Scrivener

I don't believe any of the currently available games support 1-title multiplayer. You still ned to have your own copies. EAs definately don't, and their blatant cover 'misprint' dosnt help their case either. But I digress. I've got: Wipeout Pure Twisted metal Gretzky NBA Ape Escape World Tour Soccer - Awesome! Untold Legends - Double awesome! Just waiting for my friend to pick me up a 1GB Memory Stick Duo from his work so I can start putting full movies on there. $99 plus employee discount (likely $5), good deal Also - some games may allow you to remove the disc and continue playing. SO you can use the disc to start the game on two systems for playing MP (swap the disc after the game starts). Dont know which games you can do this with just yet tho.

My mind is already reeling with posibilities for such a story. Maybe I'll write the script anyway and call it DAMNED.

My point, Zane, is that zombies = not scary, cliche, not entertaining. Unless said zombie movie is wildly funny-entertaining (Shaun of the Dead), zombies suck. I've NEVER liked zombie movies. Demons on Mars is at least original, and scary because you don't know what the heck they are capable of. If it's the subject matter you think can't be adopted because it's too ridiculous, give me 3 weeks and I'll turn out one of the best horror scripts since ALIENS... based entirely on the concept behind DOOM. It can be done. Easily. But they made the concious decision to make it as unlike the videogame as they could get away with. I mean - the namesake dosn't even apply any more!

...and Resident Evil has Milla Jovovich, and End of Days had Arnold Swarzenegger. Big names means exactly bollocks any more. I wont see it an I hope it fails miserably. Even better if it ends the Rock's career. My problem isn't so much with the 'story' - it's with a) the setting and the license. Because this is a DOOM licensed movie, a proper movie will never get made. It would have been better if it were merely 'inspired by' DOOM. This has about as much a chance as the Street Fighter movie did. These people have zero faithfulness to the source material and it's insult to anyone who ever played the game. They are offending exactly the people for whom they should be making this movie!

You said "Donnie Darko" and "Butterfly Effect" in the same sentence. On that note, my review shall be shortly forthcoming!

Oh wow, that looks awesome! I - want - it - NOW.

I'm sure many of you gameophiles have already heard about this, as word is spreading across the internet like wildfire. Will Wright is working on a new game called SPORE - where you litteraly start out as a single celled organism and evolve your way into a spacefaring race of creatures able to endlessly explore the universe and mysteries it holds. I kid you not. http://www.gamespy.com/articles/595/595975p1.html http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3138792&did=1 I'm working on locating some good screenshots. P.S. After reading the recaps of the GDC address, I have to admit I'm giddy as a schoolgirl about this game... and that's something I havn't felt in a VERY VERY long time. Could we be entering a new renaissance for game design, just as we started expecting development costs to become even more ludicrous? Is the future actually now? My friends, this is a very happy day.

That's actually a very intriguing idea. Were such a thing proposed in America, lawsuits would be flying that very hour.

I'm of the mind that people are responsible for their own actions. It dosn't matter what the circumstances are - unless someone forces you to do something under pain of death - it's your own friggin fault. God I hate this friggin species.

Wolferz, I think of myself as a conservative libertarian but I actually agree with you here 100%.

It has a lot in common with Uplink, not surprisingly. That's not a bad thing though - it's kinda like a TRON rts. Neat.

Except the movie is apparently not set on, or anywhere near, Mars - and does not deal with demons from hell - but, guess what, space Zombies. That's right, an experimental virus (*gasp*! The originality!) gets lose on some sort of space test facility and turns the crew into space zombies. Uwe Boll may have merely produced this one, but it's still gonna stink like a ten-day-old carcass. http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-12-08&res=l

Quality Assurance - For TOEE this was largely Ataris fault. They pushed the game out early despite Troikas protests. I was working at EB at the time and was shocked to get TOEE in shipment while the computer still predicted 3 more months before release. Troika even cut the multiplayer early on to reduce development time - and STILL Atari screwed them. To make matters worse, Atari provided NO MONEY for patch development. What patches Troika DID release were done by employees on their own time. Bethesda Softworks & Daggerfall - I didn't mean to imply that they are in financial trouble. I meant to imply that they were in *creative* trouble. Daggerfall had innovations that have not been seen in any RPG before or since. It stood to reason (at least among loyal TES fans who had played ALL of the previous games) that Morrowind would have all the same features and gameplay, but with cutting-edge graphics. What we got was a game where the graphics were pretty good but the gameplay was unbelievably shallow (for a TES game). Ratings aside (previous TES games were very realistic/dark/mature), Morrowind was just flat out missing most of the features that TES fans just assumed would be there. Concepts such as seasons, day-night NPC routines, holidays, weather, large randomly-generated dungeons, vampirism, lycanthropy, dynamic world politics, MOUNTS... the list goes on and on and on. It was TES lite for consoles. In short - it lacked CONTENT, the one thing that always made TES games so special. I play Daggerfall to this very day and have an 'old' computer dedicated to it. Morrowind (and it's expansions) collects only dust and angst. IMO, Gothic 1 & 2 and Arx Fatalis were spiritually more TES games than Morrowind was. Film politics - The world of film is extremely politics-driven. This could not be demonstrated any more clearly than by this years absolutely ridiculous Academy Awards. It's not about the art any more - its about the bucks. It's no longer an elite field - its a field that caters to dummies and retards and the general inbred masses. Cinema's salvation comes from those magical independant and foreign films where the creators have absolute freedom to express themselves. Unfortunately, technology is now so advanced that it is outside the means of aspiring game makers to do retail-viable independant games. Therefore, we only get served the same muck we've played and hated 3-dozen times before. The western RPG is dead. Adventure games are dead. Space sims are dead. What is left? MMORPGs, FPSs, and RTSs... and the Japanese 'JRPG' (which are really just interactive anime 'adventure' games with yawn-inducing combat). Furthermore, most games these days are published and funded one of a handful of giant beancounting numbers-driven superpublishers - just-like-movie-studios. THATS what I mean by 'Film politics has destroyed gaming.' Denouncing gamerdome - Being a 'gamer' these days now means approximately bollocks. Everyone is a 'gamer.' The name used to imply that you were a member of some elite societal subclass - a class of people who appreciated the complex art of designing and playing deep, complex, and rewarding games. I am no longer a gamer - because gamers are people who play games. I don't DO games. I do experiences. The only term left to me is grognard - previously used to describe veteran soldiers in Napoleons army, or which the french use to label someone a 'grumbler'. I am a gaming veteran - I have seen games more spectacular and magical than 'gamers' today can even dream of... and they will never know this because the games don't look 'pretty' enough and because they are 'old.' Leave me to my Zork, Elite, Daggerfall, Battlecruiser, and MechWarrior 2. This new generation of games holds nothing for me. I am a grognard. A grumbling veteran of old battles - who has seen and misses his past days of glory. THATS what I mean.

Listen, this kid isn't some published author like Dean Koontz who should have to consult a lawyer before letting his imagination run wild on paper. That assumption is complete bollocks, Kal. Furthermore, it was his own PRIVATE work - which his grandparents were obviously snooping around in - leaving them to take it out of context. Whats worse - what did they do with it when they did find it? Did they wave it in their kid's face and ask him what it was he was righting about? NO! They turned it into the cops! THE COPS! WITHOUT EVEN GIVING THE KID A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN THEMSELVES! If I were that kid, when I get out, I would NEVER EVER EVER speak to those people again. At least, after laying into them one last time. Besides, you didn't read the story. You don't know what was in it. It could have been very obvious what he was writing about - and his grandparents were just ignorant retards who never watched a movie higher than PG in their lives. Those are facts we just-dont-know. In ANY case. I fully support EVERYONES freedom of speech. This country was founded on giving people more freedoms - not selectively taking them away. Steven King even writes about real people and locations in his story - and HE hasn't been arrested for making terrorist threats. So what, this kid is going to use the US branch of Al Queda 4 Tots to reign a zombie holocust on his local school? ABSURD. Seriously, think about this before you go convicting a poor kid for writing about subjects that interest him. If we arrested and charged every kid with those interests, many many MANY of our greatest creative minds would never have blossomed. There would be no Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Steven King, Dean Koontz... the list goes on and on and on.

I just found out. My first reaction was "oh, my God." Truely, this is the end of computer gaming as I once knew it. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that came from the guys at Troika was pure genious. To make matter worse, Bioware have sold their souls to the Dark Side, so to speak. And I can't trust them to produce a quality BG-level RPG any more. Admit it, KOTOR is RPGlite - and universally Teen rated. As will be anything else they pump out. The future of Bethesda Softworks is hazy at best. Despite the fact that Morrowind was nowhere even remotely near the quality of Daggerfall, Bethesda has begun to take a TEEN-rated stance on it's RPGs as well. Add to that we have NO idea what will become of Fallout 3 in their hands and Troika's unannounced postapocalyptic RPG is never going to see the light of day to make it better if Bethsoft's sucks. Then there's Call of Cthulu which has been in development about as long as Duke Nukem Forever. Oh man, they're really our last hope for quality RPG experiences. And I'm near-positive they are going to screw it up. But then there's the people who brought us Gothic - and there's The Longest Journey. All foreign titles - we get about 1 every 2-3 years. Is that it? Is that all thats left for people who appreciate deep, complex, SATISFYING gaming experiences? With that, I hereby denounce myself as a gamer. There's just nothing left to look forward to - film politics has destroyed gaming - and games, unfortunately, are not yet feasable for independant developers save one (and we all know who that is). Those days are over. F*** the games industry. It's over. We lose.

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614&nav=EQlpWjof quote: A George Rogers Clark High School junior arrested Tuesday for making terrorist threats told LEX 18 News Thursday that the "writings" that got him arrested are being taken out of context. Winchester police say William Poole, 18, was taken into custody Tuesday morning. Investigators say they discovered materials at Poole's home that outline possible acts of violence aimed at students, teachers, and police. Poole told LEX 18 that the whole incident is a big misunderstanding. He claims that what his grandparents found in his journal and turned into police was a short story he wrote for English class. "My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies." Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill. Poole disputes that he was threatening anyone. "It didn't mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn't mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn't mention no principal or cops, nothing," said Poole. "Half the people at high school know me. They know I'm not that stupid, that crazy." On Thursday, a judge raised Poole's bond from one to five thousand dollars after prosecutors requested it, citing the seriousness of the charge. Poole is being held at the Clark County Detention Center. OMG I can't think of anything to say that dosn't involve salty sailor-speak!!! What a friggin joke! The Kentucky authorities are stepping all over that kids 1st Amendment rights. I'm even more POd since I had something similar happen to me in grade school. No felony, of course, but I got suspended for writing about an abandoned school inhabited by maneating ghosts. That was a Christian School so it's a slightly different matter. Nevertheless I'm looking into some way to help the poor kid. Protests are difficult since he lives a dozen states away. His grandparents ought to be ashamed of themselves. OMG I just - can't express how friggin angry I am.

I drove all the way to the Hollywood ArcLight to see this one. Boy was it worth the trip. I can't believe is weakass spanish film about euthanasia beat this out for best foreign film. What a friggin sham - the Academy dosn't give any awards to the movies that deserve it any more. It's 100% political now and it sucks. But I digress - for those who don't know this is a movie about Hitler during the downfall of Berlin at the end of WW2. You may have heard it called by it's german title - 'Der Untergang.' This was an absolutely FANTASTIC film. Hitler goes from sympathetic (a VERY controversial move) to totally bat$#!+ crazy, and the portrayal is uncanny. The movie also follows several other stories as Berlin is invaded by Allied tropps. Despite wht the Nazis stood for, its a harrowing look at the devestation of a superpower. You can feel the hopelessness in your bones as the movie plays out, and I think that's exactly what the filmakers wanted. If you can get to anywhere this movie is showing, you should. Right away. It's one of the most uincredible films I've seen in a very long time. 10/10

lol. Should I change mine to a 7.9?

It was pretty good - with the movie being hurt a bit by some random bouts of very mild sillyness. I actually got a little freaked out at times as the movie sometimes got a little closer to reality than I was ready for. Some of the things in that movie I've actually seen, and I am familiar with some of the rituals (depsite numerous liberties and convenient innacuracies). What really bugged me was that ridiculous cross-shotgun thing. I mean, wtf. That's just stupid. The movie also gets its religions confused and, therefore, contradicts itself at times. I'm also a little annoyed by the concept of 'magical' relics. Still, I wonder if the filmakers knew how accurate some of the imagery and thematic material is? If you want some trippy images of heaven & hell - its worth your dime. The central conflict is also pretty damn scary. The words Gabriel leaves with Constantine at the end of the 'library' scene was especially chilling. Anyhoo, neat dark movie. I'd compare it most closely to the Ghostbusters, sans the humor. I hope they do a sequel. 8/10

Yeah, WoW is bloody marvelous... which makes the overwhelming torrent of new players completely understandable. I'm only JUST starting to see it reappear in stores - after having been sold out since it launched (December?). Word has it they actually froze production until they could bring more servers online to handle the load... it sold WAY beyond their wildest expectations. P.S. Look out for Medikan on Illidan. 33 Undead Shadow Priest (yeah yeah, I dont spend every waking moment leveling, you know).

"Welcome to Bollfans.com. Population: Uwe."

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: LOL!!! www.uweboll.com *snip*OMFG ROFLMFAO! That's bloody marvelous! I'm gonna buy that man a beer and have it shipped to his registrar address-on-file. Hahaha. It's funny 'cause it's true.

I figured. Uwe Boll = crapstain deluxe. Hense, I do not see of his films. EDIT: Furthermore, his movies never have anything to do with the games on which they are based. He pays for the name, then defecates on it thoroughly.

Some of the footage I've seen come out of this looks absolutely amazing. I'm totally flabberghasted, I never thought they'd turn the Narnia books into proper movies. Ever. Can't wait to more of this.

Basically the story is this: Most theatrical movies are filmed natively in widescreen format (that is, the dimensions of the theatre screen). When Fullframe versions are released on DVD, they usually chop off 1/3 of the picture from either side to make it fit your standard sized TV. HOWEVER - some films actually ARE filmed at 4:3 asepect ratio (the same ratio as Fullframe) and then chopped for theatre screens. Time Bandits is one example - the original fullscreen DVD actually shows more than the Widescreen Criterion Edition. There are reasons a person might want both, but IMO the theatrical cut is the superior since the shots are composed for that particular pallette - the theatre screen. In any case, these special circumstances have previously not been well advertised by the studios. But whats worse, MGM has been taking movies that were already cut from the Widescreen theatrical print to Fullframe, and then cutting THAT cut to Widescreen - so you lose even MORE picture. Basically, MGM is charged with not properly advertising how much of the original image you are seeing on your screen, despite being the correct height and width for the format designation. For more info on aspect ratios: http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/aspectratios.htm