Ben

Just send a PM to one of the guys who are offering the games and get their Steam ID. You can probably find their details on the Steam Community thread as well but PM would probably be easier.

Birthday Happy. I've been listening to the Rez soundtrack on repeat for about three years. At the moment I hear Money Mark's Keyboard Repair when i'm on the train and my mp3 player isn't crapping out.

It's not that Japanese gamers don't like challenging games; but that does touch upon the underlying issue of 360 popularity (or lack thereof) in Japan. IMO with their approach to this generation MS have made a point of going after the "hardcore" market with both their software line-up and their feature set. Specifically, with the addition and extension of things like XBL: Achievements, Gamerpoints, and generally playing on the competitive aspect of gaming as though that is the 'major' aspect of gaming, MS have, in essence, turned gaming from a hobby into a profession. This is what I believe turns off Japanese gamers (and it should be noted, others around the world to a lesser extent). It's a very common American approach (in cultural terms) that MS have taken - to take something leisurely and turn it into a well-organised, streamlined and professional operation. Now of course there are "hardcore" Japanese gamers (as well as very hard and challenging Japanese games), but this is not the kind of hardcore approach they connect with culturally or feel comfortable with - and I think that's what those devs are trying to express, which may have been lost in translation. I think that they (Japanese gamers) want or prefer to get completely engrossed in one game and one way of playing by themselves, as escapism from the world and other people. Whereas the MS apprach is to highlight the lack of escapism by putting you into a room with many other real-world people and making you co-operate or battle it out. Again, I am trying not to generalise to the extent that I mean all Japanese hate competition, clearly that would be absurd and more than like incorrect; but there may be something to it to a degree. For example, in Japanese arcades, all competitive cabinets are structured so that the opposing players never actually see each other and communicate (of course you can't really see someone in an XBL lobby, but you can hear and interact with them and are encouraged to do so)... For the Japanese, in a society where the traditional norm is that you must sacrifice the individual for the greater good of the comunity/society, is it any wonder that when it comes to their personal hobbies they don't want to be in that kind of confrontational environment and want only to enjoy something for themselves...? It's an interesting topic; I don't presume that any of the above is fact or entirely correct - and it is somewhat anecdotal. It's just a potential explanation to something that clearly defies one single explanation with its multitude of potential determining factors.

It was all good: got the invite and request fine. Thanks dude

Oh go on then http://steamcommunity.com/id/pirateben/

"It's over Anakin; I have the higher ground!" ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Simple answer to that really... you hadn't made that (second longer) post explaining your position when I made my previous post. In any case, I pretty much disagree with everything you've stated, including the area bolded as being "fact". One last thing from me: I do understand how people arrive at a place where they incorrectly label games such as Gears of War; I was simply pointing it out for the incorrect labelling that it is.

Then in what sense did you mean it? Your attempt to continue the "That's <x> for you!" thing and be an ass has meant you've failed to actually explain yourself. Nice one. I'll just quote Eljay from the other thread as he has summed it up well: "ThunderPeel you are being supremely arrogant about this, handing down decrees that language has changed. Personally I think it's stupid to call Gears an FPS, the term FPS exists to distinguish between perspectives in the shooting genre, what benefit is there to strip it of its meaning? Just because you are lazy enough to accept a bad classification doesn't mean everyone else has to be."

"Clearly" according to who? And furthermore, "clearly" how exactly - "clearly" in the sense that everyone agrees? 'Cause if so, then that's clearly not true, seeing as I disagree. That's semantics for you!

I see. Thanks for explaining that; i did understand your point about the game play in some way informing the style to such a degreee that it would seem to allow for such a comparison/classification to be made. I guess I just find it frustrating when I see the reference made, understandable or not, because it reads to me like lazy categorisation and even lazy journalism (rather than an easy grouping based on game play mechanics).

Yes but... it's not an FPS. [sorely tempted to use the "disapproval cat" image again.] It's a very simple concept, let me summarise: First-Person Shooter = played in the first person perspective. Third-Person Shooter = played in the third person perspective. It's very black and white my friends. Control mechanics, game play feedback and immediacy and so forth are all very well and good; but you can't change the laws of the English language and its definitions just because something feels like something else.

I don't know why everyone insists on referring to Gears of War as an "FPS". It's not. So stop it. Everyone. You are correct about it being a highly polished and nuanced evolution of third-person shooter based game play though. As for Halo 3 I haven't played it yet; but if you're looking for reasons and an actual concise explanation of why its multiplayer is being lauded I would suggest reading Chris's multiplayer review on Shack.

It's listed here: http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-/1009159/Assassin-Creed-Limited-Edition-Box-Set-with-4-Exclusive-Art-Cards/Product.html

Oh for christ's sake... I am not dignifying Toblix's stupidity with a further serious response. I think i've already explained myself adequately. Please move on.

I was kidding - otherwise you would be banned right now. It's just slated for Q1 2008 at the moment.

Well done for immediately making redundent all the other stuff you wrote. Ok look, here's the deal (as it seems it escaped you in spite of my warning at the start of the thread): I DO realise and accept that some people don't get or enjoy Rez. I'm not debating that here. Which is exactly my point - this is not the thread in which to debate whether Rez is good or not, or what about it is so unfathomably bad, or to discuss the business plan for XBLA and its potential market. This is a thread for people happy about the announcement because they love Rez (and Ikaruga). It is a love-in thread. You don't like or get Rez? Fine, start another thread and express it there. There is no reason for you to do it in this thread - it amounts to trolling and that, jokes aside, is a genuine banning offence on some other forums. Luckily for you we take things less seriously and/or efficiently here so it'll slide. Anyway - back to Rez and Ikaruga love... QFT. I'm a great believer in the power of music and how it has a very special and sub-concious affect on any kind of experience (be it passive or interactive). Rez is one of the few examples in the Video game medium that manages to express this to the player through a perfect synchronisation of game play (which is on-rails, simplistic and rhythm-based) and music. It's about more than just the wire-frame graphics, the music, the game length etc; but rather about the whole these components form. Do this: 1) Get the game; 2) Turn off the lights; 3) Make her open the box; 4) Put on headphones (or make sure you have an awesome sound system); 5) Play the game for more than 15 minutes.

This is coming your way cunt.

I believe they've said there won't be any peripherals like that on this version.

Choose your words (and the inherent implications) very carefully.

I have been instacumming about this for ages. Rez. High-Definition. 5.1. Surround Sound. = Large quantities of win. --- PS - Just to give everyone fair warning: anyone that says anything negative about Rez in this thread will be perma-banned. I'm afraid when it comes to Rez there is only one opinion, and that is mine. Feel free to agree with it using your own colourful and creative language. Thank you.

Echochrome says "Hello!" http://www.gametrailers.com/player/21583.html

Yes that's true.

There's a chance yes

Yes I do. Thanks.