eric_ruck

Argh...I actually read the manual. I was stabbing, filling and occassionally using to rewind. The defeated creature would disappear. Then another identical creature would spawn somewhere in the room. Over and over and over and over.... This is the first encounter with the sand creatures. Couldn't find any way out of the room. I vaguely remember seeing a vortex at some point but I'm pretty sure I stepped in it and I was still in the room.

Finished Driller Spirits for DS. Currently about 45% through Ape Escape on PSP. Not really rushing since there's nothing else really calling to me for any of the portable systems. Eric

I swear I did that and they kept coming back anyway. I was using it to collect sand as they were in something like a death throe. Should I use the dagger before that?

Did I forget to post this like a month ago? Ok, I got the dagger, unlocked the hourglass. Now I'm locked in the room with something like four bad guys who keep respawning and an unhelpful chick who keeps telling me to use the dagger. What am I supposed to do? Eric

That question sounds like, "Why do I have a dog, anyway?" Best answer I can come up with is that I find it awkward taking a dump on the carpet myself. I guess the kids will fight over it when I kick. That's the fantasy anyway. Eric

Sometimes. I'm working on a large project and certain things I do could trigger a long build (45 minutes) that makes my computer not good for anything else. Thank goodness for portables. Also sometimes to blow off steam, if it has been a particularly long day. I actually have a Vectrex in my "real" office and I'm thinking about bringing in a Jaguar and maybe a Saturn. I also usually have one or more of a PSP, DS, Tapwave, Lynx or NGPC with me. In my home office I have a Black Widow arcade. The coolest was when I worked for Exent (the people behind Yahoo Games on Demand). We used to buy armloads of games to test with. Eric

I think they're both worth getting if you like the libraries or are into handhelds. I'm not really a big fan of the Game Gear because most of the games don't appeal to me and I'm not fond of the screen, altough the Casino game is better than Lynx's (but without the funny characters walking around). I like the Lynx arcade port. And of course the vibrant homebrew community. Eric

If you liked that you'll probably want to check out Astrocapella. Eric

OK, I needed to give myself a public attaboy...I almost never finish games. Now I can stuff the DS in a drawer while I play through Ape Escape on PSP. For anyone who has a DS and hasn't tried it, driller is an addictive puzzle game. Unlike most puzzle games it's fast and doesn't give you a lot of room to make up for your mistakes. Eric

See, if you have kids, toilet time is pretty much the only private time you get. Either that or wake up at 4am. The problem is when you start getting good at the games. Driller Spirits can keep me occupied for a good 15 minutes. Had to get a padded seat. Eric

Can I hijack this thread with another question? Aren't these things supposed to come with a UMD with Spiderman 2? Mine didn't. I was under the impression that the first million had it as a pack in, and that a million units have not been sold yet. Eric

Twisted Metal: Still getting used to the control...while I don't tend to like games that have too many control options, I'm having fun with this one. The mini games are really fun too. Now I only need someone to play wirelessly.

Does Plasma Pong hidden in Jaguar Defender 2K count? Actually Ultra Pong from Atari has those psychadelic colors but after awhile they give me a headache. Eric

I actually have a TCR Sport in the box -- they take cartridges but it only comes with one. The question I have, has anyone actually seen another cartridge for these things? Eric

Pictures anyone? Eric

I thought Burnout 3 was too easy. Fun but too easy. I would go with PGR(2). Eric

I thought Burnout 3 was too easy. Fun but too easy. I would go with PGR(2). Eric

I love threads like this -- I was cleaning out my office and found at least a half dozen things I can't identify, including a bunch of wierd cables and some brass thingy with a bunch of hinges on it that I was using as a plumb bob at some point. Might have to start a new contest. Eric

Uh, how about that flat button on the inside for the power switch? I could use one of those. PM? Thanks, Eric

Actually, we did -- but this obviously raises another point. People aren't finding the Maqiupai Web site... Here is the link: http://www.goatstore.com/maqiupai/ So the question then becomes how we can better promote developments? Should that be a whole different site? This is something I'm _really_ at a loss for, and if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. By your comments Eric, it sounds like you looked for info but couldn't find it, so obviously we are failing to do stuff in the best way possible... You need to design your site for people with short attention spans. I looked at the above link and it looks like Shanghai. OK, so you told me it's not Shanghai, based on that I explore further, and click on the next link, "General Information." The two sentences are: "What is Maqiupai? Maqiupai is the ancient game of Shanghai..." I've got Shanghai on my Lynx, NGPC and PDA so the chances of me playing that on any console are about zero. I think on the first page you need something like "Maqiupai twists the original Shanghai concept by..." right off the bat, and show me a picture of that twist in some obvious way first thing. Actually I wouldn't do that. If I was interested enough to go to your site to check out the games in the first place, I will probably poke around the store to see if anything else there might interest me. Eric

That was for flojomojo. Shows what happens when you're reading message boards while trying to do other things -- that was supposed to be PM. Isn't there supposed to be an edit button for your own posts or something? Eric

So, you're in Silver Spring? I don't suppose you ever find yourself in Columbia? And/or open to trades? Eric

One aspect of the DS games, I don't think the tiny little boxes are a good way to introduce the games to consumers who browse for 5 minutes after lunch at the shopping mall. I wouldn't have given Feel The Magic a second look except that it was on a demo DS at the store. It was actually fun. Not sure how it will hold up over the long run but I would certainly consider it as a used title. Eric

Why I'm waiting on a PSP, possibly indefinitely: 1) I own a Zodiac which (I think) has a longer rated battery life than the PSP, and I can tell you, it's not long enough. If it won't survive a normal flight delay at an airport with the power supply in checked luggage, it isn't going to work for me. 2) Size/not clamshell -- I don't want a man-purse either, and while I usually lug around a computer backpack, space in it is at a premium. Also why I'm switching from the Tapwave back to my older Clie where the screen flip around into a clamshell case. 3) Sony quality problems -- pretty much every Sony device over the last five years that I've bought has disappointed me in quality and durability. This includes the PS2 (mine wouldn't handle DVDs out of the box and the Sony service experience was far short of spectacular), bad PDA's (the aforementioned Clie was one out of three to survive more than a year with normal use) and phones (which have a habit of dying the first week out of warantee). 4) Games -- I'm an old schooler, in the minority but there isn't anything on the system that I really want to carry with me or play on the toilet. 5) I Will Never Use This Thing To Listen To Music Or Watch Movies -- it's not small or durable enough to run with, and in any other situation, I probably have my laptop with me, with the long battery life and 60G hard drive. Eric

I get hooked on puzzle games really easily. Just discovered BeTrapped on Yahoo, although after a long weekend that got too easy for me. I still like Picture Puzzle and Puzzle Link on NGPC. And right now the game I've been playing most is Driller Spirits on the DS. That counts as a puzzle game, no? Eric