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So this is coming out next week and nobody told me? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXjQCJ7MK3s

Based on what you guys know so far (I haven't bothered to read / view any PR stuff released so far), will someone like me be able to enjoy Mass Effect 4 under the following partially contradicting premises: - Loves traditional RPGs as well as action games (previous ME were partially ok) - Loves well written characters (romance does not matter either way, character related quests do) - Loves good story of a personal nature (not necessarily focused on saving the world, but impact on surroundings is nice) - Loves sci fi (mainly either optimistic like Star Trek or pessimistic like some post apocalyptic stuff, previous ME were partially ok) - Loves good graphics (previous ME had their moments) - Loves good music (previous ME had their moments) - Loves games that let you breathe and enjoy (previous ME failed) - Loves games that ask difficult questions and allows to solve things according to own moral standards (previous ME failed) - Loves peaceful solutions (previous ME failed mostly) - Loves to build things (like upgrading ship / stronghold with actual effect on something and branching decisions, both ME and PoE sort of tried but failed in my eyes) - Loves depth in character progression and resulting play style (previous ME failed partially) - Loves consistent quality (previous ME failed spectacularly) - Hates being forced to play military guy (ME 1 & 3) - Hates to play through a string of situations where there is no choice (most missions in ME series so far) - Hates to be suggested choice when there is none or just some email signed with a random character name in a later game (most missions in ME series so far) - Hates explanations and situations that feel forced and illogical (like the transition from ME 1 to ME 2, ME 3 the whole "boy-left-behind" crap) - Hates to play through situations seen in games / movies time and again (ME 1 and 3 mainly) - Hates grinding through hordes of enemies (ME 3 mainly) - Hates constant time limits, stressful situations suggested by story (ME 3 did that on almost every mission) - Hates recycled, obviously confined areas (ME 1 interiors and 3 mainly - ME 2 had more unique, beautiful though small areas that I enjoyed) - Hates repetition (all of the previous MEs had so much obvious time filler material, much like certain shallow but fat books) - Indifferent about achievements - Prefers DRM free but has all the usual sh*t installed anyway (Steam, Origin) except that Ubisoft thingy - Indifferent about NPC character progression - Indifferent about play time (though won't pay 60 bucks for 5 hours of entertainment) - Indifferent about fantasy elements in sci fi as long as it is plausible with few leaps of faith (ME did that quite well with bionics etc.) - Indifferent about game mechanics as long as it's good for what it is (doesn't pretend to be an RPG when it's a somewhat interactive movie)

Previous threads: first, second Quick summary of the topic, for those of you who unfamiliar with it to get you started: Why is Ukraine in turmoil? Ukraine economy: How bad is the mess and can it be fixed? Why Crimea is so dangerous? How the crisis unfolded - timeline summary. Ukraine: UN condemns Crimea vote Analysis: Could Russia absorb eastern Ukraine? A nice summary of issues from US presepective on Russian rhetoric pre invasion: (covers a lot of issues discussed in thread #1 ) UK government's response to points made by President Putin in his address to the Russian Parliament on 17 March: (covers alot of issues in thread #2) Map of the area and list of previous conflict in the region involving Russian help:

Thought this was interesting to underscore the complexity of the situation for the anti-Assad groups.

The other thread was closed, so I figured, what better excuse to bring it back than some juicy propaganda and conspiracy theories? Estonian foreign minister and EU foreign affairs rep Catherine Ashton discuss the possibility that Kiev snipers were provocateurs Oh, wait. The call has been confirmed as genuine and it ties back to something one of our members (clearly a FSB stooge like myself) posted in the other thread: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/65164-ukraine-burns/?p=1425350

Have you ever found a situation where you are and fellow villagers are happily farming and chillaxing, having a couple of beers. Suddenly out of the blue, you see some six heavily armed strangers wielding all sorts of weapons and strange magics. You shout and yell to them, "Hey this is our territory - go bugger off!" but they don't listen... they just trudge on and trample over your nice farm. They even have the temerity to pick some of your best apples and eat them right in front of you. Even worst, they start invading your neighbours house by smashing down the doors or lockpicking. They then raid and loot all your valuables, chests and gold. How the heck are you going to stand by there and do nothing? When you ask them to stop, they don't seem to understand. Brandishing your clubs, you try to intimidate them to stop, but nah... they're not impressed and start their wholesale slaughter... Before you know it, your entire village is in burning and in ruins and you're lying down in a pool of your own blood. Before you pass out, the only two phrases you hear from these savages sound vaguely like .... "We're heroes..." Just because we're ogres/trolls/non-humanoids, what rights do these people have to kill us and take our valuables? *** Yep, this idea germinated from the fact that after playing countless CRPGs, I'm never quite happy with the fact that the PC usually invades other non-humanoid lands and start killing without even stopping to question as to what rights do they have to do so. So, could we have a quest line where we meet a race that is very isolated alongst these lines. If the PC acts diplomatically, he can avoid conflict but can't communicate unless he spends some time with them. If he or his companion has some linguistic skills, then he can communicate with them. If however, the PC ignores the non-humanoids and starts rifling through the posessions of the non-humanoid species, this will invite reprisals as they try to defend their land and possessions. Fighting and killing these non-humanoids could have very adverse consequences such as starting potential deadly conflict between this species and the known civilization... The PC may then have to atone for his atrocities and try to act as a ambassador to quell the conflict.