Am I the first to say it..?

Halo was never for Playstation..

So let me make this crystal clear (I hope). You are more than welcome to dislike the game, obviously. You're more than welcome to complain about the game, and if your complaints are legitimate, I'll happily debate them. What annoys me is when a new FF game comes out and people are actually surprised by the formula as if they hadn't seen it twelve times before (more or less). It's clear they've seen it at least once or twice before, because they nearly always say that FFx is better, where x is usually the first FF game they've played. So surprise? Really?

Also, I don't think calling my argument a straw man helps. Let's take a look at a few examples:

"I quit the final fantasy series as soon as moved to the playstation. Just like Peter Griffin's critique on the Godfather, the Playstation series insists on itself. ... Most of all, I really liked the Jrpg's battles. There was an element of thought that was needed in order to be successful. It has since mutated into a very bland, almost mortal combat style of predictability."

In other words, FF sucks now and FF6 was better. The characters, plot, and development have been more or less the same for several games. Saying it insists on itself implies to me that you're expecting it to reach for something more, which I don't think was ever the case. Also, the battles in Final Fantasy games have never needed that much thought. You have more likely simply gotten better at these games.

"I don't have a problem with reviewing a game based on the first 5 hours. If the first 5 hours are that bad, shame on the developers; they get what they deserve. Seriously, 5 hours is generous... a game is lucky if I give it 5 minutes to pull me in before I decide to never play it again (*cough* Metro 2033 *cough*)."

What? A JRPG that takes longer than five minutes to get going? This should not be a surprise. You have pretty much dismissed the genre completely.

"I liked Final Fantasy 10. I hated the new combat in 12. It sounds like the combat in 13 is worse."

A variation on FF sucks now, FF10 was better. The combat in every Final Fantasy game has been different in one fashion or another, and FF13's system has to be played to be appreciated since it largely emphasizes quick reactions and decision making. In my opinion the system plays much better than it sounds or looks.

"Personally, I find myself angry and depressed upon each FF release because it's such a sad and pathetic commentary on the world we live in. Here we have a series built on bad storytelling, bad characters, bad plots, bad gameplay, and bad interface design and it's one of the most celebrated game franchises of all time."

Mischaracterizing the series does may be the problem here. Final Fantasy is primarily built on epic-ish plotlines and really pretty graphics. It's not stellar writing, but people seem to like it, so Square-Enix doesn't really improve it -- Yes, that's lazy of them. Gameplay and interface have changed with each iteration so these aren't really central to the series. The graphics get consistently better at every turn -- I don't see why this is a problem.

"If you're going to bash on the bashers you need something better than 'Stop complaining, the game is MEANT to be like this!' because that, believe it or not, is not a valid counter argument. The game depends on whether people find it fun. I can't make my own shit game and defend it by saying 'It's meant to be shit!' and expect people to stop bashing it/not liking it."

Okay, how about "why are you commenting on a game you clearly haven't played" or "why are you expecting something other than a JRPG when playing it"? I may not be able to level this one at you directly, but comments such as "The battle system *sounds* awful" and "The interface *looks* horrible" and "Why don't I know everything about a game after five hours" are missing the point in my opinion. At the end of the day, you have to play a game to get an accurate opinion on it, and if you're somehow expecting it to be different than other JRPGs then I don't know why you're wasting your time.

My goodness... That was WAY too long and COMPLETELY useless. I need some chocolate or something.

I quit the final fantasy series as soon as moved to the playstation. Just like Peter Griffin's critique on the Godfather, the Playstation series insists on itself. Too many cut scenes, the game play piled on unnessary battle elements, the story lines and characters acted like clingy, needy, insecure relationships, that you knew weren't going anywere when you started them.

Most of all, I really liked the Jrpg's battles. There was an element of thought that was needed in order to be successful. It has since mutated into a very bland, almost mortal combat style of predictability.


Granted I have only played the first playstation FF, but having watched my friends play from time to time was enough to convince me that I will never enjoy another FF game.

He's going to eat a puppy every minute his playstation isn't online!

Name of the game is Fighter Maker, for the Playstation. One of its features is the ability to create your own characters and moves.

I haven't gotten the hang of the new quoting system when responding to multiple people (not Apple-y enough... or too Apple-y, whatever) so I'll say this straight:
yellowc - these "other" people should be kept off the internet for their own good.

And in response to this comment by dag:
"It's not like we don't have "closed" applications systems already. Played an Xbox, Playstation or Wii lately?"

That's why I stay the hell away from those monstrosities, in fact.

>> ^dag:
Do you honestly think the iPad is going to kill Linux distros and an open Internet? I assume that's the kind of thing you are worried about.
I think you should point your worry stick at opponents of Net Neutrality- and vendors who want to "embrace and extend" open standards on the Internet.
It's not like we don't have "closed" applications systems already. Played an Xbox, Playstation or Wii lately?

I don't claim to know the future. I see risks. The trend to me seems to be towards more user-friendly computing, or rather, more transparent computing, where you don't have to actually think about using a complex device that much. That seems to be bringing with it increased manufacturer control over the way the devices can be used. If people get used to that - and they already have - then it seems to me there is a real risk of a more sinister erosion of rights: legislation governing what software can be installed on a device, combined with the ability to actually enforce such restrictions. Mandatory spyware. The China model, if you will. * Maybe none of that will come to pass, but the ease with which people get used to giving third parties control over their devices tells me the risk is there.

So my worry stick is forked many ways. Why pick one party to blame when you can point every which way? If you go far enough down the controlled-device road, eventually you'll be able to simply ban "free" devices for consumer use and few people will care. Many will welcome such a move. Net neutrality opponents are another facet of the slow erosion of the public's giving-a-fuck-about-net-freedom. The consoles you mention are one - and no, I haven't played on one lately - but they are, in my mind, less vile in their current form as they're more restricted devices to begin with - you don't do much else than play games with them. Still, I'm not a fan of those, either.

*(Ask yourself, out in the world, who's the model to follow now? Western countries, divided and economically ailing, or authoritarian China, with a booming economy and a rather stricter attitude towards its citizens? For a lot of the world, China's seems to be the more attractive way.)

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Do you honestly think the iPad is going to kill Linux distros and an open Internet? I assume that's the kind of thing you are worried about.

I think you should point your worry stick at opponents of Net Neutrality- and vendors who want to "embrace and extend" open standards on the Internet.

It's not like we don't have "closed" applications systems already. Played an Xbox, Playstation or Wii lately?

>> ^rebuilder:
>> ^yellowc People miss one key fact, not everything is for you, not every product is going to cater to your needs.


I'm fully aware of that. In fact, that is exactly why the newer offerings from Apple scare the shit out of me - they're poised to be extremely popular, and I'm in a niche that doesn't matter much. Most people won't give a damn that Apple has dictatorial control over what you can run on your device. I do. I worry about a future where information-processing devices are, essentially, owned by the company who made them, not the people who use them. Too much central control is never a good thing. I believe the Apple model is ultimately one of many factors eating away at freedom on the Internet - the ability to control what people can do with their devices is certain to be a statist lawmaker's dream. I also believe most people will never even think twice about that, all that matters is that the gear works well.
In 20 years time, we'll have the Internet we deserve.

I love the internet.

and Ornthoron, that is a Playstation controller, not Xbox.

>> ^shuac:
>> ^jdbates:
I hate microsoft because of snake oil salesmen like him, They are the roman empire of the business world, the romans didnt innovate, they incorporated other culures ideas. For him to dis the iphone like that shows his lack of vision, which I feel accurately represents their company.

Agreed. Let's go down the list.

Apple's GUI (courtesy of Xerox) and OS/2 begat Windows

Playstation begat X-Box

Wordstar/Word Perfect begat Word

Lotus 1-2-3 begat Excel

iPod begat Zune

Google search begat Live Search and now Bing

Mac OSX begat Vista

Sun Javascript begat MS Javashit

Netscape Navigator begat Internet Explorer

Prodigy and AOL begat MSN

iTunes begat MSN Music

Apple Stores begat Microsoft Stores

Now, I'm not going to try to claim that no other company has derivative products in their lineup because that would be silly. After all, Apple didn't invent the mp3 player, that would be Diamond Multimedia. However, what I will say is that Microsoft has a vast preponderance of derivative products.
What did Microsoft ever actually innovate? Clippy, Microsoft Bob, and that fuckin' Search Assistant Dog.

How dare you use factual data to try and make Microsoft look like a bunch of thieves. You're not giving them the credit they deserve! They took each and every one of those product you listed, and made it worst. Now that's f*cking difficult.

>> ^jdbates:
I hate microsoft because of snake oil salesmen like him, They are the roman empire of the business world, the romans didnt innovate, they incorporated other culures ideas. For him to dis the iphone like that shows his lack of vision, which I feel accurately represents their company.


Agreed. Let's go down the list.

Apple's GUI (courtesy of Xerox) and OS/2 begat Windows

Playstation begat X-Box

Wordstar/Word Perfect begat Word

Lotus 1-2-3 begat Excel

iPod begat Zune

Google search begat Live Search and now Bing

Mac OSX begat Vista

Sun Javascript begat MS Javashit

Netscape Navigator begat Internet Explorer

Prodigy and AOL begat MSN

iTunes begat MSN Music

Apple Stores begat Microsoft Stores

Now, I'm not going to try to claim that no other company has derivative products in their lineup because that would be silly. After all, Apple didn't invent the mp3 player, that would be Diamond Multimedia. However, what I will say is that Microsoft has a vast preponderance of derivative products.

What did Microsoft ever actually innovate? Clippy, Microsoft Bob, and that fuckin' Search Assistant Dog.

"Kids are stupid."

I know some kids who would take offense with that, if they knew what "offense" meant. And they put down their Playstation controller.

EDD is right on with the vaccines; there is no debate.

well maybe there is some controversy amongst people who must partition their time evenly defending claims such as "Man never stepped on the Moon", "9-11 WAS an Inside Job", "The CIA let UFOs mutilate cows and abduct rednecks in exchange for cellphones, microchips and Playstation 3s" and other non-sense.

>> ^Hex:
You can not use zoom with the camera because the camera has to live in a 3d space and that 3d space has limits.
Think of this a glorified Level Of Detail system.

Looks much closer to a 4D to me with LoD rendering planes, on a surface. The real question is since this is only a tech demo is whether or not it will include rotational planes on the 4th axis or simply maintain them on a 3d one with static planes.

(CNN) -- A Johns Hopkins University student killed an apparent burglar with a samurai sword after discovering the man in his garage, police said Tuesday.

Baltimore, Maryland, police received a phone call shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday about a suspicious person, and an off-duty officer arrived at the scene with campus security, city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

When authorities arrived, they heard calls for help and for police, he said. They discovered a suspected burglar with a severed left hand and severe lacerations to his upper body, Guglielmi said.

The suspect died at the scene, he said.

The man had entered a home where several Johns Hopkins students lived, Guglielmi said. Four students, one armed with a samurai sword, had confronted the suspect in the garage.

The man "lunged" at the students, and the student with the sword defended himself, severing the man's left hand and cutting his upper body, Guglielmi said.

Police did not release the name of the suspect, who Guglielmi said had a long criminal history, or that of the student.

Police questioned the three witnesses, Guglielmi said, and released them. It was not immediately clear whether all four students lived at the house, he said.

Authorities are determining whether the student will face criminal charges, Guglielmi said.

Burglars had taken two laptops and a Sony PlayStation from the students' home Monday, Guglielmi said.

The burglary suspect had been released from prison Saturday, Guglielmi said.
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