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No, I'm not patient. I'm not because the game should have had the plot integrated in it at V1.0. In fact, it should have been the drive of the game. Instead, we have a "ghost". You admit it yourself by claiming that "it will be completed in the expansions". No, it's not. The theme of the game is the G-man dropping you in the middle of nowhere and expecting you'll pull off the same stunt you performed with poor Gonarch and his buddy Nihilanth in HL, for absolutely no reason other than it being a FPS. His lines at the beginning of the game are inconsequential. He could claim to be the Spirit of Christmas Past and it wouldn't be any more relevant or strengthen the "plot" in any way.

All I can say is...

Riiiight. Like foreplay without sex.

So what? People with lung problems shouldn't live in the centre of badly polluted cities. For the rest of us that don't have such problems, there's nothing wrong with increased levels of CO2. Sorry, but no. CO2 is not making the air unbreathable. That is not what's being discussed, but thanks for pointing out a totally irrelevant fact. I already admitted that rainforest destruction is a problem. But that is not directly related to the use of fossil fuels. And as for the other stuff, the purity of the fossil fuels is being increased every day. Better filters are being produced. Since most of the toxic byproducts of those combustions are produced by the oxidation of impurities, that is a problem that is being worked on. However, CO2 emissions can't be reduced if we are to use fossil fuels.

Bingo! You tell me. Read: poor management. And they are not the first to build a new engine for their game. Some have done that before and it did not prevent them from delivering well fleshed stories. No, it was obviously a design decision. Good for you. I'm not trying to "convert" anyone to my views, mind you. However, I wasn't interested in a game whose main only focus would be combat and physics. If that was what I wanted, I would have purchased BFV or UT2005. Those are combat-driven games. That is not what one would have expected from HL2, much less considering it was a sequel to HL.

The burning of fossil fuels has other (read: nastier) effects than greenhouse effect and those are not caused by CO2. Sulphur and nitrogen oxides are more chemically active than CO2 and are responsible for acid rain, for instance. Not to mention metal emissions. But none of that has anything to do with the greenhouse effect or the possible relation between human activity and global warming. Also, there was a thread here about this very topic a few weeks (months?) that provided some interesting calculations about the possible effects of CO2 emissions and global warming. I'd suggest you read it. As for the accuracy of such calculations, judge for yourself. Agreed. However with the destruction of tropical rainforests, the level of CO2 would increase regardless of what we did.

The same reason they advise people with lung problems not to go mountain climbing. Does that mean that the air at great heights is toxic?

Who said anything about cutting down the jungles and the dumping of toxic substances? That's obviously a problem but it is not what is being debated here since it has nothing to do with the possible adverse efect of greenhouse gas emissions.

Just what the hell are you talking about? Please read my posts thoroughly before rushing to post incongruent replies. I assumed that any expansions would not be free, precisely for the reasons you wield. Metadigital then said that one of the expansions would be free, but this obviously incompatible with a release in any physical support. In which case you either pay for something you would otherwise get for free, or are forced to have access to a broadband connection to complete the plot of a retail product for which you have supposedly paid already. That is not an excuse for a total lack of substance, from a storyline standpont. Sorry, but usually people don't grab a gun and make a slaughter just because they are "the right man in the wrong place" or because the authorities want to have a word with them. Yes, I'm sure they have a lot of great expansions planned, and I'm sure they plan to charge for some of them, too. I just want to know why they sold the first chapter claiming it was a complete product. ID used to do that with Doom too, only they called it "Shareware" and gave it away for free. HA! Better games have been made in much less time. 6 year development cycle and this is what I get? You've got to be f*cking kidding.

The key being the underlined word. You don't know for sure. Nobody does, as a matter of fact. And how is biodiversity relevant here? For as long as animal and plantlife balance isn't altered by the extinction of species, biodiversity is nothing but a flourish. Also, while you say that the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere used to be greater than it is now, I believe that during warmer periods there were greater concentrations of CO2. I can't say for sure, but I think I read something about that. Oh, that. Yes, I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the many examples of widely accepted theories throughout History that had most of the scientific community behind them and in the end, were proven wrong. Sorry, no amount of reputed scientists defending a theory are going to turn it into a law without proof.

Thanks for correcting a statement I hadn't made to begin with. Let's slow down a bit. If Aftermath is going to have a standard retail release, then by definition it is not going to be free. Therefore, I would have to pay an extra to get the rest of the story, a story that should have been complete in the original, which I have already paid for. So... yeah. No. My only reasons for finishing the game were the

The same can be applied to those who are convinced that greenhouse gases emissions are responsible for the global warming. Alas, there are nothing more than theories on either side, since it's difficult to find definite proof or conduct experiments.

I stand partially corrected, then. Partially because it's next to impossible for people who don't have broadband to get those expansions. And, at any rate, it doesn't change the fact that the original lacked a backbone.

That could be a problem with the present numbering of the episodes, since in the roman numerical system, there is no way of expressing "zero"...

Neither do I, as long as the narrative style is good, which in this case isn't.

The thing with passions and obsessions is that they tend to cloud one's otherwise clear judgement... And Palps was able to deceive and keep in the dark (literally) the whole Jedi order for quite some time, so it's no surprise he managed to manipulate Anakin in the end. Legends and myths are not meant to pass forensic analyses. And SW is a modern myth...

I tend to think of technology as another form of "evolution". Granted, regular biological evolution is no longer a factor in the development of our species, but where before it took thousands of years and the death of a lot of "unfit" individuals to eradicate a defective gene, it appears that soon (real soon!) we will be able to do just that instantly and most importantly, in live individuals. The same goes for those new robotic prosthetics that are being developed. That's the substitute for the organic regeneration that nature didn't grant us. That said, I'm all for genetic manipulation. I think it's absurd not to take advantage of all the benefits that genetics could provide just because it won't be for everybody.

The ending is fitting if you consider that the depth of the story through the game is nil. It wouldn't make sense to have a well fleshed ending where everything falls into place and all the gaps are explained because there aren't really any gaps, more like little islands of storyline floating on a sea of uncertainty. My point is, you can't begin to tell a story at the end of the story.

I believe that's the line they plan to use in "Spaceballs 0.5"...

Yoda's l33t use of grammar is enough to cause an aneurysm in any foe.

You bring up a good point (and an excellent chance for thread derailment!). I think that since "good" and "evil" are pretty much made up notions and depend on who you ask, Force Sight would probably identify as "red" those who use the emotions that are supposed to fuel the "dark side" - anger, fear, hatred - rather than the intentions of the Force sensitive or his "philosophical outlook". After all, no evil person thinks of himself as evil. And those who do are often just sick...

Yeah, okay. Now cut the chatter and post the bloody link already! "

(not so) Useless info: You were all successfully baited by the allcapscreationist. It could have been me in disguise and it would be me laughing at your furious use of reason to counter some ludicrously random claims.

And the badass line of the week award goes to... And about the figures, all I can say is...