I was a D&D geek. Too bad about Gary Gygax. He gave all us geeks a legitimate excuse to have role-play sex with half-elf high priestesses. (So that your buddies could steal her Sword of Sharpness while you were doing her, of course.)

I suspect you haven't played it very much because there are a broad range of bombs and potions you can utilise, yes you only essentially have 5 skill spells but that means you're not restricted to only using the abilities you've levelled. Okay the variety of abilities is not as broad as say Guild Wars, but it's not a MMORPG, it's a role playing game in the sense it focuses on developing a storyline that gives you genuine choice, something that GW lacks on the other hand.

Ultimately I think you were just expecting something else from the game, particularly the fighting system but that comes down to personal preference. I don't think you can deny it's sufficiently involving though.

redsky, no, the fighting system is ass, no doubt about it. I dont want a clicky fest..I want WoW and Guild wars, where attacking is automatic, and special attacks, abilities, and spell timing is criticle and under my control. Witchers lack of of a competent magic system (Your a warrior who can shoot fireballs and some electricity, and thats about it) if anything knocks down your role playing claim right there. You can role play all you want, youll still be a warrior with sub par magic.

Youll need more then a story to make a game. Imo FF8 and FF12 are the two low points in the final fantasy series because of a crappy battle system.

Wow, first time I seriously disagree with Yahtzee on most of his criticisms.

The depth of the storyline only truly becomes apparent as the interdeveloped plot lines and sub themes serve as a harbringer and weave together quite eloquently later in the game based upon choices made earlier. This is where the decision making, role playing aspects of the game really do shine. Yahtzee seems to be obsessed with indepth storylines so I guess he missed out by not persevering.

Also the combat system. Would he prefer the mind numbing spam-click equivalent of most action RPGs? A combo click system based on timing, where the tighter you are the less likely your opponent is likely to score a counter-hit is far superior to spam-clicking. Similarly having to juggle different fighting stances and different sword types, while maneuvering to avoid being surrounded actually means you receive a sense of self-gratification from combat.

The two problems with the alchemy system are that it's not sufficiently elaborated upon first introduction and that it's a tad aggravating to find the right ingredients. Beyond that though, it means once you learn enough recipes you have a smorgasbord of potions you can concoct and a diverse number of ways you can approach any dilemma. Which is a nice change from most RPGs which are so obsessed with defining a character through skill/stat selection that you end up firing the same fireball for the whole 50 odd hours of gameplay. Yes Oblivion, I'm looking at you.

For anyone having difficulty with the links to the texts of the resolutions, try these:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-847
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr110-888

H. Res. 847 was the "Christmas Bill" which was ALREADY passed in December 2007. It resolves "that the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

Remember, this is not about the Religious vs. the Non-Relgious, this about the violation of the American Constitution and the core American principles therein. It affects everyone who does not prescribe to the specific brand of Christianity being peddled here. Even if you think you're Christian, the folks pushing this agenda could very well find you "not Christian Enough."

And if you're Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc... or for heaven's sake Atheist... well, let's just say you're not invited to the "I still have my freedoms" party.

These Fundamentalist-Christian-Bill-Pushers are organized. It's time the rest of us get that way too!

I'm a grown-ass man, and I think these games are really fun.

I grew up wasting time on crazy-long role playing games (chrono trigger, earthbound, etc.). I was fortunate and eventually got a drumset, a film camera, and had other real-world distractions (...girls), but I still think a well designed, immersive video game serves a purpose.

*sigh* I tried posting this awhile ago and it got discarded.

http://www.videosift.com/video/I-Am-Baby-Cakes-The-Role-Play-Tournament-1

Brilliant. I've played in a few tournament format role-playing games; you'll never feel as hollow as when you've ranked your seven fellow players from most to least sportsmanlike.

zoophilia, scat and presedential role play all in one!

It's a fantastic turn based Role Playing Game by Interplay set in a post apocalyptic world. It's highly recommended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_%28computer_game%29

Thank you choggie for the voice of reason. Blaming guns for violence is on par with blaming video games, music, evolution, or role playing games. We need personal responsibility, not blame. And when everyone has guns, and understands gun safety, they are just another thing like cars. Do we recall the feeling of freedom and empowerment that we expected a car to give us before we could drive, before we understood the cost and responsibility of having a car. Guns have a similar aura of empowerment to some, but they would not if guns were just another, everyday thing. As they are in places with less gun violence. People could just as easily go plow through populated places with cars, and we could just as easily pass legislation to make cars weigh 100 pounds and have big rings of pillows around them and flashing orange lights. But that sounds stupid because we (try to) teach people how to be responsible with cars. Besides the obvious argument that people who should not have guns, criminals and psychopaths, can always get them. I do not own any guns, but I am more comfortable knowing that my neighbors do not have to break the law to own a few.

Upvote because (for once) I agree with fox, not for the usual laugh at their expense.

What the heck? I just played this game in MAME. This is so insane. I had troubles with the first two levels! It's so hard and confusing when it changes perspective. Heh. Maybe I just suck!

From history.dat:
Oh and from history.dat:

Radiant Silvergun (c) 05/1998 Treasure.

Sometime in the future, scientists have discovered a diamond-shaped alien device deep in space. The mysterious alien device detonates while being probed, starting a chain reaction which destroys the entire planet. Fortunately, there's a group of slap-happy space cadets who are up in orbit who aren't affected by the explosion, but witness it, so they decide to do something about it - which means finding a way to travel back in time to avert the catastrophe before it happens!

Radiant Silvergun is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up rendered with a superb mix of two and three-dimensional graphics, and is widely considered to be the finest ever game of its type in what is a very crowded genre.

Part of the reason for the game's huge success is in the implementation of its weapons system. Unlike other shoot-em-ups, all of the game's weapons are available to the player from the very beginning. Silvergun's control panel consists of three different fire buttons, each of which activates a different weapon; either 'Vulcan', 'Homing' or 'Spread'. In addition, players can activate four extra weapons using a combination of the three fire buttons. These are :

* A + B = Homing Plasma
* A + C = Backwards Wide Shot
* B + C = Homing Spread
* A + B + C = Radiant Sword

At the start of a game, the player's weapons are very weak, but they can be 'powered-up' by shooting same-coloured enemies (chaining), in a fashion similar to gaining experience for a weapon in a role playing game.

- TECHNICAL -

Sega Titan Video hardware (STV)

Main CPU : (2x) SH-2 (@ 28.6364 Mhz), 68000 (@ 11.45456 Mhz)
Sound Chips : SCSP (@ 11.45456 Mhz)

Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 704 x 513 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette colors : 6144

Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 3

- TRIVIA -

Toshiba EMI released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack + - TYCY-5613) on 07/08/1998. The soundtrack was so popular that it was reprinted by Absord Music Japan (Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack + - ABCA-5043) on 24/03/2004.

- TIPS AND TRICKS -

* Radiant Sivergun's weapons in detail :
1. VULCAN (A button) : a devastating forward firing set of plasma bursts (heavy fire forwards the enemy). This is potentially the best weapon against any enemy, when at full power it can take down even the toughest enemies in a few shots. The only disadvantage is that it's fire is very concentrated and as such you need to move a lot to avoid fire.
2. HOMING (B button) : green homing pulses which target anything that is hovering around you. Even though it is initially weak, at full power it becomes very powerful and requires less movement than the Vulcan.
3. SPREAD (C button) : a wide shot which goes further the longer you hold down the fire button. A little tip; rapidly press the fire button to create a explosion shield around the front of your ship.
4. HOMING PLASMA (A+B buttons) : a double trail of homing lasers which target anything within a 120 degree angle in front of your ship. Moderately powerful, and has a habit of targeting the wrong enemy.
5. TAILGUN (A+C buttons) : a Thunderforce-style tailgun shot which is invaluable in many areas; especially the areas where you get attacked repeatedly from behind.
6. LOCK-ON SPREAD (B+C buttons) : slow moving but powerful shots which target anything in close range. (NOTE - THIS IS THE ONLY WEAPON THAT CAN LOCATE THE SECRET DOGS).
7. RADIANT SWORD (A+B+C buttons) : the game's most powerful weapon. Collecting ten pink bullets with the sword powers up the RSG meter, once full you can use the Hyper Sword and destroy almost everything on the screen.

* Chain bonus : break the same color enemies 3 times without a break.

* Secret bonus : break the enemies with Red -> Blue -> Yellow. If you destroy the enemies with the following pattern, will get 2 Chain Bonuses and 1 Secret Bonus [Red ->Red->Red->Blue->Yellow->Yellow->Yellow]

* Weapon bonus
1) Vulcan : Hit over 200 times without a break.
2) Homing : Hit over 300 times without a break.
3) Spread : Hit 16 times before explosed Spread.
4) Homing Plasma : Hit over 10 seconds against 1 enemy.
5) Back Wide : Hit over 300 times within 2 seconds.
6) Lock on Spread : Hit an explosion over 15 seconds.
7) Radiant Sword : Hit over 5 seconds.

* Secret character Merry Dogs : You can find secret character called 'Merry Dogs' by Lock on Spread. For example : at the starting of 1st Stage, Merry Dogs is hidden in lower-right position on screen.

- SERIES -

1. Radiant Silvergun (1998)
2. Ikaruga (2001)

- STAFF -

Directed/Produced by : Hiroshi Iuchi
Assistant Director : Namie and Merry
Based on Story/Screenplay by : Hiroshi Iuchi
Tyrant Programer : Fukuryu
Zako Enemies Program and Set by : 1998/Nami
Boss Enemies Program by : 2015/Nami
BG, Demo, 5 Bosses, Tool Program : Atsutomo Nakagawa, (133MHz)
Inu Program : Choko Monkey
Object Design : Dad Oginon, Naokiman
Object Design Rookie : E-Suzuki
BG Graphic : Hiroshi Iuchi 11
Character Designed by : Han
Music by : Hitoshi Sakimoto
Sound Effects : S. Murata
Opening, Ending Picture by : Gonzo
English Translation : Haruko Hosaka
Debug Cooperator : Kji, Shirotg, Waka, Kazuhiko Murakami
Debug Dog : Merry
Executive Producer : Masato Maegawa

- PORTS -

* Consoles :
Sega Saturn (1998) : The ONLY machine to receive a home conversion was the Sega Saturn. This is a rare port and usually commands three-figure sums whenever a copy changes hands.

A Sony PlayStation port of this game was planned, but eventually scrapped, as the console did not have enough power to generate the huge amount of sprites the game requires.