alanschu

Justice is a social construct, and depending on how a society deems justice, could very easily incorporate each of the three things that Rostere pointed out.

The same people that care what you think.

As just a heads up, Vaughn's whole scene is NOT a Braveheart ripoff. It just looks that way with some context missing.

The concept of equivalent justice doesn't mean the same punishment regardless of the crime. Look at the line that you quoted directly, and Rostere clearly states that he feels different crimes should be acted differently upon. If you take it at a higher level though, I can agree with Rostere's statements. One aspect of how justice should be the same is simply the idea you have, of how the punishment should fit the crime. Retribution should be perceived as exceed the potential gain from breaking a law, and that it should come swiftly and decisively.

A lot of Halo players play in tournaments. But they're probably the faux tournaments, relegated to obscurity because they aren't really playing shooters. Or something...

As a PC gamer through and through, and someone that hasn't played a console shooter since GoldenEye, I think this perspective is flat out stupid. It's flat out elitism and there's no other way to describe it. Given you started out with the absolutely absurd statement of how "Console shooter" is somehow a contradiction makes it pretty obvious that your statement was just to start ****. You can argue all you want that the PC is a better platform for FPS games. I will fully agree with you in that assertion. But to start talking **** about console shooters specifically because they are on consoles, and rationalizing some sort of "greatest challenge and pleasure" nonsense reason is just more bull****. You won't find me calling a console FPS "pathetic" in any way because it's primary control scheme is a controller. It's irrelevant. Those of us that have experience and preference of using mouselook might not like the control scheme, but there's no denying that the control scheme for current console shooters works for a great many people. If it didn't, the games wouldn't sell so well. Given sheer sample size, I'd be surprised if there weren't many people that experienced greater "challenge and pleasure" out of Halo 3 than you or I have had with any of our FPS games. Particularly because such metrics as "challenge" and "pleasure" are subjective. As for your original "contradiction." Console shooter = FPS on a console. Lets look at an FPS on a console: Is it an FPS? Check. Is it on a console? Check. I'm failing to see the contradiction. It's because there isn't one.

Well, if s/he is talking IW, then credibility is suspect as how can that be considered one of anyone's favourite games

The issue isn't whether or not having the option to play as both male/female is a valid complaint. The issue is the absurdity of coming onto a message board with a hate filled message stating that you will be ignoring Obsidian games from now on, while later in the same email commenting how Deus Ex is one of your favourite games. Something isn't right here. Clearly the user is more than able to enjoy a game for what it is without the need for female characters, as Deus Ex is considered one of the OP's favourite games. In fact, the OP says that he (she?) feels that Alpha Protocol could even be better than Deus Ex, but has decided to completely skip the game simply because of the lack of a female PC option. The user is basically saying "This game looks like it will be a lot of fun, perhaps even more fun than one of my favourite games, but I have decided to skip on the game because it doesn't have a female character option."

It would be very easy for you to take this the wrong way, so please don't... but I'm not inclined to take anyone connected to Bio's word on this. Not after NWN1. You are in an impossible position, I wouldn't expect you to be critical of the product but for that reason alone I prefer to hear from independent third parties like the guy who wrote the Game Banshee review. Like I say, it's nothing personal. Cheers MC Haha I know. Hence my emoticon.

Hey! I'm pretty sure I said that I felt the game's claim of being a spiritual successor to BG wasn't that far off!!!! /pout

Though I wouldn't count too much on the PC Sales. I'm pretty sure that they were not that high (though an easy enough cash in for EA since the game was done already).

Fair enough. Oblivion would probably be good at it if the game itself was actually good and interesting. In the end it wasn't. Having said that, to bring this on topic, if there is ever a choice between male or female, I almost always play male, simply because I am more confident on having a believable type playthrough with it. However, playing as a female character has never been a factor at all in not purchasing a character.

You're right, it would've been more persuasive if I lied and said it was me. Has it occurred to you that when "everyone" knows somebody who's had a problem, it might be a legitimate problem? Or that they're full of **** and pissed at the DRM and were making a holy crusade against it. I've yet to see anything beyond anecdotes of the multitude of evil things that Starforce allegedly did to people's computers, yet it was pretty much discounted as being the sole reason for any problems for anyone's computer, and games that it was attached to. A lot of hoopla when CGW mentioned that it could run in PIO mode for an extended period of time, and suddenly everyone knew someone that was suddenly able to confirm that their optical drive broke because it was in PIO mode for too long, and hence it was Starforce's fault. I'm not sure how they were able to confirm this after the drive died, but it seems the entire world is more technologically apt than I am. The same way that "everyone" knows someone that ate a chicken burger from a fast food restaurant that had a tumor in it, etc. etc. It's almost become urban legend it was so frequent, yet never really to anyone that happened to be talking.

I'm not sure how this relates to the discussion of how someone is able to place themselves into the game. Why not? Oblivion has no problem with placing you "there" in the game... Its a one trick pony and that's it's one trick. I just don't see how that makes it a [non-existant] role playing game. Who was discussing Oblivion? Or claiming it is or is not a roleplaying game? You asked specifically "Who plays an RPG to play as themselves?" I answered your question. You asked for an elaboration. I'd still roleplay myself through playthroughs of Baldur's Gate even. I'm completely confused as to how Oblivion came involved at all.

I'm not sure how this relates to the discussion of how someone is able to place themselves into the game.

Why not? I won't disagree, but that's because I don't know how anyone could definitively state one or another. The link you provided from BioWare's site lists both Baldur's Gate games as selling over two million copies. The same "over two million" that Mass Effect has sold. This with Baldur's Gate series having quite a tail. NWN and it's expansions is listed as selling over 3 million units. It's probably not that conservative of an estimate that the two expansions probably account for between 500k and 1000k units. The only game that I could say definitively sold better than it is KOTOR at 3 million+ (I was always under the impression that KOTOR was their best selling game, though you seem to indicate that NWN is). EDIT: One thing seems for certain, and that is that BioWare is a pretty successful company. If a 2 million seller is your second worst selling RPG, then things aren't doing so bad haha.

I can't say I have ever heard anyone else say that Fallout 3 reminds them of No One Lives Forever 2. I wish that Fallout 3 reminded me of No One Lives Forever 2.

Why not? I'm not saying I don't roleplay in different ways either, but I have no issues playing a game like Deus Ex, and playing the character and making the choices that I would probably do if I was in that specific situation. I also have no problems playing the situation for the type of character that I am currently playing.

I can agree with the notion that it's easier to port to the 360 than the PS3. Of course, developing something for the PS3 first will be more difficult than developing something for the 360 first, so it's kind of a wash.

Just to be clear, being a classic doesn't require originality. I don't think people have said that they do need originality directly, and I know someone else has said what I just did. Though a lot of the criteria that people list do indicate originality in some way.

I often do.

Never played No One Lives Forever 1/2, The Longest Journey, Portal or Beyond Good And Evil? I weep for you. No, Ive never played any of those. I even go so far as to try to make the avatar look as close as possible to me, but there usually isnt a good looking enough portrait to choose from. I highly recommend each and every one of those games. NOLF are fantastic games.

Who says they let me? >.> Though there's the usual "waiting for response (from programmer)" or "waiting to load" or "updating game build" type breaks

For what it is worth, when I first started playing the game I was surprised how often I died. I think it was mostly that I find games are not particularly challenging anymore, so i was probably a bit reckless. It wasn't until the end of my first (and only haha) real playthrough that I started to be much more proactive in controlling all party members, utilizing various tactics presets. Now that I know how to play the game, I do find it much easier, and don't have much trouble (especially with a particularly powerful group) through some of the fights that I really struggled with to start. I know I'm a bit, errrrr, hostile to you at times, but I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I've been lucky enough to play the game That and I'm biased since the success of the game more directly affects me now haha. No trashing it!