Calax

I just love how it builds around that single basic set of strings.

I think one place that would be interesting to take the franchise as a whole is start pushing more viewpoints and larger viewpoints into the game. By this I mean that they should maybe have a foreigner locked into the game, so everyone reacts in awe to your more repaired gear or your accent or whatever. And in terms of "larger" viewpoints, make the story a wee bit less personal. Maybe you're really a cog in a greater scheme to figure out wtf is going on in the former US, as europe has been unable to get any info. Thus part of your mission is figuring out the major players, and then figuring out their relative strengths if pitted against one another. Basically constructing a portrait of the post-apoc world for the player and their bosses as a major part of gameplay. If you really wanted, you could expand the scope of the game in comparison to others by setting up the overworld map once again but having you move across the entire continent, rather than through one smallish area.

It is and it is not true for both games and films. There are less games with permanence than movies, indeed a game has a half life of a few years before it goes through all the retailing and finally becomes irrelevant. Still I say that there are a few exceptions to the rule, games that get re-released in new formats. As for movies; I still love Blade Runner (tears in the rain moment is one of my top 10 scenes) I can still watch Aliens and appreciate the cinematography and the effects. These are films very dependent on special effects. Some games seem to get it, that the characters, plot, storytelling they're all supplemental to the gameplay. Tetris has been a very strong game, and Shadow of the Colossus managed to become memorable without anyone knowing the main's character name. All those comparison between the two mediums (film and games) are fair but there is something that has to be taken into account when it comes to games: they're an active medium. The argument of the "immersiveness" of games has been discussed plenty, and while games are immersive that is not guarantee of an emotional impact. Consider that the games regarded as having the most emotional moments are some of the most linear; with a few exceptions. So whilst in a film you can manipulate the plot to achieve the desired feeling, in games you manipulate the plot to fit the gameplay. Wanna do a shooter? alien invasion! and that's the depths of emotion you're gonna get. I think one of the big things with Films vs Games is that 20 year old games are just flat out Hard to play for some people because the graphics look like garbage. I mean, in film you're always going to have an actor on the screen so it's pretty rough for somebody to look like they've been turned into a mish mash of polygons. But compare how goldeneye holds up to, say, Dr. No and see which one the kid will actually stick with.

They'd Probably do NYC first... but if they did do four, why not have the protagonist be a european exiled to America for whatever reason?

One can hope the reason it was rushed was because most of the team was working on stuff for 3.

Re-watching "Time Commanders" for hilarity sake. Basically it's a British show where they have a crew of random folks try to fight historical battles in Rome Total War's engines. (Included a fight where a team of vicars took on, and won, the battle of Tuteborg Forest). Also had my roommate bring home a troupe of girls from the parties out back. He really regrets it as we've basically been unable to sleep due to snoring. I'm probably gonna sack out at 10 or 11.

caught it on kotaku.

Apparently the chinese girl in that doesn't wear panties.

City of Heroes is Free now! (and originally made by the same company).

Actually, all the games in the DS series are half off tis the weekend deal.

DS3 is half off on steam.

IIRC book canon always triumphs game canon so Bioware is free to rewrite the whole of KOTOR2 to their liking. I think that most would consider the games to have more cannon to them then anything Kap writes. Heck, I'm pretty sure that the entire era (Rather, the "Sith War" era) will end up one of those situations where the war is different depending on who you ask (if you ask a teen right now, it'd be the KoToR stuff, in 4 years, the highschoolers will swear it's the TOR stuff if that catches on, and some of the older folks consider the Sith conquests under Exar Kun to be the one true sith war). I admit, I'm a fan of the Exar Kun and Qel'Droma stuff (even if it was written by KJA), and you have NO idea how frustrated I got at some of the twisting that happened for Bio and Obsidian's games to work properly. At least Obsidian acknowledged that there was something in the era previously and forced a name change on the conflict Revan instigated.

was mis-remembering the top gear episodes where it appeared and James "Captain Slow" May broke the land speed record (right before the guys from Bugatti did it). Still, the point of the entire thing stands, I'm racing a Veyron against a bloody string of Golf GTi's. Although somehow the Bugatti isn't one of the "premium" cars that has every dial and whistle lovingly rendered. It's more like zombie jeff gordon.

Gran Turismo 5. Gotta say, I'm annoyed at the entire concept of "B-spec". It's a way to earn money, but it's boring because you're just having the cpu drive a car for you. Also, driving a Bugatti Veyron in a car with a small pile of Golf GTi's as the competition feels... unfair (The Bugatti is the most powerful car currently in existance, and holds the landspeed record for a car currently in production... having beaten the sound barrier)

I won't ever play that game again because of the Baby levels (those who've played it know what I'm talking about).

Jesus Christ Have I ranted about "too many cooks" yet for today? this is where I use my personal style of "cannon" do decide what's right and wrong. Namely "If I don't like it, it's not canon". Nope. Drew K-whatever. The main story guy at bioware who wrote the first Kotor and the ME series.

That.. doesn't look like anything from a water fountain... it looks like it belongs in xxx films.

Outsourcing because they didn't have enough time.

A brief review of ME2 done by one of the most famous online Trek reviewers (SFdebris) http://sfdebris.com/special/masseffect2.asp Also has a quick sum up of everything from ME1

Kidnapping rings are already common in South America, particularly in Venezuela. I'm actually a bit amazed that the cops aren't wearing a more heavy duty armor (no wonder he got shot through the vest) bit of reminder for everyone, the kingpin who organizes all those "poor" people doesn't live poverty. Plus there is a great deal of distance between necessity and viciousness, thugs seem partial to the latter. Hell... kidnapping is a huge issue in Mexico.

I haven't heard of cases in the US where the husband forces the wife to stay in house, and if she goes out, she's forced to wear a black tent. Or that certain groups establish Sharia law in a whole district. If you would have to deal with these zealots, the perception of Muslims among American citizens wouldn't be so...peacefully anymore. The Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saint's would like to have a word with you.

TOR dated to 12/20

"I was just following orders" may be powerful, but it is generally not considered to be an excuse anymore, not since - you guessed it! - WW2. And the incident you harped on was from, you guessed it, WW2.

Yes really. The bit you cited in that was under A) A nazi puppet government (basically) in southern france and B) the Nazi government itself. NOT the french under their own controls. lol. well, i guess that means the french didn't do anything at all to jews. you're right. referring to "jews in france before the holocaust" makes no sense. just what "I was just following orders" Is a powerful thing, or have you not seen the Milgram experiment? Nazi's were the ones calling the shots.

Yes really. The bit you cited in that was under A) A nazi puppet government (basically) in southern france and B) the Nazi government itself. NOT the french under their own controls.