SixTwoSixFour

Nitpick: she. The writer is a lady, as it says at the end of the article. But yeah, I played the demo and liked it a lot. It's more like an interactive anime, but I'm okay with that, as long as it's engaging. QTEs don't HAVE to be the devil. The game parts of it were fun, and the scripted sequences were interesting.

Treaties =/= laws

Orrrrr you could play through it now then save the second playthrough, in which you'll choose the other path, for when the new content releases. I've played through it 4 times now and I still find it enjoyable enough and I certainly don't see any reason not to play it at least twice. It's great that they're sticking to their habits, for now at least. I was worried that anything extra would be either delayed or hit with an "On the 360" tax. Hrm. Maybe I'll try that. The thing is, this is not a logic problem. This is my brain telling me I can't play the game until the stuff comes out, because I am crazy. So a logical argument, though good, doesn't do much to appease it.

Hey, can we make connections for Mario Kart DS in here too? Cause I actually own and like that one. No offense to 7, I haven't played it yet. It can't possibly trump Double Dash anyway.

Man, I was JUST getting ready to finally fire it up, I've had it installed for forever, and now they announce these upgrades! My inner completionist demands that I wait until the game is upgraded in April! DAMMMMMMMMN!

Well, but it's not supposed to be just harder. It's supposed to be more in line with the design philosophy of 1999. As Ken Levine puts it, it's about permanence versus impermanence. In System Shock 2, when you chose an upgrade, it was with you for the rest of the game, and you couldn't change it... and that could actually hinder you if you picked something you ended up not using much. In Bioshock, you could change any power or upgrade on the fly. Nothing was permanent. That's what 1999 mode is. It's more than that as well, but Levine says that's the primary difference.

I wanted to *gasp* be able to play *gasp* as a volus, *gasp* dammit. Still, *gasp* quarian makes me *gasp* happy.

It's against treaties, but if we're being serious here, if we ever REALLY get into space colonization those treaties are going to change. It's going to be a massive land grab, because that's the whole POINT of going other places- because we're running out of space here. I am not by ANY stretch of the imagination a Gingrich fan, but I'm sure he realizes it's against current treaties, and probably considers changing that part of the plan.

I'm down. My voice sucks, but I have enthusiasm eternal.

Well, okay. Let's think about this logically. 1) Raiden is back in a combat body, and back on the battlefield. He gave that up in MGS4 to be with Rosemary and Little John, so presumably, something must have changed there. Kidnapping? Death? Just necessity? Not sure what, but his home life can't be as ideal as it was looking. 2) The war economy was collapsing at the end of 4... but it was taking a lot of people down with it. The end of the war economy means a bunch of PMCs with no jobs, and it means a bunch of nations in debt from their huge war budgets. And it DOESN'T mean the end of conflict. Just because war doesn't run everything anymore, doesn't mean it won't still be around... and probably still a big deal. Imagine, for example, what would happen to a PMC of 20,000 elite mercs at the end of the war economy. Some of those people would quit, retire, become cops or security guards or something. But a lot would just keep on mercing... and with the war economy over, they would be hungry for work. Wouldn't take much for some mercs to decide to manufacture some work, if you know what I mean. Overthrow a local government, maybe. 3) Okay, yeah, the more I think about it, the more that fight with the RAY just seems ridiculous.

They did get him into a good place at the end of 4, so something must have changed. It IS called "Revengeance", so he must have something to avenge. I do hope it's something more original than the Max Payne gambit, though. The part with the RAY did seem a little too far to me as well. They said they're listening to feedback very carefully, so maybe they'll decide that's a step too far? And it's not, I think, a matter of him loving what he was, it's just part of him- when pushed hard enough, he reverts into that Ripper personality.

I listened to the Kojima Productions podcast on Revengeance, and I must say, I'm more optimistic now. It looks like Kojima Productions is totally in charge of writing and plot and all story things, while Platinum is totally in charge of combat. And going back to watch some old MGS4 cutscenes... I suppose this isn't really a retcon, is it? I mean, I saw that combat, and I was like "come on", but it's not all that much more powerful than he was in 4. if you've forgotten what it was like. I also think it's interesting that they're doing more exploring of Jack's probably pretty fucked up head. I mean, setting aside the psychological trauma of having your body swapped out... more than once... he's got his old child soldier personality in there. They didn't do a hell of a lot with that other than mention it in 2 and 4.

Well, I don't think many of us saw that coming. Previously pitched as a predator stealth game, Metal Gear Solid: Rising is now Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a rabidly fast hack n slash action game. From what I've seen it looks like Vanquish meets No More Heroes, which is on the one hand music to my ears- I love both games with a passion- but also kind of distressing, as it doesn't really feel like Metal Gear anymore. It's... I mean, I don't know what to think. What about you gents?

I was going to say "who" but then I realized I would vote for just about any of you over Rick Perry =P

Deus Ex:

Nothing quite as magical as a sourpuss mod.

Religion is not the only reason to celebrate something ever, and saying so is a pretty dumb thing to say. Had to get that out of the way before the start of my rant. The whole "War on Christmas" thing that the Christian right has going on is absolutely ridiculous. If there is any kind of resentment, or resistance, of Christmas, it is because the Christian right jams it down our throats 'til we choke. People boycott stores for saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." BOYCOTT them for acknowledging that there is more than one holiday, that more than one religion deserves to be represented in a land founded on the idea of religious freedom. Any "war" going on here is one that they have started. Fox News lambastes the current Rhode Island governor for advertising the tree in the Statehouse as a "Holiday Tree" rather than a "Christmas Tree," as though this were some kind of atrocity. 3,500 protesters. Over "holiday" versus "Christmas." And contrary to Fox's reports, the governor before him (who, incidentally, was a Republican, while this one is a Democrat) did the EXACT SAME THING. He called his tree a Holiday Tree too. And nobody marched on HIS house. And for anyone who suggests that it's about "remembering our history" and "the pilgrims" and "the founding fathers", go read a history book. The Founding Fathers kept the Continental Congress open for Christmas like any other day. The pilgrims actually outlawed the celebration of Christmas, and put a fine on anyone who said "Merry Christmas"! It's not about the past. It's about you shoving your religion in other people's faces. I'm a deist. There are no "deist holidays." And I'm not going to insist that some are created. And it disgusts me to see Christians taking a land founded on religious freedom, and trying to turn it into another Christian kingdom. Fighting gay rights, not on any real principle, just because "the bible says so" and because you have an icky feeling. Insisting on "one nation under god" and "in god we trust", trying to force prayer in school in a complete lack of respect for people who are of a different faith. Trying to put your religious quotes in courthouses, in buildings of government and law! And yes, making us all choke on your idea of what Christmas should be. Especially ironic since, according to your own scholars, Christmas isn't even the birth of Christ. It's just the celebration of it, moved to winter so that you can steal the spotlight from other religion's holidays, especially Winter Solstice.

I'm on the US PvP Server myself, from time to time. Having lag issues like a lot of us, or I would play a good deal more. The weapon controls are pretty stupid, I feel, but the game is quite enjoyable. Doctor Ferrum (Blasters/Gadgets) The Pact (Staff/Sorcery)

It thinks of itself as a game, as well as a social network, and it's fairly shitty at being both.

Playstation Home is just... I mean, I felt like it was a neat idea back in the day, when I was young and optimistic, and full of dreams. Now I'm old enough to realize, a game with no game is a waste of my time. The core concept just seems flawed to me. Attempts to make it more game-y will never be as enjoyable as a proper game, attempts to make it more useful in other ways will fail because of how slow it is, like Dean said.