FunkAsPuck

Times change, tastes change.

People will buy into anything that looks good to them. People obviously didn't like the look of Stealth or The Island, I mean I can't blame the majority of people on this, I watched the trailers for them and thought "Nothing new here".

I don't think people are suddenly choosing great movies, just suddenly enjoying movies with a better marketting campaigns.

How predictable, with the last years 2 biggest over hyped pieces of shit (Halo 2 and God Of War) picking up everything.

David Cross' part in Halo 2 wasn't even that big anyway, so him winning the award is a bit stupid, but David Cross is my hero, so it doesn't bother me that much.

However, Lego Star Wars deserved its reward. Heres to many sequels!

Thank god, I knew I wasn't the only one who did that.

And yes, Pictochat is completely pointless, lets hope the wireless internet access will allow me to broadcast my crude pictures to all 4 corners of the world.

The animation is pretty good but its really not funny.

SPOILERS ALTHOUGH LETS BE HONEST YOU SHOULD BE EXPECTING SOME BY LOOKING AT THE TOPIC NAME

Someone mentioned Emmas death in MGS2 - I agree with that completely. Its such a sad moment, the little bit where she takes off his glasses and they just drop to the floor almost had me in tears.

Also, the entire ending to MGS3. From The Boss dying, Eva betraying Big Boss, then describing to him the reason why The Boss died and her actions that led up to her death. So sad. I always thought that MGS3 had a slow start, but it has one of my favourite game endings ever.

Right, while we are talking about Final Fantasy games - FF9, the ending to that. The fact that Vivi dies alone had me close to tears, but Kuja, by far the best FF villain that has ever been, his downfall and then the redemption and the last conversation he has with Zidane.

Deus Ex, if at any point in your game, Paul dies. I rememeber seeing his dead body on this slab and immediatly went on a huge killing rampage. I don't think a game has ever inspired that type of anger in me before.

Hes no Paul Daniels I tell you that now.

Resident Evil for Gamecube and PS1 says hi, although it's not the same system evolution, but it's still a remake. But agreed, they won't do a remake for a while yet.

I actually came back into this topic to recommend Planescape Torment in my re-editted post.

The games main attraction is its writing in the game. By far the best written game that has ever been made.

Baldur's Gate - The entire saga. BG2 is a massive improvment on BG1, but you'll still be missing out.

Elder Scrolls: Morrowind - My advice is to get mods instantly to make this game more interesting, particularly the combat. When thats all sorted you'll be having fun in no time.

Fallout 1&2 - The best RPGs I have ever played. More open ended than any other games I have played, the storyline is great, there is tons for you to do and the character stats you choose at the start of the game will greatly affect what happens in certain situations. You can even make a character so dumb he can't even speak properly.

Other stuff that I cannot be bothered to describe right now:

Gothic 1&2

System Shock 2

Deux Ex (Hardly any RPG elements at all, but well worth playing)

In terms of freedom, PC RPGs are leaps and bounds ahead of console RPGs, which just seem to be getting more and more linear and boring in recent years.

I don't mind the cross over. Its definately strange seeing Sephiroth and Squall in a game with Donald Duck and Tarzan, but that doesn't really bother me.

The game itself though, I think is overrated. Its fun for a while but gets repetitive very quickly. Some of the areas are really annoying (Like the underwater level. My god that is so friggin frustrating) and I feel that overall, some of the level design is very basic and uninterersting.

The storyline and combat is fine though. Levelling up can be a bitch sometimes as it takes forever. Unless you abuse the Collisseum like I did.

I remember Attitude well. I like how in some areas the game is stil years ahead of the Smackdown games (not really saying much though). Create your own arena? Insignificant, but fun nonetheless.

It sounds like a problem with the disc itself. Give it a good clean and try again. I know this because I had the exact same problem with Attitude on my PSOne a few years back, and cleaning the disc helped it. If that fails then I really have no idea.

This game is a remake of Pirates Gold.

Sid Meier was a key developer in both versions, even the collectors edition boxset comes with a copy of Pirates Gold on the DVD.

Jack Thompson, one of the guys that has pushed for the change of rating, and all round general cunt, is at it again.

Except its much funnier now.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/22/news_6129609.html

How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.

Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.

His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.

Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes: He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.

In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves nude sims.

In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."

The Sims 2 is a "life simulator." In the game, players steer their digital beings around their cyberlives. Actions include everything from the spectacular (getting married, having children, receiving promotions at work) to the mundane (cooking microwaved meals, going to the bathroom, mopping the floor). Such activities, as in real life, sometimes require nudity. EA circumvents inappropriateness by "blurring" out the nether regions, almost to a comical sense.

Knowing that the game is popular among all ages, EA has even taken steps to ensure that Sims fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In the recent expansion pack, The Sims 2 University, gamers can send their teenage sims off to college. However, instead of packing the expansion with "keggers" and "reefer," EA chose to use juice and bubble blowers.

Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the blur that covers the nether regions. "The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the blur' which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."

It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."

Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of The Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after. And what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.

Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."

[uPDATE] Thompson this afternoon updated his earlier statement, saying he is aware certain mods only remove "the blur," but adds that "Electronic Arts has done nothing about this." Thompson's new conclusion: EA is "cooperating, gleefully, with the mod community to turn Sims 2 into a porn offering."

The last time we checked, The Sims 2 was rated T for Teen by the ESRB, which means that anyone 13 years of age, with $50 to spend, can purchase the game.

Well I bought the PC Collectors Edition last year, and its fun for a while, but it gets repetitive really quickly.

However the Xbox version is supposed to have a lot of new additions that make it a lot more fun. I just don't know what all of those additions are aside from multiplayer.

I bought "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk the other day, which stands as one of the best books I have ever read. Its original, weird, fucked up and funny as hell.

I also bought "Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way", a novel written by the man himself. Very funny, highly entertaining. I also recommend his autobiography "If Chins Could Kill" as well, also very funny, even more absorbing if you are an Evil Dead fan. The great thing is, for over a year now, that book has been on the shelf at my local bookshop that says "Staff Recommendations" above it.

EDIT - Yeah, Dan Brown books are overrated. I find his writing style to be very clumsy and boring.

Square Enix won't remake FF7 until it is no longer possible to play it on modern day consoles. Considering the PS3 is going to be compatible with PS1 games, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Think about it, whats the point of remaking a game when I can simply buy a version thats not as advanced, for a quarter of the price, yet still get a fairly decent experience out of it. Personally, I don't think a remake of FF7 is needed to be honest. Theres a lot of unanswered questions which Square want to tackle in this Final Fantasy 7 Compilation, thats more than enough for me.

Lets just hope the games don't suck. Im not the kind of person that starts jacking off all over a game based on screenshots, videos and previews. I would rather just wait for the game to be released, play it, then decide. Thats why I find it hard to get excited for this next gen consoles.

Keasby Nights best ska album of all time?

That title is reserved only for "One Step Beyond"

Also, No Comply aren't really ska. Hardcore with horns and very good looking singer is what I would call them.

Anyway, check out Capdown and King Prawn. Capdown - Amazing ska band when they want to be. When Jake puts down his sax they just come across as an average hardcore band, but when he starts playing then they start making your jaw drop.

King Prawn on the other hand...well I saw them in 2003 on their last gig and its amazing how overlooked they are considering how original their sound was.

Bob And The Sagets? Ha...I was on Soulseek about 6 months ago chatting in the Ska room. One of the members enters and starts talking about his band and then asks me to download and check out the EP. I don't have it on my computer anymore, but it wasn't bad.

As for ska - Can't go wrong with The Toasters. Absolutely adore them.

Personally, I think in the ska community, Steetlight Manifesto are overrated. They sound very similar to Catch 22 (Which is to be expected given the bands members) but I still prefer Catch 22 to SM any day. I like Everything Goes Numb, but I just think Keasby Nights is a much better album.

I listen to a lot of The Specials and Madness. Some of the best ska music ever made. Not so much Roxy Music and The Jam I have only heard a few songs by.

One of the weirdest movies I have ever seen, which is why I liked it so much.

Out of all the people that buy console games, I guarantee that only a minority are even using the online aspects.

But, everyone insists that its "the future of gaming", I could argue, but I really don't care about the issue that much.

Anyway, im not going to even touch this game until I get some feedback from reviews and the experience of others. I liked HCTP, but I thought SVR was a step forward in some areas but a step back in many others.

Godammit, im so annoyed that it hasn't even been released in England.

Ask her why she thinks Anti-Flag are stupid? That's bugged me since I read it.

I think the price is too steep. But its Final Fantasy. Its Final Fantasy 7, may I add. And its very limited.

Damn those clever marketting techniques. Capitalism is victorious again.

I still think Square Enix will give it a Christmas/Summer release, as it's a good idea from a marketing point of view.

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