Agreed—in fact, all of the Halo franchise is post-2000—I know Halo has some problems—Halo 1 = rushed, too much map repetition, Halo II—can't think of anything obvious, Halo III-poor plotting—but for online team shooters nothing came close to Halo for a long time.

Yes, exactly. JE had real-time arcade style controls with multiple foes in combat at the same time. KOTOR wasn't turn based OUTSIDE of combat, but in combat, it was.

I never got into KOTOR, which may be why I enjoyed Jade Empire a lot. PLus, I didn't care for the turn based system of combat.

Missing Games that I have happily wasted my life on
Civilization III and IV were BOTH awesome—a remarkable achievement in strategic gaming and the true control freak's dream.

Two words of AGREEMENT with above:

after further review of Wade-Giles vs pinyin transcription of consonants, I think you're right, and I will go back to doing whatever the hell it is that I do.

According to my understanding of Chinese-English phonetic renderings, Xu = Chu ( as in the NYT spelling the former Chinese Premier's name Deng Xiaoping). However, I would happily yield the floor to somebody who has a more informed opnion than I.

I choose C: Raped in prison yard. Rain optional. To paraphrase Warren Zevon, I'd rather feel bad than feel like either of those experiences.

MATT DAMON!!!!

Cancer AID? What, you think cancer needs help?

I have but one retort for Senor MAggot Gagger—a champion you may be, but you are no judge of one of man's finest culinary creations:

This is possibly my favorite thread ever, in that it proves that what this site is about, fundamentally, is arguing about stuff. Which I like.

Can you be too chunky yo play Thor? Marvel aside, he wasn't exactly Susan Powter.

My niece (7 at the time, and in possession of the D'Aullaires' book of Norse Myths, which kick ass) asked me what god I would be, or barring that, what I would choose to be the god of, given a choice. Without missing a beat, I said "Chocolate and hitting things."

Seconded on System Shock II. I remember reading a reviewer who kept telling his wife in the next room to be quiet, that the critters would hear her, until she finally made him stop playing for a week. That game is some scary shit, especially the cyborg midwives. Stereotyped dialogue isn't scary, my ass.

I loved that game, and made my brother play it with me. Although I have to admit, the part I liked most was reading the modules, which were exteremly well laid out.

The call of Cthulhu's dad (with apologies to Marty Feldman):

Three words:

See Near Dark. Vampirism, like the new Fenway Park, has been defanged with the presence of teenage pop-icon loving little girls. Pink hats optional. Near Dark is a solid antidote to that formulation.

Juno and Diablo COdy
I feel like I must have been lving in a cave for the past twelve months. I thought Juno was OK—funny in parts, but nothing to get overly excited by—so I fail to comprehend the amount of bile this woman attracts. She's certainly no more annoying than some of the other writers and directors that…