JonCole

So... did anyone actually watch it? The first ep came out yesterday - http://www.theverge.com/press-reset I haven't been nearly as negative as the rest of you guys, so I guess it should come as no surprise that I don't have that much to complain about. As someone who actually likes most of these guys, the pretension or self-importance that you guys noted from the trailer seems far more underplayed in the actual video. I don't really think this would hold anybody's interest who isn't involved or interested to begin with, but isn't the internet generally about preaching to the choir anyways? It certainly feels like that in the video games space, where people who pre-order a game get exclusive access to demos and video content that seem promotional in nature. Who needs promotion when you already bought in? It's really just confirmation bias.

I think the "Presented by Internet Explorer" at the end is a pretty clear indication of that.

I don't really think they're trying to appeal specifically to people like you, honestly. They're basically a "big video game website", a la Gamespot, IGN, etc. They have distinct, nearly equal parts news coverage, reviews, and personality stuff. That being said, I do like to read video game-related editorial. Hell, part of the reason I began listening to Idle Thumbs is because I read Chris on Gamasutra covering "inside-baseball things about the industry" and "written text in 2009". There's clearly a place for all of these things, as far as reader/consumer interest is concerned, or these type of sites wouldn't exist. I don't particularly care for the idea of them making a documentary about themselves, but I also don't think it's a horrible idea to give their potential userbase an idea of how they approach content and the space in general. If this video does that and doesn't bore the shit out of me, then more power to them.

Can I get some clarification on what you mean by "taking progression out of an MMO"?

I've played a fairly ridiculous amount of Guild Wars, so I'm naturally going to get into GW2. I already have a bit of a small community there, so I don't think I'll be partaking in any NeoGAF server stuff.

I don't really think that's true at all. I have friends who have played hardcore, 'legit' games on iOS for tens of hours. There is nothing inherent to a mobile operating system that prohibits deep, rewarding games. Also, some of the best exclusive games for the Xbox and PS3 are downloadable titles made by small teams on friends & family budgets.

Just because Android doesn't have any prolific exclusive games doesn't mean it won't. That's like saying that Microsoft should have never made the Xbox because it was nothing more than a DirectX machine and all PCs are capable of that already do that already. Why do people buy two or three gaming consoles when they have 99% shared libraries?

Are you aware of a good Android emulator on for x86 that I'm not? Also, is there a legitimate way to obtain games for that emulator?

I've played a bit of it and like it, but it's really pretty designed for multiplayer so I haven't played too much. I'm down for a game whenever. Edit: Maybe I should throw this in - http://steamcommunity.com/id/jonac13

I'm still feeling more optimistic about this box than when they started. Between OnLive, XBMC, streaming media company support, and a handful of game development commitments, the box should have more than enough to justify the price at launch. The only part that's still a question in my mind is them bringing the device to market, as that's difficult for any company that hasn't released hardware before.

Oh yeah, great tip. I wasted a whole lot of money getting a Canon while my mom had a handful of fairly solid Nikon lenses gathering dust.

I've been playing a little bit with my girlfriend, we could really use a couple more guys as the missions seem fairly tailored to a full party. jonac13 on Origin and we should be up for playing any time this weekend, let me know if you're interested.

Flickr is still probably one of the best places to host your pictures, although I'd also give 500px and Picasa a look. Like most things Google, Picasa is definitely worth it if you're already invested in Google services like Drive and Plus.

I'm down, once my computer is back up to snuff. That'd be probably... one to two weeks from now, depending on how fast my parts arrive and how motivated I am.

As previously mentioned but with a single addition: Driver: San Francisco EYE: Divine Cybermancy Payday: The Heist Trine 2 Not bad, but unfortunately the Steam Summer Sale happened to coincide with a series of issues cropping up with my motherboard that makes it impossible to play most games for any extended period of time. So, instead of having exercised a high degree of self-control and spending less than $20 this time around, I ended up spending around $450 to buy some parts to make my PC a gaming machine yet again. Meh.

Picked up Driver: San Francisco and EYE: Divine Cybermancy (the latter due to some reccomendations here) earlier today. Now I'm going to buy Payday: The Heist, which I'm very glad I held up patience for as it just now hit $5 in seemingly the last day of the sale.

For what it's worth, Indie Game: The Movie is also currently $5 on their website if you'd prefer having the 1080p file on any number of local devices in your house.

I've been watching a ... haven't really been following this game, but is anyone interested in doing some multi-thumbs is this goes cheaper than the current $10? I'm tentatively interested.

I concur. Honestly, Nintendo will continue to make as many Mario games ad infinitum so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more 3D Land. I have NSMB2 pre-ordered and can only hope that the two manage to remain distinct because I think 3D Land offers something with a little more vision, though I really need to play both to be sure about that.

Yeah, pretty much. While it doesn't inconvenience me more than the occasional server issues and couple of extra seconds launching the UPlay launcher prior to my game, I'd still rather it be wiped off the face of the Earth for providing zero value.

I dunno, I'm pretty belligerent when it comes to EA's Origin service, especially when they make bullish (read: dumbass) statements about not "devaluing their content" through sales and using the service as an excuse not to make the content available widely through Steam. That said, I'll still use it when it comes to getting the games I want at the level of convenience or price I want. Case in point - I recently bought Syndicate for $12.50 on PC, because I'd much rather play it with m&k and not have to deal with a physical copy laying around my house. Sure, I think Origin is a piece of garbage and I'd much rather have it on Steam, but I'm not going to let that stop me from playing a game I'm really interested in.

That's fucking hilarious.

Huh, you guys are right, the HD 555's are indeed open. I guess the 515's were really just a budget version of the 555's, though in comparison I really didn't notice much of a difference with the range of sound I usually listen to on my PC. Nonetheless, those mid-tier Sennheisers are indeed the best because of the fabric padding on the cups. I still do dig the HD 201's as a low budget, super-light alternative.

I had the HD 515's (latest version is the HD 518), which are essentially the open version of the HD 555's, and they weren't really that bulky at all. That said, I'm currently using the Sennheiser HD 201's, which are a couple steps down in sound quality but much lighter and more comfortable in the humid, hot weather of Florida (yes, it permeates my old rented house). Also it doesn't hurt that they're pretty cheap and thus disposable after my cats and sweat put them through the ringer - http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD201-Lightweight-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B0007XJSQC/

I thought there was just enough of the maze building in later levels that Defense Grid really filled those needs while producing more challenges that go beyond multiple enemy types or simply MORE enemies.