GreasyDogMeat

What Calax said. Really, the ONLY thing CoD 2 improved upon was graphics, and even that wasn't a big or majorly impressive leap over CoD 1/UO. With only one real improvement over the original, and so many other things that were dumbed down (again what Calax said regarding health regen, grenade indicaters etc.) it was one of the worst sequels I've ever played. Even worse, they removed everything that made the expansion, United Offensive, great. For me, the health regeneration was a massive kiler to the excitement of the game. In the original CoD, it was intense and exciting because, omg, bullets could actually kill you. Taking cover and hiding MEANT something. In CoD 2, you still have an intense situation, but the fear and excitement is gone because, like Calax said, you can regenerate like Wolverine. The regeneration system in CoD 2 makes the Master Chief's (Halo) regenerating shields look pathetic. Atleast in Halo, the shield takes about 5+ seconds to regen, while WWII soldiers in CoD 2 literally take a second (You can see the health literally jump to full if you use a cheat to see a health bar). It was even more depressing because the first game and expansion revitalized my interest and excitement over WWII shooters and to see CoD 2 just come along and wreck everything that was great about the first game... As for Tomb Raider, I agree with Travis. When Tomb Raider first came out it was a pretty exciting game. I had wanted to be like Indiana Jones when I was a kid, and the whole Tomb Raider premise just clicked with me. The first few sequels were pretty good, making the stories bigger and better and locales more exciting. But after Tomb Raider 4 I just lost interest and the sequels after 4 actually looked worse (graphically AND story wise) than the originals. I've been very impressed with the recent Legends though, they've finally made the world look realistic, instead of being nothing but a bunch of squares put together to form an area. That and Lara can finally move with grace.

Call of Duty 2 killed my interest in the franchise. The first game and expansion were amazing, then they had to go and dumb it down and consolize it. Even worse, the only CoD coming out for PC now is a modern warfare terrorism shooter.

I think the purest example of a 'franchise saver' would be the new Tomb Raider Legend and upcoming remake. The Tomb Raider series was suffering from no real innovation (each sequel would add maybe one or two new abilities like a sprint or rope walking), and poorer and poorer ratings and sales. Then Legends came along and boosted sales, ratings and interest in the series. Not only that but they finally made Lara easier to control and gave her the ability to move with some actual grace instead of the clunky awkward heffer she used to be . We don't necesarrily have to focus entirely on games that saved a franchise's sales and ratings though. I don't think, for instance, that the Resident Evil series was really suffering from lower sales and ratings before RE 4, but for me, RE 4 swooped in and saved the series from the awkward camera angles and hallways. I also disagree with those who say the game isn't scary, it is just scary in a different way. Previous RE titles scared you by having a zombie leap out of a closet or something like that. Unlike previous RE games, 4 just keeps my hairs standing on end as infected villagers come screaming at me with chainsaws, swinging inches away from my head. Enemies coming from every angle as I desperatly kick ladders down and move from house to house desperatly searching for ammo, leaping through windows and struggling against enemies who grab and strangle you. In previous RE games, the only scare was the initial one when the enemy appears. The next time the zombie pops out of that closet it isn't as scary anymore. In RE 4 the combat can go in many ways with numerous hiding spots and tactics you can employ. Many times I've barricaded myself in a corner firing at the endless stream of infected enemies, thinking I'm doing ok only to jump in shock as hands close around my neck from a rear window I forgot to check. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_txY1gmVJw Heres the trailer that got me excited about this game 2+ years ago. The game is even more exciting to play imho. Oh, Morgoth "Make sure to install the official patch for graphical improvements. Also, there's a Mouse Aim Mod available: Clicky " I have the US version which doesnt require the patch, a good thing, but unforunatly the mouse aim mod doesnt work with my version . I really hope they update the mod, but luckily I've become pretty good at aiming with the keyboard... I can actually get headshots and beat the D shooting range without too much trouble.

While Resident Evil 4 is old news on consoles, it recently came out on PC. While I can't stand consoles, I don't mind playing a port of a console game if it was a good game. I have to say that Resident Evil 4 is just blowing me away. It is an amazing game that keeps introducing new situations, monsters and weapons that keeps the game interesting all through the 15-20 hour single player mode. Not only is the single player great but once you beat it you unlock 2 bonus adventures with a different character as well as survival mode in a small enclosure with constantly spawning enemies. After years of the awkward camera that previous RE titles had the game finally takes a third person camera mode, ratchets up the action yet still maintains the horror and uneasiness of previous games in the series. Unfortunately, they did a terrible job porting it to the PC. As a game, I would give it a 9 or a 10, but as a port, I would give it a 1 to 3. There is no mouse aim, which makes hitting enemies extremely difficult. Not only that but the idiots didn't even bother updating the buttons, so during events where you need to press a button to survive a scene, it will show a button that you aren't using on your keyboard like a 1 and a 3. Two years later and they couldn't even fix these minor issues... really, how hard is it to add mouse support and display the correct buttons on the screen? Despite these flaws, it was the best 20 dollars I've spent on a game in a very long time. The massive improvements they have added to Resident Evil 4 got me thinking of other franchises that were getting stale with repetition and sequels that have saved them. Other franchise savers might be GTA 3 taking the series to full 3D, or the recent Tomb Raider remake. I used to love Tomb Raider, but somewhere around Tomb Raider 3-4 the series became incredibly stale. I tried the recent demo and it looks like a huge improvement to the game play has finally come along.

Don't really care if it turns out looking ugly, as long as it is fun to play. That is the problem though, you can't judge the games graphics based on a shot of an enemy in front of a black background... need something more substantial like an actual in-game battle or something.

Well, a screenshot like that just crushed any hope that the game was anywhere near being done. Hard to get excited about a tiny screenshot with a black background.

Personally, I think the punishment should fit the crime. *understandably vindictive, but unnecessarily graphic description of what the honourable member would chose to do to rapists* Really, who would do it again? *Edited by Walsingham*

Just as students are punished for misbehavior these teachers definitely need some sort of discipline. Maybe not a lawsuit... but something. If this was just some big prank, it was incredibly stupid and cruel considering the VT shooting happened within a month What they did is equivalent to going into a class room a month after 9-11 and telling the students Al-Qaida is planning on bombing the building. HAHA! Good one! If it was some kind of drill intended to raise awareness of 'how do you handle a crazed gunman situation?' it was handled in the worst possible way. Drills are something you learn and practice. It would be like the first year of school, the teacher just runs in and yells 'FIRE!' to see the students freak out and rush the exits. Then the teacher says "No no no! That is not how you should have handled the situation!" after dozens of students have been trampled and knocked around in the panic.

This was unbelievably stupid on so many levels. What if parents were armed, heard about a gunman and whipped out a weapon? Kids pissing their pants under a table thinking their lives are going to end any second. If you want to prepare for a gunmen, you tell everyone what you are doing and teach them appropriate actions to take in the situation. I'm not one for lawsuits, but frankly I'd love to see these idiots sued into the ground. Or even better, have someone break into their homes armed with weapons and make them think they are going to die... 'Oh, just kidding, it was a drill to see how you would react to a burglar'. "Do you know anything about Virginia Tech? The shooter wasn't bullied, he was a kid with a history of sexual abuse and a mental problem. The oppression he felt was imaginary. If you had the wits you'd cite Columbine, which would be the appropriate example of actual bullying pushing a person to violence. " That actually wouldn't be an appropriate example either as bullying didn't push them to violence. Atleast one of them was phsychotic. If you read parts of his diary he was just as loony as the VT shooter, if not more so. The Columbine idiots were trying to break a record. They had even planted explosives in vehicles, but thankfully none of them detinated.

First of all, the sight of a tank aiming at him might have been a bit overwhelming. Second, his accuracy was degrading over time anyway. Third, how did he shoot 7+ rounds without having to reload? It was a 5 round Springfield! Fourth, this is a very strange thread.

Most interviews with still employed members of a development team sugar coat their interviews. Even when critical of their own product, it is more like "Well, this could have done a LITTLE better and this could have been done a LITTLE better... but the rest of the game was fricken' awesome man!" The reason I like Josh's interview, is he is critical of almost everything reviewers and fans were disapointed with instead of sugar coating it or skirting around the issue. I also remember interviews with Josh prior to the games release that were critical of many things in the game. From his interviews and previews, I knew that the main thing I should be excited about was the main story, and I wasn't disapointed. As a fan it makes me realize that you guys understand the mistakes, and probably (hopefully) wont make them again, or wont make the mistakes on the same level that they were made with NWN 2. From the patches being released, I can also see that Obsidian is really trying to get at the core issues that were complained about fixed.

'Of course, the framerate was also very low and that was a barrier to understanding other underlying problems (e.g. companion behavior). ' Probably my biggest problem with the game and I'm glad some of the devs actually realize this was an issue. I really hope they can upgrade the game's performance with more patches and/or expansion overhauls. Even with all of the technical issues in NWN 2, I enjoyed the story and the characters. I do wish some of the characters were fleshed out a bit more and I'm hoping some of them will pop back up in the expansion. I wasn't crazy about the original NWN 1, I didn't hate it either, but as the years went on and the patches/expansions/excellent user made mods came out I enjoyed the game more and more. I feel I'm going to have the same experience with NWN 2.

Some may have mentioned it, but a great example of an unwinnable battle is Quake IV. About mid-way through the game you are trapped in a battle with the Makron, a huge commander alien. The Makron is unbeatable and will eventually grab you in an energy beam. This is one of the most confusing parts in the game though, as one of the most common questions in the game is 'how do I beat the Makron? It grabs me in a beam and I die!'. The problem is, that people end up hitting escape, or pressing their quickload button before the next level loads in which you are chopped up and converted into a strogg, but rescued by earth forces. From that point on, you are half-man, half-alien with extra powers. I think the idea of unwinnable battles is interesting. Handling them can be difficult though because, lets face it, the average gamer doesn't like to lose and will often immediatly reload if it appears they have lost. 'I keep falling down this pit, how do I continue?' This character always beats me!' - Well, it is supposed to happen.

Why is it, that every time a decent franchise comes along they find some way to ruin it. I'm sure the Fallout fanbase was really looking for a console action RPG that crapped on the Fallout universe. PC Call of Duty/UO fans were looking for a dumbed down consolized sequel. KoTOR fans REALLY want a MMO... and not an actual KoTOR sequel. Hopefully just a false rumor.

I have Fallout Tactics, but I've never really put an effort in to beat it yet. It's not that I dislike Tactics, I just wish it was more of a RPG like the first two. On the other hand though, I love the new combat additions, like crouching and the prone position. I also like the new weapon damage settings. Battles are generally more dangerous. I wish they would have remade the first two fallouts with the new tactics features.

The thing that bugged me most about his fall to the dark side... He massacres a large group of children... still looks human. Me massacres a group of alien beings who once waged war for greedy purposes... and then he starts looking all evil and sithy. I guess killing the kids didn't knock his dark side meter quite low enough... but killing the aliens finally tilted it low enough to get the evil look.

It was released on the XBox 360, Wii, or PS3? I meant 'next-gen' in the sense of newer games with the new wiz-bang features. I didn't really think of 'next-gen' as being console only as I've always thought of it as Next Generation... like the Next Gen of games. Perhaps that isn't the proper use of the term though. Basically I meant 'The game just doesn't run very good compared to most modern PC games'.

I've only ever played Halo on PC, and I'm eagerly awaiting # 2, though I hope some sort of 'XP hack' comes out so those of us not interested in 'upgrading' to vista can play it. What I like so much about Halo... well... a great musical score, dynamic battles that change every time, the marines that help you out and shout funny/helpful things, the vehles and physics. While Halo did have some repetitive sections, combat was just fun. It is not often that a game does so many things right that potentially crippling flaws like the same repetitive rooms over and over didn't hurt that much. Atleast for me.

Arg, you CAN use your blaster anytime you want... game doesn't force you to use lightsabers... well, unless you are fighting other enemies with sabers.

For the 20th anniversary to the 1982 horror movie 'The Thing' a survival horror video game was created. The Cons: -Graphics weren't too impressive, even for the time. -Some fairly repetitive sections -Lack of the ability to save at any time -The RJ McReady character is in the game, but he isn't voiced by Kurt Russel. -While the game answers many questions, it ends simlar to the movie with more questions. -The story is at times hard to follow. -The documents you find are not written very professionally. The Pros: -Did an amazing job of capturing the isolation and mistrust of the movies. Your squad members have a morale. Give them a good weapon and they trust you more... but what if you give a good weapon to someone who is the thing? Thats right, the squad is randomly infected. The guy on one play through who helps you could mutate the next time you turn your back. -The Morale system. Like I said above, give a guy a weapon and he is more confident. Give him a crappy pistol, or lead them into dangerous or disturbing areas with bodies and they start breaking down. Their breathing becomes more rapid, they vomit at the site of bodies and if the pressure just gets to much, they will take their own lives with the weapons you give them, or panic in a firefight and shoot at you. You can prevent a NPC from killing themselves by taking their gun away, but that just makes them even more frightened. -The guy who played the Cigarette Smoking Man lends his voice to a major character. -A good length to the game. -Oh, and this fricken' awesome trailer done like a hollywood movie trailer. Warning, contains adult sequences. http://www.ifilm.com/video/2460393 Unfortunatly the trailer is rather low quality, it sounds so much better if you can find a high quality version...but I couldn't Another trailer I loved was the... Duke Nukem Forever trailer. Yeah, it still hasn't come out, but that 2001 trailer still rocked.

How is the cabbie being depicted as physically inferior? We can't even see his body. Under-endowed?? I'm not even going to go there. I will agree with 'ridiculously stupid' though. If the attempt was to be funny they've failed miserably as half the time you can barely hear what he is saying, and the other half it just isn't funny. I've seen one where Rosie O' Donnel is in the car and the cabbie asks why she wants to be on TV, it adds 10 lbs. Another with Donald asking why he doesn't get a hair cut. They just made two white people look stupid and physically inferior, and I'm not up in arms about the little short. Yet another where he says 'Criminal.... Hooker... OOOWAY... Hooker with businessman'. The only thing I'm 'up in arms' over about these shorts is that they just aren't funny... not even a little bit. Maybe he needs some good 'why did the chicken cross the road' jokes.

I guess that is what the POS was doing in the 2 hours between the two shootings, making a stop at the post office. People like this make me hope there really is a hell just for them. I knew it, the idiot is blaming everyone at the school for it, despite people who actually tried to talk to him, open up and help him, it was everyone elses fault but his. Stupid lunatic.

I don't think this is a case of just 'snapping' one day. These incidents seem to just build and build over time. The columbine incident was planned and built up over a long time. They even put explosives in cars so that people evacuating would blow up, but thankfully the bombs didn't go off. They basically were trying to set a body count record. While I've read some of what one of the Columbine kids wrote, and he was obviously psychotic, I think it is also scary that he found a like minded friend willing to go that far. Back in the 50s or 60s there was a husband and wife who both believed drinking blood would prolong their lives. I just can't fathom how these two hooked up. Was it just one of them who was a nutcase who slowly 'converted' the other to a nutcase or did they meet at the local blood drinking club? "Come on honey! It tastes great!" "Well, if you say so... hmm it does taste good! Lets go kidnap teenagers and suck their blood!" "That's my girl!"

I enjoyed the story in NWN 2, though I think quite a few things could have been developed more. My biggest complaints (and I'm sure I've mentioned this in numerous threads) were the technical variety. The game just doesn't run very good compared to other next-gen games and the game is completly lacking in special effects from NWN 1 (like arrows sticking to targets, splashing water and dozens of other little things). Wish they had added ragdoll physics too. It sucks that in 2007 we still only get the basic 'clip into the wall' death animation. Basically I think the engine sucks... however it is atleast stable. I've had 0 crashes in the game after many hours of play. I've been very happy about how Obsidian has been patching the game and I'm looking forward to the expansion. I was worried that they wouldn't support the game as well as Bioware supported NWN 1 but Obsidian has been tossing out impressive patch after impressive patch. These aren't dinky little do-nothing patches, but the kind that actually make the game better and they're making it better little by little. I'm really excited about the expansion and I can't wait to see what new features, critters and adventures are in it.

Heh, thats funny. THE #1 complaint about Outcast was how long it took to become a Jedi. That is one thing I liked about Academy, you got plenty of guns mixed in with the lightsaber combat and force powers. Could launch a rocket, force push the enemies into it then switch to your saber. I wish they would make a new Jedi Knight game. I keep thinking of how cool all the force powers would be mixed with rag-doll physics.