Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Son, you got a panty on your head. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Yesterday I came to a rather disturbing realization while driving in to Austin.

The sun was low on the horizon, and the trees and fields were green with fresh rain. The rolling hills of central Texas stretched out on all sides as I moved down Highway 71, growing a bit hazy with distance. It was beautiful.

And I thought to myself, "Damn, this must be on a really great console for the resolution to be this high. I wonder how many layers of scrolling those hills take?"

It was a genuine thought, not a joke.

I've been playing way, way too many video games.

Onward.

I must have led a very sheltered existence before I started working on this column, because I never realized to what extent people define their tastes by denigrating the tastes of others. Not that I haven't been guilty of taste snobbery myself now and then, but I never realized it was this prevalent.

I suspect all the poor, feebleminded 3D-addicted dialog loving peons you pity will be able to deal with LoM's graphics quite well. I heard nothing but good things about SF2's graphical style, and while it's not exactly the same in Mana, it's close.But let's hear from the rest of the group on the matter, shall we?

"So good it hurts." That's not generally said in relation to games, but I'll let it slide.

Indeed, the tons of side quests and bonuses seem to be a big selling point for the game, and I probably won't mind doing all the extra stuff if the gameplay is as pleasant as you (and Mr. Bauer, to give due credit) seem to suggest. The only thing that bothers me is the movement's apparently changed from true 8-way running to a Final Fight 2.5D style, but I guess I'll find out how that affects things this weekend.

It's true, I forgot my place in the universe. Such works of pure brilliance are only meant for the ilk of my Arch Nemesis and his cronies. Ours is but to watch in envy as they and they alone consume the goodness that is Square.

But fear not, oppressed masses! The (free)Man can't keep us down forever! One day we will rise up against our tormentors, storm their houses, and take their gaming bounty for the good of all mankind! Yes, on that blessed day they will be first against the wall, and we shall be the ones in control! Hallelujah!

I learned a while back not to be overly enamored of cool packaging, because that's all it is: packaging. Once upon a time the original 128K Macintosh was the sexiest looking thing on the planet, but now it looks small and pathetic and the one we have at home is turning green with age. The current iMacs are also unlikely to age gracefully, and I suspect the same is true of the PS2 and its hard drive.

And I actually still don't care about the PS one, not when the far more powerful PS2's right around the corner. This is probably just another example of what I was just talking about - boutiqueing technology, making it look cute and cuddly when you can't sell it on merit alone. (Although I like Macs, make no mistake.) The system does not seem particularly portable even with a battery pack, given how much power a CD drive and chipset is liable to suck down. It's a turkey folks, don't buy the hype.

The statue is indeed of SRV, and I just can't emphasize how supergroovycool it is for an entire city to honor a rock musician in a way that doesn't involve exploiting his memory for $$.

There are a lot of sides to the Microsoft breakup case, and there are a lot of arguments as to why the government's actions are unwise: that the legal system is too slow and the market situation it based the ruling on is already obsolete, or that any remedies by the government are hamfisted and will wreck a delicate system. But no one, with the exception of Gates and his immediate supporters, seems to feel that the company has not behaved improperly.

You argue that other software firms should have built a better mousetrap, but in this case it seems clear that many did just that, and were unable to sell their better mousetrap because of unfair pressures put on the market by Microsoft. When that ability to exist in a free market was endangered by Mr. Bill, the matter legitimately became a public concern and the government stepped in. Again, this is not saying that Judge Jackson's ruling was the correct one, only that some form of external guidance (or interference, if you prefer) was legitimate in this limited case.

Personally I feel that this country is about representative government and all forms of freedom, not just the ability to make a buck (though that's certainly one of the more interesting ones.) The public should not have to put up with inappropriate behavior by billionaires just to safeguard its economic viability, and so our elected government (who you and I and the rest of the country voted for - these people aren't imposed on us from Mars or anything) stepped in and kicked some corporate slimeball ass. The public interest was served, and now a lot of people, not just one company, have the chance to make some cash and improve the economy. Justice has been served, as far as I'm concerned.

I believe the Justice Department intends on taking the case directly to the Supreme Court itself, in which case it could be done with in a few months.

It's difficult to tell where the X-Box would end up. The next generation consoles are not merely game systems, but a type of beachhead through which a wide array of information can be pushed or pulled. In that regard the company that controls the console market wields much the same kind of power that Microsoft currently has with Windows. Wherever X-Box goes, it would have to be somewhere that could position the system against PS2 and Dolphin, but not somewhere that would allow the same kind of corruption could reoccur.

I don't remember SMB well enough to say one way or the other if running is needed, but I think it was possible to walk over some of the smaller gaps and make longer jumps that way.

Square needs good marketing to preserve the impression of Final Fantasy as a truly special series. Even if the game sucks (which I do NOT believe to be the case) good marketing will sell enough copies to secure this perception - to protect the series' honor, in other words. If anything, Episode 1 works as an example of how marketing can protect the commercial viability of a series (which corporations are interested in) while not protecting critical integrity of the creator (which corporations are less concerned with).

I don't think the general consensus feels that FF8 is a poor title, that's really just the opinion of a few vocal opponents of the game. And I thought PB was solid - if I have to watch it instead of The Searchers, I can live with it.

Closing Comments:

For tomorrow, let's hear if you've got any more input on Microsoft or Legend of Mana. That's all for now, I'm going to sleep. later.

-Chris Jones, kinda looks like the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse