Aaaaand Vader is Luke's father.

That's exactly what kind of stimuli bring back PTSD-related symptoms, though: whacked-out shit, excessive violence and gore, etc. PTSD is more about the subjective experience than the objective conditions under which it occurred, so a first-person action thrill-ride is the perfect way to dig up past memories.

It probably means that we'll have to start paying for 'best-in-class' silencers and that 'best-in-class' decal on our UMP-45.

The continued stuffing of simplistic 'good/evil' morality devices down gamers' throats was getting tedious as it were, but now they have sexual stereotypes to boot?

The 3DS never held my attention to begin with. Another profit-machine for the Nintendo line-up that gives out headaches instead of quality, inventive game concepts? It's not exactly a heartstopper.

Looks like my next card has arrived.

And so the blatantly white-washed American exceptionalist narrative of westward expansion meets and mates with a similarly overwhelming social network. A match made in heaven.

@Chojin: Totally agree. This is one of the main reasons I thought 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was such a gutsy film: it really went for the motivational core of an 'enemy' that's been glossed over by years of propaganda and victor's history syndrome. If similar experiences could be brought into games, I would be all for…

To extend McWhertor's food metaphor, Black Ops was the Red Bull-rip-off of the year- questionable story construction, instant gratification, and repetitious tasks only drove home how disposable, how single-use the entire single player campaign felt. I never got the chance to go multiplayer, but if MW, WaW, and MW2's…

@cucina violenta: The Total War crew has you covered.

@hagren: Agreed, but COH kept me on a goddamn leash for weeks like some bondage vixen. WiC, in comparison, was a one-night stand that I'd happily brag about, but nothing long-term.

@hagren: I couldn't get into any of the newer C&C titles. The last RTS that solidly held my attention was COH, and even with only two sides, it spoiled me. The combination of small-arms tactics with RTS build strategies was just micro-intensive enough to be both addictive yet rewarding, with a great balance between…

@corme: This is one of the more interesting reactions I've seen to a Square Enix "game".

@Cheeseter: It didn't change enough.

@akragster: What the hell ever happened to Dukakis?

@DocSeuss: So essentially what I got from your excellent post is that immersion is a narrative device, and that you consider game and narrative separate, but often intertwined, entities in the medium. I'd like to expand on this by heading down the seemingly contradictory road of multiplayer immersion.

@Antiterra: The GOG one is on.

@Clutchman83: Given that it's just that one difficulty rating out of four in which the save files are locked, I think it's totally justified. It's just a little challenge for those who want it, and the Witcher crew are generally good about DLC. Just look at what happened with the first game- a huge update came along…

@Michael McWhertor: Awesome. This writer's game for trying out whenever there are.

@Michael McWhertor: You're losing the touch, McWhertor.