AndrewTS

I'd like to hear their explanation for the door lag being the worst it's ever been in the series.

I passed on it because of how lousy Brainiac Attacks was, but I guess now I'll rent it unless Cartoon Network shows it within the month, like they did with BA.

I'd definitely say Halo campaign had a lot of weak areas (the forerunner ruins were so repetitive that the game used some ridiculously contrived guide arrows to basically always point you in the right direction). However, the game got overrated so much because it was a launch title and it was still very good. That almost never happens unless it's a port. I'm not sure if it actually brought anything in the way of innovations to the genre, but it was the first console title I can think of to have split-screen co-op that ran very smoothly and the auto-recharging shield. I have no comment on multiplayer. Halo 2's single player, which I just started, I'm enjoying immensely. From production values to the scope of the enviroments to the overall variety of play, so much feels fresh and fun compared to the rather pedestrian Halo campaign. I love some of the small, added touches that weren't in Halo 1--the new weapons, vehicle hijacking, dual-wielding, and the terrific soundtrack. What do you mean by "Halo 2 actually was a step backwards instead of forward"? EDIT: I just popped in Halo and...there's a update available from Live. Wha-guh? That seems strange, because a big deal was made at E3 supposedly about how well the A.I. has improved, but I guess it's plausible there are people who haven't played a Halo before...

Would you care to substantiate that with some supporting arguments, so that maybe a discussion can be made? Otherwise, based on some of your past posts, it seems like you hate it on the principle that its a FPS with some of them darn Space Marine-ys. Would be better with a ka-wai-i robot and a 2D perspective?

1up's details on the new Kingdom Hearts projects: PS3 rumble is official: http://kotaku.com/gaming/breaking/sony-con...mble-301715.php Secret Agent Clank for PSP announced: http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3162960

Matt answered your main questions, but I advise against getting a used system. It likely will red ring. You might end up buying a hacked console that was banned from Live. It likely will be out of warranty, and if it dies and it isn't a red ring issue, you're out a lot of money. If you buy a new system you can get one of the ones with the extra heatsink installed, the 1 year warranty along with the 3 years red ring protection, and typically you can get a brand new game free. Plus you're guaranteed to get all the accessories. A used one might be missing the headset or something. Hint: if it's a 20GB with an HDMI port, it's 100% definitely got the extra heatsink installed. That includes the Halo 3 360, if you want that hideous thing.

Microsoft has decided to be utter dicks and start banning Live accounts for people who are playing Halo 3 now: http://kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-live/play-ha...nned-301408.php They seem to figure it doesn't matter that there are people who legally obtained retail copies...

LOL, it's a bit late for that. EDIT: Plus, somebody has reviewed it: http://kotaku.com/gaming/big-in-japan/fami...lo-3-301319.php OVR of 37/40. Pity no one there will be buying it. I guess they figured it doesn't matter, because it's Japan.

I'll be picking it up, too. I'm also coming from a rather quaint perspective of only recently playing through the first 2 games: I played through and beat Halo on Saturday, got Halo 2 yesterday, and expect to finish it some time before the H3 launch. The cliffhanger ending won't matter for me. I'm still not exactly drawn to online matches, although with Gears I enjoyed playing co-op. Online co-op may be a big difference-maker for me.

free 1 year subscription to egm: https://www.zdmcirc.com/forms/secure/EGM_joystiq_Partn.html

This info isn't actually from the yet-to-begin TGS, but full details on it will be revealed then. http://kh2.co.uk/ I think it's a Wii game, because it still looks like a console title but I think it's a bit late for a new PS2 title.

It'll lag like hell if you're, oh, in North America and playing somebody in Japan. That's a given for any online. More locally should be smooth. It better be. ChrisM is in the Philly area and I'm in the Pittsburgh area, so I'm expecting a good experience.

*thumbs up* Online *finally* confirmed. *thumbs down* Friend Codes. Uuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggh

http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/wii/game/news...402143948293070

Yoshi Story is every bit as pointless, derivative, tedious and soulless as the gaming press says Donkey Kong Country is. Even the press release can't make it seem fun. PICKY EATING, what a brilliant game mechanic that was. They left out about the sniffing skill...which requires being in the right spot, holding "Up" I believe, until your Yoshi shrieks. Every FEW STEPS is a possible new location for a fruit. You can play through different levels depending in on...your score, or something...each time, so you can experience different lousy level designs each time before getting the "end" of the game to hear the diabeetus-causing Yoshis song. End of the game, I believe. But NOBODY forgets the Yoshi song. It's like some unholy mixture of Teletubbies and Barney. And the reason everyone hates Yoshi's Story is that Yoshi's Island is one of the best games ever made, and Yoshi's Story is garbage. Garbage baked into a cake and covered with sweet icing. It looks innocuous, it looks sweet, it has a pedigree that tells you it has to be great, but it isn't. It's just a total kick in the balls. I've seen people trying to justify it in that it was "meant for young kids," which is utterly laughable.

VC games for North America today: Yoshi's Story (Nintendo 64, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) Super Thunder Blade (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) World Class Baseball (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) I guess this makes Super Thunder Blade the "winner." Do *NOT* get Yoshi's Story unless you know exactly what you're getting into. It's quite terrible.

That was a tough boss, yeah. I wouldn't say I'd lower my score over it (what was hard about Aries, btw? The rest of the game was pretty damn annoying because of the lousy platforming, but I beat him without too much trouble), though. However, if you don't blow out his reactors it's easy for him to completely restore himself to full health. Just blowing those damn orbs is time consuming, too. I think it took me 45-50 minutes or so to beat him.

http://www.newtrackandfield.com/ Looks like a hilarious, awesome, fun game. Plus, the character roster is a hoot. Sparkster is cool though, but this tho... http://www.newtrackandfield.com/atg/characters (and click on...)

New trailer: http://media.wii.ign.com/media/873/873984/vids_1.html (well, 2 days old...)

Because you need a DVD *burner* to *read* DVDs? Combos or Supers were all at the very least *options* on the G4s.

G4 probably is fine. G3ers? Bye-bye! Good riddance, all you no-DVD-drive-having whiners.

Thoth: The wording your post is rather confusing, but I assume you meant to say that Neo Geo games are official for North American VC, and those titles are the first three. As seen here: http://www.snkplaymoreusa.com/pr-9-12-2007.php Although--meh. The PS2 AoF and Fatal Fury 1-3 comps are 15 bucks on PS2. Hurry up with Magician Lord! The bad thing about Virtual Console is that it's discouraging compilations, which are typically great values plus they also don't take up space in my console memory. At least we got the Metal Slug compilation.

Odd typo. Unless there were some cutscenes I missed. If Nintendo would be able to sort out the legal issues, Goldeneye would be worth buying even at a "premium" price (i.e. an extra 100-200 Wii Points). Anyone who has downloaded an N64 game on VC knows that the games no longer have such ridiculous blurring. Textures are far clearer and crisper. Couple that with classic controller support (dual analogs) and you have a game that will look and play better than it did on its native hardware. Although, rumble would probably be out...did GE have rumble? I didn't really make much use of it on N64 aside from Starfox since I had to shove that big clunky rumble pack into the pad.

I would saw those could be *charitably* called "competent*, but miles away from "good." To each his own.

Since when has PWS Anderson made anything good? Are you mistaking him for another Paul Anderson? WS is the one who makes primarily video game movies, writes or directs vehicles for his girlfriend, and pissed AVP's potential down his leg.