Real_Lucas

I've been playing Emperor: Battle for Dune for the past several days and I really like it. I'm on the final mission playing Atreides. I wouldn't necessarily call it 'non-linear'. It's big, but the missions are scripted. The illusion of freedom is made through the fact that there are several aeras of the map that can be taken without affecting the story elements of the game...but merely establishing dominance over the world. One of the really cool things about E:BFD is that you can actually invade the enemies' homeworlds. I think it's a worthwhile addition to any RTS fans library.

LOL I wish I could have biked downtown...but biking more than 80 blocks (one way) is just a little too much effort. apparently, the transit system will be free for a whole 3 DAYS (note sarcasm) due to the inconvenience. the busses roll on Tuesday, and the Seabus moves on Saturday. How many people do you know of who actually paid for the Skytrain anyway?? I'm just so happy, that I don't have to depend on my coworkers to get to work...although they are nice and 2 of them are very good friends of mine...there is one who has caused untold irritation during this strike...and it has taken a lot of effort on my part not to scream at her (or kick her teeth in)....never EVER on time, always complaining about how much carpooling cost, yadda yadda yadda....thank goodness tomorrow is the last day I have to put up with her [email protected] it's a 4 day weekend, and I can actually devote some time to build more of my high detailed ISD. ...if you want a preview of that, check this out. (shameless plug) http://www.globalserve.net/~rexx/

after 128 days the busses in British Columbia will finally be rolling again!! hooray! I hate carpooling.

I...think....I'm.....going....blurrrk.....to.....huuuurrrmmphhhh.....I gotta go! runs away and just makes it to the bowl.

whether it's 'just as "good" as the first movie' is a matter of opinion. Unfortunately opinion means very little in this day and age, when movies with no plot, lot's of car chases and the occasional boob shot consistently remains in the #1 slot for weeks...I'm a cynic. I long for more intelligent movies, like 12 Monkeys, the Usual Suspects, the Sixth Snese, Unbreakable, Snatch, Seven, etc. As for Sci fi movies, I just wish they would make movies of the calibre of Stargate (where the 'Aliens' speak NO ENGLISH) and the story is the driving force behind the film. Nice effects should only be used to add punch to the plot, and not be the reason the plot is there in the first place.

I understand why they do it...it makes economical sense, but it does not encourage me to go out and buy games like that....I would rather wait unti lthey're in the bargain bin for $20 or less before I consider that. There are gamnes out there that come out that are huge...BCM will be one of them (and I can't wait), and those are the kind of games that will get me to open my wallet.

good question...I really don't know much about the Sims, although I do know that it is insanely popular...seemingly far moreso than Black and White. But Black and White isn't a 'bad' game in my opinion. The Sims is more of a 'life simulator' than Black and White, and I think that it may offer more 'fiddly things' to do.

what is the deal with all these games coming out that are so damn short?? Startrek Elite Force is too short, Max Payne is too short, Blue Shift is too short...seems to me that the game companies are trying to make the most amount of money on a single product as is humanly or 'virtually' possible....there's very little value for money anymore....

MidnightGreen - It is called Majestic I believe, it is a game that is a mystery that you have to solve on line. A CIA type spy game, where you can get emails and phone calls from the server and stuff. Interesting idea....but I don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night by a game...

Filthy says: "A wet load in the pants of cinema." ROFL I think I wet my own pants. this guy's reminiscent of Lowtax at Something Awful.

very cool indeed.

also, the really funny thing is that you can actually take over the entire map of a game and THEN do the gold story scrolls...that's one thing I didn't really like, for example you can go as fast or as slow as you want in the game, but it doesn't actually affect the outcome until you progress through the story. I would have thought that the gold story scrolls would activate automatically if you have started something that would eventually take place within that scroll. For example in Land 2, when you take over the first village. I took over nearly the entire map, completed most of the silver scroll puzzles and then activated the gold story scroll and then had to take over the villages again....weird.

that would definitely be something cool...like GCNN (Galcom Central Network News) or Galnet or something. I remember that they did that in the game first encounters but the news became very very repetitive over time. I would think that the news aspect would have to be at least a little bit dynamic. Afterall, most of the news in the world is variations on the same stupidity, for example rebellion, cargo theft, assassinations and that kind of thing. That would be a very cool feature in GCO, making news of other players' exploits in a commentary that makes sense and if the player wants to, can go and investigate (or participate in) the transpiring events...coolness.

well, I bought the game when it came out and it constantly crashed. it didn't even recognize the latest ATI drivers (I was shocked at that). But when the (official) patch was released, everything seems to run just great. it's a phenomenal game.

yeouch. bargain bin indeed.

moon flowers. Moonbeam. Moonsocket. Moondingus. moon-just-woke-up. moon-shutting-up-now.

that is...unless the game was just that good. Like Half Life or Deus Ex...or Command and Conquer Red Alert, or Tie Fighter. however there are some games that are totally pointless to play the second time (or the first time if you were that 'unlucky') Phantasmagoria springs to mind. It took me a whopping 5 hours to complete the 7 cd pile of fettid, rotting crapioca and I cared about as much for the characters in the 'movie' about as much as I do for anything I flush down the toilet. oh and other great games were those by access software...the Tex murphy games. Killing moon and the Pandora directive were the best, although I liked the last one (overseer), it didn't jump out at me as much as the first 2 did. there was a game that Activision made a few years ago called 'Spycraft: The great game', although it played like a tv show and I thought it was rather short, it truly was a great game. it took itself very seriously and the attention to detail in that game were excellent. I said it before and I'll say it again, it's the little details and the surprises that make the experience worthwhile. However you are right, there was no replayability in Spycraft, but it was well worth the price of admission.

I thought pretty hard about getting Anachronox when I was looking at the box...but decided on Battle for Dune, simply because I knew I would definitely enjoy it...I'm a total sucker for an RTS game. Also I didn't know enough about Anachronox, and as you say it's short and easy, so that reinforces (and makes me glad of) the fact that Emperor has over 150 levels.

I actually did a search for a similar topic and couldn't find one....at least it isn't specified in any of the titles in this forum and the serach came up with nothing... as for the detailing of the interiors, I'm really not all that disappointed, considering that there will be so much in this game that I will be satisfied when it comes out due to the sheer magnitude of things to do and see. Afterall this is not a game that can be classified as a specific type, but rather an amalgamation of multiple games (as has been said many times before). hmm, an rpg doesn't fit, a strategy game doesn't fit, a simulator doesn't totally fit, an fps doesn't fit...just what is BCM then? It's a 'virtual reality' game in the truest sense.

no clues, or no interiors?

well, I'm now $100 in debt...but what the hell, I made an impulse buy...I VERY rarely succumb to that. I just ify it by saying that I'm entitled to a treat now and then.

as you will discover at this point, I have not downloaded the demo of BCM at this time...it would take me a couple of weeks on this cruddy little connection.... I've seen the stills on the planets, in space, and in the water. They look really promising and the level of detail looks impressive, especially considering the sheer volume of stuff in this game. I know that as the player, it will be possible to play the game in fps mode, but will all the interiors of space stations and ships be built too? seems like way too much work, but then again, I've been surprised before. any clues?

well, I broke down and said "what the hell'. I went out and just picked up a Logitech Wingman Digital 3d Extreme. This is by far the best stick I've ever owned. (I also picked up Emperor: Battle for Dune...so far it looks really great! the story is pretty cool too so far and the production values are really high...but then, I've only played it for about an hour so far. I'm on mission 3 of the Atreides. later, Lucas

well, as soon as I have more than a couple of loonies (dollar coins) to rub together, I'm going to run out and get them...as well as a decent joystick.

System Shock 2 was a fantastic game, the atmosphere and the story were brilliant. when I bought my p3 last year, the first 2 games I bought were Half Life and System Shock 2...in fact I played SS2 again a few weeks ago...I love that game. I've heard a lot about Freespace 2, but never bought it, the primary reason being that my joystick is a tad...crappy. I fully intend to rectify that travesty very soon (3 pay periods in August work wonders for addictions such as these ) I have wanted to play freespace 1 and 2 in fact and will probably pick up both of them (even though the reviews for 2 have been FAR more favourable than the original). I also heard a lot of Swat 3, and actually really liked the original police Quest games (I know they are not at all similar). There are just so many games out there, that I like to pick my games very carefully these days...I usually pick up games that have the highest possible ratings (they have to be great, or I won't touch them). I haven't heard anything at all about 'Loose Cannon' is that an elite type game? I just wish that Braben would at least show more teaser pics of the game than the one he currently has, which is just a pic of a running woman....it raises too many questions as to what Elite 4 is going to be...I guess I have no choice but to wait for the inevitable.