Monte Carlo

Actually it was fairly good and more along the lines of opening the medium to critique from everyone, including the feminists. Although I have to wonder just how aware he is about what game journalism has become. There is wisdom in Gaider's words, but as you say his head is up his fundament about the state of games 'journalism' where the paucity of diversity of opinion is startling. That is to say 99.9% of the gaming sites have taken the easy PC position.

That trailer was amazing, awesome magic and its effects I want that bird !!! Yeah not really following this discussion but the Awesomeness is strong in this trailer.

Oh dear. A potentially good game laid low by Bioware sexy tyme.

Ha ha ha ha! Cardinal FFFFaaaanannnG! Get the comfy pirate!

Admit it, you're intrigued.

Mt first RPG My first 'puter My first games My first car I would post an image of what pubic hairstyles were like when I first started dating, but not only would I be banned I think I'd shock some of the younger forum members into some sort of PTSD.

Having watched the amount of content and tone of the playthroughs with Mike Laidlaw, I think they *know* many of us don't trust Biowarr anymore. DA2 has left scars on their backs. They even went out of their way to show a keyboard and mouse session. They should be praised for this: they're responding to legitimate criticism and actively looking to build trust. I don't expect Bioware to make a game specifically for me, just be upfront about the game they *are* making. This was issue number one with DA2 (which I refused to buy and still haven't). Reasonable people change their minds when the facts change too, which is whats haPpening with me based on the evidence so far.

Germans are also much nicer than they are generally given credit for. But, yes, they love rules. Adore them. And the customer service? Wow the customer is never right. Brits abroad in Europe have a DNA-ingrained disdain for conquered peoples, i.e. everyone else.

The Dutch are some of the nicest people in the world. Except they are Europe's most notorious skinflints. They load up their RVs with everything you might need and drive all over the continent without spending a red cent in another country. I hope there are some people from the Netherlands on her big enough to admit it. I even went to a town in eastern Spain that wanted to ban them.

If you check out the 8-minute mark in that video you see the tactical view and character selection / commands. It's pretty much a DA:O / Infinity Engine wet dream. You can even set command-specific way points (i.e. stand your ground and fight at that point for fighters). It looks pretty good to me and I'm usually the first one to smite Bioware.

I have Sky movies and that's how they do it. You buy a movie and it downloads then they send you a physical copy in the post.

England... my England. There's something in the water here, to produce this level of crumpet. Ms. Hayley Atwell, no less.

Ah, Volourn. Bouncing around his rubber-room in his chemical-induced lolocopter.

China... man that deserves a whole new thread. It's a house of cards. A ship of fools. I'd not tie myself economically to that mast. Their day in the sun is over and the internal contradictions of the 21st century versus the Chinese communist party's diktats will not end happily. It will make Tienanmen Square look like a minor bar-fight on a Saturday night.

* Some military history about the battle for the Hurtgen Forest 1944-45. Given it was the 'Murican's costliest battle of WW2 it's kind of relegated due to the legend of the neighbouring Ardennes offensive (occurring slap-bang in the middle of the period). The author served as an infantry replacement in 1944 and clearly enjoys ripping all the generals a new one, juxtaposing their self-regarding memoirs with bloody reality. * Some end-of-the-world schlock I can't even remember the title of. I read a lot. A damn lot. Books eventually mush into each other. * More Lovecraft. I feel like I need some sort of literary Purple Heart for slogging through baroque prose and endless lists of Arctic expedition prerequisites.

Exactly, Bruce. What does SA want to do? Sell everything to China and live in their hybrid Capitalist-lite one-party state? Look at the alternatives. As a world-weary proponent of 'the least worst' school of thought, your initial proposition is self-evidently correct.

I have to say, when it comes to pre-release information, Bio appears to have learnt a pretty big lesson from the DA2 debacle. The sheer amount of content and news is impressive, as is the website. Put it like this - as a potential customer, I can't say I haven't seen enough of the game to make some sort of decision about it, and certainly couldn't claim I was mislead when making it. This is a first for Bio, maybe even a little humility. I'm not a fan of theirs or their work as a whole, but it would be churlish not to give credit where it's due.

Ros, given the bio-chemical basis for depression as an illness and its link to circadian cycles / vitamin D and light, it is generally accepted that Scandie smartie-poppin' is linked to your weather / winter cycles. Apart from that, I find myself in agreement with Bruce. Of course, we are likely to argue over details of social democracy versus market-based capitalism but that's a pleasant First World Dilemma. After all, we are making the argument over advanced information technology platforms in houses with a roof and running water in relatively safe communities. Many do not have that luxury, but Bruce's point should be self-evident. This chap posted a fascinating article on how the radical left has morphed existentially, and I think it might offer an insight into the argument we're having here. Check it out: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/alanjohnson/100289512/why-the-students-are-revolting/ The post-Marxist bogeyman is no longer Capital, it is simply the construct. The West. It's a return to 'noble savage' Victorian tropes by the left, fed by anti-Globalisation theory and long-march, Frankfurt Skool strategies. It's even more dangerous than the poison that provoked the generation of 1968. Interesting times.

^ One of the things I've got to consider is societal changes in the Church, given as the piece is set in the late 2100's. Will the priesthood have been released from a vow of chastity? Will the divisions around socially liberal issues evolve and which direction? Where are the lines in the sand? How will ecclesiastical jurisprudence cope, and it what way? Will there be a split in Catholicism of the sort we've already seen in the Anglican church? Let's not get started on gene therapy and technological advances. Small details in the overall wend and weft of my book, but they need to be considered. Am a big believer in consistent world-building. Readers who don't notice it still benefit from internal consistency and readers who do tend to really, really appreciate it and reward you with good reviews

I went to mass at Westminster Cathedral recently. It isn't as purdy as Saint Peter's by the look of it, but I loved the sense of scale (it's a big barrel-vaulted place) and the nooks and crannies off the nave (confessionals, crypts and the like).

Edge of Tomorrow. Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers without the humour. Emily Blunt looks hot in power armour. The aliens are cool. Much of it is shot in London. So I liked it a lot. Dammit I hate time travel movies but the premise here at least tries to make some sort of sense within the narrative. I give it a solid 7/10.

It was quite easy. I hitched a lift to Potsdam and up the E51 to Checkpoint Bravo. I remember HIND gunships floating along the autobahn and Trabants abandoned by the roadside as the Ossies headed west. I slept on a bench in Kreuzburg and drank schnapps while East German marines helped students take down large sections of wall with a crane. I have my piece of wall in the loft, a shard of concrete sprayed with mauve and blue metallic paint. That would have been January 1990. Edit - No, I didn't see David Hasselhoff.

Ha ha ha the one thing all Catholics seem to agree on is that Catholics don't agree on lots of stuff. That's helpful as (a) it gives me a bit of a get out of jail free card and (b) the Catholics in my book are divided into three camps themselves. I've invented a group called the Prelature of Saint James the Great too, making this stuff up has been tremendous fun. Learning about Saints has been genuinely fascinating.

It's been ages since we had some Leanna Decker, and hey it's Friday