Hurlshort

Steam is pretty much the future, it's free DRM. The nice thing is they have greatly improved Steam since the original launch, so at least Offline mode works more regularly. I'd say you could get a console to avoid these hassles, but my PS3 is getting more and more finicky over the fact I don't have a stable internet connection, so I don't see that lasting much longer.

Order online. Cook it yourself. God no. I love curry, and I've cooked it. It is not a smell that leaves the kitchen easily. Seriously, leave it to the professionals.

I found a pic of this poster online...

I would think PC gaming wouldn't be dead until they stop porting console games over. I also think there are plenty of games every year that are released on both, but are better on the pc.

I'm getting old There have always been a few Mexican states that were pretty much out of the reach of the government. It's basically dense jungle in some of these regions. As I said, the US has these areas as well, although the yokels out in the Appalachians aren't quite as well trained as the Zapatistas in Chiapas.

Mexico was in much worse shape twenty years ago. The peso was completely devalued for awhile there in the 80's. Currently their economy is as stable as it has ever been, which is surprising given the current state of the world economy. edit: I realize that doesn't really relate to the drug war per se, but what I'm saying is Mexico isn't close to collapse here. I think I get Wals comparison a bit better, in that the drug war in Mexico is similar to the was in Afghanistan due to the nature of the enemy. I just don't think the countries themselves bear much similarity. Mexico has 16 companies on the Forbes top 100 list, after all. It still has a sickening divide between the rich and the poor, but it isn't a country in ruin.

We need to try and get all the Obsidian folks on the same server. That way we can all play in misery together.

I can be the jock, since I'm all buff now from my workout sessions and I have a hockey player avatar. My first act is to give the video game nerd a wedgie. Gotta set the tone early, sorry Iwanttehkotor (can we come up with a decent nickname for him?)

It was because of his foreign policy, which at first glance was a nice step away from Bush. Whether there has been any real follow through is another matter, I can't say I've been impressed with the implementation.

Uh, wot? I thought it was more like the original than anything.

Redundant man is redundant. Seriously though, I have no idea what your post is referring to.

I am also referring to quantifiable impact, and there are separate quest lines, unique dialogue, different influences on characters, and the ending that is all influenced by your origin. It is your opinion that they weren't good enough, but they were there. Affecting the main storyline, at least as dramatically as you seem to want, is an unrealistic expectation. That would make it six different games.

1 Exact same thing I did as a human mage. 2 How does that make anything different? Its 2-3 hours of extra gameplay per origin, the beginning tutorial section and a smaller resolution later on. And its all happening in areas you've already turned upside down if you've been thorough. Its exactly what I expected it to be and IMO its a complete waste of resources. That's at least 10 hours of non-tutorial gameplay thrown out of the window. Your best friend was a dwarf commoner ruffian? Look, you went into the experience expecting it it suck, and it sucked for you. I'm telling you that it is your impression isn't shared by everyone. You weren't happy with it, I'm sorry to hear that. For me, I played the role of the dwarf commoner from the start until the end of the game. The game made it easy for me to stay in character, I never felt like I had become a human mage or an elven pansy. I was very happy with the origins.

As a dwarf commoner, I got to return and help my sister and mother make a better life for themselves, I had to face my former best friend, and at the end of the game I was made a paragon. Pretty good stuff. I mean, did you guys expect entirely different plots altogether? Of course the main storyline was unchanged, that would make it a separate game altogether.

I disagree, my origin as a Dwarf commoner made quite a difference on the storyline.

Ok, well I'm glad to hear you didn't write it off for being a subscription game. We'll just have to agree to disagree on TOR. If it really does launch in spring, it won't be long before we see who is right. I'm not entirely convinced myself that it won't flop, I'm just saying I'll give Bioware the benefit of the doubt since I've been happy with everything else they've done. I'm a bit surprised they want to launch in Spring, I'd like to see them run at least a year of closed beta, then a good three to six months of open beta. Given how big a launch this will probably be, they need to be fully prepared.

So what is your opinion on WoW?

You have claimed that the game is going to flop and that this is a commonly held opinion due to game play videos. Then you said that the game will sell like crazy at release (which I had also said), but it will lack staying power (which I had said is the biggest obstacle earlier.) "What will matter is the flood of previews and reviews before launch." - This was a simple response to your opinion that the game is a mess. We don't have any real idea what the game play will be like or how it will be received until we see a lot more evidence. You are making a very premature stab at it.

Do you want to clarify this statement then, because that is where this whole thing started.

I better start working out again.

That's actually what I've said the entire time, so, uh yeah. What was your point again?

Us forumites represent an extremely small percentage of gamers. If the videos went viral and there was a ton of bad press circulating then you'd have an argument. As is, a few people whining about it is not going to make a difference in the sales. What will matter is the open beta and the flood of previews and reviews right before launch, which again is still close to a year away.

You typically have a near infinite amount of characters and classes you can create. There is often a limit on how many you can make on one server, but you can create more by switching servers.

I never said you had a strawman, I said you had no ground to stand on. Do you really think gameplay videos make or break a game this big?