lobotomy42

I've never had anything ship before release from Amazon, and I buy there a lot. Usually, it takes a day or two AFTER the release for it to ship, and even with a faster shipping option, it's usually a good three days away after that. So don't have high hopes.

I've never used Steam, but I dislike all forms of 'Digital Rights Management', so I dislike it. Granted, video games have always had DRM in the form of making sure a CD is in the driver, etc., and I can tolerate that, even while I object to it. But the whole "ET Phone Home" aspect of services like Steam is, for the moment, a little much to take. The more that companies treat me like I'm already a criminal, the more inclined I am to simply be a criminal and pirate their software.

They won't. Why would they? He said the PS3 "could" run any operating system. That doesn't mean it will, or that it will easily and legally. In order to get either Windows or Mac OS X to run natively on the PS3, you would a specially-designed and compiled copy from either company. Alternatively, you could emulate the hardware of a PC, which might work (very slowly) for Windows, but definitely won't for Mac OS X. Either way, the OS would have a fit with the hardware, and probably wouldn't be very useful. Undoubtedly, some form of Linux will run on the PS3 since it did on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube (sort of). But, like before, it will be mostly a tech toy and a bullet point on the box rather than an actually useful feature. Don't you guys remember the PS2 hype? "USB Ports! A hard drive and network adaptor on the way! It will run Linux and connect to the Internet! Toy Story Graphics!" And in the end? It was still just a games console. Fool me twice...

I seriously doubt Linux on PS3 will be much more than a joke. Linux code has to be GPL'd, so that anyone can re-use it and adapt it for other GPL'd purposes, and Sony...well, do I even need to say anything? They're like the most pro DRM, we-manage-your-rights-not-the-other-way, artists-are-getting-screwed-by-the-internet, sharing-is-for-hippies company that ever existed. The only way Linux on the PS3 could do anything useful is if Sony wrote its own proprietary apps that didn't connect with the Linux codebase at all. In which case...why not just write your own proprietary OS anyway? This is marketing horse-shit.

I'll second Phoenix Wright and the Feel the Magic games.

In fact, it was canned THREE TIMES in one of the most frustrating experiences ever...

Should also add: I didn't like the plot of the first game very much when I first played it either. Specifically, I was really bothered by the "dragon" sequence and the fact that they throw the whole "Schattenjager" thing at you from out of nowhere. But, that bit makes more sense after playing the sequels, since it essentially allows them to happen. And, to be fair, I still think any Gabriel Knight game has a better storyline than Broken Sword, which is equally raved-about.

Well...I liked them. All three are very different from each other. The second is very linear, but most consider it to have the best storyline. (I didn't like it as much, but I'm in the minority.) The third is the most "mystery" like, in that you're investigating a group of people who could all be suspects and whose motives are unknown. I like the third the best, because characters move around during different times of the day, and there's lots of little optional subplots to discover by figuring out where everyone is at any given time. So, yeah. I really dig the storylines of all three games and consider them "mysteries," even if they are somewhat predictable.

Only if by "selling" you mean "taking orders for and then stalling until about a week ago when they finally started shipping the game."

I didn't dislike it...but it didn't grab me. Her voice worked well for describing things, narrating, and the like, but whenever she had to talk to anyone else - April, Damien, Gabriel - it felt like the other person was talking and she was...reading with punctuation? Maybe I'm picky... I don't really think it was the accent, but who knows. Maybe it was simply a function of the actress having three times as many lines as everyone else and getting bored with the game. Ah, well. This was a game of highs and lows.

D'oh! That was April? Stupid memory. Hmm...well, I definitely remembered the White Dragon saying someone was their sister. Yeah, I played TLJ, but that was a looooong time ago. Though, after this game, I really hope the focus turns back to April Ryan/Cortez and saving the world/balance/stuff. Zoe was a nice little detour...but I'm already bored of her. April's sections of the game were more interesting and more fun to play, partially due to (IMHO) the great voice acting behind April versus the relatively poor voice acting behind Zoe...

But...but...how? So there's a girl...and she's experimented on and drugged...and so she can just randomly go "Oh, I think I'll turn my mind into an electronic form and store it in the Wire, and then mess with this Dreamcore thing and cause Static. Just 'Cause." ? Yeah, didn't the White Dragon also call Zoe "big sister?" So are the White Dragon and Faith the same person? Or...related or something? So...Zoe's convincing of Faith's suicide was actually a bad thing?? Then why did she do it?!? I'm so confused! j/k, it's cool...

Well, I *finally* got this game after weeks and weeks of waiting for my super-special limited edition to arrive. And I just finished it. What. The. Fuck. Forget the ending - I didn't understand the entire game! Ok, scratch that. I understood bits of minor plots - like the Alvani taking over Arcadia, WATI Corp developing a dream machine, etc. But what the fuck? I still don't know who that girl was or how she tied into anything. She was Zoe's sister, experimented on in Russia...and somehow that ties into the Static and Dreamcore? And the world? Don't get me wrong. I loved the game. Awesome. But two things are clear: 1) This isn't really a sequel to TLJ. It's just another game set in the same universe. 2) Someone has some 'splaining to do. Seriously. You guys talking about Westhouse...I don't even know what you're saying. This goes down with KOTOR 2 as "most confusing ending ever."

No, 7 and before are shit, too.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/705/705537p1.html It only now occurred to me that I've been waiting for this game essentially since I was in 2nd Grade. Wow.

On a slightly related note, Nintendo has also announced a new adventure game for the DS: Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It's from the developers of Another Code / Trace Memory, the previous Nintendo DS adventure title. http://e3src.nintendo.com/games/ds/hotel_dusk_room_215/

Yes! Awesome! Woooo-hoooo!

Honestly...I started watching because it was hilariously bad. And taken at face value, it is. But...the more I watch it, the more I like it. These guys have a very genuine quality to them that G4, On the Spot and IGN Video Anything completely lack. Whenever I watch those shows, I'm constantly thinking "These guys are trying to be professional television. They're trying to take video games seriously and impress me." With GameLife...I just get the impression that they really want to tell me about all the games they play. Which, frankly, I'd rather hear about.

Tales of Symphonia for GameCube. Besides being one of my all-time favorite RPGS, this is a full-fledged traditional Japanese RPG, warts and all. (It's extremely story driven, though the story is quite...hokey. If you enjoy laughing along with video game plots while also being engrossed by them, you'll like it.) But the best part: The battle system is real-time, sort of like a fighting game, but with RPG trappings like hits, misses, skills, etc. It's pretty easy to get the hang of, though they don't advertise the co-op feature very well. (To turn it on, you have to go through some very non-obvious menus.) But once its on, it's pretty sweet. My sister and I played through the game like this - you can set each player to any party member you want (the CPU will control the others), but only one person gets to interact with characters in towns and shops and the like. So, I still suggest you take turns being player one so everyone gets a little plot-time. (If you like, each time you switch off, you can also switch in the menus who the "main" character is, so you can both feel like you're associated with a particular character.) Anyway, it's a great game, I love it to death. I've only ever played it in co-op mode, and have had great experiences with it.

Don't forget about Tales of the Tempest! (Another DS RPG on its way...)

I didn't think it was all that difficult. Just imagine that Jade is suddenly an airplane and you're controlling a Flight Sim.

The cover of Two Thrones is quite literally two Princes, an evil one that is dark and brooding, and a good one that is suppsed to resemble Prince in Sands of Time, merged together into one. So, I think it's pretty clear that the third game was an attempt to reconcile the Prince's newfound "I'm a badass that must appeal to 13 year olds" with the earlier "I appeal to hardcore gamers and those with taste" Prince.

Well, Gamespot gave a much more positive review, though with similar concerns as the IGN review: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/longestjourney2wt/review.html?sid=6147844 And Gamespy (subsidiary of IGN) gives an absolutely glowing 5/5 review: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dreamfall/702029p1.html From the review: "There's clearly a lot going on in Dreamfall. The game covers a lot of metaphorical, political, and religious ground, and is easily one of the best story experiences I've ever had in a Video game. It's a multi-threaded, complex affair that's much more than just an exciting adventure tale. The game poses profound and troubling questions about the uses and misuses of faith, the limits of corporate, governmental, and religious power, and the significant difference between belief and fanaticism and knowledge and wisdom. The dialogue is wonderful, brought to life by a stellar cast of voice-actors, and the characters are clearly defined and supremely likeable. The game easily holds its head up high with such classic fare as Planescape: Torment and Grim Fandango." So, that's promising. In more depressing news, I've now realized that I've probably spent more time in my life reading news/previews/reviews about this game than I ever will playing the game. Man, I'm quite the loser.

Man, I hope that's indicative of the final review.

The first review is in from IGN: http://pc.ign.com/articles/702/702002p1.html Short version: Good story, bad everything else. I hope this isn't the consensus among reviewers, but I fear that it will be.