Say I have a friend who wants to get an old school PSX so that he can relive the 90's. Say that he knew nothing about PSX, and wanted to know what were the very best titles from every genre (RPG, FPS, ADVENTURE, ETC.) to get.

Say that.


And then repeat it here.

yes...i just wanted to point out that it once was my birthday, but i had been working at a church camp with no tv, internet, and 1 phone line....got back august 2nd and my bday was july 13, so i spent my summer getting up around 7 and going to bed about 10 30....

yup so how is everyone? you all missed me?;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4797631.stm

Another case of child abuse, only this time there's a bit of a twist as it's done with drugs. Wonder exactly what motivated her to do this? Maybe she just wanted her kid to shut up for a while? At any rate, the kid's been removed from her custody and seems to be "clean" at this point. From things I've read and seen, apparently while the "hardcore" stuff has a much greater level of addiction, it apparently also leaves the system a lot easier than stuff like alcohol, so that's one good thing.

Still, very stupid and irresponsible mother here. If a reversable and safe surgery option for essentially neutoring and spaying babies comes along, I think I'll be pushing for the social engineering to make that as standard and recommended a procedure to do to kids as male circumcision is today. That way, kids can be as stupid as they want to be (with regards to the continued risk of STDs) without the risk of accidently creating yet another human spore that will repeat the cycle with a nice lack of education, and when they are actually WANTING to have a kid, they just get the reversing surgery and go for it. It's like the perfect solution to like a billion problems without stepping on anyone's rights or requiring laws (remember, social engineering would be required though).

The other steps would all require legal stuff, but that would be a last resort when I'm supreme dictator.

You buy five books and the cost is over $500.

Things unt note:

1.) Ja, Wii will not be playable to ze zeneral publick, but will be zhown and will playable for daz press.

2.) Ze name of ze show (for Nintendo) iz called 'Wii keep our promise". Though it'z unknown at diz point if Nintendo will give out a price unt date, ja, though new titles, more footage unt of course a megaton or two are to be ezxpeckted.

3.) In case you wore wondering, Zony wont be zhowcasing the PS3 to the publick. While Nintendo might be looking out for publick safety unt avoiding thoze 7 hour linez to play demoz, Zony is opting to avoid the whole negative-press-thing that they ran in to at za E3. (they're still being schtookt for the unimpressive footage and of course unt giant enemy crab)

4.) Dis unt the second to ze lazt show Nintendo has before it'z November launch (rumored to be between the 4th and 15th), next is ze Tokyo show in.... Tokyo, which I believe is juzt a few weekz after DAZ DEUTSCHLAND zhow. Zo, Nintendo may not spill all the beans until daz Tokyo, but then again, Nintendo has been promising a big turnz aroundz for how they've been dealing with Europe in the past (unt svinestukker), so it could be das blockbuster zhow. In the end, all we can ezxpeckt is more footage unt the 28 launch titlez unt more announced games, which btw is up to 88 at the moment (to hit within the launch window about 3 months in), which i'm sure das deutschland will get a kick out of.


Leipzig Game Convention in 6 days ladies.

You may only pozt unt you are speaking with unt stupid DAS DEUTSCHLAND accent, ja?

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3152902

Seems Twilight Princess on the Wii will NOT in fact support using the Gamecube controller configuration.

If you ask me, there is no reason at all for this feature to be lacking. From reviews I've read, the Wii support in that game is pretty substandard anyway and a lot of things work better on a Gamecube controller. That may have changed, but give us the choice, and NO, I don't mean give us the choice by releasing a worse copy of the game on the Gamecube and saying "you can always BUY that as well", I mean give us the choice in the best version to give it the best of all worlds.

Hopefully between now and release there will be enough complaints that they will add GCN controller support to the Wii version as it should be (there is no reason, NO reason, they can't include something already in the Gamecube version in the Wii version, ALL things of GCN should be in Wii..., don't make me come in there!). If not that, maybe the game can be patched with proper support later. I don't want to see reviews of the Wii version saying "an otherwise better version marred by poor implementation of Wii control" or "stick with the Gamecube version". Don't do this Nintendo!

Also apparently some unique games will also be downloadable to the system through "virtual console".

To anyone who's been downloading trailers in Xbox Live lately (read: GR), have you seen that new Bomberman trailer?

...What have they DONE? Bomberman is now a cyborg in a gritty realistic future (probably full of highway gangs and perhaps some controlling company with a military forcing the people to fight for showmanship, or maybe there's like a rebel showing the world that his way is best through VIOLENCE, just like Socrates used to routinely apply his elbow to the jaws of his students which through repetition would eventually lead to enlightenment, or a coma). He's got like this METAL CLAW FUSED to his body, and there's nothing even resembling "cute" to be found in this game. This is the greatest breech of "existing mood corruption" since the new Megaman Powered Up series on PSP.

At any rate aside from that it looks like they added the ability to design your characters and play online, but nothing else from what I can tell.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3152856

Quote:Microsoft mentioned a new kind of microtransaction at the session, as well, which they are calling "consumables." These purchases would be re-purchasable items i.e. if a game was selling 100 gold pieces, you would be able to rebuy 100 gold pieces when you needed them. The "consumables" tech will be included in this fall's release of the SDK.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6155767.htm...ws;title;0

... if Gamestop's listing of an EA classics collection for PSP is accurate, that is.

Quote:Retail Radar: PSP to get EA retro comp
GameStop details 14-game collection of old-school classics, says Electronic Arts is bringing Syndicate, Ultima, Wing Commander, and more to PSP.
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Aug 14, 2006 7:12 pm ET

Publishers like Capcom, Sega, Midway, Taito, and Namco have been offering retro-themed compilations for years on a variety of platforms. However, the biggest third-party publisher of them all, Electronic Arts, has generally shied away from the practice, other than a few offerings such as the recent Command & Conquer: The First Decade collection.

That might be changing, if a new GameStop product listing is accurate. According to the retailer, Electronic Arts is jumping into the retro trend headfirst with EA Replay for the PSP. Slated for release October 3 with a price tag of $29.99, the compilation will let players relive 14 of the publisher's back-catalog offerings, including fondly remembered hits like Syndicate, Ultima VII: The Black Gate, Road Rash, Wing Commander, and Jungle Strike. Some of the games will support head-to-head multiplayer action, all will be playable in widescreen or normal views, and all of them will allow players to save their games at any time. The site even says it will include unlockable game art.

The full list of games listed for the compilation is included below, along with their first release dates and systems. Given the difficulties inherent in porting a keyboard-and-mouse control scheme to PSP, it is likely that the compilation would feature shrunken-down versions of the games' console versions, so those are the dates and systems given below.

B.O.B.--1993--SNES and Genesis
Budokan--1990--Genesis
Desert Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis
Jungle Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis
Haunting Starring Polterguy--1993--Genesis
Mutant League Football--1993--Genesis
Road Rash--1992--Genesis, later on 3DO
Road Rash II--1993--Genesis
Road Rash III--1995--Genesis
Syndicate--1995--SNES, 3DO, Jaguar
Ultima: The Black Gate--1994--SNES
Virtual Pinball--1993--Genesis
Wing Commander--1993--SNES
Wing Commander: The Secret Missions--1993--SNES

Please note, while retailer listings frequently jump the gun on publishers' product announcements, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's existence; nor should the absence of a listing be considered as proof that a game isn't coming to a given platform.

... contraversial, that is. It's actually a completely tame game... the only people bound to be offended are gamers who wanted GTA in School... seems like Rockstar really wants to tone down its negative image in the media... but this? Doesn't sound so interesting...

Trailer
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/724/724815p1.html

First heard about this a couple of days ago in the paper (New York Times: easily best paper in the country)... here's a copy of the article (since you people still haven't bothered to make an account at NY Times Online, have you...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/arts/1...oref=login

Quote:With Bully, Rockstar Looks to Beat the Grand Theft Auto Rap
Rockstar Games


Scenes from Bully by Rockstar Games. In the game giving a smaller child a noogie or other gentle razzing is allowed, though it is not encouraged.

Article Tools Sponsored By
By SETH SCHIESEL
Published: August 10, 2006

Rockstar Games, best known for its violent, controversial and wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series, today plans to unveil its major game for the holiday season: a whimsical boarding-school romp called Bully.


A scene from the game Bully, in which standing up to and even fist-fighting bullies to stop them from tormenting others is encouraged.

When Rockstar first mentioned Bully to the public more than a year ago at a video-game trade show, the project sent a wave of concern through the industry. Anti-game activists claimed that it would encourage players to become bullies themselves. Even some executives at other game companies feared that Bully, coming from Rockstar, a company that has long been a lightning rod for politicians and others fearful of video games, would drag the entire industry into yet another quagmire of criticism.

It appears, however, that those claims and fears may have been overblown. Rather than thrusting the player into the role of a tough, the entire point of the game is that bullies (noticeable at a distance by their distinctive white shirts) are everyone’s enemies. A player takes the role of Jimmy, a new 15-year-old student trying to navigate the complex social hierarchies of boarding school while earning respect from various factions like the nerds, the preppies, the jocks and even the teachers.

Standing up to and even fist-fighting bullies to stop them from tormenting geeks and other students is encouraged. Giving a smaller child a noogie or other gentle razzing is allowed, though not encouraged. Hitting a smaller child, a girl of any age or an adult is strictly forbidden. You can try it, but you will not get away with it. The dramatic, ton-of-bricks response from school security, complete with purposely boring punishments, is meant to be a strong disincentive.

In short: old-time adolescent high jinks like setting off a stink bomb are O.K.; serious delinquency and criminality are not. The player is certainly not meant to be a total goody two-shoes — that would make a seriously boring game — but he is a cutup and a scamp rather than a seriously bad kid. Unlike real-life boarding schools, you can’t get drunk or use drugs. If a player skips class, the prefects come looking. If a player sleeps too little, your character begins to feel sluggish and unresponsive.

The broader point is that rather than simply transferring the wanton violence and mayhem of the Grand Theft Auto series to a juvenile setting, Rockstar seems to have pulled out that game’s most compelling elements — an open world for the player to explore, tightly defined and memorable characters, a strong story line, high-end voice acting — and rewrapped them in a game that the company clearly hopes will be rated T for Teen rather than M for Mature.

The game sanitizes many aspects of the modern prep school experience. There is no mission to sneak into a girl’s dorm at night and have sex. There is no plan to hide drug use from the authorities. There is no quest to find a liquor store in town that will sell to you.

In short it’s not really a boarding-school simulation, and that may be a good thing. Compared with real life, Rockstar has totally played down sex, drugs and alcohol. But as befits a game called Bully, it has certainly blown out of proportion the amount of real bullying that goes on these days.

In terms of the prevalence of actual physical intimidation, what Rockstar has done (perhaps unawares) is to take the reality of an all-boys school and shoehorn it into a coed environment. An all-boys school can really be like “Lord of the Flies” or a prison, combat brigade or any other all-male environment: brutal and physically hierarchical. But one of the miracles of coeducation is that as soon as girls are around, the boys often start treating one another in a more civilized fashion, even among themselves. As soon as there are girls on the campus, it’s not cool to be a bully anymore.

Bully the game does not capture that. The fictional school is coed, but among themselves the boys act as if they haven’t seen a girl in months.

In the end, though, that is what the public expects of its boarding-school vision. In the end it is irrelevant whether Bully is truly realistic, just as it is irrelevant whether “The West Wing’’ is a truly realistic depiction of the White House or if James Bond is a realistic secret agent. What matters is whether the material up for sale fits into the public’s idealized image of the subject in question. Bully certainly does that.

Rockstar knows, however, that no matter what the company says before the game comes out this fall, the final product will be dissected and analyzed like perhaps no video game before it. Rockstar caused a firestorm of controversy for itself and the entire industry last year when Internet hackers uncovered a hidden scene in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that depicted the protagonist performing sexlike motions with his girlfriend.

That controversy prompted politicians from Capitol Hill to California to introduce legislation regulating the sale of video games (though such laws have routinely been thrown out by courts) as well as an investigation of Rockstar by the Federal Trade Commission, which concluded with a wrist-slap warning against deceptive marketing but no financial penalties. It is no leap to suggest that if any risqué or even marginal content is found in Bully, things will not go well for Rockstar or its corporate parent, Take-Two Interactive, which is already under federal investigation for its bookkeeping.

But if the game manages to avoid the pitfalls of controversy, it is positioned to be one of the big hits of the holiday season. Sony certainly hopes so. Rockstar plans to announce today that Bully will be available exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation 2 game console, which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. The game is scheduled to go on sale in October.

That could be a little confusing for some consumers because Sony plans to introduce the PS2’s successor, the PlayStation 3, this November. Bully, however, will not be available for the newer system. With the PS2 near the end of its life cycle, Bully could be one of the last big hits for that system.