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Anarchy Online Best MMORPG of 2001?
February 12th 2002, 22:06 CET by Morn Believe it or not, but good old Anarchy Online has been awarded Best MMORPG of 2001 by PC Gamer. Hmm. Ignoring the crash problems the game had in the first months after its launch, I can honestly say that I've had more fun with AO than I've had with DAoC. Yes, DAoC has been very stable, but it lacks something AO has. Maybe allowing me to be silly? Who knows. Overall, I think MMORPGs aren't anywhere near where they could, or should be. Everquest, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot and Anarchy Online are all essentially the same game -- one of the reasons why I'm currently not subscribed to any of them. (The other is the little thing about having to play with other people. Oh, the horror.) Anyway -- should a game that was shipped in a horrible, horrible state be awarded like this, no matter if it's the most fun? Doesn't that send the wrong message to developers and publishers alike? Discuss, people! |
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#83 JMCDaveL I thought the movie ended as well as a the first chapter of a 3 volume set can, they have a major battle, Frodo sets on his journey, blah blah... works out good to me. Reminded me of Empire Strikes Back. --jmc Agreed. It cracks me up when people say "But it ended so abruptly!" |
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Yeah, those people are crazy! Sure, the film went on and on about how the ring must be destroyed, then stopped before the task is complete without any explanation... but that's not abrupt, that's masterful storytelling! |
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Hrm... wonder if I put a copy of The Two Towers on e-bay as a "finely bound, early working edition of the second LoTR script", would it sell? |
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Bailey Hrm... wonder if I put a copy of The Two Towers on e-bay as a "finely bound, early working edition of the second LoTR script", would it sell? Like Hot & Fresh Krispy Kreme sex rings. |
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Max kindly set up a new IRC server on his machine, irc.chromag.net. irc.planetcrap.com has been CNAME'd to it, so you can use that to connect, too. The channel is still #planetcrap. Enjoy. And thanks, Max. =) - Morn |
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#86 Bailey Hrm... wonder if I put a copy of The Two Towers on e-bay as a "finely bound, early working edition of the second LoTR script", would it sell? Yes it would. ........I always give 110% +12 |
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#85 Leslie Nassar Yeah, those people are crazy! Sure, the film went on and on about how the ring must be destroyed, then stopped before the task is complete without any explanation... but that's not abrupt, that's masterful storytelling! Excellent point! We should tell Jackson that since most people are dense, he should call the next movie Episode II so he doesn't confuse them! |
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Hulka Yes it would. That's sad, but for... scientific study... I'm going to try it tonight anyway. |
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Leslie Nassar: Yeah, those people are crazy! Sure, the film went on and on about how the ring must be destroyed, then stopped before the task is complete without any explanation... but that's not abrupt, that's masterful storytelling! My sister went to it with her boyfriend last weekend and they were both bemused by the ending. She was like 'it was great until the end - when the film finished and they hadn't even destroyed the ring, it was just fucking pointless'. When I pointed out that it was the first part of a trilogy and there was probably five more hours of film to go before we see the ring actually destroyed, it dawned on her that there was a reson that it's called 'Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring'. deadlock |
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Just to get a little something off my chest here: Fucking techs. Nothing personal against any of those of you here who fall under the terminology, but the jackasses I bought my PC off of in July have forgotten all the assurances and promises they gave me at the time regarding upgrade-friendliness... i.e. discounting ram or processors if I brought the system back to them and ordered the parts through them. Now they tell me I "should be able to sell the old parts secondhand without much trouble". I should've gotten it in writing, in retrospect, but the situation regarding the forming of their business (splitting off from an older company and leaving all the sleazy business types behind, in order to form a purely geek-run operation) I took them at their word as it all seemed so very earnest. Sigh. I can't believe in anything anymore. Don't even get me started on the Santa Claus fiasco from last week. |
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#93 Bailey Just to get a little something off my chest here: Fucking techs. Sigh. I can't believe in anything anymore. Don't even get me started on the Santa Claus fiasco from last week. Don't feel alone Baileytron, I fell for the same scam a few years ago. GET IT IN WRITING is the best advice. In my experiences in life, most people will fuck you over for a buck. Sad, but true. ........I always give 110% +12 |
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#94 Sgt Hulka Don't feel alone Baileytron, I fell for the same scam a few years ago. GET IT IN WRITING is the best advice. In my experiences in life, most people will fuck you over for a buck. Sad, but true. And while your getting it in writing make sure it doesn't say "we have the right to revise this upgrade policy at any time" any where in it. |
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So, can anyone recomment a good napalm solution? I'm thinking 2 parts gasoline to 1 part detergent, but it's been a good while since I was this much a dissatisfied customer, so I might be a bit off... |
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You should forgive them. That's what Jesus would want you to do. |
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I think jesus should speak for himself -chris |
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#82 m0nty I'm a bit worried that when the movie was called out at the Awards nominations, it was "Lord of the Rings", when the actual name of the film (and the first book) is The Fellowship of the Ring. Will The Two Towers be known as Lord of the Rings II? /me shudders... Explain why it would matter, as long as it continues to not suck. Besides, it is going to be Lord of The Rings II, Electric Boogaloo, duh. |
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Look behind you. |
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"So, can anyone recomment a good napalm solution? I'm thinking 2 parts gasoline to 1 part detergent, but it's been a good while since I was this much a dissatisfied customer, so I might be a bit off..." No. But, lots of styrofoam cups and some gasoline will turn into a napalm-like jelly. Takes maybe a few days, just put some gas in a bucket, add cups and ignore until it's Jello. |
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So, I went to the AO homepage and checked out the forums...is it me, or is basically every forum for that game composed of people complaining endlessly that thier class is unfairly underpowered compared to...something, if not everything else? Sigh. Game Balance: That state in which your character doesn't magically kick every other character's ass, no matter how agressively you misspell things. I would have tried the one week trial as a Sci-fi game is more compelling to me than a fantasy one, but I didn't like that you couldn't try the demo week without putting in credit card info first, and I didn't like that they would assume you wanted to subscribe for the next month unless you cancelled before the week was up. Jeez guys, it's a game that will theoretically ensnare me for the next several months or years of my life, give me a taste before you take my credit card info...and when my week is up, just deactivate me, don't try to sneak that next month in... |
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Bailey So, can anyone recomment a good napalm solution? I'm thinking 2 parts gasoline to 1 part detergent, but it's been a good while since I was this much a dissatisfied customer, so I might be a bit off... Carnivore and Echelon are watching you now. Beware. Funk. |
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#103 by FunkDrunk Carnivore and Echelon are watching you now. Beware. Funk. Pfft. Sedition, treason, assassinate the president, Taliban, napalm, briefcase nukes, anthrax, Osama's renting my attic room, decepticons, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman. Pfft. I would hope our law enforcement authorities have something more important to do than investigate the 'Crap. |
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LPMiller (#99): Explain why it would matter, as long as it continues to not suck. Besides, it is going to be Lord of The Rings II, Electric Boogaloo, duh. I love it when my reply is written for me in advance. |
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Hugin Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman But what does Derek Smart have to do with this? Funk. |
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I've seen a quite a few adaptations (comic book form, film, video games) to understand where the source material is borrowed from, as I am sure many of you have. Everyone I know who viewed the movie understood it (which isn't the issue). I still feel the movie ended...just...like...that. Since I already know what the main characters task at hand is, I'm not really that compelled to see what happens next since the film is spread very thin over_TWO_MORE_MOVIES*. ---what is this?! Back to the Future II/III Quote: [Someone who uses a handle involving the term "dwarf" who hasn't read Tolkien? That's just wrong. And probably hypocritical, but I'm not sure how.] That's BATTLE-DWARFto you! I wouldn't read too much into it! ;) The Male Battle-Dwarf *requiring two more ticket sales! |
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Hugin decepticons Oddly enough, the Decepticons were a gang in Brooklyn in the early to mid 80's. Speaking their name too loudly near police would get you stopped and frisked. So us geeks who liked the toys/comic books would speak of them only amoungst ourselves, and in hushed whispers... Funk. |
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#96 Bailey So, can anyone recomment a good napalm solution? /*a good napalm solution*/ Thanks, I'll be here all week. |
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Fuck'em |
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That's funny. I don't suppose anyone called themselves the Autobots..not evil and cool enough.. Meanwhile, Battle Dwarf, why do you say "spread thin" over two more movies? The amount of plot, subplot, reversals, new characters, etc.. they have to cram into the next two movies hurts the brain. I mean, it's not as if they had Fellowship as a stand alone book, filmed all but the last chapter, and the good "Ring into Mount Doom" stuff will be padded out lamely, there's another two whole densely written books worth of material there. It's not Peter Jackson's fault if anything but the most simplistic and direct resolution of the plot is too much for a small number (judging by the glowing reviews and the big box office) of short attention span viewers to deal with, it wasn't advertised as "Lord of The Rings, the Cliff Notes Version". |
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Hugin: So, I went to the AO homepage and checked out the forums...is it me, or is basically every forum for that game composed of people complaining endlessly that thier class is unfairly underpowered compared to...something, if not everything else? when the entire endgame is PvP, class vs. class balancing becomes extremely important. critical, in fact, since (using AO as an example) literally 3/4 of the game is PvP. sure, there are tons of whiners that want their chosen class to instantly turn every other opponent to ash, but that facet means we're back to the gold::dross slash signal::noise thing. AO is pretty poorly balanced, as those things go, even from the most casual definition--more than likely because Funcom simply doesn't have a clue how to make these types of games. but hey, PCG gave 'em game of the year, so they're doing something right. i just wonder what that particular something is. I didn't like that they would assume you wanted to subscribe for the next month unless you cancelled before the week was up. provided their byzantine billing system even recognizes the cancellation request. which, in the past, it's failed to do. on the other hand, i did get two months of free play because they "forgot" to bill me. |
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Crash, what I mean is, I see two classic ways to balance things. Either zero sum balancing, or interlocking situational balancing. That is, either the differences between classes are a matter of stylistic/gameplaying preference, and pretty much everyone is roughly equal to everyone else, they just do it differently _or_, there are major, deadly differences between classes, differences that could get you killed if you even tried to take on Class A with Class B. But Class C utterly owns Class A. So you have to make the tough choice: Completely rule Class A and fear Class B. Or Completely rule Class C and fear class A. and then, you make clever choices in allies, so people can save each other's asses from thier nemesis. What I saw were tons of people outraged that someone could beat them, interspersed with tons of people outraged that evidently everyone could beat them, somehow. Someone has to be wrong, you see? Everyone can't be screwed over and sucky, and all the other guys' can't be overpowered and cheap. It just made me fear for the game environment. |
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Leslie You should forgive them. That's what Jesus would want you to do. Who would Jesus anthrax? Funk Carnivore and Echelon are watching you now. I'll let them know I'm on their side with a little Dead Kennedy's lyric. Ahem. "Kill kill kill kill kill the poor, kill kill kill kill kill the poor, tooooonight, alright!" Bless you, Jello Biafra. crash Go read the forums on player2player.net sometime on the AO thread. Hook. Line. Sinker. They've accepted PCG's vote of confidence as the gospel. These are the ex-Lummites who know every stupid and senseless thing Funcom did in the first six months, but hell, why should that stop them? PCG says "AO is A.O-K!" (striking Buddy Christ pose) |
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, I'm not really that compelled to see what happens next since the film is spread very thin over_TWO_MORE_MOVIES*. And it's painfully obvious that you haven't read the books, if you think the next two films will be "spread very thin." |
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Hugin Two problems: 1) Not all classes are "combat" classes. So they can't be equal. 2) Rather than A, B, and C, you have A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, etc. So that route gets complicated when you get to around four different kinds of rocks, papers, and scissors, each with variables, proficiencies, and different purposes. Basically, as crash mentioned, Funcom just bit off more than they could chew. They should've started small instead of taking on a project that would've intimidated GIP industry veterans. Consider their past project: single-player adventure game, two-player racing game, limited multiplayer crappy little SmashTV rip-off game... then suddenly a 90K player online world? Ah-dur. And none of those games did especially well, I might add. |
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I know this is in the wrong thread, but I felt it would get overlooked in the thread where this was originated. Narco Sony just isn't willing to bet on the internet, or they could have partnered with TiVo on the hard drive expansion to the PS2, I can't help thinking the Linux kit could have worked that way. I guess they and Nintendo are waiting to see how it's done with the XBox, and will let Microsoft make all the mistakes. I don't think they have all that much time though. Pretty close. From this article from Gamers.com SCE also revealed that it plans to offer software that will allow the PS2, in conjunction with the Hard Disc Drive (HDD), to function as a video recording device (along the lines of TiVo). So Sony is trying to preempt Microsoft's Home Station plans. And the console wars have taken another turn. Funk. |
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Hugin: What I saw were tons of people outraged that someone could beat them, interspersed with tons of people outraged that evidently everyone could beat them, somehow. this would be the "noise" part of the ratio. with that said, however, even the noise has a bit of worthwhile signal in it if you know how to filter. let's take AO as an example. there are a number of classes in the game--doctor, fixer, trader--that have clearly been designed as "support" classes. that is, their main functions aren't combat-oriented; docs heal and buff health and "mana", fixers have really good speed and damage-avoidance buffs, and traders are skill swappers; drains, transfers, and the like. in a team-based game, this wouldn't be a problem... but Funcom hasn't even bothered to emphasize that pvp is designed to be team-based. if it even is. or, if they have, they don't have a clue about the MP dynamic, because they've got an extensive sub-game dedicated to solo play... where docs, fixers, and traders are, by and large, screwed because their combat abilities aren't the focus of their character. this is what i mean by "they don't have a real good idea what the hell they're doing". AO has everything and nothing in regards to gameplay dynamics, and it's impossible to balance anything when you haven't even created any kind of scale or measuring device. AO could be balanced, class-wise. Funcom doesn't have the capability, knowledge, or experience to do so. for the record, the only real way to balance a skills-based multi-class game like this is rock/paper/scissors style--with 12 classes. yes, it's a monumental task; it's not easy. it can be done, but not by Funcom. there are other ways they could approach it and make it possible, but then you'd need experience, intelligence, and the actual skill to make it happen... which i personally don't think they have. past game changes, patches, and feature additions have only confirmed that suspicion. so. it can be done. they can't do it. Bailey: Go read the forums on player2player.net sometime on the AO thread. i'd sooner sit on thumbtacks. Hook. Line. Sinker. They've accepted PCG's vote of confidence as the gospel. that's because they're lemmings. just wait--they'll all be signing up for SWG beta... and the Verant Haters™ will be first in line. when you accept MMOGs as your Personal Savior, in lieu of having anything else in your empty, hollow life to believe in, you'll take whatever they dish out and smile as you eat it. think of MMOG "fans" as Job, hoping that their faith will be justified in the end. it won't, but it's fun to watch their desperate antics in the meantime. They should've started small instead of taking on a project that would've intimidated GIP industry veterans. agreed. or what they should have done, in hindsight, is spent more time in fucking beta and actually paid attention to what their testers had to say. and done more high-level end-game PvP testing--that alone should have comprised at least three months of daily over-level-100 monitoring. c'est la vie. |
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Oh, this is rich. After PC Gamer proclaimed AO Best online MMORPG and after I reinstalled the game to see how much it had improved, you want to know what my very first experience with it was? I log in and it says that there's a gift waiting for me and I can /command claim it. I do, and it's a backpack that does all sorts of cool stuff and boosts my stats. Then I put stuff into it...and all the stuff changes into a combination of deflection shields and "noname" icons. Then I couldn't take the items out of the backpack. Excellent. |
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Caryn, Caryn, Caryn. It's a FEATURE. Don't you understand? |
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The only, and I do mean the ONLY online rpg I ever played that had enough content to justify being the next big thing was Ultima Online, every subsequent one feels like Catcomb Abyss 3D with mad st@tZ and glittering prizes. I have decided that the only multiplayer I want in my life involves a SNES multi-tap, a case of beer, and Super Bomberman. --jmc |
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Did you get a magic Unused tile Caryn? Oh wait, that was the first year of UO :P --jmc |
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#114 Bailey Go read the forums on player2player.net sometime on the AO thread. Hook. Line. Sinker. They've accepted PCG's vote of confidence as the gospel. These are the ex-Lummites who know every stupid and senseless thing Funcom did in the first six months, but hell, why should that stop them? PCG says "AO is A.O-K!" (striking Buddy Christ pose) Well, I read the forum, and I didn't see that at all. I saw a lot of "well, it still isn't much of a game, but it doesn't crash so much." No real fanbois here |
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#119 Caryn Law Oh, this is rich. After PC Gamer proclaimed AO Best online MMORPG and after I reinstalled the game to see how much it had improved, you want to know what my very first experience with it was? I log in and it says that there's a gift waiting for me and I can /command claim it. I do, and it's a backpack that does all sorts of cool stuff and boosts my stats. Then I put stuff into it...and all the stuff changes into a combination of deflection shields and "noname" icons. Then I couldn't take the items out of the backpack. Excellent. I was sorta kinda interested in retrying, since my character is apparently still there, but then I discovered a few things. The solution to crappy pet pathing? Remove all objects in Mission zones. Um..ok. The solution to freedom arms? Don't drop anymore - but what to do for all those engineers who maxed dual wield and pistol? Oh yeah, nothing. Trade skills still suck. Making implants still an annoying enter/exit/enter/exit ah there is the damn nano time waster. Still laggy. PVP still has no actual point. Backpacks still don't work right - I mean sheesh, fixing backpacks canNOT be that hard. Suddenly, urge passed. |
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crash think of MMOG "fans" as Job, hoping that their faith will be justified in the end. it won't, but it's fun to watch their desperate antics in the meantime. I was thinking "Judas", but Job works. and done more high-level end-game PvP testing--that alone should have comprised at least three months of daily over-level-100 monitoring. What always amused me was Funcom's reaction to the question: "Well, are you testing high-level content? You keep wiping the playerbase before we get to 100!" Funcom: "Oh yes. We have our elite testers buffed up to level 150 or so." What did those elite testers do all day? Beat the living hell out of any level 30 stupid enough to walk into a PvP zone, sat around the stores chatting, and complained about how hard it was to get gear appropriate to their level. Most of those geniuses became ARKs, and you would not believe the stories that came out of their ranks of lame-ass powerstruggles and backbiting. Caryn Oh, this is rich. After PC Gamer proclaimed AO Best online MMORPG and after I reinstalled the game to see how much it had improved There you have it folks, official Activision endorsement of AO to bolster the PC Gamer award. |
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Transformers - Robots in disguise. Fighting The evil Decepticons Possibly the worst scansion in existence? As for mmporgs, I've come to the conclusion that I will not be playing any more online games unless they require no arduous and tedious character building or unless the game makes an effort to turn "arduous and tedious" into "fulfilling and exciting". i.e. No more killing rats in sewers with a sock for ten hours before I can actually pick up a stiletto. Actual storylines would be nice too. Currently, the most sophisticated missions involve: go here, kill this, come back, try not to fall asleep on your keyboard. You get nasty marks all over your face. The reason there's disbalance and discontent? Because your ability to play and enjoy the game is based on how long you play it, and how much longer those around you have been playing. That's not a good system. I like the proposed ranking system of Planetside... correct me if I'm wrong - but my understanding is you don't get rewarded by having your character beefed, but by taking up positions of greater responsibility. |
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#125 Bailey There you have it folks, official Activision endorsement of AO to bolster the PC Gamer award. I really should demand my $12.95 back considering that I logged in for a total of 5 minutes, got the backpack bug, and logged out and uninstalled the game. Somehow, though, I don't think I'm getting it back. (I was silly and didn't start a brand new account to get in on that 7 day free trial; I had a previous account and wanted to play with those characters. A loser is me.) |
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The first MMOG that has not one damn spider, bat or rat, has me for life. |
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#108 FunkDrunk Oddly enough, the Decepticons were a gang in Brooklyn in the early to mid 80's. Speaking their name too loudly near police would get you stopped and frisked. Not just in Brooklyn. There were several that would hang out near my school, on the Upper West Side. They seemed like nice enough crack dealing killers. I only met one once, he was cool. #111 Hugin That's funny. I don't suppose anyone called themselves the Autobots..not evil and cool enough.. As a matter of fact there was an Autobot crew. I don't remember which was formed in reaction to which, but the Autobots were pushed/rubbed out. Either that or were too ashamed of the name to keep going. Classic gang names were the best, that was when everyone had just seen "The Warriors". Too bad they couldn't afford to dress like the movie. |
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LPMiller Well, I read the forum, and I didn't see that at all. I saw a lot of "well, it still isn't much of a game, but it doesn't crash so much." Well, here's what jumped out at me: I've recently cancelled my DAOC account and reactivated my AO account. I must say that they've really cleaned the place up and it is pretty fun. *I too have reactivated my AO account for some unknown reason. I think I only played DAoC for 3 months at the most. I think the latter month and a half I was just bored with it. *Not a bad game by any means, just not a great one. *I'm taking it easy this time around, my only complaint so far is DAoC-like, I want to PvP, but I can't. *But my $10/mo has to go to someone...Ao gets it this month. Playing AO now, and I have four words: *Holy shit, it's...fun. someone really should right a AO Revisited review for the front page. *Strangely enough, I have been playing AO for a couple of weeks now, I tried out the free download and 7 day trial and found it good enough to continue playing. *Anarchy-Online is a good game, I can give it that. Sorry, I should've clarified with a statement along the lines of "in comparison to demanding the death of Tommy Strand as of three months ago, they're falling for the scam". Also, there's a lot more posts there now than when I visited (I still feel dirty) and the mood seems to be getting a bit more vicious, which is better than the original lemming-esque vibe earlier. |
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Warriors........come out and play-ay........Warriors.....come out and play-ay..... |
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#117 FunkDrunk SCE also revealed that it plans to offer software that will allow the PS2, in conjunction with the Hard Disc Drive (HDD), to function as a video recording device (along the lines of TiVo). So Sony is trying to preempt Microsoft's Home Station plans. And the console wars have taken another turn. Funk. This is good, very good, but it's not enough. The truly compelling thing about the TiVo is the service. It's well worth the $10 a month for the TV Guide like pick your poison capabilities. If Sony can offer that, and just an upcoming shows guide is not enough, then it is a real marvel. They should partner with TiVo for the US release. No, must. It does seal the deal on which console I'm getting when I can scrape the dough together however. |
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Oddly enough, the Decepticons were a gang in Brooklyn in the early to mid 80's. Could they transform into kickass warplanes and cars n' stuff??? |
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