Hurlshort

But is the story good? I could care less about length if the game is a great story. People said the same thing about Fable, and I never regretted purchasing that game.

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/fs/2005111...3164506100.html This is the first I heard of a Castlevania movie, and it give some info on another Resident Evil and Dead or Alive. I'm just glad it's not Uwe Boll who's directing. I can't fiugure out if this is the same guy who directed the other two Resident Evil's, but if it, I'm happy. Those are really the only two video game movies I've enjoyed.

Anyone pick up the game "GUN" yet? It looks like it's got a decent story, good voice talent, and a western style. I'm just worried that it's way too much run and gun stuff and not enough decisions and plot development. It's developed by Neversoft, which did the Tony Hawk series. That might not be everyones cup o' tea, but it's a solid series with a lot of gameplay freedom. It's getting solid reviews, but I'd like to hear opinions if anyone got it. It's on all platforms and the PC.

I like the scene in Return of the Jedi when Leia gets shot. They are outside of a bunker, and Han reaches down and totally grabs her boob. Watch it, it's awesome.

I didn't like T3...except for the ending. Since we had been strung along in the 2nd and most of the 3rd movie, I really wasn't quite sure if they'd go with the ending they did. I don't want to spoil it for anybody though. The ending means the next movie could be a complete departure in plot from the previous three.

Oooooh, we are sharing SAT scores to find out who is the smartiest! I scored 1130 with a great night's sleep and pretty much all my brain power...and it's really made all the difference. Seriously, do you really think an SAT score somehow makes you superior to someone else on a video game message board? Everyone hear is on the level. We are all smart enough to use computers, but dumb enough to spen huge chuncks of time on a game message board that doesn't even have an active game in development. Yay us! *edit* Accidental spelling errors aren't as impressive as purposeful ones

Despite any personal opinions, Blizzards is still an extremely powerful developer. They make the games they want to, and they release when they want to, and they sell like hot cakes. They've never had a dud. Every game they have released has been well reviewed and sold extremely well. This isn't fanboism, it's just the facts of the gaming industry.

Very good post Cantousent. The thing that drives me nuts about every religious argument here is that people who believe in God are treated like they are against science. I posted an earlier statement by a Cardinal that said how important it is for religion and science to co-exist. I am proud of my faith. It has not faltered.

http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip050.html There's a few real funny ones. You have to play MMORPG's to get 'em.

Gah, you're all so off topic my head is going to explode! That's it, I'm never starting another thread!

Nolan Schaeffer just got his first shut-out for the Sharks. This is a pretty interesting story, the Sharks have two great goaltenders, but both were playing horrible and now they are both injured. So they call Schaeffer up from the minor, who wasn't doing great there, and he's played awesome. It helps that the Sharks are outshooting every team by about 10 shots.

Most of the aggressive tendancies of Christianity and Islam stem from the fact that initially both Christians and Muslims came under heavy attacks from polytheists. In order for the religions to survive, they had to be adapted to protect themselves. They were pretty effective too...don't see many polytheists anymore.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051104/ap_on_sc/vatican_science I was pretty glad to hear this. Clearly the Vatican is keeping an open mind about some stuff. This was almost as great as when the Vatican admitted that homosexuality has a genetic link and people should not be condemned because they are born this way. Of course, they later backtracked and said if you are born homosexual then you need to live a life of celibacy and repentance.

Archmonarch, thanks for that wonderful post on the Jewish relationship with Jesus. It was extremely informative. :D Random Evil Guy...are you actually looking at the sources you direct us to? http://www.infidels.org/library/historical...eally_live.html doesn't strike me as the best website to make spiritual decisions with. Honestly, I don't trust most churches, but I trust that website even less.

The Catholic church has all sorts of crap on Jesus, but they don't like to share. I've studied a lot of History, not necessarily religious, but I did get a degree in it. It's extremely unlikely that there was not a prophet named Jesus. There are just too many stories about it. Stories change over time tremendously, but at the root there is always some source. Was he the son of God? Only Christians believe this. Muslims and Jews just see him as another prophet. Jewish people who know there history don't even have any ill will about him. Anyways...lot's of religion on these forums

Id imagine if you liked Silent Storm, you'll probably enjoy Hammer and Sickle. Same game engine, but with a focus on story and espionage. Sounds like a great combination to me. The only thing I'm worried about is the translation. It's a Russian developer, so if the story isn't translated well, it could really hurt the experience. I also hope they hired a professional writer. Silent Storm had an ok little plot, but it was really just about the individual missions. If they want to have interesting characters and an engaging plot, they need a real writer.

Night Stalkers? I think it's still in development. It is supposed to hit in spring '06. It's the super hero version of SS. edit: whoops, Nightwatch...stalkers is a bad TV show

I wonder if this is an international release? The US never got Silent Storm Sentinels released, so I'm a bit worried. Hopefully it'll hit the States in December as well, or I'll have to order it from the UK.

Venture capitalism is a huge part of the business world, and it doesn't usually lead to a take-over. It's typically a group of people who have way too much money. They look for companies that have a good chance of thriving with a cash infusion, and they throw money at them. You also won't see much interference, because clearly Bioware and Pandemic know what they are doing when it comes to games. They'll just adjust their business model to enable better preofits.

I find the whole idea that EA is some evil entity to be a bit bizarre. They are running a business. They are seeking profit. They aren't trying to destroy the game industry. Their fault is that they stifle creativity, because cheaply produced sequels have a better bottom line. This is why we need small development houses that can work separate of a publisher's influence. This deal between Elevation and Bioware/Pandemic does just that. It give the publisher very little control over game development. This deal could be the one to weaken EA. It's never been done before, so only time will tell. You have never seen a deal like this in the video game industry. It's more similiar to movie deals, like what Pixar does. Right now I'm positive about it, just because it's a different way to do things and it might change the way the industry is going. I agree that EA and major publishers are hurting the creativity of games. I don't know how that makes all people involved with EA evil, but I'm sure someone will try to explain it.

From the articles I've read, I don't see anything about a merger. It looks like the two development teams will stay separate and just recieve financial backing from the same source. Bioware and Pandemic will still be separate entities. Keepin mind that all developers need to work with a publisher eventually, unless they become one themselves. This actually creates a middle man between the developers and the publishers.

Pandemic is resposible for Destroy All Humans and SW: Battlefront II. What's with the Star Wars connection? It looks like they are trying to invest in quite a few companies. This smells like venture capitalist money to me.

Ok, since the other thread became a pissing contest about Jade Empire, I want to have a clean conversation about what this means to the gaming industry. Bioware and Pandemic have given majority stakes to an investment firm named Elevation Partners. Elevation is not a game publisher. They will bankroll the game, and then broker a deal with a publisher. Bioware and Pandemic are two successful studios. Let's not argue that. Let's talk about whether this relationship will give developers more or less freedom to make good games. Has this ever been done before? Being bought by a publisher, like EA, is a different scenario. Elevation states that this will allow quality development studios the time and money to create masterpieces, rather than rushing to meet a deadline. Will it work? They are not replacing ther company leadership. What are the expectations? What if they aren't met?

This was in my local newspaper today as well. The spin is that it allows Bioware and Pandemic to NOT rush development because they have a ton of financing available. The current market puts a lot of control in the publishers hands, and supposedly this changes this. I don't know if it will turn out this way, but I don't think it's the end of Bioware. Pandemic and Bioware generated 800 million over the last few years, so I don't think they have financial issues, but they don't want to become publishers. This might actually be the key to keeping talented development studios from turning into publishers.

The thing I like about a few of these young guys is they look like they are about to fall down, and then they somehow make an improbable shot and it goes in. They aren't the fastest or most skilled, but by pure determination they somehow get the puck in. Reminds me of Fluery in his heyday.