BooDidley7

Am I the only who's wondering why the blue alien (apparently Sam Worthington's) looks like Brendan Fraiser?

Nope. Easily the high watermark of the show. It only gets more heavy-handed and pretentiously awful as time goes on.

Little to no plot holes? Are you kidding me? Sorry man, but the protagonist's entire journey is virtually a plot hole. Referencing T1 and T2 is not the same as making a good, or even passable film.

You know, it's funny that Sunshine has come up in this thread, because my reaction to D9 is kinda similar. I thought the first half of Sunshine was potentially great, then the film turned into a boring, almost by the numbers, 'monster on a spaceship' flick. D9 is better, but it felt like the first act was setting up a better movie. I don't want to spoil anything, but it felt like a bigger story was there and not just defaulting to a fugitive/buddy action movie, which it kinda degraded to. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, and certainly worlds better than TF2 or Terminator Salvation. It actually aspires to tell a story, it has developed characters who we kinda care about, and it's made by someone has an appreciation for filmmaking and continuity. Again though, it just felt like the first act was setting a smarter, deeper, more unique story. And yes, it was quick, but there was a pig-launcher weapon used.

I think I have 3 or 4. Maybe 5. Not sure, I'd have to check. Yeah, I used to check his site periodically, and the only thing that ever seems to change is the logo.

I'm still waiting for him to finish the Blaster Master remixes! I really liked those...

Haha yeah. Unfortunately that kinda means we're a dying breed so to speak.

I can't imagine too many groups of 10-year olds on a playground debating how hard NES Contra or Ninja Gaiden are nowadays.

Eh, for my money NES Ninja Gaiden still has a better story, and is more cinematic than the newer ones, which feel like de facto cliches and nothing. For the record, I never beat Battletoads on NES without a GG either. I think I/we (w/co-op) could manage to get to the 10th level or so with those giant gears, before running out of lives. After doing the run with a GG and seeing how much more insane it got, life seemed too short. In some respect today's games feel more like they're meant just for consumption. I see the merit in having a great experience that lasts only 8-10 hours, but if there's no real reason to touch it again afterwards, like say a decent multiplayer or high replay worth, it kinda feels like a waste of $60. On the playground, it used to be a badge of honor to say, "I beat that game". Now, everyone can crawl through most games. Better for sales, and widening the audience I suppose, but the prestige is gone, for better or worse. You know it's funny, it occurred to me the other day while encountering a Rage Quitter in fighting game online, in the arcades, when you got your ass handed to you in SFII (or whatever) by someone doing some cheap bullshit you couldn't figure out or was exceptionally good, he didn't just bruise your ego, he just effectively stole your 50 cents and gave it to Capcom. You actually lost money, and were probably more civil about it rather than making a scene. Although, some people did.

Can I just say something about the original TMNT cartoon from the 80's? The first 5 episodes are still pretty awesome IMO. Why? It was violent and the story actually went somewhere. If I recall correctly, they literally hacked and slashed up robotic foot soldiers limbs and all, which was changed in subsequent seasons to just being 'knocked out' or Leo using the butt of his katana for everything for some inexplicable reason. And 5-part arc that actually had a story line, and they had a whole gang of mutants in addition to Bebop and Rocksteady that they never used again, that could've been the start of something awesome... But alas, it kinda just became a dopey series designed to sell action figures, but it does have some fun episodes, and frankly, I'd still put it above 95% of the other junk that passes for cartoons today. And we also got a couple of great Konami games out of it.

Yeah, I'd say it's more of an ego thing. But I guess it could keep you going on a project years in the making, but given the circumstances probably shouldn't have. It's too bad because there'd be plenty of that to go around if it they were successful and people got to see it. The sad thing is, given the time, energy, and effort they put into this, and they probably couldn't have estimated how long it would take, they could've made their own game and maybe even made some money of it, or at least be free to have something potentially impressive to showcase to potential employers.

Played the demo, never really could get into it. Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the less I think we'll ever see DNF completed (as if today's news isn't enough indication). I mean if the game was that good or close to being complete and barely competent, Take 2 could've marketed this out as a Rockstar-something release, and the resulting T&A and political incorrectness alone would've probably moved a couple million copies. One day the story behind the game might make for an interesting book, or magazine article, depending how much time was really dedicated to making the game instead of announcing and retracting release dates... If it really is dead and never to be revived, expect the code to eventually start leaking onto the web in way or another.

Come to think of it, not only was Duke Nukem Forever the perfect name for the game, it's also the best acronym. DNF - Did Not Finish.

I'm really hoping someone steps in to save it, just because even if it's a trainwreck, I'm curious to see what 13 years of game development yields. Hey John Romero, feel like playing hero?

To be fair, I didn't see Wolverine yet, but this was the same sentiment I had walking out of each X-Men film and it only got worse with each sequel. And that's the usual trend with Hollywood films. I like Jackman as Wolverine, but each X-Men flick became less about X-Men and more about Wolverine (and some x-people) and subsequently sucking more. The consensus seems to be that Wolverine disappointed just about everyone. I don't know how it can get any better, if the X-Men movies are any indication...

Close, but Nickelback is still the worst band in existence.

I think there's a simple elegance about certain 'old schoo' RPG's that's been lost over time. For about a decade now, I have had a really hard time sitting through just about any RPG because there seems like there's always too much garish bullshit going on and the stories are never interesting enough to justify giving me about 5 minutes of input in the first hour while having to sit idly by the rest of the time. I can't stand sitting through 3-lines of bland spoken dialogue, when it would've taken me 2 seconds to read it. There's plenty more I can say, but I don't feel like getting into it. I didn't play CT until 2002 and was sorry I waited so long. And recently, I played through the DS version. What's great about it? The music is still utterly amazing. There's no random battles (but occasionally forced encounters). The cast is likable and diverse, although I wish Chrono actually had a mind of his own and said something. The action is fast for a turn-based battle system. The game doesn't bog you down with a million different accessories, a million different spells, or 100 different people you feel obligated to talk to when visiting a village, who say nothing remotely interesting. Keeping it simple keeps the pace taught. There's an epic scope to your journey that is rivaled by few journeys in gaming. You go from medievalish times, to BC, to a floating sky utopia, to a post-apocalyptic world (which was done before it was in every game), to the end of time. Finally, the story, while not flawless, was well done, made nice use of the time travel aspect/consequences, and ultimately when you see how it plays out at the end of Chrono Cross, has even more impact. Too bad Chrono Cross's own story/characters were such a mess... But I can see how someone who only started playing RPG's from say, FF VII on, could have trouble appreciating some of it.

Haha, that's awesome. But probably frustrating when you couldn't skip some of those cut scenes. Also, I'd want to hit reset, once the lighting monster thing happened...

Agree, but remember they say they want to make this into some LotR style epic, which doesn't lend itself little dialogue. Also, it was Pixar who made Wall-E. Pixar can do whatever they want because they are Pixar and no studio on the planet can match their track record or box office consistency since Toy Story. They are in the unique position to bend boundaries and do it with a big budget. Now if only Pixar was making SotC as their first PG-13 flick... Otherwise, don't hold your breath.

Amen. On top of that they'll probably cast the kid from the DB movie to play the lead... Absolutely wrong franchise to turn into LotR. SoTC could make an amazing movie if they found a way to keep the minimalist, isolationist atmosphere, mixed with epic battles and tragic ending. It would be the anti-Hollywood cliche movie. If they really want to LotR, I'd gladly nominate FF IV or FF VI to be put in the hands of a capable writer and director, to see how that would play out.

A lot of great mentions. You guys got pretty good taste, and sadly I'm sure 95% of these titles would be butchered if re-made today. I just wish Sega would give us some arcade perfect versions of Daytona 1 and especially 2, and Super Scud. I wish somebody would revive Sega back into it's pre end of Dreamcast/Arcade glory days. Also, SNK should dust off Crystalis and Ikari Warriors, Konami should redo Jackal. If only Capcom could make a good Final Fight again, and Technos was reborn.

Sorry, she'd be a terrible Faye, but I can see where you're coming from. I just think she's too tiny, and nymphish. Since you mentioned her, maybe a bit younger and she could've been as perfect an Ed as you could realistically hope for though. I don't know about Rourke as Jet. But he's a definite maybe. I kinda lean toward Ron Pearlman, because he might pull off the overall look better, but I'm not sure. Either would probably satisfy though.

Pfft... Rikkimaru would have Ayame dispatch Ayane before she could finish tying that giant pink bow on her back.

Rikkimaru from Tenchu, because he actually uses ninja techniques, like stealth and traps as TC mentioned, as opposed to pure hack and slash like every other ninja game. He'd approach all other videogame ninja's unseen, and assassinate them in their sleep.

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but it's generally true. I think it probably has something to do with it looking good on paper to say you're bringing in the original writers, directors, etc., for input, but then Hollywood ignores them. Or tries to simply plug their ideas into the typical 3-act structure with all the typical cliches that somehow pass for moviemaking nowadays... Probably helped you had Scorsese helming The Departed, as opposed to some music video director too. I'm just relieved that the American remake of "Oldboy" no longer looks like it'll happen...