And Mike, there's actually no time limit on the Blood Ties quest. I haven't tried every option possible in that quest but I know that the only one I HAVE tried that caused me to fail the quest was to attack the town, and that's why they were hostile to me in return.

That's just what it said online. Like, not that there's an actual counter time limit, but if you start the sidequest and then go off and do other things instead of getting to the town, then after too long the whole town is dead or something. I'm not sure. It doesn't matter, I completely finished it anyway and got it so the town traded blood packs for protection., which is the best option in my opinion.



Anyway I haven't really read, watched, or played through a new story (so not counting Hitchhiker's) that's managed to keep me from predicting the big plot points too early in.. Like years. But last night I was pretty impressed 'cause Mass Effect managed to do it.

I realize I haven't shut up about this game for like two solid weeks, but it's the only game I'm playing right now and I'm really floored by it. There's a lot of work put into it, and it was actually done well! For instance aside from gameplay and story, recorded dialogue for a male character and female character. At least two to TEN dialogue options per sentence in conversation, which is all the time. Responses to those from other characters, responses based on you characters sex, decisions, backstory, etc. It's a lot before you even start talking about playing the game.

A lot of sidequests are unique enough from each other (unlike crap like Fable II, which has loads of "Slave Rescue" over and over) and, at least to me, they're all fun. I've completed every sidequest you can possibly do in a single playthrough except one, because I wasn't aware that a location I needed to go would get cut off from me completely by continuing the story. It will always show unfinished in my assignments, annoying but no big deal. But out of all the sidequests, I didn't feel like any of them actually took me out of the story or were tiresome. Sometimes you're doing sidequests in a game, and you're very aware you're not playing the main game. This time I've felt like everything I was doing, while not weighing a lot on the main storyline, was all at least a bit important to the story and maybe Mass Effect 2 (since your save carries over (!!!)).

Or rather, that the whole game is this package, like a gift basket where the sidequests are the little cheeses, glasses, paté that make the main thing, the ultra expensive wine, all that much better. For instance, Fable II sidequests never felt at all like they mattered, they were a lot more of a chore. Like Mass Effect, Fallout 3 sidequests feel like part of it all, but in a different way. You just sort of never know with Fallout 3 what quest is part of the main story or isn't, and that's really cool too.

An big part of Mass Effect revolves around information, which is something there is in spades if you do the sidequests. Of course, the most important thing doing the sidequests gives you is money, experience, and items, but there's a lot of codex entries you get out of it. Which I actually love reading. I love the boring read-y parts of the game as much as the action. And with the amount of stuff there is to read about things like the physics of mass accelerators in guns, or Asari culture, or the First Contact War, etc, is enough to make a pretty decent sized Wiki for the game. Which there is. Like there's a write up for everything, every brand, every race, every planet.

... I don't know why I haven't calmed down about it yet, it's not like it's the best thing ever, I just wasn't really sure they put this much into games anymore. I feel like they were passionate about it and appreciate it.

I'm about to start the last planet in the game. I might try to finish the game tonight. I don't know if I'm going to go through New Game+ mainly because I borrowed the game and I want to go into Mass Effect which this character and the decisions he made.

After this I'm probably gonna rent Prototype if my friend is still too sucky at his game to be done Fallout 3 I'll have to rent that again. But I have some games I own to finish still so I don't know... Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts... deBlob... even MM9. They're good but I'm not so in the mood.

And to the administrator, no less.

I just looked at the title and closed it, but I'll take a look later.

But Taylor Swift seems like such a sweetheart :-(

Errragh. I'm SUPPOSED to go see MSTRKRFT here on the 30th, but I'm worried now I won't be able to get a ticket. Tomorrow might be a bit of running around.

Handled it :-)

There is no such thing as "normal". Everything is different from everything and it's amazing.

But yeah.

I was thinking (mark the calendar) recently that I can't wait 'til they start remaking commercials into movies. I hope they start with Where's The Beef? and that Sketchers one where they only show shoes the whole time at a restaurant.

If you don't try it, then you're not any better off than if you failed.

In real life that glasses kid is secretly an asshole and my uniform is GREEN!

I also refuse to associate with anyone involved with the New Jersey Nets, which is why Jay-Z and I have been having this legendary feud for so long. It's in all the papers.

Looks like my dog.

Posted on: 17 June 2009, 19:39:29

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: ChaosVortex  17 June 2009, 06:46:03

I found an ad that said, "Is your husband gay? Click here to find out!"

So, is he?

I never understood that ad because if he was gay why would he be married to a woman? (thus, find out if your husband is gay). It just doesn't make sense...

There's a large amount of men in seemingly "normal" heterosexual relationships that are secretly gay. A lot of the time they can't even come out to themselves. This happened more in the 90's and earlier, obviously, but it's still common enough. The reason they get married and stuff is just because "that's what you're supposed to do" in addition to not being able to face it.

The only jive I don't really like is "my bad" and even then I don't really care.

Dolemite > Dolemite 2000, though. Obviously.

Tonight my friend said Prototype is like the coolest thing ever. I don't really put a lot of weight in his opinion anyway, but now I'm definitely gonna rent it to shut him up. But it was just annoying.

Plus when I said I was busy with Mass Effect for now he said he didn't want to read a lot or hear people talking so I can't put any stock in what he thinks is a good game since it clearly doesn't include story.

But yeah I'm so renting Prototype soon, it looks fun to dick around at least and I'll need that when I'm done Mass Effect which is heavyeavy.

Yeah I did this ages ago on Facebook. I'll play again but I can't right now so here's the one that came up last time I did this ages ago on Facebook.



1) Name of some video game.
2) From a Khalil Gibran quote, which is cool since I love Gibran's stuff.
3) Some lady appears in an art piece called Red + Blue with the description being all about different purples. ...

Hahahaha oh those Polish.

The David Thorne thing was great, but now that I know it's the same guy that did the spider and such things, I don't know. The sheer volume of these, coupled with them being on this site of his leads me to believe they're entirely fake, and he's actually writing both people. Maybe this is a known thing already but I wasn't aware it was the same guy.

I'm currently watching Troll 2.

It's so very, very terrible.

Why would you do that to yourself?!

Errragh. I'm SUPPOSED to go see MSTRKRFT here on the 30th, but I'm worried now I won't be able to get a ticket. Tomorrow might be a bit of running around.

Ewwwyuck Edge said "my bad". Oh ##### now I've said it.

When it comes to John, no it really doesn't depend on who's doing the flipping.


Anyway,
Put Nova in there! He actually has a character AND just had a birthday! Even if you don't get rid of ASR!

OK good. I was worried m internet was being a bitchnaut again, Live went down for me last night and I just turned on my 360 now and it's still not working.

The only Burnout I played was the first one, it was cool looking but it got boring just seeing car damage all the time. But I'm into only a few actual racing games anyway.

And yeah, Fallout 3 is pretty cool once you get past the initial portion where it's hard to do anything, which for me took up the whole week I had rented the game for. I'm eager to play it again though, like for real.

Yeah Felix ruled.

Pretty good. I grinned.

I said it the way I said it for a reason, brazier.

Shrek sucks.

I hate all things Madagascar for a few reasons, and I fell asleep watching Over The Hedge at my friends house because it was boring. I never saw Happy Feet because it looked like it was 100% gimmick, banking on the popularity of March Of The Penguins.

Sarcasm doesn't work well against sarcasm.

I don't/didn't think he was being sarcastic.

The DSi was just released, at $170... and it has everything you liked about the other DS's..

I liked having a GBA slot.

It's more pointless than installing 360 games into your 360. Unless you have the Elite Hard drive.

Uhh no that's not pointless.
1) If I hadn't installed Fable 2 to my hard drive, it would crash a random intervals making the game unplayable. Installing it fixed that COMPLETELY.
2) Mass Effect is a big game, and sometimes textures and stuff take a bit to load around you, installing the game to my hard drive didn't fix that completely but it made EVERYTHING a lot faster.

I agree with the rest.

I think instead of happily playing with it they'd be frantically attempting to break free from the glue.

Oh geez I never thought of it like that.

Haha, "period".

You can do all of Arrested Development in no time if you want to. I did once because I started in the day and did an allnighter that night.

It was definitely made more for adults with just lots of pretty colours and a freaky deaky bird for the kids, actually.


I should note that I never saw Cars because I knew it was weak, and I was right. I didn't see Ratatouille either but that's just because a fellow animation student wouldn't shut up about it for soooo long that I didn't want to see it anymore.

I never took a good look at A Bug's Life because I liked Antz and was team Antz which is stupid because while I enjoyed the movie the ant science of it is totally bogus. And I'm not talking about obvious things like them talking or wearing hats.

When there was only promo stuff for Meet The Robinsons at the animation festival, I was really into it. But I never saw it because it ended up looking kind of lame, or somehow... 90's, even though it's future or something. My point is I don't usually watch any of the 3D animated stuff by anybody unless I know it's going to be pretty good, because otherwise they tend to be the same washed stuff. Cars is only different because instead of a talking animal they're cars, big #####ing deal. The only reason I saw Kung-Fu Panda was because the game was forced into my possession, and I didn't think it was as good as people said.

Right, but I remember cartoons.

(Maybe I should have specified that)

I don't remember a Disney short about cars.

Unless you count the one about Goofy driving and while it was awesome NO I DON'T COUNT IT.

Yeah I get it. The girl I'm into hates olives and I devour them, too.

But that olives rule...



Anyway yeah I still read Dr. McNinja though I don't think it's been as funny as it used to be. I think the stories are going on a bit too long so there's pages that aren't really funny mixed in with moderately funny ones, when every page used to be pretty funny. I didn't like the colour at all when it was first introduced but the new colourist is a lot better.

Wow that must of took you a day

Since I thought the first one was ripoff anyway, this doesn't sway me. Also I have a question about this lack of UMD drive; How do you play games you already bought for your original PSP?

I don't remember a Disney movie about cars.

I'll have to rent it. Later.

You can't be talking about Cars.

Cars was weeeaak.

Yeah well it's not that easy here. Probably for that reason.

I finally got my G1 last month. >_>

I failed it two times when I was 16 so I kind-of just gave up. Then last month my brother made me come with him to the test because he was too nervous to go by himself. I decided to re-take the test and this time I passed with only two wrong out of forty.

My brother failed twice as well on that day but he took it a third time and barely managed to pass...

Anyway, even with a G1, I've been driving on the highway a lot... Even through snow (yeah in late May) and I even saw Moose on the road (which I stopped right away, just like my dad told me I should do). I didn't know you're not supposed to drive on a highway. I only thought you're not allowed to drive on the 400 series highways.

400 Series and ones over 80km/h. Not a big deal unless you're caught, of course.

Though it's WEIRD that anybody fails the written test! It's SO easy. You barely have to skim the book. But I passed all my tests on the first try so hurr hurr hurr brag brag.

Obviously.

I've been a bit nervous the past few days because today I a road test for my G2 exit. Meaning I'd be getting my G.

For non Ontarions; The G1 entrance is a written test, if you pass you get your G1 licence (which is like a learner's permit, you can drive ONLY with riding shotgun who has a had a full licence for 4+ years or so, can't drive on the highway, and you can't drive on roads that 80kph+, or drive between 12am-5am, and can't have more than 0% blood alcohol). You hold this for a minimum of 12 months before taking the G1 exit test; To get your G2. You can reduce that time to 8 months by completing "a Ministry-approved driver education course" AKA driver's ed.

The G1 exit test consists of a road test on normal streets. Pretty basic but it's supposed to be the hardest of the test. When you pass the test you get your G2, and can drive alone as much as you want, but you still have to have your blood alcohol at a flush zero. It is basically a probationary licence, with only 4 demerit points or so. There's also a couple restrictions for 12am-5am if you're a teenager but it's nothing big. You hold this licence again for a minimum or 12 months before you can take the G2 exit.

The G2 exit is another road test for you to obtain your G licence, it's supposedly a lot easier than the G1 exit. The main point of the test is to check that you can drive on the freeway or on any four lane divided highway over 80kph. In Ottawa you tend to go on a freeway--the Queensway (417)--for this, where the limit is 100. Sometimes they give you extra things to do from the G1 exit, like parallel parking and stuff. The G licence is a full licence, and you can have blood-alcohol around like 0.4% or something between 0% and intoxication.

So today I had my G2 exit test. I put it off this long because the main difference between the G and G2 is the alcohol thing so I didn't really give a #####, but my licence was going to expire this coming November. I was nervous but I apparently I did well, though I don't really think so. It was... An ordeal. Instead of it just being highway and a joke like it is for everyone else, I had to do a lot of the regular stuff from the first road test. Had to do an emergency stop (which I totally forgot how to do PROPERLY but I guess I did it right), 3-point turn/K-turn, and what I was dreading; Parallel park.

See, I'm a pretty good driver. I scored a 99 in driver's ed because the instructor wasn't allowed to "give [me] a hundred". Buuut I learned to drive in a 1990 Volskwagen Jetta, which I drove my initial road test in. The car we have now, a 2007 or 08 Pontiac Wave, is OBVIOUSLY a completely different type of ride. Parallel parking in it is still sketchy for me because the system I learned doesn't at all work with this car. But I just winged it and did well.

Anyway I got my G, so I'm really jazzed. Fully licenced. Now I shouldn't have to take another road test for 57 years.

Unless, that is, I DO end up going for my M (motorcycles), heheh.

This was not a repeat. This was just a glitch in the system.

They changed something in the Matrix.

: Mikero  12 June 2009, 00:27:17

: ChaosVortex  11 June 2009, 16:46:02

If the Lite had a decent one, I wouldn't kept my Lite.

Wat.

I sweat theres something wrong wiht me...

Huh.

That's all it is? That's worthless.

But whatever, I scooped up facebook.com/collymore because it would be gone soon enough.

Wow that joke must have sucked.

Talking about Pokemon and all that nice stuff.

But the TOPIC is literally called "Upcoming Games Topic"...

: Mikero  12 June 2009, 00:28:58

Same here. But then I borrowed it from a friend in high school and then the guy got expelled. We grew apart, and I still have the game. So I won.

That's great.

I did something similar, although with a game not nearly as good apparently.

I borrowed Onimusha 3 from a friend in 8th grade, and then we graduated and went to different schools and never saw each other again until two weeks ago.

He probably doesn't even remember, but he probably doesn't care either since he didn't even like the game.

It happened to me with most of my SNES games, the ones I LIKED like Mario Kart (I miss you MK!) and #####, so I didn't feel really bad about keeping the one game.

---

The Last Guardian looks pretty bitchin', but it's the type of game I prefer to watch so hopefully someone I know gets a PS3 for it.

I'm imagining this in Half Baked terms, instead.

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Nyuck.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2009/20090605.jpg

Clearly I peed anyway 'cause it was so sc-sc-scurrrrdy!

I admit it's got... something. I have a pretty discerning friend who watches it, which I find pretty interesting.

Oh yeah I forgot that Cleavland show was coming.

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Taking this over here from over there, yeah Two and a Half Men is HORRIBLE and is definitely worse than Big Bang Theory, though I don't like that much.

Yeah same here, it will probably be my next cause of death.

Yesaroony.

It's in your bum!

BAM MARGERA%.

I can't get into it and I have no idea why you're talking about it in the Music thread but OK. I think it's just another bleh sitcom on in a time (these days) where there's very few actually good sitcoms. The only one I can think of right now that is REALLY good is How I Met Your Mother.

Well download some of The Prodigy that isn't played a bajillion million fake number trillion times an hour!

Modest Mouse is OK, I don't know much of them.

Boys Noize, he's a lot... grittier. Or... I don't know. You'll see what I mean. It's just of harder and more abrupt and stuff, and that's what I love about it. I think "& Down", "Lava Lava", and "Don't Believe The Hype" are my current favourites of his.