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hex65000

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Posts posted by hex65000

  1. Posted

    Kuon (PS2) : Feudal Japan

    The Red Star (PS2) : more of a historical "what if" in its context. A Russia in the 1960-1980 timeframe by the character designs... Decent Beat-em-up/shooter too.

     

    At first I thought it was going to be about games that have stood the test of time surprisingly well.

     

    Hex.

    [ Does his own strange thing... ]

  2. Posted

    So It's almost holiday time again and I'm happily eyeing some new toys for the household to cram in with all the old toys I have... Since HDTV is coming and there is no stopping that train of pain I have decided (and not alerted my wife yet) to re-investigate buying a HDTV.

     

    So I've picked out the size. That was pretty easy (a 32" or 37" screen is about as big as I really want for any room.) I'm leaning towards 32" since it is still larger than my existing TV and is still a manageable size.

     

    I picked a format to adopt; the 1080p seems like the way to go for Hi-Def. I am pretty sure I don't want to mess with any of the interlacing TVs.

     

    I picked a brand and a model: Samsung. I know that everybody has their favorites, but Sony is right out and I've at least heard of these guys and the sets I was looking at had good reviews. Out of their lineup I was looking at the Samsung LN32A650 or the Samsung LN32A550 (the 650 seems like a mid-range unit with the 550 is entry level and the price increment is noteworthy so I'll have to think about which way I want to go. Note: these are LCD type displays.

     

    Now I can get the TV, but what I don't know is if it will serve me for what I want to do with it. Since I have a pretty wide spectrum of consoles laying around I am concerned about compatibility. That means I have setups that support RF only (2600), composite video (Snes), S-Video (Pretty much my N-64 forward), and one lone component video (XB360). Some of the more modern connection schemes are no-brainers in terms of support. I am curious if there are any other concerns I may be missing out on? Burn-in issues? Too much TV for what I'm doing? This is pretty much a display for playing games on, so keep that in mind.

     

    Yeah, I'm such a n00B with some of this stuff... :|

     

    Hex.

    [ Don't make me go all Protoss on your ass! ]

  3. Posted

    I heard a snippet of this on NPR a couple of days ago. It's true that if a device is plugged in, then it's using power. I have a majority of my systems on a power strip that I shut off when I'm done playing so my older-gen consoles spend more time off than on. Of course, there is the offset that I'm putting 4 machines in standby mode and powering one more on. I may have to rethink how I do that.

     

    Also, I found this little snippet buried on Amazon's gaming blog... How to navigate the menus to have the system auto-power off after so much inactivity. I suspect that's the focus of where they want people to stop wasting power.

     

    PlayStation 3:

    Settings > system settings > power save settings > system auto-off option > "after 1 hour" recommended for max energy savings > select additional power saving options to your liking.

     

    Xbox 360:

    My Xbox > system settings > console settings > shutdown > auto off > enable.

    The other interesting question is concerning "Gamer behavior". Is there a demographic of people who just leave their machines on full-tilt all day? Don't wanna wait for the reload screen of a game of Madden? No problem, turn the TV off and walk away? It's plausible. The guy in the radio interview talked about creating a "hibernate mode" for future generation consoles. Heck, 2 out of 3 current-gen consoles already have hard drives. That's the storage issue addressed. A hibernate mode on the OS level would probably work and allow for effective pausing of a game as needed. Of course, because the tool is there, doesn't mean that anyone will think to use it.

     

    Oh yeah, Post #1000!

     

    Hex.

    [ Stitch that duckie! ]

  4. Posted

    Well, I'm home with some nasty bug that is giving me an awesome headache... So if this loses coherency, you know why.

     

    I picked this up from another AA member here and was very pleased with the selling price.

    I wanted this after seeing some in-game footage ; Just not $50 interested, so I filed it away in my list of "games I want" pile and left it at that.

     

    The good:

    - Really amusing game that makes good use of the Wii-mote.

    - If you enjoyed being a 4-wheeled missile in the Burnout series (especially the crash modes) this is worth looking at.

    - A ton of varied play modes and unlockable items / features.

     

    The Bad:

    - Some of the boards are exceptionally challenging. I'm not sure if a higher-definition TV would help (I'm very low-tech regarding my TVs)

    - My right arm still hurts from whipping the Wii-mote around.

    - The retail channels are still asking $50 for this game.

    - The manual is deathly thin. Let's just say that EA could have stood to put a bit more into the printing budget than they did.

     

    Other stuff:

    - As you progress you'll unlock new and interesting tools of destruction for your general amusement. This is not a bad thing. The Bowling ball hits a ton harder than the baseball. The firehose can let you change the trajectory of an object while it's still moving. You also get the grabbing hand tool, which can serve to either delicately (good luck!) remove desired pieces from a stack for points or a peice can be used effectively as a wrecking ball.

    - You can apparently make your own boards too. I haven't looked into this aspect very hard yet and am just enjoying the packaged game.

    - The creatures are like mutant Lego / Cubivore creatures. They are pretty cute -- yet disturbing as the rectangular-shaped medieval sheep clan defend their turf against the bears.

     

    That's all I can think of for now...

     

    Hex.

    [ The demolition man... ]

  5. Posted

    I have it for XBox, and liked what I played of it. It does get pretty tough when you start going up against enemies with shields as well. That's where I started having problems. The upgrade system and story was acceptable though and $6 for what I would call an above average FPS is a pretty sweet deal really.

     

    I also have the DS version and yes, it is hideous and I may never play it again. I would like to finish the XBox version though.

     

    Hex.

    [ Still hasn't seen Casino Royalle -- which I have heard IS one of the best Bond movies to date... ]

  6. Posted

    True, exceptional items can and will result in bidding wars. I recall doing some manual sniping for a particular high-dollar RPG. At the same time, for some more common but interesting things I've pluncked down very reasonable bids and made out well. Heck, right now I've got a couple of guys scooping up a ton of oddball items. To me it's great -- I'm getting rid of things I don't want so I can buy some things I do want.

     

    No Bruce, you're not who I'm referring to. There's a couple of new 'professional' resellers I'm thinking of that are doing things the DP way. I am pondering slapping down a bit of cash on some of those Lynx carts you're listing. Especially that I now know what I have and do not have in my collection. :D That and there's this Lynx cart

     

    Mike, I think you are wise to not "fight" with anyone willing to make an auction sniping tool for CTCW. If only because it can degenerate into some kind of sick arms race and really it's a waste of your time to mess with.

     

    I use a sniping tool for the handful of Ebay auctions I bid on. Up until yesterday the last time I even bid on an Ebay auction was mid-August. Sniping tools are great, but I found it very easy to overextend myself financially because I could do "fire and forget" auctioning. I still say you should at least put a bid down of some sort for the items you want -- when the time is available. If you get outbid, it's not the end of the world. IMO, the mantra is always "Patience and persistence, Grasshopper." Like those auctions where I think the starting bid is too high. I'm just waiting for them to drop down to something I'm willing to pay. If it never happens, then there's always someone else who may have em' at a price I can tolerate. It's not like I have nothing to play. :D

     

    Hex.

    [ Didn't think I'd whip out that Kung-Fu reference did you? ]

  7. Posted

    Meh, slap something down and hope for the best then. Unless it's a high desirability item you probably won't have too much competition.

     

    The only thing depressing me right now are the sellers who are asking top dollar prices for their wares... I'm just too cheap to be interested -- they will either rethink their prices or not... I'm patient when it comes to some of this stuff.

     

    But yeah, even a token bid can make you a winner on CTCW... A lack of a sniping tool is a somewhat weak argument.

     

    Hex.

    [ Found a copy of Boogerman (Genesis) with case for $5... Yes, I'm happy about that. ]

  8. Posted

    The drum should be appearing in the next day or two. :D

     

    Someone did slap down a dollar for the Game Gear Columns cart and Ianoid is just scooping up a giant pile of stuff. There's another fellow who seems to be hitting my sealed XBox games too. We'll see what happens. I need to list more stuff that's a given -- I just haven't had the energy.

     

    It is awesome to see some stuff being bought though, I'm getting tired of looking at my "for sale" boxes.

     

    Someone please plop down a bid on the K'nex stand... I mean really. ;)

     

    Hex.

    [ Beware of treachery -- and assistant deans... ]

  10. Posted

    A friend of mine plays this series "competitively" and he had a solution to keep the drum noise down and reduce damage to your drumpads. He rubber-banded (clean) socks to the pads. It deadens the bounce and will keep you from marking the pad up.

     

    I really don't have space for keeping Rock Band in the house, and I wouldn't play it that much. I do like being the bassist though and could reliably get the "most realistic player" rating because how I like to play.

     

    ... and the ladies... they LOVE the bassist. ;)

     

    Hex.

    [ No, I do not sing.... ]

  11. Posted

    Agetec is kind of a 3rd-string publisher. They get a few hits here and there, but a lot of average to clanker games. They publish a lot of PS2 stuff. Cookie and Cream is a port(?) of the PS2 game The Adventures of Cookie and Cream. It's a neat cooperative style game. Retro Gamer(UK) did a review for it so it may be available on their website and elsewhere.

     

    I picked up recently, Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers and Transfromers: Decepticons for $10 each. I always liked the style of the GG series even though I'm a standing target for the computer. It's kind of like my love for Mega Man, I suck -- badly. Yet I just cannot get enough of the story and mythos of the series.

     

    Hex.

    [ How did I manage to get sick over the weekend!?! ]

  17. Posted

    If you received what was purchased and are happy with it, why does there need to be any upper hands or screwing involved?
    [ . . . SNIP . . . ]

    Of course if the seller hasn't been courteous enough to thank them for your business they don't deserve thanks back now do they?The whole "I want to make sure the buyer is satisfied", line is for the most part a crock. Here's a REALLY easy way to make sure without playing games with feedback.

    Send an Email (DUH!)

    Yeah, that will work reliably. :ponder:

     

    Seriously though, I'm not gonna speak for anyone but myself and how I do stuff. I've tried the E-mail route every once in a while and it has yielded no response typically. Since I ship with delivery confirmation, I'll wait a little while and if I don't hear anything then I'll leave feedback. If they leave feedback during that waiting interval then I know life is good and I'll comment appropriately. As a buyer I tend not to leave feedback until after I've tested an item out. Unfortunately, sometimes an item will sit for over a month until I get around to messing with it. Sometimes I'll do a maintenance sweep and leave positives if the item looked good and I haven't gotten to testing it out (typically that happens to the really aged stuff where there's no way they'd take me seriously if something was really wrong.

     

    Now, after saying all that, you can guess how much of an 'upper hand' I'm looking for. I agree that the double-blind system is the closest answer to the problem. However, as a general rule the least common denominator on EBay fail their basic reading skills. I'm not talking about 4 pages of boilerplate either. It's like the idiots who say, "I paid for the item and it didn't arrive the next day." :?

     

    I agree with you on your stance of shipping things and the padding of that cost. I don't find myself agreeing about this feedback matter though. I'm sure if there is excessive hostage-taking on CTCW, I think Mike will put the proverbial boot down.

     

    For the record, I don't like getting nagged to leave feedback. If I haven't left feedback it's most likely because I haven't done anything with an item since it arrived.

     

    Hex.

    [ Taking boots and hammers to the feisty bigger ones... ]

  18. Posted

    Hey now! I _liked_ Brotherhood of Steel. Sure it's an RPG-lite. That thing did suck me in though and led to me ignoring my wife (then girlfriend) for about 5 days. :D

     

    I'm never excited about paying full price for stuff like this -- is there any preorder goodness that are worth looking at?

     

    Hex.

    [ Needs the motivator to actually UNBOX his XBox 360... Now that is laziness. ]

  21. Posted

    Another Bump / Update... The first post contains the important bits like what's new and what's featured.

    I'm still listing XBox games and I've got a few more Playstation titles up as well. Expect more in the very near future.

     

    For some fun, check the descriptions for some of the less popular titles.

     

    Hex.

    [ Is almost out of battery... ]

  25. Posted · Edited by hex65000

    I don't own one. However, Amazon is doing lightning deals on what looks like various PS3 titles today. (I'm hoping for some PS2/PSP love myself, but one of the upcoming titles looks like a Ratchet and Clank installment... Go get em' men! (and ladies. ;) )

     

    Edit: it's under the "gold box / today's deals" section...

     

    Hex.

    [ Freaking ABBA "Take a chance on me" will not get out of my head. It BurNs! ]

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