"It fired off the largest gun that it is possible to make given the physical laws of the universe" - has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever read. The aliens in this book found a way to deliberately trigger a neutron star's collapse into a black hole, creating a gamma ray burst. If you've never heard of that, gamma ray bursts are the single most energetic events that scientists have ever detected in the universe second only to the big bang itself. The ones we have detected in real life we detected in other galaxies and temporarily produced more light and energy that a normal star produces over the course of its entire lifespan and does so in an instant.
It doesn't get bigger than that without crossing out of sci-fi and into fantasy. Epic!
Nintendo Switch FC: 4867-2891-2493
Switch username: Em
Discord: Heavyarms55#1475
Pokemon Go FC: 3838 2595 7596
PSN: Heavyarms55zx
So the movie was decent, but I think I prefer the animated version of The Lion King. I may be slightly biased since I've watched the original a few hundred times. I liked some of the changes, but I was VERY disappointed with Be Prepared....It felt watered down.
@Anti-Matter I mean, he's already shirtless....There isn't already gear in the game that at least comes close to kickboxer fantasies? (I'm one of the few people who hasn't played the game yet)
Currently playing: Pokemon Scarlet DLC, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch)
@ThanosReXXX - Man, before you could even type “I’m sure you can relate”, I was already relating. It was me and two brothers growing up, we also all had problems dealing with rage, and I was trying to cover up some sort of debacle well into my teens. I was also pretty truthful with my parents, but there were offenses so egregious and the truth so painful, we had to perform some sort of charade to cover it up.
Years ago I worked at a Firestone store selling tires. One day I was talking to a customer out at her car. I opened her car door to get an odometer reading, and somehow in the process of shutting the door, something hit me directly in my guy parts so hard that I couldn’t hide the pain. Right before I doubled over and made a sound similar to the first sound a baby calf makes after it’s born; I remember looking at her, and her lips were moving, but all I could hear was the ringing of pain in my ears. Doors man.
@Ryu_Niiyama (and @NEStalgia ) - Okay, I remember that time, I really must have blocked it out. The site did nosedive for a while there, but they were able to pull out of it. I cut them some slack as I just assumed they were flopping around for a while after Thomas left. It’s tough to lose a pro of that caliber. It was always a treat to sit down with some spare time and a cup of coffee and read one of his reviews, features, or soapbox pieces.
I worked my way through about 45% of a journalism degree before I switched majors, and I’ve worked freelance for newspapers and magazines. While this makes me far from an expert, I learned enough to know the only thing a journalist has is their word. It’s their livelihood, and when someone attacks that; it must be defended at all costs. I did eventually skim some of the comments in the Astral Chain review, and I felt Damo and Ant were not only within their rights to defend the product, but they kind of had to. You just can’t allow someone to flippantly throw around the accusation of unethical journalism. Say what you want about the community response, but I feel Ant and Damo had no choice but to respond to that comment.
@Ninfan - I wish I could help you, but the Gamecube is the only Nintendo home console I’ve never owned. I think I might be the single worst source on this in the entire NL community.
Sorry for interrupting any conversations, but I recently started playing Ocarina of Time for the first time (the 3DS version). I was given Zelda's Letter, which I mapped to one of the buttons. I then made the mistake of mapping a mask to the same button and now the letter has disappeared from anywhere in my inventory. Is there anyway I can get this back and if not, do I need it later in the game?
@Ryu_Niiyama That gif wasn't staged. I don't remember what it was originally called, but I labeled it "Mondays"...
On a side note: damn, woman, you've got some kind of dark sense of humor there. The first story made me feel sad, and this second story you offered, made me go oof! and ouch! Maybe if you'd see it on America's Funniest Videos, and cut off at the right moment (before the inevitable blood spray), it may have been somewhat funny, but still.
@Tyranexx Completely agreed on the kind of horror. I used to love British horror, and just about anything that Hammer Studios released. And agreed on "gore for a purpose".
By the way: there actually are some decent newer efforts of thinking man's horror movies, such as "Crimson Peak", which I watched a year or so ago. To prevent spoilers, I won't tell you anything about it, other than that it's a movie from 2015, in a kind of Victorian setting, probably as a nod to the oldies. It has a pretty decent story arc, and a good suspense build-up, and the end might actually surprise you, unless your detective/deductive skills for these kinds of movies are way above average...
@bimmy-lee But WHAT hit you in the c&b when you opened the car door? That's the mystery I'd like to get an answer to...
@Ninfan The answer to your question is yes. Accessories and console peripherals were almost never region-locked (except for the disk-system add-ons for the SNES/Famicom and N64), and seeing as a broadband adapter is nothing more than just a bog standard modem inside a plastic shell, it will work on any model GameCube.
@Matthew010 You're welcome. I suppose it was just a replaceable voucher for the mask...
Once you've read Zelda's letter, it has served it's purpose, so losing it doesn't matter.
'The console wars are like boobs: Sony and Microsoft fight over which ones look the nicest and Nintendo's are the most fun to play with.'
It was always a treat to sit down with some spare time and a cup of coffee and read one of his reviews, features, or soapbox pieces.
I feel like the way the site went after TW left... it's left it's mark, and you can't just forget it. When I see a Talking Point article now I ignore them because I just get a sense that they're a bit forced (probably not the case for all, but an initial few I looked at gave me that feeling) and sometimes just extending a baity topic because bait.
I think there was a time where I felt I could trust the quality and integrity of the site's output, and then all the affiliate link ads posing as articles and baity articles came in, breaking that trust, and it's left its mark in the form of scepticism amongst several readers it seems.
In that environment, and with the site giving Astral Chain plenty of pre-release coverage (and was it hosting Astral Chain ads too?), some readers questioning their objectivity in the review is fairly understandable.
...the only thing a journalist has is their word. It’s their livelihood, and when someone attacks that; it must be defended at all costs. I did eventually skim some of the comments in the Astral Chain review, and I felt Damo and Ant were not only within their rights to defend the product, but they kind of had to. You just can’t allow someone to flippantly throw around the accusation of unethical journalism. Say what you want about the community response, but I feel Ant and Damo had no choice but to respond to that comment.
I disagree I think, because ultimately there's no proof either way, and it just turns into a slanging match. It's not a great look when dissenting comments get rounded on, as we saw. Doesn't matter who's doing it, and in some ways it's even worse when the pros are doing it.
The site should consider putting something in their community rules about slandering their work if they want. If a user beaches that, delete the comment; if it doesn't breach, let it go. But don't fuel the fire, unless of course... any fire is a good fire in the media...
@gcunit Questioning things is fine, to some extent, and in general, you never have to take anything at face value, unless it's blindingly clear, but I draw the line at people calling reviewers liars. If someone would call me a liar to my face, he'd be eating a fist in the second that followed...
And if you put the whole Astral Chain review in the context of the rest of the world's reviews, which are also extremely positive, resulting in a 89% Metacritic score so far, then there definitely IS some proof that the review was valid and sincere, regardless of NLife having paraded around preview after preview of the game or not.
I fully agree with @bimmy-lee that Ant and Damo were well within their rights to defend their points and article, even though I do on the other hand feel that they maybe should not have let it get the better of them.
@HobbitGamer - Haha, you’re totally right. No matter the question, we know who could always provide the most useless answer. Trolling trollish trolls! They’re everywhere!
@ThanosReXXX - It was when I shut the door, and I have no idea! There was direct impact of some sort. It’s like a little gremlin was hiding in the door jam, and he gave me a hard straight right where it counts when I wasn’t looking. Some poor lady had to watch me turn red. She probably thought I was having a stroke.
@gcunit - I think you make all valid points in your response. Maybe the clickbait era had more of an effect on me than I realized, because I too don’t bother with most talking point pieces these days, nor do I look at main page comments anymore unless it’s a topic of high interest.
I don’t think a journalist should defend anything other than their integrity. I’d never go mucking around in the comments to defend my opinion. Only when my integrity is questioned would I step in, and I’d drop an absolute hammer at that point. I only skimmed the comments after the fact looking for staff responses. What I saw wasn’t out of line in my opinion. Maybe I’m not skeptical enough, but I assumed Astral Chain was getting pumped up here because it’s a Switch exclusive from Platinum that had 9/10 written all over it from the very first reveal.
@ThanosReXXX Not questioning their rights to do it, just don't think it achieves anything:
A - "Liar!"
B - "Am not!"
A- "Are so!"
B - "Am not and how dare you!"
A - "Cos you're a liar"
B - "I'll have you know that's my integrity you're questioning!"
A - "Yeh, cos you're a liar!"
It just creates a popcorn moment for the rest of us, fans the flames for those too triggered to ignore it, and both sides come off negatively.
Assuming no-one has edited their posts since, what actually happened was that A started by saying "Not sure I believe the review", which to me is a fairly mild form of calling someone a liar. B latched onto it, 'fed the troll', to which A replied "I think he's lying a bit" and it cascaded from there.
@bimmy-lee "Only when my integrity is questioned would I step in, and I’d drop an absolute hammer"
@ThanosReXXX - Ha! That’s an excellent theory I hadn’t yet considered.
@gcunit - Rage, indignation, and credentials. Have you ever seen a political or sports journalist react to their credibility being questioned? It’s a nuking. Maybe this is cultural, but I’m talking specifically about allegations of unethical journalism. I don’t think most journalists want to freak out, but what are you going to do when you post a 1,000 word piece and five minutes later someone is accusing you of payola? The journalist has to protect his integrity, and the editor needs to protect his investment. By any means necessary. Even if you turn off 100 existing readers with a response, a journalist in good standing can bring in thousands of new readers over time.
what are you going to do when you post a 1,000 word piece and five minutes later someone is accusing you of payola? The journalist has to protect his integrity,
Ignore it? Take the high ground (it worked for Obi-Wan, mostly). Arguing back (with rage and indignation of you choose) does not protect integrity, it just undermines your professionalism, in my book.
You guys had me at blood and semen.
What better way to celebrate than firing something out of the pipe?
@gcunit - Ha, good Obi Wan comparison. You’re right, that’s a reaction one could have. I think we’re talking about two sides of the same coin in this situation. You can make either play, but it’s not going to be popular with all of the readers. I personally think someone has to stick up for themselves in that specific situation. I can turn the other cheek in all kinds of situations, but not to flippant, public questioning of my ethics and integrity. Maybe in gaming journalism specifically the play is to just ignore it, but that’s only because these accusations seem to get flung about with regularity.
Forums
Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread
Posts 32,801 to 32,820 of 97,623
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic