Calax

I've been playing it on and off for a while now, and I think it's mostly about atmosphere. It's probably the best "survival HOrror" game in recent memory, with survival being the key. That and some pretty good characterization of Ellie and Joel. Yeah but was it horror? The only time were I was remotely tense was during the spore set pieces. As for the survival part, stealth was so powerful, that it completely nullified the limited ammunition. (Which was probably a good thing, since I can no longer aim with a controller) Also the fact that you can choke stealth infected is just so stupid. 'Oh look an infected, I will sneak behind them and choke them, even though one bite and I'm gone.' It's more survival horror than Deadspace or Resident Evil. Neither of which has the atmosphere. And I think the reason I consider it more Horror is because I'd always find some way to muck up the stealthing, so I'd end up fighting off the infected. Made me HATE "Bloaters" given that I couldn't see them then just get oneshot. Made me hate the devs for seemingly not even putting in a modicum of auto-aim (spend four shots around your target because it adjusts itself ever so slightly...) And don't get me started on the ending. That had me scratching my head too. How did they survive? If they were alive how did they stay alive without food or water? Given there main purpose was to find new hosts. My guess is the parasite somehow sustained them, with there only need being air.(Given you can choke them ) Also if the spores were air borne, how come winds didn't carry it across quarantine zones? Or why didn't the spore attach to skin or opened wounds? In the end, I came to the conclusion it's best not to think so hard about it, as thinking will bring up more questions instead of answers. (But that's the same with all zombie movies) Well, given how they mutate I'm pretty sure they start becoming plants. But the odd part is it seemed like "runners" were only for the first few weeks/months of the infection, but were by FAR the most popular zombie type. In theory most of the zombie population should have been at least Clickers during the game, rather than runners. Unless there was a small troupe of magical women constantly having kids who grow up and are immediately infected.

... You've got me with an image of Lex Luthor with hayseed in his mouth.

Stanford Prison Experiment, shut down after 4 days because the guy running it finally realized it was getting out of hand, and his GF threatened to break up with him if he didn't stop it. Was supposed to run for 2 weeks. It just goes to show that there should be more checks on Police power, particularly in situations where they are turned to as authority figures.

I've been playing it on and off for a while now, and I think it's mostly about atmosphere. It's probably the best "survival HOrror" game in recent memory, with survival being the key. That and some pretty good characterization of Ellie and Joel. Side note: Given there's 20 years between the initial outbreak and the game proper, wouldn't the # of infected drop like a rock?

Congratulations on missing the point. I know hookers exist because I've seen them plying their trade, both here in Iowa and back in California (where for about 6 months they'd been "selling" around the governors house). The point was that the Media glorifies all sorts of law breaking. Drugs, booze (underage in particular), hookers (with a "heart of gold" of course), the Mob, "gangstas" and driving fast are all things that have entire films dedicated to their glorification. And the celebrities that people LOVE to follow oh so much are well known to be addicts in some way shape or form. The reason I'm pointing this out is because of what Shady's saying. We glorify crime, and so people copycat. And it doesn't help that certain activities are SO widespread (Speeding and pot smoking) that it can feel like people are specifically targeted when they're the ones who get ticketed/arrested. I mean you're sitting there getting a ticket while people fly by at 80 (in a 65 zone) and you're gonna be pretty pissed at the cop. And my mom (a hort teacher) has to deal with at least one student a semester who stinks up the back of the class because he's been smoking like a train for the hour before class.

This should probably go in the other thread about cops, but i think part of the issue is that there are enough things that are "illegal" but done as a part of daily life that people get frustrated when those laws are invoked. Speeding is one of them, which can lead to more problems because the cops can do a roadside inspection after they pull you over for speeding. I mean, in pop culture today, It's expected that celebs are going to be doing drugs and drinking like their livers are impossible to kill. Smoking weed is basically entirely out in the open, and things like prostitution are known to happen along side the drugs. The population starts following along (weed in particular) and then feel targeted any time a cop shows up at their door, particularly when they see the "upper class" get caught with 10 times the amount and end up in a posh rehab facility for six weeks before they get released back to the world. Meanwhile the average joe gets upwards of 1 year in jail. It doesn't help that the government itself is starting to be seen more as a tool of the corporations to impliment their will, rather than something that's on the people's side. Thus people also see the entire justice system as simply something designed to keep the status quo (and widen the margins between have's and have nots). It really says something when a large portion of the black population in the USA says "Cops are corrupt racist jerks who are gonna ensure that you go in jail!" As to the subject that originally started this thread? Ultimately I think it comes down to the cops violated their code of conduct and should be suspended without pay for a month, but I don't think that they broke a consitutional protection.

They're all of Morsi so *shrugs*. And it sounds ilke Egypt is starting to lose control a wee bit.

You realize how long Iraqi insurgents have lasted against he far superior (technologically) USA and that the Srian army would be far harder pressed to quash these rebellions. I think that the main issue right now is just that both sides are slowly becoming puppets for out of state actors, so you're gonna see the tactics employed change and the tech level too.

Side note: In the USA many police units are no longer ALLOWED to get into high speed persuits simply because of the damages. Cop looses a tiny bit of control and hits somebody and that person can sue the cops for the medical bills (or his family for funeral expenses and mental damage). For the most part, my opinion is that cops are good to have around when there's clear cut good and bad guys, and order needs to be actually kept (like riots or a thief). Any other time you see a cop there's going to be problems, because the sheer amount of latitude a cop has to mess with his "perp". Hilariously one of the Cops at the airport HATES dealing with the average person (every time he's asked where something is, he turns to me after the guy left and goes "that's not my friggin job!"), and has specifically said he'd much prefer to deal with tweakers than travelers. The other one here that I've seen has been pretty "eh, might as well have fun with it" and jokes aroudn with those of us in the banks of desks by baggage claim.

IIRC in SC1 there was a bonus to being on the high ground.

I disagree with their ability to do that, I don't think its a "loophole" as described in the article so much as thumbing their nose at the law. Eventually someone will challenge it legally and I can't imagine it passing muster. That said, if you're not doing anything illegal...what can they get you on? They can find something. And I shouldn't have to prove I'm not doing anything, They should have to prove that I'm doing something before going through my stuff. That article/incident is what I was referring to when I said they have a "us vs them" mentality. They don't care about the common citizen except that we, as a population, are just criminals waiting for the chance to break the law. They aren't trying to help people and ethically fight crime within the bounds of the law, they're fishing for reasons to search your stuff. Example: http://jalopnik.com/florida-cop-makes-young-mom-shake-her-bra-during-stop-t-531557395 No reason that they checked her car for drugs, no reason to search her, but she hand to prove that she didn't have any drugs on her person with her kids in the car.

http://jalopnik.com/why-ohio-cops-are-setting-up-fake-highway-checkpoints-676856291?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_facebook&utm_source=jalopnik_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow That's the sort of activity I'm talking about. "We can't technically do this, so we'll fake it and if you get nervous use it for probable cause to search you!"

Quinn Duffy, the game director, always said that this was his vision. Almost exactly how you expressed it. He's a nice guy a posts a lot on the forums, he'd be as pleased as punch to read your comment I suspect. So THAT's why the british squads keep yelling at Duffy for being an idiot in Op Front.

Part of it is that they promote that mentality. "Our job is to protect you from the bad guys, but we will run you over if you get in our way" Also, I think that it comes from the fact that cops are to well known for "fishing" for things to write you up with. They don't have enough info to write you up (or arrest), so they'll start asking questions hoping you'll be kind and tell em anything incriminating at which point they yank out the bracelets for you to put on.

And one of the points that's attempting to be made is that they aren't up to that standard. Instead of people being held to a higher standard, it seems like the cops are operating reverse of what they should (guilty until proven innocent) and see their badges as something that lets them skip around on the law.

One of the reasons I'm finding CoH so much better than starcraft is beacuse the terrain actually makes a difference. As in "your troops can take cover" and get bonuses depending on what cover they're in. SC2 has everyone taking the same damage no matter what the terrain.

Drove into desmoines and was surrounded by about four different displays of fireworks. Kinda freaky to be driving and have strobe lights going off about 500 yards to your left, accompanied by various sounds.

Hurlie, Cops should be held to a higher standard than the average joe. They're endowed with extrordinary ability to deal with people and they should be expected to wield that power (and authority) responsibly. At McDonalds I had the authority to toss somebody out but only used it a grand total of one time, because that was the only time it was actually warranted. My point isn't that there aren't bad situations or areas where being a cop is terrible. My point is that as police officers, it's their job to suck it up and deal with it. Excusing activity that'd be considered illegal and/or brutality because "hey, they're in a rough area" just leads to things becoming more polarized, and creates and atmosphere where it becomes increasingly easy to bend the rules to get your way. I'm not of the opinion that you need to "teach somebody a lesson" physically to get your point across. Some people do which is why you end up with cases of police abusing their power. I personally got threatened by a El Dorado County Sherriff with being charged with "terrorist threats" because he thought that was the easiest way for me to go along with what he wanted. And Gorth, I don't think you can pepper spray anyone... You can brutalize people with a ban hammer but that's about it.

America has some of the worst crime in the world. Our police labor under extreme and constant stress in high crime areas. They see the absolute worst of humanity on a daily basis. Random cell phone camera footage is mostly good for showing things out of context. Half of the police 'brutality' clips out there are caused by idiots resisting arrest or just plain asking for it. As for the dogs getting shot, that can and should be avoided by using pepper spray. All police are equipped with it, shooting them is rarely necessary. Yup... Totally had it comin. Yeah, injustice such as this never happens in other countries, so let's all gang up on 'Merica. I'm not saying the cops in the U.S. are perfect, I'm saying they have it worse than most other places. But it's popular to buck authority as some posts here suggest.. Oh I'm not saying that they don't. What I'm saying is that your giving the excuse of "well they get provoked and are under a lot of stress!" doesn't fly. Part of being a cop is the amount of stress you have to deal with, if you can't handle it you can swap jobs. But the badge doesn't give you a "do anything" permit where you can act how you feel and get away with it. A few years ago there was the cop who put on his blues and went to his daughters boyfriends house and proceeded to intimidate the kid by threatening to take him to jail and putting him in cuffs. That, plus the UC Davis guy above, Plus the Chicago PD as a whole, doesn't get covered by some "Dude, you don't know what it's like man!" statement where they're given a pass because of the situations they work in. I mean, go look at the "Don't tase me bro!" incident. The guy Asked a question and proceeded to get tasered because he wouldn't stop asking why he was being arrested (simplified story I know but meh). He was out numbered 4-1 and you're telling me that the officers felt that it was appropriate to taser him? Same thing with the UCLA incident in 2006. Part of the point of being a cop is that you're understress and you're the one who's able to keep control. Not "I'm under stress so I'm gonna take it out on the next yahoo who gets in my way."

America has some of the worst crime in the world. Our police labor under extreme and constant stress in high crime areas. They see the absolute worst of humanity on a daily basis. Random cell phone camera footage is mostly good for showing things out of context. Half of the police 'brutality' clips out there are caused by idiots resisting arrest or just plain asking for it. As for the dogs getting shot, that can and should be avoided by using pepper spray. All police are equipped with it, shooting them is rarely necessary. Yup... Totally had it comin.

Assembling a "get back into school" packet. I have until the 12th to finish it and really the only piece I need is for my academic advisor to help me put together a "graduation plan" BS and sign it off.

No Rocky Four where Stallone single handedly stops the cold war by punching it in the face?

It's doubtful if another president can do things significantly better. The one thing another president could do better is to make better connections with the West, encourage investment and tourism and so on. Certainly, another president can make the people think things look better. I think the central issue is that the MB does not historically have an economic agenda. The emphasis has been on moral conservatism. So people watch their country slide further down into poverty, chaos and sectarian violence while it's leaders debate which clothes you should be allowed to wear, how much you should read the Quran in school, whether or not certain Western cultural phenomena should be banned or not, and so on. "It's the economy, stupid". Apparently we will see early elections, and a transitional government headed by the judicial branch :S You say that, but I think part of it is also that Morsi wasn't exactly what you would call... congenial with his population. I mean he did make an attempt to shut down the Daily Show's equivalent because it was poking fun at him. Morsi (From what I've seen) had rose to power by saying "Free speech and free politics for EVERYONE!" and as soon as he got in power he tried to turn the state into something akin to Iran with himself as the Shah.

I am wayyy to much of a turtle for this game. Although, I am playing with Monte who's 30 levels above me and he's setting things to hard, but I'm just getting clobbered.

Yeah, in America cops don't really like to deal with the paperwork of a body. I think it ends up coming down to the type of person and dept. BIG city cops are MASSIVE pricks most of the time (Chicago has cops who shove you just to get you to fight back so they can take you in for example) while smaller town ones will preach, but mostly just try to avoid to much work. I mean for every "Pepper spray people who are sitting down" there's a "help some guys out". At work, I end up sitting in the airport for probably an hour (I have a desk and a computer) between runs, and there are two cops who pull airport detail. One spends most of the time I see him cussing and moaning about how he's not the help desk, because travelers keep asking us "Where is X?" The other just keeps an eye on everything and jokes with us at the counters (today declaring he'd better head to the other end of the terminal because "I think I hear a Riot!" in the silence between de-planings)