Amentep

There's a

Thanks! It'll probably won't turn out that way though - I have a terrible track record with these sort of things...

Red Lantern District Inn = The Blooming Rose Also Viscounts Keep and I think the Alley map (used for the gas plot, for example). Did you count the Disused Path underground in the Docks? (I'm thinking its unique, but my memory...hazy - maybe its the Merchant there throwing me off). Also the Approach to the Wounded Coast (the ambush site for Aveline's re-intro after the first year and the escaped Mages quest) I don't think is used for anything other than the Approach to the Wounded Coast. There's the Generic Outside Map (used for the Ironbark quest, the last map in the Ketojan quest, etc) I'm assuming the Dock House is the generic interior used for the two foundries and a lot of the thieves quest?

My sneaking suspicion is that some Protheans did something to humanity (per the trinket the Asari Consort gives you's revelation when used on that Prothean object that the Protheans visited/did something to early man) as a last ditch effort to create something that could eventually stand against the Reapers (since the death of the Prothean's took some time (per Vigil on Ilos) and there's indications the Mars outpost was remote relative to Prothean society, IIRC) and that its this that the Reapers/Collectors were ultimately trying to figure out.

Freudian slip?

I've been trying to avoid spoilers for the game (so I can explore it all at my own pace) but when I first played DA2 and saw that they were reusing maps I thought there'd be a number of people who didn't like it. Personally, it hasn't effected my enjoyment of the game at all.

Unless that's all part of the dwarf origin, I guess I missed all of that somehow. I wasn't even able to get into the Senate chamber until the very end as I recall. The female dwarf off the opening dias is there for all origins (in fact it was a Human Noble PC that I first talked to her) but I think she is only there at the very beginning. The Senate Chamber - if you go in it once you'll see Harrowmount/Bhelen supporters arguing and the head of the chamber kicks everyone out (including you). If you do this Bhelen and Harromount's seconds will be easy to find (Harrowmounts will be standing outside the building instead of in Harrowmount's estate). Its possible that if you start some of the quests these things are no longer available. No, the Shaperate literally says the documents you are showing him are not the actual documents. Bhelen's man gave you fakes. And when you go back to him, he says he doesn't care. It's a test of loyalty. My point was that Bhelen's second is telling you these are the documents filed in the Shaperate, but they're not; the idea is that Harrowmount filed them, not what he actually filed with the Shaperate. I was trying to address why the two nobles supposedly hoodwinked by Harrowmount would be fooled by the ruse - its because Bhelen supposedly the documents you have are what was really filed with the shaperate, not the deal that was arranged (but of course its all a ruse).

And if you talked to the Shaper, he reveals that the documents are forged. Is the Shaper the guy in the library? I never asked him about that. Yes, how is it possible they wouldn't recognize the forgery since I showed them both the same documents? I believe the idea is that Bhelen's man is presenting the documents filed with the Shaperate, which is supposed to show that while Harrowmount promised the two families two different pieces of land that what he filed in the shaperate gave them both the same piece of land; remember that the Shaperate is supposedly closely related to Harrowmount giving Bhelen an angle to play (the Shaperate even says he's related - but also that he's related to most of the noble families) and the idea is that he's not playing fair with his duty - allowing Harrowmount to snooker other nobles. Also there is a female Dwarf off of the opening dias who will also explain Harrowmount/Bhelen's divide; the argument in the Senate chambers also clues in on some of the basics. For me I felt there was enough information to make an informed decision on.

Depending on the bugs involved, I could easily see them dropping a few points for them.

I enjoyed the Deep Roads, but then I liked the combat in Dragon Age. My only complaint was that it was sometimes hard to manage the loot.

I tend to give certain people/teams/company some benefit of the doubt on sequels or new games. But if bad games kind of use up that goodwill then its hard for me to go back to buying games from that group even if its a sequel to a game I liked.

I really, really enjoyed Tomb Raider - jumping around, solving puzzles and shooting stuff. I bought Tomb Raider II and didn't like it. I went ahead and got Tomb Raider III hoping it'd be more like the first one. Didn't like it either and haven't had anything else to do with the series. That's about as close as I've come to buying the sequel of a game I didn't like, I think. I never beat God of War - I had the same revelation that entrerix had, only about half-way through the game. Can't see a point in getting any of the sequels as it seems to be more of the same (although perhaps more ridiculous). That said if a sequel appeals to me enough, I'll get it even if I didn't play the first game.

Comic strips and comic books are older than radio and television and arguably dramas in both of the latter two formats have a better chance of being seen as art than any in the former two. Comic strips didn't even start off as entertainment for children - it was that (oft forgotten) family entertainment. Adventure strips, romances, gag strips and dramas - they all populated the early newspaper page attempting to provide something for everyone. The comic strips' ties into panel gags in older magazines even belies a more adult origin. "Comics" problem is that they marginalized themselves (in the US at least and partially out of necessity). Note that any book that originally was published in paperback form (a form arising in the 1950s and as opposed to being serialized in a magazine or appearing first in hardback) was considered "trashy", so the problem isn't really format but perception (nowadays, the $12 trade paper back is the ideal for anything but the most likely sellers as its a profitable product*). Even still the classical arts have struggled with modern variations - there are many who wouldn't class an abstract artist as really being art, for example. I personally struggle with considering something like Duchamps' Fountain as art even if I intellectually understand the point of the piece, the emotive part of me that wants to connect with such a work refuses. I absolutely can't get behind the comic panel pop art of Roy Lichenstein because I don't think that portion of his work is properly transformative enough. Which kind of leads me into games; most games visual representation doesn't match the dynamics of a painting, a photograph or a film. The stories aren't complex enough generally speaking to compare with other narrative arts. The very fact that - even if a game was of the highest artistic value - the experiencing person has to play the game in order to find the art** will make it a tough nut to crack in terms of artistic merit (at least beyond those already inclined to see/experience the medium). In this sense I suppose I've never had any problem with spending my time and money on games provided I get something I enjoy out of it. So I can't say that I feel that I have "game shame", although occasionally the rare occasion I rather vitriolically dislike some game makes me think I'm spending to much time holding a negative passion against something. *Arguably, the commercial & disposable intentions of a new medium work against the majority seeing it as art which may explain why the early (commercial) years of any medium are so sparsely populated with well regarded works **interestingly, classical art has been slowly bringing in ideas of making the individual a part of the art itself something already achieved in a some way in games

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

I liked the bit where I clicked on enemies and they died.

I'm more worried about it being a downloadable game to me...kinda makes me think there won't be much to it.

Can't say I'm too wild about Gamma World 4e; really don't like the card mechanics and while they try to keep character creation open (its a bit more open than 3e at least) it still seems less robust than earlier editions of the game.

Not a single one of all quests I have done broke for me. That's great! For you, that is. For me I had to start over from my last game because as I was ready to start the endgame I went and found Victor dead, Lucky 38 hostile and I was unable to go for the end I wanted (siding with Mr. House). I restarted and ran a minimum number of missions to get through all the House quests just so I could see the end (I'd restarted 2 other times due to other issues with the games and frankly was ready to move on but wanted to at least see the end once).

Playing Dragon Age with all the expansions from the beginning. Also started Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage.

Finally beat the main game. Ignored almost all sidequests for fear of breaking the main quest I was on. Sorta fun, but think I'll put it aside now.

I didn't like Red Dead Redemption personally. Can't really say much about the article because its a personal recollection and I wasn't there (and we're certainly only getting one side of the story).

I only used the loon watch report for the Europol numbers summary of incidents (as I didn't want to do the maths myself); I figured their agenda might make their article itself somewhat suspect. The numbers Europol actually reports are the number of "Failed, foiled and successful attacks"; they don't make a distinction in success, only that there was a terror plot. One interesting thing scanning through the Europol numbers is that while their numbers indicate a low number of Islamist terror plots failed/foiled/successful in Europe, it seems to indicate that arrests and convictions for Islamist terror plots are second only to Seperatists. So either the few failed/foiled/successful plots have huge rings of accomplices or there are some people being convicted of being terrorist who perhaps shouldn't?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_F...Animated_Series

RIP; condolences and thoughts with his family and friends.