The Mask of Norro

I'm sorry, but as much as people keep toting used games getting locked out... I see it as a literal killing shot for any company against themselves to seriously attempt to develop a new games only platform. The PSP Go was a pure digital handheld that bombed harder than anyone expected it to-- and it wasn't even expected to be a huge draw for Sony-- and I'd shudder to think how awful the PS4 would actually do in the long-term plans for Sony if it adopted a ban on used games.

Speaking from experience, the biggest reason pre-owned games exist isn't because there's a demand for buying pre-owned games. The biggest reason is that people want the option of selling back their games when they're done with them to make the newer, ever-expensive games less expensive. Remove that option and you're going to see a massive cut in new games sales, and that's not going to help Sony's bottom line in the slightest.

Damn, Baltimore. Get your shit together here.

Hell of a comeback, what a play by Kaepernick.

San Fran has to be a mad house right now. This is one hell of a comeback, or at least one hell of a ball drop for the Ravens.

tl;dr. GameStop Norro mode activated! If anything, the way I break it down for my customers at work is as follows:

XB360 is best for online multiplayer due to ease of use with Party Chat, better server support, invites, etc. PS3 does it just fine, but honestly having used both I tip the hat to Microsoft for the better system of the two.

PS3 is best for an all-around entertainment system. Though both are capable of wirelessly syncing with PCs & Macs, the PS3 is far more hassle-free, supports more file formats, and beyond that supports its fair share of wireless streaming services that the 360 both does and does not have. Then you've got Blu-Ray & DVD support, the ability to upgrade your hard drive space with any USB flash drive or external, and the fact that a PlayStation Plus membership actually gives you a tremendous amount of free merchandise and content as an incentive versus Live Gold on the 360 virtually only offering you online play... the PS3 has a lot going for it.

The PS3 simply can't keep up with the 360's online play, I'll give Microsoft that. No matter what Sony's tried, Microsoft just does it better. The only thing Sony has on them is theirs is free-to-play, but even that is in itself a detriment due to the fact that servers on the 360 are better maintained simply because people are paying for them.

In terms of exclusives, both have fantastic ones. Sony has Uncharted, God of War, Resistance, Killzone, Journey... just to name a few. Microsoft has Halo, Gears of War, Alan Wake, Fable, Super Meat Boy... again, just to name a few. Both have a very long list of good exclusive titles and both equally share a list of cross-platform titles where one performs or appears better on it than its opposition (For example, when it comes to may top two series, I prefer Mass Effect on 360 and Assassin's Creed on PS3). There's no real weight tipping the scales, at least in my opinion.

Funnily enough, being an owner of all consoles and owning a rather large library for them, I actually lean more towards Nintendo overall. Even the Wii had a large number of great games for it (though I seem to be one of the few with this opinion), but the Wii U has expanded that with content not available for top games on other systems.

That said, were I to have to choose between PS3 and 360... urgh, it's a very hard decision. I'd lean PS3 for how often I use that v. 360 (usually I only play the 360 more when there's a specific game I like/want on it), but I'd damn sure miss Microsoft's online in comparison.

Don't remember if I've posted in here already or not but another time can't hurt just to say that this movie was fantastic. There were some genuinely uncomfortable scenes in the movie that stuck with me-- not bad in that sense, rather just... hard to watch-- but it was incredible how quickly the movie could switch seemingly naturally between that and comedy, and man was the comedy good.

I'd say I probably enjoyed Django more than I thought I was going to-- not like I thought I wouldn't like it, but still. I can't say it's one of my favorite Tarantino flicks because I'm woefully behind on Tarantino's work to really judge it to the others. Kill Bill is the only other one I've seen that immediately comes to mind at least, I've not watched Pulp Fiction nor Inglorious Basterds (the latter I remember definitely being on my watchlist though).

Also, further note: going into the movie knowing DiCaprio went through with that entire scene where he accidentally slices his hand open made it all the more powerful. Had I not known that I would have thought it was a great added touch, but knowing it wasn't meant to happen and he just went through with it? The man is incredible.

Man, I must be weird with anime or something... most of you loved Code Geass and both Lorina and I couldn't get into it-- felt too bland and slow. Yet Sword Art has been fantastic and ever since the new arch has really ramped up again, haven't felt at all like it's too same-y, and you guys are saying that's how you see it

At least we can all as a collective agree that FMA Brotherhood is beyond all brilliant

Yeeeaaaah we've had that for like a half-month before the Wii U itself came out at my store. Lamest fucking thing in the world that it's only demo is Rayman. You'd think it'd have at LEAST had NSMBU as a playable demo or something on there... I love the system and I can't sell it hard enough at work, but fuck if they don't make it difficult with the single-game demo and only three actual game trailers, with the rest nothing but still shots from the games on display.

See, I remember watching AVGN a long while back-- not even certain *how* long ago exactly, just that it feels like ages. I'd agree his humor hasn't aged well, I definitely enjoyed it for a time but it was something I grew out of for the most part. There's a few of his newer videos that genuinely entertain me, but I stress the few.

If you want to talk about gaming reviewers that have aged well I'd go with Seanbaby, but only because he operates through the medium of written word and not video. I can go back and read shit on his website I read back when I was still in middle school and be entertained, nevermind what he comes up with on Cracked. Though, to be fair, he doesn't strictly adhere to video game reviews/critiques/commentaries anymore. A lot more parodies of manliness, UFC, and other odds and ends really.

Definitely looking forward to AVGN's movie though, if only to watch it casually at some point and get some good laughs from it. I'm not expecting comedy gold or anything but I'm sure it'll be fun at the very least.

Yeah, Shepard's to the right of Kaiden and Joker's riding the Cerberus dragon, which I'm assuming represents the Normandy SR2. Ashley and Jacob are the ones that are missing in the piece.

... and nothing of value was lost

Quote me where I say the wii is shit.

If you are going to say I am making two different arguments, could you at least make those arguments actual statements I have made?

Because "I had a hard time finding games I liked for the wii versus other systems I owned, so I won't likely get its predecessor" seems to be the statement I made, and that doesnt conflict at all. Hell I even make a statement about games I LIKED for it, that gets ignored.

Christ, I can't say "I don't see myself getting one?" without you guy jumping down my back due to my own personal experiences with it? And it's "bat shit stupid"?

GIANT fuck you.

Well first off, do calm down as that is a bit of an overreaction seeing as no-one actually went beyond a civil debate there until, well, this post.

Second of all, to Pizza... yeah, Rider never said the Wii was shit; however, Rider, you did say this:

Outside of Mario/Zelda the list of games of any quality for the wii numbered in the tens.

Which implies the Wii has very little to go for it in quality games (which is not actually true). When Skummy rebutted that with a few choice examples, you then responded with:

Great. To counter "tens of games" you list off "tens of games." That really showed me.

So, to summarize here for you: You were making a point that the Wii didn't have a good game line-up, which was a point that quite frankly needs to be argued against because when you break it down, it does. Its quality games do number higher than just 'the tens'. We're not jumping down your throat because you're not getting the Wii U or you didn't like the Wii, we're arguing your point that the Wii didn't have a lot of good games. You can't play the victim card on that-- you made a statement of opinion that stands contrary to ours, and while you've every right to do so, we've every right to state why we don't agree.

Again though, saying that Rider even once claimed that "The Wii is shit" is an over-exaggeration of the point he was trying to make.

Still more than happy to provide a list of more than 'tens of games' that are good on the Wii. Give me a reason to get long-winded on your ass, I dare you

Gonna have to echo Skummy on PS2 having massive amounts of shovel-ware-- I'd almost contend it had more than the Wii.

To put it into perspective, I'd challenge you to list off every good to great PS2 game you've ever played. Chances are, there's gonna be a lot, right?

But is it going to be numbered in the thousands? Because that's how many games the PS2 had. Literally thousands. And I can promise you, the vast majority of those games were not gems, they were efforts by companies looking to cash on what was then and still is now the best selling home gaming console ever made. It was no different with the Wii when it started getting popular, companies just wound up cashing in.

You can claim by proportion that the good Wii games got drowned out, but in reality you were just as likely to see good games on the PS2 get drowned out. The difference is with the Wii, more families buy the console and so retailers wind up putting that shovel-ware out to focus because it appeals to that demographic, whereas the PS2 got special treatment as it was seen as a gaming console, not a family console.

The Wii U will be different-- and, in fact, already is different-- in that there aren't really any true shovel-ware games out for it yet, nor likely will there be as many as for the Wii. One of the things you need to consider is the difference in graphic output, a smaller company looking to catch a big break would make a shovel-ware title for the Wii because it was easier than on the 360 or PS3. Wii U's going to require learning how to use new development kits, going to require more substantial graphical output... fact is, not as many of those companies are going to want to follow gaming into this next jump. They'll probably stick with mobile app games.

And echoing Skummy on this one too: there are far more games on the Wii worth buying than just 'tens of games'. If you really want it broken down for you I'll gladly do so when I return home today, and I assure you-- being who I am-- that the list I give you will in no way be as short or simple as a list of 'tens of games'.

Classic Norro TL;DR ahead folks.

I've had absolutely no problems with my Wii U... not sure why, but around my area everyone who's purchased one haven't had any problems with theirs either. I think it's more just bad situations are coming to surface faster because people are anxious to see drama around a new console launch, as it stands if there were more problems then we'd probably hear way more about it from people. Only thing I've actually seen 100% of Wii U owners complain about is the initial update which, yeah, holy shit that was bad.

Miiverse is surprisingly addictive. I could see myself getting hooked in there, something I was not expecting as I'm not even a fan of Facebook and I can barely keep my attention towards Social Networking, but there's just something about it that I see myself coming back to. Nintendoland I was certain I was going to trade in for something else before I played it. Then I played it. It's not going to leave my game library, it's basically the perfect party game and even solo is one hell of a game showcase.

NSMBU is probably the next game I'll get. Either that or ZombieU-- despite lackluster reviews from critics, literally every single person I've spoken to who has played the game has came back with rave reviews. It's basically Dark Souls meets modern zombie survival thriller, and it's difficult as fuck apparently. Easily something I could get into. Also Black Ops II runs fantastic on the console according to one of my co-workers who bought it with me, and he's pretty much hooked into that.

And, of course, Mass Effect 3. Still pissed we didn't get the trilogy but hey, what can you do. ME3 apparently runs very well on the system and the game can be switched over to be played handheld on the Game Pad, which means I can play Mass Effect in my bed if I wanted to. Absolutely brilliant.

Remote function on the Game Pad is nifty-- I wish it worked with my Comcast Digital Receiver, but since it's not a proper cable box my Game Pad couldn't sync up with it. Instead, I was able to get it to sync with my TV, so while I can't change channels through the digital receiver, I can at least adjust volume and switch through inputs.

Netflix is, well, it's Netflix. The community feature from the Miiverse is fantastic though, and it really shines here. Then there's the Internet Browser and I have to say, it's the easiest time I've ever had with a browser on any console. Runs fast, smooth, easy to use and loads pages with dynamic elements fairly easily. Using my Internet Browser and the Game Pad, I was able to register my Wii U on Club Nintendo, do the survey, and create a new tab in the browser to visit EWB and make a post. Very simple, easy stuff.

Finally, the one thing I was most concerned about: Wii to Wii U transfer. I have over $100 in Virtual Console purchases on my Wii that I've been dreading losing as I got my Wii practically at launch, and it's been on its last legs for a long time. Well, after downloading the necessary programs onto my Wii and Wii U and starting the process, I have to say I'm impressed. The wait time was long-- expected for me, as I said I've got a lot of downloaded content-- but Nintendo passed the time with a nice little mini-movie of Pikmin moving all my things from the Wii to the Wii U in the meantime.

If you're doing it yourself, you'll need an SD card to perform the transfer with at least 512MB on it. The Wii U reads the data transfered onto the SD card from the Wii and proceeds to download everything you had from the market for free, then applies your save data to it. The downside is your Wii gets completely formatted in the process, but considering it's a straight port from the Wii over to the Wii U it's honestly not that big a deal for me. I'd caution though that if you're looking to just copy your files so you can have them on both systems, there isn't currently a way to do that as Nintendo's method is more cut-and-paste, and it eliminates the option of bringing your data back to the Wii.

That being said, they warn you about this a good five times beforehand, so if you miss it it's hardly Nintendo's fault on that one.

Anyway, conclusion for me is that the Wii U was an awesome value and worth every penny. The game line-up leading into March looks amazing, the launch line-up is surprisingly well-stacked (even ignoring games that came out first on other systems, the Wii U starts off with a solid launch of games regardless) and the Nintendo Network feels very easy and natural to use, making friend requests and chatting with each other a thousand times easier and better than on the Wii, never-mind it stacking up fairly easily against PS3/XB360's own. Oh, and before I forget, video calling on the Game Pad is so cool, even if it is just Wii U's version of Skype. The way it's designed and the way it functions is just a lot of fun.

Now just to buy a Pro Controller and some more games... I'm looking forward to this new generation of gaming and what it brings. Sony and Microsoft definitely have some great competition, and I hope it inspires them to think big when they're ready for their own next gen answer.

Posting from the Game Pad. This internet browser is fantastic, absolutely in love with the console so far!

The update is 5GB... it's gonna take a loooong time, depending on your connection. One of my coworkers got his this morning and has been playing it all day, Nintendoland is apparently brilliant, Black Ops is great on the console, and ZombiU is fantastic no matter what IGN says according to him. All I know is, mine's almost done updating and once it is I am going to play the shit out of some Nintendoland.

I've heard nothing but good things from the people who've gotten theirs up and running so far and honestly, just the initial setup leading into the update gave me good feelings. I am so freaking happy I was able to get this at launch

So gents, we're literally just a couple of days away from launch now. Anyone besides me picking one of these up on launch day?

Ladies and gentlemen... I have Halo 4.

Still knee-deep in my AC3 playthrough (going for 100% sync) but I'm down to jump on with some EWBers after I get my Halo-legs back on when I'm done. Haven't played one since 3, and that was a loooooong time ago now... so yeah, I'll be rusty and ready to get my ass handed to me.

Alternatively Norro is always down for some Mass Effect multi groups... getting tired of constantly credit-mining on Platinum as a Volus. There's only so many times I can get pushed into the support role before I break and roll Destroyer

So, as an aside, everyone enjoying my cameo as the miner in the game?

So one of the things I love most about FIFA has been the glitches. Most amazing glitches in a sports game I've seen. And then I saw this today online:

Why is it the most off-the-cuff insane glitches happen to everyone else, but any time I've played the game it works fine? I want my Football shenanigans on my TV, not just my computer screen

There is a difference in perspective though. At least in the examples you cited, those are what could be considered accidents. Obviously the kid that suffers a concussion from the hit they take wasn't hit by a kid looking to give him head trauma, but it's one of a few direct results of taking a hit in football, something you're expected to have to do. You're not expected to have to fall down in ice skating or drop off a treehouse.

That all being said, it's not like I'm against it happening. I'm concerned, and rightfully so I feel, because the severity of the injuries that occur are rather substantial; however, I'd never outright say "we shouldn't allow this." Fact is it's the parents' and the kids' decisions. Hell, I played both Football and American Football growing up, I was a goalie and a midfielder in one and a wide receiver in the other, and I took hits constantly and simply shrugged them off.

I know first-hand it's not all as bad as it looks at times. As I said though, it concerns me. But then, swimming out in the ocean concerns me, too. Doesn't mean I don't think kids shouldn't be allowed at the beach

Oh yeah, forgot to make that point though: I'm definitely concerned with younger kids playing the game just because of the nature of it. I know it's an American tradition and I know it 'toughens' them up, but the fact that adult Football injuries are so prevalent and then we put kids out there... as a hobby, sure, but damn if it's not a sight that still concerns me.

See though, all these arguments about size differences... there have been some damn small American Football players in positions such as WR or QB, never mind Punters and Kickers. Obviously I don't foresee women breaking into the linebacker position or anything-- the bulking up is tremendous and on a completely different level-- but I would absolutely support and believe in women entering the NFL in the same positions that men of similar size and stature are capable of and allowed to be playing in.

Isn't it that there are physical requirements for particular positions in the team to begin with? If a woman can qualify physically for the position, why the hell wouldn't we let her play?

Looking it up for specifics: The NFL's shorted QB is 5'10", 203lbs. There's another player at 5'5" 165lbs. Proportionally, yes, women won't be able to match these specific height-to-weight ratios, but they can achieve equivalents that allow them to 'safely' participate at the same level. Linekr put it best: anyone playing Football is in danger of being hurt, and go in knowing that. If they're physically able though, there shouldn't be a problem as to what gender they are.

So Lorina's pretty heavy into Doctor Who and while I've not really gotten into it myself, I've had somewhat of an interest in watching. In any case, she just showed me this and admittedly it got my interest peaked even more. Pretty creative by the people involved-- it's a bunch of posts on Tumblr by Who fans that sort-of went in sequence.

One

two

three

four

I declare

a time war.

five

six

seven

eight

daleks scream

EXTER-MIN-ATE

Nine,

Ten,

Eleven,

Twelve.

The Doctor died,

and Silence Fell

Twelve,

Eleven,

Ten,

Nine.

Here he goes,

back in time.

Eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five

Saving

Everybody’s lives

Four,

Three,

Two,

One

Grab her hand

And whisper “Run.”

So she's been trying to get me to watch this for, well, forever now. Little things that make me wonder if I should

... the new DLC has a Volus Engineer and Volus Adept.

They are fucking going to add Elcor and Hanar eventually. If they added Volus, they will add them. I JUST KNOW IT.

Filthy Stormcloak rebel!

... granted, I still have supported neither side. I'm anti-Stormcloak ever since they attacked me in one of their encampments for not choosing a side, but I'm not pro-Legion because I don't support punishing Talos worshippers either. I've not had the friendliest encounters with the Thalmor to say the least.

Also I'm still on a purge-all-of-the-Forsworn self-imposed mission. Could take awhile.

Just had an awesome experience in-game again... seriously, it's the random encounters and crazy shenanigans those encounters bring that keep me coming back, moreso than the quests and storyline. Never played a game that can hook me on the side-experiences stronger than the primary story before.

Anyway, just stumbled upon Katla's Farm after a lot of on-foot exploration and cave/dungeon crawling. Decided to settle down for awhile, absolutely breathtaking scenery in the area so I was exploring and generally taking in the view, absolutely in awe at how beautiful it all was. Stayed the night in the lighthouse (against the wishes of the Khajiit owner) and did some more exploring. Was thinking it might be nice to try and set up shop in the town for awhile, help with the farm, do a little side-life thing for a bit.

Just as my Dragonborn was settling in, getting comfortable, really starting to adjust to town life... a blood dragon is spotted on the mountainside near town. The townspeople turning, shouting for help, guards with bows drawn, Solitude guards preparing at the walls... and there I am, staring at this thing, thinking "Guess it's back to the grind again". I charge in after the dragon and team up with the guards, just arrows flying everywhere to bring it down. Determined not to let anyone die, I'm basically sprinting after this thing when it lands to keep its attention on me. I'm a Nord so I'm resistant to frost-based attacks, and it's spewing frost everywhere.

We take the thing down, and sure enough my last arrow fired is the one that kills it, and Skyrim does that slow-motion killcam thing and I watch the arrow slam into the dragon's chest and send it toppling. As the dragon dies and the guards go passive again, one of the guards makes a comment while I'm absorbing the dragon's soul: "If those guards in Whiterun can take down a dragon, so can we."

I've heard guards say that line a thousand times before but damn it, when that guard said it literally RIGHT after killing the dragon, it felt so defiant and filled with pride. There was another still marveling that I was the Dragonborn at the same time... just an awesome, awesome moment all-around.

I don't know if I'll ever finish Skyrim, but I can definitely say that I'll be playing it for a very long time-- longer than I've played any other singleplayer game before at least. There's always something to keep me coming back.