Intrepid Homoludens

Black & White: picked up the misanthropic hermit and threw him into the sea. I had tried helping him out but he didn't appreciate it and yelled at me and I got pissed. Kinda felt bad after, I could have just left him alone. Fable: accidentally killed an innocent traveller while using magic to get rid of some nasty hobbes in the woods. Grand Theft Auto 3: would hit and kill the occasional old lady with shopping bags. Not my fault! I was in a hurry driving somewhere. Sometimes I'd punch some random Joe on the street and have him chase me two blocks. I also like hanging around during fist fights and stealing the money off the losers' dead bodies. Tomb Raider The Last Revelation: used a walkthrough during the last few levels. Hey, I just got tired of all the puzzles, okay? Also, I would kill Lara on purpose 'cause I liked her death screams and moans. Undying: used god mode in the final boss fight, which was really lame and disappointing. Did I feel guilty? Shit no!

The controller on the original PSX was fine for me, and playing a game like ICO on PS2, that controls for that one were okay too. But now that I'm playing Fable on Xbox, it's slightly tricky. Overall I do like how the controller feels in my hand, it's beefy and feels substantial (compared to PS2). Psychologically it affects me in that I feel I have more control over the game. The tricky part involves the triggers. I think it may have to do with the horizontal angle of their placement, it feels slightly wrong when, for example I need to strafe my character left or right using the triggers.

Good.

I'll be friends with you again once you buy me a copy of Wanda And The Giant Asses. And a PS2/3 to go along with it.

"Anna Nicole Smith....portrays Farah, from the 'Prince of Persia:The Sands of Time' video game on Friday, July 23, 2004, in Santa Monica, Calif. Anna Nicole Smith is launching her own clothing line in a style she calls 'Tex-Sex.' Smith's new clothing line will be unveiled at the Magic Marketplace, a fashion showcase, in Las Vegas on Aug 30." Yahoo News

Hi, Tanuk. My name is Forrest Gump Trep. People call me Forrest Gump Trep. Life is like a box of chocolates Counterstrike session, you never know what you're going to get who's gonna kick your ass.

Stinger's gonna have a cow.....

I thought the same too until I got unlimited access to my niece & neph's Xbox. That it doesn't offer you text interface is exactly part of its beauty, just plug & play. Like I said before, a console is perfect for 'no-brainer' gaming, and that's perfect for spending some time with family or friends in the same room (not half a world away online), or in my case, playing Fable with my n & n and comparing heroes. If not, I can always play alone when they're at school, or I can load up a PC game. My personal choice, if I were rich (yeah right), would be a PS2 (Fatal Frame, etc.) and an Xbox (Fable, Psychonauts, etc.). The only regret I'd have not getting a Cube is Windwaker, seems to be the only title I want to play on it, and that naturally could never justify my spending money on it.

So you're gonna jump on my ass just because I expressed an opinion, not unlike Marek or anyone who gets excited about an upcoming game? I can't gush over something without you or someone trying to make me feel bad about it? Just piss the f#&k off then and let me at least enjoy the moment, you know you're above that piece of petty crap.

What part of it? I think you're reading too much, Erkki. Just because I compare ICO and what Colossus might be to good things beyond other games DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN that I think it will be better than other games. Where does it say that? I raved over Christopher Philips' book Six Questions Of Socrates, I love listening to Everything But The Girl, and I love eating Nutella on toast. Does that make me a 'fanboy' for every one of those things? Does automatically falling in love with a few screenshots and a brief movie make me a 'fanboy'? Even Marek gushed over the game's look. So that makes him a 'fanboy'? And I'm too old to be a fanboy.

Guys, don't misunderstand me. That you can see how this game will be a wonder to look at and experience to inspire you to use words like 'awesome' or 'kick-ass' doesn't necessarily invalidate it as a great looking game as no other game can be with its individualistic artistry. That's your chosen vocabulary and mine. But that doesn't mean that I myself or anyone else shouldn't or simply can't go move onto another set of words of attribution in this case. I mean, come on, Chris! I love discovering new words and using them and sharing them with others, but that doesn't make me a snob, does it? It just happens that the words I personally want to use here seem more apt for my effect. What I was saying is that it looks to be what a mere computer game can accomplish in the service of being more a work of art - it starts off as a computer game but then moves beyond itself to where you now longer notice the 'conventional' trappings of it as a computer game. Similar to watching a Kurosawa film and forgetting soon about such things as camera direction and lighting and just letting the story and its world wash over you. Nothing wrong with that, is there? And Walter and Erkki, I hope you didn't think that I'm thinking that it's the 'Second Coming'. I would never be that silly, only a fanboi would do that, and I can't possibly attach myself that way. You guys know me better than that. Remember, I was moved by Syberia but was one the first to complain about its lack of interactivity and other blemishes.

People, you need to understand. This will not be a game to compare to other games (as ICO was) in a conventional fashion. This will be more akin to the other small yet perhaps profound little pockets of wonderment and discovery in your life, beyond the PC and console, that imbed themselves in your dreams: the first time you read Demian, discerning a beautiful young girl in a crowded street but never seeing her again after, your first time away from home and family... As was with ICO, you will find yourself not discussing Wanda And The Colossus in terms of 'those graphics are teh win!'. To talk about it like a moronic pubescent fanboi would be to insult the sheer artistry of it, to ultimately miss the goddamn point. When you gushed over ICO did you notice that you were actually not using the same nerdy techie l33t sp33k you used for Doom 3 or the other titles? Of course you must have noticed! Wanda And The Colossus will be similar, this game (if you can even categorize it as such) will transcend the typical conventions and dogma of a what a game is. Even we gamers define our interests within preconceived boundaries. In a way, that's a kind of advantage for a very rare title title like Wanda, because it does take a rare thing like this to inspire us to realize it and frown at ourselves: How dare we impose limitations on ourselves when we could instead soar beyond them! And deadworm, remember our conversation? Well, this is, in one way, the equivalent of our sitting together on the quay, gazing off towards the northern sea and being at once close and far far away. O man, I would love to get a chance to review this one!! I'd do the artistry of this game justice with my pen.

It's also a good point to check out the upcoming games for each system and compare. I'm definitely looking forward to Psychonauts for Xbox partly because I'll get to play it with my niece and little nephew (he'll only watch 'cause he's a car slut and will only play racing games and such), and console is great for that plopping down on the big-ass sofa with them and grabbing the controls. I'm also having a marvelous time with Fable. Although it's possibly porting to PC, it actually feels refreshing to just sink into the sofa and explore its world for hours. My niece is playing it too and we're comparing our heroes. Define your choice by the kinds of games you want to experience. If most of the games you'll like are on a particular console, then go get it.

Rodi, you can't do a thing about it unless Ubisoft decides it's profitable to make a sequel.

Good god, Erwin, you just reminded me that I was supposed to register my recent XP! You know, that little cartoon bubble that constantly pops up on the lower right hand side of your screen, saying "Only 3 days, 16 hours, 43 minutes, and 9 seconds left to register Windows XP!". Well, I completely forgot about it until now. Strange......nothing happened when the deadline elapsed. My computer didn't implode or anything. Maybe some innocent little baby somewhere in some remote part of the world suddenly upped and choked and dropped dead because I didn't register. Hmmmm....

This is when I thank the GREAT LORD ALMIGHTY for my ability to be able to walk away from any kind of [otherwise] asphyxiating zeal. My response to that poor soul behind the counter would have been: "Hey, look, man! Right outside the front door, just beyond your Xbox and PC! See that? It's called Life, and it's perfectly free and wonderful and good for your soul. You should try it sometime. See ya!"

Yep. Just go to the vendor right outside the front door of the Hero's Guild (by the boasting platform). Most of them are rather expensive, but you can change it anytime you want.

Hmmm, first time I laid my eyes on it. Looks pretty decent, but I still can't justify getting it if I already have a PS2, period. If I ever get a PS2 it would certainly be this version, of course.

Not that I'm in the bandwagon of Valve haters (I'm too individualistic for that bullshit), but I've always found it suspicious of them that one month before they were to actually release Half-Life 2 that code theft happened. That in itself was what it was, but how is it that Valve, near gold status of this highly anticipated title, would decide that they needed another year to work on it? Now, it's good and fine that they would like "...to work on a game until it's perfect, crossing deadline after deadline...", but to screw with potential customers' expectations like that is pretty questionable.

Or not. It's all gravity, baby, so they're about te same. The only ride that made me scream was the Batman coaster at Great America, and I screamed out of sheer joy instead of feeeer. Mmph!

Nah. Just make it so that it's shaped like a woman. T'will sell millions yet.

Oh, that one. We have our own version here at Six Flags Great America, forgot what it's called, but exact same thing. I love what it does to my tummy. But I never screamed, so that makes you a wuss!!!

You are gay! AWWESOME!!

Looks great, but does it do Windows? audience:

Because you've made a point of hating the PS2 for ages?