~Di

Real Americans don't need no stinking silent letters. Suck it up, buttercup.

Hmm. Well, I really loved this game. I've played it twice now, and have no doubt I'll be playing it a couple times a year for the foreseeable future. The only criticisms I had of the game is the useless companions that just get in the way and have no personality; and a certain quest where the only good option ends up with senseless slaughter of an entire populace. Bah. I'll NEVER get over that one!

I've never played any of the Silent Hill games. Maybe you meant Maria?

Yesl Just... yes.

The only place I've heard that Obama "must inevitably get assassinated" is by people around the globe determined to believe that the USA is such a hotbed of racial hatred that surely a black president would be hunted down like a dog by us redneck crackers. European newspapers are really playing this up. Thing is, if the USA was really such a hotbed of racial hatred, a black president would never have been elected in the first place. We've had our share of presidential assassinations and assassination attempts... all against white guys. I figure if the secret service kept George Bush alive for 8 years when half the population would have cheerfully separated his head from his shoulders, they should be able to keep a president who is practically worshipped by 3/4 of the country alive.

That's old news. A couple of big-mouthed teenagers who never stood a prayer of getting anywhere near Obama. The real threat they posed was completely ignored by the global media... they planned to murder as many black people as possible... a hundred or more... which was quite possible in a crowded schoolyard with a couple of automatic weapons. Nobody seemed to care much about THAT part of the plan.

Well, that's true. Though again, with threads like "lol my hair's falling out" I was looking more for entertainment and idle chat than anything, which was probably valuable enough going stir crazy in a hospital. I guess the difference is if it's a close nit community or a completely nonsense place like a blog or a WoW forum. I'll give you that. Many of us who have "known" each other for years have formed a close-knit community. We do care about each other. I think that having people to talk with, even over the internet, about things that we might withhold from our families... gotta be strong for them, after all... is valuable, as is the support we can get from even a cyber-circle of friends. God knows that I was scared to death for you, and couldn't have been more relieved at your positive outcome if you had been one of my own family members. Thing is, obviously this poor kid... and thousands like him... do not have a support system for a safety net. They don't have a group of friends, cyber or otherwise, to whom they can turn for aid and support. That is to be pitied, in my opinion, not used as an excuse to withhold empathy, and to ridicule or insult. Certainly we won't be heartbroken about a person we do not know; but we shouldn't be so callously judgmental either, I think. We haven't walked in his shoes. We don't know how much pain he was in. Only he and his god knew. I hope he's at peace now. Anyway, I was offering another point of view to the "he's just a fool and a coward" mode of thought that seemed to be prevalent in this thread.

I've gotta say Fallout 3. It's got atmosphere up the ying-yang, it's creepy and eerie and utterly wonderful.

That's a shame. I always have 10 hard saves to fall back on so at most I'll lose maybe two hours or so of gameplay if my quicksave gets corrupted. I hate starting over because of a damned bug. Edit: Did you check at the Bethesda forums? Sometimes those folks are genius at coming up with a cheat-code workaround for bugs like this. Maybe you can kill her, go back into the room where you entered the tunnel, then ressurrect her and see if she picks up her script correctly.

That's the thing. Clinical depression cannot be cured; it can be treated, however. A clinically depressed person cannot just "get over it" any more than a schitzophrenic can just "get over it." It's a diagnosed mental illness, and those who suffer from it cannot "recover" on their own. Teenaged depression and suicides are complicated by whacked-up hormones that basically mimic clinical depression. When the hormones level out, the depression may also ease... IF it's not the permanent kind of clinical depression. I think people mistake clinical depression for the kind of depressions that all of us experience when we've been hurt, angered, experienced loss, that kind of thing. The two are similar in name only.

Because it's the internet. It's a false little reality where everything is a series of jokes and strange entertainment. Expecting sympathy or, really, anything of emotional sincerity from random internet browsers, in the context of the internet, is pointless. I'm particularly surprised to hear this kind of callousness from you, Aram. It wasn't that long ago that you were deathly ill, facing procedures that would have terrified anyone. You came to us, to people on the forums, people you'd chatted with for years, for comfort and support. And we gave it. We worried about you, we thought about you, we prayed for you. For us, for you, it wasn't a series of jokes and strange entertainments. We empathized with you; we sympathized with you... with emotional sincerity. It seemed to mean a lot to you at the time. I'm sad to learn otherwise.

This kind of attitude just ensures some people will go through with the act, rather than seek help. It's like when a woman refuses to report a rape out of fear of how she will be judged. As long as there are people who will claim the way a woman dresses or acts makes her responsible for her attack, then victims will avoid seeking help. Someone who is suicidal is pretty much at their lowest point, the pain they feel is so great they are no longer able to bear it, it doesn't feel like it will ever pass so the only way for it to end is for their life to end. They feel weak and pathetic, and what do they have? A world that agrees with them. So if someone you claimed to love committed suicide, and you were somehow able to bring them back to life, you wouldn't want to help them out of their depression, you'd want to see them tortured? That's pretty messed up. Yes suicide is selfish but god damn so is this. Road rage is the same as taking joy in someones misery? Even a small, seemingly insignificant moment of kindness can make all the difference. Well said. I totally agree. The part I bolded is spot-on, and sadly it's the part too many people, being totally swept up in themselves, fail even to acknowledge.

Gorth: Congratulations or condolences, whichever you feel most appropriate! Thanks for taking on what will frequently be an otherwise thankless job. Big Green did well to choose you... then again, Big Green always does well!

I've always been a bit annoyed by the justification of cruelity and viciousness because it's "the internet". It doesn't take a degree from MIT to realize that behind every word being typed into the internet, every video being streamed, is a real, live person... individuals like our friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, people who have real dreams, real talents, real human flaws, real people who love them. I firmly believe that how people behave in this anonymous internet realm is a true picture of who and what they are as human beings. People who are cruel to others online, who make jokes about the pain and misery of others, are truly that way in real life as well... they simply control where they allow this part of them to be exposed because, cowards that they are, they don't want to suffer real-life consequences for their cruelty. People who are civil, courteous, who treat online individuals with respect probably treat the real-life people around them in the same way. The internet is a mirror, the reflection of who we really are as individuals; it isn't the cause of our behavior, and it isn't an excuse for it.

I think most are open on Sundays, especially those in a mall. Stores usually open late on the weekends; 10 am or 11 am. I suggest you look up the phone number of the store closest to you and give them a call in the late morning to check. Or you could call tonight. If the store is closed, sometimes there is an automated recording that tells you what the store hours are.

OMG, the Animal Friend perks are the best perks ever! First I was able to stroll through the Yao Guai tunnels, nod to all the friendly inhabitants, help myself to whatever I wanted, then simply pick up my newest Bobblehead and stroll back out without firing a shot! After I got the second level of Animal Friend, I came out of a wasteland store and was ambushed by three Talon mercs. Suddenly a pissed-off Yao Guai appeared out of nowhere and chewed the head off one of the mercs while I took care of the others. When the fighting stopped, the beast gave me a smug look, then ambled away. And in the robot facility, molerats went after radroaches that were rude enough to attack me. I'm just loving this!

For the first go-round, I did as Harold asked. Upon reflection, though, I think I should do what is best for the wasteland... which is what I'll do in my second game. I think Harold will understand.

I'm thinking the same thing. I enjoyed IWD years ago; IWD2, not so much. Okay, okay, I hated IWD2. Bottom line, I'm not all that interested in an IWD-look-alike right now, especially in the guise of an NWN game, since it sounds as if it takes everything I loved about NWN2 and MOTB, and pretty much tosses it out the window. Oh, well. Maybe next time!

I guess Fawkes is more of an 'it' now. If you check Fawkes' door computer and then go one room back and check the scientist's computer you will see Fawkes' designation number as being one of the 3 female test subjects. All the super mutants lose their male/female organs. As for using the spoiler tag for the ending, I figured some people might be reading this having not beaten the game yet. Just trying to be extra careful. That was really very courteous of you. I actually should be more thoughtful in my postings myself, even on the spoiler forum. I'll try to be!

Yeah, after running all over hell's half acre looking for BTW, why are we using spoiler tags in the spoiler forum? Just curious.

I've forgotten many of their names, but I remember the tribal guy who would not use a gun to save his soul... or my ass. He hated slavers and would kill you if you dealt with them. He needed help to find his sister. And the fat guy whose daughter hated him; you could bring them together. He was always whining, "Boss, XXX is looking at me!" And the drunk who was constantly muttering to himself. Then Marcus the Super Mutant sheriff was just too cool. Those were some of my faves, and despite the fact that they were an absolute liability in any combat situation (FO2 combat sucked anyway), they were a lively, noisy bunch! I'm doing this FO3 game alone. Dogmeat kept shooting around corridors, dragging mobs from everywhere, so it's back to the Vault for him! Fawkes? Oh, yeah, way to go, man. I'm sure looking him up after The paladin was just plain boring. So it's a lone wanderer once again!

Yeah. So it would seem. I have no clue what he's railing about, since he confesses he's never even played the damned game.

Nostalgia aside, the sheer magnitude of Fallout 3's wasteland, the enormity of people, places, things to see and do, the excellent graphics with every named NPC having a different and unique face... I mean, there's simply no comparison to the originals. And I wouldn't expect there to be. A decade of technology has passed, after all. There's no way a simplistic isometric view and a map cut into screen-sized quadrants would be accepted by today's game-buyers... most of whom have never even played the originals. I think Fallout 3 is superior in all respects except for followers. Fallout 3's followers are boring, with no personality and zero interaction beyond accepting perfunctory orders. They certainly cannot compare with the colorful... and noisy... bunch of waste wanderers from Fallout 2. In fact, none of Fallout 3's NPC's can compare personality-wise with the characters from Fallout 2. Even the "villains" were amusing and unexpected! Overall, I do love Fallout 3, and can see myself spending hundreds of hours on it over the next few years.

I live in the foothills, about 2000 feet up, amongst trees and all manner of flora. Scorpions were a staple inside our home for years (until we gave up and contacted Ugly Bug Incorporated to give the perimeter a monthly spray). We had the small ones, about an inch long... but if one of 'em got you, you'd sure know it. They are incredibly persistent creatures. For some reason, they took pleasure in skittering up toward the ceiling, then staring at us with a smug look, as if issuing a dare. Fortunately, flyswatters are avid dare-busters. Still, every time you opened a cupboard or reached into a drawer you had to keep your eyes peeled. And we got used to shaking out our shoes, too. It was almost like living in the Amazon! Scorpions may not be everywhere, but that's not for lack of trying. Extremely prolific critters. Anyway, everytime I have to battle one the size of a buick in Fallout 3, I get an extra "ick" factor because I've battled the danged things for so long in real life. *shudder*

Now see, I didn't get to either of those places! I didn't even get to the Undercity to look for Gob's mom! Crikey, this time I'm putting Three Dog's new antenna up, then I'm stopping the main quest until I've explored every inch of the wasteland!