Lurker > Strife2

I'm currently playing Persona 4 and Ys: The Ark of Napishtim. A commonality between them are the "main characters." I've stated this in the past, but I feel silent protagonists are useless. Ever since the advent of dilaogue, the use of silent protagonists has been unnecessary. Here are the reasons why they exist, both theoretically and in reality.

1. They drive the story

They do not drive the story. They are observers. Since they have no voice or dilaogue, they are no different than mimes. They are driven by the story. The only way they drive the story is during text trees. The text trees are merely ways for OTHER characters to say something else, not the silent protagonists themselves. In the case of Ys, Adol only acts through the actions of a disembodied narrator who says, "Adol..." in all instances. This brings me to point #2.

2. They reflect the actions and thoughts of the player

What stops vocalized characters to reflect the mindset of players? The point of stories is to create characters that relate to the audience. This is accomplished through actions, words, and body language. Silent protagonists can only act in the first option. They do not speak, and their "body language" is the bubble or despair mark prevalent in anime, but they are useless. The context of story should be enough for the players themselves to create their own emotional attachment. What bothers me is during Social Links or the end of nearly every game, this protagonist happens to be so suave, every girl in existence has fallen for or had sex with him. The same sex ends up in "utmost respect." How can we tell? We don't hear the words that he's saying to engage these responses. He could be flicking his balls and saying, "I NEED SCISSORS 61" for all we know.

Think of Mario and Link. Any normal guy would have stopped giving a **** after the first adventure. Subsequent rescue missions make me wonder just how hopeless they are. You can't tell me other women don't exist. They probably have enough money to PAY someone else for what Peach and Zelda are obviously denying them. What about Crono's death, you might say. Once again, it comes back to emotional attachment. I am not attached to a mime that I've been controlling. So he died, they moved onto Marle. At least I understand her motives. She had been developed to the point that she wanted to save the world and had disdain for family (though filial piety regardless). Crono had none of those things. He could be a gay pedophile with spiky hair for all we know. The game gave no indications that could not case. If I am able to attribute any personality to him, then we can legitimately believe he and other silent protagonists are scum of the earth who are only saving the world for fun. When they go home, they could drink themselves stupid and hit their heads against the wall. However, that is not due to the character themselves.

Silent protagonists only serve as catalysts to the actual characters. Is it really that hard to develop another person? Maybe in a massive game, but what about a game with a single protagonists? Why should we be motivated to save the world when we can't gauge the attachment of the person who is actually doing it? To me, either develop another character to fit the main role, or get rid of them.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

bump

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I'll set this up as a timeline.

Before September 06: I was the stereotypical "obese gamer," weiighing 260 pounds. I simply got home and ate whatever I could whenever I wanted. I would pluck 20 M&Ms at a time every commercial, eat half a carton of ice cream a night, and other things I couldn't fathom. What is worse is that the only activity I did was walk on a treadmill 30 mins every couple of days. It didn't help. I had my physical, and it proved to me I needed a change.

September 06: I started weightlifting and walking on treadmills on off days. I lost 20 pounds early on, but I wasn't set with that. I also began yoga classes. Not only is the stretching and toning important, but the euphoria one experiences afterwards is unique. It's more potent than the typical "runner's high." At the end of 06, I got down to 215.

January 07: This was the first time I moved out of my parents place. I took a bodyfat exam, and I was down to 18% (compared to 30-35% before I started). It convinced me to start changing my eating habits. I started to slowly replace ice cream/etc. with healthier options like graham crackers and baked chips. They are still "junk," but I was on the right path.

June 07: 170 pounds; I began a bulking phase and went back to 190, but I could tell I had more muscle than before.

April 08: Hapkido and Boxing: I couldn't afford to keep training at the facilities, but I still utilize these techniques.

September 08: Conditioning Course: my first experience with running, and continuing my holistic approach to training.

June 09: Back down at 170, I started multiple exercise options

- Still lifting weights and yoga
- Self-Defense
- Running

By the end of the summer, I got sub 160, and small T-shirts finally fit me.

September 09: Swimming - Not my favorite exercise, but it was fun to attempt: I was also shifting my eating habits to eat smoothies and other fruit.

June 10:

- Volleyball
- Bowling

September 10: Track and Field: I'd been running for a year, but most of it was aerobic training. I was exposed to anaerobic and power training. I'd gotten down to 155.

January 11: Training and Conditioning Classes: This changed my approach to weightlfting again, letting me understand that I need to cycle my weightlifting schedule. Phases, periodization, etc. I begin walking around my apartment during downtime (simply to get out of a chair). It isn't much, but it deep me out of those chairs.

June 11: I'm shifting my eating habits again, focusing on veggies, soups, and unprocessed foods. I still eat my low calorie junk, but only when I can't factor in my whole foods. When I eat out, I focus either on salads, low calorie chicken options, or RARE big meals. I absolve deserts unless on vacation.

Yoga: I'm taking another class, and I'm remembering just how difficult training is when I'm being pushed by someone else.

Pilates: My core strength and abdominals have been my biggest flaw (asthetically). This was the missing piece and has turned everything all around. I have a few more weeks of this and yoga, but I intend to keep them going afterwards. I'm also able to bust out hour long runs after sprees of inactivity...it's ridiculous.

As of now, I weight 147 lbs at 8-10% bodyfat. I find it amazing to think I had such a transformation. I'm volunteering in a children's obesity study in fall. My hope is that I can convince them that being sedentary isn't the killer everyone assumes it is. I still play games 4-8 hours a day, and I proved to myself I can work around that and become who I am now.

Now I have to practice yoga: namaste!

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

"Love is Over" Limited Edition

Catherine - Of course it comes with the game
Soundtrack - Meguro is a good composer, but who knows what the music sounds like
Art Book - Nice
Catherine Love...I mean Body Pillow - I don't think you want to show that to people
Underwear and T-Shirt - Imagine if young boys were to get Catherine's outfit instead...still weird.
Pizza Box - I don't see a use for this

The first three are good, plus the pillow is nice. The last three are there for "Hey, Atlus is full of ******* nutballs."

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Being cynical has its advantages...being selfish, cynical, narcissistic, AND a cheapskate: that's a real *****, but I've somehow managed it. I could just be watching too much Zero Punctuation.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Before this stupid flame war about nothing keeps going, I'll get back on topic. Metal Gear Solid is essentially Kojima's self-pleasure homage to spy movies and anime. The control scheme in every game is clunky, but the danger of getting found or getting shot full of holes is minimal. Crazy, nonsensical boss fights happen EVERYWHERE...speaking of ************, the B&B corps are interesting to say the least.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

They want to remake it for the same reason as everyone else: make more money. The series doesn't need it, and they are merely jumping on the GoW fad. To bring Square back into this discussion, it seems no developer can resist the urge of remaking games OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER *smacks self* If it weren't for gullible people shilling $20-$30 for "prettier games," developers might be forced to try something new. I don't need new versions of said games, because I don't find fault (or enough fault) to justify the expense. I'm being cynical, but that could be because Gamefly has rendered the "$60 investment" moot.

Go Gamefly.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Speaking of games, I want Catherine SO BAD! I'm actually happy it's not another Persona game. The puzzle elements will do well to differentiate itself. That way, when Persona 5 does come out, it will be like old times. I'm also doing something I never do: the game is centered around "Catherine v. Katherine." PS3/360 have different covers. I'm actually going to base my playthrough on which copy I receive. I normally pick the goody-two shoes, but it should be fun if I force myself down the "risque and deadly" track.

Plus, Laura Bailey and Michelle Ruff both rule. I can't go wrong either way.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

But cutscene overkill is what games should avoid. If Guns of the Patriots is anything, it's a public service on how NOT to do video game story. Imagine if it were unskippable.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

It's not the "2 hour gameplay" that's the issue. You brought up the "cutscene heavy" aspect. If Kojima wants to make movies, then he should do so, instead of putzing around. Square Enix falls into the same category in the wrong direction. They were battle heavy, but their emphasis was solely on, "hey let's tell a story with some ****** gameplay tacked on top." It was a 6-hour miniseries lumped into a 60 hour game. I'll say that's even worse than Sons of Liberty, since more time is wasted. Most games at least offer a middle ground. The original and Snake Eater were the series' best entries at finding a sweet spot.

What would be better is taking the Arkham Asylum approach of less cutscenes with the story being played out while you are actually doing things, instead of "play, stop to watch, repeat."

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Fair enough, and thank you for being a dick.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Tell that to RPGs.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I don't do drugs or drink Rockstar, but I have a hell of a bout of Tourettes and a battery. I made a New Year's Resolution to stop swearing, and I failed after the first five minutes.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I wasn't lying about Sons of Liberty. Sure, I'd had played through a couple times before, but the fact that any playthrough allowed me to beat the game (without cutscenes) in an hour and 58 minutes was an eye opener. NES games can get away with that (due to insane difficulty and lack of processing power), but a PS2 game pulling that **** is ridiculous.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Day 3

Common Hollywood Myths: Mythbusters, Bipedal Aliens, PEW PEW lasers, space noises, evolutionary transcendance, and Bond Gadgets...YEAH!

Twitter: The panel was about Twitter and the effect breaking news on the site has on the internet and society in general. I haven't created an account yet, but I'm interested. Hopefully it actually has some value, but I doubt it.

Gargoyles: This was the panel I went to the convention for, and it didn't disappoint. A person went full boar and cosplayed as Demona, wings and all. I learned a lot about Disney company policy, the casting of Star Trek actors in major voice roles, and the creator's own view on immortality. It was worth the wait.

One more day.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I'm a little too busy with convention season (CONvergence this week, AniMinneapolis next), then I need to finish Persona 4. Gamefly sent me Red Steel 2 and Ys: Ark of Napishtim as well. To say I'm too busy for another game is an understatement.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I'm cut out my early panel to get a workout in. I'll head out before the Hollywood Myths panel.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I played Metal Gear Solid 2 a few times through, and ACTUAL gameplay was 2 hours. Cutscenes make up about 10-15 hours more. 4 has the same problem it seems. 1&3 seem to at least let you control characters for a while. For all the flak Xenosaga gets for being an "interactive movie," at least you can play for more than 5 minutes at a time. If you can get past the "interactive movie" aspect, the other elements are solid.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

CONVERGENCE!

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Day 2

80s/90s Cartoons Panel: Reminisicing about the golden age of after school/Saturday cartoons is awesome.

Health Scams Panel: Homeopathy, Exercise machines, and vaccinations all come under scrutiny. A particular story about using a fecal transplant curing Autism (eww) was ridiculuous.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: I was impressed by the interaction between the main characters. The pseudo-noir setting was nice. However, the homages to old sci-fi and steampunk caught me off-guard at first. I never watched old sci-fi flicks like that, so I didn't get the "itchy" feeling most people would. Still, I'm glad it was better than I expected.

I ducked out after that at 2, because I'd rather stay home and wait for tomorrow. Gargoyles is awesome, and those panels will happen.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Long day ahead...good thing today is payday.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Day 1

After wandering around waiting for **** to open up, I watched Willy Wonka in its "entirety" for the first time. I'd never seen it from start to finish, but I must say it's one of those timeless classics that everyone should see. The worst part is the CD **** itself right before the best scene (tunnel of doom), so we had to skip it...bastards.

I went to a panel called "Comics as TV Afterlife," with Greg Weisman, another comic writer, and theater actor. They discussed how to adapt TV shows into comics, vice versa, and the politics that goes on. Greg mentioned how Gargoyles was a great seller for SLG comics, but licensing fees from Disney ****** over that project. He wasn't even the main writer for the comic adaptation to his own new series, Young Justice. Other writers developed the first six issues. The panel took off when I referenced continuity in film, TV, and comics. It bled into how the Internet community acts so fast to ***** and moan about any changes done to make characters appeal to broader audiences. A consensus was made that you can't please everybody, so it's all about doing what needs to be done, regardless of some butthurt fanbase.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

The day is here!

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

That is merely my personal schedule. The website has a much larger list of material to choose from.

http://schedule.convergence-con.org/

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

bump to avoid death

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

This topic will be different in the sense that I will continually bump it until the con is over. CONvergence is a 4-day sci-fi convention from Thursday to Sunday. I have my schedule mapped out already, and each day, I'll post random thoughts about my experiences. Here's my outlook:

Guests of Honor

Jason Carter - Actor - Dead Matter, Babylon 5
Edward Douglas - Gothic Horror Fantasy soundtrack creator - Midnight Syndicate, Dead Matter
Brian Keene - Novelist/Comic Writer - Grave Conditions, The Last Zombie
Seanan McGuire - Urban Fantasist - October Daye, InCrptid, Newsflesh
Lynne Thomas - Librarian/Author/Editor - Chicks Dig Time Lords
Anthony Tollin - Historian/Publisher/Comics Colorist - The Shadow & Doc Savage reprints
Catherynne Valente - Novelist/Poet - The Orphan's Tales
Brian Van Camp - Actor - Dead Matter
Greg Weisman - Creator of Disney’s Gargoyles and supervising producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man for 2008.

Greg Weisman is the only one I recognize, because Gargoyles was my favorite cartoon back in the mid 90s. If you haven't seen it, you need to find it on YouTube immediately.

CONVERGENCE 2011 Schedule - Subject to Change

Thursday, June 30th

2:30-4:30 PM – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
5:00 -6:00 PM – Comics as TV Afterlife

Friday, July 1st

9:30-10:30 AM - 80s/90s Cartoons
11:00 -12:00 PM – Critiquing Fandom
2:00-3:00 PM – Year in Review
5:00-6:00 PM – Stuff I Didn’t Know
7:00-8:00 PM – Inception Panel

Saturday, July 2nd

9:30-10:30 AM – Creating Fairy Tales
11:00-12:00 PM – Hollywood Myths
2:00 PM – Greg Weisman Autograph Signing, Twitter Must Be True
3:30-4:30 PM – Gargoyles Panel
4:30-5:30 PM – Greg Weisman Interview

Sunday, July 3rd

9:30-10:30 AM – Toy Story 3 Panel
11:00-12:00 PM – Future of Robots
2:00-3:00 PM – History of Spider-Man Panel
3:30-4:30 PM – James Bond (MI6) Panel

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Rorona can be addicting, but it is solely about alchemy. Battles are an afterthought, there's no villian (outside of a doofus politician), and it certainly follows the "low budget" vibe most niche Japanese games of the genre hit. It looks like a mid-generation PS2 game (despite being on PS3).

Ass Creed 1 is a borefest. Enjoy doing the same three quests over and over again.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I was simply making it clear that numbered scores in and of themselves are meaningless. For the context of this, I'll say 8/10.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Numbered scores are ****...anyway

Best in the series...does that count?

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

PERSONA!

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

PERSONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I hate my controller. It shorted out on me twice will dealing with Persona 4's arduously long (save point lacking) opening week.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59532829

Newest edition of my new thread: Strife's Soapbox. This time, I reveal my Top 5 Best and Worst games.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I just realized something...I won't get another game from Gamefly for another week...GAH! Thank God I loaded up on manga and Shakespeare.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

Thanks; it's part of a song I wrote a few years ago about a bounty hunter.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I got back into Lords of Shadow after leaving it for Radiant Historia. I quickly realized I could easily live without it. It is God of War, Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta, Darksiders, and any other hack and slash game out there. It does nothing out of the ordinary, except put the Castlevania brand on a totally un-Castlevania game (which is its biggest fault). It's not bad...just not memorable. I'd rather not sink time into it.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

I changed my signature for the first time in two years.

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"Should I slice off your tongue or break your countless bones? Either way, I get paid; you'll bleed to death and die alone." - Blood Money

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/59522247

Here's the link to my new thread, Strife's Soapbox.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

It was the best RPG since Persona 4 and best overall game since Arkham Asylum.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

RADIANT HISTORIA DONE!

Next Up: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

*Radiant Historia Update*

John Connor took down one tyrant...now he's going after the other.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

*Radiant Historia Update*

John Connor hates giant spiders.

In other news, I'm thinking of starting up S3 (my advice thread from way back when) again. It's been a long time, and I need to post on Board 8 more.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

*Radiant Historia Update*

In one life, John Connor became a gladiator. The other timeline saw him ally himself with beast people.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

*Radiant Historia Update*

In one life, John Connor must assassinate a princess conceived by Skynet. In another, he must flee from it and hide away from its machinations. ROAD TRIP!

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

I just started it last night, but everything is working well. It sidesteps anime trappings, avoids my bugbears of silent protagonists and random encounters, and has great writing. I have barely scratched the surface of the time travel mechanic, but the game outlines the mechanic early on and goes over each point like the Matrix and Inception movies do.. The battle system is a mixture of FFX's turns and a matrix grid. The ability to swap turns at will (even with enemies) is its biggest feature. You'd think more games would have picked up on that. People say it gets better in chapter 3, but I'm already happy with it.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

*Radiant Historia Update*

John Connor gained access to time travel.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

The Mavs put the beatdown on Le Heat, stuck up the middle finger, and took "their" title.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

I officially passed Biomechanics this afternoon, and I'm down in Illinois. The reason I'm up so late is because my dad got drunk and we sat around listening to Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, Dio, Black Mages, etc. for two hours until my mom (rightly so) shut us down. I still need to get my Gargoyles fix for the...morning, however.

Also, YAY MAVS! One more to go befor those overhyped ******* get the pure taste of defeat. **** LeBron and anyone who looks like LeBron.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know

I'm in a bittersweet mood. All my work to surpass Biomechanics has paid off. Compared to a 52% on my test in the fall, which led to my withdrawal, I achieved an 89%. In that class, it meant a difference from a D- to an A-. If everything works out, I only need 8-10 points on my final to finish. I should be happy, but I learned my grandfather passed away this morning. It left a sour taste to what should have been a joyous day.

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"BREAKING INTO HEAVEN! GET READY FOR WAR!"
Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know