Tale

Don't worry, you're only missing COD with some crappy mechs. Not to discount anyone else's opinion on this game, but this is kind of how I felt after playing the beta a bit. But to each their own. I've heard lots of positive discussion that painted a different picture. So I'm actually a bit surprised. I'd like to hear elaboration from one who actually played, if you're up for it. Just for informative purposes. I have no interest in playing multiplayer shooters myself.

I don't agree. I can't agree. First off, I have to say they're totally separate. I see no connection between the ideas of "romance" and "RPG experience." But second is that I don't think most RPGs are even equipped for what I'd consider a well written romance. To me, a well written romance needs two things, conflict and time. I look at Farscape with Crichton and Aeryn, it's not until around season three that the romance really becomes what you'd identify as a romance. Along the way, they get jealous, they fight, they keep getting pulled apart by circumstance or their own goals, one of them even dies, and then only after all of that conflict is resolved do they get together. When I look at RPGs romances, I only see the room for all of that when the romance spans multiple games or the game is mostly about that one romance. It's part of why I like Viconia's romance and Morrigan's. Viconia's is little but conflict and it takes from Baldur's Gate II to Throne of Bhaal to resolve. Morrigan's is faced with obstacles, her own nature, and her leaving with the child. Eventually resolved in Witch Hunt. But still, neither really enhanced what made these games RPGs, they simply inserted interesting character drama alongside.

My favorite was that she would die and then become a zombie and then it's okay because she's not your sister anymore technically. That was just a joke probably to make fun of other people who wanted the romance. I don't have any evidence to back up that claim, mind you. It is simply what I choose to believe.

I'd say she raises valid concerns but then turns them on the head and invalidates everything with stupid crap that comes out of her mouth. Did things change that drastically from her first video and later works? The big criticism I had of her work is that it was dull. That's it really. It came across like a high school essay. Lacked entertainment value, expressiveness, useful insights, or anything to really hook the viewer. It was like reading a grocery list, only instead of cheese and milk, it was video game princesses. It wasn't offensive or stupid, just dull.

Dead Space 2 You probably don't recall, but I tried playing it when it first came out. It had reproduceable freezing errors and I started thinking my PS3 was dying. 3 years later, my PS3 is still chugging along, so I think I can relieve myself of that worry and try playing again.

I beat Stick of Truth last night. Great game, desperately needed more difficulty. I beat the final boss on Hardcore while actually trying to hold back so it would last a few more rounds. I need to stock up on Sunny D for next week, though.

Are you pressing A to detonate?

Caution doesn't mean you can't use it, it means you have too much and are about to crap yourself. If you're actually unable to use it, it sounds like it skipped updating the UI. Because when you do crap yourself, it drains all your mana. Try using a mana potion. See what happens.

Bell's actually kind of obvious. Maybe too obvious. There's a bell on the fence. Use the cowbell there. The mouse is a bit more hidden. It's almost like he's behind a secret passage. Let's just say that there's some pipes that you can walk around you might not realize.

As far as I can tell, you're not supposed to skip that one. The earlier instances were true loops where skipping was the only way out. This one is unique throughout and he just gets over it on his own.

You need to switch to Butters as your partner. And then use him like you used Kenny to distract the earlier one.

The page on southparkstudios.com has the skill trees. http://beta.southparkstudios.com/games/stick-of-truth

Thinking you alternate A and D seems to be pretty common from what I've read. But yeah, what Bazgrim is saying. It sort of scrolls you through the frequencies back and forth.

I news that only I care about, a woman parked her car in front of an oncoming train one intersection down from us. The train was able to slow down enough that she only suffered minor injuries, but it blocked us onto our street for an hour or two while they cleared the scene. From the police e-mail, it sounds like a suicide attempt. The lady pulled around the crossing arms and parked.

Finished Bravely Default with over 100 hours. If I find some time to lock myself away with my consoles, I'm going to try getting back to Dead Space 2 next.

I've seen two, Rev 3's and RPS. There's lots of reservations on the game from them both and they do mention bugs prominently. So I'm kind of surprised to see these great review scores elsewhere. For the record, Rev3 gave it 3/5. I was coming to post this too. I find it interesting that some of the reviews say it is a buggy mess while other reviews and some players have said they didn't encounter a single bug during their playthroughs. Dunno if those "buggy mess" reviewers are too critical because it's developed by Obsidian (if it was developed by say.. Bioware for example, they would be making songs and poems about how awesome it was and never mentioning it's problems) or does those bugs show themselves when the weather outside is cloudy or what. It's beginning to sound like platform differences. I know the RPS reviewer played the PC version. The lack of keybinding and other PC central options do seem like a problem.

I see you started a more general thread and carried the same info over, so I'll close this one.

When I was young, I decided that I'd never buy a game I could beat in a single rental or a single night. The games I said this about? Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry I gave up that policy pretty quickly. And it ultimately hit home when I looked at games, mostly multiplayer, that I had hundreds and hundreds of hours in and that really didn't do anything for me but kill some time. And I've come to value shorter experiences that use that time well over longer experiences that don't. 12 hours is even longer than many other games I do value. As long as it doesn't waste my time.

I see it more as a viral promotion. They're getting people to upload these things first, then send them a link. Increasing their exposure on youtube and other sites.

I like fruit snacks. Where are mine? Next time I visit Cali, I'll bring some. Just as a precaution.

Was it Irvine? A number of years ago I took a trip to SoCal and the only memories I have of it are getting a knife held to my throat. Luckily, even druggies love fruit snacks, so I was able to defuse the situation. But the prevalence of Taco Bells and lack of Taco Buenos is shameful.

A change doesn't mean it has to be their worldview. More interesting than a character in a situation the audience is unfamiliar with is one in a situation the character is unfamiliar with. There's again, growth and change to be had there, even if it's simply becoming comfortable with their environment. The improvement here is that the change makes the character vulnerable. A good character is one you want to see attempt a challenge. And if it's a personal challenge, all the better.

Still on Bravely Default. I'm officially hooked with over 65 hours of play. Though the chapters after 4 seem to be filler material. Decent filler material, in that the enemies are well fleshed out in 6, and the boss fights are challenging in 7. But there's no new areas to go through and the story is excuse driven.

I don't know how I feel about DA:I. I have resigned myself to some combination of "hopeful" and "rent it first." But the idea that I shouldn't even hold that level of interest makes more rational sense to me. I wanted to type here that I've stopped patronizing other developers for less. But in actually giving it thought, I don't know that I have. Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Mass effect, and even Dead Space, Dragon Age has not quite sunk to their lows of rehash or not giving a crap. So perhaps I should be more comfortable with my cautious optimism, even if I have written off the other half of the studio making it. Seriously, if you see me in a ME4 thread, it'll only be to make brainless jokes. I guess what I'm trying to illustrate here is that people's opinions and hopes for the game may be complicated.

From the Gearbox article on ars ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH