AndrewTS

I always see it referred to as "2nd Gig." Is that something explained in the series (perhaps an ep I missed), or is it just the 2nd season?

I liked the Ghost in the Shell movies, but actually enjoy the SAC show a lot more. Stuff actually happens without the need to make the dialogue so thick, to make the animation impress the hell out of you by having long sequences of visual metaphors, and no need to watch lots of scenery with no characters in them while the soundtrack tries to put you to sleep with chanting and drums. Whatever happened to the guy responsible for Riding Bean/Gunsmith Cats? His stuff kicked ass.

Mega Move = unrealistic "super" move that you can do any time. Not the regular finishers. Diesel's Mega Move--you have to stun your opponent, stand behind him/her, hold L/R, and down down right b. Doesn't ever seem to work. Everyone else's I can do without a problem. Primal Rage is a really interesting case, though. It came out at the height of MK madness, got a lot of alleged critical praise, then nobody cared about it. The control mechanics (holding multiple buttons down then doing many a joystick gymnastics routine to do a move) didn't sit well with many people. The PS1 version looked beautiful, with a fabulous cgi intro. I rented it, drooled over the graphics, but when I played it I thought "wow, this isn't very fun."

Was every single guide book/cheat site wrong? Because Diesel's mega move is nearly-impossible to do. I did it once, and never again. (on SNES) HBK's megamove makes Rumbles on RAW ridiculously easy. I'm surprised Anya had so little to say about the topic.

Minute or so a week...I'm not sure how that stacks up to my hour or so every few months, but your apathy for the game is rather impressive. How far are you? I've just completed the Trial of Atlas in Pandora's Temple. The dead guy there who stacks bodies on the pyre is so far my favorite character in the entire game. "I'm dead and my job sucks, but hey, just want to give you some friendly advice." God of War is a display of mind-numbing tedium wrapped up in absolutely bitchin' presentation. Shame I can't have fun with it. On the other hand, Prince of Persia games I can play hours on end, have fun, and want more, damning the lack of hours in the day and damning the length of the games when finished (okay, I do have my gripes with Warrior, but even that one shines a lot). There are enemies that I have to fight tooth and nail against and get satisfaction from killing, instead of a bunch of monsters you mow down half-a-dozen at a time. However, that's pretty much me, it seems. Of course, in that equation I must of course count my bias for platformers, GoW's pitifully half-ass platforming and sometimes-horrible camera angles. In PoP, the combat is flawed, and is an excuse to keep you fighting before getting to the next brilliant platforming sequence. In GoW, the combat is where it shines, but you get it out the ass. There is platforming and puzzle solving, but the platforming is pedestrian and the puzzle solving is frequently tedious because of circumstances where you can't avoid attacks (rows archers before you get zeus' lightning, for instance). PoP I can look around, explore, wondering, "what the hell am I supposed to do there?" So you scout. Climb a wall. Jump a ledge. There's risk, but easily-countered risk with your powers. Then you figure it out. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" Kind of like Zelda but with jumping. Anyway, then you do it, and you move on. So after you finish the game, go through it again...you can kick ass up and down the place, and have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. Very replay-friendly, in my belief. Although PoP's presentation took a hell of a nosedive after Sand of Time. WW is frequently ugly, the sound-mixing is terrible, menus and such just aren't as pretty as they could/should be. The real-time cinemas are often very poor, mainly with the different volumes of characters/music and the character models themselves. Hopefully Assassin's Creed will fix all of that.

Justice League Task Force is worth the dollar to see how absolutely horrible Acclaim could make a knockoff, at a time when Capcom was creating some remarkable Marvel fighters.

They did, 8 years ago.

(Thread bumped, because my Comments That Didn't Warrant a Thread fit in well here) In fact, the engine itself is the only thing I like about God of War. I hate that game. It's one of the most thoroughly unpleasant games I've ever played, and only its overall quality saves it by being burdened by all the usual "Mature" pitfalls. You've got the ridiculous amounts of gore, blood and guts. You've got strong misogynistic undertones. You've got a "hero" I'd sooner kill than help. You've got the silly plot that's a pretty slim excuse to just kill more and more. I hate the game so much that I've yet to finish it. It's not that it is hard, it's just that after about an hour or two, I get so disgusted with the game I have to abstain from it for about 2 months+. Plus the annoying crate puzzles you have to solve while being attacked by enemies are just ridiculously lazy game design. Actually, rarely anything in this game is little more than "annoyance." Nothing is really "hard." I'm playing on normal difficulty, and I could scarcely imagine how pitiful the challenge would be on Easy. They really wussed out on God of War 2. The only way I would like to play it is if I can hunt down and kill Kratos like you did Aries in the first game. There is hardly a more unlikeable protagonist in gaming. In fact, as soon as I finish GoW1 (at this pace, I'm guessing that'll be 2 days before Twilight Princess), I'm never playing it again.

I meant that's what Thrill Kill seemed like (they developed that). I think SM is better than what you give it credit for, but it does reek of a lot of the usual Midway laziness (particularly in the touted story mode). However, the fact that the engine for SM is either the God of War engine or a well-done clone of it really helps. In fact, the engine itself is the only thing I like about God of War. I think it's possibly the most overrated game of this console generation, and I'm more excited about what can be done with the engine itself than any sequel. (EDIT: More thoughts in the God of War 2 thread).

I feel the other way around. Elliot came off as an all-out dick to me, not just a slightly-overprotective father. Toss up whether it was just the writing to blame, but he seemed to really overplay it. Nolte I loved because he was supposed to be a loon and played it as such and then some, and him replicating his DUI mugshot was a cool bit of self-deprecating humor. Bana and Connelly's dullness really made it noticable too, although maybe Elliot/Nolte were unconsciously doing it to keep the film from being an utter snooze. I'm grant that the "HULKSMASH" strawman-builders may be blaming casual moviegoers and not other posters here. However, they don't make that clear, and frankly everyone from movie critics, to comic fans, to casual moviegoers have ripped The Hulk a new asshole for many varied and valid reasons. However, IF The Hulk were a just bad movie with lots of smashing, it probably would have gone down a lot smoother. Instead, it's a thick chowder of failed elements that makes you gag. More formulatic comic-book based films are going to come along, do the same cliche things (Fantastic 4, I'm looking at you), and likely be way more successful and get better WOM than the Hulk did. I think this is what these posters are looking at, but don't lump me in with those moviegoers. Think about it: you see a movie you like, but it's well known that a lot of people saw it and told everyone they knew "that movie sucked, don't bother seeing it." So I can sort of see the bitterness there. Rendclaw, likewise, has a good point about the expectations built up about the movie, too, although I personally didn't have those expectations. I read reviews on The Hulk. I knew what to *expect*, but I was underwhelmed at how pitifully it was executed.

Ahem. 3 in one page.

I love how the folks who defend The Hulk literally have no valid points, just fluffy generalizations ("PLOT! CHARACTER! DRA-MUH!") so they completely ignore the criticisms and build the same straw-man over and over ("UWANTED2hrHULKSMASH!"). Hell, 2 people did it in the span of a 1 page thread. I don't *hate* the movie (I saw the damn thing twice), but I laughed. A lot.

Political overtones aren't the same as satire, though. LotD played it straight.

Political overtones aren't the same as satire, though. LotD played it straight.

It's the nature of the beast with horror movies: either you get a buttload of sequels, or a remake down the line. Land of the Dead even eventually saw the light of day. House of Reanimator is supposed to be out by 2008, and will feature Stuart Gordon directing, Jeffrey Combs as Dr. West again, and William H. Macy as the President. The plot revolves around a Bush-like president dying in office, and a coverup over it where West is called in to revive the President. Should be at least fun, since Gordon will be directing instead of Yuzna (Beyond Reanimator was a bit too silly, and apparently tried to do everything possible to drain the concept dry), but supposedly his aim is "political satire," which I'm iffy about.

Same here, actually.

Disagree with everything there. How the hell anyone can take The Hulk seriously, when it's a 3-inch thick grilled cheese sandwich, is beyond me. Connelly and Bana's performances are so bland that I can only hope it was intentional, and that they were *supposed* to be empty, lifeless characters because of their relationships with their parents. However, every single antagonist, from both fathers to the corporation guys, just were on an all-out feeding frenzy on the scenery. That's even before you get into the idiotic and hilarious transitions that Ang Lee cluelessly dropped in. Don't get me started on the MUTATED KILLER POODLES and Absorbing Dad. Actually, I'm not being fair to Bana...he did get in a few hilarious lines at least. The "I like it" monologue is either really good or really bad (it's hard for me to decide), but it probably is the single best non-Nolte moment in the movie.

Slayer: only us B-movie fans have heard of them (and Space Mutiny), I gather. I'll grant that Butch Deadlift looked like a comically bulked-up superhero though. http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/superh.../rebbrown18.jpg Bad costume and actor, though.

The 1990 movie? Ha! You forget (or don't know of) the 2 TV movies done in 79.

Isn't it based on a comic strip?

The problem with The Hulk was that it absolutely sucked. For starters, the previously-mentioned pretentious psychobabble, unintentional cheese everywhere, the male and female leads had no chemistry ("my dad hates me" "mine too!" "I've never felt love, but you kind of fill that gaping void by being here to share my pain," "I feel the same way!") The antagonists were just bad, with no well-defined or explainable motivations (no, "I'm a dick, so I'm going to control ever aspect of my daughter's life by abusing my military authority" doesn't count). Let's not forget the horrible "hey, it's like a comic book!" stylistic shots, like when we got twenty different views of helicoptors broken up across many panels and pictures coming to life in people's hands. If it wasn't bad enough that it was utter horseshit that took itself overly seriously, they had to have a big, expensive superhero/supervillain fight at the end, probably just because they were obligated to. The Hulk was extremely funny, though, I'll give it that.

For fairness, the rest of Paradox's work: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/74902.html I'd like to be optimistic, but when you have the Backyard titles and The Unofficial Time Killers Sequel on your resume, I doubt you'll be able to make a good wrestling game.

I think probably a lot of it depends on how frequently you actually show up there. A mother of a 14 year old who came in to buy a PSP and GTA LCS simply because the rugrat wanted LCS (and who has never been there before) has a big "Sucker" sticker on her forehead, basically. Many I time I see these conspicuously consuming mothers plopping down 500+ for a premium pack 360, or a system with a bunch of games, and I'm utterly shocked considering the way they're usually dressed. I guess these are your nutjobs who will be fighting to the death at Christmas over the next hot new console, and will buy the PS3, games be damned. My local EB guys know I come in there, buy mostly used games, buy niche games that often nobody cares about, usually get a new game once or twice a month, hook me up with free mags and extra preorder swag, and never hassle me to buy anything. They often *will* mention something I might be genuinely interested in, but they're making conversation and actually are interested in it too. However, stores I come to maybe 2 times a month are a bit more pushy, although even those stores have folks that recognize me and usually leave me alone these days. Of course, there are stores that just have stupid clerks in them, and think Anya is "DOA girl" despite the fact that she's a regular and hates those games, prefers Tekken and SC over them, and only remotely cares about the series because of XBV. However, I'll leave it at that, because Anya has at least a dozen similar.

Ok, back to wild speculation!

EDIT: The new roster update is apparently fake. Ignore this.