P4: Gritty Reboot

Hunger Games is a Young Adult (but pretty bloody/brutal for most YAs) dystopian novel set in a future United States controlled by a totalitarian government that forces its citizens' children to compete in deadly survival games for the elites' entertainment. Just finished the final book, and have to say I'd recommend it without reservation. Head and shoulders above most YA stuff.

I know we all have different opinions and all, but you can't have played the "floating through the alien uterus while shooting squids" sequence and still thought it was a 10/10 game. I won't accept that

IF it is possible to do it without feeling pandering or demeaning, and without making a big deal out of it, then sure, why not have a gay protagonist/significant NPC? I don't expect characters in fiction to line up with my every characteristic and belief; why should I expect it in a game? I immerse myself in fictitious worlds to see reality from another person's point of view, to challenge what I know about the place I live in and what I believe. Tackling homosexuality isn't outside the realm of that--but considering how it's often handled on television and film, I think it'll be a while before we see it done well in gaming. Plus, even storytellers like BioWare still can't do romance--gay or straight--without making me facepalm.

Well, for anyone interested you can live-track the Iowa Republican Caucus results at the link below. Voting commences at 7 PM CST. http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/data/iowa-caucus/results/

Are there other food groups outside these? /American

Go on... --- For me, a few things: I'd like to lose a little weight. I'm not huge but I've definitely put on a few pounds over the year. Nothing crazy but maybe just watching what I eat, playing more disc golf and hacky-sack when I've got some spare time. I'd like to grow a little stronger in my faith; going to try another read-through of the bible this year. I'd like to finish more games to completion--one a month if I can manage. I'd like to read more books--one a month if I can help it. I'd like to spend more time with my wife and kids.

Borderlands 1 is an example of poor game design throughout: it's got a bad story, it has technical issues, it has one of the worst interfaces I've ever had the displeasure of using, it's unfocused, it's grindy, it's repetitive, etc. etc. etc. YET I still put 30 or 40 hours into it for the co-op fun. This is why I'm cautiously optimistic over BL2: it has the opportunity to take the great concepts from the first game and actually get the execution right this time around. EDIT: I forgot to mention BL has the worst final boss of all time--OF ALL TIME.

Well, he's likable on the face of things as far as the general tone of his writing, but we've all seen some of the asinine decisions he's made and the sour attitude that follows in the aftermath. Being likable doesn't mean you should be a writer. Also, his writing is bad. Like, Stephanie Meyer/high school essay/back of cereal box bad. It's choppy and sophomoric and hard to read. As much as other sites like RPS can go overboard with the navel-gazing stuff sometimes, their higher standards as far as sentence structure, logic, syntax, and the like make those kinds of sites far more desirable and readable in my opinion.

I hope to put more entries in here than I was able to for 2011. BioShock 2, The Witcher, Super Meat Boy, a few Wii games, and plenty of PC indie titles remain in my leftover pile from last year.

Make sure to update that wishlist too, as people 'round these parts can be pretty generous to someone who's just getting into some serious PC gaming

Even as a percentage, I've got to wonder what they'd pay you. Peanuts. They weren't even salted

Happy new year from California to the finest gaming forum on the webs.

** Suppresses laughter while cashing the paycheck Alientrap sent**

Bought AVP Classic 2000 for the nostalgia and the laffs.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/110800/ And Valve makes the only coupon worth anything (Rockstar 50% off) worth nothing in one swift update.

It's a sad situation for BioWare when I sit here and deliberate whether Dragon Age II is worth 99 cents.

So at this point I'm only aware of one person who hasn't received a gift as his Santa's been on vacation. Just checking in to make sure everyone else has gotten theirs. Also, as for next year's exchange, the only real question mark I have is whether we ought to change the price rules. I personally don't have a problem with just using the $10-$15 "suggested" price but allowing less/more as people are able, so long as everyone goes in with the spirit of giving rather than expecting some minimum cost gift. As far as I'm concerned, if a Santa buys his giftee anything off their wishlist, his obligation is fulfilled. That way, most anyone can participate. Just curious how you guys felt about that or if you think we should have a hard and fast minimum/maximum.

Yeah we recognize the word Post but just would never use it in normal conversation was my point.

I agree with Mr. John on a lot of those, but I do take issue with a few. As some commenters there point out, the Direct X / .NET framework thing isn’t so simple. Also: “Don’t stop me from sprinting after three seconds.” Yeah, that sounds nice, but the problem is that developers are trying to limit you from a mechanical perspective, not a realistic one. Imagine COD with more sprinting around than there already is (insert MOTHER OF GOD image here). Also, it might not be entirely plausible that a solider wearing 100 lbs. of gear can sprint indefinitely. I don’t understand why Mr. Walker is willing to let games ignore reality on other items (like carrying lots of guns) but complains that three seconds of sprinting is unrealistic. “Don’t splash on my screen” I’m not really sure of games that do this much with rain, other than where it makes sense as in Metroid Prime and Republic Commando. The blood thing may be valid but again, it’s a mechanical decision to alert you that you’re close to dying, or perhaps a stylistic one in some of the overly gory games. A big health bar that decreases is just as unrealistic. “Don’t tell me that you’re a game any more.” Meh, some games do this and do it well. Breaking the fourth wall is a legitimate device so long as it’s employed correctly. “Do let me carry more than two guns.” Again, a mechanical decision that sometimes works. It totally depends on the game. I do agree that games have been doing this too much simply because Halo used it to great effect, but let’s take this one on a case-by-case basis. The rest of them are pretty spot-on I’d say, especially the one about giving the protagonist skills that are consistent from gameplay to cutscenes. It’s so annoying when you’ve fought through hundreds of enemies, only to be taken by four soldiers surrounding you in an FMV sequence. Movies and novels fall victim to this too, having heroes only fail and be captured when it’s convenient for the plot. It’s simply poor storytelling. EDIT: Formatting

Just finished the first Hunger Games book. It's pretty good for a YA novel, though it had a few issues: Looking forward to picking up the next two.