Both the characters and the plot are not actively hateful. They're just very bland, embodying tropes you've probably seen dozens of times already if you play JRPGs. One of the big bad guys is wearing a helm that looks like the head of a black dragon from D&D so I give him bonus points for that.

Robots have stolen my byline :(

There's quite a bit of education system-based critique with chapters devoted to why high school hours are terrible, the problems with how schools test for gifted programs and new programs that have been really helping at risk pre-school students.

Warcraft 3 was one of the casualties of the format. It was very high on my personal top 10 list.

My Dragon Age review is coming next week but I will say now it's the best game I've played all year.

Zach is correct. There are also just way more quest hubs in WoW so that I always felt like I had options for where to go next, while Aion is much more linear and limited by comparison.

I didn't notice secret messages but if you're looking for a mind fuck you'll have it by the end of chapter one.

Her writing is still a mixed bag but overall I found the bad parts less bad and the good parts were better. The characterization was my biggest problem with TTW and while there were behaviors that I thought were really unrealistic — a dad feels sad when his Ivy League drop out daughters finally do leave the house…

I'm a pretty big tabletop RPG fan but I've never tried Champions. Aberrant is my superhero tabletop of choice.

My copy didn't show up in time. It'll be out next week though!

I replayed the first board with one of the fat scientists a few times just to see if they left behind meat and donuts when they blew up. And they did!

I just noticed that Little King's Story had been added to the list of games we should review wiki and I'm trying to secure a copy. It does seem right up my alley.

I'm a big fan of Robert Charles Wilson's "The Chronoliths" which is one of the most interesting takes on time travel I've ever read or seen. I found the writing style a little hard to get used to because it was so different from what I expected from the author, but once you get used to the format it's hard to imagine…

I'm the resident Atlus wonk on staff but I can only review so much. So there's not going to be a Knights in the Nightmare review but stay tuned for Devil Survivor at the end of the month.

I'd put him at a 7.5 though I'm having a hard time thinking of other authors I'd put on the list between him and Martin. I just don't think he's quite at the must read, genre defining stage. But his work is really enjoyable and consistent, which is more than you can say about the lot of the genre.

Clicking on buildings like stores and businesses offer pop up menus where you can get a job, take a class, shop, etc. But even if you're inside working you can't see what's there.

This is the first reader request I've seen for App Store coverage. A few games have been under consideration for review but no one's done any so far. I can't speak for my colleagues, but the main reason I haven't touched them is I don't have an iPhone. But if the interest is out there maybe it's time for me to finally…

The translation's not perfect but I didn't notice any obvious bugs during my time playing, though I think there were some times I had made the level impossible but didn't receive the message saying so. There are some repetitive elements but there's a really good variety provided by new types of terrain, enemies and…

Hah. Fair. I hate myself for it a little too.

Yep, they all are. But using a hex-board and diagonal matches makes it a lot harder for that to happen in battle.