I-n-j-i-n

Yeah, but NES emulation has been perfected long, long ago, so I don't see what the big deal is. Also, considering that Nintendo is for the most part, strictly against retuning the older games, I doubt they will 'fix' the lag even if they could. It's just a matter of their policy.

Except all emulators I've ever played with had the original system lag on them. Even MAME. But for the systems supported, it really is good emulation. Not that it's rocket science for old systems like those. I'm a bit puzzled at the release of Balloon Fight though. I never knew people who played that when it was first released.

N64 games. I suppose some people never tried buying those, hmm? On second thought, specifically they're around $10. Some full XBLA costing around $13-$14. More or less the same deal to me since I buy those games at bulk. I should try to stop to save up for some actual games though. Also, Damned, did you not just read my post saying I bought around 30 XBLA games (mostly old games) and at least 15 VC games?

Once you get into buying XBLA games + Xbox Live Gold, it's hard to stop. The leadership board idea sounds unassuming, but it's addicting to compare scores, even if you go from 10,000th place to 9,000th. And it's virtually crack-cocaine if it has online multiplayer. I thought I'd get around two or three games at the most. Now I have around 30 games for it. Compared to all the $10, $15 VC games, of which I have around 15 of. I think the improved aspect of XBLA makes it a bit more worth it.

Elephant movie. But just the same, it was a shameless use of the Columbine incident. Almost as tasteless as this game idea. It's ironic since they aim to parody to work around such themes, and yet it comes off as sensationalistic without much of a rhythm or rhyme. This is the real problem here. Just like anyone willing to categorize gamers as 'violent' or 'totally harmless' or any prescribed category, you're saying that they would know about getting bullied? Also, who hasn't been bullied once or twice in their lives? Kids bullying in schools is normal. It'd be strange if there weren't any. Speaking of games that go against the whole 'games are violent' message, I'm OK is a better example that doesn't shamelessly exploit Columbine.

If they are crazy, why does any other factors matter in a sane, sober manner? They don't. Parents can only do so much and you have to be really disillusioned to think that parents can really control every kid out there, especially if they're 'crazy'. Videogames can too. Insane people can get influenced by anything. Voices in head, mood swings, general sense of paranoia, etc. And if it truly is society's fault, then why don't we see hundreds of school shootings? Thousands? Millions? We don't. These are still pretty isolated incidents. Humanity has always had deranged individuals. We always have. Nothing new. Again, who's to say that if the sensationalism doesn't lead to one or two? The vast majority of people would probably receive in a sane manner while the small minority would not. Catalyst for what exactly? That people can be crazy? That is not a real discussion.

What people do not understand, is that context matters. To us, to Americans, playing the WW2 hero is fine and dandy. Hell, those who were actually saved by American forces would see it that way too. Predictably, Germany and Japan and Italy may get irked a bit at those games too. That is predictable. WW2, also in the game setting, is fairly neutered of its true nature. You don't see too much gibs or body parts or blood in those games. You shoot them, they fall down. There are no civilians, pets, women, children, concentration camps, politicians, etc etc etc. While with school shootings, there is no real context. Not all nerds or recluse or socially incompetent has a clique to kill or oppose others. There is no political statement (what, bullying is political now?), and it's just a freak civilian incident. The various security issues surrounding are separate issues altogether, even if games or books or other sources may actually influence someone to do it. If a desperate or insane person gets hold of anything, then it can be received the wrong way. There isn't the calculated social engineering that goes into acts of war or even politically/religiously driven terrorism there. Look at games like Gears of War, Halo or even something like Perfect Dark where the enemy is basically one huge alien conspiracy. No civilians on any of those either. Even in Deus Ex where there are civilians, you can't do much other than kill people in the most rudimentary ways. No real interaction other than the token screaming and falling down. And of course, the context is that it's some huge alien/robotic conspiracy in all these games. You really can't play dumb with this issue and brush with a wide stroke. That's exactly what the token media types are into. Playing dumb to fight dumb comments don't cancel it out.

I think it's pretty inappropriate considering how influential Columbine still is. Whether it's mocking it or not, it's still celebrating the hype and the act of Columbine. I can appreciate the 'go against the media' message, but you don't need to bite the bait to do it. Also, I don't see what the intent of the game has to do with anything. If you start sensationalizing it all, the more people would want to do it for publicity's sakes. Virginia Tech shooter was the same. Killers should not get more press than those who do actual good. We know those shootings happened. We don't need to keep it going around and 'discuss' it. What is there to discuss about a bunch of idiotic delinquents with guns? Think bullying is a problem? Well, no shit, we deal with it EVERY DAY. And the WW2 discussion is not valid. At all. Because that was a war. Also the nukes and whatever military options there-in have served some purpose to help it come to an end, no matter how messy it got. Columbine and other school shootings are a civil affair. Whether the shooters did it because they felt repressed or did it for a 'cry for help' to the media, it doesn't matter. Societal plagues should be noted, then promptly ignored in my opinion. Don't give attention whores their due.

Just downloaded/played Ace Combat 6 demo for 360 and I must say it looks GREAT in high definition. The former AC games were pretty good, but they did not have the wow factor that usually comes from flight sims. AC6 already looks way better than any actual PC fighter-sim games I've seen. I didn't hear about Bomberman, but I'll have to look into that too.

As for the foreseeable future, I'm probably going to buy around 10 360 games (some being PC versions I'd rather play on a console or Virtua Fighter 5 and other PS3/360 titles) before the end of the year compared to around 5 Wii games. I agree that PS3 this year is a bit anemic. I'm not going to buy one until another $100 price drop anyway. But as far as title announcements and tentative 2008 titles go, I think PS3 has been pretty exciting this E3. But Wii probably will get a new Zelda, Animal Crossing and other Wii titles and 360 already has a stock of titles for 2008 too, including other exclusives from PS3 that converted for 360. PS- All this could mean moot if Heavenly Sword and MGS4 live up to the hype and become the greatest pair of games ever released before holidays. You never know.

For one, the biggest thing Nintendo has unveiled is with hardware. Namely the controllers. Also, I would not trust my gaming knowledge from the mainstream press which most of them aren't even true gamers but more like the casual types Nintendo is aiming for. Also, this is not bias talking since I OWN a Wii and not even a PS3, but PS3 had way more things happening this year. 360 was actually pretty consistent with the games. I don't know about you, but I care MUCH more about games than hardware news at this point. The PS3 Playstation Network actually showed a lot of original content and Naughty Dog is a constant surprise with their new brands and mixes of genres. Uncharted looks like the spiritual successor to Tomb Raider 2 that adventure gamers have been looking for almost 10 years now. Heavenly Sword looks like another solid action/platformer effort, possibly even more solid than God of War. Haze could be a potential sleeper hit considering it's from the team that did Time Splitters. And Everyday Fighter seems to be one of the most original game ideas I've heard in this E3 Also, what is so surprising about Mario Kart or Brain Academy/Age 2? We all saw them coming YEARS ago. Not that they're bad games. Hell, I'm a FAN of them, but it's not exactly news other than the controller for Mario Kart. What I'm not a fan of is something like Wii Fit which I don't see the point of, since good old exercise is way more fun to me. The best games Nintendo had were the little known 3rd parties especally. Jenga actually looks good and De Blob is probably the best Wii news I've heard that could potentially be really good. As for NiGHTs, I'll hold reservations until they finally do an old Sega franchise justice. The only game that did that was Out Run 2.. And 360 had its share of unique gaming property. Namely Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Lost Odyssey, and PC/360 exclusive Bioshock and otherse. And though totally out of my price range (probably), there's Rock Star and other little known titles too. Wii didn't do bad, but as far as the actual games and epic-titles go, 360 and PS3 were far from disappointments. If the mainstream media can't pick apart the game nuances from all those new crop of games, it's their loss.

The thing is, it was much more of a concerted effort to pull off moves even if they were pretty simple 'press buttons again and again' types. It helped add the fanaticism to the action a bit, button mashing in panic and whatnot. Now people will just sit there and hold buttons.. I bet pro players will opt for button presses for speed or optimal accuracy or any of that 'pro level' BS.

Is it just me or does the new control scheme sound like a dumbing down of the original controls? Now you don't have to press buttons anymore. Just hold them. eh..

I think it's understandable if someone doesn't want to buy any new consoles. By all standards, this year's E3 is good grounds for there to be no more E3 since most companies' own press events revealed a lot more than E3 did this time around. Also, beyond a few exclusives for PS3 and 360 and a few little known stuff for the Wii, all the blowout news happened outside of E3 this time around. No more Peter Moore tattoos... (or Ridge Racer)

I actually agree except I'm not exactly blown away by the Metroid Prime 3 hands-on videos. It looks like the aiming system seems clunky' date=' and though the developers are aiming for 'mouse and keyboard style accuracy', it's still not quite there. And platformers really have been taken down a notch in the last few years. I'll still buy Mario Galaxies, but it's just not the blowout event it used to be IMO. I would think JRPGs will do way better in America/Europe than otherwise. The fanbase reception is huge and 11+ million owners have been waiting for an RPG experience for a long time. I'm a bit burnt out on RPGs of the last year, but I'm itching for an RPG on the 360 too. Also, Blue Dragon isn't the JRPG highlight of E3. Eternal Sonata was. And Lost Odyssey sounds pretty original for a JRPG. I just wish they announce more games beyond those three from Mistwalker. As for shooters and action games, 360 will have more than enough to satisfy. PS3 too actually. The thing is, most of those games are purely tentative and most probably will be 2008/2009 titles. PS3 did pretty well, but I just think the 360 had more games that will actually come out in 2007. But as for tentative, future projects go, PS3 really does look promising even if the fanbase might not be there yet, if it ever catches up to the 360 at this point.

That was barely even a teaser..

The most 'shocking' news is the new Resident Evil 5 trailer for 360. They reminded me that the 360 had Devil May Cry 4 and a lot of games we all knew about a year ago. Their press conference reminded me of the Sony conferences in the PS2 days. Always pointing how their games are selling the best, how they are in control of the current generation, lots of games, etc etc.

TP was just disappointingly easy. It'd be funny if the next Zelda game is just as easy if not even easier. I won't mind if the next Zelda game is Ninja Gaiden-difficult. Well, maybe a little.

They didn't have any shocking news for 360, except that they point out that they have a lot of good games on it. I miss the old, chaotic E3.

I think when someone calls something a Berserk copy or "Berserk with boobs", I think it should be received as a compliment. I mean nothing can really measure up to Berserk manga since it's so meticulously drawn. But Claymore's drama is pretty good for a fantasy action anime/manga. And Claymore is a bit strange since the voice acting makes it more compelling and the anime version is actually more violent than the manga.

I don't think that is the point of pointing them out though. It's just that an RPG builds the villains up and it can be a good finish or bad finish. I thought most villains from FF1 through FF7 were great because you finish the fight that you started from the first few hours of the game. FF8, you fight some crazy monster that popped out of nowhere. FF9 was the same thing, FF10 was the same (monster was alluded to, but too vaguely. Seymour should have rightly been the final boss), FF12 had a villain who basically had no plot twists or real influence in the story.

I guess you haven't watched enough anime that does get off a bit slow then gets running later on. As for its popularity, you're actually on the wrong in that one. Claymore is one of the most downloaded and watched anime right now. The manga is also one of the most popular in the Shonen Jump manga block. Except it gets way better after the first few episodes. Nobody says you must watch it. Don't go running around saying how 'bland, slow, generic' something is if you never really watched enough of it. On another note, there has been a lot of slow starting anime recently. But that being done on purpose. I actually thought Claymore was pretty generic for the first five episodes too, until the recent episodes just upped the ante. I know it's a pretty straightforward action fantasy show, but I'm looking forward to every episode now too.

I agree, but that's his whole charm for me. I like some coarseness in my rock.