well, realistically there's gonna be a couple japanese guys in there so we won't know.
but for the WWE/TNA/ROH batch, not bad. i would however expect Davey in the 6th position there. even though dragon's first half was 'weak,' it was a weak but establishing himself sort of deal. the first quarter was bad but thereafter it became quite good. still, his biggest issue is the whole '18 seconds' crap. from your order i'd bump him down to just 1 ahead of Henry as even though he managed to recover from it very, very well (and in a bigger way than anyone expected to the point where he may even win at MITB!), it's still something that hurts him. i'm also not sure i'd have kurt angle so high because even though he did have his reign and tag belt, he was very much so MIA for a while due to the whole GOING TO OLYMPICS idea that got abandoned.
aries > davey > dragon, from a kayfabe point of view, i think makes sense.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
damn that jinder for padding sheamus up. it also helps that WWE has done a lot to add weight to BOTH belts. stuff like punk/dragon having ties over and over and being on fairly equal footing, jericho as a no. 1 contender beating the other belt holder via interference, etc. stuff like that has really made it seem like neither belt has a better guy on it, but that they're even. wwe put a focus on that and i'm glad they did to prevent it from seeming weaker.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
i'm still glad the brought over DMW. i liked the show, the ending was uh... not that good, but it started off really interesting and creepy. show starts with the right kind of vibe for itself and the powers are awesome (save for the lead character, alas).
casshern getting love also pleases me. it's a good block of newer stuff they've got there.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
i didn't think they ranked ROH titles so highly? i mean i agree that Davey's reign with the belt has been pretty great and dominant with him proving that he's one of the best in there (both in real life and in kayfabe), but still. i'd love to see Aries and Davey side by side that high.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
yeah, by a kayfabe standpoint i can't help but put Punk as 1 period right now and WWE's making it a point to remind us of that. sheamus also would be pretty high but it's been the past 6 months over the past year. still, i could see him in the top 10. cena/show are also guys up there. henry is... i'm not sure.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
yep. same problem as you there, i didn't end up getting both tastes together, difference though is that i'm.... i'm okay with that. i don't think they mix well together period.
was extremely filling too.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
they're pretty good, yeah. the 2nd was on the weaker side (had Braid and Osmos) but if you didn't have Bundle 1 it gave you that one too, which was nice since 1 was great. if you did, it wasn't that great but still quite good. the 3rd is in a similar spot, though VVVVVV was everywhere. i think i got it from the 4th bundle instead as i was calling that they'd do it again and came out QUITE satisfied with it.
also VVVVV on the 3DS for $5 now. just sayin'.
4th though, Bit Trip Runner, Cave Story+. love that game. enjoy it more than super meat boy (sorry, not for me) and haven't tried Jamestown yet. and the 3rd bundle bonus was awesome. the recent one... yeah. they just schooled every other bundle going on at the same time. bought that instantly.
the side ones tend to be smaller but... yeah, one DID have Trine in it.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
depends on the humble bundle! the recent one, no. humble bundle 4, no. the 1st one, no.
the rest, fairly comparable or better in some cases (the damn alpha 'bundle' was what). and either way there's no real problem with it being 'not as good' if it's still good. doesn't magically make the games not worth an easy $4-5.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
mmm... you'll eventually get their personal reasons there. Waver at least you got from the beginning - he wants to prove himself. the three houses are the three houses (much of the same way they are in F/SN though Rin evolves). the Matou guy as you put it has a personal reason for fighting. Caster being the odd man out isn't that strange considering Caster was... also the odd man out in F/SN.
the relationships will become much clearer as the show continues. do think you'll like quite a few characters though.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
and the show works fine if you don't know fate/stay night. in some ways better at least since you don't know how it ends. saber being lame is pretty saber-like.
by now though you should love the hell out of Caster. or more to the point, his VA. so, so good.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
i bought the launch one too! though thinking about it i'm not sure i played any of the games in it... >__>;
but i'm just a fan of Rockin' Android's stuff. Acceleration of Suguri ain't the same game or style as other shmups and is probably more accessable to more people due to the style. it's a lot like Wartech, if you got the 360 game.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
Harvest: Massive Encounter The Journey Down: Chapter One Serious Sam 2 Gundemonium Recollection *entire* Gundemonium Collection. GundeadliGne Hitogata Happa Acceleration Of Suguri X-Edition Dino Run SE BONUS: AirMech (includes a steam beta key and some exclusive items)
and if you spent $8 you get Pixeljams Vol 1, has some indie tunes. don't thinkt hat's needed if you also buy game music bundles.
but there's some awesome stuff in there. def their best one to date.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
actually i should probably flesh that out better. now with bold and clear terms:
New Characters are due tomorrow, July 1st, 11:59 PM Pacific. if you have Older characters, people that you're working on, etc then you will have until June 8th, 11:59 PM Pacific to complete them. if they aren't complete, either they hopefully have enough to be 'close enough' and i'll do what i can, or they'll just be unable to be used. for most of you the former probably hits, but obviously you know the guys better than i do so i'd rather just get finalized versions however you want 'em to be.
Terrains will be locked down to just next and the revised characters, so also July 8th, 11:59 PM. that gives it the most time and makes sense as... if you revise a character and get to see the completed ones, you might be able to understand a field better that you have in mind to suit 'em.
so there, now said BOLDLY hope that clears any confusion.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
to be exact, the end of tomorrow is the last day. as in, 11:59 PM Pacific, Sunday June 1st. gives the most time i can think of because i know how procrastination is.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
as for yakuza uh... it can be very rpgish. rpgamer got into a discussion n it over the years and eventually agreed that they should be covering it. that one's a pretty weird and divided one, action/adventure on one corner and action/adventure/rpg on the other basically. so that one being listed doesn't really seem wrong at all.
and if every reviewer is making the same claim, it's because that's how most people see it. now, either most people are wrong and your bizarre method is right or they're right and you're wrong (you are). either way, you don't get to call foul on an rpg list when it's called an rpg as that's how the majority of gaming sees it as.
so yeah, OoE - best rpg on the DS. EO3 is 2nd. RH is 3rd.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
also you uh, do realize when i list the other review sites it's the reviews themselves putting it as action/rpg. as in, the writer states it. not that the site has a category of it - i'm not even sure if half those sites do that anymore.
accept your role as the wrongful minority lopen!
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
a dark power stable? i can dig it. it just feels so... weird because i'm getting less horror vibe and more uh.... inception vibe i guess?
not sure how to describe that. but i don't get the whole 'YOU SHOULD FEAR THIS GROUP" as much as "this group may or may not mind **** you. also i guess they're evil but have some really boss music."
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
they charge on release. and no tax for me = great.
Code of Princess is the spiritual successor to Guardian Heroes, one of the Saturn's gems. it's a beat 'em up/rpg more or less. very similar team did both, which consists of some guys from Treasure. has online play too.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
rpgamer - sotn+ and simon's quest has 'em. rpgfan - counts 'em. konami - they've called castlevania games action/adventure as well as action/rpgs. hell, they called the iphone castlevania a puzzle/rpg. g4 - rpg since sotn. destructoid - rpg. calls it so in the OoE review that ever since SoTN it took that twist.
too lazy to check gamestop, ign, etc. but am pretty sure it's the same thing because that's what it is, and as a whole the gaming community agrees with that. you're the odd man out here.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
...uh... i'm now wondering if you've even played any of the DS ones. half of that is... wrong.
Metroidvania ones are a single large dungeon. that is your world. single dungeon RPGs are doable just fine - look for the Rogue types for more details. further, OoE does have a relatively open world in that there's multiple areas to go to. either way, older RPGs didn't have these 'wide open worlds to explore', they had very centralized places to be. some still do (Baroque). for Metroidvanias, that 'open world' is the castle. it is your world for the game.
party building has never been necessary, at all. not sure why that's even stated there. again, Ys. there's quite a few RPGs out there that are solo characters just as there are some that aren't, even today (Baroque, again).
use of menus isn't something that's necessary for KH, Diablo, or Ys. we make hotkeys and shortcuts to AVOID menus in order to keep action on the screen more often. the fewer menus, the better. if however, you want to use it for say... a potion, you can. but that's not exclusive to the genre at all. in fact, there's also menu based combat that isn't an RPG, so that removes it from being a necessary component (simulation games, including those sports ones).
the Castlevanias... DO have optional side quests/side areas. in fact, that's literally what Metroidvania is all about. having dozens and dozens of side quests/side areas. PoR has a fetch quest ghost. OoE has you saving villagers - many of which are unimportant NPCs! -
i've no idea what you mean by 'nonscripted interaction with npcs.' all interaction is scripted, save for glitches i guess.
they... all have skill/character customizations that can be gotten without item drops. shops being the most obvious.
unimportant npcs... again, older games, rogues. beyond that the importance of npcs doesn't matter to the genre anyway - you'll find some in action, shooters, puzzle, and just about any genre of a game you want, there's probably one example. just like there's examples without 'em.
as for dialogue choices... that's... also a 'not really.' same reason behind exclusivity or something that differentiates it. and we've been through a billion linear rpgs with mute characters by now that DON'T have dialogue choices. that's one of the main complaints jrpgs get. it's a trademark of the wrpgs, but has proven for decades now to be irrelevant.
if you want an example of not an RPG, think Advance Wars. it's a strategy game. an SRPG? no, a strategy game. why? though you do see the number of units, it's for the most part fixed. there's no 'stat growth' involved, either for the units or the characters. there's a battle system in place which does have some form of growth (CO powers) but it's not exactly a central part of the rest of the game.
now look at Fire Emblem. stats galore. numbers galore. characters level up - growth. weapons can be changed - customization and stat manipulation. RPG. even the older ones, which didn't offer a lot of backtracking or anything, were like this.
going about it by "what defines an rpg" is best done by going backwards. take two games that are similar yet different. keep doing it until you get to a couple base, common factors. for rpg, with as many subgenres as it's tied with, that's a lot.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
scientists around the world immediately try to figure out how to make things work. a select few will be allowed to live, the rest will riot, be drunk, commit suicide, etc. all resources on the planet will be devoted to being able to self-heat ourselves, giving a purpose to a LOT of the nukes we have in order to buy time and figure out a remedy/destroy the planet ourselves.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
yeah, i jumped on this and posted in the 3DS topic for it. it's badass as hell. you can also cancel the order and re-use the code later if you want.
the best part about it though is Code of Princess. Atlus is offering a pre-order bonus to select retailers and newegg is officially one of them. so for $30 you get the pre-order bonus stuff, no need to decide which one you want. badass.
got myself Luigi's Mansion, Code of Princess, Zero's Requiem (the 999 sequel IS available for pre-order - i'd suggest cancelling yours, waiting a few, and getting that too!), Castlevania LOS, Theatrhythm (cancelled my amazon order), and... that's it for now. oh, and ZOE HD. initially wasnt going to but at $30... i bit. hope it doesn't bite me back on black friday as it's a terrible month to buy games in.
thought about KH, realized that i'm not gonna be playing 3D much anyway and i can wait until November or something. same goes for Paper Mario and NSMB2, both are 'eh, can wait.'
forgot about P4 Arena though. hm.... that's tougher.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
sure, re4 has that. like i said, some shooters will include rpg elements to 'em, that's perfectly fine. putting stat manipulation as part of your core game puts you in the camp of doing that, but RE doesn't really focus on that. look at Borderlands then look at RE - in one game guns are the focus over the rest, in the other it's the survival horror/story. that customization and stat manipulation as a result is very central to the game. or you can look at Deus Ex, where character is the customization point (which is more traditional - borderlands is the odd man out). stat manipuation and growth (usually character growth) are the two main hallmarks that ties the genre.
RPG is a broad term. it rather has to be to put together all the variations of it. and by the way, by most classifications, most reviewers, most places, and anything in between, you will find that most of the SoTN+ Castlevanias are considered as RPGs. you'll also find most have RPG as a broad term because you need to find something barebones that can satisfy the classification for covering Fire Emblem, old school Fallout, newer Fallout, Wizardry, Ultima, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Everquest, Diablo, etc. ultimately, it's the numbers/stats and the way it's handled. battle system? nope, battle system has shown that it can do everything from heavy in the action came like fighters or shooters and as light as puzzle. it's doable in damn near every system you could ask for. it's that barebones which keeps Metroid away from it, though it's got many elements.
it's really, really hard not to put it as action/rpg without removing every other action/rpg in the process. character growth? check. stat manipuation? check. weapons/equipment? can be modified. can you see your enemies' stats (not necessary but further proves that's the barebones base)? actually yes, check. you aren't locked in anywhere on your character, you aren't locked in on your weapons, there's growth and progress. you can't define a game that does all that as not an RPG. Ys is one of the longest running action/rpgs. initial games had you running into your enemies, but still an RPG for the exact same reasons above. same goes for the later versions, despite how it evolved. KH runs into the exact same camp of this (if you're going through the little menu you're doing it wrong). Diablo runs in the same camp of this. you could replace ANY of those with a slightly different system and be fine. but for what the main game is? they're all RPGs.
your argument, quite literally, is that because the game has an extra mode where you're running a different style, with different gameplay, and a character who controls completely differently (which somehow you're completely overlooking - Richter plays nothing like Alucard, Julius/Yoko/Alucard play nothing like Soma, etc) it magically should change the genre of the main game. that makes absolutely no sense. you can argue that mode isn't an RPG (and depending on the game go from questionably right to just wrong), but it has and serves no application to the main one. if you're looking for a 'majority consensus', next to none will agree with that absurdity.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
alright so watching NXT for the first time, only 2 eps in this season i think? saw both.
Tyler's entrance is so bad. he's still lookin' every bit like when he left ROH and he looks pretty damn good in the ring still. talent out the ass and it shows. ...but his hair color, style, and the demeanor he's after is reminding me a lot of face punk in early ROH. not nearly as good on the mic, but still, he's got a clear image going for him i think. steamboat also looks pretty good in the ring. also seeing Antonio absolutely murder this Dante guy who i assume is a random jobber with size was awesome. big guy gettin' thrown around like nothing. speaking of big guys, REAL LOVE. lookin' forward to seeing Wyatt/Harris. dude wasn't at all bad, now he might be good. he certainly is on the mic. Kid/Perfect Jr. was awesome. like, Kid didn't suicide dive despite what JR said, he did a suicide clothesline.
not that impressed with Leo. sounds like he can talk, but don't particularly care for him in the ring. this is also a problem Sandow has and i'm not liking this transition.
The Ascension or however that's spelled meanwhile has an AWESOME opening. man, how did they get something like that. this is also ridiculously over the top.
bo dallas can't talk for the life in him. he's ridiculously young and has a huge upside as a result, but damn. not sure what to think of him in the ring really. he... didn't impress me at all.
now, last question here: why is everyone wearing tyler black hair.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
yeah i'm pretty sure that outside of powerscaling types (Disease That Hates, Antithesis) there isn't much else she's got in terms of competition. way out of everyone else's league.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
the handhelds aren't really in between generations, just look at when they came out. THIS generation of consoles is simply taking forever, but the DS to the 360 is pretty similar to the 3DS and the Wii. the Vita and the Wii U are almost exactly the same as well - out in the same year (outside of Japan, a year apart otherwise). PSP and 360 came out in the same year. hard to be 'in between' generations like that. this one has just gone on forever and still has another year or two in the tank that they're gonna get out of sync, but otherwise it's been pretty steady for the past few gens.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
having your own genre doesn't escape you from a larger umbrella. fighters for example are also 'their own genre', but they also are action games and will fall under it as well. you can't actually separate it from any standpoint of an action game but just say it's a specialized kind of action game, making it a genre of its own. which, while fine, doesn't make the claim wrong. further up you go, more you'll cover. simulation covers a very wide range.
now, gta has sim-like elements to it, rpg-like elements to it, adventure game elements to it - that's what makes sandbox exactly what it is. having a wide variety of genres and subgenres (racing? shooter? action?) mixed into one to create something new. modern racing games... ALSO are simulation games half the time - it will depend on the game but extreme customization would count under this. the racing part itself, different half of the game. nonetheless, you'd be a fool to say that a lot aren't one part sim, one part something else, especially if it's deeply intergrated and not something like mario kart or something. hell, wrestling games are also under the umbrella of sports, under the umbrella of sim and makes no illusions of that fact. you know better than that.
also regarding RE, or any shooter for that matter, makes me think that you aren't understanding how difference of application matters. you're the one who pretended i said a definition in the first place, now you're acting as if anything with stats/numbers counts, and that doesn't make sense at all. everything has numbers to it because games and programs are essentially giant gobs of math. numbers and letters make up code and if you have one thing kill another obviously numbers have to come into play - all that should be obvious. if you get hardcore into fighting or shooters you can figure out the numbers associated, but that's not the way the presentation usually works (some shooters will, but they often will also be part rpg too). it's the way you use your stats/numbers that counts.
there's nothing wrong with rpg or sim-like elements. but for those genres data on your character/enemies is plainly in front of you and in your control. you manipulate your stats, you make changes, you usually even can see your enemy's down the road. the games are specifically designed with you in control of the numbers. simply incorporating that and it being a fundamental backbone of the game's system are different stories. if you lost control of the numbers, could that change the genre? sure. could there be a replacement that would be similar? sure, again.
but that goes for the other games too. you lose it in Diablo, you've got an action dungeon crawler. you lose it in KH, you have... Dynasty Warriors. you lose it in MMORPG, you have... an MMO action game i guess. now, if you wanted to replace some of these things with set powerups ala Metroid or Bioshock, you could do that and get a similar game in a different genre. that doesn't remove what the game currently is, it just says that we've evolved to a point where we can replicate another genre fairly well.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
...whoops, missed that yeah. fixed. won't lie, i mostly skim over that part on the bracelet stuff since i don't think that outside of Eveny there's anything that can break 'em.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
...and the story in the DS Castlevania (especially OoE) really isn't any less than D2 was so uh... yeah. that ain't workin' either. or hell, the various korean mmorpgs that pop up. if you want lacking in story, there is an entire pool full of it in that one.
--
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.