These mod shows (Skyrim and Portal) are great! Hadn't catched this one until today, when it made the main page - it should definitely get a more proeminent place on the front page. Keep up the fun/hard work.
@TheAdamUK Nah, they're better on the PC. For games that play better with a gamepad, all you need to do is plug in your X360 controller or logitech (if you favor the dualshock) and play as you would on a console, but with a higher FPS, better graphics and mods. The reasons you get any console over a PC are:
a) Exclusives.
b) Price.
c) Accessibility.
There are games released only on certain consoles, consoles are cheaper (and you're guaranteed to have the same hardware as anyone else using the same console, meaning a better optimization from game developers - which won't need to worry about multiple video cards and PC settings) and are easier to use (plug 'n play).
@nyran125 Like the Wii, people will get the Wii U because of its plethora of first-party titles (Metroid, Star Fox, Zelda, Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, etc.) - the third-party support is a bonus. Ubisoft is investing heavily in the Wii U and has already slated a couple of exclusives for the console. If you think the Wii U is only going to get games from the past-generation, like AC 3 and Batman: AC, you're wrong.
@jlwood830 That's true, but the argument I originally contested isn't. If you're going to argue that guns are the most important invention, the best angle to do so is by saying that the tension between two nations when one starts to get the upperhand military-wise leads to the other nation investing in technology research. Even then, you're saying that the researched technology has the potential to be the most important invention, not the weapons.
@maxwell97 And I disagree. There are several flaws in your reasoning:
1) Feudalism didn't end because of the introduction of firearms - they may have catalysed the process, but the true transition occured because there was a generalized exodus from feudal castles and noble lands to the buroughs (also known as cities) (represented by the burgeouis: tradesmen, mostly). Without enough peasants, the noblemen didn't receive enough taxes and didn't have enough men in their levies to protect their 'citizens' (which only recognized these nobles as their ruler BECAUSE they could offer them protection). A citizen with a pistol fighting against a soldier with a rifle is as free as a citizen with a pitchfork fighting against a soldier with a sword - the amount of power increased on both sides of the scale. 'Non-human' predators hadn't been a real concern for several centuries by that period - getting killed by a bear or a mountain lion was a possibility, of course (as it is today), but it wasn't a major concern.
2) I never said weapons don't matter, or are unimportant. I said they aren't the greatest invention and, more importantly, that they play a lesser role in conflicts and tension between nations when compared to wealth and economy (but have a role nonetheless). I understand that civil safety and the protection of a society from itself (e.g. criminals), and the protection of the state against its citizens (in a possible rebellion or revolt), is directly related to how much power the 'opressors', the government, have, and how much power the 'opressed', the people, have. Again, this is completely unrelated to what I initially contested (that guns are the greatest inventions).
To expand on what I've said, take the Cold War. If you ask anyone who has studied it, the unanimous answer will be that it contributed to the advancement of technology at a pace unseen before. The space race, the necessity to create new technologies - initially for weapons, but afterwards converted to a more domestic and daily use (to avoid having a monetary loss, discoveries intended for military purposes were converted to domestic utility, and sold). But again, this just means that the need to improve firepower acted as a catalyst towards the improvement of technology as a whole - and this has been true before guns existed: the ability to wield fire, transitioning from wooden spearheads to stone spearheads, the manipulation of metal to make more durable and effective weapons, the several improvements in bow & arrow technology, the creation of the crossbow, catapults, tribuchets, etc.
Syria may not benefit from certain technological advances, but that doesn't mean that guns are pushing their nation towards progress. Weapons have evolved throughout mankind's history, and they changed little to nothing until nuclear warfare was discovered. And even with nuclear warfare, I'd argue the greatest inventions are derived from it (and not it by itself): nuclear energy and nuclear reactors.I state again: I never said guns are unimportant. I said that they aren't mankind's greatest invention and that there are other measures of power that matter more than how many nuclear bombs a country has.
@leimonides Developers curb their own creativity when they decide to make yet another shooter because there are hordes of people who'll take anything in that genre as long as it changes the skins on the weapons and the layout of the maps.
@maxwell97 That'd be true if you lived a few centuries (more like millenae) ago. It's been a while since raw firepower has played a larger role in a nation's safety than financial strength and alliances. If guns dictated how the world goes - and if it works how you say it does (those with the bigger guns take what they want from those with the smaller guns) - we wouldn't have 'rising' nations (BRICs) and competing nations (China, Germany, Japan) against a nation that has more firepower than the rest of the world combine (the U.S.A.).Guns didn't lead to any new discoveries. They didn't change human life significantly. They changed how warfare works, and with the introduction of nuclear weapons they created a scenario of global peace because it's better for everyone, but they didn't make any significant changes to the quality of life or break any boundaries as far as human development goes. The capacitor (or, to hit a closer note, the internet), and several other inventions, did. It's ignorant to think we still live in a society ruled by nature, where the strongest and weakest are categorized according to their weapons (or lack of thereof).
I agree with him. While there are exceptions to the usual 'violent, run of the mill' FPS game, such as Portal and even Metroid Prime, most of them are very similar - with a large emphasis on violence, little variety (usually just different weapons and scenarios) and a cinematic approach to give players an even more gruesome approach.
@Jag-T1000 I'm fairly sure he has little input in the actual development stage of the newer mario games. I believe he reviews the concept and OK's on all new games from major Nintendo franchises (Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Metroid, etc.).
@maxwell97 Really? You think -guns- are the most important invention in human history? You think that when you have a variety of things: from the wheel to the capacitor, to harnessing and using energy, and you think GUNS are the most important invention in human history?
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