Thrik

toblix you are becoming a casual gamer!!!!!!!!!! In all seriousness though, I don't think there's anything wrong with providing a serious challenge. If you're really that adverse to actually being challenged in games, just go with the easiest difficulty every time. I mean, did you ever play the Commandos games (not including the latest 3D one)? Although quite possibly the most frustrating, tense, and time-consuming RTS series in history, they were incredibly satisfying to actually get through and after spending an hour trying to get past one guy you felt like you'd really accomplished something. Metal Gear Solid is actually very much like a 3D take on the same concept, with the whole cone of vision thing, and that too is a hugely satisfying game despite some parts driving me mental with difficulty. With all that said, RTS games tend to be notoriously fiendish though and they likely always will be, so if you're looking for an easy ride you'd probably be best off just avoiding the genre altogether. This is probably another reason why they've never been that predominant on consoles with a fanbase full of people who probably don't want to spend four hours staring at the same small area, controls aside.

For some reason incorrect scaling seems to stand out to certain people more than others. While even the slightest incorrection completely ruins my experience, my parents and many friends simply don't notice at all. In fact, they bitch me out for screwing with the settings to correct it on a per-channel basis (it doesn't happen on all broadcasts). I just can't enjoy it otherwise. With all that said however, I too didn't notice any problems with either of those images. To be sure my sense-o-meter wasn't failing I threw them into photoshop and scaled the larger one down to the same size as the border without adjusting the aspect ratio and they are indeed identical proportionally.

Kind of different though elmuerte. I really miss the old household Sony TV's smart mode; all you can do on this new HD LCD one is swap between various pre-set modes (cinema, live 1, live 2, etc) which can usually get it right eventually but is a pain in the cock. It might be good having AFD for future stuff, but when playing old console games and DVDs and stuff on the new television that never had widescreen display you need to piss around instead of it sorting itself like smart mode did. That said, it's irrelevant to me on a game basis as I use a non-widescreen 21-inch CRT in my room.

Okay Yufster, your people skills are better than mine. ;~ Anyway, I'm not sure toblix, I didn't really find MGS3 significantly harder than MGS2 -- in fact, I found it harder to fight the enemy once spotted in Twin Snakes/MGS2 than in MGS3 due to lack of hidey holes. If you loved MGS2 then you should really be enjoying MGS3, which makes me think there might be something you're missing somewhere that's making your life a lot harder than it ought to be. I can't really imagine what it could be though other than either not making use of the three enemy detection things you have in your inventory or not changing the camera mode (you can do this in the options too, incidentally). I must admit I do play through MGS3 at a slower pace and spend more time scoping areas out with the binoculars, but it really doesn't really make it excessively hard to get through. Heck, I can even fight my way out of enemy chase-downs pretty well, at least for long enough to hide (thank god for that judo slam). I don't know, all I can suggest is trying to stick with it and seeing if it 'clicks'. I loved it so much this is almost like something saying "Grim Fandango is shit" or something to me.

Well I mean, all that or you could just not like the game. I personally love the gameplay (to the extent of replaying all three MGS games in this past month) and lots of others obviously do too, so maybe it's a marmite type thing. Edit: Going off your posts I'm not entirely sure if you're using the improved camera or not. The improved camera is like your Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker camera, which is more than adequate. The old style one is where it's just fixed roughly above you. If you still hate the former then I really dunno what to say. You change them by pressing the right analogue stick.

This is difficult to put subtly, but I think you're just a bit shit at it -- excusable for anyone playing MGS for the first time, let alone the third. I personally found the controls and camera alike in Snake Eater really good, and never really had difficulty getting past most soldiers and taking them out silently to boot. It does take some getting used to the general MGS style of play though, which is to move forwards very cautiously and make use of your radar/person sensors/etc. In addition, walk or stalk whenever possible. Yeah, you can't see very well when you're crawling through bushes and stuff, but that's pretty much how it'd be if you were trying to crawl through thick grass without making any noise for real. Be aware that you're not meant to always rely on stealth though, even if it's encouraged. You're a soldier, so if an enemy does catch you you need to act quickly and fuck him over. You can shoot off his radio (first-person gun), try to judo-slam him (circle+direction when in proximity), punch his face in (tap circle), or just run like a mother fucker into a tree or something before he calls backup. Also note that if an enemy sees you and the yellow/red alert comes up, it won't actually affect other enemies in the area unless they either see/hear it themselves or the guy uses his radio. Don't be afraid to wanker him before he can get backup; if you're not doing this then you're probably making it a bit too hard for yourself. The game has an incredible amount of depth and ways to approach each area, but it does take a while to actually realise a lot of things. I'm actually enjoying my second play through a lot more than my first as I know now all the tricks of the trade like luring them around with food and then throwing a poisonous snake on them or something. I didn't even realise you could do the judo floor slam thing until like the last part of the game.

Ah, okay. Well if someone else is doing it satisfactorily I guess I could too. I'm planning on upgrading TV-wise in a year anyway, so it'd be something to look forward to.

I've been really fancying a 360 as of late and could easily afford one, but I'm seriously worried about the HD thing. The only HD display in my room is my computer monitor, which as we're probably all aware all tend to have (Intentionally?) slim viewing angles and poor console/TV input connections. Great for sat-right-next-to-it PC usage; not so great for sat-back-relaxing console gaming. The only other TV in my room is the 21-inch Samsung CRT which while is pretty great for last-generation and Wii games, I imagine would be a bit lame once you've got all that HD detail getting wasted. It also righteously winds me up that the black levels on LCD and probably plasma screens are still relatively wank, emphasised a million times over once you put it in dark conditions. Is it still not possible to avoid this without paying through eight noses?

Yeah the Wii's definitely having a drought as the only really compelling game thus far for me has been Twilight Princess, and I don't think I need to even go into what implications that statement has. That said, the upcoming library will probably be great. Obvious first-party ones such as the impending Smash Bros with Solid Snake action and Mario Galaxy are almost certainly going to win, but I think third-party support will improve now the initial "Wtf is going on here?" element to the launch is more or less over and the Wii has proven itself to be momentously popular. I mean slamming some obvious franchises onto the Wii with Wii controls is one thing, but actually dedicating resources to truly strong original IP and/or games on the platform would be quite another. The Wii's bound to have a bright future ahead of it (though I think its lifespan will be shorter than its generational cousins and have a successor much sooner), but right now the game scene is a bit shit. I seriously can't see too many people owning more than one or two games.

I'd agree with that to a degree, although I've said in the past that I believe if Nintendo (and maybe other consoles) stick with the Wiimote-style controller in the long run, consoles will become extremely good homes to RTS and FPS games. I think I'd actually prefer using something like the Wiimote if it were a bit less sensitive and more accurate, which I honestly think is a limitation of the current hardware as no Wii game has truly nailed it yet to the level of accuracy an RTS would need. Personally though I don't think it'll actually come to fruition until the Wii's successor, as I think another generation of motion/pointer sensitivity would be needed to equal the tactility of the PC mouse (this may be a slightly arguable point). I would also be very surprised if the successor doesn't have processing power more on par with its competitors as Nintendo has habitually done that up until the Wii. I know a lot of people advocate the Wii's lesser hardware, but it really does make a difference in many areas beyond graphics. 3D RTS games are just one example, as they tend to be incredibly hardware intensive (unless they look absolutely shit). Sadly it's pretty much the only console where they can get close to the PC level of accuracy, other than the DS.

Very similar specs to what I've got on the back burner Thunderpeel. Meant to overclock quite nicely too, that processor. Vista isn't bad, but I think I'll be sticking with XP for at least six more months for day-to-day use as the software scene isn't quite where it should be yet. For example, Photoshop CS3 runs markedly slower on Vista than it does on XP (especially when working with layer-filled web designs), and the word on the street is that the Nvidia Vista drivers perform roughly 15% worse than their XP counterparts and probably will for a while. I also find Vista's new default font horrific, as when I turn Cleartype off -- a necessity for the sake of my vision -- it becomes extremely rough due to what they call Cleartype optimisation, which is in fact the chopping out of bits of fonts to compensate for where Cleartype would ordinarily over-thicken them. :tdown: Pretty good otherwise, though! Edit: Man, shows how much I visit this sub-forum. This thread was highlighted as new.

How did it even go wrong? It had everything going for it! :frusty:

A man who catches a million fish isn't a great fisherman if they're all actually pieces of shit. Really though I can't remember what your posts were like, but if everyone complained then my superb analogy might be relevant after all.

Another one to sit in my disturbingly overcrowded RSS feed collection. I recently remembered I have a blog, you should put it in your links. It is quality.

It's so great that the live cutscenes are back. They pretty much gave me the motivation to burn through all the C&C games that actually had them, even in the most infuriating sessions of being arseholed by mission X. I just need to sort my PC so I can actually play the damned thing.

A bit of a pansy, then.

I've finally started playing Twilight Princess properly now I've got a TV in my room, and I must say it's a really caught me in its web now I've gotten to and beyond the first dungeon. Before that I thought it was a bit, I dunno, lacking soul. That's changed though. Now suddenly it feels like a true Zelda, and the first dungeon (Forest Temple) typically has great atmosphere. The twilight areas are similarly cool, kind of like the in Wind Waker, except not. Looks like I'm going to enjoy this game a lot as usual. I'm also really confused about people bitching about the soundtrack on certain forums/blogs, as I think the music is actually really good and effectively conveys the mood of any area/scene. Sure, the melodies aren't as memorable as they have been in the past, but many great soundtracks don't have hugely distinct melodies (Grim Fandango, Metal Gear Solid). So yeah, Twilight Princess combined with replaying all three MGS games has me in an excited mood about gaming in general. As far as the future picture goes though, I'm also very excited thanks to the various Nintendo games due out this year, plus the rare plethora of good-looking PC games. Plus there's the PS3 with its MGS4 and whatnot, which while I hate to admit it will probably turn out to be a great console overall and might be worth a purchase closer to Christmas. I've got a new PC getting towards being bought/built too, which has been slowly coming together. I've not bought any core components until crunch time though as obviously the prices will go down; however, in the meantime I've got the Stacker 830 case (Huge!) ready to go. This naturally has me very excited about future PC gaming.

Haahaaha, I saw the video for that at E3 or some shit and it looked absolutely hilarious. I seriously cannot believe they put that into the game because the women who were playing it looked like they jacking off somebody in front of them.

Just need Sonic in Smash Bros Brawl now.

It's certainly the case now, but do note that his post was referring to it in the future tense. I'm betting the PS3 will get a considerable number of exclusive titles over the coming years that will be great, just like the PS2 did -- most of which we can't really use as examples because they'll be fresh IP. The PS3 has had a really rocky start but that's no reason to think it won't repeat history in other respects. I'll be incredibly surprised if it doesn't get a number of exclusive, original system-seller titles. Of course, as always the only way us enthusiasts will get to play every game we fancy is to just buy all three consoles.

Hahah, that Darth Vader thing is superb -- I am so stealing that one day. Also why do we have no quick reply?

Heh, bummed in the gob.

I've not seen this before so there's a fair chance others haven't either. Clearly this must be remedied as these two videos (with a third on the way) are superb. I apologise for the lack of substance to this post but these videos demand it. :tup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ltDTU1R8A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_sSsJBFvR0 It's even better if you're like me and haven't seen the movies in ages, and consequently find the blurred lines between the films hard to spot.

I'm a real cock and have just bought myself a miniature PlayStation 2 to play over my Christmas work break seeing as I'm clearly not going to get a Wii, having not owned once since the release of Metal Gear Solid 2 (after which I promptly sold it). I've already got myself Metal Gear Solid 3, and also have Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, and Bully on the purchase agenda. Are there any other particularly great exclusives, or is that the lot? I mean those'll probably keep me going until March thanks to my hours, but it's not too late to prioritise new additions. I've seen a few "Best PS2 Games Ever!!" lists, but they seem to largely have a lot of crap in them. I trust you bumholes a bit more so I'd like to hear any suggestions. :yep: