CodeMonkey666

Well, Beyond Good & Evil is not a game I could play right through again immediately; Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time I think is. I may do so some time to access the Prince of Persia 2 game on it (though I could just play those on an emulator too). PoP I played straight through, non-stop, and Xenogears, I played straight through, non-stop. And hopefully I will love Ninja Gaiden just as much as PoP, god I am dying to get that game. I know it is hard as hell though. Thanx for the info on BG&E. Too bad BG&E flopped though!! No sequels

i c, well, I'll have to check into getting some broadband or something installed. Or maybe I could save up like $70 and buy the Xbox Live kit and then play it from my college dorm next year (which has ethernet) however, don't know how the roomate would be in gegards to that. also, I don't like playing games in the dorm on a console (don't know why though, I just don't). Thanx for the info

I C, well thanx for the info/opinions, I guess I'll go look at the games again tomorrow.

Well, this is just my personal opinion, but I think the Xbox as a system is the coolest system out. It is the most powerful hardware-wise, and is developer-friendly. Plus I love the controller (the S version, not the Fat one) And its list of games is improving. It has Ninja Gaiden, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, Halo, soon Halo 2, Soul Caliber II, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, soon Doom 3, Otagi: Myth of Demons, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, soon Jade Empire which will hopefully be good, Fable (which will hopefully be good), Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, etc... what it needs is like Japanese RPG support I think. Granted, some of these games are on other systems, but it's on Xbox that they look the best usually, and the point is if a person owns an Xbox, they are available for it. The system's outlook seems pretty good to me. But I think they need Squaresoft and Enix support. I pretty much buy all my games for Xbox as long as the Xbox version is the best (which it usually almost always is, though there are some exceptions). My PS2 is mainly for the games that are not on Xbox as well, such as Final Fantasy games, Xenosaga and Xenosaga 2 soon, I think Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, etc...and Gamecube for Skies of Arcadia, and some other games. One thing I read about, way back in the early '90s that caused some real heat between Sony and Nintendo, was that Japanese companeis can compete with each other, but it is an unwritten rule that if a Japanese company must choose between an american company and another Japanese company, they side with the Japanese company. So if that is instilled into like Squaresoft and such, they will stick with PS2 I think as long as Sony stays strong, which is should. I have a feeling Xbox 2 will be great, but that Sony will make sure they make PS3 more developer-friendly since they know that Xbox is on their tail right now. It is Nintendo that I would fear, last year half of their income was from Gameboy and Pokemon stuff alone. And Nintendo is worth about $5 billion, from what I have read. If they lose too much money on their next system, they are out, and in this business, pretty much only 2 game console companies have room. Xbox came in due to the fact that Microsoft has like an unlimited supply of $$$ and could market the system well, and now it has good games. So I would be afraid of Nintendo leaving the console industry rather than Microsoft or Sony. Now, two things I DO NOT like are: Microsoft I have heard is trying to monopolize the games console industry in the same way they monopolized the operating system and software industry, with like Windows and such. I do not want that to happen. Xbox is a great system, but I ahte Microsoft for trying to dominate the planet like that. We need creativty, so Sony or Nintendo or both better stay in the game. Another thing I hate is how PS2 and/or Gamecube fanboys (I hate fanboys) say, "The Xbox is just a slow PC..." well so is the PS2 and the Gamecube! The only real difference is that the PS2 and Gamecube use electronic parts that are exclusively made for those systems; whereas the Xbox uses parts that are also widely used in PC's. Also, I think they should do like a new Colony Wars game for Xbox; the outer-space graphics looked awesome on PSX in those games, imagine the sight of a big black hole or warp-hole, whatever it was, but on Xbox, and with full surround sound, while engaged in a heated space battle!!! That would be killer. I have to try Rogue Squadron II and III for Gamecube too. One thing about Xbox to remember though, in it you can give enemies intelligence and pump graphics that would fry PS2 and GC (not to sound fanboyish, but it is the truth). I also like how Xbox has the extandable wires for the controllers, and how they have a "safety" for them to snap out of the system if yanked. Granted, I think you're dumb if you place your Xbox on top of your TV, but as a young kid, I pulled my NES off of the TV about 9 million times, when I went running and forgot I had the controller in my hand. So that is a nice feature.

Hey, I was at Toys R Us looking at some of the 'ole PS games; now I have read through the articles and reviews of the Legacy of Kain and Blood Omen franchise (s). Anyways, I figured maybe I should get into these games. Which would require playing the prequels probably, in order to understand the story fully. Anyways, I noticed they are selling Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, along with Fighting Force, all in a 3 pack, for $30, for PS1. However, I also noticed that Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is $15 for both Dreamcast and PS1. I know the DC version is better, so would anyone here think I should just get the DC Soul Reaver and play from there, or go and get the PS pack so I get the first Blood Omen?? Cuz I know a lot of people were weened on Soul Reaver, and I'd prefer it on my DC, since that is lacking in games anyway and the graphics are way nicer. Now actually, that was sort of a side question, the TOTAL rip-off question is here: I love RPGs, but I like RPGs with a good storyline. Now, I have read that Dragon Warrior VII is like the best-selling RPG in Japan of all-time, but was only mediocre here. Now, I don't care about graphics for an RPG like that, but I was wondering about the quality of Dragon Warrior VII. Like, is it a game worth buying? Cuz despite its age and the fact that it's a PS1 game, they're selling it for (brace yourself) $30!!!! THIRTY DAMN DOLLARS FOR A PS1 GAME LIKE DRAGON WARRIOR VII. So I mean, I want to know how good a game it REALLY is so that I can know if I'll regret in the long run not getting it, or if it is just a total complete rip-off to plunk down $30 for that RPG. I mean, FF7 is at like $15, and so is FF8. I can get PS2 games for $15, like The Mark of Kri, and others at $20. And Gamecube and Xbox games for $20 too. So how good is Dragon Warrior VII really, and is it worth that $$$ do you think?? Cuz I figure if it is, I'd better get it now or else I'll have to hunt it down used, later, and I hate used games that are on CDs or DVD discs. They've got in like the "Buy One Get One Free" box...HEY I forgot about that, shit maybe I could get it for free I could maybe pay $15 for The Mark of Kri or something; I'd better double check, maybe I am missing out, just remembered lol All opinions appreciated though.

In response (sort of) to liveinabin on buying Beyond Good & Evil even without the game system, I bought it for my XBOX, what a game, I need to figure out a way to make more money in the game though to buy more pearls). As for buying a game without the system though I did that for Skies of Arcadia: Legends. I ordered the game, even though I don't have a Gamecube yet. I was so dying to play that game on Dreamcast, and I friggin' bought one of the very first Dreamcasts, too, but I didn't buy that game for watever reason. Luckily it came out on GC, but then time flew by and I went to Media Play, Best Buy, and Toys R Us and still couldn't find it, so I went and purchased it online; I am afraid it will become like "out of print" (for a game) by the time I get a 'Cube. My fav. game right now in terms of action is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, though it may change to Ninja Gaiden when I get that.

Hey, I am one of the sorry gamers stuck with a dial-up connection (UGH!!); I am dying to get XBOX Live however, so my question is, like, does anyone know how much it costs to get an ethernet connection installed in general, like say in my (family's) home (preferably into my bedroom). I mean, I am dying of jealousy, reading about players playing stuff like Crimson Skies and such, with a headset, talking to each other. So is there any hope of me getting an ethernet connection or is it like some $1000 job??? Cuz internet gaming on the consoles I know is the shit and is here to stay. Also, I am just wondering, like, on XBOX Live, how exactly does the headset work? Like, do you pop in your game, go to XBOX Live, and sign in, then like find a group of players preparing to play the game you have in (like Crimson Skies) and when you have enough players, you all go into the game together, and you can like chat with people, regardless of what state they're in, or even if they're in Britain?? Just wondering if that's how it works. Also, in regards to PS2's FFXI, for that, I read you have to join a party (I think). Well if you join a party of people, how does the game advance exactly? I mean, what if you can't play for like 2 weeks while some other people can play for 2 hours a day? Or is it just where you go into the game and just every character is an individual person and you just make your way through the game on your own, joining various people for your playtime you encounter?

Hey, I am just wondering, but what things exactly does one need to know to write an amulator of a system? Like, I know you need some hardcore programming skills, but what other knowledge do you need to know, in general? I am talking about for like writing an emulator for like a console.

Lemme re-phrase that, Digipen DOEs teach one to be a videogames programmer, but that is because videogames rely on artificial intelligence programming, audio programming, 3D graphics programming, physics programming, port programming, etc.....so in teaching people to program videogames, you pretty much get taught to program everything else out there, since videogame code is so engineering-like for today's games.

The two top-of-the-line videogaming schools in this country are Full Sail and Digipen. Of those two, Digipen is THE best. It is an ELITE school. They only take like 500 people out of like 23,000 applicants per year, and of that 500, usually like 23 graduate. The school puts you HARDCORE into computer programming, mathematics, physics, and computer graphics (which is all highly math-based). The school DOES NOT focus on teaching you to be a videogames-programmer; what it does is teaches one to be a programmer-engineer, a top-of-the-line programmer who knows all the high-level math and physics and all that. Videogames just happen to be the perfect form of teaching that, as videogames are live interactive simulations. Hence you do like a videogame per year for each of the 4 years at the school, so when you are done, since videogames are the most complex of all programming, you have 4 game projects under your belt and are fully prepped to go into the videogames programming industry, but you can go into pretty much any other programming industry as well. The school has no liberal arts though (well some, but very few). And forget about having any time for a girlfriend while you're there. The school also has an animation major as well. If you want, you can also go to another school for a year or two I believe (make sure it is accredited) and then transfer. This is what I am trying to do. Study like computer science, math, physics, etc.....if I cannot transfer to Digipen, I will hopefully go there for a masters in comp. graphics. Digipen also offers summer workshops on game programming. Go to http://www.digipen.edu