P4: Gritty Reboot

I replay Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Opposing Force, Jedi Knight II, and Morrowind every couple years as I fancy.

Call of Duty Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 Super Mario Galaxy Half-Life 2 Deathmatch

I spent some time with the Survival Mode. It was extremely enjoyable. http://deltagamer.com/15341/hands-on-mw3-survival-mode

The obscurity of the story is kinda the point of the Half-Life saga. The entire plot revolves around the G-Man's unclear motives. Plus, the episodic nature of the follow-ups determined the abrupt ending. This is patently false. Eli & Kleiner are safe outside the city limits during Episode One. They are slowing the Citadel's explosion with the express purpose of saving every civilian trapped in City 17. This is a gross oversimplification and misrepresentation of Episode Two's plot. First off, the rocket as I understand it is more Magnusson's baby than Eli's, and the whole project is an absolutely critical mission to shutdown the Superportal the Combine are attempting to open using the destruction of the Citadel. Launching the rocket has little to do with Eli personally; it's a bid to cut off the Combine invasion completely. Furthermore, it's not Eli's base so much as it is Magnusson's (he had been working there for some time before Eli and Kleiner fled there.) I understand you feel Eli was too much of a "carrot" in the series, but this section of the story certainly provides no support for that idea. No it didn't. Half-Life 2 offered more gameplay freedom than its predecessor, and I frankly don't see any way in which the game "regulated how the player used that freedom." I also don't see how defining a character's prestige and offering a bit of vague context for his past in any way restricts that freedom. Even Denton in Deus Ex (which you cite as an example of gameplay freedom) had a bit of backstory IIRC. The game is Eli Vance-heavy to be sure, but your whole argument hinges on one big question mark that we don't have an answer to, and that's the G-Man's motives. Unfortunately I think you're jumping the gun here. You're complaining about an unresolved plot in a saga that's not over yet, and I think despite any doubts you might have about Valve's ability to tie everything up nicely, we ought to at least let them try before declaring the entire plot a debacle. EDIT: I can also think of one very good reason the player might want to shoot back at the enemy: the fate of the entire planet. To say Eli is the "entire motivation" for player progression is to totally misunderstand the series. End Half-Life fanboy rant.

The blood flows freely from the banhammer of Joel the Dexslayer.

Got A Game of Thrones about halfway finished. It's slow reading because I don't have much time in which to read. But it's a truly great book.

Awesome for consumers, and like Dean said, better for DLC and add-on sales & sequels. To try to put pressure on the publishers to maintain high prices is the wrong approach: make games worth buying at full price and a higher percentage of your sales will be at full price.

The Razer article wasn't very good, but not because it was trollish, just because it was wrong. It was definitely his reaction to the criticism that drew the most ire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KubgMDSMXfI

It was directed by the same crazy woman who made the first Twilight. It's one of the worst movies I've seen in a very long time, though I do like the lead actress. She's far too good for that film.

On the bright side, this whole debacle has encouraged me to dust off my MTG box.

Jedi Academy was such a disappointment. The setting had a lot of potential, but in the end the Katarn saga was much more enthralling.

Quick Save > Checkpoints

I quite liked my college. Nice administration people, great roommates (5 guys in a dorm room), Super Smash Bros 3-4 hours a day, and awesome food. Lots of disc golf and tennis. I did hate getting up early, though.

Oh yeah, I totally agree. I thought the de-starring was a bit much, however.