Posts by Izuno

  • 24

    Quote from Fletch

    Did anybody else feel like the theme from the Incrdible Hulk TV show should haev been playing at the end when Jack was walking away?Predictions for next year: Palmer, Jack, and Mandy form an underground anti-terrorist network like the A-Team.

    exactly.

    well...another season of 24 come and gone. and i loved it once again. can't wait until the next season starts in Jan 2006.

  • star wars

    Quote from Tequila

    Was quite good, some really fucking pantomime moments that detract a great deal - especially Vader's reaction at the end. Shame about most of the acting and the dialogue though, it really is terrible.

    dead on.

  • star wars

    just got back from star wars (ok we went out drinking afterward...)

    man what a fucking tragedy the whole thing was. i mean, we all knew what was coming, we just didn't know exactly how it was going to happen.

    1. acting was cheesey...but the dialogue Lucas wrote for it was pretty bad in many spots. i guess i can forgive it :/

    2. they really did wrap up a lot of major plot lines (i think all of them) so good job there.

    3. opening sequence was pretty good.

    4. R2D2 continues to pwn all droids. 3P0 is still gay...(oooh shocker)

    5. I still think "Rise of the Empire" might have been a better title.

    [spoiler do not read if you haven't seen]

    6. The emporer is fucking evil. in fact, it's now clear that everything that happened was by his design...making him an evil genius. imagine if hitler had actually won world war II and conquered the planet...that's the level of evil that the emporer is at. i mean... he killed his former master to achieve his power...and i forget but isn't that how Anikan was conceived? didn't "darth sidius'" master learn how to create life just from the force itself...hence Anikan was divinely conceived? so basically the emporer had Anikan created and plotted out over all those years to have him eventually become his apprentice? i mean....they created anikian to be the most powerful jedi ever and then turn him to the dark side. so that implies the emporer was using darth maul and count dooku as pawns on his long journey to power...eventually to have anikan kill dooku yada yada. my point is that the emporer is one evil fucking genius. at the end they show the structure of the death star which reminds us that all he cares about hsi power...absolute power. so it would seem that the moral of the 6 star wars movies could be that power currupts and must be used responsibility...or perhaps that the puruit of power will ultimately leave one empty and in fact powerless.

    ok so not the most insightful analysis...but i'm sorta drunk and wanted to discuss.

    end spoiler

  • Crappy pictures from today

    Here are all the pictures i took today. My camera blows, but here they are. if you have questions or want to see larger pics, let me know.

    Ok remember that crazy Nazi guy from CoD at E3 2003? Activision got him again accept now he plays an MP. He walked up to me and said something to the effect of "are you in line?" :roll:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/cod2_dood.jpg]

    Namco had a stage for Soul Calibur III. Periodically these dancers came out and drew a big crowd. i could only manage a pic of the jumbotron.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/namco_dancer.jpg]

    Pac Man booth babes? erm...maybe just cute Namco employees suckered into wearing funny Pac Man head garb?

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/pacman_girl.jpg]

    Quake 4's booth looked like it was right out of the game. Good booth, good presentation inside.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/quake4_booth.jpg]

    my only lame picture of THQ's hotties. They had some good ones so if anyone else is going to the show, try to get some better pics.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/thq_girls.jpg]

    Activision

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1917.jpg]

    Call of Duty 2 was showing at Microsoft's area on the Xbox 360. Looks petty good for a first generation Xbox360 game. Seems like it plays pretty well, anyway. Drew a big crowd.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1918.jpg]

    Isn't the NGAGE dead? :roll:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1919.jpg]

    NFSU will come to the Xbox360. These next two pics don't show it well but many onlookers were commenting it looked like Half Life 2. :-/

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1920.jpg]

    NFSU on X360

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1921.jpg]

    One of THQ's new X360 games is The Outfit by Relic. It's an amped up WWII 3rd person action game that borrows elements from RTS. Check it out on Gamespot and IGN.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1922.jpg]

    Howard Lederer, famous poker player, has his own game now and was playing at E3!!!

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1924.jpg]

    heeeeeere's Howard

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1923.jpg]

    EA had this huge circular jumbotron you went inside of...360 degrees of gametrailers. It made you feel like you were in the game...very interesting booth concept. There I saw the Maddeen 2006 trailer (all CG), the Godfather (all CG?), Burnout 3....some Fight Night game. It was a cool booth...damn cool booth. Hope the games live up to it. :roll:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1926.jpg]

    I made it over to Sony's booth...but honestly wasn't there long. Here's some PSP signage.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1927.jpg]

    Eh, this pic came out like crap but if you look closely you can see that Starcraft Ghost is still alive. It was up and running on an Xbox or PS2 here.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1928.jpg]

    Crappy pic of the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars trailer on an HD screen.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1930.jpg]

    Yahoo! Games was pushing this new Phil Helmuth poker game. Phil was there and they had this tournament where all the finalist got a shot at playing him heads up in no limit Texas Hold'em.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1934.jpg]

    Here's Phil

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1931.jpg]

    This is one of my friends who made it as a finalist...and my friend won!!! Only took two hands to beat Phil. Woot!

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1933.jpg]

    MOJO is back!

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    24...the game! Actually I saw this close up and the presentation level is dead on. It feels just like the TV show and they got all the critical voices including Keifer's. TBD on how good the final gameplay will be. Def one to watch if you are a fan of the show.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1936.jpg]

    WOW this was TopSpin2 on X360. It's only a tennis game, but the environments looked amazing. Characters weren't as good. It plays pretty cool too.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1937.jpg]

    Dawn of War: Winter Assault at THQ's booth.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1938.jpg]

    Look! THQ is putting out a girls game. :roll:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1939.jpg]

    TRUE CRIME 2 had a rapper/dj set up. Seems like everyone had an urban or "street" game whether a GTA type game or a racing game. Urban is the new WWII right now.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1942.jpg]

    Top of the COD2 theater where Activision showed the d-day level from CoD2 on PC. Friggin tight as shit...and i swear the voice acting was very very familiar...

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1943.jpg]

    I guess Far Cry Instincts for Xbox isn't dead.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1946.jpg]

    here is a picture of someone using the map editor for the Xbox version. Pretty cool. I wonder how capable it will be and if Xbox gamers will really take to it. Could be a whole new world for modding...though I wouldn't expect it to take off until X360 gets going when more/better/newer games come with editors.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1944.jpg]

    This guy was his own TV studio. At first I thought he was dressed up like a Ghostbuster or something.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1947.jpg]

    Finally, outside at the end of the day. What a mess.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/Img_1948.jpg]

  • E3 Babe pics

    my crappy camera sucks, but here are pics from today.

    This is a girl at Namco's booth with a Pac Man thing on her head. Man they must have felt stupid, not to mention grossly overheeted with that thing on.

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/pacman_girl.jpg]

    Here is a really dark and blurry picture of some THQ hotties at a lame angle. meh...

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/thq_girls.jpg]

    Finally here is a picture from Namoc's jumbotron of one of the dancers on their Soul Calibur III stage:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/e3_2005/namco_dancer.jpg]

  • Quake IV on time for Christmas (maybe)

    I sat in the Quake 4 booth presentation today. The setup was basically the same as it was for Doom3's two years.

    First of all, the game has the same fonts/interface concept that Doom 3 does, but hey if it works it works. I don't think there is any of this PDA stuff from Doom3, though. The levels have a good mix of indoors and outdoors. While the textures and architecture and lighting all looked good, the Stroggos world doesn't have any feel of vegetation or grittiness the way Half Life 2 does. Sure, it's a different game set on a Mars like alien plannet, but that was just my gut reaction. overall the graphics are great as expected.

    Gameplay looked a lot like Quake 2...except Q4 has much more interaction with squadmates. Everything posted in the previews seems to be true. The vehicle/walker thing is badass, the stroggos enemies are wicked....but since i only saw 10 minutes of gameplay I can't comment on the whole game yet.

    The sound design took great use of the Doom3 engine...i just hope the whole game has the same detail Doom3 did when you get into that momentarily quiet corridor. I think this game could also be "scary" like Doom3 just from the sound.

    The story kicks off right where Quake2 ended, as already revealed in the media. Personally I like that nod to the continuity that many Q2 fans will appreciate. The guy from id said "Quake 4 is a direct sequel of Quake 2" so they aren't leaving any doubt about it and the presentation sure backed that up.

    As for the art style, it picks up right where Quake2 left off. Remember all those Warhammer40k-esque-ish-like symbols (skull with wings thing) from Quake2? They are back. It really does look like Quake2, except Doom3-ified.

    Anyway...I'm sure they'll release all the footage officially online soon. Here is a pic of the booth:

    [Blocked Image: http://www.izuno.net/pics/quake4_booth.jpg]

  • whos going?

    Quote from mikezilla

    I'm going.I'll be talking to people and press and such.

    I'll probably kidnap Izuno.

    i may luck out and only go for one or two days of it. it's honeslty becoming more of a pain in the ass...i think this will be my 5th year in a row....and it's more fun when you don't have anything to do and can just check out the show.

    anyway...if you kidnap me i should have some interesting stories from the gaming world here in LA :meh:

  • Not going to e3? Check the photos!

    Quote from Zaphod

    I don't feel like driving to the crappiest city on earth with the crappiest traffic on earth to walk through a giant commercial all day. E3 is like walking through a maze with standing room only that is lined with televisions all playing a different commercial at full volume. It's neat to go the first couple times though, the novelty of the glitz and glamour and cool looking booths is worth going every once in awhile. I'll catch all the info I want this year online.

    i think this will be year 5 for me. i'm actually hoping i can get out of much of it cause it just...well everything "big" is exclusive and behind closed doors. anything open to the general attendee gets posted all over the internet 5 minutes after the doors open.

    still, if you've never been, go if you can.

  • New XBox 360 screens?

    Kosmo, you make some good points. To expand, the cost of making video game content, for PC or for console, is ever increasing. As hardware gets more powerful and complex, it takes more people and more time to develop higher end product worthy of the new hardware capabilities. Combine that with the marketing to get mass market attention, you have a serious problem of escalating costs with riskier potential for returns. But this is a known problem that many pundits, wags and industry people have been forecasting for a while...even a topic of mapcore threads.

    So what might alleviate this problem of "EA-izing" of gaming:

    1) Better tools. Yes, it is costly to make a more effecient and powerful level design solution (or other tools) but it sure would help. Imagine if a more powerful tool could cut the time it takes to animate a complex character and make it higher quality? And was easier to learn? That would certainly save developers a lot of headaches.

    2) Better Q/A management. Q/A is very complex now, and having an effective, efficient Q/A department can help developers increase quality while decreasing development cycles by catching and documenting bugs earlier and faster. Trust me, I've seen many a game gaffed because producers and Q/A managers didn't communicate well.

    3) Consolidation. Sorry to say it, but little publishers/developers simply won't be able to compete on cost. EA is sort of driving this, but it is innevitable. (spell check? what?) EA is centralizing shared resources for mo-cap, CG animation, sound recording, musical scoring and technology developoment. While there are many EA games we here at mapcore do not like, EA games certainly have mass market appeal as they sell sell sell. They are able to crank out mass market content cheaper and faster than the other publishers. Sure, they work the shit out of their employees (if the EA_spouce and other stories are really true) but because of their scale, they can do more with with less money than other publishers can. If you are another publisher, you've got to make similar consolidation moves just to compete on cost.

    Now....on a slightly different tanget, and perhaps a bit back on topic, is the industry really in that bad of a place? Since last summer here are the highlights of the games I've played (and which platforms I played them on) and my personal opinion about them:

    Half Life 2 on PC not as good as the first relative to its time, but I loved it.

    Mercenaries on Xbox and PS2 So far this is my console game of the year for 2005. Despite the bugs and the texture / fogging issues, I friggin loved this game and played it twice through. Still play it a little each week.

    Resident Evil 4 on GameCube I bought this for my cousin when he moved to LA. One of the best horror games ever...and I don't play horror games. It rocked.

    Brothers in Arms on PC/Xbox It really did innovate and I applaud Gearbox and Ubisoft. I admit there were things that weren't to my liking, but overall it delivered a new kind of shooting game that evolved the "puzzle" type strategy first seen in Full Spectrum Warrior.

    Prince of Persia: Warrior Within on Xbox it is more of an upgrade from Sands of Time, but man am I enjoying it. I just got a oopy last week and am really hooked. Another one for Ubi.

    Splinter Cell 3 on Xbox/PC Again, way to go Ubi for having the 2nd game exceed the first and the 3rd exceed the second. Hats off. Ubi=publisher of the year imo.

    So despite the crappiness of late, there is some hope that good games are still coming out. Maybe it's not a world of gaming goodness, but I can't say I've gone a while without a game I've been psyched to play.

  • Kingdom of Heaven

    it wasn't bad....but man I'm getting sick of the massive battle scene movies.

    it could have been a terrible movie, but Ridley Scott did a good job with it overall. I give a mild thumbs up.

  • New XBox 360 screens?

    wow....it's just so funny to hear the "OMG MSFT IS THE EVIL EMPRIRE" logic. It's a god damn gaming console. Why do you feel so threatened? And remember, the Xbox was MSFTs first attempt at one. No on thought they would do well because their first iteration of any new technology (as I said earlier in this thread and many many other other people have observed long before me) that MSFT's first iteration of anything tends to suck royal ass. Personally I really like the Xbox. What I've seen of the 360 makes me think it will be a much better total product.

    So I'll try to make a point: I really am glad I purchased an Xbox. I like the S-controller, and I really liked many of the games on it and would buy a game for Xbox before I would fot PS2 9 times out of 10. I think MSFT has put a huge amount of time and money in making the 360 a better system to game on....ie...the total ownership experience of the 360 should be better than the Xbox. I really like the notion of being able to purchase cheap addon content. Maybe I am biased because I work in the industry and 99% of the games I own I get for free somehow. I think they are going to hype the crap out of it, which is a bit irritating. Next week on MTV look for DJ Frodo Baggins to host the launch show the Monday before E3 (it was already taped in Los Angeles last week). Take a look at the games...judge for yourself.

    Bah...it's morning before work and I'm rambling. Anyway....for the haters out there, I hear your hate and pain. It's cool. But I really think that the 360 will get more praise than criticism from most console gamers.

    Um....yeah need to put more braincells into this thought....

  • New XBox 360 screens?

    Quote from ReNo

    LOL, wtf is that? I'm gonna assume thats a horrendous fake, given that the Xbox360 controllers are meant to be wireless.

    That looks exactly like what they showed us. Oh...assume they are wireless. Ever think how the batteries in the controller would recharge and let you play at the time while recharging? They would need some kind of optional wire to plug the controller into the console. Man...what were they thinking?

  • Four Queens

    Quote from RD

    dejavuHow much did u win exactly?

    the 4 queens jackpot at the time was $116. i also won about $50 from the pot.

    if you play poker in a casino (in this case I was at the Aladdin) they usually have a board on the wall that indicates the additional jackpot if you hit a certain hand.

    the jackpot hands are usually 4 duces and up. that means there are 13 four-of-a-kind jackpots, as well as 12 straight-flush jackpots (determined by high card the S-F, not the suit) and of course 4 royal flushes (one for each suit).

    so each jackpot hand starts off at $50. if no one hits a particular hand it goes up a certain amount every 6 hours or every day or something the casino has predefined. so that means a hand could go up and up in value if no one happens to hit it. because someone hit 4 queens the day before, my jackpot was only $116. but the 4 eights jackpot hadn't been hit in a few days, and that jackpot was over $700.

    then the straight flush hands were really high, most at least a few thousand dollars and some over 6 or 7 thousand.

    when the 4th queen landed on the river it took me a second to realise I had won a jackpot. too bad it wasn't higher, but shit i'll take it.