Ville

Hmm, not bad. No conference, but at least they're expanding on what they had last year. Also, the Smash tournament is a great idea, perfect way to create more anticipation for the launch of the 3DS version. Will be quite interesting...

E3 predictions? Well...I'd say something like this: -MASSIVE HYPE TRAIN -everyone's jizzing all over the place in anticipation -train goes off the tracks -tears, lots of tears Seriously though, I'm really not expecting anything. We've seen how Nintendo operates during the last year and a half, so that's what we're gonna get, more of the same. Bayonetta this, X that, Smash Brothers, Yoshi Yarn etc. Maybe some Quality of Living products too, and a few new quirky projects. That's the Nintendo of today for you.

The visual side is very important in any game, at least to me. It is one of the first things I look at (...) in a game, i.e. is it visually appealing or not, and that can either seal the deal or put me off completely. Skyward Sword is the first Zelda that I didn't like visually, the colours just look dull and washed out, especially if you compare to games like Xenoblade. Video games are art, so of course the visual side has to be in order! Doesn't mean it has to be super realistic or anything, but the player should get some kind of joy from just looking at the game's art, especially with high-caliber titles like the Legend of Zelda. #imo

He was upset by Mario and Luigi kissing? Well he better stop googling them, or he's gonna have a heart attack... (and yes it's a joke profile)

If nothing else, it's an interesting thing to discuss! I mean, the difference here is that you have games like Mario which are clearly just fantasy. He jumps high as hell, grows even more with mushrooms etc. In other words, they don't even bother try explaining how these things are happening, because it's irrelevant in such a fantasy environment. Same as with Kirby: he's literally travelling in Dream Land, so anything can be possible! Metroid, however, is different, since it's more realistic and supposed to be sci-fi. Her suit and all the weapons are explained in detail, because that's what it's all about: creating a believable and somehow plausible environment. Everything should have an explanation of some kind to make that possible...but the morph ball just doesn't fit, no matter what angle you look at it from. Still, does it matter so much? Not really...I do think it's a cool addition to the Metroid games to spice up the gameplay, plus it has already turned into an iconic trademark of the whole series. It's kind of like the Zelda timelines issue really: everyone knows they make no sense, but it doesn't matter that much since the games are good. Eagerly awaiting Nintendo's explanation on this one, though!

Well, let's be honest, the morph ball makes no sense at all. Even if there's room, how the hell does she operate it? There's no way she's spinning around with the ball, not to mention jumping with precision at the same time...Which would mean that only the exterior spins, which would require some kind of a floating core, which would then take more space...so how about no. The above video has some data on height, diameter and volume. Basically plausible, but he also argues that the original morphball was nothing more than a convenient replacement for a crawling animation. In other words... Q: Y can't Metroid crawl?? A: Because ball easier to animate.

Yeah, I like more action like in Colonial Marines. Still, the game does look pretty nice, hope it turns out good for you guys!

Sure, I'm not contesting that. I just find these types of games where you can't really do anything but run and hide really boring and annoying...

Great stuff. Still, Dog-amoto has a point, some people would just pick up a pipe or whatever and fight no matter how stupid it would be. Fight or flight response...Anyway, I'm not interested in this either. I hate games where you are totally helpless and constantly running away, it's like you're playing a nightmare...

Nah, I take good care of my gaming stuff, I would never throw them around! If a game is being a total dick, I might start cursing at it, but that's about it.

Well, I usually play on Normal or Hard depending on the game difficulty, and don't really use cheats. I don't know why, but I've always been more interested in beating the challenges in any game than messing around with unlimited ammo or whatever. Sure, it's fun for a moment, but there's really no point to that, is there? Still, anyone who has tried clearing their backlog knows that there are gonna be problems there. Some of the older games can be just brutally difficult, ugly, and / or horribly antiquated in terms of game design. Yet you might still wanna finish them...in which case easy mode and cheats it is. I don't think I've beaten much more than Age of Empires 1&2 with this method, but I was happy to finally finish all of the campaigns, especially since I've sinked so many hours into these games during the years. So yeah, I don't really mind either of these tactics. Sometimes you just want to finish the game and see the credits without spending a ton of time on it, so do what you gotta do. PS. Actually, I just remembered, I did use weapon cheats in some of the GTA games so that I didn't have to go collecting guns and ammo if I died. Same with the Elder Scrolls games, I couldn't be arsed to go back to town every 10 minutes because of a full inventory, so I used a carry capacity increasing mod. In other words, if a game has some tedious elements, I see no problem in skipping over them with cheats / mods / whatever. After all, I play games for fun, not for self-torture...

Compare with this: Facing straight towards the target, legs compactly together, leaning on the other leg for stability. Samus? Seems to be at a 45 degree angle, torso needlessly twisting to the left, no support from the front leg... @Phube But she's a bounty hunter too, so surely she knows how to get maximum accuracy from her guns?

Good point. That pose is pretty uncomfortable just to get into, not to mention Samus is using it for shooting...

How much is this, in euros?

All Gracie checks passed, plus finished my fossil collection. This game is pure genius...

Not at all. I mean that certain words like "racism" and "sexism" are thrown around so much these days that their meaning has been totally watered down. If you don't agree with feminists, you're a "sexist". If you don't buy everything in culture / religion X, you're a "racist". NO, that's not how it works, plus the labels themselves have been twisted to mean whatever the sayer wants them to mean. In other words, they're just a shaming tactic to shut down any opposing views or criticism...which also derails the discussion from real problems that do exist. Not a fan of such tactics...

And that's what I don't get about the modern times, this ultra-PC "everything's racist everything's sexist cannot criticise this cannot criticise that" bullshit. No, in a free country you should be able to criticise anything if it has dumbass elements in it, that's the whole point of freedom of speech! It's especially laughable if you compare the discussions to the actual problems happening in the some of the developing / otherwise constricted countries. "Omg videogames are so sexist!" vs. 9 million more girls than boys are denied basic education all around the world. "Omg who are we to say what other religions do, not accepting them would be discriminatory!" vs. yeah but at least we don't mutilate our boys and girls or segregate them, plus go to Saudi-Arabia and you'll find that atheism is classed as terrorism there now. So much for that cultural acceptance! People really need to start speaking their minds. Yes, cultural acceptance is good, but it should never be an excuse to turn a blind eye to idiotic practices or opinions. Same with "racism" and "sexism", sure they are things that exist but also labels that are thrown out like confetti these days just to shut down opposing views. People need to stop being so damn scared of offending others...if someone is spewing grade A bullshit, they need to be called out on it. Same with religions, if (and when) they have problems, they need to be addressed, not swept under the carpet!

Ok, thanks guys, I'll check it out!

@Rummy There are cheats to this game?

Damn right it is. I used to think that Naruto is great, but One Piece is really something else. I started watching it from the start last summer, and have now gotten up to speed with the latest anime episodes. The writing is just so damn good, all the characters have their own personalities and quirks, the locations are interesting, and the fights are always tense since the heroes get their asses kicked too! Also, the foreshadowing is pretty damn godly, "remember that little thing you saw 200 episodes ago, yeah let me explain". I haven't even watched Naruto in ages now, it's feels like a totally dragging filler fest after OP... So...any other animes you guys would recommend? Something in the vein of Naruto and OP, action and adventure that is...

Ah, so you think the combos do give special abilities? Hmm, very interesting...although if so, it's pretty weird that you can't see who has what! I haven't really been using combos that much myself, just whatever cards that raise the stats I want... Anyway, if anyone needs the full combo list, it can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17LnbSWJsP53Ip5uZ1rQBx7kB-wa4dmfxrId7ctq0V4U/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0

I just made a little experiment. I'm currently at 2nd place in the Finnish ranking, but just for testing I made a match with the bottom team. Surprise surprise, I won, and got nearly 200 points for that. Seriously, wth kind of logic is that? I could be playing the weaker teams all the time and racking points, but what would the point be? Not sure they thought this ranking system through...

Yeah it's getting a bit grindy. And the online ranking system seems to be quite weird indeed, it's like only wins matter, not who you get them from... #broken? @dazzybee The squares tell you how much training the player has done, and the Xs mark injured weeks. I think there's a higher chance of injury if you run the players to the ground with training or something... Player names you can change from the lower left corner, same place where you can hire new players and mess with the emblems.

5 weeks to go, bitches! Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to add some spice to the whole 50cc/100cc/150cc/Mirror mode setup. Racing through the same tracks over and over again is not exactly fun, especially if you've already beaten the hardest cup! Btw, one thing that I miss from Mario Kart DS are the driving challenges. Wouldn't mind seeing them come back...

Sounds pretty interesting. To be frank, the modern setting was getting a bit stale after so many games, so I'm all for a little change of time and scenery...