Hurlshort

That's very scary. You gotta wonder how you even get your skates way up there.

It's a very different situation, as the pure savagery that the Al Quaeda are deploying is often affecting the civilians more harshly than the military troops. Coupled with the fact that most Al Quaeda are outsiders in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it's no surprise that the populace is turning against them. It's really just them trying to choose the lesser of two evils. Everything the populous is taught leads them to believe the Western world is evil and will corrupt their culture, so they sided with the militant extremists, but as this goes on, it's becoming obvious that the real evil is the people that kill indiscriminately. So it isn't a war that the US will win, it's a war that the Iraqi and Afghan people will eventually win, and it's good to see they are moving towards that.

I don't understand why this needs a spoiler thread.

I am still only first level. My impressions so far. Too easy, I mean waaaay to easy. The game so far is all about fetch and carry and not very imaginative at that. Most monsters die on one hit (playing a Dwarf Paladin with one eye) I started with 32 HP at 1st level (I thought this was DnD?) You can tell who to talk to to get quests, they literally have a sign over their heads each "mission has a check list on what you need to do, I mean come on, try to give your players a little credit. Before you embark on each adventure they ask if you want to 1.Solo 2.Party 3.Normal 4.Difficult. I have chosen Solo every time except once, the time I picked party was not any more difficult than the rest. Not impressed so far. Don't even get me started on some of the names of the characters these clowns use That's too bad. The HP thing is pretty screwy, but D&D is kinda set up where, if implemented properly, you are rolling the dice with your life in the first couple levels. It's not until level 4 or 5 that you really get over the weak threshold, so I guess Turbine was trying to do away with the tough levels. I have a feeling it's really not going to feel like D&D as you approach the upper levels. It's odd because LotR Online is simply awesome when it comes to story and mechanics. Same developer, massively different product.

That's the unfortunate cost of progress. ME is a triple-A title and requires a decent sized team to create new content, whereas many games in the 90's could be put together by a small team. I don't want my games to look like Doom anymore, so I'm willing to put up with it. But some games do offer tools to allow new content to be released, like the NWN model. I don't think these will go away fully, so we will always have the option to take advantage of fan-built content.

I like how Sand sees war like an RTS game. There is a map, and there are bad guys on the map, and we just need to kill them. Maybe we should send a memo out asking everyone who is against the US to please congregate in one area, so that we can focus our bombs.

Arcanum is still very playable, and you should get it. I'm pretty sure you can order it somewhere. It's worth it and it's not really very outdated.

I'm not back yet. I've been checking from my PC for any messages. I'm still a few weeks away from getting a new one.

There is a huge number of MMO's on the market. Expectations can be different for each one, but the market hasn't reached the ceiling in terms how many it can support. Many MMO's die in development, but that has more to do with the fact it is a massive undertaking when compared to other genres, and money just runs out. Many MMO's undergo full rebuilds when it turns out they don't work, and not all publishers will bankroll that. Let's list the major ones: Older MMO's that still manage a dedicated fan base - Ultima Online, Everquest, Asheron's Call, Star Wars: Galaxies (ok, barely kicking for this one) Current stable MMO's - EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Everquest 2, Lineage 2, Final Fantasy Online, Tabula Rasa (early to tell, but it has been well received) Underperforming, but still kicking - D&D Online, Vanguard Dead after release - Saga of Ryzom, Horizons, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online (I think?), Planetside (barely an MMO), Auto Assault, Earth: Above and Beyond...might be a couple older ones. So you can see that if you actually get released, your odds of success are decent. WoW really is the exception, rather than the rule itself. Blizzard did not set out expecting millions of subscribers, so no MMO should set out with that goal in mind. I also didn't include any Korean MMO's in this group, although they seem to do decently in Asia (Lineage 2 being the exception, as it posted good numbers in the US). And I left of Phantasy Star Online, but I really don't even know what that is

Yeah, I tend to see Obama being the only candidate with a shot of beating McCain. Clinton will not pull and republican votes, and McCain will pull democrats, so it would be a bad strategic choice for the democratic party to go with Clinton. Unfortunately strategy doesn't seem to be important at this stage. I'll actually be happy with any of the current three in office. It will be a big departure from the Bush era and the country is definitely in need of change. I'm fairly apolitical about parties and all, but I really dislike seeing leadership become too entrenched. It think the more variety and changing of the guard, the less likely you are to go stagnant. The situation in Iraq is definitely stagnant, so it will be interesting to see what new approaches will come with new leadership.

Games are a luxury, and the companies that make them are in this to make money. I want companies that make games I enjoy to be profitable. That way they can continue making games. I don't get why anyone would take issue with this. If ME was released incomplete and then wanted to sell you the ending, perhaps complaints would be warranted.

ME had plenty of content at release. There is nothing wrong with asking for a few bucks to add a mini-expansion. This is the future of expansions, so folks should get used to it. Releasing an entire expansion and putting it in boxes and then selling it for half the price of a retail game is not really cost effective. Allowing chunks of content to be downloaded for a few bucks is smarter financially and will be faster for us gamers. My only question is: Do I need to play an old saved game to access this stuff? Do I need to start a new game? Is there a way to continue with this content after I've finished the primary story line?

Keep me updated, if you can. I was thinking about doing the trial as well, since it's been a year from release and these types of games are usually much improved in that time. Is it any more solo-friendly?

Finally sat down to watch the new episode and I thought it was good. The rescue guy was pretty awesome in Rescue Dawn, so I'm glad to see him in this. I hope the writer's strike doesn't screw the season up.

War - An action movie with Jet Li and Jason Statham. It was very enjoyable, great action and Statham is always enjoyable to watch (except maybe in the Dungeon Siege movie.) It wasn't high art, but it was fairly dark for this type of film. If you are looking for a decent run and gun flick, this will fit the bill.

You should get an annoying sidekick right off the bat who keeps declaring you as the chosen one or something.

Gah, don't mention JA2! I haven't played it in about a year, and I'm terrified about whether it will run in Vista. I find the addiction won't trigger if I don't hear about it.

Just got the red ring of death on my 360. I've had it for 2 years with no issues, so I was pretty surprised. I'll have to call tech support later and see about getting it replaced.

I'll join an online league.

Crackdown had pretty awesome "collection" quests, because the act of scaling a skyscraper was entertainment in itself. ME was more of a grind when it came to achievements.

Bale kicks butt, he's very professional, he doesn't have a lot of the baggage that major actors in Hollywood tend to carry. I'd imagine he'll be rumored in a lot of big budget films, and he will probably star in a good deal of them. But I actually remember hearing the Bale rumor back when T3 came out. That was before the movie hit the limbo phase, so it's very likely Bale has moved on and is not committed.

It looks like the film is currently in limbo, at least according to the Wiki article. If the TV show does decent that will probably get the ball rolling faster, even though they aren't linked by studios, I believe.

It's called the kissing disease...

There was hate? I thought it was pretty popular? It did well critically and put up decent box office numbers.

What? Back to the Future trumps all!