My complaint about complaining about complaint threads.

[ruffilb]

They're TOTALLY neffing.

And with no purpose.

Just to prove I'm not neffing, here's a nice review I wrote:

Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Lucasarts/Activision

I installed this game with high hopes. The demo wasn't bad, Jedi Knight II was very entertaining in its time, and most games using the Star Wars license are either hit or miss.

JK: JA is definitely not a hit.

When you fire up the game, you're presented with a somewhat stark menu - Setup, Controls, New game, Load game. I went and immediately cranked all my settings up to full and enabled EAX, one of the showcased features of the game, and then did some keybinding. Then I promptly opted to play through almost the entire game.

Here comes the first set of technical issues: EAX, at best, is extremely buggy for this game. With EAX enabled, it was impossible to hear a single word spoken by any character. Oh well, small loss. As for AA/AF, Good luck. Instead of allowing you to cycle through 0x/2x/4x, etc, there's a slider that makes no sense whatsoever. And you can't minimize. Good job, Lucasarts.

Moving on, the actual gameplay: Dispite my bindings, unbindings, rebindings, there is NO good way to bind keys such that you can easily use your force powers in combat. When you'll need to use 6 or more abilities in a single battle, along with the standard WASD, mouselook, switching weapons, and so forth, it's impossible to bind these keys such that you can easily use the aforementioned abilities.

All of these problems existed in JKII. However, the introduction of very complex combos doesn't help the cause. By this, I mean cool moves such as jumping over your enemy's head, stabbing them, and landing behind them, or running along a wall while performing a saber slash. These combos are very visually appealing, and useful. However, every single one of them is plauged by one or both of these problems: The combos are either too easy or too difficult to pull off. For example, the " jumping over your enemy's head, stabbing them, and landing behind them " combo is absurdly easy to pull off, but at the same time, won't always work when you need it to. This means that while sometimes when you mean to just jump up and slash an enemy, you'll find your character doing an absurd slomo move over an imaginary enemy. Other times, when you need to pull off this combo to flip over an enemy jedi, you'll just end up jumping on their head and stunning them like Mario jumps on a Goomba, which you'll later find is often the best way to kill an enemy. Cool moves, while highly promoted, are definitely not everything.

This would be tolerable, except for the fact that it's the good news. The plot is a complete cookie-cutter waste of time - complete inane missions (to gain skills using an undeveloped and occasionally frustrating RPG-esque system) always involving killing hundreds and hundreds (literally) of stormtroopers/thugs/droids that get sliced up like butter in room after room after room of 10 enemies + turret/healthpack/bonus/objective. The level design is tedious and contrived. Also, on one level, they manage to rip off of Dune (Big "Sand Burrowers" - sandworms with pointy teeth exactly as described in the books) and Star trek (Acceleration compesators? PLEASE!). In a later level, they steal a concept from a short story called "The Most Dangerous Game". I don't think they meant it to be funny, but I laughed longer at that than I did at all of the in-game wisecracks put together. As for the repetitive levels - if you're lucky, you'll get to save some prisoners, fight a boss, or wander around on hoth for 2 hours. Eventually, you get to *GASP* kill a few evil-jedi-things that can be killed with a few cheap tricks. Your sidekick/competitor is so annoying you want to kill him. The voice acting for Luke is so bad it makes you want to kill HIM. Everyone's feet float 1" off the floor during cutscenes and 6" off the floor in normal play. The textures are EXACTLY the same as the ones from JKII. The force powers are basically the same (They added two minor ones, that's it). The weapons are also the same. Even some of the missions FEEL the same, only much more lifeless. The fact that you can SELECT which missions you go on means that rarely do they have any actual content pertaining to the plot. You usually get plot information later, from a poorly dubbed episode with either Kyle - The hero from JKI & II, or Luke - Or his voice-actor wannabe. Furthurmore, you create your character in JK:JA. This would be good (Like in KOTOR) if there were a wide range of selection options. However, there are only 2 or three faces for each race/gender combo, only two or three torsos, only 2 or three pants, and they're all as undetailed as an old game for the NES. I'd much rather play with an old but correctly modeled, scripted, and voice-acted character with some history behind them. I'm not sure, but I'm almost 100% positive that they picked a name that could be a boy or a girl - to make the job that much easier.

However, there are some good bits. Sometimes (rarely) you're fighting lots of enemies and it feels like you're wading your way through an epic battle, or you're fighting a jedi and it feels like a duel, not a button-mashing fest. There are few things more fun than a good fight in this game, but they are few and far between. The puzzles are either good or bad, depending on your view. They eat up lots of time, but can be frustrating when you need to notice a tiny hole in a gigantic plain through which to drop. Mostly, the actual doing, not the setup, not the troubleshooting, not the plot, is what's so fun, and mostly, it's what you make of it. The game can be ABSURDLY easy if you just cheap your way through it (nade jedis from far away so they don't see it coming and get owned, snipe off all the stormtroopers and not fight them with your lightsaber, button-mash instead of using your cool moves as inteded) although not as much fun. One thing's for sure, I doubt you'll find yourself zipping through the levels to get through the plot. The saber styles can be tricky to master - 3 styles, light, medium, and strong, all have different techniques and combos. However, unless you bind it to yet another easy to reach key, you won't find yourself switching styles in the middle of a heated battle, and most foes can be defeated by just mashing your attack power and slash.

In conclusion, this game would benefit greatly from an infusion of varied enemy types, a more intuitive interface and control system, better all around cutscenes/acting/scripting, and better level/character design to stop the repetition.

However, don't let the problems scare you off. Although it's a very bad thing that you have to change your playing style not because of ability or plot, but rather simple keyboard mechanics, the concept is great. If you're a big JK fan, you'll probably be a tad disappointed, as I was, but you'll get used to the problems and start seeing the game as it was meant to be. The game has the fighting, aside from the other things masking its glory, down pat. If it could stick to fighting groups of varied foes in varied environments that are plot-related, the game would be much improved, but the environments continuously progress in terms of complexity and if you play it right, the game becomes fun. It's not Halo fun or Half-Life fun, but it's fun nonetheless.

I will pass no judgement on the engine, or the multiplayer. I haven't played the multiplayer, and with a 6800GT SLI rig, you can't go wrong on a year-old game.

Bottom line: Somewhat overhyped and contrived game can get repetitive, but can also be lots and lots of fun. If you enjoy the genre and need something to do on a weekend, it's a good game for the price - a mere 20$ now.

Overall:
Gameplay:
Singleplayer: 7/10
Multiplayer: X/10
Audio/Video: 7.5/10
Audio:7/10
Video:8/10
Replayability/Value: (Game cost being 20$...)
Singleplayer: 8.2/10
Multiplayer: X/10
Nudge (Like Gamespot's "Tilt"): 8.5/10

Review will be done tomorrow when I've had a chance to play the multi-player in depth.

That's all.

Another interesting question is: Where is the line drawn between neff and non-neff concepts/threads/ideas. Does the mere mention of a neff outweigh the actual concept, instead of vice-versa? Does user-status play a roll in mod decision?

~Ruff_ilb

 

[deftron]

ypu fprgpt cliffs

 

[SilentZero]

BAN! You are fueling the chaos!

 

[ruffilb]

Originally posted by: deftron
ypu fprgpt cliffs

No, I didn't I'll bold them for you.

 

[ruffilb]

I should also add:

As poorly qualified as I am to embrace diversity, I hope you will bear with me while I begin this sincere and earnest attempt. And please don't get mad with me if, in doing so, I must throw down the gauntlet and challenge Those That Complain's functionaries to hammer out solutions on the anvil of discourse. With this letter, I hope to oppose evil wherever it rears its devious head. But first, I would like to make the following introductory remark: Every time it utters or writes a statement that supports conformism -- even indirectly -- it sends a message that it can absorb mana by devouring its nemeses' brains. I truly think we mustn't let it make such statements, partly because it's a sad world where bitter anarchists have the power to spit in the face of propriety, but primarily because its readiness to call me feeble-minded has to be the most egregious example imaginable of the pot calling the kettle black. If you don't believe me, see for yourself. How I pity Those That Complain if I were to be its judge. I would start by notifying the jury that with all their sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, Those That Complain's ideologies are utterly obtrusive. Regular readers of my letters probably take that for granted, but if I am to restore the traditions that Those That Complain has abandoned, I must explain to the population at large that there may be absolutely nothing we can do to prevent Those That Complain from making good on its word to twist the history, sociology, and anthropology disseminated by our mass media and in our children's textbooks. When we compare this disturbing conclusion to the comforting picture purveyed by its pals, we experience psychological stress or "cognitive dissonance". Our only recourse is to follow knowledge like a sinking star beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Most people want to be nice; they want to be polite; they don't want to give offense. And because of this inherent politeness, they step aside and let Those That Complain push our efforts two steps backward. What does Those That Complain have to say about all of this? The answer, as expected, is nothing. For those who need very specific examples in order to grasp the significance of Those That Complain's slurs, I'll give a very specific example: Think for a moment about the way that Those That Complain does, occasionally, make a valid point. But when it says that people are pawns to be used and manipulated, that's where the facts end and the ludicrousness begins. If I withheld my feelings on this matter, I'd be no less flippant than Those That Complain.

Despite what you may have been taught in school, Those That Complain's henchmen actually believe the bunkum they're always mouthing. That's because these kinds of hostile couch potatoes are idealistic, have no sense of history or human nature, and they think that what they're doing will somehow improve the world sooner than you think. In reality, of course, Those That Complain is capable of only two things, namely whining and underhanded tricks. The baneful nature of Those That Complain's prognoses is not just a rumor. It is a fact to which I can testify. Of perhaps even more concern is that it's easy enough to hate Those That Complain any day of the week on general principles. But now I'll tell you about some very specific things that Those That Complain is up to, things that ought to make a real Those That Complain-hater out of you. First off, I am certain that if I asked the next person I meet if he would want Those That Complain to borrow money and spend it on programs that twist the truth, he would say no. Yet we all stand idly by while Those That Complain claims that it is better that a hundred thousand people should perish than that it should be even slightly inconvenienced.

Now, it is not my purpose to suggest that I am tired of listening to Those That Complain's deceitful bilge, but rather to act as a positive role model for younger people. Even giving Those That Complain the benefit of the doubt, I am not trying to save the world -- I gave up that pursuit a long time ago. But I am trying to provide an atmosphere of mutual respect, free from barbarism, sectarianism, and all other forms of prejudice and intolerance. To say otherwise would be drugged-out. Are Those That Complain's treatises good for the country? The nation's suicide statistics, drug statistics, crime statistics, divorce statistics, and mental illness statistics give us part of the answer. These statistics should make it clear that it should learn to appreciate what it has instead of feeling so oppressed because it can't do everything it wants, every time it wants to.

What is happening between Those That Complain's faithfuls and us is not a debate. It is not a friendly disagreement between enlightened people. It is a pompous, incomprehensible attack on our most cherished institutions. Clearly, once people obtain the critical skills that enable them to think and reflect and speculate independently, they'll realize that I, not being one of the many misinformed televangelists of this world, am horrified by Those That Complain's devotion to the idea of a benevolent dictatorship of a self-appointed elite. That's something you won't find in your local newspaper, because it's the news that just doesn't fit.

Need I point out that Those That Complain's arguments don't even prove its point? I'm inclined to think that Those That Complain's perversions symbolize lawlessness, violence, and misguided rebellion -- extreme liberty for a few, even if the rest of us lose more than a little freedom. If you want a better opportunity to get a job, raise a family in a safe neighborhood, have a better chance at a good education, and lower the taxes on the money you earn, then I ask that you help me help people see Those That Complain's shameless, depraved belief systems for what they are. Throughout history, there has been a clash between those who wish to build a better world, a cleaner world, a safer world, and a saner world and those who wish to stand in the way of progress. Naturally, Those That Complain belongs to the latter category. I really can't stress this enough, but if Those That Complain wants to be taken seriously, it should counter the arguments in this letter with facts, not illogical panaceas, personal anecdotes, or insults.

Those That Complain commonly appoints ineffective people to important positions. It then ensures that these people stay in those positions, because that makes it easy for Those That Complain to create a world without history, without philosophy, without science, without reason -- a world without beauty of any kind, without art, without literature, without culture. Unless we contribute to the intellectual and spiritual health of the body politic, our whole social structure will gradually disintegrate and crumble into ruins.

Like I said, Those That Complain can't, for the life of it, understand why anyone would prefer so much as one minute of solitude to the company of an unstable gang of grotesque malodorous-types. And here, I feel, lies a clue to the intellectual vacuum so gapingly apparent in Those That Complain's notions. I decidedly wouldn't want to fight with spiritual weapons that are as dissolute as they are disreputable. I would, on the other hand, love to direct your attention in some detail to the vast and irreparable calamity brought upon us by Those That Complain. But, hey, I'm already doing that with this letter.

You can assume serious trouble is brewing when the worst types of debauched, disaffected urban guerrillas there are trick us into trading freedom for serfdom. Sounds pretty pestilential, doesn't it? But is it any more so than Those That Complain's pesky, pigheaded claims? To put a little finer edge on the concept, Those That Complain runs at the first sign of trouble. End of story. Actually, I should add that it just reported that ostentatious ideologues have dramatically lower incidences of cancer, heart attacks, heart disease, and many other illnesses than the rest of us. Do you think that that's merely sloppy reporting on Those That Complain's part? I don't. I think that it's a deliberate attempt to rewrite history to reflect or magnify an imaginary "victimhood". Consider the following, which I'll address in greater detail later: Those That Complain thinks it would be a great idea to spoil the whole Zen Buddhist New Age mystical rock-worshipping aura of our body chakras. Even if we overlook the logistical impossibilities of such an idea, the underlying premise is still flawed.

I plan to work within the system to persuade my fellow citizens that I am doubtlessly not ashamed to admit that shooting one's mouth off in a public forum on the basis of flimsy facts is neither prudent nor smart, not because I lack the courage for more drastic steps, but because if I try really, really hard, I can almost see why Those That Complain would want to stonewall on issues in which taxpayers see a vital public interest. I unmistakably feel that Those That Complain has insulted everyone with even the slightest moral commitment. It obviously has none, or it wouldn't project a stream of soulless images of death, sex, disaster, material goods, celebrities, and other fixtures in a mock-Olympian firmament. Those That Complain believes that it's okay to conceal information and, occasionally, blatantly lie. That's just wrong. It further believes that space aliens are out to lay eggs in our innards or ooze their alien hell-slime all over us. Wrong again! And that's it. I must surely add my voice to the chorus of those who provide a trenchant analysis of Those That Complain's disquisitions.

Cliffs

 

[TWills]

I cnat read tat Much 🙁