Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, bi-winning, Charlie Sheen conquering new media, or discovering your Nexus S is actually a limited edition model, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
What a wonderful week for being a gamer. It’s so wonderful that I don’t know what to do. Two of my most wanted games of 2011 are out and I’m not sure which one I want to play first. In the red corner there’s Dragon Age II — the sequel to one of my favorite games this console generation and the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate (which I beat 18 times). In the blue corner there’s Pokemon White — the latest in a series of incredibly addictive RPGs with a ridiculously deep layer that most people don’t know about (so deep that I played Pokemon Pearl for more than 650 hours). I’m going to start one and give it my full attention…but which one?!? It’s time to make a LeBron James “The Decision” decision.
Big videogame releases overlap all the time, but I don’t remember the last time two games that I wanted this much were released in the same week. Has anything like that happened to you? Have you ever had to make a “The Decision” (I love using this term) about two of your most anticipated games? What were they? Which game won out? I can’t wait to hear your “The Decision” stories!
It has happened twice.
Vice City and Kingdom Hearts: bought them both at the same time
Brutal Legend and UC2: bought them both at the same time
Sometimes you just gotta splurge man.
The only game I didn't beat on that list is Vice City. It wasn't gripping me the way other entries in the series did and Kingdom Hearts was just out of nowhere amazing for me.
I'm interested in which game you chose to play first and why, not if you bought both of them. So which ones won out?
@Ray
I played VC first but quit at the dumb helicopter toy mission from the guy in the limo. I chose to play it first because honestly the trailer made me think it was going to be really special. I mainly bought Kingdom Hearts on a whim because I had extra money and Circuit City had a deal if you bought both.
Brutal Legend came before UC2. I'm a huge fan of Double Fine and Jack Black. I knew UC2 would be good, but I was honestly more excited about Brutal Legend. Psychonauts was just great, and I felt I owed it to myself to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. I loved Brutal Legend. I would have played it more than once but I loaned it out to a friend…and his back door got kicked in…and his PS3 stolen…with the disc in the PS3. Sad.
Left For Dead 2 and Assassin's Creed 2. Bought them both. I agree with Smartguy, sometimes you've just gotta save your pennies and buy them both!
I played AC2 first cause I was doing it for a review on the old site. Then the guy who was supposed to be doing L4D2 quit like 3 days after it came out without writing it and I ended up reviewing that one as well. If left to my own devices I'd have played AC2 first because I prefer action games to shooters.
::shrug::
AC: Brotherhood and Fable 3, luckily or me i got AC:B as a gift.
Well I'm not too happy with my new car. I finally managed to sell my old car, a 1993 Honda, and be left with only my 2004 Saturn (not my first choice for a car by any means, but it is 11 years newer than my old car and has less than half the mileage). I went to get its standard oil change this morning before I head up to my fiance's and found out that my shocks and struts were basically shot—which means an extra $550, after many discounts that I'm thankful for, that I wasn't really prepared to spend or have the money to spend. But it will be worth it in the long run when it saves my tires probably my suspension and whatever else would be affected by having no shocks or struts.
And this is after I took my dog to get groomed this morning too (which already has an outrageous price tag anyways) and will have to fill up with gas which is also outrageously priced at the moment. I have no problem with getting things done that need done, I just don't like getting slammed with these things all at once!
@bsu
and i thought i was having bad luck with money lately. i hope everything gets better for u.
@BSU
I have 2 dogs, and I clip them myself. That $80 pair of clippers paid for itself after one grooming each.
I hear ya about car maintenance though. So damn expensive.
@Tokz
Thanks, I'm hoping it will get a little better soon.
@Smartguy
I imagine that would pay for itself quickly especially with two dogs. That would probably pay for itself relatively quickly though, I may have to look into that route. He is pretty skiddish though when it comes to getting his hair cut so I'm a little unsure of how/where I would get used to doing that. Although, then he would look the way I want him to after each cut instead of having to have them go back and redo something.
And so much for a $20 oil change when I end up leaving with a $600 bill. Way too expensive. With as bad as the roads are around here I guess I'm not surprised I had this stuff happen to my car. Literally you could probably average a pothole or several every 50 yards all over the city. I can hardly think of an intersection or road that doesn't have some huge chunk missing in the entire city.
Woo-Hoo! I think this means that I am now the person with the oldest car on this site.
It will be 14 years in November. 201,000+ miles.
As far as your dogs go; just do what Caesar Milan does to calm dogs down during grooming and you're golden. Positive reinforcement seems to work well with dogs. … I wonder if it'll work with kids, too. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
-M
I wonder if I'm the only one without a driver's license (by choice).
What do you show when asked for ID?
I have a state ID for drinking and a passport for traveling. I actually want to get one of the new "passport cards". It's good for ID purposes, as well as traveling to Canada/Mexico. It's just rare and cool.
That guy's stuff is pretty good I think.
As far as kids go…Southpark Season 11. There is an episode where Cartman is out of control and the Dog Whisperer comes to aid. Watch it.
I have a 1995 Chevy Cavalier with over 300,000 miles on it and still going strong.
@RROD
I sold my 1993 Honda Del Sol Si with 218,000 miles and an almost perfect engine just a couple weeks ago. I loved that car, and didn't exactly sell it willingly but more because I have a newer one and needed the cash from the Honda.
@Iceman @Smartguy
I will have to look in to Cesar Milan's techniques. I've never really looked into anything like that before.
@Ray
I'm also curious what you show when asked for ID.
@rpad
did you see what happened to Shad
http://www.tmz.com/2011/03/07/shad-gaspard-arrest…
I don't think i've ever come to the point where i wanted to games at once. If i wanted two games at once i would just buy the one i would really want to play and buy the other one later at a cheaper price and when i have time to play it.
@rpad
since you will be traveling soon i think i'd be better if you start pokemon, instead of Dragon Age 2.
I can't think of a time when I have been conflicted between two games like this. Usually there is a clear cut winner, or I am fine with switching back and forth. In my case, Pokemon has won out against all other games for the past month or so at least, which is why it has been taking me so long to actually play Bayonetta. That's the only other game really on the playlist for me.
@Ray
So if I may sway you at all I would say Pokemon White all the way so we can battle and trade later. Tokz does make a good argument that you will be travelling soon, so you should go with the mobile game.
I've never bought 2 games on the same day.
Why is the WWE teasing us with The Rock and Cena when the match won't happen? All they're doing is making us forget all about The Miz. They built up Cena's response to The Rock so much that I completely forgot that Cena had a match with The Miz until The Miz came out and attacked Cena.
I was thinking about that too RROD. i think they will have to have a match but probably at SummerSlam when the Rock is done with the film he's currently working on.
I only play one game at a time for a few reasons, no matter how many new games I have unwrapped sitting on my shelf. But if I were you, I'd play them both at the same time. Just use your left hand for controlling the DS and use your right hand for the controller for Dragon Age 2. It helps if you place your thumb on the left analog stick and your pinky on the right analog stick.
-M