Nepenthe

Well, all the sluts I know frequent the place.

Agreed. There should have been a "third option" for the middle-ground ones.

Underrated in this forum or just in general? I'd say Alpha Protocol was considerably better than the score it got. Too bad it's unlikely to ever get the patch (or the recognition) it deserves.

I am inclined to agree that Mass Effect 2 was superior to the original. I can understand arguing that it was a worse RPG, but not that it was a worse game. Maybe the writing was better, but the story got really stupid with all the retconning and plot holes. I'd point them all out (again), but you can easily just read Shamus Young's take on it. I almost care enough to go through those and refute the, at least 2/3s, that are complete bs or nitpicking. (Which is why I didn't reply earlier). Obviously the ME novels do fill in some of the background, which probably plays into some of those. Some are just wrong, and some are exceptionally crude strawmanning. Pity, since there are genuine issues that he brings up. Too bad there's so much bs on the channel the real stuff gets lost.

Nah, what will happen is that everybody will... "acquire" it, some people will like it, some won't and a few claimed that after having "bought" it, they put it down in disgust after 30 minutes. And I'll keep wondeirng why I come here. Probably because I need a mental reset button every 30-60 minutes when writing.

Well good, imagine if you had to play those to be chipper, yikes. Maybe it's just my experience on Evil Avatar, too much of that sort, always buying hype, posting "Day one!" on the flimsiest of evidence, etc. That forum is less 'grumpy' than here, but in the bad way. Then again, this place isn't grumpy and hostile enough for my liking. And precisely for that reason I won't say what I think about you(r comment).

Still, it's where the magic happens!(?)

FWIW, I didn't have you in mind when I mentioned people not approaching it with an open mind. Also, can see the initial 30 minutes feeling pretty bad, certainly dependent on class. Oh well, not for everybody...

Sounds to me like everybody here pretty much is in agreement with the last part of your post, the brouhaha is more over people proclaiming their capability for creating a clearly superior ending to the series over the one Bioware has chosen - or that the route chosen, is in fact, somehow "new" at this point. I was in the same boat with you Tig. For a long time I had 0 interest in Mass Effect, I only bought it about a year and a half ago. In spite of it's flaws (it clearly was a new type of game for Bio, and they did mistakes that were partially fixed for PC, as seen earlier in this thread), it (and the sequel) have become two of my favourite games of all time. I'm starting to think that my initial skepticism, and the way the game managed to overcome that, play a big role in why I like it so much. And why I have such derision for people who pick at the nits with this game, I guess I just think they can't let go of their prejudices.

You know you don't have to take a shot of all of them, right? I didn't!

Sorry about the craptastic pic. House moving operation underway, so camera and games are at a different place and this room has only smaller light sources. I think I got the original Deus Ex (not GOTY, which I have too) hiding somewhere, as well, but I'd say those three are the crown jewels of the collection.

I'm a lot more saddened by my apparent inability to get my point across to him. /eject thread

I thought the point of marketing was to get people to buy stuff, not discuss it. I discuss iPhones with my friends all the time, but there's no way I'm paying 1000 dollars for a phone/organizer Having people actively following and discussing your product is a great way to get people to buy said product because it raises brand awareness. And the fact that everybody who can't afford it is talking about it is probably going to drive a lot of people with excess cash (or a lack of common sense) into buying one. Or, what you said, but less eloquently.

I'd say my impressions were the opposite. I was never treated harshly (most of them were scared ****less of having a lawyer there), but never fairly or with any respect, apart from the respect you give to somebody who you suspect can tie you into legal loopholes for the rest of your natural life. Clearly your military culture is at an advantage over ours. Military as a prison is an institution, the big difference is that you probably won't be stabbed, raped, robbed, or likely to develop a drug addiction in the military. Plus my sting in the military is something I remember to be harsh but ultimately enjoyable; that said I wouldn't do it again. The comparison really isn't fair since both have very different objectives and populations. The whole point wasn't to equate the two, but to instead point out that people will generally view even a rather "soft" limitation of personal freedoms pretty ****ing opressive.

I still have all of mine, including Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds.

It was pretty horrible on the xpox as well. Also the console interface wass piss-poor, lousy button management resulted in stuff like not being able to give individual orders to team mates etc. - stuff which I believe was all in the PC port.

Fortress at least has Loryn Locklin, so I'd think a serious fapper such as yourself would appreciate it!

I'd say my impressions were the opposite. I was never treated harshly (most of them were scared ****less of having a lawyer there), but never fairly or with any respect, apart from the respect you give to somebody who you suspect can tie you into legal loopholes for the rest of your natural life. Clearly your military culture is at an advantage over ours.

I wish I had an explanation why I've enjoyed playing it so much. I don't, I never do, not for ME(2), not for Deus Ex, not for Baldur's Gate 2. I just know what I like, and a bunch of internet know-it-alls won't change that for me. They might lessen my enjoyment for talking abou the games, but not for playing them.

that's exactly how I feel about ME2. it was a step backwards compared to ME. while I can agree that ME2 had it's moments, and it definitely looked very good graphics wise, how can people say that they love it, I don't understand. Sometimes liking things is determined by your gut or your heart, not your head.

I woder if that line was taken out of context for the trailer and actually he's just trying to order a lemon lime. It wouldn't surprise me if that in-joke is in the game. I'm sure if the original "I vanted orrrange" line would have been used in a trailer, somebody here would have decided that the game was too emo.

I'd definitely say that the strengths of ME aren't in the originality of its plotline. Hell, their stated aim was to build games drawing heavily on 80s scifi movies (which can be seen down to the design of the MAKO essentially being a clone of Big Trak*). But then again, there is no story that can be trivialised to the point of sounding uninteresting (Torment: You're some guy with amnesia, trying to regain his memory. BORING, DONE TO DEATH. etc.) Oh, I think most people here think I look bad even when I'm right. *again many apologies for using Wikipedia in this scientific debate, I'm finishing a paper on the subject they actually pay me to work on, so time is, alas, short.

Since CLEARLY this thread exists in a vacuum, where the same guys don't actually whine about everything Bioware does. Don't start playing the victim, it's not becoming.

Most people find the concept of being locked up and having their normal personal freedoms restricted quite distressing enough. I'm sure all the people who have served in the military in some capacity can certainly grasp that concept. p.s. The problem with human rights is that they apply to humans.

Did this really come as a surprise? Really? Hmm, released at holidays 2011. Two year development cycle, more than I expected. Maybe the multiplayer takes a portion of that time? Unlikely, no way are they using the same team for multiplaya (if there is such a thing - probably).