Plano Skywalker

I think the general theme here is that you may as well ask "what is art?". if I take a piece of canvas and have a fan about 10 feet away and I start emptying cans of paint into the space between the fan and the canvas and, thusly, end up with something that has about 300 orbs and lines on it of different colors, have I just produced art? some people think so; some, presumably, would not think so. I generally consider entertainment and art interchangeable...there is entertainment I like and entertainment I do not like....there is art I like and art I do not like.

they both have their advantages and disadvantages. K1: well, I salute BioWare for having the guts to try a space setting for an RPG when a lot of people told them it would not work. K1 also had really decent immersion, especially on Taris. however, K1 was not only a rip-off of the OT but also a repacking of any other BioWare RPG. K2: less polish than the first including lack of textures in the graphics, missing or incomplete sidequests, and more bugs than the first (especially for PC version). story was good but may have been a stretch for Star Wars (which is not really about anamolies....anamolies is more Dr Who or Star Trek fare). also, since the publisher wanted to open the story of K1 back up, K2's story was little more than filler....but filler that was very well presented. all in all, the story was more of an "adult" story and with gameplay enhancements such as influence, K2 is my favorite and the one I am more likely to replay.

Ann Coulter is the Rodney Dangerfield of American Conservatism much like Michael Moore is to American Liberalism. Even though I may disagree with her choice of language, I have to say that I thought the "911 Widows", or at least a very vocal minority of them, were (are?) way too partisan in their approach to the president after 911. That is the point Coulter is trying to make, albeit in a nasty way.

oh, yeah, I like some Billy Bragg....I don't always agree with his ideological perspective but I like the thought-provoking lyrics and minimalist sound. basically, the Woody Guthrie of the modern era.

hmmm, I didn't make the connection with the guy on the cover with the red spacesuit but that definitely makes sense. so, even though what the Jedi did was, arguably, wrong, it now seems that they were not "secret sith" but, rather, trying to cut their losses and to prevent the young ones from falling to the dark side....could be, anyway. anyway, the writer knows what he's doing. I definitely did not see that coming.

I've heard that really early Pantera is thrash....however, what they do now is "groove metal".....groove metal is not as riff based.

then you have a cutting-edge DVD player. of course, you are also hoping that the industry supports this format over a more universal format.

he is very good....he did a bangup job with Iced Earth's "The Glorious Burden".

I disagree. Mandalore/Canderous already has good ranged skills and feats but he doesn't have the Dex to actually pull it off well. if you pretend he doesn't even have the ranged abilities and build him up as a straight-up melee fighter, he does well (remember, he has an implant that regenerates wounds). Disciple, on the other hand, is an excellent ranged-weapons guy. (GOTO really isn't bad in this area either if you give him 2 Mandalorian Rippers).

I really doubt this is the first you've heard of the map issue. Not a showstopper but something that keeps getting mentioned. and the fact that "load screens" are still with us, etc. no one is disputing that the video that actually gets rendered on screen is next gen video. (BTW: I am leaning toward the 360 myself...I'm just trying to have balanced approach.)

the main "problem" with the 360 is that it can only barely be called "next gen"....what is the cliche? something about "many hands on small maps". the maps may be a little bigger but not NEXT GEN bigger. other than that (and the fire hazard fiasco at launch time), the 360 is a solid console and will have many more first-rate exclusives this time around (exclusive, as in no other platform PERIOD) and an even better LIVE system and more premium content. the PS3 is trying to reinvent the wheel it would seem with both a highly dubious architecture and a proprietary DVD format. I personally think they are really pursuing it more as a next gen DVD player than as a gaming system....they are expecting to sell units based on the DVD/home theater aspect and letting gaming come second....that is my hunch, anyway.

I agree...part 2 was a waste of film....both movies had really decent soundtracks, however.

thanks for the feedback

hopefully, they will nail it with Gothic 3...we could use another open-ended RPG.

well, I have heard a lot of good things about Champions of Norrath...the main thing being ever-changing content.

alright, seeing as current gen consoles are only going to get more and more affordable, I may end up grabbing a PS2 for some games I can't get any other way. we've heard a lot of good things about God of War. anyway, what are the top 10 games for the console? they don't have to be RPGs but the top 10 from an RPG gamer's perspective.

but I don't know if that is a fair question. NWNs is all about amateur content and multiplayer (moreso than the official single-player campaign). for the record, I have never played NWNs and probably never will since NWNs2 is on the horizon....I do hope to check out NWNs2, however. those of us who liked the intense, back-and-forth dialogue of KOTOR 2 are in for a treat with NWNs2.

that good, eh? worth buying a PS2 for?

in general, I do too but such games have their uses from time to time.

Spartan: Total Warrior is an RTS with heavy RPG elements... same thing would apply to the Kingdom Under Fire games.

was Demonstone fun?

at the present time, occidental RPGs on console is some slim pickens but that will change with the next gen. I will reaffirm that Jade Empire suggestion. Jade Empire is easily the best cRPG out there period at the present time and is on the Xbox. Jedi Academy is fun but not an RPG. (Jedi Outcast is way too puzzle-based and twitchy). the 2 KOTORs, of course, are very good. other possibilities that an RPG fan might like: * Phantasy Star Online (while a subscription-based game, I think there is a single player campaign). * Demon Stone (Xbox and PC) * Balder's Gate: Dark Alliance * Balder's Gate: Dark Alliance II (I've heard this is better than the first...more dialogue) * Dreamfall: The Longest Journey * Gun (shooter with RPG elements) * Sid Meier's Pirates! (Xbox version is out of production but is attainable) * LOTR: Third Age (JRPG-style rpg based on the Lord of the Rings story) good, if you like the JRPG style * Destroy All Humans (an action game in which you play an invading alien...has RPG elements) * Deux Ex: Invisible War (shooter with RPG elements) * Sedukei (party-based hack and slash) * Indigo Prophecy (not an RPG but a very good game) EDIT: Bard's Tale is decent....a bit too combat-based but still fun.

I agree. One thing that bothers me in pre-searing Guild Wars is that you HAVE to cooperate with other human beings to do the quests....post-searing is not as bad as you can use hechmen. IMO, Guild Wars *almost* got it right....an immersive, story-driven adventure in which interpersonal interaction is possible but not required.

Cream -- White Room

I like Mandalore....even though he starts out as a ranged combat kind of guy, if you build him up as a melee type and give him the right stuff, he makes a great warrior...and his comments are the best (with the possible exception of HK-47).