Mailbag

Do not taunt happyfunmail.

Carebears who Care

You know its bad enough that I have to hear that stupid term in the WoW boards. PVP is fun, but to just throw out a general insult like that to people who don't like to PVP is unprofessional.

Sean

Don't be such a carebear.

Tom

Shenmue Offline

How come there's no coverage on Shenmue Online? The console Shenmue games were awesome, but they never really got that much coverage on any gaming sites, including IGN, which is probably why a lot of people haven't ever really heard of Shenmue (that, and SEGA's poor advertising skills). I understand Shenmue Online is only scheduled for release in Korea and China at the moment, but any tidbits every now and then wouldn't hurt, would it?

BD

Well, we have a few articles on Shenmue Online, but since it's not going to be released in the English language, it's going to be low on the radar, unfortunately. As soon as they announce any English-language plans, you can bet we'll be on top of it, though.

Tom

NHL 2005: A Study in Violent Tendencies

Possibly the stupidest game ever released, since there is in fact NO NHL 2005 season as per lockout. Maybe it's a fantasy boxing match between the president of the NHL and the NHLPA? With the fans siding with the owners?

Lets see, they're crying about a 3% wage increase. Hmmm, they don't need that increase!!! A player that makes a million dollars a season doesn't need a 3% wage increase. Their wage increase is more than what most people on minimum wage make annually. LMAO! NHLPA can cram NHL 2005 up their arses sideways. They can use the people behind EA Sports as ramrods to do so.

Hockey Fan

Please don't hurt me.

Tom

Don't diss my DOS

I have all the lemmings games, plus L2 The Tribes(DOS versions), cannot get them to operate on XP Home. Anyway around this without having to buy new versions? Any advice appreciated! Thank You, Dave Young

Dave Y.

---

I have the game Marble Drop, which I bought back when I had a 98 computer and now I have an xp computer and Marble Drop will not play on it. Is there some way I can up grade the game so it will play on my xp computer?

Thanks

Susan

DOSBox can allow you to run DOS games in Windows, and you may also need VDMSound to, well, enable sound.

Tom

Steve is a Poopy-Pants Meanie

Regarding your mailbag section:

You guys should really do something about Steve. His sense of humour has no taste. Treating people who support this site like they're not wanted is just plain bad. And for God's sake, if a person wants a demo disc for a game because he/she is wondering if they should buy it or not... send them the disc. It's a lot better for that kid to spend his/her money on buying the game than a high speed connection to download all the games they want illegally.

Karam Y.

Well, since we don't have or create any demo discs for people to ask us for, we're kinda limited in being able to fulfill that request, unfortunately. And if you do it for one person, word gets out and next thing you know, you're sniffing glue in an alleyway in Istanbul. And believe me, it's not even high-quality glue.

Tom

War Games

Hey, I'm heading over to Iraq before to long here and I'm figuring on having nothing to do but play games, listen to music and e-mail on a laptop in my freetime. What's a good laptop thats not too expensive (not much more than $2500) that will work with the current lineup of games. . . I have HL2 and Rome: Total War in mind. Is that even possible?

Jeremy

What you're probably going to want is a Dell Inspiron XPS. The base setup comes with a Radeon 9700 Mobility, 512MB PC3200 RAM, 3.4GHz P4, and a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. It ain't light, though, weighing in at a little over nine pounds. You'll be hard-pressed to find a notebook that's both light and powerful, unfortunately, and battery power will also be a challenge. Hope that helps!

Tom

Leisure Sin Larry

I purchased my copy of LSL MCU about 2 weeks ago, and on your site today, I see that they are offering the Adults Only version for North American release. What does that do for us schmucks who bought the censored version? I checked their website, and they don't have anything about a patch for those of us who ponied up the money and are over 18 (Double that for me). Not that I care about cartoon nudity, but the language in this thing is way filthier than any cartoon genitalia they might show and they left all of that in. If you have any insight on this, I would appreciate an answer. Also, way to go on updating the mailbag. By far my favorite part of the site! Always love the sarcasm. Thanx in advance for any help on this.

Kevboy

Well, Kevboy, I'm assuming that there will be digital boobies involved. Perhaps multiple pairs, which is always fun. Ahem. There may also be some full frontal involved. From what I've heard, though, there will be no patch or upgrade to the Fun Version.

Tom

Late to the Party

To whom it may concern, I was wondering if there was any need for someone in Japan to report on various things happening in the gaming industry there, freelance or whatever.

I'm moving to Tokyo in early 2005 and thought it might be fun to be one of the people to send some of the info back to North America, that I usually devour the moment it hits IGN.COM!

Thanks for your time,

Lance L.

Oh, Lance. We appreciate your enthusiasm. As it turns out, though, our trusty Anoop Gantayat has been doing a weekly Gaming Life in Japan on the Insider channel for a few years now. You'll have to arrange a ninja duel with him, and we hear he uses wire-fu. Bring a bazooka.

Tom

Blurring the Lines

To the point:
Do you know if we'll be able to turn off that new constant bloom effect in World of Warcraft?

I've seen the new screens and, though I'm sure some people like it, I'd rather not be staring at blurriness for hours on end.

Matthew

Well, it's currently toggleable. I don't know if "toggleable" is a word, but dammit, you know what I'm talkin' about. I wish they could maintain antialiasing with the bloom effect, because it looks a little jaggy now.

Tom

Counter-Strike: Source of Cooking Tips

Just wanted to point out one little thing about your article, you mention cooking grenades in there as something that players do. If I understand the term properly as it meaning holding the grenade in your hand so that it goes off sooner when you throw it, that just isn't the case in CS:S. You can hold it back as long as you like but it won't make it explode any sooner than if you tossed it immediately. You can actually even switch back to another weapon after you've pulled the pin without losing your grenade. Unrealistic? Sure, but the game's built more towards fun than realism.

Craig

There Is No Need to Adjust Your Television

It seems to me that history is repeating itself again, but in a handheld form. The battle between the PSP and the DS is sort of like the battle between the PSOne and the N64. We all know who won, but now Nintendo is doing the same here with the DS. Lets see, the DS has graphics that are slightly better than the N64 and the PSP has graphics close to the ps2. The DS uses a cartridge format for games, while the PSP uses a mini disc for its games. I hate to say it, but the PSP has a high chance of winning because its aim towards an older audience and making its PSP an entertainment unit, while Nintendo still thinks it's a toy. Nintendo has to change its paradigm and stop referring to its system as a toy. Anyways, I hope that the DS doesn't go the route of the N64, because it would be tragic.

Ken

What does this have to do with Half-Life 2?

Tom

And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors

Hi guys/girls,

Just wanted to say how impressed I was at the review of Rome: Total War by Steve Butts.

I've not been much of a games-review-site visitor in the past, as I've often stuck with my own tastes and recommendations from friends. However, after reading this review (and a few others), I am astounded at the quality of writing, depth of content and general good-humoured jokes which kept me wanting to read for the sheer pleasure of doing so...not just to see whether to spend my hard-earned cash on the game in question!

With the vast array of titles appearing on the market, the majority being sequels, unoriginal boring copies and of poor standard...I now see the important role that IGN plays in properly marketing the games that deserve the credit. I bet most developers are now aware that to produce a successful title, they have to impress you guys first!

I think you've just gained an avid visitor to your site along with a new addition to the Rome: Total War fan club!

Best regards, keep up the good work.

Steve B.

United Kingdom

Content is KING, baby! Thanks for the kudos.

Tom

[Editor's Note: For the record, this gentleman's last name is not Butts, thankyouverymuch.]

The $64 Question

Quick question: Is GTA: San Andreas coming to the PC?

I've found the GTA3 games too much more fun on the PC than on that "console" type thing.

Anyway, thanks for any info!

Munky

I will answer your question with a question, grasshopper: Has any GTA game not come to the PC?

Tom

From the Depths of the Interweb

Sirs, I bought the game shell shocked nam 68. when I got it home it was for a DVD , I dont have that. But in the box was a letter from Eidos to send the game to you and you would send us a pc copy of the game. could you please send any info you have . Its beed about 3 weeks. Thank you.

Cathy S.

If I attempt to actually respond to this email, my brain will explode. I'm pretty sure about this one.

Tom

And Now for Something Completely Different

Life is like a box of chocolates. If it's hot, you're going to get chocolate smears all over your face and hands. Maybe this is why those Canadians are so nice, because nothing ever melts up there. No, I don't know where I'm going with this, either.

In other news, the idiot ratio is still disappointingly low. I think I scared them off with my repeated appeals for things like punctuation and usage of the English language. I do wonder who these people are writing to now and wonder if I shouldn't set up a special hotline for those poor recipients to call, before they reach for the screwdriver and plunge it into an ear canal. I saw that in a movie called Wrong Turn recently. It was kinda gross and squirty.

Anyways, Halloween's here now, and since we're talking about movies, it reminds of how difficult it is to find a film that's genuinely spooky, instead of being just gory, shot like a music video, and full of cheap scares. I've been spooked far more often by video games than I have been by movies. I mean, come on, System Shock 2 at night, with headphones? Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Doom 3--this shouldn't be hard to do.

--Tom McNamara