donssword

Yeah PowerSerj--TS2 and 3 really seem to be the pinnacle of what FR was doing with the FPS genre, and they still hold up well to repeated playing.

I enjoy TS3s accessibility (easier trophies and rewards), as well as its refined gameplay, but TS2 is really the the better of the 2 when u remove the now defunct online component from TS3. I often wonder what TS2 could have been if Sony had delivered the goods for its online dev kit to the development community earlier in the PS2's life cycle--imagine how much better TS3 would have been if TS2 and been fully online (excluding its LAN and software-assisted tunneling).

My biggest question is, what recent employee/talent deficit lead to Haze's lack of success? Did FR lose a major talent (creative, strong project manager, producer) that effected Haze's overall quality? Was the concept just flawed to begin with? FR's "Second Sight," while incredibly high in quality, suffered from average to lackluster sales itself, especially being released against Midway's Psi-Ops.

I'm a huge Sony (and Nintendo fan), but the comments about console exclusives and sales numbers on the PS3 is true, and has been discussed at length since Sony launched the PS3--and is further supported by the hard data of sales numbers. The "Metal Gears" and GTA4's of the world don't count, because they "can" sell in large numbers--they are the keystones of the industry, and Sony paid a steep fee for Metal Gear exclusivity (custom consoles and packaging are not paid for out the of the goodness of a company's heart).

We may never know all the details of FR's fall, but I bet it would make a good read.

Its all good.

Funny u should say that, as "DS Removal" is perhaps the most dreaded punishment a kid can face these days -- other than being banned from Cartoon Network or Disney Channel when a new episode debuts (finish your dinner or you will miss Clone Wars/Hannah Montana/whatever) -- its not like they won't repeat the same episode 50 times by the end of the month.

I can only guess I would be considered legit. Yes, I have 2 kids, a boy and a girl, so I get to see a wide range of games (mine, his, hers, and my wife's).

I run http://www.translatedmemories.com (way out of date, but why would it need updating?). I'm less active on CAG than I used to be, was very active on the defunct Dark-Legacy.org, should be active on Silent Hill Heaven (but never seem to get around to it). I was a PS2 online beta tester (along with many others) back in the day, and a member of the Old Timers Killzone clan -- I was the one who got killed a lot.

Been keeping on eye on news for this title all summer, and it looks to be one of the more promising of the games aimed at girls yet. Here's hoping she gets bored with it fast so I can take it for a spin.