Amentep

I'm not sure how "Needs Improvement" helps a shipped game unless the idea is that it can be fixed in a patch. I'd probably suggest a more complex (possibly byzantine) rating system, though so may not be the best choice for advice.

It wasn't well received when it came out; it got a cult following that has risen in stature over the years. Whether its disturbing or not, I think is up to the viewer (it was as I recall, originally inspired by Franz Kafka's Metamorphisis and other absurdist/surrealist works).

Not really sure how this is relevant to GamersGate - and bothering to discuss it in a GamersGate context (IMO) just feeds the idea that GamersGate isn't about ethics in journalism.

I can't imagine how Dr. Zahi Hawass is feeling, to be honest.

I'm not saying it isn't relevant. Comics are a good example of "new media hysteria", where a new media is embraced by the young and then the old decide that its warping children and therefore they have to be protected from it. In fact Wertham's last chapter in SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT isn't about comics but the evil of that other new media, Television. Anyhow, there is certainly an undercurrent of that with the backlash against violent games or particular representations in games of particular groups.

Which is why I'm interested. The next person that says "But what are you all so afraid of?! There is no censorship!!!" Look at what can and has happened. You should be, the American comics industry took a huge hit from the CCA and the only survivors were the large publishers who could afford not selling the popular sci-fi and horror comics. Nowadays American comics struggle to sell 40,000 copies per monthly issue, have high prices for little content(which is why pirating them has become so rampant), and are just now able to produce commercially viable comics that aren't superhero books. Imagine something like this happening to videogames and the picture is not very pretty. The funny thing is that the arguments of Fredric Wertham(whose hitpiece book Seduction of the Innocent is what contributed greatly to the moral panic preceding the CCA) resemble those of certain commentators on videogames, such as that they influence the attitudes of young people who play them and make them more violent. http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/0211comics_CarolTilley.html The above link goes over how he misused the data gathered to construct his arguments. It should look familiar as there is also no scientific evidence of videogames affecting behavior yet some still insist it does. Actually Sci-Fi comics did quite well in the 50s both pre- and post-code. It was Crime (Lev Gleason's CRIME DOES NOT PAY that was the biggest) and Horror (EC being the biggest publisher hit by this). Also it should be noted it wasn't the "biggest" publishers that survived, it was the ones who made the CCA (being a self-regulatory entity) DC, Marvel, Archie, et al used the CCA to take out their biggest rivals (EC and Lev Gleason). Gleason left comics and EC ended everything but MAD, which they made a magazine (and it was sold quiety to National in the 60s) It is a mistake to think that declining comic sales have anything to do with the CCA; while it is true that pre-code comics sold better than post-code comics, the "Silver Age" comic sold better than the comics immediately pre-"Silver Age" and those comics sold better than anything in the 80s. There are a complex series of reasons to explain declining sales, the vast majority of them stemming from the loss or retail outlets that sold comics (like newstand, mom & pop grocery and drug stores, etc) which necessitated the move to the Direct Market - selling to buyers through comic shops. That said, many people fall into the causality trap that Wertham does. Jack Thompson certainly did.

I thought the ending worked, but it deflated all my interest in the show too, so its not one I have any real compulsion to revisit.

I dunno, I hadn't looked at the thread in awhile, but there had been previous warnings that the thread shouldn't just be women in string bikinis (or nothing strategically covered by non-clothing; IIRC the warning was after about 10 thong butt shot pictures) and yet last time I looked at the thread it seemed like that's what people kept coming back to with their posts - women in skimpy lingerie, exercise wear, and bikinis.

Gromnir's a Lawyer, IIRC. Genetics will also play a part. Also how much of your normal exercise and health patterns you stay in as you age, as well as diet. And IIRC you'll be starting 30 better than most people from an exercise and general health standpoint.

To be fair, most of those are what are (locally at least) considered "applied" associate degrees, they're like half liberal arts and half technical degree.

The local two year college is 1/2 the cost (tuition and fees) of the nearest 4 year school and 1/5 the cost of the nearest local research university. But they're all ran by the same governing body and accredited by the same regional accredeting group.

Disagree, it will make you very slightly more marketable than a high school diploma. Very slightly. But that's not the point of most community college that don't have some form of technical or skill base component (in which case it'll make you much more marketable). I'm not talking about entrance requirements, however (last time I checked Havard's entrance requirement wasn't that high - paying for it was another matter altogether). I'm talking about academic rigor of coursework. Community colleges in a system like SUNY are typically accredited by the same body that accredited the 4 year units. However I know of some competitive programs that will accept community college credits (in fact the two year school I work at now has a program that specifically gets students admitted to a very competitive, nationally known program if they complete it with all the proper standards). These things vary by program and state (and by who is running the programs)

My entire working career has been at colleges and universities. This may give more/less weight to my argument, depending on your feeling. I also was one of those financially challenged students who started with a local two year college because I could afford anything else, then transferred on to the local 4 year university. I took no loans out to finance my education - something I'm greatful for now.

This depends on your area and job requirements, and the degree type. A termianal associates (typically called an "Applied Associates") may meet eligiblity standards for a job or make you eligible for certification for a job. A regular assoicates may make you more marketable in general, but also in some areas may make you eligible for some jobs that requires some minimum of schooling (professional proctoring of tests, teachers aide, etc). This is a misperception of people who believe that spending a million dollars somehow makes something worth more. While it obviously differs by state and accredeting body, many community colleges are just as rigerous in their educational requirements as a 4 year school. But this is true for all educational institutions. This isn't more true for community college than any part of the liberal arts program at a university's first two years are (general lit, general history, general science, etc). However as access institutions they do tend to have larger programs and capacity to handle students who need preparatory skills in English or mathematics. Define "proper degree". A lot of it depends on the mission of a the college. A community college with a skill mission may heavily focus on career skills and technical skills (it might be part liberal arts and part technical school). A community college with a transfer focus may focus on providing a general education for students to transfer to traditional four year baccalaureate programs. They don't have "subpar education" unless there is something wrong with the college (or they're not appropriately accredited by a proper regulating authority).

Community Colleges are colleges that 'service the community'. This may mean a wide degree of things, but typically they offer associate level collegiate degrees and various amounts of community/career enrichment courses. They are usually open access - particularly to those within their community. With the proper accreditation, an associates degree from one may serve as the first two years of a baccalaureate degree. The objection to the idea as I understand it is based on how it'll be paid for (federal taxes).

Ah...the memories of the "DEPP!!!! GREICO!!!!" ads for 21 Jump Street on Fox. Heady days, for sure.

Georgia's program isn't free for all and isn't limited to Community College. The Hope Scholarship is for students who graduate high school with a specific GPA target who go to state run (University System of Georgia) colleges and universities. It is easy (very, very easy) to lose for students in their first semester. The Hope Grant is a similar but slightly different program for the state run technical colleges (TCSG). So all this fearmongering about brainwashing by the government is ridiculous. As I've said, there are plenty of legitimate complaints about Common Core, but most of what is being bandied about the media is false. The fearmongering about government brainwashing (and I find it a bit "tin foil hat territory") revolves around the fact that while the Common Core itself is goals and expectations, book companies trying to maximize their profits will pretty much force states to either follow whatever California ("crazy liberals") or Texas ("crazy creationists") goes with.

Did it have romanceable companions?

I make typos on a regular basis - it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.

I'm rotating Persona Q and Fantasy Life on the DS3 and Person 4 Arena Ultimax on PS3.

I'd rather we have a society that realizes that having a degree in X doesn't automatically mean you are suddenly able to do any job in America, to be honest. Or, if that's what we want, realize that the traditional liberal arts education isn't the way to get there. The reason costs are high is because of the number of people who want to go to college requiring more resources to handle the students. The reason people want to go to college is because we tell them a degree magically tacks on abother ~$50,000 to their future pay. The reason we say that is because technical fields skew the data and a general push since WWII to delay teenagers from going into the workforce.

Do you mean "from colleges" or "for colleges"? Because I'm not aware of any institution that actually makes loans to students. Colleges aren't, after all, financial institutions.

I liked Tomb Raider Reboot. Of the three original games in the TR series I played, I really only liked the first one but it was a fun, fun game. Spent a lot of time climbing trying to find ways to solve puzzles (in fact, I played it so much that I had dreams of climbing). They're not really the same kind of games, TR (original) and TR (remake) so I can't really rate them the same way, personally.

Spirit Monks (Jade Empire) Can't really think of what the group would be in NWN or DAII (I guess technically you're a part of Bartrands Expedition and then part of the Nobility but doesn't seem to fit...)

Your applying real world historical information to a term that without that historical information would be a neutral word (the act of inquiring; examination or a judicial or official inquiry or examination usually before a jury; also the finding of the jury). Even with that the lore gives them a somewhat questionable past, probably so that they can try to mitigate the player's expectation of the word when considered with real world eyes. (No one would probably care though if the Divine had been around to explain why she gave Cassandra the mandate to restart the Inquisition). That said, I imagine at the end of the day the average peasant in Thedas wouldn't care if the group was called "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" if they were saving them from a ****ing big-ass demon about to rip their heads off and **** down their necks.