Monte Carlo

No way am I having a hangover in my own time.

^ true dat. However, Boll could **** anything up. It's his gift.

And this is the guy who has issues with Gay people? Lulz.

You are stalking me, figuring that by absorbing my wisdom you will go on to live a more wholesome, manly life.

FFS, Wals are you living in a POW camp or something? Can I send you a Red Cross parcel? Is James Garner cutting about having made some potato vodka?

RIP

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die was only UK£ 4.99. Seemed silly not to buy it given the stuff some of the guys on here have said about it.

Regarding Alan's comment re. women in the United States Marine Corps: Loads of women serve in the USMC. It's huge. They aren't, however, allowed to serve in the infantry MOS grades as riflemen, SF or (IIRC tank crews). Jesus this debate is half-arsed. Women serve in *over* 90% of military roles in advanced western democracies. They fly fast jets and gunships, they defuse IEDs, they conduct survey for artillery and they set up advanced electronic warfare and SIGINT infrastructure. Asymmetrical warfare means that they are certainly going to be deployed in harm's way: in the British armed services you see female combat medics routinely winning medals for saving lives in battle. The final frontier for women is the infantry. The rationale is that closing with, and killing at close range, the enemy requires a hyper-aggressive, fit, disciplined mindset that would be (mainly for deeply ingrained bio-sociological reasons) distracted by mixed-gender units. Women can do it. Unambiguously. The military view, however, is that their presence would be detrimental and suboptimal (fact is that, yes, only a minority of women would either want to serve or achieve physical parity with male infantry soldiers). Combat efficacy trumps political correctness. As I said in my previous post, this last bastion will be breached one day and we shall see what happens. Until technology and social change can mitigate the concerns I address above, however, routine mixed-gender infantry units are a way off. Not far, maybe, but still a way off.

@ Alan, what is the current view in your world with regards to managing DLC in RPGs? I assume a rich DLC strategy is a big part of Inquisition. I say this as someone who isn't particularly hostile to DLC per se (as i'm slightly older I don't suffer from the entitlement issues of the twentysomethings that everything should be free). You don't have to be Bioware specific, but is the current view that bite-size is more profitable and customer-friendly, or do you think we'll see some sort of halfway-house to XPs? My question is partially prompted by the Diablo 3 XP content and ethos. It strikes me as agreeably old-skool and I'm definitely buying it.

Women have often fought in desperate wars of national survival. Not so often in professional armies. The social imperative to integrate women into infantry units is very strong, verging on unstoppable. One of two things will happen: (1) It will be fine. Socio-biological urges will be trumped by socialization and / or technology. Or, (2) the experiment will be a disaster and the military in question will suffer significant attrition. I don't know the answer. I think (2) is more likely in the short term, but that in advanced Western economies eventually (1) will prevail as combat infantry develops into small-unit, technologically advanced operator roles (for example, small units of power-armoured infantry that requires high levels of fitness that is augmented by bio-engineering).

How about if I read half the vocal internet opinions on the average Transformer movie. Or other Michael Bay explosion vehicle. Or a particularly non-zero number of opinions of Bioware games. I can imagine several people around here, and elsewhere, reviewing Dragon Age: Inquisition with scathing commentary about romances and CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE. And those same people giving complaint that no professional reviews hold similar criticism. But surely, you should expect that. So you can't comment. Or something. Sorry, but I haven't the faintest idea what you're saying with this post. Not being rude, genuinely, but I'm having a Point Not Found moment.

^ But... but it's such awesome source material *sobs*

^ Again, Alan, I agree broadly with the thrust of your argument. But this is the fifth turn of the GTA wheel. It's one of the most successful and famous games. I think by now anyone thinking of purchasing it might know the lie of the land. Personally, a fluffy politically correct version of GTA would be awesome. You could have an empowered, castration-fixated prostitute, a cross-dressing kleptomaniac who thinks he's Sarah Jessica Parker (NEW MISSION: STEAL JIMMY CHOOS) and a subversive, nihilistic probation officer who keeps releasing serial killers back into the community for the lulz.

These gym-bunnies look like they spend all their time in the gym, when they should be swanning about my Schloss wearing expensive lingerie, watching war movies and lighting my cigars.

^ I agree with Alan but this is also a straightforward (a) genre issue and (b) feminist whining. Imagine I wrote a review of a romantic comedy and got butt-hurt that there were no car chases, gun-fights or scenes where Sean Connery takes out a roomful of bikers armed only with his thumb* Quite rightly I'd be told to stop being a tool. Ergo, the young lady complaining that a game about gangstas not channelling Naomi Woolf needs to also stop being a tool. * The Presidio.

^ Agreed.

I do. Who is this 'we' of which you speak? If everything is 'inclusive' where does that leave 'us?' (a sort of authoritarian libtard nirvana, I was being rhetorical). Please have another look at what I'm saying... I really don't like GTA as a franchise. I think it's grubby. I think it's tacky. So what? I just don't play it. So if some women find that the portrayal of their gender is offensive then they shouldn't play it either. It really is that simple. One person's inclusivity is another person's nightmare.

WTF? http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128040-Colin-Farrell-May-Star-in-Warcraft-Movie

Funnily enough, I was about to mention The Expendables. Dammit, none of the team have any sort of physical disability and in the second film the lack of Eastern European positive role-models was disappointing.

* yawns * Reagan was one of the best presidents of the USA and is seriously underrated by libtards.

You could Bruce. But... I'm not part of the GTA V market, I find the games crass and childish and glamorise crime. They don't feature enough fortysomething middle-class male wargamers like me, either. Dammit, The Twilight Saga doesn't fit that demographic either. Nor does loads of other stuff. Back to GTA V, I game I don't-really-care-for. Guess what? I don't buy the freaking thing and I don't bitch about it. I play something else. It's like women's football. It's like a sacred cow for feminism but in reality is meh with a capital 'M'. People vote with their feet and I will now declare GTA V a game for either; (a) Males or (b) Females who accept that the subject matter is macho bull**** The end.

Saw that Tom Cruise sci-fi nonsense Oblivion. It sucked donkey balls, and I'm not a Tom Cruise hater. However I am utterly in love with the willowy, mysterious and English Andrea Riseborough.

I'm levelling up a Demon Hunter in D3 (PC) but dammit I prefer the melee characters. Too much running around as a Demon Hunter, although it is nice having a character armed with a machinegun. Is there any way I can transfer my lewt from the US to Euro servers?

GTA is a game about criminals, isn't it? Hoodlums, gangsters, thieves, pimps? In my experience these groups don't have HR officers or equal opportunities policies. Jesus, when will the PC gaming Taleban STFU? Edit: PC as in PC. Not PC. You know what I mean.

Sounds quite rich. I'd try a Portuguese green wine with that. It's fantastic stuff. It is quite rich. It's comfort food. Green wine sounds evil and must be purged.