Poll of the Day > All Geek's Eve

(+) Yeah! (+)

The Wave Master posted...

Are any of you geeks playing Destiny 2? If so is it better than Destiny vanilla? I'm thinking it's just marginally better than the first. Which means it's not woeth owning or investing hundreds of hours into the game.

I was already biased against it because of the massive clusterfuck and MMOishness of the first game, but then they brought in the microtransaction fiasco this time around and now I generally feel like Bungie and Activision can go fuck themselves in the ass with a rusty pitchfork.


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J.J. Is back to direct Episode IX.

After Disney, and by Disney I mean Kathleen Kennedy, fired apparent ego maniac Colin Trevorrow, they needed a writer and director for Star Wars episode IX and J.J. was free.

I like The Force Awakens, and this just completes the circle. Hopefully, the movie isn't a remake of Jedi because Ewoks suck. Sorry Sobe. (Who I hope isn't dead.)
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J.J. was fine (maybe even good with the amount of crap he probably has to deal with), and that's totally OK for what they're doing.
The framing and pacing were all pretty good, nothing that's blowing the waters out for artistic creativity, but for a Disney Star Wars (tm) film, I'm happy he's there.

The Wave Master posted...

Nintendo says to not pay more than 80 bucks for the SNES Classic Edition. (Which is the retail price.)

My suggestion to that is to make more consoles so there isn't a shortage, and to directly control the preorder process instead of farming it out to retailers to mess up spectacularly.

seconded. if you don't want your shit hoarded and scalped, stop creating a bottleneck on distribution in the first place.

the solution is so bloody obvious that its as if Nintendo were being disingenuous or something here.
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The Wave Master posted...

Nintendo says to not pay more than 80 bucks for the SNES Classic Edition. (Which is the retail price.)

My suggestion to that is to make more consoles so there isn't a shortage, and to directly control the preorder process instead of farming it out to retailers to mess up spectacularly.

All I know is that my handicapped butt is going to be at Best Buy on the 24th very very early. That way the wife and I can get tickets to actually get a copy. I suggest you do the same if you want a copy of the retro console.

http://gizmodo.com/nintendo-urges-public-don-t-pay-more-than-80-for-snes-1803138702

The real issue is the huge amount of arbitrage which occurs when scalpers create shortages in the market by purchasing product for resale. It happens when almost every new system first hits the market. Of course, because this is a limited system, things are going to be worse.

The Wave Master posted...

J.J. Is back to direct Episode IX.

After Disney, and by Disney I mean Kathleen Kennedy, fired apparent ego maniac Colin Trevorrow, they needed a writer and director for Star Wars episode IX and J.J. was free.

I like The Force Awakens, and this just completes the circle. Hopefully, the movie isn't a remake of Jedi because Ewoks suck. Sorry Sobe. (Who I hope isn't dead.)

Thus dashing any hopes I had for this trilogy. FML, it's the prequel trilogy all over again but worse.

WhiskeyDisk posted...

The Wave Master posted...

Nintendo says to not pay more than 80 bucks for the SNES Classic Edition. (Which is the retail price.)

My suggestion to that is to make more consoles so there isn't a shortage, and to directly control the preorder process instead of farming it out to retailers to mess up spectacularly.

seconded. if you don't want your shit hoarded and scalped, stop creating a bottleneck on distribution in the first place.

the solution is so bloody obvious that its as if Nintendo were being disingenuous or something here.

Unless they overproduce to the extent that half their product doesn't sell and needs to be clearanced out, there will be issues. It's a bit different with normal consoles because it's continuous production for a lifecycle so eventually everybody gets the product.
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Now why would Nintendo say that this time around, but not for the NES Classic? We know that they stated that their production of the SNES Classic will far exceed that of the NES, but perhaps they might actually produce enough to meet demand? It doesn't seem likely, but I believe that's what they're implying.

That or they've had it with scalpers making more per system than Nintendo themselves, in which case get this fucking situation under control by pumping out more units.

Side note: I actually saw an NES Classic out in the wild last year. It was at a Macy's. I didn't buy it because I don't care for NES games, and I didn't flip it because I'm not an asshole. Maybe I can find a SNES Classic there this year.

Raganork posted...

Now why would Nintendo say that this time around, but not for the NES Classic? We know that they stated that their production of the SNES Classic will far exceed that of the NES, but perhaps they might actually produce enough to meet demand? It doesn't seem likely, but I believe that's what they're implying.

Because they didn't realize what a shitstorm the NES Classic release would be.

Raganork posted...

Side note: I actually saw an NES Classic out in the wild last year. It was at a Macy's. I didn't buy it because I don't care for NES games, and I didn't flip it because I'm not an asshole.

I was kinda so-so on it but I would have bought one if I saw it. Also kicking myself for not trying harder to track down a $100 N3DS since I thought it'd be a normal model going forward and fuck paying extra for the XL.
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Apple now wants you to pay a grand for an Iphone X. I'm not paying 1 dollar for any Apple product let alone a grand for a phone that does the same exact thing a 150 dollar Android phone can do. (Wirelss charging included.)

Wait... Androids can't unlock the phone with your face. Well, that's clearly worth a thousand dollars.

I'm just sick of these yearly press conferences that don't announce anything new or worthwhile. Just slightly better versions of last years phone. This is the phone industry's version of Madden.

And I don't buy Madden wither.
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The Wave Master posted...

I'm not paying 1 dollar for any Apple product let alone a grand for a phone that does the same exact thing a 150 dollar Android phone can do. (Wirelss charging included.)

Really? Because $1 for a phone with a $150 phone's capabilities sounds good =p
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Honestly, if I ever stumbled into an iPhone for free, I'd pass it along to one of my family members or just sell it. Dealing with iTunes is simply not worth the hassle. I don't even give a shit about the lack of convenient features like an SD card slot, removable battery, 3.5mm port, micro-usb charging port, etc. ITunes itself is such a bloated piece of shit that I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

Raganork posted...

Honestly, if I ever stumbled into an iPhone for free, I'd pass it along to one of my family members or just sell it. Dealing with iTunes is simply not worth the hassle. I don't even give a shit about the lack of convenient features like an SD card slot, removable battery, 3.5mm port, micro-usb charging port, etc. ITunes itself is such a bloated piece of shit that I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

I just use the iPhone I got for free as a MP3 player. I don't particularly like iTunes that much, but I've redeemed digital copies of films through the service and I've uploaded CDs I've bought into it. It's not a great system, but it's somewhat serviceable... only issue is I can't figure out how to clear out my old iPod shuffle and mass-delete songs from the iPhone. Meh.
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Here's how I mass delete songs on my Android phone:

- long-press a song title
- check the box next to every song I want gone
- trash bin icon

Here's how I did it on my ipod:

- connect to computer
- open iTunes
- oh, my ipod isn't being recognized because I'm using a shitty 3rd party cable since the official one provided with the ipod broke a year ago, and new official cables are $30; let me reconnect it several dozen times to see if that fixes things
- go into sync settings
- uncheck the songs I want gone
- sync in progres...
- wait an hour...
- come back and it deleted everything

Oh, and the sixteenth update of the day is waiting for me.

Vince McMahon is 72 years old. 72. He isn't 50 or even sixty. And by God can this man take a bump! Not only that, but he's better on the Mic and cutting a promo than 3/4 of the wrestling talent he has on his roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp0J7P62NFU

No wonder he has to send Ole Roman the Reigns to acting classes. The man has carnival barker in his blood. Great job Vince, and nurse that massive headache he probably has this afternoon. I mean he's going to nurse it with booze, pills, and steroids, but he deserves those things.
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The Wave Master posted...

Vince McMahon is 72 years old. 72. He isn't 50 or even sixty. And by God can this man take a bump! Not only that, but he's better on the Mic and cutting a promo than 3/4 of the wrestling talent he has on his roster.

He's also hit the gym every day for several hours for the past 40-50 years. If you maintain conditioning, you can maintain your body. As for his ability to take bumps, remember that he once blew out both of his quads getting into the ring =p

(Wasn't watching wrestling when it happened but happened to catch that Royal Rumble and was confused about him sitting down when cutting a promo on how to decide the winner.)

(Also, that was a pretty spectacular year in wrestling given that two of the standard-bearers were built at the same time... although they backed the wrong guy when they had Batista go over Cena. Oh well, still it's always nice to see people go over Cena.)

Should also mention that I listened to a 30-35 minute Dave Meltzer (with Bryan Alvarez?) clip from a podcast discussing the last (or next to last) Raw despite having not watched a Raw in ages. Granted, the fact that they're building up Braun really makes me want to get back into watching Raw... but it's fucking 3 hours long and Hulu has too many commercials.
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Zeus posted...

Should also mention that I listened to a 30-35 minute Dave Meltzer (with Bryan Alvarez?) clip from a podcast discussing the last (or next to last) Raw despite having not watched a Raw in ages.

That's basically what I do. I watch a couple of different YouTube channels that talk about wrestling, so I know what's going on on Raw and SmackDown, and I watch the PPVs with a friend of mine, but I probably haven't watched an actual episode of either Raw or SmackDown in like 15 years.

It works better that way, because you get to hear most of the backstage drama (which is honestly more interesting than the majority of in-ring angles at this point) and most of the actual strong matches without having to sit through all of the dreck.



Zeus posted...

Granted, the fact that they're building up Braun really makes me want to get back into watching Raw...

Brawn is awesome, but you might be better off not getting invested, because you'll only be disappointed when they feed him to Brock and/or Roman.



Zeus posted...

but it's fucking 3 hours long and Hulu has too many commercials.

WWE itself posts most of the actual worthwhile highlights on their own YouTube channel, and will recycle all of it into the video packages for the PPVs.

And if you don't want to pay for the network, and you're willing to go looking, you can usually find someone live-streaming the PPVs on YouTube if you look hard enough.

Though if you're an older wrestling fan, the mass of past content on the network might be enough to help justify the monthly price tag for you, regardless of what you might think of the current product. Especially since they have the tape libraries from WCW and ECW as well as WWE/WWF.


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As much as I love wrestling I have let my WWE network subscription lapse. I do watch, rather I fast forward, through most of Raw and Smackdown, but I only care about the big 4 pay per views anyway. And by then they usually offer a free month, and I don't miss the things I really care about.

As for Braun... I too like him a lot and I don't usually like the monster characters that Vince builds. However, they are going to probably feed him to Roman or Brock, and both of them suck.

Roman is about as interesting as watching paint dry, and Brock is just a roided up part timer that greatly benefits from Paul Heyman being stellar on the mic. It's hard if not impossible to get behind those 2 morons.

However, I do love me some Miz. How do all of you feel about him?
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In general, I'm pretty sure they need to protect Braun to some extent because they likely want to use him as a Big Show replacement since Show is looking to retire in the next few years.
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Zeus posted...

In general, I'm pretty sure they need to protect Braun to some extent because they likely want to use him as a Big Show replacement since Show is looking to retire in the next few years.

If they want to use him as Big Show 2.0, they wouldn't NEED to protect him, considering they basically shit on Big Show for about 90% of his career.

I LIKE Big Show, but let's be honest, he's Jobby McJobberson.


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Zeus posted...

In general, I'm pretty sure they need to protect Braun to some extent because they likely want to use him as a Big Show replacement since Show is looking to retire in the next few years.

If they want to use him as Big Show 2.0, they wouldn't NEED to protect him, considering they basically shit on Big Show for about 90% of his career.

I LIKE Big Show, but let's be honest, he's Jobby McJobberson.

Yeah, but that was later on AFTER Show had been built up to have some credibility. Before he was almost-jobbing to Rey Mysterio, he was beating Hulk Hogan for titles (granted, it happened at another promotion but those victories carried over with his reputation therefore making his losses more meaningful).

If they plan on using Braun in the long-term, he needs to win the world title.
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The only time Big Show was cool or useful was in WCW when he was billed as Andre The Giant's son, nd came to the ring smoking cigarettes.

In his WWE career he has mostly jobbed and put over younger talent. He also cried a lot too. Seriously, the man can cry on demand.

Basically Big Show is only as strong or weak as the story line calls for in that particular feud.
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Zeus posted...

Yeah, but that was later on AFTER Show had been built up to have some credibility. Before he was almost-jobbing to Rey Mysterio, he was beating Hulk Hogan for titles (granted, it happened at another promotion but those victories carried over with his reputation therefore making his losses more meaningful).

Yes, as "The Giant" in WCW he was pushed hard early (at least until the NWO came along and pretty much everyone else got shit-booked), but he was de-pushed almost immediately because WWE management really didn't like his attitude (which is why he was sent down to developmental).

His time in the 'Fed (which really isn't "the Fed" anymore, but fuck it) was mostly a lot of underwhelming feuds (remember when he was fighting the Big Boss Man 10 years after anyone cared about the Big Boss Man?) and so-so pushes (remember when he got over by mimicking other wrestlers' gimmicks and making movie references?). Even when he was ostensibly a top-tier wrestler very few people ever saw him as one, and his constant weight issues meant he would occasionally get de-pushed for a while, which kind of killed his heat.

He's one of those wrestlers they occasionally sort of half-heartedly give a push to, then back off of once the audience reacts luke-warmly, which mostly only happens because an endless string of jobs has convinced the savvier audience that this person is a "loser" so they don't buy into their sudden revitalization.

And again, I LIKE Big Show. I feel like they mistreated him badly over his time in the company. But he's hardly the only victim of that *cough*Goldust*cough*.

I do agree that Braun SHOULD get the belt, but we're also talking about a company that is still convinced that Roman Reigns will get over if they just keep rubbing him in our faces until we love him. After 3+ years of that strategy absolutely failing to work. They are absolutely going to job him to Brock, so they can job Brock to Roman. Then, when that doesn't work, they'll ruin another wrestler the audience loves in yet another attempt to "coronate" Roman for the 47th time.

In the WWE as it currently exists, it seems like most of the Vince-inspired booking (ie, Raw as a whole and Jinder on Smackdown) has an air of clueless defiance about it. Expecting logic or sanity from the bookers at this point is a losing bet.


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

I do agree that Braun SHOULD get the belt, but we're also talking about a company that is still convinced that Roman Reigns will get over if they just keep rubbing him in our faces until we love him. After 3+ years of that strategy absolutely failing to work. They are absolutely going to job him to Brock, so they can job Brock to Roman. Then, when that doesn't work, they'll ruin another wrestler the audience loves in yet another attempt to "coronate" Roman for the 47th time.

Or they could have Braun squash Brock, make him look like shit, take the title then, in the rematch, squash him again and make him look like shit. And, hear me out, they could have Braun squash everybody else who comes his way and make them look like shit. Finally, you can Braun do the job for Roman.
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But they won't do that, because at the moment Brock is still a proven mega-draw while Braun is not.

Also, Brock mostly avoids the traditional 50-50 booking problem because Heyman is his RL advocate and can often overrule what he sees as terrible booking decisions (which he's done multiple times, which is part of why Brock/Heyman have a bit of heat in the locker room). But Braun is still a relatively young, relatively powerless wrestler who is going to do exactly what he's told.

Again, stop thinking about what is logical for them to do, because they rarely do that these days. Especially not in scenarios where Vince is calling the shots rather than Triple H (who is still kind of annoyed that Vince keeps pissing away most of his NXT talent once it hits the main roster).


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Kind of sad that I didn't get a Beta code for Dragonball Fighters Z. I have been watching the game on stream for a few hours and it looks as wonderful as it did at E3.

I love Arc Systems Work games. Guilty Gear, Blaz Blue, and even the Persona 4 fihting game were all solid. I especially love the music in Guilty Gear. (Shout out to Noontide, i l lovw that track.)

However, as a 90's kid I have a special place in my heart for Dragonball Z. Anyway the game looks great.
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One of the more terrible aspects of kidney failure and being on hemo dialysis, other than the 2 two inch needles that get stabbed in my chest 3 times a week, is the fact that I'm on constant fluid restriction.

Meaning I only csn drink 24 to 32 ounces of fluid in a 24 hour period. It stinks because that is not a lot of liquid. That's basically a little over one bottle of water a day. There is also hidden liquid in food. Soup, Apple sauce, ice cream, it's all counted as liquid.

I basically just eat ice all day. I know it's liquid, but it's not consumed as fast. It's miserable because I really can't eat chicken wings during football games because of the heat and thus the thirst that follows from the heat. (Bye, bye hot wings or any spicy food.)

Can any of you imagine living like this for a few days, weeks, or 4 years like I have? Did I mention the needles beind stabbed in my chest?
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So... that robot body... If not we can infuse your genes with those of a starfish. Yeah yeah unwanted side effects here and there like unwanted limbs and possibly a clone of yourself.

Korruptor posted...

So... that robot body... If not we can infuse your genes with those of a starfish. Yeah yeah unwanted side effects here and there like unwanted limbs and possibly a clone of yourself.

And you can have seawater blood! That's pretty awesome too.

Oh, the more and more I read Issac Asimov's thoughts on anything really makes me sad I could never have met him, he just is so damn interesting.

The Wave Master posted...

Can any of you imagine living like this for a few days, weeks, or 4 years like I have?

I drink around 5 bottles of water a day. Can't really survive here otherwise. So yeah, that sounds completely awful.

I was in the hospital around a year ago for 5 hours, and in that time they only allowed me a few sips of water from a small paper cup. It was torturous. Living off of 30oz a day would essentially be impossible.

Er, in more uplifting news, turns out most critics adored Samus Returns. Color me surprised. I'm still hesitant; I'll be waiting for a sale, whenever that may be.

I have been watching some streams of Samus Returns, and it looks damn good actually. More importantly it feels like a natural 2d Metroid game. Mercury Steam has made some terrible games, but this doesn't look like one of them.

The most impressive thing about Samus Returns is the difficulty level of the game. Metroid games should be hard, and this fame looks brutal in places.

I suppose the game can be critiqued for being very much the same Metroid games that were made before like Zero Mission or Fusion, but enough has been added to keep it fresh.

Basically the same complaints about the static nature of this game could be made with the Legend of Zelda games until Breath of the Wild, or Ocarina of Time bought Zelda into the third dimension.

Either way a new 3D Prime game is coming probably in 2019 for The Switch so hopefully we get more 2d games along with the Prime 3d games. A Switch 2d Metroid would be sweet.
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Well ****!

Bobby the Brain" Heenan passed away today. Cancer is a dirty, dirty, Butthole. I feel even worse because I thought he had already passed away, but he had not as I wrongly mentioned earlier in the topic.

In my opinion was the greatest heel commentator in the history of wrestling. He wasn't a bad manger either.

Damn it, this sucks. Maybe he won't be in pain any longer. Hopefully he will get to rest in peace.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/09/18/bobby-the-brain-heenan-passes-away
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Eek, I'm late to this topic.
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Raganork posted...

Also also, I've been playing Splatoon 2 all weekend, and it's probably the most fun I've had with a video game in the past few years. I've been itching for a good competitive game for so very long, and I finally found one that I absolutely adore.

I just started this, too. Loving it, it picks up where the fun left off in Splatoon 1.

Finished the War of the Chosen expansion for XCOM2. God, I love that game. Working on some smaller indie Steam games in my backlog (I have one more week off before jumping onto another show).

I'm surprised to see how much people care about Destiny 2...I thought the consensus of the first game was it was filled with too many empty promises and unfulfilled potential, and was filled with microtransactions.
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The Wave Master posted...

Bobby the Brain" Heenan passed away today. Cancer is a dirty, dirty, Butthole. I feel even worse because I thought he had already passed away, but he had not as I wrongly mentioned earlier in the topic.

Yeah, I was basically going to bring up that conversation earlier and point out that I apparently spoke just a bit too soon.


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The Wave Master posted...

One of the more terrible aspects of kidney failure and being on hemo dialysis, other than the 2 two inch needles that get stabbed in my chest 3 times a week, is the fact that I'm on constant fluid restriction.

Can you run me through the full medical issues? I've only heard bits and pieces and I'm kinda confused.

The Wave Master posted...

Can any of you imagine living like this for a few days, weeks, or 4 years like I have? Did I mention the needles beind stabbed in my chest?

Your wife must be a saint. The only thing tougher to imagine than having to go through that is watching and standing by a spouse who goes through that, which requires a mix of fortitude and devotion.

Raganork posted...

I drink around 5 bottles of water a day. Can't really survive here otherwise. So yeah, that sounds completely awful.

I drink around 1.5 gallons of water of water a day, sometimes a bit less if I'm having soda. Granted, I also need to keep super-hydrated for health reasons although I expect I go a little overboard.

The Wave Master posted...

I have been watching some streams of Samus Returns, and it looks damn good actually. More importantly it feels like a natural 2d Metroid game. Mercury Steam has made some terrible games, but this doesn't look like one of them.

The most impressive thing about Samus Returns is the difficulty level of the game. Metroid games should be hard, and this fame looks brutal in places.

I suppose the game can be critiqued for being very much the same Metroid games that were made before like Zero Mission or Fusion, but enough has been added to keep it fresh.

Eh, if it's not like Zero Mission, my enthusiasm dims a little.

The Wave Master posted...

Well ****!

Bobby the Brain" Heenan passed away today. Cancer is a dirty, dirty, Butthole. I feel even worse because I thought he had already passed away, but he had not as I wrongly mentioned earlier in the topic.

In my opinion was the greatest heel commentator in the history of wrestling. He wasn't a bad manger either.

Damn it, this sucks. Maybe he won't be in pain any longer. Hopefully he will get to rest in peace.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/09/18/bobby-the-brain-heenan-passes-away

Sadly, I wasn't really watching when he was still a big deal. I also wasn't watching when Cornette was a big thing so my first real exposure to Cornette was when he was playing the GM or whatever on TNA and, as a face, I wound up hating him because I mostly just found him annoying.
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Zeus posted...

Sadly, I wasn't really watching when he was still a big deal. I also wasn't watching when Cornette was a big thing so my first real exposure to Cornette was when he was playing the GM or whatever on TNA and, as a face, I wound up hating him because I mostly just found him annoying.

The problem with Cornette is that he was very much a Southern wrestling guy, so unless you were a big fan of wrestling in the 80s AND lived in the South (because otherwise, you were probably a WWF fan exclusively), you probably weren't going to really appreciate him (because his run in the WWF was mostly meh at best). Mid-South and early WCW really weren't getting a ton of airtime outside of their own region, while WWF was going national (and then global), and basically shaping the perception of what top-tier wrestling is supposed to be for most people.

Most people who liked his run in WWF are mostly thinking of the period when they let him do his mostly-uncensored "shoot" promos that the smarks loved (much like CM Punk's "pipebomb" years later really sparked a lot of excitement), but that wasn't really the bulk of his time there, so I can see why a lot of people might not appreciate him if all they really know about him is that he was a minor annoying manager in the early 90s.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan was very much a phenomenon of 1980s WWF (which is when a lot of older modern wrestling fans first started watching), and his manager heel persona helped shape a larger perception for a lot of people of what a heel manager SHOULD be (with Jimmy Hart being the slightly lesser other half of that equation). His influence actually goes back a bit earlier, and he was one of the best things about the (otherwise mostly lackluster) WCW product while he was there, but 80s WWF (especially anything involving him interacting with Gorilla Monsoon) was pretty fantastic.

It's hard (especially in this day and age) to really go back and watch old stuff and see why Cornette got so over originally, but most of Heenan's best work is probably available on the WWE Network if you've got it and ever feel like going back to check it out (though awkward promo-ing and the quality of the wrestling product itself might make it hard for modern fans to really appreciate as a whole).


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Ugh... I've been trying on and off to push through FF XII just to say I can, but the game's so bad. Its primary saving grace is Balthier; that is all.
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I thought we all agreed that Final Fantasy XII was trash?

Granted trash that we can still see where it possibly once was a viable product, but it's garbage now. It's all rotted, and festering, and stinky.

Even if Square has put on a new coat of paint it's still rotten at the core. Entity, I applaud your effort in trying to enjoy and salvage the game, but just move on with your life. You deserve better.

"Its them, not you."
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However, how do we all feel about Final Fantasy IX?

I ask because it's out on ps4 today after an announcement at the Tokyo game show. It's not a remaster, but just a port of the enhanced pc port from a few years ago. We just get to play it on ps4 now.

I remember not really caring for it back in the day, but I was in college and being pulled in a million different directions at the time. It was 17 years ago, and I am thinking maybe I should give it another go.

On a separate note I went to Wal-Mart for the first time since my surgery, and they had two Nintendo Switch consoles in stock. It was weird to see then in the wild.

Are any of you seeing them in the wild with any frequency?
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9 was the last good FF, I couldn't play through 12 because boring mmo mechanics.

The Wave Master posted...

I thought we all agreed that Final Fantasy XII was trash?

Woah woah woah, hold on. I never agreed to that. I enjoy the game quite a bit. Enough to replay it several times, including Zodiac Age. Yeah, the second half drags on when compared to the strong first half, but I still managed to enjoy the game all the way through.

The Wave Master posted...

However, how do we all feel about Final Fantasy IX?

I feel like Squeenix can go fuck themselves for daring to charge $21 for this umpteenth rerelease. I already own the PS1 Classics version, as well as the physical disc. Could not give less of a shit about it dropping on PS4.

I do like the game, though not nearly as much as VII, VIII, and Tactics. I think the first disc is an absolute blast, with the stage play being my favorite introduction to any game ever. Period. Bar none. The rest of the discs kinda drag on a bit too long for my tastes.

Entity13 posted...

Ugh... I've been trying on and off to push through FF XII just to say I can, but the game's so bad.

That's more or less how I felt about FFVIII. By the time of FFXII, it was more just so painfully dull that I couldn't even use indignation and disgust as a fuel to fight back against it.

If FFVIII was the end boss whose teeth I wanted to smash in, FFXII was the optional joke miniboss I avoided out of apathy.



The Wave Master posted...

However, how do we all feel about Final Fantasy IX?

I think it was a fine game, and definitely a refreshing balm after the burning abortion that was FFVIII, but I also tend to think that it's vastly overrated by online fans.

FFIX was built on the nostalgia bones of earlier games in the franchise, and because of that it benefits from the rosy-tinted gleam of nostalgia goggles way more than it actually stands on its own merits.

Basically, people who hated FFVIII over-praised it for not being FFVIII, and people who were like "Man, this reminds me of FFI/FFIV/FFVI!" over-praised it for having lots of references and having the same feel that later games didn't, and in the end a lot of people remember it being way better than it actually was.

Again, it's not a BAD game, per se. But I'd be hard-pressed to rank it as highly as most people do.



The Wave Master posted...

I ask because it's out on ps4 today after an announcement at the Tokyo game show. It's not a remaster, but just a port of the enhanced pc port from a few years ago. We just get to play it on ps4 now.

I still own my PS1 and my copy of FFIX, so if I'd wanted to play it at any point, I easily could.

The fact that I haven't played it since 2002 or so probably speaks volumes.

And considering how Squeenix handles re-releases and ports (ie, incredibly poorly), I wouldn't WANT to play a newer version of the game anyway - Squeenix's current policy seems to be to murder nostalgia wherever it dares rear its head while simultaneously trying to exploit it.



The Wave Master posted...

On a separate note I went to Wal-Mart for the first time since my surgery, and they had two Nintendo Switch consoles in stock. It was weird to see then in the wild.

Are any of you seeing them in the wild with any frequency?

I've never actually bothered to look, because I am so absolutely apathetic about the existence of that as a concept or technology that it might as well not exist at all in my world.


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Supposedly the switch has a copy on NES golf embedded in it's firmware but nobody has yet figured out how to access it yet. Can't seem to find the article I saw on it right now though.

Not that the original NES Golf would sway anyone to buy the system or anything, but it is an interesting bit of trivia.
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The Wave Master posted...

However, how do we all feel about Final Fantasy IX?

It's fine, but isn't for me. I enjoyed X more, despite how gruesome the endgame grind is if you want to complete the forsaken Sphere Grid and fight the optional bosses, especially in the extended Japanese version that was the basis for the HD remake, without the aide of Yojimbo's Zanmato ability.

Raganork posted...

Woah woah woah, hold on. I never agreed to that. I enjoy the game quite a bit. Enough to replay it several times, including Zodiac Age. Yeah, the second half drags on when compared to the strong first half, but I still managed to enjoy the game all the way through.

The first half is slow, and too much of it has you out in the middle of a damn desert. 90% of the time I tend not to give a damn about desert zones; Rabanastre and its surrounding region is no exception. Also, turning on the built-in speed modifier on the ps4 version only makes the game that much more tolerable since I don't feel like I'm pulling teeth every time I fight pretty much anything (aside from those fights that spam status ailments).

I'll be so glad when I have Ribbons on my main group and I'm able to ignore that obnoxious point in an already horrendous battle system.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

That's more or less how I felt about FFVIII. By the time of FFXII, it was more just so painfully dull that I couldn't even use indignation and disgust as a fuel to fight back against it.

If FFVIII was the end boss whose teeth I wanted to smash in, FFXII was the optional joke miniboss I avoided out of apathy.

VIII was another game I played just so I could say I did and have my opinion actually matter when I tell people, wait for it, that the game is shit. Even if it turns out that we Americans got the worse version where Squall hardly says anything--apparently he's a little smarter and way wordy in the Japanese version--the game is bad for all too many reasons.
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Also, I finally made a couple purchases that were a time coming:

Nier Automata. I like what I've seen and heard, and wish to play the game for myself. It's presently due here a week from tomorrow.

.hack//G.U. Last Recode - preorder. I happen to have a Prime membership this year--as much as Amazon irritates me sometimes and I dislike how Prime is handled--so I'll be happy to get that on release day for, supposedly, a few dollars less than retail. So basically, it'll be like paying for the fourth volume if it had come out with the rest of the trilogy all those years ago.
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I didn't really like FFVIII or IX. However, at least 8 had Triple Triad, which was a lot of fun... unlike that lousy Tetra Master intro'd in 9. Triple Triad had a pretty okay fan following, though, including fan-made versions where you could play against other people (although that was largely ruined thanks to people having overpowered decks and mostly wanting to stick to more vanilla rules benefiting those decks)
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Entity13 posted...

Even if it turns out that we Americans got the worse version where Squall hardly says anything--apparently he's a little smarter and way wordy in the Japanese version

Based on the things he DOES say in the American version, I can only assume that a version where he actually had more to say would be far, far worse than what we actually got.

And what we got was an infected root canal without anesthesia.

I see zero evidence that the problems with his personality stem entirely from translation or localization issues - if anything, I'd say it's one of the earliest examples in the franchise of Japan's different cultural expectations and interests clashing with the Western perception of what a main character should actually be (see also, a large part of what makes Shinji so repugnantly annoying in Neon Genesis Evangelion - the Japanese seem to LOVE ineffectual whiny bitch pretty boy main characters). The same personality traits that make me want to leapt into my TV and repeatedly bludgeon his face and the same things Japanese audiences LIKE about him. And I will never stop hating them for it.

(About the only evidence I've ever seen that Squall is even remotely capable of being a more worthwhile character is in Kingdom Hearts, but that's also a game that has no problem tweaking characterization to suit the needs of the story it wants to tell, so I'd argue that doesn't reflect on the officially canon original version of the character anyway.)



Entity13 posted...

.hack//G.U. Last Recode

So basically, it'll be like paying for the fourth volume if it had come out with the rest of the trilogy all those years ago.

Not really. It's more like buying the tacked-on fourth part of a trilogy that was never even remotely meant to have a fourth part in the first place. And which will most likely have a far weaker story because of it, which will only make the preceding games less enjoyable by proxy (also known as "Mass Effect Syndrome").

As much as I love/loved .hack (and I definitely loved GU more than the original recipe), I have zero interest in this. And I am saying this as someone who has probably spent upwards of a thousand dollars on all the games, all of the anime, most of the manga, and most of the OSTs (including the harder to find import only) from both the anime and games.

The shittier quality of things like Link, Quantum, and the movies have left me with very little faith that they're even remotely capable of creating a story 10 years after the fact that has the same narrative weight and characterization of the original games. Especially since the story is going to feel forced, because it was originally unplanned and thus not really integrated into the plot of the original games.

Wanting it to play the original games again on a newer console is understandable (though statements like "We tweaked so much it will feel like a new game" always make me nervous, because that defeats the entire point of banking on nostalgia in the first place *cough*fuck your FFVII remaster Squeenix*cough*), but buying it because you want to play volume 4 sort of feels like the Monkey's Paw wish that was the Star Wars Prequel movies all over again.


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Zeus posted...

I didn't really like FFVIII or IX. However, at least 8 had Triple Triad, which was a lot of fun... unlike that lousy Tetra Master intro'd in 9.

Tetra Master didn't have bullshit rule spreading, though, which makes it infinitely better than Triple Triad as far as I'm concerned.

FFIX also didn't force you to play its shit card game in order to acquire rare items unavailable in any other way which you need to unlock certain upgrades, so that's another way in which FFVIII can go fuck itself with a rusty pitchfork.

My absolute loathing distaste for Triple Triad is a large part of why my reaction to Gwent in The Witcher 3 was pretty much "Hah hah, go fuck yourself." Triple Triad left such a sour taste in my mouth that it has pretty much tainted the entire concept of card game minigames for me for the next thousand plus years.


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Entity13 posted...

The first half is slow, and too much of it has you out in the middle of a damn desert. 90% of the time I tend not to give a damn about desert zones; Rabanastre and its surrounding region is no exception.

The first half also has a story, and isn't just "let's go to Archades," which is a ten hour trip. Then "let's give chase to Cid," which is another 5 hour trek. Then "he's at Pharos; one last time guys," and Pharos is the longest, most tedious dungeon in the game.

Also, I don't know if living in this hell hole of a desert for a decade has softened my opinion on deserts, but the ester/westersand and sandseas are some of my favorite locations in the game, and I know that sounds unbelievable, but it's true. Phon Coast is probably my favorite.

Entity13 posted...

Nier Automata. I like what I've seen and heard, and wish to play the game for myself. It's presently due here a week from tomorrow.

Still the best game I played all year. Incredible game. I still listen to the soundtrack almost every week.

Entity13 posted...

.hack//G.U. Last Recode - preorder

Never played these games, so this rerelease somewhat interests me. Now if only we can get a Shadow Hearts compilation so I can finally play those games without dropping over a hundred bucks.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Tetra Master didn't have bullshit rule spreading, though, which makes it infinitely better than Triple Triad as far as I'm concerned.

I tried my best to learn Tetra Master on three separate playthroughs of the game, and I still can't remember how it's played. The simplicity of Triple Triad is its greatest strength. Yeah, rule spreading sucks, but it's completely manageable and even preventable. Even then, I intentionally allow rules to spread on more recent playthroughs so I can squeeze some ounce of challenge out of the minigame.

Gwent is also great fun, but it too suffers from the same issue that Triple Triad suffers from: the quality of cards in your collection increases too quickly, and the ai isn't difficult enough to keep the minigame entertaining throughout the entire journey. At least FFVIII has rules to trip you up, and the threat of losing your cards is always there. Gwent is a static experience all the way through, with no such threat.

Raganork posted...

Still the best game I played all year. Incredible game. I still listen to the soundtrack almost every week.

I'm familiar enough with the game's story and gameplay at least that I made an Automata reference in pvp the other day in FFXIV. No one acknowledged the joke.

Also, when reviewers do their usual favorite games countdowns for the end of the year, I would hope that Nier Automata either tops those lists or comes damn close. Also, we'll know who's in a developers pocket, or wishes they were, by whether or not they list FFXV over Automata. "Breath of the Wild," however... that might come down to preferences, but I would hope they present good arguments without sounding like they're trying to sell the game; we don't need that. Nier Automata, is the one with the real impact this year, which is part of why I'm making sure to get a copy before it becomes a collectible item like the .hack// game,s or the PS versiosn of Valkyrie Profile or Star Ocean 2.

Raganork posted...

Never played these games, so this rerelease somewhat interests me. Now if only we can get a Shadow Hearts compilation so I can finally play those games without dropping over a hundred bucks.

If they include and updated version of Koudelka and leave out that one game that came after Covenant, I'd be down for that.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

(see also, a large part of what makes Shinji so repugnantly annoying in Neon Genesis Evangelion - the Japanese seem to LOVE ineffectual whiny bitch pretty boy main characters).

To be fair, otaku/weeabos are often whiny bitch boys so it could be considered an insert =p

ParanoidObsessive posted...

(About the only evidence I've ever seen that Squall is even remotely capable of being a more worthwhile character is in Kingdom Hearts, but that's also a game that has no problem tweaking characterization to suit the needs of the story it wants to tell, so I'd argue that doesn't reflect on the officially canon original version of the character anyway.)

His brooding was a lot cooler, unlike the wussy emo brooding from 8.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Zeus posted...

I didn't really like FFVIII or IX. However, at least 8 had Triple Triad, which was a lot of fun... unlike that lousy Tetra Master intro'd in 9.

Tetra Master didn't have bullshit rule spreading, though, which makes it infinitely better than Triple Triad as far as I'm concerned.

FFIX also didn't force you to play its shit card game in order to acquire rare items unavailable in any other way which you need to unlock certain upgrades, so that's another way in which FFVIII can go fuck itself with a rusty pitchfork.

My absolute loathing distaste for Triple Triad is a large part of why my reaction to Gwent in The Witcher 3 was pretty much "Hah hah, go fuck yourself." Triple Triad left such a sour taste in my mouth that it has pretty much tainted the entire concept of card game minigames for me for the next thousand plus years.

Rule spreading generally wasn't a huge issue *except* for one or two of the rules (random was shit, everything else was less annoying). And I liked how it could be used to acquire certain items. While you have to play it a few times to get through the campaign, it's honestly not that bad compared to *other* minigame obstacles, such as the fucking Goron dance which kept me from finishing Oracle of Ages.

Also, I somewhat regret not picking up some of the Gwent cards when I saw them on clearance at Gamestop. (I think it might have been in a box set?)

Granted, in general I've always enjoyed CCGs so that could factor into my preference. I did wind up importing a lot of the physical Triple Triad cards off either Yahoo Auctions (Remember that? That was a thing) or Ebay, which were among some of my earliest purchases.

Raganork posted...

I tried my best to learn Tetra Master on three separate playthroughs of the game, and I still can't remember how it's played. The simplicity of Triple Triad is its greatest strength. Yeah, rule spreading sucks, but it's completely manageable and even preventable. Even then, I intentionally allow rules to spread on more recent playthroughs so I can squeeze some ounce of challenge out of the minigame.

Same. Tetra was needlessly confusing which kept it from being fun.
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