AliasTheory

YES! I got the game. I'm going to run through campaign before anything else though. Surprised at no post here today. I won't be playing this until the weekend, which is when I'll finally get settled.

<----- BACKWARD ============================ Chapter 3: Enclave Escape! ============================ “There’s the damn exit. Haul some a**!” With assault rifle in tight grip and a holstered but loaded pistol, it is a mad dash for the door. Jericho leads the way with the rest of us in tow. The entire base is flashing bright orange, not too unlike a large fire would give off, and the cavernous, rocky ceiling is beginning to crumble under its own might. The world is now beginning to turn on its side and collapses around us; even the resilient floor is slowly deforming into its own twisted shapes. Dust, coffee mugs, boxes of ammo and months of research papers fly wildly around the hallway; hailstorms of rocky shards begin to rain from above and shatter at our aching feet. In midst of the chaos however, is a metal, glowing, neon-blue door: the light at the end of the tunnel. And there’s nobody to stop us in here either; the Enclave has vanished into thin air thanks to someone’s new toy. “Hurry up! Go, go, go!” That was Jericho again. Suddenly, the blue light fades from the door and it locks shut, but Jericho quickly changes that by firing the mysterious rifle once again. What was once a thick, alloy entrance is obliterated in a blinding flash, and freedom finally feels near. Freedom…never did I think of the Capital Wasteland as freedom. Absorbed in my thoughts, my legs suddenly start to shut down as I fall behind my friends. Such irony gives me a strange sensation of bliss, but it quickly wanes as I stumble over my own feet. My face meets the cold, hard floor, and the creaking footsteps of 8 other feet continue onward. “Hey kid! What the h*** are you doing! Get up!” Snapping out of my daydream, I begin to rise to my feet. But something catches my eye in the giant mass of falling objects in front of me; it is so shiny and peculiar I instinctively lash out and snatch it. “What the…hey you f***ing idiot! I didn’t save your sorry a** for nothing! Drop that piece of s***! We needa go!” Jericho’s really mad now. “No! Just hold up for a sec!” That “it” is a small glowing metal box that is etched with a familiar set of words spoken by someone now in the past. “Project Purity,” it reads. The strange cube fits neatly in my side pocket. Could this be fate? Putting that aside, I pick up my gun and dash towards the doorway, where everyone is waiting up for me. I get a lot of strange looks from my four friends, but I assure them I'm okay. We aren’t out of this yet. Running for our lives, we sprint across the open field under bright moonlight, surrounded by armed Enclave troops. The overgrown grass scratches at my toes and gravel pinches at my bare skin. Shots of plasma whiz past us, but we remain unflinched by the Enclave’s attempts as everyone sprays bullets at the devils on the move. A symphony of shouts and screams fill the cool, night air. Suffering. Death. And then…the heavens begin their reign of terror. Glancing behind me, I see a large, cylindrical object descending from the dark clouds. An orbital strike. “Where did that come from!?” I think aloud. “No wa-” http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1284410897.png In mere seconds follows an earth-shattering explosion that is enough to rattle the stars, knocking the Enclave soldiers we had just passed right off their feet. I can feel the warmth even from dozens of yards away, and the deafening roar of the blast drains out all sound from the world. I turn back out to the open Wasteland. Departing Enclave Vertibirds spontaneously catch fire and begin to spin out of control, like a bird’s first flight. That is when I notice the propellers begin to detach themselves from their rightful owners. A whirlwind of death is heading right towards me…no, not me but…! “Jericho!” I scream. “Look out!” I can barely hear myself. The spinning blade of death shrieks past him and barely misses his shoulder as he dives forward, smashing into the rock behind me in a shower of sparks. It splits into two, and flies off into the darkness of the night. The world begins to stop pulsing and slows back down. The havoc of the Vertibird crashes come into focus. Everyone’s tired voices are audible again. With a sigh of relief, I dare to turn my head around once again. The chaos is over; the reign of terror has ended. There is only death and destruction behind us, but we have been spared. Everyone stops to take a quick breather. “Let’s just get the f*** out of here,” Jericho says, fighting for air. I wipe the sweat from my brow. “Yeah…and you still have to tell me everything.” “I’ll tell you in a bit, kid. Let the old man catch his breath.” FORWARD ---->

And I have one. :D (Sorry to brag.) I own an M11x and it works great. Probably the best money I've ever invested in a laptop. Lots of power for its size and is a very cool laptop temperature wise. When I hook it up to an external monitor, it stays at moderate temperatures the entire time and barely even gets warm. One of the best aspects is that the touchpad works so incredibly well. I've never had a problem with it being unresponsive or acting funny with my fingers, even when they are a bit wet. Biggest issue is that the screen is impossibly hard to keep clean and always got to wipe it. Thought of buying a protector to prevent the dust collection and glare, but I'm getting by. I'm playing Fallout 3 with 4x antialiasing and near max settings plus double sized textures. Working just fine with my modified Fallout.ini. And I'm running on a duo processor, non overclocked. High framerates all day.

Oh, speaking of cats with odd coloration I am reminded of my aunt's cat... My aunt's cat has a grey hair color with one white haired leg. The cat strangely enjoys water. Once this guy jumped in my toilet and into the sink. Therefore, the only way to manage this was to keep him away from sinks and close the toilet and bathroom door all the time. He also enjoys being with my dog since my family "cat-sits" him a good deal. Often came to visit me when I was sleeping and bit me for attention (refill my water/food tray please!)

You mean Link, the hero of time/twilight/great sea and all that good stuff, right? :P Nah, I dunno. But a princess that can shoot a dark lord off an evil steed with a magical arrow is a-okay in my book. Master Chief, as much as I like Halo, isn't in my book. He is an emotionless character whose face the player never sees. The only truly awesome thing about him is that he kicks alien arse without breaking a sweat. Besides all the classics... Sol Badguy from Guilty Gear is cool. Why? In a nutshell: "I've been thrust into an alternate version of the past and need to fight an alternate incarnate of myself...killing myself in the past could create an unexpected time paradox, but F**K that! Nobody is stronger than me." Ezio AC2 is great. Better than Altair from AC1, who was just a shallow character who was a killing machine. Ezio is a lot more human and changes with time. Solid Snake. One man army. Saved the world a buncha times. Genius level IQ. Bad ass voice that is somewhat easy to replicate (David Hayner) but who cares? And broken as heck in Smash Bros. Brawl. Don't forget the cardboard box and the many fourth wall references in Metal Gear as well.

Yeah. It has to be hard; a pet effectively becomes part of your family. Having a pet also means being ready when he or she has to go. I'll be so sad when that day comes for me. And to me plus some others I know, the only way to mitigate that pain is to get a new pet.

I've been to Japan; very different place but very fun. Went there to play music with some fellow students at an all girls school. My little Japanese knowledge did help me, and thankfully I was able to get my order number at a restaurant. (My friend also barfed at that same restaurant and I had to apologize.) The people in Japan are incredibly kind and do have many western style things (such as toilets) available to use. Might I also add these toilets are a bit special; they spray warm water. If you don't know, guess where. Things are relatively tourist friendly I'd say. Most Japanese restaurants are known for their plastic food replicas. Menus are also laid out for people and workers understand you if you simply point at what you want. Did that at a McDonalds; all the food was under a thin glass at the front. Everything is very visual. Also, serving portions are indeed really small. What is medium in the US is large there. I couldn't imagine their hamburgers any smaller, and I was wrong. I visited several famous monuments and went to Akihabara. Awesome. Would go back again.

Is your reference to the car door a reference to my post? If so, cool it. It seems some pretty bad things have happened to you, but don't go telling me getting slammed in a car door isn't anything at all. I'm just trying to make someone feel a little better here. Just want to get that out of the way.

I think I've read something like this before. Interesting. Reminds me of the whole "what of the zombie apocalypse happened today?" IMO, if it happened, it would depend on the type of zombies we're talking about. Left 4 Dead zombies: Humans win. These guys just talk about brains and stuff all day, and can't distinguish between a tree branch and a chainsaw. Resident Evil 5 zombies: Zombies likely to win. These guys can actually fight and use guns. Though in this case, they aren't really zombies; they are infected. In short, they actually can think.

Yeah, probably not...the chocolate-like color of this dog is kind of uncommon. I've seen the color on a few other dogs, but maybe like one or two. This breed of dog is also not the most intelligent, I'm sorry to say. She loves attention and is kind of spoiled...will always ask for belly-rubs. During my summer vacation my parents worked while I stayed at home and basically lived alone. I used to open my home's sliding door and she would go bananas and start barking at this tiny lizard that visited nearly every day. (I'm sure if I was that lizard, I would be getting a kick out of the mad barking too. :P) And likes to sleep on my pillow. I have dozens of pictures like this lying around, but I took this one off my fridge because it looks the most natural.

'kay. :D Gotta go eat dinner...

Goin' down people. I win. :down:

Borderlands is an easy and unbalanced game as long as you have a good Double Anarchy. The end. Seriously though, YES! Claptraps are awesome. Can't wait. By the way guys, you know what's pretty funny? I once did research on interplanetary space travel for a project. Google "interplanetary" and check the entries below. Borderlands FTW.

No problem. But time heals all wounds...except for lost limbs, I guess. Just don't let it control you. I once worked with two guys who loved to make game sprites. They claimed to be twin brothers, but the father died when they were young and then the mother died of breast cancer. I told them that their mother probably wouldn't want them to be burdened by her death, but after an abrupt "farewell," now they are gone. Haven't talked since. I wish I could just talk to them casually again. You know...you and your female friend remind me of myself in a way. I had a similar relationship like what I believe you have here. She and I were childhood friends, like a lot of my old elementary school buddies. Eventually we had to go our separate ways when middle school began, and I never saw her since. I grew up to be someone entirely different than I was before - selfless and kindhearted. Before I was a liar, a cheater and an arrogant person. She also moved several times. Now, over half a decade later, I get a blast from the past with a graduation picture and letter from her and I see everyone again; even my elementary school friends remember me. And her...she decides to go to UCLA, but had actually considered the same college I had chosen. Almost a decade later, we could have crossed paths again. It would be like losing someone you really cared about, and then getting him/her back. Ahh, how I ramble.

I have a Shih Tzu (no long hair, four years.) Her name is Joie, a french name. She recently became flea free. A friend of a friend had a dog with fleas. Fleas got passed on to a friend's house cat. My family had to watch the same cat, and that is how it began. ;) Almost had to bomb the house if you know what I mean. Good topic though...I've got to grab a camera! [EDIT] Here, got it. I just remembered that the groomers for my dog (a young Japanese couple) like to take pictures each visit. They really love their job. This one was around four months ago. http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3836/joie.png I'll miss my dog. And lovebird. No pets except fish in college.

Commented in the painful moment topic, on your profile and now here. That is a great piece of work. Nobody could have said it better: the best words always come from the heart. Good use of repetition; it can be a very powerful tool in writing. :)

I edited it and added a bit more for you people to laugh at me. :P Life does suck at times. Maybe I'll post more later...

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm guessing your friend can't much older than you, right? For some...life is just far too short. Let's lighten the topic though. Painful things that have happened to me: Physically: - Getting a Gamecube controller chucked at my face. Those things are so freaking durable. - Slamming my big toe in the car door. - Slamming my hand in the car door. - Rode a bike, hit a bump, handle twisted basically 90 degrees. I fell on top of it. With my stomach. - Got run over by a golf cart. By my best friend. - Kicked a hard piece of coral while swimming. Was stuck in me for weeks. - Cut my finger with a kitchen scissors. Mentally, I have had a lot of painful things happen to me. I won't say everything, but a good friend of mine almost committed suicide by jumping off a library building in New York City. He was often bullied and took up karate spontaneously; I believe it was a way to defend himself, or at least have the feeling of being able to. I've never talked to him for two years now. I also have only one grandparent left, and I've watched them all die at bedside. And most of my other relatives are old and dying. I went to visit my aunt today (who is doing better, but can't even feed herself.) I hate being in those carehomes...I hate to just watch people simply exist, not live. It's like they are just waiting to die...

True, unfortunately. I proud to say I'm not part of those "haters." And state, please. D:

The chopstick thing isn't a big deal, really. It is the sunburnt people that really ticks locals off, especially. If you get all burnt up, expect people to be giggling behind your back for the rest of the week. Hawaii is depicted as pure paradise in a lot of cases, but just like every other country out there, we have our own culture with our own unique set of problems. This is one of them.

What in the world...I can't believe ANYONE would do that. I'm shocked that someone would be that disrespectful. @Balagor: Thanks. I really thought this topic wasn't going to be a flop. Quick version of my side of the story: In my case though...local Hawaii people scoff at the American stereotype in general and tourists' ignorance towards our culture. We often use chopsticks with our plate lunches and local-style food; they don't even bother with our delicacies most of the time. They use forks (though yes, picking up rice takes some time and experience.) Tourists also flow in dressed in crazily colorful floral printed shirts, and honestly, nobody dresses like that around here. Crazily colorful meaning a rainbow of colors. They come into a store with lots of leis on and in khaki shorts. (Don't forget the rubbah slippah.) At the beach, it is much worse. Locals laugh upon seeing an obese, Caucasian man on the beach completely red and burnt to a crisp, and those not knowing how to deal with man-o-war stings or vana (Hawaiian sea urchins.) That there, is the stereotypical image of the Hawaiian or tropical tourist. It is unfortunate that these people will never really begin to blend in with the local population. They are mocked at for being different, and when they try to fit in, they do a terrible job and are mocked at anyway.

Whew, wrote that baby up in 2 in the morning. And did a quick edit at the Jericho introduction, 'cause something bugged me about it. ;) And Deus Ex Machina. I want to play with Jericho's character a bit but I have a back story on why I chose him. Also thought it would be interesting to see him in a Raven Rock type setting. And for the first time, I tried a bit of humor. Oh, and wewt for rushed ending. >_< \/

<----- BACKWARD ============================ Chapter 2: Blood, Sweat and Tears ============================ http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1284192778.png Five minutes have passed. The cell is becoming already unbearably hot; two more minutes until the cell hits lethal temperatures. Even in my intense rage I’m not strong enough; the strength is being drained out of my body and I’m reduced back down to the hot, metal floor. With my hands on my knees, I gaze down at my feet. My leather boots are slowly peeling away and dissipating into the blaze. Glancing over to my teammates, I see something I have never seen through all my travels with them: tears. Tears of sadness begin to flow from their eyes, the water vaporizing on contact below. Overflowing with emotion, I touch my cheek and try to feel for my own tears. …but where are they? Can it be? Had I really wasted so much of my breath on Autumn that I can’t even have a decent cry with my family? We’ve gotten out of some sticky situations out in the Capital Wasteland, but it seems we are utterly trapped once and for all. "Time's almost up, boy. You have a mere two minutes left. I suggest you hurry,” the Colonel reminds me. “Shut up.” Colonel Autumn only laughs again. Heat waves begin to distort my vision, and even Colonel Autumn’s evil face is only a blur. Or is it just the heat? Everything is beginning to fade away. Looking around the room a last time, it’s true: there doesn’t seem like there is any easy way out of this. The only things within my reach are the hard, metal wall plates behind me and the grated floor. And I can’t possibly try to lie about the code; I don’t even know how many letters or numbers it could be. One simple act of dishonesty would be punished with a longer and more painful death. All hope seems to be lost. There’s nothing I can do. But then I hear something ringing down those long and winding halls: voices. Voices of death. Deus Ex Machina…could it be? Everyone in the room turns towards the door. An Enclave helmet rolls by, and both the door guard and Autumn redirect their attention to it. Seeing such an oddity obviously intrigues me as well; I squint and get my face as close as possible to the energy barrier for a better view. Suddenly, the guard at the door violently explodes into a bloody eyeball-strewn paste, guts and all, right in front of me. The wall of energy has been splattered with red, and I jerk back in surprise. As it begins to clear, it reveals someone who I hadn’t seen in a long time; someone who I had not seen in almost a year. “What the hell? JERICHO? Why are YOU here!?” I just couldn’t believe it. But Jericho doesn’t respond. He’s looking straight at Autumn through a weapon I had never even seen before. For the first time, I see fear in Autumn's eyes; his finger is frozen solid on the trigger. And Jericho doesn’t even give the Colonel another blink of an eye. “F*** you!” I cover my eyes. In a blinding flash, Colonel Autumn’s life comes to an end. When the light clears, his remains are nowhere to be seen. “Jericho!” “Hey kid! How the h*** do I get you out!?” “Check the guard at the door!” “Yeah, what guar- oh god damn it…!” Jericho fumbles with the bloody remains of the devil-man to find a small, cylindrical switch on the floor. With a click of the red button, the fire below us immediately stops and the cell wall powers down. Relief at last. There is not time to waste. Pulling out my hidden knife again, I begin to cut away at the ropes that bind my teammates. But we’re a bit too tired to smile, unfortunately. “Jericho…how did you know? About all of us?” “It’s a long story. But we’ve got to make like a tree and get the f*** out of here! This place is going to h*** in a few minutes!” “That’s just great…” I utter sarcastically. “Well, you better hurry the f*** up kid, ‘cause I ain’t got all day. And all of your guys’ crap is in the room right across from this s***hole.” “Got it, got it.” It isn’t before long when we find our stuff locked up in another room. Everything, including our guns, are intact; perhaps the Enclave was planning to do a little research on our weaponary. With a shot of morphine, everyone is up and running again. We’re getting out of here. FORWARD ---->

Here's my first real topic ever on these forums. If you haven't checked my profile, I live in Honolulu, Hawaii. I am constantly surrounded by tourists who visit for leisure; whether I am at Waikiki Beach with a bunch of surfers or at Ala Moana (the biggest shopping mall here,) there are always these people walking around. People from all over the world come to visit where I live. They stick out like a sore thumb, and automatically, us locals begin to express dislike to them...no matter what they try to do to prevent it. There are even types of shirts many here specifically label as "tourist shirts." I'm sure everyone has seen tourists in his/her country or home area at some point or another, and may feel the same. But the question is...why? Why do we find these people so unlikable? Is it simply because these people are different than what we are used to, or more? And what is your image of "the tourist?" I have deeply thought about this a long time ago and have my own reasons for why I and many others dislike the person we label as "the tourist." But seeing how this is indeed the Internet, I want to see what others think.

I just want to add something on here... Like WizardofAtlantis said, custom game content is really becoming the way of the future. If you don't own a gaming quality PC, try your hand with some console game creativity. I personally like Halo 3's Forge and can't wait for Halo Reach to do the same. If I had a PS3 or PSP, I would be playing LittleBigPlanet. Then gather around, share with friends and enjoy the fun. As a competitive gamer, I tend to stick with certain games and try to become better, like a sport. But not everyone is that way, and user-created content for certain titles (such as Bethesda's TESIV and Fallout 3) is always continually flowing. [EDIT] My recommendations for some less obvious games: -Shadow Complex. Amazing downloadable game; basically the classic Metroid games with a different coat of paint. The gameplay is solid and gorgeous environments. There are also some really dynamic gameplay elements that have been added and differ from that classic game you know and love. Turrets are seldom used and pop you into a 3d shooter kind of mode (no 2D side scrolling here!) and the camera captures close-up angles when it comes to melee attacks. Best of all, there are multiple endings to the game and there are ways to sequence break it if you know how. -Blazblue Continuum Shift is probably my favorite fighter (unless you count the Smash Bros. series as one.) Unlike Super Street Fighter IV, the cast is varied, well designed and flourishing with personality like Guilty Gear's. The game just seems to excel as a whole. All music is worth a listen outside the game and the environments are colorful and vivid. Also, best English dubbing from a Japanese game I've ever heard since Tales of the Abyss. Everything about it is good gameplay wise (though unforgiving for newbies,) and I understand many may disagree with the lengthy, confusing and wordy storyline. Not to mention it isn't the best written. But still, one of my favorite games on the market now. -Bayonetta is a ridiculously over the top hack n' slash game that is quite absurd in many ways, though the game does realize it. (It also makes a lot of guest references!) The action scenes could be basically non-existent; the flashiest parts of the game are arguably the gameplay itself. I would say it is more forgiving than Devil May Cry and definitely more than Ninja Gaiden. It is very easy to jump into and tough the master. I was really turned off at first by how absurd the game seemed (I mean...witch whose suit is made out of her own hair, wtf mate?) I learned to overcome it and loved it. Replayability is questionable, but it is a high quality experience. -Castle Crashers is another game with a bit of ridiculousness involved and recently came out for the PS3. I wouldn't get it without some friends to play with, but undoubtedly one of the best arcade experiences out there. Hand-drawn environments for everything; colorful and animated. The soundtrack is amazing; all music is composed from many talented artists from over at Newgrounds.com. Tons of unlockable characters (that unfortunately are not that much different,) but adds to the replayability. Like some of our older games out there, the levels are simply memorable and worth playing again. Note: I have to disagree about Just Cause 2 for console...get the PC version if you can for mods. Just Cause 2 gets redundant after a while, but at least a ton of DLC is now available to feed your inner maniac. I have a perfect 1000 gamerscore in that game...I know. But it is a gorgeous game to look at; flying into the sunset has never been more immersive.