Drowsy Emperor

Yeah, except we can do without epic fantasy for a while. There's plenty of sci fi, whether it be hard sf or space fantasy, there's a whole bunch of horror p&p with WoD and Cthulu on top of that pile etc. etc. The possibilities are endless if you look beyond sword and sorcery.

Awesome, BGII scene in 3D: http://kotaku.com/5942631/an-iconic-baldurs-gate-ii-scene-re+created-in-glorious-3d

Well, we'll see what they announce when/if it happens. That's what happens when you goof around in EA's managerial boot camp and not make enough MONEY, MONEY, MONEEEY: GET DOWN AND GIVE ME A HUNDRED OF THOSE FIFA'S SOLDIER!!

Like Dragon Age's setting? Besides, there are plenty of well thought out settings that aren't just about being different - but have actually taken the hobby farther than DnD ever could. Drop by RPG.net and see for yourself.

Apparently, you and I will start to like MMO's when they stop being... MMO's.

Startopia is now on GoG. Made by ex Bullfrog (Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital) employees in Mucky Foot its the best (and only that I know of) space station sim ever made. Good humor, excellent visuals, deep design, really - what's not to like? I urge anyone with any interest in sci fi and sim games to try it, its one of my favorite games of all time even with its flaws.

I've been reading that Diablo 3 is essentially a flop as far as MP is concerned (and none of my friends liked the single player at all) What's the verdict?

Is it true that Bioware isn't working on any single player RPG? All I see on their site are some crappy multiplayer projects and C&C of all things

Good thing the graphics aren't too intensive, this should run on my system without a hitch. Next, Alpha Centauri remake please. Without major gameplay changes if at all possible.

Right, that's what I meant to say.

I doubt they want a carrier group off the coast. If that's all the liberal muslims they could round up for this photo op it could almost count as counter-propaganda.

Is anyone playing Dark Souls: Prepare to Die? I'm reading its been horribly ported

The "social fabric" that has to fear mere words raised in opposition is no social fabric at all. It is a strawman for the justification of the suppression of dissent by the powers-that-be. What you've written is essentially the mission statement for every despotic/fascist/oligarchic/theocratic censorship regime in history. Its ridiculous to claim that there is no censorship or taboos in "democracies" or any other form of government. Just try seriously opposing the idea of multiculturalism for example, from a position of some authority and watch the way the media systematically destroy your reputation and effectively ostracize you from society. In some ways its even worse than being thrown in jail. There are plenty of topics that are off limits in any of the so called democracies.

The part I bolded sounds absurd. Do you know that there are millions of American Muslims? Like living in the US, practicing their religion peacefully, attending mosques all over the country, and managing not to kill anyone for their beliefs. I meant it in situations where killing is "expected", like in a ethnically, religiously etc. motivated conflict (war). Not killing people at random on the street. And I wasn't referring to Muslims in particular, rather most of the world in general. There is a difference between a fringe lunatic involved in violence and a mob expressing the general sentiment of the population and the latter is what's happening in US embassies. I was essentially refuting Gromnirs statement that there is anything "nuts" in this situation.

It's ridiculous to object to state oppression of (or, in your own example, murder of) people who look/talk/pray differently than previous generations of your fellow citizens did? Really? I think I'm OK with feeling just a smidge superior in that respect. Are you referring to the Chechnya discussion? As far as I recall it was them who instigated the war, and the response was predictable in terms of how these conflicts go. Where is this state oppression you speak of? The part where governments tell their people what they can and cannot say, write, or otherwise express based on some ephemeral notion of preserving "culture." What I'm saying is that a government cannot allow open calls to separatism and the sort of political activism that undermines the fabric of society. The latter part is vague, but that's the nature of things since its a thin line between "freedom of speech" and thinly veiled (or open) insults made to the beliefs of the majority.

New Vegas restored my faith in Obsidian more than any other game, to make a joke of it - its the first Elder Scrolls game I enjoyed.

Ironic isn't it?

It's ridiculous to object to state oppression of (or, in your own example, murder of) people who look/talk/pray differently than previous generations of your fellow citizens did? Really? I think I'm OK with feeling just a smidge superior in that respect. Are you referring to the Chechnya discussion? As far as I recall it was them who instigated the war, and the response was predictable in terms of how these conflicts go. Where is this state oppression you speak of?

I like it, its looking good. Hope there is a toggle for all the little cinematic camera effects because I foresee them becoming really annoying after a while.

Its ridiculous to consider yourself superior just because the nation states of the rest of the world have strong ties with a particular ethnicity, religion, culture and history that binds them to act in certain ways and have people that believe so much in those things that they are ready to kill for them. To collectively dismiss them as "nutters" is to show you have no idea how the rest of the world thinks, since they don't fit into your narrow world view. In that respect, I can perfectly understand and even justify (from their position, as practicing Muslims) recent events. What's not to understand? The US has been invading, killing and establishing control over the arab world for decades now, with thousands upon thousands of soldiers on the ground, countless numbers of dead civilians and countries destabilized. That in itself is reason enough to hate everything american and the american army and politicians in particular. Since they have been robbed of any semblance of national pride after so many defeats, the only thing that's left that's sacred and whole is religion. And in their eyes, the west, personified by the US is trying to defile that too. Thus retribution is the only, most logical choice. Since their nations are ruled mostly by marionettes, the only kind of retribution, the only vent for their frustration (which goes hand in hand with poverty and unemployment) they can manage is low intensity acts like this. Bottom line: they're not doing this because of the film, they're doing it because of everything. See how easy it was?

I have in my possession a book that claims to be a KGB manual on intelligence work (its credibility is reinforced by the fact that it was published by Serbian state owned publishing house "Sluzbeni glasnik" which publishes laws, official documents etc.). While there is a chapter on torture (and nothing on assassination) its not recommended as way to gather intelligence because of how unreliable the information is, as the subject will generally say and do anything to get the pain to stop. Therefore its safe to assume that it wasn't a standard operating procedure, any more than you could say Abu Graib is the standard way to treat prisoners in the US Army. Chechen insurgents were noted for just about every crime available against Russian civilians, much like the UCK did in Kosovo. I can imagine that there were plenty of retaliatory killings in the Russian army, but that's the sort of thing to expect in a civil war which as a rule, spirals out of control. Back on topic. Methinks the timing of the release of this movie is convenient, considering how close it is to sep 11. Its almost as if these, obviously well planned and organized attacks (that are continuing as we speak in Yemen and Egypt), only lacked an official "justification".

In retrospect I'm sort of glad Forgotten Realms and DnD have been mostly abandoned in gaming. They had run their course, at least for me. Make way for the dozens of cool pen and paper settings still waiting to be discovered by PC games. Not that its going to happen any time soon though, games wear an even tighter straight-jacket than moviess.

I imagine the separatists still enjoy plenty of support, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. There is no state that doesn't use torture and assassination when the situation calls for it (which is rare, since there are plenty of other, more reliable ways to solve problems) . To believe that is to be exceedingly naive. Its a halfway racist prejudice against Russia that everything there is as brutal as possible, the state, the people, the culture...etc. Russia is not CNN and gangster flicks, just like Africa isn't a bunch of black people jumping around a fire. Russian human rigths violations in Chechnya are well documented, so in this case the media bias against Russia, which is a real thing by the way, is not wrong. If you find me one major modern conflict where there are no human rights violations by its participants you get a cookie.

Well you probably haven't been around here long enough to know that my love for Bioware extends to, and ends with Throne of Bhaal. While BG had pretty standard characters and setting, BGII and ToB took the standard epic fantasy as far as it could go. I assume that by deep narrative and flawed atypical characters you're referring to KOTOR II and Mask of the Betrayer, which are both in my eyes an attempt to recreate the experience of PS:Torment. They both easily trump anything that BW made post ToB. So does VtM: Bloodlines. But really, I was talking about "Bioware in its prime" in terms of polish and consistency. All those games are quite flawed, and Bioware already had a tight product with the first Baldur's Gate. I mean, KOTOR II had no ending, NWN 2 was buggy as hell, VtM:Bloodlines had crappy combat and a half baked last act and Arcanum had terrible location design with grindy combat areas (and the combat itself was broken half the time). We've heard a lot of excuses over the years, but the fact is that there are a lot of problems with Obs and Troika's games. I remember playing through VtM Bloodlines sewers and that building with the zombies, scratching my head in disbelief that anyone would allow that to end up in a finished product.

I imagine the separatists still enjoy plenty of support, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. There is no state that doesn't use torture and assassination when the situation calls for it (which is rare, since there are plenty of other, more reliable ways to solve problems) . To believe that is to be exceedingly naive. Its a halfway racist prejudice against Russia that everything there is as brutal as possible, the state, the people, the culture...etc. Russia is not CNN and gangster flicks, just like Africa isn't a bunch of black people jumping around a fire.