Bartimaeus

I could maybe see that working...but I could also see it being utterly dreadful for someone in their 80s - and most people in general, actually. You play as a modern teenager...and the character dialogue and problems very much reflect that. Not only that, but the setting is unusually hipster-ish/preppy...definitely a game you have to go into with a specific mindset to enjoy, otherwise you'll probably end up hating it. The game draws ire in much the same way Undertale did, I think. I went into it thinking I was gonna play as a teenage girl, and that's exactly what I got.

Yeah. In other news, here's a pretty neat video that takes a look at a recent innovation in the NFL. How the Packers Get Away With Holding on Every Play (was also alternatively titled by the author "How the Packers Are Transforming NFL Offensive Line Play"). Taking an old technique that fell into disuse and "updated" it for the modern game with great results.

Well, since I've already ruled out purchasing things from Steam entirely (or virtually so - maybe one or two small Steam-only indie games a year), I guess I can only wait and see how this affects the business before I decide on alternatives. I wouldn't expect there to be much change in the short-term future (next 1-2 years), but wouldn't be surprised if things took a turn for the worse after that. Companies should really just start to have donation pages on their own company sites so that I/we can stop dealing with this crap entirely.

wat

now I can remember obama very openly criticizing fox news, but I can't even remember him threatening to try to shut it down or anything along those lines

I think the Packers thought the same thing in 2013 after Rodgers broke his collarbone mid-season. Going into week 11, we were 5-4, and would subsequently drop to 5-6-1 over the next two weeks...while the Lions were 6-3. Then the Lions lost 6 of the next 7 games, four of them by 3 points or less. Packers won the division by a sliver at 8-7-1. The Lions' one win during that seven week stretch, ironically enough, was an utter drubbing of the Packers, winning 40-10. Doesn't matter, won the division/went to the playoffs. But anyways, EE isn't even guaranteed to be suspended for the next six weeks. The temporary restraining order on the suspension was granted as a result of procedural errors committed by the NFL - likewise, the overturning of the TRO was granted as a result of a procedural error committed by Ezekiel Elliot's party. EE will file another, though it admittedly has less chance of working than last time because instead of being filed in Texas' 5th circuit, it will be filed in New York's 2nd circuit - the same as the Brady decision. Since the TRO is granted on the basis of "likelihood of success" in regards to the overall lawsuit, eh...well, because of the particulars and the differences between these two cases, I think it's hard to predict whether or not the TRO will be granted, and it will ultimately come down to the discretion of the judge pulled for the case. Don't hold your breath, but it could happen. Of course, do you want it to? Would you rather EE serve out his suspension this year and just get it over with...or would you rather still try to make the playoffs this year and attempt to delay the suspension until next season? EE is trying the latter, but this entire debacle could very well just end up ruining two Cowboys' seasons here...

God I hope not. As self-serving and increasingly irrelevant game publishers are, regulation of games has been traditionally not awesome. As Zoraptor pointed out, EU regulation hasn't been terrible, and has actually pushed the industry forward in some ways. I have no faith in the U.S. creating decent regulation, though, so yeah, I hope the EU tackles this before it gets in the scopes of U.S. lawmakers.

No surprises there: it's a garbage self-regulatory agency supported by publishers. The rationale doesn't even make sense: so if all other forms of gambling had a minimum payout guarantee (e.g. 1 cent), they wouldn't be considered gambling? Casinos would be jumping at the opportunity to technically not be gambling so fast if it were that easy...and then such a loophole would be immediately outlawed. No, I think change will have to come from outside the industry at this point - that, or boiling over consumer outrage.

this is getting a little out of hand c'mon, folks: surely at least one of you wants to try a few of these games!

Yes to the former (and also, there is a little bit of a distance - not gigantic, but a little bit - between us already...and I can't really go anywhere that they couldn't find, again, if they were really intent on killing me), "not really" to the latter. It's awful, but I think the fact that the social services in my state won't do anything against this guy will probably mean I'm not gonna get killed. Of course, this guy just recently freaking OD-ed himself and has previously expressed the whole "if I can't have them, nobody can"-crap, so that doesn't really put me at ease. It just means that other innocents are eventually going to die here unless somebody takes him out first. (e): or unless he magically becomes sane, which doesn't really seem possible but I guess it might be @Gfted: That really sucks...and also kinda describes my cat. From what I'm reading online, frequent vomiting (which my cat has also been doing for the past couple of years) is also a sign of the more serious type of diabetes, too. I should probably get him to the vet...:|

The awful thing is, they already *have* had the cops called on them a few times before...but they always weasel their way out of things. You might think, "oh, then they're probably not doing anything wrong, and it's just a bunch of nothing-doers pulling crap on them..." but unfortunately, I (especially now) know better. I'm so tired of this kind of crap in my life...

Yeah, unfortunately, I'm a terrible, terrible shot, and I don't really like my survival chances if someone were expressly intent on killing me. So that's not great. As for the cat, yeah, he is pretty elderly. Over the past couple of months, it seems like he's been sick all the time while drinking massive amounts of water, and he's been losing weight. What a very bad year for the lives around me - between my sister, dad, uncle, grandma, and grandpa dying, I don't want to add my danged cat to the list here.

One problem with that is, I do actually know this person and am being kind of forced to deal with them in some capacity. The second problem is that...well, actually, the second problem is more a multitude of problems. Something something child abuse, something something totally mentally unstable narcissist that's also suicidal, something something if the cops get called on them and their children (a few young girls) get taken away, the three people or so people that could be responsible are gonna get murdered. It's rare that I would hope someone would just spontaneously die (for reasons I've mentioned elsewhere), but I think I have to make an exception here for self-preservation reasons as well as for the sake of their children. Alternatively, there is, yes, the "overkill" method: I'd rather be imprisoned than dead. Well, I have a Glock for a reason...

Getting death threats from an emotionally unstable wreck that I know in real life because I apparently overheard a conversation I shouldn't have. Good times. If I ever suddenly disappear, it's probably because I either got shot over something really dumb. On top of that, I think my cat might be dying.

I have all Soulborne games, and DeS is the only one, which I have completed. For some reason I like this game most. I even put big effort to get the Platinum Trophy for this game. I loved it that much Given how horrid getting a few of those achievements are, that's a certain sort of impressive.

Bloodborne is like DS1 on speed, while DS2 is like DS1 on booze: sluggish and clunky, and lacking in personality. DeS and DS3 just feel mostly like DS1, and which you think is the best is probably dependent upon which you played first and/or your initial experiences with them. Personally, I'd like to see maybe a sci-fi Soulsborne game that's even faster and more aggressive than Bloodborne - something like Star Wars meets Dark Souls.

He hasn't been very good, but he hasn't been truly horrid, either. Three of those five INTs were tipped (two of them not really his fault at all, one only partially), and one of the other two was pretty much just a hail mary at the end of the game. I wouldn't be singing a death knell for him quite yet. He has been talking about retirement for years now, though - if he continues to play poorly, I wouldn't be surprised to see this be his last year.

Is that more of a storytelling game first, or detective/P&C? Hard for me to get a feel from just the store page...

Demon's Souls (emulated). First time really playing it, which is funny, because I actually used to have a PS3 and Demon's Souls, but just wasn't interested in it at the time. It feels a bit less smooth and clunkier than even Dark Souls 1...and not just because I'm emulating it. For very early PS3 emulation, it's surprisingly stable and I mostly get a constant 30 FPS (the game's max). No crashes yet, though my audio did cut out one time. I don't think I'll like it as much as DS1 or Bloodborne, but it's already clearly better than the trash heap that was Dark Souls 2. I'm also playing Dark Souls 3 as well...and now that I think of it, it doesn't seem like the greatest idea to play both of these at the same time. From what I've played, though, I think my rankings of the Soulsborne games will probably end up BB > DS1 >> DS3 > DeS >>> DS2.

So then the next obvious question is how do you get the in-game currency, and can you pay real money to get a lot of it? The answer is...not yet clear, as it's not stated anywhere that I looked up either way.

At the time of his retirement, he held most passing records, and was one of the greats of the time up there with Unitas and (just a little later) Tarkenton.

I mean, unless she doesn't mind her family starving/freezing to death, I guess. :D Sadly, I can't think of a lot of not heavily-gameplay mechanic-driven games that are also neither fantasy or sci-fi. The former eliminates most all games, and the latter eliminates almost all of what's left. Ignoring the latter, my recommendation would be Broken Age. Maybe Amnesia or Penumbra if she's into horror, as they really don't have too demanding gameplay mechanics besides occasional hiding and puzzle-solving...but if she's not into horror, probably don't do that. Undertale might also be an O.K. idea...

Yeah, I was responding more to Rosbjerg regarding crates and loot boxes in general, not specifically the LotR game (which I know next to nothing about).

Fortunately, the business model is a dead man walking-type of situation: it won't exist anymore in probably 10-15 years (and hopefully sooner!), because as soon as the government catches up and actually classifies it as a form of gambling, suddenly all of these games have an Adult Only rating and don't exist in the majority of storefronts and can't really be sold anymore, especially not to children. Other types of micro-transactions, on the other hand...

For your grandma, I think Papers, Please will be much too difficult, I'm afraid. You have to be pretty quick in that game, both in using your controls as well as looking over and comparing different bits of text on characters' passports and such...and the game gets harder and harder as it progresses.