Hot Heart

Paragon would've fit. That'll teach you!

Yeah, what Dean said. You also get a grenade launcher that completely owns.

Oh dear. I know my copy of the game came with a pre-order bonus that included an automatic hacking device. (Never actually used it though. I was 'power-gaming' a lot of the time.) It's probably DLC now so that's always an option.

I'm not too familiar with the character or Torchwood but, from what I can glean, that seems like an excellent example, yes.

Dean! DEAN! He spelt 'interrupt' wrong. Fire him! Dean! DEAAAN! p.s. welcome!

In single-player games he will always try and be as big of a dick as possible, but I don't think he's a griefer at all. He's actually a really nice, polite guy. Having said that, we were falling off our seats laughing at griefing each other on LittleBigPlanet 2 (especially with the grabinator). Now that was one of the 'forgotten' games of 2011.

I...I just felt like it.

Because, if you recall, the original point was to have an equivalent to Nathan Drake. Not only a protagonist but one that 'men want to be'.

Heh, clever. Although the audio mixing could've been a tad better.

I refuse to accept any shame. I do not acknowledge that loophole!

I liked that too. Funny thing is, I told my friend that during a particular bit as Catwoman "Go right instead of left. You'll know", leaving it as cryptic as that. Of course, he forgot I had said it, but his natural 'jerk sense' meant he went that way anyway.

Yeah. As TFG already pointed out, there is usually a constant affirmation of heterosexuality that we don't always notice. You may be able to imagine yourself in MC's armour but some of the relationships have already been established to some extent. And, yes, it's the idea that having a gay character would probably be so controversial that is the problem. It's not so much that you must have a gay character but that it shouldn't faze people and you don't get there by shying away from the subject. Same goes for any diversity really.

Hmm, I can't think of any I've seen first-hand (or stuff that isn't current like 'whip my mare back and forth' from Skyrim) besides an old, since fixed, one in Red Dead Redemption where if you wore a bandana into Thieve's Landing (I think that was the name) one of the big sliding warehouse doors would stick to your face after you open it. That was p freaky and funny.

People actually believed the dance ban one? OH, COME ON!

Is this one for English vs. English or English vs. Ethan?

Well, it's nice having some extra stuff but I've got a lot of this sort of thing in LEs before for £15-20 less. Plus, it just feels a bit wrong paying so much extra for little digital extras. The main part is probably that I've never spent £70 on a game before, no matter how much I like it or the series.

I kinda really want the CE of Mass Effect 3 but I'm a bit miffed that the PC price is exactly the same as the console ones. I mean, there's no real reason why it shouldn't be, but you come to expect PC games to be a little cheaper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5qcj4ZT30M I've probably posted this before but it is such a great album; I love the mix of heavy and soft songs they managed to produce. I also find the voice really interesting.

What others have said. L.A. Noire is almost a co-op game in the non-traditional sense. You could even have the observer play the part of Cole's partners! "Gays and blacks and womens? Urgh..."

Oh, my, this is brilliant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToCq_c3wOM8

I've had to skip ahead, so I'll need to read the rest afterwards but your novel analogy is completely flawed, MasterDex. You are talking about suddenly making a character gay in a sequel. Therefore, as with Drake, it would seem forced or shoehorned. That is not the point at all. The idea is that we can have these characters who take centre stage from inception. (Although, I think it's interesting to look at an example like Willow in Buffy. Was there such a backlash when she was revealed as gay despite appearing straight earlier in the show?) EDIT: And I think it's important to clarify, no one is saying that all current developers should suddenly start writing gay main characters. Or at least, that's not the viewpoint of Patricia, who has the most balanced opinion here. I perceive this as more a 'call to arms' and, in some ways, a bit of optimistic urging. There's not some homogenous 'game developing factory' that's being asked to start increasing the number of different cultures shown in games. That would be the Saturday Morning Cartoon model. Videogames are part of our culture and it still plays a part in affirming our identities, no matter how subtle and whether we like it or not. Films, books and television have come a long way forward in these regards. It's time the videogame industry started doing the same.

OK, since it's the current hot debate, I'll open the can of worms. Starting with an article here by Andrew Meade, Jim Sterling then took it into provocative territory (as if he could do it any other way) and then Patricia over at Nightmare Mode had her say. I hate to sound harsh, and it may be like asking you to study for an essay, but I would be most appreciative if you could read and comprehend these before weighing in. On Twitter, there's been some discussion between a few of us here, but I wanted to see what other people thought. Personally, I can support what Andrew and Patricia are saying. I don't see the harm in having a gay protagonist like Nathan Drake; not making him gay, or BioWare's shoehorning with Shepard in ME3. In the same way that female Shepard barely acts any differently to male Shepard, it gives it a natural/normal appearance and acceptance. All other forms of entertainment can embrace this, why not videogames? Dean and Mason say they don't see the point because, unless you resort to stereotypes or shoehorning, you wouldn't be able to differentiate. Plus, gay people are happy to play as heterosexual characters anyway. Just because you're not being 'inclusive' it doesn't mean that you're excluding them. I think that's a bit presumptious but then, I would like to hear from gay people on the matter as I can only plead ignorance here. The other thing is that many feel games writing, AAA games in this instance, is not up to that standard so should not even attempt it. I can agree that games writing can be 'clumsy' but I don't see why we should accept the status quo. You don't get anywhere if you're not constantly questioning and challenging your surroundings, or taking risks. Before I waffle on anymore, I'll shut up and listen.

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2011/12/23/english-pronunciation/

http://www.next-gen.biz/opinion/those-who-defend-game-pirates