213374U

Taks probably meant radiation at shorter wavelengths. Radiation at those wavelengths isn't "heat" per se (as that's IR radiation), but visible light (which incidentally is the spectrum band in which most of the sun's energy is emitted) and UV rays. That's how I interpreted his post, anyway. You are not taking into consideration that the atmosphere radiates heat in both directions, not only towards the surface. Convection and condensation to form clouds transfer a lot of heat into the atmosphere, which is emitted to space. If the temperature increases, those processes increase as well. True. I'm sure you realize that if you don't consider other means of liberating heat, this logic leads to a cyclical heat exchange between the atmosphere and the surface of the planet that would continue until the surface reached a temperature high enough to start emitting most of its radiation in the near IR and visible spectre, effectively a furnace. That is obviously absurd. Therefore, and considering the present heat emission properties of the atmosphere (and taking into consideration what taks said about CO2 heat absorption) I'm inclined to think that the impact of human CO2 emissions in global warming is negligible.

I rest my case, ladies and gentlemen of the supposed jury.

Uh... are you trying to use the Chewbacca Defense against me?

How can a $500 video card suck?

Yeah, that's pretty cool. It probably was a long time demand over at the IO boards. The most interesting new feature, however, is probably the notoriety system. Witnesses you allow to escape alive will be questioned by the police who will in turn elaborate a sketch that will be published in the papers and allow people to recognize you in later missions. The sketch's likeness depends on how many witnesses have seen you. You can also be recorded on CCTV, which will increase your notoriety by quite a bit. You can reduce your notoriety by means of exorbitant bribes, that can take up a large part of what you earn in a mission, though. The game also features a monetary penalty for any clues left in the scene such as your suit, or any of your custom weapons. I believe in the higher difficulty levels, this increases your notoriety as well. All in all, very good stuff.

Yep, I thought about that as well. I don't know about US retailers but over here, while they won't return the money, they are always happy to change your bad copy of the game for a new one. It sucks when you get a bad CD.

I think you just crossed the line of "retreating with honor", H.

Well, the only serious problem you'll probably have with the PS2 controller may be when sniping. Apart from that, you won't be getting into firefights, ever, unless you're not aiming for a Silent Assassin rating. And from what I've played, the game usually offers a close & personal alternative to using the sniper rifle (as you might not have it, since you choose your equipment before the mission). The graphics are an entirely different matter.

I think that's consistent with the setting. In Ancient warfare, if an army lost its strongman, it often fell into disarray and defeat was almost assured. Getting to the point where the leader of the army was killed usually implied that things weren't going all that well, to begin with.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh Hunter? Even if those scientists are right, all that means is that the notion of race is irrelevant and superfluous. It does not mean that race = species. Species is a taxonomical category, while race isn't. Equalling both only implies a lack of knowledge of the matter, and it's this lack of knowledge that has lead to the words "race" and "species" being used interchangeably in casual speech in many languages (Spanish, for instance, while I'm getting the impression that this isn't the case in English). It looks like the language barrier has once again played against you. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=race http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=species http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species

Fixed.

Thanks for your support. It means so much to me.

I'll be getting these if I can find them. The CD swapping I really hate. They are going to be a collector's item in a few years, too...

Maybe something got corrupted, try reinstalling. Or maybe your graphics card is overheating; do you have similar problems with any other games? With that hardware, you shouldn't have that kind of problems. Also, it seems you're playing at a very low res. Any particular reason?

Nah, that's just my excuse for trolling.

Then why do you play along?

Yeah, level design is definitely one of the strong points of the franchise. Don't rely too much on the demo for an impression of the mechanics of the game. It's the amusement park level, right? It's a tutorial of sorts in the full game. I found it to be pretty unsophisticated, allowing only for one way around obstacles which often involved dispensing rather hefty doses of lead. In the rest of the levels you are still able to keep the body count to just the target.

Con art?

Heh. No idea how long it is, yet. I'm on the fifth stage and missions seem to have a similar complexity to those of Contracts/Silent Assassin. The game actually has a plot, so I'm hoping it'll last more than Contracts did.

Not worth the effort, I think. Are they even from the same country?

No, more like advertising a working laptop with 2Gb RAM when it actually has only 512Mb, and in fact, doesn't work...

I'm pretty uninformed myself, and therefore rather skeptical. So I'd like to know these facts you talk about, and how they contradict Edwards. Pretty please? Being hungover isn't a valid excuse. You started it. Yeah, yeah. I just miss the good ol' times when everyone could freely edit their posts without everyone being informed.

I'd say... 30-40+ hours. "

What do you mean, illegal? Like, say, advertising something that has nothing to do with the sold product? Oh, my!