SteveThaiBinh

Hugh Laurie? As in Fry and Laurie? Really? I didn't even realise he was well known in North America. How did he gain this following?

There's also Nar Shaddaa, where Given how I relied on the transit system in Kotor 1, it's surprising how little I missed it in Kotor 2. Part of that is just that the combat was relatively easy, but I'm sure Obsidian also gave some thought to making it unnecessary. There were a few times when I could have used a 'rest' option, but not many. Healing was just too easy, even on DS.

Bad memories. Still, you can't say it wasn't challenging. It's possible to compare the Star Force and Malachor purely on their own merits as gaming experiences. Alternatively, you can compare them in their original contexts as fitting (or not) end sequences to epic games. The lead in to the battle on the Star Forge was handled much better. It was predictable, that's true, because it was well-foreshadowed. That helped it feel like a proper end to the game, and made it more fun, despite the tricky AI issues. By the time we arrived at Malachor, we've already skipped rather abruptly from Dantooine to Telos to the Ravager and then to Malachor, each time a little less sure of what's going on and with less control over party choice, without any sense of closure with your party - the first thing that happens on Malachor is that you're on your own. Why? Either they're alive, in which case, let's find them, or they're dead, so show me the bodies. Confusing, and that detracted from the experience.

I believe you'll find that's a baby milk factory. " Supposedly, September 16 and 17 are generally 'lucky' days for everyone. For your wife's own lucky days, you'll need to input her birth date and time and stuff into one of these on-line astronomy thingies. For the baby's lucky days, you'll also need to input her birth date... hang on, that can't be right.

I think it's meant to be 'despise', actually. Edit: You already corrected it. :"> Quite a lot of people found it unsatisfying, though not everyone. If you loved the story and the character interaction of the game proper, the combat-heavy ending is disappointing. On the other hand, hacking through wave after wave of monsters in order to reach the final boss seems to be the norm in RPGs, and the final conversation is interesting, though not very satisfying.

Coolest-looking, is it? I think Obsidian did their best, but you can't really do full justice to the concept of Darth Sion on a computer or even TV screen. In real life, and possibly in a movie, I think he would be the most unnerving and intimidating, and very cool-looking.

Am I right in thinking that Nintendo is pretty much dependent on its games and consoles for survival, whereas Sony and Microsoft obviously have other parts to their business which they can use to prop up their struggling games arms? I guess Nintendo's competitors can take losses more easily if that's right. I agree with Cewekeds, and like most people who don't really follow the console industry, I am at least aware that new consoles are about to be released. No-one wants to buy an old model just before it becomes obsolete.

If I hold the mask over the picture for a while, I can see that they are the same colour. But if I just move the mask over it for a few seconds, they still look different. I guess that's evidence of the power of the illusion. The scary picture scared me. But then, they say that a certain amount of fear and surprises is actually good for your health. :D It was funny - I'm just glad I wasn't drinking my tea at the time.

I think it shows that talking to local people and showing some respect for their culture is a more effective counter-insurgency technique than bombing villages into nothing. It works. Yet sadly, when you suggest something like that, you're labelled an 'idealist' or 'pacifist'.

It would indeed be wonderful all to sit down and watch this documentary, but as you say, that's not an option. All we can do is discuss the related issues to the best of our ability and knowledge. If you feel that the documentary offers a useful new perspective, then perhaps you could give us a brief summary?

You may be right. On the other hand, just because you close bases to make savings in one area doesn't mean that you're reducing expenditure overall. I have no idea where to go for these figures, and a quick google didn't reveal anything except extreme anti-Bush sites whose figures I'd be suspicious of. It always is. We always think we are acting out of need. 'We are peace loving people, and when we go to war it is reluctantly, and with a heavy heart. However, the other side goes to war because of their nefarious intent, and aggressive nature.' The problem is that the other side thinks exactly the same. The Russians believed that the US wanted to exterminate their way of life, just as the US thought the same of the Russians. Every nation is guilty of this to a certain extent - I wouldn't single out the US by any means.

Not to my knowledge. Do you have figures? In any case, even if it's falling, it's still something like a third of total global military expenditure. I'm not so sure. If the US didn't have a large military, Sweden would need one to protect it from who? The Russians, I suppose. But the Russians mostly have a large military to protect themselves from the Americans and the Chinese. Disarmament in parallel would be possible, and I think the Russians would welcome it because of the cost savings. I'm not advocating getting rid of the military entirely (I'd like to, but that's a whole separate argument for another day) - I think most countries want to keep a military for prestige, and Russia more than most because of its superpower past. The idea that 'We have a bigger military than them and them, therefore we are safe' should have died on September 11 2001.

That's true, though both are getting increasingly expensive. One important factor will be how US public opinion responds to continuing casualties in Iraq. The newspapers here say that support for the war is waning in response to the death toll, but then they've been saying that for over a year. We could go back to the post-Viet Nam days when Americans are very reluctant to see their troops sent overseas, in which case a large conventional military is useless. On the other hand, the US may feel that had it not had such a vast military this time, Iran and North Korea would have been even more troublesome because they would have known that the US lacked the resources to deal with two problems at once. US military spending looks perfectly legitimate when you view it compared with the threats and responsibilities the US faces. It only looks excessive when you remember that the US' responsibilities have arisen precisely because it has such a large military, and when you see that other countries survive and prosper without one.

The United States' aggressive foreign policy is easy to understand, for anyone who's played Civilization. If you've got a massive army, it is so tempting to use it. It becomes an option in all kinds of situations. As for why US governments feel the need to have such a large military, that's very complex. I'm afraid I haven't seen the documentary, but I guess it's a combination of lots of factors, one of which is that large institutions (like a health or education service) have a tendency to expand. The question is whether the US will be willing to give up its conventional military advantage in order to invest more in maintaining its technological advantage.

You don't get anything about Dxun, other than this initial conversation of 'something happened' and 'let's talk about it another time'. Yes, it felt very incomplete to me, but I was getting a bit used to it by that time. The fact that after you and afterwards have no chance to discuss or even mention this profound change in your relationship with them is a greater shame. So yes, either content was cut or it wasn't written in the first place. Sometimes I think Obsidian really needed someone to go through their scripts/designs and just suggest where things needed a bit of fleshing out. Hey, I'd do it! (w00t)

You know, as I asked the question, my fingers were hovering above the keyboard and I was considering adding '(in summary form)', but I didn't because I thought you might take it the wrong way. Fortunately, my skimming skills are reasonably good, so I get the gist. And the gist is, this is insane. Funny, though. I wonder why he's no longer working at NASA. EDIT: This just proves that some people really will believe anything before they accept the evidence over global warming. Still, this makes our task more urgent. We MUST find a better name for Planet X before it smashes into us and destroys us.

OK, I'll bite. What is the Kolbrin Bible and what is 'his role'?

I've never heard them. This is probably just me, but my brain sees Finntroll and automatically inserts 'Family Moomin' in the middle. :">

Beachcomber.

I think it was just a cameo. Hmmm, how to get back on topic... How did we get here anyway? Oh, that's right, Hades - Pluto - planet names. Right, here we go: So, with Sedna and Quaoaoauoaoar as our examples, it's clear that we can't trust astronomers to come up with a name for a 10th planet, assuming they ever do find one that's a real planet not just a random lump of rock. We'll have to do it ourselves. Which of the Roman Gods don't have planets named after them yet? How about Vesta? Edit: No, Vesta is a big asteroid already.

It would indeed. It's about time, after all. At least it suggests that the PNJ forum won't be shunted off to another company's boards like NWN2 was. With the GTA:SA scandal seemingly over, it's apparently a slow time for the gaming industry, according to Penny Arcade who are reduced to cartoons about cake. So this would be a great time for an announcement, Obsidian! Think of all the publicity. And think how much fun the mods will have with the influx of newbies, all posting spam and flaming each other and putting their suggestions for Kotor 3 on every forum.

Your daughter will be a rooster (I can't say ****erel, for obvious reasons ) Best invest in some earplugs.

I don't think this will be a new official tenth planet. I get the feeling they'd quite like to revoke Pluto's official status, but don't dare to. All these random lumps of rock aren't likely to teach us anything new - I'm much more interested in the planets they're finding around other stars. When will they be able to spot non-gas giants around other stars?

I think it's funny. I'd also quite like to read a reverse one - you know, one poking fun at British failings. Anyone know of one?

I think they were trying to make sure that anyone playing Kotor 2 without knowing Kotor 1 wouldn't feel they were missing something. No-one wants a review in a games magazine that says 'Unless you've played the first one, you won't understand what's going on'. It was just an added extra for fans - I managed to avoid spoilers and the moment when Mandalore spoke for the first time was great. 'Is it? Can't be! Wow, I think it is!' It probably could have been handled better with more time and attention, but you could say that about most aspects of most games. But how do you develop the character more, and get more of the back story, without requiring knowledge of Kotor 1? Maybe it was better that he was left to the side a bit.