SteveThaiBinh

How about this for an argument: Firstly, that the decision of these 'local fighters' to oppose al-Qaeda, rather than being one factor among many (including the US surge) for why security is improving (in those areas where it is indeed improving), may be the determining factor. Secondly, that their decision to oppose al-Qaeda would have been easier and come about earlier had US/coalition forces withdrawn two years ago. Discuss.

Do you know of any good indie turn-based party micro-managing games?

I really wanted to play this at first, when I got the demo, but apparently it's a lone PC game (no companions), and that's put me off a bit.

That's what I thought. No, they're talking about Kotor 2. Kotor1 allows you to play as a male or a female and reach one of two endings, either light-side or dark-side. Right at the start of Kotor 2, you have a conversation with Atton about Revan, in which you get to tell Atton whether Revan was male or female, LS or DS. This allows you to feel that you're continuing to play the same game in the same universe, and affects a few things during Kotor 2 including whether or not you can get this holocron.

Despite its (potential) ramifications for me, I broadly support the idea of selling games at reduced prices in developing countries, so that they are (slightly more) affordable for people who have computers and wish to game. I remember living in Vietnam where a legal copy of a typical game at the US price (had legal games been sold at all, which they weren't) would have cost three times a schoolteacher's monthly salary.

From my point of view, that's a very worrying development if it continues. I play very few games that I bought in the country/region where I'm currently based. I suppose I'm lucky I'm not into on-line gaming in a big way, but what's the principle here? Am I supposed to re-purchase my entire catalogue of games every time I move house?

The answers you've received have been about Kotor 2. Was it the reference to Revan that made you think it was Kotor 1?

Closed at original poster's request.

I just cannot see why that particular site has any merit, other then its value to religious Christians, or why it should be linked. It's there as part of a mix, which I imagine is intended to give an idea of the range of sites that's out there. Religious parents would presumably want to know that such religious-inspired review sites exist, and the ESRB is doing its job well if it is able to inform parents of that without forcing anything onto non-religious parents.

It's the fact that parents might choose not to buy a game because of information linked by the ESRB, something that might, incorrectly, give it more weight in their eyes, due to bad review - one that might a negative review for only religious reasons. So long as the link doesn't pretend to be a full endorsement, and the reviewer doesn't pretend not to have a religious agenda, it's for parents to decide how much weight to give a particular review. We have to trust their judgement.

Yep. There's a post mortem here.

Direct insults aimed at other community members will be deleted and this thread will be locked next time it happens. Please keep to the issues.

Flaws of the current ESRB system notwithstanding, I strongly support the idea that there should be a ratings system to help parents, and that it should give information that parents will find useful. Parents are too busy to investigate exhaustively every topic or activity that might interest their children, and every right to ask the industry that's taking their money to help them make informed decisions. As for religion, I'd have thought it was preferable that the ESRB lead religious parents to a site that rates games according to their values - so the ESRB doesn't have to.

Let's keep it respectful, please.

So ignore it (it's a voluntary system, right?). Try using PEGI instead.

An adventure game not available on the PC is a crime against the natural order of things. :sad:

Ooh, grudge match. Don't worry, England have (mostly) got their hooligan problem under control.

Any version will do? I thought you had to have them all...

I took a look at the website of the group that conducted the research, and they didn't look like an independent academic group. A bit of googling turned up this: it claims Nemertes is paid for by an organisation with a vested interest in the outcome of the research, something they should have declared at the very least.

Nar Shaddaa, and probably Atton or Kreia because I meet them first and so the slow development of the relationships is more interesting. An honorable mention to T3, who is too cute for words.

Closed for length. Part four continues here.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

There's an underlying problem here, but the dollar is extremely weak at the moment and this may be making the problem look bigger than it actually is. Tax rates may also be a factor in the differing prices. I would hope that digital distribution will help to level prices across the world, although there are several sites that won't allow you to buy on-line outside a certain geographical area. Nevertheless, economic theory says that the easier you make it to buy your product, the more units you will sell.

And yet you've just voted out one of the major architects of your economic success - was it just that people were sick of the same face at the top for so long?

I thought that all this stuff about his attending school in Indonesia and being called Hussein was discussed to death when he first seemed a likely candidate for president - I certainly remember all this being out in the open long ago. The word 'madrassa' covers a wide range of types of school, from some very nasty pro-extremist indoctrinators to some very progressive and high-quality educational establishments. The use of the word by scaremongers only reveals their ignorance of the subject.