Video Games - a general discussion thread — Page 247

I just picked up God of War: Ghost of Sparta for 10$ along with Star Wars Battlefront II for the PSP.

I also got a HDTV and a blu-ray player for my room.

Ziggy is happy!

Ziggy, why are you posting about video games in the politics thread???

;)

xhonzi said:

When it comes to BioShock Infinite, I see that "extreme" patriotism is what is being attacked.  Like you, I have no problem condemning "extreme" patriotism.  But I know that you and I would define that "extremism" differently and I suspect that we might define it very differently.  It wouldn't surprise (or offend) me that you hold the private opinion that I am an extreme patriot, and need to tone it down somewhat.  As your friend, I would also not be offended at an open discussion of such. 

For all I know we might see extreme patriotism differently.

I wouldn't join the army to fight in the war on terror, because I simply don't believe in it, I don't believe in the way it has been conducted, nor do I believe in its effectiveness. If the draft were to be reinstated next week so we'd have more man power to fight in those places, I'd dodge that draft if chosen. I wouldn't die for a cause like that I don't believe in, and I'd rather do whatever it takes to fight those who'd force me to fight for them, including die trying if it came to that. I know several people who would call me unpatriotic for that. When patriotism means being a "yes man", I can do without it.

However, if it was an instance where I felt like I'd really be fighting and putting my life on the line to protect the freedom of my friends and loved ones, I'd jump to action. If we had foreign invaders on our soil, I'd grab the weapons I have and be quick to join the nearest civilian militia. This is a level of patriotism I have a great deal of respect for. I'd fight to protect the ideals of my country, the Constitution, and what it stands for and the freedoms it provides to me and everyone else who lives here.

Another thing we call patriotism is a high level of pride in our country. I am proud to be an American, and while our country has a history of missteps even in its short life, I am still pretty proud to have been born here. The United States is a pretty unique system, I love the way it was designed and the whole melting pot thing. The freedom of religion. The freedom of speech. The multiculturalism. It is fantastic! I've traveled around and it simply can be beat (American exceptionalism that I agree with, of course, there are other aspects of freedom that we totally fail at). However, you get people who get very ethnocentric with this, and tend to tear other countries apart or look down on them for not being as good as theirs. That is just plain ignorant nationalism. And as enjoyable as I find nationalist in other countries (come on! They tend to be a ton of fun!) when I see them in my our country they just embarrass me. When patriotism=nationalism (i.e. we are superior to them) I can do without it.

Extreme is kind of a vague word to use, hopefully this clarifies it. If there is one of my three above listed forms of patriotism that it looks like Bioshock Infinite might make itself a cautionary tale about, from what I have seen of the E3 footage it is the nationalist aspect. When Ken Levine mentioned that it was like monument that could fly around the world and show everyone a piece of the US, I couldn't help but think what a disgusting nationalistic concept that was. If they end up not condemning that to some degree I'll actually feel quite disappointed.

Does that clarify my position?

Well, Xhonzi, it clarifies your mom's position.

^Ha!

xhonzi said:

This is probably a conversation to move to another thread (the politics thread, probably).

The politics thread is about your click habits.  The HD Media Player thread is (currently) about balls (not the ball rating system, but actual/literal balls).  So why not discuss politics here?

And this is why bkev's complaint about changing thread titles has no merit. :p

SS1 and SS2 are entirely disconnected story wise, aren't they?

I've played a little bit of the game yesterday and realized I am going to need to work out something different from controls. The whole touch pad mouse isn't cooperating very well with this one. Maybe it is just because I haven't played a first person game on my computer for a few years now, since I bought the 360, and am out of practice. Hard to believe I did a Half-Life-a-thon on this thing, beating Half-Life, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life:Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Portal with just the keyboard and touchpad mouse (Half-Life 2: Episode Two ran way too slow which was one of the major things that prompted me to run out and buy a 360 about a week after this several month long marathon was halted on the cliff hanger at the end of HL2: Episode One).

Maybe I just need to whip out an external USB mouse to use in the meantime. I guess I can deal with that through the duration of the game.

Between System Shock 2, Grim Fandango, and The Neverhood working flawlessly, I've been having some really good luck with unofficial ports lately.

Nanner Split said:

You found a copy of The Neverhood that works?! Please do go on!

A few pages back I mentioned finding an OSX port of The Neverhood and finally (after many frustrating failures during my childhood years) beating the thing.The OSX port works flawlessly. If anyone wants it, just google: "Neverhood OSX" should find a torrent or two (it is an unofficial port, nothing you can optain legally. The game itself is "abandonware" with original CD-ROMs selling for around $100 bucks as collectors items). Windows versions of the game have always been really easy to find online (I have an original disc, probably in a box somewhere in my parents basement where I will never see it again).

The last time I tried to play The Neverhood on a PC was through Windows XP, but I've never had any problems in the slightest that I can recall. I take it by your comment that it doesn't work so well on Vista or 7?

doubleofive said:

You can play with a touchpad?! That's awesome!

I've been a strict laptop user since I was 14. Other than X-Wing, Dark Forces, Sim City 2000, and the old adventure games I played as a kid, all of my PC gaming has been done on a laptop with its built in keyboard and touchpad mouse. Using a real mouse to do anything always feels weird, and typing on a full sized keyboard with those ridiculously large keys that jut out almost an inch always throws off my stride.

FPS games I've beaten with a touchpad include (just off the top of my head) Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, Dark Forces III: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Half-Life (when it first game out), Star Trek: Elite Force,  a few older Metal of Honor titles, and quite a few others.

Took me a few minutes, but now I am doing fine on System Shock 2 with just my touchpad and keyboard.

Really enjoying the game so far. A lot of similarities to Bioshock, though it does have much stronger RPG elements than Bioshock. Besides obvious similarities like the psychic abilities and hacking, there is a near equivalent to gene tonics and free one time use upgrade stations (like the weapons upgrade machines on Rapture).

When playing certain games I like to get the atmosphere right, so games like the Resident Evils, Bioshock, and Fallout 3 I tend to after dark, alone, and with all the lights off. I really enjoy it when a game can set my hair on end and even occasionally make me jump, which doesn't happen often. System Shock 2 I haven't really taken seriously enough to get the atmosphere right, I've been playing in a well lit room sometimes even in daylight, yet I am pretty sure it has made me jump more times than the previous mentioned games all put together. I don't know what it is about it, I think it is because the "hybrids" can sneak up on you so quietly and then suddenly they just start talking. So you'll be exploring, think you're all alone, hear someone start talking right next to you, spin around and there is a guy right there getting ready to swing a pipe at you!

My Big Daddy figure arrived. It is massive! The lights look fantastic and it looks good with them off too, which was something I was worried about. The oxygen tank stays on his back just fine until you touch it, at which point it promptly falls off. But since for the most part he'll be on display, that isn't a bit deal. He stands up on his own as well. One interesting thing to note is that in reviews I have read that the drill has a really sharp tip, however, the tip of this one is very blunt. Maybe they changed it for safety reasons?

In other news, I've had my official Big Daddy rag doll on display for the last week, and it has really grown on me. They're down to $12.99 on amazon, that is a pretty good deal. I think I paid $17 for mine.

But they are two different Big Daddy toys. Completely unrelated!

;)

Neutral Big Daddy:

Angry Big Daddy:

Grrrrrrrgrrrrrrrgrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr:

I like how the little sister's hands are the perfect size to grip his roll bar.

EDIT: Why yes, my phone's camera does suck.

K'now, your crappy camera works to it's advantage....

It's definitely worth checking out if the plot hasn't been spoiled for you.

And even then it is still worth picking up. You can find it really cheap these days. I am actually kind of surprised to hear you haven't played it at all 005. IGNORE!!!

Unacceptable! STILL IGNORED!!!!