Hurlshort

Without successful sequels and spin-offs, it's unlikely that many developers would even be able to pitch their own IP's. Would we have AP without KotOR 2 and NWN2?

Am I the only one concerned about the fact that the game is still very difficult even on the easy setting? That sounds very unfriendly for the casual game like myself.

There will always be new IP's coming out, because existing IP's do degrade over time, especially when over saturated. Might and Magic and Tomb Raider are a few that have reached that point. They have to take time off and then maybe they will get a rebirth.

Actually Deraldin referred to is as the lesser of two evils. You bashed Bethesda, but called Interplay the devil incarnate. What exactly is your point again?

I'm not really sure where Bethesda is being evil, as some folks have put forth. I understand when folks call EA and Activision 'evil' even if I don't always agree. But exactly what action put Bethesda in the 'evil' camp again? Was it when they took a dead IP and crafted it in their own style of game and made it very successful? Was it the radiant AI? I'd say at worst Bethesda has questionable design decisions and bad writing, but 'evil' seems a tad over reactionary.

I'm heading out to a Halloween party, and I've been growing a beard. It itches.

I don't know why anyone would root for Interplay under any circumstance.

I just wish that the rest of the Muslim world would be a heck of a lot more proactive in their condemnation of terrorists. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of Muslims standing against this stuff, but it really needs to be a widespread movement. Extremists like this are the real enemies of Islam, they pervert the real message of Mohammad.

Game play is just one piece of the puzzle for me, it is functional, but the other stuff is what has made it a great title.

Like Tylenol PM?

How does Mexico not count? It's a third world country, it is completely different then the US. Now if you've only gone to a resort, then you might have an argument there.

But on the other hand, a short sale will get you home way below the market value in most cases. I say go for it. I'm quite a bit underwater in my condo that I bought 4 years ago, but I don't regret it. It is nice to own a piece of property, better than renting, and I get a nice tax deduction once a year.

I'm just going to say this once, but that is seriously their problem and not Beth's. I'll say it a second time for you. There are probably about a dozen folks who hate Beth over naming the game Fallout 3, and that is really not even a blip on their radar.

What's written on the top there? I can only make out S I P L E III

Silent Storm was actually very solid. I would be very happy to see more Silent Storm games. Unfortunately the games tend to be very buggy that have used the engine.

One of my favorite games ever, I even bought it twice, on the 360 and the PS3. But I haven't tried the PC version.

There are already quite a few mercenary with attitude FPS games, so yeah, I'm not sure why you would need JA to do one of them. I guess an FPS with AIM and a few other JA nods could be interesting. I think you would need really good AI to make it decent, so you could really tell the difference between a good merc and a bad merc.

Not realy, all they need to do is not to make it on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, and release it only for DS and PSP... Was the JA DS port a big seller? Because I'd imagine that would be the litmus test whether anyone thought a new DS game would be worth it. I don't think it sold all that well. It was fairly clunky, they didn't do much to make it play well on the DS. I bought it and enjoyed it, but I may be the only one. There was also no advertising at all. So I'm not holding my breath for it to re-invigorate the series.

I sometimes work the phone banks in my area when the school district needs to pass a parcel tax. We often get the argument that "my kids went to private schools" or "I don't have children". The response to that is the value of your property is tied directly to how well the schools do, so if they aren't funded adequately, then the value of your land will drop. But it doesn't just end with property values, you can go on and on making connections to what programs your taxes fund and how they can affect you personally. Do you get a cost of living increase in your salary? Do you drive on the roads? Do you ever use public transit? It goes on and on. I'm not saying there aren't stupid programs funded, I live near San Francisco and Berkeley after all, but many taxes have very legitimate positives for you personally.

Yeah, but a new Jagged Alliance style game would need a decent budget. There is voice work that needs to be done, and you would have to develop an engine, and there is a good amount of artwork to it. I'm just saying it isn't a small project if we want it done right. There are plenty of cheap JA clones coming out of Eastern Europe and they pretty much all blow. Plus, the actual JA IP is in terrible hands. And there aren't many studios that even focus on TB games (except for the DS) so who is going to pick it up? I'm really bummed that Firaxis doesn't seem interested in moving forward on the Xcom property, I thought they were one of the few companies capable of doing it justice. RPG's as a genre have had high and low points, but there always seems to be a few strong studios dedicated to them. TB combat games seem completely dead at this point.

Either way, it's no big deal. Reagan and Bush and pretty much every president has dropped before 50% support during there terms and been re-elected. I'd be extremely surprised if Obama didn't serve 2 terms. Unfortunately, I agree... There's no way Obama won't get re-elected... I'd say it depends more on who the Republicans choose to run against him. Bush was re-elected because his opposition was fairly weak. But it's also way to early to make that call, if the economy turns around in the next two years, he's got it made, if it doesn't it will be a close race.

My garage flooded, but we are used to that so most stuff is up off the ground. Except I forgot about my hockey bag, so now I'm drying out a lot of smelly gear. We also had a weeping willow fall behind the house, but it was already leaning over so no biggie. I'm pretty amazed how many small trees I've seen split in half by the winds. We are lucky it was just a one day storm, that's for sure.

I would think the last part would be your concern, given that bankruptcy will mean you no longer get new games from them.

HoMM IV wasn't a reboot, it followed a similar formula to the other games, it was just a complete mess and didn't pull anything off.

I've got it and played for about an hour. The voice work and music is amazing. So far I'm not a big fan of the game play, but I'm not a big RTS fan either (it is similar to Overlord.) I'll stick with it for awhile, I really enjoy driving the hotrod around. I'm not in love with it like I was Batman, but I'm glad I bought it regardless, it is a unique product and I would like to see it succeed. I imagine if you are a fan of Heavy Metal then it will blow your mind.