LadyCrimson

Oh, I agree with that...which was sort of the point of the first part of my post. While there are plenty of people who go into jobs because they simply like the profession and want to help people, and thus they are only concerned with a certain livable wage rather than an 'uber-materialistic' wage, they are not enough to make a high-quality system. Think of the US Dept. of Motor Vehicles and all the jokes about their employees...now think of the medical profession being run the same way. Now...I believe it'd be possible to create a socialist hathcare system that works better than the US DMV, haha, but it would still lack something. I didn't say universial preventive care (notice I didn't say universal treatment) was truly feasible...just that I'd like it. Couldn't you have a basic socialist type healthcare for basic needs, even if it was filled with grumpy government workers, and still have the 'pay through the nose' higher-end options for those who could afford it? For me, I'm more concerned that there are too many people in the US who have absolutely NO healthcare because they can't afford it at all, especially as more and more companies are getting rid of all or part of their 'benefits.' Some kind of minimal, standarized healthcare program for those people would be nice...and while it may be naive, I don't think such a thing would neccesarily have to get rid of/replace the free-market end of things.

So IQ tests, then, are essentially trying to measure one's ability at problem solving? I'm not entirely sure I'd consider that true 'intelligence', especially without a defined concept of what constitutes a 'problem to be solved', but since one needs to define something in order to be able to test for it, I suppose it's as good a definition as any. But I think they have about as much merit as 'personality' tests....

I just wanted to point out that the fact people have to wait in line for hours to see a doctor has less to do with the system than with the fact not enough people want to be doctors (vs. the speed of the growth of the population)...or at least, not enough people want to be general practictioners, because it pays less or has less chance for 'glory and recognition'. I've always wanted 'universal' preventive healthcare - the check ups, the tests, tho being no policy expert I'd have no idea how to implement it or if it would even be possible given the mechanics of the US systems. Currently, the US medical system seems to largely consist of nothing but drug-pushers.

I would like to know what, exactly, these tests are supposed to measure. As far as I can tell, they usually seem to measure one's ability to make random lucky guesses. I once tried a lot of IQ tests, from books, on the web, etc (nothing 'official tho) and the results varied wildly between 110 to 160 depending on the type of dominant 'format' the test was based around. For example, I have little formal education in math, and for decades my lifestyle has not included any math more complicated than balancing a checkbook. Thus, IQ tests that are 'mathy', I do the worst in. If I did have a great education in math, and if that resulted in my doing much better on those type of IQ tests, what, exactly, are we measuring? Education level? Ability to remember what you've learned? To recgonize patterns? On about half the tests, I'd get over 140 just from taking wild guesses - I had absolutely no clue on the problem and just picked an answer that 'seemed less incorrect' than the others. What does that measure? Instinctive & intuitive brainpower? Grain of salt, indeed. "

Ah...these type of tests. I always come out an INTJ and have for 20 years, with very strong introvert/thinking and just barely Intuitive/Judging. I tested as something quite different when I was a young teen tho, during that period of time that kids are rebelling against parental control. Make of that what you will. :D @Kaftan - no one likes to believe they can be fit snugly into some defined category...I had a friend once who declared that such tests made him feel as if he *had* to behave a certain way, as if being labeled as 'this' was an attempt to declare that there is no such thing as free will or true individuality because a 'personality type' dictates what the outcome of your reactions to stimuli will be. But (serious) personality tests aren't really like that and they're not designed to say anything of the sort. They're just...average preferences at that time in someone's life. Not actual roadmaps or crystal balls. But yeah, I don't think they should be used for hiring criteria, or anything of that sort, either, cause in such uses they tend to get abused as if they *are* roadmaps, and that's wrong, IMO.

Did you check to see if there was more than one commentary track? (I haven't....) I really liked that about the LoTR's DVD's...didn't realize there was more than one commentary track until I accidentally hit a switch-tracks button on my remote. I don't often listen to commentary tracks but a couple of those LoTR ones by the actors were interesting. Hmm...maybe I'll go check the SW dvd's now.

I was wondering if Annie & Obi were using the Force to shield themselves from the 2000-3000 degree heat (or whatever) of all that molten lava they were fighting directly upon. A FES - Force Environmental Suit?

Highlighting it and cut & pasting it to notepad makes it readable, too. As to the subject...um...well....censorship sucks, but occasionally (very occasionally) & in some kinds of extreme circumstances, it's useful for keeping things from getting out of hand...at least, if that matters to people...which for some it doesn't. So then you could debate the rights/wrongs of that aspect forever and ever...yawn. That's about all I have to say. <_<

First movie, in the theater, I'm around 9...theater goes dark...the previews end...the screen is black and the speakers are silent...nothing but a few whispers from the auidience here and there...and then.. BOOM....the SW theme blares out in a sudden and startling burst, as the big yellow words STAR WARS flashes on screen and then pulls back...I almost leaped out of my chair, and several people in the theater gasped. Other than that....I'd have to go with the Obi-Wan/Darth Maul fight at the end of the 1st prequel, for action...and for humor, many of the original droid moments. Tho the Emperor intoning that all of Lukes friends will die was right up there.

Always used robes...tho my 1st time through the game, I found those fugly armors and used those for a while. Once I knew there were cool black robes, I never wanted to wear anything else. Some of the later robes had some great stats, but I still wore the black robes. Never had a need for those 'great stats'....you still kick butt. Heck, you could kick butt wearing nothing but your skivvies, so it's all about looks to me. Yes I'm shallow.

For the one-liner types: "You...have fallen far." -- Disciple (wait...I guess that wasn't in the finished game...oh well it's still my fave) "Apapthy is death." "That's where you're wrong." -- Atton to Disciple "You said you wouldn't laugh!" -- Atton to BaoDur "Are you sure you need healing? You look good to me." -- Disciple For the longer/very long quotations...oh wait, I'm too lazy to type those out.

I also dont' like rushing a game. One of the reasons I can rack up so much consecutive game-play time is because I spend way too much time doing things like playing with the workbench. Or, in other games...fishing...exploring every inch of the map...hitting every single wall with the spacebar to try and find hidden rooms...(that's a Doom1 reference)...killing low lvl monsters for hours to collect enough chipped gems...etc. hehehe I think with Kotor2, my total-game times were always around 35-40 hours. I usually blew through the intro peragus stuff in no time flat, but after that I'd move really slow...and sometimes I'd even try and extend the play time by avoiding doing certain stuff until I had nothing else to do...

What I really want is the original trilogy...the original, non-'improved' versions...on DVD. Alas, I don't think I'll ever find them. Legally. As to the prequels...I'd already bought the first two, so I figured I'd complete the set. I paid $22 for mine at the Evil Blockbuster near you.

Invasion - watchable, decent acting, nothing super-special tho. Surface - horrible acting that made it impossible for me to even notice whether or not the actual show was any good. Stopped watching. Haven't seen the other two. With Lost, I think it has one of the worst cases of the 'to be continued forever so we have to stretch out every plot point for miles' syndrome.. like soap operas. Tho of course, they're all like that to some degree. <_<

It doesn't show up as well on the stills...but trust me, it's weird when you're watching it...once you notice it anyway. Haha! Good one...perhaps I should have said...has anyone here not *seen* it... :D

Neat, thanks for that in-depth review. I was originally just going to get the music one, since I've never cared much about the movies in games, but I think perhaps now I'll get the movies too...if only so I can say I've compared with my own eyes. Since I can get 1600x1200 resolution etc., I should notice the differences, whatever they are. Besides, your review made me curious, and that means I do things I wouldn't normally do, like waste time on things I don't care about. Haha!

Skin sags as we age and/or gain weight, that's normal. Having a 'short' chin affects it too, sure. But if it was just that, I'd expect something more like this: Lucas' just looks swollen - look at the bottom line of his neck...it's like the people in The Stand with the Superflu or something. Maybe it's some really weird form of goiter. If you were hoping for more explantion about the 'he's learned how to defeat death' thingamijig, nope. There's the 1st long scene I mentioned, then a few short ones showing that Padme (and the Council/Senate/somebody like that) originally had a bit more to do in Ep.3, and a very short 'Yoda landing on his planet of Exile' bit, and...er...I don't remember the 6th one off-hand. EDIT: The one's with Padme, they were all fairly short, but were interesting character-wise...and included a little bit more of Mr. Cackling Evil Lord trying to influence Mr. Soon-to-be-BBQ'd Jedi by sowing psychological mistrust.

Anyone here who hasn't bought it yet? I like the first deleted scene the best....especially the funny bit where Anakin & Obi-Wan are using hand signals to decided a path of action...too bad they didn't have it in the movie. That's gotta hurt... And I'm not trying to be mean here...but I am curious....Does Lucas have some health issue or something? His neck has this really disconcerting appearance.

Since I don't work or go to school, lead a so-called quiet life (by choice), and have a very patient & understanding husband who has his own time-consuming hobbies, I've gone 24-30 hours all at once before. It's called lots of caffeine and some goal (or friends) egging you on. I don't think I did that with this game tho....I don't play games with that kind of single-mindedness much anymore...but during my Doom/Diablo/Diablo2 playing phases, I had some verrrry long gaming sessions, yessiree. Just cause people occasionally play a game for an extreme period of time, doesn't mean they do it every single day and 'have no life'. I hate that assumption. Anyway, with Kotor2, I think it was about 12-15 consecutive hours tops...more typically, 5-7 hours a day during the first couple play thru's. After that, it dwindled down to about 2-4 hours a day, then...well, y'know how it goes. :D

But he can't take movies with the in-game screenshot function! :D And actually, unless you like Fraps logos on your images and movies and only being able to get screenies in jpg format, Fraps isn't free. I'd give anything to get rid of the GUI in screenies. Well, almost anything.

The same. I also was one of those who never had any serious problems originally..just the occasional minor/humourous visual graphic glitches that didn't interfere with gameplay at all ...the patches did nothing to change things for me, one way or another.

Hmm.....I haven't had the game installed on my PC for some months. Never got around to re-installing after a HD reformat, heh. Figured I'd pretty much played the game out for myself so why bother. Guess I'll have to do it now tho...just to check things out. Tho it would appear to me from reading this thread that the music one is the one most 'worth' checkin' out.

First time through the game, the mercenary fight on Telos, too. I was tooling along thinking "man this game is easy fight-wise" and reached that spot near the entrance to the...uh...mercenary building...dungeon...whatever....got ambushed by those guys, promptly died. Took me a few tries to get past it. Later on, it became easy because I figured out the 'trick' to the group, but that first time threw me for a loop. Overall tho, I'd say the end fight...I didn't die, but it's the only fight where I had to run away a couple times so I could arrange to take on the sabers one at a time. Without mods, I never could take on all three at once - unlike being able to take on leagues of Sith dudes, haha.. Oh yeah...and if it's your first time through and you're not using a walkthru, when you run around as Remote, and if you didn't kill every monster beforehand, that was hard. There was one corner Remote had to go to that I'd missed and I spent a long time running back and forth to try and lure and then lose the baddies into out of the way tunnels so I could go back to push the button/pull the lever.

There's a difference between 'useless' as in not being able to be an effective/useful party member, and 'useless' as in redundant/don't like the character. As to Atton's level....after my first run through the game where I 'knew nothing', I kept him at lvl 7-8 and made him Jedi as fast as possible...usually skipping a lot of 'quests' and plot stuff first, and going back to do them later. I concentrated on Critical Strike as well, simply because I'd always have another be Flurry and didn't want to duplicate, but I ignored his Scoundrel stuff completely since I never used any of it after that first game of trial and error.

Ahem....Atton is not useless, nor does he suck after Citadel Station. If he did for you, you didn't build him right. He works just fine as a Jedi...he always kicked bad guy butt all over the place for me. *shrug This is, of course, assuming you didnt level him up too much before turning him to Jedi - this applies to most of the Jedi-turnable classes, really.. There is no bad party NPC...just personal preference, how you like to use them, and how you build them. Like someone else said, by the end you're all so uber it doesn't matter. Me, I couldn't stand Hanhar, or whatever the wookie's name was.