Oihan

Say for example, something like what's seen in the anime "Patlabor" comes to bear fruit. Who's to say "a 40 ft tall anything" wouldn't be remotely useful? I never brought up anything of the sort in regards to "magically strong materials." But since you bring it up, who's to say that we won't discover something stronger than what we already have? We're constantly improving the strength of our metals and our materials...making them more durable and etc - take steel as one of many examples. As for weight, cost, money, and time...not to come across like an ass or anything but does the word "refinement" not mean anything to you? Look at the computer and the microprocessor back then compared to how they are now. As for "slow movement speed"...you don't think that by the time we actually have this technology that we wouldn't have the the ability to speed up the transformation process and or the movement of whatever it is we implement the technology in? I can't honestly imagine anyone would put out something so slow and clunky (making it like a sitting rock) with that kind of technology out in the field. It'd be like making a car with only axles and no tires or something just a stupid. It'll go...sure...but not fast...hence a reason why we have tires. ...And I never said anything about "non transforming vehicles hav[ing] received zero upgrades in the past." What I did say though (paraphrasing) was that anything that could be implemented on a dedicated fighter/tank/naval craft, to make it even better, could easily be implemented in the transforming vehicle as well. I have NOT proven that a Valkyrie is not practical. Moreover, I've been arguing with the thought that the OP was talking about the practicality of a Valkyrie regardless of what time period we are in. Mr. March had to remind me kindly (thank you very much) that the OP was talking about today's technology and today's world. Using today's technology in today's world...NO...a Valkyrie isn't practical - I'll agree and concede that much. Edit: Grammar

I obviously missed that...so I retract everything I've said. I didn't mean to incline that the naysayers didn't love Valkyries, were heretics, or anything of the sort. I was merely arguing for the practicality of it all with the future technological advances in mind. Just as you touched on though...with the advent of certain technologies brought about from (science) fiction from the past...I have some beliefs that what was dreamt about then can be made a reality in the future. I've obviously missed the part where the OP was talking about today's technology. So I have no real ground to stand on.

I'm sorry, but I have to chime back in. All of you naysayers seem to be thinking in terms of today's technology and the type of warfare today. Don't you think that by the time we are able to actually have the technology to produce things like the Valk, many...many...many....many years down the road, that they wouldn't have solved most, if not all, of these other problems you all speak of? Why is that so far fetched to think that? And I'm sure any technology that would make a dedicated aircraft all that better would be used in these Valks as well. Wouldn't it be asinine to think that they wouldn't implement the same technology in their multi-functioning machines? Macross Zero is a great example of your dedicated aircraft vs a Valk...Nora vs Shin in episode 1, anyone? With all of the maneuvers Nora was able to pull over Shin....

I still see practical purposes.... I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Well, if we're going to be talking about the not-so-distant future with our current technology then yeah it's not practical at all. But to say that it won't be practical at all in the distant future? As for all of the other variables that you bring up...I'm sure that with time we can refine whatever is that we happen to create...just as we do now.

Even if you were able to mass produce this all-in-one-does-everything-jack-of-all-trades machine to the point where it is cost effective? I mean...look at our own technology. We're always refining it and making it more cost effective...like CPUs...the gaming consoles...TVs. I'd like to think that if we had the technology to make a machine transform into various things that we'd be able to solve all of those problems you listed. We use huge cranes and other construction vehicles to construct things...and again assuming the creation of a "labor" is inevitable...why not make use of something found in Patlabor to do the work? And assuming the military hadn't already implemented the technology for their own use...I'm sure they eventually would. Look at how well the US nuclear secrets were kept. I'm sure other countries would adopt the technology as well and use it for war. Hence the need for fighting robots - should any of it ever become reality.

I don't see why it wouldn't be practical to have a variable fighter like the Valkyrie that we all know and love. If it is inevitable that we will create such machines, as seen in Patlabor for example, and say we were to come up with the technology to transform these machines into other forms....why not make one mecha that can do it all? You wouldn't have a need then to create your separate tanks, fighers, bipedal robots, and naval crafts. Just make the one and be done with it. Think of any of the "triple changers" in Transformers...like Sixshot for example. Do we not have multi-role fighter jets?

Well, the compatibility modes (including XP Mode) are the only things I can think of to help with your problem...aside from dual booting like you've suggested. Good luck.

None of the compatibility modes work? I'd suggest downloading XP Mode but you have the Home version.

Wow! That definitely looks complicated! I would be completely lost trying to get everything to come out sounding just right...etc. I must say though, I'm watching the 'Live Concert' video and I'm quite impressed. I'm liking what I'm hearing. Is there an album out?

So how exactly does this work? Does one provide just the melody and it starts singing whatever it sees fit that goes with the melody? Or does one provide the lyrics as well? I heard 'Hatsune Miku's' version of "Tenshi no Enogu." I'm inclined to believe that one provides both the lyrics and melody but I don't know. Thanks.

I'm at chapter 9, busy grinding; made about 150k gil. Any idea about just how much I should be aiming for? I only ask cause I'm not too sure how expensive it will be to upgrade the main weapons for all of my characters. Still loving this game! Thanks!

Oddly enough, I found out about his death through DeviantArt. I thoroughly enjoy his music. His passing is very saddening indeed. He will definitely be sorely missed. If none of you have already...should give " " a listen. R.I.P., Jun Seba.

I just wanted to add that I'm not a fan at all of Action RPGs. However, FFXIII is the one exception to the rule for me; I'm really enjoying the game. Looking at that list, do you guys think it would it be best to wait to upgrade the weapons till the ones you want are picked up? I know some of you have already started upgrading...but I only have 1500gil so far...so I dunno how much I'll be able to buy later on; I have kept all of my components thus far. I've finally reached the point where I can upgrade my weapons for the first time and I'm hesitant to do so.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you about the single player campaign in Halo: CE being pretty crappy. The single player campaign in that game is what convinced me to go with the Xbox over the PS2. I know a lot of other people who fell in love with the franchise because of the single player campaign. I believe it truly redefined, if you will, the FPS genre and I'm sure I'm not alone with this point of view. Now the single player campaign in Halo 2 is a different story - I couldn't get into it at all and was rather disappointed with it. I think the only saving grace was the multiplayer aspect of Halo 2. I'm also sure I'm not alone when I say that. People would be missing out playing Halo 3 without having at least played Halo: CE if you ask me.

Well, if it's like a standard traditional keyboard then I think you'd be okay with rinsing it under water. Just be sure to give it a day or two to fully dry. Otherwise, I don't know what else to tell ya.

I recommend the Cowow iAudio 7. It's a great DAP that plays just about every audio format out there (like my fav. format: FLAC) with a battery life of about 60 hours, I sh*t you not. You won't need any special software to transfer music over. Just simply copy and paste the music you want in the appropriate folder and it's there. You can browse through your music on the DAP through ID3 tags (I don't know the technical name for this browsing method) ala iPod or you can browse through your music like you would any other file on your PC. Last I checked the price of this player is $130 for the 16GB model.

If you ever played any Ninja Gaiden game for the XBox or PS and enjoyed it, you'll love Bayonetta. I've seen comparisons to God of War as well...so if GoW is up your ally this game will be too. I've already spent 36 hours on this game since it came out; it's one of the best games I've played. I've finally managed to buy just about everything I possibly can in the in-game store with plenty of halos left over. This game is pretty 'gnarly' as far as a challenge goes. It's just way too much fun! Edit: If you have both a 360 and a PS3...and intend to get this game...get it for the 360. As previously mentioned, there's some issues on the PS3 version.

I see. Well as for the Onyx Roses, it took me till about chapter II or III to realize this but you don't need to purchase them. Once Rodin makes the weapons you have them in your inventory. The weapons you see in at Gates of Hell are replicas as far as I know. As for buying techniques, if you haven't already bought any, I'd suggest picking up "Air Dodge" and (when available) "Bat Within." I can definitely see why you feel like you're just button mashing though. I'm not terribly good at timing the combos just right (for instance YYBB*B where the * is a small pause)...so I'm constantly hitting the Y button and every now and then the B button depending on how I want to finish off a series of moves. Another thing...I've noticed that whenever you're about to get hit you'll see a rose appear on your character...with the accessory I bought I'm still having a hard time trying to parry at the right moments. There's just so much going on the screen and it's happening quite fast that I rarely see the rose. I have become quite good at dodging though... Moreoever, I just beat the game about an hour ago. I thought it was a great experience overall. I'm about to play a second time through...I'm that impressed with it. According to it I beat the game in 6 hours. I have a hard time believing that though, for I've practically been playing it for two days straight - I'm on vacation right now. I know it took me about 10 hours the other day just to get to chapter IX. I wonder how it calculates that.... Anyway, I still can't seem to decide on which accessory to buy next...it takes a while to accumulate 100,000 halos. But yeah.... Edit: I just saved again and noticed that I've spent 16 hours on this game. I'm a little confused as to why the "Play History" says 6 hours though. Unless the one in front of the six is not displaying properly.... Anyway.... Also, I just learned that the "replica" weapons are there so that you can equip them both on the feet and hands at the same time...

Well, according to Metacritic, Bayonetta has been getting better reviews over all than Darksiders on the Xbox 360. I know there's some frame rate issues and loading time problems on the PS3 version...which is why it has a lower overall rating than the 360 version. mikeszekely, I find it interesting that you think DMC is better. I have two friends who love DMC and feel that Bayonetta is a much better game. I think once you get further into the game your opinion might change. As it's always said though, to each their own. As for the combat having more depth, I think the reason why people have been saying that is because of all the weapon combinations available to the user along with all of the attack combos. I managed to reach Chapter 15 and I've saved up 200,000 halos to get the accessory that I wanted: Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa. I'm getting close again to buy another though...so I'm still uncertain of which one to get next. Anyway.... As for Darksiders, I was debating between it and Bayonetta and I feel I made the right choice. Looking at the video reviews for both games...Bayonetta simply won me over.

Is there anyone else playing Bayonetta? It has received great reviews! The prologue was a bit over the top...haha. Hell, this game can be ridiculous at times with some of it's over the top action. It's a pretty fast paced game too. I've been playing the game on normal and it's quite the challenge as it is...although very rewarding! I'm not sure how many hours I've already put into this game but I've just recently reached Chapter X. I've mainly been using the Durga as my primary weapon with the Odette on the feet. I also finally have enough 100,000 halos saved up to buy an accessory...I just can't seem to figure out which one to get. Are there certain accessories I should be looking at? What weapon sets do you all use? What are your thoughts/opinions on this game?

Awesome! Thank you so much! I've always wanted to know what she was saying - I love this song. I was definitely way off base. I guess I can read Japanese better than I can hear it...and even then I can't read it all too well, haha. >_< Thanks again! Cheers! Edit: Linear notes, eh? I never thunk to look at the booklet after all these years. I need to go take a look at it...if I could only remember the safe place I keep it at.

Yeah...four hours if you rush through the game and avoid most, if not all, of the Covenant. It took a friend of mine and I six hours to get about (a little less than) half way through the game on Legendary. Moreover, Firefight adds a TON of replay value to ODST. I like Firefight more than I do Horde in GoW 2 - I believe Bungie did a better job of implementing the game mechanic. I honestly haven't had as much fun with a Halo game (since Combat Evolved) until ODST came out. I think the game is worth every penny I spent on it.

You sure have your work cut out for ya. That's cool though that you're willing to take the time to do all of that, especially if you're going to be sharing your translations with the rest of us. Cheers!

Haha. Well, if you end up sharing your translations, I'll definitely be looking foward to reading them, Gubaba!