. And unlike Madden, the dynasty mode isn't completely broken. Recruiting is stable, if predictable - but it works.

I'm all set, man. "Finished" the game tonight (both covers, X-Games Golds), filled out the trick book, Owned all the Spots. But I'm still hungry. Gonna go back tomorrow and take care of the handful of events I missed, attempt some of the seemingly impossible video challenges, and then head for the Pro S.K.A.T.E. events. Also, need to break every bone in my body 10x, spend a couple hours in No Skate zones, etc.

Man, I love this game. I'm usually the type to whip through a game, and when it's done, it's over for me. But I want to do everything in Skate.

Andy, quick qesstion. The new Guitar Hero III controller for 360...compatible with Rock Band? Since you in the know, is this confirmed? I'm pretty set on a 360, and I might not be able to sit and wait for Rock Band, but I ain't buying a bunch of guitars.

I can't say for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say yeah -- the GHIII controllers should work with Rock Band. The Guitar Hero II X-Plorer controller for Xbox 360 is supposed to work with Rock Band... and basically, though it's in the shape of a guitar, it's still just a controller, just like any other. Theoretically, it should work the same, though you'll miss the bonus features of the official Rock Band guitars (the extra fret buttons near the base, the effects switches). I have the X-Plorer, so my plan is to get one official Rock Band guitar (I'm buying the full bundle), then whoever wants to play with me can man the old junk.

Speaking of Harmonix-made awesomeness... got Amplitude from Gamefly last week and finally popped it in today. Still holds up -- still as great as it was back in '03.

Oh, and I nabbed a new PSP yesterday. New plastic casing feels cheaper than the original (like a happy meal toy), but overall, much more comfortable feel and the d-pad is fantastic.

Was the hype worth it? We'll know soon enough, SOMB's vocal naysayers notwithstanding.

1UP = 10/10

IGN = 9.5/10

Didn't play much of the first two, but I'm picking it up tonight/tomorrow. Can't really afford to be left out of this revolution anymore as a games writer. Gotta watch some recap vids tonight.

Since I'm not a fan of shooters, I have no interest in Halo3. But as a Gamestop and Microsoft shareholder, I heartily endorse any purchase. In fact, buy two, in case you scratch the disc of the first one.

I just pre-paid for my game at Gamestop. If we should ever meet, you owe me a beer.

I got God Of War II for eight bucks today. Got about an hour in so far. It seems better than the first, although the flying level was kind of weak. Seems like it's going to be awesome.

Beat Prince of Persia Sands of Time in two sittings, it was unbelievably great. I've always been a platforming geek, and some of the designs and art direction made me stiff. The level and platforming designs made up for the relatively stale combat.

Sausage, your new avatar looks like a guy I know. Cept the guy has much less hair so it's not him.

ITS THE ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD! that guy is awesome!

GAMERTAG: Spizarelli

Yeah, Microsoft. You fucking got me. Let's play some Halo. Rah Rah...

. . . so i got the damn game a little after midnite. no fuss, no terribly long line, and hopped into multiplayer with two partners. i liked it. obviously its in the same vein as is predecessors, but there is just so goddamn much content and shit. didn't even begin to play around with saved films, screenshots, forge, or hardly any gametypes. its almost overwhelming. farted around a bit in campaign. the graphics in the first level are pretty good. thought i'd give it a go in "heroic" as opposed to "normal" . . . feels like WWI trench warfare. i die about 3 times to go forward 10 feet. might back off on difficulty first time through, or maybe just not get drunk whilst playing. thank god don't have to work until 12:00 tomorrow. off to bed, with visions of brute hammer dancing in my head

Pretty fun stuff.

This was my first Madden purchase ever, and I have to say - Wii aside, just the game itself - it completely misses the mark for capturing the feel of a football game. As I posted above, I've gone back to NCAA 07 on the PS2 and am having a blast again. Don't get me wrong, it is fun on the Wii to an extent, but the game atmosphere sucks, a lot of the time I don't really feel like I'm actually controlling certain moves like stiff arms or power moves, and the absolute travesty that is the dynasty mode kills any long-term playability of this game for me.

I hope they port NCAA 09 to the Wii next year.

I didn't buy this, only a rental, so I have only been playing exhibition games.

As far as the stuff out of your control: Did you try fine tuning the preferences? I read on the EA Sports forums that people were having similar complaints to yours, and there was a fix in the preferences somewhere to stop the machine from taking over too much.

I just mean when I'm running the ball, even though I'm thinking "stiff arm here, juke there, now power move to bowl over the safety"...in the end, I realize I'm pretty much just waving my hand up and down and back and forth, and whatever happens, happens. I don't feel like I'm actually making specific moves, but end up with whatever sticks to the wall from a furious 5 seconds of shaking my wrist.

I like the concept, and the outcome doesn't really bother me because usually something good happens from all of that shaking, but the other issues are problems for me that keep me from wanting to play a season or career.

So it's annoying that you can only play co-op over live in Halo 3 with people on your friends list - this doesn't amount to many people for me.