I bought a PS3 this summer, and though I've enjoyed it, I still play my 360 more by a wide margin (recently that's Bethesda's fault, they can't seem to release a game on PS3 that's not buggy, but really XBL is tha shiznitt, and I have a weakness for gamerscore, all other things being equal.). Now, I'm certainly looking forward to Ni No Kuni and The Last Guardian, but other than exclusives, and (maybe) games that won't fit on 1 disc for the 360, the PS3 is a nice Bluray player. I also got fucked purchasing two 3DS launch units for my kids. I don't feel so bad having purchased myself a flame red 3DS so that we can play Mario Kart 7, knowing that at least initially 2nd analog stick support will be both optional and mostly for FPS which I'm not interested in (at least on 3DS). Overall, not a good Summer for me, and dammit, I wish there were an HEB in California, and I would get a 3DS for my sister.
It's more a matter of contrast than any similarity between them, but I couldn't be happier that Skyrim and Super Mario 3D Land released at nearly the same time. Just when the hours of ADD hopping from side quest to side quest to hey-I'll-just-swim-around-through-the-ice-floes-for-a-while start to wear me down, the focused linearity of SM3DL is just the thing to recharge my batteries. And when some technical jump has me frustrated, well, I'll let that run in the background of my brain while I pick pockets and collect frost mirriam.
I tried 4-5 times to kill that troll, then decided to run like hell on up the path. It worked! I still haven't killed a troll, though at level 27, I probably could. I'm currently letting a wolf attack me just as much as it wants to level up in light armor, and I my (non-clinical) OCD means that the piling up of side quests bothers me more than Kirk... but it is amazingly easy to get distracted in Skyrim. I am definitely putting off completing the main story until I get bored, which if Oblivion is any indication will be a long, long time. Probably not before Bethesda releases substantial DLC.
I would love either Chewitel Ejiofor or Helen Mirren as the next Doctor, either on TV or the big screen (we could have both!!). But my daughter and I have discussed the possibility of Daniel Radcliffe as the Doctor, and think he could really pull it off (and begin a transition from being identified with one role to more of a Sigourney Weaver all-around awesome type). Surely this would occur to David Yates, and it could certainly bring new fans to the franchise, as the Harry Potter movies were hits everywhere they played.
NBA2K6 on the 360. I didn't know it would be famous for the ease of picking up gamerscore, I just like basketball games and used to play them a lot. I reviewed the achievements, and, having noticed how easy the game A.I. was, decided to see how many achievements I could get in a single game against the computer (I extended the quarters a bit). I'm pretty sure I got them all in a single, ridiculous game. I then lost respect for the game completely, and I haven't bought another basketball game since (which is probably a mistake as 2K11 earned some serious accolades).
Maybe it's just because I had a daughter who wasn't old enough to 'drive' a kart, but could sure dish out the pain as my son's wingman, but I loved Double Dash. And the only complaint most people who played Luigi's Mansion had was that it was short, but I say it didn't overstay it's welcome. One of my favorite GC games, and I was thrilled to hear about the sequel. And you can probably guess my feelings for a certain cute domestic robot.
Super Mario 3D Land is the perfect way to take a break from Skyrim, and vice versa. That is all.
Paint balls?
I'm loving Skyrim. That said, I would have loved to have some slightly deeper combat. Some sort of combo/rhythm or something besides just spamming buttons, to make things more interesting, yes, but also to make things easier on higher difficulties, if you put in the work. Not, Arkham, but at least Paper Mario. But really, the key factor in making a game that competes with Skyrim isn't story, art & combat necessarily, but how fun it is to scrap your plan and see what's on that hill over there, or see how long you can stalk a deer, or go swimming. If Kingdoms of Amalur has that kind of effect on people, watch out.
I'm pretty sure the implication is, 'Should You Buy'... if you're into that sort of thing. As in, does this game look like it lives up to expectations, in advance of the full review, so that gamers who know their preferences don't get ripped off. Seriously, knowing that regardless of quality, Elder Scrolls games aren't your cuppa, and Mario games are, how would arbitrarily dissenting opinions have changed your decision making process. There actually have been some dissenting opinions expressed just to have a dissenting opinion, and it seemed stupid. It's a gut check, so just be honest. No disrespect urfe, I just don't see how mandatory dissent would help anyone. I'm sure if someone really disagrees about a huge AAA game, Kotaku would include their voice. I could go with fewer opinions from editors who haven't touched the game at all, though.
I know at least two (very cool) people who haven't seen any of the Star Wars films, and see it as sort of a badge of honor. Honestly, as much as I love Episodes IV and V, and to a lesser extent VI and III, it does kind of seem as though a lot of the continuing value of the films originates in having seen at least one of them before the onset of puberty (and seeing Jedi on the cusp of puberty, despite Ewoks, does seem to serve as a fixative for those attracted to girls in gold bikinis). I'm sure someone somewhere could claim otherwise, but I kind of doubt that someone who made it through their youth without seeing Star Wars would be affected by it in quite the same way. Most times an adult has a 'fuck yeah' moment with a modern film, it is wrapped up in deliberate reference to prior pop culture. Possible exception: the first adults to see Star Wars, who would have 1) have appreciated the reference to prior pop culture contained therin (unlike my 7 year-old self), and 2) would not have seen 100s of movies with immersive worlds buttressed by ILM, WETA and their (wonderful, wonderful)) ilk. But somehow, I think my friends would be losing more than they gained, at this point.
Oh lord, is that an OED in the background? So jealous. I remember around 1990 or so being in high school and spending $70 on a Random House Unabridged Dictionary (I had a coupon for 30% off any one book at Tower Books [R.I.P.]). I still have it, and love it, but I was heartbroken that I couldn't afford to foot the $200 or more for the newly released Oxford English Compact 2nd edition (basically the whole thing, but you need a magnifying glass to read it). Oh, well. I've never subscribed to the online edition, as there's just something about the physicality of a dictionary. I think I may take the plunge when they finish the 3rd edition. Boy, will I be embarrassed if someone points out it's not the OED behind her.
I had trouble trying to post it too... that's why I went with the quote.
But you don't have the frontispiece yet?
I'm going to send a request later today! If your 1,000 pt. super score offer didn't convince me, your London Calling avatar would have sealed the deal... A friend was just telling me yesterday about meeting Paul Simonon at a Havana 3 A.M. show...
The recent Sorcerer's Lair for PBFX2 has been getting a lot of playtime out of me... feels like it could be heading for a Medieval Madness level of fixation, but we'll see. Certainly it took Zen a while to get up to a high level, but they've been making some great playing tables that have a sort of magical realism. They've got the physics feeling pretty good, they seem to have a better understanding of how to set up a good sense of 'flow' for the player (this was seriously lacking in their early tables), and they've started to work in elements that wouldn't be possible in real life without breaking the sense of realism. I'm still hoping the Pinball Hall of Fame takes from their example and sets up a platform from which to periodically release new tables (and praying the license is cleared to allow Addam's Family to be one of them), but Zen has at least started making tables that you would actually sink quarters into.
I'm hoping by making a slapping motion you will be able to call up a virtual Tyrion Lannister to slap the shit out of characters that are annoying you on whatever show you're watching. Make this work with live sporting events and Microsoft can print money. In the heat of the moment and halfway down a twelve pack, who wouldn't pay per slap? Get on this, Microsoft...
I'd love to see the already beautiful Luigi's Mansion in HD, and updated for the Wiimote control it truly needs.
I clicked 'reply' to Zom-B, thinking 'Sure, I'll condense it, try to show that the article was about baseball, sure, but also about an amazing individual, about history and the process by which a way of life can slip away in a few short years, etc., etc. Well, my prose is clunky, and it wasn't really worth cleaning up, but it turned out to be pretty hard to get across why I liked the article, without setting off the tl;dr alarms. It took a while, but it was fun. And thanks for writing it. There are people out there, who if you just talk to them; objects, that if you just search for the stories behind them; records in dusty archives that if someone only thinks to read them, then a little bit of a forgotten way of living, of thinking, of knowing, is restored to us. And I guess that is both a theme of your and Chris' article, and the real reason why I think it's so great.
I would love to see more human interest stories from you on the site, and I miss the days of the non-video Weekend notes, when you used to smuggle in some great stories.
I would love to see more human interest stories from you on the site, and I miss the days of the non-video Weekend notes, when you used to smuggle in some great stories.
Amazingly, since I'm late to this news and late to this thread, someone beat me to 'So long, and thanks for all the fish' by 13 minutes. But damn, thanks for everything Mr. McWhertor. Good night, and good luck.
