Hurlshort

Skyrim - A decent Chinese restaurant, with all the decorations to show for it. Big complex plates full of chow mein and mongolian beef, but you will be hungry again 30 minutes later. BG2 - A nice italian restaurant that you would take a date to. Not a large chain, just a place with a few locations but very popular locally. The wait staff looks impeccable. Gothic 1 & 2 - Some place with its own brewery on site, like BJ's or Gordon Beirsch. Reasons speak for itself. Farcry 3 - A gourmet burger joint. Food is simple, but made with fresh ingredients and you can order the burger any way you want. The Five Guys of gaming.

Endless soup:

I would put casual games like what you find on facebook more in the fast food category. Mass Effect is like Olive Garden. Endless soup bowls and stuff.

That's really not what I said at all. I said they are getting nutritious meals and cable television. They get to join rodeos and boxing teams. Basically I'm saying the State and taxpayers foot the bill for a fairly comfortable existence. What they can't control is the other inmates, particularly given the overcrowding issues.

Felt a little odd to root for the Red Wings tonight, but I'm looking forward to a Sharks-Kings playoff matchup.

Especially when you consider there is a high chance of being raped and beaten frequently in prison. As I said, the most difficult thing is being around other prisoners. http://www.prisonhonorprogram.org/Docs/parade_jimwebb.pdf It's not "If it wasn't for the rapey parts, Prison would be good" I probably should have put it in my post, but earlier in the thread one of the first things I said was the prison system needs a massive overhaul. That article is a great explanation of why.

Especially when you consider there is a high chance of being raped and beaten frequently in prison. As I said, the most difficult thing is being around other prisoners.

I'm not sure about prisons in other countries, but in the US they've got it pretty good. Some of these guys have cable TV, internet, etc. Their meals even have to meet nutritional standards. The most difficult thing about being in prison is being around other prisoners, it seems.

There just isn't any evidence to support the idea that Bioware's brand name has declined. It isn't backed up by any sales numbers. We also live in a very different time, as Bruce already stated, and internet discussions are everywhere. But you've got to realize that forums like BSN represent a super tiny part of the actual customer base. It doesn't matter how much whining goes on there if people still line up to buy the games on day one. Plus many of their previous works have been disputed, NWN and Jade Empire got plenty of complaints. This whole profit versus creativity thing doesn't really work for me. Creativity is subjective, profit is not. If a game sells a lot of copies, then clearly it is appealing to a large audience.

There are plenty of games that get bad reviews. The trouble is you can usually tell that it's a bad game simply by looking at it. It's pretty rare for a AAA title to get a bad review because, once again, the reviews are written for general audience. Not us superior folks

Nah, Mass Effect will very likely be played quite a bit over the next decade. It might even have a bigger impact on gaming as a whole. When I wear my Commander Shephard N7 shirt, middle school students know what it is. They have no idea what Baldur's Gate is. After Dragon's Age 2 I said that I am clearly not in the Bioware Wheelhouse anymore. But I'm not equating that to mean they are making terrible games. They are making games for a different audience, one that is much larger than us crotchety old folks, Boo. You might have an argument if these games got terrible reviews, but that doesn't happen. They sell well, they score well, and they are heavily polished.

Isn't this an open beta? Doesn't that mean the characters will be wiped before release?

If I'm going to get some vengeance on somebody, I want to do it with my bare hands, not watch from the gallery as he falls asleep.

It would be funny if they did. Come to think of it, wouldn't it be funny of every group had a "cold, dead hands" phrase? On topic: I don't like the NRA, I own guns and would benefit from the insurance benefits that come with a membership, but I have no desire to support any sort of lobbying organization on principle, especially one I disagree heavily with and am sometimes startled by what high-ranking members say. This is refreshing to read. I have a hard time understanding how a story like the 5 year old who shot his 2 year old sister doesn't bring massive condemnation from a group like the NRA. It would seem like the perfect time to step in and say the parents are doing everything wrong and educate people about how to prevent such tragedies in the future. Really the NRA should be distancing itself from things like this bleeding target dummy and .22 rifles marketed for children.

So my 10 year anniversary is next weekend, and some of my buddies surprised me by taking me out for a Giants game last night. We are renewing our vows, so they thought that was a good excuse to have a pseudo bachelor party. It was a great time, and the Giants won!

It's great to be able to put a face to the memories, thanks Valashar.

Graphics typically aren't cutting edge in MMO's, with Elder Scrolls Online I'll wait to really see it in action before making a judgement. But yeah, I've been underwhelmed by what I've seen so far.

Geez, if that woman goes around telling terrible stories like that to grieving parents, I can see why her son was crazy.

Heh, I just did read an article on a prison rodeo event they hold to raise money

I'm against the death penalty. Mainly I dont think any civilized society needs to be actively involved in the ending of lives. The only legitimate reason for that is to protect others. That being said, I think the penal system needs massive overhauls. In the US we use prison as an answer for too many societal problems.

42 - Very well done, made me cry a few times. A fantastic addition to the baseball movie library.

Hah, I used to have a group of guys I played Asheron's Call with, and we would meet at like 4 AM to run through these dungeons when they were empty. It was a very different time, that's for sure.

First off, this is gross. Secondly, what a huge waste of money. Thirdly, this really has nothing to do with the NRA. It is simply a tasteless vendor. I'd be more worried if I heard it sold like hotcakes.

Yeah I pretty much hate the way the camera and movement works. I prefer to hold down a mouse button to get the free look, and have a set camera as the default. I suppose I'll get used to it. I don't see this as a real direct competitor for DDO, at least not any more than any other fantasy MMO would be. First off I think DDO pretty much has their customer base locked in at this point, they aren't really attracting new people but they have enough of a loyal base to support the game. Secondly they are in very different worlds. And third, NWO operates very loosely with the rules, whereas DDO is a closer D&D experience.

Yeah I really see the mix of a sub and f2p feature as being the future of MMO's. Glad to hear it is working for TOR.