Messages

226

Mario Chat / Re: Which character do you think you are most like?

« on: August 03, 2006, 09:19:09 PM »

I don't know as much about these guys as most of you, but I'd have to go with "Koopa the Quick" from Super Mario 64. I'm pretty competitive, love to run, and know how to find a shortcut if I need one (on the road). I'm pretty sure this guy took one in the first level of Super Mario 64 since he disappeared from view and then winds up coming up another hill.

Also, the princess Daisy in Mario Kart Double Dash reminds me a lot of one of my friends based on her hyperactivity and expressions.

227

Mario Chat / Re: Is Game Boy dead?

« on: August 03, 2006, 09:16:15 PM »

So many people played calculator games in my school. I had a baseball game on there but like I said the majority of my memory had a periodic table on it.

So the DS isn't a Game Boy, but isn't there some other Game Boy with letters after it? (I think it's either XP or SP, but I can't remember which).

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Video Game Chat / Re: "So, all you do is play video games?"

« on: August 03, 2006, 09:09:49 PM »

I just read this incredibly long thread now, so I'll offer my take on it the best I can.

First off, the original question. I've never been asked this with one exception--late night at hotels. On a team trip or something where a bunch of guys go together, I always get a single room because of insomnia which would keep everyone else up late. (If you ever notice some of my posts come at 2:00 AM eastern time then you probably have found out I have sleeping problems). Anyway, for the past few years, I've taken my Game Cube with MLB 2004/2005 (depending on the year I went) and played baseball games at night to help me relax. I didn't want to take my laptop since it cost $1700 when I got it new in 2000 and the Game Cube was only $250 when you add the game in there too (I got the Game Cube in 2001 so I could play the then-new version of baseball).

Any time other than 11:00-2:00 AM on trips, nobody's ever asked me if I play too many video games. In fact, I often have been asked if I even own a system. I think it's because I don't talk about the games that much unless I'm talking about some baseball team I put together.

Second, the train collection issue. I actually have a wooden set of trains called "Brio" from Sweden. They used to sell them at a store called "Walden Kids" and I had a whole set when I was younger. Today I still get it out to put it under my Christmas tree. It's not one of those electric Lionel sets like my grandfather has, but it's unique. I'm not a serious train collector though I do have all the original boxes for my set. My grandfather and uncle, however, are Lionel collectors, though they don't go out of their way to get parts or anything. They just keep using the sets from when they were young every Christmas.

If you really are into trains, I suggest the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. They have a room about half the size of a gymnasium with a huge model railroad village set up, complete with lighting and sound effects. It's a truly unique exhibit for anyone, train collector or not.

And finally, about buying new systems for a game. I wanted a Game Cube baseball game for the improvement in graphics. I've found they can actually improve the graphics over time with these games. The reason I bought the Nintendo system is because nobody ever made one for my iBook. However, I've grown to like the controls of the baseball game on the Nintendo. I probably won't be buying a next generation Nintendo (it's called the Wi now, right?) unless some really cool baseball game even better than MLB 2005 comes out for it. But since E.A. Sports quit developing baseball games, I've been disappointed in not having a new one to look forward to every now and then.

I also see posts about chess and board games. I'm more a card game player myself, but I have chess on my computer and I like to play it before I have to take a huge math or science exam so I can get my brain going. Of course, I also usually have AIM in the background and will chat during my games. This might explain why I usually only win at chess 25% of the time against the computer.

229

Game Help / Re: Mario Kart Double Dash: Need help

« on: August 03, 2006, 08:56:13 PM »

Suffix, I thank you. I tried the techniques on "Sherbet Land" and it seemed to work--but only against my cousin. For some reason the racers on GP in one player mode (150cc) kept passing me! But at least I didn't hit the ice blocks.

And yes, I do agree that Double Dash skills erode. When I got the game in November 2003 I had more time to play it (my school schedule was very easy, it was November and then Christmas so I didn't have a lot of baseball-related activity going on, plus I was only 17 so my reflexes were better). But if Double Dash skills erode so quickly, why don't Mario Kart 64 skills? I got that one out after playing Double Dash today and I beat the Special Cup at 150cc and I hadn't played the game in over two months.

For the record I did do better against my cousin today, including a six game win streak in battle mode. I still got hammered on the races though.

230

Game Help / Re: Mario Kart Double Dash: Need help

« on: August 02, 2006, 11:36:06 PM »

Well, my Double Dash skills were put to the test with mixed results on Wednesday against my cousin.

A bit about my cousin: She's an 11 year old girl who loves her Game Cube. She plays it way more often than I play with mine.

Now, given the fact I'm nine years older and have owned a Nintendo system longer (I got my first one, a Nintendo 64, in 1997) one would think I would have won everything. However, I didn't do all that well on the game today and I still need some pointers. After all, I lost to an 11 year old girl many times, and for someone almost half my age to beat me shows that either I'm an embarassment or that I'm getting old and my reflexes are slowing some.

#1: I figured out the whole jump thing (or rather lack thereof) and I power slide pretty well. But the "Rainbow Road" course still causes problems for me. On the sharp turns near the beginning I keep falling off no matter how much I slide. Any suggestions on how to avoid this? Would braking help or would I fall down the incline beforehand?

#2: In "Sherbet Land", is there any good way to avoid the ice cubes with frowny faces on them? I hit about three of them in a devistating loss. Ever since I got the game I've had this problem and when I play "All Cup Tour" this one usually blows the score for me.

#3: One of the tracks I'm good at is "Bowser's Castle". Do the fireballs always come up in the same spots toward the end of this track? I know I've played this race a good bit for years, but I'm just wondering if they ever randomize.

#4: I played the "Shine Thief" game for the first time today. I noticed that the clock set to random times after someone got hit and the sun was left abandoned on the field. Do you get more time on this if you let it sit longer? And also on this game, can you bump into someone to try to steal it without using a star? (This is like how you can bump people and snag their shells).

#5: My cousin and I played against each other in December and I won most of the races. I know she's been playing it a lot and I know I'm a casual gamer who plays it maybe a few times a month, but is it possible that my skills have eroded due to age? Or has my cousin just gotten way too good at this? She claims she hasn't played this game much lately.

#6: When playing "Bomb Blast", which I hardly have ever played until now, does hitting another person always cause them to lose a point? We had a game going for about ten minutes and I don't know if we had hit each other at the same time or what, but it would keep going 1-1, 2-1, 1-1, 1-2, and so on with the score. Just curious as a relative newcomer to this game mode.

231

Mario Chat / Re: Is Game Boy dead?

« on: August 02, 2006, 11:14:47 PM »

My cousin had a Game Boy. It's one of the bright pink ones and I like to call it a "Game Girl" because it's pnk and my cousin happens to be a girl. She got hers in 2002 but I haven't seen her play it since about 2004 or so. Of course, we live about 1000 miles apart and only get to see each other twice a year. She's hopelessly addicted to Game Cube though.

I think she used to take it on car/bus trips but she got an iPod last Christmas so the Game Boy probably is gathering dust. Once she gets to eighth grade I'm sure her portable gaming will be done on a graphing calculator (unless she's like me and fills all her calculator memory with a periodic table program that really came in handy when I took chem, as I didn't have to use the paper table every time I wanted a mass).

I can't say for sure if Game Boy is dead or not. I see people with them all the time, but the age range seems to have gotten younger with them. The new fancy Game Boy with two screens seems more popular with older people though.

Mobile gaming for me was eliminated when I got a new cell phone that didn't have Blackjack on it last year. I would play Blackjack on many overnight bus trips back in the day.

232

Mario Chat / Re: How did you first hear of Mario?

« on: August 01, 2006, 09:46:05 AM »

I know how you feel when it comes to old. I missed the cutoff date for the next grade up at my school by five days. So I was pretty old (September 1986) compared to a lot of people I knew (most of whom seemed to be born in early 1987). Add on top of that all the underclassmen that I hung out with and I really showed my age.

When I was born, Barry Bonds was a rookie. Acura was in its first model year. Ronald Reagan was president, George W. Bush was 40 years old, and really nobody knew who Bill Clinton was. Music was still on cassettes and LPs for most people (I actually owned some LP albums as a kid, I played records until early 1991 when my turntable died). The internet wasn't around, people still relied on postal mail for letters, and Abercrombie & Fitch was still mostly a sporting goods store. Macy's was a relatively small company and hadn't eaten up every store chain yet. Gas could be found for under a dollar per gallon if you shopped around enough. The mullet was considered to be in fashion. And hardly anyone had a cell phone, and if they did, it looked like a brick (and sounded like a tin can).

I turn 20 in September. I miss the simpler times--even 1996 was a little better. None of this text messaging garbage that I'll never figure out, none of those silly Blue Tooth or whatever they're called sitting on people's ears and looking hideous, no Palm Pilots or devices like that cluttering things up, back when owning a 24" TV was the norm (the new ones are just too big), in the days before cars had to have dual air bags, before Barry Bonds took steroids (and he was nicer too back then, my dad met him in 1986).

There are only a few things I'd miss about today:

-AIM--it makes talking to a ton of people at the same time easy, plus it's just good to talk to people while trying to write a paper or something.
-All of Abercrombie & Fitch's recent clothing.
-The newer trance artists from Europe, especially ATB and 4 Strings.
-The Jeopardy game I have for my computer. I don't think they had one in 1986.
-My friends, who weren't born in 1986!

233

General Chat / Re: Wallpapers you have used

« on: August 01, 2006, 09:23:30 AM »

I use the same one that came loaded on my computer the day I bought it almost six years ago. It's orange and has orange balls on it. Matches the orange color of my iBook perfectly. Since I love orange I have never wanted to change it and probably never will.

234

Forum Games / Re: Ask a stupid Qusestion get a stupid answer

« on: July 31, 2006, 08:43:58 PM »

Not unless you tuppence a bag.

I'm going to keep this going. Should I go fly a kite?

235

Forum Games / Re: Ask a stupid Qusestion get a stupid answer

« on: July 31, 2006, 03:41:56 PM »

I am almost 100% positive that line is from Mary Poppins. But I see a good clear sky and a green lawn right after a few days of heavy rain once everything has cleared out.

So here's my stupid question: Is it really true that a spoonfull of sugar will help medicine go down?

236

General Chat / Re: Which of these cars would you drive?

« on: July 31, 2006, 10:10:38 AM »

Whoops, I totally forgot to put the Prius on the list of choices! With today's gas prices, so many people are looking into them. I know two people who have them and they look pretty neat. Never driven it so I don't know how it compares to a regular car, but I've heard it's just as good if not better than gas cars. Everyone who gets a Prius seems to love it. I also heard it was the best hybrid out there (there are a few others, Honda makes a few and I think Ford does too).

Yeah, I guess dating isn't 100% necessary to learn in middle school, since some people can go fine without it, but for me, I'm one of these people who loves it and saw it as one of the best new experiences of being in middle school. I prefer to know someone for a little while before going out with them though. Not a huge fan of blind dates though they can be really fun.

237

Mario Chat / Re: Funniest Moment in a Mario game?

« on: July 31, 2006, 12:33:42 AM »

For funniest moment, I'm going to have to go with the fat penguin in Super Mario 64. It just struck me as funny for some reason. By fat penguin, I am referring to the one that bulks up after you get your last star.

238

Video Game Chat / Re: Video Game Bargains

« on: July 31, 2006, 12:31:25 AM »

I usually wait a season to get my MLB games. This way it's about $20 instead of $50. I almost always get my games at Circuit City, for the record, but I have bought a few online through Amazon as well.

239

Video Game Chat / Re: Have video games ever made you cry?

« on: July 31, 2006, 12:29:35 AM »

I can't say a video game has ever made me cry.

240

Forum Games / Re: Ask a stupid Qusestion get a stupid answer

« on: July 30, 2006, 12:44:59 AM »

Considering this is directed at me, I'll answer it, probably with a lenghty response as well.

I love to write. When I get in at night and can't sleep, I write. I've written tons of short stories and have a novel (which probably needs a bit of refinement) as well. There is also a volume I wrote about a ficticious baseball team that I've worked on since 1999! I've always liked to write stories, ever since I was in kindergarten and wrote my first book.

You are not the first to say I write too much. I've always had a knack of writing more than what is required. I think it's because I care more about detail than the main idea sometimes and will go out of my way to make sure things are supported. This is true in everything for me, not just writing. When I first learned how to steal a base, the first thing I was concerned about was how to place my feet to slide. This was before the actual concept of "when you should run" was explained to me. It's even worse in video games! When I first got Mario Kart 64, the very first thing I did was read the manual, and I gravitated right to the section on items, not even looking at what button I'd need to press to make the kart accelerate, jump, or fire the turtle shell. Most people who have learned that game, at least from what they've told me, cared more about the general idea of "how do I make it go" before they cared about the speed effects of the mushrooms or something like that.

I just realized I made a mistake. In this topic I was supposed to give a stupid answer to the question that doesn't explain things correctly like mine did. In that case, I will say the stupid reason for my long posts is that I am addicted to typing and can't live without it.

So that brings me to a question. Are you addicted to anything?