Hashbrowns

@pickassoreborn said:

Let's not forget Doom 3 was a graphical game-changer with those crazy normal maps. I remember seeing the leaked code and being amazed with the normal map stuff. These days normal mapping is taken for granted, but for me it felt like a major push forward in graphical fidelity.

Exactly, though I remember how impressive all those pre-release screenshots were, and then my complete surprise when Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay came out several months earlier and kind of stole Doom 3's thunder, and on the Xbox no less. Sure, I know a powerful PC at the time would have run Doom 3 faster/sharper than Butcher Bay on the Xbox, but the fundamental features like normal mapping and the harsh, dynamic lighting were extremely similar and super impressive. I also recall just how surprisingly good the Xbox version of Doom 3 was, considering the hardware involved. Both very visually impressive games.

But yeah, Doom 3 was gorgeous and this remaster has me interested.

I usually judge pacing by whether or not I feel there is a good place to STOP watching a movie. The fewer times I think "yeah, here's a good spot to stop" the better the pacing.

I'm somehow always surprised how hard it is to stop watching Jaws. I remember when it first came out on DVD, and I thought I'd just check out the first couple of scenes to see how good the transfer was, and I just ended up watching the whole thing.

Another similar but less celebrated Spielberg film with great pacing was Duel.

A little late to the party but here goes:

I'm playing a Khajiit and I joined the Stormcloaks. Not everyone in the rebellion is racist, and the fundamental position of the Stormcloaks (Skyrim self-ruled and independent) is very appealing. I like to think that my Khajiit champion will prove that even non-Nords can fight for Skyrim's freedom, and will marginalize the racial posturing of Ulfric. And if push comes to shove, wouldn't people be more likely to follow the Dragonborn than Ulfric, no matter the race? He killed the last king, but the Dragonborn defeated Alduin the World Eater. I mean, come on.

In my own little continuity, everything my version of the Dragonborn does is meant to strengthen Skyrim and hone it into a dagger that will plunge right into the heart of the Aldmeri Dominion. Heck, my Khajiit Dragonborn leads the Thieves Guild, Companions, the College of Winterhold, and will soon be calling the shots in the Dark Brotherhood. Don't tell me that that isn't some serious firepower. The Empire needs a kick in the pants, and Skyrim has the potential to be a swift one.

Sure, none of this is explicitly supported in the game, but I think it's fun thinking this stuff out. If you have a good rationale for doing it, there's no issue having a dunmer in the Stormcloaks.

This should have been done for the last several years. And on top of that, EVERY trailer at E3 should be released online on XBL and PSN immediately upon their reveals as well. It makes no sense to limit your game's exposure in any way, shape or form.

@AlexW00d said:

@Except for RDR and GTA4, and all of the Assassin's Creed games, and the Saboteur, all of which ran better on PS3. You're just pulling stuff out your ass in some weird fanboy manner.

I think you might be mistaken on a few of those.

Red Dead Redemption's softer and murkier visuals on the PS3 were pretty well documented. Similar issues occurred with GTA IV, but if I remember correctly the only major difference there was the PS3 rendering at a lower resolution but managing a slightly smoother frame-rate in a few cases, so take your pick. The majority of reviews and analysis I read mentioned the Assassin's Creed games being sharper and running more consistently on the X360. I distinctly remember Kevin VanOrd's review only because he mentioned the PS3 version was smoother, and that the consensus of virtually every other review was the opposite case.

Maybe the Saboteur ran better, I don't know. You could mention Portal 2, which definitely looked better on the PS3. The PS3 is a fine system, I really like mine, but I have to acknowledge it must be a booger to program for.

I can't figure out why Rockstar didn't give the two previous games a re-release, both in HD on consoles and REAL widescreen support for PCs. I would pay for that, seriously. I've given up trying to coax 1920x1080 out of Max Payne 2, and it's breaking my heart.

Is Jeff Gerstmann the John Lasseter of video game journalism? The parallels between Giant Bomb and Pixar are kind of striking. Granted, that's a best case scenario, but here's hoping. In any case...

"EA Sports... it's not in the GAME."

Yeah, that was bad.

@snaptroll said:

And once again I hopelessly wonder if they'll attempt Freespace 3 now that they've finished this game.

They'd have to get the rights from Interplay first. And even then, what are the chances that the people who made Freespace 1 & 2 are even still around at Volition?

@Meowshi said:

@Claude said:

@MikeGosot said:

@Claude said:

@Abyssfull said:

''My mother's my sister!''... one of the few pieces of GTA pedestrian dialogue that stuck with me for years... Funny to see someone actually ask about its origins.

That line messed with my head a little. My younger brother is adopted and his mother is his sister.

Is that POSSIBLE!?

My sister gave birth to a baby boy. She couldn't take care of him and my parents adopted him. Thus, my brother's mother became his sister.

o.O

I just figured that for a Chinatown reference.