Monte Carlo

Yep, I just generated my key on the backer's site and Steam happily accepted it. This really is a lot of fuss about very little IMO.

Ha. It's released the day before I leave the country for a week or so with no access to my Steam account. So no Pillars of Eternity for me until after Easter. How's that for luck?

RPS is a fetid nest of social justice warrior nonsense. Kotaku I have no strong feelings about, apart from their inability to take five bloody minutes to learn the basic mechanics of the game they're meant to be reviewing.

Yes, good point. Embargo? What embargo?

My message to the dweebs at Kotaku.

I watch streams of competitive RTS games. Twitch (etc) is a good medium for that. Kinetic 'crash, bang, wallop' entertainment with lots of snarky comments coming in from viewers. I'm not so sure about RPGs though. I once watched a Dragon Age: Inquisition stream. IMO that's not a boring game, but the stream (which had a couple of thousand people watching) was about as interesting as watching paint dry. And, yeah, a lot of these streamers aren't very interesting or amusing. 'Zany' and 'wacky' makes me want to reach for my revolver TBH. Which leaves us with Obsidian's decision to issue previews to streamers. I'm not that bothered, as a backer, that streamers got review copies. Hey, that's how it's done nowadays apparently and like most sane, well-balanced people I keep a country mile away from anything to do with marketing or PR. There be dragons. But I *do* detect a whiff of what we call in Britain 'Trendy Vicar' syndrome. A trendy vicar is a nerdy cleric who tries to get down with the kids on a Sunday to grow his congregation. He'll have a Christian rapper in the pew. He'll wear a wacky jumper over his dog collar. He'll try to talk street. He's a d1ck. Obsidian seem to have hurled copies of this game at streamers who, frankly, do little credit to the product. I imagine this is a scattergun approach (no pub is bad pub) but it leads to the situation the OP describes. And I too want to purge with fire and sword people who play idiotic pop music over original game soundtracks. Please bear in mind, however, Monte Carlo is almost 46 years of age. I probably need to STFU and get with the program.

Bob is also a winner. Choose a random attribute to make it extra special, for example 'Bob the Morose' or 'Bob the Effervescent.'

They are all adorable.

You can never really go wrong with Dave followed by their profession. For example 'Dave the Barbarian.'

Sweden? FFS the last time they delivered anything to where I live they came over in long-boats.

I want Ferg to make enough money to buy a big sports car, so he can have an awesome mid-life crisis. In my mind's eye me and Ferg would go to Mexico and have adventures together involving vampires, tar heroin and machineguns.

Thanks for thanking me. As an early adopter, muse and all-round beacon of inspiration to the developers, I agree I am awesome. I've been quiet recently, recharging my Awe Silo, but I have sacrificed a couple of goats to the Eldritch, tentacled gods of arpeegees. I think you'll agree it wasn't in vain (even though I didn't get any experience points).

@ Lordcrash

Just thought I'd log in to LOL. Please share your drug of choice, I'd like to buy some.

Seeing as he's just won the internet with that excellent post, we might as well close the thread TBH.

... sadly, am almost certain you ain't joking. there is notable extreme attractive english women, but if the water has had an affect on your women folk, it has resulted in... well, perhaps you could google Gus Terkelsen quotes on the matter. the guy is a schmuck, but his website is successful precisely 'cause there is something in the english woman's water. HA! Good Fun! Your compulsion to look for argument, in a comment loaded with obvious levity, does you little credit.

I agree with y'all. IE combat might not have been 'gamist' enough, but it was fun. This isn't.

Beautiful, deadly Russian women. Rawr.

She's not Russian.

Lay in bed for a long time. Got up and breakfasted lazily. Read newspapers. Played Diablo 3 with son on PS4. Wrote for a bit. Messed about and enjoyed hour of internet serendipity. Walked hund mit Frau Monte Carlo. Am off to see Fury at the cinema followed by dinner with Frau MC. All in all, a very pleasant day. Tomorrow am planning beer-based (even lazier) Sunday.

Given the variables in the spectrum of mental health problems encompassed by 'Depression' it's about as useful as a game called 'Cancer Quest.' For example, I was treated for clinical depression some years ago using standard SSRIs and some therapy. I made a full recovery and am fine. I am grateful for my treatment. I suppose my (not very unusual) experience wouldn't make for a great game, then again I'm not a solipsist twenty-something looking to make a name for myself.

Anita isn't troll-baiting there. She's trolling. I can see why she's descended into misandry, although the irony is obvious. Trawling the net, this is a very American story. Here in Europe we have our fair share of politically-correct nonsense, but the rabid savagery and over-the-top hysteria of this whole saga is a uniquely American take on the Kulturkampf. As so many of the big questions of American political discourse are settled, compared to other parts of the world, America instead sees existential struggle in terms of gun ownership, abortion and now gender issues. I speak as an Americanophile who loves the country and people, and has lived and travelled there. I'm not a hater. But, at the end of the day, GamersGate, Anita, childish threats, intolerable behaviour and the sheer venom exhibited by the combatants is a supremely First World Dilemma. I'm sure in dusty villages on the border with Kurdistan, people threatened with clitorodectomies and beheading are having heated discussions about the depiction of women in first-person shooters.

I think what he's saying is that Anita is easily ignored. Then he balances that out with acknowledging she might use her gender as a blunt instrument. Personally I think Anita can say what she likes. I think she might have a point in there, somewhere, if she wanted to find it without coming across as the new Joan of Arc of gaming. I find cultural critics / pop-sociologists of every political stripe fairly ludicrous, but the treatment she's received on the internet disgusts me. I'd be interested in what Dave Gaider thinks about the uniformity of opinion in the gaming press and how their views don't mirror those of many, many gamers. And how the right-on mafia would probably snark any news site with a differing view out of existence.

Completely pointless. Remove all of this. Ha ha ha. You are an awesome parody of yourself, an overwrought portrait of self-regard. Please, don't stop being you.

So Bayonetta 2 stars Sarah Palin?