Hello all, I need some advice

I got my first DS game for Christmas yesterday; Kingdom Hearts. So with glee I borrow my brother's DS lite and get ready to play my new toy - when all of a sudden the top screen shows big black bars, then goes completely black during a cut scene! I tried switching it off and on again, but now it stays pernamently black, so I can't see what's going on.

I've called a local game shop and they said it might be a lose wire and gave me a number for a repair centre and for nintendo. But I was wondering, has anyone else had the same problem? Is it easy to fix or is it worth just getting a new DS?

Many thanks in advance!

I'm trying to buy dsi points with my credit card, and i enter everything correctly yet it keeps coming up "error, the information you've entered is incorrect." Has anyone had this problem before? Should i try a different card?

So last night I was trying to play a game together with my friend on Xbox live. It was the first time I had ever done that, and the same goes for him. He sent me the invite, I accepted it, then it would say "Connection Failed".

No matter who sends the invitation, it happens to both of us. Does anyone know what the problem is and what can I do to fix it?

Hello everyone and a belated Merry Christmas!

I don't know if someone has already posted this. If they did, please feel free to delete/ignore this post.

After almost a year, I finally found the right mood to play Eternal Sonata (I've got the PS3 edition). The game is absolutely fantastic and stuff, but I'm currently having problems to go through Fort Fermata in chapter 2. The regular enemies seemed to be considerably difficult and stuff. I didn't really expect this, so I bought no cure items and now I found that I can't go back further than Viola's house!!!! It seems that I'll have to find my way through with Frederic and Polka, but it's kinda sad, because I LOVE to use Beat and Allegretto in my party and Viola is slightly stronger than all the other characters...
I've been searching around for hints, but it seems that the guys who played Eternal Sonata also had some difficulties in Fort Fermata... Some of them mentioned that the game's difficulty in this part increases dramatically and I hate to say this, but I'm starting to agree. (=__=)

So... does anybody have any kind of hints to go through this part without wanting to throw the game right through the window?

Other than this... overall, what did you think about the game? Did you finish it all with all possible things to achieve? Or did you just gave the game up before getting to the end of it?

Christmas has been good to me this year! :D I'm a PS3 gamer, and over the last two days I've gotten SEVEN new games and one add-on for my PS3. I'm so stoked! I have lots and lots to keep me busy for a while...

~ Modern Warfare 2
~ Farcry 2
~ X-Blades
~ Mini Ninjas

PSN
~ Gunstar Heroes
~ Braid
~ Trine
~ LBP Pirates of the Caribbean DLC

I also have some Christmas money to spend, so I'm going to finish paying off my pre-order of Bayonetta, pre-order FFXIII, and maybe buy the full series of Powerpuff Girls on dvd. I am one happy girl gamer. ^_^

How was your Christmas or other similar winter holiday? What gift made you smile the most?

Okay, I now have a shiny new PSP.

I'm looking into buying a skin for it. (Because I like colorful things and hate shiny surfaces that smudge easily)

I've used gelaskins.com, for my netbook, before. They provided an excellent product and I love how it looks, but unfortunately, most of their artwork is not to my taste and the few pieces I do like...I'm not too fond of they way they look on the PSP.

I'm looking at skinit.com, which definitely has things I love, but there is no preview for what it would look like on a psp.
Has anyone used them for something that's got cutouts and what not? Was the result good or bad?

-I guess that's all.

(PS. Any other site suggestions or stores to check out for this sort of thing are welcome!)

I just got a DSi for Christmas, and I'm super excited to be able to browse the internet and take pictures with it. But I have a question that I was wondering if any of you could answer.

I was originally excited about the addition of an SD card slot, but after playing around for a bit, I'm wondering what it is really for. When I tried to bring images from my computer into the DS picture editor, it wouldn't recognize any of the pictures from the variety of file types I used.

I suppose I'm just surprized, since the Wii's photo editor will take jpegs, but the DS won't.

Likewise, the sound editor says you can play with your own music from the SD card, but it won't play mp3s. What exactly am I supposed to use?

EDIT: OK, now that I know how to get music on my DSi, this is really cool! Thanks for the help. I'm not gonna give up my mp3 player anytime soon, but it's fun to play with the songs. I also really like the different visuals for them. Making Mario jump around to Caramelldansen is quite enjoyable.

I recently made that list of the movies I thought of as the best of the decade, as you may have noticed.
The list ended up being around 150 movies.

These are the ones available for instant viewing on Netflix, fyi.

( This is totally an exercise in self-indulgence but people are always asking if there are any good movies on Netflix instant viewing... The list of 45 movies is below the cut. )

So a girlfriend and I are renting a house in a national park for a week. I'm taking my Gamecube and my 360 for the nights and I'd like some suggestions.
I have the RockBand\Guitar Hero games but I don't feel like shlepping my guitar controls. So I'm looking for other good multiplayer games. Maybe a car racing game, fighting, or good ol' shoot em' up (like an army game?)

Nothing too epic. We don't want to play a game we'll become invested in since we'll only have the week to play. She's in another state, we just can't pick up after the trip ya know?

I just got a PS3! From Santa~
And my puppy gave me Uncharted. Double sweet.

Once I get a chance to go to the game store I'm picking up BlazBlue and Valkyria Chronicles.
So what are some other PS3 must haves?

And if anyone wants to be PS3 buddies my PSN is xiaocherry

A couple weeks ago I made a post about my Xbox getting red ringed, and me being SOL because it was past the warranty. I got it back a few days ago shiny, new, and it was completely free. There is no way I could have done it without the help and support of all of you wonderful people. So I just wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my cold little heart. I hope you all have a great and safe holiday.

Mac

well everybody else is doing this so i thought i might make my own contribution about who i think will get nominated/win the Oscars. this is partly what i want and partly what i think will happen

and i am only doing the categories that i find interesting.

( my guessing at what the Oscars will do and so on )

Does anyone know of online or free downloads of 2D or 3D character creators?  I know of Poser, but that's way out of my price range and computer ability.  Thanks!

Fergus Falls Staff Quarters
pen, ink & watercolor on paper greeting card, 4 x 5 1/2

No descriptions, I figure if you wanna discuss something you can do it in the comments.  I left out documentaries, I kinda view them as a separate entity from films.  Dunno why.  Anyway, filled the blanks with some pics and quotes and minor thoughts here and there.

 

 

( Cut for YAY LISTS )

so I got chewed out earlier for saying that certain films were the best. I mean honestly, I still stick to my opinion. these however are my favorites (and with performances for me, at least, favorite means best.) films as a whole I believe can be of the highest quality and yet... I just do not like them. I hope this is understandable? well anyway, my favorite acting of the decade (agree? disagree?):


10. Frank Langella -- Richard Nixon (Frost/Nixon)

9. Eddie Murphy -- James "Thunder" Early (Dreamgirls)

8. Sean Penn -- Harvey Milk (Milk)

7. Daniel Day-Lewis -- Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

6. Sean Penn -- Jimmy Markum (Mystic River)


5. Leonardo DiCaprio -- Howard Hughes (The Aviator)
a biopic can provide some of the most difficult material for actors around. not only do you have to equivocate that same passion for all other roles and create this character, but you have to emanate another being. what separates DiCaprio's performance from many others was that we got to see a profound change in the character. an obvious and traceable change. maybe I am a sucker for mental breakdown (see the next entry), but the performance offered here was mesmerizing and the fact that it was based on true events makes it even more devastating.

4. Michael Shannon -- John Givings (Revolutionary Road)
what a flat-out snub at the Golden Globe Awards last year. Tom Cruise? in Tropic Thunder?! seeing as though they were the only award show who were willing to extend a lot of thanks to Revolutionary Road as a whole film, I was flabbergasted that this jaw-dropping (though concise) performance was left out. the Oscars did pick it up for their show, but Ledger's performance was not to be matched. Shannon, however, had a quality all his own. it was mentally ill. to perfection. it was a complex character, yet one that was hardly in the film at all (we learned with 2007's nomination of Ruby Dee that that did not matter.) he was chilling and honestly inspiring for an actor. I will not say he deserved the award, but perhaps any other year he did (well maybe other than the year before that too....)

3. Javier Bardem -- Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)
what a decade for haunting roles. Bardem's performance as this deranged serial killer is so built up and suspenseful, the entire audience is squirming in their seats. Bardem portrays the role so well, in fact, I lost track of who I was rooting for because I only wanted to see that devilish mastermind. nightmares ensued for weeks after seeing this chilling and completely believable character murder and murder and then promptly--well, you know the ending. perhaps no other performance thus far appearing on the list have seared into my brain like this one, but with good reason. Bardem is simply brilliant.

2. Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Truman Capote (Capote)
I was largely unaware of Hoffman before this film. I think a lot of people were. sure, we had all seen him circa The Talented Mr. Ripley or Almost Famous, but when this movie was released the first thought on my mind was: how did they revive Truman Capote from death? I would definitely vouch for the statement that this performance was the best male biopic performance of the decade, though DiCaprio, Langella and Penn are hard to shake. what those three don't have is that extra spark. that little something that actors, when watching the film, will give their life to figure out. it is this charisma that Hoffman brings to his films that sets him apart (his performance in Doubt was very close to making the list, but fell short).

1. Heath Ledger -- The Joker (The Dark Knight)
perhaps this performance has become one of the most discussed performances in at least the past decade (could I even say ever... I might.) I still remember the searingly cold chills that ran up and down my arms as we watched The Joker unveil himself. every little quirk was to a tee. he was graceful in an utterly ungraceful role. Ledger's death, which was subject to some controversy, did not win him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar last year, because I remember walking out of the theater thinking to myself, wow, that man just won himself a posthumous Academy Award... hands down. it was dark. it was delirious. it was, above all, mesmerizing and frighteningly believable. maybe the film did not get the widespread recognition it deserved (referring to its not being nominated at most major award shows) but this performance is one for the ages, and, well, the decade.