I got an Xbox360

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, I went to Target today and got an Xbox360. Got a used copy of Perfect Dark Zero at Gamestop for $45.

[Dark Jaguar]

Which version? The cheap one or the complete one?

I myself am waiting for that price drop. So many collector's editions of PD0 are still floating around that I'm not too worried about missing that special deal. Heck, there are still special editions of Jade Empire and Doom 3 in big stacks everywhere.

[Great Rumbler]

I got the premium pack.

[lazyfatbum]

So.... gonna post your thoughts on.... how PDZ is..... or are we just supposed to guess?

and smething more substantial than 'it's great, it sucks, like animal porn but more violent' I mean atleast two paragraphs please.

[Dark Jaguar]

You should also pick up a copy of Kameo and tell us how that is. I enjoyed the demo.

Also, does that controller use a rechargeble battery pack, or do you have to buy that seperatly? To be honest, everything everywhere should include a rechargeble battery pack, like my glasses.

[Great Rumbler]

Aside from Oblivion and probably GRAW too, I won't be getting too many Xbox360 games just yet.

Initial impressions of Perfect Dark Zero using random sentences:

Graphics are pretty good.
Sometimes hard to see enemies because of lighting [night-time missions and such].
Turning seems kind of slow.
Shooting stuff is fun, though aiming is kind of wonky.
You can hit stuff with you're gun.
Why is Joanna dressed like she's going to some high school party?
Kind of hard sometimes.
Multiplayer is fun, but need wireless adaptor for online funness.

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm, X360 games I'd get... PGR3, Kameo, PDZ, and DOA4, and that's it... oh, Geometry Wars... and I don't see much coming for a while, either; I'm certainly not interested in Oblivion... (maybe someday I'll foolishly end up getting it anyway, but it'd be as much of a waste of money as Morrowind was...) Of course, I don't have the money to get an X360, but that's because I spent money on other things... I probably technically could have afforded one at one point, if I'd bought that and like nothing else, but "buy a bunch of games" wins over "buy one thing for more money than the previous total", unless it's something I really want...

[Sacred Jellybean]

Graphics are pretty good.
...
Turning seems kind of slow.
Shooting stuff is fun, though aiming is kind of wonky.

Yeah, those are the impressions I got when I played it at a LAN party (obviously, console games were allowed). I wasn't all that impressed, but I only played for 10 minutes.

[Dark Jaguar]

Why would you need a wireless adapter? Just plug in the ethernet cable where your XBox used to be.

[Great Rumbler]

My router's too far away for me to plug it in.

[Dark Jaguar]

What? You don't have giant 300 foot long cables you string over your roof and into a window to hook up computers on opposite ends of the house to a router via wire?

....because I do that.

[Great Rumbler]

We only have one cable that long and it's hooked into my brother's computer.

[A Black Falcon]

What? You don't have giant 300 foot long cables you string over your roof and into a window to hook up computers on opposite ends of the house to a router via wire?

No, no... Just cut holes in the floor and go through the basement, simple!

[Dark Jaguar]

If I had a basement, sure. However, not only do I lack a basement, I have never, not even once, lived in a house that had a basement, nor did I have neighbors who had basements.

Oddest thing that ever happened was when some family member just said "I'll just sleep in the basement", and when we said we didn't have one, it took about 5 minutes to convince the man that yes, that WAS in fact true, not a joke.

[A Black Falcon]

I've seen houses that don't have basements, built just on a concrete slab... kind of odd really... Of course many apartments don't have basements, and nor do mobile homes, but that's different.

[Dark Jaguar]

Odd? Most houses I've seen don't have basements. They are things I only see on TV really.

[lazyfatbum]

It depends on what part of the country you're in. Typically, northern houses have basements. the further south you go, the softer the soil, the less likely you'll see a basement.

[The Former DMiller]

Yeah, it's very rare to see a house without a basement in the Chicago area.

[Great Rumbler]

No one around here has a basement.

[lazyfatbum]

Well your house is gay then.

[Sacred Jellybean]

Yeah, basements are the best places to go and throw down a shag rug and TV and sinky couch where you can play video games until the wee hours of the morning. Lava lamps are optional, but they make you feel better when you reach that point where you lose exhaustion and enjoy the sleep deprivation. Stereos are kind of important, especially if your video game has bad music or bad music quality (THPS 1 & 2 on N64, for serious), but they aren't a necessity. Just the sinky couch and the TV and the video games are the bare essentials.

Man, I miss my old basement. :(

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, basements are great... cooler than the rest of the house in the summer... cold sometimes in the winter of course, but that's what the furnace or spaceheaters are for. And yes, often a great place to put a videogame setup. :)

Odd yes, because virtually all houses up here have basements. It's quite rare to not have one. Why would houses not have them, anyway, given the added space? Is the water table too high and it'd flood or something (though wetter basements do have the solution of a sump pump, usually; our basement was always dry though...)?

[Dark Jaguar]

Why not just use a room? What's the big deal about a basement, aside from the fact that Tornado Alley, where GR and myself FIND OURSELVES, would actually benefit the MOST from such a room considering it is the best place to hide from the most powerful winds on the PLANET (though fortunatly they don't occupy nearly as much space as a hurricane, so the odds are in my favor...).

And actually ABF, I believe that's the reason I've heard. As far as a bilge pump, that's really not a very feasible option. Further, all that moss and stuff can get dangerous, not to mention whatever the pump can't get to will damage the flooring, which is now above a giant hole in the ground to collapse into. And if not the flooring, the water will eventually cause even cement walls in a basement to collapse.

For most people here, it simply isn't an option, even though we would benefit far more.

Oh and, coolest place in the house? I guess when those places up there all seem to lack basic airconditioning, that might be important. Here, relying on some aspect of nature to save us from the heat just isn't an option. People still die of heat stroke by large numbers here every summer.

There's a reason not many people lived here before trains could transport giant blocks of ice for the local houses, and even after it only really picked up when air conditioning became affordable. This isn't exactly a hospitable climate to live in without some sort of technology.

[lazyfatbum]

A house with a basement has a sunken foundation, if the soil is soft, or the water table is too high like you were saying, it becomes a problem for stability, not just flooding. you could end up making yourself a sink-hole.

florida is all sand for example, most of your southern states are either clay or soft dirt that quickly becomes mud. Some states have such a hard deposit of minerals that it becomes too expensive to put in the basement though.

And then you have structural design, like homes that were built by germans, dutch, swedish, etc, who each have their own tastes in home design that they brought over. Dutch like to have a large attic since they cant dig down in Holland but the germans love the sunken living rooms and basements. Of course all the newer homes in America follow the pre-fab colonial design with vaulted or cathedral cielings that are made of dry wall. Looks great in a nice house, looks like ass in a pre-fab 'community' or one of those 'over night suburbs'. Fucking brits keep trying to make houses look like churches.

God why the fuck do I know this krap?

[Dark Jaguar]

Did you watch the travel channel for a day straight or something? I would be interested in knowing where you got that information so I can find out more.

[Great Rumbler]

[Dark Jaguar]

Wait, you have that thing vertical? Wouldn't it be easier to simply sit the Gamecube on top of it?

Also, it would seem that concave looking system only looks like that as a matter of perspective. I guess it's just like how shadows can appear non-parallel simply due to perspective.

Also, you actually willingly subject yourself to Fox News? I can barely stand anything that isn't the BBC, and I'm even critical of that.

[Great Rumbler]

Wait, you have that thing vertical? Wouldn't it be easier to simply sit the Gamecube on top of it?

I like it that way and that the way all the kiosks have it.

Also, you actually willingly subject yourself to Fox News? I can barely stand anything that isn't the BBC, and I'm even critical of that.

It's the highest rated cable news channel, so apparently someone's watching it...

[Dark Jaguar]

Firstly, are you sure it's the highest rated, and highest rated as far as what?

Secondly, that is irrelevent if the station sucks at news and critical thinking (and they do).

Thirdly, not the kiosks I've seen. They have it flat so they can fit it behind the glass. I've only see ones at like Wal-Mart though. The stand-alone things may be different. I suppose it is just personal preference, but I prefer whatever is most structurally sound, and that's when it is horizontal.

[The Former DMiller]

It's the highest rated because it's the only news channel Republicans watch. Dems have a choice of CNN or MSNBC. I don't watch any of them as I can't stand cable news. I just get all of my news from the internet.

[Great Rumbler]

Firstly, are you sure it's the highest rated, and highest rated as far as what?

Other cable news channels?

Thirdly, not the kiosks I've seen.

All the one's I've seen it's standing vertically. *shrugs*

I suppose it is just personal preference, but I prefer whatever is most structurally sound, and that's when it is horizontal.

Where's it going to go?

It's the highest rated because it's the only news channel Republicans watch.

Ding!!

But, mostly I just have it on while I'm on the computer so I can have some background noise.

[Dark Jaguar]

Other cable news channels?

I mean, highest rated in terms of viewership, or in terms of some illusory catagory like "bestest channel evars on this graph of "bestness" we drew up yesterday". And, where did they get the numbers? Neilson ratings?

Where's it going to go?

Down, obviously, when something hits it from the side and knocks it over. All it takes is some errant energy tossed it's way, and from my own experience, a lot can provide that, from kids messing with it directly to just accidently bumping the cabinet it is in.

Ding!!

But, mostly I just have it on while I'm on the computer so I can have some background noise.

I prefer straight information without obviously biased interpretation. BBC tends to provide exactly that. No little quips like "that's what they get when" or "and here's a totally ridiculous statement that so and so said" or "here's another stupid move by", just the facts.

[Great Rumbler]

I mean, highest rated in terms of viewership, or in terms of some illusory catagory like "bestest channel evars on this graph of "bestness" we drew up yesterday". And, where did they get the numbers? Neilson ratings?

Viewership, I'd imagine, and they likely get their ratings numbers from the same place that other channels do, probably the Neilsons.

Down, obviously, when something hits it from the side and knocks it over. All it takes is some errant energy tossed it's way, and from my own experience, a lot can provide that, from kids messing with it directly to just accidently bumping the cabinet it is in.

First of all, it's not top heavy at all and has a decent base. Second of all, it has the GC on one side and the cabinet on the other. My Xbox360 isn't going anywhere.

[lazyfatbum]

I cant stand the travel channel.

More imressions of PDZ please!

Here's mine

*walks around without a cheat menu and turns slowly*

[Great Rumbler]

The story's mainly told through a static image of the mission plan and so on while people talk in the background. It needs some more cutscenes of things happening instead of people TALKING about things that happened. Multiplayer's kind of fun, but I can't help but notice that aiming is really wonky, it just feels like I'm trying to direct a tank with a d-pad so it often goes to far or not far enough. I'm going to look around and see if there's some option with sensitivity.

[lazyfatbum]

Is your computer in the other room or something? mess with the options WHILE you post!

[Great Rumbler]

Is your computer in the other room or something? mess with the options WHILE you post!

I'm actually about two feet away from my Xbox360 right now. I can turn around in my chair and touch it. Actually, I just did that a few seconds ago. I'll boot it up a few minutes and look into messing with those options.

By the way, I need to talk to on MSN sometime soon. I came up with some good ideas regarding my story that I want to discuss with you.

Edit: Okay, there IS a way to increase the analog sensitivity. I suggest setting it to 100 [it starts out at 50]. There's no way to decrease the amount of health that people in multiplayer get, but you can take out the body armor. I suggest doing that. Also, go into the custom gun set and set everything to machine guns, proximity mines, and rocket launchers or some other types of heavy weapons. Playing with pistols sucks big time [except for the magnum, which is awesome but slow]. Do all these things and the game become much more fun. I just wish I could turn off that stupid dive...

[Dark Jaguar]

Dive? What is the dive? TELL US!

And just great, now I'm hearing the 360 won't be getting it's first price drop until spring 2006. I might actually get one...

Okay, how much is the 360 after sales tax? My guess is enough to feed a 3rd world family for a decade.

[Great Rumbler]

Dive? What is the dive? TELL US!

It's a dodging maneuver. You press the LB and your character does a rolling dive in what ever direction your moving. It's a nice trick in the singleplayer, but in multiplayer it's just annoying to have someone 15 feet in front of you suddenly dissapear from below your line of site only to appear a second later right in front you. They then proceed to kill you.

Okay, how much is the 360 after sales tax?

$431.99

[Dark Jaguar]

I heard about that, and you are "annoyed" by that? That's the entire POINT of the move. What, you thought that maybe the move should make it easier for you to get killed?

I guess I should play it myself, but everything I've read about the move now known as "dive" is that it actually provides an interesting escape method in a fire fight.

How much did the thing cost after sales tax? My calculations, assuming the sales tax is still 8 cents per dollar (I have no idea where to check the current situation on that), is something like $432.

[Great Rumbler]

I heard about that, and you are "annoyed" by that? That's the entire POINT of the move. What, you thought that maybe the move should make it easier for you to get killed?

I guess I should play it myself, but everything I've read about the move now known as "dive" is that it actually provides an interesting escape method in a fire fight.

It's useful in singleplayer as a method to avoid getting shot and for that same reason it's annoying in multiplayer when the bots use it ALL THE TIME. There's absolutely no reason for it to exist in multiplayer much less be FORCED to have it in multiplayer. It's cheap, liking jumping in most late 90's online FPSs, but probably more so.

[Dark Jaguar]

Is it really cheap, or do you just personally have a hard time dealing with it? Remember, EVERYONE can do it. You just need to learn how to use it too. And, there is every reason to have it in multiplayer, if I'm facing YOU anyway :D.

[Great Rumbler]

The whole point of multiplayer is to shoot people. If everyone's rolling around instead of shooting, what's the point?

[Dark Jaguar]

To aim better? I mean, they did the same thing in Metroid Prime 2.

[Sacred Jellybean]

Yeah, I'm with DJ on this one. It sounds like you just suck. :D

Actually, I was annoyed by that too, but I didn't sacrifice self-awareness. I said, "Man, I suck. I'm gonna go in the other room and play Smash Bros. again, where I'm king." The more difficulty you overcome, the bigger the reward, Grumbler-san.

I might have followed my own advice if I owned a 360. That game was kind of fun. I didn't care for the gun-switching (a la Halo) though. I prefer the classic style, where you just accumulate guns.

It's a good thing that you can control the tilt-sensitivity. That needs to be a standard. That's what I always loved about the Turok games - you can control how sensitive the analog sticks are.

[Dark Jaguar]

I'm not really saying that it sounds like he sucks, just that I'm keeping an open mind on the feature and as such have to acknowledge the possibility. If I play it myself, then I'll be able to judge it for myself.

[Great Rumbler]

It's not a question of not being good at it, I've won every single time I've played against the bots. It's just that I find this feature to be very ANNOYING. About half the time when I'm trying to shoot one of the bots it dives on the ground and rolls. There's no warning that this is about to happen, one minute they're running around and the next they're rolling on the ground. Suddenly, you're having to aim almost at the ground to track the person you were shooting, as opposed to say, track left or right like in almost every other FPS. I don't use it very much because when you're doing it, you can't shoot at anything.

[lazyfatbum]

Keep in mind that when you shoot someone while they're jumping, it takes 3 times as much health from them as a normal shot would.

[Great Rumbler]

You can't jump in PDZ.

[lazyfatbum]

Come on I know you're smarter than that, i'm drunk right now and I even understand myself.

When you jump, roll, whatever you wanna call it, you can sustain 3 times as much damage if you are hit by gunfire. Use your brain when you read, i always use my penis. penis reading. Like a mystical ....penis. With words. Penis.