Hurlshort

They lost most of those 17 before they got Thornton. Honestly, the Sharks had a horrible beginning schedule. I'm not saying that's why they are in the spot they are in, but it didn't help to have 7 of their first 9 games on the road. They also had 17 road games and only 9 home games in the first couple months. That's a brutal schedule. They've gone 8-7-3 on the road since they picked up Thornton. The fact is, with the games in hand, they only need to go .500 to catch a few of those teams. So tell your Oilers to win! Happy B-Day Alan!

The Sharks decided to rest against the Wings so they could win the next 3 road games.

BG and KotOR are not TB. You can pause, and there are turns being worked on behind the scenes, but you have no direct control over the turns. TB is also traditionally a non-frantic style of gameplay. You have as much time as you need to make your decisions, and the tactics are in the details. BG and KotOR were frantic, pause, frantic, pause...very different. Civilization is an entirely different genre and so can't be compared to Fallout, Jagged Alliance, or ToEE. The TB functions on an entirely different level. When you make combat real time, you are often giving up details like positioning, cover, and other tactics that can be interesting. But some people prefer the frenetic combat, so it's all about personal preferences.

What's happening to Edmonton? I was counting on them to leave Vancouver vulnerable, so SJ could overtake them. Bah! LA is outside looking in right now.

I wasn't wowed by this episode, but I do think it was necessary. Personally I think Jin and Ecko are the two most likely to kill Others with their bare hands, and that's neat.

Was JE considered an action-RPG? Because I honestly don't see it that way. Squad-based is interesting...but I worry about that in real time. Hopefully there will be a decent pause system like KotOR and BG.

I've been trying to improve my archery, and I had the most satisfying kill yet. I hit an imp in the head with an arrow at long range, and he went down right away. When I walked up to him, it seriously looked like it was sticking out of his eye. Sweetness.

The 360 is a solid system, but I wouldn't have bought it myself. It was a gift. I've really been happy with the Live function though. I enjoy the achievements and easy access to content, even though it's currently limited. I don't play online much, as it still doesn't compare to the PC in that respect, but it's nice to have.

I'm trying to solve a missing painting quest right now. It turns out I'm not a very good detective...I spent over an hour getting nowhere. I'm gonna have to find some help.

Considering the radiant dialogue is actually random, it's not that bad. It's also not super important to the game. So far the quest dialogue is very solid. It's way less wordy than Morrowind.

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Survivor, actually. It's the only reality show with real risks, from what I see. I mean, people actually look skeletal by the end of the series. People have been burned as well. It's about as hardcore as you can get with a camera crew and an emergency helicopter in the background.

Bah, it's just a flash in the pan. It'll disappear just like the wheel and sliced bread.

You have either had a change in your perspective since Daggerfall came out, or you didn't really "hate" Morrowind. When someone tells me they put 30 hours into Morrowind and hated it, I don't believe them. There must have been something compelling enough to get you to spend that much time. If I hate a game, I rarely spend more than a few hours on it. Maybe you were just disappointed that Morrowind did not meet your expectations. That is the way I felt. Personally, I enjoyed Morrowind for awhile, but was very disappointed by the lackluster quests and storyline. I would not say I hated it though. Daggerfall was not a shining gem of a story either. It had randomized quests that were pretty generic, and I don't remember ever even engaging the main plot. But my perspective was different at the time. I didn't have a bunch of other free form games to choose from, so it was a refreshing concept. So Soulseeker, I can't really answer your question without knowing a lot more about you. I don't know how much time you spent on Morrowind, so I only have my personal experience to pull from. Hopefully that helps a bit.

Again, if you hated Morrowind, you probably will hate Oblivion. So go find another thread. Oblivion is a definite improvement, but it's still very much Elder Scrolls. So far the dialogue is way less "put you to sleep" wordy, and the quests are fairly interesting. There also seems to be a good variety, rather than, "go here, kill this guy, return."

So far the quests have been way more compelling in Oblivion than in Morrowind. I just took a side quest to help some young folks protect their farm. One of them died, and everyone was pretty bummed. I'm also trying to solve a mystery about a stolen painting. So far it's much more interesting.

Yes, but only capable of 480i or whatever. It is widescreen though, which rocks.

Ok, I've got my first 2 hours in... First off, the start is very solid. It reminds me a bit of Daggerfall, where you basically start out in a tough situation and fight your way out. It isn't hard, but it's entertaining. It also does a great job of making your character creation seem very natural. It's a way better start than Morrowind. Secondly, the game is gorgeous on an Xbox 360. I'm having a few lighting issues, but that could be my TV and settings. It's a bit hard to see rats. I actually think I got attacked by some invisible wolves and rats...they didn't seem visible until I killed them. Not sure what that's all about. Lastly, the interface is pretty good for a console game, but I'd be ticked off if it was the same on my PC. The draw distances are not great, but that's not a huge deal to me. You are trading in a ton of detail at close range for some plain-ness in the distance. It really doesn't affect the game in any way. I'm excited so far.

I commented on this above already, but the Mech's look pretty nice. I hope this doesn't end the importance of infantry. Technically it should be harder for a Mech to kill infantryman, since they are pretty small in comparison. It's similiar to how in BF2 tanks have huge blind spots. It will be interesting to see, definitely a fun idea.

It's funny how GJK makes assumptions about everyones faith based on their responses to him. I am very proud to be christian and am comfortable in my own faith. I do not talk the talk, I walk the walk. GJK, you are all talk. You judge others all over this forum. There are also appropriate avenues for missionary work, and this is far from one of them.

I agree with Meta. Speaking of religious extremists, when are you starting a new thread Gray JK?

Ok, I still have a few hours before I can go pick up the game, but I figured I'd make a pre-empive strike. Anyone have it yet? First impressions? I know a bunch of people are waiting to buy it...and a bunch just hate it, but shove it. Let's have a Bethesda topic that doesn't get closed down in less than a day.

Whoa...very cool idea, and I guess it's a pretty logical next step for the series. This could be the best use of Mech's in a game in quite awhile. I hope they don't make infantry obsolete.

Closer was pretty icky. My wife pretty much glared at me for even picking it out. There was a lot of sex talk, but it wasn't edgy, it was just uncomfortable. It's also about people who can't be faithful to their spouses. I don't really get that.

Someone implied that I said Natalie Portman is hot. I definitely did not say that. I think she has the potential to be a great actress, but I have never found her all that attractive. Honestly she looks too young to me, but again, I've been watching her in films since she was a young girl. She's not ugly, but she's just not my type. Sorry Natalie.

The PSP has no real PSP games. It just has PSOne games on a small screen. They need to make games that are actually good on a small screen. I'm not throwing mine out though, I have faith that it will prevail.