Is the gamecube good?

[alien space marine]

http://www.warbucket.com/comic.php?id=217

Everyone I talk too says it is a misery as alot of the good stuff is delayed or already played and beaten and very little much else coming except sequeils.

[A Black Falcon]

How does that comic relate to the quality of the Gamecube?

Oh yeah, and that's a comic on Warcraft fansite... I wouldn't expect as much about consoles. Lots of PC gamers don't have any, after all...

[Dark Jaguar]

....

:shake:

[A Black Falcon]

http://www.warbucket.com/comic.php?id=184
Another Nintendo-related one.

Its a good comic... not great, but good.

[OB1]

Certainly no Penny-Arcade, but it is pretty funny.

If this doesn't make you chuckle then you're insane:





Or this one:

[Great Rumbler]

Hahaha, Penny Arcade is hilarious...not matter what ABF says!

Everyone I talk too says it is a misery as alot of the good stuff is delayed or already played and beaten and very little much else coming except sequeils.

You shouldn't listen to people like that. They're obviously jealous that their system doesn't have as many awesome games as the Gamecube.

[A Black Falcon]

Like this one?

http://www.warbucket.com/comic.php?id=155

Oh, and I'd put Warbucket in the same category as Penny Arcade... maybe not quite as good as that one, but same category.

Oh yeah... that first one is funny, but the second one? I don't know... I don't get why it's supposed to be funny. But I'm not paying much attention to either Half-Life 2 or Doom 3...

[Dark Jaguar]

Haha, yeah I read that. Sorry, but flaming skulls with laser eyes just aren't cool any more. I can imagine them as cool for like the first month or so they were imagined, back in the middle ages, but it's just so old at this point. Some creature concepts age well, but when they have as dull a color scheme as these boring things and are just your basic skeleton with a rocket in it's chest, it's just sad really...

I look forward to seeing the engine though :D.
On another note, I've read the ONE FAQ at GameFAQs for a game, Sonic-N (which is just a port of Sonic Advance). They added... NOTHING! They TOOK OFF features! They removed multiplayer (the selling point of the N-Gage), and they removed the garden. I think pretty soon the N-Gage will slip off the top links at 'FAQs and end up on the list of many systems no one's ever heard of.

[OB1]

Yeah, I really hate all of the enemy designs in Doom 3, and all id's games for that matter. They're really only good at making game engines.

I love this:

Every time I see a new screenshot from Doom 3 I chuckle. I just can’t help it. I mean these have to be some of the most uninspired creature designs ever. The idea is that you’re fighting monsters from Hell but the best the devil or whatever can come up with is a skeleton with guns on his shoulders. It’s like the devil is a 7th grader who hates his mom and draws pentagrams on his notebooks during intro to physical science.

You can tell when you look at Doom 3 that the focus of the company is on technology. I think Doom 3 will be a fantastic game engine but I think they are wasting their time trying to make a game with it. They obviously do not have any creative people working there. They should just put out the engine and let someone like Raven use it to make something genuinely interesting with it.

There is nothing wrong with not being creative. They should not be ashamed of the fact that they cannot create compelling concepts or characters. Just be satisfied with the fact that you can make the best game engines around and concentrate on doing that.

-Gabe out

I totally agree with Gabe on that. :D

Oh, and I'd put Warbucket in the same category as Penny Arcade... maybe not quite as good as that one, but same category.

That's because you're insane.

PA did a similar comic to that Warbucket one you posted, only PA's was funnier:

[A Black Falcon]

They are both funny (those two strips)... but maybe PA is a little funnier.

Oh, and those enemy designs don't seem THAT bad... not original, for sure, but not BAD...

Of course Warbucket's strip is a lot funnier if you know Blizzard games... if you don't follow their RTSes that strip would be a lot less funny, I'm sure.

[OB1]

Come on, those Doom enemy designs are terrible. The models themselves are very well rendered, but the designs are embarrassingly bad.

[Dark Jaguar]

Yeah, they ARE beautifully made. We'll give them that, because they are very good at making engines (maybe I should read the posts and stuff at PA too, those are funny). It's their design from an artistic and conceptual point of view that we're insulting, because, as PA said, it's the kind of stuff some 12 year old kid who hates their parents, wears black all the time, writes horrible poetry that doesnt' rhyme because they think it's cool, and listens to punk all the time, would draw on their notebook or paint in art class or something (possibly making some skull shaped cup afterwards).

[alien space marine]

warbucket is somtimes pretty funny, somtimes it isnt.

metalsonics jokes are funny if you follow war3 like a dog.

Most of his cartoons are made to poke fun at whiners who post constantly on B.net forum.

[A Black Falcon]

And given how the B.Net forums are like a feeding grounds for idiots and morons...

On that note.

http://www.warbucket.com/comic.php?id=130
http://www.warbucket.com/comic.php?id=131

[big guy]

goths don't listen to punk...they listen to metal and industrial. punks are a totally different animal. they don't wear black al the time, or write crappy poetry that doesn't rhyme, and they tend to think that goths are a little weird.

goths live for darkness and sorrow...punks live for beer and mischief. oh, and both can hate their parents, but it's not a requirement.

[alien space marine]

warbuckter visits b.net forum themselves so they are sort of self stabbing there.

[A Black Falcon]

Good point there... I haven't visited that forum regularly in five and a half years, for some pretty good reasons...

[Weltall]

N-Gage sucks dick. My local GameStop just got a playable kiosk set up, and neither display model worked. Way to sell me on something, Nokia.

[A Black Falcon]

The demo systems in EB always seem to be broken... they had a GBA-SP (dead batteries), a X-Box (not working), a Gamecube (non-functional), and one other broken system last time I was there...

[Weltall]

Originally posted by A Black Falcon
The demo systems in EB always seem to be broken... they had a GBA-SP (dead batteries), a X-Box (not working), a Gamecube (non-functional), and one other broken system last time I was there...

That may be so, however, when you have two seperate units not working, and it's an item who REALLY needs to prove itself worth a $300 price tag to save itself from certain, painful doom, then your console is going to fail and rightly deserves it.

I mean, it's not like I would ever waste money on that poorly-designed piece of shit, but that's beside the point. I'm almost insulted that they aren't even making an effort to try and make me. :(

[A Black Falcon]

The N-Gage is just such a mess on every level... its like Nokia is REALLY trying to mess up... or, more likely, has no clue whatsoever about gaming and is just blowing millions of dollars on a failed idea.

[Dark Jaguar]

It's not that their main selling point, portable online gaming, isn't a cool idea. It's that they suck :D. Really though, far be it from me to just out and out judge a system or anything, but really. The controls are bad, the screen is tiny, and the thing is uncomfortable both to hold AND to use as a phone. That's just cosmetic and comfort issues. The main issue for me? The games. There's not a single exclusive title on it. A few ports add a few things, like that online play, but that's it. MAYBE there's some original game on it somewhere, in fact likely there's got to be. No company could make a system without ONE exclusive game unless they were TOTALLY retarded. However, it's so low on the radar that I manage to avoid it every time I try looking for it. I notice the gaming press on the whole is trying their best to make it look like a competitor. I think Nokia must have paid them all or something. In any case, a portable that costs more than a console but offers a lot less, unless you want a cell-phone or MP3 player I guess (but you can get both of those much cheaper, and I don't want a cell phone), and ends up having ONLY superior graphical capabilities and online play (and you can't even tell the graphics are that good when it's on a stamp sized screen), is NOT going to put even a dent in Nintendo's shiny armor o' SP.

I think we all kinda expected this though. It's the whole reason the only system any of us even mention as a potential threat to the GBA is the PSX. Kinda sad really. I really DO want the GBA to have healthy competition, something like a half and half thing would work wonders, just like in the 16-bit era. However, Nintendo has had MUCH better competition than this and it all failed. The Wonderswan Crystal, the NeoGeo Pocket Color... Those two were great systems (series of systems in fact) that really had all they SHOULD have needed to succeed. The hardware was great (though the duel control pad on the left side of the WS was really weird looking to me in those screen shots...). The software was REALLY great (WS had various FF remakes exclusive to it, and NG had all manner of SNK and Capcom games). They failed due sheerly to lack of any advertising... at all. Actually, Nokia made that mistake too... Anyway, yet another failed entry. It's just a shame that this particular system managed to make every single mistake a system can POSSIBLY make, most fatal being NO decent exclusive games at all.

[A Black Falcon]

I'd list the problems with the N-Gage but anyone who has read much about the thing should know them all... and there are many. :)

Seriously, is there even ONE good point going for the thing?

[EdenMaster]

No not really. It has a pitiful library, with Monkey Ball as it's crown jewel, and that's not saying much. To change games, you must remove the backing and take out the battery just to GET TO the game. The cell phone part of it forces you to talk on it sideways, to put this is perspective, take an old GBA and hold the top of it (with the shoulder buttons) on the side of your head. Look in the mirror. Doing such a thing in public will make anyone who uses one for such a reason a total dweeb.

The games look bad (except I heard Tony Hawk looks downright presentable), and system is clunky and absurdly expensive. Console prices being what they are today, you could buy a GameCube and a PS2 or X-Box and a couple games for the price of this shiny piece of crap. That is just plain stupid.

So in conclusion, I would be shocked if the NGage lasts even HALF the time Dreamcast did before it died.

[Great Rumbler]

Seriously, is there even ONE good point going for the thing?

Two actually. It has Bluetooth wireless technology AND when you get tired of playing the games you can call people and tell them how stupid you were for paying $300 for a piece of junk.

No not really. It has a pitiful library, with Monkey Ball as it's crown jewel, and that's not saying much.

Yeah, the library is sad. All the games are ports and on top of that they're OLD ports AND they aren't even good games. The best game on the system is Super Monkey Ball and you can get that on the GC or GBASP for less the half the price of just the N-Gage.

[A Black Falcon]

It also has face buttons that are far too close together, no shoulder buttons, that absurd small vertical screen, a 3-5 hour battery life (a length that, to OB1's surprise, is causing a lot of complaings in most all the reviews of the thing I've read), can only work with specific cell-phone systems (three of the six major US cellphone companies' systems are incompatible with it...), the graphics aren't that good (I'd take GBA's 2d over early PSX 3d anyday...) especially considering the N-Gage's small screen...)...

And of course it has the major problems with how to load games, long load times (take apart system, put in game, put back together, turn on, launch game, wait 30 seconds for it to load...), and NO exclusive games at launch.

And, of course, that $300 price tag...

[Great Rumbler]

Did anyone REALLY expect the N-Gage to be a serious contender?

[A Black Falcon]

Nokia execs... maybe, in their most delusional moments...

[EdenMaster]

Originally posted by Great Rumbler
Did anyone REALLY expect the N-Gage to be a serious contender?

My guess is that Nokia saw the PS2, with it's game/music/DVD abilities and decided that if such versatility is what gamers want, they'll toss a generic GBA, cell phone, and MP3 player into one handheld and double the price.

That's my theory, and the only one I can come up with at the moment to explain the mere existence of NGage.

[Dark Jaguar]

No exclusives at all then? Aw...

Bluetooth is some very good stuff from what I hear. I hope Nintendo ends up using that, or something equally good.

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, Nintendo should implement bluetooth or something similar into the next Gameboy.

No exclusives at all then? Aw...

I don't think so, all the games I saw were ports of GBA or PSX games.

[A Black Falcon]

I'm sure they will... the question is how good it will be.

[Great Rumbler]

They DID make a really good wireless controller.

[A Black Falcon]

But their first thing for wireless handheld gaming is that idiotic thing that won't work with any games that aren't specifically designed for it and ships with Pokemon! :S

[OB1]

3-5 hour battery life (a length that, to OB1's surprise, is causing a lot of complaings in most all the reviews of the thing I've read)

3-6 hours, actually. The battery is rechargeable and you can buy an extra battery pack for $30, so it's not that big of a deal. $30 is a bit steep for an extra battery pack, but it sure beats having to buy AA batteries. People are complaining about it because the N-Gage is just so easy to hate. The system is also a phone, however, so that battery life is pretty insane for a cell.

The guys at Nokia are completely clueless. If you watch any of ign's video interviews with the people behind the N-Gage you'll see that those guys are completely clueless when it comes to video games. Having to take out the battery to play games, a thin verticle screen, an atrocious button layout, and crappy games really shows how incompetent they are. And the system isn't even a good cell phone! You have to hold it by the side in order to talk and it's so dumb that they had to come up with a dumb name for it: "side-talking".

[A Black Falcon]

Riight, so the other arguements are valid but the one about battery life is off base. Many people don't think of getting an extra battery. Its pretty expensive and somewhat of a hassle... better than batteries? Only in some ways. Batteries are far easier to switch and won't not work if you forget to charge them. :)

Though, yes, it is true that part of the arguement is that its also a cell phone so you play games for a while and you very easily could have a dead phone when you need it. That battery life would be okay for a phone, but for both? And if you also use it for MP3s? No way.

Sony will have a similar problem... not quite as bad, but similar. After all, the PSP is also a multi-function device... use one for a little while and the power is gone for the others...

[OB1]

Changing a rechargeable battery is just as easy (if not easier) than changing AA batteries. And actually with the N-Gage you have to take out the battery anyhow in order to switch carts, so it doesn't matter. Those who don't think of getting an extra battery pack are idiots. People with camcorders, digital cameras, portable DVD players, laptops, etc. all buy extra rechargeable battery packs for their systems. If you're so dumb that you don't know how to change a battery pack then you're probably too dumb to know how to change carts.

There's no way the PSP will have a battery life of 3-6 hours just for MP3's. If it can power a system close to the capabilities of a Dreamcast with that battery life then it should have a battery life at least twice that of a regular mp3 player. However, Sony has already stated that the PSP discs won't be re-writable so I don't know how it's going to play movies or music. Right now all we know is that it's going to play games, and that battery life estimate was for games only.

Nokia is stupid, and knows nothing about game hardware or software. Sony knows what they're doing and are way ahead of even Nintendo--the best video game developer in the world-- in the console market. It is very stupid and naive of you to think that Nokia's failings in the handheld market has any bearing on Sony's.

[A Black Falcon]

I get it. Nokia's multi-function stuff is all bad ideas and Sony's is all good ones. Yup.

Seriously... you give Sony way, WAY more benefit of the doubt than they deserve!

Will the PSP be better designed than the N-Gage? Yes, I'm sure it will be, in pretty much every way... but battery life? I'd expect it to be worse, if anything, since its more powerful than the N-Gage... now sure, it isn't also a phone so there isn't a major second use that will drain it and make that life battery way too short. But it does have other functions... and that just isn't very long! Seriously, you seem to think everyone who gets one of them will be a person who gets all the technology and always has two or three batteries and manages the time and all that but that's just completely wrong...

[OB1]

There are so many things wrong with that post that I don't even know where to start. Perhaps this format will help you to understand me better:

1. You are an idiot.

2. Sony is king of the console word, Nokia is not. Sony knows video games.

3. The PSP's battery life has already been announced, and it's 3-6 hours for gaming.

4. We don't know anything about the PSP aside from the button layout, the disc medium, the approximate power, and how long the rechargeable battery life will be. It's not going to be a cell phone.

5. You are an idiot.

6. Most people are not like you, and know how to handle an electronics device more complex than a flashlight.

7. You are an idiot.

Does that make it easier for you to understand?

[Dark Jaguar]

*takes time machine to when TC first started*

Hey everyone! Have I got a quote for you from future OB1!

OB1: Sony knows video games.

Past OB1: I would never ever say that EVER!

[Great Rumbler]

3. The PSP's battery life has already been announced, and it's 3-6 hours for gaming.

They never said that the battery life was for gaming:

The machine will come with rechargeable battery which expected to last for 3 - 6 hours like other high-end devices.

So, potentially the battery-life for gaming could be shorter than that, although it's also possible that they ARE talking about gaming.

[OB1]

No, this is how it is:

First year TC OB1: Sony knows what they're doing in the videogame industry, which is why they're no.1. Their games suck but they know how to market their systems and gain big exclusives from third-parties.

Present OB1: Sony knows what they're doing in the videogame industry, which is why they're no.1. They've even shown that they can make AAA first-party games such as the incredible ICO and the awesome Mark of Kri. They also know how to secure big third-party exclusives and market their systems.

[OB1]

Originally posted by Great Rumbler
They never said that the battery life was for gaming:



So, potentially the battery-life for gaming could be shorter than that, although it's also possible that they ARE talking about gaming.

The battery life estimate they gave us was for the most power-hungry aspect of the system, which will be games-playing. The PSP is going to have two processors; one for gaming and one for playing movies and music. Apparently they did this to that battery life for the non-gaming functions of the system wouldn't have to use the battery-sucking gaming processor.

[A Black Falcon]

Sony doesn't have quality. Products? Decent, not great. The PSP will be decent technology, but not super-great... not as good as you assume. You give them so much credit they don't deserve...

If it does well it'll be because of marketing. Nothing more, nothing less...

Well, something more: exclusive games... Sony will have some.

[OB1]

Yeah their hardware usually isn't that great, but they do have the games and the marketing. They're also willing to make a more powerful system than Nintendo probably is, so even if the PSP isn't as powerful as Sony claims it is it's sure to be much more powerful than Nintendo's next portable since Nintendo doesn't seem to want to go above the $99 price point.

And you think they'll only have "some" exclusive games? Oh boy. You really are blind. Most of the big third-party games have been exclusive to Sony's systems ever since... 1997 or so, unfortunately.

[A Black Falcon]

You must mean when, not if, its as powerful as they say...

And sure Sony gets many of the exclusives. But this is a portable... and thus I fully expect a large quantity of ports.

[OB1]

Unless it's only as powerful as the PS1 I wouldn't expect to see a lot of ports. Developers would have to spend a lot of time and money to improve the graphics of their PS1 games to make them stand up to the system's original content. And since I'm sure it won't be powerful enough to handle straight PS2 ports, there probably won't be too much of that. Whatever the case is, there probably won't be as much non-stop porting as we've seen with the GBA. Or at least not with straight ports.

[A Black Falcon]

You underestimate Nintendo's chances and overestimate the amount of resources most companies will spend on the system.

[OB1]

You underestimate Nintendo's chances and overestimate the amount of resources most companies will spend on the system.

Nintendo is not most companies. They don't like to spend a lot of money on their consoles, especially their handhelds. Now they're usually really good at making powerful, efficient, and cheap hardware, but I really don't know if they'll be willing to go above the $100 price point with the next Gameboy. Let's hope they do.

[A Black Falcon]

I think they'll go over $100 for new hardware... $300 I doubt very much, but $200? Quite possible. And as usual their hardware design will in most all ways be far better than Sony's...