-KZ

Now to what I really wanted to say. I have been looking for a copy of FFT for months. But I am not crazy enough to $60, $70, or even $80 dollars for one. Thank you Square. Thank you Square's Greatest Hits. Thank you dad for not letting me use your credit card to buy a copy for $60 bucks. And thank you GIA for telling me about the rerelease of FFT.

-relsky, who has already called Babbages, Wal-mart, and K-mart to see if they would give me a copy early.

Frank Miller made Sin City and Dark Knight Returns, some of the most hard hitting action I've ever seen in comics. There are guys in Sin City who could go into gunfights with a broken bottle and come out unscathed. What I really wrote this for was about the player killer thing. That sucks. I suppose a solution would be to become a player killer yourself and instantly kill anyone who violates your private games, thus when everyone does this, PKs will just give up realizing that it's too big a risk. Of course not everyone wants to spend 50 extra bucks for a fair fight. Maybe they could build it into the game itself. That's similar to the idea that if we give everyone a gun and gun training, there'll be zero crime.

-Gilbert

More seriously, the issue of online cheating suddenly seems a lot nastier with Game Sharks in the picture. I love using the cheat device for fun things, like changing Ramza into Lede the Assassin and fighting battles with only the one character(There is a better character than Orlandu, you just don't get her in your party). Using such tricks to annihilate people online is contemptible, though. I bet this problem is going to get really ugly in the next generation of consoles. Makes me wonder if Nintendo's going to new lengths to prevent cheat devices from working on the Gamecube.

Me, I'd be a Monk with Talk Skill, Sunken State, Two Swords, and Ignore Height.

-Sanagi

-Princess "That's all anyone hears if they ask "How are you?" ever since I've seen one on EGM a couple of months ago" Jemmy

Well, I think the add ons are generally not a good idea, with the exception of the hard drive. Faster loading times are always good, but who really needs a PS2 online? And of course, pretty much as soon as it gets online and everything pirating everything will step up about 4 notches. I am a fan of emulation as long as legal stuff is followed - mean, if I wanna play FFIIIUS I do not think my old cart and SNES will hold out, but I do not want to see a napster-ish situation arise and cause banning of online PS2, which may be a good thing in the future at least. Currently no add ons are really needed. I mean, a hard drive is nice, but I have not noticed any excessive load times to date in the games on my PS2. Expansion is all well and good, but I do not think it is what is needed currently. There is no need for this stuff currently, and all it is probably going to do is make a bunch of cheap games that need the accessories to play, and shelling out that much MORE cash is not something my college wallet can support right now. All that really does is ruin the possibility of a better single plaer game because the first is never the greatest in 95% of all video game cases, I want some good games. I'll jump on the bandwagon with FFXI of course...but thats a ways off. Its not needed, and it won't be for a while, so let companies play with it and then release it when the next big, GOOD thing comes out (FFXI in all probability).

-Efrate

Just like anything else, PS2 add ons are going to start rough, but slowly get better. Stuff like this always has a rough period. I mean, why buy the hard drive when you don't need it to play games. Why get the network adaptor when you have the computer to go online?

Eventually, as game companies produce games which either need or massively benefit from the add ons, then people will catch on, and better add ons will be made. And then that stupid company that puts out generic rf adaptors and memory cards that foul up constantly will catch on, and there will be many poor souls fooled by the cheaper add ons.

But, that's how it works. The only technological advance on gaming that avoided this was the memory card, and only then because you need it. Who needs an N mem card when you can save Zelda right on the game pack?

I do however believe that the network adaptors will pick up pretty quickly, but only on one premise. Sony makes EVERYTHING, and will probably incorporate a lot of online media, and we will eventually see PS2 compatable MP3 players, if not enough stuff to fulfill the grand dreams of BeerGoggles_FromMARS, which I share...

Peace,

-Stryker, who's first PS2 based MP3 download will be " It's All Right" by The Traveling Wilburys

A few things today. First, Alan Moore, hands down. That guy looks scary. Second, There's more Amano artwork out there because he drew a Tidus that doesn't suck nearly as much as the original (Sorry. I know this is an old subject, and you guys are tired of hearing it, but as much as I'm liking most of what I see from FFX, I HATE Tidus).

Finally, I had to respond to a couple of Paris' comments yesterday. I certainly have some sympathy for her situation, as I certainly believe more people playing games is a good thing, especially more girls. I think pretty much everyone here can agree that we like girls. However, I was sort of worried by the games she offered as good "gender neutral" titles.

Tetris is great, no argument there. However, I fail to see what makes Mario any more "gender neutral" than most other games. Is it the substitution of fireballs for guns? I guess I just don't get it. Myst and The Sims, then, sort of bothered me. These are both very impressive in their own right, but frankly, as games, they suck. Myst is (was) beautiful, and did a fine job with it's puzzles and story, but it really wasn't very much fun. The Sims, on the other hand, isn't even really a game. It's a toy. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but they are two different things.

If that's what will attract more female gamers, does it mean that games themselves are inherently more attractive to a male audience? I don't think so, and certainly hope not, but I felt it necessary to share my unease. Your thoughts?

-The Neocount of Merentha, just *knows* his Evil rating will take a hit for this letter.

I find it kind of comforting to know that ALL girls don't think of guy gamers as hormone driven testosterone machines. Though, if anything, it got me thinking about how non-gamers perceive us. I'm currently working my way through highschool, and I don't make it a priority to hide that I like video games. However, the puzzled look I get when I tell people that I'm in anime club pretty much tells me I shouldn't inform them I'm trying to start a video game club, too.

Let's face it. We're geeks.

Well, at least, that's how we're perceived. Pasty faced geeks with pocket protectors and glasses that allow you to melt ants. We're seen sitting in our rooms with pictures of girls, a loud buzzing computer, and a TV making small, beeping NES sounds. We only come out to play Dungeons & Dragons and Magic. If not that, then lately the world has taken an opposite look on gamers. I remember the PS2 being a reason for discussion on how the voting age should be raised to 21. Not from a couple of friends, mind you, but CNBC. We're either perceived as lifeless geeks or a slovenly group of teenagers who could care less what's going on. So, what should we do? Sadly, there's probably nothing we can do.

We, ourselves, are guilty of such perceptions. No matter how much I know it to be false, I still see non-gamers as slackers, stoners, and the like. People would rather spend their time sleeping than enjoying something I hold so dear. Then I remember no game is life changing, not every non-gamer is a pothead, but the perception still stands firm.

And I swear, if one more person expects me to say "Konnichi Wa! ^_^;;;".....

-Shawn K.